| Synopsis |
Chapter Summaries[]
Chapter 1: Immature Negotiations[]
On their way back from the marketplace, Subaru and Rem met Wilhelm outside of the mansion, then met Russell Fellow, who was on his way out. The three talked for while until he left, with Wilhelm explaining that Russell was the treasurer in charge of the royal capital's trade association. He informed Subaru that Russell was the last visitor for the day, remembering that he wanted to ask something, to which Subaru told Wilhelm that he would be the last visitor instead as he needed to talk with Crusch. Meeting with her before dinner, he asked for her to provide forces to protect the village, revealing that the Witch Cult would kill everyone. She refused to help him until he provided a reason why she should help and what merits it would bring her instead of requesting something. When he protested her decision, she informed him that his information lacked authenticity, leading him to tell her that they just needed to kill the members of the Witch Cult, at which point she accused him of getting close to Emilia only to exact revenge on them.
Having said that, she pointed out that he hadn't said anything about protecting Emilia even once, instead using that as a cover for his darker motives. Her words made Subaru unconsciously move toward her with a spoon in his hand, earning him a warning from Wilhelm, and until he was stopped by Rem he had no idea what he had been doing. Looking down, he saw that he was the holding the spoon in reverse, as if to stab someone. Already annoyed by her refusal to help, Subaru asked if she really wasn't going to help instead of apologizing, prompting her to admit that while he wasn't lying, his "truth" was a lie that he himself believed to be true, labeling him as a madman. Rejecting her offer to eat dinner together, Subaru decided to leave the Karsten Mansion, telling her to be a good king, albeit one who was a dictator that didn't care for weaklings.
Chapter 2: A Pig's Greed[]
Once they retrieved their belongings, Subaru and Rem visited Priscilla, seeking her help with the matter. Like Crusch, Priscilla refused his request, telling him he was asking others to do something without compensation, but decided to at least consider his request if he licked her feet. He reluctantly went through with her suggestion, but before he could lick her feet, she kicked him into the air, telling him he relied on others like a dog and desired things like a pig, before throwing him toward the door to have Al take him away. Following Priscilla's kick, Subaru's mind was in a stupor, forcing Rem to have to carry him outside, though his mind began to recover. As they prepared to leave, Al mistook Rem's name for Ram, and when she corrected him, he asked if Ram was still alive, learning that she still was. While they left, Al glared at them until they disappeared, at which point he expressed his disgust that Ram was still alive.
After getting his nose treated, Subaru was on his way to his meeting place, all the while cursing both Priscilla and Al, when he ran into Mimi Pearlbaton, and subsequently Anastasia. The three of them went to the meeting place, where they began discussing things as they ate, with Subaru learning that the person gathering steel was Crusch. After a while, he realized that Anastasia had tricked him into spilling vital information she wanted, though he did gain a paper signed by her for a Dragon Carriage.
Chapter 3: The Maw of the White Whale[]
Leaving the meeting place, the two borrowed the Dragon Carriage, making their way to Roswaal's land, and on the way there they ran into Otto and a group of merchants, who he hired with the money he had to carry the villagers.
Later that night, as the group made their way to the village, Subaru noticed that one of the merchants had disappeared, however Otto claimed that such a person never existed. Using his cell phone to light the area, he realized too late that they were within the Hakugei's mist, coming face to face with the beast itself. Seeing that the beast was going to be a problem, Rem moved to fight it after knocking Subaru out, who, to his horror, later finding out that she had been erased by the Hakugei's mist. The Hakugei returned to pursue him, as the witch's scent attracted it, causing a crazed Otto to push him off of the Dragon Carriage, blaming him for the current situation. Subaru begged for his life and was surprised when the beast didn't kill him, which seemingly vanished into thin air, and saw that Otto had been killed by someone when the Earth Dragon returned with a Dragon Carriage whose driver's seat was covered in blood.
Chapter 4: Won't Let Me Say the Words[]
Taking the Dragon Carriage, he rode it for a while until he started to lose consciousness, at which point he was found by the children from the village. He woke up later to find Ram taking care of him, who told him that Emilia had healed his wounds, and in turn he painfully informed her of Rem's death. However, he was shocked to find out that Ram didn't remember who she was. Refusing to believe her words, Subaru made his way down to Rem's room, only to find that there wasn't any of Rem's belongings in it. Still refusing to accept reality, Subaru tried to make himself believe that Beatrice was toying with him with her Door Crossing, but was brought back to reality when Ram informed him again that she didn't have a sister, ordering him to go back to his room and sleep.
Instead of returning to his room, Subaru visited Emilia's room, who he tried to convince to leave the mansion. As he expected, she didn't understand why or what he was doing, causing him to try to reveal his Return by Death, once again bringing about the shadowy hands. Upon returning, he was puzzled to notice that he only felt the right hand grasping his heart, then despaired when he realized that the left hand had killed Emilia. Beatrice arrived in the room, and once he noticed her, he asked her to kill him, which she refused to do, recovering the pendant before removing any evidence of their presence by teleporting them outside. Quickly realizing where he was, he carried the deceased Emilia's body to the cave entrance, where Petelgeuse was waiting outside, as he thought he would kill him. However, to his surprise, the madman refused to kill him, instead praising him for killing her before them.
When Petelgeuse asked Subaru what he wanted him to do, Subaru asked to be killed, to which he gladly complied. Regardless of his previous request, Subaru dodged his Unseen Hand, as Petelgeuse had insulted Emilia before attempting to kill Subaru, causing him to remember what he was fighting for. The two began fighting until Puck, who was in his real form, joined their fight, and after a brief skirmish, Puck froze Petelgeuse, shattering his frozen body soon after. Turning his attention to Subaru, Puck mentioned to him that he had committed three sins; the first was breaking his promise with Emilia, the second was returning to the mansion against her wishes, and the third was that he killed her. Continuing on, Puck informed Subaru that he would destroy the world as stated in their contract, adding that Emilia was everything to him, before asking him how soon a person would die from being frozen bit by bit, proceeding to freeze him, and as he died he realized that no one expected anything from him.
Chapter 5: From Zero[]
After returning in front of Kadomon's store for the third time, Subaru discussed everything with Rem, including the possibility of running away from everything to Kararagi, where they could start a new life, however after being cheered up and lectured by Rem, he decided to face his problems to help Emilia, essentially starting "from zero".
Chapter 6: The Card That's Been Dealt[]
That afternoon, Subaru gathered Crusch, Ferris, Wilhelm, Russell, and Anastasia to discuss an alliance, having figured out Roswaal's true intentions in leaving Rem behind with him. Crusch confirmed his theory, revealing that her camp was offered mining rights to magic stones in Elior Forest, which immediately caught Russell's interest, who explained how it would prove to be invaluable. She approved of him negotiating in Roswaal's place, adding that she wouldn't refuse an alliance just because Emilia was a Half Elf, however she wanted a small something that would push her into accepting the alliance, causing Subaru to offer information on the Hakugei's appearance, location, and time.