Arc 9, Chapter 36 – “Problem”

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???: [I’m sorry, I’ve caused you so much trouble…]

???: [No, Rem is the one who ought to be happy that you cried with joy. It was just like when Nee-sama did the same… ah.]

Petra bowed her head repeatedly, apologizing for her flustered and disgraceful behavior. Rem, who had tried to comfort Petra, realized she had said something awkward and stiffened her cheeks, looking toward Ram.

In response to Rem’s gaze, Ram smiled gently and said, “It’s okay”,

Ram: [After all, Ram is a pathetic older sister who is unable to even keep her composure during an emotional reunion. It’s no wonder Rem would call her sister a crybaby.]

Rem: [Th-that’s not what I meant! It’s a misunderstanding that you’re a crybaby, Nee-sama! Besides, I was happy that you cried for me, Nee-sama!] [1]

???: [That’s right, Ram. You’re finally able to remember Rem. Even if you did cry, no one would think you’re a crybaby. Cheer up!]

Ram: [Rem, Emilia-sama… wah, wah, wah…]

Following Rem’s lead, Emilia joined in comforting her, to which Ram covered her eyes with her hands and turned away. The two remained concerned, but from Petra’s perspective, it was all just a farce.

Of course, there was no doubt that this situation brought tears of joy to Ram’s eyes.

Petra: […Ram-neesama, I get that you’re happy, but you shouldn’t tease them so much.]

Emilia: [Huh!?]

Rem: [Tease…?]

Petra managed to compose herself and admonished Ram, causing Emilia and Rem to widen their eyes. Ram, who had deceived the two innocent girls, ceased her fake crying, shrugged her shoulders, and said,

Ram: [Well, now that memories have been restored, it’s natural to want to see all of Rem’s different expressions, so there was some teasing involved. Will you forgive such a mean older sister?]

Rem: [Nee-sama… well, it seems it can’t be helped. Just this once, okay?]

Ram: [Yes, thank you. Are you okay with that, Emilia-sama?]

Emilia: [Rem forgave you, so I can’t stay angry forever. Good grief.]

???: [Amazi~ng. Instead of showing any humility, all you did was act cute and you got away with i~t.]

Despite showing not a single shred of remorse, Rem and Emilia easily forgave Ram’s overbearing behavior, while Meili watched in astonishment and muttered in disbelief. Petra agreed with Meili’s disbelief. This was typical of Ram, but she was getting a little too carried away.

Petra: [I would like to hold a victory party for Rem… Rem-neesama, but this is a very difficult time, so could you please refrain from doing so, Ram-neesama?]

Ram: [Self-restraint, you say. That sounds reasonable at first, but what about you, Petra?]

Petra: [――? What do you mean? I’ve been reflecting on what happened earlier as well.]

Ram: [Not that you should feel bad about getting all worked up. It’s just something else that has been concerning. ――Ever since a little while ago, it seems you have naturally positioned yourself between Rem and Emilia-sama.]

Ram pointed this out with one eye closed, and Petra widened her eyes with a “Huh?”. Then, she looked to her left and right, and saw the profiles of Emilia and Rem beside her.

The three of them were now sitting side by side on a long sofa, with Petra in the middle. Petra had her arms firmly wrapped around the two of them, as if she never wanted to let go.

Petra: [Huh!?]

Meili: [Don’t just “huh” u~s. After you hugged Rem-oneesan, you ve~ry naturally pulled her along with yo~u. Even Emilia-oneesan was pulled along to~o.]

Petra: [S-sorry. It seems like my love for both of you overflowed…]

Petra reflected on her actions in light of Meili’s continued exasperation. However, her excuse was precisely the same as Ram’s earlier, causing Ram to let out a “Ha!”

Rem: [It’s okay, there’s no need to worry, Petra-san. Rem also wants to fill in the gaps in her memory piece by piece.]

Petra: [Rem-neesama…]

Rem: [Besides, Rem didn’t think Petra-san and the others in the village got along with her very well, so it’s a pleasant surprise to find that they cared so much.]

With Petra’s arm wrapped around her, Rem blushed slightly and gave a shy smile.

From Rem’s perspective, her relationship with Petra and the others was at its peak around the time the Royal Selection began―― during the month when Subaru was taken in at the mansion. Before that, they had been merely passing acquaintances at best.

That was why Rem’s perception was not wrong. The reason Petra held such strong feelings for Rem was not so much because of her own emotions, but because of the extent of “Subaru’s” influence.

However, despite that, she still felt them.

Petra: [Rem-neesama, smiling and looking shy, how precious…]

Emilia: [Petra-chan, your ears are reaaally red. Are you okay?]

Petra: [Ah, that’s not true. This isn’t two-timing… Emilia-neesama is number one!]

Emilia: [Huh? Um, that’s right. I’m the most important person in the camp, so I have to do my duties properly.]

Petra, torn between her impatience and happiness, blurted out something she should not have said, but Emilia, like the angel or goddess that she was, or perhaps because it simply went over her head, reacted to it like a dense protagonist.

With that in mind, Petra suppressed her racing heartbeat and stood up, telling herself, “Subaru is my number one…”

If she remained sandwiched between Emilia and Rem, her heart would surely be pulled apart.

???: [Way to go, Petra! You hung in there!]

Petra: [Subaru, you better be ready for me to give you a piece of my mind later. You two-timer.]

“Subaru”: [That’s not fair! I can’t even touch Emilia-tan or Rem!]

Petra managed to cut off her lingering sentimentality and directed her pent-up anger toward the Imaginary Subaru. Holding a handkerchief to stifle her tears, she sighed as she watched “Subaru” dance around the reception room, exploding with emotions toward Rem, whose memories had returned.

That was when――,

Rem: [Rem knows that she’s causing quite a disturbance, but it would be helpful if we could calm down for now. ――Let’s talk about that person.]

Petra: [――――]

Rem’s quiet voice caused the air in the room to become noticeably tense.

Although it had not completely relaxed, the atmosphere had started to warm up despite the urgency of the current situation, yet Rem herself wiped that away. That was very admirable and impressive.

Emilia: [Ram, Rem, did Clind-san already explain everything to you?]

Ram: [More or less. Besides, we also saw the devastation in the Royal Capital. Who would have thought it would come to this… Barusu really messed up.]

Petra: [Ram-neesama, that’s quite a way of putting it…]

Ram: [Sorry, let’s rephrase that. ――Everyone, including Ram, really messed up.]

Petra: [――――]

Ram’s assessment weighed heavily and resonated deeply with everyone.

As previously confirmed before Ram and Rem had rejoined them, the severity of Al’s actions was beyond one’s ability to bear.

???: [That bein’ said, there’s nothin’ ta be gained from blamin’ ourselves excessively. Ultimately, the responsibility for what happened oughta lie with the person who caused it. That’s what we’ve concluded.]

Ram: [That’s how Ram and the others feel, no doubt. But things aren’t that simple. Wouldn’t you agree?]

???: […You’re quite an impressive girl. What was all that foolin’ around earlier?]

With that, Rom-jii stroked his bald head and gave Ram a stern look. Seeing the understanding between the two, Rem tilted her head and said “Nee-sama”,

Rem: [When you say “things aren’t that simple,” are you talking about where the responsibility lies?]

Ram: [Yes, that’s right. Rom-sama wants to discuss the details. Please go ahead.]

Rom: [Throwin’ us a load of trouble… well, fine. As the girl said, regardless of our resolve, the current situation ain’t good for us or for all of ya.]

Rom-jii, who had been entrusted with explaining the situation by Ram, pointed at himself and Emilia with his thick fingers. Staring at his large fingertips, Emilia blinked her amethyst eyes and,

Emilia: [That’s true for us, but, Rom-jii, what about you, the others… and Felt-chan?]

Rom: [Ezzo was also at the Tower. He was given the task of managin’ the Tower until an official investigation team could be dispatched by the Kingdom, but he was unable ta fulfill his duty. Even Reinhard wasn’t able ta stop the helmet bastard nor the Divine Dragon, ‘n damage was caused ta the Royal Capital.]

Meili: [Bu~t, thanks to Emilia-oneesan, no big rocks fell on the city, ri~ght? So why are we still being scol~ded?]

Rom: [If ya could gain popularity just by smashin’ stones thrown at ya, then Reinhard could just keep doin’ that forever. Meili, it’s not just the results that need ta be judged fairly, but the process as well.]

Meili pouted at Rom-jii, who shook his big head slowly with a serious expression.

Hidden beneath Meili’s dissatisfied attitude lay her frustration that Emilia’s critical role was not being properly appreciated. Realizing this, Emilia smiled at Meili and said, “Thank you,” causing the pouting girl to turn away even further.

