-S-speak up, because it's scary!
Wrath grabbed Raon's chin and shook it, telling him to just say it.
'Move aside.'
Raon pushed away Wrath who was fidgeting in front of him and looked back at Glenn.
"Head of House. There is one more thing I would like to ask."
"Speak your mind."
Glenn nodded as if he would listen to anything Raon had to say.
"Denier Zieghart."
Raon murmured his name while recalling Denier's desperate gaze from the battlefield.
"No, what happened to Denier?"
He was as curious about Denier's story as he was about the wellbeing of other Transcendents. He felt he couldn't sleep tonight without knowing why Denier had betrayed the Five Kings, and then later betrayed the Leader of the White Blood Religion.
-T-this King too!
Wrath raised his hand suddenly.
-I want to know why that traitor-traitor did what he did!
He swallowed hard as he called Denier, who had betrayed twice, a traitor-traitor.
"That's..."
Glenn parted his trembling lips before lowering his eyes.
"Though I know, it's difficult for me to say it myself. Go hear it directly from Martha."
He exhaled heavily, saying that Martha, not himself, was the owner of this story.
"I see..."
Raon nodded while recalling Denier's final moments.
'Denier treated Martha like his own child.'
It seemed he had committed his two betrayals to save Martha and her mother, and to kill the Leader of the White Blood Religion.
"What I can tell you is..."
Glenn stared for a long while at the second pillar where Denier always used to stand.
"Denier Zieghart. That boy is my son."
He nodded calmly, indicating he would not expel Denier from the Zieghart family.
"I understand."
Raon bowed, saying he would comply.
'I'll have to meet Martha after all.'
He thought it worked out well since he needed to meet Martha's mother anyway.
"Darkan."
Glenn turned his gaze and called out to Darkan.
"It seems your physical wounds have almost all healed."
"Yes. Your house's Ragged Saint's medical skills were quite useful."
Darkan nodded, saying he recovered quickly thanks to the Ragged Saint Federick.
"What will you do now?"
"I'll look around this neighborhood for a bit and then leave."
He dusted off his hands, saying he would leave Zieghart.
"Wouldn't it be better to stay here?"
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Darkan. Though he was an unpredictable bomb, he was a useful card that Raon didn't want to let go.
"There are certainly many interesting fellows here. However..."
Darkan curled his lips as he placed his hand his sword.
"My sword always comes first. I need to recover my weakened martial prowess and clean up the mess I made."
He bared his white teeth, saying he would personally kill Derus who had obtained the Soul Sword.
"Though he uses a boring sword, I feel something will be different next time we meet."
Darkan licked his lips in anticipation.
"When do you plan to leave?"
Raon let out a short sigh.
"After I have a fight with you and your older sister."
Darkan grinned as if to say he had already mentioned this.
"Were you serious about that?"
Raon let out a hollow laugh.
"Of course I'm serious! I always speak only the truth!"
Darkan mumbled about only speaking the truth right after spreading lies a minute ago.
"Ha..."
Seeing someone who had truly lost it, Raon was speechless with disbelief.
"Your older sister? What does that mean?"
Glenn narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"This person asked Older Sister Sia for a duel. More than ten times, at that."
Raon shook his head back and forth.
"You're insanely crazy."
Glenn frowned as he placed his hand on the Heavenly Tremor.
"Fine. I'll be your opponent."
He raised his chin as if telling Darkan to come at him right now.
'He'll probably rush in eagerly.'
However, contrary to his expectations, Darkan didn't move from his spot.
"Ah, I'll have to decline that."
Darkan showed a serious look in his eyes for the first time since coming to Zieghart.
"Because a fight with you would be a battle to the death."
He lowered his trembling hand, saying he wanted to fight when he had reached greater heights. Whoosh! It seemed as if invisible blades were rising behind Darkan's back. Even though his soul had weakened, he still burned with fighting spirit worthy of Glenn's opponent.
"Yes. That would be the case."
Glenn gave a small nod and sat back on his throne.
