Uploading date: 7/17/2018 [M/D/Y]

Re: Life in a fantasy world ~ Arc 2: An Everlasting Week

Chapter 5: The Meeting that changes Fate

I slowly opened up my eyes weakly, returning by death isn't a very pleasant feeling, I'm reminded of that every single time I due. I looked around and see that I was in my room, a servant's bedroom, clean as always "I returned to the second day here… so then I get poisoned tomorrow and die…" I fell down on my chair, palm to my head, step one is to not provoke Rem, then it's to avoid eating food from her, after that, I should be good.

"At least, I hope it's that easy… fate has never gone easy on me…"

I don't feel like taking a bath now, my guards too raised. Instead, I got up and looked over to the table, the puck plush catching my eye, "I'll stay with Beatrice for three hours, get my thoughts around…" To my knowledge, if I stay long enough, she'll probably ask if I'm the person she's waiting for again.

"Then I'll just refuse it again..." I also grabbed my sack and opened up the door, leaving quickly. If I hang around for too long, Rem would catch on to my scent, I did just Return by death, after all, still, I'm surprised Oni are able to smell Miasma, then again, they were attacked by the witch cult when they were younger, they may be special.

"Ram probably can't detect it because her horns been cut off… Roswaal doesn't seem like he noticed it all, neither has Beatrice nor has Puck, guess that means that Rem is the only one… well, shouldn't worry about it too much…"

I walk down the hallway, examining each door as I pass by them, and then I reach the one, "I'm getting better and better at this…" I opened up the door with a polite knock, and I was met with an annoyed grunt, "What do you want? And how did you find the right door, I suppose?!" the all too familiar Beatrice greeted me with an extra bit of irritation.

"Morning Betty, I practiced a bunch of times before and it seems I can finally find it right this time, also, mind if I stay in a while?"

"Don't call Betty Betty, I suppose! No one gave you permission!"

"Sorry, just a slip of the tongue, let me try again… Morning Beatrice!"

"Repeating it correctly won't make me let you in, I suppose!"

I slam the puck doll to her face, lightly of course, and closed the door behind me as I entered the library, "Come on, Rem's hunting me down and I need someone to take me under their wing, please?" I ask while dragging a chair over to her table, sitting down and pouring myself some tea.

She annoyingly rips the plush of her face and examines it, looking over to me with a puff, "It'd be a pain now that you've already indulged yourself in Betty's tea, I suppose" So, I'm guessing that's an 'I don't care anymore' kinda response, looks like a win for me. "And why would the younger maid want with you, I suppose? Don't try to bring Betty along with your mishaps"

"Well I haven't done anything yet, but she's been extra wary of me, I wouldn't want a misunderstanding to happen with me waking up really early, she could interpret it as snooping around or something like that, I'd imagine that's what she'd be thinking anyway..."

"True, anyone with looks like your would seem suspicious, I suppose…"

"Woah, hey now! That comment was unnecessary, Beatrice! It's not like I asked for my mom's scary eyes, tch… this stuff always happens, curse biological inheritance…" I pout it out while sipping tea from my tea cup, it seems rather warm, I wonder why? Either way, I enjoy it while time passes by.

"Even though, the way she has been acting has been 'above normal', I suppose… I can feel her getting more watchful by the second, she's even following the exact same path you did to come here, is her sense of smell that great, I wonder…?" Beatrice says while sipping some tea of her own, she looks over to me questioningly.

"Well, I didn't take a bath yet… but I think it's more than…" From my sac, I take out the box I'm super protective of and place it on the table. The moment, Beatrice laid her eyes on it, she nearly hurled her tea on the floor, "You… that's…." her surprised expression was expected, she thought I was some random nobody after all.

"I think it's finally time for an actual introduction… I'm Natsuki Subaru, I'm what you can call an apostle or sorts, the current heir to the witch of Pride, Typhon, glad to make your acquaintance…" I introduce myself in a proper fashion, this might as well be an inter clan meeting of sorts since I brought out the big guns, the box I mean.

"I see… does…"

"I've already told Roswaal, I think… it was yesterday, we had a discussion during our bath, he's an easy going guy when you get your act right…" I take another sip of tea while Beatrice goes to observe the box, something was obvious about it, "It's empty… that means…" she glances over to me, in an ever so cautious manner, "Things happened and luckily I was compatible… but thanks to that, now I've got this uncanny smell on me…"

"Explains a lot, I suppose…"

We stayed there in silence for a bit, once I ran out of tea to sip on I stood up and checked out some books from the back, as usual, either folk tale or tons of magic algorithm techniques that are out of my current grasp. We both read our books and minded our own business, until she finally spoke up, "Betty is an artificial spirit created by Echidna, I suppose… my last order was to watch over the library and hand it over to someone, some 'fated person' as Mother used to say… could you perhaps know of that person? Or, could you be that person, I suppose?"

