Chapter 31. The First One Who Collapses
[[ "...It can't be helped. It would have been best if it had ended without me knowing."
A familiar voice came.
"...That's a lie... Rem?"
The blue-haired maid, Rem, slowly walked over. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Sister, please step aside!"
Ram and Garfiel once again blocked Rem and Natsuki Rem.
"Sister... please..."
"..."
Rem's voice was choked with tears.
"..."
Ram was silent, then stepped aside. She looked at Garfiel and gave him a look.
"Ah, fine, fine. Ram sure knows how to order this great me around."
Garfiel made way for Natsuki Rem.
They shakily stood up, approaching the screen step by step.
No one would be so oblivious as to disturb them.
What met the eyes of the two blue-haired girls was a Rem who was terrifyingly cold towards Subaru, holding a morning star.
"Ah..."
If the previous time Rem killed the dying Subaru could be explained as ending his pain and giving him a quick death, this time there was no reason to be found.
"Ah...!!"
Rem was stunned, her trembling hands clenched and placed on her chest.
"Rem... kill... killed..."
Natsuki Rem's state was definitely not good either; the thing Natsuki Rem feared most had still happened.
"Rem, these are... nothing is set in stone yet, Barusu might not have died here."
Ram was still comforting Rem.
.....
But the fact that she wanted to kill Subaru-kun was already undeniable, regardless of whether Subaru-kun was actually killed by Rem.
Rem was heartbroken.
"No... no!"
The two Rems pleaded in unison with the woman who doubted Subaru.
Don't doubt him.
He wasn't a suspicious person, he was the person Rem loved.
[[ But the Rem on the screen couldn't hear their pleas.
"If you don't resist, Rem can let you go easily."
"...Do you think I'd say 'Please do' and agree to your suggestion? Get lost."
"Excuse me. Yes, that's right, the guest is indeed that kind of person."
"Why are you doing this... can I ask such a common question?"
"There's nothing difficult to understand. Better to kill a thousand wrongly than let one go. That's a maid's principle." ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Better to kill a thousand wrongly than let one go... huh? The way the Mathers educate their maids is truly..."
Anastasia smiled bitterly.
"Subaru-kun, run! Get away... get away from that woman!"
Rem stretched out her hand, wanting to convey the message.
[[ "Does Ram... know about this?"
Subaru asked Rem.
"Rem planned to end all of this before Sister found out."
"...Do you really not trust me that much?"
"Yes."
Rem nodded without hesitation, her voice decisive.
"I'm so pathetic. I actually mistook us for getting along well."
"Sister..."
"I don't want to hear it! Take this!"
Subaru held out the magic device he called a phone and released a white flash that would bewilder opponents—at least, that's how everyone understood it.
Then he took the opportunity to knock Rem over and ran away. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"See? I told you, people in this world are glass cannons fodder."
Al complained.
Subaru... must be very hurt.
On the other side, Emilia thought.
The time they spent together was shattered by a simple "Yes."
Why...
And the two Rems, seeing Subaru run away, asked this question.
Why... just now, using the flash, Subaru-kun could have killed that stupid woman with the dagger he carried, or at least injured her to buy time to escape, but why didn't Subaru do that...
They knew in their hearts why Subaru didn't do that, but they so desperately wished Subaru could have done that. And then...
"Subaru-kun!"
"Ahhh!"
"Tch, as expected, Ram is here too."
Seeing this scene, the two Rems were unable to stand up, kneeling on the ground, while Ram also clicked her tongue—
[[ A distant wind blade cut off the part of Subaru's right leg below the knee, interrupting his escape, and he fell down.
Although the screen didn't show who sent the wind blade, it must have been Ram.
"Ahhhhhhh! My, my leg ahhh!"
Subaru screamed in pain.
.....
"O Mana of Water, please heal this person."
Rem walked over, healed Subaru, and then—
"If you die so quickly, I won't even be able to ask the information I need... I'll confiscate this for now."
The Rem on the screen forcefully took away Subaru's dagger.
So what was Rem going to do next? No need to think about it.
"I ask you, are you an enemy of Emilia-sama?"
"...My heart will always belong to Emilia."
Then, the chain whipped fiercely across Subaru's upper body.
