Episode 8

Before the sun had fully risen, in the hour when morning mist covered the lake, a lone boy practiced.

Though the sword he handled with ease was a little shorter than his height, the sight was uncanny—but luckily no one was around. He carefully checked each movement. In the quiet, he kept swinging in silence, and eventually paused to catch his breath.

(That should do for now. I still couldn’t deny I was lacking in power.)

If you went behind the Lagias manor, there was a large lake. Zeke (Hiroto) stood on its shore.

A month had passed since the battle with the basilisk. The night after the fight, he had been too excited to sleep and, as he recalled, only drifted off at dawn.

His first real battle had been against a boss monster from the story, one with troublesome attacks. He had laid plans in advance, challenged it in peak condition, and, with a result that could be called a perfect victory, Hiroto had been satisfied.

But after some time, thinking it over, he began to wonder if it had truly been a perfect victory.

Hiroto didn’t think it was wrong to use knowledge of the original to tilt things in his favor. He believed survival depended on making effective use of the cards in his hand.

But what would he do when faced with the unexpected? The basilisk they fought had already suffered paralysis and external injuries beforehand.

Could he have read those sharp attacks and venom breath without the paralysis? Could he have cut that hard hide with a sword while it was unscathed? Could he have cast magic without losing his cool?

He had no intention of throwing away advantages and fighting fair and square—but in any situation, he needed to act with near-perfection, without panic. Failure led straight to death.

He engraved anew on his heart the sense of peril he had first felt after possessing Zeke, and he had resumed training a month ago.

So what had become of the enhancement plan he had started to grow stronger? —Brink’s instruction was currently on hold.

He had told Brink that once the specific remedy needed to treat his son was complete, they would take a break from lessons. —Converted, of course, into the harsh wording “Don’t show your face.”

He had acted purely for his own sake, but he still worried about how things had turned out.

Even if it had led to an outcome no one wanted, he didn’t intend to take responsibility—but people wanted happiness more than misfortune.

Whether his thoughts had reached them or not, a letter arrived from Brink the other day.

It said the bedridden boy who had been unable to move properly could now, with support, stand and walk. Because he had been bedridden for over a year, full recovery would take time, but Brink would repay the debt without fail.

It also said the doctors and apothecaries were in an uproar.

Hiroto had intended to write, “Please stay with your son until things settle,” but, as expected, the auto-conversion turned it into, “Don’t set foot in the Lagias Domain until you fix that gloomy face.”

(So even letters get changed… Just how strictly is this ‘setting’ enforced, seriously?)

Fortunately, his training pace had been left to him by his parents, so it hadn’t become an issue. If Brink had a timeline for returning, they could resume then; for now, he intended to keep practicing on his own.

(Next up is magic.)

“Freeze Shot.”

After a short chant, shards of ice flew into the lake.

As a beginner spell, its power was low, but it activated quickly. It required little mana and had a short incantation, making it perfect for harassment.

Like swordplay, Hiroto was a novice at magic, but he practiced magic on his own without a tutor.

He would normally have liked to ask someone to teach him, but with sword instruction on hiatus, saying he wanted yet another tutor would only invite who knew what from those parents. At the very least, while he was still a child, he should avoid open hostility. In the end, he planned to cut them off.

Fool Lagias, the husband, and Noisy Lagias, the wife—dubbed the “Corrupt Couple” by fans.

In the original, they appeared as lords of the Lagias Domain, using their position to oppress the people.

Bleeding them with heavy taxes was standard; they preyed on others’ weaknesses to pursue their own gain. Their deeds all but proclaimed that everything was for wealth.

In the main story, blinded by greed, they brought about their own deaths and exited. In a side story, the dissolution of the Lagias house was described.

Zeke’s memories were gone, and Hiroto had no attachment to them. If anything, he felt they deserved condemnation.

Whatever came next, so long as past sins could not be offset, he had no intention of risking himself to save them.

—Because just dealing with himself already took everything he had.