Wives
"So, this is it."
"Mhm."
"Do what you must. I'll be waiting."
Ten years. Satella had spent ten years in this place.
The laboratory represented everything she hated about it.
She ran her fingers over the various instruments and tools, face blank. She picked up a silver device and eyed it carefully.
It disintegrated under her gaze.
One by one, Satella picked up every object and destroyed it. Even the tables and counters didn't stand a chance. Subaru didn't dare consider what was going through her head.
The little he had seen was more than enough for him to guess.
Finally, she returned to his side and grabbed his hand. "Let's go," she said flatly. He nodded and began to walk away.
Suddenly, Satella twisted out of his grip, whipping around to face the lab. There were no words, no incantations. Just a scream of anger and grief that birthed a raging inferno of destruction.
"Ten years!" she screamed. "I followed you for ten years! I was a good daughter! I did everything right!" Explosions wracked the room as a decade of pain was unleashed. "I just wanted you to love me! Was that too much to ask for?!"
Subaru tried to reach her, but a wall of flames blocked his access. Unlike before, these were controlled. "Don't get any closer," they said. After all, he was not the target.
It felt like hours later but was likely only minutes. What was once a prestigious laboratory was now cinders and ash. No other parts of the mansion were damaged, as none had caused her such pain. The flames vanished, and Subaru held Satella as she broke down.
When Satella had agreed to marry him, he thought they won. The power of love triumphed over their foe. Echidna wouldn't become immortal, and Satella would no longer be her puppet. Now, as he held the broken girl in his arms, he realized the truth.
Everyone had lost.
"Oh, Patrasche," Subaru muttered, hugging the ground dragon's side. "You're the only one who understands me. Let's run away together."
"Quit your flirting, I suppose," snapped Beatrice. "I'm trying to read 101 Ways to Defeat a Mabeast, in fact."
"Let me guess: Number One is to be a drill loli?"
"Stop! Using! Fake! Words! That's an insult to a librarian, I suppose!"
He held back a chuckle and resumed petting Patrasche. It was a beautiful day out, and he was content to simply relax. "Shame that these lazy days are about to end. We have to leave for the capital tomorrow."
Beatrice let out a long-suffering sigh. "You're not going to let me read, are you?"
"Nah, I want attention," he admitted shamelessly.
She gave a slight "hmph" but put down her book, regardless. "Betty is cute, so it's understandable, I suppose. What did you want to talk about, I wonder?" He barely opened his mouth before she cut him off. "If the answer involves Emilia, I'm going back to my book, in fact."
"But Beako," he whined. "You know she's my favorite topic!"
"I do, which is why we talked about her a dozen times today, I suppose." She tried to look annoyed, but Subaru ruffled her hair, so she blushed.
Four hundred years of isolation made one particularly sensitive to affection.
"That's true," he conceded. "Thanks for dealing with my shit, Beako."
"I-it's difficult for Betty, but Subaru is Betty's contractor, so—"
"E·M·T!" he shouted, startling her. A barrage of projectiles smashed against his hastily conjured shield.
"Shit," he growled. "She caught us off guard. Ul Shamak!"
A dark purple cloud exploded around their opponent.
"We have about three seconds before she breaks out," he stated.
"I know, in fact. We've done this to her before, I suppose." Beatrice held her arm out and shouted, "El Minya!"
Forty crystalline spears of purple flame rocketed towards the epicenter of the cloud, but it never reached its mark. Four soldiers, composed entirely of ice and outfitted with armor and weapons, fearlessly charged towards them. Her spear encapsulated the first, but the others blocked it with their shields.
Thinking quickly, she grabbed his hand and teleported him away.
Amused despite the situation, he asked, "Isn't this the exact same hedge we hid in against Capella? Is this your go-to or something?"
"No time for jokes, I suppose. I'm going to tell you what I want, and I need you to visualize it, in fact."
"Then you'll push the mana through me, and I'll cast it, using your gate as a conduit. I know the drill. As per our agreement, I get to name the new spell."
