Chapter 6 - Chapter 6

"OK," Subaru said as everyone gathered in the sitting room and Rem served tea. "So, Emilia and I are planning a campaign along a few points. We think the best strategy is a mixture: three parts economic improvements to one part defense. We think we have solid ideas for two of the economic planks of our platform. We have one economic plank that's pretty iffy, and currently we have no idea what we're going to do about defense," Subaru said.

"What do you mean by 'defense?'" Reinhard asked.

"The primary responsibility of any ruler is to ensure peace and safety to his people," Subaru explained. "If Emilia and I expect to be elected, we need to prove to everyone in the kingdom that we can do that. In a way, we got lucky with the attack on Arlem because we established that our faction can protect our people. That said I'm not sure if that minor skirmish was enough to convince everyone. We might need more. What we would do to demonstrate our capabilities is something we haven't figured out yet."

"Our first economic platform is what we call 'The Green Revolution,'" Subaru explained. "We're planning to introduce some advanced farming techniques from my homeland to help generate an explosion of food productivity as well as raise the quality of available foods."

Reinhard grinned. "Marvelous!" Reinhard knew nothing at all about farming but his lord bringing tools and techniques from another world could only be beneficial to the kingdom.

"Today, I'm planning to go talk to the Chief of Arlem and see if he's interested in these new techniques and to get an estimate of how hard it would be to adopt them. Emilia, I'd like you to come if you don't mind. I think it would be good for us to be together when we're explaining this."

"That's fine, but you'll still have to do most of the explaining," Emilia replied with a smile.

Subaru gave her a grin.

"Reinhard and Felt, it would also be nice if you would come and just try to follow along. I know you're not farmers but it might be useful for all of us to have a basic understanding of the concept before we go back to the capitol."

Reinhard and Felt nodded.

Subaru continued, "We're also hoping to talk to Lord Roswaal about getting permission to apply these techniques to Arlem and other villages-"

"In his missive," Ram interrupted, sipping her tea, "Lord Roswaal gave instructions for the villagers of his realm to listen to instruction from you and Lady Emilia in his absence."

Subaru paused for a moment. That was certainly very… convenient. Why would he send that message? What even made him think we would be doing anything with the villagers?

"Great," Subaru said awkwardly. "So that's item number one. Does anyone have any thoughts?"

"Me," Felt said raising her hand, "If this 'Green thingy' of yours is going to disrupt the farms then will it send more people to the slums? Because, truthfully, I don't think we can fit many more."

"It shouldn't," Emilia assured her. "In fact, we're hoping that this idea will help us empty the slums. If these techniques work here like they did in Subaru's world then these improvements will set up an explosion in food production and raise the demand for farm labor considerably. We're hoping to train the slum dwellers as farm hands and get them out of the city and back out into the country where they can find good homes and good jobs."

Felt looked mildly impressed.

"And since Felt already brought it up, platform two is to empty the slums," Subaru continued.

Felt burst out in applause.

Subaru waited in bemusement for a minute until Felt calmed down and stopped clapping.

"Thank you for your applause," He said dryly, "OK, so we want to tear down the slums for both moral and economic reasons. It should in no way be controversial to say that in this nation everybody should go to bed at night with a full belly, clothes on their back, and a roof over their heads. It shouldn't be controversial to say that, but apparently it is," Subaru corrected himself. "Like Emilia said, the plan for emptying the slums depends heavily on the Green revolution taking off and increasing the demand for labor. We're also going to have to try to make inroads in the slums so that people trust us when we come offering jobs and they don't think we're trying to trick them and sell them to slavers."

"They'd still sign up for it, believe me," Felt muttered.

Subaru sighed. "Rather than explore that remark, one thing that we will definitely need for this project is information. Felt, can you read and write?"

"Sure. Gramps taught me," She said.

"Perfect. Felt, I want to offer you a job."

"What am I stealing?" Felt said, only half joking.

"Nothing!" Subaru said cheerfully. "In fact your stealing days are behind you! I really really don't want to have to explain to people why a member of my faction is working nights as a pickpocket. So from now on, no stealing! You are officially retired!"

"Alright, alright, already!" Felt yelled.

"Felt, how much did you make when you normally worked a job?" Subaru asked.

"You mean a legal job? Usually about three coppers a day."

Subaru stared at her. "Damn, Felt, how do you live on that?"

"I couldn't. Hence the stealing," She said as if talking to a child.

"OK… how about I offer you two silvers a day? Sound fair?"

Judging by the way Felt's eyes lit up it sounded just fine.

"OK, let's say you work for me five days a week and take the weekend off. We'll give you a gold coin at the end of every week," Subaru said.

"Sounds great, what's the job?" Felt asked.

"I want you to collect stories," Subaru said.

"Stories?"

"Before we can empty the slums, we need to find out why people end up down there. We need to know what happened to put them in the slums so that we can stop the cycle," Subaru explained.

"We need you to talk to the people down there who wouldn't be willing to talk to us," Emilia continued Subaru's point, "Find out why they ended up down there, what they were doing before they got there, and what skills they possess so we can try to find them employment elsewhere."

"Sounds easy enough," Felt shrugged.

"Currently our plans for emptying the slums lean heavily on increasing the demand for labor," Subaru continued. "But before we can make more targeted plans, we need some real numbers and some idea who the slum dwellers are, how they got there, and what skills the have."

Subaru looked around the room. "Any questions?"

"Forgive me for saying this," Reinhard said. "I share your disgust with their living conditions and believe that the kingdom has a moral duty to improve their lives, but will doing so actually win you and Lady Emilia support in the election?"

"Not by itself, no," Subaru answered. "That's why we're tying it to economic concerns."

"Finding work for the people in the slums increases our labor force," Emilia added, "It will raises tax revenues, frees up city land for development and cuts the large amount of money that the kingdom spends every year managing problems in Lowtown."

"Sheesh, you guys are starting to sound like real politicians," Felt said. "That wasn't a compliment by the way."

"People can agree with us because it's the right thing to do or because it's the cheap thing to do," Subaru shrugged. "The important part is: they agree."

"Our third and final economic platform," Subaru continues, "Involves a machine from my homeland called a 'sewing machine.' This is basically a tool that allows people to sew lots of garments incredibly fast without working themselves to death."

"Where could you possibly find one of those?" Reinhard asked.

"Can't," Subaru shrugged. "I'll have to make one. I think I remember enough about how they work to do it but I haven't seen one in years and I haven't worked with these kind of tools in even longer. I'm not sure if I can even come close. It's very possible that I'll fail," Subaru shrugged.

"When Subaru succeeds," Emilia emphasized, "We plan to find craftsmen in Lagunica or Kararagi who can mass produce these machines. Then we'll use them to give all of our seamstresses a massive leap over the competition in every other country. Lagunica will become the textile capitol of the world."

"Also increasing the demand for labor and providing jobs with an easily learned skill," Subaru finished. "Any questions?"

The room was silent.

"OK, well that's it for now," Subaru said. "We have an appointment with the farmers in Arlem this afternoon. Until then we can enjoy ourselves."

Felt walked away to go exploring. Reinhard followed her. It wasn't completely certain that he was motivated by a desire to keep her out of trouble.

Emilia took Puck and walked away giving Subaru a smile. Emilia had thought it would be good to spend some quality time alone with Puck and Subaru had approved of that plan.

Rem and Ram walked away to begin their chores and this just left Subaru and Beatrice alone.

"Beako," Subaru asked, kneeling down to look Beatrice in the eye. "Can you do me a big favor?"

Beatrice sniffed. "Why would Betty do you a favor, I suppose?"

"Because if you do, I'll keep arranging for you to have more quality time with Puck?" Subaru suggested.

Beatrice choked and then looked at Subaru suspiciously. "And what would be this favor, I suppose?"

"Could you teach me how to read?" Subaru said plaintively.

Beatrice took Subaru to her library and pulled a large book of fairy tales off of the shelf. Beatrice sat down beside Subaru on the futon and proceeded to give him instruction.

"Those are the letters of the alphabet. You will need to take a long time to learn them, I suppose, but after that you should be able to read," Beatrice said pompously.

Well, a short alphabet is way better than having to learn all the characters in a Kanji-type language. Maybe this won't be so bad, Subaru mused.

Since there were only about thirty letters in the alphabet, Subaru picked them up surprisingly quickly. In less than two hours he was stumbling his way through his first short story.

Well, either Beako is an amazing teacher or this is another sign of Reason and Judgment's unspecified benevolence that may or may not have a large price tag attached. Yeah, not going to think about that right now, Subaru thought firmly.

Subaru had been reading for a few minutes. Beatrice sat there waiting for an opportunity to correct him but one did not provide itself.

Eventually, Subaru finished reading Beatrice the story about an evil witch who punished sinners by breaking their bodies apart.

Damn, were fairy tales this gruesome back home? Subaru wondered.

"Hm. You did reasonably well, I suppose," Beatrice sniffed.

"You're a good teacher," Subaru complimented. "I feel like with your help I'll pick this up quickly."

Beatrice turned a little red and glanced away. "Then you are expecting Betty to give you more lessons, I suppose? You had better give Betty more time with Bubby then!"

"I will," Subaru agreed easily, "Actually, I was thinking I owe you a little more than that. You once told me you were looking for somebody, maybe I could help you find them?"

Beatrice stared at Subaru for a long moment then she looked away and crossed her arms. "And you think that you could find someone that the Great Spirit Betty could not, I suppose!" Beatrice snorted.

