Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Vol. 11 Read online

  Copyright

  Re:ZERO Vol. 11

  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. 11

  © Tappei Nagatsuki 2016

  First published in Japan in 2016 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 © 2019 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

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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.)

  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: 978-1-9753-8318-3 (paperback)

  978-1-9753-8319-0 (ebook)

  E3-20191003-JV-NF-ORI

  Contents

  Cover

  Insert

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter 1: Maid, Maid, Maid

  Chapter 2: Girl’s Gospel

  Chapter 3: Friend

  Chapter 4: The Value of a Life

  Chapter 5: The Witches’ Tea Party

  Chapter 6: Loveloveloveloveloveloveyou

  Afterword

  Yen Newsletter

  Download all your Fav Light Novels from Just Light Novels

  CHAPTER 1

  MAID, MAID, MAID

  1

  —The restoration of Subaru Natsuki’s lost life came with the usual, nigh-unbearable agony.

  The power of Return by Death caused no lag between death and resurrection.

  Subaru’s mind didn’t perceive a pause or transition from his final moments, as only time itself and his body reverted to their previous states. This inconsistency between his mind and reality disturbed his soul deeply.

  The instant return to a cold, hard floor made it was clear this time was no exception to the usual rules.

  The first thing that broke into Subaru’s consciousness was a revolting sensation.

  “—Ueegh?! Geho!! Oegh!!”

  Before his mind could catch up to reality, he violently retched from the foreign matter he found in his mouth. A bitter taste and the stench of soil lingered on Subaru’s tongue; he coughed as he desperately forced open his eyes.

  “Th-this is…”

  A hoarse breath escaped Subaru as he sat up, squinting at the gloom. After blinking a few times, his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, and he could make out the interior of an old stone room—one familiar to him. He realized he was in the ruin.

  “Inside…the tomb…?”

  The peculiar putrid air stood out in his memory. There was no mistaking that this was the tomb in the Sanctuary.

  Placing his hands on the rough floor, Subaru pushed himself to his feet while connecting the tangled threads of his memory to piece together what had happened. Fresh back from Return by Death, his brain couldn’t cope with the amount of information flooding into it.

  He was sure he’d gathered the Earlham Village residents that had evacuated to the Sanctuary and brought them back to their homes on his way to Roswaal Manor. He’d planned to confront Frederica once he arrived, only to find the mansion abandoned, causing worry to stab at his chest.

  He was concerned about the others who were supposed to be there: Beatrice, Petra, and above all, Rem—

  “—I told you, didn’t I? I promised you, yes?”

  With a shudder, Subaru’s throat went taut as the lush voice brushed directly against his nerves.

  It was a bloody voice, the very essence of vulgarity and pleasure. The speaker had reached her climax when she witnessed the loss of life, heaving a satisfied sigh as she spoke of her one-sided promise.

  Subaru touched his stomach where it had been slashed and his innards had spilled out. Naturally, after Return by Death, his body was unharmed; however, the deepest scars had been carved not in his flesh but his soul. No—

  “Getting my gut sliced open was the biggest reason I was brought to the mansion, wasn’t it?”

  Pulling his finger away from his right flank, Subaru gently traced the center of his abdomen. The wound was nowhere to be found, but in Subaru’s true history, it was a cold, hard fact that he had been sliced wide open.

  And for Subaru, the culprit was the first obstacle he had faced after arriving in his new world—

  “—So the Bowel Hunter returns to the stage… Gimme a break… geez.”

  He used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat beading on his brow.

  In the back of Subaru’s mind, he could see a beautiful woman of pure darkness with long hair every bit as black as his own. Brandishing a vicious blade, that butcher had taken Subaru’s life twice over—and her name was Elsa Gramhilde.

  “Why was that woman at the mansion…? Forget it. Not that isn’t important, but…”

  Having reviewed what had happened since his Return by Death, Subaru’s mind focused back on the present.

  Where had his ability brought him? As far as he could tell, since he was in the ruins, there could only be two possibilities—and given the cramped, stone room, he narrowed those down to one.

  “This must be right after I took the tomb’s ‘Trial’…or right before? Which one it is…doesn’t matter! More importantly, if this is after the Trial, then…”

&n
bsp; When Subaru’s mind and reality connected with the speed of a blitzkrieg, his head practically snapped back to look over his shoulder. Inside that claustrophobic chamber, the figure he sought was lying on the floor right behind him.

  “—Emilia!”

