In the two months leading up to the birthday party, Yuto spent half his time in the Marigold estate’s training hall and the other half clearing dungeons near Merchant City.

Not only had his Void Skills leveled up, but changing his class to Void Born had also given him new skills. Yuto was now incomparably stronger than he had been on his journey to Belkain. Thanks to that, he could clear dungeons alone that he had once considered too daunting to attempt.

Name: Yuto.

Class: Void Born

Level: 11

Stamina: 75

Aether: 85

Strength: 55

Agility: 40(+5)

Charm: 35(+5)

Remaining Points: 0

Void Skills:

Void Step LV5.

┕???

Void Touch LV6.

┕Void Scythe

Void Dominion LV1.

Void Blade LV2.

???

???

.

.

Two months of training and dungeon clearing had raised his level by one. Yuto invested his newly earned points in Charm and Agility.

Although he had Void Step, he still needed to invest points in Agility to move quickly in combat. His new skill, Void Blade, was particularly suited to close combat.

Yuto quietly raised Gloria. The sword still felt a little too large for this body, but two months of wielding it had made him accustomed to it.

Gloria was, after all, the trusted sword he had used before his regression, and he already remembered everything about how to wield it. The purpose of his two months of training and hunting had been to fully adapt his immature body to the experience and combat abilities he had possessed before regressing.

“It would be nice if my body grew as I invested points.”

“That is impossible. The power added through points is what the Void bestows upon you.”

Elun answered indifferently. She picked up one of the crystals scattered around them and continued.

“It is the same reason absorbing these crystals does not make your body grow. If you wish your immature body to develop, your only choice is to obtain sufficient nutrients and rest.”

Yuto still had the body of a fourteen-year-old boy. The power within it was tremendous, but outwardly, he was a boy smaller than an adult.

“Sufficient nutrients, is it? Is that really something you should be saying when you eat the sweets Levian makes instead of meals?”

“My body does not grow, so I have no need for the nutrients humans require.”

Elun answered without the slightest change in expression.

“I do not refuse Levian Marigold’s sweets because I regard what that woman presents to me as offerings. I am a being superior to ordinary humans, so receiving offerings from them is only natural.”

“...”

“Levian Marigold has not discerned the truth of my existence, but she instinctively understands that I am a being worthy of offerings. She presents them out of respect for me, and I graciously accept them.”

Without a trace of humor on her face, Elun gave a light wave of her hand. All the crystals lying on the floor were drawn into Yuto.

“For all you say that, you seem to look forward to the sweets Levian makes.”

“I acknowledge that Levian Marigold is a rather accomplished baker, but they remain nothing more than offerings. Yuto. Stop slandering me and proceed to the final chamber.”

Elun snapped at him. It seemed best not to tease her further. Yuto nodded and signaled to Flokiro with his eyes.

They were currently in a C-rank dungeon near Merchant City, one Yuto had already cleared several times. To turn its extermination into training, however, he imposed restrictions on himself with every attempt.

This time, he had to clear it through swordsmanship alone, without using a single Void Skill. His restricted run had gone smoothly, and now only the boss in the final chamber remained.

“So I’m just watching again?”

Flokiro sounded dejected. As Yuto’s partner, he wanted to fight alongside him. Being told to sit idly by and watch was too much.

“You can step in if I look like I’m in danger.”

“As if that’s going to happen.”

Flokiro grumbled. He knew Yuto’s abilities well. Yuto had already been strong two months ago, but repeated training had honed his skills even further.

Ordinary adventurers would have needed a party to clear this place, but Yuto had never once been in danger here. That remained true even now, with his Void Skills restricted. The dungeon’s beasts posed no threat to him.

The boss was no different. The enormous, bull-headed boss charged at Yuto, swinging a greatsword that looked capable of cleaving even a building in two—but it was no contest.

Its greatsword failed to so much as brush Yuto’s clothing, while every swing of Gloria carved away another piece of the boss’s body.

Yes, carved away.

He did not use Void Blade. He did not use Void Touch. All Yuto wielded now was the Precious Sword of Belkain, Gloria. Even without a coating of aether, the renowned blade cut cleanly through the boss’s thick hide.

But it could not cleave the creature in two. And so Yuto slowly carved away its body. He could not stab its chest so high above him, nor sever its head even higher up.

To stop the bothersome swings of its greatsword, he sliced off fingers and cut through wrists whenever the blade came down. The bellowing creature’s massive, moving feet were a nuisance, so he slashed through its ankles whenever an opening appeared.

“Graaagh...”

With both ankles and both wrists severed, the boss floundered in a pool of blood. Drenched in blood that was not his own, Yuto strode over and brought Gloria down upon its thick neck.

The hunt was over. The scarlet blood vanished, and a large crystal and a treasure chest appeared. The crystal was the boss’s drop. The treasure chest was a gift from the constellations who had watched the hunt.

With an indifferent expression, Yuto kicked the chest open. Inside was a single book. He examined it to see what it was and found a manual of another kingdom’s secret swordsmanship.

“Hmph...”

Yuto snorted and put the swordsmanship manual into Void Storage. As a kingdom’s secret manual, it was extremely valuable, but it held little appeal for someone who had already mastered the Belkain royal family’s swordsmanship.

