I—Rosalia Glanz—am a genius. Born into a prestigious Knight Ducal House and blessed with talent for the sword, I never once neglected my training.
Effort. Effort. And yet more effort.
To become a knight prouder than anyone else, I dedicated myself to rigorous discipline from early childhood. Talent was necessary, but unpolished talent held no value.
And five years ago, I graduated at the top of my class from the Knight Training Academy, finally obtaining my long-sought national license.
"...I did it."
At that moment, a hot surge welled up from deep within my chest. I still vividly remembered the emotion of that day. All the work I had piled up had finally taken form.
Effort would never betray me.
That was what I believed.
Afterward, I enlisted in the Knight Order.
However—that was where my nightmare began.
"Hey! What is that pathetic display?!"
"Put your hips into it!"
"How can a proud knight carry such a spineless attitude?!"
To be frank, I was disappointed in the Knight Order.
I had thought it was a place where geniuses holding national licenses pushed one another to greater heights. In reality, they merely went through the motions of their assigned training. Precisely because they were all people of talent, I could not forgive their lack of ambition.
That was why, from the moment I enlisted, I kept barking harsh words at them to forge their spirits anew. Believing it was for their own good.
Yet what awaited me at the end of that road was—isolation.
"Rosalia."
"...Yes, Commander."
Summoned by the Knight Commander, who was also the current Sword Saint, I hung my head in his office.
"You understand why you were called here, do you not?"
"...Is this regarding my instruction of the members?"
"It is. Over these past five years, you have trained the members more zealously than anyone else and led the Knight Order forward. I acknowledge those achievements. However—you are taking it a bit too far."
"B-But...! If one is a proud knight, is that not merely the standard?!"
"The standard, you say? The only reason you consider that the standard is because you are a genius."
"Huh...?"
At his unexpected words, my eyes went wide.
It wasn't just me. Everyone here was supposed to be a genius...
"Every person is different. Even among those called geniuses, there are clear disparities. Not everyone can be as strong as you are. Forcing what is standard to you onto others is simply too cruel."
"..."
Why?
I had spent these five years trying to make the Knight Order better. And yet, had it all been pointless? Had the things I did for their sake only caused them suffering?
I understood the meaning of his words.
Yet I simply could not feel it in my heart.
"Shall I tell you a story from the past?"
The Commander turned his gaze toward the window.
His eyes looked as though they were gazing into the distant past.
"I too once believed that anyone could reach the heights so long as they put in the effort. But when I crossed swords with the previous Sword Saint, Gard-san, I was made to realize how arrogant that thought was."
"Sword Saint Gard..."
There was no knight in this world who did not know that name. He was hailed as the strongest knight in history. After stepping down as Sword Saint, rumors said he was living in seclusion somewhere. Even now, it was said that no knight equal to him would ever appear again.
"At that time, both my body and my technique were fully matured; as a knight, I was right in my prime. Gard-san, on the other hand, was on the verge of retirement. I had grown conceited, thinking there was no way I could fall behind anymore."
The Commander gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"Yet I lost. Utterly, completely, without being able to do a single thing."
"You, Commander... lost?"
"Yes."
I couldn't believe it.
I knew Sword Saint Gard was an extraordinary genius. But the Commander before me was also an exceptional figure who had attained the pinnacle of Sword Saint. Even in his prime, had he truly been so helpless against Sword Saint Gard on the verge of retirement?
"A 'true genius' is—decisively different in every single way. The ground they stand upon, their room for growth, and even the world they see. That day, I learned there were chasms that effort alone could never bridge. At the same time, I realized that my own talent had its limits."
"..."
"However, that is something I could only understand because I experienced it firsthand. Even if you are told in words, you will likely not accept it as you are now."
The Commander looked straight at me.
"That is why you should go and see the wider world."
"Huh...?"
"If you remain in the Knight Order as you are, both you and those around you will only suffer. Leave the Knight Order for a time and go interact with all kinds of people."
"...Understood."
—Leave the Knight Order.
In the end, that was what the Commander's words meant. Without even being able to argue back, I could only nod.
What is a genius? What in the world is talent?
Is the world I see truly something only I can see? If they just put in the effort, shouldn't anyone be able to reach the same heights? Couldn't the difference in results be entirely explained by the amount of effort spent? Isn't failing to produce results merely a lack of effort?
Bearing unanswered questions, I left the Knight Order and became an adventurer. There was no way my family would permit the daughter of a Knight Ducal House to become an adventurer. But that didn't matter. Right now, I just wanted to be alone in a place where no one's voice could reach me.
"Aaargh! Who're you calling an old leftover hag?! I'm only twenty years oooold!!!"
With a scream, I swung my sword through the air.
In the deep floors of the dungeon, I was single-mindedly cutting monsters down. Naturally, I had noticed the whispers and slander behind my back in the Knight Order.
"With a personality like that, no wonder she has no suitors."
"How can she even call herself a woman...?"
"She doesn't have a shred of charm."
"Guaranteed to end up an old leftover hag."
I should just ignore it. Even as I told myself that, the words replayed in my mind, gouging at my heart.
