—A clear blue sky spread out over Subaru, who had fallen flat on his back.
Approximately one month and two weeks had passed since he was summoned to another world.
How many times had he now found himself looking up at the blue sky in this manner? Towering cumulus clouds largely blocked the sunlight, but the blazing midday sun still beat down through their thickness, pouring its radiance upon him.
The sensation of searing light burning behind his eyelids. He reflexively narrowed his eyes, feeling tears welling up from the depths of his pupils, and idly found himself thinking.
"Come to think of it… I haven't really run into a rainy day in this world yet, have I?"
He had yet to encounter a day where rain fell steadily and deeply from morning to night.
There had been a few times when a light drizzle pattered down late at night, and the trees and lawn were damp come morning, but he had no experience with a proper rainfall in this world.
The temperature was warm enough that long sleeves felt a bit too much—in terms of feel, it was something like June, or early October, back in his original world. Thinking about how little it rained, this might well correspond to the dry season in this world.
"Shall we be finishing up soon?"
A voice suddenly broke through as Subaru sank in idle, rambling thoughts.
He tilted his head slightly from his supine position to check where the voice had come from—several meters away from where he lay on the ground, an old man stood.
He was a touch taller than Subaru, and despite his advanced age, he had abundant white hair that he had carefully combed back. Clad entirely in a black butler's uniform, he carried himself with a taut, composed air befitting his crisply starched attire.
His back was ramrod straight in proper posture, but while his stance was dignified, the man himself looked entirely relaxed, gentle creases carved into his serene expression.
However, in the old gentleman's hand was a wooden sword with an unusually long blade.
"Nah, not yet. I was just doing a bit of philosophical pondering."
"Oh, how intriguing. What were you thinking about?"
"'Fire above, flood below'… what am I, a fortune teller?"
He swung both legs up and then down, using the momentum to rise to his feet.
There was still a heaviness lingering in his core, but the residual damage from the strikes was negligible. Taking the opportunity while getting up to check himself over, Subaru spun the wooden sword still in his grip and pointed it squarely at Wilhelm.
"Please, another round of instruction, sir."
"For reference, what was the answer to your philosophical riddle?"
"Ah—it was 'wet the bed and wake up grumpy.'"
With those words, he lunged forward, dropping low and swinging the wooden sword in a half-arc from below.
The tip sliced through the air, the wind whirling with enough force to shatter bone—completely holding nothing back. But— "Guah—!"
"Too much tension. Hands, feet, neck, waist, and face."
Wilhelm's wooden sword was already embedded in the arc of his strike, smoothly twisting the circular motion off course. The head-targeted blow sailed over the taller man's skull in a whiffed sensation, and in the same fluid motion, the old man's blade sliced cruelly across Subaru's body.
Jaw, throat, solar plexus, groin—all vital points along the centerline. Wilhelm's wooden sword traced each one with deliberate precision, and the mere touch of impact sent Subaru flying.
The force was nothing more than his own momentum returned to him—a trivial amount. But even so, having vital points struck like that stopped his breath, and the stimulus to his pain receptors painted his vision red.
He tumbled and flipped, sent sprawling the same distance he had lunged forward. Once again he found himself spread-eagled on the ground, and as his crimson-tinted vision cleared, the blue sky looked down at him once more in mockery.
"Shall we be finishing up soon?"
Wilhelm's voice, devoid of inflection, without the faintest trace of irony or contempt.
How many times had he heard that voice already, the one that asked after his will— "That's the twenty-third 'no,' you know."
"Oh my, you remember each one so faithfully."
"Of course I do. I might forget the times I did something embarrassing to someone, but I never forget the times someone did something awful to me… That's the kind of guy I am."
Boasting about something hardly worth boasting about, Subaru's body slowly rose over time. The damage was minimal, and the old man's moderation was, as ever, superb.
Using the wooden sword as a prop to get to his feet, he flicked the dirt-caked tip clean with a practice swing, then pointed it once more at Wilhelm.
