The Youngest Master's Reward
Raon frowned as he looked at Rimer.
What on earth happened to him?
Rimer was wearing a tattered uniform and cracked leather boots, and his hair hung in a tangled mess like strands of seaweed.
Before we left, he was the very picture of a newly rich show-off…
He had been the only one to bet on the Light Wind Squad's victory in the duel against the Gold Peak Squad, and he had made a fortune off it. The man who had worn rings on his fingers and his toes just to flaunt his money—how had he ended up looking like a beggar?
That was too much money to blow on gambling, wasn't it?
Gambling dens had limits on their odds. It was hard to believe he had lost that much. But looking at a man who could not even keep his clothes in one piece, there did not seem to be any other explanation.
"Raon! You really became a Master!"
Rimer felt the presence flowing from Raon—smoother, more natural than before—and a smile bloomed across his face of its own accord.
"I believed in you! I knew you'd pull it off!"
"Thank you, Squad Leader."
Raon bowed his head to Rimer. Beggar or not, the man was celebrating as if it were his own achievement. That alone was worth his gratitude.
"A continental youngest Master among my disciples. An eighteen-year-old Master, no less! I can barely contain myself!"
Rimer turned around with a look of deep satisfaction.
"You all worked hard too. I heard you saved a lot of people. I was proud, even from afar."
He looked over the Light Wind Squad from head to toe, then sidled back up to Raon and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"I haven't heard a proper account of anything except you cutting down three of Eden's ghosts. Let's grab a drink and you can fill me in…"
"Get lost!"
Sheryl kicked Rimer in the waist just as he was about to drag Raon off.
"Guhk!"
Rimer clutched his waist, his jaw trembling.
"W-why…"
"We haven't even given our report yet, and you want a drink? Don't bother us, you gambling addict."
Sheryl waved him off. She, too, was certain Rimer had gambled away his fortune.
"Squad Leader. Did you really gamble again?"
"This is just pathetic."
Burren looked down at Rimer and sighed. Marta shot him a frigid glare.
Runaan just stared at Rimer blankly—whether she could not tell the difference or simply did not care was anyone's guess.
"N-no! I was this close this time! I could've gone for the 'Three Medicines,' but I got cleaned out by a single point at the end! If you'd just give me one more chance…"
Three Medicines?
Raon tilted his head. He had heard that somewhere, but he could not quite place it.
"Get a grip already, you idiot!"
Sheryl kicked Rimer one more time, then strode ahead and gestured for them to follow. The message was clear: ignore that guy and come with me.
"Let's go."
"Yes!"
Raon followed Sheryl, and the Heavenly Sword Squad—along with every swordsman of the Light Wind Squad—ignored Rimer and walked through the main gate.
"H-hey, kids?"
Not a single person looked back at Rimer as he stretched out his hands in desperate appeal.
"Hey! You brats! After everything I've done for you! I haven't even asked to borrow money yet!"
Everyone shook their heads at the predictable rambling.
"That's the fate of a gambler for you."
Dorian looked at Julius and told him never, ever to follow that example.
"He's strong, but I somehow don't want to admit it."
Julius shook his head with a sour look.
"That one remains wretched to the very end. In a certain sense, he is a remarkable creature."
Wrath clicked his tongue in disgust.
No kidding.
Raon nodded and followed Sheryl down the central avenue. Every swordsman they passed stopped in their tracks to look at the group, as if a triumphant general had returned from war.
"A Master, is he…"
"It wasn't empty talk. The presence coming off him is on a completely different level than before."
"A Master at eighteen. Did he receive a blessing from the gods?"
"Not a blessing—a curse. Standing there is the price he paid for overcoming it."
"True enough. Even the Saint couldn't properly treat that constitution of his."
The swordsmen made no effort to hide their astonishment as they murmured among themselves, staring at Raon.
"They say he cut down the Madblood Ghost before becoming a Master, then the Red Wolf Ghost and the Black Wing Ghost after."
"I heard all three of them were exhausted from fighting the Saint. Their strength was spent."
"That's what I heard too. They were so worn out they could barely even use Ganggi."
"So you're telling me you'd walk into a forest crawling with Masters without a second thought, even if you were an Expert at the end of your rope? He cut down three Masters and came back. That kind of sniping only exposes how ugly you are."
