Natsuki Subaru: Warlock of Sin

Chapter 4

[A Girl's Selfishness]

※ ※ ※

"What's the matter? Yer face looks like I just caught ya stealin some snacks or somethin" Says the voice. Subaru gulps as he turns around, a pink-haired girl standing by the entrance of the shack, with a staff in hand, held close to her curious face. "Lewis-san…" was all Subaru managed to say.

She stood there casually, not expressing any real indicator of how she felt. Sensing an awkward atmosphere, her voice breaks the silence "S' matter, cat got your tongue?" She says while moving away from the door, allowing her clone out. "Or did this Ol'granny give ya a good scare?"

He tries to explain himself out of it, but such an explanation wouldn't pop up in his head no matter how hard he'd think. So he comes out with it, "No matter how you look at it, this place clearly is an 'off-limits' kinda area, what reaction do you expect from me" he says in an almost joking manner.

Lewis chuckles to this, and says to them, "That's just nature doin it's thing. 'S not like anyone purposefully planted anythin over here, besides, Garf's probably forgotten this place exist, only person really watchin over it's me"

Subaru felt oddly relieved hearing that, "So I was worried over nothing…" Letting out a sigh, Subaru faces over to Beatrice, as if expecting some sort of reaction from her, but all he got was a stern expression of confusion, "Why're you so worried, I suppose? I'll have you know Sanctuary is like Betty's backyard so she has the right to see it, in fact"

"Would've been helpful if you've given me a heads up then"

Interjecting between the two, Lewis asks, "Guessin the maid's been tellin ya bout our little split faction hasn't she?"

They face her, and both nod, with Subaru replying, "She has, and though that's not really a problem in the long run… we were kinda wondering if it'd be alright to temporarily evacuate? Might be hard to ask, but I don't really want this to escalate this too much, with Garfiel and all…"

"Well's to bad for ya, if anything, Lil-garf's way of doin things is the way of the fist" Lewis replies with a punch to the air, as if imitating Garfiel.

That doesn't sound very reassuring, thought Subaru. "But nevermind em, the one who you really need to be convincin… is 'me'." She says, putting a hand on her chest. "You?" Subaru replied in bewilderment, "You're also against Sanctuary being liberated?"

This is new to Subaru, a big surprise for sure, but perhaps it's because of Garfiel. Since he has control of the Lewis clones, it would make sense he can order the conscious ones as well.

She motions her hand out the door, as if telling them to head outside, and so they did.

"Sorry, the smell was gettin ta me"

"You notice that now…?" Ignoring Subaru's side remark, she continues to explain, "It's not like I myself am against it. For one, I'm quite with the plan to liberate Sanctuary, but, my other self might have something to say about it..."

※

"Woah, didn't think this place would have a library…" Subaru said in awe as he enters the house Lewis brought them into. It was quite a walk away, especially far away from the tomb, nearing the outskirts of the village's general area. "S' less of a library an' more of a collection of Lil-garf's" Lewis tells them.

"That's a big surprise, always thought of him as a pure muscle head…" Subaru comments and Beatrice nods, agreeing. Lewis described the general area as a 'pass time', "Well, I say that, but 'S actually Lil-garf's and Lil-rica's ol'home, ever since Lil-rica's gone out of Sanctuary, we've used this as a sort of memorial…" She explains as she shows the three to a lounge of sorts.

Beatrice took a while to examine the books nearby, seeing a wide variety that she wasn't expecting, "Lil-rica's been sending books since the day she left sanctuary, but she hasn't come to visit once… The outside musta been a real busy place ain't it" Lewis longingly said.

"Last I heard, she was the head maid, so i'd expect so…" Hearing Subaru say that made her smile proudly.

Subaru and Beatrice took a seat beside each other as Lewis scuffled over to the cupboard to get something. He got right into the questioning "Lewis-san, about what you said earlier…"

She clears out her throat and answers, "Basically, there's many of 'me'. Maintainin a conscious state of mind strains my existence, in order ta fix that, there's multiple of 'me' and we tend to switch out every few days or so" She returns with cups, saucers, and what seems to be a teapot.

