Re:Zero Arc 3 Interlude III [To Each, Their Oaths](3/6)

Start Reading from Interlude II after Episode 25: https://translationchicken.com/2016/09/12/rezero-arc-3-interlude-ii-lets-eat-12/

Continued from Part 2/6: https://translationchicken.com/2016/09/18/rezero-arc-3-interlude-iii-to-each-their-oaths26/

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—After the battle with the White Whale, on their way back to the Capital, Rem, Crusch, and the punitive expedition, bringing with them wounded soldiers and the Whale’s severed head, were ambushed by two Sin Archbishops.

Half of the expedition perished. The demihuman mercenaries accompanying them retreated immediately, and avoided annihilation.

[Ferris: When the Vice-Captain Hetaro brought the Capital’s knights back to the scene, the Sin Archbishops were already gone nyan. Only our knights’ bodies and…]

[Crusch: People who were like me… right?]

Crusch furrowed her brows at Ferris’ last few words, biting her lip. With a dejected expression, she must have felt it was all her fault.

To her, the “Crusch” in Ferris’ story might as well be referring to another person.

Because—

[Crusch: My memory was erased… By a Sin Archbishop?]

[Ferris: Probably nyan. I’ve attended to the other patients with the same condition as Crusch-sama. Their memories are completely gone, there is nothing Ferris’ healing magic can do nyan. Even now Ferris has no idea what the cause is…]

[Wilhelm: Sin Archbishop, “Gluttony”. This Authority- it must be him]

Wilhelm nodded gravely, and with a stern gaze he looked to Crusch. But, seeing Crusch shrivel under his gaze, Wilhelm closed his eyes in apology.

[Wilhelm: I was inconsiderate of Crusch-sama’s condition, and frightened you. I am deeply sorry. I still have much to learn]

[Crusch: No… I should apologize for being such a useless master… Even though I am trying my hardest to remember everything about Wilhelm-sama…]

Hearing Crusch call him “Wilhelm-sama”, the old swordsman cringed.

Seeing his sworn master suffering so, the guilt and shame of having failed to protect her brought pain onto Wilhelm’s face. Glancing toward Subaru, who at this moment must be carrying the very same feeling in his heart, Wilhelm seemed to understand him.

On the other hand, Ferris, whose attitude toward Crusch would not waver in spite of everything… seemed to disregard Subaru’s feeling completely.

[Ferris: Sin Archbishop “Sloth” has been dealt with. And nyan there’s “Gluttony” and “Greed”. There is a limit to what can be done nyan. Something so rare as two Sin Archbishops moving together, I’d be surprised if Emilia-sama’s rise has nothing to do with it]

[Emilia: ….me?]

Her name suddenly mentioned, Emilia looked at Ferris with a surprised expression. Nodding to her, Ferris continued.

[Ferris: The Witch’s Cult will never tolerate the existence of a half-elf such as Emilia-sama. They are usually quiet and creep in the shadows, but now they’re all suddenly making such a ruckus, there is obviously a connection here.]

Listening to Ferris’ speculations, Subaru crossed his arms, and pondered on a conversation they had before.

The night before the battle with the White Whale, when Subaru discussed with Ferris and Crusch the possibility of a Witch Cultist attack, they had accepted his suspicions readily. That means there must have been precedents…

[Emilia: But um… Even though I don’t know much about the Witch Cult… The Witch refers to the “Witch of Envy”, right?]

Raising her hand nervously, Emilia uttered this entirely unexpected question.

Subaru doubted his hearing, Wilhelm and Ferris’ expressions froze. The only people who weren’t astonished by those words were Crusch, and Emilia herself.

Seeing their reactions, Emilia became even more nervous.

[Emilia: Sorry! I can tell from your reactions that that’s something I should know, really, really, should]

[Subaru: But… Emilia-tan… you know about the Witch, you were the one who told me…]

The first time they met, she had given him the name “Satella”, and then after he had died, he tried to call her by that name again. His memory of her anger… meant that she knew that name was forbidden.

