Chapter Text
Natsuki Subaru has been summoned to a parallel world, but it’s a bit more parallel than the one you might be imagining.
“That didn’t convince you to give me a break, by any chance?” Subaru asks, looking at the three thugs who surround him with trepidation. What a way to start his isekai adventure— falling into an alleyway, and then ignored by a purple-haired preteen who had rushed past Subaru’s predicament without pause.
“Actually, it just made us more angry,” the lead thug says. Subaru punches him in the face— wait, wait, that actually worked!? The guy’s falling over, and Subaru’s never hit someone before! Enthused by his success, he kicks the second of three thugs into the alley wall, but stops short and begs for his life when the third one pulls out a knife. He is then mercilessly beaten up.
“Hold it right there!” a voice shouts; Subaru looks up through darkening vision to see a beautiful girl and a floating cat. His rescuer is here! Unfortunately, he can’t really stay awake long enough to thank her.
His savior, as he learns later, is called Satella. Probably.
“Really?” Puck asks, looking at Satella somewhat disapprovingly after she says her name. He has a glare for Subaru after his non-reaction, as well.
“I think that’s a beautiful name!” Subaru says.
“You have good taste, at least,” Puck sighs. Satella tilts her head at Subaru, but then shrugs. There are more important things to worry about, like the insignia that has been stolen from her.
“So, that insignia is special somehow?” Subaru tries not to trip as he follows Satella through the cracked streets. He gets that it’s a medieval world, but didn’t Satella say this was the country’s capital? It should be better maintained. Subaru’s gaze trails to the walls that separate the middle area of the city from the top, and those walls seem very well maintained indeed. It was a case of the rich hogging all the wealth, then? And even the disrepair of the middle area was nothing compared to that of the slums, which Subaru sees sprawling far below.
“I don’t really know what the insignia is, but it glows when I touch it. Echidna said I could never lose it, ever, so I need to get it back as soon as possible,” Satella explains.
“Echidna?” Subaru asks.
“Please be more careful with what you say,” Puck sighs.
“I don’t know anything about what she’s saying!” Subaru defends.
“I’m not sure if that makes me more or less worried,” Puck says.
“Don’t tease him!” Satella chides. “Although you can’t read, you don’t know where you are, and you don’t even recognize the name of the… how odd.”
“I’m not stupid, just broke and completely clueless!” Subaru says.
“Is that really a defence?” Satella asks.
”Yes! Let’s find your insignia! It’s my good deed for the day!” Subaru skips away from Satella to search further down the path, but then scurries back when he remembers he has no idea where he’s going.
“And you don’t… you realize I’m a half-elf, right?” Satella asks.
“That explains it, then,” Subaru says. “Elves in fantasy worlds are always beautiful.” His isekai experience has been lucky so far, really, to have encountered someone so wonderful so quickly! Subaru hasn’t spent a lot of time with Satella, but he can tell she’s kind, even if she acts like she doesn’t want to be. She takes time out of her day to heal someone like him when searching urgently for a jewel, and helps a lost child; she’s shy, but unused to being complimented, suggesting she needs more friends.
“Beautiful?” Satella asks, looking surprised. Subaru reaches over, and holds her hand. Maybe they could be more than friends.
“Beautiful long silver hair… beautiful purple eyes… beautiful pointy ears,” Subaru says. Satella’s face grows slightly pink. She had saved him from being beaten up, but not only that; she had also saved him from being alone. Truthfully, Subaru couldn’t stand being shut in his room all day— but the idea of going out only scared him more. Now that he had isekaied, though, there was a brand new life ahead of him! He could stop being a disappointment, and make something wonderful out of himself.
“Oh…” Satella says, astonished, and Puck flies out of her hair to give Subaru a friendly punch of approval. It seems things were working out well after all.
Eventually, the two of them come to a building known as the “Loot House;” the sky is darkened, as is what Subaru can see of the building from through the window.
“I’ll go in first. Don’t come in unless I tell you it’s safe, okay?” Subaru asks his new friend.
“Okay, but I’m coming in if I hear anything strange,” Satella says. Cautiously, Subaru steps into the darkness. From what little moonlight flickers through the window, the place seemed a mess; who would want to buy stolen goods from such an establishment?
