Arc 5, Chapter 11 – “A Surprising Reunion, A Fated Reunion, and an Unintended Reunion”

 

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All rights belong to Tappei Nagatsuki, the original author of the Re:Zero series. This is an English translation of the free web novel which is available at:

https://ncode.syosetu.com/n2267be

Translated by:

• Nanashi-tan
• Phantaminum

Proofread by:

• Phantaminum

Art Sources:

• Moyu

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After the meeting with the strange hooded man, the journey proceeded with no further incidents. Occasionally, Emilia would glance into the water, deep in thought, but she covered her discomfort with a smile before anyone could question her about it.

The only distinct feature of the man they’d encountered was that he was a man of similar age, wearing a hood, but he seemed to have some kind of connection to Emilia. From Emilia’s perspective, his behavior would have been fairly courteous. He may have been a little extreme in describing her hair but, more importantly, Emilia’s silver hair rarely made a good impression like it had on him.

Subaru: [Speaking of which, the cognitive disruption cloak…]

Subaru came to think of the man from just before, and suddenly, at the end of his train of thought, he realized something about the cognitive disruption―― the cloak she was donning was embued with a technique that made people involuntarily unable to perceive Emilia’s features, and that same effect had not befallen the man.

Provided the effects of that technique were not too strong or too weak, then others should be able to discern Emilia’s gender, at best. However, that man had clearly sighted Emilia’s silver hair.

Meaning, that the man had at least enough skills as to not get fooled by the spell.

Subaru: [Beako.]

Beatrice: [So you’ve noticed it, in fact. Emilia and Garfiel haven’t, and so they are walking around oblivious, I suppose. Careless children, in fact.]

Beatrice, walking by Subaru’s side, knew exactly what he was worried about.

As she led Subaru away from Emilia, Subaru brought his hand to his chin and frowned.

Subaru: [I don’t think he used any trick, but that guy was just suspicious. The cloak’s cognitive disruption should not be resisted so easily.]

Beatrice: [So he is either proficient in magic, or he has some Divine Protection… Anyway, he’s not just an ordinary man, I suppose. What a bother, in fact.]

Subaru: [Should we say something to Emilia?]

Beatrice: [That’s not necessary, in fact. If he were acting with malice then Emilia probably would have noticed it, I suppose. We don’t need to scrutinize this too much, in fact.]

Hearing Beatrice’s assertion, Subaru replied with an “I see”, accepting it.

Beatrice had spoken what she believed to be correct. Since she often spent time observing humans, and had been paying close attention to Emilia’s attitude, Subaru listened to her. There was no need to unnecessarily provoke unease.

Even so, Subaru and Beatrice must at least remain alert. In this vast city, meeting the man again by chance was unlikely. But there was a chance that he sought to actively contact them, so they needed to be wary.

Garfiel: [Hurry up, Captain. If ya go as slow as Beatrice, then it’ll be sundown by the time we get back.]

Beatrice: [Stop saying unnecessary things, I suppose. Smelly, annoying creature.]

Garfiel turned back at them and was laughing happily in response to Beatrice’s rude insults.

Suddenly, his expression changed. His ears moved back and forth, and his nose twitched.

Subaru: [What’s wrong?]

Garfiel: [Nah, it’s just, near the hotel… I can sorta hear an argument.]

They turned the corner as Garfiel finished talking, and Subaru and the others also heard the commotion. Indeed, it sounded like someone, or maybe multiple someones, were furious.

Subaru: [It sounds like it’ll turn into a fight, what a mess.]

Garfiel: [The Captain caused a fuss during the negotiation and ended up eatin’ some magic ore, do ya really have the right to say what’s a mess? If I weren’t at the Chamber of Commerce, ya would’ve been taken by the guards.]

Subaru: [That’s just my irresistible charm… Emilia-tan?]

Subaru suddenly found Emilia, who had just caught up, running past him. He called out to her, but she paid him no attention.

