N/T: Translation made by our friend 'Irving'. A big round of applause for him :)
C 359
A long rectangular table is laid out with a feast for the senses.
The aroma of various dishes stimulates the senses and makes the mouth water, but no one at the table is looking at the food.
Everyone in the restaurant is looking at Adis Sepia.
Of course, Wrath, who is not human, is only focused on the food.
The food is supposed to be eaten when it's hot, but it's all getting cold! The taste and aroma have already decreased by 20%!
"Just hold on."
Raon pushes away Wrath, who is clinging to him, and waits for Adis Sepia to speak again.
"Hmm."
Adis seems to have forgotten what he said and cuts a steak in front of him and puts it in his mouth.
"It's delicious."
He chews the steak slowly and nods his head.
Now that the old man has eaten, let's eat too! As I said, let's start with the soup...
"Wait."
Raon shakes his head and looks at Adis.
"A great chef has the eye for choosing good ingredients and creates dishes that are works of art by bringing out the true flavor of the ingredients."
Adis smiles after eating a little more steak.
"A great carpenter makes a table like this with ebony, which is too hard to even shape small objects."
He sweeps his eyes over the rectangular table with the food on it, surveying the successor candidates one by one.
"A merchant is a profession that buys goods cheaply and sells them at a profit. Then, what is a great merchant different from?"
He asked the question, but no one answered, thinking it was not a question that required an answer.
"Dorian?"
However, Adis was not an ordinary person. He created an atmosphere as if he was going to answer the question himself and then called Dorian to answer.
"Ah!"
Dorian trembled his hands, which were resting on his knees, at the sudden question.
"That's... "
He couldn't answer right away and looked to Raon with a pleading look in his eyes.
"..."
Raon doesn't say anything, either orally or through an aura message, and closes his eyes.
What are you doing? Tell him the answer!
"He needs a chance to grow."
The answer will change the assessment of Dorian by the people in the restaurant depending on how it comes out.
He didn't want to take away his chance to grow again.
"Hmm..."
Dorian bit his lip and looked at Adis. A faint light flickered in his trembling eyes.
"In my opinion, a great merchant is someone who can think from the customer's point of view, don't you think?"
"Is it more important than making a lot of money?"
"Making a lot of money is very important to a merchant. But if you only chase money, you'll lose people and credit, so it's not the most important thing. I think if we keep building trust and continue our business, we'll become a well-known association someday."
"You live in a dream world."
Adis lowered his eyebrows at Dorian.
"Huff."
"A customer..."
"You're still young."
Other successor candidates' henchmen curled their lips and mocked Dorian.
"Ugh..."
Dorian's face turned red and he lowered his head.
"The trust between customers and merchants. In this day and age, where only money and time are considered, it's really ridiculous. But..."
When Dorian's shoulders shrank to the point where they could be grabbed with one hand, Adis's words continued.
"This association has grown so much."
"Yes?"
"Father?"
"Head of Association?"
The people in the restaurant turned to look at Adis in surprise.
"A great merchant must be able to meet the needs of the customer. It is difficult, annoying, and difficult to match the taste of others. However, the trust and confidence built up in this way becomes the name of the Association. The name of the Sepia Merchant was created in this way."
Raon nodded as he listened to his words.
'He is a giant who raised Sepia like this.'
The reason Sepia is called a Merchant Association is not just because it sells a wide variety of products, but also because it finds goods that meet the customer's orders.
Adis seemed unchanged even after making Sepia a top five merchant.
"Hmm..."
The restaurant fell silent. Everyone looked at Dorian with their heads down.
Dorian straightened his back even though he received their gaze. He couldn't help but tremble all over, but a little scared.
Raon laughed at Dorian, who looked like that.
'I told you it was an opportunity to grow.'
It's a little different now. But...
'But?'
The food is changing so much! Every minute and every second is dangerous! You have to eat it quickly! You have to rescue it to my stomach!
'......'
Wrath's eyes started to turn. I guess I have to ignore this guy for a while.
"Hmm!"
