Parting of Ways

"Okay," I said. "I'd better go give my current party some reason I'm splitting from them."

"Good point. I'll go and explain it to them for you," Ciel proposed.

What a shock that would give them, if the third-born princess of the land suddenly appeared before them... I didn't know how much they already hated me at this point in time, but given that sooner or later they would have me killed, I needn't try to spare them.

"I'm not letting you go," she warned me.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not going anywhere." Oh, I really should tell her the truth, shouldn't I? "When I'm eighteen," I told her, "I get attacked and killed by some monster. It's happened seven times so far."

"Wow...seven times."

"If things get dire, get out of there."

"Dummy," Ciel said with a fearless smile. "Didn't I just say I'm not letting you go?"

"Yes, but..."

The next words out of Ciel's mouth crashed through each and every one of my seven lives with an impact that completely shattered my understanding. "So, uh, have you really come so far never knowing about experience points?"

"Experience points...?" Well, sure, I knew about them. They were how adventurers boosted proficiency and gained levels—both player levels and individual skill levels. That was how I had gained strength in each of my lives.

"Remille. You have the accumulated experience points of seven whole loops."

"What?!"

"I thought something was odd. The skill paths I could see in front of you aren't ones that require much XP. Have you really just let your accumulated XP go completely to waste for all these lives?"

"How can that...?" I stammered. In each loop I had done my best to build up experience within that lifetime. Each time, I'd started from square one, building proficiency in my arts over those three years.

"With this much XP to work with, plus my help, you could become anything you wanted," she said.

"Anything I wanted...?"

"Master swordsman, sage, dragon knight... Seriously, anything."

Top-tier classes out of legend, all of them. Could a mid-level screwup like me really become such a thing?

"For real?" I asked aloud.

"Yep. That's what the Eye of Appraisal is for."

Rumor had it that a high-level Appraisal skill could illuminate the path toward a person's future. It could let you see how to take the next step to move toward your goal. That's why a master of Appraisal was so highly valued. To randomly bump into one like this was an incredible bit of luck. Come to think of it... "Uh, Ciel, why are you here in the first place?"

"Why am I here? I dunno, I had nowhere else to be?"

"No, I mean...you're the third-born princess. More importantly, that Eye is a treasure of the kingdom..."

"More importantly? Rude! But yeah, this Eye is a huge pain, so I ran away."

"Ran away..." Jeez, if I get caught I'm in major trouble, huh?

"But now that I've found a purpose, I can attain my freedom. As long as you're with me."

"What are you talking about?"

"Master swordsman, sage, dragon knight," she repeated. "Any one of those would be a huge asset to the kingdom's military strength, right?"

"You mean..."

"Yes. For me to find such a gemstone to polish up—a gem of such extreme power—should make my father very happy."

This can't be real...

"I see you don't believe me. Okay, for starters, how about you stand over there and take five practice swings?"

"Practice? Right here?"

"Here's fine," she said dismissively.

As I battled my reluctance to draw my sword in the middle of the city, she abruptly flung me a tree branch. "Well, here goes nothing," I muttered. As instructed, I took a practice swing.

"Awful. The angle should be like this."

"Ack!" I exclaimed. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" Childlike as she seemed, she was still quite a beautiful girl. Actually, she probably wasn't that much younger than me at this point in time. Worse and worse.

"Focus," she commanded. "Grip it like this. Keep your center of gravity here."

"You're quite the expert."

She continued giving various pointers until I finally met her satisfaction and could actually begin my practice swings.

"Wow. Your advice was right on the money." Swinging was so easy, and the simple tree branch felt natural in my hands. It felt like it had in the second half of my previous life, after I had worked to raise my abilities... Wait, is that possible?

"Yup. Congrats on becoming an intermediate-level swordsman."

"No way..." I hadn't mastered this technique until my second loop. In other words, this was a skill that should normally take over three years to acquire. Even after I'd gotten the knack of it during my second loop, it still always took at least a year of practicing every day with the sword to attain that level. To do it in just a few minutes...

"That's the power of Appraisal," Ciel said. "If you stick with me, there's no doubt you will attain great strength."

