Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

(Thank you  Roanz, Kizarat, Chris, Ahbahl, Fox, Bagel, Vimal, Lucky, Relaxing Gaming, Rodolfo, Ben for helping me with proofreading on the Live Draft! <>

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Seated on a sofa in the lounge, Subaru smiled wryly at Petra, sitting across from him pouting with her face all red.

Swinging her legs from the edge of the sofa, Petra made no effort to hide her displeasure as the introduction drew to a close. Seeing Subaru smiling at the girl"s demeanor, the older maid sitting beside her couldn"t help but put in a word or two,

[Frederica: Why are you making that face, Petra? It"s rude to do so in front of Subaru-sama]

[Petra: But, but, big sister Frederica……]

[Frederica: No buts. Even if you"re well acquainted with each other, it"s no excuse to be rude. If you don"t keep that in mind on a daily basis, how will you remember it on important occasions? You"re a clever child, but you have to be more careful about these things]

[Petra: Uuuu~~]

Petra despondently chewed her lips and lowered her head.
Finding it a bit hard to watch the girl being scolded, Subaru tried to calm things down with [That"s alright, that"s alright……], but instantly gave up when Frederica shot him a glare.
After joining up with Frederica, who was returning from the stable, and Petra, as she finished brewing the tea, the three of them took their seats in the lounge and began the vital conversation.
And now, Petra was currently sulking about Subaru"s opening words. The content of which was,

[Petra: Why do I have to leave the Mansion? I"ve only been here for a week and……]

Watching Petra tear up like she was going to cry, Subaru was stricken by pangs of guilt. But, considering the calamities that will soon befall the Mansion, he couldn"t very well keep her around out of guilt.
So Subaru steeled his heart and shook his head,

[Subaru: I don"t mean having you leave the Mansion forever. We aren"t letting you go, just having you stay in the village for a week…… I just want you to stay at home until then]

[Frederica: And you can"t say why, is that right?]

[Subaru: ……Not in detail. But, it"s a fact that there"s danger coming to the Mansion. Frederica, you know about the Witch Cult attack not long ago, right?]

Witch Cult. Frederica"s expression darkened as she heard the words.
While she was away, the Witch Cultists led by Petelgeuse had attacked the Mansion and Arlam village. That was only two weeks ago.
Having grown up in the Sanctuary, Frederica must have been well aware of the unwanted attention that Emilia"s ident.i.ty as a half-elf attracted, and how it ultimately led to this attack.

Just as Subaru expected, Frederica"s face took on a complicated expression as she nodded,

[Frederica: If that is true, then Subaru-sama"s decision would be most appropriate. After all, you still don"t have any way to protect yourself, Petra]

[Petra: But that"s ok! Subaru will protect me!]

[Subaru: Even though I kinda wanna say "Leave it to me!" like a man, I"m way too aware of how weak and incompetent I am, so I won"t say anything like that]

Even as Petra stood up to object, her childish objection was immediately undermined by Subaru"s self-admitted uselessness. Petra dejectedly dropped her shoulders at Subarus response, while Frederica gently patted her head as if to console her,

[Frederica: Petra, don"t be sad. Can"t you see how much Subaru-sama regrets admitting his own powerlessness?]

[Petra: ……Uunn, big sister Frederica]

[Frederica: Everyone has misgivings about their own inadequacies. Subaru-sama is the same, and you as well. By admitting it, Subaru-sama is nevertheless searching for ways to overcome it. So what about Petra?]

[Petra: Uu~]

Sniffing back her tears once again, Petra looked up at Subaru,

[Petra: Is, is there really…… nothing I can do at the Mansion?]

