ReZERO_Starting Life in Another World Vol. 5 Page 11

  “And what I paid you makes up for your losses?”

  “I can sell all this oil at any price and stay solvent. It will certainly let me keep working.”

  Otto clapped his hands together to convey his earnest thanks to Subaru, but Subaru waved off the gesture. “Cut that out.”

  He was equally grateful to Otto. If anything, Subaru’s feelings ran even stronger.

  For a while, they went back and forth: “It’s all thanks to you,” “No, thanks to you,” “I’m here only because of you,” “Yeah, it’s fate that we both met,” and so on as their bond deepened.

  Finally, their casual praises died off, and silence abruptly fell between them.

  Subaru’s gaze shifted from the road they were galloping down to the plain, continuing as far as the eye could see, as he murmured, “Hey, Otto. Can’t we cut across this plain?”

  Hearing Subaru’s suggestion, Otto slapped his knee as if it was the best joke he’d ever heard.

  “My, my. That’s too much, even for a jest. When the fog falls on the plains, that’s where the White Whale appears. It is the most famous of all demon beasts… Should we meet it, our lives will be forfeit.”

  “It’s that dangerous? No one tries to put it down?”

  “No, because by avoiding the fog, you can also bypass the White Whale, so the damage is minimal. I imagine that is the real reason why it persists to this day.”

  In other words, people had tried to subdue the beast and failed, with the damage sustained in the process discouraging further expeditions.

  Complicated thoughts enveloped Subaru when he heard the words demon beasts. To him, a demon beast meant an Urugarum, like those he had encountered fairly recently—the same creatures that had gravely injured Subaru and perished at Roswaal’s hands. He had something of a history with them.

  Subaru mused aloud, “White Whale…huh. So it’s shaped like a whale and white colored, then?”

  “According to witnesses, at least. Apparently it is so enormous that no one has ever seen its full size, and those people were tossing anything and everything aside as they fled for their lives while it rampaged. A frightening story,” Otto concluded. He shut his mouth and would say nothing more. For a merchant like him, the White Whale was no doubt an odious being indeed, since its loitering on these plains for days on end would throw travel schedules into great disarray. Though he would be grateful if someone got rid of it, he had no intention of encountering it himself.

  Perhaps Otto’s point of view was common to all merchants.

  Subaru changed the subject.

  “So how long is it going to take to get to the Mathers dominion at this pace?”

  “Hmm, let’s see. Though night is coming, my land dragon has excellent night vision, and there’s no sign of any fog. Plus, I imagine there are no bandits willing to risk their lives by working near the plains right now, so…if things go well, tomorrow morning perhaps?”

  After providing that answer, Otto glanced over at Subaru, who raised his eyebrows in response. Otto quickly played innocent, averting his eyes and going, “Ah, nothing.” He soon continued, though. “Our destination is…the mansion of Marquis Roswaal…isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, that’s right.”

  “The small fortune you paid me… Those clothes must be expensive… This is just between us, but who are you, Mr. Natsuki? Are you…involved with the marquis somehow?”

  Subaru understood why Otto harbored such misgivings to the point of meekly raising his doubts. From the merchant’s point of view, Subaru’s identity was a complete mystery, and yet he’d pushed a small fortune into his hands and proposed they rush to the mansion at a time when the rumors swirling around the place were uniformly bad.

  “That’s right. I’m involved with Roswaal…the marquis. You might have heard some strange rumors, but I don’t know what’s true or false yet. And I already told you, I don’t intend to cause you any trou—”

  “No, no! I’m not worried about that at all! It’s just, uh…that… According to rumor, the good marquis is famous for his…eccentric interests… I was wondering if it is true?”

  “…If what is true?”

  Subaru inferred from Otto’s equivocation what he wished to ask. Even so, he concealed the hardness of his voice as best he could while prompting Otto to carry on.

  “If the good marquis really is backing a young half-elf lady.”

