Chapter 653

“…is for you to disclose your wrongdoings directed at the annex building and earn their forgiveness.”

Raon stepped aside, allowing Killuane—the vice head of the elders—to face the maids. He said it because Raon wasn’t the victim of his vicious actions. Sylvia and the maids were.

Is that all you are asking?

Wrath gasped, unable to understand Raon’s decision.

There are plenty of other things you could’ve asked for! Why are you only asking for an apology?

‘Keep watching.’

Raon tapped on Wrath’s head as he complained and looked at Killuane again.

Killuane briefly licked his lips. He seemed to think it was an unexpectedly weak wish, just like Wrath. However, he dragged it on while clutching his severed wrist, embarrassed at having to disclose his own wrongdoings.

“Mmm…”

Sylvia let out a groan and opened her eyes at the perfect moment. She must’ve sensed that everyone’s attention was focused on her.

“Haa.” Killuane exhaled heavily and nodded his head, implying that he had finally made up his mind. “I forged a report about illegal activity to bully the annex building, inspecting them against their will even though they’d done nothing wrong.”

“Why did you do that?” Raon nodded his head with a frightening look in his eyes.

“It was in order to hold you in check. I thought I could take your leash by holding the annex building hostage.”

Killuane confessed his actions and thought process. He must’ve concluded that he couldn’t lie about it anymore.

“I’m sorry. It was all my fault.” He fell on his knees and lowered his head towards Sylvia and the maids.

“Sniff…”

“It’s alright.”

The maids sobbed while biting their lips, and Sylvia patted their backs with her weakened hand.

“Ahem…”

Killuane cleared his throat and averted his gaze. He picked up his severed hand and was about to leave the arena when Raon dragged him back by holding his ankle.

“Wh-what’s the matter?!” Killuane’s eyes widened as he asked why Raon was doing that.

“I disclosed the truth and apologized, just as you asked!”

“I told you to disclose your wrongdoings and earn their forgiveness.”

“H-how is that any different—”

“The apology is up to you, but the forgiveness is up to them.” Raon raised his finger, pointing at Sylvia and the maids.

“Ah…”

Killuane understood and shifted his trembling eyes towards Sylvia.

It wasn’t just him. Everyone in the great training ground was focused on Sylvia.

“The annex building…” Sylvia bit her lip after meeting the eyes of Raon, Killuane, and Glenn on the platform, one after the other, “…won’t accept your apology.”

She slowly shook her head, declaring that she wouldn’t forgive him.

“Wh-why…?”

“I would’ve had no issue forgiving you if I was the only one who suffered from this. I would’ve suggested that Raon quietly let it pass. However, even my people were harmed by you.”

Sylvia lowered her brow while looking at the maids.

“You took advantage of the fact that they didn’t want to do anything that might harm Raon and bullied them to the point where they couldn’t eat nor sleep. The same thing is going to happen again if I forgive you with a simple apology. That’s why I’m not going to accept your apology—to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.”

She clenched her weakened hand into a fist, saying that it wasn’t going to be the last time it would happen.

“That’s her answer.” Raon smiled faintly while looking at Sylvia.

‘That’s a great decision.’

Sylvia normally would have accepted the apology to wrap it up because she didn’t really like conflict. However, she had broken through her shell and came out to the world. She declared that she wouldn’t accept the vice head’s apology because she was determined to protect the annex building and the maids. That implied that her mind had also become stronger, just like her body.

That’s my mom for you!

‘I know, right? Wait, she’s not your mom!’

Raon slapped Wrath away as he leaped towards Sylvia before he shifted his gaze towards Killuane.

“I’ll have to tell you a different wish now.”

“Wh-what are you saying now?!” Killuane denied vehemently while shaking his head. “This ain’t right!”

He looked at the master of ceremonies, asking for help.

“No, Sir Raon is right.”

The master of ceremonies calmly shook his head.