“Hello? Anyone here?” Subaru asks. Something squishes under his feet, and Subaru looks down to see a pool of dark liquid. No— it can’t be— “AHH!” Subaru stumbles backwards in horror; lying with wide, terror-filled eyes is the severed head of the young girl who had stolen Satella’s insignia, her braid soaking in a pool of blood.
“Oh, you saw that?” a female voice asks. Subaru glances around frantically, but he can’t see who might have spoken. “Too bad.”
“Subaru, what’s happening?” Satella asks; the door creaks as she enters the room, her beauty illuminated by the rays of the moon.
“Get out of here, it’s dangerous!” Subaru shouts— but too late. Something flickers, blocking Satella from his vision for half a second, and then blood sprays from her neck. “SATELLA!” Heart beating so loud he can hear it in the darkness, he rushes towards Satella’s fallen form in a panic, but she’s motionless. “I’ll save you— I promise— I’ll definitely—“
Subaru feels a burst of pain in his throat, and then absolutely nothing at all.
***
He blinks, and he’s in front of a stand selling apples that he’d seen once before that day, sunlight assaulting his eyes.
“What happened?” he asks. Did he get knocked out, and sent here— Satella! He has to get back to the Loot House, now! Subaru runs as fast as he can, dashing over uneven streets as he makes his way back to the slums. He’s breathing heavily by the time he gets there, but to his despair, the door of the Loot House is locked. Subaru starts banging on it desperately.
“Please, someone!” he yells, and all of a sudden the door swings open.
“Knocking like that is pretty rude, you know,” the door-opener says; a tall woman with black hair and a dress with an incredibly plunging neckline stands before him.
“Uh,” Subaru says, stunned into silence by the extraordinary sexiness.
“Here for something?” the woman prompts.
“Wha— yeah! I’m here to buy something that’s being sold here!” Subaru decides. He still hasn’t quite figured out what had happened, but if he can get Satella’s insignia back for her, that’s at least one point towards success.
“A customer, then? My name is Elsa Granhiert. Come on in,” Elsa holds the door open for him along with the invitation. Upon entering, Subaru sees that the Loot House is well-lit and all in order. Had he been having a nightmare before, or something? “What is it you’re looking to buy?”
“It’s this little insignia-type thing, with a jewel in the middle that glows. I know someone here stole it,” Subaru explains.
“Hm. Very interesting,” Elsa says. She leans towards Subaru, her face approaching his, and he backs up, sitting down in a chair. Too close, too close! “A competitor, then. We’ve been offered ten holy coins for it, so unless you have more to offer, you’re out of luck.”
“Unfortunately, I’m completely broke!” Subaru announces.
“What did you come here for then, silly?” Elsa teases.
“Well— I’ve got my cellphone.” Subaru says, brandishing the device in question. “It’s definitely one of a kind. Watch!” So saying, Subaru takes a few pictures of Elsa, the camera flash flickering bright into her face. Elsa reacts to this by slamming Subaru to the ground and putting a gigantic knife right up to his stomach.
“What did you do? Why did you attack me?” she hisses. “Answer, or I’ll show us both your bowels.”
“Whoa, calm down! I just took your picture, that’s all, I promise!” Subaru squeaks out, entirely terrified. Elsa’s hand is pressing tightly into his shoulder, but better that than the knife.
“My picture?” Elsa asks, not moving an inch.
“Just— look at the cellphone,” Subaru stammers. Keeping her knife against his stomach, Elsa lets up the pressure on his shoulder to pick up the cellphone, which has landed on the floor. Her eyes widen as she sees the perfect replication of her blinded face. “Cool, isn’t it?” Elsa looks at him suspiciously, and he raises one hand slowly to give her a thumbs up, smiling sheepishly. This baffling display of idiocy makes Elsa sigh before pulling her knife back, and Subaru breathes out in relief.
“You aren’t a threat, are you? You’re way too stupid for that,” Elsa says, glancing at the picture from various angles. “Pity. I would have liked to see some warmth tonight. And… this cellphone, it makes instant images? Replicating a moment exactly, immediately… that’s worth twenty holy gold coins at the least.”
“So, you’ll trade it for the insignia?” Subaru asks, pushing himself off the ground. His shoulder is still sore.
“Not just yet,” Elsa says. “Only if the buyer who originally wanted it doesn’t offer more.”
