Looking Forward to Another World

In Theresis, the background of Charlotte Miraveth, the current captain-commander of the Queen Knight Order known by the title of ’Valkyrie,’ had always remained a mystery.

She had appeared out of nowhere one day, challenged a renowned Sword Master without any prior fame or recognition, and defeated her opponent with ease in front of a crowd, becoming famous as a genius swordswoman.

At the time, she had been thirteen.

In other words, she had already been capable of defeating a Sword Master at the age of thirteen, making her stronger than the average Sword Master.

Hence, she became the youngest Sword Master in Theresis’s history, and it was here in Urvashi, the capital city of Theresis, that she received her Sword Master Medal.

Even at that time, she had already been a prominent figure. Not only was she powerful and exceptionally talented, but she had also grown into an extraordinarily beautiful and aloof young woman despite her age, attracting countless nobles who scrambled to win her over.

Because of that, there had even been some nobles who had developed improper intentions toward her, wanting to take such a beautiful, powerful, and talented swordswoman into their households so they could have their way with her.

As a result, Charlotte had already been subjected to hostility from numerous sides.

Some had tried intimidation.

Some had offered incentives.

Some had resorted to force.

Others had tried persuasion.

Eventually, someone had even openly sent people to attack her, intending to kidnap her.

Yet all of them had ultimately been defeated by her.

Some of the noble families that had stopped at nothing to achieve their goals had even been uprooted by the young genius swordswoman, causing them to be erased from Theresis entirely and stirring up an enormous commotion.

Because of Charlotte’s overwhelming strength and forceful actions, the nobles of Theresis had once tried to have her convicted.

Who could have expected that, some time later, this swordswoman would not only escape punishment, but would also have the royal family step forward on her behalf and publicly declare that her actions had constituted legitimate self-defense and that she should be acquitted of all charges?

Instead, the nobles she had eliminated were exposed one after another for crimes they had kept hidden, ultimately suffering disgrace and ruin.

From that point onward, some people had begun to speculate that Charlotte was a member of the royal family, perhaps even a princess of the direct line.

However, the royal family had never acknowledged it, nor had they ever denied it, leaving countless possibilities for people to imagine.

After that, Charlotte’s rise had become unstoppable.

At thirteen, she had defeated a long-renowned Sword Master head-on, received her Sword Master Medal, and become the youngest Sword Master in the history of the queendom.

At fourteen, she had joined the Queen Knight Order and become the vice-captain of the fourth division, already possessing the strength of an expert Sword Master.

At fifteen, she had entered the second division of the Queen Knight Order and become its captain, commanding eleven knights.

At seventeen, she had challenged the vice-captain-commander of the Queen Knight Order and defeated him, becoming the second strongest person in the entire knight order, surpassed only by the captain-commander at the time.

At nineteen, she had left the Queen Knight Order and applied to travel abroad for training. She had entered the frozen wastelands to hone her swordsmanship, where she had slain countless bandits and monsters along the way and rescued more than a dozen towns and villages from danger.

At twenty-two, she had returned from her training, and by then, she had defeated a thousand Sword Masters, formally received the Sword Saint Medal, and become the youngest Sword Saint in Theresis.

At twenty-three, she had challenged the captain-commander of the Queen Knight Order, defeated him, and replaced him as the new captain-commander.

At twenty-four, she had challenged two veteran Sword Saints within the queendom and once again defeated both opponents one after another in front of countless witnesses.

Now, she was only twenty-five years old, yet she was already capable of wielding the national artifact and commanding the entire Queen Knight Order.

By that point, she was known throughout the queendom as Valkyrie and had even begun to be regarded as the strongest person in the queendom.

It was a truly legendary life.

In the span of only twelve years, she had risen to the very top. Looking back, she had already reached the summit of her nation, standing beneath only one person while commanding the respect of countless others.

Yet even such a legendary life had never revealed the true origins of this Valkyrie.

Everyone in the queendom had long believed that she was a member of the royal family, and Riezel had come to the same conclusion after learning about everything she had accomplished.

Only now had Charlotte finally told Riezel that she was not a member of the royal family at all, but was merely a descendant of a collateral branch of the Theresis family.

Her bloodline had reemerged over several generations, resulting in an atavism that had awakened astonishing potential within her and allowed her to embark on a path of rapid advancement.

Aside from that, she had no background and no powerful patron supporting her, so she had simply forged her own path from the lowest point, becoming stronger through her own efforts and defeating countless powerful opponents.

No one had intervened in this journey. Even the royal family, which had publicly cleared her name in the past, had only developed an interest in winning her over after discovering her atavism.

In fact, the reason she had been able to come into contact with the holy sword of the Theresis Clan, which had been passed down through the royal family of Theresis for generations, was likewise because her bloodline shared the same origin as that of the royal family.

As for why she had been able to wield the sword, there was no doubt that it was also because of her atavism, which had allowed her potential to be fully awakened.

Combined with the fact that she was the captain-commander of the Queen Knight Order and the strongest female Sword Saint in the queendom, the royal family had made an exception and allowed her to wield the sword.

