Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World. Volume. 6.
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‘Chapter 2:- A PIG’S GREED.’
Sub-chapter 1.
“—I may not look it, but I am a surprisingly avid reader.”
The girl who spoke was sitting in an extravagant chair, resting one elbow upon it. She was flipping through an exquisitely bound book in her other arm, already perusing the latter half, and the sight made her seem different from the girl Subaru remembered.
She wore a long-sleeve red nightgown similar to a negligee with an identically colored cape draped over her shoulders. Her voluptuous body was plain to see in her outfit, but the girl showed no outward sign of concern that a man was present.
The girl was so natural, completely immersed in her book, that it was easy to forget she was in the middle of receiving a guest.
“—”
Subaru felt himself unintentionally taken in by the solemnity of her gestures. Her graceful white fingertip traced the characters as her eyes passed over them. The young man felt like he could watch her all day. Perhaps it was because this unknown side of the girl before him had enchanted him.
“—”
As Subaru stepped on the carpeted floor in his sneakers, he felt unsure of what to do now that he’d been ignored. He was wondering if he was permitted to enter, but the lady of the household was not paying him any attention. When he’d tried to forcefully begin a conversation, she’d rebuffed him at the first word.
Surely she wasn’t telling him to wait until she finished reading her book…
“That’s excessive no matter how you cut it…”
Though he tried to deny his unease, seeing her leisurely turn the pages made that difficult. In point of fact, Subaru knew that the girl’s personality was not incompatible with such irrationality.
Her hair was orange, reminiscent of the sun; her eyes were crimson, like a fire that would scorch away everything it touched. She had glossy white skin and a striking feminine figure. The thick perfume wafting around her was like poison. It was difficult for the word beautiful to sufficiently capture the sight of her as she silently examined her book.
How much favor must the heavens have shown her for her to be loved by all?
—Her name was Priscilla Bariel.
She was one of the candidates for the royal selection, as well as the next prospective cooperator Subaru sought an audience with.
Sub-chapter 2.
Subaru’s shoulders sank when he learned Reinhard was absent from the royal capital—a fact he’d confirmed after departing from the Crusch compound and while Rem was securing an inn. Reinhard was the last one Subaru had hoped to rely on.
An elderly couple inhabited the villa in the capital set aside for the Astrea family and had been charged with its care. When Subaru arrived without any forewarning, the two had welcomed him in and lent an ear to his request, but…
“The young master returned to the main household with his liege, Lady Felt, and her family some two days ago. We can offer contact with him from our side, but…”
Just as he’d mentioned during his visit to the Crusch residence, Reinhard had left. Even though he remembered what Reinhard had said, Subaru had still clung to a slender thread of hope, but his pleas went unanswered.
Even if he could reach Reinhard somehow, the distance from the royal capital to the main household of the Astrea family, and from there, the distance to the Mathers lands, was fatal. The odds of him joining their forces in time were despairingly low.
Subaru said his farewells to the elderly couple. Then, once he was out of sight of the mansion, he clutched his head.
“Roswaal and Reinhard are seriously useless, and right when I really need ’em, too…!”
This time, everything was going wrong. One prospective collaborator fell through after another, leaving Subaru truly at the end of his rope.
If only his Return by Death restore point brought him back to the night when he’d parted ways with Reinhard—
“If you don’t have it, you don’t have it… Think, think, think, think. I don’t have strength, numbers, time—anything. Racking my brain is the only thing I can do.”
Desperately turning the gears in his head, Subaru earnestly fought to come up with the next best plan of action.
Now that he’d scratched Crusch and Reinhard off the list, Subaru had scant few cards left in his hand to pick from. Considering the circumstances, pleading with the Knights of the kingdom would no doubt produce the same results as his negotiation with Crusch. Besides, Subaru felt nothing but mistrust toward them.
—At the very least, now that Crusch, someone he thought he had a good relationship with, had abandoned him, a storm of paranoia toward others brewed inside Subaru.
Not even realizing how this was narrowing his already limited options, Subaru could think of only two other people. However, one meant bowing his head to “The Finest of Knights,” someone he hated more than the Knights in general, which was unthinkable.
That left Subaru with a single candidate.
Rem caught up finally. Seeing Subaru deep in thought, she called out to him.
“Subaru, what should we do now? I—”
“It’s all right. Leave it to me. You don’t have to do anything. Don’t…do anything. Just stay right behind me. That’s enough.”
After that interruption, Rem turned a frail smile toward Subaru as he continued thinking to himself.
—I absolutely have to stop Rem from bearing the brunt of everything.
Subaru knew that if it was to save him, Rem wouldn’t hesitate to hurl herself at danger and cast her life away. He had to protect her, no matter what.
Subaru was certain that she was emotionally dependent on him, and it was his duty to save her.
Whatever might happen, he had to avoid losing her. There was no other option. If he couldn’t protect Rem, saving Emilia and the villagers would lose all meaning. Even indulging his hatred of Petelgeuse would be—
“Wait, that’s…”
Subaru touched his temple as an exceedingly violent thought instantly came to mind.
Just then, it had almost seemed as if eliminating Petelgeuse was a higher priority than saving Emilia and the others. Wasn’t that exactly the thing Crusch had pointed out earlier…?
“It’s all right. Everything’s all right. I’ll…get this right. I’m gonna do it. I…gotta do it.”
Subaru reassured himself, seemingly speaking for his own benefit. He ruminated on those words and pretended he had noticed nothing, as if he were putting a lid on top of a bottomless pit.
This was the only way Subaru Natsuki could maintain his own sanity.
Sub-chapter 3.
The next morning, as dawn broke, the two returned to the Nobles’ District to follow the slender thread that bore Subaru’s remaining hopes.
The Nobles’ District on the upper section of the royal capital was lined with dazzling buildings. The showy facade of the stately mansion Subaru and Rem arrived at did not betray their expectations.
No, it was more appropriate to say that it was showier and more extravagant than they had imagined.
“No need to ask around for who this belongs to. I can’t imagine anyone would have a hard time figuring out the owner of this place…”
Subaru was nonplussed. The sight of the luxurious mansion was not one he’d soon forget, even from afar. The roof was painted over with gold that cast the light of the morning sun in all directions, while a number of intricate images had been engraved into the walls. As far as he could see, there were even reliefs adorning the windows, and a number of statues he could only call avant-garde art dotted the courtyard.
The home was an acute reflection of the tastes of a big spender. Subaru couldn’t help a dry smile when he considered how the spectacle so aggressively asserted the owner’s will.
As Subaru was rooted to the spot in front of the gates, Rem stood beside him with a dumbfounded expression on her face for once. If the point of the building’s outward appearance was to give guests a shock, it had accomplished its goal ten times over.
“You’re not gonna tell me this was the previous owner’s style, are you? I feel sorry for him.”
“Ahhhh, well actually this is the Princess’s tastes at work. It was a pretty extreme makeover, you know? I sympathize with the folks who worked straight through the night, but she slapped their cheeks with sacks of gold coins so they couldn’t complain.”
“Hey, that’s completely different from slapping people around with a wad of bills. Whacking people with a bag of coins would totally count as actual violence.”
The man standing on the other side of the gate laughed at Subaru’s joke. The man slid his thick fingers into the gap between his black helmet and his neck and scratched.
Below his pitch-black full helm, the gateman was dressed roughly, like some kind of bandit. Though he made for an odd sight in general, what stood out most had to be the fact that he was missing his left arm from the shoulder down.
This casual one-armed man who concealed his face named Al served as the retainer of the woman Subaru had come to see. Calling himself a mercenary, he was similar to Subaru, summoned from the same world. That was the basis for the strange rapport between them, as well as the reason for Al’s friendliness upon their early morning visit.
“So what are you doing out here at a time like this? As you can see, I have low blood pressure, so I’m seriously not a morning person. If you’re inviting me to go hunting for a bite or something, I might not be completely up for it.”
“Nothing so tame as a family restaurant. Today, I’m here to speak with your Princess.”
“Princess…?”
