The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 655

Raon trembled slightly as he got back on his feet.

“What’s got you so scared?”

A small cat—no, Merlin—jumped onto his shoulder, meowing softly.

-“Y-Yes, that’s right!”

Wrath quickly agreed, his voice filled with forced confidence.

-“To be startled by that lunatic… it’s a disgrace to someone with the title of King!”

‘Hey, wipe your drool.’

Raon glanced at Wrath, who was drooling in panic.

-“Gulp!”

Wrath wiped his mouth with his arm, then started inching back toward the bracelet.

-“I-I’m feeling a bit tired, so I think I’ll rest now.”

‘Are you running away?’

-“Running away? How dare you accuse the mighty King of retreating! I’m simply tired and need to recharge!”

Wrath’s voice shook as he quickly retreated into the Ice Flower Bracelet.

“When did you get here?” Raon asked, leaning against a tree as he looked at Merlin. The way she asked if she did a good job scratching Killuian’s face suggested she had been there for a while.

“You’re asking the wrong question.”

Merlin waved her paw dismissively.

“Instead of asking when I got here, you should be asking how long I’ve been with you!”

“Th-Then…”

“Yep! I’ve been with you from the start!”

She laughed, explaining that she had been with him ever since he returned to the house.

“Ugh…”

“Hiiik!”

Raon let out a groan of disbelief, while Wrath’s scream echoed from inside the bracelet. Raon himself was tempted to scream too.

‘Even as a Grandmaster, I couldn’t detect her presence…’

This animal possession technique really seemed like a cheat-level magic.

“Honestly, I wanted to cut off that old man’s head, but I didn’t want to interfere with what you were doing, so I held back.”

Merlin raised her paw regretfully, and sharp claws emerged from the fluffy pad.

“Well, thanks…”

Raon swallowed nervously, looking at the sharpened claws. It was fortunate that Merlin had developed at least a little self-restraint.

“Oh, that duel was really fun.”

Merlin grinned and stretched her neck closer to Raon.

“I always believe in you, but I didn’t expect you to completely overpower an opponent with similar strength so thoroughly!”

“It wasn’t that impressive. I just knew his techniques inside out.”

“Even if you teach someone how to counter a technique, most people still fail to do it!”

Merlin praised him, pressing her pink paw pads into Raon’s shoulder. It wasn’t particularly soothing, but oddly, it felt pleasant.

As Raon watched Merlin kneading his shoulder, he narrowed his eyes.

‘Wait…’

Merlin was almost always with him. If that was the case, maybe she had seen Derus Robert at some point.

“Did you happen to enter the Sword Saint’s Tomb?”

“I did, but I couldn’t stay long.”

Merlin nodded as if it was a given, sending a shiver down Raon’s spine.

“But I was immediately forced out.”

“Forced out?”

“Yeah. The space was unique. It seems like my possessed form couldn’t enter for long.”

She mentioned that she wanted to enter in her true form but had other matters to attend to.

“I really wanted to see that legendary Sword’s End with my own eyes, but I’m really sorry I missed it!”

Merlin raised her paw as if to apologize by gouging out her eyes.

“Don’t! And don’t do that with your real body either!”

Raon quickly grabbed Merlin’s paw, panicked. He thought she had gotten a bit more normal, but it seemed she was still the same.

“Only because you asked.”

Merlin smiled brightly and jumped down onto his thigh.

“What happened, by the way?”

Raon asked, curious about what had kept Merlin from coming to him sooner.

“Hunting.”

Merlin lifted her paw calmly.

“Hunting?”

“Lately, the Archdevil has been rapidly expanding Eden’s forces. My mission was to hunt down named monsters.”

She nodded, explaining that she had taken down a particularly special target.

“Is there any point? It takes a long time for magic stones to form naturally, doesn’t it?”

“True. Eden’s helmets and masks are usually made from naturally formed magic stones. However, the Archdevil has developed magic that can artificially create magic stones.”

“Is that even possible…?”

Raon exhaled in disbelief as he looked at Merlin.

“Of course, these artificial magic stones aren’t as powerful as the real ones. Helmets and masks made from them are of lower quality.”

Merlin frowned slightly as she lowered her gaze.

