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 times a day. I made sure to get plenty of sleep and left nothing on my plate during meals.

The staff were so moved by my hearty appetite that they couldn’t help but compliment me.

“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 me 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 stormed 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 Meteor with me, and we got really lucky.”

“Thank goodness…! I was so worried something 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 become Demon Realm comrades someday.”

After all, I kept encountering high-tier Magi—and I was bound to encounter even more in the future.

Just then, Lucas approached me, his round eyes brimming with tears.

“Crescent! Meteor… Sir Meteor 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.

“Meteor mentioned something. It seems he had some kind of profound realization while we were in the Demon Realm.”

I mimicked Meteor’s tone dramatically, spreading one arm wide as if performing a play.

“‘The demons won’t wait for me to grow up fully. I’ll leave as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.’”

“Wow!”

“As expected of Sir Meteor…!”

Meteor’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 me 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 someone I met 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 time.

‘Thanks to the system rewards, I’m immune to malnutrition even if I skip meals. That means I can use mealtimes to train! Although, if I skip too many meals, the adults might scold me to death instead…’

Pushing those stray thoughts aside, I began relentlessly striking the wooden training dummy. My best teacher was there to guide me.

“Hyah! Take this!”

[‘Dragon Slayer Sylvester’ advises you to relax your shoulders. Overexertion warning!]

“Oh! Yes, understood!”

Under the guidance of a former pope and legendary Dragon Slayer, I practiced my swordsmanship.

Next came 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 seemed 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 name, I snapped my eyes open.

All the trainee knights had stopped their awkward movements to stare at me.

Alruin, his grin stretching from ear to ear, approached me.

“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 became 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 unwelcome voice cut through the air.

“Pfft. Makes me want to roll you away like a ball…”

Excuse me?

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 time was passing.

About a year later, I had a curious thought.

‘Hmm? Isn’t the Demon King trying to kill me 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 me?

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 me!

“Hiya! Take this!”

My arms and body felt noticeably lighter as I swung my sword. It had become so natural that the sword felt like an extension of me.

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 me perfectly…”

When training, I didn’t have the time to think about anything else. As long as I stayed focused, my efforts wouldn’t betray me, and my skills would continue to improve!

‘Come to think of it, I wonder how Meteor is doing in his training?’

It had already been three years since he left for special training.

In all that time, neither I nor the Pluto family had seen even a glimpse of him.

I heard that Meteor 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.

[Meteor, 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 Meteor had survived a high-tier Magi attack and returned alive.

‘That’s so like Meteor.’

It seemed there was no need to worry about him.

Despite that, I sent another letter, this time casually inquiring about him.

[I heard you went to the Demon Realm. When we meet next, you have to tell me all about it.]

* * *

This time, there was no reply for two years.

To be honest, I had even forgotten I was waiting for one.

Meteor must have been just as busy as I was. Between training and everything else, there was little time 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.

[Meteor, Adrian keeps pestering me to marry him. How do I get men to give up?]

And then, something unbelievable happened.

As if by magic, Meteor finally sent a reply.

[Why not seriously try to kill him? Throw Pingsuni at him.]