Re: Avenger

by Just-Another-Marvel-DC-Geek

CONTINUATION IN CROSSOVER SECTION The arrival of a certain young hero shows the world of the Od Laguna just how small it truly is. Basically, Subaru is MCU Spidey and the Re:Zero cast meet Marvel Multiverse madness. Sounds fun, right? (First fic. Shamelessly posting in both regular and crossover sections for reach.)

11. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Battle Preparations

"…"

"…"

"…n…"

"…"

"…un…"

"…aru-kun…"

"Subaru-kun!"

"!" With a jolt of surprise, Subaru fell from his chair and dropped onto the floor. "Wha-?!" The young man could not process his surroundings. The world around him felt warm. A sunny afternoon if he had ever seen one. The light, however, was blinding.

"Subaru-kun?!" Someone said in alarm. It was a familiar voice… But it was not possible. This voice belonged… to someone who wasn't supposed to be alive. "Are you alright?!" The feminine voice felt closer to him all of a sudden. Right beside him, in fact. Subaru dared not to look upwards, to the voice calling out to him, standing over him. He dared not look. He dared not look. He dared not-

"…Rem?" The boy whispered with an aghast face the moment he gazed towards the voice. The owner of said voice… was the blue maid, whose corpse he had held in his arms just some moments ago.

"Y-Yes, it's me! Your Rem!" His smell got stronger all of a sudden! The oni thought as she crouched and grabbed him by the shoulders, attempting to get him to stand up.

"Rem…" The broken man muttered once more as she contemplated her form.

"Yes, it's me, Rem…" The worried girl answered again.

"Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem!" Subaru desperately hugged the maid while crying.

"Subaru-kun?!" The blushing servant, surprised by his action and the tightness of his embrace, stuttered. "U-Um! S-Subaru-kun! I-I'm glad you are being mo-more forceful! But-!"

"Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem Rem!"

"…" She managed to reign in her emotions as he kept insanely rambling. With a worried expression, she reached to the back of his head with her own hand and started softly caressing it, as though she was petting a frail animal. "Subaru-kun… It's alright… I'm here…" The girl whispered soothingly into his ear as he cried.

"REM!" Subaru's dam broke. The tears and snot spilled in an ugly fashion as he desperately held her. "REM!"

"Rem." From the young man's wrist, a robotic voice called out to the maid.

"Karen-sama?" The worried servant responded. "What is going on? Is it… his heart-rate again?"

"No… It's his brain waves." The A.I. answered.

"Brain waves?" The preoccupied maid wondered once again.

"REM!"

"Indeed." Karen confirmed. "It's as though… he went through a sudden change in moods all of a sudden. They registered a rather cheerful behavior right now… and then, from one second to another, they plummeted into a manic state."

"Could it be…?"

Karen noticed the girl's nervousness. "You have a theory?"

"…His smell." Rem nodded.

"The 'Witch's Scent'… What about it?"

"It spiked suddenly. Right after they served the food…" The maid glanced towards the waiters inside the restaurant through the entrance to the balcony.

"It's not the food." Karen denied the surging theory of food poisoning. "It's something else entirely…"

"REM!"

"…For the moment, why don't we wait until he recovers enough for us to consult him?" The girl patted her hero's head once again.

"…Understood." Karen reluctantly agreed, succeeding in concealing her worry for Subaru purely by the fact that she possessed no body for Rem to notice any disturbance.

The pair stood still for some minutes as the young man took in everything around him. By the time he had calmed down, the food on their plates had already gone cold and the sky was partially covered by a cloud that hid the sunlight. Subaru let go of Rem for a moment and leaned on the veranda of the balcony. His eyes were closed as his face was stuck on a frown, his right hand posed in a fist over his mouth as he awaited in deep thought.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Subaru-kun?" Rem asked nervously, noticing the disturbed state of her partner.

"…" Subaru, however, remained silent. Was that… Real? All of that?

"It's the White Whale!"

"We can't just leave you here!"

"ITHURTSITHURTSIT…"

"…If you need blame anyone, blame Roswaal…"

"…THE WITCH CULT."

"…" Subaru slowly opened his eyes as a droplet of sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Um…" Noticing the exhaustion of the boy, the blue oni muttered once more.

"…Karen." The young man turned to look at the view over the balcony with a serious gaze while calling out to the program on his wrist.

"What is it?"

"…Can you deploy the Iron Spider's recon drones? All four of them." The Avenger commanded. "I want you to run a scan inside the forest, around the mansion and the village, to be specific."

"On it." The A.I. responded.

"Also, can you capture some images from the Lifaus Highway? By the altitude of the Flugel Tree…"

"Consider it done."

"Subaru-kun?" Rem whispered the man's name as she looked at him with nervousness.

"…" Subaru then stepped away from the veranda while walking back to the position Rem and him had been standing on, staying still right beside her before gazing back at the girl and speaking once again. "Rem… the truth is… I…"

"Yes…?" Rem attempted to cut short his stutters with some slight reassuring by rubbing his back with her left hand.

"Truth is… Just now… I di-" The world stopped. The wind stopped. The light stopped. Rem stopped.

What?! Subaru thought with panic as the black mist surrounded him, paralyzing his movements and manifesting the images of shadow hands once more around him. The hands danced with cheer as they coldly but gently caressed his face before moving onto holding his heart and mercilessly crushing. The pain flooded throughout him immediately, spreading, spreading and spreading within his mind until… "GACK!"

"Subaru-kun?!" Rem held him again as he fell forward with a gasp. "The smell!"

"Another dysrhythmia?!" Karen warned.

"Hah… Hah…" After some more minutes of rest, Subaru sighed tiredly as he regained his bearings once more while Rem held him. "Th-This is…" So it's the same deal as the snap?! I cannot talk about it?!

"Y-You don't have to talk about it if it's too difficult!" The maid yelled with worry. "Look, just… We can sit back down and-"

"Rem." Subaru interrupted her words as he let go of her. "What day is it today?"

"Huh?" The girl tilted her head in confusion. "What are you-?"

"When do you leave for Roswaal's mansion?" He kept questioning without looking at the woman.

"Uh… Tomorrow night…? I don't understand, Subaru-kun… I told you this right now…?" Rem reasoned as the strange behavior of the man she loved confused her.

"Tomorrow night…?" He whispered in realization. "Then…" It can't be… can it? Was that… all of that… a vision of the future? Or did I… Did I just travel through time…? Is it- Is it like a residue from the Time Stone's cosmic energy or something?!

"Subaru." Karen contacted her user once again. "The satellite is currently floating over the Lifaus Highway, as you requested."

"…Karen. Display footage."

"Understood." From the wrist of the man a hologram projecting the live feed of the Flugel Tree showed a similar image to the one Subaru had seen back before his encounter with the whale… The form of the monster floating around the trunk of the great tree.

"What the-?!" Rem suspired in alarm at the image. "Subaru-kun! That's the-!"

"The White Whale." Subaru spoke before the maid could conclude. "It's waiting around the area of the Flugel Tree right now… And it probably will still be there come tomorrow night, when we leave."

"What?!" The maid screamed with panic. "But-But why would it be-?!"

"The Witch Cult." The young man continued stoically.

"…" Rem's skin turned pale as her eyes widened and her fists shook. "What did you say…?"

"Karen?" Subaru asked for his virtual partner. "You have anything for me yet from Arlam?"

"…I do." From Subaru's left wrist, another display was projected, showing photos of black-clad hooded figures congregating around a cave. At the center of their formation, the same green-haired smiling man Subaru had seen frozen back in the mansion's garden.

"!" The maid furiously glared at the image. "This is Arlam's forest?! Subaru-kun, what is going on?!"

"Rem, in two days from now the Witch Cult is going to attack Arlam and Roswaal's Mansion." Subaru looked at her with a look of uneasiness while trying to maintain a composed tone. "And the White Whale is probably working with them to prevent anyone from riding in there to help."

"WHAT?!" The oni's eyes shined with a mix of fear and wrath as her horn manifested. "THOSE… BASTARDS!"

"Rem, Rem, listen to me." Subaru attempted to calm down his companion. "You need to cool your head, we don't have much time now."

"…" The glowing horn in the girl's forehead retreated, turning invisible once more. Alongside that, she managed to maintain her emotions in check, although barely, by holding onto Subaru. "Wh-What do we do…?"

"Well... First, we are gonna have to cancel our date for tomorrow." The boy joked, trying to comfort her from her dangerous mental state.

"…That's cruel…" Rem lamented with a chuckle, although her giggle possessed no emotion.

"…Yeah." Subaru admitted while rubbing her back. "…You said that you needed to achieve an alliance with Crusch, right?"

"Y-yes…" Rem lamented as her efforts since the Selection's inauguration had borne no fruits.

"I'll do you one better…" Subaru smiled while whispering the beginnings of a plan into her ear.

"!" Rem flinched in surprise. "Bu-But you are not part of the camp anymore!"

"…"

"I expected YOU to back me!"

"YOU WERE IN HER LAST THOUGHTS… YOURS WAS THE NAME SHE LAST WHISPERED. I WAS MERELY HONORING THAT MEMORY."

Although the memories and guilt weighed heavily in Subaru's memories, there were words from his past world that also resonated within his heart.

"What if somebody had died tonight? Different story, cause that's on YOU. And if you die… I feel like that's on me. I don't need that on my conscience."

…I think I finally understand what that meant… to fear the responsibility of having to take care of someone else's life… I don't know if I'm ready to join someone's team again anymore… The insecurity of seeing so many corpses ate away at the hero's resolve.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here… But I promise. I WILL avenge you…"

"I swear I will save you Emilia."