“It seems the Archdevil is desperate enough to accept even subpar forces.”

“What about the other Archfiends?”

“They’re doing the same. Quietly building their strength.”

“Are they really preparing for war?”

Raon narrowed his eyes. If all the Archfiends were quietly amassing power, it could only mean one thing—war.

“Did the Archdevil tell you anything?”

“He only gives me missions. He doesn’t share his plans. I haven’t even met him in person for a while.”

“That’s…”

“Yeah. Just as you guessed, he’s become even more suspicious.”

Merlin nodded calmly, as if she were talking about someone else’s problem.

“Be careful.”

Raon wasn’t sure if it was right to warn an agent of Eden, but she had helped him many times, so he couldn’t just ignore it.

“If you get a bad feeling, it might be best to leave Eden now.”

“Heeheehee.”

“Why are you laughing?”

Raon leaned back, startled by Merlin’s eerie laugh.

“Whenever you worry about me, it makes my heart flutter. It feels nice.”

Merlin’s cheeks flushed pink as she let out a soft meow.

“Oh…”

-Hiiik!

As Raon gaped in disbelief, Wrath’s scream echoed again. If he was going to listen, why hide in the bracelet in the first place?

“Well, I’m off.”

Merlin waved her paw, saying she had shared all the information she knew. She was leaving, but Raon was sure she would still be watching through another animal’s eyes.

“Can’t you at least let me know when you show up?”

“Huh? But I did say, ‘Didn’t I do well?’”

“That’s not what I meant…”

Raon furrowed his brow. Talking to Merlin always felt like he was getting dragged into something. Just as he was about to explain further, she waved her paw dismissively.

“This little one is looking for a plant called catnip. It heard from a human-kept cat that the scent is so good it wants to roll around in it.”

“W-Wait! What’s catnip?”

Raon reached out to stop her, but Merlin had already left. The little black-eyed cat was now looking up at him.

“Meow.”

Now that Merlin was gone, the round face, big eyes, and spiky fur of the little cat seemed incredibly cute.

“Catnip?”

“Meow.”

“What’s that?”

“Meow!”

The cat flexed its claws as if to say, “Figure it out yourself.”

“Alright, alright…”

Holding the cat, Raon searched the mountains for hours. But no matter how much he looked, he couldn’t find any sign of this mysterious plant. Truthfully, he didn’t even know what catnip was, so he had no idea if he had missed it or not.

“Meow!”

Three hours later, Raon found himself getting lightly pummeled by the cat’s tiny paws as they headed back down the mountain.

“Helen?”

Helen’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw Raon holding the small cat.

“That cat…”

“Helen, do you know what catnip is?”

“Catnip? Oh, you mean nepeta cataria?”

She nodded, recognizing the name.

“Do you have any?”

“No, of course not.”

“Meow!”

When Helen said she didn’t have any, the cat in Raon’s arms started swatting at him again. After spending half a day searching for this plant, the aggressive reaction felt especially disheartening.

“Catnip? Oh, I’ve got some!”

From behind them, Dorian’s voice called out. Raon turned to see him eagerly raising his hand.

“You do?”

“Of course! It’s an essential!”

Dorian rattled off some nonsensical reason why it was essential as he pulled out a plant with square stems and rounded, triangular leaves.

“Come here!”

The moment Dorian placed the catnip on the ground, the small cat leapt out of Raon’s arms and sprinted toward him.

“Meow!”

“Yes, yes, you’re a sweet little thing!”

Dorian pulled out a fishing rod-like cat toy from his pouch and started playing with the cat.

The little cat, showing an expression it had never shown Raon, rolled around on the catnip while playing with Dorian. Raon felt a pang of jealousy.

“Hey.”

Raon narrowed his eyes at Dorian.

“Yes?”

“You’re lucky.”

“Huh?”

Dorian tilted his head, not understanding what Raon meant.

“I said, you’re lucky.”

Wrath shook his head, clearly exasperated.

-Pathetic.

—

“Ah…”

Sylvia sighed deeply as she lay on the infirmary bed. The door opened without warning.

“Raon?”

She smiled and began to sit up, but instead of her son, Aris walked in, carrying a hastily arranged bouquet.

“Sorry to disappoint you. It’s not your adorable son.”