"Now that everything has been said, you may with-"
Just as he was about to tell Raon and Darkan to leave, whoosh! A blue dimensional gate opened in the air, and Jayna's face appeared.
[I greet the Destructive King of the North. Now... Ah!]
Jayna was about to deliver news when she spotted Raon and Darkan, her eyes widening in surprise.
[I apologize. I see you have guests.]
"No, I deliberately accepted the call. It doesn't matter, so speak."
Glenn nodded, indicating it was fine to speak if it wasn't an important secret.
[Lady Chamber has awakened. She said she will contact you soon, so please wait.]
Jayna let out a sigh of relief as she reported that Chamber had safely awakened.
"That's good news."
Glenn also smiled softly, saying it was fortunate.
"...Any news of Lecross?
[There has been no change yet.]
Jayna bowed her head, her expression hardening again.
"I see. Understood."
Glenn lowered his eyebrows as if he understood the situation just from Jayna's reaction.
[Yes. Then...]
"Wait."
Raon approached Jayna as she was about to end the communication.
"I heard you pushed yourself to open a long-distance dimensional gate. Thank you for your hard work."
He bowed his head, saying she had done something truly important.
[Ah...]
Jayna's eyes trembled as her face turned red, as if overwhelmed by emotion.
[I-it's thanks to you.]
She steadied her breath before slowly parting her lips.
"What do you mean?"
[When you defeated me at the underground auction, I was angry because my pride was hurt, and when I was treated like a slave, I wanted to kill you so badly. But as time passed, I realized those humiliations and experiences made me who I am today.]
Jayna smiled, saying that thanks to those difficult experiences, she could now endure the pain and hardships of magic without surrendering. Her pink-tinged eyes seemed to be filling with tears.
[Thank you. For letting me live not as an arrogant princess, but as a hardworking magician.]
She took off her hat and bowed her head, expressing sincere gratitude.
"I humbly accept your thanks. I would also like to apologize to Princess Jayna for my rudeness until now."
Raon bowed back to Jayna, apologizing for his past rude behavior and words.
[I accept your apology as well.]
Jayna smiled, gladly accepting his apology. Honestly, he hadn't tormented her with the intention of correcting her behavior, but seeing how much she had changed made him feel strangely proud.
"You two look good together. Get married."
Darkan clapped his hands loudly, saying they made a good pair.
"What?"
[What are you saying!]
Raon and Jayna turned their heads toward Darkan with wide eyes.
"Big families and kingdoms like yours have a lot of political marriages, right? You look good together, so get married."
Darkan looked at Glenn as if asking whether it wasn't a good idea.
"While political marriages are common, I believe the children's wishes are most important."
Glenn took Darkan's words seriously as he lowered his gaze to Raon.
"First of all, we don't have that kind of relationship. Besides, I..."
As Raon waved his hand in denial, the squirrel doll in his chest pocket began to vibrate frantically. It was almost strong enough to burst through his clothes.
-M-madwoman! She's been listening to everything!
Wrath screamed as if sensing Evelyn's presence.
"I-I'll be taking my leave now."
Raon turned around immediately, worried that Evelyn might burst through the doll if he stayed any longer.
"See you next time."
Raon bowed to Jayna as well.
[Next time, I'll be prepared to stand in for Lady Chamber.]
Jayna nodded with a flushed face, as if promising to work harder. It felt reassuring to have someone he thought would be a lifelong enemy become such a valuable ally.
'So this is...'
Raon curled his lips as he watched Jayna disappear, wiping away transparent tears.
'What they call destiny, perhaps.'
***
After leaving the Lord's Manor, Raon headed to the Wise Martial Palace where Martha was.
"Why are you following me?"
He frowned at Darkan who was following him like a baby bird.
"Aren't you curious?"
Darkan whistled, saying he was also curious about Martha and Denier's circumstances.
"This has nothing to do with you."
Raon waved his hand, telling him to go back.
"It hurts when you say that. I'm a fellow warrior who fought alongside you."