But his prior words would not allow him to just abandon them to their fate. If I know the destiny they are to suffer… There's no way I could ever run away! Nevertheless… I feel as though my arm was being twisted here. Was this part of Roswaal's machinations? It just doesn't make sense… But I can't bear to see them die. I can't bear to see HER die… It'd break my heart to see another corpse… Emilia…

"…Don't mistake this, Rem." Subaru warned once more. "I already said I'm not returning to the camp… I just… said I would help you. After that… we'll see."

"I-I understand." The maid made a reluctant face for a second before mustering up her resolution once more. "But even so… I have faith in you, my hero."

"…" Subaru remembered the soulless eyes of her corpse the moment she professed her trust in him, feeling miserable by the fact that he had already failed her. "…Alright. Before we get to the plan, I need to know what privileges Roswaal allowed you to negotiate in order to establish an alliance with Crusch."

"Privileges?" Rem wondered for a second before answering. "Um… the mining rights to pyroxenes and minerals within Ellior Forest…"

"Alright, then, here's the detailed plan…"

Night had fallen over the Capital, which was now illuminated by the radiation from the oil lamps and luminous stone lanterns lining the streets, the moon and starlight obfuscated by the artificial lighting. The theatres and taverns opened their gates, welcoming any clients to waste away in entertainment and drinking. At this precise time, Duchess Crusch Karsten would normally be found enjoying dinner by the balcony of her estate. Instead, however, she had been convinced by the guest within her abode to hold a rather important meeting in her office. One that would greatly affect the fate of her land.

"What did you just say?" The surprised noblewoman uttered.

"What you just heard, of course." Subaru smiled while leaning back on his chair with a relaxed expression. "I know the time and the place the White Whale will attack next. So let's do business."

"The White Whale…?" The old butler besides the Duchess, Wilhelm, exclaimed with trembling fists, an aura of wrath momentarily surrounding him as he glared at the boy.

"…" A surprised Subaru gazed back at the old man.

"Wilhelm…" Crusch called out to her servant.

"…" The butler managed to recompose himself, straightening his posture and closing his eyes while bowing to his liege and her guest. "…My apologies. It seems as though I still lack discipline."

"Er… Apology accepted." Subaru said while taking a serious posture on his chair.

"Natsuki Subaru." The Lugunican matriarch addressed the teenager in front of her, gaining his attention. "As we discussed, we were supposed to hold a conversation tonight regarding… my offer to you to join my camp."

"…" Felix silently stood beside his Lady with a complicated expression. On one hand, Subaru was demonstrating himself more and more an asset for his liege to claim. On the other, he couldn't help but feel that there was more than meets the eye, that the man was sly and planning something big.

"Yeah… I kinda knew it would be that." The young man answered the noblewoman.

"I take it that with sharing this information you are solidifying on that idea? Are you offering to join my camp in exchange for that?" Crusch suggested. "Honestly, this is too good to be true. What are you planning, exactly?"

"I knew you wouldn't be so optimistic…" Subaru giggled for a second, much to the annoyed cat whose suspicions were confirmed.

"For starters, what gave you the idea that we held some… 'interest' in the Whale?" The madam continued.

"Well… The comings and goings of soldiers into your home made it kind of obvious." Subaru joked. "Maybe I'm assuming some things here… But you don't just round up all these people if you are not planning on waging a war against someone… or something."

"I see…" The woman nodded. "Then I take it you make this offer to join my camp?"

"I'm not here to join your camp, or anybody's for that matter."

"Anybody's?" The woman raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you planning?"

"Crusch-san." Subaru paused for a brief moment before making a serious expression. "I propose an alliance. Between your camp and Emilia's to take down the Whale."

"A coalition army to fight the Whale?" The surprised woman uttered.

"WHAT?!" Felix yelled in surprise. "Are you kidding me?!"

"Felix…" A calm Crusch attempted to quell her knight's exaltation. "Control yourself."

"Crusch-sama, what he is saying is impossible." Felix reasoned. "To begin with, how can we nyow if he does indeed have information on the Whale's whereabouts?"

"Karen." Subaru raised his wrist suddenly, alerting everyone in the room and gaining their attention. The moment they gazed at him in alarm, however, an holographic image in real-time was displayed before them.

"What the-?!" The feline questioned.

"Is this…" The butler narrowed his eyes.

"…Natsuki." The Duchess kept the conversation going. "What are we looking at? Another metia from your homeland?"

"What you are looking at, Crusch-san… is a satellite image of the Lifaus Highway."

"Satellite?" Wilhelm asked. "Hold on… is this…?"

"Wilhelm?" Karsten turned to look at her butler. "Is there something you are not telling me?"

"Back when your butler and your knight came to Roswaal's mansion to discuss the details of the Selection, I launched a satellite into space just before their carriage entered the estate."

"So this is what you built…" The old man contemplated the image while rubbing his beard. "And I wager you spied the Whale's location with this?"

"Exactly!" Subaru cheerfully confirmed. "So, are guys you in yet?"

"Hold it!" Felix continued. "You are nyot part of the Emilia camp anymore, remember?"

"He's right." Wilhelm backed his fellow subordinate's claim. "You are in no position to negotiate this."

"You are right. I'm not." Subaru smugly said while giving the candidate in the room a side-glance.

"…But there is someone from the Emilia camp who DOES have such a position in this mansion right now."

"Huh?" A confused Felix muttered.

"Please, we beg you to elaborate Crusch-sama." The butler wondered as well.

"…Rem-dono, the maid." Crusch narrowed her eyes in suspicion at Subaru as she continued talking. "She remained here in the Capital as our guest in order to negotiate an alliance. However, her efforts proved fruitless as I rejected her advances. In truth, I felt bad for the girl. Her lord gave her quite the unreasonable task… But those are the matters of her camp, not ours."

"Right? Subaru agreed while nodding furiously. "Roswaal was real cruel giving Rem such an impossible mission to do all by herself."

"But if you are helping her… does that nyot mean that you are trying to rejoin the Emilia camp?" Felix asked the young man with a stern face. "Wouldn't that mean that you'd be using us as a way to regain your lady's favor?"

"Not at all." Subaru answered immediately. "I already made my stance clear. I'm not rejoining the Emilia camp."

"Then I fail to realize the purpose of this proposal!" The feline made a completely astounded expression.

"He's right, Natsuki Subaru." Crusch backed her knight. "If you are not rejoining the Emilia camp or accepting to join mine, then what's the point of making such a proposal? To help the maid? You gain nothing out of it."

"That's right, I gain nothing." Subaru nodded in agreement, confusing the trio. "But… did you not hear my speech in the castle?"

"What?" The confused Duchess wondered again. "…What would that have to do with- !" She suddenly understood Subaru's stance.

"Crusch-san. As well as Felix and Wilhelm." Subaru straightened his posture. "I'm an Avenger. This is what we do."

"Eh?" The perplexed Felix could still not process his words.

"So this is what you meant…" Wilhelm widened his eyes before flashing a sincere smile.

"I'm not looking for a reward or the prestige of the achievement. Despite the world hating or loving me, I'm doing this because people NEED a hero." Subaru stared directly into Crusch's eyes, bewildering her. "So long as that Whale and the other Great Mabeasts stay around, people will fear for their lives. I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do. Because I WANT and I MUST save people's lives… That's what I stand for."

"…What?" Felix just couldn't process the man's words. For a knight like him, it was obvious that you'd have to put your life on the line during times of war or to protect your liege. But Subaru was laying down his life for what seemed to be not just the citizens or a lord, but the whole world. That's how seriously he was stating this cause to be, and his liege was believing it.To actively seek out a living calamity and hunt it down for no reward or loyalty to anyone… just because it's the right thing to do… This idealism is just… I can't comprehend this guy!

"…" Crusch leaned back on her seat while closing her eyes, seemingly deep in thought. "…"

"…So? What will it be? Crusch-san?"

"…Crusch-sama." The butler joined in calling his master to answer.

"…" Crusch slowly opened her eyes and looked at the young man once again. "…I'll admit you know how to make a compelling speech. Or at least formulate your idealism in a way that would make others listen to your ramblings. Nevertheless… there is still one problem, Natsuki Subaru."

"…Which would be?"

"While you managed to obtain the permission of the maid to use her as a representative of the Emilia camp, your claims to the location of the Whale are still not enough for me to agree." The Duchess explained.

"…*Sigh* Yeah, I suppose it would be too much to ask for you to just agree with only that."

"To be precise, the Whale's head is enticing… but you need something else to negotiate the expenses of an endeavor like hunting down a calamity."

"You are right. I WOULD need something else… which is why; the location of the Whale is NOT the only thing I've come to offer today." The boy grinned.

"It's not?" The noblewoman perked up at the insinuation. "What do you mean?"

"I mean this." Subaru turned to look at the entrance door to the office. "Rem? You can come in now."

"Yes!" The maid affirmed from outside the room. As she opened the door, three figures followed her inside.

"Mind if we include ourselves in this business, eh?" A cheerful mauve merchant said in a smug tone to the Duchess.

"Anastasia Hoshin? And… !" A surprised Crusch widened her eyes at the two people that followed the woman.

"Greetings, Crusch-sama." A blonde man bowed while saluting the noblewoman. "Pardon our intrusion."

"You seem surprised, Karsten." A fiery Baroness fanned herself as she smirked at the bewildered Crusch. "Didn't expect mine presence in such an important meeting, hmm~?"

"Russell Fellow… and Priscilla Barielle?" The Duchess turned to look at the young hero with a confused expression. "Natsuki, what is the meaning of this?"

