Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

――He had imagined that the time to pay off his accrued debts would have arrived more dramatically.

???: [――Heinkel Astrea-dono, there is an active order requiring your presence at the Royal Capital. You shall be coming with us.]

Informed as such by the Knights that surrounded him, all clad in the white garb of the Kingdom’s Royal Guard, Heinkel had been sitting in the corner of a tavern during the middle of the day, cheap booze in hand, anguishing over the gloominess of his future prospects.

Faced with the Knights who, aware of his identity, had called for his surrender, Heinkel felt genuine sympathy for them, seeing as how they were being forced to do a job they did not want to do.

Heinkel: [Royal Capital, the Royal Capital, huh… just what crime could they possibly be trying to arrest me for?]

Knight: [Unfortunately, we lack the authorization to inform you. Still, if you are going to resist…]

The air of tension amongst the knights rose palpably.

His exhales carried a thick scent of liquor, but the intoxication had yet to reach his head. Through the senses of his skin, Heinkel deduced that other than the three before his eyes, there was also a squadron of Knights waiting outside the tavern.

To make a long story short, they would not hesitate to use force. And, Heinkel did not possess the strength to force their senses of duty to yield.

Above all――,

Heinkel: [Even if I flee, it’s a stalemate, huh…]

It was not at all as though he had merely been gulping down cheap booze in despair. Before he ever filled his mouth with liquor, he had thoroughly wracked his mind in search of any means possible. After that, the reason he had headed to this tavern was because no matter how far he went, he had not wished to admit it. ――That he had already exhausted every possible option.

Heinkel: [――――]

Looking down at the cup still half filled with alcohol atop the bar counter, Heinkel bit his lip.

For the two objectives Heinkel needed to accomplish no matter what, there was a position he absolutely needed to acquire at any cost―― a position that would allow him to intervene in the Royal Selection.

Originally, his contact with Priscilla had been a coincidence, so it was purely by chance that he had been granted that position, but he had realized far too late that it was something he could not afford to lose. Hence, the best course of action Heinkel could take would be to seek employment at one of the two camps that remained after excluding the Crush Camp, where his father was involved, and the Felt Camp, where his son was involved.

Heinkel: [Emilia-sama’s camp is out of the question, and the Kararagi… Anastasia-sama’s camp would also probably be…]

Unfeasable; even Heinkel could comprehend that.

He would have liked to place hope in Anastasia’s reasonability as a merchant, but as he had learned in the Vollachian Empire, she was quite friendly with Emilia. In all likelihood, she would have already heard about the disgraceful display Heinkel had made in front of Emilia.

Even if not, Heinkel was also self-aware that his reputation was the absolute worst.

Ergo, Heinkel had no chance of being employed by any of the Royal Candidates.

And thus, that had been more than enough of a reason for him to have been completely crushed, the faint ray of hope he had begun to glimpse extinguished.

Knight: [Heinkel Astrea-dono. ――Your response.]

Pressed for a definitive answer amidst the mounting tension, Heinkel gulped down all the remaining booze in his cup, and lowered his hands.

Not once did he feel the mettle to attempt reaching for the beloved sword by his waist.

As they escorted him away, they did not even bother binding Heinkel’s arms as they stuffed him in a dragon carriage, somewhat anticlimactically.

He had been fully prepared for a more violent journey, such that they did not even treat him as human.

Heinkel: […In the end, what sort of pretext is this?]

Stuck between the Knights who, as always, would not answer him even if he asked, Heinkel pondered what crime of his was being called into question. ――There were many possibilities that came to mind.

He had completely abandoned both his obligations as Deputy Commander of the Royal Guard, and his position as lord of the Astrea domain; it was also completely possible that he was under suspicion of meddling in the domestic affairs of the Vollachian Empire. If it was about something more recent, there was also the fact that he had been about to assist in the scheme plotted by Aldebaran.

But then again, as he was the one who had been approached with the proposal, he wished to cry out, “This isn’t what we agreed on!” seeing as the plan had completely fallen apart before even a single thing could commence.

However, Heinkel did not have any intent of blaming Aldebaran for that.

