Raon lifted his trembling eyelids.
‘I wasn’t dreaming after all.’
A raccoon with a few leaves on its forehead was standing confidently, as if it were a human being, and was staring at him.
‘Wrath, you were right.’
Raon tapped on Wrath, who had perfectly predicted that situation.
‘Wrath?’
Uaah…
Wrath dropped to the ground with a groan that sounded like he’d been stabbed by a blade. He must’ve been too surprised by Merlin’s appearance and lost consciousness.
‘A human being managed to make a demon king faint…’
Raon picked Wrath up and put him on his shoulder while shaking his head.
“Come this way for now.”
Raon gestured with his hand at Merlin, then went into the lord’s manor, where the debris remained.
He created an aura barrier to prevent others from hearing them and sat on a chair that was in relatively better condition.
“I love this kind of consideration.”
Merlin smiled happily while sitting on the chair on his opposite side.
“Anyway, have you been around all this time?”
“Yes. Why would I leave when you are staying here?”
She elegantly swept her hair back, responding like it was an obvious question. She seemed to be forgetting the fact that she looked like a raccoon.
“I should be thanking you before anything else. Thank you for stopping Sir Rector.”
Raon lowered his head at Merlin.
‘It would’ve been a lot more difficult if Merlin wasn’t here.’
It was thanks to Merlin’s appearance that the Holy Sword Alliance’s executive told Rector to return. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that she’d saved everyone.
“There’s no need for thanks between us.”
Merlin waved her furry hand, telling him that he shouldn’t be thanking her.
‘Between us…’
Raon wanted to ask what exactly their relationship was, but something else took priority.
“Is it really fine for you to act like this?”
Raon narrowed his eyes while touching the throne’s armrest.
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“You disturbed the White Blood Religion in Banneret and you stood in the Holy Sword Alliance’s way this time. Isn’t there going to be an issue from Eden?”
“No.”
She shook her head so firmly that Raon was confused for worrying about her.
“I’ve always done whatever I wanted even before I met you. They shouldn’t say anything, they’ll just think that the crazy woman did something crazy again.”
“Huh…”
“Aah, this is so nice. Because you are worried about me, it’s sending shivers through me…”
Merlin blushed while stroking her arms. Raon never expected to see a blushing raccoon in his lifetime.
“And it doesn’t really matter even if it becomes problematic. I can just leave Eden if that happens. The only reason I’m in Eden right now is because it’s helpful to you.”
She shook her hand, saying that she wasn’t interested in the restoration that Eden was trying to achieve at all.
“That’s not what I’m worried about.”
Raon sighed and pointed at her head.
“The Fallen or other executives from Eden might have placed some restrictions on you.”
“Yes, they did.”
Merlin nodded with a faint smile.
“But I removed them.”
“Huh?”
Raon’s eyes widened as he looked at Merlin, who was smiling calmly.
“I-it was placed by the Fallen, right?”
“Yes. It took a long time because it was almost unrecognizable and complicated, but I managed to remove it in the end.”
Merlin was full of surprises the more he talked to her.
“Was it something like brainwashing?”
“It wasn’t brainwashing. It was a restriction that made me unconsciously unable to lie.”
She told him how it worked, but he couldn’t really understand it because it was magic.
‘She removed the Fallen’s spell. Impressive. But… was it really the only one? It’s the Fallen we are dealing with.’
The Fallen was the leader of Eden, and he was one of the best magicians and sorcerers in the entire continent. Raon didn’t think that a person like him would’ve only placed a single restriction on her.
‘Because he gives off a similar feeling to Derus.’
The same thing had happened in his previous life. He’d been waiting for the day when he could leave House Robert without taking any countermeasures because he was satisfied by the fact that the brainwashing was removed.
However, Derus had been reading all of his thoughts through the rage worm, which could even read the emotions of its host, and had taken the initiative.
Since the Fallen wasn’t an easy opponent either, it required the utmost attention.
“There might be another restriction than that spell, so take a day to look into yourself thoroughly. Not just your head, but also your heart and organs. He might have placed a rage worm in you.”
Raon advised Merlin with the lesson from his previous life.
‘Did I talk too much?’
He felt like it could come off as an unnecessary meddling because he even said something unnecessary.
“Yeah, I’ll do it!”
However, Merlin smiled cheerfully and nodded, showing that it made her happy instead. She seemed to be extremely happy about it.
“You should be careful too. Three out of the five demons are targeting you.”
Merlin tapped on his hand, telling him to be careful as well.
“I heard the White Blood Religion, Holy Sword Alliance, and the Black Tower have formed an alliance. Is that true?”
Raon tapped the armrest with his finger, stating the names of the three Five Demons that she’d mentioned.
“It should be true. I’m not exactly sure about the White Blood Religion, but I heard that the Holy Sword Alliance master had a meeting with the Black Tower’s master.”
Merlin nodded with a peaceful expression on her face.
“So it did happen.”
