Chapter 35

"Summoned me?"

Raon narrowed his eyes. To summon him right after the spar… He couldn't understand his intentions.

"Ah. To be more precise, he told me to bring the top trainee."

Rimmer shrugged his shoulders.

'The top trainee, huh?'

It meant that it didn't matter who it was, as long as it was the top trainee. It seemed like Glenn thought Martha would win the duel.

'That's funny.'

It was funny because it seemed that he had defeated Glenn's predicted top trainees one after another, both Burren and Martha.

"Why did he summon me?"

"How should I know?"

Rimmer pouted, shaking his head. From his expression, he definitely looked like he knew the reason. He just didn't have any intention of telling him.

"When do I need to go?"

Raon asked as he caressed the box in his pocket.

"Right now."

"Understood."

He nodded and dusted off his clothes.

"Are you going to go like that? Aren't you going to change?"

"That's right."

"Aren't you afraid of the head of house?"

"Why would I need to be afraid? He isn't calling me to eat me up."

Glenn's cold gaze was awkward, but he didn't need to be afraid.

"I knew you were funny."

Rimmer nodded and giggled. He tapped Raon's shoulder with a satisfied expression.

"Let's go."

"Yes."

Raon headed towards the audience chamber of the lord's manor, following Rimmer.

"Did Lady Martha really lose?"

"To such a small child…"

"It's unbelievable."

"It's not just about the age, their talent was different."

"It's luck. There's no other way!"

Those he met on the way were sneakily glancing at him with either amazed or surprised expressions.

"It looks like everyone already knows that you've beaten Martha."

Rimmer grinned at him.

"Already?'

"It's because Zieghart is an insulated family."

He murmured that, because it's closed to the outside, the rumors spread even more quickly inside.

"Martha was excellent enough to defeat other members of the direct line. It's natural for rumors to spread once you won against such a child head on."

"I see."

"That's why you should be careful. Falling is as fast as rising."

Rimmer pointed at himself while saying that. He seemed to be referencing the way he fell after his energy center was broken.

"Anyway, congratulations. This is a good occasion, so enjoy it."

He entered the lord's manor while whistling. The warriors seemed to be aware of their visit, since they didn't block their way.

"The Lord is waiting."

When they reached the audience chamber through the long hallway on the first floor, Roenn—Glenn's butler—opened the door with a smile.

Clunk.

The huge metal door split apart with a heart-stopping sound. The energy was magnificent enough to pierce the sky, spreading out from the door.

Raon grabbed the left side of his chest.

'Has it always been this heavy…?'

After acquiring an aura, Glenn's pressure felt even larger. He couldn't stop his hand from trembling in the wake of the endlessly powerful wave of energy.

A mere human…

Wrath's voice was also trembling, squashed by Glenn's pressure.

"You can feel it properly now that you have an aura, right?"

Rimmer smiled, a single drop of sweat trickling down his forehead.

"That is our king."

Lifting the corners of his mouth, he entered.

"Hmm…"

Raon swallowed and followed him. Glenn's pressure became more powerful the more he approached him. It felt like his shoulder was being squashed by the mighty wave of energy.

"Greetings to the lord!"

Raon, who was standing next to Rimmer, knelt. Glenn's wave of energy finally subsided.

He could control his pressure in a moment. Even Derus didn't seem like he would be a match for the might that reached for the sky.

"Stand up."

Raon's was automatically lifted by the voice that gave him the order. Upon meeting Glenn's red eyes, everything around him grew blurry. It really was an overwhelming presence.

"I brought the top trainee, as my lord commanded."

"…" 

Without even responding to Rimmer, Glenn stared at Raon. Maybe he didn't like it or feel comfortable about it. Raon couldn't read his thoughts at all.

"Did you acquire the 'Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation'?"

"Yes."

"How long did it take?"

"It took about seven months."

"It's slow."

He tilted his chin slightly. It looked like he was looking down on him.