Unable to see the expression behind the helmet, he had no idea how Al was looking at him at that moment. An unpleasant pause followed as the one-armed man seemed to mull it over.
“Well, I did get to recharge my supply of maid energy, so I guess I can take a message.”
“That was more meaningless than I expected. Besides, it’s not like you don’t have any maids in this mansion, right?”
“Hey now, you don’t understand Princess. You think we can have maids waltzing around when Princess thinks she’s the cutest in the whole world? The only thing we have in the mansion is a cute young butler.”
“My fault for asking… It might lower the value some, but yeah, can you pass on a message for starters?”
“Sure thing,” answered Al in a casual voice, leisurely vanishing back inside the mansion.
Rem, standing to the side and a single step behind him, maintained her silence as her neutral expression tightened. But through her fingertips, lightly grasping his sleeve, he could sense the worry she couldn’t hide. Subaru wanted to wipe away her concerns, but that wasn’t possible when he harbored the same ones.
“Well, it is ridiculously early in the morning… In that girl’s case, I’d expect her to say something like, ‘You are interfering with my precious time for slee—’”
“Hey, you can come in and meet her!”
Al poked his head out from the mansion’s entrance, his laid-back voice interrupting Subaru’s barb.
For a moment, Subaru was taken aback at the unexpected speed of the reply.
“I-isn’t it insanely early, though?”
“You wouldn’t expect it, but Princess is one hell of a morning person. The flip side is that she goes to bed really early at night. Either way, come on in.”
Al laughed at Subaru’s hesitation and invited them inside with a carefree demeanor. As they followed behind him, it soon became clear that the building’s interior was similarly intense to the exterior.
Even an untrained eye could tell. Expensive-looking fixtures and pieces of art were on display in the corridor, almost to the point of impeding movement. The apparently compulsive need to adorn even lamps and picture frames with gold felt like a form of insanity.
“I suppose it’s all a little blinding at first, but you get used to it. It’s not as bad in the morning like this, but the halls are seriously scary at night.”
“I’m not a little kid, so you don’t have to tell me the halls are scary at night. What kind of adult are you?”
“The eyes of the statues glow.”
“Your master’s messed up in the head.”
When Subaru examined the statues lining the hallway more closely, he noticed they had something like gemstones embedded in their eye sockets. They probably would glow when it got dark. Both purchaser and designer had a screw loose.
Rem followed behind both of them, and he could hear noises coming from her nose every so often. Rem had a keen sense of smell, and she’d apparently picked up some kind of unsavory scent, staring at the back of the iron helm as they walked along.
The trek of the mismatched trio soon came to an end.
“Princess is in the top room up there. The whole floor’s one really decked-out room.”
“Sounds kinda like a hotel suite. Can we go in?”
“Well, you can, bro.”
Al’s reply contained a clear implication when he approached the stairs and indicated the floor above with his thumb. At the unsettling undertone, Subaru shifted a guarded look his way.
“Hey now, I’m not saying it to be mean. Princess said she’d only meet with you. The young lady’ll be escorted to the guest room.”
“You think I’ll just hand her over when you were talking about recharging your maid energy earlier…?”
“You got me there, but don’t worry, I’ll be waiting right here in front of Princess’s room. It’s a pity, but I’ll leave escorting the young lady to my senior, Schult.”
Anticipating Subaru’s concerns, Al’s voice suggested he was barely restraining his laughter when he snapped his fingers. Immediately, a young man with curly pink hair and red eyes appeared. The only words Subaru could think of to capture the youth’s essence were pretty boy. His small frame was dressed in a butler’s outfit, while his face showed a stern, fervent devotion to his duties, but somehow, he gave off the impression of a pervert.
“Take good care of our guest, now.”
“Yes, leave it to me.”
When Al gave the youth a pat on the shoulder, the pretty-boy butler offered a formal reply and proceeded to escort Rem. Instantly, she glanced back at Subaru, seemingly at a loss.
“Sorry. Wait up for me until we’re finished talking. All the dangerous people in this mansion, Helmet Guy included, are gonna be on the top floor, so just relax and wait up.”
“That’s harsh, bro, making me out to be some suspicious guy. Though intruders do say that about me pretty often.”
Subaru ignored Al’s peevish reply and stroked Rem’s head to put her at ease. Rem almost closed her eyes like she was ticklish, bowing her head as she resigned herself to the inevitable.
Afterward, she gently drew close to him and whispered an additional word of caution.
“Understood—please be especially wary of that person.”
Rem’s eyes looked at Al for only a single moment. Apparently, he’d really set off her alarms.
“Mm, got it.”
Though Subaru truly wanted to believe in his amiable compatriot, Rem’s appraisal of his trustworthiness was more natural. Considering the back-and-forth at the Crusch residence, it was best to regard Priscilla’s people as opponents as well.
Subaru nodded and smiled. The pretty-boy butler led Rem along, vanishing down a corridor.
“Phew. Not bad, bro. I see she’s really sweet on you.”
“If you’re gonna do that, just do a proper whistle. Not that I can whistle with you.”
It wasn’t as though the weather was cold enough that it physically prevented anyone from whistling. For the most part, Subaru had bitter memories of how he’d tried and failed to learn to whistle since way back.
“Ah, no can do. Lips aren’t intact. I can’t manage a real whistle.”
“Th-that so. Sorry ’bout that.”
The answer was heavier than Subaru had expected, so he abandoned any thought of pursuing the matter.
“Well, it’s a pity to keep the young lady waiting like this, and Princess gets annoyed and scary if you make her sit around too long. Better head upstairs, pronto.”
“Short and sweet. Big help… Incidentally, what’s Priscilla’s mood like today?”
Since he was dealing with Priscilla, her current disposition would affect the results of any discussion to a rather frightening degree.
“Mm, I don’t think it’s particularly good or bad, so that means you really can’t go in expecting anything. Princess’s moods can change before, after, or during a conversation, and they can go up, down, left, right, or bounce all around the place. What she likes to talk about isn’t set in stone. You need to be good at ad-libbing to get by.”
“So a no-prep match… The worst kind for me.”
He climbed upstairs, slipped past a dancing hall, and came to a door—an exceedingly ornamented one.
“This is Princess’s way-too-big private room. She never calls me inside, so I’ll wait here while you go ahead.”
Ever relaxed, Al sat on the stairs leading up to the door. As he did so, he drew his curved broadsword from his back-of-the-hip sheath and laid it over his lap.
“She’s not in that bad a mood, is she? I don’t wanna get sliced to ribbons, and I’m tired of dealing with her when she’s unreasonable and in a temper.”
“…Sorry, but she’s dumped a lot of her unreasonable demands on me, too.”
After Al gave his petition a blunt reply, Subaru took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
Sub-chapter 4.
—And so, we return to the beginning of Subaru’s standoff with Priscilla.
After he entered, Subaru spotted Priscilla waiting for him at the far end. She sat in a chair positioned above some stairs, elegantly continuing to read, not acknowledging Subaru at all.
Without an opening line to get things started, Subaru’s bewilderment and nervousness only grew as time steadily pressed onward. That’s why when the sound of Priscilla’s book suddenly closing shut reverberated through the room, Subaru’s shoulders jumped in surprise.
“—Now, then.”
Subaru gritted his teeth a little, feeling like his weakness had been blatantly exposed. Priscilla, not looking like she cared one bit, stroked the cover of the closed volume as she made her remarks.
“’Twas a boring tale.”
“…You sure looked like you were into it, though.”
“When reading any book, it is proper to become immersed in the world between the pages and be able to state what was gained after finishing a tale. Only a fool would declare something boring without completing it.”
It seemed she was as avid a reader as the claims said. After declaring the foolishness of appraising unfinished books, Priscilla took the volume she had read in full and tossed it into the air without warning.
“—Ahh.”
Subaru watched, lost in bewilderment, as the soaring tome suddenly burst into flames. Scorched by the incredibly powerful fire, only black ashes remained dancing in the air.
“Now then, this is robbing me of my precious morning reading time. At the very least, have you brought me a tale to pique my interest more than that book?”
