"Phew."
Raon let out an exhausted sigh after laying the sleeping Olga on the bed.
'Has the day already broken?'
It had been evening when he entered the training room with Olga, but now golden sunlight was flooding the windowsill. It seemed that achieving Complete Body Reformation had taken over 12 hours.
'No wonder I'm so tired.'
Having spent 12 hours reconstructing someone else's body using his own aura and the power of elixirs, it was natural to be exhausted even for a Transcendent.
-That's not all, you didn't sleep the day before yesterday either!
Wrath gritted his teeth, pointing at the dark circles under Raon's eyes.
-You stayed up all night practicing the day before yesterday, and stayed up all night healing yesterday. Why don't you just never sleep again!
He furrowed his brow, complaining that he couldn't get a wink of sleep because of Raon.
'Sorry. And...'
Raon waved his hand with a faint smile.
'Thank you.'
Wrath had stayed awake for two days, providing the foundation for Raon to heal Olga. Though he always pretended to be cold, he was warmer than anyone Raon knew. He heard that new bead ice cream would be arriving next week; it might not be a bad idea to go buy some for him right away.
Raon drew the curtains to let Olga sleep soundly, then left the room.
'I feel like I'm about to collapse. I need to go to sleep quickly.'
If it was just two days without sleep, he could endure it easily, but having expended all his physical and mental energy, he couldn't resist the urge to sleep. He wanted to put everything aside and go to bed quickly.
"Raon!"
As he was about to head straight to his room, not even having the energy to wash up, Sia came running up to him at the entrance.
"Let's play!"
Sia shook his sleeve, wanting to play together today since she hadn't seen him yesterday.
"I'm sorry."
Raon shook his head while patting Sia's head.
"I haven't been able to sleep, so I think I need to rest now."
Although there was a high chance that the young-minded Sia wouldn't understand, he had no choice but to say it like this for now.
"Hmm..."
Sia tilted her head as if pondering, then took a step back.
"Then you'll play with me after you wake up, right?"
She blinked her eyes as if asking if it would be okay after he woke up, if not now.
"Of course."
"Then I'll wait. Sleep well!"
Sia waved her hand energetically and ran off to the waiting maids.
'She's definitely changed.'
Raon smiled faintly as he watched Sia's back.
'She's become a bit more mature.'
The old Sia would have kept insisting on playing and throwing a tantrum, but today she understood and accepted his situation. He had felt it during dinner too, but it seemed her mind was growing rapidly.
'Ah, my head hurts. I'll think about it later, I need to sleep first.'
Raon opened the door to his room and collapsed onto the bed.
-You can't!
Just as he was about to fall asleep, a blue cotton candy appeared before his eyes.
-Eat something before you sleep! If you don't eat now, you'll go hungry all day again!
Wrath furrowed his brows, saying Raon couldn't go hungry any longer.
'You're thinking about food at a time like this?'
-Of course! For this king, food comes before sleep!
He tilted his chin as if asking why Raon was questioning such an obvious thing.
'Why on earth did you become Wrath instead of Gluttony?'
Raon pushed Wrath's head away with a trembling hand.
'When we go to Devildom, I'll have to ask the demon god about this.'
To be thinking about food even when exhausted from lack of sleep, no matter how he looked at it, the Authority that suited Wrath was Gluttony. If he ever went to Devildom, he decided to ask the demon god why Wrath's essence was anger.
-Stop talking nonsense. Just eat something!
Wrath waved his hand, saying breakfast was being prepared in the dining room.
'I don't even have the strength to lift a fork.'
Raon wearily shook his head.
-That's why you need to eat!
Wrath shook his head vigorously.
-This king isn't telling you to eat breakfast because I want to eat, but for your own sake. It's not good to sleep on an empty stomach when you're at an age where you should be growing!
'You're being ridiculous.'
Raon let out a hollow laugh.
'Your nonsense is so absurd it's waking me up.'
There was no way Wrath would suggest eating for Raon's sake. He was just hungry himself.
-I-It's true! This king is only concerned about your health...
'So you're saying it's not good to sleep on an empty stomach, right?'
-That's right! It would be better to eat something, anything!
Wrath nodded his head quickly with anticipation.
'Then there's no need to worry.'
Raon smiled mischievously as he pulled out his Subspace Pouch.
'There's plenty of food in here to fill our stomachs.'
-R-Really? When did you prepare this!
Wrath's mood seemed to improve dramatically as he smacked his lips.
'It's the best food to fill your stomach in one go.'
Raon reached into the Subspace Pouch and pulled out a well-baked brown bread.
-W-Wait a moment! That's Nadine bread, isn't it!
Wrath waved both hands as if telling Raon to stop.
"Correct."
-S-Stop!
Ignoring Wrath's protests to starve instead, Raon bit into the Nadine bread and chewed. As he ate the hard bread that smelled like burnt rubber, he felt full instantly. As always, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that the power of Nadine bread was on a Transcendent level.
-Ugh...
Wrath collapsed with a pale face, as if the Nadine bread had eliminated his appetite entirely.
