Meili turned, stopping to face Subaru upon reaching his next stop. "Well, this is where we part ways."
Pointing a thumb to the door on his right, Subaru asked, "Not up to dancing with Garfiel?" He knew she wouldn't, but it helped to keep up appearances.
"I'll let you boys have your playtime." Meili, being polite like that, dropped her voice to a whisper: "Besides, I don't wanna make Big Bro Garf feel like he needs to hold back his emotions, just because I'm a woman in his presence."
Subaru put his hand between his whisper and the door. "Garf doesn't have a concept of self-awareness," he joked. "You know that, right?"
"Just let me dream, Subaru. Maybe someday Garf will stop walking between his room and the bathroom naked."
Subaru nodded in agreement. "That's a sight no one should have to see."
Meili straightened up, hands behind her back as she gazed off to the side. "Besides, I'd prefer not to sleep with awkwardness between Petra and I."
"I hear ya. Just don't go in expecting that to be cleared completely."
Meili took on a boastful posture. "Ha! At least she's sensitive to social nuances. Your concern is appreciated, but Petra isn't you, Subaru, sorry to say."
It was a jab, and a pretty painful one at that, but not inaccurate. Subaru couldn't help but match Meili's fondness. "Yeah, she really isn't," he agreed.
With a bigger, warmer smile, a bow, and a flourish of her cape, Meili spun on her heel. She threw a hand up while passing her and Petra's bedroom. "If our brave meat shields arrive, don't bother us! We'll catch up on the plan tomorrow!"
"'Kay!" Subaru watched Meili's small figure shrink and shrink until turning a corner, where at the last second her feet kicked up and she vanished in a sprint. Subaru chuckled to himself. "You're not as subtle as you think, Mei." Part of Subaru felt crestfallen: all that time spent with Meili didn't amount to much; she refused to leave, and nothing he said seemed to have helped cheer her up. To put it specifically, Meili had zero intent on forgiving herself for the pain she caused not only Subaru, but all the Petras, Rems, Fredericas and so on. "I'm counting on you, Petra. Don't regress, too." Petra, Subaru realized then and there, was the one thing keeping him from running after Meili. She could handle her best friend.
Turning to the door before him, Subaru found himself taken aback by the calm he felt compared to his anxiety leading up to Meili. While Garf was assuredly hardening his heart for Subaru's sake last time, his composure was almost perfect when stacked beside the others'. The only true point of anxiety here, the main reason for Subaru bringing himself to Garfiel's den, had nothing to do with a "yes" or a "no" response, or a divulging of one's feelings.
Subaru realized he was about to use the Royal Aegis as a tool again… just as he planned against the Witches. You're more than that, Garf. These thoughts encircled his mind as Subaru beat against the door. That's why… I'm doing this for your own good.
"Yo, Gar! You decent in there?!"
"Boss? Y-yeah, c'mon in!" Heavy footfalls raced from left to right behind the door before Subaru let himself inside, pardoning the intrusion.
Garf, being part feline, had no need for lamps despite his room becoming a veritable abyss come nightfall. It was just like when they fought Typhon: what little light there was streamed from the window, dashed pale across the tile floor and half of the motivational banners lining the rightmost wall upon entering. It was the one Garf had smashed through so they could enter the royals' chamber. The sight, the quiet, lent his den an atmosphere some might find intimidating, perhaps even life-threatening, considering the occupant's reputation.
Subaru felt an overwhelming sense of safety, however.
That is until he spotted the bits of dirt and debris looking a little chunkier than normal, marbled brown and white. A pile of chains twinkled, catching what little moonlight they were cast in.
Before his mind had a chance to start racing, before his drumming heart could kick into overdrive, a thick set of arms closed around Subaru from behind. He was snagged by the throat and torso before being yanked into a wall of hard yet soft flesh.
"Idiot Boss," was snarled in his ear. "I'm the Witch of Lust, Carmilla, and you just stumbled into my trap. Now you're dead."
"Urk!" Subaru choked, haltingly retorting, "I'd see Mili or Beako before you, Garf!"
"Ouchie. I oughta wrestle you for that, Boss."
