Chapter Text
Pandemonium reigns supreme in the throne room. The identity of the ‘judge’ is someone who definitely has a family connection with Natsuki Subaru.
“S-Subaru…kun?” Emilia can’t believe it. He’s dead! Yet the man has the same eyes as Subaru. Is he his father? or a cousin? She didn’t know for sure, but she needed to talk to him, to beg for forgiveness for failing to keep his son(?) alive.
Other camp members also expressed shock in their own way: Beatrice started to cry and muttered “I’m sorry” over and over, as his eyes are a reminder of her true contractor she betrayed. Otto gone completely silent at the reveal, Garfiel can only mutter a horrified “No…What has my amazing self done?” His shouting not only damaged whatever reputation the camp has, but he shouted at a man who is possibly his captain’s pop. Even Ram cannot hide her surprise at the man’s identity and with the mental link with Rem who is currently in an emotional state. The camp itself is now more fragile than ever.
“R-R-Reinhard? A-are my eyes deceiving me right now?” Felt shakenly asking the sword saint, yet no response from him as Reinhard is now completely frozen, deep in his own thoughts.
‘I'm a failure. Once again, I failed to save someone that’s dear to me. Just like Grandmother. Now Subaru’s father will hate me, just like my own.” Reinhard completely blames himself once more.
Normally, Crusch believed that the truth is something everyone has to face, even if it’s painful. But this time, she wishes that she remains ignorant of Suzuki’s true identity. She felt like she just made everything worse for everyone. She only lowered her head in shame, averting Subaru(?)’s gaze, ‘I…I’m sorry for the loss of your son.’ Is the only thing she could say, but will it be enough?
The only one who had the time of their life was Priscilla, ‘How poetic, the peasant's own flesh and blood is the judge of his son’s killer. This world truly loves to punish those who deserve it, does it?’
‘Damn. THAT’S some cosmic irony they got there. Though, the name ‘Taichi Suzuki’ is very common back in Japan. I wondered why he used it though?’ Al wondered.
In the corner of the room, both Julius and Felix now feel their stomach churned. They know they are screwed, but to be judged by someone who can pass as Subaru’s father makes it infinitely worse for their sanity.
Crusch, finally recovered from her thought, noticed that Anastasia disappeared from her seat, ‘Where is she?’ Crusch wondered, only for her to spot Anastasia walking toward ‘Suzuki-san.’
“Hey!” She shouted, drawing attention to her, “What do you think you’re doing!?”
But Anastasia didn’t listen nor care about the stare that directed toward her, for she had one goal in mind: to persuade Subaru’s father(?) by any means necessary. She put her merchant face on and approached him.
“Candidate Hoshin! What are you-!?” Miklotov shouted. But alas, it is in vain.
“Hey there.” Anastasia greeted Suzuki, “My name is—” “Anastasia Hoshin, l know. Your company’s name is well known. Why are you here?” He cut her off.
Normally, she would be annoyed but she has a more pressing issue, “I would like to make a deal with you.” She declared, stunning everyone in the room.
“H-Have you no shame, you damn merchant!?” Felt shouted, angry by the audacity of her action.
“For once, I agreed with the slum rat.” Priscilla joined in, ignoring Felt’s protest, “You are trying to bribe the man who is personally chosen by the Divine Dragon to judge the very future of this kingdom in front of everyone, are you that desperate to throw away any dignity you have now for the ‘finest knight’?”
But she didn’t bulge, her smile fixed on her face. It looked wrong to everyone, especially to Julius. Her smile is forced, as if she is doing her best to not break in front of everyone, unlike her normal self.
“As I was saying, I want to make a deal with you. Money, territories, even fame, I can give it to you in exchange for giving Julius a non-guilty verdict.” She said, “Does that entice you yet?” She gave her grin to Subaru’s dad(?).
Anastasia knew this was wrong in many aspects, both morally and in her crafts. But since time is running out, she has to do it right here, right now.
She gauges his reaction. Due to her merchant’s experience, she can see the slightest change of one’s facial expression. His face may look calm, stoic even, but she can see that his eyes are slightly twitching.
“What?” He uttered in a deadpan voice yet has an edge to it. His gaze now hardened, “You…really think this will help him?” He then looked at Julius, who quickly averted his gaze. “Is he really that worthy of the reputation that is going to cost you?” He asked.
