Arc 8, Chapter 44 – "How to Respond to Faith"
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As all the muscles in his body throbbed, his canines were sharpened by a surge of fighting spirit.
The aftershocks from the fighting fissured, upheaved the street, and with his feet firmly plunked down onto it, the vitality flowing in from his soles swelled into his soul; looking straight ahead, at the skies above, he glared at the majestic figure spreading its wings head-on.
The sound of his blood circulating grew faster, the beating of his heart grew louder and more intense, as if it were a large drum invigorating his very existence.
That was to say――,
???: [――'S THE BEST I EVER FUCKIN' FELT!!]
Gnashing his fangs, Garfiel roared as he smashed through the road with his foot, and advanced forth.
As the sky intercepted him, he saw himself reflected by the glint in the eyes of the dignified figure―― of the white Cloud Dragon; Garfiel's blood, flesh, and even his very soul, could not bear the applause.
As an arrow of the rebel army, he had traded fists with one strong individual after the other in the decisive battle for the Imperial Capital.
A man close to the Nine Divine Generals, and an individual ranked among the Nine Divine Generals; through battle against those who were undoubtedly strong, Garfiel truly felt the duty levied on him as a member of his faction.
Being able to clash with the extolled Generals of the Vollachian Empire was truly an honor as a warrior.
However, having recognized that as a valuable experience, this was something he had been waiting for.
Garfiel: [Finally got the chance to throw down against a Dragon!]
For a citizen of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunica, for any being who lived in this world, it was known just how mighty, how far beyond the realm of human knowledge the beings known as Dragons were.
Of course, that went for Garfiel as well. He knew that Dragons were not beings that could be measured by the logic of the world of men.
However, at both Pleiades Watchtower and at the decisive battle for the Imperial Capital, Emilia had gained the opportunity to clash with a Dragon, and had magnificently survived both of those encounters.
Emilia: [Dragons? Yeah, Volcanica and Mezoreia were both reaaally strong. Their bodies are big, and their breath is also dangerous… They kept on surprising me!]
Such had been Emilia's remark when talking about the threat of Dragons.
Combined with hand gestures, Emilia spoke of how Dragons were monumental beings, but regardless of the issue of her ability to express things, the full extent of that had not been conveyed.
The difference between that and the words Emilia had left unspoken, was something he was to experience first-hand, here and now――.
Mezoreia: [――!!]
Splitting the ground beneath his feet, Garfiel ferociously closed the distance; facing him, the Cloud Dragon gaped its maw.
Garfiel stood at the ready, anticipating that another equivalent to the breath that had scorched the Imperial Capital just prior would be fired again; with aim locked onto him, Mezoreia unleashed the breath in accordance with his premonition.
However――,
Garfiel: [Go, ah!?]
Struck by an impact accompanied by peculiar heat, different to that of scorching heat or extreme cold, Garfiel let out a cry of pain.
It happened right after he had leapt to the side in order to evade the firing trajectory of Mezoreia's breath. Having escaped to the side of the trajectory, Garfiel was assailed by a second firing of the breath.
Without doing anything to obscure its actions, it was obvious what his opponent was doing.
It was not that it had emitted a single breath to mow down the entirety of this block of the Imperial Capital in one go, rather, it had split it up into short bursts. Instead of letting out one long breath, it had released two breaths in quick succession.
――No, not two. Considering it was splitting up one breath, it could do the same thing for a third and fourth time.
Garfiel: [Tch!!]
His left arm being scorched as it basked in the breath, Garfiel used his momentum from jumping to the side to smash through the wall of a private residence on the side of the road, hiding himself from the Cloud Dragon's vision.
But, faced with the Cloud Dragon's breath, even a stone-built structure would not endure. Unlike the pig's house that would not be blown down by the wolf's breath, something Subaru had told him about in the past.
Struck with impacts from the succession of breaths, the walls very quickly flayed off the house; as the furniture and belongings were being destroyed, the damage reached Garfiel, who had plunged inside the house―― at least that was what should have happened.
Garfiel: [OOOOOOORAAAHHH!!!]
Then, before the house exposed to the breath could be demolished to rubble, the roaring Garfiel had used both his hands to tear out the house from the very ground, and heartily hurled it through the air.