“Sir Raon clearly asked you to earn their forgiveness, and Lady Sylvia didn’t accept your apology. That’s why his wish wasn’t granted,” he coldly declared while lowering his hand.

“Argh, alright. Tell me another wish.” Killuane bit his lip, reluctantly waiting for a different wish.

“My wish is the reconstruction of the annex building and its garden. You have to use your private assets instead of the council’s money.”

“Haa…” Killuane nodded while letting out a sigh of relief because the wish was within his expectations. “Alright, the amount is—”

“Ten thousand gold coins.”

“Huh…?”

The vice head’s eyes widened as far as they would go as soon as Raon claimed that it would cost ten thousand gold coins.

“Wh-what nonsense is that?!” Killuane bared his teeth, calling it nonsense. “Why would that small annex building cost as much as the main building to repair? Stop your bullshit!”

“It’s because I planted Ocean Soul seed in the annex building’s garden, which was destroyed by you.”

“Y-you are lying! The Ocean Soul is a legendary elixir! There’s no way you would’ve planted it in an ordinary gard—”

“You should see for yourself.”

Raon showed Killuane, who kept rambling with trembling lips, the Ocean Soul leaf he had.

“Huff!”

“Th-the transparent leaves, as if they were made of water…”

“It’s the real deal! It’s the real Ocean Soul!”

As soon as the spectators saw the transparent leaves reflecting the sunlight, their shouts erupted, almost sounding like screams.

“Ah…” Killuane was also at a loss for words upon seeing the Ocean Soul leaf.

“Moreover, I buried the dragon heart behind the annex building because I wanted to build a small magic tower later. It ended up being destroyed too because of you.”

“Y-you are lying this time for sure! A dragon heart?! I’ve never even seen anything like that in my life!”

“He isn’t, though.” Aries shook her head, standing up from her chair. “The dragon heart we got from Kaibar’s body, I gave it to Raon.”

“Ugh…”

The vice head’s eyes started to shake intensely.

‘You fell into the trap.’ 

Raon curled his lips into a smile, watching Killuane start to seize.

‘You can’t avoid being deceived even if you are aware.’

Since Raon had shown the Ocean Soul leaf and Aries had testified that she gave him the dragon heart after slaying the mad dragon together, Killuane couldn’t argue against him even if he was aware it couldn’t be true.

Especially because not many people knew about the fact that Sylvia’s energy center was made of the dragon heart. It was only natural that he was deceived.

“If he lost the Ocean Soul seed and the dragon heart…”

“It wouldn’t be strange to ask for ten thousand gold coins.”

“No, it’s actually insufficient. I’m pretty sure some people will be willing to pay that much just for the mad dragon’s dragon heart.”

“Same goes for the Ocean Soul. It would cost that much if you want to get the right price for it.”

The spectators shook their heads, saying that the ten thousand gold was actually a cheap price to pay.

“Sniff…” Balder wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Why are you suddenly crying now?” Aries blinked, staring at him in disbelief. Everyone on the platform tilted their heads while looking at Balder.

“Because the same thing happened to me…”

“What happened to you?”

“The True Martial Palace’s budget was ruined because of… Kuh!”

Balder closed his lips tightly, his eyes filled with tears as he was unable to finish his sentence. His furrowed brow implied that he’d gone through an extremely hard time.

Crack.

Killuane gritted his back teeth. He didn’t know what to do because there was irrefutable proof supporting Raon’s ridiculous claims.

“It can’t be helped since he has a witness and proof.” The master of ceremonies also seemed surprised. He slowly caught his breath before he shook his head and continued, “Ten thousand gold coins should be about the right amount.”

“W-wait moment! I don’t have ten thousand gold, even if it’s me! There’s no way I would have such a large sum!” Killuane shouted with a trembling chin, claiming that a whole year’s budget of the entire Council of Elders didn’t even amount to ten thousand gold.

“So you’re just saying that you won’t be able to pay.” Raon curled his lips into a sneer while looking at Killuane.

