Chapter 410

Raon’s eyes widened like full moons as he read the new messages.

‘Sloth has been enhanced?’

The trait Sloth had an outrageous effect of increasing his stats during his sleep and even increased the regeneration speed of his stamina and aura.

He couldn’t believe that overpowered ability could be enhanced even further.

Ugh!

The same went for Wrath. He was tightly biting his lip because he didn’t expect Sloth to be enhanced.

Sloth! The King of Essence should’ve killed that sleepyhead a long time ago! It was his mistake to let him live…

‘Go play somewhere else.’

Raon slapped Wrath away as he started to rampage on the table and checked the new messages.

[30 points of emotion of Sloth have been created.]

[The trait Sloth’s ability to increase stats and regeneration speed of aura and stamina has been enhanced.]

Raon unconsciously slammed the table with his palm.

“Mmmh…”

Runaan slowly woke up because of the sudden noise. She nodded at Raon before getting back on the bed to sleep.

‘What the hell is wrong with her…?’

Runaan’s mentality was the most questionable among the Light Wind squad—or even the entirety of Zieghart.

Raon shook his head and was about to check the messages again when energy emerged from Sloth’s black flower bracelet, entering his body.

‘This is…’

Raon could feel the energy of sloth seeping into him. It was the same energy that surrounded Sloth back at Habun Castle.

He could block it, but he left it alone because he couldn’t feel any malice, unlike the wrath from Wrath.

‘So this is the emotion of sloth.’

He felt drowsy. It felt similar to lying on a bed under the bright sunlight of a weekend afternoon to nap.

‘Not bad.’

It was bringing peace to his mind, unlike wrath. He could easily suppress it with his soul level without even activating the Ring of Fire.

‘Moreover… It’s not like Sloth will ever try to take over my body.’

Since Sloth wasn’t in his soul, unlike Wrath, he didn’t need to worry about losing his body from gaining too many sloth points.

It was something he could take advantage of without any drawbacks.

‘This should accelerate the growth at least twice.’

He tried to calculate the sloth’s effect, and the stat increase was twice as much as before while the aura and stamina regeneration were three times faster than before.

He could estimate that he could recover his aura to full in a few days just from sleeping—without even cultivating.

Damn it…

Wrath’s face became even more flushed as he confirmed the increased effect of Sloth. He looked like strawberry cotton candy.

As soon as the King of Essence regains his body, he’s going to kill that doormat, Sloth!

‘……’

Wrath furiously trembled, and Raon briefly clicked his tongue while looking at him.

‘But you are the king of doormats.’

He could only laugh because Wrath was insulting someone else for being a doormat when he was the biggest doormat in the world.

‘I also need to visit him at some point.’

Wh-why would you visit the sleepyhead?!

Wrath’s lips trembled in anxiety.

‘I need to ask him how to use the emotion of sloth I’ve obtained.’

Raon licked his lips while looking at the black flower bracelet.

‘Sleeping shouldn’t be the only ability I have.’

Since he was a demon king at the same rank as Wrath, there must’ve been another ability besides sleeping.

It was necessary to visit Sloth to ask about it to make proper use of it.

Y-you don’t need to go.

Wrath shook his head while looking at the black flower bracelet.

The sleepyhead’s ability is nothing special!

He trembled slightly while shaking his head and said that Raon wouldn’t be satisfied even if he visited him.

‘It’s okay. I need to drop by for Yua’s sake anyway.’

He was planning to visit Habun Castle anyway to allow Yua to see her grandfather. That was why he could just visit Sloth on the way.

Kuh! You are the worst doormat, Sloth!

Wrath realized he wouldn’t be able to stop him and started to insult Sloth once again.

Unforgivable!

‘Whatever.’

Raon chuckled and swept back the hair flowing over his forehead.

‘Rather than that…’

Once he finished checking all the new abilities, he remembered the guest that Wendy had mentioned.

‘The Sword Demon Rector… I’m somewhat related to him.’

Since the first nickname he’d gained after the war in Habun Castle was the Young Sword Demon, it wasn’t an overstatement to say that he was related to him.

‘I wonder what kind of person he is?’

