Chapter 574
Raon lay on the ground, gazing at the stars for a long time before he finally got up.
After a strenuous duel with Glenn, expending most of his stamina and aura, his mind felt clearer than ever.
‘It feels good.’
The knot of tension that had been pressing on his chest had completely disappeared. He felt as though he had returned to the days before he met Rektor at the Zieghart family estate, and a smile naturally formed on his lips.
“Really?”
Wrath burst out like a firework, thrusting his face forward.
‘What?’
“Are you really feeling better?”
‘Yeah, but why all of a sudden?’
“Then I have something to tell you!”
A serious gleam overlaid Wrath’s ocean-colored eyes.
‘Something to say…’
Raon gulped as he saw Wrath’s somber eyes. It was a little nerve-racking seeing him look so serious all of a sudden.
“Speak.”
“You…”
Wrath clenched his fists and furrowed his brow.
“You haven’t kept your promise to buy me ice cream as soon as we got back to the estate!”
‘……’
Raon’s fiery gaze instantly cooled.
“Oh, come on…”
“What is that look? You promised!”
‘I did, but why bring it up now? And pretending to be all serious. You parasite!’
“Parasite?”
Wrath’s lips quivered as he lifted his head.
“How dare you call a monarch of the Devildom a parasite! I’ve been waiting for that promise!”
He cried out as if he was wronged.
‘You’ve been waiting?’
Raon narrowed his eyes at Wrath, who now looked like a strawberry cotton candy due to his blushing face.
‘Were you holding back all this time?’
It made sense; Wrath had only brought up the ice cream after asking if he was feeling better.
‘In the past, you would have thrown a tantrum the same day to get it.’
It seemed like Wrath had been considerate on the days Raon felt emotionally hurt.
‘Has Wrath changed too?’
It wasn’t just relationships with people that time and connections could change. His relationship with Wrath was also gradually changing.
“Alright.”
Raon chuckled, getting up and brushing the dust off his clothes with a nod.
“Let’s go tomorrow.”
“What…?”
Wrath’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘Why are you surprised? You asked to go.’
“A contrarian like you actually listening for once?”
‘Sometimes I have to.’
“You’re finally coming to your senses! Well thought! If you keep obeying, I might even make you my subordinate!”
‘No thanks.’
Raon waved his hand dismissively and returned to the annex.
It was late, so he tried to enter quietly through the kitchen’s back door, but he sensed someone’s presence in the darkness.
“Wow, Mr. Gorgeous!”
It was Encia, revealing her identity in one word. She nodded with a piece of bread in her mouth, seemingly hungry from her research.
“When did you get here, Mr. Gorgeous?”
It wasn’t just ‘gorgeous Raon’ now, but simply ‘gorgeous’. His name itself had disappeared.
“I arrived today. Just a few hours ago.”
“Aaaaah! I didn’t even notice you’d arrived because I was so focused on my research! What a fool I am!”
Encia hit her forehead on the table, frustrated.
“How could I miss several hours to see Mr. Raon!”
“Stop that.”
Raon gulped and grabbed Encia’s shoulder. Every time they met, she was truly hard to handle.
“But…”
Encia blinked with a piece of bread in her mouth. Despite a line of blood trickling from her forehead, she continued to stare only at Raon.
“Did you dye your hair?”
“No.”
“Your blond hair seems a bit darker.”
She muttered to herself, convinced, and pulled out a thick booklet from her bag. It was filled with Raon’s photos, sorted by date.
“Ugh.”
Raon shivered as he saw countless pictures of himself.
‘This is kind of scary…’
He hadn’t realized she had taken so many photos, and a chill ran down his spine.
“Be careful, or you’ll end up like that madwoman! The sprouts of obsession are showing!”
Wrath turned his head, suggesting the seed was about to sprout.
“You’re right! Your hair color has darkened!”
Encia presented a photo from before her mission as proof.
“Is that so?”
He wasn’t sure, so he just nodded.
“What’s going on? Suddenly darker blond means you’re becoming even more gorgeous? If you get any more handsome, you’ll transcend humanity!”
Encia laughed gleefully, as if she had stumbled upon a juicy piece of gossip.
Raon frowned at Encia, who seemed lost in her own world.
‘I was going to tell you tomorrow, but this might actually be for the better.’
He approached Encia and bowed his head.
“Miss Encia, I have a favor to ask of you.”
“Just say the word!”
She didn’t even ask what the favor was before urging him to speak.
“Do you know what this is?”
Raon presented the artificial arm artifact that Cloud had been wearing.
“Hmm…”
For the first time, Encia’s gaze drifted from Raon.
“It’s an artifact that can be used as a prosthetic arm. It’s not ancient; it was made recently.”
“Recently?”
“Yes. The manufacturing method and materials are modern. It seems to have been made by a skilled craftsman.”
She smiled, suggesting the maker might be a well-known person.
“Could you adjust this artifact to fit someone else?”
“That’s possible, but it won’t be easy.”