But Emilia shook her head at Subaru’s words,

[Emilia: Near the forest where I lived there was a small village… they hated me because of my likeness to the Witch of Envy… So I know how the Witch is regarded in the world, but things like the Witch Cult…]

[Ferris: How Emilia-sama lived in the past let’s just put that aside for nyan! But to say that you don’t even know about the Witch Cult at this point is just too outrageous nyan!!]

Shoulders raised, as if mocking, Ferris’ hands flung up with a sigh.

Seeing this attitude from Ferris, Subaru’s anger rose, and staring into Ferris’ eyes he retorted.

[Subaru: How can you say this? To admit you don’t know something, do you realize how much courage that takes? To ask what is necessary, what is wrong with that?]

[Ferris: Subaru-kyun is really persuasive nyan! You really are master and servant nyan!]

Ferris relentlessly mocking Subaru’s unhidden displeasure, Subaru was about to stand up in anger— But,

[Crusch: Ferris. I cannot overlook what you just said. Apologize at once.]

The moment before Subaru’s strength injected into his legs, the words of reproach rang out in the room.

In her dark blue evening dress, up to now frail and timid, she all of a sudden transformed — majestic and fierce, her gaze was that of a Knight.

[Crusch: As Natsuki Subaru-sama said, to ask what you do not know, is nothing deserving of mockery. Even you do not have that right. Understood?]

[Ferris: …Understood, Crusch-sama]

Her forceful words subsiding, Crusch seemed to return to the soft-spoken girl of a moment before. But as if having heard something from the awe-inspiring Crusch of the past, from this now frail and feminine girl, Subaru could not hold in his astonishment. Ferris too, could not contain the shock within his eyes.

[Ferris: Emilia-sama, please accept my apology for my rudeness. Subaru-kyun too]

[Subaru: You… n… no, it’s fine. Then, let’s talk about the Witch Cult now. Emilia-tan wants to hear it. And to be honest, I don’t know the details either…]

Seeing Subaru back down, half giving up, Ferris lightheartedly replied with a [Understood-nyan]. A finger lightly touching the lower lip, Ferris shook around in the short dress.

[Ferris: Firstly, as Emilia-sama said, the Witch Cult is an organization that worships the “Witch of Envy”.  Ever since the unstoppable rise of the Witch 400 years ago, these fanatics have been active. To the Knights Order, all affiliates of this organization are to be killed-on-sight]

[Emilia: Killed-on-sight… to carry out such extreme orders, how could they?]

[Ferris: The Witch Cultists will not hesitate to burn a village or an entire city just to accomplish their goals. In fact, the village near Lord Roswaal’s mansion came close to falling victim to these Cultists, and one of the Sin Archbishops that took part in the ambush had once managed to single handedly capture a city in the Empire of Volakia in the South]

Emilia kept on blinking her eyes, as if unable to take in these facts. Subaru understands her reaction, because the horrors of the Witch Cult had already been carved deep into his heart.

He now uses Betelgeuse as the standard unit of measurement for insanity.

But in terms of strength, “Greed” sounds like something on a completely different level than Betelgeuse.

[Ferris: Wait wait I’m getting sidetracked nyan… The Witch Cult Sin Archbishops, each named after one of the six Sins, other than Envy, are the executives of the organization]

[Emilia: The six witches… were “Sloth”, “Greed”, “Gluttony”, “Lust”, “Wrath” and “Pride”, right?]

[Ferris: Yes, and especially well known among them are “Sloth” and “Greed”. Greed, as previously mentioned, is known for annihilating entire cities. Sloth, on the other hand, seemed to be behind every little disturbance caused by the Witch Cult. But Sloth has already been beautifully eliminated by our punitive expedition nyan… Right, Subaru-kyun?]

[Subaru: Yes… Sloth is dead. I saw him disintegrate with my own eyes, there is no mistaking it]

Subaru confirmed Ferris’ words, his mind playing back the final moments of the abominable Betelgeuse.

Screaming Subaru’s name, full of hatred… Even long afterward, the sound would not leave his ears. Like a curse, it kept on howling…

—Was that the reason behind Subaru’s cruel fate?

[Ferris: There are now 5 remaining Sin Archbishops. Two of them were responsible for the ambush on Crusch-sama. Their movements are always mysterious, and so even after 400 years the efforts to eradicate them barely made any progress. As to their objective… It is said that they want to revive the Witch of Envy]

[Subaru: Revive… the Witch?]

