Chapter 454

The door quietly opened into the old room that was being used as a warehouse above the interrogation room where Raon was torturing the Sickle of the Bloody Cloud and the White Wolf Saber.

Glenn entered through a small gap in the door, his hair neatly pulled to the back.

"Welcome."

Roenn was leaning his back against the wall and bowed at him with a faint smile on his face.

"How is it going?"

Glenn buried his back on the sofa placed in front of Roenn and pointed at the ground with his finger.

"Hmm…"

Roenn lowered his gaze while wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

"It looks like we were gravely mistaken, my lord."

He observed Raon's presence on the lower floor with trembling eyebrows.

"Mistaken?"

"Yes. We thought that the young master Raon wouldn't be able to interrogate them that well."

"Indeed."

Glenn nodded while stroking his chin.

"Because it's not easy to interrogate others."

Having powerful might and willpower wasn't enough for the interrogation.

It was necessary to have a ruthless heart that didn't care about the target's lifelong resentment and curse.

Raon was still too young. Since he'd never experienced anything that would make him so ruthless, he thought that he wouldn't be successful at interrogating.

"That was our mistake."

Roenn looked at Glenn with a sour face.

"The young master Raon already has a ruthless heart, on top of his might and willpower. To be honest, I don't think I would've done better than him even if I was interrogating them instead."

"Really? What did he even do…?"

Glenn widened his eyes, his back parting from the sofa.

"He didn't do anything."

"What…?"

"The most important thing to do for an interrogator is to show that they have the absolute advantage. The situation can go to the enemy's favor if they show that they are desperate for information."

"Yes, I know."

"And the young master Raon completely prevented that from happening. He showed his absolute advantage from the beginning. Since yesterday…"

Roenn told Glenn what Raon had been doing.

"So are you telling me that torture is all he's done, and he's left them alone until now?"

"Yes. I honestly don't think I could use the same method as him."

He was confident he could make the Sickle of the Bloody Cloud and the White Wolf Saber speak, but he didn't think he could be as composed as Raon in the process.

Torturing without even asking any questions went against common sense. It was a terrifying method of torture, one that was bound to work because he didn't pay attention to the prisoners at all.

"Huh…"

Glenn gasped in surprise and closed his eyes. He seemed to be trying to check on Raon.

Roenn rolled down his left sleeve with his right hand while looking at Glenn.

'He must be feeling strange.'

Glenn still believed that Raon hadn't fallen to the dark side of the world yet.

Since he shouldn't have been aware that he had such a ruthless side to him, Roenn could guess that he wasn't feeling that great about it.

"Hmm…"

Glenn slowly opened his eyes and looked to the right.

"Is Raon reading a book right now?"

"Indeed. Moreover, the book he is reading is that book of martial arts that you gave him previously, my lord."

"He is insane."

A cool smile appeared on his face. It was such a rare occurrence.

"My lord?"

"It looks like that lazybones had a better understanding of Raon than me."

Glenn nodded with a smile. He seemed to be even more entertained after witnessing Raon's ruthless side despite Roenn's expectations.

"What do you mean…?"

"He asked for a duel for the sake of the swordsmen that were being used by Ayad in the lord's manor, and now he is torturing men with a method that even a demon would be terrified of."

Glenn stroked his beard while mentioning that Raon's behavior was completely different in the audience chamber and the interrogation room.

"The head of house's job is to become an impenetrable yet warm armor for their allies, and a cold blade to pierce the heart of their enemies. I didn't manage to achieve that, but I have a feeling he will be able to."

He smiled in excitement, saying that Raon would become a great head of house.

"Huhuhu."

Roenn sighed quietly while watching Glenn's smile.

'He must be really serious about it now.'

It was the first time Glenn considered Raon as the head of house. He must've been perfectly blinded by love.

'No, this isn't just a blind love. I agree with him.'

Since he also had the feeling that Zieghart could ascend even higher if Raon became the head of house, he didn't think that it was a blind love.

"Hmm."

Glenn narrowed his eyes while looking at the floor.

"He must be getting started now."

"Yes. This is the perfect time to stop."

The White Wolf Saber and the Sickle of the Bloody Cloud would've become crippled and died if he kept going any longer, and they wouldn't have been dispirited enough if he'd stopped earlier.

He knew the perfect timing. It almost felt like he'd done it many times before.

"Amazing."

"Yes, indeed…"

Glenn and Roenn nodded in amazement after they watched how Raon managed to extract the information.

