The journey had started on a morning brimming with anxiety, but the month-long trek, while certainly lengthy, had passed without any noteworthy incidents along the way.
Riding due east straight along the highway, a journey with nothing happening was bound to be dull.
"The round trip to Pleiades was like that, and the Lagunica Plains too, but... the Kingdom of Lagunica really does have good public order along its roads, huh?"
"Patrols to maintain the highways and ensure safety are indispensable to preserving the Kingdom's peace. Lagunica is especially thorough about it compared to other nations. Bandit attacks and魔beast packs — the incident rate should be kept remarkably low."
"So other countries aren't as good?"
"In the
"Ohh."
The exchange between Subaru and Julius unfolded at a leisurely pace as their two earth dragons ran side by side.
Leaving everyone inside the carriage would slow reaction times in an emergency — that was the rationale behind the formation. But as their dull banter made clear, the journey was peaceful to a fault.
"Yaaawn..."
"Subaru."
When the boredom piled on too high and the monotonous scenery stretched on, even yawns became unavoidable. Subaru covered his mouth and unwittingly let his sleepiness swell, prompting Julius to shoot him a reproachful look.
The knight leaned against his own dragon, then casually brushed aside his bangs — not a single strand disturbed thanks to the Blessing of Wind Resistance that protected him.
"I understand the feeling of being unable to maintain tension, but they say the moment your guard drops is precisely when you're most vulnerable. I won't tell you not to let it go, but looking visibly slack for all the world to see is inadmissible."
"One yawn and you make a whole speech out of it. You yawn too, right? You do, don't you?"
"Of course — such physiological phenomena happen to me as well. But a knight with proper self-awareness can suppress them to the point of not displaying them in public, no? You're still lacking in that regard."
"Yes, yes."
Julius pressed on with a needling persistence, but Subaru had long since grown accustomed to deflecting it. Nearly twenty days had passed now of traveling alongside Julius — from Pleiades to the manor, and now heading toward the
"When someone is having a serious conversation, I'd think basic courtesy is to look at them?"
"Being looked away from during a serious conversation means it wasn't the right time for that serious conversation in the first place. You should loosen up too, Julius. You're way too tense."
"If I'm not on guard, and you're not either, then what happens when—"
"You don't need to be wound that tight for them to ambush us. If those guys were going to make a move, they wouldn't do it in a wide-open space like this."
"———"
Subaru cut him off, cracking his neck as he spoke. Julius blinked, caught off guard by Subaru's words.
Then, after a moment, the handsome knight let out a small sigh.
"Am I really that obviously on edge from where you're standing?"
"I mean, I'm kinda guessing. But everyone thinks you're too wound up. Sure, you're always like this — or maybe this is just your normal. But..."
"Right now, you're the only one who knows what my 'normal' is."
"...Yeah."
Julius's voice dropped in pitch, and naturally, Subaru's followed suit.
Behind them, the conversation among the women in the dragon carriage was inaudible — and conversely, their own discussion shouldn't be reaching their ears either.
Man to man, and with a complicated dynamic at that — but also collaborators, at least for now.
Perhaps it was time to have an open conversation about a few things.
"I talked about this with Roswaal too, but how are the quasi-spirits?"
"Just as I said at the time. The buds have gathered around me, but when I extend my arm, they refuse to perch on it like birds resting on a branch. My words don't seem to reach them, either."
At Subaru's question, Julius raised his arm and visualized the quasi-spirits.
Six softly glowing quasi-spirits of pale, varied hues still orbited Julius as he rode his earth dragon. But they wavered uncertainly before his outstretched arm, even drifting further away instead of approaching.
Indeed — the bond between Julius and the quasi-spirits had clearly been severed.
"Can't you do some kind of re-contract? Being this close to you means the blessing that attracts spirits to you is still working, right?"
"My Blessing of Spirit Attraction still appears to be intact. That's actually what's contributing to their bewilderment, I think — as if they're overwhelmed by a massive emotion they don't understand coming from within themselves."
"This might sound blunt, but what about making do with different spirits?"
"If I were a spirit user like
"Well, even Emilia-tan can't pull out
"Like Emilia-sama and the Great Spirit. Or like you and
It was a thorny issue. As a fellow spirit user, Subaru could never suggest that Julius simply find new spirits — it was the same as asking if Subaru could let go of Beatrice after their bond had been severed. An obvious hard no.
For Julius, his relationship with the six quasi-spirits was an identical predicament.
"That is why, in my current state, I can fulfill my duties as a knight only through swordsmanship. Of course, I don't believe the sword is inferior to spirit magic — but my own insufficient power is an undeniable fact."
"This journey is partly about getting that back. And besides, saying something like that when your sword arm is that good is just humble-bragging. And to me specifically, that makes it even more insufferable."
Julius's admission — that without spirit magic, his abilities were lacking.
A year ago, Subaru had been reduced to a rag at the hands of that very power in the
From Julius's perspective, the Subaru of that time had been like twisting an infant's arm. The current Subaru was more like dealing with a five-year-old — that was roughly the difference.
