"If that's the case, I'm afraid your side alone won't be up to the task. It would take two or three sides participating for once. Julius, will Anastasia let you join us to form a coalition?  is to kill the Hakugei!”  I ask the purple-haired knight.

"Of course, we will certainly participate if it comes to defeating a Great Mabeast. I will ask Lady Anastasia to send me to help deal with this threat. We will also recruit more capable knights into our ranks to assist us  in battle. After all, we can't be caught off guard."

I like calm and thoughtful people like him.  I'm glad I didn't resent this one.  Even here I am the third most powerful in this world, the best remain those which are won without a fight.

"It is encouraging to see your enthusiasm for this operation, Julius. We will count on you to assist us in this battle. Your help will be essential to ensure our victory."

She seems delighted that he is there.  It's a good sign.

"Of course! It would be my honor to help you with this. We will ensure victory in this battle! We will not allow a Great Mabeast to run rampant and ravage our city... I look forward to our collaboration.  "  He concludes then leaves to join Anastasia who is observing me;  creepy.

I don't know about you but even with the group we have, we don't stand a chance and by we I mean the group.  Even if there are interesting individuals like the retired grandpa, the healer cat, the Führer, and chivalry personified, with me that makes 5 important members.  If we add Emilia, Rem, and Ram, that's eight important members.  In addition to soldiers.  Now that I think about it...

"Crusch Karsten, I think we need to think about a strategy with the eight important members who will be there. As for the soldiers, I will trust your leadership."

"Thank you for your trust, Louis. I agree that all eight of us need to talk about our battle strategy. This will allow us to work together more effectively and give us a better chance of defeating our enemy."

Later, Emilia and I return to the mansion together.  Although first we greeted Felt and Reinhard, finally I greeted these two.  Even though we are now only adversaries, our budding friendship remains intact.  And I will do what it takes to preserve it, including this future alliance between Emilia's camp and Crusch's camp.  The half-elf nevertheless stops me for a moment to speak to me.

*
*   *

Lugnica Castle
Emilia's point of view

"Louis, wait a moment! Before you leave, I wanted to ask you something."

“Yes, Emilia?”

"It's about this strange feeling I heard while listening to the candidates speak during the meeting. It's a feeling I got while listening to Priscilla, Anastasia, and Felt. Do you think you might know  what it is ?"

"Let's see... Oh, I know!"

"Is it true? Can you tell me what it is?"

"Of course! I thought I recognized at least one of the....."

Louis confirms what I felt.  I feel a chill on my skin.  A thrill I haven't felt in 400 years.  Those "feelings" or rather that "feeling" that I felt when Priscilla and Anastasia were talking... I know what it is.  I can't help but tremble inside.  I must continue to monitor the results... However, I would like to congratulate her on her intervention.  Besides....

"Yes, I know, Priscilla's face must have been priceless when, because of your intervention, she received a death glare from you! And, on top of that, you stood up for Felt and showed your  support for Reinhard's position, proving that a knight's word carries weight. In short, we gave a very good impression of ourselves at the meeting!*"

"I hope that's enough. All we have to do now is wait."

"I hope so too."

"Well, it was a productive day, to put it mildly. How about we go and calm our nerves at the Manor with our friends? After all, it's time to party! We need to celebrate  our successes. and forget the speech for a while."

"Yes, that's a great idea! You have to have fun. Then, when the right time comes, we will face the results with a smile on our faces and hope in our hearts."

"Speaking of which, Emilia, there is something very important I want to talk to you about. Let's go to the mansion for it."

"Louis, I have no idea what this is, but I'm a little intrigued now. I'm all ears!"

I enter the Manor with Louis.  What could be so important that Louis would want to talk about it internally?  Louis is a knight, which means that if he has something to say, it's probably of great importance.  At least that's what I think.

*
*     *

Roswaal Manor
Meeting room
Louis' point of view

"Good evening everyone!  Thanks to Roswaal for calling this meeting.  First of all, I would like to thank Emilia for her registration and her speech at the capital.  Next, I would like to inform you that Camp Crusch with its leader is  came to see me to form a group with us, Julius from Camp Anastasia also being part of it.  The reason is very simple: Hakugei, one of the three Great Mabeasts created by the witch of gluttony: Daphne.  And the goal is to  destroy it."

"Ah, if that's the case, it won't be difficult.  I've dealt with this once before.  All I have to do is repeat the method and Hakugei will become food for the worms."  Roswaal says confidently.

"Are you suggesting anything?  I imagine Rem and Ram will be there as well as Emilia and I while you stay at the mansion.  As your strategist, I'll let you continue."

