N/T: Translation made by our friend 'Irving'. A big round of applause for him :)
Chapter 549
Raon turned around when the garden of the annex building began to come into view. Balder was following him, his face twisted into a frown.
'He's not running away.'
Balder had adamantly refused to go, but he was bound by his own words and had no choice but to follow Raon to the annex building.
The Special Inspection Unit members walking behind him also had pale faces, as if they were being dragged to hell. The confidence and arrogance they had when they kicked open the fifth training ground door at dawn were nowhere to be seen.
‘‘I'll never forget today's humiliation…’’
As Balder gritted his teeth at Raon, the Gambling Monster struck him on the back of the head.
Paaaak!
A refreshing sound like a pumpkin breaking rang out, and Balder's body swayed as if he was about to fall.
"Ugh!"
Balder screamed, clutching the back of his head.
"Why did you hit me!"
"You shouldn't say such things as holding a grudge while conducting an inspection, Special Inspector. Did you lose your mind and want to die? Should I go find you a shaman?"
The Gambling Monster glared at him and raised his rock-like fist.
"Gulp...."
Balder lowered his head, not daring to answer back.
"T-that was just something I said in the heat of the moment!"
"An inspector should not be swayed by emotions. You should always remain calm and thoroughly understand the situation."
"But even sir Herrian doesn’t do that…"
"So what if I didn't do it!"
Gambling Monster twisted his lips and slapped Balder's forehead with his palm.
"Aaargh! Stop it!"
"Is there a problem with what I'm doing, Special Inspector? I'm just talking to you in a way you understand."
"You're just talking down to me! You keep hitting me and swearing, what the hell! If you're going to do this, just do it the old way!"
Balder snapped, as if he couldn't take it anymore.
"Then I'm fine with that."
The Gambling Monster smiled coolly and patted Balder's head again.
"You fool! If you're lucky enough to be a Special Inspector, you should do your job properly and get recognized by the head of the house. Are you just going to go around flaunting your authority? How can you become more and more foolish as you get older!"
He seemed to be enjoying himself as he walked next to Balder and nagged him.
"Ugh...."
Balder hunched over, clutching his chest as if he was suffocating.
"While I'm at it, I'll give you a piece of advice."
The Gambling Monster pointed at Raon.
"As you can see from today, that guy is a madman. There's no one crazier than him in this family, no, in the whole continent. If you want to keep talking big in this family, you'd better know when to back down."
"B-back down! No matter what, I will never be defeated by that kid!"
"Of course, for now, you have the upper hand. But it won't be long before the tables turn. This is the last piece of advice I'll give you as your damn master. Remember it."
"No. I don't like it! I haven't reached my full potential yet!"
Balder shook his head violently, unable to accept that.
"And from now on, speak to me respectfully!"
"This is ridiculous! You're making me go back and forth, back and forth! You're really getting on my nerves!"
The Gambling Monster hit Balder on the back of the head as he asked, raising his voice as Balder wanted. This time, a dull sound like a stone hitting something rang out.
"Oh? You're blocking it with your aura?"
"It really hurts!"
Balder clutched the back of his head and jumped away from the Gambling Monster. The expressions of the Special Inspection Unit members behind him crumpled even more at this disgraceful spectacle.
"Hoo..."
The Gambling Monster sighed as he looked at Balder, who was rolling his eyes.
'He still doesn't listen. But then again, even I would refuse if someone told me to bow down to my nephew.’
However, you are not fit to become the head of the house.
The Gambling Monster knows him better than anyone else, having watched him grow up since he was a child.
Although he excelled in martial arts and courage, he couldn't ascend to the throne of a lord capable of uniting the entire family.
If the unqualified Balder becomes the head of the house, Zieghart will perish in less than 10 years.
'On the other hand....'
The Gambling Monster licked his lips as he looked at Raon's unwavering back.
'That guy is the real deal.'
Even if he were a broad-minded person, he would have been satisfied and delighted if I had appeared to stop Balder's antics.
However, that crazy brat used my name to the fullest, feeding lies to Balder and the inspectors while also gaining substantial profits. To be honest, it wasn't a judgment a normal person could make.
