N/T: Translation made by our friend 'Irving'. A big round of applause for him :)
C 276
The members of the Light Wind squad charging spread out throughout the training grounds, honing their martial arts skills.
Though their faces appeared weary, their eyes radiated determination, and their swordsmanship showed no signs of wavering.
Tsk.
As everyone concentrated on their sword techniques, a faint sound of a tongue clicking lightly echoed from the platform.
"Ugh!"
"Uh..."
"Heuh!"
At the sound, the swordsmen halted their movements and turned their heads stiffly, like wooden puppets.
Perched on the platform, Raon wore an expression that seemed displeased, as if something didn't sit well with him.
"Ugh..."
Dorian trembled as he looked at Raon, his eyebrows furrowing.
"What's happening again today?"
Despite focusing on their training, he couldn't grasp why Raon would make such a face.
Every time Raon wore that expression, it meant they would be subjected to grueling training that pushed their human limits, causing cold sweat to trickle down their backs.
"It hasn't even been two weeks since enduring the 100-hour ordeal on Bukmang Mountain…"
That had been pure hell.
Watching Raon unleash fiery attacks and flying swords made Dorian's heart feel like it was about to burst.
He didn't want to think about it again.
"Why is that lunatic acting up again?"
Martha approached with a frown.
"We won in the sparring match yesterday, so why do you look so upset? What nonsense is he up to again?"
"I, I don't know either."
"You're the closest to him."
"Well, yes, but it's not just that... "
Dorian bit his lip.
He couldn't bring himself to mention that his wallet and pouch were being used in that way.
"He's been quiet lately and now he's starting again…"
Burren sighed deeply, staring at the platform.
"No matter how mentally prepared you are, when he introduces a new training, it rattles your nerves."
He clenched his lips, perhaps recalling the events from two weeks ago.
"A new training…"
Runaan gazed into empty space with her usual fierce eyes.
She looked calm, but appearances were deceiving.
It was like she was awake but lost in a dream, escaping from reality.
"I-I'm doomed..."
"What is it this time?"
"Should I run away?"
"You won't last an hour, he will catch you. What kind of escape is that?"
Two months ago, unable to endure the brutal training, they all tried to escape in different directions, but before an hour had passed, they were all captured, subdued, and brought back.
With no escape and no chance to fight, all that remained was despair.
"There's no way out. It's all over..."
"Let's, let's beg! maybe he'll show some mercy!"
"After seeing what he's done so far, do you really expect that to work?"
"Ugh, I miss the days of squad leader Rimmer."
"For crying out loud..."
The members of the Light Wind squad looked like they were in mourning, as if the new training had already been set in stone.
Yet, Raon's tongue clicking wasn't because of the Light Wind squad but due to the so-called Wrathful Demon King that clung to his wrist.
"Why suddenly talk about ice cream?"
-Haven't you had any! Offer mint chocolate at once!
"I'm not really a fan of that flavor."
-Let's fight!
Laon watched the Light Wind squad training half-heartedly.
"Have I been too easy on them?"
The swordsmen's faces were as pale as blank sheets of paper.
It seemed they were feeling more pain than exhaustion.
"Well, they've been running nonstop."
After three months of relentless training, their exhaustion was understandable.
"A little rest would be good."
Just for tomorrow.
Although they hadn't achieved their goals perfectly, they had made significant progress, so a bit of rest seemed reasonable.
Raon made up his mind and descended beneath the platform.
"Everyone worked hard. Tomorrow..."
Just as he was about to mention resting, all the members of the Light Wind squad took a step back simultaneously.
"What the hell!"
"Again, what is it this time!"
"Ugh..."
The pupils of Marta, Burren, and Runaan trembled like herbivores seeing a predator.
"Heheek!"
"Wow, it's here…"
The members of Light Wind squad also recoiled in fear, swallowing dry saliva and moving their bodies backward.
"No. What I was saying..."
"Euhuhng!"
"Save me!"
"Oh, gods...."
Though Raon had just extended his hand to reassure, the Light Wind squad members were as if struck by swords, terrified, and retreated even further.
Raon scratched his cheek, feigning a sigh.
"A bit bewildering, isn't it?"
"If you have any conscience, that word should never come out of your mouth!"
Wrath muttered something that didn't make much sense.
"Even in the demon realm, there was no one who managed their subordinates like you! You cursed child of a demon!"
"The demon realm seems quite human."
Having only provided training during his days as an assassin to match the level of the swordsmen, he hadn't anticipated such a response.
It seems like in my past life, I wasn't a human, but rather, I feel like I lived as a dog.
Raon chuckled lightly as he watched the terrified Light Wind squad.
"Come to think of it, this doesn't seem so bad."
Well, since it's already like this, should I just continue the training?
Having mentally prepared for new training, it felt like filling that expectation wouldn't be a bad idea.
-Yes, where the hell did you come from? What on earth are you?