"…" Subaru stood quiet for some moments, pondering on the preparations he had made.

"I'm going to visit Priscilla Barielle at this very moment and convince her to lend us her aid."

"Barielle?!" Rem muttered in surprise. "But her attitude towards Emilia-sama was…"

"Nasty, I know, but this is politics and they are rivals." Subaru managed to quickly gloss over the matriarch's behavior in order to not deviate the conversation. "Look, let's just table the opinions for now, we are getting side-tracked. Point is- I'll convince her to stop being an ass and help, okay?"

"O-Okay…" Rem worriedly nodded.

"In the meantime…" The boy then grabbed his bag and took out the prototypes and plans he was unsuccessful in selling to the merchants he had visited the past days. "I want you to offer the fire pyroxene version to Russell Fellow at the Merchant Guild. He won't say no to this technology if it's essentially for free. In exchange for these plans, he has to organize a hearing with him and Anastasia Hoshin at Crusch's manor. As for Anastasia, I want you to convince her by handing her the oil-based version to solidify her interest."

"Um… Anastasia? She was also rude to Emilia-sama… And you fought her knight…"

"Indeed… But being a third party now, my actions hold no repercussions for Emilia's camp!" Subaru chuckled. "Plus… I haven't had luck selling these because most merchants are scared I'll drive away their noble clientele, even if they drooled all over because of the plans. Persona non grata and all, you know?"

"But… How are you so sure they would listen to you? The candidates, I mean…"

"Well, the appointments I had tomorrow? The ones I told you about? Those were meetings with them. They won't mind if I 'forward' things a little… At least I THINK they won't…"

The young man smiled and turned to the Duchess once more, exuding an aura of confidence around him. "Truth is… when I said I wanted to organize an alliance between the Emilia camp and yours? You weren't the only two camps in on the whole plan."

"Natsuki-kun here made quite the enticin' offer when he said he would eliminate the White Whale for us, you see." Anastasia rubbed her scarf cheerfully. "The Whale's existence has been a thorn on the side of all merchants for the past 400 years and all. Hearin' that someone would go so far as to hunt it down? Well, it is tempting to say yes. Enough to lend my mercenary group."

"But even so, that shouldn't be enough to convince you, Hoshin." Crusch narrowed her eyes at the wealthy woman. "What else did he offer?"

"The concession made for the mining rights to the mineral deposits of Ellior Forest, Crusch-sama." Russell Fellow chimed in with a smile. "Although he made the offer with some of his metias as well to attract my attention, the distribution of an untapped resource of magic stones and metals through Crusch-sama's authority within the Capital was what solidified the deal for us at the Merchant Guild and the Hoshin Trading Company."

"Well then…" The surprised noblewoman turned to the fiery Vollachian. "What would be YOUR reason to join in this alliance, Barielle?"

"Hmph! Needing ME to explain myself? *Sigh* The woes of being a Goddess…" Priscilla laughed at the annoyed Crusch. "It's quite simple actually! Although I would normally avoid something as… 'Moronic' as allying myself with ants such as you, the fool over there made a compelling offer and I granted him the privilege of my attention." She pointed with her fan at Subaru.

"Basically, I offered some recipes from my world as well as use over the satellite in order to assure her support to my endeavor."

"Turns out the mongrel knows how to prepare a treat!"

"Recipes? As in food?" Wilhelm tilted his head. "No offense, Priscilla-sama, but even though I understand the possession of a resource like the 'satellite' as important, I fail to comprehend just how having the knowledge to prepare a plate would amount to offering your strength to our battle."

"Oh, dear butler, how I pity your lower mind." The Lady laughed aloud at the old man's expense.

"Wilhelm." Subaru captured the attention of the servant and everyone else in the room. "You see… In my world, in the past, entire wars were fought over spices and the like. Surely you realize that could be the case for your world as well, right?"

"I see…" Crusch nodded. "Indeed, there have been such cases over food in the past. Luxuries are enough for people to kill each other… and surely also enough for them to pay absurd prices for a taste from beyond the Great Waterfall."

"It seems you now understand even a slight fragment of my magnificence, Karsten. However, I ought to make a correction." Priscilla chuckled. "It's not about the money; it's about the world recognizing my superior tastes!"

"..." The Duchess stood silent once again.

"Crusch-san." Subaru called out once more to the noblewoman. "Information on the Whale's whereabouts and the mining rights to Ellior Forest. That's my offer. If you hold no interest, then ignore everything I've said up until now… But if we truly do share a goal here… Let us join forces!" The young man got up from his seat and extended his hand to the Duchess.

"…" Crusch contemplated quietly for some moments longer before addressing the young man with one final demand. "Just one more condition, Subaru-dono."

"Which would be…?" A nervous Subaru asked with surprise.

"I wish for access to the satellite as well." The Lady finalized. "You granted such privilege to candidate Priscilla and most likely to candidate Emilia as well. I want this alliance to be in equal terms after all…" The woman stated seriously.

"If that's the case, then I want access to this metia as well, Natsuki-kun." Anastasia backed the noble with a smile. "It would be unfair to leave poor ol' me outta the equation here."

"Ugh…" A disgusted Priscilla frowned at the demand of the other two candidates. "Typical. You just can't stand my superiority and so, you beg for power. How pathetic."

"…" Subaru weighed the choice for a moment. It was already a heavy price for him to offer access to what was essentially spying technology to the Vollachian matriarch, but to offer it to the merchant and the Duchess as well could even things out. If everyone possesses such power… then they won't be likely to use it against one another recklessly. "…Understood."

"*Sigh* I suppose you were in a bad position, mongrel. Still, you were the one that was complacent with no payment to yourself in the end…" Priscilla commented.

"Good." Crusch got up from her seat with a smile and shook Subaru's hand. "Although I still have my doubts, you were quite astute in deciphering my plans. I can't exactly agree immediately… But I will trust the determination in your eyes."

"Then…!"

"Yes, you have an alliance, Natsuki Subaru."

"A long lastin' one at that, being that this thing will prevent anyone from making a direct move against each other after the subjugation." Anastasia giggled while looking at the image made by Subaru's bracelet with an ambitious glint in her eye. "I'll be fair enough to give you part of the credit for the invention of these stoves Natsuki-kun. These things work with any oil! Even the ones currently out of season… But I'll be the one to take profit from these marvels you have given me, I'll have you know."

"In all technicality, those versions belonged to Rem, who gave them to you." Subaru rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Subaru-kun…" Rem frowned at his dismissal of the credit.

"*Sigh* You humble yourself too much, boy…" A disappointed Anastasia frowned as well as she let out her frustrations with the Avenger. "…Fine. I shall grant the credit to the Emilia camp instead."

"Phew!" The boy wiped the sweat that was about to drop from his brow in relief. "It costed a bit more than I would have liked… But in the end, it worked!"

"I'd complain about not having access to the satellite… But I suppose this is a privilege reserved for the candidates, so I'll refrain from interfering. Plus… you've already granted me quite the invention here, Natsuki-dono." Russell commented to the young man that had just deflated on his chair.

"If that's your way of saying thank you, then you are welcome and thank you too." Subaru answered with a tired smile.

"You crafted quite the plan while I was looking away… Did it seriously take you only one day?" An impressed Crusch wondered. "And to ask not one but two candidates to wait on you outside the room… I don't know if you are a bold genius or an absurdly lucky fool."

"Well… We could say I'm a bit of both!" Subaru laughed at the Duchess comment.

"Yeah, no kiddin'." Felix mused. "Although I'm still a bit miffed about your abandonment of the idea of joining any camp OR returning to Emilia's… It seems you are completely sincere about helping out."

"Did your opinion of me change?" Subaru questioned with a grin.

"*Sigh* I will admit, nyour attitude and the way you beat Julius did annoy me… but I wouldn't go so far as hating you. You have the strength and confidence to back your words… so I'd be petty if I disliked you still."

"Wouldn't it be petty to just spite me, period?!"

"Subaru-dono."

"Hmm?" Subaru turned to Wilhelm, who was now bowing to him. "Huh?"

"I offer you my gratitude. Enough to compare to my liege's."

"Hold it, what is this about?"

"You are a well-informed man, I must admit… Nevertheless, allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Wilhelm van Astrea, husband to the late Master Swordsman, Theresia van Astrea. I took on her family name once I married into her family, you see. I feel I must simply thank you for granting me the opportunity to avenge my wife from the monster that took her life."

"…" Subaru hesitated a few moments before voicing out his surprise. "HOLD ON A SEC! You are the Sword Demon?!"

"Hey, what's that about?" Felix asked. "I thought you knew? That's why you've been training with Wilhelm and you managed to uncover the objective to kill the Whale, right?"

"No I didn't!" A confused Subaru exclaimed. "In all the records I read about the Demi-Human war, he was referred to as Wilhelm van Astrea already! I just thought the name was a coincidence when we first met!"

"So nyou took a gamble?!" The cat exclaimed.

"So you really DID assume what our goal was…" Crusch chuckled.

"Hoh~, you really are a lucky man, Natsuki-dono." Wilhelm laughed as well as he got up from his kneeling position.

"Now then… The location of the Whale, please." The Duchess put the conversation back on track.

"Huh? Oh, right!" Subaru directed the image of the Lifaus Highway to right on top of the Flugel Tree.

"Is this…" Anastasia muttered.

"The Flugel Tree, yes." Subaru explained. "Tomorrow, at 20:00… er, that's a measurement from my world. At night, I mean, the White Whale will appear right over the area of the tree."

"And how do you know this?" Priscilla questioned. "It's not there right now."

