Contrary to his calm expression, Raon's brain was working faster than ever.
'The spiking navy-colored hair, countless scars on his face and body, and frightening eyes that look like a kite's… He is indeed the Demon Slaying Spear, Cairn.'
The Western Sheep was run by the Demon Spear Guild, one of the Five Divine Orders.
Since the Demon Slaying Spear was the head of the Demon Spear Guild, Raon did consider the possibility of an accidental encounter. Still, he was a bit surprised that it actually happened.
'I shouldn't assume he is similar to the Thespian emperor.'
He could make fun of the Thespian Emperor because she tended to read other people's minds, but Cairn was different.
Since he was unpredictable, being reckless against him could make him cross the river of no return.
It was necessary to maintain confidence without being arrogant. Staying at the edge of crossing the line was important.
"You…"
Cairn stiffly turned his neck and walked up to him.
"What did you just say?"
"I said yeah."
Raon nonchalantly reminded him of what he'd said.
"So I wasn't hearing things."
Cairn chuckled while picking his ear with his pinky finger.
"Err…"
"H-he's insane…"
"He's out of his mind!"
Unlike Raon's unwavering eyes, the gamblers around him turned pale.
"Do you realize who I am?"
"I'm just here to win some money. Do I need to know?"
Raon's voice remained calm as he furrowed his brow.
"I believe you treated the staff with more respect a moment ago."
"I did."
"Then why aren't you doing the same towards me?"
Cairn narrowed his eyes, and his presence drastically amplified. It felt like the entire casino was within his grasp.
'I shouldn't yield here.'
It was most likely Cairn's test. Since he was already on the tiger's back, going all the way was the correct course of action.
"Because they treated me with respect. You didn't."
Raon glanced at the trembling dealer, and emphasized 'you didn't'.
"Hmm, let me tell you since you don't seem to realize."
Cairn tilted his head while scratching his haggard beard.
"I'm the owner of this casino. I'm—"
"That's even more problematic. How could an owner treat a client with no respect?"
Raon snorted and tilted his chin.
"Kuh!"
Cairn lowered his head slightly and made a sound similar to a crying pig.
"Kuhahahahaha!"
He burst into laughter by the time he raised his gaze back up.
"This guy is a nutcase! He's a complete lunatic!"
Cairn laughed loudly while patting the young man's shoulder next to him.
"I came to see you because I heard the guy who crushed the Thespian Emperor was in my shop, and I would've regretted it so hard if I hadn't!"
He shook his head, saying that he'd never expected him to be so interesting.
"Guildmaster, please show some moderation. Many people are watching."
The blond young man whose shoulder was attacked by Cairn lifted his glasses and shook his head. He seemed to be the Demon Spear Guild's warrior instead of an ordinary staff member.
"Moderation? There's no way I can do that! Just look at the guy over here!"
"How about you stop pointing fingers at me? It's rather unpleasant."
"Oh, yes. That was rude since I'm dealing with the best rising star of the continent with the name of a dragon. However…"
Cairn scratched his forehead with his finger as his mouth curved into a long smile.
"You just look like a lunatic to me. This is a compliment, trust me."
Raon furrowed his brow while looking into Cairn's glowing eyes.
'He doesn't feel that bad.'
He couldn't be sure since it was his first time meeting Carin, the Demon Slaying Spear, but he felt like he held no malice against him.
"That was the best line of the day. I asked you if you know who I am, and you answered 'I'm just here to win some money. Do I need to know about that?' That was perfect."
Cairn giggled, saying that it was the best line ever.
"But I guess you still need to learn who I am."
He raised his thumb and pointed at himself.
"I'm the owner of this casino, the guildmaster of the Demon Spear Guild, Cairn."
"So what?"
Raon stared at Cairn with a sour face.
"Huh?"
"Of course he would know. The White Sword Dragon isn't an idiot. You could've realized that if you thought about the conversation."
The warrior next to him sighed and started to explain instead of Cairn, who'd gone blank.
"Huh, so you were saying all that shit even though you knew who I was. I'm really liking you now."
"Guildmaster…"
Cairn burst into laughter once again, and the warrior next to him shook his head.
'He's just like what I've heard.'
The Black Market had told him that Cairn did whatever he wanted without thinking too much about it, and it seemed to be true.
"Do you like money?"
Cairn asked while looking at the pile of chips behind him.
"Who doesn't like money?"
"Yeah, that's true."
He gave a big nod of approval.
"No one in the world dislikes money. However, some people hide that fact inside their black heart. I knew you wouldn't be like them."
Cairn looked around and licked his lips.
"Gambling and money are both bewitching to humans. That's why I'm asking…"
He lifted his finger.
"Do you want to gamble with me?"
"What kind of gamble are you talking about?"
"It's very simple."
Cairn raised his right hand into a spearhead's shape.
"You just need to withstand my hand thrust while standing there."
"That's not even—"
"Keep listening for now."
He slowly shook his head.
"I'll adjust the thrust according to your level. The people around us will be the witnesses. How about it?"
Cairn spread his arms and said that everyone inside the casino would be the witnesses.
"And what are the stakes?"
Raon looked around the casino and placed his hand on Heavenly Drive's hilt.
"Loubet."
"Yes."
The warrior next to Cairn lowered his head.
"How many gold coins do we have left here?"
"There won't be that much left once we exchange the White Sword Dragon's chips."
"Just tell me the amount."
"We will have roughly 2000 gold coins left."
Loubet quickly checked the chips on the tables before he stated the amount.
"Then bring me 2000 gold coins and the amount to exchange for those."
"That would make 4000 gold…"
"Stop talking back and bring it."
Cairn shook his hand, showing that he didn't want any questions.
"…Understood."
Loubet bowed to him before he disappeared backstage.
"Gambling is the most interesting when you do a real gamble. I'll give you 4000 gold if you win. However, you will have to leave behind all the money you've won in this casino if you lose."
He licked his lips, saying that going all in was the real gamble.
"V-vice division leader!"
Dorian grabbed Raon's sleeve and started shaking it. His face was pleading with him to stop.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to lose."
Raon smiled at Dorian to show his confidence and nodded at Cairn.
"Bring it on."
"Fantastic!"
Cairn exclaimed and clapped his hands.
"Look at him, he's so cool about it unlike the kids nowadays! It's 4000 whole gold, but he didn't even think about it before he decided! Send a round of applause!"
He shouted, and the gamblers started to blankly applaud him.
Loubet brought out a large subspace pocket shortly after that.
He poured the content on the ground, and a large amount of gold coins came out from it. It was difficult to even estimate how many there were.
"Woah…"
"H-how much is all that…?"
"Is this really the stakes of a single game?"
"M-my sense of reality is fading away…"
The gamblers had become spectators and swallowed nervously while looking at the mountain of gold coins.
"Since the White Sword Dragon had 1754 chips, I brought 3508 total, which is double that amount."
Loubet must've counted the number of chips on the table in that short timeframe. He was also an extraordinary warrior.
"Why would you even count all that like a petty guy? You should've just brought 4000."
"Guildmaster…"
"Haa, I get it."
Cairn shook his head and looked at Raon.
"I'm sorry, my guy doesn't know how to play. I'll bring the rest if you win. Is that fine?"
"I don't mind it."
Raon nodded.
"I'm really liking you."
Cairn told him to get ready and casually rotated his shoulder.
"Haa…"
Raon caught his breath and unsheathed Heavenly Drive.
'I can't be arrogant here.'
Cairn shouldn't use a killing move in front of so many people, but it was obvious that his attack was going to be difficult to deal with in his realm.
It was necessary to prepare to the best of his ability without being careless.
Whir!
Raon activated the Ring of Fire to the highest output and engulfed his body with the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's heat.
Delicate yet heavy waves of energy burst out like flames, and the entire casino started to tremble.
"Amazing."
Cairn's eyes sparkled as he extensively licked his lips.
"So much power at your age. This is almost shocking."
"So, are you going to break your promise?"
"No, I have no intention of doing that."
He lifted his right hand like a spearhead.
"My attack will be at a level that you can defend against. Are you ready?"
"Come at me."
Raon nodded.
"I'm starting."
Cairn thrust his raised hand. His movement was extremely slow, to the point where it felt like the timeline was folded in half.
Even a fly swimming in the air casually landed on his hand.
"Huh?"
"Wh-what?"
"That's so slow…"
"Is he trying to give away the money for free?"
The gamblers tilted their heads while watching the Demon Slaying Spear's attack, which looked like even a kid would be able to dodge it.
However, a cold sweat was flowing from Raon's forehead as he faced the Demon Slaying Spear's hand.
Rumble!
His heart tightened from the tremendous amount of power that should've been impossible from such a slow attack.
'Is this…'
He'd experienced that pressure before. It was the same type of pressure that he'd felt when Glenn was demonstrating the Azure Sky Sword.
'A martial art of will?'
Cairn wasn't simply thrusting his hand. His will to make the opponent surrender was dwelling in it.
It should look like he was playing around or going easy on Raon from the spectators' perspective, but Raon could hardly stand because of the pressure twisting his body as he faced the hand.
'I can't fend it off with an ordinary technique.'
Since there was a large difference in realm between them, it was impossible to defend with other martial arts.
'There's only one choice.'
Raon gritted his teeth and clenched Heavenly Drive with two hands.
He endured Cairn's pressure storming at him like a tidal wave and raised Heavenly Drive above his head.
Whir!
Along with a clear resonance of the Ring of Fire, the level of his soul was unleashed.
Raon extended his left foot. The ground was crushed along with a thud.
He filled his mental world with the will to cut down the enemy and slashed Heavenly Drive downwards.
The first technique of the Azure Sky Sword, the Great Bind of the Heavy Sky, unleashed its sharp radiance against the wave of Cairn's will.
Whaam!
A tremendous amount of pressure storming at him felt like it was shattering all his bones, but Raon gritted his teeth to endure the pain and finished the slash.
Crack!
Along with a majestic pillar of light, the blue wave was cut in half and subsided. Cairn's will was fading away, unable to achieve its goal.
Raon smiled while forcing himself to stop his hands from trembling.
'So, I can even use the will like this.'
Cairn was hiding a tremendous amount of power while pretending to attack normally. It was similar to a shadow strike, but it was on a whole different level.
Most importantly, it was a great lesson for him because he'd managed to learn what type of will the warrior called the Demon Slaying Spear had.
'My Azure Sky Sword shall be able to advance even further now.'
It was an unexpected enlightenment. It was the biggest harvest he's gotten so far from the mission.
"You…"
Cairn's brown eyes revealed his disconcertment for the first time.
"What the hell are you?"
He was unable to close his mouth since that situation was completely unexpected to him.
"How did you reach that realm as a Master…?"
"Dorian."
Raon didn't respond to Cairn and called out to Dorian instead.
"Take the gold for me."
"Ah, yes!"
Dorian was standing blankly but nodded his head upon hearing Raon and walked up to the mountain of gold coins.
"I'll help you!"
When Dorian was about to take the gold coins into his belly pocket, Rimmer—with a bruise around his left eye—suddenly appeared.
Raon couldn't understand where he'd been hiding to just pop up out of nowhere.
Each time three gold coins went into Dorian's belly pocket, one entered Rimmer's pocket at the same time. Raon decided that he needed to take them all back after they returned to the lodging.
"..."
Even Loubet, who'd brought the gold coins, was surprised, and he was standing there vacantly without trying to stop them.
"I-I've gotten them all."
"Let's go. You too, Lady Encia."
Raon waved his hand at Encia, who was standing on the right side.
"Yes!"
She was still taking pictures despite the situation and energetically responded to him before following.
Raon stopped in front of the casino's exit and turned around. He twisted his lips while looking at the Demon Slaying Spear's eyes, which still revealed his surprise.
"You were using a sloppy trick, unlike the rumors. I guess even someone like you loves money after all."
"..."
The Demon Slaying Spear furrowed his brow without saying anything.
"I'll spend your money for a good purpose. And you can send the 500 other gold to my lodgings."
Raon turned around and left the casino without hesitation. Dorian carefully looked at the Demon Slaying Spear and nodded at him before closing the door.
What the hell…?
Wrath shook his head while looking around the casino, where everyone was frozen.
Is this the city of doormats?
* * *
Cairn placed his hand on his forehead while sitting on the sofa inside the management office deep inside the Western Sheep.
"Loubet. Do you know what realm Raon Zieghart is at?"
"It's not even a secret. He's at the highest level Master."
Loubet responded while standing next to the sofa.
"Yes. That's how he looked to me as well. But then how did he manage to withstand my will?"
In order to defend against an attack of will, it was necessary to use a tremendous amount of aura or use a martial art of will in return.
"Martial art of will is only available after becoming a Grandmaster. It's too difficult for a Master to learn. And yet…"
Cairn quietly growled while rubbing his lip.
"How did he learn the martial art of will?"
"What?"
Loubet furrowed his brow while looking at Cairn.
"Weren't you going easy on him, guildmaster? I thought you were because you said you liked him…"
"I do like him because he's different from the youngsters nowadays. However, that wasn't enough reason to give him away 3500 gold for free."
He was indeed in a good mood because Raon was acting so confidently, but he had no intention of giving him more than 80% of the gold in the casino.
He was planning to nicely take the money back, yet he was defeated instead in a completely unexpected manner.
"He's a monster."
"Hmm…"
Loubet bit his lip. It was the first time he'd heard Cairn say something like that about a warrior younger than him. He must've admired the man called Raon from the bottom of his heart.
"A mind that can turn the Thespian Emperor into his plaything, a gambling ability that even the best gamblers can't understand, and a martial art of will…"
Cairn licked his lips while scratching his shadowy chin.
"I'm really liking him now."
* * *
Raon left the Western Sheep and returned to his lodgings.
They are just delivering you their money at this point.
Wrath frowned while sticking on his shoulder.
Why are there so many doormats in the human realm?
'I wonder.'
Can you unleash some kind of pheromone that attracts doormats?
'I don't think so.'
Raon shook his head and looked at Wrath.
'It's not because of me, but you.'
Raon thought that it must've been because the strongest doormat in all dimensions was right next to him that the other doormats were presenting themselves.
He just felt pity for Wrath since he was still unable to admit that he was a doormat.
Anyway, we are having lobster and pig's feet for dinner, right?
'I'll even add a dessert.'
Ohh! What's up with you? You aren't being stingy for once!
'I won a lot thanks to you, after all.'
Since the gains were thanks to Wrath for reading the gamblers' cards while wagging his tail like a tadpole, eating everything he wanted for dinner was a small reward.
'Let's call the others too… Hmm?'
Raon was walking while thinking about reserving the entire restaurant.
Countless people were gathered in front of the lodgings reserved for Zieghart.
"What the hell is that now?"