Flashback
A tall, muscular villager walked up to Subaru and handed him a sword.
"Take this. It's the sharpest sword in the village."
"Thanks, man." Subaru smiled and took the sword.
"Subaru!"
The boy was surprised to see the kids running toward him.
"Hey, you guys—you're awake!"
The children grouped around him, with Petra taking the lead.
"Where are you going? Back into the forest? Don't go back there, Subaru—it's dangerous!"
"I'll be fine, don't worry. I'm not going anywhere," Subaru reassured them.
"What's the sword for?" one kid asked.
Subaru glanced at the sword in his hand.
"It's a thank-you gift from us all," said the leader of the village's young men, his tone filled with gratitude.
Suddenly, Subaru found himself surrounded by the village children as they began stuffing small things into his pockets.
"I wanna thank you too!"
"Hey!" Subaru could only complain as the kids swarmed him.
"You can have this."
"And this!"
Meanwhile, Toyota stood at a distance. He had no desire to let them know that he had also helped last night during the panic. He had considered gaining affection points that way, but the cons outweighed the pros—it could attract more attention to himself than necessary. While favorability might help, it wasn't worth the risk.
Ram was glaring as the kids crowded around Subaru, stuffing his pockets with gifts.
"Take this—and this too!"
"Hey, why did you put dirt in there?!" Subaru protested.
"Just accept my gift."
"Yeah, just accept it!"
Ram ground her teeth, breathing in and out to calm her fury.
"Ram."
The maid was surprised to see Petra smiling at her.
"We want to thank Ram too, so come over later," Petra said sweetly.
Ram looked dumbfounded.
Flashback ends
A small smile flickered across Ram's face—just for a second.
Subaru sheathed the sword and began examining the gifts the kids had slipped into his pockets.
"A candy, a pretty stone, and—"
Then he screamed like a girl and flung a giant, wriggling centipede onto the dirt. In his frantic movement, something else fell out of his pocket.
"There was a freaking bug in it! Damn brats, sneaking that in while I was distracted… I'll give them a talking-to later."
Toyota could only laugh.
"You'd have a good voice for opera. Even I can't go that high."
Subaru glared at him and flipped the middle finger.
"You are indeed talented, Barusu," Ram chimed in. "With a voice that high, if you put on a wig, you could easily disguise yourself as a girl."
Toyota snickered. Ram noticed and wouldn't let it go.
"But I suppose you'd be the one to stalk girls, wouldn't you?"
The tables turned. Subaru immediately began snickering as well, while Toyota felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him.
"I promise you, this is all a misunderstanding! I haven't been stalking you—well, maybe technically Subaru for a little bit, but I have not stalked you!"
"That's just what a perverted stalker would say," Ram replied.
Not giving him time to retort, Ram turned away.
"I'm going to use my clairvoyance. Wait a moment."
A scarlet-like aura enveloped her as she closed her eyes.
"…It seems we are being watched."
Subaru and Toyota spoke in sync.
"What?!"
Ram pointed to the top of a large stone slab jutting out at a diagonal angle. Subaru's eyes widened as he saw one of the mabeasts diving straight for him, ignoring the other two who were closer.
Subaru raised his sheathed sword to block, but before he could react, the beast was suddenly cut in half. He and Toyota could only watch as the corpse slid across the ground toward Subaru, spewing guts and blood everywhere.
Ram abruptly turned and fired a wind blade toward a hidden beast. In a calm tone, she said, "More are coming."
This guy really is a magnet with his Witch's Scent…
Not only did Subaru seem to attract mabeasts, but he had also drawn in two of the three Great Disaster Beasts—monsters that hadn't been slain in 400 years. Managing to find and kill them was an unprecedented feat—not just because of their immense strength, but because they were notoriously difficult to locate.
And that wasn't even mentioning the Witch Cult.
Ram sent another wind blade toward a beast that once again charged straight at Subaru in a kamikaze-like attempt. It was promptly cut in half. Subaru screamed in fear as the two halves slid toward him.
Toyota could only think about how ridiculous it was that this guy had died multiple times and yet was still scared by a jump scare.
Ram started walking away as if she had located something.
"Don't just walk it off!" Subaru said, embarrassed.
Watching how efficiently Ram had dealt with the beasts, Toyota thought to himself that he needed a weapon now more than ever.
Hey, system are there any weapons I can buy that are efficient but dirt cheap?
The system responded in his head.
[Anything can be used as a weapon if you are skilled enough.]
Toyota sighed in exasperation. I'm not John Wick or Jason Bourne. I can't kill someone with a pen or a pencil. Show me something I can actually use—like maybe the sword Subaru has. Or maybe a grenade.
[There is a similar sword in the item shop, but knowing you, host, you would not like the price. As for your previous request regarding a grenade, the item shop is currently limited to Re:Zero.]
He could only grumble.
"Why are you so OP but useless at the same time?" Toyota muttered aloud.
Subaru, overhearing, looked at him with an offended expression.
"How am I OP? I mean, I am sorry for being useless, but if you really want the sword that badly, just ask."
Looking apologetic, Toyota rubbed the back of his neck and said awkwardly,
"I wasn't talking to you."
Subaru looked genuinely concerned.
"Do you have a form of schizophrenia? Seeing and hearing things?"
"Hm." Toyota seemed to ponder for a moment. "It's possible. Hey, system, can others see your holographic missions?"
