"So that's how it is—the souvenirs turned out to be this mountain of lingas, huh~?"
"Most of 'em went to the kitchen, obviously, but I stashed some for tasting. That said, stop licking your lips while giving me those sidelong looks. You're giving me chills down my spine."
Subaru scowled at Ferris's attitude and waved him off, then sank onto the bed in the guest room assigned to him and let out a long breath. It was that pre-dinner snack hour, and the sliced lingas had been brought in specifically for that purpose—courtesy of
The plan had been to eat lingas while discussing the day's results and what lay ahead, but— "Some pushy pretty boy went and occupied my room first, huh? I get that the door wasn't locked, but that's some pretty un-knightly behavior, don't you think?"
"Well, excuuuse me! It just means Ferris trusts you enough to be that relaxed around you. There's no way I'd let Crusch see me in such a sloppy state~"
As he spoke, Ferris flopped down right next to Subaru as though he'd been toppled over. The bed's soft material transmitted the impact to Subaru's backside, and the bouncy Ferris rolled over onto his side. From that angle—Subaru's body bent at ninety degrees—he gazed up at him.
"Did that make your heart skip a beat~?"
"My spine went stiff, if that counts. But I'm afraid I have absolutely zero interest in that sort of thing. My tastes are perfectly normal—I'm only into girls, okay?"
No matter how cute he might look, that couldn't cross the line of gender.
Subaru sighed at Ferris's theatrically deflated reaction, then picked up with "In the first place—"
"I can't think of any reason you'd trust me. I don't remember us ever getting particularly close or anything. Am I, like, giving off some kind of dangerous pheromone or something?"
"Oh, that's easy to explain. —Because Subaru-kun is definitely weaker than Ferris. Since you're so weak, I feel safe around you~."
Hearing Ferris say that so casually while resting his cheek on his hand and gazing up at him, Subaru momentarily lost his words.
"Your personality is incredibly messed up, you know that?"
"Oh my, that all? I thought you'd be angrier~."
"A fact is a fact. No point getting worked up over it."
Having his weakness thrown in his face was nothing new. Since arriving in this other world, Subaru had been beaten down by his powerlessness over and over again. If his confrontation with that insufferable knight at the training grounds had been the peak, then being demolished by Wilhelm in the Carsten estate was the most frequent occurrence.
There was no point in desperately trying to argue against it. Before coming to this world, he'd indulged in delusions like "I work out, so maybe I'm not that bad!?" but once you saw how vast the world was, you understood just how frog-in-the-well you really were.
So what Subaru was actually curious about was the opposite— "You keep calling me weak, but what about you? I mean, you're a knight, so you must have trained at least a little..."
"Hmm~? Ferris? When it comes to swordsmanship, I'm completely hopeless~. The sword at my hip is only there because my parents nagged me to keep it on me. If I tried to swing it, I'd just get dragged around by the weight."
Ferris chattered on while playfully kicking his legs, making Subaru snort with amusement.
Though he felt a certain honesty in how openly Ferris acknowledged his own weakness, there was something suspicious about how it didn't seem to trouble him in the slightest.
Perhaps Subaru's skepticism showed on his face, because Ferris gazed up at him with that trademark sidelong look and drawled out his words— "Bu~t~ Ferris has his strengths elsewhere. So I really don't care about being useless as a knight~."
"I should hope not. If the guy himself is fine with it, then more power to him. —More power to him."
His confidence clearly came from somewhere solid. Ferris's words were brimming with it, and feeling somewhat uncomfortable, Subaru averted his eyes.
At that moment, Ferris suddenly shifted position on the bed, moved behind Subaru's back, and extended both hands toward his shoulders—settling into a posture like a shoulder massage.
The touch of fingers against the back of his neck tickled, and Subaru flinched—only to freeze when he felt warmth spreading from where Ferris's palms made contact.
Beginning at his shoulders, a torrent of water mana from Ferris's palms started circulating through Subaru's entire body. He could feel it distinctly—this flow of energy far more perceptible than the circulation of blood. He closed his eyes and surrendered to the sensation.