-You damned bastard!
He wiped his tongue with his palm, trying to get rid of the rubber taste, his eyes brimming with tears.
-The best food? Absolutely not. That's the worst food in human history! It's not even fit to be used as fertilizer!
Wrath bit his lip, declaring that Nadine bread was a food that must be eradicated.
'You'd better get used to Nadine bread.'
Raon smirked as he looked at the indignant Wrath.
'Because when we enter the cave, we'll have to eat only that bread for a while.'
-You mentioned a cave earlier too, where on earth is this cave!
'That's...'
With his stomach full, an irresistible drowsiness washed over him. Without answering, he fell into a deep sleep.
-Grr...
Wrath trembled his clenched fist as he watched the softly snoring Raon.
-I can't stand being toyed with by this human anymore! I'd rather die!
Wrath threw a tantrum, pretending to choke himself and threatening to die. However, seeing that Raon had truly fallen asleep without moving, he lay down beside him and closed his eyes.
-When you wake up, I'll kill you!
With those words, Wrath slipped under Raon's blanket and slowly closed his eyes. The room where the human and demon king slept was filled only with the sound of breathing, as if a single person was asleep.
* * *
"Mmm."
Olga opened her eyes urgently.
'This is...'
She saw an elegant and clean ceiling that seemed to have been consistently maintained.
'Is this my lodging?'
Judging by the familiar ceiling, it seemed to be the guest room in the annex building where she had been staying. She had fainted in the training room, so she couldn't understand why she had woken up here.
'Did Raon carry me here?'
Given the situation, that seemed to be the correct answer.
'To take care of me even in that state, he really is a monster among monsters.'
Raon must have accumulated even more pain and fatigue than herself. It was amazing that he had managed to take care of her until the end, despite his exhausted body.
'But why does my body feel so refreshed?'
After the overuse of her holy power, she usually woke up with severe headaches every morning, but strangely, today her head felt as clear as when she was a child.
'Is the treatment really over?'
She had only endured the pain, so she couldn't know how the treatment had progressed. Her last memory was hearing Raon say that she could sleep now, so she wondered if the treatment had ended well.
'I'll find out when I see Raon.'
As Olga slowly tried to sit up, she froze when she saw her right arm.
"Huh...?"
Her arm, which had looked hideous with tattoos on melted blackened skin, now had a clean glow like that of a newborn baby.
"W-What is this..."
Olga frantically darted her eyes around.
"The black lines are all gone?"
It wasn't just her right arm. The scars and tattoos that had covered her left and right legs were also gone. She hurriedly got up to look in the mirror, and found that even the worst melted scars on her chest and back had completely disappeared. It felt like she was dreaming.
"Really..."
Olga knelt in front of the mirror, biting her trembling lips.
"Am I really completely healed?"
As a woman, no, as a person, who wouldn't want to look their best? She too had often wanted to show a pretty appearance fitting for her age. But she had chosen a cause more important than that.
She had given up her appearance and lifespan to focus solely on saving people, never expecting to regain what she had lost.
Olga pinched her own cheek with her fingers.
'This isn't a dream.'
This is really me. Seeing something happen in reality that she couldn't even imagine in her dreams, her heart raced as if it would burst. Confusion and joy welled up simultaneously, leaving her speechless.
'What's even more amazing is my constitution.'
Since her body started breaking down, even using holy power would cause pain as if her flesh was tearing, but now, despite a considerable amount of holy power raging within her, she felt only refreshed.
'Shall I try it?'
Olga summoned a large amount of holy power and spread it over her hand. In the past, this would have caused pain as if her hand was melting, but now she felt no pain at all.
"Ha, hahaha..."
Olga cupped her face with her hand enveloped in holy power.
'He really could heal me.'
Honestly, when Raon said he would fix her constitution, she had no expectations. Though she believed in his abilities, she thought herself superior in healing arts, so she believed this constitution she had given up on was impossible to cure.
She had only followed along hoping to satisfy her benefactor Raon, never expecting to gain a new body.
'How am I supposed to repay this debt?'
Come to think of it, even saving Montiro was just an act of repaying her debt to Raon. She couldn't think of what gift to give Raon, who had accomplished in just one day what even a god might not be able to do.
"Wait..."
Come to think of it, had she thanked Raon? Reflecting on it, she realized she had fainted immediately and hadn't even properly expressed her gratitude.
"Damn it!"
Olga immediately got up and left the room. As she was about to rush to Raon's room, Sylvia suddenly appeared in the corridor.
"Oh my?"
Sylvia's eyes widened as she saw Olga.
"Could it be you, Saintess?"
"Ah, yes..."
Olga stopped in her tracks and nodded.
"My goodness! I heard Raon was treating you, but I never imagined you'd change this much!"
Sylvia let out a soft laugh, saying that Olga looked much more beautiful now.
"Now that I see you like this, you're younger than I thought. This is much better."
She nodded, saying that Olga was incomparably more beautiful now.
"Th-Thank you..."
