The scent of fresh grass and flowers filled her senses. The lush green lawn bordered by flowers of colourful varieties with butterflies and bees flying by, tempted her to abandon her duties for the day and just relax. She would have loved to kick off her shoes and lie down flat on the grass, but it was not the right time.
Her long verdant hair was tied back in a ponytail with a little white ribbon to avoid any stray strands falling on her face. She bent down to retighten the straps of her boots. Looking at her navy blue coat, she wondered if she should take it off for easier movement but decided against it.
Closing her eyes, she took in deep breaths preparing herself. She could taste metal on her tongue. She wanted to succeed this time.
Her amber eyes opened, brimming with determination as she straightened her posture. Securing her footing on the ground, her hands picked up the wooden sword and held its hilt tightly in her grip.
The woman, Crusch Karsten readied herself for another sparring match, holding hope she would perform better than last time.
"Shall we begin?" The older man in the black servant's outfit asked. His hand gripped a long wooden sword as well, his refined stance inconsistent with his age.
—She nodded and ran forward, beginning the duel.
Leaping closer, she threw an overhead cut. Wilhelm parried the blow, deflecting it away from its target. Of course, that was to be expected. With years of experience over her, there was no way she could have bested him with just her opening move.
With her eyes on her opponent's head and the actual target in her peripheral vision, she stepped back, out of the way of any potential counterattack and swung downwards at his leg. However, Wilhelm was not one to fall for such an obvious feint as he countered it effortlessly.
Crusch, who had lost her memories to Gluttony, was still a novice when it came to sword fighting. It was no wonder she was being pushed back rather easily by Wilhelm as he struck at fearsome speed not easily visible to the untrained eye. Muscle memory was a truly amazing thing. She was grateful for all the training her old self had done. It saved her from being utterly destroyed as she tried her best not to lose her balance. The wooden swords clattered while she parried desperately and tried to counter. A part of her felt guilty for putting all of her former self's efforts to waste.
Breathing heavily, she took a step back to swing her wooden sword in a semicircular arch but in vain as a short but powerless breeze of wind shot out in all directions. Her memory of how to unleash her signature move was gone with her former self and she had failed to control her wind magic once again.
Her instructor disarmed her without breaking a sweat and she bent down holding her knees and breathing heavily in exhaustion, accepting defeat. It would be conceited of her to believe she could defeat the Sword Demon with just half a year of training, especially after she had asked him to not go easy on her.
That did not mean she would give up so easily. She had come a long way since the beginning. She would definitely regain her lost glory again someday. That day was just not today. At least, that was what she kept telling herself so as to not lose heart.
"Crusch-sama! You did really great today!" Her cat-eared retainer cheered her efforts from the side.
A small smile came upon her face as she dusted herself with her hands. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath while she fixed her ponytail and raised her head to meet her knight's gaze.
"That was awesome, Crusch-san!"
"Eh…!" A soft sound of surprise left her lips. Her first reaction was to blink to see if she wasn't seeing things. After all, there was a person there that shouldn't be here. Her eyes widened as she saw his smiling face greet hers.
"Natsuki… Subaru-sama…?" She said, as she met his black eyes.
"Long time no see, Crusch-san." With a smile that could instill life and joy into anyone who laid their eyes upon it—greeted Natsuki Subaru, knight of the silver-haired half-elf, Emilia.
The sense of surprise at his presence and tension from the earlier sparring match melted away. "It's been a while, Subaru-sama. It is good to see you in fine health." Crusch smiled, delighted at being reunited with a friend.
"Geez, Subaru-kun! Nyou sure have a knack for attracting trouble! Defeating the Great Rabbit right after the White Whale!" Ferris—Crusch's knight and the best healer of the Kingdom spoke up. "Nyou even became a spirit arts user. Who could have expected that out of Subaru-kyun?"
"I didn't really have a choice though! My life was in danger, you know. Not that I'm unhappy with the results. My Beako is the best! I'm super grateful that she chose me!"
"Nyou better be! Even after Ferri-chan warned Subaru-kyun several times, nyou went ahead and broke your gate!"
As the two bantered, Crusch smiled and she walked closer to them. "Um… Subaru-sama, if you don't mind my asking…" She raised the fingers of her right hand over her mouth and inclined her head. "How long have you been standing here?" She asked.
"Pretty much from the beginning, I guess?" Subaru said, scratching his head as he averted his gaze with an awkward smile. "Is this a bad time?"
"N-No… But…" Crusch shook her head with a small blush. "I'm relearning the ways of the sword and frankly, it's a bit embarrassing… having my inability on display."
"If that's what's bothering nyou, nyou have nyothing to worry, Crusch-sama. Subaru-kyun could train for five years and he'd still do worse." Ferris dismissed her worries with a wave of his hand, while not missing the opportunity to tease Subaru.
"That's right, Crusch-san." Subaru nodded. "You're doing an amaz—wait a minute!" With one arm over his chest and the other tapping his forehead with a gloomy look, he said, "I mean, you're not wrong but… Did you really have to say it like that!?"
"Tee-hee!" Ferris stuck his tongue out at the protesting Subaru and Crusch couldn't resist the urge to giggle. Subaru and Ferris looked at her, then each other and laughed too.
"Subaru-dono, it feels like it's been a while since we've met up this way." With a bow, the Sword Demon joined the conversation as well.
"It's great seeing you too, Wilhelm-san!"
"I apologise for asking, but… why are you here, Subaru-sama? Did you need something from us?" Crusch asked.
"Subaru-kyun was being such a nuisance, insisting he see Crusch-sama. Ferri-chan had nyo choice but to let him in!" Ferris shrugged his shoulders, and three of them turned their heads towards Subaru.
Subaru's smile vanished and his eyes lowered with unease. Was there something wrong, she wondered. But before she could ask, he lifted his gaze to meet hers and forced a smile.
"I was here in the Capital to receive some new… information." He said as his shoulders sank. "I thought I'd come by and share it with you." Though he was smiling, his tone said otherwise. It sounded heavy and tired.
"Information…?" Crusch tilted her head in confusion. Looking around, she saw Ferris and Wilhelm with their eyes wide open, carrying surprised expressions. She frowned, trying to figure out what this could mean.
"—The whereabouts of the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony."
"O-Oh…" Crusch looked down in guilt.
"Someone matching the description of the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony given by the soldiers and mercenaries that time was spotted in a village down south." Subaru explained, handing over an enveloped letter to her.
The four of them were in the reception room of her residence—a place where she had failed to establish herself over and over again and had to be rescued by her retainers over and over again. With Ferris to her right and Wilhelm to her left, she sank onto the sofa, leaning back without having to worry about formalities.
For the first time since she began sitting in that heavy chair, she felt… relaxed. She was grateful the person sitting opposite her wasn't a hardened negotiator but Subaru. There was a sort of gentleness to him that made him approachable and she didn't have to worry about putting on appearances before him.
"Are nyou sure this information is reliable?" Ferris murmured, his eyes falling on Subaru as he took the letter from her hand and began reading it.
"Can't say for sure but… Beggars can't be choosers," he said with a sigh and a fleeting smile. "Whether you decide to investigate it or not is up to you, but since I had it, it didn't feel right… not informing you." There was a deep unconcealed grief in his eyes as he stared down, his hands tightly gripping the armrests of the chair he sat in. "I'm going to check it out. There's nothing else I've got really." Subaru let out a heavy breath. There was no doubt that he resented himself for being so powerless.
