Crusch Karsten - Re:Zero
Name: Crusch Karsten
Age: 21 years old
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Birthday: April 4
Height: 168cm
Voice Actors: Iguchi Yuka (Japanese), Erika Harlacher (English)
Crusch Karsten is the current head of House Karsten and a candidate for the 42nd King of Lugnica. She has been described as beautiful with amber eyes and long, dark green hair that reaches down to her mid-back. During her time under her care for a few days, Subaru only saw Crusch wearing a dress once. She is, in fact, much more likely to be seen in clothing traditionally considered more masculine. Her attire when working is that of a long coat over a shirt and trousers, reminiscent of a commanding officer in an army. She also dons armor when preparing to engage in combat, such as when she goes after the army. White Whale From afar, Crusch may come across as cold and pragmatic, but the truth is that she has a rather straightforward personality and constantly strives to do her best for those around her.
History
When Crusch was younger, Fourier Lugnica, the fourth prince of Lugnica, encountered her by chance in the courtyard gardens of the royal palace. Although she hadn't noticed him at the time, her appearance captivated the young prince, and he was immediately smitten. Fourier made several incognito visits to try to catch a glimpse of her, as he was too embarrassed to approach her. During one of these visits, he accidentally stumbled upon her and alerted her of his presence, prompting Crusch to pull out a dagger, intending to attack her and defend herself against a potential assassin. He frantically cleared up the misunderstanding and prevented Crusch from committing suicide out of shame for attacking a member of the royal family. This event finally broke the ice between the two, and they became good friends from then on.
The duo with Felix Argyle quickly became friends and relied on each other to navigate the complexities of high society life. Around this time, Crusch began to take on his role as head of one of the most important houses in the country. Fourier encouraged Felix to become a knight so he could better serve Crusch in his rise to power. It was during this time that Fourier succumbed to the mysterious illness that struck the entire royal family at once. Eventually, Fourier died along with all the other members of the royal family, and his death in particular served to fuel his desire to become the next king.
As the royal selection began, Emilia approached her to ask for a favor: to allow Subaru to stay at her estate and for Felix to take care of her damaged door. She agreed, allowing Subaru into her home, and even granted his request to train with Guillaume . During this time, she was busy gathering resources in the form of equipment, mounts, and soldiers in an effort to hunt down the White Whale. Seemingly out of the blue, Subaru came to her and claimed that he could predict a location where the White Whale would be, which would be perfect for her to launch an ambush. In exchange, he proposed a temporary alliance between his side, Anastasia Hoshin , and Emilia. She agreed, and together, the motley alliance managed to defeat the White Whale after a very tough battle.
Crusch parted ways with Subaru as he headed to the Mathers mansion. She returned to the capital with the dead and wounded from the battle. Along the way, the group encountered Loi Batenkaitos , who (among other things) was able to eat Crusch's memories. Despite this, her strong will and personality shine through in her wish to become even more of a person than she was before.
Over a year later, Crusch and the other royal candidates are invited to Kararagi by Anastasia. There, they face a terrible threat when four Archbishops of Sin attack Priestella City, and all the royal candidates and their servants band together to save the city. Through a series of encounters that ultimately succeed in driving the Archbishops out of the city and outright killing two of them, Crusch is poisoned by Subaru's dragon blood. Subaru was able to siphon off the worst of it and prevent her death, but she is still poisoned.
Relationships
Fourier Lugnica - The fourth prince of Lugnica grew up alongside Crusch and Felix. They supported each other during their formative years. After falling ill, he managed to hold out for over a year, but one day, he asked Crusch to take him to the garden where they first met. There, he confessed his feelings for her and then died on her knees.
Felix Argyle - Felix is a knight in Crusch's service who has known her throughout her formative years. He is protective of her and completely loyal. He is probably her staunchest supporter, and they both care deeply for each other. She has the utmost confidence in his healing skills.
William of Astrea - Wilhelm is the former Sword Saint and a loyal follower of Crusch. She values him for his sword skills and keeps him at her side as a sort of bodyguard and valet.
Emilia - Crusch sees Emilia as a rival for the throne but doesn't hold it against her. She said on one occasion when Subaru left earlier (though not in the continuing timeline) that she wanted her and Emilia to compete in a manner worthy of royal candidates.
Subaru Natsuki - Although she initially had a very low opinion of Subaru (her first impression of him was that of a hot-headed and short-tempered servant of Emilia who overstepped his bounds), the incident with the White Whale caused her to reevaluate him and she even admitted to having started developing feelings for him, but all this changed when her memories were eaten. She fought by his side once more in Priestella but was mortally wounded by Capella and was later saved from the brink of death by Subaru.
Karsten Family - She inherited many personality traits from her mother Helena Karsten and father Meckart Karsten.
SKILLS
Divine Protection of Wind Indication - This allows Crusch to read the wind to see invisible things like the wind. She has used an extension of this ability to read a person's emotional state and has made extensive use of it during her life to tell if someone has lied.
Skilled Swordsman - Crusch is particularly skilled in sword combat.
Magic User - Crusch is adept at wind magic and combines it with her sword skills to increase her prowess. Her One Strike, One Hundred Kills skill in particular combines the two to unleash a ranged sword strike that can cut anything in her field of vision with an invisible blade.
Crusch also wields a sword named the Lion Rampant which bears the Karsten family's lion-shaped crest on its crossguard.
