Before the Gluttony Subjugation Battle
— 1X minutes after the operations meeting ended, near the main waterway between the Second and First Districts —
The sword beam shooting up into the sky in the distance tore a large hole in the clouds. The tremendous sound of the battle only reached them seconds later. A few more seconds passed, and the calm water surface developed waves, and the ground beneath their feet began to shake. The two people by the shore knew that the battle had begun.
"It's started, huh? By the way, Kid, I have an idea regarding the fight later."
Heinkel stopped and looked at Subaru. The man's rare serious expression made Subaru realize that this was not a backup plan.
—Why discuss tactics in a place where the enemy might hear us? Why not discuss it with me at the 'Water Garment Pavilion' base camp earlier?
A question flashed through Subaru's mind, but he understood how serious the man in front of him was about subjugating Gluttony.
"Are you suggesting! It's a plan you don't want Rein-chan to know about?"
Because Subaru also had his own small schemes he didn't want Rein-chan to know about, he instantly reacted.
"That's right. That guy is a bit overly protective of me. Other matters are fine, but I don't want to be a bystander when it comes to saving Lounna."
A father's pride, love for his wife, hatred for Gluttony, and guilt, jealousy, and affection for Reinhild... as well as the determination to make amends, were all reflected on Heinkel's face.
"I understand."
Subaru, who had once been a failure, could not refuse Heinkel's request. Moreover:
"Personally, I also have a big score to settle with Gluttony privately. And I also don't want Rein-chan to face Gluttony, who can turn into Miss Lounna. So I don't want to use the signal flare either. Is that okay, Beatrice?"
Subaru looked at Beatrice in his arms.
"But, but..."
Beatrice did not agree immediately as Subaru had expected.
"The opponent is a Sin Archbishop! And since it's neither the terrifyingly strong Greed nor Wrath, which needs to be dealt with quickly, the correct approach in this situation should be to wait for Reinhild to handle Greed and then let her deal with Gluttony."
After hesitating for a few seconds, Beatrice voiced the most correct course of action.
???
Subaru stopped, confused, because the Beatrice in his mind would never say such a thing. However, while holding Beatrice, Subaru naturally couldn't see her face, so he carefully put Beatrice down.
!!!
Only then did Subaru discover that the proud and confident expression on Beatrice's face had been replaced by worry and fear.
Looking at her small hand clutching the magic crystal, Subaru finally understood—for him, he had been saved from the jaws of death twice by Beatrice, but for Beatrice, he had twice come dangerously close to the jaws of death under her protection.
—Even though I've re-experienced the weight of death because of Echidna, I, who possesses 'Return by Death', have truly lost my fear of death, haven't I?
Subaru realized that he was the abnormal one, because 'death' was a means he could not abuse, but if it were to turn the tide of a losing battle, he would still use this method for those important to him.
Subaru took a few deep breaths, suppressing the feeling of loneliness in his heart, and then looked at Beatrice. After a brief thought, he gave up the idea of apologizing.
"Beatrice is a Great Spirit who has lived for 400 years, Echidna's disciple, the guardian of the Forbidden Library, the developer of 'Yin' magic..."
Subaru rattled off her past titles to a stunned Beatrice.
"And my, Natsuki Subaru's, proud partner, who saved me twice from a Sin Archbishop in one day. You should know I truly thought I was done for both times."
Since Subaru thought he was going to die both times, his words were instantly filled with persuasive power. Beatrice, as a Great Spirit, also felt the power in his words, and precisely because of this, she couldn't vent the self-reproach and complaints she was holding, because—
—Her most important contractor acknowledged and affirmed her strength from the bottom of his heart.
The negative emotions arising from the failure of her first bodyguard duty began to dissipate at this moment.
—That's right. Even facing a Sin Archbishop, Betty won't lose, because Betty is a 400-year-old Great Spirit....
Her self-doubt about her power also vanished because of Subaru's words.
"But, Betty doesn't have much mana left now. I also said that forcibly using mana from these magic crystals is very inefficient, didn't I?"
"Speaking of which, what are the specific numbers?"
Beatrice's face gradually flushed when asked by Subaru.
"It consumes one... one hundred times more than usual."
Beatrice said in a voice so small it was almost inaudible.
Subaru froze for a moment, desperately suppressing the urge to shout. He finally understood why Beatrice would add the modifier 'only' before the 6 magic crystals. One should know that Emilia only needed one magic crystal to revive Puck.
"It seems your plan, Heinkel, is necessary."
"Hey! What are you doing? Put me down!"
Beatrice, who was suddenly lifted high by Subaru, shrieked.
"Who told you to look so downcast? The fundamental reason for this situation was to save me, wasn't it? Do you feel that wasting mana to save me was wrong?"
"No."
"Then don't be disheartened. It's my job to make up for the mana wasted by Beako using my brain. Besides, thanks to Beako, I realized that I must strive to live for the important people. Of course, if possible, I hope to solve it myself. I might be so caught up in the heat and my pride that I forget to ask for help."
Subaru put Beatrice down.
"So I'm giving this to you. You decide when to use the water magic."
Subaru handed the signal flare given by Reinhild to the conflicted Beatrice, then looked at Heinkel.
"That's the deal. The joker card is entrusted to my smart Beatrice. Mr. Heinkel, hurry up and tell us your brilliant plan. We are about to enter Gluttony's dining hall."
Heinkel glared at the two, then irritably ran his hands through his hair, finally sighing helplessly.
"Fine. So, this is what I intend to do..."
"That's quite a gamble!"
Subaru exclaimed.
"Even if we lose the gamble, there's a 1/3 chance that things will remain the same. On the contrary, if we win the gamble, the battle could end."
"Wrong. It should be said that there's a 2/3 chance of a total wipeout if we lose the gamble. Of course, I personally feel it's a good method, but we need to set two preconditions.
Use this method last, because the risk is too high. This combat method can only be used after Reinhild's battle is over, because that way, she can still salvage the situation even if we lose the gamble."I hope you can swear on your family name."
Subaru's words completely changed Heinkel's demeanor. After all, even the most down-on-his-luck Heinkel that Subaru had met still had a strong sense of honor regarding his family. However, thinking of his bedridden wife, Heinkel ultimately swore on his family name.
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Read ahead (60 chapters) by supporting me on buymeacoffee com/varietl or ko-fi edwriting