Subaru knew that was her least favorite part, but that's why he insisted on it.
Beatrice finished telling him her idea and he gave her a strange look.
"I mean, that's cool and all, but it's not exactly original. It's just 'what they're doing but better.'"
"Who cares, I wonder?" she asked grumpily. "I'm sick of her ice soldiers, in fact! That brat needs a taste of her own medicine, I suppose!"
Subaru was about to respond, but the ground rumbling stopped him up short. Peeking through the hedges, he let out a curse. "About three dozen soldiers of the headless variant coming straight at us. You ready for this?"
She nodded. "Ready, I suppose."
"Using my powers as a shut-in nerd, I will now—"
"Just do it!" she snapped.
"All right, all right, geez…"
He saw it in his mind's eye, towering above them and crushing their enemies under its feet. The weapons it wielded could siege a fortress and lay waste to a city. Mere infantry would weep in terror. Victory would be theirs.
Hand in hand, spirit and contractor stepped out of the hedges and faced the approaching militia. With practiced ease, Beatrice provided Subaru with raw, unfiltered mana and he gave it form. Pushing it through Beatrice's gate with all his might, Subaru shouted a spell of their own creation:
"E·M·B!"
A gigantic soldier, formed entirely of shadows but as solid as stone, lumbered towards the approaching army. The shadow soldier held out its arm, firing Minyas at record speeds.
The army of ice was decimated in seconds. How fitting for "Emilia-tan is seriously a badass."
"Holy shit," Subaru whispered in awe. "Forget about originality…we just made a Gundam!"
Not a moment after he said that, the giant soldier collapsed in on itself and faded into nothingness.
"Can't…too much…" Beatrice gasped from beside him. Taking his eyes off where his soldier fell, Subaru knelt beside Beatrice.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. "That took a lot out of you, didn't it?"
She nodded, heaving all the while. "Huge construct…Lots of Minyas…All cast remotely…I suppose…Betty's almost out…of mana…in fact."
"You did amazing." It wasn't an empty consolation. His entire body thrummed with admiration and affection. "Go back to the Forbidden Library and recover, all right?"
She gazed at him with worry in her eyes. "Will you…be okay?"
He smiled smugly. "Don't you worry about your contractor. Something tells me that I'll make it out alive."
Seemingly mollified for the time being, Beatrice vanished.
Before he could stand up, a knife made purely of ice pressed itself against his throat. The cool tip dug into his skin, but it was not enough to draw blood. "You shouldn't turn your back against the enemy," his assailant chided.
"I'll keep that in mind," Subaru replied without a care in the world. "So, do you yield?"
He could imagine the frown on her face and the furrowing of her eyebrows as if she were in front of him. "But…I have a knife at your throat. Doesn't that mean—oof!"
She clutched her stomach, reeling back. Subaru stood up and made a show of dusting off his pants. "It means nothing if I have a full range of movement. You left your stomach vulnerable to attack. Next time you should—damn it, woman, I'm trying to talk!"
Subaru jumped back, dodging a slice to his stomach. It reminded him a bit too much of Elsa if he were honest.
"I may have left my stomach open, but you left your entire body vulnerable while you gloated."
"Deconstructing tropes as we spar? You really are one of a kind." He pulled out E·M·H, the ruby-encrusted dagger that he won in the fight against Capella. He smirked. "Bring it."
He lost in three seconds.
"Oh, come on!" He was pinned to the ground with a knee in his stomach and a knife at his throat. His dagger had been flung across the courtyard. "I make a Gundam, yet I still lose?"
"I don't know what a Gundam is, but I'm impressed," his assailant complimented. "You've improved a lot, Subaru!"
He groaned and let his head hit the stone under him. "EMT's already gone into consolation mode…"
Emilia giggled a bit and helped Subaru up. "I mean it, Subaru. You've improved sooo much since we started sparring. I even had to try this time!"
He grimaced. "That was, quite possibly, the most emasculating thing you've ever said to me."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to compliment you, dummy."
