“Hmm…”
Raon rubbed his eyes and looked in the lobby once again. Nothing had changed. Encia Yonaan, the rumored genius of artifact crafting and the successor of House Yonaan, was bowing to him in a maid outfit.
“Welcome back!”
Raon swallowed nervously as Encia bowed with a bright smile on her face.
“Wh-Why is Lady Encia here? Before that, the outfit you are wearing… Uhh…”
Raon’s voice was shaking. He was honestly even more shocked than when he encountered the Axe King Roman.
‘Why is she here?’
And what was wrong with her outfit?!
He couldn’t understand why she was there already when she was supposed to visit in a month, and why she was wearing a maid outfit of all things or staying in the annex building of all places.
“Wow…”
Encia stepped up with her hands gathered together. Her blue eyes started to lose focus and turn blurry.
“The way you return is also freaking handsome. I’m so glad that I’m the first one to see you. Haa…”
Instead of answering Raon’s question, she simply blushed while calling him freaking handsome.
She’s the only person in the world who can make you panic.
Wrath giggled. He looked like he was having so much fun.
The King of Essence would also like to say it. So freaking handsome!
‘Shut up.’
Raon pushed Wrath away and looked at Encia again.
“Erm… Lady Encia?”
“Sir Raon doesn’t even need natural lighting to be beautiful. Your eyes are sparkling like blood rubies.”
She hadn’t changed at all—she kept staring at his face without even listening to him.
“Since I saw Sir Raon’s freaking handsome face, I don’t need any side dishes for dinner.”
She was still saying strange things, but Raon figured that a conversation would be possible since the light had begun to return in her eyes.
“Why is Lady Encia here? I believe this is way too early for your appointed visit.”
“I came here because I wanted to see Sir Raon.”
Encia’s smile looked like she was wondering why he was asking such an obvious question.
“I-I see. In that case, how about the training artifacts that I requested before…?”
“I completed all of them.”
“For every member of the Light Wind squad?”
Raon’s lips parted. Since he had requested all those artifacts to be handmade, as they had to be specially suited for the Light Wind squad, he couldn’t believe that she had completed all of them.
“I could work four times more efficiently once I applied the ideas I had from watching Sir Raon’s face. My hands just kept moving.”
‘…What ideas did you even get from my face?’
He couldn’t understand how staring at a face could give her ideas that made her four times faster. He was aware of how eccentric the artisans usually were, but Encia was peerless in that aspect.
“It has never happened to me before. I knew handsome was the best. Aah!”
Since her eyes started losing focus once again, Raon quickly responded.
“I-In that case, why are you staying in the annex building? Aren’t guests supposed to stay in a different place?”
“I wanted to meet Sir Raon’s mother and find out how beautiful she is, since she brought you out into the world. I caught the person who guided me and asked him about it. I’m really glad I did, because Lady Sylvia was as beautiful as Sir Raon, and Yua is also cute. This place is erupting with ideas.”
It felt pretty good to hear her compliment Sylvia, but there was something he needed to ask.
“My last question is, why are you wearing that maid outfit…?”
“It’s because I told them that I wanted to stay here instead of at the guest house. Lady Sylvia readily accepted my request, but I figured I shouldn’t be a useless mouth. I shall work for my food.”
Encia grinned while placing her hands on her waist.
“Hah…”
Raon’s jaw dropped.
‘What an amazing ability to take action…’
The fact that one of the successors from House Yonaan personally visited the annex building to volunteer as a maid was so ridiculous that he was left speechless. Raon was certain that no one in the world would’ve believed it.
“Huaa…”
“Huh? Sir Raon!”
As he was shaking his head, Yua came walking out from the right side corridor with some kitchen tools in her hands.
“No, I should be saying freaking handsome Sir Raon!”
Yua slightly bit her tongue and voiced out the word that only Encia would use.
“...Huh?”
“I said it correctly, right? Encia?”
“Yes! That’s right, Yua!”
Encia caressed Yua’s hair and smiled gently.
“Raon?”
“Young Master!”
Sylvia and Helen came running down from the second floor. They must’ve heard Yua’s voice.
“That’s that right, Lady Sylvia and Lady Helen.”
“Ah, you’re right! Freaking handsome Raon, welcome back!”