"One more bout, please."
"As many as you like. Perhaps we'll change things up a bit this time."
No sooner had the old man agreed than Subaru charged forward without waiting to hear the details.
From a low stance that practically hugged his hips, this strike would not be a line but a point—a thrust, minimizing the area of impact, for his revenge.
Matching the old man's level of mastery—landing four vital strikes in the blink of an eye—was utterly impossible no matter what he did. So Subaru committed everything to a single thrust.
His aim was the broad target of the torso; anywhere near its center would do—this intent was poured into the tip of the wooden sword as it was slowly drawn toward the center of the old man's black-clad body, almost as if being sucked in.
"It hi—!?"
It was a strike he had intended to land, but the fact that he hadn't actually expected it to connect caused him to falter in surprise. Yet the wooden sword, which should have been a direct hit, offered no impact at all, and that robbed his exclamation of its triumphant conclusion.
"Flumbr—!?"
The sensation of his feet being swept out from under him sent him losing all sense of weight, and the world flipped upside down.
His brain couldn't keep up with the sudden release from gravity, and through his inverting vision, the ground filled his field of view in enormous close-up. He would have no choice but to catch his entire body weight face-first—the premonition of searing pain made him instinctively shut his eyes. But then— "Majo ricah—!"
Just before his face slammed down with its remaining momentum, something hard pressed against his abdomen. The sensation was like slamming full-tilt into an iron bar—his inverted body flipped once more, and his two feet correctly found the ground against gravity.
His arms had involuntarily shot upward from the recoil and now stuck straight out in the air, freezing him in a pose like a gymnast who had just completed a floor routine.
He had no idea what had just happened.
Only the mysterious voice inside his head going "One full rotation?" as Subaru suddenly noticed the wooden sword he had been gripping so tightly had vanished from his palm.
"Auh…"
The moment he frantically turned his head to look for it, his eyes met those of the old man standing right beside him with a gentle smile. There, in the old man's hands, were two wooden swords— "I-I don't wanna do that anymore…!"
Countless gentle, light taps of impact struck his entire body, and once again Subaru was sent flying, defenseless, tumbling across the earth until he lay in the grass.
The taste of dirt spread through his mouth. He spat it out and waited for the damage report on each part of his body. Arms—moving. Legs—tingling but fine. Stomach—getting hungry. Face—the mean look is just how I was born. In short, moderation as exquisite as ever.
"How invigorating."
This marked his twenty-fourth rendezvous with the grass.
Lying face-down with his left leg extended to brace against the earth, Subaru heard that clear, crisp voice directed at him from a position even higher than before.
He rolled onto his side to secure his line of sight and looked toward the source. There, leaning against the terrace railing, gazing down at Subaru spread-eagle in the garden, was a woman.
"I heard you from here—you certainly seem to be going at it with great enthusiasm."
"Ah, Lady Crusch. I hope I haven't been a bother to your work?"
Wilhelm, who was looking up at her from the ground just as Subaru was, bowed deeply at the hips as Crusch appeared, the green-haired woman having leaned her weight against the railing. Though the timbre of his voice hardly matched the words of his apology, and Crusch herself waved it off.
"Not at all. I was looking for a chance to take a break."
She replied to Wilhelm in that manner, then continued with a "besides—"
"Whether it belongs to someone else or to oneself, I do not consider it presumptuous to be impressed by earnest effort. Leaving the one I've hired to his own devices would be far worse. Work him hard, Wilhelm."
"As you wish. However…"
At Crusch's magnanimous words, Wilhelm bowed deeply, then stole a glance sideways at Subaru.
"Shall we be finishing up soon?"
"I'm not so tone-deaf that I can say this'll be the last one, given how things have been going."
He brushed off the grass as he rose, and for the third time—no, the twenty-fourth time—confirmed he was intact, spat the dirt from his mouth, and said: "Getting beaten to a pulp while a beautiful woman watches… gotta say, that really chips away at a guy's manly pride gauge. Each hit is pure gravel."
