Re: ChildHood Friend…Again. Chapter 49: A Small Break

The sun was at its highest point in the sky. The light filtered through the trees of the forest that, just minutes ago, had become a battlefield and a war zone.

The battle cries? The clash of swords and weapons? The magical chants of spells? The noise of explosions and the creaking of the earth from tremors?

All those sounds of war had been reduced solely to the sound of several footsteps walking somewhat exhausted, but victorious.

"…You don't need to be so close to me. I already told you I'm fine."

Subaru walked step by step while leaning on Felix and Julius's shoulders, who accompanied him on his sides.

Each step cost him more effort than he wanted to admit. He was tired, and despite considering that he hadn't fought as much as the rest of his companions, he felt how his body demanded a rest that his mind still refused to grant.

It was somewhat embarrassing for him, considering that he had given his friends more work and had passed out just a few minutes ago.

All of them fought without rest, and he could barely stay standing.

On the other hand, seeing how he was being taken care of by them… was giving him a lot of energy, no matter how childish it sounded.

It was a reminder that he wasn't alone. And that, against all odds, made him smile inside.

"No! I won't let you allow us to move away from you! Every time we trust you, something bad always happens to you!"

Mimi also walked very close to his leg. Her small body almost seemed to hug his knee as they advanced, as if she feared that at any moment the ground would swallow him or an invisible enemy would appear to snatch him away again.

But it was normal. She wouldn't allow, no matter how minimal, any other possible attack towards her brother today.

She had already seen enough. She had already suffered enough. For anyone else to try to hurt Subaru, they would have to go over her first.

"I'm fine, Mimi-san. What happened to me wasn't—"

"If you dare to say it wasn't serious, I'll cut your tongue."

Before Subaru could calm his little sister by saying it wasn't a big deal, the cold and direct voice of a pink-haired maid made him fall silent immediately.

When he turned, he managed to observe Ram, who seemed to be walking a little ahead of him, barely turning her head to look at him.

Her red eyes, normally cold and mocking, were still there. So no one except Subaru would see a flash of something more hidden in them.

"Not only did you force her to watch how a disgusting Archbishop possessed your body and controlled you in front of her" She said, sharp as a blade. "But you also tried to commit suicide and forced her to hold you back by force while she cried over how much you were suffering. There's no way a sister can be calm after seeing her brother suffer in such a way."

She emphasized the last part, as if she truly couldn't believe he was about to downplay the little demi-human girl's concern.

"Eh, I… Yes. You're right."

Subaru wanted to say something upon being attacked, but faced with such words, he couldn't find any good excuse against them.

How could he justify himself when they had put into words exactly what Mimi had felt?

He had seen the terror in her eyes when his body moved against his will, when he threw a spell against his own life, and how he attacked her without caring about her safety minutes before.

That image wouldn't be erased easily.

Maybe he really didn't have the right to tell her that after making them witness something horrible.

"I… I'm sorry for what I made you see, Mimi."

Believing that an apology would be enough, that was the first thing he said.

Although he earned sidelong glances from more than one person present. Julius raised an eyebrow. Felix sighed with resignation. Even Ram shook her head slightly.

"And why are you apologizing!?" Mimi's sharp voice sounded as she gave him a small hit on his leg. "Stop talking as if it were your fault!"

The hit was light, almost affectionate, but it carried all the frustration that the little girl had accumulated over the last few hours.

"Just don't downplay my concern for you. That's all."

"…Yes. I'll try."

Subaru believed he could try to do that while gathering enough strength to let go of his companions' shoulders and give the demi-human a small hug.

She couldn't resist it for a second. Her arms closed around him tightly, and Subaru felt how her shoulders trembled slightly.

"…She really was scared" He understood. Even though it was obvious.

After a few seconds of silence, and after letting her go, he also turned to see his other sister present.

"…I also mean it for you, Nee-sama."

Ram blinked for a second, surprised to be included. But she instantly regained her composure and looked ahead… with a small smile on her face that she could barely hide.

"Hmph. Don't look at me. I'm completely fine."

Subaru didn't decide to fully believe those words. He knew what the cult meant to her. He didn't think she was so indifferent as to not care about such a similar situation to when they separated as children.

