You, Subaru, and Rem stood across from Crusch, who was sitting at her desk.

Subaru cleared his throat, and declared, "I would like to propose an alliance between the Emilia, Crusch, and Hoshin camps on equal terms. To that end, I will provide the time and location of the White Whale's next appearance."

After hurried planning and action, the three of you had brought Russel Fellow along with Anastasia, who had already planned on coming to this meeting. Of course, you followed just about everything that happened in the anime, so negotiations should go well.

Wilhelm emitted a wrathful aura before calming down after hearing the whale's name. Not only was he surprised, but everyone else in the Crusch camp also looked befuddled.

"Subaru," started Crusch, "I am glad that you have recovered from your condition yesterday, but are you fine in the head? You have brought this many people to propose such an important deal, and you claim that you bear knowledge of something that nobody in this kingdom has been able to figure out?" She thought of something, and added, "But first, will you please explain why you brought up the White Whale?" She looked at him, waiting for an answer.

You wanted to explain, but you let Subaru talk since he was the one who was supposed to have figured this out. "Well, I'll just have to explain what happened from the start. I knew that the Witch Cult will be attacking Roswaal's domain in two days, so I knew that I needed to form an alliance in order to defeat it. I have this metia, which tells me when and where the White Whale will appear next, and believe that this will help in your plan to kill the whale." He took his flip phone out of his pocket, and showed it to Crusch. Thankfully, he saw the time when he first encountered the whale, so he knew when it was going to appear.

While she and Felix were examining it, Crusch asked, "If I may ask, why do you assume that I plan to subjugate the White Whale? This is not an assumption that can be made lightly."

"Well, I actually noticed that there was unusual traffic coming in and out of this place, and a lot of the carriages in the capital are sold out. Then, I actually met Anastasia and we discussed things, and I learned that you were collecting carriages and weapons. I figured that you were planning something big, and when I heard that there was a fog covering the highway, it was easy to connect the dots." Subaru technically wasn't lying, so Crusch couldn't say anything about this.

Everyone turned their head to Anastasia, who nodded her head. "Yep. We had a little chat, and he actually asked me to come here a couple of days ago."

Before this negotiation, you had asked Anastasia to just accept the parts of Subaru's story that concerned her. You told her that Subaru had actually learned about Crusch's plan through a different method, but he didn't want Crusch knowing about it. Being a merchant, Anastasia understood and agreed.

After Anastasia spoke, Russel Fellow decided to talk. "And I am here because the blue haired maid contacted me, and Subaru-dono also proposed to share the mining rights to the magic stones in Elior Forest, a part of the Emilia camp's territory."

To be honest, you liked your idea about proposing to share the future inventions, but Subaru said that Crusch rejected that idea before, so you stayed on the safe route and followed the original plot.

Crusch sat back in her chair. "So, if I have this straight, you propose to share the mining rights to these magic stones and provide the location and time of the White Whale's next attack in order to form an alliance between the Crusch, Anastasia, and Emilia camps?"

Subaru nodded his head. "That's right."

Crusch sighed. "I find this difficult to believe, but I can tell that you are not lying."

Subaru sat forward. "Does that mean that you'll agree to the alliance?"

Before Crusch could answer, Anastasia interrupted. "Just so ya know, I agree to it. As a merchant, the White Whale is a nuisance that I would like to dispose of, so this benefits me greatly! That, and the magic stones would be a valuable recourse to have too!"

Russel Fellow nodded in agreement. "If you accept this, Crusch-sama, magic stones from pristine veins will be distributed through you. As the representative of the merchant guild, I do not want this chance to pass by."

Crusch rested her chin on her hands, deep in thought. "You are all aware that my decision will affect the outcome of the royal selection, and even the kingdom's very future, correct?"

Everybody nodded their heads, but before Crusch could talk anymore, the final person arrived.

Reinhard van Astrea walked into the office, making eye contact with everyone except for Wilhelm. "I apologize for my tardiness. An issue had arisen , and I needed to take care of it."

Crusch looked at Subaru again. "What part does the Master Swordsman play in this negotiation? I do not believe that you have mentioned him yet."

Subaru grinned. "Actually, he is here by himself. I talked to him yesterday, and he agreed to help us defeat the whale. However, Felt wasn't interested in an alliance, so he will not be representing her."

"This is correct," affirmed Reinhard. "But I would like to note that the kingdom has restricted me from fighting unless it is necessary."

Everyone then looked at Crusch, waiting for her to finish her anwer.

