Prior to Otto Suwen finding the Natsuki Subaru of his world in the room Beatrice was located, he along with the Beatrice of his world and Emilia walked all the way towards the location of the mansion where Subaru was at.
'Don't worry Natsuki-san, we are almost there.'
As they were approaching the mansion, one of the bugs quickly alerted the merchant that there was someone walking around.
"Strong fella. Nearby."
'A strong one? Maybe the Sword Saint?'
As the merchant stopped on his tracks, Beatrice and Emilia both noticed which caused the two girls to be on guard.
"Is something wrong?" Emilia asked. Otto turned towards the silver haired half elf, having heard her question and concerned voice.
"We should be careful, there's someone strong nearby."
"Could it be Reinhard?" Emilia asked.
"I don't believe that's the case, I suppose."
"What makes you think that Beatrice-sama?"
"The Sword Saint is overwhelming to be around for spirits such as myself. I can tell when he's around, in fact." Beatrice said confidently.
"Can you tell if Natsuki-san's safe?"
"Yes. Our contract is still intact."
As Beatrice said this, Otto began to think on the next course of action.
'If Natsuki-san is still alive, I wonder what they might want with him.'
Knowing that his best friend could possibly be in danger by whoever wanted him, he asked the zodda bugs nearby if there's any opening into the mansion.
"A moment."
The zodda bugs went off to check though while they were doing this, Emilia and Beatrice both moved in the bushes to approach the mansion stealthily.
Otto turned around while saying calmly,
"All we have to do now is wait..."
As he turned around, he noticed that Emilia and Beatrice were no longer there.
"...huh? Emilia-sama? Beatrice-sama?"
As Otto was looking around to find the pair, both girls slowly moved towards the mansion as they were curious who was the strong person Otto referred to.
Once they were a good distance away, they noticed from a distance that this person was actually Garfiel.
"Oh. It's just Garfiel." Emilia said as she got off of the bushes.
"W-Wait."
Beatrice tried to stop Emilia, not liking this but she was too late as Garfiel noticed the two.
"Oi! What're ya doin' here?!"
Garfiel Tinsel didn't recognize the two for a moment and slowly approached the pair as he viewed them as a threat.
Emilia and Beatrice noticed the aggressive manner in which Garfiel was approaching them, prompting Emilia to say:
"Garfiel, it's us!"
"Eh?!"
The demi human boy paused as he recognized the voice, prompting him to stop and look closely at both girls in front of him. Once he saw who it was, he suddenly looked pale.
"Shit."
Garfiel stepped back a bit as he had his guard up.
"Look princess, yer...um, he ain't here...wait, when th'hell did ya grew yer hair?" As Garfiel questioned this, he noticed Beatrice holding her hand. "Wait, aren't ya...ya know what, th's ain't my problem."
Garfiel turned away and just began to leave, not really wishing to deal with Emilia.
As he was leaving, Otto pushed his way through the bushes as he managed to find the two girls.
"There you are. Don't go wandering off like that!"
"Wait...I recognize th't voice."
Garfiel paused himself for a second time as he slowly turned around to confirm who the last voice was. Once he turned around and spotted Otto, the merchant also noticed the demi human boy.
"Garf?!"
"You! What th'hell ya doin' here, coward?!"
"What...what are you talking about?" Otto tilted his head as he asked this, completely caught off guard by this.
"Ya know what I'm talkin' 'bout!"
As Garfiel yelled this, someone else approached them, having overheard the demi human boy's shouting.
"What is going on here, Garf?"
A stern voice spoke out which caught the trio's attention.
"R-Ram?"
"..."
Ram looked at Otto, having a feeling that she recognizes him yet she can't put her finger on it though aside from the merchant, she was alarmed to see Emilia and Beatrice out of their rooms.
"Emilia-sama, Beatrice-sama, shouldn't you two be in your rooms? And who's this merchant with you? Is he causing you trouble?"
As she said this, she pulled out her wand, preparing to eliminate this pest that appeared before her.
"Hold on!" Otto shouted, "I'm not a threat."