“It’s not that I won’t. My entire fortune combined doesn’t even amount to five thousand gold!”

“Then I’ll just confiscate your entire fortune and proceed to the next wish.”

“N-next wish?” Killuane wondered what he was even talking about while shaking in fear.

“Didn’t I say it in the beginning? The loser of the sword duel would need to do everything the winner wants. That implies that there can be two wishes—it wasn’t limited to one.”

“N-nonsense!” Killuane shook his hand in a strong denial.

“Hmm…” Even the master of ceremonies was unable to easily come to a conclusion and looked above the platform instead.

Glenn briefly nodded at him, then lifted a finger.

“The head of house acknowledged it. However, only one additional wish will be allowed.”

The master of ceremonies understood the meaning behind Glenn’s gesture and raised one finger just like he’d done.

“H-head of house!” Killuane screamed while looking up at the platform, but Glenn remained silent. He simply gazed down at the arena, his eyes empty.

“Just one more? It can’t be helped, then. I’ll state my last wish.” Raon nodded while licking his lips. “Killuane, alone with your subordinates… your affiliation will be changed from the Council of Elders to the annex building’s servants.”

“…Huh?” Killuane swallowed nervously while looking up at Raon. “D-do you really think that such an impossible wish can be granted?”

He violently shook his head, saying that it was never going to happen.

“Th-the vice head of the elders and his warriors are going to be the annex building’s servants?!”

“Is that even possible? Is that wish even allowed?”

“But the condition was ‘everything’ the winner wanted.”

“That’s true. They have to grant the wish to begin with…”

“Even then, isn’t it a bit excessive to turn the vice head of the elders into a servant?”

“It’s up to the one saying the wish to decide.”

The spectators argued loudly about whether it was possible to make Killuane into a servant or not.

“Tell me what you’re thinking! Does this even make any sense?”

“Hmm…”

The master of ceremonies hung his head as Killuane yelled at him. He looked above the platform once again, showing that he was unable to decide on his own.

“What was the condition of the sword duel?” Glenn briefly nodded and straightened his back, which used to be buried in the golden throne.

“The loser had to do everything that the winner wanted.” The master of ceremonies repeated the exact condition that they’d set in the beginning.

“Everything…” Glenn closely closed his eyes before opening them again while thinking about the terms. “Even though the vice head of the elders is guilty, it’s impossible to degrade his rank that of to a servant. However…”

His red eyes were shifted towards Killuane, majestic pressure dwelling in them.

“My presence here implies that I’ve accepted the condition of your sword duel. If the loser has to do everything the winner wants, then so be it. Killuane will have to lose his rank and become a servant.”

“H-head of house!” Killuane shouted while coughing out blood. “How could you do this? Even the head of house should be unable to interfere with the Council’s ranks!”

“I’m not trying to decide the Council’s rank.” Glenn calmly shook his head while looking at Killuane. “I’m simply talking about the result of the sword duel that you agreed upon. Don’t you agree, head elder?”

“That is true.”

A middle-aged noblewoman appeared from behind Glenn, her eyes curved into a delicate smile. She continued, “Since it was a condition of the sword duel that he agreed to himself, even the Council of Elders can’t interfere with it.”

The noblewoman folded her fan, releasing an elegant fragrance that blended benevolence and allure in perfect harmony.

“Huh?” Raon’s lips trembled as he saw the noblewoman.

‘Is she really the head elder…?’

The middle-aged woman that Glenn had called the head elder was Siran, the Dazzling Radiance squad leader who’d been making the Light Wind Division’s uniform ever since they were a squad. Raon was aware that she was from the Council of Elders, but it was completely unexpected that she was the head elder.

“It looks like lots of things happened while I was taking a walk.”

“H-head elder…”

Siran smiled beautifully, and the vice head’s chin trembled intensely.