Of course, that did not mean he intended to throw it away. Learning its techniques would help him in future battles.

[“To help sharpen the blade that will one day turn upon them. How ironic.”]

Elun whispered inside his head. Dungeons like these existed so that constellations could observe humans, select them, and grant them more power to toy with them.

‘How do you think the constellations would react if they learned of my murderous intent?’

[“Those arrogant beings would be all the more delighted. They would be certain your blade could never reach them. That would only make you a more entertaining toy in their eyes.”]

Yuto smiled coldly at her answer. The constellations’ arrogance and contempt for humans worked in his favor.

From their lofty heights, they dismissed an insect’s murderous intent as insignificant.

They would never understand that the insect carried a lethal venom.

* * *

The Marigold estate had been bustling for a week in preparation for tomorrow’s party. Gardeners were busy installing magical lights in every tree, while the cooks cried out in delighted dismay as they prepared expensive, fresh ingredients flown in from far and wide.

After returning from the dungeon, Yuto changed his clothes and headed to Rufus’s study. Servants hurried through the estate’s corridors at twice their usual pace.

“Oh, Yuto! You’re back. Not a scratch on you, I see. Another smooth hunt, I take it.”

Rufus raised his head from the piles of documents on his desk, then picked up one of them and held it out to Yuto.

“The guest list for tomorrow. Read it beforehand and remember the names. You’ll be busy making the rounds and greeting them tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir.”

Yuto nodded, took the document, and scanned the list. Influential figures from Merchant City and nobles from other countries—hundreds of names filled the pages.

‘It’s more than just names.’

Rufus had added brief assessments in his own hand.

Greedy.

Highly curious.

Hostile toward Marigold.

Sensitive to shifts in power.

Prejudiced against the poor.

Flatterer.

Every note was practical information. Rufus smiled as Yuto studied the assessments.

“That’s high society for you, isn’t it? Most of them hide knives behind their smiles. Many will be jealous of someone like you who has appeared so suddenly.”

Rufus pointed to the lower part of the list.

“Those are the ones you should pay particular attention to. Nobles whose children attend Maria Academy. Especially those who control the academy through their generous financial support.”

Yuto’s gaze moved down the list. Sure enough, several names were underlined in red.

“Their children are known as the Royal Class at Maria Academy. It would be no exaggeration to say that they, rather than the teachers, are its true rulers.”

Yuto could only suppress a bitter smile. Of course he knew about the Royal Class. Before his regression, he had attended the academy as Belkain’s young king and had naturally belonged to it himself.

‘Familiar names.’

It was not just the Royal Class. Yuto knew most of the names on the list. These were people he had met as the king of Belkain. Back then, they had smiled and flattered him... but that would no longer be the case.

‘The Royal Class...’

Yuto could not help recalling the past. To be honest, his memories of attending Maria Academy were happy ones.

While he was there, he had felt little of the burden of being Belkain’s king. He had enjoyed his studies... and treasured the bonds he had formed there.

‘Back then, I never even imagined Shiro would betray me...’

In that past, Yuto and Shiro had been the heart of the academy’s Royal Class. Every student had admired them and longed to be their friend.

“...”

Those days, which he had once remembered as radiant, now felt like a nightmare. Yet even within that nightmarish past, one person still shone brightly in his memory: the younger sister who had stood beside the deceitful Shiro. The wife Yuto had loved and married in the world before his regression.

‘Shirin...’

Without realizing it, Yuto bit his lip.

‘Shirin Ristal.’

She was Shiro’s younger twin sister.

Shirin had known nothing of her brother’s true intentions. That night, she had never imagined Shiro’s betrayal.

Yuto’s shoulders began to tremble.

Since his regression, there were people he had consciously struggled not to think about. The wife he had loved with all his heart, Shirin Ristal... and the daughter they had had together, Lia Belkain.

“Yuto. What’s wrong? Is there a name you recognize?”

He remembered that terrible night. Shirin had begged him to spare at least her daughter, but Shiro had run his own younger sister through without a moment’s hesitation or a shred of mercy.

“...”

Yuto banished the nightmare engulfing his mind and calmed his seething emotions.

“No. I pushed myself a little too hard today... The fatigue has simply caught up with me.”

“Hmm. Then go and get some rest. You are the guest of honor at tomorrow’s party, after all.”

“Yes, sir. I will be able to attend tomorrow without any trouble. Please don’t worry. I won’t bring you any embarrassment.”

“Haha! Don’t worry about causing me trouble. Even if you haven’t recovered and end up making a spectacle of yourself tomorrow, I won’t mind.”

Grateful for Rufus’s consideration, Yuto bowed deeply and left the study.

‘I’ll meet Shiro and Shirin when I go to the academy. By then... I have to get these feelings under control. I have to be able to smile calmly in front of my enemy.’

For two months, he had thought of Shiro and worked to master his emotions. But they still would not obey him. Yuto let out a long sigh and shook his head.

“Feelings really don’t do as they’re told.”

And it was not only feelings.

Human affairs did not always go as one wished.

The next day, the prince and princess of the Kingdom of Ristal arrived at the Marigold estate, saying they wished to attend the party.