T/N: Let me just clarify it here for those of you who may not have understood.
The IF Route chapters are NOT canon to this story.
It’s just a possibility that could occur if the MC went mad.
Because Paul had been mentally shaken, the morning sword training naturally ended without result.
Gawain naturally had no objection.
Although Rudeus kept shouting things like “Gawain should be the strongest knight in the world, at least during the day!”, Gawain maintained his usual stance—while he actively learned swordsmanship, he did not value it highly.
Paul’s teachings also left Gawain with quite a few objections.
For example, things like “the North God Style can at most be considered fighting with a sword, it can’t even be called swordsmanship.”
Gawain didn’t think much of the North God Style’s techniques either, but he still quite approved of its spirit—wasn’t fighting ultimately about winning or surviving?
Although Gawain was also deeply influenced by the Viltrum Empire’s sense of honor, at the very least, the ultimate goal of battle should not be to die.
A glorious death was for warriors—the emperor could not be merely a warrior.
What truly made Gawain displeased was Paul’s definition of swordsmanship.
Using a sword was not swordsmanship.
Being skilled at using a sword to defeat or kill opponents was not swordsmanship.
Then what counted as swordsmanship?
Although he had not demonstrated it, Gawain had already learned every sword technique he had asked Paul to demonstrate.
In other words, Gawain believed himself to already be an Advanced-level swordsman in all three major styles.
Furthermore, since he considered the Longsword of Light to be merely an accelerated Soundless Longsword, then naturally he also counted as a Saint-level Sword God Style swordsman.
Of course, Gawain had not revealed his swordsmanship results.
This was not to hide his abilities.
Rather, he believed that even if he demonstrated them, Paul would certainly deny him.
“This is not swordsmanship—you’ve merely perfectly imitated it.”
It would probably be something like that.
What an insufferable guy.
But really—perfect imitation, full understanding of its purpose, and the ability to respond in any situation with the optimal choice and variation—wasn’t that what it meant to have “mastered” something?
Gawain could not understand at all.
So, naturally, Gawain decided to abandon Paul as a useless teacher.
Putting away the wooden sword, he concluded decisively:
“Feeling-based teaching really is unreliable.”
Rudeus, standing beside him like a lackey, also agreed:
“Father’s teaching really is quite vague.”
From the second floor, Paul—bare-chested and wiping himself—stuck his head out the window and shouted unhappily:
“Hey!
I heard everything you two brats just said!”
Rudeus shrank his neck, then seemed to remember something and asked Gawain for his opinion:
“Big brother Gawain, since we’re not practicing swordsmanship this morning, want to go out and play?”
“Go out and play” was actually a sort of code between the two.
It roughly began at the end of last year, when Zenith once suggested that Gawain take Rudeus out into the village or outdoors to play.
The original intention was probably to promote friendship between the two children, letting the older and more independent Gawain lead and protect her son.
In any case, Rudeus was dragged out the door by Gawain as if he were being sent to the execution ground.
At that time, Rudeus had almost cried—no, he actually did cry.
His legs were so weak he couldn’t even stand.
Gawain forcefully dragged him all the way to a distant plain outside the village, even grinding down the heels of his shoes, and bluntly ordered him to demonstrate the results of his magic training.
At first, the scene was quite miserable.
Rudeus shrank like a bullied child—no, this was bullying.
He was overwhelmed by fear, obeying Gawain’s domineering commands like a slave, crying with a runny nose, even while releasing powerful magic with his hands, yet without the slightest intention or courage to resist.
Then, very quickly, it developed into an exchange and discussion in the field of magic, sharing knowledge.
Rudeus soon realized that the black-haired, blue-eyed boy who had recently been coming to his house was actually quite easy to understand.
Moreover, Gawain’s logical thinking aligned extremely well with Rudeus, who was fundamentally a modern human from a technological era.
In terms of scientific literacy, Gawain even surpassed him, a high school dropout, making the thirty-something shut-in feel quite ashamed.
Additionally, Gawain gave some “praise” to Rudeus’s displayed magical talent, exploratory thinking, and research results—in simple terms, rational evaluations backed by logic.
Even without any emotional component, it still made Rudeus feel elated for quite a while.
Before he realized it, Rudeus had already fully disclosed his ideas on “methods of increasing magic capacity” and “methods of learning chantless casting.”
However, he hadn’t regretted it for even a second.
Returning to the point, ever since then, in their shared context, “going out to play” had almost become synonymous with “finding a place with no one around to practice and discuss magic.”
Gawain felt that this kind of tacit understanding had a very Viltrumite agent-like feeling, so he didn’t dislike it.
In response to Rudeus’s invitation, Gawain nodded:
“Sure.
I’ll go home on the way.”
Rudeus gave a small cheer and suggested:
“Can I bring the Plant Encyclopedia?
There should be many new plants in spring to identify!
Should we invite Sylphiette along?”
Gawain responded rationally, already used to this:
“The book I gave you mostly records plants from the central-southern regions of the Central Continent.
The overlap with vegetation in the northwestern Fittoa region is not high.
As for Sylphiette, I’ll ask her later.”
Rudeus looked at Gawain as if he were looking at a block of wood and said helplessly:
“It’s fine.
Besides, if it’s Sylphiette, how could she refuse going out with you?”
Soon enough, Rudeus brought along some biscuits packed by Zenith and a thick book, and went with Gawain to visit Gawain’s home.
“Excuse me!”
At the entrance, Rudeus politely bowed and called out loudly.
Gawain still couldn’t figure out where Rudeus had learned this etiquette.
In the past few years traveling with Elinalise, he had visited nine countries, and none had such customs.
Gawain simply suggested:
“At this time, only Sylphiette is at home.
Laws is on rotation duty in the forest, and Mother Debbie is still working in the fields, so there’s no need for that.”
Rudeus smiled casually, then complained about Gawain’s way of addressing his family again:
“Big brother Gawain, why do you still call your parents like it’s a divorced and remarried family?”
Gawain did not respond.
Rudeus also said no more.
After all, even he himself still couldn’t treat Paul and Zenith as his real parents, despite them being his biological parents in this life.
Clearly, he was much worse than Gawain.
Gawain hung up his practice wooden sword, walked to his room, and pushed the door open.
Hearing the sound, Sylphiette immediately turned around, hugging the back of her chair, looking over with a happy expression.
Seeing Sylphiette sitting at the desk, Gawain felt a bit pleased and asked:
“Sylphiette, want to go out and play together?”
Sylphiette shyly brushed her now longer green hair and asked:
“Big brother, are you still planning to go out with Rudeus to practice magic like before?”
Gawain skipped over the details and nodded:
“More or less.”
Rudeus quickly poked his head in.
Although he envied—no, despised—a certain someone who still slept with his beautiful stepsister despite his age, helping the younger generation was the duty of an adult.
Raising the book in his hand, he added:
“There’s also a picnic, an outing, and plant identification!
If you know wild vegetables, you won’t starve even if your parents kick you out, right?”
The latter half was unnecessary.
Sylphiette looked at the tomcat she saw him as with vigilance and refused:
“If Rudeus is going too, then I won’t!”
“Nooooo!!!”
In the end, the three of them still went out together.
Author’s Note 1: In this work, all “sorcery” is written as “magic.”
Author’s Note 2: At present, Sylphiette’s hands have not been burned (so she is not afraid of fire), and she has not been bullied (the bullies are only about two years old).
T/N: It seems the IF Route chapter wasn’t well received or the people who didn’t like it were very vocal about it.
You guys can vote in the comments if I should keep posting the IF Route chapters or if I should stick to posting the normal story chapters.