Raon narrowed his eyes while watching the entrance of the lodging.
'Why are there so many people gathered over there?'
Warriors engulfed in excellent pressures were lined up in front of the door.
Raon tilted his head. They looked like customers lining up in front of a popular restaurant.
'I wanted to avoid annoying incidents.'
He'd gotten a small enlightenment during the single-strike match against the Demon Slaying Spear.
Since the lesson was stimulating but not enough, he wanted to settle it by sparring against Rimmer, but he suspected he wouldn't have the time for that.
"Division leader, what's happening over the—"
Raon turned around to start talking to Rimmer and came to a halt.
"Where the hell did he go?"
The red-haired elf had been grinning at the gold coins inside his pocket until a moment ago, but he had completely disappeared before he knew it.
"H-he's really not here!"
Dorian was also surprised and instinctively started to rub his belly pocket.
Shitty Ears disappeared when you were focused on those humans.
Wrath glanced back and furrowed his brow.
'Seriously, that elf. He really is like a ghost.'
He was only fixated on the people in front of the lodging for an instant.
Rimmer had run away during that short moment. He would've been called the death god, which was even better than the assassin king, if he had been raised as an assassin.
He must be at the casino again. Shitty Ears could've become the monarch of gambling if he was in Devildom.
'You understand him now.'
It's obvious.
Raon could only laugh. Rimmer's behavioral pattern was so simple that even Wrath could understand it despite his dullness.
'I'm glad I took away his money in advance.'
Raon was relieved that he had recovered most of the money Rimmer had secretly stolen.
If he'd managed to take all that money with him, he was pretty much returning the Five Divine Orders' money after everything he'd gone through.
'This isn't even an addiction at this point. He's just braindead.'
Raon shook his head while thinking about Rimmer who was losing his mind.
Shitty Ears isn't important right now.
Wrath furrowed his brow deeply, watching the people in front of the entrance.
He has a bad feeling about this.
'Why?'
It feels like those humans are going to stop us from having dinner!
'That's not going to happen.'
Raon shook his head. The restaurant serving the lobster and pig feet that Wrath wanted was close to the lodging.
There was no way they wouldn't be able to eat it—not unless a war suddenly broke out.
But it hasn't gone well so far!
'Why are you so afraid when you are a demon king? Just believe.'
Ugh, you won't understand his feelings until the world plays against you.
'You are exaggerating.'
Raon stepped forward after he tapped Wrath's trembling back.
"Let's enter for now."
"Yes!"
Encia smiled brightly and nodded.
"…And please stop taking photos."
Raon shook his head while covering his face with his hand. Encia had been continuously taking photos, even after they'd left the casino.
It was like a mystery that a small artifact the size of a palm could contain so many papers.
"How could I stop?!"
Encia put her hands on her waist while lowering the camera.
"Your handsomeness is rampaging right now because of the natural light! Natural lighting is indeed better than artificial light! So goddamn handsome!"
She blabbered something incomprehensible and started to take photos once again.
'This is exhausting.'
The short conversation with Encia was even more exhausting than dealing with the Thespian Emperor all day long or having a single-strike match against the Demon Slaying Spear.
He felt like he couldn't even think anymore.
'Is this how it is when the world plays against me?'
Not at all! Are you still spouting that bullshit after you saw what the world has done to the King of Essence?! This isn't even child's play!
'I see.'
Raon shook his head and went to the lodging. The warriors waiting in front of the door looked at him at the same time.
"Huh?"
"Blond hair and red eyes?"
"He's here!"
"Sir Raon!"
"White Sword Dragon! I've been waiting for you!"
The warriors ran towards him with sparkling eyes.
Raon noticed multiple groups of people who were wearing the same clothes.
'And there's a powerful warrior in each one of their groups.'
The youngsters who seemed to be around thirty years old were from advanced Expert to the highest level of Expert, while the middle-aged men leading them were at the Master's realm.
"Why are you here, everyone?"
Raon stopped walking and asked the question he was curious about.
"My name is Dumptkan from House Tven, I'd like to request for a spar with Sir Raon."
"Same goes for me! I've wanted to cross blades with you after hearing about your heroic story!"
"Please allow us to learn from the sword that defeated two floor overseers from the Black Tower!"
The middle-aged men, who seemed to represent each group, bowed politely to him.
They were rather powerful, and most of them had a position as important as the head of a house, so Raon already knew most of their names.
"Hmm…"
Raon pulled his chin back while looking at the top of their heads.
'So they came here to ask for a spar.'
He was wondering why they were gathered around a lodging at the corner of the city, and they were apparently there to request a spar against him.
It wasn't rare for friendly spars to occur because excellent warriors were bound to gather in a festival like that.
Since the middle-aged men who were requesting the spar had entered the Master's realm a long time ago, it wasn't exactly a strange occurrence.
'However… There are too many of them at once.'
If there was already a spar, it was possible for many of them to gather afterward from hearing the rumor, but the fact that they'd visited altogether without anything like that was rather suspicious.
'Since the Demon Slaying Spear isn't the type of person who would make a ploy like this, it must be the Thespian Emperor's doing.'
Raon laughed bitterly because he could understand who was behind it.
'Is she a masochist who likes to be trampled all over?'
It was about time she learned her lesson after being destroyed so hard, yet she wasn't stopping with her ploys. The Thespian Emperor wasn't exactly sane.
"Did the Thespian Emperor send you?"
"Oh, so you knew about it!"
The man who'd introduced himself as Dumptkan nodded.
"We went to greet the Thespian Emperor, and she told us that the White Sword Dragon is here. That's why we came here."
"Same goes for us."
"She told me that you might be bored because the lodgings are too old-fashioned. So, I came just in case…"
The other warriors agreed with Dumptkan and honestly told him that the Thespian Emperor had sent them.
"Can you wait a little longer?"
Raon told the warriors to wait a bit longer and entered the lodging.
The Light Wind division was gathered in a circle inside the small training ground outside the mansion.
'Hmm?'
Raon thought they might be having a conference about the warriors outside, but that wasn't the case.
They were surrounding someone and were talking to them with smiles. They seemed rather close.
'Do they actually have a friend?'
Raon went to the training ground while wondering about that, and the person surrounded by the Light Wind division stood up before he arrived.
Her purple dress with red flower blossoms fluttered into the air. The black rose of her eyepatch contrasted with her white skin, and it looked even darker because of the sunlight.
She was Denning Rose, the disciple of the Black Market's master, and the branch manager.
'Denning Rose?'
Raon licked his lips while looking at Denning Rose.
'I didn't expect to see her here.'
Since she'd never mentioned anything even when they were exchanging letters right before he'd left the house, he hadn't expected her to come.
"Greetings, White Sword Dragon."
Denning Rose bowed while holding the center of her dress.
"It's been a while."
Denning Rose furrowed her brow slightly, expressing her sadness and saying that it'd been a while.
Raon bowed back at Denning Rose.
"We've spoken often through letters. We haven't actually met for over a year, though."
"You look like you didn't expect to see me here."
She smiled faintly and lowered her hand.
"Indeed."
Raon honestly nodded.
'Because she shouldn't be comfortable around here.'
The White Whale expanded their influence and information acquisition by taking away the Black Market's business and domain. They should've been extremely hostile to each other, and that was why Raon didn't think she would be there.
"I need to learn about the enemy to win against them."
Denning Rose smiled faintly—as if she understood what Raon was thinking.
"I gladly accepted their invitation."
She softly placed her hands on her dress while saying that the White Whale was going to regret that invitation one day.
'She is also extraordinary.'
The Thespian Emperor's action of sending an invitation to the Black Market was insane, but Denning Rose couldn't be called normal either, since she accepted it.
Hmm, this is a bit cold.
Wrath must've also noticed the cold atmosphere between those two women, as his shoulders were trembling.
"Nice to meet you, Lady Encia."
Denning Rose lowered her head at Encia, who was continuously taking Raon's photos from next to him.
"Huh?"
Encia took her eyes off the camera for the first time after they'd entered the lodgings.
"Do you know me?"
"It's impossible for me to not know about the genius of House Yonaan because of my job."
"Your job?"
She tilted her head at Denning Rose.
"She is Denning Rose, the disciple of the Black Market's master."
Since Raon was between them, he introduced Denning Rose to her in her stead.
"Ah! So that's why it's because of the job! Nice to meet you!"
Encia extended her hand as cheerfully as her appearance.
"I'm honored to meet you."
Denning Rose elegantly extended her hand and grabbed Encia's hand.
"By the way…"
She narrowed her eyes while looking at the camera.
"If it's not too much to ask, may I ask what you've been doing?"
"Ah, are you asking about this? This is an artifact that I invented called a camera. You can take a photo like this."
Encia explained about her camera while shaking Raon's photos as if she were bragging about them.