"Slow~ly~. Gentle~ly~. Soft~ly~. Ah, I found a split end. Subaru-kun, you really do carry your hardships on the surface, don't you~?"
"Could you maybe stop chatting while you work? Seriously, the feeling of mana rushing through my body like this is seriously nasty. I have to stay focused or I'll get dizzy—it's rough."
The discomfort reminded him of the time he'd tried on the magnetic necklace his father used to swear by for improving circulation.
The healing process through water mana—on paper, it sounded refreshingly gentle and soothing. But actually experiencing it made it abundantly clear that this was no simple procedure.
Given the state of Subaru's body, the result was only natural.
Subaru's physical deterioration stemmed from damage to his gate—the gateway for mana in and out. The cause was forcing excess residual mana through a depleted gate using doping.
Ferris's healing involved repairing the gate's damage with water magic while simultaneously flushing out the crystallized residual mana from his body.
"So basically, you're patching leaks in a hose with bad water pressure while also pushing out all the gunk and mold that's built up inside the pipe...?"
"Um, I don't really get what you're saying, but I feel like that's a pretty unflattering comparison, don't you~?"
"It's self-deprecation, don't worry about it. Ugh, this is gross."
Subaru rolled his head around and complained about his worsening discomfort to Ferris behind him, enduring the whole while.
This was the third day since he'd begun receiving treatment at Crusch's mansion—meaning his third session with Ferris. He liked to think he was getting a little used to it.
On the first day, the surging nausea had been unbearable, and he'd caved immediately.
"Well~, the first time couldn't be helped. We were dumping it directly into the most congested spots, and you were running on empty after that beating."
"Don't go poking at my sore spots so mercilessly, would you?"
Ferris couldn't see his expression, yet he'd read Subaru's thoughts from a mere shift in posture—infuriating. And the way he probed without hesitation right into emotional wounds, too.
Subaru covered with a polite laugh and tried not to disturb that scab on his heart. But as if to mock the attempt, Ferris pressed on— "So you're probably thinking about getting payback, aren't you, Subaru-kun~? Training with Old Man Wilhelm isn't entirely unrelated to that, is it?"
"Could you maybe stop poking at the... delicate parts of a guy's ego like that? You of all people should understand... wait, can you, in this situation?!"
"Of course I can~! Ferris went through a phase of wanting to become stronger—or rather, needing to become stronger. Well, I don't think about anything that reckless anymore, obviously."
He smoothly sidestepped the cross-dressing reference and delivered his words to Subaru with a tone devoid of any sentimental sympathy.
Again and again, Ferris proclaimed his own lack of talent for combat. But at the same time, he also made it clear he possessed talent more than sufficient to compensate.
Subaru could empathize with much of the former. But the latter? He couldn't summon even an ounce of understanding, given his own situation. Unlike Ferris, Subaru had nothing.
Stubbornness, grit, and above all, his feelings for her—he'd held firm in the belief that no one could surpass him there.
"Wouldn't it be better not to dwell on dark thoughts like payback? I hate to say it, but... if there's a next time, you might actually die, you know~?"
"...Yeah, I know that."
Subaru averted his gaze like a sulking child and answered under his breath.
In his recent fight with Julius, Subaru had been beaten to a degree beyond words. And yet, despite taking that much punishment, he understood that Julius had shown him mercy.
Otherwise, there was no explaining how—despite being struck, pierced, and battered—he hadn't received a single fatal wound.
The gap between them was despairing.
Understanding that, Subaru nonetheless pursued training under Wilhelm. He harbored no illusions that a few days of practice would make an enormous difference. But— "There's no point being lazy about it~. Subaru-kun, your body is in rough shape from everything that happened, you're nowhere near peak condition, and right now you're lounging around under the pretext of treatment. No one can fault you for that, and there's no reason to. It's a win-win, isn't it~?"
Without leaving Subaru a moment to make excuses, Ferris rattled on at lightning speed.
The slightly needling tone lacked any warmth toward its target, but the content was sweet as honey to Subaru's current state of mind.
However— "——Ferris. Please don't manipulate Subaru-kun any further."
A quiet voice resonated through the room, and Subaru turned around with a flash of panic.