He’d heard rumors that the Sword Demon could match up to the Ten Heavens of the Continent as the strongest of the Five Great Swordmasters, but he had no idea how good he was since he’d never seen him before.

He wanted to experience the skills of the Sword Demon.

The King of Essence doesn’t care whether he’s a Sword Demon or an Evil Demon. Just keep your promise right now.

Wrath frowned while tapping the table with his plump hand.

‘Promise? What promise?’

Did you already forget about it? You promised to eat everything the King of Essene wanted!

‘Ah, that promise.’

Raon slowly nodded and took out a Nadine bread from his subspace pocket.

‘I’ll eat this Nadine bread…’

Wh-what do you think you are doing?!

Wrath started having a seizure as soon as he saw the Nadine bread.

Get that horrible thing away right away!

He screamed as if it was some kind of deadly weapon.

‘I don’t want to, though?’

You dirty bastard! Are you going to break your promise?!

‘You are gravely mistaken about that.’

Bullshit! The King of Essence remembers what you said without missing a letter!

‘Tell me about it.’

Fine!

Wrath nodded and recited the trade they’d had before fighting the archlich.

‘You said ‘I’ll eat all of the delicious foods until we return to the house, instead of just after the war’, and even added that you would eat the new product that Ice Cream Girl mentioned!

‘Don’t you find it strange, though?’

Hmph! The King of Essence won’t be deceived! What kind of trick are you trying to play?

He glared fiercely at Raon like a savage beast.

There’s nothing strange about a simple sentence like ‘I’ll eat all the delicious foods’… Huh?

Wrath started thinking about the line but suddenly stopped. He must’ve finally realized the problem in that trade.

‘You finally realized. I didn’t mention whose standard it was.’

Raon rolled his lips into a smile while watching the trembling Wrath. He did promise he was going to eat, but he never mentioned Wrath’s name.

‘Which means, I’m going to eat wherever I find delicious, just like this Nadine bread.’

H-how can you play such a petty trick?!

‘You started it with your dirty trick.’

He had no excuse since he was the one who changed the contents of the trade during an emergency after making a promise beforehand.

Raon was simply returning the dirty trick with a petty trick, and he didn’t feel guilty about it at all.

‘You should eat the bead ice cream for a hundred more years before you can even think about challenging me again.’

Please! Anything but Nadine bread!

He started to beg him to stop eating the Nadine bread, saying that he would never try such a negotiation ever again.

‘That’s a no.’

Raon smiled while lifting the Nadine bread.

‘We are eating Nadine bread every day until we return.’

Of course, he wasn’t actually planning to do that. Since Wrath had done a good job, he was planning to eat whatever he wanted the next day. However, it was necessary to properly discipline him while he was at it.

Nooooooo!

Raon dug into the Nadine bread that tasted like rubber while listening to Wrath’s scream.

‘You’d better behave yourself in the future.’

* * * 

Raon opened his eyes under the bright sunlight. He still felt drowsy, but his improved condition was incomparable to the day before.

‘Is this the true power of Sloth?’

The regeneration speed of aura and stamina and the stat increase became a lot better than before thanks to the enhanced Sloth.

He could really say that he could get stronger by sleeping.

‘Wrath is still unconscious.’

Wrath was still unconscious, his eyes had rolled back from the shock of the Nadine bread’s taste and getting scammed in the trade.

“Hmm?”

Raon tapped on him and was about to stand up when he felt something on the blanket. He turned his head and saw Runaan sleeping face down on the bed in the exact same posture as before.

‘What’s going on? Déjà-vu?’

He’d thrown her into a different room the previous day, but she was back in his room just to sleep in that uncomfortable position. He couldn’t understand why she did that.

‘It’s such a mystery.’

Raon chuckled and was about to stand up when the door opened and Dorian entered.

“Huh? Déjà-vu?”

He tilted his head while looking at Raon, who was about to stand up, and Runaan, who was sleeping with her arm all over the bed.

“It’s not.”

Raon simply shook his hand.

“How is your body? Are you doing better now?”

“Yes, a lot better than before.”

He’d filled his stomach, and his aura, stamina, and willpower had significantly recovered.

He still had the injuries, but his body felt light enough that he could fight right away.

“In that case, shall we go together? The squad leader said that the guests are returning right now.”

