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 19: From Fiasco to Success

Natsuki Subaru was not a detective, but he didn't need to be one now that he knew the truth behind what happened to the killings in the village.

The only gripes he could lament about in his inner grimace was how his 'checkpoint' power didn't get him back to before the first deaths unfolded. He still managed to prevent a second assassination by forcing Roswaal to restrain people from going out for any frivolous activities beyond the village. The end result of that move prevented the death of the couple that orphaned a child, but did little to prevent another potential victim to bite the dust.

This time around, the one that got attacked was an old veteran of the Demi-Human Rebellion and a tough one since he managed to get back to the village from his shift at the fields despite the numerous cuts he suffered from. This time around, Elsa had changed pattern to a more suitable approach that felt fitting with this occasion, but in picking this new method she had ultimately failed to kill this one.

No poison was coated on those blades, and the man managed to get to the clinic fast enough for him to not die of bloodloss. He was comatose by the time Subaru reached the clinic as there was so much a man could handle with so many stab wounds. Yet, before falling unconscious, he muttered a single word that allowed him to go through with his 'theory'.

"W-Woman-" The elder croaked before collapsing.

Roswaal was not entirely confident of Subaru's reasoning, but agreed on the chances that Elsa would have taken a chance to free Meili since these two were connected on a personal level. And the fact these cases were caused by a professional assassin which was trying to target random civilians... well, it wasn't difficult for him to take the leap of faith as a feasible possibility. Thus, a small plan was concocted to counter Elsa's overall chances of success.

And it all revolved around a lengthy deception with multiple steps to follow. First, Roswaal went on with the same speech he used on the previous loop, yet held back from actually setting Rem to patrol around the castle by Subaru's suggestion. It wouldn't have been necessary, that's how the young man justified it. The reason why he felt confident of that came through a few discussions with Beatrice and Emilia, coming up with a silly plot to trick Elsa into a bad spot.

First thing first, Meili had to be relocated. The girl was told that she would just be given a better room because she had behaved nicely, yet wear special shackles that prevented her any means to use magic. Ram would keep an eye on her while Petra would help in creating an 'illusion' of goodness of heart by being sent to have a sleepover with Meili.

From the first few comments from Ram during the relocation, Meili didn't seem to suspect much about her 'big sister' being around, only that her 'big brother' was being nice and 'silly', the last bit being muttered under her breath and being captured by the pinkette's sharp ears. Next up came the main trap, the one that was meant to beat Elsa for good and cease this mess altogether without risking anyone or anything at the castle.

Creating a doll with Meili's appearance was easy for Roswaal to do, with the puppet placed within her cell in a manner that she may look unconscious by the deepest corner of that cell. That was the bait, with the trap itself being a special seal that Beatrice helped Emilia set down. The point of such engraving on the ground was simple. Ice would coat any intruder up up to their head, thus sealing their fate for potential capture. Subaru had been debating if killing Elsa would have been the best option.

Instictively, yes- yes it was. But as he thought about it, there were a few details that didn't still make sense to him. Like, how Roswaal had pointed out how Elsa would have never been sent by the organization to get Meili and that this mission was a risk to her by her boss' eyes. So, why take the risk as a professional killer to rescue a child you were partnered with... if you were known to kill kids on your free time? It didn't make sense to Subaru for such an insane woman to just accept this sort of exception. Why? And how? How that applied to her mindset at all?

In the end, he chose to capture her to know the truth and more. Maybe they could get more insight on who recruited Elsa to steal Emilia's insignia, or even know more about the witch cult since there were rumors those relied heavily on this Gusteko-based organization of killers. In the end, Subaru had just to wait patiently and hoped things went as expected.

Emilia had left a small mirror spell which would give them insight of what happened in that cell as they expected for the intruder to come in and... there she was. Elsa looked around, muttering something and then calling out louder for Meili before she stepped into the glyph. She tensed up as the ground beneath her feet glowed up, but she didn't get the chance to jump away as ice encased most of her body in a solid block. Rem went to secure their newest prisoner, making sure that her stay at the manor was a long if not permanent one.

What ensued was... celebration. Emilia was hugging the soul out of him, Roswaal praised him, Rem and Ram looked pleased that this troublesome mess was dealt with and... Subaru wasn't happy. Not to the point of being at ease during the celebration. There was a special time at dinner where everyone was able to enjoy delicious meals worthy of such a 'grandiose day' as Roswaal addressed it. The news would be given to the village the next day, but a certain young man couldn't hold his own doubts for that long.

Roswaal had already given him permission to interrogate Elsa, telling him to wait at least a day before going to check her, but Subaru couldn't do it. He had to get this burden out of his chest and understand what kind of entity he was dealing with. A true monster, a misunderstood broken woman? What was Elsa? What could she do if left within a single space for too long? Was she going to free herself? Was she going to be trouble? Or would she take the defeat with grace and submit?

The latter perspective felt unreasonably stupid, yet it was an option. And the truth rested within that first proper interaction with the assassin.

"Elsa Granhiert," Subaru muttered, staring straight into the eyes of the one that had already killed him twice now.

"You got me~." The ghost of the previous timeline rebuked happily and loudly, almost shaking him from his stern gazing.

The real Elsa smiled at him, quite amused by the hints of unease the young man held within his gaze. A playful sigh, and then... she relaxed.

"I suppose you are the one that thought of this... trap. I am surprised, really. You tricked me once back in that tavern by employing Reinhard against me and now this," The assassin pondered, humming with unnerving calm and quiet despite the growing awe in her words. "Yet, I wonder... how did you know I would hit now?"

