Side: Yuki

The next day.

I relayed the details of yesterday's duel situation to Taiki-kun and Eoid

""Whaaaaat!?""

Both of them were thoroughly shocked.

Well, Taiki-kun had only just returned from his vacation, while Eoid was in the middle of his mana-control training.

They both had dissatisfied looks on their faces.

"T-This is such a pain. And why am I dragged into this!? I'm a normie but I'm not even a harem protagonist—I'm just a one-woman man!! If anything, you've got the harem, Yuki-san, and Eoid's got the lucky-pervert thing—you two would be perfect!!"

"Hey—that's harsh, Taiki-san!?"

Yeah, Taiki-kun's claiming innocence exactly like I expected.

As for Eoid's protest... well, Taiki-kun's not wrong, so I can't really defend him.

"Give up, Taiki-kun. From the perspective of the unpopular guys, you're a normie enjoying life, too."

"Damn it. To those guys, I guess I really am just a normie... But why do I have to fight? There's no need for me to step up, right? You mainly just want to see the results of Eoid's training, don't you?"

"Eh?"

Apparently, Eoid hadn't realized that was part of the plan, because he looked surprised.

...We really need to do something about his obliviousness, or I'll start worrying about Amanda.

"Well, that's one of the goals. But Taiki-kun, you haven't accomplished your objective either, right?"

"Huh? My objective?"

Oh boy. Taiki-kun had gotten so accustomed to life at the academy that he'd started treating this like nothing more than a honeymoon.

Left with no choice, I pulled only Taiki-kun close and whispered softly into his ear.

"Listen here, Taiki-kun. One of the reasons for coming here was to find a wife for you too. Sure, by getting together with Cleana and Samantha, I managed to create a foothold for relations between our countries. However, that's strictly through me and Weed. As the Hero King, that wouldn't do for you, right?"

"Guuh... So you're saying..."

"Naturally, I got the OK from Airi-san. If you show off how cool you are on this stage, a few candidates should start approaching you. It seems Airi-san intends to go around declaring that taking concubines is totally fine, too."

"...But I just want to live a quiet, modest life."

"...I thought the same thing at first. But reality didn't allow it. Or rather, for you, who absolutely needs a proper heir more than I do, this is a great opportunity. Do your best."

"...Fine."

Having resigned himself to his fate, Taiki-kun slumped his shoulders and muttered.

Well, it's hard having me be the only one with a harem.

Come on, join me.

"U-Um, what did you mean by 'the results of my training'?"

"Hm? Ah, exactly what it sounds like. It's a good opportunity to get a real feel for whether you've gained the power to protect Amanda, right?"

"But it hasn't been that many days since I started training..."

"I'm not telling you that you have to win, you know?"

"Eh?"

"This duel is a place to confirm what you're lacking, Eoid. We've taught you methods of fighting, but they're strictly just techniques."

"Knowing fighting techniques doesn't mean someone can actually fight. Protect Amanda—you should use this duel to confirm that feeling within yourself. Having sheer power alone won't let you protect Amanda. If that were all it took, Taiki-kun or I could just protect her instead. But that's not all there is to it. Eoid, you want to be the one to protect her, right? In various ways?"

"...Yes!!"

"You don't need to worry about winning or losing. I don't think Amanda's feelings for you will wane over a mere loss, and if they do, then her feelings only amounted to that much anyway. But if you win, wouldn't that be a great trigger to convey your feelings to her?"

"D-Do you really think so?"

"I do. After all, it would be proof that you've gained strength. Or what, are you so scared of confessing that you'll intentionally lose the duel? I don't think that would make you worthy of Amanda, though."

"Ugh."

"Well, I understand feeling anxious, but the stage is set. All that's left is what you choose to do. We don't know if an opportunity like this will ever come around again. It's not like we'll be together forever, either."

"...Yes."

Even with everything arranged for him like this, I'm sure Eoid was still feeling conflicted.

Even if he chickened out, I wouldn't blame him, but Amanda and my wives would probably boo him mercilessly.

