Chapter 516

“Are you that Aries Zieghart?”

Aries Zieghart nodded furiously while looking at Raon.

“What did you even hear about me, to be calling me ‘that’ Aries Zieghart?”

She furrowed her brow and twisted her lips. She looked like a thug in the backstreet trying to extort money from a poor child.

“Hmm…”

Raon narrowed his brow while looking at Aries’s face.

‘She is indeed my mother’s sister. The layout of her facial features is similar to hers.’

Aries’s facial features were bigger and more distinct than Sylvia’s, but they gave off a similar impression.

Since she looked like she was around thirty years old, they would’ve looked extremely similar if it weren’t for her tanned skin.

“Hey, answer me.”

Aries came up right in front of him and bobbed her finger. Her vulgar way of speaking made her look like she was threatening him.

“What did you hear about me in that damned house?”

“I was just wondering if you really existed since I’ve never seen you.”

“Really? Didn’t the other shitheads say anything about me?”

“It’s true. I only heard that you were an amazing person occasionally.”

Raon nodded with peaceful eyes.

“Well, I guess they would’ve avoided running their mouths about me if they didn’t have a death wish.”

Aries Zieghart laughed cheerfully and clapped her hands to dust them off.

‘She looked so carefree.’

Her cheerful personality seemed to match her looks. It was difficult to believe that someone from Zieghart had such a bright personality.

Huh?

Wrath scratched his chin while looking at Aries.

Is she Mom’s sister?

‘She’s not your mom.’

She indeed has a similar nature.

He ignored Raon’s comment and examined Aries’s face from various angles.

But why is she even here?

‘I don’t know.’

Raon faintly shook his head and looked at Aries’s face once again.

“Lady Aries.”

“What’s up?”

“Why am I here?”

“I already told you, I kidnapped you.”

Aries shook her hand with an indifferent expression on her face, one that seemed to be wondering why he was asking the same question again.

“You were serious about that?”

“Yes. I found you dying on a backstreet, so I decided to kidnap you.”

“Ah…”

Raon groaned quietly.

‘So she saved me rather than kidnapping me.’

He could finally understand what had happened. He had fainted in the backstreet because of Wrath, and she must’ve found him and treated him.

He expressed his gratitude towards her and lowered his head.

However, he still had a few more questions.

“May I ask why you were in a backstreet at that late hour?”

“It’s because of me.”

Kuberad stepped forward instead of Aries.

“We were grabbing equipment from my previous workshop and ended up returning at a late hour, and she suddenly dragged me there while saying that she felt a strange energy.”

Kuberad laughed bitterly, saying that he hadn’t expected to find Raon there.

“I see.”

Raon could understand how they ended up meeting each other. Wrath had caused a large turbulence in mana as he disappeared, and she must’ve noticed that.

‘It’s not exactly strange.’

Aries was a warrior who had reached transcendence. She was definitely capable of feeling that much mana from far away.

“Then why am I here?”

“You are asking that question a third time already. I kidnapped you!”

“No, I mean, why…?”

She said it was the third time, but he still had to ask. She could’ve left him at the kingdom’s healing ward if it was because of injury, so he couldn’t understand why he brought him on board.

“I was just bored.”

Aries half-heartedly responded while picking her ear.

“Huh…?”

Raon gasped in response to that ridiculous answer.

“You were bored?”

“Yes, I was bored.”

Aries’s chin dimpled deeply. She seemed to be entertained by the situation.

“Wait, but…”

“I’ve never met anyone like you, who becomes more and more childish as you get older.”

Kuberad sighed and threw the two swords he was holding at Raon.

“Ah!”

Raon caught the two swords and smiled faintly. It was Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem. The glowing scabbard implied that he had done maintenance on them for him.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Kuberad’s personality was the same as before. He shook his hand as if it weren’t a big deal and leaned his back against a cabin door.

“She didn’t bring you for any special reason. She said you required urgent treatment because of the injury in your head.”

Raon remembered the hole in his mental world upon hearing the answer. The blue mana that was stopping the hole’s expansion was similar to the wave from Aries’s energy.

That’s right.

