Chapter 81: Thick Fog
The duel had not yet produced a winner, but everyone knew that victory would not belong to Subaru Natsuki this time.
However, what no one expected was that Subaru, who had been on the receiving end the entire time, managed to injure Julius at the very last moment.
If it were only that, it wouldn't have been so surprising. The reason the crowd fell into complete silence as Subaru left the stage was entirely due to his performance.
Yes, Subaru was indeed beaten to the point of having nearly no ability to counterattack.
But despite being incredibly weak, he was still able to stand after taking so many hits. As knights, they at least had the ability to discern that much.
Therefore, they could tell that although Julius didn't use his other ability, he was undoubtedly attacking with full force.
And yet, under Julius's storm-like barrage of attacks, Subaru was still able to stand—and even retaliate.
Everyone could see that he wasn't attacking blindly. His attacks had clear targets. It was just that the difference in power between them was too great, so they had no effect.
Still, every time he was knocked down and got back up, his progress was visible to all.
These displays piled up bit by bit, and the final headbutt served as the trigger that made everyone fall silent.
The duel was over. Everyone knew the winner was Julius, but no one looked at Subaru like he was a loser.
Standing in the arena and wiping the blood from his forehead, Julius looked at Subaru's retreating figure, but his mood was far from good.
It wasn't because he had been hit, nor because Subaru had forfeited the duel.
Rather, it was the emotion he saw in Subaru's eyes at the end—those hollow and sorrowful eyes made Julius feel like the duel he initiated was nothing more than a joke.
On the other side, Subaru had already left the arena, and he kept walking forward as if he couldn't feel the pain on his body.
The pain was real, but compared to the pain in his body, the pain in his heart was even worse... He didn't know when he would be able to return home.
He didn't know what his parents looked like now. No matter how strong he became, his inner pain couldn't be soothed.
This duel made Subaru clearly realize what he truly wanted, and therefore this duel was meaningless and boring.
In this duel, Subaru had nothing he needed to protect, and nothing he couldn't give up.
He accepted the duel simply to test the extent of his strength.
However, during the duel, Subaru came to understand that what he wanted was not invincible power, nor to be the center of attention.
What he wanted was the strength and means to go home. He wanted to follow in Kamijou's footsteps.
Thus, continuing the duel would be meaningless.
"Subaru!"
Hearing that voice, Subaru froze for a moment and took a deep breath to adjust his mood.
No matter how badly he wanted to go home, no matter how much he missed his family, he couldn't go on like this.
With his emotions in check, Subaru turned his head toward the voice and saw Emilia leading a group of people running toward him.
Old Man Rom, Felt, Emilia, Puck, Reinhard—and behind them was a cat-eared girl. But Subaru didn't see the cat-eared girl.
Even if he had seen her, she wouldn't have entered his field of vision, because the presence of Old Man Rom and the others was proof that he had truly changed—that he had taken a step closer to Kamijou.
In that moment, the emptiness in his heart was filled.
No matter how much he hated this other world, hated the death and pain brought by his powers, at least what he had done wasn't meaningless.
"You guys are too slow." Subaru said with a weak smile, and then his vision went black and he fell forward.
The accumulated fatigue and pain overwhelmed him, and he fell into unconsciousness.
Just before he completely lost consciousness, he heard the anxious voices of the others calling his name.
.
.
.
When Subaru regained consciousness again, the first thing he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. As he sat up, he realized his injuries had already been treated.
The pain had lessened, and even the fracture in his right arm had fully healed.
He turned his head to scan the room but didn't see anyone. Just as he lifted the blanket to get out of bed, he heard the door open. Looking over, he saw Emilia standing at the doorway, staring at him with an unhappy expression.
"Uh... good afternoon?"
"Why did you duel with Julius?"
"Ah... at that time, I kinda got carried away and challenged him..." Subaru scratched his head awkwardly, averting his gaze from Emilia's face.
He was slightly afraid to meet her eyes.
Footsteps approached, and Emilia's voice sounded beside him:
"Do you even know how badly you were hurt?!"
"Uh... Compared to last time, I don't think it was that bad..."
"Subaru!"
"..."
"Do you have any idea how bad your body's condition is?! The whole reason I brought you to the royal capital this time was so you could get treatment.
And on the second day, you already went and got yourself covered in injuries again?!"
Listening to Emilia's angry voice, Subaru turned to look at her, lowered his head, and said seriously:
"I'm sorry. This time, it really was my fault."
Emilia, who had been furious, looked at Subaru as he sincerely apologized, and suddenly didn't know what to say. All the scolding she had prepared vanished, and in her flustered state, all she could do was sigh.
"I forgive you. But if there's a next time, I absolutely, absolutely won't forgive you."
"Mm, I understand." Subaru raised his head and looked at Emilia, a bit embarrassed.
"Um... is there anything to eat? I'm kinda hungry..."
"Wait a moment, I'll go get you something to eat."
Subaru watched as Emilia ran out of the room, looking somewhat puzzled at Puck, who had quietly stayed behind before she left.
"Subaru, good afternoon~~~"
"Ah, good afternoon..."
Puck floated in front of Subaru, arms crossed and one hand resting on his forehead as he shook his head:
"Subaru, you really can't sit still, can you? You always push yourself to the limit before taking a break. As someone I acknowledge as a friend, I'm really worried you'll sleep one day and never wake up."
"Even though I get that you're worried, isn't that a bit... off?"
"Is it? That must be your imagination. After all, The human named Subaru Natsuki is the kind who doesn't cherish himself. At this rate, sleeping forever one day wouldn't be that surprising, would it?"
"..."
"So Subaru! Accept your friend's punishment! Take this!"
Subaru sighed as he felt Puck's soft punches hit his face and said:
"Okay, okay, I get it. I'll be more careful."
"Hmph, I'll take that as you really listened. But Subaru, aside from the duel today, you did great. I owe you one."
Hearing that, Subaru reached out and rubbed Puck's little head hard and said:
"You're not just my friend. Emilia is my friend too. I only did what a friend should do. Neither you nor Emilia owe me anything."
"Just friends, huh... What a rough road ahead..."
"Hm?"
"Nothing. Anyway, Subaru, starting tomorrow—you're on long vacation~~"
"Huh?!"