Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu web novel

　--Finding the location of the seal was much easier than expected.

"Is this Fuyin?"

　Young Emilia looked at the strange object before her and tilted her head, blinking her amethyst eyes.

　Before Emilia's eyes was a strange door she had found deep within the forest, in a space surrounded by large trees.

　Even though it was a door, it wasn't connected to any building, and there was nothing around the back. There was just a large door standing alone in the middle of the forest, so large you had to look up.

"Why doesn't it fall over...?"

　Curious, she pushed the door, but far from opening, it didn't even budge. Naturally, the door itself didn't collapse under Emilia's slender arms, and it enjoyed the serenity of a gentle breeze.

　The door appears to be made of wood, but when I touched it, it felt cold, almost like ice. The surface was smooth to the touch, and had a strange feeling like polished stone.

　There was a lock in the center of the closed double doors, and the old lock revealed a large keyhole the size of Emilia's palm. There was no way to imagine whose pocket would fit a key of that size.

"How strange..."

　She knocked on the door with the back of her hand, making sure that even though it was supposed to be solid, there was no echo. Having found it, but not understanding what it meant, Emilia tilted her head and

"I wonder what it is."

"――――"

　The faint glow spun around Emilia's head, seeking her agreement.

　Since their encounter in the princess's room, the fairies had been found in various places in the forest, and when Emilia confided in them that she was searching for the ``Seal,'' they quickly found this location.

　Although they had followed their directions to this place, it seemed that even they did not understand the meaning of the seal.

　Even if they did know, they were unable to exchange words, so they had no way of conveying it to Emilia.

"I don't know, it's boring. But I found it. *clap, clap, clap*"

　Emilia clapped her hands in cheers, nodded vigorously, and left the seal behind.

　With this, she had the trump card she needed in case her escape from the Princess Room was discovered. Even if Mother Fortuna and the others were to discover Emilia's great escape, if she claimed to know about this seal, then, although she wasn't sure, it would probably result in an even argument.

　I can't quite remember what initially caused me to think that way.

"Hmph. It's all Mother Fortuna and everyone else's fault. It's all Juice's fault."

　Remembering the tall man in black, Emilia stuck out her tongue at him, who was not present.

　He was the one who brought out the secret expression of Emilia's precious Mother Fortuna from everyone but her. I knew he wasn't a bad person, but he was definitely Emilia's enemy.

　Though they had yet to face each other directly, Emilia was determined that if Fortuna were to let them meet, she would definitely step on his feet.

"The fairy jumps on your face, and while the juice is in a state of chaos, she steps on it. She steps on it with both feet, and with her heels, too... That looks painful, so she steps on it with her toes instead."

　Even in the midst of a ruthless operation, he never forgets to inject a little compassion.

　Her companions would not go along with her cold-hearted plan. Keeping an eye on the fairies and the enemy, Emilia sneaks out of the depths of the forest and back towards the village.

　Apart from her escape from the princess room, it was currently Emilia's usual free time. Fortuna had been checking various places in the forest to see if the barriers had loosened, and only the elderly and children around Emilia's age remained in the village.

　The elderly can't keep up with Emilia on her great adventures, and for some reason the children don't get very close to her. She sometimes feels lonely about this, but at those times Fortuna plays with her as hard as she can to make her forget, so not being able to play with the children isn't such a big problem for Emilia.

"Plus, I'm probably the only one who knows about Fuyin."

　Only I know something that no one else knows.

　That small feeling of superiority supported Emilia's tiny sense of self-esteem. Emilia puffed out her chest and made her way through the forest with the fairies in tow.

　My destination is my home. Today, Mother Fortuna has prepared a piece of white paper for me, much larger than usual, and I'm going to use my brush to draw whatever comes to mind.

"Today, Gahak felt like painting a red sky and a white forest. --?"

　As she painted in the air an image to slam onto the canvas, Emilia suddenly noticed that the fairy's movements had become erratic. "Hmm?" she asked, closing one eye and following its movements, and saw that the staggering fairy had strayed from the forest path and was disappearing into the depths of the bushes.

"This is a fictionalised thing...!"

　Normally, a fairy would disappear in a speck of light, but this time she was staggering off into the depths of the forest. Emilia decided that this was an incident, or that she was being invited to follow her.

　He strayed from the path and stepped into the bushes, climbing over plants and trees taller than him as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His long silver hair got caught on the branches countless times as he made his way through the forest, and then――

"This is a problem... I'm going to be late for our appointment."

　I found a man looking lost on a narrow path in a dark forest, leaning his back against a thin tree.

"--a"

　Emilia accidentally lets out a cry and quickly covers her mouth with both hands. However, in the quiet forest, the child's high-pitched voice reaches the man's ears clearly and catches his attention.

"Who is it?"

　The man tilted his head and faced the bushes where Emilia was.

　He had gentle features and trimmed green hair. Though his face was thin, his build gave the impression of being toned rather than weak. He was tall, even taller than Fortuna, who Emilia was looking up at, and even taller than the plants and trees that Emilia was desperately trying to jump in order to get her face out of.

　The man who looked familiar to Emilia was none other than her hated enemy, Juice.

"――――"

　As he silently stares at the bushes, Emilia holds her head and realizes she can't just let it go.

　In reality, Emilia was holding her head and facing away, so her butt was sticking out from behind the bushes, in full view of Juice, but Emilia didn't notice, and Juice didn't point it out.

　Emilia emerges from the bushes with an embarrassed look on her face.

"Oh my, what a lovely young lady has appeared...!"

　Juice was about to give a gentle smile at the sight of Emilia, but the second half of his sentence was cut off in shock.

