I stared at the scene before me, trying to process what had happened.
“Now is not the time for hesitation, Subaru-dono!” Wilhelm came flying in from behind me on his red ground dragon. He rushed past me and jumped up to the Whale. “The time for your end has come! Graciously fall to my blade. For my wife!” He shouted, his voice so full of emotion it even managed to break me out of torpor.
This time, Patrasche listened to my command of the reins. She turned back to the Whale and rode toward it.
Once we arrived, I looked over at the Whale, desperate to see blue hair. I could still see Wilhelm atop its head, carving away. I could see the Whale’s desperate eyes tracking Wilhelm as he decapitated it.
I searched the area, moving my head back and forth almost as fast as it could go, damn the consequences. A little bit to the side of the Whale, on the ground, pinned beneath stray wooden shrapnel, I found that head of blue hair.
I jumped off of Patrasche and ran to my lover. “Rem!” I shouted, but she did not stir.
As I approached, I scanned her body for any signs of life. I checked her closed eyes and her unmoving chest. With a heave, I threw all of the stray pieces of wood off of her body. Then, I gently cradled her head and lifted her body up to me. I gently held her upper body to my chest, and her lower body naturally draped into my lap.
“Rem?” I asked gently, softly.
I held my hand in front of her mouth, but I didn’t feel any breathing. Then I moved down to her wrist, but I could not find a pulse. Finally, I moved my fingers to her neck, dreading what they might find. I moved slowly, as if my hesitation might change the outcome.
My finger met her soft supple neck... and found a pulse.
I breathed out once, and my eyes began to water. She was alive, though her pulse was weak. As long as she was alive, Felis could heal her no problem. A tear of relief dribbled down my cheek and fell onto her chest, absorbed by the maid uniform. I held her tightly for a moment more.
Patrasche walked up to me so she could nudge me with her head. Looking toward her, I could see the White Whale’s now headless corpse in the background. In the distance, I could see Felis and Crusch approaching me.
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
“Who is that girl in your arms?” Crusch asked me.
I laughed self-deprecatingly. “She’s proof that not everything went perfectly. I failed her.”
“Another victim of the White Whale, then.”
“Crusch-sama!” Felis cried, “This girl is still alive!”
“What did you say?” Crusch asked disbelievingly.
“Subaru-kyun, move out of the way,” Felis practically stole Rem from my arms, but I let him. He draped her across his lap, his hands already beginning to glow with the light of healing magic.
“Well, if you were cradling her so gently she must be important to you, nya.” His hands glowed with healing light.
“Her name is Rem. My Rem.” I said simply, those words explanation enough.
“I’m surprised you can remember her. It’s no easy feat to survive the White Whale’s fog, let alone for anyone to remember your memory,” Crusch said matter-of-factly.
“Rem’s tough.” I shrugged. “And I’m somewhat immune to the effects of the Witch’s cult.”
“If that’s the case, I may ask you to identify our fallen later, help us respect their memory.” Wilhelm approached, flicking the blood off of his sword as he did so.
“Wilhelm, so it’s over then?” Crusch asked him.
“Indeed. My wife has been avenged. Finally, my reason for living these fourteen years has been accomplished.”
Then, Wilhelm knelt down on one knee right in front of me. “I express my gratitude to you, Subaru-dono. I express gratitude. Thank you. Truly, truly, thank you. Words alone cannot begin to express the debt I now owe you.”
“Su...baru?” A weak voice sounded out to my side.
I was next to her in an instant. In the background, I barely registered Wilhelm saying something about ‘not being able to compete with the attentions of a woman’, but I ignored him in favor of Rem’s wide eyes looking up at me.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Did, we—” she coughed, “win?” Her voice came out small, weak.
I reached out and held her hand in mine and leaned over her body to gently kiss her forehead. “Yeah, we won.”
“Good.” She smiled.
I flicked her nose. “Subaru-kun!” She said, scandalized.
“What did I tell you about trying to sacrifice your life for me!” I shouted in her face.
Despite the anger in my tone, she just smiled up at me gently. “How could I not save the one most precious to me?”
“Subaru-kyun, sorry to interrupt, but I’m gonna have to ask you not to shout at or flick my patient, nya.” Felis gave a strained smile. “In fact, I’m going to have to insist that she follow along with the wounded back to the capital.”
“I refuse,” I said, allowing absolutely no argument from my tone. “Rem is my other half. I will not be separated from her under any circumstances.”
“You say that, but...” Felis trailed off. He sighed, “Fine then. I see you won’t back down from this anyway.”
“Subaru-dono is that kind of man, after all.” Wilhelm chimed in.
