DISCLAIMER

The following is a fan-based

FICTION

Re:Zero and other products related to the this series are all owned by Tappei Nagatsuki.

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Chapter 2: Hi Again

If someone had told Subaru that Isekai situations weren't as idyllic as he once saw them and he had actually read Berserk was about, the young man wouldn't feel as dissatisfied with how bad his luck had gone now by setting him up for quite the unpleasant situation.

But he would have also been shocked to the core to remember that this has already happened.

Natsuki Subaru might not be a genius when it comes to life, but even he could tell that something was off if he 'woke up' back to when he first appeared in this world… right after suddenly dying a few hours 'later'. Or 'before'. It was confusing, it took him a moment to ultimately decide to find somewhere to sit and think more about what had just happened. This was definitely not something normal, even by this world's standards from what little he got from this place. Magic was a thing, yes, but that didn't mean that everyone could… loop? Was this something like returning to a previous checkpoint in a videogame and… did others remember that 'first' timeline? Has this happened before? What about that girl, did she remember him?

So many questions, and even as he sat down by one of the free benches in the main square, the young Japanese NEET couldn't get any straight answers out of it. Quickest way to determine if he could truly 'rewind' back to a specific moment in time would be to… well, die again. But the mere concept felt stupidly wrong. What if it had been a one-time thing? What if he died for real this time around? It all felt incredibly stressing and as the bags he had sat down rustled due to the passing gust, the young man barely noticed a familiar face approaching him.

"I-Is this seat free?"

The half-elf, Emilia. She looked shy, her smile exuding an abysmal degree of confidence within it and her mind… but she also looked so clueless on who he was. He spared her a brief look, hopeful she would greet him by calling him by his name but… no. She didn't. And that actually felt unpleasant. Instead of ogling her too much, he decided to go for a curt response.

"Y-Yeah."

The smile widened a small fraction, with the girl sitting down and sighing as she looked around with an apprehensive look on her face. It was like she was waiting for someone, or trying to find someone which was… odd. In the previous 'timeline', she wasn't exactly looking for someone, rather exploring around. Did something change from the previous loop? It didn't feel so but… that still intrigued Subaru. And yet he didn't press on it. He was a stranger to her, and it would have felt rude to force that kind of conversation like that. He didn't feel that confident to do that. Not at the moment. Not when there was a chance he could die again because of what happened at the city's outskirts.

Still, was that avoidable? Easiest solution but also the scummiest in his mind would be to not engage any interaction with the girl. To walk away, leave the place and try to find a place he could feel truly safe in. A place where to set down all the questions he got about his current predicament and slowly search the answers for them all. But… that would mean leaving Emilia to face death against their murderer on her own.

"T-Thank you... for caring."

The words burned unpleasantly, yanking him off from the notion of bailing from that kind of duty. It was principle that led him back into the very instance he had to deal with, the necessity to preserve the life of someone that had become a friend of his. In fact, he felt ashamed to have even considered bailing on someone like her. Emilia didn't deserve that kind of treatment, not with how kind she had been the previous time and-

"A-Are you lost?"

Subaru's thoughts came to an abrupt halt at that question. Violet eyes nervously poked at his unease, almost picking it up and matching with the one their owner had within herself. Emilia looked incredibly flustered for having asked, and the young man offered a shaky smile.

"I'm so-"

"Sorta."

His throat burned a bit. He had been holding a groan at the mere idea that this was going to be a very troublesome circumstance. The girl's eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and sheepishness. Emilia clearly hadn't expected an answer, and this was possibly tied to how distrusting she had been around him the first time around. In this case, she was just surprised by that base interaction. Which was telling that her level of caution was generally that high with those she didn't know about.

"Oh? I'm… sorry to hear that," She muttered weakly, looking at her knees and… humming. "I'm lost too..."

That last bit came out in a whisper, almost childishly as she definitely didn't want him to hear that bit but still say it. Sadly for her, Subaru heard and… decided to speak about that.

"Can't you… you know, ask someone around for directions? Or maybe a… guard?"

That's where something in Subaru's brain started to unfold. He had forgotten that this place was the capital of a feudal kingdom… so, technically-speaking, there has to be some super-strong guard or knight that would be more than happy to help them. The only problem was that… Subaru didn't have a good reason to ask for their help. He played the scene in his mind and it looked far from pleasant.