“.....” She didn’t answer, but from her eyes, he knew that she would do anything to keep him in her company.
‘Suzuki’ stared at her for a while, then sighed, “Hoshin-san, why do you think those materialistic things will help me in any way?” She then looked at him as if he grew a second head.
‘Is…is he joking right now!? What did he mean by that!?’ Anastasia was completely flabbergasted by his question.
But before she could voice her confusion, he continued, “I mean, when this trial is finished, I will be returned to my timeline. Those things won’t be any use to me, and even then Volcanica won’t allow me to take it anyway.”
“Wait, WHAT!!?” Anastasia and the entire room now shouting after the bombshell dropped. ‘Timeline’? What’s that supposed to mean!?
“What!? Explain yourself!” Bordeaux demanded.
‘Suzuki’ then asks Anastasia to return to her seat. She obliged, albeit still shocked from disbelief. When she returned to her seat, he steady himself, the cat’s out of the bag now, “Well, first and foremost, I’m Natsuki Subaru—”
“HUHHHH!?”
“IMPOSSIBLE!?”
“S-SUBARU-KUN!?”
This is too much for everyone, especially the camps. They feel like their world was turned upside-down. Emilia, Rem, Beatrice feel like crying and want to run toward him, to see his face once more. The remaining members were trying to remain composed but failing miserably.
“H-How are you even alive then!?” Felt shouted, clearly going crazy by the reveal, “Not to mention you’re old as hell!?”
“Well…” Subaru trailed off “Will you believe me…if I say that Satella saved me?”
The revelation that he was saved by the witch of Envy was too much for them. In an attempt to regain the situation, Miklotov yelled “Silence! N-Natsuki Subaru! Do you realize that was borderline lunacy!? The Witch of Envy, of all the people, save you? What could possibly make her do that!?”
“Let’s just say that…Lugunica completely ceased to exist by the time that day ended.” He answered.
“H-Huh!?” Miklotov, and by extension, everyone completely caught-off guard by his answer.
But before anyone asks, Subaru cuts them off, “We are wasting too much time here, I will announce the verdict then.”
“W-Wait! Please tell us! What happened in your world!?” Emilia asked, wanting to know what happened to her and anybody else.
“You can ask Volcanica later. We don’t want to risk getting information leaked to enemies, do we?”
They don’t like his answer, but they understand that if it leaked, there would be catastrophic consequences for Lugnica and even the world.
“Very well…” Miklotov sighed in relief. He needs a break after this, “Guilty or not guilty?”
“...Guilty.” He declared, it was the expected answer by this point “BUT! The punishment will be applicable after the Witch Cult has truly been dealt with.” He added.
“Why!?” Another sage shouted, “Are you saying that we need them to fight the Witch Cult? We have Reinhard!” The other sages agreed with his statement.
“It’s best to have everyone in this war, the Witch Cult is clearly a threat to everyone, it’s better safe than sorry.” He reasoned with them.
“But—” One of them tried to argue back.
“No but. It is best to take my advice seriously. We don’t want this Lugunica to meet the same fate as mine, don’t you agree?” Subaru cut him off, his gaze hardened, leaving no room for argument.
“Okay.” Miklotov ended the argument. “This trial is adjourned.” He declared, signaling the end of the trial.
—----------------------------------------------------
Subaru quickly walked outside of the throne room, leaning against the castle wall. It went better than he expected. He half expects it to end in disaster, knowing his own luck. Though, seeing them again, even as alternate selves, are quite a surreal experience for him.
He then heard several footsteps rushing toward him, it’s from Emilia and her camp members. Emilia ran toward him, eyes red from crying. Rem is also in a similar state but consoled by Ram who was glaring at him, though less threatening by a lot. Beatrice pretty much jumps towards his chest, wanting to feel his embrace again.
“Subaru-kun!” Emilia cried. Now that she is seeing him more closely, he looks a lot older, his signature hair is gone, his eyes have lost their shine. He looks more like Wilhelm than her knight by this point. What happened to him?
“Oh, Emilia-sama. What do you want?” He asked her, sounding distant than he intended.
Emilia and her camp froze. The no -tan after her name was bad already, but to call her ‘Emilia-sama’ was a different level of dread. It seems like he didn’t want to be associated with them anymore.