"Ahhhhhhh!!" ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Noooo!!"
It seemed that this pain was not only on Subaru's body but also in Rem's heart.
The two Rems trembled, tears streaming out continuously, screaming at the cruel scene displayed on the screen.
"Rem..."
Ram looked at the two Rems in grief, but she didn't go forward, perhaps thinking they needed to cry.
[[ "Who hired you?"
The Rem on the screen interrogated Subaru again.
"...Hired for free by Emilia-tan's priceless smile... Ahhhhhhh!!"
Just like that, the two began a cycle of Rem interrogating and Subaru giving answers that didn't satisfy Rem, resulting in him being beaten.
When Subaru was about to die, she would heal him, and then the cycle would continue. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
"Stop hitting him... please!"
Rem and Natsuki Rem knew this was useless, but they still lowered their posture as much as possible and pleaded.
"Natsuki-san doesn't yield even like this..."
Subaru's level of respect in Otto's heart rose another step.
"Uwah... women are scary... ah no, maids are scary..."
Garfiel looked at the Rems collapsing and screaming in front of him and said this.
"If it were this great me, I would probably give the boss a quick death out of respect for his unyielding spirit."
[[ "Then, Rem will change the question. Are you from the Witch Cult?"
"Eh? What Witch Cult?"
The screen continued.
"Please don't play dumb! How dare you say you have nothing to do with it when you reek of the Witch! There's a limit to how fake you can be! Because Roswaal-sama said to treat you well, Rem was observing the situation... but even monitoring you was painful, I couldn't bear it anymore... even knowing that Sister was only pretending to take care of you, that's why she treated you kindly!"
The Rem on the screen roared.
"..."
Subaru was silent for a moment, then cried.
"...Why... I know, I already guessed... After being beaten like this by Rem, I knew there must have been something behind being treated kindly before. But... I didn't want... to hear it. Why, you don't remember! Why do you all leave me alone? What did I do? What do you want me to do... What did I do wrong? What's wrong with me? Why do you hate me so much? Even that promise... I always..."
He collapsed, crying and shouting.
"I... but towards you..."
Finally, another wind blade flew in, cutting Subaru's throat. ]]
.....
~Inside, the Theater~
This girl named Rem was saved by a boy she had killed.
This woman named Natsuki Rem was loved by a man she had killed.
"What right does Rem have...!!"
The girl and the woman shouted in unison.
Let it be, let it be. Rem no longer had the right to accompany Subaru-kun in this form.
Let it be, let it be. Rem no longer had the right to continue as a wife.
From now on, she would atone... willingly become a slave... atone...
"Ah, luckily it was Ram who killed him in the end... Although I'm sorry for Barusu, but..."
If it had been Rem who killed him in the end, Ram wouldn't know what state her sister would be in.
"Mm... mm."
"Mm? Lia?"
Puck looked at Emilia, nodding and humming, then she stood up again and walked to the two kneeling Rems.
"...Stand up."
"...Emilia-sama?"
The two Rems, with red eyes, slowly looked up in a daze.
"You two, stand up for me."
"..."
"Subaru told me that he is the hero in your hearts, so what you should be doing now is cheering for your hero and watching him return victorious, isn't it?"
"But even so..."
"Don't think about 'even so' or atonement or anything like that. Subaru saved you later, doesn't that prove he has forgiven you? If you still feel guilty, then encourage him and support him even more."
Then, Emilia held out both hands, gesturing for the two Rems to stand up.
"..."
The two Rems each took a hand and slowly stood up.
"...Yes, Emilia-sama."
Don't disgrace yourselves again, and even more so, don't make Subaru-kun suffer anymore.
Subaru-kun definitely wouldn't want us to be like this...
.....
Rem and the others returned to their seats, composing themselves.
On the other side, Al said in a low voice:
"Isn't my brother being too kind? If it were me... this blue-haired lady definitely wouldn't live, it's too tragic."
No one heard Al's muttering.
The loop began again—
Translator note: I read some reactions like this before, but in this scene they show that it was Rem, who the one killed Subaru in this loop, but iirc it really was Ram who cut Subaru's throat. But I don't know whether it was Rem or Ram...