※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO TAPPEI NAGATSUKI, THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OF RE:ZERO STARTING A LIFE IN A DIFFERENT WORLD FROM ZERO, THIS IS A TRANSLATION OF THE FREE JAPANESE WEB NOVEL INTO ENGLISH
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Translated by:
- TranslationChicken
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Original credit for this translation goes entirely to TranslationChicken and his team.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
――An oppressive silence had fallen over the refuge shelter.
There was the occasional faint sound of sobbing and someone nervously tapping their fingers on the floor.
Listening to that unsettling backdrop, the girl hugged up her knees, feeling the coldness of the wall against her back.
It was a little girl with golden hair.
Resting her chin on her small, pale kneecaps, the girl gently wrapped her arm around the little bundle at her side.
Leaning against the girl’s left shoulder, with his head buried between his chest and legs, was an even younger boy―― the girl’s younger brother. He had been crying wretchedly until now, but, apparently tired from the sobbing, had now fallen asleep. Wet tear-tracks still lined his cheeks, and the corners of his eyes were red from crying. The girl wanted to softly stroke his hair, but hesitated, afraid that it might wake him.
If he could sleep, then it would be better if he kept on sleeping.
While listening to her younger brother quietly snoring, she hoped that he might at least find some rest in his dreams. Because the reality outside those dreams would be far too harsh for her little brother to bear.
Though the same applied to the older sister, thinking about her little brother.
――Several hours had passed since the announcement that the towers that controlled the great watergates of Pristella had been taken.
That morning, the girl had been out in the city square with her little brother, when they heard the broadcast. She could not believe her ears at the time she heard those words, full of hate and malice. Worrying for her parents as she listened to that unacceptable ultimatum, the girl took her frightened little brother by the hand and ran to the shelter with the adults around her.
――If an unexpected situation occurs, quickly retreat into the shelters.
That had been the emergency response procedure broadcasted from the City Hall, every morning.
Honestly, the girl did not remember paying a lot of attention to the morning broadcasts, aside from the Songstress’s songs. But those words nevertheless remained at the back of her mind. And so, she had immediately remembered them at a time of emergency.
However, neither the girl nor the surrounding adults seemed to have any idea about what to do once they were inside the refuge shelter.
――Witch Cult. Control towers. Great watergates. Demands.
That vile woman’s ear-piercing voice showered abuse upon the frightened people. Every single one of her deranged, senseless words filled the girl and the adults’ minds with dread.
Trapped in this dark shelter, they knew nothing of what was happening outside. And so, without any signs of the situation improving, it was only natural that, as time passed with no improvement in sight, panic began to take hold.
First, the voices of mutual encouragement weakened, then gradually, anxiety and frustration festered in the silence. By the time anyone noticed it, displeasure had have become apparent on the faces of everyone around them, and the atmosphere had been infested with pent-up discontent and hostile gazes.
Once it begun, there would be no stopping it.
Staring at each other, shouting at each other. At worst, people would start trading punches.
Even in this shelter, this atmosphere had been looming, ready to explode at the slightest touch.
Boy: [Aah――――]
Yet, just before the bloodshed began, the perilous air had been shattered by the girl’s crying little brother. It appeared that, even with a violent urge boiling inside them, the adults still had enough decency not to exact violence in front of a little golden-haired child crying for help.
The sound of a child crying was powerful, in a way.
She had always thought that her little brother’s crying was noisy. But, realizing what it had accomplished just now, the girl hugged her brother from behind and wept a little.
With this alone, violence had been averted inside the shelter.
But everyone knew that it was merely a moment of calm resting upon a precarious equilibrium. Next time, it would certainly not be something a child’s cry could stop.
Knowing this, the people in the shelter, who should be tied by their shared fates, began to keep their distance from each other, not only verbally, but with their gazes and their breaths.
As if to avoid being influenced by other people’s consciousnesses, they had shut out everything from the external world. Who knows what might have drawn someone else’s attention, incite their anger, and end up pulling the trigger?
So, whether it was for themselves, or for everyone else, they held their breaths and made themselves smaller, as they waited for time to pass. “Something will change if you just wait for it”, they left themselves to that fleeting hope.
Girl: [――――Ah.]
