Raon grasped the hilt of his sword after looking around Krun Forest.
'All of the corpses have disappeared.'
All of the corpses of the assassins that had attacked the carriage before they'd arrived in Retran were nowhere to be seen. Judging from the countless non-human footprints around, monsters or animals must've carried them away.
'Or it might've been Derus Robert's doing.'
That crazy bastard was fully capable of discarding the assassins' corpses—just in case.
'Anyway, it feels great since it must've been a heavy blow to him.'
He had to be unbearably angry.
Derus was an extreme perfectionist. He always planned ahead, and only made his move when he was absolutely certain of his success.
Since his plan to control House Yonaan was completely shattered, despite more than ten years of preparation, he must've been going out of his mind.
'He also must've heard the rumors.'
Zieghart, on the other hand, gained the youngest Master in the continent through the incident, even becoming closer to House Yonaan. Derus must've been clenching his teeth from the irritation he felt over the matter.
'I'd like to see that face.'
Raon grinned while imagining the distorted face of Derus Robert.
"Wow, he's so handsome even though he's just smiling to himself. The sun is useless at this point."
Encia was staring blankly at Raon with her arms placed across the window. The maids were trying to stop her, but it was pointless.
"Dorian, you shouldn't go that way. There's a devil over there who will destroy your self-esteem."
Krein tried to stop Dorian from sticking next to Raon.
"I know, but I was curious about why he was smiling to himself."
Dorian tilted his head, while looking at Raon's face from the side.
"Just think about it. He became a Sword Master at eighteen years of age, obtained the nickname Frostfire Sword of Valor from saving the Saint, and he is even handsome on top of all. There's no way he wouldn't be smiling."
Krein frowned.
"If I were him, I would've been grinning like an idiot the entire day!"
"Ugh..."
Dorian frowned and averted his gaze.
"Hmm?"
There was a kid on his right who was staring at Raon as much as Encia did.
'I think his name was Yulius.'
He'd never talked to him before, but he knew that he was extremely talented in martial arts and was following Raon to join Zieghart.
"Isn't the forest dark?"
Dorian went next to Yulius with the intention of chatting with him a little.
"I know, this place can be scary for kids."
Krein lowered his pitch, as if he were trying to scare him.
"Actually, there's a rumor that ghosts appear…"
"Excuse me."
Yulius politely bowed to Dorian and Krein.
"Can you move away? I can't see Sir Raon anymore."
He furrowed his brows, asking them to quickly get out of his sight.
"Huh?"
"Huuh?"
Yulius' completely unexpected reaction made Dorian and Krein drop their jaws.
"Wh-What did you say just now…?"
"I'm planning my future while watching Sir Raon. I'm sorry, but please get away."
Even though his intonation was extremely polite, he was basically telling them to 'get away because I don't wanna see people like you'.
"Hmm, what kind of future are you planning while looking at the vice-squad leader?"
Dorian barely managed to control his facial expression as he looked at Yulius.
"Grandfather told me there are many things to learn from a powerful warrior, even if they aren't doing anything. I was thinking about what I can learn from him from the way he examines the world and rides his horse."
Yulius responded politely, but his eyes were telling him to get away already.
"Ah. In that case, you can just look at me."
Krein pointed at himself with his thumb and grinned.
"I'm also pretty good with a sword and am really great at horse riding. Honestly, I'm even better than the vice-squad leader at riding a horse! I'll give you special permission to observe me."
He murmured that he'd been riding a horse ever since he was five to brag.
"Hmm..."
However, Yulius' expression froze up instead.
"I'm sorry, but I'm only planning to learn from someone I've acknowledged."
The kid shook his hand, gesturing to him to get away already since he wasn't interested in him.
"H-How about me, then?"
Dorian made the grave mistake of asking that question, despite knowing the answer.
"Haa..."
Yulius just sighed without even responding.
"Ah..."
"Ack!"
Dorian and Krein's eyes lost focus from the new shock.
"I-I was already ugly, and now I'm even getting looked down on by a kid..."
"I want to die. As soon as the river becomes warmer, I'm going to..."
They laid flat on their horses, as if they'd lost consciousness.
"Pfft."
Burren chuckled and went to Yulius.
"You made the right decision. There's not much to learn from those guys."
He tapped his scabbard and nodded at Yulius.
"I like your noble etiquette. You are very well educated."
"Grandfather told me that a human being without courtesy is pretty much an animal."
"He must've been a nice grandfather. Alright. I'll check your talent once we arrive at Zieghart."
Burren smiled gently with his sharp eyes and patted Yulius' shoulder.
"What is your name, Sir Swordsman?"
"Burren. My name is Burren Zieghart."