He had the audacity to not only take away the enemy's weapons but also the food and the container that held the food. Raon had the temperament of a true leader. If Raon became the head of the family, Zieghart would be able to break free from the shackles of the Six Kings and stand alone.
'But his age is the problem.'
Due to his young age, Raon lacked the accomplishments and military prowess that Karoon, Denier, and Balder possessed.
If only that could be filled, he seemed to be able to do well even if he entered the successor competition.
'Is there a way to help him....'
As the Gambling Monster walked, organizing his thoughts about Raon and Balder, Raon stopped and raised his hand.
"Welcome to the annex building, head of Special Inspector Unit."
Raon politely bowed his head, pointing to the entrance of the garden.
"How pathetic."
Balder frowned as he looked at the garden, which had no flowers blooming because it was winter. He continued in a fierce voice, as if to vent all his accumulated frustration.
"This is the ugliest and dirtiest garden among all the gardens inside Zieghart. It wouldn't be strange to just call it a field."
"Is that so."
Raon did not lose his gentle smile even though Sylvia's garden was being insulted.
"You can tell the character of the owner by looking at the garden. The owner of the annex building is narrow-minded and petty...."
"General Administrator."
As soon as the Gambling Monster heard Raon's call, he rushed over and slapped Balder in the mouth.
"Keuk!"
Balder, who was hit while talking, grimaced and stepped back.
"Did you lose your tongue? Speak politely."
The Gambling Monster brushed off the hand that had hit Balder and wrinkled his nose.
"Awoo...."
Balder groaned, unable to do anything while clutching his mouth. His eyes drooped like a puppy tired of walking and wanting to go home.
"Enough of this. Let's go inside."
Raon led Balder and the inspectors to the front door of the annex building. Thanks to the Gambling Monster, they followed him quietly without saying a word.
As soon as he opened the front door, he saw Sylvia and Helen coming down the stairs.
"Young master?"
"Why are you here so early? I have a lot to clean up today...."
Sylvia tilted her head and stopped walking when she saw Balder standing behind Raon.
"Oh, brother. No, sir Balder...."
She trembled, and her lips turned pale as if terrified.
"Sylvia. You still haven't come to your senses...."
Balder frowned at Sylvia. As he was about to open his lips to say something, the Gambling Monster raised his foot.
Paaaak!
The Gambling Monster kicked Balder's butt lightly and entered the annex building.
"Move aside! I can't go in because a bear-like guy is standing there!"
"Keugh...."
Balder rubbed his kicked butt and stepped aside. He unknowingly hit the door with his shoulder as he watched the Gambling Monster's reaction.
Raon didn't miss that moment and pulled the door right out.
Bang!
The door shattered and fell backwards with a sound like a lump of clay crushing.
"Wha... ?"
Balder opened his mouth wide as he looked at the fallen door, raising dust. Everyone's gaze turned to him.
"Ah, no! It wasn't me!"
"Didn't the special inspector hit it with his shoulder?"
"How can a door shatter just by hitting it with a shoulder!"
"I told you, the annex building is old so you have to be careful."
Raon waved to Dorian, who had come with him.
"Oh, yes. First, one door..."
Dorian took out his notebook and wrote down one door.
"That's not it."
Raon shook his head as he looked at the contents of the notebook.
"We can't replace the doors one by one. Let's change them both."
"Ah, yes!"
Dorian nodded and corrected it to two doors.
"It wasn't me, it was this guy! He pulled the door out with his hands!"
Balder pointed his thick fingers at Raon.
"General Administrator."
Raon didn't argue and called the Gambling Monster right away.
"Everyone here saw you hit it with your shoulder, so what nonsense are you talking about!"
As soon as the Gambling Monster heard Raon's call, he approached Balder and crumpled his face.
"No, how can a door break just by hitting it with a shoulder!"
"Look at your body! It's more strange if it doesn't break!"
"Ugh...."
Balder, unable to resist, sighed and gestured to the special inspection unit behind him.
"I, investigate. Quickly and safely. Do not break anything under any circumstances."
He glared at them and told them not to spend any more money on repairs.
"Ah, yes sir!"
"We'll keep that in mind."