"Yep, right now it's not, but it was there on the afternoon, and it will be there come tomorrow night." Subaru assured. "Take a look at this." He proceeded to project, with his other wrist, a set of screenshots with the images of the whale floating around the tree earlier in the day.

"…" Wilhelm scowled at the image of the monster. For how blurry it was from the distance, there was no way he could ever mistake its visage. "Yes, that's the Whale, alright…"

"It's been showing a pattern." The young man continued explaining. "It's spreading its fog around the area of the highway as well as most alternate routes that connect directly with the Margrave's territory. It's trying to prevent anyone from actively crossing into the Mathers Domain."

"The Margrave's?" The merchant girl of the group wondered. "But why? It's a mabeast; I did not take its behavior for anythin' other than instinctual."

"It's because it's working with the Witch Cult." Rem spat in anger at the image. "Subaru-kun."

"Right." Subaru nodded at the maid and projected another set of images. "These were taken by the drones I left behind in Roswaal's mansion."

"These are-?!" Felix gasped.

"Those robes… and the green haired man…" Crusch recognized the image. "That's one of the cult's archbishops. The one with the most activity attributed to his name."

"Sin Archbishop of Sloth, Petelgeuse." Subaru stated. "The Witch Cult possesses control over the Great Mabeasts… or at least over the White Whale. And they are intending to use its power to block off anyone from assisting the Emilia camp fight him off."

"But what could they want with Emilia-dono?" Wilhelm wondered. "Is it…"

"Because of her resemblance to the Witch, you wanted to ask?" Priscilla interrupted the old man's words, speaking with a chuckle as she compared Emilia with the Witch of Envy. "They most likely want to punish the one that would resemble their deity, claiming it as sacrilege or some such. Group of absolute savages, I say."

"…" Subaru stood silent as the memories of the corpses flashed back into his mind, disturbing his thoughts for a moment. "…Beats me. All I know is that it cannot end well."

"Yeah, no doubt about that." Felix agreed while scowling at the image of the man looking at them.

"Honestly, were not for the image, I'd be doubting my Divine Protection at the impossibility of it all…" Crusch rubbed her temples, seemingly perplexed by the continuous information.

"Is it one like Rein's? One that tells lies from the truth?" Subaru suggested.

"Indeed…" The woman continued before realizing what Subaru just said. "…Hold it. Who's Rein?"

"Huh? Oh, that's just how I call Reinhard. You know, like a nickname between friends?" Subaru explained while smiling.

"Friends…?" Wilhelm perked up to this while smirking. "It seems you've gotten quite close with him…"

"Aw, I wouldn't say that…" The young man responded. "Although… I would have liked for him and Felt to join-in on the alliance as well." He dejectedly finished.

"Why aren't they here, anyways?" Anastasia asked.

"Apparently, Reinhard had left for Flanders or something a day earlier, so I couldn't contact either of them in time."

"To be fair, we didn't know until today, Subaru-kun." Rem justified.

"Yeah… I guess you are right…"

"Very well." Crusch gained everyone's attention again. "Felix, I want you to clear out the details of the mining rights with candidate Anastasia and Russell Fellow." She commanded her knight.

"Of course!" Felix happily confirmed, leaving the room with the merchants. "Let's go nyow!"

"Immediately." Russell respectfully answered.

"As I've said before, time is money!" Anastasia cheerfully followed.

"Wilhelm, Barielle, we'll be rounding up the men in the meantime." Crusch turned to look at her rival with a smile.

"As you command." Wilhelm bowed before he left the office as well.

"You'd order me around?" Priscilla mused arrogantly. "Ha! I can gather my own force… We'll meet once you've gathered yours." The Vollachian Lady affirmed while taking her leave.

"Natsuki." The Duchess turned to look at the man of the hour once more. "What will you do now?"

"Well, now that I have to make bracelets for three other candidates, I have to hurry to any blacksmith that's still open… Gonna be pulling an all-nighter." Subaru answered while stretching his limbs around. "I can use some of the finer material and tools I brought over with me for the inner circuits… But don't expect a web-shooter, just the base bracelets, 'kay? As for Rem…"

"Amongst most things, Rem ought to prepare for the fight ahead." The maid responded for the young man.

"You can fight, Rem-dono?"

"Yes, I know how to wield magic. I can't exactly sit idly by as my liege and my sister are in danger." Rem justified her position. "Moreover… I'm pretty much the only member representing the Emilia camp here. It wouldn't do for me to be absent during such an event."

"I suggest you write a letter addressed to your Lady, then." Crusch proposed. "Even if you are her representative, we are pressed for time. She should be informed of the good news."

"On the topic of that… Can't you send a message to the mansion through your metia, Subaru-kun?" Rem turned to her companion.

"Well actually, I could… But, there's a possibility Emilia won't listen to me…" The boy lamented.

"Then please, let me contact my sister through it." The maid explained. "I can contact Nee-sama and she can inform Emilia-sama in our stead."

"…Yeah, that's a good idea." Subaru agreed solemnly.

Meanwhile, within the Mathers Domain…

After the disaster that was the Royal Selection, Emilia had come home with a hurt expression and a distant air about her. Her contracted Great Spirit, Puck, had tried to dispel her heavy emotions to no avail, choosing to blame such a state on the man who had criticized his daughter so heavily. The prisoner, Meili, had ceased to be cooperative in any sort of interrogation and had essentially remained silent to anyone that interacted with her, choosing instead to just hug her doll companions in solitude. The Great Spirit of the Forbidden Library had also remained alone, only interacting with the resentful gray feline that would come to visit her from time to time. The Lord of the manor, Roswaal L. Mathers, had come back home disgruntled as well. Although most anyone would not notice the shift on his emotions, the only other maid of the household, the pink oni Ram, had clearly noted the difference in the mood of her master. Most days he would look confident while pondering his Book of Wisdom. But ever since he came back from the Capital and left for Sanctuary, his readings of the book have all grown increasingly panicked. He'd even go as far as to refuse his meals just so he could reread the book again and again, looking for any sort of step he could have missed. Speaking about the maid… Ram was currently in the kitchen, preparing a shoddily put together meal for the candidate to the throne. Cooking was never her forte, and without her dear younger twin, it became more evident than ever.

"*Sigh*" The girl suspired as she finished a plateful of yams. "Rem… come back already." She whispered into the air.

CLINK

"!" The sudden noise of metal clashing against the floor inside the hallway alerted the young woman. What was that…? "Is someone there?"

CLINK CLINK CLINK

With the failure of a response and the sound continuously growing closer, the maid dropped the plate of food in the table and reached for her wand, pointing it directly at the door. "…Come on." She scowled as she prepared a spell.

CLINK CLINK CLINK CLINK CLINK

The sound finally reached the kitchen, standing right outside the door and alerting the oni. "EL FU-!"

"Nee-sama?" Before she could complete her attack, however, a familiar and dear voice interrupted her thoughts.

"What?" A perplexed Ram muttered the moment she heard her sister's voice. "Rem? Is that you?"

"Yes! It's Rem speaking, Nee-sama!" The voice said from beyond the door.

"But weren't you supposed to come back in the morning two days from now?" The suspicious pink maid suggested.

"Actually… In regards to that… Could you open the door?" Rem asked to her twin.

"…" Although Ram was still suspicious about the situation developing in front of her, she decided against her better judgement as she was simply unable to deny her sibling's words. "…Very well." She approached the gate and grabbed the pommel, slowly opening it until it revealed… The four mechanical limbs of Subaru's suit, seemingly attached to a clump of metal housing the rest of the armor while projecting an holographic image of her twin.

"Nee-sama!"

"What the-?! Rem, what is this… abominable thing?" The pink oni stared at the apparatus in disgust. "Is that… Barusu's armor?"

"Um… Yes." The Rem in the image nodded. "To be precise, Rem is speaking through Subaru-kun's web-shooter while he prepares metias for the other candidates."

"He is what?" Ram scowled. "That damned Barusu… Fired less than a week ago and already waging his tail for another master… Disgusting!"

"Uh, no, Nee-sama." Rem stopped the incoming barrage of insults. "Please, allow Rem to correct her words."

"Huh?"

"Nee-sama, with the help of Subaru-kun, Rem has successfully completed Roswaal-sama's order of solidifying an alliance with Crusch-sama's camp."

"…What?" Ram narrowed her eyes. "Ah, I see how it is. So… does he intend to beg for his position, the shameless foo-"

"But not just that." Rem interrupted her sister's reasoning. "He also managed to convince Priscilla-sama and Anastasia-sama to join in, making it a four-side alliance. The reason he's making metias is because it was part of the deal."

"…" The hell? Why would he go so far… This sounds like a bit too much for someone to do in order to regain their Lady's favor…Ram was rather surprised at the outcome, but her sister's serious gaze was what snapped her out of her thoughts. "Rem? Is there… something else you wish to tell me?"

"…To be precise, Nee-sama…" Rem paused for some moments before continuing her explanation. "The reason Subaru-kun went so far in order to solidify such an alliance… was because, at this very moment, the mansion and the village are surrounded by witch cultists that are hidden inside the forest."

"!" Ram's perplexed expression changed into a panicked one as her sister warned her of the reality in front of her. "Rem?! How do you-?!"

"Subaru-kun spied them through the… 'Security drones' of his armor in the shed." As the maid said this, the same images of the cultists Subaru presented to the camps appeared before Ram.

"These are…" The pink oni was left speechless as her sister showed her the hooded figures. "S-So… The four-side alliance is… to prevent their attack?"

"Exactly." Rem nodded at her sibling. "We must first, however, confront the White Whale in the Lifaus Highway."