“Freaking handsome young master, welcome back!”
Sylvia and Helen smiled brightly at Raon.
“Oh my, freaking handsome young master!”
“Please wash yourself first since dinner is going to take some time, freaking handsome Sir Raon!”
Even the maids who were occupied with other tasks added the ‘freaking handsome’ at the end of their greetings.
“Erm, what is…?”
“I told you before, but Sir Raon’s face is a gift from god! That’s why I told everyone how to express it.”
Raon couldn’t tell whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that Encia was apparently getting along with Sylvia and even the maids. She was as good at making friends as Dorian.
Puhahaha!
Wrath couldn’t suppress his laughter, rolling on the floor while covering his stomach.
That finger woman is your natural enemy!
“Haa…”
Raon closed his eyes as Encia smiled brightly while the maids kept calling him freaking handsome.
‘I’m so tired.’
Home felt so tiring now.
* * *
Burren licked his lips while looking around the Central Martial Palace’s training ground, which he hadn’t visited in a long time.
‘It feels a bit awkward.’
Even though he used to train there every day, he felt strange because it was his first time visiting since he’d joined the Light Wind squad.
‘Am I the one who has changed?’
He felt bitter because he felt alienated even though the wall scratched by his sword and the tree that used to shade him from the sun were still in the same places.
“Does it remind you of old memories because you are visiting here for the first time in such a long time?”
His second brother Gelmia, the squad leader of the Severing Steeds, walked up to him with a bright smile on his face.
“Yeah. I didn’t expect to return here like this.”
He remembered his childhood, where the only objective in his life was to become a swordsman of the Central Martial Palace and be recognized by his father. He felt slightly suffocated from thinking about it because he belonged to the Light Wind squad after getting kicked out of the Central Martial Palace.
“Would you have wanted it to be otherwise?”
Gelmia came up next to him and asked his question.
“For sure. You know that my dream was to be recognized by our father and follow in his footsteps.”
Burren smiled bitterly while touching the scratch on the wall that was made by his own sword.
‘That’s when he complimented me for the first time.’
He remembered how his father patted his head, telling him that it was a sharp strike. It was the first compliment he had ever received, and the only time he got a head pat.
“I’m fine now though.”
Burren took his hand off the scratch on the wall and smiled faintly.
“Are you fine?”
“Yes. It’s because I belong to a place where people need me.”
The Light Wind squad. Being with those guys, who’d been with him for even longer than his brothers, could even wash away the sadness of getting kicked out of the Central Martial Palace. The Light Wind squad’s lodgings felt more like his real home than the Central Martial Palace.
“It’s a relief that you found your place.”
Gelmia smiled gently while patting Burren’s shoulder.
“Thank you.”
“However, Burren. What would you do if I told you that you could return here?”
“What?”
Burren’s eyes widened and he looked back at Gelmia.
“What are you talking abou…”
“I’m asking what your decision would be if you had the right to return to the Central Martial Palace and join the organization that you wanted to.”
Gelmia’s eyes were serious. He didn’t seem to be joking in the slightest.
“What are you trying to tell me?”
“If you can perform two tasks, I can let you join the Central Martial Palace. It won’t be too difficult to achieve your dream of being acknowledged by Father after that.”
Burren’s throat violently wavered upon hearing that.
“You don’t seem to be disinterested, at least.”
“Hmm…”
Burren bit his lip. Getting acknowledged by his father was still his dream and objective.
Even though he joined the Light Wind squad, his objective remained the same.
“My requests aren’t too difficult to achieve.”
“What are the requests?”
Burren nodded, since he figured that it wasn’t a bad idea to check them out since he might decide to return there later.
“Raon Zieghart’s weakness.”
“Brother?”
“You must know since you’ve been with him ever since you were trainees. I want you to tell me his weakness.”
Gelmia was completely casual as he asked about Raon, who was actually his younger cousin, and his weakness. It was so blatant that it almost felt like he was asking about his preference in order to prepare a gift for him.
“Is it strange?”
Gelmia snickered.
“Burren, you know. Raon's rate of growth is unprecedented in the continent. He is an absolute monster. Are you planning to let him stay like that?”
His eyes turned diamond shaped like a snake’s.