As Subaru quipped and rolled his wrists, Wilhelm wordlessly tossed the wooden sword he had taken. Subaru caught it cleanly, twirling it in his grip, and gave a rueful grin at the feel of it.
"There's no need to worry about it. This isn't the first time I've seen you beaten."
"Guh—"
"From what I understand of the circumstances, though, I must say that last one was rather blunt of Lady Crusch."
Wilhelm regarded the clutching-chest, groaning Subaru with a look of sympathy, and Crusch raised an eyebrow with an innocent expression.
"When you're simply outmatched, it's only natural that your reach falls short. But if you've shown an unyielding resolve regardless, then while you may regret it, there should be no shame in it."
Subaru felt a strange mix of embarrassment and discomfort at Crusch's words, her fingers resting on her chin. He hadn't expected her to say something that sounded like an appraisal of that pathetic display—and yet the fact remained that no matter what anyone said, the outcome couldn't be changed.
Which was precisely why she turned away from Subaru— "Besides. If receiving instruction while being watched by a woman is so painful, well, isn't that something you've been enduring over and over again already?"
Just as Subaru was about to sink into the sea of his thoughts, Crusch spoke those words with a slight, bewitching smile. She leaned her upper body over the railing, letting her gaze drift meaningfully across the terrace—her eyes passing over the confrontation between Subaru and Wilhelm below, reaching toward the far end of the garden.
There— "…This is a different kind of humiliation from being embarrassed in front of family, you know."
"I suppose it is also problematic to keep showing your hand to an enemy-to-be… but then again, for having such a person in your household, perhaps I'm no better myself. One never truly understands one's own heart, it seems."
While striving not to consciously acknowledge what Crusch's gaze had been directed at, Subaru accompanied Crusch in her self-reflection from above.
And when she had finished a moment of contemplation— "Wilhelm."
"Yes?"
"I've rather feel like moving my body. I'll finish up my remaining work and head down shortly. It's earlier than planned, but I'll leave the rest of today's instruction to you."
"Understood. Please, do not rush."
"Considering my current state of mind, that may be a difficult request."
With a faint smile, Crusch stepped away from the railing and turned back toward her office with that composed bearing. The graceful movement sent her long green hair spinning like a dancer, the strands catching the sunlight with a deep shimmer as she disappeared from Subaru's sight.
Seeing her off, Subaru released a subtle tension in his sigh.
He gave a wry smile at how his body visibly relaxed with that naked display of relief.
No matter how much Crusch was the type he was ill-suited for, wearing it so openly on his sleeve only ensured the worst possible impression.
In any case— "Shall we be finishing up now?"
"So it's not a question anymore, is it?"
Wilhelm's words as he lightly raised his wooden sword—the absence of any interrogative intonation at the end of his sentence told Subaru that this fierce yet gentle time was coming to an end.
The old man, catching the disappointment clearly written in Subaru's dark eyes, closed one eye gently.
"Lady Crusch will be coming down, so I must resume my role as your instructor. That is, after all, the reason the Karsten household has hired me."
"I'm not gonna ask for anything more. I mean, even this is taking up your free time when you're already doing me a massive favor. That's like asking for divine punishment on top of divine punishment."
There was a certain loneliness at the thought that the practice would end, but keeping Wilhelm here against his wishes would be an imposition. For someone already in a position of weakness to be asking such brazen favors—he wanted to avoid making them unhappy. Though it was probably already far too late for that.
"Here I go."
"Whenever you're ready."
At his declaration, Subaru's body kicked off the earth and launched forward.
No feints, no tricks. For his twenty-fifth—and final—challenge, Subaru chose a straightforward, no-nonsense blow.
He raised the wooden sword high overhead with both hands, gripped it tight, and brought it crashing down with everything he had.
The vertical strike cut through the air, but its tip lost its mark and plunged into the earth. Subaru, unable to fully arrest his momentum, stumbled forward.