"Yer right, ya ain't a threat. Yer a fuckin' coward. What th'hell are ya doin' back here? We don't need yer sorry ass."
"Now that's just hurtful."
"It should be!"
As Garfiel was preparing to send Otto out of there, via a furred fist to the face, Emilia and Beatrice got in front of the merchant. They would not let anything happen to an ally of theirs.
Garfiel paused when this happened, while Ram started to notice something was different with Emilia.
"Emilia-sama, when did your hair grow?"
"...it's always been like this." Emilia responded as she tilted her head, confused. This kind of response made Ram think back to when they saw another Natsuki Subaru, making the connection.
"You must be with the other Subaru-sama."
Emilia, Beatrice, and Otto looked at Ram with a serious expression, having heard what she said. This prompted Beatrice to yell out:
"What are you doing to Betty's contractor?!"
"Contractor?"
Both Ram and Garfiel looked at each other when they heard this, before another person joined the conversation.
"Now isn't thaaaaaat interesting."
Beatrice's guard was up once again the second she heard this voice, knowing full well who this is with Emilia and Otto figuring it out a second later.
"Roswaal."
Beatrice's expression quickly turned into a blank one as Roswaal looked at her with a smile.
"I neeeeever expected to see you out here, Beeeeatrice-sama. It's been so long."
"...I don't ever get happy seeing that ugly face of yours."
"Beatrice-sama, refrain from insulting Roswaal-sama." Ram immediately said this as she looked like she wanted to attack the little spirit.
Roswaal noticed this and swiftly lowered her want while speaking in a calm manner:
"No neeeed to get so mad, Ram. It's just Beeeeatrice's way of greeting. One that I've suuuurely missed."
"As you wish, Roswaal-sama." Ram said as she bowed, respecting the margrave's wishes as he turned towards Beatrice's direction.
"It has indeed been a long while since we've spoken, Beatrice-sama. If anything, I've missed it."
"You are a creep as always."
As Beatrice said this, Otto took the chance to step up in order to get some information.
"Roswaal-sama, as much as this reunion feels warranted, we must ask why did you have the Sword Saint take Natsuki-san?"
"Well I would like to know, whooo are you? That means all of you."
"There's already a princess'n th'mansion. Don't want or need a second one."
"That's rude." Emilia said, being hurt by the demi human boy's words. Otto crossed his arms as he began to think back on what Subaru had told them.
("Let's just say that the person who sent me here has some motive and is a prick. Despite that though, I have learned a lot about all of us, including you. What would've happened had we not met.")
"Natsuki-san, this world's Natsuki-san was the one to send the Sword Saint, didn't he?"
Roswaal, Ram, and Garfiel were all silent as they turned towards the merchant. Garfiel had a bad feeling about him, seeing him just as big of a threat as Natsuki Subaru.
Both Roswaal and Ram had noted the way the merchant had come to this conclusion.
'I wonder if the other Subaru-kun told him this, or if he figured this out.'
Roswaal and Ram both viewed Otto as someone who's dangerous, not for his physicality but rather it was his mind that worried them as he was much sharper than the rest.
"Peeeerhaps we can go inside, speak in a more comfortable atmosphere."
"That would be nice." Otto said as he could tell that Roswaal was trying to lead the three into a trap.
He turned towards Beatrice as he tapped her shoulder. She was also thinking what Otto was, knowing that this was indeed a trap.
Right as it seemed like the three from another world were going to come in quietly, Otto said:
"Unfortunately, we are only here with one goal."
The second Otto said this with his calm expression turned into a serious one, he quickly used all of his mana to use Dona.
As he did this, Beatrice used Al Shamak to cover themselves in the darkness with Otto using an earth wall to protect them from any attacks.
As Beatrice's yin ability clouded her, Otto, and Emilia, Garfiel quickly charged at them.
He was able to destroy the earth wall Otto had created with ease but he could tell that the three had escaped.
"Damn it!"
