“—I hate nobles.”
She kept that smile on her face as she pointed at the Knights of the Royal Guard with her other hand.
“—I hate knights.”
Then, with both arms still spread wide, she said, with a spectacular smile and maximum venom…
“—I hate this kingdom!”
She continued.
“—I hate all of you in this room, I hate the structure you built, I hate every little thing here. That’s why I think I’ll break it all. How ’bout it?”
Felt inclined her head. For a single moment, her behavior brought time itself to a halt. Then, the chamber exploded.
“Wh-what is she saying?!”
“This is where the king is selected, and she says she’ll destroy the nation?!”
“What have we spent all this time for!!”
Felt blew off the vociferous, angry shouts of the onlookers all at once.
“Ohh, where’s all your high-and-mighty talk now? What about that proud history? Now look, when I become king, I’m breaking all of it. I’m smacking down the lot of you knuckleheads who still can’t see the floor crumbling underneath. You all need a breath of fresh air.”
The speech of the bright-faced girl threw the hall into chaos like never before.
Miklotov, listening to the proclamation that was reckless without precedent, nodded generously, his expression unchanged as he glanced at the knight standing beside the girl.
“Your lord is quite a feisty one. Having heard her words, what do you think of them?”
“—Truth be told, I believe Lady Felt’s wishes are, unfortunately, still in the realm of fantasy.”
“Hey, you!”
“However, someday, Lady Felt’s words will reach everyone. It is my duty to give her my full support until that day comes.”
Miklotov countered, “But Lady Felt counts you among those things she intends to destroy, does she not?”
Reinhard bowed deeply on one knee toward Miklotov, showing no sign of relenting.
“Surely after destruction, there will be renewal. If she will have me, I have no greater desire than to be at her side during that time.”
Felt furiously scratched at her hair as she watched his chivalrous profile.
“So in the end, which one are you, my ally or my enemy here?”
“Your ally. Yours, and yours alone.”
“…Fine, then. I’ll put you to good use.”
With her acceptance, the final candidate for the royal selection declared them lord and vassal.
Miklotov dipped his head as he gazed at the radiant row of royal candidates.
“Finally, all the candidates have been assembled. I ask the Council of Elders, do we have a consensus?”
As Miklotov closed his eyes, the atmosphere around him shifted. The old man’s voice carried the power of a strong will.
“—My brethren, I ask for your consent to announce that this royal selection shall begin with the five candidates assembled to date.”
“—By the authority of the Council of Elders, I assent.”
“And I.”
“I assent as well.”
One by one, the members of the Council of Elders agreed to Miklotov’s proposal with solemn nods. Listening to them until the end, Miklotov finally rose from his seat, walking beside the empty throne before opening his eyes.
“—Then, I shall announce the rules for the royal selection!”
Crusch Karsten, lord of the House of Karsten.
Crusch’s foremost knight, the Blue Knight, Felix Argyle.
“The candidates are Crusch Karsten, Priscilla Bariel, Anastasia Hoshin, Emilia, and Felt. All of these five bear the qualifications to be Dragon Maidens!”
Priscilla Bariel, the Bloody Bride.
The mercenary Al, one-armed wanderer from another world.
“The day shall be one month prior to the Dragonfriend Ceremony in three years, renewing the pact with the Dragon!”
The young company president from a foreign nation, Anastasia Hoshin.
Anastasia’s foremost knight, the Finest of Knights, Julius Juukulius.
“The selection shall be made according to the guidance of the Dragon via the radiance of the Dragon Jewels and the combined will of the nation’s people!”
Felt, of the lost royal bloodline (unconfirmed).
Felt’s foremost knight, Reinhard van Astrea, the Sword Saint.
“Until the appointed day, all candidates for the throne shall work to uphold their own lands and the kingdom to the greatest possible extent!”
The silver-haired half-elf, Emilia, the Freezing Witch.
And absent from that place, her self-declared knight, Subaru Natsuki.
“With the minimum conditions fulfilled, I hereby announce the royal selection has begun—!”
Miklotov’s great shout filled the chamber with an incredible fervor. No one spoke, but they all were unable to contain their heartfelt cries.
Miklotov, feeling the waves of excitement rolling against him, straightened from his stoop and declared—
“Let the royal selection—commence!!”
CHAPTER 5
SUBARU NATSUKI, THE SELF-DECLARED KNIGHT
1
—Subaru learned of how the tale had proceeded in his absence thanks to Reinhard and Ferris, who had shown up together in the castle’s waiting room.
“And so the meowgnificent royal selection began,” Ferris concluded. “Subawu, you’re going to serve as Lady Emilia’s knight, huh? Good luck to both of us.”
Ferris wrapped up his summary, but the sarcastic twist of the knife at the end was very sharp indeed. He’d been in the chamber from start to finish; surely he knew quite well what kind of mental state Subaru was in. But Subaru had no time to pay the jab any heed. The royal selection details were crucial, but at that moment, there was an issue Subaru had to find out about even more than that.
Seeing how Subaru was too timid to properly ask, Reinhard answered his unspoken question.
“—The old man is unharmed. His safe release has been secured through Lady Felt’s kindness.”