Wrath exclaimed
"You're not from the Human Realm or the Demon Realm!"
-Your heart seems to have completely soaked in darkness!
"Just kidding."
Raon stood in front of the Light Wind squad. He smiled as he met their frightened gazes.
"Great job, everyone. Take a rest tomorrow."
Even though he told them to rest, the Light Wind squad didn't react much.
"Rest...?"
"Re-rest?"
"Well, what was it again..."
Light Wind squad blinked with eyes as fierce as Runaan's, as if their brains couldn't function properly with the unexpected words.
"Um, a short break?"
"A break, you say? Really?"
Martha and Burren were the first to realize and opened their mouths wide.
"You've worked hard. Let's train until tonight, and take a good rest tomorrow."
"Wow!"
"Finally! My wish came true! My prayers were answered after three months!"
"Oh, Almighty God!"
The Light Wind squad all raised their hands and cheered.
They were shouting the same "Oh, Almighty God," but the tone was completely different.
"Raon, you're amazing!"
Runaan also raised the corners of his mouth slightly and raised his thumbs up thinly.
It was a rare smile that might appear once a year.
"Oh, yeah."
It was completely meaningless, but Runaan seemed to still think that smile worked very well.
"Still, practice properly until today."
"Yes, sir!"
As Raon smiled while listening to the cheers of the Light Wind squad, the door to the training grounds opened cautiously, and a stern middle-aged man walked in.
'That person is...'
Chad, was it?
He remembered.
Chad, the leader of the Non-Yeon Society (his Division name suddenly have many translations result such as White lotus association, Vian Assembly, Byeon, and the whine shop owner lol, I will use vian assembly again for now.) was present when he reported to Glenn in the audience chamber room.
However, he had no idea why Chad would come here.
"Greetings."
Chad approached Raon with a smile that was different from his stern appearance, bowing his head gently.
"It's my first time greeting like this. I'm Chad, the leader of the Vian Assembly."
"I'm Raon Zieghart, vice leader of Light Wind squad."
Raon greeted Chad while looking into his slightly trembling eyes.
'A well-mannered person.'
If he was the leader, he would be responsible for the family's information.
He had a high position regardless of his age or status, but he was overly polite.
"I came because there's something I need to tell you. It's a bit serious, so let me show you this first."
Chad sat down and immediately handed a document to Raon.
"Roman sent a letter to the Light Wind squad vice leader. It's about arranging a life-and-death duel on January 1st, three years from now."
"January 1st, three years from now?"
"Yes."
"Hmm, I see."
Raon smiled lightly as he looked at the document.
'Is this his consideration?'
He has a conscience.
If he counted from the due date, not from today, it seemed like Roman was showing some consideration.
"I'll be 22 years old then."
Having turned 19 as the year changed, he would be 22 years old when he faced off against Roman in the life-and-death duel.
"Not bad."
Raon's confidence stemmed from the fact that he had Wrath with him.
While it might be impossible to become a Grandmaster just by training for three years, with Wrath by his side, anything was possible.
-What are you looking at?
-Nothing.
Raon gently waved his hand at Wrath, who was furrowing his brows.
"Ah..."
Chad swallowed his dry saliva as he observed Raon's smiling face.
'So he's smiling, huh?'
What kind of courage does a teenager have?
Raon's smile seemed unbelievable, considering that in three years, he would face off against Grandmaster Roman.
'Those people really do value him.'
He might have thought that it was because of his overwhelming talent that they cared for him so much, given that he was becoming a master at such a young age.
However, that was far from the truth.
Raon Zieghart was like a star that could shine on his own, a gem.
He had a hunch as to why those three people were taking care of him.
Raon pushed Roman's document aside and turned his attention back to Chad.
"So, what's the second thing?"
"Um, about that..."
"Since you were asked to show me this, I assumed there was more."
"Right. I can't just let this go."
Chad awkwardly chuckled and took out a second document from his robe.
"The second thing is a mission given to the Light Wind squad."
"A mission? Why would the Head of house send this to us? Our squad leader has already gone to the Lord manor, so there's no way is he trying to..."
"No, it's not like that."
Chad quickly shook his head.
"It's because there are some circumstances that require the attention of your squad leader, that I'm here instead."
Since he couldn't bring himself to tell Raon that Rimmer had disappeared while dealing with Glenn, Roenn, and Sheryl, he tried to muddle through the explanation.
"Anyway, this is the content of the mission given to the Light Wind squad."
Chad flipped over the document and handed it to Raon.
"If it's Granseville, it's a city known for its entertainment."
Raon nodded as he read the location mentioned in the mission document.
"You know it well. Yes, it is. It's a relatively small city, but it's filled with entertainment options such as alcohol, gambling, fine dining, as well as illegal activities like drugs and underground fighting arenas."
As Chad explained, Granseville was a rare place on the continent packed with entertainment.
