Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Vol. 15 Read online

  Copyright

  Re:ZERO Vol. 15

  TAPPEI NAGATSUKI

  Translation by Jeremiah Bourque

  Cover art by Shinichirou Otsuka

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Re:ZERO KARA HAJIMERU ISEKAI SEIKATSU Vol. 15

  © Tappei Nagatsuki 2017

  First published in Japan in 2017 by KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo.

  English translation rights reserved by YEN PRESS, LLC under the license from KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo, through Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., Tokyo.

  English translation © 2021 by Yen Press, LLC

  Yen Press, LLC supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Nagatsuki, Tappei, 1987– author. | Otsuka, Shinichirou, illustrator. | ZephyrRz, translator. | Bourque, Jeremiah, translator.

  Title: Re:ZERO starting life in another world / Tappei Nagatsuki ; illustration by Shinichirou Otsuka ; translation by ZephyrRz ; translation by Bourque, Jeremiah

  Other titles: Re:ZERO kara hajimeru isekai seikatsu. English

  Description: First Yen On edition. | New York, NY : Yen On, 2016– | Audience: Ages 13 & up.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016031562 | ISBN 9780316315302 (v. 1 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316398374 (v. 2 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316398404 (v. 3 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316398428 (v. 4 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316398459 (v. 5 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316398473 (v. 6 : pbk.) | ISBN 9780316398497 (v. 7 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975301934 (v. 8 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975356293 (v. 9 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975383169 (v. 10 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975383183 (v. 11 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975383206 (v. 12 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975383220 (v. 13 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975383244 (v. 14 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975383268 (v. 15 : pbk.)

  Subjects: CYAC: Science fiction. | Time travel—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.N34 Re 2016 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016031562

  ISBNs: 978-1-9753-8326-8 (paperback)

  978-1-9753-8327-5 (ebook)

  E3-20210203-JV-NF-ORI

  Contents

  Cover

  Insert

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1: The Final Day of Roswaal Manor

  Chapter 2: Happiness Reflected upon the Water’s Surface

  Chapter 3: —Giltirau, Black King of the Forest, Strikes!!

  Chapter 4: Next Time, I’m Sure We’ll Have Tea

  Chapter 5: I Love You Down to Your Blood and Guts

  Chapter 6: It Started with Revenge

  Chapter 7: —Pick Me

  Chapter 8: Faces Fashioned from Snow

  Closing Chapter: Meeting Each Other Halfway

  Ending Chapter: Offbeat Steps Under the Moonlight

  Addendum: —The Return

  Afterword

  Yen Newsletter

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  CHAPTER 1

  THE FINAL DAY OF ROSWAAL MANOR

  1

  —Even now, recalling that moment, she found herself stricken with regret.

  The fingers she had extended were brushed away, even as she lovingly called out the girl’s name.

  The girl’s parting words were caring. There was happiness, as well as determination, in those tearful eyes of hers; seeing that, her voice died in her throat.

  Even now, she couldn’t remember what went through her mind back then.

  Even now, she didn’t know what she should have said.

  Even now, she had no answer to the question What should I have done differently?

  —That was why, even now, she was alone, cowering in the archive of forbidden books, unable to leave.

  “…Ryuzu.”

  The fragment of an old memory from the far reaches of her mind made that word spill from her lips.

  She had spent those empty and stagnant months and years the same way, averting her eyes from that painful past.

  Why now, of all times, had she remembered that regret, that memory, that girl’s name?

  The most likely explanation was her premonition.

  A premonition that was much like how she had been refused long ago—

  I’m getting you out of here, Beatrice—This time, my hand’s gonna lead you right out under the big ol’ sun, and we’ll play around until that dress is totally black from mud.

  —though this time, it was her turn to brush aside the offered hand.

  2

  The battle only continued to grow fiercer. The refined solace of the mansion was utterly shattered by the destructive powers at work.

  “—Oaaaaaah!!”

  In the wake of a roar, steel met steel. A dance of sparks punctuated the ringing echo.

  Moonlight beamed into Roswaal Manor, the stage where the waltz was reaching its climax.

  “—Marvelous. You are truly marvelous. Just stunning.”

  One impact shattered a window. Another cracked the floor. The aftershocks shredded a painting on the wall. The sultry voice that reached the ears of the ferocious golden beast seemed utterly amused by the mortal combat that was unfolding.

  “I ain’t happy hearing praise from anyone but Ram!!”

  Blotting out the lovely voice with an angry cry, Garfiel threw his mighty fist, which sailed over the head of his foe and punched through the wall behind her. The woman tried to use the opportunity to slip into his blind spot until he came at her again with a lethal follow-up.

  His arm ripped through the wall he had punched clean through, bringing a whole chunk of it with him.

  “Ah…!”

