Chapter 48 - x

CHAPTER 1

THE DEALT CARD

1

In life, you can only play the game with the cards you've been dealt.

This held true no matter the circumstances of a person's birth, appearance, talent, reputation, or the skills they cultivated.

Subaru Natsuki was keenly aware that he was lacking in every single one of those categories.

Through some kind of mistake, Rem had completely accepted Subaru, but he knew all too well that the Subaru Natsuki she saw was an ideal far removed from the real thing. Compared with the man she envisioned in her mind, the cards that the real Subaru held were few in number, and poor in quality—

But he learned, now that he stood at the playing table, no one cared about his personal problems.

All anyone in his position could do was try to win with the cards he was dealt.

The rest came down to simply how well each person played, their timing, and if they used any bluffs.

"—The White Whale."

Of all the cards in Subaru's hand, he chose the one that resulted in the greatest effect on the others.

His declaration changed the faces of those around him in different ways.

They were currently in the reception room of the Duchess of Karsten's villa in the royal capital's Nobles' District.

Not counting Subaru, five were participating in the discussion—first, Crusch Karsten, lady of the manor, accompanied by her two retainers, Ferris and Wilhelm. Also in attendance was Russel Fellow, one of a tiny handful of influential movers in the royal capital, acting as an adviser for Subaru.

And…

"…"

…the fifth was Rem, who was touching Subaru's sleeve, providing limitless strength by inspiring the courage within him.

The conversation between those six in the capital quickly began hurtling toward an intense climax.

In short, the objective of the discussion was to form an alliance between the Emilia camp and the Crusch camp. The Crusch camp was taking a cautious wait-and-see stance toward the Emilia camp's request of cooperation to resist the universal menace of the Witch Cult. Subaru's invoking of the White Whale's name was his trump card for breaking that stalemate.

Crusch's eyes narrowed in profound interest; Ferris looked at his master with gloom-filled eyes. The deeply mercantile Russel knotted his brows, whereas Wilhelm— "—?!"

After an instant, Subaru involuntarily held his breath when a thick, dark hostility permeated the room's interior.

Feeling sick to his stomach, as if his intestines were about to be rearranged by the tip of a sword, Subaru lifted his face to see the source— and saw the white-maned, old man exhaling deeply and lightly shaking his head.

"…Forgive my…gross indiscretion. It would seem that I, too, still have room for improvement."

Wilhelm closed one eye and apologized without any change in expression.

The aged swordsman pushed the malice away, leaving no traces remaining even in the farthest corners of the room, then touched the sword on his lap as if ashamed.

"I have no excuse for interrupting. Say the word and I shall remove myself."

"No, stay. I wish to hear your opinion."

Crusch personally stopped Wilhelm from excusing himself. "You do not mind?" he said, shifting his eyes to Subaru, who answered as well with a nod of agreement.

"Now then, the term White Whale has been thrown out rather suddenly. May I take it that the White Whale of which you speak is the Demon Beast of Mist, one of the three great demon beasts?"

"Yeah. A monster that spews out mist and swims around in the sky—that White Whale. I know when and where it'll show up next. I want to offer that information as part of the deal for an alliance."

Is she gonna bite? wondered Subaru, his nerves on edge as he waited for Crusch's reaction.

The lady of the house put a hand to her chin in contemplation. Before she rendered judgment, someone cut in.

"Apologies. May I ask you some minor things?" Russel raised his hand and sought permission for questions.

"Sure thing, ask anything you like."

"First, there is a matter I must verify… Mr. Natsuki, do you have an accurate assessment of what value to place on your knowledge of where the White Whale shall next appear?"

"…It could reduce the number of people caught up in the White Whale's damage. Merchants and land dragon cargo runners can revise their routes,

and it would improve the condition of a lot of victims, I think?"

"Yes, precisely. However, that only earns you a score of fifty." Russel's assessment of Subaru's mostly timid reply was rather harsh.

"Are you aware of just how much blood has flowed due to the Demon

Beast of Mist to date?" he continued. "The unlucky caravans, which the White Whale's mist swallowed up, vanished without a trace! The royal knights assembled to dispatch the White Whale failed, routed by the beast! Until a few decades ago, it appeared near villages and cities, swallowing them and their entire populations whole. It was not uncommon for cases where it was impossible to ascertain the truth of what had happened. The

White Whale is more than a very large demon beast."

Russel's words, explaining the menace of the White Whale, were hot— almost excessive. Subaru, prone to hiding his negative emotions behind a facade of denial, understood the desire to have others understand such feelings.

Faced with an enemy too vast to fathom, people tried to extoll the vastness of its existence to protect their fragile spirits.

"With such a demon beast, the most crucial measure is never to encounter it. Many merchants and travelers fear nothing greater than mist covering their path. The White Whale is a symbol of calamity, and any mist itself is a veritable evil omen. If one could see ahead to know where it would appear, it would be worth an immense fortune! However…"

Having clenched his fists and spoken with such zeal to that point, Russel suddenly looked down at Subaru with cold eyes.

"Information is assigned value from its trustworthiness. Mr. Natsuki, how can you prove such a thing? Without proof, it cannot be seen as anything but fiction."

"Most of which I wished to express would only repeat Russel Fellow's words. I was about to ask if you could prove your claim."

With thin smiles, Russel and Crusch both questioned the basis of Subaru's tip.

Is the information true or false? Posed this question, Subaru felt a cold sweat against his back. But he could not reveal his anxiety. Returning a bold smile their way, he managed to keep himself from letting weak thoughts trickle out as he put his next card on the negotiating table—just like he'd elaborately simulated many times over in his preparations beforehand.

"The reason I can know where the White Whale will come out beforehand…is this!"

Suddenly, he took something out of his side pocket and slapped it on the table.

Subaru displayed his evidence on the table. He felt the expressions of everyone staring at it tighten briefly, but the next moment, bewilderment came over them.

"Subaru Natsuki."

"Yeah."

When Crusch quietly invoked Subaru's name, he puffed his chest out without a hint of fear. Without commenting on Subaru's impudent demeanor, she pointed at the proof Subaru had placed at the center of the table.

"What…is this?"

It was a gleaming piece of cutting-edge future technology encased within a white, metallic body.

—She did not take her eyes off the cell phone for a single instant as she quizzically tilted her head toward Subaru.

2

Subaru's knowledge of precisely when and where the White Whale would appear was truly the fruit of repeated coincidence and the mischief of fate.

The decisive instant came on that misty night during the third loop—when he encountered the White Whale face-to-face.

While sitting in the driver's seat of a dragon carriage, he had retrieved the cell phone from his hand baggage and activated it to use it as a light source.

"It was then, right before that."

The first time Subaru set eyes on the White Whale, he'd been trying to check on the dragon carriage running beside them, had vanished. His eyes struggled to pierce the darkness at the time, so he thought to use the light of his cell phone.

Even in the present, he found it hard to forget meeting the thing in the dark, eyeball to enormous eyeball.

Right after that moment, the demon beast roared. Then, its first attack blew Subaru and Rem's dragon carriage away, turning it into wood chips. As Rem grasped him by the collar and they sailed into the air, the scene seared itself into Subaru's eyes as everything moved in slow motion.

And with the world crawling forward one frame at a time, Subaru saw it crystal clear: his cell phone, knocked out of his hand in the initial blast, twirling through the air—and displayed on its backlit screen, 3:30 PM.

After arriving in a new world, the clock function of his cell phone had lost all meaning. But if he used it as an indicator of a determined future event, it was more accurate than anything else available there.

More importantly, the cell phone played the role of an irreplaceable device.

"It's no fault of yours for not knowing what this is. This is one of those metia thingies, unearthed in my homeland. This is the proof for what I'm saying."

It was the very fact that the cell phone was from an unknown land that turned it into a valuable weapon for negotiations. "…May I touch it?"

Russel was the first to swallow his saliva and reach out toward the cell phone. Subaru gave permission with a nod. The man timidly took the cell phone in his hand, checking the feel for himself.

"Oddly, it is quite comfortable to the touch. It seems to be metal, and yet it seems warm… The surface is glossy yet also soft… This spot…opens up?"

Russel unfastened the flip-up phone and marveled at the light flowing from the screen.

Before the conversation started, Subaru had changed the display on the screen to that of a more orthodox clock. Even with skilled operation, there was little else to extract from it save for a few phone numbers.

"There is a glow, and the picture is changing… Ah, but I cannot determine the contents. Are these characters I have never seen? Or wait… Is this a picture?"

Bit by bit, the screen showed the second hand of the clock moving. But the human beings of that world used very different devices to tell time, so Russel could not understand the display. The same went for the numbers indicating the time. His best guess about the Arabic numerals was probably that they resembled a child's scribbles.

Subaru knew how he felt. After all, he'd gone through the same thing day after day.

"They're special characters, so I don't think anyone here can read them."

"However, you can use it properly… Is that it?"

"I actually can't fully use all its functions."

When Crusch posed the question, Subaru employed caution, carefully choosing his words.

There were a number of conditions for successfully completing these negotiations, but one reigned supreme. He could not let Crusch, who possessed absolute confidence in her keen eyes, detect any falsehood within him.

Subaru needed to do everything in his power to avoid stepping on any land mines.

"In other words, you are saying the following: This metia acts like a warning crystal that indicates the approach of the White Whale."

