Raon left the Black Market and headed to the Sephia company. The merchants’ gazes were stabbing into them like arrows when they passed by the company’s shopping district.
“Th-their stares are frightening.”
Dorian swallowed nervously upon feeling their gazes.
“Why are they looking at us like that?”
“They are trying to check if you brought a drake.”
The news about Adis Sephia asking them to bring in a drake to decide on his successor was spread throughout the company.
It was only natural for the merchants to be frantic about it since the matter was going to decide who was going to be the next president.
“He didn’t bring anything.”
“It must be inside his subspace pocket.”
“Which means he should’ve only brought some claws and bones, just like the third lady.”
“It could be even worse.”
“He went with the White Sword Dragon though. He should’ve brought that much at least.”
The merchants ascertained that they had only brought a few parts instead of an entire drake as they watched Raon and Dorian walk toward the central administration building.
“I guess the second young master will become the successor after all.”
“That should be the case. I never imagined anyone could bring an entire drake in a single week!”
“His connections are really amazing.”
“It’s a priceless treasure.”
The merchants who followed Dorian’s second brother, Dialon, believed that the winner was already decided, judging by the smiles on their faces.
“Bullshit.”
“The first young master hasn’t returned yet.”
“You shouldn’t keep your expectations too high.”
“That’s right. Sir Jeser is going to bring something even better than a stuffed drake.”
“Don’t blame me if you end up crying later.”
The merchants who followed the first son, Jeser, glared angrily at the merchants supporting Dialon.
“The first young master might even bring an entire drake that he’s defeated.”
“Yes. Moreover, its size is going to be incomparable to a stuffed drake.”
“I’m looking forward to how this trial is going to end.”
The easygoing smile on some of the merchants’ faces implied that they must’ve already heard about Jeser bringing a drake he had defeated.
“The winner is going to be either the first or the second young master.”
“It was already obvious from the beginning.”
“It’s a shame that the third lady was defeated so easily. I didn’t think she would lose like that.”
“I had some expectations for Young Master Dorian because he brought the White Sword Dragon with him, but I guess he’s too young after all.”
“It can’t be helped. All he’s done is train swordsmanship in Zieghart, after all.”
The merchants were only talking about Jeser and Dialon—as if they were the only candidates left for the competition.
“Ugh…”
Dorian stopped walking in front of the central administration building with trembling hands.
“Why aren’t you entering?”
“I’m so frustrated! I’m going to show them what we brought!”
He put his hand in his belly pocket and turned around in to show the drake to the merchants.
“Haa.”
Raon sighed and hit the back of Dorian’s head.
Smack!
With a loud bang that sounded like the cracking sound of a watermelon, Dorian sank to the ground while grasping his head.
“Aaaaack!”
He raised his head with teary eyes.
“Wh-why did you hit me?!”
“Why would you even show that to them when we’ve been hiding the information on purpose?”
Raon created an aura barrier to stop the sound from spreading out and shook his head.
“What?”
“No one believes you will win the trial, right? Even though it’s not even over yet, they all believe that one of your brothers will be the successor.”
“Y-yes, that’s why I want to tell them…”
Dorian furrowed his brow while rubbing his belly pocket.
“That’s not what you should do.”
Raon briefly clicked his tongue at Dorian.
“Just imagine, you will take that thirty-five-meter-long drake from your stupid belly the moment your brothers are assured about their victory and the merchants are about to celebrate. What do you think is going to happen?”
“Th-they will be bamboozled.”
“Don’t you want to see those bamboozled faces?”
“I-I do! I want to see! Please let me see them!”
Dorian nodded, his eyes as round as Wrath’s when he was hungry.
“That’s why you should suppress your urge for now. The humiliation you are feeling right now is nothing compared to the exhilaration you will feel soon enough.”
Raon patted Dorian’s shoulder and smiled.
‘It needs to be shocking to let him take over the company.’
Not only the staff from the central administration building, but all the merchants in the surrounding area were going to gather when they announced the result of the trial.
Taking out that drake the moment everyone believed it was Jeser’s victory was bound to leave a powerful impression in the merchants’ minds, as they had been underestimating Dorian.
As a result, it was going to be a huge step towards taking over the company.
The company is apparently already yours in your mind.