They were leisurely enjoying Raon's interrogation but suddenly came to a halt upon hearing the information coming out of the White Wolf Saber's mouth.

"Dr-dragon. Don't tell me, the dragon's mask…"

Roenn was panicking for once, his chin trembling.

"The Heavenly Demon."

Glenn nodded heavily.

"Or it might be the person that we've seen before. Regardless of who it is…"

He furrowed his brow while putting his slightly disheveled hair up.

"The turbulent era is really getting started."

* * *

Raon continued to question the White Wolf Saber while glaring at him.

"Was it really a dragon? Are you sure it wasn't a drake?"

"I only saw the shape because of the shadow, b-but it really was a dragon."

The White Wolf Saber shook his head, saying that the oppression he'd felt was incomparable to that of a drake.

"Dragon…"

He had a significant amount of information about Eden, but he'd never heard of a warrior wearing a dragon's helmet.

Raon thought that they might not be from Eden.

"What else?"

"I never saw her meeting the other Six Kings or the Five Demons. It was just a coincidence that I saw that person wearing the dragon helmet in the middle of the night."

"What was the color of the helmet? It should've had a color if it really was a dragon's helmet."

"I-I told you already. I could only see the shape because of the shadow."

The White Wolf Saber said that he couldn't see the color, his fingers trembling.

Tsk.

Raon briefly clicked his tongue. He couldn't exactly call it a great harvest since he'd never heard of a person wearing a dragon's helmet.

"Next question. The other Five Divine Orders…"

He kept asking the White Wolf Saber and the Sickle of the Bloody Cloud questions until evening, but they didn't really know anything.

It looked like the Thespian Emperor was monopolizing all of the information in the White Whale.

"It's over now."

Raon left the interrogation room after making the White Wolf Saber and the Sickle of the Bloody Cloud faint, the two panting in exhaustion.

Are we finally returning?

Wrath looked even more exhausted than them as he raised his head.

Let's just go, please. The bead ice cream is floating in the air!

He shouted for him to please keep his promise because he was seeing hallucinations at that point.

'Did you decide on the flavor?'

N-not yet…

'Haa.'

He can decide once we are at the shop! Just go, please!

'I need to give my report first.'

They already know about it!

Wrath pointed his hand towards the shop, asking him to just go right away since Glenn and Roenn were already listening in.

'Were they around?'

Since Glenn and Roenn were both at a higher realm than himself, it wasn't strange that he didn't notice.

'But I still need to report.'

Raon shook his head and left the underground prison. He entrusted the White Wolf Saber and the Sickle of the Bloody Cloud to the prison guards and went to the audience chamber.

Wrath must've been telling the truth, as Roenn quickly opened the door for him, and he was standing in front of Glenn in no time.

"Greetings…"

"You can skip the greetings."

Glenn shook his hand and told him to begin his report.

"It doesn't look like the White Whale is related to the Black Tower. However…"

Raon reported everything he'd heard from the White Wolf Saber and the Sickle of the Bloody Cloud.

It didn't surprise Glenn nor Roenn, but the atmosphere suddenly became heavy as if a weight were attached to the space when he mentioned the dragon's helmet.

"Do you know who the person wearing a dragon's helmet is, by any chance?"

"…I'm not certain."

Glenn slowly shook his head. However, Raon had the feeling that Glenn knew who was wearing the dragon helmet.

"You can leave now."

"Thank you for your hard work."

Roenn told him to go back and rest since the lord's manor was going to take care of the rest.

"Yes. I'll take my leave."

Raon bowed to Glenn and left the audience chamber.

It's finally over!

Wrath frantically pounded on Raon's shoulder, asking him to go to the bead ice cream shop instead of the annex building.

'Hmm…'

Raon looked up to the sky while licking his lips. He figured that he could arrive right before the shop closed.

'Okay.'

He nodded since it was a promise he'd made.

Kyaah!

Wrath swung his plump fist into the air while making a strange sound.

Raon chuckled and left the main building. When he left the garden and was about to head towards the shop, a small shadow appeared from the dark area under the tree roots.

"Hmm?"

He turned his head around and saw that a weasel with snow-white fur was waving its hand towards him while standing on two feet.

M-madwoman!

Wrath pointed at the weasel with his violently trembling finger.

No! Please no! Just not today!

"Yaaawn!"

Rimmer stretched and woke up from the pile of blankets and laundry scattered around a large room.

