“Errr, yes, that’s right. Big Sis and I will both work hard.”
The younger brother took the reins of his boastful older sister and somehow brought her under control. Watching the two, Subaru had to wonder if that world had any older sisters besides ones making the younger sibling follow in their footsteps.
“—? What is the matter, Subaru?”
When Subaru, harboring that question, looked at Rem, she tilted her head with a questioning expression and an adorable smile. At that point, Subaru cleared his throat, turning back to face Mimi as he said, “Well that is an awful lot of confidence. Lieutenant’s not something you can be unless you’re hot stuff.”
“In place of the captain and Big Sis, I give orders out to everyone else.”
“Ahh, I see… Tough job, huh.”
Subaru imagined the older sister running alongside the belligerent giant, dashing across the battlefield with a hearty laugh. That would mean, lieutenant or not, Hetaro was the only one actually performing the appropriate duties. The cute older sister was like an image of naive recklessness drawn by a child.
“We will follow Lady Crusch’s commands to the extent possible, but we have our own ways of fighting. I thought it was best to inform you of this to minimize chaos, Mr. Natsuki… Er, Mr. Natsuki?”
“No, I’m just impressed you’re so sharp and serious. That attention to detail is comparable to Rem.”
“Mm-hmm, he’s just amazing!”
“Now you’ll make Big Sis get carried away again… So cute.”
For some reason, Mimi was the one to puff her chest out in pride when she saw Subaru’s frank assessment of Hetaro. Hetaro had a constrained look on his face from Mimi’s reaction, only to slip in what he really thought at the very end.
Subaru added the drawback of overly spoiled big sisters to the list of high-spec misgivings he had about twins of that world. Hetaro was in Rem’s league on that point, too. Growing up with Mimi surely had no small amount of influence on Hetaro.
Having finished meeting the siblings, Subaru glanced at his cell phone to check the time.
—Twelve hours remained until the White Whale was scheduled to appear.
They had about half the distance left to their destination, likely giving them about five hours after arrival until the decisive battle.
“Once we get to the Great Tree, we’ll have to go over the operation one last time… It seems like having me running around is gonna create a fair bit of chaos.”
“This time, you will have me by your side, Subaru—I won’t allow a repeat of what happened when we fought the Urugarum.”
Rem replied to Subaru’s comment with quiet resolve burning in her eyes.
“I really am opposed to this. I believe using the scent of the Witch to lure the White Whale is too dangerous…and in the first place, the fact that the scent comes from you is…”
“I’ll use anything I can. If it adds a tenth of a percent to the win rate, that’s a bet I’ll take. I come up short on so many levels, if I don’t do even this, I’ll never make up for it.”
“You are amazing, Subaru.”
Even faced with Subaru’s determination, this was one thing Rem stubbornly refused to let go of. The way she seemed to pout as she turned her face away was a rare display of a flood of emotions, making Subaru’s smile not so much strained as very, very soft.
Subaru felt all too keenly the obvious change in Rem’s demeanor in the last half day. Ever since the demon beast incident, he’d been convinced Rem had opened her heart to him, but it was only the previous day that their hearts had connected in a true sense.
Perhaps Rem had sensed that where time had stopped, it had begun to move once more. Truly, it was so.
That was why—
“I wanna win this.”
Quietly, Subaru voiced that hope.
At present, things had proceeded apace to a degree he couldn’t even have imagined during prior go-arounds. Where no one would listen to him no matter how much he pleaded, this time, they accepted his request. Relations with the Crusch camp, destined for rupture, were good. Setting aside the exposure of all the embarrassing things inside him, it was no boast to say his relationship with Rem was now a far stronger bond.
But on the other hand, it was a fact that things had developed in a way more perilous than ever before.
Even in that moment, the menace of the White Whale was seared into Subaru’s mind, clear as day. Even Rem’s might had proved completely unequal to the task against its huge, flying frame, able to send a dragon carriage flying in pieces with not even an attack but a flick of its tail. Its open maw swallowed a land dragon and the ground under it whole; its death cries, when those vile, millstone-like teeth ground its flesh, would never leave his ears.
