When Subaru finally came back to the manor, the sun was beginning to set. Feeling fatigued because of his brief time in the pool, along with the mental stress that comes with planning something huge, Subaru yawned.

It was contagious, as Rem also let out a cute yawn before being interrupted by Crusch herself. "Natsuki Subaru, would you mind joining me for a bit?"

She stepped out from her position above the stairs, and her attire surprised both Subaru and Rem. She was wearing a black dress and a pink shawl, much more vulnerable than her usual uniform.

"You're Crusch, right?" asked Subaru. He was tired, and wasn't sure if his eyes were playing tricks on him, as the figure in front of him did not look like the Crusch that he knew.

"Oh yes, I suppose that you haven't seen me out of business attire before." She paused, and looked out of a window. "The breeze is pleasantly cool tonight. It is a perfect night to share a drink as we gaze at the setting sun."

Subaru scratched his hair and proceeded to look at Rem. "Why not?" he said. He lowered his voice, and told Rem, "Sorry, but it looks like I'm going to leave you for the rest of tonight. Good night."

"Good night," she whispered, affection apparent to anybody who would have heard her. Well, except for Subaru.

A few minutes later, Crusch and Subaru are sitting in a balcony on the second floor, the sunset blazing red in the distance, the wind cooling the air to a perfect temperature. It truly was the best time to enjoy some company outside.

Crusch pulled out a drink, and started pouring it into her glass. When she offered Subaru some, he responded with, "Sorry, but I can't drink alcohol." He lowered his gaze, not really sure how to act.

She set the drink down. "Well, you are welcome to drink water instead. I won't be drinking enough to get drunk." She poured him some water, and passed the fancy cup.

They did the 'clink' thing with their cups, and proceeded to drink out of them.

Crusch had a satisfied look on her face. To start the conversation, she asked, "How goes the healing of your gate?"

Subaru cringed at the memories of Felix 'healing' his gate. 'Nyaaaa! Nyan! Nya! Nyoow!'

He shuddered one more time after remembering it. "Well... It goes, I guess." An embarrassed look crept on his face, but Crusch took no notice.

"Well, Felix is excellent with healing magic. You can trust him." She took another sip of her drink, enjoying every last drop of it.

"You look like you always have something going on too, Crusch-san." Subaru commented, hoping that he could get her to say anything that he could use for tomorrow's negotiations.

"In response to a certain occurrence, my family is currently gathering people and objects. Plus, since the word of the Royal Election spread, I've received proposals every day. I'm pretty sure the other candidates have as well."

Since Subaru had already heard this from Anastasia, he wasn't shocked. Instead, he only thought that he would track down anybody who dared propose to Emilia. 

"Oh yeah, that would make sense. All of you are single..."

Crusch leaned on her elbow. "Does that bother you?" she asked suggestively.

Subaru turned his head away from her. "Not really. It's just that... o-oh yeah! I heard that Wilhelm has a beautiful wife!" (Y/N) hadn't told Subaru about Wilhelm's past, so he still thinks that Wilhelm's wife is alive.

Crusch narrowed her eyes, her tone no longer playful. "You are aware that Wilhelm serves me, correct?"

Subaru, confused, asked, "Huh? Why?"

With the worst timing, Felix decided to come upon the two of them. "Whaaaaaah!? What are nyou doing here, Subaru-kyun?!" He practically threw his finger at Crusch. "And Crusch-sama, why are you dressed so vulnerably!?"

Crusch seemed unbothered by this. "Is this strange? This is no different than what I wear when I dine with you."

"That's exactly the problem!" He started to wave his hands around. "Men are nyothing but wolves!"

Subaru gave him the best 'bruh' face that he could. "But you're a guy too..."

Felix pouted. "But nyou wouldn't think so if somebody hadn't told you!"

"That's enough joking around, Felix. All who were present at the Royal Selection know whom Natsuki Subaru loves." Crusch had a 'no nonsense' voice, but the cat boy didn't care.

"Yeah, but it seems like they had a fight though." Felix said teasingly. After Subaru grunted, Felix added, "I swear, Subaru-kyun, you're an open book."

