Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

(Thank you Austin, Brototype, Dre eam, White Rice, Roanz, Daisuke, Lucky for helping me proofread on the Live Draft! <>

[Subaru: If that"s how you feel, then you could be a little more cooperative with me. If you were more open to lending me a hand, most of our problems could be solved by now]

Subaru threw back this disdainful comment at the disappointed Roswaal.
The truth is, being hopelessly lacking in the combat department, Subaru desperately needed Roswaal"s strength. His incredible magic that rained fire on the Mabeasts" forest and his unerring techniques that slaughtered the rus.h.i.+ng Rabbits―― countering the Great Rabbit"s threat would be impossible without Roswaal"s help.
Conversely, if Subaru could secure Roswaal"s a.s.sistance, that alone would solve the greater part of the Sanctuary"s problems.
However, Roswaal shook his head to Subaru"s cheap yet ardent request,

[Roswaal: Sorry, but I cannot. Working with you as you currently are would be fa~~r too disadvantageous for me. Hypothetically…… yes, let"s hypothetically say that I a.s.sist you, and you overcome this situation. Your resolve will remain uncertain, and you and Emilisama will undoubtedly encounter other obstacles in the future…… will you also rely on me then? You would postpone confirming the resolve that you should have made here just so you could dither when you fall into the same irreparable situation again?]

[Subaru: …………]

[Roswaal: You see, Subaru-kun, I…… cannot give my a.s.sistance unless it is to someone with whom I can entrust my goals. A relations.h.i.+p of dependence is not what I need for my purposes. And so I want you to do what you can to convince me that you have the resolve to go forward]

[Subaru: Your… goals……]

[Roswaal: Regrettably, it would seem that this time it will go unfulfilled. I will have to place my hopes on next time. When you can truly and unquestionably accept your power]

Ending his words there, Roswaal"s body laid down onto its side as if having lost its strength.
For Roswaal, his present self had already lost any reason to live. All that was left to do was to watch Subaru fail and rewind, bringing about the ending of this world.

If the conversation ended here, Subaru would not have achieved a single thing he came for.
As he watched Roswaal withdrawing into himself, waving his hand urging him to leave the room, Subaru desperately forced his mind to think,

[Subaru: ……So what would I have to demonstrate to convince you of my resolve?]

[Roswaal: Hhm…… honestly, I had hoped you"d have already figured it out from our interactions u~~p to now. Rewinding so many times just to ask that really is a waste of effort]

Drawn by Subaru"s words, Roswaal sat up once more and held a hand to his chin,

[Roswaal: In short, liberating the Sanctuary will achieve that. Your actions are indispensable to the Sanctuary"s liberation, and you will need to possess the unwavering resolve to repeat as many times as necessary. The liberation of the Sanctuary itself will be proof of that resolve]

[Subaru: But why is that? Sure, that might be the closest to an answer if is there is one, but…… if it"s just overcoming the Trials, what does that have to do with my resolve to cast everything else aside? I mean, there"s also a chance Emilia could just pa.s.s the Trials on her own and……]

[Roswaal: There is none]

Finding Roswaal"s statements a bit too extreme, Subaru immediately voiced his doubts. But, Roswaal"s response was cold and cutting.
The sharpness of it daunted Subaru, while Roswaal wagged his finger,

[Roswaal: Your fleeting hopes will not come to fruition. Emilisama will ne~~ver overcome the Trials. That thing is too weak at heart]

[Subaru: ……That… thing?]

[Roswaal: Precisely. I"m sure part of it has to do with its upbringing and the habits it had grown accustomed to, but that thing is useless. It can"t even stand by itself, just like a weak, brittle little child. Watching the way she pushes herself out of guilt and remorse, it"s so admirable I even feel some pity]

Hearing Roswaal speak of Emilia in a way he had never heard him before, Subaru was at a loss for words.
Courageous, tenacious, kind-hearted, eager Emilia, temporarily caught by an ill twist of fate and unable to resolve her Trials, would surely overcome it and liberate the Sanctuary with her own strength if only she was given time. Subaru never doubted this.
The only reason Subaru wanted to take the Trials in her stead was that they had no time, and that Subaru couldn"t bear to see Emilia hurt.
It certainly wasn"t because he had given up on her or thought her incapable of pa.s.sing the Trials.

[Subaru: How could you say… that Emilia can"t…… then why, then why did you bring her here!?]

[Roswaal: Because of you. Because you are here, even a weak, powerless half-elf could aspire to the throne. No, she will take the throne. That is certain. Because you will remove all other paths and ensure that her desires are realized. That is the power vested in you. If Emilisama has any value, it is that she holds the strongest card―― you, in hand]

[Subaru: I"m…… the strongest, card……?]

Listening to Roswaal"s dizzying statements, calling him the "strongest", that outlandish claim threw Subaru into disarray.
That was an adjective completely foreign to his powerless self. Besides, to insult Emilia as Roswaal just did was unforgivable.

[Subaru: Are you kidding!? What would you…… what would you know about how hard Emilia tried, what kind of thoughts went through her head, and how much she suffered challenging the Trials!? Being forced to witness a past she didn"t want to see, still, she…… do you know how desperately she tried!? And yet, you……!]

[Roswaal: If it all comes to nothing, then it is only wasted effort. I"m sure you know far be~~tter than I that it all came to no~~thing. If Emilisama"s efforts bore fruit, you would have had no reason to co~~me here]

[Subaru: ――――hk!]

Subaru"s shouted reb.u.t.tal did not make the slightest dent in Roswaal composure. Instead, as if doused by cold water in the heat of pa.s.sion, Subaru fell utterly speechless.
In fact, Roswaal"s statements captured a portion of the truth.

As far as Subaru had seen, Emilia had never progressed beyond the first Trial. Despite challenging with everything she had, each time she was thwarted by the barricade of her past her heart was worn a little thinner.
Unable to rely on her trusted Puck as she was abraded down to her core, Emilia eventually came to mistake her dependence on Subaru for love, and broke.

Because he knew that future, Subaru couldn"t refute Roswaal out of emotion here. But, there was no way he could just quietly watch as Roswaal insulted Emilia.

Roswaal, looking down on Emilia while expecting far too much of Subaru"s Return by Death, was there some way to wipe that smug off his face? ――The moment he thought of it, Subaru shouted it out,

[Subaru: Yeah I get what you"re saying now! But you know what!? Nothing will come of your plans!]

[Roswaal: Oh? And why is……]

[Subaru: You seem to be hoping I"d take Emilia"s place and break through the Trials…… but Echidona"s already revoked my qualifications! The outcomes you were hoping for won"t be coming from me! Too bad, isn"t it――!!]

Clutching his chest, Subaru screamed at Roswaal"s composed face.
It was a painful affair for Subaru himself, but what it meant for Roswaal"s plans must be simply devastating. Knowing that it"d be impossible even for Roswaal to keep calm once he learned this, Subaru was about to curl his face into a twisted smile, when,

[Roswaal: ――Revoked…… your qualifications?]

Hearing a mutter, desolate and feeble, it was only moments later that Subaru realized it had come from Roswaal.

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My best friend from university just came back to Vancouver on a business trip, I’ll take one more day to spend some time with him.

Let me know if you spot any typos! ❤

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