bookbashuk #250 - Good friends for life
#250 - Good friends for life
"Wanting to subjugate the White Whale? A truly unexpected development, but very much in your style, Zunzun.
Subaru too, managing to quietly ally with Crusch-sama and Anastasia-sama, always pulling off amazing feats.
Also... please be extremely careful. If anything unexpected happens, be sure to have Fram use the Communication Blessing. No matter where in the kingdom, I will arrive within five minutes! — That's what Reinhard-sama said."
"That guy's as much of a worrywart as ever."
Hearing Fram's report,
Zunzun subconsciously scratched his head.
Unable to keep up with Reinhard and the others, he asked his sister Fram to send a message to his younger sister, Gracis, so they wouldn't worry.
The twin maids' Blessing can only be used once a day.
There are still 30 hours until the subjugation battle. By then, the Blessing's power will have refreshed. If Fram sees things going wrong, she will decisively use the Blessing to summon the strongest Sword Saint of this era.
And upon hearing about the White Whale subjugation,
the Sword Saint-sama wanted to come and help.
But considering his position, Wilhelm's existence, and the need to escort Felt back to her territory, among many other factors, this idea ultimately fell through.
Zunzun was also somewhat reluctant to pull out a trump card right away. After all, the Crimson Demons all love to show off. If the Sword Saint-sama were to appear, wouldn't that mean he wouldn't have a chance to perform?
Furthermore, Natsuki Subaru probably wanted to hide something or was afraid of damaging Zunzun's self-esteem, so his words were quite ambiguous. But Zunzun isn't an idiot, how could he not notice? Something must have happened to him, he must have been...
Perfect!
Let me test the White Whale's mettle!
"Zunzun-sama, Felt-sama also has something to convey to you."
"What is it?"
"Felt-sama says you absolutely must hang the White Whale up and beat it, then blast it into smithereens. Also, she wants to eat White Whale meat, so you must bring back a souvenir when you return."
As expected of Felt.
Even without seeing her expression, one could guess that she must be shouting that with a cheerful face. One just wonders if she would be so speechless if she actually encountered the White Whale.
...No, probably the White Whale would be so scared it would run away from the Sword Saint, and even wish it had two more legs.
Zunzun shook his head.
Arriving at the Duke's mansion's courtyard, it was noisy but well-managed. Crusch was standing in front of the mansion, directing the dragon carriages and personnel going in and out.
With less than 30 hours left until the White Whale subjugation battle, everyone had to prepare quickly and then rush to the Flugel Tree—the Sage's Tree—where the White Whale would appear, to prepare for the enemy.
Naturally,
the welcome banquet for him was cancelled.
"Aha ha ha—, to think that you're Zunzun's knight! What's going on? Could it be that Zunzun actually likes your type? That's bad, does that mean I don't have any advantages at all? Speaking of which, I'm also a knight of Emilia, a fellow royal candidate. Let's get along."
"P-Please don't say such terrifying things. I became a knight out of necessity, I was purely sold off!"
There was a strange combination in the courtyard.
They weren't like the others, looking serious and busy in the courtyard, but rather like a hoodlum bullying a good student in a corner. Especially since the hoodlum's eyes were fierce and the good student was weak, it looked even stranger.
"Subaru, don't bully Otto."
Zunzun walked up and greeted them helplessly.
"Oh, Zunzun, you're here?"
Natsuki Subaru waved at him, smiling and patting Otto's shoulder forcefully, saying loudly, "For some reason, I feel a sense of kinship with this guy as soon as I meet him. Could this be what they call love at first sight?"
"I, on the other hand, find Natsuki-san repulsive."
"Eh, what did you say?"
"Nothing at all!"
Otto forcefully pried off Natsuki Subaru's hand and ran fearfully to Zunzun's side, seemingly to assert his identity as a knight.
In Zunzun's eyes, Natsuki Subaru seemed to have just found someone easy to bully.
"Subaru, your biggest flaw is your lack of a sense of distance. It can be troubling for people."
"Is that so? Sorry."
Natsuki Subaru apologized casually, then asked curiously, "Speaking of which, why did you choose Otto as your knight? I'm not trying to belittle him, but..."
The meaning he wanted to express was obvious.
Compared to the other royal candidates' excellent knights, Otto, this weakling, probably didn't look strong enough on the outside.
"I, I don't want to be a knight either!"
Otto's cheeks flushed as he heard the hidden meaning.
Zunzun patted his shoulder as a comforting gesture and said, "Subaru, don't look at Otto like that. He's actually very strong... probably 20 times stronger than you."
"That strong!? Speaking of which, when did I become a unit of measurement? Using me as a unit of measurement, the numbers later on will be in the tens of thousands!"
Natsuki Subaru was dumbfounded.
It must be said that this guy is quite self-aware.
Soon, he bowed deeply and apologized: "I'm sorry, please forgive my ignorance!"
Natsuki Subaru understood one thing from his multiple loops: never provoke someone stronger than yourself, or you might lose your life at any time.