My heart pounded with the possibilities. Could I really do this?

"This wouldn't work with just anyone, you know. This path was already open for you, so in this case it didn't take much. It won't be this simple to become just anything," she continued.

"Mm, sure..."

"Are you actually listening to me?"

As her suspicious glare seemed to correctly discern, I was really only half listening. I was still distracted by absorbing the shock of this new knowledge.

"Well, I'll let it go for now. This gives me a perfect justification for my excursion into the world. All that's left is to deal with your party. Let's go."

"Huh?" Before I could stop her, Ciel pulled me along after her.

"I can't come here too often, so I'd like to get your withdrawal from your party all settled today."

"But I already split up with them for the day. I dunno where they went off to."

"No problem. Lemme just show you another new skill real quick."

"Um...okay." As though new skills were something you could just pick up at a moment's notice...

❖❖❖

"Huh? Who is—is that Remille? Who's that with him?"

To my surprise, Ciel helped me learn the Detection skill almost instantly. Using that, it was a piece of cake to find Margus. Fortunately, Rui and Aman were with him.

"Was he following us?" Rui wondered.

"What a creep..."

Okay, so it seems like they did feel this way from the beginning, I guess. While learning Detection I had also picked up the skill of Interception, so I could hear everything they said. Presumably the three of them were together so that they could talk about things they didn't want me to hear. My heart sank a bit. No, don't think like that. I'd come too far to hold back now.

"What's going on?" Margus demanded. "I thought the meeting was tomorrow."

"Oh, uh, sorry," I replied. "I wanted to talk about something that couldn't wait. I'm glad you're all here. Please follow me."

"Why are you being all formal-like? Well, whatever. The girls too?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, okay."

We couldn't risk Ciel being seen in any crowded area, so we'd decided to lead them down a winding alley to have this discussion.

"So, Remille, what's going on?"

Deep breath. In all my seven lives, this was the first time I'd ever told them I wanted out of the party. "Margus. I hate to say this, but please let me leave the party."

"Huh?"

"What?!"

"You're kidding..."

All three of them immediately looked like they'd been caught doing something—the kind of expression that can only mean some sort of guilty conscience. Anyone with an ounce of perception would have known just from those looks that something was up. For me to have suspected nothing throughout seven whole lives...I really was an idiot.

Margus recovered quickly and wiped the momentary betrayal of guilt from his face before he spoke. "Hey now... Didn't you just say all that stuff about fighting by our side? Where is this coming from all of a sudden?"

"I...had second thoughts."

"If you split up from us, where would you go from here?"

In other words, someone like me has no place to go, is what he meant to say. To be fair, from their point of view, they only knew me as a bit of a dunce.

"I have been invited to a different party."

"Idiot. Don't be so gullible. You're being played."

Yeah, but by whom...? I kept that thought to myself.

Margus continued. "At best, anyone who's trying to recruit you at this point just wants you to do chores or carry their stuff. Sure, you may be a bit less powerful than the rest of us, but that just means that as part of our party you'll be able to do whatever you want, right?"

"Chores, huh?" That description fit all of my previous lives. Doing chores and lugging baggage—that was really how they had seen me. Since I was technically part of the nobility, I was the perfect person for them to use that way. That was the cold hard truth.

"Anyway, who on earth tried to con you into teaming up? I wanna have a word with this guy. Introduce us."

"Sure thing. I'll introduce you."

"Good. I'll take care of this for you," Margus assured me.

I signaled to Ciel. She lowered her hood, revealing her face.

"What the...?"

"No way..."

"—!"

Aman was the first to move. Margus and Rui quickly followed her lead, kneeling and bowing their heads.

"Oh, get up," Ciel told them. "You there, swordsman. You wanted to talk to me?"

"F-F-F-F-Forgive me, Your Highness! Never did I dare to imagine that I had the honor of addressing someone of your royal magnificence..." Margus's whole body trembled as he stammered out his apology.

"Heh. It's fine, it's fine. However, this man will be coming with me."

"Yes, of course, absolutely! B-But, if, if I may be so bold, Your Highness...would not the three of us be of greater use to you...?" Margus spoke stiffly through clenched teeth, working to keep his shaking body under control.

