The shuttle in the second dimension

　"Have you really thought it through? It will be very painful, Subaru." Looking at Subaru quietly, Lin Xuan confirmed with him.

　"I've thought about it!" Subaru shouted as if to show his determination.

　"Okay, no matter how loud you shout, it won't show your determination. However, since you said you have made up your mind, let me see how firm your determination is." With that, Lin Xuan turned and left, walking towards his room.

　"Take the stick I gave you this morning and go to the open space in the courtyard. I will be waiting for you there."

　-

　Before asking Lin Xuan to help him become stronger, Subaru had already explained this to Ram, hoping that Ram would agree to it. Perhaps considering Subaru's performance in the Warcraft incident and that Subaru's own strength really needed to be improved, Ram agreed to Subaru's request.

　So after Lin Xuan agreed to this, Subaru immediately ran back to his room to get the stick.

　Lin Xuan, who had arrived at the open space in the courtyard earlier than Subaru, was standing there quietly.

　"Subaru, let me see what kind of determination you can possess before you grow up in that despair."

Chapter 36 Training

　Subaru didn't let Lin Xuan wait in the clearing for long. Shortly after Lin Xuan arrived, he also ran over with a wooden stick. Perhaps because of the long journey, Subaru's breathing was a little rapid.

　"Since we're here, let's start." Without any intention of letting Subaru rest, Lin Xuan started training directly.

　"I told you before that since I don't have any memory about swordsmanship, I can't teach you systematically. What I can do is let you learn on your own through constant fighting. As for how much you can learn, it depends on your own luck." After saying that, Lin Xuan walked towards Subaru.

　"This time, I will take the initiative to attack, but don't worry, I will try my best to adjust my strength to a level similar to yours." Having said that, Lin Xuan took a step forward and rushed towards Subaru, while also starting to swing the wooden stick in his hand.

　boom--

　Perhaps because he had reduced his own strength, the wooden stick swung by Lin Xuan was not as fast as Subaru had imagined. But even though he could clearly see the trajectory of the wooden stick, Subaru's body still could not react at all, and he still did not have time to swing the stick to block Lin Xuan's attack.

　With a dull thud, Lin Xuan's wooden stick struck Subaru directly in the middle of his left shinbone. While Lin Xuan's previous experience with that strange state had nearly caused him to do something he regretted, the improvement in his strength was undeniable. His control over both his physical strength and the dark destructive force had greatly improved. This allowed Lin Xuan to better control his power, so while the force he struck at Subaru was painful, it didn't cause any significant damage. At most, it was a minor injury that could be healed with a day's rest.

　"Ah!!" The pain from his left calf made Subaru cry out in pain. If he hadn't held back, he would have thrown the stick in his hand away.

　Looking at Subaru, who was grimacing in pain but still adjusting his posture to defend himself, Lin Xuan widened his eyes in surprise. "I underestimated you, Subaru."

　"Next, as long as you don't put down the stick in your hand, I will not stop attacking. Let me see how long your determination can allow you to hold on, Subaru." After saying that, Lin Xuan began to continue attacking Subaru.

　The next moment, Subaru's screams rang out one after another, echoing throughout the entire mansion.

　-

　In the afternoon, looking at Subaru watering the trees in the courtyard with a look of despair on his face, Lin Xuan, who was sitting cross-legged in the courtyard, curled his lips and asked helplessly.

　"Are you so hopeless? The injuries on your body are not as serious as when you were slashed open by the Gut Hunter."

　It would have been fine if Lin Xuan hadn't mentioned it, but as soon as he did, Subaru looked at him resentfully. "I almost passed out at that time, and Emilia Tan treated me afterwards. But now, not only am I still conscious, but you won't let me get treatment. Every time I move, I feel pain."

　"This is for your own good. Only when you know the pain and are afraid of it, will you work harder to prevent such a situation from happening again." Lin Xuan explained with a smile.

　"I know." Subaru curled his lips in dissatisfaction and said reluctantly, "I just complained." At this point, Subaru paused, and after a short silence, he continued, "Thank you for taking the time to train me."

　Subaru knew very well that Lin Xuan could choose not to train him. He was not related to him and he had no obligation to help him. Moreover, Lin Xuan had to spend a lot of time every day to redevelop the power he had forgotten. It was already very good that he could take time out to train himself.

　"If you really want to thank me, then work hard to become stronger and live well. I don't want my future life to become a reincarnation again and again." After saying that, Lin Xuan stood up, turned around and was about to leave. Before leaving, he waved to Subaru behind him.

