Julius lifted his face and resumed his walk. Ferris followed half a step behind, hands crossed behind his back, leaning his body forward as he looked up at Julius.
“Does that go for the boy, too?”
“It goes for everyone, Ferris. It is for that very reason I wield a sword.”
—He will probably break, thought Julius.
If he was going to break, breaking him then and there would be a mercy.
But if—just if—all that was not enough to break him, then…
“It would not be such a bad thing to trade swords with a fool full of idealism once more.”
“Well, even if that’s what you think, Julius, Subawu might not wanna do that again after the public beating you gave him. Hey, hey…”
“What is it?”
“Lots of things came together to cause that duel, but he got on your nerves juuuuust a little, didn’t he?”
With Ferris’s words seeming meant to test him, Julius stopped and looked over.
“Ferris, you wound me. I am a knight. However imperfectly, that is the precept I live by.”
Julius, deeming his own conduct to have nothing to be ashamed of, looked straight at Ferris.
“As for an annoyance…perhaps he was that, a little bit.”
“Well, he got on Ferri’s nerves quite a bit, mew know?”
The two exchanged laughs as if it was the funniest joke they’d ever shared. They finally arrived at the entrance to the garrison and shook hands. Julius said, “Well, then, we must part. I deeply wish that you and your lord remain in good health.”
“Lady Anastasia will probably complain, so good luck with that, Julius… You can just leave all the mopping up to Ferri.”
Ferris casually waved before turning his back and walking off.
Julius watched from behind as his friend departed—and an enemy took his place.
“Lady Anastasia shall succeed as king.”
“Nuh-uh. Lady Crusch is the fittest for the throne.”
And so, the knights exchanged their declaration of war before returning to their respective masters.
The rays of the setting sun poured down from the evening sky, dying all who dwelled in the royal capital equally red.
—In so many ways, the royal selection had now begun.
AFTERWORD
Hiya, Tappei Nagatsuki here! Also, Mouse-Colored Cat! That is an alias!
You know, it’s a real pain to have more than one name, but don’t worry. Back in the second year of middle school, I had not three names, no—I had six. Two were names drawn from my previous lives. As for my true self—Stop! Don’t open up that dark history! You’ll wake the Id!
Now then, we’re now into the Return to the Royal Capital arc, which was the third chapter in the web novel. Until now, Re:ZERO had a limited cast in cramped quarters, but the regular members suddenly doubled with this volume!
In particular, the girls ended up so visually gorgeous that you almost hate them for it. With Otsuka putting his mad design skills to work, when we were done fiddling with them I was like, “This is fun, damn it!”
All that aside, work on the fourth volume was extremely rough. It was like a death march at my day job, too, so I did most of my work on it at a family restaurant near where I live. Lately it’s to the point that when it’s time for “Thank you for your patronage!” and for the bill, the staff are always calling me by this nickname they’ve pegged me with. They call me Vegetable Juice.
So Tappei Nagatsuki, Mouse-Colored Cat, Vegetable Juice, and my real name is… No! You’ll wake the Id!!
Having gracefully arrived at my punchline, I will now proceed with the established practice of giving thanks.
First, thank you, Mr. Ikemoto, for getting through this hellish schedule together with me. When I was e-mailed at four in the morning, I was worried they’d say “Mr. Ikemoto has passed away.” Thank you for your hard work.
Also, thank you, Otsuka, for all your design work without a single hint of a grimace, even with the cast of characters doubling between Vol. 3 and Vol. 4. You did a truly splendid job with each and every one. It makes writing scenes for them a real joy.
Kusano is a magician, and his illusions have captivated me one more time. Thank you once again for persevering to the bitter end and for your passion in making this the finest piece of work that we could.
This work was supported by many others, including proofreaders, managers, bookstore owners, and so on and so forth. Truly, thank you very much.
And more than anyone, it is thanks to all of you who have purchased this fourth volume who are responsible for my being able to write what I want. Thank you very much.
Well then, let us meet again for Subaru’s suffering in Volume 5.
Tappei Nagatsuki
May, 2014
(Getting a cold shoulder from store employees
after having stayed for over twelve hours)
“So, Princess, we’ve gotta do this next volume preview thing so, what are we gonna do?”
“What a foolish question, Al. I shall take pity upon the foolish, mediocre, common rabble with an act of compassion. Seeing them bow before a display of my majesty should be amusing, yes?”
“In other words, you’re just gonna do it, huh? Well, that’s a relief. So about what’s in this next volume here…”
“The foolish commoner, abandoned by the cheeky half-demon, remains in the royal capital, wallowing in regret, irritation, and gloom, feeling out of place and in search of an outlet… Yes?”
“Man, my bro there has a life filled with suffering.”
“He is a fool, and a common fool at that. I cannot possibly understand the unsightly struggles of a life such as his.”
“Wonder what happened to make ya say all that. Why don’t you just read the manga or something?”
“The comic version serialized in Monthly Comic Alive, the short stories from Deka Bunko, and so forth. These are for the little people alone.”
“Well, there’s the serialization starting up in Monthly Big Gangan, too. There’s a new Re:ZERO project every time you blink, and there’s even more in the works that haven’t been unveiled yet. Man, it sure ain’t gonna be boring.”
“Ha, but of course. At the very least, it is sufficient to attract the eyes of the public until I appear in earnest, at which point the ignorant lot may bow before me.”
“Your spirits are as high as ever, Princess.”
“This world is formed solely for my convenience.—It is providence.”
“So I wonder what’s gonna happen to my bro there, with providence turning its back on him?”
“You can read all about it in Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Vol. 5, to be published in October… That is some time from now, is it not? Al, do something.”
“Princess, according to what you said, this has to be providence, and something that’s convenient for you somehow?”
“I see, that certainly has the ring of truth. It seems that you know your place in the world quite well, Al. I expect much more of it for my sake in the times to come.”
“You got it… You know, when I see you taking the helm like this, it’s kinda cute, well, in one sense…”
“That goes for the rest of you foolish commoners reading this, too. Struggle, work to the bone, all for my benefit. This is your duty to me as part of the common rabble.”
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Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Vol. 4 Page 24
