V6 - CHAPTER 6 : THE CARD THAT’S BEEN DEALT

The room was silent but filled with a strained sense of tension.

Feeling that tension on his skin, Subaru moistened his parched lips with his tongue, grateful that arrangements for the first step of the scenario were in place.

To Subaru, each and every face now present was absolutely indispensable. After all, he had no strength of his own. Lacking ability and manpower, all he could do by himself was to die in vain as he had done to that point.

"Now I can finally understand why you have gathered us here and delayed my supper."

Crusch Karsten, sitting on the sofa with her hands crossed atop her knees, broke the silence, murmuring with a look of understanding on her gallant face.

"Reawwy? To be honest, Ferri still has some doubts, meow. I mean, how does such a clumsy boy get that look in his eyes all of a sudden?"

With an expression as casual as his tone, Ferris kept his guard up as he gazed at Subaru. He was brimming with a willingness to defend his lord from any danger.

"—"

In contrast to Ferris, Wilhelm kept his silence as he sat to Crusch's left. Wearing his sword on his hip, the aged swordsman closed his eyes, with only his refined martial spirit hovering about him. There was no trace remaining of the warmth with which he had greeted them upon their return from the lower city. Now, he was wholly immersed in his role as a man wielding his sword for his master, Crusch, rather than for himself.

Subaru was meeting Crusch and her retainers in the reception room of her residence, a place of which Subaru had few good memories. Twice in the past, he had endured bitter hardships there.

He was meeting with Crusch, Ferris, and Wilhelm. That much was the same as before. But there was something different this time.

"It feels somewhat uncomfortable to be back so soon after my first visit. I fully expect that Mr. Natsuki will say something to sweep away such misgivings."

The blond man of delicate features, defined by his comical beard, commented with a chuckle. This was Russel Fellow, a representative of the Merchant's Guild who possessed great influence in the royal capital.

Subaru lightheartedly slumped a little at Russel's apparent diversion.

"Rem's calling one more person over right now, so please wait just a little longer. It isn't guaranteed my guest is coming but…it's a good bet."

"I await a prompt arrival. Incidentally, may I inquire as to your evidence for this 'good bet'?"

Russel didn't even blink in the face of Subaru's presumptuous statement. Subaru's lips twisted as he faced off against a real merchant with a head, mouth, and tongue superior to his own.

"It's a simple story. The person I invited is sensitive to the smell of money, or so I heard them say personally. If that's true, there's no doubt. That was true for you as well, wasn't it, Russel?"

"My, my, you certainly have me there."

Russel put a hand to his forehead, seemingly indicating that Subaru had scored a point on him. Of course, even Subaru wasn't blithe enough to take the gesture at face value.

He was well aware of the danger posed by the narrow tightrope he planned to walk. The rope was just about set to be tied on both ends.

The crossing was yet to come.

Subaru would do it, supported by the power of borrowed courage.

A few minutes later, the door opened and a lone girl—Rem—appeared.

"I am sorry to have kept you all waiting."

"That's okay!"

Subaru brought up his right thumb with a wink as she walked to his side and leaned her face close to his ear.

"She said that she would be slightly delayed but that she would definitely come."

"—That so. All right, good work, Rem."

With that, preparations for Subaru's tightrope performance were complete.

Before arriving at the negotiating table, he'd prepared the argument he would use to move the deal in the direction he desired. Subaru's memories and experiences in this new world had led him to a single answer.

"Apparently, the last participant will arrive slightly late, but all the actors will be on the stage. No point waiting any further—should we start?"

Subaru's statement brought a change in the air and various reactions from others in the room. Crusch made a thin smile; Ferris strongly pursed his lips. Wilhelm maintained his silence, his expression unchanging even then. Russel slowly sank into his chair.

Seeing their reactions, Subaru took a deep breath and calmed his emotions.

He could feel his own heart pounding rapidly. His blood circulated throughout his body. The deep anxiety simultaneously residing in his head made everything before his eyes seem to dim.

But Rem, right beside Subaru, gently touched his sleeve in an effort to put him at ease.

"Subaru."

She wasn't holding his hand, nor was she asserting her own existence. That little act of consideration was very Rem-like. The sense of relief enveloping him was as if ten thousand cavalry were riding to his aid.

Rem was watching. He could not disappoint.

"—Okie."

Subaru hid his fears behind an impetuous smile and challenged the first wall.

He needed to thread the eye of a needle, both to get to a Happy End and to take one step closer to becoming a hero—for the sake of the girl who believed in him, the girl who'd told him she liked him.

Just as Subaru lifted his spirits and faced forward, Crusch raised a finger and spoke.

"Subaru Natsuki, there is something I wish to confirm—I would hear, from your own lips, the purpose of this gathering."

As she sat, she raised a hand and rested her chin against it as her sagacious gaze landed on Subaru. Even though she knew full well the answer to her question, her posture showed no sign of softness that would allow Subaru to say so.

Now that he had failed time and time again, he understood.

—The game was on before he had even spoken a single word.

"Of course, what I want is—"

So Subaru made a grandiose gesture, smiling powerfully to keep himself from being cowed by Crusch's rapier-like gaze and repeating his earlier failures.

"A negotiation so that the Emilia camp and the Crusch camp can become allies on equal terms."

He thus began to challenge the first of many obstacles standing in his way.