*Peace is a fragile thing. Subaru Natsuki knows this better than anyone.*
The royal selection has settled. The estate is quiet. Emilia smiles, the tea is sweet, and for a moment, Subaru allows himself to believe that happiness might be something he's permitted to keep.
But peace has a price—and the bill is coming due.
When a forgotten bell tolls in the dead of night, the villagers of Arlam begin to lose pieces of themselves. Memories. Names. The things that make them who they are. And the dee
Re:Zero - The Bells of What Remains - The night the bell tolls — an overture to the terror of being forgotten
The scent of black tea dissolved into the afternoon garden.
The garden terrace of the Roswaal frontier count's estate. On the white tablecloth sat a silver teapot and two cups. The steam drifted off on the breeze and vanished. The sky was high, the clouds thin, and somewhere far off a bird called.
Natsuki Subaru was watching the silver-haired girl seated in the chair across from him.
Emilia. One of the royal selection candidates for the Kingdom of Lugunica, and a half-elf — half human, half elf — whose guardian was Roswaal, the master of this estate. Her long silver hair swayed in the wind, translucent white where the sunlight caught it. Her large violet eyes were fixed intently on the tea in her cup.
"Subaru, your tea's going to get cold."
She lifted her face and smiled softly. Seeing that smile always warmed something deep in his chest. At the same time, it pricked him — a small, needle-like pain.
"As if I'd let tea you brewed go cold. I'm drinking it while it's hot, don't worry."
Subaru answered with deliberate lightness and brought the cup to his lips. The aroma of the leaves passed through his nose. Good. The tea Emilia brewed was always a little sweet. No sugar in it, and yet it tasted sweet — probably because of who had made it.
He caught himself thinking something awfully saccharine.
Subaru was eighteen. His short black hair stuck up a little, and his eyes had a sharp, unkind look to them. Every time he looked in a mirror, he'd smile wryly — those sanpaku eyes of his scared people off at first meeting. A white shirt, a black vest, easy-to-move-in black trousers. Around his left arm, a blue-ribboned armband — proof he'd been knighted in Emilia's service. On the back of his left hand, a black glove to hide the witch's scent. On his right leg, the scar left by dragon's-blood healing.
"The royal selection's finally settled down lately, hasn't it. There aren't any big conflicts anymore, so I've been able to turn my attention to the domain. But there's still so much busywork... I keep thinking I need to do better."
As she said it, Emilia's brows dipped just slightly. When she was troubled or anxious, she had a habit of unconsciously twisting the tips of her silver hair between her fingers. Even now, her white fingertips were curling a lock of it round and round.
"You're already doing plenty. I guarantee it. If anything, you're so serious it's got me worried."
That was the honest truth. Emilia was always earnest, always sincere, always moving for someone else's sake. She put herself last and took on other people's pain as if it were her own. And that was exactly why the weight of the burdens she carried hurt Subaru to see.
But the moment the words left his mouth, another voice surfaced in the back of his mind.
— If you throw anything away, I'll kill them all and make you start over.
Roswaal's voice. The words that painted clown had let fall that day, quietly, as if he were discussing the weather. A thorn still lodged deep in Subaru's chest.
Unconsciously, Subaru pressed a hand lightly to his left breast.
"Subaru? What's wrong — you look pale."
Her violet eyes peered at him with concern. Her gaze was direct, unclouded.
"It's nothing. Just stayed up too late last night, that's all. See, I'm a man who's strong at night. Or wait — weak? Staying up late and wrecking my health, that's just a frail constitution, isn't it."
He laughed it off, playing the fool. Emilia pursed her lips in a small "honestly."
"Don't push yourself. You always end up carrying everything alone."
Those words squeezed his heart tight.
— There's so much I can't tell you.
Return by Death. The power only Subaru possessed — to rewind time by dying. He had died again and again, started over again and again, piling up pain and loneliness inside himself each time. He couldn't tell anyone. If he tried, a searing agony would pierce his chest, a torment like having his heart crushed in a fist.
Last night, too, he'd dreamed. A dream of his innards torn open, blood pouring out, his breath failing on the cold ground. Over and over, dreams of dying in different ways. No one to save him. No one who even noticed Subaru had died.
When he woke, his back was soaked with sweat.
"Carrying things alone is one of my few talents. I'm not so far gone that you need to worry about me."
Subaru put on a smile. Whether it was a convincing one, even he couldn't tell.
Emilia studied his face for a while, then gave a small nod and took a sip of her tea.
"I see. Then that's fine. ...Oh, that's right. Subaru, would you go into Arlam Village for supplies today? Ram asked for a few things."
"Easy as anything. I'll pick up some of my favorites while I'm at it. What do I want... meat, obviously. Meat. That stew the other day was great, so I'll order more of the same cut."
"Fufu, you really do love your meat, Subaru."
Her laughter was light as the wind stirring the garden flowers. Subaru burned that smile into his eyes while desperately forcing down the black sediment settling at the bottom of his heart.
A peaceful afternoon. But Subaru did not yet know that this peace would not last much longer.
...No — perhaps, in truth, he had already begun to sense it, faintly.
Because he had been hearing it for a long time now — the sound of something creaking deep in his chest.
The road to Arlam Village wound its way between forest and fields.
Subaru walked alone, having left the estate behind. It wasn't far enough to bother with a carriage. Moving his legs seemed to help sort out his thoughts, at least a little.