"Your demeanor is also excellent, Sir Burren. I can tell just from looking at your riding posture that you are a noble man."
"Ahem!"
Burren's nose reached one inch higher from Yulius' compliment.
"However, I said this before, but I'd only like to learn from the people I've acknowledged. Please excuse me."
"Acck!"
Burren's jaw dropped to the ground.
"I-I've also failed? Who the hell did you even acknowledge?"
"Sir Raon, Lady Sheryl, Sir Saint, and Sir Ekan."
Yulius listed the four people's names as if it were obvious. All of them were already at Master level.
"D-Do I need to be a Master to earn his recognition?"
"Kids nowadays… They are scary."
"Sniff! Appearance there, and ability here! Is there anywhere in the world average people like us can even live?"
Burren, Krein, and Dorian looked at Yulius' gaze with trembling chins, since his arrogance was reaching the stratosphere despite his polite intonation.
"Hmph, what a bunch of idiots."
Martha snorted, laughing at their idiocy. Of course, she didn't go to Yulius herself.
"Please get away, everyone. I need to watch Sir Raon right now."
Yulius squeezed in between them to examine Raon, telling them to get away already.
Raon chuckled, as he heard their conversation.
'The trip isn't going to be boring.'
It would be better if my mouth weren't bored either. Try eating beef jerky.
'...'
* * *
"We've finally arrived."
Dorian rubbed his belly pocket while looking up at House Yonaan's main gate.
"It was a bit boring because nothing happened."
Krein licked his lips in regret.
"Who would be crazy enough to attack a party with one Grandmaster and three Masters?"
Burren clicked his tongue and went towards the gate.
'That's true.'
Raon nodded while looking at the carriage that was stopped in front of the gate.
Just like Burren said, no one had attacked them on their way back to House Yonaan, and even animals and monsters had been completely avoiding them. He had more difficulties dealing with people who recognized him and came to greet him, telling him that they were deeply impressed by what he'd done.
"Sh-She's back! Our lady is back!"
"Gasp!"
The gatekeepers, who were guarding House Yonaan's main gate, violently hit the yellow bell upon noticing the carriage. The gatekeeper on the right started to open the gate even before the bell started to resound.
"Wow!"
Encia jumped out through the carriage's window before running towards the gatekeepers.
"Shihan, Kapin! I'm back!"
She hugged the two gatekeepers while calling their names.
"M-My lady!"
"You really got better!"
House Yonaan's gatekeepers smiled brightly as they saw that Encia had completely recovered.
"Gasp!"
"My lady!"
"Lady Encia!"
House Yonaan's artisans and servants came out after hearing the bell, swarming towards Encia.
"Kichi, Tean, Istirin, Yedella, Piskal, Terei, Doyan!"
Encia smiled like the sun while calling every single name of the people who came to her. The tears flowing from her eyes were as bright as her smile.
"Uwaa!"
"You are finally back!"
"My lady! It's a relief! Seriously…"
"Congratulations!"
The people from House Yonaan surrounded Encia, shedding tears full of affection and smiles.
"Hmm."
Raon tilted his head while watching Encia and the people from House Yonaan.
'How curious.'
It was curious that Encia knew every single name of those people, and the way they were all congratulating her from the bottom of their hearts.
'Are there no factions here at all?'
Large houses usually had factions. For example, if Burren managed to cure his incurable disease, not everyone in Zieghart would've been happy about it.
However, the people in that house were all screaming in joy, from the gatekeepers to the general administrator.
Since it felt similar to the annex building, where Sylvia and Helen were waiting for him, a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
"Express your gratitude to them, everyone! I only managed to recover like this thanks to Zieghart's swordsmen and Sir Saint!"
Encia turned around and pointed at the swordsmen after enjoying the reunion with the house's people.
"Thank you!"
"Thank you very much!"
"Welcome to House Yonaan, benefactors!"
People from House Yonaan bowed deeply, until their heads reached the ground.
"Don't mention it."
When Raon and the swordsmen were about to shake their hands to stop them, Encia continued.
"And he is the most amazing star on the continent! Sir Raon himself! His face shines like the sun!"
She suddenly pointed at Raon and shouted that he was amazing.
"Ooh! He's the one!"
"I saw him before, but he's really amazing when I see him close up like this."
"His facial features have golden proportions!"
"I want to use him as a model for my work!"
"How could a living human have such a face?"
The artisans from House Yonaan ran up to Raon with a fervent glow in their eyes.
"Ugh..."
Raon stepped back and looked around, but he couldn't find anyone that could help him. Everyone had already moved far back.
'I thought there was only one Encia!'
All of the artisans' eyes were glittering. They were apparently holding back before because of Encia's sickness.
