The second floor trial had truly become a problem.
That was exactly what Subaru had feared the most.
If it had been like the third floor trial, something he could solve just by using his head, then it would have been manageable.
But defeating a powerhouse like that was something he simply could not do.
With complicated feelings, Subaru returned to the Green Room and sat down on the bed woven from flowers and green shade.
As he felt the intense pain in his body gradually lessen, one thought became clear to him.
That Reid had not gone easy on him at all.
No, wait.
The fact that he only used chopsticks probably counted as going easy, right?
If he had used a sword…
Subaru could not even imagine it.
“Cheer up, Master.
You and Reid never got along in the past either.
You got beaten up by him all the time!”
Shaula nodded as if it were only natural.
“You know Reid, right?”
Subaru suddenly thought of something and asked, “Do you know if that guy has any weaknesses?
Like a Bodhi leaf on his back (TL:some Buddhism stuff), or a heel that can’t be touched, or maybe some oath where he can’t attack bards or something?”
A monster that powerful had to have some kind of weakness, right?
Otherwise, this trial itself was way too unfair.
“Nope.”
Shaula shook her head.
She seemed to recall Reid’s terror, then trembled a little as she complained, “That hateful guy is vulgar and lecherous, but he’s also way too strong.
I sparred with him many times before, but I only managed to force him to use both hands less than ten times.”
“And he really loves bullying the weak, just like how he bullied you, Master.
But because he’s too strong, fighting anyone counts as bullying the weak for him… Anyway, he’s an invincible, unkillable, shameless monster.”
After hearing Shaula’s words, Subaru felt his vision grow even darker.
Even Shaula could barely force Reid to use both hands?
Then wasn’t it even more impossible to beat him?
Just what kind of mindset did the person who built this tower have when they placed such a final boss here?!
“Anyway, Master, I’m hungry~”
“You didn’t help with the trial at all, but you’re the first one to get hungry?
Sigh.
Yes, yes, I’ll go make food.”
Subaru calmed himself a little.
His injuries had also almost fully recovered.
Speaking of which, wasn’t he recovering a little too quickly this time?
He suddenly noticed something.
Previously, when his arms and chest had been shattered by the mabeast, it had taken him half a month to fully recover.
This time, Reid had thrown him away with enough force that it was no different from falling from the second floor.
His body was, at most, only at a human level.
Being thrown like that and hitting the ground should have broken at least a few bones.
“My body’s getting tougher… No, maybe I’m imagining it.
That guy probably held back some strength.”
Subaru shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
Instead, he got up and walked toward the kitchen.
“Right, Master!”
“Hm?
What is it, Shaula?”
“Master doesn’t have to rush.
We have a long time!
Whether it takes one month, one year, or even ten years, I’m willing to stay with you, Master!”
He only gave a small hum and left.
In the kitchen, Subaru used a crude kitchen knife to skillfully cut apart the flesh and blood of a dead mabeast.
Before he realized it, he felt like he was no longer a complete beginner at handling ingredients.
Back home, he had not even been able to peel potatoes properly.
“Stick Swinger… Reid, huh…”
Subaru cut the food while looking at the kitchen knife in his hand.
Memories from before suddenly flashed through his mind.
Every movement Reid made looked casual and lazy.
But when he was fighting—well, for now, Subaru would call it fighting—his movements and posture had been completely different.
If he had not used chopsticks, but a knife or a sword instead, Subaru probably would have been minced the instant he got close.
Thinking that, Subaru raised his own kitchen knife.
Recalling Reid’s attack, he tried swinging the knife.
“No good.
The gap is too big.
I can’t even imitate the shape properly.
In the end, with my level, beating an enemy like that is impossible.”
Giving up on the idea of copying him, Subaru continued preparing today’s food.
“Looking at it this way, I really don’t know when I’ll ever get to eat a normal lunch again.”
“Damn it.
My beautiful isekai life keeps getting farther and farther away from me.
The story shouldn’t be like this.
As a transmigrator, I should obviously be the protagonist, right?
So why am I getting beaten up this badly by an NPC…?”
After a simple round of complaining, Subaru brought out today’s food.
“Uwaa!
Master’s cooking today is super, super, super delicious too!”
Shaula ate in huge bites without the slightest bit of manners.
As she wiped her mouth, she gave him a thumbs-up.
“You say that every day.”
“It’s different every day!
Every day has my thick, overflowing emotions in it.
Did you not feel them, Master?!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Subaru was using most of his energy to think about how to clear the trial and how to defeat Reid.
He did not have much spare strength left to deal with Shaula.
Defeating Reid…
There was no shortcut.
If only he could read the writing here.
Then he could go straight to that library and see if there was a book about Reid.
Maybe there would be an answer.
Shaula noticed Subaru’s troubled expression.
“Um, Master, you can take it slowly.
Don’t rush.
You’ll definitely succeed.”
Shaula put down her food and spoke seriously.
“How am I supposed to not rush?
This is a dead end.
A dead end.
In game terms, this is a scripted death event that can only be solved by bringing in a god level cheat.
Ugh, this is so annoying.
Even if I tell you this, you won’t understand.”
“I don’t understand, that’s true.
There’s a proverb from somewhere called, ‘More haste, less speed.’ Worrying blindly right now won’t solve anything, right, Master?”
No matter how irritated Subaru was, that really was the truth.
Getting anxious right now had no meaning.
“I never thought the day would come when you’d be the one comforting me.”
“See, see?
I’ve improved a lot, right?
As a reward, I want one passionate hug from Master!”
“I never said I was going to reward you!
Besides, when you fainted earlier, you clung to me hard enough already.”
“That’s because my feelings for Master are endless, anytime and anywhere!”
Ignoring the scorpion girl as she continued her courtship, Subaru ate some food and returned to the Green Room.
He had to think of a way.
A way to defeat Reid.
“Think… Think…”
Subaru sat cross legged on the bed.
The warm feeling around him made his thoughts feel much more relaxed.
Thinking back, what had Reid said?
What had Reid done?
He had to string all the clues together.
Subaru’s mental state might not have been great, but his analytical ability was strong.
Especially when he was backed into a corner, his mind always managed to start moving at high speed.
[To deal with you, I don’t even need a weapon.
But since I called myself a Stick Swinger, if I didn’t use a stick, you might misunderstand something.]
[You feel the abyss between you and me now?
Hmph.
I won’t bully you.
You’ve never practiced swordsmanship, right?
I’ve only been at it for three months myself, but bullying a complete beginner has no meaning to me.]
[Ha!
Seeing your miserable state, I almost felt kind enough to let you pass.
But this is a trial, isn’t it?
You’re the examinee, aren’t you?
And yet you’re asking the examiner for help?
Don’t you feel ashamed, small fry?!]
“That’s it.”
Subaru’s eyes suddenly opened wide as he realized something.
“This Reid doesn’t know Shaula.
But Shaula knows Reid.
In other words, the Reid Shaula knows isn’t this examiner Reid…”
[What the hell are you doing, bastard?
Where is this place?
Why am I here?
Who are you people?]
“He doesn’t have the self-awareness of an examiner.
He only figured things out after the fact.
That means he’s something like a projection?
I don’t really understand it, but if this is an isekai, that makes it a lot easier to accept.”
“Three months… Is this Reid from when he had only been training with the sword for three months?
Is that why he doesn’t know Shaula?”
“Ah, this is a little underhanded, but if I want to beat you, it looks like this is the only way.”
Inside his heart, Subaru formed a plan.
(TL:aura monster is cooking)