[67] Eiji's Lifelong Ideal

The afternoon sunlight spilled into the spacious infirmary, illuminating the snow-white walls brightly.

After Senior Sister left, only Eiji and Kanata remained in the room.

Click!

Kanata glanced behind her.

Although there didn't seem to be anyone around, she cautiously closed the door.

Not only that, she walked to the window and shut all the open windows, turning the entire infirmary into a sealed room.

Wait.

Why are you closing all the doors and windows?

Are you planning to commit a crime or something else?

Eiji looked at Kanata with uncertainty.

Although his physical strength was almost completely depleted, his magical power had mostly recovered.

Haha, having low magical power has its benefits—it refills quickly... Damn it, as I laughed, tears started welling up inside me.

"Don't worry, I just want to talk to you about something and don't want to be disturbed."

Kanata walked to the bedside, saw the apple rabbit on the nightstand, picked one up, and put it in her mouth.

"Thank you for going easy on me during the match."

She chewed the fruit while sitting down on the edge of the bed, looking completely at ease.

"At the last moment, you changed your device into an illusionary form, right? Otherwise, I would have been in serious danger."

Her expression had returned to its usual gentleness, fitting her noble demeanor, with no trace of the bloodthirsty aura she had during the battle.

At the end of the match, Eiji's point-blank sonic bomb instantly shattered her defenses. But when the blade pierced her body, it only caused a sharp pain without inflicting any real damage.

"It's nothing. You're Senior Sister's best friend, after all. I couldn't really kill you, or Senior Sister would definitely blame me."

Eiji replied nonchalantly.

If that blade had truly pierced her body, it would have been no joke.

If Kurono Shinguuji hadn't reacted in time to stop her clock, she might have really died.

"Would Senior Sister really blame you... How enviable."

Kanata seemed momentarily stunned, her face showing a hint of envy toward Touka.

"Why?"

Eiji was puzzled.

What's there to envy? I'm the one who should be envying you—your family is so rich it's practically drowning in money!

"No, it's nothing."

Kanata shook her head, seemingly unwilling to elaborate on the matter.

"What I really want to ask is—why are you able to fearlessly defy fate?"

She looked at Eiji with intense curiosity.

It seemed she was determined to get an answer to this question from him.

"Why do you like discussing fate with me so much?"

Eiji was utterly confused, his face filled with bewilderment.

"I heard about your childhood from Touka, so I'm curious... And I also want to know if you could become a role model for me."

Kanata, the wealthy heiress, fell silent for a moment.

She seemed to be pondering whether to share this secret, but after some thought, she decided that since she wanted to know Eiji's secrets, she shouldn't hold back either. So, she revealed the turmoil she had been feeling over the past few days.

"I see, an arranged marriage by the family. That's such a cliché plot you can find in any story."

Eiji lay on the bed, stretching his sore shoulders.

He then fell into deep thought, lowering his head as he considered how to explain.

"...Kanata, do you know what it feels like to be weak?"

After a long while, Eiji finally looked up.

His expression had turned serious, and the usual carefree demeanor he carried was completely gone at this moment.

"No, I've never experienced that kind of trouble."

Kanata shook her head, her soft golden hair swaying gently.

Since birth, everything had gone smoothly for her. She had never faced any real hardships, and any obstacles were easily overcome by her family's influence and her own strength.

Eiji's mouth twitched slightly, as Kanata unintentionally flaunted her privilege.

"It's different for me. I've deeply experienced how terrifying it feels to be weak."

Eiji turned his head, his gaze fixed on the white ceiling, his expression tinged with nostalgia.

"Being weak is incredibly painful. It feels like your life is no longer in your control. That fear, that unease, turned even sleep—the only thing that could be considered rest—into a torment. I was afraid I might die in my sleep, never to open my eyes again..."

Extreme weakness can push a person to the brink of death.

In the first few years after crossing over, he lived in constant pain and fear.

"At first, I hated everything."

Lost in his memories, Eiji seemed to recall his past experiences, his eyes darkening slightly.

"..."

Kanata was surprised to see that this always healthy and positive young man could also show such a dark, hate-filled expression, as if he had been abandoned by the entire world.

That's right.

Eiji didn't start off strong.

In the first few years after crossing over, when his body wasn't even fully developed and he couldn't train properly, he harbored hatred for everything in his heart.

Self-pity was his default state back then.

