"Ugh..."
Raon rose, his fingertips trembling.
"Why are you so startled?"
A small kitten. No, Merlin meowed as she came down onto his shoulder.
-Th-that's right!
Wrath quickly nodded.
-To be startled by a mere madwoman! It's shameful for one who serves this king!
'Hey. Wipe your drool.'
Raon glared at the drooling Wrath.
-Kuhup!
Wrath wiped his drool with his forearm and then slunk towards the bracelet.
-Th-this king is a bit tired now and will take a rest.
'Are you running away?'
-Running away! There's nothing this Monarch of Wrath can't do! I'm just tired!
The guy trembled as he retreated into the ice flower bracelet.
"How long have you been here?"
Raon leaned against a tree and turned his gaze to Merlin. Judging by how she asked if she did well scratching Killian's face, she didn't seem to have just arrived.
"Your question is wrong."
Merlin waved her front paws.
"You shouldn't ask how long I've been here, but how long I've been with you!"
"Th-then..."
"Yes! I've been with you from the start!"
She smiled, saying she had been with him since he returned to the family.
"Uh..."
-Heeek!
As he groaned in disbelief, Wrath's scream could be heard from inside the ice flower bracelet. Honestly, I wanted to scream too.
'To think I couldn't even sense her presence despite becoming a Grandmaster...'
That animal possession magic seemed like the most broken of broken magic.
"Actually, I wanted to take that old man's head, but I held back because I thought it might interfere with you."
Merlin said regretfully as she raised her front paw. Sharp claws suddenly protruded from the paw that had looked like a cotton ball.
"Yeah. Thanks..."
Raon swallowed dryly as he looked at the sharply honed claws. He was relieved that Merlin seemed to have gained a bit of patience.
"Ah, the duel was fun."
Merlin grinned, stretching out her neck.
"I always believe in you, but I didn't know you'd overwhelm that old man with similar martial prowess like that!"
"It's not that impressive. I just knew all of the opponent's martial arts."
"Do you know how many people can't use counters even when they're taught!"
She praised him while pressing his shoulder with the pink jelly pads on her paws. It wasn't refreshing, but strangely, it felt nice.
Raon narrowed his eyes as he watched Merlin massaging his shoulder.
'Wait...'
Merlin almost always follows me around. It occurred to him that she might have seen Derus.
"Did you by any chance enter the Sword Saint's Tomb too?"
"I did enter."
Merlin nodded as if asking why he was asking such an obvious thing. I got goosebumps after asking.
"But the possession was immediately dispelled."
"The possession was dispelled?"
"Yes. The space is unique. It seems a possessed body containing a fragment can't enter."
She bit her lip, saying she wanted to come in her main body but couldn't due to other matters.
"The Sanctuary of Blades! I really should have seen that legend with my own eyes, I'm so sorry!"
Merlin raised her front paw, saying she would pluck out her eyes as an apology.
"Don't do it! That's not even your real body! No, don't do it in your main body either!"
Raon grabbed Merlin's paw in panic. He thought she had become a bit more normal, but she was still the same.
"If you say so."
Merlin grinned and moved down to his thigh.
"But what happened?"
He was curious, thinking it must have been quite a big deal for Merlin not to be able to come.
"Hunting."
Merlin calmly raised her front paw.
"Hunting?"
"These days, The Fallen is recklessly increasing Eden's forces. My mission was to hunt named monsters."
She nodded, saying she caught quite a special one.
"Isn't it useless even if you catch them? It would take considerable time for magic stones to form, wouldn't it?"
"Right. Originally, the materials for Eden's helmets and masks were naturally formed magic stones. But The Fallen developed magic to artificially create magic stones."
"That's possible...?"
Raon looked at Merlin and let out a gasp.
"Of course, they don't possess the same power as natural magic stones. Even if they make helmets and masks, their quality is inferior."
Merlin twisted her lips and lowered her gaze.
"It seems The Fallen needs such inadequate forces right now."
"What about the other Five Demons?"