Wrath frowned at Raon.
‘It will in fact be mine—I mean, Dorian’s.’
See?! You said it was yours once again!
‘You sound sane for once. Did you enjoy the macaron?’
Denning Rose had shared some of the macarons in the Black Market, and Wrath had returned to normal after having his fill.
It was awesome. The King of Essence would’ve taken that girl as his subordinate if it wasn’t for what happened.
Wrath licked his lips, saying that it was unfortunate that Lucy, the village chief’s granddaughter, had decided to give him the macarons before the pie.
‘You are really bad at describing taste.’
Raon sighed at Wrath.
‘You should try taking after Denning Rose when it comes to describing the taste. She was making it worthwhile to give her the food.’
Denning Rose’s descriptions of the berry pie and macaron were as elegant as a gourmet’s.
Since Raon agreed with her to a certain extent, it even made him want to give her more desserts in the future.
The King of Essence can also do it if he tries!
‘Try it, then.’
Ugh…
Wrath scratched his chin with his round fist before he suddenly raised his head.
The macaron’s cookie was as crispy as tree bark and the berry cream was as soft as a rag!
‘……’
He seemed to be copying the comparison that Denning Rose had made, but it was completely different. Raon couldn’t even begin to guess where he should start with the criticism.
‘You have no talent.’
Sniff…
‘Just give up.’
* * *
Raon told Dorian to rest and went to Palen’s room.
Knock Knock.
Raon knocked, and an irritated voice could be heard from inside.
“Who’s there?!”
It was followed by footsteps that were as irritated as her voice before the door was opened.
“I said no one was allow—Gasp!”
Palen started shouting, her hair disheveled, but she suddenly shut mouth.
“W-welcome.”
She was acting like a savage beast but suddenly shrunk into a herbivore upon seeing Raon.
Raon looked around. No one was around, and he could guess it was because Palen had made them leave. Raon casually entered her room as if it were his home.
“H-how did it go?”
“I’ll be the one asking questions.”
Raon curtly interrupted her.
“P-please excuse me.”
Her eyes showed that she was still being crushed by fear.
“Did you get any messages from the Black Snake before I returned?”
“Th-there was no message. I left a piece of cloth on the window, but no one came to visit…”
Palen shook her head and told him that they never connected her after she gave them the information.
“I knew it.”
Raon chuckled and nodded.
‘He must be planning to get rid of the Black Snake.’
An assassin organization normally had to pay compensation if a mission ended up a failure—that, or announce their failure before dispatching additional assassins to complete their mission.
The fact that they didn’t do either signified that Derus was planning on erasing the name of Black Snake from the world.
‘It’s so obvious what you are planning to do next. He won’t attack me anymore for a while since I defeated him three whole times.’
It was the third time he’d lost to Raon, and since even the orphanage and the submarine dungeon were taken away from him, Derus was bound to regain his cool from his extreme anger considering his personality.
Considering that he was even getting rid of the Black Snake, he must’ve been planning to gather information instead of getting involved with Raon, all to ambush his shady part or weakness later on.
‘I still can’t be careless though.’
Derus was extremely persistent and rational. It was necessary to prepare for the worst even if he could tell what he was thinking.
Raon put his thoughts together before he turned his head towards Palen.
“Did you bring the articles for the trial?”
“Yes. But it looks like it’s already over for us.”
Palen started chewing on her lip.
“My second brother is bringing an entire drake, and my eldest brother shouldn’t lose to him. It must be impossible for us to win at this point.”
She seemed to believe that they’d failed to kill the drake from the Jamari mountain range, probably because she saw Dorian returning empty-handed.
“Indeed.”
Since it was unnecessary to tell Palen about what happened, Raon simply nodded before standing up.
“I won’t be visiting you. Do you understand what I mean?”
“I-I must forget what happened so far…”
“You are pretty smart.”
Raon smiled at her and grabbed her chin.
“You will have to completely erase it from your memory, to the point where you won’t open your mouth even when you are drunk or brainwashed. She will come back to get you if a problem occurs because of this.”
“Hieeeh!”
As soon as he told her that Merlin would return, Palen started freaking out and fell on her ass while struggling.
“I-I absolutely won’t tell anyone! So, please! Please…”
Palen went on her knees and begged for forgiveness.