The inspectors, who had also become discouraged and bent their waists halfway, nodded and dispersed.
"W, what is this...."
Sylvia's hardened expression finally relaxed when she saw Balder, who looked as deflated as a mouse in front of a cat.
"Why is brother Balder so scared?"
She blinked her eyes as if she didn't understand this situation.
"I don't know either...."
"I don't know what's going on."
"Hmm...."
Helen and the maids also looked confused at the sight of Balder, who was crumbling.
"I brought him here because the special inspection unit wanted to investigate the annex building."
Raon approached Sylvia and the maids with a gentle smile.
"Nothing will happen. Don't worry."
He reassured everyone with his determined voice. Sylvia and the maids looked even more relieved.
"Special Inspector, let's start over there."
Raon raised his hand and guided them to the left corridor.
"Tsk."
Balder clicked his tongue and followed him.
Creak, creak.
The left corridor was the narrowest passage inside the annex building, and since Balder was so big, he filled the corridor and naturally knocked down a picture hanging on the wall.
Clang!
The frames that fell to the ground shattered with a sharp sound.
"Gasp!"
Balder panicked and leaned his back against the outer wall.
Crumble!
When Balder's back hit the wall, Raon concentrated all his strength in his palm and pushed the wall out.
Thanks to his title, The King of Destruction, the wall collapsed with a roar, even though his gesture seemed light.
T, this crazy guy! Why are you destroying the house!
Wrath opened his mouth wide, seeing him destroying his own house.
"Aaah...."
Balder opened his mouth wide at the sight of the wall crumbling into dust.
"No, no! It's not me! This guy broke it!"
He pointed at Raon and his chin trembled.
"That's too much. Everyone here saw sir Balder hitting the wall with his back."
Raon shook his head, pointing to the people behind him.
"Do you mean to tell me that a wall can collapse just because a person leaned against it!"
"Then do you mean to tell me that a wall can collapse just because I pushed it with my finger?"
"Keuk...."
Balder couldn't come up with a counterargument and his face turned red.
"This is driving me crazy. I didn't say it was me!"
Unable to contain his temper, he stomped his foot forcefully.
Splatter!
Raon synchronized with that resonance, transmitting his strenght to the remaining wall. The wall crumbled into pieces, and the ceiling sagged.
Kwaaang!
As the ceiling descended and the walls collapsed, people from other parts of the building rushed in, their mouths agape as they stared at Balder.
"Don't look at me like that! I'm innocent!" Balder screamed, pounding his chest, but no one paid attention to his words.
"Are you planning to demolish the entire house?"
The Gambling Monster snapped, urging Balder to regain his senses as he smacked his fist against Balder's forehead.
“This is really unfair!”
“Shut up!”
He completely covered Balder's mouth as if he had no intention of listening.
“Dorian.”
“Ah, yes….”
Dorian, terrified of Balder, faithfully wrote down the estimate for the damaged annex building.
‘He fell for it properly’
He had deliberately brought Balder to the narrowest and oldest corridor, and his plan had worked perfectly. It went so well that it was unbelievable.
You're a real madman. Even the heavens bastard, which are the best at scheming, will not be able to keep up!
Wrath sincerely admired him and stuck out his tongue.
"I, I won't move from here! I won't be fooled by your schemes anymore!"
Balder wrapped his arms around himself and sat down on the spot. He closed his eyes, saying that he would stay here until the investigation by the other members of the Special Inspection Unit was over.
‘Well, there is another way.’
Raon left Balder and followed the members of the Special Inspection Unit.
As they began to search the annex building, he broke old but not very important objects and added them to Dorian's notebook.
“Why are you doing this!”
"This is madness!"
“I didn't break that vase!”
“This devil!”
The members of the Special Inspection Unit were in a situation where their finances were going bankrupt and they couldn't do anything about it, so they just cried.
“Ahhhh!”p
“Please stop!”
Balder raised his trembling eyelids at the screams coming from all over the annex building.
"Is this the devil's lair...?"
* * *
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One hour later.
The members of the Special Inspection Unit stood before Balder.
"Uh, there's nothing here."
"We're the same"
"It's, it's clean."
