“If you want to know more, I think you should study up on ‘Hoshin of the Wastes.’”
Anastasia still wasn’t laughing when she offered him a piece of advice. Subaru cocked his head at the mention of “Hoshin of the Wastes.” After all, that was Anastasia’s family name. And Subaru recalled that “Hoshin of the Wastes” was also a heroic tale.
“You’re not actually related to this Hoshin, are you? I thought I heard you saying you took up the name for yourself.”
“It’s the name of the founder of Kararagi. As a Kararagi native, I’m not completely unconnected, but there’s no blood relationship. I just decided to call myself that. Fitting for someone who rose up to become a goddess of commerce, don’t ya think?”
“Damn, you’ve got a lot of guts to come right out and say that.”
She apparently rated her exploits high enough to warrant declaring herself a goddess without any hint of irony.
He recalled Anastasia’s boast at the royal selection meeting that she wanted to get a kingdom for pure self-interest. That performance put her on a one-way train; there was no going back for her now.
“If I fail, people will point at me and laugh, though. But I’ve come this far. I’m not gonna talk too highly of myself when I’m still halfway to where I’m going.”
Subaru had heard only a tiny bit about Anastasia’s birthplace during her demonstration of conviction at the royal selection meeting. Apparently she’d been born in the slums of Kararagi and afterward rose to her present position on the merits of her genius alone. A great mercantile house, as famous as any nation, served her, and she had declared herself as a candidate for the royal throne. Not for the first time, Subaru felt like the person before his eyes was unlike any he had seen before.
“How can you do that much…? Aren’t you afraid of failure?”
“Oh my, my, my. Natsuki, have you finally taken a proper interest in me?”
Subaru didn’t have a plan; he’d simply voiced his honest doubts. Perhaps, just as Anastasia had taken it, he asked the question because he was finally looking straight at her: not a troublesome opponent, not someone connected to Julius, but Anastasia, the individual.
“Failure, huh? I’d say I’m afraid of that, too. I’m not exactly claimin’ I’ve won every battle I’ve fought to get to where I am now. I’ve just kept winnin’ the ones that really mattered.”
“You never wonder if you’ve won enough of your bets? I mean, you have plenty as it is. You’re a big-time merchant, you have lots of people around you, and…”
“—Can I really say I have plenty? I don’t even know what would satisfy me.”
Her low voice and piercing light-blue eyes made Subaru unwittingly stare at her. As Subaru fell silent, Anastasia finally softened her lips and suddenly changed the subject.
“I…have a dream.”
Subaru said nothing as she tapped a finger against the counter, ignoring him.
“I’ve carried that dream with me since my time in the slums, never knowin’ what the next day would bring, tryin’ my hardest to live… I want everythin’ I can get my hands on.”
“Everything…you can get your hands on…”
“My dream is to see just who I can become, just how far I can go. But I won’t compromise one bit until I’m satisfied I’ve done that. As long as I live, everything I can reach and take hold of will be mine. Will I die penniless? Or will I die fulfilled by the innumerable possessions around me? —My life is one big contest until I get one result or the other.”
Subaru was overwhelmed.
He realized that the small-statured girl before him was an amazing person, someone he might even look up to.
Her fundamental character as a human being differed from Crusch’s and Priscilla’s. The power of her charisma was in no way inferior to theirs. No, to Subaru, in that moment, he had a much more favorable impression of her than the other two. With the division between him and the know-nothing Crusch, and considering Priscilla’s arrogant dismissal, he thought that Anastasia might just be a heaven-sent final thread of hope that he might be able to count on.
For Subaru, unable to gather any reinforcements, this was one last possibility if he wanted to borrow strength from others.
“Hey, Anastasia. There’s something I really wanna talk to you about…”
Subaru, who had initially treated Anastasia as a nuisance to be swept aside, was now meek toward her. I can depend on her. At that though, the image of Julius flickered in the back of his mind, stabbing Subaru’s chest, but he suppressed that emotional wound with all his might as he tried to broach the topic.
“Hey, time-out. It’s just been you askin’ questions this whole time. I’m happy that you’ve taken an interest in me, but this isn’t very fair, is it?”
Anastasia cried foul and brought his determined move to a halt.
“That’s not really enough to call it unf— No, never mind. Talk to me.”
“Yes, yes, compromise is real important. It’s an issue of personal relations that comes even before negotiating… Natsuki, you look like you’re leavin’ the royal capital, but have you done enough sightseein’?”
“Don’t call it something casual like sightseeing, geez. I’m not, and I’m sure you aren’t, either. Is this really the time for a trip just to feel better?”
Subaru shot down the topic interrupting his subject.
“I don’t plan to just travel around, but don’t turn up your nose at seein’ the sights— People get something out of just explorin’ a place with lots of people in it and takin’ a look here and there.”
Midway, Anastasia’s strained smile vanished as she lowered her voice slightly. That change in her demeanor and expression stole Subaru’s attention. She indicated the street with her chin.
“The atmosphere on this avenue’s changed, like the shoppin’ area before it. Did you notice, Subaru?”
“…Now that you mention it, it feels way more hostile somehow.”