“W-What do you mean, ‘Emilia-sama’? I thought you would like to call me Emilia-tan!” Emilia started to panic, did she do something wrong!?
“I’m an old man, Emilia. Calling you ‘Emilia-tan’ will be weird to me now. Besides, after what happened to me...” He trailed off, letting everyone connect the dot instead.
“S-S-So, when you knew what the half-elf was going to say, you mean…” Beatrice now shudders at the possible scenario of why he knew it.
“It’s exactly what you think.” He finished her thought.
Beatrice, once again, collapses on the floor. It seems her stupidity knows no bounds even for her counterpart.
“C…Cap’n.” Garfiel can only mutter. He lost most of his energy after the reveal of Suzuki’s true identity. “Please…forgive my foolish self for my actions!” He now on his knees, begging for forgiveness
“If you mean in the throne room, I forgive you.” Subaru gently replied, “But…” He paused, “If you mean the time when you chase your Subaru with the intention to kill…I can’t do that.”
“But your version of my foolish self must do the same right? I understand your decision, cap’n-no, S-Subaru.” It feels weird saying his name instead of cap’n, but he lost that right long ago.
“It’s not just that, I’m not your Subaru, so any forgiveness is pretty much null since it’s not coming from your Subaru. The weight is not the same.” He reasoned.
“Even then, you are Barusu. A version of him, yes, but you still bear the same name, even eyes. Though I’m surprised you don’t exhibit any stupidity you were known for.” Even in this somber conversation, Ram had to find a way to insult him. Though maybe it’s her way to cope from the loss, Subaru didn’t know.
“Age will do that to you.” It’s a short answer, but Ram was satisfied with his answer as she respects his privacy.
“Rem…Rem is sorry! Had I not lost, maybe—” It’s Rem's turn to cry, guilt from being absent from her hero’s life eating her alive ever since she regained her name.
“It’s…never mind. At the time, you didn't know their ability so you were caught off guard. Don’t put the blame solely on yourself." He advised her, the same advice that his friend back in his world tried to drill in his head.
“By the way.” He continued, “Have you guys gone to the Pleiades watchtower yet?” He asked, wanting to gauge the timeline he is currently in.
“We did go there, Natsuki-san, but we cannot pass the first trial.” Otto replied.
“I see.” He now knows that this timeline is before the great disaster in Vollachia. ‘No wonder Priscilla was present in the trial.’
“The reason is that you can’t read the instructions, right?” He asked them, the look of surprise on their faces was confirmation that he needed.
“Wait, you passed the trial? You can read Hoshin's text!?” Emilia is completely shocked by this, she didn’t know that Subaru can read those texts.
“Of course, I can read Japanese.” He replied, until he realized something, “Wait, don’t tell me that it happened after—” He closed his mouth, already knew the answer.
The Emilia camp, also realize this, can only curse their luck and ineptitudes. “Damn it! We not only lost Subaru-san, but we lost our only chance to enter the watchtower as well!?” Otto can only bemoan their loss.
“Actually, I think Al can help you…provided that Priscilla is willing to help.” He offers his solution.
“Damn it!” Garfiel punched the floor, “That bitch won’t gonna help us in anything!”
“Oh? The half-devil camp finally realized their stupidity?” A new voice chimed in.
All of them turn around to face a newcomer, or newcomers to be exact. Priscilla, Al, Anastasia, Felt, Reinhard and Crusch were walking toward them.
“It seems the excuse of a camp finally realizing their own uselessness now that the only useful member is gone.” Priscilla then looked at Subaru “And even then, you still guided them toward me. It seems even you finally realized that the world favors me.” She smirked.
“I merely identify and offer solutions for them, that’s all.” He stated matter-of-factly.
“Hmph, it seems you are more capable when the half-devil didn’t hold you back, aren’t you?” She asked, fully aware that Emilia is right there.
“N-No! I didn’t hold him back! Right, Subaru-kun?” Emilia quickly asks Subaru for reassurance.
But instead of quickly replying and defending her, Subaru remained silent for a while. Which unnerved those who were present while Priscilla’s smirk widened.
He then answered Emilia’s first “First off, drop the ‘-kun’, please. I’m not the young boy that is your knight anymore. Second, I won’t be lying that her words hold some truth to it.”
