Chapter 41: The Otaku Trains a Prince (And Discovers That "Master" Is a Responsibility)
Meliodas didn't go back to the tavern.
He didn't go back to the watchtower.
He didn't even go back to the room first.
He went straight to the guild.
Because "one day" wasn't a day.
It was a countdown with manners.
Southval's guild hall was calmer than the street outside, but not by much. People were still pretending they hadn't watched a man summon two miniature suns like he was testing lantern brightness.
They pretended.
Their eyes didn't.
Meliodas stepped through the doors with {Indistinct} resting over him like a thin veil—just enough that people's attention slid off him unless they tried to hold it.
It worked.
Mostly.
{Smouldering} did not help. It never helped.
Kaelen walked at his side, hood up again, shoulders rigid. He was trying very hard to look like a normal teenage escort.
He was failing.
Not because he looked royal.
Because he looked like fear had learned to stand upright.
Rem followed, close enough that her tail brushed Meliodas's elbow occasionally like she was reminding him she existed. She had not, at any point, rescinded the engagement.
She had escalated it into a lifestyle.
The mage trailed behind with the expression of a man who had realized his life had become a political avalanche and could not decide which direction to run.
Bud stayed palm-sized on Meliodas's shoulder, glow faint, eyes bright. Calm.
Offended.
Meliodas approached the front desk. The clerk took one look at him and immediately sat up straighter like their spine had received new instructions.
"How can the guild assist you… sir?" the clerk asked carefully.
Meliodas kept his tone neutral. "Training access. Quiet space. Today."
The clerk blinked. "Training—"
A cough came from the side.
The captain—Southval's guild captain—stood near a wall map, arms crossed. He looked like he'd slept four hours and spent all of them regretting leadership.
"Back already," the captain said.
"Yes."
The captain's gaze flicked to Kaelen. Then to Rem. Then to the mage. Then back to Meliodas.
"You bring problems like you're collecting them."
Meliodas didn't argue. "I need a private practice yard."
The captain's eyes narrowed. "For what?"
Meliodas met his gaze evenly.
"Tomorrow, someone is going to try to take my student."
Kaelen flinched at the word student like it meant something he wasn't sure he deserved.
The captain stared for a long beat.
Then sighed like a man watching fate take a running start.
"Yard three," he said. "Back lot. No spectators. If you break anything expensive, I will invoice you personally."
"Fair."
The captain jerked his chin once. "And Meliodas."
Meliodas paused.
The captain's voice lowered. "Keep it quiet."
Meliodas nodded. "That's the plan."
The captain's mouth twitched. "Your plans are loud."
"I'm trying," Meliodas replied.
Rem laughed softly like that was the funniest thing she'd heard all week.
Yard three was boxed in by tall wooden fencing and backed by a low stone wall. Scuffed dirt. A few training dummies. A rack of wooden weapons. Chalk marks on the ground where people had measured progress in bruises.
No crowd.
No gawkers.
No idiot with a drink in their hand.
Meliodas exhaled once and felt his shoulders loosen.
This was where he could think.
Kaelen stood in the center of the yard like someone had placed him there and forgotten to tell him what to do with his hands. He kept glancing at the gate, half expecting Valmor to walk in with a smile and a contract.
Rem leaned against the fence with her arms folded, tail flicking slowly. Watching Kaelen the way someone watched a puzzle they didn't want solved too quickly.
The mage hovered near the corner, eyes darting, pretending he was not invested in what happened next.
Bud crawled from Meliodas's shoulder onto the top rail of the fence and perched, looking down like a tiny judge.
Meliodas turned to Kaelen.
Kaelen immediately straightened.
"Yes, Master."
The word hit harder than it should have.
Meliodas didn't like titles.
Titles came with expectations.
Expectations came with failure.
But Kaelen said it like it was a vow.
And Meliodas realized—quietly—that Kaelen wasn't calling him "Master" because it sounded cool.
Kaelen was calling him "Master" because he needed someone to be stronger than the fear in his chest.
Meliodas spoke evenly.
"First rule. Breathe."
Kaelen blinked. "I— I am breathing."
"No," Meliodas said. "You're holding air like it's a shield."
Kaelen flushed under the hood.
Meliodas stepped closer and put two fingers lightly on Kaelen's sternum—gentle pressure.
"Here," Meliodas said. "Your ribs are locked."
Kaelen stiffened instinctively.
Meliodas didn't move his hand.
"Again," Meliodas said calmly. "Breathe in through your nose. Slow. Fill the lower ribs. Then out."
Kaelen obeyed.
Once.
Twice.
On the third breath, his shoulders dropped a fraction.
His eyes sharpened.
His hands stopped shaking.
Rem's ears twitched slightly, interest sharpening.
The mage watched like he'd never seen someone treat fear as a mechanical issue that could be corrected.
Meliodas stepped back.
"Good," he said. "Now. Tell me what you did wrong upstairs."
Kaelen's jaw tightened.
"I— I froze."
"Yes."
Kaelen swallowed. "I… didn't know what to do."
"Yes."
Kaelen's voice cracked slightly. "I wasn't ready."