With a devious, crafty smile, Priscilla recrossed her lithe legs and pointed a white finger at Subaru. He felt as if the heat of her fingertip were pressing against his forehead when he willed his parched tongue to move.
“—It’s about Emilia, a royal selection candidate, same as you. I want you to lend me your strength so I can break her out of a tricky situation she’s in right now.”
“—”
Closing a single eye, Priscilla silently prodded Subaru to continue. Under her red gaze, completely unmoved, Subaru earnestly concentrated on the words he’d rehearsed.
And so, he laid out everything over the course of several minutes before reaching his conclusion.
“The Witch Cult…is it? …Hmph.”
Propping herself up on her elbow, Priscilla supported her head with her hand as her other hand slapped her knee. Having listened to the very end of the modified version of what he’d said at the Crusch mansion, she had murmured to herself with some deep-seated emotion before she closed her eyes.
“Yes, the Witch Cult. If no one does anything, they’re going to hurt an awful lot of people. Emilia won’t be the only casualty. I want to take them down before that happens. That’s why I need—”
“Hee-hee. Heh.”
“—?”
Abruptly, Priscilla leaned forward, her shoulders slightly trembling. Subaru’s brows rose at the small sound from her mouth, and Priscilla’s head snapped up.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha! Amusing! You are very amusing. I see, you’ve certainly swayed my heart more than that book. You must be incredibly talented to come up with a farce like this!”
Priscilla laughed and laughed, mocking Subaru. It was the howl of a fiendish, carnivorous beast. He instinctively understood that this was the kind of smile that a cat might wear while tormenting a mouse to death with its claw.
“…! What’s so funny?”
“That you do not understand makes it a true masterpiece. Tell me, do you actually fail to comprehend just how illogical your actions have been?”
Priscilla ran a finger through her orange hair, twirling it around as she giggled in amusement. Subaru remembered this manner of speaking, proclaiming the speaker had seen right through him. It was the same tone that Subaru had heard a number of times at the Crusch mansion. It was saying, You just don’t understand.
“I do not know if you simply have no one to rely upon, but going around informing the opposition of your own side’s weakness serves only your enemies’ interests. For us, seeing you lower your head and say, ‘We’re too weak and desperate, please help us,’ is a matter for celebration.”
Priscilla tapped her temple with a finger as she ridiculed Subaru’s desperate plea.
He’d considered the possibility that she would brush him off. But he hadn’t expected she would tear into him like this.
“Not caring about appearances is fine, but you have considered this too little—far too little. Aiding the enemy to help your own camp when it falls into crisis… Your behavior is that of a talentless employee. You are hopeless. Death would be far preferable.”
Priscilla rose from her chair while hurling insults without restraint, going down the stairs until arriving right in front of Subaru.
“Indeed—’twould be better if I severed your head myself.”
The next instant, Priscilla pulled a fan out from her cleavage, resting it upon the carotid artery on the right side of Subaru’s neck. He had seen neither her step nor the swing of her arm; only a master could pull off this move.
Even though the fan was not a bladed weapon, Subaru felt like it could lop off his head the instant it moved.
“You couldn’t even see it?”
Priscilla moved aside her fan, speaking as if Subaru’s unwitting gulp bored her.
“Not just foolish but slow as well. There’s no saving you… Though, to bear with such terrible treatment and still be thinking of your master—I admit such devotion is admirable. And so…”
Priscilla narrowed her eyes, audibly opening her fan and using it like a red curtain to conceal her own lips.
“Even I would have a bad taste in my mouth if I dismissed you with nothing but a laugh. Thus, I shall grant you an opportunity.”
“…A-an opportunity?”
“Yes, an opportunity. ‘This is your big shot,’ in other words.”
Priscilla’s pronunciation of the modern phrase was strange; perhaps she’d learned it from Al. Priscilla folded her fan once more and extended it toward Subaru. For some reason, Subaru could not evade its straight, silent motion as the end of the fan pressed into his forehead, sending him tumbling onto his backside. Then…
“Lick it.”
Priscilla offered her bare foot before his eyes.
“—”
Not understanding what she meant, Subaru felt his gaze wander between Priscilla’s face and leg.
With Subaru seemingly lost, Priscilla spoke to him gently, as if explaining for the benefit of a poor student—or to torment her slave.
“Crawl across the floor, ruminate on your humiliation like a pathetic wild stray, and lick my foot like a babe suckling its mother’s teat. If you can do this, I shall consider your proposal.”
“Wha—?!”
“If you don’t want to, that’s perfectly fine. If your meager personal pride comes first, wave your tail and your master shall abandon you to the wilds. Either way should provide amusement.”
Priscilla concealed her lips and smiled, as if to say she would enjoy his fall regardless of his choice.
Subaru felt his guts boiling over in anger at the pure malice of Priscilla’s behavior. But though he was on the brink of crying out something in a coarse voice guided by emotions, he restrained himself. If he gave in to his feelings and charged ahead, these negotiations, too, would end in failure.
“—”
He looked between the foot still hanging before him and Priscilla’s mocking smile. When he closed his eyes, he saw their faces one after another: Emilia, Ram, Beatrice, and the children and adults of the village. Little by little, he cooled the magma seething inside his belly.
In anguish and consternation, he came to the conclusion that—
“I…got…it.”
Enduring the humiliation, Subaru kneeled and took Priscilla’s foot in his hand.
When he thought of the agony-filled deaths Emilia and the villagers had to endure, how could the humiliation Subaru would taste in their place even compare? To avoid that hopeless future, to find the world he needed to reach, he didn’t mind being a dog or worse.
His trembling lips neared the top of her white foot, about to press against her fair skin—when—
“Ahh, it seems you truly are—nothing but a very, very boring man.”
The kick, from right before his nose, sent Subaru flying, as if he weighed hardly anything.
“—”
He flipped head over heels, losing track of which way was up.
Subaru couldn’t comprehend what had happened.
An incredible blow slammed into his head and, after a few moments in the air, his entire body crashed into something. At that point, he stopped feeling anything.
It took his intermittent conscious thoughts an ill-defined amount of time to catch up and realize he was lying on the floor, limbs splayed.
A large volume of some kind of viscous liquid poured out from his nose.
“What you have is neither loyalty nor faithfulness. It is filthier than that. It is a dog’s existence and a pig’s greed. A lazy pig that wants, wants, wants. A swine’s greed is the most unsightly of all.”
Neither the ringing in his ears nor his nausea would stop. The inside of his skull was spinning. He heard Priscilla’s voice from somewhere, but the details weren’t sinking into his head.
“Even if you drive off the Witch Cult, I shall destroy your camp by my own hand for harboring such a beast. I have reached this decision based on your thoughtless actions.”
As he lay down, she gripped his collar and violently lifted up his body.
When his torso was raised, more blood flowed out of Subaru’s nose. Subaru coughed, finding it hard to breathe as she insulted him mercilessly at close range.
“—Take pride in this. It is you who has invited that woman’s—Emilia’s—destruction.”
She thrust him away at full force, and Subaru’s body rolled and slid all the way to the entrance.
“—Aldebaran!”
When she yelled in a sharp voice, the sole door to the outside opened from the other side. Al poked his face in and looked at Subaru, who was covered in blood by the door.
“What in the world happened here…?”
“Throw out this repulsive fool. Or cut him in half, I care not.”
“Well, I sure care… Hey, c’mon, bro.”
Without a single word of rebuttal to his enraged master, Al easily hoisted up the fallen Subaru and passed through the door. But on his way out, he gently turned his face toward Priscilla in the center of the room.
“Don’t be so angry, Princess. Violence ruins your pretty face, y’know?”
“If you do not wish me to break your broken visage even further, take him and go. I will not say it again, Aldebaran.”
“Like I said, don’t call me that.”
Quick on his feet, Al descended the stairs with Subaru over his shoulder and spoke in a considerate voice.
“Anyway, it’s best if you get out while the going’s good. It’s Princess. If she changes her mind, it’s not unthinkable for her to tell me to cut you down. Get out of here while she still thinks it’s all right to not kill you.”
“A-huu…?”
