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

Chapter 164: Confrontation

Chapter 164: Confrontation

Until now, both Subaru and YN had lingered toward the rear of the group as they pressed onward.

Perhaps out of sympathy for him, Algol had moved ahead to walk beside Garfiel, likely sensing that he was still unsettled by what had happened with Mimi.

In much the same way, YN found himself lingering near Subaru.

Emilia had essentially been kidnapped from right in front of him, and Subaru had been powerless to stop it from happening.

At the same time, Beatrice had collapsed into a coma-like slumber, having exhausted herself healing Subaru and the many others injured by the Archbishop of Wrath.

At the very least, I can rest assured that Rem is safe and sound back at the Mansion... That's not something Subaru can say about Emilia-sama.

For something like this to happen, YN couldn't begin to imagine how Subaru was managing to stay upright at all. Had either of those things happened to him, —whether it was Rem, or Algol, he wasn't certain he would still be functional.

Because of that, YN had done what little he could to offer Subaru some measure of relief from the weight bearing down on him, if only by quietly asking what had happened, and how it had all come to pass.

Even so, Subaru was placing the safety of the entire city above his own desperation, choosing to reclaim the announcement Meteor instead of immediately chasing after Emilia, —something YN wasn't sure he could have done, had their roles been reversed.

From their small regrouping, the two had discussed what had happened up until their shared Return Point, and where they had been, —or at least, as much as they could in front of others and in hushed whispers they couldn't pass along.

Between their words, YN couldn't help but hearken his memories back to when he and Subaru had both been summoned to Echidna's Citadel of Dreams, and the Witch of Pride, Typhon had judged them both.

Both having their limbs removed, it had only been YN that felt the pain of having his legs detached from his body. The little witch had gone on to say that was proof he was a bad person, whereas for Subaru himself, sure he'd lost an arm, but the fact that he felt no pain was little more than a consequence of himself thinking he was a bad person when he wasn't judged to be so.

Even now, a year later, that disparity echoed in YN's mind.

Subaru stood on a moral height YN had never managed to reach; a place he had climbed to without even realizing it, and the truth of that comparison rang out as clearly as a bell struck moments ago.

Before YN's thoughts could spiral further, —before he could begin wondering whether Rem's fate was some cruel extension of his own "karma," or the result of sins he could never truly atone for, the group abruptly came to a halt.

At what appeared to be the final corridor leading toward City Hall, Ricardo, who had taken point, raised a hand to stop everyone behind him as they neared the main avenue.

And just like that, the quiet exchange between YN and Subaru came to an end.

Ricardo: — — —

The wolf-man paused, then lowered his voice as he glanced back at those behind him.

Ricardo: I smell blood.

Taking a further peek out from behind the corner, he stuck only his nose, and upon taking a sniff, he turned back again.

Ricardo: —A lot of it.

To his words, YN could visibly see Algol tense, as she was ahead of him now in the group.