Suddenly, the girl lifted her face with a quiet moan. While silently yearning for a change to come, she caught a subtle shift in the air.
Spurred to the same reaction, the people around her also turned their heads, perhaps for the first time in hours. This was because everyone living in this city knew that faint tremor in the air―― it was an indication that a broadcast was coming.
In that world of silence, it almost sounded like someone nearby had sighed. That precursor to the broadcast sent a sense of physical revulsion throughout her body.
The change they were hoping for should have been something positive. But a broadcast would only bring the Witch Cult’s malice. What kind of impossible demand would that shrill voice impose next?
But here, the girl’s pessimistic prediction was betrayed.
???: [――Uhhh… So um… Can everyone hear me properly? Mic-test mic-test, one-two one-two.]
Instead, the voice she heard was that of a youth who sounded somewhat confused.
Unlike any other broadcast before this, the youth’s voice was lacking confidence. It was not the charismatic voice of the man she had grown used to hearing every morning. But a young voice she had never heard before.
The girl’s eyes grew round. The surrounding adults also traded gazes of doubt, unsure of what was going on.
Such sentiments would not reach the person behind the broadcasting device. Nevertheless, after doing a few more checks to make sure that the broadcast going through, the youth cleared his throat. And,
???: [Sounds like you guys can hear me, that’s a huge relief. So, first of all, sorry for doing a broadcast all of a sudden. I probably scared you, huh. Considering the circumstances, most of you must be on edge, wondering what I’m going to say. But I want you to rest easy. The Witch Cult aren’t the ones doing this broadcast right now. First of all, I would like you to understand that.]
Girl: […It’s not, the Witch Cult?]
Apparently not used to talking through the magical device, the volume of the youth’s voice fluctuated up and down.
But, since the listeners were so overwhelmed by the content of his words, no one remarked on it. Looking up to where the voice seemed to be falling from, the darkened expressions on the people’s faces began to shift. It was the sensation of having sighted the first glimmer of hope.
Someone quietly muttered,
Person 1: [Then, that means… we’re saved?]
Those words encompassed the hopes of everyone inside the shelter.
That’s it, isn’t it? If someone other than the Witch Cult is speaking through the broadcasting device, that can only mean that they’ve recaptured the City Hall. If someone managed to drive the Witch Cult out of the City Hall, then maybe the Witch Cultists in the control towers and all over the city are also――
Person 2: [The Witch Cultists… were all driven out…?]
???: [Next, I have to apologize for getting everyone’s hopes up, because the threat of the Witch Cult hasn’t gone away yet. We were able to retake the City Hall, but they’re still holed up in the Control Towers. Those guys’ demands, and the danger of the city sinking beneath the water are still in play. Please understand that as well.]
Everyone: [――――]
Yet, this fleeting hope was not crushed by anyone else, but by the youth behind the broadcasting device himself. It was almost as if the youth had read the minds of everyone inside the shelter. But wasn’t it far too cruel to extinguish their fledgling hopes like this?
Someone who had unwittingly stood up, expectation in their eyes, sat down again.
Nobody could blame that someone for feeling discouraged, being told that their hope of being relieved from their fears had been misplaced. Instead, everyone’s anger turned to the youth making the broadcast.
???: [I’m sorry.]
However, the youth had apparently foreseen that the crowd’s anger would be directed at him.
???: [Where are you listening to this broadcast right now? Maybe you’re in one of the shelters, and I’m sure there are those who didn’t manage to escape into the shelters as well. Everyone must be filled with anxiety, right? I can understand what it’s like to be afraid and wanting to curl up into a ball. And I guess you’re all thinking “Who is this random guy toying with everyone’s hopes at a time like this?”.]
Everyone: [――――]
???: [I’m… just a nobody. Like everyone else, I’m just being tossed around by the circumstances, getting crushed under this unreasonable weight, and I’m so scared that my legs can’t stop shaking. That kinda guy. Even the job of doing this broadcast… I only accepted it after making a huge fuss. And I still think that the burden is too heavy for me. Honestly, there are others who are way more qualified to talk to everyone like this. I’m sure there are.]
The youth’s voice was trembling, as if speaking straight from the people’s terrified and cowering hearts. What followed were simply the honest thoughts of a youth doubting his own value.
