Chapter 39: Re: Starting a Life of Oboreru from Zero - Part 3
[["Master, prepare to die—!" Frederica thrust her short sword at Subaru...
But Halibel easily snatched the blade, pinning Frederica against the wall.
Frederica looked shocked:
"Why, Lord Halibel! Now, taking advantage of the chaos, we can get rid of this man...!"
"Kill him...right? I understand the sentiment. Those with their weaknesses exposed must be desperate to kill Subaru and be free. But...unfortunately, I'm not obeying him because he's got something on me. Subaru-bro has actually done me a favor."
"Subaru-dono!?"
Subaru walked step by step towards Frederica, who desperately reached out, her hand grazing Subaru's neck...
"I must...um!?"
A scene that shocked both Frederica and Halibel unfolded.
Several bright red handprints were visible on Subaru's neck.
"No good, Frederica. I won't let you, in your black and white state, kill me. Mr. Halibel...take Frederica and escape quickly."
"...Subaru-bro. I believe she's the spy who brought the 'Sword Saint' in."
"Don't come back, Mr. Halibel. I have my own matters to resolve. If you wanted to repay my kindness, this is enough."
"...I wanted to be good friends with Subaru-dono."
Halibel left with Frederica.
"Oh, Frederica. The food was delicious; he wanted me to tell you that." Halibel said to her.]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Red handprints..."
Ram muttered from outside the screen.
Everyone immediately connected it to the initial scene.
In the snowy field, Ram kept repeating, "What's so strange?" and desperately choked Subaru's neck.
"I didn't expect those red handprints back then...and at the same time..."
" 'I won't let you, in your black and white state, kill me.'Barasu had said that."
Ram pondered.
Ram was already dead, crushed by rocks. Who else has color? Only Emilia-sama.
"Ah, even in this world, he still remembers kindness. Boss's nature is hard to change, after all."
Garfiel greatly admired Subaru's decision to let Frederica go.
"But...what kindness is..."
Natsuki Rem wondered what kindness her husband had received from Mr. Halibel.
"Oh, the blue-haired miss is interested. I remember him saying something about how when he met Boss, he was in some trouble, something about the Four Great Spirits? The boss helped him solve it. Honestly, I was surprised. I get a headache just talking to them; Boss actually solved it."
Cecilus replied to Natsuki Rem.
"Could it be...Tia-sama...?"
Natsuki Rem couldn't help but think of Tia.
"Oh, getting a headache talking to me? I think I'm pretty easygoing, as long as it doesn't involve Lia, nya."
Puck, one of the true Four Great Spirits, who killed and replaced one of the former ones, said with a smile.
"No matter~ what. Seeing Subaru so~ composed, this must still be part of his plan. I can probably see that he's going to seek death next~."
Roswaal said.
"...Letting Cecilus stall Reinhard, then going to seek death himself...but why?"
Otto was a bit puzzled.
From Cecilus's behavior of immediately fighting Reinhard upon entering, it was clear that Cecilus could stall Reinhard, but only for a short while.
So why could Cecilus stall for so long in the scene? Why was Subaru so confident that he could stall for so long?
"Either this Cecilus has truly reached the level of the Heavenly Sword. Or...this environment, or rather~, this hall is a bit special~ ."
The fact that Subaru could avoid Reinhard's first strike showed that this hall was unusual.
Perhaps Subaru had gone to great lengths to obtain a hall specifically designed to counter Reinhard.
Roswaal analyzed.
[["Emilia-sama!" Then the scene changed again, with the colorless Reinhard heading to rescue the colorful Emilia.
Reinhard called out to Emilia with concern.
"Are you alright, Emilia-sama? I'm glad you're safe."
"Reinhard, you're seriously injured. Are you okay?"
"There's no need to worry. Although this certainly isn't a minor injury."]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Injured like that!"
Outside the screen, many people exclaimed in surprise.
Was this the work of Cecilus alone!? Unbelievable...
And...
"The Dragon Sword is drawn..."
Julius was captivated by the beauty of the Dragon Sword.
While everyone marveled at Cecilus's strength, he alone was dissatisfied:
"Ah, damn it. He's strong like a monster after all! No, no, I've let the audience down! I need to train more, train more!"
[["In any case, thankfully Emilia is safe...let's leave this place together. There's a dragon carriage outside the city. We'll take it to the Kingdom of Lugnica. Emilia-sama, please leave immediately—"
At that moment, something that shocked everyone both inside and outside the screen happened.
"Emilia, sama."
Emilia used magic, causing an ice pillar to pierce Reinhard's abdomen.
That's right, a real piercing, not just an attack.
"No, can't...can't do that. Subaru can't do that. Reinhard, can't do that. Won't let you hurt Subaru. Subaru needs me...Subaru needs me to protect him. I have to protect Subaru..."]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
This time, even the reaction monsters like Reinhard, Cecilus, and Wilhelm outside the screen didn't react.
Because it was an attack without any killing intent.
Even the attacker, Emilia, in the scene, didn't realize it.
It was a subconscious act of protection.
Then another question arose.
How did she do it?
He would easily dodge attacks with killing intent, and even attacks without killing intent would be avoided by blessings.
"This is a hall...that negates all blessings..."
Roswaal said in a deep voice.
If that hypothesis were true, then Reinhard could theoretically truly die here.
Neither the "Phoenix" blessing nor the "Phoenix・Continuation" blessing would work.
"Hey, don't let the princess steal my kill; only I can end his life."
Cecilus was very dissatisfied.
But he could only hope that Reinhard would survive.
"I...I..."
Emilia was already becoming incoherent.
Unaware of Subaru's evil deeds, blindly following Subaru...
Such me...
"Lia, calm down. You don't know about Subaru's evil deeds; it's understandable. In your eyes, Subaru is just a boy who keeps coming to you to complain."
But...but...
[["Please, Reinhard. Just go back. Let me and Subaru go."
In the scene, Emilia pleaded with Reinhard.
"—That won't do."
Then Reinhard paused for a moment and said something shocking:
"Representing the organization 'Pleiades,' 'Purge King' Natsuki Subaru, including former Border Count Roswaal L. Mathers and other Kingdom soldiers, plus citizens of the Vollachia Empire, the Kararagi City-State, and the Gusteko Kingdom, have collectively killed one hundred twenty-six thousand seven hundred and two people. That's just the number of those directly killed; adding in those indirectly affected, those who suffered harm other than death, that number only increases. It's simply impossible to ignore."]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
At least one hundred twenty-six thousand seven hundred and two people...
Human lives had become almost mere numbers.
This is the Purge King.
(Translator-kun: I almost forgot that the estimated total population of the Re:0 world is just around 100-200 million. "If with the Kingdom of Lugnica accounting for a significant portion at around 50 million. not 2 million")