Behind Subaru on the bed—standing at the room's entrance with a hand on the door—was Rem, her blue hair swaying to shoulder length. She'd supposedly gone back to the guest room she'd been given to change, but her outfit appeared unchanged from when they'd descended into the capital's lower quarter.
When Subaru looked at her with puzzlement, Rem lightly pinched the hem of her skirt.
"I've changed from my errand maid outfit into my visiting maid outfit."
"Oh, right, yeah. Rem's always considerate of my wishes."
"Yes. I always want to be a fresh Rem in front of Subaru-kun."
"I appreciate it, but putting it like that makes you sound like a fresh fish!"
Rem's insistence on front-loading that freshness made Subaru reply in kind. Rem, however, ignored the comment entirely. Her gaze shifted past Subaru to Ferris behind him.
"I'm grateful for the daily treatment you've been giving Subaru-kun. However, please stop using that as an opportunity to manipulate him."
"Manipulate? What an ugly accusation~. Ferris is only saying what he truly thinks, with Subaru-kun's best interests at heart~."
Ferris grinned mischievously, then pushed his arm further forward from where it rested on Subaru's shoulder, sliding in close and wrapping Subaru in an embrace from behind.
That gentle movement, and the distinctly firm, masculine pressure against his back, made Subaru let out a disgruntled "Hey"—but Ferris, as if smothering the protest, ran his palm along Subaru's jaw and down his chest.
"The warmth gradually spreading inside your body... if you think of it as Ferris's genuine care from the heart, is falling so bad~?"
The voice murmured beside his ear, accompanied by breath that gently caressed his earlobe.
Knowing full well that the person was Ferris—someone of the same sex—Subaru somehow couldn't bring himself to respond with any active resistance.
His thoughts blurred slightly, and he was held in place, unable to move, accepting the embrace.
But— "Ferris—"
"Ugh!"
"Please refrain from your games. Pardon me, but... there are times when jokes are no laughing matter."
A shock struck his neck, snapping him back to his senses.
When Subaru blinked himself awake, his vision was filled with white fabric. Looking more closely, he recognized it as the cloth pressed against his face—connected to a familiar apron.
In other words, Rem had pulled his head into an embrace.
"Hey, hey, Rem. This is a little too forward in front of company..."
"Subaru-kun, please be quiet. —Ferris?"
Subaru tried to laugh off his embarrassment, but Rem squeezed him tighter. Then, in a voice drained of warmth—reserved for outsiders—she called Ferris's name for the third time.
Receiving that, Ferris let out a small, long sigh and murmured, "I see."
"So Rem-chan can use some water-element magic too, huh~? Then I suppose it can't be helped if you see through all of Ferris's tricks."
He spoke with the air not so much of conceding defeat as a child whose scheme had been exposed. Then he rested his chin on Subaru's shoulder and tightened his arms further.
"Hey, Ferris. I mean, being squeezed by a cross-dresser isn't exactly doing it for me—if anything, it's kind of a letdow—wait, hang on, Rem? Rem-san?! It's nice having my head cradled in something warm and soft, but the pressure's getting... no, strong—too strong—gyaaaaa—!!"
"Oh, Subaru-kun, I'm sorry. Ferris won't let go, and... I'd rather destroy you than let you be taken by someone else..."
"Hang on, you're going full yandere on me!?"
Cradling his skull, which had begun creaking ominously, Subaru tumbled free of both Rem's and Ferris's clutches. From the corner of the room, he glared warily at the pair. Receiving that look, Rem shook her head slightly.
"Subaru-kun, how terrible... You must have been so frightened."
"Your last line hit the hardest! Are the pupils in your eyes literally drawing in shadows now?!"
Subaru's protests were ignored. Leaving him behind, Rem and Ferris exchanged glances. Rem narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, while Ferris, with a look of someone caught red-handed, twined his fingers through his chestnut hair.
"Rem-chan's anger is perfectly justified, but Ferris wasn't doing it entirely out of malice, you know~. At least a tiny bit of it was genuinely for Subaru-kun's sake~."
"And the rest, besides that 'tiny bit'?"