　His eyes were wide open, his lips trembling as he stared at Emilia. There was something oddly uncomfortable about the gaze he was giving her. This was partly because Emilia viewed Juice as an enemy, but also because she couldn't decipher the complex emotions in Juice's gaze.

"Young lady... no, you, you can't be..."

"――――"

　Juice shook his head, his voice trembling, as if he couldn't believe what he had seen. Emilia looked up at him timidly, feeling pained by the weak expression on his face.

　His expression was one of frailty and uncertainty, like that of a child who had lost their way, or someone who had been walking in the dark for a long time finally discovering the light; Emilia forgot all of her previous feelings towards Juice.

"...Juice, are you okay?"

"--! Ah, ah, aaaahhh..."

　Walking over to him and picking up the hem of his black habit, Emilia spoke to him.

　The moment he heard that, Juice's expression broke even more, and as if struck by lightning from Emilia's fingertips as she grabbed the hem of his shirt, his spine shivered and he dropped to his knees.

　Emilia's shoulders involuntarily shook. Juice dropped to his knees, bending his waist, so that his eyes were at eye level with Emilia. Tears were flowing endlessly from his eyes.

　The never-ending flow of tears formed a great river down Juice's face. It was Emilia's first time seeing a grown man cry, and all she could do was watch, holding her breath.

　Taking Emilia's stiff hand, Juice looked straight into her amethyst eyes.

「It's okay... Yes, yes! It's okay. There's no problem... I, I... I've just, just been saved to the greatest extent possible.」

"Really? I helped you, and yet you're crying?"

"I'm not crying because I'm sad… I cry because I'm happy, delighted, delighted… there are tears of joy like that. I learned that from none other than… you… from you guys… so…"

　Juice's unbearable emotions were transmitted to Emilia through his trembling fingertips, and she had no intention of shaking him off.

　Juice bowed his head deeply, tears dripping onto the ground, and repeatedly sobbed uncontrollably as he continued to shed what he called tears of happiness.

　--Is shedding tears a sign of happiness? If so, is he happy now?

"Even though I'm happy, I still cry..."

　To some extent, I think I understand how you feel.

　Sometimes Emilia would spend lonely nights unable to sleep, and at those times she would crawl into Fortuna's bed, snuggled in her grumbling mother's arms, and spend the warm time until morning came.

　At times like these, Emilia feels free from anxiety, and is overcome with happiness, but sometimes she feels like she might cry. I wonder if Juice is experiencing the same feelings as Emilia at those times.

　Is Emilia able to do the same things as Mother Fortuna?

"It's okay, Juice. It's okay. It's okay."

"----!"

　Emilia stroked Juice's head with her folded hands to comfort him.

　A violent tremor ran through his body, and Emilia pulled him, his head bowed, into her small arms. His sobs reached her chest, and his warmth flowed into her body.

　I was planning to step on your foot, and now here I am.

　He's a hopeless guy. An inevitable enemy. There's no way you could do something so horrible to someone who's crying. I'm sure Mother Fortuna will forgive him and say it can't be helped.

"It's lonely to cry alone."

　Once Juice has finished crying, hold his hand and head back to the village.

　I have to tell Mother Fortuna.

　A walk deep in the forest and crying even though I'm an adult.

　Once two people share a secret, they are no longer enemies, but something like friends.

※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※※ ※

　ーーLeaning her back against the hard sensation, Emilia regained consciousness from her momentary loss.

　He shook his head and ran his fingers through his silver hair, wincing at the continuous high-pitched ringing in his ears.

　What was the dream I had just had in that short time?

　Emilia had no memory of such a scene. It couldn't have been.

　And yet, an unfamiliar scene suddenly sprang up in her mind, as if she had seen it before. The characters were people Emilia knew, and even though she was undoubtedly taking part in the performance, she felt the incomprehensibility of seeing a completely unfamiliar scene being performed.

　I know Fortuna, Juice, the fairies, and my younger self.

　And yet, I saw unfamiliar sights. Unfamiliar scenery. Conversations I don't remember having.

　Slowly, a scene Emilia had never seen before began to emerge.

　The sealed door. Escaping from the princess room. The guidance of the fairies. The true identity of Juice and the other men in black. Mother Fortuna's final words to Emilia.

"--Ah, Zu."

　A sharp, sharp pain pierced Emilia's brain.

　Roughly wiping away the tears at the corners of her eyes with her sleeve, Emilia exhales, her white eyes red and swollen.

　Ever since the morning her contract with Puck was terminated, these unfamiliar memories have been surfacing in Emilia's mind one after another. In truth, she doesn't know what this all means.

　But I knew that this was no meaningless, baseless delusion.

　It was something quite fundamental in Emilia's heart that did not reject or shun this memory.

　She knew it. Deep in Emilia's heart, this scene.

　If so, then why is this scene not in Emilia's mind?

　His own past, as seen during the "Trial" at the tomb.

　The memory of Fortuna hurling his rage and malice at her in that snowy forest, making her want to scream. Emilia's memory has lost something crucial that connected her to that time.

　Is there something in the ocean of memories now that connects to that lost part?

　If that was the case, then what Emilia had to do was to dive deep into the ocean, dig up the bottom, and find what had sunk there.

"I have to find it quickly..."

　My head hurts. My body feels heavy. My vision is blurred and all the strength leaves my body.

　Still, Emilia had to lean her weight against the wall, stand up, and move forward.

　Slowly, slowly, dragging her heavy body, Emilia went deeper and deeper into the darkness, alone, with a tearful face.

　All alone.