Everyone, sans Priscilla and Al, is shocked by his confession. To think that Subaru, of all people, expresses his issues at Emilia.
“NO! You’re lying! Don’t you know it’s bad to lie? Bad Subaru!” She pouted at him. Everybody tries not to put their hand on their face due to getting second-hand embarrassment.
“Emilia.” He started, his tone heavier than usual, “Did you achieve anything on your own merit ever since the start of the royal selection? Not counting your Subaru’s achievements or anybody else in your camp?”
That makes Emilia stop and think. What did she ever achieve by her own hand, and she then came with horrifying realization: She never had one. Every achievement in her name was done by Subaru. The only time she thinks she achieved anything is when Gluttony ate her former knight’s name, making her think that all of those feats were her own. The sanctuary didn’t count as it will expose Roswaal’s true allegiance which can damage the remains of their already worsened reputation.
“Nothing was ever your own, wasn’t it?” Priscilla pressed on, “Without your knight, your camp is nothing but a circus. Face it, half-devil, you are finished.” She ended with a final tone to it.
Emillia collapsed on her knee. They are right, she was, and still is, a useless girl who can’t do anything. The same girl who froze the entire Elior forest with her own ice magic. She started to consider withdrawing from the selection now.
But before those negative thoughts can consume her mind, Subaru says “Now, Emilia, what would you do now?”
“Huh?” She asked. What can she even do now?
“Will you continue to wallow in your misery? Or learn from your mistakes and better yourself?” He asked, “If you truly wanted to be a queen, you should be able to face the hardship that comes from it.” He paused, letting his words settle in everyone’s mind.
“There was a saying back in my world: ‘The loser isn’t the one who was beaten, but the one who was given up.’ Are you the loser? The choice…is yours.” He finished his speech before turning his attention to Beatrice.
“I…Please forgive me, I suppose!” It’s Beatrice’s turn to beg for forgiveness.
He kneels down to her level, “As I said with Garfiel, I’m not your contractor. And even then, I can’t just pretend that all of this didn’t happen.” Subaru bluntly tells her, “You need to understand that actions have consequences. My advice for this? Learn from it, so it won’t happen again.” He advised her, “And that goes for all of you guys as well.” He looks at others.
Everyone was surprised by his newfound maturity and wisdom. They expected him to be angry and bitter, but he proved them wrong once more.
“Heh, you’re really changed, huh big br- Subaru.” Felt almost wanted to cry for her former big bro, but she held it back.
“Damn, never thought you could give such a speech here, Subaru-kun.” Anastasia was impressed, but she had a question to ask “But pray tell, why did you do that?”
“Hmm? Oh, you mean the verdict?” Subaru asks her to clarify.
“More specifically, the reason why you delay the punishment.” Crusch replied in Anastasia’s stead, “They had committed a forgivable crime toward you if I understand correctly. Why…why did you still give them a chance?” Crusch stuttered a bit at the end.
“To be honest, I’m not so sure myself. But…” He paused, before continuing, “I guess I wanted to give them a chance to do something right. Besides, their very freedom is now tied to the Witch Cult, a fitting punishment for them, and…” He looked at Anastasia “No one will try to do something stupid now, right?”
Anastasia can only sighed. She knew that trying to go against the verdict was tantamount to destroy her career and livelihood. The good news is Julius is not sentenced yet, but the moment the Witch Cult is eradicated, he will serve his sentence. And she didn’t want to make a deal with the cult, even by someone of her standard.
“I…” Crusch wanted to apologize to him for her knight’s action, yet no word came out of her mouth. This man, Subaru, the one she knew or not, didn’t deserve any of this.
But before anything can happen, a commotion can be heard in the direction of the throne room. Wordlessly, everyone, including Subaru, decided to go investigate the source.
What they found is quite disturbing. Felix, in the middle of psychotic breakdown, holds a sword stolen from a guard close to Julius’s neck, demanding the verdict to be overturned. Noble and Peasant alike stand around the scene while knights try to calm Felix down from doing anything rash.
When he saw Subaru, he sneered at him “YOU! I demand you to fix your mistake or he’s dead!” the sword inches closer to Julius.
Subaru raised his eyebrow, he didn’t look terrified or disturbed. In fact, his face only showed a little hint of disgust, “Really? Do you think doing this will make a difference? And ‘my mistake’? Are you seriously going to blame anyone other than yourself?” He asked.