Emilia: [That voice, it sounds really familiar… Actually, I think that’s Joshua’s voice.]

Subaru: [Ah, you’re right. That does sound like the voice of that weak bastard.]

Emilia: [I’d be worried if he was in trouble. Let’s go.]

Leaving the less tense Garfiel behind, Subaru raced after Emilia. Turning another corner, he could finally see the Water Plumage Pavilion, where――

???: [Alright asshole, how many times are you going to make me say this!? Stop being stuck up and call your master here already!]

Joshua: [You’re so barbaric that I wouldn’t even call my brother here, let alone my master! Please leave while I’m still capable of speaking calmly!]

???: [Can you really not understand what I’m saying, oy? Let’s go, ya bastard!]

A young man with purple hair―— Joshua stood with his arms spread in front of the hotel, quarreling with another man. Although he was facing away from Subaru, his physique was clearly quite burly. Judging from his attitude, a brawl with Joshua would be inevitable.

Emilia: [That’s enough!]

In the time it took Subaru to judge the two men’s difference in combat prowess, Emilia had already rushed over and separated them. Having been jerked away, Joshua wore an expression of abject shock.

Joshua: [E-Emilia-sama!?]

Emilia: [I was on my way back from my business when I heard you two. Arguing in front of the inn like this. What’s the reason for your quarrel? Calm down and tell me about it.]

She spoke as if mediating an argument between two children. In that moment, the atmosphere of that place settled down. Subaru sighed with relief, and Garfiel sighed disappointedly, as if to say “Aww, no fight?” as he caught up with them in no hurry.

Joshua: [Everyone is arriving one after another… My apologies for troubling you.]

Emilia: [It’s no problem. Now, please tell me about your argument.]

Joshua: [How could I trouble Emilia-sama with such a petty thing…]

Joshua stubbornly refused Emilia’s intervention in the matter, as if worried that Emilia would use this opportunity to her advantage. If that was the case, then he was being paranoid. Even in a hundred years, Emilia wouldn’t be able to come up with such a cunning idea.

???: [There ain’t much to what happened. I was sent here, but this guy wouldn’t let me in, screaming. So, I was gonna have to fight him.]

In that tense moment, the man arguing with Joshua spoke up. His sharp eyes glared at Joshua with malice, and his voice was dangerous as he complained about his reception.

Joshua: [How many times are you going to make me say it? If you’re going to disguise your identity, at least do an appropriate amount of preparation. Even wearing your neat clothing, you can’t hide your true nature. You can only push a lie so far!]

???: [Oh well, excuse me! Hey, I don’t like dressing up like this. I’m running someone else’s errand! Ah, fucking understand what I’m saying!]

The man scratched his head in frustration, as Joshua refused to accept his claims. Even with Emilia’s interference, along with the others, the two were still stuck in that argument, like a world composed of only them.

Emilia: [Really, how can we set things straight like this? Subaru, how should… Subaru?]

Emilia, puzzled by the situation with the two men, turned to Subaru, who stood with his hand on his chin, frowning in thought in front of her. His gaze rested on the man who had been arguing with Joshua.

Emilia: [What’s the matter, Subaru?]

Subaru: [No, I might be mistaken… But I think I’ve seen him somewhere before…]

???: [Huh? What, oy. Are you picking a fight with… Hk!?]

Hearing the dialogue between Subaru and Emilia, the man’s sharp gaze turned in their direction, looking for a new place to direct his anger. But after seeing Subaru, he immediately stiffened.

His lips trembling, he pointed at Subaru.

???: [Y-you… that time with Reinhard…!]

Subaru: [“That time with Reinhard” is really specific… ah.]

“That time with Reinhard” was Subaru’s main clue. And then Subaru realized who he was. He was much better dressed than before, and his demeanor was slightly different, but his malicious eyes hadn’t changed.

Subaru: [Chin! Chin, right!? Wow, long time no see. Why are you here?]

