...
{3rd Pov}
"I heard," Crane began, leaning back a little as he thought, "that her servant—though I'm not entirely sure who exactly, since the records I've read only mentioned it very briefly—apparently caused a huge ruckus in the Royal Castle. He went completely out of control, or so the story goes, until he was eventually beaten down by Julius Juukulius. You know, the so-called finest knight of Lugunica. Julius supposedly fought to protect the honor of the Royal Knights, and in the process, he thoroughly thrashed that servant in front of everyone. Now, the reason why I'm bringing this up will come later."
At those words, Subaru felt his stomach twist and his entire body fill with shame.
His shoulders sagged a little as if the weight of his past failures had just come crashing down again.
Rigel, sitting nearby, almost burst into laughter.
He could barely contain himself, his lips twitching and his cheeks puffing as he thought to himself: 'Who was that idiot servant? What kind of fool would get beaten that badly in the middle of the Royal Castle?'
He had no idea, of course, that the "idiot" in question was sitting right next to him—his very own father.
And if Rigel dared to let out even one snarky remark about it, well, he could kiss his buttocks goodbye.
Rem would not tolerate it.
She knew the full truth of the story, and while Subaru himself might forgive his son's jabs, Rem would definitely not spare him from a painful punishment.
"Anyway," Crane continued, completely unaware of the silent tension between the three of them, "about a week later, two major tragedies occurred almost back-to-back. First, there was the sudden death of Candidate Emilia. At the same time, a small village that fell within Roswaal's territory was completely destroyed. Both of their death was due to a surprise attack by the Witch Cult."
"The Lord of the land—Roswaal himself—was away at the time, so the place had no protection. As for the same servant I mentioned before, along with another who served the same camp… they vanished completely."
"To this day, their circumstances remain unknown. Most people believe they died, either by being caught in the chaos with the White Whale that appeared along the road to Roswaal's territory, or at the hands of the Witch Cult. Others think they may have simply run away. Personally, I never knew the full truth."
Crane gave a small laugh then, trying to lighten the heavy mood. "It always reminded me of those little 'Easter eggs' that Subaru used to talk about—clues left behind in stories that never quite get explained."
Subaru managed a weak smile in return, though inside he felt like he was being stabbed repeatedly in the chest.
Every word brought back memories he didn't want to revisit.
Rem, sitting beside him, took a deep breath and steadied herself.
Thankfully, she understood that Crane wasn't trying to hurt them.
He had no idea how personal and painful his words were.
If she even suspected otherwise, she might have lost her patience entirely and punished him right there.
Crane went on, his voice lowering slightly as he moved to the next part. "Now then… the White Whale. It appeared near Flugel's Tree. Around that time, the Duchess of Karsten—Crusch Karsten, another of the Royal Candidates—was preparing for a large-scale assault against the beast."
"When the news reached her, she immediately gathered her forces and launched the attack."
Subaru's eyes widened at that. "What happened? Did they win?" he asked quickly, leaning forward.
The question wasn't casual—it came from somewhere deep inside him.
Subaru remembered all too clearly how powerful Crusch had been compared to Emilia.
She had her own army, her own reputation, and allies like Wilhelm and Felix backing her. By comparison, Emilia's camp had been a joke.
Just Roswaal, Puck, Ram, Rem… and him.
A useless boy with no achievements, no power, and nothing to his name.
He also remembered how he himself had been laughed at, insulted, and called a madman.
He remembered how Crusch herself had dismissed him, throwing him out of her camp and refusing to lend any aid in saving the villagers from the Witch Cult.
To her, helping him offered no benefit.
In fact, she had gone as far as to suggest that Emilia's death would actually make things easier for her.
Those memories were still bitter.
But because he remembered them so clearly, Subaru could also perfectly imagine Crusch, with her sheer willpower and her army, actually securing a victory against the White Whale.
'Perhaps… perhaps she became the queen by now?' Subaru wondered silently, clinging to the possibility that someone as competent as Crusch could have survived and even triumphed.
However, his faint hope was shattered when he noticed the grim look on Crane's face.
