Chapter 168: Elsa, I think you're asking for a beating? Yes~ (Silence Broken)

Ram left — with Natsuki Subaru's consent, she set out right away.

That said, Subaru wasn't actually counting on things being wrapped up as easily as Ram claimed, so while he was at it he'd asked her to bring Puck along too.

As fellow members of the Four Great Spirits, maybe the two of them would find they had something to talk about?

That was a joke, of course. Given his personality, there was no chance he'd hang the outcome of a fight on anything that flimsy.

His real trump card was his very own contract spirit — Betty, who stood at the Great Spirit realm herself!

The Betty of today held four hundred years of stockpiled Mana, a terrifying reserve, and on top of that she had the anti-magic field the two of them had developed together back in the day: "E.M.T"!

Named in honor of "Emilia-tan Really Is An Angel," that ultimate ace nullified every magic-type attack within a set radius of him. Against a Great Spirit, it had to be the ultimate counter among counters, right?

Then there was "E.M.M," another original spell of theirs — a defensive technique that walled off space itself to grant a brief window of invincibility.

And the reason Betty hadn't stopped Zarestia last time —

was purely that Betty never imagined a Great Spirit would refuse to trade blows at range, choosing instead to eat one of her lethal attacks head-on just to close the distance to him.

Zarestia was ridiculously durable, too. Even among Great Spirits, she counted as formidable.

If Petra hadn't suddenly cut loose, that Great Spirit named Zarestia — whose purpose was still a complete mystery — might really have gotten what she came for.

But this time he had intelligence, and he had preparation. She could forget about ever getting close to him again.

Because he, Natsuki Subaru — or rather, his contract spirit Betty — was not someone to trifle with!

"Right, Beako?"

Subaru turned to look at Betty, who had taken his hand again at his side, the corner of his mouth curling into a wide grin.

"That expression. No question about it, that is the Subaru-face Betty likes, I suppose."

Betty tilted her head. Hearing brooding Subaru abruptly break into that confident smile and say what he'd said, she found, for reasons she couldn't quite name, that some of the confidence had rubbed off on her.

"So, Betty doesn't really understand what you're talking about, but you're right! Subaru!"

Betty threw her free hand high above her head as she answered, adorable and bursting with force all at once.

"Good. That's the spirit, Bea!" Subaru said offhandedly.

That was the end of the small talk. With Ram already gone to fetch reinforcements, evacuating the villagers fell to him.

First things first: round up some help. Which meant the Elsa sisters!

And the instant that thought surfaced, a familiar voice sounded right beside his ear.

"Looking for me? Dar-ling."

Damp, clinging breath brushed the side of his ear, thick with invitation. A shiver ran down his spine and he pulled back fast to put space between them.

Betty, still holding his hand, watched the whole exchange without a word. She hadn't bothered to warn Subaru that Elsa was coming.

Because during the viewing, Betty had worked it out from the clash between Elsa and Ram: this viper of a woman was smitten with Subaru too, which meant she had no intention of harming him.

And if that was the case, there was no need to pay her much mind.

Betty had long since braced herself for the fact that a great many women would be drawing close to Subaru in the years ahead. But however many of them there were, not one could match her standing!

She was his one and only contract spirit. Nobody could replace a position that special, so surrendering a share of Subaru's time to those women was really just her being magnanimous!

She hadn't said a word earlier when that little maid Ram had claimed both of Subaru's hands, either. Judging by the viewing, the little maid had been through a fairly wretched time of it. Pitiable, really…

"Elsa, you're just in time. You know the village well enough by now, so go tell the villagers to take shelter. Get them far away from here," Subaru said, calm again, pinching the space between his brows and speaking in a resigned tone.

"Hmm? Is that your way of hiring me? Then I'll be wanting payment~" Elsa said, smiling sweetly.

"Oh, come on! You want to be paid for passing a message to a few villagers? Elsa, are you itching for a beating?" Subaru fired back, exasperation written all over his face. His arrogant streak had fused with the domineering habits left over from the Purge King, and the scolding was out of his mouth before he thought about it.

What he hadn't anticipated was that the line seemed to flip some kind of switch in Elsa. Her face flushed a deep rose, as tempting as a woman gone tipsy on wine.

"That will do. Let's make that my payment. I'm quite satisfied~" Elsa agreed before he could get another word out, and her answer left Subaru completely at sea.

While he was still puzzling over it, Elsa had already set about the job, and within moments she was far down the road.

Only when she was on the verge of passing out of his sight did she raise her voice, unhurried and heavy with meaning.

"Any job after this one is priced separately. But then you'll have to whip me even harder, darling~"

At those words, a good number of the villagers browsing the market turned to give Subaru strange, distinctly suggestive looks. Subaru had nothing whatsoever to say.

He'd been wondering what payment Elsa was angling for, and it turned out to be… that?

Wasn't that a bit too stimulating and perverted for a pure-hearted little virgin like him?

Hold on. Considering what he and Ram had gotten up to last night… did that mean he didn't count as a virgin anymore?

Heh. For an upstanding man like Natsuki Subaru, didn't virgin status refresh automatically every day the moment the clock struck midnight?

All he could say was that with a move like Elsa's, it wasn't at all clear who was rewarding whom.

Getting off track. Way off track!

Subaru shook his head hard, scrubbing the stray thoughts out of his mind, and got moving himself.

He went first to the house of the Earlham Village chief, explained the situation, and, in his capacity as Emilia's knight, vouched for the necessity of the evacuation.

The chief, a man with a long white beard, leaned on his cane and looked Subaru up and down, then lifted a hand to clap him on the shoulder, nodding his agreement with a smile.

But at that point a burly grown man standing beside the chief scratched his head and spoke up, a little embarrassed.

"Er, this is only the chief's younger brother. He handles a fair bit of business around here day to day, but for something like this we'll still need the chief herself to come and give her approval."

Subaru went blank at that. He rummaged through his memories and turned up another familiar village elder: a granny with curly purple hair who liked to smack the backsides of her juniors and was forever muttering that she felt "young again."

He was still agonizing over where to look for her when, at the far end of his line of sight, Elsa came walking toward him with Meili and that very "young-again granny" in tow.

"Nice work, Elsa! Perfect timing!" Subaru brightened at the sight and called out his praise on the spot.

"Of course. I keep every word you say right at the tip of my heart~" Elsa closed the distance and stepped straight into his chest, tracing teasing little circles over it with a slender finger as she spoke.

"Darling, from now on you may use me however you please. As a tool, or as a sharp blade —"

As she said it she stretched up to his ear, her tongue gliding across her red lips with a soft, enticing click.

"— or you could keep me as the maid who warms your bed~"

"I think I'd perform far better than that little maid called Ram. And please you a great deal more~"

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