Rom: [At the bare minimum, we gotta talk ‘bout what we absolutely must do. First, we gotta stop that helmet bastard… the man who calls himself Aldebaran, with our own hands. We can’t leave it ta anyone else or the Kingdom. We can only talk ‘bout recoupin’ our losses after we’ve done that.]

Emilia: [Why does it have to be us? Of course, it would be natural for us to try our best, but if Al is stopped before he does something terrible…]

Rom: [Emilia, ya don’t understand. It’s no longer just ‘bout Aldebaran. He’s got the Divine Dragon on his side. This is a serious matter that could shake the foundations of the Royal Selection… the only way ta reverse that is for the Dragon Priestess, a Royal Candidate, ta recall the Divine Dragon. If that can’t be done…]

Emilia: [――Would that mean the Royal Selection itself would be null and void?]

Emilia spoke of a definitive possibility, and Rom-jii drew back his chin with a serious expression. Upon hearing this, Petra belatedly comprehended the gravity of the situation.

In the first place, the Royal Selection to determine the next monarch of the Kingdom of Lugunica was based upon the prophecy of the Dragon History Stone that was necessary in order to maintain the Covenant with the Dragon. In other words, it was a ceremony which relied upon the mighty power of the Divine Dragon Volcanica, and without the Divine Dragon, the Royal Selection would not be viable.

Rom: [For that reason, we must. The only solution’s ta stop Aldebaran, the one who’s bewitched the Divine Dragon, by the hands of a Royal Candidate.]

This was a fundamental prerequisite for settling this crucial situation, and for the continuation of the Royal Selection.

The words of the old giant, the wise man from the Felt Camp, who had long seen the world, possessed conviction which none could refute.

The destruction of the world by Al’s hand must be averted. However, that did not mean that so long as the world was spared, nothing else mattered.

After the battle ended, there was the matter of――,

Rem: [We need to ensure there is a proper place for Subaru-kun’s return.]

Emilia: [Rem…]

After listening to Rom-jii’s words, Emilia looked at Rem as she muttered so. Rem met her gaze, her pale-blue eyes filled with resolve, responding with “That’s how it should be, is it not?”,

Rem: [That person, he did the same for me. Rem’s room in the mansion remained exactly as it was before… because Subaru-kun thought so highly of her, Rem was able to remember the things she had forgotten. It’s all thanks to the Morningstar that Subaru-kun polished every day…!]

Indeed, Rem emphasized that forcefully, with an iron ball attached to a chain in her hands―― the Morningstar. Overwhelmed by the chain’s rousing resonation and Rem’s vigor, Emilia tilted her head.

Emilia: […Thanks to the Morningstar?]

Rem: [Yes. It may surprise you, but it was in the moment upon touching the Morningstar. Every memory up to that point came flooding back… thinking that it was all just that person’s obsession was a misunderstanding… There are so many things to apologize for.]

Lowering her eyes as if ashamed of herself, Rem recounted how her memories had returned to her. Troubled by Rem’s impassioned plea, a wide-eyed Emilia waved her hands about.

Perhaps, it was a matter of timing. ――That which Gluttony, whom Al had released from the Prison Tower, had done was likely related to the rebirth of Rem’s Memories and Name. And that had happened at the same time Rem had touched the Morningstar in the mansion.

That was why Rem was convinced that the Morningstar had awakened her.

Emilia: [You know, Rem, can you calm yourself for a moment to listen…]

Rem: [Rest assured, Emilia-sama. With this Morningstar, Rem will surely be of help in getting Subaru-kun back. After that is done, let us discuss what happened in the Empire and the future…]

Emilia continued to look troubled as Rem clenched her fists with an attitude of determination. Next to her, Meili looked at Ram and asked, “Aren’t you going to stop he~r?”, to which she replied,

Ram: [It can’t be helped. This is something Ram didn’t expect either. ――Who would have thought that Barusu’s ridiculous ramblings about polishing it every day would actually prove useful?]

Meili: […It’s really bad that I’m the one with the most common sense he~re.]

Meili lamented the situation, in which even Ram had placed too much faith in the power of the Morningstar.

In any case, it was necessary to share everything they knew concerning Gluttony with Rem and the others, including their speculations. Petra decided to leave that to Emilia, and turned back to Rom-jii, keeping the dream-like interplay between Emilia and Rem in the corner of her eye.

And then――,

Petra: [Clind-niisama still hasn’t returned with the Master and the others… but we don’t have much time. We’ll be cooperating with Rom-ojiisan, right?]

Rom: [――. Yeah, that’s right. It’s our consensus that the Royal Selection’s gotta continue.]

Petra: [Then, please tell us all about it. Rom-ojiisan, what have you noticed about Al-san?]

Rom-jii had joined up with them in the plains and had accompanied them as they rushed to the Royal Capital. For the sake of Clind’s Compression, he had opted to act separately from Tonchinkan and the rest, but he had been laying the groundwork for fighting alongside Emilia and the others, saying that he had critical information concerning Al that he had obtained during their previous clash.

From the discussions up to this point, the Emilia and Felt Camps were of one mind. It was time for both sides to open up to each other; thus, Petra urged Rom-jii.

In response to Petra’s request, Rom-jii patted his bald head and said,

Rom: [What I’m gonna tell ya is gonna sound pretty outlandish ‘n insane. I didn’t keep it a secret ’cause I wanted ta seem important or nothin’, but ’cause it’s so unbelievable.]

Petra: [It’s okay. I’ll believe you, Rom-ojiisan. I’m sure Rom-ojiisan would be surprised if he knew, seriously.]

Rom: […You’re also quite the peculiar girl, ain’t’cha, Petra.]

Perhaps mistaking it for lip service, Rom-jii lowered his eyebrows and muttered in exasperation.

But, there were no lies in Petra’s words. Petra trusted Rom-jii. She knew that he cared deeply for Felt, who had been taken hostage by Al and his accomplices, and that he was a man of fatherly love who would show no hesitation to sacrifice his life for Felt.

For that reason, the hurdle of trust about which Rom-jii was concerned was cleared at the onset.

Unaware of Petra’s various circumstances, while paying heed to Emilia and Rem, who even now were still reconciling their perceptions of each other, Rom-jii said,

Rom: [This is somethin’ I’ll tell Emilia ‘n the others later, but… this Aldebaran guy, he’s likely usin’ some kinda cheat technique called an Authority.]

“Subaru”: [――An Authority.]

“Subaru” reacted to Rom-jii’s carefully chosen words before Petra could.

“Subaru” ceased his twirling in midair and his face stiffened, his gaze fixed intently upon Rom-jii. The Imaginary Subaru’s reaction was understandable. They had just heard it from Clind’s mouth, but both Petra and “Subaru” were familiar with the word “Authority” and its more sinister significance.

It was a word that had been uttered by the Sin Archbishop of Sloth, and by the Witch of Greed who slumbered in her tomb.

The manifestation of a formidable right which allowed one to interfere with the nature of this world, to overturn concepts, to selfishly paint over those laws.

The reason Rom-jii concluded that Al utilized one was because――,

Rom: [――This guy, it seems like he’s able ta go back ta time gone by. But, it don’t seem ta go very far back, though.]

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――In the end, just what was it that she absolutely needed to do?

That “problem”, which had accompanied her endlessly since the days she had been small and weak, continued to familiarly haunt Felt even now that she had been taken by the Aldebaran Crew.

Felt: [Geez, it’s so damn irritating.]

Scratching her head at that frustration, Felt spat out the bitterness that had been festering in her stomach.

Feelings of powerlessness and resignation, albeit definite, were of no use; this Felt knew. Despite that, despite neither quenching her throat nor filling her belly, they would seek to fill up people’s bodies, welling up by every means just to get in the way.

Felt: [――Tsk.]

With a click of her tongue, Felt sunk her teeth into the dried meat served to her for dinner, chewing it apart. Finding herself clearly unsatisfied with the overly salty flavor, she was disgusted with how spoiled she had become.

It had been a mere two and a half days since they had been parted, yet she longed for the cooking of Flam and Grassis.

Even the heavily seasoned, manly meals that Ezzo, Rachins, and the rest would sometimes bring to the table were far preferable to these portable dishes. Flam and Grassis would get mad at her if she made Reinhard cook, as it was a task below his station, so she did not make him do so, but when Felt had him make sweets in secret, he was not bad at all.

Unfortunately, Felt and Rom-jii’s culinary skills were so horrendous that she was amazed she had not died of food poisoning in the over ten years she had spent at the loot house. That was likely the source of Felt’s meager growth when compared to others of the same age.

Regardless of the culinary circumstances of her Camp――,

Felt: [I can’t cook or nothing. So then, what can I do?]

Licking a grain of salt off her fingertip, Felt narrowed her red eyes, her thoughts returning to the initial “problem”.

