Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter Ep

EPILOGUE 

THE MOON IS WATCHING 

Reinhard looked on from a distance at the faint blue light, its wavelengths those of water, the element of healing, and let out a soft sigh that no one around him could hear. 

Signs of grief showed on his handsome profile as well as traces of tension left over from the battle. If you were to take the image of his figure as he stood in front of the ruins behind him, it would surely be a masterpiece of art. Such was the way he stood. 

However, Reinhard had a deep sense of regret in him, the weight of which could not be lessened by words. 

“…All right. That should do it,” came a voice like silver bells to Reinhard’s ears, as he had continued to blame himself, his eyes closed. 

Emilia brushed her hand across Subaru’s forehead, as if wiping it, and brushed away his hair as he lay propped up against the wall. She made sure that there was still a look of redness, of life in his face. Emilia then stood up and nodded. 

“I’m done treating him. He’s probably made it past the worst of it.” 

“That’s good to hear. Now that that’s taken care of, Lady Emilia…” Reinhard said as he walked swiftly over to Emilia, knelt down on one knee, and bowed his head. Reinhard’s every motion was executed without any fault, and perfectly adhered to proper etiquette. 

“Due to my shortcomings, I have caused you a great deal of stress. I am prepared to take whatever punishment you deem necessary in response to my failure.” 

Reinhard placed his sword in front of him as he knelt and apologized for his failings. 

As a knight, this was the most sincere way he could apologize. No matter what might befall him, Reinhard was prepared to take any punishment without complaint. 

Emilia, however, stuck out her finger and waved it back and forth, looking annoyed. 

“I never understand why you all are like that.” 

“Meaning…?” 

“You saved us all from grave danger, and everyone made it out alive. Yet here you are, trying to take responsibility for our pain and all of the trouble we went through.” 

Emilia pointed her finger toward Subaru, who was now sleeping soundly. 

“That one over there is a lot more honest. He saved me and then demanded a reward, even if he didn’t really ask for much.” 

Reinhard saw Subaru strike his pose and ask for Emilia’s name. As Emilia smiled, remembering that moment, Reinhard couldn’t help but smile as well. 

“So, thank you for saving us. That is all I have to say to you. I don’t see any fault of yours to punish you for. If that’s not enough for you, then work harder next time you save someone.” 

“Understood. Thank you for your kind words,” said Reinhard, bowing further to show his respect before standing up again. 

When the two stood facing together, it was clear that Reinhard was much taller than Emilia, and so when he looked at her, he had to look down at her. Where was that grandness that he sensed from her just moments before? 

It must be a difference in the capacity of our characters, mused Reinhard, taking heed of his own narrow-mindedness. 

Surely Emilia was simply one of those “chosen ones,” he reaffirmed within himself. 

“I just remembered, talking about how you saved us, but…how and why did you come here?” Emilia asked suddenly. 

“Today is my day off, and I was wandering aimlessly about the capital. If I had been patrolling off duty, my squadron leader would have gotten upset at me, so I really was just walking around, but then…I met him,” said Reinhard, pointing to Subaru as he answered her question. 

It all began after Reinhard had met Subaru in that alley. As they talked Subaru had given a description that matched Emilia’s and had mentioned some place called the “loot cellar.” With the mixture of this prior and newfound knowledge, Reinhard had also made his way to the slums to investigate. As he was looking around… 

“Then I ran into that girl over there, and the rest you know.” 

“Yes, that girl…” 

Now that Felt had come up in conversation once more, Emilia turned her eyes to a corner of the open area in front of the loot cellar, where Felt was taking care of Rom, who had yet to wake up. 

The blond-haired girl turned around as she felt Emilia’s stare and looked down awkwardly. 

“Lady Emilia, who is that girl…?” 

“Reinhard, I appreciate all of your help, and thank you for saving us. However, please…I must ask you to refrain from interfering from here on out,” said Emilia in a strong tone, and that was enough to keep Reinhard from pressing any further. 

Emilia closed her eyes, trying to figure out how she would approach Felt. As Reinhard looked at Emilia’s beautiful face, he sighed. 

“I won’t ask what’s going on, but your safety is very important. I would ask that you take care of yourself. I will send knights to take you home, so please go along with them.” 

“Normally I would have to refuse, but after all of this I suppose there’s no helping it. All right, I’ll take you up on your offer,” Emilia replied. 

“Understood,” replied Reinhard. 

Emilia giggled and when he followed her stare, it landed on Subaru’s peacefully resting face. 

“What relation do you have to him…to Subaru?” 

“I just met him,” Emilia replied immediately, and Reinhard paused, giving her a doubtful and confused look. 

Perhaps because she found Reinhard’s reaction amusing, Emilia smiled. 

“It’s the truth! There’s no other way to put it. I don’t have any memory of meeting Subaru before. The first time I had ever seen him was when I walked into this place not long ago…” 

“But earlier, he said that he was looking for you. He said he had something he wanted to give you. Then there is the fact that he was present here for all of this, and…” 

…the fact that he put his life on the line to protect you, Reinhard was about to say, but stopped. He thought that if he said it, he would be belittling the brave act that Subaru had performed. 