“Guests? Do you mean Sir Rector?”

“Huh? You already know about him!”

Dorian murmured how he even knew about it when he’d left before he told him.

“Lady Wendy told me.”

Raon raised himself up and put on his coat.

“Let’s go. I need to thank him since he helped us.”

Thanking him for capturing the executives was one thing, but Raon wanted to feel how powerful he was as a warrior.

He left the recovery room and followed Dorian towards the west gate, and people from Arianne gathered around them.

“Benefactor?”

“You woke up!”

“Is your body alright?”

“Thank you for saving Arianne!”

“I’ll never forget this gratitude!”

The families of Arianne politely put their hands together and bowed to him while shouting their gratitude for leading the war to victory.

“Thank you for getting rid of the trash in the house!”

“We managed to resolve ourselves thanks to Sir Raon’s decision!”

“We will follow Zieghart and the Light Wind squad for the rest of our lives!”

“We are eternally thankful!”

Lots of people were shouting their gratitude for him getting rid of Weegen and the executives. The rumors about the bloody execution from the previous night must’ve already spread.

‘Just what I expected.’

Many people still missed the previous executives before the war, but their reputation plummeted after they abandoned the house and ran away.

Not a single person in the large crowd wanted the previous executives anymore.

‘This should make it easier for Lady Wendy.’

Since the reputation of the previous head of house and executives was at rock bottom, the new head of house could easily gain their support.

Raon went towards the west gate while listening to their thanks. The gate had opened up by the time he could see the castle walls, and the Light Wind squad entered alongside the rangers.

“What? Did you already wake up?”

Burren raised his hand and smiled.

“Why didn’t you stay in bed for a bit longer? You keep collapsing every time you fight.”

Martha smiled. It was difficult to tell whether she was worried about him or was sneering at him.

“Vice squad leader! Are you okay?”

“Isn’t this too early for you to get up?”

“Why are you already out? You should rest a bit longer.”

“I’m fine now.”

Raon met the Light Wind members’ eyes and shook his hand to tell them that they didn’t need to worry about him since he was fine.

“Raon! I had to go all the way there because you were unconscious!”

Rimmer walked up to him while limping like a zombie. Raon sighed because he was the only one who was expressing his annoyance instead of being worried about him.

“By the way, why did you have to go outside, squad leader?”

“Martha forcefully dragged me out because she was worried what they would do even though they are guests.”

He created an aura barrier to block the sound and pointed at the back.

Raon raised his gaze and saw where he was pointing at.

A white-haired old man wearing white clothes was slowly walking towards him as if he were taking a stroll. He was a tall man with a powerful body, and his gaze was as sharp as a polished blade.

‘Is he the Sword Demon…?’

He thought there would be a sharp pressure around him since he was called a frightening name like ‘Sword Demon’, but he couldn’t feel any pressure at all around him.

‘He’s so powerful that I can’t even feel any pressure…’

It should be impossible at your level.

Wrath nodded while examining the Sword Demon from top to bottom.

Not bad. It’s nice that there are lots of decently powerful humans in this era.

‘Is he that good?’

He was even acknowledged by Wrath, who looked down on everyone in the world. The rumors about his sword reaching the Ten Heavens of the Continent must’ve been true.

“Hmm.”

The Sword Demon noticed him and approached him with his gaze fixated on him.

‘He looks rather mysterious.’

His appearance resembled a hermit living in tranquility, but his gaze was as frightening as a blade. He looked like a combination of a hermit and a fiend.

“Greetings, Sword Demon Rector.”

Raon went towards the Sword Demon and bowed to him.

“I heard that you captured the deserters who abandoned the house. I’m grateful for your help.”

“It wasn’t a big deal.”

The Sword Demon shook his hand. His voice was as cold as the wind on the northern ocean. That voice was the only thing that matched his expectations.

“I was heading to this location after feeling the powerful energy of death and encountered some fellows acting like bandits. That’s why I asked them to guide us here.”

He said that he was originally planning to kill them, but spared their lives and brought them with him because they’d said they were the executives of House Arianne.

“Are you Raon Zieghart, the one called the Young Sword Demon?”

“Yes, I am.”

