I do not own Re:Zero or any of the characters.
Reset
Ian remained silent as he leaned against the wall.
"How has Subaru been since he started working?" Roswaal asked. "Five days have passed since his arrival. Shouldn't we be seeing something by now?"
"Cooking, laundry, cleaning, he's useless at all of them," Ram said.
"How very harsh of you," Roswaal said. "And? What are the chances he's a spy?"
"I can't deny that such potential exists, but I think the possibility is slim at best," Ram said. "For better or for worse, for worse in this case in particular, he's too conspicuous."
"And if he's too conspicuous, then..." Roswaal trailed off. "Well, despite the odds of that possibility, he certainly is carefree, isn't he? Personally, as I see it, it would be wise to interfere with things."
"They're both only children," Ram said. "Even if we let them be, nothing will happen."
"That may be true, but it's better to be safe than sorry," Roswaal said. "And what of Ian?"
"I believe the possibility is very slim that he is a spy," Ram said. "Despite his strange abilities, assuming he's being truthful about them, and the fact that he seems useless at fighting sometimes, and yet can challenge even powerful foes at others, I do not believe he could be a spy. He is too...genuine about things. His feelings for my sister, for one thing."
How is he doing on that?" Roswaal asked.
"I won't let him have her," Ram said firmly. "I may not believe he is a spy, but I do not trust that his intentions for Rem are pure. I will not allow him to have her unless he can prove that he doesn't plan to force her into anything indecent."
"I see you're protective as always," Roswaal said. "And what of you?"
"My body belongs to you," Ram said. "It always has and always will. I'm yours to use as you desire."
"Someday, my dear Ram," Roswaal said. "If your devotion to me does not change, you will have what you desire someday. For now, however, I should tend to your other needs for tonight."
"Thank you, Lord Roswaal," Ram said.
Ian sensed Roswaal's magic and pushed off the wall, walking away from the door in silence. He walked to his room and opened the door, finding Rem sitting on the bed, staring at a picture of Ian and his sister, one he'd had with him when he was summoned, and the only picture he had of his family, one he hadn't seen in a very, very long time, and wasn't expecting to ever see again.
"Do you miss her?" Rem asked.
"Every day," Ian nodded.
"If you could go back and be with your family, would you?" Rem asked.
Ian sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her. "Only if you could come with me. I've told you, I'm not leaving you until you tell me to."
Rem smiled up at him, eyes flicking downward for a moment before she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm trying to convince her."
"You can't," Ian said. "I was doing that thing I don't do. I finally understand why she refuses."
"Why?" Rem asked.
"She isn't sure that I don't have indecent intentions," Ian said. "She isn't certain that I'm actually in love with you. She won't give us her blessing until I prove it."
"How will you do that?" Rem asked.
Ian shook his head. "I'll think of something. But I can't promise I don't have indecent thoughts. As a male, that's part of being in love."
Rem smiled slightly. "It's not only men."
Ian smiled, giving her a light squeeze. "Thank you for never telling them I eavesdrop."
"You're welcome," Rem said. "Although, you know it's really suspicious."
Ian smiled. "I know. But I give you my word that my reasoning isn't insidious."
"I know," Rem said.
They remained silent for a few more minutes before Rem stood.
"I should go," Rem said.
Ian nodded and gently cupped her face, pulling her down and kissing her forehead over where her horn grew from. She smiled, closing her eyes. When he'd first learned what she and her sisters were, Rem had been afraid that she had scared him enough to make him hate them. Kissing her forehead was how he reassured her that he didn't mind that she was a demon.
"Good night, Rem," Ian said.
"Good night, Ian," Rem smiled.
Once she'd left, Ian sighed, closing his eyes. He wished he knew what Ram wanted. He wished he could prove that he was trustworthy. He sighed. He wished for a lot of things. He sighed, focusing, sensing his curse's energy. It was as dark an powerful as ever. He sighed, shaking his head. He wanted to be rid of it, and yet, he didn't. It was useful. If he was rid of it, he wouldn't be able to fight. He wouldn't be able to defend Rem. He wouldn't be able to defend Ram, or Emilia, or Subaru, or Beatrice. He'd be weak. Useless. He sighed, opening his eyes, only to stumble, eyes flying wide open before squinting as light flooded into them. His back bumped into the wall before Rem caught him.
"Are you alright?" Ram asked.
Rem sniffed and grimaced, brow furrowing. "Were you using it?"
"Not intentionally," Ian said, looking around. "When...are we?"
Rem frowned for a moment before nodding. "You all just recently returned. We've been waiting for our guest to wake up again. He woke up once and found Beatrice and she drained his mana to knock him out. He's been sleeping since."
"That familiar ceiling again," Subaru said softly suddenly, Ian's eyes snapping to him.