"I don't recall ever hearing about these warning crystals, but I think so."

Judging from the name, they were probably some sort of alarm crafted from magic crystals.

"A metia that signals the approach of the White Whale, eh? What does the expert think?"

"In truth, I must admit I am at a loss. Individual metia differ greatly, and it is rare for any two to work precisely the same. The manufacturing of conversation mirrors is an exception because a method to reproduce them has been discovered, but the costs involved make mass production simply unfeasible even for those. At the very least, this is the first I have heard of this variety of metia."

Russel avoided making any careless statements about an object he knew nothing of. For the moment, he played the role of a benevolent third party, intervening in neither Subaru's favor nor Crusch's.

Naturally, Russel's eyes were exceptionally critical when it came to discerning whether siding with Subaru or Crusch would accrue him the most profit.

"Therefore, I cannot see any method of determining the veracity of the information. Which means your assertion becomes difficult to swallow at face value. Now then, what shall you do?"

"Yeah, that is a tough situation. It'd be great if I at least had a way of proving it, but…"

In response to Crusch, Subaru raised both hands, his gesture indicating that there was no hope for that.

"Hmm. Perhaps try to see if it rings at the approach of an actual demon beast? Or maybe you have another way of proving that this metia is indeed a device that reacts to demon beasts?"

"I'm gonna correct you about one thing."

Subaru raised a finger and swayed it left and right, as if enjoying a chance to get back at Crusch.

"This metia doesn't react to demon beasts themselves. If it did that, any demon beasts hanging around would make it ring all the damn time. It turns on for only the important ones."

"—Surely you are not saying it reacts when a demon beast is threatening the user?"

Crusch reacted to Subaru's assertion, adding a laugh, as if such a function was too good to be true. But there was yet another reaction that followed Crusch's.

"—Ah."

Standing at Subaru's side, Rem let out a tiny voice of comprehension. Then, immediately after, she lowered her face, apparently ashamed at having disturbed the negotiations.

"That reaction makes me wonder, Rem. Did that remind you of something?"

When Crusch pressed for an answer, Rem's eyes ran over the side of Subaru's face for only an instant. Hints of worry and gratitude filled her gaze, so Subaru smiled to give her visible reassurance.

"It's all right. If you have something to say, go right ahead, 'kay?"

"—Yes. If you say so, Subaru."

Rem lifted her head, turned toward Crusch, then indicated the cell phone on the table.

"I shall omit the fine details, but recently, there was an incident within the Mathers domain caused by demon beasts. When it occurred, Subaru was the one who acted the swiftest to bring the situation to an end. He had not been with us very long, so I thought it strange he grasped the circumstances before

the landlord himself, Master Roswaal, but…"

"With this metia, he noticed the incident beforehand?"

"It was an open question, as it was a little too convenient for him to notice without any tangible basis."

Meekly, Rem tilted her head very slightly, glancing Subaru's way. She clearly harbored doubts over how Subaru had sniffed out the Urugarum incident in a very Rem-like way. The learning of the metia's existence had just erased those doubts.

"…"

On the other hand, that reply drew Crusch's piercing gaze right to Rem. Her eyes gave off a sharp, penetrating stare that seemed to slip inside people's innards, as if she could see their very soul.

In terms of actual time, only a few seconds passed. And yet, Subaru felt like each took a heavy toll on his endurance when finally— "—You have not…spoken falsely."

Crusch displayed a certain level of trust and comprehension toward Rem's statement.

Hearing her assessment, Subaru struggled with all his might not to show the relief he felt on his face. On the inside, he could not stop clenching his hands and pumping his fists.

In other words, it had all been a bluff.

If that fact came out, negotiations would immediately be cut off, and it would not have been odd for him to be sliced into thousands upon thousands of bits for his insolence. However, Subaru had glossed over it all by using his words to direct everyone toward a different topic.

Subaru had not spoken a single falsehood in response to Crusch's questions. After all, the cell phone really wasn't a device that rang in response to demon beasts in its proximity. Moreover, Subaru, someone who had barely even used his cell phone to send messages, certainly could not use its full potential.

Rem had unwittingly allowed herself to be exploited for the greatest hurdle Subaru needed, which was confirmation from a third party. Even if the contents of what she said differed from the truth, she had no intent to deceive, so it was not a lie per se.

"You've gotta admit, though, you said that like you can tell if a person's lying or not."

"At the risk of boasting, that is correct. One might call it having perceptive eyes, but in actuality, I have been graced with the blessing of wind reading."

"…What did you say?"

The completely serious reply Subaru received was not at all what he'd expected, recalling how in the past she had chewed him up and spit out the leftovers. During the previous loop, Subaru had chalked up Crusch's selfdescribed "ability to discern falsehoods" to her perceptive eyes, but…

"Reading the wind allows me to judge that which cannot be seen by the eye. By nature, I am able to discern the wind that envelops the other party. Those who speak lies have a telltale wind that blows from them—there is none of this around Rem."

"R-really, is that so? I didn't know that. Had no idea."

"An unsettling wind does blow from you, Subaru Natsuki. That said, standing at the negotiation table while unaware of my wind reading was simply too unfair toward you."

Subaru's smile twitched at how rotten Crusch's personality was for her to reveal that ability at the height of negotiations. A blessing that provided a way to determine whether the other party's words were true or false was practically cheating. It also explained the sharpness of the barbed words that had cut Subaru so deeply the last time around.

"Rem's words contain no hint of deception. At the very least, this certainly proves that you possess the means to detect a demon beast menace in advance."

But in this one instance, her confidence in that blessing was a doubleedged sword.

Subaru was balancing atop a tightrope, embodying the very idea of letting his opponent get their cuts in as long as it meant he could hit back even harder.

"So can I take it that you believe in this metia now?"

"That would be speaking too soon. Even knowing there is no collusion, it does not change that I must protect all my vassals. This is a decision that might determine the outcome of the royal selection, or even the fate of the kingdom itself. I shall not proceed lightly."

Unsurprisingly, she fended off Subaru's attempt to quickly close the deal.

He'd achieved a bare minimum of trust that his proclaimed metia could provide information about where the White Whale could appear, but that only meant they would consider the proposal seriously rather than laugh it off.

What would build on that level of trust and bring the negotiations to a successful ending was—

"—Sooo, how about letting me in on this metia talk, too?"

The reception room was seized by surprise when a voice suddenly interrupted.

When the speaker stepped into the room, she elegantly smiled in response to their startled gazes.

"Aren't you a funny one, Subaru, looking the most shocked when you're the one who invited me?"

Addressing the wide-eyed Subaru, the charmingly smiling girl ran her fingers through her wavy mane.

Her light-purple hair seemed as soft as down, reaching all the way down to her hips. With such a gentle face, she could easily put others at ease. However, the girl's eyes meticulously surveyed everything—a clear sign that she was not to be underestimated.

"—Anastasia Hoshin."

Knowing who she was, Crusch shut one eye and addressed her by name. Anastasia responded to the greeting with an easy "thanks."

"It's unfair that while I was busy hurrying over after getting word, you just went and started talking without me. With such an interesting, profitable conversation going on…you'll let me join, won't you?"

Phrasing her request in a pleading way, Anastasia's words and subtext contained genuine delight. After considering her presence, Subaru subconsciously glanced behind her.

"If you are wondering about Julius, you can rest easy."

"—!"

As he did so, the mischievously grinning Anastasia seemed to read his mind.

"Currently, Julius is under house arrest by order of the captain of the royal guards. He's currently undergoing punishment for smacking around someone else's boy without my say-so. That knight of mine is quite a handful."

"House arrest…"

Now that she mentioned it, Subaru recalled the night when Reinhard had told him the same thing. As a result of his private duel with Subaru, Julius was being disciplined with house arrest. Apparently, that was why he hadn't accompanied Anastasia to the current meeting.

"I see. That's…very…unfortunate."

Subaru was too pathetic to keep the look of relief off his face. But even then, he was unable to summon any words he might have for the next time they met.

"You said you were invited here. By Subaru Natsuki, I take it?"

Crusch addressed Anastasia, ignoring Subaru's wounded feelings. Anastasia sat in a chair offered to her as she stroked the fox-fur scarf hanging around her neck.

"More precisely, it was the girl with him. Normally, I'd have just sent her away…but I couldn't wave her off after she said there was super-important stuff concerning the White Whale."

When Anastasia finished chatting with a smile, Crusch turned to Subaru.

After bringing two royal selection candidates to the same table, Subaru gripped his fist at the drastically altered situation.

This is it. Everything starts from here.

All the necessary parties were in the same room together. Subaru could finally begin the true negotiations.

However—

"Pardon me, Mr. Natsuki, but there is one thing I would like to ask you."

Naturally, Russel did not find the invitation of a rival merchant to the meeting very amusing.

"Go ahead, Mr. Russel."

"Mr. Natsuki, I would like to hear your true motive for calling Lady Anastasia to this place. As she is both a candidate in the royal selection and president of the Hoshin Company, possessing great influence with the merchants in the royal capital, my position here has become highly… indistinct. Surely it could not be…"

"You're wondering if I'm weighing other options?"

The instant Subaru responded to Russel's doubts, the atmosphere in the reception room grew taut.

Of course, Russel felt slighted, but his grave expression spread to Crusch as well.

