Re; A Hero’s New Life in a New World!
Chapter 13 — “Rem”
There were two species of demons. The overworld demons, and the underworld demons. The latter-type of demons lived in a different realm, with great numbers. While the former-type of demons could live in the more enjoyable realm, they possessed a crushingly low population, so, they were obliged to live in poor villages, deep within the mountains, away from most other races.
One day, in one of those villages, female twins were born. One of them possessed pink hair, while the other had blue. Normally, demons had two horns they could use, but twins only had one. One horn each. Which was why twins were considered taboo and needed to be discarded immediately.
The fate of this pair of twins ought to have ended then and there. And it would have, had one of the twins not displayed her gift from the heavens with a tremendous burst of magical power the very moment the chief, having made the bitter decision, was about to render judgment by his own hand. The twins were named Ram and Rem, the older—and more powerful one—being named Ram.
While the twins occupied the lowest rung on the ladder of the tribe—everyone was speechless of Ram’s authority. She was destined from birth to become the pinnacle of the horned demons, the mightiest of all humanoid races. Unlike her older sister, Rem was average among the demons, nothing too good about her; nothing too bad, either.
All Rem could do was stumble down her older sister’s path to glory. Compared to Ram, she did not have a shred of confidence, she cowered behind her sister’s back like a shadow. That was how the young Rem coped. That was how she protected her immature heart. It wasn’t that she was jealous of her older sister. She admired her. She adored her.
It wasn’t that her parents hated her. They loved the younger as well as the older. It wasn’t as if their people had spurned Rem. Of course, they had high hopes. She was her little sister. Her sister, kinder than anyone; her parents, full of expectations; all her kin, cheering her on to excel like her twin—these were the little cuts that chafed Rem.
No doubt it was the direct consequence of her and her sister looking like two peas in a pod. Yet even though their heights and faces were identical, their qualities as demons were on completely different scales. Of course, Rem strived to change those circumstances. It may have been no more than shallow, clumsy trial-and-error efforts by a young child, but Rem tried any and every way of getting closer to her older sister, to beat her in even a single area.
But Ram was simply better at everything. And so, Rem was still a young child when she learned that the sister to whom she was closest, the sister she loved more than anything, occupied an area that she could never, ever reach.
She could never stand by her sister’s side. Ram would always walk ahead of her, bathed in the light of the world. Rem’s place was behind her sister, cowering behind her back, peeking out once in a while, only to shrink away from the dazzling light. Once she gave up, she could accept the sufferings of daily life, like a reed bending with the wind. She wondered how long she would have to bear her own weak capitulation.
One night, Rem woke up from her sleep. The first thing she noticed was that her sister, who normally slept beside her, was not there. She jumped off the bed and went to reach for the door. As soon as she touched the doorknob, her hand had a burning sensation that lasted a few seconds.
She knew something serious was happening. A horn grew on her head and she crashed through the door, breaking it. Everywhere she looked, she saw flames. As soon as she saw her parents among the corpses of the flames, she lost all sense of rationality and fell to her knees. Then, four men in purple robes appeared around her. As they raised the silver blades in their hands, Rem knew she was finished.
Or so she thought. Immediately, all of the four men lost their heads. Rem saw her older sister walking up to her. Just as they were about to hug, another purple-robed man appeared and sliced Ram’s horn off. Rem saw the severed horn spin round and round and round.
She saw blood gush out from her sister’s forehead. She heard someone’s high-pitched scream. She listened to the cries of the sister she adored, the sister who had shielded her and taken the blow for her, as the beautiful white horn that she had so envied tumbled through the sky.
“—Finally. It finally broke off.”
That was the thought she had.
When Rem woke up, she noticed that her feet weren’t on the ground. There was an arm wrapped around her waist. Someone was carrying her.
“Barusu, hurry up, you’re too slow.”
“Don’t ask too much of me…! I’m running as fast as I can…!”
She heard two familiar voices. Her sister’s and Subaru’s.
“Subaru-kun… what…”
“You’re awake, Rem?”
Ram smiled at her sister waking up. As she was about to say something, two Demon Beasts tried to attack them. She used a Wind Magic spell, [Fura], to cut through them, with ease. They ran towards a different direction and hid behind a large bush.