The Sword Demon mentioned the nickname Raon had gotten in Habun Castle instead of the White Sword Dragon. He must’ve known about him for a while.

“I’ve always been curious what kind of swordsman earned my nickname. I’m returning from checking out the traces you’ve left, and…”

He was taking another step toward Raon while talking about the traces, but he suddenly stopped.

“Hmm?”

The Sword Demon’s widened eyes violently trembled as he stared at Raon’s face. He looked like he’d just witnessed something unbelievable.

“Sir Rector?”

Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at the Sword Demon’s face as he frowned before returning to normal again.

‘What’s happening?’

He thought Rector would ask him about his swordsmanship since he was called the Sword Demon, but he kept staring at his face without saying anything.

“Sword Demon?”

“Ah, my bad.”

The Sword Demon shook his head slightly before taking a step back.

“Hmm, see you again later.”

His lips twitched as if he wanted to say something but he simply shook his head and left.

“M-master!”

The young man wearing white clothes must’ve been the Sword Demon’s disciple since he followed him while calling him his master.

Raon tilted his head while looking at the Sword Demon who suddenly lost his spirit.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

He must’ve gotten hungry.

‘……’

* * *

That evening.

With Raon’s awakening, House Arianne held the festival they’d been postponing because he was the most important participant.

The entire castle sparkled brightly, and the tired people were smiling even more brightly.

Raon was standing at the western castle wall and smiled faintly while watching them laugh and cheer.

‘This is what a house should look like.’

There was one thing he’d realized during his life in Zieghart.

‘A house shares happiness and sadness.’

If a member of the house was in a crisis, they had to be rescued no matter where they were, and if they were killed, their death had to be avenged no matter who they were.

House Arianne couldn’t be such a house so far, but it should be able to become a huge wall to protect the members in the future since Wendy was the new head.

‘And the same goes for me.’

He still had no intention of becoming Zieghart’s head of house, but he was determined to protect the Light Wind squad no matter what.

That’s a mindset that a leader should obviously have.

Wrath nodded while listening to the people laughing.

Devildom also has countless houses and castles, but the only ones that survive until the end are the ones where the monarch or the head of house share their life and death with their subordinate demons.

He sneered, saying that even demons did that but humans were incapable of it.

Well, that’s not always the case though.

‘Is it not?’

I know one person who is doing perfectly fine even though he only relies on his own power without caring about his subordinates at all.

‘Like Sloth?’

That doormat is just a lazybones. It’s not him, it’s one of the other demon kings… Hmm?

Wrath was about to say the name of the demon king, but he started to sniff towards the bottom.

Th-this smell!

‘What smell?’

This is the sweet smell of compressed fruit juice melted down from the heat!

He raised his round hand while glaring at the center of the street where the festival was ongoing.

Over there! They are selling blueberry pie over there!

‘Hmm…’

Raon licked his lips and touched the subspace pocket in his clothes.

‘I was planning to eat Nadine bread for dinner though.’

Please! Stop! Anything but that!

Wrath started to beg him to stop eating that rubber.

‘I’m not sure…’

“Raon.”

Raon was going to tease him a bit more, but Runaan waved her hand from below.

“There is a lot of ice cream!”

She raised a bowl containing several different ice creams and stamped her feet.

“What are you doing there? Trying to look stylish?”

Martha frowned, asking why he was looking so pathetic on his own.

“Seriously, you can’t fit into the atmosphere.”

Burren chuckled while holding his beer glass.

“I’ve prepared your seat over here!”

Dorian set up a huge table and chairs that he took out from his belly pocket before waving at him.

S-see? That’s what he says.

Wrath smiled awkwardly and pointed at them with his chin.

Raon smiled faintly while looking at Wrath’s pupils splashing like a fish.

‘He must’ve learned his lesson by now.’

Since he taught him the lesson by using the Nadine bread as a stick, it was time to give him delicious food as a carrot.

When he was about to go under the castle wall, something suddenly emerged from the swamp where the mud had returned. The creature with hard shells on the back and a long mouth was the swamp crocodile.

‘Crocodile…Huh?’

Raon’s jaw dropped. The crocodile’s face was shaped into a grotesque smile as it waved its short arms towards Raon.

Th-the madwoman is hereeeee!

***

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]