In the real world, dramatic confessions like the ones in stories rarely happen... Still, I'd be grateful if Eoid and Amanda officially started dating because of this.

After that, things will go however they go.

"So, that's how it is. Anyway, the other side apparently needs some preparation too, so the duel has been moved to the day after tomorrow."

Actually, the real reason was that Ardes had been beaten so badly that he wouldn't be able to move properly until the day after tomorrow.

The other side won't be able to train until the day of the match—mostly because of the Headmaster's "training."... Whether she really did it to help Ardes build strength or simply wanted to beat the crap out of him, I couldn't tell.

I have no idea how Ardes plans to gather people while he can't even move, but let's hope the duel actually takes place. Otherwise, the plan for Eoid and Amanda will go to waste.

"The day after tomorrow, huh..."

"Yeah, the day after tomorrow. Well, tomorrow you can take a nice rest, so let's go all out today."

"Eh!?"

Eoid made a shocked face, but Taiki-kun and I were the ones surprised by his reaction.

During a battle like this—a classic trope—you're supposed to train down to the very last minute, right!? Then you obtain some new power and somehow defeat a stronger opponent in an intense, nail-biting battle!

Having the exact same thought, Taiki-kun and I locked eyes and nodded at the same time.

""We're going to teach you a finishing move!!""

"T-There's no way I can learn one in a single day, right!?"

Eoid shouted, but we didn't care.

Where there's a will, there's a way.

Or rather, while I'd hate to be the protagonist myself, playing the role of the mentor training the hero was fun for both me and Taiki-kun, so we were going to enjoy it to the fullest.

"First, you'll go through the usual basic training."

"Exactly. You must never neglect the fundamentals."

"...Yes. Understood."

Saying that, Eoid started running.

Not around the school building, but around the small courtyard right within our sight, running continuously until given permission to stop.

This was partly to prevent anyone from making a surprise attack on Eoid, and partly to strengthen his own mental endurance.

For humans, being forced to perform a monotonous, meaningless task forever is extremely painful. This kind of repetitive labor is even counted as a form of torture. Well, compared to digging a hole just to fill it back up or stacking stones only to knock them down, this doubled as physical conditioning, so it was slightly better.

Besides, when you've experienced something extremely difficult, you won't panic unless something happens that exceeds what you've already experienced. That's what people mean when they say, "You should experience hardship while you're young."

Mistakes made when you're young can still be corrected, so the idea is that you should experience all kinds of things and hardships while you're young. For an easy example, imagine an adult man falling down and getting a minor injury that draws a little blood.

He'd probably be able to keep walking without much trouble—That's because he probably got hurt plenty of times as a child. He knows how serious his injury is and understands what his body is capable of, so there's no need to panic.

Hmm... Maybe that's not the easiest example to understand...

Ah, right. Think of a 'PE teacher'.

During class, someone breaking a bone happens fairly often, doesn't it? Even if it isn't in your own class, there might be rumors about someone in the class next door... We students would panic, but a PE teacher who has seen countless injuries would immediately ask about the student's condition and decide whether they needed to go to the nurse's office or whether an ambulance was necessary.

That's literally the result of experience—that's why I'm making Eoid go through all sorts of experiences to make up for what he lacks.

Of course, I'm not planning to push him so far that he becomes like some military sergeant who makes everyone miserable. There'd be no point if I handed Amanda a completely broken man.

"So, Yuki-san, do you really think Eoid can learn a finishing move?"

"Something straight out of a manga or anime? Probably not. What's important is making Eoid himself stronger. If we just give him some strange item, it'll only work this one time, so there'd be no point."

"Right. So, something more like a trick?"

"Yeah. It'd be hilarious if he could learn something like a Kamehameha, though."

"He's only learned mana manipulation so far. We talked about eventually having him study elemental magic so he could use it, but obviously he can't learn that in a day or two."

"No way. If magic were that easy to learn and absorb, this world wouldn't be in its current state."

"Exactly. So we've decided on the general direction: something simple. But what exactly are we going to teach him?"