Tsk, it's a shame that they can't see the King of Essence's absolute beauty. They would've become the King of Essence's slaves if they did.
Clap!
As Raon ignored Wrath and backed away from them, and a loud clapping sound could be heard.
"Calm down, everyone! They are our guests!"
"Aww."
"I-I'm sorry."
"It's an occupational disease..."
Michelle Yonaan, the head of House Yonaan and Encia's mother, smiled gently from behind them. The artisans backed off at once, even though they were swarming him like zombies craving flesh.
"Mom!"
"Encia!"
Encia looked like she was flying into the sky as she ran into Michelle's embrace, and Michelle accepted her weight before patting her back.
"You've done a great job."
"Mhm."
The mother and daughter held each other's hands tightly and didn't separate for a long time. Even though Raon couldn't see their faces, he could imagine what kind of expression they were making.
"Watching them made my exhaustion disappear."
Dorian wiped away tears while watching Encia and Michelle.
Hmm, that's not a big deal.
Wrath averted his eyes and sniffled.
Raon simply nodded without arguing with them. Just as they said, just watching them was enough to warm his heart.
"Indeed."
After the touching reunion, Raon was guided to Michelle's office along with Sheryl and Federick.
Although the room was still in a mess, it was cleaner than the last time. She must've cleaned it up to welcome guests.
"I need to express my gratitude before anything else. Thank you very much for saving my daughter."
Michelle stood up from the sofa and bowed politely.
"I'll never forget about it for the rest of my life."
Her slightly shivering voice revealed that her words were coming from the bottom of her heart.
"We only did our job."
Sheryl also seemed to be in a better mood than usual as she smiled deeply.
"And he took care of pretty much everything on this mission. You should thank him instead."
"Same goes for me. I don't deserve so much gratitude."
Federick and Sheryl pointed at Raon at the same time.
"Thank you, Sir Raon the swordsman."
Despite her status as head of house, Michelle bowed deeply at Raon, who was far younger than herself.
"I've only done my best for the mission."
"You sound really trustworthy."
She nodded with a refreshing smile on her face.
"As the head of House Yonaan, I declare that the mission we requested from Zieghart is now officially over."
Michelle took out the tablet with Glenn's name engraved on it and placed it on the table. The red sword emblem embedded at the center was sparkling.
"As an agent sent by Glenn Zieghart, I confirm the end of the mission."
Sheryl bowed, taking the tablet and putting it in her inner pocket. It signaled the removal of the debt Glenn had towards House Yonaan.
"I'm going to return what I've borrowed, then."
After they finished their conversation, Raon placed the black bag on the table that he had put underneath it before. It contained the artifacts he'd borrowed, except for the consumable ones that had disappeared after being used.
"Ah..."
Michelle bit her lip as she examined the artifacts that looked brand new because they were neatly maintained. Astonishment could be seen in her gaze even with her lowered head.
'Is he really returning all of them?'
In order to save Encia, Raon had argued against Temas, had defeated countless assassins, and had risked his life to rescue the Saint from Eden.
She was extremely thankful to him, since he'd saved her daughter's life—which was even more important than her own life. She wouldn't have complained even if he took all those items and asked for legendary artifacts on top of them. And yet, he was returning them all. It was simply unbelievable.
'He really is extraordinary.'
Michelle raised her head to look at Raon. She could feel how trustworthy he was from his unwavering eyes. She could understand why the word 'valor' was included in his nickname.
"Thank you."
Facing his courageous red eyes, she had to thank him even though he was only returning her items.
"Sir Raon, you can keep them all! It's way better that way than us keeping them in storage!"
Encia suddenly interfered, despite having been silently staring at Raon's face.
"Be quiet! You little rascal!"
"Ack!"
Michelle smacked Encia's back. She looked worried for a second when Encia screamed, but she sighed once she realized Encia had recovered.
"I told you before you left."
Michelle scattered the artifacts around the floor. She was almost demonstrating why the room was so dirty at that point.
"I said that I would grant any wish you have once Encia was healed and returned safely. Do you remember?"
"Of course, I do."
Sheryl nodded.
"Please tell me your wish. I'll try my best to grant any wishes you have."
She brought up the subject, showing that she was serious about it.
"Raon."
"Yes."
"Since you handled this mission, you should tell her."
Sheryl gave away the amazing opportunity to Raon without hesitating in the slightest.
"Thank you."
Raon bowed at Sheryl, then closed his eyes.
'That should be the best.'
In order to achieve his objective, he needed to benefit the house rather than himself. He needed something better than just an effective artifact.
"I..."
He slowly opened his eyes, his lips parting as he looked straight at Michelle.