"As I stated before, my decision will make a large impact on the future of this kingdom..." As she said this, you couldn't help but feel nervous. You were pretty sure that Crusch was about to agree, but that didn't stop you from feeling uncertain.

She sighed. "I still have several questions, but I must say that it was brilliant of you to uncover my plans."

You fight the urge to roll your eyes. If it wasn't for you, it would have taken Subaru much longer to pull this together.

"I have questions, along with doubts. Many things are still unclear to me, but I can tell that you are not lying. With this said, I still have difficulty agreeing immediately, but..." She stood up. "I will choose to trust your eyes and the spirit that led you to create this situation!"

I guess I'm a spirit now.

You bit your tongue and tried not to laugh. Crusch was being very dramatic and showering Subaru with praise. If only she knew...

While you were suppressing your laugh, Subaru and Crusch shook hands. For some reason, Russell decided that he should narrate this. "So, the deal is struck."

Once he shook her hands, Subaru sat back down, exhausted. Anastasia went to talk to him, and you decided to go talk to Crusch.

"Crusch-sama, I would like to thank you for making this deal. Defeating the White Whale is a huge deal, and it means a lot to us that you would make this alliance knowing that the Witch Cult will be attacking Emilia soon."

She smiled. "I would say that it is thanks to Natsuki-san that this was able to happen, but that isn't the whole story, is it?" She looked at you and grinned.

You chuckled, and scratched you head. "Well... I will admit that I helped him, but that doesn't mean that anything that he did was any less admirable."

Crusch smiled warmly when you said that. "I can tell that you are a great friend to Natsuki-san. I heard that you were the one who cured whatever it was that was ailing his mind yesterday, and I can tell that you are a good person."

She looked cute when she smiled like that, but that is besides the point. "Thanks, I guess. I'm just trying to make everything go the best that it can, so yeah..."

You awkwardly stare at each other for a moment, but you break eye contact and wander elsewhere.

Anastasia was still talking to Subaru, and Reinhard began talking to Crusch.

I hope that everything will go right... I know that we have more than enough manpower, but I still can't shake that uneasy feeling...

All of a sudden, Anastasia loudly declared, "Well, as you're gettin' ready for the subjugation and such, don't forget to patronize the Hoshin Company!" She began to walk out of the door, but you walk after her.

At the same time, Crusch was impressed. "You paved the way before negotiations began? You are surprisingly shrewd, Natsuki Subaru. Now, Reinhard..."

The rest was cut off as the door closed behind you.

"Hey Anastasia, before you leave, I just wanted to thank you again for letting me train with Julius. These past few days have completely changed me, and have definitely set the pathway for me to become a lot stronger. I really appreciate it."

She grinned. "Of course. It was Julius's idea, so don't forget to thank him." She almost left, but seemed to remember something. "And don't forget to buy from the Hoshin Company!"

You nodded your head as you watched her walk down the hall. You turn back, and when you opened the door, you saw Wilhelm bowing to Subaru. "Thank you. I offer you gratitude equal to what I offer to my lady, Duchess Crusch Karsten."

Subaru was taken aback by this, and looked at you. "W-well, I couldn't have done this alone. You should also thank Rem and (Y/N). Without them, this would not have happened."

Wilhelm then offered you his gratitude, which you accept with a nod of your head. "Now, you are probably aware," he said, "but allow me to properly introduce myself. My family name is Astrea. I took the former Sword Saint , Theresia van Astrea, as my wife, giving me the honor of the bloodline's lowest seat. Reinhard there is my grandson."

Subaru was shocked about this but you already knew, because who wouldn't figure it out? They literally have to same last name.

"WHAT?! I didn't know that Reinhard was your grandson!" Subaru exclaimed.

Wilhelm finally looked at Reinhard. "Actually, if you do not mind, my lady, there was something that I would like to discuss with my grandson..."

After Crusch gave a small nod, Reinhard uncomfortably followed his grandfather out of the room, and into a separate room.

You noticed that this was the first time that you saw Reinhard look nervous.

Crusch saw you looking at them, so once they were gone, she explained, "While the former Sword Saint was fighting the White Whale, her blessing of the Sword Saint suddenly transferred to Reinhard, which led to her death. Wilhelm blamed Reinhard for this, so they never had a stable relationship."

Subaru faked a laugh. "O-of course I knew that! Using this knowledge, I asked Reinhard to come in order to repair-"

Crusch interrupted him. "The wind of untruth blows around you."

Time Skip

It is now nighttime, and you were trying to sleep. Of course, with the many knights, magicians, mercenaries, ect., preparing for the oncoming battle, you couldn't fall asleep even though you felt worn out.

