Chapter Summaries

Eris resisted studying arithmetic until Ghislaine described how her lack of arithmetic skills nearly made her starve in a dungeon. Ghislaine’s gruesome account left Eris speechless and the others horrified.

• Eris argued with Rudy that subtraction, multiplication, and division were unnecessary, so Rudy looked to Allen for help.
• Allen prompted Ghislaine to explain how arithmetic had helped her as an adventurer.
• Ghislaine recalled that after the Black Wolf Fang disbanded, she entered dungeons alone and realized she needed skills beyond swordsmanship.
• Ghislaine explained that she miscalculated her food supplies and went three days without food or water.
• Ghislaine said that, near starvation, she found monster droppings containing human flesh smelled and tasted delicious, horrifying Rudy and Sylphy and extinguishing Eris's excitement.

Allen used the Water God Style to explain how perception and calculation related to arithmetic, impressing Eris with a demonstration of equal division. During the lesson, Sylphy helped Eris understand fractions through the idea of sharing, while Rudy remembered the beauty and horror of Allen’s deadly swordsmanship; Sylphy quietly accepted that Allen might not return her feelings.

• Ghislaine recounted surviving a dungeon by eating monsters and concluded that arithmetic was as important as a sword.
• Allen demonstrated how Water God Style perception let him calculate his surroundings and cut a drifting leaf into equal halves.
• Allen connected equal division to swordsmanship, prompting Eris to become interested in learning division.
• Sylphy explained fractions to Eris through sharing, and Eris offered to share with Ghislaine if Ghislaine wanted to.
• Rudy recalled Allen’s precise, deadly attack on an assassin, while Sylphy reflected that Allen’s affection was never hers to claim.

Allen joined Rudy and Sylphy for dinner with Eris’s family, where Sauros and Philip discussed Thomas’s crimes and the purge of his followers. Hilda watched Allen and Philip and noticed their identical pale-brown hair.

• Edna fled after Allen invited her to watch the afternoon classes, worried by his reckless swordsmanship.
• Eris learned she could join Allen, Rudy, and Sylphy for dinner upstairs, and beastkin maids led them to the dining hall.
• Sauros welcomed the guests and arranged for Rudy to sit opposite him, while Allen took the seat across from Philip.
• Sauros told Allen he had done well to kill Thomas, and Philip revealed that Thomas had committed numerous crimes and that Sauros had purged his associates.
• Hilda recalled how many people had been killed in the purge and noticed that Allen’s hair was the same pale-brown color as Philip’s.

At lunch, Eris showed Sauros how much she had learned from her new tutors, then awkwardly thanked them after Sauros prompted her. As Allen, Rudy, and Sylphy departed, Hilda was left unsettled by her reaction to Allen and the family resemblance she sensed in him.

• Eris told Sauros she had studied diligently with Allen, Rudy, and Sylphy, learning to write Ghislaine's name and solve 1 ÷ 2 = 1/2.
• Sauros praised Eris's progress and prompted her to thank her tutors, while Philip and Allen watched in anticipation.
• Eris blushed, briefly raised her braids, then jumped down to give the tutors a formal noble's thanks before returning to her chair.
• Sauros hurried away after lunch, and Eris pulled Ghislaine to the table to eat with the others.
• Allen, Rudy, and Sylphy thanked Philip and Hilda and left; Hilda felt she had almost grasped something about Allen before the dining-room door closed between them.

During the Boreas children’s afternoon magic lesson, Eris grew frustrated with failing to cast Water Ball Spell and argued that she did not need to learn magic. Allen tried to help but failed to control his spell, and Sylphy began to challenge Eris’s assumptions by telling her she had once wanted to learn swordsmanship instead of magic.

• Eris joined the outdoor lesson cheerfully, but after fifty-three failed attempts to cast Water Ball Spell, she angrily questioned why she had to learn magic.
• Rudy argued with Eris and claimed Allen could use magic, prompting Allen to realize that the system had issued him a mission to rekindle Eris’s interest in magic and strengthen their bonds.
• Allen attempted Water Ball Spell in front of Eris, Rudy, Sylphy, and Ghislaine, but the water ball fell apart, convincing Eris that she could refuse magic too.
• Sylphy took hold of Eris’s sword and told her that she had once wanted to learn swordsmanship before choosing to study magic.