"I made a mistake, alright?! I forced my own ideals onto others and made everyone suffer! I admit that!"
I cut down an approaching monster with a single strike.
"But what does that have to do with me being a woman?!"
It wasn't as if I intended to abandon being a woman.
There were times I longed for pretty clothes. There were times I envisioned a future where I was loved and could build a family. If asked whether I wanted to get married, I wouldn't know how to answer right now. Even so, being ridiculed as an unwanted woman—there was no way that wouldn't hurt.
If I tried to be strong, they called me unwomanly. If I showed hurt as a woman, they laughed at me for being weak despite being a knight.
Then what was I supposed to do?
Despite being called a genius, I couldn't even understand the feelings of those around me. The more effort I poured in, the more I cornered others.
As a knight, as a person, and as a woman—I was a half-baked failure who couldn't do a single thing right.
"Dammit...!"
Swords were honest. They responded to the swings you gave them, growing sharper with every bit of effort. Unlike the human heart, their integrity never turned inside out. That was why, as if fleeing from my unanswered questions, I pressed even deeper. Even when my arms grew numb and my breathing turned ragged, I did not stop.
I was frustrated.
No, the truth was, I was terrified.
Terrified because I had lost sight of who I was.
"Huh...?"
Along with a rumbling in the earth, a swarm of monsters filling my entire field of vision surged forward.
—I went too deep.
I raised my sword with numb arms. Yet the tip of the blade trembled faintly.
"Kh...! In a place like this, I cannot afford to die—!"
I cut down one, then another. But the wave of monsters was endless. My breath was ragged, and my arms were at their limit.
Ah...
I am going to die here.
I realized it with strange calm. There was no way I could hold off this many alone. Without even knowing who I was, without being understood by anyone, I was going to end here. Facing the closing monsters, I squeezed my eyes shut.
"—Frost."
Along with a clear voice, a pale blue chill swept past my side. Trembling, I opened my eyes. Every single monster was frozen solid, and the walls and floor were blanketed in white frost.
Before I knew it, the world had been bathed in silver-white.
"You all right?"
A mage?! To think I would be saved by a mage! Overcome with immense shame, my voice shook as I spoke.
"Kh... Kill me!"
Yet he was different from other mages who looked down on knights as savages. He was a good man, kind enough to carry me on his back when my legs gave out and escort me all the way to the guild. However, his well-trained physique, completely unlike a mage's, did catch my attention...
Afterward, I ran into Rio again at the tavern.
The moment I spotted him, my heart leaped violently for some reason.
"A-Ahem. If you don't mind, care to join me? To thank you for today, it's my treat!"
"...Well, if that's the case."
I invited him...!
A mage, and a man at that. But this was to thank him for today. Just a token of gratitude. Absolutely nothing else behind it.
"Welcome~"
"Sara, can we get a private room?"
"Sure, no problem."
"Thanks."
The waitress nodded with a practiced air. Apparently, the two of them were acquaintances. Entering the private room, we sat across from each other and began eating.
"As expected, the food here is delicious."
"Yeah. It's a shop I'm fond of too."
I quietly observed him as he brought food to his mouth.
Though he was simply sitting there casually, he was strangely devoid of openings. As expected, he was no ordinary person. The magic that had instantly frozen such a wide expanse of monsters was far beyond an ordinary level of mastery.
"Do you have a national license too, Rio?"
"...Yeah."
"Then—are you a 'genius'?"
"Who knows. Doesn't feel like it to me."
"..."
What is a genius?
Does talent merely refer to visible strength?
Until now, I had only judged others by my own standards. But in this world, did talents exist that could not be measured by my yardstick?
I had seen skilled mages before, but Rio carried an entirely different air. If it was him, perhaps he could show me a realm of talent I did not know.
"Hey, Rio."
"What is it?"
"Would you care to have a duel with me—?"
The next day.
In a vast open chamber inside the dungeon, Rio and I stood facing each other.
"Rio. Thank you for agreeing to this."
"Don't worry about it. I was interested in your sword skills too, Rosalia."
"I see. Then I shall hold nothing back."
Drawing my sword, I quietly took a mid-level stance.
Taking a deep breath, I awakened my unique skill.
"'My Crimson Sword That Turns to Scorching Heat—Rosen Inferno'—Activate."
In an instant, crimson flames erupted from the blade.
A tremendous wave of heat swept through the hall, and the surrounding scenery began to shimmer like a heat haze.
"Here I come, Rio!"
I layered physical enhancement over it as well. Kicking off the ground, I closed the distance in a flash. Mages were weak in close combat. If I slipped inside his guard, victory was mine.
Yet Rio raised his staff without panic. When its tip traced a gentle circle, pale blue light spilled into the air.
"What... Butterflies?"
Emerging from within the light were countless butterflies made of ice.
"There are a few things I wanted to test out. Now, show me your sword."
Flapping their translucent wings, they danced through the air, leaving silver-white trails in their wake. For a fleeting moment, my eyes were captivated by the fantastical sight.
"With something like that—!"
I swung my crimson sword. The scorching slash swallowed the ice butterflies, vaporizing them in an instant.
