Raon was about to respond but shut his mouth once again.
âI shouldnât reply thoughtlessly.â
It was none other than the head of house himself that had asked him whether he wanted to become the head of house. It was a question that he shouldnât respond to without thinking it through.
Hmm?
Wrath narrowed his eyes and glared at him, asking what he was doing.
What are you waiting for? Just answer him already! Answer before that geezer gives you the Nadine bread! You donât want to become the head of house anyway!
He shook his hand, asking why he would become the head of house when he should become a demon king in Devildom.
âYes, thatâs what I used to think.â
The Sephia Companyâs president, Adis Sephia, was the last person heâd talked to about becoming the head of house.
He had asked Raon whether he wanted to become Zieghartâs head of house or not before left the company, and Raon had responded that he wasnât sure yet.
âBut my opinion has changed slightly now.â
He was about to respond to Glennâs question the same way heâd done to Adis Sephia, but he realized that his mind had changed.
âBecause I saw what happened at House Arianne.â
During the mission at House Arianne, heâd witnessed how an incompetent leader could ruin the house and make their members suffer. That was why heâd changed his mind slightly.
âI donât exactly want to become the head of house myself, I just donât want anyone incompetent to become the head of house.â
One of the palace masters was bound to become the next head of Zieghart at the rate things were going.
Glennâs first daughter, who was outside the house, Karoon from the Central Martial Palace, Denier from the Wise Martial Palace, and Balder from the True Martial Palace were the biggest candidates to become the next head.
Other than them, there were an extremely small number of Grandmastersâlike Roenn and Sherylâbut they had no intention at all of becoming the head of house.
They werenât going to show up unless some madman crossed Zieghartâs gate and started to attack.
âDenier seems to be the best among the palace masters, but the truth might be different.â
Even though Denier was the most decent choice among the direct lines, it couldâve been just the tip of the iceberg.
He couldnât easily trust him since heâd seen people like Derus.
He didnât want to see a greedy pig becoming the head of house just to do whatever they wanted with Zieghart.
âI mustâve grown attached to Zieghart at this point. I thought I would never feel anything like attachment.â
When heâd realized that he was born in Zieghart, heâd planned to leave the house after getting what he wanted.
However, heâd opened his heart to Sylvia and the maids, Rimmer became his teacher, and the Light Wind division became his brothers and sisters. In the end, heâd developed a significant amount of affection towards the house.
His goal to cut Derus Robertâs throat was still unchanged, but his decision to leave the house was faltering.
âWellâŠâ
He raised his gaze. He smiled faintly at Glenn, who was quietly waiting for his answer.
âI think I can now understand the head of houseâs personality a little.â
Glennâs cold gaze and pressure still chilled his bones, but Raon had begun to grasp his likes and dislikes.
âHmm.â
Raon put his thoughts together before he cleared his throat.
âTo be honest, Iâm not too sure whether my path is headed toward becoming the head of house or not. However, I do think that it would be better for me to become the head myself than to watch an unqualified person become the head.â
He honestly told him what heâd been thinking.
Huh? Why would you do that?!
Wrath barked and shoved his face onto him.
You need to become the demon king! Your face is already screaming that you should be one! Toy with everyone in Devildom and make fun of them!
He shouted at Raon to turn the other demons into his playthings in Devildom. Raon didnât know what he meant by his face being that of a demon king, but he didnât really want to go to Devildom.
Glenn quietly stared into his eyes to figure out his true intentions before he nodded.
âI see.â
His lips curved into a faint smile. Raon felt like it was his first time seeing that kind of smile from him.
âIt looks like youâve broadened your horizons.â
Glenn seemed satisfied with the answer considering how peaceful he sounded.
âWeâve lost too much time from the random talk. We will have to continue for a bit longer today.â
âYes.â
Raon nodded and raised Heavenly Drive once again.
Just as he was about to use the first technique of the Azure Sky Sword, he heard the sound of the back door of the annex building opening.
Raon looked around and saw Sylvia bringing a white plate towards him.
