Chapter 154: The Choice
"You were here all along." Natsuki Subaru, just having come out of Rem's room, heard a gentle voice.
Turning around, Subaru was momentarily taken aback, then closed the door and walked over to Crush.
"Is there something you need from me?"
Crush now looked very different from the Crush Subaru had known before. The most obvious change was that she looked more like a woman.
This wasn't to say that Crush hadn't been female before, but she no longer looked confident and strong, nor did she have that heroic aura.
Now, she gave off the impression of a true noble lady—a great beauty whose vulnerable posture made people instinctively want to protect her.
"Are you alright?"
"Hm? I'm fine. Why do you suddenly ask that?"
Crush looked at Subaru, who wore a faint smile, but her brow furrowed slightly, and her gaze became somewhat uncertain.
"You look sad… and in pain."
The smile on Subaru's face stiffened, and his trembling hand slowly moved up to rub his face gently.
"It's nothing. I'm fine. Crush, you came to see me for a reason, right?"
"...Yes. Because the meeting is about to start, I was asked to inform you. Um..."
"Natsuki Subaru—that's my name."
"I'm very sorry. I heard that Subaru-sama was my benefactor, yet I failed to remember your name."
"Don't call me 'sama.' If anything, I should be the one calling you that.
But we're friends, right? So no need for such respect. I'm just a useless person.
I'm the one who should apologize for letting you end up like this… You must have a lot to remember recently. It's been tough."
After saying this, Subaru didn't linger and stepped past Crush.
"Let's go. Isn't the meeting about to start?"
Crush hurried to follow. When they arrived at the meeting room, they sat down on opposite sides.
Wilhelm, Felix, and Emilia were already there early. The last two to arrive were Subaru and Crush. Once they were seated, the meeting officially began.
"Since everyone is here, let's start."
Wilhelm spoke first, then Subaru took the lead:
"Well, I've managed to gather some intelligence about the culprit who caused Rem, Crush, and others to become like this."
As Subaru spoke, his gaze shifted to the green crystal on Emilia's chest. His hand resting on the table tightened involuntarily.
"Gluttony—one of the Archbishops of Sin from the Witch's Cult—is the root cause of all this. His authority is 'Devour.' He can devour memories, devour names. If he devours a person's memories, they lose all recollections. If he devours their name, then everyone forgets that person.
If both are devoured, the person becomes a 'Sleeping Beauty.' Crush's symptoms suggest her memories were devoured."
"What about a solution?"
Felix's question made Subaru fall silent.
"I don't know."
"What good is such intelligence! It's useless to us!"
Subaru took a deep breath, looking at Felix's calm but cold face, and spoke slowly:
"At least we know who the enemy is, and which direction we should investigate."
"You mean we're supposed to face the Witch's Cult again?"
"There's no other way. Only by finding the cause of these problems can we find the answers."
"Subaru-sama is right. So far, this is the most feasible approach."
Wilhelm's gaze shifted toward Crush.
When Crush's eyes met Wilhelm's, she showed a frightened expression.
"Sorry to scare you. I didn't mean to."
"No, I'm just too weak. I'm sorry, Wilhelm. Having a lord like me must be troubling for you."
As Crush spoke, Felix was about to respond when Subaru's voice interrupted:
"Crush."
"Hm?" Crush looked at Subaru with confusion, startled by his sudden voice.
"You didn't do anything wrong.
You don't need to apologize to anyone. Losing your memories isn't your fault.
Although I don't know what it feels like to lose memories, it must be awful.
Without your past memories, the people you once knew become strangers.
You'd probably feel panic and pressure at the kindness of these 'strangers.' But remember one thing. Memories are part of what makes a person, but some things don't change even if you lose your memories or your name.
Those things exist deep in your bones.
So don't overthink it—just follow your current thoughts.
I have a friend who lost his memories too, but he still became a hero people could rely on.
I believe Crush, you can be like that too. So just act according to your own will."
"Thank you, Subaru..."
Subaru raised a hand and gently shook his head.
"I didn't do anything. I just said some presumptuous things."
Ending that topic, Subaru was about to start giving instructions for the next steps when Felix spoke up.
"There's something I want to say. Can we just pretend the alliance never happened?"
After Felix's words, the entire hall fell silent. All eyes focused on him.
"Why?"
"You should know the reason better than I do, Subaru!
Continuing the alliance means we'll inevitably face the Witch's Cult again. So I want to cancel the alliance."
"Is it my fault then?"
"Of course. Those lunatics are obsessively determined to exterminate the half-elf.
From the start, I opposed the alliance. Although the alliance has helped us a lot, especially with your help, Subaru, after seeing Lady Crush like this, I can't let this alliance continue."
"Painful... Subaru?"
Subaru calmly folded his hands, ignoring Emilia's confused expression, and stared at Felix's eyes as he slowly said:
"Fine."
"I object!"
"Why?! Why are you opposing, Wilhelm?! Do you want Lady Crush to remain in danger?! We couldn't protect her, so do you want to keep the alliance with Lady Emilia, who's targeted by the Witch's Cult and drags us all into danger?!"
"At least this way we can avenge the Witch's Cult and find a solution to Crush's memory problem."
Subaru calmly tapped the table to gather their attention as they argued.
"Since this is Felix's stance, I agree to dissolve the alliance.
But there is one thing I need to make clear.
Emilia, listen carefully. I won't say this twice.
The one who caused this is not you, nor any of us here, but the Witch's Cult.
They are the enemy.
If anyone is to blame, it's every single one of us here. None of us can act as if we're innocent.
I know Felix, you're worried about Crush and are protecting her, and it's because of my mistake that I agree to end the alliance.
However... whether the alliance dissolves or not is not up to you."
Saying this, Subaru shifted his gaze to Crush.
"Crush, it's your choice whether to dissolve the alliance.
To be clear: if you decide to continue the alliance with us, you might face further attacks from the Witch's Cult, and more people may die in the fight.
So what is your answer?
Whatever it is, our friendship won't change.
If you ever need my help, just let me know, and I will come to assist you.
This is simply a promise between friends."
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