"Uh..."
Raon scratched his head as he watched Runaan and Sloth fall asleep simultaneously, as if in competition.
"W-what is this?"
Though he normally wouldn't respond to Wrath's words, the unexpected situation forced him to speak.
'Why are they falling asleep without even talking to each other!'
Since he had explained the situation to Sloth beforehand, he thought they would either transfer the Authority of Sloth after a conversation with Runaan or reject it outright, but he never expected them to fall asleep without saying a word.
'Was this how the trial of Sloth worked?'
Raon turned to look at Wrath with blank eyes.
-This king doesn't know either!
Wrath waved his hand as if telling Raon not to ask him.
-After seeing that today, they're not just sleepyheads, they're straight-up crazy!
He gritted his teeth, declaring that he wouldn't even treat Sloth as a demon king anymore.
'At least it doesn't seem like we were rejected.'
Raon let out a sigh of relief.
'Given Sloth's personality, he would have rejected it immediately if he didn't like it.'
While Sloth was leisurely and relaxed, he was someone who spoke his mind clearly. The fact that he fell asleep without saying anything meant he must have sensed something in Runaan.
'If it's Runaan, she can pass.'
Among all the people he knew, no one slept more than Runaan. Even Rimmer, who was an expert at being lazy, couldn't compete with Runaan when it came to sleeping.
"Um..."
Dorian cautiously approached Raon.
"Is the Demon King of Sloth testing Lady Runaan right now?"
Having heard the conversation, he smacked his lips curiously.
"It seems so."
Raon nodded as he watched Runaan and Sloth sleeping with identical soft snores.
"T-then when will this end?"
Dorian scratched his cheek as if that was the crucial question.
"From what I know, when Lady Runaan really settles in to sleep, she won't wake up even if someone carries her away, and that demon king didn't wake up once during the month Lord Raon was training!"
He trembled, suggesting they might end up spending another month here.
"Hmm..."
Raon lowered his eyebrows as he watched Runaan sleeping, wrapped tightly in her blanket.
"Still, since Runaan is human, wouldn't she wake up after sleeping for about two days?"
While Sloth, being the Demon King of Sloth, had no limit to how long he could sleep, Runaan was human and shouldn't be able to sleep that long.
"Right. Human sleep has its limits."
Evelyn stroked Runaan's face with the back of her hand as she slept like a child. Strangely, there seemed to be some force in her touch.
'Come to think of it...'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Evelyn.
'Could we connect Evelyn with Lust like we did with Runaan and Sloth?'
Rather than Lust's Authority of
Beside them was a handsome young man with golden hair, his shoulders slumped - it appeared to be the Gold Dragon Paratheus in human form.
"Hm?"
The Blade Queen's eyes widened as she saw Runaan sleeping next to Sloth.
"We've gained another cute friend?"
She smiled softly, finding Runaan's sleeping form adorable.
"This child is also unusually strong for her age."
The Warlord let out a breath as he sensed Runaan's martial prowess.
"It seems Zieghart only houses monsters."
He nodded in admiration, impressed by Runaan just as he had been by Raon.
"Forget about that human, look at him!"
The Gold Dragon Paratheus pointed at Sloth with a trembling finger.
"That's the Demon King of Sloth! Watch carefully, he'll sleep in a way that's impossible for humans!"
His golden eyes flashed as if he had already figured out Sloth's identity.
"Here we go again!"
The Blade Queen frowned as she smacked the back of Paratheus's head.
"I told you to stop."
The Warlord also pushed Paratheus's mouth shut. With a groan, Paratheus fell forward and planted his face in the ground, having been hit on both his head and mouth simultaneously.
"Ughhhh..."
Even while groaning, he kept his eyes fixed on Sloth.
"You'll see! Just watch! I'm definitely right!"
Paratheus shouted that he wouldn't take his eyes off Sloth.
"Sigh, I'm sorry."
"We have no words to offer our lord."
The Blade Queen and the Warlord bowed their heads, apologizing for raising their dragon poorly.
"It's fine."
Raon curled his lips as he looked at Paratheus's confident expression.
"The misunderstanding will clear up if you watch as he says."
* * *
Five days had passed since Runaan and Sloth fell asleep. They hadn't woken once, only their soft breathing could be heard.
"See! I told you I was right!"
Paratheus stomped his feet as he glared at Sloth.
"Have you ever seen a human sleep for five days without being unconscious or sick!"
He clenched his fist, certain now that Sloth was a demon king.