"Show me the aura."

Upon hearing Glenn's order, Raon looked at Rimmer. When he asked with his eyes whether it was okay to use his aura in front of the head of house, Rimmer nodded.

"Normally you can't, but he is asking you to."

"Understood."

Raon stood, clenching his fist before relaxing it.

Rage!

With the sound of an almost extinguished small flame being ignited once again, the red flame appeared. The First Flame of the 'Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation'. The one and the first flame was ignited.

"Is that the first one of the 'Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation'?"

Glenn's pupils, which looked like they were sunk deep under the mud, trembled lightly.

"What did you pursue upon igniting that aura?"

"It is a flame that won't be extinguished, nor be vanquished."

"Not extinguished?"

"I imagined a flame that won't be extinguished by wind, nor by rain."

Glenn kept staring at the flame burning on Raon's hand for a long time without saying anything. Raon thought he might have looked like he was touched, although that could've been just his impression.

"It's pretty good."

"Pardon?"

He received a compliment, one that he'd never expected to get. He tried touching his ears, thinking he might have misheard it.

"A swordsman or magician of fire attribute has the best power output, but their endurance and defense are weaker in return. An inextinguishable flame might allow you to overcome that weakness. Consider how to use it thoroughly.'

"…Understood."

Raon nodded with surprised eyes. He'd never even dreamed that Glenn would give him such advice, so his voice trembled slightly.

"It shouldn't seem so strange. I'm merely telling you what I couldn't tell you during the Judgment Ceremony."

"Ah…"

He understood. Glenn had given advice to everyone but Raon during the Judgment Ceremony. It seemed that he was giving him the advice that he couldn't give him back then.

'That's one mysterious personality.'

Glenn was as cold as a man sculpted from a glacier, but he did take care of people sometimes.

He was the complete opposite of Derus, who pretended to take care of his people but actually used them as objects.

"I'll now tell you the reason that I called for you."

Resting his chin on his hand, Glenn gazed down at Raon.

"I'll be giving you all a mission around next year."

"A mission?"

"You all have been training for well over a year, including the temporary training period. Since you've all acquired the aura needed to become Beginner Swordsmen, it is alright to go outside."

"Hmm…"

"Do you think you are too young? Age doesn't matter when it comes to battles. Swordsmen must always fight for as long as they can hold a sword, regardless of their age."

'That's not it. I thought it was too late.'

In his previous life, he had received assassination missions at the age of eight, not fourteen. His current age wasn't too young, but too old.

"It's not just you. Tell all the trainees to prepare thoroughly, so that they can play their role regardless of the situation and time."

"…Understood."

"You should head out now."

Glenn closed his eyes and waved his hand. Raon knelt once again and bowed to him, then left the audience chamber.

"It was about time you got a mission."

Rimmer grinned and grabbed the back of his hand, fingers knitted together.

"What kind of mission is going to be assigned to us?"

"It hasn't been decided yet. Monster subjugation, protecting a leading figure, bandit extermination… Since you don't know what kind of mission you will get, you'd better prepare to be able to handle all kinds of situations, just as the head of house said."

"Isn't the instructor coming with us?"

"I will, but my mission is different from yours, as the instructor's mission is to protect you."

"I see."

"Huh?"

Rimmer's eyes widened. It looked like he expected him to be surprised.

'Of course I'll have to carry out the mission by myself.'

He'd received nothing like 'help' in his previous life, even when he got a mission at the age of eight. An instructor that would protect him in case of emergency was a huge luxury.

'Zieghart is softer than I thought.'

Leaving a surprised Rimmer behind, he left the lord's manor with a smile.

* * *

After Raon left to the annex building, Rimmer returned to the audience chamber.

"My lord looks very happy."

Rimmer smiled and looked  at Glenn, who was standing on the platform.

"I'm the same as always."

"Heh. But the corners of your lips are two millimeters higher than usual."