"The rest is out of consideration for a friend of Ferris's... and everything beyond that is for Crusch's sake, obviously~?"
He said it with a completely unrepentant expression. Then Ferris tilted his head and asked Rem.
"Isn't that natural for a servant? Or is Rem-chan different?"
"I don't think so. Which is precisely why you should already know my answer, Ferris."
Receiving what felt like a test, Rem shook her head and fixed Ferris with a straight, unwavering gaze. Meeting that intensity, Ferris seemed to have seen something—perhaps recognizing defeat—as he held both palms up to her stare.
"Fine, fi~ne. I'll stop brainwashing him under the guise of treatment."
"Going forward, I will always accompany Ferris during treatment."
"Oh dear, how distrustful. But su~re, fine by me."
Rem shifted to the side, placing herself between Ferris's gaze and Subaru in an overtly protective stance. Ferris laughed at the blatant wariness, stretched up on his toes to catch Subaru's eye, and spoke to him—to Subaru, who was standing there with his lips pressed shut, unable to follow the conversation.
"So, with that scolding from Rem-chan, that's all for today. Let's meet up somewhere less conspicuous next time, 'kay~?"
"Who's meeting up with you?! I didn't agree to any of that! And you literally just said brainwashing a second ago?! There's no way I'm meeting alone with someone who says stuff like that!"
"Sure, sure, I'll take that as a yes~."
"Don't understand things that you pretend to understand!"
Ferris rose from the bed with a theatrical stretch, said "Mmm~," and headed for the door. Just before stepping out, he turned back.
"Rem-chan."
"Yes?"
"I know this might not be very believable after what I just said... but when I did all that thinking about Subaru-kun, it really wasn't a complete lie, you know~?"
He wasn't directing those words at Subaru, but at Rem standing before him.
What kind of expression she made in response, Subaru—who could only see Rem's back—couldn't tell. Only— "...I know."
Rem's brief reply carried the faintest trace of hesitation, and it bothered him.
"Good. Well, see ya~."
With that parting line, Ferris swept out of the room.
Though of course, come dinnertime, they'd be sharing the same table—so the sense of "parting" didn't quite land.
As Subaru grumbled internally about that anticlimactic realization, Rem turned back to him, calling his name.
"Oh, uh, yeah. That was... I don't really know, but did you maybe just save me?"
"I'm not sure. Ferris doesn't harbor any particular ill will toward Subaru-kun, and what he was doing just now... I don't know his true intentions, but—"
Subaru, who hadn't entirely grasped what had just happened to him, and Rem, who was deliberately avoiding any clear explanation. That subtle mismatch of awareness felt uncomfortable, and Subaru scrunched his face.
"So, uh, in the end, what exactly just happened to me?"
"Until moments ago, Subaru-kun was receiving Ferris's treatment, with water mana interfering with the mana throughout your body."
"I'm not sure I follow, but that's probably about right? Like, I felt like I was soaking in a lukewarm bath—a sort of 'bivanonnon' feeling. And the part where I felt sick from being in too long—well, you could call that a bath-related risk."
"When someone else's mana is mediated through the mana circulating inside your body, you're essentially letting that person inside yourself, to some degree. You were in a state where Ferris's will could be accepted far more easily than normal."
"Okay, hearing it phrased like that makes it sound seriously bad?!"
Subaru rotated on his seat on the floor and popped up like a breakdancer. Then he stretched and flailed his limbs, pointing at various parts of his body to check for abnormalities.
"Am I okay? Nothing weird changed, right? Like, did some part of me turn more feminine, or did my speech patterns go all cute and cat-like and coquettish?!"
"You're fine. Please rest easy. You're the same Subaru-kun as always."
"For real? Seriously? Really?"
"You're free to go. Please trust Rem, who has been watching Subaru-kun this whole time."
He thought he caught something in that statement he shouldn't let slide, but he chose to let it pass and breathed a sigh of relief. Then he shook his head slightly, prefacing with "Well, well—"
"Come to think of it, that's the thing, isn't it? This place is basically enemy territory. I'd gotten pretty relaxed—my guard was completely down."
"Rest easy. Rem will stay vigilant so that the completely relaxed, lethargic, hopeless Subaru-kun can worry about nothing."
