I am afraid of the final battle.
I fear the day when I might have to face Ellen in combat.
In my current state, I believe I am no match for either Ellen or the dragon. As it stands, I must rely on Alsbringer to sacrifice my life, which is why I have come to Rezaira, seeking the next step.
Regardless of what I achieve here, I will participate in the final battle.
Thus, what I possess is not courage but rather arrogance or obstinacy.
Because I have the Alsbringer, all my actions are inevitably arrogant.
Since I have resolved to use the Alsbringer in the end if everything goes awry, I cannot possess true courage.
"Fear and terror, you don't abandon them. Instead, you face them while embracing that fear and terror. That's what courage is," Luna said.
I slowly nodded my head in agreement.
It's not about letting go of fear or forgetting terror, but embracing them and facing your adversary despite feeling suffocating fear and dread.
That was the condition to be chosen by the Alixion.
The Alixion is a sacred artifact similar to the Alsbringer.
Just as Alsbringer chooses someone who can die for the world as its master, the Alixion appears in response to the desires of those who show true courage.
If I can understand and display true courage before the otherworldly dragon, will the Alixion appear before me in response to my desires?
But then, what changes?
"What is the true power of the Alixion?" I asked.
"A sacred spear that seeks those who face insurmountable foes with genuine terror and yet stand against them. What do you think it would grant such a person? What would they need?" Luna replied.
It's a divine gift bestowed upon those who display true courage.
Have the conditions already been met?
True courage, drawn out by genuine terror.
That is what it can and must give.
"Power to confront anything, no matter the opponent."
Luna's words were clear.
"That's all."
The reckless fighter who overcomes fear and terror and stands against their foe needs nothing but power.
The Alixion lends power to confront anything, no matter the adversary.
No matter how strong the otherworldly dragon is, if chosen by the sacred spear Alixion, one can obtain power to stand against it.
In a way, isn't the Alixion the ultimate divine artifact?
If I were granted the Alixion, all this hardship might become meaningless.
But it's ironic.
Knowing about the Alixion has made the likelihood of obtaining it all the more uncertain.
Relying on the Alsbringer in the final battle is not courage but arrogance and obstinacy.
Hoping the Alixion will find me in the final battle and standing before the enemy is also far from true courage.
Rather, because I now know that the Alixion responds and chooses based on true courage, I can't be sure that my own courage will ever be pure.
Ignorance is bliss, indeed.
It was a perfect match.
It would have been better if I didn't know. It's not that Luna and Ronan told me when I didn't want to know; I asked directly.
I shouldn't expect that the Alixion will definitely be mine.
Deliberately fearing the enemy and feeling terror while pondering the nature of true courage is also a foolish act.
If the Alixion chooses me, there may not be a situation to warrant it, but if not, I must stand before it nonetheless.
Alixion, being a powerful artifact, had not made many appearances thus far.
To expect it would be a luxury.
Even if some strong fate were at work for me, it was unlikely that Alixion would conveniently appear in a favorable situation.
Therefore, I do what I must.
The snow had not ceased.
Before venturing into the forest, I had cleared the snow piled up overnight in the village and on rooftops, along with the villagers.
Not only at Ellen's house but also the roofs of other villagers' houses. After all, there were places in Rezaira that needed the help of a young hand.
"Reinhardt! Come down and have some ginger tea!"
"Yes, Granny!"
Having been a guest for so long, I was occasionally treated as one of the villagers.
It was quite amusing.
Now that I am revealed to be the Demon King, there is no one to treat me as before.
However, if it were the days when I was the Temple's rascal Reinhardt, what would they think seeing me favored by grandmothers and grandfathers in the countryside?
No, it is even more amusing that the Demon King does such things.
If someone were to broadcast my appearance like this throughout the continent, would they realize I am not that dangerous?
The Demon King chopping wood, the Demon King uprooting tree roots, the Demon King going to the fields, the Demon King clearing snow.
As my life in Rezaira grew longer, various thoughts began to cross my mind.
After the snow clearing was roughly finished, I headed toward the forest over the snow-covered mountain with a shovel and pickaxe in hand.
It was amusing that I insisted on going to the fields on a day when the snow piled up so much that it was difficult to walk properly, but honestly, I liked it.
The more challenging the task, the more focus is required.
Thus, harsh situations were good for me, and there was no reason they would be bad. After all, going to the fields was my goal, but not my purpose.
"Damn it."
Of course, that's just talk. Seeing the snow-covered path to the Rezaira border, which was quite far from the cleared land, my foot sinking deep into the snow, and the path disappearing from sight, it was frustrating.
If I used the Flame of Tuesday, I could have melted not only the path in front of me but also all the snow piled up in the village.
I thought about just closing my eyes and using it, but in the end, I didn't and began wading through the snow.
What I can do, Luna can undoubtedly do as well.
I still don't know what the Sun and Moon clan wants and what they do, but Rezaira fundamentally doesn't use mysterious powers in daily life.
Should I call it naturalistic?
Out of respect for the way of life in Rezaira and Luna, I don't intend to use powers that don't belong here.
Using the Flame of Tuesday would have made many things easier.
To begin with, I could have melted the freezing ground and started clearing the land, so the land-clearing work would already be finished.
But I didn't do that.
By not doing so, I was now able to maintain the extreme efficiency of Magic Body Strengthening throughout the day and even while sleeping.
Now that I've come this far, I can't use the Flame of Tuesday just for convenience.
I know now that there is a definite value in inconvenience.
"Ugh."
