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Hello, it has been quite a while since the last activity report.
The last time was just about 2019, so about 5 years?
Only two seasons of the Re:Zero anime had been unveiled, and in the next activity report it is already “Thank you for Season 3” and “Season 4 is in the works!” It might seem strange to say this, but it is all thanks to everyone’s support.
I mean, based on the stage of the last activity report, I was quite worried I may not have yet started writing Arc 7.
Such an IF route, that diverges from Arc 7, was this time’s Deceiving Life in Another World From Zero.
When it comes to April Fool’s Day updates, I often cannot decide what to write each time until the last minute, but this time I felt it would be a waste not to to tell this story this year, the year the Empire Arc concluded, and so despite all the many chaotic things going on, I somehow managed to finish on time!
Somewhat surprisingly, this was an IF route where the protagonist does not fall into darkness, but as you might guess given his mentality after Arc 6, it would be difficult for him to fall to darkness now, so I think there might not be many more derivational IFs without something exceptional. I can’t say! Since I might end up writing one if I get an idea!
In any case, as is established practice with IF routes, this activity report will cover context that could not be included within the story, so-called superfluous information, thus it will contain spoilers from the get-go, so those who have yet to read the story, please read it first!
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(The following contains spoilers!!)
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■ Natsuki Subaru (Natsumi Schwartz)
・Having not joined the forces of evil this year, he’s a protagonist that appears to have spent his time comparatively peacefully, did he not? Nonetheless, in the end he was deceived and the bomb was made to detonate, so with the wounds after what was written, confronting and building a relationship with Abel will be rather challenging.
・After Arc 6, he was sent flying to Vollachia from the Pleiades Watchtower due to the clash between the Witch of Envy and Volcanica, and this starting point differs from the main story: the Imperial Capital Lupugana. After suddenly seeming to be trespassing upon the grounds of the castle there, his greatest desire was realized and the awoken Rem did not recognize Subaru. With the stench of the miasma, she was hostile towards him, and with Louis being there too, she had the worst impression; quite a chaotic start. For the time being, realizing he was being pursued, Subaru volunteered himself to act as a decoy so that Rem and Louis could escape, but at this time, a lot of the Empire’s main forces were gathered in the Imperial Capital, so no matter where he went it was only horrific experiences―― and as usual, from that, he seized a glimmer of hope.
・Furthermore, in each IF route, the appearance of the protagonist varies subtly from the main story, but this time, under the pretext of hiding the fact that he is from the Kingdom of Lugunica from those around him, he is almost always crossdressing. After being driven from his throne, a fiancée he has no memory of materializes, and doing whatever she pleases, contributes greatly to Abel’s headache. Due to the scope of his position, Subaru was able to rotate through all sorts of outfits each day.
・As for his relationship with Chisha Gold, whom he never met in the main story, since Abel was able to function as the Emperor with that sort of personality, it goes without saying that his assistant Chisha was abnormally suitable as a supporter, which is proof that he could get along well with Subaru too. In the original route, he was in a position where he had no leeway to do so, and he was continuously in the middle of a quite tense balancing act, but in this case, he got along well with the main Imperial faction from the start, including the Nine Divine Generals, showing he has grown quite a bit as a person, having come to terms with his life in another world.
・Despite her status as a hostage, he had better mental composure at being able to leave Rem in a safe place, and as a result of the frequency of Rem’s doubts of “Why are you going so far?” being much less frequent, the “You’re not a hero” incident did not occur, and the friction with Rem, who lacked her Memories, was somewhat lessened and compromises could be made. Still, he would drive Louis away.
・As always, he exhibited his crossdressing power, made Kafma think, “Just who exactly is this Lady Natumi Schwartz who appeared as a replacement for Natsuki Subaru-dono?”, caused Cecilus to call him Ma’am instead of Boss, and whilst enjoying his life in the Empire thought maybe it would be fine to bring Chisha, who had angered the Emperor so, to Lugunica. However, in the end, he was deceived by his accomplice Chisha, who accomplished his goal. He selfishly decided to take on half the weight of the baton Chisha had entrusted to Abel, and it converged back to the main story of Arc 8―― and at that point, the curtains lowered upon our story.
・From this route, without having built a relationship with Abel, having yet to meet up with the Emilia Camp, and the absences of all sorts of named characters, makes it very likely this Arc 8 would be far more harsh, but naturally I will not be depicting such an IF next year.