The attitude of the listeners had gone beyond surprise and disappointment, until all that was left was uncertainty. Right now, when what everyone yearned for was hope, why did they put this youth in front of the broadcasting device? Even the youth himself said that there were people more suitable than him.
But why did they send him?
???: [But here I am, talking to everyone. So many people, people greater than I am, told me that I should do it. That it wouldn’t be totally pointless. But, can you hear my voice trembling? Speaking in front of people isn’t my strong suit. I’m not good with words, and I don’t have the charisma to lead everyone. I’m weak, helpless, and even here, in such an important position, I can’t help but want to run away….]
The tone of his voice gradually fell, as if dragging the hearts of those listening into the abyss.
That weak, faltering voice sounded like it was creaking through a chest shrunken by anxiety, only to tangle up at his stomach. If the youth behind that voice were within arm’s reach, she would have liked to plug his mouth to shut him up.
Boy: [Onee-chan…]
Before she knew it, her younger brother had woken up.
Hearing that call, the girl hugged her little brother’s ears as if to keep that wimp’s voice from sneaking in and infecting him with its cowardice.
But, as the price for protecting her little brother, that voice continued to cause the girl’s eardrums to quake, drawing her into its weakness. Still, the youth’s voice went on.
???: [I don’t know what I can do… What I really want is just to plug my ears, hold my head, hide in a corner by myself and wait for someone else to fix everything for me….]
Girl: [――No…]
Squeezing her eyes shut, the girl shook her head, as if rejecting that sense of helplessness and despair.
She knew. She knew that, even without having him remind her. What the youth was saying was nothing less than the inner thoughts of every person in the city, frightened by the threat posed by the Witch Cult.
It was the weakness nested inside the girl’s body. It was the cowardice rooted in the depths of the adults’ hearts. It was the unbearable dread tormenting her little brother’s soul.
Surely, it was something nobody could do anything about. And to have to face that unreasonable reality in spite of this――
???: [――But, since I can’t run away, I’ll fight. That’s just the kind of guy I am.]
Saying this, the youth’s voice was clearly quivering.
Girl: […Huh?]
Not sure if she had misheard it, the girl opened her eyes and looked around her. The owner of the voice could not be found there. But all around, she could see astounded faces just like her own.
The voice paused for a moment, as if choosing its next words. And,
???: [Let me ask you again. Everyone listening to this voice, where are you now? Have you escaped into a refuge shelter? Are you hiding inside your house? Are you trembling alone? Are you with someone? Are you with the person most important to you? Or, even if you’re next to an unfamiliar face, is it a face that you have grown to know over the past few hours?]
Everyone: [――――]
???: [It’s a pretty arbitrary request, and it may be difficult, but please don’t be alone. When a person’s alone, they just start coming up with lame ideas. I know that from experience. Trust me. So please don’t be alone. Stay with someone. And――]
He breathed in, his voice faint, his tongue hesitating ever so slightly,
???: [If you can, look at the face of the person with you.]
Girl: [――――]
Following the youth’s words, the girl’s gaze slowly moved towards her arm.
Her little brother was looking up at her. His swaying, uncertain emerald eyes met hers.
???: [Whose face do you see now? Is it someone dear to you, or a stranger who you’ve spent these past few hours with? Or maybe it’s a friend… But most likely, it’s a wretched face. A face that’s about to cry, a face that’s in distress, and I imagine it probably isn’t smiling. No, perhaps there’s someone out there who’s putting up a strong face, forcing themselves to smile so they don’t worry the people around them. If that’s the case, then that’s an amazing person. If someone you care about is smiling like that, you should be proud of them. But now, with that in mind, compare it with the smile you know.]
Her brother’s face was close to crying. It was a crumpled face, a face that was about to burst into tears again.
While, reflected in her brother’s eyes, her own face was hollow, as if it had lost its expression.
???: [――Is this acceptable to you?]
Girl: […No way.]
A small, thin voice slipped from the girl’s lips. It was a weak and broken sound, impossible even for herself to hear. Nevertheless,
???: [I can’t accept this. I will not accept this.]
The youth’s voice rang, as if he had heard her reply.
