i had a plan.
"Do things… but in an alternative way."
Yes. That was the plan.
I ran through the streets, heading toward the place where Emilia was supposed to have her insignia stolen. Unlike Subaru—who had missed Emilia because he was busy figuring out Return by Death—I wasn't going to make that mistake.
If I could catch Felt before she even stole the insignia, then there would be no need to go to the loot house at all.
But…
I had a way to do everything the same way, yet not the same way.
...
Emilia had currently lost Ram. She was searching for her, but she still hadn't found her yet.
A sudden gust of wind rushed toward her.
Emilia immediately turned her head, but the wind wasn't aiming for her face—it was aiming for the pouch at her waist.
Her insignia.
Just before the wind could snatch it away, another presence intervened.
The wind stopped.
Emilia's eyes widened.
A small girl stood there, her hand stretched out. Her fingers were so close that they nearly brushed the insignia itself.
Emilia froze for a split second, staring at that hand.
Then she looked at the person who had stopped the girl.
The girl's expression twisted.
She hadn't expected to be caught.
And more than that… she looked surprised.
i pressed on felt to talk about who employed her, she easily told the truth and also said the description of elsa, i told them who Elsa was and then asked felt if she could help me find her, she agreed after learning, she knew that old man rom's life was in danger. ram also found Emilia, i asked ram to come with us and help me get to the guard station which after being pursed by Emilia she agreed.
We were on the way to the guard station when I saw Reinhard.
Coincidence?
Of course.
What else could it be? Totally not like I had intentionally chosen this route.
"Hey, Reinhard!" I called out.
Reinhard immediately turned toward me. His expression was calm, but the confusion in his eyes was obvious.
He walked over with his usual composed steps, and then gave a polite nod.
"How may I be of assistance?" he asked.
Even off duty, the guy was still a model knight.
"Ah… right. You don't remember me," I said quickly. "My name's Natsuki Subaru. And I need your help to kill the Bowel Hunter."
The moment I said that title, Reinhard's eyes sharpened.
"The Bowel Hunter…?" he repeated quietly. "Please explain the situation in detail."
So I told him everything. The insignia, the deal, the description, the loot house, and Elsa Granhiert.
Reinhard listened without interrupting even once.
When I finished, he nodded.
"I understand. I will assist."
I knew he would.
Someone like the Bowel Hunter would be near the top of the list for elimination the moment she was confirmed to be in the capital.
Everything was going perfectly.
Even if it wasn't, the only one at real risk would be Rom—and in my eyes, Rom wasn't that relevant. It would be better if he was killed. Felt would seek revenge, and if she was discovered as a dragon candidate, she would be forced to work with us or at least ask us to find Elsa.
So even if Arc 4 happened and I ended up trapped in a deadlock because either Echidna or Roswaal discovered something and changed the plan… I would just use Reinhard.
Felt would get her revenge.
We would be saved.
All I really had to do was make sure I gained Ram's support, because in the end, Roswaal was the real threat.
Did I want to save Rem?
She could be useful, sure.
But the price for saving her was unknown. In Arc 9, Al said that Rem shouldn't exist after her memories returned.
Why?
I didn't know.
But I knew one thing—Al had no issue with her existence when she was alive without her memories.
[death note dramatic music plays]
Ram would've been an Oni God if she had two horns. Rem being born meant the chances were zero, but what if it was intentional?
What if, to officially become an Oni God… you needed a twin?
Now that I thought about it, it all made sense.
Arc 2 was deep, just like Arc 1.
The ogre story…
What if to become an Oni God, the weaker twin had to sacrifice?
Re:Zero was too connected with Earth. If someone who read the ogre story—most likely Flugel or Alec Hoshin—met the twins of their era while traveling the world, they could've told them the story because of the similarities.
Then maybe a situation happened that they couldn't handle.
I wouldn't be surprised. In their era, witches roamed the world.
Then the blue oni sacrificed.
