Chapter 61: Subaru Natsuki's Merits Threaten His Lord, and He Must Be Guarded Against (Patreon)

A ducal house, grandson of the Council of Wise Men, high nobility.

Those titles and that standing were exactly what had let Cavendish III run roughshod over the Royal Capital, unstoppable and unchecked, right up to today.

Even today, if Anastasia and the others hadn't backed him so firmly, Subaru Natsuki would have had to burn himself out and lean on his notebook just to earn a chance to kill the man.

But this world had no "ifs."

The fact was, with his own strength and the help of Anastasia and the others, the road had never truly been rough, however long it had dragged on. The instant Sword Saint Reinhard stepped aside, the terror on Cavendish III's face reached its peak.

But he couldn't even beg anymore. Priscilla Barielle had cut that off long ago.

To show his sincerity, all he could do was kowtow wildly, over and over, until his forehead bled. His eyes brimmed with tears and remorse, a full confession of regret for ever having come here.

Of course, everyone understood what he regretted was not bringing enough elite mercenaries along. He felt no regret for the scum he had been, or for the fact that retribution was now at his door.

Subaru's face was cold. Cavendish III finally saw that Subaru had no mercy in him, and in a panic he went for the weapon he kept on his person, meaning to stab Subaru first.

Swish!

An arm shot into the air.

"—Gah!"

The searing pain arrived a beat late. His pupils contracted, his eyes rolled back to white, and he rasped on and on.

But it wasn't only one arm that flew. At almost the same moment, his other arm and both legs burst in sprays of blood, all severed in an instant.

Like a bowling ball, he thudded to the ground, and Subaru snatched him up and drove a fist into his face. His nose and cheeks swelled, he coughed blood, and his teeth shattered, both rows, not one spared. His mind began to blur, hoarse howls of agony tearing out of him as the bowling ball writhed.

He was utterly on the brink of death. Even if no further harm came to him, he would soon bleed out just lying there.

But Subaru raised his head and looked around.

Slum locals and outside visitors alike, seeing Cavendish III's wretched state, all realized one thing.

Perhaps this was the only moment in their lives when they would dare to swing a fist at a high noble.

Subaru shouted, "Otto, catch! Give him a punch!"

"Huh? M-me? Come on, I'm terrified of nobles, Subaru! Aaaah!"

Otto, singled out, froze. Then he saw Subaru hurl the limbless Cavendish III at him like a bowling ball.

Otto shrieked like a girl and flailed wildly, his slap landing squarely on Bowling Ball III's fat face and batting him aside. Felt snorted next to him, itching to join in, and sent him flying again with a scorpion kick.

Bowling Ball III sailed into a spot full of slum locals and visitors. At first they instinctively opened a small circle, letting him crash onto the ground.

But a moment later they all exchanged glances, swallowed, and some kind of madness took hold. No one knew who started it, but soon every one of them was punching and kicking the Bowling Ball III on the ground.

The people who hadn't been standing there saw it and hurriedly pushed their way over. They wanted nothing more than to land a stomp or two before he died.

In the end, when the crowd scattered with a rush, all that remained on the spot was a bloody mess.

Bowling Ball III's wrecked body lay there, his death utterly miserable.

Reinhard said with heartfelt emotion, "Before today, I doubt he ever imagined he would die like this."

"Hmph, serves him right!" Felt folded her arms over her nonexistent chest, grumbling. "He still got off too easy. We should've thrown him in a cesspit while he was alive and let him gorge himself and drown."

Wait, no!

Felt suddenly caught on. She bared her teeth, fierce as a demon, and hissed straight at Reinhard. "You! You were the one stopping that silly little dummy Subaru from killing him earlier. Now you're worried we'll take care of you next, so suddenly you're feeling sentimental? Hmph, a weathervane, born evil!"

Reinhard: "…"

A wry smile.

Besides smiling wryly, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, what else could he do?

He truly had no defense. He had only been holding to his duty, but, sigh.

Julius watched the helpless Reinhard and smiled wryly too. They really were a pair of unlucky brothers. Luckily Julius had a superior already, and Anastasia had called him back, so he hadn't had to play the villain there.

Reinhard had it far worse. Duty had first made him a thorn in the side of the righteous. Then, because he understood reason, the candidates had persuaded him to step aside. Afterward he would surely become a thorn in the Council of Wise Men's flesh, judged untrustworthy and unreliable for a Sword Saint.

And Felt's jab at Reinhard finally made the crowd come to their senses.

"W-we really killed that scum?"

"They won't hold us responsible for the crime, will they…"

"What's there to fear? If the nobles come after us, we'll give up our old lives and come join Boss Subaru Natsuki here. Boss Subaru Natsuki is a good boss, we all saw it. We've got nothing to be afraid of!"

"Right! Boss Subaru Natsuki, hurrah, hurrah!"

"Oooooooh!"

The cheers shook the sky.

The four Royal Selection candidates had shown great righteousness in choosing to stand on the side of justice, and their brilliance shone. For the first time, the people of the Royal Capital personally grasped what charismatic figures these rivals were, the ones from whom the kingdom's new ruler would emerge.

But no matter what, their radiance could not cover the image of Subaru as a hero, branded deep in everyone's heart.

If you could follow a boss like this for the rest of your life, what was there to fear? Even against someone you couldn't beat, the boss would be the first to charge. If you die, you die together. What's there to be afraid of!

[Ding!]

[To wear the crown, one must bear its weight. A king who takes responsibility, who shoulders blame, who does everything in his power to protect his kingdom, great and small alike, is a true sovereign. A king known far and wide, acknowledged by enough of the people, can truly be called the King of Kings.]

[Host, you have grasped this without a teacher. Even with no quest, you have already walked the path on the road to kingship of your own accord. There was no quest, but your rewards are being issued retroactively now!]