Crane shook his head slowly and said in a heavy voice, "No… she didn't become queen. They lost. They lost completely. The White Whale annihilated them."
Both Rem and Subaru froze on the spot, their eyes wide with disbelief.
Their bodies stiffened, and for a moment neither of them could even form words.
Subaru, for his part, had always carried a grudge against Crusch for refusing to aid him and Emilia back then.
Yet deep down, he had also respected her strength and capabilities.
He knew full well that compared to her, Emilia's camp—including himself—was pitifully weak.
He had once been forced to swallow his pride and beg her for help just to have a chance at saving Emilia and the villagers.
And now to hear that she had lost, that she had been crushed so thoroughly… it made his stomach churn.
Crane continued without pause, his tone grave. "That battle did reveal some of the White Whale's abilities, though. It wasn't just a massive beast—it could make copies of itself. Infinite copies. Just like the Great Rabbit. No matter how many were cut down, more and more appeared, overwhelming the battlefield."
"In the end, the so-called 'Sword Demon'—Wilhelm—died while battling it. He fought to the very end, but even his blade couldn't turn the tide. Crusch Karsten and the famous healer Felix—'Blue'—only managed to survive because the Dragon Mist suddenly dispersed when the sun rose, forcing the White Whale to retreat."
At that moment, Subaru's mind conjured the image of Wilhelm van Astrea.
He remembered the brief conversations they had shared.
Unlike with Crusch, whom Subaru resented, he hadn't harbored any hatred toward Wilhelm.
The old swordsman had simply been carrying out his Lady's orders, and Subaru had understood that.
The thought that Wilhelm, the man who had devoted his entire life to his sword, had died such a death made Subaru's chest tighten with regret and grief.
Crane pressed on, his words hitting like hammers. "After that disastrous battle, Crusch's reputation fell apart completely. She was once seen as a strong contender for the throne, but the defeat broke her standing and her support collapsed. And not long after, she met her end during the reclamation battle of Priestella—about a year later."
"Priestella… reclamation battle?" Rem repeated in a whisper, her voice filled with confusion. Her brows furrowed as she tried to place the name.
Crane sighed, realizing just how far removed the couple really was from recent history.
"You two really don't know anything, huh?" he muttered before shaking his head.
"Alright, I'll explain. Over the last two decades, Lugunica has been ravaged by multiple wars and battles, one after another. Priestella was one of the most important cities in the kingdom, but it fell when the Sin Archbishops launched an assault. They took the city completely, seized control of its water gates, and no one could stop them."
Rem and Subaru exchanged shocked glances, their faces paling with every word.
Crane went on, his expression darkening. "A large-scale reclamation effort was launched soon after. But when the kingdom's forces confronted the Archbishops, the battle turned into a nightmare. Nothing worked against them. Even the Sword Saint himself… Reinhardt… was defeated."
The instant Subaru heard that, his body trembled as if struck by lightning.
His heart pounded in his chest, and cold sweat dripped down his back.
"E-Even Reinhardt…" he muttered in disbelief, his voice cracking.
The thought clawed through his mind like a monster whispering at the edge of his sanity: 'Even Reinhardt wasn't able to defeat them?'
If even someone like Reinhardt, the unbeatable hero whom Subaru had thought of as practically invincible, had fallen… then what kind of monsters were the Sin Archbishops truly?
Though Crane quickly clarified that Sword Saint didn't die, he was only defeated and later the Sin Archbishops retreated on their own, though the damage was done by that time.
He also began to feel a strange sense of relief bubbling up inside his chest when he thought back to the choices he had made in the past.
That constant guilt he had carried for years — the guilt of running away — started to feel a little lighter.
'Yeah… there's no way anyone could've defeated those damn Witch Cult lunatics back then. If I hadn't run away, if I had stayed and fought like an idiot—' Subaru's thoughts froze mid-sentence as his eyes drifted toward Rem.
She was sitting beside him quietly, but she noticed his gaze almost immediately and turned to look at him with a curious but gentle expression.
'If I had stayed… then Rem… Rem might not be here with me right now. She could've died… just like before. Just like that time…' Subaru thought, and the mere idea of losing her again made his stomach twist in discomfort.