"Well, or rather, how much can Eoid-kun actually do right now? Because of Cleana and Samantha, I've left Eoid entirely in your hands, Taiki-kun, haven't I?"

"Ah, now that you mention it. It's only been a few days, though. He's just barely managed to solidify his mana. Its strength is about equivalent to iron, and its magical resistance changes depending on his mental image."

"Depending on his mental image? What does that mean?"

"Eoid still doesn't fully understand the concept of mana. If he shapes it into something like a gauntlet, its physical attack and defense become stronger. If he shapes it into a shield, its physical and magical defensive power both increase."

"...That's the opposite of how we use it—a unique approach."

"Yeah. Changing the nature of the mana and then using it to strengthen himself or specialize it against certain types of attacks is pretty clever."

"In that sense, we lack imagination too, don't we?"

"Well, maintaining a balanced form is more stable."

"Right. We never really saw a reason to give formless mana a fixed shape in the first place."

The mana we normally use either seeps out from our bodies or exists naturally in the air.

Mana manipulation is mainly used to turn it into barriers or solidify it into platforms. It's somewhat like molding clay into whatever shape you want, but we'd never thought of using it the way Eoid does, as gauntlets, swords, shields, and so on.

From that perspective, Eoid's approach certainly seems inefficient... However, it seems Eoid can reinforce the things he creates through his mental image, making them function almost like enchanted equipment.

...Wait.

Isn't this kind of like something from...?

"Yuki-san, Eoid's mana manipulation is kind of like 'TRACE O—"

"—Don't say it. Don't casually mention a skill name that comes from such a famous franchise. Eoid's body is made of ordinary human flesh."

"But the direction is set, right?"

"Yeah. Anyway, I'll head back for a bit and bring a weapons encyclopedia."

If Eoid finds it easier to image things that currently exist and that he recognizes—then we just need to broaden his variety.

Eoid has been fighting primarily with a sword, so if I show him various swords from a weapons encyclopedia, he might be able to reproduce them... If that doesn't work, we can simply use solidified mana to restrain the opponent's movements, such as creating shackles around their legs.

"Alright, Eoid. You can stop running now. Let's start the real training."

Behind me, Taiki-kun was calling Eoid over.

He'll probably explain the general outline by the time I bring the book back, so I'll go grab it quickly.

* * *

It was currently dinner time, and everyone was relaxing and eating at home.

Tonight's menu consists of several kinds of pasta, salad, and soup.

"So, how is Eoid's training going?"

Seraria sat with Sakura on her lap, twirling pasta around her fork and bringing it to her mouth.

"Hmm—I think it'll work out."

As I answered Seraria's question, Derieu, who was nursing Yuyu, looked puzzled.

"...What's this? I thought Yuki or Taiki would talk about a guaranteed victory, but you sound remarkably lacking in confidence."

'Nod, nod.' Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Well, if there were no holding back and no restrictions on support, we wouldn't lose. But like Seraria said, this is Eoid's training. Honestly, watching him, he still looks pretty shaky, and he's going up against someone much stronger than him. No matter how much he trained, it's only been a few days. It's not like we cheated by using Weed's dungeon rules to power him up, either."

"Ah, I see. So in that case, what matters is how seriously Eoid trained?"

"Exactly. As expected, you understand well."

"What does that mean?"

Well...

The other wives understood what Derieu meant and nodded, but it seemed difficult for the little ones to grasp.

"Aslin, do you understand?"

"Um, nope. I don't, Filia-chan."

Well, they simply haven't had enough experience yet, so that's understandable.

"Let's see... To put it in terms that Shera and the others can understand... If you compare a child who has been studying seriously all this time with one who has been slacking off and hasn't studied, which one do you think will get the better test score?"

"""The one who studied seriously!"""

Good.

I'm glad the three of them were straightforward. If they had answered "the slacker might secretly be a genius", I would have had no idea how to respond.

"Right. And you understand that just like Aslin, Filia, and Sheila are studying at school, the people at the Magic Academy are also people who study magic, right?"

"""Yes!"""