"So how many of you are there, I suppose?" Beatrice asks as she was handed a cup.

Lewis answers while pouring her some tea, "Exactly four of us… we've given ourselves nicknames so we don't confuse Garf. I'm Bilma, the other three are Alma, Cima, and Delma" a rather… 'creative' naming scheme Subaru thought. "And of us four, Cima is the only one against Sanctuary's liberation…"

"I see… so when exactly do you switch with her?" Subaru asks.

Before answering, she gives him his own cup of tea, "Careful now, 'S hot and high quality if I do say so myself" Feeling like this is rather similar to a certain tea party he's attended, he couldn't help but question whether tea drinking was a sort of tradition here at Sanctuary. "To be honest, I never really get the idea of 'quality' tea…"

"Maybe once you're a little older, Lil-su, you'll understand..." She says as she seats herself across them. "I don't know how to feel if a loli-granny says that to me…" He says to himself, in an almost whispering manner.

"Not long till Cima's turn comes, but before that... I wanna hear bout this 'evacuation' ye were talkin bout" Prepared to listen, Lewis rests her hands on her lap, awaiting the two.

"To be honest, it's a little hard to explain really… well, not hard to explain per se, more it's hard to believe…" Subaru says, rather reluctant to divulge any information, but Lewis just sat there staring at him, as if telling him, "I'm not moving until you tell me"

"Alright, alright, I'll spill it… you see, i'm about 99% certain that in the coming days, Sanctuary will be overrun by the Great rabbit…"
"..."

She looks blankly at him, before letting out a "Hah?" Looking quite confused as she did so, "S'cuse me but never heard of any Great bunny round these parts"

"Figures… guess you don't really know much about 'Mabeast' then?"
"Ah, 'S a mabeast, don't worry I heard 'f those"

She was rather accepting of it, and rather calm about it too, "Unlike yall on the outside, we ain't got that much knowledge on these sorta things, so we go by folk tales and from what Roswaal tells us. The big three, the mist, the avalanche, and the decay, not really sure what you call each of them nowadays, but tha's how the old people of Sanctuary used to refer to them beasts of calamity as."

The White whale, Great rabbit, and the Black Serpent, that's most what they should translate to, "What you call the avalanche, we call the Great Rabbit, I suppose. A mabeast that is so overrun by hunger that it will even eat itself to sate it's never-ending emptiness. It numbers near the tens of thousands and can divide itself, so it's unkillable unless their all taken down in one fell swoop" Beatrice explains to her.

"As scary as the story makes em out to be…" Finally showing some sort of concern, Lewis thinks about it for a bit, "I don't know how much Lil-garf's gonna be convinced by it, but I'm sure he ain't gonna take his chances…"

Seems like it isn't impossible to bring Garfiel to their side, though Subaru feels like he's the kind to just head in to stop them all himself, but surely he can't be that rash. He may be a muscle head but when the times right, he has a brain and he uses it.

"So, 'S there anythin else ya two need before I head out?"

Since Cima is against Sanctuary's liberation, Bilma should be more open to talking. So Subaru decides to ask for her assistance on a certain someone, "Then, about Garfiel…" He asks but Lewis had anticipated it and gives her answer immediately, "Lil-garf doesn't wanna leave cuz 'f what he saw in his own trials"

Quite surprised by this, Subaru exclaimed, "Garfiel... took the trials?!" He has a hard time seeing the current Garfiel taking it, but it would have been a possibility before. Lewis continues, "Now I don't really know what's buggin him about it… but 'f I gotta guess, it'd be his mother…"

"..." Subaru stayed silent.

"Ya see, back when he as still a wee lad, his mother went up and outta Sanctuary, leaving both him and his sister to me. I myself don't really know why, perhaps the me of that time knew, but I couldn't dig up anything from my own memory, and never really had a reason ta ask the others bout it. Lil-rica stayed silent about it, so I thought nothin of it…" She finishes with a somber tone.