  “—”

  Figures, thought Subaru, the inside of his chest sinking in dismay. The anxiety in Otto’s voice made it clear that he was nervous to learn the truth. Emilia’s birth was about to be slandered again. Subaru spoke quickly to head off his prejudice.

  “Even if I told you no…you’d find out for yourself soon enough. It’s true. The candidate the marquis is supporting is a half-elf. But that girl’s nothing like you all think she…”

  “Is that so—I’m so relieved.”

  However, Otto’s reaction was not the one Subaru expected.

  The merchant lowered his brows and put a hand to his chest in apparent relief. Realizing that Subaru was gaping at him in shock, he smiled awkwardly, visibly embarrassed.

  “Ah, ahh… I’m sorry, getting worked up all by myself here. I mean, when I heard those rumors… She seemed an odd person to champion.”

  “To champion… Emilia, you mean?”

  “Ah, Lady Emilia is her name? Yes, well, you know. A half-elf would have had a hard life until now in various ways. For someone to rise from an unpleasant background and stand as a royal candidate… Yes, it’s very impressive.”

  Otto’s eyes were distant as he watched the road, his voice quivering faintly.

  Listening to the merchant’s reply, Subaru realized it had thrown him completely off guard. Complex emotions thrashed around in his chest, leaving him unsure of what to say.

  Otto, unaware of the chaos in Subaru’s heart, rubbed his nose with a finger as he said, “These might be small concerns compared to those of someone like Lady Emilia, but I know what it’s like to be misunderstood… An odd point of sympathy, perhaps. I think becoming king will be very difficult, but if she tries hard, maybe… Well, I just wanted to ask.”

  Otto cut things off there, since going any further would require him to speak more about himself.

  Once again, Subaru found himself unable to say a word to Otto. He folded his arms and continued looking downward.

  “—”

  Normally, Otto’s words would have helped Subaru so much that he’d come right out and thank him.

  Emilia had irrational obstacles blocking her path. However, even in a world filled with such problems, it didn’t mean that everyone hated her. Some people in that world, like Otto, would cheer for her when they learned about her background. To Emilia, that fact had to be the greatest silver lining of all.

  It had to be, and yet…

  “—”

  For some reason, Subaru was unable either to communicate his gratitude to Otto or to keep down the incomprehensible aching in his own chest as the dragon carriage continued to sway.

  3

  “—Mr. Natsuki! Please wake up! We are finally entering the Mathers dominion!”

  Subaru, curled up under a blanket in the wagon, opened his eyes as Otto called his name.

  He hadn’t been able to sleep much. His head was still hazy when he poked it out of the curtain, and he was greeted by the rays of the morning sun, a line of mountains, and hope.

  The sun had risen once again, pouring sunrays down among the mountains and making Subaru squint. In the half day and change that they had spent in their overnight journey, Subaru had arrived back at the Mathers dominion.

  “Good job, Otto. Working like a horse while I was asleep like that…”

  “Can you not say that as if I have no professionalism here?! More importantly, there is a village named Earlham near Marquis Mathers’s mansion, yes?”

  Otto had a map spread across his lap, glaring at it and the road ahead as he asked the question. His eyes
were a little bloodshot from the all-nighter, but fortunately, he didn’t seem worn out from it.

  “It’s my second all-nighter in a row with some spirits in me in between, but I feel great! If we head straight forward we’ll reach the mansion after all! Fueh-heh-heh!”

  “Are you really all right?! You didn’t take some weird drug to forget about being tired or something?!”

  “Do not be concerned. Lugunica is a law-abiding country that bans medicines of that nature.”

  Subaru warily watched Otto, who seemed to be straddling the line between lucidity and insanity, as his own heart lightened a little at having returned to the Mathers lands.

  “I’d love to run straight there without a break, but we might pass by Rem along the way.”

  “Nah, I don’t think so. She did have over half a day’s head start on us, after all. More importantly, Mr. Natsuki, shouldn’t you prepare yourself for returning to the mansion? You should comb your hair and so forth.”

