There were a truly countless number of things that needed to be considered.
Now that the march toward the Mathers domain had resumed, Subaru and his companions had two major tasks they needed to accomplish.
First: distance
Second: fight the
Last time, he had prioritized the second goal, hoping that achieving it would simultaneously accomplish the first. But that plan had been thwarted by the unexpected tenacity of Petelgeuse.
He didn't know how far the Archbishop's possession could reach, under what conditions, or against whom it might be used. But the fact remained that the man had gotten ahead of them, lying in wait at that location, and had unleashed that catastrophe upon them.
Overconfidence was forbidden—no, to reach the best possible outcome, every measure at their disposal had to be employed.
"Then that settles it—temporary evacuation is a must. In the worst case, we'll have to abandon the mansion and the village entirely."
Even Subaru understood just how ruthless that decision would be for everyone involved.
Being told to throw away the life you'd built and then run with nothing but the clothes on your back—that wasn't something anyone could accept easily. But it had to be done.
After all, lives were supposed to be irreplaceable.
Subaru knew that there were times when something had to take priority over life itself. But still, outside of a very narrow set of exceptions, life should always come first.
On that point, Subaru had no intention of backing down whatsoever.
"When you factor in the time we have, we've got to handle the evacuation and the assault on the Witch Cult at the same time."
How thoroughly Petelgeuse had prepared was unclear, but given that he'd hidden a group of that size around the mansion, it was far too optimistic to assume they wouldn't notice any changes in the village. Nine times out of ten, there would be lookouts posted—just like when they'd ambushed Subaru's dragon carriage on the main road.
Pushing the evacuation along too quickly would raise the chances of alerting the Witch Cult and prompting them to move. Which meant the Witch Cult had to be crushed before they made their move.
"The procedure should be mostly the same as last time... It's nagging at me that we only found eight hideouts, but if we can locate the rest this time—"
—their odds of winning would jump considerably. At the very least, they could completely eliminate the possibility of being ambushed by Witch Cult members they hadn't yet encountered. If the only threat they had to deal with was Petelgeuse himself, that alone would count as a significant victory.
And for dealing with Petelgeuse—by far their greatest concern— "they needed someone who could stand against the Unseen Hand."
That, at least, was the line he could never compromise on.
Last time, by dragging out the conversation and holding Petelgeuse's attention, they had managed to take down the first Petelgeuse with Wilhelm's surprise attack. This time, they could follow the same general flow. The problem arose if they encountered a second or subsequent one— "Wait—should I be thinking about taking them alive instead? If possession only happens when the body dies, then as long as I don't kill them..."
Saying it out loud, he had a feeling this was a surprisingly obvious blind spot he'd overlooked.
So far, Petelgeuse had performed what appeared to be possession only twice. Both times were limited to moments when his current body had died, so Subaru still hadn't been able to narrow down the conditions for subsequent targets. But if he could create a situation where possession was impossible in the first place, the equation changed entirely.
And if a surprise attack went well, creating that situation shouldn't be all that difficult.
"Right! Even when it comes to taking someone down, I don't need to focus exclusively on killing them! I don't know if something like a seal is possible, but if it is—"
He could do this. He was sure of it.
All he had to do was knock them unconscious with a surprise attack, then gag them and tie them to a tree. If they were isolated at a distance the Unseen Hand couldn't even reach, Petelgeuse would be nothing more than a powerless madman screaming into the void.
After that, if he could have
"You seem to be making a rather devious face there."
Julius spoke, addressing Subaru, whose mouth had twisted into a villainous grin at the prospect of a breakthrough. Running alongside him, Julius had been silently watching the contemplative Subaru, and he must have noticed the shift in his expression that signaled a solution had been found.
With the faintest crack in his refined profile, Julius lightly ran a hand through his wind-tousled hair— "If you've reached a conclusion, I'd love to hear it. Specifically, how you intend to follow through on your decision to fight."
"There might still be some holes I need to patch up, but... time is tight—should I have everyone stop and gather again?"