The red Oni, in grief, took the blue oni's horn… and thus became the Oni God.
[death note dramatic music ends]
This theory didn't contradict anything. It actually sounded too good.
But it still didn't explain why Rem shouldn't have her memories. Unless it was because of their connection. Ram wanted to protect Rem even when she was just born, but now that Rem had lost her memories, that connection couldn't be formed.
It took Ram a year to accept Rem after Arc 4, compared to the connection they had right after birth.
That birth connection seemed far stronger.
Damn. If I was outside, I would've posted this theory somewhere.
It might not be true, but it was still a solid theory.
Now, could I even test it?
How would Ram get another horn?
That was the biggest issue.
let's say this theory was indeed the truth, and Al simply didn't want Rem to restore her connection with Ram, thus opening a possibility of an Oni God being born while he was trying to destroy the world. then does that mean there was a way to restore her horn?
we don't know.
maybe bloodlines in Re:Zero are so special that nothing can truly interfere with them… but then authorities exist.
they're stated to be able to do anything, as long as it matches the user's desire.
Regulus's Greed was survivability. he was terrified of pain, terrified of death—so his Authority granted him invincibility. and maybe his little "kingdom" was nothing more than his desire to hoard a harem.
…hmm.
same with Echidna. her desire to know everything led her to the Tome of Wisdom.
but even authorities have limitations. they're like a box—no matter how much the user grows, they can only expand within the size of that box. if that wasn't true, authorities wouldn't have restrictions at all.
Subaru can't return to a previous checkpoint after the next one is set. i don't even need confirmation for that, it's obvious.
Regulus's Authority only worked for five seconds and had a cooldown. sure, he had a bypass, but that still didn't mean he was truly invincible. someone like Reid—maybe even Satella—could completely erase him. Reinhard obviously could too, if he actually went all out.
authorities also seem to have similarities.
Carmilla's Authority of Lust allowed her to turn into the person her target wanted to see the most. Capella's Authority worked the same way. aside from regeneration, she could also change her appearance.
we don't have enough information to confirm which Authority naturally contains which "core" ability that gets passed down no matter the user. but if i had to guess…
the Authority of Lust might always contain some form of healing and transformation. Carmilla's Authority had a mental type "healing," if you remember the second Witch Tea Party in season 2, and it was still tied to Lust.
so maybe Lust is always about appearance, healing and emotional manuplation.
but then what about Greed?
nothing comes to mind.
same with the other sins.
…whatever. i'll think about it later when i have more information.
(AN: i could've just spent the entire chapter with Subaru trying to figure out which Authority holds which abilities, but i don't think i can cook anything good for the other sins right now. unless my brain randomly starts cooking again like it did with the Oni God theory.)
ahh, i got sidetracked.
anyway, if there really was a way to restore Ram's horn… then it would explain why Al didn't want Rem to exist. of course, there's always a chance Al had other reasons.
after all, everything i just thought could still be nothing more than a theory.
now the question was… did i want to save her?
i smiled, though only in my mind.
i would be happy to save her, just for the sake of this theory.
who was i kidding? i didn't actually care whether Ram could become an Oni God.
all i wanted was to see Al's reaction.
what would he do… if he saw Rem existing longer than she should?
….
I snapped back to reality.
I had been talking to myself for over forty seconds.
Slowly, we reached the loot house.
I told Reinhard to only come once Felt came out of the loot house. That meant we would have to survive Elsa for at least two or three minutes.
I deliberately increased the difficulty.
Because if Reinhard entered too early, Elsa might retreat.
And I needed her to come.
Felt knocked on the door.
Rom's voice came from inside.
"Code."
Felt answered quickly, her voice sharp and hurried, telling him to hurry up.
After confirming it was her, Rom immediately opened the door.
We entered.
Felt quickly explained the situation.
Rom scolded her.
He had already suspected the deal when she mentioned it. Ten holy gold coins for stealing jewelry was indeed suspicious.
