Reid was afraid of Flugel
So, this is a small theory of mine that I've decided to post because of a fact revealed in Arc 9 that supports it.
In Arc 9, it was revealed that the Dragon Sword Reid can be drawn against Subaru; meaning that he is a worthy opponent. It's most likely that whoever is deemed a worthy opponent is decided based on Reid's beliefs on who a worthy opponent is. Now, recall in Arc 6 when Reid's ego takes over Roy's body, and he gains knowledge of Return by Death through Roy's memories. In chapter 71, there's a scene where Reid takes his eyepatch off to look at Subaru because he wants to reassess his abilities and regard Subaru properly. Reid congratulates Subaru on not going insane, and then pauses and asks if he actually is insane. Then, Reid stops thinking about it. From this short interaction, I gathered that Reid is probably incapable of comprehending the mental strength needed to use RBD like Subaru. Since he can't understand it, that means it's a strength that Reid doesn't have. Based on Reid's personality, he's the type of person who would want to challenge anyone with a strength that he doesn't have.
Since Reid isn't alive in the current day, how is the Dragon Sword able to determine that Subaru has Return by Death? Well, Reid knew Flugel and there is a high chance that Flugel had Return by Death (hinted by the fact that the Great Sage was said to have known everything, and Alec Hoshin said Flugel was the most likely to die out of everyone in the hero's party). After traveling with Flugel, I think at one point, Reid must have figured out Flugel's ability, and either gained respect or fear toward him because of Flugel's absurd mental fortitude. Actually, even if Reid never figured out Flugel's ability, he would probably fear/respect him because of his uncanny ability to predict the future and have knowledge of future events, but if Reid knew about RBD, it would make more sense as to why Flugel could be considered by him to be a worthy opponent. After all, someone who doesn't go insane from RBD is nearly impossible to beat.
Considering that Subaru and Flugel have some sort of connection, I think the Dragon Sword was able to recognize Subaru's relation to Flugel and deem him as a worthy opponent, and that's why the sword can be drawn on Subaru.
Anyway, sorry if this post is a bit incomprehensible, I wrote it late at night, and there's probably some more info that I forgot to add. If anyone needs any clarification or is looking for a specific quote/where I got this information, I can provide that. Feel free to correct me as well because some of this is from memory.
theartofmadeline
gracieabrams
vaporwave
2087
romaincrisis
