Subaru Natsuki, who returned from the new Three Kingdoms

Isn't it for interrogation?

What is this guy thinking?

It was as if I had encountered something incomprehensible and indescribable.

Capela's brain was completely overloaded on the spot.

Did Natsuki Subaru untie Erza's hands and drink alcohol because he wanted to fight her again while she was drunk?

How can we defeat Elsa head-on and wash away the shame of losing an arm?

Capela could only think of this one possibility.

Throughout her long life, she has encountered quite a few people of this type.

Most of them were knights who considered themselves chaste and elegant.

If they lose to someone, they will either give up their identity as knights or they will choose to keep trying to get revenge until they win.

So Subaru Natsuki deliberately brought Rem along so that he could save him if they couldn't win?

This kind of knightly mentality of acting passionately for the sake of passion...

But this guy doesn't seem to want to be a knight at all.

Capela's gaze toward Subaru Natsuki held a hint of confusion.

Elsa couldn't understand it either.

She looked into Subaru Natsuki's eyes once more.

Those eyes were also looking at her.

Natsuki Subaru's gaze swept over her purple wrists and then fell on the wounds left by Ram.

His eyes held neither the smugness of a victor looking at a prisoner, nor the satisfaction of about to take revenge.

I only feel heartache.

He was still feeling sorry for her.

The string in Elsa's heart, which had just been gently touched, began to vibrate once more.

This time, she could no longer convince herself that this was just a bad cop act.

Chapter 49: 049. The Divine Intent of Wine

Natsuki Subaru suddenly reached behind his waist and took out the sake bottle he had brought into the dungeon earlier.

He held the bottle between his right arm and body, bit the cork with his teeth, and pulled hard.

With a pop, the cork flew off.

The rich aroma of wine immediately dispelled the stench of blood in the dungeon.

Subaru Natsuki's eyes lit up immediately.

He eagerly tilted his head back and took a big gulp from the bottle.

The spicy liquor burned down my throat and into my stomach.

Natsuki Subaru narrowed his eyes, his shoulders completely relaxed, and an almost intoxicated expression appeared on his face.

"ha--!"

He exhaled a long breath of alcohol, as if he had finally broken free from some invisible constraint.

"happy!"

"After holding back for so long, I can finally drink again!"

Natsuki Subaru looked down at the bottle in his hand, his eyes filled with a warm feeling as if he were seeing a long-lost friend.

Elsa was also looking at the bottle.

Her gaze moved from Subaru Natsuki's empty left sleeve to the sake bottle, and then slowly settled on his relaxed brows and eyes, which were beaming with joy.

Her fingers twitched slightly.

She still had a smile on her face, but her eyes were much more complicated than before.

"Brother."

"Ok?"

"Did you really come here just to have a drink with me?"

"of course."

Subaru Natsuki answered without hesitation.

"Wine is the best thing in the world. It can warm you when you're cold, embolden you when you're afraid, and relieve your sorrow when you're bitter."

"Enemies can forgive each other with a cup of wine; heroes can confide in each other with a cup of wine."

"Without wine, who will slay Hua Xiong? Without wine, how will the heroes of the world meet?"

Natsuki Subaru became more and more excited as he spoke, and handed the bottle of wine to Elsa.

"As the saying goes, a thousand cups of wine are not enough when drinking with a bosom friend; wine is like an old hero, the more you drink, the more courageous you become!"

"Come, heroine, change to a larger cup!"

Upon hearing Subaru's words, Capella looked at the bottle of liquor being handed to Elsa, his eyes trembling slightly.

Did she really think about all that just now?

They even considered the possibility of chivalry?

It turned out he really just wanted to drink.

What happened to the interrogation we were promised?

What happened to the promise to avenge the humiliation and the loss of his arm?

What's wrong with this man?

Elsa quietly watched Subaru Natsuki.

She doesn't actually like drinking.

The first time she secretly drank it as a child, the pungent taste made her cough for a long time. Even after becoming an assassin, she rarely touched anything that could slow down her reactions.

