I love time travel the most!

"What conditions?"

Urged impatiently by him, Kobayashi slowly said, "The White Whale campaign failed, and the Witch Cult failed to be eradicated. As a result, Emilia will be forced to withdraw, and Kursh and Anastasia will be severely weakened. At the same time, the failure of the campaign will also damage their reputation, making it easier for Priscilla to take action when the people are disappointed in them."

"Huh? So you mean working part-time..."

Who do you think is most likely to cause this operation to fail?

Natsuki Subaru suddenly realized.

No wonder Priscilla tried to win over Kobayashi, even resorting to despicable seduction tactics.

They definitely wanted Kobayashi to deliberately trip her up so that the campaign would fail, and then no one else would be able to hinder her anymore.

What a vicious scheme!

"You really are..."

"Shut up! It's not your place to comment on me, you ignorant fool who's always been led by the nose!"

The arrogant girl interrupted him rudely and forcefully.

Natsuki Subaru shouted angrily, "Hey, don't you treat me and Kobayashi differently?"

"This is the attitude we should have towards incompetent people."

She had no intention of apologizing at all; instead, she blamed Subaru Natsuki for his incompetence.

"There's really no way to communicate with them."

Natsuki Subaru didn't want to argue with her anymore, because Priscilla was far too dangerous, so he urged her again, "That's the end of the conversation. I won't give you another chance to speak. Besides, you've already lost, so hurry up and send troops! Or is it that the esteemed Lady Priscilla would betray the bet of a lowly person like yourself? If word gets out, your reputation will surely plummet."

Subaru Natsuki is very good at being a scoundrel, and he even used his reputation to bind Priscilla.

I have to say, he succeeded.

The girl's pride wouldn't allow her to break the promise, so she decisively chose to keep it.

but--

"Al, just go and help them as an assistant."

"Hey—Your Highness, that's the White Whale and the Witch Cult! Am I really being sent to my death?"

"Shut up! Just do as I say!"

"Yes, yes, I know."

After a brief complaint, Al agreed to Priscilla's unreasonable demands.

Then he raised his one arm to the two of them, spread his hands helplessly, and said, "I'll have to take care of you from now on, brothers."

"Ah, please take care of me, brother."

Natsuki Subaru wore an excited smile.

Although he was kicked out last time, Al kindly handed him over to Rem, who was beaten black and blue, so he had a good impression of his senior from the modern world.

"Hey, wait."

After his initial excitement, Subaru Natsuki froze, instinctively asking, "Where are the others? Is it just Al?"

"What, isn't Al enough?"

"Well..."

Kurshu prepared over a hundred soldiers, and Anastasia even dispatched her own mercenary group. However, Priscilla only had one one-armed, helmeted hunk—wasn't that a bit stingy?

"You two, don't misunderstand."

Noticing Subaru's disdainful gaze, Priscilla closed her fan, puffed out her chest, and said, "The wager is that I will send people to help, but I didn't say how many people or who I would send. Since you've already asked Al to help, you should be grateful for my great kindness."

"But……"

In Natsuki Subaru's view, Al's strength is unknown.

But since he's also a modern time traveler like him, and he's only one arm, he probably isn't much stronger.

"Why do I feel slighted? But what you said isn't wrong."

Al sighed deeply.

"Still not enough?"

"Ah, it would be even better if Lady Priscilla could send more people."

"In that case, I'll go with you."

"……what?"

Subaru Natsuki was stunned, while Priscilla's lips curled up as if she were plotting something.

Chapter 384 What does the witch's inability have to do with my goddess?

No matter the extent to which it is to be done, once the word "punishment" is added, there will be a clear purpose, and the actions will become more efficient.

As promised, Anastasia traveled to the capital to collect as many weapons and items as possible, while Kurshu also gathered a pre-prepared expedition team.

Moreover, with the help of the dragon carts that transport people and materials, there is no free time at all.

"I see. Is that why it's so difficult to return to the Earl's territory?"