However, he wasn't the only one. Crusch's lip trembled slightly, as she watched him. The blue-haired girl precious to him—Rem… wasn't Crusch given the responsibility of taking care of her? Instead she failed, lost her memories, failed to protect the girl too, and caused not just her own Camp but even the one who helped her succeed such sorrow. How she wished she could have been of more help.
"If I may, Crusch-sama," Wilhelm, standing straight with his hands behind his back, began speaking from beside her, directing all their attention to him. "I believe there is merit in investigating this lead."
Crusch turned head back to look at him. There was a maelstrom of complex emotions filled in the Sword Demon's eyes as he looked at Subaru. She turned her gaze to Subaru and she saw him wearing a worried expression. What was going on? Does he know something that Crusch didn't know?
And then, "I think so too," Ferris said, folding the letter and placing it back inside the envelope. As Crusch's amber eyes looked up at Ferris, he held the letter up between his index and middle fingers and continued, "With Meckart-sama returning from his retirement soon, Crusch-sama workload would be reduced. We can use the time to help with search too in addition to training her."
"Meckart-sama…?" Subaru asked.
"My honoured father, the Duke Meckart Karsten." Crusch gave a fleeting smile. She had heard how much her father doted on her as a child, but she didn't have any memories of him anymore. "…I hate troubling him like this because of my own inadequacy." How much more pain must she bring to such a loving father?
"I do not believe the Duke will think of it as trouble, Crusch-sama." It was Wilhelm who spoke, his eyes softened in an effort to comfort her.
"That's right, Crusch-sama! His darling daughter needs help. Ferri-chan doubts Meckart-sama can resist staying away!" Ferris joined in, trying to cheer her up.
She felt happy to have such supportive retainers. No matter the situation, they were ever ready to help her and she felt bad she could never do anything for them.
"Well then," he said with a smile as he got up from his seat. "That's all I had to say and…" He smiled scratching the nape of his neck. "I guess I'll be leaving now."
"You're leaving already?" Crusch asked in disappointment, leaning forward in her chair. It didn't feel right to just let him leave without thanking him in any way.
"My work's done here so… I wouldn't want to ruin your day any longer." Subaru gave a dry laugh, and a frown arose upon her face.
"Geez, Subaru-kyun is just as troublesome as ever. Ferri-chan really doesn't like it, you know! That way of thinking." Ferris's eyes twitched at Subaru's words. Ferris was without a doubt grateful to Subaru, but Crusch could tell that Subaru's attitude bothered him a lot.
"Subaru-dono, at least let us repay you somehow," Wilhelm said earnestly and Crusch nodded her head in agreement.
"I didn't really do anything though. Besides, we're allies, aren't we?" Subaru smiled and winked.
"It still doesn't sit right with me. Subaru-sama, please tell us if you need anything. I'd be willing to help with anything I can." Crusch requested, her eyes rose to meet his gaze as he stood before the chair.
Subaru looked uneasily at her and then averted his gaze. "It really was nothing. You don't have to make such a big-"
"It is a big deal, Subaru-kyun. At a time we have absolutely nyo information about the Witch Cult, anything we get is a big deal. Nyou should understand that more than anyone else, right? Besides, this information nyou got wasn't really easy to get, was it?"
"..."
Ferris was gripping the back of Crusch's chair tightly and Subaru looked down confirming his words.
"Alright…" He lifted his head up and looked at her. "Since you insist… there's something I wanted to ask…" Subaru said as his eyes drifted to Wilhelm. Crusch and Ferris looked at each other and shrugged. She wondered what he wanted.
"What is it, Subaru-dono? If it is within my capabilities, I will do my utmost to honour your request." The elderly swordsman answered as sincerely as he could.
"Well then!" With a bright smile on his face, Subaru said, "I would really like to hear Wilhelm-san's stories from the past!"
"..."
They were left completely speechless at Subaru's request. After a while, a small laugh emerged from Wilhelm as he looked at Subaru with a gentless in his eyes.
"If that is what you wish, I'll be glad to. I'm delighted to hear you would hear stories about my wife and I." He beamed.
Crusch laughed too. Frankly speaking, Subaru's request excited her too. Leaning back against her chair, she relaxed as she stretched her hands, preparing herself to hear his stories again because she was certain it could take a while. But no matter how long Wilhelm's story went on, Crusch never found herself losing interest. She was sure it was the same reason why Natsuki Subaru had made such a request.
It was because just like Subaru, she admired the Sword Demon Wilhelm van Astrea too.
"Old man Wil nyever misses a chance to talk about nyour wife." Ferris sighed, holding his head.
"Well, those are the highlights of his stories, aren't they?" Subaru said as he sat back on the chair, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Besides, maybe I could get a few tips to impress Emilia-tan with." He winked.
As soon as those words left his lips, Crusch's eyebrows furrowed. Now that she thought about it, where was Emilia? It's rare to see him without her close-by.
Ferris, who knew her too well to not notice her questioning glance, touched her shoulder and asked, "Crusch-sama, is there something wrong?"
"No, I…" She hesitated. Now, both Wilhelm and Subaru were looking at her and she felt embarrassed having all attention drawn to her for such a silly reason. "I was just wondering why Emilia-sama isn't with you," she answered honestly.
"Oh, she's in a meeting right now," he answered.
"How come Subaru-kyun is nyot with her. Did nyou mess up again?" Ferris asked in disappointment.
"Why did the first thing you think of was that I messed up somehow!?"
"Then?"
"...It was getting uncomfortable and Ros-chi let me leave." He smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I obviously informed Emilia-tan that I would come here so I could give you the information, so she doesn't have to worry about me."
"Is that so? Subaru-kyun's popularity sure has skyrocketed a lot." Ferris responded teasingly, while Wilhelm and Crusch laughed. All three of them could easily guess the source of his embarrassment. Crusch had been told several times about what Subaru had helped achieve was such a huge deal and seeing everyone praise him to the skies reminded her of just how much indebted she was to him.
"Enough of that!" Subaru protested. "We were about to hear Wilhelm-san stories, not talk about me!" He then stopped and with hesitation, said, "…O-of course, if you're not too busy…"
"None of us have anything much to do today so it's your lucky day today, Subaru-sama." Crusch smiled at him.
"Well then, I shall begin."
And so, the three listened with amazement as Wilhelm narrated the tales of his youth.
"What happened next? How did you manage to escape from the Earth Snake? Did you manage to reach your wedding on time?" Subaru bombarded Wilhelm in rapid succession in a child-like wonder, making the elderly swordsman chuckle.
"When we believed we had been cornered, the cave collapsed and… a ray of light filtered through." Wilhelm narrated as Subaru listened to him in full immersion as Ferris sighed and Crusch giggled.
"The Zellgef Squadron had managed to break through to us. My comrades attacked the Earth Snake and it escaped into the mountains. After that, we rushed to the Capital as fast as we could and we managed to reach just in time for the wedding."
Once Wilhelm had finished, Subaru leaned back against the chair and heaved out a sigh of relief.
"Old Man Wil sure likes to dress up a story." So Ferris said, but Crusch had been watching him listen to the story with equal interest.
"That was a great story, Wilhelm-san! Too bad Beako isn't here to listen to it. She'd have loved it too," said Subaru, with a hint of sadness thinking about what his spirit had missed out on.
"Why isn't Beatrice-chan here though? Did she nyot leave the meeting with nyou?"
"She was stuffing her face with sweets so happily, I couldn't ask her to leave. Sometimes, I'm worried if she'll put on weight if she keeps eating like that. But I'm sure even if Beako is all round and plump, I'll still love her!"
"She'll get mad at nyou if she heard that!" Ferris exclaimed and Crusch and Wilhelm laughed.