He slammed his right foot into the ground before swiftly looking around to see where they had gone. Ram started to also look for Emilia, Beatrice, and Otto as well, knowing how much of a problem they posed to her lord's plan.
Roswaal remained standing where he was as he thought of the Beatrice and Emilia he just saw.
He overheard her mention a contractor, easily connecting that to the Natsuki Subaru that Reinhard van Astrea had brought to them.
This was not only an interesting detail but brought a strong curiosity in the margrave, wanting to know what events had led for Natsuki Subaru to form a contract with Beatrice.
That was one detail he had noticed with the second one being Emilia.
The Emilia he knows was broken, a perfect motivator for his partner in crime.
The Emilia he saw right now not only looked like the one who took on the trials prior to her mind breaking but one that had overcome many hardships.
This prompted him to ask himself:
"How did you do it, Natsuki Subaru?"
This was a question he not only wished to ask to the other world Natsuki Subaru but also to both Emilia and Beatrice.
Before beginning to search for the three, he thought about the merchant.
"I wonder who he is."
The merchant was someone he didn't recognize at all.
As Roswaal, Ram, and Garfiel searched for Emilia and her group, the trio had managed to gain some distance from their pursuers.
As they had their distance, Emilia looked at both Beatrice and Otto to scold them.
"Why didn't you accept Roswaal's offer?"
"Emilia-sama, you must surely know that it was a trap." Otto said as he was concerned that she was being naïve once again.
"I know. Roswaal was being weird but we could've been inside the mansion already."
"That wouldn't have been wise." Beatrice said. "Roswaal would have some sort of magic to keep us trapped...I should know..."
Beatrice looked down as she remembered when Roswaal from the past had trapped her in the Infinite corridor for having done that to Ryuzu Meyer back 400 years ago.
Emilia crossed her arms when she heard Beatrice say this, thinking on how they could even overcome Roswaal.
"Roswaal is going to be tricky to overcome."
"Indeed. We are at a disadvantage. Especially if they summon the Master Swordsman to assist them."
"Then we confront the three currently pursuing us, I suppose."
"Wait, then who confronts Roswaal?" Otto questioned, knowing that neither of them had the skills or the mana to actually take on the margrave.
Beatrice gave the merchant an annoyed stare before turning towards the direction of the mansion.
"I know how that clown fights. I have the best chance against someone like him."
"Are you sure Beako? Do you have enough mana for it?" Otto questioned once again, worried that the little spirit might be taking more than she can handle.
Seeing that she's been taking after her contractor, his greatest fear was that she would overdo it and nearly kill herself using all of her mana.
All Beatrice did was glare at him, disliking the little confidence he had in her which he took note of.
"Okay Okay. If you are facing Roswaal, then I should take on Garf. I have dealt with him before." The merchant looks back on the last time he actually faced off the Shield of Sanctuary, knowing that he surely has a better chance against him than he did back then.
"That leaves Ram...I will talk to her. I can get through to her." Emilia spoke with confidence, remembering how she had reached for help back when she took on the trials.
"Do you believe that Ram-san could be talked to?"
"Yes."
Emilia responded with determination, convincing Otto that she can take on the pink haired oni maid.
As the three have a plan ready for motion, Otto felt that he needed to say:
"Remember, our goal is to save Natsuki-san. Not necessarily to beat Roswaal-sama, Garf, and Ram-san. If things get tough, just aim for the mansion."
Emilia and Beatrice nodded, trusting the plan Otto had in mind before splitting up. As the three split up, Roswaal floats up to look down on the forest, waiting for a moment before noticing Beatrice standing all alone.
"Hm? Curious."
Roswaal made his way towards Beatrice's position to see what she's up to, finding this completely out of character.
As he floated right in front of the little loli spirit, he asked her in a genuine tone:
"What's theeeee reason for you to be aaaaall alone?"
"Hmph. To attract your attention."
"My attention?"
"Yes." As Beatrice said this with confidence, "I want to speak to you, Roswaal A Mathers."
"...?" Roswaal tilted his head, a bit surprised though he kept his composure. "I thiiiink you are mistaken there, Beatrice. I'm Roswaal L Mathers."