Just the thought that he was heading to face that thing made his limbs tremble, but he couldn’t stop running forward.
Yet, even as Subaru’s mind backslid toward weakness…
“”
Rem, sitting beside him, peered at Subaru as if she could see straight into his mind.
A weak, helpless Subaru Natsuki could not be permitted before Rem’s eyes.
“Even I know that resolve doesn’t make everything okay, but…”
Even if he’d stopped being a pessimist, that didn’t mean his fortunes had improved dramatically. The route he was on held even greater danger ahead, yet he absolutely couldn’t say preparations were ideal.
All Subaru could do was what he thought best in the limited time available to him, calling on the girls and their allies for aid and leaving all the rest that lay ahead to the power of others. That said, Crusch and the others sought nothing further from Subaru, which was absolutely not because they were maltreating Subaru as a useless troublemaker.
But when the time came, he’d do whatever he could with everything he had.
Because the things Subaru could do occupied such a narrow range, he had to at least firmly grasp the range’s breadth, thinking of what he could do within those limits.
“In other words, it’s the same as usual. Guess that goes without saying, though.”
“What’s up, bro—? That’s a determined-lookin’ face you got there.”
Abruptly, Ricardo, riding alongside the line of dragon carriages, observed Subaru, laughing as he spoke.
Glaring back at the dog-headed beast man, Subaru firmly twisted the corners of his lips.
“That’s right. Took long enough, but it’s rock solid. I’m really something when I’ve set my mind, okay? Whatever happens, I’m not givin’ up on the future, even if it kills me.”
“That’s a man’s words there! The lady’s gonna be real happy to hear that! Like I figured, you’re just the friend the lady needs!”
“I don’t think shaking her hand away from the big stage is a bad thing, either… Ah, but if I get along nicely with Anastasia, there’s a troublesome guy there, too…”
Remembering Anastasia made him remember the sight of a handsome man beside her as a package deal.
Even his beating at the parade grounds at Julius’s hand seemed like a long time ago. He’d experienced time on the level of weeks, even though it had been only five days or so in actual time lapsed.
Then, Subaru’s words brought a huge, irrepressible smile over Ricardo’s big mouth.
From the reaction and the teasing look in his eyes, it seemed he’d heard all about Subaru’s humiliation. Naturally, Subaru turned his face away in a visible sulk.
“If you’re gonna laugh, laugh nice and hard. Even I can now appreciate just how little I read the mood back then.”
“Hey, wait up! It’s not that I’m findin’ funny, it’s somethin’ else. Well, you’ll figure it out on your own, so dumpin’ it all out here would be just rude!”
Thus self-convinced, Ricardo stroked his own mane as he cut the topic off. The suggestive behavior tugged at Subaru, but even if he pressed the point, odds of a reply were slim.
“Incidentally, I’ve been meaning to as
k you something since we set out…”
“What? Ask me anythin’. We’re buds, bro! If it’s not crazy stuff, I’ll talk about whatever! And if it is, it depends on what nails I’m steppin’ on!”
“That part sounds like the Kararagi in you talking… I was just thinking, those huge dogish creatures you guys are riding, they’re really something else.”
Subaru pointed below the enthused Ricardo’s rump to the creature he was riding, unsure how best to broach the subject.
The beast mounts that Ricardo’s Iron Fangs were riding were completely different creatures from land dragons. The closest comparison was to a huge dog, but the huge frames of the carnivores rivaled that of lions and tigers from his original world, and their speed and endurance were in no way inferior to that of land dragons.
Subaru’s comment brought an understanding expression from Ricardo as he patted the beast mount on the back.
“You don’t see ’em much in these parts. These critters are called ligers. They’re as precious in Kararagi as land dragons are over here. They’re real territorial, so it’s tough to raise ’em, which is why there ain’t many in Lugunica or other countries.”