Meanwhile somewhere on the way back from the meeting—
"—nghh, I suppose!" Beatrice groaned and crossed her arms in front of her, pouting.
"What's wrong, Beatrice?" Emilia asked in concern.
"Betty just got the feeling that she has been humiliated, in fact. That Betty eats too much and will get fat, I suppose."
"Why is it so specific!?" Otto exclaimed, and Emilia patted Beatrice's head.
Back in the Karsten Manor—
"Maybe I'll bring Beako here some other time to have her listen to your stories," Subaru said.
"I look forward to it, Subaru-dono. I'd be delighted to tell it however many times you want." A broad smile came upon Wilhelm's face.
"Once is more than enough," Ferris sighed. "Don't nyou two have other work?"
Gazing at them smiling, Crusch herself felt a faint smile coming onto her face. Subaru visiting simply because he wanted to would certainly be something she preferred over this visit. Sure, everything had ended up becoming light-hearted in the end, but it wasn't easy for Crusch to forget the real purpose of his visit.
"Subaru-sama is welcome to visit us anytime," Crusch smiled and Ferris sighed in defeat. "I'm sure Wilhelm is not going to run out of stories anytime soon."
"That is indeed true, Crusch-sama. My wife was a woman who liked to admire flowers and I happen to have a number of other stories relating to flowers." Wilhelm said with enthusiasm which made the other three smile at him. "Regardless of what kind of flower it was, she would say they each had their own good points so she could not possibly pick a favourite. There were a number of special flowers that my wife wished to see in her lifetime once though, some of them being a flower that can be found only in the snowfall or a flower that grew only in the dark."
"A flower that grows in the snow and one that grows in the dark?" Subaru asked, his eyebrows raised in scepticism as he looked at the Sword Demon. "Do those even exist?"
"I do not know… However, I wish they do exist." A sad fleeting smile came upon Wilhelm's face as his eyes looked down at the ground and then back at Subaru. "Back then, I was a foolish man and the blood flow to my head was lacking. I cannot say that I have improved in this regard even now, but I was even worse back then. Whenever the occasion were to arise, I would get my friends and secretly head out to search for those special flowers to surprise my wife. …Sadly, we were never successful in our outings."
Upon hearing his story, and seeing the nostalgia on his face, all three grew silent. It never failed to sadden her how this man, who loved his wife so much that he claimed his life began when he met her, had to deal with her loss. The old Crusch had helped him in the battle against the White Whale but her present self had yet to do something to repay him for all his support.
And the same stood true for Ferris. Ferris had told her a number of times how she was honest and resolute and someone who was destined to stand above others, but she was yet to achieve that. All she had done in the past few months was just depending more on them instead of the other way around. For once, she wanted to be someone they could rely on. But she had to prove herself for it.
Hearing Wilhelm's story had renewed her vigour in carrying out what she had been planning for the past few days.
Her eyes drifted to Subaru who was talking to Ferris and Wilhelm. Maybe she could ask him for help? She did feel hesitant about asking him but she had no idea who else to ask. He was also known for achieving the impossible so maybe… it wouldn't hurt to ask?
She clenched her fist, nodded her head and made up her mind. As soon as they were done talking, she would ask Subaru for help.
"Subaru-sama! Please wait!" She shouted, barely catching up to him as he just stepped foot outside the Karsten Manor. It was hard diverting Ferris away so she could talk with Subaru in secret.
"Crusch-san? Did you need something from me?" He stopped and turned around, inclining his head in confusion.
"I have a request… Do you remember Wilhelm speaking about flowers that grew in the snow and another one that grew in the dark?" Crusch asked and he nodded his head.
"Finding the snow flower isn't possible now," she said, as they looked around. It wasn't snow season yet, so she had given up on that flower for now. "But the flowers that grow in the dark, I think I can find them."
Subaru's eyes widened. "Really? That's amazing, Crusch-san!" He smiled. And then his eyes narrowed and he looked at her quizzically. "...What do you want with me then?"
"I need to find them. I wanted to surprise Ferris and Wilhelm with those flowers, since they are always doing so much for me. Subaru-sama, will you be willing to help me?" Crusch requested.
Subaru stood still for a while lost in thoughts. She waited for his answer nervously. If he declined, it was fine too, but finding someone else to help her was going to become difficult if she wanted to continue keeping this a secret from her two retainers.
"I have a condition though," he said, finally breaking the silence, making her worried as she bit her lips. "Could you please drop the 'sama'. You're a Royal Candidate, right? You can just call me Subaru." He winked and smiled as she gave a sigh of relief with a hand on her chest.
She nodded her head and asked again, "Will you help me, Subaru-sa… Subaru?"
"Alright! So when do you want to meet up?"
"Tonight by the forest fence just east of the city. I hope it's not too much trouble…," she said as an uncertainty began to creep into her voice. She just began to realise he might have had prior plans.
But, "No, it's fine," he answered with a smile. "It's a date!"
"Dayte…?" She inclined her head in confusion at hearing something she had never heard before.
His eyes widened and his breath hitched, almost as if he was caught off-guard by the question. Taking a deep breath, "It's nothing," he said with an awkward smile, trying to dismiss her with a wave of his hand as a small breeze blew around him. "It just means we've agreed to meet up."
"Is that all?" But she continued to stare. He wasn't entirely lying but the momentary breeze around him indicated there was something else he wasn't letting on.
"I clearly wasn't thinking when I said that and the word does have a different meaning but you really don't have to take my words so seriously! It was just a joke!" He said, almost begging her to let it go. Unfortunately for him, Crusch wasn't the kind of person who'd let go of this so easily. Curious to know what it was, she continued to stare at him.
He sighed. "A r-romantic appointment…" He stuttered out in a low whisper, his eyes darting everywhere.
Crusch blinked. And then her face began heating up as a bright blush appeared on her face.
"That's why I asked you to forget it!" He shouted in embarrassment. "Next time, I'll think things through my head before I say it, but please just drop it for now, Crusch-san!" So he said, but he probably wouldn't…
She placed a hand on her chest and heaved out a sigh of relief realising he didn't mean anything by it. Although at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
"Thank you again for helping me," she said as she put on a smile and he calmed down too.
"Yeah, no problem. See you tonight!" With a thumbs up, he turned and walked away as she watched him leave with a sigh.
It was hard trying to sneak out away from Ferris and Wilhelm's watchful eyes, but by redirecting them away with other work, she was barely able to slip out. She hoped that having the flowers in hand when she returned to them would suffice as an apology.
As she rushed out the city's exit, she noticed how the outskirts of the city seemed almost empty. There were no guards nearby outside the city. The eastern side seemed deserted, the only that came into view was the fence that bordered the forest. She never mentioned an exact time to meet up with Subaru. That was an error on her part and it would be bad if she kept him waiting too long.
Their conversation from earlier drifted into her head and she began to blush again. She quickly shook her head trying to forget it. He didn't mean anything by it.
Once she reached the fence, she walked alongside it, trying to search for where he might be.
And there the raven-haired knight was in his tracksuit as he called it, standing a few metres with his hand on top of the fence. There was a small lantern on the ground beside where he stood. He began waving upon noticing her and she waved back.
Beside him, was a little girl with pale cream blonde hair tied into drill-shaped twin tails and wearing a pink frilly ornate dress. As Crusch got closer to them, the girl's blue irises with butterflies in them looked at her gingerly, making Crusch smile at her.
Crusch had seen her only once before very briefly during the honours ceremony but her unforgettable characteristic appearance made no room for doubt as to who she was.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Beatrice-sama. My name is Crusch Karsten. I'm a Royal Candidate and a rival of Emilia-sama's."
