Chapter 656

Did the geezer go senile from eating too much Nadine bread?!

Wrath’s eyes widened in disbelief.

‘Please be quiet.’

Raon looked at Glenn while covering Wrath’s mouth.

‘Why is this happening?’

The information about the Five Demons was indeed quite special, but it wasn’t something that Glenn wouldn’t have anticipated.

Suddenly being rewarded with martial arts books was far from normal.

‘What did that stupid elf do this time…?’

Raon couldn’t understand what kind of trick he could’ve played to make Glenn suddenly hand over five whole martial arts books for trivial information.

“Am I really getting all those books?”

“Don’t be so surprised.” Glenn shook his head, his eyes glowing faintly, like the moonlight hidden behind the clouds. “The martial arts books that I gave you were going to be discarded anyway.”

He shook his hand, saying that he was simply giving the books that were going to be thrown away.

“Hmm…”

Raon swallowed his groan and examined the names of the books one after the other.

‘Star Annihilation Sword, Crimson Chase Steps, Gentle Breeze Sword Art, Flowing River Combat Art…’

There were five books in total, and the names sounded rather extraordinary. It was still unknown how good they actually were, but the titles implied that they were all advanced martial arts.

“All of them have a fatal deficiency. However, I figured it would be better to give them to you instead of throwing them away after seeing the Spiral Light Style that you created. You don’t need to be thankful. That’s the only reason why I’m giving them to you.”

Glenn closed his eyes nonchalantly, as if that really were the only reason. However, he was talking an unusual amount, and his voice was faintly shaking.

“Let me reiterate: those martial arts aren’t anything amazing, and I’m simply giving them to you in return for your information. That’s why you don’t need to be thankful.”

Raon was about to lower his head to express his gratitude, but Glenn prevented it before it happened.

“I’d still like to express my gratitude.”

Raon smiled faintly and lowered his head. Even if Glenn really was planning to discard them, there was still going to be something to learn from. That was why Raon was just thankful for his gift.

“Ahem!”

Glenn cleared his throat and turned around towards the lake. Raon couldn’t see his face because the sky was getting dark, but Glenn’s earlobes seemed red, as if they were on fire.

“By the way…” Glenn furtively shifted his gaze. “Did he by any chance… I mean, did the Light Wind Division vice leader teach you any martial arts?”

His question suggested that he already knew about what Rimmer had done.

“Yes, he did.”

“Which martial art was it?”

“Hmm…”

Raon tried to hide the trembling of his hands.

‘Should I tell him about this?’

The martial art Rimmer had taught him wasn’t any ordinary cultivation technique. It was Garunua, only reserved for the elves—and Seipia’s guardians, at that. Raon had a feeling that it would become an issue if he told him about it.

However, Rimmer was most likely going to blabber about it, judging from his personality, and Glenn might have already noticed it. That was why Raon decided that a lie would be quickly found out.

“It’s a martial art called Garunua,” Raon sighed, confessing that he ended up learning Garunua.

“…The song of the wind.”

Glenn’s eyes widened as soon as he heard the name.

“Yes.”

“Hmm.”

He bit his lip, showing that he knew what Garunua was, just like Raon had expected.

“My lord, the vice division leader… Hmm?”

Raon tried to come up with an excuse to defend Rimmer, but Glenn’s expression grew stern, far too serious.

However, he looked more like a swordsman who had lost a battle rather than a diplomat who failed a negotiation.

“Ugh…”

Glenn let out a painful groan while looking at the books of martial arts that he’d put down on the ground.

“M-my lord?”

“It’s nothing!” He gritted his back teeth and averted his gaze. “I’m taking my leave now.”

It was the last thing he said before he disappeared into the darkness. Raon couldn’t even see his back because of how fast he left.

Seriously, what’s wrong with that geezer?

Wrath shook his head, unable to understand Glenn’s behavior.

‘I don’t understand either.’

Raon sighed deeply and picked up the Star Annihilation Sword, which was at the top of the pile of books on the ground, opening it.

‘This martial art…’

Raon became certain before he even read it all the way because he’d seen and heard about a lot of martial arts recently.

The book of martial arts he was holding didn’t deserve to be discarded. It was clearly an advanced martial art, and the techniques were split into small pieces to make it easier to create a new martial art.

‘Did he prepare it for my sake?’

Raon was reminded of how Glenn mentioned the Spiral Light Style’s name when he’d explained why he was giving him the books. Raon could guess that Glenn had prepared them in advance.