"In other words, you are saying this: You shall select your alliance partner based on who bids higher for the information on the White Whale, my house or Anastasia Hoshin?"

" "

"If so, that is an exceedingly imprudent choice, Subaru Natsuki."

With Subaru silent, Crusch slammed him with the force of her will, rising to her feet and gazing down sharply at Anastasia.

Amused, Anastasia tilted her head slightly as she spoke. "Oh my, Crusch. If you look at me like that, I'm going to get excited… That's a face that people in the lead get when they're worried about their competition catching up soon."

"You have questionable hobbies. Perhaps it is the correct decision for someone like you—openly motivated by personal greed—but my principles shall not be swayed."

After fending off Anastasia's taunt, Crusch turned back toward Subaru with a serious expression.

"It is as I said, Subaru Natsuki. If you expected a bidding war between my house and the Hoshin Company for your information, let me say that you will be disappointed. I have no intention of cooperating with your sch—"

"Wait, wait, you're jumping to conclusions! Both of you calm down, okay?"

Subaru scrambled to stop Crusch from breaking off negotiations and wrecking all his efforts so far.

"Jumping to conclusions…? Mr. Subaru, so it was not your intent to draw two candidates to compete against each other?"

"Of course not. I'm not so overconfident to think that I can make people dance in the palm of my hands. I ain't Buddha. Really, with what I have…"

Subaru gave a little wave before making a show of holding Rem's hand as she stood beside him. The touch conveyed a body heat that sent courage flowing into him, calming the faint trembling of his fingers.

"All I can manage with hands my size is holding on to another person, like this."

"Ahh, yes, yes, very touching. So where do you plan to take the conversation from here?"

"Er, I guess that was a pretty lame line…"

When he tried loosening his grip, Rem fiercely resisted letting go, so Subaru left it at that while using his free hand to slap the table before continuing.

"I've played the White Whale card, and I've invited two people who represent the merchants in the capital. That makes the situation a big deal already…but I want to propose one more thing."

Subaru tapped his fingers on the table while sending a fierce smile Crusch's way, blatantly hiding all the frail, weak-kneed parts of him behind a bold, confident front.

"Willing to listen?"

"I am the one who rushed to conclusions and interrupted you. I have an obligation to listen. Say what you will."

The sense of an oppressive wind blowing from Crusch intensified. On top of that, even Anastasia showered Subaru with similar pressure. It seemed like he would buckle at any moment.

He had no doubt that if he was alone, he would've laughed, made light of it all, then promptly run for the hills.

" "

He felt a squeeze from the warm touch of the hand clasped around his.

She could not call his name, nor could she offer any words. All she could

do was convey her feelings. That made him happy.

As long as he had that, Subaru could probably take on even the Witch.

" "

He closed his eyes, held his breath, and keenly felt thoughts and oxygen coursing through his brain.

I'm pretty sure she'll bite.

After thinking about it over and over, incessantly recalling what happened on the first, second, and third loops, he pieced together his accumulated knowledge, then drew out what he expected to happen onto a blank, white canvas.

He wasn't…absolutely sure. It wasn't like anyone had told him that's what would happen, either. But combined with the pieces found scattered throughout the ongoing negotiations, the vague image pointed to only one possibility.

It was either a convenient delusion or a miracle he had obtained after suffering death three times.

It comes down to this.

"Crusch, I think…"

" "

"…I think my information will be extremely useful for your plan to hunt down the White Whale."

Subaru's future information and the objective Crusch harbored—these formed the basis of his decision. Subaru would become a suitable ally for Crusch Karsten, as a comrade in arms against their mutual foe: the White Whale.

3

In the instant after Subaru spoke, the room fell into silence as each person in attendance sank into thought: Crusch, Anastasia, Ferris, Wilhelm, Russel. Each closed their eyes, as if digesting the words Subaru had just given voice to.

The moments that passed amounted to several seconds, but the incredible pressure of that quiet tied Subaru into knots.

This is it. This'll decide everything.

Unlike the events so far, simulations in his mind wouldn't cut it. Unable to determine the other parties' probable reactions, he was left with no choice but to react instantly to what they did then and there.

"I shall ask you about one thing, Subaru Natsuki." As he'd expected, it was Crusch who broke the silence.

Crusch unfolded her arms and raised a single finger, turning it toward Subaru.

"From where did this extraordinary idea come? Why do you believe that my house has crafted such a plan? It is not a statement you can simply walk away from."

Her uninflected voice betrayed no alarm or bewilderment, nor any emotions. Awed by her statesmanship, Subaru's gaze wandered as he breathed in and called out a name.

"Rem."

"Yes."

"Give my back a good, hard smack, would you?"

"Yes."

The moment he finished talking, Subaru thought to himself, Uh, a good, hard smack might be overdoing it, but it was too late. With an incredible jolt and a dry, explosive sound, the force shooting through his back made him wonder if his guts were about to spill from his belly.

He felt something hot press against the center of his back in the shape of a small hand. Using the pain and heat to gather his wits, Subaru bowed his head to all the confused people watching.

"Sorry you had to watch that. I was losing my mind a little there."

"Everyone can remember one time or another when they needed to rally themselves after faltering before a great challenge. I was taught long ago to write 'enemy' on my palm, then to swallow the word to steel myself…"

"Lady Crusch, Lady Crusch. That's the charm Ferri taught you a long time ago. You still remembered that?"

"What…? Was it…a lie?"

"It wasn't based on anything concrete, but if the charm helped dispel any doubt in your heart, then it was no lie, Lady Crusch. Ferri's really happy to have been a help to mew."

"I see. So you were thinking of me. In that case, I forgive you."

Seeing how easy it was to cajole Crusch made the earlier discussion about her blessing rather suspicious. Though after many years together, Ferris probably knew exactly how to exploit the loopholes in her lie-detecting ability.

"Gotta say, though, this kind of talk is in a different dimension compared with the negotiations earlier…"

"It's not that strange. I do the same thing before I begin working on any important business deal. Jingling a sack of gold coins by my ear brings out my courage… What's with the face?"

"I was just thinking that if we cut off the conversation here, no one would guess that you guys are competing for control of a kingdom right now."

Subaru pretended not to notice how trivial their chat was compared with the important matters they should have been focusing on. Anastasia pouted at Subaru's reaction, then sighed deeply before continuing.

"All right then. Now that we've had a nice change of pace, let's leave it at that and let you pick up where you left off."

"Yeah…thanks for being so considerate."

Crusch and Ferris were simply talking as they usually did as master and servant, but Anastasia's benevolent humoring of the off-topic conversation had bought Subaru precious time to organize his thoughts into something coherent.

"There were a bunch of things nagging me while staying at this mansion

for the past several days. First is the number of people passing through. The volume of visitors and goods going in and out has been more than just a little high."

"That's only to be expected once news that I am a royal candidate was made public. Surely you understand this?"

"That explains the guests during the day. But what about the ones who came in the dead of night? After you've changed into your evening clothes, the only thing left for you is heading off to bed… Can you really claim that

guests arriving at that hour are there just to talk?"

One night, during the first time around, Crusch had invited Subaru to a drink in the evening. Having changed into a nightgown before sleep, Crusch was incredibly feminine, and Subaru recalled finding it awkward not knowing where to look, along with the conversation they had, of course. But that wasn't the only thing he remembered.

He distinctly recalled being together with Crusch, a wineglass in her hand, while noticing the presence of people coming and going in the yard below.

"Given your personality, you'd never even think of drinking alcohol if you were receiving guests. So how do you explain all the people moving around the mansion after you'd gotten tipsy? They were there for something besides seeking an audience."

" "

This time, Crusch did not have a response for Subaru's deductions. Having tentatively seized the right to guide the conversation, Subaru tapped the table with his hand.

"Another thing that bugged me was the market for metalwork here in the capital. According to a merchant I know, the price of various metal goods has been spiking. In other words, that means weapons and armor."

Subaru had drawn this conclusion from disparate fragments of information he'd gleaned from his first, second, and third times around.

"So I'd bet that you've been gathering up a big amount of dirt-cheap combat gear. I heard that from that shop I know, and from traveling merchants coming here to visit you, Crusch."

Maybe she's preparing for a war, said some traveling merchant or other he'd journeyed with, laughing it off.

"It's significant enough to affect the entire market, so it seems like you're buying up quite a lot. If you're going as far as to buy weapons from outside your own lands, common sense says that something's up, right?"

"Mentioning my house in the same breath as the White Whale is far too great a leap from only that much circumstantial evidence. You've barely compiled enough to even speak the first letter in its name. It is a fact that my house has been acquiring weapons, but that is not proof that I plan to hunt down the White Whale. Perhaps I am amassing military power so that I may ignore the results of the royal selection altogether and seize the throne by force of arms."

"You don't have any reason to plan something so violent, and even I can tell you're not that kind of person."

Crusch, who was the living incarnation of words like sincere or noble, was one of the last people willing to violate the trust of others like that.

"Though I must say, I am somewhat surprised."

Crusch, who shouldn't have known what Subaru was thinking, sighed in admiration. She crossed her arms, tilted her head quizzically, and looked Subaru over from head to toe before speaking again.

"I had firmly believed that you went into the capital during the day purely as a diversion…but it was most definitely my own eyes that did not see clearly."