Of course he would think that. But Ciel's next words were not what Margus was hoping for. In a voice cold enough to freeze your heart, Ciel spoke bluntly. "I have no need for any of you. You're cheap goods. Not even worth Appraising."

"Wh...?"

Rui and Aman, lumped into her evaluation, impulsively looked up and stiffened.

"You know of my abilities, I assume?" Ciel continued. "I'll give you the basic rundown. I have the skill of Appraisal. As you probably know, it gives me the ability to see a person's skill set and growth potential. But this Eye also has the power to see through to the truth of someone's character, to tell good from evil." All three of them winced. Up until this moment, it had probably never occurred to them that they might come down on the evil side of that divide. "If you promise to stay out of our lives from now on, I am willing to let your earlier rudeness slide. However, if you intend to interfere with us..." Ciel paused for dramatic effect. "You'll have to contend with him."

"What the—?!" By that point, Margus and the others could no longer keep the irritation from their faces.

"Hmm? You object?"

"No, no..." Margus replied quickly. "That is, do you mean to suggest that were we to best this man in combat, you would see fit to acknowledge our worth?"

"Hmm... Okay, deal. Not that you have any shot against him."

Margus turned and fixed his gaze on me, with Rui and Aman quickly following suit. Their eyes glittered with the joy of a predator that had just spotted its prey.

Ciel saw their expressions and sighed. "Okay then, tomorrow. Colosseum. Be there."

"Ciel, wait—" I stammered.

"Don't worry. This is the perfect chance to prove yourself to my father as well."

"But..." At my current level, I did not think I had any chance to win three against one. I would die without reaching my potential or bringing any glory to the kingdom. Nevertheless...

"Remille." Ciel addressed me earnestly. "I will personally guarantee your victory." Her smile was fearless. I instinctively shied away from the savage glint in her eyes.

"Fascinating..." Margus said. "Remille. I accept this challenge."

"A chance to prove myself to a princess...I will not squander it," Rui chimed in.

"Although against such a weak opponent, it hardly seems fair," Aman added.

Their predatory gazes pierced through me like a blade. And thus, without any input from me, were the plans for our showdown formed.

❖❖❖

We arrived at the inn. It bore so little resemblance to the inns I was used to frequenting, though, that I wasn't sure that "inn" was even the proper word. For one thing, the rooms were ludicrously large. Each single room could have fit ten of the rooms I usually stayed in. Ciel assured me that as tomorrow's events had been announced publicly, this amount of pomp and circumstance was to be expected. Such was the awesome power of royalty.

My head spun with the surreality of the whole situation. I had to force myself to actually pay attention to my conversation with Ciel. "So, what are you planning?"

"Planning?"

"Yeah, it's not like I can beat the three of them as is."

"What are you talking about?" she replied. "Those guys can't stand up to an intermediate swordsman."

"No, no, that's..." Margus was a master magic swordsman, and Rui could take down a foe with a single spell. As for Aman, if there even was a way to break through her impregnable defenses, I sure didn't know it. There was no way around the conclusion that I was a goner.

Nevertheless, Ciel seemed completely undaunted. "Well, if you're so nervous about it, I guess I could teach you one more skill."

"Can you?" I asked eagerly.

"Of course I can. Let's see...would you look the other way for a bit?"

"Sure."

Ciel went about some sort of preparations, muttering things like "not like you really need it..." all the while.

"Hey," she said to me after a minute.

"Yeah?"

"Oi! Don't look over here!"

"Huh?" I didn't mean to look. I really didn't mean to look, but come on, who wouldn't take a peek in this situation, right?

"Did you see anything...?"

"Nothing."

"Okay, good. I wore the yellow ones today, and they're really not that flattering."

"Huh? Weren't they red?" ...Oops.

"You were peeking, you idiot!!!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Hey now, get dressed first, then yell at me."

"You already saw, so what difference does it make?! You, you little...!"

"I said sorry! Chill out!"