However, that had only cut down a fraction of them. The remaining butterflies dodged the sword as if guided by their own will, closing in simultaneously from above, below, left, and right.
"Kh...!"
No matter how much I slashed, I couldn't catch them.
Every time Rio flicked his staff, the swarm of butterflies changed shape at will. At times they formed a vortex to parry my sword; at other times they split apart to circle into my blind spots. It was as if he were conducting an orchestra with a single baton.
Impossible.
Every single butterfly was tracing a completely different trajectory. Just how much calculation and processing power was required to control this many simultaneously? Even for someone like me who was ignorant of magic, I could tell he was no ordinary mage.
As I thought, Rio was no ordinary man—!!
"Uwooooooogh!!"
Flaring my flames to the absolute limit, I swept away the butterflies before me all at once. A massive cloud of steam burst forth, blanketing my vision in white mist. I closed the distance in a single breath. I had Rio's presence completely locked down. Bone-cleaving through flesh. I had already factored in taking minor injuries. No matter what magic came, all I had to do was cut it down with my blade—!
"Impressive. To think you'd make it this far."
"Huh...?"
Clang!
With a sharp ring, my sword was stopped in its tracks.
By a single knife—held in his right hand.
"Guh...!"
I tried to overpower him through sheer force. Yet Rio's arm did not budge an inch.
It's a single knife!
Against a mere knife—!
"Haha! Nice. Wonderful. Rosalia, you might just be perfect."
At that moment, the pressure transmitted through the knife surged by another level.
"What...?!"
It made no sense.
Rio was supposed to be a mage.
Yet why could he activate skills? There was no mistake. That power reinforcing his entire body was the physical enhancement skill.
"Fufu. Let's test this out a little."
Rio chuckled with amusement and loosely leveled his knife. Having jumped back to create distance, I warily watched his movements.
—He's not looking.
He wasn't looking at me standing right before his eyes.
He was staring off into some void beyond.
A chill ran down my spine.
At the same time, the Commander's words resurfaced in my mind.
"A true genius is decisively different in every single way. The ground they stand upon, their room for growth, and even the world they see."
—A genius.
Is Rio a "true genius"...?
Still wearing a smile, he began cloaking the knife in golden mana.
Enchant.
I knew the concept itself. But that was undeniably the domain of magic. He was wielding magic while simultaneously maintaining the physical enhancement skill.
Two powers that should never intersect were coexisting within him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"What is... that...?"
My common sense began crumbling with a roar.
Just what on earth is this genius—this monster—standing before my eyes right now?
"—All right, here I come."
Rio stepped forward. The distance between us vanished in an instant.
The sword and knife I swung on reflex clashed, sending gold and crimson scattering.
"Kh...!"
The golden Enchant was constantly shifting in shape and density. Every time I slashed in, it bored into the single fragile point on my blade to deflect its trajectory, and the counter-strike elongated thinly, piercing through gaps in the flames toward my vitals.
Afterimages of gold assailed me one after another.
"Hahaha! Nice, this is great!!"
To think that this genius—that I—was being pushed back by just a single knife...?
The more our blades crossed, the more I was forced to understand. His technique rested at a height that made even the current Sword Saint I knew pale in comparison.
If I put in the effort, would I reach this domain someday?
—No. This was not a realm one could attain through effort alone. That much I could instinctively grasp.
It wasn't that Rio's technique lacked form. Having mastered every form to its absolute limit, he had been liberated from form altogether. From standard grip to reverse grip. From slashes to thrusts. The golden blade shifted freely, cornering me without even a boundary between offense and defense.
Just how much talent and training did it take to acquire this level of skill...?!
"Even so, I will—!!"
Igniting the crimson flames to their utmost limit, I brought down a strike with all my might.
Yet Rio did not retreat.
Without a shred of hesitation, he stepped in.
The knife met the base of my sword. An instant later, the direction of my force was deftly redirected, sending my body violently off balance.
"What—!"
A light impact struck my wrist.
Before I realized it, my sword was flying through the air, and the golden point of the knife was leveled at my throat. From the sword fallen to the ground, the crimson flames began to fade.
"...It is my loss."
A complete defeat.
This was a true genius.
At a height I could never reach no matter how much effort I piled up, he stood as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
This was the realm of talent I had never known.
—I see. Everyone must have felt this way when facing me. This despair, where everything you built up was made to feel meaningless by overwhelming talent.
I finally understood.
What kind of view the talent known as myself had been showing to others.
Even so—
"Rio... Just who in the world are you...?"
I asked, but Rio's voice trembled slightly.
"C-Crap... I got carried away having fun..."
"Rio?"
"S-Sorry... I have to go now."
"Ah, wait—!"
Bidding a brief farewell, Rio dashed away swiftly, vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.
Just who had I been fighting?
Neither a mage nor a knight. Or perhaps both—a complete unknown that could not be measured by any conventional standard.
I could accept it far more easily if someone told me it had all been an illusion.
Well, whatever. If I didn't understand, I could just ask Rio again. If it was him, he would surely show me even more of the world I did not know. Bearing that expectation in my heart, I waited to meet him again.
However, from that day forth—Rio vanished completely without a trace.