Raon and Dorian left the secret passage and returned to the hill, where they could see the orphanage from above.
“I really thought I was going to die.”
Dorian shook his head while wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
“I feel dizzy. I think I was too nervous.”
His unfocused eyes revealed that he’d overexerted himself to protect the children.
“You should be applying medicine to your injuries instead. They will scar if you don’t treat them right away.”
Raon took off the windbreaker he was wearing and shook his hand.
“Ah, indeed.”
Dorian nodded and took a white box containing medicine from his belly pocket. He took out a disinfectant, an ointment, and medicine for internal injury one after the other and placed them on the ground.
“You should use them first, vice squad leader.”
“I’m not injured though.”
“Whaat?”
Dorian’s jaw dropped.
“B-but you said there was a Master among them.”
“I finished him off in no time.”
Raon tapped the longsword hanging around his waist.
“It wasn’t a difficult fight. He was just a beginner-level Master.”
“H-he was still a Master though, even though he was a beginner level! Is it even possible to slay a Master so easily?”
“Yes.”
“W-without leaving any trace?”
“Yes, it’s possible.”
Dorian’s confusion was normal. Since Raon was an intermediate Master, a beginner-level Master should’ve still given him some trouble even if he was about to reach the advanced realm.
‘However… It’s possible for me.’
Raon was practically stronger than an advanced Master. He even knew Lisbon’s techniques in advance. That was why killing him was an easy task.
“Huh…”
Dorian gasped in bewilderment.
“I feel like you destroy my common sense every single time you do something like this.”
He shook his head and started to apply the ointment to his injuries.
Hmph!
Wrath snorted in displeasure.
The King of Essence could’ve killed him with a single finger—no, he doesn’t even need a finger. He could’ve killed with his tongue! You shouldn’t be proud of yourself for killing him with a sword!
He suddenly started to spout bullshit. He seemed dissatisfied by the fact that the person he considered to be his underling was admiring Raon.
“It was an average performance. It was not a big deal.”
Raon nodded his head because Wrath wasn’t exactly wrong.
“I should end myself if that was an average performance.”
Dorian closed the lid of the medical box with a long face.
“I already told you. Different people, different talents.”
Raon chuckled and buried the bloody windbreaker in the ground before burning it up in an instant to prevent the smoke from rising. It was better to completely destroy it instead of wiping off the blood because it was far too bloody.
He removed all traces of the burnt windbreaker before taking two books from his clothes.
‘I didn’t expect this loot.’
The names of Balkar, Owen, and Cameloon’s executives who were associated with the orphanage were written in the book.
He was still lacking evidence to reach all the way to Derus, but it was bound to be useful later on for revealing his true nature.
‘And… This is the best one.’
Raon took a blue bead from his pocket. A single line was carved inside the bead.
‘Who would’ve thought they were hiding this relic in that facility?’
The bead was one of the ancient relics with the ability to increase the power of the water attribute mana of the one who possessed it. Its grade was low, but Raon could clearly feel that Glacier had gotten stronger.
‘He’s the same as before.’
Derus had always worked hard on looking for relics, to the point that he had even formed investigation teams dedicated to it.
The relic was in the facility because it was a low-grade one, and Derus personally managed all the high-grade relics and above.
‘Thank you for the gift.’
Raon put it in his pocket and sneered at the dead Lisbon.
When he finished clearing up the traces on the hill, the knights and children started to exit the orphanage’s entrance.
“Vice squad leader!”
Dorian had finished tending his wound, and he bit his lip while watching them.
“I saw.”
Raon nodded and examined the children’s faces. Pine was standing at the front of the line, and even though she seemed nervous, a faint light of anticipation could be seen in her eyes.
“Look at them! They are holding my snacks!”
Dorian smiled while pointing at the crackers and candies the children were holding. He seemed extremely happy even though he had just given away all of his favorite snacks.
“Good job.”
Raon patted Dorian’s shoulder. The incident was actually completely unrelated to Dorian, yet he still helped to the best of his ability. Raon was thankful for that fact.
‘He’s coming out.’
The last person who exited the orphanage was Borini Kitten, and he was making complicated expressions with various emotions.
‘I’m sorry, and I leave them to you.’
He honestly didn’t want to get Borini Kitten involved, but he was the only person he could entrust the children to.
