The capital planet of the Banfield family.

The massive mansion of the lord, Liam, was the size of a city.

There were even people who lived within its grounds.

Among them was a single knight who had been given a magnificent mansion.

His name was Klaus.

He was the head knight of the Banfield family, the strongest knight in the Algrand Empire, whose name was known not only throughout the empire but in foreign countries as well.

The Knight Numbers, given to knights acknowledged by Liam.

The knight who held the number "1" had returned to his overly splendid home.

"I'm home."

A male knight, troubled by a position that didn't match his abilities.

As he stood before the massive entrance with a weary face, the doors opened.

Waiting inside was a line of servants.

They all bowed in unison to Klaus.

"Welcome home, Master."

The mansion—a home that could be called a castle—was something Liam had prepared for Klaus.

Liam himself had only ordered them to "prepare a mansion befitting of Klaus," but the person who received the order had enthusiastically constructed it, thinking, "For the head knight of the Banfield family, something of this scale is only natural!"

Klaus himself felt humbled by the excessive treatment.

(This house is too big, and there are too many servants... I just can't seem to relax.)

Ever since entering the service of the Banfield family, he had been continuously promoted.

Previously, he had a house outside the main mansion, and because it was too large for his family to live in alone, he had hired servants.

Even so, compared to before he served the Banfield family, it was a life he considered luxurious.

He was happy that his family was pleased, and it was a time when he thought he could put up with his colleagues being a bit hot-blooded.

And yet, somehow, he had made a mistake somewhere and climbed all the way to the position of head knight.

His life was targeted by his hot-blooded colleagues, he was unwittingly pushed to the top of a massive faction, and now he had even earned the deep trust of his superior.

The problem was Liam's trust.

Upon learning of Klaus's return, a woman came hurrying down the wide staircase at the back of the hall.

It was Klaus's wife.

"Darling, welcome home!"

Maids followed around his wife, who greeted him joyfully.

They seemed a little bewildered by their mistress's unladylike behavior, but they apparently intended to pretend they hadn't seen it, figuring it couldn't be helped since Klaus had returned.

"I'm home. I'm relieved to see you're well. How are the children?"

His wife showed an exasperated expression.

"They've already moved out, haven't they?"

"R-right, they have."

(They've both left home, huh? It's lonely.)

Klaus, who had been on long-term assignments away from home, regretted not being able to watch his children grow up.

His wife, perhaps sensing Klaus's feelings, told him about their children.

"When I told them you were coming back, they said they'd come visit in a few days. Apparently, their colleagues at work told them to take some time off."

Seeing his wife's smiling face, Klaus's cheek twitched inwardly.

(Does that mean their workplaces went out of their way to make time for me?! No, perhaps an order came from even higher up?!)

Liam may be audacious, but he sometimes shows kindness to his subordinates.

Also, ever since Rosetta had become able to have a say in the domain's affairs, she had started to look after the subordinates as well.

They might have done it out of consideration for Klaus.

But would the two of them really go that far just for him?

It wasn't impossible.

Another possibility was that it was an attempt to curry favor with Klaus, who held power in the Banfield family second only to Liam and Rosetta.

Either way, Klaus felt sorry for having caused them trouble.

"That's something to look forward to. Let's all have a meal together. Yes."

As he was thinking about sending a gift to his children's workplaces later, his wife called someone over.

A servant brought over a child who was not yet an adult.

"Darling, this is the boy we've been looking after for a little while. I'm sure you know him."

Seeing the child who was brought before him, Klaus broke out in a cold sweat internally.

"—Lord Yasuyuki?"

"I-I am in your care! Sir Klaus Sera Mont!"

Facing the extremely tense child, Klaus was also nervous.

The reason was that the one he was to take in at his mansion was Yasuyuki.

He was the child Liam had personally asked him to look after.

He was the biological son of Yasushi, the man called the Sword God.

(I see. So it's already time for me to take him in.)

His busy days had made him forget, but the time had come for Yasuyuki-kun to leave his parents and begin his training under Klaus.

Klaus steeled his resolve.

"From today, you will be educated in this house as a knight apprentice."

"—Yes."

Looking into the eyes of Yasuyuki-kun, who was nervous but determined, Klaus was panicking about what to do.

(This is troubling. I'm not a first-rate knight. I intend to teach him various things, but I wonder if he'll grow up to be respectable.)

Could a second-rate knight like himself really raise a first-rate one?

He had such anxieties.

However, Klaus knew.

That Liam wanted Yasuyuki-kun to become a bureaucrat, not a knight.

He was told by Yasushi, the Sword God, that Yasuyuki-kun had no talent as a swordsman.

In response, Liam didn't want to make Yasuyuki-kun a knight.

(If I fail, perhaps Lord Liam will stop having such excessive expectations of me. In the first place, my efforts will just be fruitless. I should just teach him what I can. Besides, Lord Liam doesn't want Yasuyuki-kun to follow the path of a knight anyway.)

And so, Yasuyuki-kun's training under Klaus began.

◇

Several months later.

Klaus had become aware of a certain fact.

(Huh? This kid is ridiculously amazing?!)

The mansion's garden.

Yasuyuki-kun, swinging his sword against an adult knight, didn't look at all like someone who was said to have no talent.

He didn't have the strength to overwhelm the adult knight, but he was somehow managing to hold his own against a first-rate, battle-hardened knight.

Considering his age, he would be classified as having plenty of talent.

One of Klaus's subordinates, who was watching nearby, praised Yasuyuki-kun.

"As expected of you, Sir Klaus. You are raising Lord Yasuyuki to be a splendid knight, skilled in both martial arts and literature."

"No, this must be his own talent."

(It's not just martial arts, he's good at his studies too?! I can't believe they said he has no talent!)

—Yasuyuki-kun was brilliant.