"Stop your pleasantries and give me a report on Martha's condition."

"She is bruised quite badly, but she will heal with some rest. The problem is the mental shock she received."

"If she can't overcome such a thing, she has no reason to carry the name Zieghart."

Glenn applied the Zieghart's mindset without exception for Martha, who had been adopted at eight years old.

"Did you help Raon draw an image for his fire?"

"I am a teacher, after all. But Raon was the one who chose it. I only taught him that there are multiple possibilities."

Rimmer shrugged his shoulders and continued.

"What is your impression after seeing the long-awaited first head of house's aura?"

"It was exactly the same as it was written. It was as beautiful as a flower made of fire, and it also wielded an incomparable power compared to its size."

"Yes. It completely destroyed Martha's Titan aura, which she's been cultivating for over four years. It was such an unreasonable power. By the way, isn't the color supposed to be golden?"

"The color will change slightly depending on the fire's power. Keep instructing him on the correct path in the future as well."

"I knew the head of house had a soft spot for him."

"..."

Glenn didn't answer, waving his hand with his eyes closed. He was telling him to get out, since he was being annoying.

"Then, please take care of choosing a mission for the children."

"That's not my job. It's the General Administration's. Stop worrying about that. Just keep raising the children to survive in any kind of mission."

"Yes! I'll make sure to instruct them so they won't become lazy."

"I can only say that you should look at yourself, first."

Glenn snickered upon seeing Rimmer's confident expression.

"We call that a two-faced teacher."

Rimmer grinned in return.

***

"Hmm?"

Judiel, who was taking care of the garden, turned around upon hearing a stepping sound from behind her.

"Huff. Yo-young master Raon!"

Raon was gazing at her. The moment she met his gaze, she felt her heart sink.

"You have returned!"

She stood up and checked on his condition. His clothes were dusty, but he didn't seem to be hurt anywhere.

'No way. Did he win against her? Against Martha?'

She'd already known that Raon would spar with Martha Zieghart after word had spread a month before.

However, she'd never thought that he would win, let alone return completely uninjured.

"Did you win the spar?"

"What do you think?"

Raon smiled.

"Ah…"

Looking at his victorious smile reminded her of that day. The red eyes floating on the lake… Calling it an incarnation of fear wasn't an exaggeration.

'Of course. There's no way this monster would lose to a mere genius.'

She realized, once again, just what kind of existence Raon Zieghart was.

"The Central Martial Palace will contact you again soon to order you to investigate me more thoroughly."

"Th-they would."

"Write whatever you think you should write and bring it to me."

"Understood."

With a smile that gave her goosebumps, he entered the annex building. Judiel dropped the weeds from her hands, her back drenched in a cold sweat.

"A monster that defeated a genius…"

***

"Raon!"

As soon as Raon entered the annex building, he met Sylvia as she was putting on her clothes.

"Where are you going?"

"Where would I go?! You were supposed to return today, but you hadn't arrived. I was about to head out to look for you!"

Sylvia ran towards him. She looked faster than an average swordsman.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?"

Her eyes kept moving left and right, like falling leaves.

"I'm not hurt."

"Phew…"

Sylvia sighed in relief, smoothing a hand down her chest. However, her eyes didn't stop peering at Raon's body.

"Was the spar canceled?"

"No, I won."

"And you're still not hurt?"

"Because I didn't get hit."

"You… You won without getting hit once?"

"Mhm."

"Re-really?"

Helen dropped Sylvia's outer garments.

Since it was common knowledge that Martha's talent was on par with the direct line, their surprised reactions were understandable.

"W-well if you aren't hurt, let's eat first! Helen, prepare the meal immediately!"

"I'm okay."

"Huh? But you haven't eaten dinner yet."

"I have something to do today."

Raon shook his head while touching the wooden box in his pocket, which contained an elixir.

It was time for him to become stronger once more.

____

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