Runaan bit her lip while watching Syria's eyes, which were as venomous as a poisonous snake's.
'Why did he come here?'
Syria hadn't been paying attention to her since Raon had humiliated him.
Runaan had thought he had given up because he hadn't come back home for a while, but he was visiting the moment she had returned. She had a bad feeling about it.
"Why is your hand so cold?! What have you been doing?"
Clara furrowed her brow while gently touching Syria's white hand, which was as cold as ice.
"It's still cold out there, after all."
Syria smiled kindly and took his sword from around his waist to place it against the wall.
"You can protect your body with aura," Rokan sighed, scolding him for enduring the cold weather without protecting himself.
"It's too much work."
"You are the successor of House Sullion. You need to treasure your body a bit more."
"Understood!"
Syria placed his hand on his forehead like he was saluting his father and sat next to Runaan.
"Seriously."
"You never change."
Clara and Rokan smiled gently. They seemed to see him as their cute son.
"..."
Unlike them, Runaan covered her body with a thin layer of tension in order to act at any moment necessary.
'The look in his eyes is similar to before.'
The blatant desire dwelling in his eyes looked like he had returned to the state before he was humiliated by Raon.
The fortunate part was that the Snow Flower was next to the table.
She'd brought it to wipe the blade after the meal, but she could use it if something were to happen. She was a little relieved thanks to that.
She wouldn't be able to defeat Syria, but she assumed she would be able to hold him back until he decided to do something strange to their mother and father.
'Regardless of what he's planning to do, I'm going to stop him.'
Runaan lowered her right hand below the table and focused on Syria's movement when the dining room door was opened and maids entered with new dishes.
The maids took away the cold food and placed the steaming food on the table.
"Ah, I just realized, I have a gift for you."
Syria smiled faintly and took out his subspace pocket.
Runaan placed her hand on Snow Flower's hilt, and a gray box came out from Syria's subspace pocket. It was a package of bead ice cream.
"It reminded me of you when I saw there was a new flavor, so I decided to buy it."
Syria handed out the ice cream box, telling her to take it.
"Wait!"
Rokan raised his palm.
"My gift goes first! Don't try to cut the line now!"
He put his hand inside his subspace pocket and took out an ice cream box that was even bigger than Syria's.
"Runaan! Have daddy's ice cream first!"
Rokan waved his hand, telling her to open his package first instead of Syria's.
"You are acting the exact same way. Are you trying to prove that you are father and son?"
Clara smiled warmly while supporting her chin on her hand. She seemed to be so pleased at how happy the three of them looked.
"Mhm…"
Runaan took her hand from Snow Flower's hilt and accepted Syria and Rokan's ice cream boxes.
"I'll eat them after the meal."
"Sure. But you are going to eat Father's ice cream first, right?"
Rokan raised his finger, telling her to promise to eat his ice cream first.
"Mhm."
Runaan nodded and examined Syria. He made an incomprehensible smile before he looked at Rokan.
"That hurts. I even bought a present for you, Father."
Syria put her hand in the subspace pocket once again. A vintage white wine came out this time.
"Sicile Blanc. It's made in the forties."
"Ooh! It's such a precious wine!"
Rokan's hand was trembling as if he were dealing with treasure instead of wine.
"I happened to get it from an auction. Try it out now."
"No."
Runaan violently pushed the chair back and stood up. She had a bad feeling about it. She felt like Syria must've done something to the wine.
"Dad, don't drink that wine."
"R-Runaan? What's the matter?"
Clara's eyes widened and she raised her head.
"…It would be a waste."
Runaan's lips awkwardly twitched as she looked at the wine that Rokan was holding. It was a nonsensical excuse, but she couldn't come up with anything else. At a time like that, she wished she could borrow Raon's mouth.
"It does feel like a waste because you can't easily acquire this wine even with money. Moreover, it's a gift from my son, which I haven't received in a long time."
Rokan slowly nodded while looking at the wine.
"Just drink it. I'll buy another one for you next time."
Syria shook his hand, telling him that it wasn't necessary.
"I don't want to. You usually only buy presents for Runaan and don't buy anything for me. I'm going to keep it and brag about it later."
Rokan gave the wine to the butler behind him with a happy smile on his face and ordered him to bring another high-quality wine.
The butler brought a red wine and glass soon after that and poured it to the four of them.
"It's Balesia, made in the thirties. It's not as good as Sicile, but it should be pretty decent."
Rokan raised his glass, saying that they should clink out glasses for the first time.
"Sure."
Syria nonchalantly raised his glass without being disappointed at all.
Clank.
Runaan clinked her glass with the three others while being focused on the look in Syria's eyes.
Syria finished his wine in one go while Rokan and Clara also took a sip with smiles.
Tap.
Runaan put down the glass without even taking a sip.
"Are you not drinking, Runaan?"
"Mhm."
Runaan shook her head towards Clara and warmed up her stiff fingers.
"Father and Mother, did you know about that?"
The drinking party continued, and by the time the wine glasses were nearly empty, Syria leaned forward on the table.
"About what?"
