(A/N: Some lust for money, some lust for power, some lust for sex... but readers? They are the worst of all... They lust for chapters)
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(3rd Pov)
"Arghh!" Subaru gasped sharply, clutching his chest as heavy panting overtook him. He looked around groggily and realized he was lying in the guest room.
'Did this happen after Emilia left the room?' he muttered quietly to himself, certain of the timeline.
"That bitch," he spat through gritted teeth, hatred flashing in his eyes as the memory of how mercilessly she had killed him came rushing back.
;What should I do now? I'll just end up dying again. I don't want to die again,' he thought desperately, tears welling up in his eyes as the horrifying memory of that brutal death played vividly in his mind.
Normally, a single blow like that would have ended his life instantly. But because of his increased vitality, he had been forced to endure it—his bones shattered and crushed, his chest caved in painfully, his limbs mangled into a bloody mess, and his head battered and cracked repeatedly under her relentless assault.
'If only Reina could come here... Wait! Can I call her?' A sudden thought struck him. 'Is it possible to call for her help just by calling out her name?'
He remembered that Reina was said to possess countless Divine Protections—surely she had some ability that would alert her if someone was desperately calling for her aid.
'Though the chances probably aren't that great,' he sighed, feeling a mixture of hope and doubt. He decided to test it later when he had the chance.
He rose unsteadily and stepped outside the room. Then, he searched for Betty's library. Once he found it, he entered quietly.
"How rude to enter Betty's library without Betty's permission," Beatrice said sharply as she fixed her cold gaze on the intruder.
;Should I tell her I'm 'that person'?' Subaru wondered. Echidna had wanted Betty to choose her 'that person,' but instead, Betty waited for an imaginary 'that person' who never came.
;No, better not mention it now. Though I could be her 'that person,' I'm not truly hers yet,' he thought carefully.
"Sorry, I think I entered the wrong room. But what room is this?" he asked politely.
"This is Betty's Library, I suppose," she replied, staring at him with an unkind, piercing look.
Subaru stepped further inside and looked around at the countless books neatly arranged on the shelves.
'Damn, this place is basically a fountain of knowledge,' he thought, impressed.
"May I take a book?" he asked tentatively, but Beatrice immediately shot him a sharp glare.
"No one is allowed to take Betty's books without her permission. In fact—" she began firmly, clearly refusing him.
"I see," he sighed softly, disappointment creeping in. He looked longingly at the books and focused on one in particular, wishing to read it.
Suddenly, the book slid smoothly out of the shelf and floated gently in front of him.
"What?!" Subaru exclaimed, startled, as the book slipped from his hands and crashed to the floor with a loud thud.
Beatrice rose from her chair, eyes narrowing as she looked at both the fallen book and Subaru with a curious glint.
"Why was the book floating?" she demanded sharply, noting that she sensed no magic being used.
"I—I don't know," Subaru admitted honestly. "All I wanted was for the book to come to me, and it did."
At that moment, the book began floating again as Subaru concentrated, while Beatrice's eyes sharpened further.
"Impossible. You're not using mana. Then how are you doing this?" she asked coldly, suspicion clear in her voice.
Subaru ignored her question, excitement bubbling inside him as he tested his newfound ability further. Just as he had imagined, the book floated smoothly, revolving around him. Encouraged, he focused on more books.
Suddenly, multiple books slid out from the shelves and began orbiting him, surrounded by a faint blue glow.
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Betty snapped angrily, suddenly touching Subaru.
He froze instantly as he felt all his mana draining rapidly away.
"You seem to have a decent amount of mana, I suppose," she said with a sadistic grin.
Subaru collapsed to the ground, the floating books falling heavily beside him. He groaned in pain but slowly pushed himself up.
"Why would you do that?" he asked, wincing.
She snorted disdainfully. "Hmph! For ignoring Betty, I suppose," she replied, then added, "Now show me if you can still float the books," as if ordering him.
Subaru groaned and struggled to lift the books. Suddenly, a bright blue stream of energy burst from his body, lifting the books into the air effortlessly, without any noticeable reduction in power.
"I have drained all your mana, yet you can still do this," Betty said, her eyes gleaming. "This isn't magic—it's an authority, in fact!"
