Chapter 407

Glenn Zieghart pulled back his extended right hand. He could see Rimmer supporting Raon’s body from where his hand used to be located.

“They managed to wrap it up somehow.”

Sheryl came up next to Glenn.

“I honestly didn’t think that Raon would resolve the issue, though.”

She sheathed the twin swords that she was holding and gasped, saying that Raon was becoming a real monster.

“Same goes for me. I’ve never seen a warrior grow as fast as him.”

Roenn was watching Raon with trembling eyes.

“The hill blocking the path is bound to become higher and higher as the realm is increased, but the young master Raon never stops his advance. It almost looks like he’s walking on flat land.”

He proudly smiled at him, saying that he’d never seen such a talent that made him jealous.

“Ahem, I also didn’t expect Raon to resolve this matter.”

Glenn nodded while preventing the corners of his lips from soaring up.

“Because the scale was too large for them to solve.”

Raon was mentally exhausted even though he still had some aura and stamina, Rimmer was utterly worn out from using the Sword Field Creation, and House Arianne’s successor wasn’t really helpful to begin with.

Glenn was going to help them since he judged that they wouldn’t be able to remove the death sphere even if they worked together, but the situation had suddenly changed.

‘He got stronger in an instant…’

Falling into a trance because the focus reached the extreme while facing a crisis of death was rare, but it was possible.

However, Raon managed to get stronger, both physically and mentally, in a short period of time—it didn’t even last for ten seconds.

‘Unbelievable.’

Trances did increase a warrior’s realm drastically, but it still needed some time to take effect.

Ten seconds was simply too short, even for a trance.

‘But I can’t say otherwise since I’ve witnessed it with my very eyes.’

He would’ve brushed it off as a lie if someone else had told him about it, but he’d witnessed it himself. His grandson was the one who created that miracle. It only made him more excited.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how far that monster is going to reach.”

“The young master Raon might really reach the Grandmaster realm at the age of twenty-two and duel against the Axe King.”

Sheryl and Roenn smiled gently while watching Raon being carried on Rimmer’s back.

“We might not even need to take any action if that happens.”

“We should sharpen our blades just in case.”

“We’ve been constantly gathering information about the South-North Union’s location and members anyway. We have most of the information except for the elders that never show up.”

The smile that Glenn had been suppressing ended up appearing on his face as he watched Sheryl say that she had all the information about the South-North Union, and Roenn say that he would sharpen his blade.

“Hmm!”

The fact that the two people who didn’t usually compliment others were admiring Raon’s talent and cherished him from the bottom of their hearts made the corners of his lips reach all the way to his cheekbones.

“Roenn.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Roenn bowed while taking a step forward.

“Did you manage to draw the picture?”

“Of course.”

He raised the booklet he was hugging.

“I’ve sketched the scene of the young master Raon’s fight during this mission in the third volume of Raon’s gospel. I also wrote down the famous lines, so please read it later.”

“It could be better than a sketch, don’t you think?”

Sheryl licked her lips in regret.

“Of course. I’m planning to color it as soon as I return.”

“Nice!”

Glenn gave him a big nod as soon as he said that he would color it.

“I’ll help you!”

“Hmm, the Heavenly Blade division leader should be tired. I’ll do it on my own…”

“Don’t be so reserved, I just want to contribute to Raon’s gospel.”

“Huhuhu.”

While Roenn was contemplating how to refuse her, Glenn raised his hand.

“The Heavenly Blade division leader should stay out of it.”

“What?”

“You are bad at painting.”

“But I can color at least…”

“Coloring is the most important part of painting.”

Glenn shook his head firmly. He seemed to be telling her that he would never allow her to ruin the painting of Raon.

“Ugh…”

Sheryl groaned since she couldn’t deny it and hung her head.

“We will return now.”

Glenn patted Sheryl’s depressed shoulders and turned around.

“Aren’t you going to go down there to see them?”

“There’s no reason to ruin the atmosphere.”

Glenn closed his eyes upon hearing Sheryl’s question.

“Today’s victory belongs to them. We should be satisfied with sending a round of applause from here.”

“Does that mean that Sir Rimmer is not going to be punished anymore?”