“Just keep your mouth tight.”
Raon pointed at her mouth with his finger and looked down at her.
“Yes, yes! Absolutely!”
Palen frantically nodded with bloodshot eyes. Considering her terrified state, Raon figured that she had no intention of talking about it for the rest of her life.
‘I wonder what Merlin even did to make her so terrified.’
Raon laughed bitterly while leaving Palen’s room.
Th-the King of Essence doesn’t even want to know.
Wrath started to tremble as he thought about Merlin.
It’s better to not know when it comes to a madwoman like her!
He desperately shook his head, saying that he didn’t want to know or see her.
‘You said you had experienced something similar in the past, right?’
Indeed! That one stuck to him like a leech.
‘A leech, you say…’
He walked towards his room while talking to Wrath, and there he found Dorian and Ligwin, Adis’s butler, in front of his room.
“Sir Raon, the president would like to see you. Do you have time right now?”
Ligwin bowed politely.
“I do. Let’s go.”
Raon nodded. Since he somewhat expected it to happen, he followed Ligwin to the president’s office.
He opened the office door and entered. Adis was working on documents from his desk. He was sitting with the exact same posture in the exact same room as their previous visit.
“It’s been a while.”
Adis put down his pen on the document and raised his eyes to look at Raon.
“How did it go?”
“You should ask the person in question instead of me.”
Raon pointed at Dorian with a smile on his face.
“Hmm…”
Adis nodded and looked at Dorian instead.
“Did you bring what I’ve asked for?”
“Yes…”
Dorian nodded hopelessly. He seemed to have understood what Raon had told him previously.
“Judging from your gloomy answer, you must’ve failed to acquire what you wanted.”
“Hmm…”
He must’ve been avoiding the response because he wasn’t good at lying.
“The problem with drakes isn’t simply the fact that it’s a powerful monster. You shouldn’t be too ashamed that you couldn’t defeat one or acquire a sample. However…”
Adis glared coldly at Dorian.
“That’s what average companies would say. Since you are trying to stand at the peak of Sephia, you will have to create a drake even if you can't find one.”
“I-indeed.”
Dorian nodded while fidgeting his fingers. His flushed cheeks hinted at his urge to take out the drake to brag about it.
‘Well, of course he would.’
He must’ve been suppressing his urge since he usually loved to take things out of his belly pocket and brag about them, and he finally had an opportunity to show off in front of his father, who had been looking down on him.
However, it was necessary to endure for an even larger gain.
“Take out what you brought. I’ll take a look to find out how good it is.”
Adis’s voice was cold, but his gesture was gentle. He seemed to be trying to advise him.
“N-no.”
Dorian grasped his belly pocket tightly and shook his head.
“Why not?”
“I have to wait until the anticipation is at its peak…”
“Anticipation?”
“I-I didn’t say that! Sniff!”
He looked at Raon with trembling lips.
‘Haa…’
Raon sighed in his mind and closed his eyes.
“I need to see what you brought to…”
“No! Because the information might be leaked to the other candidates if the president saw what I brought!”
Dorian raised his head and yelled.
Raon smiled faintly while looking back at Dorian.
‘That wasn’t too bad.’
He seemed to be saying whatever came to his mind, but it was a nice way to refuse against Adis.
“Are you telling me that I might be your enemy?”
“I-indeed.”
“Hmm…”
Adis stroked his chin and nodded. His eyes looked even calmer than before, but the passion deep inside his eyes was burning even more strongly than before. He seemed to approve of Dorian's response.
“Alright, you can leave now. See you on the appointed day for the trial.”
Adis shook his hand, showing that he wasn’t going to care about it anymore.
“Ah…”
Dorian’s lips trembled because of his cold reaction and rubbed his belly pocket.
“Erm…”
“Let’s go.”
Raon bowed to Adis and dragged Dorian out of the office before he made a mistake.
“Hmm…”
Ligwin smiled gently while looking at the door where Dorian and Raon had left.
“The fourth young master has definitely grown up.”
“Yes. He confidently declared that while seeing me as an enemy. He indeed changed a lot.”
Adis lightly tapped on the desk with his finger and nodded.
“Certainly, his companion seemed to be an important factor. The White Sword Dragon. He’s not a person that can be judged simply from his age and might.”