[Subaru: ……Mn, sorry. There"s nothing Petra can help with this time. And I"m not strong enough to look after you. Sorry about that]

Seeing Subaru lower his head, Petra squeezed shut her eyes and wiped them clean with her sleeves.
When she looked up again, there was no longer any trace of her tears. With only a faint, lingering redness in the corners of her eyes, she picked up the hems of her dress in a curtsy,

[Petra: I understand, Subaru-sama. From tonight onwards, Petra will take her leave. Once everything has settled down, please be sure to call for me]

[Subaru: Yeah, for sure. When everything"s settled……]

When everyone in the Mansion and everyone in the Sanctuary are safe, and their faces are adorned with smiles.
Petra accepted Subaru"s proposal, and thus marked the end of the first phase of their talks.

――Picking up the emptied cups and briefly cleaning herself up, Petra took her leave from the lounge, and only Subaru and Frederica were left in the room.
With the sound of the door closing, and sensing Petra"s footsteps growing further and further down the hallway, Subaru reached for a piece of sweet pastry and took a bite,

[Subaru: Mind if ask you some questions, Frederica?]

[Frederica: Depends on the questions, Subaru-sama]

Hearing her give this answer as if it were a matter of course, Subaru wryly smiled. Nevertheless, Frederica retained her calm composure, awaiting Subaru"s first question.
Drawing in a deep breath, Subaru taxed his mind trying to decide what to say first. But there was really only one question he wanted her to answer.

[Subaru: What exactly does Garfiel want to accomplish in the Sanctuary?]

[Frederica: ――Did something happen between you and that no-good little brother of mine?]

[Subaru: All sorts of things, actually. As for whether our disagreements are completely irreconcilable, or if they could be resolved though words… that"s what I"m trying to find out]

Depending on the answer, Subaru will have adjust his plans accordingly.
Whether to treat Garfiel as an enemy to be destroyed, or an ally worth bringing to his side.

[Frederica: Since you don"t sound surprised, my little brother must have told you about his relations.h.i.+p with me?]

[Subaru: Lewes-san didn"t deny it either. You know Lewes-san, don"t you?]

[Frederica: Of course. When I still lived inside the Sanctuary, she was the one who raised us like we were her own family…… Considering the time we lived together, she is like a mother, or a grandmother to us]

[Subaru: That explains why Garfiel keeps calling her granny]

Subaru could still hear his heart-wrenching scream of "Grandma" as he left him.
Perhaps that was what Garfiel used to call her, before he took up using the ruder address of "Granny". If that was what he really felt,

[Subaru: Was Garfiel a total grandma"s boy when he was little?]

[Frederica: If you mean his relations.h.i.+p with grandmother…… then yes. Despite appearances, my little brother is awfully sentimental, and I do believe he is very fond of our grandmother… as much as he tries to hide it]

In his sister"s eyes, Garfiel"s deep attachment to Lewes was clear.
But Subaru still couldn"t understand what went wrong to make the self-proclaimed guardian of the Sanctuary resort to such brutality as he did.

[Subaru: His behavioral tendencies are one thing, whether or not I can forgive him is another…]

[Frederica: Subaru-sama?]

[Subaru: Nothing. I just remembered something that made a bit of hostility surge up. Though I try not to let prejudice cloud my judgement if I can help it…]

What was Garfiel thinking that could have driven him to ma.s.sacre the villagers? Even now, Subaru couldn"t begin to surmise what was going on deep inside.
But, as a byproduct of the Sanctuary"s immortality experiments, the command authority to control Lewes Meyers and the resp maintenance of the facility were certainly in Garfiel"s hands.
Then why would he destroy the facility? And before that, how did he receive the command authority in the first place? There was still too much Subaru didn"t understand――

[Subaru: Frederica. I already know that you were once a resident of the Sanctuary. And, being a quarter-blood, you can move through the barrier unhindered]

[Frederica: How did you……]

[Subaru: And Garfiel is the same. But even though he can leave, he chose to stay behind. Say, Frederica. Do you…… know why the Sanctuary was first created?]

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(The thumbnail fan art is by !)

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Subaru’s starting to be kind of a creep now…

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Let me know if you find any typos!
I’ll see if I can get part 3 done tomorrow ❤

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