Re:Zero-forever hero

Duty

Subaru took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He scanned his surroundings carefully and noticed a young redhead approaching him with a staff in her hand. She looked at him with hopeful eyes and said, "Please, hero, save our world."

Subaru, confronted with this unexpected plea, remained in astonishment. The joy of defeating the Demon King was still fresh, yet now, with the girl's words, he was trying to ready himself for another battle. However, this time, his emotions were conflicted.

"Is this real?" he thought. As the triumph of defeating the Demon King seemed to lose its meaning, memories of moments with Emma and others, the burdens of war, began to weigh heavy on his heart. Suddenly, with a sensation of pain, he murmured, "Was all of this in vain?" and clutched his head.

Love, battles shared with friends and loved ones, all seemed to lose their significance. Being in this unknown place right after the victory over the Demon King plunged him into emotional chaos. "This must be a joke," he thought, struggling with a mix of agony and the realization that a new struggle awaited him.

Subaru knelt down with a painful sigh. Tears streamed down his eyes, and his arms hung lifelessly. "Sweat, tears, betrayals, friends, dreams, sacrifices... were they all for nothing?" he whispered, and the echoes of his words merged into the silence.

Although the girl called out to him with a trembling voice, "Hero-sama, please snap out of it," her words seemed not to reach Subaru's ears. The world was overshadowed by his internal storm and dark thoughts.

His mind drifted to an old memory. The warmth of the campfire, the smiling faces of comrades, moments shared with dreams and hopes. But now, the innocence of those moments lost its meaning in the face of his helplessness. Inner conflicts forced him to compare his current despair with past beauties.

Although the girl's plea echoed in his mind, Subaru seemed lost in his own darkness. The feelings of loss, despair, and meaninglessness drowned him. In the midst of internal dilemmas, struggling against the ghosts of the past, a once hopeful hero was now turning into his own shadow.

Urien, enthusiastically speaking while cooking meat over the campfire, expressed his dreams. "My dream was to become the chief of my tribe. Everyone would recognize how great I am," he called out. Fragile turned to Urien, with a tone filled with annoyance, adding, "Learn not to shout while talking first."

Subaru smiled as he watched their interaction, then turned to Harold, asking, "So, what's your dream?"

After a moment of hesitation, Harold looked into the fire and said, "I want to make runic magic popular again," with a deep sigh.

Since Fragile usually avoided sharing her dreams, Emma turned to her, "What about you?"

Emma, contemplating Subaru's question, then firmly said, "I want to establish an orphanage." Her words drew everyone's attention after a brief moment of silence, evoking different emotions in their hearts.

Urien, patting Emma's shoulder in a cute gesture, lightened the atmosphere, making everyone relax. Subaru's suggestion followed, "Maybe I'll work at the orphanage," and this unexpected proposal surprised those around him. Subaru couldn't understand their astonishment and asked, "What's wrong?"

Urien, who wanted to say something, couldn't find the words. Fragile broke the silence, explaining, "Heroes usually marry someone noble or aim for a position like a knight captain."

Subaru found these stereotypes absurd and stated, "Even if I'm a hero, why should working at an orphanage be an obstacle? Kids love me," he said. These words, along with his unexpected bold thoughts, seemed to impress Urien. Emma, however, blushed with embarrassment at Subaru's words. The courage Subaru displayed in expressing his thoughts and choosing his own path had a significant impact on them. Urien's admiring gaze and Emma's emotional confusion showed that Subaru's words had genuinely affected them.

Subaru's memories were slowly fading, and as he wondered why, the battle with the Demon King came to his mind. When he touched the Demon King's arm, he felt a strange itching.

"Victim's Curse?" he thought. He hadn't encountered this curse before, but he had heard of it. It was a simple curse; if the one who cursed died, the cursed one would also die.

Pieces began to fall into place in his mind. "So, if I die after killing the Demon King, will I transition to a different world? What nonsense!" he thought angrily. This revelation started to overshadow everything he had experienced.

"What are you doing?" a voice echoed, and the world seemed to freeze. However, Subaru was the only one still moving. The voice, similar to the one in the dungeon but more chilling, sent shivers down his spine.

"Do you forget?" the voice continued, now scanning his mind with an almost inhuman indifference.

Subaru's breath scattered, "What?" he asked, investigating the direction of the voice while tension built within him.

"I must remind you why you came here," the voice said, this time with a pronounced coldness. This eerie tone seemed to shake his very soul.

"Keep moving forward," the voice insisted, this time with determination. However, this determination only intensified Subaru's fear.

"Why? If I'm going to lose everything, why should I continue?" Subaru asked, questioning his own helplessness within the voice's unsettling tone. The sense of loss in his eyes and the indecision reflected a hero's internal conflict, not a clear resolve. In that moment, he felt compelled against his will.

"You are a hero; you must be that way," the voice continued, emotionless and cold. It spoke as if scolding a malfunctioning machine, devoid of any human warmth. "Even if you die, even after being killed, you must keep fighting," it added.

Subaru's inner conflict oscillated between feeling like a slave or a machine. In the face of the voice's cold instructions, he still harbored a glimmer of hope.

Subaru, mumbling to himself, said, "I'll fulfill the agreement and break free." He didn't know how many Demon Kings needed to be defeated, but he was ready to do anything for his freedom.

These words reflected hope and the pursuit of freedom within him. Despite the cold instructions of the dark voice, Subaru still held onto a sense of hope.