  Seeing the incoming attack boasting a surface area a hundred times larger than a fist, the woman—Elsa—let out an aroused sigh of admiration.

  The next instant was so crucial to the outcome of this battle that even blinking would have been fatal.

  As Garfiel’s attack lacked any openings, much like the wall he was wielding, instead of trying to fall back, Elsa opted to press forward. With superhuman agility, she minimized the damage she sustained as her black blade flitted toward his neck.

  A blow with the force of a gale sent Elsa flying back. However, she was certain that in the exchange, her blade had reached—

  “Marvelous.”

  “Praase frmm you dnnt mke me hppy, dmmnit!”

  Elsa murmured in wonder as she remained crouched, one hand on the floor. It took only one look to realize that Garfiel had caught her kukri with his fangs. He shattere
d the arrested blade with one bite and spat out what was left.

  —From the first exchange, he knew this woman was someone he couldn’t afford to be careless with.

  Faced with an opponent so powerful that normal methods were useless, Garfiel glanced over his shoulder and behind him. There, standing stiffly while observing the clash between the pair, was a woman with jade eyes—Frederica.

  “Hey, Sis. What are ya doin’, just starin’ at me like that?”

  “Eh? Ah, well, I had not intended on…”

  “Sorry, but it really don’t look like I’m gonna have time to show off. The general put me in charge of keepin’ you safe, so please.”

  Garfiel chomped his fangs as he called to his hesitant sister. However, Frederica’s reactions were dull, and her legs remained motionless, though it was no fault of hers.

  The battle between Garfiel and Elsa had reached a level that left Frederica unable to intervene. Assistance was out of the question; simply moving required courage. That being the case—

  “It’s time to show what a good little brother I am!”

  “Garf?!”

  Seeing Frederica hadn’t moved, Garfiel decided to act first.

  When he ferociously leaped toward his foe, Elsa smiled charmingly, already knowing what he intended to do.

  “Thinking of your sister at a time like this? What a kind boy.”

  As she spoke, the killer parried a bestial claw with her knife and leaped backward, clearing a great distance. Garfiel followed after her, shifting the battlefield to somewhere deeper in the mansion. This cleared the path to the Sleeping Princess—Rem.

  If Frederica took Rem with her and left while her brother kept the enemy occupied, then there was nothing to fear.

  “Garf!”

  As he rained a flurry of punches, a clear, unwavering voice called out to him from behind. There was no time to look back, but his sister had only one thing to say to her little brother, whose back had grown far wider than the one in her memories—

  “I believe in you!”

  It was a reunion of mere minutes after ten years apart. But it was enough.

  She trusted in her little brother’s strength, and he was determined to live up to his older sister’s expectations—that was all they needed.

  “Damn right you do!!!”

  His strength surged as a fire roared to life in his belly.

  Elsa twisted her body to dodge a swing of his bestial claws, but she was too slow. Garfiel snagged her black braid and slammed her into a wall before proceeding to race down the corridor with her.

  “Ooooaaaaahhh!!!”

  Roaring, Garfiel charged straight into the mansion, with Elsa still pinned against the wall. Dust and debris flew from the wall as it broke, leaving her unable to resist the heavy impacts. All he had to do now was snap her neck, cave in her skull, and grind her against the wall until she was reduced to paste. Then he’d regroup with his friends and—

  “Letting your mind wander in the middle of our dance? What a naughty boy.”

  Faster than his mind could think, he miraculously flinched away out of sheer instinct.

  A moment later, what should’ve been a direct hit grazed his left ear instead. Now off-balance, Garfiel completely lost his footing—in fact, the floor itself was missing. He fell right through the gaping hole that Elsa’s swing had produced.

  The slicing attacks kept coming even as he entered a free fall. Garfiel relied purely on intuition to deflect them with the shields strapped to both his arms—defense, defense, defense. Ultimately, he couldn’t intercept every strike. Blood flowed freely from fresh wounds that appeared all over him.

  The moment he made contact with the floor below, Garfiel rolled away to escape the zone of death. He rose from the carpet on all fours while glaring straight ahead. A white cloud of dust parted to reveal his opponent, as though she stood atop a moonlit stage.

  The beautiful assassin smiled, gripping her kukri with both hands. Her upper body was smeared with blood.

  “…Looks like Sis is on her way. The rest is up to the general.”

  Sensing the presence still on the floor above had already set off, Garfiel sighed in relief at the completion of his first objective. According to Subaru’s plan, the remaining objectives were…

  …Wait, what were they again?

  “Awww, crap. I can’t remember… Oh well.”

  No doubt there was a backup plan in case Garfiel didn’t win—a plan for keeping everyone alive as they sought shelter in the Sanctuary. That didn’t matter, though. It was fine even if he forgot.

  As long as he won, there was no need to remember that plan. With that final thought, he slammed both his shields together in front of him.