He’d guessed it from the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword’s reaction, but the Holy Sword Alliance and the Black Tower had really formed an alliance. He could guess that a drastic change was about to occur in the continent.
“How about your faction, Eden?”
“It looks like we aren't really planning on cooperating with others.”
Merlin slowly shook her head.
“The Fallen and the other executives are solely fixated on the restoration. The same goes for the Heavenly Demon, and there seems to be no reason for them to ally with others as a result. However…”
She raised her hand and tapped on her cheek.
“They might take advantage of an incident caused by the others.”
“In the end, Eden also requires attention.”
“Yes. The Fallen is waiting for the Holy Sword Alliance, the White Blood Religion, and the Black Tower to clash with the Six Kings. He will be trying to fulfill his plans in the process.”
“What’s that plan?”
“I don’t know either.”
Merlin shrugged her shoulders, saying that the Fallen was the only one who knew his plan.
“Oh, right! I should’ve congratulated you earlier. Congratulations on becoming a Grandmaster!”
Merlin suddenly clapped her hands and shouted her congratulations for him becoming a Grandmaster. Raon thought that she was seriously unpredictable.
“Th-thank you.”
Raon chuckled. Merlin ended up being the first one to congratulate him for becoming a Grandmaster somehow.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to reach transcendence.”
Merlin’s sparkling eyes showed that she believed in it from the bottom of heart. However, she couldn’t overcome the animal instinct and started to scratch her belly.
“Ah, I don’t understand why happy moments pass by so quickly. I need to leave now.”
Raon swallowed nervously, his gaze fixated at Merlin’s mouth.
‘Is it food this time? Or brushing furs?’
Since he had no idea what the raccoon was going to ask, he felt as nervous as during a battle.
“This one wants to try out a hot spring.”
“H-hot spring…?”
Raon’s head became empty because of the completely unexpected word.
“Give this one a bath!”
“Wait!”
Raon tried to stop her, but Merlin was already gone and the raccoon that was left behind was moving on all fours, unlike her.
“Kyuu.”
The raccoon tapped on his ankle with its plump hand, urging him to make the hot spring already.
‘Do I really need to dig out the ground and heat the water in the middle of night…?’
Raon closed his eyes once again tightly.
* * *
Since it was an important matter, the Light Wind division quickly returned to the house without even having a proper rest after the intense battle.
Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at Zieghart’s main gate, which was fully open.
‘Why is the gate open?’
It was rare for Zieghart’s main gate to be open.
Even for the members of the house, they needed to get their identity checked before the gate opened. Raon could guess that something must’ve happened.
Raon walked up to the main gate while trying to guess what kind of incident there was, and the external commander, Illiune, came out at lightning speed. For some reason, a bruise had darkened the area around his left eye.
“Welcome back!”
Illiune gave a 90 degree bow towards Aries.
“Yeah, external commander. Keep up with your good work.”
Aries smiled cheerfully and lightly patted Illiune’s shoulder.
“Yes!”
Illiune merely trembled his shoulders without straightening his back.
“Huh…”
Raon gasped while watching that scene.
‘What’s happening?’
As the external commander, Illiune had always acted proudly even towards the powerful people from the outside, yet he was crouching like a roly poly for some reason.
“Don’t worry about it. We’ve had a few arguments before.”
Aries chuckled, noticing the confused gaze from Raon.
“It wasn’t just an argument. Didn’t you one-sidedly beat him up back then?”
Rimmer shook his head while scratching his scalp with his left hand.
“If I remember correctly, you broke all of his limbs, and he had to be hospitalized for over two months. Considering the bruise around his eye, you must’ve beaten him up again.”
He briefly clicked his tongue while describing the matter from their past in detail.
“Shut your mouth… Huh?”
Illiune frowned at Rimmer and suddenly widened his eyes.
“Your arm!”
His lips trembled as he looked at the empty sleeve of Rimmer’s right arm.
“Well, it just happened.”
Rimmer smiled faintly, saying that it was better than dying.
“You crazy bastard! How can you say that?!”
“It’s fine. Everyone with a bright future waiting for them survived. One of them even managed to surpass the wall.”
He closed his eyes, saying that he was satisfied with Raon and the Light Wind division’s survival.
“Hmm.”
Illiune saw Raon, who was standing behind Rimmer. His eyes were trembling just like when he was facing Aries.
“Did he really become a Grandmaster?”
He fell speechless for a moment in disbelief.
“I can remember the day he left this gate as a trainee as if it were yesterday, but he is already a Grandmaster. Calling him a monster isn’t enough to describe him.”
“I was just lucky.”
“Luck can bring you to the Master’s realm, but you can’t become a Grandmaster that way.”
Illiune straightened his back and pulled his chin towards him.
“It must’ve been hard to look after this idiot. Welcome back.”
He placed his hand on his chest and saluted in Zieghart’s way.
Raon swallowed nervously while receiving his disciplined greeting.