  Otto raised a hand as he spoke in a half-joking manner. Subaru was putting his hair back in order when his breath caught.

  Now that the mansion was so close, right in front of his nose, all the things about a prospective reunion that Subaru had tried not to think about came rushing to him with a vengeance.

  He thought it unlikely that she’d simply welcome him back with open arms.

  After their parting of ways at the royal capital, he’d deliberately abandoned the half-finished treatment for his gate to return. Rem had surely arrived first, and ignoring her admonishments, too, meant he might have no allies at all.

  But whatever they might think of him, even so—

  “I came back to do what I have to do. I’m not ashamed of that at all. I’m not wrong about anything.”

  He said it to justify it to himself or, perhaps, to make excuses to someone who wasn’t even there. He murmured similar things over and over as if they were the magic words that continued to sustain his spirit.

  “—It’s for Emilia’s sake. She can’t get by if I’m not here.”

  Such were the arguments that kept Subaru’s fragile mind from crumbling, somehow suppressing the words that would otherwise be ever-present in his memories.

  They entered via the highway between the hills, traveling along the road at a safe speed. The road cut through the mountain forests ahead of them, with increasingly familiar scenery. At that pace, it would be less than an hour before they arrived at Roswaal’s mansion.

  That was when the carriage’s wheels came to a screeching stop, and the land dragon let out a ferocious sound as it violently clawed at the ground.

  “—?! H-hey, Otto?!”

  The instant Subaru felt the carriage stop, the land dragon’s blessing must have cut out, since he keenly felt the full impact as the vehicle rocked to the side. Subaru yelped as he was suddenly jostled around inside.

  “Otto! What was that just now?! We haven’t gotten there yet, have we? Why’d you stop all of a sudd—?”

  Otto held the reins low as he spoke to Subaru without looking at him.

  “—Mr. Natsuki. Can we make this as far as I proceed with you?”

  For a moment, Subaru couldn’t process what had been said to him, but then he immediately grabbed Otto by his lapel and pulled him close.

  “What do you mean? That wasn’t the deal! Damn you, we’ve come this far; don’t cut and run out on me midway. Stay with me until we get to—”

  The end, Subaru was going to shout, but his breath caught when he saw that Otto’s face was as white as a ghost. He released the pale-faced merchant, who sat on the driver’s seat and hung his head.

  “I am…very sorry. I had intended to remain with you until the end, Mr. Natsuki. Even so, I don’t have the courage to go any farther.”

  “What are you going on about? What does this have to do with courage? Just a little farther and we’ll reach the mansion. It’s not like the road is bad. Otto, please!”

  “Even if you beg me…I cannot. I don’t need the entire reward. I shall return half to you. Therefore, please allow me to pull out of our deal.”

  Otto put his hand on the driver’s seat with a genuinely apologetic look toward Subaru, though still refusing to get into the details. Subaru couldn’t hide his bewilderment at the tragic look in Otto’s eyes.

  “What is it, all of a sudden? Did something happen…?”

  “My land dragon…is afraid. And it’s not only that. The area around us seems too quiet to me. This is why traveling merchants use land dragons. A land dragon’s instincts tell him about places he mustn’t approach!”

  Otto’s hands trembled on top of his lap as he focused on his land dragon. When Subaru peered closer, the land dragon made quiet, ragged breaths as it awaited its master’s command. But the way it was snorting at the direction they were traveling announced loud and clear that it held danger for them. That behavior, and Otto’s trust for his own land dragon, explained where the merchant’s reaction had come from.

  Asking Otto and the land dragon to accompany Subaru when none of them had any idea of what situation awaited them—it would have been too cruel to both.

  “…Thanks for everything. Sorry to put you through something scary, Otto.”

  “—Eh?”

  Subaru heard a surprised voice behind him as he hopped off the driver’s seat down to the ground. The land dragon beside him looked back up at Otto, moving a foot around as it silently pled its case.