"Nn! Yeah, that's right. It's not like I spend all my time playing around."

Crusch's open praise struck Subaru with heavy pangs of guilt. In truth, Crusch's initial assessment was exceedingly correct. She judged that he was gullible and spoiled. All he could do at the moment was to respond, turning a blind eye toward the truth.

"Anyway, when I first realized you were gathering weapons, I thought you were preparing for war. The real question was who you were planning to

fight…but a slippery merchant let something fall from his lips."

"A slippery…merchant."

"Just to be sure, to avoid any misunderstandings, allow me to affirm that it was not I."

When Crusch glanced at him, Russel directly denied the misgivings that were undoubtedly on the tip of her tongue. Apparently, Crusch sensed no hint of deception in his words, because she grudgingly showed that she believed him.

As expected, Crusch's intuition was very sharp—but her suspicions were actually both correct and incorrect.

The merchant who'd let it slip from his lips was indeed Russel, just as Crusch had suspected. However, it was not the Russel currently standing before them but the Russel Subaru had met during a previous loop.

"Should Lady Crusch succeed in her current endeavors, we would feel nothing but delight."

Russel had spoken those words on the way out after his negotiations with Crusch had broken down. Subaru had pondered the meaning behind those words for a long time.

If Crusch had stated she expected to succeed the royal throne, it was difficult to imagine that would cause negotiations to break down. But if

Crusch's and Russel's mutual goals were aligned, then—

"If you go by popular rumor, a lot seem to think you're practically running alone in the race, Crusch. But it looks like the merchants don't seem as eager to call it as regular folks do."

"I do not deny it. It is only sensible that the wealthy are the most reluctant. I acknowledge that the tax rate on commerce is high within my lands. Naturally, I use those funds to defend the peace and order…but I am well

aware of the difficulty in conveying this benefit to other parties."

"So unlike the people benefiting from your rule in the Karsten domain, people who aren't swayed by fame can only judge what kind of person you are by how you appear to be, huh?"

It was entirely true that Crusch was a capable ruler who managed her territory well. But beyond those who could confirm her true skill for themselves, people had to rate Crusch based solely on secondhand bits and pieces of information.

Much like Emilia, often judged based on the mere fact that she was a halfelf, Crusch alienated those who were able to see only the negative side of her austere way of life.

"So I figured it's like this. I don't think you care much for people who judge based only on what's visible on the surface, but in a royal selection, you need to persuade even those people to come down on your side. So what should a girl do to convince people like that to see you in a better light…?"

"Well hey, if people judge only from appearances…then all you need to do is slap on a fresh coat of paint, right?"

Anastasia picked up where Subaru left off, bringing his point to its logical conclusion.

"Well, that's pretty easy to say, but it's not so simple to actually do it. In the first place, chances are good this is all a miscalculation. After all, you're wording things to be pretty convenient for yourself there, Subaru."

"I…can't argue with you there. There's no mistaking that Crusch is gathering weapons together for some big plan to somehow court the merchants to support her. But maybe tying that together with the White Whale is just a lot of wishful thinking on my part. I could have just convinced myself it's related to my knowledge about when and where the White Whale's gonna show up…"

Then, Subaru trailed off with a final "But…" while staring directly at Crusch.

Crusch kept her emotions off her face, and he couldn't get a glimpse of what lay in her mind. However, she hadn't refuted anything he had said yet.

That made the gamble worth it.

"I'll say it again. In return for an alliance between Emilia and Crusch, the Emilia camp offers the magic crystal mining rights in the Great Elior Forest in addition to information on the time and place the White Whale will appear —in other words, the honor of hunting down the demon beast that has threatened this world for far too long!"

" "

"If any part of what I'm saying is off the mark, then just go ahead and throw it right out. If I'm wrong, then you can go ahead and simply consider the info I have on the White Whale as a plain bargaining chip for us to haggle over."

Perhaps the two merchants present could simply take that information alone and turn a fine profit; Crusch herself could surely use that information to improve her reputation with merchants as a whole. It had at least that much value.

"But if what you're after is in line with what I'm hoping for, then—"

Subaru raised his right hand and offered it, inviting Crusch to take his hand—to tear down the wall between them, and to prove the future Subaru had seen was worth something.

"We should take out the White Whale—let's go on a hunt."

Subaru was proposing to Crusch that they hunt a creature of legend, a symbol of calamity to traveling merchants. That enormous, nightmarish Demon Beast of Mist that Subaru hated for its link to one of his abominable memories.

"Allow me to…ask you one thing."

Crusch examined Subaru's presented hand and raised her finger, pointing it toward him.

Subaru instinctively understood that the question Crusch would pose him was the final gate barring his path.

"You claim…to know when and where the White Whale shall appear. Is this absolutely certain?"

"—Yeah, it's true."

Subaru released the breath he had been holding as he gave his answer.

The final question was no accident—Subaru could not lie.

"I guarantee I know when and where the White Whale will show. You can bet your…life on it."

In fact, it really was information he had literally paid lives for—whether his own or those of others, over and over. There was no doubt about how reliable it was, nor could Subaru show weakness now that he had come so far.

"…Though there are still some points about which I have doubts, you have done well to see through my plans."

With a small sigh, Crusch closed her eyes as she replied, seemingly giving in.

At first, Subaru was unable to grasp exactly what she meant. But as the words slowly permeated his mind, their meaning gradually took shape and became clearer.

"Then that means…"

"I have misgivings. I have doubts. There are many elements I cannot comprehend, which makes accepting immediately difficult. However—"

Crusch lowered the hand with which she had used to point at him and positioned it against Subaru's. Now, Crusch's slender, pale fingers were firmly grasping the hand he had offered earlier.

"—I shall trust in your eyes and the spirit that leads us to the current state of affairs."

The negotiations had succeeded.

Seeing both of them shake hands, it was actually Russel's shoulders that visibly relaxed first. With an exaggerated breath, he was beside himself as he shook his head before he started speaking.

"There were a number of rather close calls, but it seems you have come to terms. Mr. Natsuki, can I assume that the promise you made prior to this meeting is still firm?"

"Yeah. Sorry it's not much of a deal. You were a big help, Russel. Just like I promised, I'll give you my cell phone after we're done hunting the

White Whale."

Subaru responded to the devious smirk that came over Russel with one of his own. Noticing the exchange, Crusch had an exasperated expression on her face as she sighed.

"So you really were working together."

"Hey, I'm the one who invited him. I just asked him to give me a tiny helping hand."

"Please do not think poorly of me. In point of fact, I did my utmost to avoid any unnatural interference during the negotiations. At worst, I merely looked ahead to after you established an alliance."

Crusch shrugged her shoulders at Subaru's and Russel's nonchalant replies.

Subaru had gotten in contact with Russel immediately after exchanging information with Rem. Once he got a hold of Russel, whose negotiations with Crusch had similarly failed during Subaru's third time through the loop, they agreed to help each other during the meeting. That cooperation rested on the condition that Subaru would eventually hand over his cell phone.

Properly speaking, Russel also had a false understanding of the cell phone's capabilities, but Subaru came to peace with it by seeing it as a chance for Russel to get his hands on an electronic device made with future technology.

"Now then, it is your duty to clear up these remaining areas of doubt."

Crusch shifted her eyes from the link between Subaru and Russel, turning them toward Anastasia. Anastasia noticed that doubting gaze and tilted her head in an open question.

"Mm? You look like there's something you don't understand. But about what, I wonder?"

"I understand that Subaru Natsuki and Russel Fellow have goals that align. This makes your position suspicious. What, pray tell, were you invited here for?"

"Well, guess I see your point."

Anastasia embraced her scarf, pouting with an adorable mmm before continuing.

"There are two royal selection candidates and one of the capital's leading merchants assembled. If you have alliance negotiations with this many heavy hitters…it's not like nothing you say goes outside of that place, huh. But just having me here gave Natsuki's words weight, didn't it?"

"W-well, I did have a little bit of that in mind…"

Giving an evasive answer, Subaru hoped to muddy the waters even as he broke out into a cold sweat once she pointed out exactly what he had been thinking.

In actuality, he had another reason for calling Anastasia over, albeit closely related to the one she had just mentioned.

It was not to keep Crusch from saying anything carelessly. Subaru wanted to make sure Crusch didn't assume that anything he said was thoughtless and unfounded. By assembling so many important figures in one place, he felt it would lend greater credence to his words.

Though given Crusch's and Anastasia's particularly sharp intuition, he was afraid to ask just how much it had actually worked.

"Then there was another reason as well. And that was?"

"That's super-simple—it's because I'm a merchant."

Putting a hand over her lips, Anastasia smiled as she practically hopped forward. Then, she put both of her hands over Subaru's and Crusch's hands, still clasped together.

"I have big expectations for this hunt for the White Whale. For merchants like me, the White Whale is a matter of life-and-death, so if you're gonna take it out, I'll lend you two a big helping hand. Incidentally, you might want to consider the various products the Hoshin Company has on hand and ready to go?"

"Please wait. Surely the Merchant's Guild of the royal capital has precedence in this deal. Lady Anastasia, I would kindly ask that you refrain from interfering in this matter."

Russel rebuffed Anastasia's blatantly mercantile probing. As sparks flew between the competing merchants, Crusch looked at Subaru, seemingly having deduced something from the mutual exchange.