A house-cannonball that furiously gyrated as it scattered through the street―― oddly enough, Garfiel was making full use of the same tactic that Natsuki Subaru had employed when evacuating the Imperial Capital. With the ball of mass hurled from those hands approaching it, Mezoreia took an especially large breath.
-x-X-x-
Mezoreia: [You're in my friggin' way!]
Roaring with a childish expression that ran contrary to its colossal and dignified appearance, the Cloud Dragon blew the house to smithereens before it could reach its destination.
However, it would be naïve of Mezoreia to think it could catch its breath as a result of that.
Garfiel: [ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORAAHHH!!]
Since it had defended against the first house-cannonball, Garfiel grabbed them up from the systematically laid out townscape of the Imperial Capital one-by-one, and flung them towards the Cloud Dragon in the sky with tremendous strength.
With the combination of Garfiel's physical strength, and the fact that the ground of the Imperial Capital had softened through repeated impacts, the aberrant balls of mass were fired in quick succession; witnessing this, Mezoreia widened its golden eyes.
Mezoreia: [Youuuu're aaaaaaaa friiiiiiigginnnnnnnn' EYESOOOOOOOOORE!!]
As the house-cannonballs flew towards it, Mezoreia flapped its wings and intercepted them.
Its arms, furnished with sharp claws, rampaged in the air, blowing away two houses, and swinging its tail straight upwards from below, it destroyed three buildings altogether in one intense strike.
And then――,
Mezoreia: [――Friggin' die already.]
Garfiel: [――Hk.]
Using the wreckage of the destroyed houses as a foothold, Garfiel dashed up into the air; seeing through the surprise attack, Mezoreia seized him head-on, and slammed its dragon claws into him from both left and right.
Being pinched in a trajectory akin to striking one's fists together before their chest, the mid-air Garfiel swung his shield-clad arms in order to parry. Taking the Dragon's left arm with his right, and the Dragon's right arm with his left, he received the blows.
An intense impact ran through Garfiel's entire body, his clenched teeth fissured, and his nose bled.
But, if this were anyone other than Garfiel, they would be smashed into a lump of meat without lasting even a second. Mezoreia's whiskers also quivered at that outcome, its shock at the existence of a human that was not crushed laid bare.
At that shock of Mezoreia, Garfiel's cheeks began to contort into a smile,
Garfiel: [How d'ya like――]
That; before he could display his vigor with those words, his body, still held by the two arms, received a direct blow from the tail that slammed into him from straight above―― Garfiel was blown away with force such that his body left behind all notions of sound, and while altering the structure of the townscape with each impact, he tumbled over and over and over again, until he crashed into the bulwark of the Imperial Capital, and came to a stop.
???: [O-oi!? Oi, brat!?]
Amidst the dense plume of smoke hanging over the scene, the man who had witnessed the marks left on the street of Garfiel bouncing, scraping, and smashing against ground―― Heinkel's voice quavered.
The man who had been unable to do anything but dumbfoundedly watch as Garfiel and the Cloud Dragon clashed against each other, rushed over to Garfiel's side, the latter having received a direct blow that seemed to have enough might to turn one-hundred ordinary people into ground meat.
Heinkel: [Dead… Are you dead? You have to be dead! That sort of thing…]
Garfiel: […I ain't gonna let it, kill me so easily.]
Before the mountain of rubble, a voice reached Heinkel, who had imagined that the fickle life had been lost. In Heinkel's vision as he was taken aback, the mountain of rubble collapsed, and there was the figure of Garfiel, with both his legs stretched out.
Garfiel turned his back on the ramparts, and languidly hung his head without showing his face. Then, his mouth made a chewing motion, and he spat out his shattered fangs together with blood.
And then――,
Garfiel: [Ahh, shit… They really are fuckin' outrageous, these Dragon things. Finally get why Emilia-sama spoke about 'em so softly.]
Shaking his head, he slowly stood up.
Feeling around with his tongue, he found that a tooth which had been split in two was failing to try and replace itself with new growth, so he thrust his finger inside and ripped it out from its roots. Right away, he knew that the tip of a new tooth had turned up below where the removed one was, and he loudly cracked the joints in his neck with a twist.
Heinkel: [Did that, really do nothing to you…?]
Garfiel: [Ain't no way it did nothing to me. I got hit with a blow from a Dragon… Nah, even got hit with a second and third blow. Seems like it's a case of "the miraculous survival of Manfroy".]