  Garfiel steeled himself with the clamor of metal scraping against metal. Elsa licked her lips at the sight.

  “—Elsa Gramhilde, the Bowel Hunter.”

  “Garfiel Tinzel, the Sanctuary’s Ultra-strong Shield.”

  The assassin’s bloodred smile melted into the darkness right as she started freely bounding in all directions, awaiting his pursuit.

  Just before they collided, Garfiel crinkled his nose, bared his fangs, and howled:

  “This is one hell of a first battle, General, so ya better hold up your end!”

  3

  Just how many times had he visited this oh-so-familiar room to meet her like this?

  The first time they’d met was in the evening of the day Subaru had first arrived at Roswaal Manor. He had no trouble breaking through the illusion she’d cast on the hallway with ease, setting foot into this very same archive of forbidden books.

  There was little doubt that both of them had made the worst impressions imaginable during their first encounter.

  After she robbed his still-recovering body of mana, Subaru went down without even putting up a fight. Burning with the need for revenge, he later went on to prod and annoy her at every opportunity, continuously interfering with her alone time.

  He spent two months at Roswaal Manor like this. During that time, Subaru and the girl—Beatrice—argued and fought on numerous occasions, getting along rather childishly.

  When they saw each other, a commotion was bound to occur. Yet, curiously, their likes and tastes matched in the strangest and most unexpected of ways.

  Why? Somehow, it constantly bothered Subaru that she seemed alone.

  Even now, he thought of those days and the time they’d spent together as something irreplaceable that bonded them together.

  Subaru had returned to see Beatrice once more, and this time, he would never, ever let go of her again.

  “You want to take Betty away from this place…?”

  Bewildered, Beatrice repeated the declaration Subaru had made upon entering the room.

  Still seated on the stool in its customary position, she hugged the black book to her chest all the tighter.

  She clutched the book of knowledge entrusted to her by her mother, its pages of prophecy blank.

  “Is that…any of your business, I wonder? No one asked you…to do such a thing.”

  “I figured you’d say that, but I don’t have time for a long debate. I’m bringing you out of here with me one way or another.”

  “What a self-serving… Would you leave this instant, I wonder? Leave and have a good cry on that girl’s lap.”

  “You trying to start a fight…?! You keep that up, and it’s gonna be war…!!”

  Subaru’s lips trembled in shame as she brought up memories of him making a fool of himself. If anything, Emilia’s lap pillows were an enormous blessing, but he couldn’t rely on her at the moment.

  Emilia was currently giving her all in the Sanctuary. It was Subaru’s job to do the same at the mansion.

  “Anyway, there’s no time for chitchat. You know what’s going on outside, don’t you?”

  “…I understand there are intruders in the mansion, I suppose. Still, why should Betty get involved in this dispute? Anyone who wishes to scuffle in the dirt sh
ould do as they please.”

  “Unfortunately, the situation isn’t friendly enough to be called a scuffle. I left the fight against Tough Enemy Number One to a promising newcomer, but…he’s too much of a softy.”

  Shaking his head at Beatrice’s words, Subaru racked his brain as he mulled over how their allies had been deployed throughout the estate.

  The greatest asset they had—Garfiel—was almost certainly already engaging the main threat—Elsa. Both possessed superhuman strength, so they could be considered evenly matched—or at least, Subaru hoped so. He couldn’t be certain.

  It was less that Garfiel was too soft and more that he was incredibly kindhearted. That was the proper way to express it.

  Subaru and company had strategically relied on that kindness to defeat him during their confrontation at the Sanctuary. How his deeply emotional personality would influence the current combat situation at the manor was anyone’s guess.

  Subaru couldn’t dismiss the possibility that Garfiel would, instead of pitying his opponent, be so concerned for his allies that it’d end up dulling his claws and fangs.

  To get everyone in the mansion out safe and sound, Garfiel had to be in peak fighting condition to draw off their powerful foe.

  “Basically, that means I have to eliminate any obstacles that get in the way of our Lethal Weapon so he can go all out. I’ve left Petra in Otto’s hands, and I’m relying on Frederica to secure Rem, so…”

  “That leaves just you and Betty… Is that what you are trying to say, I wonder?”

  “Yep, that’s pretty much it.”

  If there was nothing holding him back, Garfiel could unleash his full power. That was why the top priority was getting Petra and the others out of the mansion first. He was sure Frederica would secure Rem and meet back up with everyone else in short order.

  “And the last piece of the puzzle is me getting you out of here. If you don’t wanna run hand in hand, I’ll carry you in my arms or on my back, whatever you like. Just so we’re clear, I’m not budging on this.”

  “Don’t make me repeat myself. Is your help even necessary, I wonder?”

  When Subaru tried to take one step closer, Beatrice refused him in a low voice.