"The White Whale?!"

"Indeed. Um… Karen-sama?" The A.I. projected the images of the whale after the maid's request. "Thank you. Now… it's blocking off the access of our army into Roswaal-sama's territory. It seems to be cooperating with the cultists. Subaru-kun's prediction is that they will attack on the late morning or the afternoon of the day after tomorrow."

"Rem…" Ram said with worry. "You are… awfully calm for this… Do you feel alright? In truth… I'm rather perturbed by all this information." She said while leaning on the kitchen's counter for support. The sight of information overwhelming Ram is not a common one.

"…Subaru-kun managed to calm me down." The blue maid admitted. "To be honest, I felt quite angered when I first saw the images…"

"I suppose Barusu's desecration of privacy finally amounted to something useful for once…" Ram suspired after processing the information. "Right."

"Nee-sama?"

"Rem, Roswaal-sama is not here at the moment. He had some… 'Business' in Sanctuary to attend to. I'll inform Emilia-sama and see what we can do from there…"

"Crusch-sama advises that you shouldn't do anything rash like provoking the cultists until the army arrives." Rem warned.

"In the end, Emilia-sama will have to decide. For now, however, I'll limit myself to informing her and handing out counseling were she to need any."

"Just be careful…" Rem continued. "Subaru-kun says that the archbishop of Sloth possesses some kind of 'telequnetik' power. That he can move and crush things with his mind. And that while his minions will attack the village, the bastard himself will assault the mansion…" She spat the last few words with hatred.

"…It must be the disgusting powers of the Witch Cult the people murmur about."

"Then, Rem will now prepare for the days ahead accordingly." The blue oni stated while nodding. "Farewell, Nee-sama. Hopefully we can reunite once all of this is over."

"Indeed." Ram nodded as well. "Take care, Rem. And don't let that walking filth do anything inappropriate to you in the meantime."

"…If he were to, I wouldn't really mind…" Rem whispered with a blush as she cut off the transmission.

"…" After that last remark by her sister, Ram stared with a flabbergasted face at the now still machine in front of her. "*Sigh* This is all that pervert's fault!"

"Ram." A cold, silver bell-like voice called out to the servant.

"!" Ram's eyes widened once again as she and the suit looked towards the end of the corridor. Emilia, the Royal Candidate, had heard the entire interaction. "Emilia-sama…"

"Ram… Is it true?" Emilia stated with a complex mixture of emotions and an unreadable expression. "Subaru… he made an alliance on my name… to save us from the cult?"

"…Apparently so. And from what Rem said, it didn't come cheap if he's making metias for the other three candidates."

"…Subaru…" Emilia frowned and gazed at the ground with regret in her eyes. "Even after what I did… You'd still come back…?" While I was wasting away here… you were still working hard for me?

"…It's a possibility that Barusu would come back because he still wants to work for you…" Ram responded before giving out another possible option. "But… There's also the possibility that… He is doing it because he's a softy."

"Huh?" The half-elf could not comprehend the implication.

"It's just…" Ram continued voicing her opinion. "Do you remember the recording he showed us during his first day at the mansion?"

"The one with the floating snake and the green man?"

"Exactly." The maid nodded. "Barusu called himself a hero back then. So he probably… He probably think it his duty to slay the Whale and the cultists, rather than doing so because he wishes to rejoin the camp… He's the kind of man to put other's lives above his own…"

"…!" Emilia understood Ram's stance finally and so, she ended up deflating slightly, a tear threatening to drop. "O-Oh… I see now…" I feel so… selfish. To want him back… even though I fired him…

"…Emilia-sama, as I said, it's just a theory." Ram attempted to calm the candidate. "The most likely possibility is that he still wants to crawl under your foot as the degenerate he is, so we shouldn't rush to conclusions."

"…That's not really a nice thing to say, Ram." The elven girl chuckled.

"At any rate, our focus right now should be how to evacuate the villagers outside of the domain without alerting the cult… or at least figure out a way to protect as many as we can inside the mansion." The maid suggested before realizing the mistake in her assumption. "But… we'd still have to be wary of the archbishop's assault in this place… We could try to send the villagers to Sanctuary instead once the carriages arrive and the village becomes a battlefield."

"…For the moment, I think we should at least try to converse with the villagers as well." Emilia composed herself enough to brainstorm as well. "I… Rem and Subaru have given us this chance to fight the cult back… we cannot waste it. If they are to arrive within a day and a half from now…"

"Then it's time to show your leadership as a candidate to the villagers and organize them." Ram finished the candidate's sentence.

"…My leadership…" The girl reminisced to the past few days.

"You are in a position in which you represent everyone from the chaste you were born in now. YOU five represent all Lugunica stands for now. YOU must decide what is right and what is wrong. And which course represents the country and which doesn't."

"…We are talking about leading millions of people here! Am I the insane one for wanting to do these things right?!"

"I'm still your friend."

You would do something insane to save everyone, wouldn't you Subaru?

"Ram." Emilia made a resolute face, something that surprised the maid beside her. "Let's strategize and create a plan of action to counter the cult's assault. First, we'll gather information on their numbers and location."

"?!" Ram flinched at the girl's order. "But Emilia-sama! The warning was to not alert the cultists that we are-!"

"I know what the order was." Emilia stopped the maid's rebuttal. "However… If they are going to be fighting the Whale, it would be counterproductive for us to just imagine ways to run away while they bleed for our sake. I… I can't stand idly by while someone fights for my sake!"

"Emilia-sama…" Ram wondered aloud.She wasn't this forward before about confronting an enemy…

"Moreover… There's no need for us to be the ones investigating the cult when we have her…" The candidate looked at the armor besides her.

"Her…?" Ram questioned as she followed her gaze to the Iron Spider.

"…" The machine stood in silence.

"…You don't mean to say that we use Barusu's technology, right?"

"After our argument, I don't imagine how he could approve... Especially so when I returned the gifts he made for me to access the satellite…" Emilia glared downwards again with a pained expression before assuming a resolute look once more. "But… If it should grant him and us an advantage against such a foe… You'd have to agree with me, right Karen?"

"…You are right." The armor reluctantly agreed. "While I don't exactly hold any respect for either of you… Subaru has given the order to assist you in whatever movement you take against the cult, so long as it doesn't jeopardize the operation as a whole."

"I'm sorry you hold such an image of us because of my stubbornness…" As Ram frowned at the commentary, Emilia was about to bow and ask for forgiveness before the machine stopped her.

"Stop." Karen stated, pausing the elven girl midway through her motion. "Remember your words? That you'd rather hear a 'Thank you' instead of an I'm sorry'?"

Emilia widened her eyes in surprise.

"Subaru's words were to not meekly shy away at insults; to not explode in anger at petty defiance or banter. Hold up your head, you're a candidate to rule this country, are you not?"

"…" The half-elf was left speechless for a few seconds before smiling. "You are right… Thank you, Karen."

"…Plus, Subaru himself said that he also felt bad about the argument… that he wanted to speak with you properly." The program continued. "Although I don't care much either way, he said that the both of you said things you meant and didn't mean during the discussion."

"…So I wasn't the only one mulling over it, huh…?" Emilia exhaled in relief.

"He still handled it pretty well, all things considered." The machine pettily answered, earning a pout from the candidate. "At any rate… If you want to talk things properly and make up, regardless of whether he remains in your camp or not, you ought to survive this."

"Remain in my camp or not…?" Emilia frowned at the implication.

"I think I can deduce something from that." Ram interrupted the two's conversation.

"Ram?"

"…"

"He achieved an alliance between four camps, right?" The maid reasoned. "He must have done so because they were interested in recruiting him."

"…" The half-elf realized finally the ramification of her decision in the Capital. "Then… it's possible that…" Her voice cracked slightly.

"Stop worrying." Karen interrupted. "Subaru… He is an Avenger, you two."

"Huh?" Ram asked perplexed. "What does that-?"

"He used all his resources available to negotiate, maid. And he did so as a third party, meaning that, in exchange for providing technology to all four camps, he won't join any of them specifically. He is, essentially, gaining nothing from this other than saving your lives."

"You mean to say… he is dropping from the Selection's business altogether?" Emilia asked in conflicted surprise. On the one hand, knowing that he won't help the other camps relieves her. On the other, however, she laments that he would refuse joining her side again. "And for no gain…? Again?"

"He has always been like that."

"…" The Lady frowned further at his attitude of avoiding a reward.

"…Hmph! Stop lamenting over that ridiculous man, Emilia-sama." Ram commented again. "Roswaal-sama left him with enough money to last a year on his bag; surely he'll come up with something stupid and live it up with it somewhere. Preferably, away from us."

"But even so… won't it be lonely? Being by himself…"

"You reap what you sow, and that goes both ways. Subaru had to learn early on that his decisions have devastating consequences. As such, you ought to understand that him wishing to not involve himself in the Selection beyond what's necessary, like the present situation, is a direct result of your decisions."

"…You are right." Emilia processed the critic with a frown, but she accepted it nonetheless. "…Thank you Karen. For… Not holding back with me."

"Right." The machine answered again. "Now… How would you like me to approach the cultists? We have deviated quite a bit from your proposal."

"Oh! Right!" Emilia straightened her posture once again. "D-Deploy the drones in the forest! I want to know the locations of the cultists near the mansion and the village!"

"On it." Karen expelled four flying robots from the housing unit of the armor, sending them away into the woods through an open window.

"Ram! I want a detailed map of the domain! Roswaal had you and Rem draw one from the satellite image, right?"

