Chapter 36. Re: Starting a Life of Oboreru from Zero- part 1
[[ "I'm still talking." Natsuki Subaru's right hand was against his lips, his left hand pointing at Sigelm.
Subaru sat on a high platform, with dozens of guards standing beside him who clearly couldn't be called weaklings. The most striking were undoubtedly the towering blue lightning, "Cecilus Segmund," and the Praiser, Helibel. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Oh oh oh! Is this... a stage play with me as the sole protagonist! Then everyone here is my audience! So exciting, so exciting!"
Didn't you see that the one in the center is Lil'Bro...?
Al silently complained.
"Boss, what is this? Did you become king?"
Garfiel was very curious.
"How is he your boss? Who are you... Oh, oh, he's quite imposing, isn't he? But it's normal, given the boss's charm, it's understandable to have a few more underlings. Mm-hmm."
Cecilus looked at Garfiel and spoke as if to himself.
"What are you talking to yourself about? Do you want to fight?"
Garfiel had been annoyed by this self-important guy from the beginning.
"Hahaha, interesting, truly interesting. Not many people talk to me like that... Well, come on... Ugh!"
"Who's afraid of who... Ah!"
The impending conflict was stopped by Reinhard's obstruction and Ram's ear-twisting.
"Regardless... It's very oppressive."
Anastasia commented on the image of Subaru.
"Yes... he doesn't seem like that Natsuki-san anymore."
Otto agreed.
What on earth happened in between?
And there was something even stranger.
"Why did the screen turn black and white?"
Emilia was the first to ask this question.
Yes, in this segment, the screen had turned black and white.
The others couldn't explain it either, and could only choose to remain silent...
[[ Subaru blocked the mouth of the old man named Sigelm. Then he continued:
"I like reasonable people. They are more trustworthy than people who suddenly start punching you after talking. Although I don't know how you heard about me, please don't judge me based on rumors... I don't really want to cause a stir."
Then, Subaru opened his left hand, signaling that he could speak.
"Ah, no... I am deeply sorry. As indicated in the letter we sent, our side sincerely hopes to cooperate with your esteemed organization for a long time."
"Then let's cooperate happily, Mr. Sigelm. For details, please talk to the person in charge of this area later. That's what smart people do. Please continue to look after our organization in the future."
Subaru said, then flipped a coin...
"Tails." ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Eh? Tails? What does that mean?"
Emilia was confused.
The others weren't quite sure what Subaru's intention was.
"Oh, I see. I have a bit of an impression now. It's too much to ask me, as the protagonist, to remember every passerby A. That old man is going to be in trouble next."
As soon as Cecilus finished speaking, the Helibel in the image quickly severed Sigelm's head...
"Uwah! Could it be that heads means life, and tails means death?"
Otto said in surprise.
"Mm-hmm, Boss kills people so casually."
Cecilus nodded, confirming Otto's guess.
"Killing people... casually..."
Emilia's body trembled slightly upon hearing this.
Was this Subaru still the Subaru she knew?
The change was too great.
"Subaru-kun..."
Rem lowered her eyes in pain.
"It's all because of Rem... Rem's actions towards Subaru-kun led to this..."
The two Rems couldn't help but feel guilty.
"Rem, this world was caused by Ram's misunderstanding of Barusu. Don't take all the responsibility on yourself."
Ram said.
"But it was indeed Rem's actions in other loops that led to Subaru-kun..."
"..."
This feeling was now experienced by Rem and Ram.
Emilia had felt it before.
It was a feeling that was both uncomfortable and complex.
Should she blame the versions of herself in those worlds? She was just eliminating suspicious individuals.
Should she blame Subaru? That was even less reasonable.
Then, should she blame herself? But she hadn't done these things in the world she remembered.
This peculiar feeling of not being able to blame anyone made her feel off no matter what.
"Ugh..."
Reinhard frowned deeply.
"Tsk... casually deciding someone's life or death based on the random flip of a coin..."
Julius clenched his fists.
"And... why is Mr. Helibel here... doing such a thing?"
Natsuki Rem said softly.
[[ "Ugh, ugh, ugh." Subaru was gagging as he looked at the corpse.
"You gave the order, and you're still like this? Isn't that too disrespectful to the dead? While I don't demand you be unaffected by corpses, at least try to reduce the number of corpses you create?"
"I don't kill just because I want to... Although it's hard to look at, I have to witness it at the scene. This is the least I can do..."
Subaru explained.
"Self-deception. But Boss's contradictions are also hard to watch. The conversation was so harmonious, and then he suddenly killed someone. He changes his face faster than flipping a book."
Cecilus complained.
"Didn't I say I didn't want to kill him? I also told him that I wanted to trust him as much as possible. He didn't seem to be lying either."
"Then, why?"
Cecilus asked curiously.
"Because even if they don't seem to be lying, people who lie will lie... We have to nip the danger in the bud. I will absolutely not be fooled a second time. Please clean up the body and bury it. Also, send an envoy to this person's shop.
Confiscate everything. If they comply, treat them well. If they resist, please execute their entire clan and burn down the shop. After the transfer is complete, have the next person in charge come and introduce themselves. Then decide whether to crush them or keep them." ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"So that's it. He doesn't trust anyone. He decides the life or death of those he can seemingly trust with a coin, and directly exterminates those he can't. No wonder he's called the 'King of Purge'."
Roswaal said in a drawn-out tone.
"Those experiences... brought a lot of psychological trauma to Barusu..."
A subtle hint of guilt appeared in Ram's eyes.
"Ah, ah, Lil'Bro goes berserk every now and then. Whether it was the Pride incident or this King of Purge. If we're considering world peace, maybe we should find a way to completely kill him? I'm not right... I can't entirely blame him; his forced experiences are exactly what make it easy for him to become a psychopath."
Al said softly, not letting anyone hear him.
[[ "Ah, Boss, are you going to see the Princess?"
The Helibel in the image asked Subaru.
"Mm."
Then, Subaru walked deeper, arriving at a door.
"Puck."
"At your service, nya,nya. Oh, it's been a while. Do you need something from Lia?"
"Open the door for me."
"Mm-hmm, what does that tone mean? If you make Daddy unhappy, I won't let you see my daughter. Try to be understanding of a father whose daughter is in the prime of her youth..."
"Puck."
"You've really reached your limit, haven't you? No choice, I'll open it for you for your efforts."
Puck opened the door for Subaru, and Subaru walked in... ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"But... what is this? Why is Lia here?"
"Why... I'm being called 'Princess'...?"
Puck and Emilia didn't understand the current situation.
[[ Subaru walked through the door, and what greeted everyone's eyes was white.
Literally white.
Everything in this room was white, and the only person in the room had fair skin and wore white pajamas.
"Looks like you haven't slept again."
And Emilia was the only person in the room.
Subaru walked over and lay down on Emilia's lap... ]]