I stood in the silence of the forest. Watching as condensation dripped from leaves of trees, eyed the dew on the grass, listened to the absence of all the animals that had fled in the wake of something truly monstrous.
A breath tore itself from my lips, this time without turning into fog.
Turning away from the manor, I pressed deeper into the thickening forest, boots crunching against roots and moss. Thoughts swirled with every step.
'That was certainly… something. But I suppose I achieved my goal there. Hell, I think I got more out of that than I gave.'
Letting out a dry chuckle from the absurdity of the situation, I shook my head and proceeded deeper into the forest.
Hopping over a trickling stream, I eventually came to a stop. The path ahead was reasonably clear of obstacles, so I decided to make use of a little trick I'd discovered.
Using Reason and Judgment to gain boosted clarity, I spun up mana from my gate before running that expelled mana into my limbs. I'd had a little moment of creativity yesterday while Emilia and I were sparring.
Mana in this world was essentially another form of energy. Using it, people of this world could create things seemingly from nothing, but that wasn't truly the case. It seemed, at least by my estimates, that mana was more or less a catalyst of change.
So what was stopping me from using mana, or energy, to supplement myself?
It was already mine—an extension of my body, under my control. I could spin it like thread, bend it into spells, ignite it like fire. So why not turn it inward?
And that's how I discovered what I'd call body enhancement. I was sure there was a proper name for it. Maybe Reinhard could've told me. But he wasn't here.
With mana circulating through my system in tight, controlled loops, I dashed forward through the trees, moving at a pace that had to be close to 40 kilometers per hour. Every couple of seconds, I tapped Reason and Judgment, letting its frozen clarity keep me from eating bark or tripping on a rock.
After 10 minutes of straight sprinting, I found myself far enough away that I didn't fear being discovered for what I was going to do. Nothing was out here but regular wildlife.
At first, I worried about getting munched to death by a pack of whatever lived out here, wolves or something. But Emilia had assured me that this stretch of woodland, extending north toward the larger forest that eventually met Gusteko's border, was mostly "mabeast-free."
That word again. I really needed to find a dictionary for this world.
Coming to a halt, I felt the momentum bleed away as wind rushed past me and leaves rustled overhead in the aftermath of my passage. I'd found myself in a peaceful clearing nestled in the heart of a grove.
Slightly out of breath from my extensive sprint, but nowhere near as utterly dead as I would have been without body enhancement, I flopped down on the ground with a soft thud to rest for a couple minutes before proceeding.
I hadn't found the time for this yesterday, despite my initial plans. But out here, with nobody for miles in any direction, I could finally do it.
Sitting up on the dry patch of grass, I took in a centering breath, before triggering it.
Indomitable
My existence gained weight.
Heat surged from the center of my chest. I felt slightly firmer, like a wall that had been reinforced.
I counted to five.
Then let the power go.
I looked around at my surroundings. But nothing had changed; I hadn't caused any damage, let off any shockwaves, or burned the grass. Indomitable had done nothing besides give me an odd sense of security.
'So what exactly is this ability?'
Strength was what immediately came to mind. Invulnerability, maybe. Or something like reactive destruction against anything that tried to hurt me.
But that felt… lacking. Almost like an empty explanation, scratching the surface of something that was much more complicated.
'What is Indomitable? Not just the ability, but the name? Maybe that holds the key?'
Click
Reason and Judgment
The already quiet woods gave way to absolute silence, time arrested in its tracks.
In the absence of reality, I found clarity.
Indomitable was a word I'd seen before. Merely a fancy adjective I'd seen describing a person who was part of an assignment for my AP research class. In that period of boring research, I'd latched onto the first interesting thing I'd seen and looked up what the word meant.
"Impossible to defeat or subdue. Synonyms: Invincible. Unconquerable."
'So what can we conclude from this? That for five seconds, we are invincible? That for five seconds nothing can stop us?'
Or… was it something more?
I had a theory.
Time snapped back into motion, and I rose to my feet, heart thudding quietly in my chest. The confidence of my Authority assured me that what I had found was likely the truth.
Every time I'd used Indomitable before, it had been under duress. Moments when I'd possessed all the time in the world to think, but none to act.
A shield against Reinhard's sparring strike. A lifeline to repulse the Witch's black tendrils. A final barrier against Elsa's blades.
Always reactive. Always a panic button pressed in the heat of crisis.
I had a theory that I hadn't actually been using my Authority. Merely benefiting from the byproduct of its most basic function.
So what was Indomitable, really?
What if it wasn't merely a defensive ability with enhanced strength? What if the name was literal, conceptual in its very essence? What if, for five precious seconds, I wasn't just invincible, I was undefeatable? What if reality itself would bend and strain to avoid proving me wrong?
I turned to face a nearby tree, tall, old, solid.
I raised a hand.
Indomitable
Heat roared to life in my chest once more, a furnace stoked to blazing intensity. I slashed my fingers through the air with theatrical precision, the command forming crystal-clear in my mind.
'I reject that tree standing.'
Wind stirred through the clearing, setting my white hair dancing across my vision. Leaves rustled overhead with the force of—
...
Absolutely nothing.
'Well, fuck.'
There went that theory. And with it, all my happiness.
I stood there like a complete clown. Four-year-old me would've been proud, back when I thought I could cast spells with a mere wave of my hand.
