Raon closed his eyes upon seeing Zieghart’s walls from afar.
‘I’m finally back.’
Watching the walls that managed to survive over countless years reminded him of the people’s gazes he had met on the way back.
‘Awe.’
Their gazes were different from before the incident. Their eyes were filled with admiration and awe as they stared at Zieghart.
Zieghart was already a great house as one of the Six Kings and Five Demons, but their reputation wasn’t that great.
“A sinking ship.”
“The forgotten conqueror.”
“The power in the ruins.”
“A rusted sword.”
Because their advance came to a halt a long time ago, people even called Zieghart by names that would describe some of the ruined houses.
However, the incident had changed everything.
‘Everyone has begun looking up to us.’
Everyone he met on the way back was shouting and cheering that Zieghart was the strongest house, their eyes sparkling with awe.
Even though the Six Kings and the Five Demons were the peaks of the continent, Zieghart was being called the top among them.
‘And this is all…’
Raon clenched his back teeth while looking at Glenn’s back as he rode the horse in front of everyone.
‘Thanks to the head of house.’
That was the only reason. The single transcender who managed to drive away the White Blood Religion’s leader and the Fallen on his own had made the Zieghart name pierce through the stratosphere.
‘He really is different.’
He was truly worthy of astonishment, as the entire continent was in tremor because of a single person’s might. Raon’s current strength couldn’t even reach the edge of his sleeves.
Tsk, tsk.
Wrath popped up from the ice flower bracelet and clicked his tongue.
You are just admiring that geezer instead of trying to be like him. You can’t be any more unsightly.
‘I’m not simply admiring him.’
What?
‘I’m watching his back in order to catch up to him.’
Even though Glenn’s level was as high as the sky, he wasn’t planning to just look up to him forever.
‘I will stretch my hand. I’m also changing now.’
He managed to perfectly reach the intermediate level of Master, his swordsmanship and aura had gotten a lot better than before, and his physical abilities were incomparably stronger than before.
‘I even got a hint for the Sword Field Creation.’
He managed to find a clue on how to achieve the Sword Field Creation by experiencing the mental world directly.
Many things that had happened were beyond his abilities, but the rewards he received were even better and he was satisfied with the result.
‘It still could’ve been better though.’
He wanted to train and spar once his body was somewhat recovered, but he couldn’t exactly do anything because Glenn was going to scold him for that. It was regrettable that he couldn’t spar or fight for a while.
“Greeting my lord!”
While he was focused on his thoughts, they had already arrived at the gate. The swordsmen guarding the gate shouted wildly as they opened the door.
He entered through the gate after Glenn, and he noticed familiar faces from the left side.
“Raon…”
“Young master!”
Sylvia, Helen, and the maids were waiting for him on the other side of the walls. Their eyes were completely red, and it looked like the smallest provocation would be enough to make them cry.
“Hmm…”
His heart was throbbing as he saw them. He wanted to run up to them, but he couldn’t exactly move out of his position since the return hadn’t ended yet.
“Good job, everyone.”
Glenn stared at Sylvia for a moment before he coldly turned his head.
“Disband.”
He simply shook his head before heading to the main building.
“Thank you for your effort!”
The house’s swordsmen immediately dismounted from their horses and bowed to Glenn.
Raon also bowed to Glenn before running towards Sylvia and the maids.
“I’m bac—”
“Raon!”
“Young master!”
“Young master…”
Everyone almost headbutted into him as they ran at him before he could even finish talking.
“Raon. Raon. Raon…”
Sylvia kept calling his name while hugging his neck. Her hands were trembling violently.
“What a relief! I’m really glad!”
Helen was holding his hand tightly with tears flowing endlessly from her eyes. Raon felt like it was his first time seeing Helen cry so much.
“Uwaaah! Sir Raon!”
“Sniff!”
Yua was crying loudly while holding onto his pants, and Yulius was simply pouting while holding back his tears—since he was a warrior, after all.
“Young master, are you okay?”
“You aren’t hurt anywhere, right?”
“Uwaaah!”
“Sniff!”
The maids also clung to him with tears dripping from their eyes. Raon almost felt like all of his clothes were getting wet.
“……”
Judiel was the only one who wasn’t crying as she silently stood in the back.
‘Wh-what’s happening…?’
Hnng!
While Raon was being flustered, Wrath sniffled and looked up to the sky.
What’s happening? Making people worry about you is a sin!
Wrath frowned while saying something that a demon king shouldn’t be saying.