Either way, he'd need to make several additions and changes to the explanation he'd just given.
Calling out to each member of the marching group and gathering them in a circle once more was a time-consuming process. When every second counted, that prospect was somewhat disheartening— "Oh, there's no need for that. I'll handle relaying your words."
With a small shake of his head, Julius dismissed the need for Subaru's plan. Unable to read the intent behind this, Subaru furrowed his brow slightly. And right before his eyes, Julius flicked the fingers of his raised right hand—and the next instant, light spilled forth.
"Wha—! You, that's..."
"The gentle radiance of faint wills suffusing the air. If you've been by Lady Emilia's side, you must have seen this beauty before, haven't you?"
Julius smiled at him with unmistakable pride. Swimming around him, faint lights orbited lazily, clinging close as he sat astride his earth dragon.
And Subaru knew exactly what those lights were. He had seen them up close, countless times, by the side of the girl he cherished.
They were— "Minor spirits..."
"Precisely speaking, they're buds that haven't yet attained the rank of full spirits. Quasi-spirits, one might call them."
"Quasi... spirits? Don't say it like it's 'quasi-knight' or something."
With a twitch at the corner of his mouth, Subaru managed to respond to the other's fixation on nomenclature.
His grimace had nothing to do with comparing Julius's smug expression to his own face and feeling dejected. He'd deal with that passing annoyance later. What Subaru was really thinking about was Julius's background as a quasi-spirit user—which meant— "You're a spirit arts user!?"
"A spirit arts user as well—though perhaps it would be more accurate to say so. I've never neglected my efforts to hone my skills as a knight, you know. If you'd like a more precise title, then I'd prefer you call me this—"
Ignoring Subaru's surprise and pausing for dramatic effect, Julius awaited his reaction. Subaru opened his mouth.
Given this setup and this progression, the line that had to come next was— "Grand Mage—!!"
"...Spirit Knight. Not... hmm? That's not it."
That was wrong.
Julius wore a bemused expression at Subaru, who had delivered that famous line with a trembling voice. Subaru panicked, waving his hand frantically to play off his embarrassment as he stammered, "Ah, no, that's not it," trying to recover from the blunder— "Ah, ahem. So—Spirit Knight! Yes, Spirit Knight! I see, hmm, impressive, that makes total sense. Yeah, totally. Spirits, huh... Spirit Knight!?"
"I'm glad it made an impression. I hadn't expected quite that level of surprise, though."
Julius gave a wry smile at Subaru, who had absorbed the revelation, processed it, and then let the shock spill out all at once.
As Julius gently extended his arm forward, the lights began to converge upon it like it was a perch. They were six spirits, each radiating a different color, and recognizing this fact, Subaru realized— Six spirits, each of a different color—so that meant— "No way—are you telling me you can use magic from all six elements!?"
"Oh my. To notice that without any prior knowledge—your mind works quite quickly, it seems. It seems your time spent under Lord Mathers wasn't wasted after all."
"No, I never really got any magic tutoring from Roswaal or anything... Oh wait, there was that one time in the bath, briefly."
Back when they'd both been dangling their bits in the water, receiving a brief lecture on magic—that was a distant memory now. Looking back, that too was an experience unique to this world that had been lost to him.
Julius disregarded these musings that only a time-traveler like Subaru could understand, and displayed the spirits circling his arm for all to see.
"As you've guessed, with these children's help, I can wield all six elemental attributes. They're still buds—quasi-spirits, for now—but the day will surely come when they bloom into beautiful flowers. That is the day when I and these spirits will truly stand as the Spirit Knight."
"Sorry to interrupt your moment, but do quasi-spirits even have a gender? Once they become full spirits... I mean, are all spirits set up like Puck, with overwhelmingly strong personalities? With him, he was pretty self-aware about being male—a male, I mean."
In Puck's case, he seemed to self-identify as Emilia's father, so there was probably no question about his gender. Occasionally he'd also display the complicated feelings of a mother figure, and Subaru could see the strain that caused.