――At present, the Aldebaran Crew was moving from place to place, with Aldebaran and the Divine Dragon endeavoring to recover from their exhaustion incurred from the Royal Capital. Initially, Felt assumed that Aldebaran and his accomplices would make straight for their objective, the Grand Mogolade Geyser, after fleeing the Royal Capital, but it seemed as if it was not simply a matter of reaching the destination; an element of grasping the right time was involved as well.

However, those breaths of respite while waiting for that time were far from ideal―― they had been met with the relentless sabotage of a callous pursuer, Otto Suwen.

Felt: [It’s not just talking with bugs, it’s an outrageously terrifying Divine Protection… Or rather, what’s terrifying is probably not the Divine Protection, but Zodda bug-niichan himself.]

Otto possessed a quiet and ignorant face, but his true nature seemed to be that of an individual warranting extreme caution.

Ultimately, every Divine Protection served as nothing more than just another tool. No matter how fine a sword one held, if they were not equipped with the strength to swing it, the ambition and opportunity to learn how to wield it, and the courage to brandish blade when the time came, then the sword would merely be a fine decoration.

Otto had the strength, the opportunity, the ambition, and the courage. ――Thus, Felt would have no choice but to prove that she too possessed those things, swordless as she was.

Felt: [That nii-chan’s going all out on the offensive… plotting some damn nasty stuff.]

With the Divine Protection of the Soul of Language, Otto had allied with bugs, birds, and fish; without allowing the Aldebaran Crew even a moment of tranquility, he was constantly forcing them to counter.

The buzzing of insects and the distant howling of beasts, the pollution of water and contamination of food supplies, his methods of attack were diverse; since they were unable to secure any sleeping hours, Felt, being dragged along with them, was also experiencing a headache.

But, getting caught in the crossfire like this was something Felt could discount as trivial damage. If possible, Felt would make use of her position accompanying the enemy to mercilessly contribute to Otto’s tactics.

Felt: [I thought there’d have been plenty enough meaning in serving to suppress the Divine Dragon, but…]

That alone would not suffice; she had understood that through the battle between Divine Dragon and Sword Demon at the Royal Capital.

Even if Felt’s presence curtailed the Divine Dragon’s power by ten percent, the remaining ninety percent was still enough to display catastrophic power; that was the true worth of the Divine Dragon Volcanica―― considering the possibility that from here forward, Rom-jii would seek a rematch against Aldebaran’s party after his initial defeat, her current state was lacking.

At present, that was the “problem” that the captured Felt ought to face.

Felt: [No, I guess there’s also one more.]

Muttering so, Felt turned her eyes toward the other “problem”, visible from her position.

???: [――――]

To her fore, across the crackling bonfire, a man sat facing Felt. ――No, he could not be described as facing her. After all, his face was downcast, with nary a glance in her direction.

Clutching a sheathed sword to his chest, silently cowering as if he were deceased, the red-haired man radiated a sense of vexation in every direction―― Heinkel.

Left alone at the entrance of a cave naturally formed in a rocky wall, Felt and Heinkel were spending a dismal time together, waiting for the ones who had gone to ascertain the safety of the surroundings and remove obstacles.

For the time being, Heinkel was supposed to be in charge of supervising Felt, but based on the ratio of who was looking at who, it would not have been possible to tell exactly who the supervisor was. That manner of rejecting the outside world, to the point of neither touching his dinner of dried meat nor putting water to his lips, thoroughly rubbed Felt the wrong way.

Felt: [――――]

Felt had declared that she had no ruler of good or bad with which to measure Heinkel’s actions. There was no falsehood in that, and she would not alter her view, but―― she did have a ruler of liking and disliking to measure with.

At the very least, his demeanor befitting a Hollow despite yet living, was something she absolutely hated.

Felt: [Oi, if you aren’t gonna eat, pass me that dried meat.]

Heinkel: [――――]

Felt: [You can hear me, yeah? Don’t ignore… woah there.]

Albeit her initial belligerence, the dried meat she had used to broach conversation was thrown at her as if to shut her up. She hastened to pick it up, but Heinkel cast nary a glance in her direction.

In that instant, thinking it foolish to unclench her fists, Felt called out “Oi” once more,

Felt: [So, why the hell did you interfere back there?]

Straight to the point, Felt boldly cut straight to the source of Heinkel’s cowering.

Heinkel: [――――]

Heinkel kept his silence; however, given that he had flung the dried meat at her, he had not completely cut himself off from the outside world. Seizing on that, Felt lightly exhaled,

Felt: [Your old man… how should I call him. The fight between Reinhard’s grandfather and the Divine Dragon. I’m not really a warrior or anything like that, so I dunno the specifics of who was superior in that battle and stuff. But, you’re supposed to be the Divine Dragon’s ally, yeah?]

Heinkel: [――――]

Felt: [For you to have interfered there meant that things were looking bad for the Divine Dragon. That’s an outrageous prospect, but there’s also something strange about it. ――If your objective is the Dragon’s Blood, then that grandpa being on the verge of victory ought to have been the perfect opportunity.]

Heinkel: [――――]

Felt: [Even though you might have gotten your hands on the Blood if the Dragon died, you got in the way. Why’s that?]

Using the other party’s lack of objections to make her point, Felt bluntly lined up her words.

As she had said, Heinkel’s interference with the battle between Divine Dragon and Sword Demon was exceedingly unnatural when considering his goal. There was also a possibility that he had acted on impulses of a strong grudge towards his father, but before flying off with the Divine Dragon, Heinkel had requested the Dragon to apply healing on Wilhelm, whom he had stabbed.

In other words, Heinkel had wished for neither Divine Dragon, nor Sword Demon, to die during that battle.

Felt: [It’s way too incoherent. Just what exactly are you――]

Thinking; it had been the moment she was about to continue her words. ――Immediately pinned down to the hard ground, an unsheathed blade was fastened to Felt’s neck.

Heinkel: [You talk too much, brat.]

Right before her eyes, the bloodshot blue eyes of Heinkel were present. Perhaps because he had bitten the inside of his mouth, his breaths doused her in a reek of blood, causing Felt to grimace. While she did so, Heinkel continued to slide the blade as if to intimidate Felt,

Heinkel: [If you don’t want to feel the pain, then don’t say such unnecessary―― goaghh!?]

Through an opening in that threat, Felt drove her fist forward without hesitation, straight into Heinkel’s nose.

Heinkel exclaimed “Uh, ah?”; rather than pain, it was the reality of having been hit that surprised him. As he stood up with the momentum, a kick to the chest sent him crashing onto his backside, and Felt looked down upon him.

Felt: [There’s no way I’d be scared of you at this point.]

Saying that, Felt picked up Heinkel’s sword which had fallen beside her. For a moment, Heinkel’s body tensed, but Felt heaved a sigh and tossed the sword back to him. Heinkel snatched up the sword, eyes widening, but Felt just shrugged her shoulders in response.

It might have seemed a mystery why she had returned the sword, but from Felt’s perspective, it was the natural decision.

Even if Felt went ballistic here, she could not beat Heinkel, and on the off chance that Heinkel thoughtlessly tried to cut Felt down, it was clear that Yae would be overjoyed. To begin with, the moment Felt and Heinkel had been left alone here, Yae’s aims were made obvious.

If possible, Yae wished to discard both Felt and Heinkel. Resorting to violence here was unideal, as it would only have been playing right into her hands. ――Even without such reasoning, there was also the fact that it was not Felt’s role to beat up Heinkel.

Felt: [Then you’d think it’d be Reinhard’s role, but I think that also doesn’t seem right.]

Heinkel: [――Hk.]

As Reinhard’s name came up, Heinkel was once again greatly perturbed.

For a man over double Felt’s age to be cowering in fear over her every word and action was absurdly unsightly. However, Felt wanted to uncover the reason behind that unsightliness.

Even if that would deliver a terribly bitter flavor to Felt, she wished to know.

Felt: [Same as before, you don’t gotta answer anything. I’ll speak on my own, and infer on my own.]

Wiping the hem of her clothes, dirtied from being pinned down, Felt waited not for the other party’s response, and looked to the sky. Within the night sky, visible through a fissure in the rocky wall, countless stars shone aglow with a brightness that did not belong.

Glaring at the ironic beauty in that sky, Felt broached with “As a matter of fact”,

Felt: [What bothered me about the battle between the Divine Dragon and that grandpa was everything I said before. Even though you want that Dragon’s Blood, the actions you took don’t seem to add up. And so, there’s one other thing with you that doesn’t seem to add up either. ――It’s Gluttony.]

Heinkel: [――――]

Felt: [Let’s ignore the fact that that bastard’s got the absolute worst personality, and that he never ever stops talking. Even without that, he’s a good-for-nothing Sin Archbishop, and there’s no way he’d ever be welcomed, but… when it comes to reasons to hate that bastard, you ought to have way more than I do, yeah?]

