Chapter 680

Rumble.

Raon entered the audience chamber, feeling the warm sunlight landing upon him. He walked towards the platform while greeting Sheryl, Serena, and Trevin with his eyes. The True Martial Palace Master, Balder, winked his left eye.

‘What…?’ Raon immediately averted his gaze while gasping. ‘Why is he doing that?’

He couldn’t understand why he kept winking at him whenever he had a chance, just like in the executives conference. He ignored Balder’s gaze and stood in front of the platform because he didn’t want to get involved with him.

“Greetings, my lord!”

Raon knelt in front of Glenn after confirming that the Light Wind Division was standing behind him. The Light Wind Division made the same posture and bowed.

“Get up, everyone.”

Raon lifted his gaze, hearing Glenn's emotionless order to stand up. Glenn stared vacantly, supporting his chin on his fist like always.

Raon nodded faintly while looking at Glenn’s cloudy eyes.

‘I can finally understand how he ended up with that look in his eyes.’

He could understand it because Glenn’s gaze became even darker when he was looking at Sylvia. He wasn’t looking at the present because he regretted his past too much.

‘It’s understandable because I also regret my past… Hmm?’ Raon started to sigh but suddenly stopped. ‘But… He looks a bit different today for some reason.’

The corners of Glenn’s lips, which were usually lowered like a weight had been attached to them, were shifting upwards more than the other times. His eyes seemed to be less cloudy than usual, as well.

“Light Wind Division leader.” However, he heard Glenn’s call before he could think about the reason.

“Yes, my lord.” Raon lowered his head while responding.

“How did the Light Wind Division return as the Holy Kingdom of Schper’s national guests when you were sent on a monster extermination mission?”

“National guests?”

Raon narrowed his eyes because it was his first time hearing about them being national guests.

“We received a letter from the Holy Kingdom of Schper.” Glenn shook the white envelope that was placed on the throne’s armrest. “It states that they are designating the Light Wind Division leader and the Light Wind Division as their national guests, and that they are giving a 50% discount on the holy water they’ve been supplying to Zieghart.”

“National guests? The entire Light Wind Division?”

“It’s not just one person. There are over thirty people there. Did they really all become national guests?”

“Them being national guests isn’t even the important part! A 50% discount on holy water is practically free!”

“That’s true. The Holy Kingdom of Schper’s holy water is one of the best in the continent!”

The executives stared blankly at Raon and the Light Wind Division. Glenn nodded, gesturing at them to talk about what had happened so far. The other executives also raised their eyes, which were glowing faintly in curiosity.

“When we arrived at Divarn Mountain, Sir Hopen and the holy knights were being chased by monsters. We saved them and climbed to the peak…”

Raon told Glenn and the executives about everything that had happened so far. Of course, he tactfully evaded matters like the Demon King’s Advent and Greed’s appearance.

“Huh…”

“That’s insane…”

“I can finally understand it. It’s only natural for them to be praised as Schper’s heroes.”

“I was wondering what kind of nonsense it was when I heard the rumors about them defeating demons in the Holy Kingdom of Schper, but I have to admit it after hearing the story.”

“I can understand why they were making such a huge ruckus.”

The executives gasped while voicing their amazement.

“But isn’t it a bit strange?”

“Hmm, I can understand the rest, but how is it even possible that he managed to find the demon faster than the priests of a holy kingdom…?”

“Moreover, how come he was the only one who could fight when the saintess, the paladin, and even Rimmer had collapsed?”

The executives from direct lineage tried to find fault in his story because they couldn’t use their strength to pressure him anymore.

“That’s—”

“Won’t you shut up already?” Raon was about to respond with a sneer, but Balder stomped the ground with his right foot and raised his fist. “Where do you think you are, to be making such noise?”

“P-palace master?”

“I’m telling you to shut up! We are in the presence of our lord!”

Balder twisted his lips, and the direct line executives flinched, hurriedly averting their gazes.

‘You are swearing in the presence of our lord right now…’

Raon blinked dazedly and stared at Balder. He winked at him again with an expression that was saying ‘praise me’.

Glenn was being even more strange. Instead of stopping Balder like he would’ve normally done, he nodded faintly instead, showing that he appreciated his intervention.

‘What the hell…?’

Raon gasped at the ridiculous situation, and Glenn lowered the hand that was supporting his chin.

“Light Wind Division leader.”

“Yes.”

“Excellent.”