"Wait. Listening to your words, it would seem that we are rather short on time."

"Well, I never heard a thing about that, either. I just thought it felt that way from how the conversation was going. But you're actually pretty hardpressed, aren't you?"

With both Crusch and Anastasia staring at him, Subaru licked his dry lips.

Now that they'd formed an alliance, there was no point hiding the information anymore.

"—Yeah, that's right. According to the metia, the White Whale will appear about thirty hours from now. The location is…the area around the Great Flugel Tree."

"Thirty hours…!"

"The Great Flugel Tree—"

Crusch ground her teeth at the incredibly tight schedule. Anastasia tried to wrap her head around the name of the location.

Yes, the rest was a race against time.

"Within thirty hours, we need to deploy our forces to the Liphas plains, and strike at the White Whale with a coordinated attack just as it appears. For that…"

Crusch, quickly adapting to the situation, turned her head only to see Wilhelm nodding. The aged swordsman broke his previous silence and spoke.

"With regards to the attack force's organization, it has already been on standby in the royal capital for several days. In the first place, it had assembled in the royal capital to coincide with the timetable of the White Whale's expected appearance. Lady Crusch, I believe you are blessed that this should coincide with the beginning of the royal selection, but…"

"That was fast! But what? Is there a pattern to when the White Whale shows up?"

Though Wilhelm's news was a lifesaver, what Subaru heard also surprised him. As far as he knew, the time and place of the White Whale's appearances were completely random. Its tendency to pop up anywhere, anytime was a part of the Demon Beast of Mist's greatest menace, but…

It was Ferris, advancing to Wilhelm's side, who answered Subaru's question.

"Figuring out the times and places the White Whale comes out is all Old

Man Wil's hard work, meow. He's spent the last fourteen years living with only the thought of giving it a good pounding, meow."

Ferris's cat ears twitched. Then, he peered into the face of the broadshouldered old man and spoke again.

"Thanks to Old Man Wil, I'm not worried about the morale or training of the troops, but I can't say the same for our logistics network. I mean, if people figured there was an army under Lady Crusch's command here in the capital, there'd be a huge fuss over it, so we've had to sneak stuff in bit by bit."

When Ferris pointed that out, Wilhelm's sharp eyes shifted Subaru's way.

"Certainly, I cannot say that our weapons and equipment preparations are completely in order… Sir Subaru, did you bring Mr. Russel and Lady Anastasia to the same table to address this?"

"Well, sometimes these things just happen… I wanted to say that at least once in my life, okay?"

Subaru scratched his head and returned Wilhelm's gaze with the answer he had prepared.

Russel, preeminent merchant that he was, accepted Subaru's reply and motioned to outside the window.

"I have already sent the guild notice to be ready to move. Preparations are happening as we speak. Allow us until tomorrow afternoon, and we shall gather everything that is necessary from the merchants here in the royal capital."

"Hey, the same goes for the Hoshin Company. Let's give merchants not part of the guild a chance to fill the gaps. You can expect various other things from us as well."

Anastasia followed Russel's words up with a strikingly powerful reply. Then, as Crusch folded her arms in relief, Anastasia smiled at her.

"I came here because it's an iron rule of commerce never to pass up a business opportunity. Selling things is nice, but, but, but, doing favors are

number one! Intangible, no depreciation, no overhead—and more than anything, you can slap a price on it after the fact!"

"Hey, I'm glad she's on our side here, but hearing that makes me think

'Wow, this businesswoman's a real piece of work!' all over again."

Anastasia was a cute girl with an adorable blush to her cheeks, but she was a miser to the core and thus, very, very scary. Subaru couldn't even fathom the price she attached to her favors.

With Anastasia in a very good mood, Crusch glanced at her and nodded with an accepting look.

"So you prepared the path before negotiations took place. I see. So in this instance, it was I who lacked foresight and resolve. You have done well,

Subaru Natsuki."

"I just crammed super-hard before the test. Me, I'm relieved to the bottom of my heart."

He'd schemed and prepared endlessly beforehand, but even then, successfully brokering the deal was still like tightrope walking across a knife's edge. Even with wild cards on his side, he still had an awful lot to learn. Even so…

"Guess I managed to save face for staying behind in the capital, Rem."

"Yes. You are incredible, Subaru, as I knew you would be."

He lifted up their still-clasped hands as he and Rem, the unsung hero of the negotiations, shared in each other's joy at their success.

There probably wasn't anyone happier at the result of the negotiations than Rem.

Originally, these negotiations had been Rem's appointed duty. He could easily imagine how being unable to divulge her task to Subaru and having to speak with Crusch day after day had whittled away at her spirit.

Subaru had continually rotted by himself while the future of the Emilia camp had been entrusted to her—she must have suffered under that burden.

He hoped that in some small way, this victory repaid the girl whose feelings had supported him for so long; if so, then for the moment, that was enough for Subaru to be happy.

"—Sir Subaru."

As Rem and Subaru celebrated together, a voice suddenly called out to him.

When he looked over, he saw Wilhelm, standing with his back straight as he watched Subaru with a serious demeanor. When the aged swordsman's eyes met Subaru's, emotions flooded onto Wilhelm's wrinkled, fearless face.

"Thank you."

With that brief statement, he went down on one knee on the spot.

The suddenness of it jolted Subaru. However, he was not alone in his surprise. Not only Crusch and Ferris, who knew Wilhelm, but even the others like Rem and Anastasia were startled.

"I offer thanks to you as deep as that I offer my lord, Duchess Crusch Karsten. I thank you for giving this elderly man an opportunity for vengeance."

"Uhh, that's…?"

"As wise a man you are, Sir Subaru, you have likely already deduced this, but allow me to reintroduce myself—"

Wilhelm paid no heed to Subaru's confusion, drawing his sword from its sheath. He lowered the blade onto the floor, then placed his hand upon it. It was the greatest possible gesture for paying the utmost respect.

Then, he spoke his name.

"Previously, I was known by Trias, my old surname. My true family name is Astrea. I took the previous Sword Saint, Theresia van Astrea, as my wife, sullying the family line of the Sword Saints—that is I, Wilhelm van Astrea."

After a breath, Wilhelm's eyes were filled with a glimmer of hope as he carried on.

"My warmest thanks, for granting this withered body a chance to slay the damned demon beast that robbed me of my wife."

Wilhelm deeply bowed his head, the emotions of his powerful, heartfelt plea slamming into Subaru all at once.

Everyone listening to the exchange was waiting in anticipation of Subaru's reply. To meet their expectations, Subaru drew a deep breath and answered.

"R-right…o-of course I knew. Naturally, that's how I was sure Crusch would agree to wiping out the White Whale!"

"Subaru Natsuki."

Crusch calmly interrupted Subaru's oddly flailing reply. Her amber eyes peered into Subaru's floundering expression when she sighed softly.

"A deceitful wind is blowing from you."

The power of the wind reading underscored how plain Subaru's paperthin lie was.

CHAPTER 2

EVE OF THE DECISIVE BATTLE

1

—Slaying the White Whale.

With negotiations concluded, everyone involved acted quickly to make the word hunt a reality.

Just as the two merchants Anastasia and Russel had proclaimed, weapons and equipment were scrounged up from all over the royal capital, with Crusch mustering the punitive force she'd prepared beforehand. The rest, arranging dragon carriages to transport the additional people and supplies, was taken care of in short order.

"With so many dragon carriages being hired for this, no wonder I had so much trouble finding one to get back to Roswaal Manor."

As Subaru watched people and goods rapidly flow in and out of the mansion, he realized how much had been happening behind the scenes during the loop, completely without his personal involvement. During his previous trips through, Crusch and Wilhelm had already been preparing to fight the White Whale, even while Subaru was off in his own little world. Subaru had a rude awakening when he finally realized it after all that time.

He'd caused them trouble on three different occasions. He wondered if there was anything he could do to help.

"Hey, if there's anything I can…"

"Ehh, Subawu, there's nothing at all you can do, is there, meow?"

"Hey, I said if!"

Subaru, swept up by the busy atmosphere, was on the verge of offering some kind of help, but Ferris, concealing a yawn with a hand over his face, foiled Subaru's half-hearted attempt.

"Don't assume other people share your laid-back attitude. Even I must have something I can…"

"Preparing supplies and organizing troops are both outside your areas of expertise, aren't they, Subawu? And we can't have outsiders running all around, so sit and behave, okay?"

"Well, I can't do that. It's just that I'm the one who said 'let's do this' and everyone else is working into the dead of night while I'm…"

"That's where you're dead wrong!"

With Subaru all worked up, Ferris thrust a finger into the tip of his nose, interrupting with some terse words. Forced into silence, Subaru yelped as Ferris flicked his nose as he spoke.

"Ferri really doesn't like that it's-my-fault way of thinking. Or rather, I hate it."

"…I really am the reason why they're pulling an all-nighter, though."

It seemed strange for him to blithely sit around and quietly wait for the results.

"—Nowadays everything's all about the royal selection, but way back when, Crusch was just a normal, adorable princess without any thoughts of participating in kingdom politics."

"Huh?"