“A bidding war? Isn’t that a bit greedy?” Subaru asks. He just wants to get the insignia and get out of here— Elsa was terrifying. She wasn’t the one who had killed the young thief that Subaru had seen dead before, was she? Was the thief even dead at all? He isn’t sure what’s real and what’s his imagination anymore.
“I need everything I can get,” Elsa says.
“So you’re not worried about me potentially scamming you?” Subaru points out.
“If you’re a good guy, I don’t have to worry,” Elsa says; she smiles, nails clicking on the handle of her knife. “And if you’re a bad guy, well… I don’t have to worry, either.”
“Right,” Subaru manages. It’s at this point that the door swings open, and Subaru does a doubletake; entering the room is the thief with the purple braid, accompanied by a weird-looking bat flying around her head. What was going on?
“We have a customer, Meili,” Elsa says.
“You haven’t died recently, have you?” Subaru asks. The image of Meili’s severed head is still strong behind his eyelids.
“What kind of question is that?” Meili asks, her expression narrowing.
“Um, never mind,” Subaru mumbles.
“He wants to trade a metia for that insignia we stole,” Elsa says.
“We?” Meili asks.
“Well, I’m the one who got contracted to steal it.”
“Doesn’t matter!” Meili says, sticking her tongue out at her sister. The weird bat-creature that followed her in lands with a flop in front of Subaru. It’s kind of cute and furry, honestly; he holds out his hand to it, and it immediately chomps on his fingers.
“Ow, ow, ow!” Subaru yelps, trying to shake the nasty beast off of him.
“You’re lucky that’s not an Ulgarm, or you’d be cursed to death right now,” Elsa says. Both girls are looking at him with amused disapproval as he puts a chair in between himself and the little vicious monster.
“Can I just buy the insignia now?” Subaru asks.
“I wonder, how did you know I was contracted to steal it?” Elsa asks.
“I didn’t know that! Just that this place is where people go to buy stolen items!” Subaru protests.
“What makes you think we’ll give it to you?” Meili asks.
“He’s offering a powerful metia. It’s worth twenty holy coins at the least,” Elsa says. Meili taps her chin, humming.
“If Felt offers us more, though…”
“You’re going to start a bidding war? Seriously?” Subaru complains.
“Annoyed you don’t have anything else to offer?” Meili asks, snatching his bag of groceries. “What even is this stuff?”
“It’s food you won’t find anywhere else,” Subaru announces. “Hey, you can’t just eat that!” Meili’s bat-creature has ripped open the corn chip bag, and the two thieves are already crunching away at it.
“Watch your things better, dear,” Elsa advises.
“So, who’s this Felt that wants the insignia?” Subaru asks. Both girls stare at him.
“You don’t know who Felt is?” Meili asks.
“I had realized you weren’t smart, but this is a whole other level,” Elsa says.
“Maybe he only knows her by Fenrisa Lugnica?” Meili asks. Elsa scoffs.
“Felt has tried to erase that name off the face of the earth. I doubt it,” she says.
“I actually don’t know either of those names,” Subaru says.
“Wow you’re stupid,” Meili says.
“I have noticed this, yes,” Elsa sighs. Suddenly, the door crashed open; a girl barely older than Meili enters, wearing a fancy yellow dress. Meili steps respectfully out of her way, and Subaru understands the girl must be some kind of big shot.
“Who’re the two of you? I contracted Elsa,” Felt says.
“Meili is my sister, and this boy is here to bid against you for the insignia,” Elsa says, looking wary of Felt’s arrival. “You’re… early.”
“I’m Natsuki Subaru! Pleased to meet you!” Subaru says, holding out his hand.
“Bid against me? That’s brave. Who do you work for?” Felt asks, sitting at the table across from Subaru and ignoring his extended hand.
“I’m entirely unemployed!” Subaru announces. Felt does not appear impressed.
“Hm. Show me the insignia, so I know you stole the right thing,” Felt orders. Meili produces a jewel from her pocket.
“Isn’t that supposed to glow?” Subaru asks, remembering what Satella had said. Felt narrows her eyes.
“Now, how would you know about that little detail?” she asks; reaching out, Felt takes the insignia between her fingertips, and the jewel begins to glow at her touch. It stops glowing when she sets it down on the table. Why did the insignia glow for Satella and Felt, but not Meili? Curious, Subaru reaches out and pokes the jewel himself, but no glow appears.
