N/T: Translation made by our friend 'Irving'. A big round of applause for him :)
Chapter 386
Raon swallowed his saliva as he watched the young hedgehog waving his hand.
'Hedgehogs hibernate during the winter...'
House Zieghart is a land where all four seasons are winter, and now is the coldest time of year.
If it were a wild hedgehog, it would be sleeping underground after filling its belly, so it doesn't make sense to wave its hand with a smiling face.
What are you thinking so deeply about!
Wrath shook his head as he watched the hedgehog laugh out loud.
Isn't it obvious? It's that crazy woman!
Wrath muttered that it was scary and entered the ice flower bracelet faster than ever before.
'I know too...'
Of course, he knew who was in that hedgehog, but he just hoped that it wasn't a real hedgehog.
"Sigh..."
Raon sighed deeply and looked into the hedgehog's eyes.
"Merlin?"
"Yes!"
The hedgehog smiled brightly and nodded. There was no such thing as a maybe.
"How the hell did you get in here?"
"I saw your test yesterday."
As expected of Merlin. She didn't answer the question, but only spoke what she wanted to say.
"It was really great to see you not panic even when the situation got complicated, and overcome the obstacles with your friends!"
Merlin raised her thumb as if to say good job. It was amazing that she could do that pose as a hedgehog.
"You saw all that?"
Raon opened his mouth wide.
'The head of house is also there?'
Glenn was at the city training ground where the test took place yesterday. She could be caught and killed at any moment, but I couldn't help but laugh at the courage that kept her watching until the end.
"I had to see you fighting while giving orders, even if I had to sacrifice my life."
Merlin twisted her body and laughed out loud.
That, that is truly crazy...
'Crazy...'
To anyone other than Merlin, those words are not a joke. Sweat trickled down his back.
"Whoa."
Merlin climbed down from the tree and slowly crawled over. It was slow to use the hedgehog's body as it is, but the distance was close and it was already at his feet.
"I have something to say. Let me in."
"You have thorns."
"It's okay if I don't set up the thorns. Oh, don't touch my side. It's embarrassing."
She blushed and said that it was embarrassing to have her side meat caught.
"Ha..."
'I'm going crazy.'
'I don't know why she's squirming her body, even though she appeared in the form of a hedgehog, and she's embarrassed.'
However, it was clear that she had brought important information, so he could not refuse.
Raon sighed deeply and picked up Merlin. Her thorns curled inward, as if she was controlling them.
"See? It doesn't hurt."
Merlin waved her small hand as if to show it. It was a cute look that I would like to hug if it weren't for the crazy woman inside.
"What do you have to say?"
"The Black Tower."
She spoke in a cold voice, unlike her cute appearance.
"Black Tower?"
Raon narrowed his eyes at Merlin.
"They must already know that I killed the Black Tower floor master, right?"
"They knew it, but now they've decided to target you for elimination."
A blue light seeped into Merlin's dark eyes.
"The Black Tower is secretive yet persistent. Even if it's a lower level, since you've defeated one of the Black Tower's floor masters, they will undoubtedly study you and send an even stronger individual."
"That's probably true."
Raon nodded.
"They're relentless."
As individuals who wield the power of darkness, members of the Black Tower didn't hesitate to take extreme measures. It was clear that they would seek revenge by any means necessary.
"But how did you know that?"
The Black Market and the Shadow Agents were also investigating the Black Tower, but Raon hadn't expected Merlin to be the one to inform him first.
"I infiltrated."
Merlin chuckled, scratching her round nose.
"Infiltrated?"
Raon looked at Merlin in disbelief.
"Do you mean you infiltrated them?"
"It's because of me, isn't it?"
"Of course."
"Why did you go to such lengths, though?"
"Because I was worried about you."
Merlin shrugged as if it were obvious.
'Ah...'
Every time he heard her speak, his mouth went dry. It was both unsettling and grateful.
Groan
Wrath groaned from his bracelet as if in disbelief.
"Eden seems to be preparing for something, but I'm not sure."
Merlin furrowed her brow, mentioning that Tacheon had been roaming around by himself lately.
"You don't know either?"
"I think they're a bit suspicious of me. Tacheon handles things directly, and he only give me minor tasks."