Thoughts of his argument with Emilia ran through Subaru's head, resulting in him casting his gaze down at the ground. He was trying to fight the urge to cry, to shout, to complain about the crappy thing that turned out to be his life.

"Don't cast your gaze down, Natsuki Subaru. When your eyes are clouded, your soul darkens. That means your future is closed to you, and you lose sight of your reasons to live. When you do what you know to be right, what can you do by looking downwards? Lift your head, face forward, and reach out your hands. I do not want to regard you as an insignificant enemy." Crusch gave a very inspirational speech, but most of it went over Subaru's head.

Subaru lifted his head. "Well, if Crush-sama says so, nyou have no choice." He turned his head to Felix, who continued. "The point is, Subaru-kyun, you need to hurry up and make up with Emilia-sama. Think about what you can do to accomplish that, and do it."

What do you think that I've been doing? Nobody seems to notice, but I've been working my butt off so that I can make sure that the whale and the Witch Cult don't kill Emilia.

Wait... the White Whale won't kill Emilia, so why do I even have to fight it? It would be so much easier if we could just skip it and only have to deal with the Witch Cult. You know what, after I kill myself after we figure out when the Cult attacks the mansion, I might just do that. (Y/N) isn't here, so what does he know about how hard this is on me? I'm going to die, and then I'll change the future to benefit me.

Subaru laughed, but it didn't sound like he was happy or amused. "There's something that I can do. That only I can do." He grinned. "Yeah, that's right. You don't even have to tell me." His already evil-looking eyes somehow looked even more sinister, not a good sign.

There was a slight pause, then suddenly, there was a gust of wind. Crush moved the hair out of her face, and said, "The wind is picking up. It looks as if the weather will be rough again tomorrow."

Time Skip

It is the big day. The day that Subaru is going to try to convince Crusch and Anastasia to help him defeat the White Whale and the Archbishop of Sloth.

Yeah, right. I can tell that this will be a fluke. There's no way that I can convince everyone to form an alliance with the information that I have. I guess that I can see their responses, and figure out how to appeal to them more after I redo.

Subaru groggily got out of his bed, still in his tracksuit. He sniffed it, and shrugged. "It doesn't smell, so there's no reason to wash it," he mumbled.

He plopped his feet on the hard floor, and trudged towards the door. When he opened it, he sighed. This was going to be a long day.

And indeed it was. Subaru did nothing but walk around the manor for several hours, immersing himself in his negative thoughts. 

It was only when he noticed that somebody arrived at the front gate that he finally found something to do. 

He walked outside, and the person who stood in front of him only incited disappointment. This guy had blonde hair, and he was obviously rich just from the way that he carried himself. "Hello. My name is Russell Fellow. Do you happen to be Natsuki Subaru?"

Subaru was confused. "How do you know my name?"

Russell kept a straight face, and said, "Well, your actions made quite the impression on many of us in the capital. You are becoming quite popular, if I do say so myself."

Subaru cringed. "I bet it's not in a good way though."

There was no response, confirming Subaru's suspicion. "Well, I do suppose that I should make my way to Crusch-san now. It was a pleasure to meet you." He barely bowed, and left before Subaru could return the pleasantry.

Subaru scowled. "I hate people like him. Those rich people think that they're better than everybody else," he mumbled. He fell to the ground, not having any will to do anything.

"Subaru-kun!" He heard a faint voice, and turned his face. Rem was at the other end of the yard, and she came quickly towards him.

"Hey Rem. What're you doing out here?" Subaru asked her.

"I-I'm just passing some time." She stuttered, not wanting to tell Subaru that she wanted to spend time with him.

Subaru went deep into thought for a few moments, and brought his arms up as he considered something. "Rem, do you think that I'm useless?"

Rem responded immediately. "I do."

"What, seriously?" Subaru commented in a dejected voice. Not only did he not see the point in trying to do something that seemed out of reach, but Rem, the maid that has been with him for a while, thinks that he is useless. "Then why are you still with a loser like me?" He didn't show it, but his anger was rising. 

The anger only had two targets: (Y/N) and himself. He was angry at (Y/N) for leaving him alone with a daunting task, and at himself for not being of any use to anybody. All confidence that he had left him.