Ram was strong, stronger than almost anyone he knew, but even she had limits.

"Even so" —He continued without taking his eyes off her— "the first thing I did when we reunited a few hours ago was pressure you into saving me, didn't I? And I depended a lot on you after that. So… I'm sorry. And above all… thank you."

Ram was silent for a few seconds. When she spoke, her voice had a strangely soft tone, although her words remained sharp.

"I suppose Barusu should stop worrying about meaningless things. Things like making sure Barusu doesn't do something stupid all the time is a duty that falls on my shoulders, to my own misfortune."

Subaru decided not to keep responding to the aggressive-kind words that Ram was directing at him at that moment.

He knew her well enough to understand that that was her way of saying "I'm glad you're okay."

And inside, genuinely, inside him, he felt happy and relieved that finally all those worries, anguish, and anxiety… seemed to have ended.

"Look! It's Subaru!"

No sooner had they finished walking the path and stepped inside the village than the voices of the villagers made themselves present.

A small group, of the few who had remained without being evacuated before the cult attacked, quickly surrounded the group that had just arrived.

Their faces, which hours ago had been marked by fear and desperation, were now illuminated by a small mix of relief and hope.

"Subaru!"

"Mr. Subaru! Are you okay!?"

"Ngh… H-hey"

Subaru smiled, somewhat embarrassed to be seen by everyone while being carried on his companions' shoulders.

But the villagers didn't seem to care about that detail at all. What mattered to them was Subaru's condition.

The fact that, right after they were attacked and separated, and now Subaru barely had the strength to stand on his own…

"Right after Lady Emilia-sama defended us from that man, we completely lost sight of you!" A woman from the village spoke, her voice showing genuine concern for the boy. "And then everyone ran into the forest! D-did something happen? Are you okay!?"

"Ehhh…"

Subaru tried to calm them by forcing a calm smile on his face. He wasn't used to being the center of attention… although lately he couldn't avoid it.

"Hey… I'm sorry for scaring you. What happened at that moment was… something really dangerous."

Those words alarmed the villagers, who stepped forward with their eyes wide open.

"Eh!? Do you mean that you—!?"

"But—!" He stopped them before they jumped to the wrong conclusions. "We have good news."

"…Huh?"

"The Archbishop of the Sin of Sloth, along with the rest of the cultists and the entire attack on the village…"

"They have all been completely defeated, Nya."

Julius and Felix decided to help with the report, seeing that their friend seemed to have trouble speaking.

It was only two sentences, but even so… those words were enough for the expressions of all the villagers to set aside the desperation that had been in their eyes.

As if an invisible weight had been lifted from their shoulders.

"Defeated…?"

"That means…?"

Seeing the faces of hope from everyone, Subaru simply couldn't resist giving the official news.

"I'm sorry I scared you, but… It's official! We won!"

Raising his fist upwards, Subaru shouted, saying a "Victory!" in his mind.

Almost immediately, the shouts of the rest of the villagers also made themselves present.

"We won!?"

"Th-they did it!?"

"…Incredible. Did you defeat a Sin Archbishop? Y-you're incredible!"

The voices of both adults and the little ones filled with great happiness and relief.

As tears appeared in their eyes, the remaining families hugged each other.

Some fell to their knees, thanking for being alive. Others laughed without being able to contain themselves.

Naturally, there were also children who hugged Subaru's body. Both to thank him and seeing him as a hero.

Their small hands clung to his clothes as if he were the only reason they were still alive.

"Subaru! Did you defeat an Archbishop!? You're incredible!"

"Eh?" —Subaru blinked when the children looked at him with such admiration. Although he gave a small smile "No, no. I couldn't have done it alone. That was—"

"Subaru played an important role. Yes."

Julius gave a smile worthy of a renowned knight, but at the same time, that smile was as sincere as if he were happy to be with his friend.

"That's right, Nya!"

Felix nodded his head on the other side.

Even though the two knew perfectly well how the Archbishop had died, that didn't take away at all from the role that Subaru had played throughout the day.

A role that he seemed to not want to recognize.

"I didn't…—"

"Subaru is incredible!"

