Re:Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu - Volume 3 - Chapter 60

3.CH60. Wilhelm van Astrea 

–Let us talk of the man, Wilhelm Torias.

Wilhelm was born the third son of the Torias Noble Family, who lived in the countryside of the Kingdom of Lugnica. The Torias Nobility were an old family, situated in the Kingdom’s northern province of Gusteco, responsible for the territories along the Kingdom’s borders. However, their days of military glory were a thing of the past, and by the time Wilhelm was born they were little more than a small barony running mediocre lands with small population of serfs. They were the prime example of a noble family that had fallen into collapse.

His two elder brothers were modest and fit their position as successors to the title of feudal lord perfectly, which left Wilhelm, the third son, the benefits of never needing to worry about food, and the freedom to decide his own future.

As he was separated from his older brothers by a large span of years, Wilhelm was brought up without ever being taught anything about succeeding to lordship. Unlike his brothers he also lacked the skills of a civil worker. Instead, the moment he had something remotely like a plan for the future, was due to a meeting with one swing of a sword.

The sword was engraved with a solemn crest and put on display in one of the larger rooms of the mansion, a remnant of the time when the Torias Family had gained renown for their military exploits within the Kingdom. Now, the Treasured Sword was nothing more than a ruin of its former self, a relic put on display to showcase the past glory of the Torias Family in physical form.

Barely able to grasp the sword properly, Wilhelm took the Treasured Sword in his hands. Drawing the blade free of its scabbard, he was immediately overwhelmed by its stark beauty.

By the time he realized it, he had taken the bare sword into the wooded hills out back of the mansion, and it became his daily routine to swing it from dawn till dusk.

The first time he held a sword was in his eighth year. Gradually, he became accustomed to its weight and length so that by the time his arms and legs had grown out, and he was a young man of fourteen, there was no longer any trace of the awkward, unfit boy. No one within the Torias territory could best him with a sword.

“I’m going to the capital, and I’ll become a soldier in the Kingdom’s army. I’m going to be a knight.”

Fourteen was also his age when he said those silly words any boy thinks of and left his home behind.

Wilhelm, who had only thought of swinging his sword and hung around with the local troublemakers, started to feel this way after being lectured by his brother about what he planned to do with his future.

If he was having fun now, why should he worry about the future? While swinging his sword, he felt as though he was becoming stronger, and that was Wilhelm’s only true joy.

To Wilhelm who had no vision of the future, these words spoken by his older brother were harsh and cutting. Always being pressed for a sound argument, Wilhelm, who struggled to put his thoughts to words, could only blurt out that one statement.

After that was a back-and-forth of harsh words, before the worn-and-weary “You can never understand how I feel!” flew from his mouth, and he ended up taking only his sword and some coin before rushing out of the house.

It wasn’t the departure he had envisioned, but Wilhelm somehow managed to make it to the capital before the coins he had taken ran out. He had always planned on coming to the capital and proving himself with his sword. The only difference was that his plans had been hastened, and he had not received permission from his parents.

Wilhelm, who had arrived in high spirits at the capital, immediately set his feet towards the royal palace and the future where he would gain fame as a soldier in the Kingdom’s army.

If he had done this today, he would have been seen as a foolish dreamer and turned away at the gates.

As it was, the Kingdom was shaken from civil war with the Demi-Humans in the Eastern provinces, and in a position where they would accept just about any new recruit due to a lack of fighting men.

So that is the direction this young man, who knew a little of swordplay, went. He received a hands-raised welcome and entered into the Kingdom’s army with no resistance whatsoever.

This is how Wilhelm made his first steps onto the battlefield, without ever knowing hardship or having a setback.

His sword technique was sadly halted by the harsh wall of reality, and his pride took a heavy beating. This experience that brought him to his knees is one he would never forget–a baptism of one’s first battle that every soldier goes through.

Even so, Wilhelm’s skill with the sword easily surpassed that of what any normal fifteen year old boy who had never experienced war could achieve.

“So that’s it, huh. Life is so much easier than I thought.”

Seeing the young soldier standing with his sword thrust in atop a mountain of Demi-Human corpses on his first battle, no one could deny that his would be a future bathed in blood.