  “I’ll head to the mansion on foot from here. Hey, I’ve come this far; it’s practically right in front of me. You’ve brought me far enough. Take all the money and go.”

  “I cannot do such a… No, more importantly, Mr. Natsuki! You mustn’t go! Come back with me! Fog is approaching this place right now!”

  “The White Whale’s gonna show up?”

  “To a traveling merchant this is a black omen! When fog covers our destination, it is a matter of life and death for us… No, that doesn’t matter here! Anyway, please reconsi—”

  “Sorry.”

  Subaru wore a pained smile after Otto shouted his concern for him. He was far too much of a softy for the cutthroat, deceptive world of the merchant. He pondered the benevolent Otto’s suitability for his chosen trade as he walked away from the dragon carriage.

  “Just like you’re weighing your life and money on your scales, I’m weighing my life and something I value just as much. Something worth that much to me is waiting just ahead.”

  “Mr. Natsuki, please wait! L-let’s discuss this. We can talk it over!”

  “I don’t blame you at all for turning back. I mean, if you know there’s danger, turning back is the right call. Knowing beforehand is enough for me.”

  Now Subaru knew that the road ahead, as well as his destination, held enough danger to make even a land dragon afraid. But he had to hurry. He had to run forward.

  The chance for Subaru to find the answer he sought surely awaited him there.

  “—Mr. Natsuki!”

  “Thank you.”

  Otto’s voice held concern for Subaru until the very end. Leaving him behind, Subaru rushed full-tilt down the tree-lined highway. He headed for his destination, casting aside the man who had guided him without trying to overcharge.

  The sights seemed almost familiar to him, but it was only a resemblance. Just how far did he have to go before arriving at Roswaal’s mansion? One way or another, running down the road would lead him there.

  With the danger loud and clear and his destination right before his eyes, Subaru’s emotions ran wild inside him.

  At any rate, he wanted to get there without a moment to lose. If he did, the painful, lingering emotions inside him would come to a head. He’d settle this, whether it turned out how he wanted it to be or not.

  “…? The…hell?”

  Subaru was running without a care—or rather, while suppressing his innumerable worldly worries—when he came to a halt.

  It wasn’t because he’d arrived at his destination. The
scenery remained unchanged, and it seemed to stretch on so much that he had to wonder just how far the highway continued, with the thick trees on both sides seeming to block all escape. He was out of breath, but he had yet to run out of endurance.

  Why, then, had Subaru stopped? That was because—

  “It’s…too quiet, isn’t it…?”

  Subaru had paused because he sensed something was wrong. Unintentionally, he repeated what Otto had said earlier.

  When he looked around, there was no change in his surroundings whatsoever. Compared to the rustling of leaves as the wind passed through, his own breath was quite noisy.

  But that was all he heard. And to Subaru, who’d spent nearly two months in these lands, it felt wrong. The oppressive silence, without even the sounds of insects, was abnormal.

  —And then, something suddenly appeared, slipping neatly into Subaru’s consciousness.

  “Wh…what?!”

  He recoiled a step, his throat tightening from shock. Without a sound, a person had appeared in front of him. Furthermore, the figure’s entire body was shrouded in black clothing, with something like a hood on, so that even the face of this complete stranger was concealed.

  Furthermore, that wasn’t all that shocked him.

  “This guy… No, these guys…!”

  One after another, black figures emerged all around Subaru, as if they were responding to his confusion and his shifting gaze. In the blink of an eye, they numbered more than ten, surrounding Subaru as if mocking his efforts at caution.

  “—”

  Particularly abnormal was the insane quiet that continued even after the shadowy group’s appearance. They continued to watch Subaru in silence; he didn’t even hear any of them breathe.

  There was no way they were friendly. That said, they hadn’t shown any hostility, either. The eerie figures left him tongue-tied, unable to even move a muscle. How did they stare at each other like that?

  Feeling the pressure, Subaru felt like time was moving incredibly slowly. Then, that turbulent silence crumbled just as easily as it had begun.