Roenn carefully brought up Rimmer’s name.

“Hmm…”

Glenn scratched his chin while watching Rimmer carrying Raon on his back.

“Let’s overlook it since he acted like a proper teacher this time.”

“Then I’ll remove Sir Rimmer’s beating from the schedule.”

“Sure… Oh, wait. Why did he arrive late again?”

Rimmer was waiting behind the pillar until he had the right moment to save Raon, but he should’ve arrived at House Arianne a long time ago.

Glenn suddenly got curious about why he was so late.

“Hmm, about that…”

“He was being a drunkard again.”

Roenn hesitated to answer, and Sheryl’s lips parted in his stead.

“He went to a pub to drink all night long because he had a hard time in his secluded training. He woke up in the evening and visited all of the gambling houses before he departed. He was bound to be late after that.”

Sheryl revealed everything Rimmer had done with a cold smile on her face.

“Even after he arrived here, he was slacking on a vine because he didn’t want to fight the undead or step on the land brimming with the energy of death. That’s what he was doing before he appeared at the last moment while acting cool and shit.”

She even mentioned the fact that Glenn already knew to make him even angrier.

Swaaa.

Glenn’s gaze had become warm as he watched Raon, but it quickly turned into a cold fury.

“Roenn.”

“Yes.”

“Call that drunkard to the training ground as soon as he returns.”

“Ah, understood.”

Roenn sighed quietly while watching Rimmer’s happy face because the war was over.

‘He said the training ground…’

The fact that the head of house called him to the training ground implied that he was going to thoroughly beat him up.

“Huhuhu.”

He gathered his hand in a prayer and lowered his head towards Rimmer.

‘Rest in peace.’

* * *

“Huff…”

Wendy Arianne exhaled roughly and raised her head.

‘It’s bright. I can see the sky!’

The huge sphere of death that had been expanding until a moment ago to destroy the area and even the world beyond that had disappeared, and the blue sky could be seen.

‘He really did it.’

Her violently pounding heart felt like it was going to burst.

Just like Raon’s confident declaration, he managed to incinerate the sphere of death full of malice and save everyone’s lives.

‘Moreover…He even allowed me to get stronger.’

She could feel that her prowess had surpassed a wall, probably because she helped Raon erase the sphere of death.

She had advanced to the next realm by destroying the wall that she hadn’t been able to break for the past several years. She could only gasp because of how ridiculous it was.

Wendy swallowed nervously while watching Raon being carried on Rimmer’s back.

‘How can such a person even exist?’

Raon had been leading the war for the past six days as the commander without even resting.

Since he didn’t even sleep or rest, he should’ve fainted a long time ago. Instead, he’d lasted until the very end and finished the war with his own hands.

Even a Grandmaster would’ve had a hard time achieving such a feat, yet a young warrior at twenty years of age had done it. It was preposterous and impressive at the same time.

Raon didn’t even feel like a human being at that point. She could almost see the halo from his back.

Rimmer came towards her with a smile. He was holding Raon’s legs tightly to prevent him from falling, his hands trembling in exhaustion.

“Thank you for your effort.”

“I didn’t really do anything, since Sir Raon did everything. He would’ve managed without me.”

She was telling the truth. She believed that Raon would’ve managed to remove that sphere even without her help.

“That’s not true.”

Rimmer shook his head.

“He’s really stubborn and a huge hellion.”

He pointed at Raon on his back with his chin.

“He tries to do everything on his own, and that’s why he only asks for help when he really needs it. He would’ve never managed to remove that energy of death without your help. You can be proud of it.”

Rimmer winked and went towards the others.

“Ah…”

Wendy’s hand holding her sword started to tremble.

The trust Raon had shown her and Rimmer’s honest words warmed her heart.

‘Does that mean that he really believed in me when he entrusted me with the position of head of house?’

She’d thought that she became the temporary head of house just because there was no one else, but Raon must’ve really trusted her if she believed Rimmer’s claim.

She wasn’t confident she could manage the house after suddenly becoming the head, but she was gaining a little bit of confidence.

“Raon!”

“You madman!”

“Raon, are you okay?”

The Light Wind squad’s team leaders came running towards Raon at full speed while faltering.