[Host's situation detected. Reward issued against the most likely upcoming threat: Body Immune to All Poisons!]

[However strong a hero or king may be, he will still fall to schemes from behind the scenes, and a poisoner's methods are nearly impossible to guard against. From today onward, the Host is immune to all toxins. The only way left to be poisoned is to eat poison as a meal and be defeated by the awful taste and sheer volume.]

"Hm?"

So this was patching up his weak points?

Subaru mused that he seemed to be getting closer and closer to "I lack nothing."

If only he could get a divine weapon on the level of the Yang Sword, plus top-tier mastery of every magic attribute. He didn't even dare imagine how sweet life would be then.

Heh heh. When that day comes, Julius, Reinhard, why don't you two come at me together!

Thinking of this, Subaru perked up and grinned.

He wasn't a particularly serious person to begin with. He had only been so grim because he had truly lost his temper, and now that Bowling Ball III was dead, there was no need to keep his face tight.

Besides, no one on this side had died, so everything was still fine. The wounded just needed to be directed to treatment starting now.

Seeing Subaru cheer up, Reinhard seemed to breathe a faint sigh of relief. He walked over and said sincerely, "Thank you."

Subaru blinked. "Huh? Thank me for what?"

"For ridding the kingdom of a great plague, and for your kindness," Reinhard answered earnestly.

In the whole kingdom, who didn't want Bowling Ball III dead, aside from the other scum nobles?

Even Reinhard had secretly wished for him to die sooner. Duty had simply always kept him from lifting a hand, so all he could do was pray the man would meet with some accident and drop dead.

Today that prayer had finally come true, and he was honestly happy about it.

As for thanking Subaru for his kindness…

Reinhard looked down at the Dragon Sword at his waist.

From the moment he first saw Subaru, the world's greatest divine weapon, which in all the time since he'd inherited it had never once left its scabbard, as if locked in tight, had suddenly come alive, ready to be drawn at any time.

He didn't know what trump card Subaru was hiding that could stir the Dragon Sword like this. But Subaru, holding such a trump card, had chosen to stay kind rather than become a wanton tyrant who ruined everything, like Bowling Ball III. That alone was worth his thanks.

"Uh, no, no, no, you're making me embarrassed being this formal."

Seeing Reinhard so solemn, Subaru hurriedly waved his hands and went back to his usual self. "I didn't do anything amazing. You're the one, you big lug. Being willing to step aside was a huge help."

"Heh heh, Felt doesn't get this stuff, but I do. A stiff, old-fashioned guy like you who let himself be persuaded must have hated that bowling ball for ages, right? In that case, we're on the same side, hehe."

He grinned as he said it, jabbing Reinhard with an elbow and waggling his eyebrows, which made Reinhard want to laugh.

Being misunderstood was nothing new, but being seen through like this by Subaru, and comforted besides, left him feeling… well… a little happy, actually.

"Aww, poor little me is gonna cry, nya? Why are you chatting so warmly with Reinhard and not coming to say hi to me? I see, I see. Sickly, useless little me is of course not as useful as the great Sword Saint, so Natsuki-kun is going to throw me away. Boo-hoo."

Anastasia swayed her soft purple hair and fox scarf as she strolled over, leading the bouncing Mimi by the hand. One hand wiped at tears that weren't there, and her sweet voice was pure coquetry.

So cute it left people's bones weak.

But!

"Heh heh, no good, Anna. Only you, we've got each other's secrets. If you cry, I cry too!"

Subaru lifted his chin proudly, a bit like Felt, a grin on his lips. "Well, seriously though, I owe you big for this one. Yeah!"

He held out a hand. Anastasia smiled prettily, raised her own little hand and stood on tiptoe to meet it. They slapped palms with a crisp, perfectly timed clap.

Ricardo watched and laughed heartily. "Oho, nice one, kid!"

Aside from the people of her own merchant company, this was the first time little Anna had been this close to anyone, or this in sync. It was truly something.

"I don't mean to fight over credit, but if I'm ignored and your eyes are only on Anastasia, I'd be troubled too, Sir Natsuki."

Crusch sighed as she walked over. Only Sword Demon Wilhelm van Astrea remained at her side now. "I've had Ferris go treat all the wounded. He's the finest healer in the entire kingdom, so there's nothing to worry about."

Ferris, who went by the alias Fifi, was that amazing?

Subaru's eyes lit up. In his excitement, he accidentally threw an arm around the shoulders of Crusch as she came near, and gloated inwardly. "Whatever you need from me from now on, just say it. Love you to death, Cru-Cru!"

"This…" Sword Demon Wilhelm van Astrea started to speak and stopped, stopped and started again, but in the end said nothing.

By rights, whether as someone outside her camp or as the opposite sex, Subaru shouldn't have been so forward with Lady Crusch. But since Lady Crusch herself seemed not to mind in the least, an old man like him had no business saying anything.

"Don't make me laugh, vixen, green-haired woman. What you two ought to do is not make that commoner thank you. You should come to me and claim your credit. You staged a fine show for me, and I am more amused than I have been in a long while."

The moment Priscilla Barielle arrived, she left Anastasia and Crusch speechless. We're all Royal Selection candidates, so if we went to her to claim credit, wouldn't that make us her inferiors?

"Quite the clever plan, but it won't work here, nya. And poor little me isn't fond of being called a vixen, hmph!"

"Ha!"

"Um… can everyone please try to get along?"

Emilia glanced left and right, wary. Only after she saw that no one present showed any disgust or fear toward her did she let out a breath and bravely take her place among them.

"I feel the same way, since we're only rivals and needn't fight to the death. But Emilia, your innocence is truly unexpected. To say such a thing so openly, in front of everyone."