Something I've been thinking about for a long time.

　There is a choice of direction.
　It's not enough to just be what I want to be.

　That approach failed.
　First of all, that's imitation. A degraded copy.

　It's not that longing is bad. It's just that the world is not so naive as to be able to cross over with admiration alone.
　I was naive in my perception.
　My brother and I were the same until the first failure.

　But my brother is amazing.
　The unsuccessful Boku and him and his companions, [Thief] Leila and the fairy [Wizard] Luli, are now successful. [Seishihaku Knight] Marc was also a disappointment in the previous party, so big brother has turned around the lives of five adventurers, including himself, for the better.

　He viewed adventurers as a commodity, thought about trends and party balance, and created a personality that suited both me and myself.
　The result was a success.
　Neither Leila, Luli, nor Marc seem to be satisfied with their current situation.

　But what about me and Philip?

''Oops, there's a move here too. After Marc's white magic was cut off, the battle situation was stalemated, and it's Belito who's going to make the first move!

''Belito's earth magic is very skilled. Although people tend to focus on those with spirits, magic is a power that is also allowed to people. Speaking of adventurers, [Visionary Wizard] Merlin is famous, but even though she doesn't have a spirit contract, she still handles magic on par with the four major spirit contractors.''

''She's the second-ranked party's [wizard]. As expected, I can't go as far as she does, but I do have the impression that she has a good command of both flashy, high firepower magic and delicate, versatile magic.''

　Sorry, the two commentators and everyone in the audience.
　I'm not a pollywoman who doesn't rely on spirits, I'm a brave man in a mask.
　Aerial-san and the others may have noticed it and are pretending not to know about it, but...

''Yeah, do you end up using it in different ways? Or--''

　As expected of a top-notch 【Brave man】. I've been struggling with this for the past few years, and you've come up with an answer in an instant.

　That's right.
　My dream is to be a brave man who wins in the end, even though I am muddy and battered.
　A man who can take damage and defeat his enemies with great skill.
　I've learned to fight like that.

　I'm not going to be able to get the job done.
　You are the kind of person who can defeat your enemies with courage, protected by your brother and Marc.
　My brother showed me how to fight, and I've learned to do so.

　Setbacks and successes.
　Longing and aptitude.
　Idealism and reality.

　They symbolize each of these two opposing fighting styles.

　--Thank you, brother.
　--Thank you, Leme.

　My brother gave me a way to survive in reality.
　My brother showed me how to live with reality and Leme showed me how to never give up on my dreams.
　You showed me how to be a fighter, so I'm going to...

You sure are armed to the teeth, aren't you?

　For all my big talk, I just wore white silver on the surface of my arm.
　It's a bit of a letdown.

'Really?　Even with this (...)?

　But of course, this isn't the end.

'What...?　--Hey!

　He bounces to the side.
　He aimed at his brother's back, a white silver the size of a cannonball. The sword that the 'arm' was holding was reformed and made to throw the projectile.

'I see, it's true that with this, we can secure a certain amount of range. But that's the extent........so, ha.

　You can't beat him at that level.
　So I just made sure it didn't end at that level.

　The cannonball he dodged didn't miss its target, but rather hit the fist I held up as it was aimed.

　As it is, it clings to my arm.
　The silver arm grew slightly larger.

"--Oh, oh........!　Belito, you've thought of this one!　Her big moves took too much time to prepare, so she had to buy time with walls and Leme players' black magic. The variety of techniques have the problem that they don't come close to damaging Phillip, who specializes in defense. But if he didn't use them, he would be able to close the distance. That was solved in one fell swoop!　Stunning!'

While maintaining control of the small moves, prepare for the big moves. Once the preparations are complete, he uses his "small techniques" to stop his opponent, stopping him. Not only did he use them differently, but he combined and evolved what he could do with them. This will be very tricky from the opponent's point of view.''

　You try to create a big magic all at once, which creates a big gap.
　Then you can use small magic and gradually make it bigger.
　Of course, it's not as easy as it sounds, and building magic has become so tedious that smoke comes out of my head.

　But this is the new form.
　Not an either/or, but a fusion of longing and aptitude.
　The only thing left to do is to get the results. That's the hardest part, the hardest part.

It's brilliant. But it's still not enough, there's one flaw in that plan.

　My brother is calm.

　The 'arm' that grew at the end of his evasion was holding a sword.
　The brother does not avoid that swing down.

　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about.
　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about.

　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what to expect.

It's just a matter of me not avoiding it. There's no way for white silver to reach you.

Well, I'll go first.

"-Oh!

　From the moment he caught the sword, I had started running.
　By the time my brother turns back to me, the distance between us has been reduced to the point where we can hit each other.
　He doesn't even prevent a blow aimed at my abdomen.

　Shock and shock.

　One was conveyed by my arm striking him in the stomach.
　One from his arm striking me in the face.

　We fall back to play off each other. It wasn't of my own volition. It was the impact of both attacks that made it so.

　At the moment of contact, the white silver that was scattered around him sucked on my arm.
　It's set up with magic to meet up at a certain distance.

　My vision wobbles. What a heavy blow.

　--You can't take another hit to the head.

　I was thinking about the point of reacting as quickly as possible, but I didn't expect that brother to prioritize counters over defense.
　It's just like him - no, it's just like my brother.

　What I admired was the 【Magic Sword Hero】.
　Then what was it that my brother admired?

　That person was called [Ironclad Brave]

　-- ''The [Ironclad Brave] is the most amazing. Because if the brave man doesn't get beaten, it's not a loss.　A brave man who never falls is a brave man who never loses. Just because it's ironclad doesn't mean the attack is weak. Armor that doesn't let any attack pass through becomes a weapon that can crush any armor. It takes all of the enemy and wins on top of it. Isn't that cool?''

　That's what my brother said when I was a kid.
　I was always fascinated by the cool girl who won even if she got ripped apart.
　I've always been fascinated by a good-looking woman who was able to hold her own against all attacks.

"That's the kind of fist that won't take me down.

　I knew it.
　My brother has changed, but he hasn't.
　It's not like you've lost your admiration for him. He's just shutting it down and playing his sister's knight.

'Don't worry. I'll be stronger next time.