“Why does it only shine for some people?” he asks.
“You knew it glows, but you didn’t know that much? Weird,” Felt says. “Well, whatever. How much were you gonna pay to buy it?”
“One metia worth twenty holy coins,” Subaru says, brandishing the cellphone.
“And you came unprepared to bargain with me, too,” Felt says. “Who are you? You’re really strange. It’s bothering me. Tell me, what do you want the insignia for?”
“Just to give it back to its owner,” Subaru says. There’s a crashing sound; Meili has dropped a cup onto the floor.
“You really are stupid,” Elsa says, softly.
“So, she anticipated me, and sent ahead someone to do her bidding,” Felt says. “Smarter than I expected, but I should’ve known better than to underestimate Satella’s vessel.”
“What?” Subaru asks, confused.
“I didn’t steal her insignia for the insignia, y’see. I stole it so that she’d chase after the thief to somewhere nice and out of the way where we could have a… conversation. But if she sent a patsy after it— well,” Felt stands to her feet, and raises a hand in the air; Subaru notices, all of a sudden, how tense the air has gotten. Elsa flips two knives out of her pockets, and stalks in between Felt and Meili, menacing like a snake— but her caution does not save her.
Subaru blinks, and Elsa is lying dead on the floor, head and hands severed. Standing above the corpse is a young man in a white coat with red hair, piercing blue eyes, and absolutely no emotion whatsoever. What— where had he even come from!?
“ELSA!” Meili shrieks.
“Kill her too,” Felt says, and Subaru doesn’t even perceive the man moving before Meili is beheaded, too. Her head rolls across the floor, dead eyes wide with horror, and Subaru experiences a terrible case of deja-vu. He falls out of his chair, stumbling backwards and barely able to process the sight.
“Wh— what? Why?” Subaru yells, staring up at Felt; he can barely process what has just occurred, his heart thumping wildly in his chest.
“Because I can,” Felt sneers. All of a sudden, Elsa leaps off the floor once more, fully reformed despite the blood that trails like pearls from her body. She slashes out at Felt once again, but the man with red hair kills her once more in an instant, bare handedly. Not a single drop of crimson touches his pristine clothes, and he does not even bother to reach towards the giant sword strapped across his hips. “Why did she get back up, Sword Saint?”
“My apologies, Felt-sama. This strange resurrection… it must mean that this woman is a vampire,” the Sword Saint says. He holds up his hand, and a bottle of alcohol flies from the shelf of the Loot House into his grasp; he smashes it over Elsa as she begins to rise again, and with a snap of his fingers the alcohol ignites with flames. She starts screaming, and the Sword Saint watches impassively.
“They can only be killed with fire, huh?” Felt asks.
“NO!” Subaru shouts, scrambling towards Elsa— he can’t see someone else die in front of him, he can’t, he was already so worried about Satella— he starts trying desperately to put the fire out, and his hands hurt and it’s hopeless but he has to try.
“Run,” Elsa hisses, kicking him across the room; her strength, though fading, launches him right out the Loot House window. Glass shatters around him, and he scrambles to his feet, conflicted— she’d used her last moments to try and save his life, he couldn’t waste that, but he didn’t want to leave her either, but could he really fight that Sword Saint that moved faster than he could even see, what should he do—
The Sword Saint in question suddenly appears in front of Subaru, and with a quick swipe of his hand, Subaru’s dilemma becomes entirely moot.
***
Once again, Subaru finds himself in broad daylight, standing on a cracked street. The brief burst of pain he’d felt has vanished as though it had never been. Why did the Sword Saint keep teleporting him back here? It had been him the first time as well, hadn’t it? But why had the Sword Saint teleported him when he’d killed both the others? Trying to make sense of what he’d experienced, Subaru’s hand tightens around his grocery bag. Wait. Carefully, because he barely believes what he’s seeing, he lifts up the flimsy plastic; resting within, unopened, are the chips that Meili and her bat-creature had devoured. And— the bite on Subaru’s fingers from the beast was gone, too. What in the… ? He has no idea what’s going on anymore.