‘Yeah, that’s more reasonable.’

It just didn’t make any sense to discard those books of martial arts. Raon could guess that Glenn was trying to reward him somehow for taking care of his mother.

“Thank you.”

Raon bowed politely in the direction Glenn had departed. He smiled faintly, shaking off the dust from the book with his hand.

‘It’s time to enter the cultivation room again.’

That’s a great decision.

Wrath nodded.

A greenhorn like you needs to focus on one thing at a time. You won’t achieve anything if you try all kinds of things at once.

‘Ah, thank you for accepting it. I was worried about it.’

Raon smiled brightly and casually patted Wrath on the head.

Hmm? What are you talking about?

‘Because we’re only going to be eating Nadine bread inside the cultivation room. I’m glad that you are willing to endure it.’

Err…

Wrath widened his eyes, finally remembering about the Nadine bread.

N-no! Forget about it! You can’t go in there! Not the rubber bread!

‘I’ll spread some jam on it.’

Argh! Rubber still tastes like rubber, even with jam!

* * *

“Argh!”

Rimmer violently mussed his hair, watching Glenn leave the lake.

“Seriously, what’s wrong with that geezer?!”

His patience was finally reaching its limit. It kept happening over and over.

“Giving him the books because you were going to discard them anyway? That’s even worse than ‘I picked them up on the way’!”

Rimmer had gone through all the pain to bake the bread, cook the meat, and even cut the vegetables to prepare a lavish meal. All Glenn had to do was pick up the food with his fork and start eating, but instead, he kicked the table, flipping it completely upside down. Rimmer was furious.

“Huhuhu.” Roenn shook his head with a gentle laugh. "Our lord is much shyer than we anticipated."

“That’s not being shy! He’s just stubborn! Haaa, this is so frustrating!” Rimmer ground his teeth, throwing back his hair, which looked like a bird’s nest.

“How did he even manage to do that when I’ve done everything for him?!”

He had blatantly provoked Glenn and gave Raon Garunua and a hint so that he could accept Glenn’s martial arts. Raon acted according to his plan, but Glenn ignored the flowery path in front of him and jumped into the mud instead. Rimmer couldn’t understand him at all.

“I’m also a bit frustrated.” Sheryl nodded, parting her back from the boulder. “He was deciding on those books all night long, and now he was going to discard them? That’s so absurd.” She sighed, saying that it was getting unbearable.

“All night long? Was he checking out the martial arts books all night long?”

“Yes. He even went into the treasury in order to find the books of martial arts suitable for the Light Wind Division.”

Sheryl briefly clicked her tongue, saying that all the books he’d bestowed upon Raon were precious.

“Hah! I’m in even more pain after hearing that! This must be an internal injury!” Rimmer furrowed his brow, pounding on his chest. “I don’t even care anymore! I even skipped gambling to help him, but I’m never doing it again! This is even harder than matchmaking!”

He dusted his hands off, saying that he was heading out to gamble.

“Wasn’t the gambling house closed today?” Roenn tilted his head.

“Since when do gambling houses ever close?”

“Then what were those repairs?”

“I was lying, of course. The gambling addicts would be playing cards in a restroom if the gambling house needed to be repaired.”

Rimmer scratched his nose, telling him that gambling addicts shouldn’t be underestimated.

“Then why did you decide to step up?” Sheryl narrowed her eyes while looking at Rimmer. "Are you sick or something? I heard humans who suddenly start doing things they usually don't end up dying."

“I’m an elf though.” Rimmer snorted, brushing it off as nonsense. “Elves are whimsical creatures.”

He disappeared towards the gambling house, telling her to stop treating him as a human.

“If he isn’t human, who would be?” Sheryl laughed bitterly.

“Huhuhu.”

Roenn smiled in satisfaction while watching Raon, who was reading a book of martial arts near the lake, instead of Rimmer.

“He really had gotten a lot stronger. We won’t be able to reach him either soon enough.”

“I know, right?” Sheryl nodded while shifting her gaze. “He was just a kid who couldn’t even run properly when I first saw him.”

She smiled faintly, reminiscing about the past.

“You should be able to guess since you must’ve seen the Axe King recently. Do you think Young Master Raon can win against him?”

“The odds would be 3:7 for now. However…” Sheryl fidgeted with the hair on the side of her head, casting a glance at the books Raon was reading.

“It might be different if he manages to create a new martial art.”

