Within the quiet reception hall a strained tension filled the air.
While feeling that tension on his skin, Subaru moistened his thirsty lips with his tongue and clenched his fist as he reflected on how his actions during the first phase of his plan had bore fruit.
With the prerequisites completed, the crucial gathering of the key players had come.
He was powerless. His intelligence was lacking. His abilities and personal connections had been fractured, and so he was going to make the most out of his deaths thus far,
???: “Well, would you tell me why we had to postpone our dinner and gather here?”
Seated on a zaisu with her hands joined together on her knees was a beautiful woman dressed in male clothing――Crusch Karsten. She broke the silence, her gallant expression showed her slight understanding of the situation as she muttered.
The knight standing by her side slightly narrowed his eyes at her words, and while lightly puffing out his pretty cheeks,
???: “That’s riiight. To be perfectly honest, Ferri-chan isn’t the type to be easily tricked, nyou know? So quit dawdling, can’t nyou see that we’re getting impatient?”
Although he covered his tone of voice and countenance with jokes, Subaru could see no carelessness in his――in Ferris’s――gaze. Even though his physical strength was lacking, his intention to keep his master away from danger was sufficiently transmitted.
???: “――――”
Furthermore, contrasting Ferris by silently guarding his master without joining in on the conversation, Wilhelm was situated on Crusch’s left with his back straight and his head held high.
With a sword at his waist, his spirit akin to a sharpened sword could be felt in the air as he stood still with his eyes closed. Not even an atom of the atmosphere akin to a good-natured old man remained from when he had greeted Subaru and Rem upon their return. Now that he was behaving officially, he was entirely immersed in swinging his sword for his master, Crusch.
The scene was in the Upper Stratum of the Royal Capital’s Noble Quarter, within the mansion occasionally used by the Karsten family whenever they had to stay in the Noble’s Quarter. In accordance with the wishes of the family’s head, the mansion had not been overly decorated with splendid decorations, however, for the purpose of greeting visitors this reception hall had been decorated with many gaudy things.
Ordinarily, a line of the residence’s staff would be present alongside the aforementioned three people. However, none of them were present within the hall,
???: “They would only be uncomfortable if they were here. They have been excluded for all of our comfort, and I hope you will believe that, Subaru-dono.”
It seemed he had noticed him casually glancing at the staff. Receiving Subaru’s sidelong glance with a smile was a slender man with characteristic blonde hair and a goatee. ――He was the Treasurer of the Royal Capital’s Commerce Guild, Russel Fellow.
Subaru shrugged his shoulders at Russel’s show of force,
Subaru: “Right now, Rem’s calling for another person, so just wait a little bit longer. When they get here, our victory… will be assured.”
Russel: “So long as they are fast I can wait. By the way, on what grounds are you basing your victory?”
It seemed he had a rough idea of who Subaru wass waiting for.
Subaru said, “It’s simple,” in response to Russel’s question while shaking his head,
Subaru: “She’s sensitive to the smell of money, is what I’d say. If I’m right about that, she’ll certainly show up. Wouldn’t you say you’re the same, Russel-san?”
Russel: “Well, well… it seems I hit a nerve.”
Looking like he had been hit, Russel seemed like he wanted to win Subaru over. Of course, sitting next to each other they were able to see the other’s hand to a certain extent through the exchange.
The sense of security he felt here was nothing more than a mix of lies and truths, and in the first place Subaru lacked the ability to express himself without words or actions.
That was because everything he was doing was supported by courage he had borrowed.
???: “Everyone, I apologize for making you wait.”
And then, a few minutes later, the door to the reception hall opened and a girl with blue hair wearing a maid dress entered――Rem. She bowed to everyone in the room as they looked at her, and then directed her gaze towards Subaru,
Rem: “OK.”
She made a small circle with the fingers of her right hand as she spoke. Rem and Subaru both walked up to each other and she stood on her tiptoes to get closer to his ear,
Rem: “It seems she is going to be a little late, but she’s going to come.”