"Are you only staying with me because you were told to?" He wasn't sure why Rem always seemed to be around him, so he turned to the most obvious answer. (Well, the most obvious to him.)

Rem sat down next to Subaru, a smile forming on her face. "The fact that I think that you are pathetic and my staying with you are not contradictory. Besides, even if I had not been ordered to, I'm certain that I would have stayed." 

"But why?" Subaru still didn't understand why it was that Rem was staying with him. At this point, any onlookers would have been exasperated, as it's pretty apparent that Rem likes him, and that's why she's staying by his side.

"Because I want to."

Subaru didn't know how to respond to that, so he just kept quiet. 

"Subaru-kun, are you ready for the negotiations today?" Rem changed the topic, hoping to move his mind to a better place.

Subaru snickered. "Not at all. It's going to fail miserably."

"Don't say that! Since it is you, I am sure that you can successfully carry out your plan!" Rem scolded him, but Subaru didn't care. No matter what Rem said, today would still be a disaster.

Time Skip

An hour later, all of the guests had finally come, and they are all in Crusch's office. Reinhard had come first, with Anastasia and (Y/N) coming shortly after him.

"Natsuki Subaru, would you mind explaining what all of these people are doing at my residence?" Crusch asked firmly.

He did his best to conceal the hopelessness from his voice, and actually did good. With a cheerful tone, he stated, "Well, I have made aware that the White Whale is on the Lifaus Highway. That, and there are Witch Cultists in Roswaal's domain who are planning on attacking the mansion in a few days. Knowing this, I would like to propose a temporary alliance between our camps!" Subaru bowed low, hoping that, against the odds, they would agree.

Anastasia shook her head. "Remember what I told ya? Ya can't put your own wants before others' when it comes to negotiation."

"I would also like to ask you how you gained this information." Crusch seemed wary of Subaru now, which makes sense. "I would be able to understand how you gained information about the White Whale, but not the Witch Cult. Of course, if you were a Witch Cultis-"

"Please do not joke around, Crusch-sama. Subaru-kun is definitely not a Witch Cultist." Rem interrupted, showing her anger on a rare occasion. 

Crusch then looked at Subaru, waiting for an answer. "Well, uh..." he mumbled.

"If I may," you looked at Crush, who gave you a nod. "Reinhard told me about the whale, and I told Subaru about where it was. And as for the Witch Cult, I told him myself yesterday. I received the information from a reliable source, so do not worry. My source is not a Witch Cultist, but I, unfortunatley, not reveal its identity to you." If you told them that you knew about this because you watched anime, it would be very weird, and telling them that you knew about the future was a last resort since it would invite even more unwanted attention to you.

"You do not seem to be lying, so I will trust this information." Crusch crossed her arms, her expression unreadable.

"Does this mean that you'll agree to the alliance?" Subaru asked hesitantly.

"Of course not. Why would I ever help the Emilia camp, especially if I won't get anything in return? It makes no sense."

Anastasia nods, this situation reminiscent of her earlier remark. 

"B-but, you will benefit! Me and (Y/N) can actually make... uh..." Subaru didn't do any preparation for this, so he forgot what it was that he was supposed to offer them.

You fight the urge to face palm, and save him. "Actually, Subaru and I have knowledge of advanced technology from our home. If we can just cast a certain spell, we will be able to produce those items, and share them with you!"

Anastasia actually pondered this, while Crusch was quick to shoot it down. "I will forget the fact that this will not help me at all in the Royal Selection, as it will probably be over before you can create that technology. What has gotten my attention is the fact that you seem to be more prepared for Subaru's negotiation than Subaru is. Are you perhaps the one that is behind it?"

All eyes turned to you. You wanted to say that you were trying to help, but Crusch would be able to tell if you were lying, so you go with a twist on the truth. "Well, to be honest, this was my idea, but Subaru was the one who agreed to carry it out."

Crusch frowned at this. "I am now sure. I will not accept your deal to form a temporary alliance with the Emilia camp."