Heinkel: [――――]
Garfiel: [But ya know, my amazin' self can keep going. ――I'm glad that my amazin' self's still able to keep going.]
As his entire body grated with appeals of pain both blunt and sharp, Garfiel clenched both his fists, and with shaky breath, he voiced his pride as such.
Even having taken the onslaught of a Dragon that surpassed human knowledge head-on, he stood back up nonetheless.
He was truly glad that he was able to do so.
Heinkel: […What the hell, what the hell is wrong with you!?]
Hearing Garfiel mutter, Heinkel involuntarily cried out.
With Garfiel reflected in his wide-open blue eyes, the man violently and messily scratched at his head with the hand that was empty, and,
Heinkel: [Why the hell did you come back? I don't understand! It's a Dragon… It's a fucking Dragon!? There's no way you can win. You're an idiot to come here! And yet!]
Garfiel: [Well that goes for you and me both, Pops.]
Heinkel: [Ah…?]
Garfiel: [I'm sayin' that if the act of bein' here, n' the act of facin' off against a Dragon's what an idiot'd do, then doesn't that go for ya as well, Pops?]
Left speechless by those words, Heinkel stopped the hand that was scratching his head, and gazed in wonder.
His demeanor was entirely as if to say not to lump them together, but if that were truly the case, he was hopeless. That was because, in Heinkel's hand, opposite to the one that had been scratching his head,
Garfiel: [You're still holdin' onto yer sword, ain't'cha?]
Heinkel: [――――]
Garfiel believed that was proof that Heinkel held a faint wish which he had not thrown away.
Perhaps he had just become unable to open his fingers out of fear. ――No. Try to understand.
Perhaps he had just forgotten about himself, and was just carrying it around. ――No. Try to understand.
Perhaps he had just been about to sheath it and run away at this moment. ――No. Try to understand.
The weak thoughts, the crushed spirit, the reasons for being seized with fear, he would try to understand all of it.
After having thought through absolutely all of it, he continued to try to understand, because he believed that the face of a man was only complete if he grit his teeth through the pain, standing up to fight for the wishes of others.
Garfiel: [Captain and Ottobro're also the same. That also goes for my amazin' self.]
Heinkel: [I… I'm…]
Trembling, Heinkel looked down at his hand, still gripping the sword as it trembled. With Heinkel in the side of his vision, Garfiel vigorously slammed his back against the bulwark, and straightened his posture.
Then, to Heinkel, who had not straightened himself,
Garfiel: [Ya asked why my amazin' self came back, didn't'cha?]
Heinkel: [――Ah?]
Garfiel's quiet voice caused Heinkel to widen his eyes.
As Heinkel waited for the words that followed, Garfiel delivered not a continuation of his words, but instead a fist to Heinkel's chest, sending the latter flying.
Heinkel was thrust away, and the street was upheaved on a massive scale.
The next instant, the breath of the Cloud Dragon was unleashed from the midst of the city's air, and it rapidly closed in on Garfiel, his back to the ramparts―― leaping up, Garfiel managed to evade it.
Garfiel: [Oh, OHHHHHH…!]
With the wall to his back Garfiel flew directly up, and pursuing him, the heated ray of white breath inclined its trajectory upwards. Scorching the townscape, reducing the bulwark to dust, the breath went higher, higher, and higher as it pursued Garfiel as he escaped into the skies above.
Hot on Garfiel's toes, before it could burn his body entirely――,
Garfiel: [It's 'cause Captain told me this.]
As the breath of the Dragon trying to scorch the world grazed the soles of his feet, there was not a hint of irritation that could be heard in his voice. What was present however, was pride in the act of responding to faith.
Curling up in midair, Garfiel planted his feet on part of the wall that still retained its original form. ――Immediately after, he kicked off the wall with strength that caused a crater to fissure within it, and flew forwards.
Forward, forward, forward, towards the Cloud Dragon that soared in the skies of the Imperial Capital, and with his mouth wide open, closing in as the sharp newly grown fang basked in the wind――,
Garfiel: [――He told my amazin' self this! To go 'n bring down the loud ass Dragon flyin' in the sky!!]
Mezoreia: [――RAHHH!?]
Having flown above the breath, having approached the Cloud Dragon, Garfiel released both his tensed-up arms and let loose simultaneous blows, the destructive power of a cannonball seizing Mezoreia's nose.