"Yes, but you are also Roswaal A Mathers. I know the truth."
"..."
Roswaal's smile slightly faded into a serious expression.
"Well know, hoooooow did you found that out?" Roswaal asked, only thinking of one possible way.
"You told me." Beatrice said, revealing this to Roswaal.
This caused this world's Roswaal for a brief moment to feel some sort of relief as he now knows that another Roswaal had actually managed to let Beatrice know the truth about him.
Beatrice looked at Roswaal for a moment before questioning him on one thing:
"You are still following the gospel, aren't you?"
"..."
"..."
The two were silent for a second before Roswaal began to summon six-fold magic, something that Beatrice was expecting to happen sooner or later.
"What? Don't wish your secret to be out, I suppose?"
"No, buuuuuut I do have to take you in. Just as he said."
"Is this all in that gospel of yours?"
"...it doesn't matter. He will guide me to the future I desire."
As both Beatrice and Roswaal were preparing themselves for a duel, Roswaal added:
"It has been a while since weeeee've had a proper match."
"Indeed, I suppose."
As she said this, their location had a sudden explosion occur. While this was happening, Otto and Emilia were traveling together for a moment as they were closing in on the mansion.
"Do you think...Beatrice can hold her own against Roswaal-sama?" Otto asked the silver haired half elf, still concerned that perhaps it would've been better if Emilia confronted Roswaal rather than Beatrice.
Emilia turned towards Otto, understanding his concerns yet she continued to have faith in the Great Spirit of the Forbidden Library.
"Have faith in Beatrice, Otto. She's a capable girl."
"I know...I'm just worried."
"Ya should be more worried 'bout yerself!"
As Garfiel's voice shouted this, both Emilia and Otto turned towards the direction where Garfiel was to see the demi human boy jumping right towards their location.
"Split up!"
Emilia shouted this as she quickly jumped out of the way of Garfiel's attack with Otto dodge rolling out of the way.
As the merchant was on the ground to avoid the demi human boy's attack, he looked up to see Ram pointing her wand directly at his face.
"R-Ram-san!"
"...shut it, lowlife."
"So harsh!"
Otto tried to get up, yet Ram tapped her wand right onto the merchant's forehead.
"Get up and your head will be gone."
"N-No need for threats."
Otto wasn't expecting this scenario to play, not exactly sure how to go around Ram.
Emilia saw this and quickly used Huma onto the pink haired maid.
Ram noticed this and quickly countered Emilia's attack with her wind attack, Fura.
As Ram was able to counter Emilia's attack, this bought Otto some time to quickly get up and to start running away.
"I said to stay down, scum! El Fura!"
"El Huma!"
Emilia shouted as she quickly was able to counter Ram's attack directed towards the merchant's direction.
As she did this, Garfiel tried to land a punch on her, yet she was able to avoid this attack before putting her hands together before smacking the top of the demi human boy's head as hard as she could.
This caused him to hit the ground hard, allowing Emilia some time to turn towards the merchant's direction.
"Otto, go save Subaru!"
"But what—"
"I trust you with my knight's life!"
As she said this, she created a barrage of icicles before firing them right towards Ram's direction, catching her attention.
Ram jumps up to avoid the attacks before attempting to chase after Otto only for Emilia to quickly get in the way.
"Ram, stop. Please."
"..."
Ram had a blank expression as she just looked at this Emilia indifferently before attempting once again to try and get past her.
Once again Emilia managed to get in front of her, forcing Ram to see that she'll need to beat the silver haired half elf if she wishes to go after the merchant.
As the two were looking at each other, Emilia noticed Garfiel getting back up. She knew that this could be a problem since one of them could pass her and go after Otto.
This forced her to rely on her Ice Brand Arts: Ice soldiers technique.
This technique allows her to create a couple of ice soldiers with as much mana as needed in order to have them be strong.
As there were four ice soldiers, Ram and Garfiel noticed this and were surprised by Emilia's ability to do this.