"Duly noted."
She grabbed his hand and dragged him inside. "Conjuring all those ice soldiers made me hungry. Let's go see what Rem's making."
He looked confused but followed, nonetheless. "But…you're never hungry after our fights."
She turned to him with a blinding smile. "As I said, I had to try reeaally hard to beat you this time. That giant soldier was super-duper impressive!"
"No one says super-duper anymore."
"I'm being serious!" she insisted. "If you weren't such a good teacher, I'm not sure I could have won."
"You're underestimating yourself, Emilia-tan," he retorted. Still, he had to give himself some credit. He did teach her some cool spells. Of course, many of those spells came from a now-defunct timeline, but she didn't need to know that.
"Mhm. Maybe, but you can't deny that I still have a long way to go without Puck."
That was true. After regaining her memories, Emilia remembered how to cast magic without a spirit. It was…a work-in-progress, to say the least. Not only was it a lot less controlled, but Emilia had no idea what to do with all the mana inside of her. Some days, it became too much, and Puck had to absorb more than usual just to keep Emilia sane.
On the plus side, Beatrice was able to drain Emilia's excess mana as well, so his super-powerful loli was even more powerful.
"Speaking of Puck, where is he? I feel like every day, I see him less and less." Normally, the cat spirit was hiding in Emilia's hair, so he started pulling it apart like curtains, calling for Puck.
She batted his hand away with a small scowl. "Not in public."
He huffed at her prudishness. Then again, he wasn't much better. "You act like that's PDA or something. I play with Beatrice's hair all the time."
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, but Beatrice isn't your girlfriend."
Subaru stopped short, so Emilia turned to him, concerned. "What's wrong?"
A grin threatened to split his face in two. "Nothing, I'm just…still getting used to…" he gestured wildly between the two of them.
Her eyes danced with mirth. "It's been over three months and you still act like that?"
"To be fair, it feels like I've been waiting a lot longer for you to like me, so forgive me for being excited."
"You're sooo weird, Subaru," she said, amused.
"But I'm your…Wait, that doesn't work with an adjective!" He grabbed his face in mock frustration. "My flirtatious actions have been ruined by grammar!"
"You're my knight," she said affectionately. "That's good enough for me."
"Gah! EMT always has the perfect response!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I know it's stupid." She gently grasped the pyroxene crystal around her neck. "Anyway, about Puck…He's sleeping right now."
Subaru scratched his head. "But he's still on the clock."
"Mhm, but as you know, I've not been giving him all of my mana, so we modified our contract," she explained. "I can still talk to him, but he doesn't take a physical form for more than an hour or two a day."
He felt distinctly uncomfortable, so he cautiously asked, "And how do you two feel about that?"
She looked at Subaru quizzically before understanding filled her gaze. "It's not your fault, Subaru," she reassured him.
"But your memories—"
"Puck was upset at first, but he 'loves his little Lia more than ever.' I mean, it's not like I never see him. He still does my hair every morning, and I always give him a reeaally big hug before bed. He just doesn't need to worry about my protection as much now that I'm stronger." She looked down and smiled fondly at the crystal. "Honestly, Puck was always asleep when I needed him most, so it's not that big of a difference. I think he likes this arrangement even better now that he's used to it."
Subaru nodded, not entirely swayed, but he managed to stop himself from going into another spiral of self-pity. "What about you? Are you…okay with all this?"
She squeezed his hand, stopping just outside the dining hall. "I miss his constant presence, but it's okay. It's not like he's gone. And I'm sooo happy that I have my memories back. Because of you, I remember Mother Fortuna and Father Geuse. I know what really happened in the forest. I can do magic on my own, and I'm a stronger person." She smiled at him, and his breath caught in his throat. "You're smart Subaru. How do you think I feel?"
A lump formed in his throat, but he managed to speak past it. "Happy," he admitted at length.
"Ecstatic," she corrected. "And it's all thanks to you. Now, we have the chance to save Geuse."
That was…not a fun conversation to have.