Interesting. She didn't say 'no' but this is clearly a sore topic for her. I wonder why that is? Subaru mused.

"Well, Beako, I'm actually really good at finding things," Subaru said. "I mean I found your library pretty quick-"

Betty glowered at him.

Oh, smooth move, Subaru. Keep this up and you're going to be mulch, Subaru thought.

"And I'm sure Puck told you how I managed to find Emilia's insignia in a strange town after only seeing the thief for a second!" Subaru hurried along, "I bet I could help you find the person you're looking for."

Beatrice hesitated and looked up at Subaru with an unclear expression.

"How long have you been looking for them?" He asked.

Beatrice snorted again and melodramatically looked away. "Betty is not looking for 'that person.' 'That person' is looking for Betty! And Betty must remain here and guard the library until 'that person' comes, I suppose!"

Oh boy. That doesn't sound too good. Who exactly is she waiting for? Does she even know? And how would she even recognize them if they did come? Subaru thought. This is a touchy subject for Beako. If I don't tread lightly I'm going to get blasted out the door again. I don't want to have to pay Roswaal for any more damaged walls.

"Well, who told you about them?" Subaru asked.

For a moment it seemed as if Beatrice wasn't going to answer, then she murmured, "Betty's mother bade her to guard the Great Library until 'that person' came to take possession of it."

"Well, could we go and ask your mother for more information?" Subaru suggested.

Beatrice was quiet for a long time. Subaru didn't rush her, waiting for her to answer in her own time.

"Betty lost her mother four hundred years ago in fact," She finally whispered.

Wait. Four hundred years?! She's been waiting in this library for someone to come for four hundred years? Strike that- at least four hundred years? Subaru thought in both amazement and horror.

Beatrice has been waiting here alone for all that time. Day after day after day, just… waiting. Waiting for someone to come rescue her. I guess waiting for a miracle. Funny, you could have almost said the same thing about me back home. All I did was sit in my room… waiting. I wasn't even sure what I was waiting for but I think deep down… I always knew it wasn't going to happen. When I gave up on myself, the world gave up on me. It was never going to send anyone to pry me out of that room.

Subaru looked around Beatrice's library with a fresh sense of dismay.

Beatrice is just like me. A person forgotten by the world. A world that moved on without us and never cared if we caught up or not.

Subaru sighed and shook his head. Subaru had always been annoyed by Beatrice and her tsundere attitude but now he felt a strange sense of kinship with her. His parents had at least tried to coax him out of his room. Beatrice's mother had ordered her to stay in the library and Beatrice had obeyed. In a way, he and Beatrice were two sides of the same coin.

Well, except I got lucky. The world didn't completely forget about me. I still had my parents. They never gave up on me, even though they should have. And the world didn't give up on me either. It gave me exactly what I needed: it sent me here. It knew I wanted to be a hero and it gave me a chance to be one. I have people who respect me, who need me now. I even have people who might learn to love me if they're given enough time.

So what about Beako? What makes her so much less special? She's been waiting here for four hundred years! Why isn't the world trying to rip her out of her shell and give her another chance? What? Is the world on a coffee break?!

OK, fuck it. Beatrice would never admit it, even if she had to sit here for ten thousand years, but she needs help. She needs a hero. I'm the only person here so I guess I might as well volunteer. But how do I help her? Who is this person she's waiting for? And how would she recognize them? Man, I'm really about to bite off way more than I can chew.

"OK, well then, we know one important thing about this person: they have a lousy sense of direction," Subaru said cheerfully, kneeling down in front of Beatrice to look her in the eye. "Getting lost for four hundred years? Who does that?"

Beatrice blinked at Subaru.

"Well, Beako, I think you've been waiting for this person long enough. It's time we go find them. You and me are going to go run this person down. And then I might yell at them for leaving Beako alone for all this time. That's just friggin' mean!" Subaru said.

"What are you talking about, I suppose?" Beatrice asked in confusion.

"I'm saying that we're going to find this person. You waited for four hundred years. And that is more than long enough. It's time we got proactive and found this person ourselves. I'm going to help you find them," Subaru said.

Beatrice stared at Subaru. "Betty is… Many people have offered to become 'that person' for Betty, I suppose… no one has ever offered to help Betty find 'that person…'" She whispered.

"Well, that's what I'm saying," Subaru said firmly. "We are going to find 'that person' and I am going to give them a piece of my mind for letting Beako be alone for so long!"

"Subaru…" Beatrice whispered. Subaru thought this was the first time Beatrice had ever said his name. "Why are you trying to help Betty?"

Subaru was tempted to laugh and make a joke: Oh, well you're teaching me how to read, I just don't want to be in debt to a drill haired loli tsundere!

No. Bad idea. The look in Beatrice's eye says she's feeling truly vulnerable right now. She deserves to be dealt with honestly.

"Because you need me to," Subaru replied with a shrug, "Because you're hurting. Because you're lonely. Because… Betty is in pain and Betty doesn't deserve to be in pain. I want Betty to be happy and I'll do whatever I need to do in order to make Betty happy. And if that means I need to hunt down someone who has been lost for four hundred years then that's just what I have to do."

Beatrice was silent and her lip trembled.

Subaru gently extended his hand to Beatrice. She hesitated a moment and then placed her own tiny hand in his palm.

"I'll find 'that person' with you or I'll die trying," Subaru promised, meaning every word.

Subaru's words had felt right in the moment. However, on reflection just a short while later, they felt irrational and profoundly silly.

Boldly said, Subaru. You promised to help Beako find her person. Good for you. Got a strategy for how you're going to pull that off? Where do you even start? Are you just going to wander around the world with Beatrice on your shoulder asking people at random: 'Are you that person?' You'll probably have folk songs being written about 'the wandering lunatic and his drill-haired loli' before you ever come close to finding him, Subaru thought.

Subaru, Emilia, Felt, and Reinhard were in a carriage riding down to Arlem that afternoon. Surprisingly, Beatrice and Puck had come along without even being asked. Subaru expected Puck to come but Beatrice tagging along struck him as encouraging. She sat next to Subaru, not speaking to him but glancing his way every so often.

To make matters even worse, Beatrice doesn't seem to know anything about this person. Her entire knowledge of them is summoned up in one sentence: 'The person Betty is waiting for; the person who will inherit Mother's library.'

How would she even recognize 'that person' if she met them? Is she really expecting some person to simply walk into the library one day and say: "I am that person. Sorry I'm so late?"

Unfortunately, yes, I feel like that is what she is waiting for. But she said that people did come into the library saying that and that she had rejected them. No, wait. She said that people had come to the library telling her that they could become that person. That isn't the same thing at all. So… what is the solution? Walk into the library and say: 'Good news Beako. I used Reason and Judgment and figured out that I am that person. Funny, huh?' Well… that might actually work…

No, you asshole. Beatrice has been waiting for this person for four hundred years. She deserves better than a fake out! Even a fake out motivated by the best of intentions.

So, how can I find this person? I doubt Reason and Judgment's magic is going to help all that much in this case. We know that he's supposed to inherit the library and… well that's about it. So from that information I can deduce that this person… knows how to read? Maybe?

Wow. I used to think that my telling Emilia we'd rule the country was going to be a hard promise to keep. I have so much more perspective now.

"-turnips and clover can be undersown during the harvest in early autumn. Turnips and clover grow relatively quickly and they are pretty cold tolerant so if the weather cooperates, you should have full fields of grazing material through most of the winter. Cows, sheep, and pigs can graze on these fields to stay healthy through the cold months and the dung they drop on the fields is full of nutrients after eating the vitamin rich turnips and clover. Come spring time you should have refreshed fields ready to bear corn or wheat without requiring fallowing," Subaru finished.

Subaru had just given a speech on agricultural techniques and crop variations that would have done a professional farmer proud. The sheer amount of information that Subaru recalled from a single three month class which he'd taken years ago, which hadn't interested him, and a class which he had virtually slept through, had officially crossed the line into completely, utterly, nonsensically preposterous.

Subaru decided not to think too much about this or to what extent Reason and Judgment was affecting his mind.

Subaru stood surrounded by the entire village. He had originally been expecting to only speak to a few of the more influential farmers but word had spread of his presentation and the entire village had asked to sit and listen to their new hero's words. Subaru couldn't think of any reason to refuse.

Felt, Reinhard, and the spirits sat on a nearby fence. They had been silent throughout the entire presentation. The spirits had no real interest in crops and were only partially listening. Reinhard was being attentive but Subaru knew he had left the knight behind quickly during his speech. Felt, despite never having been on a farm in her life, actually looked like she was processing the information and understood it.

Huh. I always thought Felt was clever. Recruiting her was probably a good idea, Subaru thought.

The only other person who had spoken during this presentation was Emilia by Subaru's request. He had asked Emilia to please interject every time a question was asked that she thought she knew the answer to. This was mostly a matter of optics and ensuring that the people associated Emilia with this idea as much as Subaru. Emilia had answered several questions during the discussion and had proved herself to be well prepared. Emilia stood beside him during the entire presentation so that the village understood that this was one proposal shared by two people.

The villagers appeared to be mulling Subaru's suggestions over.

"It's an interesting idea," One farmer allowed. "It sounds feasible."

"I don't see any flaws but it's risky," Another pointed out. "We've done things a certain way for generations. Changing that is risky."

"Yeah, but how well are those ways working? We're barely getting through the winter," A third said.

"That's the problem," The second farmer retorted. "If this works just a littleworse than our current plans our winters could go from being hard to desperate."

