9.1.2

When it came to worst cases, some were worse than others.

Having fought the good fight, only to gain an empty defeat and Returning by Death, was undoubtedly a worst case. But there could have been something even more terrible—namely having no change in restart point and returning to a moment before he managed to defeat the White Whale. Compared to that, this worst case was not the most horrific possibility.

At the very least, they had beaten the White Whale, fulfilling the Sword Devil's fourteen-year ambition.

"—"

"Sir Subaru, are you all right? Your face appears rather pale."

Wilhelm, the Sword Devil, stared at Subaru and expressed his concern. "It's nothing," said Subaru, shaking his head immediately, tightening his disjointed thoughts and slackened cheeks.

Even though he was still reeling mentally after only just enduring a Return by Death, he couldn't simply use that as an excuse. After all, Subaru and the others were in the very middle of a critical discussion—the briefing to decide what countermeasures to take against the Witch Cult.

"If you are no longer distressed, let us review the situation."

Raising a finger, the elegant knight Julius restarted the meeting. Scholarly wariness and righteous indignation resided in his almond eyes as he requested they carry on.

"From this point onward, we shall proceed to the Mathers domain to oppose the nefarious Witch Cultists lying in wait. Ideally, this will result in their annihilation and the slaying of the Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins commanding them. However, what we must prioritize is the safety of the innocent people caught up in this incident, and in preparation for that—"

"For the getaway, we have called on the traveling merchants Anastasia and Russel to help us. The messenger we sent to communicate the alliance and the rescue operation should have arrived at the mansion already… Sorry, I'm all good now."

Subaru thanked Julius for giving him time to calm down and fully rejoined the conversation.

Thanks to Julius summarizing the topics at the assembly, Subaru could grasp exactly how far things had proceeded before his Return by Death. Apparently Subaru had already explained Witch Cult Hunting Made Simple, as well as the insurance he'd procured.

However, he had already learned from the last go-around that his attempts to secure insurance would transform into deadly poison. The letter of goodwill they had sent had turned out to be blank, which had sown distrust. Meanwhile, inviting the traveling merchants to participate had left them open to infiltration by Witch Cultists.

He needed to implement new countermeasures as quickly as possible, but—

"Your face suggests that…something is amiss?"

"What are you, a doctor? Stop looking at people's faces and figuring out everything they're thinking, geez."

"Want the actual doctor sitting right beside you to examine you from head to toe instead? I wouldn't mind…"

As Subaru sank into thought, Julius and Ferris sandwiched him from both sides as they pointed out his troubled expression. Inwardly Subaru ground his teeth at their persistence.

He certainly did have an issue on his mind. However, he couldn't come up with a good way to explain it.

He had to warn them about the Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins' dangerous Authority, and a number of new problems on top of that, but how could he explain these things in a way his comrades would believe?

"—No, this is wrong. It's not good enough. Right, I…forgot some things again."

"Hmmmm?"

When Subaru firmly shut his eyes, the words he found within himself caused Ferris to cock his head in confusion. Julius remained silent with his brows knit as Subaru rued the extent of his own stupidity.

How many times would Subaru Natsuki make the same mistake before he moved forward?

"—"

He opened his closed eyes and looked around at the faces of the fifty-odd members of the expeditionary force. Subaru's silence had brought tension to their gazes, but they harbored no doubt. What they felt was not fear, but anticipation. There was no sense of despair, only hope.

After everything that had been spoken, after all the help that had been given…

In the end, Subaru had even gotten this far only thanks to the support Rem had offered him.

"…I believe you have immersed yourself in sentimentality enough?"

Julius sensed the change in Subaru's demeanor, and his lighthearted prompt invited a change in subject. The man really got on his nerves, but for a short moment, Subaru felt nothing but gratitude toward him.

He felt equally grateful for the comrades who granted him their own thanks and trust.

"Sorry for being all indecisive earlier. Actually, I have to add to my explanation about the Witch Cult... No, that's not exactly it. I realized some things for the first time. I want to speak to all of you about those issues."

He didn't have to worry about how to come up with a good explanation. That was a waste of time.

All he had to do was not hold anything back, tell as much of the truth as he could, and they would respond with their faith in him.

Even if Subaru could not reveal the nature of Return by Death, he could uncover the things he learned as a result of it. This was the one way he could share what he knew of the future with his comrades.

And they would accept his preposterous tales in complete seriousness.

All because understanding and trust were the greatest weapons in Subaru Natsuki's arsenal.