Once she'd had time to get comfortable with this new ability, the power it could unleash would rival magic without question.
"Is it my turn? Come on, it's my turn, right?!"
Subaru had been watching from the sidelines as Betty mastered her new power in what felt like minutes, and he was practically drooling. As a high schooler with more than a touch of the dramatic, he'd fantasized about wielding exactly this kind of power for as long as he could remember.
Betty lifted her chin like a swan and glided past him.
"Not everyone is a genius like Betty."
"Who are you underestimating? Let's see who picks it up faster!"
Chest puffed out, brimming with confidence, he marched up to Gojo.
"Gojo!"
"Let's do this!"
"Sure thing. Clear your mind and focus on the sensation."
Same process as before. Gojo guided him the way he'd guided Betty, easing Cursed Energy into his body, coaxing it toward awareness.
One minute passed. Three. Five.
Subaru's expression began to shift. His face turned an increasingly alarming shade of red, like a man straining against something that refused to budge.
Betty watched from the sidelines and broke into a triumphant grin. "What did Betty say? Not everyone's a genius."
Gojo gave Subaru a sympathetic look. "Subaru... you might not have the aptitude for this."
His eyes flew open. "Wait, hold on, I think I felt something! One more try!"
He wasn't about to give up that easily. Gojo, being a decent friend, obliged.
The second attempt went no better. Cursed Energy washed through Subaru like water through a sieve. Not the faintest flicker of recognition. He stood there for several minutes, motionless and blank as a wooden post.
It's over.
A third attempt. This time, Subaru couldn't even scrape together an excuse.
He opened his eyes and dropped straight to the ground, legs folding beneath him, expression hollow. The look of a man whose future had just been cancelled.
Can't learn magic. Can't learn Jujutsu. The only ability he possessed was dying and starting over.
The realization settled through him like cold water. Even in this party of extraordinary people, he was dead weight. An ornament. His sole contribution was getting killed when they hit a wall, then rewinding so everyone else could try again.
"Don't take it so hard." Gojo crouched beside him and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "For normal people, the odds of learning Jujutsu are even worse than learning magic."
"Can't learn magic. Can't learn Jujutsu. I really am useless..." Subaru stared at the sky, eyes glazed, muttering to no one.
"Even trash has value. You just haven't found yours yet." Betty sidled over, offering what she clearly believed was comfort.
The phrasing did not help. Subaru's expression crumpled further.
"Thanks a lot!"
"Is there really nothing I'm good at?"
The frustration was real. He'd been dragged to another world, an honest-to-god fantasy realm, and couldn't even taste what it felt like to wield power.
"It's not that hopeless. We haven't tried everything yet." Gojo leaned in, dropping his voice near Subaru's ear. "There's still Meili. And once we're back in the Royal Capital, you could talk to Reinhard. Can't be a mage or a sorcerer? Becoming a knight's not a bad consolation prize. Reinhard's not as handsome as me, but he's alright."
Subaru was, in a word, unlucky. The Jujutsu path wasn't open to ordinary people. Even within sorcerer bloodlines, some descendants never awakened. Among the general population, the ratio was maybe one in ten thousand. Magic wasn't much different. Both sat at the extreme end of the difficulty scale, and Subaru had charged straight at them both without a second thought. Failure was practically inevitable.
"Oh, come on. So you can't learn it. Big deal. I'm in the same boat, and you don't see me moping." Felt scuffed her foot against his side. "Get a grip."
"Beyond Jujutsu and magic, there's a world of things we haven't explored. Opportunities will come. Don't lose heart." Gojo glanced at Subaru, still slumped and miserable, then thought better of pushing further. He grabbed Betty and Felt and walked away.
"We're leaving the idiot behind?" Betty looked back, puzzled.
"Nothing we say right now is going to help."
"There's only one person who can snap him out of it." Gojo nodded toward Emilia, who stood nearby. "Watch. The second she shows up, he'll be on his feet."
No man, barring extreme circumstances, wanted to look weak in front of the girl he loved.
"Emilia!" He waved her over, Betty in tow.
"Gojo?"
"I need a favor." He jerked his thumb toward the crumpled figure across the courtyard and gave her the short version.
"Wait, me? You think I can help?"
Emilia looked genuinely startled that anyone considered her capable of cheering Subaru up.
"If you can't do it, nobody can. Go on, Emilia. You don't even have to say anything. Letting him see you will be enough."
Half-convinced and half-bewildered, she headed over. She'd seen Subaru's dejected state earlier, and it had worried her, too.
"What happened to him? Is he upset because he couldn't learn what Betty learned?" Puck floated over and was immediately captured by Betty, nestled snugly in her arms.
"Yeah. Last time it was magic. Same result this time around." Gojo shrugged.
"That is sad, I suppose. Can't say I really understand the feeling, though." Puck's tone was breezy. Outside of Emilia, precious little held his attention for long.
"I don't get it either. Plenty of people in this world don't have Divine Protections and they aren't falling apart over it." Felt didn't see the fuss. If this kind of setback was enough to break someone, surviving alone in the Slums would've finished them off ages ago.
"Easy for you to say, Miss Divine Protection." Gojo rapped his knuckles lightly on her head. "Out of our whole group, Subaru's the only one without any special ability. If he could move like you, vaulting across rooftops and scaling walls, he wouldn't be this torn up."