Everyone bowed their heads, saying that there was nothing unusual.
"Re-really? Then let's go!"
Balder smiled, happy that he could finally leave the annex building, and stood up.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Raon stood in front of Balder, blocking his way.
"Sir Inspector, I believe you owe us compensation for the damage your inspection unit has caused to our house."
Balder scoffed. "Hah! That nonsense about ions? It doesn't work anymore! That's just what scammers use! There's no such thing!"
He seemed to have done some research on ions in the meantime, as he tilted his chin up.
"Unfortunately, there are no ions in our house."
Raon calmly shook his head.
"The damaged items are all ordinary objects."
"Oh, really? Then it shouldn't cost much, right?"
Balder seemed relieved that it wasn't ions.
"However."
Raon lowered his head and sniffed.
"My mother, the maids, and I have poured our lives into these objects and this house. They are more precious than ions..."
"Euaaaak!"
Balder clutched his head and screamed.
"So how much do you want?!"
"30 gold coins?"
"That's too expensive!"
"Memories can't be bought with money. I want to replace the items with the best possible products and bring my mother a little joy."
Raon kept his head down and his shoulders trembled slightly.
"That's sad."
The Gambling Monster sniffed behind him.
"Oh, this is really driving me crazy..."
Balder glared at the Gambling Monster and finally took out 30 gold coins.
"I'm leaving now!"
"Ah, wait a minute."
Raon stopped Balder again as he was about to leave.
"I didn't see the latest temperature control artifact, Warmth 1, it seems to be missing."
"What nonsense is this again?"
"There was an artifact from the Yonaan family next to the frame that the Special Inspector broke. It's an artifact that warms the whole annex building, and it seems to have broken when the frame broke."
"Ridiculous! There was nothing there but a frame! How much more money are you trying to extort..."
"General Administrator!"
The Gambling Monster jumped right in and nodded.
"Oh, I saw that too. Wasn't it a small ball?"
"That's right. It seems to have broken when sir Balder moved."
"Hmm..."
Raon and the Gambling Monster stared at Balder at the same time.
"Sigh..."
Balder seemed to give up and sighed as he pulled out his spatial pocket.
"How much is that?"
"As I mentioned, it's a precious artifact that controls the temperature of the entire annex building, Warmth 1, and it's a handmade product of the Yonaan family heir..."
"Fine, just tell me the price!"
"It's 30 gold coins."
"That's a bit too much..."
"General Administrator!"
Raon called for the Gambling Monster as soon as Balder started to ramble.
"Do you want to pay 300 gold coins?"
"Why are you doing this to me!"
"Just hurry up and pay!"
"You're not going to live a long life."
Balder glared at Raon and took out another 30 gold coins.
"Thank you."
"..."
Balder headed towards the entrance with a dejected step.
"Is this door paid for?"
"Of course. However..."
Raon frowned as he looked at the table next to the door.
"The latest security alarm artifact, Peek-a-Boo 1, that was here seems to be missing. It seems like it broke when the door fell apart."
"There was no such thing!"
"Dorian, did you see it too?"
"Yes? Uh... Yes, I saw it! Peek-a-Boo!"
Dorian nodded while avoiding the Balder's gaze.
"Peek-a-Boo! You just said Peek-a-Boo, not Peek-a-Boo 1!"
Balder shouted as if he had caught them red-handed.
"That's not important, General Administrator!"
"Hey!"
The Gambling Monster impatiently gestured for Balder to hand over the money.
"Sigh, do I have to die for this to be over?"
Balder exclaimed, throwing his hands up in resignation.
"So how much is Peek-a-Boo?"
"It's 30 gold coins."
"Are you running some kind of price scam? Why is everything 30 coins!"
He laughed bitterly as he emptied his empty wallet.
"I'm broke now! You brat!"
"We also accept installments."
"Installments..."
"Since you're a special inspector, the interest rate will be 10% per day."
Raon nodded and raised one finger.
"Even loan sharks don't charge that much! You crazy bastard!"
Balder went crazy and started pounding his chest and stomping his feet.
Boom!
The table collapsed completely from the impact.
"Add the table..."