"Ah, did the princess part throw you off? She's always looked lovely, but Lady Crusch has become so strong and gallant since then that even men can't keep up…"

Subaru, bewildered by the topic's sudden onset, felt left behind as Ferris's cheeks flushed. Ferris let out a flustered sigh, swooning at the image of the young Crusch in the back of his mind as he continued.

"Lady Crusch is kind, wonderful, and invincible, earnest and valiant and more forthright than anyone…but the reason Lady Crusch turned into this Lady Crusch, strong enough to aim for the throne, is because she was at a certain someone's side."

"What are you talkin' about? And what do you mean, a certain someone…?"

"—His Highness Fourier Lugunica. This nation's late fourth prince."

Subaru, completely lost in this conversation, drew in his breath just a bit

at Ferris's words. But he had more reasons for being at a loss for words than surprise at the name of a dead person he never knew.

" "

The fleeting, sad look on Ferris's face when he spoke the name had grabbed his attention.

His smile included a feeling of nostalgia and loneliness but, somehow, also a faint measure of pride. Even keeping his gender in mind, it was a beautiful sight that left Subaru short of breath.

"Watching you, Subawu, makes me remember Prince Fourier just a tiny little bit."

"…Was he someone with a mean-looking face?"

"Nah, he was handsome. You're not even in his league, Subawu. But the willful personality, the simplicity, the pure, blatant conceit… Well, I won't say any more, since it might insult him."

"I think that's already pretty insulting—and also a backhanded slap at me, too?!"

Apparently, it was their shared character flaws rather than similar faces that had gotten Ferris all sentimental. Sadly, Subaru couldn't deny any of them, but Ferris shook his head at Subaru's words.

"Prince Fourier was a confounding man to deal with, but he tried his very best. He always worried about how to act properly as a royal, and his inspirations caused all kinds of trouble for those around him. The prince wasn't talented, but he was full of drive, and he'd always listen to anything you wanted to ask him, meow."

"…Sounds like a pretty difficult guy to handle."

"That's right! He'd say, 'When everyone is working so hard, I simply cannot bear to be the only one standing still!' Exactly like you are now, Subawu. But His Highness would never, ever say anything like, ''Tis my

fault.' He wasn't someone to consider it, or even to think it at all."

The strained smile Ferris wore as his reminiscing words trailed off showed how much he cared for the prince. Was that really such an important person? Subaru wondered, before it finally dawned upon him.

The fourth prince of the Kingdom of Lugunica meant this Fourier person they were speaking about had died in the plague that became the impetus for the royal selection.

And if he was the reason why Crusch was aiming for the throne, that would mean—

"So this Prince Fourier and Crusch were…close?"

"They were similar in age, and Prince Fourier visited Lady Crusch's mansion a great deal. He'd drop in here and there, making an excuse every time, but he was bad at hiding things, so his real goal was obvious."

Ferris made a little smile as he cast his thoughts back in time, clueing Subaru in to how Fourier felt.

Ferris and Crusch's relationship went beyond that of mere lord and servant or man and woman. But for that Fourier person to be included in that relationship was no doubt very important to Ferris.

The relationship between the three was probably very special, and very precious.

"Ninety-five percent of the Ferri you see now is all because of Lady

Crusch. But the most important part of that remaining five percent is thanks to Prince Fourier… That, I'm sure of."

The way Ferris gently lowered his eyes and put a hand to his chest as he spoke gave Subaru an odd feeling deep inside. Until then, he'd been firmly convinced that Ferris had never opened his heart to anyone besides Crusch. He thought it might be the healer's experience related to life and death that let Ferris dole out looks cruel enough to give people chills.

But when Ferris spoke of how he remembered Fourier, there was not even the tiniest trace of that.

"But what, you feel friendliness from me that's the same as what you felt from this Fourier person?"

"Hah? Why does that make Subawu and Fourier the same? I'll kill you."

"That's so mean it's scary!"

The sharp, impaling voice and dangerous look in his eyes made Subaru retreat a step, unnerved. Seeing this, Ferris cleared his throat.

"That's not how I meant it… I'm not going out of my way to talk to you about this right now because of that, Subawu… Aw, sheesh! Why don't you understand already, idiot!"

"Hey, that's not even the tiniest bit reasonable! The conversation jumped everywhere, so I didn't get it! What do you want from me, anyway?!"

Ferris stomped his foot on the floor in annoyance, with Subaru still cringing as a loud voice responded:

"Subaru, Master Felix, you are both speaking rather loudly, is something wrong?"

Rem, ostensibly packing luggage in the guest room, heard the ruckus and came down the stairs. Seeing the worried look on Rem's face, Subaru scratched his head, unsure how he ought to explain things.

"Er, I was thinking that maybe I could help out with something, but Ferris was saying I'd be in the way, and now I'm not even sure what he was trying to tell me."

"Subawu, you're just awful at putting things together. Sheesh, I tried to tell you… It's all because you tried to get in the way of everyone's work…"

"Don't call it 'getting in the way'! I wanna help. I mean, all this started because of me…"

"It's that!"

Ferris lifted his face, powerfully interrupting Subaru's meandering words. Then, the cat ears on his head made a little twitch as he poked a finger into Subaru's chest.

"Subawu, I hate how you say 'because of.' It's not 'because of,' it's 'thanks to.' That's why everyone's pulling an all-nighter and why Old Man Wil finally has a chance to fight the White Whale." "Thanks to me…?"

Subaru quizzically tilted his head at words that didn't seem real to him. But Rem, standing close by, smiled at Subaru, agreeing with Ferris's satisfaction.

"Competing in the royal selection, fighting the White Whale… It's not really for Lady Crusch's own benefit. It's for everyone."

With Subaru cowed into silence, Ferris continued on.

"Hunting down the White Whale is Old Man Wil's fondest wish. Apparently, he wasn't able to be at his wife's side when the White Whale took her, the previous Sword Saint."

"The previous Sword Saint…"

"To take his revenge, Old Man Wil chased after the White Whale like he had a death wish. Without anything concrete to go on, it was a lot like trying to grab mist with your hand. He recorded the places the White Whale appeared, the time of day, the weather… For that, we went all over the place, testing different hypotheses, and finally, he figured out that there's something like an order to it."

Subaru wondered just how deep Wilhelm's vindictiveness ran.

Everyone knew of, and feared, the Demon Beast of Mist, a mighty foe in no small part due to how everything about the creature was shrouded in mystery—and yet, all alone, this elderly man continued to struggle against that being.

"But when he finally figured it out, no one would believe a word he said."

So the aged swordsman had spent night after night nursing his desire for vengeance as he pored over tomes with bloodshot eyes. Yet, when his fervor finally turned up a tangible lead, no one had the power to act on it—

"The kingdom's wounds from the Great Expedition still run deep. With the throne vacant, there wasn't anyone who could help Old Man Wil. No one had the will to fight the White Whale, or the resources to spare… I think Old Man Wil was probably on the verge of despair when he couldn't find anyone to cooperate with him."

Wilhelm had yearned for vengeance, yet he could not even crawl to the foot of his hated foe.

Subaru knew the despair that came from crushing helplessness, for weakness was a sin that he himself couldn't escape.

"It seems like he thought about leaving behind everything and everyone he knew to fight the White Whale completely alone. I think his shame from not fighting it was outweighing the fact that he couldn't win—men really are idiots. His wife wouldn't have wanted him to do that, I'm sure of it."

"I suppose not…"

Yes, it was Rem, silent to that point, who agreed with Ferris.

Rem touched a hand to her own chest as she gently glanced at Subaru with her pale-blue eyes.

"I want the person I love to be happy forever. Even if I am gone, I want to be remembered with a smiling face."

"…It's way too soon to talk about remembrances, y'know."

Subaru couldn't help turning down Rem's sentimental words. He reached out with his hand and gave Rem's head a tiny poke, then gently touched her with his palm and caressed her.

Rem fondly narrowed her eyes at Subaru's open outburst of emotion. "Then, it was Lady Crusch who approached Master Wilhelm?" Ferris nodded, averting his face with a distant look in his eyes.

"That's because Lady Crusch is truly kind at heart. She'll reach out to someone drowning in grief and despair, or speak to a person everyone's turned their backs to, and she'll help anyone who wants to take care of someone precious to them— She'd say, 'That's what His Highness would do.'"

For a moment, Ferris closed his eyes; then, he lifted his face with a normal expression on it, sticking out his tongue.

"All right, weird talk over. It was a long talk, but the point is, Subawu, you don't need to brood over this one itsy bit! Besides, it's not like we're doing any of this for your sake, anyway! No one's as interested in you as much as you think they are!"

"Maybe you were trying to hide your embarrassment or something, but that was actually mean!"

"It is all right, Subaru. I am very interested in you. If this is what others think of you, then my feelings are ten times stronger."

"That's scary, too!"

After Ferris's harsh statement came Rem's very different follow-up. Buffeted by both, Subaru nonetheless tried to understand the core of what they were telling him.

"Man, that was a convoluted conversation…"

"That 'oh, now I understand' attitude really annoys me, meow. Hmph, that's Subawu for you."

"All that said…your tongue is somewhat too glib, Ferris."

"Meow?!"

Though he had adopted a blunt demeanor, Ferris jumped in surprise at the voice that suddenly came from behind. Anxiously, he looked back to see an aged gentleman standing behind him, arms folded.

Wilhelm's sharp stare seemed to make Ferris shrink.