Glenn immediately said ‘excellent’ without adding any other words. The other executives were also surprised and widened their eyes.

“Finding the demon and defeating King Baorn, who was taken over by demonic energy, aren’t exactly amazing feats. However…”

He raised his index finger. An absolute pressure spread from his thin finger, crushing everything around him.

“Kuh…”

“Uhh…”

The executives standing in front of the pillars stepped back or fell on their knees, unable to withstand Glenn’s pressure.

“A head-on confrontation with a demon that can easily defeat a Grandmaster isn’t an easy task at all.”

Glenn’s frightening gaze looked down upon the direct line executives who were suspicious of Raon’s achievement.

“Hmm…”

“Ugh…”

The direct line executives couldn’t even straighten their backs because of Glenn’s pressure, staying on the ground with trembling hands.

“Even though Rimmer and the saintess were exhausted, a demon possessing enough demonic energy to make them unable to stand must’ve been at least a mid-rank demon—or even a high-rank one. Defeating a high demon like that is a great achievement that deserves to be praised by anyone, even without considering your age.”

As expected of the head of a house of swordsmen, Glenn was placing more importance on defeating a demon with a sword than saving the Holy Kingdom of Schper.

“The same goes for you.” Glenn’s gaze shifted towards the Light Wind Division, who were standing behind Raon. “Even though he was just a low-rank demon, it should’ve been practically impossible to defeat a demon and a hellhound in your current state. It is truly a great achievement.”

“I-it was all thanks to our division leader because he taught us a new martial art.”

“We wouldn’t have been able to defeat him without the Light Wind Style!”

Burren and Martha lowered their heads while attributing the credit to Raon. Their faces were flushed from being complimented by Glenn directly.

“Raon, damn handsome.” Runaan was just blinking while murmuring damn handsome despite the situation. Raon’s face reddened in embarrassment.

“L-Light Wind Style? Isn’t that the martial art that the Light Wind Division leader created just recently?”

“Yes, but for it to be powerful enough to even slay a demon…”

“There was a rumor that it was an extremely advanced martial art. Was that actually true?”

“All I can say is that this is insane…”

The executives were even more taken aback by the Light Wind Division’s statement, their lips trembling in astonishment.

“Ahem!”

“Uhuhuhu.”

Dorian and Krein straightened their backs and raised their heads high, enjoying people’s astonishment.

“Amazing!”

Balder gave him a thumbs-up with a grin on his face. He was still inking one of his eyes. Raon was getting goosebumps because he couldn’t understand his intentions.

“Ahem!” Glenn cleared his throat loudly and covered his chin and mouth with his right hand. It looked like his fingertips were trembling. “Defeating the demon is the biggest achievement, but the fact that you reduced the casualties by finding him first and became Schper’s national guest must be praised as well.”

Glenn’s voice was trembling, unlike his expression, which made him look like he was reluctantly rewarding them.

“The entire Light Wind Division will be bestowed with a golden tablet each, and the right to choose a high-grade armament.”

All of the executives dropped their jaws upon hearing his declaration.

“A g-golden tablet for every single one of them? Moreover, a high-grade armament must be implying that…”

“Is he planning to open the treasury?”

“For all of them, instead of just a couple of them? This is a bit excessive…”

“I think it’s fine, though. They saved an entire kingdom.”

“Yes, it will be easier to coordinate with them in the future because they are their national guests now, and halving the price of holy water is a huge profit for us.”

A few executives furrowed their brows, calling it an excessive reward, but they had to shut their mouths because the other executives were frowning at them, especially Balder.

“And…” Glenn shook his finger toward Raon, implying that he wasn’t done with his declaration. “The Light Wind Division leader will have the right to choose two armaments.”

* * *

Snap!

Glenn snapped his fingers after bestowing the golden tablets upon everyone in the Light Wind Division.

Whap!

The twilight’s golden radiance spread around the entire audience chamber, and countless weapons, armor, and accessories emerged through the dimension.

“Wow…”

“Those are…”

“All of them are high-grade armaments. I can’t take my eyes off them.”

The Light Wind Division and the executives swallowed nervously, watching the armaments shining in their own unique colors.

“I’ve summoned the armaments from Zieghart’s treasury.” Glenn casually shook his hand as if it wasn’t a big deal. “Light Wind Division, you can pick whatever you want.”

He nodded, implying that they could pick any of them.

“Th-thank you!”

The Light Wind Division immediately shouted their gratitude at Glenn, unable to take their eyes off the armaments. However, one person was acting much differently.