These days, I actually could work magic, which somehow made this failure taste even more bitter.
Letting my hand drop to my side in defeat, I began pacing the clearing, boots finding every loose stone and protruding root to kick in embarrassment.
'So is it really just me being super strong for five seconds? Strong enough that I simply shatter things that attack me or get hit by me?'
If that was the extent of it, I'd need to get creative. My eyes wandered the clearing until they settled on a palm-sized rock, ordinary granite worn smooth by countless seasons.
Perfect.
I hefted it, testing its weight with a few practice tosses, the stone solid and real in my grip.
Indomitable
I crushed it in the same motion I hurled it forward. The stone disintegrated between my fingers like chalk, fragments screaming through the air with the fury of artillery shells. Each piece carried impossible momentum, whistling death-songs as they carved through space.
Trees ahead simply ceased to exist where the projectiles struck. Clean, surgical wounds punched through ancient trunks. The sheer destructive force would have liquefied armored knights, turned steel and bone to mist.
I released Indomitable before the backlash could sink its claws into me.
'This is such a… primitive usage, though. Is there really nothing more I can do with this aspect of my Authority? I'm throwing rocks around like I'm the fucking Beast Titan or something.'
For all my griping due to a lack of finger flicking or Sukuna-styled attacks, the physical applications were undeniably devastating.
What would stop me from stomping hard enough to trigger localized earthquakes? I could massacre entire battalions by kicking debris into lethal clouds, turn the very ground beneath their feet into a weapon of mass destruction.
But I still wished I could do more. Maybe that was just me being greedy.
Thirty seconds crawled by before I approached another tree, one that had escaped my earlier destruction. This one was younger, its bark still smooth, branches reaching skyward with stubborn optimism.
Indomitable
I sliced through it with my bare hand. My flesh parted the wood like it was tissue paper, offering no resistance at all. The sensation was almost absent, like cutting through air made solid. As the tree began to topple, I caught the upper section before it could crash down.
The entire length of the tree I picked up and held high above my head felt like it weighed less than a feather.
And so I aimed. And threw. Like a javelin, the solid chunk of a 10-meter-tall tree soared through the sky into the direction of unpopulated woods.
The impact arrived as distant thunder. I couldn't see where the tree had fallen, but I could hear it. The symphony of destruction, the domino percussion of falling giants as my improvised projectile carved a path through the canopy.
But I'd made a critical mistake.
So caught up in watching and listening to the devastation I'd wrought that I forgot the most basic rule: always cut the power before the timer ran out.
Pain lanced through my chest like molten wire, dropping me to my knees in the grass as I desperately shut it off. My vision blurred at the edges as the backlash tore through me, payment for power carelessly extended, interest compounded by my own stupidity.
After several seconds of pained gasping followed by some choice curses, I found my way back to my feet. The lingering air of disappointment clung to me in the absence of something more.
But I wasn't throwing in the towel just yet. Maybe I just hadn't found the right key.
What followed was methodical experimentation. Rock after rock, branch after branch, each test feeding data into my growing understanding. In the real world, I spent another half-hour threading between trees and conducting controlled destruction.
But in Reason and Judgment, I had all the time in the world to theorize, to replay past battles, to dissect every moment I'd felt that surge of impossible strength.
By my Authority's precise accounting, I spent exactly 16 hours, 33 minutes, and 11 seconds on this. Both actively using Indomitable and spending time brainstorming in Reason and Judgment while sitting in past memories with Reinhard, Flam, and Grassis.
When I finally surfaced from that marathon of analysis, a new understanding had formed in my mind.
Ultimately, I hypothesized that Indomitable didn't actually grant me superhuman strength. Rather, it nullified any physical opposition to my will.
And I think the critical component there was that there had to be something actively resisting me for Indomitable to then work on it.
Indomitable meant I was undefeatable, and thereby rendered opposition to that state of undefeatable, inert.
Staring at a tree from a distance, the Authority wouldn't recognize its mere existence as opposing me. Neither would it clash with the air between us. The atmosphere wasn't actively resisting my presence, just occupying space, and therefore didn't register as challenging my dominion.
But a rock in my hand? That was different entirely.
When I gripped that stone and activated my Authority, my will to crush it encountered the rock's physical integrity, and that counted as opposition. The Authority responded by nullifying that resistance, making the granite crumble like sand between my fingers.
It wasn't my strength, gods know I haven't exactly been lifting. The rock simply lost its right to be indomitable in the face of my own undefeatable nature.
You could say my Authority violated the rights of anything that dared violate mine. And fortunately for me, those rules were remarkably flexible in what qualified as a violation.
So what about the devastating projectiles? I'd thrown fragments and shredded entire rows of trees; there had to be more at work than simple nullification.
The answer lay in physics, or rather, in the complete disregard for physical law that my Authority enabled.
When I threw those rock fragments, regardless of conscious intent, my true will was for them to fly, which meant speed, velocity, momentum. In opposition to that were universal laws and forces. Gravity, friction, and air resistance, all attempting to violate the right I had imposed of being undefeatable.
Under Indomitable, that opposition simply... ceased to exist.
As I throw the fragments, my Authority nullifies their inertia, with minimal muscular effort, and the fragments then accelerate to near frictionless velocity.
But the moment the rocks leave my hand, they've regained their inertia. My Authority is no longer applied, but the damage is already done.
