Subaru woke up in his bed, shaking uncontrollably. He had just died in one of the gruesome ways possible: being swallowed alive and dissolved in stomach fluids.

He couldn't find it in himself to get out of bed. Instead, he started sweating profusely and curling up, trying to comfort himself.

After ten minutes of this, there was a knock at his door. "Subaru-kun, can I come in?" Rem's voice made it to Subaru's ears, but he only mumbled something in response.

She could faintly hear him, so Rem entered Subaru's room. As soon as she did, she gasped and dashed to his side. "Subaru-kun! What is wrong? What happened?"

She took hold of his hand and looked at the disturbed boy with worry. This only served to make Subaru start crying. "I'm sorry, Rem..." he sobbed, "I'm sorry. I failed. Again."

Rem only looked even more worried after he said this. "D-did you have a nightmare?" 

Subaru kept on crying, his mind on the verge of collapse. He couldn't handle the combination of stress, pain, fear, and anxiety that he was experiencing, making it obvious to everybody that his mental health was completely destroyed.

Seeing Subaru like this pained Rem, so she did the only thing that she knew to do. She sat up and wrapped her arms around Subaru, giving him a deep hug from behind.

This calmed him down, as his crying lessened. He started sniffling, and was finally able to talk again. "Sorry, Rem. I can't explain this to you, but I'm just having the worst time right now. Can you stay here for a while?" He didn't want to admit it, but her hug calmed him down some, and her presence, her living body, being there made him feel less crazy.

"Of course." She warmly said, willing to do anything for the boy that she loved.

"Thanks." They stayed in that position for the better part of an hour, with Subaru trying desperately to come up with a plan that would not end like his last one did.

Suddenly, after a long period of silence, Subaru had an idea. "Hey Rem, I think that I'm better now. I just needed to calm down. Let's go to the courtyard and sit in the sun. I'll tell you about what had me worried so much when we get there."

Rem broke the contact between them, and nodded. She then followed Subaru through the halls of the mansion, and out onto the yard in front of the gates.

Subaru sat down in the middle of the grass and patted the ground next to him, gesturing for Rem to sit there. 

She did, and expectantly waited for Subaru to explain why he had been acting crazed earlier.

"Well, first off, I'm sorry for worrying you, Rem. I let my emotions get the best of me, and I broke down. I'm better now, so I'll let you know what happened." Of course, he wasn't going to tell her the truth, but he had something close enough to it.

"I learned that Witch Cultists will be attacking Roswaal's domain in three days, and if we try to take the highway back, the White Whale will kill us."

Rem looked back with shock. "Witch Cultists?! Are you sure?!" There was anger in her voice, making her hate for the evildoers apparent.

"Yes, I'm sure. And if we don't kill them in time, then not only will the villagers die, but everybody in the mansion will die too."

Rem gasped and stood up. "We need to tell Crusch-san about this immediately!"

Subaru shook his head and stayed put. "No. That won't work. There's nothing in it for her, so she won't help us. Instead, there's somebody else who might be able to do something."

She looked confused, wondering how Subaru came to those conclusions. "And who will help us then?"

A motion caught Subaru's eye, and he smirked. "He just pulled up to the gate." He slowly stood us, groaning as his body objected to the movement. 

At the gate, he greeted Reinhard, who immediately bowed. "I am sorry. I didn't stop that meaningless duel from happening. I failed both you and Julius as a friend." Subaru had heard this before, so he waved it off.

"Don't worry about it. I'm over that, because there's something way more important happening now. Witch Cultists are-"

He was interrupted when Reinhard swung his upper body up. "Please slow down. First, I am glad that you hold no grudge against Julius, but I still believe that you need to talk to him. Now, please continue about the Witch Cultists."

"Well, they will be attacking the Mathers domain in three days. They will kill everybody there, which means that Emilia is in danger. Will you help us fight them?"

Reinhard was taken back, and was obviously conflicted. "I would love to accept your offer, but there may be a few issues. I believe what you say, but others may not. I have scheduled a courtesy call outside of the capital that is supposed to take place in the following days, and cancelling that will take good reasons on my part. I will also need Felt-sama's approval before I aid Emilia-sama. As much as it saddens me, I cannot help another candidate unless Felt-sama gives me permission to do so."