“Why…” Rem asked. “Why didn’t you just leave me alone? For you and Nee-sama to show up makes it all pointless. I have to do it by myself. It’s… it’s my fault that you two are hurt. So, I have to take responsibility. If I don’t I cannot do anything for Nee-sama or for you…”
Rem began to tear up.
“I haven’t changed at all. I committed the same sin as I did back then…”
“Rem…”
“Yes?” she asked as she raised her head back up. Subaru immediately head-butted her. The cut on his forehead then re-opened.
“—For starters, are you dumb? No! You are dumb!”
“Barusu, the cut on your forehead reopened and is now bleeding.”
“I know, I’m dumb too. But your sister is dumber! Listen, three heads thinking together, are harder to break than only one arrow! It means you should rely on those around you, instead of thinking about stuff alone!”
“Subaru-kun…”
The demon beasts began sniffing the ground, searching for the three that were hiding. The three then made the plan that while Ram carried Rem and retreated, Subaru would deal with the Demon Beasts.
“…There’s no way you will survive. Please don’t… if you do that, Rem will… Subaru-kun… why would you do all of this?”
“Well,” he said. He grabbed Rem and put her on Ram’s back. “You were my partner for my very first date. I wouldn’t be so heartless, as to desert you. Alright, guess I better go ahead and do this, take good care of Rem, Onee-sama!”
“I’ll be paying for our safe reunion, Barusu.”
Ram ran with Rem on her back. Subaru whispered something to himself, which made all of the Demon Beasts turn to him. He ran while the Demon Beasts followed him. He saw the little puppy that bit him the other day. The small puppy transformed into a large dog, it appeared to be a bigger version than the other Demon Beasts.
“Nee-sama! Subaru-kun is… Subaru-kun is…”
“Don’t look back, Rem. Barusu’s determination will be for nothing.”
Despite what her sister said, Rem continued to look back. She began to remember Subaru, and all of her interactions with him. She closed her eyes. “Onee-chan!” Ram’s expression greatly trembled in response to Rem’s heartfelt shout. Ram bit her lip, her eyes wide open as her feet came to a stop. Rem instantly twisted her body, escaping her sister’s arms to fall to the ground, rolling as she looked behind them—and saw Subaru’s back as he ran.
She knew he wouldn’t—and couldn’t—survive in a battle against a giant beast like that. She extended her arm, trying to do something.
“Subaru-kun!”
Justice arrived at the area. His eyes widened when he saw Subaru going up against that Juggernaught. His arm generated fire. As he was about to unleash his Magic, more Demon Beasts showed up and attacked him, not allowing him to help Subaru.
“Just stand still a little bit longer…” Subaru thought to himself as he stared down the beast in front of him. Even though Justice was facing off against the other Demon Beasts, he swiftly extended his hand towards Subaru’s direction and released his Magic. The Juggernaught ducked and dodged the attack, the same could not be said for the Demon beasts behind it, that were burned.
Subaru turned around and saw Justice continuing to fight against the Demon Beasts.
“Woah, when did you get here?!”
The beast raised its paw fully intending to attack the black-haired boy in front of it. Moments before it could swing its paw down and attack Subaru, a dirty, tattered, black book, which was surrounded by red light hit the beast’s face with extremely fast speed, causing its attack to miss.
—It was Subaru’s grimoire.
“My turn!!”
Subaru jumped up and used his sword given to him by the villagers, to stab the beast’s neck. Subaru landed and began to run away, not even looking back. The beast was not done, yet. It caught up to Subaru and used its massive paw to pin him down.
He grabbed the sword out of the demon beast and plunged it into the creature’s mouth with all his might. The fatal blow delivered to the inside of its mouth sent the demon beast roaring and flinging Subaru’s body away. Subaru tumbled across the ground, holding onto the sword, then held it before him as he looked up at the demon beast.
“What’s the matter? Bring it on, boss-garm!”
The beast raised its paw again, also raising the suspense for everyone at the scene.
“—[Ul Goa].”
A fireball was launched from the sky, towards the beast. Subaru watched as the ground before him, turned into a massive wall of fire. More fireballs were launched in other directions, burning and killing the remaining demon beasts that were still in the area. Subaru looked at the wall of fire in bewilderment. The man who had directed the demon beast’s fiery-death scene floated down from the sky, a flippant smile on his face.
“Oh, myyyyyy! You look an absolute fright.”