Subaru gagged on laughter, slapping the bulge around his throat twice before it unraveled itself, dropping him to his feet. "I doubt it'll play out that way again," he said, turning to lock eyes with a broad chest, and finally Garfiel's glowing smile up above. "I see you've been busy."
"Hell yeah." Garf turned, shadow-boxing the space beside them. "Not making a dumbass mistake like that again. You can count on it."
Subaru caught whiffs of a coppery aroma as each fist pulled back. He surveyed the room again, noticing a gouge in the stone ceiling above the meaty mess below. "Dude, you absolutely wrecked your training dummy."
"Ah." Garf rubbed an extended finger beneath his nose, hiding his mouth. "Got a little hungry, is all." In the shadows beyond the gap of moonlight lay a deeper pool of black, rimmed in cracks like a spider web. Considering the slab of dried meat was as big as Garf's human form now, there was only one way he could have polished off his training regiment. Some might not see it as a big deal, but Garf took his training equipment seriously, for one. "And I didn't wanna cut down on my training after Ram tapped out," Garf explained, suddenly, following where Subaru's gaze lingered.
The apron of her maid dress was stained brown with both dirt and drying blood, Subaru remembered. "Hope you went easy on her."
Garf scratched the back of his head. "Y-yeah, easy on her. Right."
Under most circumstances, Subaru would laugh; now he could only think about Ram's conviction earlier. "She's pretty serious about stopping the Witches, here and now."
"Tell me about it," Garf grumbled, arms folding across his bare chest. "She's strong as all hell, but if the Bitches of Sin are as tenacious as you say, cuttin' 'em in half with a bit o' wind magic ain't gonna do jack."
With just that comment, Subaru's mind fell back on all the worries Ram had voiced despite this obvious fact. "She's not willing to leave, though."
Garf gave Subaru a wide, sidelong glare, incredulous enough to say, 'What are ya, stupid?' "'Course she ain't." He made for the remains of his training dummy, bathing his shirtless form in a pale glow. "When Ram's given a job, she does it. Don't matter if she likes it or not."
"Heh. Sometimes, yeah…" Subaru found himself wishing that Ram was as annoyingly lazy as when they first met.
As he bent to gather the scraps of meat, the chain rattling harshly as he snatched it up, Garf's entire being was brought to light. He didn't have a hair past the blonde eruption on top of his head, making the marks on each bicep stand out like a sore thumb. They were marred by a cluster of five fleshy grooves running parallel with each other, puffy with congealed blood.
It was a sight that nearly made Subaru forget his purpose, only to reaffirm his determination further. Considering Ram's brand of caring, on top of her perceptiveness, it stood to reason that Garf made those himself after they had finished fighting. She simply couldn't, and wouldn't, inflict wounds like that on purpose.
"So! …H-how're you holding up?" The plan, Subaru's reason for approaching Garf like this, was on the tip of his tongue—and yet, he couldn't help but feel concerned for his honorary little brother.
Garf froze a moment before gathering the pile he made into his arms. "That some kinda joke?" he wondered, turning. The way he cradled the flesh, a small pile in his arms, invoked flashbacks of Mimi's corpse tearfully carried the same way. "M'not scared of the fight tomorrow, if that's what you're getting at."
"Heh. Yeah, I guess you wouldn't be."
Garf opened his arms over a bedside wastebasket, disposing of the mess. "I don't plan on losin' again. Once we have 'em on our terf, Sekhmet n' the others ain't gonna have a chance to regret their choices." Right. Part of the sudden, ill-thought plan after leaving the checkpoint was to have their best offense attack the Witches' best offense.
But Subaru probably wasn't going to see her Authority this time around like he was lucky enough with Betelgeuse. And he never forgot about the time in Sanctuary, when Garf faced down Satella with everything he had, only to be torn asunder in seconds. Garf was leagues above his strength and technique from back then, but even so.
Even so, Garf had to know his role was a suicide mission to end all suicide missions, regardless of all the precautions, regardless of the copious extra bodies they would have.
"You're as insane as ever, my man." Subaru respected the kindred warrior's spirit, aware as he was of his oncoming hypocrisy: "But I've decided to use this go-around smartly. Tactically."