* * *

“How strange…”

Chad, the leader of the Shadow Agents, kept murmuring that it was strange as his forehead touched the desk.

“This isn’t right no matter how I think about it…”

‘Why isn’t he coming to see me?’

He’d prepared to greet Raon a long time ago because he was expecting his visit, yet he was showing no sign of coming.

‘I don’t understand the reason.’

His hint had helped Raon to enter the Sword and Saber Sovereign’s grave, he’d dispatched Aries to the grave’s location that he’d found to prevent potential danger, and he’d quickly made his move to create a line connecting Zieghart to the Sword and Saber Sovereign’s grave.

Lastly, he even gave the Gambling Monster a detailed letter about the vice head’s information and how he’d been bullying the annex building. He’d even made it as fast as possible by doing it himself instead of ordering another informant to do it, yet Raon never even thanked him, let alone came to the Shadow Agents.

‘Why?’

It would’ve been understandable if it was about Balder, the True Martial Palace master. He would’ve just said, ‘Oh, I see. Good job.’ after getting such a wholehearted support.

But that wasn’t the case for Raon. His personality was similar to Glenn's, his grandfather's, and he made sure to pay back the gratitude and resentment. Raon should’ve been fully aware that Chad had helped him a lot. That was why he couldn’t understand why Raon wasn’t doing anything to thank him.

“Haa…” Chad stood up while letting out a deep sigh.

‘I shouldn’t stay quiet about this.’

His survival instinct, honed by reading people's moods, was telling him that Raon would be a palace master at the very least, and that he could even become the head of house if he got lucky.

Since the relationship with such an important person was at stake, he couldn’t simply let it pass.

‘Yes. I just need to investigate it if I don’t know the reason.’

Chad decided to personally find the reason and stood up from the seat. He left the Shadow Agents’ building and went to Aries right away. She was packing her stuff, implying that she was planning to leave the house.

“Chad, what brought you here?” Aries waved her hand with a cheerful smile. “Did you come to send me off?”

“No, that’s not it…” Chad swallowed nervously and walked up to Aries. “Lady Aries, it’s about how you went to the Sword and Saber Sovereign’s grave in order to protect the Light Wind Division leader.”

“Yes, I managed to save Raon thanks to that decision. It was really dangerous back then.” Aries gave him a thumbs up, praising his decision.

“Did you tell Sir Raon about it, by any chance?”

“Hmm? Now that I think about it, I didn’t. It was such an emergency.” She shook her head with an awkward smile.

“Ah…”

Chad’s hands trembled as he saw the innocent look in Aries’s eyes.

‘Wait, could it be… Because everyone kept quiet about it?’

He came up with the worst assumption, that both Aries and the Gambling Monster didn’t say anything about him after saving Raon and delivering the information about the vice head of the elders.

Since both Aries and the Gambling Monsters were powerful people who weren’t really concerned about other people, it was a possible scenario.

“I said goodbye to Raon a moment ago. You should tell him yourself since it would be awkward for me to see him again.” Aries patted his shoulder and left her room.

“Ah…”

Chad’s jaw dropped as he watched Aries’s back as she left.

‘Please tell me it’s not the case! Please!’

He suppressed the assumption that kept surfacing his mind and went to see the Gambling Monster. He was having a drink while watching the previous vice head of the elders, Killuane, dig in the annex building’s garden.

“Wow! I don’t even need any side dishes! The alcohol is going down so smoothly! Super smoothly!”

“E-excuse me, Gambling Monster.” Chad swallowed nervously and went next to the Gambling Monster.

“Huh? Hello, Chad.” The Gambling Monster nodded at him, lowering his bottle to the side. “You came at a good time. You also contributed to making them dig like this. Let’s enjoy it together.”

He filled an empty glass and handed it over.

“Th-thank you. By the way, Gambling Monster,” Chad called out to the Gambling Monster, accepting the glass with trembling hands. “By any chance, did you tell Sir Raon about the fact that I compiled the information about the vice head of the elders and his wrongdoings?”

“Hmm?” The Gambling Monster rubbed his temple with the bottle and eventually shook his head. “I don’t exactly remember because I’m too drunk. I think I did?”

He laughed loudly and started to drink again.

“Guh…”

Chad closed his eyes tightly, just like Raon had done at some point.

‘God damn it!’

He finally got the answer about why Raon wasn’t coming to see him.

The worst assumption he’d come up on the way was right. Aries, the Gambling Monster, and even the others hadn’t said anything about him to Raon.