During the day, people enjoyed boat rides on Lake Molbe right in front of the city.
At night, the city became even livelier than during the day, with various temptations calling out from every corner.
"Gourmet delights?"
As Wrath yawned as if he was bored, he suddenly stood up.
"Accept it! Accept it right away!"
He waved his hand emphatically, clearly urging Raon.
"White blood religion…"
Pushing Wrath away, Raon focused on the document again.
Due to the increasing number of disappearances and the discovery of corpses in Lake Molbe, White blood religion, was suspected.
"The Light Wind squad has been requested."
"Yes. They didn't directly address it, but they mentioned that it would be good if the Light Wind squad could intervene."
"Hmm…"
Given the possibility of the Seventh Apostle being involved, they needed to approach cautiously.
"For the past few months, the number of people requesting the Light Wind squad has increased to the point where it's almost overwhelming."
"I didn't know it."
"Oh? You didn't know? Ever since your victory over Tyler scheme at the Gazelle River and surviving the encounter with Roman, not to mention defeating the fourth apostle, requests for your services have been flooding in from all over the continent."
Chad explained that every three days or so, they received requests from all over the place, seeking the Light Wind squad's help.”
“But why is it only now that the mission is...”
“the Light Wind squad leader intervened the and cut in between. He said it's time to solidify our foundation now.”
“I see…”
Raon exhaled softly as he rubbed the back of his hand.
‘Anyway.’
He couldn't hate him.
Whenever he wanted to hit Rimmer for his actions, there were times when Rimmer's seriousness made it impossible for him to dislike him.
“That makes sense.”
After reading through all the documents, Raon nodded.
‘It should be fine.’
Whether it was the White blood religion or the eden, or even the shadow groups, it didn't seem like a bad idea to let the Light Wind squad experience real action after a long time.
“I'll accept the mission.”
“Woohoo!”
“A mission! A mission!”
“We're finally liberated from hell!”
“We're going outside!”
The members of the Light Wind squad raised their arms and cheered at the thought of no longer needing to train.
“Well, well, the members seem lively.”
Chad swallowed his dry saliva as he watched the excited Light Wind squad members.
“It's been a while since they've had a mission, so they seem thrilled.”
Raon looked at the Light Wind squad with a faint smile.
“Oh, this is a gift.”
Chad presented a box wrapped in elegant packaging.
“This is…”
“Don't worry about it. It's just a dessert that's popular in the lower regions.”
“A dessert?”
“Yes. It's a snack with cream between meringue cookies, called macarons.”
In truth, this dessert was brought for the former Head, Alisa, who he had visited before.
However, Chad took it back, brought it here to impress Raon. (Lmao, good job Chad)
“Ah, thank you. I'll give you something in return…”
“No!”
Chad quickly raised his hand as Raon looked around, as if searching for something to give in return.
“This is just a greeting for our first meeting. You don't need to do that.”
“Still…”
“It's really alright. Well then, I'll take my leave.”
With a slight bow to Raon, Chad left.
“Phew…”
Chad looked back at the door let out a sigh.
‘I must have made a good first impression, right?’
He had acted politely, didn't raise his voice, provided detailed explanations, and even gave a gift.
Although it wasn't perfect, he had created a favorable impression without any significant negatives.
‘I'll have to continue building a good relationship from now on.’
It was clear that, in this house, the person who he needed to make the best impression wasn't the leaders or elders, but the vice leader of this small squad Light Wind.
“Hehe.”
Feeling satisfied, Chad patted his own shoulder and returned to the Vian Assembly Mansion.
Today, for some reason, he felt like things were going to work out well
*****
Raon narrowed heris eyes as he looked at the gift Chad had given him.
"Chad, the leader of the Vian Assembly..."
He's someone he needs to be cautious of.
The Vian Assembly is the core of Zigheart's power and the most influential group among the influential.
The way Chad, their leader, treated him, a vice leader of a small squad, was clearly calculated.
Considering that in Zieghart, the people who disliked her the most were Karoon and Balder, he might have given him a mission under the guise of these two's orders.
"I can't let my guard down."
The person he needs to be most cautious of is the one who approaches with a smile.
He felt like he should always be on alert until he understands his true intentions.
"Cancelling the break and going back to training tomorrow..."
-Yamma!
Wrath grabbed his sleeve, his expression slightly annoyed.
"Forget about training. Bring out that dessert they call 'matang'!"
"It's called macaron."
"Whatever! Just show it to me. I'm curious to see how it looks!"
"You probably wants to see it because You want to eat it."
Heaving a sigh, he nodded.
-Kuhn, if you're not going to eat ice cream, at least show me that! The king himself has the right to enjoy delicious things, you know! Don't you know about human rights?
"What human rights does a demon king has? Just go back to your world."
Raon chuckled as he watched Wrath storm off.
-That's racial discrimination!
