Chapter 49: Earth-Shattering Upheaval, Absolutely No Room for Maneuver! (Patreon)

Final. Absolute. No room for negotiation!

Priscilla Barielle folded one arm across her chest and gave a haughty, cold smile. She was so perfect that no man was worthy of seeing the unblemished skin beneath her clothes, much less of touching it.

And precisely because she was so perfect, the seven foolish men who had dared to become her husbands in name had all died young. It was her perfection at work, her refusal to let them touch her even once.

The last one had schemed too much and died for daring to use her. The first six, however, had all died one after another because they'd harbored covetous thoughts about her body.

True, that convenient streak of fortune that let her strike anyone dead at will was useless against Subaru Natsuki. But it hardly mattered. Now that she knew it, there was no way she would enter a marriage in name with him either. He'd never had a chance to indulge that fantasy to begin with.

Subaru ground his teeth. He really did find this woman insufferable. "Tch. Who knows? Go ahead and swear it so confidently. For all you know, you might fall for me someday."

He would never be this disrespectful to other girls. But with Priscilla, who had the nerve to declare things so categorically, he truly wanted to see the day she cried and begged to be liked by him. Just imagine how good that would feel.

Still, Subaru was only indulging in talk.

When it came down to it, he knew without even thinking. Even though he'd begun to shed his mediocrity, Priscilla clearly wasn't the type to admire strength. No matter how formidable he became, she wouldn't fall in love with him for it. Otherwise she'd have fallen for the Sword Saint Reinhard long ago.

"As a jest to amuse me, you're already the only one in the top tier, mortal."

Priscilla chuckled. "But what a complete lack of self-awareness you have. This arrogance of yours. If you loathe the lofty, transcendent glory that is my natural due, can you call it loathing of narcissism? Or is it mutual repulsion between kindred spirits, one you haven't even noticed yourself?"

"Still, even if it's self-deception, I'm willing to offer praise. If the Dragon Tablet were to rewrite its prophecy and install you in place of that incompetent half-elf over there, as my entertainment before I ascend the throne, I'm sure the process would be far more amusing."

Priscilla had a thousand flaws and ten thousand vices, but she had one good quality: she never begrudged acknowledging another's ability.

Just as she acknowledged the Sword Saint Reinhard's all-surpassing, cheating power, she now acknowledged that Subaru had the skill and the mindset. He might not match her, but to be a Royal Selection candidate, it wasn't more than enough. It was, at the very least, sufficient.

By comparison, the half-elf Emilia wasn't utterly boring either, but she was certainly less interesting than Subaru.

Puck glared. He would never let his daughter be humiliated. "Disparage our Lia again and I'll kill you!"

"Try it, if you can, you useless wretch."

With Puck and Priscilla Barielle at each other's throats, one spark away from an explosion, Emilia hurried over to smooth things over.

"It's okay, Puck. I think the Shopkeeper is amazing too. I'll work hard to become a proper candidate, so that Miss Priscilla Barielle will acknowledge me too!"

"Wrong target, Emilia." Subaru shook his head, rejecting her response.

"No matter how amazing someone is, they can't win the wholehearted admiration and approval of everyone else in the world. Not unless there are only two people in the world. So if you're chasing Priscilla Barielle's approval, she's already led you astray. You have no obligation or duty to get it."

"Let her be as arrogant as she wants. As long as you keep beating her with facts, again and again, her arrogance won't do her any good."

Puck clapped his paws together with a happy pat-pat. His memory had gaps now, so he didn't really understand philosophy and the like. But Subaru's words were simple and clear, and Puck grasped how much they were worth the moment he heard them. "Ooh, now that's some insight, kid."

"So you can manage to say something reasonable, after all."

Priscilla Barielle smiled sweetly, having thought of something fun. "Then what if you, blind mortal, were defeated and killed by me a thousand, a hundred times? Humiliated, trampled underfoot, your face bruised and swollen, your clothes stripped clean, and tossed helpless before the eyes of the public. What then?"

A single defeat couldn't discourage Subaru. But by his own argument, what would he do if he lost a thousand times and was treated like that every time?

No matter how spirited, no matter how firmly he held to himself, being humiliated that many times would turn him into a complete laughingstock.

Emilia had still been mulling over Subaru's words of comfort. Hearing Priscilla's shocking proposal, she flared up at once, her sense of justice and her protective instincts kicking in. "I won't let you bully the Shopkeeper like that!"

"Those who don't follow my will should kneel and beg, their fates shifting with my mood. That is the most basic principle. Foolish half-elf, you don't even know that?"

Priscilla swept her with a cold glance. "If you want to defy my amusement with violence, you'll pay the appropriate price. I was merely being magnanimous and merciful, generous and benevolent. I granted you a moment to catch your breath as a kindness, and you truly believe you have the ability to resist my radiance?"

"Half-elf, naivety may be your base color, but too much of it is simply courting death!"

Priscilla might say "half-elf" at every turn, but nobody objected. Not Emilia, who forgave insults to herself by nature. Not Ram, whose duty was to defend Emilia's standing in public. Not Puck, who doted on Emilia. Not even Subaru, who had declared he'd stop anyone from discriminating against her.

Remarkably, they were all of one mind.

The reason was simple. "Half-elf" was merely a label Priscilla had slapped on Emilia for convenience. She said it, but there was no discrimination behind it. To her, half-elf simply equaled Emilia.

It was the same logic by which she lumped everyone, Al, Puck, Ram, and Subaru included, under "clowns" and "mortals." If you insisted on calling it discrimination, she was discriminating equally against every living thing in the world. There was no point in correcting how she addressed Emilia.

Besides, it couldn't be corrected anyway.

If anyone really wanted to correct her, they'd have to prove it with their hands.

The atmosphere on the spot congealed. Battle looked ready to erupt again at any moment. Just then, a hurried patter of footsteps came rushing closer from afar.

"Boss, it's terrible, terrible! Boss Natsuki!"