Hushed, Heinkel gave no answer, but his breath caught upon hearing the question. Even if he did not respond with words, Heinkel’s reaction was far too easy to read, and thus Felt narrowed her eyes.

Released from the Prison Tower, Roy Alphard was being made to accompany them by Aldebaran as a necessity for his plan―― there were endless reasons to hate, to detest the Sin Archbishops who brought forth many a tragedy, but Heinkel ought to have had a more precise, definite reason for enmity.

After all, the woman who was Reinhard’s mother, who was Heinkel’s wife―― the affliction of the ever-slumbering Louanna Astrea bore a striking resemblance to that of the victims of Gluttony.

Felt: [I said it once before, but I know about your… about Reinhard’s family circumstances. That your wife’s been sleeping for over ten years, and that you can’t find a way to wake her up. Well, that might be resolved once you’ve received the Dragon’s Blood, but… how are you gonna settle the score?]

Heinkel: [――――]

Felt: [How are you gonna settle the score with the fuckface who put your wife to sleep for over ten years?]

Through the assault on Duchess Crusch Karsten and the battle at the Watergate City Pristella, the damage incurred by the Authority of Gluttony had been made clear; Sleeping Beauties―― tragic beings whose ties had all been severed, discovered in a state of unawakening sleep, with nobody around aware of their existence. It was uncovered that such individuals were none other than victims of the Witch Cult.

Of course, that also ought to have reached the ears of Heinkel. Nevertheless, not once had Heinkel displayed any interest in Gluttony, who could have been the cause of his wife’s slumber.

――Was it because his utmost priority was to acquire the Dragon’s Blood and awaken his wife?

――Was the impact of stabbing his own father, bathing in his blood, simply all too much?

Or perhaps――,

Felt: [If you seriously are just completely disregarding the bastard, then why?]

Heinkel: [W-wait… what are…]

Felt: [You don’t need to respond. I told you, didn’t I? I’ll speak on my own, and infer on my own.]

His grip on the sword quivering, with an expression deathly pale Heinkel did look at Felt. The gaze of eyes Astrea-blue clashed with that of her own red, and Felt was convinced.

Deep within Heinkel’s eyes were terribly indefinite, yet ultimately unperishing embers. ――Likely, they were heat of the same ilk as that which dwelled in the eyes of Rom-jii whenever he gazed upon Felt.

Heinkel: [――――]

Appearing to be a despicable man, self-centered, selfish, self-destructive, of wavering heart whilst being ignorant of his own capabilities, and beyond all help, was Heinkel Astrea. ――If concealed deep within, visible through only the slightest of gaps, was a heat ever-present in this man’s every action, that would mean.

Felt: [The reason you don’t even bother to look at Gluttony, is because you know there’s no connection between your wife falling asleep and Gluttony. You know it’s incorrect, so you don’t turn your sword on him. But…]

――Louanna Astrea’s affliction of Sleeping Beauty, was definitively different to that of the other Sleeping Beauties.

Unlike the Sleeping Beauties whose every tie in the world was severed, Louanna was remembered by Reinhard, by Heinkel, by all who were acquainted with her, and her slumber they all did lament.

In other words, it was different. Louanna Astrea was no victim of Gluttony. Then, while Heinkel knew the truth of the matter, he had not shared it with anyone else.

Why was that? Because he could not afford for any to know. ――The cause, of Louanna’s slumber.

That cause was――,

Felt: [――Reinhard.]

Heinkel: [――――]

A pair of motionless, widened eyes, a voiceless countenance, a husky breath void of vitality, all of which became an answer more eloquent than words, lending credence to Felt’s conviction.

That which she absolutely needed to do. ――Finding that out, was Felt’s current “problem”.

By her resolve and conviction to face that “problem”, she arrived at the terribly bitter truth, and that was――,

Felt: [――So the one who put Reinhard’s mother to sleep, was Reinhard himself?]

Translation Note:

[1] Rem’s speech patterns since she regained her memories have been slipping between her style of speaking in Vollachia and before she fell asleep. One very noticeable indication of this is that she is flipping between using her name and 私 (watashi), the pronoun she used in Vollachia. This will be shown in our translations with I/me for 私 and Rem when she uses that. Going forward, we will not be pointing this out every time it happens, since it will likely occur a lot.

374 thoughts on “Arc 9, Chapter 36 – “Problem””

      1. Why is the Rezero story is getting worst after arc 6 the arc 9 showed some promise in the start but now things are again becoming more and more dumb and how can wilhelm fight volancia one on one it makes no sense at all volancia should be the strongest existence after Reinhard.

        1. Obviously, the story gets worse after the 6th arc. I think even after 4. But you’re wrong here. It was said that Volcanica in the 6th arc = 1/10 of its full strength, and Volcanica of the 9th arc is much weaker than Volcanica of the 6th arc. Current Volcanica is just a transport and a source of mana for Al.

          1. Volcanica with Al knowledge is now on par or even surpass his prime, the only reason wilhelm held that long is because they are in a city and Al still follow his no kill rule. Not to mention that wilhelm also regain his former glory, the time that he could take down eight arm without taking a single hit

            1. we still don’t know how strong prime Volcanica was and probably Volcanica didn’t want to kill wilheim and he mentto say that he couldn’t win that fight without killing wilheim because as Al said none of them are allowed to kill.

            2. And another critical point is that wilheim couldn’t even scrach Volcanica while fighting but also gave a pretty decent performance against Volcanica. if heinkel didn’/couldn’t stab wilheim It would be impossible for Volcanica to reach Al at the time

            3. Para de defecar pela boca, o Volcanica atual é uma criança perto do Volcanica de 400 anos atrás.

              1. Some people just like to come to comment sections like this to whine and moan for years afterwards even for a story that clearly isn’t written for them. It’s a way to boost their ego, and therefore they’ll do it even if it’s ultimately a waste of time and effort.

              2. Oh boy, this is the internet after all. They’ll keep doing that because their pathetic argument can’t be properly debunked on a website that doesn’t allow long responses. Better to ignore them, mate.

        2. Bro Sekhmet literally had Volcanica running with his tail between his legs. He clearly is not the strongest existence after rein. Also reminder, Wilhelm had approached his prime YET AGAIN. On top of that Volcanica is not even awake, its just Al utilizing the dragons body. The story is not even getting worse this arc is genuinely fixing to be better than arc 6.

            1. Lol that was a good one. Shonen kids enjoy everything regardless of how much of a slop they’re.

        3. Easy answer to this would be that, up until the end of arc 6, Tappei had all the time he needed.
          He spent 5 years writing arc 6, and by the end, the LNs had caught up, leaving him without the time to take his time and make everything perfect.

        4. why are you still reading if it’s so bad dumbass, holy shit yap somewhere else there’s enough annoying losers like you spreading your misery all over the internet

    1. wtf?? why is everybody hating reinhard all of a sudden??? Do you realize how grounded and down to earth that person is despite having the strength to neg the verse??? due to the latest chapter ppl js effing forced the hate on him as if he wanted to make his own mother suffer of his own volition. Give this man a rest, he is lowkey treated like a tool by the world and still remains humble and desires to have friends too.

      1. The guy is LITERALLY saving the world at the moment, and they are calling him a fraud???? Nah, I thought comments here would give me more insights, but it’s kids fighting…

        1. Fans who hate Reinhard are extremely rare. But for some reason, Tappei himself hates Reinhard and tries to make readers hate him. Tappei actually said that. Reinhard is a good interesting character and a good person. I don’t understand Tappei. Although this is the same person who called Puck (an archbishop-level scumbag) a role model, so it shouldn’t be surprising.

  1. I BEEN SAYING REINHARD A BITCH AND HEINKEL IS THE GOAT.

    BY FAR THE BEST ASTREA.

    And here will come all the bandwagons

  2. Did we already know that Reinhard caused the sleeping? Or was this just a prevalent theory?

    Either way, I do hope we finally learn the why in more detail.

  3. Subaru’s dream of becoming a girl came true. I wonder if Schizo Petrabaru will turn her color black.

  4. It’s complete nonsense that Al didn’t do anything to Rom, who came close to defeating them. Take him somewhere far away on a dragon so he won’t return anytime soon. Put a seal on his soul like Roy. Do something else with Echidna’s super magic. No? The author just made Al dumb to ensure his defeat. Don’t know how to give someone victory over a stronger enemy? Make their enemy as dumb as possible. Cool… Tappei has shown readers for the second chapter in a row that he approves of Rem’s torture in Arc 2. The jokes about the author’s hatred for Subaru are no longer jokes. None of his tormentors will be judged or punished. RbD will not be fully revealed. We should expect Todd or Olbart to be at Subaru and Emilia’s wedding, if it will.

