Chapter 18. The Guardian of the Family
[[ "My only request is—hire me to work in this mansion!" ]]
...
~Inside of the Theater~
"Hah? I don't get it at all."
Felt scratched her head, her crimson eyes flashing with confusion.
"If it were me, I'd be demandin' a fat stack of coins, no question! Bein' some stuck-up maid? No way—freedom's way better!"
"Personally, I'd leverage this chance to establish a proper business venture."
Otto mused, mentally putting himself in Subaru's shoes.
"But becoming a servant after nearly dying to save a royal candidate... and for the Emilia camp at that?"
He sighed, rubbing his temples.
"This is... quite unexpected."
Anastasia remarked, her usually sharp eyes widening slightly in disbelief.
"To go through all that trouble only to settle for servitude—especially under a faction with such a... complicated reputation. It's rather difficult to comprehend."
"Perhaps he seeks to forge a deeper connection with Lady Emilia through this position?"
Wilhelm suggested thoughtfully, stroking his beard.
"Yeah, that's part of it."
Al chimed in, leaning back in his seat.
"But let's be real—dude also just needed a job. Gotta survive in this world somehow, right?"
The theater buzzed with mixed reactions—some baffled, some calculating, and others simply shaking their heads at Subaru's unconventional choices.
[[ "I'm a complete pauper right now. Although I could demand a huge sum of money to squander, securing a sustainable livelihood is a better choice, right?"
Subaru explained. ]]
...
~Inside of the Theater~
"Pfft—nah, that's not it at all. The guy's just making excuses."
Al scoffed, waving a hand dismissively.
"Let's be real—he's totally smitten with our half-elf lady here. With an in like that? He could've demanded a fat stack of cash as startup funds and lived large off his otherworlder knowledge. But nope!"
He threw up his hands dramatically.
"Between survival and simping, bro chose the latter. Priorities, am I right?"
A shadow flickered across his helmet's visor as memories of Sword Slave Island surfaced—those brutal early days when he hadn't been given such cushy options.
"However, this shows that the guy's goal is the half-elf lady. In that case, directly—"
[[ "In that case, instead of being a servant, wouldn't it be okay to be a freeloader or something?"
Emilia in the picture replied to Subaru like this. ]]
...
~Inside of the Theater~
"Ah, right, that's what I wanted to say. Being a freeloader can also bring you closer, right? You can eat and drink without worrying about working."
Emilia in the picture says what Al outside the picture wants to say.
[[ And Subaru in the picture realized this and immediately regretted it, but the words had been spoken, and Subaru officially became a servant in Roswaal's mansion.
"In any case, that's how it is. Relying solely on Ram-chin and Rem-rin to maintain the normal operation of the mansion must be a heavy burden. Just think of me as a male servant. Please take care of me." ]]
...
~Inside of the Theater~
"Ram... chin?"
Julius whispered.
"Rem... rin?"
Wilhelm wondered.
This address... is somewhat nostalgic.
The two Rems thought together.
Since the day they fell in love with Subaru-kun, Subaru-kun has basically stopped using this address.
"This... what's wrong with that? Betty is even called 'Beako' by Subaru... Ugh!"
Beatrice said boastfully, but because of shyness and other reasons, she felt that she shouldn't have said it, so she blushed and covered her mouth.
"Haha... the Great Spirit-sama has already said it. But. Emilia-tan, Rem-rin, Beako, Ram-chin, Ros-chin... I wonder if Natsuki-san has any other strange nicknames for anyone else."
Otto said with a smile.
"Ah... I wonder what nicknames the boss would give to everyone here. I'm a little curious."
"Crunchy Shark siblings or something? Haha."
Al looked at Garfiel and Frederica from a distance, joking in a low voice.
"Huh? What do you mean by that, bandit helmet man? Are you looking for trouble?"
Although Al joked in a low voice to avoid being heard by the siblings, he was still discovered by Garfiel, who retaliated with Al's strange attire.
"Ah, ah, sorry, is that okay?"
Al glanced at the two rows of large fangs Garfiel revealed when he said "ah" and then apologized.
[[ "Oh, oh, that's amazing."
In the picture, Subaru was surprised by Beatrice's "Door Crossing."
"I see. In other words, this magic allows any door in the house to lead to your room. It's perfect for NEET, and it's convenient when you're in a hurry to go to the toilet."
"You're not very surprised... By the way, what does 'NEET' mean?"
Emilia asked curiously.
NEET?
Not only Emilia in the picture didn't understand its meaning, but also the others outside the picture didn't understand.
Subaru quickly explained:
"Sacrificing oneself for the family members who return home after a hard day's work... is the guardian deity who always protects the family," ]]
...
~Inside of the Theater~
"Hmm... like Rem and Nee-sama, Frederica-sama?"
Rem tilted her head and thought.
"Ah! That sounds so cool! A guardian deity of the family!"
Garfiel was very excited about this.
"Oh, so it's just a shut-in otaku. What's it called... is it called 'Home Security Force' or something?"
Al thought it was funny that Subaru compared otaku to guardian deities of the family.
[[ Then, having officially become a male servant, Subaru became colleagues with Rem and Ram.
"Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am the head maid in the house, named Rem."
"Let me reintroduce myself. I am an ordinary maid in Roswaal-sama's mansion, named Ram."
"Ah, Nee-sama suddenly became straightforward. Although I'm not qualified to say that."
"Because you are a guest... no, Subaru, you are about to become our colleague, right?"
"Because you are a guest... no, Barusu is a worker of equal status, right?" ]]
...
~Inside of the Theater~
"So the nickname 'Barusu' comes from here. But Ram-san, I've been curious about it for a while but haven't asked. Why do you call Natsuki-san 'Barusu'?"
Otto looked curiously at the maid, Ram.
"It doesn't mean anything. Ram just changed the order of the pronunciation of 'Subaru'. But I didn't expect that even in this world that will be repeated, Ram would call Barusu 'Barusu'."
Ram was somewhat surprised.
"How should I say it? It sounds a bit familiar, but I can't remember it. I feel like I've heard this nickname before... Oh, isn't this the destruction spell from Castle in the Sky? So nostalgic."
Al said.
"Speaking of which, we should be able to see Rem working next, right? I'm really looking forward to it."
"Me too."
Ram and Frederica both expressed their anticipation.
And the two Rems couldn't help but think of the things that had been bothering them:
"It seems like the relationship has gotten a little better... I hope... it's not Rem pretending."
Rem and Natsuki Rem hoped so much that her improved attitude here was not an act.
She remembered that at that time, her heart was closed, and she wanted to eliminate all unstable elements that threatened to disrupt Nee-sama and the life at that time.
Therefore, her improved attitude in this situation might be an act...
No, it must be an act.
She can't... deceive herself anymore.
However, Rem can still hope that in this loop shown on the screen, she will develop feelings for Subaru-kun and go on a date with him.
Subaru-kun's loop must have been caused either by the Witch Cultists or by that giant canine magical beast.
She didn't kill Subaru-kun- absolutely not. Otherwise, why would Subaru-kun redeem Rem? And what qualifications does Rem have to be redeemed by Subaru-kun?
Absolutely not...