Chapter Summaries

Subaru became popular in the village by making lighters, while he trained and struggled to keep up with demand. As villagers crowded around his cabin and ignored Rem, she left with the dinner she had brought and threw it away.

• Subaru made and sold lighters, earning the villagers' admiration, and gave Rem one as thanks for her help.
• Subaru added sword training to his routine and exhausted himself so badly that he fell asleep before dinner, then apologized to Rem the next morning.
• Subaru discovered a villager was buying up lighters to resell them at higher prices, so he began taking reservations from the long queue outside his cabin.
• Rem arrived with dinner but could not get into Subaru's cabin because of the crowd, while villagers focused on Subaru and the lighters.
• Rem tipped the untouched dinner into a roadside barrel and walked home without looking back.

Rem pushed Subaru away after his recent success made her feel useless and jealous. As Rem fled, she recalled how caring for Subaru had given her relief from a lifetime of feeling like an unnecessary shadow, while Subaru resolved to understand what lay behind her words.

• Subaru approached Rem on the village road, but she refused his help and told him they were not friends and should have nothing more to do with each other.
• Subaru sensed Rem's jealousy and decided not to chase her, resolving to figure out why the villagers called her Lady Ram's younger sister.
• Rem hurried away, hating herself for hurting Subaru despite believing he no longer needed her.
• Rem recalled how the Oni had treated her and Ram as ill omens, and how she had tried to suppress her jealousy of her sister.
• Rem remembered finding relief in caring for the vulnerable Subaru, whose meals, company, and guidance had given her a sense of being needed.
• Rem saw Subaru's new success as proof that he could replace her, and concluded that she was still an unnecessary shadow.

Rem made steamed white sweet potatoes to comfort Ram and waited late into the night for her sister to return. When she woke to someone entering the house, she found Quark throwing the cold potatoes away.

• Rem returned home feeling ashamed of how she had treated Subaru and distracted herself by making sweet potatoes.
• Rem spent the evening carefully roasting and steaming the potatoes, hoping to comfort Ram when she came home.
• Rem waited for Ram for several hours, then went to bed with the door open so she could hear her sister arrive.
• Quark came home near midnight, mistook the potatoes for leftovers, and began throwing them away.
• Rem woke, ran to the living room expecting Ram, and saw Quark discard the potatoes.

Rem went into the forest at night to find more white sweet potatoes after her parents discarded the batch she had made, and her despair left her indifferent to the Witchbeasts surrounding her. Subaru found her and stopped her from going farther, insisting that she was his friend and that he cared about her.

• Rem’s parents returned home, and Rem hid her hurt when Diema scolded Quark for throwing away the steamed white sweet potatoes.
• Rem discovered there were no sweet potatoes left, went into the forest at night to dig some up, and found only a small, misshapen one.
• Witchbeasts attacked Rem as she searched, but she fought them off while thinking that her death might free Ram from the burden of her useless little sister.
• Subaru arrived and killed three wolf Witchbeasts with his pistol when the pack turned on him, while Rem continued deeper into the forest.
• Subaru caught up with Rem and pleaded with her to consider his feelings; Rem admitted she had used him, but he apologized for making her lonely and told her she was his friend.

Subaru comforted Rem and led her back toward the village, fighting off Witchbeasts along the way. As Antares sensed a powerful threat, Subaru and Rem narrowly escaped a devastating attack and faced the giant crocodile seeking revenge for its slain kin.

• Subaru reassured the crying Rem that her actions had helped him survive and led her toward the village.
• Subaru and Rem fought off horned cobras and a bird Witchbeast, then Subaru trapped a charging Earth Bear in ice rather than spend Antares's mana killing it.
• Subaru encouraged Rem to rely on others and suggested that she helped make Ram strong.
• Antares sensed a powerful Witchbeast approaching, and Subaru pulled Rem into a run through the shaking forest.
• Subaru and Rem narrowly escaped a crushing attack and discovered that the enormous crocodile pursuing them was the leader of the horned crocodiles Ram had killed.

Subaru and Rem fled a giant crocodile Witchbeast and took shelter in a cave, where Rem tried to sacrifice herself to save him. Subaru persuaded her to stop blaming herself, but the beast found their hiding place and began breaking into the cave.

• Subaru carried Rem through the forest as Antares boosted his speed, but the crocodile pursued them and injured his leg.
• Subaru used Antares's ice magic to make the crocodile skid, then pulled Rem into a cave too small for the beast to enter.
• Rem covered Subaru in mud and offered to lure the crocodile away, believing it was after her because her sister had killed one of its kind.
• Subaru rejected Rem's plan and reminded her how she had cared for him, convincing her that he wanted her to live and return home with him.
• The crocodile rammed the cave entrance until cracks spread through the stone, so Subaru pulled Rem deeper inside.

Subaru used magic ore to blast the giant crocodile, but the Witchbeast retaliated with magic that made him unbearably heavy and caused Rem to float. The purple light filled the cave as Subaru and Rem lost control of their bodies.