"Suspicious?"
"Because you were my target. They might suspect that you're still in contact with me. They're clever, after all."
She reassured him that she hadn't been exposed yet and advised him not to worry too much.
"We need to resolve the suspicion first, so you should be careful from now on."
Merlin shook her small hand.
"If I obtain important information from the Black Tower or Eden, I'll come back. Until then, take care."
She waved her hand as if it was time for her to leave.
"Thank you for letting me know..."
"For this little one, give me twenty earthworms. That was the promise."
Merlin winked with the eyes of a hedgehog and disappeared.
"Wait, hold on! How am I supposed to get earthworms right here?"
*Squeak*
The hedgehog, who had been nestled in the palm of Raon's hand, stood up on its four legs and looked in his direction. Its narrowed eyes seemed to be urging him to provide the prey quickly.
"Ah..."
Raon stammered while holding the hedgehog in his hand.
"Where can I get earthworms now..."
Since he hadn't anticipated meeting Merlin inside house Zieghart, his pocket dimension was empty.
*Squeak!*
The hedgehog raised its spines, as if it were insisting that he should have kept the promise.
What are you doing! If you made a promise, you should keep it! Hurry, dig up some soil!
'I never made a promise…'
Raon muttered, feeling quite absurd talking to a hedgehog.
Raon let out a sigh and activated his Sensory Perception skill to search for insects or earthworms around him. Honestly, he could barely sense anything.
"Twenty, can we make it just ten…"
SQUEAK!
"Okay, okay."
He shook his head and started digging with his bare hands in a place where he felt a faint energy.
The king of Essence is afraid of that madwoman, but...
Wrath came up next to him and laughed.
It's so much fun to see you flustered!
'Shut up, and you find some worms too. Before the hedgehog decides to eat them.'
Gukhh...
* * *
Raon finally managed to find 20 worms and dig a hole for the hedgehog to sleep in. The hedgehog gave him a thumbs-up and fell into a deep sleep.
'I'm exhausted.'
The King of Essence's hungry...
Wrath, who had helped Raon find the worms, slumped down on his arm.
Let's eat as soon as we get home.
'After I sleep.'
Eat and then sleep.
'What does that mean...?'
It means let's eat first!
'Everyone's asleep.'
To avoid waking up the others, Raon tried to climb out of the window, but at that moment, the door to the annex building opened.
"Raon. Come here."
Sylvia, who came out of the door, waved her hand.
"Mother?"
Raon opened his eyes wide and approached Sylvia.
"You weren't sleeping?"
"As you get older, you tend to sleep less."
Sylvia smiled and said she had just woken up.
"But you should have slept a little more..."
"Once I wake up, I can't fall back asleep. But..."
She looked at Raon's dusty hands and rolled her eyes.
"Why do you keep speaking formally?"
"I'm over 20 now."
He thought it was time to start using honorifics now that he was an adult.
"Fine."
Sylvia shook her head at Raon.
"I don't like you growing up."
She smiled and said he was still at an age where he could be spoiled.
"That age was a long time ago."
"It's true that you've never been a spoiled child."
"Hmm..."
There was no denying it. Since he had the mind of an adult since he was a baby, it was impossible for him to be spoiled or have tantrums.
"But you're still my child."
Sylvia stroked his cheeks.
“Outside, they see you as a hero, White Sword Dragon, a warrior standing tall. There are many people who come to see me to curry favor with you.”
“Is that so?”
Raon smiled faintly. It seemed that the groundwork he was doing to get Sylvia into the direct line was working well.
“But I’m rejecting them all and not paying attention.”
Sylvia smiled as she looked into Raon’s eyes.
“Don’t worry about getting your mother into the direct line and focus on what you want to do. You have something you really need to do, even if you haven’t told me.”
“How did you know that…?”
Raon’s eyes widened. He had never told Sylvia what he was targeting, so he was surprised.
“I’m your mother.”
“Oh…”
“Judiel is on duty today. I’ll make you a sandwich together. Come and wash up.”
Sylvia waved and headed to the kitchen.
“ummm…”
Your mom is the best!
“…”
* * *
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When Raon opened the door after bathing, Judiel bowed her head.