Darkan hunched his shoulders like a beggar, as if saying it was too harsh.
"Haah..."
Raon shook his head. While it was true that Darkan had willingly joined, he had also used him, so he couldn't say anything about this.
"Fine. But if Martha doesn't want to tell you, you leave immediately."
"I'll do that."
Darkan nodded as if he had no intention of forcing the issue. Knock knock. Raon clicked his tongue briefly and knocked on Denier's mansion within the Wise Martial Palace.
"Who is it?"
After a fresh voice rang out, the door opened and a woman with black hair and black eyes walked out. An elegant face he could never forget. It was Martha's mother, whose body had been stolen by the Leader of the White Blood Religion.
"Ah..."
Raon stepped back and clenched his fist. Even though he knew she was Martha's mother, tension rose within him since he had only met this face as an enemy for so long.
"Everyone freezes when they see me."
Martha's mother clasped her hands together apologetically.
"Raon Zieghart. Right?"
She nodded as if she knew who he was.
"You knew about me?"
Raon relaxed his tense body and stepped forward again.
"How could I not know the benefactor who saved my daughter and me?"
Martha's mother smiled, saying she wanted to thank him. She was more energetic than he had expected.
"Elena greets her benefactor."
She revealed her name and tried to kneel before him.
"Please don't do this!"
Raon hurriedly approached and helped Elena stand up.
"I haven't properly thanked you yet. Please at least accept this."
"Martha is my friend before being my subordinate. I don't want to see a friend's mother kneeling."
He shook his head vigorously, saying that words of gratitude were enough.
"Please speak casually to me. That would be more comfortable."
"Should I?"
Elena immediately switched to casual speech without any hesitation. While it seemed like she had wanted this from the start, it was indeed more comfortable.
"Please do."
Raon smiled and lowered his hand.
"You're as straightforward as they say! The more I see, the more perfect it seems..."
"What? What's perfect..."
Just as he was about to ask what she meant, footsteps were heard from behind the door.
"Mom! Why are you taking so long? The food will get cold... Huh?"
Martha was approaching Elena when she spotted him and widened her eyes.
"You're awake? Since when?"
"Yeah. Early this morning."
Raon nodded as he looked at the surprised Martha.
"That's a relief."
Martha let out a relieved sigh, saying it was fortunate nothing had happened. It seemed she had also visited him often.
"Martha. Is your friend really human? How can someone look like this?"
Elena let out an impressed breath, saying his beauty was beyond words in person.
"What must one eat to grow up like this? Your mother must have nothing to envy."
She smiled brightly, saying Sylvia must be proud.
"M-mom!"
Martha covered Elena's mouth and shook her head.
"How can you speak so casually! Even though he looks like this, he's still from the Direct Lineage of Zieghart and a Palace Master!"
She hit Elena's back, telling her to come to her senses. More than anything else, he wondered what she meant by "even though he looks like this."
"Ow! Raon said I could speak casually!"
Elena knocked away Martha's hand, saying she had received permission.
"Really?"
Martha rounded her eyes in disbelief.
"Because she's your mother. And..."
Raon shook his head as he looked at Martha.
"You don't even treat me like a Palace Master anyway."
"W-when did I ever!"
"You're speaking casually right now."
"T-this is just a sign of closeness! I'm the one who follows you most in the Light Wind Palace... ugh."
Martha closed her mouth as if embarrassed and turned her reddened face to the left.
"A-anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, I was able to save mom."
She bowed her head in profile, saying her thanks were late.
"Let's not do this out here, come inside. Have some food before you go."
Elena waved her hand, suggesting they eat breakfast together.
"You too, tall young man."
"Great!"
Without any hesitation, Darkan entered the Wise Martial Palace before the owners.
-Food prepared by the beef girl's mother? This is exciting!
Wrath flew like blue lightning, not wanting to lose to Darkan.
"Why did you invite that person?"
Martha let out an exasperated breath.
"He said he wanted to come."