Subaru wanted to correct his friends, but upon seeing the children's hugs tighten against him with more force… he didn't have the courage to ruin the mental image the children had formed.

Although it was still embarrassing.

"…Priscilla won't get upset about this."

He whispered, more to himself than to others.

He didn't think it was a big problem, but he did believe that she should take a good part of the credit for her work today.

"It seems she's having a chat with Emilia-sama" Commented Ram, pointing with a nod of her head to one side.

Subaru could indeed notice that Emilia and Priscilla seemed to be having a private conversation, away from the rest of the group.

Although he was somewhat curious about what they were talking about, it also seemed that Priscilla had no intention of shouting to everyone about her feat.

She seemed to not need everyone's approval to feel satisfied.

That was fine with him.

"…Well. I suppose we'll just have to report Petelgeuse's defeat to the capital and everyone will get their reward. And then… there's nothing more to do… That would be all."

When Subaru thought about his next actions, he realized that… everything really had ended.

The loops that had brought him so much pain… the deaths of his friends he had lived through… the feeling of loss that had made him start self-harming.

All of that had been solved and ended in such a…

"If you say it was too easy, I'll hit you."

Felix seemed to get angry for some reason as he shouted into his friend's ear.

"Ouch…!" —Subaru brought a hand to his ear because of the sudden shout—. "Hey, why that?"

"You were making a face like 'this was too easy to be true.' You can't be seriously thinking about it… can you?"

At Felix's question, Subaru stuttered a little.

"Well… I…"

"Subaru-Dono."

The serious voice of the experienced warrior Wilhelm made itself present. When he heard it, Subaru noticed that his eyes were intently fixed on him.

"…I think you fought with great bravery, courage, and effort throughout today."

He clarified, feeling it was important to say it.

"But I also consider that you should not be so blind to the danger you have managed to get through."

"Huh?"

"You almost died three times!"

Mimi shouted, as if she couldn't believe how stupid her brother could be.

And they knew they were right.

When Ram saved him from being crushed by the invisible hands in the forest.

When Emilia arrived just in time to defeat the last Finger.

When Priscilla burned the Archbishop with her Yang Sword in the end.

"How can you consider that 'too easy'?"

"Eh, I…"

Subaru hesitated.

And seeing it from a third perspective… yes, the truth was that many things hadn't gone according to plan.

He himself had believed more than once that he would have to go through a fifth life to come out victorious.

"I apologize, I know you're right. Sorry. I suppose I shouldn't complain about it."

Even so, he was still uneasy for some reason.

Everything ended. Everything is fine… So why do I feel like something doesn't fit?

It wasn't that everything felt too easy. It was that he felt that there was something that had jumped from his loops that didn't make sense in the present.

What is missing? What information is he omitting? What is the missing key piece?

"The snowstorm."

When that thought came to his mind, it seemed that a switch had been activated. One that quickly allowed him to connect the dots.

"In my first and third loops, in the mansion, I'm sure there was a strong storm around it."

The second time, Subaru never managed to reach the village or the mansion because he was devoured by the White Whale. But he could assume that surely the same would have happened in that case.

If that was the case, in this fourth life… nothing had happened regarding it.

That was good, of course. Subaru had only seen that beast once, and it was just before dying beheaded. He didn't even know what those words meant before dying.

And he definitely didn't want or need to face them again.

But still, their presence was dangerous.

The interior of the mansion in those loops was frozen. His mother Betty's library was trapped in a block of ice. The beast had frozen the mansion from the inside and would have had to arrive after the cult attacked.

And considering that Ram had died in those loops… for Subaru there was no doubt that it was the fault of that beast that had been able to face her.

After all, until now he hadn't seen Ram have a real problem facing any enemy.

"Did we kill Petelgeuse before he could do something to call that beast? Won't it come as soon as we let our guard down?"

Truthfully, Subaru didn't believe that was going to happen. Call it intuition or stupidity, but he already believed they were out of danger.

Simply, knowing that there was a possibility of facing such an enemy, that such a beast could still be alive… was something that worried him deep inside.

He was afraid of having an enemy that, unlike Petelgeuse, he had no idea how to deal with at all.

"Ah! Look, look!"

"Hmm?"

