Opening the door, Toyota subtly put his hands behind his back in a stretching gesture.
"Good morning. You surprised me. That's pretty convenient timing for you to be here exactly when I opened the door."
Rei narrowed her eyes and sniffed the air before her sharp gaze landed on his posture.
"Why do I smell blood?"
Great. She's a bloodhound…
Wow, that description is actually even more accurate when I think about it.
"It's no big deal. Just an accident."
"You are lying."
Looking over his head to scan the room, she didn't see anything immediately off.
"I mean technically, it was an accident, so I'm not exactly lying."
"If you don't tell me the truth," she said calmly, "I will sleep on the floor of your room, watching you sleep."
Toyota didn't know why, but that was actually very unnerving to hear.
Flustered, he could only stare at her in disbelief.
"Wouldn't that be more of a punishment for you?"
She didn't respond. She just stared at him, those piercing blue eyes.
Toyota blinked.
In that moment, Rei was suddenly in front of him.
Before he could react, she grabbed his arms from behind. He winced as her expression darkened, her eyes falling to his wrists—bright red where the skin had been ripped off, dried blood smeared along his arms, and scratch marks covering his forearms.
"Self-harm is a disgusting habit," she said coldly.
"What are you talking about? I didn't do this on purpose."
Her gaze softened slightly, becoming more complicated. She gently let go of his arms. What he'd just said... she could tell it was only a half-truth.
But more than that, his emotions felt off. He wasn't panicked. Just… tired. Disgusted—with himself.
"If that's true," she said quietly, "then why are there skin fragments and blood beneath your fingernails?"
"...What?"
Raising his hands to his face, he checked.
She was right.
There was something under his nails.
Dried blood.
A chill ran down his spine.
...Am I becoming Subaru, with his self-harm habit?
"Does it hurt?" she asked curiously, noting how he barely reacted—no sign that he even felt anything.
"No. All I feel is a sting."
Ever since he got Subaru's mentality, his pain sensation had dulled. He could still feel pain… but it didn't affect him much.
Subaru—he kept moving in that one loop, even when Roswaal beat him. Even after being kicked through doors and windows. Even after Elsa cut out his eye.
And he still got up.
So compared to that?
This sting was nothing.
...And I'm going to have to experience that later.
An involuntary shudder passed through his body.
Rei watched his expression carefully. There was no point in pressing further—his mind was already buried under layers of something deeper.
Without a word, Rei moved.
In one swift motion, she swept his legs out from under him with a well-placed kick—and caught him in a princess carry before he could hit the floor.
Surprised and embarrassed, Toyota blustered.
"Wh-What are you doing?!"
Was she always this touchy with people… or only me?
Her lips tightened as she responded, voice flat and unamused.
"I'm taking you to get treated."
"I can walk by myself."
"That would take too long."
She crouched slightly, adjusting her stance as if preparing to launch off the ground—with him still in her arms.
Toyota's eyes widened.
"...I really wish I never left the room."
***
A small group—a few members of the Council of Wisemen—were convening a private meeting. It was private because what they were about to discuss—if spoken in front of the full council—would be considered treasonous. They met in a dark chamber lit only by flickering lanterns. Everything about the setting screamed scheming.
A dark-haired, scrawny-looking man, whose face could easily be mistaken for that of a swindler, stood up and loudly complained.
"It's your fault that bitch found a new master so quickly! We should've hired the assassination after the Selection. Any person that monster supports is guaranteed to win the throne. We need to hire that woman again."
A balding man stood, voice sharp.
"You're the fool. If we hired her after the Selection, all security around the candidates would be heightened. Don't you know that's when the knights swear fealty to the candidate who impresses them the most?"
Another man—short in stature but seething with rage—snapped,
"The Sword Saint, Reinhard van Astrea, is a monster. A catastrophe waiting to be unleashed. Why do you think we had to pass the Reinhard Law—that she must not leave the kingdom unless directly ordered by the throne? Her Divine Protection of Mind Changing alone is too dangerous. She can't go unchecked. That beast needs to be chained."
He slammed a fist against the table.
"She should've been completely excluded from serving as anyone's knight. Whoever wields her has the power to destroy the world. Her loyalty should lie solely with the kingdom, not some lord. I can't understand the fools who pretend she's human—she's death itself."
"We can't possibly defeat the Sword Saint," the swindler muttered under his breath.
"Do we know anything about this substitute candidate she found?" another man asked with a sneer.
"No. We were all in the same meeting you were in," someone scoffed. "We know what you know."
"If we can hire that woman again—with some noble's funding," one of them said thoughtfully, "she could finish the job, couldn't she?"
"No," the balding man replied, shaking his head. "I heard her heavy hitter—the Bowel Hunter—was killed by the Sword Saint during the last mission involving the previous candidate's assassination."
His eyes gleamed with cunning as he let out a low, humorless laugh.
"But the answer is simple. After the Selection, there's a mandatory gathering for all knights. We simply isolate the bear from the cub. We don't need the Bowel Hunter to eliminate a lone candidate. Just some mercenaries will do."
The swindler narrowed his eyes, hesitating before asking,
"What if it gets traced back to us through the mercenaries?"
"Simple," the balding man said with a grin, his lips curling into a dark, sinister expression.
"Everything we do… is for the kingdom."
***
He was lucky. Apparently, Rei had the Divine Protection that all ground dragons possessed—immunity to wind resistance. If she didn't, he probably would've died from whiplash.
After being carried at breakneck speed, he was eventually brought to the old Raisin grandma from before, for treatment. To his surprise, she was highly proficient in both water and healing magic. He watched, fascinated, as a glowing light formed in her hands, and a basketball-sized sphere of water enveloped his wrists. The skin began mending and regrowing. Pale scratch marks faded like they'd never existed.