And then— "————!"
An innumerable flurry of slashes flashed before him—or so it felt—as Subaru was pummeled senseless.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ Two days had passed since Subaru entered the mansion of
Mansion—though in this case, it didn't mean the main residence of the Karsten household, where Crusch held her title as Duke. Her primary estate as a territorial lord was located outside the royal capital, and the mansion Subaru was staying in was, strictly speaking, a secondary residence used only during stays in the capital.
It existed in the upper district of the royal capital—an area of noble mansions among the most exclusive, more of an estate compound than a single household—where the residences of the wealthy stood in a row.
In terms of sheer scale, it couldn't compare to the Roswaal estate, which had carved out a sprawling plot of land in the countryside with reckless abandon. But in terms of interior decoration and ornamental furnishings, it was equal to or even surpassed the Roswaal estate by the eyes of a layman.
When it came to entertaining guests within the royal capital, a duchy household would naturally need to pay attention to such details.
It wasn't mere gaudy nouveau riche taste—that much could be discerned from Crusch's no-nonsense character. Though you might argue that for "necessary expenses," the price tag was rather steep.
On that note, the simplicity of a garden that required no such props seemed to reflect the temperament of the mansion's owner, lending the place an inexplicable sense of comfort.
The trees encircling the mansion were carefully trimmed by the gardener's hands, and the garden itself featured nothing more than a low expanse of lawn—not a single wasted element. In any case, this simplicity suited the garden's intended purpose.
Its primary use was as a venue for combat training, as Subaru had just been doing. The lack of flower beds or other visual distractions spoke to Crusch's preference for iron over flowers.
"Can you stand, Subaru?"
Wilhelm's voice called to Subaru from a distance, where his thoughts had been wandering.
Subaru raised a hand in silent acknowledgment, catching the old man's relief at the edge of his eardrums, and said: "Thank you again for today."
"Not at all. You merely kept an old man company to stave off boredom. If anything, I'm the one who's embarrassed—teaching others doesn't come naturally to me."
"The guy who's literally employed as a sword instructor saying that is kind of a problem, isn't it?"
"With Lady Crusch, it's less instruction and more simply accompanying her in building the proper mindset for actual combat… that's how it is. There's not much I teach with words."
Wilhelm smiled ruefully at Subaru's words, then, with his composed face not even perspiring, adjusted his appearance.
"You must be too exhausted to move. There's still time before Lady Crusch comes down. You'd best stay as you are until you're able to."
"I'll do just that. Besides, the feeling of the ground under my head is absolutely heavenly! I've been thoroughly outclassed in every possible way, but in this one moment alone, I'm the winner!"
Wilhelm gave a small nod at Subaru, who lay sprawled on the ground, shamelessly boasting. The old man straightened his back, glanced down at Subaru and the space beyond, and said: "I'll take a walk around the mansion. After your rest, feel free to do as you did yesterday. —I leave Subaru in your care."
"…Yes. Thank you for your consideration."
The figure who responded had been standing motionless at Subaru's side this entire time, never once having spoken until now.
She knelt on the ground in her usual black-based apron dress, placing her lap beneath the head of the collapsed Subaru, cradling him softly.
Beneath short blue hair, a white headband adorned the head of this maid—
She had watched every last moment of the mock battle between Subaru and Wilhelm—a nominal sparring session that was in reality a relentless one-sided beating—in silence from the corner of the garden.
She had rushed over to Subaru's side the moment he collapsed from exhaustion, and was now tending to him with a pillow of her lap.
Her devoted posture was the very model of a servant, and the way she gazed upon Subaru resting on her lap betrayed unmistakably the feelings of someone beyond a mere attendant. But Wilhelm, who noticed this, made no mention of it.
That gaze was the very same radiance he had witnessed countless times before, day after day, in this mansion.
So the old man touched not at all upon the heart of the blue-haired girl, bowed with refined elegance, and said: "Well then, I'll take my leave. Feris should be returning in the afternoon as well. By that time, I would appreciate it if both Rem and Subaru were inside the mansion."