"There are ways to fix this, though." Betty spoke up, still cradling Puck. "This world has plenty of magical equipment. Mother created quite a few in her time. They draw Mana from magic stones, letting even ordinary people use them. That would satisfy his craving for extraordinary power."
"Metia don't come cheap. Prices start at Holy Gold Coins, minimum."
"So what? Money is the least of our problems." Gojo smiled, radiating the calm of someone who'd already done the math. If money could solve it, it wasn't a problem. By his projections, the wealth they'd accumulate was going to be staggering. When the time came, Subaru could go shopping to his heart's content.
The Cursed Energy experiments were more or less wrapped up for the day. Subaru's morale had been left entirely in Emilia's hands.
And Gojo's instinct proved flawless.
The moment Emilia approached, Subaru sprang off the ground like he'd been launched. His spirits recovered at visible speed, mood brightening by the second, the earlier despair evaporating as though it had never existed.
While Emilia worked her magic on Subaru, everyone else scattered to their own pursuits.
Betty spent the afternoon with Puck, happy as could be. The day had been a triumph on every front: a powerful new ability and an entire afternoon monopolizing her brother's attention.
Felt, who'd also failed the Jujutsu test, barely flinched. Years of scraping by in the Slums had forged a resilience that didn't crack over something like this. Couldn't learn Jujutsu? Fine, move on to the next thing. She hadn't forgotten Gojo's plans. Better to start learning about the kingdom's nobility and political landscape while she had the chance. She tracked down Roswaal to ask for a briefing on the major noble houses and government figures. Her knowledge in that arena was, without exaggeration, a blank slate. If they were going to extract money from aristocrats, preparation was essential.
Roswaal, however, wasn't at the mansion. Apparently he'd left for the Royal Capital. Fortunately, Ram knew enough about the noble houses to fill in the basics. And since Felt was now a Royal Candidate, her wardrobe needed upgrading to match her new station. Ram measured her for new clothes while walking her through the essentials of aristocratic politics.
With everyone else occupied, Gojo found himself completely free. He collected Meili and went to find Rem, settling in for a leisurely afternoon tea.
The day passed in a blink, full and unhurried, each of them carving out their own corner of it.
That night, as everyone prepared to turn in, Subaru came knocking.
One look at Gojo and he broke into a sheepish grin. "So, uh, you mentioned we could ask Meili whether I might be able to learn Curses or something?"
"You really can't wait, can you?"
Gojo stood in the doorway in his pajamas, mid-yawn.
"You don't understand what it's like being ordinary."
Subaru turned his face away, a portrait of brooding melancholy.
"Alright, alright. Save the wounded-soul act for Emilia."
Gojo waved him off before he could go any further. Subaru might not be tired, but he certainly was. Still, he dragged himself down the hall with Subaru in tow and knocked on Meili's door.
"Meili, it's me. Subaru and I have a quick question."
"Big Bro? What's going on?"
After a moment, the door cracked open. Meili stood there rubbing her eyes, clearly dragged from sleep. The little girl apparently turned in earlier than anyone.
"Here's the thing." They stepped inside, and Gojo laid out the question Subaru had been agonizing over.
"Meili, how did you become a Mabeast Tamer? Could he learn it too?"
"Mabeast Tamer?" Meili sat on the edge of her bed, blinking groggily. "Meili doesn't know how. Meili just has the Divine Protection that makes Mabeasts listen."
Divine Protection.
Two words, and Subaru's hopeful smile froze solid.
Gojo shot him a pitying glance, then ruffled Meili's hair. "Got it. Go back to sleep, Meili."
He tucked the blanket around her, then guided a shell-shocked Subaru out of the room.
"Becoming a hero means taking a few hits along the way. It's part of the deal." He clapped Subaru on the back. "Hang in there, kid."
With that, Gojo retreated into his own room and shut the door.
A good night's sleep would sort Subaru out. He was sure of it.
Poor guy really can't catch a break.
Lying in bed, Gojo was replaying the day's events and mumbling to himself when something unexpected happened. The Supporting Character System, dormant for what felt like ages, pulsed with a new notification.
[The anime "Re: Zero: Starting Life in Another World" is about to air.]
[Interdimensional broadcast function activated. Real-time comments and Popularity rankings available during the screening.]
Now? Really?
So much for getting some sleep.
He grumbled internally, but curiosity won. His eyes opened.
The last broadcast had aired two episodes at once, and his early performance had been strong. His Popularity Points lead over every other on-screen character was enormous, a cliff's edge separating first place from second.
This time, with so much having happened since then, he had no idea what the storyline would look like. Regardless, it was worth watching.
A screen materialized before him, and the broadcast began.
[FIRST!]
[FIRST!]
[Finally, this week's update!]
The usual flood of comments streamed across the screen from the very first frame, noticeably thicker than the premiere. The show had picked up regulars.
Watching the comments drift past, Gojo was starting to piece together how the broadcast worked. Like any seasonal anime, it updated two episodes per week. But the timing on his end didn't match the viewers'. Updates seemed to be triggered by story progression rather than any fixed schedule. Only once the system decided enough had happened to fill two episodes would a new broadcast air.
...
Get early access to 40 chapters ahead on my Patreon!
patreon.com/fawkess