Pulling Subaru out of his internal worried thoughts, he relaxed almost immediately when the voices turned towards a group of carriages that had arrived.

"Huh? It seems we arrived late to the party."

The figure of a Wolfling smiled widely as he greeted everyone with an arm in the air.

Behind him, several men followed, mounted on a dozen ligers and earth dragons, among whom stood out a one-armed man and a small demi-human boy.

"Ricardo! Tivey-chan! Pal!" Subaru smiled at everyone, waving back.

"Heyyyy! Sorry for the delay. We had several mishaps when we split up."

Ricardo apologized as he approached, although his smile didn't leave his face.

Upon seeing the scene of the village, everyone gathered and without a single cultist alive in sight, all the newcomers reached that conclusion almost immediately.

Quickly, the three men got off their beasts and approached the rest of the group.

"Did the fight get complicated around here, bro?"

Aldebaran looked around, clearly seeing several traces of a clear fight around him. Both from the traces of magical ice and the destroyed carriages and the deteriorated village houses.

"Well… yes. More than you could imagine."

Subaru decided to give the details at a more private moment, not in front of all the villagers.

The details that he had been possessed by a Sin Archbishop would be something he would mention later, when there were no young ears nearby.

"Hmph. You're late, Aldebaran. Quite late. My divine being already took care of everything personally."

Priscilla's gaze settled on the one-armed man, and it almost seemed that his face, covered by the helmet, turned pale white.

"Ugh…" —Aldebaran seemed ready to die—. "The princess is disappointed."

"Do you have something to say?"

"H-hey. We also had more than one problem around the forest, you know?"

Ricardo, as a good man, tried to defend the poor human who seemed to be getting strongly scolded.

Although his words attracted everyone's attention.

"Did you face many cultists?"

Julius asked as his gaze scanned all the members of the Iron Fangs.

There didn't seem to be any casualties in his team, which filled him with relief.

"Well. The map was correct. There were too many hidden areas that served as the Witch Cult's lair throughout the forest around the Mathers territory."

Tivey, adjusting his monocle, briefly explained. It seemed that not everything was so easy despite having attacked the enemy from a weak flank.

"Did everything go well?" Mimi asked, worried about her other brother.

"Yes. Although it was difficult. There were hundreds of cultists. We even faced a Finger."

Added Aldebaran.

"Oh. Well, I suppose they helped defeat the ten fingers too."

Upon hearing Aldebaran's words, Subaru knew it must have been a hard battle.

He didn't know if they had faced an Archbishop being possessed by Petelgeuse, but even if not, he knew they were lucky not to have a single casualty.

The fact that the entire team had survived was a miracle in itself.

"So you took care of all of them, Nya?"

Asked Felix.

"Some of them tried to escape, but thanks to the Wolfling's sharp nose, they weren't able to."

Aldebaran pointed to Ricardo with a gesture of approval.

"I told you you could count on me!"

Ricardo laughed at the compliment.

"Although we were surprised to see several cultists frozen as we approached here. We thought it was your doing."

Commented Tivey, frowning with curiosity.

"Well. Not exactly, Tivey-chan. It was Emilia-tan's work. She defended the surroundings while we weren't here."

Explained Subaru, feeling a pang of pride for his friend.

"The half-elf, huh? She certainly did a good job, brother."

Aldebaran nodded with respect.

"Yes. I'm sure she did."

Subaru smiled at recognizing the mutual effort of everyone in combat.

"That would be our whole report… although I think there's something that involves you too, Nii-sama."

"Eh? Me?" Subaru pointed to himself with his finger, confused by Tivey's words.

Aldebaran proceeded to explain.

"In one of the hideouts, there was a boy who stood out among the cultists. He wasn't dressed like them, and we captured him. We brought him to you at his request."

"Huh? And what would I have to do with him?"

"Well, when we mentioned your name by chance… he—"

"H-hey! C-could you put me down and see if I've really gone crazy!?"

"…!"

"That voice…"

When Subaru heard that sharp, not masculine, and somewhat funny voice, he was left breathless.

Right after that, he proceeded to see Tivey carrying without difficulty the body of a boy tied to a wooden log.

And on top of him…

"N-Natsuki-san?"