Meliodas nodded. "That one is true. And it's my fault."
Kaelen's head snapped up. "Master—"
Meliodas cut him off with a raised hand.
"I'm not apologizing," Meliodas said. "I'm stating the situation."
Kaelen went still.
Meliodas continued.
"You can fight," he said. "You have talent. You have discipline. Your {Blink} makes you dangerous in ways most people don't understand."
Kaelen's eyes flickered at the mention—pride and fear tangling together.
"But," Meliodas said, "you haven't trained your decision speed."
Kaelen frowned. "Decision speed?"
"Yes," Meliodas said. "The gap between noticing danger… and acting."
He tapped his temple.
"You hesitate because you're still trying to be a good prince."
Kaelen stiffened. "Being a good prince is—"
"Important," Meliodas agreed. "Later."
Kaelen blinked.
Meliodas's voice stayed calm.
"When something infernal reaches for the nearest mind, your job isn't to be a good prince. Your job is to not be the nearest mind."
Kaelen swallowed hard.
Rem's tail flicked once, approving.
Bud's glow pulsed faintly like: Correct.
The mage exhaled slowly, as if the words had slid under his ribs and made him uncomfortable.
Meliodas walked to the weapon rack and tossed Kaelen a wooden sword.
Kaelen caught it automatically.
"You're going to practice three things," Meliodas said. "Footwork. {Blink} timing. And resisting fear."
Kaelen's grip tightened. "Resisting fear…"
Meliodas nodded.
Kaelen hesitated. "How?"
Meliodas's eyes narrowed slightly.
He didn't want to show too much.
But tomorrow wasn't theoretical.
Tomorrow was Valmor's carriage at the gate and a timer in the sky.
So Meliodas chose the smallest piece of truth that still mattered.
"I'm going to put pressure on you," Meliodas said. "And you're going to keep moving."
Rem shifted, alert. "Pressure like—?"
Meliodas glanced at her. "Not enough to hurt him. Enough to force honesty."
Rem's ears twitched. "Good."
Kaelen looked between them, confused and slightly terrified.
Meliodas stepped back, set his stance loose, and let a sliver of his presence rise.
Not {Sun Fruit}.
Not heat.
Not light.
Just… the weight of someone who had survived worlds that ate heroes.
{Observation Haki} didn't help Kaelen here.
It helped Meliodas.
It let him tune the pressure like turning a dial.
Kaelen's breath hitched instantly.
His pupils narrowed.
His feet shifted.
Fear rose in him like a tide.
Kaelen's voice came strained. "Master…"
Meliodas kept his voice even.
"Move."
Kaelen forced one foot back.
Then another.
Then he stumbled.
His grip tightened.
His breathing tried to lock again.
Meliodas kept the pressure steady.
"Breathe," Meliodas said.
Kaelen sucked in air too fast.
Meliodas shook his head slightly.
"Slow."
Kaelen tried again—slow, controlled.
His shoulders dropped.
His feet steadied.
His eyes sharpened.
He moved.
Not gracefully.
But he moved.
Meliodas watched and felt something settle in his chest.
Kaelen wasn't weak.
Kaelen was just drowning in the story of what he was supposed to be.
Meliodas lowered the pressure by half.
Kaelen immediately improved.
Good.
He wasn't immune.
But he was adaptable.
Rem watched with her head tilted, expression unreadable. For once she wasn't flirting.
She was assessing Kaelen like she might have to fight beside him someday and needed to know whether he'd break.
The mage's mouth tightened.
Jealousy? Fear? Calculation?
All of it.
Meliodas started the drills.
He didn't make it fancy.
He made it repeatable.
"Step. Guard. Pivot."
Kaelen obeyed.
"Again."
Kaelen obeyed.
Meliodas's wooden sword snapped in—light taps to Kaelen's wrist, shoulder, thigh. Punishments for leaving openings.
Kaelen grunted, adjusted.
"Again."
Ten minutes became twenty.
Sweat formed under Kaelen's hood.
His breathing stayed controlled.
His eyes stopped darting to the gate.
They started tracking Meliodas's shoulders instead.
Good.
Then Meliodas changed it.
"{Blink}," he said.
Kaelen hesitated. "Here?"
"Yes," Meliodas replied. "Short distance. Behind me. Don't overshoot."
Kaelen nodded once and vanished in a soft ripple—
He reappeared half a step too far, off balance.
Meliodas tapped him in the ribs with the wooden sword.
"Dead," Meliodas said calmly.
Kaelen grimaced. "Again."
He blinked again.
Closer.
Better.
Still off.
"Dead," Meliodas repeated.
Kaelen's jaw tightened.
"Again."
Rem's tail swayed slowly, interest growing.
Bud watched like a tiny king observing a knight's training.
The mage's expression tightened like he didn't like seeing Kaelen improve.
Meliodas pretended not to notice.
Because that was tomorrow's problem.
After forty minutes, Kaelen's {Blink} started landing cleaner.
Not perfect.
But controlled.
Then Meliodas made it real.
He increased pressure again—just enough to spike Kaelen's instincts.
Kaelen blinked too early.