The idea of prying too deep into it doesn't sit well with Subaru. It would most likely have some backlash with Garfiel, so he decided to stray away from that topic, what he's more interested in, is "Lewis… Cima I mean, why doesn't she want Sanctuary free?" And to that Lewis answered in a rather boisterous laugh, "Funny story actually. First, let's get back to Lil-garf. He didn't actually take the trials willfully, accidentally stumbled down the tomb stairs when playin tag with Cima and Lil-rica. Cima followed him down worried, and that caused both of em to take the trials. 'S also where he got tha' scar on his forehead"

Hearing this new information baffled Subaru a bit and Lewis couldn't help but laugh some more, "Ta think all this stubbornness 'S cause he had a little trip…" Contrast to the other two however Beatrice was a bit disturbed hearing this, "Cima ain't tellin me or the others what happened down there, 'haps she wants it te herself, 'haps she's traumatized, knowin it doesn't really affect us much so we didn't ask…"

And with that, Lewis bobbed her head down, as if she was drowsy, "Ah… my times up, then I'll leave everything ta you two" she says weakly, and with a flicker, Lewis slumped down on the table and vanished into a sparkle of light, but then just moments later she's back up, all the same Lewis, all the same, except it wasn't.

"...Bilma's told me 'bout it, but didn't think I'd live ta see tha day…"

She gets up from her seat and put her hand on her chest, in a bowing manner, she greeted them, "Lewis Meyer, Cima if you would… it is an honor to meet you in person, Beatrice-sama…" From the previous Lil-bea, to Beatrice-sama, her way of talking has already taken a drastic change. Beatrice being visually displeased at that walks up to her, "You..."

"…" Lewis did not falter from her bowing position, it's as if she was awaiting orders.

"No… it can wait until later, I suppose. Also stop it with that, it's making Betty uncomfortable, in fact" She says as she sits back down.

"If thas what you wish, then so be it…" Lewis sits across them, picking her cup of tea back up. "So…" Subaru was about to say, but Beatrice cuts through his words, "Betty shall take it from here, Subaru..." Not really having any reason to say no, Subaru listens to her and falls back, "Bilma said you took the trials, right? The past you saw in your trials… they were not of you're own, I suppose?"

"S'right, all were glimpses of Lewis Meyer's past…"

Quite similar to Emilia's predicament, Subaru recalled, facing a past you yourself haven't experienced. "Glimpses you say?" Says Beatrice, sounding rather doubtful of what she was being told. And with that statement Lewis had a crack on her expression, was it hesitance? Subaru thought.

"It was… how shoulda put it…" As Lewis tries to find the words to explain, Subaru couldn't help but notice that her eyes were rather restless, sneaking glances at Beatrice, then the floor, then Beatrice again. Yet Beatrice stared straight towards her, not moving at even the slightest distraction.

"Hurtful perhaps? Lewis had quite the upbringing, I suppose, though I only know what she told me…" Beatrice seats herself and takes a sip from her cup of tea, before meeting eye to eye with her again.

"Beatrice-sama… you were quite close to Lewis back in the day weren't you?"
"Yes, she was my very first friend after all…"
"..."

"Would it bother you, if I were to ask a question?" She asks Beatrice while fiddling with her fingers, her head tilted downwards. "No… not at all, I suppose…" Beatrice said while narrowing her gaze.

"What if the old Lewis Meyer were to appear before you… how would you feel…?"

She waited in silence as Beatrice taps on her cup, drinking some tea, as if contemplating the question "You said 'What if'... but is there really any reason to be so hypothetical right now, I suppose?"

"..." Beatrice places her cup down, as the room dons in silence. "Was it that easy to figure out…" Her tone, her way of speaking, it changed drastically, Subaru noted. "The moment Bilma told me you took the trials, there was no way I wouldn't figure it out, I suppose… Before I answer you're question, how would you feel if the old Lewis Meyer came back?"