???: [I also have people I cherish. Friends I hold dear. And I cannot forgive whoever put that pained, sorrowful expression on the faces of the people I love. I don’t want you to force yourself to smile. Are you kidding me? Don’t be stupid. I wanna raise my voice and shout that the smile of the girl I know should be way cuter than this…]
Boy: [O-onee-chan…]
???: [I don’t want to keep losing. It’d be too pathetic to give up here. There’s no way I can allow it. They’re the ones in the wrong. Even if you’re too weak to do the right thing, to strike down those in the wrong, you should at least know what’s right. And when you know you’re right, there’s no way you can allow yourself to lose to those who are wrong. At least, I don’t intend to surrender and bow to those guys.]
Girl: [Fred…]
Hearing her little brother faintly calling her, she gently held him closer and pressed her forehead against his.
Feverish heat transferred between them. Hot, very hot, it was the heat of life.
She could not tell if it was her younger brother’s or her own, but the heat was certainly there.
???: [I wanna run away, but I can’t run away. I wanna cry, but I can’t cry. The enemy’s strong, but I don’t wanna lose. And so, I’ll fight. I know I’m both weak and stupid, but still. I’ll fight. They’re wrong. They’re wrong to have made the people I care about look like they’re about to cry. So, fight. I will fight―― And I want you all to fight.]
Girl: [――Hk.]
Her breath clogged. Her throat suddenly closed, ashamed of her own weakness.
Surely, it was because the voice of the youth had ceased to tremble, but had become powerful, as if pointing to the road ahead.
She could understand the youth’s feelings. She received the youth’s message, painful and clear.
In her heart, the girl’s will was the same as the youth’s. She wanted to fight. She wanted to do all she could to drive out the thugs who had attacked their city. But both she and her little brother were small, young, and their reach were far too short.
They were helpless, ignorant, weak, and cowardly, and so――
???: [Don’t get me wrong. I said I want you to fight, but I’m not telling you to pick up a stick and fight them. In fact, please avoid doing anything so reckless. I don’t want you to mob up and spill blood fighting against the Witch Cult. What I am asking you to fight for is to not look down.]
Girl: [To not… look down…]
???: [Staring at your feet isn’t going to change anything. Your gaze isn’t going to bore a hole in the floor, and even if it does, that won’t fix a thing… So please, lift your face and look ahead.]
She looked up. Not at her knees, not at her brother’s blond hair, but at the shelter.
And there, she saw the faces of those around her also looking up. Their eyes met, wide open in astonishment. Just like the girl, everyone had subconsciously raised their faces, obeying the voice of the youth.
???: [If you look around you, surely, you’ll meet someone’s eyes. Like you, that someone has the same feelings of anxiety, the same wish to run away… But, just like you, that someone also doesn’t wanna lose. There’s the person you cherish, there’s the person you are looking at now, and if you add yourself to the list, that’s already three people. There should be more depending on where you are.]
Just as the youth had said, the people’s gazes intersected as they lifted their faces.
The gleams within their irises were complicated, and surely, the girl’s own eyes must have been the same. However, before they knew it, there now seemed to be something more than just tremors of terror.
???: [If you can see that you’re not alone, then that’s enough. You’re not alone. That in itself’s powerful, don’t you think? I don’t wanna see saddened expressions on the faces of the people I love. And I don’t want the people looking at me now to see a miserable expression in my eyes. I’m not the only one who’s that vain, weak, and stubborn, am I?]
Everyone: [――――]
That beseeching, calling voice was trying to muster people’s courage. And yet, to the girl’s ears, the youth was pleading for help―― for something, anything, to cling to.
And then, she realized it.
The youth’s feelings had never changed since the moment the broadcast had begun. While lamenting his weak, insufficient self, he had not given up.
He was telling himself that that was his only weapon, and telling everyone else that they were also the same.
???: [Please, help me believe this. I may be weak and hopeless, but I can’t give up just yet. I can’t be the only coward who hates giving up… Please, help me believe that.]
It was a cowardly voice. A cowardly plea.
The voice was nothing other than that. A situation with everyone asking for help, it was shamelessly shouting “Please help me” louder and quicker than anyone else――
???: [Or… am I the only one?]
The voice lost its confidence. Or rather. The youth’s voice had no confidence to begin with.
A sense of agitation surged up. Don’t go. Whatever it took, she wanted to shout for him to stay.
