Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu - Volume 6 - Chapter 36

Arc 6 – Chapter 36, “A Place of Relief”

… What do you mean when you say ‘Parallel World’.

[Subaru: ……………]

Subaru felt as if his breath had been knocked out of him in hearing Echidna’s question – he sunk into silence.

Everyone’s gaze turned towards Subaru. Although the emotions varied across everyone’s faces, many of them showed tangible signs of doubt and disbelief. After he had mentioned ‘Parallel World’, everyone had reacted in confusion to it. The Natsuki Subaru before losing his memories had not explained it to them. 1

[Emilia: Parallel World… Come to think of it, you used to say that before from time to time, didn’t you Subaru?]

[Ram: It does ring a bell. Though from the way he acts like on a daily basis, I’d not paid any attention to that kind of nonsense]

[Subaru: Putting Emilia-chan aside, it’s incredible how indifferent Ram acts towards me…]

Ram’s manner seemed to be the opposite of Emilia’s who was immersed deep in thought whilst gently brushing her finger against her lips – an action Subaru found quite cute. Instead, Ram had snorted at Subaru’s remark and replied in quite a cold-hearted tone. Due to them having some familiarity with the word, thanks to this cushion, their initial surprise had been softened.

To Emilia and Ram, and all those he had supposedly adventured together with, the previous Subaru had not told any of them what he had meant by talking about “Parallel World”. What does it all mean; he doesn’t know for sure, but…

[Subaru: Were there some kind of restrictions to it? When I was thrown into to this world, was I sworn by a God or Goddess into not speaking about it, or the like… And first things first, what kind of mission am I here for?]

Subaru racks his brain – the burden of potentially having to carry out a mission crosses his mind.

Presumably, Subaru was summoned into this parallel world by someone working behind the scenes that had some expectation of him. By Subaru’s reckoning, the likelihood of this someone being a “God” was very high. Subaru had been given a role to play in this world by them, despite not remembering who this “God” was. Thinking about this other world… had it not been down to fate that he was here? So, if losing his memories was something that this “God” found inconvenient, he could hopefully expect some follow-up to improve his situation. Subaru wants to believe this “God” is not the cruel sort who would just throw him into this fantasy world without giving him some benefits. Or maybe…

[Subaru: …I’d better find out if it’s actually something I can’t touch on, huh]

[Beatrice: Subaru?]

Subaru licks his parched lips and searches for a response for this situation. He winks at Beatrice, who had been starting to feel uneasy after overhearing his muttering. He had made up his mind – he decides that he will address the question that Echidna had asked him about the Parallel World.

Even if speaking about it was forbidden by this “God”, Subaru muses that it would be unlikely that there would be some sort of drastic consequence that he could not recover from were he to touch this taboo. Surely, as soon as he speaks of the taboo, there wouldn’t be anything drastic that would happen, such as being assailed by unbearable pain. With a little bit of anxiety, Subaru beings to speak…

And…

[Subaru: Well about this “Parallel World” I spoke of, the Kanji is written as from like “Different” and “World”… In other words, I mean that the place we’re in right now is in a separate world]

[Emilia: In a separate world, a “Parallel World”…]

[Subaru: Uh-huh. That’s why I say “Parallel world”, yet…]

Following Subaru’s explanation, Emilia mulls over the subtlety that Subaru had pointed out, rolling the different words out on her tongue. She was not the only one who had reacted like this – others in the room were also pondering this distinction.

Subaru assumes from the lack of understanding at him when he had used the term “Parallel World” that apparently the concept was not a common one in this world. Subaru, still with a trace of anxiety in him, slapped his body to check for any changes.

[Subaru: … nothing seems to have happened to me.]

In other words, Subaru was ensuring that nothing untoward had occurred to him after revealing this. As far as he could tell, there are no signs of abnormalities in his body. There is neither pain nor numbness. Nor is there a strange voice sadly addressing him with “You’ve violated your instructions” or “You mustn’t have said that”; nor is there a flock of cranes ominously congregating in his surroundings. The people around however do not show any significant changes in their expression.

[Subaru: This isn’t what I expected…]

Certainly, he could not think of any particular reason now for not talking about the other world.

Subaru cocked his head to the side noticing that Julius had raised his hand in an attempt to get Subaru’s attention.

