'That ended so quickly... Is Aizen allergic to ceremonies that last more than an hour or something?'

Reivan couldn't help but inwardly sigh in exasperation as he left the throne room, having only spent a couple of minutes inside.

After the purple-haired knight had finished with his pledge, everybody vacated the opulent throne room since it wasn't the best place to have a proper conversation. His big brother and sister-in-law went off somewhere else to perform their "royal duties", while Reivan, his father, and his new guardian knight headed for the room meant for his lectures.

As far as the actual ceremony was concerned — aside from the short introductory conversation he had at the beginning — all Reivan had to do was stab his own Soul Armament into the floor in front of him, then say a bunch of mumbo-jumbo about striving to be a master worthy of such an excellent knight's loyalty.

However, since his speech was scripted, Reivan didn't feel too enthusiastic about it. He wished he was given enough time to make one up himself. But that was when he remembered he was supposed to be ten years old; expecting a ten-year-old to come up with a proper speech was, perhaps, asking for too much.

'On that note, isn't expecting a ten-year-old to fight a monster and kill someone even worse...?'

But as his father said, they were rulers. Conventional logic shouldn't be applied to them.

"This is it." Rodin led the way into a room, snapping Reivan out of his thoughts. "This will be where you'll sit through your lectures."

While he'd been thinking of previous events and mentally outlining the start of an epic speech, they'd somehow made it to their destination. Getting his head back in the game, Reivan followed his father inside, curiously scanning the room's interior before realizing something.

With a frown on his face, Reivan turned toward his father. "This is my room."

He had unknowingly entered his own bedroom.

Rodin nodded as if nothing was wrong. "I'm aware."

"..." With a blank stare, Reivan waited for his father's explanation.

"Hm. Well, you may have been expecting something else, but this is the place you're most comfortable in. Hence, I believe it'll be the best place to facilitate learning."

"I see..." Reivan nodded slowly in understanding. "That makes sense."

"Also, this means you can't escape lectures by locking yourself in your room."

'That's the real reason, isn't it!?'

Renewing his admiration — and irritation — for his father's foresight, Reivan plopped down on the nearby sofa while grumbling.

Rodin chuckled as he sat down next to his son, ruffling his silky hair in a familiar manner. He then motioned for the newly-appointed guardian knight to sit on the opposite sofa.

"..." Valter hesitated, perhaps finding the thought of sitting on the same level as royalty disrespectful.

Looking over, Reivan noticed the knight's actions and smiled at him. "Sir Valter, you're quite tall so if you keep standing like that, I fear that my neck will surrender from the strain before my mind succumbs to your lecture. Please sit."

"...Yes, Your Highness."

Obviously still reluctant, the knight acquiesced. As the sofa sunk under his weight, Valter slightly squirmed in discomfort, the composure of a thousand-year-old knight all but gone with the wind.

Rodin seemed satisfied by his son's consideration since he ruffled Reivan's hair a bit rougher than usual. Once he'd had enough of messing up his son's hair, he cleared his throat and shifted to a more serious expression.

"You were acquainted with each other in the throne room, but it wouldn't hurt to be a bit more detailed now." Rodin clapped his son's shoulder and motioned toward the man in front of them. "This is Valter Suprana. One of Aizen's few Millenial Knights. He has served the royal family for more than a thousand years, now. If I remember correctly... you're 1,129 years old now, yes?"

"Thirty," Reivan answered in the knight's stead. "Sir Valter is 1,130 years old, Father."

Valter nodded. "His Highness is correct."

Recalling what he'd seen earlier, he used [Supreme Insight] on his guardian knight again.

~^+— Unit's Statistics —+^~ Name: Valter Suprana

Species: Human

Realm: Ascendant

Age: 1130

Sex: Male

Special Abilities [NONE] Might: 11,232 Extra Skills Elemental Affinities: [Darkness] [Wind] [Qi: Unleashed] [Paranormal Intuition]

[Malevolence] [Spirit Bond: Freed] Favor: (Loyalty / Protectiveness) 100 / 100 Threat Level: N/A (This unit's favor is too high)

Reivan couldn't help but inwardly sigh in amazement.

'How can someone be so old...?'

Contrary to the knight's age, he looked like a man in his mid to late twenties.