"Sorry for being completely relaxed, lethargic, and hopeless?!"
The shocking truth, now revealed. The thought of how much Rem had been fighting alone while he lounged about nearly brought Subaru to tears—but setting aside that unbearable sentimentality, he tilted his head.
"From now on, I'll try to be a bit more careful. Everyone here is... basically 'the enemy,' after all."
"...The enemy?"
Subaru tightened the mindset that had gone slack—or rather, tunnel-visioned. Rem murmured something small in response to his change in demeanor, but Subaru, focused on psyching himself up, didn't notice.
After thoroughly checking his body's condition, Subaru looked at Rem.
"Well then, let's get started on the daily routine until dinner. Rem-sensei, please take care of me."
He said this while pulling up a chair to the desk set up in one corner of the room. On it sat a writing notebook he'd brought from the mansion, along with several black-spined books. Study materials and a practice notebook. In other words— "...I never get used to that way of being addressed."
"I mean, you're literally teaching me, so that's your role, right? If you don't like it, we can stop—what'll it be, Sensei?"
"No! Please, keep calling me that! It's my way of being called—Rem's way, and Rem's alone! Don't use it with anyone else!"
"Don't push me so hard, or I'll end up performing beyond my own expectations! Ugh, damn it, I'm not losing...!"
Subaru let out a strange bout of competitive spirit and charged toward the desk with renewed vigor.
Standing behind him, Rem gazed at Subaru with eyes that held both tender affection and—contrary to that—trembling emotion.
As Subaru threw himself earnestly into his studies, her eyes took on a painful, aching quality.
"—Sensei, I don't really get this part."
"Oh, Subaru-kun, you really are hopeless. You can't do anything without Rem around, can you? Once in a while, you could show your gratitude through actions, you know."
But even that fragile look in her eyes dissipated the instant Subaru spoke to her.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ Thus did
Mornings were spent getting thoroughly demolished by Wilhelm. From early afternoon, he roamed the streets with Rem under the guise of royal capital sightseeing. In the evening, he received Ferris's treatment upon the latter's return from his errands. After dinner, he studied character recognition under Rem's supervision.
It was an intensely wholesome, perfectly ordinary routine brimming with fulfillment.
He occasionally exchanged a few words with Crusch when time permitted, but they never managed a proper sit-down conversation. The mansion saw a near-constant stream of visitors, and Crusch was repeatedly called upon to receive them—she rarely had time to herself.
That she still carved out time for daily sword training with Wilhelm was, if nothing else, admirable. Or perhaps, given that she was sacrificing everything else to do so, one could call it a woman's brand of sword-fighting obsession.
Either way, Subaru's days appeared, on the surface, to be passing productively.
He received impeccable treatment as a guest, and Subaru himself sought out whatever he could do within the environment he'd been given—studying and training with dedication.
There was, in it all, something resembling a boy's pride—refusing to break or bend no matter how many times he was beaten down.
At least, from the outside.
※※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ The tip of the wooden sword struck his forehead, and in the next instant, he was sent flying by a single centrifugal blow.
As his head served as the pivot point and his body flew backward, Subaru experienced the familiar sensation of the world turning upside down. He rotated his arms, braced against the ground, took the fall, and rolled cleanly.
His gray track suit—the outerwear he'd been wearing—was filthy with dirt, but the actual physical damage from the tumble itself was virtually nil. He licked his lips at the achievement, inadvertently tasting the mud caked on them, and quickly spat it out.
"Ugh, bleh. Tastes like dirt and grass, bleh."
"Shall we be calling it a day, then?"
"You've got to be kidding. Does it look like that broke me? I'm still raring to go, hey!"
Subaru held up his wooden sword like a home-run batter making a declaration, twisted his waist to show fighting spirit, and Wilhelm, facing him squarely, let out a small chuckle.
Day after day, morning after morning, this confrontation between Subaru and Wilhelm continued.
Subaru's attacks still couldn't reach Wilhelm—same as always—but Subaru's reactions to Wilhelm's attacks had undergone a dramatic change. That was— "I hate to say it, but... your breakfalls have improved tremendously."