"Dead," Meliodas said.
Kaelen swallowed hard.
"Again."
He blinked again—later this time.
Better.
Meliodas tapped him once, light.
"Wounded," Meliodas corrected.
Kaelen's eyes widened slightly.
That was progress.
Rem's ears flicked—sharp approval.
Kaelen asked between breaths, voice strained. "Master… what am I training for?"
Meliodas didn't answer immediately.
He stepped closer, lowered his voice, and spoke with a calm honesty that wasn't comforting.
"For tomorrow," he said. "When someone tries to drag you into a carriage and call it duty."
Kaelen went still.
Meliodas continued.
"You're not strong enough to beat everyone."
Kaelen's face tightened.
Meliodas didn't soften it.
"But you can become strong enough to not be taken."
Kaelen's throat bobbed.
His eyes shone.
Not tears yet.
But close.
Rem looked away briefly, as if pretending she didn't care.
Bud's glow pulsed faintly, warm.
The mage's jaw clenched.
Meliodas stepped back.
"Again," he said.
Kaelen moved.
They trained until the sun dipped and the yard shadows lengthened.
Kaelen's arms trembled.
His legs shook.
But he didn't collapse.
He stayed upright through sheer stubbornness.
Meliodas called it.
"Stop," he said.
Kaelen froze like he expected another strike.
Meliodas lowered the wooden sword.
"You did well."
Kaelen's breath hitched.
He looked like he didn't know what to do with praise.
So he defaulted to the one thing he could anchor to.
"Yes, Master."
Meliodas exhaled.
"That word," Meliodas said quietly, "means you listen when I tell you to run."
Kaelen blinked.
Meliodas continued.
"Tomorrow, if it turns into violence, you don't protect me. You don't prove anything. You don't act like a prince."
Kaelen's jaw tightened.
Meliodas's eyes sharpened.
"You live."
Kaelen swallowed hard and nodded once.
"Understood."
Rem stepped off the fence at last, walking closer. She didn't smile. She didn't tease.
She looked at Kaelen like she was seeing him as a person for the first time instead of a rumor.
"You're stubborn," she said.
Kaelen blinked.
Rem's tail flicked once. "Good. Stubborn keeps you breathing."
Kaelen's lips parted, unsure what to say.
Rem turned her attention back to Meliodas.
Then—without asking—she slid in close and rested her head on his shoulder again, like she belonged there.
It was not playful.
It was possessive.
It was also, annoyingly, comforting.
Meliodas didn't move away.
He did, however, glance at the mage.
The mage looked like he'd swallowed poison.
Good.
Rem murmured, quiet enough that only Meliodas and Bud would catch the tone.
"Tomorrow," she said, "my sister will try to take me."
Meliodas kept his voice low. "And you won't go."
Rem's ears twitched. "No."
Meliodas nodded slightly. "Then we have a shared problem."
Rem smiled faintly—small, real.
Kaelen looked between them, confused and slightly terrified again.
Bud's tail flicked once like: Yes. More problems. Excellent.
Meliodas rubbed Bud's back with a thumb, gentle.
Then he looked at Kaelen.
"Tonight," he said, "you eat. You sleep. And you review the breathing drill until it's automatic."
Kaelen nodded. "Yes, Master."
Meliodas winced internally, but let it pass.
Because the word wasn't going away.
Not now.
Maybe not ever.
And if Kaelen was going to call him that—
Then Meliodas had to deserve it.
He didn't like that.
He also didn't have time to dislike it.
They left the yard as the sun set.
Southval's walls glowed gold in the evening light, clean and calm like nothing was wrong.
Meliodas looked at the eastern forest line.
Felt the distant pressure still sitting out there.
Watched the town's lanterns flicker on.
And he thought, very calmly:
Tomorrow is going to test everything.
Kaelen's skill.
Rem's defiance.
Valmor's patience.
And my ability to keep people alive without showing my whole hand.
He exhaled slowly.
Then, because the system loved timing—
Blue text flickered at the edge of his vision.
Not a reward.
Not a quest completion.
A new notification.
A simple, cold observation.
[SYSTEM NOTICE — TRAINING POTENTIAL DETECTED]
{A student's growth creates branching outcomes.}
[NEW QUEST AVAILABLE: THE PRINCE'S FOOTING]
Primary Objectives:
Improve Kaelen's decision speed under pressure
Achieve 10 clean {Blink} placements in succession during live drills
Prevent mental collapse when exposed to hostile presence
Reward: 4 Hero Shards | 1 Destiny Shard
Time Limit: 24 Hours
Meliodas stared at it once.
Then again.
Then exhaled, almost amused.
"Of course," he murmured.
Rem blinked up at him. "What?"
Meliodas forced his expression neutral.
"Nothing," he said. "Just… confirming we're on a timer."
Kaelen didn't hear the meaning.
He heard the tone.
And he nodded like a prince trying to be brave.
Bud settled against Meliodas's neck, warm and steady.
Meliodas looked toward the gate.
One day.
He had one day.
And now the system had turned it into a job listing.
Perfect.
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[END OF CHAPTER 41]