An impact made Subaru’s breath catch. Before he realized it, he had been caught by his collar. When he turned his head to the side in surprise, the man’s ferocious glare was right beside him, close enough to share a breath—and his own feet were rising into the air.
“Oowaa—!!”
His view of the world was flipped upside down as he was hit by a powerful sense of floating, from which he understood that he had been hurled. Subaru proceeded to soar toward the dragon carriage in a powerful straight line. If he was to collide with it, he would suffer injury, be it light or heavy, but—
“You’re kidding—?!” “Da, huu—!”
The voice of utter shock was not that of Subaru, but that of Otto as he watched through the fingers of the hands with which he covered his own face.
With no way to stop it, Subaru thought he’d collide with the dragon carriage, breaking every bone in his body. But, by seemingly miraculous coincidence—no, it was an inevitable reaction that rescued him from peril—
“Patlash is simply too incredible!”
The pitch-black land dragon neighed proudly as Otto’s voice praised her exploits.
It was none other than Patlash’s benevolent decision that had saved Subaru from crashing into the dragon carriage. The land dragon had adeptly set the dragon carriage in motion on her own, thus ensuring that Subaru crashed into the door of the carriage proper. As a result, Subaru punched through the carriage door, sailing in only to have a seat bring him safely to a halt.
“Shit. That one was a little too… Hey, Patlash, wait!”
Tumbling out of the seat, Subaru looked out of the carriage to see the land dragon roaring and charging the man. With a twist of her body, Patlash had unhitched herself from the dragon carriage, seemingly consumed with rage toward the man who had injured Subaru, baring her fangs to bring them to his neck.
“Ha! That decision gave me chills. Yer a good land dragon…nah, a good woman.”
However, the land dragon’s biting attack missed its mark, and the left arm the man thrust out stopped her in her tracks. Even so, Patlash put strength into her jaw, moving her head as if to bite the man’s arm off.
But that head, and that jaw, stopped cold, her power inferior to the man’s simple brawn.
“I won’t hurt ya. Just put ya to sleep a bit.”
As the land dragon’s pupils contracted in fright, the man proudly made that statement. Then, with the land dragon still biting his arm, he tucked a hand under her broad head and hurled her huge body. With a softness that belied the heroic image, he tossed down her large frame, quietly rendering the land dragon powerless.
“He threw Patlash…?!”
“H-his skill is no joke… Eh?!”
Subaru and Otto doubted their own eyes as the man before the pair leaped very high, onto the driver’s seat of the dragon carriage. With the assailant so close, Otto adopted a combative pose in great haste.
“D-do not underestimate me! I may not look it, but I too am a merchant! I have ways to deal with midjourney violence! Fear the power of Suwen School violence repulsion ar—dahuu!”
“Shut up, amateur. Thanks to your land dragon, I’ll settle for half killin’ ya. Go to sleep.”
Otto was in a worked-up pose, but fainted in anguish as soon as the man flicked his forehead with a finger. It was less of a finger strike than a forehead poke, but its might was such that Otto went down in the blink of an eye without so much as a groan.
Now that he was past Patlash and now Otto, no obstacles remained between him and the dragon carriage.
“—Ugh!”
Biting his lip, Subaru looked back inside the dragon carriage. Where one section of seating had been removed in favor of the simplified bed used to carry Rem, right then a different girl—Emilia—slept upon it.
Otto must have laid her there after Subaru teleported. Even now, Emilia had yet to return to consciousness. Subaru had to protect her no matter what it took.
“Thank yer land dragon for fightin’ so hard. I’ll half kill ya and toss ya outside the forest. After I make ya swear that ya won’t tell anyone else about this place, ya hear me?!”
Just as Subaru hardened his resolve, the man bared his fangs and boarded the carriage. The sharp glint of his fangs at the tip of his upward swinging arm cleanly robbed his declaration about half-killing of all its persuasiveness.
Before the man’s wicked deeds, Subaru raised both arms wide to shield Emilia and shouted.
“Wait! You’re Frederica’s… You’re involved with Roswaal and his people, right?!”