"Is it morning already?"

He started spouting some bullshit about it being morning even though moonlight was entering through the window.

"I heard Raon messed Ayad up. I should go there and check…"

"You should say it's dinnertime instead of morning."

Rimmer turned his head upon hearing Burren's voice coming from outside the door.

"Burren?"

"Can I enter?"

Burren opened the door and entered the room before Rimmer could respond.

"Wait, why is everyone just entering without waiting for my answe—Huh?"

Rimmer laughed bitterly at his ridiculous behavior but suddenly fell silent.

Burren wasn't the only person entering the room. Runaan and Martha were with him.

"What brought you here?"

Rimmer tilted his head. It was their first visit since they came to see him when he was sick.

"Did you come to report in Raon's stead?"

"No, we're didn't."

Burren shook his head firmly.

"Make us stronger."

Runaan walked up to Rimmer and nodded at him.

"Hmm? Did you just ask that of me?"

Rimmer blinked his rounded eyes, surprised by their sudden request.

"Who else would we be asking if it wasn't you, division leader?"

Martha frowned with her arms crossed.

"I mean, you've been doing your best in training. That should be enough, so why would you want to get even stronger…?"

"I can't see Raon's back anymore."

Runaan pouted while crouching in front of Rimmer.

"Raon?"

Rimmer shook his head and sighed.

"I told you before. You are as fast as an eight-horse carriage, but he is a sixteen horse… No, I should be saying thirty-two horse carriage. There's no way you can catch up to him when it's being pulled by over thirty horses."

He shook his head, saying that it was impossible.

"You have your own…"

"Path."

Martha frowned while interrupting Rimmer.

"I already know that."

"Then why?"

"This sleepyhead said it already. We aren't trying to catch up to him. We can't even see his back anymore."

She pointed at Runaan, who was crouching.

"We already gave up on catching up to him a long time ago. We just don't want to lose track of his back."

Burren bowed and asked him for a favor.

"Hmm. It's about the Sword Field Creation, right? It's not because I'm lazy, it's just…"

Rimmer closed his eyes while leaning his back against the pile of laundry.

"You haven't even become Masters yet. It's better to focus on sword and aura training and becoming a Master for now, right?"

"We already did that."

"We did."

"We did!"

Rimmer secretly opened his eyes upon hearing their shouts. He noticed that Burren, Martha, and Runaan's training outfits were all in tatters. They looked like they'd been training all day long until they came to him.

"Which means… are you trying to get an additional lesson about Sword Field from me after the official training?"

"Yes."

"We are."

"Mhm."

Burren, Martha, and Runaan nodded at the same time.

Rimmer licked his lips while scratching his bed hair.

'I don't exactly have enough time.'

He didn't have the time because he was gathering lightning energy on top of wind energy, but he couldn't refuse upon facing their serious eyes.

He was also feeling slightly nostalgic because they reminded his subordinates in the past.

"Alright."

Rimmer smiled faintly and nodded.

"But it will be difficult training, as well as being different from what you've been doing. Let's get started with the first lesson."

Rimmer swirled his finger and stood up.

His eyes were full of dignity, like lightning despite how he looked a moment ago.

"Hmm…"

Burren, Runaan, and Martha swallowed nervously and looked at Rimmer.

"Go out there and buy some beer and side dishes…"

"Hah…"

"Hey! Kill him! It was my fault for trusting that guy… I mean, that elf!"

"Yaawn."

Martha started to step on Rimmer, and Burren tried to stop her while Runaan yawned.

"Hey, I need to fill my stomach before we get started! Everything's better on a full stomach!"

* * *

Raon followed the weasel, which was actually Merlin, and went to a corner of the garden.

Since the sky was getting darker, it wasn't too difficult to avoid people's gazes.

"It's been a long time!"

The weasel put its hands on its sides and nodded at him. It was such a mysterious sight even though he'd seen it many times before.

"What have you even done?"

Raon sighed and sat in front of Merlin.

"What are you talking about?"

Merlin tilted her head. She was honestly kinda cute because she had the appearance of a weasel.

"Why did you attack the White Lotus division?"

"Because they were the first ones to offend you."

She blinked her black eyes, wondering why he was asking such an obvious question.

"Haa…"

Raon sighed and covered his forehead with his palm.

'So it was true.'

Raon had guessed it the moment he'd heard that Merlin attacked the White Lotus division, and his guess hit the mark.