"…Pffffff! Otto! Where have you been, buddy!?"

Immediately, a mocking and genuine smile burst on his face, along with a laugh when Subaru managed to see a gray-haired merchant completely defenseless and tied up.

"Huh? N-Natsuki-san? Is it you? The real one?"

"…Nah, just another fantasy of your mind that came back to keep messing with your life" Subaru replied with an ironic smile.

"…In any other situation I'd believe it without hesitation, but I'm not in the mood now! Don't mess with me!"

Enjoying the new way of comforting Otto, by the pathetic way he was tied up and the absurdly anticlimactic nature of the situation, Subaru simply couldn't help but mock him.

"Pff. Hahaha. Buddy!, I wouldn't have thought we'd reunite like this."

"Huh? From the way you refer to him, it's safe to say he wasn't lying when he met you."

Commented Julius, observing the scene with amusement.

"You do remember him!?"

Felix quickly noticed the great confidence that the otherworldly boy seemed to have with the merchant. At least that's what it seemed like from his jokes.

He assumed he was a childhood friend that Subaru had managed to remember.

"Well. It was a few days ago when my mind got some information about him."

Subaru told a slight lie.

Technically he didn't remember him, but it was true that Otto had spoken to him about him in a previous life. He couldn't give the details, but this was enough for now.

"How the hell did you end up in this situation?"

Asked Subaru to the tied-up merchant.

The group that had captured him responded for him.

"He was inside one of the cult's hideouts. But although he didn't attack us, we didn't know if he was a cultist disguised as a hostage."

Explained Ricardo, shrugging.

"There was already a cultist disguised among the merchants. It's normal that they didn't trust him immediately." Julius agreed with that reasoning.

"But he seemed to react as soon as we said your name, Nii-sama. So we captured him and took the risk of showing him to you."

"Hmm. I see" —Subaru smiled—. "You can untie him. His bad luck is terrible, but he's a good guy at heart. He would never join the Witch Cult. Although they might consider him with a good sum of money."

"I appreciate your trust in me, but don't you think you're cruel saying that last part knowing the position I'm in now!? No! Actually, I need to know more. Where the hell have you been all these years!?"

"Come on, come on, Otto. You've suffered worse things than just a little bullying from me. I didn't use to bother you all the time when we were kids" —said Subaru with feigned innocence.

"Yes, you did!" —protested Otto, his eyes wide open.

"Haha… Ahhh. I already feel much better." Subaru wouldn't stop bothering Otto for a good while as a way to release his own worries.

"Hah. You sure are noisy."

Several meters away from them, watching everyone's reactions with a smile, Priscilla only observed the fruits that the world had granted her this time.

She was in a very good mood. The world had given her a lot of entertainment over the last few hours.

The fun request for war alongside the boy she had met years ago. The hunt of her hands against one of the Three Great Mabeasts. And the assassination of the Sin Archbishop thanks to her Yang Sword.

All three things had been too entertaining for her. And she was satisfied with the result of finishing off the scum that had dared to attack what she considered hers.

"…Although… the sight of this girl ruins the image a bit" She murmured, not addressing anyone directly.

"…"

Emilia, even if she wasn't able to read minds, felt that her presence wasn't well received by the Sun Princess in front of her.

But she totally didn't care about her opinion at that moment. She felt that she had to talk to her.

It was just… difficult.

"What's wrong? Can't you speak for yourself?" Priscilla raised an eyebrow impatiently.

"…You don't have to be so rude. I haven't done anything to you" —Emilia said through gritted teeth, trying to sound gentle despite everything in front of a girl who… wasn't so close.

Puck was sitting on her shoulder, silent. His daughter wanted to talk to Priscilla, and he would only be observing.

"You can't tell me what I can or can't say. My divine being only says what is true" —Priscilla crossed her arms.

"…"

Emilia clenched her fists a little at her sides, resisting the insults.

"So. Are you going to talk or are you just going to waste my time?"

"…"

Taking Priscilla by surprise, Emilia relaxed her frustration and the effort of her muscles, refusing to show hostility.

Instead, she joined her arms in front of her and made a bow.

"And this?" —asked Priscilla, raising an eyebrow.