Reivan had only consciously lived for about thirty years — if one didn't include the years he'd spent dreaming through [Glimpse of Eternity]. Yet here was a man who was a literal thousand years older than him. The experience made Reivan tremble in delight.

'This means even I can live that long if I become an Ascendant too. Maybe even longer...'

Naturally, that meant his family could also live that long if their realms advanced. If everything went well, he could spend eternity with the people he loved.

Was there anything better than that?

At the very least, Reivan didn't think so.

Viewing Valter's information also confirmed a certain doubt that Reivan had been nurturing for a long time.

Under Valter's [Extra Skills] was a skill called [Spirit Bond: Freed].

Reivan didn't need to use insight on it to know that it was pertaining to the symbiotic relationship between the knight and the black falcon that had perched itself on his shoulder earlier. Still, seeing as the current situation allowed him to examine Valter's skills more carefully, Reivan went ahead and did it anyway.

[Spirit Bond: Freed]

An eternally binding connection between [Valter Suprana] and [Freed] has been formed.

Henceforth, [Valter Suprana] will serve as an [Anchor] for the Spirit, using their Soul to house the Spirit's [Core] .

Passive:

Upon, the [Anchor]'s death, the [Core] is destroyed.

The [Anchor] inherit's the [Core]'s [Elemental Affinities].

Sub-Skill #1: [Hybernate] Passive: When the Spirit takes fatal damage, it will undergo forced hybernattion within the [Core] until it is back to perfect condition. Sub-Skill #2: [Unity] Active: The [Anchor] and Spirit combine.

The [Anchor] is able to use the Spirit's [Qi] as if it was their own.

'I was expecting something like Pokemon but isn't this more like Digimon Frontier...?'

He couldn't help but compare the ability to a certain anime that Kyouka had been fond of. Unfortunately, he didn't have similar sentiments, so he didn't watch it past the first few episodes.

The ability's effects weren't what he was most interested in though. It was the existence of the ability itself.

'I guess Zouros is really different from these Spirits or whatever, despite the similarities between them.'

It was pretty much confirmed. Reivan didn't have a similar skill listed in his [Extra Skills] after all.

'And then there's this...'

The other thing that interested him was [Malevolence] — which was a skill that he'd temporarily obtained whenever his [Intent] transformed into [Killing Intent]. Whenever he obtained the skill, he was never in a situation where he could peruse his abilities so he was never able to find out what it did.

Now was the perfect opportunity to do so.

[Malevolence]

Violence is always the answer.

Passive:

Successfully slaying an enemy restores this unit's resources by 10% of the slain unit's resources.

When slaying a unit of similar realm, there is a microscopic chance for this unit to obtain a permanent increase in [Might].

One point every time, up to a maximum of a thousand points.

Stat Points Gained: 1000 /1000 (Maximum has been reached)

Reivan almost gaped.

'Yeah... this isn't something an ordinary person could unlock...'

He was pretty certain that Valter wasn't someone who'd lived the straight and narrow path. It wouldn't have been strange if he turned out to be someone the kingdom tasked to do its dirty work.

'That's kinda cool... edgy, but cool.'

Reivan then felt his world shake as his head was lightly nudged.

"You're staring again." Rodin chuckled wryly before admonishing his son in a gentle tone. "At least ask for permission before you use your ability."

"Oh... sorry." Reivan scratched his cheek, realizing he'd probably stared at Valter like a moron again. "Sorry, Sir Valter."

"Pay it no mind, Your Highness." Valter smiled, waving off the young prince's concern. "Rather, it would be wonderful if you shared your findings. A thousand years into my life, and I may yet discover something new about myself through your talents."

"I did see something interesting..."

"That's good," Rodin interjected. "You can write a report about it later. Just like you did earlier at breakfast. For now, we have the matter of your education to talk about."

"We can delay that by a little..."

Ignoring his son's mutterings, the king turned to the loyal knight. "Valter here will be in charge of your common sense and general education. That includes things like the geopolitical state that the continent is in, arithmetics, literature, and other things. As a knight and a royal scholar, he is more than qualified.

"Ugh..." Reivan groaned, but then he raised an eyebrow. "Scholar...?"

"It's someone who graduates from the University of Aizen, Your Highness," Valter calmly explained.

"That's awesome!"