Subaru: “Alright. Well then, let’s do this, Rem.”
Snapping his fingers at her report, Subaru nodded at how he had obtained the means to change the second best situation into the very best situation. From there, he looked at each of the impatient people,
Subaru: “Our last player is running a little late, but all of the roles are already filled. I’d hate to make all of you wait any longer. ――Let’s start.”
As Subaru made his declaration, he watched how each of the people present reacted to the change.
Crusch faintly smiled, and Ferris stubbornly pursed his lips. Wilhelm intently devoted himself to silence without changing his facial expression, and Russel comfortably let his lower body sink into his chair.
While basking in all of their gazes, Subaru stamped his foot in order to raise and brace his spirit.
His heartbeat was fast, and he could feel it loudly beating.
With his blood circulating throughout his body, the moment he raised his head was the moment his anxiety overwhelmed him and he felt like he was losing hope.
But,
Rem: “Subaru-kun.”
Softly, Rem, who was standing next to Subaru and who had sensed his anxiety, brought him relief by touching his sleeve.
Without touching his skin, using his clothes as an intermediary――but even so, Subaru was embraced by a sense of security as strongly as if she had spoken ten thousand encouraging words to him.
Rem was watching him. And there was no way that he was going to show his uncool side to her.
With a daring smile, hiding his fear behind it, Subaru tackled the first wall.
The conditions for it were like trying to thread the eye of a needle, but it was necessary to spin his happy ending.
Because that girl believed in him and said that she loved him, he had to take the first step towards becoming a hero.
Crusch: “There’s one thing I would like to confirm, Natsuki Subaru.”
Before Subaru, who had fired himself up, Crusch raised a finger and began speaking. She shook her finger left and right, and caught Subaru’s gaze,
Crusch: “What is the meaning of this gathering? ――I want to hear it from your mouth.”
Lifting her arm from the armrest of her chair, she placed her cheek into that arm’s hand as she directed a sharp look at him.
Realizing something too late, Subaru realized that her posture as she spoke consistently had no gentleness.
Now that the talk had begun, he realized that the match had been on since the very start.
That he had continuously made mistakes was something that he now understood.
Subaru: “Ah, of course…”
Yet, Subaru swung his arms wide, refusing to let Crusch’s stabbing gaze overwhelm him, and without repeating his past mistakes he confidently smiled,
Subaru: “The formation of an alliance with equal terms between the Emilia camp and the Crusch camp――it is for that reason that we’re negotiating here.”
The many walls standing in his way――in order to climb over those walls he had begun trying to overcome the first one.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
――After his argument with Rem in front of the Royal Capital’s main gate, Subaru decided to follow his heart and try to fix himself.
He laid his heart bare, but that girl told him that she believed in him, and he sincerely began to think that he could do it.
Subaru: “I know I said it, but the amount of walls I need to overcome is seriously way too many.”
If he were to think about the things standing in his way, then he would begin to understand the whines that his broken self had up until just a little while ago. The circumstances hadn’t changed, it still seemed unlikely that he was on the brink of finding a checkmate.
But even so,
Subaru: “But we have to do something about it, right? Will you lend me your hand, Rem?”
Rem: “Yes, I’ll do anything Subaru-kun says.”
Scratching his head as he began thinking about how to summarize everything, Rem readily nodded.
Feeling the constant, invariable faith pouring out of Rem’s feverish gaze, a sense of courage and duty gushed out from within Subaru’s heart.
In the corner of her pupils, Subaru caught a glimpse of her crimson determination.
They moved from the main gate to a corner of the Lower Stratum, with a wall separating them from the crowds of people.
Thinking back on everything that they had said at the gate, they hesitated to say anything else there. At any rate, he had been on the verge of tears as he exposed his inferiority complex. Moreover, Rem had spilled everything in her heart in her response, so it was no surprise that curious onlookers had pricked up their ears and directed their gazes towards them.
