13 Final decision

According to the report, the guards that were to escort Subaru's body and Elsa's 'lower body' were assaulted and assassinated, while their 'cargo' was taken away. There were no survivors from among the guards, so it was unknown who did it, however, the slashed bellies of the guards seemed to be a clear signature of Elsa.

Mordred sat at a desk in his room with a frown. 'Reinhard was with me, so none of the normal guards were Elsa's match, I guess. It must have been her who took away Subaru's body, but why?'

Thinking about it, Mordred recalled that Elsa Granheirt is working under a person called 'Mama' who controls a number of her 'children' across the country, but that Mama's true identity is actually Capella the Sin Archbishop of Lust.

With that, Subaru's body could either be going to Roswaal or to the Witch Cult.

Thinking about the Witch Cult, Mordred thought about one possibility - reanimating Subaru's body.

'I know that the Witch Cult has the ability to turn corpses of dead humans into zombie warriors with the ability to use the skills and techniques that they had during life, but they would still be mindless, right? A normal human like Subaru, without his mind, should be quite useless! Why would the Witch Cult care about Subaru's body? Do they have some kind of way to revive him? ' Mordred thought.

Mordred was simply unable to think of a reason for why the Witch Cult or Roswaal would be interested in Subaru's body. It couldn't be that Subaru came back to life after Mordred and Reinhard left the scene, right?

But no matter what, following this train of thought Mordred eventually thought about Subaru himself and the use that he could have in this world when being alive when he doesn't possess Return by Death. At one point a realization struck him - Subaru's knowledge!

In the novel there were many plot points that required Subaru's knowledge on star constellations or other celestial bodies to solve just as if the world was set up just for him in advance. Furthermore, most of the crucial characters, including the most obvious Witches and Archbishops, even had names relater to celestial bodies. As for Mordred - he didn't know anything about the stars!

If Mordred wanted to truly reach the limit of his potential and the peak of this world like he inwardly hoped for, then he would need to explore all of this world's secrets, but without Subaru's presence and knowledge it would very likely not be possible.

Not only that, but there was also one thing - Satella. Without Subaru Mordred might not be able to reach Satella's true body that is supposed to be sealed in the Pleiades Watchtower!

Mordred didn't remember the details, but he knew that the Pleiades Watchtower alone had some kinds of riddles that had to do with constellations as if left for Natsuki Subaru himself to solve. Apart from the things that Mordred didn't remember and didn't read about, there might also be many that were straight-out not mentioned in the story.

'Without Subaru, would I be able to find out the full truth and the secrets of this world? Would I be able to free Satella or help her?' Mordred's heart thought.

Because of the Return by Death that Mordred received, he felt greatly indebted to Satella. He had no idea what happened in the future or the past that he received the Witch's love, but he was unable to deny that it could indeed happen, and very likely - for such dedication and love, he also dearly loved her back.

"Satella, why? Why did you choose me?" Mordred murmured quietly, sighing, yet he received no response.

Mordred stared at his desk silently, pondering for a long time. At one point, he suddenly vigorously rang the bell next to his bed.

Around a minute later, a knock was heard and soon Nadia entered, looking quite sleepy.

"Yawn. Mordred-sama, is there something that you need from Nadia?" Nadia said while yawning.

Mordred looked at Nadia for a moment and faintly smiled. 'Does she keep talking in third person because I mentioned that I liked it?'

Mordred collected himself and asked, "Nadia, I heard that there is a place called Pleiades Watchtower in this world, right?"

In the first place, Mordred first had to find out if this world was like in the anime to know if he might really need Subaru's help.

"Pleiades Watchtower?" Nadia parroted. "Yes, Pleiades Watchtower is the Sage's Great Library, Mordred-sama."

Mordred raised his eyebrows and asked Nadia to tell him more, but what he heard only caused him to frown - things in this world indeed seemed to be similar to the novel that he read, so he might really need Subaru's knowledge if he wanted to take control of the Pleiades Watchtower or to reach Satella!