"Betty has heard of you, in fact. Subaru keeps singing your praises everytime you come up in a conversation, I suppose."
"Hey, Beako! Not fair! You're not supposed to say that!" A flustered Subaru complained as Crusch watched in surprise.
Under normal circumstances, it would have embarrassed her to hear something like that, but the reason he was praising her so much was something she had no memory of. She shook her head trying to dismiss such discouraging thoughts from her head.
"I've heard a lot about you too, Beatrice-sama. Subaru spent an hour this morning explaining how cute and amazing you are. I understand him now when I'm seeing you in person," Crusch smiled at Beatrice, whose face began burning up.
"Subaru!" She turned around to glare at him. Pouting, she crossed her arms as she stomped the ground in annoyance. Subaru was right. She was really cute even when angry and she watched with a smile as Subaru picked up Beatrice and spun her around.
"Put Betty down, I suppose! Betty is mad at you!"
"Beako is mad at me! Oh my heart!" Putting her down, he clutched his chest in pain.
"Do you really have the time to fool around like this, I suppose?" Beatrice said in mild annoyance. "Remember what you're here for, in fact." With a finger pointing at Crusch, both turned to look in her direction, who nearly jumped back when all eyes suddenly fell on her.
"So Crusch-san, you said you knew where to find the flower that grows in the dark?"
"Y-Yes…," answered Crusch as she put a finger on her chin trying to recollect the information. "I was talking with a maid of mine last week, and she told me about her brother who may have encountered those special flowers that grow in the dark in a cave in this forest."
According to the maid, her brother who was returning home from work in the neighbouring town had watched the dark clouds approaching and decided to take a shortcut through the forest. Unfortunately, it started pouring in the middle and he was forced to take shelter in a nearby cave. As he waited for the rain to stop, he smelt a sweet fragrance in the cave and he began following in its direction and that was when he found trampled yellow flowers… lots of them on the ground. The strangest part was there were no flowers growing in that area. So it was highly unlikely that an animal brought it there. The only conclusion he came to was that flowers were growing inside the complete darkness of that cave.
As she finished narrating the story, Subaru and Beatrice looked at each other.
"What do you think?" He asked his spirit.
"Are you sure the cave doesn't have a different exit, in fact?" Beatrice turned to her and pointed out.
Crusch's eyes widened. How could she have overlooked that possibility? Her head dropped down as she realised that the story really was way too good to be true. It was a rare flower for a reason. There was no way she was going to be able to find it that easily.
"W-Well it doesn't hurt us to check it out, right?" She looked up and it was Subaru who spoke, looking at her with gentle eyes.
But his words didn't make her any happier. This was the only lead she had and if it wasn't as convincing as she had believed, "But we don't even know if the flower even exists…"
Beatrice sighed. "It exists," she declared and both Subaru and Crusch looked at her in bewilderment. "And it is thought to bestow good luck upon the one who holds it, in fact." How could she claim this with such certainty?
"If it exists, do you really believe Mother wouldn't have found it already, I suppose?"
Subaru's forehead furrowed. "...I guess that makes sense," he said, and Crusch was left wondering what they were talking about. Neither of them made any efforts to explain to her what Beatrice meant and she didn't want to ask them after the bitter expression they had on their faces. But perhaps Beatrice had seen the flower with her own eyes.
"So… Beatrice-sama, do you think this is worth pursuing?" She asked.
"As Subaru said, there's no harm in checking it out, I suppose… that is if there are no dangers that reside in this forest…"
Crusch bit her lower lip and shook her head. The maid hadn't mentioned anything about it, so she was unaware if there was anything dangerous there.
"Guess, it would have been better to call Emilia-tan here…," he muttered and she looked down in sadness.
She hated that she believed she was prepared to do this but the more she talked with Subaru and Beatrice, more and more holes were coming up in her plans. If it was her former self, she would surely have been more prepared for everything, instead of recklessly charging into something.
"If she was already here, it would have been great, but… there's no point in calling her now. It would take too long and Ferris and the others might get worried." She heaved out a sigh of disappointment. "Maybe we should just give-"
"Alright then! It can't be helped!" Without letting her complete her sentence, he lifted the lantern from the ground and jumped the fence before the two with him even had a chance to comprehend what he had done.
Beatrice was the first to come out of her shock as she exclaimed, "Subaru, what are you doing, I suppose!? It might be dangerous, in fact!"
"That's why you're here with me." He pointed his finger at her, leaving her even more annoyed. "Also, Crusch-san is really strong," was his answer, leaving both Beatrice and Crusch at a loss for words.
Beatrice held her head and sighed. "Do you feel no shame saying that, I suppose?"
"I'm just aware of what my limits are! Besides, if this maid's brother was able to cross this area safely with no trouble, it's safe to say there's no danger around here." With a smile, he offered his hand to Crusch. "So what do you say, Crusch-san? Shall we move now or shall we go back and get help? Or should we abandon this and try another time? Whatever it is you want, I'll help you," he said as his black eyes looked at her amber ones with fierce determination.
Crusch stood in indecision. Should she try to search for those flowers or should she abandon that desire? Even if she were to turn back, it would not harm her in any way. People expected a lot of things from her, but there was no one who expected her to bring something like a mythical flower back for them.
It was that thought that helped her make up her mind.
It was dark. Much darker than they had expected. Moonlight shone through the lattice of leaves on the topmost strata of the trees illuminating patches of the dark trail. The thin light of the lantern that Crusch held was helpful in lighting up the way for a few feet, but beyond that, everything else remained largely unknown.
The spring breeze blew around them, feeling cold on their skin. With each snap of a twig at every step they took, she could see Beatrice jump up just a bit higher than last time.
"Beatrice-sama, are you alright?"
"Beako, if you're scared, shall we go back?" Subaru asked, but Beatrice shook her head, her pride making her refuse to admit it.
"B-B-Betty is a Great Spirit, in fact!" She said, looking around frantically in all directions. "B-Betty isn't scared at all. There's nothing here, I suppose…" She muttered to herself.
She was definitely scared. Crusch felt sorry for her. After a while, Subaru lifted her up into his arms, making her finally relax. But Crusch was already beginning to regret her decision to carry forward.
Unlike Beatrice, she wasn't scared of the forest…. Maybe she was a little bit, but that wasn't what the problem was. The place felt… quiet. There was obviously the rustling of leaves, cracking of twigs and the howling of the wind, but there was not a single other creature in sight. Her instincts were screaming to turn back and before she could suggest it herself—
"I think we should head back, Crusch-san," Subaru suggested as well, turning around to see the fence of the forest barely visible in the distance. Thankfully, they had not wandered too far away from the exit. "Maybe come back another tim-"
"Grrrrrrr!"
Low, guttural, growling sounds reached their ears that made all three of them freeze. Looking around, they noticed it. Surrounding them were about a dozen or so pairs of bloodshot eyes looking at them from within the bushes.
A few of them began walking out. They were beasts with short black fur, similar to a dog, but it was built twice as thick. Sharp claws lined their paws and slobber dripped out from their fangs.
"Look Beako! I'm getting all teary-eyed from nostalgia seeing them," Subaru whispered, biting his lip as they looked around to try and find an escape.
"What part of this is nostalgia, I suppose!?" Beatrice voiced out in disgust. "Why Mabeasts of all things, in fact?" She sighed in frustration.
The Mabeasts before them, called Ulgarm, were the most common types to be found in all kinds of places, especially forests such as these, and it wasn't too difficult to deal with them. These were weak enough that even Subaru could handle about two or three of them. But they could be a nuisance in larger numbers.