Girl: […You’re… wrong.]
A faint voice, indiscernible like a mosquito’s cry, spilled from her throat.
That voice would not reach him. Her reply had to be louder than that. In order to answer the voice of that coward, afraid and alone――
???: [Who believes… even now… am I the only one who believes that we can still fight?]
Girl: [――YOU’RE WRONG!]
Opening her mouth, the girl screamed at the top of her lungs.
Voices resounded throughout the shelter. Not just the girl’s. Others, who had also lifted their faces, shouted out as well.
They were voices resisting against sorrow, weakness, and fear.
If that were the youth’s plan all along, then they fell for it through and through.
Who cared, even if that were the case? That wimpy trembling of his voice, that faltering pep-talk, that pitiful encouragement, and that pleading, clinging faith, even if all of it had been an act… If they fell for such a masterful performance, who could blame them?
But, if this really were the voice of a clumsy wimp, how could anyone just leave him be?
???: [I’m not, am I?]
Girl: [――You’re not!]
???: [You guys are still fighting, aren’t you? You haven’t been swallowed by weakness, have you?]
Girl: [We haven’t… We don’t want to lose!]
The depths of her chest grew hot. The roots of her teeth were trembling, and a passion different from anger was raging inside her.
That feeling was not restricted to the girl. It was a flaring passion, engulfing everyone in the vicinity into a single inferno. The anxiety they had only recently shared, now became a bonfire of a different, more intense emotion.
???: [If someone important to you is by your side, hold their hand and believe in them. If you’re with someone you don’t know, give them a nod and assure them you’ll do your best together. Because neither you nor that person have been crushed by defeat. Nor are you about to give up fighting. And as long everyone goes on fighting, I will fight to the end as well. I will fight―― I will fight, and win.]
Girl: [――――]
In the end, this was just a shelter, far away from the City Hall.
No matter how loudly they shouted here, no matter how much they screamed they felt the same, none of it would reach the youth. Still, the youth sounded relieved, as though he had heard the girl and the others’ replies. He received it, he received it and proclaimed in a voice trembling in swelling emotion.
――I will fight, and win.
There was no question that it was possible. Only faith that surely, he was able to do it.
Just as the youth believed that the girl and the people of this city would not be beaten by despair, the girl and the citizens believed that the youth behind that voice would prevail in the perilous battle ahead.
Why did they believe it? Because surely, this voice――
???: [――My name is Natsuki Subaru. I’m the Spiritual Arts User who defeated the Witch Cult’s Sin Archbishop of Sloth.]
Everyone: [――――!!]
An uproar erupted at the revelation of the youth’s identity.
The girl did not quite understand the significance of that declaration. But this was not the case for the people around her. The impact was overwhelming, and certainly not in the negative sense.
At first, they were shocked, then, as comprehension followed―― hope and faith spread explosively as even the girl’s heart was swallowed by that wave of emotion.
Subaru: [My colleagues and I will do everything to take care of the Witch Cult in this city! So, please believe in us and fight on. Hold onto the hands of the people precious to you, and cast away the weak part of your heart that wished to surrender. And…]
Everyone: [――――]
Subaru: [――Leave the rest to me!]
Deafening cheers erupted, flooding the shelter with heated enthusiasm.
Expectation became hope, and, in a single breath, one hope became hope innumerable.
The girl looked down at her younger brother in her arms and saw the undeniable light dwelling in his eyes. Just to be sure, she embraced her brother tightly once more. Her brother’s arms wrapped around her body in return, and, while savoring the warmth of that embrace, the girl looked up towards the ceiling.
Unable to hide his fear or apprehension, that youth nevertheless took on the hopes of every person in this city and declared that he would fight.
The girl closed her eyes, sketching out the image of the hero whose face she did not even know, and prayed for every imaginable good fortune upon him.
――Because surely, he must be just a common-place youth, unreasonably struggling for the sake of someone important to him.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
Subaru slowly stepped back from the magical device shaped like a gramophone.
Nervous sweat had completely drenched his forehead. Leaning against a nearby workbench, he roughly swiped it off his brow.
Taking deep breath after deep breath, he wondered if the device was picking up that sound. But when he looked to Anastasia, who was in charge of operating the device beside him, it seemed she had already safely powered it off. Instantly, he was washed over with relief.