Otto was startled by his behavior.
"Eh? N-No need..."
"You don't mind?"
"No..."
"That's great, I'm relieved!"
Natsuki Subaru exaggeratedly wiped away non-existent sweat from his forehead. This guy, while learning from his mistakes, is best at being shameless and taking advantage of the situation.
Zunzun looked at Otto, who was wearing knight's armor and shrinking his shoulders beside him.
"How is it? Are you used to it yet?"
"—Not at all! There are too many big shots here! Not only is there the famous Crusch-sama of the Karsten family, but also various big merchants from the Hoshin Trading Company, and those knights... Besides, out of the blue, they told me we're going to subjugate the White Whale! That's too much! That's the White Whale, the White Whale that makes people pale at the mere mention of its name!"
"Haha, exciting, isn't it?"
"So exciting my heart is about to explode!"
Otto wailed.
As a former merchant, the first thing he was taught wasn't how to facilitate transactions and make profits, but he was explicitly told about the horror of the White Whale. The three great demonic beasts that have roamed the continent for 400 years, without exception, every caravan that encountered it disappeared without a trace. It's impossible not to be afraid.
Although he knew that he was originally this kind of personality, he still hoped that he could become a little more unflappable. Shouting and yelling like that lowers his own level too much.
"I have the same question, Zunzun."
Under such prodding, Natsuki Subaru finally faced this question squarely, "Why do you want to get involved? I thought carefully about what you said later. Things that haven't happened don't count as favors. You could have clearly not gotten involved, so why..."
"Reasons, huh... There are many, I guess."
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Zunzun tapped his lower lip with his finger.
"First of all, do you know Wilhelm-jii's full name?"
Seeing him nod, he asked again.
"Then do you know the relationship between Reinhard and Wilhelm-jii?"
"Could it be...!"
"Just as you think, there is such a layer of relationship involved. No, it should be said that it's an even more complicated relationship."
Although Reinhard didn't explicitly say it, he had also regretted and blamed himself for this matter.
To a large extent, Wilhelm was unwilling to return to his family because he didn't know how to face his grandson, who was so talented that he took the life of his wife.
The relationship between the two was awkward and stiff, and it didn't completely reach the point of animosity, until a series of changes occurred later...
"Then what does that have to do with you, Zunzun?"
"What?"
"In the end, this is also Reinhard's family affair, right? Even if you and Reinhard and Wilhelm-jii are on good terms, you're not the type to casually interfere in other people's family affairs."
Natsuki Subaru said this with certainty.
Zunzun praised him for using his brain, then a bloodthirsty and warlike smile appeared on his face.
"Another reason... of course, is to see who is stronger, me or the White Whale! A strong opponent, don't you think it's exhilarating? That's bad, I'm already fired up."
"Uh..."
Natsuki Subaru opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. Finally, he patted Otto's back sympathetically and said, "You're really unlucky to serve such a master."
"Yes, I'm really too unlucky."
Otto said with a mournful face.
He had been unlucky ever since he started as a merchant four years ago. He thought that meeting Zunzun at the post station would be the start of a change in luck, but he never thought it would become even more unlucky.
His first mission after being forced to become a knight was to subjugate the White Whale!
That's too exaggerated!
Zunzun, however, was displeased with Natsuki Subaru's words.
"Subaru, what are you saying? It's all your fault that things have turned out this way."
"Me?"
"That's right. Whether it's Crusch, Anastasia, or me, or anyone else, everyone gathered here is all because of you. It's you, Subaru, who connected us all, so..."
He patted his back hard.
"Stand up straight, don't have that cowardly expression of wanting to help but not daring to."
"I've been exposed?"
"Your way of relaxing is too stupid."
In the entire courtyard, the only three people with nothing to do were—Zunzun, Natsuki Subaru, and Otto. Even Rem and Fram had gone to help sort out the supplies, which was why Natsuki Subaru was pestering Otto for a chat.
"Actually, my heart is a little restless."
"Subaru, you must have the composure of Mount Tai collapsing before you without flinching, and facing sudden events without alarm."
"What does that mean?"
"It means don't lose your composure before the battle even starts. Be more calm and collected, and don't panic when things happen."
Zunzun rolled his eyes at the illiterate Natsuki Subaru.
Natsuki Subaru smiled awkwardly. Not to mention that what Zunzun had just said was obscure Celestial Empire language, his own knowledge level, having dropped out of high school, was also really limited.
"Forget it, it's getting late today, let's go rest early."
"Rest now?"
"I know you, Subaru, will feel sorry for the people who are still busy, but for us who don't know what to do at all, and might even be a hindrance, going to rest is the most correct thing to do. Recharge your batteries, there will be times when you can vent your energy."
"Ugh."
Natsuki Subaru closed his mouth.
Even he knew that what was coming next would be a tough battle. If they didn't muster all their strength to deal with the White Whale, they would definitely be defeated, and everything they had done would be in vain.
Zunzun waved his hand.
Taking the unwilling Otto with him, he left.