There's the question, remembering last time, the way she asked it now was rather different, very formal compared to before. I guess it's because I revealed my standings in our little network, the fact that she isn't looking at me straight on this time tells me she's asking less cause she wants me to be the person and more like the thinks, I'm the person.

"Hard to tell really…" I considered her feelings when coming up with my answer, shooting her down like that is just mean, instead, i'll try something else, "My parents died when I was still pretty young, and the only reason I was able to really to understand anything about this witch business was because of my late grandfather and his notes, to tell you the truth, I've not been told by anyone to go pick up a library of books…"

"I see… then that's enoug-"

"That's where you're wrong, see…"

I cut her off rather rudely, though, it didn't seem she minded it, she looked over at me with a skeptical look, "Betty doesn't understand, you said it yourself, no one has told you to come and take the library, it simply means you have no business with Betty, I suppose" She says matter of factly, but I sigh at her straight forward reasoning, "See this is what happens when you leave a secret message with a kid…"

"What was that, I suppose?!" looks like she's getting a little aggravated, better make this quick.

"Echidna is your creator, right? Witch of greed, or better yet, known as the thirst for knowledge. During her time she was the most famed witch, second only to the witch of envy. Some of my ancestors have had a run in with her, says she packs her sentences and deals with a whole lot of twists and turns, in short, she tends to hide her true intentions like that…"

"I don't follow, I suppose?"

"Let me ask you a question, I've heard that many people have tried to come and take the library away from you, but you've rejected every single one of them…" She scoffs at the last part, looks like she really didn't like them, "What was your judgment that lead you to reject them? If I were you, I might have just given it to one of them, as long as they seem to be somewhat… I don't know the word but you get me right?"

"Tch, all of them had deceiving eyes, I suppose… no, greedy, avaricious eyes would be more fitting, all they thought about was themselves and nothing else, entrusting them to the library would be foolish…" She replied sharply, how ironic, the thing that's bothering her is their greed, or wait, this might actually be a perfect match, since she was created by the witch of greed after all. "So, in your eyes, they were not eligible enough to gain all this knowledge yes?"

"That is right, I suppose…"

Now it's time for the part where I make her understand, "Now tell me the order Echidna gave you, and I want the exact wording she said it in, no holes or extra bits, just the pure order…" I say with a face of seriousness, it overwhelmed even her, and for a second, I thought she was just going to kick me out, but it seems she just listened instead.

"She told me… Protect the library, and wait for the 'fated person' to come… that is all she told me, I suppose"

"If that's all she told you… then the judgment of who the person is up to you"

"Exactly, I suppose… if Bett-"

"That's where you're wrong you know?" I cut her in, now's the time where she retorts and goes all 'what do you know?' it's even shown on her face. I should take caution now, "The previous people that you have refused all asked to be handed over the right to Echidna's knowledge, but you judged them on their 'Greed', correct…? And just now, you asked if I was the 'fated person'... what exactly lead you to judge that? I never asked for Echidna's knowledge, mind you…"

Things are getting a little tense and she realized the flaw in her judgment, "I thought that since you know about it, you might be the one…" There's the flaw, the fact that she's judging different people with different ideas, "You see where I'm getting at? Any of the other people before me could have known about the past as well, but you still rejected them, that's an error you've made"

A little bit of silence from her end, I continue, "And you've only met me for a day, heck, it's not even a few hours yet…" Though it feels a little more for me, "You can't judge my greed in that amount of time, so you made an error there as well… but more importantly, you didn't pay enough attention to the command she gave you…"

She gave me a perplexed expression, she's probably thinking something like, how else was I supposed to interpret it? "Echidna likes to hide meaning in her words, I said that right? You should know this more than anyone, she is your mother and all… on to the actual interpretation, she said 'fated person', it means that it could be anyone that comes in, and since it's 'fate' it doesn't matter if they want to take it or not, it doesn't matter if it's their greed or not, as long as it's fate, it should happen eventually…"

I take a glance at her face, she still doesn't get it, by the looks of it anyway, "What I'm trying to say is… if you rely on rational judgment, you'll never be able to find your 'fated person', Beatrice…" I say while closing in on her, a little awkward but I'm trying to get a point across, "Fate doesn't work on rational thinking, things happen for no reason, I know that more than anyone else, trust me…" that's because of Return by Death.

I backed up from her, I was a tad bit too close, hope she didn't notice it too much, "So if it's fate, you don't decide using your head, you use your heart…" Okay, that was a little cheesy, let me reword that, "In other words, if you feel like that person is the 'fated person' then throw any and all reasoning and go for it, for example, witch genes choose their user based on compatibility, there's no reasoning for someone like me to be compatible, but I took it in any way… understand?"

Back in my head, it sounded like some awesome explanation to some hard ass question, but in reality, I just said some lame and cheesy stuff like 'use your heart and not your head' and stuff like that, please, don't make this any more awkward, Beatrice. "What if fate says differently, I suppose?" She asks me, the question caught me off guard but I was prepared to answer it.