    1. God let that happen, it would be funny as hell if all of it was for naught just cause of Todd Howard. Just let the WoE kill Todd forever and see if that mofo still can come back pike as if he’s Afton

    2. It does frustrate me that the tone of the novel wants me to support the main cast, when logically they should be super boned. They don’t just have to deal with Alcanica, they also need to reseal the witch, and the going plan at the moment seems to be ‘beat Al up and he will then willingly tell us how to reseal her’. When its Subaru its ‘don’t avert your eyes from the brutal reality’ but when its the camp its ‘everything will work out with the power of friendship’ ffs.

      I will only like this arc if Al wins, not because he is a hero and deserves it, but because if he loses then it will absolutely be for the most contrived reason imaginable.

      1. I’m pretty sure Al will win. Rom was left by the author to increase the tension and difficulty for Al, not to win. But in the end, it turns out that Echidna has planned something another, and Al’s actions will lead to an unexpected result. Thinking back to the 4th arc in WN, I can’t believe that she and the other witches are actually planning Subaru’s death.

        1. Honestly, same.
          Thinking back, Echidna has a hand in so much of what has happened in this series. Her book, aside from versions of it being given to Roswaal and Beatrice to manipulate them, also found versions getting to the witch cult, helping guide them. She had Al as a student, and is clearly manipulating him. Sphinx came from her too. All the while, she can see the world’s future at a glance.

          Al probably will win, to an extent.

          1. This is too much. 1) The Echidna who taught Al (she is clone) was definitely created before the Sphinx was created and before she met Roswaal. 2) Roswaal and Beatrice’s Gospels are autonomous. Echidna does not manipulate them. Beatrice’s Gospel is empty because she has no goal. 3) She created the Sphinx to try to destroy Lugunica and Vollachia? Uh… Why? This happened shortly before the Great Disaster and the subsequent sealing by Volcanica. Echidna is shown to be a good person in her later years. 4) Most fans agree that Pandora is the author of the Cult’s Gospels. 5) Echidna sees everything that will happen and everything goes according to her plan? We’ve seen many times where things go badly for Echidnas, or even things happen that she thinks are impossible.

            1. Echidna created sphinx to clone herself with some form of ryuzu’s body (as far as sphinx knows) then abandoned it when it failed but the failed experiment went rogue in its quest to complete itself (and almost destroyed the world in the process)

              1. I know. I was responding to a man who thinks that Echidna rules the world, and that she has planned disasters staged by Sphinx.

            2. I think Beatrice’s gospel went blank because the person she was supposed to be waiting for (most likely subaru) purposely had his name eaten (before also wiping his memories) probably so whomever is the villain forgot about his existence.

              1. I doubt that this would be the case since any gluttony holder so far never hints at Subaru or anyone already being affected by forgetting his name or Gluttony side effects and we dont know why either them or another Gluttony holder would already have his name before the series began only eating the name and not his memories on purpose and not end up a vegetable as well as him still having the groceries in Arc 1. I doubt Tappei would pull off something to that level of hack simply because it breaks continuity and adds lore and questions on top of already established arcs. Something like “Echidna stopped filling the book pages since she wanted Beatrice to choose who to let her out which was Subaru” is already satisfying enough of a conclusion.

              2. 1) Beatrice being made for Subaru is a popular theory that doesn’t take into account one very important thing. Beatrice is made in such a way that her strength depends on the mana reserves of the person she made a contract with. If we believe that she was made for someone, then we should look among people with gigantic mana reserves. With Subaru, Beatrice is extremely weakened. She probably won’t be able to defeat Ricardo. If Beatrice was focused and ready to fight as much as possible, but she had a contract with Emilia, she would be able to defeat Puck. Subaru waited for 400 years and did nothing, and then started living from scratch? What was he waiting for? I don’t see the point.

              3. 2) The current Archbishops of Gluttony have lived for 400 years, and they forgot about Subaru? Echidna is asleep and can’t fill anything. Echidna from the Castle of Dreams doesn’t care about Beatrice, Beatrice doesn’t care about her. I think Subaru is like Reid. All humans are reset to their original state in the Corridor of Memory for several centuries, and then Od Laguna spits them out into the world. Reid in Arc 6 is summoned from there by the Watchtower’s magic in its peak state, Od Laguna automatically gave Reid his things from that moment in time. I think Subaru was reset to his isekai state, and then spat out into the world. I think at this point we can be sure that centuries have passed on Earth since the isekai.

        2. Why would the witches plan Subaru’s death, lol. In what way do you mean. If you mean in the sense that they form a contingency plan to keep Subaru at bay if he becomes sgae then I can see that but I don’t seem them killing him, lol

    3. Wtf xD how much information in a limited time frame can a person get… You are looking at this as if every character is literally reading the novel… Not everyone or hell anyone can make perfect decision making…. And everyone made good decisions even if there sre some mussed opportunities in my opinion but hey I can’t write something like this…

      Seems to me half tge comment section has a probelm with Tappeis writing yet is here on release… This ain’t league of legends that you gave to keep playing (reading) until your soul washes away…..

      1. This is not an explanation for why Al just gave Rom such a chance. He didn’t do anything with it when he had the opportunity. When that chapter came out, people were sure that Al would kill Rom. Rom devised a successful plan to win in a few minutes after he realized Al’s authority. Al would have lost if it hadn’t been for Felt. Al said Rum was more dangerous than Reinhard. Al is described as a cold-blooded man behind a clown mask who always finds the right path to victory and can handle any unexpected situation. It’s impossible to deny that this is just a stupid way for the author to make things worse for Al.

        1. Al already say that they’ll kill no one. only person he wants to delete from world is natsuki subaru and he thinks similar to subaru while fighting emilia this can be a clue about he red one of subaru’s books (probably latest) and killed him one more time for know what happened in that loop from the NEW book of subaru.
          This could make al more merciful than he originally has and let us understand why he has similar thoughts about death and he can’t let any loop meaningless mentality (in a twisted form)

          1. to make it clear we know that in Al’s terratory after the coin flip (probably there isn’t any coin flip)
            even if the opponent dies still al goes back at the time. so he could use this for making a new book of the death.
            this part is just my coping but if there is a subaru inside al’s head it can damage Al’s desicion making ability

          2. 1. He didn’t think about solving the problem at all. He wasn’t looking for a way to neutralize Rom without killing him. 2. His decision not to kill was made by the author, not by him. This is completely unnatural for the situation. It’s only necessary to make it harder for Al, and because everyone in ReZero has a plot armor. Al decided not to kill for Priscilla. Priscilla always killed without hesitation if she saw fit. Al too. 3. Al’s will is much stronger than Subaru’s, so Subaru couldn’t influence him.

            1. Priscilla killed innocent knight named Gilian for no reason and tis very bitch was inspiring the value of life in this helmet dude , lol,
              Something along the lines “the world she loved he doesn’t wanna harm” goober stuff

              1. You’re wrong about this one. Her husband wanted to drive Priscilla crazy with magic and turn her into an obedient doll. All the servants knew about it, including that dude. I don’t remember her killing innocents. And she is really as competent as possible. Echidna and Priscilla are the 2 smartest characters. But Echidna has a more technical mindset, while Priscilla has a humanitarian one. There is no one who understands people better than Priscilla. She easily solves any problems in her territories, as a brilliant manager, and also gets the love of her subjects. Her scientific knowledge was enough for the peasants to have a record harvest for many years. But she really doesn’t value life much and kills without hesitation.

              2. he did not knew about it , nor he deserved death the stop lying, leip said the knight is also another of his pawn nothing more her monolouging was also about the same narcissitic whining , she also gave order for execution of cecilus because he made comment that “his reflection looks good in her eyes” ,

              3. CORRECTION : priscilla didn’t call for execution that was misinformation on my part , she killed Al 1000 times when he was trying to convince her to go to vollachia.psychopathic

              4. I don’t remember exactly what happened to that knight. But I’m sure Priscilla was always aware of Al’s authority and the principle of his work.

            2. Its natural bc he doesnt wanna kill anybody, he knows he has infinite tries (unless he fucks up bad) so even if its harder for him that doesnt really matter

              1. Rom is a threat even with authority. Al understood that. Al didn’t try to defuse it. The desire not to kill is completely out of character for Al.

            3. This is a blatant misunderstanding of character. No duh his decision to not kill was made by the author. You’re reading a book, genius. Now, was it in character? For what we know of Al, yes. He doesn’t want to kill *innocent people* because that reflects on Priscilla. Was Priscilla a psychopath murderer who just killed without hesitation? No. She acted like that, but we never saw her kill a single person who didn’t deserve it. If you tried reading without the reading comprehension of an ostrich instead of whining 24/7, you might understand. Go ahead and name the innocent people Priscilla and Al killed without hesitation. I’m all ears. Otherwise, take some time to actually develop a brain before you start yapping on a story you heard in a YouTube short.