The Kingdom of Lugunica. A human-centered kingdom on the western side of this world's continent. Some four hundred years ago, a religious order called the Witch Cult had plunged the continent into terror during the Great Calamity — and now the nation was in a transitional period, choosing a new king through the royal selection. A feudal system, with the capital, Lugunica Metropolis, at its center and regional lords governing their domains autonomously. This Roswaal frontier county was one such domain, ruling the eastern frontier of the kingdom.
A world where magic and spirits were woven into daily life. Spirit arts users and mages held high status, and their power was used not only in battle but in farming and medicine. But such blessings reached only a gifted few; village life was simple, close to the standard of medieval Europe.
The air was clear, and the wind carried the smell of soil and grass. Somewhere in the distance a cow lowed. In the fields, villagers bent their backs to their work. When Subaru waved, they gave him a slight bow in return.
Not bad. This kind of time wasn't bad at all.
But as he neared the village entrance, the air changed.
A handful of villagers had gathered in the square, talking in hushed, secretive voices. Every face was stiff. One of the women had her hands clasped before her chest as if in prayer.
"They say the bell rang again last night."
"That's the witch's lingering scent, no mistake. The royal selection may be over, but the Witch Cult's curse hasn't gone anywhere."
"I've told the children they must never go near that bell tower. A place like that — who knows what's been there since the old days."
Subaru stopped and listened to their conversation.
The bell tower. An old stone tower at the edge of Arlam Village, where it bordered the Alva forest. About fifteen meters tall, four stories. In the topmost tier hung a bronze bell, said to be a relic used in a Witch Cult ritual four hundred years ago. For generations, the villagers had taught their children to stay away from it.
Subaru had known the rumor itself. But he had never actually heard the bell ring.
"Hey, old timer — mind if I ask something? That bell, does it really ring?"
When Subaru spoke up, the villagers all turned at once. Seeing his face, they looked just slightly relieved. As a knight of Emilia's camp, Subaru's face was known in the village.
"Ah, Subaru. You be careful too. These past few days, the bell's been ringing at night. Nobody's ringing it, but it rings on its own."
"And worse — the morning after you hear it, you forget something. Yesterday I couldn't remember where I'd put the key to my house... I thought it was just my age, but seems the same thing's been happening to others."
Subaru furrowed his brow.
The sound of the bell affects memory? That was absurd.
But the villagers' fear was genuine. They dreaded the Witch Cult's remnants from the bottom of their hearts, and that fear had not faded in the slightest, even now that the royal selection was over.
"...All right. I'll pass this on to Lady Emilia myself. For now, you'd all better stay indoors at night."
With that, Subaru set off to finish the supply run.
He could feel the villagers' anxious gazes on his back as he went.
On the way back from the village.
Unconsciously, Subaru had taken the handkerchief from his pocket.
A carefully stitched cloth embroidered with blue thread. A small flower pattern in one corner. Soft to the touch, made with fine thread that didn't fade even after repeated washing.
This was something someone had given him.
It was certainly something precious.
But he couldn't remember the face of the person who'd given it to him.
As he walked, Subaru stared at the handkerchief. Blue thread. A flower pattern. Small enough to fit in his palm. A little too cute for a man to carry, and yet Subaru had kept it with him all this time.
...Who gave this to me?
A cold sense of wrongness spread through his chest. Something was caught in the corner of his mind. When he tried to recall it, it felt like reaching into fog. There was a shape, but he couldn't grasp it.
"...I'm just tired."
Subaru muttered under his breath and shoved the handkerchief back into his pocket.
An unpleasant sweat had broken out on his palms.
That night, Subaru was tormented by the nightmare again.
He was running through a dark forest. His feet sank into mud, his breathing was ragged, his heart pounded so hard it felt about to burst. Something was closing in from behind. He mustn't look back. If he looked back, he would die.
But he looked back anyway.
Sharp claws tore open his belly. Hot blood gushed out, and he felt his innards spill. Pain. Agony. The scream was his own, and yet it seemed to come from far away.
He collapsed to the ground and died on the cold earth. His vision went dark.
— Again.
The scene changed. This time, on rocky ground, he was devoured by a monstrous beast. Bones crushed, flesh torn, consciousness snuffed out.
— Again.
Burned by flame. Drowned in water. Run through by a sword. Again, and again, and again.
The memories of death tormented Subaru.
No one to save him. No one who noticed. Even if Subaru died, the world rewound, and no one ever knew of that death.
And the last thing he heard was that voice.
— If you throw anything away, I'll kill them all and make you start over.
Roswaal's voice, drawling, and yet cold.
Subaru bolted upright.
His heart hammered, his breathing shallow. Sweat stood on his forehead, and the sheets were soaked through.
"...Damn it."
Subaru drew a deep breath to steady his ragged breathing. Outside the window it was still dark. There was still time before dawn.
And then it came.
Goooong...
A low, heavy bell tone echoed from far away.
A chill ran down Subaru's spine.
The sound came from the direction of Arlam Village. Yes — from the direction of that old bell tower.
The bell that no one should have been ringing was ringing.
Goooong...
A second toll. It shook the air, traveled along the walls of the estate, and clung to Subaru's eardrums.
"What the hell is this..."
Subaru got out of bed and went to the window. He pulled back the curtain and peered out. Beyond the moonlit garden, along the dark ridge of the forest, he could faintly make out the silhouette of the bell tower.
Who was ringing that bell?
The frightened faces of the v
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