"I don't understand. I don't remember any Mabeasts from the story…" Crusch lifted her hand to grip the hilt of her sheathed sword.
"It's Subaru's fault, I suppose."
"As much as I would like to argue against that…. I can't really deny it, can I?"
Crusch had heard about it from Ferris and Wilhelm before, but apparently Subaru's scent attracted Mabeasts and Witch Cultists towards him. It was what they had used to their advantage to achieve victory against the White Whale and Sloth.
But right now, it wasn't doing them any good. Maybe coming to the forest really without more help really was a bad idea.
"MINYA!" Beatrice shouted as the dogs pounced towards them. Purple crystals materialised from her palms and shot out in all directions impaling all beasts in one clean sweep and Crusch was left looking at the sight in bewilderment. As far as she was aware, Yin magic was something that was used to obstruct an opponent's vision, sever him from sound, slow his movements, and the like. To see it used this way amazed her.
"Good job, Beako!"
"Don't let your guard down, in fact! More are coming, I suppose!"
At her warning, Crusch brought out her and swiftly took care of more of the approaching Mabeasts while Subaru pushed back a few with his whip. With the three of them, they were able to easily clear all the beasts that had attacked them. Once the path to the exit looked clear—
"Run!" Crusch shouted as all three started to run to the exit with all their might. At some point during their race for the exit, Subaru had picked Beatrice into his arms and his pace slowed down as he did.
There was still half the distance to the border of the forest remaining. It was then that Crusch decided. This was the moment she had been training for all this time. With her breathing rapid, her heart beating fast from all that running, her body fuelled by adrenaline, she turned around and, "One Blow, A Hundred Felled," she shouted as slashed her sword in the air and a short burst of wind emerged from it, only for it to fall flat, managing to push back the beasts only slightly.
For a moment, her error had left her completely vulnerable and that would have proved to be fatal when all of a sudden….
"I can Retur-"
The Ulgarms just stopped.
She wondered what had just happened when, "Subaru…?" A trembling voice called out from the opposite direction. The Ulgarms had stopped too and were growling in that direction too.
Subaru had put Beatrice down and was clutching his heart down as if in pain, making both the girls with him worried.
"It's nothing…," he said, with a troubled smile, taking a small step back as all the beasts' bloodshot eyes flared at him.
Beatrice shot out more purple crystals from her hand, but even then the incoming beasts had their attention solely on him. In addition, even more seemed to be appearing from the bushes.
"RUN!"
They began to once again make a rush for the exit when all of a sudden, the earth underneath them began shaking.
"What the…?" Subaru's eyes widened as the land right beneath their feet began rumbling and the resulting cascade of overgrowing rocks sent them all falling in separate directions.
In an attempt to avoid the onslaught of attacks by the beasts' maws trying to tear him to pieces he jumped up and rolled backwards into the trees where he was no longer visible by his two companions.
"Subaru!" Both the girls screamed in unison as they ended up getting separated from him in the process.
"MINYA! MINYA! MINYA!" Beatrice let out a barrage of attacks at the remaining Ulgarms as she got up and took the lantern from Crusch's hands and began to search for Subaru but was unable to spot where he had gone.
"Betty can't…." She cried, panicking. "Betty can't see Subaru, I suppose."
"Beatrice-sama, I…" It was Crusch's carelessness that had gotten them in this situation. Her body shivered as she tried to think of what to do.
"We need to find Subaru immediately, in fact! He's somewhere this way, I suppose!" She said, pointing her finger in the direction Subaru had disappeared. "You go get help! I'll go catch up to him, I suppose!"
Crusch's eyes widened. If Beatrice could track Subaru down, then—
"No, Beatrice-sama. I'll go find Subaru. You should go get help," she suggested.
Beatrice looked at her in anger. "What are you asking Betty to do-"
"Think about it, Beatrice-sama! Subaru is probably not too far from here, so I won't have a hard time finding him now. But if you went to search for him and I went to get help, I have no way of tracking down where the two of you are."
Beatrice grumbled a bit before nodding her head and rushing to the exit. Time was of essence in this situation and Beatrice didn't want to waste any time arguing. Crusch herself began to run in the direction Subaru had disappeared off in.
The path turned out to be a downhill slope, twigs and vines and pebbles on the forest floor threatening to upset her balance as she walked looking around. "SUBARU!" She called out his name, hoping to get a response when her feet tripped on one of the pebbles on the ground, sending her tumbling downwards.
It hurt. It pained a lot and she tried to break her fall by thrusting her sword into the forest floor when all of a sudden, "Crusch-san!" A familiar voice called out to her. With wobbling legs she got up, and looked in the direction of the voice. Her eyes widened.
There was a cave at the end of the slope and the Ulgarms stood there surrounding it. Subaru was probably inside it. What felt the most bizzare about the entire situation was that none of the Mabeasts were attempting to enter the cave. What was going on?
She brushed the dried leaves and dirt over her clothes and picked up her sword from the ground, knocking out the dogs one after another until she finally reached inside the cave. Her actual sword skills had proven to be more useful than her signature move as Ferris called it.
"Crusch-san," Subaru heaved a sigh of relief as he came into her view and as did Crusch at having been reunited with him. And then both looked out at the beasts surrounding the entrance of the cave. Though their numbers had gotten down quite a lot, Crusch needed a break.
As they watched the dogs prowling around the entrance, just how endless were they, the two were left wondering.
"How strong was your maid's brother exactly!? How on earth did he manage to cross this forest!?" Subaru complained as he paced back and forth in the cave in restlessness.
"I believe it has more to do with your scent than him being strong…" Although it was still a mystery as to why his scent caused the Mabeasts to be riled up so much.
"And where's Beatrice?"
"She went back to get help."
"I see." He sighed. "I'm sorry for getting you in so much trouble," he apologised, looking down but she shook her hands.
"No, we should have turned back from the very beginning itself. ….But I decided to carry forward anyway for the sake of my own selfishness." Crusch felt terrible. If she had been more careful, if she had been more prepared, none of this would have happened. If she hadn't lost her memories, none of this would have happened.
"It's not your fault, Crusch-san. No one could have known this would happen. …We were just unlucky," he said, the irony almost making her laugh if it wasn't for the fact that she felt… exhausted.
Here they were trying to search for a flower that granted good luck after having suffered through an unfortunate series of events. It sounded like these two needed the flowers more than Ferris and Wilhelm ever did.
"I wonder if Wilhelm-san also got into trouble like this when he was searching for those flowers." With a hand on his chin, he thought aloud, making Crusch turn towards him in surprise. "If Emilia-tan was here… maybe it would have been a good story to tell," he muttered.
"W-What do you mean?" She asked, tilting her head.
"It's embarrassing to admit, but…" He paused and scratched his cheek. "Like Wilhelm-san, I wish that I would fall in love with someone like that too… And maybe even tell stories about it in the future when I get older."
Crusch's eyes widened. His words were strange, almost as if implying—
"I thought that was Emilia-sama?" She asked.
"I want it to be Emilia… I really like Emilia and if she were to reject me, I would obviously cry," he answered as his eyes cast down and his fists clenched. She looked at her in concern as pain filled his eyes.
"What we want is not always what we get." A tired sigh emerged from her lips as he looked at her. "But I hope I'll get my happy ending nonetheless." He gave her a sad smile.
"Emilia-tan still has a lot to learn and grow before she can give an answer to my confession and quite frankly, I think she should take her time."