Subaru looked angry when Reinhard said that. "What?! Aren't you a knight? Aren't you supposed to help all people, not only those that your little lady approves of saving? What kind of joke are you?"

Reinhard stiffened at this. "I will forget that you just insulted me, but I cannot forgive you until you take back what you have said about Felt-sama. She is not just 'a little lady', and the only people who I need to ask to save are the other candidates, so please do not insult her."

Subaru sneered, about to say something rash, but Rem stopped him. "We are sorry for our rudeness, Reinhard-sama," she said.

Rem glared at Subaru, who reluctantly submitted to her. "I'm sorry, Reinhard. I shouldn't have said that about Felt. I'm just under a lot of stress right now, so please understand."

He hated the fact that he sounded like that one coworker that keeps messing stuff up, but Subaru didn't have an explanation other than that for Reinhard.

The Master Swordsman understood. He nodded his head, and accepted the apology. "Now, I still believe that you need to have a discussion with Julius. The two of you need to make up as soon as possible. You even said that you are over your anger towards him, so all that is left is to communicate that with him. Of course, I will contact Felt-sama on the way there, and if she approves of me assisting you, I will cancel my previous appointment."

Subaru saw this as a win, so he accepted the offer, even though there was one thing that he didn't want to do.

Talk to (Y/N), the one who didn't give him good enough instructions in order to actually succeed. The reason that Subaru's had to die multiple times through trial and error. The reason that Rem died. 

Of course, he would do almost anything to have Reinhard on his side, so he would go to the Hoshin residence like Reinhard wanted him to do. "Okay, I'll go."

Time Skip

Subaru and Rem sat in the back of the carriage while Reinhard steered it while talking to Felt via conversing mirror.

"Should he be calling and driving?" Subaru mumbled.

"What?" Rem asked. Subaru just shook his head and mouthed 'never mind."

The two of them sat in silence as they listened to Felt's faint voice. "Why do I care? Just go help her! That political crap that I'm supposed to care about doesn't matter!"

Subaru smiled faintly when he heard Felt explain her reasoning. She didn't care about power or political gain, making her perhaps the best candidate behind Emilia.

Reinhard raised his voice so that Subaru and Rem could clearly hear him. "In case the two of you did not hear that, Felt-sama just approved my assisting you in defeating the Witch Cult. As you talk with Julius, I will cancel my prior appointment."

"Thank you Reinhard-sama!" Rem exclaimed.

With less energy than Rem, but more than he had been showing recently, Subaru thanked Reinhard.

"It is no problem. It is my honor to be able to help you." Reinhard responded.

Soon afterwards, they arrived at the Hoshin mansion. 

This time, Subaru didn't bother to act surprised at the magnificence of the structure. Instead, he walked off towards the pool, where Julius had just gotten out to greet them.

"Hello, Subaru. What are you doing here?" he politely asked.

Subaru pointed back to Reinhard, who had caught up with him. "Hello Julius. If you don't mind, I would appreciate it if the two of you would have a civil conversation and get over your conflicts."

Julius looked at Subaru, who nodded. "I'm not as angry at you as I was, so I'm willing to talk."

This seemed to surprise Julius, who gestured to the pool. Subaru waved his hand in rejection. "If you don't mind, can we stay out of the water? I have plans after this, so I don't want to end up spending too much time here."

"I understand. In that case, let's go over there." Julius pointed to an open field, where he led Subaru to.

In the pool, (Y/N), who was clad in chainmail armor, noticed their arrival. You got out of the water, and approached Rem and Reinhard, who were still near the carriage.

"Hey Rem, Reinhard. Did you guys bring Subaru here to make up with Julius?"

Reinhard was talking to his mirror, so Rem answered. "Yes. That is why we were here, but I believe that there is something that you need to know. Witch Cultists will be attacking Roswaal-sama's domain in three days, so Reinhard will join us and help us defeat them."

This news shocked you, because this meant that Subaru must have died several times to reach this point. "Really? So, what are you guys planning to do?" You hoped that Subaru wasn't doing anything stupid, and would stick to your plan.