They're still moving at tremendous velocity. Considering the equation of momentum (Mass x tremendous amounts of velocity), I'm left with projectiles with such sheer momentum that when they hit the trees, the trees' own structural integrity cannot resist the impact.
The projectiles themselves are destroyed, but not before they tear through their targets with the force of a railgun round.
So what did all of that yapping mean?
It meant keeping pocket sand on hand would actually be a valid tactic moving forward.
Still meant I couldn't finger gun like Sukuna, but I still had a couple more theories that I couldn't do at the moment.
It was possible I had missed something. I wasn't exactly in a lab setting with a perfect environment and the scientific tools or knowhow to properly dissect the entirety of my Authority. I'd have to do more experiments.
But that was something for another day.
With that conclusion, I gave myself a pat on the back. I felt satisfied, having better understood another part of my arsenal.
Yet as soon as I congratulated myself, I felt something else. Mental fatigue. Sixteen hours of concentrated thought, even with breaks, had wrung me dry
Listlessly turning my head to the sky, I noted that it was likely around noon at this point. Emilia would want me to return soon.
'I think I'm just going to nap the rest of the day away. I've totally done enough, I think I've earned the right to be a little slothful.'
—
Shambling through the manor, I eventually made my way to Emilia's room; gods above knew that I had fought an internal war on whether I should just go to my room and drop dead, or actually head to Emilia's room and beg for mercy.
But the supposed "angel" on my shoulder had won, was pretty sure it was an imposter, though, and so I found myself at her door.
Lazily raising a hand, I prepared to knock when the door swung open, the rush of air blowing my hair back a little.
A bright smile greeted me, illuminating Emilia's face. Dressed in a new lavender dress with white accents, her hair tied in a neat ponytail.
"Hey, Lia. I'm finally back. How's the studying going?" I asked, but she simply looked me up and down before reaching down and grabbing my hand, a habit I was quickly noticing.
"Ethan! Roswaal just told me something reeeally surprising," she said, pulling me inside.
'The clown? That just gives me a bad feeling.'
I glanced around the room, noting the absence of Puck. He wasn't lounging in the air as usual. Maybe he was keeping his word and helping me with Beatrice, or perhaps he was just being a lazy bum, napping the day away. I wish I could do the same.
She sat me down on the two-person settee, quickly taking her place next to me. A map of the Mathers' domain lay on the table. Emilia had shown it to me yesterday when I'd asked her about her duties, but I didn't understand why she'd brought it out again.
"So…" I said, eyeing it. "What did Roswaal say that made you bust this thing back out?"
"Mmm! Look at this part right here." She leaned forward and pointed to a city I immediately recognized.
"Costuul?" I muttered. It sat right on the border of Lugunica and Gusteko, one of the Five Great Cities of the kingdom. Reinhard had told me it was an industrial hub, producing much of the nation's metia and general magi-tech. It was also where Lucan, the witch cultist, had supposedly gone.
"Yes," Emilia replied. "Roswaal said he managed to set up an opportunity for me to get some practical experience for the upcoming Royal Selection."
'But you don't even have experience in small villages. He's just throwing you at one of the Great Five?'
"And this is a done deal?" I asked, my voice tight. Suddenly, I found the energy to sit up straight.
"I'm a bit concerned, too, but he said I need to start building my grassroots supporters. He said the other candidates have a head start, and that I'll need to work extra hard to catch up. He also mentioned that he's already contacted the necessary people and would be… disappointed if I didn't show some initiative."
'Unreal. This guy's really setting her up for trial by fire. I knew he was manipulative, but I at least thought he wanted her to win.'
Emilia looked down at her hands, fiddling nervously with her fingers before glancing back at me. Her voice was quiet.
"Ethan, I think this is my first real test. I don't know if I can do it alone…"
I could already tell where she was going with this.
Click
Reason and Judgment
Time snapped to a hold, and all my mental fatigue evaporated.
'What angle is the clown playing, and what does he hope to achieve by damaging Emilia's odds at getting the throne?'
If I had to be honest? Emilia was playing on nightmare difficulty with a teammate who was actively attempting to help end her run.
Not giving her a guard detail in the capital, not hiring any tutors to assist her in learning subjects for the royal selection, instead having her study a wide array of topics on her own with little oversight. Scheduling public events for her to speak at with little prior warning and seemingly zero experience.
He was doing everything but helping her succeed.
'But what does that have to do with us? She isn't our main objective. We're straying—'
I cut that thought off.
'We know what she's going to ask. It's obvious. She wants us to go with her because we can provide her with additional insight and perspective. It's logical. It would also allow us to get out of this manor. We have funds, we can grow our strength through purchasing whatever goods we can get our hands on out there. A city that produces metia, and we happen to hold a treasure trove of coin.'
But more than that. It was a simple fact.
'We're sick of acting like some leashed animal, forced to sit around in this manor. We've been given a second chance at life in a new world to explore it, to experience it, not to hole ourselves up in a mansion out of fear of some ancient bitch who thinks she owns us.'
I let time resume, and Emilia finished her plea.
"But if you were there. If you were willing to aid me even more than you already do— I know that I already ask so much of—"
"It's fine, Lia." I cut through her spiraling self-doubt, though the exasperation in my voice made her head droop. She probably thought I was frustrated with her rather than the mental jumble in my mind.