[Julius: I now know what the word “Parallel World” means. I can take it as a term you yourself have coined, but there is a part of me that’s thinking about its implication. Why do you reference that Parallel World so often?]

[Subaru: Oh? Oh, oh, that’s right! Just explaining the meaning of the word “Parallel World” isn’t much of an explanation. Then um, in other words…]

[Julius: In other words?]

Following Julius’ questioning, Subaru acknowledges he had cut his explanation short. And, clearing his throat he goes on to say,

[Subaru: I come from this “Parallel World” thing. I wasn’t born and raised in this world, I’m some alien who got mixed up into this world halfway through. –That’s why for me this place is a “Parallel World.]

Indeed now he had clearly explained his position and circumstances.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

I am a person who came to this world from a parallel world. Nice to meet you.

Roughly speaking, this is what Subaru had told them. It was easy to imagine Emilia and the others to have been shaken by that bold confession. At any rate, having dropped this bombshell on everyone who did not know about the existence of the parallel world must have made them feel like the world had been turned upside down.

After finishing this confession Subaru curses his carelessness as he thinks that he has probably worried everyone – maybe they would even be scared of him. If he had made Emilia and Beatrice feel as if they’d been engulfed by a maelstrom of confusion – if he had made them grieve, then he was responsible for having upset them. How would he comfort such beautiful girls if they were to break down into tears? He had no experience in this whatsoever.

Only a split second had passed since Subaru had confessed where he was from – already he was racked by anxiety at imagining their reactions. He turns to face them…

Subaru had imagined that he would find them looking pale, blood drained from their visage, with confusion and fear etched on their faces. However…,

[Emilia: … Uh, so you mean you’re from beyond the Great Waterfall?]

[Subaru: Eh? The Great Waterfall?]

Subaru’s eyes widen at Emilia who had timidly asked this question. Subaru had found the word “Great Waterfall” unfamiliar. Sure, he knew what a waterfall was, but, a waterfall so large to be named as being “Great”? Could he imagine such a thing? No, even more important, what was the connection between this great waterfall and the world he had been brought into?

[Subaru: No, definitely not. Nothing to do with waterfalls. I’m talking about a world that’s completely different from this place and what your common knowledge is and stuff…]

[Ram: So, then you’re from beyond the Great Waterfall. What a way to say it’s your hometown Barusu… Actually, no, I guess it’s probably the other way around given that it’s your hometown Barusu. Across the Great Waterfall, these countries here would be this “Parallel World”. Your wild way of putting it makes sense to me now as well]

[Echidna: That’s right. That must be the reason why I couldn’t find anything no matter how much I investigated Natsuki-kun’s origins – because he is from beyond the Great Waterfall.]

[Subaru: Well, hey, hey, how are you all so quickly convinced with that!?]

It wasn’t just Emilia who had agreed with this conclusion – Ram and Echidna, who both appeared to be extremely intelligent had also agreed with it. For Subaru, it was difficult to understand how credible this mysterious waterfall was in being related to his old world. Beyond the Great Waterfall… what sort of idea is it that there existed something akin to a tunnel to this strange land beyond this waterfall.

[Beatrice: You may have no idea about it considering you’ve forgotten so much, in fact. But regarding the Great Waterfall… It’s at the far reaches of the world, and there are a few stories left behind from people coming from beyond it, I suppose.]

[Subaru: I do quite like the sound of that… at the far reaches of the world.]

[Beatrice: The Great Waterfall is said to be impossible to cross over, with the exception of the dragon.  It’s the border between here and there. There’s no one who knows what is on the other side of it….So, on the rare occasion that someone crosses over from that world, no one holds any basis to deny the words they spoke as lies or falsehoods, I suppose.]

Beatrice explains the basis behind this theory, it seemed like the general consensus from the people around him was that they were ready to accept it. The theory’s contents were lacking, there were some things that were difficult to imagine for Subaru with him not being an expert in this world’s circumstances. Thinking about the term “Great Waterfall” and its present explanation now–

[Subaru: So this place feels like a floating continent, something like you can’t cross over to another continent without a dragon?]