"Lord Subaru," The Village Chief interrupted. "This new strategy your proposing sounds like we'd need to bring in animals to make it work."

"Exactly," Emilia jumped in, "Turnips are wonderful food sources for pigs and cows and they're especially good for… nursing mothers," Emilia said flushing.

Subaru bit his lip to avoid laughing as he remembered the conversation about maternity that Subaru and Emilia had endured this morning.

"In addition to increasing the productivity of your fields," Emilia said, taking Subaru's hand and squeezing it hard enough to hurt. Subaru looked at Emilia and behind her 'benevolent teacher' expression, he saw a large flash of annoyance in her eye. This only made Subaru want to laugh harder. "The increased availability and health of domesticated livestock in your community will increase your access to milk and meat. This will improve your diet and provide you with more resources to sell at market."

The villagers murmured among themselves and the sound was cautiously approving. The prospect of more food and more variety appealed to the villagers for obvious reasons.

"And this technique works well in your homeland?" The Chief asked.

"Yes," Subaru emphasized. Subaru had worried that the villagers might start asking him where he had come from that used such strange techniques but so far nobody seemed interested. He supposed that few of the villagers ever went far from their home so they had no conception of much of the wider world or how unusual the story Subaru was telling really was. "These techniques were extremely successful in my homeland at providing much more food to the populace. I want to emphasize that you know these lands, I don't. The crops I've described are a way of doing things but I don't believe for a moment that they are the best way of doing things. As you experiment with different crop cycles you'll likely find superior combinations that work even better for your own lands."

"Lord Subaru," The Chief asked. "Assuming we wanted to implement these techniques, how would we begin?"

"Well, it's really too late in the spring to do a full shift," Subaru explained, having already thought about this question. "You have fields that you've left fallow this year and you really can't sow them with any greedy crop. You've exhausted the soil and it really does need to rest and recover before you can produce more high quality crops. But you could grow turnips and clover in them this year and have feed for any new animals you acquire. If you start soon you might even get several harvests out of the fields and ensure that the animals have plenty of grazing land through the year. The healthier the animals are, the better the manure they'll provide, and the more they'll benefit you."

By the time the meeting had ended, Subaru had a splitting headache. The village had become extremely excited about Subaru's suggestions and this weighed on him heavily.

I'm never grown a vegetable in my life! How confident am I that this is really going to work? What if it's a complete disaster and I lead the people of Arlem into a famine?!

I mean, quite aside from that probably killing any chance at the selection or getting Emilia the Dragon blood, people could actually die because of my screw up! Am I really willing to accept that responsibility?

Subaru sighed, Any options you had of backing out are way behind you now. The villagers trust you and they're trying your ideas because of that trust. You are responsible for what happens to them; like it or not.

I should probably prepare for the worst case scenario. If it is a disaster and the crops all fail, what do I do?

I suppose I should start preparing a nest egg. That should help both Arlem and the royal selection: in both cases I'll need money. That huge bag of gold Reinhard brought will definitely help. If the crops fail this autumn then I'll be able to use all that gold to buy food for the villagers. It won't re-earn their trust but at least they won't die because of my stupidity.

Subaru and company delayed their return to the manor to visit Petra's house. Petra had once again turned bright red upon seeing Subaru but this time she managed to stammer out: "Hello, Lord Subaru," She squeaked.

"You really don't have to call me 'Lord', Petra." Subaru told her.

She turned even redder and then clammed up.

"Hello, Petra," Emilia said.

"Big sis!" Petra looked delighted and ran over to throw her arms around Emilia.

Emilia looked so cute kneeling down beside Petra and talking to her about everything the village girl had done recently that Subaru stopped what he was doing just to watch them. He was only reminded of his business here when Petra's mother spoke to him: "Lord Subaru, this is an unexpected pleasure," The woman sank into a rough curtsy. "What can I do for you?"

"Ah yes," Subaru remembered himself. "I need a few supplies for something I'm working on. Can I buy two spools of thread and a bolt of cloth from you?"

The woman looked at Subaru in surprise. "If you need any sewing work done, I'd be happy to do it for you, Lord Subaru."

"Oh, this isn't about sewing it's just a project I'm working on. It's for research," Subaru replied.

The woman seemed a bit confused but stepped back into her cottage. "Any particular color?" She called.

"Doesn't matter," Subaru answered.

The seamstress returned with a bolt of red cloth and two spools of thread: blue and green. "Here you go, my Lord. Please accept these with my compliments," She said, handing them to Subaru with another curtsy.

"Thank you, kind Lady," Subaru took the items. "Please accept this with my compliments," Subaru offered her one of the gold coins that Reinhard had brought back.

The seamstress looked shocked. "Oh no, my Lord! That is far too much!"

"Think fast!" Subaru flipped the coin into the air and Petra's mother instinctively caught it before it hit the ground.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Ms. Leyte," Subaru said with a smile, walking back over to Emilia as Petra's mother continued to express her profuse gratitude.

Petra noticed Subaru approaching and quickly said goodbye to Emilia, fleeing back to the safety of her mother.

Subaru and Emilia both waved goodbye to Petra and her mother and then they walked hand in hand back to the carriage.

"You know, Petra was telling me some very interesting things," Emilia said, sounding quite amused.

"Oh?"

"Apparently she has a rather large crush on you, Subaru," Emilia said with a smile.

"Oh dear," Subaru said in mock concern. "I do hope you let her down easy when you told her that my heart already belongs to someone else."

"You're in love with someone? She would have to be amazing," Emilia said, trying to joke but not quite managing it and sounding morose. "You deserve someone amazing. Someone really really special. Do I know her?"

Subaru laughed and kissed her hand, "Obviously you don't know her as well as I do."

After returning to the manor, Emilia decided to spend some time doing research in the library. Subaru had located an old abandoned writing desk in the stable while helping put away the carriage and he asked if he could bring it inside.

This resulted in Subaru, Reinhard, Rem, and Ram carrying the desk to an isolated room that Subaru could use as a workshop for his experiment. Actually, it was really just Rem and Reinhard who carried it. Ram refused to even touch the dusty old desk and Subaru was well aware that his contributions in moving it hindered more than they helped.

After putting it down, Ram left without comment and Rem gave Subaru and Reinhard a respectful bow before hurrying after her sister.

"Thanks, Rem!" He called after her.

"So, you plan to turn this into your 'sewing machine?' Reinhard asked.

"Well, that's the plan. No promises," Subaru said ruefully as Beatrice walked into the room with Puck.

"Do you think there's any way I can assist?" Reinhard asked.

Subaru made a face. "Sadly, I don't think so. This is going to be done completely using my brain, which means we are most likely screwed."

Reinhard laughed. "Be of good cheer, my friend. The Lady Emilia and I have great confidence in you and I'm certain you won't let us down."

"Oh great, no pressure," Subaru chuckled.

"Well, if you will not require my assistance at the moment, I think I will go look for Felt," Reinhard said.

"Good idea. I'm already budgeting a few hours for us to count the silver before we go back to the capitol. Let's not make it worse by letting her roam around unsupervised," Subaru said.

Reinhard laughed as he left the room.

Subaru looked at Beatrice who was sitting in a nearby chair cuddling Puck. "He thinks I'm joking," He mouthed to Beatrice.

Beatrice did not respond.

"You know, I'm glad you're here Beako," Subaru said. "I wanted to talk to you some more about 'that person.'"

Subaru showed Puck the pictures he had drawn of a variety of gears that he would need as well as a sewing machine frame and a needle. Puck had used magic to provide all of these at Subaru's request and then gone off to be with Emilia.

Two hours later, it was nearly dinner time. Beatrice and Subaru had spent the entire time talking about 'that person' but no real new information had presented itself. Beatrice had been given nothing but a brief mission statement and everything she knew about the person she had spent centuries waiting for was based on supposition.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you how you would identify 'that person?'" Subaru asked, trying to veil his irritation. Subaru had no idea who Puck and Beatrice's mother was but he would have loved to bring her up on charges of negligent parenting.

"She said I would know, I suppose," Beatrice said in a somber voice.

Subaru hid his face when he scowled so Beatrice wouldn't see.

I would love to be in a locked room with that woman for about fifteen minutes, Subaru thought. On second thought, whatever kind of creature created both Puck and Beatrice is bound to be way out of my weight class but the sentiment remains valid. I'd love to be in a locked room with her for about five seconds. Just let me out when Indomitable turns off.

Subaru had managed connect the gears and the needle into the sewing machine frame so that when the gears turned the needle went up and down. So now the easy part was done at least.

"Beako, let's try this from another perspective. What is the library? What is it for?" Subaru asked, trying to think about how to connect the existing gears to a pedal.

Crap, how do you turn a pedal into rotational energy? I don't think any of my Lego sets even had a pedal. Up and down motions to generate rotational energy aren't very common I guess.

Subaru stared a blank piece of paper as he tried to figure out what kind of gear he'd need to ask Puck to make next. He was sure that he'd seen something that could do this. In the meantime, Subaru sketched out a spring for the pedal, he knew he'd need one of those anyway.

"The library is the repository of all of mother's vast knowledge," Beatrice replied.

Fabulous, another explanation that doesn't explain anything! Is Beako doing this on purpose? Subaru mused.

"OK…" Subaru said. This needed to be phrased delicately. "Tell me about your mother. What kind of person was she?"

"Betty's mother was the best and smartest person who ever lived and she doted on Betty and she gave Betty her important task," Beatrice replied.

That is not an adequate description, Subaru sighed as he finished drawing his spring.