"I cannot say it is a good hobby to speak excessively of a man's shame to others?"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, meow. It's like a Ferri-style literary deconstruction of Old Man Wil's character?"

Ferris brought his fingers from both hands together and stuck his tongue out in a flirty pose. For all the world, he seemed like a pretty, adorable, cateared girl, but sadly, he was very much a guy.

Of course, that sex appeal was unlikely in the extreme to work on Wilhelm.

"At any rate, do not prattle so much about a person without his permission."

"Gooot it."

Curtly dressed down, Ferris's shoulders drooped as he meekly backed away. It was just like Ferris to bid them farewell, only to slip in a wink at the end.

But it was Subaru whose mental state was in chaos. Having

unintentionally heard all the details about Wilhelm's past, he couldn't help feeling guilty.

He thought briefly about divulging his own past embarrassments to make up for it, but he could imagine what kind of scorched-earth landscape that would leave, so he firmly rejected the idea.

As a result, the silence continued unbroken, with a bead of sweat trickling down Subaru's brow.

"My apologies you had to hear that unpleasant tale. I do not wish to waste your time with an old man's trivial delusions. Please, forget them."

It was Wilhelm who broke the silence, trying to act like the conversation earlier had never happened. Seeing the painful smile on his face, Subaru silently resolved to respect his wishes. Ask nothing, said Wilhelm's silent wish. So he would ask nothing.

"You truly love your wife, don't you?" —Miss Rem?!

Subaru's shock was palpable. Rem had walked directly into a veritable minefield.

Paying Subaru's nervousness no heed, Wilhelm raised an eyebrow for a moment before he replied.

"Yes, I love my wife. More than anything, more than anyone, no matter how much time may pass."

Wilhelm's age itself gave his statement that much more weight.

On several past occasions, Subaru had heard Wilhelm voice his feelings for his beloved wife. In those few moments, Wilhelm had conveyed just how dear his wife was to him, but now that he knew that these were Wilhelm's feelings for someone departed from this world, it stirred a different emotion deep within Subaru.

"If you will excuse me, preparations for tomorrow yet await. Please rest peacefully this evening."

With the pair falling silent, Wilhelm turned his back to them and gently headed off.

"Tomorrow—"

As Wilhelm excused himself, Subaru spoke to him spur-of-the-moment.

He stopped. But he did not look back when he started speaking.

"Tomorrow, Rem and I will be fighting with you."

"That is…"

"As if we can sit back and watch while our allies face a powerful enemy. Don't worry. Rem can fight…and I have things to do, too." Subaru piled onto his hastily spoken words, cutting off any rejection of his cooperation. Then he added, "Let's join our strength together and give that whale bastard a real beating! I'll help every way I can!"

" "

Subaru raised the thumb of his right hand as he swore that he and Wilhelm would be comrades in arms.

For a time, Wilhelm said nothing to his declaration. Then— "—My wife was a woman who loved to admire flowers."

Haltingly, he replied to Subaru's oath in a very different tone.

"She did not care for the way of the sword, yet the sword loved her like none other. She was not permitted to live any life save one with the sword, and my wife came to accept that destiny."

Subaru had personally witnessed the might of Reinhard, the current Sword Saint. The blessing of Sword Saint granted the human body an absurd level of power—enough power to define a person's future and narrow one's possibilities without limit.

"It is I who robbed my wife of the sword and made her abandon the title of Sword Saint."

Once, Wilhelm had told Subaru that he was an aged swordsman with no talent—that his current state had been achieved after offering half of his life to the sword. What setbacks must he have suffered, what nails must have been driven into his heart until he arrived at that dear wish? And then—

"She abandoned the sword and became a woman—and my wife. All this she permitted so that she might live as Theresia instead of the Sword Saint— However, the sword did not forgive her."

If she had abandoned the sword, how had she ended up part of the White Whale expeditionary force?

However, Wilhelm's recollection did not touch upon that issue as he spoke.

"Sir Subaru, I thank you." After a breath, he added, "In tomorrow's battle, I shall find my answer with my own blade. I will be able to go where my wife rests. I shall finally be able to meet her."

Leaving those words behind, Wilhelm departed the room for good.

Subaru couldn't keep his entire body from trembling from the flood of emotions within him.

As a fellow man, Wilhelm's determination could not fail to inspire a deep reverence within him. Wilhelm was a man earnestly, sincerely beholden to love.

"Subaru…"

Suddenly, Rem's voice echoed across the now-silent room. Without a word, Subaru turned toward her, perfectly meeting Rem's gaze.

"…If I am gone, will you remember me just as long?"

"…I don't wanna answer that. It's bad luck."

Speaking with a voice of dismay, Subaru gave Rem's forehead a little poke.

When he touched Rem's forehead, she smiled with a happy expression, almost as if she'd received the reply she had been hoping for.

2

It was the following morning—seventeen hours before the appointed hour for subjugating the White Whale.

"Now then, it's Lady Crusch's orders, so go ahead, pick whichever one you like."

"Even if you put it like that…"

With a cool morning breeze blowing, Subaru was at the Crusch residence, utterly lost in front of a lineup of land dragons.

Ferris, wearing a white uniform of the Knights of the Royal Guard instead of his usual feminine clothing, was having Subaru examine the land dragons. With a snow-white cape on top, and a face full of zeal, Ferris's cheeks puffed up at Subaru's reply.

"What?! Lady Crusch went out of her way to be so kind, and you don't like them?!"

"It's not that. I'm really happy I can choose the land dragon I'll ride, but I don't have a clue how to figure out what's good or bad about each one. Do I look like a vet who's been handling 'em for decades?"

"Hmm…not even a little. So how about you pick based on intuition? Considering that it's who you'll trust with your life, and who you might end up dying beside, Ferri won't hold any choice against you, meow."

"Stop that! Don't raise weird event flags like that! I'm not planning to die here!"

Even with twelve-odd hours left before the decisive battle, Ferris didn't seem tense whatsoever. It was better than being oddly stressed out, but Subaru thought the mood was a little too slack.

At that moment, numerous land dragons were lined up in the front yard of the Crusch residence for the offensive against the White Whale. Many land dragons were for hauling freight, but a dragon mount to take into actual combat was an especially crucial decision. He'd heard that the House of Karsten had a fine selection, including famous dragons from excellent bloodlines, but…

"No matter how much I look, I can't really get past 'They seem really cool.' Rem, what do you think?"

Just like many knights setting out for battle with their favorite horse, Subaru had been given the privilege of choosing his mount. But at that rate, such a prized right would simply go to waste.

Rem, standing at Subaru's side while stroking the neck of the land dragon in front of her, responded to his prompt.

"I wonder. In my case, I can tell most land dragons which one of us is in charge, so I have had little reason to be concerned with the differences between individuals…"

"That figures. You really know how to crack the whip. Huh, what should I do…?"

The land dragon Rem was stroking sat on the ground, almost as if to display its submission. It probably did what came naturally after sensing that it stood lower on the food chain. Subaru couldn't really pull off the same thing, nor did he want to.

"If you spend too much time picking, we'll pay for it later, so pick quiiiick."

"You say it like this is none of your concern, sheesh."

"It actually isn't, but that's not the point. Seriously, they're all well bred, so you can't go wrong with any of these guys. Just pick on intuition."

"Well, that does make a certain amount of sense, but…mm?"

With Ferris urging him to hurry, Subaru walked around to examine the various land dragons, when he suddenly stopped. Rem had been walking beside him until he froze, which earned him a curious expression.

"Subaru, is something wrong?"

"Nah… This one just kinda caught my eye."

As Subaru stood still, there was a beautiful, pitch-black land dragon before him.

It had sharp facial features and yellow eyes. Resting atop the saddle on its back was a leather helmet for dragon riders. The variety of gear didn't differ from that of the other land dragons, but what struck Subaru were its eyes.

" "

The land dragon's quiet gaze gave Subaru a different impression compared to its peers. There was not even the tiniest smidgeon of the pride or fidelity that land dragons typically displayed. The pitch-black land dragon simply sat there, calmly waiting to be selected.

"Hey…you're the land dragon I met at the mansion a while back, aren't you?"

Subaru, suddenly recognizing the individual dragon, reached out toward it. At his side, Rem was a little startled and was instantly tempted to pull back Subaru's hand. But faster than Rem could stop him, the land dragon nuzzled its nose against Subaru's hand.

"…Looks like this one is number one."

"I am surprised. I believe this land dragon is from an especially proud breed… I was concerned it might eat your hand, Subaru."

"Okay, maybe I was a little careless just now!"

But he'd thought there was no need for such concern. Maybe he and the land dragon were on the same wavelength.

Subaru decided he'd bet his life on the black land dragon that had nuzzled him with the tip of its nose.

"Ferris, I'm picking this one. It's love at first sight."

"Yes, yes. Ohhh, nice pick. Subawu, you really are quite shameless… Also, don't say 'love at first sight'; you'll make Rem pout."

"I am not pouting. I will get along with it properly. I can do it."

Subaru was a little concerned at how she added extra words for emphasis, but with Rem's permission, Subaru's choice of mount was decided. Ferris, who had a few other things to take care of, remained behind while Subaru and Rem headed back into the mansion side by side.

There was little time remaining before they were due to set out.

