(Rem x Reader) Re:Reader - Starting YOUR New Life in Another World

Chapter 161: Nothingman

Chapter 161: Nothingman

After what was a long discussion with Dryson, Kiritaka's head bodyguard, the Emilia camp was profusely apologized to, but ultimately, given Kiritaka was fervently frazzled, negotiations for the day needed to end.

Dryson assured them that Kiritaka should have a clear enough head by the following day. However, the songstress who had accompanied Subaru to the Muse Company, —a certain Liliana, could not further accompany the Emilia camp for today. Even though as it turned out she was of older acquaintance with them, Dryson asked that she go attend to Kiritaka in an effort to smooth over any further agitation he had, given the heir of the Muse Company had a busy schedule for the remainder of the day.

In the not-so-serious aftermath of everything, the Emilia camp found themselves walking back to the inn. Another boat ride was out of the question, given Subaru's now painfully well-established susceptibility to seasickness.

YN: I should apologize, Emilia-sama. I overreacted at the end there.

In fear of what he believed was essentially a grenade that was poised to maim everyone in the office, YN had acted rashly towards what had ended up being little more than a flash-bang. While it was a fire-stone, it was of a weaker variety than he was familiar with, which wouldn't have harmed anyone other than someone directly hit by it.

Even the blown-out windows had been little more than an unfortunate fluke. The stone had detonated near the doorway where Subaru had been standing, creating a sudden pressure funnel in the already stuffy office. With nowhere for the expanding air to escape, the windows had simply given way. As dramatic as shattering glass appeared, it wasn't especially impressive by this world's standards, as glassmaking here was far less advanced than what Subaru and YN knew from their own.

The windows consisted of a single, fragile pane. No tempering. No layered glass. No reinforcement whatsoever.

Before Emilia could answer though, Otto interjected.

Otto: Personally, I think what YN-san did was entirely appropriate. Not only can we assume his experience with fire crystals is limited to what we encountered in the aftermath of Sloth, but YN-san wasn't familiar with Kiritaka-san either, was he?

Coming to bat for YN's honor here, he was surprised Otto was taking up this cause.

Subaru: Honestly, I'm more surprised he wasn't. But now that I think about it... I don't remember him ever meeting Kiritaka or Liliana when they visited the Mansion.

Still soot-smudged from the explosion, Subaru raised a finger as he recalled the detail, if only to claw back a bit of the credibility he felt he'd lost in the chaos.

Still, YN furrowed his brow, unable to place when such an encounter could have happened.

YN: Just when was this? Kiritaka, Liliana, and Dryson are people I'm pretty sure I've never met before. And I'm certain I would've remembered three guests at the Mansion.

—Especially considering that would've absolutely been on Rem's radar..

YN: —I mean, Emilia-sama definitely spoke to Kiritaka like she knew him beforehand, but hadn't expected to see him here. And he, Liliana, and Dryson have all reciprocated that feeling from what I've heard. I-I guess if nothing else, I had assumed Emilia-sama was familiar with him before Subaru and I joined the camp.

Rephrasing himself toward the end, YN made a conscious effort not to tack "baseless doubt toward my superiors" onto his conscience, —certainly not after everything else that had already happened today.

Subaru: Do you remember the night Emilia-tan and I went to Arlem to see a traveling minstrel? That was Liliana.

Emilia: And her stalker that she had was Kiritaka-san. Subaru helped them all work some stuff out after coming back to the Mansion... Gosh, that all seems like a reeeeeally long time ago now.