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3rd Pov
Subaru, upon completing the teleportation to another world, imdiately found himself lodged halfway inside the trunk of a massive tree.
His eyebrow twitched violently.
He had very clearly marked his destination's spatial coordinates in advance — an open area near the Capital, slightly above ground level.
But apparently, in this tiline, there just happened to be a thick, healthy tree growing right in that exact spot. Unfortunately for Subaru, he was now part of it.
His body was abnormally strong, so instead of being split in two like an unfortunate mortal might have been, the trunk itself warped and bulged around him, stretching unnaturally from the inside. Still, the sensation was deeply unpleasant.
If he had been an ordinary human, this little mishap would've ended with him sporting a stomach that was half wood and half flesh — and that was a horrifying thought in itself.
'Note to self,' Subaru grumbled inwardly, 'from now on, always pick an open area at least a hundred ters above the ground when teleporting.'
With that ntal reminder locked in place, he casually tore the trunk apart from within, splintering the wood like it was paper, and stepped out into the open air.
"Umu? Are we already in a different tiline?" Agni's voice rang out from deep within Subaru's soul space, curious but not particularly concerned.
"It would seem so," Aqua replied imdiately, her tone carrying a hint of amusent.
"Father sohow managed to get himself trapped inside a tree during the teleportation process. I suppose we should have that white-haired witch improve the targeting precision of your magic in the future."
"Father got stuck… Bad tree," Sylphy added flatly, her voice soft but dripping with childlike disapproval.
"Hmph! Mongrels, stop shouting inside this concubine's head!" Gloria's haughty voice cut through the soul space, accompanied by a wave of magical pressure.
"You're one to talk…" Gaea muttered before quickly hiding behind Sylphy the mont Gloria's magical aura intensified.
"Whatever! Betty needs to co out now, I suppose!" Beatrice's familiar voice chid in as she exited the soul space.
"How dare you forget , mongrel?" Gloria scoffed, materializing a mont later and placing her hands firmly on her hips.
"This concubine shall impose punishnt for letting co out after her."
Without waiting for a reply, she swiftly stepped closer and boldly grabbed Subaru's arm, pressing it snugly between her ample chest.
A sly smirk spread across her face. "Father, how about we enter the capital as a couple?"
Beatrice instantly narrowed her eyes at Gloria. "And what about , I suppose?!"
"You," Gloria said smoothly, not missing a beat, "can be our child… or perhaps our servant."
The amusent in her tone was obvious, and her gaze flicked deliberately toward Beatrice's small stature.
Subaru let out a long, weary sigh.
"Enough squabbling, all of you. We need to focus. First, we find Reina. Then, we figure out a way to leave her so sort of ssage or aid in case she happens to arrive here in the future."
Turning to Beatrice, he placed a hand gently on her head.
"Sorry, Betty. You'll have to stay inside for now. Considering there's a counterpart of you in this world, we can't risk anyone seeing two Beatrices at once. That could cause confusion… or worse, complete chaos."
Beatrice pouted, her eyes narrowing slightly, but she gave a reluctant nod.
She understood the logic.
The last thing they needed was so kingdom-wide misunderstanding because there were two Subarus or two Beatrices running around.
Gloria's smirk only grew wider, clearly entertained by Beatrice's predicant, as the Great Spirit of Yin was reluctantly pulled back into her contractor's spiritual space.
Subaru then turned toward Gloria.
"I'll have to change my face as well… But I don't like wearing other people's faces." His voice carried the tone of soone who didn't like changing his looks like a certain lizard..
'Betty says that no matter what her contractor looks like, she will still love her contractor, I suppose!' Beatrice's voice declared warmly from within his soul space.
'Father, why not turn your eyes orange and your hair red?' Agni suggested eagerly. 'You'd look dashing — just like flas, umu!'
'No, no! Father should change both his eyes and hair to blue,' Aqua argued excitedly. 'It would match the color of water, and you'd look way cooler!'
'Father… silver hair would suit you,' Sylphy said softly, her voice quiet but tinged with shyness.
"This concubine has a far better idea than these servants," Gloria interrupted proudly. "Why not match your hair to mine? That way, everyone will know you belong to ."
'W-Why can't Father just change into a woman?' Gaea suddenly blurted out. 'If you beco a woman, no one will suspect you're Natsuki Subaru!'
"…," Subaru thought.
'…,' the others collectively paused.
'That's… actually not a bad suggestion,' Sylphy admitted reluctantly.
'Not you too, Sylphy! Where's my obedient wind spirit?!' Subaru ntally groaned.
He rubbed his temples, feeling an incoming headache. Damn it. Why does it feel like Gaea's been corrupted lately…?
'Are you stupid?! What if the version of Betty's contractor in this world is already a woman?!' Beatrice's voice cut through sharply. 'It'd be just like how, in the previous tiline, the Sword Saint turned out to be a stupid man instead of a woman, I suppose!'