Encia frowned without taking her eyes off the artificial arm.
“What do you mean by ‘not easy’?”
“As it is, it’s hard to use. The design would need to be completely reworked because it puts too much strain on the wearer.”
She grimaced, explaining that it was initially designed to be unusable for long periods.
“Moreover, since it has to touch the skin, natural materials are needed. It might take some time to source them…”
Despite the difficulty in obtaining materials, Encia’s eyes twinkled with interest.
“But who will use this?”
“It’s for Mr. Rimmer.”
“Really?”
Encia’s eyes widened.
“There was an incident during the mission.”
“I see.”
She didn’t ask further, simply nodding.
“I’ll need to meet Mr. Rimmer to decide.”
“Understood.”
“Then I’ll take this and have a look.”
Encia, with all her attention on the artificial arm, didn’t even bother to take her bread as she went back to her room.
‘Impressive.’
While Encia often joked around and called him nothing but ‘gorgeous,’ she was utterly serious when it came to her work. There was much to learn from her.
Raon cleaned up the somewhat messy kitchen before returning to his room.
Knock, knock, knock.
As he prepared clothes for washing, three knocks came from the door.
“Come in.”
The person who knocked three times was expected, so he immediately invited them in.
Judith entered cautiously and bowed.
“Nothing unusual?”
“So far, nothing special.”
“Does that mean something has come up now?”
“Yes. I just received a call from the command center.”
“It must be about me.”
Raon smiled and nodded.
“Yes, but there was another request.”
Judith shook her head briefly.
“Another request?”
“They instructed that if any information about the Black Tower is discovered, no matter how trivial, it should be reported.”
“The Black Tower…”
Raon frowned deeply.
“The Black Tower is where Denier Zieghart is the head, right?”
“Correct.”
“Why suddenly investigate that?”
Karoon left the audience room with an unnervingly cold gaze. It was incomprehensible why he suddenly started gathering information about the Black Tower.
‘Denier Zieghart…’
There had been no issues with Denier, nor had he made any strange statements. He hadn’t particularly taken care of me or Sylvia, but he hadn’t ignored us like others.
However, looking into his eyes, Derus Robert strangely came to mind.
“Should we find out what’s going on?”
“Let’s. But be careful. This matter seems too delicate to approach rashly.”
“Understood. I’ll also moderate the report about you, Mr. Raon.”
“Thank you.”
“Then, please rest.”
Judith bowed and stood up.
“Wait.”
Raon stopped Judith as she headed for the door.
“Any information about your sister?”
“…Not yet.”
Judith shook her head with a calm gaze.
“Lord.”
She turned around again and bowed.
“I think we should stop searching for my sister.”
“What?”
“Even with the power of the black market, we haven’t found her yet. It might be too late.”
Judith’s expression was emotionless, no different from when she reported.
“The costs have increased, and the situation seems to be getting more complicated, so giving up might be…”
“Are you serious?”
Raon scrutinized Judith’s downcast eyes.
“……”
Judith remained silent, her fingertips trembling.
“Honestly, at first, I thought I should find your sister because you joined under me. There were no feelings involved; it was just a condition to accept you. But now…”
Raon smiled faintly as he saw Judith’s eyelids begin to tremble.
“Now, I sincerely hope you can meet your sister.”
It wasn’t a lie.
As he understood what connections with family, mentors, and friends meant, the value of the promise he made with Judith had changed. Now, he wanted to find her sister by any means necessary.
“Don’t give up first.”
Raon grabbed Judith’s shoulder. He didn’t apply much force, but he wanted to convey his genuine warmth.
“Yes…”
Judith’s shoulders shook as she bowed her head. It seemed like the first time she showed emotion after entering this room.
“Thank you.”
Judith did not raise her bowed head as she greeted and left the room.
“You’re becoming a bit more human.”
Wrath nodded, looking somewhat sulky but also proud.
‘I’ve always been human.’
“You were only human on the outside; your insides were more wicked than a demon!”
‘Well, I haven’t been very human-like.’
As Wrath said, initially, he couldn’t shed the shadow of his past life as an assassin.
‘But I’ll change more in the future.’
“Shall I tell you how you can become more human?”
‘Is there such a thing?’
“There’s nothing impossible in this world.”
Wrath grinned and lifted his chin.
‘What is it?’
“A promise!”
‘A promise?’
“That’s right. Keeping promises is what makes you truly human. So! Bring me ice cream right now… cough!”
Raon kicked Wrath and sighed.
‘Really sick of this….’
Raon leaned against the wall of the annex, savoring a bite of mint chocolate ice cream.
“Keeeeeeh!”
Wrath clutched his plump cheeks, letting out a melted cotton candy-like moan.
“This is happiness, this is life! As soon as I return to the Devildom, I’ll start an ice cream franchise!”
He clenched his fist, planning to open 1,000 stores across the Devildom.
‘Do whatever you want….’
Raon set down the empty ice cream box and turned his gaze to the right, where Encia and Rimmer were.