"I… thank you for managing to save Subaru when he was possessed by the Archbishop" —Emilia said sincerely—. "If it weren't for you… he would be dead."

Emilia felt that she had to say those words for herself.

"I didn't do it for you" Priscilla replied coldly.

"I know. I'm not stupid" she admitted. "But even so… thank you for saving my friend."

The silence stretched for only a few seconds as Priscilla looked with disdain at the girl beneath her.

"…Raise your head. Your patheticness makes me sick" —she finally said.

Not really knowing if it was a sign of acceptance or pity, Emilia stood up after hearing those words.

"You should be more careful when talking to my daughter."

Puck seemed ready to completely freeze Priscilla at that moment. He seemed to have a special rage towards her for some reason.

"It's okay, Puck. You don't have to worry."

Emilia stopped him gently with her voice. She seemed to want to find another way to deal with her.

"Listen… we didn't have the best first impression of each other. In part, I feel guilty for having thought badly of you the first time we met. So… I'm sorry."

"Hmm? And why would you dare to even think of a flaw in me?"

Priscilla narrowed her eyes.

"That's because… no. It doesn't matter."

Emilia fell silent, feeling more than one negative emotion inside her.

Jealousy, fear, anger. They were some of them, even if she herself didn't know it. But she would try to hide it.

"…You're a friend of Subaru, aren't you? His childhood friend too?"

She asked, changing the subject.

"That's right."

Priscilla affirmed as if it were obvious. This girl should already know that from before. But it seemed she paid special attention to it.

"I'm also his friend… not from childhood, but he's still important to me. So…" Emilia was silent for a second. "I just wanted to make peace with you and maybe… be on good terms."

"…Do you want to be my friend?"

Priscilla raised an eyebrow, bewildered by Emilia's request.

"…If you don't have a problem with that" Emilia replied timidly.

"…Hah" —Priscilla snorted—. "The world will end before I consider a simple half-devil worthy of being my friend."

"…"

Emilia received the total rejection from a person again just for being a half-elf.

It wasn't the first time she received it, but she still hadn't gotten used to it at all.

Even so, coming precisely from the Sun Princess, the feeling was slightly different.

Inside her, there was only a slight thought of "Oh well. I tried."

"I see. In that case, I only have to say one more thing."

She said, lifting her head with determination.

"Do you want something else? Now what?"

Priscilla seemed amused by the half-elf's perseverance.

"I wanted to kindly ask you to be on good terms. But since that's not possible… I just want to make a declaration." She took a breath. "I don't know what he'll decide… but I'll make Subaru prefer to join my camp a thousand times before yours. That's all. Thank you."

"…!"

Without giving her time to respond, Emilia simply turned around and walked away from Priscilla, almost running away from her.

But even so, her direct words took the Sun Princess by surprise… for the better.

"…She's not as incompetent and useless as I thought… although she's an idiot for believing those words."

Priscilla, although clearly she didn't see her capable of it, nor of being a worthy rival, enjoyed the small declaration of war that the half-elf had given her.

"…Was it necessary to say it like that?"

Once they were slightly away, Puck whispered in Emilia's ear.

He also noticed that her face and ears were slightly flushed.

"I j-just said it on instinct. I don't know what I was thinking…"

It seemed that that slight declaration was the work of the impulse that Emilia had had at that moment. In addition to her emotions, she didn't seem to have prepared to say it beforehand.

"…Although" —Emilia whispered— "it's not that I lied."

"By Od"

Puck brought a paw to his forehead, somewhat frustrated by how the situation had developed at that point.

And partly because of the attitude his daughter seemed to have taken towards that human. Oh well. It would be a problem he would take care of later.

"E-Emilia-sama…"

"Huh?" Pulling her out of her thoughts, Emilia made a small scream of surprise when the villagers' voices referred to her.

Without realizing it, she had ended up being surrounded by several of them. And they all seemed nervous when dealing with her.

"…Y-yes?" —she asked, her voice trembling.

"Th-thank you so much for protecting my family from that Archbishop!"

When the first child spoke, somewhat trembling, Emilia was briefly confused by his words.

"Y-your shield protected us from the dangers, and we also saw how you protected Subaru."