ââŠâŠâ
Glenn was calmly staring at her. He mustâve been aware of her presence.
âI-I prepared them because I thought you might be hungry at this late hour.â
Sylvia placed the plate on the table in front of the lake while saying that the sandwiches were made by her personally.
The nutty flavor of the butter bread was tickling the nose.
Ooh!
Wrath had been frowning, but he suddenly raised his head.
You are the best, Mom!
âSheâs not your mom!â
Raon slapped Wrath away as he kept clinging to him and walked up to Sylvia.
âI thought you were sleeping.â
âI couldnât fall asleep today.â
Sylvia smiled with her eyes half open. She wasnât showing it on the outside, but she mustâve been worried ever since sheâd learned about his sword duel against Ayad.
âErr, my lordâŠâ
She furtively rolled her eyes to look at Glenn.
Glenn nodded, showing that he was listening.
âI-it was nothing! Raon, good luck with your lesson. Please eat it right away since I just made it!â
Sylvia bowed to Glenn before she hurriedly returned to the annex building.
âIs she still afraid of him?â
Raon bitterly watched Sylvia before he went to Glenn with the plate in his hands.
âMy mother is great at making sandwiches out of all food. You wonât be disappointed.â
Raon confidently held out the plate.
ââŠI see.â
Glenn stared at the slightly steamy sandwiches for a long time. His hand seemed to be trembling slightly as he picked it up and took a bite.
Raon also picked up a sandwich while standing next to Glenn. He took a bite while looking at Wrath, who was drooling.
Inside the crunchy and nutty bread, the fruit jam, ham, and cheese were forming a perfect harmony.
Wow, itâs as delicious as always! Itâs the complete opposite of the shitty Nadine bread!
âBut you havenât had any Nadine bread in a long time.â
Hmph. Donât let your guard down! We never know when that geezer might be hiding Nadine bread in his clothes.
âI donât think so.â
Raon shook his head, and Glennâs voice could be heard.
âDelicious.â
He quietly exclaimed and ate the sandwich little by little. He almost looked like he was saving it because he didnât want it to disappear.
âI know, right?â
Raon smiled faintly and nodded.
A moment of silence followed. The surface of the lake was only disturbed by the quiet sound of bugs and sound of them eating the sandwiches.
âWe will continue for another hour today.â
âUnderstood.â
âI brought Nadine bread, but it wonât be necessary.â
ââŠâŠâ
See?
* * *
* * *
âArgh!â
Burren bit his lip while looking at the green tornado soaring from right under his feet to all the way into the sky.
âDamn it⊠It hurts so damn much.â
He felt like his skin was tearing apart from the bladed wind rotating around him. He thought he had a high resistance to wind, but it was still difficult to endure.
âBecause Iâm not allowed to counterattack or block.â
Enduring it was all he could do since Rimmer had told him to take it with his body and mind without blocking it with his aura or cutting it down with a sword.
âYes, Iâll endure it no matter what.â
He was determined to endure that much pain in order to see Raonâs back and earn the recognition of his father.
âWell, Iâm in better shape here.â
Burren sighed and looked to his right.
âArghâŠâ
Runaan was groaning in icy water while wearing a swimsuit. Of course, that water wasnât ordinary icy water.
It was even colder than ice, and Rimmer had requested the vice master of Zieghartâs tower to create it. The coldness of at least a fifth circle spell was supposedly dwelling in it.
âHaaâŠâ
Runaan bit her blue lips and looked at her reflection on the surface of the water.
âItâs too coldâŠâ
Sheâd never felt cold in her life because she had been blessed by ice ever since her birth. That was why the coldness felt even more painful than a blade.
âI can still endure it.â
Her body had already reached its limits, but her mind could still keep going.
She wanted to become a Master as fast as possible in order to repay even a portion of the favor she owed Raon.
âAnd thereâs also the matter with my brotherâŠâ
The conflict against Syria still wasnât over. It was necessary to reach even further in order to protect her family from him.
âHaaâŠâ
White steam was emerging from her mouth, and the sound of grinding teeth could be heard from the opposite side.