Anyway, in response to Subaru's question, Julius tilted his head as if the answer were obvious.
"These children radiate such beauty—how could I possibly treat them as anything other than female? What exactly are you questioning?"
"Somehow, that's the one thing I feel like I could actually agree with you on, and it's giving me a bad feeling! We're not getting anywhere, so can you just go on ahead!?"
"Only a joke. Cultivate some elegance, will you? —Then, In and Nes. I leave it to you."
At Subaru's shout, Julius exaggeratedly shrugged, then addressed the two lights resting at his fingertips—white and black—which immediately intensified their glow.
"The quasi-spirits that govern yin and yang, In and Nes. By overlapping elemental magic and attuning to the two of their mana, something normally considered difficult becomes possible."
"Something like what?"
"The conveyance of thoughts without words—the advanced spell of telepathic communion known as Nect."
With a wink from one eye, he sent light racing through the assembled group.
And swallowed within that light, flooding Subaru's mind, arrived without warning— *'I'm hungryyyy. Hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry~ The fur on Liger's back is so warm~ I'm sleepy~ But if I fall asleep I'll get yelled at~ Tivey gets so mad and takes away my treats right away, so mean~ Mimi's the big sister, you know~ boohooo. I want to eat ringgaaaa~'* "Shut uuuup—!!!"
Thoughts from people who should have been too far away to hear were pouring into his mind with absurd force. He didn't even need to think about whose they were. But the torrent didn't stop with just one person. Indeed— *'Approximately two hours until we reach the Mathers domain, after which we'll be in combat with the Witch Cult. Visiting Theresia's grave will have to wait until we return to the
"That would be you. Now, try dampening the resonance a touch. Your affinity with mana may be a bit too weak—it might be too intense in the opposite direction."
Seeing Subaru about to short-circuit from the flood of information, Julius signaled the paired spirits to ease the intensity.
When the influx of others' surface thoughts had calmed somewhat and Subaru could confirm that he was able to selectively filter information, he turned back to Julius.
"So basically, this Nect spell is... the reason we don't need to stop."
"It's a perfect spell for a war council. The effect doesn't last very long, and it won't work over a wide area. Additionally, sharing consciousness to this degree requires a certain level of trust between both parties. It's also a litmus test for whether people are willing to let their guard down around each other. Applying it to combat is quite difficult, though."
"Is that so. If you could hear people's thoughts during a fight, though, wouldn't that be seriously overpowered?"
In manga and anime, the telepathic character was always one of the strong ones—that was practically an ironclad rule.
But to Subaru's casual musings, Julius offered a thin smile and shook his head.
"As I said, it's based on resonance. If it's too weak, thoughts won't reach anyone, as we just saw. But if it's too strong..."
"Then what?"
"You'd lose the boundary between yourself and others. The thought of being slain by your own hand—doesn't that strike you as rather terrifying?"
"Guh... is that how it works?"
Apparently, intruding on others' thoughts came with real danger.
For all its convenience, there were significant drawbacks, and Subaru let out a small groan at this. But Julius continued with "However—"
"It's rare for In and Nes to miscalibrate the Nect spell. Subaru, you may actually have a high affinity with spirits."
"High affinity with spirits, like... good compatibility?"
"Something like that. This is largely determined by inborn talent. Whether one can become a spirit arts user depends entirely on whether spirits are willing to bond closely enough to form a contract. Have you ever had any experiences along those lines?"
"Well, when you put it like that..."
Since he was holding the reins, he couldn't cross his arms, so he tilted his head repeatedly in thought. But in the world Subaru had originally come from, spirits weren't even recognized as existing. And even after arriving here, there hadn't been any incidents where a Great Spirit had come rushing to his aid with a resounding entrance. His actual experiences with spirits— "About the extent of it was catching Emilia-tan chatting with minor spirits in the mansion garden every morning, in passing. The only spirit I've ever actually conversed with is Puck... God, my experience is embarrassingly low!"
