Chapter 167: Ram in Her Adjusted Soft Form

"Barusu, Barusu, Barusu!" Ram's face was flushed, her lips slightly parted as she launched herself straight at the still-dazed Natsuki Subaru, something like pink, bubbling hearts surfacing faintly in her eyes while she called his name in a soft voice.

Her already petite frame clung to him like a koala, all helpless dependence.

"Don't abandon me. Don't hate me… Master, Master!" Natsuki Subaru had barely gotten his hands under Ram's soft backside to hold her up when she leaned in against his ear and begged, in a voice pitched so only the two of them could hear, with not a scrap of security left in her.

The truth was, however strong Ram had pretended to be inside the viewing space, however much she had pretended Meili's taunts didn't touch her—

—her terror of Barusu leaving her behind had climbed all the way to its peak.

After all, when she had crossed into that final stretch of the Purge King line, she had been left behind by Barusu. Truly, completely thrown away.

What she hadn't told anyone, Rem included, was that ever since that bone-deep experience of being cast aside by the Purge King Natsuki Subaru, the world in her eyes had drained of all its color.

Only her sister Rem, and the Barusu on the screen, still had any color left in them.

A drowning person will clutch at grass to survive. She had become that drowning person, and this time Natsuki Subaru was the straw she had to seize.

That was exactly why, the very instant she left the viewing space and returned, Ram had thrown her arms tight around Natsuki Subaru and greedily breathed in every last trace of his scent.

Only like this could she rise out of the suffocating water and steal a brief chance to breathe.

She had already turned into a puppy who couldn't live without Barusu…

Ram settled her head comfortably into the crook of his neck, a charming flush blooming across her face.

As for Natsuki Subaru, after a brief moment of surprise, he worked out the situation soon enough.

There was no way Ram would let loose emotion on this scale for no reason. The only explanation was that she had just come back from the viewing space, and her feelings were still running at their absolute highest.

One hand stroking her head gently to soothe her, he set his thoughts racing, sifting through what could be behind her symptoms—

Just as he had said before: he was going to redeem everyone, so of course he wasn't about to give up on Ram.

And thinking it over carefully… could the abandonment Ram had just spoken of be that Purge King line shown on the screen?

The others in the viewing area hadn't noticed, but he had seen it clearly: Ram had stepped into the screen and lived through all of it in the flesh.

At that moment, his own consciousness had synced into the instance as well, through the book that appeared out of nowhere in his arms — which meant he had gone through the whole thing at Ram's side. And afterward, he had absorbed that book and gained the entirety of the Purge King Natsuki Subaru's experiences.

He was still Natsuki Subaru, naturally — the same one he had been at the very beginning, before he ever crossed over — just with an extra portion of growth as the Purge King added out of thin air.

It was like merging two game save files: it spared him years of wandering down dead ends and handed him that growth ahead of schedule.

And part of that growth showed itself in how well he now understood Ram.

Wasn't the Ram standing here a great deal like the self he had been as the Purge King? He had been betrayed. She had been abandoned.

For now, he would keep playing dumb and give Ram all the security she needed. The rest he could guide her through slowly, later on.

"Ram-chan~ what's gotten into you?" Natsuki Subaru teased, grinning down at the pink dumpling in his arms.

"Having a nightmare in broad daylight, so you came looking to me for comfort?"

Heat rose in Ram's face at that, but she didn't fire back. She only wound her legs tighter around him… tighter even than the night she and Barusu had spent together yesterday.

She knew her personality wasn't the endearing kind. She wasn't gentle the way Rem was.

Her tongue was clumsy, too. She used to snap back at him, or sting him, purely out of habit, never managing what Rem did — seizing every opening to praise Barusu, to give him something warm to hold on to.

But she had her own strengths. Protecting her master, for one. Obedience, for another…

That thought sent color rushing to her cheeks. For some reason, everything she was good at sounded exactly like a puppy. Well — whatever.

Wait! Speaking of which!

Something surfaced in Ram's memory. Her small ears gave a sudden twitch, and her whole body went taut with alarm.

Zarestia!

One of the legendary Four Great Spirits, the most beautiful Grim Reaper — she was about to attack this village.

They had to find a way to stop her!

Ram dropped down off him, her expression flipping in a single second into master-protection mode, her face grave. "Barusu! I have critical information. In roughly ten or fifteen minutes, this village is going to come under attack by Zarestia, one of the legendary Four Great Spirits!"

What she hadn't expected was that Natsuki Subaru simply heard her out with a calm face, nodding along now and then, without the slightest flicker of shock.

He seemed to catch the confusion on her face, because he smiled and said, "I knew about it a while ago, and I'll find a way to handle it. Ram, you evacuate the villagers early, same as before. Remember — make it fast!"

Then he thought for a second and quickly added, "Oh, right — this time make sure you take Petra with you too. With danger like this coming, letting her stand out in front would make me look pretty pathetic, wouldn't it?"

Ram stared blankly at the Natsuki Subaru handing down orders in front of her. This air of his, of knowing everything before it happened, didn't strike her as strange at all.

Because she had already learned during the viewing that Natsuki Subaru possessed the power of Return by Death.

So this Natsuki Subaru, standing here after the viewing, after time had rewound of its own accord, and still in possession of this information — perhaps, without any of them noticing, he had already gone through a Return by Death!

The thought flooded her gaze with ache and self-reproach as she looked at him.

Her hand twisted tight over her chest, the urge to take some of his pain onto herself stronger than ever.

Then she remembered the conversation she'd had with Rem earlier — Rem might know that Great Spirit called Zarestia, and know her well at that.

Resolve settled slowly into Ram's eyes, and she made up her mind. "Barusu, Rem may know that Great Spirit. She may have a way to resolve this! I'll go back to the manor to fetch her, then use wind magic to speed her here!"

She looked at him nervously, waiting for his answer. In battle she couldn't contribute much — using Mana put far too heavy a load on her body.

So outside of battle, she wanted to be as useful as she possibly could.

But it all came down to what Natsuki Subaru thought. If he refused, then Ram absolutely would not take matters into her own hands!

After all, she had never once forgotten the only two merits she had that were actually useful and wouldn't make her a nuisance: be obedient, and protect Barusu with her life!

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