A Random in Re:Zero

Loop 6 - Part 34

"At least say something, Sissy..."

Distressed, the sisters fell completely silent. Otto looked at Leandro and was horrified to see a strange, satisfied smile on his face. However, the gesture lasted only a second, because the dark-haired man coughed and broke the silence with a serious tone.

"Roswaal knows I have a special power. He wants me to use that power to help him accomplish his goal. The problem is, if I don't do things his way, he'll retaliate against me. Plus, he's been pressuring me to test my resolve and abilities."

"What is this power of yours?" Otto swallowed. Judging by his expression, Leandro could tell what he was thinking. If someone like Roswaal needed him so much, it was because he had something really good to offer.

"It's something similar to what Roswaal's Gospel does, but much better." Leandro raised his hands. "I can't go into details because Satella gets angry with me when I do."

"You mean...?" Otto couldn't continue. The butler nodded in confirmation.

"The Witch of Envy, yes."

Suddenly, Rem pulled Leandro's arm to get his attention. Her eyes were red, a clear sign of stress.

"Master Roswaal... What kind of bad things has he done?"

Leandro quickly understood Rem's intention. She wanted to know if it was possible to justify or forgive Roswaal's actions and avoid hating him, all for the sake of her sister.

"Well, he met Echidna four hundred years ago, and he refuses to die without resurrecting her first. As far as I know, he uses soul transfer magic to switch vessels, using the bodies of his descendants to contain his essence. By possessing them, he takes their place, which is basically like killing them."

Both Rem and Otto were disgusted by this revelation. But Leandro didn't stop there.

"Besides, sponsoring Emilia wasn't a purely charitable decision. He makes his decisions based on the instructions in the book. For example, a while back Roswaal hired a mercenary to steal Emilia's insignia, knowing I was looking for it, and thus giving me the perfect opportunity to get close. If something had gone wrong and Emilia had encountered the mercenary, she would have died."

He paused before continuing, letting the information sink in for his companions.

"Then he left everything in my hands by failing to take any security measures against a possible cult attack, which actually happened. If that went wrong, everyone in the village and the mansion would be dead, not to mention Crusch and her people in the capital."

Otto recalled those days with a shudder. He had been close to dying as a sacrifice. He didn't want to go through something so dangerous again. He clenched his fists and looked up, determined to thwart Roswaal's plans.

"So trapping us in the Sanctuary is also part of his strategy? What's his intention with that?"

"Freeing the villagers and residents is a good enough excuse." Leandro explained. "But that's not all. Roswaal is trying to force me to think like him: to sacrifice whatever is necessary to protect one thing. That's why he sent assassins to the mansion, to kill Frederica and Petra."

"Kill them?! That's too cruel!"

"On the other hand, he also wants to cast a powerful weather-changing spell, gathering so much mana that it will draw the Great Rabbit to the Sanctuary, turning this place into a living hell. All of this will happen simultaneously, of course. The goal is to make me choose who to save and who to let die."

"He wants to bring one of the three great mabeasts!? That marquis is a..."

Despite his indignation, Otto didn't want to finish the sentence. At that moment, he realized he'd had a very similar reaction to Rem's earlier. He looked at Leandro and saw a fleeting smile on his lips again.