“You brat, your eyes have changed a bit better.”
Pleiades Watchtower, second floor, Electra.
On the grass shaded by green trees, beneath the blue sky, the red haired man stood with his arms crossed.
One of his eyes was covered by an eyepatch, yet he seemed to see more clearly than anyone else.
“You might not believe me, but in just one night, I went through hell three times and received a girl’s confession once.”
Subaru smiled with confidence.
“Oh?
Not bad, not bad.
I don’t know what you went through, small fry, but at least you look like a warrior now.”
Reid rarely gave praise.
“But just that much still isn’t enough to get past me, you know?”
“Yeah.
Getting past you is hard.
Extremely hard… I gave up once.
I ran away.
I was scared…”
Subaru continued seriously.
“But a super beautiful, super cute girl told me—She wants to see my coolest side!
And she likes my smile!”
“Ehehe, Master, if you say it like that, I’ll get embarrassed~~”
Shaula, who was watching from the side, spoke with a shy face.
Subaru pulled out the trial sword and pointed it at Reid with a completely new posture.
“What, did you come all this way just to feed me dog food?”
“Fool who has reached the Heavenly Sword!”
Subaru suddenly spoke the words Reid had repeated before.
“You must be granted approval!”
“Hmph…”
Hearing that, the corner of Reid’s mouth lifted slightly.
“Fine.
The test begins.
Come on.
Try making me step back even one step!”
“Do your best, Master!
Beat Reid to a pulp!”
If those words had been directed at Shaula herself, she would never have believed she could defeat Reid.
But she trusted Subaru.
She trusted her master.
That trust needed no reason.
Feeling the girl’s encouragement behind him, Subaru stepped forward and swung his sword.
It was a proper straight slash.
Compared to the Subaru from a month ago, who only knew how to grab a sword and swing it wildly, this attack had taken on a much more proper shape.
“Too slow.”
Reid leaned backward.
No, he did not fall.
He bent his body back, letting the sword pass right in front of his eyes and miss.
Then power burst from his legs.
With a sudden step, his entire body spun in midair, and he kicked fiercely toward Subaru.
Normally, this single strike would have been enough to decide the match.
It would have kicked Subaru all the way to the staircase and left him in pain for half a day before he could stand.
The expected feeling of his kick landing on Subaru’s chest did not come.
Reid clearly felt that he had struck something hard.
“That’s… still an absurd amount of strength…”
Subaru was still amazed by Reid’s power.
He had not fallen?
Reid landed, steadied himself, and looked toward Subaru in confusion.
Subaru had indeed been kicked several meters away.
However, the moment he was struck, he had actually pulled back the sword he had just swung and guarded his chest with it, blocking the attack.
(TL: my goat)
Because of that, most of the impact had been shifted into the blade.
Subaru himself had only taken the aftershock.
Even so, Subaru felt both his arms go numb.
Even though he had perfectly blocked the attack, his arms still hurt and trembled.
The power of just the aftershock was enough to make him respect the monster in front of him all over again.
“I actually underestimated you.
Interesting.
Hey, small fry, come at me again!”
“Yeah!
This time, I’m not just going to make you step back.
I’m going to fight until you acknowledge me and stop calling me small fry!”
“Hah, you really dare to say it, small fry.
Where did that courage come from?
Without that dumb woman helping you, I don’t even need both hands to deal with you.”
A brand new exchange began.
Though calling it an exchange was generous.
It was more like a one sided battle from beginning to end.
Every attack Subaru made was precisely blocked, defended against, or caught.
Reid’s defense was far more refined than Subaru had imagined, and he could always follow a perfect defense with a sharp counterattack.
Subaru carefully thought about every move Reid made.
Every attack.
He did not think he could defeat Reid right now.
He did not think his attacks could hurt Reid either.
But that was fine.
What he needed to do now was understand Reid’s attack habits and attack routes, then imitate and learn from them.
Like a sponge absorbing seawater, he would fill himself as much as possible.
“Oh, this is a little interesting, small fry.”
From the very first exchange, Reid had already noticed Subaru’s intention.
But he did not expose it.
On the contrary, he kept cooperating with Subaru.
If Reid directly used explosive power and attacked like a storm, Subaru would not be able to endure it.
He would probably declare his defeat in less than three seconds.
But Reid did not do that.
He cooperated with Subaru.
Just like pouring too much water into a cup at once would only make it overflow and go to waste, matching Subaru’s rhythm slowly, not actively launching fierce attacks, and instead continuously blocking his attacks and teaching him how to defend was the best training method.
Reid could clearly end the fight quickly.
He could clearly deny Subaru any room to grow.
But strangely enough, Reid saw that Subaru’s talent was not bad.
In fact, he could be counted among those with fairly decent aptitude.
Of course, the relationship they had built during this time was also important.
From being instantly defeated with absolute certainty at the beginning, to now being able to put up a decent and beautiful exchange of offense and defense—only one month had passed.
“So you weren’t just joking around, you bastard.”
Damn you!!!”
Reid laughed wildly.
There was no anger hidden in his roar.
“That’s right!
Be happy, jealous, and envious, Big Brother Reid!”
Subaru smiled too.
The sword in his hand did not stop, continuing to strike with great momentum.
_________
“I’m… completely exhausted————!!”
Subaru collapsed onto the grass.
The sword in his hand was tossed onto the ground beside him.
The cool look he had while saying those bold words earlier was completely gone, leaving only a miserable appearance behind.
In the end, he still had not made Reid move even one step.
“Of course.
Your opponent is me.
If it were some nameless third rate swordsman, they probably wouldn’t be your match anymore.
Though you’re still a small fry.”
Reid still stood leisurely beside Subaru.
“I’ve reached third rate level already?!”
“Third rate, second rate, it’s all trash.
All small fry.
There’s no real difference.
When you’re qualified to become my little brother, I’ll stop calling you small fry, bastard.”
Reid spoke arrogantly.
“So if I reach that point, does that mean I’ve cleared the trial?”
Subaru asked curiously.
“Depends on my mood.”
“That’s a very Reid answer.”
Subaru panted as he looked up at the blue ceiling.
He was still far, far away from defeating Reid.
He was still very far from his beautiful otherworld life.
But he no longer felt as impatient as he had during the past few days.
Because—
“Hoi-sho, hoi-sho, Master!”
Shaula came up carrying a large bucket of water.
“Ah, thanks for going through the trouble—”
Before Subaru could finish speaking, Shaula, who was anxiously trying to help him, accidentally failed to watch her step.
“Uwah!
Move, Master!”
All the water in the bucket splashed onto Subaru, turning him into a drenched mess.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Now that’s what a small fry should look like!”
Reid burst out laughing.
“How should I put this…”
Listening to Shaula’s endless apologies and Reid’s mocking laughter, Subaru sighed.
Then, from the bottom of his heart, he smiled and said,
“No matter how you look at it, this is my isekai life.”
Starting from zero—his life in another world.
(TL:Chills…literal chills)