"My point was that if 'that person' was intended to inherit your mother's library, then he has to have some connection with your mother. She must have wanted her knowledge to go to someone who would use it to solve the problems that she cared about right? So what was your mother working on when she… died?" Subaru asked.

"Everything, I suppose," Beatrice answered.

Wait! I remember a weird gear that had a shaft sticking out of its side! So if the shaft was moved up and down the gear would have to turn. Is that right? Seems a little fragile. I mean the shaft would have to be just the right length and in just the position, otherwise the gear would probably roll back and forth rather than around.

Wait. Did Beatrice just say 'everything?'

"So your mother was working on… 'everything?'" Subaru repeated, starting to make a sketch of the new gear. "Define 'everything.'"

"Everything," Beatrice emphasized. "Mother despaired at the state of the world and was determined to fix it. She wanted to protect everyone from bad things happening and she dedicated all her knowledge to finding out how to do so."

So was Beatrice's mother crazy or a fool? I'm overwhelmed trying to fix a small village much less fix the whole world, Subaru thought.

"Well, that's kind of useful information, right?" Subaru said to Beatrice as he finished his sketch.

OK, that's it. I'm done for now, Subaru said standing up, I need Puck to make the new gears anyway.

Beatrice was staring at Subaru with moody eyes, her short legs kicking the air from her chair.

"If your mother was determined to save the world then we just need to find someone else who's trying to save the world. I bet she wanted the knowledge in the library to pass onto someone like that. It makes sense right?" Subaru asked her.

Beatrice mulled that over. "We find them, and we ask them are they 'that person,' I supposed?"

"Not exactly," Subaru said, walking over to Beatrice.

I need to be careful here. This has to be worded exactly right or she'll just reject it out of hand, Subaru thought.

"I'm starting to wonder if maybe your mother wanted you to select 'that person.' I think maybe she didn't just want you to sit in the library waiting for someone to tell you they were 'that person,' anyone could have done that, not just her precious daughter," Subaru continued, forestalling Beatrice's objection.

Beatrice had immediately opened her mouth to protest but closed it again.

"There had to be a reason that your mother entrusted this job to you. It had to be something important, something only Beako could do," Subaru continued.

If I'm phrasing this as speculation, does this mean I'm not flat out lying to that poor girl? Because I don't think there's anything going on here except that a mean self-centered woman gave her loving daughter a job and then completely forgot about her. All the same, I can't prove that to be true so I'm not… technically lying to Beako, right? Subaru mused.

"So what can you do that no one else in the world can? Well, you know your mother better than anyone else, right?" Subaru asked.

Beatrice immediately nodded.

"So you're the perfect person to identify and vet anyone who might want to take over her task of saving the world. Maybe you're not just waiting for someone to tell you that they're 'that person,' maybe someone out there needs you to tell them that they are 'that person.'" He finished.

Beatrice seemed to be seriously considering what Subaru said so he just knelt down next to her and was careful not to stir her while she thought.

"But that was never written in Betty's Gosp-" Beatrice cut herself off.

"In your what?"

"Never mind, I suppose," Beatrice looked down at her hands, deep in thought.

"Subaru," She asked in a small voice. "What if Betty's future… had stopped being written, had stopped changing? What would that mean?"

Subaru thought it over for a moment. If Beatrice was using his name, then this question was really important to her. It had to be answered carefully. "I think it means that you need to make some changes. You've been in the same room for four hundred years. You plan to stay in the same room for another four hundred years unless someone else tells you not to. How could your future not have stopped? If you don't change anything then nothing will change!"

Beatrice's eyes widened and something flickered deep inside them.

Well, that certainly made an impact but don't ask me why. I don't even know what I'm saying. I just want Beatrice to stop waiting passively for someone who might never come and go out and look for them. Even if she never finds this person, she'll be around other people. She'll make friends and see new things. She wouldn't be so heartbreakingly alone anymore.

"Subaru," Beatrice whispered. "Would you be Betty's-"

"Subaru, dinner is ready!" Emilia said, stepping into the room unseen and making them both jump.

"Thanks, Mili," Subaru said, pressing a hand against his rapidly beating heart.

Emilia smiled and left the room.

Subaru looked back at Beatrice but whatever she had planned to ask him, the moment had clearly passed.

"You should get down to dinner, I suppose." Beatrice said dismissively as she hopped off her chair.

"Good advice," Subaru agreed gently. He reached down and extended a hand to Beatrice. "Shall we?" He asked.

Beatrice looked up at Subaru with an unclear expression.

Subaru just waited smiling, his hand outstretched to the lonely little girl.

After some time, Beatrice timidly placed her hand into Subaru's and hand in hand they went to dinner.

After dinner, Beatrice retreated to her library and Subaru watched her go.

Beako needs to do some serious thinking and she needs to be alone for that. If I go after her right now I'll just push her away, Subaru mused. I should talk to Puck about Beako in the morning, maybe he has some thoughts about how to help her. But since Puck's already gone to sleep, that does mean that I get Emilia all to myself!

"Care to take a walk, Emilia?"

"You know, I love these," Subaru mused. "These times alone with you are the high point of my entire day."

"I would have to agree," Emilia replied. "We can just be ourselves out here. We don't need to work and study. We don't need to weigh our words for their impact. We don't need to worry about what everyone else thinks. It's nice to just be the two of us. Trying to think about everyone else can be a lot of pressure."

"I have a brilliant idea," Subaru said.

"What's that?"

"Let's run away," Subaru deadpanned.

Emilia laughed. "An interesting notion," She said, wrapping her arm around his. "I admit, I'm intrigued. Did you have any particular destination in mind or shall we just go skipping merrily down the road?"

Subaru shrugged. "I don't know. I figure as long as you're with me I could be pretty happy wherever we end up," Subaru thought about it a bit. "First off, let's cross Gusteko off the list. I hate the cold and they already tried to kill me once. I'm not going there," He said firmly.

Emilia laughed, "I think that sounds fair. You probably wouldn't like the Elior Forest either then. The curse on the forest means that it's always cold."

Subaru looked at Emilia thoughtfully. "Actually, that would be a great trip idea."

"The Elior Forest?" Emilia asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I'd like to get a peak at your roots. I mean, I can't show you my old home but I could go to see yours," Subaru explained.

Emilia grimaced. "That actually just puts into perspective how much effort you're putting into saving a place you've never been."

"I'm not trying to save a place, I'm trying to save people," Subaru replied with aplomb. "I've always cared deeply about the elvish people you know."

"Oh, and how many elves do you know?" Emilia smirked.

"Not many but the ones I do know are simply amazing," Subaru replied.

They came to a small stone bench under a shady tree. "Care to sit for a bit?"

The two sat down.

They looked out together at the starry night sky. Neither spoke for a bit.

"Subaru," Emilia murmured, "Do you really think we can win the royal selection?"

"It's a long shot," Subaru agreed, "But I'm starting to think that we won't have to."

"What do you mean?"

"At a certain point in the election, when two big players are decided, they're going to ask the rest of us what it would take for us to bow out of the race and let them focus on their major threat. Our asking price is really quite cheap: give us the blood and we'll back out and let them win the prize," Subaru shrugged.

Emilia was silent for a long moment. "But… is that the only reason we want to win? To get the blood?" She asked finally.

"What do you mean?"

Emilia hesitated, turning away from Subaru and looking out at the stars. "In the past few days you've come up with ideas to feed people and end hunger in Lagunica. You're trying to make a machine that will clothe the people who dress in drags. You really could make the kingdom a better place," She murmured.

Subaru laughed. "I don't know about that. I'm a pretty clueless politician. Besides, no matter who wins the selection I could still give the new king suggestions and ideas."

He paused. "What do you think you'll do if you got the throne?"

Emilia was quiet for a moment. "I'd really like to try to repair the fracture between the humans and the demi-humans," She admitted.

"I think that's a great idea," Subaru approved. "It's an ambitious goal but one that deserves careful planning and great effort. It's the kind of dream worthy of a King."

Emilia hung her head. "Honestly, it's just an excuse. I really am doing all of this just to get the blood! I am so selfish!" She spat at herself.

Subaru stared at her for a long moment and then sighed. "OK, Mili. Give!" He ordered.

"Give what?"

"What's really going on here?" Subaru demanded. "When you first gave me that ridiculous speech about how selfish you were for wanting to get the dragon blood to save your people, I just assumed you were a dope."

"What's a dope?"

"A dummy."

Emilia flinched, looking hurt.

"But now I've gotten to know you and I know you're not a dummy so what is really going on? Something about this is making you feel selfish and it's not some nebulous 'I'm only helping my own people' bullshit. I'm in this stupid selection up to my neck now so tell me why we're really doing this. I feel like I deserve to know the truth at this point," Subaru said.

Emilia turned white and looked away from him.

Subaru waited a moment and then slowly reached out to take Emilia's hand.

Emilia didn't turn to look at him but she didn't pull her hand away either.

"Is it something you're scared to talk about?" Subaru whispered.

Emilia hesitated then nodded.

Subaru squeezed her hand. "You can talk to me about anything, Mili," He replied.

She shook her head.

That hurt him a little but Subaru kept talking. "Emilia, I know bad people. You're not one of them. I don't believe that anything that you were involved in was anything worse than an unfortunate mistake."

"What if some mistakes are unforgivable?" She muttered. "What if… what if you can't forgive me?"

"I am on your side, Emilia. Now and always," He promised. Subaru cracked a smile. "Besides I have a pretty good track record for forgiving people. I forgave Rem for trying to murder me. I like you way more than I like Rem. You can assume I'll always forgive you."