He could practically sense Garf's ears perking up as he turned his head, curious, before adopting a grin that looked especially sharp in the evening luster. "That's the Boss I know." As Subaru wondered what had been running through Garf's mind today, he was asked, "What's the plan?"
Rather than tell him to run, Subaru warned, "This's gonna take your undying cooperation, Garfiel. Frankly, it's no exaggeration to say that I'm about to order, not ask you—and not as your boss, but as your king—"
"If it needs getting done, I'll do it." Garf's voice was soft as his enormous figure squatted before Subaru. "No matter how much it pisses me off."
I'll hold you to that. Subaru was a scumbag for feeling so relieved, and even more so for craving extra insurance after his conversations with Ram and Meili. "First things first…" he said, sitting criss-cross against the shut door, "...do you want Frederica to survive this?" At the mention of his precious sister, the spark in Garfiel's eyes darkened as his shoulders slackened—the effect deepening as Subaru asked, "You want Ram to stay safe? Instead of being horribly devoured from the inside by Daphne?"
Garf blinked. "Ye—f-fuck yeah, I do."
Subaru was chilled by his own casual admission; it was the first death of the last loop he described in detail today. "Nah, of course you do. You don't want Meili killing herself if one of us falls. Or Petra to be broken and healed by Minerva again and again—"
"Alright, Boss, you made your fuckin' point," Garf snarled at his bare, clawed feet. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep 'em alive. Just tell me already…" The anticipation was killing him, and he was no longer considering just Subaru's sake.
Just as planned. Subaru let his relief show in a smirk he hoped was cocksure. "There's one more thing you should know, first. About Return by Death."
Garf fidgeted before seating his butt on the floor, mirroring Subaru's posture. He nodded encouragingly.
The crystal lamps of their bedroom were adjusted to act as though it were daytime, giving the Royal Chambers a welcoming vibe. "Hey-o, Bea-ko!"
The tome she was curled around on Emilia and Subaru's bed thumped against her straightening legs, the enormity of both making Beatrice look especially tiny and cute. "Don't you ever knock, I suppose?"
Subaru smoothly spun on his heel, exiting. "'Kay, see ya!"
"Wait a minute!" Subaru smiled as he heard soft grunts and fabrics shifting, followed by dainty footsteps in a hurry. "I'd like you to wait, in fact."
"I'm not going anywhere." Subaru turned just as his hand was grasped in two smaller ones. Beatrice gazed, irritated as Subaru felt his mana start to drain, a warm blossoming within similar to the flashes of him and Emilia's self-indulgence earlier. Thinking of that, he understood the cause of her anticipated displeasure. "Sorry I've been away all day."
Beatrice turned her little nose up at him. "Ha! Betty was not concerned, for Subaru knows that Betty is loyal to the bitter end, I suppose."
Her uncertainty about that hurt. "I do," Subaru agreed, lowering to one knee as he grasped the hand against his palm. "I know you're here for me. Sorry, again, for making you worry."
"It can't be helped, I suppose," Beatrice said lightly. "But Betty shall forgive Subaru if he swears not to leave her side for the rest of the night."
"How scandalous. But, Lady Beako, what of the fair Emilia, my wife?"
Rather than indulge in his perverse joke, Beatrice simply rolled her eyes; she probably saw that one coming. "Of course, Emily is free to indulge in Betty as well, so long as she agrees not to come between Subaru and me again."
The accusatory opening of one eye made Subaru tear away from Beatrice in embarrassment and retreat further into their bedroom. "How the heck—?! What, didja all do a sweep of the castle, putting an ear to every door?!" Subaru wasn't one to talk about privacy, after how intrusive he'd been with everyone today, nor was he one to even care this much; but it felt like the right time for levity. "You buncha perverts." That also seemed to be the word of the day.
"Please." Beatrice shut the door, her big skirt swishing as she turned. "You and Emily are just so predictable that anybody could guess as to the goings on between the two of you, I suppose. Especially on a day like this."
Though Garf hadn't suggested he figured as much, even Meili made a comment just as similar as Ram's. "I dunno how to feel about this, knowing you guys see Mili and I as the selfish brand of monarchs."