“Ligers…”
When he blinked and looked, Subaru thought he was seeing some kind of offshoot of the Urugarums he had a history with. Fortunately, there were no signs of horns on their heads, and compared with those demon beasts, their faces were clearly more adorable. If the demon beasts seemed more like wolves, he could say that the ligers definitely looked more like dogs.
But having Ricardo, a dog-type beast man, riding on top of that super-huge dog was a little—
“Somehow, it’s a really weird feeling, like someone should paint this…but don’t you feel awkward?”
“Sometimes people mention that, but not really. I mean, I’m a beast man, this is an animal, big difference between us… Ah, now that you mention it, some guys might get ticked off if you say that. I don’t mind, though.”
“Nah, I was wondering if I should say anything or not. Sorry, my bad.”
“Gah-ha-ha, well ain’t that honest of ya!”
Baring his teeth as he laughed, Ricardo gave the back of the liger’s neck a good rub. The liger made no reaction to its master’s action, but the way it silently indulged its owner certainly make it look like a good, loyal dog. Even with the size difference, it apparently hadn’t lost any of its canine virtues.
“Ligers don’t have the horsepower that land dragons do, but their agility’s way up there. Just watch, a wild battle to send the whale packin’ is right up our alley!”
“Horsepower, huh. Guess you still measure animal power like that, even with dragons and dogs all over the place… Not that I’ve actually seen a horse.”
He’d heard straight from Emilia’s mouth that they existed, but he hadn’t actually seen one in that world yet. Apparently, their rate of use was fairly low.
After that, Subaru pointed to the expeditionary force on the march behind them.
“So less horsepower is why you have teams of dogs for pulling each carriage? Why not just have land dragons haul the freight? Don’t want the dogs to get tired before the main event.”
“Hey, we’ve gotta move our own stuff ourselves. Besides, don’t worry, any liger haulin’ freight is a liger properly trained for it. We don’t spoil ’em, and no enemy’s swinging ’em off their feet, White Whale or not.”
With a gulp, Subaru somehow stopped his internal mental turmoil from coming out onto his face. On the other hand, Ricardo failed to notice Subaru’s surprise as he spoke.
“You never know what you’ll come across on the road, like bandits or whatever. If you take too much time, you’ll be late, and that’s the worst outcome of all. So we’ve gotta at least be able to carry stuff by ourselves.”
“…No way there are any bandits who have the guts to attack a completely armed group like you guys. If they did, it wouldn’t be brave—it’d be a death wish.”
“Got a point there!”
Ricardo burst into laughter and, waving to Subaru, shifted away from the dragon carriage. He took up his post at the head of the beast mounts as other people around them looked over at the loud conversation.
“It would seem that Master Ricardo is going around speaking like that to alleviate everyone’s tension before the battle.”
“”
Watching Ricardo go off into the distance, Subaru heard Rem’s soft whisper into his ear. A bitter smile crossed Subaru’s face as he realized, suddenly, that the big beast man was looking out for him.
“And here I was thinking I’d hardened my resolve…”
Meaning, he still seemed awful green from his senior’s perspective—even though the impending battle with the White Whale was but the first hurdle, with others waiting ahead.
“Geez, you can say, ‘Set forth, hero,’ but it sure is easier said than done.”
Subaru murmured very quietly so that Rem might not hear, but his cheeks formed a smile.
The things he had to do and the things he wanted to do were one and the same, and he had someone at his back to urge him to do them—he supposed that made it all worth it.
Their morale was at its peak on the eve of the approaching battle.
“—Now, let’s do this, Mr. Fate.”
2
Fortunately, the expeditionary force safely arrived at its destination without any undue trouble.
As scheduled, they arrived five hours early—the gleaming moon had just begun to rise on the night of the decisive battle.
The expeditionary force deployed, linked up with the vanguard, and proceeded to inspect arms and go over the operation one last time. Naturally, Subaru participated in the discussion, and when details of the operation were hammered out, how everyone would maneuver included, any time remaining before the fight was for free action.