■ Rem & Louis (Spica)
・The moment she woke up, a stinking man she did not know proclaimed “I’m your hero”, then in that period of chaos, she was chased by an absurdly terrifying pursuer, put in house arrest as a hostage, and the stinking man who came by often was treated with astounding respect, truly, she was a heroine blown around by fate like fallen leaves at the mercy of the wind.
・At the start, Subaru’s favorability was just as low as in the original story, but since Berstetz had properly informed her about Subaru sacrificing himself in order to save Rem, she was aware that she had become a burden for Subaru, and as a result, the truth was that compared to the original story, the improvement in his initial favorability was faster. Since she was forced to mostly spend her time at the mansion in the Imperial Capital, Subaru did not seem to be casually jumping into life-or-death situations and coming close to death, which was better conditions for Rem, who hates self-sacrifice. However, because they were not given the time to cultivate a bond, Louis and Subaru’s relationship was in a poor shape, and due to that, she harbored endless displeasure towards that attitude of Subaru’s towards Louis.
・In the time she spent at the mansion, she recalled how to use healing magic, and contributed to the recovery of Kafma, who was sidelined due to his injuries. Feeling indebted to her, the militaristic man thanked her with a “Long live Miss Rem!”, and she successfully earned the endorsement and tremendous support of the man practically guaranteed to become the next General First-Class.
・Furthermore, in her life at the mansion, she succeeded in forming a bond with Madelyn, the sullen dragon-girl. In the original story, she snuck her way into Priscilla’s heart, and perfectly exhibiting her innate suitability as a supporter, she managed to acquire a bone flute from that dragon that would entrust her with a flying dragon. It is likely that in this route’s Arc 8, she would raise her voice for the sake of Madelyn, who suffers due to the existence of her loved one, and would help coax out her true feelings and allow her to move forward.
・In addition, she would also meet and become friends with Katya, living in the Imperial Capital, in this route as well.
・On the other hand, regarding Louis, she is still very attached to Rem in this route, and her reaction to Subaru when he comes to see them is similar, however, compared to the original story, he was colder to her, and there was no further progress. Even embarking into Arc 8, it seems unlikely that the name change event will occur.
・While some bonds were forged through the cruelty of the original route, other sentiments could have been cultivated in a more gentle manner. Thus, debating which route would be better for them seems to be nothing but tactless.
■ Berstetz & Ubilk & Kafma
・The main members of the Empire outside of the Nine Divine Generals.
・Berstetz’s objective is rooted in his distrust of Vincent, who was damaging the ways of the Vollachian Empire by not properly producing any heirs. Yet, in this route, Rem was recognized as Subaru’s partner, so there were no attempts at setting up a forced marriage. On the other hand, the reason he kept Madelyn close at hand was because she was an easily managed pawn, and at the same time, also a very likely candidate for Vincent’s partner, so in that sense, that old man is truly a Sword Wolf of Vollachia. Surprisingly, Louis really took to him, and he may have felt such a feeling was not too bad.
・Ubilk acts as counsel in crucial moments as a Stargazer, but thanks to his accomplishments as a Stargazer in the past, when Subaru was treated as a Stargazer of Lugunica, everyone had a rather agreeable mood, like “Ahh, sure sure.” Therefore, Subaru did not seem to realize it, but he might be his hidden benefactor. Since Subaru acted as a substitute where he had originally come along, it seems like he was living a life of leisure.
・Kafma, the epitome of a serious Imperial soldier, could not solve the equation of Subaru=Schwartz, and seemingly perceived Subaru and Natsumi as different individuals. At Chaosflame, he sustained life-threatening injuries and though he withdrew from the front lines, he was able to return due to Rem’s healing magic. He considered himself to be greatly indebted to her and supported her fervently. If anything unpleasant were to happen to her in her job as a healer, he would directly confront the source of it, persistently saying, “I would like you to explain what fault lies with my savior.”
■ Nine Divine Generals
・Since the initial faction Subaru belonged to changed, naturally the following attitudes of everyone changed drastically as well. At the time of Arc 7 of the original story, the Nine Divine Generals were mostly enemies, but in this route many of them were allies from the early stages, which made it a rather easy route. Because he did not oppose Old Man Olbart, Subaru’s number of deaths were likely an order of magnitude lower. Damn terrifyin’, that old man.
