A Random in Re:Zero

Loop 3 - Part 13

She grunted in response to my irony, but said nothing more. Reinhard approached, concerned by the girl's attitude.

"Sir Reinhard, you'd better restrain your lady. Verbal or physical violence will not be accepted at this meeting."

Miklotov's warning served both to divert Felt's attention and to motivate Marcus to continue the procedure.

"Lady Felt, please come forward."

Felt sighed, but obediently walked until she was lined up with the other candidates. Reinhard quickly placed the insignia in the girl's hand, the touch of which triggered a reddish glow in the jewel-encrusted gem.

"As you can see, she has been recognized by the dragon stone, so the royal selection can now begin."

But then another voice was heard, this one from an older man standing among the officials.

"Even if she's proven herself a worthy contestant, I think everyone here has seen enough to draw conclusions. There's a big problem with this royal selection if one of its candidates is a foolish little girl who has ranted against all of us (who represent the kingdom) indiscriminately!"

Many of those present shuddered at the official's judgment, especially the knights, as those words spit upon their efforts in searching for the real candidates. Even Marcus hesitated, as Felt's attitude seemed more like that of a criminal than a lady.

This was entirely my fault for changing the course of history. Therefore, I felt it was my duty to try to make up for it. Taking advantage of the gap in silence, I cleared my throat to get attention.

"I apologize for prying into this matter, but I think we should get to know people and their backgrounds before deciding anything with incomplete information. Besides, this girl was chosen by the will of the Holy Dragon Volcanica, after all."

Several eyebrows were raised and others furrowed when I gave my opinion on the subject. The same man from before was quick to respond.

"How blind are you to ignore the obvious? That girl just tried to hit you, why are you defending her?"

"Because I'm not arrogant enough to ignore the dragon's will." I lied. "I mean, wouldn't that be tantamount to breaking the sacred Pact that keeps the kingdom stable?"

The whole room fell silent when I asked that question. Seeing myself in an advantageous position, I decided to keep pressing.

"But if we're not satisfied with the implications of this mandate, we might as well forget about the Pact." I said softly, looking at the official who had questioned me.

"That would be unacceptable!" One of the elders exploded, his eyes bloodshot. "Are you suggesting we get rid of the pillar that supports us and has historically protected us?!"

"What I'm saying is, there must be a reason why some people doubt what's written on the dragon tablet." I replied. "So either the dragon is mistaken, or those who doubt the candidates he himself chose are mistaken."

After my statements, which cornered the diplomats with their own arguments, all eyes focused on me, as if being intensely observed by Aldebaran wasn't enough.

I saw Crusch studying me closely, her face showing surprise and intrigue. Roswaal was covering his mouth, probably to hide a smile. Emilia's mouth was slightly open.

"This should stop them from talking badly about those two." I said to myself, thinking of Emilia and Felt.

Fortunately, Miklotov spoke at that moment.

"We shouldn't stray from the matter at hand. Mr. Reinhard, can you tell us under what circumstances you met Miss Felt and discovered she was a real candidate?"

"Of course."

Reinhard recapped his first encounter with Felt. Somehow, he avoided mentioning the stolen insignia, the identity of its original owner, and my intention to retrieve it.

When he mentioned that Felt came from the slums, the officials were again shocked. However, my earlier words had sunk deep, which greatly reduced the impact of this revelation.

Reinhard then recounted his encounter with me in the alley on Market Street, omitting the sexual tension that developed between us.

Nah; that was just in my head.

He also clarified that I had put him on the trail of Elsa Granhiert, who was about to wreak havoc in the slums. After that, he met me at the loot house, where we had agreed to meet. It was there that he met Felt and saw her touching an insignia, making its jewel shine.

Fortunately, the elders weren't in the mood to ask for details, so there were no setbacks. However, they had all begun to glance at me occasionally, given the unexpected importance I had acquired since the beginning of the conference.

The next act, all the candidates approached the throne and presented themselves along with their servants, knights or sponsors.

Each introduction felt considerably longer than it was in the anime. Crusch, meanwhile, proceeded with her rant against the Dragon Pact, the effect of which was unintentionally heightened by my recent actions. Priscilla gave her typical proud speech, with little to write home about, aside from Aldebaran's remarks, mentioning her past in Vollachia. I even had the pleasant opportunity to see Anastasia blush at Julius's compliments, which was interesting because I didn't recall them showing that side of her in any of her appearances.

Reinhard took advantage of the break to apologize to me.

"I'm sorry, I should have seen this coming. Lady Felt doesn't know you have good intentions."

"Don't stress about it. We all have things that are out of our control." I patted him on the back. "Nobody's perfect."

Then it was Emilia's turn. I already knew what to expect in this case, because Roswaal had explained to me what they would do. It was a performance done to give more impact to Emilia's introduction. Even Puck did his part, revealing himself as her guardian and threatening to freeze everyone. In the end, Emilia managed to reverse expectations with a great speech, moving the stubborn, bald old man, Bordeaux. I was wondering why none of this was included in the anime.

When Felt's turn came, she flatly refused to participate in the royal selection, which did not surprise the elders, given her previous statements.

But at that moment, Marcus received a report about an intruder who was captured while trying to enter the throne room.

Rom was dragged away by the guards. Fortunately, Felt ended up agreeing to join the royal candidacy so she could save him no matter what. Reinhard and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally, Miklotov announced the official start of the selection, which would be decided in three years. The rest was a discussion about how everything would be organized. Many people had already started to leave by that point.

Waiting for the conference to end, I unexpectedly found myself part of a conversation between Julius, Felix, and Reinhard.

"So you're affiliated with Lady Emilia's camp, that's quite a surprise."

Julius looked at me in a new light when he learned that I was supporting one of the two most infamous candidates in the royal selection.

"But you're not her knight, but a servant at Margrave Mathers's mansion. What's your purpose in coming here?"

Julius's real question was something like: why did they bring you to this place if you have an irrelevant position for an event of this nature?

"I wanted to witness this very important moment for Lady Emilia." I explained incompletely.

"I see, I assume she's very important to you..."

"Very much. I hope to be her knight someday." I said, smiling.

I wasn't really interested in becoming a knight for personal reasons, but because it would boost my reputation and keep everything relatively similar to the original story. I didn't want to stray so far from changing everything and end up embroiled in some really messed-up event.

My statement made Julius raise his eyebrows in interest.

"Really? Well, if you have the determination, I wouldn't mind testing you."