His eyes then shifted toward his children, Rigel and Spica, and a bittersweet smile formed on his face.
'And if that had happened… then maybe… maybe I wouldn't even have Rigel and Spica today. None of this would've existed. My entire family… gone.'
Rem's eyes lingered on Subaru for a moment, and she seemed to understand exactly what was going through his mind.
Her gaze softened, and she gave him a small, knowing nod — a nod that said, "I know. I'm thinking the same thing too."
She also felt her guilt ease just a little.
She had carried a burden for years over the fact that she had agreed to run away with him that day instead of staying and fighting.
But now, knowing what came afterward, knowing the scale of the destruction that followed… she didn't feel as wrong about it anymore.
Maybe, just maybe, running had been the right choice after all.
Meanwhile, Crane moved on with his story.
His tone shifted again as he started to talk about what had happened in Vollachia — a country infamous even among the kingdoms.
He began explaining the grim details about the Vollachian Civil War, followed by what he referred to as the "Great Disaster" that occurred shortly afterward.
The devastation caused by those two events was so massive that the overall population of the nation had been reduced to just thirty percent of what it used to be.
Only thirty percent.
The numbers alone were horrifying.
Subaru and Rem were visibly shocked, their eyes widening as they tried to process just how catastrophic it all must have been.
Crane sighed and continued, "During that civil war, the candidate Priscilla Barielle — who was later revealed to actually be a member of the Vollachian royal bloodline — ended up dying in that conflict. Her death caused an even greater uproar because her knight… well, apparently her knight went rogue afterward."
Crane frowned as he tried to recall the details. "I don't know every little thing about how strong he was, but I do know he caused a lot of trouble. He was described as an extremely troublesome opponent. He even fought toe-to-toe with the Sword Saint for several hours straight before finally being killed. So yeah, he wasn't some pushover."
Subaru's thoughts instantly drifted to Al — or rather, Aldebaran — Priscilla's mysterious helmet-wearing knight.
He remembered how the guy had helped him out a few times, and compared to the other knights from the other Royal Candidate camps, Al had been the only one who wasn't a complete jerk to him.
Well… except for the fact that his master was an absolute nightmare.
'To think that guy was that strong all along… I seriously underestimated him. I guess you really can't judge people based on appearances,' Subaru thought to himself.
It was kind of ironic — back in those days, Subaru used to think of himself as pretty fit, considering he had some muscles compared to his old self from Japan.
But the truth was, his body was still weaker than that of a normal person from this world.
People here were built different — stronger, tougher.
Even those without bulging muscles were more durable than him.
And Al?
The guy always wore a helmet and acted kind of lazy or sarcastic, but apparently, he had the power to fight the Sword Saint for hours.
Crane then moved toward the final part of the Royal Selection's outcome. "In the end, the one who actually ended up winning the Royal Selection was… Felt. She turned out to be a surviving member of the previous royal family. Her identity was revealed later on, and that revelation really shook the political landscape."
"But what truly secured her victory was the fact that another major candidate, Anastasia Hoshin, suffered from a permanent illness. Because of that, and due to some political negotiations and close-margin votes, Felt ended up winning by a very small margin."
Subaru had to take a deep breath at this point.
His head was spinning with everything he was hearing. So much had happened. So much had changed.
The timeline had unfolded without him, and the world had kept spinning — spinning into absolute chaos.
"Wait… Anastasia Hoshin?" Rigel, who had been sitting quietly up until now, suddenly spoke up with a curious expression. "Isn't she the owner of that super famous Hoshin Company? The one that's like… in charge of half the merchants in Lugunica or something?"
Crane nodded without hesitation. "Yes. That's her. The very same Anastasia Hoshin — the business genius from Kararagi, the one who built the Hoshin Company into a trade empire. She was one of the top five Royal Candidates during the selection. But unfortunately, that illness crippled her political standing in the later years."
"Indeed… however, I fear that the peak glory days of the Hoshin Company are already behind them," Crane admitted, his expression turning serious as he leaned back a little.