"Hello, I am someone that can loop back in time and know when I will get attacked. This one is a nasty one that is planning to get this lovely girl's insignia and it is something really important to her."

He almost flinched once he was done with that recreation, but his mind stopped to a very awkward discovery. Would it be convenient for him to bring up the looping ability? Or would it be really bad for him? After all, what were the chances of someone bad, like the big bad villain, could come for him and use him for nefarious purposes. Despite Subaru's lacking worth compared to what people in this world could do, he knew that wasn't something he was willing to let happen just for the sake of some recognition. He was better than that.

Back to Emilia, the girl had a surprised look on her face as she heard that idea. It was a good one, but it was clear she had already viewed it before and pushed it to the side. Her gaze moved up to him once more and she had that kind of expression one would have when their conversation buddy had grown a second head or a new limb out of nowhere.

But why? Why is she horrified at the concept of decency? Wasn't it just proper to be kind to others? Or perhaps this world was just… crueler?

"I don't think they would help," Emilia answered quietly, "I am not… well-liked by others."

"Why wouldn't they help?" Subaru pressed back. "Sure, they could not like you… for whatever reason you think of, but it's their job. It's not like they can desert a duty just because they don't want to."

The girl frowned. "You… Do you think so?"

The NEET nodded, but before he could add more to it, another voice piped in.

"That's a fair point," A familiar purr came from Emilia's shoulder.

Puck had been missing for a while, but it was possible he had sought solace within the green crystal the half-elf held as a necklace. The gray-furred small familiar offered a calm smile, but also a supportive nod at the young man.

"But what if-"

"Well, they are paid to do their job. It's not like they can just tell us no since that insignia is really important."

"Obviously," Subaru agreed cluelessly on that point, ignoring the full importance of that trinket but picking up it had to be really important if the familiar thought so, and the girl looked less hesitant to pursue that kind of action. So, now that a guard would be assigned to this, they had a chance to stop the murderer from… well, killing them.

They both stood up and… Emilia tensed up. "O-Oh right. I forgot to introduce myself."

He huffed, almost instinctively as he felt compelled to do that.

"None of that, I should have introduced myself too..." He offered a smile. "Subaru, Natsuki Subaru."

She offered a pretty smile- one that held something in it betrayed a small hint of dishonesty.

"Satella."

...What?

Emilia made a friend.

Or that's how she wanted to view him.

An acquaintance maybe? That sounded fitting considering the half-elf knew little about the man that was 'Natsuki Subaru'. It felt odd how there were traditions that allowed last names to come before first names, but she didn't mind- odd, but not ground to push away that friend- acquaintance of hers. The mere thought of struggling at this simple way of addressing the kind young man just left her miffed at herself. First she lost sight of Ram, then a thief stole the insignia and now she was dealing with this issue. Here she was, having trouble talking with a single individual. A 'nobody' in a way, a stranger that she should know how to dialogue with- and yet Subaru was nice. Nicer than other strangers.

It felt so wrong to call him a 'stranger' now. After all, she knew his name. And he was helping her with her current problem. Plus, she was meant to become a King, and that meant being able to speak with people, known and unknown to her. But while it felt difficult to bring up a conversation with Subaru, she couldn't help but feel like he could do it with her way easier than it appeared. He was more cautious with his words, just like he was, but he was never shy to push his thoughts into conversation. Such as the surprisingly silly and yet apt thought he had about her introduction.

"You don't have the face of a 'Satella'."

...What?

That didn't make any sense. Many have told her that she looked similar to the Witch of Envy, Satella herself. Not only was she white-haired and an elf, but she also had the same violet eyes and her frame was akin to how she was always depicted by the tales of old. A stigma that had continuously endangered her capacity to befriend people, to the point that respectful comments or questions were rebuffed as 'efforts to corrupt others'. She was no witch, but the burden of that reputation lingered over her shoulders as a massive boulder she couldn't just shrug off. And Subaru didn't see her as 'a Satella'? That felt preposterous with how many times she was told the opposite.

"W-What do you mean?"

"Well, it just doesn't feel right," He argued with a silly look on his face. It felt like he was being pensive, but also poking fun at her. But not in a bad way, it felt less malicious than that.