One time, he'd taken a peek at Kyouka's homework and he hadn't been able to understand a thing. Why was it called math homework when there were more letters than numbers in the equation? Why were there equations in the science homework? Why were the textbooks thicker than his arm?

Looking at those things had given birth to more questions than answers.

'Anyone who can graduate university is amazing, as far as I know.'

Valter grinned in embarrassment. "It's not as impressive as you think it is, Your Highness. I just had a lot of time on my hands, which is why I used it to be more... cultured and civilized."

"It's still something great." Reivan insisted, giving his guardian knight a thumbs-up.

The knight humbly bowed with a soft smile on his face, seemingly having given up on denying Reivan's praise.

Rodin's eyes narrowed as he smiled at the two. He then continued, "Valter will also be partly in charge of your combat training... you two share an affinity for Darkness, so do make sure to learn a lot from him."

The young prince's expression brightened considerably at the thought of combat training.

"Your big sister, Stella, has happily agreed to be your teacher in the arts of Lightning. As for Ice... honestly, either your uncle or mother can do it. Whichever one gets to you first, I suppose."

"Okay!" Reivan beamed as he stared at his father.

"As for general training... an Ascendant knight named Donovan will be in charge of that." Rodin looked to the side, away from his son's expectant eyes. "Out of all your trainers, you will likely spend the most time with him."

"As expected, it's Donovan..." Valter muttered in a knowing tone, his cheek twitching. "Well, there's nobody better at producing excellent young knights than him... even the Sword Star admits his skills..."

"Indeed." The king nodded stiffly.

A strained silence overcame the room as the two men ran out of things to say.

Reivan, on the other hand, was swiveling back and forth as he examined Valter and his father's expressions. The knight was now carefully examining the carpet while his father was looking into the distant skies through the window.

Both men were actively avoiding his gaze.

'I don't like this...'

His expression fell as his heart sank at the implications of the two adults' mannerisms. Just who was this Donovan, and what in the world was he going to do to Reivan? Even though Reivan desperately wanted to ask, he had a feeling he'd only get silence as his answer since his father knew he could see through lies.

Soon, Rodin cleared his throat and looked at his son with a stiff smile on his face. "Make sure to work hard. Okay, Rein?"

"..." Reivan gulped. "Yes..."

"As long as you don't slack off, you'll be fine. Goodbye for now, and always remember that I love you."

'Why are you mentioning that now!?'

With that, Rodin stood up and quickly left, as if escaping his son's inquisitive gaze.

Having no one else to turn to, Reivan looked toward his guardian knight. "Sir Valter... will I be okay?"

Valter continued to avert his gaze as he nodded. "His Majesty and I were just joking when we reacted like that..."

[Lie Detection] has activated!

"Lies..." Reivan hissed. "Please speak honestly."

The knight awkwardly slicked back his purple hair, ruminating on his words before speaking, "Donovan is the best of the best when it comes to producing the most excellent knights. That is a fact. However..."

"Yes...?" The prince motioned for him to continue.

"Well, he has a reputation..." Valter faltered, seemingly unwilling to speak ill of a colleague. "About three-quarters of the recruits under him get sent home in tears within the first week..."

"What the hell...?"

'So only 25% make it past the first week!?'

"Of course, some of the recruits that he sends home usually find more luck training under someone else, but still... despite producing excellent knights, he has also single-handedly reduced the number of graduating recruits every year."

"Uhm." Reivan hesitated. "Does he have some sort of problem...?"

"Donovan is very passionate about training the younger generation." Valter tried to speak in a positive tone, but that put the young prince on guard even more. "It's just that his passion makes him a bit... intense, so to speak. He's not a bad person at all."

"Uh-huh..."

Reivan waited for [Lie Detection] to activate again, but it never did.

'I guess there's some truth to what he says...'

But the possibility that the thousand-year-old knight was skilled in semantics was always there. So Reivan tempered his expectations and prepared his heart.

Reivan sheepishly asked. "I will quickly become stronger under his instruction, right?"

Valter's eyes widened at the question for a moment before smiling. "Yes, Your Highness. All of the knights he produced rose up to be great knights. Many of them even became Ascendants."

"I see." Reivan nodded with determination. "That's good."

'Even if this Donovan guy is a sadistic prick, if he'll really help me improve as fast as possible, then I'll endure anything he throws at me!'