Someone had attempted to accomplish something, and it had come to an end with them having failed to achieve it. If that were something to be blamed for, then even if Heinkel were to drown to death a hundred times in a sea of blame, it would still not be enough.

Once again, everything was back to square one.

That went for both dragging Reinhard down from the seat of Sword Saint, and awakening his wife who had been slumbering for nigh on twenty years.

Or, perhaps this was a good time.

With even his reason to keep struggling on taken away from him, perhaps this was a good time for him to be told to just give up already. If that were the case, he might have even laughed.

Heinkel: […Still, this is strange.]

Escorted all the way to the Royal Capital by the Knights who had assiduously refused to tell him anything over these few days, Heinkel furrowed his brow at the fact that he had not come out of the dragon carriage to the sight of the Royal Castle, a guard station, or even a prison.

What lay before his eyes was an old chapel constructed in a section of the Royal Capital―― belonging to the Church of the Divine Dragon, it was a building that Heinkel found difficult to face directly.

Speaking of the Church of the Divine Dragon, it was the state religion of the Kingdom of Lugunica, a bastion of prayer where many citizens, though varying in their piety, devote their faith toward the Divine Dragon, whose favor they all partake in.

In the past, Heinkel too had ventured there many a time to offer up prayers, wishing for the awakening of his slumbering wife. ――But, after that night, never did he return. He had no right to set foot there; at present, that was Heinkel’s self-evaluation in regards to the church.

In the Church of the Divine Dragon’s house of prayer, what awaited Heinkel as he was shoved along through the entrance, was a girl in a nun’s habit, with long golden hair, and ruby eyes――,

???: [Ah! I’ve been waiting for you, Heinkel-sama!]

The instant she saw Heinkel’s face, the girl clamorously flew out of her chair, quickly rushing toward him. At the momentum of the restless girl wearing a beaming smile, Heinkel reflexively took half a step back.

What he had sensed was not hostility. It was goodwill. The reason he had fallen back was not because of a threat. It was because of suspicion. The reason for that suspicion, upon eyeing the girl up and down once more, immediately connected.

Beautiful golden hair, and ruby eyes akin to blazing jewels.

Those traits ought to have been impossible.

Girl: [――I am Filóre Lugunica. I’m delighted to have the pleasure of meeting you like this, Heinkel-sama. I’ve been looking forward to your arrival!]

Heinkel: [Fil… oh-re…!?]

Filóre: [――? Yes, that is correct, Filóre. That is my… wait, that’s right! People who know it are always shocked when they hear it! Recently, everything all around me has gotten all busy and hectic, so I forgot to be careful about that.]

Sticking out her tongue to hide her embarrassment as she spoke, as the girl―― as the one who called herself Filóre faced him, Heinkel could not put into words the turbulence that had assailed him.

After all, it was impossible for there to be two people in this world who bore that name.

Filóre: [All of you, thank you very much for your assistance. For your wonderful work, the Dragon will also surely be delighted. “The arm of man doth swing the sword, but it be the Dragon’s will that deals in life. Under the footprints of a Knight chosen, even the most bloodied of ruts turn to roads of silver.” This too, is in the scriptures.]

Filóre called out to the Knights standing at the entrance to the chapel, behind the shaken Heinkel. At the sonorous reverberation of her voice, the Knights all exchanged glances.

Of course, from their perspective, having been the ones to drag Heinkel here, they would not want to do something like leaving Filóre and Heinkel alone here. But, without taking notice of the Knights’ concerns, Filóre declared “You need not fear!” with a clenched fist,

Filóre: [This personage is of the line of Sword Saints, the magnificent gentleman chosen by the Divine Dragon, I give him my personal stamp of approval! This is an extremely momentous encounter for the very Kingdom itself!]

As Filóre thud her own chest and talked bombastically, the Knights’ discomfiture did not fade.

On the other hand, Heinkel also had some vehement reservations about her remarks. It was to such an extent that it had managed to pull him back to reality from the initial shock of her name.

Knight: [If anything happens, please call out. We shall be on standby outside.]

Given their position, that was the limit on how much they were able to compromise.

And leaving those words behind, keeping a stern gaze on Heinkel until the very end, the Knights closed the entrance to the chapel, and took their posts outside. Once the sight of those Knights disappeared behind the doors, Filóre grumbled “How difficult” whilst folding her arms.