“Stop, thief!” a voice shouts out, and Subaru turns his head. Meili leaps onto a rooftop, fleeing from ice spikes shot by Satella. They’re both alive! Subaru rushes towards them, gratified. Meili is already gone, but Satella is still in the middle of the road, trying to get through the crowd while chasing her insignia.
“Wait!” Subaru shouts, but she doesn’t seem to hear him. “SATELLA!”
Everything seems to just— stop. The milling crowd, Satella’s pursuit of Meili, the wind itself; even the sounds of dragon carriages rolling in the distance feel as though they have been silenced.
“I’m sorry. I tried to find you at the Loot House, but—“ knives, fire, bat-creature, the cold eyes of the Sword Saint, what had even happened at all? “I guess I just didn’t do well enough. But I’m glad you’re okay.” Subaru says; looking into Satella’s eyes, he sees that they are wide with a strange astonishment. She seems to have no idea what to say for a moment before gathering herself.
“How dare you,” Satella says, voice wavering. “How dare you call me the name of the Witch of Envy!”
“What?” Subaru asks. “But that’s— wait!” He holds out his hand, but everyone surrounding is staring at him in disdain, and the girl turns around and leaves without a second glance. Satella wasn’t her name? Then why had she—
“Come with us,” a voice hisses, and Subaru feels a hand on his shoulder. There is something very sharp up against Subaru’s neck, as well; he freezes, and without any recourse, he lets himself be led into a dark alleyway. He didn’t understand! What did he do wrong? When Subaru is released and allowed to turn around, he’s surprised to find himself looking down upon glancing for a sight of his attacker; a teenager with long hair and aurora-green eyes points a wrist-knife at Subaru’s chest. He smiles, showing a mouth of inhumanely sharp teeth. “What kind of interaction are you hoping for, by calling a half-elf with silver hair Satella in broad daylight? What feelings do you wish to taste, to serve to others, what kind of gluttony drives your actions?”
“I just wanted to find her again. I wanted her to be safe,” Subaru says. “I have no idea what’s going on, and— I wanted to help Satella. I didn’t know that wasn’t her name. I swear— OH NO!”
“What?” the strange boy asks.
“She’s going to chase after Meili to the Loot House— but it’s a setup! There’s this girl called Felt, she brought the Sword Saint, and he— he—“ Subaru chokes on his words, unable to vocalize what exactly he had seen. Meili had died twice, and yet she was alive. Elsa had died, but she had regenerated back to life until she’d been doused with flames. Subaru had— what had happened to Subaru? Why had time started over again?
“Felt and the Sword Saint. Where is this Loot House?” the strange boy asks.
“You believe me?” Subaru asks, confused.
“Why would we not? It is clear you are a fellow believer in love. Tell us your name, tell us, tell us! Let us taste it!”
“Oh— I’m Natsuki Subaru. Completely lost, and completely broke!”
“We are Lye Batenkaitos, the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, the Gourmet! We will savor meeting you very much, Natsuki Subaru, if you become someone worth taken— but first we must prevent other feasts from being taken from us. Lead us to this Loot House, for only afterwards can we devour you in full!” the boy says; he holds his hands out and laughs uproariously.
“I don’t really like that phrasing! But let’s do it anyway; let’s save Satella! Er, wait—“
”You burn, you run, you cry out from your hunger for her name!” Lye shouts, gesturing to Subaru to follow him, and the two of them go running down the streets, searching for hope. “But every good meal must be prepared, and there is much ahead of you before you can truly experience that banquet.”
“I know,” Subaru says. This time, he’ll do things right. This time he’ll save them all. This time— because time had turned back each time the Sword Saint had divested Subaru from his head.
Return by Death, Subaru thinks, having finally understood his power— the hours were turned back when he was struck a final blow, and he was the only one who remembered. The repetition of events and things lost that had been restored clearly indicated as such. But what an annoying power to be isekaied with— to only gain knowledge through dying! He won’t think about it any more than he has to. He doesn’t want to think about dying at all.
Subaru and Lye skid to a stop in front of the Loot House; the sun is still bright in the sky. Subaru knocks on the door calmly. He can’t have the girls thinking he’s an idiot— not if he wants to save them. Not-Satella isn’t the only person in danger; Meili and Elsa could be killed by Felt and the Sword Saint, as well. Had been killed, in timelines now lost.