“This…is bad. I’ll call the young lady you brought with you. Just get outside, okay?”
Al shrugged at the barely conscious Subaru, a deft feat under the circumstances. After that, he picked up his pace even more, leaping his way down the stairs.
Sub-chapter 5.
“—Subaru?!”
When she saw Subaru sitting slumped against the mansion’s gate, Rem’s face went pale as she ran over.
Subaru was slack-jawed as Rem touched him. She checked the state of his injuries as she chanted a healing spell. A pale light enveloped the wound on Subaru’s face.
“What happened upstairs?”
“Ahh, that. Looks like our Princess’s mood turned sour. I told him to be careful, but… Well, you have about as much chance trying to perfectly predict the moods of a cat.”
Al’s reply was rather awkward but his statement did not carry a single shred of guilt or apology. Rem, aghast at his demeanor, was about to raise her voice in protest.
“…You don’t…need to say anything.”
“—! Subaru, can you think clearly?”
In accordance with his healing concussion, his fuzzy mind had begun to clear. Rem’s face brightened at the sound of Subaru’s voice, but she closed her eyes, focusing on his treatment.
“I really cannot let you out of my sight, Subaru. You were away not even an hour, and yet you return with such grave injuries.”
“Hey, it’s not like I’m trying to get hu—”
Now that his circulation had returned to normal, blood poured freely from his nose once more. Rem immediately caught the trickle with a hand she had held over him, drawing a handkerchief from her side and placing it against his head.
“Please hold this on your nose. The bleeding will stop on its own. I will continue treatment.”
“……ight”
Subaru held his nose as Rem had told him while he received gradual treatment via mana. Meanwhile, Al watched, nodding as if to say, Looks like you’ll be okay.
“There’s no point just standing around, so I’ll head back inside. I don’t know what you were talking about, but from the looks of things, it didn’t go well. If you take too long leaving, Princess’ll seriously tell me to cut you down, bro.”
“Cut Subaru down…?!”
“Hey, don’t make that scary face, young lady! I’m saying she will! So get outta here before she gives me any orders. It’s not like I wanna do something like that.”
After his dramatic reply to Rem’s overreaction, Al’s shoulders sank as he shook his head.
“Well, take care of yourself, bro. And young lady… Ah, that’s right, you’re Ram. Take good care of bro here.”
“—Ram is the name of my older sister. My name is Rem, Master Al.”
When Al gave his flippant parting words and turned his back, Rem formally introduced herself. That instant, Al’s feet stopped.
“…Rem?”
The one-armed man stopped before he looked up, then slowly turned around.
“Don’t be silly. You’re Ram, right?”
“I am Rem… Forgive my rudeness, but where have you met Sister, Master Al?”
Rem explained how he’d mistaken her for her nearly identical older sister as she posed the question. However, Al made no reply. He raised up his one arm and touched his helm, busily poking the metal.
“What the hell’s goin’ on here…?”
Al sounded nervous, seemingly unable to process the information. The increasingly rapid tapping offered further proof.
“So you’re Rem…and your sister is Ram?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“This might be a weird thing to ask but…is your older sister alive?”
“…? I do not understand the meaning of your question. Sister is alive, as she should be.”
The instant Rem gave that answer, Subaru, who had been listening to the conversation in silence, felt goose bumps all over his flesh.
“—This ain’t funny.”
A low, cold voice accompanied by a grave echo reached his ears.
Al was leaning forward, his hand over the forehead of his helm, murmuring as if wringing the words out of his throat.
It was only then that Subaru understood that Al was the source of the dreadful chill he was feeling.
An instinctive alarm went off, telling him that he could not stay here. Rem, sensing the same thing, gently pulled close to Subaru. She suspended the treatment, still bent over as she asked a question in an audibly guarded voice.
“Subaru. If I lend you my shoulder, can you stand?”
At those words, Subaru dipped his head in a nod, doing his best to match his movements to Rem’s.
“Hey, relax. I’m not gonna do anything.”
With a shake of his head, Al reeled in his ghastly aura and acted like they were needlessly concerned.
Subaru’s shoulders subconsciously eased as the tension in the air dissipated. Even Rem’s neutral expression softened as she, too, felt a sense of relief.
“Sorry to say this when the bad atmosphere just lightened up, but you’d better get going. Feels like I’m not in a great mood myself.”
“…Understood. Please tell her thank you for her time.”
“Roger that. Take care, now.”
Concluding the proper social pleasantries with Al, Rem lent Subaru her shoulder. They walked off together, her petite frame supporting his weight as they put Bariel Manor far behind them.
They descended the hill, growing more and more distant from the mansion, as all the while Al continued to stare at their backs.
“You gotta be joking me. So that’s what it was… Makes me wanna puke.”
Sub-chapter 6.
Now that negotiations with Priscilla Bariel had broken down, all paths were well and truly closed.
“My top priority was borrowing some muscle, but I guess I can’t even manage that, huh…?”
Battered by despair and powerlessness, Subaru held his nose as the words poured out.
Priscilla had crushed him on that crucial day’s morning, and already it was nearing noon. Only half a day remained until the time Subaru had set for them to depart from the royal capital—time-wise, he had even less margin for error. Yet in spite of that, he couldn’t claim it was one step forward, one step back—every step had been backward.
“Setting that aside, that shitty, arrogant woman… She forgot all about the time I helped her…!”
Subaru was referring to having helped Priscilla escape the ruffians who had been surrounding her when they’d first met. The corner of his lips warped, and his tongue twisted in disgust.
The fact was, she’d behaved without the slightest shred of gratitude at the time, but even he hadn’t expected her to be that heartless to someone desperately reaching out for aid.
And then there was Al, so uncaring that he didn’t say a single thing about his master’s violent act. They might be from the same world, but the man was useless to him.
“Damn every last one of those bastards. They don’t know a thing. They don’t understand… It’s not like they’re protecting anyone, but they still get in my way…!”
Subaru ground his molars in irritation. A cut on the edge of his lip dampened his tongue with blood, but the taste of iron didn’t register—only that of anger and humiliation.
“—Switch gears, switch gears. This ain’t the time to get sidetracked by those two idiots.”
He had a lot to process.
Having sent Rem off in one final act of resistance, Subaru headed to their rendezvous point. His feet took him down the street, out of the Nobles’ District and to the capital’s central strata, the Commercial District. From there, he navigated the crowds, heading straight toward his destination.
“Wow! Hey you, mister! You look really hurt! Are you all right?”
“Huh?”
Subaru, surprised by the abrupt voice, shifted his gaze down, looking for its source. The person who hailed him was short in stature, not even reaching Subaru’s hip. It was a beast-man child with an orange pelt, big round eyes, and an adorably joyful face, who was apparently stretching upward to get a better look at him.
“You’re bleeding, aren’t you? Sometimes I cut my mouth when I’m eating, so I know! That must really hurt! You look like you’re ready to cry.”
“I’m not bleeding for a little-kiddie reason like… Er, I’m busy so, later.”
“Don’t you want me to heal it? Sniff-sniff, sniff-sniff. Besides, the smell isn’t just from your mouth, mister. You’re bleeding from your nose, too, you know?”
The wound Priscilla had given him ought to have already closed, but the girl’s sense of smell could apparently still pick it up. The unpleasant memory resurfaced as Subaru tried to brush the girl off. But before Subaru could do so, another girl found her first.
“Hey, Mimi. Don’t be causing people trouble. You know you shouldn’t make so much mischief.”
At the sound of a soft voice, Mimi looked back, waving energetically with her short arms. The person who had found her approached, smiling at her enthusiasm.
“—!”
“I’m very sorry that my girl caused you trou… Mmmn?”
Subaru’s breath caught. She immediately noticed his expression, which made her stop mid-apology.
The momentary surprise vanished. Instead, a look entered her eyes that seemed ready to welcome an unexpected event with open arms.
“You’re… That’s right, you’re Subaru. Emilia’s knight, Subaru Natsuki— So you’re still in the capital, huh? What an unexpected surprise.”