“They can be treated, can’t they?”
Dorian let out a small sigh while watching the quietly walking children. He must’ve been crying, as his voice sounded teary.
They will be!
Wrath sniffled and nodded.
The King of Essence will make it happen if everything else fails! Don’t worry about it!
They were on the same page because they were the two most tender-hearted people around Raon. He almost wanted to let them meet each other.
“Yes, I’ll have them treated by all means.”
Raon looked at Dorian and Wrath one after the other and nodded.
“Because I promised them that I would get their names back for them.”
He nodded while watching the children’s faces, which had become slightly brighter than before. The brainwashing wasn’t complete because they didn’t go through with the fighting ceremony, where they had to kill their only friend.
Raon was certain that Federick should be able to heal them since he’d been researching brainwashing.
‘Derus must’ve gotten the signal by now.’
Derus didn’t even trust his confidants. Lisbon should’ve been no exception and must’ve had the rage worm inside him, and Derus must’ve noticed his death.
‘He will personally come here because that’s the kind of person he is.’
Since Derus didn’t trust anyone else, he was definitely going to personally visit the orphanage to investigate the traces.
That timeframe was Raon’s goal all along.
‘Have fun wasting your time here…’
An extreme coldness sparked in Raon’s eyes.
Because I’ll be taking your treasure in the meantime.
* * *
Duke Babyroon was considered one of the pillars of the Balkar Kingdom. The banquet hall was located at the center of his huge domain, and the music flowing from it was soft and elegant at the same time.
Derus was drinking with Duke Babyroon inside the banquet hall.
“You even overlooked the man who cut off your son’s arm. You are as broad-minded as always.”
Duke Babyroon smiled while pouring the wine—called Lunatic, which was supposed to be as precious as platinum.
“He didn’t do it on purpose, after all.”
Derus shook his head with a gentle smile on his face.
“His murderous intent crossed the line, but it’s understandable because he’s still young. My son was the problem because he couldn’t withstand it.”
He cleverly slandered Raon’s behavior and showed his own generosity at the same time.
“That’s why I admire you! If it were me, I would’ve cut off that Raon’s arm on the spot to make it equal!”
Duke Babyroon frowned while saying that he wished he had been there when it happened.
“He’s still young, but he’s already infatuated with fame and recklessly uses his blade. I’m sure he isn’t going to last for a long time.”
“You should avoid saying something like that…”
“It just makes me angry! We expected so much from the Blade of Shattering Wave, so how could he cut his arm off in such a horrible manner?! He shows no promise at all!”
“But it’s thanks to him that I could meet you and have a fun conversation together.”
Derus smiled gently and patted Duke Babyroon’s shoulder.
“Huhu, I’m the one who is honored to see you.”
Duke Babyroon lowered his head and twisted his lips slightly.
“We will make sure to restore the Blade of Shattering Wind’s shoulder. We’ve been researching restoration magic for a long time, and I’m sure we can improve his condition.”
Since Babyroon’s magicians specialized in healing, Duke Babyroon’s words signified that it was possible to heal him even though it might take some time.
“Thank you.”
“I just want House Robert and House Babyroon to remain on good terms in the future.”
“Of course… We will—”
Derus nodded at Duke Babyroon and suddenly stopped.
‘The rage worm?!’
The rage worm inside his own head was trembling. He could judge from the sensation that Lisbon’s rage worm had died.
Since the method to remove the rage worm without harming the host hadn’t been discovered, the rage worm’s death signified that a problem had occurred with Lisbon, who was in charge of the ninth farm.
‘What just happened…?’
The ninth farm was where they were raising children who weren’t recognized as shadows yet. Since he’d been extra cautious and was paying attention to that place, he couldn’t believe that a problem had occurred.
Tsk.
Derus briefly clicked his tongue, quietly enough for the duke to not hear him, and sent a message to his butler, Regel, through his will.
[Regel.]
[Yes, my lord.]
Regel responded with an aura message without moving at all.
[Confirm the ninth farm’s state immediately.]
[Yes.]
Even though it was a sudden order, he didn’t ask any questions. He silently moved away and left the banquet hall.
“Balkar and Robert—or, rather, Babyroon and Robert will remain friends in the future.”
Derus smiled to pretend nothing had happened and clinked glasses with Duke Babyroon.