“External commander?”
Illiune had been somewhat polite after he’d become the vice division leader, but it was the first time he had shown such extreme courtesy.
“Don’t be so surprised.”
Rimmer smiled faintly and gripped Raon’s shoulder.
“Because this is the position you are in right now.”
He murmured that he could look forward to interesting things happening in the future.
“By the way, who were you referring to when you said idiot?” Rimmer asked, making Raon and Illiune look at him at the same time.
“Y-you damn bastards! Why am I an idiot?!”
He started to rampage, but Aries stomped the ground powerfully.
“Come here already! Our head of house is waiting for us!”
Aries raised her fist, saying that she was going to drag them along if they didn’t start running right away.
“Let’s go.”
“Ugh…”
Raon walked through the central avenue with Rimmer, whose face had turned red.
“It’s Lady Aries…”
“She has a whole different pressure around her.”
“Even the division leader—no, even the palace masters are no match for her…”
The Zieghart swordsmen passing by the avenue could only admire as they witnessed Aries. However, she wasn’t the only person that they were admiring.
“I-is that really Raon Zieghart?”
“The atmosphere around him has completely changed.”
“He really did become a Grandmaster…”
“Th-then he must’ve defeated the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword too!”
“A twenty-one-year-old Grandmaster? It’s completely unprecedented.”
“I’m glad he’s from our house. If he were from another house or kingdom, I would’ve been so jealous I could die.”
Raon lowered his eyebrows slightly while listening to the intense reactions from the swordsmen.
‘Their reactions are different from before.’
There were many occasions when the swordsmen were surprised or admiring when he returned from a mission in the past.
However, the direct lines or those who followed them were always glaring at him with jealousy and hatred, yet it didn’t exist at all anymore.
Every single swordsman on the avenue was watching him in awe.
It’s only natural.
Wrath nodded while looking down on the swordsmen.
Humans and demons alike will simply be filled with awe, unable to even muster jealousy in the face of such overwhelming power and talent. They won’t even be able to see you as the same kind of existence as them anymore.
Wrath clapped his hands, saying that there were going to be way less people bold enough to defy him in the future.
‘I see.’
Raon headed to the lord’s manor, realizing that a lot had changed not only in the world inside him but also outside.
“Welcome.”
Roenn was in front of the lord’s manor to receive him. He lowered his head at Aries and briefly closed his mouth upon seeing Rimmer.
“…Thank you for your work.”
Roenn greeted Rimmer and Raon with his eyes one after the other before he guided them to the audience chamber.
The audience chamber’s door was wide open, just like Zieghart’s main gate, and the executives that had influence inside the house were standing on both sides of the red carpet at the center.
Glenn Zieghart was sitting on the platform at the center of it all, his gaze filled with emptiness and his chin supported with his hand.
“The Light Wind division has completed the mission and returned.”
Since Rimmer was injured, Raon walked up to the platform and went on his knees as the temporary division leader.
Everyone in the Light Wind division knelt after him and lowered their heads.
“Raise your heads.”
Glenn calmly nodded, then frowned upon seeing Rimmer’s right sleeve.
“Light Wind division leader, what happened to your arm?”
“My skills were lacking.”
Rimmer lowered his head, saying that his own skills were insufficient instead of giving any excuses in front of Glenn.
“Light Wind vice division leader.”
“Yes.”
Raon raised his gaze upon hearing his call.
“There are some contents that weren’t written on the report.”
Raon stated the thought that he had when he wrote the report.
“Aries.”
“Yes.”
“You were acting like you were going to solve everything, so how come you couldn’t even stop that from happening?”
Glenn furrowed his brow at Aries this time.
“That’s…”
“It’s not Auntie’s fault.”
Raon stepped up in order to stop him from reprimanding Aries.
“Auntie?”
Karoon dragged out the word ‘auntie’ powerfully.
“Hmm…”
Raon bit his lip while looking at Karoon.
‘How could I make such a mistake…?’
The word unconsciously came out because Aries had been threatening him into calling her auntie all along on the way back.
“Did you just call her your aunt?”
Karoon curled his lips into a smile as if he’d received a perfect opportunity to criticize him.
“Who is your auntie here?! Know your place, you donkey!”
“Hey.”
When he took the opportunity to pressure him, Aries went up to Karoon and raised her chin.
“Shut your mouth if you don’t want to die.”
Aries glared at Karoon like a ferocious, agitated beast.
“It’s me who wanted to be called auntie. Why are you trying to fuck with that?!”
“Hmm…”
Karoon couldn’t even close his mouth because of the frightening wave of energy emanating from Aries, standing there with a trembling chin.
“Hey, Aries.”
Denier observed the lord’s manor, which had fallen quiet, and lowered his voice.
“We are in front of our lord. We should watch our words…”
“That’s why I told him to shut his mouth instead of telling him to shut the fuck up! Fight me if you have a problem!”
“......”
The lord’s manor became even quieter.
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