An Anomaly (Part 2)

(Fred's POV)

I take a closer look at the book.

It is EMPTY like a blank slate. I snatch it from his hands and start flipping its pages frantically from the start.

If the book stopped writing would their contents from the beginning disappear? Well, that was the case for Beatrice. And it didn't help me as I couldn't find out the date of his last set of instructions and I'd have to take it for his word if I asked him about it. So I was on a disadvantage even before starting my negotiation?

I grind my teeth in frustration.

Slumping on the chair on the other side of the table, I hold my head with my hands. I never planned on letting my guard down in front of this crazy joker, but as things were right now, we might as well be devastated.

Why?

BECAUSE! In the first 4 arcs of the story, Subaru becomes the person who'd clear any of the hurdles of the world. Not just for Emilia but for all the people who mattered to him. He'd break down. But he'd get back again. In short, he'd evolve from adamantium to vibranium.

And now…all those quests for him in those 4 arcs had disappeared. What the hell would happen if things went south? Given his current mentality, he'd break down just after 5 times. I needed him to turn into the junior 'King of Death'.

('SSS Class-suicide hunter' reference)

What the fuck is the clown thinking! He isn't saying anything.

"Hey…" I call out to him, "Say something. Your gospel or tome whatever landed us in a mess."

"It seems you're more concerned about my future than me." He says.

It was truly odd for him to speak like a normal guy. Though it shouldn't be bugging me, it was really disturbing to not hear his long-stretched monologues.

It meant that he was lost. And he didn't know what to do. The story had gone crap because he was at a loss.

What should I even do?

"Hey, are you toying with me right now? Cuz it's ain't funny." I ask him exasperated.

"I have no reason to. After all, I lost my way a long while ago." he responds rather calmly.

"Can you take a mana oath on that?" I ask him.

"A mana oath?"

"U might know it as a magic contract."

"Oh…is that necessary?" he raises his eyebrows.

What the hell! You're damn suspicious! Who in the world would trust you!

"Yes, it is." I say holding back my inner charade,

"I can't trust a smelly old geezer like you.

Take an oath that you won't lie to me and vice versa.

You can stay silent if you don't want to reply, but you can't lie.

Of course, this condition is absurd as we might need to lie under some circumstances so we should set up a code before starting the enquiry session and another code to end the session.

Well, it's all just bullshit, unless you actually take the oath."

"I'll take it."

"I knew you wouldn't. It's just so disad…?!

WHA? Did you hear what I said? You'd need to tell the truth if you say anything. You essentially pay Your soul as the price for breaking the contract!"

"I know. However, I have nothing to lose. If I can't have my wishes fulfilled, it's not worth keeping any secrets." So he says

"I see." ok it's all good. Why should I even protest if things went going my way?

After we get done with the mana oath which seals his and my souls into a contract with a deadly penalty, I choke on my cringe tastes.

The beginning passcode was set to:

"For her, I forever am, as she is my light."

And the ending one:

"For her, I forever shall be, as she is my all."

Regardless, it was better to have this as it'd remind us of our goals every time we'd use it. It was more of a type of motivation.

"So let's get down to the Q\A session.

When did your book stop writing?"

"About a hundred years back."

"And the content lasted till the capital incident?" It sounded fishy. "Should I use the mana oath now?"

"If that makes you trust me then be it."

"On second thought, just leave it. It'd be pointless whether that's the truth or not.

So next,

Why were you following the gospel?"

"To revive my dead teacher." his eyes squinted a bit, probably by the ridiculousness of the question.

"So what were you planning to do if I didn't appear?"

"I would just continue to live the way I did until I got some clue to the fulfilment of my goal."

"Crazy," I said, "But I like that answer."

Anyway, the current condition only made things more complicated. I got Roswaal as my ally. But with its ups and downs it seems.

Roswaal doesn't have any clue about what he should do. It means that if there were something written between the lines in the gospel, I would have no way of knowing them. And my core guess as to what was going on with this storyline was that it got affected:

Either by me,

Or by the entity which brought me here.

Satella wouldn't have done that most probably. Nothing of the sort happens in the canon Rezero right? Leaving aside all those ridiculous fan-fics, something must have happened to this worldline, and it got diverged. Thus this is now thrown off from the natural course of things, and there was no guarantee that things would go as he planned. They could turn out even worse, like the witch cult showing up out of nowhere and Peteleguese preaching his love of the Witch to me. Well, I can adjust with him. No problem at all! I was an expert in making people believe I was on their side. One of the survival traits which I picked up along the way.

(Hey! I am not some conman!)

Things will change with a new variable and the more variables, the faster the change and soon things would be totally different from the original. I felt like sending a mail to Tappei Nagatsuki sensei about my condition and asking him for help. But inter-world mail wasn't the trend here. And it didn't feel like mass communication would arrive in this world anytime soon. And to add the cherry on top, there was this famous 'Butterfly effect' too. All of which I needed to keep in mind while doing something, all the while not letting guilt and stuff hang me down.

Why?

Because shit would go down if I let things happen the way they did. And it's better to act than to regret later on. I might rather become a villain than a 'lame-ass guy who didn't do anything'.

"So what should I do for the time being? Judging by your actions, another event should've started by me by this moment and you were trying to gain some upper hand right?" Roswall said. His voice brought me back to reality. He was smart. I didn't have to do a lot of explaining that way.

"Well, it's nice that you're not dumb. Keep that creepy smile on your face. That's the only other expression that suits you."

"Huhuhu saviour-san knows me well…"

"No no, you know me quite well too… huhuhu." We two were giggling like petty villains. But it was ok, after all this was getting quite fun.

And having another guy feel the same way like me felt really satisfying. The feeling of being understood was something that I hadn't experienced in a long time.

"So did you get any instructions in your gospel regarding the mabeast incident in Arlam village ?"

"No. Does it have to do with something?" he asked. Seemed like he didn't know.

"So partner, listen up real close. I'll tell you the current plan. There might be some gaps as I didn't go through my texts that thoroughly, but you have to use your brain for that. And that gospel, you don't need it, right? Give it to me. I'll be giving you future instructions in that book."

Giving him the instructions for our next plan of action, I leave the room waving to him.

"You can teach me some basic magic stuff as a favour though. I won't mind hearing some stories from you too!"

_________________________________________________________________________

(3rd person POV)

The two figures parted ways in Roswaal's once again dimly lit office, a newfound camaraderie forming between them despite the unusual circumstances. Fred's plan was laid out, and Roswaal had an opportunity to once again move forward, albeit in a different manner.

As Fred exited the room, a twisted smile danced on Roswaal's lips. With a flick of his fingers, he opened the closed windows and curtains letting in the fresh air from the courtyard. He breathed in deeply before whispering to himself, "It seems that events have taken a most intriguing turn. At last, my wish will come true."

Back in the mansion, life continued to unfold, the other residents were seemingly unaware of the scheming and alliances forming behind the scenes. Little did they know that the threads of their destiny were being woven by the hands of individuals whose intentions were as complex as the web they were spinning.