A sound as loud as a warehouse stuffed with Magic Stones exploding reverberated through the sky; the Cloud Dragon was knocked back having received a direct hit, and the next moment, blood spurted forth.
Through its broken snout the Dragon spilt blood, and having been slammed back into the ground from the recoil of his own fist, Garfiel basked in the greatness of his action. And as he did so, Garfiel laughed.
Garfiel: [Da-ha-ha-ha! I went 'n gave a Dragon a nosebleed!]
Mezoreia: [You, little!!]
Mezoreia raged at the impossible humiliation, and Garfiel laughed even more upon seeing that state.
Seeing that from afar, having been thrust away and saved from the breath, Heinkel sat with his buttocks on the ground, gazing in dumbfoundment,
Heinkel: […That's not sane.]
As Heinkel weakly muttered, a battlefield was created by the faceoff between Garfiel and the Dragon―― an event coincidental, in timing and scale both, to the changes in atmosphere yielded in various other places within the Imperial Capital.
As if not paying any mind to that, the fight between tiger and Dragon unfolded, and with that scene before him, Heinkel did not move an inch. [1]
Unable to flee, unable to even stand, he did not move an inch.
――But, upon his sword, his right hand yet remained, its hold unending.
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――Turning back the clock, to a slight bit before the battle between the Dragon and the tiger was fully assembled.
???: [――――]
The feeling of cold water hitting his cheeks and forehead caused Subaru's consciousness to become fully alert.
It was neither drowsiness, nor bodily fatigue that he was experiencing. And yet, as if with a click, he felt something within him switch and exhaled deeply.
Before him, on the surface of the water that rippled within the trough, his own shaken and distorted visage could be seen. It was a face with sharp eyes that had retained its youthfulness, or rather that could only be described as childish.
He was already accustomed to seeing it, and he did not want to think that he could let his face remain this way. While thinking so, as he delicately squished his face with his fingers――,
???: [Subaru, are you okay? By any chance, is there something wrong with you?]
Abruptly, as a voice called out to him from beside him, Subaru looked up from the water trough. In front of his raised face, he saw Emilia looking at him with her beautiful amethyst eyes.
As Subaru's heart fluttered upon unexpectedly seeing Emilia's face so close to his own,
Subaru: [I-I'm alrighty, Emilia-tan. Just needed to loosen up my cheeks a little. You see, I always want to show Emilia-tan my best smile.]
Emilia: [I'm not picky though, as long as it's not a forced smile, I'm happy with any kind of smile Subaru shows me…]
Subaru: [Oooh, my heart is pounding… bum bum.]
Said with a finger held to her lips, Emilia's words that held no hint of pretense left Subaru flustered. As he tried to wipe his face with his sleeve in an attempt to hide his reddened cheeks, a hand towel was offered to him from the side. ――Two hand towels were offered from his left and right, by Beatrice and Tanza.
The two were shocked at the fact that their own action had been performed by the other, and their usually round eyes became even rounder, to then instantly become narrowed upon becoming aware of each other,
Beatrice: [Deergirl, Subaru wants Betty's towel, in fact. You can take that back, I suppose.]
Tanza: [Schwartz-sama did not say anything of the sort. To speak of your own thoughts as if they were Schwartz-sama's, are you not going too far?]
Beatrice: [Agrrh, such an infuriating girl, in fact!]
Subaru: [Waitwaitwaitwait, why are you fighting! See, I'm using both! I'm wiping the left and the right sides of my face with the towels from both of you.]
Intervening in the quarrel that had suddenly broken out for some reason, Subaru attempted to diffuse the situation by using both of the hand towels he had received from the pair. However, the two in question simply sighed at his response. He failed to settle the dispute.
At the sight of Subaru who slumped his shoulders, placing her hands on her hips, Emilia said "Seriously",
Emilia: [Beatrice and Tanza-chan, stop causing trouble for Subaru. As it is, with the hardships he's continuously facing, Subaru is about to collapse…]
Subaru: [Ooh, Emilia-tan's thoughtfulness is so touching… that said, I'm not implying that the two of you don't care about me, okay? In fact, the two of you are always helping me… The more I say it out loud, the more it feels like I'm making excuses, doesn't it!?]
Beatrice: [Good grief, I suppose.]
Tanza: [As expected of Schwartz-sama.]