The emotions he felt for Rem went far beyond what his gaze could convey, but now that they had finally made it to a place devoid of any onlookers he was able to take a breath. In any case,
Subaru: “We sure lost a lot of time. It’s probably been about an hour… That’s unfortunate.”
As he had previously confirmed, the time limit for the horrible tragedy that would occur at the mansion was five days. ――However, it likely took place sometime during the fourth day.
Factoring in that they would need to spend two days travelling, the actual time they could use was two days.
Subaru: “So, we can’t take longer than two days. Once, twice, thrice, they were beaten every time.”
The difficulty and quantity of problems was on a completely different level than ever before.
Trying to tackle them independent of each other was hopeless, but the difficulty of trying to combat them all at once was ridiculously challenging.
The first time was clearly due to the Witch Cult.
Petelgeuse led the cultists and met little resistance, thus leading to every last person in the mansion and village meeting their end.
In the second loop, he tried his best to stop it, but Rem died.
She and Subaru had died together, even if she had left a little before he did, the fate he eventually reached concluded with his death. It was the first time his eyes had witnessed death that close. And so, after seeing her corpse for a second and a third time――it would not be an exaggeration to say that after being hit with such great shocks he had begun running down the path towards resigning.
And then, in the third loop, he had caused Emilia’s death, which was the precondition for what was clearly the most insurmountable wall――the Great Spirit Puck’s indiscriminate revenge.
Thinking about it now, it was possible that every death in his most recent loops had been due to Puck freezing him.
That is to say, throughout every world Subaru had always been too late to prevent Emilia from reaching the brink of death, and because of that he had found circumstantial evidence.
That was to say, both of those walls, the Witch Cult and Puck, had the same solution.
If he lost at either one of them, the future Natsuki Subaru desired would never occur and he would betray Rem’s belief in her hero.
Subaru: “――Let’s get started.”
With those few words, Subaru began to reveal the problem at hand.
Standing before Subaru and staring at him as he contemplated, Rem felt no need to respond to his mutter. She intuitively understood that Subaru did not expect a response to his voice.
She would dedicate everything to her beloved hero, because she believed that his judgement was best.
It was because she held those feelings in her heart that she was able to fully express her love for him.
Staring at Rem, confined within the limited time, Subaru brought back his memories in search of a way to leap over the time limit, and his thoughts began to race in search of any clue amongst the shards of his memories.
At a glance, it seemed like the current situation was filled with hopelessness, but he believed that there had to be even a nearly trivial thing capable of moving the situation buried somewhere.
――Think, ignite your mind.
His body and his abilities had not caught up to his ideals. Even if he had failed to do anything thus far, he would take the first step to becoming a hero here so that he can eventually look back on everything and smile.
――Remember, think!
He would not let his three deaths be rendered futile. He would not let the hopes of the girl he let die three times be rendered futile. He would not let the three times the world had ended, which weighed so heavily on Subaru’s shoulders――.
Meeting various people, exchanging conversations with them. Separation, encounter, fury, insanity, sorrow, Witch.
And so――,
Subaru: “A chance… huh?”
Suddenly, just a small handful of possibilities flashed across his mind.
Separately, the threads were thin and weak, and even if he forcibly tied them together there was still a chance that they might break. Leaving everything up to someone else was far too unpredictable.
And for that very reason, he was willing to «Go all in».
(T/N: “Go all in” is a poker term.)
Subaru: “Rem. We have to talk, so I’d like for you to listen to everything I have to say.”
Rem: “Yes.”
Subaru wanted Rem’s help in turning what he had thought of into a proper draft.
So, before he began disclosing everything to her, he had to sort his information between what would and would not infringe upon the Witch’s Curse――,
Subaru: “Now that the fact that Emilia is running in the King’s Election has become common-knowledge, the Witch Cult has started preparing to move. For some nonsensical reason… those guys’re going to try and attack the mansion and village. I want to stop them.”