Then a knock was heard.
I signaled Felt.
She hesitated, but then nodded. She had no choice.
She opened the door and stepped inside.
Elsa walked in as if she owned the place.
Her eyes instantly landed on me and Ram.
She smiled.
"Oh my… I recognize you two," Elsa purred. "But who might the others be?"
"They're your competitors," Felt said quickly. "They also wanna buy the jewelry. I don't care who wins, so how 'bout we do bidding? Whoever pays the most gets it."
I had previously given her this plan. It was meant to stall time, and also ensure Reinhard entered only when Elsa was fully committed to staying.
"I don't mind," Elsa replied smoothly, and pulled out a chair as if she were a guest.
Rom glanced at the items on the table.
"Her offer was ten holy gold coins," he said. "While this lad's offer is a metia. That's worth at least twenty."
"Luckily, my employer sent extra money," Elsa said, dropping another pouch onto the table.
It jingled.
Another ten coins.
"Oh… you've also been sent extra," I muttered.
It was probably a safety measure.
From Roswaal's perspective, Subaru should have nothing of value, and the Tome of Wisdom didn't go into full details.
Otherwise Subaru could've never traded in the second loop.
Even if he succeeded, he would've still died. Elsa was guaranteed to kill everyone unless she was defeated.
(AN: like roswaal would miss such a easy possibility, roswaal is smart and tome of wisdom makes him op..i may also be a roswaal glazer because i do find him admirable)
Felt's eyes glittered with greed. Her expression screamed that she liked instant money more than the metia.
But Rom shook his head.
"Even so, the metia is still worth more. Twenty is only the minimum estimate. Winner's him."
Elsa stood up, her smile still fixed.
The events of the second loop repeated.
She headed toward the door, but paused, glancing back.
"If I may ask… who employed you?"
"We aren't allowed to say the employer's name," I said coldly. "Not even at death. You don't know such a simple rule?"
Even Ram looked at me.
Good.
Elsa's eyes widened slightly, but she quickly regained her composure.
"Oh my… I didn't want to kill someone under us," she said sweetly. "But my employer's orders are to kill everyone inside this loot house."
Her smile grew.
"So I'll be kind. Hand over the insignia, and I'll let you leave."
I exhaled.
"S-sorry, but you misunderstood," I said, raising my voice. "I was just stalling for time. REINHARD!"
In an instant, Reinhard entered.
(AN: I just learned that, echidna may have some hands in the creation of oni clan and how they are also related to flugel or hoshin since on their clan there was Japanese texts in it and ram seemed to remember some of it when she was teaching subaru. i think this just improves my theory, Oni clan may have been a failed project so something like oni god never should've existed but it still did and if echidna knew something like an oni god could be created would she have abandoned oni clan? no i don't think so, she at least would've preserved oni clan for the future and if they are artificial doesn't that improve the chance of ram recovering her horns more? heh, such a great theory that even after a missing information was discovered it doesn't disprove my theory but instead reinforces it, now if echidna knew that something like an oni god could be created then roswaal finding ram and rem even without their full potential also seems to make sense and lastly i do not trust him, even if in arc 8 or 9 he has said that ram's horn couldn't be recovered or she couldn't became Oni god..i don't believe it, btw i also learned that in a short story roswaal has said it is possible to recover a gate, this further proves that roswaal maybe hiding more and more information)
Elsa's gaze shifted to him.
Her smile became sharper.
"Sword Saint… I see," she whispered. "How fortunate. I should thank fate for delivering me such an opportunity…"
Her eyes gleamed.
"I wonder what your insides look like."
Reinhard calmly placed his hand near his sword.
"i would like to not use force against a woman, you should surrender" reinhard said, exactly as third loop.
…again.
Why is it predictable?
No, it wasn't just predictable.
It was too perfect.
It feels as if none of the changes that occurred when i was not involved is not occurring…interesting.