"If fate tells you otherwise… then bend it to your will!" I say in an exaggerated but rather zealous voice, "If anyone has bent fate before, it's me, I'll help you find your 'fated person', even if fate stands in your way!" okay that last part just sounded like something ripped off of a light novel, there must have been a better way around it.

She droops down, did this answer make her even more depressed than just straight up telling her no?! Did I mess up that badly? "Then…" she looks up to me, her voice clear as the morning sky, which was cloudy so her voice wasn't clear at all, "Would you please be the 'fated person' Betty has been waiting for…"

Looks like she finally gets it- "Wait, what?!" I look over to her in astonishment, did she actually just ask me that? "I'm not sure I heard that properly, so…" she sighs and stands up, "It's as Betty says, I suppose, I would like you to be the one that takes the library" I'm not just hearing things, she's actually asking me to take it! How am I supposed to reply? If I don't take it then I'll probably break her heart, if I do accept it though, I'll just be burdened with that mountain load of books.

"..." Shit, I've put myself in quite the predicament now have I, easiest way out isn't always the best way, so I'll go on with the whole lecturing thing, "If I were to say no… what exactly would you do?" I ask, in a tone that doesn't give away the answer, as if I would choose depending on the answer I gave her, and true to that, I'll answer depending on her reply.

"Simple, I suppose… as long as I feel like you're the person, I will pester you to no end. May fate be wrong, may you despise me for it, I believe you are the one most suited to be the 'fated person' that Betty awaits… no, I believe you to be the 'savior' Betty has been waiting for all this time…"

She shot those words with complete and utter determination, her pink butterfly eyes pierced through mine, I had my heart strings moved beyond compare, her words were even more powerful than mine! "So…?" something of this caliber, her eyes are blazing, she put all her heart into it, I can't overlook this as a mere request, she's determined beyond anything I've seen.

"I've got myself into some shit here…" I whisper to myself, inaudibly. I take into account what I'll get from this, the library itself is pretty much useless, but since she's the one housing all of the books then it means I have access to her gate crossing for a while, however long she wants to keep this library in Roswaal's mansion that is, on the downside, I'm probably not going to have anything to do with the books.

"I'm in a bit of a bundle as of right now… once I've cleared all that up, in my fourth… no, my fifth night here, I'll answer to your request…"

We look at each other, silently staring, until she nods, "I'm okay with that, I suppose…" I sigh, was really not in the mod to pamper a depressed spirit, but now that we've reached an understanding, I've got more time on my hands to focus on what's ahead. I open the door and leave Beatrice to herself, after taking back my box that is.

"Now that I've avoided that conversation with Rem, I should be in the clear for at least another day… I think Roswaal should be back by now, so it's probably safe for me to wander around… just gotta play around with them all and then hopefully, I'll be able to make it through the loop…"

A/N

Hey guys, was sick for a looong while so yeah… shorter chapter compared to the rest...

You probably don't really care but I'm going to talk about my life for a while Alright? Okay! Let's go…

I binged Darling in the Franxx and it's a lovely story and amidst the disturbingly adult metaphors, it's an innocent love story, still, quite a lot of talk about pistils and stamens and all that shit, don't make me go through sixth-grade biology again, please!

I also binged the current episodes of Black clover, and I gotta ask, anyone know the genre of music for the fourth opening? Also, Asta is the ideal kinda protagonist for me, minus his whole screaming of course. An op underdog that's belittled but doesn't give a shit, perfect protagonist!

Next is overlord I guess… then it's Fate / Heaven's feel part 1, only watched through half of it when there was a power outage and I practically forgot about it ever since, haaah...

MNR-AMR

Seeing things from Beako's point of view, and knowing now that Subaru was, in fact, mistaken, (Why didn't he revive to see the aftermath?) does raise some interesting plotlines we can predict, to an extent. Aah... I'm tired atm, will see you at the next update!

Why he didn't revive, in simple terms, his ability only works when he's alive. Why he didn't revive, in more complex terms, is a plot point for later on, having to do with the fact that he thought it was poison and not a curse.

Basscuss

Just… Okay… Thanks for the chapter...I guess

You're welcome and don't worry, there's less where that came from.

Tales from Puck

Beako… I.. don't know how to respond to this. I tried to find comfort in the part where she pulled her hair but... being a visual reader, I couldn't help but see her in pain. You did well in this chapter. Thanks... I suppose.

Yeah, glad the message went through. Hopefully, you won't have to see her go through that again any time soon.

Throlfe

Are you going to do more chapters where we see what happens after Subaru dies? Because I really liked it!

Hm, hmm… Probably sometime in the future, maybe once every two arcs, depends on whether it's relevant or not.

David

I sincerely am very anxious about the next cap (if possible make a scene where Betty goes to the grave of Subaru and does some magic to have a brief conversation with him)

Well… if your willing to wait, there will be a scene like that (already planned one)… but it's going to be a long wait…