He stopped to look outside the cave, both their eyes now acclimated to the darkness, at the Mabeasts prancing around as they waited for help to arrive. They felt glad that none of the beasts were entering the cave but that set up another set of danger signals instead. Maybe it was just their paranoia in this situation making them feel that way. But Subaru's talking was at least helping them not pay attention to it.
"Emilia has that kind of time….," he said. "But… I would prefer to walk down the aisle… not be wheeled down it…." He chuckled at his own joke as he spoke, the pain in his voice not being lost to her.
Crusch stayed quiet after hearing his words. After all, what could she possibly say to someone who was waiting on an answer without ever knowing when it will arrive? He was definitely one of the people she trusted and admired the most. So she had to say something.
"...I'm sure… even if Emilia-sama ends up not being the one you wished… she would be grateful for all the help you've provided. It is not something that can be forgotten easily," she said. "…At least, I know I can't." With her hand placed on her heart, she directed a gentle smile his way as his eyes widened and he looked at her in surprise.
He looked at her for sometime, before turning his head away to look at the interior of the cave.
"...This cave looks totally dangerous, doesn't it?" He was digressing, but Crusch didn't want to pressure him if he didn't want to talk about it.
"I can agree with you on that," she said, touching the walls of the cave and inspecting them.
"You think this is the cave we were searching for?"
"It's… possible."
Subaru sighed. "A part of me really doesn't want to just stay sitting here after we've come this far after coming all the way here, but another part of me is screaming, 'What if it's connected to the belly of a giant Mabeast?' after seeing those damn dogs avoiding coming inside this place."
Subaru's wild speculation made a shiver run down Crusch's spine. His imagination sure was scary.
Crusch believed there was a different reason the Ulgarms were avoiding this cave though.
"You've noticed it too, haven't you? The scent?"
Ever since they had entered the cave, a sweet fragrance had wafted through the air… like flowers.
Subaru raised his eyebrows. "You think the fragrance is causing them to stay away?"
Crusch nodded her head. It seemed to be the most logical explanation. After all, even if the inside of the cave was dangerous, this area held no danger for them, and yet, they avoided coming near the entire area where the fragrance persisted.
"That—" He looked at the Mabeasts before looking back at her. "—might be the case." He sighed. "What do you think is causing this scent? Do you want to check it out?"
Crusch nodded. Maybe it might really be those flowers they had come searching for. Help was also arriving shortly so, maybe a quick trip would be fine.
Walking further into the cave, there was no longer any moonlight reaching inside. Subaru had rubbed two stones together and set a twig on fire and was using it as a torch. The cave was broad, but she still couldn't help but feel claustrophobic inside it.
"Here, Crusch-san, hold this," he said, picking up a pebble on the ground and handing her the torch as he proceeded to make a cross-shaped marking on the wall. It would help a lot on their way out.
The sounds of the pebble screeching against the wall reverberated throughout the cave making her feel nervous. The only other sounds in the cave were the periodic dripping of water drops falling onto the cave floor.
"...Do you think we are close?" She asked, as he dropped the pebble on the ground and turned to look at her.
"I hope we are…," he said, a cold sweat drenching his forehead as he took the torch back from her hand. They continued to move forward following the fragrance while marking their way in regular intervals. At the same time, they also had to rekindle the flames on a new twig everytime the previous one showed signs of dimming. It was hard trying to find one that would stay lit up, but thankfully they had a lot of materials on the cave floor to work with. A few more twists and turns until—
"—hk!" Subaru's breath hitched as his feet very nearly avoided slipping and falling into a large but shallow pit that came into view as they walked out into the opening.
The opening was as dark as the rest of the cave, the only thing illuminating the chamber was the light Subaru held. But that was not the worst part of what made them terrified as they laid their eyes on the pit.
"What the…?" Subaru voiced out.
On the floor of the pit, covered in its entirety, grew a field of yellow flowers even in the absence of any light. That was all the proof they needed to know that it was definitely the flowers they were searching for. But atop the field of flowers lay a horde of a variety of Mabeasts, from Majira to Banassi to others that she did not quite recognise, all of them asleep in different corners of the flower field. How were so many different kinds of beasts able to live so close together without conflict?
"Lucky flowers, my ass!" He whispered out in anger at the predicament they found themselves in.
"Subaru, I apologise for saying this but…," she turned to look at him in pity. "Maybe this is your bad luck at play here…" She trailed off.
"My bad luck is greater than the good luck of that field of flowers!?"
An unusually giant Majira, which happened to be a monkey-like beast, stirred in its sleep, its dagger-like fangs visible from inside its gaping maw while it yawned, making them both freeze in place. The fire on the twig that Subaru held crackled as they held their breaths, praying that none of the beasts would wake up from their slumber. The Mabeast went back to its slumber, having not noticed their presence and they both heaved a sigh of relief.
"...It's a good thing all the Mabeasts are asleep at this time…" Which meant she they were safe for the time being… or so she hoped, but—
"I… wouldn't count on it…," he said, his hand on his chin as she looked at him in confusion.
"I've seen it on the TV once but…," he whispered, leaving her wondering what tee-vee meant. "When different animals competing for the same resources live in the same area, they coexist by having different sleeping and feeding times."
Crusch's eyes widened. "You don't mean-"
"There might be something further in that maybe awake…" His words provided no comfort to Crusch as she bent down to inspect the edge of the pit.
The pit itself was a downhill rocky slope and from the gashes on the wall she deduced that the pit was not of a natural occurrence and had been chiselled out, which was not too far-fetched considering what Subaru had just said. Her eyes fell on the sharp claws of the Majiras. It was probably its handiwork, she assumed, seeing as they were the majority present in that area. It will prevent the other Mabeasts from crossing its territory, plus it had the bonus advantage of trapping uninvited guests. It was about a metre or two drop to reach the flowers and it was probably not too hard to get in but…
"What do you want to do? Shall we go down… or return back?" Subaru asked with a bitter expression as he handed Crusch the light, bent down and dangled his hands over the edge to try and reach into the pit of flowers, but his fingers just fell short of it.
Descending into the pit seemed like a bad idea. In case any of the Mabeasts woke up, climbing out and escaping would become next to impossible.
"Let us turn back…," she answered with a frown on her face, her amber eyes looking down in disappointment. They were so close, yet they could not do anything.
"Wait, Crusch-san! Maybe I still might be able to reach it with Invisi-"
"No, Subaru. Let us leave." She could not put him in danger anymore. They had to get out of this place fast.
Subaru, still on the ground, looked up at her in concern, but she gave him a smile to assuage his worries. But her sad smile could not convince him and he grit his teeth in frustration. Being so close and falling short was something he didn't seem satisfied with either. But they had no other choice.
With her head down, she turned around and started walking forward with her head down and began walking back. At her feet, she noticed severed broken yellow petals on the ground and she cursed herself for being unable to do anything. For failing in the very reason they had come here.
A thin breeze touched her skin as she lifted her head and to her shock, there stood three diverging paths before her. They had not noticed it while they were coming inside but now it had become a problem.
"Which path did we come from?" She turned around to ask Subaru, but—
—There was no one there.
"Subaru?" She looked around. But he was nowhere to be found. Did he get lost? Where did he go?
She would normally try her best to remain calm, but in a situation like this when she was separated from him, she couldn't help but panic. Should she shout for Subaru at the cost of waking the Mabeasts up, she wondered.
But before she could resort to any drastic measures, "I'm here Crusch-san," he said, and she heaved a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry. I had fallen a bit behind."
It was probably her fault. Without checking if he was following her, she had turned around and left. Even though he was the very reason she had abandoned her plans to escape, she had forgotten to ensure if he was safe. How could she have been so careless?