Unable to disregard these words, Subaru jumped up, tipping over his chair.

Noticing this gave the girls a fright, Subaru waved his hands up and down.

[Subaru: To revive her… is that even possible? The Witch has been dead for 400 years right? To make something like that come back to life…]

[Wilhelm: Subaru-dono, the Witch of Envy is not dead. Her life is still linked to the edge of this world. Unfortunately]

To the agitated Subaru, Wilhelm quietly revealed this fact.

Speechless, Subaru looked to Wilhelm, and met his eyes, serious and severe.

[Wilhelm: Near the Great Fall, there is  a Sealing-Stone Temple. The Witch is there, her indestructible existence sealed inside. For even with the power of the Dragon and the Sword Saint combined, she cannot be destroyed]

[Subaru: Sealed… I might have heard that before… but to revive her, why don’t they just destroy the seal?]

Where did Subaru hear that before? But more importantly is the question…

…If the witch was sealed, they merely need to break the seal, but instead, every time a half-elf appears they wreck havoc in the world with senseless murder and destruction. Just what is the Witch Cult trying to do? But at this question, Wilhelm shook his head.

[Wilhelm: To approach the temple is almost impossible. First, there is very little mana near the Great Fall, under those circumstances, no one can withstand the Witch’s scent. Secondly, they cannot bypass the Elder Sages]

[Subaru: Elder Sages…?]

[Ferris: The Elder Sage Shaula, and the First Generation Sword Saint, and the Dragon Volcanica, were the heroes who sealed the Witch of Envy nyan. Then they retired to the Pleiades Watchtower near the Great Fall. But retired in name only, even now, they keep their watch, for those who would revive the Witch. —That is, as the story goes]

[Subaru: They must be… quite old…]

Four hundred years is quite a long breath, even for Sages.

But that is besides the point. Subaru decided to set that aside so Ferris could continue.

[Subaru: Well now we know why the Witch can’t be unsealed, but then how do they  revive her?]

[Ferris: Even if you ask nyan, Ferris isn’t a Witch Cultist and doesn’t know either. All we can do is torture a Witch Cultist and have them spit it out nyan]

Brushing off Subaru’s question, Ferris took on an “I give up” expression.

Even though Subaru wasn’t satisfied, there was no point pursuing the question further.

In any case, Emilia nodded.

[Emilia: So that’s… why I’m treated like this… But why didn’t Puck…]

[Subaru: Did Puck say something just now? There is a mountain of things I need to ask him!]

[Emilia: Puck didn’t respond… Even though he seems to have materialized… I only know he’s near by…]

Seeing Emilia shriveling in her seat, it did not even occur to Subaru to say “there, there”.  In fact, to talk to Puck is something he absolutely must do.

Besides, there is no way to predict where or when Sin Archbishop “Greed” will appear. Puck’s input will also be crucial.

[Ferris: That’s all there is to say about the Witch Cult nyan. So on top of that, let’s move the discussion to the future]

[Subaru: The future…?]

Turning to Subaru with a clap, Ferris, with a jubilant smile, said

[Ferris: To put it simply, this Alliance… let’s dissolve it nyan]

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Next Part (4/6): https://translationchicken.com/2016/09/20/rezero-arc-3-interlude-iii-to-each-their-oaths46/

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Thank you so much Jonathan K, Saranyu P, Jonathan B! And Kirt T and Stephen S! and Alberto G! and Jeffrey N! And Jonty J! MattErnest A! Justin F and Oleg Z! And Michael M, and Bentley M, and Micolo C!

You guys are amazing, I am just blown away… Thank you!

And everyone giving me so many words of encouragement, thank you!

“Wilhelm nodded gravely, and with a stern gaze he looked to Crusch. But, seeing Crusch shrivel under his gaze, Wilhelm closed his eyes in apology.”

“Hearing Crusch call him “Wilhelm-sama”, the old swordsman cringed.”

Wilhelm is so cute in this chapter haha.

I will try to finish the next Part 4/6 afternoon of September.20th!

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Next Part (4/6): https://translationchicken.com/2016/09/20/rezero-arc-3-interlude-iii-to-each-their-oaths46/