Rem: “The Witch Cult…”
For a second, when she heard that word a dangerous emotion emerged within Rem’s pupils.
However, she had the self-control to suppress that emotion, and so she weakly pulled her chin at Subaru’s words.
Rem: “Roswaal-sama did an investigation regarding whether they were moving or not. Rem was not informed of the details, but I’m sure he prepared some countermeasures.”
Subaru: “But, they won’t be enough.”
In truth, it was unclear whether or not Roswaal had prepared anything against the Witch Cult.
It couldn’t be said for sure whether it failed or was unable to be properly used, either. But ultimately, whatever plans were in place did not bear fruit, and so that white hellscape was formed.
It was precisely because he knew that was the upcoming future, that Subaru knew he could not rely on Roswaal and would have to secure a defense group in order to protect the lives of those in the mansion and the village.
Subaru: “We need to fight against the Witch Cult. What’s the mansion’s fighting power like, Rem?”
Rem: “...It’s hard to say for sure, but right now it’s likely that Roswaal-sama is not present at the mansion. As soon as he returned from the Royal Capital he had plans to visit the place where an influential person in the territory lives.”
Rem spoke ambiguously about the topic she knew little about, and Subaru was reminded of how he had previously been astonished by the information that Roswaal was absent from the mansion. Hearing it again, it seemed as if Emilia and Ram truly were the only people there. Additionally, he had yet to confirm if Beatrice would be willing to help out.
They only had three people, and considering Beatrice’s uncooperative nature it was questionable if she would actually be willing to fight against the Witch Cult.
He recalled the short period of time in which he had conversed with Beatrice last time.
When Subaru had begged her to kill him, she had completely betrayed his expectations and had begun to act like how old her appearance made her seem――.
Subaru: “Sorry, but I need to set that off to the side for now.”
Despite the pain he felt for leaving that face that seemed like it was crying behind, Subaru turned his attention towards Rem, who was waiting for him, and prefaced his words with, “Well then,”
Subaru: “There are two people who can fight. If you and I return too, it’ll just be a waste of time.”
Rem: “I cannot deny that we primarily rely on Roswaal-sama’s own power, which makes up more than half of the mansion’s fighting power, too much. That might not be the case if Frederica was still there, but I guess that line of thinking differs from what we are talking about.”
Returning Rem’s frustrated nod, Subaru began preparing to tell Rem the information that deviated from what they had been focusing on thus far.
It seemed that there was nothing more to say about the Witch Cult and――the mansion’s lack of firepower.
If that was the case, then the next topic was the main topic.
Standing up straight, Subaru looked straight into Rem’s eyes.
And, sensing the unusual air that was coming from Subaru, Rem lifted her head and looked at him,
Subaru: “――Rem, about the order Roswaal gave you to stay at the Royal Capital. Would you mind telling me what exactly he said?”
Rem: “――――”
A confused expression, or perhaps she would have the kind of expression someone who had been attacked with their guard down would have.
But, upon hearing those words Rem’s reaction completely betrayed Subaru’s expectations.
Rem: “――Yes. Your order is my command.”
She nodded at Subaru’s words, with a smile that seemed sincerely delighted showing on her face, and with just a single tear spilling from the corner of her eyes.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Crusch: “An alliance… huh?”
Crusch muttered such after having heard Subaru announce the purpose of the talk as everyone fixed their gaze on him.
She slightly pulled her chin as she pondered it, casting a gaze towards Rem. The girl calmly guessed the meaning of her gaze and slowly shook her head,
Rem: “Rem is not following an order from Roswaal. ――To leave it all to Subaru, that was something I decided.”
Crusch: “I don’t doubt that you trust your lord. But… is that so…?”
Crusch was trying to figure out if they had been given approval to do this. She turned her questioning gaze towards Subaru this time,
Crusch: “If that’s so, then the role of negotiating has been transferred from Rem to you――Natsuki Subaru, correct?”