For those words, I received the rare honor of being slapped in the face by a half-naked princess. Oh please, grant me forgiveness... Thanks to my new Detection skill, I knew that a high-ranking royal steward was waiting in the wings just outside the door. What will become of me now...?

"Whew... Okay... Ready?" Ciel began. "What I'm about to teach you is the skill of Disarmament."

It seemed that having sated her anger by slapping me, Ciel was ready to begin the lesson. Her eyes, however, still betrayed her disgust.

"I want you to try to undress me," she said.

"Wh-What...?"

"Dummy! Stop picturing it! This is why I made preparations so that you wouldn't see my undergarments! You perv!" So much for her anger being sated. Her tirade left her out of breath and panting for a few moments.

"Are you done?"

"Why am I the one exerting myself while you just stand there calmly? Fine, whatever. These clothes are specially designed to be difficult to remove, so it should take a few times for you to get the hang of Disarmament."

"Just like that?"

"It's only 'just like that' because of this Eye of mine. Show the proper gratitude!"

Oh, I was grateful. They say that you can't acquire skills that you don't have a natural aptitude for; in this case, it seemed I must have had aptitude aplenty. "Okay, done."

"Wow, that was fast. Wait a sec! How did you strip me completely?!"

"Was I not supposed to...?" I hadn't been sure how far down the "difficult to remove" qualifier went, so I'd just stripped everything. Well, not quite; of course I left her undergarments. I did leave them, but...

"Oooh... Now I can never be a bride..." she moaned.

"It's fine. I didn't touch your underwear."

"How can you just stand there while I'm dressed like this?! Is that all you have to say?!"

"I'm not sure what else I—"

"Sheesh! What's wrong with you?! Take some responsibility for your actions!" As she spoke I watched her put her clothing back on, until she screeched "STOP LOOKINNNGGG!!!" and started slapping at me again. I didn't mind; half-dressed as she was, that much vigorous movement was bound to reveal some things. Naturally, I didn't voice that particular observation aloud.

❖❖❖

The next day arrived, and the colosseum was filled to capacity. As it was the main public venue of the royal capital, it was a common destination for nobles and royalty alike. It was rare, however, for the king himself to be in attendance, so the chatter of the crowd was louder than normal.

I couldn't believe I'd even made it to the next day. I could only pray that Ciel's confidence in me wasn't misplaced.

"Okay, let's see..." Ciel said. "It looks like you've been put on the schedule as a special event during a break between the normal gladiator battles. Makes sense."

The colosseum made most of its revenue from bets placed on fights between animals or professional gladiators. Forcing slaves to fight was forbidden, so all of the gladiators were people who had chosen to be there. Fighters were divided into ranks based on their abilities, and some precautions were taken to keep fighters from being killed if their weapons were destroyed. Accidents still happened, though, and the gladiators lived constantly in the shadow of danger. Despite that danger, there were clearly many people who found this life preferable to becoming an adventurer.

"So, uh, why exactly do I have to face those guys three against one?" I asked Ciel.

"One against one, three against one, it's all the same," she replied confidently.

"It's not even close to the same!" I felt my panic starting to rise.

Ciel let out a sigh as she spoke. "Ummm, I think you might be putting too much weight on your previous lives. With just your intermediate swordsman status, plus the Detection and Disarmament skills, you should have no problem one-shotting those three. I don't know how strong they may become in the future, but right now they're nothing special. With your monstrous tangle of divergent potential paths and ridiculous amount of XP, you're much more formidable than they are."

"Okay, but," I objected, "Margus is a magic swordsman. Rui is a sorceress. And I don't know a single combat spell..."

"You don't need that! Come to think of it, have you really not realized...?"

"Realized what?"

Ciel shook her head in frustration. "Some of your experience points have already been used to raise your stats."

"What? When?!" I exclaimed.

"It comes along with learning each new skill. Okay, got it? Then get going!" With that, she shoved me forward hard enough to send me flying.

In the center of the colosseum, I locked eyes with Margus.

"Sorry about this, Remille. With your death, I will earn the princess's recognition." He sized me up with his eyes, like I was easy prey.

Seeing his expression, I couldn't help remembering that look on his face in the last loop, at that fateful moment.

