Chapter 147: How Long Do You Plan to Sleep?
"...What arrogance are you talking about? You won just now, aren't you going to kill me?"
Natsuki Subaru looked deeply at Petelgeuse, then shifted his body and fell down beside him.
His gaze fixed on the white clouds slowly drifting across the sky. With a smile on his face, he slowly said:
"Even if I wanted to kill you, I've already reached my limit now. I accidentally missed in the end. Instead, you, you're not going to kill me? Even if your body can't move, your authority isn't very related to your body, right?"
"..."
"Well, let's talk for a bit now. Hmm—let's continue the topic from before. We're quite similar; we're the same in one thing: escaping from reality.
Although I can move freely, I've imprisoned myself in a room filled only with darkness.
You, however, have locked yourself inside your heart.
We've both sealed off our hearts; the only difference is, I met someone who opened the door to my locked room.
But no one has opened that tightly shut door inside your heart.
When I learned a part of your past, I thought... If no one opens that door in your heart, then I'll do it.
And so it turned out like this. Yeah—you're right, I was probably arrogant. To you, I'm just a stranger, yet I presumptuously thought I could open your tightly locked heart.
But isn't that kind of arrogance also a good thing? Although it's not open yet, I have definitely approached that invisible door. I just don't have the key right now."
At this point, Natsuki Subaru saw a deep purple arm appear in his vision; it slowly moved closer and touched his neck.
If it applied just a little pressure, the man named Natsuki Subaru would definitely die here, with no surprises.
"I am the Archbishop of Sloth, Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti!"
"Alright, alright, stop lying. If you were that lunatic, I wouldn't still be alive. By the way, having this hand on my neck feels really uncomfortable. Could you move it away?"
"..."
"Whatever, suit yourself. Hey, Geuse, have you seen the sky right now? Blue background, white decorations—it makes people feel relaxed and sleepy. Yeah, very peaceful."
"..."
"...The dead can't come back. Because of shutting yourself away and missing chances, after so much time, a ray of sunlight pierced into the tightly shut room.
Can't you pull back the curtains and take a look? At least one person is still alive in this world—she... Emilia, can you really heartlessly abandon her?
Don't you call yourself a sinner? Now Emilia no longer has Fortuna by her side, no one to rely on, having to face others' hostility alone.
Are you really going to let one mistake become two?"
At this point, Natsuki Subaru coughed twice; his heartbeat grew weaker and weaker.
If not for continuing the fight at 2 o'clock, he would have long since been unable to hold on.
But the dual exhaustion of mind and body was about to crush him, and he still didn't know if he had succeeded in bringing Julius back.
Summoning his strength, Natsuki Subaru ignored the arm on his neck, used his left hand to support his body, and slowly stood up.
"Fine, I'll just have to take you with me. Now you pretend to be dead."
Natsuki Subaru looked at Petelgeuse, or rather Geuse, who was still staring at him, sighed helplessly, grabbed the other's cloak with his left hand, and started walking step by step toward the village.
After the intense battle, Natsuki Subaru was only able to maintain his life thanks to fighting through the pain; he walked very slowly.
Plus, dragging a corpse made their pace even slower.
"Your name..."
"Hm? Oh, have I introduced myself? Well, I'm Natsuki Subaru."
"How is Lady Emilia doing?"
"Hm? That's something you should ask her yourself."
"I can't. I'm a sinner, after all. After everything that's happened, how can someone like me, full of sins, face Lady Emilia?"
"That's something you have to think about, Geuse. Whether you want to commit suicide before Emilia to atone, or spend your remaining life redeeming the people you hurt and killed because of your escape. Or revenge—it's your choice.
I'm not a life coach or someone like my close friend who can make people clear-headed or realize their mistakes.
Someone like me, a nobody, can only satisfy myself and give you a chance—a chance for Emilia to see you once again.
No one knows if Emilia will forgive you, no one can pay for your past, no one can choose your future.
At least as an outsider, I don't have the right or the intention. I already said, this is just my arrogant self-satisfaction."
"..."
"Think carefully about it. What you should choose. And don't think about killing yourself right now—I'll stop you. I won't let you die before you meet Emilia.
By the way, have you put away your authority, the first one? If not, can you use it to carry both of us for a while? Dragging you is really tiring..."
Natsuki Subaru smiled as the arm moved away from his neck, continuing to walk forward as he saw the road leading to the village.
Not long after leaving the forest and stepping onto the main road, he saw a group of heavily armed people rushing toward them.
"My comrades have arrived. You, pretend to be dead."
"..."
Natsuki Subaru glanced back at Julius, who had closed his eyes, nodded in satisfaction, and watched those worried and anxious people run toward him.
Natsuki Subaru stopped walking and waited until they reached him before speaking to Julius and Felix.
"You finally came. By the way, this is the person I rescued from the Archbishop of Sloth. If it weren't for him, I think I would have restarted already. Anyway, I'll leave him to you now."
"Subaru? Subaru! Julius, what are you doing? Hurry and take Subaru to Lady Emilia!"
"I know!"
"Phew, finally got most things settled. Subaru's always so reckless."
"Well, he's been like this since I met him."
Puck, sitting on Subaru's chest, spread his hands and said to a displeased Felix:
"Little lady, I'll take care of this side. You go handle the other injured."
"Eh? But isn't there still an older man?"
"Him? His injuries aren't that bad. Just a few broken bones, one hand's twisted, and one ear is deaf. I can handle that."
"Is that so? Then I'll leave it to you."
Puck nodded, watching Felix leave the room and close the door, then slowly floated over to Geuse's side.
"How long do you plan to sleep?"
"..."
"Hmph, since you want to sleep, just keep sleeping like that. Until Subaru wakes up, your injuries will stay like this. I won't let you die.
Thank Subaru for what he said after passing out. Otherwise, I'd make you know what despair really means."