7: A Fulfilling Daily Life
Subaru got up from bed and opened the window; only faint sunlight shone outside.
He grabbed a towel and did a simple wash-up, then changed into his workout clothes, took his wooden sword, and headed to the training ground.
The field was still empty, and Subaru began his daily routine training with practiced skill.
After several sessions of guidance from Reinhild, Subaru's swordsmanship had truly gotten on the right track.
Yes—Reinhild came to instruct him once every three days, and even now, Subaru was extremely grateful for her teachings.
"Good morning, Subaru."
An elegant voice greeted him.
The purple-haired knight Julius appeared on the field holding a wooden sword.
He was Subaru's second friend in the knight order, a perfect knight.
For instance, he always arrived just as Subaru was finishing his workout and resting.
If Reinhild was around, he made sure not to appear.
Sometimes, Subaru mused that if not for his time-looping sacrifice to save him in the royal capital
—if not for his clear understanding of his own strength
—if he wasn't already part of the knight order, then their first meeting would likely have ended in a deadly duel.
This thought came from the dynamic between Julius and Reinhild, and because Julius himself was a very awkward person.
For example, if he wanted to instruct Subaru, he'd start by mocking him.
Something along the lines of: "You're so terrible that I, in order not to disgrace the knight order, must train you myself to fix your disgraceful stance."
However, after spending time together, Subaru came to understand Julius' true nature.
He was a tsundere who liked playing the villain.
Once you got used to his thorny way of speaking, you could see that his intentions were genuinely for your benefit.
Incidentally, Subaru considered Julius both a friend and his biggest romantic rival.
Their wooden swords clashed as they sparred intensely.
Julius could suppress his strength to be just slightly above Subaru's.
Smack!
Subaru was knocked down, but he still managed to hold on to his wooden sword.
Seeing this, Julius didn't hesitate to praise Subaru's hard work and progress.
"I've still got a long way to go, but thanks for the instruction."
Subaru shook his head as he spoke.
He knew his strength was only just barely at a guard's level.
"I'm not exaggerating. Everyone can clearly see how much you've improved."
Subaru grasped Julius' hand and stood up.
They chatted a while longer, and once his stamina had recovered a bit, Subaru said his goodbyes and returned to his room for a quick rinse.
Indeed, since the former knight order members were nobles, his room was a one-bedroom suite with a bathroom and a living room.
By the way, many noble knights considered this type of room too plain and refused to live in them.
Subaru then headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.
Unlike when he first arrived, now several knights respectfully greeted him along the way.
This change was due to a task Subaru completed over ten days ago.
He hadn't expected that what started as a simple missing pet case would reveal a massive black-market operation.
In short, the missing pet had gone to find its master, and Subaru ended up being captured and mistaken for a slave.
Then came multiple deaths and returns.
During his first death, Subaru identified a low-level leader.
On the second loop, with Rem's help, he identified the true mastermind and some spies within the knight order.
On the third loop, just when he was wondering how to solve things, he encountered Julius.
With Julius' help, they triggered an operation led by Marcos, resulting in an official commendation.
After breakfast, Subaru picked up food for the land dragon and went to the dragon stable where knights' dragons were housed.
His dragon, Patrasche, a gift from Reinhild, stood up upon seeing him.
"Morning. Come, eat up."
Patrasche let out a soft noise in response.
Subaru was no longer surprised—he already knew how intelligent dragons were.
He gently stroked Patrasche's scales.
For Subaru, Patrasche was the best birthday gift he had ever received—both because it was a gift from Reinhild, and because during the anti-trafficking operation, she had risked her life to save him.
Of course, Subaru wasn't the only one who personally took care of their dragon.
Though the knight order had hired staff for this purpose, most knights saw their dragons as life partners, so many of them chose to care for their own when they had free time.
Most of Subaru's knowledge on caring for dragons came from Julius.
"Well then, how about a walk after breakfast?"
Subaru climbed onto Patrasche.
Thanks to several riding lessons from Reinhild and Patrasche's own intelligence, Subaru had just barely learned to maintain his balance.
By the way, perhaps because Rem had sat behind him during the anti-trafficking operation to help guide Patrasche, he didn't panic at all when Reinhild first pressed close behind him to teach him how to ride.
After circling twice on Patrasche, Subaru let her roam freely and started walking toward the noble district.
"Good afternoon, Subaru-kun."
"Good afternoon, Rem."
Sometimes, Subaru felt he and Rem were a little too close.
What started as daily healing sessions to relieve his fatigue eventually evolved into her teaching him how to use a whip.
While a flail and a whip were quite different, among Subaru's acquaintances, Rem's weapon was the closest in style.
Subaru also felt that he had a natural talent with the whip—so much so that his whip-wielding self could probably beat his sword-wielding self.
Still, he had no intention of giving up on the sword.
One reason: it looked cool.
Another: the whip had a much lower potential ceiling than the sword, and Subaru hoped to someday get closer to Reinhild's level.
As their closeness grew, Rem began to offer help more proactively.
For example, she bathed Patrasche every few days and even prepared lunchboxes for him now.
"Still can't see Roswaal?"
"No, Subaru-kun. Well then, see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
The blue-haired maid walked away.
Subaru sighed.
Sometimes, he had the feeling that Rem was falling for him.
He had made his feelings for Reinhild clear—openly or subtly—many times, but Rem's behavior remained unchanged.
More and more, she even began helping him come up with plans to win Reinhild over.
"…Is this really just gratitude?"
Subaru murmured to himself, then left the grass and went on to his afternoon responsibilities.
He fulfilled his duties in the royal guard.
Sometimes, this meant patrolling the streets; more often, it meant handling the small tasks no one else wanted to do.
Of course, Subaru also helped civilians in need along the way.
Thanks to this, tasks had gradually become easier for him.
At night, Subaru returned to the knight order headquarters to report his task results, then rushed to the cafeteria for dinner.
After that, he fed Patrasche, took her for a walk, cleaned up, and read a bit.
With his eyes slowly closing, knight Subaru's fulfilling day came to an end.