A Random in Re:Zero

Loop 3 - Part 8

Rem woke up during the trip back to the mansion. Leandro was carrying her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She jumped to the ground, alarmed.

"What happened?! Where's the cultist?"

"You don't have to worry about that anymore." Leandro said with a tired expression. "He's dead."

To prove his point, Leandro reached into his pocket and pulled out the hood the cultist was using to cover his head.

The maid received the news almost in disbelief. She felt a mixture of relief and frustration at not being able to finish the job herself. Once again, she was powerless in a dangerous situation.

"How did it happen?"

"I killed him with his own weapon. Meili helped me with that."

"Now that you mention it, where is she?"

"She left with her older sister." He explained vaguely.

Rem fell silent after hearing the explanation of what had happened. Her head was bowed, her gaze lost in thought.

"I know what you're thinking, Rem." Leandro suddenly broke the silence. "You did much more than you realize. If it weren't for you, I would have died several times over tonight."

"That..."

She refused to accept that she had any merit of her own. Even her horn, the source of her power, the thing that made her relatively useful... She owed even that to her sister.

If Ram hadn't sacrificed everything for her, Rem wouldn't even be alive today.

So, nothing Rem 'owned' truly belonged to her. Rem's life was a debt she had to repay by supporting her beloved sister until her last breath. That would be her punishment, and her way of making it up to Ram for screwing up her life.

"You have that expression again."

"What do you mean?" She looked at him, irritated and embarrassed at the thought of being read like an open book. Rem didn't want to expose her inner misery to the world; she didn't want to be comforted or forgiven for the sins that tormented her.

"You're blaming yourself for things you can't control, I can see it in your eyes. You can't see beyond the self-loathing you feel."

"What do you know about me?!"

She burst out, her face red and her eyes filled with tears. Leandro smiled and replied:

"What I know about you is that you care deeply about the well-being of those you love, even putting aside your own happiness to ensure theirs. You worship your sister as a goddess and will do anything to protect her. You live without disturbing anyone and are polite to others, even if they are strangers and suspicious, like me."

"..."

Rem looked at him in surprise. He seemed to know her too well.

"Rem, I'm a social misfit who's never made an effort in his life. Today I defeated a man much stronger, more agile, and more experienced than me. Despite being a talentless slacker, I overcame adversity and outsmarted death. Do you know how I did it?"

"With the help of others?"

"I was going to say I did it because I believed in myself to make it sound cool, but that's a much more realistic explanation."

Leandro admitted the truth with a chuckle. Rem smiled a little, even though she was shedding tears.

"I... I am really weak and fragile. Even more than you."

She confessed, opening her heart a little. The mansion was now in sight.

"First of all, ouch. Secondly, that's not true. You're much stronger than the mental image you have of yourself."