On the Akasha Continent, the award ceremony was a very formal occasion, with everything arranged according to a strict schedule.
As a result, during the award ceremony, except for the main character, Riezel, everyone else was just there to serve as a backdrop, with no role other than to witness the ceremony.
Even so, with so many high-ranking officials and nobles present, it was naturally impossible for them to just show up and then leave right after.
For them, the award ceremony was indeed Riezel's moment, but once it ended, it was their time to shine, especially those who had long had their eyes on him. After the ceremony ended, they finally got their chance to make some connections with him.
However, it wasn't as easy as it seemed.
Even before Riezel revealed his Sword Saint strength, many nobles had tried to get close to him, but all they faced were closed doors. Whether they were major or minor nobles, even from duke families, none of them had managed to meet him, not even once.
Most of the letters they sent disappeared into the void, and the replies they received were nothing but perfunctory responses, clearly not written by Riezel himself but by someone else on his behalf.
Because of this, many nobles who wanted to interact with the youngest and newly appointed Sword Saint were disappointed, including a certain young lady who tried to secretly meet Riezel with Carrera's help.
To make things worse, after Riezel revealed his true strength and was acknowledged as a Sword Saint, he set up an arena right outside the Frenzel residence, where he accepted challengers from morning until dusk, spending all day there without leaving once.
As a result, the nobles had no chance to talk to Riezel at all, leaving them quite frustrated.
However, today, the opportunity had finally arrived.
After the award ceremony ended and Hendrick, surrounded by civil officials and knights, exited the audience room, many high-ranking nobles gathered around Riezel.
"Greetings, Sir Brynhart."
"Greetings, Sir Sword Saint."
"I've heard so much about you, Sir Brynhart."
They greeted Riezel one after another, their faces full of friendly smiles, with some even showing fawning expressions.
"Ah, greetings to you as well."
Riezel knew he couldn't escape socializing at an event like this, so he nodded to the nobles and responded to their greetings.
At this moment, Riezel became the center of attention, surrounded by nobles dressed in luxurious attire and engaging in conversation.
Surprisingly, Yuri joined in, holding Riezel's hand and standing by his side so naturally, helping him deal with the nobles.
However, as everyone in the audience room saw this scene, they had many wild thoughts running through their minds, especially those who had never seen Riezel before or witnessed the interaction between him and Yuri—they were quite shocked.
Although they already knew that the relationship between Riezel and Yuri wasn't simple, seeing how close they were right now made it seem like their relationship was even better than they had imagined.
At the very least, they had never seen the famous Marquis Frenzel stand this close to anyone in public, let alone hold someone's hand, an opposite sex at that.
Ultimately, this inevitably led to all kinds of speculation.
"Could these two be a couple?"
"Judging by Marquis Frenzel's demeanor, she's clearly very close to the Lightning Sword Saint."
"If these two are a couple, that would be something big."
"If their relationship gets out, the entire continent would be shaken."
Seeing the closeness between Riezel and Yuri, the nobles began whispering among themselves.
If the relationship between Riezel and Yuri was really what they imagined, the notion that it would shake the entire continent was not an exaggeration at all.
One was an unprecedented seventeen-year-old Sword Saint and Tactical-Class Magician with limitless potential and a promising future, while the other was a seventeen-year-old Strategic-Class Magician with boundless potential.
If these two, seen as juniors by others but already having achieved the highest honors and accomplishments on the continent, were to come together, it would certainly cause countless countries to tremble.
Everyone present, just by thinking a little about such a future and the impact and developments that would come from these two joining forces, couldn't help but be secretly amazed.
'It seems like I can't ignore them anymore...'
'Even if I can't build a good relationship, I can't afford to offend them.'
'Offending one might as well mean offending the other, and the consequences would be unimaginable.'
'Better to keep things friendly. If I actually manage to get on their good side, it'd be like getting two allies for the price of one... Hmm, not a bad deal.'
With these thoughts, the nobles who were still watching from the sidelines couldn't hold back any longer. One by one, they approached, heading over to Riezel and Yuri's side.
Unfortunately, not everyone was so wise.
At that exact moment, a particular unwelcome guest decided to make his move, even though he clearly wasn't invited.
"Well, well, quite the lively crowd here... mind if I join?"
When this overbearing voice cut through the chatter, everyone in the audience room, including Riezel and Yuri, fell silent.
All eyes turned to the source of the voice.
Riezel remained silent, his expression calm, while Yuri frowned slightly.
In this tense moment, a young man dressed in dazzling attire with a luxurious sword at his waist, which looked more like a work of art, made his entrance.