[Ram: Haa]

[Subaru: Quit with those horribly disgruntled sighs there. You’re gonna hurt my feelings]

Ram was looking at Subaru, who did not know how to support his explanation, with a sense of staggering disappointment. However, what had seemed like a good theory to Subaru, seemed to not be shared by any of the others here. In the end, his floating continent theory was likely incorrect.

[Subaru: If I’m off-base, then I’m off-base, I get it.… But if you’re saying my current theory was correct, then we can hope to have a great Eureka moment riding on dragonback]

[Meili: If you keep talking about it like that, Onii-san’s adorable Earth Dragon is gonna start sulking, isn’t sh~e]

[Subaru: Ah, yeah. That black Earth Dragon is mine right. Let me have a ride on it later]

[Shaula: Meeee too! I’m gonna be sulking too! Master, I think you should take better care of meeee, and appreciate me better and loooove me more~. Now that you have lost your memories, let our relationship restaaaart! From zerooooo!]

[Subaru: Shut up, and quit being so clingy! Also, don’t be so quick to poke fun at my situation where I’ve lost my memories just because you’re saying it happened to someone else!]

Shaula noisily joins in the conversation, with Meili sitting in between her knees. She had stepped into the conversation and been brash in speaking her mind, something that he found quite overwhelming.

[“—“]

From there, Subaru shifts his attention towards his surroundings. In his original world, though depending on the situation, Subaru had a reputation for not being able to read the mood from the people in his surroundings. However, no matter how unsuitable one is at reading people’s emotions, if the emotions are incredibly strong, then they can be easily read by anyone.

Not just Emilia and Beatrice, but also Ram, Julius, Anastasia (i.e. Echidna) – their expressions are all showing worry towards Subaru. For better or for worse, before losing his memories, Subaru would have been doing pretty well with the ladies. Now he felt jealous. What exactly had he done, what sort of magic had he used? Subaru has no idea when he had been taught such arcane skills, but he doesn’t believe he could put it into practise now.

[Subaru: Anyways, to sum up everything that’s been said…, at the edge of this world there’s a waterfall called the “Great Waterfall” and occasionally people come from beyond it. And so you’re saying I’m one of them?]

[Emilia: From what I’ve heard from you, I can only assume that’s the case… Though, am I wrong?]

[Subaru: Well]

Subaru exchanged looks with Emilia, her arms were crossed by her side. To be precise, it was not Subaru’s intended course of action to run counter to the general understanding which everyone had of the world. Nonetheless, even if Subaru thinks that the ‘Parallel World’ and the ‘Great Waterfall” are unrelated, he knows that he won’t make any progress in this situation if he continues to talk about it.

[Subaru: To make a long story short…]

Within this world there was no concept of “Parallel Worlds”. It’s unknown whether Emilia and the others’ truly believe that the “Great Waterfall” actually has Subaru’s or other worlds existing beyond it. Subaru is reminded of the explorer Christopher Columbus, whose records had indicated that he believed in a great waterfall at the edge of the world. Yet, he had found a continent on the other side of the ocean despite having been branded as a “weirdo” – though there certainly had been no waterfall. If that is the case, then the way they perceive the “Parallel World” is not correct.

[Subaru: By the way, did I never mention anything about the Parallel World, back when I had my memories?]

[Emilia: Thinking back to then, once in a while you’d make some mention the word “Parallel world”… but this is the first time we have really talked properly about it.]

[Beatrice: Betty agrees with Emilia, in fact.]

As Emilia and Beatrice speak, the others are nodding, agreeing with what they are saying. It seems that before he had lost his memories Subaru had not really discussed anything about it. Had it been because he had thought they would not understand him, just as they had shown now?

Or…,

[Subaru: … I guess because I had been stopping myself from talking about it, huh]

[Julius: Subaru?]

[Subaru: Huh. Uh, no, nothing. Hey, if I’m not the only so-called Parallel Worlder there’s been then do you know anyone else? A person from the other side of the Great Waterfall, or castaway – whichever.]

Perhaps there were a lot of people drifting in from different worlds; maybe there was a community or town of sorts where such people gathered. However, Subaru’s hopes were denied by a shake of the head from Julius.

[Julius: Sorry, the existence of a castaway, as you call it, is very rare. Most people who claim they are from beyond the Great Waterfall are lying. What they say are generally pipe dreams or fabrications, some of them set their sights on trying to extort people out of money whereas others are simply trying to influence people of their fanciful beliefs.]