A princess?

Charlotte Miraveth had never been a princess, and she was not even a noble.

Theresis had tried to grant her a noble title countless times, but Charlotte, just like Riezel, had rejected every single offer.

Therefore, in terms of status, if Charlotte’s position as the captain-commander of the Queen Knight Order was disregarded, she was a genuine commoner.

Yet who could have imagined that this Valkyrie, who had been born a commoner and possessed a reemerging ancestral bloodline, had actually joined a mysterious organization long ago—the Holy Temple.

”Holy Envoy, huh...”

Riezel narrowed his eyes and stared directly at Charlotte, finally asking the question that had been on his mind.

”What exactly is the Holy Temple? And what’s a Holy Envoy?”

Charlotte did not answer his question.

”You seem to have become even stronger since the last time.”

Instead, she abruptly changed the subject, choosing to steer the conversation toward something completely unrelated.

”Aren’t you the same?”

Riezel, unsurprised, simply threw the question back at her.

”It’s different...” Charlotte shook her head. ”I became stronger through continuous training. It’s just normal growth, but you’re different. I can feel it. It seems like you’ve stepped into another realm entirely. You’re completely different from before.”

A strange light appeared in her ice-blue eyes as she stared at Riezel.

”Your change is different from what happened to me and that princess as well. We were able to grow rapidly because our bloodlines were being uncovered and awakened. Your change is happening on an entirely different level.”

”It’s not a bloodline awakening, nor is it an atavism. It’s more like your very level of existence has undergone sublimation.”

”I’m curious. How exactly did you accomplish that?”

It had to be said that this woman’s intuition was truly frightening.

Not only could it produce extraordinary results in battle, allowing her to seize the initiative through countless exchanges, but she could even recognize that the method by which Riezel had become stronger was fundamentally different.

Falna’s level-boosting was indeed a form of continuous evolution, constantly expanding one’s own vessel and allowing oneself to gradually approach the realm of the gods.

It was a sublimation of one’s very level of existence.

Given that, the fact that Charlotte could perceive this made Riezel genuinely surprised by her intuition.

However, before Riezel could answer, Charlotte had already raised her sword.

”Come. Let us have a sword duel.”

Charlotte had actually said something like that.

”Are you sure?” Riezel asked with a faintly amused smile. ”If we start fighting here, even a Tactical-Class Magic Barrier won’t be able to withstand the clash of our power, will it?”

At the level Riezel and Charlotte had reached, if they were to fight seriously, a mere Tactical-Class Magic Barrier could be shattered by the shockwaves alone. To withstand the impact of a battle between the two of them, anything below a Strategic-Class Barrier would be exceptionally fragile.

And that was under the condition that Riezel did not use magic.

Once he unleashed high-powered magic, this training field, or even the entire royal palace, would have no hope of remaining intact.

”It’s only a sword duel.” Charlotte had clearly already considered this point, as she calmly said, ”We can use swordsmanship, but neither of us can use magical energy. How about that?”

In that case, it would be a pure close-quarters battle with bladed weapons.

Riezel’s gaze met Charlotte’s once again, and he could see a faint fighting intent flickering within her ice-blue eyes.

After the two of them stared at each other for a moment, Riezel took a step forward and walked toward Charlotte.

*Schwing—*

Amid the sound of metal scraping against metal, Riezel drew the black blade from his waist as he walked. Patterns formed from sacred text flickered across the blade, streams of light flowing along the intricate markings.

”Hm?”

Charlotte was somewhat surprised when she saw that because she remembered that Riezel’s blade, although somewhat extraordinary, had been nothing more than that.

During their previous battle, the intense heat radiating from the blade had certainly been impressive, but its quality had been comparable at most to certain ancient treasures. It had still been far inferior to a national artifact like the holy sword of Theresis.

But this time, the blade seemed the same, while the intense heat that had been clearly sensed before had become far more restrained.

In fact, the patterns and streams of light that had appeared across the blade had also become mysterious, profound, and ancient. Judging solely by its quality, a blade like this might already be on the same level as the holy sword.

”Your sword...?”

Charlotte’s eyes flickered as she looked toward Riezel.

Riezel did not answer her question and, just as Charlotte had done earlier, abruptly changed the subject.

”Let’s make one thing clear beforehand...” Riezel’s expression remained calm. ”If I win, you have to properly answer my questions.”

Upon hearing that, Charlotte gave him a deep look.

”Three questions at most.”

”Fine.”

”...Provided you can win.”

”Isn’t that a given?”

”You’re that confident?”

”Didn’t the result of our last battle already make that pretty clear?”

”I’ve become stronger since then.”

”And you just said I’ve stepped into another realm, too.”

”...”

”...”

In the cold training field, the young man and young woman stood facing each other from a distance, each holding a sword.

After a brief and calm exchange, they both fell silent.

Not long afterward, the two simultaneously pushed off the ground and shot forward, charging straight toward each other.

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[A bonus Chapter for reaching 400 Power Stones]

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