"Sister, sister, it would appear that our guest is still half asleep," Rem said.
"Rem, Rem, for one who's so young in age, it's quite sad how out of it he is," Ram said.
Subaru sat up, opening his mouth, only to wince, his face contorting in pain. Both girls ran over to check on him.
"No, I'm fine," Subaru said. "Just a little sore. Nothing to worry about."
"Rem, Ram, step out for a moment," Ian said. "I need to talk to him."
Ram frowned, looking over at Ian, but Rem nodded, taking her sister's hand.
"It's alright, Sister," Rem said. "It's probably about that. He can't talk about it around us."
Ram nodded. "We will inform Miss Emilia that he has awakened."
Ian nodded and they left. "Did you just respawn?"
Subaru nodded. "What's the last thing you remember?"
"The last thing I remember is it being the fifth night of what I thought was your first time staying here," Ian said.
Subaru nodded. "This will be my third. The first time, I died in my sleep that first night. After that, I asked to be a permanent guest in order to try and figure out how, but I couldn't. I thought maybe someone killed me in my sleep. But then the fifth night I stayed awake so no one could kill me in my sleep, but then Rem died in her sleep instead. The next morning, you and Ram both assumed it was me who did it, and I couldn't explain in front of everyone, so I ran. But you two caught me and nearly killed me. I managed to escape, then jumped off a cliff to reset things and try to save everyone, with your help."
Ian nodded. "Tell me about how she died. What did they say?"
"They said it was like she just fell asleep and didn't wake up," Subaru said.
"What did you do the fifth day?" Ian asked. "Tell me everything."
"The first time, I spent most of the morning helping with the chores," Subaru said. "Cleaning, gardening, cooking. Then we had to go into town to buy more supplies, so I went with Rem while you helped Ram clean. Then I died that night. The second-"
"What did you do in the village?" Ian asked. "Specifics. Did you talk to anyone? Did you touch anything weird? Did you eat or drink anything?"
Subaru frowned, thinking. "I played with a bunch of kids, who kept hitting me, grabbing me, pulling my hair, and wiping their noses on me. Oh, and a dog bit me."
Ian nodded. "And the second time around?"
"I spent the time trying to figure out who hated me, and realized that everyone except Mili and Puck didn't trust me because I wanted to be a permanent guest. Then Roswaal asked Ram to teach me to read and write in their language. Rem went to town for supplies alone...Wait, it was something in the village!"
Ian nodded. "Get dressed and follow me."
Subaru nodded and dressed himself quickly before stepping out of the room.
Ian closed the door behind Subaru, then sighed. "Beatrice, sorry to call on you, but there's something we need to discuss. Urgently."
He opened the door again and walked into her library, Subaru following.
"You want to talk about me draining his mana, I suppose," Beatrice said.
"No," Ian said. "How many curses do you know of that could kill someone while making it seem like they just went to sleep?"
Beatrice frowned. "Quite a few."
"Can you detect them?" Ian asked.
"Only after they're placed, and then again only before they're activated," Beatrice said. "They can be broken prior to being activated, but once it's active, there's no way to stop it, I suppose."
Ian nodded.
"Why do you ask?" Beatrice asked.
"Subaru's going to contract a curse soon," Ian said. "We'll need you to break it."
Beatrice raised an eyebrow before shrugging. "I would recommend that you just don't get cursed, I suppose. But if you do, I'll break it for you."
"Will you be able to tell who placed it?" Subaru asked.
"It will be anchored wherever the shaman touched you, I suppose," Beatrice said.
"Shaman?" Subaru asked.
"Magic user from up north," Ian said. "Thank you, Beatrice."
Beatrice nodded and the two of them left, finding Emilia and the twins searching for them.
"There you are!" Emilia said, the three of them rushing over. "Where were you?"
"We needed to ask Beatrice something," Ian said. "Sorry to worry you all."
"It's alright," Emilia said. "How are you feeling, Subaru?"
"I'm alright," Subaru said.
"Rem and Ram said you were a little sore?" Emilia asked.
"Oh, that's nothing," Subaru smiled. "I'm just not a morning person is all. Takes me a little while to wake up."
"Well, okay," Emilia said, looking doubtful. "As long as you're sure."
"I'm fine, really," Subaru smiled.
Emilia nodded, and she and the twins began to lead them, mostly Subaru, to the dining hall for breakfast. As they walked, Ian dropped back a little with Subaru.
"You need to earn their trust," Ian whispered. "Play through breakfast like you did the first time, then do you absolute best working. When you go to the village, try to make contact with only the people you did before, and then come straight back to Beatrice. Take Rem to be inspected, too, as a precaution."
Subaru nodded and they caught back up to the others.
Leave a review.