“Password?” Elsa’s voice asks, from the other side of the door.
“Look, there’s no time for any of that nonsense! Felt is going to kill you!” Subaru says. The door swings open, and Elsa’s knife is suddenly pointed right up against his belly. Subaru flinches; if she sliced him open, it would be a death far slower than the ones the Sword Saint had given him.
“Explain,” Elsa says. Meili looks out from behind her curiously.
“The insignia you were sent to steal— Felt doesn’t want to buy it, she wants to lure the girl who owned it to somewhere she can be killed,” Subaru says, breathing heavily from his run; he can feel Elsa’s knife pressing against his tracksuit. “And she’s going to kill both of you, too.”
“I see,” Elsa says. Her expression is a calm resignation.
“You believe him?” Meili asks.
“Do you know how many lives Felt’s living weapons have taken? I won’t let you be added to that number,” Elsa says, whirling on her sister. “I wish I could cross blades with the Sword Saint, however… that would be an incredible experience.”
“You can! And you should, actually!” Meili says.
“What? No, she shouldn’t!” Subaru protests, remembering Elsa burning up underneath his hands.
“Felt only contracted with Big Sis, so she only knows about her. If she arrives, and there’s no one, do you really think she won’t hunt us all down?” Meili asks.
“And if the Sword Saint is able to kill me once…” Elsa says, trailing off, and Subaru understands.
“Whoa, you can’t just let yourself be killed! Even if it’s temporary! Dying really sucks!”
“If it will save my sister from the Lion Princess and her weapon, I will do anything,” Elsa says. “And dying isn’t that bad… the pain feels so nice sometimes. And to be killed by the Sword Saint himself? That’s a blessing.”
“You’re crazy,” Subaru sighs. Also, a Princess!? What had he gotten himself into?
“Lye!” a voice like silver bells calls out, and Subaru turns to see Not-Satella walking down the path, Puck floating alongside her. “And— oh! It’s you!” Subaru tries and fails to hide behind Lye, because this was really awkward.
“Um,” Subaru says.
“Give me back my insignia!” Not-Satella demands. Elsa turns to Meili and holds her hand out; the girl sheepishly passes it over.
“It’s not worth the trouble it’s brought,” Elsa says, tossing the jewel over Subaru’s head; it lights up when Not-Satella catches it.
“Trouble?” she asks.
“What’s happened, Lye?” Puck asks.
“Felt and her Sword Saint wish you dead,” Lye says.
“Will she leave if her target never shows up, though?” Subaru asks. “There are only two of them, and way more of us, so maybe we can—“
“Fighting the Sword Saint? None of us stand a hollow of a chance,” Puck says. Looking around, Subaru sees the solemnity on everyone’s faces, and sighs. The guy had been really fast, so that made sense, but running away from an enemy made Subaru feel like a coward.
“Don’t worry. There’s a way I can stop them from chasing me,” Not-Satella says, looking at Lye.
“Are you sure?” Lye asks.
“It’s only temporary, it’ll be fine,” Not-Satella says.
“Even those who have known hunger do not truly know of starvation until they have experienced it,” Lye says. “We will carry out your wish, but do not forget the pain of it.”
After a short period of time, Subaru, Puck and Meili are waiting in a building across from the Loot House; the girl has with her a collected bag of personal items, and the bat-creature chitters on her shoulder. Lye, Elsa and Not-Satella were awaiting their doom— they’d reassured Subaru and Meili that they’d be fine and there was a plan, but he was still worried.
“Who are you, anyway?” Meili asks.
“I’m Subaru,” He introduces himself, once again. Man, that was the worst part of these timeloops, even beyond dying— everyone forgetting him. He’d have to become friends with Not-Satella again, and this time their relationship had started off terribly. He’d do his best to fix it, though— Natsuki Subaru never gave up! Especially not for a girl that beautiful— she had saved him, he had saved her in return (well, if the plan worked, anyway) and then he could finally learn her name.
“You’re brave, but kind of an idiot,” Puck says.
“Hey!” Subaru complains. He hadn’t even done anything stupid this time! “I am not!”
“Need I remind you what you called my niece in broad daylight?” Puck asks. Subaru wilts.
“I’m sorry. That was just— what I was told to call her.”