She was a small girl with soft pale-purple hair. Her narrowed light-blue eyes suggested she had gentle regard for others—but Subaru knew that the girl was avaricious deep down. Even if he was meeting her in a different place, there was no way he could mistake her aura.
“Anastasia Hoshin…”
“Mm, I see, you actually remembered me. I was right worried I didn’t make much of an impression back there, so I’m kinda relieved… If you still recognize me after everythin’ that’s happened to you, everyone else should be able to, too.”
Anastasia smiled as she spoke in a Kansai dia—a Kararagi dialect unfamiliar to his ears.
Subaru, shocked to have bumped into Anastasia, scanned the area. If Anastasia was there, that man had to be somewhere around—
“Relax, Julius is on other business. He’s not comin’.”
“…That so.”
Subaru let his discomfort show in his reply once he realized that the reason for his unease was plain as day. Anastasia, putting a hand to her mouth in amusement, seemed to be under the impression he held little love for servant or master.
Subaru couldn’t bring himself to think of the unexpected encounter as a golden opportunity. In the first place, there was Julius. Given the antagonism between them at the parade grounds, Subaru assumed joining forces with the Anastasia camp was utterly impossible.
“Well, you seem to be mostly healed up. I was just a teensy bit worried.”
“…Thanks. You seem in pretty good health, yourself.”
“I’m muddlin’ through, I s’pose.”
“Yeah! Muddlin’ through!”
The Western-sounding reply to Subaru’s sarcasm made the kitten laugh with amusement. Apparently, she was called Mimi, and she was accompanying Anastasia.
“Should one of the big players in the royal selection be walking around without an escort these days?”
“I am trying to travel incognito, after all. Is it not working?”
Anastasia looked around before showing off her outfit that she had created with the attire of local city girls in mind. Her clothes certainly fit in, but her trademark white fox muffler and huge purse didn’t make for a convincing disguise. Apparently, Anastasia gathered as much from Subaru’s look of disbelief and laughed.
“Well, how do you hide charm like mine? Besides, if anything happens, I have my very reliable, hard-working deputy captain, so no worries!”
“Reliable…deputy captain…?”
Anastasia stuck out her rather flat chest in pride as she spoke, but when he saw that she meant Mimi, Subaru adopted a dubious expression. Mimi, who was shooting the breeze at the different stalls, didn’t look the part at all.
“I see you don’t believe me, but it’s true. She’s the second-in-command of my private army. I think she’d hold her own against Julius a lot better’n you would.”
“…”
“Ahh, did I make you mad? Sorry, sorry, my apologies. You just look like a fun person to tease. So, oops?”
Oops my ass. Subaru pursed his lips, making his displeasure clear.
“If this is just small talk, would you mind letting me be on my way? Unlike you, I have things to do.”
“Well, you’re no fun. Things to do like what?”
“I have to meet up with the girl who’s traveling with me. After that, gotta get a dragon carriage and leave the capital. Stuff.”
He was supposed to meet back up with Rem at one of the restaurants lining the royal capital’s main street. Whether his pathetic attempts met failure or success, the two had planned to procure the dragon carriage they needed to leave the royal capital within the next few hours.
“Hmmm. Gettin’ a dragon carriage. So you say, but can ya really? Right now, it’s a lotta work findin’ one here in the capital. I hear it’s just one mess after another recently.”
“Hard getting a dragon carriage? That shouldn’t be a…”
Subaru would have continued to say problem, but the word caught in his throat.
In previous loops, he’d taken his dragon carriage for granted when he returned to the Mathers domain, but the vehicle from the first time around was a loan from Crusch. Considering that circumstances had been similar the second time around, he had assumed Crusch had lent them one then as well.
“Someone’s buyin’ up all the dragon carriages in the capital or somethin’. So if you wanna rent one right now, it’s gonna take a lotta legwork.”
“…Seriously?”
Anastasia suppressed a giggle while Subaru could only murmur in bewilderment.
She had no reason to lie. That would be an obstacle to even exiting the capital. Subaru clutched his head, almost unable to believe the difficulties besetting him.
“Miss, you shouldn’t tease people!”
Mimi tugged on Anastasia’s sleeve at the sight of Subaru bent over.
“Dragon carriages, you mean those lizard thingies? You can just lend him one, can’t you, miss?”
“Wait, you have a dragon carriage I can borrow?!”
“I’m company president, so a dragon carriage or two is no big deal, see? But it seems you don’t wanna talk with me very much, Natsuki…”
“Ugh…Sorry for… how I behaved earlier…”
When she pointed out how Subaru had tried to cut off their conversation, he replied with an awkward expression. Anastasia put a hand to her mouth and giggled when she saw it.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I forgive ya. In exchange, would you stick with me for another chat? It’s very important to maintain smooth relationships with others. How about the shop where you’re meetin’ the girl?”
Subaru couldn’t summon the words to refuse the adorable merchant’s smile.
Sub-chapter 7.
“It’s still a bit early for lunch, but it ain’t good to sit down without orderin’.”
Anastasia said this as she returned from the counter carrying a light meal—vegetables and meat sandwiched between two pieces of bread, kind of like an elongated hamburger. Mimi took it from Anastasia and happily buried her face in it.
It was a casual eatery along Main Street, right in front of the main gate of the royal capital. This gate had the most traffic in the entire city, where people ceaselessly entered and exited. The shop was packed; Subaru and the others had taken the last open seats.
“Natsuki, you should eat all ya want. Since you were plannin’ to meet that girl here, you musta meant to eat, right?”
“I feel kinda bad making you treat me to lunch when I’m asking you for a favor. If I really wanna eat something, I’ll take my meal with my friend later. Ana… Er.”
There were many people around, but the establishment wasn’t very large. He hesitated to call Anastasia by name in such cramped quarters.
“I don’t really mind much, but if you’re havin’ trouble usin’ my name, you could call me ‘young lady’?”
“It’d be even harder to say that… Anyway, about the dragon carriage.”
“Cuttin’ right to the chase, hmm? You won’t please your business partner if you prioritize only what you want. The core of negotiation is how much you can please the other party. You’re not too good at that, Natsuki.”
Chiding Subaru for being in such a hurry, Anastasia bit into her meal of vegetables and meat; the way she licked the sauce was charming somehow.
Though she differed from Crusch and Priscilla, Anastasia similarly possessed a unique charisma in each and every gesture that was nothing like ordinary people. Perhaps he ought to say that all the royal candidates had a special essence.
“It’s a little awkward if you stare at me while I’m eatin’. I wasn’t raised with very good manners, y’see. Am I doin’ somethin’ strange?”
“I haven’t been educated in high culture enough to judge something like that… I don’t think it’s weird at all. You just don’t, uh, often see a woman opening her mouth wide like that.”
“…Are you tryin’ to get into my good graces? If so, you gotta do way better’n that.”
Anastasia snickered as she criticized Subaru’s clumsy approach. Her heartless appraisal had quickly brought Subaru to his knees.
“Um, I’m not kidding around here. I’m really in a bind, that’s why I wanna get to the point.”
“If you wanna appeal to my sympathy, that’s the worst plan possible when you’re dealin’ with a girl like me. But I applaud you for tryin’. You need a dragon carriage, right?”
Anastasia spoke while pulling a pen out of a pocket. From there, she spread open the paper wrapped around the pen, quickly jotted something down, and neatly folded the sheet.
“I’ve written down the location of a shop that should still have a dragon carriage and added my signature. This is all you need to accomplish your goal, Natsuki.”
“Well, no need to act all high and mighty about it.”
“I sure will—it’s no fun if I just hand it over for free, is it?”
Speaking softly, Anastasia put the folded piece of paper down on the table. She gently rested her palm over it, hiding it from view, and grinned at Subaru when he winced.
The smile on her face looked different from the ones he had seen on her before.
“Don’t tense up your shoulders like that; it’ll be fine. I just want you to stick with me for a little chat. It’s sad when you can’t talk about anything except what you really need to. I don’t think I’m being too greedy for wantin’ to shoot the breeze with ya till that girl of yours shows up.”
“Why? This is a lot of trouble just for some small talk with a guy like me. Not like you’re gonna get anything out of it.”
