Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 1/Synopsis

Prologue: Waste Heat of the Beginning
Starts with a flashforward where Subaru is in intense pain and on the verge of death, grasping the hand of corpse of a fallen girl, vowing to save her.

Chapter 1: The End of the Beginning
Bemusing his initial problems, Subaru lamented that he had no money or at least no money in the currency of the world that he was currently in. Despite being an ordinary boy for the majority of his life, Subaru found himself transported to a fantasy world one day after returning to home from a convenience store. Looking around at his surroundings, he noticed that the setting here seemed medieval and there were demi-human people walking around leisurely as if it were an everyday occurrence. Arriving near a fruit stand, the vendor Kadomon angrily chased him away after finding out that he was broke. After walking around, he stumbled across Ton, Chin, and Kan, which he described the encounter with the trio of thieves as a compulsory event. As that was occurring, they are suddenly interrupted by a small blond girl yelling for them to move out of the way. Subaru initially thought that she was the person who summoned him here. However, that girl merely stated that she doesn’t have enough time and told Subaru to live strong before leaping above onto the rooftop. As the trio started amazed at the sight, Subaru asked if seeing that made them any less hostile to him. In response, Ton stated that it actually soured their parade and made them feel even worse about him.

Feeling that he had gained some sort of superpower upon arriving at this world, Subaru made a quick jab at the large man in front of him. Landing a direct hit, Subaru made a short complainant that his first time punching someone hurt more than he thought it would. Despite his bold proclamation that the three were mere fodder for him to gain EXP, Subaru’s adrenaline rush quickly ended after Chin pulled out his knives. As he kneels down asking for forgiveness, Subaru is then promptly beat up by the three thugs as they started to gang up on him. Luckily, he is saved by the arrival of a silver-haired girl who was after the blond girl that had left earlier. Despite also being in a rush, the girl couldn’t ignore Subaru’s blight and knocked Chin and his friends back with a display of ice magic. The trio initially wanted payback but were scared away after the girl revealed that she could summon a Spirit. As Subaru was unconscious, the two of them discussed whether she should help him. Despite the girl protesting that she will not, Pack slyly remarked that means she will help him.

As Subaru wakes up, he found himself sleeping on someone’s lap. At first he thought he was sleeping on the girl’s lap. However, upon closer inspection, he noticed that the lap was much hairier than expected. Much to his surprise, he was sleeping beside the cat, who had transformed into a human sized form. In a high pitched voice, Pack remarked that it was an agreement that they made so that he could at least wake up happy, despite Subaru's protests. The girl then attempted to summon lesser Spirits in order to aid in her search. Pack explained to Subaru that lesser Spirits are beings that are in a state prior to becoming real Spirits and they need to gain more power and knowledge before becoming a Spirit like him. In his excitement, Subaru accidentally scared the lesser Spirits away. He was promptly scolded by the girl, who said that as there could have been a large explosion had it been an inexperienced Spirit arts user.

Afterwards, Subaru offered to help them with their search for the stolen insignia in gratitude for spending their valuable time nursing him. He remarked that it was part of his policy of doing one good deed per day. During introductions, the cat Spirit said that his name was Pack as he greeted Subaru. Seeing this, the silver-haired girl remarked that it was unusual to see someone be so casual to a Spirit and asked him where he came from. Subaru said that he came from the east, but the girl noted that Lugunica is the most eastern kingdom. With that, she concluded that Subaru was in an even more precarious situation than herself, as he had no money and didn’t know where he was.

When asked about her name, the girl slightly muttered that her name is Satella. However, to her surprise, Subaru did not falter at hearing the name, and even complemented her on it. During their search, Satella pointed out a lost girl that looked like she was crying. Despite the urgency of her own situation, she took the time to help the little girl find her mother. In order to calm the girl down, Subaru showed her a magic trick involving his Japanese yen coin. As they were walking together with the girl, Subaru remarked that they looked like a couple with a kid. However, Satella retorted that she can’t see him as anything more than an older brother.

Afterwards, Subaru complained about her treating him as if he was younger than her. Satella remarked that she was a half-elf, so she is much older than what her appearance would suggest. Despite expecting criticism, Subaru told her that being a half-elf was awesome, which caused her to become embarrassed and call him an idiot. Eventually, Subaru decided to take them to the fruit seller in order to gain more information. To their luck, the girl they helped earlier was the daughter of the fruit seller who rebuked Subaru earlier. In gratitude, he gave them the directions to the Stolen Goods Warehouse in search of their thief. As their journey took them to the slums, Pack warned Satella that she should quickly make up her mind to stay or not, as he was closely approaching his time limit. After a few minutes, Pack's figure started to blur as if he would start to disappear at any moment. He then apologized to the girl and returned into his crystal after leaving her in Subaru's care. However, after entering the warehouse, Subaru saw a grizzly corpse of an old man. However, before he could react, he was struck down from the shadows. Much to his horror, Satella followed him into the store shortly afterwards and suffered the same fate. As he was slowly bleeding out, Subaru swore that he would save her before dying.

