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Chapter Text

23 people sat within a large theater, each attentively watching the screen, though there was one dunderhead who seemed to want to sleep through the show. These people, each from five different camps, had all been summoned here to see the life of this sleeping dunderhead, Natsuki Subaru.

It had been an emotional tale. They learned of their sins, the suffering they had put their friend through, and how this fool had forgiven them and overcome all the obstacles facing him time and time again. He had been killed time and time again, even by those now sitting in this theater. But he had persevered. He had won the trust of the mansion, crushed the White Whale and the Archbishop of Sloth, smashed a certain clown's schemes, and finally earned his place as Emilia's knight.

Now, the screen showed the knight and his mistress having an endearing dance through the ballroom. The atmosphere of the theater was jovial, as the fool was finally rewarded for all his achievements. Each and every member of this theater, even the more harsh ones, were truly happy for the fool. Happy he had finally been rewarded and became a knight, and happy the deaths were behind him.

Finally, the screen faded to black. 

[Screen title: Clumsy footsteps under the moon]

"Arc Four. Everlasting Contract…"

"End."

The room remained in silence for a few moments. Finally, one of the members of the audience spoke up. 

"The end of the fourth arc… So… That's it?! We've seen everything?! Sanctuary is finally over?!" Otto said this with a mixture of joy and relief. Finally, his friend was safe. Finally, his friend wouldn't die from a certain clown's schemes anymore.

"It's finally over? I feel like we've been sitting here for months!" Al got up and groaned as he stretched.

"Hmph. I suppose that was quite an entertaining show." Priscilla said this with a smirk. She had become quite enamored with this commoner during this viewing. She was glad he was finally recognizing more of his pride and becoming just a bit more respectable. And she was glad he was rewarded for his efforts.

"I suppose it would be quite entertaining having a fool to accompany my jester… Now I merely need to wait for the world to bring him to my side." She was confident this would happen. After all, she now wanted the "self-proclaimed knight." And the world always moved in her favor.

"Subaru…" Emilia continued to smile, her dance with Subaru replaying in her head. She would need to find an excuse to have another one in the future. Perhaps they could have a party after they return from Pristella…

"Go Cap'n!" Garfiel cheered on his captain. He was incredibly proud of him. He had overcome such difficult trials, yet he remained human and did his utmost to help the Emilia camp. He had even broken Garfiel out of his shell. Within his head, Garfiel swore to redouble his efforts to get even stronger. He'll make sure Subaru never needs to die again!

"Betty's Subaru really is incredible, in fact. You deserve lots of head pats, I suppose." Betty whispered this softly as she stroked her contractor's hair. He had gone through so much. Yet he continued to act cheerful and did his utmost to care for her and the rest of the camp. Within her mind she made the same pledge as Garfiel. She will make sure Subaru never needs to use that terrible power again.

"He really is a hero…" Rem said this with a smile on her face. She was truly happy for Subaru. He had overcome so much, while continuing to save so many people. He even forgave her despite how much she had hurt him. He truly was a hero, as well as the person she loved.

She also felt a slight tinge of envy as the scene of him and Emilia dancing played through her head. She truly was happy for him, but… she wanted to dance with him too. But now she was awake… so she smirked as she pledged to immediately temp him into a dance as soon as he returned from Pristella. She needed to close the lead Emilia must have gained during her year long nap!

This lighthearted atmosphere continued to spread through the theater. Each one of these people showed their respect in their own way.

Ram begrudgingly gave Barusu her respect. She had previously thought he was just a man with good timing. But he had proven he was much more than that. He had saved and forgiven her sister, and he had helped her accomplish her goal. Perhaps… she could approve of his and Rem's relationship… urgh! Ram barley held back the rising bile in her throat.

Felt continued to admire her bro's accomplishments. Within her head, she continued to plot how she would get Subaru, and the rest of the Emilia camp, into her's so Reinhard could protect him… And also so she could hang with her bro as much as she wanted.

Crusch also gave her commendations to the hero. He was truly a respectable individual, and someone she was glad to be an ally of… She also may be planning to try drawing him into her camp. It seems this is a common plan.

Each of the knights, along with Wilhelm, showed their respect for Subaru. He had truly gone through so much. Yet he had overcome each trial and vanquished many great evils. They each held great admiration for their friend, and now comrade, Natsuki Subaru.