Aris handed the bouquet to Sylvia with a smile.

“Oh, sister. I mean, Lady Aris.”

“Just call me sister.”

Aris frowned slightly and shook her head.

“There’s no one else here. Actually, even if someone was here, you could still call me that. If anyone has a problem with it, I’ll bash their skull in.”

Aris grinned, baring her teeth as if she’d even fight their father over it.

“Thank you.”

Sylvia smiled softly as she accepted the bouquet.

“How are you feeling?”

Aris looked Sylvia up and down as she sat in the chair next to the bed.

“I’m not in pain, but having to stay still like this is a bit frustrating.”

Sylvia sighed, saying it felt like she was trapped.

“I guess I’ve underestimated you.”

“Huh?”

“I always thought you were just a delicate girl. I didn’t expect you to leave the family in search of love or to wield a sword to the brink of death like you did yesterday.”

“I heard you helped yesterday, sister. Thank you.”

“If I’d really helped, things wouldn’t have ended up like this. I didn’t do much.”

Aris ruffled the back of her hair, looking a bit self-deprecating.

“You gave me the Dragon Heart that formed my core, didn’t you? And you’ve helped Raon a lot, too.”

“Raon is a boy you can’t help but assist.”

Aris nodded as she looked into Sylvia’s eyes, so similar to Raon’s.

“He’s a truly good-hearted kid, something hard to believe considering he was born into this messed-up Zieghart. At his age, with that kind of power, he still cherishes others and carries himself with humility. He’s grown up so well.”

Aris smiled gently, clearly proud of Raon’s character more than his strength.

“I’m not one to envy others, but when it comes to raising children, I envy you.”

“There’s no need to envy me. He’s your nephew too, isn’t he?”

Sylvia hugged the bouquet to her chest, laughing softly.

“You’re right. He’s my nephew. I feel at ease now that I’ve gotten permission from his mom!”

Aris clenched her fist, determined to make Raon call her ‘aunt’ no matter what.

“I’m sorry.”

Aris smiled as she spoke, but then her expression turned serious as she looked into Sylvia’s eyes.

“Sister?”

“Honestly, I didn’t have the courage to face you. That’s why I didn’t visit you all this time. If I had known things would turn out like this, I would have come sooner.”

“Oh…”

Sylvia bit her lip as she looked at Aris. She had thought Aris just did whatever she wanted, but it seemed she carried her own burdens too.

“Sister.”

Sylvia took Aris’s hand and shook her head.

“You don’t need to apologize for something you didn’t do. I’m content with how things are now.”

“…Thank you.”

Aris squeezed Sylvia’s hand and stood up.

“I’ve seen your face clearly, so I’ll be heading out now.”

“If you’re leaving…”

“I’m going back to play pirate. And…”

She glanced out the window at the setting sun with a faint smile.

“I’m going to look for that unruly son of mine who’s gone out of contact.”

“Oh…”

“I tried not to care whether he lived or died, but seeing Raon made me miss him.”

Aris waved her hand slowly.

“When I bring him back, let’s have him spar with Raon. The loser buys dinner, okay?”

“That sounds great.”

Sylvia nodded gently.

“But you have to come back soon.”

Aris’s eyes regained their usual sharpness as she laughed and nodded.

“I will.”

—

The Zieghart Audience Chamber.

Where there was once only the golden throne, piles of books now filled the stage.

“This one is too basic, this one lacks depth, and this one is too simple to be interesting.”

Glenn frowned as he sifted through the books, clearly dissatisfied.

“What’s the Lord doing right now?”

Rimmer asked, yawning as he entered the chamber. He walked over to Roenn.

“I believe he’s selecting a martial arts manual to gift to Young Master Raon.”

Roenn smiled softly as he looked over at Glenn.

“A martial arts manual?”

“Yes. Young Master Raon created a new martial art recently, didn’t he? I think the Lord wants to give him a good manual to help with his next creation.”

Roenn chuckled, noting how it had been a while since he had seen Glenn so pleased.

“Well, of course he’s happy.”

Sheryl pushed herself off the pillar she had been leaning against and nodded.

“His grandson became a Grandmaster at such a young age and even has the talent of a Grand Sage. Who wouldn’t be proud?”