You should treat them better in the future! They are the only ones who care about you unconditionally.
‘I know.’
Raon bit his lip tightly.
‘I was a fool.’
He simply thought that everyone was going to be happy about it since he managed to return alive. However, their worry had surpassed their joy.
They couldn’t control their own emotions because of the worry that kept getting worse had burst out at once.
“I returned too late.”
Raon closed his eyes while embracing Sylvia, Helen, and the maids at once. He opened his mouth from the bottom of his throbbing heart.
“I’m sorry for worrying you.”
* * *
* * *
“…That’s how I managed to survive, thanks to the head of house.”
Raon told Sylvia what happened up to that point while holding her hand in her bedroom.
“I-I’m really glad.”
Clear water started to well up in her eyes. There was apparently still some moisture in her even though she cried so much.
“I should visit my father to express my gratitude.”
Sylvia wiped the tears away with the back of her hand and smiled happily.
“Are you visiting him?”
“I still haven’t managed to forget about your father and sister. I wasn’t confident I could live on if Eden took you away from me.”
“Please stop saying that.”
It felt like her words were stabbing his heart like a blade. He could understand a little how everyone felt when they were worried about him.
“Alright.”
Sylvia patted the back of his hand to express her consent with a smile on her face.
“By the way…”
“Hmm?”
“What kind of person was my dad?”
He’d never asked before because he wasn’t interested in him, but he suddenly became curious after learning the meaning of a house during the last incident.
“Your dad was an idiot.”
“An idiot?”
“He wasn’t good at anything. Ah, I guess he was tall, at least. He was even taller than your current self. He almost looked like a pillar.”
Sylvia smiled faintly as she looked up at the ceiling.
“His swordsmanship was also pretty amazing if you looked at his skills alone. He had no talent at all in aura, though.”
“But why…”
“Are you curious why I married him?”
“Yeah.”
Even though she was treated as an outcast in the house, Sylvia was still a member of the direct line and a genius swordswoman with a beautiful appearance. Raon couldn’t understand why she went out with a man who had nothing good except for his swordsmanship skills.
“He was cool. He never stopped his efforts even though he was clearly aware of his own limits, and he wielded his sword for the sake of others instead of himself.”
“Hmm…”
“He never stopped smiling, even though he kept losing his money instead of earning it. He was an interesting person.”
Sylvia’s voice was filled with vigor and nostalgia at the same time.
“He’s similar to you in a way. He would’ve been just like you if he were stronger.”
Raon could feel that Sylvia’s hand, the one holding the back of his, was trembling.
“I told you that I wanted you to understand other people’s pain and live a life befitting a Zieghart swordsman, but I regretted it so much when I heard you were kidnapped.”
Sylvia apologized and exhaled faintly.
“I really am a sinful mother…”
“No.”
Raon clenched Sylvia’s trembling hand as he shook his head.
“I managed to survive thanks to what you told me.”
Sylvia’s advice was extremely helpful in allowing him to become a real human being. He would’ve still been living a lonely life where he only cared about himself, just like his previous life, if she hadn’t told him about it.
“Thank you.”
Raon gently patted Sylvia’s shoulder. However, she wasn’t responding. She seemed to have fallen asleep because the tension had left her body.
Raon covered her with a blanket before leaving her bedroom. He returned to his room, filled with an unknown feeling of satisfaction.
Probably because he was prepared for death, he felt like it had been years since the last time he’d been in his room.
‘By the way…’
Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at the ice flower bracelet around his wrist.
‘Why are you so silent?’
He should’ve been shouting at him to feed him, and his unexpected silence felt rather surprising.
The King of Essence is an aloof and beautiful monarch of wrath who knows when to interfere.
Wrath popped up on the bracelet with a frown on his face.
Since he didn’t break the atmosphere, you will eat whatever the King of Essence wants for dinner.
‘I knew it.’
Wrath’s dignified attitude despite a cotton candy appearance was making him laugh, but he was still thankful to him.
Since the dinner was going to be massive anyway, Raon decided to eat everything Wrath wanted.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Raon chuckled, and three knocking sounds could be heard when he took off his outer garment. It was Judiel’s signal, which he hadn’t heard in a while.
“Enter.”
The door was opened, and Judiel entered with the same facial expression as always.
“Dinner will be ready soon.”
“Alright.”
“The mistress should be sleeping by now.”
“How do you know?”
“She has barely slept since she heard the news about the young master’s kidnapping. It wasn’t just her—everyone in the annex building was the same.”