"Will we truly be acknowledged just for beating Remille?" Rui wondered. "Just to be safe, I should probably use some nice flashy spells..." In her eyes, I saw the same predatory look.

"I'll go out in front so the two of you can focus on offense," Aman offered. She also clearly no longer saw me as a comrade.

That was just as well, really. Easier to go all out against them this way.

"And now, let the duel to determine the next true hero of the Elton monarchy commence!"

So that was the pretext for all of this, huh? Margus grinned, exuding confidence as though he already owned that title.

"Ready, and..."

I raised my sword.

"Begin!"

Three against one. And the enemy could employ magic. If possible, I wanted to start by taking out their rear defenses.

"You're done for!" I shouted as I charged.

—Clank!

Aman's sword should have risen to block my attack...or so one would assume. But I had linked the Disarmament skill to my attack. That skill shouldn't work without a certain gap in our abilities, but nonetheless...

"What the—?!" Aman exclaimed, as with just one blow her sword went flying through the air.

"Damn it, Aman!" Margus yelled. "Get your head in the game!"

"Shit..." Aman muttered. "Well, at least I have my armor!"

As Aman lunged to take me out with a full body attack, I raised my hand toward her, once again activating the Disarmament skill.

"Wh—?"

At my touch, her armor broke apart at the seams, crumbling away from her body. It clattered to the ground and wedged into the earth—no longer a suit of armor, but just a bunch of scattered metal scraps.

"You nitwit!" Margus yelled. "Even against Remille, you've gotta at least take care of your equipment!" Muttering curses, he charged at me with his sword raised. "Y'know, Remille," he sneered, "I really, sincerely, despise you."

"Oh, I know," I replied.

"No, you don't get it. I hate you so much I dream of ending your life."

"Yeah, I know that. Like I said." After all, you've ended it before.

We exchanged blows as we exchanged words, and I was surprised to find that I held my own. It seemed Ciel truly had elevated my stats.

Perhaps sensing that I was distracted, Margus's face flashed with fury. "Well, I don't give a shit if you know or not!"

—Clang!

As our swords clashed, flames danced along Margus's blade; his was a specialized weapon for a magic swordsman.

"You know what pisses me off more than anything else in the world?" he snarled at me. "When miserable, pathetic excuses for nobility like you don't know your damn place."

"Oh, is this not my place...?"

"You know damn well it's not. Trying to copy everything we do, going everywhere we go. Don't you get it? We are elite. You are not. Your place is not by our side. So yes, you obviously don't know your place. Can you cram that through your thick skull?"

A double-crested wave of shock washed through me. Of course, hearing such words from him was a bit shocking. But more than that... "I gave my own life seven times over...for this idiot?!" I really am pathetic. And along with that shock came my anger.

"Huh? What nonsense are you mumbling about now?" Margus said.

"That's enough." I loaded my blade with Disarmament and sent Margus's sword flying.

"Hey now. Just because you blasted my sword away doesn't mean you've w—"

As Margus conjured flame in his hands and yelled taunts at me, I slashed in with my sword.

"Ha, come on! A clumsy lunge like that's never gonna hit me!" he proclaimed.

My sword sliced through empty air. That was fine; in fact, it was what I had intended. Even used carefully, a sword always carries some risk of dealing a fatal blow, and I wanted to avoid that.

Instead...

"Pssh, where's the sport in fighting such a lame, insignific—? Gwah!"

I hit him in the gut with all my strength—the strength of seven loops' worth of anger.

"You little...gaaah!"

Again.

"What the hell do you...? Ngh..."

Again.

"...Think you're...? Uggggh!"

Again.

"Oh... Ahhh..."

Again.

"St-Sto... Ughhh..."

Again.

"I get it al— Augh..."

Again. I beat him black and blue all over.

"I get it! You can hang out with us again! Just stop!" Margus yelled through swelling lips.

"Um..."

"You idiot!" he cried. "You let down your guard!"

"In the end..." I muttered, "you were really never worth anything."

"What the...?"

I caught Margus's weak attempt at a punch, and thrust him toward Rui.

