Re:Zero Light Novel Volume 21/Synopsis

Prologue: On the Road
While sitting by a campfire, Julius Juukulius confesses to Natsuki Subaru that he isn't the legitimate son of the Juukulius House. Though Subaru was somewhat annoyed by the fact that Julius picked this exact time to drop such a massive revelation, he asks Julius to explain what he means. Julius says that his father was Klein Juukulius, the younger brother of Alverio Juukulius, the current head of the household. After Klein passed away, Julius was adopted by Alverio. Emilia comments that Julius has two fathers and two mothers, a note that touches Julius deeply.

Currently, Subaru and his group consisting of himself, Beatrice, Julius, Emilia, and Anastasia Hoshin, have left the Watergate City of Priestella, and are embarking on a journey to the eastern reaches of the world to make contact with the Sage Shaula, who was rumored to be in the Augria Sand Dunes, hoping they could share his wisdom with them. Unfortunately, the desert is said to be extremely treacherous, teeming with Demon Beasts, and it was said to be so dangerous that Reinhard van Astrea himself couldn't get through, and that sentence itself can take away anyone's sense of hope.

Despite that, Subaru has confidence they can overcome this impossible feat. He plays around a bit with Beatrice before she goes to Emilia and asks to sleep with her tonight as punishment for Subaru being "mean" to her. When they walk off, Julius comments on how close Emilia and Beatrice have become compared to their relationship over a year ago, and attests it to Subaru's own presence, but Subaru quickly changes the topic back to Julius's family, pointing out that talking about the past in a situation like the one they're in right now is already adding more than enough burdens to bear. However, Subaru remembers that Julius had his name consumed by Roy Alphard, one of the Archbishops of Gluttony, which means that everyone that previously knew him have forgotten him. Julius reveals that he wanted to tell Subaru this because everyone else around him has forgotten it, even though they knew it previously, and right now, he feels he's the only person who understands him (which Subaru does to an extent). Saying his piece, Julius walks away to get some rest while Subaru volunteers himself for lookout duty.

As Subaru looks over the fire, he is approached by Echidna, an artificial spirit created by and named after the Witch of Greed, who was currently in control of her summoner, Anastasia Hoshin. Due to Subaru's previous experiences with Echidna, he doesn't trust her and also doesn't treat the spirit with much respect, often referring her as "Eridna," a name she isn't fond of, even though Eridna herself explains she didn't want this situation either. Eridna tells Subaru he shouldn't stay up so late and then walks away, and ultimately, Subaru puts out the fire and heads for the carriage to sleep. Beatrice, who was awake at the moment, sees he has much on his mind and advises he share them with her, which he does, as she already knows that Eridna is in control of Anastasia's body right now. She advises he ask others for help and he accepts, admitting he can't worry forever, especially since they'll be heading home soon.

As it turns out, Subaru wanted to make a pitstop at the Roswaal Manor before heading for the Augria Sand Dunes, as he wanted to pick up Rem, for whom Subaru felt a glimmer of hope to save on this journey.

Chapter 1: A Reason to Bring You
After ten days, Subaru's group return to the Roswaal Manor. Subaru is immediately greeted by one of the maids, Petra Leyte, and she tells him how worried she was over the month he was gone after he received his letter about what had transpired in Priestella. She tells Subaru to tell her everything that happened later as she greets Julius and Anastasia since they are guests. Julius remarks on how polite Petra is after her burst of emotion with Subaru earlier, causing him to quip that Subaru is a "little girl tamer", which Subaru strongly denies. Ram appears behind Petra just as she is about to bring everyone inside the manor and she bluntly and somewhat jokingly asks if Otto and Garfiel have died, to explain why they aren't present. An annoyed Subaru tells her they sent a letter, but she explains that Roswaal told her everything, and that Subaru has business with the comatose Rem in her room and the mansion's jail.

In the parlor, Roswaal L. Mathers greets the group with a smile that makes Subaru ask him if he's plotting something. He claims that his smile is genuine and he had a change of heart over the past year that makes him support Emilia seriously, but Subaru still doesn't exactly trust his claims. Still, he introduces Roswaal to Anastasia, where it is revealed that they previously met during a ceremony held at the Royal Palace following the events in the Sanctuary, which was meant to honor Emilia, Crusch Karsten, and Anastasia for their involvement in slaying the Hakugei, but they never got a chance to speak, meaning this was their first face-to-face conversation.

Roswaal says he knows that Otto and Garfiel are recuperating in Priestella, and he personally feels the cost of dealing with the Witch Cult was relatively low this time, which Anastasia says was thanks to everyone in the city, particularly Subaru and Liliana Masquerade. Roswaal asks Anastasia about her thoughts about having invited Emilia and her camp to Priestella, and she admits she regrets what transpired, and though she wishes to apologize, Emilia tells her that the Witch Cult were truly to blame, and all things considered, she was able to accomplish her main goal: acquiring a magic crystal strong enough to gather strength for the sleeping Puck.

Roswaal admits that killing one of the Archbishops and capturing another is a massive feat, but since the cultists don't cooperate with each other, the threat they pose is still high. Roswaal surmises that the reason Subaru wishes to go to the Sage's watchtower to get answers on how to defeat the Archbishops of Lust and Gluttony, but he asks if he truly thinks he can succeed where Reinhard failed. Eridna takes control and tells Roswaal that she knows a secret path through the desert, and when Roswaal asks why only she knows this, Eridna simply says it's something not even money can buy, and Roswaal accepts just how shrewd a merchant he thinks "Anastasia" is. Though he is somewhat annoyed Emilia agreed to this proposition without consulting him first, he calls her someone who will take the thorny path, and therefore, Subaru will too, which he's fine with.

Julius asks Roswaal to allow them to undertake this mission to help all of the people that were afflicted by the Archbishop's powers, but Roswaal deduces that Julius is one of the afflicted as he doesn't remember him at all. This leads Roswaal to say that Julius doesn't need to pretend to be concerned with others to hide his own desire to be remembered, even saying it is natural. Anastasia stops Roswaal and tells him that while she doesn't remember much of Julius, she considers him her knight, and therefore trustworthy. She also takes care to point out that Subaru, Emilia, and Beatrice were becoming furious with him for messing with Julius like that. Roswaal does concede and remarks that Subaru remembers Julius just like Rem, which he says is very special of him. Speaking of Rem, Roswaal asks Subaru if he's comfortable taking Rem with him on this journey, and he confirms, saying that he's taking this chance to wake her up. Roswaal, however, asks Subaru if he wants to save her more so for his own sake. When he hestitates to answer, Emilia speaks up and says she has no problem with bringing Rem along, confident that if she wakes and Subaru spends too much time with her, she will work hard herself to get him to notice her again, so she sees no problem in saving Rem to save Subaru. Her words shakes Subaru out of his funk, and he reaffirms his desire to take Rem with him on this journey.

Roswaal accepts his resolve and confesses he never intended to stop Subaru, only wanting to make sure he knew what he was doing.