They also noticed that these ice soldiers are based off of Natsuki Subaru.
This only served to piss Garfiel off as well as excite him since it's the best excuse to let out some of his full anger he has towards Natsuki Subaru onto something that looks like him.
"Garf, focus! Stop that scum instead of fooling around!"
"Eh?! Screw off, Ram! I'll get th' twerp after I get destroy these things."
As Garfiel shouted this, he managed to destroy one of the ice soldiers with ease only for the others to turn their attention towards him and start attacking him from all sides.
"Th'fuck?!"
Garfiel was not expecting the ice soldiers to be strong enough to do some damage to him, which is just pissing him off even more.
Ram sighs with disappointment at Garfiel, having expected more from him before turning her attention to her current opponent.
"Emilia-sama. If you wish to not be harmed, I will only say this once. Step aside."
"I...can't. I won't let you harm Subaru."
"..."
Ram expected this and just calmly looked at Emilia before telling her,
"I won't be holding back, Emilia-sama."
"Okay." Emilia said as she was prepared to face whatever Ram threw at her.
---------------------------------------------------------
While these events were unfolding, Otto with the guide of some Zodda bugs that had finally found him, made it inside the mansion.
Once inside, he had asked the Zodda bugs if they could find Natsuki Subaru and quickly gave them a description before watching them go off and search around the mansion.
As they went up the stairs, Otto looked around and was...a bit off being there since everything looked the same as back home.
'This is...unnerving. Where could Natsuki-san be?'
As he said this, he looked outside which caused him to think about Beatrice and Emilia.
'I really hope they are okay.'
Once his thought was finished, he started to make his way up the stairs to the second floor.
As he was beginning to make his way up, he treaded carefully so as to not alert anybody nearby that he's inside the mansion.
While starting to reach the second floor, he started to think back on what Garfiel had said to him.
("You! What th'hell ya doin' here, coward?!")
("Yer right, ya ain't a threat. Yer a fuckin' coward. What th'hell are ya doin' back here? We don't need yer sorry ass.")
This made him think:
'Something happened to the me of this world...but what I wonder...'
As he was in deep thought, trying to find some answer to his question, he suddenly felt an explosion from the first floor.
'Wh-What was that?!'
As he turned down the stairs, he could vaguely hear someone shout:
"Where are ya, ya fuckin' cow—ow!"
'G-Garfiel!'
And somehow the demi human boy had managed to catch up, but the merchant was able to tell that Garfiel was fighting someone.
'Emilia-sama...Beatrice-sama...please be safe or else Natsuki-san will throttle me.'
Knowing how Subaru will react the moment he learns what Emilia and Beatrice are currently up to, he begins to search every room nearby him.
'Come on! Come on! Come on!'
Otto opened each door with determination, wanting to find Natsuki Subaru as fast as possible.
As he was searching door to door, he eventually noticed at the other end of the hallway people chatting.
This attracted his attention, especially when a sudden fight broke out with a large explosion which caused the merchant to fall on his back since it surprised him.
As the fighting was going on from the other side of the hallway, Otto noticed the zodda bugs approaching him to alert him that they had spotted Subaru going into one of the rooms to the left.
He got up and began to follow Zodda bugs all the way towards the door.
Once he was about to open it, he turned towards his right side and saw a glimpse of what looked like Natsuki Subaru.
'Natsuki-san...'
Although he saw a little, he could tell that this version of Subaru was different. He shook his head to get his mind back to focus before opening the door.
Once opened, he looked around and quickly managed to spot Subaru.
"Natsuki-san!"
"Otto! Good to see you are okay."
"No time! We need to leave, now!"
As Otto said this, he noticed Beatrice right next to Subaru.
"You found Beatrice-sama?"
"Yes, though she's for sure a lot more aggressive than mine."
"Well we need to hurry before—"
"He's here!"
A zodda bug alerted the merchant, prompting him to just enter the room before closing it.
"Otto, what—?"
"It's Garf! He's here!"