Still.
It was indeed uncomfortable...
Left alone, the fallen and accumulated snow would slowly melt and turn into ice.
Scooping out the snow and breaking the frozen layer underneath with a pickaxe, Reinhardt carried on with the tedious and lengthy task of clearing the path.
Snow that fell in the mountains during winter hardly melted. Usually, such snow would slowly melt away only when the next season arrived, suddenly disappearing on a warm day.
That's why, even though heavy snow had not fallen for several days, one could still find snow anywhere in Rezaira throughout the winter.
Amidst such days, Reinhardt continued to follow the mountain trails even after the villagers had cleared the snow in the village, and the children had stopped having snowball fights. He would only return home when the sun began to set.
Thus, another day, two days, a week, and a month passed.
His work pace remained slow.
No matter how strong his physique, there was a limit to the durability of his equipment, so he had to regulate his strength. Regardless of how much he adjusted, the shovel blade would still bend or the axe blade would break on occasion.
In a state close to trance, Reinhardt repeatedly struck the shovel and pickaxe into the ground, prying out rocks.
One day, after having mechanically performed such tasks for several days as if he had forgotten what he was doing.
That day, as winter passed and the snow piled up in the forest and mountains began to sublimate at the start of spring.
On one such day, as the snow waited to melt alongside the signal of warmer weather.
Luna had been watching Reinhardt.
She had been watching him from just a step behind, but Reinhardt was completely unaware of her presence.
Thud!
The shovel was easily embedded in the frozen ground.
Whack!
Luna quietly observed the pickaxe blade piercing the ground as if slicing through tofu, rather than colliding with it.
"Congratulations, Reinhardt."
"...?"
Upon hearing the sudden voice from behind, Reinhardt turned around, dumbfounded.
"Congratulations?"
"Yes."
Luna pointed at the shovel Reinhardt was holding.
"Have you not entered the next realm?"
A blue mana light shimmered on the shovel in Reinhardt's hand.
"What, what is this?"
"..."
Reinhardt had been so focused that he didn't even realize he had surpassed the wall at some point.
Luna smiled as she saw Reinhardt staring blankly at the shovel in his hand, wearing a dumbfounded expression.
"Stop plowing the earth; it's a meaningless task for you now."
"..."
Hearing Luna's words, Reinhardt looked around, still in a daze.
The vast forest had been almost completely cleared. Reinhardt, who had been dumbfoundedly observing the impressive yet humble achievement he had accomplished over a long period, turned his gaze to Luna.
"Can't I just finish the little that's left?"
"..."
Rather than being happy about becoming a Master Class, Reinhardt seemed more reluctant to leave the task he had been given incomplete.
"If you really want to do it, go ahead..."
Perhaps due to the strange antics he had engaged in for such a long time, Reinhardt had developed a peculiar stubbornness.
"Then hurry up and leave; you're in the way."
"..."
Whack! Whack!
After saying that, Reinhardt began to furiously dig into the ground once more.
—---
As I had reached the Master Class, my work speed could not help but increase drastically.
Having acquired the strongest shovel and pickaxe, I could now use my full strength.
In the end, I managed to complete the remaining parts of the work I had been doing throughout the winter in just one day. Breaking and cutting through the frozen ground.
Thus, Luna's instruction to plow the field in response to my question of what to do to concentrate my mind was now completely fulfilled.
The thrill of becoming a Master class.
In truth, I am not quite sure.
I am not sure when this became possible.
Hadn't I already leaped over the wall, if there ever was one?
I blankly stared at the blue mana coiling around the fork I was holding.
I couldn't really feel what had changed significantly, but I had definitely become able to imbue objects I held with magical power.
Ironically, I used swords the most, but I reached the Master class while digging and using a pickaxe.
Well, if you think of it in terms of martial arts, couldn't you attach words like "Master of Ten Thousand Streams" or something?
"Congratulations, Reinhardt."
"Ah, yes... Thank you..."
I dumbly nodded at Ronan's words.
"Thanks? We didn't teach you anything. You figured it all out by yourself."
Luna said so while quietly eating bread, and Ronan nodded as well.
Perhaps I shouldn't be grateful.
Luna hadn't really taught me anything directly.
She fed me and put me to bed and occasionally spoke vaguely, but strictly speaking, I couldn't say she had taught me directly.
If anything, Arta taught me more.
But that didn't mean I hadn't learned anything from them.
Ronan only talked about the flame of the heart.
Luna only spoke a few words about my emotions.
Such things were more about a mindset than actual teachings.
Had I forgotten my anguish?
Not really.
Had I reached a conclusion about my complex emotions?
No, not that either.
Luna and Ronan thus claimed they hadn't taught me anything.
However, I couldn't say that I hadn't truly learned anything.
The time spent with these two, the days spent in Rezaira.
I couldn't simply think that they had fed me and put me to bed while I was on my personal training.
Luna, as she ate bread, spoke to me while I pondered complex thoughts.
"We'll gather the villagers."
"..."
"Leave tonight."
It's already nighttime; couldn't I stay another day?
That wasn't possible.
To say such a thing would be to admit my fear of returning to the world.
I couldn't postpone facing the changes that had occurred in my absence.
With not a day to spare, I couldn't afford to linger here any longer.
So, Luna tried to send me off quickly before I became weak-hearted, having achieved my goal. Sending me off quickly was not for her sake, but for mine.
That must be her thought process.
Yet.
That emotionless statement.
It hurt.
A lot.
Quite a lot.
It hurt.