Even knowing that Petelgeuse Romanée-Conti was the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, and being aware of the danger he possessed, Emilia walked out of the mansion right there and then, saying she was "going to bring him back."
It took Subaru tackling her, Beatrice trapping her in a cage of shadows, and Puck forcibly draining her remaining mana to get her in a state where they could discuss things reasonably.
But now, they had a plan. The only issue was that it required patience, and both Subaru and Emilia hated the long game.
There were so many things Subaru wanted to do, and he wanted to do them now. He wanted to see Meili and apologize for his actions. He didn't know where she went, but he hoped she was safe. Despite everything they went through, he truly cared about her, even if he had no right to.
He wanted to see Shaula. His apprentice, his friend, his stalwart ally. The one who deserved his achievements more than he ever did. She was always there for him, but as the Sage, he rejected her kindness. He rejected everything, including his sanity, in favor of saving the one he loved.
He hated himself for that.
He left a kind, sweet girl alone in a tower. She was like a fairy tale princess, but no prince would come to save her. Until they found Meili, they couldn't cross the desert, and even then, it wouldn't make up for what he did.
He still wanted to give her a hug and apologize for being such an asshole to her. Her, Geuse, everyone…He was so horrible to them. He didn't deserve their forgiveness, and he never would.
Subaru would spend the rest of his life atoning for what he had done to her, yet he wasn't even sure that he wanted to be forgiven. It would take away from his horrendous actions.
He scratched his arm roughly but didn't pull back his sleeve. Emilia didn't need to see the scars. He plastered a smile on his face. "It would be nice to see Geuse again. We have a lot to catch up on."
"Mhm. And I have sooo many questions to ask him." She flashed the smile he adored so much, and the pain went away for a moment. "I'm glad you and I both remembered our pasts in time. I mean, could you imagine having to fight him without knowing the truth?"
Subaru was struck with a sudden coughing fit, and Emilia hovered over him like a concerned mother. "A-are you okay? Here, let me get some water. Oh, I'm so glad we're right near the kitchen!"
He waved her off. "D-don't worry about me. Just a bit of dust." He changed the subject. "So, you ready to leave tomorrow?"
Emilia nodded. "Rem packed me last week."
He managed a smile at the thought of the maid. She was always on top of it, wasn't she? "Same here. Can't believe we're finally going to the Royal Selection. It's exciting, huh?"
"I guess so…" she trailed off.
"But?"
"…I'm nervous," she admitted. "I've been training for over a year, but I don't feel any more prepared."
"You're right," he said flippantly. "You're not prepared at all."
She reeled back, betrayed. "Hey! I've been studying nonstop! I know every major historical event in the past four hundred years and the profile of all relevant political figures. I've practiced my speech hundreds of times and—" she cut herself off upon seeing the look on Subaru's face. "You tricked me."
Subaru looked smug. "Pretty good, huh? If I said that you were ready, you wouldn't believe me. However, if you acknowledged how prepared you are…"
Emilia blinked before a smile lit up her face. "That's evil."
"But I'm your…Wait, that doesn't work either!"
Laughter like a silver bell filled the air and he couldn't help but join in.
The next day, Subaru hopped into the dragon-drawn carriage, giving Patrasche a grateful pat along the way.
"It's about three to four hours to get to the capital," he told her, "but something tells me that you'll get there in two."
Patrasche brayed as if saying, "Damn right, I will!"
Subaru, in full regalia, plopped down in the passenger seat beside Rem. You ready for this?"
Rem met his eyes with a smile and his breath caught in his throat. This may not be his Rem, but her smile still made his stomach do flips.
'I really am a piece of shit, huh?'
"I'm only here as a maid," she told him, oblivious to his thoughts. "If anything, I should be asking you that, Sir Subaru."
He groaned. "I told you to stop calling me that! You're my friend, not one of the village kids!" She giggled but didn't apologize. "And besides, I'll be fine. I'm feeling demonically inspired!"
She raised her eyebrows. "Demonically inspired?"