‘I can’t leave it like this. I should tell him myself even though it’s a bit unsightly.’

It was definitely embarrassing to reveal it himself, but he’d worked way too hard to simply let it pass.

‘Let’s go!’

Chad clenched his fist and headed towards the fifth training ground where Raon should be at the moment.

* * *

“I’m leaving the Light Wind Division and the annex building to you until I’m back.”

Raon met Burren, Martha, and Runaan’s eyes while entering the cultivation room in the fifth training ground.

“Sure. Just leave it to us and go in there.” Martha nodded without hesitation, telling him not to worry about them.

“Mhm.” Runaan blinked, saying that she would prepare ice cream for his return.

“Hey…” Burren came closer to Raon and tilted his head. “The ocean spirit on your shoulder looks extremely angry right now.”

The ocean spirit that Raon had acquired at some point was rampaging on his shoulder.

“Ah, he is dancing right now. Look, he is so happy.”

Raon tapped on the spirit’s head, saying that it wasn’t a big deal. The spirit started to jolt even harder, draped in madness.

“I-is that so?”

He did seem to be dancing now that Raon mentioned it. The spirit’s bloodshot eyes were rather frightening, though.

“Well, then.” Raon casually waved his hand and entered the cultivation room.

“A new martial art!” Krein clasped his fingers together with a grin on his face. “Aren’t you looking forward to it? It must be even better than the Spiral Light Style!”

“I love the fact that the entire Light Wind Division is going to learn it. We’ll be able to make a great use out of it.” Martha licked her lips, leaning her back against the cultivation room’s wall.

“It shouldn’t be even better. Just like how the Spiral Light Style is suitable for the maids in the annex building, the martial arts Raon is going to create should be suitable for us. Neither of them can be called superior to the other,” Burren calmly replied and stepped away from the cultivation room.

“The first team will be guarding it today, right?”

“Yes, you can leave already.” Martha shook her hand, telling him to leave.

“I’m not leaving.” Runaan took out a bead ice cream box from her clothes, declaring that she was going to stay.

“As for you, please just leave. I beg you.”

“I won’t.”

Burren watched them argue for a while before he turned around.

He left the training ground, heading towards the annex building, but saw Chad, the leader of the Shadow Agents, running towards him.

“Shadow Agent Leader?”

Burren could guess that he was there for an extremely important matter, considering his red face.

“Ah, third team leader. Is the Light Wind Division leader inside…?”

The fact that he was looking for Raon confirmed his suspicion.

“He just started seclusion training.”

“Ah…”

Chad’s face turned a sickly yellow. He almost looked like he’d lost a precious treasure.

“I’ll go in there and deliver the message if it’s an important matter. It shouldn’t be too late since he just started his training.”

“I-it’s fine. It’s not that important…”

He shook his head and turned around. His slumped shoulders made him look like a defeated soldier, and Burren thought that he could hear a strange weeping sound.

‘What’s going on?’

Burren tilted his head at Chad’s back before heading to the medical ward in the main building. He greeted the swordsman guarding the medical ward and stood in front of the innermost patient’s room.

“Haa…”

He tidied his hair and clothes and slowly caught his breath before he opened the door and entered.

The room had a single bed inside, and Karoon was sitting on it under the sunlight with a pale face.

“You called for me, Sir?” Burren went deeper into the room and lowered his head at Karoon.

“…Take a seat.” Karoon slowly raised his hand and pointed at the chair next to the bed.

"I feel more comfortable standing." Burren took a step toward him instead of sitting on the chair.

“Alright.” Karoon nodded nonchalantly and shifted his gaze. His eyes were quietly blazing.

Even though he was injured, his proud pressure hadn’t decreased in the slightest.

“Burren.”

“Yes.”

Karoon’s eyes sparked like lightning.

“Do you have any intention of returning to the Central Martial Palace?”

“......”

Burren’s eyes widened at the unexpected situation.

“I’ll assign you as the squad leader of a new armed division that will be created. And…” Karoon peacefully continued as if he’d prepared the line in advance. “I’ll teach you personally.”

“Hmm…”

Burren let out a groan, unable to hold it back.

Both his father's teachings and the position of squad leader in the palace were part of his dreams. No, the fact that his father needed him made his heart pound like crazy, more than anything else.

Burren closed his eyes. He calmly parted his lips after thoroughly contemplating it.

“I…”

***

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]