“Y-you were supposed to be away for at least a year. How come you’ve returned so quickly…?”

“I could return quickly thanks to a certain person who solved various issues.”

She casually waved her fan after taking a quick glance at Raon. Raon realized that Killuane had started the issue while the head elder was gone.

“Let’s save the talk about me for later, vice head of the elders.” Siran raised her hand with a faint smile on her face. “It’s permissible to use the Council’s power, and it’s fine to use the vice head’s authority. However…”

Her eyes sparkled in a frightening manner, shaped like a crescent moon.

“Since you started it, you should’ve done it well. You didn’t manage to achieve anything despite how much authority you had.”

Siran seemed to be criticizing Killuane for being unable to create the result he wanted rather than his wrongdoings.

“H-head elder! Please!”

“This will be the last time I’ll be calling you the vice head of the elders.” Siran shook her hand with a bright smile on her face. “The Council of Elders will recognize the result of this sword duel and accept the winner, the Light Wind Division leader’s, terms,” She declared, then returned to the back.

“Head elder! Do you seriously believe you can…”

Raon walked up to Killuane and smacked the back of his head with his palm.

With the sound of shattering nuts, the vice head’s face was smashed onto the ground. Blood was flowing nonstop from his nose.

“Mind your manners towards the head elder, you lowly servant.” Raon grabbed Killuane’s neck to make him stand, then forced him to bow at the head elder. “I’m sorry, he still needs more education.”

“It’s fine.” Siran shook her head while laughing.

“Kuh…”

Killuane chewed his lip in frustration, letting out a strange groan.

“Wh-what’s even happening right now?”

“I don’t even know…”

“My brain can’t follow the situation.”

“That’s always been the case whenever the Light Wind Division was doing something…”

The spectators were simply gasping, unable to get used to the quick change of the situation.

“Heeeeeeeell yeah!” Rimmer shouted at the top of his lungs, raising his arms high toward the sky. “I’m rich! I’ll never let anyone take it away from me this time—”

Rumble!

Before he even finished his shout, lightning fell from the sky and struck the entire gambling area. Since it was obvious where the lighting came from, no one even looked at the source.

“Haa…”

Raon shook his head and looked into the vice head’s eyes.

“Who are you?”

“......”

“I’m asking you again. Who are you?”

“Ugh…”

Killuane stood there with trembling heads, and eventually hung his head, saying, “I-I’m th-the annex building’s servant…”

“And?”

“…I’m a lowly servant, Sir.”

“Good.”

Raon chuckled and placed his hand on the vice head’s abdomen.

Spark!

He sealed the vice head’s energy center by using the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s fire, Glacier’s coldness, and even his wrath. It was going to be impossible for him to use his aura anymore unless Raon gave him permission.

“Cough!”

Killuane collapsed while coughing black blood from his mouth. He looked up to Raon with trembling eyes, and Raon simply shook his finger towards him.

“Welcome to the annex building.”

Raon’s lips curved into a frightening smile as he looked down at Killuane.

Welcome to hell, not the annex building…

Wrath shook his head, saying that he never expected that he would start pitying Killuane.

***

The next day, Raon stood in front of the annex building alongside Killuane and the warriors in the vice head’s faction. His hand was reattached thanks to Federick’s treatment, but his face was still pale because his energy center was inactive.

“Can you see it?”

“What are you talking about… Sir?” Killuane was showing some respect thanks to the education he’d been forced to receive all night long.

“I’m talking about the garden and the house that you ruined.”

Raon pointed at the garden that looked like it had been bombed and the annex building’s walls, which were completely destroyed.

“I-it wasn’t so bad when we were here back then… Sir.” Krisen’s lips trembled, his chin covered in multiple layers of bandages.

“Are you implying that I’m the one who destroyed them?”

“N-not at all!”

Raon coldly licked his lips, and Killuane rapidly shook his head.

You did destroy them though!

Wrath yelled at him.

You broke them all yourself overnight! What are you even saying now?!