  There lay Emilia, her silver hair fanned out around her head and her pale cheeks twisted in anguish.

  Subaru knelt at her side and was about to touch her sleeping face when…he hesitated.

  “”

  If he touched her, Emilia’s Trial would end right then and there. Outside interference would cause whatever vision she was seeing in the Trial to instantly vanish, like popping a bubble…regardless of how hard Emilia was working to overcome her past.

  “But I know that tonight it won’t do any good…!”

  Shaking his head, Subaru pushed away his uncertainty. He embraced the tormented Emilia, sitting her up and holding her against his chest. That instant, Emilia’s body heavily arched back. And after trembling for a while—

  “Su…baru…?”

  “Yeah, that’s right. It’s me, Emilia. You all right?”

  Subaru shot Emilia a small smile when she recognized him and called out his name though she was still dazed. The warmth of his smile and embrace stalled Emilia’s grasp on reality for a time.

  Soon, the situation she’d been placed in and the result of the Trial would crash down upon her. After that, she would cry like a child. He waited for it in silence.

  “—aa.”

  The least Subaru could do was to gently embrace her so that her heart would not break in the process. And so until Emilia calmed down, he held her firmly in his arms, not allowing her to leave his grasp.

  2

  “I-I’m really sorry… I-I’ve calmed down, so…let’s talk.”

  Now in a guest room in Ryuzu’s house, Emilia’s voice was choked as she spoke.

  A faint redness tinged her eyes, where heavy traces of the confusion and sorrow she felt a short while ago were still visible. Still, she was doing her best to be strong, so Subaru didn’t want to interrupt.

  “Well, sorry…for causing you trouble in the tomb. Really, I’m still…”

  “Emilia-tan, it’s okay. When you send trouble my way, it’s not a bother. Helping you is what I want to do. More importantly, you didn’t hit anything when you fell down, right? If you did, I can give it a really gentle rub.”

  “Mm. Seems like I hit my butt a bit when I went down. It feels a little numb…”

  “Gulp. Th-then, I’ll be very caref— Miss Ram? Is that you jabbing your cane into my back?!”

  While Subaru was being particularly silly, Ram drove the tip of the cane she was gripping directly at him. When he pointed this out, she twisted the cane, causing Subaru to yelp with pain and leap away.

  “H-hey, you?! Th-that’s a little too much, isn’t it?! Look at this—blood’s oozing and everything!”

  “Lady Emilia, how’s your condition? Don’t leave out a single detail.”

  “Are you seriously gonna ignore me after all that, Ram?! You really are a piece of work!”

  As Ram respectfully checked on Emilia’s health, she responded to Subaru’s complaint by glancing at him as if he were an insect, snorting “Hah!” in an amused sort of way. The exchange brought a weak smile to Emilia’s face.

  “…Thanks, both of you. I’m feeling all right… So we should…talk about what happened inside.”

  Her lips made a small smile, but she could not conceal the worry and fatigue dragging down the corners of her eyes, pulling on her cheeks, and filtering into her voice.

  Surrounding Emilia was everyone who had gathered at the tomb for the Trial—in addition to Subaru and Ram, there was Garfiel and Ryuzu, and, for some reason, Otto, who made five.

  With everyone’s eyes upon her, Emilia held her emotions in check to properly convey the details of the Trial and to announce that it had ended in failure. Most of the conversation was identical to the previous time around. The only difference was—

  “Then why is Mr. Natsuki safe and sound after having gone inside?”

  Raising his hand, Otto posed the question that Subaru had managed to wiggle his way out of answering the last time. He had hidden that he’d actually taken the Trial and kept quiet about the fact that he was qualified to take it. That had been out of consideration for Emilia, to avoid putting extra pressure on her when she was facing the same Trial, but…

  —This time, after some thought, he changed his reply to the question.

  “The reason’s simple. Just as you saw from the light in the ruin, I was qualified to take the Trial, too. So I took it…and I passed.”

  “—Huh?”

  At first, Subaru’s declaration left everyone taken aback. Then, fierce unrest ran among them.

  In particular, Emilia’s shock was tremendous; she’d taken the same Trial and failed. Her purple eyes opened wide, looking like trembling gemstones as they focused on Subaru.

  Subaru nodded toward her as he continued to survey the other surprised reactions in the room.

  “Sorry to surprise you like that. But to be honest, I was only lucky. The details of the Trial just happened to be something I’d made my peace with beforehand… I wouldn’t call it an easy win, though.”