The sheer efficiency of it disturbed his sense of reality. If healing magic was this effective… then how long would most battles even last without some overwhelming force? No wonder people in video games always target the healer first.
After scolding him for getting injured—despite not knowing how it happened—the grandma finally let him go.
When he finally returned back, Rei had somehow prepared a massive spread for breakfast.
He couldn't understand it. She had been with him nearly the entire time—so when did she cook this? Before he woke up? But wouldn't that mean some of the food should be cold by now? It made no sense.
She sat side by side with him, eating the exact same meal. At first, she glanced at him hesitantly as he ate. Then, a determined gleam appeared in her eyes as she began scolding him.
"Don't eat like some uncouth goblin," she said sharply. "As a candidate, appearance and etiquette are everything."
Did he really eat that undignified? Did it even matter?
Eventually, the food ended up in the stomach anyway, so why did it have to look fancy going in?
But no—according to Rei, it did matter.
Looking at her with mild exasperation, he finally asked, "If I become like you say… wouldn't I just be a figurehead?"
"What kind of attitude do you believe a candidate should have, Rei?" he asked, his tone half-genuine, half-curious.
At that, her eyes sparkled. She sat straighter, and with dramatic flair, proudly declared,
"They must have a huge presence, unbending will, decisiveness to overcome problems quickly, and most importantly—vision!"
"Vision?" he echoed.
"Yes. Vision! A clear idea, a goal, and a plan to achieve that goal! … So what's your vision?"
That question lingered in the air for a moment.
My vision…
He hadn't really thought that far ahead. His original plan barely stretched past exterminating the Witch Cult and saving the main cast. But Rei was right—he was thinking too small. He was a candidate now. A king in the making.
He needed something bigger. Something lasting.
"I'm going to destroy the Witch Cult… kill the Three Great Mabeasts… and…" He glanced at Rei. "As your friend, I'll find a way to save your mom."
Rei's eyes widened. Her fork paused halfway to her mouth.
Did he really care that much about a woman he barely knew? She already sensed that his emotions were sincere—pure, even—but this… this was something else. Or maybe… was he saying this all for her? As a friend?
She couldn't even process it.
Toyota, unaware of her emotional shift, kept talking—trying to define his goals aloud.
"I'll reform the slums… into something better. Something this crappy government failed to do."I'll be strong—so strong that I won't have to rely on you."
At this, her expression hardened, her gaze sharpening—before turning to one of quiet resolve.
"You want to get stronger?"
"Yes," he said simply.
It was necessary. For his plan to work, he would have to face Petelgeuse alone. He was going to rely on his connection to Satella to resist any form of possession. If he could play the part right and get close enough, he could strike the madman down. Subaru had managed to fool him more than once with just the witch's scent, after all.
But swordsmanship alone wouldn't be enough. In the original battle against Sloth, even Julius wouldn't have won without Subaru's support. As much as he hated the green-haired lunatic, he also knew the truth. Before being twisted by Pandora and the incompatible Witch Factor, Petelgeuse had genuinely been a good person. A faithful follower. A kind soul. His insanity wasn't truly his fault.
And because of that... Toyota didn't want to hate him.
He only wanted to destroy the monster he'd become—and set the real Petelgeuse's soul to rest.
Suddenly, Rei stood up, her white coat rustling with the motion.
"I'll help you get stronger," she declared. "But—"
She leaned down toward him, tilting her head. Her long red hair fell forward, partly covering his vision as she stared at him—still seated—her face just above his.
Her lips curled into a teasing smirk. "You will always have to rely on me."
Then she grinned mischievously.
"After all… I am your knight."
At those words, he felt his heart skip a beat—thump, thump.
Why was it beating like that?
His face reddened, heat rushing to his cheeks. Embarrassed, he quickly looked down, hiding his face from her view.
He was brought out to the back of the mansion, where a large training ground stretched out—marked with a circular track and a wide sandy arena clearly meant for sword spars.
A servant came running out, carrying two wooden practice swords.
At the sight of the swords, a memory hit him—his duel with Julius, back when he was Subaru.
The feeling of being pummeled mercilessly flooded his mind.
Subaru's mentality skill hadn't dulled the pain in the dream. He'd felt everything—every bruise, every blow, every crack of the wooden sword slamming against bone.
Unconsciously, Toyota scratched at his wrist.
Rei, noticing the gesture, frowned slightly as her thoughts sharpened.
Does it itch every time he remembers pain?
Her instincts told her something—this habit was recent. His reaction to seeing the blood beneath his fingernails had been genuine. He hadn't expected it. Which meant the scratching... had only just begun.
She said nothing.
Training swords, while not lethal, were still brutal tools in the hands of the experienced. For the untrained, they often meant one thing: getting beaten down repeatedly until the lesson sank in.
Had he done swordsmanship before?
Grabbing the swords from the servant, Rei handed one to Toyota.
"Have you used a sword before?" she asked.
He hesitated. "...Yes," he replied feebly, not sounding convincing even to himself.
"I'm just going to gauge your skill," she said calmly as she stepped onto the sandy arena. "Feel free to come at me."
Her tone was even, almost casual—but Toyota knew better. She was watching everything.
He tightened his grip around the wooden sword. The weight was unfamiliar. Not too heavy, but not exactly light either. It felt real—solid—and the idea of swinging it at someone, even in practice, made his palms sweat.
Still, he stepped into the ring.
(AN: This chapter was harder to write than I thought because I kept having to redo, I'm too picky. I'm going to alter the timeline a bit on certain events in the future to make the story more entertaining.
I've set an official release schedule: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Although when I get bored, I add extra.
Bonus chapters will drop on Saturdays if my demands are met. 🔫
Trade deal:
You give me 70 power stones, and I give you a bonus chapter.
Sounds fair, right?)