　"The pain on your body will only last for one day at most. It will almost go away tomorrow. And then—" Having said this, Lin Xuan turned his head slightly, glanced at Subaru, raised the corner of his mouth, and looked at Subaru meaningfully, "Continue tomorrow."

　After saying that, Lin Xuan left, leaving Subaru with his eyes wide open, staring in the direction Lin Xuan left.

　"Just one day? Continue tomorrow?" Subaru muttered, his face suddenly becoming bitter.

　"Doesn't that mean I'll be in constant pain for the rest of my life!?" The more Subaru spoke, the more bitter his expression became. At the end, he screamed out in pain.

　"No way!!!"

　-

　In the evening, Rem came to Lin Xuan's room on time as usual and taught him to read.

　Halfway through teaching, Rem suddenly said, "Lin Xuan, weren't you a little too harsh when you trained Subaru this afternoon? Subaru's screams echoed throughout the mansion. His sister even complained that if she had known Subaru would be so noisy, she should not have agreed to his request."

　"There's nothing I can do about it." Shrugging helplessly, Lin Xuan continued, "I have no memory of swordsmanship, so I can't systematically teach him how to practice with the sword. Even when I swing the sword now, I still rely on the memories engraved on my body. So, I can only use this method to make him stronger." As he spoke, Lin Xuan waved his hand, indicating that Rem didn't need to worry at all.

　"Don't worry, I controlled the force of my blows very well. He'll be in pain, but he won't be seriously injured. And it won't affect his work much if he endures it."

　"It looks like Subaru will be in pain for a while."

　"If you want to become stronger quickly, you have to pay more." Lin Xuan said with a shrug.

　"That's right." Rem agreed with Lin Xuan's words.

　"Oh, right." As if remembering something, Rem took out a book.

　"You're probably almost done reading the book I showed you before, Lin Xuan. Now read this one. If you don't understand anything, you can always ask Rem." After saying that, Rem handed the book in his hand to Lin Xuan.

　"Thanks, Rem."

　"This is what Rem should do." In response to Lin Xuan's thanks, Rem shook his head and said with a smile.

　"Even so, I still want to thank Rem." Lin Xuan chuckled as he gently touched Rem's head.

　Feeling the friction between the warm palm and hair, Rem narrowed her eyes as if enjoying it, and her fair face was stained with a slight blush.

　"Ah."

Chapter 37: The Messenger

　The next morning after returning to the mansion, Lin Xuan was practicing swordplay in the open space in the courtyard. Just as he finished warming up and was about to start practicing swordplay,

　The sound of the earth dragon pulling the cart undoubtedly attracted the attention of Lin Xuan who was practicing with his sword.

　"If I remember correctly, those two should be the ones coming." Muttering to himself, Lin Xuan put the [Destruction] in his hand back into the scabbard hanging on his waist and walked towards the gate of the mansion.

　To be honest, he still wanted to see with his own eyes the old man known as the [Sword Ghost]. At the same time, Lin Xuan also wanted to know how his swordsmanship compared to the other party's swordsmanship. Of course, Lin Xuan also knew what was important and would not foolishly run to challenge others at this time.

　"The King's Selection has finally begun," Lin Xuan muttered as he headed towards the mansion's gate. Because he hadn't deliberately sped up, by the time he reached the gate, Felix, the messenger, had already been taken by Ram to meet Roswaal. Outside the mansion, only the dragon carriage and the old man in the driver's seat remained.

　He was an impressive old man. Apart from his attire, the old man gave Lin Xuan the feeling of a sharp sword that could be unsheathed at any time. Moreover, the old man exuded a domineering aura that was different from that of ordinary people.

　"Is this the Sword Ghost?" Lin Xuan thought as he walked down the stairs.

　Seeing Lin Xuan coming down the stairs, the old man jumped out of the driver's seat and asked, "Who are you?"

　Just as Lin Xuan could feel that the old man was not simple, the old man also discovered that Lin Xuan was not simple when he saw Lin Xuan for the first time.

　"Lady Emilia's knight, Lin Xuan. Kan.mao.zhongwen.wang." While introducing himself to the old man, Lin Xuan performed basic greeting etiquette to express his respect for the other party.

　"Wilhelm, the butler of the Karlsten family." After Lin Xuan introduced himself, the old man named Wilhelm also introduced himself and returned the respect Lin Xuan expressed to him.