“You’re way too late, Ros-chi…”
“In the village, Miss. Emilia droooove your location into me quite thoroughly. ‘Even if it’s rash or reckless, he’ll use his newly learned magic if he’s cornered, so don’t lose sight of him from above,’ she said. The newwww violet-haired girl tried to prevent me from coming here as she wanted to chat with me about somethinggg. In the end, she gave in and told me to help you, ‘As fast as I can.’”
“Roswaal-sama!”
Ram—with Rem leaning on her shoulder—and Justice walked over to where the two men were. Ram politely bowed. “I am sorry to cause you so much trouble,” she said.
“Oh no, that is quite fiiine. Indeed, you have done veeery well in my absence,” Blushing hard at the words of praise, Ram pressed a hand to her chest as she made a solemn nod.
“—Subaru-kun!”
Rem suddenly rushed over and embraced Subaru. They both fell down at the same time. Rem hugged him with all her might. “You’re alive. You’re still alive. Subaru-kun, Subaru-kun…Subaru-kun!”
Rem was too overcome with emotion to notice how Subaru was reacting. He felt her press her face against his chest and her warm teardrops flowing down her cheek. A wide range of ticklish sensations struck him, well beyond the capacity of Subaru’s brain to deal with.
“Oh, man…not this…again…”
As Subaru spoke, his head slowly tilted forward, his neck no longer able to support itself. His mind grew distant. The voices grew faint. Finally, he went unconscious.
Subaru woke up. The first thing his eyes took in was the same familiar, ornate ceiling. Subaru blinked several times in the moments it took him to arrive at that thought after waking.
“—It seems…you are awake?”
The voice came from the edge of the bed, and at point-blank range.
Subaru turned his head, which rested on an exceptionally soft pillow, and narrowed his eyes upon the girl sitting right beside him.
“I suppose in one sense, having a maid by your side when you wake up is a man’s cherished desire.”
“…Considering my degree of carelessness, this is the least I can do to atone.”
“Man, that’s such a negative thing to say, Rem.”
With Rem’s eyes downturned, Subaru sat up, punctuating each movement with a word as he took his right hand from under the blankets and lifted it up. It was firmly in Rem’s grasp.
“Did I do this? If I just grabbed you and didn’t let go… That’s kind of embarrassing. It’s like when I was a kid and wouldn’t let go of my favorite towel.”
“Er, no, that’s…”
When Subaru posed the question, still holding Rem’s hand as he glanced at her, he saw her cheeks redden just a bit.
“I…did it. You looked like you were in pain when you were sleeping, so, I wanted to do what would have made me the happiest, in this situation.”
Subaru smiled.
“So, have the curses been dispelled?”
“Yes. Roswaal-sama and Gordon-sama took care of all the fiends. There is no longer any need to worry about those curses,” she looked at Subaru once more. She lowered her head. “I am sorry, Subaru-kun.”
“Hey… lift your head. Even though you look pretty calm and composed, you’re actually neither, right?”
“I understand that I am a powerless incompetent demon-clan dropout,” she said, tearing up. “I can never reach my sister’s level… I am just a failed substitute. Why… why were we born as twins…?”
“You know… you keep putting Ram on a pedestal. In reality, you’re stronger than her, you can cook better, she slacks on the job, says mean things—”
“—You’re wrong… you’re wrong… you wouldn’t say these things if she had her horn…”
“But Ram doesn’t have her horn, so I don’t know that Ram. You should acknowledge that you have what Ram lacks. You are kind, diligent, you always do your best, oh, and your breasts are bigger,” he said.
“It’s because of your effort that I’m here, breathing, now. Not just because of your sister, but also because of you. You were the one that was there for me, first. I’m glad you were there for me. Thank you.”
“I am… I’ve always been a substitute for Nee-sama…”
“Since you love talking about being Ram’s substitute,” he said, pointing at his forehead. “Why don’t you just be the substitute for Ram’s horn? Besides, even if you were to treat yourself as her substitute, doesn’t that mean Ram has no substitute for you? Can you imagine what Ram would do if you weren’t here?”
Rem just stared and listened to him, appearing shocked.
“In my hometown, they say ‘Demons will laugh when you talk about the future,’ so… laugh, Rem. Don’t cry. Laugh. Instead of looking back, let’s talk about the future, and laugh more. For now, let’s start talking about tomorrow.”
“Talking about tomorrow…?”