And there might also be many other secrets that Mordred is not aware of or trouble that he might encounter - some sealed powerful artifacts, powerful Archbishops of Sin or beasts related to celestial bodies, or other arrangements prepared by Flugel in this world - secrets that Mordred naturally wanted to take for himself. Perhaps the riddles were now aimed at him instead - Mordred, but Mordred prefered to be on the safe side; he saw that going back to save Subaru was a cheap deal that also carried many other benefits.

But no matter what, if it was the truth that 'Satella', whoever she is, and him were once lovers, then Mordred certainly wanted to repay this debt of granting him Return by Death and meet with Satella in the Castle of Dreams, and then in her prison to find out all about it.

As Mordred continued pondering, the time was ticking - he was certain that should just a little more time pass or if he went to sleep and he woke up the next day, then the save point of Return by Death would certainly update to after his fight with Elsa, and at that point Mordred would NEVER be able to bring Natsuki Subaru back and perhaps not reach Satella.

With this thought Mordred asked Nadia to lead him to a certain room in the manor to check something.

"Mordred-sama, Felt-sama is still unconscious. She has mana exhaustion and will very likely only wake up in the morning," a maid that kept watch over Felt said.

Mordred lightly frowned, but he wasn't that surprised. "I see. Please leave the room, I want to stay with Felt by myself."

The maid raised her eyebrows. "Mordred-sama, Reinhard-sama himself ordered me to not lose my eyes from Felt. I'm afraid that I can't do it."

Mordred looked at the woman sternly. "Reinhard is my knight and I'm his lord now. How is it a problem? Leave now and don't make problems for us. What do you think I will do to Felt anyway?"

Eventually, Mordred managed to chase the caretaker away and was alone with the sleeping Felt in her room.

At this moment Mordred wanted to talk with Felt; if his worries prove to be correct, then it would be one more reason for him to reset this timeline.

'Seeing how Felt is asleep and exhausted her mana, I guess it's this method again…' Mordred thought to himself as he sat down at Felt's bed.

Mordred took out Clarent from the subspace and pricked his thumb with its tip. He then gently opened Felt's mouth with his other hand and started dripping his blood onto her tongue.

After a moment Mordred felt mischievous and placed his bleeding thumb into Felt's mouth. Felt, then immediately started sucking it with what seemed like a pleasured smile on her sleeping face, as if she suckked a lollipop, a bottle or something else…

Feeling the suction, the softness and the wetness all around his thumb, Mordred felt weird, very weird. At the same time he felt something rising and it wasn't his combat proficiency.

'Okay, this is wrong…'

Felt slowly opened her eyes.

CHOMP!

"Awaaaha! Onyyy-snnn, maa tyyyyth!" Felt whined as she clutched her jaw.

Mordred smiled, pulled back his finger with pursed lips and cleaned it on his pants.

Felt stared at Mordred with red eyes. "Ar' ya' finge's made o' iron or somethin'?"

"Shouldn't have tried to bite so hard! You didn't hesitate at all!" Mordred rebuked, chuckling. With the force that Felt used to chomp on his thumb, a normal person might need stitches!

"What were you doin' sticking fingers in my mouth anyway, hmph? Pervert Onii-san?! Hmm, where am I?" Felt grumbled, before looking around the room.

"I gave you some of my blood to replenish your mana to wake you up," Mordred said, sighting, but a smile didn't leave his face. What he did was a bit wrong, but it was too funny!

"Ehh, anyway, where am I? Doesn't look like prison," Felt murmured.

"You're not in prison. It turned out that you're one of the six candidates to the throne, Felt," Mordred said with a smile.

"One of the candidates to the throne? That's a poor joke, Onii-san," Felt said lightly, sitting up on the bed and rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"I'm serious. It turns out that you're a missing member of the Lugnica Royal family. When you were still a baby you were kidnapped or something. The Royal Insignia glowed on your hand which means that you undeniably have the right to fight in the Royal Selection for the position of the next Queen of Lugnica," Mordred said, looking at Felt seriously.

Felt looked at Mordred for a while, doubtfully. At one point it seemed to register to her as she asked, "Huh, you're actually serious?"

"..."