“SHUT UP! If it was not for you, all of this would never have happened!” Felix shouted.
At that moment, everyone went silent. What the demi-human said is now considered blasphemy. Crusch can only look in horror at her soon-to-be former knight just straight up blaming Subaru, both the one in front of her and the deceased one, for his actions. ‘Is this what he truly likes?’ It seems she just sees his dark side on full display here.
Then they look at Subaru. His face darkened for a second before he looked at Felix straight in the eye, clearly pissed at Felix. Felix actually flinched, he expected him to give into his demand.
“Felix.” He started, “If you think you can order me around, you’re sadly mistaken.” He then slowly walked toward Felix.
“Subaru-kun!/Subaru-san!/Barusu!” All the people are now shouting at him to stop.
“Stay back…” Felix’s hand started to shake from fear.
“Su…Subaru…” Julius was surprised by his action. The boy he knew will just charge at the enemy, yet the man before him calmly walks toward them.
“Maybe I have no right to say this, but seeing people like you running away from their own responsibility?” Subaru is now a meter away from them. Felix's face now clearly shows his fear.
“It sickens me.” He says in the most venomous tone everyone has heard from him.
“I said, STAY BACK!” Felix shouted. But before he could do anything, Subaru quickly grabbed his wrist, his grip strength forced Felix to drop a sword with a pained yell. He uses that chance to grab Julius out of there and the knight manages to get a hold of him. In panic, Felix tried to punch back, but Subaru countered by grabbing his left arm then twist his right arm into an x-cross shape, earning a pained scream from Felix, then Subaru tossing him face first into the floor, ending the confrontation.
“A little help here will be nice!” Subaru calls out to the knight. The knights that regained their belongings quickly put the wooden cuff onto Felix’s hand, even tied him up in a rope for extra measure before carrying him away from the scene.
When the atmosphere calmed down, Crusch can only repeatedly apologize for Felix's action, “I’m sorry for all of this!” She quickly bowed to Subaru, “If I only-”
“Stop, Crusch. This is Felix’s decision alone. You don’t need to do this for me.” He tries to calm her down to no avail.
“But…!” Yet she needs to. The guilt, combined with her memories returned, meant that the one named Natsuki Subaru helped her so much yet all he got was a betrayal that no one should endure. She must right her wrong, even something insignificant like an apology.
“Crusch-sama is right, Subaru.” It’s Reinhard's turn to speak. “You deserved an apology, from me-”
“Hold it. I knew that you were going to blame yourself for this incident.” He sighed before continuing “All I can say is, we underestimate the power of the cult. Their authorities are unknown to everyone, even to you, Reinhard. It’s best to keep on your toes and not just fight them directly as honor means nothing to them.” He explained.
“But with my power, surely the Cult will not be a problem if I can-” Reinhard tried to argue back but stopped by Felt, “Damn it, Rein! Just stop blaming yourself for once, would you!? Listen to him first!” Felt wanted to smack him but hold herself back for their sake.
“Remember the Pristella incident? What happened when you tried to fight Regulus alone?” He asked. That makes Reinhard go silent as he vividly remembers the ‘fight’.
“Remember this, ‘Authorities are superior to DP.’ Don’t rely too much on your DP. Sometimes, you need to think outside the box to outsmart your opponent.” He advises them, though the term may sound alien to them.
“The information that I had is given to Volcanica for safekeeping, you guys can ask him for more information if Volcanica deems you trustworthy.” He finished, “Now, if you excuse me, I need to contact Volcanica now.”
Before he could leave, Emilia grabbed his hand and shouted “Wait! Don’t leave, please! I don’t want to lose you again!” She’s now crying, the image of her Subaru’s corpse flashes in her mind.
“Emilia…” Subaru stopped, then back toward her, to them “I need to go now, my job here is done. Please, don’t just stay in the past, for the present and future await you. And I hope that…the future will be better by your own two hands.” He gently pulled away from Emilia’s hand, a sad smile appeared on his face for the first time. “Goodbye…everyone.” He said for the last time before he went on his way.
The others will remember this day. For it was the last time they could talk with the boy— no, a man named Natsuki Subaru.
—-------------------------------------------------------------
*The heat action that Subaru performs on Felix is Daidoji Essence of Cross Twist from Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.