And as he spent his time until the operation with various thoughts running through his head, Subaru—
“It…sure is huuuge.”
“You seem very happy, Subaru.”
Looking up to the point that his neck hurt, Subaru almost couldn’t see the top of the tree because the trunk was so tall. With how it jutted up from the earth, its great roots spreading all around its base, Subaru couldn’t keep his honest feelings of excitement off his lips.
“Men are creatures impressed by big, strong stuff by nature. I was pretty impressed the first time I saw a land dragon, but Mother Nature ain’t half-bad! That Flugel guy did good work.”
As he touched the tree trunk, Subaru praised the work of the sage said to have planted the tree. Apparently, he was hot stuff, but no one knew what he’d done besides planting the tree; but even if that was his one great feat recorded in history, that wasn’t a problem. The name Flugel was cool, too.
“Ah, gotta carve someone’s name into the trunk, though. We’re not students on a field trip, so it’s just, well, proper manners. Rem, lend me a carving knife.”
“Even for you, Subaru, I will be upset if you do that, as shall others.”
Rem gently and properly chided Subaru for his burning, rebellious desire to have his name carved. Then, as Subaru pouted, she gave him a little smile and looked up at the Great Tree.
“This is where the White Whale shall come?”
“Yeah, it’ll come. When it’s time, this cell pho…this metia will ring.”
Subaru took the cell phone out of his pocket, fingering the strap to sway it left and right. The alarm had already been set to ring when the White Whale was due to emerge.
They were the same words he’d shared during the final meeting, and the explanation for Crusch he’d racked his brains to come up with. He felt guilty at not divulging the truth, feeling like he had to make up for it by getting results.
Of course, not exposing the truth to even Rem tugged at his heartstrings, but—
“So this metia will alert us to the presence of a demon beast…”
“Mm, that’s right. Put bluntly, if it wasn�
�t for this, my worth this time around would be right about…”
“—That is a lie, is it not?”
When Rem said that with narrowed eyes, Subaru was sure his heart had stopped. Letting out a voice that did not even amount to a gasp, his heartbeats belatedly restarted.
“”
What had Rem said to him just then?
I must have heard her wrong, Subaru vainly hoped, but the eyes with which Rem stared at him smashed that hope to pieces.
She had said it, and with conviction.
“Wh-what are you talkin’ about? Ya know what they’d do to me if I was lyin’ about somethin’ like…”
“Resorting to Kararagi dialect does not suit you, Subaru.”
“Er, fact is, even Crusch and the others accepted it, so it can’t be a lie.”
Glossing things over wasn’t working on Rem. Even so, Subaru tried to see the lie through, for if the truth was revealed, there was no mistaking that it would herald a worsening of the situation. If the lie was exposed, Subaru would no longer be consistent with the circumstances known to Crusch and the others, for the only way to square those inconsistencies would be to explain Return by Death.
Of course, so long as he obeyed the taboo set in place by the Witch, he could not reveal Return by Death to anyone, all the more so because the pranks played by the Witch’s hands had finally progressed to crushing Emilia’s heart. If he had to guess who the next casualty would be, it was clear that it might very well be Rem.
—He absolutely couldn’t let Rem know the truth.
And yet, Rem slowly shook her head at Subaru’s excuses.
“Crusch and the others merely decided that it was not necessary for you to lie. If you risked that, you would make an enemy of not only Lady Crusch but Lady Anastasia and all the merchants in the guild, Master Russel included. That would be meaningless.”
“That’s…”
It was an undeniable truth.
Back at the negotiating table, Crusch surely could have offered any number of rebuttals to Subaru. Russel and Anastasia, seasoned negotiators both, could have done likewise. He could only conclude that the fact that they had closed their eyes to the inconsistencies and accepted negotiations regardless was not due to trust in Subaru but a judgment based on the circumstances.
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Vol. 7 Page 7
