Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Vol. 10 Page 7

  It was enough for her to understand exactly where Subaru had unconsciously let his feet take him—

  “You came to say goodbye to Miss Rem, right?”

  “…Well, somethin’ like that. I don’t plan to be away that long, but I wanted to see her face. I’m countin’ on you to take care of her while I’m gone, Petra.”

  Subaru conveyed his words in a joking tone as he gazed within the bedroom—and at Rem lying on the bed within. Her appearance never changed no matter how many times he came, or how many hours he spent at her side. Even so, he visited when he had time.

  “…Master Subaru, it’s almost time to set out, so…”

  After Subaru fell silent, Petra tugged at his sleeve, indicating that it was time for him and Petra to part ways. Indulging in her generosity, Subaru said only one final thing:

  “…Well, I’m off, then. Be a good girl and wait, ’kay?”

  After saying goodbye to Rem’s sleeping face, he brushed his hair back as he left the room.

  “Master Subaru, it must be pretty hard for you, having so many people in your thoughts…”

  “I feel that’s like what people say to describe a playboy… Ah, well, it’s not like I’m splitting my feelings into two prongs or something, but I have to admit…”

  Subaru, heading for the rendezvous point at the mansion entryway, cringed under Petra’s exasperated-sounding verbal assault, despite the fairly indirect way she put it.

  That being said, Petra was not referring only to such things, but also to the context of the pair’s current actions.

  “I kinda figured I wouldn’t find anything, but no luck here. You?”

  “I checked every room, too… Is there really a mysterious room like that here? You’re not playing some kind of trick on me?”

  “I can’t fault you for doubting me, but you know that Beatrice really exists, right? That’s the loli in drills you were playing tag with in the mansion a while back.”

  “She was in a dress, not ‘in drills’…”

  Petra made a stern face toward Subaru’s assertion as she closed the open door of the final room. With that, they had finished checking every door on that floor. Unfortunately, they had not found one that led to the archive of forbidden books.

  “When she really wants to hide, it gets seriously rough… What’s up with her, sheesh.”

  Looking like he was chewing a bitter insect, Subaru disparaged the girl who had not shown her face whatsoever.

  Even though he and Emilia had decided to set off for the Sanctuary, Beatrice’s demeanor in their last encounter was another matter altogether. Over the last couple of days, he’d gone around the mansion searching for her room as much as he could, but the results had not improved.

  So he remained in the dark both about her relationship to the Sanctuary and about the truth behind the sad face she’d made—

  “I can’t talk to Rem. I can’t meet Beatrice… What the hell have I been doing?”

  “Master Subaru?”

  “Well, keep an eye out for Beatrice for a bit, would you? Maybe you’ll have a random encounter with her from opening one of these doors once in a while.”

  Naturally, even Petra grimaced at Subaru’s unapologetic request. There were a lot of things for her to learn in a new environment. Subaru felt guilty about adding to her burdens, but…

  “Sorry, I get it. But you’re the only one I can count on, Petra. I’m really sorry about this.”

  “…I’m the only one you can count on?”

  “Yeah, that’s right.”

  Frederica was devoted to Rem, but having her pay extra attention to Beatrice was too much to ask. He couldn’t help but think that she was an unsuitable person to entrust Beatrice to at the moment. But Petra seemed a similar age to Beatrice, so excess politeness ought not to be any barrier to contact.

  Those were the various factors he’d taken into account when entrusting Beatrice to Petra, but—

  “Tee-hee-hee. I guess it can’t be helped… If you put it that way, just leave it to me.”

  “Oh, really? Seriously, big help. You’re such a good, goooood girl, Petra.”

  Petra’s demeanor suddenly softened. Subaru stroked the smiling girl’s head as he breathed a sigh of relief. Now no night would pass without anyone paying Beatrice any mind.

  Though Subaru would truly have liked to have had a chance to exchange words with her one more time…

  “Master Subaru, Petra. This way, please.”