“Perfect, I get some stuff to sell. I was running out of money—gah!” Rimmer ran towards the weapons without even thanking him and got shot down by red lightning.

What an idiot…

Wrath shook his chin, which had gotten fatter.

He was starting to look a bit more decent, but he’s the same as before. Cough!

He furrowed his brow, thinking about when Rimmer told him to run away while standing, blocking Gluttony’s path.

‘I wonder.’

Raon smiled faintly, thinking about the conversation he’d had with Rimmer at the campfire.

“Wow! This is insane. Look at this sword! The blade is sharpened like a saw! This looks terrifying!”

“This armor is sloshing like liquid!”

“Aura amplification earrings? N-no matter how good it is, I’m reluctant to wear earrings…”

The Light Wind Division was scattered all around the audience chamber, examining the armaments. All of their lips were curved into deep smiles, showing how much they were enjoying it.

“I finally found a sword to replace my Dark Phoenix! Your name is going to be Storming Chaos from today onward!”

“Pfft! Do you really believe it will be a match for my Green Wave Mk.II?”

“Super Genocider, I’m sorry, a fateful destiny is calling me!”

Some of the swordsmen had already chosen their weapons and were naming them. Raon’d had goosebumps when he’d heard those names when they were the Light Wind squad back then, and their naming senses were as bad as before.

Raon sighed deeply and went to the right side, where there were no weapons.

‘I don’t need any sword.’

Since he already had Heavenly Drive, the Blade of Requiem, and the Heaven Slaying Dagger, he didn’t need any more weapons.

‘Then what should I… Hmm?’

He was checking out the armor and noticed a thin garment that didn’t seem to be an armament.

‘Why is there innerwear here?’ He found it strange and tried to touch it, but it felt more like steel than cloth. However, the inner side of the clothes, the part that would touch the skin, was as soft as cotton.

“This is the Silk Steel Tunic.” Rimmer came next to him with his arms crossed.

“Silk Steel Tunic?”

“It looks like ordinary clothes at a glance, but it’s actually an artifact capable of absorbing damage. Since it’s very sturdy, it should serve as a spare life.” He nodded, saying that picking the Silk Steel Tunic would be a good choice.

“That sounds pretty good.”

It was light and soft, causing no discomfort at all. In addition to being sturdy, it also had the ability to absorb the damage, making it perfect to wear under his uniform.

Raon took the Silk Steel Tunic and walked towards the accessories to look for the next item.

‘I’m not sure what I should pick because there are too many… Huh?’

Raon was checking out various accessories with unknown utility when his eyes suddenly widened.

‘Wait, this one…’

“I never expected…” Sheryl smiled faintly, gazing up at the platform. “That he would take out the entire treasury. Isn’t this the second time he’s ever done this?”

“It’s the third time.” Roenn shook his head with his characteristic laughter. “The first young master received this before.”

“Ah!” Sheryl clapped her hands, finally remembering it. “Well, that was really absurd back then.”

She licked her lips, showing that she could understand why Glenn had done it.

“It must be implying that the achievement of the Light Wind Division this time is no less significant than back then.” Roenn nodded while looking up at Glenn.

“Ahem, it’s not that good, but it’s still pretty decent.”

Glenn averted his gaze while clearing his throat. The corners of his lips trembled, starting to rise like the edges of a crescent moon.

Sheryl and Roenn smiled faintly while watching Glenn’s lips gradually form an ascending curve.

“This is so painful…” Rimmer shook his head, massaging his neck. “I’m getting hoarse from explaining the equipment to them.”

He swept back the hair that was sticking to his forehead, saying that it was so hard to pick weapons for everyone in the Light Wind Division.

“What are you plotting?” Sheryl narrowed her eyes while looking at Rimmer.

“What?”

“You would’ve normally just picked your own stuff and immediately ran to a pawn shop. Why did you help the others?”

“I’m the vice division leader, you know. This much is normal.”

“But you didn’t even do that when you were the division leader.”

“I’ve changed my mind.” Rimmer shrugged his shoulders.

“You changed your mind? What do you mean?” Sheryl glared at Rimmer with narrowed eyes.

“......”

Rimmer just showed her a faint smile without answering her question and shifted his gaze toward Glenn.

“My lord, what was that thing that Raon took as his second reward? I’ve never seen it before.”

“It was there even before I became the head of house.” A faint golden light was reflected in Glenn’s red eyes. “No, it’s been there for far longer than that.”