But he didn't seem even the slightest bit annoyed by her. Instead, he seemed worried about her. And that just made her feel even more restless.
The dark closed space they were in wasn't helping. She didn't like this place. She wanted to get out as fast as possible.
"Which way shall we go?" She asked in desperation.
"I guess I should have made a mark here…," he said, equally perplexed as to which way to go. "Shall we try all three paths one by one and see where I had made the mark?"
"That sounds too dangerous…" Especially now after all the Mabeasts they had seen in that opening with the flower field.
"In that case, can't you detect the path from where the breeze is coming?"
With a shaky breath, "Y-Yes," she nodded her head to try it once. She bit her lips as she tried to focus but—
"I can't tell where the breeze is blowing from." Her breathing wasn't even. Her senses felt all messed up. She had gotten them lost inside a cave at the centre of which lay a hoarde of Mabeasts and if she failed to find the exit soon, they would wake up. Even after troubling Ferris and Wilhelm so much, she still didn't learn her lesson. She had requested Subaru for help and put him in danger.
"Crusch-san, calm down." He grabbed her hand and pulled her to a stop.
"How can you be calm in a situation like this?" She shrieked and immediately closed her mouth, hoping the noise didn't wake any of the Mabeasts up.
"Crusch-san, it's alright. We can escape, you just need to calm down." He said, once again and she just watched him in shock. Wasn't he scared?
And then, her amber eyes fell on his hand that was holding hers.
It was shaking.
"Crusch-san, I don't think I know anyone out there who's more proficient in wind magic than you are. You can definitely lead us out, but for that you need to calm down."
"That was… my former self. My old self was the one… who was so good at everything," she said as Subaru's eyes widened. Her head looked down and verdant hair fell onto her face, but she did nothing to brush it away. "…My old self was strong and dependable and everyone expects great things from me and I keep failing to live upto their expectations…"
Sometime while she was speaking, she slumped down to the ground and Subaru had sat down beside her. There was a silence where neither of them said anything.
When Subaru finally broke the silence, "Are you an idiot?" was what he asked.
"Wha…?" Surprised, she turned her head towards him.
"No, you are an idiot." He said as she looked at him in shock. Crusch knew how foolish she could be sometimes, but she never expected him to point it out to her at a time like this. "There is no old you or new you. You're trying to speedrun through nineteen years of your life in a few months. Of course, it's going to be difficult," he said as she looked down. While what he said was correct, those were nothing but excuses.
"Look at me. I'm a pathetic loser and I was still able to help a little," he kept talking.
"...I think little is a bit-" On hearing him downplay his own achievements, Crusch tried to speak up to defend Subaru's achievements, but he didn't let her as he continued to speak.
"But unlike me, you're really amazing. I probably looked like an idiot when I was watching you slash the White Whale with your move. I remember how Rem had her mouth hung open watching you in awe." He laughed and her forehead furrowed.
"But that's not-"
"That is you," he asserted with certainty, without letting her voice out her inadequacies compared to her former self. "The reason this alliance between our Camps even exists is because that was what you judged was right, not because you were told so. I don't remember it being the old you who said that, was it?"
"I do not wish to know nothing, understand nothing, and simply be swept away. If a choice must be made, I want to make it on my own, and not do as others say—I intend to continue striving for that."
"Even losing your past did not stop you from losing your will." Crusch's amber eyes trembled as he talked, his black eyes looking at hers in acknowledgement of her achievements.
"Right now, you're inside a cave with the most powerless person in the world trying to find a mythical flower just to thank the people who helped you. You're one of the most honest, strong-willed, just and one of the most awesomest persons I know… and that hasn't changed even now."
As Subaru kept piling praises upon praises on her, she was left speechless. She wasn't sure if what he said really applied to her, but she did know that not once did the wind of untruth blow around him. He wasn't just saying it to cheer her up—he meant every word he said. And it made her feel so happy and her heart feel incredibly warm.
"It's frustrating to not be able to live up to the expectations placed on you… believe me, I know." He clenched his fists and lightly hit the wall as he frowned. "But even if it seems difficult to relearn everything… I know you can do it." Looking at her, he smiled. "Because you're still you and you're still amazing."
Her breath hitched.
Even though she had gotten them in so much trouble, he had still not lost faith in her. And looking at him, she wanted to live up to his expectations too. After he had praised her so much, she couldn't just sit there quietly as if she had given up.
—She was the one who brought them here, it was her duty to lead them out.
She stood up and dusted off her navy-blue jacket. With fierce determination in her eyes as she offered a hand to Subaru to help him stand up. He smiled and took her hand as they prepared themselves to find the exit again.
Trying to focus once again, she tried to follow the direction the breeze came from. After what seemed like a few minutes, "T-This way," she said, pointing in the direction of the rightmost path.
Subaru nodded his head at her and they began walking again. A few minutes later, when Subaru's mark on the wall came into view, she finally managed to calm down completely and heave a sigh of relief. There were not too many splits in the path after that, any trouble they had was solved with Crusch's help as well as the markings Subaru had made, although they did run into dead ends once or twice. She was at least grateful that they were lucky enough not to have encountered any other Mabeasts within them, unlike the rest of their trip.
As they finally reached the cave's opening, the moonlight greeted them as Crusch felt the cool spring breeze against her skin. She dropped the lit twig to the ground and it frizzled until the fire went out on the ground.
"Crusch-san, you did it!" Subaru cheered and she looked at him in happiness at having finally managed to be successful at something. Although she still regretted the fact that she could not get those flowers.
Their happiness was short-lived when—
"Grrrrrrr!"
Growls and screeches reached their ears and they turned around, only to greet a bunch of Ulgarms at the exit of the cave.
Crusch and Subaru looked at each other and then at the Ulgarms. They had two choices—to continue to wait for help to arrive; or to make a run for it through those Ulgarms. After the scene they had seen inside the cave and unsure of how many other Mabeasts may exist inside it, the second option was starting to look more favourable.
She took a deep breath as she lifted her right palm and traced the word for enemy on it with her left index finger. She did not know why she did that, but it did manage to calm her down.
"Get ready to run," she said and Subaru merely nodded his head.
She ran forward with Subaru beside her, her sword and his whip, clearing out the demon beasts as they ran through the forest towards the Capital. Their numbers seemed endless and it wouldn't be long before they would be overpowered by the hundreds that kept pouncing towards them… or rather Subaru.
All of a sudden—
"Stop right there, villains!" A voice resembling that of silver bells reached her ears.
"Emilia-san!"
"I don't think 'villains' is quite the right word for them, Emilia-tan!"
The silver-haired half-elf stood in the distance beyond the fence, trying to clear out the way for them.
The momentary distraction that Emilia had provided was just what Crusch needed. Taking a step back, with one foot forward and one foot backwards, she steadied her breath. Looking beside her, Subaru had absolute faith that she would succeed. So despite the situation, she had never been calmer in her life.
—It was now or never.
"One Blow… A Hundred Felled." She slashed her sword in the air and an invisible blade of wind blew out and knocked down several of the Ulgarms, clearing up the path to the outside.
In the end, she realised all she had to do was steady herself.
But frankly speaking, Crusch felt a little disappointed. Her move was still not as powerful as she had expected. Maybe her disappointment showed up on her face, because—
"Crusch-san, you're still at level one… or level two at most. This is just a start. You'll reach there eventually." He smiled and, looking at him, she relaxed too. "Now let's get the hell out of here before these dogs decide to chomp on me again!"
He grabbed her hand and they ran through the path she had cleared, until finally—
"Betty's contractor is in a lot of trouble, I suppose." Beatrice sighed as they greeted her after jumping over the fence.