"In recent years, they've been slowly but steadily declining. It's not a collapse, not yet, but the downward trend is visible to anyone paying close attention. And with their Master — Lady Anastasia — still suffering from that illness, things only look bleaker. Her faulty gate has gotten so bad that standing upright is now a struggle for her."
"At this point, her condition has deteriorated to the extent that she could pass away at any moment. And when that happens… when she dies, I suspect the company will lose a massive portion of its investors almost overnight. After all, the company has always leaned heavily on her leadership, her charisma, and her reputation. Without her… I don't see the Hoshin Company keeping the same influence it once had."
Subaru sat there in silence, not sure what he was supposed to feel in that moment.
A strange and uncomfortable mixture of emotions stirred inside him.
He thought about it for a second — and realized that all three of the women who, back then, had refused to lend him their aid, who had turned him away when he was desperate — they were all either dead now or slowly on their way toward dying.
Priscilla, Crusch, Anastasia.
The proud, untouchable figures of his past had been erased or reduced to shadows of what they once were.
For a brief moment, he couldn't help but feel something twisted rise inside his chest.
Satisfaction.
A cruel sort of vindication.
'It's their karma,' Subaru thought, biting his lip but unable to entirely stop the thought from surfacing.
They had denied him, and now the world had denied them in return.
Crane, however, carried on without noticing Subaru's inner conflict. "After Lady Felt ascended to the throne and officially became queen, one of her first major moves was to bring forward a series of policies designed to help the slum dwellers."
"She wanted to improve their lives, raise their status, and give them proper opportunities. At first, it sounded noble, even idealistic. But… things didn't go as smoothly as she probably envisioned. For some reason — maybe manipulation, maybe resentment — many conflicts began to break out between the slum dwellers and the rest of the kingdom's population."
"These weren't small scuffles either; some of the clashes grew violent, and during one particularly severe incident, a number of nobles and commoners were killed."
The moment Crane mentioned this, Subaru's brows furrowed.
He didn't need anyone to explain what had really happened there.
To him, it was obvious.
'Some rotten nobles, or maybe other opportunistic bastards, must have fanned the flames on purpose. That's how these things always go. Stir up resentment, let the chaos grow, and then use it as an excuse to crush them.'
He could already guess how the story would play out, but he let Crane continue regardless.
"Because of that bloodshed, the nobles and much of the public began to put heavy pressure on the queen to abandon those policies. And in the end… she had no choice but to give in. The reforms that were meant to uplift the slum dwellers were abandoned, and instead, sanctions and restrictions were imposed on them. What started as hope turned into even deeper oppression."
Subaru clenched his fists under the table, already predicting the escalation.
"And as you can probably imagine," Crane said with a grave tone, "things only got worse after that. The tensions between demi-humans, slum dwellers, and the rest of the population grew harsher and harsher. Mistrust and resentment piled up until it finally exploded."
"A full-scale conflict broke out — a civil war. The only reason history doesn't officially call it the 'Second Demi-Human War' is because this time, it wasn't just demi-humans fighting humans. This time, a huge portion of the human population, mainly the poor commoners and slum dwellers, joined forces with them. It was the oppressed versus the rest of the kingdom."
His voice dropped even lower. "The war dragged on for a long time and didn't end until the Royal Knights and the Sword Saint himself intervened to crush the rebellion. It was a bloody, merciless suppression. The end result is the current Lugunica you see today — a kingdom in ruins. Its economy is in absolute shambles. Poverty runs rampant. Thievery and crime are everywhere."
"The nobles and commoners have grown even more prejudiced against demi-humans and slum dwellers. From what I've heard, killings happen on a daily basis now — demi-humans and slum dwellers executed or murdered casually, often under flimsy or outright fabricated charges. The kingdom is a shadow of what it once was."
Rem and Subaru both trembled where they sat, chilled by the scale of the devastation. It was worse than either of them could have imagined.
Subaru swallowed hard before forcing himself to ask the question that had been sitting heavy in his chest. "W-What about Roswaal? You didn't… you didn't tell us what happened to him yet."