Her argunt was solid. Subaru found himself secretly impressed.
At least Beatrice still had the sense to think about potential disasters — and with her logic, he now had a good reason to shut down this absurd "let's make Subaru a girl" idea before it gained any more traction.
Although, if it really ca down to crossdressing, even Reina and Reinhard would have no choice but to admit defeat before Subaru.
After all, Subaru's crossdressing wasn't just good — it was an EX-rank skill.
The kind of skill that could topple nations… or at least win beauty contests without breaking a sweat.
Of course, that was in addition to his other ridiculous title: Non-Human Woman Harem Protagonist EX.
Ahem.
"Your suggestion has been heard and noted," Subaru finally said, glancing around at his noisy group of spirits.
"But I think it's better if I just change my hair color to white."
That decision was t with collective groans of disappointnt from the others.
His eye color, however, had already changed to gold during the events of the previous tiline. That was thanks to his aura becoming draconic after assimilating dragon blood from Capella, which made his overall presence ten tis stronger. The transformation had been gradual, but now the golden hue was a permanent part of him.
Technically, Subaru could change his eyes back to their original black color at any ti using the Authority of Lust — one of the abilities he had copied from Capella — but he had decided against it.
This was his natural look now, and besides, the golden eyes carried a certain… charm.
Ironically, when the Capital of Lugunica had been burning to the ground in the previous tiline, there had been a mont when the Sin Archbishop of Pride — that tiline's Natsuki Subaru — appeared to have golden eyes as well, the flas reflecting in them like molten tal.
How ironic it was, and Subaru couldn't deny that it had looked cool.
Not that he would ever claim the Pride version of himself had been "good" in any moral sense.
That guy had style, sure, but he'd also been completely broken — driven insane after dying more tis than anyone should have to endure.
The "swag" was undeniable… but so was the madness.
Shaking off the mories, Subaru focused on the present.
Together with Gloria, he entered the Capital of Lugunica as it existed in this tiline.
They headed straight to an inn, booked a room, and once inside, Subaru sat on the bed and summoned all of his spirits.
His four True Spirits manifested as floating orbs of mana, while his two Great Spirits, who possessed full human forms, stood beside him.
"I'll be using my Authority of Greed — mories of the World — to search for any traces of Reina," Subaru explained.
"anwhile, the rest of you, except Betty, will head out into the city. I want you to gather news about recent events. I'm not expecting you to uncover deep secrets; just focus on what's currently happening in this world so we can compare it to what we know."
Then he smiled faintly and turned toward the one exception. "Of course, you're staying here, my cute little imouto," he added, reaching out to pinch Beatrice's cheek.
"Betty's cheeks hurt! Stop playing with them, I suppose!" Beatrice protested, glaring at him.
Subaru laughed, pulling her into a warm hug. "Betty, can you stay with and keep watch? It's unlikely anyone will attack, but I'd rather not take risks while I'm sifting through hundreds of years of this world's mories."
"Betty will protect her contractor! Just like how her contractor always protects her!" Beatrice declared proudly.
Subaru patted her head. 'So kawaii!' he thought to himself.
Then he looked over at the rest of his companions — the four glowing mana orbs, and Gloria, whose voluptuous figure and almost divine beauty stood out in stark contrast to the ethereal forms of the True Spirits.
Reaching into his belongings, Subaru pulled out a pouch heavy with the clink of gold, silver, and copper coins, and handed it to Gloria.
"Use this to get information. Buy whatever you need — or whatever catches your interest — if it'll help."
Gloria smiled knowingly. "Do not worry, Father. This concubine will not fail you."
With that, the others departed, leaving Subaru alone with Beatrice.
He soon allowed himself to sink into a semi-unconscious state, diving deep into the mories of the World.
The ntal link took hold, and he began to sift through layer upon layer of history.
Ti passed — minutes, hours, maybe longer.
He moved steadily toward the most recent events, searching for any sign of Reina.
But then he stumbled upon a major revelation: in this tiline, Natsuki Subaru had never been teleported to this world by Satella.
He pressed on, watching the events unfold from this altered reality's perspective, and found himself both speechless and impressed by so of Roswaal's sches.
Still, his focus remained on his goal — finding Reina.
After several hours, he finally opened his eyes. At so point during his search, Beatrice had fallen asleep on his chest, snuggled against him. He stayed still, not wanting to disturb her.
His other spirits had returned by now. Gloria entered quietly, offering him a small smile before settling into silence so as not to wake Betty.
Subaru reviewed the information he had gathered.
Reina wasn't here.
That alone filled him with a deep, sinking disappointnt.
To make matters worse, the situation in this tiline was… chaotic.
All of the Royal Candidates were in constant danger, living under the shadow of death at any given mont due to the Sin Archbishops' rampage.
The city of Priestella had been completely overrun, and the news made his headache grow even stronger.
'But I have to admit, the Roswaal in this world cooked… and he cooked hard,' Subaru thought, genuinely impressed by this tiline's clown-faced scher.