Sylphy and Allen used Eris’s admiration for the Flow Arcana to show her how magic could help her achieve the impressive effects she wanted. The demonstration left Eris considering Rudeus’s magical talent, though she and Rudeus still did not get along.

• Sylphy asked Eris to recall why she had accepted them as tutors, and Eris answered that she admired the Flow Arcana.
• Allen demonstrated how released battle aura could make leaves circle above his palm and explained that mastering the Flow Arcana would take years of sword training.
• Allen told Eris that magic offered a faster route to a similar spectacle, then revealed Rudeus performing the effect with beginner-level Air Blast Magic.
• Eris watched Rudeus’s calm display as Allen’s confidence in Rudeus’s talent and magical domain was recalled.

Rudy, Allen, and Sylphy worked together to help Eris become interested in magic, and Allen guided her through casting her first Water Ball Spell. Eris ended the chapter happily practicing weak spells as the group celebrated forming around her.

• Rudy demonstrated Air Blast Magic, but Eris slapped him and walked away when she felt embarrassed by everyone's expectations.
• Eris demanded that Rudy teach her magic, and Allen guided her to relax her sword-practicing muscles and follow the spell chant.
• Eris successfully formed a fist-sized Water Ball, which fell and splashed onto the grass.
• Rudy encouraged Eris, who repeatedly chanted and cast weak Water Ball Spells while he joined in her excitement.
• Allen realized that Eris had chosen to try magic because she understood that everyone wanted to help her, and the system announced that the Jobless Protagonist Group had formed ahead of schedule.

After Eris’s Water Ball lesson turns into a courtyard water fight, Allen worries over Sylphy while Rudy teases him about her feelings. Eris then asks Allen to assess her swordsmanship, and Sylphy realizes the rabbit-eared girl has led her upstairs to Hilda.

• Eris’s rapid Water Ball practice sparks a water fight that drenches everyone, and Allen covers Sylphy with his clothes after she gets soaked.
• The rabbit-eared girl invites Allen to change with her and Sylphy, but Allen refuses and watches Sylphy leave with her.
• Rudy realizes Sylphy may have special feelings for Allen and wonders whether Allen knows.
• Eris agrees to study magic theory tomorrow, then sits with Allen as he asks Ghislaine about her swordsmanship strengths and weaknesses.
• Ghislaine explains that Eris suits the Sword God Style but may struggle with the Water God Style, and Eris waits nervously for Allen’s response.
• The rabbit-eared girl leads Sylphy upstairs instead of to the teachers’ dormitory, where Sylphy recognizes Hilda standing by a window.

Hilda welcomed Sylphy and invited her to try on clothes she had made, while explaining her own entry into the Boreas Family. In the courtyard, Allen demonstrated how Flow Sense could complement the Sword God Style by cutting a falling leaf as soon as he opened his eyes.

• Arifa apologized to Hilda because Allen had declined the invitation, and Hilda told her to leave and have Lil monitor the lessons.
• Hilda apologized to Sylphy for Eris's recklessness, then led her away to change clothes and try on her handmade garments.
• Hilda told Sylphy how she had met and married into the Boreas Family and said that Sylphy was more accomplished than she had been.
• Allen explained to Eris, Ghislaine, and the others that the Water God Style and Sword God Style could work together.
• Allen used Flow Sense to sense a falling leaf, then opened his eyes and split it with a blade.

Allen demonstrated Sword Realm Deprivation, a technique combining Water God Style secret arts, while Ghislaine explained its power and why it made Reida the Water God. Meanwhile, Hilda brought Sylphy to her wardrobe and chose a striking evening gown for her.

• Allen explained that he had used Sense Flow and Thought Flow together to create Sword Realm Deprivation.
• Ghislaine told Eris that Reida's ability to use Sword Realm Deprivation was what made her the Water God.
• Eris admired Allen's technique, while Allen continued rubbing his temples without responding.
• Hilda led Sylphy into a room filled with wardrobes, fabrics, and a weaving machine, then dried Sylphy's hair.
• Hilda showed Sylphy a collection of dresses and placed her hand on the low-cut evening gown.