[Subaru: Oh, well, yeah I can see that happening…]

As much as you would like to believe such stories, the majority are the works of fiction or embellished rumours. Even if people, like Subaru, who were genuinely from another world existed, their existence would be buried under countless falsehoods.

[Echidna: Honestly, my interest in the Great Waterfall is not exhausted, but it seems it really has no relevance to our current situation. It would be a good idea to simply end this with establishing that Natsuki-kun’s home-town is unknown.]

Echidna had broken what had been an awkward silence that had been forming. Originally she had been the one asking Subaru about it. Although there were still parts unfamiliar to her and she was most likely unsatisfied, Subaru welcomed her ending the conversation there.

The more he talked about his original world, the more he remembered what he had left behind.

Thinking about it had begun to make his heart ache.

By concentrating on the situation in front of him, he could try and distract himself from these feelings.

[Subaru: I understand that you all care and were worried about me. It feels now like what we settled earlier may be worth checking out.]

Subaru does not know if this would turn out to be the cause for his memory loss, but, the place where the Subaru with his memories intact had supposedly last ventured – he wanted to check what had happened there.

[Beatrice: You will want to check the『Taygeta』library, I suppose.]

Subaru nodded at Beatrice who had beaten him to voicing out his thoughts out loud.

※※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

The group now had headed out towards the『Taygeta』library.

Subaru was feeling quite nervous about what would be awaiting him there; on the way there he had felt it may very well be the continuation of his troubles.

That is because,

[Subaru: Well, Emilia-chan, why are you holding my hand so tightly?]

[Emilia: Eh? Well, I’m worried about leaving Subaru in a place where I can’t reach him… I couldn’t bear not holding hands with you since we set out.]

[Subaru: I mean, I like the hastiness of it, but this is pretty embarrassing!]

Subaru was aware that he was blushing; he lifts up the hand that was held by Emilia. Her slender, cute fingers were gently holding his hand and he worries whether his palms are sweating. In reply to Subaru’s words, Emilia raised her eyebrows and said “Jeez,”

[Emilia: Well, Beatrice is also holding your hand, so it’s not just us two together!]

[Subaru: There’s a difference between holding the hands of a child, compared to one of a beautiful woman! There’s a big difference, it’s like night and day!]

[Emilia: I’m sorry, I have no idea what you’re saying.]

Subaru feels flustered by his feeble excuse – Emilia was not going easy on him even if he had lost his memories. All his grudges, all his memories… he’d lost them all.

[Beatrice: Now, that statement is unpardonable. But, it’s as Emilia says. Subaru is following along obediently and is well protected by Betty and Emilia, I suppose.]

[Subaru: Oh yeah? This is where we put Beatrice in the middle, and I and Emilia hold hands with you from both sides, young couple style! Isn’t that uncool? ]

[Beatrice: Subaru isn’t Subaru unless he’s uncool, in fact]

[Subaru: What kind of assessment is that!?]

Beatrice had been holding Subaru’s other hand as that blow was delivered to him. Julius, who was leading the way ahead, looks back towards Subaru. Echidna who had been following right behind him stops as Julius is about to round the corner. It had been Ram who had delivered that sarcastic remark; however, Subaru was the only one who knew that despite her outward appearance she was probably suffering inside. He wonders if he should talk to someone about her, but he doesn’t know who he could possibly talk to regarding what she was experiencing. In a way, it’s only Shaula and Meili who seem to be untroubled amongst them – they are chatting together at the back of the group.

[Subaru: Well, they’re not useful at all for anything…]

[Meili: … somehow I don’t think you are being polite right now, Onii-san.]

[Shaula: It’s always such a feeling coming from inside Master’s head. Never mind it, it’s no looossss. At some point, if you are frank and peek underneath his skull, it’s all pink anywaaays~ Pink braaain~ Shaaaameless knowledge~] 3

[Subaru: I don’t think we’d find either shame or knowledge in you…]

[Shaula: Master’s doooing – my entire knowledge – Master’s doooing~]

Subaru starts to experience a slight pang in his heart due to the conversation. Whilst they had been exchanging these bouts of conversation, the party had gone up the stairs and arrived at the 『Taygeta』 library on the third floor. It was quite expansive, almost as if it transcended time and space.

