The Need of the One at the Bottom
Subaru had come to terms with a discouraging fact: he had almost no talent for magic.
"Pop."
The firewood in front of him gave a feeble crack and bounced slightly, then stood motionless on the chopping block. Never mind splitting in two; it didn't even have a new crack in it.
"This big brother is so weak."
"He really is."
"Well, he can't help it. He's human, after all."
At some point, several Oni children who looked no older than five had gathered nearby. Giggling, they watched Subaru's valiant struggle against a piece of firewood, his head drenched in sweat. Their gazes were innocent and entirely free of malice, which made them twice as devastating.
"Get lost, you little brats! I'm telling you, there's nothing cute about this!"
Even Subaru's thick skin couldn't withstand being mocked to his face by little tots who could barely walk straight.
"He's even weaker than Lady Ram's sister."
"Really. It's my first time seeing someone with even less talent than Lady Ram's sister."
"Wait-Rem? Hey, hey, how did Rem get dragged into you making fun of me?"
"Because it's true. It's my first time seeing someone with even less talent than Lady Ram's sister."
"Big brother, are all you humans this weak? But the books said humans were the most common race in the outside world."
The children continued speaking without a filter.
Just as Subaru was about to die from being gawked at by this bunch of tots, the Oni man who had taught him a magic spell that morning returned with a hoe over his shoulder. It looked like he had finished working in the fields. He glanced at Subaru, who was surrounded by the children.
"All right, all right, go play somewhere else. If you've got nothing better to do, go chop some wood over there and bring it back. Same deal as always: twenty copper coins each when you're done."
"You want us to help?"
"Great! Now we can buy snacks again!"
The children's eyes lit up in unison, and they ran off in a chattering crowd. Subaru finally breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to the man.
"Thanks, mister."
"Don't worry about it. I don't need a kid thanking me." The man waved a hand, his gaze falling on Subaru's still sweat-streaked face. "Living here is going to be tough for you."
"Yeah. Every last one of you is strong as a monster... No offense."
Subaru's eyelid twitched, and his gaze involuntarily drifted toward the little brats who had been mocking him moments ago. One of the children giggled and waved a hand at a large tree. The tree, thicker than a grown man's waist, came crashing down, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Their laughter rang out especially clearly amid the wood chips filling the air.
"To you humans, that's what the Oni are like, isn't it?"
The man followed Subaru's gaze. "As you can see, even little kids that young can unleash magic on that level. That's why it's safe to live here. You don't have to work so hard practicing magic."
With that, the man hoisted his hoe back onto his shoulder and ambled away once more.
Subaru sighed.
After practicing over and over for an entire afternoon, his best result was still only knocking the firewood off the block with a wave of magic.
At this rate, the day he could split firewood in two just by bringing his fingers together like Rem seemed impossibly far away.
"What kind of village is this...?"
Subaru slumped to the ground and looked up at the sky, which was gradually darkening with dusk, a jumble of feelings in his heart.
"Subaru. Rem is back. How did your magic practice go?"
A familiar, cool little-girl voice came from behind him. Subaru turned around to find Rem standing in the glow of the setting sun, holding a bowl.
"Not so great. A bunch of five-year-olds really tore into me." Subaru gave a self-deprecating smile, his eyes falling on the bowl in her hands. "...What's that?"
"...Just leftovers."
Rem looked slightly away. "Rem cooked dinner for Papa, Mama, and Sister tonight. So Rem brought the leftovers along. If you don't want them, Rem will throw them away."
"I want them! Of course I do! You've saved me again, Rem-I was just wondering how I'd keep from going hungry tonight!"
Subaru hurriedly took the bowl with both hands. The bread was fresh, its surface still faintly browned from the oven. The side dishes were neatly arranged, and their steaming aroma wafted straight into his nose.
He stared at these so-called "leftovers" and couldn't help thinking that if he threw away a meal like this, even his mother, who had always doted on him, would give him an earful from start to finish.
She was a tsundere. Fair enough.
"Oh, right, Rem, those kids just now had a lot of misconceptions about you." Subaru spoke indistinctly as he stuffed bread into his mouth. "Those weird rumors going around because your sister is so outstanding, and all..."
"No, those aren't rumors. Rem really is at the bottom among the Oni."
"Do you have to put it so definitively?"
"Yes. Rem is already seven, but she can't even match a four-year-old who's just started learning magic. The only ones in this village weaker than Rem are newborn babies."
"...Oh."
Subaru chewed more slowly. He wanted to say something comforting, but his tongue felt tied in knots. Rem showed neither self-pity nor forced bravado as she spoke. She simply laid out the facts in a matter-of-fact way, leaving Subaru at a loss for where to begin.
"Oh, right." Rem broke the silence first. "How exactly did your magic practice go, Subaru?"
"...I can knock wood flying. That's about it."
"I see. Just as Rem thought, you have no talent for magic at all. You're even more useless than Rem."
"Yeah... Congratulations, Rem. You've finally found the weakest one." Subaru accepted the remark dejectedly.
Rem fell silent for a moment, then spoke indifferently. "Honestly, you leave Rem no choice. So Rem will have to keep an eye on you, in case you really do accidentally lose your life here."
Starting on his second day in the other world, Rem really did seem to become Subaru's guardian.
Every morning, she appeared on time outside Subaru's shabby little house, which had been converted from a storage room, and supervised his work-chopping wood, carrying things, helping the villagers, and doing all sorts of odd jobs.
Once the work was done, Rem would hand him a few copper coins with a straight face, saying they were his wages for the day. In the afternoon, as long as Ram didn't need her company, Rem would sit nearby with her knees hugged to her chest and watch Subaru practice magic-or rather, watch him try again and again to knock firewood flying with a wave of magic.
And every evening, Rem appeared on time at Subaru's door, carrying hot food in her hands.
Sometimes it was steamed sweet potatoes, sometimes a perfectly balanced meal, and occasionally there was even a small bowl of hot soup. Rem made it all herself.
Whenever she brought him food, Rem always had a few stock lines ready-"What a bother," "It's just leftovers," "It's not like Rem made this especially for you"-and so on, the same few variations over and over.
But she never missed a day. Not one. Before either of them knew it, feeding Subaru had become an unfailing part of Rem's daily routine.
Sometimes Subaru couldn't help wondering to himself. Was it because no one in the village had ever expected anything of Rem, because her sister's brilliance had left her unable to breathe and she had always felt completely useless-until she met him, someone even more useless than her and even more in need of care? Was that why she paid so much attention to him?
Of course, that was just Subaru's guess.
Chopping wood, carrying things, practicing magic until his head was drenched in sweat. Being mocked by the village children and pitied by the man with the hoe. Waiting for Rem to bring dinner, then lying on the hard old bedding after eating and staring blankly at the ceiling.
And so the days piled up: earning money through odd jobs, practicing magic, and being fed by a tsundere little girl. It was a routine so uneventful that it could almost be called "peaceful."
By the time Subaru came to his senses, a month of his life in the other world had already passed.