The moment Otto shouted this, a sudden explosion happened right behind him with the door being destroyed as well as the merchant being sent flying a few feet away.
"Otto!"
"I found ya!" Garfiel said as he had a few bruises on his face. "Nobody's here t'save yer ass now!"
As the demi human boy was slowly approaching Subaru, wanting to eliminate the pest before he could do anything else.
Otto saw this and slowly pulled out three red crystals before tossing them right towards Garfiel's feet.
"Sorry Garf...but I need you to stay down for a bit."
"Eh?"
Garfiel stepped on one of these crystals, catching his attention for a moment before the three crystals were beginning to glow bright red before they exploded on him.
This caused the floor to collapse with Garfiel falling onto the first floor, allowing the merchant to quickly get back up after pushing the rubble off of him.
As he was up, he quickly told his best friend:
"That won't hold him for long! We need to leave!"
"I know. Garfiel is persistent." Subaru turned his attention towards Beatrice. "We have to go."
"No." Beatrice said with an angry expression. "I'm not going anywhere with you, I suppose."
"...Then I'm kinda sorry for this."
Subaru felt guilty about doing this, but he had to get Beatrice out of harm's way, causing him to just start carrying the little loli spirit.
This caused her to have bad memories of being forced out of the forbidden library, prompting her to just start freaking.
She began to scratch and punch Subaru with all her might, wanting to be left alone.
Subaru endured this pain, knowing that it'll pay off once he has this Beatrice meet his Beatrice.
'It's more likely Beako can get through to this Beako. Hopefully.'
As she continued to free herself, Subaru followed Otto out of the room as they began to run across the hallway in the opposite direction of the battle currently going on.
As the two boys were running as fast as they could, Subaru turned towards Otto to ask:
"What's the situation?"
"Currently Emilia-sama is fending off Ram-san."
"Wait, then where's Beako?"
"...Sh-She's currently taking on Roswaal."
Subaru stopped on his tracks when he heard this, with even Beatrice pausing her relentless attacks as they both turned towards the merchant.
"What? Are you telling me that you left her to fight...all alone?!"
"E-Emilia-sama insisted that we should trust her."
"What are we waiting for?! We need to get to Beako before that bastard does anything to her!"
As Subaru tried to run towards the stairs, Garfiel suddenly appeared in front of them.
"Who says yer gonna get th'hell outta here?!"
"..."
"tsk."
Both Subaru and Otto were on guard with Beatrice continuing to punch and scratch the boy, wanting to be free.
Garfiel saw this, making him even more angry towards Natsuki Subaru.
"Let th'girl go! Can't ya fuckin' see th't she doesn't want t'be with scum like ya!"
Subaru looked at Garfiel with a serious expression, knowing that there's no real way to escape him without putting up some kind of fight.
Otto also came to this same conclusion as he quickly prepared a few more red crystals.
As Garfiel was about to charge at the two, Subaru turned around and quickly shouted:
"Rein! I need your help! Please!"
"Rein?" Otto pondered this until suddenly Reinhard appeared right in between them and the demi human boy.
The Sword Saint was able to block away Garfiel's attack, managing to protect Subaru.
"What th'?! Sword Saint, what th'fuck ya doin'?!"
"Protecting someone worthy of it. I would like to ask Garfiel Tinsel, if you would please calm down."
"No! Get out of th'way!"
As Garfiel tried to brush Reinhard away to reach Subaru, Reinhard grabbed the boy's shoulder.
"Please."
Garfiel looked at Reinhard with an angry expression, not wanting to listen to him as his hatred towards Natsuki Subaru is just clouding his judgment.
He gave Reinhard a cold stare as he said to him:
"Step outta th'way. If ya don't, then I'll kick yer ass!"
As Garfiel made the threat, he got himself in a fighting stance, showing that he won't back down. Reinhard noticed this as well as a couple of icicles approaching his direction.
He turned towards the direction of these icicles and easily disposed of them.
Otto and Subaru both turn around before seeing the Emilia of this world approaching their position.