Even Roswaal gave Subaru his respect in his own evil clown way. He gave Subaru a nod and clapped for him. "Veeery impressive, Natsuki Subaruuuu!… I hope your trials in the future aren't as harsh as mine was."

Thus this jovial atmosphere continued to spread. But of course, someone needed to snap them out of it and bring them back to reality.

"So.. What's next?" It was the fluffy merchant candidate who decided to ask this question. As the people in the room considered it, it promptly brought them back to reality. They were still trapped in this theater. And there was an entire year up until the present… how many times could he have died in that time?

"Did… did I fail you again?" It was Emilia that muttered that question. But that question was shared within the minds of each member of her camp. How many more times could he have died? Did they fail him?

"Hmph, what pathetic worries." The Sun Princess said this with a harsh tone. Many members of the Emilia camp turned to glare at her, but before an argument could begin, a loud and clear voice rang through the theater. The Warden has returned.

Congratulations on finishing Arc 4. Now then, you were asking what comes next?

Each member of the theater listened as they waited for the Warden to continue. Would there be another arc? Had Subaru died again? Had they failed him again? Or perhaps they would finally be freed.

Firstly, I'll give you all some good news. From the end of Arc 4 to the present, Subaru has not needed to use Return by Death once. He has been free from that hell.

This immediately caused a wave of cheers through the theater. Garfiel and Beatrice were cheering the loudest. They hadn't failed him again! They had managed to protect Subaru! They were ecstatic. Of course, the other Emilia camp members also cheered with them, feeling a similar wave of joy and relief.

Subaru's many friends also cheered in celebration of this. The only person who wasn't cheering or showing some form of visible excitement was Priscilla. She simply gave a content hmph, as if this was entirely natural and to be expected.

Finally, Anastasia spoke up to the Warden. "So then what's next? Can we finally leave this theater?"

"Ahh, that would be nice. I've been getting cramped up here." Al spoke up, agreeing with the sentiment. It already felt like they had been here for days. He would be happy to be out.

You could leave… or you could do something else. I'm going to give you a choice.

"A choice?" Several voices of surprise rang out throughout the theater. It seems this was the first time their free will and self-determination has been somewhat respected here.

Yes, a choice. I'll give you two options. First, you could simply leave the theater now. You will be transported back to where you were first taken from. No time will have passed. Subaru will also wake up.

This sent another wave of excitement through the room. They could finally leave! This option did seem to be quite appealing. And the Emilia camp seemed to be quite excited to finally get to talk to their Subaru again.

You seem to be quite excited. But don't go choosing anything yet. You haven't even seen the second option, which I believe is quite appealing. You can continue this viewing.

"Continue the viewing. So will we see the year where he doesn't die?" Crusch asked for clarification. She didn't really know how she felt about that. On one hand she would see more of Subaru, but on the other… wouldn't that be invading his privacy even further?

"I think we have already shown enough of Natsuki-san's journey. We shouldn't infringe on him even further..." In his head, Otto was panicking. So many of their camp's secrets had already been shown. Now would even more be revealed?! At this point, the warden might as well just give all the other candidates their camp's private documents! That might be less exposing!

Now, now, you haven't even let me explain. If you choose to continue this viewing, I won't be wasting your time showing you that year. I'll be showing you something a bit more… exciting. A once in a lifetime opportunity that you won't get again.

"Ohhh. Please do tell." Anastasia always loved getting new information and seizing great deals. If this viewing would show her things she couldn't learn anywhere else, well, what choice did her greedy self have but to accept?

This screen can't only show things that have already happened to Subaru. It can show things that have happened to others. Side stories, if you will. But it can also go much further than that. It can show alternate timelines, other universes, or even… the future! Well, one in many possible futures.

This caught everyone's interest. Alternate timelines? The future? Such things were quite enticing.

"What exactly will ya show us?" Anastasia had a wide grin on her face. It seems this was going to be a very good deal for her.

If you agree to continue the viewing, I will show you future arcs that have yet to occur. This will show you of future threats and let you prepare for them. You'll also learn a ton of new information. You'll even get a bit of information on the things that happened 400 years ago.

At this point, everyone seemed to be enticed by this offer. The future?! Secrets from 400 years ago?! Anastasia was practically drooling at the opportunity.

I'll give you 5 minutes to decide. If you haven't reached a descision by then, I'll just need to choose for you.

With this, the Warden went silent. People immediately began to discuss the propositions.

