"Well, part of the romance is already there, if we like them and want to be around them regularly," Dimitri tries to explain, although he knows that they've discussed this with Felix. It's just... hard, he knows. It isn't as though he is any better at explaining how everything works.

If only there was a way to maybe have Felix understand...

...Oh, wait, he knows the answer to this question.

"Think of it this way," he suggests. "Even if you can appreciate every sword in the world, actually using that sword in battle, or making it your preferred sword to use when fighting, is something entirely different. Even if someone can admire the magic inherent to a Levin Sword, wielding it may not be something that they take easily to... But they won't know that until they use the sword to some degree, even in practice. Dating someone you like, but may not have explicit romantic feelings for yet, is somewhat like that: practicing with the sword before you commit to it."

Does that sound good? He really wants to think that it sounds good.

"Of course, some decide not to try out the sword even without practice, which is fair," he remembers to add. He doesn't want Felix to feel pressured. "Perhaps because they know their fighting style would not go well with, say, a particularly larger sword, or because they already have too many swords."

...

"Did any of that make the slightest bit of sense?"