The confidence of my Authority pushed me past normal boundaries. I reached out, placing gentle fingers under her chin to lift her gaze back to mine. Her skin was soft and warm, and her eyes flickered with surprise.
"I agreed that we were partners, didn't I? I wouldn't be a very good one if I abandoned you on the first trial." A smile tugged at my lips despite everything. "Besides, this is one of the Five Great Cities. You and I can go sightseeing after we're done with whatever theatrical performance Roswaal has planned."
Her eyes brightened, pure, unhidden joy lighting up her expression. She nodded with such enthusiasm I worried she might give herself whiplash.
Then she was up, moving with enough energy in her voice that you would question whether the girl with self-doubts was ever there.
"I've got so much work to do, Ethan! I won't let you down! I need to go over our approach, outline all the steps we'll need to take, research the city's demographics and economic concerns—"
"Sounds like a plan. What can I help with?" I asked while stretching, arms falling back against the chair's cushions as the exhaustion once more kicked in with the fading of my Authority's confidence.
A gentle tap on my nose made me blink, and I found myself looking up at Emilia as she leaned over my head, amethyst eyes sparkling with something I couldn't quite identify.
"Nothing right now!" she said with a smile. "I can handle most of it myself, but I'd like it if you looked everything over with me tonight. That way I know I'm not forgetting anything."
"I can do that," I replied, slouching deeper into the settee as a coherent thought managed to surface through my returning fatigue. "Oh, right, when is this little expedition, anyway? And who else is going?"
Emilia had moved to her bookshelf, gathering an impressive collection of papers and leather-bound notebooks with practiced efficiency.
"It's in two days. End of the week. Roswaal said he'd assign Ram to accompany me, and that he would meet us at the city."
"So, weekend job, huh?" I muttered.
'I would say that makes logical sense, but are weekends even a thing here? Probably, people need time to spend their earnings and recover enough to work productively after a break.'
'And Subaru isn't going? Well, I suppose that's probably fine. If he is who I think he is, what kind of danger could really threaten him as a manor servant?'
Emilia returned, arms full of parchment and ink pots, and carefully placed the bundle on her desk. Then she plopped down beside me again, closer this time. Her thigh brushed mine, but she didn't seem to notice, or maybe she just didn't care. I was probably the one taking up too much space anyway.
"Want me to stick around, or—" I paused mid-sentence as a yawn ambushed me. "…or should I leave you to it?"
She turned toward me, lips parting slightly. Her eyes roamed across my face, slow and intent, like she was checking for signs of fever.
"Ethan?" she asked softly. "Are you sleepy?"
"A bit, yeah." No point in lying when my body was betraying me so obviously.
"Do you want to take a nap? I can wake you up if anything happens." She gestured to her bed like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Uh, that sounds great, but I should probably—"
Before I could finish that reasonable explanation about retreating to my own bed, I was already guided halfway across the room.
Jacket gone. Boots pulled off. Gently but firmly placed on the mattress like I was a sick patient under doctor's orders. All done with a strange mix of determination and care.
She stood over me with her hands on her hips, giving me the kind of look a mother might give a kid trying to a kid staying up past their bedtime.
"Pushing your body too far isn't healthy," she said firmly. "You've been up since before dawn, haven't you? Just relax. I'll be quiet, I promise."
And with that, she padded back to her desk and began sorting through papers with determination and purpose practically radiating from her.
I stared at the ceiling. The mattress was soft and smelled faintly of lavender.
I considered just leaving. Sleeping in somebody else's bed felt… off. Hell, sleeping in the presence of another person felt foreign to somebody like me who barricaded his door and slept with a blade nearby each night out of paranoia.
I didn't think Emilia would slit my throat if I took a rest; she seemed to enjoy my company… so maybe it was ok to rest my eyes?
'Just for a little bit. I'll only close them for a little bit. If I hear anything strange, I'll wake up.'
The last thing I registered was the soft scratch of her quill against parchment and the gentle rhythm of her breathing. My body betraying me to unnatural exhaustion.
—
Emilia was a bad girl.
She couldn't help but feel that way after the past couple of days she had experienced. She had longed for close companions ever since she awoke, yet reality proved merciless. She harbored no resentment toward those who shunned her, but the isolation carved hollow spaces in her chest.
Then Puck materialized in her life like a beacon in an endless night. For years, he remained her singular anchor, a surrogate father whose devotion never wavered. But he was family, protective, paternal, and still, only one voice in a world of silence.
Nobody else was willing to speak with her, nobody else was willing to extend a hand without strange ambitions or plans behind a painted smile. Until Ethan.
Initially, her first impressions of him weren't very positive. Like most other citizens of Lugunica, his gaze had burned with that familiar, searing hatred, though it flickered out with surprising swiftness. What followed seemed mere tolerance, a grudging acceptance of her presence.
Yet gradually, she glimpsed something warmer lurking beneath his mask of indifference. That hidden gentleness made her guilt fester like an infected wound.
'Partners.'
The word haunted her waking hours, echoing through her skull each time she caught sight of him.
She had coined the term herself to define their peculiar bond.
'But partners are people who are equals in a relationship, right?'
To Emilia, it felt like she was the only one gaining anything. Ethan had claimed that he, too, was learning, and therefore it was a fair exchange. At the time, Emilia had believed his words.
But now she wasn't too sure.