"I'm a greedy gal. How could I possibly turn this offer down?" Anastasia was nearly shaking with excitement. She vented a bit of this energy by stroking her scarf. Just how much knowledge could she learn here? And how could she exploit it? There were so many possibilities.

Much of her camp felt similarly. Julius and Tivey were also particularly excited at the chance to learn more of what really happened 400 years ago. The self-proclaimed historians seemed quite eager. Mimi was already fantasizing about what would happen in the future. What exciting adventures would happen? Would she get with Garf? And Ricardo seemed to be ready to go along with the ride. The Anastasia Camp's vote has been decided from the start.

"Ha, this show has been quite entertaining for mineself so far. I have no qualms in continuing it." With this statement, Priscilla voiced her approval of continuing on. She wanted to see just how the commoner would act. What new entertainment would he bring her? Meanwhile, Al wanted to get out, but he could hardly voice his opinion against the Princess. So he simply nodded along. The Priscilla Camp has been decided.

"Haaa. I would like to get out of this cramped theater. But… I want to see more of how I can help bro. Plus seeing the future could be pretty neat." After a bit of debate, Felt decided to vote for going along with the viewing. Reinhard nodded with her, already planning on unconditionally supporting whatever she chose. But he was also happy with this choice. He wanted to see just what his friend would continue to accomplish. Thus, the Felt Camp vote was decided.

The Crusch Camp mirrored the opinions of the other camps. They were eager to gain knowledge of the future they could use and they also wanted to learn more to support Subaru. Perhaps they would also learn more about Gluttony from the screen. Thus, the Crusch Camp also decided to support continuing the viewing.

The final camp to decide was the Emilia Camp. They were also the ones that debated the most.

"I realllly want Subaru to wake up already…" Emilia pouted. She wanted to hug him, and comfort him, and tell him about everything that happened. She wanted to hear the voice of her dunderhead, telling her nobody says that anymore. She wanted to laugh with him. She wanted to be with him. She wanted to finally sort out her feelings and give him an answer. But…

"We can use this to protect Subaru, I suppose." Betty also missed Subaru. But she knew how useful it would be. They could know of and prevent future threats without Subaru needing to die for that knowledge. Not to mention the prospect of seeing the future was making a bit of her mother's greed spring up within her.

"As much as I'm worried about more secrets spilling… This knowledge could be incredibly useful." The ever-logical Otto spoke up. The merchant in him was also gushing over getting to see the future, though it was somewhat tempered by the fear of more secrets leaking. But… in the end, it would likely be more beneficial for them to continue the viewing than to give up on this opportunity and leave. This chance would only come once after all.

"I want to see the cap'n kick some more ass!"

"What a crude and brutish reasoning, as expected from Garf. But I do also agree that this would be more beneficial to us than leaving now." Ram voiced her agreement, while also throwing in one of her trademark insults.

"I believe in my hero! Rem wants to see everything he will go through and overcome so I can better help him." Rem spoke with determination. As much as she wished for her hero to wake up now, she knew how great a chance this was. With this, she will be able to better help him in their own future. She will use everything she sees to help her hero!

"I want to see the future! I want to see everything Subaru will accomplish!" Petra spoke with a bit of childlike wonder as she agreed with Rem, fantasizing about everything her crush would do and the concept of seeing the future.

"I thiiink we should continue the vieeewing. It will greeeeatly benefit us." Roswaal was very excited at the prospect of seeing the future. Even if it wouldn't quite replace his Gospel, it would be extremely useful having this knowledge to aid his plans. Perhaps the screen would even show him succeeding and reviving his teacher… It would also be quite good to delay leaving this theater for as long as possible. He will be dealing with a lot once they return to the mansion.

"I agree with everyone else. I do think this viewing will be more beneficial than leaving now. But if you would prefer to leave now Lady Emilia, I will support you." Fredrica elegantly voiced her opinion, while giving her support for Emilia. 

Emilia bit her lip as she debated what to do. She reallly wanted to see Subaru already, but… waiting a while longer for him to wake up would be worth potentially saving him from several deaths, right? Finally, she gave her support.

"You're all right. Let's continue watching. We'll do our best to help Subaru." The Emilia Camp gave cheers of agreement.

It seems you've all made your decision. I was hoping you'd continue this viewing. I'm glad you've met my expectations. Now then…

The viewers tensed as the screen flashed on once again. They were going to see the future… struggles and victories they could change… thus all eyes were glued to the screen as the viewing continued.

"Arc 5. Stars That Make History…"

"Begin."