Over the next few days at the Pluto Ducal House, I dedicated myself entirely to recovery with unwavering determination.
I didn’t miss a single potion, drinking it diligently three tis a day. I made sure to get plenty of sleep and left nothing on my plate during als.
The staff were so moved by my hearty appetite that they couldn’t help but complint .
“You really do eat so well, my lady!”
“She’s preparing to fight demons, so of course, she needs to eat properly!”
“Goodness, how admirable.”
“Mmmph…”
Embarrassed, I swallowed the mouthful of food I’d been chewing and downed a glass of milk in one gulp.
“Ahh.”
At last, my body was back to normal.
Without delay, I departed for the Holy Palace the next morning.
As soon as I arrived at the dormitory, I was greeted—though not warmly—by Adrian. He wasn’t alone; other trainee knights rushed toward as well.
Adrian’s face was so red it looked like it might burst, as if the world had just ended.
“Crescent! Are you okay? I heard there was high-tier Magi at the Pluto Ducal House. I was so worried I nearly stord in myself!”
“Thank you for restraining yourself. I’m completely fine now. I recovered quickly and returned from the Demon Realm in one piece. Plus, I had teor with , and we got really lucky.”
“Thank goodness…! I was so worried sothing had happened to you that I couldn’t sleep for days. I should’ve been there with you! Then I could’ve protected—”
“Ahem! If things continue this way, Sir Adrian, we might beco Demon Realm comrades soday.”
After all, I kept encountering high-tier Magi—and I was bound to encounter even more in the future.
Just then, Lucas approached , his round eyes brimming with tears.
“Crescent! teor… Sir teor left for special training as soon as he arrived at the Holy Palace! What on earth happened?”
“Oh, well…”
How was I supposed to explain this?
Should I tell them he felt weak after I saved him and decided to leave for training?
That wouldn’t do.
“teor ntioned sothing. It seems he had so kind of profound realization while we were in the Demon Realm.”
I mimicked teor’s tone dramatically, spreading one arm wide as if performing a play.
“‘The demons won’t wait for to grow up fully. I’ll leave as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.’”
“Wow!”
“As expected of Sir teor…!”
teor’s admirers were practically glowing with admiration.
To set out on such a grueling journey to prepare for future battles against demons—it was enough to inspire any trainee knight.
Returning to my usual expression, I spoke firmly.
“So, I’m going to push myself even harder from now on. Anyway, I’ll be heading inside!”
“Crescent!”
Without another word, I dashed into the dormitory. I could sense the other kids preparing to bombard with endless questions, and I wasn’t about to stick around for it.
But more than that, I didn’t want to talk too much about my recent trip to the Demon Realm.
Thinking about soone I t there made it impossible.
‘I’d just get sad thinking about Dad…’
Once inside my room, I quickly changed into my training uniform. I didn’t want to waste even a single second of my precious ti.
‘Thanks to the system rewards, I’m immune to malnutrition even if I skip als. That ans I can use altis to train! Although, if I skip too many als, the adults might scold to death instead…’
Pushing those stray thoughts aside, I began relentlessly striking the wooden training dummy. My best teacher was there to guide .
“Hyah! Take this!”
[‘Dragon Slayer Sylvester’ advises you to relax your shoulders. Overexertion warning!]
“Oh! Yes, understood!”
Under the guidance of a forr pope and legendary Dragon Slayer, I practiced my swordsmanship.
Next ca flexibility training—my favorite part of the Holy Palace’s holy knight curriculum.
It also happened to be the session where Sir Alruin lost his temper the most.
“I told you to curve your body! When did I say to flail like you’re dancing? Keep bending until you make a perfect circle—even if it breaks your bones!”
“Eek!”
“Ugh…”
Groans echoed from every direction.
Not a single trainee seed capable of doing the exercises properly.
I bent my back like a bow and grabbed my toes behind my head.
Thanks to my nightly practice on my bed, it felt much easier compared to previous sessions.
Closing my eyes, I hypnotized myself.
‘I am a circle. I am a sphere. My bones are soft like cartilage. I am round…’
“Gasp!”
“Everyone, look at Crescent!”
“!”
Hearing my na, I snapped my eyes open.
All the trainee knights had stopped their awkward movents to stare at .
Alruin, his grin stretching from ear to ear, approached .
“Yes! This is the perfect circle I’ve been talking about! Crescent, you’ve done it!”
Clap, clap, clap!
Alruin clapped with one hand fixed in place and the other giving a sophisticated round of applause.
I finally beca a circle!
Disbelieving, I grinned.
“Did I really succeed?”
“Yes! I knew you’d be the first to get it right!”
“Thank you!”
Feeling elated, I stretched myself into an even more perfect circle for everyone to see.
While I basked in the admiration, respect, and praise of Alruin and the trainee knights, an unwelco voice cut through the air.
“Pfft. Makes want to roll you away like a ball…”
Excuse ?
I spun around and spotted Edgar.
Of course, it was him.
‘That green-haired pest…’
As I glared at him, Edgar flinched. Did he sense the murderous aura in my eyes?
“W-What? I was just saying it must be nice to be so round!”
“…”
Ugh, the future of holy knights seems bleak.
Shaking my head in exasperation, I focused on perfecting my circle form again.
Every day of my life was packed with training, leaving no room to notice how quickly ti was passing.
About a year later, I had a curious thought.
‘Hmm? Isn’t the Demon King trying to kill anymore? Why haven’t any high-tier Magi shown up?’
Only a few low-tier Magi had appeared recently, and I had dealt with them easily.
Was Dad stopping the Demon King to protect ?
Shaking off the questions I couldn’t answer, I reassured myself.
Dad was likely doing just fine, scheming behind the Demon King’s back. Maybe he was so powerful that the Demon King couldn’t find the chance to kill !
“Hiya! Take this!”
My arms and body felt noticeably lighter as I swung my sword. It had beco so natural that the sword felt like an extension of .
After another two years, the once-heavy blade now felt as light as a feather.
I was so comfortable with it that I felt like I could perform ribbon dancing with my sword.
“Whew. Being a holy knight suits perfectly…”
When training, I didn’t have the ti to think about anything else. As long as I stayed focused, my efforts wouldn’t betray , and my skills would continue to improve!
‘Co to think of it, I wonder how teor is doing in his training?’
It had already been three years since he left for special training.
In all that ti, neither I nor the Pluto family had seen even a glimpse of him.
I heard that teor occasionally sent letters through the knights overseeing the training, asking about his family’s well-being.
Feeling a sudden whim, I decided to write him a very short letter.
It wouldn’t seem overly interested—it was my first letter to him in three years, after all.
[teor, how are you doing?]
***
Did my letter reach him?
I had no way of knowing. It had been a whole year without a reply.
A few months later, news spread throughout the Holy Palace that teor had survived a high-tier Magi attack and returned alive.
‘That’s so like teor.’
It seed there was no need to worry about him.
Despite that, I sent another letter, this ti casually inquiring about him.
[I heard you went to the Demon Realm. When we et next, you have to tell all about it.]
* * *
This ti, there was no reply for two years.
To be honest, I had even forgotten I was waiting for one.
teor must have been just as busy as I was. Between training and everything else, there was little ti to think about much else.
By now, I’d reached the point where I didn’t care much about receiving a reply. But still, I decided to write to him again.
[teor, Adrian keeps pestering to marry him. How do I get n to give up?]
And then, sothing unbelievable happened.
As if by magic, teor finally sent a reply.
[Why not seriously try to kill him? Throw Pingsuni at him.]
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