"And the person Eoid is challenging the day after tomorrow is someone with even better grades than him. So, he has to work way harder than usual. This time, Taiki-kun and I taught him, but you can't learn unless you want to learn it yourself, right?"

"That's true."

"Yeah. You often see kids who are taught by their friends but never actually learn anything, right?"

"That's because they lack the motivation. They rely on us to teach them instead of thinking for themselves."

Ah, yeah, those kids definitely exist.

No matter how fresh and new the school in Weed is, people have their own aptitudes.

We're making them study because we've decided it's necessary, but there will inevitably be differences in their grades.

Motivation is the real issue, and that's the most difficult one to solve.

It's the same everywhere.

"Exactly. So unlike all of you, who have been trained in Weed for safety, what's important this time is..."

"Whether Eoid-san has trained seriously for Amanda-san's sake, right?"

"He'll be fine! Eoid-oniichan will be able to work hard for Amanda-oneechan! I know he will!"

"I know it too! Those two are lovey-dovey just like us and Anii-sama! So he'll definitely win!"

"Fufu. That's right. Love makes people stronger, doesn't it?"

It was a heartwarming answer, and that was exactly what I was hoping for, too.

I don't mind if Eoid loses, as long as this brings him and Amanda closer together. For that to happen, Eoid needs to work hard earnestly. That's why I took advantage of this duel.

I don't expect things to go as smoothly as a storybook, but it's better than nothing. For a man to rise to the occasion, there's no better stage than a battle like a duel.

"Oh, right. Filia, weren't you going to give Yuki something?"

"That's right, Filia-chan. You have to give it to Onii-chan now."

"Indeed. Filia, I think now would be a good time, Filia."

Is Filia giving me something?

Prompted by the three of them, Filia came over holding a box.

"U-Um, A-Anii-sama!!"

Whoa, she's super nervous.

What in the world is it?

"What's wrong, Filia? First, calm down."

I picked Filia up and sat her on my lap.

It's what I always do for the four of them.

I patted her head to ease her tension.

"Fnyuu~ Anii-sama's head pats feel so nice."

"So, are you giving this box to me?"

"Ah, yes! That's right!!"

When I asked, she quickly hopped off my lap and thrust the box out toward me.

"It's clothes that received a passing mark from Narjia-san! I made them for Anii-sama!! Please wear them and do your best in the duel the day after tomorrow!!"

I took the box for now, but I felt like I heard something I couldn't just brush past, so I asked:

"Huh? Why wear it to the duel? It's clothes, right? It'd be a waste if it tore..."

"It's completely fine!! Anii-sama always said he didn't want to wear armor. Taking that into account, through lots of trial and error, I developed something that's clothing yet possesses the performance of armor!!"

Ah, I see.

So that's the direction she'd gone in.

Instead of ordinary clothes, what was inside this box was something else entirely in the shape of clothes.

"...Can I open it?"

"Of course!!"

Filia looked at me with expectant eyes.

The others around us were also waiting to see what would come out.

Sigh... Fine.

I steeled myself and slowly opened the box.

Inside was an ordinary school uniform.

It was the exact uniform I'd worn in high school, complete with the school emblem.

"Err, Filia... Why a school uniform?"

"Among the clothes Nii-sama has worn, these had the most decorations! That means I could put lots of enchantments on them!"

Ah, so that's why.

Indeed, high school uniforms have plenty of decorations like ties and school emblems.

I don't have any pictures of myself wearing a suit, either, so in that sense, my high-school uniform was probably the best choice.

"With this, Anii-sama doesn't have to wear armor anymore!"

"I see. Thank you."

I picked up the blazer first.

...It felt completely normal.

I had fully expected some weird joke like it being super heavy or glowing golden the moment I touched it, but that didn't seem to be the case.

There seemed to be no problem, so I put it on.

"Yeah. It fits perfectly and it's comfortable too. Thank you, Filia."

When I said that, Filia smiled happily.

"I'm so happy Anii-sama likes it!! I was finally useful to Anii-sama!! ...sniff, sob."

And then, she burst into tears.