“—!”
“I didn’t think he’d come in through the same corridor without you seeing his face, and I knew you two know each other. It was easy to guess why you were anxious.”
When Subaru lifted a finger, Reinhard moved quickly to assuage his concerns. But even he didn’t know the true source of Subaru’s sense of guilt.
The instant Subaru had let himself leave Old Man Rom to rot, a dark cloud formed at the bottom of his heart from which there was no salvation.
Ferris chimed in, “That’s wonderful. You should thank Reinhard and Lady Felt because it’s all thanks to them. Now you don’t need to make any excuses at all, Subawu!”
“—”
An icy shudder ran up Subaru’s spine. He looked up and turned to face Ferris. His amber eyes glittered like they could see right through Subaru, all the way into his soul.
Having someone look inside him felt deeply unpleasant. So Subaru forced his stiff face into motion to cover it up.
“Y-yeah… I’m so glad! Totally like I figured! It really was a good idea to leave it all to Emilia-tan and Felt—better than anything I could’ve done… Right? That’s right, isn’t it?” Subaru spread his arms wide as he gave both a dose of deliberate, exaggerated, clownish behavior, his next words even hastier and more flippant, “But man, Felt really set her heart on winning the royal selection ’cause of me, and that means one more strong rival for the throne. Emilia-tan might give me a real scolding for this one.”
In different ways, the expressions on Reinhard’s and Ferris’s faces changed in response to Subaru’s sudden shift, but in the end, they chose not to press the point.
Both knights were showing him pity. Subaru, painfully aware of the fact, ignored his crippled heart’s pleas.
“So now that the talk is all over, where is Emilia-tan and everybody?”
“The candidates remained in the
chamber to discuss the fine details of the royal selection process. During that time, I said I would go to check on you, and Ferris came with me,” replied Reinhard.
Reinhard’s actions made sense, but he couldn’t stop wondering why Ferris was showing his face, too. Thus, Subaru asked the latter, “Thanks for checking up on me, but is this all right, not being by your master’s side?”
“It’s totally fine. Lady Crusch is much stronger than Ferri, so it’s perfectly safe!”
“Just laying that out there like that… How’s a slacker like you in the Knights of the Royal Guard, anyway?”
Ferris gave Subaru a sidelong glance and wagged a finger at him. His fingertip glowed with a blue light.
“Mew know why. Ferri’s got a special talent that’s in high demand.”
“Uh… Why do I feel lighter, like my shoulders, knees, and hips aren’t working as hard anymore…?”
“Subawu, your body’s aching all over like an old man.”
“That’s your selling point, eh…? Right, I heard you’re a really good water mana user.”
In the first place, the reason Subaru was allowed to go with Emilia to the capital was to improve the poor physical condition he was in. The one who was supposed to heal him was none other than the cat-eared man before his eyes.
Reinhard replied to Subaru’s comment, saying, “The words really good do not suffice, Subaru. It is fairer to call Ferris the greatest master of water-type magic on the continent. It is not for nothing that he bears the title of ‘Blue,’ standing at the pinnacle of those who share his magical affinity despite his young age.”
Reinhard’s praise prompted Ferris to push his chest out, displaying not the slightest shred of modesty.
“Meow, the title came from all Ferri’s fans.”
Given that he really was a healer as good as his title, Subaru saw his numerous admirers in a new light. It really put into perspective that this person was treating him.
Subaru’s tone was heavy and pained as he arrived at the answer he’d expected.
“—So Emilia-tan really did…”
“So Lady Emilia indeed organized it,” Reinhard concluded.
Subaru could only guess at the back-and-forth that arranged for his healing. That was why he couldn’t stop the heavy melancholy rising deep in his heart.
Asking Ferris, in the Crusch camp, to treat his body meant relying on a political rival on the very eve of the royal selection. In other words, Subaru had been deadweight for Emilia…again.
He asked, “Hey, why do I have to accept the treatment no matter what?”
“Because she already paid. If Ferri doesn’t heal you, Subaru, it’ll mean Lady Emeowlia went through aaaaall that effort for nothing.”
“What’s this payment? If it’s just some object, you can hand it back, ri—”
“It’s not an object, and once you know it you can’t give it back. So Ferri has to say no to your request, Subawu.”
Shot down at point-blank range, Subaru could only put a hand to his forehead and cradle his head.
Even though Subaru didn’t want to be a liability, it seemed that was all he had been to Emilia. He wanted to help her. That was Subaru’s whole reason for being there. It was the one and only reason that gave his existence there any meaning.
A tranquil voice echoed through the waiting room. The speaker was neither Reinhard nor Ferris, but a man with refined features leaning against the open door—Julius.
“—If you curse your own lack of strength so much, I believe you have one choice you can make.”
Subaru’s face shot up like it had been slapped.
“What? Oh, it’s you.”
Subaru scowled with resentment. Julius received his gaze with a calm, composed look.
“I would rather you did not make such a disagreeable expression. I did not expect a warm welcome, but letting your emotions get the better of you…”
“The better of me… So what?”
“…It brings the character of those who stand with you into question. Strive to remember this.”
