Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Vol. 7 Page 2

“It was an open question, as it was a little too convenient for him to notice without any tangible basis.”

  Meekly, Rem tilted her head very slightly, glancing Subaru’s way. She clearly harbored doubts over how Subaru had sniffed out the Urugarum incident in a very Rem-like way. The learning of the metia’s existence had just erased those doubts.

  “…”

  On the other hand, that reply drew Crusch’s piercing gaze right to Rem. Her eyes gave off a sharp, penetrating stare that seemed to slip inside people’s innards, as if she could see their very soul.

  In terms of actual time, only a few seconds passed. And yet, Subaru felt like each took a heavy toll on his endurance when finally—

  “—You have not…spoken falsely.”

  Crusch displayed a certain level of trust and comprehension toward Rem’s statement.

  Hearing her assessment, Subaru struggled with all his might not to show the relief he felt on his face. On the inside, he could not stop clenching his hands and pumping his fists.

  In other words, it had all been a bluff.

  If that fact came out, negotiations would immediately be cut off, and it would not have been odd for him to be sliced into thousands upon thousands of bits for his insolence. However, Subaru had glossed over it all by using his words to direct everyone toward a different topic.

  Subaru had not spoken a single falsehood in response to Crusch’s questions. After all, the cell phone really wasn’t a device that rang in response to demon beasts in its proximity. Moreover, Subaru, someone who had barely even used his cell phone to send messages, certainly could not use its full potential.

  Rem had unwittingly allowed herself to be exploited for the greatest hurdle Subaru needed, which was confirmation from a third party. Even if the contents of what she said differed from the truth, she had no intent to deceive, so it was not a lie per se.

  “You’ve gotta admit, though, you said that like you can tell if a person’s lying or not.”

  “At the risk of boasting, that is correct. One might call it having perceptive eyes, but in actuality, I have been graced with the blessing of wind reading.”

  “…What did you say?”

  The completely serious reply Subaru received was not at all what he’d expected, recalling how in the past she had chewed him up and spit out the leftovers. During the previous loop, Subaru had chalked up Crusch’s self-described “ability to discern falsehoods” to her perceptive eyes, but…

  “Reading the wind allows me to judge that which cannot be seen by the eye. By nature, I am able to discern the wind that envelops the other party. Those who speak lies have a telltale wind that blows from them—there is none of this around Rem.”

  “R-really, is that so? I didn’t know that. Had no idea.”

  “An unsettling wind does blow from you, Subaru Natsuki. That said, standing at the negotiation table while unaware of my wind reading was simply too unfair toward you.”

  Subaru’s smile twitched at how rotten Crusch’s personality was for her to reveal that ability at the height of negotiations. A blessing that provided a way to determine whether the other party’s words were true or false was practically cheating. It also explained the sharpness of the barbed words that had cut Subaru so deeply the last time around.

  “Rem’s words contain no hint of deception. At the very least, this certainly proves that you possess the means to detect a demon beast menace in advance.”

  But in this one instance, her confidence in that blessing was a double-edged sword.

  Subaru was balancing atop a tightrope, embodying the very idea of letting his opponent get their cuts in as long as it meant he could hit back even harder.

  “So can I take it that you believe in this metia now?”

  “That would be speaking too soon. Even knowing there is no collusion, it does not change that I must protect all my vassals. This is a decision that might determine the outcome of the royal selection, or even the fate of the kingdom itself. I shall not proceed lightly.”

  Unsurprisingly, she fended off Subaru’s attempt to quickly close the deal.

  He’d achieved a bare minimum of trust that his proclaimed metia could provide information about where the White Whale could appear, but that only meant they would consider the proposal seriously rather than laugh it off.

  What would build on that level of trust and bring the negotiations to a successful ending was—

  “—Sooo, how about letting me in on this metia talk, too?”

  The reception room was seized by surprise when a voice suddenly interrupted.

  When the speaker stepped into the room, she elegantly smiled in response to their startled gazes.

  “Aren’t you a funny one, Subaru, looking the most shocked when you’re the one who invited me?”

  Addressing the wide-eyed Subaru, the charmingly smiling girl ran her fingers through her wavy mane.

  Her light-purple hair seemed as soft as down, reaching all the way down to her hips. With such a gentle face, she could easily put others at ease. However, the girl’s eyes meticulously surveyed everything—a clear sign that she was not to be underestimated.

  “—Anastasia Hoshin.”

  Knowing who she was, Crusch shut one eye and addressed her by name. Anastasia responded to the greeting with an easy “thanks.”

  “It’s unfair that while I was busy hurrying over after getting word, you just went and started talking without me. With such an interesting, profitable conversation going on…you’ll let me join, won’t you?”

  Phrasing her request in a pleading way, Anastasia’s words and subtext contained genuine delight. After considering her presence, Subaru subconsciously glanced behind her.

  “If you are wondering about Julius, you can rest easy.”

  “—!”

  As he did so, the mischievously grinning Anastasia seemed to read his mind.

  “Currently, Julius is under house arrest by order of the captain of the royal guards. He’s currently undergoing punishment for smacking around someone else’s boy without my say-so. That knight of mine is quite a handful.”