From dawn till dusk, Wilhelm would exhaust himself by swinging his sword every day. That was how he spent the six years from when he was eight, until he turned fourteen. Even after entering into the Kingdom’s army, he spent every allowable moment of his free time continuing to swing his sword. His skillfulness was already spreading among the knights who were veterans of battle, and the name of the swordsman from the countryside who had never received honors or medals before, became a symbol of hope for the Kingdom’s army, while within the Demi-Human army it was a cursed and wretched thing.

Without breaking to this harsh new reality, and without succumbing to self-importance, Wilhelm continued swinging his sword on the battlefield with a grim, solemn expression.

When his sword would cut through the flesh of another and he would be bathed in blood, proving that he was stronger than the opponent whose life he had taken—In that moment alone did he experience the seed of a dark joy.

After a time, Wilhelm began to smile as he cut down his opponents, and the name “Sword Demon” began to bring a fearful awe and hatred to the battlefield.

As such, the number of deeds at arms he performed quickly grew past what one could count with their fingers, yet Wilhelm still never received his knighthood. Without working with others, he would dive into the forefront and, never looking out for his comrades on the battlefield, would rampage within the enemy camp creating a bloody explosion before returning back to his side. —To someone such as that, there was no way the title of knight could be bestowed. In this Kingdom, where knights were chivalrous and worked to purify their spirits, Wilhelm was something of an enigma that didn’t quite fit in.

Wilhelm himself never did anything to try and change his situation. It was impossible for him to focus during battle on the lives of others and the purity of his spirit, to have honor like a knight. To him fighting meant death, the flow of blood and crushed life.

To him, who enjoyed that sensation more than anything, knighthood was not an option, and if it meant no longer being able to enjoy those sensations, he had no desire of becoming one either.

For a long time, this distorted craving for battle ate away at the young man’s heart.

The first seam in this life of his appeared when he was eighteen—After four years of serving in the Kingdom’s army, when there was not one soldier left who didn’t know the name “Sword Demon.”

–She had long, beautiful red hair and a profile that could make any man shake.

The fighting increased to new fronts, and with that Wilhelm was sent back once from the front lines to the capital for a period of rest, his arguments about it being unnecessary rejected.

Being abruptly freed from his time of walking the thin line between blood and death, Wilhelm, who had accrued such free time, took his beloved sword and snuck out of the castle gates. The Torias Family’s sword, which he had stolen from his own home upon leaving, was now quite battered, yet he had grown accustomed to having it with him over the ten years they had been together. It wasn’t as though he couldn’t use another blade, it was just that when he was throwing himself into a battle for the taking and losing of life, it was the most comforting thing to have with him.

With his beloved sword in one hand, Wilhelm headed towards a district on the edges of the capital under development. Under construction may have a nice ring to it, but he had heard that quite some time had passed since work was halted there. At the very least, by the time Wilhelm first made his way to the capital, work had already ceased, and there were still no plans to start up again. There was even talk that it would stay that way until the civil war with the Demi-Humans was finished.

“———-”

It was not a popular place early in the morning, and if it ever was, it was because of those with dark agendas who used it as a place to sleep, out of the way of prying eyes. A grouping of unimportant nobodies that he only had to frighten away with a rush of his aura, scattering them out of sight.

Relaxing, Wilhelm focused his thoughts and drew his sword — one swing.

He brought into mind the wooden dummy he had seen and fought with tens-of-thousands of times over. Dodging, striking, passing judgement on the body and beheading. It was the same old practice routine he had performed again and again since he was a small boy. With his age and growth, his opponent would also get stronger and faster, until before he realized it the one he was fighting with was,

“You have an unpleasant look in your eyes.”

Stagnant eyes and madness carved into his mouth, an empty knight who could never be called sane — Every morning this was the appearance he saw when looking into the mirror.

Crossing swords with the shadow that resided within

himself was the only option left to him, as there was no longer any opponent who could rival his skill but himself. There were rumors of the Imperial Guard, and stories of their strength at arms, but there was no chance for Wilhelm to match his skill with them on the battlefield, so he was limited to himself.