"Almost no one from the village was present to see it, but… when they return, we'll tell them that you protected us… Thank you very much, Emilia-sama."

An older woman added, with tears in her eyes.

"A-ah… Eh, I…" Emilia got nervous from the avalanche of thanks she was receiving.

She was somewhat used to being treated badly by everyone… but she wasn't at all used to everyone thanking her genuinely.

It took a few seconds of nervousness before she could take a breath of confidence and speak, still with a stutter.

"I… it was nothing. It was my duty. Thank you very much for trusting us."

And when she said those words, she felt a weight had been lifted inside her.

"I couldn't have done it alone… And I'm sure any other camp could have done it better. But even so… this is a start."

Emilia felt that she had achieved a small personal achievement, no matter how stupid it sounded.

"Although… what I want right now is…" she looked to one side, where the otherworldly boy was laughing along with the rest of his friends.

Gathering her courage, she took a few steps towards him, calling him with her voice.

"…Suba—"

"Subaru-dono."

"Huh?" —Subaru, who was still mocking Otto, turned towards Wilhelm.

He noticed a worried face that took him by surprise.

"What's wrong, Wilhelm-san?"

He asked, feeling how the atmosphere around him suddenly changed.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your meeting, but I have something to report" said Wilhelm, his face serious. "I just received a call from a magic mirror from the Karsten mansion and… I think something has happened."

"…Huh?" Subaru felt his blood run cold in his veins.

"Mng… Ngh… Ahhhhh…"

In some hidden place in Lugunica… probably the most hidden place in the entire kingdom. A certain princess was waking up from her bed.

With her eyes still unfocused, her hair disheveled, and her body completely naked, she was coming out of a very, very good dream.

The kind of dream that makes waking up almost a tragedy, because current reality could never match the sweetness of that dream world of the past where everything was perfect.

The first thing she did upon waking was to feel the soft sensation that seemed to be on her right palm. She quickly turned her gaze there.

And she found the small plush of a human with black hair.

Immediately, she let out an ear-to-ear smile on her beautiful face. Her eyes, still sleepy, lit up with a glow that only appeared in the presence of that object.

"Hehe. Good morning, Subaru-chan" She whispered with a sweet and sticky voice.

Bringing the plush closer, she buried it between her two breasts, hugging it tightly as if it were the most important thing to her.

The soft, worn fabric of the doll pressed against her bare skin, and she inhaled deeply, as if she could smell something of him in that inanimate object.

"Hehe. You have no idea how well I slept. Or maybe you do. It's impossible to have a bad night when you're always here with me, right?"

She hugged it tighter for several minutes, curled up in herself with the greatest comfort she could. Her fingers caressed the small fabric hair of the doll, tracing imaginary patterns on its head.

Only then, with deliberate slowness, she stood up.

The room around her was very, very different from her home centuries ago. This home was luxurious despite being hidden in a place where supposedly there was nothing.

Surrounded by her favorite colors —purple and gold tones that evoked a forgotten royalty—, her belongings, few but important, that reminded her who she was and what she had been.

And, what stood out the most… a great variety of copies and plushies identical to the one she had in her hand, of different sizes, surrounding everything around.

Some as small as her fist, others almost as big as a child. All of them with the same black fabric hair and the same dark button eyes.

All of them were copies, of course. Only the one she had in her hand was original, and therefore it was the one that mattered most to her.

The others were mere substitutes.

But waking up in the middle of dozens of copies of the only man who wasn't a piece of meat to her was… the best way to wake up.

"—…!"

A tremor shook her entire room with force. The dolls fell forward against the floor, their small rag bodies scattered across the carpet like defeated soldiers in a battle.

"—But what…?"

Her voice lost all its previous sweetness, replaced by a tone of irritation.

She felt how her beautiful awakening was beginning to be stained by the noises of several screams outside her room. Voices of men, already familiar at this point, and the sound of several blows and destruction.

"Ngh… Now what could have happened to that guy to cause such a commotion" She murmured, rolling her eyes. "Did someone call him a virgin again? Hehehe…"

Trying to maintain her good mood in some way, she deformed her own body before leaving her room.