"Fighting in the Royal Selection to be the Queen? That sounds awful. I'm not interested," Felt said absentmindedly, seeming to ponder about something else.

"Felt, then how about you work for me instead?" Mordred asked. When he got Felt's attention, he continued, "I am also one of the six candidates for the throne and I'm backed by Reinhard van Astrea the Sword Saint. I will certainly become the next king. I want you to work as my advisor when it comes to the common people. You will have a chance to give a better life to the commoners and those who live in the slums."

Felt's previously lifeless eyes seemed to grow slightly interested as she stared at Mordred. She then asked, "What do I even need to do?"

Mordred answered, "You'll give me suggestions from time to time and share your experience of living in the slums. For the most part you'll just be a pretty face to represent the commoners and you don't need to do much."

Felt slightly blushed and murmured, "You'll pay me well, right?"

"You'll live in luxury from now on, have more food than you could ever need and have plenty of money. You won't need to worry about getting by working as a thief anymore," Mordred said. Felt, for the most part, was still a slums' dweller and wanted to change her fate, so such a proposition with a nice room to stay in and no lack of tasty food was something very valuable to her, not that Mordred would be cheap on her.

Felt seemed to ponder for a long while. At one point, her expression hardened as she sneered, "I want that woman dead! I want the woman who killed Old Man Rom dead and I'll work for you."

"..." Mordred kept silent; that's what he was afraid of.

Felt looked into Mordred's eyes as she said, "I saw you fight with her on equal terms and you also have Reinhard. If you can promise that you'll kill this woman and avenge Old Man Rom, then I'll work for you, whatever it is!"

Mordred's eyelids slightly droopy. He could feel through the stubbornness in Felt's voice that she would only help him if he exacted her revenge on Elsa.

The problem is, naturally, that Mordred wanted to recruit all: Elsa Granhiert, Meili Portroute and Felt. With the way things stood the situation seemed quite difficult and it would cause conflicts, and at the very least it would cause Meili to hate him if he decided to kill Elsa. And as for Elsa herself, apart from perhaps one day making Elsa an immortal Perfect Cursed Doll and his personal assassin, Mordred was also quite interested in Cursed Dolls in general, as with this knowledge he might be able to create an army of loyal immortal warriors.

"What? You won't kill her? Don't tell me that you like this vicious woman, Pervert Onii-san!" Felt snorted after Mordred was silent for a long time. She heard some of Mordred's strange conversations he had with Elsa.

After a while Mordred has eventually made up his mind. He nodded. "Okay. I'll do it!"

He will do it. He will Return by Death and loop!

He will restart everything from zero and get the best benefits possible - he will get to recruit not only Elsa and Felt, but also Old Man Rom who's a good and loyal man, a giant and a war veteran, Felt's close and dear family. Not only that, but he will also become Emilia's special first friend instead of Subaru, and he'll still make connections with Reinhard, recruiting him.

He was not giving up on anything. He will make everything run perfectly!

And most importantly, he will save Natsuki Subaru. Perhaps the riddles in this world might now aimed at him - Mordred, but Mordred still preferred to be on the safe side. He thought of getting various information from Echidna, but it would certainly not be cheap - in his eyes saving Subaru was a cheap deal and had little downsides in comparison.

Mordred stood up abruptly.

"Onii-san?" Felt asked, feeling that Mordred's cold expression was somewhat strange. "Pervert Onii-san?

Mordred's eye twitched, as she shot a stare at Felt. "Did you have to call me a pervert?"

Felt slightly smiled. "Ha! But it worked! See, you reacted to it, Pervert Onii-san!"

Mordred sighed and chuckled. "Anyway, I'll see you later, Felt."

"Huh? Leaving all of a sudden? You'll kill that woman, right?" Felt asked, snorting angrily at the end.

Mordred waved his hand as he was leaving. "Sure. I'll take care of everything. And I mean everything."

…

Back in Mordred's room.

Just a while ago Mordred prepared two special letters and left them on his bed.

