5
Wilhelm named a witch Subaru had never heard of before. The witches Subaru knew were Envy—Satella—and the six others associated with the deadly sins, whom he’d met in Echidna’s tomb. That there were more witches came out of nowhere.
“Then, do you think that that Sphinx is connected with this situation now?”
“No. My apologies, I was not clear enough. The witch Sphinx was destroyed back during that war and is most certainly dead. She is surely not connected to the current incident.”
“She’s dead? You’re sure, right? A witch pretending to die in order to be able to act freely sort of fits the mental image I have of them.”
There was the way Satella appeared whenever Subaru came close to the taboo of revealing his Return by Death ability, and there was the way Echidna was living it up in her domain after having died, too.
“They don’t die no matter how many times you kill them, almost like cockroaches…”
“I cannot speak to the sort of impression you may have of witches, but Sphinx was merely referred to as a witch out of convenience. The more important point is the magic that Sphinx used.”
“Which is a magic to raise the dead…?”
“At the time, they were commonly called corpse soldiers. That taboo technique is the most likely culprit behind the current situation.”
Corpse soldiers was a blunt, easy-to-understand, and brutal phrase. A dead person, someone who had been lost, was moving again, and calling them a corpse soldier hammered home the reality of the situation.
And Wilhelm’s beloved wife was being used as one of those corpse soldiers. Subaru could not even begin to imagine what he was feeling.
“My wife passed away. I was unable to protect her.”
“ ”
Subaru regretted his bitter expression, because it had made Wilhelm feel compelled to say it again.
His foolish inability to keep his emotions from showing had forced Wilhelm to repeat it.
There was nothing he could say as he watched the older swordsman’s face. Not a single thing.
“Apologies for keeping you here so long. I mustn’t make Lady Crusch wait any longer. Please proceed inside.”
Wilhelm bowed and pointed to the door at the end of the hall.
The farthest room. That was where Crusch was waiting for Subaru. His feet were heavy, like the bottoms of his shoes were clinging to the floor.
That was surely an expression of the weakness of his heart as he started to feel daunted.
“—It’s me. Subaru Natsuki. Crusch?”
Knocking on the door, he called out hoarsely. There was a moment’s silence, and then the door slowly opened inward.
“Subawu…”
Ferris appeared on the other side. His gruesome appearance made Subaru catch his breath. His eyes were swollen and red from crying, and his chestnut hair was an absolute mess. His body was covered in spatters of blood that belonged to other people, and perhaps because he had not even spared a thought to wipe them away, there were even dried blood spots on his cheeks and neck.
“…Ah, I was…I was told Crusch asked for me…”
“Mm. She’s in bed… Don’t you dare pull anything.”
His voice was strained, a hint of hatred seeping into the warning. But the hatred was not directed at Subaru. It was an all-encompassing hate. What was consuming Ferris was an aimless rage, a hatred of everything in the world.
Taking a deep breath, Subaru continued inside behind Ferris. The room was not very large. Originally it had been a break room, and it was divided into several little spaces with beds for naps. And Crusch was in the one farthest to the back.
The woman lying on the simple bed noticed Subaru.
“…Sir Su-baru?”
Her lips moved, calling his name. In trying to respond, Subaru felt his throat clench. Steeling himself and feigning calm, responding in such a way as to keep her from worrying—he could not even do something as simple as that.
“A-pologies for my un-sightly appear-ance…”
“…No, no… That’s not…that’s not it…at all…”
Seeing Subaru stiffen, Crusch apologized weakly, but Subaru desperately spoke up, trying to smooth things over, flustered by her pained demeanor.
She had been afflicted by a horrific black curse after having been bathed in Capella’s blood. Her neck, arms, legs—huge swathes of her skin—were covered in a mottled black pattern. It was not hard to imagine that it was the same for the skin that was not showing as well. The network of black veins spreading across her body pulsed unnaturally, like a venomous snake constricting itself around her slender body.
The hideous curse was an insult to her hale, unblemished skin.
And of course the affliction did not stop at her neck. Her dignified, sharp beauty, which brought to mind the keenest of blades—the whole left side of her face was enveloped by a mottled splotch of black. The right side of her face remained clear, almost as if by malicious design, forcing Subaru to constantly compare the two sides, evoking an anger that something so noble had been so deliberately defiled.
Her left eye was covered by an eye patch, and he was hesitant to even imagine what the eye underneath looked like. He could understand why everyone had so adamantly insisted on his not seeing Crusch in her current state. The sheer difference between how badly they had been affected—it was just too cruel.
“Is this…is this really the same dragon’s blood curse as I have?”
If so, then what could possibly explain the cruel difference between their conditions?