“I don’t think there’s a single thing in this world that’s meaningless. You never know who might end up giving you insight. And out of everyone, I feel like you might have somethin’ special for me, Natsuki.”
“…I’m not really grateful if that’s the impression you got from me at the royal selection assembly.”
“It’s not like I’ve met you anywhere else, Natsuki.”
Subaru’s desperate attempt at sarcasm was sliced down and cast aside by a sound argument. After evaluating Anastasia’s request and goal, Subaru immediately resigned himself to his fate.
“Just to be clear, we’re only going to talk until Rem gets here. And then I’ll have you hand over that paper.”
“I certainly lie and deceive people, but I assure you this is true. I can put that in writing if you’d like.”
“You didn’t even blink when you said that… What do you wanna talk about?”
“I told you when we started, didn’t I? The core of negotiations is to get in good with the other party. If you wanna get better at talkin’, you gotta get better at listenin’. A solid start would be findin’ out what your partner’s interested in.”
Or more candidly, Don’t look like you’re simply putting up with the conversation. It would be bad for Subaru to stray from his commitment and sour her mood. He scratched his head and sank into thought.
“Hey, hey, miss, miss. I wanna eat more of what I just had. Pleaaaase?”
“Sure, eat all you like. Ah, don’t make your mouth messy with the sauce. We don’t want that adorable face gettin’ dirty, do we? Well, that’s kinda cute, too.”
“Wipe it for me! Rub, rub! Yay! I’ll be back!”
Once Anastasia cleaned up her face, Mimi flew over to a shop worker in very high spirits. Subaru did a double take as he watched the tiny girl.
“Earlier, you said that runt is second-in-command?”
“What? You’re asking about Mimi and not me? You swing that way, Natsuki? Is it because you have a thing for kitty ears? That’s why you’re tryin’ to get close to my girl?”
“I don’t have any weird fetishes like that. In the first place, if I were into that…”
Subaru clenched his teeth as he recalled the image of a cat-haired knight at that mansion full of know-nothings.
“Anyway, no. It simply caught my interest. I think you said something about a private army?”
“For what it’s worth, they’re pretty famous in Kararagi. They’re the Hoshin Company’s own mercenary band, the ‘Iron Fangs.’ I’m their sponsor, so of course I get the privilege of choosin’ the members.”
Anastasia spoke while shifting her gaze to Mimi, who looked absentminded all the while.
“She’s suuuuper cute, isn’t she? She’s so much fun to hug and go to sleep with, you know?”
“It’s my turn to ask if you ‘swing that way,’ geez. You’re not telling me you twisted arms to get someone like that in as second-in-command, are you?”
“No need to worry; it’s fine. I told ya, didn’t I? That girl’s the number two of the Iron Fangs all right, and she has skills worthy of deputy captain. That’s why I can stroll around the capital with only her.”
Sensing absolute trust in Anastasia’s comments, Subaru observed Mimi’s back once again. She really didn’t look strong at all. But her master’s words were convincing all the same. A candidate for the royal selection would never walk around with a lone bodyguard if that person wasn’t capable.
“Ah, just to get this out, I won’t talk in detail about the members, okay? I’m not generous enough to put all my cards on the table. In fact, I’m pretty confident it’s a bad idea.”
“Well, that doesn’t make you sound as confident at all…”
Though she’d blunted any effort to poke deeper, Subaru engraved the name of the Iron Fangs into the back of his brain as one more potential threat. If he and Anastasia became overt enemies at some point, it would be yet one more wall to overcome.
“Natsuki, your brow is too wrinkled. You look like you’re glaring.”
“Hey, I was born with this face, okay? No need to go picking at a guy’s complexes.”
“Complex? Mm, that’s fine. That said, you mentioned your birth, but where were you born, Natsuki? We don’t see black hair very often around these parts, and your outfit stands out, too.”
“I was born in Japan on Earth, and this is a tracksuit, probably the only one in the world.”
It was a strange topic. His honest answer sounded like he was dodging the question entirely. Sure enough, it made Anastasia pout; her face clouded.
“Japan of Earth. Never heard of it. But…where is that?”
“Past the Grand Cascade. Far to the east, and then farther east past that is Zipang.”
“The Grand Cascade…”
Subaru gave a flippant answer, expecting her to burst into laughter, but Anastasia sank into thought. Subaru raised an eyebrow at her completely unexpected reaction.
“You’re not gonna laugh? Reinhard thought it was pretty stupid…”
“Mm. Well, you see, once in a very great while, you hear about people who hail from beyond the Grand Cascade. I never expected for you to claim your homeland is there, though.”
“What, there’s other jokers besides me? Famous people even?”
“If you want to know more, I think you should study up on ‘Hoshin of the Wastes.’”
Anastasia still wasn’t laughing when she offered him a piece of advice. Subaru cocked his head at the mention of “Hoshin of the Wastes.” After all, that was Anastasia’s family name. And Subaru recalled that “Hoshin of the Wastes” was also a heroic tale.
“You’re not actually related to this Hoshin, are you? I thought I heard you saying you took up the name for yourself.”
“It’s the name of the founder of Kararagi. As a Kararagi native, I’m not completely unconnected, but there’s no blood relationship. I just decided to call myself that. Fitting for someone who rose up to become a goddess of commerce, don’t ya think?”
“Damn, you’ve got a lot of guts to come right out and say that.”
She apparently rated her exploits high enough to warrant declaring herself a goddess without any hint of irony.
He recalled Anastasia’s boast at the royal selection meeting that she wanted to get a kingdom for pure self-interest. That performance put her on a one-way train; there was no going back for her now.
“If I fail, people will point at me and laugh, though. But I’ve come this far. I’m not gonna talk too highly of myself when I’m still halfway to where I’m going.”
Subaru had heard only a tiny bit about Anastasia’s birthplace during her demonstration of conviction at the royal selection meeting. Apparently she’d been born in the slums of Kararagi and afterward rose to her present position on the merits of her genius alone. A great mercantile house, as famous as any nation, served her, and she had declared herself as a candidate for the royal throne. Not for the first time, Subaru felt like the person before his eyes was unlike any he had seen before.
“How can you do that much…? Aren’t you afraid of failure?”
“Oh my, my, my. Natsuki, have you finally taken a proper interest in me?”
Subaru didn’t have a plan; he’d simply voiced his honest doubts. Perhaps, just as Anastasia had taken it, he asked the question because he was finally looking straight at her: not a troublesome opponent, not someone connected to Julius, but Anastasia, the individual.
“Failure, huh? I’d say I’m afraid of that, too. I’m not exactly claimin’ I’ve won every battle I’ve fought to get to where I am now. I’ve just kept winnin’ the ones that really mattered.”
“You never wonder if you’ve won enough of your bets? I mean, you have plenty as it is. You’re a big-time merchant, you have lots of people around you, and…”
“—Can I really say I have plenty? I don’t even know what would satisfy me.”
Her low voice and piercing light-blue eyes made Subaru unwittingly stare at her. As Subaru fell silent, Anastasia finally softened her lips and suddenly changed the subject.
“I…have a dream.”
Subaru said nothing as she tapped a finger against the counter, ignoring him.
“I’ve carried that dream with me since my time in the slums, never knowin’ what the next day would bring, tryin’ my hardest to live… I want everythin’ I can get my hands on.”
“Everything…you can get your hands on…”
“My dream is to see just who I can become, just how far I can go. But I won’t compromise one bit until I’m satisfied I’ve done that. As long as I live, everything I can reach and take hold of will be mine. Will I die penniless? Or will I die fulfilled by the innumerable possessions around me? —My life is one big contest until I get one result or the other.”
Subaru was overwhelmed.
He realized that the small-statured girl before him was an amazing person, someone he might even look up to.
Her fundamental character as a human being differed from Crusch’s and Priscilla’s. The power of her charisma was in no way inferior to theirs. No, to Subaru, in that moment, he had a much more favorable impression of her than the other two. With the division between him and the know-nothing Crusch, and considering Priscilla’s arrogant dismissal, he thought that Anastasia might just be a heaven-sent final thread of hope that he might be able to count on.
