‘He should be 3-Star, right?’
Sena Ares watched as her youngest cousin underwent the Measurement Ceremony.
‘Liz being 3-Star earlier was surprising too, but…….’
Liz Ares, daughter of her younger aunt Est.
She was unquestionably a genius. Reaching 3-Star at the age of sixteen was rare even when looking back through the history of House Ares.
But because Sena already knew that Sion could use Sword Aura at the age of twelve, she had not been quite that shocked.
‘You need at least three Circles to use Sword Aura. So Sion must be 3-Star.’
If so, the cheers would be even louder than before.
Reaching 3-Star at only twelve years old was truly extraordinary.
‘Wait. Surely he isn't 4-Star?’
Sena felt cold sweat run down her back.
If Sion turned out to be 4-Star, it would be an earth-shattering event.
‘Then the position of Knight Commander after next would practically be Sion's! No, knowing Grandfather, he might even skip an entire generation and say he'll make Sion the next Knight Commander!’
If that happened…… everyone else would end up like dogs left staring after a chicken that had escaped them.
‘N-no, calm down. There's no way.’
Reaching 4-Star at the age of twelve was simply too unrealistic.
Of course, 3-Star was unrealistic too…… but Liz had already demonstrated that reaching 3-Star at sixteen was possible.
If Sion was an even greater genius than Liz, then perhaps reaching 3-Star at twelve was possible.
But not 4-Star.
That truly could not happen.
‘If Sion turns out to be 3-Star…… our family will be at a severe disadvantage in the struggle for the next Knight Commander.’
The eldest son, Sershes. The eldest daughter, Helena. The second daughter, Est. The second son, Kurt.
Among the four siblings, Sena's father, Sershes, had been the one furthest ahead.
But with this Measurement Ceremony, Est had taken a step ahead by raising Liz to 3-Star.
If Sion was revealed to be 3-Star as well, Kurt would move ahead of him too.
‘Father would fall to third place. To overturn that situation…… I'll just have to work even harder.’
Sena had the advantage of already having established herself within the Holy Knight Order.
She would have no choice but to use that advantage and build up achievements ahead of time.
‘Even so, if Sion, who reached 3-Star at twelve, starts pulling ahead…….’
Just as she was sinking into gloomy thoughts, the examiner's voice rang out.
“Sion Ares! Number of Circles: one…… 1-Star!”
What……?
***
“What?”
Ianus Ares's eyes widened.
“That cannot be right. Is something wrong?”
“F-Family Head, the measurement is accurate.”
The examiner pointed toward the artifact.
“As you can see here, only one ring has formed.”
“…….”
After confirming the single red circle displayed on the mirror, Ianus frowned.
“This cannot be…… Sion, what is going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why do you only have one Circle?”
Ianus glared at me and pressed for an answer.
“Did you not say you could use Sword Aura?”
At Ianus's words, the people around us sucked in startled breaths.
“S-Sword Aura? That little kid?”
“That's Sion Ares, right? Kurt's son?”
“How old is he now?”
“He should be twelve.”
“How can a twelve-year-old use Sword Aura?!”
As I listened to the crowd chatter and prepared to speak, a hand suddenly grabbed my shoulder.
“Hey, you crazy bastard!”
It was Robel, who had been bickering with me earlier.
“What were you thinking, telling Grandfather a lie like that? Hurry up and apologize! Now!”
Robel pressed down hard on my shoulder.
Apparently, he wanted me to kneel and apologize.
“That kid lied to the Family Head? Said he could use Sword Aura?”
“Good grief, does he have no regard for his own life?”
“Kurt's in trouble too. How is he going to clean this up?”
“It's his responsibility for raising his child badly.”
Mocking voices sounded from around us.
I glanced aside and saw Helena looking positively delighted.
‘What a nasty personality you have, Aunt.’
Meanwhile, Robel actually looked genuinely worried about me.
He had ended up humiliated after fighting with me earlier, yet here he was worrying about me.
Maybe he was a good kid at heart.
“Brother Robel, thank you for worrying about me, but there's no need.”
“W-what?”
I brushed Robel's hand away and stepped forward.
“Family Head, I can use Sword Aura.”
“Do not talk nonsense. How can you use Sword Aura with only one Circle?”
“Does the number of Circles matter?”
“What?”
“I read Duke Johan's 『Grand Compendium of Transcendent Swordsmanship』, which introduced Sword Aura to House Ares. It never said the number of Circles was important for using Sword Aura.”
At the mention of a book House Ares revered almost as much as the scriptures of the Church of the Holy Spirit, Ianus's expression stiffened.
“It would have said that what matters is not the number of Circles…… but the amount of mana. On average, the amount required is roughly equivalent to three Circles.”
“That's only the average.”
“What?”
“Please take another look, Family Head.”
“……?”
I placed my hand on the artifact once more.
The artifact detected the mana waves through my palm, and a red circle began forming on the mirror.
“There is only one Circle. But look closely.”
“Ah……!”
Only then did Ianus realize what was happening and let out an exclamation.
“Y-yes. So that was it!”
Ianus grabbed the artifact with both hands and peered into it, raising his voice.
But the people around us still seemed completely unable to understand what was happening.
“What? Why is he acting like that?”
“Isn't it just one Circle?”