Subaru: “Aah, yeah, that’s right. Though the most I can offer is a bad imitation of Roswaal’s… of my master’s true intentions.”
Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Subaru stuck his tongue out at the nasty smile of a certain person with indigo-colored hair that crossed his mind.
What Subaru had not mentioned was that it was actually Rem who had given him the right to negotiate. Actually, it was something that Subaru himself had not noticed and was a decision only made after Rem had told him about it,
Subaru: “I guess it means that we were going to be stuck here from the get-go. After all, it's painfully obvious that our camp has a chronic shortage of hands.”
As far as Subaru knew, the camp led by Roswaal that supported Emilia was suffering from a fatal lack of people.
The main players in the camp were the two sisters Ram and Rem, Roswaal, and perhaps Beatrice, though it was unclear if one could really rely on her. Sometimes he would hear the names of other people involved in the camp, but since he had never seen them he didn’t know how many of them there were.
Ever since they had first been trapped in this situation, Subaru had always found it strange as to why Rem had been left behind with him. However, he had realized that it was because of the camp’s shortage of people that it had happened.
Of course, in order to keep him away from any danger, officially Subaru had been left behind in the Royal Capital to receive treatment for his wounds from the knight’s revenge, and it would probably seem rude to others if he was left there alone.
Subaru: “Though I doubt it was just because of that pervert’s compassionate heart, he definitely wouldn’t want to let go of Rem for my sake. He probably has some kind of ulterior motive, but I’ve got no clue what it could be…”
Crusch: “I have to wonder why you spontaneously decided to hold this meeting with my family out of everyone?”
Crossing her legs again, Crusch took control of the conversation by plainly talking. Nodding in response, Subaru prefaced his reply with, “As for that,”
Subaru: “Each and every night, I heard Rem and you holding what seemed like secret meetings. I couldn’t figure out what you were talking about, and I got fed up with how much of an idiot I am.”
He wondered how many times he had missed it, and so a feeling of wanting to laugh at himself rose within him. Rem had indirectly scattered hints around so Subaru would realize her hidden agenda, but it took until his fourth redo that he had been able to notice it through his stupidity.
Subaru: “Those nightly talks were about forming an alliance. And for the conditions around it… well, I mostly heard them from Rem.”
Crusch: “The mining rights to the mageore in Elior Forest, that is the primary deal.”
As if to say that she didn’t care about hiding it, Crusch outright said what Subaru had only insinuated.
With his eyes sparkling after hearing those words,
???: “My goodness, I can’t pretend that I didn’t hear that.”
He was seated on a zaisu just like Crusch――Russel, who had been allowing his body to sink into his leather chair, leaned his body forward slightly as his eyes brightened,
Russel: “Of course you want the mining rights to the mageore, after all, the demand for it has been rising and it's worth more right now than it ever has been. And it's even better if the land truly has been left untouched.”
Subaru failed to conceal his surprise at seeing the merchant bite more than expected.
Back when he had first heard everything from Rem, Subaru had said, “If it’s no good, then we should think back on what they want,” as he felt urgency at the impending crisis.
Subaru: “You said the demand for the ore has been rising?”
Russel: “The year is changing from Red Sun to Yellow Sun, and from there into Blue Sun. This year the water mana is expected to be very strong, so the demand for heating equipment that uses the mageore is high.”
Raising a finger, Russel clearly answers Subaru’s question.
The words, “Red Sun,”“Yellow Sun,” and the like were this world’s way of referring to the four seasons. Red Sun had the same meaning as «Summer» and Blue Sun had the same meaning as «Winter». Yellow Sun meant «Fall» and Green Sun meant «Spring», or at least that’s the gist of it. At any rate, Subaru was able to understand that a lot of home heaters were selling before winter.