“—! Huhhh?”
With a loud voice and a scowl on his face, the man stopped his blow right before it connected with the tip of Subaru’s nose. From there, the man gazed at Subaru for a while, surprise and anger residing in his eyes in equal measure.
“…What the hell is that name doin’ comin’ outta your mouth?”
“Hmm, I wonder why? Think about it nice and hard.”
“Already did. I dunno. I’ll think about it more after I smash your face in!”
“Cut it out with that nasty way of thinking!! We’re with Roswaal, geez!!”
When his opponent took a step toward him in earnest, Subaru hastily raised both hands high and pleaded his case. His words made the man’s sharp fangs audibly clench. After thinking it over for a while, he said:
“Aah? Wait, you’re sayin’ the one sleepin’ is that Lady Emilia chick?”
“You know…Emilia’s name?”
This time, it was Subaru’s turn to be surprised, because the man had referred to the sleeping Emilia as Lady. His reaction made the man cross his arms, nodding with a smug face as he answered.
“Oh yeah, heard all ’bout her. The silver-haired half-demon that bastard Roswaal’s taken in, right?”
“She’s a half-elf. Don’t call her that in front of her ever again.”
“Hah! Well lookie here, guess you can put some backbone into your voice.”
The man gave Subaru a sharp, scornful gaze before making a sound through his fangs and turning his back. Then, when he left the dragon carriage, Subaru suddenly rushed over, gripping the door and forcing it closed.
The man’s shoulders jumped at Subaru’s violent action. He shrugged, looking back.
“Relax already. I ain’t worked up no more. I don’t wanna have Ram yellin’ at me.”
“I really relate to how you feel about that, but…that doesn’t answer my first question, you know?”
“Ahh?”
Though the man spread both arms wide, asserting that he had no intention of fighting, Subaru did not lower his guard. Such behavior made the man sink into thought briefly, finally making an ahhh noise and nodding as if he finally understood before he spoke.
“—Me, I’m Garfiel. Haven’t you heard of me?”
“So you’re Garfiel…!”
Garfiel was the name of the individual he’d been told over and over again to be wary of back at the mansion. Subaru’s brow furled at the gobsmacking development of having encountered the man himself so soon.
His reaction made Garfiel click his tongue, then stare intently at Subaru.
“I’ve got somethin’ to ask you, then. How’d you know I’m related to Frederica?”
“…You’re…seriously asking me that?”
When Subaru batted the question back, Garfiel audibly bared his fangs in visible displeasure. Taking his silence as a yes, Subaru felt energy draining from him as he scratched his face and replied.
“Anyone could tell just by looking at your face, sheesh.”
The shape of his fang-filled face was undoubtable proof that he was related to Frederica by blood.
CHAPTER 3
A LONG-AWAITED REUNION
1
“I have been thoroughly molested. Where, exactly, should I direct my anger?!”
“Oh, shut up, coachman. It’s just a little bump, so whatever. I apologized, right?”
“When did you apologize? Surely, you cannot mean
your earlier statement of ‘Sorry for smackin’ ya, I got ahead o’ myself’? That was more abuse, not an apology. Am I wrong?”
With the dragon carriage resuming its trot, Otto stubbornly vented at Garfiel from the driver’s seat. Perhaps Otto’s change in demeanor after having undergone such a painful experience so recently revealed he was surprisingly tough.
Though Subaru was deeply impressed, Otto disregarded this as he gazed up at the heavens and lamented.
“There was a flash of light inside the dragon carriage, and Lady Emilia collapsed, with Mr. Natsuki nowhere to be found! Do you understand how terrible I felt when I was at the end of my wits?! And then to be captured by a man dressed like a brigand!”
“I’m really sorry about that. You were a huge help. Emilia’s safe thanks to you. I’m really thankful.”
“R-right… Ah, well, if you feel properly thankful, all is well, really…”
“Super easy to please, wow…”
With Otto telling his tale of woe from right after they were separated, Subaru spoke respect infused with pure thankfulness.