"It's just a thing I sometimes say. When I ask the divine for help, I get beaten to a bloody pulp. When I ask a demon for help, a badass ninja maid comes running in to save the day. I tend to appreciate the latter a lot more."
Rem tried to respond but settled on a nod and a half-smile. Subaru knew her well enough to know that meant, "Don't worry, I'm not upset at you, but I'd like to be left alone with my thoughts." So, he went into the carriage and waited for Beatrice and Emilia.
It didn't take long. Blond curls filled his vision as a weight settled in his lap. "Betty will sit here, I suppose. The other seats are taken, in fact."
"The carriage can seat ten, and there's no one else in here," he pointed out.
She glared up at him. "Are you telling me to get off, I suppose?"
"Nope. Just giving you a hard time."
It was his favorite activity, after all.
He leaned back and relaxed. "Nice of Reinhard to invite us to stay at his place."
"It's not surprising, I suppose. You defeated the Bowel Hunter and the Sin Archbishop of Lust, in fact."
"I didn't—"
"And you refused the reward, saying that you only wanted the word to get out that people are 'safe because of a half-elf,' I suppose. You could have had anything, and you instead decided to help Emilia with her campaign."
He grimaced. "It was the least I could do. The reward should have gone to you two. Emilia killed Elsa, and you deleted Capella from existence."
"Neither of which would have been possible if not for you." Emilia arrived and slid into the seat beside him. "You're more capable than you believe."
"This is coming from the girl who beat me in three seconds this morning."
"That's sad, I suppose," Beatrice agreed solemnly.
Emilia huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Don't think I'm letting you off easy, mister! Your self-esteem needs some work. So, I need you to…" She thought for a moment before brightening and holding up a single finger. "…say one good thing about yourself!"
"That's basically the definition of letting someone off easy!"
"Oh, really?" she asked slyly. "Prove it."
Subaru puffed up his chest and opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He frowned and started to think.
'This should be easy, right? I'm good at…huh. I can't do magic, and Beatrice doesn't count because that's her skills, not mine. Weaponry? The Sword Demon himself couldn't teach me how to use a blade, and I'm mediocre with a whip.
'What about other skills? I mean, I'm good at sewing, but I'm supposed to be a knight fighting the Witch's Cult. What the hell is embroidery going to do against Pandora?
'What else…I'm funny, right? Then again, I can't remember the last time I made someone laugh with one of my jokes. Normally, Emilia only giggles when I'm being stupid. I can't claim to be a good boyfriend, because I'm a scumbag when it comes to women. Seriously, I'm a married man with a girlfriend and I'm still pining after a comatose girl that doesn't exist anymore. Real chivalrous, Sir Knight. Damn, do I have anything going for me?'
He had to hurry up or Emilia would realize that this was doing more harm than good.
Subaru put a hand on his chin and pretended to think. Suddenly, his face lit up. "I know! I've never lost a game of chess!"
"What's chess, I wonder?"
"It's a foreign game that I've never played."
"So, you've never won a game, in fact!"
He smirked. "As I said, I've never lost a game."
With both girls successfully distracted by his stupidity, Subaru leaned back in his seat. He may have just survived his most challenging ordeal yet.
A little under two hours later, Rem grabbed their attention.
"We've almost arrived," she informed them. "Is everyone ready?"
Emilia looked confused. "I'm ready, but I'm afraid I don't understand. We're not supposed to be at the capital for another hour or two."
Subaru grinned. "Ah, it seems you're forgetting one critical piece of information, Emilia-tan."
"I am?"
He nodded sagely and said, "You see, we're riding Patrasche, and she's the greatest ground dragon in existence!"
Patrasche let out a proud bray.
"See? She agrees."
Beatrice rolled her eyes. "I still don't know how you found her, I suppose."
"I told you. I prayed to the heavens above and an angel sent Patrasche."
"I'm hurt, Subaru," teased Rem from the driver's seat. "I thought you only prayed to demons."