Russel: “Mageore itself is the physical form of pure magical energy. Because of that, depending on how you process it you can change its element, so its uses can change according to what you need. So long as no mistakes are made, machines that use it are very reliable despite their power. So it seems they’re seen as very dependable commodities.”
Crusch: “However, the quantity of it is limited. There is a limit to how much of it exists, and it does not come back. There are many mining sites, but they are all controlled by the kingdom, and many of them have been drained of most of their ore. Very few people in towns are able to enjoy them. No, let me say that in an easier to understand way. Other than the kingdom itself and the nobility, no one is able to acquire them.”
Russel had listed the good parts of mageore, but Crusch had crushed those merits by listing the bad parts of it.
But Russel was not discouraged, he shook his head and said, “That’s exactly why,”
Russel: “You should be jumping at the prospect of the discovery of a completely untouched mining site. The extraction and selling of that mageore could have bought Lard Mathers great riches――but instead he sent an envoy, one who proclaims himself to be the knight of Emilia-sama, a fellow Royal Selection Candidate, to you. The credibility that this deal has is incredibly high.”
While saying those words in a heated tone, Russel directed a sidelong glance at Subaru.
His attitude felt like he was ready to jump at the mining rights himself, and yet it was clear that he was thinking of ways to keep Subaru in check during the negotiation.
In other words, now that he himself had broached the subject, he was already trying to take the reins and cut off Subaru’s retreat.
Although,
Subaru: “Aah, well, I don’t care if you trust it. From this point on the Royal Selection will be going on for a while, and from the beginning I’d planned to just cross my arms, kick up my feet, and stay away from it.”
Giving Roswaal’s name was the first step, and from here Subaru’s wish was to stay away from it. He had felt anxiety about what intervening here would mean, but the trust placed in Roswaal was true. Granted, whether the person in question would say that was uncertain.
Anyways, in response to Subaru’s reply, Russel said, “I see,” and nodded his head as his pupils showed his agreement,
Russel: “It seems that my concerns over you being assigned the role of negotiator were unnecessary. It would seem that I was merely following rumors. I apologise for my impoliteness.”
Subaru: “No, it’s fine. Both here and later in this talk lend me your power by loudly intervening.”
Russel’s first impressions of Subaru had surely shattered any expectations he had.
In the third world when he first met Subaru, he announced that he was someone who had been at the Royal Selection ceremony and had witnessed Subaru’s disgraceful behavior. Naturally, he was doubtful of Subaru’s negotiating abilities, but he must have figured that it was a good opportunity to confirm those doubts.
Seeing him prepare to charge into the main topic, he evaded that charge through a little manipulation. He found that he could not hide his relief that he had taken the bait.
However, seemingly noticing that his relief was accidentally showing, he felt the need to apologize to the important people in the room.
Subaru: “Anyways, now that I’ve apologized, do you think you could ignore those two slip ups?”
Crusch: “So that’s why you invited Russel Fellow to this discussion, hm? It seems that you’re more shrewd than I had expected, Sir.”
Crusch wondered what kind of a grade a merchant would give if they saw the insincere smile Subaru currently had. Most likely, more than just making them end negotiations, they would give him a failing mark.
While Crusch made that evaluation, Subaru ran a hand through his hair as he continued making that insincere smile,
Subaru: “All this talk of money making is part of why I came here, sure, but… as I said to Russel-san earlier, the main topic here is the relationship between our camps.”
Crusch: “Hmph, the main topic…”
The air inside the room completely changed as soon as Subaru said those words while scratching his head.
Crusch, whose body up to that point had been relaxed, straightened up and, after calmly blinking just once, leisurely poured a gaze as sharp as a knife on Subaru.
Her gaze was strong enough that Subaru felt an illusion of wind blowing through the room, and yet he met her gaze without faltering.
After all, he had been exposed to enough violent gazes recently to be completely fed up with them. In comparison to those gazes, Crusch’s was not enough to make him freeze in panic. Straightening his back, he hardened his relaxed mind before the dignity in front of him.