  As they engaged in such conversation, Emilia and Frederica were already waiting at the entry hall ahead. When Frederica bowed, Petra hurried to her side.

  “Petra, you did well to find Master Subaru. A job well done.”

  “Thank you, Miss Frederica. Anything about Master Subaru, please leave to me.”

  “My, she’s reeeally full of confidence.”

  Petra proudly pushing out her chest made Emilia and Frederica look at each other’s face with a smile. When Subaru immediately walked over, Emilia tilted her head a little and offered a greeting.

  “Good morning, Subaru. Did you sleep properly?”

  “I’m glad you didn’t oversleep from having way too much fun on that picnic, Emilia-tan. Feels like the other guy might’ve done something that stupid, though…”

  “Ah, you mean Otto? It’s all right. Otto woke up a long time ago and has been preparing the dragon carriage in front of the mansion.”

  “The hell? Sorry I worried, then. But, oh yeah…his life is riding on this, too.”

  Talking business with Roswaal would make an enormous difference in Otto’s life as a merchant, be it for good or ill. His drive was that of a man taking up the opportunity of a lifetime, and Subaru felt his high motivation reassuring.

  “Plus, I’d better think up some words of consolation for when he’s kicking himself at having come up short…”

  “Could you not speak such awful things the moment I come back to call you?!”

  Just that instant, Otto’s eyes were wide as he returned, barging into the hall. Subaru listened to the pleasant sound of the morning breeze, taking a deep breath before he made a declaration.

  “Well, now that we’ve had our clichéd banter, let’s be off!”

  “Do you not feel even a single shred of guilt?! Well, ahh, not that it really matters!”

  Otto, splendidly swept up in the flow, was drawn along as everyone headed out to the mansion’s courtyard. The dragon carriage was already parked in front of the entrance, with a jet-black land dragon and a blue land dragon perfectly in order.

  In particular, the black land dragon—Patlash—stretched out the tip of her nose when she noticed Subaru.

  “Just like usual, you really act all friendly toward me, huh?”

  “However, it seems the lady concerned is merely saying, ‘You may stroke me if you wish’…”

  “Her breed’s supposed to be really proud. Is that really the only thing left from her rearing…?”

  Subaru put on a skeptical face at Otto’s cross-species translation, an effect of his language blessing.

  Everyone’s lips treated Patlash as if she was temperamental, but in truth, from the time he’d first met her, Subaru hadn’t felt any such thing, only great amiability. Even now, when he reached out his palm and rubbed her neck, the corners of her mouth were relaxed, and she was fond of people as far as he could tell.

  “I really don’t understand why. What, did I save you in a past life or something?”

  Putting aside the notion of reincarnation, he was in a different world, so it wasn’t likely a past life had anything to do with it. It’s probably just simple compatibility, thought Subaru, and he left it at that. And that was one of the few strokes of good fortune that had bounced Subaru’s way.

  “Of course, to me, the number one stroke of good fortune was meeting Emilia-tan!”

  “Eh? I’m sorry, I didn’t hear quite right. Can you say that again?”

  “It’s pretty embarrassing, so I can’t force it out a
second time! I’ll say it tomorrow!”

  When Subaru hung his head, playing dumb as a defensive measure, Emilia went “Really?” with a mystified look. However, she immediately switched mental gears and turned to face Frederica.

  “Well, please take care of the mansion…Rem, Petra, and Beatrice included.”

  “You can count on me, Lady Emilia. Please take care on your journey— Also, take this…”

  Just as Subaru had done, Emilia freshly entrusted matters to Frederica. Frederica accepted the responsibility with a bow; finally, she offered something that came from her pocket.

  This was a necklace—a necklace adorned with a glimmering, blue, transparent crystal.

  “With this, you will be able to penetrate the forest barrier and enter the Sanctuary. After that, I have instructed the land dragons as to the location, so they shall surely lead the way.”

  “So that crystal is the condition for passing through the barrier, huh…? That’s what took two days to arrange?”