The same black pattern was covering his right leg, but beyond the appearance, there had been no effect on his leg at all. It did not hurt, and nothing about it felt off. But it was clearly different for Crusch. Her pained wheezing, the way she trembled every time the network of vessels pulsed as if she were experiencing tremendous pain…
“Ferris…”
He turned to Ferris, one of the best healers in all the kingdom, to ask if he could do anything, but that did nothing more than rub salt in the wound as Ferris bit his lips at his own powerlessness.
He dug his nails into his arms as he looked down. He regretted his powerlessness more than anyone else ever could. Given what he knew about their relationship, Subaru could be sure that Ferris had tried every possible method to help her—far more things than Subaru could begin to imagine.
“Crusch… Why…?”
Why had she called for him when she was clearly suffering so much? He doubted she could do anything. Was there something she wanted to say? Did she want vengeance against Lust for doing that to her? To curse Subaru?
He placed his ear close to Crusch’s lips as she wheezed painfully, not wanting to miss anything she might say.
“…Th-ank good-ness you are safe…”
“ ”
“I heard…you were exposed to the blood…like I was…”
She seemed relieved. There was a gentleness to her voice.
The next moment, Subaru realized what he had really been feeling and almost wanted to die from anger at his own pettiness.
He had been thinking that it would be so much easier if she just blamed him. Because of that, he had looked down on her noble spirit and doubted her virtue. She had simply been worried for him, worried that he was suffering the same excruciating pain that she was.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
For doubting her, for her having to suffer like that, for being unable to do anything to relieve her pain: It all melded together into one great ball of remorse. He instinctively reached out, taking Crusch’s limp hand. Her hand was covered by the mottled blackness. It looked distorted and was slick to the touch, which only emphasized the terrible state she was in. But—
“Gh, ahh?!”
For a moment, an intense pain coursed through his veins, like he had grabbed a red-hot iron. Pain shot through his hand, and he reflexively let go of Crusch’s hand and looked at his own.
—His hand, which should have been normal, now had the same black pattern.
“Let me see your hand!”
Ferris took his hand, examining it as he stared in shock. The light of healing magic enveloped the dark veins, but there was no trace of pain nor sign of the black affliction fading.
But Subaru realized what had happened instead.
“Ferris! Crusch’s hand!”
“What…?”
Spinning around, Ferris widened his yellow eyes. The reason for his shock was Crusch’s right hand, the one that Subaru had held. The swollen blackness on her right hand had faded ever so slightly.
“Did it shift to my body from hers…?”
There didn’t seem to be any other way to explain the way their bodies had reacted. The stark difference in what their hands looked like now was proof.
The curse afflicting Crusch’s body had shifted to Subaru.
“B-but nothing happened to me! I touched her countless times while caring for her… See? It isn’t moving! I—I…”
Hearing Subaru’s hypothesis, Ferris touched the black flesh and tearfully shook his head. He was overwhelmed with anguish not by the possibility of a treatment, but at his own inability to do anything. The stark reality before him—his own inability to save his master—was just a never-ending series of difficult-to-bear blows.
“Even though I can’t help her…”
“Move aside, Ferris… I need to test this…”
He felt bad for Ferris and the shock he must have been feeling, but verifying what was happening took precedence.
Setting Ferris aside, Subaru faced Crusch again. She looked confused at what was happening as she looked up at him, her right eye tearing up. Subaru held out his hand, touching her cheek so that his hand covered her left eye, the one masked by an eye patch.
“Gh-gaaaaaaaaah!”
Immediately after, it felt like his brain was being seared and magma was flowing through his veins. The curse afflicting Crusch’s body traveled through his fingers, seemingly burning, melting, and bursting his nerves as they went.
Was this what Crusch was feeling with every moment that passed? She had been bearing something like that and even still had been worried about him? In that case, he would—
“—Ahhh.”
Before realizing it, Subaru fell back to the floor, his mouth puckering and sputtering like that of a fish out of water. Beside him, Ferris, who was watching Crusch…
“That’s…”
Had it had at least a little effect?
Crusch’s right eye was blinking in shock. The sign of the curse, the black pattern running across her left cheek, had faded somewhat. Seeing that, Subaru knew he had gotten some response. Lifting himself heavily, he prepared to try again.
If it could change that much from one time, then if he repeated the action enough, she could be saved—
“You mustn’t, Sir Subaru… Have you not noticed?”
“What?”
But it was Crusch herself who stopped him. Her amber eyes were focused on his outstretched hand. Following her gaze, he noticed what she was seeing and belatedly understood what she was saying.
His right arm was covered by swollen black masses just like his right leg. That part was fine, though. He had successfully taken the curse from Crusch. That change was exactly what he wanted. That alone would not shake his resolve. But the amount of curse he had gained was also clearly not commensurate with the amount that had been taken from her. He had just lessened the curse on her left hand and part of her face, but his right arm from his elbow down to the back of his hand was covered in the black mass. It was not a one-to-one exchange. It was one to ten, maybe even more.