Crane glanced at him and answered simply, "It is said that the Great Rabbit appeared and attacked his territory — a place called the Sanctuary. Lord Roswaal fought it personally to repel the attack. But… he failed. And he died there."
That answer closed the final gap in their knowledge.
Both Subaru and Rem sat in silence for a long moment, the weight of it all pressing down on their shoulders.
Their hearts felt heavy, shaken by the sheer scale of suffering and ruin they had just learned about.
At the same time, though, something strange stirred within them — a faint but undeniable sense of release.
They had been running from their past for years.
Running from their guilt, from the truth, from the memories that haunted them.
It had hung over them like a curse, always whispering that they were cowards for fleeing when things became impossible.
But now… now, with all of this laid out in front of them, they could finally say with confidence that their choice hadn't been wrong.
At the very least, they could admit — to themselves and to each other — that running away had saved them.
After that long and exhausting conversation, they thanked Crane for sharing everything he knew, and then quietly departed to return home.
The walk back was far different from how they usually strolled through the city.
This time, the family was wrapped in silence.
The words they had just heard, the truths they had just learned, weighed too heavily on their hearts for anyone to casually break the stillness.
Rem clung tightly to Subaru's arm the entire way, her grip firm as though she feared that if she let go, she might collapse.
She walked beside him quietly, her head lowered, her mind in turmoil.
The emotions swirling inside her were complicated—sadness, guilt, and fear all pressing together until she could no longer untangle them.
Rigel, meanwhile, carried his little sister Spica in his arms, walking close behind their parents.
He did not dare speak up, sensing the atmosphere.
Though still a child, Rigel had learned enough to recognize when it wasn't the right time to ask questions or make jokes.
Tonight felt too heavy for that.
The streets of the city were mostly deserted, adding to the silence.
Only the occasional lantern lit their path, and the distant sound of wind whistling through the alleyways accompanied their steps.
Even the usual sights and noises seemed absent tonight. Zarestia, who often came to meet them, did not appear.
Halibel, who sometimes lingered in the city at this hour, was nowhere to be found either.
It was as if the world itself had chosen to remain quiet out of respect for the grief clinging to the family.
When they finally reached their home and stepped inside, the thin wall Rem had built around her emotions shattered completely.
She could no longer restrain herself.
Without hesitation, she threw herself into Subaru's chest, wrapping her arms around him tightly.
Snuggling against him, her entire body trembled, and then she began to cry. Loud, unrestrained sobs poured out of her as though years of buried sorrow had all surfaced at once.
The sudden eruption startled Rigel.
He froze, his arms tightening around his little sister as he watched his mother break down.
He couldn't understand exactly why she was crying so bitterly, but being an observant and intelligent boy, he quickly started forming his own explanation.
'If I recall correctly,' Rigel thought silently, 'other people have mentioned before that Mom and Dad originally came from Lugunica. If that's true, then maybe Mom lost some of her relatives there… or maybe she's grieving because her homeland, the place she was born, has been reduced to the miserable state Crane described. That must be it.'
Realizing this possibility, Rigel kept his thoughts to himself.
He chose not to disturb her and simply became quiet, holding Spica a little closer while standing still in the corner of the room.
Subaru, on the other hand, gently patted Rem's back, trying to calm her down as best as he could.
His voice was soft, filled with patience, as he whispered words of comfort.
At the same time, he turned toward his son and gave him instructions in a calm but firm tone.
"Rigel… take your sister, give her her milk, and then have some snacks yourself. After that, the two of you should head to bed."
Rigel nodded right away, understanding the seriousness in his father's voice.
This was not the time to argue or make light of the situation, and so, for once, he didn't retort or complain.
He simply followed the order.
Before long, he had finished the small routine.
He fed Spica some warm milk, just as Subaru had told him, and then ate a few snacks himself.
He didn't make much noise and tried to stay as quiet as possible, giving his parents the space they needed.
But just as he was settling down, preparing himself to head off to sleep, Rigel suddenly froze.
From somewhere inside the house, he began to hear strange noises.
"???"
He decided to check what the strange noise was, moving cautiously down the hall until he reached the source.
When he peeked around the corner, his eyes widened.