Rem fidgeted, and debated with herself over whether she should tell you about the plan, or if she should wait until Subaru came back. It looks like the first one won, as she explained, "As of right now, we are going to travel with Reinhard-san to the mansion, where we will defeat the Witch Cult."

You narrowed your eyes. "Don't you think that you could use more help, or at least get some carriages to evacuate the villagers?" By now, you could tell that something must have happened in Subaru's previous attempts, and this time around would either end up as a failure or with a result that changes everything.

Rem shook her head. "With Reinhard-sama, we will be able to defeat the Witch Cultists, who will appear in three days. If I had to guess, I would think that Subaru wants to move the villagers to the mansion or other safe place, which does not require transportation. There will be some people defending the villagers, and some attacking the Witch Cultists."

 This made sense, but it wouldn't do. Subaru needed to kill the White Whale, and then make positive relationships with the Hoshin and Karsten houses. 

But then again, if he's successful, then Rem won't be attacked by the Archbishops of Greed and Gluttony. 

At the same time, Subaru won't have the ending where he saves Emilia and risks his life to get rid of the explosives.

As far as you could think, the goods seemed to outweigh the bads, so you wouldn't try and change Subaru's plan. Of course, you'll have a conversation with him and find out what happened, but you don't plan to convince him to follow the original route.

"Ok," you tell Rem. "If any of you need help, feel free to ask anybody. That can mean me, the Hoshins, or even Crusch. I'm sure that, with the right words, you can convince anybody to help."

Rem looked uncomfortable. "Of course. Thank you, (Y/N)." It seemed like she was hiding something, but you didn't press on.

At this time, Reinhard finally finished his call. "Sorry about that, (Y/N). I had to cancel an appointment in order to help defeat the Witch Cultists. I'm sure that Subaru has a plan, so if we need additional assistance, we will be sure to ask for it as soon as he gets back."

All of you look over to where Subaru was sitting next to Julius. They looked like they were having a non-violent conversation, so that was good.

"Speaking of Subaru, can I talk to him alone once he is finished with Julius? There's a few things that I want to talk to him about." You know that they would let you talk to Subaru, but you asked because it was polite.

"Of course," Rem replied.

Reinhard nodded. "(Y/N), if you're not too exhausted, would you like to have a practice bout to pass the time? I am sure that I can give you a few suggestions in order to help you improve your swordsmanship."

You looked surprised, but it was a pleasant kind of surprise. "Sure. Just let me take this armor off and grab some wooden swords."

Reinhard shook his head. "There is no need to get the swords. I have some in my carriage." 

You shrugged your shoulders, and proceeded to take the chain mail off while Reinhard retrieved the practice swords. He tossed you one, and you backed away a few steps, away from the driveway and into the grass. 

Reinhard followed you, and stopped about five feet away. You know that there is no way that you will even be a challenge for this guy, but you're going to try your best anyway. 

You took your stance; feet apart and both hands on the sword, which was pointed forwards. Reinhard simply stood where he was, and held the sword at his side.

You took a deep breath, and summoned strength into your legs. With a burst of speed, you dashed at Reinhard. He dodged the attack with speed that you couldn't even register. 

While protecting the front side of your body, you turned around, and found him directly behind you. "Ok. Advance again." Reinhard said.

You grinned. You might be outclassed, but it was still awesome to see Reinhard's skills in person. He is probably the strongest person in this world, and stronger than a lot of other anime characters. And you get to fight him in a friendly match.

You charge at him again, and miss once again. This time, Reinhard called for you to stop. "From what I have seen, you tend to leave your left side open when you strike. To fix this, don't arch your back so much when you strike. This will take away unnecessary movement, and minimize your vulnerable areas."

You take a moment to visualize those changes, and you once again take a stance, ready to charge Reinhard again. He nodded his head, and you dashed at him. This time, you did what he suggested, and didn't arch your back like you had been doing.  Julius had been telling you to fix your posture, but it seemed like it locked in better when Reinhard was instructing you.

You used the power from your hips, shoulders, and arms to deal the fastest, most powerful blow that you had ever delivered. Of course, it missed Reinhard, but it was a huge improvement.