Subaru seemed to accept this, but you were visibly upset. Seeing this, Crusch explained her decision. "Not only was this a horrible deal, but this was a deal carried out by a manipulator. If you wanted aid to defeat the White Whale and the Witch Cult, you should have made the preparations yourself instead of heaping this on Subaru. That was not only selfish of you, but also unfair to Subaru. With this said, Subaru, you did a terrible job preparing for this. It would seem as if you put no effort towards this-"

She was interrupted when Subaru got up and approached her. Wilhelm, who had been standing silently along with Felix, put his blade in front of Subaru. "Please do not come any farther."

Subaru finally let his anger show. His forehead scrunched together, making him look almost evil. "You don't know anything about what I've been doing! Ever since I got here, I've been trying to get information just so we can have this talk! So before you go and judge me, you better think twice abo-"

"That's enough!" Felix interrupted Subaru, being tired of his rudeness.

"I think I've also had enough of this." The usually cheerful Anastasia actually looked angry. "I don't mind (Y/N)'s influence all, but..." She pointed at Subaru. "Your negotiation skills offend me! Did ya not listen to any of the advice that I gave ya? Ya somehow messed everything up, so that nobody, not even an idiot, would agree to that deal! (Y/N), let's go! This was a waste of my time."

"Please wait." You almost jumped when an arm touched you. You had forgotten about Reinhard, who had stayed near the back of the room and had stayed silent during the whole exchange. "Can we talk in the hallway?" he asked.

You look at Anastasia, and she gave you an irritated nod.

You go into the hallway, and Reinhard looks troubled. "I would still like to be of assistance in killing the White Whale, but did you not say that Subaru could figure out the exact time and place that it would appear? It seems like he did not, so I was wondering if there is a backup plan. And seeing how Witch Cultists will be attacking Emilia-sama, I would like to know the time for that as well so that I can be of assistance."

You put your hand to your forehead, not knowing what to think. Would Reinhard be able to single handedly defeat both the White Whale and Betelguese? Well, he probably could, but is there enough time for that? 

You suddenly had a thought. It hurt, but it had to be done. You were going to lie to Reinhard, and hope that Subaru dies soon.

"Actually, the Witch Cultists will attack in five days, but I don't know about the White Whale. Seeing that the Lifaus Highway is misty, we can travel through it and hope that we encounter the Whale. That's the best plan that I've got."

Reinhard reluctantly agreed. "I can't object to that. I suppose that I will meet you again at Anastasia's current residence in four days?" 

Anastasia nodded. "That'll be the last day that he'll be there though." 

You couldn't tell if she was angry at you, or angry in general, but either way, it was unpleasant.

Time Skip

For the rest of the day, Subaru locked himself in his room, sulking.

"I can't wait to die. As soon as I find out when the Cultists attack, I'm going to slit my throat and redo this huge mess."

With this and his angry thoughts, Subaru sat in bed for the whole rest of the day, but with no results.

On the other hand, you were still training with Julius. He hadn't come to the negotiation since he was still under house arrest, but he had heard about it from Anastasia.

To be honest, a small part of him was revolted by the fact that you had pretty much used Subaru as a means to achieve your goal. As a result, he had raised the intensity of your workout.

He added an extra hour of physical activity, but you didn't really mind. It might have hurt your body, but it was a good way to get things off of your mind. As you did push ups, sit ups, and squats, you focused completely on your workout, wanting to forget the events that transpired earlier.

"(Y/N), I believe that we need to talk." You stopped with your exercise, and looked at Julius, waiting for him to continue.

"What you did was not necessarily wrong, but you could have achieved your goals through a better way." You drop your head, still ashamed at the disaster that you had created. 

Julius took note of this. "Now, do not look down. What you did is now in the past. You can not change it, but what you can do is change your future actions. Do you understand? Do not fill yourself with guilt. Instead, fill yourself with hope for a better future that you create."

You lift your head, and widen your eyes. This was a new perspective, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that it blew your mind. You had always been a negative person, but thinking positively like this could actually make a difference. Maybe, just maybe, you can make it to a happy ending.

Back to Subaru

He didn't know when he fell asleep, but that wasn't important. The important thing is that he was being forcefully awakened. 

"Subaru-kun, I am sorry for disturbing your sleep, but something urgent had happened." Rem was by his side, gently shaking him.

Subaru rubbed his eyes and stretched his body, still in the covers. "What's up?" he asked groggily.

"I felt something like a presence through