Of course, he hated himself. But when playing life simulation games, who hasn't thought of creating an extreme character? So, that kind of thing is actually understandable. What he should really hate is the act of crossing over itself. No one told him that creating a character would lead to crossing over. This "theft without consent" was the real culprit.

But what he hated most was his own weakness.

Weakness was the root of his suffering.

In the years after his rebirth, immersed in pain and fear, he radiated an aura of hatred for everything, as if the entire world had abandoned him.

"But sometimes, hatred can become fuel."

Unwilling to accept a life where his existence could be snuffed out at any moment, Eiji, still steeped in negative emotions, began to train himself relentlessly once his body started to develop.

The anger, resentment, fear, and terror within him became the bridge that motivated him to push through the pain and screams of his body, time and time again, surpassing his limits.

After all, things couldn't get any worse, so there was no need to hold back. He just had to give it his all.

In the beginning, every movement he made would tear his muscle fibers and fracture his bones. Each training session required a doctor to be by his side, using their abilities to heal his body in real-time.

But over time, he gradually grew accustomed to this life-and-death style of training.

Fortunately, his relentless efforts paid off. Years of pushing himself to the limit allowed his physique to gradually improve, bringing him closer to the level of a normal person.

A year ago, he was finally able to get out of bed. Over the past year, he had restored his body to a normal level, and now, with the help of Nene, he was striving for superhuman physical abilities.

"...I can't believe you managed to persevere."

After listening to Eiji's story, Kanata remained silent for a long time before finally shaking her goosebump-covered arms and letting out an admiring sigh.

No wonder he was able to train so recklessly in the forest yesterday—he was already used to pushing himself to the limit.

"Because I have good people around me."

Eiji shrugged, using the motion to stretch his body.

The luckiest thing in his life was being taken in by the God of War.

That old man, though he looked unreliable, treated Eiji as his own child. When Eiji started training himself to the brink of death, the old man immediately sought out the best doctors in Japan to stay by his side.

Over the past decade, he had spent countless resources and called in numerous favors to ensure Eiji could grow up successfully.

Senior Sister was the same, always caring for him gently and without complaint.

"I hate weakness—no, I loathe it."

Eiji said this, "Even now, I still despise weakness."

Kanata noticed that as he spoke these words, the darkness that had clouded his face earlier was gone.

It was likely a sign that he had emerged from the shadows of his past.

She continued to listen to Eiji's story, her thoughts becoming clearer and clearer.

"—So, I want to become the strongest in the world."

The words that came out of Eiji's mouth were so shocking that they immediately recaptured Kanata's attention, leaving her staring at him in a daze.

"—Because the strongest in the world is the farthest thing from weakness."

Eiji was hopelessly obsessed with hating weakness.

Thus, the pursuit of strength became his driving force.

And becoming the strongest in the world was the ideal he was willing to push himself to the limit to achieve.

To become the strongest, he needed to constantly surpass his limits, defeat opponents who seemed unbeatable, and absorb all kinds of knowledge and skills to grow stronger.

When Eiji defeated Kurono Shinguuji, he felt indifferent.

But when he defeated Kanata, he was overjoyed, feeling an extraordinary sense of satisfaction.

Because defeating an opponent who seemed impossible to beat meant he had once again surpassed himself, achieving growth.

His past life was already behind him.

In this life, he had found a new ideal, tempered a will of steel, and possessed effective talent and abilities. There was no way he could abandon himself now.

His goal was to become the strongest in the world!

And once he achieved that, or even reached a level beyond it, he would find the culprit who caused him to cross over and punch them in the face, demanding to know why they had given him such a difficult second life—if such a culprit even existed.

"...Have you heard of the concept of fate power?"

Kanata fell silent for a moment, her eyes shining with a strange light as she looked at Eiji.

"The idea that magical power represents fate?"

"Exactly."

"I know."

In this world of 'Chivalry of a Failed Knight,' magical power doesn't refer to life force but rather an innate spiritual energy.

The total amount of this spiritual energy doesn't change based on the will of the Blazer. It can't be increased through training—whatever amount you're born with is what you'll always have.

Thus, some have proposed the idea that "the amount of magical power one possesses represents the share of fate they bear, and the strength of their influence on the world."

This is an extremely pessimistic view. Just hearing it makes one feel a sense of resignation toward fate, something Eiji deeply despises.

However, this idea holds a certain truth—statistics show that every Blazer who has left their mark on history possessed an exceptionally high amount of magical power. Conversely, those with extremely low magical power are almost nonexistent in historical records.

Therefore, the idea that magical power represents fate power is quite popular among Blazers.

***

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