Since they were around the same age, they cheerfully started to talk to each other as if they'd already become friends.
"By any chance, was the reason you made that artifact…"
"Yes, I made it to take photos of the damn handsome Raon."
"D-damn handsome?"
"He's so damn handsome!"
"Ah…"
Denning Rose's eyes started to tremble slightly even though she'd always been calm before.
"Isn't his face like a sculpture? I don't even understand how none of the photos look bad!"
Encia showed her Raon's photos and bragged about it.
"Hmm, indeed…"
Denning Rose calmly nodded in acknowledgment despite her agitation.
"Is it possible to buy a camera?"
"This is just a prototype, and it's going to take some time for the manufacture. We don't have enough ingredients either."
"Then what about those photos?"
"Do you want to buy them?"
Encia approached Denning Rose with a cheerful smile.
"I'll give them to you for free if you say this for me."
"Just for saying something?"
"Yes!"
"What do you want me to say…?"
"It's simple. I just want you to shout that Raon is damn handsome."
"Err…"
Denning Rose's lips trembled.
"Haa…"
Raon sighed and turned around. He went to the Light Wind division since he couldn't keep listening to them anymore.
"When did those warriors outside arrive here?"
"They got here shortly after you left."
Burren responded while leaning his back against a tree.
"They came at around the same time, as if they'd planned it in advance."
He said that they kept coming one after the other.
"They've been doing that without even having lunch."
Runaan nodded while eating a small ice cream that she'd gotten from somewhere.
"Shall I chase them away?"
Martha frowned violently.
"I think someone is plotting something, though."
She unclenched her fist. She must've figured that it would be problematic despite how simple she was.
"Hmm…"
Raon scratched his chin while looking at the door.
'I can see what the Thespian Emperor is thinking.'
If he refused the spar against the warriors who'd been waiting for such a long time without even having lunch, she was going to spread the rumor that he was narrow-minded or was a coward, and if he accepted the spars, she was going to analyze Zieghart's martial arts by observing the area.
'I'm finally understanding why she gave this lodging to us.'
The lodgings were vast and luxurious, but the walls were too low and it was easy to spy on from the outside.
She must've assigned those lodgings for them for that exact purpose from the beginning.
'I think I understand what kind of person the Thespian Emperor is.'
She seemed to like using a method where she gave her opponent two choices while making sure that both of them led to her advantage. It was a disgusting method, just like the previous one.
'However… You made a mistake once again.'
Raon had gained a small enlightenment through the spar against the Demon Slaying Spear.
He wanted to settle it through a small spar, and the opponents were presenting themselves. He wanted to thank the Thespian Emperor at that point.
'Moreover, it doesn't really matter if I showed my martial art to other people.'
Since his martial art was constantly improving through the Ring of Fire, his realm was bound to change every day.
If she judged him according to what she witnessed, she was bound to pay the price eventually.
Raon licked his lips while looking at the Light Wind division.
'Shall I have them do it, too?'
The disciples of the warriors who'd requested the spars were perfect as the Light Wind division's opponents.
'It will be perfect if I fight against the heads of houses and the Light Wind division fights against the rest.'
He was killing two birds with one stone since even the Light Wind division could gain experience and prowess from the spars.
'She's being so helpful. Shall I prepare a gift for her?'
It must've been one of the Thespian Emperor's plans for her revenge, but her ploy was only beneficial to the Light Wind division instead.
This is so frustrating. Why is every single person being a doormat for you?!
Wrath punched into the air, saying that he couldn't comprehend it. He must've been imagining the Thespian Emperor's face.
'It looks like we are in the city of doormats like you said.'
Raon chuckled and turned around.
"It wouldn't be a bad idea to accept their requests."
Just as he was about to tell them that he was going to accept, Denning Rose's voice could be heard.
"Everyone outside is a powerful warrior who possesses polished, advanced martial arts. There should be something to gain from sparring against them."
She gave a piece of advice as if she'd noticed what Raon was thinking.
"You shouldn't need to worry about it since they aren't from the White Whale. However, if you are worried about disclosing your martial arts during the spars…"
Denning Rose smiled while taking out a few needles from under her dress.
"I'll create an array so that we won't be seen from the outside."
She smiled peacefully, saying that she was going to play a prank. However, there were a few photos that Encia had taken under her dress where she'd taken out the needles.
'…She ended up saying damn handsome.'
Raon sighed while looking at the ground.
He had a feeling that Encia's believers were gradually increasing.
Aren't they your believers?
'Shut up.'