Chin: [Don’t act like we know each other! Who is this ‘Chin’ in the first place!? My name’s Larkins!]

Subaru: [So it’s Chin after all!]

Larkins: [Shut up!]

Subaru dropped a hand onto Chin’s shoulder, and Chin, or rather, Larkins, hurriedly shrugged it off. Subaru pouted at his cold attitude.

Emilia: [Do you know him?]

Subaru: [Ah. Well, he’s a familiar face that reminds me of the time I first met Emilia-tan in an alley in the Royal Capital. That was when she rescued me from a robbery.]

Emilia: [Eh, that’s ri… Uh, a robbery?]

Subaru: [The next time was when you were called to the Royal Candidate Meeting and I got stuck in an alley with Priscilla and he got his friends to attack us. Yeah, he’s a great guy.]

Beatrice: [To a lady like Betty he sounds like scum, in fact.]

Hearing Subaru’s words, Emilia and Beatrice reacted thus. Garfiel, who’d been hanging back, cracked his knuckles loudly, and Joshua’s expression became even more serious.

As the situation became more sinister, Larkins’s already pale face turned white.

Larkins: [W-wait, wait. So maybe that did happen a long time ago, but let me explain why I’m here and let’s forgive and forget. Yeah?]

Subaru: [Garfiel. What do you think?]

Garfiel: [There’s gonna be no pity from my amazin’ self, yeh?]

Larkins: [W-wait, wait a minute! Really, wait! Waaaaaaait!]

Larkins felt Garfiel’s aura that was distinguishable from a simple thug’s, and immediately realized that he had no chance of winning. You could say that being able to realize this was a skill that Larkins had developed just this past year. He fell onto his knees, begging with his hands over his head, then pointed at the hotel.

Larkins: [It’s the truth! I was summoned here… No, my employer was summoned here! But she said that she’d take a few laps around the city first, so I was sent to the inn to notify them. I’m not lying!]

Garfiel: [Ahh, I gotcha, I gotcha…. But hey, why don’tcha try explainin’ more slowly?]

Garfiel’s threatening attitude didn’t change as he approached Larkins. Although Subaru felt bad for Larkins, he found no reason to think better of him. His dress had improved, but his character had not, and so he had no way to make a good impression. It was inevitable that Joshua deny him entry into the hotel. Honestly, Subaru could empathize with him.

Garfiel: [Hey, that’s unlucky, ya bastard. Pickin’ the hotel my amazin’ self’s at was tough lu—— Hk!]

Garfiel was backing Larkins into a corner with a clenched hand.

However, Garfiel’s movements were suddenly interrupted when he immediately swung to face the other direction. His eyes widened for a moment, before narrowing into thin, wary lines. His hair stood on end, as his teeth, claws and muscles all reacted as if entering into a war zone.

A reaction too abrupt, too straightforward and too sudden.

Garfiel’s primal fighting instincts had been awakened, and thus Subaru was also infected by a sense of urgency. He, and the others, turned to follow Garfiel’s glare.

???: [Larkins, I was worried you would not return. Why are you making a disturbance here?]

In that moment, Subaru saw an illusion that a flame was standing in front of him.

The flames were shining red, taking a human form that waved its hand. No, not just a human form—— they were human. Hair the color of crimson, burning fire, eyes that trapped the clear blue sky in them. His slender body was clothed in white and his neatly arranged face was one that could never be forgotten.

His aura, slamming into everyone nearby, was the aura an ordinary person would feel upon seeing a hero. That was exactly what the situation was.

There was no mistake. This man’s name was,

Subaru: [——Reinhard.]

Upon hearing Subaru’s hoarse voice, the young man in question smiled gently. The smile was a soft one, intended to calm others down.

With just that smile, Subaru felt as if he had been taken into the arms of a guardian of peace. And it was not just Subaru, but everyone else seemed to relax as well.