• Subaru followed Antares's guidance and uncovered magic ore in the cave wall.
• Subaru infused the ore with mana and hurled it at the crocodile, then fired magic bullets to detonate it.
• The explosion burned and injured the crocodile, but it roared and filled the cave with purple light.
• The Witchbeast's magic made Subaru unbearably heavy while Rem and the sweet potato basket floated into the air.
• Purple light engulfed Subaru and Rem as he watched her reach toward him.

After the purple light transported Subaru and Rem deeper into the forest, Subaru tended his worsening leg while Rem roasted him a sweet potato. When Rem dropped it and broke down crying, Subaru ate it anyway and reassured her that her effort mattered.

• Subaru and Rem found themselves in the forest after the purple light faded, and Rem bandaged Subaru's badly reopened leg.
• Subaru asked Rem to roast the sweet potato from her basket while he rested beneath a tree.
• Rem tripped while carrying the cooked sweet potato, dropping it into the dirt, and began sobbing over her failure.
• Subaru picked up the sweet potato, explained that its inside was still clean, and ate it with genuine enjoyment.
• Rem watched Subaru finish the sweet potato and thank her for the meal.

Rem apologized to Subaru and promised to return to the village with him, but the giant crocodile attacked before they could escape. Subaru broke the yin magic affecting Rem, then the crocodile swallowed him.

• Rem confessed that she regretted telling Subaru they were not friends and asked to stay by his side.
• Subaru promised Rem they would return together and imagined her, Ram, and him sharing meals.
• The giant crocodile used yin magic to slow time and pin Subaru and Rem in place.
• Subaru fired mana at Rem to dispel the magic affecting her, sending her crashing to the ground.
• The crocodile lunged at Subaru and swallowed him while Rem watched helplessly.

After the giant crocodile swallowed Subaru, Rem awakened her Oni power and attacked the Witchbeast in a frenzy of grief and vengeance. Her final strike cracked its horn, but the battle remained unresolved.

• The giant crocodile swallowed Subaru, and Rem repeatedly charged it, demanding that it give him back.
• Rem formed an icicle and stabbed at the crocodile, but her attacks barely marked its scales as it began to weaken and move sluggishly.
• Rem's white Oni horn appeared, awakening her power and healing her battered body.
• Rem unleashed a storm of icicles that shattered the crocodile's scales while its body convulsed from pain within.
• Rem leaped at the crocodile with a blade of ice and struck its horn, cracking it.

Rem defeated the giant crocodile and found Subaru alive inside a ball of ice. As Witchbeasts closed in, Ram arrived to protect them, and Rem collapsed after finally feeling that Subaru was safe.

• Rem tore open the giant crocodile’s body in search of Subaru and found him alive inside a ball of ice.
• Subaru emerged from the melting ice and reassured Rem, who checked that he was really alive.
• Witchbeasts gathered around them, and Rem stood in front of Subaru to protect him.
• Ram arrived and killed the attacking Witchbeasts with overwhelming power.
• Rem smiled at her sister, then collapsed from exhaustion as Subaru called her name.

After Rem woke from the fight with the giant crocodile, Subaru explained how she and Anta had saved each other and persuaded her to stop blaming herself. Rem agreed to stay by Subaru’s side, while Ram watched them embrace from outside the window.

• Ram brought the unconscious Rem and Subaru safely back to the village after defeating the Witchbeasts in their path.
• The next morning, Ram questioned Subaru about what had happened and sent him into Rem’s home to explain himself to her.
• Subaru told Rem that Anta had protected him inside the crocodile, but Rem’s fighting had helped make their survival possible.
• When Rem called herself a burden, Subaru reminded her of the ways she had helped him and said he needed her in his life.
• Rem accepted Subaru’s request to keep helping him and threw herself into his arms, while Ram watched them through the window.

Rem eagerly sought Subaru’s praise after making him lunch and cleaning his newly rented house, while Ram worried that Rem was becoming too attached to him. The chapter left Ram intending to warn Subaru that Rem wanted to move in with him.

• Rem repeatedly asked Subaru to praise her, while Ram contrasted Rem’s elaborate lunch for Subaru with the single sweet potato she had made for her.
• Rem announced that Subaru’s new house was finished and that she had cleaned it, then led him away to see it.
• Subaru had spent half a month distributing lighters around the village and officially renting a house with a living room, kitchen, and bedroom.
• Ram remembered that Rem had first asked to live with Subaru and the sisters, then suggested moving in with Subaru after that arrangement proved impossible.
• Ram realized she had forgotten to warn Subaru and resolved to stop him from taking Rem away.

Subaru settled into his new house with Rem, who warmly reflected on how much their relationship had changed. When Subaru spoke about going on future adventures, Rem asked to join him and confessed that she loved him, leaving Subaru flustered as he insisted it was too soon.