[Subaru: Right here is『Taygeta』… there are quite a lot of books in here.]

Subaru breathes in awe as he looks around the『Taygeta』 library, marvelling at the sheer number of books there. Indeed this was a sight that was beyond anyone’s imagination. Subaru was quite the avid reader (reading Light Novels, Manga, Strategy Guides), but he had never been surrounded by so many books. Of course, it even surpassed the National Diet Library in terms of sheer quantity. However it could be said that that the National Diet Library was far superior in providing a spacious environment to peruse its reading material. Though, as the most common reason for visiting it is its picturesque architecture it meant that it wasn’t stocked well…,

[Subaru: If『The Books of the Dead』are here… then wouldn’t that mean that there are as many books here as people who have died? If it has been recording nonstop since the time of the Homo Sapiens, then it must be literally overwhelmed by the amount of records here.]

Subaru does not know the scale of this world, but if the records of the dead are books, then the quantity of books would be immeasurable. Even if he tried to find a book, such as one with the name of a deceased person he knew, he would not be able to physically find it.

[Subaru: In a modern day library, a lookup function is indispensable… but here?]

[Beatrice: I don’t know what you mean by lookup function, I suppose. However, there is no one else more similar to a librarian here than Betty. I have no choice but to check, I suppose.]

[Subaru: This is like looking for a 100 Yen coin in the middle of a desert…]

Warily, Subaru places his hand on the spine of a book. It is an ordinary book, and when he pulls it out of the bookcase nothing extraordinary happens. There is no design to it on the cover, other than its title. In all, it could be mundanely described as being a very plain book.

[Subaru: Damn it! I can’t read the title.]

The title was written in squiggly characters that he could not read. In the story he had heard from Emilia and the others the title of the book was meant to be the name of someone who had died. If it was a person who you had personally known before they passed away then you could read the book. However, Subaru could not even comprehend what the letters meant in the first place. It was doubtful now that his memory could be in danger if he could not even read it…

[Subaru: Well… this may be difficult…]

[Emilia: SUBARU!]

Subaru who had been lost in thought, looked around in surprise at hearing Emilia shout. In an instant, the book he had picked up was wrenched from his grasp by Emilia.

[Subaru: Huh…, Emilia-chan?]

[Emilia: Don’t do such a stupid thing! Subaru, do you understand? Subaru has probably lost his memories here – it’s dangerous.]

[Subaru: No, wow, that’s overblowing it…]

Emilia had said this in a strong expression which was different to her usual demeanour; Subaru scratches his cheek and responds with strained laughter. It seemed that only Subaru was taking the situation lightly.

[Beatrice: Subaru, listen to Emilia – refrain yourself from acting so impulsively, I suppose.]

[Julius: I agree. You should be careful and refrain yourself from performing such a rash action.]

[Subaru: Mh…]

Both Beatrice and Julius had beseeched caution from Subaru. His throat had seized up, unable to reply to either of them. A feeling of revulsion had welled up in him, a great sense of shame overpowered Subaru. Certainly it had been a little stupid of him to have acted so carelessly.

[Shaula: Pfffft! Master is getting aaangry! That’s why I’m feeling down!]

[Subaru: Shut up! Don’t poke fun at people who are immersed in thought!]

[Echidna: Hey, hey. You don’t have to interject in like that, you know. In fact, Natsuki-kun’s behaviour was somewhat inevitable… anyways, I have thought of something.]

With her hand covering her mouth Shaula was laughing away at Subaru’s mistake. Echidna had forced herself between Subaru and Shaula who had been snapping away at each other. And whilst gently stroking her scarf she said:

[Echidna: Natsuki-kun, you were unable to read the title of the book, is that right?]

[Subaru: …? Oh, yeah, that’s right.]

[Echidna: What you can see here is that losing your memory as he has will interfere with your cognitive abilities such as your literacy skills. That is why he was speaking of parallel worlds…]

[Beatrice: Sorry, but Subaru began to study the alphabet when he arrived at Roswaal’s mansion.]