She seemed to be included in that ‘everyone’. Raon felt sorry for them, but he also felt slightly happy, which was a strange feeling.
“And…”
Judiel gave him a paper.
“What is this?”
“It’s a letter that Lady Encia left behind.”
“She left it behind?”
“She left before hearing the news about Sir Raon’s kidnapping.”
“I see…”
Raon nodded. He thought the annex building was unusually quiet, and it was because Encia wasn’t there.
‘Did I get used to her already?’
He chuckled and opened the letter. Three letter papers were included in the envelope.
[Dear Sir Raon, the Damn Handsome.
I’m so sad that I can’t witness that beautiful face before I leave. I’ll be preparing some amazing expressions to describe your face…]
“Haa.”
The entire first page was pretty much talking about his face. He immediately moved on to the next page.
[I’ve somewhat finished the blueprint for Lady Sylvia’s artificial energy center. There’s a problem though, which is that it requires a rather precious material. A dragon heart…]
“Dragon heart?”
Raon’s jaw dropped at the mention of that ridiculous material.
[…would be too difficult to acquire, so I need a drake’s heart and a sea serpent’s heart. Connecting those two should create an energy center that can withstand a Master-tier aura.]
The end of the second page informed him that she returned to her house to perfect the blueprint and gather the materials.
[I feel so sad that I have to return now. I wanted to see Sir Raon’s freaking face before…]
The third page was also talking about his face. The second page was the only one that had decent contents.
‘That’s just like Lady Encia.’
Raon chuckled and returned the letter to the envelope.
‘Drake and sea serpent…’
They were both monsters of the highest rank, called flying dragons and ocean dragons, with a mana heart in their necks. They were both powerful and rare, but they weren’t completely impossible to find.
‘I should be able to do this.’
He clenched his fist, realizing that he should be able to create Sylvia’s energy center, which felt like a dream.
“I have a report about the Central Martial Palace as well.”
Judiel knelt and bowed to him.
“The Central Martial Palace master Karoon has returned, but he’s not showing any particular movements. I’m assuming that he’s being wary of the head of house.”
“I suppose.”
The Central Martial Palace’s sword division was also involved in the assault on Eden’s branch despite being suspended.
Since they would be trying to remove the suspension somehow, he shouldn’t have any room to plot something else.
“I’ll look into their activities in detail from now on.”
“Yes, I’m counting on you.”
“Yes. That’s it for now…”
“Wait.”
Raon stopped Judiel, who was about to leave the room.
“I’d like to request something.”
“Please do.”
She nodded formally, like an emotionless doll.
“The Black Market should send me information about the Six Kings and the Five Demons soon. I want you to analyze it to sort the necessary information from the unnecessary bits.”
“The Black Market is sending information?”
“Yes. What happened was…”
Raon told Judiel about the way he took advantage of the Black Market master’s visit.
“H-how could you prevail against the Black Market’s master in a battle of wits…?”
“I didn’t do anything that great. She was just underestimating me too much, and…”
He slowly shook his head as he continued.
“Tell me about your brother.”
“What?”
Judiel’s eyes wavered visibly.
“Wh-why would you ask that…?”
“I told the Black Market’s master that I would ask her to find someone because I promised you before that I’d find your brother.”
Raon sat on the bed and smiled at her.
“I-I thought you forgot about it.”
“Of course not.”
He just couldn’t help her because he didn't have an opportunity to do so, but he never forgot the promise he made about finding her little brother.
Since it was a promise with the Black Market’s master, it should be possible to determine his condition, at least.
“Ah…”
Judiel’s chin was trembling as she stared at Raon.
‘He was actually serious about it.’
Although Judiel trusted Raon, he wasn’t showing any sign of starting to look for her brother.
Since she was aware it was a difficult task to achieve, she had pretty much given up at that point, but Raon had asked the Black Market’s master for it—which was completely unexpected.
‘He could’ve made a different request instead…’
Only the people from great houses and the highest executives of the kingdoms were allowed to meet the Black Market’s master. She couldn’t believe that Raon had used the opportunity to make a request from such an amazing person for her sake.
“C-can I really use up that chance? She’s…”
“A promise will be kept.”
“Ehh…”
Raon’s nod didn’t have any strings attached, and Judiel felt nauseous, her head going blank upon realizing that fact. Her vision turned hazy, and she couldn’t even see what was in front of her properly anymore.
“It’s okay. Just tell me about your brother.”