“Far longer…?”

“Fate might really exist in this world.”

* * *

“I’m so tired…” Raon sighed, sitting on his bed.

His voice had grown hoarse because he’d had to explain to his family in the annex building about what had happened so far after doing the same for Glenn. It was even more painful because Encia started to rampage, excited to start writing a new volume right away.

Ghak!

Wrath let out a small burp while floating in the air.

Home-cooked food is the best. Cough!

He shook his head, saying that no other food could match up to the food from home.

Hey.

“What’s up?”

Eat some bead ice cream now.

Wrath smiled cheerfully, pointing at the bead ice cream that Sylvia had prepared as a dessert.

“Why did she even prepare that…?”

Sylvia had purchased five whole bead ice cream sets. She must’ve been thinking that he liked the ice cream. Raon was getting a headache just from thinking about eating them all.

That’s our mom for you!

Wrath smiled happily and wriggled his fingers, urging him to open a box already.

“Haa…”

Raon sighed and opened the freezer box containing the bead ice cream. Five chunks of mint chocolate bead ice cream showed up alongside white steam.

Mom!

Wrath put his hands together, shouting that he loved her. Raon didn’t want to eat it if possible, but Wrath had done so much for him, and Sylvia had gone out of her way to buy them for him. In the end, he put the mint chocolate in his mouth.

Wooow.

Wrath exclaimed deeply.

This is it! This cold and refreshing taste spreading through the sweetness! It’s wiping away the stuffy feeling from his mouth!

‘You could just brush your teeth instead.’

It’s different!

“Haa…”

Raon lowered his hand after fishing all of the ice cream inside the box.

This is happiness. Cough!

Wrath floated in the air with his belly facing upwards, saying that he was so happy.

“Then it’s my turn to fill my stomach.”

F-fill your stomach?

“Gluttony hasn't been activated yet.”

Raon took out a Nadine bread from his subspace pocket while looking into Wrath’s frightened eyes.

You idiot.

Wrath snorted and shook his head.

How are you so ignorant even though it’s your own trait?

‘What do you mean?’

Your Gluttony only activates when you think that the food is delicious, unlike Gluttony herself. Just filling your stomach won’t do the job!

He giggled, saying that Raon wouldn’t be able to eat Nadine bread anymore in the future.

‘Hmm…’

Raon simply glanced at Wrath before putting the Nadine bread in his mouth.

Hey! Stop it!

He ignored Wrath no matter what he said and thoroughly chewed the bread before swallowing it.

As expected of Nadine bread, a single loaf was enough to fill his stomach to the point of bursting.

N-no…

Wrath screamed while clutching his head.

I-it tastes like rubber! The happiness granted by the bead ice cream is turning into ash!

He thoroughly stroked his tongue with his round finger, trying to remove the rubber taste from it.

“I like it.” Raon nodded in satisfaction after finishing the Nadine bread.

Cough! The King of Essence told you! You only ruined the taste without activating the Glutto—

Wrath was trying to complain, but…

[The trait Gluttony has been activated.]

Along with an announcement about Gluttony’s activation, messages appeared, stating that his stats and his soul level had increased slightly.

Huh…?

Wrath widened his eyes in disbelief.

Why is this working?

He stared at Raon blankly.

H-hey, do you seriously find this rubber bread delicious?

‘Yeah, it’s pretty good.’

Raon nodded nonchalantly. Nadine bread was excellent food by his standards because he’d even had to feed on grass to survive in his previous life.

What the hell is with this nutcase?! Show that tongue of yours! There must be some dog shit smeared on it! That’s the only explanation!

Wrath shouted, saying that he couldn’t believe it.

W-wait a moment! Does that mean that in the future…

He shook his head after examining Raon’s pink tongue.

‘We’ll need to have Nadine bread every day.’

Nooooo!

‘What a nice scream.’

Raon burrowed his back onto the bed while listening to Wrath’s scream.

A sword-shaped embroidery thread, the red and golden threads forming a beautiful harmony, dropped from the top pocket.

Hmm…

Wrath stopped crying and frowned upon seeing the embroidery thread.

Now that it’s here, why did you even pick that one? It doesn’t seem to be anything special.

He shook his head, saying that he couldn’t understand his choice.

“Because it’s worth it.”

Worth it?

“Yes.” Raon nodded while touching the embroidery thread. “This belonged to the first head of Zieghart.”

Footnotes:

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