Her true body could only be seen by one person who was no longer there.. So she always made sure to adopt her second favorite body.

Forming clothes at the same time her body changed size and shape. It was such a natural process for her as breathing.

Before leaving, she turned all the plushies into a tiny mass object, a small sphere that she carefully stored.

She wouldn't allow anyone to enter her room, and yet, she took the risk that no one would be able to see what was inside it.

"Hah. Let's see what's here."

Once she left her room, she walked for only a few minutes before finding the source of the noise.

The corridors of the hideout were illuminated by torches that flickered irregularly, and the echo of the blows grew louder as she approached.

She had planned to mock that wannabe man just to start the day with some fun. And perhaps as a small revenge for the noise that had ruined her awakening.

But upon seeing the scene… she hid behind a column upon seeing something out of the ordinary.

There was a twin with dark brown hair who seemed to have been thrown with force against the wall, as his face was bleeding. Blood dripped from his forehead to his jaw, staining his clothes with dark spots that slowly spread.

Next to him, protectively, his brother had an arm in front of him protecting him. The posture of both was tense, like beasts, as if they knew they couldn't win, but they refused to flee. Their eyes burned with living hatred.

And both looked with a desire to kill at the short white-haired boy who was a few meters away, and who, for how calm he usually was, had a very, very, very angry face.

His fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. His golden eyes, normally so indifferent, now shone with a fury he could barely contain. His jaw clenched, his shoulders tense, every muscle in his body prepared to attack.

"…Hehehe" —the hidden ex-princess brought a hand to her mouth, suppressing a giggle—. "This will be a good morning."

She leaned against the column, crossed her arms, and prepared to observe. There was no hurry to intervene. After all, the show was just beginning.

Notes:

So… Is this a goodbye?

Well, let's see, let's not get ahead of ourselves. First things first.

What did you think of the chapter? Interestingly, I'm writing this even before having the chapter completed. But since I already have the idea of what I plan to write, I'm already comfortable writing the notes.

Arc 3 was without a doubt much more similar to canon than arc 2 and the Snow Festival. While everything was relatively original up to chapter 36, from there on, I hesitated quite a bit when writing, and I was afraid that my fic was in decline.

I don't know if the ending was a worthy ending. I'm someone very insecure and sensitive to comments, but, well, look, arc 3 ended. Not many fics get that far.

Now, whether it's a good ending, boring, decent, cheesy, or whatever, depends on you. Leave me a comment and let's see what you think of this chapter and the story as a whole. I want to hear your opinions on everything.

About the future of this fic...

Well, arc 4 is coming BUT I don't want it to be exactly like canon… besides, there are many things that wouldn't fit.

Obviously there will be many foundations and things that I have to make sure work well, so I'll say it directly. Don't expect updates for the next few weeks.

I suppose this will be a temporary goodbye. Since I plan to take several weeks and perhaps months to write quite a bit about the next chapters, extras, flashbacks, history, and everything else for arc 4. And have backup chapters so I don't feel like I'm making you wait too long between chapters.

Is there a possibility that arc 4 won't happen and this will end up as an abandoned fic? I mean, no, but I can only say it depends.

It depends on how I feel when writing it and if I feel it's worth doing. I'm sorry, guys, but I think it's for the best.

Don't think this is a confirmation either; as I said, I plan to write. It will just take some time for the next update.

I'm a little afraid that this fic will be forgotten and no one will be present when I return. But there's no point in worrying about the future, is there? Anyway. I have faith. So let's move forward.

Do I have anything else to say? I suppose a special thanks to these users:

Samuel Elías, Ant Lord, yij0_o, Narani, OneBlackOtaku 1, Diego Mora, Cepheus'Affection214, CT, Arashi, Mr Fanboy, Erdem Poyraz, James, JorgeBKN, DarnTwine, Hrx Pro, JayReeds, ComicSans3307

They know why.

A thanks to Thinkmind, Illiterally_Correct, and Dexterminio for being the three bases I used for this fic.

A thanks to Marth_943 for uploading it translated into Spanish on Wattpad.

And obviously to all of you for reading. Thank you all very much for your constant support, and I hope this fic has become at least something worth reading.

That's all for now, folks. See you. Byeee!