A Random in Re:Zero

A loud bang echoed down the street in front of the royal palace, unleashing mass chaos.

"What was that!?"

"An enemy attack! Evacuate the area and find whoever is responsible!"

The knights' shouted orders were soon heard, demonstrating their capacity for organized response to a situation of imminent danger.

The noise of the explosion was enough to scare away most of the civilians, leaving the area fairly clear for the benefit of the knights, who were quick to search for the source of the incident.

"Look, that guy over there!"

One of them pointed to a young man dressed as a butler, who was holding his arm raised with his hand slightly closed in the air, as if holding something invisible.

Julius had leaped toward Anastasia, shielding her with his body just in case while he tried to locate the enemy. She blushed at the warm, protective embrace of her knight.

"Julius, what's wrong?"

Anastasia received no response, as at that moment the spiritual knight noticed Leandro's presence.

"Does he...?"

The butler stood a few feet away in a straight line, ideal for launching a rear attack against Julius or Anastasia.

But Julius quickly dismissed that possibility, relying on what he had seen and felt when he crossed swords with the young man. It wasn't just his instincts: the lesser spirits accompanying the knight had expressed a fondness for Leandro.

"Stop right there, in the name of the dragon!"

Despite seeing himself surrounded by the swords representing the kingdom of Lugunica, Leandro only let out a sigh of annoyance.

"Can you wait a moment? I'm a little busy right now."

With that, he jerked his body around, dropping one knee to the ground as he pushed something down. This movement was followed by a thud and a groan of pain.

"Hey! Stop whatever you're doing and put your hands where I can see them!" One of the officers ordered with a bit of hesitation.

"If I do that, we'll all die." Leandro warned. "Well, maybe Julius will survive."

The butler's cryptic response did not please the knights, who raised their swords, ready to cut him to pieces with a single movement.

"Don't move!" Julius's voice dominated, freezing the other knights with the weight of his authority. "That man is not our enemy."

"But he's the only one here, and he's doing something very suspicious!"

Certainly, the officer's words could not be completely denied, for he had a point.

However, Leandro didn't bother to clear up the misunderstanding with words and instead pulled out a dagger, which he brandished downwards and then...

SPURT!

The grayish metal of the blade disappeared as if by magic, astonishing everyone. Not content with that, Leandro pulled the dagger hard, which produced an even more surprising phenomenon: with a splash of blood, the blade reappeared, soaked in a red substance.

"This is for taking away my flirt-walk scene with Emilia."

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH! Son of a bitch!" An angry voice complained, but no one had opened their mouths to speak, which confused the knights even more.

"That's not all."

With another sudden gesture, Leandro grabbed something in the air and a second later, a strange metallic artifact seemed to materialize in his hand.

Smiling with satisfaction, Leandro pressed the end of the object against a specific area.

BANG!

Another burst, just like the first, was released from the revolver. Blood spurted out, forming a pool on the floor.

A piercing shriek erupted from somewhere nearby, but the knights were still trying to comprehend what was happening. Julius was the first to come to the logical conclusion.

"The enemy is... an invisible man?"

"Correct." Leandro said, standing up and raising his hands, which still held the dagger and the revolver respectively.

Gilbert was so overcome with grief that he unconsciously deactivated his Divine Protection, becoming visible to the bewildered gaze of those present.

Leandro was the only one who understood and enjoyed that scene.

"Now we're even."

After gathering all the information about the case, the knights found Gilbert von Falkenhayn guilty of high treason, double attempted murder, and other charges that could lead to the death penalty or at least life imprisonment.

Leandro received credit for his investigation and for capturing the criminal, preventing him from doing further damage.

However, it wasn't all good news. Before being caught, Gilbert had killed a small group of knights patrolling the royal capital during the pre-dawn period. It was during this time that he learned how the revolver worked, he stated.

That same afternoon, Felix and Julius led a squad sent to arrest Gilbert's accomplices and, incidentally, recover the remains of their fallen comrades. Gilbert had hidden them in a basement of the building he used as a base of operations for his organization.