Natsuki Subaru gazed at the large number of people and objects entering and leaving the house, pondering the things that had happened in previous cycles that he was unaware of.

It seems that even in the earlier cycles of his reincarnation, Kursh and Wilhelm were preparing to fight the white whale.

Now that we've noticed it, we can't just sit idly by.

"Even I have things I can do... It's not appropriate to say such things now."

My offer to help was thwarted by the chaotic atmosphere.

He lacks self-confidence.

Because they now understand that acting on their own will cause trouble for others, they have become hesitant and restrained.

"This isn't like you, Natsuki-kun."

"Xiao Lin?"

"Shouldn't you be the type to forcefully get involved regardless of good or bad, or other people's feelings?"

"Am I really that bad?... Hey, could I really be that bad?"

The boy was unaware of his excessive behavior.

His idea is also very simple.

The incident was caused by him. While others were preparing for the battle, he stood aside and silently waited for the outcome. That seemed too strange.

"But neither the preparation of supplies nor the organization of the expeditionary force are things that you, Natsuki-kun, are good at. You wouldn't be able to help anyway."

"That's true, but... wait, given the atmosphere just now, Kobayashi, weren't you here to comfort me? Why did you suddenly change your tune?"

"I'm sorry, but considering your incompetence, I think it's better not to comfort you."

"why is it like this?!"

Kobayashi rubbed his ears in protest against the sudden scream, while Natsuki Subaru bowed to apologize to everyone who had stopped what they were doing for his earlier actions.

"Wait, what happened, meow~"

Just then, cheerful sounds came from behind.

A cat-eared man walked over.

Upon seeing him, Natsuki Subaru feigned aggrieved tears and complained, "Listen to me, Phyllis, Kobayashi actually said I'm not suitable to help. Don't you think that's going too far?"

"Hmm... Kobayashi is right, Subaru always manages to inconvenience everyone's work unintentionally."

"Don't say it's an obstacle, it's an attempt to help!"

Phyllis just stuck out her tongue cutely at his complaint, showing no remorse whatsoever, even though he was telling the truth.

"Neither of you can read the room."

"It's not up to Natsuki-kun to say that."

"That's right, meow~"

The three of them were roasting each other.

After a brief eye contact, they exchanged a knowing smile.

"However, Subaru has already done his job, meow."

Under Subaru's puzzled gaze, Phyllis smiled contentedly and said, "Challenging the Royal Selection and fighting the White Whale are both examples. Actually, we're not all doing this for Lord Crusch alone; it's someone doing it for everyone."

Clearly, he was referring to Courthy.

"The extermination of the white whale was Wilhelm's long-cherished wish, because when his wife was killed by the white whale, the old man seemed not to be by her side. In order to avenge her, Wilhelm frantically chased after the white whale's footsteps. Only then did he find the location where the white whale appeared, which was recorded, in an unpredictable future like a fog. He even went to great lengths to verify various hypotheses, and finally grasped something that seemed to be a law."

Even though Phyllis's tone was light and casual, one could still sense the emotions hidden in her words.

As a fearsome creature of the Mist, it is an existence that no one understands, a powerful enemy whose entire ecosystem is completely unknown.

The old swordsman, his eyes bloodshot as he studied books and documents, had spent countless nights burning with vengeance. Alone, he relentlessly pursued that being and struggled against his will.

A deeply moving obsession.

"But after finally understanding the situation, no one listened to a word of it."

Even if an obsession bears fruit, it is still insufficient to persuade others.

Subaru Natsuki was acutely aware of the despair that arose from the feeling of powerlessness he experienced when he wanted to avenge his enemies but couldn't even reach the feet of the object of his hatred.

Because the sin of weakness will never forgive itself.

He seemed to have been abandoned by everything, and even considered challenging the beluga whale alone.

It's more shameful not to have fought at all than to be unable to win.

That's what Wilhelm thought, right?

"Phyllis".

"Meow?!"