Filóre: [The situation is what it is, so it’s only natural that everyone is so worried, but… right now, this takes priority. Once again, Heinkel Astrea-sama, it is a pleasure to…]

Heinkel: [――Just before, what the hell were you trying to do?]

Filóre: [Fweh?]

Taking a step, he closed the distance of the half-step he had previously taken back, and questioned the other party. In doing so, as he looked down at Filóre from up close, her ruby eyes widened.

What discomforting eyes those were. In her refined facial features, he sensed far too many similarities to the Lugunican Royal Family. ――But, that could not be possible.

Heinkel: [Filóre Lugunica, is the princess who vanished from the castle fifteen years ago. And if it’s about her, she was already found in the slums quite a while ago, and now, in the Royal Selection…]

Filóre: [――Ah, you mean Felt, right? Indeed, I’ve heard that she also has those suspicions hanging over her. But, amongst ourselves, we have reached the conclusion that it doesn’t matter either way.]

Heinkel: [Ah…?]

Filóre: [It is possible that either she or myself is that princess who disappeared from the Royal Castle fifteen years ago. As it so happens, both of us are around fifteen years of age, and I believe there is a miraculous serendipity transpiring in that regard. However, that is unimportant.]

Heinkel: [J-just what sort of ridiculous nonsense are you on about!]

As Filóre brazenly touched so nonchalantly upon one of the foremost incidents of the Kingdom, Heinkel raised his voice.

In reality, it was ridiculous nonsense. Due to that terrible incident, there were several things that had ended up straying from the right path. And, it was not a matter unrelated to Heinkel either.

On that night fifteen years prior, the several occurrences that took place at the Royal Castle Lugunica――,

Heinkel: [That ties back to what you said earlier! That I’m of the line of Sword Saints, that I was chosen by the Dragon, spouting all sorts of nonsense…]

Filóre: [But, fifteen years ago, the one who basked in the Dragon’s Blood kept safe in the Royal Castle, never succumbing to the power it holds, before ultimately adapting to it… wasn’t it you, Heinkel-sama?]

Heinkel: [Wha――]

Filóre: [Ah, this was something that needs to be kept secret, right? To tell you the truth, it was something I stealthily read in the confidential records of the Church, so I only realized later that it was something that couldn’t be spread around.]

Though Filóre was belatedly trying to keep her voice hushed, Heinkel was in no state to care about that.

The Dragon’s Blood from fifteen years prior; the fact that it was even brought up in the first place was a shock, but the pièce de résistance was the fact that it was documented in something like the confidential records of the Church of the Divine Dragon.

The reason was lost on him. There was certainly a time when Heinkel had frequented the church, but it was not as though he was a devout adherent, nor had he ever done anything like confessing his inner heart to no avail.

Above all――,

Heinkel: [――――]

The suspicions raised against him, and the events of that night fifteen years ago: he would absolutely never reveal them.

The responsibility for the matter did not lie with Heinkel alone. It was an incident of grave importance that could well impact the rest of House Astrea, and the entirety of the Kingdom of Lugunica.

It was by no means a matter that would be put to rest if Heinkel alone were to lay bare his own heart.

Heinkel: [Hah, I’ve got absolutely no idea what you’re going on about, you damn phony princess.]

Thus, as Heinkel’s cheeks contorted with spinelessness, he attempted to viciously scorn Filóre.

Upon hearing it, Filóre widened her eyes, catching her breath at Heinkel’s denial. Did she really not consider that she might be denied? In that case, she was a foolish girl.

Heinkel: [Did you think that if you crashed into things head-first with honesty, everything would just neatly bounce back to you? If so, that’s an unthinkably carefree approach. The world isn’t such a nice place.]

Filóre: [Heinkel-sama…]

Heinkel: [Don’t go slapping on honorifics as if they’re some kinda uniform! I don’t know what you’re expecting from me, but it’s too bad. Chosen by the Divine Dragon? Don’t joke with me. The line of Sword Saints? Is that your aim? The Royal Castle and the Church of the Divine Dragon have always kept a distance! If you guys revere the Divine Dragon above all else, then Reinhard must be in your way, yeah!?]

