Alec Hoshin

Alec Hoshin (アレク・ホーシン), better known to history as Hoshin of the Wilderness (荒地のホーシン), was a man who lived in the years prior to the Great Calamity. He is most well known for uniting a multitude of small countries and founding one of the Four Great Nations known as the Kararagi City States, implementing within it a culture that strongly resembled that of Japan.

He is considered a world-wide symbol of success for merchants and, as such, is a figure who is looked up to by any individual remotely associated with business. This includes Anastasia Hoshin, who even named herself after him.

Appearance
Alec appeared to be a middle-aged man with long, dark red hair tied into a ponytail, amber eyes, a small mustache, and a beard. He wore a long, black cloak with red on the inside and grey woven robes. He was also adorned with a bronze pin that featured a hanging red robe and a cane given to him by Farsale Lugunica.

Personality
Hoshin considered himself pessimistic. His nature was to long for the company of others. He hated the sky because he thought it looked down at him and tormented him. It is mentioned that he was both brave and sympathetic. Some theorized that Hoshin was a lolicon, as Ricardo described him as one, though the word coined and became a common term in Kararagi that meant "love at first sight".

Though often overlooked, Hoshin was in fact a rather brutal and, at times, savage person who did everything to achieve his goals both as a merchant and as the founder of the Kararagi City States. It is precisely due to this trait that he was able to unite all the countries and cities into one of the Four Great Nations. If one refused to join them, he did not hesitate to topple the entire city and build a new one from its ashes.

History
According to history, Hoshin lived roughly 400 years before Subaru's arrival and was responsible for uniting the cities and small countries scattered around the Western regions of the continent. With the help of the Witch of Greed, he was able to successfully bring them under his dominion, thus creating the nation that would soon become known as Kararagi. During that time, he involved himself in a regional conflict between Kararagi's Humans and Demi-Humans. He made several allies along his journey, fought in the battle of Banan, and won, which originated the phrase "Hoshin was Banan's setting sun". However, what was not known to history was that he travelled in a group with his friends, including Flugel, Reid Astrea, Farsale Lugunica, Echidna, and Satella. He went through many brutal experiences, including being chased by a true dragon, being swallowed by a great flood, and the bloodless capture of a barbarian fort.

He introduced cultures and previously unseen cultural aspects, such as clothing, like kimonoes and yukatas, and foods, like okonomiyaki (later named Daisukiyaki), and dorayaki, which became a popular phenomenon in the new world. He also introduced the new world to Kansai dialect, a version of Japanese that was used in the Kansai region of Japan. It was adopted in the world and it became the native way of speaking in the Kararagi City States.

Abilities
Divine Protection (加護 Kago): Alec possessed the Divine Protection of Evaluation (目利きの加護 Mekiki no Kago), which enabled him to determine if an item was of good or bad quality and, if the item was in front of him, he could evaluate its condition and quality with perfect accuracy. However, if he happened to be evaluating an item he'd never seen before, he would only know if it was of good or bad quality and therefore gained no knowledge of how it was used or how much it was worth.

Trivia

 * Contrary to popular belief, Hoshin was not summoned like Flugel, Subaru, and Al. Instead, all of his knowledge regarding Japan was taught to him by none other than Flugel.
 * Different anecdotes about Hoshin are still circulating around the world. For example, in one of the failed loops of Arc 4, Garfiel used the anecdote "Hoshin was Banan's setting sun" as a declaration of hostility towards Subaru, Ram, and Otto.
 * It is speculated that one of Ricardo's ancestors was involved in the battle of Banan. The reason being is that Ricardo was the only one that referenced him by name (before Anastasia adopted the name) in Anastasia's Kararagi Merchant Path as he knows what a lolicon is.
 * It is unknown if Hoshin had any children. Anastasia only adopted the name from inspiration and is not directly related by blood.
 * Alec knows some English words, implying that Flugel taught him these words.
 * Alec says he would have died in the middle of nowhere if he had not been found by Satella in the past.
 * Hoshin considered himself the second most likely to die in his group. Reid was unlikely to die and he was not worried about Farsale since his personality was such that he could get on with things anywhere he was. According to him, Flugel was the most likely to die.
 * He had tried to commit suicide once due to loneliness, but was saved by a gentle hand.
 * Alec's reveal as a character is unique in that his first official appearance takes place not in licensed Re:Zero media, but rather in the non-canon-relevant Isekai Quartet Movie as part of promotional material.
 * In the Isekai Quartet movie, Alec seems to know both Subaru and Emilia, as well as Emilia's real age.