・As a result of being deployed to Guaral just like in the main story, Arakiya, who made contact in the earliest stages of the story, became a casualty (a traitor!), and unlike in the main story, there was no event where she was freed from captivity, thus after twists and turns she switched sides.
・It was predetermined that Olbart would lose an arm in Chaosflame and Groovy was absent due to being deployed to the west of the Empire as part of Chisha’s schemes like in the main story. Goz was imprisoned, but in this regard, it was somewhat better than the main story due to Subaru being able to take into consideration his circumstances. Subaru, in his villainess persona, might have occasionally made an appearance and thrown him something to improve his nutrition. There are suspicions that Moguro got along well with Miss Natsumi, given how she casually called him “Mogurocchi”, but what are everyone’s impressions?
・And yet, since they were unable to win over Yorna-san of Chaosflame in this route, the Demon City maintained a policy of independence, aligning with neither the Emperor’s side nor the rebel’s side. Thus, even after arriving at Arc 8, Iris and the King of Thorns would not reunite, and in this aspect, it is evident that it ends in tragedy compared to the main story.
・As discussed in Rem’s section, the bond between Madelyn and Rem had clearly grown, and thus despite suffering from Balleroy’s existence after the Great Disaster, in the end she would listen to Rem’s words and manage to achieve a proper farewell. In that case, Rem might have realized a position like Friend of Mezoreia, which might have been satisfying in its own way.
・Altogether, even though the positions and roles of the Nine Divine Generals change, they seem to be strong individuals whose ultimate survival rates and conditions remain unchanged. However, if the story rushes forth into Arc 8 as it currently stands, all the conditions that relate to the survival of those like Goz, Olbart, Groovy, or Moguro no longer exist, thus there might be a high probability that around half of them are replaced.
■ Cecilus Segmunt
・Despite the starting point having changed from the main story, due to already having been infantilized by Chisha by that starting point, our Ceci was banished to the Gladiator Island to get him out of the way. The truth regarding Cecilus becoming small is that Chisha’s method of shrinking Cecilus was wearing the Mask of the Vicious.
・Picking up Subaru, who washed up upon the Gladiator Island, and having his heart tremble with the premonition that a story was beginning―― unlike the main story, which flowed in such a manner, it starts with Natsumi and Chisha coming to take him away, and with his usual story-focused brain, he perplexes them with theories of narrative like “It wouldn’t be very refined to suddenly join them, so I should refuse them a few times!” That being said, for the person in question, aside from such theories of narrative, he also had his intuitive sense of aesthetics, and that ultimately helped him build relationships with Subaru and Chisha, and thus as one might expect, there is beauty in everything a leading actor does. In addition, in the main story, he called Subaru “Boss”, but due to Subaru never removing his disguise as a woman in front of Cecilus in this route, he was called “Ma’am”.
・The scene where they fight together with Chisha’s trump card of Mask of the Lightning was something I could not find the timing to do in the main story, so I was especially moved to be able to do so here. For the young Cecilus, being able to see his future, perfected self was a huge prize, but since Chisha’s Noh is limited to only reproducing about eighty percent of the original abilities, the boastings of Cecilus, who held impressions like, “I’m gonna be much better in the future!” were actually correct.
・For Chisha, who had intended to announce their parting face-to-face already once before, this route in which he had a reunion and second parting must have been pretty awkward. However, for Chisha, who was probably feeling anxious about whether he could see it through to the end, having that final word was also salvation. Being able to put that second parting into words there could probably be said to be the influence of Subaru, and thus the second parting of those two in this story was truly “Perfect!”
・Incidentally, during the decisive battle for the Imperial Capital, Arakiya was entrusted to him as his opponent, and it seems he successfully engaged in a battle that destroyed not one, but two of the points of the star, as the fiercest battleground of the decisive battle.
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(The following were significantly changed with the absence of Subaru, so viewer discretion is advised.)
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■ The People of Shudraq
・Utakata was left behind and wiped out.
■ O’Connell Siblings
・Flop died in the conquest of the Fortress City of Guaral, where poison was used.
・Due to the same poison, Medium wandered between life and death, but with to the effect of her Divine Protection of Morale, she encouraged herself that she could not die until she had gotten revenge for her brother, and lived. However, she was tricked into thinking that the ones who had used the poison were the Imperial Army, and joined the rebels, weeping as she participated in the vanguard hunting down Imperial soldiers.