For Subaru, unable to gather any reinforcements, this was one last possibility if he wanted to borrow strength from others.
“Hey, Anastasia. There’s something I really wanna talk to you about…”
Subaru, who had initially treated Anastasia as a nuisance to be swept aside, was now meek toward her. I can depend on her. At that though, the image of Julius flickered in the back of his mind, stabbing Subaru’s chest, but he suppressed that emotional wound with all his might as he tried to broach the topic.
“Hey, time-out. It’s just been you askin’ questions this whole time. I’m happy that you’ve taken an interest in me, but this isn’t very fair, is it?”
Anastasia cried foul and brought his determined move to a halt.
“That’s not really enough to call it unf— No, never mind. Talk to me.”
“Yes, yes, compromise is real important. It’s an issue of personal relations that comes even before negotiating… Natsuki, you look like you’re leavin’ the royal capital, but have you done enough sightseein’?”
“Don’t call it something casual like sightseeing, geez. I’m not, and I’m sure you aren’t, either. Is this really the time for a trip just to feel better?”
Subaru shot down the topic interrupting his subject.
“I don’t plan to just travel around, but don’t turn up your nose at seein’ the sights— People get something out of just explorin’ a place with lots of people in it and takin’ a look here and there.”
Midway, Anastasia’s strained smile vanished as she lowered her voice slightly. That change in her demeanor and expression stole Subaru’s attention. She indicated the street with her chin.
“The atmosphere on this avenue’s changed, like the shoppin’ area before it. Did you notice, Subaru?”
“…Now that you mention it, it feels way more hostile somehow.”
Subaru had known the sights of the royal capital for only a total of several days and hours, but even he could sense that the air of the royal capital felt different on his skin.
“The looks on people’s faces have changed. The talk about the royal selection’s brought all kinds of misers out of the woodwork.”
“I think you’re the pot calling the kettle black, especially when you’re the one poking into their business…”
“Hey, when you compare the people goin’ for tiny piles of coins to a gal who’s after a whole kingdom, they’re pretty pathetic. Besides, in business, speed is the name of the game… When you look at what people with a nose for money are doin’, you see more of the big picture.”
Anastasia thought about “the big picture” in a way Subaru could not fathom.
“When the ones at the top move, then the people start to move. When the people move, things move, too. So right now, traveling merchants are pouring into the royal capital from all over. If the people are there, things follow. So I can see this and that about what’s to come.”
“The things you see…are merchandise? Is there some special meaning to what they’re selling in the capital right now?”
“You caught on fast. Incidentally, the prices of quite a few goods are in flux around here at the moment, but things made of metal have gotten especially expensive. Someone’s snappin’ up weapons like swords and spears inside the capital and out.”
“Iron and weapons. I feel like I’ve heard about that before… Ahh, from Otto.”
The conversation was from when he’d traveled with Otto during the first time going through the loop. Otto had been drowning in drink because he’d been carrying a large quantity of hard-to-sell goods; apparently, his bankruptcy really had been assured.
“Swords and armor… So not just iron itself but weapons and stuff? You don’t think the people gathering up all that are planning to start a war, do you…?”
“Who’s to say? It’s possible the goal is more financial in nature. Workin’ the market to favor you is more than enough reason. Merchants collude with one another quite a bit… If they think something’s worth gettin’, they’ll grab it by the throat.”
Subaru readily accepted Anastasia’s reasoning. Certainly, merchants would be grateful toward another party creating a favorable business opportunity for them. A thriving industry was connected with a thriving city.
“From the way you’re talking, is the person gathering up iron pretty well-known? Who is it, then…?”
“It’s someone you know very well, Natsuki.”
“Someone I know…?”
“—Duchess Crusch Karsten. She’s been on an iron-buyin’ spree here in the capital.”
“Crusch is…?”
Subaru, who had been blithely following the conversation, was shocked to hear the name of someone that closely related to him. But when he thought about it, things added up. Crusch had been receiving guests day after day; maybe she wasn’t just dealing with influential political figures but negotiating with merchants and bargaining for merchandise as well.
“I see, so that’s why Russel showed up…”
“Russel Fellow? He’s a big fish.”
Quite naturally, Anastasia instantly recognized Russel’s name. And thanks to Anastasia’s information, scattered pieces of the puzzle were connecting inside Subaru.
“So all those people heading in and out, putting cargo in the courtyard even in the middle of the night, that was all a strategy to get merchants on her side?”
He remembered that on the night he’d exchanged wineglasses with Crusch, servants were busily working all around the place. But they seemed to move with a purpose greater than simply gathering metalwares. They seemed to be expecting something bigger than that—
“…Well, not like it has anything to do with me now.”
Subaru initially felt the urge to pursue his doubt but gave up midway and cast it aside. Whatever Crusch was planning or whatever was disturbing the economy of the royal capital had nothing to do with him. All that mattered to Subaru now was finding a way to oppose the Witch Cult. There was nothing else. So why did he need to puzzle over unnecessary considerations like that?
While Subaru’s thoughts ground to a halt, Anastasia murmured across from him.
“—My, my, I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
Subaru looked up, sensing a particularly weighty tone in her voice, when he saw she was gently holding out her palm. Without thinking, Subaru took the scribble that he would need to obtain a dragon carriage.
“Thank you, Natsuki. You’ve given me enough of what I wanted to hear.”
The scribble and Anastasia’s smile told Subaru that the conversation was over. But Rem still hadn’t arrived at the establishment. And yet, she’d used the word enough—
When Subaru’s thoughts reached that point, he realized—far too late—that something wasn’t right.
“…Was this a coincidence?”
“—Well, Natsuki, what do you think?”
While Subaru gritted his teeth, Anastasia addressed him casually. Her light-blue eyes seemed to see right through Subaru, as if they would never let the change in his expression slip past her.
—Just like a con artist watching someone who’d completely fallen for her act.
“So you set up that whole little ‘chance meeting’ in the street just to ask me about this.”
“You got into a tiff with Crusch last night and went your separate ways, didn’t ya? I figured you’d be easier to read now, in all kinds of ways. Your words, your eyes, and your expressions.”
She’d tricked him. It made Subaru’s blood boil, and his throat tightened.
“H-how can you be so satisfied with yourself?! Ambushing people like this…!”
“It pains my heart, too. But it’s hard to smile and trade info smoothly with our relationship. It’s natural to want some insurance when you’re doin’ business with someone you don’t trust.”
The way she looked straight at him and pegged him as untrustworthy needled his heart. Putting a hand on his chest, Subaru glared at Anastasia with resentment.
“So you misjudged me just because you don’t like me, too…”
“Misjudged…?”
“I’m saying you’re distracted by the stupid stuff right in front of you and missing what’s important! Even though you’ll regret your mistakes and missing the right path later…!”
“I wonder just what is right and what is mistaken here? Well, everyone’s got their own opinions, but I’ll give ya mine.”
Anastasia cocked her head slightly while Subaru ground his teeth, her charming smile never faltering.
“If you want people to believe your path is just, you have to show them something concrete that backs up your claim. I don’t see that in you, Natsuki. I can’t help but value you less for the lack of it.”
“—”
“Your worth is decided by what you’ve done… In other words, your past. No matter what you do, you can’t change the past. So the worth of the Natsuki I know hasn’t changed one whit.”
Anastasia patted her own modest chest, looking at an enraged Subaru with upturned eyes.
“When you make a mistake, it never, ever goes away.”
“—!!”
“Hey, mister, don’t get any closer to Miss Anastasia. Mimi’s super-strong, okay?”
When Subaru unwittingly took a step forward, Mimi thrust a large staff against his face. She’d wedged herself between Subaru and Anastasia, preempting Subaru’s loss of control.
“Thank you, Mimi. But you don’t need to do anything. I’m sure there’s nothing Natsuki can do.”
“…! How can you just…decide that I can’t do anything like that…?!”
As Subaru spit and shouted, Anastasia put distance between them and crossed her hands behind her, tilting her head.