Then, Crusch spoke up, “We defeated the White Whale with minimal losses, thanks to Subaru’s plan and info. But, it’s not time to relax. We need to get ready for the next fight. I’ve assigned a small contingent of my forces to take the wounded back to the capital, no more than a single squadron. Because of Subaru’s plan, and drawing the White Whale’s attention, no more than a handful of warriors became wounded, most of them simply because they were standing too close to the tree when it fell,” Crusch reported. “The rest of us will continue onto Roswaal’s domain.” Crusch’s words carried an air of authority. “We will bring the White Whale’s head with us. That is what the other two Sin Archbishops are after, is it not, Natsuki Subaru?” Crusch turned to ask me directly.
“That’s right. As long as we take that giant head with us, the Sin Archbishops will probably follow it. They want to meet the people responsible for killing their pet,” I spat out the last word.
Rem squeezed my hand, and Wilhelm looked fondly at us, briefly interrupting the current topic.
“I can tell this woman has precious feelings for you Subaru-dono— Cherish them. And, you must introduce us properly after this is all over.” Then, he sat up straighter, as if to continue the previous, more serious topic, “If the White Whale is considered a mere pet to these Archbishops, then they must be mighty foes indeed,” Wilhelm observed.
“I shall gather the squadron leaders. I assume you have another plan for us, Natsuki Subaru?” Crusch looked at me.
“Yeah, I’ve got at least the beginning of a plan. Anything after that we’ll have to see as it comes.”
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
Crusch had gathered all of the leaders into a big circle to talk strategy. Most of us were sitting on the grass. It was a weird feeling, seeing all those military types staring at me— waiting for my advice. On one hand, it made sense; I had just successfully handed them the key and strategy to defeat the White Whale with barely any losses. Heck, the fight itself had barely lasted more than ten minutes. On another hand, I knew practically nothing about military strategy. I was completely relying on my knowledge of the future to guide them to victory. I felt nervous, telling all of these warriors what to do, but I also knew that if I didn’t help, we would surely loose.
I almost started talking, but then Crusch pointed to the road behind us. I turned my head from my sitting position, to see the second half of Anastasia’s forces coming up the road— led by a certain pale purple haired knight. The last time Subaru had interacted with Julius, he had humiliated Subaru for daring to bad-mouth the kingdom of Luginica’s knight order. The current me stood up to meet their approach. The phantasm of Canon Subaru that still existed inside of me protested his presence, hard. But that phantom was just a memory at this point. It was easy to ignore.
Julius must have noticed my staring at him with targeted, intent eyes, because he guided his ground dragon right to me, stopping the rest of the caravan behind him.
“There is something you and I must discuss,” I said.
“Is that so?” He questioned.
Bowing at the waist at a slight angle, showing respect but not deference, I said, “I sincerely apologize for my actions in the past. I talked poorly of a respectable order I knew very little about, all for my own pride and wish to help Emilia-sama.”
He looked at me, perhaps trying to find his words. I suspected he did not expect me to apologize so seriously. This behavior would have been severely out of character for Canon Subaru, so I hoped he didn’t think I had snatched his body. But, he had no way to know I was a body snatcher. If Rem hadn’t noticed I was a new person, Julius probably wouldn’t either.
“I see. In that case, let me also apologize for my past actions. It is no simple thing to humiliate another in that way,” Julius replied back, equally serious.
“I accept your apology,” I took a breath, “But!” I said loudly, not quite shouting as I pointed at Julius’ face. “I still do not like you.” Now that, was in line with something Subaru would do, and frankly I agreed with him. Julius was kind of a dick at first.
Julius barked out a quick short laugh. “Fine then! I expected as much in either case.”
“Good, now come join the command circle so I can tell you how to kick the Sin Archbishops’ butts.”
Julius smiled.
After the rest of Anastasia’s forces were gathered for strategy talks, I turned my attention back to the circle sitting around me. I took a deep steadying breath to gather my thoughts. “The first thing you need to know is that from here on out, anyone carrying the head of the White Whale is going to be a target for two Sin Archbishops of the Witch’s cult. Quite frankly, I think it would be best if you all could just run away—”
I was about to say ‘but’ when Mimi – Anastasia’s tiny, cat eared second in command – interrupted, “If you think that’s gonna discourage us, you’re dead wrong!” She raised one fist in the air to show off her tiny fighting spirit. The twitching cat ears on top of her head made it look more cute than fierce, though.
I smiled— I knew they weren’t just going to back down from a fight. “Even though my initial suggestion would be to simply run, you’ve all made it clear to me that that’s not an option.”
I watched the crowd for a reaction, seeing nods go all around the circle.
“Honestly, there are a few ways I can think of that might work to defeat our enemies. I would like to hear all of your thoughts on the matter though, since I’m not a military expert. At best, I know the weaknesses of our enemies, and I’m somewhat counting on you all to find the smartest path forward.”