“That’s why it’s so strange,” said Emilia. “I’m beginning to think that weirdo is somehow involved in all of this.” 

“Please refrain from speaking that way about Provincial Lord Roswaal. He is a very upstanding citizen. I will admit that he does have some peculiarities, but…” 

“The fact that you linked the word ‘weirdo’ to him makes it clear what you really think.” 

“…My apologies. Please keep this a secret from Lord Roswaal,” said Reinhard with a wink. 

“Of course, of course,” Emilia replied. 

Reinhard then turned the subject back toward Subaru. 

“What shall we do with him? If you would like, I could have someone from my family take him in as a guest…” 

“…No, I’ll take him with me. I’ll be able to find out more about him that way, and even if he isn’t connected to that weirdo, it does not change the fact that he saved my life,” said Emilia. 

“But thank you for offering,” she added, to which Reinhard replied with a slight nod. 

With that, Reinhard and Emilia had just about finished all they had to talk about. Afterward, Reinhard would go and send a few knights to escort Emilia back to her residence, and then he would have to start working on cleaning up the aftermath of the battle. 

As Reinhard looked at the loot cellar that he had destroyed, he closed his eyes before the extent of the damage. As always, he was frustrated that he could not properly control himself. All of this damage was the result of a slight miscalculation of power on his part. If he had been even more careless he could have leveled an entire block. He needed to be more careful. 

“What is it that you plan on doing next to deal with the area?” asked Emilia. 

“We’ll have to declare the area off limits for a while, and pass out wanted posters for the Bowel Hunter. She is already a person who has a lot of rumors floating around about her, so I’m not sure it will help, but…” 

“What about the girl, and the old man?” 

“…It’s hard for me to grasp all that has happened, but given my occupation, I do not think that what they were doing is something that I can just ignore. However…” Reinhard paused, and then shrugged his shoulders. 

“…today happens to be my day off. If I might add another thing: If there’s no victim filing a complaint, then the lack of evidence makes it hard to convict. But above all else, it’s really hard for me to grasp what happened.” 

“Ha-ha-ha… You really are a terrible knight.” 

“Well, that is the truth, despite everyone calling me the knight among knights,” said Reinhard jokingly, and Emilia put her hand to her mouth and giggled. 

Finally, after all the laughing had subsided, Emilia’s thoughts were in order. She walked toward the blond-haired girl who was still hugging the old man beside her. When she noticed Emilia coming, she looked up, prepared to face her. 

“Is this old man your family?” asked Emilia, squatting down so that she was on the same level as Felt. Felt looked shocked. Of all the things she had expected to hear, that was not one of them. Even Reinhard, who didn’t know what had happened between the two, could tell that they were not on particularly good terms. 

Felt scratched her cheek and tried to regain her composure, and then, as if trying to hide her embarrassment, she slapped Rom a few times. 

“I-it’s kinda like that. To me, Old Man Rom is like my only…uh…grandfather figure sort of thing.” 

“I see. I only have one family member as well. He’s always sleeping when it counts, and when he’s awake I don’t think I could ever say that to him.” 

“Well…I can’t say these sort of things when Rom’s awake, either.” 

Reinhard couldn’t be sure, but it looked as though the intensity of Felt’s slaps was increasing. She probably wasn’t paying attention. The frequency was also increasing, and the old man’s white bald head was turning red. 

Felt then looked up at Emilia, with a weak light in her red eyes. 

“I was sure you were going to be angry at me.” 

“Well, that might have happened if things were as they were before, but I don’t feel like I have it in me anymore. So while only a little bit, I’ll forgive you for his sake,” said Emilia with a weak smile and a shrug, before pointing back over to Subaru, who was still sleeping. 

Felt looked at Emilia, then at Subaru, and then looked down before quietly saying, “I’m sorry. He saved my life, too. I can’t be so ungrateful as to ignore that. I’ll return what I stole.” 

“Good. That makes things easier on me. I really, really would feel bad if I had to sic this guy over here on you,” said Emilia with a wink, pointing back at Reinhard. 

After hearing those words and looking at that young man with the red hair and blue eyes, Felt grimaced. 

“The knight among knights… I would have to be crazy to try to run away with someone like that on my tail. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen anyone faster than me. It really surprised me.” 

Upon hearing those words, Reinhard just smiled back at Felt, wordlessly. 

With a slight click of her tongue, Felt stood up and walked over to Emilia, who stood up as well. 

“All right, I’ll give it back,” said Felt, digging around in her breast pocket. “If it’s that important to you, make sure you hide it better so it doesn’t get stolen again.” 

“That warning feels a little strange coming from you. …If possible I would like it if you stopped your thievery altogether.” 