Seeing that Subaru was at his wit's end, Beatrice and Tanza had no choice but to soften their attitudes in response.
Unexpectedly being cast as the villain, Subaru tilted his head in protest, but upon receiving Emilia's gentle pats on Subaru's head, he decided to accept his predicament.
Anyhow――,
Subaru: [But, I'm not putting on a brave front, I really am alright, Emilia-tan. I was able to take a proper rest at the fortress before we set off… Besides, if I were to carelessly collapse from a lack of sleep, the entire Pleiades Battalion would also fall apart.]
Held together by strong bonds, the strengths and weaknesses of the Pleiades Battalion were clear.
The united battalion was a group with unstoppable enthusiasm, but what held them together was Subaru's presence―― it was nothing that could be boasted about, Subaru's Cor Leonis.
And this effect, it would be cut off if Subaru were to fall asleep or faint, and so from this point onward, he could not allow himself to carelessly doze off.
Subaru: [I know that, so it's alright. Trust me, Emilia-tan.]
Emilia: [Is that so? In that case, it's fine, but can you truly promise not to overdo yourself?]
Subaru: [Emilia-tan really doesn't trust me at all…]
Emilia: [If you're wondering why that is, try properly asking your own conscience.]
Trust, is the accumulation of past actions. That was the implication of Emilia's remark, and it left Subaru at a loss for words.
However, it was a fact that Subaru's body and mind were in such good shape that he himself was surprised. In all likelihood, as the excessive tension seemed to be the reason for his mind being so alert, once the present conflict was solved in its entirety, that debt would gush forth all at once and topple everything.
However, if he could make it through on borrowed energy, he was more than willing to take on the debt that followed.
――Presently, having departed from the Fortified City of Garkla and heading towards the Imperial Capital of Lupugana, the Rescue the Vollachian Empire from Destruction Squad was in the process of exchanging dragon carriages in order to ensure their arrival at their destination.
On the route from Garkla to Lupugana, having stopped at one of the many camps scattered along the route, while Abel and the other strategists were reviewing the war situation, the exhausted ground dragons were being exchanged with those in perfect condition, as a part of the preparations for the decisive battle.
Subaru: [Of course, Patrasche will always be with us, though.]
Reaching out his hand, Subaru touched his beloved jet-black dragon who was harnessed to the dragon carriage―― Patrasche, whose neck he caressed.
Patrasche, upon safely reuniting with him in the Empire, without any consideration of holding back despite Subaru's shrinking, delivered a powerful blow to him with her tail in retaliation for causing her to worry.
That one blow that had sent him crashing into the wall with a loud thud, it had been reminiscent of the injuries he had sustained while fighting the Guiltilaw during Sparka at the Gladiator Island, making him glad that it had ended with just one.
Since then, after having accepted Subaru's sincere apology, she had been giving her all to accompany them.
???: [――Heh, this ground dragon young'un, she's one of y'all's, ain't she?]
And then, arriving where Patrasche and Subaru were frolicking was Halibel.
The tall wolfman shinobi, holding his kiseru between his large teeth, while bobbing it up and down with his lips,
Halibel: [She was doin' a splendid job when I was fightin' that Dragon zombie, I thought she was real admirable.]
Subaru: [Ohh! Halibel-san also gets it, our Patrasche is amazing!]
Halibel: [Ain't that the truth. Yer a lucky fella. ――Lil' Ana 'n the others, everyone's worried 'bout'cha.]
Subaru was overjoyed to receive open approval from the strongest and most renowned person from the City-States, Halibel. His eyes opened wide at the words that followed, then he earnestly nodded.
He did not need to be told, but having it mentioned made him think about it again. ――He, was truly blessed.
Those in the Emilia Camp, along with Julius and Anastasia, had not only broken through various unfavorable obstacles to enter the Empire, but they had also gone along with Subaru's selfish request to see this through to the end.
Just how reliable and reassuring that was, he could not thank them enough.
Subaru: [That's why, I need to do everything I can to help.]
Emilia: [Subaru? The promise you made to me earlier, do you remember it?]
Subaru: [I remember, I remember, no being reckless! But, if push comes to shove…?]
Emilia: [See, doing that again would be too much to bear.]
With her lips curled into a frown, Emilia pouted at Subaru while he scratched his own cheek.