Ligwin nodded. He looked proud of Dorian’s growth.
“That’s why it’s called a bond.”
Adis picked up the pen that he’d previously put down with a satisfied smile on his face.
“I’m looking forward to the trial. He must’ve brought something interesting.”
* * *
* * *
The final day of the trial for succession had arrived, and it was also the day of the Gray Hammer guild’s visit.
Raon lightheartedly went to the company’s training ground.
Countless people were already settled in the training ground, and it looked like the Sephia company’s merchants had gathered from all around the continent.
“This makes me realize once again how many merchants are affiliated to the company.”
Dorian swallowed nervously while looking around the training ground full of merchants.
“It’s only natural that they are here, as we are deciding on who is going to be the next president.”
Whoever became the successor could completely change the future of the Sephia company’s merchants, and that was why they were all visiting the central administration building despite their busy schedules.
“Are all of them going to be my subordinates once I become the president?”
“Yes. You will have to take responsibility for all of them. Can you do it?”
“I-I’m honestly not confident. But…”
Raon turned to look at Dorian. His neck was trembling behind his lowered head.
“I think I might be able to do it if others help me.”
Dorian quietly raised his face. Even though his eyes were trembling, a dim glow of determination could be seen.
That cowardly child is finally saying something likable.
Wrath’s smile was proud as he praised him for once.
‘Indeed. Asking for help takes courage.’
“I like your answer.”
Raon nodded in satisfaction.
“Asking for help from trustworthy people is a great method if you can’t do it on your own.”
“Th-thank you! You are also going to help me, right? Vice squad leader!”
“I’m expensive though, and extremely expensive at that. You know that fact, don’t you?”
“Err…”
“You will also have to pay in advance for remaining friends.”
“Ah, sure…”
Dorian’s eyebrows drooped, and his lips turned pale.
Why are you bullying the King of Essence’s subordinate again?!
Wrath barked while grabbing Raon’s sleeve.
‘Because it’s fun.’
Raon tapped on Dorian’s shoulder and went to the center of the training ground. The second son, Dialon, and the third daughter, Palen, were already waiting there.
An entire drake a bit smaller than twenty meters in size was placed in front of Dialon, and drake claws, teeth, and a horn were neatly displayed in front of Palen.
‘Jeser isn’t here yet.’
The first son, Jeser, hadn't arrived in the company yet. Raon could only laugh because he could tell what he was trying to achieve.
Raon went next to Palen along with Dorian.
“H-hello.”
“It’s been a while.”
Palen awkwardly greeted them, while Dialon frowned slightly as he lowered his head. Their expressions were rather gloomy even though they had brought the materials for the trial.
It looked like they were already aware of what Jeser was going to bring.
“We are just sidekicks now. The winner is already decided, our older brother has won.”
Dialon bit his lip tightly while looking down at the stuffed drake.
“Why is the young master Dialon looking so gloomy?”
“I know, right? Why does he look like he gave up on the competition even though he brought an entire drake?”
“Did you still not hear the rumors? The young master Jeser is bringing a drake a lot bigger than that one!”
“Really? Why is he not here then?”
“He’s waiting for the perfect moment to appear.”
The rumor seemed to have already spread, and people believed that the first son, Jeser, was going to be the successor without any doubt.
Thud!
Before the sun reached the center of the sky, the training ground’s door opened wide and the Sephia company’s president, Adis, made his appearance.
He moved in front of the three successor candidates with calm yet powerful steps.
“Our clients from the Gray Hammer guild are going to arrive soon. I’ll check out what you’ve brought before they do.”
Adis looked at the three successor candidates one after the other with his hands folded behind his back.
“President.”
Dialon raised his hand and narrowed his eyes.
“Our brother Jeser hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Keeping the time limit is also an important quality for a merchant. If he’s still not here at noon, he will be disqualified regardless of the drake he brough—”
“Take it easy, please.”
Adis was frowning and Dialon’s face was getting flushed when Jeser’s casual voice could be heard.
“Wh-what?!”
“Where is he?”
“He’s above us!”
“He’s coming from above!”
Everyone raised their heads upon hearing the merchant’s shout. A dark spot next to the sun, which looked like a star in broad daylight, became bigger and bigger before falling at the center of the training ground.