It became his daily ritual, whenever he was sent back to the capital on respite, to fight to the death with himself, who he could never kill. By the time he realized it, this small section of the development district was labeled as the territory of the “Sword Demon,” and after a time no one came near it anymore.

It was convenient, Wilhelm told himself, as he continued to immerse himself within the darkness inside himself. This clash of arms he could never hope to have in reality was the best way for him to experience any meaning in living.

“—Oh my, excuse me.”

The outside object that first found its way into Wilhelm’s own world, came in the shape of a beautiful girl.
Wilhelm, who had once again made his way to the development district to swing his sword, and clash to the death, stopped himself when he noticed this guests presence.

This piece of land Wilhelm used in the deserted development district had relatively level footing and a wide area perfect for his practicing, and this outside object was seated here in his place, looking at him with her head tilted slightly to the side.

“So there is someone who comes here early in the morning. What are you doing in a place like ——”

“——”

She smiled gently in his direction, tossing some words his way, but Wilhelm’s response was simply to unleash his swordsman’s spirit and crash it into her.

If it were an amateur, they would run fleeing at the sense of his swordsman’s spirit. Even an expert would recognize his aura and leave him to himself.
However, all that happened was,

“——Is something the matter? You are making such a scary face.”

As though nothing had happened, Wilhelm’s aura had washed over her, and she just continued on. Feeling irritated, Wilhelm clicked his tongue. Someone his swordsman’s spirit didn’t work on — in other words, someone who had absolutely no experience with war. At the very least, if it were someone who knew the feel of violence in the air, there should be some kind of response due to his aura. But to someone who was completely removed from such things, it was no more than a slight coercing. Some out there may even consider that coercing just a thinning of one’s eyeline.

As for the person in front of him, most likely she was an extreme case of the latter.

“What’s a girl doing in a place like this so early in the morning.”

Wilhelm said with a slow sigh, looking at the girl who had not once yet removed her gaze from his face. In response, she let out a soft “Hmmm.”

“I would love to ask you the same question, but it would be rather mean-spirited of me I suppose. You don’t have the face of someone who could take a joke after all.”

“There are many dangerous people in these parts. I can’t be impressed by a girl walking around here alone.”

“Oh my, are you worried for me?”

“There is a chance I am one of those dangerous people.”

Wilhelm responded with sarcasm to her light remark, ringing his sword as though bearing down on prey. Yet without even turning her gaze to his actions, she said “look at this,” beckoning him over and pointing out past the dividing wall she was currently seated on.

“I really don’t care about seeing what it is all that much…”

“Don’t worry about it so much, just come over here and look.”

Feeling the way she spoke was like that of someone soothing a child, Wilhelm closed his eyes and calmed himself down, walking up beside her. Resting his foot on the steps, he pushed himself up to peer over the edge.

“——”

Spread out was a field of yellow flowers, lit golden by the light of the rising sunrise.

“You know how they stopped construction here right? Well I thought no one comes here, so I planted some seeds. I
came here to see how they turned out is all.”

The girl spoke to Wilhelm, who was at a loss for words, in a quiet voice as though telling someone a secret. Wilhelm had been coming to this place for a long time now, but he had never noticed the field of flowers. All he had to do was look a little deeper, opening his eyes to the world a little wider and he would have seen this garden of flowers.

“Do you, like flowers?”

That was the question she asked Wilhelm, who still hadn’t yet opened his mouth.
He turned his gaze to focus on her, looking long and hard at her face, lit with a gentle smile. Then,

“No, I hate them.”

He responded in a low voice, his mouth curved into a frown.

—Wilhelm and the girl encountered each other more frequently after that first meeting.

Whenever he received time off and his feet carried him to the development district, she would always be there before him, sitting silently and gazing out at the garden of flowers as the wind gently brushed over her. Whenever she noticed him,

“Have you come to like flowers?” She would ask.

Shaking his head, Wilhelm would forget her existence and immerse himself in swinging his sword.

Sweating, sinking into the battle to the death within his mind, finishing and lifting his head, she would still be sitting there.

“You really have a lot of free time don’t you.”

It became his routine to speak to her in such a sarcastic tone of voice.
The time they spent in conversation seemed to, ever so slowly, grow longer and longer.