Subaru: […Haaa, that was exhausting.]
He spilled a sigh, as his head churned with unimaginable fatigue.
Honestly, he was in such a trance while he spoke that he could barely remember a thing he said. It was not that he had forgotten everything, but the memories were too vague in places. And there was the draft of the speech, that had been given by Anastasia as a memo.
Everyone: [――――]
Wiping off the droplets hanging down his chin with a sleeve, Subaru noticed that the room was extraordinarily quiet.
The people who had been watching the broadcast did not say a word. Present along with Anastasia, were Garfiel and Al. While Julius and Ricardo, who later joined them, were also standing in a corner of the room. To see all these usually talkative people suddenly dead-silent could not be a good sign.
Perhaps his broadcast had been that bad and incoherent?
Anastasia: [Natsuki-kun.]
Subaru: [Uwah! I’m sorry! I’ll do better next time!]
Anastasia: [Why’re ya apologizin’? Strange kid.]
With his heart wracked by anxiety, Subaru involuntarily blurted out an apology the instant he heard his name. While laughing at his reaction, Anastasia tilted her head smiling.
Anastasia: [It’s a strange thing to say to a strange child, but Natsuki-kun…]
Subaru: [Hm?]
Anastasia: [Did ya use to be a con-artist back in the day or somethin’?]
Subaru: [What’s with that baseless accusation all of a sudden!? As you can see, I’m just a normal everyday student… Or actually, in a certain sense, I’m not even a student!]
Anastasia: [Ah, no no… I didn’t mean that in a bad way. I was just trying to say that the way ya spoke was exquisite… How ya cast them into despair only to lift them up again, simply a perfect way to deliver a speech.]
Waving off Subaru’s protests, Anastasia weakly giggled. But, hearing this only made Subaru more muddled than ever.
Subaru: [I’m horrible with words, the hell are you talking about? I blanked out right away and didn’t even know what I was saying. The only thing I can remember is that all the letters on the memo got blurred together so I gave up reading.]
Anastasia: [Yeah, ya pretty much skipped our draft. Ya can’t imagine how I felt when right off the bat ya started sayin’ things that had nothin’ to do with what we discussed… But it seems I didn’t need to worry myself.]
Subaru: [I’m very sorry about that! But, generally, wasn’t it more or less in line with your notes? I mean, if it got that bad, you would’ve stopped me, right, Anastasia-san?]
The notes in his hand, the cheat-sheet he had forgotten about at the most crucial moment, was filled with flowery oratory designed to clear away the anxieties of the people in this city. It was a proud conglomeration of Anastasia’s negotiation techniques, Garfiel’s vast stores of proverbs, and even some of Subaru’s modern knowledge of neat and witty comments.
Even though he had not been able to read from it when it actually mattered, he probably had some of its ideas floating around in his head and wound up including them in his speech one way or another.
Anastasia: [I don’t know how to put this, but, Natsuki-kun, yer speech didn’t even touch on anythin’ in the notes. I mean, none at all.]
Subaru: [――Eh?]
Without leaving any ambiguity on the matter, Anastasia’s words instantly shot down Subaru’s speculations.
Suddenly growing rigid, Subaru looked around at the others to confirm its truthfulness. However, the other four only showed their respective version of awkward faces as Subaru’s gaze passed over them. Among them, Julius took one step forward. And, while picking at his front hair,
Julius: [It’s just as Anastasia-sama said, Subaru. Your broadcast did not contain any of the things we discussed beforehand. In particular, the part that was supposed to have been revealed at the start, your accomplishment of having slain the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, was moved into the second half. It was almost to the point that I wanted to ask you what you were trying to do.]
Subaru: [Seriously? If I didn’t say that, then wasn’t I just some super-random-guy to them!? If it was like that, you should’ve stopped me! Even if I had to start over it would’ve been better than confusing the hell out of them!]
Julius: [Start over? That’s unthinkable.]
While Subaru started flipping out at Julius’s confession of doubt, Julius shook his head with an expression of complete seriousness. His face seemed to have almost a sense of reverence towards Subaru.
Julius: [――It was… a wonderful speech.]
Subaru: […Aah?]