What wisdom could Ethan possibly extract from scrutinizing dusty political treatises or crafting rebuttals to anti-demi-human rhetoric? He wasn't a noble; he had even told her that he wasn't a knight, so learning about politics as she was unfortunately forced to do, didn't seem very useful.
Then there was the combat training he'd proposed.
Emilia discovered she genuinely enjoyed their sessions. Violence had never called to her nature, and her past encounters with magic carried traumatic weight.
But sparring with Ethan felt different, purposeful rather than destructive. They clashed not from malice but from mutual dedication to improvement, each strike and spell cast with intention.
Being able to do what was akin to playing with her father and Ethan was great.
But was that all she could give him? It still didn't seem very fair. She wanted to do more.
Abandoning her desk, she realized her quill hadn't moved across parchment for several minutes, her thoughts having spiraled into familiar patterns of self-recrimination.
Instead, she studied Ethan's sleeping form, the gentle rise and fall of his chest, the soft whisper of breath between parted lips.
She'd expected to find him peaceful in sleep, but closer inspection revealed tension coiled beneath the surface. His hands had curled into tight fists, his body pulled into a ball, as if trying to shrink from invisible threats.
Ethan projected such effortless confidence during his waking hours, that assured smile, those decisive plans to tackle any challenge.
But Emilia suspected there were things he was hiding. She wouldn't press him on such matters; she didn't think she was yet reliable enough. But recognizing his hidden pain only intensified the pressure crushing her chest.
Shaking herself from the downward spiral, she prepared to resume her studies. She'd promised Ethan she could manage her workload; she refused to disappoint him by drowning in self-doubt.
Before she could turn back to her abandoned assignment, a familiar feline figure phased through her door.
"Hiya, Lia~ Just finished visiting Betty's room, whatcha up to—"
With fluid elven grace, Emilia vaulted silently over her chair, her feet touching down with nary a whisper. She crossed the room in a heartbeat and clamped her hands over her father's muzzle, effectively silencing his cheerful greeting.
Through their spiritual bond, she frantically transmitted her explanation.
'I'm so sorry, Puck, but Ethan finally fell asleep and I swore I wouldn't disturb him!'
The cat's Aqua blue eyes shifted past her toward the boy now occupying his daughter's bed.
Rather than indignation, mischief sparked across his feline features.
'Hmm? But that just means you can't make noise, right? I could totally belly-flop onto his face and you'd be completely innocent.'
Confronted with her supposed father's juvenile scheming, Emilia felt her face drain of color, appalled by the suggestion.
Puck, observing his daughter's mounting distress, relented with obvious reluctance.
'Alright, alright. I'll behave... for now.'
Emilia nearly launched into a lecture about his reckless attitude, but paused when she noticed his arm bag looked unusually bulky.
'What's that you're carrying?' she asked, gesturing toward the suspiciously rectangular bulge.
'Oh, this? Just a little present for our sleeping guest. Had an enlightening chat with Betty and managed to liberate something intriguing from her collection.'
Emilia's eyebrows shot up, surprised both by Puck's odd generosity toward Ethan and his apparent success in acquiring anything from Beatrice's jealously guarded library.
She'd once attempted to request access to those volumes herself, only to be answered by a violent gust of wind and the thunderous slam of the library door. Puck truly remained the sole individual capable of earning Beatrice's favor.
The spirit floated toward Ethan's sleeping form and withdrew a pristine white tome from his bag. He placed it beside the unconscious boy with unexpected tenderness, then lingered for a long, contemplative moment before drifting back to his daughter.
'Now then, care to explain why exactly you've allowed a boy to take up residence in your bedroom—'
—
A rhythmic percussion pierced the velvet oblivion. Within that perfect nothingness, I had found sanctuary, until the relentless drumming shattered my refuge.
What force dared disturb this haven? Why did it persist with such maddening determination? I shifted through the darkness, desperate to escape to some untouched corner of the void where silence might reclaim me.
The tapping intensified instead, as if sensing my resistance.
Now a cacophony joined the assault, voices weaving together in discordant symphony. Something substantial crashed onto my chest. Dense. Oppressive.
Suffocating…
…Suffocating?
Consciousness reclaimed my body. My eyes shot open only to be met with darkness. My lungs seized, desperately clawing for oxygen only to fill with... fur?
"Oops! Well, this wasn't exactly my master plan," chirped a carelessly melodic voice.
Light blazed into my retinas as blessed air flooded my airways once more.
Puck hovered before me in all his insufferable glory, dangling from Emilia's firm grip on his scruff like a misbehaving kitten.
"Good morning, sunshine!" the cat announced with theatrical cheer, instantly igniting my desire to launch the infuriating furball through the nearest window as I rubbed the tears from my eyes.
"I'm so sorry about Puck," Emilia interjected, her apology covering for the utterly unrepentant spirit. "I was attempting a gentler approach to waking you..."
I quickly understood her explanation as I registered the room's amber illumination.
"Evening already..." I mumbled, squinting at the honeyed light painting everything in sunset hues.
"You were completely exhausted," she said softly. "Nothing urgent arose today, so I let you rest. But you reeeeally should eat something."
I quickly agreed with that idea. I'd not eaten anything past breakfast and could tell my body was rather pissed off with that decision.
As I shifted to rise, my palm struck something solid where I expected only yielding mattress. Glancing down at the unexpected obstruction, my breath caught.
The book. The very tome I'd been pathetically coveting since discovering its existence in Beatrice's collection.