“That’s not enough to stop me.”
The instant he absorbed it, it hurt. But once it was inside him, it showed no sign of hurting or eating away at him. Unlike Crusch’s, his pain only lasted for an instant. And there was no question which of the two of them was better suited to bearing the hideousness of the curse.
If it would save Crusch, then he could put up with parts of his body getting hideous-looking welts.
“You mustn’t, Sir Subaru… I cannot accept that.”
“Don’t be stupid. I’m fine with a little bit of pain. This is way better than getting an impulsive tattoo, anyway. So…”
“There is no guarantee it will remain that way… If the both of us are unable to fight…that would be fatal given the current situation…”
Crusch was worried more about the people of the city than about her own fate. That was a logical point, but Subaru didn’t think everything could be decided so logically.
“Ferris, stop Sir Subaru…”
“I—I… Lady Crusch, I…”
“Please. Right now, the people need him more than they need me…”
Ferris hesitated precisely because Crusch was absolutely the most important thing to him in the entire world. And no one could blame him for that hesitation and doubt. No one in the room was wrong. But merely not being wrong did not make them right.
“Do not be swept away in a burst of emotion. Please, Sir Subaru…”
“I understand what you’re trying to say, Crusch, but I still—”
“You said it, did you not? ‘Just leave everything else to me.’”
“—!”
His desire to prioritize the ones closest to him was broken by Crusch’s plea. The words she chose, the strength with which she spoke, had he really said that himself? And, having heard him say that, Crusch was now telling him to follow through, to keep his word?
“Say it to me, too, please.”
“ ”
“‘Leave everything else to me.’”
She waited for Subaru’s response with a pained smile.
Catching his breath, moving his tongue inside his dry mouth, Subaru quietly closed his eyes.
Having been scolded for clinging to the chance to save someone right in front of him without thinking of what would come later, having been told something he should not have needed to be told, then at the very least—
Then at the very least, for that one moment, he should do what she wanted—
“Crusch, please take your time and rest.”
“…Sir Subaru…”
“You can leave everything else to me.”
“—Thank you.”
He could at least fulfill the role asked of him, say the words that she wanted to hear from him.
“ ”
Hearing that, she exhaled a deep breath, as if relieved. Then she weakly closed her eyes—proof that she had only been carrying on as she had through sheer force of will. Her breathing became shallower, and she was soon too busy battling the encroaching curse again to pay attention to anything else.
In order to free her from that even a minute sooner—
“Sorry, Ferris, but I have to go.”
“…What should I do?”
Adjusting Crusch’s blanket, Subaru stood up and spoke softly. Ferris looked exhausted as he turned to Subaru for some sort of consolation.
Honestly, he wanted to just tell him to stay by Crusch’s side. But Ferris’s abilities would not allow that, given the situation.
“We need your strength. There are sure to be more people hurt going forward. There are going to be a lot of people we won’t be able to save without you. So please.”
“…But I couldn’t even save the one person I most wanted to save…”
“Ferris…”
“Sorry, that was stupid of me… Let me stay here with her a little longer.”
Turning away, Ferris sat down in the chair next to the bed. Subaru tapped his shoulder lightly, glanced at Crusch’s resting face, and then left the room.
When he entered the hallway, he was greeted by Wilhelm, whose head was lowered just like when he had left. Perhaps realizing what had happened inside, he thanked Subaru.
“You have my gratitude for answering Lady Crusch’s wish.”
“It’s not anywhere near as noble as you make it sound. If anything, she lit a fire in my belly… What the hell is going on with my body, though?”
Absorbing Crusch’s curse, and also seemingly weakening the effects of the dragon’s blood, and then the resistance to the Witch Factor, and his ability to Return by Death… It was all incredibly shady.
Would he ever get a proper answer to all these questions?
“Either way, I’m going to have to try this again with her after everything else is all cleared up.”
“Is your right arm truly well?”
“Yeah, though I know it looks terrible. Guess I’ll have to stick to long sleeves and maybe some gloves, too. But if a couple of permanent scars are all it takes to save a pretty girl, then you won’t find me complaining.”
It was his body, and he did feel a certain amount of reluctance. But his flippant statement was also fairly close to how Subaru truly felt about it. If there was no other solution, then he would be fine with bearing her curse for her. Even if it ended up covering his whole body in that nasty mottled black, he could just apologize to Emilia and Rem and Beatrice and ask for their forgiveness.
“That’s something to worry about once we get through all this. Let’s head downstairs. They should be getting to how to attack the towers around now.”
“—Reinhard is down there now.”
As Subaru started to hurry to the conference room, he was stopped in his tracks by Wilhelm’s murmur.
For a split second, he flashed back to the scene at the Water Raiment Inn. The reconciliation between grandfather and grandson, and the way it had been ruined and their chance at reconciliation stopped in its tracks—
“Please do not misunderstand, Sir Subaru.”
