Chapter 112: The Letter
After escaping from Priscilla's residence, Subaru Natsuki returned straight to the inn.
Standing by the window of his room, Subaru leaned on the windowsill, watching the carriages and pedestrians passing by on the street below. Subaru understood—he had failed. He had not found any reinforcements. So now, only he and Rem would have to hurry back.
Then they would die facing the Witch Cult. Even if they were lucky enough to survive, someone would definitely die.
Perhaps ending his life here and restarting from a save point was the right thing to do. That way, no one in the village or mansion would have to suffer the pain of death.
Subaru turned his head to look at the small knife placed on the counter. It was a fruit knife, which he had specifically asked the innkeeper for. Though it was just a small knife, it was sharp enough to be a deadly weapon.
Thinking this, Subaru slowly walked to the counter and reached out to pick up the knife...
"Subaru-kun, what are you doing?"
"Peeling an Appa."
Rem looked puzzled at Subaru, who was sitting on the bed peeling an Appa. On a plate on the counter sat an Appa that had been peeled not long ago.
"How did it go on your end?" Subaru asked, tossing the peeled Appa from the plate to Rem.
Rem caught the Appa and lowered her head, speaking dejectedly.
"There were a lot of reports about the Witch Cult from the Knight Order…"
"Ah, I see. So our information wasn't taken seriously, huh?"
Rem nodded slightly.
"I'm sorry, Subaru-kun…"
"Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything wrong, Rem. Alright, stop worrying about it. I didn't manage to find reinforcements either, but we have to go back. No matter what happens, we must return."
"Before that, eat this Appa and pull yourself together. It's going to be okay. I'll figure something out."
Rem didn't immediately eat the Appa in her hand. She stood there looking at Subaru's smiling face for a moment, then walked over to him.
"What's wrong? Don't want to eat the Appa? That won't do. You need to eat to have the strength to fight the Witch Cult."
Sitting beside Subaru, Rem nodded slightly and looked at him with a smile.
"Subaru-kun, I'm sorry."
Hearing those words, Subaru was stunned. He instantly realized what Rem was trying to do—but at that moment, his consciousness began to fade.
Before his eyes fully closed, Subaru saw Rem's smiling face and gave a bitter laugh in his heart.
'So you were thinking the same thing as me... Rem...'
Rem held Subaru tightly, whispering words he could no longer hear.
"Subaru-kun, you're trying to be strong again, aren't you? These things have nothing to do with you. I don't want to see you die anymore. Even if it's just a dream, I don't want to see that again."
"I'm sorry, Subaru-kun… Please, live on…"
When Subaru woke up again, he was lying on the bed. As he recalled the last image in his memory, he immediately sat up. Without even checking, he knew—Rem had already left.
He turned his head to glance out the window. It was already night. He had to leave the royal capital immediately and head back to the mansion.
As Subaru was about to leave, he saw two Appas placed on the plate on the counter.
Beside them was a sheet of paper. He reached out and took the paper, but did not open it immediately. Looking at the Appas, he said with a complicated expression,
"I wanted to be the one to make you stay... Rem... At least in this failure, I wanted to reduce the number of people who die..."
Clenching his fist, Subaru didn't hesitate anymore. He rushed out of the room.
After talking to the innkeeper, he learned that Rem had left with a dragon carriage around noon.
Upon hearing this, Subaru couldn't help but feel grateful to Anastasia in his heart. If she hadn't arranged for the store, he might not have found a single dragon carriage in the royal capital.
How else would he return to the mansion? He had already known before passing out that Rem would take the carriage. But she probably didn't expect that he would still find another one.
That night, he broke open the store's gate, startling the resting shopkeeper, left some money, and took a dragon carriage. He headed straight for the mansion.
Thanks to failing three times, he had forcefully learned how to drive a dragon carriage just by watching from the side. Although he had memorized the process, doing it himself was completely different from watching.