“Ugh…!”
Subaru’s throat constricted with anger. It wasn’t the words themselves, but the sensitive places they jabbed.
He maintained his silence as Julius strode past him toward an open window.
“Now, I suppose you wanted to ask me what I am doing here?” The knight turned his back, surveying the grounds beyond the palace, narrowing his eyes as a breeze blew. “Naturally, I came to see you. I would like you to accompany me for a brief time.”
How about it? Julius asked with a wave of his hand. The man’s sharp gaze even then implied this was not some friendly suggestion.
“Just so you know, I’d never say yes to something like that, not knowing the place or what it’s for, even on one hour’s sleep.”
“The place is the parade square. The objective… Yes.”
In response to Subaru’s seemingly casual but extremely biting words, Julius looked down in apparent thought. Then, with an arrogant smile, he spoke with as much venom as Subaru had.
“How about…teaching you a lesson or two about reality?”
2
Some ten minutes after that precariously sarcastic exchange, Subaru was standing atop tightly packed, sandy soil.
They’d moved from the waiting room of the castle to the knights’ garrison adjacent to the castle. The tamped-down reddish training ground was ringed by stout walls that gave off a strong sense of the place’s history.
The area was perhaps half the size of a high school campus, providing plenty of space for running around and crossing swords.
Subaru tested his footing, then casually began stretching.
Reinhard, standing at the entrance of the parade grounds, tried to get Julius to relent. “Julius, you should stop this. It isn’t like you.” The expression on his face was not one of haste or anger, but pure concern for Subaru’s well-being. He continued, “I accept it was a petty thing for him to say, but it was nothing that couldn’t be settled by a retraction. Normally, you would judge as much yourself, no?”
“That is precisely so, my good Reinhard. Normally, I would.”
Julius was removing the ceremonial decorations from his Knights of the Royal Guard uniform one by one as he looked back at Reinhard, his eyes betraying no emotion.
“Had it not been this day, and had I met him in a different place, I might have simply let him be. However, it was not meant to be. My good name was sullied before those connected to the throne, and he spoke lightly of chivalry itself. Furthermore, he has not only failed to apologize but has heaped on additional insults.”
Just like that, the faint murmurs that had filled the parade square fell silent.
“—I shall now chastise the base ruffian who has besmirched my knightly honor! Any objections?!”
“—!!”
Abruptly, a wordless typhoon roared through the air over the training grounds. The gathered knights and guardsmen shouted, their voices creating the gale. No doubt they saw things very simply: Julius was their representative against Subaru, the man who had disrespected them all.
Never in his life had Subaru stood before so many people directing such hostile emotions at him. He remarked, “Odds are about seven hundred to zero with no one betting on me. I’m so unpopular, I could cry…”
Truthfully, it chilled him to the bone; his body was filled with an overwhelming urge to fall to his knees. Yet, his heart was calm, and though his limbs felt heavy, they did not shake.
It was not that he had resigned himself to his fate. Subaru really didn’t understand the mental state he was in when Julius spoke up again. “Now then, before we begin, I shall ask once more: Do you intend to apologize for your earlier impropriety and ask for forgiveness? If you make a full apology for your repeated transgressions here and now, I shall pardon you.”
“Repeated transgressions, huh. I can’t think of any… And apologize how?”
“Put your forehead to the ground with tears
in your eyes. Or, if you find it more fitting, roll onto the ground and show me your belly to curry favor like the good lapdog you are.”
“Neither choice is very elegant, so if you don’t mind, I’ll pass on both.”
No doubt he’d never expected Subaru to accept. “I see,” Julius murmured to himself curtly as he finally handed his knight’s sword to one of his fellows standing beside him. He accepted a pair of wooden swords in its place.
“Properly speaking, it would not be strange for a man to cut you down for your foul tongue. However, you are Lady Emilia’s vassal, whether she desires it or not. Accordingly, I shall face you using these wooden wasters.”
Any objections? asked Julius’s eyes. Subaru answered with a curt wave of his hand, signaling there was no problem. Concluding that his opponent had accepted from his gestures and expression, Julius nodded.
“The referee shall be—Ferris.”
Julius glanced sideways at him, while Ferris casually lifted up his palm and waved back.
“Sure, suuure.”
He’d easily accepted the role of referee. There was no way to know what he thought on the inside. Unlike Reinhard’s hope to put a stop to this, Ferris seemed all too eager to get things under way.
“Have at it, you two. No matter what horrible wounds you suffer, Ferri can patch you up as long as you don’t actually die, Subawu, so good luck!”
“Why say that to just me? Worry about the other guy, geez.”
“Meow, what strong resolve! Hear that, everyone? All right, one, mew, three!”
Turning to the onlookers, Ferris raised both hands high and brought them down. At his signal, the parade square erupted in uproarious laughter, pouring scorn on Subaru’s reckless words.
Bathed in laughter, Subaru stepped forward and turned to face Julius. When Julius offered him one of the practice weapons, he gripped the hilt firmly, as if he was used to it. Similarly, Julius gripped the other waster and announced the start of the mock duel.
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Vol. 4 Page 20