Watching Crusch gather a truly extraordinarily large number of allies had been quite the sight. I still remembered the frantic rush of the rest of the day quite clearly. But now, I was exhausted. Right now would be my last opportunity to sleep before the big battle.

Honestly, I was worried about it. In canon, Subaru only managed to avoid the fog through sheer luck. There had been multiple times he had to be saved, by Rem, by Anastasia’s mercenaries, and even by Wilhelm and Crusch.

Before any of that, there was something I had to do. I palmed the Company’s stamp in my hand as I approached Rem’s room. We were still staying in Crusch’s mansion, and I stared at the elegantly carved dark wooden door in front of me. Even though I knew Rem would never hurt me, I still felt so nervous standing in front of this door. Thoughts of rejection flittered through my mind, though I tried to push them away as nonsense.

“Come in!” Rem said loudly through the door.

I smiled, she must have heard me standing here through the door. I let out a breath to gather myself, and then I pushed down on the door handle. The door swung wide as I walked inside.

Rem sat on the edge of her bed facing away from the wall. She wore a simple white nightdress, the fabric almost thin enough to see through.

I walked confidently, or at least with fake confidence, into the room, shutting the door behind me. I took a few more steps until I reached the small chair and desk combo across from the bed. I pulled the chair out and turned it around to face Rem. Then, I unceremoniously sat down, my eyes intent on Rem’s.

“What did Subaru-kun want to discuss?” Her soft voice sounded surprisingly firm— as if she wanted to reassure me and also make it clear she found my words important at the same time.

I palmed the stamp in my hand, turning it this way and that, but she didn’t notice the motion. She couldn’t notice the motion.

“Rem, there are a number of things I need to tell you. You might not believe all of it.”

“Even if Subaru-kun said the moon would fall from the sky and kill everyone tonight, I would believe you. I’ll always believe in you.”

I huffed out in chagrin. Why was I even holding this stamp for, anyway? I threw it into the trash bin. Despite the loud cluttering sound, Rem didn’t notice. I wouldn’t force the stamp on her without her express approval, I decided.

Once again, I fixed my gaze intently on my lover. “Rem, I’m not sure exactly how much I can tell you, since telling you could be dangerous for both of us. If I stop talking in the middle of trying to explain things to you, it means I hit a metaphorical landmine, and I had to stop.”

“I’m not sure what a landmine is,” Rem said, “But I think I understand. What is it?”

“A lot of things, actually.” I sighed, trying to figure out how to explain all of this to her. “Let’s start with my erratic behavior. I have some limited ability to divine the future.” I paused, waiting to see if the witch of Envy’s claws would come for me.

After a moment of heart-racing silence, I determined that saying this much must be safe at the very least.

“I know you were lying about the metia.” Rem smiled, “I always know when Subaru-kun is lying.”

I chuckled slightly and held my hand against the back of my neck, “If that’s the case, then why—”

Rem interrupted me, “I told you just now, didn’t I? Even if you are lying, I’ll follow you, no,” She shook her head, “I’ll trust you no matter what,” she said with determination.

“Well, what I’m saying now is the truth. I have some limited precognition. That’s how I know where the White Whale is going to be.”

“Ok.”

“I also, need your advice.”

“Yes.”

“There’s more information I didn’t share with Crusch. Honestly, I’m worried that if I told her the rest, that she wouldn’t agree to lend us her troops.” I could see that Rem was listening intently. Despite that, I still didn’t know if I should tell her about the other Sin Archbishops.

First, I decided to take a detour. Rem looked at me with slight confusion as I changed the subject. “What if I told you that I could make you immortal?” I let the question hang in the air for a moment, but Rem didn’t speak up— either because she knew I wasn’t finished or because she had trouble digesting my words. “What if I said that I could make you immune to any and all mind-affecting magic? Soul-affecting magic? What if I said that I could make your body healthier than it’s ever been? What if I said that I could take you to an alternate dimension, where no one could ever harm us and we’d be safe, for eternity?”

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Rem spoke up with a serious face, “I’d say that I believe you.”

“What if I said that the only cost for all of those things, would be that you pledge your eternal love and loyalty to me.” My heart started racing. This was the question.

I swallowed as Rem began to move her lips, “Then I’d say that I will do so happily.”

I let out a breath of relief and smiled. “Rem, take off your clothes,” I said with utter seriousness.

Sensing my seriousness, Rem stood up and took off her nightgown in one smooth motion. She wore only a pair of blue panties. She held the nightgown with one arm and crossed her other arm around her chest to hide her modesty. I drank in the sight.

“Subaru,” Rem said. She spoke seriously, but I could see the blush rising up her cheeks.

“I’m going to put a mark on your skin.” I summoned the stamp into my right hand as I approached Rem.