What started as words spoken only after he had finished his routine, changed to words spoken before he started, and the time spent talking afterwards grew ever longer.

Next, he would carry himself there earlier and earlier, and sometimes would set his foot onto the leveled grounds before she had arrived, receiving a pouty “Ah, you’re early today,” and a smile in return.

—It must have been three months since their first encounter before they exchanged names.

Thearesia, as she called herself, stuck out her tongue after saying “It’s a little late you know.” In answer to her giving him her name, Wilhelm responded,”I’ve been calling you flower girl in my head you know,” managing to put her in a sulky mood.

The distance between them seemed to shrink a little after they shared their names, and they both went a little deeper into each other’s lives. Their conversations, which had until then been more of a light banter, turned into a deeper discussion of themselves.

One day, Thearesia asked him what his reason for wielding a sword was.
Without pausing, Wilhelm responded that it was because there was nothing else he could do.
As ever, he continued in the army and so too did his days of blood.

The fighting with the Demi-Humans intensified, and the work of dodging magic to fly into the heart of the enemy camp and cut them from groin to jaw continued relentlessly.

He would kick off from the ground, defying the wind to fly into the enemy encampment and remove the general’s head from his shoulders. With his sword held in one hand, head speared onto the tip, he would return to his side among cheers of awe and reverence, and exhale slowly.

Once on the battlefield, he noticed at his feet a flower, covered in blood and swaying in the wind. Before he knew it he found himself trying to avoid stepping on it.

“Have you come to like flowers?”

“No, I hate them.”

“Why do you wield a sword?”

“There’s nothing else for me.”

These words he exchanged with Thearesia were always the same—and after a time when they talked of flowers he became able to do so with a smile on his face. Yet when they talked of his sword, it became more and more difficult for him to make the same remark without feeling bitterness.

Why, do you wield a sword…

There’s nothing else…

Wilhelm could remember days locked in such an unchanging state of mind. When he finally started to seriously consider the question, he was brought back to the first day he ever held a sword.

Back then Wilhelm had yet to spill blood, and looking upon the beautifully shimmering clean steel of the sword’s blade, light glinting off its edge as he held it in his too-small hands, what had he thought about…

One day, as he was lost in the swirling of his answer-less thoughts, he found himself again at that place.
His steps were heavy, and a gloom settled over him when he thought about what was waiting for him on the other side of the field. It may have been the first time in his life he had ever been troubled so deeply about something. Wasn’t the reason he continued to swing his sword every day because that way he wouldn’t have to think about anything? His mind was struggling on such thoughts when,

“—Wilhelm.”

The girl who had arrived before him turned towards him, calling his name with a bright smile.
All of a sudden, he felt his soul shake violently.

His footsteps stopped, and he couldn’t withstand the swell of feelings that welled up inside him.

The sudden realization ran through Wilhelm’s entire being, and pushed at him as though it would grind him down into the dirt.

A great many things he had cast aside by ceasing to think when he had decided to swing his blade impassively, roared up to the surface.

Why do you wield a sword?

Why did you start wielding a sword?

I admired the swords radiance, the strength of it and the life living as a blade.

That is part of it. Part of it, but the true beginning should have been different…

“What my brothers couldn’t do, I felt I had to.”

The fact that it was swordsmanship, was only because it was something my brothers were disinterested in. Even so,
his brothers had done their best, in their own way, to protect the family, and he had wanted to be of use to them somehow, so had looked for a way to protect which differed from theirs.

Surely that was when he had become fascinated with the radiance and strength a sword has.

“Have you come to like flowers?”

“I

don’t…dislike them…”

“Why, do you wield a sword?”

“There’s no other way…I could think of to protect.”

From that day, they no longer talked of such things.

It seemed as though Wilhelm took the lead in their conversations and before he realized it, he was no longer going there to swing his sword, but only to talk with Thearesia.

The place set aside for him to impassively swing his sword, became a place where he worked his mind relentlessly, bringing up new topics to talk about instead of new techniques to practice.

It was around this time that the “Sword Demon’s” actions on the battlefield began to change as well. Up until then, it had all been about how quickly he could fly into the center of the enemy camp, and how many lives he could take.