"Hmm...if I had to give any advice, it would be this one word: Grin.  No matter what happens, you must never let your spirit be broken!  Never falter before the Great Beast and keep fighting! Hakugei  is the most dangerous of the Big Three Mabeasts, so we must end all hesitation and strike quickly and decisively!”

"I have faith in Roswaal-sama's abilities, so I will keep my sword at his side to protect him.  We will win this fight!"  Ram responds, a tender look towards him.

"I also have faith in Roswaal-sama's plan!  We will defeat the Great Hakugei and bring him down together!"  Rem adds.

"And I add: let's be extremely careful with its mist!  Emilia, Rem and Ram!  This mist erases our names and our memories in this story."  I inform them.

"That's right, you need to stay away from this mist.  If you breathe even a little bit of it, your memories will be erased from this world."  Roswaal confirms.

"Thank you for letting me know before I get involved.  I will be careful and keep my distance from this mist."  Emilia replies.

"Is there any way to protect yourself from this mist?  I feel like even breathing, even just a little bit, will cause harm."  Ram inquires.

"There isn't any, so it's essential to stay away from it.  You shouldn't go near the mist."  Rem informs him.

"For now, I know a spell to protect everyone from this.  However, it wouldn't be wise for the other two sides to know about it unless it's an extreme emergency."

This technique nevertheless remains for single use per day.  And then, its destructive force risks razing the forest.  So I have to be careful.  Roswaal speaks again:

"It's good that you have this spell at your disposal.  Let's only keep it when it is truly necessary. I will take my leave for now.  I will prepare before I go into battle.  Do not hesitate to contact me  in case of emergency."

“Stay safe, Roswaal-sama!”  The girls beg him.

I don't know why but I have a very bad feeling,  as if what is going to happen will just end in the death of all the participants, except Roswaal who will remain in the mansion, everyone except me.

The meeting is over, so I wait for the others to go about their business before going to Roswaal's office and knocking, before entering.

He and I come face to face a second time.  The first one went badly because that idiot sent a hitwoman to kill me.  Now that I find myself face to face with him, I feel like I'm seeing Echidna face to face again.  If I sometimes hate his habits, and therefore those of Roswaal since he is his student who possesses the bodies of his descendants from generation to generation, I don't know... I don't feel any anger towards them now.  They really make me feel sorry.

"Roswaal, what does the Gospel tell you? I guess everyone is going to die except me, right?"

"Well, it's true that I actually sent Elsa to kill you, because it's all written in my gospel... the gospel... that if the prophecy that you will be the one to prevent this  comes true, the only way to do it is for me... to kill everyone except you and of course... to kill even my dear Rem and Ram!  It's not my fault, even if  I don’t want it to be… it’s all written on the gospel!”

"I know.  Just like you, I have known how the book of wisdom works. " I think, "If I can thwart your gospel a second time, and everyone is alive, we'll talk about it again."

"I indeed also hope that you can help me prove that the gospel is not an absolute truth, I do not want to kill everyone except you and my two dear maids who are Rem and Ram, so yes  , hope you can prove that the gospel is not an absolute truth.”

"You know me. I am Iluso Magician Omni Terrera, the human who almost beat Satella"

"Ahh yes, I know you and I am in awe of your skills and abilities that can even almost rival the witch of envy herself!  I hope we can defeat this gospel once again to give another  chance for everyone else to live and to give me another chance to revive Miss Echidna too!”

I greet him and leave.  I won't let anyone die.  Person.

"Oh Louis, one last thing before you leave, remember that when you change the future, you will give everyone, including me, another chance to revive Miss Echidna, right? S'  Please do this for her at least!”

"...I will unless Echidna herself refuses my help"

"W-what?  You would refuse to resurrect the witch who blessed me?  The one who gave me a better future, a better life?  Who helped me in every way possible?  You would deny Miss Echidna this second chance  to live again after everything she helped me?"

"I didn't say that. But if Echidna absolutely refuses to let us do this, how will she react if we go against her wishes?"

"You're right, it would be bad if Echidna refused resurrection, but I'm pretty sure she'll want that second chance to be alive again, her life was tragic and she deserves to be happy and loved but I  would never do it.  force her to do anything if she refuses CPR!”

"There you go. As long as she doesn't refuse to come back, I'll help her."

"So I trust you Louis, please do this for me for Miss Echidna's sake, I have to revive her!"