              1. I wasn’t talking about the innocent. I was talking about murders in general. You’re a clown. Al caused a flood in the 5th arc, killing a huge number of people, and also hacked down the leaders of the city.

              2. As a failed imitation of Subaru, Al’s not wanting to kill anyone affiliated with the main camps is a twisted version of Subaru’s heroic reveries of trying to save everyone. Also, we know that Subaru’s presence has a massive (positive) impact on the people around him, and prior to arc 7, Subaru and Al hadn’t spent a lot of time together, so maybe his speech in arc 5 combined with their adventures in vollachia had a net positive impact on him? Lastly, Al is clearly insane, and in real life insane people will take massive illogical leaps to justify their actions, so it’s impossible to rationalize the irrational.

              3. The desire to surpass Subaru at the end of his life is the best justification for it that I have seen. Al said in the 7th arc that he was afraid of disappointing his parents. I didn’t understand it at the time, but now I’m sure he meant Subaru and Echidna. Okay, I’m ready to accept that. Together with Al is crazy it is OK.

        2. I believe Tappei thought that the idea that felt was hostage would be enough for Al’s peace of mind that Rom wouldn’t try anything too bold. Coupled with his mental fatigue/stress after dying what 30 k times ig it sort of makes sense.

    4. That is very true and that’s why i think re zero is inferior to mushoku tensei novel in a big way!!!! The plot of mushoku tensei never until the very end gave rudeus any kind of plot armor…. Infact when on the moments rudeus seems to be winning, his enemies get the plot armor instead of him lol

      1. That’s just bias, in both of them something always happen to save the protagonist, I mean Rudeus survive after getting a hole in the chest…

        1. Not true… It wasn’t a plot armor because the story didn’t built up the fight between him and dragon god at that point obviously the protagonist won’t just get randomly killed in an alteration that came out of no where and then die…. AMD —-“”SPOILER”””—-

          In the next season of mushoku tensei Rudeus will again fight Orsted the dragon god and guess what there will be no fucking plot armor because rudeus will get his ass whooped even after months of prepration for that one fight… Even when he has more mana than dragon god and when he have multiple strong people giving there support to him… STILL HE LOSE!!!!! And he lose completely and thoroughly
          does that shit happen in anime ever????

    5. He was mentally fried after fighting Rom and in Al’s defense, he had no idea Clind could probably teleport Rom and others. He also probably didn’t want to be wasting time to draw a curse seal on Rom which could lead to more people reappearing to fight Al rather then just flying away on the divine dragon at a speed Rom could never catch or even catch up with normally.

      Another reason could be that Al doesn’t want to put curse marks on people he may deem undeserving of them, since he doesn’t put one on felt either. The curse mark may also only be able to work on one person at a time or at least work effectively one person.

      1. Al and Clind met near the Watchtower before the events began. This meeting showed that Al knows a lot about Clind. The battle with Reinhard was much worse. 130,000+ attempts with no progress or visible changes at all. But Al continued to act logically and according to plan, and he thought he was ready to do it again. There are less than 30,000 attempts at a gradual approaching victory with constant progress. A terrible, stupid mistake. He didn’t even accept his powerlessness without finding options. He didn’t think about what had happened at all. This is the same as the characters’ refusal to discuss the destruction of Chaosflame. Bad writing.

        1. Al and Clind did meet but they didn’t fight and there is no way Clind spilt his beans to a stranger he has never met. Sure you can say that maybe Al fought Clind and just looped time to make the fight never happen to gauge his powers but Al never did that with anyone else so that’s unlikely. Al only nearly lost to Rom by losing focus which yes while Reinhard was worse than Rom in total death count, Reinhard was also like a hour ago. Al did use his authority to mentally fix himself up but he probably wasn’t at or close to 100%. But like the old saying, to each their own!

          1. I mean, their meeting made it clear that Al knows Clind’s secrets and is wary of him. He has shown that he knows many things. For example, he knows about Frederica’s unique origin, although even Frederica herself doesn’t know what that means. He knew about Reinhard’s strength even before Reinhard became the strongest and most famous. He knew Ram before they met. At the moment, fans have two explanations for this. 1 – he went back in time from another timeline. 2 – Echidna showed him the future with her authority. I believe the second option. Al didn’t make a mistake in the fight, Rom just turned out to be so cool. Al stated that Rom is more dangerous than Reinhard. And he let go him. Just… If I’m not mistaken, Al spent the day relaxing, resting after Reinhard.

            1. Hmmmmmmmm, well he did know those three things now didn’t he? Great point! In that case maybe Al does know but was betting on Clint staying in a state of resignation like how Petra found him. Also I’m like 95% sure Al did not rest for a day after fighting Reinhard. You may have gotten a bit confused by “Even as the sun rose to mark the beginning of a new day, that battle would not come to a cease.” in chapter 16 but it only says that because Al and Reinhard fought at night.

            2. It was already a problem back then with him sparing Clind just because he suddenly became Batman with his no kill rule disregarding the mountain of corpses in the Priestella battle and Vollachia Gladiator island. He already failed day 1 just by those stupid made up rule. I bet 10 cents that Crusch wakes up now and eliminate Yae because it’s not like she has a no kill rule

    6. Sorry, what makes you think he had the time or means to do any of those things?

      He clearly didn’t expect to be ambushed like that in advance, so the only plans he could make were reactive, and if those don’t fit with his other plans afterwards then that is that.

      I don’t understand why so many people act like it’s bad writing or making someone dumb when a character doesn’t fulfill their fan fiction of what they would have done in their shoes.

  5. While I am a fan of Otto glaze, realistically he should have absolutely zero ways of harassing the Al party. Not only should they be way more capable of covering ground, and therefore be beyond his reach, all of his potential serious ‘harassment’ should be easily neutralized by Alcanica.

    1. Ok so apparently she doesn’t remember anything during the Wolf Empire so all she get is Emilia’s comment about how she helped others and not the verbal abuse she threw at him. That’s one way to destroy her and Subaru relationship I guess, fuck Tappei

      1. What the fuck are you talking about? Rem? If so you’re a moron, she is swapping between pronouns in this very chapter, so she obviously has Vollachia memories

      2. Rem fans are so dumb. Bro is getting worked over nothing. Tappei is actually way too patient with this cancerous part of the fanbase.

    2. Weren’t they underground for quite a while in hiding?

      Do you even know what his “reach” happens to be?

      Also what makes you think “Alcanica” could neutralize his harassment? Do you think the dragon should just constantly be vaporizing everything nearby it just in case there are some insects or other things to harass? Kill anything that lives just because it might be a spy, somehow? Even if that happened that wouldn’t stop Otto from recognizing that happened and then using that to track down Al’s group to harass him in other ways.

      Really feels like the comment section on this chapter is a few braincells short, which is sad to see.

      1. Yeah, at the very least we gotta filter the slurs. There was a guy above who hit the triple whammy of using the n-word, the f-word AND antisemitism.

        1. Re:Zero is more popular than Rem. Cope about facts as much as you want nothing will change. Every Rem fanboi has to watch/read Re:Zero otherwise they wouldn’t be a fanboi of her in the first place but not every Re:Zero fan likes or even cares about Rem. That automatically makes Re:Zero more popular than Rem. Some of us are here mostly for Subaru as you can see from the comments.

          1. You want something from Japan, where they literally worship her? I have got a few facts that start with 100000
            Kekwwww

          2. Rem isnt “outgrowing” rezero. She has outgrown it for years lmao. Imagine seeing all the promos and unlimited merch despite no screentime and not be able to connect the dots. Couldn’t be me lmao

        2. People like her design and not the character then. Cool, good to now. Ain’t reading rest of all that word salad of yours.

        3. Nope my argument was that her chracter is not that popular so i’m right. Gundam sells crazy merch with Gunpla toys too. Doesn’t mean the shows’ themselves or the characters are all that popular.

        4. They don’t know her character if they didn’t even watch the show. You admitted that she became like an OC. They just see a cute waifu with marketable design so they buy it regardless of if they know the character or not. My argument is no character can be more popular than their show. Recognizing a character’s design is not the same as knowing that character. If they don’t even know the personality of that character or know what they do in the story then they don’t know that character. Mascot character sell like crazy. Is Chopper more popular than One Piece cause his merch sells like hotcakes? No. No one even cares about his character but they see this cute plushie so they buy it without even knowing anything about neither that character nor that show.

          1. Gojo beg to differ lmao aint none with functioning cells would ever claim JobberKaisen is peak, same for this

        5. So your whole argument about Rem being more popular than Re:Zero is she has the most likes out of all the characters in Tiktok. What an amazing logic. Also apparently Emilia has “outgrown” Re:Zero officially now and became more popular than it because there are people who don’t recognize the show yet “knows” Emilia. Such as this case https://youtube. com/shorts/zfRpEX7bVDs?si=xI_jHCx0m_3Xpt2- The dude just knows her design and name, nothing about her character but apparently that’s enough to say that he knows her lol.