"All I've been doing is perfecting how to fall as painlessly as possible, so it's kind of pathetic when you put it that way. But hey, I'm not just treading water forever!"
Subaru gave a thumbs-up and trumpeted his progress in response to Wilhelm's words.
Wilhelm's praise was genuine. In the span of a few days, Subaru's breakfall skills had advanced to a level that would impress even seasoned professionals.
After all, he had at least thirty real combat opportunities per day. Never underestimate a simple tumble—though simple it was.
If you fell carelessly, the risk of injury was obvious. Even with Wilhelm moderating his strikes, once Subaru went flying, what happened when he hit the ground was Subaru's responsibility alone. And so he had to protect himself.
"My breakfall skills are blossoming before my eyes—why does it feel like the only skills leveling up are ones for getting beaten up?! My soul's about to break!"
"And in truth, these skills are useless in a real sword fight with an actual blade."
"Don't tell me the truth like that! You just cracked the lone pine tree of my heart!"
Considering that a real sword fight would be over in a single decisive blow, what Subaru was honing was essentially a skill set exclusive to wooden-sword sparring. And on top of that, it was purely defensive—built entirely on the premise of being the one who takes the beating. Either way— "One more round, please."
"Anytime. From anywhere."
With permission granted, Subaru stanced up, lowered his posture, and charged again. Wilhelm held his wooden sword in a relaxed guard, and his initial movement was slower than Subaru's. Despite his build, the man was elderly—catching up to the momentum of Subaru's full-speed charge would seem impossible by normal logic. But— "Too much wasted motion."
"Guh!"
Even with minimal conscious effort, unnecessary tension and extraneous movement inevitably arose. Wilhelm's sword threaded through those gaps, evading Subaru's attack with the least possible effort. Following through, the flashing blade closed in on Subaru's midsection— "Flank—!"—and the instant the flat of the blade connected with his side, Subaru's body was sent effortlessly skyward by a strike that didn't even look like it carried much force.
Launched by his own charging momentum, the aerial Subaru sailed over the white-haired old man, tumbling head over heels through the air. If he landed headfirst like this, disaster was all but guaranteed.
"No sweat!"
Just before the fall began in earnest, Subaru tucked his head, curled into a ball, and wrapped his arms around it in a protective posture. Mid-air, he deployed the "Coconut" stance he'd once shown Roswaal—a beginner's defensive technique for素人that increased protection by making the body as compact as possible.
Where he'd land was largely a matter of luck, but as long as he avoided hitting his head, some damage could be mitigated—a naive posture at best. However— "Did I not just say this was the end?"
Subaru's plan was thwarted before he hit the ground—the tip of the wooden sword, slipped through the gaps between his folded limbs, stopped him cold.
His consciousness had been entirely focused on the impending impact, making the follow-up strike completely unforeseeable. The inserted tip traced a circle, prying apart his tightly bound limbs with ease, and Subaru's body naturally spread wide open in midair.
"Gyaaah!"
He was driven into the ground spread-eagle, no breakfall to speak of, taking massive damage.
His face smashed into the earth in what must have been his countless kiss with the ground. As the pain spread through his body like heat, Subaru rolled to his side and directed an accusatory glare at Wilhelm, who was looking down at him.
"That was way too harsh, wasn't it?!"
"Unless you can take breakfalls even in states that exceed your expectations, you can't truly call it improvement. And more importantly—"
Wilhelm's voice carried a slight edge as he dismissed Subaru's protest. Then he paused, and his quiet gaze looked down at Subaru.
The stillness in those eyes and the unfathomable depth of emotion behind them made Subaru uncomfortable, and he fell silent. To the quieted Subaru, Wilhelm spoke: "I'd find it hard to accept if I were teaching a fighting style based on losing from the start."
"Guh..."
A direct hit.
He understood the overwhelming difference in their abilities. Wilhelm was that high a wall for Subaru. But understanding the gap in power and giving up from the very start were entirely different things.
Having his defeatist mindset laid bare left Subaru speechless. Wilhelm raised a single finger and asked, "Shall I elaborate?"