Whaam!
The impact wasn’t too strong—probably because he’d used a spell—but a thick pile of yellow dust surged over the training ground.
Whoosh!
Ligwin shook his hand, and the dust subsided to reveal what had just fallen into the training ground.
There was something huge tied with thick fabric on top of a gray plank that surpassed thirty meters in length.
“I’m not considered late since it isn’t noon yet, right?”
Jeser arrived while riding the plank and walked up to Adis.
“Hmm…”
Adis slowly nodded.
“Yes. You’ve arrived exactly on time.”
“Thank you.”
Jeser bowed politely. His gesture and expression were brimming with a winner’s composure.
“It looks like the others have already taken out what they brought. In that case, I shall also show you mine.”
He went back to the plank, took off the black fabric covering his item, and sent it flying. The fabric soared into the sky like a flapping flag, and the drake that had been hiding underneath was finally revealed.
Jeser’s subordinates came up to him and stretched the drake’s head and tail to the sides. Its size was huge enough to fill half of the training ground, it was a colossal drake, far surpassing twenty-five meters in length.
“Wooow!”
“I-is that really a drake?”
“How is it even so big?! Are you sure it’s not a dragon?”
“Th-this is crazy. The result is already decided, it’s so obvious now!”
“Young Master Jeser is going to be the successor.”
The merchants filling the training ground started to shout. Judging from their cheers echoing throughout the sky, Raon could guess that a lot more merchants were following Jeser than the other candidates to begin with.
“Kuh…”
“Damn it…”
Dialon and Palen bit their lips tightly upon seeing the drake that Jeser had brought. They couldn’t even think about competing against him because of the huge difference in size.
“Hmm.”
Jeser was proudly standing there and enjoyed the gazes that were only focused on him.
Raon smiled faintly while watching him.
‘It’s going exactly according to my expectations. He arrived at the last moment just so he could create this scene.’
With Jeser’s connections, it should’ve been possible to arrive earlier by using magic in the worst case, yet he hadn’t arrived until the appointed day. He must’ve been planning to make a grand entry to win the merchants’ hearts.
‘It was great. However…You will be the sidekick in the end.’
Raon had the feeling that it would become even more interesting thanks to his appearance.
“The winner is already decided.”
Jeser arrogantly looked down on the other successor candidates.
Just like in the dining hall, he didn’t even look at Dorian. He wasn’t even considered his brother or a competitor in his mind.
“Shouldn’t we have my siblings go back hom—?”
“No.”
Adis raised his hand and interrupted Jeser.
“Dorian didn’t take anything out yet.”
“He simply didn’t bring anything, did he?”
“I wonder, I’m not sure myself.”
Adis looked at Dorian and Raon standing behind him.
“If you brought anything, then take it out now.”
“Yes.”
Dorian swallowed nervously and stepped forward.
“Please stay back, everyone.”
He shook his hand towards Palen, Dialon, Jeser, and the subordinates behind them. Moreover, he even asked the spectators to stand back.
“What is he even asking us to do all this?”
“Isn’t he just trying to bluff?”
“He might be, like a last struggle.”
“I guess he wants some attention.”
People moved back because Adis was watching them but shook their heads while laughing at Dorian.
“Haa…”
Dorian slowly caught his breath and looked at Raon.
“Do it.”
“Yes!”
Once he saw Raon’s smile of consent, he put his hand into the belly pocket. The first thing that came out was the head of a small reptile which looked like a lizard.
“Wahahahaha!”
“What the hell is that?!”
“Why did he bring a lizard when he was supposed to bring a drake?!”
“It’s ove—huh?”
“Gasp!”
However, the moment the reptile’s head came out from his belly pocket, it suddenly expanded and turned into a drake’s head—big enough to swallow multiple people whole.
“Aaaaah…”
“H-how is that…?”
“Gasp!”
The moment the over thirty-five-meter-long body of a drake finished coming out of Dorian’s belly pocket, the successor candidates—including Jeser—dropped their jaws. They actually looked like they were dislocated.
Both the loud and quiet celebrations for Jeser’s victory suddenly disappeared, and the entire training ground fell silent.
Raon smiled while watching that quiet scene.
‘I was looking forward to those expressions.’