Reinhard: [It’s been a while, Subaru. I did not expect to see you here. Although our meeting is thanks to Julius, who called me here.]

Subaru: [O-oh. Long time no see. How are you doing… Wait, are you saying that you were also called by Julius?]

Reinhard: [Technically, it was Felt-sama accepting Anastasia-sama’s invitation. I’m just here as her Knight, and I didn’t expect to see you here.]

As always, Reinhard’s presence dwarfed everyone else’s. Although Subaru had experienced this before, it had never affected him to this degree, and he found it almost difficult to carry a casual conversation.

That Subaru could feel Reinhard’s aura, which he was previously unaware of, attested to Subaru’s own growth. The more Subaru trained, the more he came to understand the difference between them.

Reinhard: [I see. It has been a year, hasn’t it? You seem much better than you were when we last parted ways. That makes me glad.]

Subaru: [Don’t say it like that, you sound like you’re making fun of me. I was a little proud of my growth, but seeing you makes me feel like it amounted to nothing.]

Reinhard: [I did not intend any such thing. In terms of my growth, I am rather disappointed. I have not changed much in the past year, so it is honestly rather embarrassing.]

That was probably because he’d already maxed his level, or close to it and it was difficult to raise it further. Seeing a man who was obviously already so strong but still wished to be stronger, Subaru could not help but feel intimidated.

Reinhard: [By the way, Subaru.]

Subaru: [Hmm, oh, what is it?]

Reinhard: [The one who’s been staring at me this whole time, is he your friend? If so, I would be glad if you asked him to relax a little.]

Reinhard smiled wryly in Garfiel’s direction.

Garfiel himself was incredibly tense, looking as if he was ready to rush forward with his teeth and claws to attack prey. Those were weapons that Subaru had relied on countless times over the last year. However, Subaru doubted that Garfiel was capable of harming the young man standing before him.

Subaru: [Garfiel, stop it. This is Reinhard. He’s my… friend. He’s not going to hurt you, I wouldn’t allow it.]

Subaru hesitated briefly before saying “friend”.

One time, he had been personally saved by the Sword Saint, and his last parting with Reinhard had been after Subaru’s humiliation at the Knights’ Training Field. When Reinhard reached a hand out toward shim, Subaru had turned it aside.

However, while Subaru considered all of this, Reinhard nodded with ease.

Reinhard: [Now, I have been introduced by Subaru. I am his friend, Reinhard van Astrea. I would be grateful if you would tell me your name.]

Garfiel: [——It’s Garfiel Tinzel.]

Reinhard: [A fine name. You’re well trained. For someone so young, it’s amazing.]

Subaru was struck by how accurate Reinhard’s assessments were.

In the one year after leaving the Sanctuary, Garfiel had learned much about the outside world and gained a calmer temperament. If he were to calm his demeanor and the way he spoke, then Garfiel would look roughly twenty years old, when in fact he was merely fifteen.

Reinhard’s remarks indicated that he’d easily seen through this.

Reinhard: [I’ve heard some of the rumors about Emilia-sama’s guards. The Strongest of Shields, Garfiel Tinzel, and the Spirit Knight, Natsuki Subaru, are both famous. It brings me pride to call you my friend.]

Subaru: [I’m glad to be called by my proper title, for once.]

Reinhard: [I’ve heard some of the other titles, but they are a little less pleasant. Speaking of which, is the Spirit from the title Spirit Knight that little girl over there?]

Reinhard’s attention turned to Beatrice, who shrank down next to Subaru. At some point, she’d taken his hand without him having noticed. Reinhard knelt, to look into her eyes.

Reinhard: [I can tell that you are a revered Great Spirit. It honors me to be able to speak with you like this.]

Beatrice: […Betty is Subaru’s Contracted Spirit, Beatrice, in fact. Betty doesn’t dislike your admiration, I suppose. Just, you should keep your distance, in fact. Surely you understand why, I suppose.]

Reinhard: [I understand completely. I am sorry to trouble you.]