Olga avoided Sylvia's gaze. Not only was she the mother of her benefactor, but the aura emanating from her was also difficult to face.
"Um, where is Raon?"
Olga asked for Raon, saying she had something to tell him.
"Why are you looking for Raon?"
"Help..."
She bit her lip while looking at her toes.
"I received such enormous help, I don't know what to do..."
Olga tugged at her purple hair, saying she didn't know what to do because what she had received was too great.
"It's simple."
Sylvia smiled as she raised a finger.
"Just saying thank you will be enough."
"Of course I'll do that, but isn't it too simple? What I received from Raon is priceless."
Not only the two top-grade elixirs, but using aura for 12 hours to change the composition of her body wasn't something just anyone could do. A simple thank you couldn't possibly convey all her feelings.
"Raon doesn't think about compensation when he helps someone."
Sylvia shook her head and took Olga's hand.
"Raon reached out because he thought of you as a friend, Saintess. A simple thank you will satisfy him."
She let out a small laugh, saying her son was not greedy.
"Do you really think so?"
Despite hearing Sylvia's words, Olga bit her lip as if still worried.
"Of course."
Sylvia nodded calmly.
"Our son doesn't have desires for things like repayment."
"Hmm..."
Olga seemed even more moved by those words, lowering her head as her eyes reddened. She slowly let tears fall as she looked at her now-clean arms.
"It's okay."
Sylvia gently embraced Olga. It was a touching scene, but neither of them could hear the voice of a certain demon king.
-Even if you're his mother, I can't stand this!
Unable to contain himself any longer, Wrath burst through the door and shouted.
-To say that pig has no greed, what on earth are you looking at! If Raon had been born in Devildom, he would have definitely become the new master of
* * *
"Yawn."
Raon stretched and opened his eyes.
'It's been a while since I slept so soundly.'
He wasn't sure how long he had slept, but his body, which had felt heavy since the war, now felt as light as a feather. It seemed like his depleted physical and mental energy had been fully recharged.
'You feel the same, right?'
Raon tilted his chin towards Wrath, who was floating in the air.
-I couldn't sleep properly because I was so angry at you!
Wrath raised his fist, openly displaying his anger.
'You got angry because of me?'
-Feeding me Nadine bread before sleeping! It was the worst of the worst!
He trembled his shoulders, claiming he could still taste rubber in his mouth.
'I'm sorry. I was out of it at the time.'
-If you had been out of it twice, this king would have died!
Wrath gritted his teeth, saying that Nadine bread would have been listed as the cause of death.
'Don't be like that. From now on, I'll get you something you like...'
As Raon was smiling and patting Wrath's head, he sensed a very faint presence near the window. When he turned his gaze, he saw an elderly man with golden hair and red eyes looking at him through the window.
"Head of House?"
The person standing in front of the window was Glenn. He beckoned with his finger as if telling Raon to come out, then disappeared.
'Has he already prepared it?'
Raon opened the window and went outside. He approached the lakeside and stood next to Glenn.
"It seems you've just woken up. I came at just the right time."
Glenn nodded calmly, as if he had just arrived.
-Right time my foot. He's been waiting all along.
Wrath shook his head, saying the old man was still just spouting nonsense.
"Lately, I haven't had any inspiration for new martial arts. And the martial arts I used in the past wouldn't be of much help to you..."
Glenn smacked his lips briefly and held out a thick book. It was titled "Sky-Piercing Thunder," and the smell of fresh ink suggested it had been recently made.
"It's a martial art that properly combines the forms of the Azure Sky Sword and Celestial Thunder Arts. You can use them together or separately."
When Glenn had passed down the Celestial Thunder Arts, he had explained that it was a swordsmanship that matched well with the Azure Sky Sword, but now it seemed he had combined them completely.
"Thank you."
Raon bowed his head to Glenn as he received the Sky-Piercing Thunder.
"Really..."
Glenn had not only provided five treasures from the Zieghart treasury but had also combined the Azure Sky Sword and Celestial Thunder Arts for Raon's sake. It seemed that a simple "thank you" couldn't fully express his current feelings.
[You have obtained a desired item.]
[The trait
[All abilities have increased.]
[The value of the trait
Receiving the martial art he had wanted even activated Greed. He could feel his soul becoming a little stronger.
-This is maddening. He was already making my stomach hurt, but now it's even worse!
Wrath glared with blazing blue eyes, saying it was really getting hard to bear.
"It's nothing compared to what you've done."
Glenn waved his hand, saying it was nothing compared to defeating the Black Tower Master.
"I was originally going to demonstrate the Sky-Piercing Thunder, but you look tired, so it might be better to do it later."
He turned his back as if about to leave.
"Just a moment."
Raon raised his hand. Though he felt awkward bringing it up now after receiving so much from Glenn, there was something he had to say.
"There's something I need to ask of you, Head of House."
"A request? What is it?"
Glenn nodded as if ready to listen to anything.
"I want to use the opportunity you gave me before."
Raon clenched his fist as he looked into Glenn's red eyes.
"Please open the Room of Self for me."