Chapter 29 29: (Final) Starting Life in Another World from Arrogance

[As payment, Natsuki Subaru received the contact information of both of them.

He then left the makeshift hideout and headed for the Loot House.

The one thing still nagging at him was whether Satella had managed to recover the insignia.

But by the time he arrived at the Loot House, the fighting was already over. Everything had settled into an eerie calm — all that remained was the Loot House, sealed solid in ice.

After asking around, he learned that Felt and Old Rom had been taken into custody by the guards. As for Satella — not only was she unharmed, she had successfully recovered the insignia.

When he heard that, Natsuki Subaru finally let out a long breath. The weight in his chest lifted.

The goal he had been chasing for so long — helping Satella reclaim her insignia — was accomplished. But what came next?

A look of blankness crossed Natsuki Subaru's eyes. He had been dying and resetting over and over this whole time; he'd never once had the breathing room to think that far ahead.

"Damn. Maybe I should just reset again and ask Elsa why she was so fixated on taking Satella's insignia?"]

Every word of Natsuki Subaru's inner world — every thought, every feeling — was laid bare before Emilia now, rendered in text and voice without a single detail omitted.

His casual indifference toward his own life — the sheer carelessness of it — struck Emilia like something had been physically ripped out of her chest. It ached.

"Subaru… please care about yourself a little more. Whether it was you as the Purge King, or you right now — why do you always…"

Emilia's eyes welled with tears. Then, as though a sudden thought pierced her, she grabbed at her own hair in anguish.

"Is it… because of me?"

Her hands stilled. She murmured quietly.

"Then what can I even do for Subaru? I… I want to give something back to him too!"

"Even if I can't think of anything right now, I — "

A fierce, almost obsessive light flickered through Emilia's eyes.

"At least right now, I can take care of Subaru! I'll support every decision he makes — and whatever he asks of me, I'll do it. No matter what!"

The thought made her laugh softly, despite herself.

"Come to think of it, saying all that… it sounds like I'd just be Subaru's very own obedient little puppy."

Without realizing it, Emilia brought both hands up to her flushed cheeks, her breath coming in small, quickened gasps — as though simply imagining that scene was enough to send a thrill through her.

"Though honestly… that doesn't sound so bad!"

[The confusion in Natsuki Subaru's eyes only lasted a moment before it faded away.

Soon, an image surfaced in his mind — Satella.

"I want to know… I want to know Satella's name."

"I want to understand her past. I want to know what she's been doing, and what she wants to do."

Natsuki Subaru's voice came out hoarse. He tilted his head back and watched the blood-red sun bleeding slowly toward the horizon.

"Of course, I could loop an infinite number of times to figure all of that out."

"But is there another way? Can 'you all' tell me?"

Standing before the Loot House, Natsuki Subaru slid both hands into his pockets and turned around to speak.

And then — as though they had heard his call — a group of mysterious figures in black robes and pointed hoods materialized behind him in an instant. Tall ones, short ones, lean ones, stocky ones — every shape and size.

As one, they all leaned forward in a deep, reverent bow — the very picture of subordinates awaiting their master's command.]

"The Witch Cult!"

Outside the screen, Reinhard slammed his fist against the armrest of his chair — and if the rules of this place hadn't held him back, he would have surged to his feet.

Those distinctive robes and hoods — anyone who knew anything about them would recognize this group at a glance. Without question, they were members of the Witch Cult.

But — why so suddenly?

Reinhard had assumed that, at this point in time, Natsuki Subaru had no connection whatsoever to the Witch Cult.

And yet the Subaru on screen was doing this as though it were the most natural thing in the world — clearly, this was far from his first time summoning and commanding them.

And more than that — the Witch Cult operated on a strict internal hierarchy. To be able to command these cultists meant only one thing: Natsuki Subaru had, by this point, already earned the standing to become an Archbishop of the Seven Deadly Sins.

"Just when did this happen… Was it during those 87 loops that were skipped over?"

Reinhard's thoughts moved at lightning speed, and the answer came to him quickly — that was why it had all seemed so sudden.

While all three of them were lost in their own thoughts, the grey screen on the stage dimmed — and then lines of text began to appear.

[Conditions for subsequent story events not triggered. Screening concluded.]

[May you all strive to reach the timeline… where everyone can find happiness.]