"Indeed." Ram bowed while finally taking off her cooking apron. "I shall bring it to the studio shortly."

"Good… Once we have it, we'll plan accordingly and send the information to the army!"

"Right!" Ram nodded as she sprinted towards her Lord's office.

"Subaru…" The half elf whispered to herself as she briefly sank into her thoughts.

"…You haven't changed since we've met…"

"I'll show you… That I can be good leader as well!" In what seemed like a long while, Emilia's eyes shone with resolve as the boy's actions pushed her to be her best self.

From afar inside the corridor, with worry clear on his face, Puck stared as his daughter-figure recovered the shine she had lost in these past few days. Lia… You've really… changed? Because of him…? Do you… not need me anymore?

"Puck." Emilia called the name of the spirit in a serious tone as she stared at him. "…"

"L-Lia…" The feline timidly responded as he floated towards her.

"…I still have my grievances. About whether you and Roswaal are lying to me or not, but… I need your help."

The sun of dawn reared its head once more in the Kingdom of Lugunica. The Capital was normally quite the busy location, regardless of the hour of day, but on this specific date, it was far more chaotic than ever before. Carriages filled with mercenaries, soldiers and mages rushed in and out of the Karsten estate. Wagons full of weapons, armors and provisions run into the Duchess territory at a steady rate.

"Move it! Move it!"

"Coming through!"

"Hey! That wagon's supposed to leave already!"

"There's only swords here! Bows and staves are in the wagons over by the fountain!"

"Blacksmith! Need polishing on this armor!"

"On it! On it! I'm busy with somethin' here!" A burly man answered to the soldier soliciting a shiny plate.

This particular blacksmith had been hammering away since early last night when a youngster suddenly told him to prepare three sets of golden and silver bracelets with quite the intricate design on the inner and outer parts. Although the forger was talented enough to make all three in one night, the cost of such work should have been enough to scare away most clients, even nobles. The young man that requested the bracelets, however, paid quite the hefty sum without even blinking, saying that he'd also work besides the blacksmith in his workshop in case he had any questions about the design. This made the smith curious enough to peek over his own work from time to time to check on the man's work, only to see a complicated mess of strings of what looked to be copper, gold and silver, all far too thin to work as reliable chain mail. To top off his confusion, all strings were attached to what seemed like a greenish and thin plate roughly smaller than the bracelets themselves. He couldn't make sense of what he was looking at and so, he just focused on finishing his own part of the job as per the kid's instructions. "Finished!"

"For real?! Man, you really are a lifesaver!"

"Yeah, yeah…" The blacksmith sat back while rubbing his sore right wrist. "I've taken the payment already, so you can just take them things and leave. I have a busy schedule today, see…"

"Yeah, no problem."

"Subaru-kun!" A blue maid called out to the young man from behind. "Have you finished the metias for the other candidates?"

"Huh?" Subaru turned around to see the oni, Rem, as he grabbed the bracelets parts from the blacksmith's table. "Oh, I have all the parts now… I just- I have to actually put them together now."

"Then, when you finish, can you come with Rem to check some things out?" The maid asked with a sweet tone. "Crusch-sama herself told me to fetch you."

"Oh, for sure!"

After an hour of tinkering around, Subaru was finally done with the projectors he had promised the candidates, proceeding to accompany Rem in her request.

"So? What was it you wanted to show me?" The boy asked as he stretched around. "*Yawn* Honestly, I need a nap. I don't wanna sound rude, but can we make it quick?"

"Please, follow me to the stables." The maid requested politely.

"…So." Subaru attempted to make conversation as the two walked. "How you holding up? I'm honestly so sorry this trip has devolved into such a tiring chore for you… I feel as though I've done nothing but push you around." The boy lamented.

"It's fine, really." The maid reassured. "If anything, I'm glad we can spend time together, regardless of the direness of the situation."

"Oh…" Subaru blushed at the off-handed implication. "Well… that's good! That's good… And... Were you able to talk with Ram? Like, did you make sure she told Emilia?"

"…It's honestly a bit disheartening that you would doubt my sister so." Rem frowned slightly.

"Oh, no, no! I'm not doubting her, it's just… Um…" He was a bit nervous as he talked. "It's just- What was Emilia's reaction?"

"Well… Emilia-sama wasn't around when I contacted my sister."

"…Oh. I see-" Before he could suspire, a robotic voice interrupted.

"She actually listened in on the whole conversation."

"Huh?!" A surprised Subaru exclaimed at Karen's confirmation. "Hold it! How do you know that?!"

"Karen-sama?" Rem frowned further at the web-shooter in her hand as she handed it to Subaru. "Were you spying on Nee-sama and Emilia-sama?"

"To be precise, had Subaru not given the order yesterday to spy on them, we would be none the wiser about the cult and the Whale, would we?"

"Still…." Subaru attempted to argue to no avail as he scratched the back of his head.

"Moreover, back to topic, Emilia-sama heard the entire conversation and actually requested my help, much like you predicted Subaru."

"For real?! Phew! So I take it she is not mad enough to refuse the help, huh?" A relieved Avenger wiped his forehead at the confirmation from the program.

"Not at all. In fact, she wishes to speak with you afterwards just as much as you do."

"…That's good." Subaru's expression softened as Karen continued speaking. "So we can still be friends once this all blows over, eh?"

"For the moment, Emilia is discussing the evacuation process with the villagers discretely, in order not to alert the cultists. Apparently, with the assistance of Puck, she asked Beatrice to help her detect any cultist through her smell so that there won't be any unexpected spies in the midst of the Arlam residents."

"That's… actually kind of smart?" Subaru was surprised at the revelation. "Wow. I really was underestimating her. Now I feel even shittier about the argument!" He fake cried, causing Rem to giggle.

"Ram, on the other hand, is drafting a map with the location of the cultists using her clairvoyance and the reconnaissance drones. She'll send it over once we are done on our side with the White Whale."

"I knew we could always depend on Nee-sama!" Rem cheerfully noted. "Ah! We are here!"

"Hmm?" Subaru turned to Rem to see a line of Earth Dragons, in formation besides each other. What's this about?"

"Hey you two!" Felix saluted the duo as they arrived.

"Hey Felix." Subaru greeted back. "Hey, um, here." He handed the projector to the catboy.

"Hmnya? Is this Crusch-sama's metia, I take it?" He inspected the device before pocketing it.

"Yeah, just finished them a second ago. So, what's with the lineup? Are these the guys we riding to battle?"

"That's right." Felix nodded. "Crusch-sama told me to let you pick one for yourself."

"Hold it. You are giving me a dragon?" Subaru's eyes widened. "That's a bit much, don't you think?"

"Nyot at all! She insisted on at least giving you your own monture!"

"Huh…" He murmured as he examined the reptiles. "Well, sad to say but… I don't really know a single thing about these guys…"

"Huh? You are nyot gonna tell me you don't like them, right?"

"It's not that… I just don't even know how to judge the-" As he walked the row, he identified a lizard he had already met once before. "…Huh."

"Kuaa!" A black-scaled Earth Dragon with orange eyes grumbled at the boy.

"Hey Rem? We know her, don't we?" Subaru pointed at the reptile.

"Huh?"

"Oh, this is the dragon Wilhelm and I rode to the mansion back then…" Felix commented.

"Hmm~." Subaru hummed as he patted the dragon on the snout, earning eager tail flaps and purring-like sounds. "…Hehe. I like this one."

"So this one then?" Felix concluded.

"Yep! It's love at first sight!" Subaru yelled with joy.

"You don't really have to put it like that, you know?" The catboy complained as he pointed at the maid. "Look at Rem now!"

"Rem-what-now?" The boy turned to the oni, who was now glaring intently at the animal as spark flew between them.

"Hmrgr~!" She growled as both she and the dragon scowled at each other.

"Hey, hey, don't make it weird!" Subaru begged as the two were locked inside their own little world.

"Felix-dono." Wilhelm called for his associate by the entrance to the yard.

"I'll be right there!" Felix said while trotting towards the old man. "You two, come by the main hall at noon, we ought to leave by then if we want to catch the Whale by surprise."

"Sure! I'll just have the other bracelet delivered to Anastasia before we meet with Crusch and Priscilla." Subaru nodded to Felix as he answered while patting both Patrasche and Rem, calming them down.

As the day progressed, Subaru and Rem found themselves reunited with the two noble ladies. In the midst of a room packed to the brim with soldiers, mages and the like, the Vollachian candidate stared with scorn as the young man approached.

"Subaru-dono, we'll be starting shortly." Crusch advised with a smile before being interrupted.

"What is the meaning of this, mongrel?" She spat with scorn at Subaru as he arrived.

"Uh, hello to you too?" The confused boy asked as Rem glared back at the woman for speaking to her beloved with such a tone. "What is what?"

"The metia." She glared heatedly at Crusch's left wrist. "Why is the Karsten wretch holding one when I asked for it first?"

"Well, that would be because we weren't around to- HGHK!" As Aldebaran, the knight standing at her side, justified his otherworldly brother's position, the matriarch shut him up by elbowing his stomach.

"…As Al was saying, you weren't available, so I just couldn't hand it to you until you were." Subaru explained as he handed the projector, the noblewoman quickly taking it from his grasp. "I only completed them recently anyways, and you are not the last one I'm handing these to. I had to have someone deliver it to Anastasia with a set of instructions on how to use it."

"…A fitting gold to my majesty, you had that right at least…" Priscilla said as she fitted the tool around her wrist. She gave a quite concise and short order while continuing to glare at Subaru. "…Explain."