I lifted the substantial volume reverently. "Yang Magic - The Power of the Light." A rather pretentious title, yet it promised insights into advanced applications of Yang magic that could prove invaluable.
My gaze lifted to the obvious perpetrator of this miracle. Puck floated with shameless pride, practically radiating smugness as he awaited acknowledgment.
"Come ooooon~! Who's the absolute best? Don't be shy, I'll wait all night if necessary."
'This cat…'
Rising from the bed, I secured the precious tome in my travel bag before pulling on my boots and shrugging into my jacket. Only then did I turn my full attention to the expectant feline.
"You are unquestionably the most magnificent floating magical cat I have ever encountered in my existence, you devastatingly adorable creature," I declared with the most perfectly deadpan expression I could summon. "I believe I could cherish you for the remainder of my natural life."
The truth was that genuine gratitude warmed my chest, and I barely suppressed the urge to chuckle at my own theatrical performance.
Plucking the delighted cat from midair, I cradled him against my chest and turned toward Emilia, who waited by the doorway with barely contained amusement dancing in her violet eyes.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." I approached with an apologetic smile. "Shall we?"
She hummed her agreement, a sound like distant wind chimes.
Together, our unlikely trio made our way toward the dining hall, Emilia weaving together a tuneless melody, Puck purring with shameless contentment as I administered what could only be described as a royal massage, and me, adrift in the labyrinth of my own mind.
—
Dinner was a mostly quiet affair. Roswaal had vanished to whatever mysterious pursuits occupied his evenings, sparing me both interrogation and the need to navigate his theatrical eccentricities.
Beatrice had elected to skip the meal entirely. When I'd shot Puck a questioning glance, he'd responded with nothing more than an enigmatic shrug and a knowing smirk.
Naturally, Subaru compensated for any potential tranquility with his characteristic enthusiasm.
"So where did you three disappear to all day?" he launched in before we'd properly settled into our seats. The maids had deigned to join us this evening, though they'd strategically positioned themselves at the table's furthest edge.
Puck delivered precisely the response I would have throttled him to prevent: "Oh, we got thoroughly hot and sweaty in the forest, hurling Ethan around like a ragdoll!"
"You were only successful once!" I quickly defended myself with more indignation than I had planned.
"Lucky for you Lia was there to catch you that time, hmm?" Puck needled with sadistic glee.
"Were you two planning that or something? I was starting to feel like a ball being thrown around so many times." I muttered into my soup.
It did seem like they had some sort of plan during our sparring matches. Over the course of the hour we'd practiced, we had run 8 separate matches, and past the first two, Emilia and Puck were quick to adopt certain strategies against me.
Their favorite involved Puck vanishing entirely before ambushing me from impossible angles, launching me skyward directly into Emilia's waiting spells. The devious feline treated me like his personal volleyball, appearing from thin air to spike me through the forest canopy.
Logic suggested such repetitive tactics would become predictable, easily countered through adaptation. But Puck's harmless appearance masked the reality of facing a true monster. The Great Spirit of Fire hadn't shown me his full strength, but was still easily capable of swatting me around like a fly without me being able to fight back effectively.
Of course, his assessment had been accurate. I'd deliberately restrained myself, refusing to rely on my Authority except in desperate moments. Pain, I'd reasoned, taught avoidance better than any lecture. And even when I did take spectacular tumbles, Emilia proved zealously dedicated to ensuring I emerged unscathed.
"Absolutely not! Do you honestly believe two such innocent souls could devise anything nefarious?" Puck proclaimed while hovering beside Emilia's face. She'd been mid-bite when thrust into the spotlight, now resembling a startled chipmunk with bulging cheeks.
The very picture of innocence.
"I'm suddenly feeling very jealous over here…" grumbled Subaru from across the table.
After swallowing her mouthful with water, Emilia raised an important point.
"Oh! Subaru, I should mention—Ethan, Ram, and I depart for Costuul in two days. Your workload might intensify without Ram's assistance." She immediately bowed apologetically, as if personally responsible for this inconvenience. "I'm truly sorry about that."
Subaru's expression transformed into pure bewilderment.
"What? That's practically everyone abandoning ship!" He whirled toward me with confused accusation. "And why is Ethan going? He's not a servant, right?"
Since the inquiry targeted me directly, I felt obligated to respond.
"No. I'm not a servant, but that doesn't mean I can't go sightseeing."
"Tourism? That's your entire motivation?" His disbelief bordered on scandalized. "Hey, what about you..."
I stared at him, fully understanding what he hesitated to ask. The supposed "training" I'd offered to give him never happened. Three people working in an entire mansion left him with an insane workload; the kid never had time for anything but work.
I had kept my eyes open for him yesterday, but the one time it seemed he was on break and tried to approach me, Rem pulled him away, citing that there was more work to be done.
If he were perceptive, he would have recognized that the maid was always running interference between us; she likely saw me as some sort of plagued individual to be kept away from the boy.
So to his questioning gaze, I could only offer a noncommittal shrug.
While I returned attention to my meal, Ram's voice cut through the air like a blade, effectively drawing Subaru's attention off of me: "Barusu, if I discover you've harmed my sister in any capacity, there won't be a body to discover."
Subaru quickly leaned away from Ram and inadvertently found himself pushing into Rem.
