As soon as he returned to Checkpoint, Ludwig went straight to the bathroom on the second floor. He moved to the contraption sitting in one corner of the room and sent some mana to the water-shooting rune on a metal. Once cold water started pouring from it, he placed his head under it.
With his eyes closed, he recalled all that had happened today. It had started right. Selene and Greito finally went to Rimuru City, witnessing his friend's nation taking one more step to become an acknowledged nation, and the chance encounter with the duo of Orc and Goblin.
But it went downhill from there.
Ludwig put his palms on his face and pressed them against his face as he moved them down. After he came to the conclusion that he was summoned by Rimuru not because the slime needed him, he decided to take a strong stance. That way, the matter with Konoha wouldn't repeat itself.
But he never imagined his own foul mood would be the downfall of his plan. Thinking about it now, maybe the reason he snapped wasn't merely because he was in a foul mood. The question Gazele asked simply landed wrong.
He thought that even if he asked it in better circumstances, he would still snap. It's really a silver lining that he didn't ask it inside Checkpoint. Otherwise, he didn't know what he would be doing to him.
Then, there's the vision the sword showed him.
His chest tightened as the vision once again played in his head. It didn't show the reason why that version of him did all of that; the vision never did so. But after seeing various visions through the years, he had learnt to see the bigger picture from the scraps he was given.
The version of him that the sword showed to him was someone who was set on the road of revenge. The aura the sword gave clearly pointed in that direction, and the aura the sword gave after being activated rarely lied.
Combine that with the first scene where he stood on top of a freshly dug grave, it seemed like the reason he took that path was due to the death of someone he cherished when he was still a child. And if it's when he's still a child, then it should be those who lived in the orphanages, as the starting line for each different version of him was always there.
The deaths of soldiers from different nations, as well as Imelda's death in the second and third scenes, completed the picture for him. That version of him went through a thorny road with nothing else after the end due to atrocious things that the higher echelon of the nation did to his orphanages.
Due to that, Ludwig grew up with an ember of anger toward the establishment.
His body shuddered as he thought about it. Amongst all versions of him that he had seen until now, that one was closest to really happening. If only he hadn't made the choice he made back then, he probably wouldn't be here right now.
Letting out a sigh, he dispersed all the mana from the water-shooting rune. With his mind now organized, he was finally ready to go back to the dining hall. Not because he couldn't cook with such a chaotic mind, but because there was someone sitting there who surely would demand answers from him.
With a new set of clothes, Ludwig popped out of the bathroom. Back on the first floor, laughter and the low buzz of people talking reached his ears. The group of voices that he picked up first was, of course, the high-pitched kids' voices coming from the corner of the dining hall.
When his eyes went there, a little goblina, a demon with only one horn, as well as a human with blonde hair, were giggling around a table. The fear and tears on their face that made him feel like the biggest sinner in the world from earlier were already gone. Now they looked like they had completely forgotten about what happened. The same could be said for the creatures around them. Their fierce face and their ready stance were nowhere to be seen.
On the contrary to the peace around that part of Checkpoint, the bar was full of tension. There's only one female sitting there, but her solemn and serious face successfully drained all the colours around the area. Since she was also having a glass of whiskey in front of her, it looked like she had been cheated by her fiancé a day before the wedding or something.
If it's a man with an adventurous spirit or a man too brave to even read the room, they would surely sit beside a woman like her. But not Ludwig. He already knew why that woman was like that, and to be honest, if he could avoid her, he would rather not answer any question she had.
Chuckling to himself, he walked to the bar before sitting on an empty chair. Probably sensing his arrival, Claire put her finger on the rim of the glass before looking at him. "So, you are ready to explain what happened back then?"
Facing her flat tone, Ludwig couldn't help but chuckle. But before he answered her question, he first snapped his fingers to summon the whiskey bottle from the counter as well as an ice and a glass.
He let the first shot enter his mouth in one shot. He had drunk enough of it to know what was coming before it arrived. The cold from the ice, then the oak, then that particular dried fruit note that sat in the background without announcing itself. After tasting the finish on his tongue, he set the glass down before refilling it and returning the bottle to the counter.
"Where do you want me to start?" He asked after shifting his gaze to her.
"Just tell me what the hell is that new power of yours. I can see why you did the rest."
Ludwig let out a hum and flicked the glass with his finger. He had organized what to tell her beforehand. However, when it came to his power, he was still not sure where he should start.
After contemplating for a brief second, he started. "You remember my explanation about my sword, didn't you?"
After getting a nod from Claire, he continued.
"What I didn't tell you back then is that my sword always has a different temperament in every timeline. Moreover, the persona it calls to the present depends on my mood and intention.
"For example, the persona that came back in the meeting room was a sword filled with vengeance. It was held by a version of me that walked the path of revenge."
Ludwig stopped at that point, making sure Claire got everything he said. Judging by how her eyes changed into calculation mode, he quickly prepared for a question that was coming.
As expected, "If the sword picks a persona based on your mood, does that mean you have no control over which version shows up? Or can you steer it? Then, you said the sword persona from earlier came from a version of it that was held by a version of you that was seeking revenge, right? Did it also show you that version of you?"
Ludwig rested his back on the chair and crossed his arms. With his eyes roaming around the ceiling, he answered. "I can't control it. I have tried to do it before; unfortunately, the sword seemed to be reading my deepest emotion. However, there's a way to work around it. I just keep calm. But yeah, sometimes, it failed like earlier.
"For your second question, yes. Every time a new sword persona came, it would always show me a snippet of what kind of Ludwig was holding it."
Claire nodded her head a few times, then she opened her mouth. "Did seeing another version of you influence the current you?"
"No." Ludwig answered quickly. "At least the good one didn't. But the bad ones, it's hard not to be influenced by them for the moment."
Claire moved her gaze toward him. "That's not what I meant, but good information, regardless. What I want to know is, did you get new power or something after seeing the snippets?"
"Ah that." Ludwig chuckled. "No. I don't get anything. Though I hoped I would get something other than an identity crisis."
Claire kept her silence for a few heartbeats before answering. "Yeah, I get that. I think I will also question things I had done before if I suddenly saw a version of me that's as strong as Ilea.
Ludwig laughed at her answer. He had felt like that as well. It was after the sword showed him a version of Ludwig that used a wand rather than a sword. That Ludwig went down to the path of a magician rather than a magic swordsman, and what he could do was something that the current him could only dream of.
He even thought about starting from scratch due to how long his life would be. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to do it because of the circumstances.
"So the bad ones influenced you. Then, just how far gone were you earlier? Because from where I was standing, it's scary."
Ludwig let out a long sigh. Then he raised the glass to his lips and drank the whiskey inside before answering. "I get my bearings rather quickly earlier. Though, after the first time I got influenced by it, I learnt to keep the bad emotions away. I just let my guard down back there."
"You said back there the sword was held by a version of you who walks the path of revenge, right? Can I ask what you see?" She asked.
Ludwig smiled. "Of course."
Then, he proceeded to tell Claire what he saw, leaving no details unsaid.