“If we don’t deal with him properly right now, you will have to fall behind him for the rest of your life. Your name won’t be heard of anywhere, as Raon Zieghart’s name will be engraved anywhere you go. Do you want that to happen?”
“That’s…”
Burren bit his lip.
‘I know.’
He knew it better than anyone.
It was shameful to admit that he couldn’t even tell him that he would catch up to him anymore because the difference in might between them had grown too large.
“You just need to secretly tell me his weakness and bring him to an appointed location. I’ll properly take care of him without making any noise, so don’t worry about it.”
A frightening smile appeared on Gelmia’s face as he murmured that no one would find out.
“I’m sure you need some time to decide. Since you are supposed to start training in two days, you should decide by tomorrow evening…”
“No.”
Burren clenched his teeth while looking at Gelmia.
“I refuse.”
He shook his head while firmly voicing his refusal.
‘There’s no way I can do that.’
It wasn’t because he didn’t know Raon’s weakness. Raon was his benefactor who had enlightened him from his nasty way of thinking in the past, and even saved his life. Even though that would allow him to achieve his objective and his dream, there was no way he could do that.
“He has no weakness whatsoever, and I wouldn’t tell you about it even if he had one!”
Burren scowled and turned his head away.
“I won’t tell anyone about this because you’ve helped me in the past, but you should stop doing this kind of thing. You will have to go through me before attacking him.”
Burren ground his teeth and went to the exit.
“I’m disappointed in you, brother. Don’t contact me ever again in the futur…Ah.”
He turned around to give a final warning, but Gelmia wasn’t there anymore.
“You are making this difficult.”
“Ah…”
Darkness filled Burren’s sight alongside Gelmia’s quiet voice.
* * *
* * *
Raon pleaded to everyone in the lobby to stop saying ‘freaking handsome’ before following Sylvia into her room.
“Come over here.”
Sylvia tapped the table placed between the sofas where she was sitting, asking him to sit on the other side.
“Okay.”
Raon nodded and sat opposite her.
‘She’s getting started.’
Since he could guess what she’d called on him for, he unconsciously shrank back.
“The duel to death against the Axe King Roman in three years.”
Sylvia said exactly what Raon was expecting her to say. His mouth felt dry, because her voice was gentle yet sad.
“You made such a reckless bet in order to save the others, right?”
As Raon was wondering how he should relieve her worries, she smiled faintly.
“Mom?”
“After everything you’ve achieved and shown me, of course I know that much.”
Sylvia smiled even more gently as she grabbed Raon’s hand.
“You must be still remembering what I told you when you first took up your sword.”
“Hmm…”
She was right. She’d told him to become like the former Zieghart, who helped the weak without running away from the strong, when he first took his sword. That was something he’d always remembered even as she spoke.
“I honestly feel like I shouldn’t have said that. My heart skips a beat whenever you get into trouble during your missions.”
Her eyebrows drooped.
“Your mom knows how amazing you are because she’s led a warrior’s life before.”
Her warmth could be felt from the hands she was holding, and he felt like all of his worries had melted away, even though they were tangled up like a web.
“I thought I was getting used to it, but it feels really suffocating this time. It’s the Axe King Roman, after all…”
Sylvia sighed heavily. Her breathing seemed to reflect the heaviness of her worries.
‘She would be…’
Since her son had only recently become a Master, his promise with a monster at the Grandmaster level in just three years was naturally something to be worried about for a mother.
“Don’t worry. I’m never going to die.”
Raon smiled and tightened his grip.
“I’ll return alive no matter what, even if I have to beg for my life.”
“Why would you say that?! This is where you should say that you will get stronger and win against him!”
Sylvia chuckled. Raon told her that he would return alive, since she was wishing for his safety rather than his victory, and it apparently worked.
“Alright, I have to trust you. Since I already decided to trust you, I have no choice but to watch you.”
She nodded. Her expression was slightly brighter than before.
“I’m okay as long as you are fine with it. Go wash up, dinner is going to be ready pretty soon.”
“Wait a moment.”
Raon caught Sylvia’s wrist as she tried to stand up.
“Mom, don’t you want to get back up?”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking whether you want to fix your mana circuits and energy center.”
Raon bit his slightly trembling lip.
‘I wonder what she wants…’
He hesitated a lot before saying that.