[Host, no one can see the holographic projection except you. However, since the system has partially integrated into your cellular device, it is possible for them to view from there.]
"Interesting…" Toyota muttered.
***
Maylee's POV
Ever since she became aware of the world around her, there had been nothing.
No parents.
No friends.
No one at all.
She was alone in a forest—dark, black, and endless.
She couldn't stand, couldn't walk, couldn't even cry for help.
How could she cry, if there was no one to cry to?
How could she mourn if she didn't know what mourning was?
She didn't know how to walk, didn't know how to live.
And if she didn't know how to live… then what was the point in understanding death?
Because of this, she had no choices.
No comprehension of life or death.
Just emptiness.
She had been taken by a beast—a hideous thing with a horn on its forehead.
It was a creature that did nothing but kill. Every day, it slaughtered.
But for some reason, it didn't kill her.
It didn't crush her throat or devour her like the others.
Instead, it dragged her gently to its lair.
Her fate—to be eaten and abandoned in the forest—was altered.
The world itself seemed to pity her.
Over time, she noticed how the beasts reacted around her.
They bowed. Obeyed. Feared.
She became their queen, ruling the forest.
She did whatever she wanted—killed who she wanted, ate what she wanted.
She became so used to death that she believed she would never die.
From birth, she had been raised to be a Queen of Slaughter.
With a beast's mind in a girl's body…
She thought she would eventually die alone.
But then someone came to her.
A girl in black—an adult, much older than her—covered in blood.
"This is a fun welcome. But I don't mean you any harm," the girl said, smiling.
Lying beside her were the mangled corpses of Maylee's subordinates—creatures she once deemed mere playthings.
Now, without them, she felt utterly alone again.
Once more… she had nothing.
"I'll take you back with me. You seem fun."
The girl in black forcibly took her. There was no resistance.
It was the first time Maylee had ever left the forest she had known all her life.
Even then, she still couldn't speak. She still couldn't walk.
She was brought before a woman who called herself "Mother."
Mother was someone who desperately wanted to be loved by everything—
—and would do anything to be loved, even through the most questionable means.
"From now on," Mother said, "I want you to speak for me. Walk for me. Live for me.
You can never go against me. It's your duty, because I am now your mother."
Mother could look like anyone. Speak like anyone.
She could make anyone into anything she wanted.
The girl in black seemed to have a strange fondness for Maylee.
She constantly asked, Mother for me to be allowed to work under her—to be her sister.
Over time, Maylee came to understand something:
That girl in black had no true loyalty to Mother.
She wasn't undisciplined—she just valued freedom more than orders.
Maylee had seen nightmares.
She had seen evil.
She had seen hell, especially while traveling with the girl in black.
After months together, the girl finally told Maylee her name:
Elsa.
A vampire with regenerative powers that fascinated her.
She watched her be torn apart—limbs cut off, spears through her chest, her neck snapped—
but every time, Elsa came back unscathed.
She would never die.
One day, Maylee asked out of curiosity,
"What is hatred? Is it like sorrow? Being sad? What does sadness feel like?
What is the value of life?"
Elsa gave a simple answer:
"The value of life… is doing whatever you want."
But hearing that from someone who couldn't die didn't sit right.
Maylee didn't feel like Elsa was the right person to ask.
Trained to kill by Mother, Maylee spent most of her time with her sister, Elsa.
She imitated her speech, her actions—everything.
She kept copying and copying, molding herself into the image she believed others desired.
Until her first solo mission.
Her task:
Cause panic and death in a small village.
Curse some children. Use them as bait.
Lead the villagers into a demon beast breeding ground.
Her employer—a man caked in makeup who spoke in a peculiar way—would pay her well.
Then she and Elsa could spend time together, doing whatever they wanted.
But the plan hit a hiccup.
A foolish butler from Roswaal's mansion managed to survive the curse—
and even rescued the children before the villagers wandered too far into the breeding ground.
That wasn't the strangest part, though.
As she acted, she noticed one person who wasn't fooled.
He saw through her immediately.
She felt his eyes boring into the back of her head.
She felt his hatred… his disgust.
When she was handed over to him, she could feel it in his grip—
Killing intent.
Tension in his arms, as if he were thinking about snapping her neck.
Someone shouldn't be thinking about that from mere suspicion.
He was dangerous.
And when it was all over—when they were finally alone—
they both dropped their masks.
The hatred he emitted… the overwhelming killing intent…
It stirred something inside her.
What is he feeling?
Who is this person?
A strange sensation began to rise in her chest and head as she stumbled away.
Is this hatred?
Is this sorrow?
That person… what was his name?
Toy…
"I want to meet him again," she whispered.
To feel that emotion again.
Even though her mission had already failed, she figured he would head into the forest—
—to protect that foolish butler.
Maybe… she should wait there.
Maybe… she should watch him.
Maybe… she should pay him back for dropping her.
(AN: This chapter is extra long—I got carried away. From here on out, I'm locking in and focusing on defining and developing the characters. Also I changed my mind. I'll have a vote on the next world he gets transported to once I get closer to that part of the story.
I've also set an official release schedule: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Bonus chapters will drop on Saturdays if my demands are met. 🔫
Trade deal:
You give me 50 power stones, and I give you a bonus chapter.
Sounds fair, right?)