Wrath nodded while looking at Aries.

That woman stopped the hole in your mental world from expanding.

‘Yes, I also noticed it.’

Raon sighed quietly and bowed at Aries.

“Thank you, Lady Aries.”

“Do you have a hobby of repeating yourself?”

Aries furrowed her brow, asking how many times he had to thank her before he was satisfied.

“And I’ve already received the payment.”

“What?”

“It’s about the food from where you fainted. All of it was delicious.”

She smiled, saying that he did a good job of picking the delicacies.

Youuuuu!

Wrath frantically jumped at Aries.

Cursed asshole!

His blue eyes darted around nervously. His eyes were filled with madness.

How could you steal the King of Essence’s food?! He will never forgive you!

Wrath violently ground his teeth, saying that he wouldn’t forget the grudge even after ten thousand years.

“I’m glad to hear that you ate them since they would’ve been thrown away if you left them alone.”

Raon smiled faintly while ignoring Wrath’s face, which had turned completely red.

Relieved? Did you just say relieved? The King of Essence isn’t relieved at all, so why are you relieved about it?!

Wrath deeply lowered his eyebrows, telling him to stop his bullshit.

“Ah, there was one food I didn’t like. That strange green ice cream with chocolate chips. It wasn’t to my liking at all.”

Aries shook her head, saying that the mint chocolate ice cream tasted like shit.

“I agree, that one isn’t too good.”

Raon smiled, saying that she had a good taste.

Did you just criticize the King of Essence after eating for free? You must be insane! You need to learn terror! Let the King of Essence advent right now! He needs to teach that bad eater the greatness of mint chocolate…

Wrath rampaged and unleashed a powerful emotion of wrath.

‘Hmm…’

Raon swallowed his groan with trembling fingers.

‘This is another change.’

Wrath’s rampage brought a slight pain to his heart. It must’ve been because he’d received a large amount of wrath.

He felt like he had returned to the times when he used to compete against Wrath.

Whir!

He had to activate the Ring of Fire for the fluttering feeling to subside.

‘Calm down a bit, please.’

He pushed Wrath away as he was venting his irritation and looked at Aries.

“Can I ask one last question?”

“I’m listening.”

“By any chance…”

Raon continued while looking at the crew that was doing their job on the deck and the fluttering sail.

“Lady Aries, are you the Pirate King?”

Her transcended might, the slightly cute skull emblem on the sail, and the appearance of the sailors made him think about a certain person.

The Pirate King from the Five Divine Orders. That was the only person who would lead such a faction. He asked it like a question, but he was certain she was the Pirate King.

“No.”

However, Aries firmly shook her head. She raised her finger and pointed to her right.

“He is the Pirate King.”

Raon looked to the right, following her long and thin finger that looked like Sylvia’s.

With his neatly balding head, an eyepatch over his left eye, a beard reaching his neck, and a large sword, the middle-aged man standing there objectively looked like a pirate.

“What?”

Raon’s jaw dropped.

‘Is he the Pirate King?’

He did look like the Pirate King in appearance, but his might seemed to be at the entry level of Grandmaster.

It was an extraordinary realm, but he wasn’t powerful enough to be one of the Five Divine Orders.

“He is the Pirate King. Try talking to him.”

Aries Zieghart took a piece of candy from her pocket and threw it at Raon to wish him good luck before going to a hammock hanging between the masts.

“Hmm, excuse me…”

Raon looked at him while fiddling with the candy.

“It’s true that I’m the Pirate King, even though I was forced to carry that name…”

The man, who was forced to be called the Pirate King, carefully introduced himself.

“My name is Rabawin.”

“Were you at Zieghart before by any chance?”

The way he spoke felt familiar. Raon had a feeling that he might have left Zieghart, just like Aries.

“Yes, I was. I used to be the Raging Wave division leader from the Holy Martial Palace.”

The Holy Martial Palace didn’t exist anymore, and Aries used to be its palace master.

“Then please speak more casually towards me, since I’m your junior…”

“But you are Lady Aries’s nephew. I feel better this way.”