He was none other than the third prince, Sorren Jinas.
"Your Highness."
"Your Highness."
Seeing the third prince, everyone in the room quickly lowered their heads, instinctively making way while respectfully greeting Sorren.
"It's him?"
"What's he doing here?"
Some of the nobles visibly frowned, clearly supporters of the Duke Faction, uneasy about the arrival of this 'Mad Dog Prince'.
For such a formal ceremony, only titled nobles, civil officials, and knights were typically expected to attend, while noble heirs who had not yet inherited their titles and members of the royal family usually did not participate.
During the award ceremony earlier, no prince or princess from the royal family, including Sorren, had been present. Yet, after the ceremony ended, he suddenly chose to show up on his own, making the nobles feel uneasy.
Sorren, on the other hand, didn't care about the reactions around him, calmly walking in without care and going straight to Riezel and Yuri, smiling at them.
However, his smile, true to his nature, had a mocking, disdainful vibe as if he was looking down on everyone.
"Long time no see, you two."
Sorren wasn't just focused on Yuri this time; he also included Riezel in his gaze, looking at the pair holding hands with a smirk on his face.
"You two have been causing quite a stir lately. Even I, who's been grounded, hear people in the palace talking about you every day. Seems like you've been having a lot of fun out there, huh?"
For some reason, Sorren said this with a tone that seemed to carry hidden meanings.
"...You're joking, Your Highness." Yuri replied calmly, though her face clearly showed a frown. "We haven't done anything special."
"Hahaha... You're the one joking, right?"
Sorren laughed out loud before turning his head to Riezel.
"Seriously, the youngest Sword Saint in history is right by your side. Not only did he defeat a descendant of the Borley family with one strike, but he also set up an arena and fought a thousand matches every day, earning the title of the Lightning Sword Saint..."
"A flash of lightning means defeat? Now that's a phrase that really packs a punch!"
As these words came out of Sorren's mouth, they didn't sound like praise at all but more like insults.
At the same time, the surrounding nobles frowned, some displeased with Sorren's attitude, while others looked fearful.
Yuri, on the other hand, stayed silent and coldly watched Sorren.
However, Sorren didn't glance at her anymore but stared at Riezel, who wore a calm expression, his mouth twisted into a grin and his eyes flickering.
In truth, Sorren still couldn't fully accept it.
After all, the man in front of him, the one he had never taken seriously and had even warned once, had actually become a Sword Saint.
He had even doubted the rumor about Riezel being a Sword Master and a Tactical-Class Magician before, so the idea that Riezel was a Sword Saint was even harder to believe.
A seventeen-year-old Sword Saint?
If someone had told him this before, he would have laughed in their face and thought it was the biggest joke, not worth listening to.
However, the rumors that Riezel had instantly defeated Albert, the best swordsman just under Sword Saint, and had fought a thousand matches daily without a single loss, were now completely confirmed.
If he kept doubting it, he would just look like a clueless fool.
Because of this, he had no choice but to take Riezel seriously and view him as a threat, which was why he came to the audience room to meet Riezel today.
Since he was grounded, this was probably his only chance to meet Riezel.
"Riezel Brynhart."
Sorren's eyes met Riezel's directly.
"I admit, I underestimated you before."
Truthfully, getting Sorren to admit something like this was a miracle. With his violent and jealous nature, he never acknowledged that anyone could be better than him.
In Sorren's eyes, even Albert, who was praised as the best swordsman just under Sword Saint, only had the advantage of age. If he had been Albert's age, he would never have lost to him.
Sorren also looked down on his other siblings, looked down on any so-called prodigies his age, and was so arrogant that he thought the throne was already in his grasp.
For this reason, when Sergius, who was close to his age, was seen as the best successor to the throne and considered more talented than him, Sorren reacted so strongly, attacking Sergius like a mad dog.
He refused to admit that he was inferior to Sergius.
He refused to believe that anyone his age deserved his attention.
However, Riezel's appearance shattered his pride more straightforwardly and brutally than Sergius ever could.
Not only was Riezel younger than him, but he was also far stronger, becoming the first person in history to achieve the status of Sword Saint before turning twenty, leaving no room for denial.
When the gap became this wide, it left everyone speechless, just as Sorren felt at this moment.
Luckily, Riezel wasn't part of the royal family and wasn't competing with him for the throne.
In that case—
"Come to my side."
Sorren bluntly threw this offer at Riezel.
"Serve me, and you'll be the greatest figure in this kingdom, second only to me."