She smiled, understanding Glenn’s feelings.

“So that’s why there are so many books piled up here.”

Rimmer nodded in realization.

“It’s impressive, indeed.”

Rimmer acknowledged, nodding in agreement.

“I never expected him to deconstruct the [Ten Forms of Swordsmanship] so thoroughly and create a counter technique.”

“Ahem! That’s not why I’m doing this. I just felt like reviewing some martial arts manuals for a change.”

Glenn’s lips twitched as Roenn, Sheryl, and Rimmer praised Raon. He clearly didn’t dislike hearing them speak highly of his grandson.

“If you’re going to give him something, it should suit him, right?”

“Indeed! Raon would create a top-tier technique from anything he receives, but the better the material, the greater the result!”

Glenn nodded slightly, his lips curling into a smile that nearly touched his ears.

“He really is my disciple!”

Rimmer raised a fist in triumph.

“Hmph!”

Glenn shot Rimmer a stern look.

“You misspoke. He’s my grandson before he’s your disciple.”

He shook his head, dismissing Rimmer’s claim.

“Not even calling him your grandson to his face, are you?”

Rimmer smirked, teasing him.

“Grr…”

Glenn clenched his fists, gripping the throne’s armrests tightly. He couldn’t bring himself to unleash his usual wrath, even though Rimmer had struck a nerve.

“Besides…”

Rimmer shook his head as he looked at the books Glenn had gathered.

“If you’re going to give him one of these manuals, it should be after he achieves something. That’s how you always do it.”

Glenn never gave Raon anything without reason. He only rewarded him after Raon had accomplished something significant, so if he intended to give one of these manuals, it would be much later.

“But this master doesn’t need any particular reason! If I want to give him something, I will! If not, I won’t! It’s all up to me!”

Rimmer grinned mischievously, shrugging.

“That makes me closer to him than a grandfather who can’t even call him his grandson, doesn’t it?”

“You…!”

Glenn glared at Rimmer, his fists trembling in anger.

“Hmph…”

“Hehe…”

Normally, Sheryl and Roenn would step in to stop Rimmer, but today, they remained silent.

“Well then, I’ll be off to give Raon his gift!”

Rimmer waved cheerfully as he left the audience chamber.

Crack!

The armrests of the throne crumbled to dust under Glenn’s clenched fists. His eyes flashed a deep red.

“This brat…”

I’ll show you what it means to be a grandfather!

—

After entrusting the little cat to Dorian, Raon made his way to the fifth training ground.

As he observed the swordsmen focusing on their training, he pondered while absentmindedly stroking his sword.

‘What would be the best martial art for the Light Wind Division?’

Light of the Annex was a technique Raon had created for Sylvia and the maids, so it didn’t quite fit the Light Wind Division.

He needed to develop a new technique that would help the swordsmen unlock their potential.

‘It should be as practical as [Light of the Annex], with a balance of 60% offense and 40% defense. It should also harmonize well with the Light Wind Formation.’

There were many conditions, but none of them seemed particularly difficult.

The only issue was finding the inspiration—the central pillar on which to build the technique.

Raon sighed as he ran a hand through his wind-tousled hair.

‘I wish it could help with my own training, too…’

Although he had achieved some growth after visiting the Sword Saint’s Tomb, his overall strength hadn’t significantly increased.

With the upcoming duels, he needed to consider his own development as well.

‘So, what should I do?’

As Raon pondered and licked his lips in thought, a refreshing breeze blew from behind.

“What are you up to?”

Rimmer appeared, his hair slightly singed but looking quite pleased. He must have made quite a profit from his recent gambling escapades, as his complexion was glowing.

It was strange how someone could look so refined with money but like a beggar without it.

“I was thinking about creating a new martial art for the Light Wind Division.”

“A new martial art?”

“Yes, but no matter how much I think, I can’t seem to find any inspiration.”

Raon explained his earlier thoughts to Rimmer.

“Hm, a martial art that helps both your growth and the Light Wind Division’s…”

Rimmer stroked his smooth chin and then looked up.

“You recently obtained the earth element, completing the four primary elements, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then it’s time to cultivate the wind.”

His eyes sparkled as a gentle breeze brushed past.

“Have you ever heard the song of the wind?”