  Subaru peered at the glimmering crystal in Frederica’s hand, twisting his neck slightly in artless skepticism. The crystal looked rare. She hadn’t left in those two days, so how had she obtained it?

  Frederica covered her mouth and laughed in response to Subaru’s skepticism.

  “Strictly speaking, the two days of preparation were not for this alone…but the two are not unrelated. At any rate, the place and qualifications are in order. The rest comes down to resolve and a strong will.”

  “Pretty exaggerated way of talking. Not that I mind…,” Frederica said gravely.

  “Mm, I understand that it’s reeeally precious to you. I will take proper care not to lose…Frederica?” Emilia said, knitting her brows and nodding.

  When Emilia’s hand took the crystal offered to her, Frederica strongly grasped that hand.

  “…”

  Instantly, emerald and violet gazes intertwined, and Frederica’s cheeks faintly stiffened. But she followed the impulse to harden her cheeks by closing her eyes, quietly letting go of Emilia’s hand as she spoke.

  “Lady Emilia, please take care of the Sanctuary. And do not forget about what we discussed.”

  “Y-yes, it’s all right. Just what kind of place the Sanctuary is, and…”

  “Please…be mindful of Garfiel.”

  “Mm, I get it. I’ll give Garfiel my attention. Count on it.”

  Emilia gravely accepted the repeated warnings as she stuffed the crystal handed to her into a pocket. Subaru was watching the exchange to its conclusion, at which point they were just about ready to head out—

  “Um! Master Subaru…could you take this with you?”

  Red-faced, Petra held up a hand as she offered something to Subaru. She was trying to emulate Frederica as she offered a plain, white handkerchief with her hand.

  Subaru, suspicious concerning Frederica’s demeanor, went “Err?” as the gesture caught him completely by surprise.

  “A white handkerchief to see you off on your journey. You can clean yourself with it along the way and return it when you get back—I understand it’s not done much these days, but it’s an old custom to wish for someone’s safe return from a journey.”

  “Ohh, that sort of thing. Got it. Thanks, Petra. I’ll bring this back to you safe and sound.”

  Having been taught the meaning of the handkerchief being given to him, Subaru wrapped it around his wrist. His reply made Petra lower her red face; she gracefully slipped behind Frederica’s back.

  “Ah? What’s with that reaction all of a sudden? That difficult-age stuff’s leaving me out on a limb here.”

  “From the looks of it, Lady Emilia, Master Subaru has no right to criticize you.”

  “Me? Did I say something strange?”

  Frederica sighed deeply as both Subaru and Emilia twisted their necks, wondering what was amiss. In the end, they went without an answer to that question as Frederica stuffed the pair into the dragon carriage, all preparations to depart complete.

  “Yes, yes. Both of you hurry along now. The Lost Woods of Clemaldy that the Sanctuary is in becomes a dangerous place when night falls.”

  “We get it, we get it, geez. On your end, take care of the villagers, ’kay? Also, make sure to dispose of the mayonnaise in storage before it goes bad.”

  “I really have to wonder about lining up those two issues in the same sentence…”

  With an exasperated voice, she pushed on their backs, and Subaru and Emilia boarded the dragon carriage. When Subaru looked back out the window, two maids, short and tall, stood straight side by side as they looked up at the carriage.

  “I pray for your safe return. Please give my best regards to the master and to Ram.”

  “Master Subaru, take good care of Big Sis, okay? Also, to the noisy person, good luck.”

  “Is that not a horrible assessment of me?!”

  Heedless of Otto’s reaction, Frederica and Petra quietly gestured, giving Subaru and the others a completely courteous send-off.

  With that send-off pressed to their backs, the dragon carriage powerfully set off.

  “Well, all aboard! Otto, we’re counting on ya!”

  “I really cannot approve of this treatment…!”

  Otto left behind his lament at his treatment, poor to the bitter end, as they departed from the mansion.

  2

  “And just who taught you about that old custom?”

  Right around when the departing dragon carriage vanished from sight, Frederica posed that question to Petra, still bowing right beside her.