        6. So your whole evidence to why Rem is more popular than Re:Zero is she got more likes than any other character from the series in Tiktok. Makes so much sense lol. I don’t use Tiktok but pretty sure most anime’s liked video would be the ones that involve the cute/hot waifu. If an Esdeath clip from Akame ga Kill has more likes than any other character from that series, does it make it so that she is officially more popular than her show now?

          1. >muh Tiktok
            And twitter
            And pixiv
            And reddit
            And narou even before she had an LN design and before the merch floodgates opened
            You’re not very good at this are you?

        7. Also apparently Emilia has “outgrown” Re:Zero now officially cause this guy htps: //m . you tube com / shorts / zfRpEX7bVDs recognizes Emilia’s name and design much before Re:Zero. He even says “It’s the anime with Emilia right?” Which means Emilia is more recognizable and popular than Re:Zero itself. Surely nothing wrong this logic. After all he “knows” Emilia, doesn’t matter if he knows jackshit about her personality and what she does in the story tho right? Smartest Rem fan LMAO.

          1. Comeback here when emilia wears 543 different non canon outfits and still got bought up by non viewers cause they don’t give a shit about the series. That’s called outgrown.

          2. And since you like anecdotal evidence so much, how about what a random japanese said 5 hours ago
            Translation:
            “Good morning, Rigudi-san, and thank you for your hard work today!
            Certainly, I have the impression that Rem is a character that even people who don’t know Re:Zero have more opportunities to see than Emilia…!! I see, so Rigudi likes the look of Rem”
            x . com /fairy_luiza/status/1932455282883617156?t=WD3OpFmwBAtJ6PX4lHjARA&s=19

        8. 1. Funny you’re saying one dude isn’t good enough evidence. As if you can find street interviews like this done in these last few years with people knowing Rem before Re:Zero, i doubt you can even find more than one. Especially if she’s as popular as she’s saying then you should easily be able to find like more than 10. Love how instead of doing that you’re pointing to some random no name Twitter account that’s saying they have the “impression” that Rem is super popular, to the point of being more popular than the series itself, even outside the Re:Zero fanbase.

        9. 2. Not to mention, he’s only proving my point by saying her design is popular and recognizable, doesn’t mention anything else. So i guess Rem is the mascot character of Re:Zero. What an amazing thing to be proud of lmao. It’s also evident that you don’t know shit about Akame ga Kill or anime in general cause it’s one of the most popular entry anime, especially here in the West, much more popular than any singular character in it.

    1. It’s the worst I have ever seen it and I have been following these translations since they were posting Arc 4 translations and working on that kind of stuff after the first season of the anime came out.

      Sad to see, but we can just ignore them and move on. I just wish it was easier to have a decent discussion sometimes though.

  6. No wonder Reinhard did not want to speak around his mother when Felt pushed him about it and pushed him out of the room.

  7. Reminder that Reinhard was literally 2 years old when his mom got sleeping beauty’d. There’s a chance he doesn’t even know he’s the one responsible, since Heinkel seems to be actively keeping the truth from getting out.

    1. Even if he is responsible, we all know Reinhard’s personality – there is a 0% chance he would have deliberately caused harm without a very good reason for it. So he either did it deliberately but for some major reason (maybe the sleep is to keep her alive from an incurable illness or something), or he is unaware of the cause.

  8. Man shitpei is constantly wanking off emilia and it just irritates me. The bitch says one line and gets praised to the skies by the narrative.

  9. I didn’t bother to read the comments so I’ll assume it was about Rem. On my side I’m waiting to see what Tappei does with her. I’d really hate that her development in Vollachia amounts to nothing in the end. Her switching pronouns and saying they need to discuss what happened is a good sign, but not enough. She’s no longer the Rem of Arc 3 and it needs to be shown

  10. These comments are another proof that re zero fans can’t read.
    Really people are pissed because Al didn’t kill Rom… have they read the same novel I read?
    Ingnoring the facts that Rom could be used only because of Clind intervention(no way the group could come to the geyser before Al without Clind), Al using his ability far more carefully after Rom incident and looks like Otto going to figure out Al’s ability anyway.

    1. 1) Al somehow (from Echidna’s authority probably) knew about Clind and his abilities. 2) There are 2 twin girls in the Felt camp who possess telepathy. One of them was next to Rom. Although the details of their forces have not been revealed. Al knew about them. I didn’t complain that Al didn’t kill Rom. Although during their battle, many people were sure that this would happen. I complained that Al didn’t even try to do anything so that Rom wouldn’t tell anyone later. Al’s whole refusal to kill for Priscilla looks strange fo Al and exists only to make it harder for him.

      1. Al already knew of Subaru’s ability so knowing Clind isn’t a stretch. The part with not slaying the telepaths are dumb though, now info about him spread like wildfire so it will be impossible for him to beat his opponent eventually. His intelligence might not be that bad but his wisdom checks are falling hard ever since Kararagi

    2. If Petra doesn’t help by telling her about RbD, then Otto won’t know about Al’s authority. He doesn’t have enough necessary knowledge.

      1. Otto can run the same experiments as rom but on a different scale via all the animals in the world ganging up to body Als group (since he decided to follow their group solo and just throw death at them anytime they try to rest) he doesn’t need to be given the info directly, all those animals are crazy for trying to help harass a dragon knowing they get one tapped even if it’s weakened though won’t lie on that part

        1. You did not understand. He has no knowledge of magical techniques. Rom is an extremely skilled general who has studied a huge number of divine protections, killing their owners. He also continued to study the existing divine protections, using Reinhard as a test subject. Without contacting Al, he checked all the existing divine protections that could take place in this situation. When they were over, he remembered that the Sphinx had told him about the authorities. Then he started checking the authorities until he came to the right answer. The authorities in the ReZero world are unknown to almost no one. Otto won’t be able to test the divine protections, he didn’t teach them. Otto doesn’t know about the authorities.

    3. There wasn’t even a word about waifu in this discussion, so you’re the one who’s obsessed with this topic.

    4. People are mad he didn’t kill Rom, when Al deliberately has stated many times he is trying to accomplish his goals without anyone dying.

      It’s silly at the end of the day. Why get mad that someone decides to not be a murderer when they have the option to not kill people due to having such an overpowered ability? Would people really prefer that Al just killed everyone and the story ended? I sincerely doubt THAT is the case, but that’s the logical outcome to people complaining.

  11. Going through the past few chapters and deleting comments with slurs. Though very few critical conversations in these comment sections are ever respectful or enlightening, the use of slurs is a sure indicator that nothing of value is being said. Also, everyone can tell that you’ve just discovered 4chan over summer break.

    1. 4chan and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race. Bro seriously made being a 4channer like a few months, at most a year ago, his whole personality and thinks this makes him cool lol.

    2. Just ban the people that use slurs, it’s going to be much better for the rest of us here who just wants to chill and read actually meaningful (they can be critical but not toxic and disrespectful) comments.

    1. I do 😀 (the silent majority does, it’s just the crazy people are way more likely to comment, so over time it becomes more shit)

    2. add one to the silent majority,
      I actually stopped to read them today, it has me very sad, to see people be so rude and callous.
      it may sound counter intuitive but hatred makes me very angry to see. I probably wont post a comment for while. much to my silent voices dismay.

      1. It’s just toxic Rem fans. They were always thw most annoying and cancerous part of rhe fanbase so it doesn’t surprise me.

    3. No worries I do, its just that many others around here dont much, dont know if it always been like that since I started reading these around 5 months ago, but the previous chapter’s comments were at least a bit more respectful.

    4. I have enjoyed this story more than any other similar story since I discovered the translated web novel sometime around the Arc 4 translations, and while there have been parts of the story I liked more than others I have never stopped loving reading it.

  12. Why the heck is Reinhardt still stuck with an “Incomplete” Witch of Envy? I know he’s weakened because of the Miasma but he should still be able to deal with her because he’s Reinhardt. This leads me to think that the Witch of Envy fighting Reinhardt isn’t incomplete after all, well, at least her immortality seems to still be working otherwise Reinhardt should be able to deal with her in a single strike…….or is it that I’m overestimating Reinhardt? A man who can destroy the SUN should be able to deal with that easily, right? This entire fight with “incomplete” WoE makes it seem like Regulus or Reid could beat him in that condition….which really shouldn’t be the case, I think.

    1. Reinhard has no hands and no regeneration. Sealed Satella has 1% of its magic power available. A battle on equal terms between two of the strongest disabled people. Reid and the real Volcanica would have defeated both combined in their current state in a few seconds. A few more characters would have done it after a hard struggle. Nowhere did it say that Reinhard could defeat the sun. This is an incorrect translation of the author’s phrase. I am sure that the team that defeated full Satella would have defeated full Reinhard. By the way, the author said that without the Dragon Sword, Reinhard is weaker than Volcanica, and that Reinhard’s victory over the Reid is not guaranteed.