In that loop, when i left the capital and didn't enter the stage, the world still moved forward. canon events still happened even without Subaru. even without me.
things still aligned, people still met, disasters still unfolded, alliances still formed. it was like the world didn't need Subaru at all.
and yet now…
now that i've entered the stage, now that i'm here, it's like everything is bending back into place again.
like the moment i involved myself, the world remembered the script.
Reinhard's words, Elsa's reactions, even the flow of the scene…everything is lining up to cannon again, perfectly, as if it's trying to correct itself.
as if the world is saying: Subaru is here. therefore, it must happen this way.
that meant if Subaru ever chooses to ran away in the first loop, everything will still happen.
but if Subaru stays…
then everything begins to revolve around him again.
no…that's creepy.
it doesn't make sense.
that would mean Subaru isn't necessary for the events to occur, but the moment he exists in the story, the story starts shaping itself around him like he's a fixed point.
I'm acting strange, why am i so defensive about it?
is it because...no.
i think the reason is that Subaru's effort made everything that has happened possible. his suffering and hard work was the reason everyone saw that perfect future.
but if the same future can happen even when he isn't there…then what was the point of his suffering?
and if the world forces itself to follow the 'Subaru route' the moment he steps in…then it's not even Subaru making choices anymore.
it's like the world is choosing for him.
a future where canon events happen perfectly even without Subaru is terrifying in one way.
but a future where canon starts aligning itself the moment Subaru enters it…
that's even worse.
i don't like it.
i really don't like it.
i think this is just a far fetched possibility…
even Re:Zero's IF routes aren't that far fetched.
While I was thinking, Reinhard engaged Elsa.
And just like in loop three…
He overwhelmed her.
I readied myself.
She would definitely attempt to kill everyone as a final act.
I had already told Reinhard about the curse—Curse Doll.
The regeneration.
The semi-immortality.
And she did attack.
Her blade shot forward, aimed directly at Ram.
Ram tried to block, but it was too fast.
So I slowed time.
I moved.
And deliberately placed myself between Ram and Elsa.
The blade cut me.
Not deep—only a small wound.
Because Reinhard was already there.
But it was enough.
I collapsed.
It had gone as planned.
First, I had to save Emilia. Then when Ram came, I could ask for her help.
I could've gone with Emilia and Puck, but they wouldn't help as much as Ram when it came to convincing Roswaal.
Then, calling Reinhard was another step. I wanted Ram to see that I knew where he was.
Revealing familiarity with Reinhard, giving a plan, predicting Elsa's words…
It was all meant to make Ram think I had some kind of future-seeing ability.
But she would never reveal this to Roswaal.
Because it was her chance.
If she told him, I was finished this loop.
Yes.
I was trusting the whole loop on pure trust.
I also told Reinhard to keep his hand near the Dragon Sword even if Elsa seemed unworthy. Then I gave him the details.
And lastly…
I specifically saved Ram.
Yes.
I wouldn't have saved anyone else.
Felt and Rom were too far for Elsa to seriously injure them in that moment.
Now Ram would half-believe me.
But I would have to show her more.
It would take at least two months for the royal selection to officially start.
Oh, and did I forget to tell you?
I never gave Felt a chance to touch the insignia.
Nor did I give Reinhard the full information.
That would have to wait.
Arc 3 would only happen when Betelgeuse discovered Emilia as a royal candidate.
Now I could guess what would happen next.
Ram would take me to the mansion.
Roswaal probably told her to take anyone who helped Emilia, because anything could theoretically happen.
Felt would stay with Old Man Rom.
Reinhard would continue searching for the fifth missing candidate.
There were two possibilities.
Either Reinhard finally noticed Felt's features matched the royal bloodline…
Or I would have to forcefully tell him.
That would've happened if I hadn't pressured Felt to reveal her goals. Reinhard had promised to help her find a job, after all.
For now, she would be discovered once Reinhard finally used his brain.
If he didn't, then I would make him.
But for now…
I had to worry about Arc 2.