In point of fact, it wasn’t hard at all to imagine Otto’s panic at being attacked. That he had protected Emilia afterward, keeping her safe pending Subaru’s meeting up with them again, had earned Subaru’s thanks—and enormous gratitude.
“Waaait, what’s this brigand thing, you don’t mean me, do ya?”
“Whom else could I be referring to?! You forced the dragon carriage to a stop, bullied me with your claws, and forced us to proceed with you until we reached Mr. Natsuki…”
“Right, I was wondering about that. How the heck did you end up where I was?”
Considering how he had been teleported via the power of the crystal, Subaru had assumed it was difficult to discern where he was located. Subaru didn’t remember sending up any smoke signals, so how had they met up with him at the ruin?
Subaru’s question made Garfiel, riding in the dragon carriage with them, rub his own nose with a finger.
“Me, I just caught the scent of an outsider. Didn’t think you’d snuck in all the way to the tomb, though. I’m tellin’ ya, I was pretty nervous.”
“—My scent, you reached me following your nose? A special scent?”
Subaru lowered his voice a little, unable to let the remark slip by.
Subaru had a special scent wafting around him—the strange physical condition that had been pegged as the lingering scent of the Witch. Rem and the Witch Cultists had been able to sense it, so if Garfiel could sense it as well…
However, Subaru’s suspicions were belied by Garfiel’s shaking his head and the words that followed.
“It ain’t good or bad. The scent comin’ from ya is just plain normal. I found ya ’cause it ain’t a scent I’ve smelled before, that’s all. It’s like, ‘Sometimes, even Meimei is busy.’”
“…Sorry, I think there’s a bug in the translation between you and me from time to time.”
Subaru tilted his head as the enigmatic phrase flew right over it, his nose crinkling as he wondered just what Garfiel was saying. There’d always been words that didn’t mesh well from both sides, but he felt like he’d suddenly hit the limits of otherworldly translation.
Either way, Garfiel’s nose apparently had not caught what Subaru suspected. That being the case, his next question would have concerned either the ruin or the teleportation—but then something changed inside the carriage.
“—a, huu—”
With a faint exhalation, the girl sleeping on the simplified bed awoke.
“Ah…Emilia!”
Emilia sat up in bed, velvet eyes blinking. Subaru hastened to her side and took her hand, as if to check Emilia’s body temperature to make sure she was real.
“I’m glad you’re all right. Man, you really had me going for a while there…”
“Su…baru…? Er…”
Emilia looked up at the relieved Subaru, looking like she had no idea what had happened. But when she looked around the interior of the dragon carriage, she noticed the presence of an unfamiliar man and leaped to her feet.
Then she stood opposite Garfiel, shielding Subaru behind her.
“—Who?! I’ll say this once, you won’t lay a single finger on Subaru!”
“Wait, wait, Emilia-tan! I’m happy, but it’s really complicated, everything’s all right, so just…!”
“Hah, quite some lip for someone who was sleepin’ all this time. Interestin’…!”
“Hey, don’t you get all worked up, too! Calm down! Let’s talk this through!”
Emilia, taking an unusually aggressive, worked-up stance, triggered Garfiel’s combative spirit in turn. Subaru wedged himself between them, grasping Emilia’s shoulders.
“Please, Emilia-tan, just relax. Some stuff happened while you were asleep, but it’s been worked out already. He’s Garfiel. You get it now, right?”
“Garfiel… Wait, you mean the one Frederica talked about?”
Blinking several times over at the name, Emilia looked at Garfiel. When she did so, he puffed out his chest and answered.
“Yeah, that’s me—Garfiel. The world’s strongest man.”
“Right, right, the world’s strongest… Huh? What did you say just now? You said world’s strongest? With a straight face?”
“I said it, yeah. What’s so strange about that…?”
He meant it as an explanation to Emilia, but the unexpectedly grandiose statement surprised even Subaru. Garfiel crinkled his nose, seemingly offended by their reactions.
“You’ve heard my name, so you heard about all that from Roswaal, right…?”
“I heard your name with the nuance that you were a powerful person, but…that didn’t mean physical power, did it…?”