“That’s something I cannot do,” said Felt in a flat refusal. “Just so you know, I’m only returning this to you this time because I owe my life to you all. I don’t think I did anything wrong, and I have no plans to stop.” 

Felt put on a strong-willed smile. 

Considering Felt’s age, it was almost painful to watch. As Felt declared her intentions, Reinhard looked on in silence. 

Given his occupation, Reinhard knew that this was not something he should overlook, but what other way of life did she have? What right did he have to talk of justice without offering her any alternatives? 

Reinhard had seen enough of the capital to not be so naive as to ignore that fact. Emilia seemed to realize this as well, and after lowering her eyes for a few moments, she stuck out her hand without another word. 

“Understood. …I was asking for too much.” 

“If I was able to eat without having to work for it, I might quit, but that’s not happening. Anyway, here you go.” 

Felt reached out to put the thing she had taken out of her pocket into Emilia’s hand, to give back what she had stolen. 

For an instant, Reinhard saw a flash of red cross in front of his eyes. That bright light was something he had seen before, and as he narrowed his eyes Reinhard searched through the sea of his memories for it. 

Then after he had found what he was looking for… 

“Huh?” 

“Reinhard…?” 

…he reached out and grabbed Felt’s hand, still holding on to the badge. 

Both girls looked up in surprise at Reinhard, but when they saw his serious expression, both fumbled for words. 

“Th-that hurts… Let go…” said Felt, shaking her head and trying to resist. 

However, Reinhard did not loosen his grip. The strength in his hand was such that, if he wanted to, he could bend steel. Even if he wasn’t using his full strength, it was not something that a slender girl like Felt could shake away from. 

“I don’t believe it…” muttered Reinhard, his voice shaking. 

Upon hearing those words, Emilia responded, her eyes trembling. 

“Wait, Reinhard. I understand that it is hard to let her off without a word, but she didn’t realize how much this badge is worth. Plus, I do not find fault with her. It was my fault that I let it get stolen in the first place.” 

“You’re mistaken, Lady Emilia. That’s not what I have a problem with,” said Reinhard in a forceful tone. Confused, Emilia went silent. 

Reinhard stared intently at Felt, so much that he had already forgotten how rude he just was to Emilia. 

As Felt looked back at the young man with hair as red as her eyes, those red eyes of hers wavered with anxiety. 

“…What is your name?” 

“It’s F-Felt…” 

“What is your surname? How old are you?” 

“I-I’m an orphan, all right? I don’t have a surname and I…I think I’m about fifteen years old. I don’t know my own birthday. But enough about that. Let me go!” 

As Felt spoke, she seemed to regain a bit of her composure and tried to wrestle herself away from him. 

Reinhard kept his firm hold on Felt and then turned to look at Emilia. 

“Lady Emilia, I am no longer able to fulfill your request. I’m taking this girl with me.” 

“…May I ask why? If the reason has anything to do with this badge…” 

“That is certainly not a crime I would like to ignore, but considering the far greater crime it would be to watch this moment before me unfold without any action, it is a trivial matter.” 

Emilia furrowed her brow, in both hesitation and confusion. 

But Reinhard accepted Emilia’s confusion. He felt that there was no helping it. After all, this was something she was used to. It would be cruel to tell her to realize what was happening. 

“You’re coming with me. I’m sorry, but I can’t let you refuse.” 

“What are you, crazy?! Just because you saved me doesn’t mean you can just… Huh?” 

Just as Felt was about to continue yelling at Reinhard, her body went limp. As the power drained from her body Felt glared at Reinhard, until the very end, finally saying, “Burn in hell… Damn it…” before her head drooped and she fell unconscious. 

“That’s again not a very knightly thing for you to do… If you do it that roughly, it’s going to leave lasting effects on the gate.” 

“Fortunately, this is something I’ve had to live with all my life, so I understand how to keep everything in moderation. …Lady Emilia, I believe you’ll hear again from me soon. Please understand.” 

Reinhard gently took Emilia’s badge out of Felt’s limp hand and gave it to her. The dragon on the badge was, in fact, the state symbol of the Dragon Kingdom of Lugunika. In Reinhard’s hand the red jewel shone with a dull light, but when it was returned to Emilia’s hands it shone bright, as if delighted to be back in the hands of its owner. 

“I ask that you take good care of Subaru,” said Reinhard with a bow, after Emilia silently took her badge from Reinhard and continued to look at him. 

Feeling Felt’s light weight in his arms, Reinhard brushed her blond hair away from her forehead. When she was unconscious like this and didn’t have to be so on guard, her white face looked both innocent and charming. If she were given a change of clothes and a bath, surely she would shine. 

A strong wind blew and Reinhard’s bangs danced in front of his face. Through those bangs Reinhard looked up at the sky and saw floating in the twilight above the capital, the moon. 

It was a full moon that shone with a bluish white light, and its beauty was both alluring and bewitching. 

“This may be the last time I can look up at the moon and feel at ease…” muttered Reinhard, his words only reaching the moon that looked down upon them. 

<END>