Emilia sat silently with her head bowed for almost a full minute.

"I caused the disaster in the Elior forest," Emilia whispered.

Subaru didn't reply. He sat there waiting patiently.

After a moment, Emilia continued, "The forest was attacked. I don't really remember by what or why it happened but I… I froze the forest. I lost control of my magic. I turned every living creature in the forest to solid ice. They're all frozen because of me!" Emilia's voice broke. She started to cry. "That's why I have to get the blood. I have to save them because it's all my fault that they died!"

Emilia covered her face in her hands and sobbed.

Subaru stopped time with Reason and Judgment.

Damn. I promised I was going to stop using it so much. Still, Emilia really needs me right now. I need to think carefully about what to say.

Subaru felt his confidence and intelligence surging as he considered the weeping Emilia, frozen in place.

Hm. So that's why she's been so hard on herself about being selfish for her quest for the Dragon blood. At least this makes some sense.

Of course, the big question is how do you make her feel better, Subaru mused. The simplest strategy would likely be to just reassure her that you are going to acquire the blood for her. That will both make her feel better and reinforce her dependency on you.

Why were you so down on your chances to win the selection in the first place? You're a man from a vastly technologically superior culture. Crop rotations and a sewing machine are just the tips of the iceberg. Imagine a canon. You can certainly design one given enough time. Imagine a steam engine. You could create an entire industrial revolution. What other person in this world could possibly offer the people of Lagunica so much?

Beyond that, you're already a hero. Felt says that everything in town is going just according to plan: everyone is talking about Subaru Natsuki the invincible who slew a troll with his bare hands to protect the helpless villagers. Who else in the selection will have a public relations storm like that?

Granted it would be foolish to conclude that the selection is already resolved in your favor. A lot can happen in two years and it is even somewhat possible that someone else might take the lead. But even in this most unlikely scenario where you are denied the throne it is still entirely feasible for you to acquire the blood through negotiations with your rival. Even if the throne is in some doubt, possession of the blood is guaranteed. You should simply remind Emilia that you are on her side and that you will solve her problem. The blood will be hers and the matter will be dealt with.

Subaru was about to unfreeze time and execute this plan when he felt as if a quieter, more diffident voice in his mind had broken through his abiding confidence to intervene.

No, I'm not sure about this. I don't think that's really what Mili needs to hear. If I just give her the blood, if I'm the one who heals the elves, that won't assuage her guilt. She desperately wants to make up for her mistake. That's something to be admired. This is Mili's problem and she wants to take responsibility for it. I can't just solve it for her.

That's foolish. You're making this far too complicated, another part of Subaru answered himself. You know that you absolutely can solve her problems and that you would solve them better than the lovely Emilia could ever hope to. She's lucky to have you on her team. It doesn't matter who solves the problem, so long as Emilia's guilt is assuaged. If the elves are saved then there's nothing to feel guilty about in the first place.

No, I'm not that stupid. This isn't just about saving the elves for Emilia it's about atoning for a mistake. Like it or not, this isn't my problem. I'm barely involved in this matter. This is about Mili. If I charge in like a white knight, sure the problem is solved but I don't think Emilia will feel any better. Honestly, I'm worried that my fixing the problem could make her feel like even more of a failure…

You don't need to over think this, Subaru, the other part replied. You will get the blood. Your victory is assured. So reassure her on that point. If she needs to feel more involved to assuage her guilt, simply assign Emilia a few small tasks to make her feel like she contributed adequately to the victory. She wants to feel better. She's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. A potential side boon is that this would absolutely reinforce Emilia's dependency on you. You're still worried that she might abandon you someday. If you convince her that you will save her people and undo her great mistake then her investment in you would be complete. She would never even consider abandoning you again.

No. I can't do that to her. Mili needs support. She needs to know that I understand how she feels and that I understand why she's so driven to make amends. Most importantly she needs to know that one mistake, however tragic, doesn't define her whole life.

Subaru unfroze time before he could second guess himself any further.

Subaru slipped an arm around Emilia's shoulders. He coaxed her head to lay his shoulder and stroked her hair as she wept.

After a few minutes Emilia had cried herself out. She looked up at Subaru with watery eyes that expected condemnation.

"Emilia," He whispered. "You are the opposite of selfish."

Emilia's mouth dropped. "How can you say that? I only want the blood because it's my fault that everyone froze in the first place! I'm trying to escape my own guilt!"

"Nope," Subaru said casually.

"What do you mean, 'nope?!'"

"How many years did you stay in the forest with Puck after this disaster?"

Emilia frowned. "Um. About seven maybe?"

"If you just wanted to escape your guilt you would have left the forest. You would have walked away and made a new life for yourself somewhere where you weren't constantly reminded of your mistake," Subaru pointed out.

"I couldn't do that!" Emilia protested.

"I know that," Subaru agreed. "I would have expected no less from you."

Emilia was quiet against his shoulder. "I'm just trying to fix my own mistake," She sighed.

"You'd be surprised how few people would even bother doing that much," Subaru replied.

Emilia frowned doubtfully at Subaru.

Subaru bent down and kissed Emilia's forehead. "I'm really proud of you, Emilia," He said.

Emilia stared at Subaru wide eyed. "What? Why… Why would you say that?"

"Mili, I know you made a mistake that hurt a lot of people. You weren't one of the people who got hurt. But you've taken responsibility for that mistake and you're determined to fix it. Nobody forced you to try to make amends, you imposed this duty on yourself. You know you hurt others and you're determined to make up for it. That takes real courage. And real compassion."

Emilia stared up at Subaru in shock.

Subaru shrugged. "Like I keep telling you, Mili, you are the opposite of selfish. I'm really proud of you, Emilia. You'll make a great King."

Emilia's eyes filled up again and she cried. Subaru held her until her tears ran out.

The next morning after breakfast, Emilia and Puck retreated to the library to do research on human/demi-human relations and think about ways to improve them. Subaru went looking for Beatrice. He searched the manor until he found her library and entered to find Beatrice sitting on her stool staring at an enormous black book nearly as big as she was.

When Beatrice saw Subaru she immediately put the book down and put other books on top of it as if she was trying to hide it in the least subtle way imaginable.

"And what are you doing here? Come to bother Betty again, I suppose?"

"It's one of my favorite pastimes," Subaru agreed. He looked at Beatrice closely. She seemed tired and on edge this morning. Subaru guessed that she had spent most of the night thinking and whatever conclusions she had drawn were not to her liking.

Well, that could be a bad thing or a good thing. Her original worldview wasn't working for her. If she's accepting the need to change it, that would definitely be painful but it would be better for her in the long run, Subaru thought.

Subaru had actually come to talk to Beatrice more about 'that person' and Beatrice's quest but upon looking at her weary and drawn face he changed his mind. "I was going to go and try to do some more work on that sewing machine. I was wondering if I could persuade you to come along. Yesterday you pointed out a flaw that would have taken me all day to notice."

Subaru considered suggesting that they could talk more about the search for 'that person' then held his tongue. If Beatrice wanted to talk about it, she would bring it up.

"Hm. So you want Betty to help you, I suppose?" Beatrice sniffed.

Subaru sensed that he was on dangerous ground. "If you're willing to, yes," He said carefully.

"For centuries, people have come to the Great Library seeking to use the Great Spirit Beatrice!" She informed him.

Uh-Oh. "I am not trying to use you, Beako. I just asked if you would be willing to help me," Subaru said.

Beatrice didn't answer.

Subaru stepped over to the futon and eased himself down on it. "Do people often come here trying to… take advantage of your generosity?" Subaru asked.

Beatrice snorted. "People are always coming here to try and use Betty, I suppose. Betty is a Great Spirit! The guardian of Mother's vast knowledge. Everyone wants something from Betty!"

Subaru waited a moment. "And what does Betty want?" Subaru murmured.

Beatrice looked at Subaru with fire in her eyes. Subaru tensed, preparing to activate Indomitable in case Beatrice really lost it.

"Betty wants to finish this! Betty wants to complete her contract with Mother and be done with this!" Beatrice shouted.

"And find 'that person,'" Subaru nodded.

"Where are they?!" Beatrice screamed, "Why did they leave Betty alone all this time?! Why did Betty deserve to be trapped here for so long? Betty wasn't worth remembering, I suppose!"

Subaru hesitated. "Beatrice is absolutely worth remembering and she certainly didn't deserve to be trapped here. Something in your mother's plan must have gone wrong," Subaru said simply. "So now it falls to us to fix it, doesn't it?"

Beatrice glared at Subaru in silence. "You think that you are worthy to 'fix' mother's plan, I suppose? You think that you can do what Betty can't, I suppose?"

Subaru phrased his answer carefully. "I'm not saying either of those things. I'm saying that two people can often do what one person can't do alone. You've tried to fix it alone for centuries without success and dozens, maybe hundreds, of people have come into this library to ask for your help. I want to help you."

Beatrice looked away and stuck her nose in the air. "And you think that you're the first, I suppose?" She snapped.

"What do you mean?" Subaru murmured.

"Many have come into Mother's library with tears in their eyes: Offering to help, offering to save Betty in fact! Promising that they can make everything better, that they can cure Betty's loneliness!"

Subaru looked at the great spirit who held unshed tears in her eyes. "And how does that make you feel?"

"Feel? It makes me angry, in fact! Mortals think they can even imagine four hundred years of waiting, of loneliness?! Waiting for 'that person' to come?!"