Rabawin smiled gently while speaking to him politely. He seemed to be polite because he respected Aries a lot. He was a nice person, unlike his title as the Pirate King.

“By the way, why did you become the Pirate King, Sir Rabawin?”

“To protect the surrounding areas.”

“Surrounding areas…?”

“We’ve been taking care of the real pirates and the South-North Union in the ocean, but small fries kept picking a fight with the coastal cities and villages. We are currently protecting those regions with the name of the Pirate King.”

“Ah…”

Raon licked his lips while looking back and forth between Rabawin and Aries.

‘I can finally understand.’

He’d heard about the Pirate King for the first time from Judiel’s information.

He’d thought it was strange that someone would call themself the Pirate King, and it was Rabawin. He had spread his name as the Pirate King to protect the coastal villages.

‘And the Thespian Emperor has never mentioned that the Pirate King was a man.’

The Thespian Emperor had always referred to the Pirate King as ‘that person’ or ‘the Pirate King’, but she never called them a he or a she.

She must’ve been aware of the fact that Aries was the real Pirate King instead of Rabawin.

‘So this is what happened.’

Raon managed to understand the situation from the conversation with Rabawin.

Aries must’ve decided to protect the surrounding areas after driving away the pirates and the South-North Union.

“I can finally understand. But why isn’t Lady Aries the Pirate King…?”

“She said she couldn’t be bothered.”

“I-I see.”

Raon smiled faintly while watching the hammock, which was shaking slightly. He felt like he was getting a grasp on Aries’s personality.

“It must’ve been hard.”

“Thank you for your understanding. Actually…”

Rabawin sighed and raised his eyepatch. His left eye was perfectly fine.

“This is just for appearance. She forced it on me, saying that the Pirate King has to be one-eyed.”

“Huh…”

Raon gasped and looked at the slightly shaking hammock.

He felt like it was necessary to change his earlier thoughts. He couldn’t tell exactly yet what kind of person Aries was.

“By any chance, your hair…”

“Ah, about that…”

Rabawin didn’t give his answer.

* * *

Sylvia swallowed nervously and raised her gaze. The iron gate of the audience chamber was so high that it pained her neck to look up at it. She caught her breath while looking at the terrifying door that made her heart pound whenever she saw it.

She didn’t want to knock on the door, but it wasn’t the time to think about such a thing.

Knock knock!

She loudly knocked on the door and waited. The door was opened with a heavy sound, and Roenn came outside.

“Lady Sylvia.”

He smiled faintly and bowed to her.

“I want to see the head of house.”

Sylvia bowed back at Roenn before she asked for an audience.

“I understand.”

Roenn immediately opened the door. He must’ve gotten Glenn’s permission already.

Sylvia briefly closed her eyes before opening them again and stepped into the room.

The noon sunlight streamed in from the window, and the audience chamber was filled with golden light. She walked through the space that seemed to be the embodiment of majesty and went on her knees.

“Greetings, my lord.”

“Stand up.”

Glenn told Sylvia to stand up as soon as she knelt.

“Yes.”

Sylvia straightened her back and raised her gaze. She was nervous, but she confidently looked at Glenn on his throne.

His eyes were the same as always. No, they were actually a bit different. His empty eyes were trembling faintly.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

Glenn’s lips twitched as she wondered about it.

“What brought you here?”

“Ah…”

Sylvia clenched her fist tightly and leaned forward.

“It’s about Raon. I’d like to know where he is, and why he hasn’t returned.”

“I told you already. He is currently being treated in the Owen Kingdom alongside the other Light Wind division’s youngsters.”

“I’m not a fool just because I’m idling in the house. I’m already aware that Raon isn’t there.”

Sylvia’s voice wasn’t that loud, but a strange power was dwelling inside.

“Hmm…”

Glenn furrowed his brow and tapped on the throne’s armrest heavily.

“I’m his mother. Please tell me about Raon’s state and whereabouts at least!”

“It’s true that he is injured, but he is fine now. And he is going to return soon enough.”

“But you already said that before! I want the exact—”

“Aries.”

Sylvia stopped moving upon hearing Aries’s name.

“She took Raon away.”

“What? What do you mean…?”