‘Because she’s important to me.’
Since Sylvia was also important to him, he wanted her to stay away from battles without fixing her mana circuits and energy center.
‘But that’s…’
The same as when she tried to stop him.
It was the exact same mistake Sylvia had made before, the one where she forced him to stop becoming a trainee. Even though he could help her and give her the method to cure her condition, she was the one who needed to make that decision.
“Hmm…”
Sylvia couldn’t easily answer, probably because it was an unexpected question.
“This is an artificial energy center that can replace the energy center, and the one next to it is the Elixir of Eternal Flow that can heal the damage to the mana circuits.”
Raon placed the artificial energy center and the Elixir of Eternal Flow on the table.
“It’s not effective for Mom, since your mana circuits are completely severed, but the Saint should be able to improve the effect to the point that it can reconnect the circuits.”
“Hmm…”
“If you want, I’ll find a way to get another artificial energy center and a way to recover your mana circuits no matter what.”
Raon closed his mouth after saying that, waiting for Sylvia’s answer.
“Uhm. Hmm! Hmmmm!”
Sylvia grasped her hair to consider the possibility for a while before she slammed her head on the table.
“M-Mom?”
“Do you remember what I told you before?”
“Which one?”
“The one where I said I never regretted giving birth to you.”
“Ah…”
Raon gave her a small nod.
‘Of course I remember.’
She’d told him that she never regretted meeting his father and giving birth to him. She’d told him that she was extremely happy to have him with her.
“And I still think the same. I’m fine the way I am currently.”
Sylvia slowly raised her head. She smiled while rubbing her forehead, which had turned slightly red.
“However.”
She raised her finger.
“I’d like to grasp the opportunity if I had one. I don’t exactly want to get stronger, but I want to protect you and the people in the annex building.”
“I see…”
Raon smiled faintly.
‘She’s the same as me.’
She was thinking the exact same thing as him. Protecting the annex building was a simple yet unchanging wish they had.
“Just you wait.”
Raon clenched his fist and stood up.
‘I’ll get you back on your feet no matter what.’
* * *
Raon brought Encia to the garden once he left Sylvia’s room.
“What a shame.”
Encia licked her lips.
“I went through so much trouble to get them to say that.”
“I don’t need anyone other than Lady Encia to say something like that.”
“Huh? I suddenly feel better when you put it that way.”
She smiled happily while covering her cheeks.
“Hmm…”
Raon licked his lips. Something always went wrong whenever he talked to her.
“What did you want to talk about with just the two of us? You are welcome any time though.”
“I’d like you to check this one.”
Raon took out the artificial energy center from his inner pocket and handed it out to Encia.
“Hmm?”
Encia’s eyes, which had always been fixated on Raon’s face, briskly went down for the first time.
“Wh-What is…”
“This is an artificial energy center that I obtained from a dungeon.”
“Artificial energy center…”
“I’d like to know if it’s possible to replicate this.”
Encia couldn’t hear him because she was too focused on the artificial energy center.
“The patterns on this energy center are in the ancient language. It’s been more than a thousand years since this item was made. Moreover, it has the perfect proportion. It’s capable of supporting any kind of aura and mana. What a beautiful performance, on top of its proud appearance.”
She examined the artificial energy center for a long time. Her eyes were filled with astonishment and admiration.
“The creator of this energy center must’ve been a genius. I don’t think I can match up to them.”
Encia sighed after examining the energy center for a while. Raon hadn’t seen such a serious expression on her face in a long time.
“Does that mean that it’s impossible to replicate it?”
“Yes. Even if I tried dismantling this one, I can’t guarantee that I would be able to create the same one. I’d likely just end up breaking this energy center in the end.”
“Then how about the head of House Yonaan…”
“Mother wouldn’t be able to do it either. Artifacts with ancient letters are usually designed to break as soon as they are opened.”
“Ah…”
Raon frowned. He did hear about how the items created from the previous era tended to break as soon as people tried dismantling them because replication prevention measures were applied to them.
“However, I think I can make something similar…”
“What?”
“It will have a different shape and performance from that one, but I think I’ll be able to create an artificial energy center.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes. Watching Sir Raon’s face and this artificial energy center’s perfect proportion gave me so many ideas.”