Rapidly spitting out a string of foul speech, he felt the depths of his chest being tainted in viscous black.

He had just been half-mindedly vocalizing his thoughts, but surprisingly, he felt like the words he was saying rang true. The name of the Sword Saint was renowned in the Kingdom of Lugunica, and in the current age of Reinhard, celebrated as the strongest one in history, it could possibly be said that it was approaching the realm of religious faith.

It was possible that for the Church of the Divine Dragon, Reinhard was something like a thorn in their side.

In order to remove that, it was completely conceivable that they intended to use Heinkel. ――That which, until now, Heinkel himself had used as a card in his negotiations with the Royal Candidates, was now tinged with an unpleasant clamminess.

But, perchance, considering one of Heinkel’s objectives, that could also――,

Filóre: [――The reason I sought you out, Heinkel-sama, is because I wanted to have you become my Knight.]

――.

――――.

――――――――.

Heinkel: […What?]

Due to his deep rumination, in which he ground his teeth to the point where he could taste blood, he felt like he had heard an odd auditory illusion.

If not that, it must have been some inexplicable mishearing ; Heinkel grimaced with such sentiments, however, paying no mind to his bafflement, Filóre raised her visage, and opened her mouth.

Once again, this time staring directly into his azure eyes,

Filóre: [Heinkel Astrea-sama, I wish for you to become my Knight. With a delayed entry into the Royal Selection, the Knight of this very Filóre Lugunica.]

Heinkel: [Idi…! A-are you insane…!?]

Filóre: [My, what an awful thing to say! I’ll warn you now, but if you swear an oath to serve me, I’d like for you to reform that attitude as much as possible.]

Forcing him to swallow the fact that he did not mishear her, she doubled down on the sentiment. But, no matter how many times she repeated it, there was no way a proper discussion could take place with such an unsteady foundation.

Filóre had said it. That as a Royal Candidate, she would have Heinkel be her one and only Knight.

Heinkel: [Who do you have whispering in your ear? Don’t tell me, was it Reinhard? Did he say something to you? Then…]

Filóre: [Don’t make jokes! How could I thoughtlessly make such an important decision based on what someone else tells me to do? I came to this decision completely by myself!]

Heinkel: [If that’s the case then you’ve really got no eye for this sort of thing whatsoever! Didn’t you tell anyone else? For example, those Knights out there. There ought to have been plenty of people you could have asked!]

Filóre: [Yes, I did ask them. Everyone made complicated faces, and insisted that I should rethink it.]

Heinkel: [Then listen and do as you’re told! Rethink it!]

Filóre: [I did rethink it! But, no matter how many times I rethink it, you always end up as my number one choice, Heinkel-sama.]

Placing her hands on her hips, Filóre puffed out her chest and answered proudly, leaving Heinkel speechless.

She was likely the type to stick with something to the end once she had decided on it. Even just judging from her behavior until now, he generally understood that. He understood it, but what the hell were the people around her doing?

Heinkel: [Miss Priscilla also had a stubborn side to her, never budging once she’d set her mind on something, but in her case, nobody could deny her decisiveness and ability to get things done…]

In the sense of not lending an ear to the words of those around them, it might have been a close contest.

But, between Priscilla and Filóre, there was a great disparity in their individual reliability, or rather, in the degree of their strength of character.

To put it bluntly, Priscilla had been an adult, and Filóre was a child. If a child was attempting to do something wrong, it was an adult’s duty to stop them.

Even if that child bore a prestigious title such as Royal Candidate, and even if the adult in the position to admonish them was a foolish, wretched failure who had no right to do so.

Heinkel: [Even if you’re a dreamer, that which you’re dreaming of right now is a nightmare. It’s the kind of bad dream where you won’t even lend an ear to everyone around you telling you it’s a nightmare. How could I possibly go along with that?]

As he asserted that, Heinkel derided his own foolish decision.

Even though he had lost any Royal Candidate to rely on, and had been drowning himself in alcohol without being able to achieve his desires, now that this hand, the best thing he could possibly have hoped for, had been extended to him like this, he did not grasp it back.

If it had truly been so important to him, he ought to have reached out his hand by any means, fair or foul. ――In that case, after having spent fifteen years, could it be that he was not really serious about it, still trying to pick and choose the hands he took?