　"The Karlsten family, the candidate for the king's choice?" Lin Xuan murmured, narrowing his eyes slightly.

　Just as Lin Xuan was about to say something, he saw Emilia and Subaru approaching from a distance, and immediately swallowed his words. Subaru had invited Emilia to the village for a "date," just as in the original novel. Although the plot had deviated from this, Emilia ultimately agreed to Subaru's request.

　"Welcome back, Lady Emilia." When Emilia approached, Lin Xuan bowed slightly and saluted. Wilhelm also saluted with Lin Xuan.

　Being called that by Lin Xuan, Emilia was not angry like she was yesterday, but accepted it calmly. This was also the result of yesterday's conversation. In front of outsiders, Lin Xuan was a knight loyal to Emilia, and in front of his own people, he was Emilia's good friend.

　After the ceremony, Lin Xuan saw Emilia's slightly puzzled look and immediately explained to her, "The envoy has been brought into the mansion by Ram and should have met with Count Roswaal by now."

　"Messenger, so... could it be?" After hearing Lin Xuan's explanation, Emilia seemed to remember something.

　Wilhelm seemed to understand what Emilia was referring to, and said, "As Emilia-sama thought, it is about the royal election."

　When the word "King's Choice" appeared, Subaru, who had returned with Emilia, immediately perked up. This scene happened to be seen by Lin Xuan, who shook his head helplessly.

　Lin Xuan admired Subaru's growth in the King's Selection arc, but it was undeniable that Subaru's behavior in the early stages of the King's Selection arc was outrageous. Although the plot had begun to deviate because of him, Lin Xuan believed that Subaru would still do the things in the original work.

　"Try to stop him when the time comes." Sighing inwardly, Lin Xuan looked at Wilhelm and listened to him continue.

　"Formally, I believe the messenger will explain in detail. Please return to the mansion."

　".Pager?" A complicated look flashed in Emilia's eyes and she nodded. "I understand. Let's go."

　Emilia said, without even turning her head, and took a step forward. After Emilia took a step forward, Lin Xuan also took a step forward and followed Emilia. However, before leaving, Lin Xuan nodded to Wilhelm to indicate that he was leaving.

　After Lin Xuan left with Emilia, Subaru hurriedly followed.

　Just like the original novel, Subaru was ultimately excluded from the conversation. Lin Xuan, who had originally not wanted to participate, instead followed Emilia because of the knight and participated in this important conversation.

　After opening the door to the reception room and letting Emilia, the 'master', enter first, Lin Xuan followed Emilia in. As soon as he entered, he saw Felix, the 'cat girl', talking to Roswaal in the reception room.

　When Felix saw Lin Xuan following Emilia, he showed a curious look.

　"Look? Who is this?"

　"Ah~~~~~This is Lady Emilia's knight, Lin Xuan~~~~~" Roswaal explained Lin Xuan's identity and name to Felix in that devilish tone.

　While introducing Lin Xuan to Felix, Roswaal also introduced Felix to Lin Xuan, "Lin Xuan~~~This is the envoy who is visiting this time, Felix Argyle, a water magician known as 'Qing', and also one of the candidates for the royal election, a knight of Duke Karsten."

　"Hello."

　"Hello meow."

　After the two greeted each other, the conversation began.

　From the beginning to the end of the conversation, Lin Xuan barely spoke a word, aside from greeting Felix. On the one hand, he had no talent for conversation, and on the other hand, this conversation was primarily about paging the candidates for the King's Choice, a matter that didn't require his opinion.

　After the conversation, Lin Xuan took Felix away. When he just opened the door, Lin Xuan saw Subaru talking to Wilhelm. He glanced at the tea tray and the tea set on it placed not far away, and Lin Xuan shook his head secretly.

　After saying goodbye to Lin Xuan, Felix got on the dragon carriage and left.

　-

　On the Dragon Car

　Felix, who was sitting in a room under the influence of the dragon, stuck his head out.

　"Master Will seems to care a lot about the boy who sent me out. And Master Will is actually waiting for the right moment to chat with that kid. I'm a bit surprised."

　"Those two young men weren't simple. The one I was chatting with, while seemingly ordinary, had the look in his eyes of someone who had experienced death multiple times. And the one who escorted you out was even more extraordinary. He looked ordinary, but he gave me a very dangerous feeling."

　"Eh~~~~!? Is this true?" Felix widened his eyes as if he heard something surprising.

　"It's really rare that he actually made Master Will feel in danger. It seems that the strength of that young man should not be underestimated."

Chapter 38