But this time, she reached out and took the bottle.

The bottle was already at her lips, but she hesitated to take the first sip.

The pungent smell of alcohol kept penetrating my nostrils, bringing back those unpleasant memories.

Natsuki Subaru waited for a moment, then his brows gradually furrowed.

As a hero, how can you be so hesitant and indecisive when it comes to alcohol?

Could it be that I misjudged her, and that Elsa isn't actually a hero?

Subaru Natsuki took another careful look at Elsa.

Just then, he finally noticed Elsa's clothes.

She wasn't wearing much clothing to begin with, and large expanses of her snow-white abdomen and chest were completely exposed.

The only cover we had was now completely shattered after yesterday's battle and Ram's interrogation.

Those places that should have been covered up were gradually revealed as she raised the wine bottle.

Natsuki Subaru's expression immediately turned awkward.

"Ah, I see... I see."

"I apologize, it's a pleasure to meet you all. I was so focused on drinking that I forgot all about manners."

He quickly looked away, and with some effort, he took off his coat with his right hand, then blushed and handed it to Elsa.

"Put this on first."

"Even though I, Natsuki Subaru, am missing an arm, I cannot let the heroes of the world say that I take advantage of others under the guise of drinking."

Elsa instinctively took the coat and draped it over her shoulders.

The warmth of Subaru Natsuki still lingered on her clothes.

The temperature wasn't high, but it was warmer than the intestines that had been poured on her years ago, making her instinctively tense up.

Elsa looked down at her coat, then at the bottle of wine in her hand.

She looked up again.

Subaru Natsuki is still waiting.

Elsa finally brought the bottle to her lips and took her first sip.

The spicy liquor flowed down her throat, and her brows furrowed slightly.

It still has that unpleasant taste from my memory.

But this time, Elsa did not put down the bottle.

She glanced again at the coat draped over her shoulders and at Subaru's expectant gaze, then tilted her head back and took a big gulp of water.

One mouthful.

Another bite.

She only put down the bottle when the wine dripped down her chin.

"it is good!"

Natsuki Subaru was overjoyed.

"This is the spirit a female hero should have!"

He took back the bottle, completely disregarding the fact that Elsa had just used it, and tilted his head back to continue chugging it down.

The wine bottle was passed back and forth between the two of them.

After several rounds, Subaru Natsuki's face was visibly red.

He took another sip, and then, as if finally remembering that there was someone else beside him, he turned to look at Capella disguised as "Rem".

"Rem, would you like some too?"

"No need."

Capela coldly refused.

As she watched Subaru and Elsa share a bottle of liquor without any apparent barrier, her irritation grew stronger.

Deliberately intending to incite conflict between Subaru and Erza, she spoke in a sarcastic tone:

"Did Subaru just forgive her like that?"

Capela deliberately spoke in Rem's voice:

"She cut off Subaru's arm and nearly killed Subaru and Rem. Subaru forgiving her so easily will only make Rem despise you."

Normally, Subaru Natsuki would never speak to a servant of high status in a disrespectful tone.

But at this moment, the effects of the alcohol had already reached his head, and his usual restraints gradually disappeared.

Natsuki Subaru, holding the sake bottle, frowned immediately.

"How dare you! I am the dignified General of Chariots and Cavalry! Do you think I deserve your respect?!"

Capela's cold smile froze for a moment.

"Heroes cherish heroes! My army and the heroine fought for our respective lords. She used her skill to cut off my hand, and I used my skill to throw her into the dungeon. This score is settled long ago!"

Natsuki Subaru raised his empty left sleeve and waved it nonchalantly.

"It's just an arm~ Just pretend I never had any of these!"

Elsa stared blankly at Subaru Natsuki.

Natsuki Subaru said these words without being forced or feigning arrogance.

He genuinely didn't care about the arm she had cut off, and he truly didn't resent her for it.

The dungeon, instruments of torture, and firelight in Elsa's eyes seemed to gradually recede into the distance.