If it meant martial might, the term powerful was being used in an unusual way. But, given the present circumstances, the chances of that seemed rather high, and they still had no certain proof he was an ally.
Subaru had never thought Frederica’s telling them to be wary of him would come to fruition like that.
“I’ll ask this again, but you’re Garfiel who lives in the Sanctuary. You’ve got a relationship to Roswaal, and right now Ram and the people from Earlham Village are here, too. We can believe you on that?”
“You’re free to doubt me, but either way, you’ve crossed the barrier. It’s not like you can turn back now, right?”
“Eh? We crossed the barrier? Since when?”
Emilia’s eyes widened in shock at the surreal fact. Incidentally, Subaru was just as surprised as she was. “Hey, hey,” said Garfiel toward them, and continued his words:
“Gimme a break. In the first place, didn’t you fall asleep when you got close to the barrier?”
“I slept because of the barrier…? Now that you mention it, the crystal got bright then, too…”
“The timing was the same. Meaning they were both reactions to the barrier!”
Subaru snapped his fingers. The crystal’s radiating light inside the dragon carriage matched up with the facts. Subaru got the crystal out of his pocket and rolled it on his palm; Emilia nodded deeply as well. Then—
“—? What is it, Garfiel?”
Hearing Emilia pose the question all of a sudden, Subaru followed suit, lifting his face. When he did, he followed her gaze to find Garfiel staring at the crystal with a conflicted look on his face.
He looked like the blue glow made him recall some kind of painful memory.
“Something about this? You probably went through some scary stuff on account of this rock. Besides, I’m kinda wondering why the barrier that made Emilia-tan collapse didn’t do anything to Otto or me.”
“The rock’s nothin’ to me. And of course the barrier reacted to Lady Emilia. The barrier’s a test that reacts to dirty blood.”
“—!”
“Hey, Garfiel. What’s this business about dirty blood?”
Garfiel’s statement sent pain running across Emilia’s cheeks. Angry at that fact, Subaru pr
obed to determine the true meaning behind Garfiel’s words.
“Don’t make me repeat myself. She’s a half-elf. Get it into your…”
“Hah, don’t get bent out of shape about it. I’m not tryin’ to single out Lady Emilia by sayin’ it. Dirty blood don’t mean just half-elves. It applies to me, the others… She ain’t no exception… She’s mixed, just like we are.”
“Mixed…mixed blood, you mean?”
Without a word, Garfiel indicated yes to Emilia’s question. Receiving his answer, Subaru realized just why he’d heard the Sanctuary was special beforehand—and what was meant by “particular” demi-humans.
“In other words, the Sanctuary is where demi-human people with mixed blood live…”
“Correct… Gotta say, though, you came to the Sanctuary without Frederica even tellin’ you that much…?”
“She kept saying she couldn’t tell us the details. Within what she could say, she kept saying to watch out, but…because of some vow, she couldn’t say much more than your name.”
“Vow this, vow that… Huh? Ha, excuses from head to toe. Just like her master, huh?”
Clicking his tongue, Garfiel gave an answer that was closer to a cursing than an expression of malice.
There was no doubting he was related by blood to Frederica, but it was no atmosphere for asking anything him about it. Maybe Frederica refused to speak of him because—
“You don’t really get along well with Frederica?”
“Emilia-tan?!”
“If you’re gonna ask if we get along well or not, we don’t. Besides, everythin’ from here on don’t concern her. Everythin’ from here is about us, and you people who came through the barrier, nothin’ else.”
Emilia’s straight-to-the-point question took Subaru by surprise, but Garfiel replied in a surprisingly calm fashion, sinking his hips deeper into his seat as he indicated the outside of the dragon carriage with his chin.
Subaru understood what his gesture meant: They would soon arrive at their destination, the Sanctuary.
“We welcome you, Lady Emilia and her two servants.”
The words of welcome had a title of respect attached, but there was not a shred of respect or warmth in them. Having spoken them, Garfiel replied to Subaru’s and Emilia’s suspicious gazes with an audible clenching of his fangs.
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Vol. 10 Page 11