here's how chapter 6 could be a triumphant return for berdly: susie wants to bring noelle into the lancer fanclub for 2 reasons: 1) she can get the guitar code and 2) she's a reliable trustworthy ally. berdly is not 1, but he's 2.
i know what you're thinking, “isn't he a shithead?” he kind of was in chapter 2, but he got better. the only things he's done since then is flirt awkwardly with susie, noelle, and kris, and quietly back down the moment he gets straightforwardly rejected.
now he seems to have embraced his wingman role, want to be friends with the trio, and have no interests that conflict with that. so i think he would do just about anything the trio asked him to, or even act independently in their interest, as long as he can tell himself it's some sorta heroic & righteous mission.
in the light world, i can see him doing things in town that anyone else would be too smart/scared/tied up to get away with: lie, cheat, steal, break into people's houses, assault people in the street. if he got arrested, i firmly believe he would assuage any fear with that sense of purpose and sacrifice.
in the dark world, he's already been shown to be fluent in the game mechanics (even if he can't git gud), a decent fighter, and the only lightner so far to have rallied recruits to defeat a final boss (the others are lancer, jackenstein, and flowery). so that could come back.
and of course, kris & susie could go get noelle at the hospital or sth, only to end up taking berdly instead of or in addition to her, bc they need as many allies as they can get. TL;RL: having berdly join as a party member in some capacity while also moving him away when He Shouldn't Be There is not an insurmountable writing & coding challenge. and it could be hilarious and heartfelt *and* structurally robust. 2027 berdly comeback perhaps.