Now, instead of moving for that purpose alone, he started to fight in order to reduce losses and casualties on his own side.

When it came to his opponents, he no longer prioritized ending their lives, instead focusing on those no longer able to fight and moving to backup his companions. Naturally, people’s view of him also began to shift. More and more often people would call out to him, and he to them.

There was also talk of him being bestowed with the title of Knight, which had been impossible until now, and he was even able to think about what he might do to receive the honor sooner.

After all, having a little prestige could go a long way in helping with one’s own objectives.

“There was talk of decorating me, and so I’ve become a Knight.”

“Oh, congratulations. That’s one step closer to your dream then.”

“Dream?”

“You hold a sword in order to protect, right? Well, a Knight is someone who protects others.”

Wilhelm felt that, of those things he wanted to protect, that smile was burned brightly in among them.

More time passed.

After earning the title of Knight, and the number of those he grew close to increased, he began to hear all kinds of news. The war with the Demi-Humans was growing ever more severe, and many of the fronts across the Kingdom had fallen into a push forward, fall back form of stalemate. Wilhelm himself experienced not only victories, but his share of losses as well.

During those times, even if it were just the area around him that his sword could reach, he would struggle to protect his companions, gnashing his teeth at the frustration he felt when he was unable to reach someone in time.

Those days continued for a while.

—The reason he heard about the flame of civil war spreading into the Torias Family’s domain, was surely due to the growing relationships he was building with those around him.

The internal discord that had begun in the Eastern provinces of the Kingdom had expanded, spreading into the

North where a small fraction had reached the Torias Family’s lands.

There were no orders, and if he were truly loyal to the Kingdom’s army he was part of, he would remember his place as a Knight and not act independently.

But when the feelings he had experienced when first holding a sword filled his heart, those obligations held no
meaning for him.

The lands filled with memories he had rushed back to, had already been mostly burned and pillaged by the enemy invasion.

The scenery he had left behind more than five years previous, the vibrant backgrounds he had grown accustomed to seeing were now a faded ruin. Seeing this, Wilhelm drew his sword, raised his voice, and threw himself into a bloody frenzy.

Cutting down enemies, his feet trampling the corpses, he screamed until his voice grew hoarse, bathed in the spurting blood of his foes.

Living by the sword and being let live by the sword…it was the battle of a demon who couldn’t find any meaning in life other than the sword.

He was vastly outnumbered. There were no reinforcements, and the militia here was nothing but frail. The battle also differed from others, where he rode side-by-side with his companions, as he was alone this time and given no room to retreat. He was forced to realize just how focused he had been on what he could do with his own power, never relying on others, as he received wound after wound—until he was no longer able to move.

Falling over atop a hill of corpses, his fighting spirit was crushed as he looked out over the unending waves of the enemy force, coming to accept that death had finally found it’s way to him.

His beloved sword, partner for all these years, dropped beside him, and he couldn’t gather the strength of will to grab it, though it lay at his fingertips. Closing his eyes he saw his life flash before him, and watched himself, continuously swinging his sword.

Alone, a life of nothing…as he was about to sum his life up as such, a scene unfolded in his mind. Faces began to appear, one after the other.

His parents, his two brothers, the troublemakers he had played with as a child, his companions that fought alongside him in the Kingdom’s army, he remembered them one after the other—yet the last face he saw was Thearesia, a field of flowers at her back.

“I don’t…want to die…”

His dream had always been to live and die by the sword, had it not?

Yet at the end of his life, which he had devoted to the sword, seeing the end he had dreamed of approaching….The only emotion Wilhelm was assaulted by, was that of a deep sense of unbearable loneliness.

That last word was one the enemy soldiers, who had killed many of his companions, would not allow. The Demi-
Humans, with their large frames bigger than any man, and their scale-green eyes, aimed for Wilhelm, mercilessly bringing down their giant swords—.

“——”

He would never forget the dazzling sight of slashes left and right that surged up.

The wind the sword made raged, and each time it did hands, feet, heads and torsos of the Demi-Humans were cut through.