As the hallway was dropping in temperature and Emilia was preparing to attack the Sword Saint once again with an explosion, she spotted Subaru.
"Subaru?"
"...Emilia."
Subaru was uncomfortable being around this Emilia, feeling the strong obsession she has towards him.
"I thought you were behind me." Emilia said as she crossed her arms, thinking back on what happened earlier. Though she only thought for a few seconds before dismissing it. "Oh well, I get to be with my Subaru."
As she said this, she went to hug Subaru which caused the boy to freeze while Beatrice was just annoyed by this, being trapped by Emilia's hug.
"...LET ME GO!"
Beatrice began to freak out once again, hating everything at this point. Emilia was unhappy by this, having just noticed the scratches on Subaru's neck.
"...What happened here?"
Emilia's voice was so intimidating that even both Garfiel and Beatrice froze in place, with Beatrice extremely afraid of Emilia due to being right where she is while Garfiel could sense that his life was in danger by being anywhere near there.
As Garfiel was stepping back, Emilia was getting ready to harm Beatrice only for Subaru to quickly say:
"I-It's my fault, Emilia-tan! I sort of forced her to leave her room no matter how much she didn't want to. I kinda deserve it."
"..." Emilia was silent on this, but the temperature was still dropping, indicating that she's still pissed.
'That's a problem.' Both Otto and Subaru thought alike, knowing that they need to do something if they want to make it out of this alive.
Subaru thought of an idea, prompting him to take off his jacket before giving it to Emilia.
"H-Here Emilia-tan, it's getting cold. I don't want you getting sick."
As he did this, Beatrice saw her chance to escape Subaru's hands.
She pushed herself out though she ended up falling on her face.
'Beako...why are you just this stubborn?!'
Subaru for now focused on keeping Emilia calm as she grabbed onto Subaru's jacket, having been so long since she's seen him in the jacket.
As she holds the jacket, she turns around to not have Subaru see her smell his jacket...despite it being obvious what she's doing.
Emilia looks at the jacket for a moment before turning towards Subaru.
"C-Can I wear it?"
"Um...sure..." Subaru was left stunned by this, never thinking how...attractive Emilia would look in his jacket.
'Snap out of it idiot, this is not the time or the place to think such things!' Subaru thought to himself as he slapped his face.
He turned towards Beatrice as she tried to make a run for it only for the boy to easily catch her.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"
"Subaru, maybe Beatrice doesn't want to be carried."
"OF COURSE NOT, ESPECIALLY BY THIS—"
Subaru covered her mouth to prevent her from insulting him, knowing that this will only piss Emilia off.
"Emilia, we should...uh...leave."
"Oh! To where?"
"Well—ow!"
Subaru moved his hand away from Beatrice's mouth as she bit him.
"Beako!"
"I SAID LET ME GO!"
"Did you just hurt my Subaru?"
The temperature dropped instantly, forcing Reinhard to quickly get in between Subaru and Emilia to protect the boy and little girl from Emilia's sudden attack.
"Subaru-sama, please, get to safety."
"Rein...please refrain from using the 'sama'. It's weird hearing a friend address me like that."
Reinhard couldn't help but smile when he heard what Subaru had said, knowing that it's a genuine statement.
"Understood, Subaru."
As Reinhard gave a determined aura to protect this Natsuki Subaru, the boy and the merchant quickly began to run towards the stairs, Emilia gave a cold stare.
"Move."
"Emilia-sama, I truly don't wish you any harm. But if you don't calm down, I will be forced to use aggressive means."
Emilia was silent for a few seconds before resorting to attacking Reinhard, viewing him as an obstacle for her and her Subaru.
As this battle began, Subaru and Otto were about to make their way down the stairs only for Subaru to receive a punch from Garfiel out of nowhere.
"Gotcha!"
As Subaru was sent flying a few feet, landing on his back slightly violent with Beatrice still in his arms.
"Natsuki-san!"
"Yer next!"
Garfiel goes to try and punch the merchant only for Otto to barely dodge the attack before setting a couple of red crystals near Garfiel's position.