"Want the pre-exclusive rights of House Yonaan's artifacts."
"Pre-exclusive rights?"
"Yes. I'd like House Yonaan to prioritize Zieghart in the future whenever you produce unique or higher-grade artifacts for sale. We will pay handsomely for them."
"Huh..."
"That's..."
Michelle and Sheryl's eyes widened, as they didn't expect him to suggest a trade between houses instead of asking for some great artifact.
"Additionally, I'd like you to prioritize the Light Wind squad for the sale if the artifact can be used for training."
Raon added one more request, because the growth of the Light Wind squad was his first priority.
"Raon, that's not something we can decide on the spot."
Sheryl sighed and shook her head.
"Even a head of house can't easily decide on that matter. You should stop making such a difficult demand."
"Hmm, I agree. There are countless people who want to buy House Yonaan's artifacts. Even though it's just a pre-exclusive right, it's too important to be decided right now."
Sheryl and Federick shook their heads, telling him that it couldn't be decided so easily.
"Mom! What are you even thinking about? You obviously have to accept it!"
On the other hand, Encia frowned while massaging Michelle's shoulder, and told her she shouldn't be contemplating over such an obvious decision.
"Sir Raon is always right, since he is handsome! He is smart on top of being handsome, he is strong on top of being handsome, and he is kind on top of being handsome! Moreover, I can meet Sir Raon whenever you show him the artifacts!"
Her real intentions came out at the end.
"Jeez!"
Michelle pushed Encia aside and sighed.
"I know you need some time to think over it. I'll give you enough time to decide..."
Raon calmly looked at Michelle. Just as the other people mentioned, it wasn't an easy decision to make, and he expected her to take a pretty long time.
"No."
"Hmm..."
Michelle shook her head after a short contemplation. Raon frowned, because her response was too fast.
'An immediate refusal?'
As he was about to ask her to reconsider because her decision was too quick, Michelle continued.
"We really will pay a reasonable price..."
"I accept."
"What?"
Unexpectedly, she accepted his suggestion right away. It was so fast that Raon was surprised, despite being the one who made that suggestion.
"Uh..."
"Huh..."
Sheryl and Federick's eyes widened in surprise.
"Are you serious?"
"We need to decide on the details, but I accept the pre-exclusive rights."
Her serious gaze as she nodded told him that she wasn't joking.
"Why?"
Sheryl came up to her and asked. Her eyes were disclosing her confusion.
"I'm basically an artisan, but I'm also a merchant responsible for an entire house. Even though I don't have a knack for business, I'm aware that an investment has to be properly made when it comes down to it."
With her fingers locked together in front of her, Michelle looked around Sheryl, Federick, and Raon, one after the other.
"I believe now is the right moment to invest in House Zieghart—or, rather, Raon Zieghart."
"Are you investing in me?"
Raon swallowed nervously. He didn't expect her to say that she would invest in him rather than Zieghart.
"Hmm."
"I see."
Sheryl and Federick remained composed. They were apparently expecting that answer from her.
"I've seen countless people as the head of House Yonaan, but I've never seen anyone who had such trustworthy eyes. I chose Sir Raon instead of Temas because of those red eyes that even a ruby wouldn't compare to. I'm going to trust those eyes one more time."
Michelle winked with a cool smile.
"I've never seen anyone as handsome as Sir Raon either!"
"Yes, indeed."
Michelle caressed Encia's head, then reached out her right hand on the table.
"I accept your suggestion about pre-exclusive rights."
"Hmm..."
Raon bit his lip while looking at the hand in front of him. Even though that was what he wanted, he felt a heavy responsibility because his name was at stake.
"Raon."
He turned his head around at hearing Sheryl's voice.
"It's faster than I thought, but this will allow you to advance to the whole continent. Congratulations."
"If he managed to reach this position at eighteen years of age, he shall become even bigger than him."
The two people were looking at him with faint smiles on their faces, urging him to grab her hand.
'The worldly matters don't go as planned.'
Raon let out a small sigh before grabbing Michelle's hand.
"The trade has been established."
Michelle smiled brightly.
"I'm jealous..."
Encia licked her lips while staring at Michelle, who was holding Raon's hand.
"In that case, you should become the head of house in my stead."
"Yes! I will! I'll definitely become the head of house!"
She clenched her fist, resolving herself to become the head.
Michelle watched her cheerful daughter's resolution with a smile before extending her hand towards the ground. She took a box with a crossed emblem of red and blue dragons, placing it on the table.
"Please accept this as a gift to celebrate the pre-exclusive contract between Yonaan and Zieghart."
She pushed the box towards him with a smile.
"It's a legendary artifact. I hope it will be useful to you, Sir Raon."