"Don't stop me now! I'll eliminate that..."
"Hey."
The Blade Queen's kind and gentle face crumpled like a hungry beast's.
"Can't your shiny eyes see the child next to him?"
She growled, pointing at Runaan sleeping on the other side of Sloth.
"What?"
Paratheus blinked, as if not understanding.
"Paratheus."
The Warlord sighed as he stood beside Paratheus.
"What does that child look like to you?"
He raised his finger, pointing at Runaan.
"She's human."
Paratheus frowned as if wondering why they were asking such an obvious question.
"Then do you know how long the child has been sleeping?"
"She's been sleeping since we arrived. Five days... Gasp!"
His jaw dropped as he finally realized that Runaan and Sloth had been sleeping for the same amount of time.
"There's a human right in front of you who's been sleeping for five days without being sick. How do you explain that?"
The Warlord tilted his chin, challenging him to explain with that smart mouth of his.
"T-this doesn't make any sense...?"
Paratheus panted as he stared at Runaan.
"What is she to sleep like that! How can a human sleep for five days!"
He grabbed his head, unable to understand Runaan.
"..."
Though Raon remained silent, he sympathized with Paratheus's words.
'I didn't know Runaan could sleep this much either.'
He thought she would wake up on her own after about two days, but he never expected her to sleep for five days straight without waking once. She barely seemed human.
"Let's start over."
The Blade Queen gently tapped Paratheus with an affectionate tone.
"Who is that child?"
She raised her finger to point at Runaan.
"S-she's human, but is she really human?"
Paratheus's voice trembled with uncertainty.
"No! She's human! I'm certain!"
He nodded, insisting that despite sleeping so much, she was definitely human.
"Then what about him?"
The Blade Queen moved her finger toward Sloth.
"D-demon king? No, human...? I don't know..."
Paratheus's eyes began to waver, seemingly confused about Sloth's identity because of Runaan.
"Get it together! That's a demon king. Definitely a demon king!"
He slapped his own cheeks and shouted again that Sloth was a demon king. With a thud, the Blade Queen kicked Paratheus in the rear. This time, she put considerable force into it.
"Aack!"
Paratheus jumped into the air while clutching his behind.
"This won't do. You need some beating."
The Blade Queen wrapped her arm around Paratheus's neck.
"I'll educate you until you call the sun the moon."
She muttered for him to look forward to it as she jumped down the mountain with Paratheus.
"I apologize. This time I'll make sure to teach him properly."
The Warlord bowed politely before following the Blade Queen down the mountain.
"Aaaahhhhh!"
Shortly after the two people and one dragon descended the mountain, a throat-tearing scream echoed up.
-Ugh...
Wrath glanced down the mountain and furrowed his brows.
-This is the first time I've felt sorry for a lizard.
He shook his head, saying Paratheus was beyond gullible and just pitiful.
-You knew this would happen, didn't you?
'That's right.'
Raon nodded with a smile.
'I thought Runaan would hold up well. Though I didn't expect it to last five days either.'
While he thought Runaan would help dispel suspicions about Sloth, five days was far beyond his expectations.
"Lady Runaan is really something else..."
Dorian shook his head while looking at Runaan. He had set up a large camp and was lying in a warm bed eating snacks, seemingly having fully adapted to the situation.
"Indeed. How can someone sleep that long without sleep magic?"
Evelyn tilted her head, also surprised by Runaan's sleep drive.
"I wish she'd wake up now."
Raon had just let out a short sigh when...
"Mmm..."
Runaan slowly lifted her eyelids.
"I want bead ice cream..."
She blinked her blank eyes while smacking her lips.
"Dorian."
Raon gestured to Dorian.
"Yes!"
As if he had been waiting, Dorian pulled out bead ice cream from his pouch and brought it to Runaan.
"Thanks..."
Runaan nodded slightly before immediately starting to eat the bead ice cream. Seeing her like this, it seemed she had really woken up just because she wanted bead ice cream.
'Looking at this, she really doesn't seem human.'
Watching her eat bead ice cream right after waking up from five days of sleep, Runaan seemed even stranger than Sloth.
"Did you always sleep this long?"
Raon tilted his head as he approached Runaan.
"It's cool here, so I sleep well..."
Runaan gave a faint smile, saying she had finally gotten proper sleep. For her, this was an incredibly expressive display of emotion.
'Could she have been influenced by Sloth next to her? If so...'
Just as Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at Runaan's blank gaze, Sloth pulled back his blanket that had been covering his head and leisurely rose from the bed. With a thud, Runaan also put down her ice cream and slowly stood up.