Crusch: “I will recognize you, Natsuki Subaru, as Lord Roswaal’s representative and as Emilia’s official messenger. In these negotiations, while you and I are exchanging details, I will treat it as if Emilia and I are the ones talking.”
The person standing before him and looking at him was exerting as much pressure as a human being could.
The Crusch exuding this pressure before Subaru right now was not the same Crusch whom he had known. Rather than being the private Crusch he had known up to then, this was the public Crusch Karsten. Moreover, the pressure she currently held reminded him that she was the duke of the Karsten family.
This person, throughout the entirety of the Kingdom of Lugunica, was the woman who was closest to the throne.
Lending a hand to Subaru, who had frozen up with goosebumps across his body, Crusch cut into the negotiations.
Crusch: “I am sure you have already heard it, but I will say it again. That Servant… Rem and I negotiated over the sale of the mining rights, but we were unable to arrive at a deal. But by this point I expect that you know that already.”
Subaru: “...Aah.”
The fact that the negotiations had been proceeding roughly was something Subaru had heard from Rem’s mouth after they had decided that Subaru would be the one to negotiate. That he had not noticed her grief at her lack of strength led to Subaru himself lamenting how little attention he paid to his surroundings.
And yet, Subaru decided to use his grief in order to bring about happiness in their future. For that to happen, he had to change something from last time.
Subaru: “This is also just to double check, but it isn’t actually the case that our terms aren’t enough, right? Without meddling too much in each other’s camps, we’re going to sell you the mining rights to Elior Forest. Do you also want us to make arrangements for the handling of the mageore after you’ve mined it or something?”
Crusch: “I was shown a rough draft of it by Rem. I guess it was as I’d expect from Margrave Maathers. We will be making plenty of profit from the deal, so it is already more than satisfactory. Usually, I would jump right on it and immediately start preparing to write a letter of approval, but…”
If the negotiations got to that stage then there was nothing more Subaru could do.
He would be driven into a corner and would be forced to yell out, “Well, you can mine everything, then!” or something, but he hoped nothing like that would come out of this kind of talk.
Crusch: “In this case, I have some big concerns about who I’m doing business with. You understand, right?”
But that hope would not be allowed to persist, as Crusch stopped talking without specifying what exactly her anxieties were about.
And yet, there was no way he wouldn’t realize what she was worried about,
Subaru: “You can’t place your trust in Roswaal… yeah, I get where you’re coming from.”
He couldn’t even hope to fix that. If the question was about Roswaal’s behavior, even if Roswaal were to live a pure and correct life from now on, Crusch would probably still have the same issues
Without being able to avoid it, she questioned why he had decided to support Emilia,
Crusch: “My rival in the Royal Selection. Let alone being a half-elf… doing business with someone called a half-devil like Emilia is… In the future I may be open to it, but as it stands I cannot help but be cautious.”
Speaking in a low voice, she unexpectedly cast a wave of discouragement towards Subaru.
The opinion Subaru held about Crusch, to put it clearly into words, would have been «Dignified» and «Honest».
This person who was participating in the Royal Selection, who was the very personification of those words, had pierced him with that phrase and he now felt a distinct sense of unease around her――,
Subaru: “No way, is that your official stance…?”
Ferris: “Subaru-kyun? This is the scene of an important negotiation, so Ferri-chan doesn’t think that letting your anger show is a very good idea? Right?”
Despite the smile on his face, a vein was bulging on Ferris’s forehead. Subaru shut his mouth and bowed his head due to the strangely scary feeling the man’s smile gave him.
And, seeing that exchange, the corners of Crusch’s mouth relaxed a little.
Crusch: “While I can’t clearly respond to that, it likely did seem like I was disgracing my official stance. I’ll take it as a learning experience. It is not often that I am blessed with the chance to come across an experience like this.”