Oh boy. Note to self: I need to be a lot nicer to Puck and a whole lot more considerate of his feelings about me and his daughter. If I'd been all alone for four hundred years or so, I'd be pretty scared of being left alone again too.

"They think that they can wash away Betty's misery and despair by holding her hand and patting her head, I suppose! They think that all Betty needs is a friend, in fact!" Beatrice shrieked, tears streaming down her face.

Subaru waited a moment. "None of them understand how you feel," He encouraged.

Beatrice whirled on him and pointed at Subaru as if casting a curse. "Neither do you, in fact!" Beatrice spat.

Subaru nodded. "You're right. I don't know how you feel. How could I? I'm eighteen. You've seen a hundred and eighty; twice over. I have absolutely no idea what that's like. I just know that you're in pain and you shouldn't be."

Beatrice panted for breath, staring at Subaru.

"That's why we're going to find 'that person,' right?" He asked.

Beatrice bit her lip. "Subaru, will you-"

"Betty, are you alright?" Puck said from behind Subaru.

Subaru turned around and saw Emilia and Puck standing in the doorway.

"We came to investigate, we heard yelling," Emilia said almost apologetically.

"Everything is OK," Subaru replied. "Right, Beatrice?"

Beatrice didn't answer.

Subaru left the library after Beatrice pulled out another book and sat there pretending to read it. He waited a few minutes before concluding that his presence was no longer welcome and went down to his workshop to keep working on the machine.

The machine was almost complete actually. However there was one component left to build and Subaru was struggling to remember it.

Mom's sewing machine had a gear underneath the needle. A weirdly shaped gear that… tied the stitches together somehow. Fuck I don't remember what it looked like, much less how it worked.

Actually maybe this is a good thing. It might suggest that there's a limit to Reason and Judgment's influence on my mind, although not being able to get this machine working might cripple our election chances. Maybe I can figure it out from first principles? Why don't I try to work it out without using Reason and Judgment? I did some sewing when I was younger, how would I make a good stitch using gears?

After two hours of brooding on the topic Subaru had gotten absolutely nowhere.

OK, fine. I'm not that smart. I don't know how to do these things. Asking Beatrice if she has any ideas might be an option but I don't think Beatrice wants to talk to me right now. Besides if I need to ask for her help on the sewing machine that will only undercut my argument later when I claim that I just want to help Beatrice. It'll just solidify her suspicions that I'm trying to use her. Yeah, so it would be bad if I asked her for help.

So where does that leave me? Am I just going to give up? No, I can't do that. Emilia and Red are both convinced I can do this. I don't want to disappoint them.

Well… that only leaves me one option then, doesn't it? I need to use Reason and Judgment. I mean, there's really no other choice, right? I know that I decided to limit my uses of it but… things happen, you know? I know it might be affecting me in a negative way but I haven't really noticed any major changes so far, right? Besides everyone is depending on me, I can't just let them down. I can handle Reason and Judgment. I'm only speculating that it has any adverse effects on me anyway.

Subaru triggered Reason and Judgment and the world froze around him. Subaru cast his mind back to his mother's broken sewing machine from years and years ago. As if he had commanded it, an image of the opened machine appeared directly in front of him, the image of the machine clear and picture perfect. Strangely the remainder of the memory looked… fuzzy. Subaru had never seen Reason and Judgment display a memory in low resolution before. The sewing machine was crystal clear but the room in Subaru's house and the figures of his much younger parents, were both so low resolution and pixelated that if you didn't know what you were looking at, you could never have guessed.

This seemed strange but Subaru decided it had no real relevance to what he was here to accomplish.

Subaru stared at the strange gear beneath the sewing needle.

Huh. The gear is shaped kind of like a fishing hook so it… Oh! So that's how it works! It actually wraps the other thread around the first one. Quite clever. That should be easy enough to draw for Puck to reproduce. Why did you ever think this was hard?

You need to start using Reason and Judgment more regularly. Why did you even try to stop using it in the first place? To prove a point?

You wasted several hours trying to do something that could have been done in minutes. If it was only you being affected by the inefficiency, then it would be easy to stop using Reason and Judgment. You're certainly not dependent on it. But you have people who do depend on you and you can't let them down by being at less than a hundred percent. There's no choice but to keep using Reason and Judgment. It's the only option. You can always quit using it later if you sense it's starting to affect you.

Subaru restarted time and whistled to himself as he drew the detailed pictures of the remaining gears.

Reinhard and Felt came to find Subaru shortly after that.

"My friend, Felt and I were thinking of returning to the capitol for the day. Felt wishes to check on Master Rom," Reinhard said.

"Sounds like a plan," Subaru agreed. "While you're down there would you mind running a few errands for me?"

"Of course," Reinhard said.

Subaru rattled off a few items and handed Reinhard a bag of gold.

"If you encounter any expenses on the trip, just take them out of the bag. Also while you're in town can you pick up some paper and writing utensils for Felt so she's ready to start doing research on the slum dwellers for us? Oh, and come to think of it," Subaru reached into his pocket and handed Felt a gold coin.

"What's this for?" She asked.

"It's your first week's pay. I know you're not supposed to get paid until the end of the week but there's not much to buy out here and you might see something in town that you want, so consider it an advance," Subaru explained.

"Yeah but I haven't actually done anything for you yet," Felt pointed out.

Subaru shrugged. "Hey, you've been here ready, willing, and able to work. The fact that I'm not ready for you to work yet is my problem not yours. You're still going to get compensated for your time."

Felt mulled that over for a moment. "Well, why don't I just get started today then? I'm not afraid of staying in town, I can take care of myself without Red-"

"No," Subaru said flatly before Reinhard could open his mouth.

Felt looked offended, almost mutinous.

"I don't want to tip our hand to our rivals before we're ready," Subaru added in a soothing tone. "If they figure out that we plan to empty the slums before we announce it, they might try to steal our thunder at the selection. Losing a few days won't matter too much in the long run."

"I'd also like you two to do some research on our rivals while you're in town," Subaru continued before Felt could respond. "If we can figure out who the other competitors are, we'll be able to make better strategies."

"That ought to be easy. People are bound to be talking about it," Felt said. "We'll just ask Gramps. He's definitely heard about it from his customers."

Subaru coughed. "Um, one last thing. This is a delicate… personal matter that I need to ask you about and I'd prefer if it stayed between us."

"Of course. You have my word of honor that I won't breath a word of this matter, both as a knight of the realm and as your friend," Reinhard declared.

Felt looked at Reinhard and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, what he said," Felt sighed, folding her arms.

Subaru sighed. "Emilia and I are getting closer and… there are certain things that we need to be responsible for which… Emilia is unfamiliar with and me being a stranger to this lands… I'm not certain what our options actually are."

"I'm not sure that I follow," Reinhard admitted.

Subaru groped for an easy explanation. "Emilia and I are engaged and… things may happen so… we need to-"

"Avoid becoming parents?" Felt asked brightly.

Subaru sighed. "Essentially. I was trying to find out what the options were for that in Lagunica because neither of us know."

Reinhard's face was the same color as his hair.

Felt laughed. "Don't sweat it, Subaru! Most women in town take a nostrum to avoid unexpected pregnancies. Alchemists mix it up and it's not that expensive. I'll grab Emilia a few months supply."

"Is this nostrum safe for elves or just humans?" Subaru asked.

Felt shrugged. "It can't be too bad. All the demi-human whores I know take it."

"…OK then," Subaru said awkwardly, "Get the gold you need from the bag."

"A three month supply should be only about five silvers anyway," Felt shrugged.

"And while you're talking to Rom, ask him if he would consider doing some jobs for me," Subaru said.

"Like what?" Felt asked.

"I don't know what but let's try to think of something he can do! Honestly, I'd like to just give him some gold so he could live a little more comfortably than squatting in the slums but I know he'd balk at that," Subaru replied.

"Yup, that's Gramps," Felt nodded. "Pretty sure I'm going to find a full bag of gold when I go back, even though I told him to start spending it."

"Show him your pay. If he sees you're making good money regularly, he might be more comfortable accepting money from you," Subaru suggested.

"Huh. Good idea," Felt replied.

"Red, is there any risk to you being back in town? If Heikel comes looking for you for instance?" Subaru asked.

Reinhard thought about it. "I don't believe so. Father would face considerable scrutiny from the Sages' council if he took away your and Lady Emilia's only knight after the recent council meeting."

"Good to know, but I was actually worried if he could do anything to make your life more difficult," Subaru replied.

Reinhard glanced away. "I doubt that he could make my life more difficult than he has already done."

Subaru waited a moment to see if Reinhard would continue and then nodded. "Alright then. Red, while you're in town remember to keep an eye on Felt. I don't want anyone thinking they can attack her."

Reinhard nodded while Felt folded her arms and scowled in annoyance.

"Felt, make sure you keep an eye on Red. I don't want Heikel or anyone else misleading him or trying to trick him into a trap," Subaru finished.

Felt rolled her eyes at Subaru. "Was that supposed to be a joke?"

"No, it wasn't a joke, you bonehead!" Subaru snorted. "Felt, do you really think I'm trying to recruit you onto my team as an act of charity? You're one of the brightest people I've met on this planet and that is supremely valuable. Red is an invincible warrior and you are a master strategist and planner, or you will be once you finish developing your talents. You two form a perfect team and I want you to start thinking of yourselves that way."

Felt looked shocked then her expression turned thoughtful.

"But before you guys take off, there is one thing I'd like you to help me with," Subaru said.

Subaru, Rem, and Reinhard carried the sewing machine desk toward Petra's house.