"..."
"..."
Runaan and Sloth approached each other without saying a word. They stood face to face and extended their right hands. With a sharp clap, a refreshing high-five. Runaan and Sloth clapped their hands together vigorously as if celebrating their satisfying sleep. Seeing this, Wrath spat out just one word.
-Show-offs...
* * *
"There really... was one..."
Sloth nodded heavily.
"A human... like me..."
He looked at Runaan with eyes full of goodwill.
"You can sleep quite well too...?"
Runaan blinked, saying this was the first time someone had matched her sleep.
"What is... your name...?"
Sloth tilted his chin toward Runaan.
"Runaan Sullion..."
Runaan swallowed a mouthful of bead ice cream before revealing her name.
"Runaan Sullion... What is... your goal..."
Surprisingly, Sloth asked about Runaan's goal first.
"I haven't finished what I need to do yet..."
Runaan bit her lip while smoothing her blanket.
"There is someone I need to kill, and then sleep deeply..."
She nodded, saying she wanted to sleep deeply even after sleeping for five days.
'If it's 'someone'...'
Raon let out a short sigh while observing Runaan's slightly darkened expression.
'It must be Syria Sullion.'
Syria Sullion's corpse and helmet had disappeared, and traces of the Evil Goat Demon wearing the goat helmet were found in the black market and among the Shadow Agents. Since the monster Baphomet possessed the characteristic of having two lives, Syria must still be alive.
It seemed Runaan wanted to definitively kill the revived Syria Sullion and give him peace.
"Vessel of Wrath..."
Sloth slowly turned his gaze toward Raon.
"I acknowledge... this human... is qualified..."
He nodded, indicating that Runaan was a human worthy of receiving the Authority of Sloth.
"I told you. She would make it."
Raon smiled as he grabbed Runaan's shoulder.
"Runaan Sullion... I will... pass my authority... to you... Will you accept it...?"
Sloth rubbed his chin as if leaving the decision to Runaan.
"I'll accept it..."
Runaan stared intently at Raon before calmly nodding. She showed no fear despite being about to receive a demon king's authority.
"
As Sloth moved his finger, a black flower bracelet identical to Raon's appeared on Runaan's wrist.
"It's the same as Raon's...?"
Runaan touched the black flower bracelet with a faint smile.
"Huh? Ugh!"
Evelyn's eyes widened at the sight.
"Hey! Demon King! Give me one too! Hand over the same thing right now!"
She grabbed Sloth's collar and shook him, demanding he give her the same bracelet.
"Ahhhhh! Stop it!"
Dorian grabbed Evelyn's arm, shouting that the demon king would go berserk.
"Yawn... You... are not qualified..."
Even as he was being shaken by his collar, Sloth let out a long yawn as if getting sleepy.
-M-my head hurts.
Wrath sighed while holding his forehead.
-There's not a single sane person here...
'True.'
Runaan was a monster who slept for five days, Evelyn was grabbing a demon king's collar demanding a bracelet, and Dorian was trying to restrain Evelyn. It was truly a dizzying sight.
"How do I use this...?"
Runaan asked Sloth how to use the bracelet.
"That bracelet... is connected... not only to me... but also to Wrath's vessel... You just need... to live... as usual..."
Sloth nodded, saying that if she kept sleeping like she had been, she would naturally grow stronger.
"Really...?"
Runaan's mouth formed a perfect O.
"Wow...!"
She hopped like a rabbit, more delighted than ever before.
"I really just need to sleep...?"
"Sleeping... would be better... than training... alone... all day..."
Sloth nodded, telling her to just keep sleeping well like she had been.
"Then I'll sleep right away..."
Despite having just woken up, Runaan rolled herself back up in the blanket, saying she would sleep.
"Sleep later! Not now!"
Just as Raon sighed while trying to stop Runaan.
[You have achieved a legendary feat!]
[You have received an oath of fealty from the secluded Transcendents.]
[You have gained the acknowledgment of
[All abilities...]
[Characteristics...]
As dimensions split, blue messages began floating before his eyes. There were so many they nearly blocked his vision.
-Grrrr! T-there are too many...
Wrath seemed exhausted from reading the reward messages and foamed at the mouth like a crab on mudflats.
'Seeing this...'
Raon curled his lips as he watched Wrath collapse in shock, rather than looking at the messages.
'I wonder what expression grandfather will make.'
How many golden tablets would he receive?