"Heavens, you've reached 1-Star!"
The realm of a 1-Star Knight was similar to the peak realm of the Murim.
"You'd know better than I would, Young Master, but people usually become knights in their thirties at the earliest, and more often in their forties. Some even manage it only once they're old, don't they? Though that's rare."
Vestia said joyfully. She was nearly in tears.
In this world, 1-Star was a realm an 'ordinary talent' could reach by around their forties with steady effort.
Getting there any faster belonged to the domain of true 'talent.'
"But you've already done it, Young Master! At such a young age! It's so, so amazing. I, Vestia, could die today without a single regret. Ah, no! I take that back. I'll live to see you called His Highness the Grand Duke someday before I die. Oh. And your heir too, Young Master, if I can."
Raizel ignored Vestia's fuss and picked up his sword.
To think an 'ordinary talent' could reach the peak realm through 'effort.'
In the Murim, that would have been unthinkable.
'Is it because the mana here is so much denser and richer?'
Achievement far beyond that of the martial artists of the Murim, from similar talent and effort.
The difference seemed to come down to the density of mana.
'Which means I can grow stronger here.'
A higher realm was already guaranteed.
And this time, it was his second life.
He would be able to reach the realm of his past life as the 'Heavenly Demon' faster and more easily than before.
'......And beyond it.'
Past the heavens.
Until he reached the constellations.
No, even that was not enough.
He had to surpass the constellations.
"But it doesn't end at 1-Star, and you're going to go much further, Young Master. Right?"
Vestia clasped her hands together, her eyes shining.
Nod.
Raizel nodded, then left her behind and quickly walked out of the room.
His steps were hurried.
If he dawdled even a little, Grand Duchess Alicia would surely latch onto him at once.
And then, without fail, she would try to feed him a restorative tonic, or press snacks into his hands.
He found Alicia like that deeply uncomfortable.
Was it because he was not used to anyone but attendants?
No, it was not only unfamiliarity.
'Unpleasant.'
It was a feeling of an entirely different grain from what he felt toward the Heavenly Slaughter Star, but the displeasure ran just as thick.
That was why he was now heading for the training ground as if fleeing.
Step.
Arriving at the training ground, Raizel drew a wooden sword and performed the Three Powers Sword Art.
His sword energy, now past 1-Star, poured out along the edge of the wooden sword.
It still fell far short of the Heavenly Demon's sword aura, but considering he had been a mana cripple until recently, it was remarkable progress.
Whoosh—
When he swung his sword at a nearby log training dummy, the log, thicker than a man's waist, was cut through like cake.
Next, he unleashed a sword form at a huge old tree towering a few steps ahead.
This time it was not the Three Powers Sword Art, but the Heavenly Zenith Chaos Abyss Sword.
The supreme art he had cherished most in his life as the Heavenly Demon, and honed until the very end.
It was the last sword dance of his life, performed in his final battle with the Martial Emperor.
Whoosh—!
The instant the blade flowed through time.
A single bead of cold sweat grazed the tip of Raizel's chin.
His eyes pierced the old tree, but beyond that gaze lay something else.
Regret over a sword art left unfinished.
The silent awareness of one who knew his own limits better than anyone.
It was the lingering attachment of never having perfected the Heavenly Zenith Chaos Abyss Sword.
'It is far from complete. I know that better than anyone, but......'
Krrrrrrraaack—!
In that instant, the old tree burst apart along the path the blade had taken.
Like rock split along its grain, the tree's form crumbled and fell, all too easily.
It was an old tree so thick that two people with arms spread wide could barely encircle it.
A tree that held vast ages within it.
Its weight and breadth were majestic by their mere existence, yet Raizel had cut it down in a single stroke.
But he was still not satisfied. In his eyes flickered not the shadow of achievement, but of incompletion.
The severed top of the old tree seemed to hang motionless in the air for a moment.
In that instant, even the wind held its breath.
A stillness as if gravity had been forgotten.
And at last—
Thoooooom......!
Belatedly, it slammed into the ground.
The earth shook.
The huge old tree collapsed toward the ground and dug deep into the earth.
Where the great old tree had slammed down, the ground bore a hollow like a giant's footprint.
A sight that would have been astonishing even as the sword form of a seasoned 1-Star Knight.
Raizel had only just entered the domain of a 1-Star Knight, but judged by the precision and polish of his swordsmanship alone, he would rank among the very few in the Empire.
The fall of the old tree caused no small commotion, yet not a single gaze turned toward the training ground.
'It is good that no one interferes.'
Ever since he had come back from the snowy mountain having reached the peak realm, the Grand Duke had handed Raizel a training ground outright, telling him to use it on his own as he pleased.