Hilda offered Sylphy a moon-white dress she had made for Eris, and Sylphy discovered the many unworn men’s clothes Hilda had kept for years. Hilda waited outside, gazing west toward Asura’s royal capital and the tree she had planted eleven years earlier.

• Hilda showed Sylphy an evening gown, then offered her a moon-white dress she had made for Eris.
• Sylphy changed out of her soaked dress and admired the moon-white dress Hilda had chosen for her.
• Sylphy opened the other half of the wardrobe and found rows of new men’s clothes made for every age, all of them unworn.
• Sylphy realized the clothes represented Hilda’s long-held expectations and understood why Hilda had invited Allen.
• Hilda waited outside Sylphy’s room and gazed past the tree she had planted eleven years earlier toward Asura’s royal capital.

Allen explained how he briefly used Sword Realm Deprivation and laid out a Water God Style lesson plan focused on teaching Eris Thought Flow to support her Sword God Style. The lesson turned into a demonstration of Eris’s unusually controlled killing intent, which vanished from Allen’s perception despite her angry expression.

• Allen explained that he had briefly used Sword Realm Deprivation by shutting out sound and sight and relying on tactile information with Thought Flow.
• Eris insisted Allen would become the Water God and said she only cared about the Allen standing before her, while Rudy and Ghislaine reacted to her comments about Allen’s cousin.
• Allen proposed that Eris focus on Thought Flow rather than learning the Water God Style step by step, so she could improve her sword-drawing options and conceal her killing intent.
• Allen pointed out that Eris’s killing intent leaked even when she glared at Rudy, and Eris angrily swung at him.
• Allen deflected Eris’s punch and turned her face toward him, then realized her killing intent had vanished from his perception; Ghislaine was surprised as well.

Allen realized Eris’s anger was only sulking, not hostility, and that she trusted him enough to be unable to direct Killing Intent at him. Her instinctive closeness to him as family led him to identify the source of his conflict: a name on a sheet of paper in his bedroom drawer.

• Eris protested Allen’s comment about her Killing Intent, but she could not harm him and ended up sulking and kicking the grass.
• Ghislaine recognized Eris’s behavior as sulking while Rudy watched in confusion.
• Allen sensed that Eris had no Killing Intent toward him and realized she was angry about being told her Killing Intent was obvious.
• Allen considered how Eris’s trust in him might have grown from their past encounters and his swordsmanship.
• Allen recognized that his blood tie with Eris explained their instinctive familiarity and recalled a name written on a sheet of paper in his bedroom drawer.

Allen apologized to Eris for dismissing her offer to show her swordsmanship, then explained why she needed to restrain her Killing Intent until she grew stronger. Eris asked to see Allen and Ghislaine spar, and Allen agreed; meanwhile, Sylphy emerged from the sewing room in a dress Hilda had made for her.

• Allen remembered a boy from the orphanage whose candy he had rejected, then recognized that he had treated Eris's offer the same way.
• Allen apologized to Eris and explained that Ghislaine could release Killing Intent as she attacked because she was fast and strong enough to kill before an opponent reacted.
• Allen assured Eris that she would become a Sword King and that his Water God Style would protect her until then.
• Eris asked to see Allen and Ghislaine spar, and Allen agreed despite Rudy's surprise.
• Sylphy came out of the sewing room wearing a new dress, and Hilda praised how well it suited her.

Hilda combed Sylphy’s hair and spoke with her about her mother, her resolve to become stronger, and her teacher, Lokkishi. Their conversation ended when a maid reported that Allen and Ghislaine were fighting.

• Hilda dressed Sylphy in a skirt with a slit and began combing her hair at the vanity.
• Sylphy told Hilda that she reminded her of her mother, and Hilda shared memories of meeting and marrying Philip.
• Sylphy said she had decided to stop imitating others and wanted to become stronger, while Hilda praised her steadfast eyes.
• Hilda asked whether Sylphy hated Lokkishi, and Sylphy insisted that she admired and liked her teacher.
• A spring breeze turned the pages of a diary on Hilda’s dressing table as a maid rushed in to report that Allen and Ghislaine were fighting.

