Reinhard Van Astrea

Reinhard Van Astrea's History

Reinhard van Astrea is the current Sword Saint and a member of the Royal Guard, currently acting as Felt's knight.

Reinhard became the Sword Saint at the age of 5. He is incredibly powerful, stated to be the most powerful character in the series. When Reinhard inherited the Sword Saint blessing, his grandmother Thearesia van Astrea lost it, causing her defeat against The White Whale, leading to her death. His father Heinkel Astrea had refused to go on the conquest to fight the whale, so his grandmother did instead. Because of this Wilhelm van Astrea, his grandfather, always held animosity towards Heinkel for refusing to go, and Reinhard for taking away her blessing in battle, and as a result, Wilhelm left the Astrea house. As a 5-year-old Reinhard defeated his father in a sword match, which also earned his father hatred, so he tried to kick Reinhard out of the Astrea house. Reinhard's mother was also not in his life as she was afflicted with a condition known as "Sleeping Beauty" when Reinhard was 2 and is still asleep in the present without any changes to her body.

By age 8, the "Reinhard Law" was enacted which prohibited him from leaving the country, as Reinhard is treated as a weapon of mass destruction, and going to another country would be seen as a declaration of war.

Because of his unbelievable power, he is treated as a knight among knights, a hero, and as such has to live up to those expectations. A hero protects the people and never loses, which is the reason for the long list of blessings he has, as Reinhard isn't just trying to be the sword saint, but the hero of the world. As a hero, Reinhard follows whatever the world decides, in a war against the whole world Reinhard would win, however, he would surrender if the world decided that he should, and the author has also stated that if the world decided whom he should marry, he would have no issue accepting that.

Before the beginning of the story, Reinhard was attached to the royal guards, and held in reserve as a weapon of last resort, just having him patrol an area had the effect of improving the security of it. As those with power have a responsibility to use it correctly, he can't set aside the world to look for entertainment. Reinhard isn't powerful because of the blessing of the Sword Saint, as it depends on the talent of the individual, and he would still be powerful without his blessings, just unable able to beat those who are "cheating" and rely on methods that ignore ones power to win.