“M-my brother’s name is Juvel. He should be twenty-one years old by now. He’s from Entinker Village, and he has brown hair, blue eyes, and a small scar on his forehead. He was sold to the Central Martial Palace along with me, and I n-never saw him afterward…”
“I see.”
Raon nodded while remembering the information about Juvel. He wanted to find her brother as soon as he had a chance when realized the importance of family, but he couldn’t follow through with his promise before, and he was feeling sorry about it.
“Thank you. I’m really…”
Judiel bowed, her face pale. Her true expression had surfaced, which hadn’t happened in a long time, as tears dripped from her eyes.
“We should be able to find him.”
Raon patted her shoulder with a faint smile on his face.
Haah!
In the midst of the heartwarming scene, Wrath suddenly sighed deeply.
When are you planning to eat?
Wrath started spinning in the air and expanded himself. He turned into a large cotton candy and shouted at him.
The food is getting cold!
* * *
One week later.
Raon went to the fifth training ground after a long break. Because everyone was still supposed to be resting, there was no one in the training ground. However, it almost looked like someone had cleaned it up the day before because of how clean it was.
Raon slowly warmed himself up. His body felt light. He was perfectly recovered, and he didn’t need to hide from Glenn or Sylvia anymore.
“Haa.”
He caught his breath and drew Heavenly Drive.
Cring!
The clear resonance of the sword was pulling at his heartstrings. Once he used the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, the aura of raging fire dashed through his mana circuits and burst out explosively.
Whir!
Crimson flame emerged upon Heavenly Drive’s blade. The astral energy was arising as naturally as the flowing river. Its beautiful shape was as majestic as the dappling sunlight.
‘It’s clearly different. Even my martial art’s realm has increased, on top of my swordsmanship.’
The increase in his swordsmanship’s realm made him better at controlling the astral energy. Everything—including power, durability, and sustainability—was far better than before.
‘And the amount of aura has also increased drastically.’
It looked like the mana from Loctar and the Lava Crocodile King’s souls were finally finished being absorbed, as his energy center—and Glacier and the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation inside of it—grew obviously larger than before.
Cring!
Raon stepped forward with his left foot and unleashed the Fangs of Insanity. The blade pummeled the atmosphere as fiercely as a hungry beast’s fangs piercing into its prey.
Whoosh!
The second strike following from the left side felt sharp enough to cut through the air itself.
Every single strike of the Fangs of Insanity was thrashing with life. Raon could clearly feel that he’d gotten better than before.
‘But still… It’s going to take a while to regain my fighting senses.’
His martial arts—including his swordsmanship and aura—had clearly improved, but he spent too much time without swinging his sword.
He needed plenty of hands-on experience to get perfectly accustomed to the improved stats and realm.
‘I wonder if there’s any good opponents for me.’
While Raon started practicing the Blizzard Sword Art once again after licking his lip, the training ground’s door burst open.
“I knew you would be here.”
Rimmer chuckled and entered the training ground.
“You tenacious brat. I knew you would be doing this.”
“Squad leader, you came at the perfect time.”
Raon bowed at him with a smile on his face.
“Huh? Your smile is ominous. I have a bad feeling about this.”
Rimmer narrowed his eyes and secretly moved away. He was so quick to notice something like that.
“Please have a spar with me.”
“S-spar?”
“I’d like to improve my senses, as I haven’t swung my sword in a long time. Fight me.”
“Fight you? Are you a gangster or something?”
His jaw dropped because of Raon’s ridiculous behavior.
“Please let me off the hook. I’m already getting beaten up by the higher-ups all the time, and my sanity won’t last if even you end up beating me now.”
Rimmer shook his head, saying that he wasn’t ready for a spar yet.
“Moreover, I’m still a patient…”
“It’s okay.”
Raon twirled Heavenly Drive with a bright smile on his face.
“I’ll be a light, a very light spar.”
“It might be light for you, but it’s extremely heavy for others!”
Rimmer screamed. Since he had already witnessed him beating up the Light Wind squad all the time, he could guess he would be beaten into a pulp if he tried sparring with his current amount of aura.
“Please don’t decline…”
“You don’t need to do that.”
A deep voice came from the door. The Gambling Monster was slowly entering the training ground.
“I know a place that has plenty of sparring partners for you, instead of that wimp.”
“What?”
“The Conference of Six Kings.”
The Gambling Monster twisted his lips up while looking at Raon.
“They are holding the Conference of Six Kings.”
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