  “House arrest…”

  Now that she mentioned it, Subaru recalled the night when Reinhard had told him the same thing. As a result of his private duel with Subaru, Julius was being disciplined with house arrest. Apparently, that was why he hadn’t accompanied Anastasia to the current meeting.

  “I see. That’s…very…unfortunate.”

  Subaru was too pathetic to keep the look of relief off his face. But even then, he was unable to summon any words he might have for the next time they met.

  “You said you were invited here. By Subaru Natsuki, I take it?”

  Crusch addressed Anastasia, ignoring Subaru’s wounded feelings. Anastasia sat in a chair offered to her as she stroked the fox-fur scarf hanging around her neck.

  “More precisely, it was the girl with him. Normally, I’d have just sent her away…but I couldn’t wave her off after she said there was super-important stuff concerning the White Whale.”

  When Anastasia finished chatting with a smile, Crusch turned to Subaru.

  After bringing two royal selection candidates to the same table, Subaru gripped his fist at the drastically altered situation.

  This is it. Everything starts from here.

  All the necessary parties were in the same room together. Subaru could finally begin the true negotiations.

  However—

  “Pardon me, Mr. Natsuki, but there is one thing I would like to ask you.”

  Naturally, Russel did not find the invitation of a rival merchant to the meeting very amusing.

  “Go ahead, Mr. Russel.”

  “Mr. Natsuki, I would like to hear your true motive for calling Lady Anastasia to this place. As she is both a candidate in the royal selection and president of the Hoshin Company, possessing great influence with the merchants in the royal capital, my position here has become highly…indistinct. Surely it could not be…”

  �
�You’re wondering if I’m weighing other options?”

  The instant Subaru responded to Russel’s doubts, the atmosphere in the reception room grew taut.

  Of course, Russel felt slighted, but his grave expression spread to Crusch as well.

  “In other words, you are saying this: You shall select your alliance partner based on who bids higher for the information on the White Whale, my house or Anastasia Hoshin?”

  “”

  “If so, that is an exceedingly imprudent choice, Subaru Natsuki.”

  With Subaru silent, Crusch slammed him with the force of her will, rising to her feet and gazing down sharply at Anastasia.

  Amused, Anastasia tilted her head slightly as she spoke. “Oh my, Crusch. If you look at me like that, I’m going to get excited… That’s a face that people in the lead get when they’re worried about their competition catching up soon.”

  “You have questionable hobbies. Perhaps it is the correct decision for someone like you—openly motivated by personal greed—but my principles shall not be swayed.”

  After fending off Anastasia’s taunt, Crusch turned back toward Subaru with a serious expression.

  “It is as I said, Subaru Natsuki. If you expected a bidding war between my house and the Hoshin Company for your information, let me say that you will be disappointed. I have no intention of cooperating with your sch—”

  “Wait, wait, you’re jumping to conclusions! Both of you calm down, okay?”

  Subaru scrambled to stop Crusch from breaking off negotiations and wrecking all his efforts so far.

  “Jumping to conclusions…? Mr. Subaru, so it was not your intent to draw two candidates to compete against each other?”

  “Of course not. I’m not so overconfident to think that I can make people dance in the palm of my hands. I ain’t Buddha. Really, with what I have…”

  Subaru gave a little wave before making a show of holding Rem’s hand as she stood beside him. The touch conveyed a body heat that sent courage flowing into him, calming the faint trembling of his fingers.

  “All I can manage with hands my size is holding on to another person, like this.”

  “Ahh, yes, yes, very touching. So where do you plan to take the conversation from here?”

  “Er, I guess that was a pretty lame line…”

  When he tried loosening his grip, Rem fiercely resisted letting go, so Subaru left it at that while using his free hand to slap the table before continuing.

  “I’ve played the White Whale card, and I’ve invited two people who represent the merchants in the capital. That makes the situation a big deal already…but I want to propose one more thing.”

  Subaru tapped his fingers on the table while sending a fierce smile Crusch’s way, blatantly hiding all the frail, weak-kneed parts of him behind a bold, confident front.

  “Willing to listen?”

  “I am the one who rushed to conclusions and interrupted you. I have an obligation to listen. Say what you will.”

  The sense of an oppressive wind blowing from Crusch intensified. On top of that, even Anastasia showered Subaru with similar pressure. It seemed like he would buckle at any moment.

  He had no doubt that if he was alone, he would’ve laughed, made light of it all, then promptly run for the hills.

  “”

  He felt a squeeze from the warm touch of the hand clasped around his.

  She could not call his name, nor could she offer any words. All she could do was convey her feelings. That made him happy.

  As long as he had that, Subaru could probably take on even the Witch.

  “”

  He closed his eyes, held his breath, and keenly felt thoughts and oxygen coursing through his brain.

  I’m pretty sure she’ll bite.

  After thinking about it over and over, incessantly recalling what happened on the first, second, and third loops, he pieced together his accumulated knowledge, then drew out what he expected to happen onto a blank, white canvas.