Unlike Garfiel, she revealed no obvious weariness. However, she clung to Subaru’s hand with unusual tightness, and could not conceal its slight shaking.

However, it was not because she was afraid. This was something else.

And Reinhard, with his respectful, humble words, turned ceremoniously to Emilia.

Reinhard: [Emilia-sama, it has been a long time. Even in my own territory, I have heard about your achievements many times over.]

Emilia: [Yeah, long time no see, Reinhard. It’s really been a year since the castle. We’ve also heard about your achievements, too.]

Reinhard: [We have done far less than Emilia-sama has. I have been able to do little to help my master. Compared to all of Subaru’s achievements, I can only feel frustrated.]

Emilia: [Hahaha. Yeah, Subaru is amazing. I’m proud of my Knight.]

Emilia’s chest swelled with pride after hearing Reinhard’s flattery. Although she’d obviously missed the social rhetoric in Reinhard’s words, listening to what Emilia said made Subaru happy, even if the situation was equally embarrassing.

Anyway,

Subaru: [Looks like we’ve done enough greetings, but did you call Larkins’s name earlier?]

Emilia: [Ah, that’s right. Do you know him, Reinhard?]

Reinhard: [Yeah, I do. He is currently working under the employ of Felt-sama. Although finding places for him to be useful is difficult, Felt-sama has placed high hopes in him.]

Subaru: [That guy, Felt hired him!?]

At that piece of unexpected information, Subaru stared in shock. Reinhard turned to Subaru and frowned apologetically at his reaction.

Reinhard: [My apologies for failing to consider your feelings, especially since I was present in the alley where you two had an encounter. Afterward, a lot of things happened… When I told Felt-sama, she demanded on the spot that I invite them over.]

Subaru: [Ah, well, if you say so then I’ll believe it, but… Seriously, what kind of a coincidence is that? More than that… wait. You said ‘them’, as in plural?]

Reinhard: [Felt-sama has hired three men, including him. Those three are indeed the ones who tried to rob you in the alley.]

Subaru: [The Tonchinkan trio gets to work together!?]

Facing this cruel, mischievous fate, Subaru couldn’t help but cry to the heavens.

Immediately after being summoned to this world, Subaru had been attacked over and over by the same trio. He had not quite forgotten about them, but he had hardly expected to encounter them here, either.

Emilia: [Well, setting Subaru’s surprise aside… Larkins is under your care, and the employ of Felt-chan, correct?]

Reinhard: [That is correct. Felt-sama wanted to walk around the city and sent him to notify the inn of her arrival. I came since he had yet to return.]

Reinhard repeated what Larkins had said, and Larkins nodded rigorously.

Larkins: [T-that’s right! I kept saying the same thing over and over. Everybody doubted me for no reason. I demand an apology, oy!]

Reinhard: [Larkins. I have said this many times, but your words as a messenger lack the tone required. Although people can grasp the general situation, believing you is difficult.]

Larkins: [Bastard, whose side are you on!?]

Reinhard: [I am on the side of justice. And, in this case, I think it was inevitable that my friend’s younger brother would misunderstand.]

Turning away from a fuming Larkins, Reinhard smiled towards Joshua, who returned it with a rather embarrassed one.

Joshua: [Long time no see, Reinhard-sama. This time, it seems that my blunder has caused your messenger to…]

Reinhard: [The fault is ours, Joshua. Also, that honorific is so annoying. I know it has been a long time, but acting so distant makes me feel a bit lonely.]

Joshua: [Although my honorable nii-sama and Reinhard-sama are friends, right now they are also political opponents.]

Reinhard: [You have not changed. You don’t have to always imitate the olden days’ Julius in that regard.]

Reinhard gave a wry smile, while Joshua seemed to clench his teeth.

——Anyway, the commotion had died down safely. Although the temporary problem was gone, it was replaced by the emergence of other questions. That was,

Subaru: [Even so, if not only us but you as well were called here, then what’s Anastasia planning to do?]