[Echidna: ………]

Echidna, who had spoken confidently of her theory, was dumbfounded by Beatrice’s retort. Not paying any regard to Echidna’s lack of response, Beatrice crosses her arms.

[Beatrice: Subaru could not read or write until he came to the mansion, I suppose. As far as I know, the one who instructed him was Ram.]

[Ram: Yes, it is exactly as Beatrice-sama says. From the start, Ram dedicated herself to educating Barusu so he would learn to read and write… it seems my efforts were wasted, seeing him in this current state.]

[Subaru: Sorry! I wasn’t aware there was such an episode!]

Subaru raises his voice in apology in reply to Ram’s resentful complaint. Taking a sidelong glance at the occurring exchange, Echidna cleared her throat.

[Echidna: Ahem, it seems I was way off the mark. I’d like it if you could forget what I said.]

[Julius: No, it’s not as off the mark as you may think. At least we have discovered that Subaru’s memories were lost when he came to Lugnica.]

[Ram: In other words, Barusu is just useless baggage that doesn’t serve any purpose in this library.]

Ram scathingly adds to Julius’ confirmation – Subaru remains silent as he doesn’t want to stir up any more trouble upon himself. However it is Julius who speaks, saying “Miss Ram’s words are correct,”

[Julius: In any case, as Subaru cannot reproduce what occurred last night in this place, we should be the ones to look for clues in here.]

[Echidna: Yes, that would be safer.]

[Ram: I don’t have any objections. Are Emilia-sama and Beatrice-sama okay with it?]

Beatrice nods back towards Ram, saying: “I understand, I suppose.” Emilia turns towards Subaru, looking at him with quite a serious expression in her eyes.

[Emilia: Subaru, please wait here without doing anything rash… The memories you lost, me and the others… we will find them.]

[Subaru: Oh, okay, okay, understood. It feels annoying not being able to do anything, but I believe in Emilia-chan and everyone else! I will wait here.]

[Emilia: Can you really wait here quietly? You won’t wander off as you please?]

[Subaru: I don’t need reminding! I’ll be fine! I am not a 5 year old kid, I can wait here – I can promise it if you want.]

[Subaru: Well… even so, I am not going to be quiet…]

[Emilia: What do you mean!?]

Granted he had brought out that promise to make her feel peace of mind, however it had ended up in only sowing more mistrust. Looking around his surroundings he saw that Beatrice and Ram were merely shrugging their shoulders in reply. In any case…,

[Emilia: Subaru is going to quietly wait here at the front, okay?]

In response to Emilia’s sincere appeal, Subaru decides that he will reluctantly wait for them at the front of the Library. He sits down cross-legged watching over the party who had begun to split into two separate groups to search the Library. In one group were Emilia, Beatrice and Ram. In the other there was Julius and Echidna. Looking on with an air of confusion, it seemed that Emilia and Echidna respectively were leading these uneven teams.

[Meili: I am looking for a guarantee that I won’t end up like Onii-san. After all, Onii-san’s strong point is that he attracts trouble.]

[Subaru: I have no memories… the problem is that I have no memories, so obviously I cannot even answer that… No, I don’t want an assassin of all people, to tell me this.]

[Meili: Because I am totally concerned about trifling matters like that…]

[Subaru: I don’t think you can call that a trifling matter!? In the first place…] 5

She had clicked her tongue at Subaru, interrupting his train of thought. He turned to face her. The voice had come from far away from the bookshelves, next to the wall which Subaru had been standing at. Meili was standing there with a coquettish expression on her face not at all appropriate for her age. Her braided hair was arranged so that it dangled down to her shoulders. “What?” she asks him, cocking her head to one side.

[Subaru: I thought you had joined the search… are you not going to?]

[Meili: Yeah, I won’t join it, because I am not really a proper companion of Onii-san and Onee-san’s friends.]

[Subaru: Not really a proper companion…]

[Meili: I told you so, didn’t I? I’m an assassin… well, as I failed my mission it’s more like former assassin. Originally, I was sent here just to help out, now I don’t know anymore.]

[Subaru: In other words, I get the feeling like this was your bail condition… You were once an assassin and then through the sense of adventure became my friend. That is my daring judgement.]

[Meili: – Yeah, that’s exactly right! I suppose you really are crazy.]