Before any of them could react, a familiar wave of exhaustion washed over them. Their eyelids grew heavy, impossible to keep open, and darkness swallowed everything.

—

A sunset like spilled blood. The street in front of the Loot House.

Reinhard faced Emilia and Elsa in a standoff, while Natsuki Subaru was still hidden off to the side, watching the confrontation unfold.

At this point, Elsa had not yet had the chance to reveal Reinhard's backstory — which meant Subaru had gained no clues about the strange state the three of them were in.

And then, in the very next instant —

The three of them — who had been locked in a tense standoff just a moment before — all simultaneously snapped their heads back and took an involuntary step backward in unison.

"Those three… what just happened to them?"

Natsuki Subaru was still puzzling over it when Emilia, Elsa, and Reinhard pressed their hands to their heads and slowly straightened up.

"This is the Loot House… I'm back?"

Emilia's brow knitted deeply as she sorted through her memories.

She had lost control of her emotions and unleashed wide-range magic. Reinhard had drawn the dragon sword to stop her. And then… she seemed to have ended up somewhere very strange, watching many stories about Subaru together with Reinhard and Elsa.

"Could all of that have been a hallucination?"

Emilia glanced up at the Loot House — completely intact.

Shouldn't this building have been blown apart by the shockwaves from her battle with Reinhard?

In a daze, Emilia found herself dimly understanding a fragment of what Natsuki Subaru must have felt across all those loops.

The sunset before her eyes, and the perfectly intact little building, slowly overlapped with the final image that the Arrogance-route Subaru had seen in the cinema.

"Tch — why has time rewound? I was just about to take advantage of those two wearing each other down and make off with Subaru!"

Beside her, Elsa bit down on her own finger hard enough to draw blood, her expression dark and stormy.

While Emilia and Elsa were still standing there dazed —

Reinhard set his jaw and strode toward Natsuki Subaru.

But he was immediately forced to stop.

Because the two women — who a moment ago had been either stunned or stewing in regret — moved as one the instant he stepped forward, planting themselves squarely in his path.

Emilia's expression was taut with urgency.

"Reinhard — you still remember what happened in that space, don't you? Then you should know that the Subaru in front of us right now isn't…"

"—I know!"

Reinhard's scarlet eyes blazed — as though a pure and noble soul had been set alight inside them.

He turned to face Natsuki Subaru with quiet, solemn gravity, and spoke words that left everyone present speechless.

"Subaru — I'm sorry."

"…Huh?"

Natsuki Subaru's jaw dropped. From his perspective, Reinhard and Emilia had been in the middle of a fight — and then, out of nowhere, the man had turned to him and apologized.

What on earth was going on?

"Previously, for certain reasons, I caught a glimpse of the future. I saw… an image of Subaru becoming an Archbishop of Arrogance in the Witch Cult and burning the Royal Capital to the ground."

"With my mind clouded by hatred, I arrived at the idea of eliminating you before that could come to pass."

Reinhard laid out his experience to Natsuki Subaru with complete sincerity — and before Subaru could even respond, his tone shifted.

"But — for certain reasons, I have now changed my mind."

"Subaru, I am truly sorry. I only now understand that what I saw was merely one possible future."

"And yet, on the strength of that single possibility alone, I let my emotions take control — and wanted to kill you."

"…That is a violation of the knightly code. And it is a violation of the… guardian's creed that comes with being a Sword Saint."

Reinhard gave Natsuki Subaru a deep, formal knight's salute.

"As the Sword Saint, I have no desire to see the day you bring ruin upon the Royal Capital. But — and you may not fully grasp what I mean by this — I am equally unwilling to sacrifice a friend's life over a mere possibility."

"Therefore, Subaru — I, Reinhard van Astrea, swear this here and now."

"When the moment calls for it, I will lend you my strength and help you rewrite the wrong ending."

"I offer the power I possess — to become the sword in your hands. And though… my abilities may not be of the very highest order, I trust they will be sufficient for your purposes, Subaru."

Then, as though something had just occurred to him, Reinhard smiled.

"In that case, there will be no need for you to seek power from other sources."

"I alone will be enough."

"But in return —" Reinhard's tone shifted as he looked at Natsuki Subaru, whose stunned expression was quickly giving way to elated disbelief.

"I will need to add one condition to this oath — and that is that you, Subaru, must make a promise to me in return —"

...

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