He could only laugh because the reason was far too stupid.

"Then why did you pluck the flower petals?"

"I was doing a fortune telling with the flower petals to decide whether I should kill him or leave him, and the result was two-two. I would've killed them all if kill was the result. I'm sorry."

Merlin rubbed her whiskers with her small front paws, saddened by the fortune's results.

"It still felt good, didn't it?"

"Hmm…"

Raon licked his lips while looking back at the lord's manor.

'It did feel pretty good to watch.'

He was surprised, but he couldn't deny that it was pretty satisfying to see Ayad beaten up.

Since the innocent White Lotus swordsmen weren't killed, he didn't even feel guilty about it.

"Don't touch him. I'm going to take care of him."

"Yes. I left him alive since I figured you would do that!"

Merlin leaned forward, asking for a compliment.

She looked like she was asking for a head pat, but Raon ignored her.

"Haa…"

He couldn't get used to her because her personality was too bright. No one would've believed that the weasel in front of him was Merlin, the infamous witch of Eden who was especially difficult to deal with.

"You defeated the two towers and even a snake. I'm so happy to see you grow stronger and stronger."

Merlin smiled happily. The towers seemed to be the Demon Ring and the Frozen Scent, while the snake was the White Wolf Tiger.

She had apparently been watching the Light Wind division all along.

"Ah!"

Raon remembered the mention of the dragon mask that the White Wolf Saber had spoken of as he looked at Merlin's mask.

"Have you ever made a dragon mask by any chance?"

Merlin had previously made a drake's mask. Raon guessed that she might know about the dragon mask as well.

"Dragon instead of a drake?"

"Yes."

"…Where did you hear about that?"

The atmosphere around Merlin suddenly changed. Her eyes used to be as bright as a child's, but a frightening light appeared in them, just like during their first encounter.

"Apparently, the White Whale's leader, the Thespian Emperor, was with that person."

"Hmm…"

Merlin furrowed her brow without saying anything.

"I don't think it's him…"

"Merlin?"

"I'll tell you about it when I'm certain. I need to look into it."

"Really?"

"Have I ever lied to you?"

When Raon thought about it, he realized she'd never lied to him. Even when she kidnapped him, she'd told him honestly that she was kidnapping him.

"I'm going to leave now. As for this child…"

Raon clenched his fist while listening to Merlin's goodbye.

'Bring it on, I'm fully prepared this time.'

He'd expected that situation ever since he'd heard that Merlin had beaten Ayad up.

He had prepared all kinds of food for animals inside his subspace pocket, including vegetables, meat, and even rotten meat.

"It wants you to brush its fur. It apparently has enough food."

"Huh? Wa-wait a moment! Fur? How long do I have to do that?!"

"Obviously, it's until this child is satisfied. Make it sparkly."

Merlin said goodbye and waved her hand, and the weasel's shoulder flinched before it walked up to Raon.

"Kyu."

The weasel tapped on his ankle, ordering him to brush its fur nicely before lying on the grass.

"..."

Raon closed his eyes while looking at the stretched weasel wagging its tail at him.

You idiot…

Wrath shook his head at his pathetic demeanor.

When are you going to eat the ice cream?!

* * *

Raon brushed the weasel's fur from the evening until late at night before returning to his room.

"Haa…"

It tired him even more than the training or the interrogation, and he didn't even have the strength left to stand. He went straight to bed and lay down.

'I never thought it would be so difficult to brush a weasel's fur.'

It was as exhausting as when he'd previously scratched a crocodile's back because the weasel was extremely fussy when it came to its fur even though it was small.

Hey.

Wrath raised his head, blue flames showing in his eyes.

You must eat it tomorrow. You have to go to the bead ice cream shop as soon as you wake up in the morning.

'Okay, okay.'

Fall asleep right now. You will wake up earlier that way so we can eat the ice cream faster!

'I was planning to do that anyway.'

You can't have any other interruptions! Your promise to the King of Essence has the highest priority! Remember, it's two sets!

'I get it… Hmm?'

He shook his hand because Wrath was being annoying, and he suddenly heard a presence around his window.

Glenn's icy cold red eyes were reflected on the window where the dim moonlight was shining.

"My lord?"

Oh my god, this is driving him nuts…

Raon's jaw dropped as he looked at Glenn, and Wrath screamed while stretching his own cheeks with his hands.

This unreasonable world wants to screw with the King of Essence!