Julius was the reason that you felt so tired. He said that you had to continue with his training routine every day. That meant a full hour dedicated to basic strength training and another hour to swordsmanship.

You had also learned how to use a Yang spell, but you didn't want to show it off yet. You have a little more control over your gate than Subaru does, so you can actually use your mana to cast spells without blowing yourself up. After its grand reveal, you would have to practice using magic every day in order to master it.

You didn't want to admit it, but Roswaal's one lesson was actually very useful, and it was the reason that you were able to learn a spell while you were with Julius.

On a completely different topic, you were trying to figure out how you would convince everyone not to send to villagers to the Sanctuary, where they would be held hostage and probably die.

Maybe Subaru can find a good way to direct the villagers somewhere else. Or maybe we can ask Rem and see if she has any good ideas.

You lost your train of thought when you began to doze off.

"Hey (Y/N)? Are you awake?" Subaru's voice woke you up as soon as you fell asleep.

You groaned. "I am now. What's up?"

Subaru looked sorry for waking you up, but he kept on talking to you. "Well, I'm a little nervous about tomorrow. The White Whale is going to be hard to beat, and then we will have to fight the Witch Cultists." He looked worried, and you knew how he felt.

"I understand. But don't worry. We have Reinhard with us, so everything will be fine." You yawn, and continue. "Would it make you feel better if Reinhard helped against the Witch Cultists? We will have to evacuate all the villagers together, so we can have Wilhelm and maybe Julius protect them along with some other people. Reinhard can help you kill Betelguese, so would that be fine?"

When you mentioned the name of the Archbishop of Sloth, Subaru was visibly angry. "And you said that Betelguese can possess people after he dies, right?"

"Yep. First, you need to kill all of his 'fingers'. When he can't possess them, he will try to possess you. When he does that, you just need to try to tell someone about your ability, and then he will be ejected from your body. Then you need to make sure that you kill his actual body one more time."

Subaru reached into his pockets, and brought out a piece of paper. It was the note that you had left him. "And we also need to check for explosives in all of the carriages, right?"

Once again, you nod your head. "Yep. And make sure that nobody gets sent to the Sanctuary. They will become hostages and will possibly die."

Subaru looked confused because he had no idea what the Sanctuary was. "Well," you explain, "The Sanctuary is actually the final resting place of Echinda, the Witch of Greed, and Roswaal is going to try to send you and Emilia there so that he can make you become like him or something."

This only confused Subaru more. "Don't worry about it. I'll explain more when all this is over." With this, you closed your eyes. "And now, just let me sleep. I don't feel like falling asleep while I fight a whale."

Subaru had other ideas. "Actually, I have one last question."

You sigh, and open your eyes again. "What is it?"

"Well, I was wondering where you would be during all of this. From what it sounds like, you won't be fighting the Cultists with everyone else."

You smirked. Subaru was smarter than you gave him credit for. "Well, I'm actually going to accompany the people who are taking the corpse of the White Whale to the capital. There's going to be trouble on the road, so I'm going to make sure that they take a different route."

This explanation satisfied him. "Oh, ok. I guess that I'll leave you alone now. Good night."

"Good night," you reply as sleep finally overtook your exhausted body.

You woke to the sound of someone's voice. "(Y/N), wake up!"

"WILL YOU STOP WAKING ME UP?!" You keep your eyes closed and try to fall back to sleep. All of these interruptions were getting on your nerves.

"Well, I am sorry to bother you, but it is already daybreak, and we will be leaving shortly."

You open up your eyes, and you immediately regret what you just said. In front of you was Reinhard van Astrea. And you pretty much told him to screw off.

You bolt up, and apologize. "Oh, I'm sorry about that! I didn't sleep well last night, and I thought that you were someone else..."

He smiled. "Don't worry about it. Now, you can have breakfast over there," he pointed to where everyone was eating something. "And when you are done, you should report to the main hall of Crusch-sama's mansion. All of the participants in the subjugation of the White Whale will gather there before departure."

You ate breakfast, and the rest of the day went by in a flash. After you ate, you went to Crusch's mansion, where you talked to some people from Anastasia's camp, and met the soldiers who all had a grudge against the White Whale. To be honest, you were touched by the fact that some old men who knew that they didn't stand a chance against that monster would battle it for the sake of their fallen comrades and loved ones.

After that, you spent some time traveling to the site of the battle. You rode with Subaru and Rem on Patrasche, the reliable ground dragon. You weren't sure if she could handle three people, but she looked just fine.

On the way there, Anastasia's mercenary captains approached you.