"Ah, c'mon, Nee-sama, you can trust me! I would never do anything strange to Rem-rin!"
He wasn't helping his case. "...Barusu, perhaps I should just deal with you now before I leave." Ram mused, twirling her steak knife.
Surprisingly, Rem came to Subaru's rescue, though the words she spoke would bruise any man's pride.
"There's no need to worry, Sister. Subaru couldn't hope to do anything to me; he's practically harmless. I'll make sure we keep the manor in perfect condition for your return."
While the servant group continued to simultaneously disparage Subaru and everything he would ever achieve in life, I was quick to tune out the rest.
Redirecting focus to more pleasant company, a question surfaced: "Hey, Lia. Have you begun packing?"
"Mhm, I've gathered the essentials, but I still need to select proper outfits. Perhaps you could help me choose—"
"Absolutely not!" Puck's veto arrived with theatrical finality.
"Sorry, Lia, but I'm invoking my rights as a father over your wardrobe selection. I'll make sure you outshine every other girl in Costuul, no assistance required." He performed lazy loops around her head while Emilia deflated with visible disappointment at the swift rejection.
Then, with conspiratorial stealth, Puck drifted to my ear and whispered like a master schemer:
"Besides... Ethan, sometimes surprises make everything more interesting, don't they?"
"Eh?" was all I managed before he glided back to pilfer the bread roll Emilia had been reaching for.
I could only shake my head and grin at their perpetual antics.
—
With dinner wrapped up, I was once more willingly pulled around by Emilia, a pattern that had somehow become the defining theme of my daily existence.
Following what was now routine, I accompanied her outside for her evening communion with the spirits. Ever since my chance encounter with that rare Yang spirit, I'd been trying to track down the elusive thing again.
If not to potentially contract with it, then to simply speak with the otherworldly being.
But apparently I wasn't interesting enough to hold a spirit's attention. According to Emilia, some spirits could be pretty independent when they wanted to be.
Considering the Yang spirit had reached that level of development where it had real free will, it made sense that it was probably just drifting around, checking out whatever caught its interest before moving on.
A pretty enviable way to live, honestly.
The evening continued quietly after that. Emilia and I went over her general plan for how the city might receive her. I read through her preliminary research on Costuul's history, both of us noting that the population was predominantly demi-human.
'It seems that Roswaal isn't a complete prick just throwing ideas into the wind, I suppose.'
With that moderately encouraging thought, I wrapped up the night after suggesting a few changes to the main points she might want to hit during her speech.
Regardless of the city being mostly demi-human, and therefore maybe more open to a half-elf, history and culture had spent centuries demonizing Emilia's race. And she really did fit every stereotype perfectly.
She'd need to move fast to keep the crowd calm and receptive instead of letting fear and prejudice take over.
After getting that point across, I said goodnight and retreated to my room.
With no surprise attacks from vindictive maids or being run over by an energetic Subaru, I managed to close the door behind me, lock it, barricade it with the usual chair, and began sorting through my inventory.
I reached into the hidden pocket inside my jacket and pulled out the Gospel from its hiding spot.
With our sudden change of plans, heading to Costuul instead, I'd expected the book to maybe give me new instructions. Hell, maybe even show some irritation that I'd been ignoring its order to find my "faithful sheep" in the forest.
But it had been silent the entire time.
I still hadn't actually found the time to get into Beatrice's library myself. Thus, I couldn't do any research on the Witch's Cult. So I figured I'd play it safe and just ignore them for the moment.
A funny thought occurred to me.
'Bunch of loons sitting in the forest. What do they do all day? Are they just… sitting there? Playing card games with one another? Poor bastards…'
I almost laughed as I unhooked my sword from my belt and tossed it onto the bed, then grabbed my weapon maintenance kit.
'It's been two days since I received the Gospel, yet no deadline was specified. So maybe they really are just camping out there.'
Shaking my head, I finished oiling the blade. I'd had zero clue about proper sword maintenance until that sharp-eyed blacksmith in Arlam noticed I was a complete amateur.
'Rather humiliating, honestly.'
He'd pointed out that I didn't have calluses on my hands. That I didn't carry myself like someone who knew what they were doing with a blade.
I hadn't been using Reason and Judgment to mask myself, to hide who I really was behind some fake persona.
With the blade cleaned, I resheathed it and slid the sword under my mattress with the hilt sticking out, then looked down at my hands.
The black leather glove on my left hand and my bare right palm.
They trembled. I'd never figured out why my hands shook like that. Not violent tremors, just subtle shivers and twitches here and there. Reason and Judgment could stop it, so maybe it was mental. Or maybe my Authority had some kind of grip on my body too.
'Thoughts upon thoughts upon endless, churning thoughts...'
But it was because of those thoughts that a disturbing possibility suddenly popped into my mind.
'Shit. If I leave, there would be witch cultists sitting in the woods nearby, and Subaru, my prime suspect for being the Witch's favored, would suddenly be practically alone. If they discovered and abducted him, I'd have zero intelligence on his whereabouts.'
'Well, this fuckin' sucks. I'm going to have to deal with them before we leave, aren't I? Maybe they're a bunch of yes-men who'll obey my every whim if I swing a big enough stick with my Authority.'
Things were getting complicated again.
'If they try and drag me back to some secret hideout, I'm just going to murder them all. I'll just trust Reinhard's word that they're basically scum bags.'
