#this is level 80 in chunibyuu

[clockworkspider]

I think Keito's devotion to Eichi is actually quite different from standard loyalty. It's different from the liege-subordinate or the god-devotee variation. The key here is that they mutually acknowledge each other as "scriptwriter" and "protagonist", hence, in a sense, Keito is Eichi's creator.

I mean, Eichi is very much his own person. Keito didn't make him up. But he did very much create a role for Eichi to play and distorted the world around them to make that a reality. That's what the whole war was for, and Keito was the scriptwriter for that.

Meanwhile, as much as Keito was invested in molding Eichi into the role of the protagonist, the hero, Eichi was also invested into maintaining his role (in contrast to Rei who rejected the role Keito gave him), because it's a role made for him. He also desperately wanted to be the protagonist. In Elements, Eichi monologues about playing his role in Keito's script to the very end. Their desire, in this case, is one and the same.

When Eichi said he swallowed up Keito's dreams in Quarrel Fes, Keito denied it, and said that his dream changed because he met someone more interesting than any manga protagonist. I don't think he's lying here. Eichi, in this sense, also made Keito who he is by becoming the protagonist to Keito's story, changing the narrative of Keito's life.

So like... Keito's devotion to Eichi is devotion to the story he created. That's why he equates Eichi's praise to narcissism in Concerto. He was devoted to Eichi because he made Eichi who he was. (It's Keito's fault and he needs to be held responsible.) Rather than king and subordinate, it's much more like how a creator is devoted to and defined by their work. Keito did all that because he wanted to create.

If you look beyond their scriptwriter/protagonist metaphor... Keito also had a lot of impact in Eichi's world view, showing Eichi that life shines the brightest close to death, transforming the fear of death into desperate lust for life. Before Eichi found salvation in Love, Keito was a driving force in keeping Eichi alive and hungry.

And like... the thing about Quarrel Fes is that it puts a period on that state of their relationship. Eichi became the character Keito had created for him and then grew beyond it. He dragged Keito into the story to be his rival not his creator. They're able to move forward beyond the role they defined for each other.

If I keep talking I'm gonna go in circles, but anyway this is why I think their feelings for each other is very much requited... They just had... a very particular view on their role to one another.