"A monster called Baphomet has appeared in the south."
"Baphomet!"
"Hmm…"
Rokan furrowed his brow, and Clara tilted her head, implying she didn't really know about it.
"That monster appeared…"
"Yes, it's a monster. And a terrifying one at that."
Syria smiled and casually nodded.
"I'll explain briefly since Mother and Runaan don't seem to know about it. It's an extremely powerful monster that can use both combative energy and mana. Moreover, it's a boss-class monster with an intelligence surpassing that of a human."
He continued the explanation while moving his finger on the table as if he were drawing a picture.
"However, Baphomet has another characteristic, unlike the other monsters."
"Characteristic?"
"Yes. It tries to find its mate from the moment of its birth."
Syria slowly put his left index finger and right index finger together.
"People say that once a Baphomet finds its mate, its power amplifies to a whole different level. The Baphomet that appeared in the south must be looking for its mate, too."
"There's more to it."
Rokan put down his glass and sighed.
"Baphomet is a monster that gets stronger."
He furrowed his brow while looking down at his wine, which was as red as blood.
"They become stronger at an even faster rate than the so-called geniuses. It needs to be eliminated before it finds its mate and before it becomes even stronger."
"You know so much about it, Father."
"I fought against one when I was around your age."
Rokan shook his head, saying that it was a terrible experience.
"But I feel a bit bad for it," Clara sighed, fiddling with the glass with her finger. "It's getting attacked, when it just wants to find a mate…"
"…You are so kind, mother." Syria narrowed his eyes, finding it unexpected that Clara would say so.
"Don't say that. They just follow their instinct, and they often attack humans for no reason," Rokan said as he shook, saying that it was just a monster.
"Ah, there's another special thing about Baphomet."
"What is that?"
"If the mate it finds is blood-related, it can supposedly obtain an unimaginable amount of power."
"Blood related? What a strange monster… Ah." Clara's glass dropped from her hand. "Wh-what…?"
She trembled as if electrocuted and collapsed to the back.
"Clara!" Rokan frantically shot up and ran to Clara.
"What's the matter?!"
"Mom!"
Runaan also stepped onto the table after picking up Snow Flower and jumped down to where Clara had collapsed.
"What are you waiting for?! Call the healer already!" Rokan shouted at the butlers and maids behind him, but no one was taking action.
"What are you doing…?"
"Don't pressure them." Syria smiled while taking a sip of the wine to cover his lips in red.
"They are simply obeying my order to stay still."
"S-Syria?!"
Rokan's lips trembled as he met Syria's eyes, which had suddenly changed.
"By the way, you really are amazing, Father. Martial realm shouldn't matter against that drug since it's applied to the mind, but you still haven't collapsed. I'm a bit surprised."
"Was it your doing?"
"Who else would it be?"
"Anyone there?!"
The door to the dining room was opened, and the swordsmen affiliated with the house entered upon hearing his shout.
"Bring Clara to a healer, and seize…"
However, once the swordsmen entered, they placed their hands on their hilts while standing behind Syria instead of Rokan.
"Wh-why are you…?"
"Since your closest servant became mine, wouldn't it be strange if the swordsmen still followed you?"
"You bastards!"
"But I did work rather hard for this. I had to offer money, martial arts, and even exploit their weakness and nasty desires."
Syria smiled cheerfully while looking at the warriors and servants standing behind him.
"You've grown soft because of peace, Father. You became an old and fat dog from only feeding on the food that Zieghart threw at you."
"You rascal!"
Rokan stood up while shouting. His eyes were turning red from the rage.
"Zieghart is powerful, of course, but 80% of that power is Glenn Zieghart. That monster is the only reason. The rest of them are nobodies."
Syria giggled and raised his head. He lowered his frightening eyes while looking at the warm lighting unbefitting the situation.
"The world is going to change soon, and House Sullion will be acting at the center to become the awl attacking Zieghart from behind."
"I won't allow it to happen! I'll never… Ah!"
Rokan faltered and sank to his knees. His limbs trembled and he collapsed on his back regardless of his will.
"I knew it, the medicine works better when you are excited."
Syria stroked his chin. He looked like he was having fun.
"R-Runaan, run…"
Rokan became stiff before he could finish his last sentence.
"D-dad, Mom."
Runaan breathed out roughly while watching Rokan and Clara, who could only move their eyes. Their trembling eyes seemed to be telling her to please run away.
"What have you done?!"
She bared her teeth towards Syria.
"Did you think I would add drugs to the drink? That wouldn't be fun."
Syria picked up the almost-finished wine bottle. He opened his hand, letting the bottle fall and shatter on the ground. The red wine, as red as blood, seeped across the surface.
"I didn't do anything to this liquor. What I did was…"
Syria's finger pointed at the glass that Clara and Rokan had used to drink.
"Those glasses."
"What did you do to mom and dad?!"
Runaan covered herself in bloodlust and raised Snow Flower.
"Runaan, you also made a mistake."
Syria smiled cheerfully and shook his hand.