"The Red Wolf Ghost and the Black Wing Ghost came at him at the same time. With those two combining their arts, being tired wouldn't have meant a thing."
"And he fought the Evil Goat Ghost to a draw at the end. His skill has already been acknowledged, whether they like it or not."
Raon narrowed his eyes. This was different from usual. Voices rose here and there to push back against the envy and jealousy, and some of the swordsmen were even arguing with each other.
So things have changed a little.
Before, no one had ever stepped in when his achievements were belittled, envied, or cursed. Becoming a Master and stacking up real accomplishments seemed to have shifted the clan's thinking, if only slightly.
"Vice-leader Raon."
"Congratulations on reaching Master."
"I heard you held out to the very end in a brutal battle. I was deeply impressed."
"I'm Jekal of Spear Hall. Would you grant me a duel sometime?"
It was not just people watching from a distance. Plenty of them came right up to speak to him, their excited eyes carrying genuine goodwill.
"Thank you."
Raon dipped his head with an awkward look, then stuck close to Sheryl's side. She was the one person no one dared approach, and right now that was a relief.
"People coming up to you without hesitation is a burden, is it?"
"It's not that bad…"
"It's because you have power now."
Sheryl tapped her scabbard and smiled faintly.
"Power is what turns indifference into interest, and interest into goodwill. And…"
She glanced at the swordsmen still giving off cold looks and let out a short laugh.
"Power is also what turns jealousy and envy into malice. You're going to have a lot more nuisances coming your way."
"I'm prepared for that."
Raon nodded. Honestly, he was more used to people's ugliness than their kindness. This much, he could take in stride.
"There's one more thing."
Sheryl looked back, sweeping a chilly gaze over the people who had been sneering just moments ago.
"Guhk!"
"Huk!"
"Hiiiek!"
The instant their eyes met hers, they recoiled in terror and toppled over backward.
She tapped his shoulder and gave him a smile that almost looked kind.
"That butterfingers is right."
Butterfingers?
"She cooks like an absolute disaster, does she not?"
Wrath's face scrunched up in disgust.
Ah. That's true enough.
"In any case, as that butterfingers said—if you possess overwhelming power, not a soul will dare to challenge you. Even when This King resided in the Demon Realm, countless demonkin banded together to strike. But once I froze them all solid with a single Wave of Frost, not a soul dared raise a hand against me again. Ah, the Wave of Frost is one of This King's techniques…"
Wrath launched into a long-overdue round of bragging about the Demon Realm. Raon was letting it go in one ear and out the other when the little creature suddenly whipped his head around.
"…Therefore, surrender thy body to This King. I shall make thee an Absolute of this continent, a being none shall dare to covet!"
And there it is. Always the same conclusion.
Raon snorted and flicked Wrath away as the demon king lunged at him. By the time he had sat through that endless Demon Realm ramble, they had already arrived in front of the Main House.
"Huu…"
Raon looked up at the Lord's Palace standing tall at the heart of the Main House and quietly let out a breath.
It's a battlefield wherever I go.
He needed to collect what he was owed—but this was also a chance to read Glenn's true intentions.
Raon knelt at the center of the Audience Chamber and glanced to either side. Whether Glenn had summoned them or not, every squad leader and division commander of the martial units remaining in the clan had gathered.
"Insane…"
"I-it was real."
"A Master at eighteen…"
"I was sure it was nonsense."
The commanders who felt Raon's martial power had eyes that shook like reeds in a gale.
"Mm."
"Kkng!"
Karun and Balder bit down on their lips, trying to look composed, but they could not hide the way those lips trembled.
There was only one exception.
Seated on the golden throne upon the dais, Glenn's expression was as empty, as cold, and as bored as ever.
Raon looked up into Glenn's gaze and furrowed his brow.
Did that man really give me those elixirs?
Staring into those emotionless eyes, he almost wondered whether Pedrick had been lying.
"Raon Zieghart."
"Yes."
At Glenn's call, Raon bowed his head where he knelt.
"I was told you stood at the center of this mission. Tell me yourself what happened."
"Understood."
Raon closed his eyes, opened them, and rose to his feet.