A conflicted look plastered her face, yet she was still facing the ground, unable to lift her head for whatever reason, "It would feel like being torn in two… no, thats exactly what it feels like right now. Honestly, it'd have been best if I'd just stay dead…" Subaru, who's quite out of it, could only listen as the conversation unfolded.

"Everyone was gone… Echidna-sama, Roswaal-sama… everyone in the village was… even Beatrice-sama left. It felt like it was just yesterday, that the four of us would sit by the grass field and talk, it was so unbearably painful… every time, since the moment I was conscious, I always thought about it, and I never know what to do…" She has completely dropped off her crude way of speaking and it's almost like she's a completely different person now. Subaru understood, that these were not the words of 'Cima' but of 'Lewis', however that may be.

"My selfishness with wanting to fulfill my debt to Echidna-sama… I've neglected to take your feelings into consideration… And to further my own selfishness, I was too afraid to face you myself, so isolation in the Sanctuary was a blessing, but there was always a lingering feeling that one day, we would meet again… to think it would come so soon…" she chuckles in a somber tone.

"Not seeing Echidna-sama, could only mean that I as a vessel have failed to produce the results she desired, in the end, I wasn't able to help anyone, whether it as you, the village, or Echidna-sama" she start sounding as if she was going to break down.

"I kept on living in this new Sanctuary, getting to know the people, spending time with my new family that I've grown to love... and I was afraid..." Beatrice kept on a face of indifference, letting Lewis spill out her whole story, and that indifference frightened her even more. "I was afraid of meeting you, afraid that such an event... afraid that them knoing the real me would put a strain on my 'current' family… I know who I am, I know who I was, and I know who I should be, but still..."

She clenches her fists, and faces Beatrice with her all, "Beatrice-sama… My ignorance, my selfishness, please forgive me for leaving you all those years back. Forgive me for not being able to bring Echidna-sama's goal into fruition... even if I can't take back what I've done. We can no longer return to old days, to my old family... but If anything, I… My current family, and the rest of 'me'-" Lewis stops her train of thoughts as she hears a sigh from in front of her.

"And here I was thinking of what sort of atrocious deeds you've done behind my back, I suppose…" Beatrice's expression softened, but there was no smile in her face, "You're making me out to be quite the horrific monster, I suppose. As if I'd do anything to strain someone else's relationship, just what do you take me for, I suppose!"

Putting a hand on her shoulder, she assures her, "Your sacrifice has saved the entire village, and Mother herself from imminent danger. And even though Mother was unable to reach her goals, you were not at all the reason for it… Mother- simply died young, I suppose…" She says hesitating for a split second near the end.

"..."

"Leaving me for what you thought was right, I have no reason to criticize or resent you, in fact I applaud you, as a great spirit such as Betty can understand at least that much, I suppose…" While saying that, remnants of a smile appeared on the edge of her mouth.

Grabbing her head with her hands, Lewis lets in a gasp of air, "I see… so that's how it is…" With her elbows on the table, she takes her time to calm herself down, but trickles of tears fall down her cheeks. "You really are kind, Beatrice-sama…" Annoyed that she's being called like that again, Beatrice flicks her forehead, "There's no need for that, I suppose, just Beatrice is fine…" Using her sleeves to dry out the runaway tears.

※ ※ ※

"I'm really sorry for showing you this side of me, Lil-su, Beatrice… And thank you, both of you, for hearing out this Ol' granny"

It seems she's back to being Cima now, or maybe she was both Cima and Lewis this entire time. Subaru, who doesn't know much about either, couldn't tell, "Well it was mostly Beatrice, I was basically a statue in that situation…" "Nah, just listenin was a big help. If ya ever feel the need, don't hesitate to ask me, I'll lend ya an ear if it comes down to it…"

After a few exchanges here and there, Lewis has agreed that she will no longer oppose Sanctuary's freedom. In the first place, the reason she didn't want to leave as so she wouldn't have to reunite with Beatrice, but since the unimaginable happened, there really is no reason to stay holed up in Sanctuary anymore.

