Chapter 181: Get Past Betty, Then Talk About the Future

Meanwhile, on the other side, Subaru had already gone slack-jawed the moment Emilia described the scene of their first meeting — a storm churning inside him.

Because the insignia search Emilia was describing was something from before his very first Return by Death!

So how could Emilia possibly know about it?

But the next instant, Emilia's movement cut his thoughts short — she leaned in, the distance between them closing fast.

"If you don't want this, you can pull away, Subaru..." Emilia said, careful yet resolute, her violet eyes reflecting his bewildered face.

The next moment, she pressed her lips straight to his.

In that instant, the experiences of the Wrath-if line, the memories of the Greed-if line, and the memories from the Envy main line through to the manor arc truly began to merge into one.

The Emilias of all three of those worldlines had never once undergone real growth.

Not until now — after living through Subaru's confession, after reclaiming her true self.

In this world, in this loop, she took the final step toward true growth.

Faced with Emilia's kiss, Subaru only froze for a beat before closing his eyes too, stepping forward to meet her.

"Mmh~" Emilia squeezed her eyes shut nervously, arms winding around the back of Subaru's neck.

The deep, tender kiss stretched on for a long while before the two finally broke apart, breathing hard and flushed, though neither let go of the embrace.

"Subaru, why are you so... practiced at this?!" Emilia said, a little embarrassed, since he'd been the one leading the whole time.

It was as if — as if this were far from his first kiss.

"Well, we kissed back in Sanctuary too, remember? Emilia-tan?" Subaru explained, face perfectly straight.

It was the only excuse he had.

He certainly couldn't tell her he'd practiced his technique on Rem and Ram, could he?

"Sanctuary...?" Emilia's face went blank at that. After all, the furthest her memories reached never even made it as far as Sanctuary.

In the Greed-if line, Subaru had cleared the trial alone, so she had no memory of being comforted and kissed by him there.

Watching her reaction, a flicker of understanding crossed Subaru's face — he now had a rough sense of her current state.

She probably knew about his Return by Death from the viewing, too.

After all, back in the Slums, Reinhard's attitude had shifted abruptly right after his standoff with Emilia and Elsa.

Maybe that was exactly when the three of them had been pulled into the viewing space and shown his past.

"Hup!" Just as Subaru sank into thought, Petra — who'd been pouting on the bed watching the whole scene — finally found her opening the moment the two of them stopped talking.

With one smooth leap she landed straight in Subaru's arms; thanks to her small frame, simply looping her arms around his neck pressed her flush against his chest, leaving not a sliver of space between them.

"Huh? Petra, what's gotten into you all of a sudden—?" Caught off guard, Subaru's hands instinctively came up to catch her beneath — but the motion instantly turned their pose scandalously suggestive.

Seeing Subaru still respond, Petra's eyes lit up. Smugly, she wriggled her hips right in front of Emilia, stretching herself out.

Even the gloom she'd felt watching the two of them confess to each other faded considerably.

But that alone wasn't enough.

"Because! Just now it was all Emilia hogging you — that's so unfair!" Petra said petulantly, arms wound intimately around Subaru's neck as she stuck her tongue out at Emilia.

"So you won't be mad at me for this, right, big sister? After all, I didn't interrupt you and Subaru just now!" Even as she said it, Petra pressed her body even closer against him.

Her words and actions looked far more like a declaration of war — a staking of territory — aimed squarely at Emilia.

"Oh no! I completely forgot Petra-chan was right here! Have I gone and taught a child bad habits?" Rather than turning cold the way both Subaru and Petra had braced for, kind-hearted Emilia flustered instead, scrambling to reflect on her own behavior.

But this time was different from before.

Earlier, Emilia had crumbled under sudden overwhelming pressure precisely because Subaru hadn't kissed her, choosing instead to tangle himself up with Petra.

But now she'd already received his confession and understood his feelings for her, so her heart was already brimming with sweetness and security.

In an instant she shifted from that dark, brooding form nearly seething with black mist, back into the lovely, innocent white-Emilia she used to be.

So naturally, her view of Petra changed along with it.

She had no idea, of course, what Petra had actually been through — but it must have been a great deal, and a great deal of pain.

So — that scene she'd witnessed earlier, just the two of them holding hands — that really must have just been Subaru comforting a child, right?

So it was fine. No harm done.

"I am NOT a child!" Petra huffed, as though her sore spot had been struck dead-on.

"Age-wise, I'm already over four hundred years old — a full-grown adult! If anything, I'm practically a mature woman by now!"

"Even though you confessed like that just now, big sister — Petra isn't going to lose to you!" she said, dissatisfied.

"Yes, yes, Petra's amazing. Thanks for not interrupting just now — you were such a good girl," Subaru said, laying his broad palm on her head and stroking it gently.

Petra's eyes narrowed happily under the touch, a bright smile spreading across her face.

"Ah! But even if you say that, I'm still not giving up on having you all to myself!" Petra said, snapping suddenly serious after only a moment lost in the pleasant petting.

"I don't want Subaru's love split with anyone besides me — but I also know I can't manage that yet, not as I am now."

"So Petra's going to work hard! I'll make Subaru fall for me and put me first in his heart!" she declared, cheering herself on as she spoke.

"Honestly, you two — what are you even squabbling about, first thing in the morning, I suppose!" Betty's voice, cold and sharp, cut in from nearby without warning.

She'd been awake for a while already, but Petra's remark irritated her enough to make her step in directly.

Such nerve — if not even a scrap of his love were to be shared, what was she, his contracted Great Spirit, supposed to do?

Betty had already given up fighting for so much as a single share — and now she was still being hunted down like this?

The thought made her cross her arms huffily, glaring at Petra with open hostility.

This human girl had always been butting heads with her.

Especially after getting hired on as a manor maid, she'd constantly been scheming ways to keep Betty and Subaru apart, so the two of them could be alone together!

And when Betty, at the very end of her patience, had finally called her out for jealousy, the girl had stiffly changed the subject right in front of Subaru, refusing to admit a thing!

So brazen — utterly, shamelessly brazen!

"If you want to be first in Subaru's heart, you'll have to get past Betty first!"

"Only once you've gotten past Betty can you even talk about the future, I suppose!" Betty said, her eyes resolute.

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🔥 New history: DanMachi: Inheriting the Legacy of Alternate Versions — posted on The_Mikudayo