“Vice squad leader!”

“He really managed to cut that energy of death! Our vice squad leader is crazy!”

“He’s never been sane before! He’s the real mad dog!”

“Whoaaa!”

The Light Wind squad cheered while running after the team leaders. Everyone’s faces were filled with delight and admiration.

“Huh, he really became a monster now.”

“His personality has always been a monster, though…”

Milland smiled while sweeping his hair up while Morell frowned, saying that it was going to be more painful in the future.

“What do you think?”

“I won’t even be a match against him anymore, but I still would like to try fighting him.”

The third prince asked Borini Kitten his thoughts, and the man clenched his fist while pulling his chin back.

“What an insensitive guy. Did you really have to show me your growth all the way here?”

Trevin clicked his tongue while looking at the small smile on Raon’s face in his unconscious state.

“Hey! Why aren’t you talking about me?! Why does no one care about me? I’m the one who saved you all!”

Rimmer frowned and screamed at the Light Wind squad who came running at him.

Clench.

Wendy clenched her fist while watching Raon, Rimmer, and the Light Wind squad.

‘Light Wind squad…’

She first thought that it was full of a bunch of crazy people like the rumors of the Mad Dog squad suggested, but she felt like she could see how House Arianne should advance in the future.

‘Thank you.’

Wendy bowed at the unconscious Raon.

‘I’ll repay this gratitude by following you for the rest of my life.’

* * * 

Raon furrowed his brow and opened his eyes. He could see a slightly damp gray ceiling.

‘Ouch…’

He could feel the pain from all around his body as soon as he regained consciousness.

It wasn’t just his muscles and the skin that were aching—even his energy center and mana circuits hurt.

‘What a disaster.’

Considering how bad it was despite the healing effect from Sloth, he realized once again that he’d strained himself too much.

You idiot!

Raon sighed, and a blue cotton candy flew towards him.

That’s why you shouldn’t have worked yourself so hard!

‘I had no other choice.’

You had other choices.

Wrath murmured that the matter would’ve been settled even if Raon hadn’t done all of that. However, he didn’t tell him how.

‘But I managed to get stronger thanks to that.’

Ugh…

Raon smiled, and Wrath groaned painfully.

‘Let’s see how much you donated this time.’

D-damn it!

Wrath grasped his head, and Raon was about to load the messages while ignoring him when he suddenly heard a crunching sound from the right.

“Hmm?”

He raised his head and saw Dorian eating some snacks at the table.

“Huh? Vice squad leader!”

Dorian hugged his snack like a treasure instead of throwing it away and slowly walked up to him.

“You woke up! I’m so relieved!”

He grabbed Raon’s shoulder with crumbs on his hand, saying that he was relieved.

“Yeah…”

Raon shook the crumbs from his shoulder and nodded.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“It’s been exactly three days now.”

He pointed outside the window, where the sun was starting to set.

“Three days…”

Three days was relatively short considering how hard he’d fought. He could understand why he was still feeling the pain.

“I see, did anything special… Hmm?”

He was about to stand up, but he felt something at the side. He turned his head and saw that Runaan was sleeping on the bed on her face.

“Why is she here?”

“She’s been sleeping here ever since we returned, even when she wasn’t in charge. I tried to pull her away, but I couldn’t remove her.”

He murmured it was a mystery she could sleep like that since her back should’ve been hurting.

“I see.”

Raon smiled faintly and tapped on Runaan’s head.

‘I should buy her some ice cream after we return.’

Keep your promise to the King of Essence before thinking about ice cream! Let’s start with blueberry pie…

Wrath suddenly remembered about his promise and started ordering the food he’d been wanting to eat.

“And we did have something special happen.”

“What?”

Wrath danced while listing the food, and Raon watched him before he briskly turned his head.

“What do you mean?”

Battles against the undead were the only thing that could be called special at House Arianne. Raon’s heart pounded from anxiety.

“Ah, it’s not something you should be worried about, vice squad leader.”

Dorian must’ve realized his thought process and shook his head while saying that it wasn’t a bad thing.

“Which means?”

“You know that the executives of the house ran away while we were fighting.”

“They did.”

Raon clenched his fist so hard that his hand turned white.