"Reinhard does this too, but you guys all have this nasty habit of undervaluing yourselves. Modesty taken too far becomes poison! I'm pretty sure that applies everywhere."
"I'd like to throw those exact words right back at you, but... Well. — In your case and mine, sure, but Reinhard's isn't modesty or self-devaluation."
"Not modesty, not self-devaluation...?"
They both pictured the red-haired hero simultaneously, but Subaru tilted his head at the difference in their perceptions of him.
Reinhard was, by any measure, a superhuman, the strongest, peerless — so Subaru hadn't expected their evaluations of him to diverge.
"No?" Julius shook his head.
"When it comes to Reinhard's abilities, you and I are on the same page — we both rate him incredibly high. More than that, everyone who knows him should share the same sentiment. He is the pinnacle of humanity, or perhaps a being who has transcended it."
"The fact that that's not an exaggeration is what's amazing."
"It's not just his abilities — his very way of being, even his self-awareness, is fully realized. The first time I met him, I was barely into my teens... but he's never changed."
"He's been like that since he was ten? Seriously?"
Subaru gripped Patrasche's reins, struck dumb by Julius's recollection.
When exactly had Reinhard become the Reinhard of today? It sounded like a philosophical question, but apparently, he'd been fully formed nearly a decade ago.
If that was the case, then truly — a boy had been shouldering a tremendous fate from a very young age.
"Was Reinhard already the 'Sword Saint' back then?"
"He inherited the Blessing of the Sword Saint when he was only five years old. The previous Sword Saint was Theresa van Astrea — Reinhard's grandmother. She perished during the Great Expedition fifteen years ago, and the Blessing was transferred."
"Right... of course."
The previous Sword Saint, who had died in battle against the
That woman — Reinhard's grandmother and Wilhelm's wife — had finally returned to the sky in Pleiades.
But the Blessing had already been passed down into Reinhard fifteen years prior.
"I wonder what that feels like."
"Hmm?"
"Since he was five, he inherited his grandma's Blessing, and on top of that, he's born into the bloodline of a legendary hero. I can't even imagine what it's like to grow up like that."
The weight of parental expectations — that was something Subaru understood, at least a little.
The pain of being crushed under the weight of others' expectations — Subaru knew that well.
Of course, the burden Subaru carried and the one Reinhard carried were so different in magnitude and responsibility that comparing them might itself be disrespectful.
"Honestly, I'm weak. I'm weak, I don't have enough power, and I spend every night fantasizing about how nice it would be to be so strong I'd have nothing better to do than feel frustrated about having too much."
"That sounds rather hollow, doesn't it?"
"Shut up."
Having his serious moment interrupted, Subaru clicked his tongue.
"Anyway, that's why it feels like the exact opposite kind of problem from mine. I'm not saying Reinhard was already Reinhard at five or whatever, but I'm just wondering... what must that have felt like?"
"I can't speak to what he was thinking at the time, I'm afraid. But—"
Julius paused there, then raised his gaze.
Gripping his reins and staring straight ahead, the knight narrowed his eyes against the sunlight.
"That was a major turning point for me — the day I first laid eyes on Reinhard."
His words carried a hint of pride.
Julius squinted against the light — but perhaps it wasn't just the sun's glare making him narrow his eyes.
Back then, when he'd first seen Reinhard, he must have had that same look in his eyes.
"So you and Reinhard have known each other for ten years. I'd say that barely qualifies for the childhood friend prerequisite — is that about right?"
"No? I became aware of Reinhard that day, but he didn't learn of my existence until much later — probably after I was appointed to the Knights of the Royal Guard. That was when I was sixteen, so we've only been close for about the last six years."
"...That's quite a gap."
"At the time, I didn't have the qualifications to stand alongside him, the one who had inherited the Sword Saint's mantle. The boy younger than me made me painfully aware of that — and that was where my journey truly began."
Julius's quiet voice belied the passionate emotions layered within.
Subaru glanced sideways at the distant gaze floating in those amber eyes and nodded at the word "began."
That day was almost certainly more vivid in Julius's memory than any evasive words could convey.
If that was Julius's beginning, then of course it would be burned bright and clear in his mind.
Subaru had his own memories of "beginnings" — warm in his chest, seared into his soul.
The day he'd been saved by Emilia in another world. The day
"All that said, if that's where your big 'beginning' kicks in, were you secretly a troublemaker as a kid? A wayward noble, or some rich playboy?"
Fighting against the current of emotions that made it feel uncomfortably personal, Subaru deliberately kept his tone teasing.
He didn't actually think Julius was the type, but it was a fact that when they'd first met, Julius had struck him as an annoyingly arrogant young noble. And in stories, such a noble's boyhood was practically guaranteed to be filled with insufferable, haughty behavior.
With that in mind, Subaru pivoted the conversation — and Julius's lips curved into a faint smile.