  He wasn’t…absolutely sure. It wasn’t like anyone had told him that’s what would happen, either. But combined with the pieces found scattered throughout the ongoing negotiations, the vague image pointed to only one possibility.

  It was either a convenient delusion or a miracle he had obtained after suffering death three times.

  It comes down to this.

  “Crusch, I think…”

  “”

  “…I think my information will be extremely useful for your plan to hunt down the White Whale.”

  Subaru’s future information and the objective Crusch harbored—these formed the basis of his decision. Subaru would become a suitable ally for Crusch Karsten, as a comrade in arms against their mutual foe: the White Whale.

  3

  In the instant after Subaru spoke, the room fell into silence as each person in attendance sank into thought: Crusch, Anastasia, Ferris, Wilhelm, Russel. Each closed their eyes, as if digesting the words Subaru had just given voice to.

  The moments that passed amounted to several seconds, but the incredible pressure of that quiet tied Subaru into knots.

  This is it. This’ll decide everything.

  Unlike the events so far, simulations in his mind wouldn’t cut it. Unable to determine the other parties’ probable reactions, he was left with no choice but to react instantly to what they did then and there.

  “I shall ask you about one thing, Subaru Natsuki.”

  As he’d expected, it was Crusch who broke the silence.

  Crusch unfolded her arms and raised a single finger, turning it toward Subaru.

  “From where did this extraordinary idea come? Why do you believe that my house has crafted such a plan? It is not a statement you can simply walk away from.”

  Her uninflected voice betrayed no alarm or bewilderment, nor any emotions. Awed by her statesmanship, Subaru’s gaze wandered as he breathed in and called out a name.

  “Rem.”

  “Yes.”

  “Give my back a good, hard smack, would you?”

  “Yes.”

  The moment he finished talking, Subaru thought to himself, Uh, a good, hard smack might be overdoing it, but it was too late. With an incredible jolt and a dry, explosive sound, the force shooting through his back made him wonder if his guts were about to spill from his belly.

  He felt something hot press against the center of his back in the shape of a small hand. Using the pain and heat to gather his wits, Subaru bowed his head to all the confused people watching.

  “Sorry you had to watch that. I was losing my mind a little there.”

  “Everyone can remember one time or another when they needed to rally themselves after faltering before a great challenge. I was taught long ago to write ‘enemy’ on my palm, then to swallow the word to steel myself…”

  “Lady Crusch, Lady Crusch. That’s the charm Ferri taught you a long time ago. You still remembered that?”

  “What…? Was it…a lie?”

  “It wasn’t based on anything concrete, but if the charm helped dispel any doubt in your heart, then it was no lie, Lady Crusch. Ferri’s really happy to have been a help to mew.”

  “I see. So you were thinking of me. In that case, I forgive you.”

  Seeing how easy it was to cajole Crusch made the earlier discussion about her blessing rather suspicious. Though after many years together, Ferris probably knew exactly how to exploit the loopholes in her lie-detecting ability.

  “Gotta say, though, this kind of talk is in a different dimension compared with the negotiations earlier…”

  “It’s not that strange. I do the same thing before I begin working on any important business deal. Jingling a sack of gold coins by my ear brings out my courage… What’s with the face?”

  “I was just thinking that if we cut off the conversation here, no one would guess that you guys are competing for control of a kingdom right now.”

  Subaru pretended not to notice how trivial their chat was compared with the im
portant matters they should have been focusing on. Anastasia pouted at Subaru’s reaction, then sighed deeply before continuing.

  “All right then. Now that we’ve had a nice change of pace, let’s leave it at that and let you pick up where you left off.”

  “Yeah…thanks for being so considerate.”

  Crusch and Ferris were simply talking as they usually did as master and servant, but Anastasia’s benevolent humoring of the off-topic conversation had bought Subaru precious time to organize his thoughts into something coherent.

  “There were a bunch of things nagging me while staying at this mansion for the past several days. First is the number of people passing through. The volume of visitors and goods going in and out has been more than just a little high.”

  “That’s only to be expected once news that I am a royal candidate was made public. Surely you understand this?”

  “That explains the guests during the day. But what about the ones who came in the dead of night? After you’ve changed into your evening clothes, the only thing left for you is heading off to bed… Can you really claim that guests arriving at that hour are there just to talk?”

  One night, during the first time around, Crusch had invited Subaru to a drink in the evening. Having changed into a nightgown before sleep, Crusch was incredibly feminine, and Subaru recalled finding it awkward not knowing where to look, along with the conversation they had, of course. But that wasn’t the only thing he remembered.

  He distinctly recalled being together with Crusch, a wineglass in her hand, while noticing the presence of people coming and going in the yard below.

  “Given your personality, you’d never even think of drinking alcohol if you were receiving guests. So how do you explain all the people moving around the mansion after you’d gotten tipsy? They were there for something besides seeking an audience.”

  “”

  This time, Crusch did not have a response for Subaru’s deductions. Having tentatively seized the right to guide the conversation, Subaru tapped the table with his hand.

  “Another thing that bugged me was the market for metalwork here in the capital. According to a merchant I know, the price of various metal goods has been spiking. In other words, that means weapons and armor.”