A Random in Re:Zero

Loop 6 - Part 41

"Is that the best you can do? You sound like a little girl! Where's your spirit?!"

"NO! I DON'T WANT TO FEEL LIKE THIS, DAMN IT!"

"Okay, then take the damn control of yourself and prove you're better than this." I said, pointing at the building in front of us.

Garfiel opened his eyes in surprise when he realized where we were.

"The witch's tomb...?"

"I can't understand how Echidna thinks, so I don't know if she did it intentionally, but the trials were designed in a way that can be seen in two ways: torture or redemption. I choose to believe in the latter."

Perhaps Echidna wasn't 'evil'. It's not easy to make assertions about someone you know so little about. In that sense, I think I'd like to learn more about her.

"You'll take the trial tonight, right before Emilia."

Garfiel swallowed but nodded, gathering his courage.

"I'll get through this!"

Now everything seemed to be going better. That cheered me up a bit.

Later, I went into the tomb and carved some encouraging messages on the walls for when Emilia came to do the tests. I'm not eloquent or sentimental like Subaru, but I tried my best to do something decent. The love I felt, whether real or not, inspired me quite a bit.

Once again, the hunter's memories helped me out of a tight spot, because while I had learned to read and write in this world's language, he had a much more advanced understanding of it. That's how I was able to work more effectively.

After finishing my homework, I returned to Birma's house, just in time for breakfast. It was a somewhat awkward moment, because Rem kept staring intently at me while Emilia was talking, completely oblivious to the tension in the air.

"Did you reach an agreement with Garfiel? That's great!"

"Yeah..."

It was hard not to get anxious when it felt like a predator was stalking me. Rem wasn't exactly subtle either. How angry was she about this morning?

"Now everyone can return to the village. They must be relieved."

"Uh-huh."

By that time, Rem had stopped behind me. My instincts didn't detect any danger, but my stressed mind insisted that she was about to kill me, like some kind of yandere girl.

"You'll take them tomorrow, right?"

That's what I'd said, but it was a ruse. I didn't want to announce when I would make my move, as that would give Roswaal less time to react. The longer it took for him to realize I wasn't at the Sanctuary, the better.

"Exactly." I grabbed my glass, but the nervous trembling in my hand caused the liquid to spill. "Shit."

"I'll take care of it." Rem grabbed the glass and took it from my hand. I jumped, but she just wiped up the spill and poured me more juice. "Here."

"Thank you..."

I was becoming too paranoid. Maybe it was a side effect of playing MiSide so much.

The truth is, the deaths, the enemies, the danger I had to protect others and myself from; all of it was taking its toll. It made sense to be cautious, but if I couldn't trust my allies, I'd never sleep soundly again.

After lunch, I wanted to talk to Rem to find out what was going through her mind, but Ram took her away and gave me a very persuasive warning look. So instead, I took Emilia to the villagers and told them they could leave very soon.