All of it was naught more than the mere dregs of convictions firmly rooted within him, with Heinkel’s interior being completely empty――,

???: [――You’re spoolio! Heinkel-san!]

That instant, a voice clearly resonated in a corner of his mind, quaking Heinkel’s very soul.

Heinkel: [――Louanna.]

For nearly twenty years now, he had not heard her voice even a single time.

Even so, whenever he closed his eyes, and pictured her smile, he would be able to hear her voice not only as if it were just yesterday, but as if she was right there with him in this very moment. It was only natural. He loved her, after all.

Even if Heinkel was completely empty, he had been filled with an ardor known as Louanna, along with everything she had given him, and all of that was real.

Not once, not even for a single second, had any of that ever faded.

Filóre: [I am appointed as a Saintess of the Church of the Divine Dragon. The ideal I espouse as a Royal Candidate, starting with erasure of the ill feelings between the Royal Castle and the Church, is the complete abolition of any factors that stand in the way of bestowing salvation.]

Before the silent Heinkel, Filóre started speaking quietly, but with a certain strength in her voice.

Raising his visage, Heinkel gazed at Filóre. As always, she was staring directly toward Heinkel, however, the words she weaved were bereft of the same frivolous atmosphere from earlier.

In order to impart the words she had to share with him no matter what, she was carefully selecting her words, imbuing them with strength and sentiment alike; that much was clear to him.

Filóre: [Heinkel-sama, I’ve heard about your wife. It would seem as though you have been searching for a way to awaken her for over a decade, not once ever giving up. It is extremely admirable.]

Heinkel: […You think it’s admirable? I’ve accomplished nothing. Louanna still isn’t awake, so what the hell is…]

Filóre: [No, it’s admirable! Nobody has ever commended you for it, have they? But, I think it’s incredible! It’s not something that just anybody can do. You’re indomitable… no, I’m sure there have been times when your spirit has been broken. Even so, the fact that you were able to stand back up is amazing!]

Heinkel: [――――]

Filóre: [That’s the kind of person you are, which is why I want you to be my Knight. Of course, as a Saintess, I also can’t overlook the fact that you were chosen by the Dragon. But, you are someone who does everything in your power without ever giving up for the people precious to you. I’m sure we’ll make a great match!]

Raising her voice, Filóre extended her smooth, white hand. And as if imploring Heinkel to take her hand, her ruby eyes blazed as if a flame was alight within them.

A foolish girl; no matter how much he heard of what she had to say, that impression did not disappear.

The individual whom a Royal Candidate selected to be their one and only Knight would become an existence who they entrusted not only with their own life, but with their political destiny as well. Even with a lofty title like Saintess of the Church of the Divine Dragon, it was all prone to being blown away by Heinkel’s notoriety.

There was not even a sliver of a reason for Filóre to choose Heinkel as her Knight.

He would refuse her. He should refuse her. Not for anyone’s sake, but for the sake of this foolish girl before his eyes.

In order to prevent this foolish and gentle girl from being ridiculed as an idiot, from being insulted by everyone behind her back, Heinkel ought to refuse her request.

And even though he ought to have refused her――,

Heinkel: [――Let me hear… one thing.]

Even though he ought to have sneered at her, turned his back, and walked away, he ended up speaking those words.

It was not a refusal. Neither was it a disparagement. As he expressed intent to continue the conversation, Filóre inclined her head.

Filóre: [What is it?]

Heinkel: [I’ve heard that the Church of the Divine Dragon has secret arts of healing that are forbidden from being revealed to the public. Maybe… just maybe, if such a thing truly exists, then…]

Filóre: [――You mean the Sacrament?]

Heinkel: [――Hk! Is there really such a thing!?]

Filóre seemed to have an idea of what he was talking about, and Heinkel pounced at her words. ――That vigor of his caused Filóre to widen her eyes, before she cast her eyes slightly downward.

While the change in her expression affirmed the existence of the sacrament, it also told Heinkel that she was uncertain if it would meet his expectations―― if it would be useful in awakening his slumbering wife.

Filóre: [――. There is. But, I don’t know whether it will have an effect on your wife or not.]