"If opportunities didn't come your way, then that's just how it was. In that case, after this is all over, it might be worth asking Lady Emilia for guidance. I think there's real possibility there."
At Julius's encouraging words, Subaru frowned.
To that reaction, Julius simply asked, "What's on your mind?" maintaining his elegant composure. Subaru, meanwhile, averted his gaze.
"I was just wondering why you're being so cooperative. You're not up to something, are you?"
"Spirit arts users are genuinely few in number. Even having someone you can discuss the topic with is a rare and precious thing. So I won't hesitate to extend a helping hand."
"If it were something I could use right away, I'd think about it, but this isn't exactly that kind of situation... Still, I'll gratefully accept the offer."
At this unexpected possibility, however, Subaru decided to put off dwelling on it. He'd been told he lacked talent in both swordsmanship and magic, time and again. The fact that he couldn't get his hopes up about his potential as a spirit arts user played a role, but honestly, he simply didn't have the time to spare right now.
"Anyway, that Nect spell from earlier—was it Nect? I'll take it. Keep it light, though. Just enough for telepathic convenience. I don't need people's thoughts flooding into my head like that again."
"I've more or less got the wavelength dialed in from before. No problems there. —Nect."
Julius pressed a finger to his lips, and the paired spirits dwelling within began to shine.
Immediately after that affectatious incantation, a faint light once again enveloped them— *'Uh, uh—how's this, everyone? Can you all hear me?'* Timidly, Subaru sent his voice through the mind link. If, heaven forbid, the spell had failed, he'd just be some tragically deluded chuunibyou patient who believed he had telepathic powers.
*'Loud and clear, Lord Subaru.'* *'I can hear ya just fine, so no worries there.'* *'Mmmmm! I know what you're trying to do—trying to read Mimi's heart, are you! Rotating devil device of the enemy army!'* The responses came back roughly as Subaru had expected. There was one person who came across like a tragically head-in-the-clouds chuunibyou case, but he cheerfully ignored that.
*'Julius cast a spell—Nect, telepathy basically. There are a few things I want to add to the plan from earlier, so just listen for now. Questions and anything else, send them my way anytime.'* Relieved to feel agreement from everyone, Subaru began outlining his revised plan. It was an amateur's scheme, full of holes, but if everyone put their heads together, it would take better shape.
Finding solutions, striving for the best—he would never stop thinking and acting.
That was how Subaru fought: without a sword, without magic, with no special abilities of his own.
*'First, for the change—some of us need to head to the village ahead of the rest. There, you should rendezvous with the insurance I arranged beforehand.'* *'Insurance?'* The thoughts that reached him directly were harder to distinguish by voice, but the emotional resonance accompanying them told him who was speaking. The natural, composed tone belonged to Wilhelm, and even though it was through a mind link, Subaru found himself instinctively nodding in response.
*'Oh—force of habit, bowing to someone over the phone. That Japanese reflex is getting me even in situations like this...'* *'Nii-chan, you're doing that weirdly touched thing again, but focus on properly using the magic, yeah? Julius-boy will get mad.'* *'I'm not the sort to get angry over something this trivial. However, I won't deny that wasting precious time on idle musings does lower my opinion of you.'* *'I-I'll do it properly! I was just about to! Insurance! Let's talk about the insurance!'* From Ricardo and Julius, he could feel exasperation bleeding through the link. After experiencing the strange sensation of stuttering in his mind, Subaru slowly began to lay out the strategy.
*'Before we left the Royal Capital, I had Anastasia and Russell make some inquiries. The idea is to hire traveling merchants heading for the Royal Capital along the main road. Lord Mathers will buy their cargo at whatever price they name—they just need to lend us their carriages and mounts.'* *'Subaru, that's—'* *'It'll be a big expense... but you can't put a price on the villagers' lives. As their lord, that's just the obvious way to think about it, right? Especially since that guy—being absent or whatever—is useless when it matters most.'* The reasoning was somewhat base—his willingness to spend freely only because it wasn't his own money—but Subaru's plan had apparently gone off without a hitch.