Reinhard nodded approvingly. "Good. Now, just make sure that you reduce unneeded movements, and work on becoming stronger. That is all the advice that I can give you until you reach a higher level."

You grin, glad that you were making improvements. Rem cleared her throat, turning all attention to her. "Subaru-kun seems to have finished his conversation. He should be back soon."

You look over to where Subaru had been talking to Julius, and indeed, the two of them were making their way towards you.

Julius came along with Subaru, and talked to Reinhard while you took Subaru to the side. He looked irritated, but you weren't sure of the cause. Was it Julius, or something else?

"What do you want, (Y/N)? Just let me go so I can get to the mansion as soon as possible." Subaru asked, though spat would be a better way to describe it. 

"What happened? Why are you acting like this and not following our plan? What went wrong?" You asked sincerely, hoping to understand what Subaru was going through.

Instead, this made everything worse. "What do you mean, what went wrong?! Everything went wrong! Your plan sucks, and I died. The first time, I had to commit suicide, and then I got swallowed alive! So of course I'm going to try something else! I don't want to go through that pain! I just want to live the easiest, safest route. Is that too much to ask for?!" At this point, Subaru was almost yelling, so you shushed him, not wanting the others to pick up on the conversation.

"Okay, calm down, Subaru. Let me know what went wron-"

"Everything went wrong! Not a single thing works out!"

At this point, you're getting frustrated too. "Well, why don't you try again, or at least try to stick to something close to the original plan? You didn't have enough information the first time around, so maybe it'll work the next time around!"

He shook his head violently. "No, it won't! They only care about themselves, so nobody will help us! If you remembered what they said to me, you would realize this!"

It is your turn to shake your head. "Well then, if nobody will help you, why is Reinhard standing right there?"

His eyes twitched. "He doesn't count. It's the others that are the problem, so that's why I'm only leaving with him."

You sighed. "Just so you know, you'll probably get Anastasia mad since you're not going to be there for the meeting you told her about. If you're going to leave without her then I'll just let her know. I won't stop you from doing this, but promise me that you'll tell me everything again and listen to me if things go wrong this time."

Subaru scoffed, and walked away without responding. All you could do was sigh. He will probably die, but if he didn't, things would turn out different than they did in the anime, and probably for the worse.

You watched as Subaru entered the dragon carriage, with Rem and Reinhard following him. They soon left, and you couldn't help but felt sorry for whatever it was that Subaru has, and will go through.

"(Y/N), put that chainmail armor back on! You still have water training!"

Time Skip

Subaru, Rem, and Reinhard are currently on the Liafus Highway, heading to Roswaal's domain. Subaru didn't didn't want to waste any time, so they left as soon as they were finished at Anastasia's mansion.

The ride was quiet, both Rem and Reinhard made uncomfortable with the almost menacing air that was coming from Subaru.

"So, I heard that you and Julius are on good terms now..." Reinhard tried to start a conversation, but failed as soon as Subaru opened his mouth to respond.

"Yep."

Once again, the carriage went silent, but it was Rem that broke it a second time. "Subaru-kun, what will our strategy be when the Witch Cult attacks?"

Subaru looked confused. "Huh? What strategy? We can just have Reinhard kill the Witch Cultists, and all other capable fighters can fight them too. As long as nobody dies, I don't care."

This statement alarmed the two listeners. "Subaru-kun, are you sure? Is there not a better way of going about this?" Rem asked.

Subaru sighed. "There probably is, so you do it. You come up with a plan that'll work. I'm done trying to figure everything out." 

Rem shifted uncomfortably, but nodded her head. The rest of the ride was silent, nobody wanting to start another awkward conversation. 

It was barely past midnight when they arrived at the mansion, the White Whale being absent from their route.

They rode up to the front door of the mansion, where Rem knocked on the door.

While they waited for it to open, Reinhard made a mental note to make awkwardness evasion another one of his divine blessings. Earlier, his Master Teacher blessing allowed (Y/N) to quickly improve his swordsmanship, so this new ability would obviously work without a hitch.

Ram opened the door, stopping his train of thought. With mild surprise, she exclaimed while