I see... so Filia had been worrying about various things just like Aslin.

Even though she had a talent for blacksmithing, she hadn't produced a single proper work until now.

Every day was spent frantically following Narjia-san's teachings and studying. Everyone thought that was only natural, knowing that blacksmithing isn't something you master in a day or two.

But Filia had been worried—she thought she was the only one who wasn't contributing.

"It's okay. You've always been helpful, Filia. Everyone knows that."

When I said that, everyone nodded.

"See?"

"Uuu... Thank you so mucchhhhh...!!"

Seeing everyone nod, Filia began crying on my chest once more.

Ah... I really need to do a better job of reassuring her.

After a while, Filia eventually fell asleep from exhaustion, so Aslin and the other two carried her to their room, and they all went to sleep together.

"Ara? How adorable."

"It's a different kind of adorable from Seraria, but I find her adorable as well. At the same time, I'm proud to have a younger sister like her."

"Yeah~ Having a younger sister like Filia makes me proud too."

"...Filia is so small, yet so strong. I must learn from her example."

"...That is true. Just because I am a newcomer is no excuse to be slack. By the way, Yuki-sama..."

While everyone was engaged in such idle chat, Samantha directed the conversation toward me.

"That outfit Filia-chan made certainly looks wonderful. I don't mean that I have any complaints. Just making the clothes you're wearing now is an achievement worthy of praise. But... what about its defensive capabilities?"

"Ah, that's true too. If the performance is low, I'd rather you not wear it to the duel. I'd feel bad for Filia, but your body is what matters most."

"Indeed. You could just tell Filia that you didn't want to get it dirty as an excuse, and she'd likely accept it. So, how are the specs?"

"Ah, sorry. I haven't checked yet."

Reminded by them, I opened my status screen for the first time—

"WHAAAT!?"

I let out a loud shout.

Below are the details of the uniform Filia made:

Yuki-Exclusive Uniform Set

Base Stats: ALL +3000

Special Note: Additional support effects are applied depending on the situation.

Description:

A completely custom-made outfit created from scratch by Filia, the blacksmith maiden who bloomed her talent, specifically for her one and only Big Brother.

At first glance, it looks like a normal uniform, but the material—developed by Filia in cooperation with Narzia—is an unprecedented textile created by turning composite rare metals into thread for weight reduction without sacrificing strength, allowing each material to fully demonstrate its capabilities.

Naturally, its performance is so high that mass-produced armor around doesn't even begin to compare. Even these high stats represent the baseline when Yuki is not wearing it; the maximum values when Yuki wears it have never been successfully measured.

Furthermore, multiple compound enchantments have been stacked onto it, elevating the performance of this uniform even further. Additionally, if anyone other than Yuki wears it, it functions as mere ordinary clothing. No stat corrections will be applied.

Literally a Yuki-exclusive, legend-shattering masterpiece into which new materials, technology, talent, and affection were generously poured without restraint.

Feedback: Yep. Full marks! You're really loved, aren't you? Way to go, Onii-chan. — by Luna

I screwed up.

This wasn't merely a heartwarming little event.

Somehow, the strongest piece of equipment had been created right in the middle of all this duel nonsense.

And inside the box, two items resembling woven friendship bracelets remained, accompanied by a letter:

『Anii-sama. Hearing about the duel, I hurriedly made these bracelets using the leftover thread. If it's okay, please give them to Taiki-aniisama and Eoid-aniisama. They are good luck charms.』

Bracelets Hurriedly Woven Wishing for Victory

Stats: ALL + 500

Description: It is roughly made. However, "roughly made" by the standards of a blacksmith maiden is still an item of sufficiently top-tier quality.

Naturally, given the materials used, even in this state it can draw out all of the wearer's capabilities—a simple, effortless mass-produced item for Filia.

"...What should I do?"

"...We can't exactly not give them to them, can we?"

"...Filia. What a frightening child."

"...Rather than a duel, isn't this going to turn into an equipment performance evaluation?"

Oh no...

A problem popped up in the weirdest place possible!

What do I do!?

1 day left until the duel.