The Crusch residence had been gathering manpower in bits and pieces, forming an expeditionary force with the goal of fighting the White Whale. Even among them, there was something in the hall that especially drew

Subaru's attention…

"Wh-what are they doing here…?"

Subaru was beside himself, unwittingly staring right at them. A member of the group noticed his gaze and approached him with an audible patter.

"Guess you're part of the expeditionary force, too! Nice to meetcha, bro!"

The voice Subaru heard had enough force to blow the crisp morning air away. The sound reached the far corners of the spacious mansion. Subaru could not help being struck by the forceful bellow.

Subaru put his hands on his ears and grimaced heavily, glaring back at the other party, but…

"I heard all about ya from the lady! You're the one who made today's whale hunt happen. Ain't that right?! From here on, I'm part of the hunt, too!

Glad the weather's cooperating!"

"You're too loud! Can't those round eyes of yours read my reaction?!"

As a natural response to the booming words, Subaru ended up shouting, too.

His angry voice sent the dog-faced beast man into a laugh that was even more stupidly loud.

His entire body was covered in brown fur, with an oblong, dark-brown mane adorning his head like a Mahican hairstyle. However, he was almost six and a half feet tall, and the sight of his extremely muscular body clad in a leather outfit felt a lot like a truce coming after wildness and culture coming to blows. Subaru's eyes lingered on the steel epaulet protecting his otherwise exposed upper body, and the Hoshin Company logo engraved upon it.

"That logo on a beast man from Kararagi… That means you're

Anastasia's Iron Fangs!"

"Wha—! Your voice is too quiet, bro! I can't hear what you're sayin'!"

"Oh, shut up for a second! What the hell did you eat to grow that big?!

What race are you?!"

"I'm a kobold, can't you tell?! As if there could be a dog race besides kobolds?!"

"Huh, kobold… Wait, there's no way?!"

The beast man had called himself a kobold, but Subaru's image of a kobold was a little person with a dog face. The dog face and the humanoid body were in line with what he expected, but the body size was way, way off.

"They call me Ricardo. Nice to meet you, too, missy!"

"Yes, Master Ricardo. Thank you for your kind words. My name is Rem."

Emotionally prepared for Ricardo's hearty greeting, Rem politely introduced herself in turn.

When Subaru glanced, watching the exchange, he saw Anastasia with a grin coming over to the head of Ricardo's group—a band of beast people.

When her mischievous smile met Subaru's sour look, she teasingly tilted her head.

"Oh no, Natsuki. It would seem Ricardo isn't very agreeable with your ears. The best way to get along with him is to not wander too close, you see."

"It would've been useful to know about that before meeting him. You really are rough on people."

"Sorry, I couldn't help wondering how you'd react, you see…"

"Not just rough on people, a bad personality, too. Er, ow!"

As Anastasia giggled teasingly, Ricardo's huge beast-man hand gave Subaru's head a little push. He opened his big mouth wide to speak, which neatly displayed his fangs.

"Hey, bro! Watch your mouth when speaking with the lady! Be a little nicer to our employer, will ya! She almost never talks to anyone if it's not about profits and losses, so she has no friends! At this point, you can

probably get in good with her with a little kindness!"

"Ricardo. If you're going to sweep something under the rug, best not to be insulting about it along the way, yes?"

"It's not an insult! I'm worried about you, miss! Ever since way back, you never got along with people too well, so comin' here from Kararagi without anyone you know has gotta been wearing you down, right?! But lookie right here! Heeeere ya go, friend number one!"

"Hey, don't butt in and babble when people are talking! And don't go grabbing a guy's head and shaking it around like that! That ridiculous strength of yours could tear my head off!"

Assailed by literally superhuman strength, Subaru tried to somehow shake his attacker off before his neck snapped first. In a hurry, he escaped from Ricardo and immediately began neck-stretching exercises, rotating his head around.

"M-man, that was close. Wouldn't be funny to get injured and sidelined during chitchat right before the big battle. I'm pretty worked up for this, so no

way am I gonna accept that kind of foul-up…"

"What's with the big fuss! I'm just tellin' you guys to get along!"

"Maybe different cultures have different definitions of getting along. Are all Kararagi people like this?"

"Well, of course not. Ricardo's special. You see a vast difference in elegance and grace between him and me, don't you?"

Anastasia stood beside Ricardo and brazenly laid out her claim. Subaru deeply exhaled, pushing Rem forward as he countered.

"Now, look. If you wanna talk about real grace, talk about someone like

Rem. See this elegance?"

"Oh no… Calling me cute like this… I'm blushing."

"Hmm, a strange girl, but she seems nice and has excellent future prospects. You've got quite the catch there, Natsuki."

Subaru almost wanted to say that it was more like they had caught each other, but Rem's reaction was already a little different from what Subaru expected, so it was hard for him to bring it up.

Then, Crusch emerged from below Subaru and the others at the head of a motley assembly.

"From the look of things, you have finished getting to know one another."

Crusch was not in her usual handsome dress uniform but rather, a light suit of unornamented armor. The build clearly focused on ease of movement; perhaps prioritizing mobility was in itself a feminine choice. To Subaru's eyes, it seemed questionable how much protection it would be able to provide the wearer.

"It is better to wear gear that is easy to move in. Do not be overly concerned. An earth blacksmith engraved this with the durability blessing. So long as my mana is not exhausted, it is far stouter than it appears," Crusch explained, realizing the doubts behind Subaru's gaze, and she touched a hand to her breastplate.

"There's a thing like that? As usual, magic and blessings are basically cheating… Maybe I have a convenient blessing like that sleeping inside of me and I just don't know yet?"

"No matter how long a person sleeps, it is not as if anyone ever forgets how to breathe, yes? That is what blessings are like for those who possess

them. If you are not aware of one, it is best to abandon the notion."

Having experienced a similar put-down once before, Subaru pouted and discarded his faint hope.

Rem comforted Subaru as if she were consoling a sulking child. Meanwhile, Crusch noticed Ricardo gazing down at her, so she peered up at his huge frame and spoke again.

"I see. I had heard the stories, but you are an even greater warrior than rumored. So you are the captain of the Iron Fangs, the blade who stands by Anastasia Hoshin's side?"

"In the end, we're just being paid to do a job. You're Crusch Karsten, right? Besides the usual rumors, I've heard about you from the lady, but seeing you in the flesh is…"

With Crusch folding her arms and looking up at him, Ricardo audibly sniffed, using his canine sense of smell. Then, the folds of his nose crinkled and his throat rumbled in laughter.

"What a piece of work! This royal selection's gonna be pretty tough, miss!"

"Well, that's why we have to sell favors like this. The price tag I can put on it depends on how hard you work, so better work hard, Ricardo."

"Gah-ha-ha-ha! That's our lady! Whether it's people or dogs, she works them to the bone!"

Anastasia seemed to agree with Ricardo's assessment of Crusch. Maybe she and the stupidly laughing Ricardo had been working together for a long time, for Anastasia seemed like just a regular young girl when talking with him. She must have had a soft spot for him.

Loud voice aside, Subaru didn't sense any problems dealing with Ricardo, either. Maybe it was just his personality as a man, or perhaps he should say as a dog? However, Subaru did feel like he was just a bit too outspoken…

"Did you rest well last night?"

Crusch shifted her gaze away from Ricardo to show Subaru some consideration. Subaru was still massaging the neck Ricardo had twisted a short while ago as he responded.

"Yeah, thanks. It didn't seem like a good thing to be sleeping so easily while the rest of you were busy, though."

"There is a time and place for everything. Your job was assembling myself, Russel Fellow, and Anastasia Hoshin last night and accomplishing the formation of the White Whale expeditionary force. Indeed, from my perspective, your offering to assist in fighting the White Whale was unexpected."

After a faint smile, Crusch's lips became taut as she stared straight at Subaru. Seeing the complex emotions behind her amber eyes, Subaru wilted at what might be coming next.

"I am grateful for assistance in fighting the White Whale…but can you fight?"

"Not really? If you count me in, I'm like the cat's claws you borrow, because you're scraping the bottom of the barrel. A dog's claws can get pretty big, though."

"Hey, were you talkin' 'bout me just now?!"

"I was, but you don't need to butt in! Man, you've got convenient hearing!"

Subaru yelled at Ricardo for interrupting the conversation, but Crusch's eyes had gone wide when he openly declared that he was useless in combat. Subaru racked his brain over how to explain it to her.

"So as fighting goes, it's like that…but I think I'll be a help against the

White Whale."

"Let's hear it, then. What do you mean?"

"I'm not all that happy about this, mind you…but it seems that I have a peculiar scent that attracts demon beasts."

The odd nuance of Subaru's statement once again pressed Crusch into silence. However, when Rem stated, "There is no mistake," in an odd agreement while standing beside him, Crusch displayed only a brief hint of concern before asking him to continue.

"I shall tentatively state that I understand. Please give us the details."

"Maybe scent isn't quite the right word, but it's a physical condition I have. In fact, when we had that demon beast incident back at the mansion we

mentioned last night, I used it to lure the demon beasts."

"Is that so…? Then the fact that you possess a metia to warn you of the danger of demon beasts is connected to this?"

"Ah, that's some unexpected foreshadowing you— Er, I'm just talking to myself."

With suspicious gazes trained on Subaru, he shut his mouth before he said too much.