Dorian now dutifully wrote down the broken furniture in his notebook.
"Ugh! Just wait. I'll definitely send it today."
He left the annex building, giving off an impression as if he were about to kill someone.
Following him, Raon operated the spatial sword, slicing through the center of the garden. The ground exploded, shaking the garden violently.
"Wh-what is this...?"
"It seems to be because of the Special Inspector."
"What did I do this time?!"
Balder glared at him, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"Do you happen to know that plants understand human speech?"
"What?"
"There's research that shows plants grow faster when you say nice things to them, and grow slower when you say bad things."
"So what are you getting at?!"
"When you first came here, you called the plants ugly and dirty. I think the seeds committed suicide from the shock."
As he spoke, he activated his spatial sword again.
A series of explosions erupted from within the garden, sending dirt and dust flying into the air.
"Look. They couldn't handle the stress and exploded from within."
"Don't be ridiculous! You just used your aura!”
Even in his furious state, Balder had noticed Raon using aura.
"That was to protect myself. Have you ever seen aura leaking out of my hands?"
"Th-that..."
Having never learned how to use a spatial sword, Balder was naturally unable to answer.
It seems the King of Essence is losing his mind.
Wrath sighed in disbelief.
He's using the swordsmanship he learned while hunting lizard in a place like this...
He shook his head, exasperated.
"If it goes on like this, I have no choice. I need to be compensated for this as well. The seeds here are all soaked in germanium, so..."
"Stop! Stop! Please stooooooop!"
Balder covered his ears and fled at full speed, using his movement technique. His figure disappeared from sight in an instant.
"Now that the head of special inspection unit is gone, shall we settle the remaining accounts among ourselves?"
Raon gestured to the remaining inspectors, while watching Balder's retreating figure.
"Ugh..."
"What are we even doing here..."
The inspectors trembled their lips as they overlapped Raon's hand with the reaper's scythe.
* * *
Rimmer stood up, leaning against the Tiger Rock.
"This is the first time I've seen Balder run away. Even when he was outnumbered, he always stood his ground and fought. What happened to him?"
He couldn't hold back his laughter as he watched Balder flee without even looking back.
"Did you expect this to happen?"
Smiling with a hint of laughter, Rimmer looked up.
"Of course not."
Glenn, standing on the tiger rock, shook his head gently. He, too, had a smile on his lips, as if he found this situation amusing.
"I thought that with Herrian there, he would be able to stop Balder's nonsense. But..."
Glenn turned his gaze from the fleeing Balder to Raon, who was instructing the Special Inspection Unit to dig up the garden.
"I didn't think Raon would take advantage of this situation."
"Who would have thought? That Raon is crazy."
Rimmer agreed with Glenn's words and nodded his head.
"He managed to swindle 60 gold coins just from the fifth training ground, but I never anticipated him taking it a step further by bringing the scheme to the annex building. His audacity knows no bounds – truly venomous."
"That's not it."
Glenn shook his head and looked at Sylvia, who was standing behind Raon. Color was returning to her pale face.
"Raon took Balder to the annex building to give Sylvia confidence."
"Confidence?"
"Yes, He declared his intention to promote Sylvia to the direct line next year. Consequently, Sylvia will have to confront the family executives once more. Hence, he presented Balder's shattered image as a means to bolster her confidence in that impending encounter."
"Ah..."
Rimmer nodded his head as he listened to Glenn's words.
“As expected, he’s a deep guy… hmm?"
As he turned his gaze in admiration, he saw Raon ripping off gold coins from the Inspectors.
No matter how you looked at it, he appeared to be nothing more than a thug, callously snatching pocket money from innocent children.
"Is that really true?"
When he asked, Glenn began to tremble with his fist.
"M, my lord?"
"It's frustrating."
"Yes?"
"It's frustrating that I can't give anything to that talented guy. I wish he could fleece my money like Balder... "
Glenn shook his fist as if truly frustrated.
"Even if he threatens me, I can be fleeced as much as he wants!"
"......"
Looking at Glenn, who muttered that he could give away Zieghart's entire treasures, Rimmer shook his head as if he couldn't believe it.
"This family is going to be ruined soon."
I need to find another job...