With my other arm, I pulled her in tightly by the waist. She gasped as her naked body met my chest, dropping her nightgown on the floor in surprise.

I let go of the stamp for a moment so that I could push Rem’s arm away from her chest. I watched as her chest slowly moved up and down in rhythm with her breathing.

I resummoned the Company stamp, and I pressed it firmly right in between and slightly above her breasts— marking her mine.

Only now able to finally notice the stamp, Rem stared down at the black cylinder in my hands as it met her skin. “It’s cold,” she said.

I dropped the stamp, banishing it to the aether until I summoned it once more. Together, we stared down at her naked body in fascination as the stamp formed on her skin. The head of a purple, eastern-style dragon’s head drew itself upon her skin. Then, a triangle formed around the head which sat in its center. In the three corners formed three new purple tattoos. One was a familiar mace and chain. The next corner showed an Oni’s horn. The final corner formed the symbol of Pride— a symbol known only to and representing me. Apparently, Rem’s third pillar of existence was he who called himself Natsuki Subaru.

Her muscles rippled as I held her in my arms, and her eyes glowed. The next moment, she gasped in surprise as all of the hair not situated on her head or face fell out. Yep, body talent would do that to you.

“What happened?” she asked me as I held her against myself.

“I told you, didn’t I? I’ve made you stronger. I’ve made you immortal. Mind-affecting magics will bounce off of you as if they didn’t exist, and the same can be said of soul-affecting magics. This was the best way I knew how to keep you safe.”

“I feel stronger.”

“That’s an understatement. You’re probably at least three or four times stronger than you were before. At least, Body Talent did that to me.”

“Body, Talent?” Rem tested out the English words, moving the concepts around in her head as she said them.

I crouched down to pick up her nightgown from the floor. “Body Talent, Soul Defense, Mind Defense, and Everlasting are now yours.”

“What about you?” Rem sounded slightly panicked, probably worried that I had given up something vital for her.

I waved her concerns away with my off hand, as I tried to pass her nightgown back to her with the other. “Don’t worry about it.”

She pushed against my chest, pushing me back a step. “I’m obviously going to be worried about it!” She said with some heat. “What about Subaru-kun!? You need these defenses way more than I do!”

I shook my head, “Don’t worry! Remember, I already told you what it cost. Do you remember?”

“Love, and, loyalty? But... that doesn’t make any sense.” She looked up at me with wide eyes, looking for an explanation.

I was about to provide it to her when she spoke up again with determination, “No. No matter what, if Subaru-kun said that’s what it cost, then that’s what it cost. I believe you.”

Normally, I would be entirely against mind control. But in this case, I suspected the stamp didn’t actually change Rem’s psyche in the slightest. The Stamp only enforced loyalty. I did say it cost love, but in reality, my stamp didn’t force someone to love me. It only forced someone to be loyal to me. From the beginning, Rem was loyal to me. In this case, I rested easy knowing that the stamp didn’t change her in the slightest. It was a sweet deal, me being able to give her all of those defenses and talents practically for free. Now, I knew, I wouldn’t ever have to worry about her mind being erased by Gluttony.

She finally seemed to realize I was holding her nightgown out for her to take, and she shyly took it back from me with both hands. She turned around so her back was facing me, and then she spoke, “Don’t you know it’s rude to stare at a lady while she dresses?” Her neck and ears turned red.

I smiled and turned around. “My bad.”

“Geez, you aren’t sorry at all, are you.”

“Nope.”

“Don’t toy with a lady’s heart.”

“Even if I think you’re cute when I’m teasing you?”

“Maybe a little bit is alright,” Rem whispered. I heard clothes rustling behind me, and then Rem said, “You can turn around now.”

The moment I looked at her face, Rem beamed at me with the most beautiful smile I had ever seen. She was once again clothed in the simple, thin nightgown. Her chin-length blue hair framed her face perfectly, slightly messy from holding her to my chest. She brushed some bangs away from her eye and tucked them behind an ear.

“Before this, didn’t you say you wanted my advice?” Rem prompted.

I sat back down in the desk chair facing Rem, Rem mirroring me as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Honestly, it’s not just the Sin Archbishop of Sloth. The White Whale is being controlled by two more Sin Archbishops, Ley Batenkeitos— the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony is one of them. The other, I don’t quite remember. I think it’s the Sin Archbishop of Greed, but I’m honestly not sure.”

“And, you think that if we tell Crusch she won’t try to fight the Whale? Subaru, after everything she’s done to get ready for this fight, I don’t think Crusch is the type of person to back down.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about. I’m worried that after we subjugate the Whale, Crusch won’t allow half of her forces to come defend Emilia and everyone else at the manor. If she knows there are two more Sin Archbishops, she’ll want to keep all of her fighting strength together.”