Crack.
It was coming from Martha. She was completely buried in the ground except for her head with a frown on her face.
âHey! Why am I getting the worst treatment?â
Martha barked out the words while looking at Rimmer, who was dozing off in a rocking chair.
âWhy am I the only one buried in the ground?! And I keep getting pressured! My body is about to be crushed!â
Her twitching eyebrows revealed the intense pain she was feeling.
âYaawnâŠâ
Rimmer let out a long yawned and only raised his head.
âWhat else? Itâs because you have the earth attribute, of course.â
He licked his lips while scratching his neck.
âBurren is inside a tornado because he has the wind attribute, Runaan is inside icy water because of her coldness, and you are buried under the ground because you have an affinity to the earth. I already explained this in the beginning.â
âYou didnât, though.â
âNo, you didnât!â
âYou didnât!â
Runaan, Burren, and Martha shouted at once.
âOh, really? I guess I forgot.â
Rimmer smiled awkwardly and scratched his head.
âWell, Iâll tell you briefly since itâs annoying. All of you have a pretty high affinity with your attributes. Itâs almost as good as an elf, but itâs still not enough to achieve something with. You need to increase it a lot more.â
His eyes became serious.
âYou can trust me since Iâve realized it with my own experience.â
Rimmer wagged his finger while looking at the frowning team leaders.
âYour attributes and mental image will achieve another level of progress if you manage to endure that pain.â
Rimmer had become capable of using lightning energy from getting continuously struck by Glennâs lightning, and it had even improved his Sword Field Creation.
He believed that the team leaders could reach even higher than him considering their excellent talents and their young ages.
âBut this isâŠâ
âHard.â
âYes, Iâm going to die.â
âYou are free to stop whenever you want to. But did you know about this?â
Rimmer continued with a grin.
âI heard the head of house is training Raon once again. You really will miss his back at this rate, donât you think?â
He shook his hand, and a fervor appeared in their eyes.
âThis much is nyathing!â
âYeah, itâs not a big deal!â
âMhm.â
Martha, Burren, and Runaan rolled their lips into a smile and noddedâas if they had never complained about it.
âIâm going to have a nap!â
Rimmer nodded in satisfaction and buried himself into the rocking chair once again.
âBy the wayâŠâ
Runaan stared at Martha, who was buried except for her head.
âMiss Rakshasa. Is that nyathing for you?â
She blinked her eyes to make fun of how Martha had bitten her tongue.
âScrew you!â
Marthaâs chin was trembling violently, but she was buried in the ground and couldnât come out.
âIâll kill you!â
âSay that again once you are out of there.â
âHeeey!â
âPlease stop fightingâŠâ
Rimmer rolled his lips into a smile while listening to their voices.
âThey are such good friends.â
* * *
Raon was standing on the lake with his eyes closed.
The small waves on the surface of the water started to subside as Raonâs breath harmonized with the lakeâs flow.
Even though Raonâs feet were touching the surface and a powerful wind was blowing, the lake didnât waver in the slightest.
Raon had achieved the space domination that Glenn had previously demonstrated, even if it was still weak.
Raon didnât pay attention to his amazing achievement and only focused on assimilating his aura with the lakeâs flow.
Whir.
His breath started to melt down into the lake as if he were combining with it.
He continued his meditation and training at the same time for a long time, and a small voice could be heard from outside the lake.
âYoung master.â
Raon opened his eyes upon hearing Judielâs voice. She was waving her hand with a plain expression just like always.
âItâs time to go to the arena.â
âIs it already time?â
Raon raised his head to look at the sky. The sun was slowly approaching towards the center of the sky.
âTime passed by so quickly.â
The date of the sword duel against Ayad was approaching a lot faster than heâd thought, probably because heâd been training all along.
The time mustâve flowed unusually fast because heâd been practicing what heâd learned from Glenn all day long.
It mustâve been fast for you.
Wrath frowned with trembling shoulders.
It was as slow as a snail because the King of Essence still didnât get his ice cream!