However, Wilhelm shook his head, allaying Subaru’s fears.
“I do not feel any resistance to fighting together with Reinhard. But I have one request for you.”
“A request?”
“—Could I ask you not to reveal the identity of the corpse soldiers to Reinhard?”
“ ”
Subaru was at a loss, unsure what the meaning of Wilhelm’s soft-spoken request was.
He had only just heard about them from Wilhelm: a technique that desecrated the dead and had been used in the city this time to—
“Do you mean don’t tell him about your wife…about his grandmother?”
“Yes. I don’t want him…I don’t want my grandson to have to deal with my wife being turned into a corpse soldier. He would surely blame himself. And it is no one’s fault but my own.”
“Your fault? It’s—”
He wanted to say it was not Wilhelm’s fault at all. But he could not say something like that so thoughtlessly. Recalling the scene from that morning, he also remembered what Heinkel had said. Something that should have had no credibility at all—but even so, Wilhelm had not denied it.
He’d said that Wilhelm had blamed Reinhard for his wife’s death. It was hard to believe, but neither of them had denied the charge.
“Sir Subaru, are you aware that the blessing of the Sword Saint is a unique one?”
“…Not particularly. Mostly just that it’s a blessing that all the people called Sword Saint in history had and that having it made them super powerful.”
“At a high level, that is not mistaken, but there is one point where the blessing of the Sword Saint is notably different from all other blessings. That point is that it is an inherited blessing.”
“An inherited blessing?”
Wilhelm nodded as Subaru exhaled. The old swordsman’s eyes were closed, his expression twisted as if he was remembering a painful past.
“It was inherited through the generations, passed down from the original Sword Saint, Reid Astrea. The blessing resides in the Astrea family’s bloodline, and the next Sword Saint always arises from a descendent of their house. My wife inherited it from the last Sword Saint, and Reinhard inherited it from her.”
“A blessing inherited among family… I see, so that’s how it was. So when you lost your wife, it was inherited by Reinhard.”
Something caught in Subaru’s head as he tried to understand the situation.
The previous Sword Saint had fallen to the White Whale, and as a result, Reinhard had inherited the blessing. It was a painful past, but in a sense, it was just the natural order of succession as well. But the argument that the Astrea family had had earlier that morning did not fit with the official story.
Wilhelm’s grief, Heinkel’s scorn, and Reinhard’s silence—all of them seemed to be arguing against the legitimacy of the blessing’s inheritance in some shape or form.
And the reason for that was—
“It occurred in the midst of the battle with the White Whale.”
“ ”
“—Reinhard inherited the blessing while my wife was in the middle of the hunt. She lost her blessing during the fighting and became nothing more than a single regular woman, which left her unable to support the rear guard alone.”
—That was the origin of the rift in the Astrea family.
The blessing had been transferred to the next generation while she was right in the middle of fighting during the White Whale hunt. This would have left the former Sword Saint on the battlefield without her blessing. And entrusted with the rear guard of the enormous force, she’d fought to protect the lives of the many soldiers who depended on her and breathed her last in the course of duty.
“It was none other than I who stole the sword away from my wife. It was I who made the woman beloved by the Sword God abandon her sword. And that was what invited her doom.”
“Wilhelm…”
“The Sword God did not forgive my wife for her betrayal. Imagining what she must have thought, having her blessing go away on the battlefield, leaving her nothing but the sword I had made her abandon to rely on…I could not accept it. It is true that I berated Reinhard for inheriting the blessing. Fool that I was, I could not forgive my young grandson, who was grieving his grandmother’s death and struggling with the far-too-heavy fate he had been burdened with. I assure you—I regret it deeply.”
The regret he had shared with Subaru the night before—this was the mistake he had made.
Reinhard was not at fault at all, but despite understanding that, in his grief, Wilhelm had refused to acknowledge the fact. As a result, a fatal fracture had split the Astrea family, dividing them.
“I do not want to go through that pain again. Because Reinhard was not to blame at all for her death. There is no reason for my grandson to shoulder that burden at all.”
Because of that, he wanted to resolve it with his own sword, without revealing the truth to Reinhard.
Subaru could understand those feelings, that regret, and that resolve so badly it hurt. In which case—
“Crusch and Ferris, and your wife and Reinhard… If you try to carry everything by yourself, you’ll be crushed under the weight of it all. And even if I keep quiet about the corpse soldiers, they’ll still show up somewhere.”
“That is an unnecessary concern.”
“Eh…?”
Subaru was trying to warn him that it was an unrealistic gamble with poor odds, but Wilhelm merely smiled. The Sword Devil’s expression warped into a fiercely valiant grin.
“—There is no way that my wife—that Theresia won’t come to meet me.”
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