"I understand. We will."
Rem received Wilhelm's words with quiet composure. The old man nodded with satisfaction at her graceful response, narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Subaru, and then— Without another word, he turned his back and disappeared from the garden.
The moment the old man's extraordinary physical presence faded, the tension that had held the garden in its grip released in a rush of openness.
It was as though even the trees and grass had been forbidden to breathe—the oppressive weight lifted, and the garden transformed into an open meadow where the wind and birdsong could flow unimpeded.
Within it, Subaru lay with his eyes simply closed, having surrendered his entire being—the full sensation of his body, the whole of his mind—to the softness beneath his head.
Rem said nothing as she held him.
She simply cradled his weight in silence, tenderly, and every so often, as if reminding him that time had not stopped, she slid her fingers through his black hair and groomed it with gentle strokes.
"…I'm…"
In that near-motionless time, Subaru suddenly spoke.
His lips trembled as he formed the words, and at that hoarse, whispered voice, Rem's fingers paused. Taking advantage of her kindness in waiting for him to continue, Subaru took his time before completing the sentence.
"…weak."
The words came out in a murmur—a fact that needed no stating.
A breeze swept through, and the bangs Rem had been stroking surrendered to the air. The sensation of that breeze made her shift her knee ever so slightly, and Subaru felt it through his head.
"You are."
After a brief silence, Rem answered in a short, quiet voice.
Her agreement was so natural that he was slow to register it as a response to what he had just said. And once he did realize it, he processed the content of her words—and then, still lying with his head in her lap, glared up at Rem as she hung inverted before his eyes.
"Aren't you supposed to say something like 'That's not true at all! Subaru-kun is extraordinarily wonderful, and incredibly cool, and unbelievably strong, and so dreamy it makes my heart skip a beat!' to make me feel better?"
"If Subaru-kun wishes for that, then I will."
In a subtly high-pitched feminine voice, Subaru made his request, and Rem responded without so much as changing her expression. Subaru pulled himself together and said: "Okay. Take two. —I'm… weak."
"Yes. You are."
"Were you listening to our entire exchange!?"
"Wasn't Subaru-kun the one listening to my answer?"
At this unexpected counter, Subaru shot both legs straight up in protest, but Rem tilted her head at his reaction while maintaining that same tender expression.
Subaru choked on his words, then slowly chewed over what Rem had said. And then— "You're incredible, Rem."
"Yes. But my sister is more incredible."
"I can't get behind that
He let his legs go limp, and Subaru gave himself over completely to Rem's lap with a sense of total boneless surrender.
Rem, once again, slipped her fingers into the bangs of Subaru, who had closed his eyes once more, and played with them gently.
"Rem is here because she wants to be where Subaru-kun wants her to be."
"…You're affirming me even though that includes my self-awareness that I'm weak? That's what you think I want?"
"Isn't it?"
She tilted her head to the other side and asked with the most purely sincere eyes.
Subaru could not produce a response. He simply exhaled a deep, long, low breath through his nose and let his silence serve as his answer.
Quiet. Undisturbed. Idle time flowed on.
On the verge of being swallowed by drowsiness before sinking fully into the sea of his thoughts, Subaru dozed at the border between waking and dreaming, losing all sense of where he was.
"Shall we head back soon? We wouldn't want to trouble Lady Crusch or Wilhelm."
But time's passage is a fair and equal force.
At Rem's words, Subaru considered in silence, then turned his head and pressed his cheek against her thigh.
"Just a little longer. Your thigh feels really nice."
"Yes. —If that is what Subaru-kun desires."
Rem, who had begun to tense her knee, relaxed it, and Subaru's request was accepted.
Embracing that boundless kindness, Subaru sank—deeper and deeper—into a blissful mire where he need not think of anything he did not wish to think.
—Three days since the day the Royal Selection was declared, the day Subaru and