Chuckling at the sight of that, Halibel seemed to be really enjoying himself. Even though what awaited him might be a battle for the Empire's―― or perhaps, the world's very existence, he steeled his resolve.
???: [Halibel-dono, I'm suuure~ you don't want Subaru-kun to heeear~ that.]
Beatrice: [There he is, in fact.]
???: [Of course, since we're together, why would I not be heeere~. Though I do wish that the Empire would recognize me as an ally, alreeeady~.]
Shrugging his shoulders in disbelief, Roswaal chuckled at Beatrice's attitude.
As he appeared at the edge of the camp where the dragon carriage was parked, Emilia tilted her head at him while asking "Are you sure?".
Since Roswaal was currently more or less in charge of intelligence in the Emilia Camp, he was supposed to be accompanying Abel as he was speaking with the representatives of the encampment.
Emilia: [Even though I do consider Roswaal a proper ally, I wonder if other people like Abel share that sentiment…]
Roswaal: [If that's the case, then I'm in quite the bind since I don't seem to belong in the Kingdom nooor~ the Empire. ――Don't fret, His Excellency Vincent is currently addressing the soldiers in the vicinity, and they've entered the phase of boosting their morale.. If anything, I would only be in the waaaay~.]
Emilia: [Yes. That's good to hear. And don't worry, Roswaal's rightful place is at our side. Just so long as Roswaal doesn't try any tricks.]
With parted lips, Emilia gave an angelic answer to Roswaal's self-deprecation.
However, Roswaal could only put on a wry smile at those words, not answering whether he would be up to any trouble, which was extremely telling.
Subaru: [But, I'm pissed that things are working out so perfectly for Abel's triumphant return.]
As he said so, Subaru glanced toward the center of the camp, able to hear the cheers of a multitude of Imperial Soldiers coming from that direction.
Instead of a morale-boosting shout to prepare for battle, the cheers were those of joy, coming from men who were so moved to be addressed directly by the Emperor whom they served.
It was not surprising that Abel's sour look, which Subaru was not only familiar with but had even grown tired of seeing, was something that most of the citizens of the Empire were not allowed to see up close.
Subaru: [If I were in the same position as those people, knowing nothing but Emilia-tan's face and name, how would I feel… Oh no, I'm going to cry just thinking about that.]
Emilia: [What's wrong, Subaru, aren't you supposed to be my Knight? Get a hold of yourself!]
Subaru: [I know, you're right! This isn't a dream after all! Man, that was a close call, all because of Abel.]
With a quiet remark that would have made Abel frown if he could hear it, Subaru welcomed the fact that the Emperor-like idea was having the desired effect in itself.
Then again, in an effort to raise the morale of the Imperial Soldiers, after the war ended, Medium was also being shown off as a potential Empress without any consideration for her feelings, so one could not help but hold off with the praise.
Subaru: [With Spica constantly staying by her side, Medium-san can hopefully get her mind off it all a bit… That bastard, what the hell does he think marriage is?]
Emilia: [That's right. I think Abel is reaaally smart, but that part of his views isn't that good, I think.]
Subaru: [He should get kicked off the throne for doing this.]
Subaru and Emilia nodded in unison, agreeing that Abel was hopeless in that regard. At the sight of the two of them, as Halibel chuckled again,
Halibel: [Facin' off against the Vollachian Emperor, them kids sure don't know fear.]
Beatrice: [No matter who the opponent is, as long as Betty is with Subaru, there's no reason for him to be afraid, I suppose.]
Tanza: [Having rejected Yorna-sama, it is a well-known fact that His Excellency the Emperor is heartless.]
Roswaal: [Truly, we wouldn't want the people of the Empire to hear this conversaaation~.]
Within the camp roused with excitement regarding the Emperor's triumphant return, where speaking ill of the Emperor would inevitably lead to bloodshed, Roswaal chuckled amidst the sharp comments being made towards Abel. With a wry smile, Roswaal closed one eye and said, "So",
Roswaal: [Since he hasn't shown up despite all this talk, Garfiel seems to be quite focused. ――After having been selected by Subaru-kun for a grand task, it seems like he's sufficiently moootivated~.]
Subaru: [――Right.]
With the yellow eye that remained open, Roswaal turned his gaze toward Subaru, who nodded in response to his words.
Garfiel, who was not participating in the conversation with Subaru and the others at the moment, was currently inside the dragon carriage that was tethered to Patrasche, quietly meditating and sharpening his concentration.