"Hello (Y/N)! Hello strangers! I'm Mimi!" The adorable fluff ball put her arms in the air, and you couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"Hey Mimi!" You shout.

Subaru and Rem echoed your response, and they introduced themselves.

Riding beside Mimi was one of her brothers. In a much more reserved manner, he introduced himself. "My name's Hetaro. Nice to meet you. Hey (Y/N)."

"Yep. Nice to meet you too," replied Subaru. He looked at Mimi, and was amazed at the stature of the mercenary vice-captain. "I didn't really doubt it, but you really are the vice captain... Who knew that a little ball of energy such as you was so strong!"

She grinned at that comment. "Yep. And when I'm with Hetaro, we're the strongest!"

You nodded your head. "Yeah, trust her, Subaru. Their strength is no joke. Julius had me practice fighting against them once, and they utterly destroyed me. If it weren't for my regeneration, I would have been in big trouble."

Hetaro looked apologetic. "Once again, I am sorry about that, (Y/N). I told Mimi to hold back, but you know..." He stopped talking when Mimi started giggling, and he had to hold her up to keep her from falling off of her Riger, which was a lion/dog (?) thing.

All of a sudden, you heard a voice from the other side of you. "What's up, bro? Why ya looking so down?"

You looked to your left, and saw Ricardo, Anastasia's mercenary commander. You were confused at first because you didn't think that you looked gloomy. It was only when Subaru replied that you realized that Ricardo wasn't talking to you.

"Who's fault is that?" asked Subaru. "We're about to fight a huge whale, and you're not exactly a soothing guy."

Ricardo avoided this comment, and shifted his focus to you. "(Y/N), what's up? How ya feelin?"

You shrugged. "Well, I'm not really nervous right now, but I probably will be later on. It hasn't really hit me that I'm about to fight a great beast that has been killing people for centuries."

Ricardo laughed. "Well, after tonight, it ain't killin any more!" He proceeded to ride off, and Mimi and Hetaro followed.

Once he rode past you, he started to talk to some other soldiers.

Rem, who hadn't spoken in a while, said, "It looks like Ricardo-sama is trying to ease everyone's nerves."

Subaru still looked apprehensive, so you said some comforting words. "Hey, don't worry. We have some of the best fighters in this world here with us, so we'll be fine." You then paraphrased one of the manliest men ever to exist. "If you can't believe in yourself, believe in the people who believe in you."

This made Subaru smile as the silhouette of the Flugel Tree finally became visible in the red horizon.

Time Skip

It was now nighttime again, and you watched as Subaru looked like he was going to cry as Rem talked to him.

"Well, they might not carve their names into this tree, but why shouldn't I? At least I can say that I've actually left a mark here..." You were joking about that.

Well, joking about leaving a mark on the world. You've already done that.

Unsheathing the sword that you had been given by Julius as a 'training graduation' gift, you carved your initials into the tree.

"Hehe..." Suddenly, you froze as you could feel someone's gaze on your back. You turn around, and Rem's eyes stared straight into your soul.

You were sure that she was going to chastise you later, but that was a good thing. A Rem who could get mad at you was better than a Rem who nobody remembered.

You then notice that Subaru was talking to Wilhelm. Before you walked over to them, you noticed that Reinhard was also watching them from afar.

So instead of listening to Wilhelm's story, which you have heard before, you decide to talk to the Sword Saint.

You made your way to him without being noticed by Subaru and Wilhelm. "Hey Reinhard, are you feeling fine? I've heard the basics of your story, and if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but is there anything that you want to get off your chest?"

He smiled. "I am glad to have befriended a man like you, (Y/N). Since you worry about me, it is only fair that I let you know what is going on." He took a deep breath. "I won't bother you too much with the past, but I am currently worried about my grandfather. For years, we haven't even spoken to each other, and now, we have been brought together to kill the beast that has tormented his heart."

He looked uneasy, then admitted, "He had blamed me for my grandmother's death, and he actually apologized to me at the mansion."

This surprised you. "Really? He apologized? I didn't know that that was how he felt."

Reinhard gently smiled. "My grandfather has many layers to him, just like many of us do." He looked up at the stars, letting his emotions spill out to you. Getting back on track, he continued. "But I forgave him. It is not my place to say that I understand his feelings, but I do feel that his grudge is not one for me to hold against him."

You were amazed at what the knight was telling you. You don't really know this guy, but he is telling you so many intimate things.

"So now, I am worried that he will overexert himself in this oncoming battle. I do not wish for him to be severely injured in this coming conflict. The only thing that I can do is trust in him and the rest of my comrades..."