"No, I prefer praying to demons. I mean, sure, I got Patrasche, but in return, Capella almost murdered me. Never made that kind of trade with a demon before."
Emilia pouted. "I don't like how casually you can talk about death " She squinted and looked outside the carriage. "Hey, Rem? Do you see something up ahead?"
Subaru could hear the frown in Rem's voice. "Now that you mention it, there seems to be some smoke coming from the capital."
"Perhaps there's a festival, I suppose. Or maybe someone burnt their food, in fact. It could be anything, I suppose."
"Uh, guys?" Subaru's eyes shifted nervously. "You're setting some really bad flags right now."
Rem ignored Subaru's complaint and urged Patrasche to go even faster. "There's a caravan up ahead. I'll ask them for information. Please, wait inside the carriage until I return."
Ten minutes later, Rem still hadn't come back.
Emilia sighed. "Subaru, please stop pacing."
"I can't!" he snapped before letting out a sigh. "Sorry, it's just…I don't like the flags we set."
She cocked her head to the side. "Um…what?"
"It's a Subaru-ism, I suppose," Beatrice helpfully supplied. "In normal people language, it means, 'I have a bad feeling about this.'"
"Do I really need a translator?!"
Rem came into the carriage, a solemn expression on her face. "I'm afraid that Subaru is right to be nervous. There was, um…" She fiddled with the hem of her dress, unsure of how to proceed. "Something terrible happened."
"It's okay, Rem," Emilia encouraged gently. "Whatever happened, I'm sure we can get through it."
Rem closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Over fifty women were killed in an explosion."
Emilia gasped and Beatrice's perpetual frown deepened.
Subaru began to panic. "Only women?"
Rem frowned. "Yes, but—"
"Were all of them fair-skinned and between the ages of fifteen and thirty?" he asked quickly. "Did they all have nice faces?"
Slowly, as if to avoid disrespecting him, she said, "Subaru, I know there's a part of chivalry that involves respecting women, but this seems more like objectification than anything else."
"Just answer the question!" he screamed.
"S-Subaru, calm down!" Emilia put a hand on his arm to soothe him. "There's no need to shout at Rem."
Subaru pulled at his hair but forced himself to take a deep breath. "You're right. I'm sorry, Rem. I'm not mad at you. I just need you to answer my question."
Rem looked hesitant but, accepting the apology, gave what little information she had. "The merchants I talked to mentioned something about them all being young women who looked very similar."
Subaru's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. "Did the merchants say anything else?"
"Just that a white-haired man was—"
"Fuck!"
The carriage's occupants flinched back at Subaru's outburst. "Subaru, what—"
"Why the fuck is he here? Why now? Was he here last time, too? How many mansions does this prick have? Damn it, damn it, damn it! We had a plan for all of them! Why the fuck does he have to ruin it? Things were going so well!"
"Wh-who—"
"But why would he kill his wives? That's so counterproductive! His Authority would—" Subaru paused his ranting as self-loathing overtook him. "It's because I'm here," he whispered, "isn't it?" He sat on the bench and held his face in his hands. "They're dead because of me."
Mournfully, he thought, 'I'm so sorry.'
Emilia knelt in front of him and gently peeled his hands away from his face. "What's going on, Subaru?" She tried to catch his eye, but he kept looking away. "We can't help if we don't know what you're thinking. Please, let me in."
Subaru took a few shaky breaths. "Where's Reinhard?" he asked, avoiding Emilia's question for the time being.
Emilia frowned but answered anyway. "Don't you remember? His letter said he wouldn't be back until later today, though we were free to arrive in the morning."
"In other words, he's as reliable as Puck." Subaru sighed and sat back, defeated. "I guess that's it. Let's go home."
Emilia gaped. "Wh-what? But…the Royal Selection—"
"Doesn't start for a few days. If you step inside the city right now, you will die. Plain and simple. We'll wait for Reinhard to come back and defeat the threat."
After all, even if Lion's Heart wasn't working, Subaru's group of misfits couldn't do shit against Stillness of an Object's Time.