      1. But couldn’t Reinhardt just us DP of Phoenix to regenerate after dying? Well, maybe he didn’t think that far, I suppose. Also, thanks for informing me about the misinterpretation that Reinhardt can “defeat” the sun, but I think my point still holds since the author compared Od Lagna to the sun and said he could destroy it, meaning that he could still destroy it and should be able to brute force this WoE, I think. Also, could you please tell me where he said Reinhardt would lose to Volcanica without the Dragon Sword? I understand that Reid COULD win in a fight but not Volcanica….

        1. The author compared Od Laguna and the sun, implying that both are not sentient beings. I don’t know what the author meant. Maybe victory is the only opponent’s death. Maybe Reinhard can be instantly killed infinitely after revivals, before he reacts. Maybe he can be thrown off the edge of the world and not return. Maybe there is a period of time after revival when Phoenix is ​​unavailable, and during this time he can be killed. “If Reinhard is able to use his sword, he can compete with Volcanica” said Teppei. BTW, cool nickname. I dream about moment when Emilia and Beatrice see Puck torturing Subaru and promising to destroy the world. For them to spit in his face and drive him away. It’s a pity that this will definitely not happen. FuckPuck.

    2. 90% of reinhards strength comes from his constant use of the flow method (tappei said the divine protections being wiped from Reinhard wouldn’t change his strength much once) currently he has almost no flow method (because only miamasa around him and very little mana) so that’s most of his strength out a window plus his arms are disabled so he can’t even use his speciality (he’s relying on random divine protections for buffs only) plus the fact they are supposed to stalemate forever in a 1v1 (aka neither can kill each other keep in mind that doesn’t mean they are even in strength)

    3. Logically because he’s not able to defeat the incomplete Witch of Envy, according to the actual story written.

      Maybe the fully awoken Witch might actually have a way to defeat him and the idea of them being equal in strength has always been an exaggeration. Maybe even her incomplete state is still something he can’t deal with because of its nature – even if in terms of strength it is weaker than him. Maybe he’s just being hesitant in some way as winning would cause some harm to the world (maybe he can’t use his full strength). Maybe he will win, but it will just make more time.

      There are plenty of ways to explain this within the context of the story as written, so I suspend my disbelief.

    1. Good to see someone agreeing with me. Don’t kmow if there are any rules in WCT but some comments are getting a bit much.

    1. You’ve seen nothing: I’ve seen other fandoms hating on their respective series for things that make sense in context, things that are the natural cnclusion of the story up til that point and even for core things that have explicitly been there from the beginning.

      Complainers gonna complain when the story does not follow their personal headcanon.

    2. I think it’s mostly a few trolls posting. Majority is enjoying it only a silent minority is complaining.

    3. This fanbase has been extremely unhinged about which girl they like more ever since Rem’s introduction back in arc 2. That didn’t change when she was in a coma or when she woke up from a coma. Now that she’s back with memories, it’s really no surprise that the floodgates of butthurt have fully opened up.

      1. Is it really buttfurt when they have all the reason to disdain the author for her character assassination arc? Even if she knows everything when she was “awake”, Subaru could very well refuse to even get near her because she said mean words and ruin his seigi no mikata dream. They would have give the author the benefit of the doubt if he was actively hating her “stealing Emilia’s spotlight” . That’s like giving the benefit of the doubt to Aka Akasaka after OnK

  13. If Rein was the one to put his mother to sleep shouldn’t he be able to take her out of it? I’m curious as to why he either isn’t able to or why he hasn’t tried to.

    1. We don’t know anything about how it happened yet. But I don’t think that the one who inflicted the wound always can heal it.

      1. He gave a bunch of contradicting info before, I wouldn’t be suprised if that’s not true and Al has to wipe the dragon’s knowledge of Subaru’s RBD just like Petra

  14. I had thought that Roy was a measure to stop Satella by wiping Petra’s memories, but now I think it could also be that Al needs to wipe the software illegally uploaded to Volcanica’s dragonhusk.

    1. I don’t think that how it works. If i remember correctly Tappei in a Q&A said that people can know about rbd but when they try to confirm it with Subaru then Satella reacts.
      Because Volcanica knows about rbd from al is book it doesn’t matter.

  15. People crying plot armor this, plot armor that; I mean plot armor exist since the beginning of writing, in one scene the 3 musketeer can repel an entire army unscathed and in the next just died by a well placed bullet or sword or whatever. The author have always decide how, when and if the protagonist will die or not

  16. The comments are 3/5 of this chapter huh pretty good ratio I guess the commenting 9 to 5 is going pretty good for some people

  17. It’s so funny how it’s filled with ignorant people who can’t read. I’d say let them; it’s so funny to see the stupid things they say. Long live Tappei and long live RZ.

  18. Welp, time to stop reading comments. The comments used to be interesting and had some actual discussions, but now it’s filled with haters without a single ounce of proper criticism. At least when people didn’t like Arc 7, it was for actual good reasons; now it’s just hating for the sake of hating.

    1. Arc 7 had some of the worst pacing in the series and everyone was tired of the new scenary and no main cast by the 4th volume as well as the lack of meaningful tension since Subaru just ended up abusing the fuck out of RbD and the whole narrative had no stakes with the only meaningful payoff being Priscillas death which took 13 volumes leading to some of the worst readership drop in the series history. Compare that with what Arc 9 is currently and we are heading into the complete opposite direction already

  19. For such a good light novel, This comment section sucks! compared to the comment section in original Japanese site.
    Get outta here ya suckers!
    If Rezero sucks now, then why are you here? Get lost.

      1. You’re entitled to your opinion, but if you believe that then why waste your time in comment sections for fan translations years later?

        I genuinely don’t understand what the point of that is, except to try to convince people who are enjoying the story that they shouldn’t. Which genuinely is an even bigger waste of time than just complaining.

  20. Tappei often calls Rem the “Morning Star”! In astronomy, it means Venus, the goddess of platonic love, who is subordinate to the Moon and Neptune! The hint is clear! In “Christianity”, the “Morning Star” means Lucifer or maybe Pandora!? Why did Klind, who has the authority of “Despondency”, look at Rem with disdain – maybe he sensed the Vanity factor in her?!

    1. Venus is not the goddess of platonic love. Venus is the goddess of love, beauty, fertility, and desire. She is not subordinate to the Moon and Neptune. There’s only loose connections. The Moon represents emotions, intuition, the unconscious, and femininity. Neptune symbolizes dreams, illusions, spirituality, and the collective unconscious. Venus may be “transcended” by the Moon (emotional depth) or Neptune (spiritual love), implying Venus is a stepping stone toward higher forms of love.
      Morning Star means Lucifer or Jesus. Either fall from grace or the savior. Given this is arc 9, maybe something will happen. Pandora=Jesus of the rezero world is a stretch but might be true.
      Clind has Melancholy. Sensing Vanity is a huge stretch.

      1. All of these hinge on Morning Star being intentional for arc 9. Not some background stuff thats already there.

  21. Ram: [After all, Ram is a pathetic older sister who is unable to even keep her composure during an emotional reunion. It’s no wonder Rem would call her sister a crybaby.]

    I HATE how the word pathetic is used in the story. In arc 3, rem called subaru pathetic. In arc 4, otto called subaru pathetic. In the sloth if, when rem’s about to give birth and expresses regret and guilt of her past, the narration wonders is subaru should tell her to stop being pathetic. Why the fuck is showing humans emotions/vulnerability makes a person pathetic? It GENUINELY pisses me off because it makes it come off as you have to be an emotionless robot in order to not be called pathetic, which is IMPOSSIBLE. There’s nothing pathetic about showing emotions.

  22. I’m interested in how the characters are going to take Rom information from now on, and how Al will deal with it (honestly, I think he’s probably prepared for a situation like this, though the fact that it happened so quickly might surprise him.

    And that ending was surprising. I thought Tappei was going to save that information for Heinkel named chap or something. Anyway, his storyline will probably end in this arc. It’s been developing since arc 5, so this is the moment. By the way, I wouldn’t be surprised if Reinhard doesn’t know about that, though I’m not sure.

  23. For the guy who replied to me under Reply #46, the bits about r/anime and such: Read my replies cause I’m willing to talk about it all day.

  24. Finally caught, time to wait for the chapters to build up again and read in one bundle.

    The SMART was to do it 😉

  25. Thank you for your continued translations, hope all of the mentally ill people in your comments section find help.

  26. Considering the absolute state of the comment sections for chapters 34, 35, and 36, Roy was absolutely right when he said that this would be the ‘most amusing’ option.

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