■ Zikr Osman
・He was killed in the battle for the Fortress City of Guaral and his head was displayed as that of a defeated General.
■ Tanza
・Just as in the main story, the plan she devised to protect Yorna backfired, and her loyalty was viewed as dangerous by a certain werewolf, who disposed of her. As a result, Yorna, who led Chaosflame, fell into a state where she was independent of both Abel and Chisha, and that girl’s desire for Yorna to not participate in the war was realized, at the cost of her life.
■ Pleiades Battalion
・Was not formed.
・As a consequence of Subaru not participating in the Sparka, Hiain, Weitz, and Idra did not come to understand each other and fell to the Guiltylaw’s claws, and were annihilated.
・Since Natsumi and Chisha’s purpose in visiting the Gladiator Island was to retrieve Cecilus, the other gladiators remained there, and Gustav, as the governor, protected His Excellency the Emperor’s life and their Sparka continued.
■ Bandana Bastard and Twin Sword Wielder
・It need not be said that these were Todd Fang and Jamal Aurélie.
・In this route, instead of Abel running into Subaru, he lured the two of them, camping near the forest of the Shudraq, into becoming his allies.
・The Lifeblood Ritual is a matter of whether one can clear the greatest tribulation facing the Shudraq at the time, and with the absence of Subaru, the Witchbeast Elgina did not appear, so the Lifeblood Ritual bestowed upon Abel became repelling the camp where Todd and the others were.
・The two of them were captured during the battle there, and as soon as Jamal figured out Abel’s identity, he immediately surrendered, and Todd, who intended to bide his time and wait for an opportunity to escape, promised to help upon the condition that Abel would repeal the decree to exterminate the wolfpeople and molepeople to the last, after Abel figured out his nature as a werewolf―― all the while completely intending to snatch Katya and escape somewhere.
・With Abel desiring to return to the throne by the shortest path possible, since he had good compatibility in the worst sense with Todd’s rationalism that ignores all emotion, the results included the use of poison in taking Guaral, murdering Tanza in Chaosflame, and afterwards the utilization of guerilla warfare and continuing to inflict disgusting violence. Furthermore, after they captured Arakiya when she was deployed to Guaral, he recommended making good use of her, and took her in, and just like in the main story, they formed a one-sided relationship that Arakiya found not entirely uncomfortable.
・Ultimately, it seems that the future of Jamal becoming Abel’s bodyguard did not change, and it is very likely Todd managed to escape with Katya in the turmoil of the decisive battle at the Imperial Capital, and probably would not appear in Arc 8.
■ Vincent Vollachia (Abel)
・Unlike the original story, he resolutely survived the Lifeblood Ritual, the Fortress City of Guaral, and the Demon City of Chaosflame without the help of Natsuki Subaru, as the unyielding and unassailable Wise Emperor we all know.
・Since he was forced to take more cold-blooded measures than in the main story with Subaru not present, the road back to the throne was drenched in much blood, and the increase in his own psychological burden was immense. And yet, for the citizens of the Empire, this was exactly the way of the Empire, and so they cheered and applauded him like roaring thunder. The Empire is truly terrible.
・Despite numerous sacrifices, such as the Shudrak for starters, Chisha attained his long-cherished desire upon the throne he had finally managed to reach, dealing a serious blow. Furthermore, a fiancée he did not know showed up saying things like “Stand up for Chisha’s sake!”, to which “What the hell would you know about Chisha!” would lead to an expected development where spittle flies between them.
・After temporarily withdrawing from the capital, a relationship of cooperation should be forged with Subaru just like in the main story. However, since there is nothing other than Chisha binding them together, their relationship is like that of friends of a friend with their treasured mutual friend no longer there. While it seems like they could forge a decently respectable bond, on the other hand, it seems like it would take quite a while for their relationship to become as solid as it was in the main story, and with the muddled state of Arc 8, it seems like it would be quite difficult.
・In my own selfish imagination, after the war, even though he would accept Medium, who contributed greatly to his cause as a demon of vengeance, as one of his consorts like in the main story, she would come to know of the truth about Guaral somehow, and I very much fear she may stab him in an incident like that of Delita and Ovelia. The king does not understand the human heart… [1]
■ Emilia Camp & Priscilla Camp
・Just as in the main story, Emilia, Priscilla and the others managed to enter Vollachia, and were roughly following the same developments. However, due to Subaru’s absence, Al did not accompany the Chaosflame team, and greatly contributed to responding to Madelyn’s attack on Guaral and reducing the damage, primarily around Priscilla.