"Subaru…"
"We're. Going. Home. We'll come back when this is over. We can't do anything right now."
Emilia searched his eyes, looking for answers, and finding none. "I don't understand, but I trust you. Rem, let's head back for now."
"Yes, Miss Emilia." Rem cast Subaru a sideways glance but respected Emilia's wishes, nonetheless.
They rode in silence. Emilia gazed at Subaru worriedly, but he wouldn't meet her eyes.
'I'm a coward. Fucking pathetic.'
Beatrice leaned in closer and wrapped her arms around one of his. Whether it was for comfort or to prevent him from scratching, he didn't know.
Keeping the conversation between spirit and contractor, Beatrice thought to him, 'I'm here if you want to talk, I suppose.'
He nodded slightly. Emilia raised an eyebrow before realizing he was talking to Beatrice telepathically. She turned to give the two some privacy.
It seemed a bit silly to Subaru. She wouldn't be able to hear their conversation anyway, right? Still, he found that he appreciated the gesture. A telepathic conversation held all the nuances of a verbal one, and Emilia knew that. After all, she was a spiritualist as well. She knew the quirks of being a contractor better than anyone.
Just like how she knew that there were some things you could only tell your spirit.
'I'm scared, Beatrice,' he admitted shamefully. She waited patiently for him to continue. 'I can't fight him. I'm weak. He'd kill all of us in an instant.'
She rested her head on his shoulder. She knew that first, he needed to let it all out and that she shouldn't say anything. For now, her presence was more than enough.
His countless nightmares had taught her that much.
'I'm such a coward, aren't I? I'm running before the fight even began. I just can't do it. I don't want any of you to die. I can't live without you. I love you all so much.'
His eyes began to water, and she recognized it as her time to step in, bluntly saying, 'You're right, I suppose. You're a coward, in fact.'
He winced. 'Geez, talk about kicking a man while he's down.'
'I don't care, I suppose. The man I contracted with is missing, so I won't bother being nice to a stranger, I suppose.'
'What are you talking about? I'm right here.'
She shook her head. 'Betty's Subaru is constantly afraid, in fact. He is weak and cannot do much on his own, I suppose.'
'That's—'
'But Betty's Subaru has never backed down from a fight, I suppose. Betty's Subaru was dying, but he held on long enough to tell Betty he cared about her, in fact. No matter how afraid he was, my contractor never gave up, I suppose. He is the most courageous man I know.' She pulled back and glared at him, a fire burning deep within her eyes. 'Tell me, stranger. Where is Betty's Subaru?'
He wanted to deny everything she just said. He was her Subaru. He wasn't a stranger.
…But he'd be lying.
The real Subaru Natsuki never gave up.
A wonderful voice from long ago pierced his thoughts. "Show me how amazing you can be, Subaru!"
He reached out to pat Beatrice's head. Sensing his resolve, she let him. 'Thank you, Beako. I—'
Suddenly, she conjured a multi-colored shield that surrounded the carriage.
"What was that for?" he tried to ask, but the words died in his throat.
Beatrice, her face pallid and sweaty from exertion, had blocked an assault that would have otherwise killed all four of them.
Standing a short distance away, glaring at them—no, at Subaru with hatred, was a white-haired man.
"That was supposed to have killed you, but you are still standing. All I was trying to do is take what was stolen from me, and you have the gall to refuse me my rights?"
They jumped out of the carriage, prepared for a fight. "Who are you?" asked a shaken Emilia. "Why did you attack us?" Her eyes widened in fear. "W-wait, I know you…"
"Interrupting me? That is a violation of my right to speak! I was considering taking you for a wife because you have a nice face, but that voice of yours makes me angry, and I do not deserve to be angry."
The entire time he spoke, the man did not move an inch. His golden eyes—and the killer intent within them—never drifted away from Subaru.
"I am a Sin Archbishop of the Witch's Cult, representing Greed…Regulus Corneas. I've been looking for you, thief."