She sniffed suspiciously. "I can smell witch's miasma coming from you. Are you an Archbishop of Sin?" she asked cautiously and immediately became more alert.
But then, she hesitated—would an Archbishop really be foolish enough to let her drain his entire mana pool? Doubt crept into her expression.
"No, I'm cursed by the Witch. That's why I reek of miasma," Subaru answered honestly. "As for why I can move things without mana… honestly, I'm not completely sure," he admitted, though he had a faint inkling about what might be happening.
It was telekinesis. And since his abilities seemed to increase with each death, maybe his psychic power had also grown stronger?
In fiction, it's often suggested that if a person's mental capacity exceeds a certain threshold, they gain the ability to use psychic powers.
Perhaps that was what was happening to him.
'I'll have to test how strong this ability really is. As for a name? Let's call it Ruler's Authority,' he thought, borrowing the name from a certain Shadow Monarch, since it seemed to fit perfectly.
"Is that so?" Beatrice said, narrowing her eyes with suspicion before a glint appeared in her gaze.
"Something that's not Magic, not Authority, and not even a curse! It's a completely new kind of ability!" Her eyes gleamed brightly as the realization of how valuable this knowledge was struck her.
She looked at Subaru like a predator eyeing its prey. Subaru couldn't help but shiver at the intensity of her sparkling eyes, though she soon seemed to catch herself and pulled back from her excitement.
"The fact that something like this isn't recorded in the Forbidden Library is absolutely unbelievable!" she said, shooting him a sharp look.
"If you allow Betty to analyze this ability of yours, you should be able to access and read any book from the library," she added, awaiting his response.
"This is definitely a deal worth making!" Subaru smirked confidently and took her small hand, giving it a firm shake.
"Hmph! But remember, that doesn't mean you can disturb Betty whenever you want," she warned, and he nodded in agreement.
"How about you come with me for breakfast? It should be ready by now," Subaru offered, and after a moment's hesitation, she nodded.
They left the Forbidden Library and ran into Rem in the hallway.
"Are you the guest Miss Emilia mentioned?" Rem asked, then glanced at Beatrice standing beside Subaru with surprise.
"Miss Beatrice, you're outside the library?" Rem questioned.
Betty snorted dismissively. "Yes, Betty is outside her library for once, I suppose," she replied coolly.
Rem wisely chose to say nothing further, not wanting to risk angering her.
Rem then escorted them both to the dining hall, where Subaru once again met Roswaal and had breakfast.
After the meal, Subaru made the same requests as he had in the previous loop: first, to secure a large amount of money, and second, to find someone to tutor him, since he had yet to fully master the language of this world.
He then wondered whether he should confess that he reeked of miasma due to the Witch's curse, just as he had done before.
In the end, he decided to be honest once again. Whether they believed him or not was their problem — the last thing he wanted was to feel guilty over hiding the truth.
'Still, I need to be prepared for Rem's reaction. I should go to the forest and test my abilities first,' he thought. With that in mind, he left the mansion and headed into the nearby woods.
He pulled out his two knives and swung one hard against a tree. A deep slash mark appeared where the blade had struck.
"For now, these two knives are all the weapons I have. But I'd really prefer to switch to a sword," he muttered to himself.
He wanted to use a sword because the strongest weapons in Re:Zero were the Ten Legendary Swords, and among them, the Dragon Sword was the most powerful—it could even cut through abstract concepts.
Yes, unless Reinhardt drew the Dragon Sword, he couldn't cut through concepts.
If Subaru could manage to obtain even one of those legendary swords, he could truly become a powerhouse.
That's why he preferred a sword as his main weapon. Unfortunately, for the moment, all he had were the two knives he had stolen from thieves back in Lugunica.
After testing his abilities for a while, he came to a significant realization.
He could now smash through trees with his bare fists alone. His speed had increased drastically—almost doubled.
'Wait, doubled? Does that mean all my abilities double with each death?' he thought, the idea settling in his mind.
After all, if his abilities had tripled or quadrupled each time, he would have become ridiculously powerful by now. On the other hand, if the increase had only been 50 or 70 percent, he wouldn't be this strong yet.
He had hit the mark.
Satisfied with his discovery, he returned to the mansion, ready to fulfill his promise to Beatrice and learn more about his newfound telekinetic ability.
To be continued...