In the dimly lit room, he could just barely make out the shadow of his father, Subaru, moving behind the outline of his mother.
Rem appeared to be on all fours, her body trembling, and she was letting out strange moans that Rigel had barely heard before.
The room was far too dark for him to see clearly, so most of what he noticed came from faint outlines and the sounds echoing inside.
What stood out the most to him was the repetitive noise—sharp, rhythmic slaps echoing through the air.
It was a sound he knew all too well, because it was the exact same noise his backside made whenever his mother smacked him as punishment for misbehaving.
Rigel's jaw dropped slightly, his eyes going wide in disbelief.
'Dad… is punishing Mom?!' the boy thought, stunned by the possibility.
The idea didn't make sense to him, and yet the evidence seemed to point directly toward that conclusion.
Then, to make matters worse, he heard his mother's voice, loud and clear through the moans.
"More! Hit me more!"
Rigel froze completely, his mouth hanging open as shock rippled through him. He couldn't process what he had just heard.
His mother—his gentle, loving, but terrifying-when-angry mother—was actually asking to be smacked?
On her butt?
Why in the world would she want that?
It was supposed to be painful, something you avoided, not something you asked for!
For a few long moments, Rigel's young mind struggled to understand the bizarre situation.
Finally, he tried to rationalize it the best he could.
He came to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe, this wasn't punishment at all.
It had to be something else.
Perhaps… yes, perhaps it was some kind of ritual.
A strange, mysterious ritual that only adults performed.
And then it clicked in his head.
"This must be the baby-making ritual!"
He immediately remembered his mother's stern warnings from the past.
She had told him, more than once, never to enter the bedroom when she and his father were "making babies."
If he ever disobeyed and barged in, she had promised she would beat him herself the next day.
That warning had been more than enough to scare Rigel into staying away all these years.
Because of that, he had never once witnessed the so-called ritual with his own eyes.
Tonight was the closest he had ever come to seeing it, though what he actually saw left him with more confusion than answers.
Still, he decided that it wasn't worth risking his mother's wrath just to satisfy his curiosity.
Even though he was still puzzled about why it required hitting and strange noises, Rigel reassured himself that he was probably overthinking the whole thing.
With that, he quietly backed away from the door and returned to his own room, doing his best to act as if he hadn't seen anything at all.
He climbed into bed next to his little sister, who was still peacefully asleep.
As he lay down, Rigel couldn't help but feel an uncomfortable heat spreading through his body.
It was the same sort of sensation he sometimes felt whenever Zarestia came too close to him, her presence stirring something inside him that he didn't quite understand.
'Damn it… can't they at least keep the ritual quieter?' Rigel complained silently in his head, groaning as he pressed a pillow over his ears to block out the noise.
He didn't know exactly when it happened, but at some point, exhaustion overcame him. Thankfully, despite the strange sounds continuing in the background, he drifted off and eventually fell asleep.
To be continued...
(A/N:
SHOUTOUT TO!
{Hugo Archiquin}
{Jerry}
{justin avalos}
{Aaron Cruz}
{Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh}
{Pride}
{Josue Hernandez}
{Daoist Anime}
For being Royal Members of Patreon!
💖 $2.5 Tier – Get 5 advance chapters of this fic! +3 advance chap of 'Is it wrong to be an High-Elf in danmachi(Rewrite)
💖 $5 Tier – Enjoy 12 advance chapters + exclusive AI artwork (including Subaru x Reina scenes). +7 advance chap of 'Is it wrong to be an High-Elf in danmachi(Rewrite)
💖 $10 Tier – Unlock 20 advance chapters, all exclusive artwork, plus access to unpublished/idea fics + 7 advance chap of 'Is it wrong to be an High-Elf in danmachi(Rewrite)
💖 $15 Tier – Get a massive 30 advance chapters + all previous perks! + 7 advance chap of 'Is it wrong to be an High-Elf in danmachi(Rewrite)
💡 Can't support financially? That's okay! You can still help a ton by sharing this fic, recommending it, giving it powerstones, or leaving comments. Every bit of support means the world to me!
👉 http://patreon.com/AkrosZero)