"The same. They're quietly gathering strength."
"Is it really war?"
Raon narrowed his eyes. If not just Eden, but all of the Five Demons were quietly gathering strength, it seemed war was the only reason.
"Didn't The Fallen tell you anything?"
"He just throws missions at me. He doesn't tell me about plans. It's been a while since I met him directly too."
"That's..."
"Yes. It seems he's become more suspicious, as you said."
Merlin nodded calmly as if it were someone else's business.
"...Be careful."
He wasn't sure if it was right to tell Eden's minion to be careful, but he couldn't just stand by given all the help he had received from her.
"If you feel uneasy, leaving Eden now might be an option."
"Hehehe."
"W-why are you laughing?"
Raon leaned back as he watched Merlin laugh strangely.
"My heart flutters and I feel happy whenever you worry about me."
Merlin's cheeks turned red as she let out a "Nyaa~" laugh.
"Ugh..."
-Heeek!
As Raon gaped in disbelief, Wrath's scream burst out. If he was going to hear everything anyway, Raon didn't know why he bothered hiding in there.
"Well then, I'll be going now."
Merlin waved, saying she had told him all the information she knew. Though she said she was leaving, she would surely be watching through the eyes of another animal.
"Can't you please say something when you appear?"
"Huh? I did say something. I said 'I did well, right?'"
"That's not what I..."
He frowned. Whenever he met Merlin, he felt like he was getting dragged into something. As he was about to explain again, she waved her paw.
"This little one is looking for a plant called catnip. It heard from a cat raised by humans that the scent is so good, it wants to roll around in catnip."
"W-wait! What's catnip?!"
Raon reached out, but Merlin had already left, and the cat's black eyes turned towards him.
"Meow."
Was it because Merlin had left? The round face, eyes, and fur standing up like a hedgehog's spines were extremely cute.
"Catnip?"
"Meow."
"What is that...?"
"Meow!"
The cat raised its claws as if to say 'figure it out yourself'.
"Alright. I get it..."
He held the cat in his arms and searched North Grave Mountain. However, no matter how much he looked, he couldn't find any catnip. In fact, since he didn't know what catnip was, he couldn't even tell if he had missed it.
"Meow!"
Three hours later, after being repeatedly hit by the cat's soft paws, Raon descended North Grave Mountain and headed towards the annex building.
"Young Master?"
Helen's eyes widened as she saw the kitten in his arms.
"That cat..."
"Helen. Do you know something called catnip?"
"Catnip? Are you talking about Nepeta?"
She nodded as if she knew what catnip was.
"Do you have it?"
"No. There's no way we would."
"Meow!"
When Helen said there wasn't any, the cat in his arms threw another soft punch. It was sad that the cat was being aggressive when he had spent nearly half a day looking for catnip because of it.
"Nepeta? I have some!"
Dorian's voice came from behind. When he turned around, the guy had his hand raised high.
"You have it?"
"Yes. It's an essential item!"
Dorian muttered about that ridiculous essential item while pulling out a plant with square stems and leaves shaped like rounded triangles.
"Come here!"
As he spread the catnip on the floor, the kitten leapt out of Raon's arms and bounded over to Dorian.
"Meow!"
"Yes, yes. You're so gentle!"
Dorian took out a fishing rod-like cat toy from his belly pouch and played with the kitten.
The cat rolled around on the catnip, playing with Dorian with an expression it had never shown me. It stung a little.
"Hey."
Raon twisted his lips as he looked at Dorian.
"Pardon?"
"You're lucky."
"Huh...?"
Dorian tilted his head as if he didn't understand what Raon meant.
"I said you're lucky."
Wrath shook his head as if pitying Raon.
-What a pathetic guy.
* * *
"Haa..."
Sylvia was lying in her hospital bed, sighing, when the door opened without a knock.
"Raon?"
As she sat up with a bright smile, Alice entered through the open door with a hastily arranged bouquet.
"I'm so sorry. It's not your cute son."
Alice smiled as she handed the bouquet to Sylvia.