Clank.
Unlike the clear sound of clinking glasses, a strange resonance of darkness was echoing in his heart.
* * *
* * *
After the banquet came to an end, Derus went to an annex building that the duke had lent him during the stay. Regel was waiting in front of the entrance, implying that he had already finished gathering information.
“What happened?”
“Th-there was a problem.”
Regel’s voice was trembling violently, which was rare coming from him.
“I couldn’t contact the ninth farm.”
“You’d better have more things to report.”
Derus coldly looked down on Regel.
“Yes. I ordered a shadow who happened to be nearby to check the farm…”
Regel hesitated to continue, a cold sweat flowing down from his forehead.
“He said the Owen Kingdom’s knights were seen leaving the farm.”
“Owen? Why would they do that?!”
“That is still unknown. He said that Borini Kitten and the Silver Knights brought the young dogs to Owen.”
“How is that even…”
Derus Robert’s lips were trembling violently.
“What about Kabel and Lisbon?!”
“None of the shadows in the orphanage managed to survive. On the other hand, all of the young dogs lived.”
Regel apologetically lowered his head.
‘How is this even possible?’
The fact that someone managed to discover the ninth farm’s location was already strange enough, but all of the young dogs managed to survive while Lisbon and Kabel perished. He couldn’t figure out how that was even possible.
‘Something went wrong.’
It was possible for Lisbon and Kabel to die. However, they should’ve done something before they died. They were educated to blow up the entire orphanage to erase all evidence and the dogs, yet they couldn’t even carry that out and died in vain.
“But we also have the shadows in Owen Castle! Did they report anything about this?!”
“B-Borini Kitten apparently only brought the most trustworthy of the Silver Knights with him. He didn’t even tell anyone where he was going, and they couldn’t obtain any information…”
“……”
Derus wasn’t saying anything.
“When did this assault happen?”
“It happened last night.”
“Does that mean that they didn’t go through the fighting ceremony?”
“That’s correct. That’s why all of the dogs in the facility have survived.”
Regel bit his lip and closed his eyes.
“Hah.”
Derus exclaimed.
“Kuhahahahaha!”
He swept his hair up with a vulgar laugh that he usually didn’t make. He laughed loudly for a while before he grabbed the table.
Tching!
The metallic table, which glittered in gold, and the miscellaneous objects around him were smashed into powder and shattered in the air in an instant.
“Investigate. Find out what happened, and who the perpetrator was. Find out everything.”
Derus’s expression was similar to when he was in the banquet hall, but his eyes were completely dry, as if all the moisture had evaporated.
“Tell them that all of the pigs who were shoved into Owen and Cameloon will lose their heads if they fail to figure this out.”
* * *
Raon and Dorian went to the south and arrived at a city called Motran.
The city was like a crossroad, as the Southwestern route led to the Sephia Company’s headquarters while the southern path led to House Robert.
“I’m starting to feel a bit nervous since we are so close.”
Dorian sighed while unpacking the baggage in the inn.
“M-maybe we should return to Zieghart now. I’m curious how the others are doing…”
“No.”
Raon caught Dorian’s shoulder as he tried to run away and threw him on the ground.
Dorian fell to the ground and sniffled.
“I’m telling you, no one is going to welcome me over there!”
His reaction told Raon that he really had been abused every day at home.
“I don’t want you to see me getting insulted by everyone even in my home!”
“I’m coming with you to stop them from doing that.”
Dorian was shaking his head but suddenly stopped upon hearing Raon’s response.
“What?”
“I’m not about to let a Light Wind swordsman be abused at home.”
His main objective was to destroy the submarine dungeon that Derus was trying so hard to conquer, but he had no intention of doing a half-assed job at Dorian’s house. He was going to make sure to teach everyone who looked down on Dorian in the Sephia Company a lesson.
“Ah…”
Dorian’s jaw dropped. Raon’s statement must’ve been completely unexpected to him.
“B-but our company is in the top five…”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m a vice squad leader from Zieghart of the Six Kings.”
Raon smiled faintly and tapped on Dorian’s shoulder.
“Th-that’s true. People even started calling you the White Sword Dragon…”
Dorian swallowed nervously. He was the vice squad leader of the Light Wind squad who was rumored to be the biggest rising star, and he was even given a title with the word dragon in it, which signified that he was the strongest among the young warriors. It was obvious that no one was going to underestimate him.