The three make their way out and headed towards the village square, while they make their way there, Subaru says, "Never thought I'd see that side of Beako, to be honest… I thought you'd be more tsun-tsun if put in that situation" Getting rather pricked at that statement Beatrice retorts, "Such an aggravating contractor you are, I suppose! Shouldn't you be grateful Betty has spared her goodwill to help you persuade her to our side?"

"Haha, and there's the Beako I know and love"
"Stop it, I suppose! I won't stand for this disgrace, in fact!"

While the two kept on bickering, Lewis grinned from the sidelines and she couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Natsuki-san!" Someone interrupted.

Otto waved as he walked towards them, "I've been looking for you…" Subaru waved back as he came to a stop, "Ah Otto, so how did it go" he said while expecing some good new, but the merchant shook his head in disappointment, it seems he brings nothing but bad news, "No go, Garfiel won't let them leave, and he seems pretty stubborn about it too…" Hearing that name, Lewis pops in between them.

"What's this bout Lil-garf?"

"Ah, Lewis-san... we were wondering if it would be possible to let the Arlham villagers leave since there's no need for them anymore as hostages. We were worried for their mental health since they're probably worried about their families back home…" Otto explained to her.

"I can see why Lil-garf's insistin on them stayin… I'll see if I can get 'em to budge on that" Lewis replied. "That'd be great, we're counting on you Lewis-san!" Subaru proclaimed. "But the child's hardy, I don't know if I can turn him around, so don't expect too much ya hear," she says, but they reassure her, just that much is a big help.

With mostly everything else out of the way, they all took off on their own paths, Lewis went over to Garfiel, Otto to the villagers to inform them of their next course of action, and Subaru and Beatrice to wherever Emilia was. But before leaving Beatrice calls out to Lewis one last time, "Hey Lewis…" she turns her head around to face her, "Yes Beatrice?" With her face turned around, Beatrice tells her, "I rather enjoyed it, I suppose, so let's have tea again sometime, okay?"

"...Ofcourse!"

And with a smile, they all departed on their own ways...

A/N

Did I… I DID! I KEPT MY PROMISE! It didn't take 5 months to get another chapter out, good job me!

I've rekindled my love for writing, but whether I still have the ability write non-stop chapters is still far out of my reach. Ahh, I still remember young me pumpin out chapters for Forgive me every 2 days, I was scarily fast back then, if only I had the energy I did back then...

Anyway, not exactly sure how long the next chapter will take, but I'm hoping it to be quite the small chapter. The chapter after that however, will be quite big, perhaps the build-up before the climax. Not exactly sure, but thats the rough idea, look forward to it.

Gilgamesh King of Mongrels
See you in another year dear author. xd

Checkmate, it took 182 times faster than usual! Lets see if I can keep this up :D

Leonidas101
Ya know, you actually gave me the inspiration to come up with my idea of a Subaru/Satella fanfic.
I'll give you this hint: "Our Cycle ends here".

We need more Satella stories! I'll be sure to read yours when it comes out. Also glad to hear that I've inspired someone to make a story the same one someone else inspired me to make my story, it feels like I've went full circle, (MNR wherever you are, always know, that I'll be waiting, however many decades you need! No pressure tho)

Bobberhd
It's fine. Been following since the start and love the new direction since you restarted can't wait for a new flow of regular updates the way you write is great and I'd love to see more.

You know, I've always hated english class on literature. I always thought, dang, why do people like these stories, but I can now appreciate it after reading Re:zero. Both reading and writing about it, just gives so much joy, different from what I normally get from playing a fun game, or eating a good meal. (Still really despised literary analysis tho, that class sucked)

I do hope I'll be able to realise the ending that I envisioned this series to have 2 years ago. Me and Red also kinda wanted it to have a sequel but now with the new direction, such a thing is not necessary. All loose ends will be tied and the story will end with a bang. Perhaps I can do like an after story or something. Try dip my fingers in some slice-of-life...