Adis cleared his throat lightly and looked at the successors sitting at the table.
"Recently, a rather difficult request came in. Originally, it was something I would have handled, but I thought it would be perfect for your exam, so I brought it."
His gaze first turned to Phalen.
"Someone has saved money."
The next person he looked at was Diarun.
"Someone built up their connections."
He turned his head to Jessir, who was sitting next to the head seat.
"Someone has everything, money and connections. So I thought it was somewhat decided. However...
Adis's gaze turned to Dorian last.
"There was a guy who brought not money or connections."
He put his hand on the table with a calm expression.
"Since things are getting fun, it's only right to give a fun test."
Adis looked at the successor candidates who swallowed their saliva and opened his mouth in a low voice.
"It's a request from the Gray Hammer Guild. Bring me the horns, teeth, claws, and bones of a dragon. It would be better if you brought the whole body."
'Dragon!'
Raon clenched his fist under the table as soon as he heard Adis's words.
"The dragon's body?"
"Dragon...
The successors were shocked by the test that was completely different from what they had expected.
"Whether you catch it yourself, buy it from someone, or steal it, it doesn't matter. The one who brings the most excellent dragon's body within a period of fifteen days will be the winner."
"Who will decide who is the best?"
"Of course, the Gray Hammer Guild will do it."
At Adis's gesture, the successors and their henchmen's eyes shone blue.
"Can I get up now that I'm done eating?"
The first, Jessir, bowed his head without touching the food.
"Do as you please."
"Thank you for the meal."
As those words ended, Jessir and Diarun stood up abruptly, making their exit along with their subordinates from the restaurant.
"Ugh..."
Phalen glanced at Raon, who hadn't gotten up yet.
[Phalen Sepia.]
Raon sent her a message without looking at her, his gaze fixed elsewhere.
[Don't look at me, just act as usual. I'll give you further instructions soon.]
Phalen nodded subtly, almost imperceptibly, and then left the restaurant.
Uhh...
"It's soup! Even if it's cold, it's soup! You need to eat it so you can eat more of the other dishes!"
"Sigh..."
Raon sighed and reluctantly took a spoonful of the soup.
The rich aroma of truffle and the smooth taste of the soup blended harmoniously.
Since the soup is this good, the other dishes must be even better! Next up, that meat!
"It's getting more and more annoying."
Raon sighed as she cut into the meat, and that's when Dorian approached.
"Vice-leader, what are you doing? Everyone has already left!"
Dorian shivered as he made an 'X' with his hands.
"No need to worry. We'll be the fastest."
Raon casually waved his fork.
"We shouldn't be eating this right now! They must all be moving!"
"They left first, how can we be faster? What's inside your stomach that's making you enjoy this food so much?"
"There's something, alright."
He chuckled while looking at the wiggling blue cotton candy.
The Demon King, and a gluttonous one at that.
* * *
After the meal, only Adis and his butler, Regwin, remained in the restaurant, enjoying a light drink together.
"He has changed a lot."
Regwin smiled as he looked at the spot where Dorian had been sitting.
"I didn't know young master Dorian could express his opinions so confidently."
"What's the point of growing old if you can't voice your opinions?"
Adis shrugged.
"But his opinion was quite impressive, wasn't it? I seemed like seeing you when you were young."
"Really? Was I that bad?."
"No, you were amazing. You declared that you would make the Sepia Merchant Association the best on the continent, and you actually did it."
Regwin looked at Adis and raised an eyebrow.
"Since then, Sepia Merchant Association hasn't just been selling goods; you've been taking direct commissions. I still remember when someone who couldn't fight at all decided to go out and hunt monsters."
Bringing up old stories, Regwin couldn't help but notice the wrinkles on Adis's forehead.
"You're reminiscing about the past. You've also grown older."
Adis retorted, looking at the wrinkles on Regwin's forehead.
"Anyway, he's growing. That's why Dorian's change is even more noticeable."
"Hmm..."
Adis nodded in agreement.
"I think Jessir or Diarun will run the company well, but Dorian might be the one to make it bigger than it is now."