"…You could just say 'please'." Subaru suggested as Crusch sighed and Priscilla scowled further, threatening to draw her blade. "Okay, okay! Geez, tough crowd…"

"Natsuki, I would appreciate the instructions as well. You omitted them when you handed Felix the metia." The Duchess indicated.

"…Alright, so, these things? We gotta stop calling them metias, cause' they are called projectors." He explained whilst showing his own web-shooter. "As you can see, mine are a bit different because it's configured with the string-shooters for me to move around when suited up. But yours, on the other hand, still possess all other functions."

"Such as…?" Karsten raised an eyebrow.

"Aight', they don't work on magic, first of all. They are solar powered, so just keep the lenses by the side on the sun to charge them. Alternatively, they can also be recharged slightly through motion, like running and the like. The functions include: communication between the bracelets, image capturing and display through the lens at the front, time display, control over the satellite's movements and an integration of Karen's A.I., which would serve for data recording and sharing with anyone else with a bracelet."

"Hello." The program responded while talking to the two noblewomen through the machine.

"So I take it you are my new servant?" Priscilla smirked as it answered to the disembodied voice.

"To be precise Barielle, Karen-dono has stated that she serves Subaru-dono only, so she's merely granting US access to his resources per his order. She is no servant of yours." Crusch explained to the Vollachian matriarch as she displayed the previously seen images of the Lifaus Highway. "Still… It is quite the impressive technology…"

"Hehe, it's cutting-edge even in my world." Subaru admitted proudly.

"Nevertheless, commoner, how do we handle the satellite with this?" Priscilla wondered while displaying her own screen.

"You just ask Karen to display the image for you and she will do so." The boy continued explaining the apparatus as the live-feed appeared over Priscilla's screen. "As a measure to prevent you girls using it to spy on each other, however, the satellite will obey the last order given to it at any given time."

"Hmph, so if Karsten wanted to spy on my grounds, I'd just have to order the satellite to move away from me, is that it?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Conversely, if you wanted to spy on me Barielle, I could order it to move away from my location." Crusch countered with a condescending side-glance as the tension between the two leaders rose.

"Hoh~! You'd assume I'd need to spy on you to know what movements you can pull? You are quite full of yourself, rat." The Baroness scowled back.

"Um, girls, girls? The purpose of the alliance is to NOT jump at each other's throats!" Subaru attempted to calm the two down as the room's temperature rose.

"…Very well." Crusch stated in a serious tone.

"Hmph! Fine." Priscilla began fanning herself as she huffed.

"…Man, they are gonna give me a heart attack for sure at this rate!" The boy suspired.

"You tell me pal." Aldebaran commented.

"Heh~, so that's how the metia my Lady got works!" A strong voice called from behind as it grabbed Subaru's head, shaking it.

"Uh, what?!" Subaru reacted by turning around and taking some distance from the demi-human's hairy hand. "Oh… Ah, hey… Are you-?"

"With Anastasia-sama, yeah!" A tall dogman smiled at him. "The name's Ricardo Welkin, pal!"

"Ricardo." Anastasia appeared from behind the canine. "Please, don't shake his brain too much. I have quite the plans for that mind of his, regardless of whether he serves me or not."

"Anastasia-san." Subaru greeted the mauve merchant. "I take it you don't need me to explain the projector to you either, right? Unlike the other two, I didn't know if I'd see you again immediately, so I had it sent to you."

"Not to worry, your instructions were right to the point." Hoshin said as she flaunted projection after projection as easily as Subaru would. "It's quite intuitive, I must say."

"I take it this loudly annoying dogman is the leader of the Iron Fang." Priscilla commented with a bored gaze.

"That I am!" The cheerful man did not allow the Baroness degrading get to him. "Gahahahaha!"

"I apologize for intruding, but seeing as everyone is finally here…" The voice of Wilhelm called to the group as the three candidates finally rendezvoused with each other. As the old man made his presence known, many older knights entered the room from behind him.

"Hmm? Who are these people?" Rem wondered for a second as they approached Subaru.

"Crusch-sama, we have arrived." The man at the head of the formation stopped right in front of Subaru and turned to the Duchess. After bowing, the man and his men turned to Subaru once again with a stoic look. "So, this is the boy…"

"Indeed." Crusch smirked as she nodded.

"Thank you, young man." The elder knight put a hand on Subaru's shoulder as he and his colleagues expressed their gratitude. "Truly… You have given us the chance to fulfill our greatest desire. Thank you."

"Uh-Y-Yeah! Sure!" A flustered Subaru answered as he was surprised by their reverence towards him.

"These men are all people who have crossed paths with the White Whale in the past…" Wilhelm announced sternly.

"So they are…"

"Like me, yes." The butler confirmed. "They have all retired from the frontlines already… But they came at my personal behest to assist in this campaign."

"Their experience, enthusiasm and morale are second to none." Crusch added to her butler's explanation. "They are sure to support us as though we had the current lineup of Royal Knights at our backs." The candidates and Subaru stared as the men and Wilhelm had begun to converse fondly, some of them shedding tears as they celebrated the congregation to hunt the calamity.

"They sure seem to hate the damned thing…" Subaru stated.

"Who wouldn't?" Anastasia spat in disdain. "That monster has destroyed convoy after convoy of goods and merchandise across the world during four whole centuries… It's infuriatin', to say the least."

"I don't think that's the reason you should be mad though?!"

"Ah, Ah! What m'lady is trying to say here is that the parasite has costed both a lot of good people over the years! Especially merchants, as it hunts within roads most often!" Ricardo justified his boss' poor choice of words.

"Speaking about the monster… do we have a concrete plan about how to actually fight it?" Subaru questioned, earning the candidates full attention.

"*Sigh* Usually you ask such things BEFORE the actual alliance is formed, mongrel." A disappointed Priscilla insulted the boy's intelligence.

"If it's about a direct attack plan, the three of us have… convened about somethin'." Anastasia stated with a mischievous smile.

"You'll have to wait until we deploy them in the actual battle before we can comment on their effectiveness, however, if you really need a clue…" Crusch paused before dropping a hint with a smile. "Low level magic won't work on the Whale, so we've prepared something with a bit more of a hit."

"…Go ahead! Don't tell me." An annoyed Subaru grumbled. "In case it doesn't work though… we can just go 'Plan B' on the beast and use ME as the bait…"

"…Use you as bait?" Anastasia asked in a weirded-out tone.

"You see… I have a rather special set of skills…" Subaru made a creepy smirk as he gestured with his hands.

"Subaru-kun can attract mabeasts with his smell." Rem announced in a hurry, a worried face drawn on her semblance by the self-sacrificial nature of her hero. "Hopefully we won't have to use such a problematic power…"

"Rem! You can't just go and tell them that!" Subaru complained. "You just destroyed my façade of mysticism!"

"What 'mysticism', moron? You just looked like a pig in heat right now." Priscilla mercilessly claimed, making the boy flinch as though a dagger had been stabbed on his back.

"…Fine, whatever." Subaru grumbled once more before getting to the gist of it. "Look, point is- I can make the Whale follow me around, okay? That means 'we good' by the way."

"Follow you around…?" Crusch wondered aloud with a confused expression. "Honestly… You really make me doubt my Divine Protection at times…"

"Ahn?! Who you lookin' at, moron?!"

"Fuck off, asshole!"

"Go back to your land, bastard!"

As the group was talking with each other, screams of an argument could be heard from the entrance to the hall. When they turned, they saw the ongoing image of the beginning of a brawl as a man with a red and black outfit insulted and grappled with a Lugunican knight.

"What is this about?" Subaru asked the three.

"You heard me! The border is closed! You shouldn't be here!"

"Yeah! Go back to the south, Vollachian!"

"Oh, fuck off!"

"You are not the only ones with a grudge against the Whale!"

"The men the knights are criticizing come from our territory. They are Vollachians; merchants and mercenaries from the other side of the border." Al commented unamused.

"Ugh… More of these imbeciles…" Priscilla rolled her eyes as she materialized her Yang Sword and approached the arguing men. "Move aside, there are eyesores that must be dealt with here."

"Woah, woah, hold on a sec!" Subaru yelled as he stopped the Baroness from rampaging against the poor fools. "You intendin' to off them?!"

"Of course!" Priscilla admitted nonchalantly. "Both the complaining knights and the fools that talk back and follow on their game are clearly too stupid to realize what's at stake here. We can do without them."

"Damn, you really are trigger-happy huh?!" The boy made an astounded face as he attempted to avoid ending beheaded himself. "Look, just… let me handle it, ok? And hopefully… we can get through this without anyone dying?"

"…Tsk!" The Baroness looked away with a growl. "Make it quick, you soft-hearted imbecile."

"…Yeah." Subaru nodded as he approached the arguing men. "Hey, you guys!"

"Huh?!"

"Who the fuck are you?!"

"Hey… I know you!" The knight pointed at Subaru. "You are that disrespectful bastard from the other day!" Rem scowled as she heard such words spoken to her hero.

"Yeah, I'm the righteous bastard, alright. AND the reason you are here today, as well!" Subaru, however, did not deny the words and instead opted to embrace them. "Look dude, why are you fighting here? Save your energy for the battle ahead!"

"I'm fighting here because I won't stand for some Vollachian interfering on business of our country…" The knight scowled at the soldier in crimson and black before glaring back at Subaru. "We already have enough with ONE outsider here!"

"Not appreciating your vibe, man…" The Avenger said to the knight. "Look. We are here hunting down a monster of legend. I'm sure you can look past the differences if you think about it a little…"

"Yeah!" The Vollachian soldier backed Subaru's claim. "We've also lost people to the Whale!"