In fact, a considerable number of traveling merchants had gathered in the village last time, lining up their dragon carriages and earth dragons at the edges of the village as they prepared.
Preparations to evacuate Emilia and the villagers all at once on those carriages.
*'I had an official letter sent along with a messenger departing from the Royal Capital. It warns that the Witch Cult may attack, and asks that everyone evacuate using the traveling merchants' carriages. I don't know if they'll do handwriting analysis or whatever to verify it, but I think Emilia-tan will be able to judge properly.'* Naturally, there would be confusion at first.
Even if the letter arrived safely, Subaru knew full well that its contents wouldn't be easy to swallow. That was precisely why he believed the real problem lay elsewhere.
*'To help them make quick sense of the letter's contents, it shouldn't just be the merchants—you need to send someone who has a clear handle on the situation.'* *'I appreciate how quickly you're following along. Realistically, the villagers and the merchants are almost certainly going to clash. I want to smooth that over and get everyone evacuated quickly. Honestly, I know the fastest thing would be for me to go myself—'* As someone the villagers knew by face and had earned a measure of trust from, Subaru would need far less time to convince them. He was well aware of this.
Going to the village as an envoy—without any combat ability—to persuade Emilia and the others at the mansion, that was clearly the wisest move on Subaru's part. It was. But he couldn't do that.
If Subaru went that way, the fight against the Witch Cult would inevitably fall to the remaining members. He had no doubt they could handle the regular cultists, but Petelgeuse was a different matter. To face him head-on— *'To stand against a Sin Archbishop, you need me there. Right now... only Wilhelm and I can beat him.'* *'Could I ask you to explain that reasoning? I don't mean to be vain, but I'd like to think I'm not so incompetent as to be Wilhelm's liability. And more importantly—sending you to the front lines...'* It was Julius who immediately raised an objection.
Subaru understood the pride and the credentials behind it. In terms of pure skill, Julius could certainly handle Petelgeuse. But that wasn't enough.
Against that madman, skill and ambition didn't come into it.
*'I don't know what kind of trick the Sin Archbishop uses, but it's some weird technique. It strips away the victim's sanity and renders them unable to fight. I call it mental pollution, and the only people I can think of who can withstand it are Wilhelm and me.'* *'Mental pollution, you say... like the White Whale's fog?'*
Then, turning to Julius who was running alongside him without a word— *'The White Whale used the same ability to strip people of their sanity. In that battle, there were some who didn't lose their minds—but I have no idea how your resistance compares, since you didn't fight the White Whale.'* *'If I were to lose my sanity on the battlefield, I'd become a burden to your fight... Is that what you're saying?'* Julius closed his eyes in frustration. No logical counterargument had come to mind, it seemed.
His pained expression and strong regret flowed through the link directly, making it painfully clear how much he had suffered from being unable to participate in the battle against the White Whale.
Feeling his emotions this directly was becoming problematic, so Subaru looked away.
*'So that's why, Wilhelm. I'm asking you to fight alongside me against this devil.'* *'My body is your blade, Lord Subaru. You grip the hilt, and I deliver the cut. —To question the resolve behind that path would be tasteless, would it not?'* *'That's—why is that so cool it's making me shiver?'* *'Where? What?'* *'Onee-chan, please be quiet.'* His brother and sister carried on with their comedy routine while Subaru trembled at having been rendered so beautifully cool that he wanted to be held.
As a strategy session, the proceedings were thoroughly undignified—but that too was perhaps a strength of theirs. They weren't functioning as an army in the first place; they were just a band of misfits, all pointed in the same direction.
And the one trying to lead from the front was an unmotivated, powerless, mediocre human being with the worst personality imaginable. So be it.
That was precisely why Subaru didn't hesitate, and didn't push himself any harder than he needed to.
He'd hand off what needed handing off, do what needed doing, and make it all work somehow.
*'Alright then, I'm counting on you all. Count on me, rely on me, carry me on your back and hold me in your arms—give me everything you've got.'*