Subaru Natsuki was a normal 17 year old boy living his day to day usual life in Japan. One day, from his trip to a local convenience store, someone teleported him out of the blue. He vanished from his old world. However, a new world laid in wait of him. A world filled with magic and monsters – the world of Re Zero.

We don’t know for sure who summoned him. It took some speculation to figure out that is might have been Satella. But the thing is, we still haven’t figured out why Satella teleport Subaru?

The Purpose of Subaru in Re: Zero

It’s been a staple of many Isekai Series at this point. Someone teleports a character to another world. They give them a power and a purpose. And this purpose, is usually their final goal, and the story and world gradually builds around it. But Re: Zero is very different and extremely unique in this manner as well.

Someone simply teleported Subaru to the parallel world and left to him to his own devices. From there on we see him experience plenty of hardships and suffering and we follow him through his journey to save the people he loves and cares about. But the very presence of Subaru seems aimless as it is because we do not know why he was teleported.

We previously discussed how Satella might have summoned Subaru. But we still don’t have any idea about why she did so. Was it release her from her seal or does she have any ulterior motives?

Satella’s Motives for summoning Subaru

Satella is the one who summoned Subaru. This is something the majority of the Light Novel Readers agree with, although there is no real confirmation yet. Her motives remain very unclear. She gave Subaru Return By Death to survive at all costs. Yet during the Third Witch Tea Part she is sad because she doesn’t want him to suffer, hurt and loop. Regardless if he lives or not, she genuinely loves him. She doesn’t seem to want to from him but his happiness and well being.

There is also the issue where Satella mentions that she wants him to kill her but isn’t that more like she is willing to die if it means Subaru can live? So why would she summon him? Knowingly making him suffer and hurt and go through all this?

It could be that her love comes from a failed loop, in which she looped back previously to Subaru’s arrival. Satella loves Subaru and it explains how she said that he had saved her. However, it still doesn’t help the idea of why she would summon him into the world.

“—I…love you. Because you…gave me light. Because you took my hand, and you taught me about the world outside. Because…when I trembled on lonely nights, you never stopped holding my hand. Because when I felt lonely, you kissed me and said that I wasn’t alone. You gave me so many things… That’s why I love you. Because you…you gave me everything.”

……..

“And someday—you will come to kill me, yes?”

Satella to Subaru, Volume 13, Page 30, Page 46

The ultimate motive to do something is usually Love. But Satella’s love isn’t the selfish kind that would do bestow the curse and blessing of RBD to Subaru, it’s just too cruel. And if Subaru is a tool for Satella using which she wants to commit Suicide, then why would she choose a person she loves and make him go through all the terrible things. That doesn’t exactly hit the mark either.

The Witch Of Envy

Let’s set aside Satella’s motives for now. What is it was The Witch of Envy who summoned Subaru? But aren’t The Witch of Envy and Satella the same person? Technically, that is not the wrong observation. The world doesn’t differentiate between Satella and the Witch of Jealousy but the witches at the Tea Party have a separate opinion.

Flashback to the Third Witch Tea Party, we witness the arrival of an uninvited guest into Echidona’s Mind Palace. When the new arrival doesn’t seem to have any hostility, the witches mostly act with a relaxed attitude towards her, except from Dona who is still very much hostile towards Satella. Minerva even walks towards Satella to vouch for her. The witches confused Subaru. He doesn’t understand why they aren’t angry at someone who killed them. Then Dona explains to him –

“…To put it in simple terms, the world remembered Satella as the Witch of Jealousy. However, what was not recorded in history was that Satella had a type of personality disorder.”

“Perhaps it would be clearer to say that she absorbed a Factor that was incompatible with her, causing a mental abnormality that ultimately created the Witch personality within Satella…not that I personally have any inclination to distinguish between the two.”

Echidna to Subaru, Volume 13, Page 17

The two split personalities are Satella and Envy, counterparts to each other.. While Satella shares a warm relation with most of the witches, Envy is hostile to all and invites hostility. Envy was the one who killed all the witches and consumed half of the world in her darkness.

The Motives of Envy

If we assume Envy summoned Subaru, it can answer some questions. But leaves a lot of them empty as well because we know very little about her. But Envy, as is her sin, is Jealous of Subaru because he is the love of Satella. As to why she might have summoned him, that can be a lot of things. Let’s go back one of the first points we have learnt about the Witch of Envy in Re Zero.

In this world when one says the word “witch” they’re really just referring to one person in particular. The Witch of Envy, Satella. Long ago, she devoured the six witches who bore the names of the deadly sins and drained half the world dry. She’s pretty much the worst of the worst. The story goes that she was starved for love. It’s said that she doesn’t understand human language. It’s also been said that her body never withers from age, weakens from sickness, or dies. And although she was sealed by the powers of a dragon, a hero, and a sage, they were still never able to destroy her flesh.

Beatrice to Subaru, Season 1 , Episode 8

As Beatrice says here, Envy is starved for love and she was sealed a long time ago. Envy might have summoned Subaru to undo the seal. Her reason for giving RBD to Subaru, a very cruel ability, could be because he is the only one who can break this seal. This also explains as to why Satella wants him to kill her. Satella knows that Subaru will break the seal. And once he does that, Envy will start rampaging again. This is why Satella wants Subaru to kill her when that happens.

Which of these possibilities is correct?

If we assume go by the assumption that Subaru was bought to stop Envy and since Satella know what all stuff Envy can do, she wants him to kill her. But if that was the reason, then can we surely say that he was summoned by Satella or Envy?

We can speculate on all the different theories we want because Satella and Envy are bought kept in the dark and we hardly know anything about them yet. Which of these theories are actually correct though? We will be able to find the correct personality once we find the correct reason.