Reinhard: [The invitation sent to us stated that she wished to exchange a useful piece of information in return for something. Although we initially thought that Anastasia-sama may have been up to something, we did not expect that Emilia-sama and you had been invited as well.]

Subaru: [So are you saying that we should be prepared for something even more shocking?]

Reinhard: [That is a possibility, yes. What do you say, Joshua?]

Once the attention was shifted to Joshua, one of the masterminds of the appointment, the young man shifted his monocle and blurted out, “I guess we’ll see”, to deflect the topic.

With his usual pleasant demeanor, Reinhard turned back to the inn.

Reinhard: [This is a pretty rare structure, the Water Plumage Pavilion. I have heard that this style of Wafuu architecture only exists in Kararagi.]

Subaru: [Ehhh, that’s surprising, you haven’t seen it before either. You’ve never been to Kararagi?]

Reinhard: [Yes. I am banned from going abroad. Because of the fear that the treaty between the countries will be breached, I must avoid the borders too. We are close enough to Kararagi as is, so Pristella is pretty much the limit of where I can go.]

Emilia and Subaru were stunned at Reinhard’s prohibition on travel. Maybe it was his style of joke, but Reinhard, who laughed lightly, did not give off that impression.

Asking about it would feel a little uneasy, so they postponed that line of questioning back.

Subaru: [We’ve been here for a while, and it’s kind of tiring to just linger near the entrance for so long. How about we go inside, since Felt isn’t here yet?]

Reinhard: [Sure, I’m not supervising her right now. Sometimes she runs off to stretch her wings and play. It’s nice to relax once in a while.]

Larkins: […”Sometimes”? Isn’t she always just stretching her wings and playing around?]

Reinhard: [Larkins, did you say something?]

Larkins: [Nope, nothing. So, can I go already? This is fun and all but it’s goddamn uncomfortable.]

Larkins muttered a curse under his breath after requesting permission to leave. Reinhard couldn’t help a sigh.

Reinhard: [Join Camberly and Gaston in guarding Felt-sama. Although there should be no danger, Rom-dono did not accompany us, and if Felt-sama takes any dangerous action, you have to be there to stop her.]

Larkins: [Yeah, I got it. What are you gonna do?]

Reinhard: [I’ll go into the inn, and stay with Emilia-sama. If anything happens, send me a signal with a Goa, and I’ll be there in five seconds.]

Larkins: [You ain’t kidding, are you, oy.]

Having finished, Larkins squeezed past Subaru. Halfway past, he did not forget to give Joshua a hard glare, still wary of Reinhard. He was really the model of petty evils.

Subaru: [Well, let’s go inside. We’ll say hello to Anastasia-san and tell her that Reinhard’s here.]

Reinhard: [I believe Joshua’s in charge of that. Well, let’s get going.]

Joshua: […Yes, I am. I apologize for the inconvenience.]

Joshua looked slightly lost. Was it because the situation had played out strangely and he did not fit in? In order to comfort him, Subaru, Reinhard, Emilia, Garfiel, and finally even Beatrice dutifully followed him into the inn.

Subaru: [I’ll feel bad if I shove everything onto him.]

Reinhard: [I’ll join Subaru in accompanying him.]

Emilia: [Ah, the two of them are going, I will too.]

Garfiel: [If the Captain ’n Emilia-sama are goin’, my amazin’ self’s goin’ too.]

Beatrice: [Betty doesn’t want to be the only one excluded from the group, in fact… But it wouldn’t be too much of a bother even in that case, I suppose.]

Subaru and Emilia: [Yes, adorable adorable.]

Subaru and Emilia, walking to her left and right, both stroked her head gently. Beatrice swatted their hands away, annoyed, then obediently grabbed the hems of their sleeves.

Joshua: [This place. Anastasia-sama is welcoming other guests right now.]