A commotion started to swell within the enemy force, but the blade ran through their ranks faster, and the deaths piled up.

The scene before his eyes was like one seen in a nightmare.

Blood sprayed up, and the lives of the Demi-Humans were reaped before they even had time to scream out. The overly-vivid strikes of the sword blew out the candlelights of life without even passing on the notice of death to the owners of the lives it took.

No one could say anymore whether that was cruelty, or compassion.

If there was something to be said however, that was this.

—There was no getting inside the sword’s reach, given a lifetime or an eternity.

Wilhelm had freely devoted his life, though perhaps not a very long life, to the sword. As that was the life he had lived, he could truly recognize just how skilled that swordsmanship was, as the blade struck mercilessly.

If the destruction Wilhelm had wrought could be compared to a blood-misted valley, then the scene that unfolded before him now was that of an ocean of blood.

He came to recognize how incompetent he really was, and the truth of how he would never reach such a level. It was also pointless to compare the mountain of piled up corpses.

Until every last one of the Demi-Humans was eradicated, the sword’s dance never ceased.

As he watched the overwhelming slaughter continue, his companions arrived. As he was treated and carried off on their shoulders—he couldn’t take his eyes off of that sight.

The sight of someone whipping a longsword to the side, before walking calmly away from the battlefield. Not even a speck of blood had made its way onto their person, and a shudder shook Wilhelm to the core.

It was a place he would never be able to reach, not for an eternity.

It was after his return to the capital that he first heard the words “Sword Saint.”

That was also when the name, Sword Saint, started to resound through the land in place of Sword Demon Wilhelm.
“Sword Saint,”——a legendary existence that had once defeated a Witch.

Only the Divine Protection remained, passed down through a certain bloodline, protecting one member of the household each generation with transcendence.

The current Sword Saint had never once revealed their name—but that ended around the same time as well.

as a few days later, after his wounds had been treated that he brought himself back to that place.

Wilhelm headed there with slow but steady steps, gripping his beloved sword tightly. He was certain she would be there, and just as he had expected, she was seated in her usual place as though nothing had happened.

Before she could turn around at his approach, he drew his blade from its sheath and lunged towards her. Yet, the moment before his sword would have cleaved her head in half — two fingertips caught the tip of the blade mid-swing, stopping it. Astonishment stuck in his throat as the edges of her mouth curved into a smile.

“It’s humiliating.”

“—Yes.”

“Were you laughing at me?”

“——”

“Answer me, Theresia…no, Sword Saint!”

Bringing all his strength to bear he ripped his sword free, lunging again, only to have her avoid his attack without rustling so much as a single hair. His feet were swept out from under him, and he crashed cruelly into the ground before he could brace himself. There was an impassable wall, and insurmountable difference between them.

“I, won’t be coming here again.”

Again and again he lunged in the offensive, and each time she counter-attacked, he was defeated. At some point his beloved sword had gone from his hands to hers, and with the flat of the blade she knocked the wind from him so hard he was unable to take a single step.

Far. Far too weak. Unreachable. Not enough.

“With…an expression…like that—you’ve no right, to hold a sword!”

“I am, the Sword Saint. For a long time I didn’t understand the reason why, but I do now.”

“Reason……”

“Wielding a sword to protect someone. That…I think it’s wonderful.”

—-To this girl, who loved caring for flowers and had never found purpose in holding a sword…he had given her a reason.

It was even worse as no one could match her, her sword could reach farther than anyone else’s. In that case, to atone for his sin there was only one choice left him.

“Just, wait, Theresia….”

“…………”

“I am going, to steal your sword from you. The divine protection you have been given, and your duty, the hell with it all……Wielding a sword…the beauty of cold steel, don’t look down on it, Sword Saint.”

A lone demon spoke of swords to her back, as she moved farther and farther away, a Sword Saint loved by swords.

The Sword Demon disappeared from the Kingdom’s army, and in his place the fame of the Sword Saint spread.

A match for a thousand——Theresia proved those words true through her battles, and the tide of the war began to change. Though she was an individual, her valor and deeds were beyond what a single person could do, and for the Demi-humans who knew the legends of her predecessors, the name “Sword Saint” brought only overwhelming despair.