• Subaru displayed the broken horn of the Shadow Crocodile Zartoa after learning that the Witchbeast’s remains had little practical value.
• Rem showed Subaru the spotless house, and he praised her and reminisced about her former prickly behavior.
• Rem imagined comforting her past self by promising that she would meet someone kind who remembered her efforts.
• Subaru explained that he chose an ordinary house to save money for future adventures, and Rem asked to leave the village with him when he went.
• Rem said she loved Subaru and wanted to spend her life with him, and Subaru blurted out that he had to turn her down because it was too early.

Subaru told Rem he would not consider romance until they were both adults, but assured her that she was important to him and agreed they were childhood friends. They made a promise that he would give her a proper answer when she grew up, and Rem continued testing what affection she could ask for in the meantime.

• Subaru reassured Rem that he liked her but would not pursue a romantic relationship while she was still young.
• Rem said she was serious about her feelings and argued that Subaru owed her because she had saved his life.
• Subaru admitted that Rem was important to him and that he wanted to travel with her, though he could not define their relationship.
• Rem called them childhood friends, and Subaru agreed to reserve a proper answer for her when she became an adult.
• Subaru and Rem hooked little fingers to promise that Rem would grow up and become someone worthy of him.
• Rem asked for head pats, hugs, and kisses on the forehead and cheeks, while Subaru agreed to some affection and cautioned her not to push too far.

Subaru spent the day apart from Rem after Ram discovered her collection of keepsakes and kept her at home. That night, Subaru woke to find the Oni village burning, its people slain by attackers in black robes.

• Ram pulled Rem away from Subaru and took her home to discuss her condition.
• Ram found Rem's hidden chest of Subaru-related keepsakes and confronted her about her obsessive attachment.
• Subaru waited for Rem until nightfall, then went to sleep in the room she had prepared for him.
• Subaru woke in a sudden heat, opened the window, and saw the village engulfed in flames.
• Subaru saw familiar villagers dead and black-robed figures attacking amid the burning houses.

Subaru and Rem fought Witch Cultists attacking the village, but Subaru realized that the Oni were dying because the Cult had contaminated the Mana in the air. The chapter left Setanta dead in flames as Subaru understood the cause of the village’s destruction.

• Subaru defended himself from the Witch Cultists with Antares until Rem arrived and helped kill the attackers.
• Rem recognized the assailants as Witch Cultists and led Subaru through the burning village to find Ram.
• Subaru noticed that most of the corpses were charred and questioned how the Cultists had overcome the Oni.
• Subaru and Rem found Setanta fighting Witch Cultists in the central square.
• Setanta suddenly burst into flames and died, revealing the danger posed by the contaminated Mana.

Subaru, Rem, and Ram were overwhelmed when contaminated Mana made the Oni burn from within, and a Witch Cultist stabbed Subaru through the heart. A mysterious figure destroyed the attackers, and Subaru awoke back in his new home with Rem beside him.

• The village chief died from contaminated Mana, and Ram arrived to protect Rem and Subaru from the Witch Cultists.
• Subaru realized that contaminated Mana made Oni who absorbed it burn from within, forcing Ram to stop fighting.
• Subaru was struck by the Witch Cult’s fire magic, and Rem used her horn to fight despite the contamination burning her body.
• Ram knocked Rem unconscious to stop her from dying, while a Witch Cultist stabbed Subaru through the heart and Ram begged the attackers to spare Rem.
• A mysterious figure descended in a massive fireball and destroyed the Witch Cultists as Subaru lost consciousness.
• Subaru awoke in his new home with Rem nestled against him.

After Return by Death reset the morning, Subaru rushed to warn Setanta that the Witch Cult would attack the Oni village and poison its Mana that night. Setanta acknowledged the coming calamity but refused to evacuate or abandon the Oni’s horns, leaving Subaru unable to convince him that everyone could be saved.

• Subaru woke after Return by Death with Rem alive and affectionate, remembering the village’s fiery destruction and resolving to save everyone.
• Subaru hurried to Setanta’s house and warned him that disaster would strike the Oni village that night.
• Setanta said he had sensed a calamity coming and explained that the forest offered no safer place for the villagers.
• Subaru revealed that the Witch Cult had polluted the Mana and warned the Oni not to use their horns, but Setanta challenged his claims and refused to give up their means of fighting.
• Rem defended Subaru when Setanta shouted at him, and Setanta told Subaru that some people would have to die for others to survive.

Subaru entered the forest to find a way to protect the village from the Witch Cult, but the cultists he encountered unexpectedly knelt before him and departed. After confirming the village was not yet surrounded and the Mana remained uncontaminated, he planned to gather the Oni and strike the cult before its attack that night.

• Subaru sent Rem away and entered the forest alone to look for a safe route for the villagers.
• Subaru encountered Witch Cultists waiting in the woods and considered killing them before they could attack.
• The Witch Cultists knelt before Subaru, then stood and disappeared into the forest without speaking.
• Subaru confirmed that the Witch Cult had not completely surrounded the village and that the Mana in the air was normal.
• Subaru planned to gather the Oni's strongest fighters and attack the Witch Cult before it moved against the village.