But that felt reckless.
There were a million ways that could go wrong. What if they had relayed their orders to other members? If this group suddenly went missing, would I be declared persona non grata?
'Hell, ignoring the future, what about immediate threats? Who is among this group of cultists? How strong are they? My Authority and magic seem powerful to me, but who's here for this little get-together?'
I doubted they'd dispatch a Sin Archbishop to retrieve me. But who could say, maybe the bastards possessed plenty of free time?
And how strong were the Sin Archbishops? They supposedly possessed Authorities, but if that were true, didn't that just mean they possessed power as insane as my own?
'A person holding the power of an Authority breaking possible tradition in not taking their seat as a Sin Archbishop. Would they all get together to crush me?'
This was all conjecture. Everything churning through my mind was pure speculation. Thoughts devouring their own tails in endless cycles.
I drew a measured breath. Then released it.
'Take a page out of Reason and Judgment, speculation will get me nowhere.'
I acknowledged my own counsel.
'How about this? We operate under sacred doctrine: fuck it, we ball. Tomorrow, I'll go commune with my "sheep." They'll either submit to my terms, or I'll handle them permanently.'
I plastered a smile across my features. For now, I would embrace absolute mental vacancy. Free of thoughts. A certain democratic galactic government would be proud.
Refocusing on reality, I shoved the Gospel under my pillow, stripped down, and climbed into bed with my dagger in one hand and the Yang magic tome in the other.
I didn't want to do anything further for the night, save for memorizing the entirety of the Yang book.
I cracked it open and started skimming. I didn't need to read like a normal person; just a quick glance at each page was enough to have the whole thing stored in Reason and Judgment for proper analysis later.
I paused here and there for the fancy illustrations showing how Yang magic could be worked into different applications. Didn't bother with the text, just treated this probably rare and valuable tome like a picture book.
Ten minutes later, I was done. Technically didn't need the physical copy anymore, but it wouldn't be smart to toss it aside or suddenly act like I didn't care about Puck's gift.
It would be pretty rude. And I felt that I generally liked the spirit.
I stuffed the tome into my travel bag, pulled my blanket up, and gripped the sheathed dagger with both hands.
The idea of all the nonsense I'd have to deal with soon sounded exhausting. So I made use of a tried and true method that had worked even back on Earth.
'Future me can deal with all this crap. Not my problem anymore.'
Bingo. Why stress when it ain't your problem, right?
With that final genius-level psychological play, my head hit the pillow, and I fell into peaceful oblivion.
—
Author's Yap Session (Holy shit, how long does this guy go on for?!):
Whoooo boy, this is gonna be a long one!
First thing on the list: Indomitable.
Many of you are likely aware that I took one particular element from another Re:Zero fanfiction out there, it was the Authority of Pride from the King of Pride.
I haven't taken all the power from that fic, dunno if I will, leaning towards no right now. But Reason and Judgment, and Indomitable are not my creations. Now I've gotten a review by a fellow Re:Zero author who questioned why in the world I wouldn't just make my own Authority. A valid question.
The answer?
I'm a lazy bastard.
Nah, I'm fuckin' with you. That's not the real answer.
The real answer is that I liked the themes behind those powers; they connected well with who I wanted Ethan to be, and I felt they weren't too overpowered.
During Ethan's breakdown of Indomitable, many of you probably thought, "Damn, this shit is literally just a discount Lion's Heart," and in some cases, it certainly shares many parallels. But I'm also working on the totality of that element of the Authority from a rather blank slate and have some more ideas for the future.
I may have taken the name from The King of Pride, and the base ability of being able to fuck shit up and take no damage, but reading through 60 chapters of the fucking 1 million words that madman (or woman) wrote, I don't think it was actually fucking explained what Indomitable really was. (I read that a long while ago, so maybe I'm just misremembering or missed it.)
So I got creative. Or at least I think I got creative. I dunno, maybe this shit was as generic as you could get.
My original draft of Indomitable was a conceptual nullification of any and all opposition to his state of undefeatable. I thought that was too overpowered, though, so I toned it down.
Also, I really did try and brainstorm this fuck-ass ability up. Ignoring inertia and all that nonsense, but then realizing that an object with zero inertia would simply fall to the ground due to gravity, and like 10 other stupid fundamental laws and how they impact things. I HATE REALITY—
So I hope the ability at least sounds useful. If not, I'm gonna go dunk my head in a bucket of milk before... idk, reworking the entire thing.
The second item on the agenda!
We're coming up on the climax of Arc 2. I worried this lil note here might be a spoiler, but by the time you've read this, it should be pretty obvious.
Ethan is leaving Roswaal Manor for it. And I'm sure you can come up with some ideas for how this all is going down, and what Roswaal is cooking up. Also, this lets Ethan have his own separate adventures, obviously, so no more worrying about him babysitting Subaru. It won't happen. Our lovable lolimancer WILL suffer. It wouldn't be Re:Zero if he didn't.
I'm gonna work on both of them having their own separate experiences that eventually clash together, and it's totally gonna be cool, and the pacing will totally get better.
You can trust me.
I would never lie.
Now finally! I'm calling upon readers to leave ideas on Yang magic. This shit was hardly touched on in the Anime, and I really don't want to have to go sifting through every LN to find examples. I'm already thinking up some base applications for it in the future, but more ideas never hurt anybody. (factually incorrect statement)