Subaru had known the sights of the royal capital for only a total of several days and hours, but even he could sense that the air of the royal capital felt different on his skin.
“The looks on people’s faces have changed. The talk about the royal selection’s brought all kinds of misers out of the woodwork.”
“I think you’re the pot calling the kettle black, especially when you’re the one poking into their business…”
“Hey, when you compare the people goin’ for tiny piles of coins to a gal who’s after a whole kingdom, they’re pretty pathetic. Besides, in business, speed is the name of the game… When you look at what people with a nose for money are doin’, you see more of the big picture.”
Anastasia thought about “the big picture” in a way Subaru could not fathom.
“When the ones at the top move, then the people start to move. When the people move, things move, too. So right now, traveling merchants are pouring into the royal capital from all over. If the people are there, things follow. So I can see this and that about what’s to come.”
“The things you see…are merchandise? Is there some special meaning to what they’re selling in the capital right now?”
“You caught on fast. Incidentally, the prices of quite a few goods are in flux around here at the moment, but things made of metal have gotten especially expensive. Someone’s snappin’ up weapons like swords and spears inside the capital and out.”
“Iron and weapons. I feel like I’ve heard about that before… Ahh, from Otto.”
The conversation was from when he’d traveled with Otto during the first time going through the loop. Otto had been drowning in drink because he’d been carrying a large quantity of hard-to-sell goods; apparently, his bankruptcy really had been assured.
“Swords and armor… So not just iron itself but weapons and stuff? You don’t think the people gathering up all that are planning to start a war, do you…?”
“Who’s to say? It’s possible the goal is more financial in nature. Workin�
� the market to favor you is more than enough reason. Merchants collude with one another quite a bit… If they think something’s worth gettin’, they’ll grab it by the throat.”
Subaru readily accepted Anastasia’s reasoning. Certainly, merchants would be grateful toward another party creating a favorable business opportunity for them. A thriving industry was connected with a thriving city.
“From the way you’re talking, is the person gathering up iron pretty well-known? Who is it, then…?”
“It’s someone you know very well, Natsuki.”
“Someone I know…?”
“—Duchess Crusch Karsten. She’s been on an iron-buyin’ spree here in the capital.”
“Crusch is…?”
Subaru, who had been blithely following the conversation, was shocked to hear the name of someone that closely related to him. But when he thought about it, things added up. Crusch had been receiving guests day after day; maybe she wasn’t just dealing with influential political figures but negotiating with merchants and bargaining for merchandise as well.
“I see, so that’s why Russel showed up…”
“Russel Fellow? He’s a big fish.”
Quite naturally, Anastasia instantly recognized Russel’s name. And thanks to Anastasia’s information, scattered pieces of the puzzle were connecting inside Subaru.
“So all those people heading in and out, putting cargo in the courtyard even in the middle of the night, that was all a strategy to get merchants on her side?”
He remembered that on the night he’d exchanged wineglasses with Crusch, servants were busily working all around the place. But they seemed to move with a purpose greater than simply gathering metalwares. They seemed to be expecting something bigger than that—
“…Well, not like it has anything to do with me now.”
Subaru initially felt the urge to pursue his doubt but gave up midway and cast it aside. Whatever Crusch was planning or whatever was disturbing the economy of the royal capital had nothing to do with him. All that mattered to Subaru now was finding a way to oppose the Witch Cult. There was nothing else. So why did he need to puzzle over unnecessary considerations like that?
While Subaru’s thoughts ground to a halt, Anastasia murmured across from him.
“—My, my, I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
Subaru looked up, sensing a particularly weighty tone in her voice, when he saw she was gently holding out her palm. Without thinking, Subaru took the scribble that he would need to obtain a dragon carriage.
“Thank you, Natsuki. You’ve given me enough of what I wanted to hear.”
The scribble and Anastasia’s smile told Subaru that the conversation was over. But Rem still hadn’t arrived at the establishment. And yet, she’d used the word enough—
When Subaru’s thoughts reached that point, he realized—far too late—that something wasn’t right.
“…Was this a coincidence?”
“—Well, Natsuki, what do you think?”
While Subaru gritted his teeth, Anastasia addressed him casually. Her light-blue eyes seemed to see right through Subaru, as if they would never let the change in his expression slip past her.
—Just like a con artist watching someone who’d completely fallen for her act.
“So you set up that whole little ‘chance meeting’ in the street just to ask me about this.”
“You got into a tiff with Crusch last night and went your separate ways, didn’t ya? I figured you’d be easier to read now, in all kinds of ways. Your words, your eyes, and your expressions.”
She’d tricked him. It made Subaru’s blood boil, and his throat tightened.
“H-how can you be so satisfied with yourself?! Ambushing people like this…!”
“It pains my heart, too. But it’s hard to smile and trade info smoothly with our relationship. It’s natural to want some insurance when you’re doin’ business with someone you don’t trust.”
The way she looked straight at him and pegged him as untrustworthy needled his heart. Putting a hand on his chest, Subaru glared at Anastasia with resentment.
“So you misjudged me just because you don’t like me, too…”
“Misjudged…?”