"Eh?" Subaru's eyes looked back and forth between Beatrice and a worried but slightly angry Emilia, making him shrink back.
"Subaru-kyun, it looks like nyou have a death wish today." With a bright smile, Ferris stepped forward to greet them too as cold sweat drenched Subaru's forehead.
Subaru looked the most terrified he'd looked that entire night.
"What were nyou thinking!? Taking Crusch-sama alone into such a sketchy place?" As Ferris screamed at him from above, sitting on his knees, he had his head down and eyes shut as he bore the brunt of the scoldings.
They were back in the Karsten Manor's reception room and everyone watched as Ferris reprimanded him.
"Subaru, if you needed something, why didn't you call me? Please don't be so reckless all the time." With her hands clasped in front of her chest, Emilia scolded him too though her anger was more from a place of concern than truly blaming him.
He let out a small whine. "B-Beako… help me…" He whispered, turning his pleading gaze to her, but she only gave him a look of pity, without saying anything more.
Crusch felt sorry for him. Until now, not a single person in that room had pointed their fingers at her and she found it unfair. She was the one responsible, not him. She had to put a stop to this.
"If Beatrice-sama had not called us and we would not have-"
"Ferris, stop this!" She ordered her knight. "This entire incident is no one's fault but my own. So if there is someone to blame here, it is I. So punish me and not Subaru."
All eyes went wide as they turned in her direction, including Subaru's. Why was he so surprised in all of this? It really wasn't his fault in the first place, so why was he sitting quietly without raising a word of complaint when he was being scolded?
"Crusch-sama, nyou don't have to defend-"
"I'm not defending him. It is the truth. I was the one who requested him to accompany me into the forest. He even insisted on bringing Emilia-sama along, but I was the one who refused."
"Wait, Crusch-san, I-"
"Keep quiet, Subaru!" She immediately shut Subaru up from speaking any further. He looked at her in surprise but she paid him no attention as she continued, "The person who should be scolded here is me not him." Crusch declared with her head held high, sitting beside Subaru, ready to accept any punishment she would be given.
Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Ferris was especially troubled. She understood why he was all at a loss for what to do. It was easier to scold Subaru than to scold Crusch, but it was still no excuse to berate him when he had done nothing wrong. It also annoyed her how Subaru was accepting the fact that he was in the wrong. That attitude was something that had to be fixed, but that was for another day.
Emilia, Beatrice and Wilhelm let out a small breath of relief and smiled at her and Subaru, while Subaru looked at her in concern, biting his lip.
"Crusch-sama, why would nyou do that?" Ferris asked in desperation.
Crusch felt guilty. She had done all this to make them happy, but instead, she had caused them a lot of worry.
"I…" She hesitated. But then she shook her head and steadied herself. As Wilhelm had once advised her during one of their first sparring matches, she had to be strong. "I got a tip from someone that… there may be a field of flowers growing inside a dark cave. …I wanted to bring them for you and Wilhelm. They are known to bring good luck to the one who held them."
Wilhelm's eyes widened. "Crusch-sama, you-"
"You've done so much for me and… I've never been able to live up to your expectations. We found the flowers but we weren't able to bring any…"
"That is alright, Crusch-sama. It is the thought that-"
"Hold that thought, Wilhelm-san!" Subaru said all of a sudden. With a bright smile, he reached into his jacket pocket, only for his smile to immediately fall when crushed flowers emerged out of his pocket. "I couldn't save them…"
Crusch's eyes widened. When did he get those flowers? Was it that time she lost sight of him in that cave for a few minutes?
Wilhelm stepped forward and took those flowers from Subaru and into his hands. When he did, everyone's eyes widened as tears began to build up in his eyes.
"Forgive my behaviour. It seems even at my age, I still have far too much to learn." His blue eyes looked at Subaru and then at Crusch and he wiped off his tears with the back of his hand.
"No, it's…" Crusch tried to speak but was left speechless as he began bowing his head to the two of them.
"I thank you… with all my heart for giving me an opportunity to see this wonderful flower. I'm sure Theresia would be happy to see it too." He said, smiling as he made plans to visit his wife's grave the next day.
She turned to her side to see Subaru looking down and Emilia and Beatrice patting his head, trying to cheer him up. Crusch felt a little annoyed. He had no business being sad. He had at least managed to bring something back. It was still better than nothing.
"Crusch-sama…" A sniffing sound reached her ears. Her head turned to face Ferris, who had tears in his eyes as he hugged Crusch. "To think Crusch-sama would do so much for me." Tears began flowing out his eyes and onto Crusch's shoulders. "...You do not need to do anything dangerous for Ferri-chan. I… I'm just happy being here with you."
"...Talk about unfair treatment…" Subaru grumbled under his breath from beside her, and she noticed Emilia hitting his head lightly while Beatrice sighed, from the corner of her eyes.
Crusch smiled as she gently stroked her knight's head. Lifting his head up from her shoulders, she looked at his yellow eyes.
"I… I apologise for making you worry, Ferris," she said as she watched his eyes looking at her in worry. "I have not been a very good liege to both you and Wilhelm." She admitted.
"That's not-"
"But I want that to change," she said with conviction. "I… I know I'll continue to depend on you for sometime longer but…" She let out an exhale. "Even if I fail a few times along the way, when all of you believe in me so much, I cannot lose heart. —I'll continue to strive to be someone you're proud of."
As soon as the words left her mouth, everyone around her looked at her in amazement, which soon changed into smiles.
Ferris nodded his head with a smile and from beside her, "I told you. You're still the same as ever," whispered Subaru with a smirk on his face.
"In the end, all's well that ends well… I guess." Subaru said, as the Emilia Camp prepared to leave. Just as they were about to go, Crusch pulled him back to thank him once again for his help.
"It would seem so. Maybe next time, I'll be able to bring proper flowers for them instead of crushed ones."
"I'm sure you will," Subaru said, as he reassured her. He had been of great help to her and she wished to be able to thank him too along with Ferris and Wilhelm.
"Speaking of which…" Subaru began, but hesitated to continue.
"What is it?" She asked, tilting her head in curiosity.
"I guess there's no point now but…" He sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Here's one for you," he said as he presented her with a single honey-coloured flower, all bent out of shape.
Her eyes widened as her fingers took hold of the stalk. "When did you…? She began asking but stopped as her eyes saw the serious expression on his face.
"Since you were working so hard to get these flowers, I thought you should have one too," he said as a telling wind blew around him.
"That's a lie." Without a moment to spare, Crusch exposed him and his eyes widened. She began staring at him as he jumped to take a step back. Under her unrelenting gaze, he sighed and admitted defeat.
"Personally, I don't think you're the kind of person who needs luck or any such thing," he said as he averted his eyes away from her. "I'm pretty sure you'll be perfectly fine even without it."
"Then why did you bring…"
"I… I-It's a really stupid reason," he stuttered.
"What is it? And don't lie to me. I can tell if you're lying," Crusch demanded.
"I…" He hesitated and took a deep breath. Preparing himself, he screamed, "I just thought it matched the colour of your eyes!"
As the words left his lips, she saw his blood rushing to his cheeks painting it bright red. Her mouth hung open slightly in surprise. She soon smiled as she placed her hand over her heart, which was racing and felt so warm.
He was wrong. There were a lot of times when luck had helped her. Like today, for instance. Finding those flowers was an accidental stroke of luck but she did not wish to rely on her luck forever.
As she said earlier, she would continue to strive to be someone everyone was proud of. And if she continued to work hard, she hoped that maybe…
Just maybe…
—This would be the story he would tell everyone in the future when he got older.