It was a classic case of "the brain knows but the hands don't." Fortunately, he didn't cause any major problems in the capital. Once outside, there was no need to worry too much about driving smoothly.
On the road, the dragon carriage didn't need precise control anymore. Subaru took out the note Rem left, opened it, and read it under the faint light.
[Note from Rem]
I'm sorry, Subaru-kun. Please forgive me for returning alone. I know you acted like it was no big deal, but you're definitely trying to shoulder everything yourself.
That's why I made this decision. If I survive, you can punish me then.
Last night, I had two dreams.
In the first one, you felt danger from where Nee-sama was and decided to return to the mansion with me.
On the way, we encountered the White Whale. You knocked me out and stayed behind to cover our retreat. When I woke up and wanted to go back to find you, the Witch Cult attacked the mansion. I never got to see you again.
In the second dream, you discovered something was about to happen at the mansion and brought me back early. You arranged for the villagers to stay inside. Before the Witch Cult attacked, I was going to fight alongside you—but you wouldn't allow it.
I fought the invading Witch Cult inside the mansion, but I was useless. I couldn't fully protect the villagers. Worried about your safety, I headed toward the entrance… and saw you lying at the foot of the stairs—you were already dead.
I wanted to avenge you, but was killed by the Witch Cult myself. I couldn't protect the villagers or avenge you. I'm so useless, aren't I?
They were just dreams, but they felt so real. And if it were the real you, I know you'd act that way. That's why I decided—I won't let you keep pushing yourself anymore.
Please forgive me for acting on my own. But please, Subaru-kun, live on.
—With love, Rem.
.
.
.
After reading the letter, Subaru was stunned. The contents of the letter matched exactly with the multiple failed timelines he had experienced.
If someone retained their memories after a reset, that might make sense—but he had died during the meeting with Emilia, and again during the attack at the mansion.
So the only possibility left was that Rem had simply dreamed two scenarios that closely resembled the actual events.
"You really are an idiot… No matter what you do, how could I possibly keep living knowing that all of you died? With this power, how could I ever abandon you all…? Once this is over, I'm going to punish you, Rem! Just wait!"
Subaru put the letter away and looked at the road ahead with unwavering determination.
The dragon carriage sped down the road. Subaru advanced toward the scenes etched in his memory. After a while, he saw a thick fog blocking the way ahead.
Judging by the time, the White Whale had likely appeared.
But Subaru was not afraid. He forced the earth dragon to charge into the fog.
However, perhaps it was just his imagination, but Subaru felt like there were more tracks on the road than usual—as if many dragon carriages had passed this way.
Navigating through the thick fog using only his senses, Subaru eventually broke through the forest. But before he could feel relieved—
He heard the White Whale's roar.
Explosions echoed from within the fog. Subaru immediately stopped the carriage.
Staring in the direction of the explosions in shock, he couldn't see anything due to the fog.
But one thing was clear: someone was fighting the White Whale! Realizing this, Subaru quickly changed direction and headed toward the source of the explosions.
This was Lugunica's territory. No one from another country would come here to fight the White Whale.
So who in the kingdom would likely attack the Whale?
The answer was obvious.
The Royal Selection had only just begun, and someone in the capital had been buying up dragon carriages en masse.
During his stay at Crusch's estate, he had also sensed she was preparing for something big.
He had also seen what looked like the tracks of many dragon carriages on the way here.
That meant the ones fighting the White Whale now could only be Crusch and her group.
The Witch Cult wouldn't attack until noon tomorrow.
Having died once facing the White Whale, Subaru knew its strength was no joke—it wouldn't be taken down easily.
If he could help Crusch and her group defeat the White Whale, then asking for a small favor would likely be accepted.
More importantly, whether it was Wilhelm, Felix, or even the once-dismissive Crusch—
To him, they were all friends. And Subaru Natsuki wasn't the kind of person who would abandon friends in danger.
The dragon carriage raced through the dense fog, heading straight toward the explosions.
As he got closer, he began to hear screams of pain.