“What the hell is going on?”
While everyone was bewildered by Ianus's sudden reaction, a calm voice rang out from among the crowd.
“There is only one Circle, but it is not an ordinary one.”
“……!”
The one who had spoken was Ianus's second daughter, Est.
She alone, having raised her own daughter Liz to 3-Star, seemed to have realized what was happening.
“Haha…… hahahahaha!”
Then Ianus burst into laughter.
The people around us could only stare in shock.
It was extremely rare for Ianus to laugh so loudly.
“A true genius has been born into House Ares!”
A true genius.
At the words spoken by the family head, the crowd erupted into another wave of commotion.
“Look!”
Ianus raised the artifact high with both hands.
High enough that everyone could see the red circle displayed on the mirror.
“Do you see it?! A single red ring is displayed here…… but if you look closely, you can tell that it is actually several extremely thin rings overlapping one another!”
“……!”
Only then did everyone understand.
“As I said at the beginning, Sion has only one Circle! But the density of that Circle…… is several times that of the other children's!”
“Ah……!”
A roar of amazement thundered through the banquet hall as if the entire building might collapse.
***
‘Ah……!’
Sena, who had been watching in confusion, finally understood everything.
‘R-right. What Sword Aura requires is enough mana for three Circles…… If he can store that much or more mana inside a single Circle, then he can use Sword Aura even at 1-Star!’
Was his talent for mana control simply that extraordinary?
At present, even though Sion was only 1-Star, he possessed power on the level of a 3-Star Knight.
By simple calculation, at 2-Star he would possess the mana of a 6-Star Knight, and at 3-Star, the mana of a 9-Star Knight.
Then what would happen if he reached 4-Star or 5-Star?
If Sion's growth stopped midway, the thought would be meaningless.
But that did not seem likely.
“Sion, how in the world did you raise the density of your mana this high?”
“To tell the truth, I've been studying mana control on my own.”
“What? On your own?”
“Yes. Because of that, it never occurred to me to make additional Circles. I just kept gathering mana little by little without thinking much about it, and my Circle kept getting heavier.”
“You brat, this is not something that happens just by gathering a little at a time!”
Listening to the conversation between Ianus and Sion, Sena felt a sense of defeat.
They were on completely different levels.
There was no chance of winning by competing against a younger cousin like this.
And yet, she did not feel bad.
She was too overwhelmed by the awe of having witnessed something so extraordinary.
***
‘Just as I expected, none of them recognized it.’
[Of course not. They would never dream that the Circle was created with one of the Great Flame Cult's wicked secret arts.]
‘Don't call it wicked. I gathered my mana with a perfectly devout heart.’
[Hahahaha. You do know how to joke.]
‘Watch it, you bastard.’
The Great Flame Refinement Art.
It was a secret method passed down through the Great Flame Cult.
It had been developed for the purpose of creating ultra-high-density Circles and pushing one's mana reserves to the absolute limit.
The Great Flame Cult possessed many sinister arts forbidden by the Church of the Holy Spirit, and this was one of them.
‘The Great Flame Refinement Art has one fatal flaw.’
To use the Great Flame Refinement Art, one had to already possess exceptional mana control.
But if someone already had Circles, the Great Flame Refinement Art could no longer be applied.
Only by using it from the moment one formed the very first Circle could an ultra-high-density Circle be created.
‘In other words…… to actually make use of the Great Flame Refinement Art, a veteran who was already skilled at mana control would have to destroy every Circle they'd spent decades building and start over again from 1-Star.’
[Destroying Circles accumulated through decades of effort and starting again from the beginning is not something anyone can easily do.]
‘That's why almost no one in the Great Flame Cult ever actually used it.’
But.
I had reincarnated while retaining Archbishop Hauzel's mana-control techniques in full.
That meant I had been able to use the Great Flame Refinement Art to accumulate mana from the very beginning.
Thanks to that, I had created an ultra-high-density Circle and could manifest Sword Aura with only a single Circle.
[Anyone who truly understands mana will have realized just how extraordinary you have become.]
Nine Circles was the limit.
That was why 9-Star was the end, and 10-Star did not exist.
Once someone reached 9-Star, their growth stopped.
But I could operate far more mana within each Circle than other people.
By simple calculation, once I reached four Circles, I would already possess an amount of mana equivalent to 12-Star.
[The first member of House Ares who may surpass the limit of 9-Star…… that is what you are.]
Just as Igzad said, this was an incredible thing.
So incredible that Ianus Ares was gripping my hand in excitement and shaking it vigorously.
“You are the future of House Ares.”
“You flatter me, Family Head.”
“I told you to call me Grandfather.”
“This is a formal occasion……”
“It is fine.”
“Understood, Grandfather.”
Seeing Ianus, who had always worn a deeply scowling expression on the battlefield, smiling with such delight felt extremely awkward.
“At last, the time has come to eradicate the Great Flame Cult completely from this land! Ah, the Holy Spirit has bestowed its blessing upon our family!”
“…….”
I wondered if he would keel over if he learned that this Circle had been made with one of the Great Flame Cult's wicked secret arts.
He was old, after all.
The shock might send him straight to his grave.
‘I will take this secret to my grave, Grandfather.’
I firmly resolved to protect the secret.
Out of filial devotion to my grandfather.