Raon sighed and headed to the mansion's dining room with Martha. The food was already laid out. Though there weren't many varieties, every dish looked delicious.
-Ooooh!
Wrath raised his head with an exclamation.
-The aroma is wonderful! Hurry and take a seat!
He showed his first happy smile since waking up.
"Eat before it gets cold."
Elena raised her hand, confidently urging them to eat.
"Thank you for the meal."
Raon bowed to Elena before tasting the stew first as always.
'It's warm.'
The sweet yet simple broth warmed his body. Beyond the taste, he could feel the care put into it.
-Kyaaah! This is great!
Wrath waved his hands vigorously in approval.
-This is a stew filled with heart! Next, that meat! Bring me that well-roasted lamb!
He seemed to like Elena's cooking skills as he immediately pointed to the next dish.
"It digests well! This is good food!"
Darkan started stuffing food into his mouth, saying it was good for filling the stomach. It seemed that for him, eating was a ritual for gathering strength to swing his sword.
-You uncultured fellow! One shouldn't talk at the dining table! Hey! Next, bring that beef over there! Being the beef girl, you should eat beef! Kyahaha!
Wrath laughed greedily while shouting for beef. He was truly an uncultured demon king whose words and actions were completely contradictory.
"This reminds me of the past."
Martha drew a soft smile as she looked at the steak on her plate.
"When your mother treated me kindly, my heart felt warm and I was happy, but I also felt guilty thinking about my mom. I remember crying alone after returning home."
Her hand holding the fork trembled as if recalling her childhood.
"It was a long journey, but now I can finally be with mom without feeling guilty."
Martha put down her utensils and looked at him.
"Thank you so much. You saved me."
She bowed her head with reddened eyes, her sincerity evident.
"Let's only say thanks once."
Raon waved his hand after cutting and eating the steak from Martha's plate.
"Huhu."
Elena let out a gentle laugh, seeming pleased at the friendship between her daughter and Raon.
"You came because of father, right?"
Martha still called Denier father.
"Yes. I'm curious about what happened."
Raon nodded, asking if she could tell him.
"Though we can send that person away."
Elena pointed at Darkan, who was shoving the carefully prepared food down his throat.
"It's fine. It's not a secret anymore."
Martha calmly shook her head.
"Father wasn't human. He was an experimental being born from the blood of the Leader of the White Blood Religion. However..."
She told him all the memories that Denier had shared with her.
"...That's how we pushed back the Leader of the White Blood Religion. And father left this world along with the oath bound to my soul."
Martha smiled with longing rather than tears, as if she had already emptied most of her emotions.
"I see."
Raon nodded while letting out a long sigh.
'Now everything makes sense.'
He finally understood why he could never fully grasp Denier as a person, and why Denier had struck both friend and foe.
-Nngh...
Wrath stopped eating, his eyes trembling as tears streamed down.
-Denier Zieghart was a true father! Though not born human, he was a father!
He sniffled, saying he would have saved him somehow if he had known.
"That man was a true swordsman!"
Darkan slammed his fist on the table, saying Denier's life was admirable. Calling him a swordsman seemed to be the highest praise he could give.
"Father was grateful to you."
Martha pressed her lips firmly as she looked at him.
"He said that not only me and mom, but he himself was saved."
She smiled, saying that thanks to him, Denier was able to depart as a human.
"Tell him I received his thanks well."
Raon nodded with a smile.
"Alright."
Raon and Martha looked at each other with transparent smiles, as if they had returned to their childhood.
"You two look good together. Get married."
Darkan suddenly clapped his greasy hands, telling them to get married. He had been cheering for Jayna earlier, but it seemed his heart had changed in less than an hour.
"What are you..."
"..."
Raon furrowed his brow, and Martha frowned while blushing.
"Martha is a Zieghart, but since there's no blood relation, would marriage work?"
Elena tilted her head curiously.
"Don't take this person's words seriously."
Raon waved his hand but then shuddered. Whoosh! Evelyn's squirrel doll in his pocket began vibrating more violently than before. Purple mana seemed to burn in the doll's eyes.