"That could be true. But that's not something he can do on his own."
Adis put down his glass of wine and smiled. His gaze turned to the seat next to Dorian, where Raon was sitting.
"Raon Zieghart. That friend wasn't just strong. He knew exactly when to get involved and when not to. He's also good at dealing with people. He has the potential to be both a conqueror and a benevolent ruler."
"Is he that good?"
Regwin widened his eyes. He couldn't believe that Adis, who was stingy with praise, would say such things about Raon.
"Didn't he calmly eat his meal while the other children were rushing out? He's bold, even for his age. The targets were actually startled."
He looked at the table in front of Raon. Unlike the others, all the dishes were empty.
"People show their true nature when they eat. The fact that he would not leave a single bite of food in front of him shows that he is also quite greedy. To be honest, it was enough to make me shiver."
"I think so too. I didn't think he would be such a big eater."
"With him, Sepia will either rise above the other four or fall. It's one or the other."
The two men swallowed dryly, making a huge mistake.
* * *
The next day at noon, Raon and Dorian, whose face was pale, went out to the city of Rocan.
"Did you find it?"
"I did, but will it work? The others have already moved, you know."
Dorian's hands trembled slightly, perhaps from the anxiety of being behind.
"We have the advantage in this test. From the very beginning."
Raon smiled and shook his head.
'Because I had already placed an order for the information a long time ago.'
In order to repair Sylvia's energy center and mana circuit, the necessary materials are a dragon's heart and a sea serpent's heart.
As soon as he heard about the materials from Encia, he put in a request for the location of the dragon to Dening Rose, so he should have some general information by now.
"Here it is."
Dorian pointed to a small dried fish shop.
"This is the Rocan branch of the black market."
He didn't seem sure either, looking at the sign with cobwebs on it and shaking his head.
"Do you know the password?"
"I heard it, but..."
Dorian swallowed his saliva and went into the shop. After passing through a passage with a pungent smell of dried seafood, he saw an old woman sitting in a rocking chair.
"Oh, hello."
"......"
The old woman did not respond, and the rocking chair creaked in greeting.
"I'm looking for a dried sea serpent that has been dried for ten years. It should be peeled and salted, and a little salty."
When he finished speaking, the movement of the rocking chair stopped.
"Come this way."
The old woman slowly got up. Her gaze and voice were young, unlike her appearance. She seemed like a young woman in disguise.
Tididik!
She led him into the next room and tapped on the right wall here and there.
Sssshhhh.
Without the slightest noise or vibration, a staircase leading down to the basement appeared in the wall.
"This is the way down."
The woman bowed her head and sat back in the rocking chair. She suddenly became an old woman who could not bear the sleepiness. He always feel the same way when he go to the black market, but they are all extraordinary people.
As he followed the lights and stairs down, another market opened up. It was literally a black market. From unusual food to precious metals that shone with brilliant light, there was nothing to be found.
However, the ceiling and walls were brightly lit, giving it a brighter feel than the outside market.
"Wow... "
Dorian couldn't take his eyes off the goods laid out in the black market, as he was a person who was passionate about supplies.
"It seems that there are quite a few stolen goods here, unlike Cameloon."
Looking at the condition of the goods, it did not seem that they were all being circulated in a normal way. There were also items that had not been cursed, and there were many items that had not been appraised.
"Let's go. You said you didn't have time."
Raon tapped Dorian on the shoulder and headed for the mansion with a black flag to buy information.
"It's amazing, but I have some of these things too."
"......"
Dorian made a ridiculous remark and followed him.
'I have to open that pocket sometime.'
If you open that guy's belly, won't a dragon come out?
'It could be…'
I thought it might actually be there, considering what he had shown so far.
"You don't have a dragon in your pocket, do you?"
"Well, when I first escaped, I did pick up a few claws... "
Dorian took out two huge claws that looked like thick blades bent out of his belly pocket.
"I found out that it wasn't a dragon, but a griffin's claw."