She said she should be able to do it while licking her lips as she looked at the artificial energy center.
“Though, it’s going to take an extremely long time, and I’ll need lots of materials…”
“That doesn’t matter!”
Raon came close to Encia and grabbed her hands.
“Ah…”
Encia’s face turned red in an instant upon seeing Raon’s face up close.
“I-I-It’s possible! Of course!”
Encia’s lips were trembling as she watched Raon’s face.
‘He’s way too handsome.’
His skin was as white as ceramic, while his eyes looked like brilliant gems, and his nose ridge looked as proud as the moon in the sky.
“Please do this for me!”
Encia couldn’t refuse upon hearing Raon’s silvery voice.
“Yep!”
* * *
The next morning, Raon got the artificial energy center back from Encia and went to the highest floor of the Light Wind’s lodgings.
There was only one room up there, and it was used by the previous head instructor, current Light Wind’s squad leader.
Slam!
Raon kicked the door after checking the presence inside. The door burst open, and the scream coming from the inside sounded like a rooster crowing.
“Kieeeh!”
Rimmer came out while screaming, hair completely disheveled.
“Wh-What’s going on? D-Did you just destroy the door?”
“No, I just opened the door.”
Raon pointed his finger at the shaking door.
“Who even opens a door so violently? The entire building’s going to blow up if you tried opening two doors!”
“But this is what you did every day, Sir Rimmer.”
“Ugh…”
Rimmer’s jaw dropped. Since he’d kicked the training ground door open so many times before, he was unable to refute it.
“Wh-Whatever, the door doesn’t matter. Why did you come here so early in the morning?”
“We should get started.”
Raon took the artificial energy center and the Elixir of Eternal Flow from his inner pocket.
“Huh? D-Do you want to start that today?”
“There’s no reason to wait. We should strike the iron while it’s hot.”
“I meaaaaan! We just returned yesterday. I didn’t even manage to recover my stamina…”
“You didn’t even spend any stamina to begin with because you were riding the horse all the way back.”
“Riding a horse requires stamina!”
“Enough of your excuses. Get ready now.”
Raon shook his hand while ignoring Rimmer’s excuses.
“I-I won’t do it! There’s supposed to be a drinking party today to celebrate our return!”
He violently shook his head, saying that he had an appointment at the pub.
“But you already had a drink. Just cancel the appointment.”
Raon furrowed his brows while looking at the liquor bottles spread all around the room.
“No! I’m the squad leader here, despite how I look. How dare you give me orders…”
“You aren’t anymore, though.”
Raon shook his head, pointing at the armband on his forearm. It had the blue wind symbol engraved on it, which signified he was the Light Wind squad leader.
“Sir Rimmer is just an ordinary member of the Light Wind squad from today on, and I’m the temporary squad leader. You must’ve heard him yesterday.”
“Ack!”
Rimmer’s jaw dropped, since he never thought he would bring that up in such a situation.
“I even received the right to supervise your training from the head of house. I’ll consider it as a case of disobedience if you run away now.”
“C-Case of disobedience…”
Rimmer’s teeth clattered.
‘N-No way, this guy… I thought what he did yesterday was for my sake, but was it just to have an easier time handling me?’
He could finally think straight. He realized that was the reason Raon asked for authority of the Light Wind squad and his training.
“R-Raon? Let’s talk it out…”
“I don’t need to talk. Let’s go to the cultivation room.”
Raon bobbed his hand without listening to what Rimmer had to say.
“Argh! I won’t go! I wanna play today!”
Rimmer jumped out the window after covering himself with whatever random clothes he could find. However, that was a huge mistake.
“Ugh! Why are you here?”
“Why else? I was called over by the monster you raised.”
The Gambling Monster had been waiting in front of the lodgings all along. He grinned and caught Rimmer by his neck as he tried to run.
“Aaah…”
Rimmer’s eyes were trembling. He never would have imagined that Raon would even call the Gambling Monster over that early in the morning.
“So, let’s go.”
Raon was already outside as he bobbed his hand.
“We need to shatter your energy center today.”
“Noooooooo!”
Rimmer’s scream could be heard from behind him, but Raon didn’t pay any attention.
...Are you a gangster?
Wrath’s shoulders were trembling in fear.