Allen and Ghislaine prepared to spar so he could test his Water God Style against her Sword of Light. Ghislaine announced that her opening strike would be at Sword Saint level, and Eris watched closely.

• Rudy recalled how Allen had repeatedly defeated him in their training matches using Flow Sense, and worried that a duel might damage the courtyard.
• Allen agreed to spar with Ghislaine, while Ghislaine eagerly accepted the challenge and drew Hiratsune, one of the Sword God's Seven Swords.
• Ghislaine proposed a demonstration in which she attacked with the Sword of Light and Allen defended with the Water God Style, to help Eris see the difference between the styles.
• Allen introduced himself as a swordsman of the Water God Style Main Dojo and said he intended to change his rank title when he returned there.
• Ghislaine told Eris to watch carefully as she prepared to strike with a Sword Saint-level Sword of Light.

Allen demonstrated how Ghislaine’s Sword of Light could be countered, then taught Eris a Water God Style defense and counterattack. He declared that he was the strongest among Saints below the Kings.

• Ghislaine explained the Sword of Light and unleashed it against Allen.
• Allen used Bedrock to intercept Ghislaine’s strike, leaving his blade poised beside her neck.
• Allen explained Sense Flow and taught Eris a flexible Water God Style defense that could lead into a counterattack.
• Eris eagerly asked to learn the North God Style, and Allen told her to strengthen her foundation before taking on more techniques.
• Ghislaine judged that Allen was more suited to the Sword God Style than she had expected, and Allen declared himself the strongest below the Kings.

Allen explained that a swordsman’s desire, which he called the Sword Heart, fueled the Sword God Style, but he rejected the simple ambition to reign over all swordsmen. As Ghislaine challenged him with a King-rank Sword of Light, Allen focused his Sensory Flow solely on Killing Intent and asked her to strike at full speed.

• Ghislaine praised Allen’s suitability for the Sword God Style but said his arrogant display did not reveal his true desire.
• Allen considered how an overly simple Sword Heart could shatter after defeat, citing Gal Farion’s fall and death, and decided that such a desire did not suit him.
• Ghislaine sheathed Hiratsune and asked whether Allen was the strongest below King rank, then challenged him with her strongest Sword of Light opening stance, the Iai Slash.
• Allen realized that Ghislaine had hidden her Killing Intent so completely that his Sensory Flow could not predict her strike.
• Allen intensified his senses with Dragon Saint Battle Qi, then narrowed his perception to Killing Intent and detected the blade’s position.
• Allen told Ghislaine not to slow her sword and asked her to show him a King-rank Sword of Light.

Allen used Sense Flow to block Ghislaine’s King-rank Sword of Light, but he regretted the outcome. Eris noticed a small notch in Allen’s blade, suggesting the clash had left a mark.

• Allen released his Killing Intent and clashed with Ghislaine’s Sword of Light within Sense Flow.
• Ghislaine’s lightning-fast strike forced Allen out of Sense Flow, while its shockwave briefly deafened Rudy and blasted leaves across the field.
• Allen intercepted Ghislaine’s blade exactly fifteen centimeters before his waist, and she praised his ability to predict its landing point.
• Allen called the result a shame and showed Eris and Rudy his sword, whose middle bore a tiny notch.

Allen showed Rudy and Eris that even his best techniques could not stop Ghislaine’s full-strength Sword of Light, though he had learned to see where it would land. After Eris refused more theory, Allen and Ghislaine turned to Soundless Katana as a better lesson for her.

• Allen explained that Sense Flow let him predict Ghislaine’s Sword of Light, but her strike still damaged his blade and overwhelmed his other defenses.
• Allen said mastering the technique would require years of integrating Thought Flow with Flow Arcana and reaching Water King rank.
• Ghislaine discovered that Eris had not clearly seen the King-rank strike, and Eris admitted she wanted to watch more swordsmanship instead of studying theory.
• Rudy tried to persuade Allen and Ghislaine to insist on theory, but both agreed to indulge Eris.
• Allen proposed teaching Eris Soundless Katana and demonstrated it, making a blade silently appear before Rudy.