Felt had gone ahead to explain the situation to Petra and her Mom.

When Rem and Reinhard carried the awkward desk through the narrow door, Subaru let go and gave up. He knew he wasn't helping much anyway but his ego required that he at least act like he was contributing.

As Subaru walked into the cottage after Rem and Reinhard set the machine down, he noticed that Petra seemed to be less uncomfortable around him. He assumed that the strange machine was occupying most of her attention.

"Hello, Mrs. Leyte," Subaru greeted her.

"My lord, what is… that?" She asked.

"That is an invention I have recently created. I think that it will make the lives of seamstresses across the kingdom less difficult while also increasing their productivity," He explained. "I was hoping that you'd be willing to test it for me."

The seamstress seemed uncertain. "I would be happy to help you, Lord Subaru, but I'm not sure what you want me to do."

"Petra, could you hand me that cloth scrap please?" Subaru said, pulling a chair up to the desk.

Petra gave him the scrap and he used the sewing machines to quickly lay down a line of fine stitches along a scrap as long as his arm. He then cut the thread and handed the scrap to Petra.

Mrs. Leyte stared at the scrap in shock. "Putting down this many stitches would have taken me half an hour! And they're so small!"

"I thought it could save you some work. Do you think you'd be willing to use it for a few weeks and give me your feedback?" Subaru said, standing up.

Subaru had spent close to an hour giving Petra and Mrs. Leyte lessons on using the machine. Petra in particular seemed to be very excited about her new toy.

Reinhard, Subaru, Felt, and Rem were walking back to the carriage.

"Well, I feel like I accomplished something today," Subaru said.

"Do you really think you can make enough of those to change the sewing industry?" Felt asked. "I feel like that's the second most common job in the kingdom, right after farming."

"It's just a prototype," Subaru shrugged. "We need to see if those two can actually make use of it. We also need to start thinking about the cost to reproduce it without Puck doing all the work with magic."

"Well, we should take you and Miss Rem back to the manor before we head to the capitol," Reinhard suggested.

Subaru squinted at the sun. "Rem, do you mind walking home?"

Rem shook her head silently.

"It's already almost lunch time and the capitol is not a short trip," Subaru said. "Why don't you guys just go, we can walk back."

"Are you sure?" Reinhard asked.

"I'm sure we'll manage," Subaru shrugged. "Make sure you look after each other!" He called as Reinhard and Felt climbed into the carriage.

"Got it!" Felt called back as the carriage rolled away.

Subaru and Rem walked in silence. Subaru was waiting for Rem to talk but it seemed that wasn't going to happen.

"So, Rem, I feel like we really haven't talked much lately," Subaru drawled.

Rem didn't answer. She kept walking with her head down.

Subaru coughed. "So… is this 'I don't feel like talking to you, Subaru' quiet or 'I'm still convinced you're a Witch Cultist, Subaru' quiet?"

Rem stopped in her tracks, her head bowed.

Subaru waited a long moment.

"I know that you're not a Witch Cultist, Lord Subaru." She whispered.

"Hey, that's great! Oh and you can skip the 'lord' part. I'm not really into that," Subaru replied.

Rem stood still breathing heavily.

"Rem, are you alright?" Subaru asked uncertainly.

"I'm sorry!" She shouted, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry that I tried to kill you!"

Rem stood there and started to cry, loud wracking sobs as she buried her face in her hands.

Subaru's jaw dropped. Shit. I did not see this coming.

Subaru walked over to Rem and gently put his arms around her.

Rem's head snapped up her eyes wild.

Subaru gently stroked her back.

After a moment, Rem's sobs quieted a bit and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"It's OK, Rem. You made a mistake but nobody got hurt. Mistakes are only as important as the consequences they cause. No harm's been done. It's fine," He soothed.

"I was certain that you were a cultist," Rem whimpered. "I was sure that you were there to kill my sister and I."

"Sometimes it's hard to tell who people are at first glance. It's usually worth a second look," Subaru replied.

"I was so… so sure that you were a monster," Rem murmured.

"Well, you did watch me kill a whole lot of people, plus a giant troll. Honestly, I felt like a monster after that," Subaru half joked.

Rem took a deep breath. "Why? They were going to kill everyone. They were the monsters."

"Maybe but… there's always a chance for people to be better. Right up until the moment when you kill them anyway. Then there's no chance," Subaru replied. "They were terrible people, or at least they were people willing to follow terrible, evil orders but they were people none the less. Until they met me. Then they were nothing but blood and rotting meat."

Subaru felt a drop of rain and looked up realizing the rain was starting to fall.

"We should get back," Subaru murmured, patting Rem's shoulder as they resumed their walk.

Ram was waiting for them on the front porch when Rem and Subaru returned. The rain had stopped without ever really progressing beyond a light drizzle and the sun was coming out.

"Where were you, Lord Subaru?" Ram asked in a tight voice.

That's actually not your question, Ram. You're asking: 'Where was Rem and why do I now find that Rem was with you?'

"Rem was kind enough to help me, Reinhard and Felt make a delivery to Arlem," Subaru replied.

Rem moved next to her sister and bowed her head.

"And where are Sir Reinhard and Miss Felt?" Ram asked.

"They went back to town," Subaru said.

Ram's eyes narrowed. "Perhaps you should seek out Lady Emilia. I think she would enjoy your company."

Oh, is that what this is about? Rem tried to kill me just last week and you're already thinking that I'm going to try to seduce her? Jeez, what is courtship like where you're from Ram? I bet it's both really exciting and not at all conducive to good health.

"That's a good idea. I think I'll do that. Nice talking to you, Rem," Subaru said, walking inside.

"Thank you… Subaru," Rem whispered.

Subaru didn't need to turn around to feel Ram glaring lines of fire into his back.

"Hi, Subaru," Emilia said as Subaru walked into the library. Emilia was sitting at a desk in front of a large pile of books. Puck was dozing on the desk, looking almost like an ordinary cat.

"Hey, Mili," Subaru said, walking over to Emilia and gently running a hand through her hair. "Learn anything interesting?"

Subaru glanced at the book that Emilia was reading. He wasn't a proficient reader yet but it appeared to be describing some kind of race war between humans and demi-humans.

"I'm learning a lot but I'm not feeling that I understand much yet," Emilia complained.

"I so know how you feel," Subaru commiserated, taking a seat on the arm of her chair.

"What have you been doing today?" Emilia asked.

"I finished the sewing machine and then Reinhard, Felt, Rem, and I dropped it off at Petra's house for testing. Petra was very excited," Subaru smiled.

"I bet," Emilia replied, "Where are Felt and Reinhard?"

"Oh, they went back to the capitol to grab a few things after we dropped the machine off," Subaru replied. "Rem and I walked back."

"I assume she didn't try to kill you?" Emilia asked, turning a page in her book with exaggerated indifference.

"Could you at least pretend to act concerned?" Subaru snorted.

Emilia laughed.

"No, she didn't try to kill me," Subaru continued. " As a matter of fact, she cried about it and apologized."

"Oh, that's wonderful! I'm glad you two worked things out," Emilia smiled.

"Me too. Although, since Ram saw me walking back to the manor with Rem, I think she's come to the mistaken conclusion that I'm trying to seduce her sister. It's still good to put that little misunderstanding between me and Rem behind us. Always assuming that the new misunderstanding with Ram doesn't get me killed," Subaru replied.

"You know, Subaru," Puck said, waking up and stretching. "Most people wouldn't refer to attempted murder as a misunderstanding."

"I don't know, Puck," Subaru mused. "I've been here for about 8 days and I've already had at least four incidents of people trying to kill me. Honestly, I think I'm starting to become kind of blase about the whole thing."

"At least?" Puck asked.

Subaru shrugged, "I'm not really sure how many times you contemplated my death. Please don't tell me either. Also I expect the number of attempts on my life to rise drastically now that Ram thinks I'm after her little sister."

Puck laughed but Emilia looked annoyed at them both.

"Hey, Puck," Subaru said. "I'm glad you're here. I needed to ask your advice about something."

"Yes, Subaru. You should go chase after Rem and leave my daughter alone," Puck said, floating up into the air with a yawn.

Emilia frowned and tapped Puck's forehead with her pinkie finger.

"Ow," Puck said wholly unconvincingly.

"Do not take that as permission!" Emilia said, pointing at Subaru sternly.

"Yes, Mili," Subaru said, trying not to laugh. "Actually, Puck, I wanted to talk to you about Beatrice. What do you know about her… job?"

"Betty's contract? Umm… well, not much, I guess. I don't remember too much from the old days. Betty remembers them better than I do," Puck replied. "Why do you ask?"

Subaru pondered his answer for a moment. "Because… she's lonely. She's miserable and she's despairing of ever changing her life so… I want to find a way to help her."

"Betty's sad?" Puck asked in surprise. "When did that happen? She always seems so happy."

"Sure, when you're around," Subaru snickered. Then he got serious. "Do you know anything about 'that person?'"

"Which person?" Puck asked.

Subaru grimaced. "I don't know. 'That person!' The one that Beatrice has been waiting for."

"I'm sorry, Subaru. I just don't know. What are you trying to do anyway?" Puck asked.

"Whoever 'that person' is, Beatrice has been waiting for them for four hundred years and that royally pisses me off. I want to find them, give them a piece of my mind for neglecting that poor girl for so long, and then drag them back to Beako all tied up with a bow," Subaru said firmly.

It was hard to read a cat's facial expressions but Subaru thought that Puck might actually look impressed.

"This is why I love him, Puck," Emilia said with a fond smile.