The end of the civil war came precisely two years later, from the day she first made her appearance on the battlefield. Compromises were discussed between the leaders of both sides, and at the very least battles involving swords came to an end. To celebrate the end of the fighting, modest and showy festivities alike were held.

There was even a ceremony to commemorate the deeds performed by the beautiful and powerful Sword Saint. Citizens from all over the Kingdom flocked to the capital and into the castle, hoping to glimpse her for even just a moment. Thus the hero, one girl who had brought about the end of the war was enveloped in a storm of wild enthusiasm.

It was at this time that, as though to tear apart the wild enthusiasm, the Sword Demon descended.

Before the intruder with sword drawn, the guards grew excited in anticipation of a fight. Yet, the one who bid them to stand down, and came to meet the intruder was none other than the Sword Saint. All the onlookers watched with bated breath as she drew her sword to meet his.

The form of her standing there, refined and beautiful, was so profound that one would hesitate to find words to describe it. On the other hand, the one standing opposite her looked ominous and bedraggled.

The intruder was covered by a brown cloak, worn and caked with dried rain and mud. Compared to the Sword Saint’s flashy, ceremonial blade, his appeared poor and beaten. Only the craftsmanship was of any quality, though the blade was now slightly bent, with reddish-brown rust visible along its length.

The King called out to stop the knights making their way to her. They all stopped breathing and watched, as the Sword Saint’s weapon flashed.

The two swords clashed, and a piercing sound rang throughout their midst. Sparks flew, a gust of wind blew and two shadows slid at a bewildering speed. Through the minds of those watching, silenced by the scene before them, raced an overwhelming and swelling sense of deep admiration.

With a fierce momentum the two shifted from offense to defense and back again, feet planted on the earth, the air, the walls, the sky itself, as their weapons continued to clash. It was such an overwhelming scene that not a small few had tears in their eyes.

People could come this close on their own power…A sword could reach into the hearts of others and show itself as beautiful to such an extent…

The weapons seemed to blend together, swords locked together, the edges flashing apart only to meet again. Then finally,

“——”

The reddish-brown blade was snapped in two, the tip spinning wildly through the air, while the ceremonial blade held by the Sword Saint was…

“My,”

“…………”

“My, win.”

The decorated Treasured Sword resounded as it dropped to the ground, the broken edge of the worn blade resting just before her throat. Time stopped, and anybody watching knew what had happened. —The Sword Saint, had lost.

“You, who are weaker than I, no longer have any reason to hold a sword.”

“If I, don’t hold a sword—then who will…”

“I will take up your purpose for wielding a sword. You…you, will be my reason.”

The intruder tossed back his hood. Beneath the dirt and discoloration, Wilhelm’s ill-tempered gaze focused on Theresia. She shook her head softly at his attitude.

“You’re aweful. You completely waste a person’s resolution and determination.”

“That and everything else, I’ll take it on. You can forget that you ever held a sword and just…let’s see. Maybe grow some flowers, and live peacefully, behind me.

“Protected, by your sword?”

“Yes.”

“You’ll protect me?”

“Yes.”

Placing a hand on the flat of his blade, Theresia took a step forward. They were so close they could feel each others breath, and as their gazes met, Theresia smiled, bleary eyes brimming with tears.

“Do you, like flowers?”

“I don’t dislike them anymore.”

“Why do you, wield a sword?”

“To protect you.”

Their faces grew closer, the distance closing, then disappearing. Their lips brushed softly, and Theresia looked up at Wilhelm, her face flushed red.

“Do you, love me?”

“—You know that.”

Looking to the side, Wilhelm spoke bluntly. The onlookers began to free themselves from their stillness, and the guards pushed their way through the crowd. Wilhelm saw faces of those he had once fought alongside with, and squared his shoulders. Theresia pouted prettily at his attitude. It was just as it had been back in the days when they had laughed before the field of flowers.

“There are things I’d like to hear spoken you know.”

“Ah-”

Scratching his head and scowling at the depth of his crime, Wilhelm turned to look back at Theresia, bringing his face in close to her ear.

“Someday, if I feel like it.” He whispered, hiding his embarrassment behind the words.