I leave his office, between resolution and calm in view of what he will follow.  Indeed the next destination becomes the forbidden library.  Normally, an old friend would be there.  This is a great spirit, artificially created by Echidna, but above all the spirit with whom I made a contract 400 years ago.  She was looking for "The One" she will stay with for life, and turns out I am.  Unfortunately, my fight followed by my death against Satella separated us.  I hope she won't blame me.  I offer the game, when this girl in a pink dress, pink stockings and yellow hair faces me.  I swallow, fearing his wrath.  Shit !

"...."

"Beatrice, it's me, your contractor, the person, Iluso Magician Omni Terrera. Sorry about 400 years ago. I missed you so much"

"Hmmph, I knew you wouldn't have died, actually.  You never cared about me that much, I guess.  Why should I care about your feelings either?  Besides, I don't know anyone who would cry  about your disappearance , in fact."

Ouch!  I know you're very harsh with your words but this is completely free!

"I never cared about you? But that's absolutely not true. Yes I have faults but not caring about anyone is not one of them"

"You keep saying that, but your actions speak louder than words, you know.  What did you do for me when I died?  Do you honestly think you're the type of person who would come back for me?  You  probably wouldn't even know if I was dead or not, I guess.  No one would have warned you anyway , in fact."

But you are a spirit!  How could you die?  Okay, I'm going to calm down otherwise it's going to go far.  I insert then exhale before responding:

"I incarnated 18 years ago, in another world with no possibility of return.  And before that, I couldn't do anything between the time of my death and that of my incarnation.  Satella had to bring me back here by force.  "

However, she rejects them outright:

"Always excuses.  You say you care, and yet you don't even want to know what I've been doing for 400 years.  Do you think your apology will be enough for me to forgive your negligence?  I'm dead waiting  for you to come back and revive me, and that's all you have to say for yourself, I suppose.  I knew it was a mistake to trust you , i suppose , Louis."

My heart breaks after these words.  I can barely stand up.  Bitterness begins to overwhelm me:

"Too bad you think like that.  I tried my best and unfortunately I didn't succeed and I lost your trust.  Okay, I'll stop bothering you.  Take care of yourself!"

I leave with these words, convinced that I have lost him.  Except before I walk through the door...

"...Louis, wait..."

I keep my hand on my fist, stopping my movement.

"...You can come back to me anytime, Louis-chan.  I'm sorry for being hard on you, I guess.  I was just... upset, I suppose.  I'm sorry for having you  blamed for what happened when it was Satella's fault.  If you didn't care about me so much, you wouldn't feel bad 400 years later, would you?  So why don't you go back-  aren’t you home now so we can make amends, Louis-chan?”

I stay for two minutes to think and then end up making a decision:

"I'll be back"

The spirit's eyes widen in surprise.

"You will?  Louis-chan...?"

“Yes I will, Betty.”

"Louis-chan...welcome back."  She kisses me hard and buries her head in his chest, crying.

I hug her and stroke her hair, crying: “I’m sorry….”

After the reunion between me and Beatrice, I decide to isolate myself in my room, sealing the entrance with Goa and Jiwald at the same time.  And no, it's not about study or meditation this time;  It brings back memories... I shake my head then stare at the ceiling.  The curtains blocking the sunlight, I remain in total darkness....

Where do I start?  Already, my presence as a knight almost proved a catastrophe... My intervention against Priscilla almost unmasked me.  And my speech... That's something that I still keep despite my 440 years of existence.  And yes, I died at 22, a year after reaching the age of majority in Ivory Coast.  Hehehe...

It's sad... If only I were stronger.  Of course, I don't want to become stronger than Reinhard but I would have liked to solve the Satella problem by myself.  And now he must have a cult that dares to pray to her: The Witch Cult, right?

And unfortunately Emilia, Rem, Ram, Crusch, Julius, Willehm, and Felix will die and it's because I won't be powerful enough!  I can't play someone else, my favorite magic, Jiwald, can't resurrect the dead, and even if I'm the fastest, I risk having my identity shattered.

"AAHHHHH! WHAT SHOULD I DO? WHAT SHOULD I DO TO SAVE THEM ALL?!"

I scream in despair to the point where I remember my face to face with Satella, alone, in a valley with descending water.  I remember telling him that taking off my Emperor's Cloak means it's over.  And obviously, that was the case for me.

"An idiot, arrogant, and stupid as always. Why did you stand in my way?"

"Because I wasn't going to let a crazy woman who absorbed an incompatible witch factor destroy everything. And that crazy woman is also my friend."

"You should have left while there's still time? Have you thought about the people you're leaving behind? It's always the same, you're just a complete idiot that I'm separating from. Goodbye!"