“Ahh, did I hit a sore spot there? Sorry if I did. But I won’t apologize for using you. It’s an ironclad rule among merchants to take anything that isn’t bolted down. Besides, neither of us said anything that hurts us personally, did we? You asked me whatever you wanted, and you answered several of my questions, Natsuki.”
“That’s just because you led me into it! It’s dirty… It’s underhanded, damn it!”
“I told you at the start, I lie and deceive. And when I offered to put it in writing, you’re the one who didn’t want me to, aren’t you, Natsuki?”
“I never said anything like tha…! You’re the worst, master and servant alike! Eat shit!”
He should have remained true to his initial instinct, the distaste he’d had the instant he’d seen her face on Market Street. He should have known she was the worst of the worst from the simple fact that Julius served her. She’d manipulated him through the art of conversation into expecting that she might be trustworthy.
Truly, just how much disgrace did he have to endure before people were satisfied?
“…Haven’t paid him back for Julius, either. Well, that was partly my fault, too.”
Subaru gave no heed to Anastasia’s words as he was about to rip up the paper in his hand and throw it away, but he hesitated right on the cusp of that impulsive action, knowing that he would then have truly gained nothing for all he’d endured.
“I’m relieved that you really aren’t that stupid— Mimi.”
“Riiight! Mister, turn this way!”
Subaru was breathing raggedly and clutching the paper in his hand when Mimi held her staff aloft. Subaru stood rooted to the spot while a pale light softly enveloped his face.
“Pain, pain, go away…!”
“—”
Using magic, she healed the cut on his lip that had been there before their initial encounter.
While Subaru was speechless, Mimi smiled at him, apparently without a single care in the world.
“Miss is high-maintenance, but she never means to do bad things, so forgive her, ’kay? This is why she doesn’t have any friends.”
“Mimi, you don’t have to tell him that… Well, see you ’round, Natsuki.”
Anastasia had thoroughly wrecked him to the point that even her follower had taken pity on him. Subaru’s shoulders quivered as Anastasia turned her back on him.
“I’ll add just one last lesson about the basics of negotiation, Natsuki.”
Standing still, Anastasia’s back remained turned to him as she raised a single finger and spoke.
“The secret is to prepare everything you can before you ever reach the bargaining table. Learnin’ little tricks is all part of turnin’ the situation in your favor. You have to know yourself and dangle what the other party wants in front of them. Where you come up short, Natsuki, is that you want and want, but you got nothin’ to offer in return.”
He didn’t know Anastasia’s real motive. Even if he listened to her, it was meaningless.
But he would understand the meaning of those words soon enough.
“—All right, let’s go, everyone!”
Anastasia called out with a clap of her hands. Subaru raised his eyebrows at her gesture when the customers in the place rose from their seats all at once. Together, every last customer in the packed-to-the-brim establishment followed Anastasia out.
Every single person in the group was wearing a hood, concealing their true identity. However, when he looked more deeply, there were unnatural bulges under their hoods. From this, Subaru deduced they likely concealed animal ears.
Clear as a bell, the name of Anastasia’s private army leaped out from the back of his mind—the Iron Fangs.
“What, you were all here? Ah, mister, see you later!”
Mimi smiled at her comrades as they filed out, giving Subaru a wave of her hand before she, too, darted away. The only ones left in the place were Subaru and the proprietor.
—That was what she’d meant by preparing everything you can before you sit at the table.
“Shit!!”
Unable to endure his own worthlessness, Subaru slammed his fist into the tabletop. With no customers remaining in the establishment, the proprietor quietly withdrew into the back. His face was as conflicted as Subaru’s.
Subaru stayed like that, his shoulders shaking from humiliation, when a voice called out to him.
“—Subaru?”
It was Rem. She had arranged for them to meet at that place, and now she rushed over to Subaru.
“Subaru, what’s wrong? Did something happ—”
“—It’s nothing, Rem. How about on your end?”
Subaru interrupted Rem’s concerned voice, covering up his current humiliation with all his might. Even if he told Rem about how Anastasia had gotten the better of him, it would change nothing. Faced with Subaru’s stiff demeanor, Rem closed her mouth, then she politely reported the results of her activities.
“I reported the covert maneuverings of the Witch Cult to the Knights’ garrison. By invoking Master Roswaal’s name, I was not dismissed immediately at the gate, but…”
The awkward wording and frail tone of her voice for the latter half pretty much told Subaru how that had gone down. Rem, Roswaal’s servant, was more likely to be successful in spurring the Knights to action than Subaru, who had a grudge against them. Trying to exploit that was his final act of resistance, but…
“They didn’t give you a good answer?”
“…It would seem that the Knights have a jumble of similar reports. Few concrete details are known about the Witch Cult’s underpinnings, and apparently an endless stream of tips constantly flows in with no practical way to verify it.”
“Ahh, I get it now. This is seriously like back when they had real witch trials… It ain’t much of a joke if that’s how the Witch Cult actually hides itself.”
The sheer number of people afraid of the Witch Cult lurking nearby gave birth to imaginary phantoms in every corner of the land. Those fears took form as tips to the Knights, dragging down the value of any real leads as a result. That seemed backward somehow.
Both the arrogance of the Knights and the vileness of the Witch Cult were at fault. The Knights should have been rigorously checking out any and all potential leads related to the Witch Cult, considering how they were a blight to all.
With that, Subaru understood that all his plays had failed.
“If gathering reinforcements isn’t possible… I hate it, but there’s no avoiding it.”
“What will you do?”
“Goes without saying. We head back to the mansion and get Emilia and Ram out of there. We’ll bring them here to the capital or wherever Roswaal went off to—the destination doesn’t matter. Anyway, where they are now is dangerous.”
Petelgeuse’s loud laughter came back to life in the back of his head. Subaru’s fist trembled in frustration. Even if he wanted nothing more than to pulverize that bastard’s skeletal face, he didn’t have the means. Even if he did choose to take on the enemy with his current resources, it would invariably entail putting Rem at the tip of the spear.
—He would avoid that at all costs. Getting Rem hurt because of Subaru’s thoughts and actions was unthinkable. He couldn’t bear it.
If he couldn’t drum up the strength to battle Petelgeuse, taking them on was unthinkable. Any option that meant losing Rem was out.
Even then, bloodlust made his insides seethe. The inexhaustible hatred was like a curse echoing over and over inside his skull.
“Excuse me, Subaru. Actually, about the dragon carriage needed to return to the mansion…”
“—It’s tough to get one, you mean? In that case…”
While Subaru’s blood boiled, Rem broached a topic that seemed difficult for her to bring up. He nodded at her concern and revealed the paper Anastasia had handed him. As promised, it had the name of the store and her signature. It was Subaru’s consolation prize for his ignominious defeat during negotiations.
“If we go to this place and talk to them, they should treat us all right… I’m sure of that much.”
“Really? Where in the world did you… Just as I’d expect of you, Subaru!”
“‘As you’d expect.’ Expect, huh… Ha-ha, you’re funny, Rem.”
“—?”
Rem, having no idea how he’d gotten a hold of it, couldn’t have meant anything malicious or ironic by it. Even so, Subaru couldn’t stop a dry laugh from coming out.
“There’s no time. Let’s get moving.”
Pulling the bewildered Rem along behind him, Subaru walked out onto Main Street, heading for the indicated store. Annoyed by the jarring, disorganized noises, he clicked his tongue as he walked along.
“If we can get out of the capital within half a day, we can be back to the mansion by the third day. If we do that, we should have time to rescue Emilia and them.”
Subaru had gone over his memories of the first time around again and again to make sure of that. The reason he couldn’t state it with absolute certainty was because he couldn’t rely on his memories from the second time around. Subaru Natsuki had frittered away the time that would have allowed him to compare and be on surer footing.
“The second time… Shit! How many days was I not in my right mind…?!”
He scratched at his head, berating his useless memories and his useless self as he continued to walk. Behind Subaru, Rem, whose strides were a different length from Subaru’s, worked earnestly to match her speed to his.
But Subaru never noticed Rem doing that, for he had forgotten to look back.
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Diamond. Diamond. Diamond.
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