"The speech from Roswaal," Subaru replied flatly, her eyes slowly widened at that. "It gave you a chance to expect the castle to be defenseless for infiltration-"

"And I jumped into this simple lie without even thinking of its true nature... Have I truly lost my touch?"

...

"No. You took the risk because you wanted her."

Something unusual stirred in her eyes. "Be careful, little man. Calling me a liar-"

"I didn't. In fact, that doesn't mean you still didn't lose your touch because of it," Subaru interjected. "You allowed yourself to be put in a risky situation because you wanted Meili brought out of a potential bad spot. Even now, you are more worried more about her wellbeing than yours."

"...And I guess this is also something you gained by a glance alone?" Elsa shot back with a hint of sarcasm and quite a lot of irritation.

"I spoke with Meili. She is quite proud of you as her big sister," Barusu argued calmly. "Even now, she is waiting for you to come and pick her up."

"As I would have expected from her," Elsa confirmed mirthfully, yet her amusement died out with the next question. "Where is she?"

"Not in a cell and not in danger," He answered curtly, knowing that extensive information like that was a dangerous thing to provide.

"And the one in the cell was... fake?"

"Yes."

...

The Bowel Hunter chuckled. "Truly a masterpiece of a trap. I have to say that if I had known of your curious mind, I would have placed you above your lady in terms of potential threat to me. This... this could have ended up in my death. You could have orchestrated it now that I think about it and yet, here you are, asking me questions. Why?"

"I want answers and dead people don't tell those."

"Fair point. But what sort of questions?"

Subaru sighed, cutting the chase and getting to the point. "Why do you care for Meili to the point of risking your life and career?"

There was silence at first, but then Elsa... spoke. And she was speaking a lot. There was a lot to say after all, and Subaru was not prepared for this story. She didn't explain much of her own background, only that she was bound to 'Mama' and that she was once sent to deal with a disturbance, Meili. A child grown in the wild, away from fellow humans and being taken care by Mabeasts.

The child was one of them at first, it looked as much, but the orders were clear: capture Meili and 'recruit' her in the organization. Her power was interesting, her potential even more. Elsa didn't face much of a struggle in putting down Meili's original 'pack', but there was something that made her hesitate from actually maiming the girl in her bloodlust.

That vicious stare only an animal could show, the way she growled and refused to back down from her vicious butchering and... a curiosity from within Elsa's own mind which eventually set the grounds for Meili to become part of her life. It would be wrong to say she really saw her as a little sister, but Elsa was nonetheless fond of her. A 'mascot', that's how she defined Meili. Yet there was a sense of lying within that confession which Subaru noticed, but decided against pressing for more of the truth.

Eventually, the tale was over and the young man stood there, pondering as his tired mind tried to understand what to do with this much information. Should he now kill her? He felt unable to. Not because the story weakened his resolve in that regard, but because he knew now that Meili's mentality would never accept Elsa's passing. The way Elsa put it as made it apparent how these two were close. The woman may have been restrained about this, yet it was clear she harbored quite the familial affection for the young girl.

And Subaru was unable to come up with a proper response to this. Not like this. He may have accepted that life here was grittier than back home, but he could feel his mother's compelling voice telling him how going for the extreme would backfire on him. No, he couldn't go through this. Not with that sort of mindset. He needed a solution-

"So?"

And he needed it now.

"What would happen if you were set free with Meili? No weapons, and with some mana-nullifiers on Meili?"

Elsa blinked at that last question. "I doubt it would be difficult for you to imagine. No weapons means a tough few weeks. The nullifiers would take money to deal with but that's not the real problem that troubles you."

What would 'Mama' think of their failure?

"Our organization would brand us as failures and needed to be rid off to make an example of traitors like us."

...

"What if you were hired by a royal candidate? On the notion that you two have to pay back for your heinous crimes, you would be allowed to work under us without receiving a pay but still being allowed food, water and shelter."

Something flickered and glowed through Elsa's eyes. "You mean you would want to hire a murderer like me for your lady?"

"..."

"I have a feeling you are coaxed into this by morality. Oh, what a moral person, trying to be condescending by actions alone-"

"I am not condescending, I just-

"It's still an interesting offer, yet I have to say that there is one thing you should really tell your lord to be wary about when it comes to people like me, something that I know he should have known before allowing you here to stand in front of me," The woman hummed, and then... the chains snapped. "With old chains holding me back."

He was soon on the ground, struggling against her weight but... she didn't strike him. It felt like how he died last time, but not. He was the only one with a blade, still in his pocket, but the woman was defenseless. Harmless even. And yet not. Not when her lips slammed onto his, with her teeth nibbling hard onto his lower lip and cutting it. A light moan, Elsa suckled from the wound and then pulled away so that her lips were now close by his chin. Cheeky, yet twisted- her smile was hot and yet horrifying while her finger tapped at his injury.

"Ah, this blood is so tender. As naive as you are even," She hummed, and then sighed in relief. "But sure, I suppose Meili and I can accept submitting to... you~."

He knew it from the moment that last word dropped on him. That mirthful glancing, that amused remark- Elsa wasn't bowing her head to Emilia.

He was bowing her head to him.

Hopefully Emilia is not going to yell at me too loudly...

AN

Elsa is playing a game. If this is a good game or a bad one for Barusu is up to facts to prove. Still, this new situation will create a bit of a rift with Emilia. I don't need to explain why since... well, Elsa is a teaser. And a killer. Both traits will irk the half-elf to no end. Luckily, things will just fix up. Or not. Meili is around after all. And she is a naughty child with a need to prank the world for pissing her off.

P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c