  The young girl’s big eyes went round at the question as she bashfully said, “I heard about it from Mother. She said it was how she won over Father.”

  “So you get that tenacity from your mother, do you? However, it seems the man concerned did not realize its significance.”

  “It’s fine. Even if he doesn’t know, if he thinks of me when he looks down at his wrist…”

  The reply was more forceful than expected. Frederica gave a strained smile at Petra’s positivity. Truly, she was a precocious girl at a mere twelve years of age— It made Frederica think of Ram.

  “She was a woman starting at a young age, too…in great contrast to her ability as a servant, however.”

  “Miss Frederica? Is something wrong?”

  “Not at all. I was simply thinking of your senior. She should be at the Sanctuary right now, dealing with a particular problem child.”

  Thinking back to the girl who accompanied her liege, offering her life to him, Frederica exhaled in melancholic fashion. Her hand reflexively touched the breast pocket of her servant’s uniform.

  “Now then, even if Lady Emilia and others are absent, there is still Lady Beatrice here at the mansion. I will have you learn all the basics within a week’s time.”

  “Yes! Ready and willing!”

  “What a wonderful reply this girl gives…”

  With an invigorated look, Petra raised her hand and happily ran into the mansion. Frederica smiled and observed her positive demeanor before finally turning in the direction of the dragon carriage one last time.

  Frederica’s beautiful emerald eyes faintly wavered, seemingly resisting the emotions filling her chest as her slender fingers took stationery out of her breast pocket. Then—

  “With this, I have done as the master instructed. It all comes down to whether Lady Emilia can overcome the Sanctuary. There is nothing I can do now, save pray.”

  Her fingers traced the edges of the letter she had read many times over. Finally, those fingers turned toward her own neck. However, the sensation she sought was nowhere to be found…

  “Please, Lady Emilia…be heedful of Garf.”

  3

  “So that Puck guy really hasn’t shown his face all this time?”

  “…Yeah, that’s right. I’ve called out to him over and over, and I can feel the link of the pact…but I’m reeeally worried. It’s not often he doesn’t show his face for a long time like this.”

&
nbsp; The interior of the dragon carriage racing toward the Sanctuary in good order echoed with Subaru and Emilia’s conversation.

  Thanks to the intervention of the wind repel blessing, neither loud sounds nor shaking were conveyed to the carriage interior. In that quiet atmosphere, they were not trading words about their enthusiasm at approaching the Sanctuary—rather, they were discussing an anomaly that had occurred during the last several days: Puck’s absence.

  In those several days, Subaru hadn’t seen any sign of him, Emilia’s contracted spirit and self-declared father figure. Beatrice’s plan had been to conceal herself through the use of Passage; this was different.

  “Come to mention it, I hadn’t seen him before getting back to the mansion, either. Since we left Crusch’s, maybe?”

  “Mm…since we returned to the mansion, maybe. I really wanted to talk to him about the Sanctuary, but I don’t feel like my voice is reaching him.”

  “Does Puck normally disappear from time to time?”

  “Errr, it happened a lot before he and I formed our pact…but the frequency’s reeeally gone down since then. Not meeting him for several days makes me a little concerned.”

  Subaru folded his arms as Emilia broached the subject of Puck prior to their pact.

  It was obvious, but there had been a time before Emilia and Puck were linked. He’d always seen the two together, so imagining them acting separately really didn’t seem right to Subaru, but—

  “Do you know where Puck goes when he’s not by your side?”

  “I think he’s probably doing something for the sake of world peace.”

  “Sounds like a little girl with fantasies about her dad’s work, but if he ain’t here, that’s the least of our problems.”

  Setting Emilia’s exaggerated expectations aside, she was the most precious thing to Puck in the entire world. The idea of him abandoning her to run off and do stuff somewhere sounded downright strange.

  “Plus with Puck not here, I’m straight-up worried about our combat strength. Otto isn’t exactly a master of the fighting arts, and my insides are all rattling around. Emilia-tan, it’s tough for you without Puck here, right?”