Meili giggled and placed her hand on her mouth as she said this. Subaru snorted at her attitude and–

[Subaru: I understand why Meili wouldn’t go with them; what about you?]

[Shaula: Huh, meee~? I cannot read and write anything, so I am of no use whatsoeveeerrr. For me and Master, the books’ content is all gi-bbe-rish to uuuussss.]

Shaula was leaning against the wall, on the opposite side from Meili, laughing as she responded. She proceeds to move over and pulls Subaru by his left arm towards her voluptuous body. Such a soft, warm feeling… instinctively, he untangles himself from her.

[Subaru: Uwoaa!]

[Shaula: Whaaa, Master is such a meeeeany~]

[Subaru: I’m not a meany, stop that! It’s improper for a girl to have done that… such things should be reserved only for the guy you like… No, don’t do that because even a guy you like would be turned off if you came at him like that so abruptly. You’re doing yourself absolutely no good by behaving like this.]

[Shaula: Pfffft. Talking about a girl’s sense of dignity again? Master seriously never changessss.]

Shaula pouts at Subaru as she protests against his attitude. However, hearing her words had made Subaru look down in embarrassment.

[Shaula: Master?]

[Subaru: You think I haven’t changed as well?]

Subaru blurts this out to Shaula almost instinctively. He had heard this phrase several times over the course of the few hours he had been awake. It had seemed like a salvation to him to hear this… but also at the same time, a curse.

[Shaula: Hmm, I’m not so sure.]

Nevertheless, despite such turmoil brewing inside Subaru, Shaula had said that so readily. He was more or less astonished at her reply. Perhaps it had been a mistake to have let her hear some of his more delicate worries.

[Subaru: You… No, it was me who asked you. I was an idiot.]

[Shaula: Mh-. Master is not an idiot! With such a way of speaking, Master must be getting angryyyy! My Master is a wonderful person. I want you to be confident in yourself!]

[Subaru: Your position, I really don’t understand it.]

If you were to think about pointing and laughing at the overwhelmed Subaru, you would find that he was immersed in the most loathing feeling of self-deprecation. Hearing Subaru’s question, Shaula pushes her ample-sized chest forward and smiles with her hands on her hips.

[Shaula: Whether you’re changed or not, Master remains Master! So long as you do as you please Master, I will always follow you.]

[Subaru: …Even if it results in something crazy?]

[Shaula: Well! Even if we end up in strange situations, I can always pry things open by force! Master may have forgotten, but that is the relationship between Master and meeee!]

[Subaru: …]

Shaula’s honest words had begun to pile up deep inside him; back and forth her speech ricocheted within him, and with each passing moment he began to feel more emotional. Subaru takes a weak gulp of breath – he had been completely overwhelmed by her.

[Meili: Onii-san?]

[Subaru: …]

Seeing Meili looking at him, he turned his back away from her.

[Shaula: Master, what’s wrong?]

[Subaru: …Gha, jeez!]

Subaru cannot escape to the left of him, or to the right. He can only kneel down, and look down at the floor holding his head in his arms so nobody can see his face. Subaru gets the sensation that Meili and Shaula are looking at each other with him curled up in between them. They don’t understand… no, he doesn’t want them to understand.

And just like that, his prior worries drain away from him, he feels like he had just been saved by those words. He feels like he doesn’t need to worry anymore, her heartfelt manner spoke far louder than anything else could.

[Meili: Onii-san, you’re strange.]

[Shaula: Master was strange from the very beginning, but I love him for that too!]

He could not say anything to the girls who had been carrying on their exchange as they walked past him. Nevertheless, the feeling of anxiety in his heart had eased thanks to them.

A few minutes had since passed. Subaru had somehow managed to ward off his prior impulses and collected himself up from the floor. Emilia and the others had just come back with the results of their search.

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[1] This sentence works better in Japanese because instead of Parallel World its ‘isekai’ and they are confused and puzzled by the term’s meaning. Footnote 2 will explain this in more detail 
[2] It’s hard to convey the meaning of this. I will try to explain it: in this sentence essentially Subaru takes the word “isekai” and splits it up into “異なる” (to differ, pronounced kotonaru) and “世界” (world, pronounced sekai). In Japanese the cast don’t know what the word isekai actually means.