"Before I teach you sword techniques or breakfall skills—let me speak about something more fundamental."
"Something fundamental...?"
"——If you have decided to fight, then fight with every fiber of your being. Don't let your guard down for a single instant, for a single second. Whatever means it takes, however dirty the method—fixate on victory with greedy, desperate tenacity. If you can still stand, stand. If your fingers can still move, move. If your fangs haven't been broken—stand. Stand. Stand, stand, and cut. As long as you're alive, fight. Fight, fight, fight!"
"..."
"——That is what it means to fight."
In that instant, Subaru was made aware that the tension gripping the garden had dissolved—by the fact that his own heartbeat was now unbearably loud.
And at the same time, that his heart was properly beating out the rhythm of life.
He had not, until that moment, truly felt alive.
The instant Wilhelm began speaking about the spirit of combat, the atmosphere he'd worn until then transformed completely. Until now, there had been an air about him of gentility and refinement, giving the impression of a man utterly removed from passions like anger.
But that was merely one facet of Wilhelm as a person—something Subaru now sensed clearly through their exchange. Or perhaps the expression Wilhelm had just shown was the real one.
The warrior—Wilhelm Trias—whom
Shuddering from the depths of his being, Subaru masked it and rose to his feet.
His fingertips tingled faintly—whether from pain, fear, or some other emotion entirely, he couldn't tell. But— "You're right... I was just being rude. Me."
He acknowledged, genuinely, that something had resonated within him.
Without brushing off the dirt clinging to his body, Subaru re-gripped his wooden sword and faced Wilhelm squarely.
"Even knowing I'll lose, I'll fight to win. It sounds contradictory, but... I understand that I have to do it—not in my head, but in my gut."
"That is most gratifying to hear."
"If I can manage that... will I get a little stronger?"
To Subaru's question, Wilhelm closed one eye and said: "That and this are entirely separate matters. Wanting to be strong and actually becoming strong are two completely different conversations."
"Wouldn't it make for a nicer story if you just agreed with me outright?!"
"I do not permit myself to tell cruel lies."
"Sometimes that itself becomes the cruelest truth, I think!"
The almost-neatly-wrapped conversation fell apart, and Subaru let his shoulders droop dejectedly, his gaze dropping to the ground. Then, softly— "Do I have any talent for the sword?"
"In my honest assessment, I'm afraid not. Subaru-dono's talent with the blade tops out at average—much like myself."
He denied Subaru's hope, and a self-deprecating smile tugged at the corner of Wilhelm's mouth. The words were so unexpected that Subaru raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"That's a strange thing to be humble about. Wilhelm-san saying he has no talent for the sword."
"It's the truth. I have no talent for the sword. If I did, I surely wouldn't have continued wielding one for this long. Therefore, if Subaru-dono truly wishes to, reaching the same level as me is entirely possible."
"...Just out of curiosity, how much effort would that take?"
"Not much. Simply devote half your lifetime to swinging a sword."
"Half a lifetime... 'simply.'"
Obviously, it was anything but "simple."
It's often said that the ability to persist is the true talent. In reality, even if told he could reach Wilhelm's level, Subaru couldn't imagine finding either the resolve or the reason to dedicate that much time to the sword.
After all, Subaru was studying under Wilhelm precisely because— "Fine."
With a sigh, he resigned himself and shifted—then the tip of Subaru's wooden sword dug into the earth, spraying a clump of dirt directly into Wilhelm's field of vision.
The instant he saw the old man's vision obscured by the soil, Subaru's strike aimed for Wilhelm's feet. It was exactly the kind of move he'd just been told to make by the man himself.
—If you've decided to fight, use whatever dirty means it takes.
The full-power strike whiffed completely—the lack of any contact told him as much. But Subaru didn't stop there. Using the rotational momentum, he threw a spinning back kick, and even as that was happening, he launched a second sword strike that came in a beat late.
Against these linked attacks, Wilhelm sidestepped, dodged the blinding feint and surprise assault, and for the first time showed his teeth in a genuinely delighted grin.
"That will do."