âThatâs why I promised that Iâd make you a buffet with bead ice cream.â
How is he supposed to trust you when you didnât even keep your promise for a whole month?!
âIâm really going to the shop after todayâs battle. Itâs true.â
R-really?
âYou can trust me today. Just cheer for me from behind, since nothing else should happen.â
Alright!
Wrath nodded and frantically shook his round hand. It seemed to be his way of cheering.
Raon smiled faintly and walked out of the lake. Unlike before, there wasnât even the slightest wave on the surface.
âI can finally do it a little.â
It wasnât as good as Glenn's but he seemed to have somewhat managed to turn that small lake into his domain.
âHow about mother?â
âShe went ahead to the arena because she was too nervous to wait any longer. She carried Lady Helen on her back because she was trembling too hard.â
âIs that so?â
Raon chuckled. Sylvia and Helen had previously told him that they believed in him as if they werenât worried about him, but they mustâve been extremely nervous in reality.
âI also need to get ready now.â
Just as he was about to go to the annex building to fetch his Black Dragon Coat, he saw a woman with hair as red as fire walking towards him through the garden.
The beautiful swordswoman with that unforgettable flashy appearance belonged to the leader of the Void Sword division, Serena. She stood in front of Raon and greeted him with her eyes.
âItâs been a while, Light Wind vice division leader.â
âWhat brought you here, division leader?â
âMay I have a word?â
Raon looked at Judiel. She nodded to him, implying that they still had some time.
âPlease come this way.â
He brought Serena to the garden.
Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at her face, which was as expressionless as a mask.
âIâm sorry, but Iâm not going to go easy on the White Lotus division leader, even if you are on friendly terms with him.â
âI became a trainee at the same time as him. We started together.â
Serena started to tell her story with an emotionless voice. Raon couldnât understand what she had in mind.
âWe joined different divisions during the Selection Ceremony, but we became team leaders and vice division leaders at around the same time. We were more like rivals rather than friends.â
In fact, Ayad and Serena were the first division leaders whoâd visited him before the Selection Ceremony.
âHowever, our differences started to gradually grow after we both became division leaders. I managed to surpass the wall before him.â
Raon was also aware of that fact, even though most of the houseâs swordsmen had already considered Serena to be better than Ayad even before sheâd become a Grandmaster.
âWe met each other from time to time to discuss the sword, but he stopped showing up at some point. He kept staying outside the house to carry out missions.â
Raon decided to quietly listen to her since he couldnât determine her intentions.
âSince our Void Sword division and the White Lotus division were rivals, we knew the faces of each other's members. However, their members gradually switched to strangers at some point.â
âHmmâŠâ
âI thought, at first, that the sacrifice mustâve been inevitable because they were carrying out so many missionsâŠbut it became worse and worse. The talented ones survived, and the others ended up dead. It could be called a natural outcome, but the powerful ones arenât the only ones to survive in an actual battlefield, as you should be aware.â
âThatâs true.â
An excellent talent didnât guarantee continued survival, and having no talent didnât imply that they were going to die.
Since it depended on various factors like the situation and luck, it was impossible for the weak to be the only ones to die.
âNow that I think about it, I think I didnât want to accept that fact even though I was aware. I kept waiting while thinking that he would regain his senses and eventually return since he wasnât a bad guy. However, the situation kept becoming worse and worse. Iâm also at fault for this incident. Iâm planning to tell the head of house about it after the sword duel.â
âYou donât need to go that farâŠâ
âNo, I need to do this. I wish that Iâd realized it fasterâŠâ
Serena smiled for the first time and shook her head.
âYou said a moment ago that you had no intention of going easy on him, right? You should definitely do that. I would normally be the one to beat him to death, but you challenged him before me. Thatâs why you should thoroughly defeat him. He will learn his lesson if his arm gets cut off or something.â
She politely lowered her head to Raon, asking him to teach him a lesson before she left.
âIâm sorry, butâŠâ
Raon stroked Heavenly Driveâs scabbard while watching Serenaâs back as she left.
âA single arm is far from enough.â
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