Julius: [It does not matter that you forgot the notes. With your own ability, you have accomplished something far beyond our expectations. I have nothing but praises for your achievement. I cannot help but remember now the same sentiment I felt when you defeated both the White Whale and Sloth.]
In front of a stunned Subaru, Julius only piled on his exaggerated praises. In a way that was utterly unlike Julius, Subaru thought he saw excitement in the Finest of Knight’s eyes. But the moment he regained his senses, Subaru began to suspect that something was up.
What had gotten into this Knight? Could Subaru have upset his composure that much?
Subaru: [Quit joking around… I’ve always thought your jokes aren’t very funny, you know.]
Julius: [If that sounded like a joke to you, then it is only because you think far too little of yourself. But, then again, perhaps that is exactly what made your speech what it was. It was a speech no one but you could have made.]
Subaru: [You’re really making fun of me, aren’t you?]
Considering the critical situation they were in, Julius’s praises were only making Subaru more frustrated.
Subaru had already gotten used to Julius’s sarcasm by now, but this was not the time to be pointlessly bickering like this. If the speech did not have the effect they had hoped for, then they would need to come up with another plan as soon as possible.
Subaru: [Instead of giving people strength, if all I did was make them distrust us, then it won’t work even if I try again. Next time someone else should…]
Anastasia: [Natsuki-kun, that’s enough of yer self-deprecation, ya know? It’s makin’ people uncomfortable just listenin’.]
Saying this, Anastasia put a stop to Subaru’s whining from the side. She was glaring at Subaru with a look of disapproval on her adorable face.
Anastasia: [Yer speech was exceptionally effective. Guess I have to spell it out for ya, since ya can’t seem to realize it yourself―― Natsuki-kun, yer speech was more perfect than we could’ve ever imagined. Ya got the talent of a true instigator, y’know.]
Ricardo: [I’m with the young miss, ya know! Khhhhaaa, that gave me shivers! What’s with’cha “n words! Ya make it look easy, bro! The way ya tricked Emilia-sama, Crusch-sama, that lil” girl “n the ground dragon into fallin” all over ya, am I right!?]
Subaru: [Both of you are saying things I can’t just let slide! What do you mean, tricked!? Who are you calling an instigator!?]
Listening to their overly-scandalous evaluations, Subaru raised his voice.
But Anastasia and Ricardo only innocently looked at each other and shrugged. And now, seeing how everyone seemed to be in on it, Subaru began to suspect that they were not entirely joking.
This grew all the more obvious upon seeing Garfiel, squatting on the floor, watching him.
Garfiel: [Captain…]
Subaru: [Garfiel… what did you think?]
Garfiel: [Captain’s the Captain alright. It was no mistake to follow ya and leave the Sanctuary… That’s what I think.]
Subaru: […Your expectations are always a bit too heavy on me.]
Garfiel: [Well that’s the results of yer own action, ain’t that right, Captain.]
Garfiel got up and walked over to him, flashing his fangs in a smile. Seeing this, Subaru expelled a sigh through his nostrils,
Subaru: [In that case, running from my responsibilities would be the same as giving up, wouldn’t it? I don’t want that to happen… That’s probably what I said in the broadcast, right?]
Anastasia: [There ya go.]
Anastasia smiled, watching Subaru scratching his head, looking deflated as if only just now accepting this. She pumped up her little chest at this unexpectedly good outcome and softly rubbed her scarf with her hand,
Anastasia: [In fact, you’ve raised everyone’s morale so high that I’m gettin’ worried they’ll start doin’ somethin’ stupid. Even here, you’ve got us pumped full of spirit because of Wrath’s influence, ya know.]
Subaru: [If you exaggerate like that, I’m gonna think you’re pulling my leg again… Seriously, just how good of a radio DJ or military captain would I be, anyway…]
Getting hoisted up higher and higher was only making it harder to wrap his head around it.
Tearing himself away from the whirlpool of warm gazes, Subaru slowly walked up to the magical device once more.
Subaru: [In any case, if that speech made a difference, that’s better than anything. Hopefully, this’ll be enough to stave off any more violence in the shelters… So, any thoughts on our next step?]