‘They deserve death.’

Even though their house was in a huge crisis, Weegen Arianne and the executives took the residents hostage to run away instead of volunteering to fight.

Raon was determined to find them no matter what, in order to revive the ruined House Arianne.

“They got caught.”

“What?”

“Guests visited us yesterday, and they said they happened to bring them here.”

Dorian said that they were very special and amazing guests. However, Raon wasn’t listening anymore.

‘I have no time to check my stats. I have to take care of those bastards first.’

Since the executives were family to Wendy, she couldn’t be too cruel towards them. Raon had to personally take care of them.

He picked up Heavenly Drive from next to the bed. He stood up while enduring the pain all over his body.

“V-vice squad leader?”

“Let’s go.”

Crimson flames were burning in Raon’s eyes.

“Guide me to those scumbags.”

* * *

“Wendy.”

Weegen Arianne, who used to be the head of House Arianne, was kneeling on the ground and staring at Wendy Arianne.

“Do you really believe you can run this house?”

He confidently raised his head even though he was the first one to run away during the crisis.

“I and the executives are the reason the house became so wealthy. We’ve been focused on money that is more powerful than might, and everyone could live a stable life while you could swing your sword to your heart’s content thanks to us. However…”

Weegen rolled his eyes, which were glowing with desire.

“You are different. You and the new executives have only been swinging your swords instead of learning how to manage the house. I’m sure you are clueless about how to run the house.”

“……”

Wendy was unable to respond and bit her lip.

Weegen licked his lips while looking at Wendy’s expression.

‘It’s working.’

He was worried he was going to die because he got dragged back to the house by that monster, but the speech he’d prepared was fortunately working.

It was truly fortunate that Raon was still unconscious.

“We acknowledge our mistake, and we will resign from the position of the head and executives. In return, allow us to support you from behind. We’d like to be the wings to bring the house into a new light.”

Weegen started by pressuring her before gently persuading her to lead the conversation in a way that Wendy had to consider his offer.

“Do you have anything to say about abandoning the house and running away?”

Wendy asked the question she’d been holding back with a hoarse voice.

“I had no other choice. In return, I’ll offer everything I have for the sake of the house from now on.”

“Amber Blade division leader, please accept this old man. I’d like to give my life for the house since I’ve missed the opportunity to save the house.”

“I’ll contribute to Arianne’s development as much as possible if you forgive me.”

“I’ll accept any punishment. However, that should come after we revive this ruined house…”

The executives bowed, following the atmosphere that Weegen had created.

None of them were talking about why they ran away, nor what punishment they deserved.

“……”

“Wendy, please forgive this unworthy father.”

Wendy’s face was as cold as ice, but Weegen approached her, pretending he didn’t see that.

“I’ll help you and the house in the future to the best of my abiliti—”

Whaam!

As Weegen was calling Wendy’s name while trying to catch her trembling hand, the door burst open.

Whoosh.

In the midst of the yellow cloud of dust, Raon entered in his hospital gown with his body covered in bandages.

“Huh?”

“S-Sir Raon?!”

“Are you okay?”

Wendy and the new executives were surprised and ran toward Raon.

“I’m fine.”

He nodded heavily and walked up to the financial officer, who was kneeling on the edge.

“You are the financial officer.”

Raon raised his chin while standing in front of the financial officer.

“Do you have any excuse for abandoning the house and running away?”

His extremely hoarse voice implied that he was still severely injured.

“I-I had no other choice!”

“Why did you not have any other choice? Did someone drag you out or something?”

“Err, a-about that…”

Because Raon got straight to the point, the financial officer couldn’t respond and stayed there with trembling lips.

“I-I’ll devote my life to the house if you give me another chance. Please trust m—”

“Your chance is already over.”

Raon was holding Heavenly Drive with his right hand as soon as he finished speaking, and a red line appeared on the financial officer’s neck.

“Huh? Huuh…?”

The financial officer grasped his neck. The line became thicker and blood gushed from it.

“Kuuh…”

He couldn’t even scream and collapsed with his neck split apart.

Raon shook off the blood from Heavenly Drive, his deadly eyes sparking blue.

“Next.”

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – Kyangi]

[Proofreader – Harley]