Sure enough, after a moment of silence, Filóre shook her head from side to side.

But, he did not get overly dejected. Having his hopes dashed, and being pushed down to the bottom of the cliff was an experience Heinkel was by no means a stranger to. The fact that he would not die even when that happened, was a result he had verified many times.

Heinkel: [I see. Is that so… Ahh, that’s right.]

He had already experienced more than enough shame in his life.

If his mind was wired in any respectable way, then even his question just now was something he should not have asked. And yet, he had asked it. Upon doing so, his hopes were thrown to the wayside.

So now――,

Filóre: [――That’s why, we have no choice but to test it out. They’re always telling me that I mustn’t use it too frequently, but if it’s for the sake of helping people, it should be fine.]

Heinkel: [――Ah?]

Filóre: [Ah, but, as I said just now, I’m not certain if it will work. The Sacrament isn’t all powerful, and it also depends on the state of that person’s soul… however, the Church of the Divine Dragon also has a lot of other things that aren’t known to the public, so if we don’t give up, it should be possible to open a path forward. Yes, surely.]

Firmly clenching the hand opposite to her extended one into a fist, Filóre once more insisted the same way she had initially.

The contents of her insistence caused Heinkel to blink his eyes, and let out a ragged breath.

Heinkel: [――――]

Filóre did not say that it would work.

Neither did she say to leave it to her, nor promise that she would definitely save her. ――Merely, she vowed to not give up.

For nearly twenty years, Heinkel had failed to be understood by anyone, being ridiculed as a fool time and time again; the things he had never abandoned despite all that, were now being affirmed as completely natural by the girl before his eyes.

He knew. ――He knew that everyone, even the very Heinkel reflected in the mirror, constantly thought somewhere in the back of their minds that it might actually be impossible.

Filóre: [Heinkel-sama, please lead the way. No, House Astrea is indeed quite famous, so I also have a rough idea of where it is, but I feel hesitant about barging into a household when no family members are home. Moreover, it’s also a little complicated between me and Felt…]

As if to say that things could not remain like this, Filóre halted in her tracks after gallantly striding forward. Looking back toward Heinkel after passing him, she called out to usher him to accompany her.

And, having turned around, Filóre’s eyes widened in shock. ――After all, before her eyes, Heinkel was kneeling down where he had stood, and was bowing his head.

Filóre: [Heinkel, sama…?]

Heinkel: [I apologize for my repeated acts of discourtesy. Miss Filóre.]

Before the surprised Filóre, Heinkel deliberately refined his speech, and spoke.

Were he to become the Knight of a Royal Candidate, he would be involved in the Royal Selection once more.

If it were a Saintess who could wield even the sacrament kept hidden by the Church of the Divine Dragon, it might be possible to awaken Louanna.

If there was a chance she was the princess who carried the blood of the Royal Family, then with the authority she held, it might even be possible to obtain the ancient knowledge slumbering in the Royal Castle, or even the Dragon’s Blood itself.

If he enumerated such calculations, he could come up with any number of reasons to kneel.

But, the number one reason for why Heinkel knelt here, was not any of those calculations.

――Do I really still want to pretend to be a Knight, me of all people?

Heinkel: [I would like to accept your proposal. ――Allow me to be your Knight, Miss Filóre.]

Filóre: [――――]

Heinkel: [You may end up regretting that you chose me, but…]

Filóre: [No, I won’t! Never!]

As Filóre smiled like a flower in bloom, Heinkel looked a bit daunted, before biting down on the interior of his cheek.

Still kneeling, he unsheathed the sword at his waist, laid it on the ground, and performed a respectful bow. ――The way he straightened his back, the angle at which he looked up at his lady, and his knightly etiquette of dedicating his blade, none of it had been erased by his twenty years of disgrace.

The ruins of a Knight who had once pledged fealty to the Royal Family, now, after all this time, decided to put those airs on once more.

It was ridiculous. Truly, it was utterly ridiculous.

While completely daubed in that humorless ridiculousness, Heinkel Astrea became the one and only Knight to the brand new Royal Candidate, Filóre Lugunica.

――And those were the events of the day upon which Saintess and Backstabber established a relationship of master and servant.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!