Wilhelm's sword plunged into the gap beneath the kicking leg, canceling the attack, and as he closed in, he turned his back and lunged into Subaru's guard. His free hand seized Subaru's collar—and before Subaru knew it, his feet had left the ground.
The world spun. Before he could even grasp that he'd been thrown, his back slammed into the ground at tremendous speed. The impact drove the air from his lungs, his thoughts stalled, and before the pain could lance through his entire body, he became aware of the wooden sword's tip pressed before his eyes.
"Shall we be calling it a day, then?"
Hearing those words, Subaru let all the strength drain from his body and closed his eyes.
The cold of the ground seeped through his back, and an aching numbness spread naturally through every part of his body. Then— "With nothing but distracting thoughts, I'm pretty much useless, huh?"
"I wouldn't say that."
"But to raise my swordsmanship, isn't that what it takes? Focusing the mind, devoting yourself purely to the blade—only then can you grasp something as a true swordsman?"
"Nothing comes from suddenly grasping something, and whether your mind is clear or cluttered with distractions, the one who ultimately cuts down their opponent wins. That doesn't change."
Wilhelm delivered this dry assessment, then added: "I should say—I've rarely swung my sword in a state of pure emptiness. Especially when I first began, I wasn't thinking much about the sword at all."
"Then what were you thinking about while swinging?"
"Only about my wife, endlessly."
"Wilhelm-san, you have a way of landing some devastating blows with the wife material!"
He remembered the loving-husband remark from their first meeting, but even by that standard, Wilhelm's wife-spoiling was something else.
Subaru sat up and looked at Wilhelm with a sidelong glance.
"Setting aside the touching anecdote about your wife... what you said about not needing to devote yourself purely to the sword was surprising."
"To become strong, you must decide to do so, then work at it deliberately. To actually grow stronger, the only way is to invest the time. If you were born with a divine blessing, that would be one thing—but neither I nor Subaru-dono has that luxury."
"Hah... that's rough, hearing that."
As he spoke, Subaru couldn't hide the bitter smile etching itself across his cheeks.
Being flatly told he had no talent for the sword stung, even if only mildly. Back in his original world, there had been a period where he practiced kendo. The modest pride he'd accumulated had now been thoroughly shattered.
Reading Subaru's bittersweet smile, Wilhelm ran a finger through his thick white hair and tidied it.
"Regardless, that's the mindset for becoming stronger. Well, I suppose it wasn't all that useful advice for you, Subaru-dono."
"What do you mean?"
Unsure of the true meaning behind those words, Subaru rested his chin on his hand and tilted his head. Seeing that gesture, Wilhelm continued: "I thought there wasn't much point explaining the mindset for becoming strong to someone who has no intention of becoming strong."
"..."
For a moment, Subaru didn't understand what he'd been told, and his expression froze.
But that paralysis lasted only an instant. Subaru immediately thawed that frozen look, shrugged with a grin, and said: "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Wilhelm-san. What's with the sudden... Don't spring such a shocking revelation on me like that. What? Me? Having no intention?"
"If you're self-aware enough to recognize that, then there's no need for me to elaborate further."
Wilhelm shook his head with resignation in his eyes, and Subaru fell silent, unable to press further.
Anxiety mounted—what exactly was Wilhelm trying to say? Understanding that feeling, Subaru felt a question form in his mind about his own inner restlessness.
—Why do I feel this anxiety?
"——Subaru-dono, I believe that's all for this morning."
"Huh?"
As Subaru broke into a cold sweat from the inexplicable sensation, Wilhelm told him that. Startled, Subaru looked up, and the old man was gazing not at him but toward the mansion.
Following his gaze, Subaru saw a figure running from the mansion toward the two in the garden. —It was Rem.
Her face wore the carefully controlled expression she reserved for concealing her emotions, but beneath it was a quiet urgency.
Something had happened.
And for Subaru in that moment, it was salvation.
Facing Wilhelm filled Subaru with an indescribable pain, so Rem's expression of urgency and worry was, perversely, a relief.
"Subaru-kun. —We need to talk."
And just like that, a period was placed on the daily routine that had been flowing without incident.
The everyday ended, and the abnormal Subaru had been waiting for began—there, Subaru would once again lay eyes upon despair.