“Hmmmmm….”
Encia moaned like someone suffering from a toothache as she looked at Rimmer.
She had brought him along because making the artificial arm required seeing the subject, but she was only staring at his face, not his arm.
“He’s handsome, but it’s a bit ambiguous.”
“What, what’s ambiguous?”
Rimmer blinked with a sour expression.
“Mr. Raon has become even more handsome, so even elves don’t quite catch my heart.”
Encia said his slightly faded face looked out of place.
“What nonsense!”
Rimmer couldn’t contain himself and stood up.
“I’m the most handsome elf in the Yuha tribe, even known as the most handsome in Sephia!”
He shook his head, convinced there was no elf more handsome than himself.
“Mr. Raon is number one on the continent, so even the number one elf doesn’t stand a chance.”
Encia waved her finger, stating they weren’t even on the same level.
“Besides, I’m not into long hair.”
“You poor thing, not knowing the thrill of long hair!”
Rimmer broke into a forced smile, sweating.
“The thrill? It’s obvious you haven’t cut it because it’s too much trouble.”
“Argh….”
He touched his split ends, trembling.
“What are they even talking about?”
‘I don’t know.’
Raon shook his head. He had brought Rimmer to examine his arm, but somehow they had started evaluating appearances.
“Here.”
Raon sighed and approached Encia and Rimmer.
“Hey. Raon. She’s weird! She was already weird, but she’s gotten weirder!”
Rimmer shook his head vigorously, convinced Encia had really gone mad.
“Mr. Raon. You pass for now.”
“Pass for now?”
“Yes. Your looks were a bit ambiguous, but since you have a connection with Mr. Raon, I’ll do it.”
“Hey!”
Rimmer screamed and jumped up.
“Ambiguous looks? I’ve never heard such a thing in my life!”
“Don’t worry. Everyone becomes ambiguous next to Mr. Raon.”
“This damn Raon fanatic….”
“Oh. Thanks for the compliment.”
“It’s not a compliment!”
Neither the elf boasting about his looks nor Encia calling his looks ambiguous seemed normal.
“Wasn’t this supposed to be about attaching the arm? Why aren’t you looking at his shoulder….”
“When doing this kind of work, inspiration is important. Mr. Rimmer’s face is just borderline…”
“Borderline….”
Rimmer genuinely seemed shocked as he collapsed to the floor.
“My face is just borderline?”
He had always been confident in his looks, and his eyes now held a look of despair.
“Didn’t you immediately help when my mother asked?”
Raon approached Encia, who was fiddling with the artificial arm.
“The two of you are both gorgeous and handsome, so there’s no question!”
Encia nodded, stating it was right to drop everything for the gorgeous and handsome.
“Um, okay. So it’s doable?”
The conversation seemed to spiral into an abyss, so he quickly got to the point.
“Yes! It’s ambiguous, but I’ll do it for Mr. Raon!”
Encia nodded once more, killing Rimmer with her gaze.
“Argh….”
Rimmer now lay sprawled on the floor, his face as pale as a sheet of paper.
“It’s too bad! That obsessed woman should have seen my face!”
Wrath frowned, wishing he could have competed in the beauty contest.
“If only my looks could have humiliated you like that!”
‘I don’t understand why that’s frustrating….’
Raon shook his head and approached Rimmer.
“Are you okay?”
“This is the first time I’ve felt such humiliation….”
Rimmer clutched the dirt, trembling.
“I’ve never been outdone by looks before!”
“Don’t worry about that….”
“Hey! Stay just like that!”
As Raon tried to console him, Encia raised her camera.
Click!
She took a photo of Raon and Rimmer, smiling broadly.
“Wow. When an average person stands next to a gorgeous one, they look even more handsome! Is this the contrast effect?”
Encia handed one of the two photos she had taken to Raon.
“Hmm….”
Raon looked at the photo of him and Rimmer, scratching his chin. Maybe it was because she kept calling him gorgeous, but Rimmer did seem a bit overshadowed.
“Ah….”
Rimmer struggled to lift his head to look at the photo and then melted like a jellyfish.
“I want to die. It hurts more than when my arm fell off. I should have died there!”
He closed his eyes, unable to argue.
“My right arm is gone, so it’s hard even to wipe my back, they won’t give me a pension or severance, and now I’m even ugly….”
“Lord, hang in there.”
Raon approached Rimmer and massaged his shoulder. Normally, he would have ignored him, but he looked so serious that he started with consolation.
“Should I lend you some money? Or is there anything you want to eat, just tell me.”
As soon as those words were out, Rimmer’s left hand tightly grasped Raon’s wrist.
“You just said to tell you now, right?”
Rimmer grinned as he stood up.
“Uh…?”
“Then let’s go on a trip. You’re paying for the travel expenses.”
“What? Where all of a sudden….”
There were more important questions to ask than discussing travel expenses.
“The sacred place of the elves left on the continent. Sephia.”
He waved his hand and grinned.
“There’s something there you’ll like.”