  “Hmm. Is that so, Young Su? However, that…complicates things.”

  A throbbing pain returned to Subaru’s chest as he reminisced about meeting his parents in the world known as the Trial.

  It was Ryuzu, representative of the Sanctuary, who mulled over Subaru’s words and furled her brows. The youthful-looking elder’s grave voice made Ram fold her arms, narrowing her pink eyes.

  “This has gotten complicated… There’s no doubt about that. But if Barusu isn’t spouting nonsense, then it’s a great achievement. If his story is true, the barrier should be lifted now. Garf, what is the state of the barrier?”

  “…All I can say is, the pact feels the same way to me ’n’ the old hag.”

  “So that was all a lie. Please die.”

  “Damn, you decided that way too early!!”

  Reeling from the sting of Ram’s uncharacteristically hasty judgment, Subaru was clutching his head when he belatedly realized something.

  “…What’s wrong, Garfiel? Why you making a scary face like that?”

  “—It’s nothin’… Barrier ain’t down yet, right? What did you expect?”

  “I was just about to explain that stuff. Man, you guys are so impatient.”

  Garfiel, who’d been glaring at Subaru, crinkled his nose and averted his gaze. Put off by his demeanor, Subaru turned back toward Emilia.

  Just as before, Emilia’s eyes were filled with worry and bewilderment as she said, “…Tell us, Subaru. What…did you see when you…overcame the Trial?”

  “Probably more accurate to say what I learned rather than what I saw. The Trial’s a real bully… And there ain’t just one. Apparently, even after you finish the first, there’s still two left, for three in total.”

  “Two more…”

  The worry in Emilia’s eyes deepened, which made Subaru’s chest tighten so much it hurt. The first challenge, the Trial of the past, provoked unspeakable anguish for her. The thought of two more was simply staggering.

  “This might be going too deep into the weeds, but who exactly did you hear all this from while you were in the tomb?”

  “Who…? Er, I didn’t talk to anyone… When I started the Trial, I heard my own voice in my head. I think it probably affects different people in different ways.”

  It was close to the truth for him to say that he’d simply come to understand the information rather than hearing it from someone else. Subaru had no memory of meeting a person in the tomb, so it was a natural assumption to make.

  “It is said that in rare cases, one can understand how to use a metia merely by touching it. This could be something similar.”

  “Ahh, I have not yet had the opportunity to touch something as precious as a metia…”

&nbsp
; “I suppose you wouldn’t. You have the look of a pauper.”

  “It hasn’t even been half a day since Miss Ram and I first met, has it?!”

  Ram had quickly decided how she was going to interact with Otto. Setting aside their exchange, Subaru sat right beside Emilia on the bed she was resting in. Then, he locked eyes with her as he addressed her directly.

  “Emilia, there’s something I want to suggest. You might not like it very much, though…”

  “Suggest? What…do you mean by that…?”

  “—Can I challenge the Trial in the tomb in your place and clear it?”

  “”

  The words Subaru had uttered fiercely unsettled Emilia. From her perspective, they were completely unexpected; from his, they required courage and resolve to say.

  —Subaru would take the Trial, liberating the Sanctuary in her place.

  It was a thought that had occurred to him during his conversation with Garfiel on the way back to Earlham Village the last time around.

  Mid-trip, Garfiel had questioned Subaru, who was sending Emilia to the Trial in spite of the agony she had to endure because of her repeated failures. Garfiel had wondered whether overcoming one’s past was truly necessary.

  Naturally, Subaru couldn’t simply accept that idea without any thought, but it had undoubtedly been a bolt from the blue.

  He acknowledged it was worth suggesting as an option, at least.

  “I want to be there for you. I don’t know what you’re facing from your past, but if it’s enough to make you cry like that and bring out so much suffering on your face… I want to reach out to you.”

  “…Subaru.”

  “It should be fine even if it’s me taking the Trial and liberating the Sanctuary. There’s nothing that says you have to go through a hard time and face up to your past.”

  The way Subaru slowly shook his head and spoke gently to her made Emilia’s gaze wander.

  He understood Emilia’s inner turmoil. Facing her past had been excruciating. If there was some way to avoid it, some part of her must have wanted to do exactly that and leave the rest to Subaru. It was her strong sense of responsibility and nobility that did not permit her to abandon a burden once she had decided to carry it on her shoulders. Moreover, her gentle nature left her afraid that Subaru might have to endure a pain comparable to hers in the Trials that would follow.