“You’re here.”
She pointed to the sandwich and milk on the table and told him to eat it.
This maid’s sandwiches are pretty good.
As Wrath said, Judiel’s sandwiches were delicious, with a rich, clean flavor.
“I’ll eat it.”
As Raon sat down at the table and took a bite of the sandwich, Judiel came over to him.
“While you were away on a training trip, information about the Five Demons arrived from the black market. Would you like to see it yourself, or should I tell you?”
“Tell me.”
Judiel was a genius at information management, so it was much easier to hear from her than from anyone else.
“First of all, Five Demons' movements have decreased sharply. The only ones active were the South-North Union and the Black Tower, but they didn’t seem to be making any major moves either.”
“It must be because of the Six Kings Assembly.”
“Yes. They seem to have hidden themselves for a while, knowing that the alliance of the Six Kings is still strong and that the power of the heads and leaders is still intact.”
Judiel nodded and her eyes darkened.
“However, we should not be careless. They are not just running away, but are clearly building up their strength.”
“That’s right.”
Raon swallowed his food. Five Demons were group of lunatics who could not sit still for a long time. It was clear that they had hidden themselves with other intentions.
“The reason the Black Tower moved was to gather information, and that information was….”
“Me, right?”
Raon looked at Judiel and laughed.
“Did you know?”
“It’s obvious.”
Thanks to Merlin, it was obvious what the Black Tower guys were thinking.
“What about information about your brother?”
“There is none yet.”
“It’s okay if you’re disappointed.”
“It’s fine.”
Judiel shook her head calmly, as if she felt nothing.
“You acted well when you did the puppet show before. You screamed so realistically with ‘Aaaahhh!’”
"Yo-young maasteerr!"
Her face flushed with embarrassment for the first time. It seemed that she was particularly embarrassed.
"I-I think I'll go now. Thank you for your concern."
Judiel blushed and left the room.
Heh.
Wrath started scribbling on the paper in his round bread-like hand as he looked at the door where Judiel had left.
Always pretend to care about your subordinates…
"I'm not pretending."
Anyway, it's not that difficult. There's no other monarch in the devildom who cares about their subordinates as much as the King of Essence
"Can't you tone that down a bit?"
As the king of Essence said yesterday, you're stealing the king of Essence's power, so shouldn't the king of Essence takes something in return?
When he grumbled about how there's no such thing as a free lunch, a message popped up.
[You have achieved victory against a stronger opponent.]
[All attributes have increased by 8 points.]
[Achievements in swordsmanship and foresight have increased.]
It was a message that his attributes and achievements in swordsmanship and foresight had increased after defeating Trevin.
'As expected.'
Since the match against Trevin, he had found it more convenient to use the intricacies of swordsmanship and foresight. It wasn't because of his mood.
Why... are you giving this to the King of Essence again?
Wrath dropped his round hand that had been scribbling.
"You mentioned it yourself. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world."
Raon shrugged as he looked at Wrath, whose lips were trembling.
"It's for today's lecture fee."
Don't talk nonsense! The king of Essence have paid the lecture fees in full up to now! This is a scam!
"Then report it if you want. Though it's not the right time."
You darned... The king of Essence can't stand it today!
Wrath exploded for the first time in a while, and on that day, his strength and agility increased.
* * *
"Ugh..."
Yulius looked up at the cliffs of the Bukmangsan mountain and sighed.
"Are you telling me to go up there?"
Are you out of your mind?
Just thinking about climbing up a cliff that looked like it would roll down if you moved even a little made him feel crazy.
"Come up!"
Raon's shout could be heard from the top of the cliff.
"Today, I'm really going to kill that guy."
"Raon, you're so bad-tempered..."
"Let's go!"
Martha, the captain of the Light Wind squad, along with Runaan and Burren, started climbing the cliff as if they were demonstrating, and the other Light Wind squad members followed suit.
The Light Wind squad climbed the cliff at an astonishing speed even while carrying chunks of black metal on their wrists and ankles.
Though it might sound strange, they were agile, almost like cockroaches.
"How can they be so fast with those weights?"
The black metal had the effect of blocking aura, but that was not all. The Light Wind squad members climbed the cliff with incredible speed, making it hard to believe that they were carrying such weights.
