Chapter 73: Felix
Holding the wooden sword, Natsuki Subaru's breathing became somewhat irregular.
His gaze fixed tightly on the old man standing ahead.
Since accepting the old man's guidance, Subaru hadn't been able to touch him at all. If that was all, it would have been fine.
But on closer observation, Subaru could tell that the old man hadn't moved an inch from where he initially stood; his breathing was calm, and there wasn't a single bead of sweat on his forehead.
Even his sword swings used only one hand.
This made Subaru understand just how vast the gap between them was.
The old man standing there was like a towering mountain, while Subaru with his wooden sword was like a novice climber at the mountain's base, looking up and unable to see the mountain's full height.
Subaru had initially thought the guidance would be verbal only.
When they came to this patch of grass, the old man's attitude did seem like he planned to just give oral instruction.
But when the old man saw the two wooden swords in Subaru's hands, his attitude suddenly changed, and before Subaru knew it, things had escalated to this level.
"What's the matter? Is this your limit? It should be far beyond that," Wilhelm said quietly, watching Subaru and waiting for his attack.
"I'd love to say it's not, but now is no time to show off..." Subaru said, yet he didn't lower the wooden sword.
Seeing Subaru like this, Wilhelm's eyes showed a trace of satisfaction.
"You don't need to be humble. Some things can be seen at a glance, and your gaze right now is very good. That look of striving for something really brings back memories for me."
Wilhelm lifted his wooden sword and looked at the worn wood.
Considering Subaru said he hadn't been training long,
it was clear this young man practiced regularly.
One of his wooden swords still looked fairly new, but the other was almost a part of him.
When you use something long enough, it leaves a mark that belongs to you.
That wooden sword had already been completely stamped with Subaru's mark.
"Could it be that Old Wilhelm was once like me?" Subaru asked.
Wilhelm shook his head in denial.
"No, not quite, but there is one similarity. Alright, time is pressing. Use all your strength to attack."
"Ah, then I won't hold back, though I doubt it will be of much use."
"It seems you need a little incentive. No matter what you use, if you can hit me, I will teach you something useful."
Hearing this, Subaru's eyes brightened and a smile appeared on his face.
"Then it's settled!" With those words, Subaru took a step forward and charged.
This time he held nothing back. After all, if he actually touched the old man, he would gain something very useful, which would greatly help his strength.
The wooden sword swung heavily at Wilhelm. Subaru focused all his strength into the sword. Though untrained by any formal system, Subaru had figured out some small techniques during his training with Puck.
For example, the stance his feet should take to channel all his body power into the wooden sword, and how to position his wrists during the attack to avoid the sword flying out of his hand due to recoil.
Though his attack was effortlessly blocked by Wilhelm, Subaru kept attacking with the desperation of a man fighting for his life.
His system-enhanced body erupted with powerful force.
The wooden sword left afterimages, but still didn't find any opening.
Wilhelm silently endured Subaru's furious assault, his brows furrowing.
Not because Subaru posed any real threat, but because Subaru's posture reminded Wilhelm of himself long ago.
To test his guess, after blocking Subaru's wooden sword with one strike, Wilhelm launched an attack on Subaru for the first time.
There was no way Subaru could block this blow, but Wilhelm gave him time to retreat. What followed made Wilhelm pause for a moment.
Subaru made no attempt to dodge. His body tilted slightly, and his wooden sword slashed toward Wilhelm's arm.
Wilhelm gave up attacking and blocked Subaru's strike with his wooden sword.
At that moment, Subaru moved forward.
As long as he touched Wilhelm, Subaru considered it a victory, no matter if it was an attack or not.
Feeling confident of winning, Subaru was struck on the shoulder by Wilhelm's sharp sword blow. The force sent Subaru falling backward.
This basically declared Subaru's defeat.
Yet, gritting his teeth, Subaru used his last strength to throw his wooden sword at Wilhelm's foot.
Lying on the grass, Subaru sighed.
"I lost... Wilhelm-sensei is really amazing."
"You're not bad either. You almost touched me," Wilhelm said.
Subaru sat up and looked at the old man still standing in place.
The gesture Wilhelm made with his fingers made Subaru feel like that 'little bit' probably included the entire galaxy.
Dusting himself off, Subaru stood and took the wooden sword from Wilhelm.
Though he lost, the guidance could continue.
"You should rest a bit. There are some things I want to say to you."
"Okay. But what do you want to say, Wilhelm-sensei?"
"Take better care of yourself. Just now I could have easily split your upper and lower body apart. You were ready to trade injury for injury, right?"
"Yeah, I had to if I wanted to touch Wilhelm-sensei."
"That's not wrong when facing someone stronger. But if the gap is too big, you risk losing your life. From this sparring, I fear that when danger comes, you won't care about your own condition."
"..."
"Sometimes you have to gamble yourself, but this is not a life-or-death fight. Yet you still want to trade injuries. That's not good... You need to take care of yourself—not just for yourself, but for those who worry about you."
Looking at Wilhelm seriously, Subaru nodded to show he understood, though only Subaru himself knew if he truly took it to heart.
"Wilhelm-sama, so you're here. It's the first time I've seen you this enthusiastic."
Hearing the voice, Subaru and Wilhelm turned toward it. Three people were walking over together.
"Subaru-kun, are you okay?"
Subaru looked at Rem, who strode past Emilia and Felix.
Supported by her, he stood up.
Although he didn't really need help, Rem was so firm he couldn't refuse.
"Thank you," Subaru said. He then looked at the cat-eared girl approaching him, feeling a bit awkward.
"Um..." Subaru's mouth twitched as the cat-eared girl circled him, sniffing at him.
He had no idea what to say.
"Hm, he's a good person. To have Wilhelm-sama spar with you is really impressive," the cat-eared girl said, standing behind Subaru and placing her hands on his shoulders.
Her fingers lightly brushed his neck.
Subaru shivered and quickly pulled away.
Rem stepped in between them, looking at the cat-eared girl with a slightly unfriendly gaze.
The cat-eared girl smiled mischievously, clearly pleased.
"It's serious, isn't it? Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Felix Argyle. Please take care of me from now on."