Compared to the Roswaal of Subaru's own world — who basically dumped all responsibility on his Book of Wisdom and let fate carry the load — this version of Roswaal had rolled up his sleeves and taken control personally.
Using the future knowledge from his Book of Wisdom, he had woven plan after plan, taking bold, decisive actions.
The results were dramatic: Emilia's popularity had increased greatly, other factions had suffered devastating losses, and the playing field had been tilted entirely in his favor.
Currently, Emilia was the only Royal Candidate whose life wasn't hanging by a thread.
If nothing went horribly wrong, she had a very high chance of being crowned queen simply because all of her competitors were in the process of being eliminated.
Subaru gently tugged at Betty's sleeve, waking her from her nap.
At the sa ti, Gloria began sharing the information she had gathered.
It matched most of what Subaru had already seen through the mories of the World, but her perspective included the public's reaction and street-level rumors, which painted an even clearer picture.
The biggest shock for everyone was the confirmation that in this world, Natsuki Subaru had never been summoned by Satella.
Without him in the picture, events had spiraled out of control in ways none of them had quite anticipated.
The White Whale, unopposed by his strategies and leadership, had completely obliterated the combined forces of Anastasia and Crusch Karsten.
The Sin Archbishops had seized control of the city of Priestella, and even the united efforts of the four factions couldn't defeat them — or even push them back.
And as for this world's Reinhardt?
He was currently in orbit.
Courtesy of Regulus Corneas, who had quite literally hurled the Sword Saint toward the sun.
Thanks to the Authority of Greed — Lion's Heart — Reinhardt's montum had never stopped, and the Sun's gravity had simply claid him.
'Being a planetary-level being doesn't an you have to beco a damn planet!' Subaru complained inwardly, clutching his forehead.
Seriously… were all Sword Saints this useless in tilines where he wasn't around?
No wonder the Subaru of other worlds had to suffer through endless deaths and hardships just to keep everyone from sinking into ruin.
"As expected of mongrels — without the presence of my Father, they are utterly worthless," Gloria scoffed, tossing her hair.
"Indeed," Betty agreed, crossing her small arms. "Betty didn't expect them to fail so miserably. It only makes Betty appreciate even more how lucky she is to have Subaru as her contractor — and how much her contractor has improved Betty's world for the better, I suppose!"
"Umu, Father is really strong," Agni admitted without hesitation.
"Without him, they couldn't even kill that stupid Whale," Aqua added bluntly.
"In the previous tiline, when Crusch fought the White Whale alone, she lost badly," Gaea said, bubbling side by side.
"This ti, she only survived because she had an alliance with that greedy rchant woman."
"Rembering those won trying to rope Father into their camp makes feel disgusted…" Sylphy spoke up for once, her tone uncharacteristically long-winded.
"Their incompetent selves acted as if they were his superiors, when all they wanted was to leech off Father's glory."
"Now that you're all finished insulting their world's counterparts," Subaru interrupted, rubbing his temples, "we need to decide what to do next. Reina isn't here, so our goal now is to leave this world. But before we do, we need to leave behind so thod for her to contact us — or at least a ssage — in case she arrives in this tiline in the future."
The room fell quiet for a mont.
Emilia in this world was still a puppet under Roswaal's thumb, just like in Subaru's own world, but otherwise she was fine.
The Kingdom wasn't on fire, there was no imdiate apocalyptic threat, and if Subaru really wanted, he could simply walk up to Roswaal, hand him a few revolutionary ideas, and secure a safe place for Reina to stay should she ever show up here.
Given Roswaal's current sches, Emilia's political chances were actually better than in Subaru's original tiline.
This ti, he didn't have to fight so overpowered, world-ending monster just to keep everyone alive.
All it would take was making a deal — maybe with this world's Beatrice — and slipping out quietly.
'One man,' Subaru thought, considering how Roswaal in this world hadn't accounted for his arrival at all.
If Subaru wasn't in Roswaal's Book of Wisdom, and if this world's Echidna took an interest in him, things might not go so smoothly.
And yet… could he really just walk away, leaving the entire city of Priestella — and everyone trapped inside it — to the rcy of the Sin Archbishops?
The Archbishops were having the ti of their lives, running wild without restraint.
Capella was transforming anyone she wanted into grotesque monsters and had already flooded part of the city, killing thousands.
Crusch had literally been turned into a fly and was enduring unthinkable psychological tornt.
Anastasia's odds of survival weren't promising either.
Priscilla, while currently safe, wasn't the type to sit idle.
She'd almost certainly make another reckless attempt to strike at the Archbishops — and that would likely end in disaster.
So the question now was…
What should he do?
To be continued...
(A/N: I still have so editing to do... however I am uploading in advance, need to go to doctor)
EDIT: Okay I forgot to edit this chap and I am editing it after so many days, anyway.
I hope you like this arc as well!
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