"Well, thank you for the meal! I'll be going now!"
Raon said he would come again as he cleaned up his place and stood up.
-L-leaving already?
Wrath shook his head, saying there was still food left.
'Evelyn might rush over here!'
-D-damn it...
He closed his mouth without arguing, seemingly not wanting that either.
"You come too."
He grabbed Darkan's shoulder, who was still tearing at the meat, and pulled him up.
"But I'm not done eating?"
"We're leaving because of you!"
Raon gritted his teeth as he led Darkan out of the dining room.
"What a stormy child."
Elena smiled, saying it was fun just watching.
"Yes. A warm storm."
Martha drew a gentle smile as she kept watching Raon's back.
"One that embraces anyone."
***
The next morning.
"The training was going well... Huh?"
Raon froze like a statue as soon as he entered the fifth training ground.
"That's right! Swing it like that!"
"That swordsmanship looks delicious. Show me more!"
"No! Lower your stance there! Spread your legs and bend your waist as if you were a rhinoceros beetle!"
"Have you ever lived as a beggar? You should try it once. It changes your perspective!"
"Hou!"
Darkan was teaching swordsmanship to the Light Wind Palace Swordsmen as if he were their instructor.
"P-Palace Master!"
Dorian widened his eyes upon seeing him.
"The Palace Master has arrived!"
"We're glad you're safe!"
"W-we were waiting for you!"
The Light Wind Palace Swordsmen who heard him ran over and bowed.
"What were you all doing?"
Raon blinked as he looked at the swordsmen and Darkan standing behind them.
"This person suddenly came and gave us advice on swordsmanship."
"Yes. He said he'd kill us if we didn't follow him..."
"We had no choice but to follow, but surprisingly, our swordsmanship flowed better than usual."
"Yes. It's hard to believe, but we could feel our skills improving."
The swordsmen let out a breath, saying that although they were threatened by Darkan, strangely enough, the training was quite effective.
-Speaking of training by threats...
Wrath smirked as he looked at him.
-How is that any different from you?
'That's not true!'
Raon turned his head sharply to look at Darkan.
"Are you trying to be an instructor?"
"How could I ignore all these uncut gems! Their skills and talents might be mediocre, but their swordsmanship is alive, and I like that!"
Darkan showed his teeth in a grin, saying the Light Wind Palace Swordsmen's swords were interesting.
"Do all those who learn from you end up using living swords? Well, thanks to you, I learned what a true beggar is!"
He nodded his chin, calling it an interesting talent.
"Didn't you used to only care about talent?"
"I did. But losing this eye changed my thinking."
Darkan smiled, saying there were things in the world that couldn't be seen.
"Would it be alright if I kept watching over these children?"
"Just don't push them too hard."
"I'll keep that in mind."
He nodded in approval and walked back to the center of the training ground with the Light Wind Palace Swordsmen.
"Ah, the direction of the left hand was important too."
"So we needed to swing past the shoulder."
"Now this is teaching!"
Despite their earlier words, the Light Wind Palace Swordsmen smiled as they listened to Darkan's advice.
-The kids' expressions look much brighter than when they train with you.
Wrath poked at him, noting how happy the swordsmen looked.
'...No way.'
Though he said "no way," even he could see that the swordsmen's expressions looked better.
'Well, it worked out. I needed time to prepare anyway.'
-Prepare? Prepare what?
'Preparations for a journey.'
Raon clicked his tongue as he dusted off his hands.
-Journey? What journey are you talking about at a time like this?
'We need to go because of this situation. There are some fellows we need to find.'
-Fellows we need to find?
Wrath opened his eyes wide with curiosity.
'Yes. Your friends.'
Raon gave Wrath a cold smile.
-N-no way, you're using this King again!
Wrath's complexion turned pale as if finally realizing Raon's intentions.
'Correct. The name of this journey is...'
Raon smiled brightly at the trembling Wrath.
'Let's call it the Journey of the Demon King of Wrath Looking for his Friends.'