Chapter 2: A Struggle Too Late
To Subaru’s confusion, he found himself back in front of the Kadomon’s fruit stand, who once again told him to get lost after finding out that he was broke. Upon inspection, he noticed that the bloodstains and cuts on his tracksuit were gone, and that it was daytime again. Thinking back to Satella, Subaru quickly rushed back to the Stolen Goods Warehouse. After arriving, he found Old Man Rom there and told the giant that he was looking for an insignia. Rom denied having that good right now, but told Subaru that a girl name Felt could possibly deliver a good similar to his description later in the day. At around sunset, Felt arrived at the warehouse after giving the password for each of Rom's questions. She apologizes for being late, saying that it took some time to shake off an annoying person on her trail. As she complains about the milk that Old Man Rom gave her, Subaru mused that the pair seemed closer than the looked, which caused Old Man Rom to admit that he finds Felt to be like his own granddaughter.

Seeing that he had no money to pay the insignia, Subaru offers to give his cell phone, which he claims is a device that can freeze a single moment in time in a picture. The group was joined by a black haired lady named Elsa Granhiert, who also wants the insignia for a client and is willing to buy it for twenty gold coins. In the end, Subaru wins the bidding war, but accidentally lets it slip that he is going to return it to the original owner. Hearing this, Elsa narrowly sliced Subaru with her sword. In response, Old Man Rom rushed in to attack her with his club, and Felt proudly declared that she had never seen the giant lose a fight. However, the black haired lady effortlessly dodges his attacks and lands a fatal slash in the neck with a broken shard of glass. Angered at the murder of her friend, Felt begins to retaliate, but before doing so, she apologizes for dragging Subaru into this mess. Despite her protection of the wind granting her immense speed, she is also effortlessly cut down. As the last one in the room, Subaru had his guts sliced by Elsa. As his body grew colder, Subaru panicked and repeatedly said that he didn’t want to die.

Chapter 3: End and Beginning
After once again returning back to life, Once again re-spawning at in front of Kadomon’s shop, Subaru was overcome by a feeling of nausea after remembering what just happened. However, he snapped back into reality after seeing Satella walking around the corner. As tried to apologize profusely for what happened, the silver-haired girl angrily rebuked him for calling her the Witch of Envy's name. At that moment, Felt emerges from her hiding spot within the crowd and stealthily steals the girl's insignia once again. The girl at first accused him of being an accomplice before beginning to chase after the thief. Confused at what just happened, Subaru walked into a corner where he once again ran into Ton, Chin, and Kan. Viewing them as a bother, Subaru tried to pass by them, but ends up being accidentally stabbed by Chin’s knife. As the trio were arguing over what to do, they eventually ran away and left Subaru to die alone. For the fourth time, Subaru woke up to find himself next to Kadomon’s shop.

Chapter 4: Fourth Time's the Charm
After deciding that he couldn’t go back to the store right away, Subaru decided to start by organizing his disordered thoughts. First, he decided to name his unknown ability Return from Death. Looking back, he realized that the corpse he found the first time was probably Rom and Elsa was likely responsible for his first death as well. After thinking about Satella, he realized that his duty to the girl ended with his first life. But after some deliberation, he decided that he couldn’t leave a selfless person, who helped a stranger, to her possible doom.

Regaining his resolve, Subaru once again ran into the trio of thieves. This time, he took the precaution to call to the guards for help in order scare them away. To his fortune, Reinhard appeared and scared the trio of thieves away. Subaru thanked him for his aid and asked if Reinhard was a guard. The Sword Sage stated that he is off duty today, so he doesn't have his uniform. Seeing that Subaru's name, attire, and hair style is not native, Reinhard asked if Subaru had any other problems in need of assistance. After thinking it through from a moment, Subaru declined the offer. However, he remarked that he would appreciate it if Reinhard could pass a message to a girl with silver hair and white robes to not go to the loot house, as he will personally bring to her what she is looking for.