They were at a different room than the original dining hall. Subaru eyed Joshua wearily.

Subaru: [Guests? Did she invite even more people?]

Joshua: […You are about to find out, no matter if you look at me with those beastly, menacing eyes.]

Subaru: [‘Beastly’ is quite the harsh wording. Come on, my eyes aren’t that scary!]

Joshua: [You do not need to raise your voice like a Witchbeast for me to understand that.]

Subaru: [That’s even harsher, and what kind of Witchbeast, dog, rabbit, or whale? Pick one.]

These were Subaru’s top three most annoying Witchbeasts, from memory. Although, it seemed to him like there had been another, a Witchbeast with the face of a lion, which had been burnt to cinders, but it hadn’t been very remarkable. [1]

While Subaru was sorting through his faint memories, Reinhard gently whispered “Whale…”, interrupting Subaru’s train of thought. Upon noticing Subaru’s gaze, he spoke.

Reinhard: [Whale, do you mean the White Whale, Subaru?]

Subaru: […Yeah, that’s right. That’s the worst whale. There were so many times where I thought it was dying and it just refused to die. Thinking back on it, it was such a miracle.]

In fact, the increase in the number of White Whales honestly did make their victory a miracle. That Witchbeast had been such an amazing creature, and the disaster it wrought was likewise extraordinary. It had caused so much suffering that even now, Subaru’s chest tightened in pain at the thought.

Reinhard: [The subjugation of the White Whale, would you mind telling me about it in more detail later? I am not a man who is completely unrelated to that monster. Although, that would be a be a long story to tell.]

Subaru: [——Of course. As for your story, if it’s difficult to talk about then you don’t need to.]

Subaru was only vaguely aware of Reinhard’s experiences with the White Whale. To Subaru, the battle with the White Whale was the fruit of an old swordsman’s decade-long obsession with vengeance. And Subaru also knew of the Sword Demon’s origin, and of his relationship to the red-haired youth. As to what had happened between them, Subaru had no way of knowing.

——This was not the topic that Subaru could pursue out of curiosity, was how he judged it.

Reinhard: [Thank you.]

Thus, Reinhard responded briefly to the Subaru’s thoughtfulness.

Subaru sought nothing other than that.

Seeing Reinhard’s lowered gaze, Subaru gave a long sigh. Emilia and Beatrice looked at him, worried, and Subaru gave them an “I’m alright” smile.

Joshua: [We have arrived. Please wait in this tearoom until their meeting ends.]

Joshua, who had finally led them to their destination, gestured to a cross-style door. The style was so detailed that hanging on the door was a paper scroll. Subaru, although delighted, felt that his Japanese soul had become quite a bit strange.

But his optimistic thoughts would only exist for a brief while.

Joshua: [Excuse me. Would you mind being joined by other guests?]

He directed the question at the guests already occupying the tearoom. Someone inside, who shifted slightly, responded.

???: [——Sure. We do not have much to do right now.]

That calm voice made Subaru frown at start, but then surprise overtook him. It was impossibly familiar, and impossible to forget. Not only that, Subaru had only just been thinking about its owner. No one aside from Subaru seemed to notice it—— Or rather, no one but Reinhard. His face became stiff, his blue eyes swaying with hesitation.

Joshua, having not noticed, opened the door. There was a quiet sound of wood on wood, as the occupants of the tearoom came into sight.

Then, the occupants, seated on mats of cloth, looked over to the new guests.

Reinhard: [——Ah, Oji-sama?] [2]

Wilhelm: [Is that, Reinhard?]

The voices of the grandfather and the grandson overlapped.

That was the unintended reunion between Reinhard van Astrea and Wilhelm van Astrea.

 

Translation Notes:

[1] – Gee, poor Guiltilaw, Tappei never stops making fun of him. Fodder in Arc 4, fodder in Bonds of Ice, and the butt of every damn joke.

[2] – Grandfather, but with great respect (祖父様).