"…" The knight and his followers grumbled as they glared at Subaru. "There's a treaty with Vollachia, I'll have you know."

"And with the Royal Family dead, the treaty in place is the only thing preventing a war…" Subaru reasoned. "That's why the border is supposed to be closed, right?"

"If we just permit them to come and go into our country, then how are we supposed to stop an eventual war?! It's enough that we have a Royal Candidate who's Vollachian, let alone a whole army of the bastards!"

"Yeah!"

"Chase them out!"

The other young knights backed their comrade as Subaru and the Vollachians stared.

"…I'm not saying you shouldn't protect your borders from invaders. But these men here? They didn't come here to pillage or to wage war… They came to fight the Whale, not pick up some past beef with you." The boy reasoned as he shut the cheers and insults of the men off. "We are dealing with a Calamity here… one that, if left unattended, will spawn tragedies like the death of the previous Sword Saint again and again and again… All over your world. What does it matter that the one helping you is Vollachian? Shouldn't you be taking this as an instance to look past your differences? Cross blades not as enemies but as allies?"

"…"

"I understand if you don't like me; I'm the foremost outsider here, after all…" Subaru continued. "But… If you don't end the cycle of hating on each other, not even with a monster at your gates… When will it end?"

"…" The knight glared as he looked around him. His fellow brothers-in-arms stood silent as well as they looked away, shying away meekly to their previous words. "…Tsk!" The knight and his entourage turned around, returning to their formations as the people around them looked either at them or at Subaru with surprise.

"…I take it you are the guy from Beyond the Waterfall, right?" The Vollachian addressed Subaru with suspiciousness. "We had things under control… Don't expect a 'thank you'." He sternly warned.

"I'm fine so long as you're fighting beside us." Subaru smiled as he nodded at the soldier. "No need for formalities." He turned around and walked back towards his group.

"FuFu~, you sure do know how'ta appeal to their 'supposed' nobility, don't ya?" Anastasia chuckled in amusement as she rubbed her scarf.

"Is your specialty to hand out such rubbish in sweet words?" Priscilla laughed as well.

"You two are not amused by anything, are you?" A completely done Subaru said to the two girls.

"Rem thinks you did great!" The maid complimented the young man with a smile.

"You have a knack for getting others not to strangle each other, even if you do end up as the embarrassingly nosy one." Karen added from his wrist.

"Aw, thanks you two!" The boy blushed a bit as Rem and the program cheered.

"I have to say, I'm surprised as well!" A tall, cream blonde-haired woman with sky-blue eyes stated with a cheerful laugh. "Metias, speeches, you have it all Beyond the Waterfall, huh?!"

"…Uh, who are you?" A befuddled Subaru asked when he looked at the woman that spontaneously spawned beside him.

"Medium! Don't run off like that…" A slightly shorter man that had similar hair and eyes as the woman chased after her. "Leaving me behind because of your curiosity… That's not like you!"

"But Flop! You are the one that wanted to see the guy!" The woman called 'Medium' said to the man called 'Flop' while ignoring Subaru, the man they had claimed to have wanted to meet.

"Um- Al? Do you know these guys?" Subaru raised an eyebrow at the noisy pair.

"Actually we met them last night, along with most of our mercenaries, like the soldiers from just now." Aldebaran explained. "From what I know they are a pair of merchant siblings that crossed the south border to conduct some business here in the Capital, coming through the Princess' territories."

"Isn't that illegal?" Subaru narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Wasn't that the whole purpose of the argument just now?!"

"Meh." Aldebaran shrugged-off the concerns of his fellow earthling. "The Barielle territories were rather deplorable in the past. A bit of the Princess' leadership here and some 'illegal' international marketing there did wonders for recovering its former glory."

Subaru turned bewildered to the 'Princess' in question. "So you just allow anyone from Vollachia into the country?! You'd have to be absurdly lucky for that not to backfire!"

"Hmph! Don't think me so stupid, imbecile. Not everyone, only those that I deem beneficial or harmless." Priscilla informed with a satisfied smile, missing the point. "Don't ask me to remember them though, because the faceless masses are not worth my memories."

"No, no, that's not what I-" Subaru tried to justify his position before being interrupted again.

"Hey you!" The man called Flop called out to him. "We are so sorry to interrupt you… But we really wanted to meet you!"

"Many merchants want; I'll have you know!" Medium added to the man's statement.

"My name is Flop O'Connell. Ah! And this here is my sister, Medium O'Connell."

"Heya!"

"Uh, hey." Subaru greeted back unenthusiastically.

"So, So! You come from beyond the waterfall, right?!" The woman eagerly closed in on Subaru, surprising him and earning a glare and a pout from a jealous Rem.

"UH-PERSONAL SPACE?!"

"Medium, Medium, let me talk to him!" Flop interrupted his sister's rambling. "We are merchants and, well, when we heard that you came from another world with strange metias about you, we simply had to rush here from the Barielle territory to meet you!"

"We travelled a whole day at full-speed from the south when the news reached! Many merchants did, actually!" Medium backed her brother.

"Yeah, I met them…" Subaru grumbled. "And when they got the full details of what went on at the palace, they decided they didn't want me driving their noble clients away."

"Point is, unlike them, we couldn't get an appointment with you… But this whole situation with the Whale fell on our laps quite perfectly!" Flop informed with glee. "I-I know this is a bad moment, but we hear from the rumors running around that you are not tied to a camp right now. Would you be interested in selling us a metia?"

"Now, now." Anastasia interrupted the pair with a frown and a serious tone. "It's not that he is not affiliated with any one camp right now… It's that WE are his exclusive clients at the moment." The merchant Royal Candidate intimidated her fellows.

"We don't want to sound ru-rude, Miss Hoshin, but such inventions could prove quite beneficial to Vollachia as well!" Flop justified himself nervously in front of what was essentially a princess. "Imagine the possibilities of developing a city with such things!"

"Hmm~, how altruistic. I imagine it, alright." Anastasia kept intimidating. "But Vollachia's first order of business would be to make a weapon out of Natsuki-kun's technology."

"That's so rude! We-!" As Medium attempted to argue, her brother stopped her.

"We understand that in such a country it could be used for means of war, but-"

"But nothin'. You are taking advantage of the situation for an agenda, just like the knights that were discussin' just now." Anastasia finalized. "Natsuki-kun, I understand that, after the hunt, you'll be on your own… But I'll give you some advice and tell you to take care of who you sell what… Especially to those of the 'Land of the Wolves'." The mauve merchant said while leaving the side of the man with her Iron Fang in tow.

"…" Subaru processed her words before turning to a distressed Flop and Medium. "Don't let it get to you. After my interactions these past few days, I've noticed how most of the candidates can be quite sharp-tongued. Medium and Flop, was it?"

"Yes, that's us." Medium responded as she and her brother perked up at his reassurance.

"Look. I thank you for joining-in on the hunt… But this is really dangerous stuff."

"Don't worry, I can't fight! So I'll just stay behind with the healers as Medium fights for the two of us!" Flop proudly stated as he puffed his chest up.

"That's right!" Medium confirmed while puffing her chest up as well.

"…" Subaru rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "Okay… If you are going through with this, then I suppose hearing you out afterwards is the least I could offer." He sighed before smiling once again. "Once the battle is over, we can discuss some details on what exactly you want me to sell you, understood."

"You will?!" Flop's eyes shined like the morning luminescence.

"Yes!" Medium celebrated as well.

"You two." Priscilla ordered, cutting their cheers short. "Return to position, it's about to begin."

"O-Oh! Sure!" Flop nodded while bowing at the Baroness. "Let's talk some more later! Natsuki Subaru!"

"Yeah! We'll see each other later!" Medium yelled while running behind her sibling.

"Subaru-kun." Rem called out to her hero. "It's time."

"Huh?" Subaru looked at the maid. "Time for-?"

"Four hundred years. Since the White Whale created by the Witch of Envy has made of the world, OUR world, its hunting ground. Trampling on the weak and dominating the land as if it were its owner, unstopped, four hundred years have passed. Countless lives have been lost in that time. Given, as well, the unscrupulous nature of its fog, the number of graves we cannot even inscribe with names will only rise."

Subaru stared in awe as the Emerald Duchess gave her speech.

"But those days of sitting idle end today! Those of us here today will end it!" She projected an image of the Whale floating over the Lifaus Highway for all to see. "With Natsuki Subaru's technology, we have identified the location of the calamity! We have a time and a place to avenge our forgotten brethren, my men! We will strike down the White Whale and stop any further tragedy from arising! We will give the sorrows that fell short of true sorrows a chance to shed overdue tears!"

The men around the Duchess scowled as they looked at the image, their fists bleeding as they clenched so hardly. "We move out! Our destination is Flugel's Tree, on the Lifaus Highway! Tonight, we will slay the White Whale with our own hands!"

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Now, now, before you start beheading each other in the comment section… I KNOW Flop and Medium are merchants from Guaral, so it would make sense that they would mostly roam around there… BUT a guy can dream about them travelling and being in more than one place, right? Yeah, yeah, I know, it's gratuitous, but- If I included Priscilla in a situation that wouldn't normally account for her, I can include many more characters as well, right…?

Alright, Imma be real with you though… Medium is Premium, so I just wanted to include Arc 7 characters, is all. Big Fan of Stingraher's 'Sun Pincess' ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).

Also, I noticed that the development with Emilia could seem forced or rushed, but I really want to drive in the point of her actively growing. I will still include some stuff with Arc 4, regardless of her taking a bigger leading role now, she can still stumble when regaining her memories.

Having said all that, see you all in the next chapter! Remember to review and share!