"You should feel ashamed and use that shame to improve yourselves, I suppose." Beatrice let loose with a sigh, clenching and unclenching her skirts. "But it's a moot point. Queen Emilia and King Subaru are only a year into their reign, and they're already being hailed as some of the finest rulers Lugnica's ever had, in fact." 'So stop scrutinizing yourself over every little thing.' That's what her pointed look and tone concluded, as it often had.
After his vile manipulation of Garfiel, Subaru couldn't help but think Beatrice was too good for him. All of them were, frankly. "Damn it all," Subaru sighed before powering over to his little spirit.
"Wh-what're you plotting to—?! Woah!" she cried amidst her ride from the floor into Subaru's embrace, her little face in his neck, bottom sitting on his forearm. "S-Subaru?" Her hands couldn't figure out if they wanted to reciprocate or push away to look him in the eye.
When Beatrice's arms, her baggy sleeves, blanketed the back of Subaru's neck, he could no longer pretend that everything was fine. "Dammit," Subaru choked. "Damn it all." He thought of Garf and the now dead look in his eyes; of Ram's displeasure and Meili's adamant refusal to flee. "Beako," he replied to the soft stroking on the back of his head. Subaru thought of Emilia, her boundless patience and understanding, as well as Betty's. There was no getting around it—his two special ladies were assuredly going to meet a brutal end, no matter what Subaru tried.
As if reading his mind, which she practically could at this point, Beatrice murmured beside his ear, "This had better not be building up to what I think it is." She definitely had her ear to the wall that was shared with Garfiel.
Subaru shook in both body and soul, as well as in reply. "I couldn't possibly do that to you." Still embracing her, Subaru eased himself onto their bed, the hand clasping Beatrice's small back rising to cradle the back of perfectly combed hair. "The others are one thing, the bond between a contractor and his spirit another." He wanted to vomit at the thought of Beatrice, safe and sound as she felt their contract break the moment he died. "I'd never ask you to do that for me." Besides, you'd die if we didn't come into contact again within twenty-four hours. Sending Beatrice away would be life-threatening in itself. Even without that, although she had others in her life now beyond Subaru… It was still different enough to matter, their bond that is.
"The others are fair game, then, I suppose."
Subaru snuggled her guiltily. "Please, don't." He was already painfully self-aware.
"My apologies." Beatrice said so with all her heart; not that Subaru blamed her attitude, considering. "Besides, you're only halfway capable without Betty around, I suppose."
Subaru gave a soft laugh. "You got that right."
Beatrice pushed against his chest, pulling back to face him without leaving his arms. "Shall I ease your concerns? Betty is actually capable of Ul Minya, not just El, in fact."
It was her prideful tone that made Subaru smile rather than a false sense of security; he wouldn't let himself be tricked and hurt again. "That is actually a relief, yeah." Subaru had been concerned, though, wondering how a single crystal of frozen time was supposed to nail Daphne when she was almost faster than Emilia's magic. "Congratulations, Beako. You're now a single-barreled shotgun."
"'A shot… gun?'"
"Yep! A shotgun: a pipe from my world that explodes with fire once before needing to reload."
"Hmph. How involved. Betty is much more efficient and doubly more powerful than a mere shotting-gun."
"That you are." Just as Subaru was about to ease her down, Betty rewrapped herself around his neck firmly as though in refusal. It likely was. "Beatrice?"
"A few minutes longer, in fact."
After chuckling his consent, and quietly admiring her cuteness, Subaru permitted themselves to stay like this. One minute later, a snuffle cut sharply in his ear. "Beako?" She grunted. "Beatrice, uh…" Last loop with her, and the interactions with others this time around, cut into Subar's thoughts, only for another mewl from his Great Spirit to decimate those entirely. "Is there… something you'd like to talk about?" He prayed his tone implied the obvious.
Her cheek brushed his as Beatrice shook her head. "It doesn't matter now. Betty will not leave Subaru's side again, I suppose." In a breath she cursed her expressive verbal tic. "That's all that matters… I suppose."
"Nobody Can Lift a Quain Stone Alone"