“You should stay around here and resupply. I’ll be away for a few days.”
“What? Where are you going?”
“I’m taking measures to prevent them from attacking the children.”
Raon stood up with a cold glimmer in his eyes.
“I-I also want to help if I can!”
Dorian said he also wanted to help the children and followed him.
“No, I need to do this alone.”
Since Martio himself or someone as strong as him would be inside the submarine dungeon, Dorian would be immediately found out if he entered.
Raon couldn’t predict at all what was going to happen, and that was why bringing Dorian with him was a terrible idea for both of them.
“Uhh, alright…”
Dorian hung his head in disappointment.
“But you can still help me.”
“Wh-what can I do?”
“Do you have a subspace pocket?”
“Of course I do!”
He immediately nodded and took a subspace pocket from his belly pocket.
“But it can’t hold that many items. Its compression ratio is only ten times.”
“Hmm…”
Raon licked his lips while looking back and forth between the subspace pocket and Dorian’s belly pocket.
‘Well, this is more normal.’
A subspace pocket’s value depended on the compression ratio. Even famous warriors and rich people’s subspace pockets had a limit, but Dorian’s belly pocket didn’t have any limits at all.
Since such a priceless treasure was given to Dorian just because its function wasn’t explained, Raon could guess that the company’s president might not hate him after all.
“You should stay here and pick a gift for the president in the meantime.”
“But my house deals with all kinds of items, and there’s nothing new I can bring…”
“It doesn’t matter. You should pick something anyway.”
Raon pressed on Dorian’s shoulder as if he were threatening him.
“Ah, yes…”
Dorian was trembling as he nodded.
“I’ll be back.”
Raon chuckled, he was going to leave the room, only to turn around instead.
“…Do you have some parsley by any chance?”
* * *
Raon left Motran right away and ran towards House Robert at full speed.
Where are you going?
Wrath tilted his head in bewilderment.
‘You will find out once we are there.’
Ugh, you just have so many secrets…
He wrinkled his nose in displeasure.
The King of Essence is aware that you aren’t normal.
‘Would you like some salt-grilled shrimp for lunch?’
S-salted shrimp…
‘With some lobsters on top!’
Ooh!
Wrath immediately forgot what he was asking and licked his lips.
Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at Wrath.
‘This isn’t going to work forever. He might have already realized it in the worst-case scenario.’
However, it was something he had to do. Even if he couldn’t obtain anything from the dungeon, he had to prevent Derus from gaining even more power.
‘I don’t have that much time.’
He had to spend four days in Cameloon. He managed to buy some time by destroying the orphanage, but he still needed to destroy the submarine dungeon as fast as possible before reaching the Sephia Company to avoid any suspicion when his trip was disclosed.
‘I’m feeling great though. After all, I did everything I wanted to do in Cameloon.’
He managed to get his revenge against Lisbon and saved all of the children. He was satisfied by that, and he couldn’t stop his laughter whenever he thought about how angry Derus would be as he scolded his subordinates.
‘The only bad part is that I couldn’t witness that scene.’
He wanted to see that distorted face from Derus, and it was regrettable that he couldn’t. He was getting jealous of Regel, who should’ve witnessed that scene from up close.
Raon ran all day long while looking forward to Derus’s distorted face, then set about finding a spot to sleep next to a small lake.
“Hmm…”
He briefly exhaled while looking at the bush, the area vacant.
“Merlin, you must be there. Aren’t you?”
His aura perception was telling him that there was nothing but a few wild animals, but Merlin should’ve been among them.
“I’ll grant your wish. Come out.”
Since he had to repay the favor, he preferred to do it sooner rather than later. He wanted to do it right away if possible.
‘I’m fully prepared this time.’
He figured that Merlin liked small animals as her vessel and brought some grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables, bugs, candy, and even crackers. He even brought some parsley and celery. He was confident he could deal with any animal she used.
Thud.
However, Merlin didn’t appear immediately. It took about thirty seconds before a lion pushed its way through the bush with heavy footsteps.
“Were you looking for me?”
The lion’s voice was heavy, but it had a refreshing tone somehow.
Huh.
“……”
‘I don’t have any food for lions…’
