Subaru Natsuki, who returned from the new Three Kingdoms

Natsuki Subaru recalled the last scene he saw when he died for the first time in this other world.

The white-haired woman who had saved him from the petty thugs collapsed beside him.

He could only watch helplessly as the other person lost their life.

Helplessly, I swore in my heart that I wanted to protect the other person...

Natsuki Subaru paused for a moment...

"I was too weak."

"So weak that if someone swings a knife, I can't even see what's happening."

"I wanted to save someone very important to me, and I also wanted to save myself. But I couldn't do anything; I could only watch helplessly as that person died in front of me."

Subaru Natsuki looked up.

"That feeling was terrible."

"At that moment, I realized that a person can be standing as if they are kneeling."

"Hands and feet are still there, and eyes are open, but I just can't stretch them out."

"At that time, I thought that if I could still live one day, even if I had to travel day and night, even if I had to die a thousand times, I had to learn some skills."

"I don't aspire to be invincible, but at least next time I won't be like a wooden stake, only able to watch."

The only sound in the training ground was the morning breeze.

Wilhelm's hands trembled, and his lips opened and closed several times.

Natsuki Subaru continued:

"So when I got to the battlefield, I wanted to become stronger. At least next time, I wouldn't be unable to do anything."

"I don't like to see the people I want to protect die in front of me."

"What I dislike even more is that I'm standing right there, yet I don't even have the right to reach out."

Wilhelm's gaze toward Subaru Natsuki shifted from curiosity to near-hysterical shock.

Subaru's words just now were like a sword.

It pierced a wound that had been scabbed over for years.

The reason for picking up the sword.

guard.

He was like that before.

He wanted to protect Theresa.

He wanted to protect his wife, who was both excessively gentle and excessively strong.

He once achieved...

But it turned out to be just a fleeting illusion...

He eventually...

Nothing was saved...

Sword Demon instinctively tightened his grip on the wooden sword in his hand.

The boy next to me was obviously too young.

His words were so absurd they were unbelievable.

But at that moment, Wilhelm saw something so familiar in him that it made his heart ache.

It's not swordsmanship.

It's not a talent either.

Rather, it was the most primal, clumsy, and irreplaceable desire before picking up the sword.

I want to protect it.

I want it to be faster.

I want to be even stronger.

I want to at least reach out a hand to the person most important to me before they fall.

Wilhelm suddenly felt a sense of absurdity.

The things that I had never been able to say directly to anyone in my entire life were actually said in such a clumsy yet straightforward way by a boy I had just met.

This is not a junior.

He is not simply a swordsman worthy of admiration.

He was not some extraordinary person who could get his grandson Reinhard drunk.

In that instant, Wilhelm almost felt that the person standing in front of him was not Subaru Natsuki, but another version of himself who had once held a sword but failed to protect everything.

After a long pause, he slowly spoke:

"I see."

Subaru Natsuki looked at him.

Wilhelm's voice was lower and calmer than before.

"Your reason for taking up the sword is not frivolous."

He paused for a moment, as if he had finally confirmed something.

"Natsuki Subaru, I think I understand why Reinhard became your friend."

"You are a respectable person, and someone I can debate swords with."

Natsuki Subaru smiled – as expected of an old hero, even his speech is so refined, I can't be outdone!

He immediately stood up:

"Of course! Even though I, Natsuki Subaru, am often misunderstood, I am still me."

He originally wanted to add, "Who in the world is not misunderstood?" but then he felt that the old general in front of him understood him quite well, so there was no need to explain so much.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the training ground.

"Hey buddy! I've been looking for you for ages!"

Ferut's voice came from afar.

She ran into the training ground and was stunned to see Natsuki Subaru covered in sweat, his clothes disheveled, and his wrists red.

"What were you doing just now?"

"A sword duel."

Subaru Natsuki spoke with righteous indignation.

Felt looked at Wilhelm, then at Subaru Natsuki.

"You're still hungover this morning, and you're already bullying this old man??"

"Cough cough, what do you mean by bullying!" Wilhelm, who was drinking tea, almost spat it out.

Am I, a dignified sword demon, really this weak?

"This is a friendly exchange."

Natsuki Subaru corrected.

"How can something between heroes be called bullying?"

Ferut's lips twitched.

"Alright, stop being a hero. Reinhard is looking for you."

She paused, then added somewhat reluctantly:

"The silver-haired half-elf, accompanied by his pink-haired maid, came to express his gratitude."

Subaru Natsuki's eyes lit up.

"Amelia is here?"

Ferut pursed her lips.

Why are you so happy?

"The candidate lord personally came to visit, which shows his respect for talent."

Chapter 20: 020. Emilia and Ram Arrive

"The candidate lord personally came to visit, showing such respect and courtesy to scholars."

Natsuki Subaru sighed.

"It seems today will be anything but simple."

After he finished speaking, he suddenly stroked his chin and fell into deep thought.

"However, since it is a matter of respecting and valuing talent, I cannot leave immediately."

Ferut looked at him warily.

"What are you planning to do now?"

"You don't understand."

Subaru Natsuki's expression was solemn, as if he were recounting some important military or national matter.

"In the past, Liu Bei visited Zhuge Liang's thatched cottage three times, but Zhuge Liang refused to see him the first two times. Only on the third visit did he finally come out of seclusion. This is the rule for those who achieve great things throughout history."

Ferut was completely confused—who was Liu Bei? And who was Zhuge Liangping?

But she was too lazy to ask and simply went along with Subaru Natsuki's words:

"so what?"

"So since Emilia is inviting me for the first time, I'd better not go out."

Subaru Natsuki thought about it more and more and it made more sense.

"Firstly, it shows that I, Natsuki Subaru, am not someone who can be recruited easily."

Secondly, it also allows us to see if she is eager to recruit talented individuals.

When she comes a third time, I'll push open the door again, and I'm sure I'll make her overjoyed.

Ferut was silent for two seconds.

"Brother."

"Ok?"

Are you still hungover?

"I am perfectly sober."

"A sober person wouldn't make someone who comes to express their gratitude make three trips."

Felt stepped forward and grabbed Subaru Natsuki's sleeve.

Subaru Natsuki instinctively shrank back.

"What are you doing? I'm imitating the Milk Dragon!... Ugh, the Crouching Dragon!"

"You're not even trying to imitate me!"

Ferut gritted her teeth and dragged him out.

"They're already at your doorstep, and you're still trying to hide and put on airs? Do you want that maid to go back and tell Roswaal that you're actually a hungover idiot?"

"This is called 'suppressing first, then elevating'!"

"That's called being stupid!"

Natsuki Subaru tried to grab onto a wooden stake at the edge of the training ground.

Ferut lifted her foot and stepped on his shoe.

"go!"