"You think so?" Puck inquired with a fascinated tone. "And what name would you give her then?"

What are they doing?

For some reason, Emilia couldn't help but feel like they were playing with her a trick but… it didn't feel bad? It didn't feel like something she should really feel offended about and… then Subaru spoke.

"I'm really not good with name-giving," The young man argued while shrugging. "But I think your name would start with an E… like Elf."

"Y-Yeah?"

How did he do that?

Emilia was just stunned by this. It was shocking, but all in all still with a fair reason. A silly reason, but one that actually worked in this kind of case. His smile brightened at having guessed right, and the girl felt something warm spreading in her chest. As if she was slowly releasing a knot she had been feeling deep within for a long time but had ignored it into forgetting it… until that moment.

"And are you going to tell me which one it is?"

Should she? After all, he was a good guesser, so where was the trouble in getting the rest out if he was that good.

"Nope," The girl replied mirthfully, a happy smile gracing her face and one that remained just as she saw the young man grumble.

"That's not much fair," Subaru whined, while Puck snickered.

"That I can't help you about, Subaru."

Another groan, but it wasn't the kind of sadness she pitied. Not when it was clearly an exaggeration of a response. But while Emilia wanted this curiously-fun interaction to stretch some more, her hopes were dashed away as they concluded their current goal. Eventually their trip culminated with them finding a guard patrolling around. But not just a simple guard. No, this one was quite particular.

Standing a few inches taller than Subaru, Reinhard van Astrea was quite towering for many people. The young man, a charming knight that had a renowned set of principles and values that were never put into question due to his chivalrous nature, had short red hair, limpid sea-blue eyes and a smile that showed genuine humility as the trio stopped him to bring up the whole matter. He was wearing the standard Royal Guard uniform which consisted of a double-breasted white long coat with a cutaway front, rolled cuffs, lapels, and lilac lining, a well-made black shirt under it, and white trousers with lilac cuffs, black shoes, black gloves. On the upper section of his left sleeve the crest of the House Astrea. The one thing that really gave a hint of his prestige was the Dragon Sword itself, Reid, the legendary blade that was used by his ancestor when they fought against Satella.

The young man had just finished escorting a little girl that had lost herself in the crowd within one of the many market squares in the city back to her parents when he was approached by the three. And the explanation that came out about this approach left him particularly surprised and mildly concerned.

"Lady Emilia, you could have told me or any of my companions about this just as this had happened. We would have helped you as it is our duty."

Emilia held back a pout, both because she knew Puck and Subaru were right about what they told her and… because Subaru's smug look just reminded her that the knight had revealed her name.

"I just didn't see a reason to… concern a Kingdom's royal guard with this affair-"

"None of it, Lady Emilia," The redhead argued politely as his smile held strong, stopping her worried response. "It's within your right to request a Knight of the kingdom to take care of this business since this is a national matter. We can't just allow anyone to steal any insignia."

A nod, and the group started to move to track down where the trinket could have gone to, the knight couldn't help himself but inquire about Subaru.

"Natsuki Subaru… that's quite the unusual name."

"O-Ohi! What's that supposed to mean, Sir Reinhard?"

"Only that, within this kingdom's customs, it's quite unusual. Apologies if that might have offended you," Reinhard remarked sheepishly. "And I suppose you are Lady Emilia's-"

"Friend," Emilia blurted out, and her cheeks burned a faint red after having replied just like that.

Despite that awkward outburst, which left the rest of the group amused, no one pressed on it, rather rolling with what she had said. It felt odd to even think but… she would have preferred to have been called out rather than being agreed on this opinion. This was way more embarrassing than she expected it to be...

Well, I guess now there is only to pick up the insignia and be done with it.

If only she knew there was a bit more than just that simple step…

AN

Things are already changing… and things will change even more by the time they get to Roswaal's manor. It's going to be tremendously fun to write, mostly the Emilia POVs.

REVIEW Q&A

Apolon: I would say Barusu is still Barusu, but more thoughtful on matters rather than going for 'the headbutt approach until I find a way out of this situation' method. He still has his core quirks, his flaws, his fears and his own moments of 'madness' so to speak. And yeah, he has RbD.