Subaru stared at Emilia.

"What?" Emilia asked.

Subaru started to smile. "Did you just say you loved me?"

Emilia turned red, "No!"

"You did," Subaru whispered, wrapping his arms around Emilia.

"No!" Emilia said, burying her face in her hands.

"You said you loved me!" Subaru cheered, laying his cheek against the top of her head.

"I did not!" Emilia said, her voice muffled from behind her hands.

"I didn't hear anything," Puck grumbled.

"We need to celebrate," Subaru proclaimed as Emilia shook her head back and forth. "It's just past lunch time. What do you say to a picnic?"

"A… what?" Emilia asked, uncovering her face.

"A picnic, you know where you take some food, go out someplace, and eat it together."

"Sounds interesting," Emilia said in a tone that made clear she didn't understand why that would be interesting.

Rem had obligingly packed them a basket with some food and wine. Puck had disappeared off to talk to Beatrice and assuage the concerns that Subaru had raised in him about his sister. Subaru and Emilia were sitting under a shady tree in a flower filled meadow just outside the manor.

"This is rather nice," Emilia said, nibbling on a sandwich.

"So tell me, Mili, what did you do in the forest?" Subaru asked.

"I spent most of my time tending to the frozen bodies," Emilia replied.

Subaru paused. "Gruesome," He said. "What did you do for fun?"

Emilia thought about it for a bit. "I spent a few years making a map of the forest," She said.

Subaru rolled his eyes. "Damn, Emilia, we really need to introduce you to a few games."

Emilia cocked her head. "Why what did you do where you come from?"

Subaru flushed. "Um. Nothing very interesting actually."

Emilia crossed her arms. "Subaru! That's not fair! I told you what I used to do!"

Subaru made a pained expression. "Well, I spent most of my time in my room."

"Oh. You weren't allowed to leave it?" Emilia asked sympathetically.

"No, I was… I was actually supposed to leave it… I… just didn't," Subaru sighed.

"I don't understand," Emilia said.

"Let's… just not talk about it?"

Emilia reached out and took his hand. "Subaru, you can tell me anything."

"Um. Really it's not worth getting into."

"I can tell that it's bothering you. Let me help," Emilia urged.

"Look, Mili, I just don't want to get into it. Let's just change the subject, OK? This really isn't any of your business."

Emilia looked shocked then offended. "Why not?"

"It's… it's really… complicated!" Subaru said helplessly.

"So explain it to me!"

"Mili," Subaru covered his eyes. "I…"

"Did you do something bad?" She asked gently.

"No, I didn't do anything bad," Subaru shook his head.

"Then why won't you tell me?" Emilia asked, raising her voice. "Do you not trust me?"

"Of course, I do!" Subaru said, genuinely offended by the accusation.

"Do you think I'm too dumb to understand it?"

"No!"

"Then why won't you tell me? I told you all about what I did in the forest!" Emilia shouted.

"It's… it's different!" Subaru struggled.

Emilia stood up, her eyes were filled with unshed tears. "I admitted that I loved you this morning," She said in a cold voice. "I knew that saying that was a bad idea. I knew you could never feel the same way about me that I felt about you."

Emilia started to walk away.

Subaru gaped at her and made a dive from a sitting position. He managed to grab her wrist.

"Let go of me, Subaru," Emilia said, not turning around.

"Emilia, this isn't even fair! You know that I love you!" Subaru shouted, getting to his feet.

Emilia whirled around, her eyes blazing. "Fair?! I told you about the most personal thing in my life yesterday! Now not only will you not tell me anything about your old life but you won't even tell me why! You love me?! You don't even trust me!"

She wrenched her arm free of Subaru, stomping away.

Subaru hesitated a moment and then raced after her.

"Emilia!" He shouted.

"Get away from me, Subaru," He saw the tears on her face but her voice was like ice as she kept walking away.

He took a deep breath. "I thought you had questions."

Emilia paused her stride. "Are you ready to answer them?"

Subaru breathed heavily for a long moment. "You won't like the answers."

Emilia finally turned around to look at him. She crossed her arms. "Why don't you let me decide that?"

Subaru swallowed hard. "What if… you don't like me after I tell you? I don't want to talk about this."

Emilia rolled her eyes heavenward and stamped her foot. "Subaru! You are such a selfish child!" She screamed.

"Me?! I have done nothing since I've gotten here but try to help you!" He yelled back.

Emilia's face went still. "Are you just trying to help me or do you love me?"

"I love you," Subaru said seriously.

She nodded. "I love you too," She said almost in a tone of wonder.

She closed her eyes and spoke in a calm voice, "Subaru, did you ever wonder how scary it was yesterday for me to talk to you about what happened in the Elior forest?"

Subaru frowned. "I know it was hard for you to talk about it but why was it scary?"

Emilia shook her head and sighed. "Because of the very real possibility that you would be angry at me. Because you might have been disgusted with me or even hated me. There was a chance you never would have looked at me the same way again, Subaru. That is why it was so scary!"

Subaru shook his head. "Emilia, you knowI would never do that. I'm on your side; always. I know that you're not perfect and you're not an angel. You make mistakes and sometimes, whatever the problem you're trying to fix, you are going to come up short against it. But I will always believe that whatever the outcome, you did your best. You can talk to me about anything. I will never turn against you."

Emilia closed her eyes and ground her teeth. "Subaru, you are so stupid!"

Subaru threw up his hands. "What am I doing wrong here, Mili? Talk to me! Give me a clue!"

"You don't trust me!" She accused.

"Of course I do!"

"No, you don't!" She yelled back, stamping her foot. "You just gave me a whole speech about how much I should trust you! You told me how I should trust you because you love me and you'll never turn against me. You told me how you want me to tell you anything, no matter how bad it is! So then why don't you trust me enough to tell me something bad? You are demanding that I trust you implicitly but you won't trust me that way! It's not fair!"

Subaru blinked.

"You tell me that you love me! How am I supposed to believe that?" Emilia asked in tears. "How can you love someone you won't trust? What does the word 'love' even mean to you if you don't think trust is essential? What do I mean to you?"

Subaru was silent.

He swallowed hard as he felt tears running down his face. He took a step closer. "Emilia," He whispered.

She was struggling to breath through her sobs. "Don't touch me," She murmured with no force as Subaru pulled her into his arms.

She was stiff in his arms but then she relaxed and they were crying and sobbing together.

They stayed like that for a few minutes and then they both became quiet.

"Emilia," Subaru whispered. "I'm sorry."

"I don't want your apologies," Emilia whispered, her voice muffled against his chest.

"Emilia… I didn't want you to know that… back home… I was the biggest goddamn loser on the planet," Subaru murmured.

Emilia was quiet for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"I was a loser. Nobody expected anything from me. I almost never left my room for years because no one really cared if I did. I didn't leave my room because I was scared of the world outside. I stopped going to school. I never tried to find work. I gave up on the world and then the world gave up on me. Even my parents weren't sure if I…" He pause, "I had no friends. I never did anything that mattered. Except for my parents, nobody will even notice that I'm gone. I was pathetic. I was a worthless loser who should never have been born. That's what I didn't want to tell you. I didn't want you… to see me that way," Subaru sighed.

Emilia took a few deep breaths against his chest. "I don't know that Subaru. I've never met him," She murmured. "He's certainly not my Subaru. My Subaru is brave and clever and hardworking. He is absolutely not a loser. He rescued me over and over again. He risked his life to save mine. He rescued a whole village of people-"

"Using invincibility magic," Subaru interrupted deprecatingly.

"While thinking that he was going to die!" Emilia continued firmly. "I held him in my arms that night. I know how scared he was. How small and helpless he must have felt. But he did it anyway. He risked his life to save theirs. That's what the entire village of Arlem sees when they look at my Subaru. And that's what I see too."

Subaru gave a little choke.

Emilia raised her head and looked fiercely at Subaru. "I don't know what your world was like. I don't really understand the situation you described. But I believe with all my heart that you did the best you were capable of at that time," She emphasized. "You're not the man that you described to me and I will never see you as any less than the man I see now."

"I am on your side, Subaru; always," Emilia said defiantly. "I know that you're not perfect and that you're not an angel. You do make mistakes and sometimes, whatever the problem you're trying to solve, you are going to come up short against it. But I will always believe that whatever the outcome, you did your best. You can talk to me about anything. I will never abandon you."

Subaru's eyes filled with tears as he gazed into Emilia's. "I know that," Subaru said with a catch in his voice. "I believe that. Because I trust you… because I understand that if I want you to trust me… I need to prove that I trust you just as much. And I always want you to trust me."

Emilia's eyes were still watery as she nodded. "Good. So at least all this accomplished something," She said briskly with a small catch in her voice as she hugged him tight.

They both started crying again.

Neither of them noticed that in the woods nearby, a small girl dressed in pink with drill shaped braids watched them closely.

The next morning, Subaru woke up and left his bedroom for breakfast. As soon as he emerged into the hall he found Beatrice standing there arms folded waiting for him.

"It's about time you woke up, I suppose. You kept Betty waiting," She said.

I did?

"Sorry about that. What were you waiting for me for?" Subaru asked.

"Betty has come to a very important decision, in fact. A decision which involves you," Beatrice said, marching into the room next to Subaru's.

Subaru followed her inside, realizing that Beatrice had moved her library next to Subaru's room.

"OK, what was your decision?" Subaru asked.

Beatrice looked up at Subaru with folded arms and firm resolve. "Betty wants Subaru to be the one to kill her, in fact."