“She said she accidentally met him and treated his injury. Since she set a message that he woke up today, he should be returning shortly.”

“Ah…”

Sylvia fidgeted her fingers.

‘Is he with my sister, Aries?’

Since Aries was far older than her, and both Sylvia and Aries were outside the house most of the time while carrying out missions, they hadn’t met that many times. They didn’t exactly ignore each other, but they weren’t friendly either.

However, on rare encounters they had, Aries often patted her head and gave her sweet snacks like cookies and candies. That was why she felt strange to hear that Aries had saved Raon.

“Don’t worry about him. She said she would send him back after she finished treating him. Yes, he will be fine.”

Glenn sounded like he was trying to convince himself rather than Sylvia. He also seemed to be worried about Raon.

“Hmm…”

Sylvia sighed quietly while looking at Glenn.

‘Is he really okay?’

* * *

Raon followed Kuberad into his workshop.

Unlike his smithy on the back street of Cameloon’s artisan alley, the room was filled with tools that were stained with traces of his touch.

“Thank you for maintaining my blades.”

Raon bowed while tapping on Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem that Kuberad had given to him.

“You are too polite. It wasn’t even a big deal.”

Kuberad shook his hand and said that all he’d done was wipe off the blood, but Raon could tell. He had even hammered the two swords to maintain them. It wasn’t excessive at all to thank him like that.

“By the way, why are you boarding this ship, Sir Kuberad?”

He couldn’t understand why a retired blacksmith was riding a pirate ship, as it wasn’t any ordinary ship.

“I’m here to help her temporarily.”

“Does ‘her’ refer to Lady Aries?”

“Yes. I reluctantly followed her because she whined too much.”

Kuberad sighed and sat on an old chair.

Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at the steel weapons scattered throughout the workshop.

‘Reluctantly, huh…’

Despite what he’d said, every single weapon in Kuberad’s workshop was of the highest quality.

However, the size of the weapons wasn’t suitable for humans. The huge harpoons and hooks looked like they were supposed to be used against large monsters.

‘Is she trying to kill a monster?’

There was no way a blacksmith with Kuberad’s personality would’ve followed her for no reason. He could guess that there must’ve been special circumstances around it.

“How is your condition?”

Just as Raon was about to ask about the circumstances, Kuberad asked about him.

“I’m fine, thanks to your care.”

“It wasn’t me.”

Kuberad shook his hand.

“Aries had been touching your head constantly. Considering the fact that she is such a tomboy, she was being very considerate towards you.”

He furrowed his brow, saying that she behaved in an unexpected way—even if he was her family.

“I’m well aware.”

Raon nodded.

“I need to properly thank her, too.”

The hole created in his mental world had become smaller thanks to Aries. He was planning to repay the favor no matter what, since he felt eternally grateful towards her.

“Is that so?”

While he was thinking about how to repay the favor, a husky voice could be heard from outside the workshop.

Whaaam!

The workshop’s door burst open, and Aries entered with her hands placed on her waist.

“You weren’t lying about that, right?”

“What?”

Raon blinked while looking at Aries.

“You said you would make sure to express your gratitude. You should help me if that’s true.”

Aries gestured with her finger, saying that he wasn’t allowed to refuse.

“I’m not too interested in being a pirate, and I have things to do right now…”

Raon flat-out refused her.

‘I want to help her with everything, but I have something else to do before then.’

He had to figure out what happened to the Light Wind division and how Glenn’s battle had ended. Derus’s corpse assassin factory also needed to be destroyed.

“The Light Wind division? They are perfectly fine. I’ve also reported to the house that you woke up.”

Aries continued with a smile on her face, which seemed to tell him that she could clearly read what he was thinking.

“Moreover, what I’m about to ask you is going to be helpful to you.”

Aries tapped on her temple.

“Because it can help your upper energy center’s treatment.”

“Hmm, may I ask what kind of task it is?”

Aries smiled faintly and nodded.

“We are going to slay a lizard. It’s a rampaging mad dragon.”

Her eyes glowed in a frightening light, and Wrath jumped up at the same time.

A dragon barbecue?

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