For Leandro, this was a cold shower. The save point allowed him to save two important figures, but it wasn't enough to completely erase his sins. Because of his arrogance, innocent lives were lost forever.

Rem and Emilia couldn't ignore the sadness on the boy's face even as people congratulated him for his courageous actions. Julius was beyond grateful, and even Anastasia was speechless when she learned that she would have died if the young man she despised hadn't intervened to stop the killer in time.

Few knew that the murder weapon should never have existed in the first place, making Leandro the main culprit in the tragedy. Nadir was only doing his job, fulfilling Leandro's request, and Gilbert was a bastard, but it was Leandro who gave him the power to make so much disaster.

All these thoughts tormented the boy, who didn't know how to deal with the guilt and self-loathing he felt because of his irreversible mistake.

"I'm the most pathetic guy in the whole world..."

As the sun began to set over the horizon, turning the sky orange, Roswaal said it was time to go.

"What? You're not going back to the mansion?"

Emilia became worried when Leandro said he would stay in the royal capital. Rem silently exchanged a glance with Roswaal.

"Of course I will, but I have to stay here for a few days to take care of some matters."

"Do you know where you're going to sleep? Do you have enough money for food and the return trip?"

"Hey, you're not my mother." Leandro forced a smile. "I'll be fine."

But the half-elf wasn't convinced. After learning everything that had happened, she'd begun to believe that Leandro was prone to getting into trouble, especially if he was in the royal capital.

After all, the first time she saw him, he had managed to get a lot of injuries, somehow.

Emilia looked to Roswaal for support, but the Margrave smiled as if he was fine with it.

"Don't worry, Lady Emilia. I'll leave our trusty Rem to look after our dear Leeeandro for as long as necessary."

"Please don't do that with my name or I'll have nightmares..."

"Oh, it can't be that bad dreaming about me."

Roswaal smiled and winked at the boy, who responded with a grimace of disgust.

Finding herself unanimously outvoted, the half-elf sighed in surrender.

"Be careful, and come back soon."

"I will. Don't miss me too much." He smiled, trying to look confident.

She nodded and waved goodbye before getting into the carriage, which started moving a few seconds later, moving away until it was out of sight.

Leandro looked up at the sky, wondering if he deserved to live a happy life after indirectly killing several innocent people.

"Maybe not me, but there are many others who do. The least I can do to make up for my mistake is to save as many people as I can."

Rem looked at him intently, wondering what had motivated Leandro to stay in the royal capital. From the boy's face, the maid guessed it was something important.

"What are those issues you are going to resolve?"

He looked down, reciprocating eye contact.

"I have to get a troop to kill the White Whale."

***

"So, how are things going with Felt?"

Reinhard shifted uncomfortably at my question, which struck a nerve.

Today we met to fulfill our promise to eat together. It seemed like an eternity since I had a casual date.

"I'm doing my best, but I don't think it's enough."

I almost burst out laughing in his face, but I held back enough to limit my reaction to a mocking smile.

"Incredible. Don't you have a Divine Protection for interpersonal relationships?"

"Ah, I don't think so, but that would certainly reflect poorly on my own ability to socialize."

He sighed, resting his head on his fist. I patted him on the arm.

"You're doing well. She's a stubborn girl, so it'll take a while."

"Lady Felt still thinks I'm some kind of jailer. I understand how she feels, but..."

I interrupted him with a gesture, finishing chewing my food before giving my argument.

"Hey, anything's better than living off stealing to eat. You pulled her out of a pit of want and resentment, and I think Felt should be grateful for that. Besides, you didn't do anything selfishly: this is all for the benefit of everyone and the kingdom itself."

"..."

Reinhard said nothing, but his expression softened a little.

I didn't like the dramatic atmosphere the conversation was taking, so I decided to liven things up a bit.

"And if you two don't start getting along better soon, you should seduce her."