The first letter included instructions to Reinhard to find and completely burn Subaru's body, blaming Subaru for his death, and he also added some details about Elsa and Roswaal. Meanwhile the second letter was addressed to Emilia where Mordred was encouraging and cheering her on.

The purpose of these letters was to be a failsafe in case his Return by Death failed, the world continued or Mordred had a chance of losing Return by Death.

The thing is - this time would actually be the very first time that Mordred would be killing himself to test this ability, while more importantly - he would be returning to the start where Subaru was still alive, so there was a low chance that Mordred could lose his 'protagonist status' and Return by Death to Subaru.

Mordred hesitated in his heart for a long time, but in the end he decided to trust in Satella and most importantly trust in his own instincts.

He needed to bring Natsuki Subaru back. He might need Subaru to explore various secrets and reach the peak of this world. And he also needed Subaru to reach Satella in the Pleiades Watchtower.

And if Mordred could actually save and free Satella, and have this Yandare by his side, then wouldn't his strength also grow two folds in a way?

Mordred couldn't give up on any of it! He already swore to himself to reach the peak and surpass Arthur, becoming an existence similar to Reinhard, the Witch of Envy and the Dragon Volcanica.

If everything worked out, Mordred also slowly thought of making Subaru his attendant in the future that would help him in his candidacy to the throne, making him responsible for modern inventions. In a sense, it could be that Mordred had taken Subaru's fate, so he felt that he could at least help Subaru have a decent and happy life in this world.

After putting down the letters, Mordred stood in the middle of the large room and held Clarent with both his hands in front of him.

"Satella, I don't know why you have chosen me, but I will trust you. I must reset everything to the beginning. I will also repay this debt and save you!" Mordred said in a low voice as he steeled his heart.

Mordred already tried to tell Nadia about his ability to return after dying in a few ways and had suffered a terrible backlash each time, confirming that he did posess a kind of curse.

He had already rejected the possibility of Subaru having come back in time in another timeline, because he knew how Return by Death works in the novel and there are should be no alternate timelines in this world.

In the first place though, it wasn't even certain if Mordred's save point had already passed the fight with Elsa, but… he needed to test using Return by Death at one point or another anyway, and the sooner he did the better; it was inevitable and now was a perfect chance for a test run.

If he didn't use Return by Death now, then he would lose a lot of opportunities!

Mana Burst!

"Aaaaaaaaarrrgh!" Mordred roared furiously as his body started filling with magical energy. Crimson lightning crackled all around and even Clarent's blade itself brimmed with power.

After a while Mordred felt that he was reaching the limits and his mana overflowed.

"AAAAHR!"

With one final roar, red eyes and gritted teeth, Mordred used all of his strength to slash with Clarent at himself, toward the direction of the top of his head.

Not a moment later, Mordred's skull split in half.

***

Mordred opened his eyes wide. The red light of his crimson lightning that was in his vision just a moment ago was suddenly replaced by the bright rays of the sun and the view of a bustling merchant street of Lugnica, with nearly no time in-between.

'I can't read this.' Subaru squinted his eyes, looking at one of the price plates.

"You can buy several different kinds of fruits to try, I'll package them for you, misters," the fruit merchant said with a warm smile, seeing Mordred's spaced-out expression and Subaru's dull expression as the two of them looked at the fruits on his stall.

Upon seeing Mr. Save Point's familiar face Mordred was now sure - he looped back to daytime, long before he fought Elsa!

"Sir Mordred, did something happen?" Subaru asked, seeing how Mordred's visage turned to a spaced-out one and then shocked all of sudden. Some kind of special event-o?

Mordred then looked at Subaru and saw a curious but a very carefree expression on his face. He looked at Subaru for a while, observing his casual and excited attitude - obviously, Subaru didn't remember the loop!

Mordred then said, "Subaru, I can re- ugh!"

Just when he tried to tell Subaru that he can return by dying, a feeling of death itself gripped Mordred's heart tightly, sending chills to his very soul.

He still had Return by Death!

Looking around, he suddenly noticed a waterfall of silver hair passing by through the crowd in the distance, strands of hair gently waving in the wind.

…

(Re:Zero Ending 1 OST playing)