It was evidence that he was doing his utmost to meet Subaru's expectations with his entire might. ――To meet the expectations of Subaru, who had requested him to match up against the Cloud Dragon, Mezoreia.
Subaru: [It's got agility, and its destructive power is overwhelming, so I want to do something to contain Mezoreia's movements. Currently, Garfiel's the one most suited to being entrusted with that duty.]
Halibel: [Can I ask why that is? Lil' Ana told me ta follow y'all's instructions for the time bein', but… I'm stronger than that tiger cub, y'know?]
In response to Subaru's judgment, Halibel tilted his head as he puffed out smoke.
If he felt angered by the notion that his abilities were being underestimated, there might have been a need for Subaru to come up with an excuse, but Halibel's manner of speech remained flat.
He had purely voiced a question regarding their fighting potential, and as Subaru instinctively nodded,
Subaru: [There's no doubt that Halibel-san's the strongest among our current members. But, it's a matter of putting the right person in the right place… or rather, there's someone else I'd like Halibel-san to subdue.]
Halibel: [Golly, what a frightenin' story. Puttin' off a Dragon ta focus somewhere else… are ya sayin' there's somethin' even more troublesome than a Dragon?]
Subaru: [In a sense, yeah.]
Knowing that there was no use in beating around the bush, Subaru clearly affirmed this.
Upon hearing Subaru's assertion, Halibel momentarily closed his mouth. But, his large mouth, characteristic of wolfpeople, immediately twisted into a smile,
Halibel: [I see, I see. Well then, I gotta get myself pumped up too.]
With that, he accepted Subaru's instructions, showing a willingness to comply.
Emilia: [Garfiel and Halibel-san… in addition, there's also places you want the rest of us to go, and things you want us to do.]
Once Subaru and Halibel's exchange came to a close, Emilia, with a serious expression, looked at Subaru. As she touched the magic crystal at her chest with her fingers, her amethyst eyes pierced through him.
Emilia was not the only one. Beatrice, Tanza, and Roswaal were also looking in his direction.
Subaru: [That's right. For everyone here… including Abel's group on the other side, it'll be an all-out war.]
Beatrice: [――. Fortunately, Subaru has a general idea of the enemy's whereabouts, in fact.]
Emilia: [Indeed. Um, he also used it at the Pleiades Watchtower, that special power called an Authority.]
Subaru: [Yeah. It's thanks to that.]
In response to Emilia and Beatrice's words, Subaru pounded his chest with his fist.
The achievements of Cor Leonis that had been displayed at Pleiades Watchtower―― grasping the whereabouts of separated companions, which had assisted them in dealing with problems inside the Tower, was what Subaru had made Emilia and the others believe in.
The enemies waiting in the Imperial Capital of Lupugana―― in order to oppose those formidable foes, Subaru had made them believe in the "lie" of how he had acquired the knowledge of the best choices regarding where to send each person.
Subaru: [――I will do what I can.]
Emilia, Beatrice, Spica, Tanza, Garfiel, Roswaal, Halibel, Abel, Medium, Jamal, Olbart, he would direct them all.
Making use of every card available in his hand, in order to emerge victorious in this battle for the Imperial Capital――.
Subaru: [Of course, I'm counting on you too, Patrasche.]
Reaching out, Subaru once again stroked Patrasche's neck, who neighed in response.
As everyone's spirits were being heightened at that sound of Patrasche's voice――,
Roswaal: [――Subaru-kun, this is the best course of action, correct?]
Firmly, Roswaal trained his gaze on Subaru's face.
To Roswaal's inquiry, Subaru gave a deep nod, and answered.
Subaru: [Yeah, this should be the best. ――I've gone and made sure of it.]
This, was merely Natsuki Subaru doing what he was capable of.
Thus, this should not be a breach of his promise with Emilia to "not overdo himself", so he thought.
-x-X-x-
Translation Note:
[1] – Fight between tiger and Dragon here (龍虎の相打つ) is a play on the idiom "竜虎相搏つ". It literally means a battle between a dragon and a tiger, but is used to mean a battle between two equal opponents. The version here swaps out "竜" with "龍" to account for the terminology of Dragons in Re: Zero, the latter being used for the likes of Mezoreia and Volcanica, the former for ground, water, and flying dragons.