The demi human boy noticed this and quickly jumped up onto the second floor with Otto moving up the stairs before the crystals exploded.
This explosion was so powerful compared to the last one that caused the mansion to be set on fire.
"Oh...that's not good."
"Ya ain't gettin' me with th't cowardly attack!"
As Garfiel said this, he began to approach the merchant in order to put him in his place.
Unfortunately for the demi human boy, the fire blocked his path which opened Otto a chance to run towards Subaru's location to check on him.
"Natsuki-san, are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah. My back's killing me, but I'll live."
"What's going on out there?"
Subaru and Otto turn towards the door nearby them, having heard a familiar voice.
"Is anybody out there?"
As Subaru and Otto heard this, the boy asked:
"Meili...is that you?"
"Yes! What's going on?"
"Hold on. You might want to step back."
"Why—?"
"Just trust me."
"...okay."
Otto and Subaru both kicked the door open to reveal Meili.
"Oh. It's you and..." Meili blanked out when she saw Otto, not recognizing him. "...whoever he is."
"Are you serious? Do I just not exist in this world?!" Otto said, annoyed that he's being treated as an outcast.
"Calm down Otto, I'm sure—ow! Beako!"
"How many times do I have to hurt you until you let me go, I suppose!"
"Until you stop!" Subaru shouted before turning towards Meili. Just as he was about to say something to her, he had a sudden memory flash into his mind.
("—So you've finally ran out of aces up your sleeve? You've been such a pain.")
("—I can't defeat Elsa without you.")
("Seems like I can finally settle my destiny with you two. I was getting really tired of seeing that mug of yours.")
As Subaru was getting these memories from his counterpart, he also saw glimpses of the failed loops in dealing with Elsa and Meili.
'So, Elsa does care for someone.'
He turned towards Meili to ask her,
"Do you want to get out of here?"
"...I don't trust you."
Meili said as she can tell that Subaru was looking oddly different today.
Subaru figured though he couldn't focus on anything for too long since Beatrice's punches were disrupting his train of thought.
As Meili was just going to close the door, she noticed the fire spreading right behind Subaru and Otto, catching their attention as well.
"We need to leave!" Otto said, prompting Subaru to say to Meili:
"Meili, I know you don't trust us but right now your life is in danger. All I ask is for you to trust me here to get you out of danger. I promise you can leave once we get out of here."
"..." Meili was silent as she thought carefully on her options.
She could either try to escape the mansion on her own, a mansion she has no clue where's what, or she could go with Subaru and his friend, who knows their way around.
"Well...that's an easy choice. I'll join you. But you better not do anything weird, onii-chan."
"...okay."
As they were about to leave, they noticed the fire spreading fast as it began to make it hard for the three to move.
"What do we do?!" Meili questioned, worried that they'll die by being burned alive. Subaru quickly figured that the only person who could save him from the predicament he was in was...
"Emilia-tan! Rein! Help!"
The moment he shouted for their help, Emilia stopped fighting Reinhard outside of the mansion and quickly jumped back into the hallway Subaru was in.
"Subaru!"
"Emilia!"
As Emilia jumped in, she quickly lowered the temperature enough to start putting away the fire near them.
"How did I do?" Emilia asked as she approached Subaru, extremely happy to have been called for help.
"Y-You did well..."
As Subaru said this, he turned around and noticed that the fire wouldn't be stopped for long as it began to build up once again.
"We should get out of here."
"Okay."
Emilia grabbed Subaru and began to carry him, leaving the boy stunned while Beatrice was continuing to free herself. Not wanting to be there.
As Emilia was about to take Subaru out of the mansion and just him, the world stopped, which had caught Subaru's attention.
"What is going—?"
Before he knew it, he was back in the forest with Emilia, Otto, and Beatrice behind him.
'What? We looped back?'
Subaru was in disbelief by this, not expecting to just suddenly be looped back without warning.
'What the hell happened?!'
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Author's note:
Sorry for the late upload, was planning to upload this earlier but had to take care of some things today. Anyway, hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter.