"I'm so sick of it."
Rimmer shook his head while returning to his room.
'Why the hell can't he just say it?'
He could understand Glenn's determination to not hug Raon with his hands full of regrets. However, he couldn't understand why he kept acting like a coldhearted man.
'He loves him so much…'
Ultimately, Glenn made Roenn write Raon's words in a notebook. He was going as far as making an analect for his grandson, and Rimmer was baffled at how he couldn't even express his love despite that.
"Haa."
Rimmer sighed deeply and closed his eyes.
'He never listens even though I kept telling him.'
He told him to reveal his heart at least if he couldn't bring himself to approach, but Glenn refused to take his advice with his stubborn head and kept frowning at Raon with a cold attitude.
"I don't even know anymore."
His head hurt even more than when he forced himself to gamble. He wanted to just drink some sweet liquor and fall asleep.
"Hmm?"
Just as he reached the foot of the mountain and was about to enter the city, he could feel multiple presences from the bushes.
"Come out."
Rimmer narrowed his eyes and bobbed his fingers.
With a rustling sound from the bushes on his right, Martha—her hair as dark as the night sky and flowing down on her shoulders—stepped out.
"You should've told me earlier if you knew I was here."
"That's not what you should be saying when you were the one hiding…"
Rimmer laughed bitterly with a sour expression on his face.
"What brought you here?"
"I was trying to visit the squad leader, but you suddenly went outside the city. That's why I've been waiting here."
Martha must've seen him climb the mountain after Glenn.
"You should've waited at the inn."
"I have a personal request."
"I'm listening."
Rimmer created an aura barrier and leaned his back against a tree.
"I want to learn the Sword Field Creation."
An unwavering determination could be seen in Martha's black eyes as they stared at him.
"Sword Field Creation, I see…"
Rimmer licked his lips before looking at the bushes on his left.
"You should come out as well."
Once he told them to come out, Runaan slowly crawled out from the bushes on the left, and Burren jumped down from the tree behind him.
"Wh-what?! Were you here this whole time?"
Rimmer chuckled at Martha's surprise. She was apparently unaware that they'd been following her because she was too focused on trailing him.
"Sword Field Creation. Me, too."
Runaan quietly raised her hand. She apparently also wanted to learn the Sword Field Creation.
"I'd also like to learn!"
Burren straightened his neck and shouted.
"What's wrong with you? This is so annoying."
Rimmer slowly shook his hand at the three of them.
"I told you before, it's rare to find anyone at your level even among the Six Kings. No, there should be almost no one like that."
He wasn't lying. Because they went through life-and-death crises multiple times alongside Raon, the Light Wind squad was pretty much the strongest among their age group. It just didn't feel like it because Raon was far too strong. That said, they would be treated as future prospects wherever they went.
"That's not enough."
Martha stepped up while biting his lip.
"The bastards that I need to slay are far above the sky. I won't be able to fight them as long as my feet remain on the ground!"
"Hmm…"
She wasn't exactly wrong. Martha's enemies were the tenth apostle and the White Blood Religion's leader—and the White Blood Religion's leader was a real monster that Rimmer himself wouldn't be a match against even if he regained his powers.
"How about you?"
"Raon and Martha are my companions. I don't want to stand and watch them being kidnapped or suffer anymore."
Burren clenched his fist, saying that the enemies of his companions were also his enemies.
"…I agree."
Runaan was trying to say something, but she must've found it annoying since she simply gave a big nod in agreement.
"Sh-shut up! It's my own business! You stay out of—"
"As long as you belong to the Light Wind squad, nothing is your own business."
When Martha was trying to shake her hand, Raon fell from the tree Burren had jumped down from.
"Huff!"
"Raon?"
"Wh-what?! How are you coming down from there? I'm sure no one was around me!"
Martha's eyes widened in surprise, Runaan's eyes were sparkling, and Burren looked like he'd just seen a ghost as he stepped back.
"I figured it'd be fun because I saw you moving one after the other."
Raon simply shrugged his shoulders.
"You've changed so much."
Rimmer giggled while looking at the four of them.
"Martha, Raon is right."
He shook his head at Martha, who was frowning.
"No one in the Light Wind squad currently considers a squad member's circumstance as none of their business. That is even more true after Raon's kidnapping incident. You should know that better than anyone else."
"That's…"
"If you are going to deal with them on your own because it's your own business, I'm also going to fight the White Blood Religion on my own accord."
Raon raised his chin after coming to stand next to Martha.
"Me, too."
Runaan came up to her from the other side and gave a small push to her shoulder with her own. She seemed slightly grumpy because of what Martha had said.
"And of course, I'm also with you. No, just like the squad leader said, the entire Light Wind squad will be with you, even if we all end up dying together!"
Burren snorted with his arms crossed. He looked like he was never going to yield.
"Uuh…"
Martha clenched her teeth but was unable to keep talking and closed her mouth.
"Martha."
Rimmer leaned forward slightly to meet Martha's eyes.
"I'm a bit embarrassed to advise you because I've almost never acted like a proper teacher, but the pain halves if you share it. Once you harden your heart, you should consider telling your companions about your circumstances. It should take a burden off your heart."
"..."
Martha didn't respond, but she didn't seem to dislike the idea.
Clap!
Rimmer gathered everyone's attention with a loud clapping of his hands.
"Then let's talk about the main issue. You all want to learn the Sword Field Creation, right?"
"Yes!"
"I do!"
"I'm honestly annoyed by this, but you found the right person."
Rimmer nodded confidently.
"Because I had to work so hard while shedding blood, sweat, and tears in order to create a Sword Field that was supposedly unique to Zieghart's bloodline."
He sniffled while wiping his nonexistent tears.
"Thanks to my recovery, I even created the principles to minimize the side effects."
"I-in that case…"
"But I can't simply give away the secret method that contains my tremendous amount of effort."
He was going to tell them anyway, but he was planning to get back some of the money that Raon had extorted from him.
Rimmer curved his thumb and index finger to create a circle. The gesture signified gold coins.
"I'll explain everything to you if you give fifty of them. For instance…"
As soon as he said that, the sound of a heavy object falling on the ground could be heard. It was the gold pouch that Raon immediately threw at him.
"You can start now."
Raon bobbed his finger, urging him to continue.
'Th-that bastard…'
The fun part about such a deal was to start with a heavy call and increase the number of coins even further if they tried to negotiate. However, it was already over because the rich guy threw fifty gold coins down from the get-go.
.
'Damn it! I should've asked for one hundred coins!'
"You look frustrated even though I gave you the money. Just start already."
Raon snickered, showing that he knew everything Rimmer was thinking.
"I really can't win against you."
Rimmer sighed deeply and pushed the gold pouch aside. Considering the weight, he figured that there were probably more than fifty coins inside.
"First of all, it's possible for all four of you to use the Sword Field Creation. Raon and Burren should be able to use the original version, and Runaan and Martha should use my method."
"What's the difference between the two?"
Martha swallowed nervously and walked up to him.
"Raon and Burren's Sword Fields are going to be free. They can use an attribute or not, and they can use another method other than swordsmanship. They can develop it in any way they want. However, Runaan, Martha, and I have to rely on our own attributes."
"Ah, which means…"
"Yes. Runaan's must be of water attribute and Martha's will be of earth attribute. And this can never be changed, because we are replacing the power dwelling in their blood with an extreme power of attribute. It should be called an Attribute Field rather than a Sword Field, to be exact."
Rimmer smiled faintly and pointed at Runaan and Martha.
"And this is only possible because your affinities to your attributes are as high as an elf's. You should thank your inborn talent."
He looked at all four of them once again.
"Because the Sword Field and the Attribute Field are different, you have to use different methods to create them. Martha and Runaan will go through training to increase the power of their attributes and mental image training starting today. This is separate from the basic training. You will have to do this on top of it."
"Of course!"
"Sure."
They both nodded, saying it was the natural thing to do.
"Raon and Burren, you should focus on your mental image. You will meditate to increase your imagination. This is also going to be additional training."
"Is it different from the mental image we use during the swordsmanship training?"
Burren tilted his head.
"Good question. A Sword Field is, in short, a barrier or a formation. This means that you are going to draw the enemies into your own space. What do you think you will need to achieve that?"
"I need to know what I'm good at, and what aspects I have the advantage in. It should be also important to know how the opponent sees me."
Raon responded without hesitation.
"Hmm…"
Rimmer narrowed his eyes.
'I knew he already took a step inside.'
Considering what he said, Raon had already stepped into the Sword Field, unlike the others. He barely managed to suppress his urge to scream in surprise.
'But it should still take a while.'
Since he was only getting started, Rimmer guessed that it would take at least three years for him to open an incomplete Sword Field. He figured it would be perfect if Raon reached the Sword Field before the duel against the Axe King.
"Raon is right. You need to keep imagining what you are good at, and how your opponent sees you. How can you get stronger, and what do you need to do in order to defeat your enemies? You need to break through the limit of your imagination to advance even deeper and further."
The most important part about the Sword Field was the experience they had so far and the imagination to utilize the experience. As long as they had those two qualities, all four of them were more than capable of using the Sword Field.
Rimmer figured that it was time for the last piece of advice.
"What is that?"
Rimmer raised his finger to point at the moon.
"It's the moon."
"It's a red moon."
"Moon?"
"No, I pointed at the sky."
Rimmer smiled as if he was teasing them.
"What?"
"But…"
"In the end, the moon is just floating in the sky."
Burren and Martha tried to argue against him while Raon and Runaan remained still.
"There's the saying that people look at a person's finger like idiots when it's pointing at the moon."
"Hmm…"
"You need to focus on your swordsmanship and aura for now. As long as you don't improve the realm of your martial art, the Sword Field will never be as effective as you think, even if you manage to complete it."
Rimmer's eyes sparkled seriously.
"Don't make the mistake of looking at the finger pointing at the moon—instead, focus on your martial arts and aura cultivation. Practice the Sword Field after that if you have spare time. You should be able to understand what it means."
"Yes!"
"Thank you!"
Raon, Burren, Martha, and Runaan nodded at once.
"You should go now. Martha and Runaan should stay next to me tomorrow since I need to tell you the principles to enhance the attributes."
"Alright."
"Yes."
Burren, Martha, and Runaan bowed at Rimmer before returning to their rooms.
"Squad leader."
Raon stood in front of Rimmer instead of following them.
"You are being a proper teacher today."
"I couldn't play any prank after seeing your eyes."
"I added a bit more in there because I thought that would happen. Thank you."
He nodded politely before heading to his room.
"Hmm!"
Rimmer smiled in satisfaction and picked up the gold coin pouch from the ground.
'It's clearly heavy.'
He already noticed it when he pushed it aside, but the weight was definitely more than fifty gold coins. It seemed to be at least a hundred at a rough estimation.
'I guess he wouldn't be carrying fifty in a pouch.'
Rimmer murmured jackpot and opened the pouch.
"Huh?"
He froze.
"Th-that's a lot. There's a lot, but…"
There was indeed a lot of money inside the pouch. However, the color wasn't that bright gold—it was a dull silver instead.
"Those are silver coins!"
Rimmer screamed and ran towards Raon.
"You damn scammer! How dare you give me silver coins…"
"Scammer? I even gave you 108 of them!"
Raon's mouth turned round, as if he were the one who was surprised by his absurd behavior.
"108 doesn't matter! These are silver coins instead of gold coins!"
"I never mentioned I'd give gold coins, though."
"I'm sure I said gold…"
"You never said gold coins, squad leader."
"Ah…"
Rimmer's eyes flicked to the side.
'I-it's true I didn't mention…'
It was his mistake for not specifying gold coins because he didn't want to look greedy when the squad members had a nice ambiance recently.
However, no one should've taken it as silver coins. It should've been understood without saying that he was talking about gold coins.
"You obviously have to give gold coins for learning such a secret technique! Who would teach it for silver…"
"Oh, you are even teaching me in this aspect. I wasn't aware because I haven't experienced many trades like this."
Raon scratched his head with a smile on his face.
"I'll be careful next time."
It was the last thing he said before he left while waving his hand.
"Ah…"
Rimmer dropped the pouch from his hand.
"You damn fiend…"
'He will make it big. So damn big…'
* * *
Raon clicked his tongue while following the party as slowly as a zombie.
'This is not easy.'
Even though Raon had been using his sword in his mental world for a few years thanks to Rimmer and Wrath's advice, creating the Sword Field was a whole different story.
Because he had to consider different factors, like which technique could reach the furthest, which technique he was best at, and which technique was the most effective at dealing with different types of enemies, he couldn't make any progress at all.
'This is endless.'
He could understand why Rimmer told them to keep doing basic training and only practice the Sword Field after everything else.
'But I should get better eventually.'
He didn't give up either in his previous life or his current life. Even if it took ten years to achieve the Sword Field, he was determined to keep working on it to reach it.
Hey.
As Raon was about to resume his sword training in his mental world, Wrath's head popped up from the ice flower bracelet.
He's about to die.
Wrath pointed at Rimmer, who was drooping on his horse.
'Hmm…'
Raon licked his lips while looking at Rimmer's lifeless eyes.
'He still hasn't recovered from that.'
He must've been extremely shocked by the fact that the gold coin pouch contained silver coins, as Rimmer was still out of his mind even though four days had passed.
'I should give him a bit more.'
He wasn't really trying to tease Rimmer, he just gave him whatever he had at that time—which happened to be the silver coins. Raon decided that he would prepare enough lesson fees for him as soon as they returned.
If you are taking care of Shitty Ears, you should also take care of the King of Essence.
'What…?'
One set of mint chocolate bead ice cream will be enough.
Raon was speechless at how shameless he was. He couldn't even understand how such a cotton candy came to exist.
'Seriously, you…'
When Raon was about to push Wrath away, the ones at the forefront had stopped over the hill.
He followed the fresh footsteps to advance, and he could see a huge silver castle under the hill.
Whir!
The royal castle was emanating a proud pressure like a warrior.
'It's different from Zieghart.'
If rough and violent were the correct words to describe Zieghart, Owen's royal castle was straight and sharp.
Hmm!
Wrath exclaimed, his face pretty much crushed from being pushed away by Raon's hand.
There's a decent person in there as well. I can feel his power from all the way over here.
'I guess.'
Raon clenched the hilt of his sword while looking at the center of the castle.
'Because he's there.'
The third transcender of the Six Kings.
It was time to meet the man called the Silent Sword Sovereign.