Re:Zero - Starting from Zero (Natsuki Subaru)

"Mr. Natsuki, are you listening?"

"Mr. Natsuki, are you alright?"

Otto's shout pulled Subaru Natsuki back to reality.

"Of course, I'm full of energy!"

Natsuki Subaru smiled confidently and crossed his arms.

"Does it look strange?" Natsuki Subaru asked in confusion.

"No, it's not surprising at all."

"He looks remarkably composed." Otto turned around.

"Right? In that case..."

"But you've seen Lady Emilia's condition... Doesn't this make you even more worrying?"

Otto turned his head and looked at Subaru Natsuki with some concern.

Subaru Natsuki's pupils contracted slightly.

Do you think I'm being overly calm?

"Yes, it's not that it's bad, but..."

It must be said that Otto is truly perceptive.

"Thanks to you, I have confidence now. Thank you, Otto."

Subaru Natsuki smiled and said something that Otto found completely baffling and incomprehensible.

"It proves that even after so many things have happened, I can still think things through calmly," Natsuki Subaru said.

"No, I think there might be a world of difference between appearing calm and actually being able to act calmly."

Otto said somewhat uneasily.

"The other party is Roswaal."

"I won't be fooled by him this time."

Just then, Garfield walked over from a distance carrying a lantern.

"Hey, are you free?"

"Garfield?"

"You're also someone whose actions are unpredictable," Natsuki Subaru retorted.

"Huh?" Garfield frowned.

"If I hadn't called you back last time, wouldn't you have gone home much sooner?"

"I have important things to do." Natsuki Subaru put his hands on his hips.

"Isn't it just plotting some schemes with that bastard?"

"Don't think I'm plotting something," Garfield said unhappily.

"So you wanted to see me about something? Is it related to the Sanctuary?" Natsuki Subaru asked.

"What else do you think I'll say to you?"

Garfield didn't answer, but instead pointed at Subaru Natsuki.

"Maybe you want to investigate Ram?" Natsuki Subaru stroked his chin.

"Her type is tall, and her makeup looks like a clown..." Natsuki Subaru continued.

"Stop talking, it's making me uncomfortable!" Garfield knew perfectly well who Subaru Natsuki was talking about.

"Alright, I'm going to go talk to him about his sweetheart."

"Huh?" Otto was taken aback.

"Please, Otto, can we talk again tomorrow?"

"I understand. Then you'll have to help me with the matter with the border Count tomorrow..." Otto said.

Otto left.

"Let's go somewhere else, follow me!"

Garfield grumbled and told Subaru to follow.

"Why is this development different from before?"

Natsuki Subaru thought to himself, but still followed in Garfield's footsteps.

Garfield walked ahead in silence, without saying a word.

Natsuki Subaru, on the other hand, wanted to gather more information.

After all, even after returning from the dead twice, Subaru Natsuki still has very little information at his disposal.

"How long has it been since you last saw Frederica?"

Why should I tell you these things?

"I was just trying to ask."

"She's already left; it's none of my business anymore."

Garfield seemed reluctant to talk about Frederica.

"That's it. I know you and Frederica are siblings."

"So, Frederica is mixed-race like you, so why is she allowed to go out?"

Subaru Natsuki pressed for an answer.

Subaru Natsuki was genuinely curious, after all, if hybrids could find a way to go outside the Sanctuary like Frederica did.

Wouldn't that make the current predicament easier to solve?

"So what if you know?"

"Whether you know it or not, the barrier can only be opened by passing a trial."

Garfield said unhappily

"Knowing this will give you more choices."

"I like to gather information before figuring out how to clear the game," Natsuki Subaru explained.

Garfield didn't say anything more.

"arrive."

Natsuki Subaru saw a girl in front of him who looked exactly like Ryuzu.

"Did Ryuzu want to see me about something?"

"You can think of it this way: Aga is my follower."

"That's what the girl in front of me said."

"Is this where you rest?"

"Does inviting me to a place like this mean they're about to reveal a secret?"

"That's wishful thinking."

"So, Ryuzu, can you answer the question from before?"

"How wishful thinking! What will As do now that he knows about this?"

Ryuzu countered with a question.

"I will use this method to bring the people in the Sanctuary out of the barrier."

"That way, we won't have to go through the trials."

Subaru Natsuki said earnestly.

So far, Subaru Natsuki has been unable to come up with any way to break the deadlock, but the matter of Frederica has given him a glimmer of hope.

Mixed-race individuals can leave the barrier.

If we could leave without going through the trials...

"That makes sense, but why are you so determined to avoid the trial?" Ryuzu asked.

"I don't want Emilia to undergo the trial; that's just my stubbornness," Subaru Natsuki interrupted Ryuzu.

The evening breeze blew through Ryuzu's hair.

Ryuzu smiled helplessly.

"This is how you deal with trials."

"But you can't just run away every time you face hardship."

Ryuzu said.

"I didn't say I was going to keep running away."

"Emilia said that one day we have to face the past, not necessarily now," Natsuki Subaru said.

"Are you trying to give her a way out, but not let her escape what's causing her the most pain?"

"I admire her greatly and believe she will be able to overcome her pain head-on."

Ryuzu fell silent after hearing Subaru Natsuki's words.

Garfield, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore and clicked his tongue.

"Grandma, tell me, this is no different from Gadki Guyadseando's seclusion in the mountains!"

"Thank you for reminding me, but I don't know what you're talking about," Natsuki Subaru said somewhat helplessly.

"What Aga is trying to say is that there are no shortcuts."

"Frandelica being able to go out is an exception."

"She does not meet the conditions for being imprisoned by the barrier."

Ryuzu said this.

"The conditions for being imprisoned by the barrier? Isn't it just being half-blood?" Natsuki Subaru guessed.

"No, there are no exceptions." Ryuzu shook his head.

"The barrier determines whether someone is of mixed blood based on their blood concentration."

"If the concentrations of human blood and subhuman blood are equal, they will be imprisoned by the barrier."

"but……"

Subaru Natsuki's pupils contracted slightly.

"Not half and half? If it's only 1/4 mixed blood, it won't be affected by the barrier?"

"so?"

As if he had just thought of something, Natsuki Subaru turned to look at Garfield.

"They don't share the same father."

"I am Garfield Dingzel."

"Her surname is different from mine, isn't it?"

Garfield stood with his hands on his hips.

Subaru Natsuki recalled the self-introduction that Frederica gave when he first met her.

"I am Frederica Baumann."

Really.

In other words, is there no other way but to pass the trial?

"She is the child of a human mother and a mixed-race father."

"So she can freely enter and leave the forest," Ryuzu explained, but this explanation displeased Garfield.

"Freely enter and exit the forest? You must be kidding me!"

"She hasn't come back for 10 years. Frederica has abandoned this place!!"

Garfield seems to have a lot of opinions about Frederica.