"Eek! Watch it!" she squealed.

"Ugh, sorry," Margus muttered. "I— Huh?"

"Gyaaaaaahhh!" Rui screeched.

I had enhanced each of my blows with Disarmament. When I thrust him away, he hadn't just lost his weapons—he'd been stripped of everything, underwear and all. And now, completely stark naked, he stood clinging desperately to Rui.

"Eww! Get off of me!"

"Rui, calm down! Wait a sec!"

"Get OOOFFF!"

I knew that Rui was a bit naive and squeamish about this sort of thing. I had exploited that. Now Rui turned her strongest spells against Margus, her supposed ally.

"Gaaaaahhhh!" Aman's sudden battle cry caught my attention.

"Oh yeah, Aman..."

"Wha—?!"

While I was distracted watching Rui and Margus's battle, Aman—still bereft of most of her gear—had taken the opportunity to charge at me. She'd intended to take me by surprise, but with my Detection skill that was impossible. Still dressed only in simple garments without her armor, she had picked up her sword and charged at me with it.

"Aman...feeling left out, huh?" As I spoke I met her blade with mine, locking our swords together, and with my free hand gestured toward Margus, still naked and now even more battered and bruised as a result of Rui's magic.

"Y-You..." Aman lowered her sword.

Rui took up the offensive in her place, beginning some sort of chant. "You...will pay for this!"

But without her vanguard shielding her, Rui could not employ her full power. I quickly closed in on her and sent her sorcerer's staff flying, halting her attack.

"H-How?!" Rui's eyes widened in astonishment.

"Just checking," I said to her, "do you really want to be stripped naked right here?"

"Wh-Why would I want that?! What is your problem?!"

Squeal in protest as she might, there was nothing Rui could do against me.

All three of my foes had lost their weapons, and one bore serious injuries from his own ally's assault. They were completely battered, in both body and ego.

Naturally, the verdict was...

"Enough! Remille is the victor!"

Phew. I truly had gotten strong, huh?

"How could...? This isn't possible..."

"Was I...was I really outmatched by...him?!"

"You'll pay for this! You'll pay! You'll pay!!!"

Each of them grumbled in disbelief and shock, but they remained frozen in place. A lone figure came bursting into the colosseum.

"Father! I intend to cultivate this man as a military asset for our kingdom!" Ciel spoke loudly, stepping forward into the center of the arena.

"Hmm...I can only imagine what you've been getting up to. Ever the little scamp, aren't you?"

As soon as the man who'd spoken those words stood up, everyone around us bowed low in unison. Obviously this man was the king of the realm himself, Alchris V. Elton.

"And where did you find such an outstanding specimen?" the king continued.

"He just fell into my lap. In a back alley," Ciel told him. As though I were some sort of stray dog... Naturally, I had also bowed low to the king, so I wasn't in a position to deliver a comeback. "And then," she continued, "I did have one night to get him into shape."

"Hmph. So your Eye truly shows you that this man could be..."

"Master swordsman, sage, dragon knight..." Ciel confirmed. "Anything you wish."

"That powerful, eh? Well then, young man, you may rise." The king finally addressed me. "What is your name?"

"I am Remille, of the house of Wildt of the noble rank of knight."

"Hmph. And where did you acquire such extraordinary skills?"

"Last night, with the princess..."

"Enough. That is not what I wish to know. I am asking about the original source of your power that caused the 'uncut gem' to speak so highly of you."

"Oh, well, uh..." I grasped for how to explain without just saying that it was because I'd died seven times already.

"You can't explain? Well, so be it. You may come to the castle for now." With those words, the king departed. The tension that had hung in the air seemed to dissipate, and a sense of relief fell over the colosseum.

After a minute, Ciel finally approached me. "Nicely done."

"Yeah..." I had never imagined I could best them this easily. Thank you, Eye of Appraisal.

"With your XP put to good use, you'll be unbeatable," Ciel continued. "Nothing will hold you back. Don't you worry—I am going to make you extremely powerful."

I forced a wry smile at Ciel's confident assertion, and together we exited the colosseum, leaving my three opponents to wallow in their public humiliation alone.