"Let's go too!"
Yua, who had become a member of the Light Wind squad, clenched her fists.
Yua didn't seem to be afraid at all; her face was bright red as she eagerly wanted to reach the top as soon as possible.
"Aren't you scared?"
"I've been training for three months for this."
"It's not for that."
Yulius shook his head. He had been training in the basics for three months after the battle between the Light Wind squad and Warring Steel division, but he didn't think it would be easy.
But then...
"Kyaaaaah!"
Krein, who was climbing the cliff, was being hit by a flying dagger and falling down.
He quickly released the Black Ring artifact and the black metal to protect himself with his aura before he hit the ground.
Kuwaaaaah!
The ground shook as Krein crashed into it, as if it were going to collapse.
"Guh..."
He opened his mouth with difficulty, his eyes trembling.
"Damn you, Raon. Why is it always me... Ugh!"
As Krein muttered Raon's curse, a rock flew from somewhere and hit him on the forehead.
"This is fun!"
"Ugh..."
Yua bounced around in excitement, while Krein's face turned pale.
"Don't worry."
Gambling Monster approached the two children and shook his head.
"We'll catch you if you fall."
He said that the others were now used to it and didn't need to be caught. As soon as he said that, the Light Wind squad members began to fall down from the top of the cliff like rain.
"Kyaaaaah!"
"Damn it!"
"Why is this crazy guy's flying dagger skills getting better and better!"
The Light Wind squad members spat curses at Raon or screamed as they crashed to the ground one after another.
"Let's go!"
Yua, who seemed to be enjoying herself, started climbing the cliff with a smirk. She didn't wear the Black Ring, so she climbed faster.
"Guh..."
Yulius clenched his teeth and followed Yua, putting his hands on the cliff.
'I can't lose to this kid.'
Even though he didn't like the idea of that brat monopolizing Raon's praise, he overcame his fear and climbed the cliff with all his might.
Raon smiled as he watched Yua and Yulius climbing the cliff, bouncing around.
'Good job.'
He thought it would be difficult for them to climb the cliff without their aura, as they still lacked training, but they were both doing well.
'Yua is driven by pleasure, and Yulius is driven by stubbornness.'
Yua enjoyed the training itself, while Yulius was climbing the cliff with gritted teeth, not wanting to lose to Yua.
'This is what it's good about having rivals.'
He smiled and threw the dagger he was holding on his finger down. The dagger, which made no sound at all, aimed for Dorian's forehead.
"Oh, no!"
Dorian felt the danger and tried to dodge to the right, but the dagger turned smoothly like a blade of grass carried by the wind and hit his side.
Bbang!
A loud sound rang out, as if a hammer had been struck, just by the sword touching his flesh.
"Gyaaaaah!"
Dorian fell down crying.
"This demon!"
He couldn't even swear and ran away, calling him a demon.
He is not a demon, but a candidate for the Demon King!
Wrath shook his head, saying that he had already passed the stage of a demon.
'I'm not going to be a Demon King.'
He smiled and stabbed down with the dagger in his hand. The dagger, which was shot like lightning, hit the shoulder of the Light Wind squad member.
'Now, I won't be outmatched even with a flying dagger.'
'The mastery of Mukgyeolbi (rain dagger) was faster than that of the Light Wind squad members growth. Despite creating several new techniques, the Light Wind squad members still had a long way to go to conquer this cliff.'
'I wonder if I should mix it with that.'
Since the Mukgyeolbi had reached a certain level of mastery, it seemed fine to mix it with the aura techniques he received from Derus.
'Sometime soon....'
While Raon was contemplating mixing the techniques, he sensed a presence behind him. When he turned around, Roenn was standing there with a benevolent smile.
'You're still like a ghost.'
As an Assassin with the title of "King of Death," he was far superior to him in terms of killing his aura.
"I greet you, the vice-squad leader of the Light Wind squad."
Roenn bowed his head politely.
"It's been a while. Roenn."
Raon bowed his head deeper than him to greet him back.
"The head of house is looking for you."
Roenn smiled softly and nodded his chin.
"The head of house is looking for me?"
"Yes. It seems that the second test has been decided."