At her words, Subaru understood what she had meant and realized his own rudeness.
Nonetheless, he had been clinging to her kindness solely because of a debt she had, and that had caused him to have this disadvantage.
Subaru slightly nodded his head.
Subaru: “Basically, in regards to your stance… that’s only part of your true motivation. Rather than being against making an alliance with Emilia, you’re opposed to making an alliance in and of itself, right?”
Crusch: “Natsuki Subaru, there is one thing you need to change about your conclusion.”
Said Crusch with a finger raised, and then she thrusted that finger towards him,
Crusch: “If you focus on one thing your line of thinking will improve. That is, her lineage and surroundings are undeniably the primary cause.”
Although he did not want to believe those things were the main cause, she and the world could not overlook them
Emilia’s circumstances, the reality that she was a half-elf had forced much unreasonable cruelty onto her, and trying to imagine that cruelty did not exist was not the correct thing to do.
Therefore, Crusch nodded once,
Crusch: “In the Royal Selection the talk surrounding Emilia is a mix of fact and fiction. I’m sure that participating in something like that will wear down her resolution and pride, and it is for that reason that I want to recognize her properly as a rival candidate.”
Subaru: “So, basically, it’s complicated?”
Crusch: “Such a theatrical question. I like it, and I’ll permit it.”
Crusch’s lips slightly smiled as she became aware of her own overblown words, but with a blink, she tightened her facial expression.
Crusch: “Emilia being a half-elf, that alone is not grounds enough for me to write off forming an alliance with her. I feel no hostility towards Emilia’s existence, and I do not need to feel positive feelings towards someone I am allying with. Therefore, I feel no hesitation towards allying with her.”
Subaru: “In that case…”
Crusch: “You’re anxious to answer, Natsuki Subaru. I would like to hear your answer, but keep in mind that it is no exaggeration to say it will steer this conversation either to the left or to the right.”
To keep control of Subaru, who leaned forward after hearing her positive reply, Crusch once again spoke.
To sum it up, for what reason did the negotiation rights get handed over to Subaru?
Crusch: “The mining rights to Elior Forest will surely bear us great fruit. However, I feel that it is not necessary to quicken my pace in the Royal Selection. It will take place over three years. If one quickens their pace too much, they are only turning a blind eye to the future.”
Subaru: “The alliance with Emilia will bring you merits, but not any demerits?”
Crusch: “It’s a little different than that. Currently, the merits and demerits cancel each other out. To put it roughly, my family’s thinking is that we want an excuse.”
The truth behind why Crusch wanted to enter an alliance with Emilia had been revealed.
On one hand, her intentions could have been more simple, like wanting her family’s duchy to grow in size.
However, she wanted something else.
The situation had changed, and all of their voices hushed as if asking, “What?”
Subaru: “――――”
As he prepared to speak, Subaru realized how tight his throat was.
His mind was bulging with tension and anxiety, and now that he was trying to move forward his throat had closed.
He took one breath, and once again thought about the contents of what he was going to say.
He had no way to verify it. He could not even deny the likelihood that those words were wrong.
And yet, that girl had followed him, and absolutely believed him.
Subaru: “Let’s conclude the alliance. The contents we will be giving are the mining rights… and some information.”‘
Crusch: “――Information.”
Upon hearing that, Crusch, while touching her long hair, urged him to continue with her words.
Yet, she knew it. From here on was a critical moment.
Subaru: “Aah, yeah. I can present a certain tidbit of information.”
Crusch: “Let me hear it. Say it, and let me hear it.”
Holding out the hand that had been touching her hair, Crusch waited for Subaru’s words.
Naturally, his arms and legs were trembling. Yet, the faint warmth hitting his elbow negated it.
Rem supported him by placing a hand on his arm, and in doing so lit the courage he had borrowed ablaze,
Breathing in one breath, Subaru spoke.
Subaru: “――The time and place that the White Whale will appear at, that’s my final card.”