“Yeah. For instance, what to cook for breakfast tomorrow. No matter how dull the topic is, let’s talk about tomorrow, because there is a tomorrow. How about it?”
“…I am extremely weak, surely I will end up leaning on you…”
“What’s wrong with that? I’m weak, stupid, scary-looking and dense. But, I still live life, expecting others to take care of me… Let’s stand together, and talk about the future. I’ve always wanted to do that and laugh with a demon!”
“…I guess I’m demon-possessed, huh?”
“You bet.”
Subaru closed one eye with the corner of his lips curled up. Rem apparently couldn’t resist making a small smile herself. She laughed, and as she laughed, tears poured out of the corners of her eyes. The seemingly endless tears poured out, flowing and flowing, but Rem continued to laugh even so.
Rem laughed, Rem cried, Rem buried her face in a pillow to suppress her laughing, sobbing voice. Even so, her mirthful, tearful voice quietly filled the room. Subaru gently caressed Rem’s hair the whole while, his right hand grasping hers. Softly, softly, he stroked her hair.
It was night and the sun had finally set. Justice was in his room. He looked at the many stars in the sky through his window. Seeing the beautiful night sky only made him remember the night sky from his own world. He continued to eye it, until someone stood in his room’s doorway.
“I need to talk to you.”
“Well, come in.”
It was a female. The violet-haired girl who saved everyone from the Branwen Tribe. The girl who claimed to be royalty, Aisha Landar. Justice’s response made her narrow her eyes, irritatingly. She listened to what he said and entered his room. She leaned on the wall, with her arms crossed.
“Did you finally get that long-awaited talk with Roswaal you’ve been wanting so much?” he asked her.
“No. He’s been busy ever since he came back. Now, he’s talking to the pink-haired maid, about something.”
“I see. What did you want to talk about?”
“…I know that you’re from Lunin.”
Justice’s eyes widened. “How did you know that?” He immediately asked her.
“I’ll have you know, I’m royalty, so don’t talk to me so casually. To answer your question: I’m also from that country. You probably know, but my old man is the current king of the country.”
“…That’s why I recognized your name… H–How long have you been here—in this world, I mean.”
“Can it with the questions, I’m royalty. But, I probably haven’t been here as long as here. I’ve only been here for around five days. It was easy to recognize that you were from the same country as me. You wear the traditional Knight armor, from the country, your Mana is different compared to everyone, and… I knew someone who looked somewhat like you.”
Justice thought about his older sister, who was mostly assigned to protect royalty and nobility whenever they would travel.
“Was her name Elesis? Elesis Hendricks?”
Aisha sighed angerly as Justice asked another question.
“I mean, probably. Her strength was praised by my parents and some of my other relatives, which was why they would always make her protect them when they would go somewhere. It was easy to understand, though. Her strength was unparalleled by anyone in the kingdom. It was crazy to believe that, even though she possessed so much power, she was only a commoner.”
“Were you with her on the day of that catastrophe?”
“Who knows? I don’t. Anyway, I’m leaving. You ask way too many questions.”
“Wait!”
She did not wait and just left the room. Justice didn’t want to chase after her, as she looked pretty angry. He only stared at the hallway through his opened door. He grieved how much he missed his sister, the children at the church, and his friends. However, he was a bit happy to know that there was, at least, someone from his world, in this new world. He had a little bit of hope left.
[Previous Chapter] — [Next Chapter]
Author’s Comments
This is the first Chapter—not counting Chapter 1—that I’ve finished before my planned deadline! Woooooooh! Congrats to me!!! Ngl, but I am extremely proud of myself. Because of this extreme accomplishment for me, you can expect to see weekly Chapters! Every Chapter, from now on, are going to be pre-made Chapters! Though, I cannot guarantee anything, just yet.
Just a note: Some of the text in this Chapter are excerpts from Tappei Nagatsuki’s third volume of Re:Zero. I really wanted this emotion to have the same amount of emotion the real product had, so I really had to put some excerpts here. Make sure to check out everything he writes! It’s all amazing!
I am extremely happy that I was able to finish this chapter. The next 6 (or more) Chapters until Arc 3 starts, are all going to be different from the Re:Zero storyline. That’s right, these next Chapters are where Re;Hero will actually start to differentiate from Re:Zero, as I promised last Arc. I really can’t wait to get to work on those Chapters, so, I’ll see you all soon!
Until Next Time!
— Mugen
Re;Hero 