"Oh, sis- I mean, Lady Alice."
"Call me sister."
She shook her head with a slight frown.
"There's no one here. No, you can call me that even if someone's around. If anyone makes a fuss about it, I'll split their skull."
Alice bared her teeth, saying she'd fight even if it was their father.
"Thank you."
Sylvia smiled faintly as she accepted the bouquet.
"How are you feeling?"
Alice sat down in the chair next to the bed, looking over Sylvia's condition.
"I'm not in pain, but it's a bit frustrating having to stay still."
Sylvia sighed, saying she felt like she was trapped.
"I certainly misjudged you, it seems."
"Pardon?"
"I thought you were just a fragile child. I didn't know you'd leave the family to find love, or that you'd swing a sword to the brink of death like yesterday."
"I heard you used your power back then. Thank you."
"Things turned out this way because I couldn't use my power. I didn't do anything."
Alice ruffled the back of her hair as if disgusted with herself.
"You gave me the Dragon Heart that created my energy center. And not just me, you've helped Raon a lot too."
"Raon is a child I can't help but assist."
She nodded, looking at Sylvia's eyes that seemed so much like Raon's.
"He's such a good child, it's hard to believe he was born in this broken Zieghart. At his age, with that martial prowess, yet he cares for people and wears humility. He's grown up so well."
Alice drew a faint smile, saying she was more pleased with Raon's character than his martial prowess.
"I'm not the type to envy others, but I do envy how you've raised your child."
"There's no need to envy. He's your nephew, after all."
Sylvia smiled, hugging the bouquet.
"Right? He is my nephew, right? Getting permission from his mother puts my mind at ease!"
Alice clenched her fist, saying she'd make sure the word "aunt" came out of Raon's mouth.
"I'm sorry."
She was smiling, but then met Sylvia's eyes again and bit her lip.
"Sis?"
"Actually, I didn't have the courage to see you. I didn't visit all this time, but if I had known it would be like this, I should have gone earlier."
"Ah..."
Sylvia looked at Alice and swallowed. She had thought Alice just acted on her whims, but it seemed she had her own burdens too.
"Sis."
Sylvia shook her head as she held Alice's hand.
"You don't need to apologize for things you didn't do. I'm content with how things are now."
"...Thank you."
Alice squeezed Sylvia's hand tightly before standing up.
"Now that I've seen your face properly, I should get going."
"By going, you mean...?"
"I have to go back to playing pirate. And."
She smiled faintly as she looked out the window at the setting sun.
"I'm also going to look for that good-for-nothing son who won't contact me."
"Ah..."
"I tried not to care whether he lived or died, but seeing Raon makes me miss him for some reason."
Alice slowly waved her hand.
"When I bring that guy back, let's have him spar with Raon. How about the loser buys dinner?"
"Sounds good."
Sylvia nodded gently.
"But you have to come back soon."
Alice's eyes returned to their usual look. She nodded with a refreshing smile.
"Alright."
* * *
Zieghart audience chamber.
The platform where only the throne originally stood was now piled high with various books.
"This one's too basic, this one lacks structure, this one's too simple to be interesting."
Glenn frowned deeply as he skimmed through each book, seemingly unsatisfied.
"What is the Head of House doing right now?"
Rimmer, who had entered the audience chamber while yawning, approached Roenn and asked.
"It seems he's selecting martial arts manuals to bestow upon Young Master Raon."
Roenn smiled faintly as he looked at Glenn.
"Martial arts manuals?"
"Yes. Didn't Master Raon create a new martial art this time? It seems he's choosing good manuals to help with the next creation."
He chuckled, saying it had been a while since he'd seen Glenn looking so pleased.
"He can't help but be happy."
Sheryl nodded, leaning away from the pillar.
"Who wouldn't be pleased? His grandson has not only become a Grandmaster at such a young age, but also possesses the talent of a great martial artist."
She smiled, saying she could well understand Glenn's feelings.
"So that's why there are so many martial arts manuals piled up like that."
Rimmer nodded as if he now understood.