・Additionally, in this route, Abel’s principles and Emilia’s principles definitely did not mesh well, and thus, with the Emilia Camp not joining Abel and the others, they did not participate in the decisive battle at the Imperial Capital. With the name of “Natsumi Schwartz” reaching the ears of Emilia and the others, Ram, Roswaal, and Otto, who properly understood it as message from Subaru, proposed during their meeting that they should try to get in contact with Subaru, who was apparently there, in the chaos of the decisive battle at the Imperial Capital. To that end, I believe Emilia and the others would finally join the decisive battle at the Imperial Capital, in a similar way to the participation of the Pleiades Battalion in the original story. Incidentally, in this Arc 8, it seems like Subaru would be able to actually witness the reunion between the sisters of Rem and Ram, and I imagine tears would flow like the Great Waterfall.
・In addition, as for the conclusion she would face at the end of Arc 8, it appears it would mirror the same essence and shape of the Azamuku route, that actions with strong conviction and motivation will not be permitted to be altered, even by a power that overthrows fate.
■ Chisha Gold
・Having possessed a golden soul, he was a great liar who deceived even fate. He was the Azamuku route’s protagonist, as well as the scenario’s heroine.
・I must confess, as the author, that I began to write the story this time with the intent of Chisha surviving and Abel dying. However, no matter how hard I tried, Chisha would not let me deviate from his plans. I would not go so far as to say he deceived even me, the author, but he is a character that I have no choice but to admit forced even the author himself to collaborate in his deception, creating this story.
・Since I’ve said pretty much all I want to say on his thoughts and actions in the main story and this IF, I do not have much more to add here. If I had to say something, it would be that the words Chisha could not say on the eve of the decisive battle were the message for Abel that Chisha entrusted to Flop in the main story. However, if he had imparted it to Subaru in that place, he was in danger of leaking his schemes to Subaru, and since he had already decided to have Subaru escape to the Kingdom before the decisive battle at the Imperial Capital at that point, there was no point in telling him that. Additionally, the bond between him and Subaru was, in the beginning, based upon the expectation that he could use his ability as a Stargazer and that he would become an essential asset for Abel in repelling the Great Disaster. However, by the eve of the decisive battle, it had changed significantly. For Chisha, who had decided to have but one master and one friend, this bond did not fit either, but he thought it to be in a unique position that was something close to those.
・As briefly mentioned in Cecilus’s sections, Noh is a copying ability able to reproduce around eighty percent of the abilities of another who has been traced as a “mask”. It is a broken ability that exhibits its true strength in much the same way as shown in the IF route. Despite saying things such as “I lack much fighting strength myself,” when he shows his trump card, he will mercilessly turn into Cecilus. In addition, in spite of it being a trump card, Cecilus will allow him to touch his face if he asks, so it is pretty much a trump card that he can use endlessly. In fact, there is a possibility that some of Cecilus’s valorous acts were actually the deeds of Chisha secretly in the form of Cecilus, but if Cecilus were to be asked about them, he would comment “Did I do that? I feel like I did! I did do that!” and thus no one finds it strange. To begin with, Cecilus’s heroic achievements are pretty buggy, so this addition is really only a rounding error.
・In any case, as a writer who loves visual novels, I am completely satisfied in being able to write something like a simple alternative route, very different from other IF routes thus far. As the author, I also enjoy thinking about what kinds of relationships might be built with Subaru, so I am also very pleased with that.
・In the end, both in the main story and in the IF, Chisha Gold, seeing through to the end what he had decided to do, was undoubtedly a man worthy of the title of Sword Wolf of the Empire――.
And that is about it for what I wanted to say about the Azamuku route!
There are many differences between the main story and Azamuku, but due to the reduced number of named characters, it is to be expected that the damage would be greater. I do not believe either one to be particularly easy though!
Well then, thank you for this year’s April Fool’s Day!
Please continue supporting Re:Zero! See you soon!
Translation Note:
[1] – This is a reference to Final Fantasy Tactics, and since it involves heavy spoilers for the game, I will not explain it here. Look up the wiki if you want to.
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