You clicked your teeth. "Why did the kingdom tell you to not get involved unless it is necessary? Would it not be better to have you one-shot it and get it over with?"

Reinhard smiled playfully. "Ah, if it were only that simple. I am afraid that my power may be a little too much for the kingdom's comfort."

You thought about that, and reached a conclusion. "So, they're afraid of you? Why? You're literally one of the last people who would make me worry."

He nodded his head in appreciation for your words. "Thank you for those kind words, but I cannot go against the kingdom's wishes. I can't even go past the borders for others fear that I would destroy other countries." He laughed, and you couldn't tell if he was joking about that last part or not.

You were going to continue the conversation, but then you heard Crusch shout, "Everybody, get in position! The White Whale will be appearing soon!"

You wanted to check your phone for the time, but it was already dead, so you had left it at Crusch's place. At this point, it only served to waste space. Battery life is the only thing that flip phones were good for.

Time Skip

You were now on Patrasche, waiting for Subaru's alarm to go off. While you waited, you went over the plan in your head.

It was actually pretty simple: you, Subaru, and Rem would ride around and act as bait while everyone else attacked the mabeast. Well, Rem would also be attacking it, so it was really you and Subaru that acted as bait.

While yours was weaker, the smell of the Witch also came from you, so you decided that you could stay with Subaru and potentially act as a diversion if things got rough.

You looked around, and saw that everybody else was also waiting anxiously. You looked for Reinhard, but he was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, he was like a huge mana beacon, so he had to stay far away from the magicians, or they wouldn't be able to cast their spells.

Speaking of spells, you had a good one that you were excited to use. It was actually an original spell, and it would play a pretty significant role in this fight. You had kept it as a secret so that you could use it as a surprise, and it will totally be worth seeing the reactions on everyone's faces.

Subaru's phone went off, and played a tune that definitely did not set the mood.

Everyone looked around, waiting to see the huge monster that was supposedly going to appear now. Right when people started to have doubts, there was a cry. "Look! In the sky!"

You looked up, and sure enough, it was there.

The White Whale has appeared. It's time to go hunting.

Subaru urged Patrasche forward, straight towards the huge beast. Looking back, you could see that many of the soldiers were paralyzed. Seeing that they needed some inspiration, you yell, "SHINZOU WO SASAGEYO!"

Hehe. I always wanted to say that.

With a loud battle cry, the rest of the small army followed you.

"Subaru. Rem. When we get closer to that thing, I'm going to cast a spell at it, so make sure to give me a clear shot."

This surprised them. "Seriously?" Subaru yelled. "When did you learn magic?!"

"Okay, (Y/N). I trust that you know what to do." Rem replied with the better answer, but you still answered Subaru.

"I learned it while I was training! It turns out that magic isn't too hard as long as your gate doesn't suck!"

Subaru wanted to come up with a witty reply, but he was silenced when the White Whale began to come straight at you.

Seeing that this was an opportune moment, you readied your spell.

Okay. Just imagine it...

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. When you opened your eyes, the While Whale was practically beside you.

And cast it!

"Strahl!"

A bright ball of light suddenly appeared in between your palms, and it shot out in a focused beam of light. It was pretty much a laser.

You hit your target - the White Whale's eyes.

It screeched in pain, and you pumped your fist victoriously. You had blinded one of its eyes, so fighting it will be a lot easier now. The truth was, your magic wasn't strong enough to do any physical damage, but your light was bright enough to blind things.

"Wow! That's so cool! You might have to teach me some spells, because I want to do that!" Subaru was impressed, so you didn't tell him that the chances of you teaching him were pretty much zero, unless he just wanted some advice.

Others, such as Crusch, were also impressed. When she saw your attack hit its mark, she grinned and proceeded to signal for the magic users to use Al Goa, a fire spell. At the same time, she also sent a great slash to the beast. She swung her sword, and a massive cut appeared on the Whale's side. Then, a cascade of fire rained down on it.

There was a huge dust cloud, and the Whale grew silent.

"Be careful, it's probably not dea-"

All of a sudden, the Whale appeared next to you, and Patrasche had to make a hard turn in order to avoid it.

Unfortunately, you were thrown off of her since you didn't exactly expect for this to happen. After brushing yourself off, you looked up, and there was only one thing that you could say.

"Uh oh..."

The While Whale released a thick fog, and you were the first person of the night to fall prey to it.

Hey guys!

I'm sorry that I couldn't post a chapter last week, but I'm back on schedule now!

I'd like to thank BizzareWires again for their help. This book wouldn't be the same if it wasn't for them!

The Whale Wars will continue next week, so I'll see you next time!