"He was certainly impressive this time."
Rimmer nodded, saying even he had to admit it.
"I didn't know he could dissect the Ten Forms Sword Style so meticulously and create such a superior martial art."
"Ahem! It's not like that. I just wanted to look over martial arts manuals after a long time."
Glenn's lips quivered, seemingly pleased by Roenn, Sheryl, and Rimmer's praise of Raon.
"Still, if you're going to give him something, it's better to give martial arts that suit Raon, right?"
"That's right! That child would create the best martial art from anything he receives, but the better the material, the more outstanding the result will be!"
He nodded, turning his head slightly. His smile seemed to reach his ears.
"As expected of my disciple!"
Rimmer raised his fist as he looked at Glenn.
"Hmm!"
Glenn's expression hardened as he looked down at Rimmer.
"You've misspoken. Before being your disciple, he's my grandson."
He shook his head, telling Rimmer not to talk nonsense.
"What are you saying when you can't even call him grandson to his face."
Rimmer smirked, asking what kind of grandfather Glenn was.
"Kuhk..."
Glenn gripped the throne's armrest and bit his lip. He'd been hit right where it hurt, but he couldn't strike out like he usually would.
"Moreover..."
Rimmer shook his head as he looked at the books Glenn had prepared.
"If you're going to give him the selected martial arts manuals, shouldn't it be after Raon has accomplished something?"
Glenn doesn't just give gifts to Raon. He only gives something when Raon has achieved something, so giving these martial arts manuals would be far in the future.
"But I say there's no need for that! Give if you want to give, don't if you don't want to!"
Rimmer shrugged with a sly smile.
"Wouldn't this make one much closer than a grandfather who can't even call himself one?"
"You, you..."
Glenn glared at Rimmer, his fist trembling.
"Hmm..."
"Hehehe."
Sheryl and Roenn, who would usually stop Rimmer, stayed quiet today.
"Well then, I'm off to give Raon a gift!"
Rimmer waved cheerfully and left the Lord's Manor.
Crack!
The throne's armrest that Glenn had been gripping crumbled to dust. His eyes flashed bright red.
"That bastard..."
I'll show him what it means to be a grandfather!
* * *
After leaving the cat with Dorian, Raon headed to the Fifth Training Ground.
He caressed the sword hilt while watching the swordsmen focused on their training.
'I wonder how I should approach the Light Wind division's martial arts.'
The Radiant Light Flow was created for Sylvia and the maids, so it didn't suit the Light Wind division.
He needed to create a new martial art that could draw out the swordsmen's potential.
'First, it should be practical like the Radiant Light Flow, and a balance of offense and defense at about 6 to 4 would be good. I also need to consider how it harmonizes with the Light Wind Formation.'
There were many conditions, but it wasn't particularly problematic.
However, the core of the martial art - that is, the inspiration to build its pillar - wasn't coming to him.
Raon brushed back his wind-tousled hair and let out a short sigh.
'I hope it helps with my own cultivation too...'
He had achieved some growth after visiting the Sword Saint's Tomb, but his martial prowess itself hadn't significantly increased.
With the sword duel not far off, he needed to keep his own development in mind as well.
'So what should I do?'
As Raon was pondering, chewing his lip, a cool breeze settled behind him.
"What are you doing?"
Rimmer smiled, brushing back his singed hair. His complexion looked good, as if he'd won big in his recent gambling.
It was strange how he looked noble when he had money, and like a beggar when he didn't.
"I was thinking about creating martial arts for the Light Wind division."
"Martial arts for the Light Wind division?"
"Yes. But no matter how much I think about it, inspiration isn't coming."
He told Rimmer about what he had been pondering earlier.
"Hmm, your own growth and martial arts for the Light Wind division..."
Rimmer touched his smooth chin and then looked up.
"You gained the earth attribute this time, so you now have all four major attributes, right?"
"That's right."
"Then it's time to nurture the wind."
A clear breeze swept across his eyes.
"Have you ever heard the song of the wind?"