"Sorry?"

He blinked, perhaps thinking he had missed something or hadn't heard correctly.

"If Felt falls in love with you, your relationship with her will be much better than it is now. Of course, I'm not saying you should manipulate her, but you should definitely try to get closer to her."

"You mean it..."

I laughed as the redhead nervously scratched his hair, his imagination influenced by my suggestion.

"Relax, it's just advice. You don't have to follow it exactly. It's enough to have some details, to be honest and direct with your feelings... You know, what girls like."

I wasn't so sure about that. A person who's never had a girlfriend shouldn't talk as if they know much about women, but I had to say something to avoid embarrassment.

"I understand. I'll keep that in mind. Changing the subject, I heard Lady Emilia has returned to Mathers Manor. May I know why you stayed in the royal capital?"

"Sometimes you have to step back to gain a better perspective and expand your options for dealing with certain obstacles."

I often considered telling Reinhard about the White Whale and the attack led by Petelgeuse, but while it would be easy to take them down with the help of the most powerful character, I would end up losing more than I would gain.

The events of the whale and the cult in the third arc were very important in terms of the development of certain characters, the evolution of the relationships between them and last but not least: my own reputation was at stake.

Personally, I didn't mind remaining a nobody, but depending on how I made it to the fifth arc, I might absolutely need popular recognition. If Subaru hadn't been seen as a hero, many more people would have died in Priestella.

Not to mention that changing the canon so drastically would have unpredictable consequences. He'd already done enough damage by creating objects that weren't from this world.

Those points in my analysis were what led me to make the decision not to ask Reinhard for help.

"I see. I suppose you're preparing to do something big."

"As perceptive as ever." I smiled, repeating the same phrase I'd told him earlier. "It's true, what I have planned is pretty big. I'm sure you'll find out soon enough."

In fact, all preparations were underway. I had met with Russell and Anastasia for the opportunity to "accept their gratitude" for saving their lives. I also gave Nadir a huge assignment, which included creating an archaic rifle prototype and mass-producing it.

Yes, it's pretty idiotic of me to create more weapons after what happened with the creation of a single one, but if I wanted to defeat the White Whale and Petelgeuse's squad with the least amount of casualties possible, I had to be well prepared.

Now all that was left was to meet with Crusch and convince her to collaborate. Then I could finally speedrun that fucking whale.

However, to do that I was missing something very important, which was a mandatory requirement to do things as neatly and flawlessly as possible.

"I'll have to die again, huh..."

***

Leaning against the large tree, I did nothing but wait in silence as the light of the full moon dimly illuminated the countryside around me. A gentle breeze blew; although the temperature wasn't low, my body shivered and my skin prickled.

The shadows of the clouds were a deceptive vision for my perception, altered by anxiety and nervousness. Each shape was distorted by my mind, creating specters of a giant body that crossed the skies, lurking in the darkness of the silent night.

For entertainment, I scanned the playlist on my Samsung A10, which was still working after a full month in this world without chargers or power supplies. I mentally thanked Betty for the spell she'd cast on the smartphone to keep it powered on.

I didn't know mana could be used as a power source so literally. If it weren't for that, this would be much more complicated than it already was.

Then, as my phone struck 3:30, a familiar silhouette appeared overhead, gliding through the air like its marine counterparts swimming in the ocean of my world.

Of course, this whale wasn't as harmless as one of those. I only had to wait a little while, and the demonic beast of the mist would kill me.

I quickly checked the time and made a mental note to make this sacrificial loop worth it.

A thunderous roar shook the world around me. The White Whale had spotted me and was descending at full speed, advancing furiously in my direction.

However, I had no intention of being devoured by her. Grimacing, I pulled out my revolver and pointed the barrel at my temple.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I won't be fighting you this time." I closed my eyes to quell the fear that was washing over me due to the enormous beast approaching, as if having to kill myself wasn't disturbing enough. "See you soon, bitch."

Then I pulled the trigger.