He had even raised high walls and installed several magic tools to keep anyone from interfering, making it perfectly soundproof.
That said, it was not done purely for Raizel's convenience.
-For now, it would be best that no one learns you have gone from a cripple to a 1-Star Knight overnight.
'The real purpose is keeping my condition from outsiders, starting with the Imperial Family, I suppose.'
If he ran into a mana user above 1-Star, Raizel's realm would be discovered at once.
But lately Raizel had stayed only within the inner castle of the Grand Ducal Castle.
Ordinary knights almost never had reason to enter the inner castle. Only the Knight Commander came to the Grand Duke every day to report.
Beyond that, most people in the inner castle were ordinary folk who were not even mana users.
So long as he was careful about running into knights whenever something came up, not even the Grand Duke's vassals would be able to learn Raizel's true condition.
'For now, I will keep quiet and focus only on raising my realm.'
Raizel's eyes glinted sharply between his eyelids.
But circumstances were not inclined to cooperate with his resolve.
***
"1-Star! Really, it's like a dream."
The dinner table.
Grand Duchess Alicia gazed at Raizel with eyes that still seemed unable to believe it, and spoke in a voice full of emotion.
"Kailan, when did you reach 1-Star?"
"......The winter I was seventeen, was it?"
"Raizel did it even earlier! They do say no parent ever wins against their child. I suppose that holds true even here. What a good boy he is."
A bright air bloomed over the table.
Alicia, who had been shedding tears until only recently, was now smiling from ear to ear.
That radiant smile was like long-buried sunlight streaming in through a crack in the door.
Even Kailan stayed at the table the whole time with a faint smile on his usually stern face.
Only Raizel looked somehow displeased and put out.
"Hmm, I do not mean to cast a shadow over a celebration, but......"
Just then, Kailan cleared his throat to draw their attention.
"There is news you need to hear. Raizel."
Kailan's expression darkened sharply. It seemed to be bad news.
"To console you for becoming a mana cripple and to help with your recovery...... the Imperial Family says it will send someone."
Perhaps Alicia had already known, for instead of asking anything, she lowered her eyes.
'Someone from the Imperial Family.'
The Imperial Family was presumed to be the hand behind making Raizel a mana cripple.
And yet the Imperial Family meant to send someone to help Raizel.
Their intentions were surely anything but pure.
'At best, a watcher. Realistically......'
Raizel's gaze slowly moved to his table knife.
On the blade, the blood from the rare meat he had just cut still showed vivid.
'Perhaps making me a mana cripple was not enough, and they mean to kill me for certain this time.'
"Baron Bernard Roderick is to come."
Kailan sighed.
"He has studied the healing arts for quite a long time, but at heart he is a knight who has reached the 1-Star realm. If he meets you face to face, he will surely notice that you are not a mana cripple."
He looked deeply worried.
It was right after Raizel had miraculously recovered from being a mana cripple.
And yet, as if he had caught wind of it, the Emperor was sending someone straight away.
"This is truly terrible......"
Alicia's face looked as though a single word from anyone would send her tears pouring out.
But Raizel showed little reaction and only looked at the knife on the table.
'To keep a 1-Star Knight from discovering my realm......'
In truth, the solution was simple.
He only had to reach a realm higher than 1-Star.
For it was impossible to perceive a realm higher than one's own.
"There is barely a month left before Baron Roderick arrives...... but I will do everything I can to find a way to send him back."
Had he taken Raizel's silence to mean something else?
Kailan said, knitting his brow.
"Enough. I should not have brought it up. There is nothing to worry about. We will protect you, Raizel."
"That's right, sweetheart. We'll protect you whatever it takes, so don't you worry."
At the ducal couple's words, Raizel raised his head and looked at them.
Two pairs of worried eyes were looking at him.
There was not a single drop of killing intent in those eyes.
Was it because he had grown so used to killing intent over the years?
He felt as uncomfortable as if he were wearing clothes that did not fit.
But, in any case.
'A month.'
He had a month before Baron Roderick arrived.
If he reached the 2-Star realm in that time......
'The Imperial Family will go on believing I am a mana cripple, none the wiser about my condition.'
The 2-Star realm was equal to the mature stage of the peak realm.
'2-Star in a month......'
Swish. Clatter.
Raizel moved his knife and cut the meat on his plate.
The cut face of the meat was as smooth as a mirror.
He speared the meat with his fork and brought it to his mouth.
'No need to hurry, then.'
As he worked his jaw and chewed, the juices poured out.
A rich flavor wrapped his tongue, and the warm fat slid smoothly down his throat.
Raizel enjoyed his meal in silence, but at a leisurely pace.
There was neither haste nor hesitation in his movements.
After all, reaching 2-Star within a month was by no means difficult for him.