"I'd appreciate a bit more care with your phrasing... but I can't entirely deny it."
"For real?! You actually played the snobby noble role?! Kicking commoners off horses, tormenting servants until they broke?!"
"I genuinely can't fathom why you look so delighted about this."
Julius regarded Subaru's excitement with cool eyes, then glanced behind them.
He was probably worried about the dragon carriage — and by extension, the women inside it. Not that they could hear the conversation regardless, but it was a matter of feeling.
"How much do you know about me? About the Euclius family?"
"Absolutely nothing."
"That was satisfyingly immediate."
It was the truth — he had zero prior knowledge.
Julius smiled wryly at Subaru's brazen honesty atop the dragon, then touched the knight's sword at his hip. A family heirloom, perhaps. From his profile, Subaru could tell he was hesitating — wondering if the person he was now truly had the right to carry it.
"I was not originally the legitimate heir of the Euclius family."
"———"
"More precisely, I should say I am not the official legitimate heir. The current head of the Euclius family is Albiero Euclius. My father was his younger brother, Klein Euclius. He passed away some time ago, and I was adopted into the main household."
The unexpected revelation left Subaru momentarily speechless.
How well the aristocratic structures of this world aligned with what Subaru knew from his own was hard to say, but Julius's position was undeniably complicated.
And in that case — what about Joshua Euclius, the younger brother Julius had once known? The young man who had admired Julius as an older brother, now erased from the world's memory.
"I don't know Joshua's actual relationship to me — not what's left in my memory, anyway. Whether he was my true younger brother, sharing the blood of our biological father Klein Euclius. Or whether he was the legitimate son of our adoptive father Albiero Euclius."
"...And if those turned out to be different, what happens?"
"'Brothers' would just be a courtesy, and we'd actually be cousins, wouldn't we? In that case, the Euclius headship should have passed to Joshua Euclius."
"———"
Julius's tone was flat — and precisely because of that, it drove home that these were facts.
The complexity of this situation lay in the fact that Julius himself couldn't determine the truth. If Julius and Joshua were biological brothers, then the Euclius heir should be Julius. But if they were not, then the correct heir would be Joshua.
And with Joshua's existence having been erased from the world — leaving Julius with no memory of his brother and no sense of his own place — there was simply no way to find out.
"A pointless exercise, but when you think about it that way, my position is extraordinarily complicated. Not knowing what tomorrow holds for myself is quite unsettling. Although, right now, I should probably prioritize the fact that my own footing is less certain than the future of the Euclius headship."
"———"
Whether it was because Subaru was more shaken than expected, Julius spoke in a tone that bordered on joking.
His mouth went dry. His stomach churned. Subaru bit down on his tongue internally — it would be absurdly irresponsible to let Julius worry about him now.
"So that was the kind of upbringing you had. Back then, I was rather aimless. My adoptive father brought me to the royal castle, where I performed the crude etiquette I'd been taught, and then I was about to leave. That's when I saw Reinhard — still only eight years old. That's all there was to it."
Julius deliberately prioritized bringing the conversation to a close.
Subaru lacked the courage to press further, and had nothing clever to say in response. He watched Julius turn his gaze forward with a lonely expression and released the tooth he'd been biting.
And then, without thinking, a question tumbled out.
"Why did you suddenly decide to tell me all of this?"
"I was under the impression you'd asked me, but perhaps I was mistaken?"
"No, I mean, that's true — but that's on me. What I mean is... isn't it weird, you telling me something like this?"
"I don't think so. Reinhard,
Something about it still didn't sit right, and Subaru's mouth twisted into a grimace.
Everyone already knew — that may have been true, but it wasn't the kind of thing Julius would go around broadcasting of his own accord. It still felt unnatural.
Perhaps Julius picked up on Subaru's dissatisfaction from the way his lips were set.
He pulled on the reins, nudged his dragon to quicken its pace, and— "Yes, it was something everyone knew. That may be exactly why I wanted you to know it now — you, who in this current world, remembers me better than anyone besides myself."
The blue earth dragon swished its tail as it accelerated, and Julius's expression disappeared from view.
Not that it was enough to leave Subaru behind. It was simply — as always — a somewhat theatrical way of signaling the end of a conversation.
"———"
"Oh, I'm fine. Thanks for worrying about me, Patrasche."
The jet-black earth dragon raised her head and looked back at Subaru. The gesture of "Shall I pull alongside the one in front?" made Subaru stroke the lady dragon's neck in gratitude.
"...That's unlike me."
A small, sulky murmur escaped his lips.
Was he being self-pitying? Or was he playing the tragic protagonist?
Either way — exasperating was the only word for it.
"Ah, crap. Am I an idiot? No, I'm definitely an idiot..."
Subaru raked his fingers through his hair, spitting out his frustration under his breath.
In the end, no fitting response to Julius's words came to mind.
And none arrived before they reached the Augria Sand Dunes.
Not even after the party arrived at Millura, the nearest town to the dunes.