“I’m saying you’re distracted by the stupid stuff right in front of you and missing what’s important! Even though you’ll regret your mistakes and missing the right path later…!”
“I wonder just what is right and what is mistaken here? Well, everyone’s got their own opinions, but I’ll give ya mine.”
Anastasia cocked her head slightly while Subaru ground his teeth, her charming smile never faltering.
“If you want people to believe your path is just, you have to show them something concrete that backs up your claim. I don’t see that in you, Natsuki. I can’t help but value you less for the lack of it.”
“—”
“Your worth is decided by what you’ve done… In other words, your past. No matter what you do, you can’t change the past. So the worth of the Natsuki I know hasn’t changed one whit.”
Anastasia patted her own modest chest, looking at an enraged Subaru with upturned eyes.
“When you make a mistake, it never, ever goes away.”
“—!!”
“Hey, mister, don’t get any closer to Miss Anastasia. Mimi’s super-strong, okay?”
When Subaru unwittingly took a step forward, Mimi thrust a large staff against his face. She’d wedged herself between Subaru and Anastasia, preempting Subaru’s loss of control.
“Thank you, Mimi. But you don’t need to do anything. I’m sure there’s nothing Natsuki can do.”
“…! How can you just…decide that I can’t do anything like that…?!”
As Subaru spit and shouted, Anastasia put distance between them and crossed her hands behind her, tilting her head.
“Ahh, did I hit a sore spot there? Sorry if I did. But I won’t apologize for using you. It’s an ironclad rule among merchants to take anything that isn’t bolted down. Besides, neither of us said anything that hurts us personally, did we? You asked me whatever you wanted, and you answered several of my questions, Natsuki.”
“That’s just because you led me into it! It’s dirty… It’s underhanded, damn it!”
“I told you at the start, I lie and deceive. And when I offered to put it in writing, you’re the one who didn’t want me to, aren’t you, Natsuki?”
“I never said anything like tha…! You’re the worst, master and servant alike! Eat shit!”
He should have remained true to his initial instinct, the distaste he’d had the instant he’d seen her face on Market Street. He should have known she was the worst of the worst from the simple fact that Julius served her. She’d manipulated him through the art of conversation into expecting that she might be trustworthy.
Truly, just how much disgrace did he have to endure before people were satisfied?
“…Haven’t paid him back for Julius, either. Well, that was partly my fault, too.”
Subaru gave no heed to Anastasia’s words as he was about to rip up the paper in his hand and throw it away, but he hesitated right on the cusp of that impulsive action, knowing that he would then have truly gained nothing for all he’d endured.
“I’m relieved that you really aren’t that stupid— Mimi.”
“Riiight! Mister, turn this way!”
Subaru was breathing raggedly and clutching the paper in his hand when Mimi held her staff aloft. Subaru stood rooted to the spot while a pale light softly enveloped his face.
“Pain, pain, go away…!”
“—”
Using magic, she healed the cut on his lip that had been there before their initial encounter.
While Subaru was speechless, Mimi smiled at him, apparently without a single care in the world.
“Miss is high-maintenance, but she never means to do bad things, so forgive her, ’kay? This is why she doesn’t have any friends.”
“Mimi, you don’t h
ave to tell him that… Well, see you ’round, Natsuki.”
Anastasia had thoroughly wrecked him to the point that even her follower had taken pity on him. Subaru’s shoulders quivered as Anastasia turned her back on him.
“I’ll add just one last lesson about the basics of negotiation, Natsuki.”
Standing still, Anastasia’s back remained turned to him as she raised a single finger and spoke.
“The secret is to prepare everything you can before you ever reach the bargaining table. Learnin’ little tricks is all part of turnin’ the situation in your favor. You have to know yourself and dangle what the other party wants in front of them. Where you come up short, Natsuki, is that you want and want, but you got nothin’ to offer in return.”
He didn’t know Anastasia’s real motive. Even if he listened to her, it was meaningless.
But he would understand the meaning of those words soon enough.
“—All right, let’s go, everyone!”
Anastasia called out with a clap of her hands. Subaru raised his eyebrows at her gesture when the customers in the place rose from their seats all at once. Together, every last customer in the packed-to-the-brim establishment followed Anastasia out.
Every single person in the group was wearing a hood, concealing their true identity. However, when he looked more deeply, there were unnatural bulges under their hoods. From this, Subaru deduced they likely concealed animal ears.
Clear as a bell, the name of Anastasia’s private army leaped out from the back of his mind—the Iron Fangs.
“What, you were all here? Ah, mister, see you later!”
Mimi smiled at her comrades as they filed out, giving Subaru a wave of her hand before she, too, darted away. The only ones left in the place were Subaru and the proprietor.
—That was what she’d meant by preparing everything you can before you sit at the table.
“Shit!!”
Unable to endure his own worthlessness, Subaru slammed his fist into the tabletop. With no customers remaining in the establishment, the proprietor quietly withdrew into the back. His face was as conflicted as Subaru’s.
Subaru stayed like that, his shoulders shaking from humiliation, when a voice called out to him.
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Vol. 6 Page 7