"Griffin... "
Griffins are rarer monsters than dragons. I couldn't believe that such a mysterious creature had a claw.
"Haa... "
Raon shook his head and stood in front of the mansion at the end of the black market. In front of the large iron gate, four warriors stood with their eyes shining with light.
"I am... "
"We greet the White Dragon!"
The warriors bowed their backs to a right angle and bowed very politely.
"Please come in."
They seemed to know why they had come here, and they made way for them and opened the iron gate.
'Did they know I was coming?'
Raon narrowed his eyes and went inside. Unlike the outside, he passed through the soft lighting and luxurious ornaments that were easy on the eyes, and headed for the only room with activity inside.
"Wow, the White Sword Dragon is amazing!"
Dorian came up next to him and his eyes shone.
"Do you get these benefits if you get the title of White Dragon Sword?"
"Would there be?"
Raon laughed and shook his head.
"It seems that someone I know is waiting."
As they stood in front of the door at the end of the hallway, the door opened by itself and the person inside appeared.
She was a beautiful woman with fiery red hair that fell to her shoulders and a rose-patterned eye patch over her right eye.
'It was Dening Rose, as expected.'
Dening Rose, who played a major role in rescuing him when he was kidnapped by Eden, stood up gracefully and bowed her head.
"I greet the White Sword Dragon."
"It's been a while."
Raon greeted her and entered the room.
"Please sit down."
Dening Rose smiled softly and pointed to the seat across from her. He nodded and sat down.
"So you're now the head of the Rocan branch?"
Her previous area of responsibility was Granseville. He didn't expect her to leave the place where the reconstruction was still underway and come here.
"No, I'm still the head of the Granseville branch."
"But why are you here...?"
Rocan is a very remote region from Granseville.
"I happened to be in charge of your request, so I was waiting for you to come."
"If I had known...."
"It's no longer a secret that Raon is working for the youngest master of the Sepia Merchant Association."
Dening Rose smiled gently. I've always felt that her expressions were modest compared to her glamorous appearance.
"And since searching for the dragon is a request that Raon made a long time ago, of course I had to come."
She already knew what the test given by Adis was.
"It looks like other people have already been here."
It seems that Jessir and Diarun passed through here to get information.
"......"
Dening Rose did not answer and closed her eyes slightly. That was enough of an answer.
"Did you find the dragon?"
Raon asked, sipping tea from the cup on the table.
"I did find a place that looks like the nest of an adult dragon. I was going to tell you after I gathered more information, but this is how things turned out."
"Wook!"
Dorian gasped and spat out the tea he was drinking.
"How did you prepare for this in advance?"
He pressed his mouth, which was dripping with tea, as if it was ridiculous, and his eyes trembled.
"I thought it was weird! You're getting strong too fast! What's your real identity! Are you a god? Are you a devil?"
"Your superior."
Raon hit Dorian's head, who was shaking.
"Ugh!"
He left Dorian, who was rubbing his head wildly, and looked at Dening Rose. She was smiling calmly, as if she was amused by the situation.
"Oh, excuse me..."
Dening Rose bowed her head slightly and then stood up. Her real smile disappeared, and her acting smile reappeared.
"Anyway, you did find it?"
"Yes. It seems that the nest has been abandoned for a long time, but the location itself is certain. However..."
Her expression hardened like a dried plaster statue.
"There is information that the Black Tower is moving towards that place. It seems that they are targeting the dragon."
"Black Tower..."
"They are one of the most secretive among the Six Kings and Five Demons. To be honest, I hope we don't have to face them."
"Black Tower..."
That's okay, right?
As soon as I heard that the Black Tower was coming, I thought of a plan to blow my nose without touching it.
"Do you have a map of that area?"
"What are you thinking?"
Dening Rose leaned forward with her eyes wide open.
"Yes."
Raon smiled coldly as he looked at Dorian, who was stroking his head.
"If all goes well, we might catch two fish and even some shrimp."
As he contemplated a plan that could make a great catch, he heard Wrath's voice.
Are you going to grill them?
'Hmm, perhaps…'