“Hm,” Puck says. “I don’t doubt that, but you must be new.”
“New to what?” Subaru asks.
“What are you talking about, kitty cat?” Meili asks, watching him fly around curiously.
“I would explain, but I have the caution that Subaru lacks. So I won’t,” Puck says, crossing his arms.
“Please? I really don’t understand anything that’s going on. I just got isekaied today!” Subaru says.
“Isekaied?” Meili asks. Puck sighs.
“Have you heard of the Witch Cult?” he asks.
“Yeah, of course!” Meili says.
“Nope,” Subaru says. He receives two extremely unimpressed stares.
“Well, that explains much,” Puck says.
“They’re the bad guys!” Meili says.
“Four hundred years ago, the Witch of Envy ate half the world, and the dragon Volcanica sealed her away,” Puck says.
“And the Witch Cult wants to let her out so that she eats the rest of the world!” Meili says.
“That, I’m afraid, is where you’re mistaken,” Puck corrects.
“Huh?” Meili asks.
“Shush. They’re here,” Puck says. On the other side of the street, Felt and the terrifying Sword Saint are entering the Loot House. Subaru hears muffled talking, some crashing sounds, and a few moments later, the two enemies leave. Felt looks very dissatisfied, and the Sword Saint’s face is blank; Subaru waits until the two are far, far away before the hiding trio returns to the loot house, where Elsa is waiting for them. Blood is spattered on the floor, but she looks none the worse for wear.
“We have to leave, now, before they figure us out and come back. Where are Lye and, uh—“ Subaru hesitates, because he does not know Not-Satella’s name.
“Who’s Lye?” Puck asks.
“What?” Subaru asks, confused. Something crashes, again, and Subaru looks over to see Lye and Not-Satella coming out from underneath an overturned boat. “There you guys are!”
“Do you know those two, Subaru?” Puck asks. Elsa has her knives out, pointing towards the two, and Meili looks defensive as well.
“What?” Subaru asks.
“Very interesting,” Lye says. Then, he spits on the floor, and everyone jolts in surprise. Elsa folds away her knives, and Puck floats over to Not-Satella.
“That’s always so very strange,” Puck mutters.
“Seriously, what just happened?” Subaru asks.
“The Lion Princess will not search for her target if she doesn't know her target exists. We find it very interesting that Natsuki Subaru is not affected by the feast,” Lye says.
“You remembered me… that’s really odd. Who is he, Lye?” Not-Satella asks.
“I am Natsuki Subaru. And I’d love to know your real name,” Subaru says, stepping forwards.
“My name’s Emilia,” the girl says. ”Just Emilia.”
“Emilia,” Subaru says. “Thank you.” Somehow, finding out her true name seems to have made all the trouble almost worth it.
“You weren’t affected by Lye’s Authority,” Emilia muses. “Are you… ?”
“Wait, wait, an Authority?” Meili asks.
“That’s Witch Cult!” Elsa says. The knives are out again.
“Lia,” Puck sighs, exasperated.
“He has the Authority of Envy! The Gospel has spoken the truth!” Lye announces.
“I have what?” Subaru asks. He’s taken aback when Emilia grabs his hands.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” she says, earnestly. “The Witch Church isn’t thought of very well, you see— if you call me Satella where everyone can hear, I have to pretend that’s a bad thing! But for someone to call me by the name of the hero so bravely, and then arrive with the knowledge to save everyone here— thank you!”
“You’re welcome,” Subaru says. He’s still immensely confused, but Emilia is holding his hands and smiling at him, and he knows her name. At the end of the day, all's well that ends well.
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill all of you right now,” Elsa says.
“They did save our lives, and they didn’t even have to,” Meili points out.
“It’s a trick. It has to be,” Elsa says.
“Elsa Granhiert. Meili Portroute. By whom have you been deceived, all your life?” Lye asks. “And who has saved you from the kingdom? Both now, and before?”
“How do you know about that?” Elsa hisses.
“Do you trust in the words of others, or do you trust in actions?” Puck asks.
“You have a point,” Elsa concedes.
“We can’t talk here. Now that Lye has reversed his Authority, Felt and the Sword Saint will remember Emilia’s existence,” Puck says. “Come with us, or stay here— and understand that if you follow, you’ll learn things that will change everything you once knew.”