Grrrrr!  Satella, if I meet you again on my way, I will kill you, dismember you, eradicate you: immortality or not.  Suddenly, several hands appear to touch me so that I dodge except that it stops time and appears in front of me.

"Oh? Hello Louis!"

"You! You're coming back to haunt me again, huh? Not only did you kill me 400 years ago, but you brought me back here by force a week ago! What do you want from me this time?"

"It's me who should ask you what YOU expect from me, Louis. After all, you keep coming and going randomly, sometimes with a clear objective, sometimes to ask me questions, sometimes to criticize me, and now  to express your anger towards me.
And you never say thank you.  But I'll tell you this...I love you."

"This is better! Hypocrite, hypocrite, hypocrite! I wanted to help you and prevent you from absorbing the witch factor which was not compatible. I lived peacefully in Anoumanbo and you brought me back here from  strength. And now, what is your goal? Are you going to tell me who gave me the power to return to the past after my death to change things?"

"Louis, I'll tell you this. I don't want to be saved, I love you and I do things the way I want. Even if it means destroying a third of the world. So, can I ask you a little request?"

"Forget !"

"But if I say, “Please help me.” Will you? I'd like to see the Louis who helped me again, but this time I'd like to see him in his prime. Would you  help me, Louis?”

“I refuse. This Louis died at the same time 400 years ago”

"I see. So we are at an impasse. You see Louis, a witch factor that is not compatible with mine is inside my body and is corrupting it little by little. And since the witch factor cannot be  deleted, I will one day turn into a crazy woman who will destroy the world like Satella once did. You also know my abilities, I can't die, but I feel the corruption advancing. It's like I'm  trapped inside my body and I beg and beg for help. But you refuse. Why?"

"Louis, can't you do it just this once? I'm the Witch of Envy after all. I can do anything and everything. I can even resurrect you once again if you help me now.  "

"Go look elsewhere if I'm there! I offered you my help but you killed me, I finally decided to live a quiet life but you allow yourself to bring me back here without taking into account my opinions! You  ask me to help you?!”

"Yes, Louis. I need your help. So can't you reconsider and accept my request, just this once?"

"No"

"Louis, I beg you. I want to live. I beg you..."

I sigh.

“First answer one question: Why is a hand close to my heart?”

"Because I love you!"

Satella hugs me, but I can't help but shake because of Satella's hands gripping her heart.

"Get out of there...I need to know. Have you given me authority?"

"Yes I have! That's right, Louis, I gave you the power to come back through death. After all, I can't let anyone interfere with the person I love. So, now what are you going to do?  "Will you save the woman you love, even a witch like me?"

With this power, even if I fail, I can save everyone.  Satella's hands in Anoumanbo.  Could this be when she placed authority in me?  If that's the case then if I die, I may not be able to use incarnation to appear years later.

“You always put me in difficult situations, Satella!”

Besides, can I really trust her?  I close my eyes then think about Emilia, Crusch, Rem, Ram, Julius, Willehm, and Félix.

"Don't worry, Satella! I'll save you!"

Why am I crying?  Go away, Satella!  I don't want us to stay in front of her?

"You promise me ?"

"Yes, I will do my best until I can't..."

Don't stay near me!  For what ?  Why did you kill me?

“I never needed you!”

"SHUT UP !"

I take out a Jiwald blade and prepare to cut myself.

"Louis, there's no need to be so violent. You don't need to, you can count on me and my power, you know?"

"How can I trust you? How do I know if I won't be killed and forgotten by you again? And can you guarantee me that I can save everyone this time? The Witch Cult is still after  you, after all. How can I trust you? Can I be sure that they won't kill you and my friends?!"

"Louis, trust me. I have changed and I am now more aware of the consequences of my actions. I want to be saved, that is an undeniable truth. And you know it. You know what happens if the witch factor  persists too long in a woman. Louis, I won't kill you again. I will let you save me. I will let you save Emilia, Rem, Ram, Crusch, Julius, Willehm and Felix. I will be the Witch of Envy, but I  want to be yours too. I want to be with you so trust me Louis."

What can I do ?

"My best... I can always do my best. Whether it works or not, I will do my best! And whether it works or not I will always do my best until the end!"

Yes, that's exactly what I need to do!

I take a deep breath then sigh before clapping both hands and smiling at him with all my teeth.

"Okay, I accept!"

“Thank you, Louis.”

She can't help but smile back at me.  His hands grip his heart tighter, but it's a loving grip, not a hostile one.

“You’re so cool, Louis.”
She said with all her heart...

I don't know about you but more...nice.