At age ten, Akainari Redfox was told the story of the ancestral sword.
His great-grandfather's grandfather was three hundred years old. During this tournament, this great ancestor's cousin, an arctic fox beastman called Báihú Lagopus, attacked the brother of one of the six.
These six are a group of monsters. Six people with the potential of three hundred surpassed their limits and became more formidable than any other.
She was a witch and feared another witch massacre. So she tried killing these six monsters so no one would be strong enough to start another massacre.
After Hector's brother's personality was locked and Hector was forced to kill him, Hector started a genocide against all beastmen. The great ancestor pleaded to the divine swordsman, the Oni king, Momotaro, and the Yokai god to forge an Ōkatana strong enough to kill one of these six people.
The gods agreed to this request and gave them the ancestral sword. A sword that whoever wields it would have the strength of a hero. With this sword, the great ancestor saved the beastmen.
Since Akainari heard this story, he wanted to be a great hero worthy of holding this sword. And now, this newcomer, Shual, is receiving this blade. After all his hard work? He should at least make sure this guy deserves it.
"Sorry, little cousin. I can't just let you off easy. I worked too hard to get this sword!"
Akainari declared and launched at Shu.
He swiped his sword at Shu's neck, but without moving his body, Shu lifted his hand, and Akainari's sword shattered.
'What?! How strong is he?'
Akainari was shocked.
Soon after he lost his sword, he saw a fist reaching his face and darkness.
********
"What was that?!"
Akainari shouted as he rose.
He was knocked out cold with a single punch.
"Shu won."
Akainari's great-grandfather said.
"I can give you the sword. I don't need it."
Shu said.
"Just give it to one of your allies."
Akainari said.
He lost. That's that.
"You are not the successor to the family now that Shu is here."
The great-grandfather said.
Akainari knew that and felt great disappointment, but the words he heard next made him feel he got the best results from this fight.
"You can marry whoever you want, now."
There was only one name that came up to his mind, Yua.
********
That night they held a feast where Shu's great-grandfather declared Shu would be the family's successor as the last descendent of the main line.
"Hey, Mary. I got a gift for you."
Shu said.
"Give it to me later. For now, we should enjoy the party."
Mary answered. But while he agreed with this sentiment, Shu saw her bitter smile. He wanted to know more but remembered what she said on the train's roof. He needed to destroy that future she believed in, even if it meant he needed to bring down the heavens and kill a god.
"Shu! Why didn't you tell me you were such a big shot?"
Alexander placed his arm on Shu's shoulder.
"I didn't know it myself."
Shu answered.
Shuāng Wěi hung around these three and was afraid to go too far.
********
Akainari looked all over the hall. One of these servants had to be Yua. But he couldn't find her anywhere.
He went behind. To the kitchen and rushed until two twins appeared in his way.
"Akainari-sama, Yua is unwilling to leave her room."
They both said in a monotone voice at the same time. Most people would be creeped out by this, but Akainari lived with these two around and was unfazed by their weirdness.
He ran at full speed toward Yua's room. He needed to speak with her.
He quickly reached her room and breathed heavily.
He knocked on the door, and there was no answer.
"I'm going in!"
Akainari declared as he walked in.
The room was messy and dark. Akainari forgot how sloppy she was when it came to her room.
She was sitting on the bed with a sad expression.
"What's wrong?"
"You failed. I was rutting for you, and you failed."
These words made Akainari confident she didn't hate him.
Akainari sat on the bed by her side, and they talked.
********
After the party ended, Shu asked one of the maids to lead him to Mary's room. The maid gave him suspicious looks as they walked toward Mary's room.
When he reached the room, the maid went to do other stuff, and Shu was left alone in front of the door.
He knocked on the door once, and the door opened.
The one who opened the door was Mary wearing a beautiful green kimono, which she didn't wear at the party.
Shu was a bit stunned and was let in with a pull of his hand.
"So, what was the gift you wanted to give me?"
Mary asked. She looked at him with anticipation. It seemed she knew it was the sword.
Of course, there's no way for that to be the case, right? At that thought, Shu remembered her speaking of other timelines and figured if that was true, then this must have happened before.
He detached the sword from his belt and handed it to her.
"This is my ancestral sword. I do not need it. Would you like to have it?"
Mary was delighted at the sound of these words. And with sparkling eyes, she answered.
"You know what handing someone a sword between adventurers means, right?"
"I think we both know I don't."
Shu answered honestly.
"When you hand a team member a sword in different ways out of battle, it has different meanings:
One! Throwing one's sword to the floor: you don't want to see them again for at least the next ten years.
Two! Throwing your sword at their feet, usually done with secondary blades while you hold on to your main sword: an invitation for a duel."
Every rule she counted, Shu could feel both the strength in her words and confusion. He wasn't sure of how does it all relate to their situation.
"Three! Throwing a sword into their hands: you are giving them a sword that you either want them to give it back later or keep. This one is way more inconclusive than the other options."
What does this have to do with anything? Shu was about to question her explanation when the fourth rule was stated.
"Four! Gifting them a sword by hand: you want to stay with them for a long time. When it's an ancestral sword, it usually is a marriage proposal."
When she finished counting these four rules, Shu's face was completely red, and she smiled.
"It's fine. I know you didn't mean it that way."
Mary said. Something about this stung for them both.
She would be so happy if he proposed. And he wasn't sure why, but though It's a fact this was not what he meant when he gave her the sword, is it possible he would like it to be what he meant? Impossible! They don't know each other for over a month, so why did he feel like this?
["You know, I like you."]
He heard Mary. She sounded drunk.
He had no clue where did that voice come from.
Could it be? Is it possible she likes him? Is this why she was teasing him all the time?
"What would you do if I told you I did mean it that way?"
Shu said. He looked down. He felt embarrassed. No way she would take this seriously.
He lifted his head and saw her eyes sparkling. She looked so happy. Could it be? But why? What has he done in those past timelines that she would want to be with him? A guy with zero potential indebted to the demon god. What does he have to offer?
He lifted his head higher and looked at the clock. He decided to use this as his excuse to get away. He needed time to sort his thoughts.
"Look at the time. It's so late. I don't think I should stay here any longer."
He said quickly and was gone in an instant.
He went to the room that was assigned to him. At the room's entrance, he saw a letter placed in front of the door.
He ignored the letter and walked in. He will handle this tomorrow.
He entered a futon that was laid for him and went to sleep.