"You should've told them continuously if you wanted to stop me and save our mother and father. You should've said that I was being strange, that I seemed to be insane. Although of course, it would've been meaningless."
Syria smiled madly while pointing at the warriors and servants standing behind him.
"A significant number of them stepped up to testify to him something advantageous to me back then. Since they are still here, there's no way it would work. Father and Mother simply pity you because they think you are just delusional."
"You…"
Runaan clenched her teeth and pulled out all her aura from her energy center. The blue astral energy of frost burst from Snow Flower's blade.
"How nice! You can't even imagine how long I've been waiting for this day!"
Syria's smiling lips trembled as he watched the astral energy pointed at his neck.
"It was worth letting him live back then."
He casually clapped his hands, and the warriors and the servants approached Rokan and Clara on the ground.
"Don't get close to us! I'll kill you all!"
Runaan screamed and pointed Snow Flower at the warrior.
"Defiance is always beautiful. However…"
Syria licked his red lips while pointing at Rokan and Clara.
"Are you sure you should do that? Because our father and mother are going to be unable to breathe and die if we don't do anything about them."
Runaan's fingers trembled upon hearing that question.
"..."
The astral energy emerging from Snow Flower's blade melted like the snow in the spring.
Clang!
In the end, Runaan's sword fell to the ground.
"A wise decision."
Syria smiled, and the lighting in the dining room cut out.
* * *
Raon unsheathed Heavenly Drive, standing at the center of the fifth training ground. He stopped his breathing exercises while pointing his white blade to the sky where the sun hadn't yet risen.
He slashed downward while carving Glenn's advice from two days ago in his mind once again.
Whoosh!
The fiery wind of the sword severed the early morning air and created an extremely thin line on the training ground.
A second wind was unleashed, but no other trace was created on the ground.
He repeated a hundred more downward slashes after that, but the very first trace was the only trace left on the ground.
Whap!
Raon nodded in satisfaction and raised Heavenly Drive overhead to strike down once again.
The precision and sharpness of the hundred strikes became swiftness and heaviness, leaving a deep trace on the ground as if it had been hit by an iron mace.
Raon practiced the basic swordsmanship while incorporating the principles he'd learned so far one after the other.
Since he was fully focused on every single one of the strikes, he realized that the sun was advancing toward the center of the sky after he finished with a series of swings.
'As for the next, I'll use the Fangs of Insanity…'
Hey!
Just as Raon was about to proceed to practice the principles with Fangs of Insanity, Wrath suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.
It's the appointed time! Why aren't you going?!
Wrath pointed at the sky, telling him that it was time for the appointed group meal.
"Hmm…"
Raon lowered Heavenly Drive and raised his head. Wrath was right. It was really about time for the meeting.
'What a shame.'
What the hell is even a shame?! You've been doing nothing but training ever since that geezer left!
'Because my training is going pretty well nowadays. Time is too precious when this happens.'
It wasn't like he could clearly feel his growth or anything, but he felt like the martial arts that were all over the place were finally becoming organized, which satisfied him.
The King of Essence has never seen anyone as crazy as you for the martial arts!
Wrath shook his head, saying that he didn't want to deal with him anymore.
'In that case, can I continue a bit more?'
Shut up and go to the ice cream shop already! He's been suppressing his urge to eat bead ice cream in anticipation of today!
'Alright, alright.'
Raon sighed. He quickly washed himself and headed to the commercial district.
Probably because he arrived right before 10 AM, most of the Light Wind division was already gathered.
"Why are you coming so late when you are the one who asked us to gather?!" Martha demanded as she furrowed her brow.
"Considering he is holding a sword, he must've been training all along until he came here," Burren said as he shook his head while looking at Heavenly Drive. He sighed and added, "He's incredibly persistent, seriously."
"What kind of training are you even planning for us…?"
Dorian's shoulders trembled, already terrified by the training he was going to do later.
"Vice division leader."
Mark Goetten quietly lowered his head in respect.
"Hmm?"
Raon tilted his head while walking towards the Light Wind division. He couldn't see the person who should've been murmuring 'damn handsome Raon' with a sleepy voice by then.
"Where's Runaan?"
"She isn't here yet," Burren said as he shook his hand.
"Isn't it strange? I never thought she would be late to an appointment for ice cream," Martha mused and tilted her head, finding it strange that she wasn't there.
"..."
Raon raised his gaze and looked at the clock at the plaza.
Tik.
Runaan didn't show up even though it was 10 AM.
Hey!
'I know.'
Raon nodded and looked at the Light Wind division.
"If I don't return after an hour, tell people that something happened in House Sullion. Dorian and Martha, follow me!"
"What?"
"What are you talking…?"
Raon ran to the west without listening to their response.
It's strange for Ice Cream Girl not to keep her promise!
'Yes. Because she never broke the promise about eating ice cream together, more than anything else.'
Runaan looked lazy, but there were two types of promises she never broke.
It was training and ice cream. Whenever he'd promised to buy her ice cream, she always arrived an hour early and waited for him.
'Something must've happened.'
Raon was certain about it as he headed towards House Sullion.