Chapter 53: The Next Step
Cheers resounded across the sunset-bathed plains.
The warriors raised their swords and roared, each person filled with joy at their victory, and some even wept in emotional fulfillment of long-cherished wishes.
Subaru quietly avoided the crowd gathered around the fallen White Whale and walked to stand beside Crusch, who had just announced the result of the battle.
"You're here. Truly, I'm deeply grateful for your help this time.
Without you all, we never could have defeated the White Whale.
My path would have ended halfway. So—tell me your troubles. I will stake everything I have to show my gratitude," Crusch declared with dignified composure and a resolute voice, leaving Subaru slightly stunned.
"Well, I didn't really plan to hide anything anyway."
.
.
.
—Time rewinds to the afternoon.
Though the internal issues of the Sanctuary had been resolved with the help of Otto and the others, as expected, many new problems had arisen.
Things on Emilia's side had been resolved relatively easily through dialogue, but Garfiel was a different story.
Being at that special age of fourteen and having read too many heroic tales, he was the type who wouldn't listen to reason.
Like many hot-blooded chuunibyou youths, he said things like, "If you want to talk, beat me first." As a result, the battle with him left Rem, the party's main tank, temporarily incapacitated due to overuse of her Oni form.
With Rem out of commission, dealing with the external threat of the Witch Cult became all the more troublesome.
As a half-elf, Emilia couldn't leave the Sanctuary until she had cleared all the trials.
"In that case, I'll take on the remaining trials myself," "I want to save Geuse (Petelgeuse) with my own hands. I'm not sure what the next trials are, but I doubt anything could shake my resolve now."
"Yeah, yeah, the past-me has already been conquered. I'm not afraid of anything now! I feel like I could just burst through the rest like 'Wah!' No need to worry, General!"
"Calm down, Garfiel. Lady Emilia.
If the Sanctuary's barrier is lifted now, it'll become an all-out war.
Do you understand what that means? The Witch Cult won't care if people are civilians. And in our current state, we're severely outnumbered. If it comes to that, there will be massive civilian casualties."
"Tch..."
"Otto is right. They have more than double our numbers, and their 'Invisible Hands' ability is impossible to guard against.
Worst of all, they don't intend to leave survivors. They want to massacre everyone in the trial grounds and offer them to the Witch."
"Then what do we do? Just waiting won't change anything. You said that Archbishop of Sloth is coming here, didn't you?"
Subaru looked at Garfiel and, for a moment, considered the idea of brute-forcing the situation with Garfiel's strength.
—With Garfiel's power, if I just try ten or so times, I might be able to wipe out all the grunts, and then I could clear the trial myself...
Subaru shook his head hard to push away that terrifying thought.
—Didn't I promise not to rely on Return by Death? Don't give up so easily. Think of another way.
"Right. We can play with timing. I'll go outside with Garfiel and call for reinforcements. Before the Archbishop arrives, the Witch Cult should retreat temporarily. During that window, we can evacuate the civilians in the Sanctuary."
"Reinforcements? You mean Beatrice?"
At Emilia's question, Subaru pictured the curly-haired loli in his mind and smiled wryly.
"It'd be ideal if Beatrice was willing to help, but whether she'll choose me or not... honestly, I don't know. So I'm thinking of going to Crusch. Actually, right now... that's what I'm planning. I'll bring Garfiel and join the White Whale subjugation, and then form an alliance with Crusch. Otto, what do you think?"
Subaru turned to Otto, the only one present familiar with Crusch. Otto paused before responding.
"Crusch-sama, huh? Yes, given her character, even without an alliance, she'd definitely come to help.
She's even dealt with the Great Rabbit before.
I personally support your plan.
But I have one concern—do you have a reliable way to escape the Sanctuary now?"
"To be honest, I'm not confident. But the success rate isn't bad. I can gauge the Archbishop of Sloth's status from the battle outside.
Also, I'm not an important figure in this trial.
Since the trial's already begun, Sloth won't abandon Emilia just to chase me. I'm sure of that much."
"You worry too much, Otto. With me going with the General, whether it's Witch Cultists or Archbishops, I'll defeat them all for you!"
Looking at the confident Garfiel, Subaru thought back to the previous loop.
While Garfiel likely wasn't a match for the Archbishop of Sloth, judging by Rem's condition, one or two 'Fingers' shouldn't be a problem for him.
"Reliable as always. But how's your injury?"
"No problem! With the Divine Protection of the Earth Spirit, just standing on solid ground helps me recover my wounds, stamina, even mana.
The trip to the Flugel Tree takes about two hours—plenty of time to recover most of my fighting strength!"
"Then I and Granny Ryuzu will start organizing the villagers ahead of time."
"Thanks, I'm counting on you."
"Though I don't know if it's just luck or if we were tricked last time, this time we didn't even encounter any so-called 'Fingers' during our escape.
We arrived smoothly and joined the battle. Honestly, I didn't expect the situation to be this serious."
"So, it's the Great Rabbit and the Archbishop of Sloth? Indeed, while the subjugation force suffered significant losses, the survivors could still repel the Rabbit.
In fact, if Wilhelm was willing, he could lead a team against Sloth himself. But compared to that... isn't there a better option?"
Subaru followed Crusch's pointing finger and saw Wilhelm standing behind him.
At some point, he had silently moved there and nodded in response.
"Natsuki Subaru-dono. The White Whale subjugation was only successful thanks to your aid. So, if needed, please command this old man as you see fit. However, I also agree with my lord's suggestion."
Crusch and her vassal had no intention of backing down.
They genuinely wanted to help Subaru. And precisely because their intent wasn't to satisfy themselves, but to wholeheartedly aid Subaru, they said what they did.
All three turned their eyes to the red-haired Sword Saint who had been quietly standing behind Wilhelm all this time—Reinhild.
No one around had noticed the girl standing next to him.
As always, she must have been hiding her presence.
Noticing their gazes, Reinhild bowed politely and said:
"Apologies. I happened to overhear your conversation. I understand the situation. Please, leave the rest to me."
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