‘Shut up.’

Raon slapped Wrath away as he kept telling the truth, nodding his head toward Killuane and the warriors who used to be in the vice head’s faction.

“Repair them all now.”

“Err…”

“J-just us?”

“Who else?” Raon furrowed his brow, making Killuane and the warrior hang their heads even though they were about to complain.

“He will be providing the materials and tools.” Raon lifted his finger and pointed at Dorian on the right side.

“Please come here, everyone! I mean, come here!” Dorian ordered in a threatening tone, taking out shovels and pickaxes from his belly pocket.

“They will be watching you to see if you are doing your work properly or not.” Raon pointed at Helen and the maids on the opposite side of the area.

“Kuh…”

“Uuh…”

The warriors from the vice head’s faction held their shovels with trembling hands, flustered by the fact that they were going to be watched by Helen and the maids, who they’d bullied in the past.

“I’ll be leaving them in your care.”

Raon lowered his head towards the Gambling Monster, who was leaning his back against his chair so much that he was practically lying down.

“Aah, you can leave without any worries.” The Gambling Monster shook his hand, telling him to just leave it to him. “Wow, the look on your face is so tasty. I want to keep ordering this side dish in the future.”

He opened the bottle with his teeth and immediately started to drink, enjoying Killuane’s distorted expression.

Raon chuckled and left the annex building. However, instead of going away, he climbed onto a tree and watched Killuane and the warriors.

Since Killuane’s energy centers were disabled and he was under constant surveillance, he began digging the garden under the maids’ orders. His twisted face implied that he wanted to die, but his hand was moving nonstop.

Raon curled his lips into a smile, watching Killuane and the warriors working with their shovels.

‘Serves you right.’

He was finally feeling better after seeing them suffer the exact way they made others suffer.

Seriously? Are you finally feeling better? Your shitty personality is unbearable, even for the King of Essence!

Wrath shook his head, saying that even a demon king would be terrified by his personality.

‘It’s not that ba—’

Raon was about to shake his head, trying to deny his statement. A cat came from somewhere and approached Killuane.

“Go away!”

Killuane waved his hand to shoo it away, annoyed by the interruption to his work, but the cat drew closer, its long tail raised high as if trying to charm him.

“Hmm…”

Killuane briefly licked his lips at the charming cat, probably because he had been made to suffer so much by people since the day before. He stopped digging the ground and leaned forward, but the cat suddenly jumped to ruthlessly scratch his face with sharp claws, then bit the wrist that had barely been reattached.

“Gaaah!”

Killuane desperately flailed his hands, but the cat effortlessly dodged his attempts and leaped back thanks to his sealed aura and injured state.

“You damned cat!”

“Stop it!”

Killuane tried to catch the cat, but Helen came towards him and stood in his way.

“Stop idling and come this way!”

Helen quickly treated Killuane’s wound and made him work again. Raon couldn’t tell if she was being nice or cruel.

“Kuh…”

Killuane violently ground his teeth, but he returned to the garden to start digging again. However, the cold sweat breaking out on his skin implied that he was feeling intense pain from the bite.

“What even happened just now?” Raon gasped at the strange situation.

‘Rather than a cat, isn’t that a lynx?’

A lynx?

‘It is an animal who is far stronger and more ferocious than a cat despite having a similar appearance.’

That lynx or whatnot seems to be coming our way.

‘Nah, it can’t be.’

Raon shook his head but realized that the lynx really was coming his way like Wrath had claimed. Raon held his breath and remained still to avoid being detected.

‘It’s gone… Hmm?’

He thought the lynx was completely gone because it went to the bushes on the opposite side, but he suddenly felt its presence from below.

“Praise me!”

Raon lifted his hand to fend off sharp claws, but the lynx leaped onto the tree with a bright smile on its face.

Kueeh!

“Huff!”

A Grandmaster and a demon king fell from the tree.

***

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]