Along the way to the slums, Subaru accidentally ran into Elsa. The assassin noticed that he was trying to hide his fear, which she claimed that she can easily smell it. Elsa left him alone as she had somewhere she needed to go, but said that she thinks they will meet again one day. In the slums, Subaru walked into a small shack, which he complains about smelling like garbage. Felt soon arrived and attacks and corners him for insulting her home. In protest, Subaru calmed her down by saying that he is trying to haggle for the item that she just stole. Once again, Subaru puts up his cellphone for collateral, claiming that it was worth twenty gold coins. However, Felt, cautious of being scammed, tells him to come to the loot house later for Rom to appraise it. As they were negotiating, Subaru heard a sound coming from the door. Thinking that it was Elsa again, he yelled for them to not open the door. To his surprise, it was actually, the silver-haired girl, who had come seeking her stolen insignia.

Chapter 5: Starting Life in Another World
Holding everyone in the room at gunpoint with her ice magic, the girl demanded that Felt give back what she stole. However, they are soon interrupted by Elsa’s arrival. The assassin decided to murder everyone there now that the original owner of the insignia was here. As Elsa tried to break through her ice shield, Pack made the incentive to launch a barrage of icicles in retaliation. As they were fighting, Pack noted that Elsa looked like she was use to fighting despite her appearance. Pack added that most people are babies compared to him, but Elsa was strong enough that he almost pitied her.

Seeing that he was running out of time, Pack took the time to restrict Elsa by freezing her leg before going for a devastating magical attack. Unfortunately, Elsa was able to still survive the blow. The half-elf girl asked Pack if he could still continue. However, Pack replied that he was out of mana and getting sleepy. As Pack started to disappear, he stated that he would act in their contract if anything happened to her. If the situation took a turn for the worse, she should use her ob call him out. With Pack out the picture, Rom takes the incentive to attack Elsa. Despite Rom's superior strength, Elsa inhuman mobility allowed her to dodge the giant’s attacks and land a critical slash on his neck. With the tide of the battle at their disadvantage, Subaru volunteered to distract Elsa as Felt runs to find assistance.

After Subaru blocked Elsa's attacks with Rom's club, he asked the girl if she had a secret trump card that she hadn't used. The half-elf girl admitted that she had something up her sleeve, but if she would be the only one left standing if she used it. Luckily, they were both saved by Reinhard, who was brought there by Felt's desperate plea for help. As Reinhard faced off against Elsa, the girl took the time to heal Old Man Rom. Subaru questioned why she would save the gang that stole her insignia. Nonetheless, she refuted that she need him to recover so that he would give her information to repay the favor. Since her healing Rom used up Mana, Reinhard could not fight seriously due to his attacks drawing away the energy that was using for healing. After she was finished the emergency treatment, Subaru gave the okay signal for Reinhard to land the final blow.

As everyone was celebrating their victory, Elsa emerged from the rubble and lunged to attack. Seeing this, Subaru quickly reacted by using Old Man Rom's club to block the blow. With no more reason to continue to the fight, Elsa threw her sword at Reinhard as a distraction before fleeing. Afterwards, Subaru remarked that it had been a long road to come to this point. After boldly announcing his name, he stated that he only wanted to know her name in return for saving her life. Laughing at the sight, the girl confessed that her name was Emilia. At that moment, Reinhard noticed that the club Subaru used was cut cleanly in half, which promptly revealed a fatal wound that landed on his stomach.

Epilogue: The Moon is Watching
Luckily, Emilia was able to heal him in time by using her Spirit arts. While Emilia was healing Subaru, Reinhard asked what was their relationship, as Subaru was looking to give her something earlier. Emilia stated that Subaru was just a passing acquaintance, as she had never met him before. As Reinhard offered to take Subaru back to his home, Emilia declined, saying that she will handle the situation to figure out what is going on. The two then began to discuss what to do with Felt and Old Man Rom. Reinhard quipped that as a knight he would have to arrest them, but unfortunately he wasn't on duty today. Walking up to Felt, Emilia asked if Rom is her family. Felt admitted that Rom is kind of like her surrogate grandfather. Hearing this caused Emilia to chuckle and remark that she had someone similar in her life as well, even if he is asleep during the most important moments.

Felt apologized to Emilia and handed the insignia back to her. However, Sword Saint's demeanor quickly changed after seeing the insignia glow within Felt's hand. Reinhard demanded that Felt has to come with him immediately, putting the girl in a light state of sleep when she refused. As Emilia questioned him on the drastic action, Reinhard remarked that the crime of stealing the insignia is insignificant compared to the greater crime of ignoring what just happened. Looking at the tranquil moon, Reinhard muttered that he felt that this would be the last time he could watch the moon with ease.