Anastasia: [Now that the citizens were calmed down, we’ve taken care of everything apart from the root cause itself. However, after Natsuki-kun’s speech, the Witch Cult definitely knows about our intentions now…]
Subaru: [Wonder what their reaction will be. Like you guys said, aside from the fact that it’ll be irrational, there isn’t much else to go on. At the same time, we must settle this as soon as possible.]
Regardless of the effectiveness of Subaru’s speech, it did not change the fact that the means to destroy this city were still in the hands of lunatics. Even with the greatest optimism, chances were the watergates would be released at the stroke of midnight, and the city would be swallowed beneath the flood.
No matter what, they must end this before that happens.
Anastasia: [And to do this, we’ll need to capture all four towers at once… correct?]
Subaru: [There are four Sin Archbishops and two enemies we don’t know about. We’ll need to consult with our forces on how to tackle this.]
Simultaneously capturing all four control towers was the necessary condition for saving the city.
Concentrating their forces like they did for the assault on the City Hall would not work here. Since, as soon as they attacked any of the towers, there would be the risk of the other three releasing the floodgates. Subaru was not confident that they could survive these odds four times in a row.
Up against six major enemies, their fighting strength was――
Subaru: [It’s a… difficult hand. There’s the chance it could turn into a repeat of our attack on the City Hall. But… if we could have at least one more card.]
???: [――In that case, how about a Joker?]
While Subaru counted their forces on the fingers of his hands, a voice abruptly interrupted.
Without thinking, Subaru turned towards the figure standing at the entrance of the room, and――
Subaru: [Sounds like since I last saw you, your evaluation of yourself has gone up quite a bit.]
???: [Not nearly as much as Natsuki-san, being asked to make big speeches and all… I never thought I had a hero among my friends, but guess I was wrong.]
Subaru: [Still don’t think it suits me, though.]
Seeing the figure shoot him a mischievous smile, Subaru shrugged his shoulders and laughed. Then, walking up to the entrance, he gave that smiling figure a high-five.
Watching this reunion, Garfiel’s face also brightened,
Garfiel: [Ottobro! Yer safe, ain’tcha!]
At Garfiel’s delighted call, Otto, who had been missing since trouble started, answered with a nod.
Aside from the dirt on his clothing, Otto seemed completely unhurt. Joining them, he gave the approaching Garfiel a high-five as well.
Otto: [I barely escaped with my life. It is a miracle that I survived and somehow made it here alive. Glad to see you two are safe. Though, I know you guys are way harder to kill than I am, so I wasn’t all that worried.]
Subaru: [Is that right? Actually, I wasn’t all that worried about you either. Why is that?]
Garfiel: [I dunno. That’s just Ottobro’s natural-vibes maybe?]
Otto: [Can’t you worry about me a little more!? In this kind of crisis, it was extremely dangerous to be out there alone, you know!?]
But, in reality, he did manage to rejoin them, so that wasn’t very convincing.
Anyway, while they were in the middle of this joyous reunion, Anastasia clapped her hands and squeezed herself into the conversation.
Anastasia: [Alright alright, calm down calm down. First off, it’s nice to see that Otto-kun’s alive. And I’m sure there’re mountains of things ya wanna ask each other about what you’ve been up to and such, but…]
Cutting off her words there, Anastasia shot Otto a glare with her green-onion-colored eyes.
Anastasia: [That conspicuous remark ya made just now… mind tellin’ me what ya mean?]
Otto: [The Joker, right? It’s a simple story. If I let him come in right away, my survival would’ve been pretty much overlooked, so I cleverly asked him to wait outside for a bit.]
Looking a little embarrassed, Otto walked over to the door after Anastasia’s prodding and gave a signal to someone on the other side of the door.
Preceded by the sound of footsteps, a new character walked into the room. And,
???: [――Apologies for my delay.]
One sentence. And that utterance alone charged its listeners with the feeling of being reinforced by ten thousand men.
Alongside the sensation of a gust of wind sweeping by, was the illusion of a towering flame appearing before their eyes, compelling their hearts to shudder.
And in reality, this reunion did indeed hold that kind of power. For the strength that they have been looking to obtain had arrived.
Reinhard: [Reinhard van Astrea―― albeit a bit late, but I have come to join you.]
Saying this, the red flame, the Sword Saint announced his intention to join the fight.
Loading comments...