"When we arrived at the Yonan family and finished preparing to move, Temus came to us, and…"
There were too many ears in the room. Exaggerating would only work against him. He recited the events of the mission as they had happened, nothing more and nothing less—the truth, without a single lie.
"…And so, after completing Lady Encia's treatment, we returned to the clan."
"There is no falsehood in it."
Sheryl nodded in agreement, and the commanders' and squad leaders' mouths—and their eyes—hung open wider than their jaws.
"Hah. Three of Eden's Masters. Honestly, even I wouldn't be confident…"
"Surviving a combined assault from the Black Wing Ghost and the Red Wolf Ghost is staggering."
"A real monster has appeared in this clan."
"The martial power I feel has already left the entry stage. Calling him low-rank wouldn't even be an exaggeration. How did he erase the plateau entirely?"
"An astonishing mind, and sword aura that sends a shiver down the spine. It won't be long before his name resounds across the entire continent."
The commanders who marveled at his martial power looked at him with a mix of competitive fire and genuine admiration.
"To pick out Temus's weakness and prepare for an ambush—his head isn't just sharp, it's extraordinary."
"He's different from the muscle-heads who move on instinct. He has the composure to read a situation thoroughly before he acts."
"It isn't the martial power. That cunning doesn't belong to an eighteen-year-old. We should have brought him over to our side."
There were swordsmen who marveled at his preparation, his planning, and his judgment.
"Damn it."
"How did a thing like that even appear…"
"Shit."
"The collateral line is going to throw a fit over this."
And there were those who spat curses under their breath and hurled murderous looks his way.
"You have all done well."
Glenn looked over every swordsman who had returned from the mission in turn, then nodded.
The words said they had done well. The face remained as cold as ever. If not for the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth—so slight it was almost invisible—one might have thought he was presiding over a funeral.
"Many variables arose during the mission, but you did not lose your way, and you completed your objective to the end. I acknowledge your merit, and I will grant rewards befitting it."
The moment he offered his own brand of praise and announced the rewards, the eyes of the direct lineage turned savage. Of course, not a single one of them stepped forward far enough to actually defy Glenn.
Looks like that are cute at this point.
Raon took in their stares at his leisure and smiled. Glares of that caliber could not even check him anymore.
"Well then."
Sheryl glanced behind her, then stepped off to the side.
"Heavenly Sword Squad Leader?"
"This mission was mine from the start. I only did what I was supposed to do. I cannot accept a reward for that."
She muttered, "Your turn," and pointed ahead.
"Then I'll sit this out as well."
Econ moved to the left after Sheryl.
"Raon Zieghart. Come up."
"Yes."
Following Glenn's commanding voice, Raon climbed onto the dais. With every step he took, Glenn seemed to grow larger. The man who had looked like a boulder became a mountain, standing at the edge of the sky.
I still can't see the end of it…
Even after reaching Master, he could not gauge the scale of Glenn's martial power. That strength felt as if it existed beyond the heavens themselves.
"Judgment that anticipates the enemy's movements and acts. Courage that does not retreat even before a powerful foe. The overwhelming results born from the exquisite harmony of those two, and the fact that you reached Master at eighteen and made the clan's name resound—all of it is excellent."
At the word excellent leaving Glenn's mouth, the gazes of the direct lineage turned as savage as beasts baring their fangs.
To Raon Zieghart, Vice-leader of the Light Wind Squad, I grant the Golden Plaque and the right of entry to the Red Gold Treasury.
The instant Raon heard the words Red Gold Treasury, his eyes flew wide.
The Red Gold Treasury?
The Red Gold Treasury was the clan head's treasure vault, where the wealth of House Zieghart was piled high. Even the archive Glenn occasionally opened was filled with items from that vault. To be given a chance to enter a place like that—his fists clenched of their own accord.
"My lord."
Balder Zieghart, standing just below the dais, raised his hand.
"I acknowledge that the Light Wind vice-leader's achievements are remarkable, but I believe the Red Gold Treasury is excessive. No one has received a Golden Plaque in the last ten years. The plaque alone would be more than sufficient compensation."
"Mm. I also believe access to the Red Gold Treasury is a reward that exceeds the merit."
"Would it not be better to choose one of the two…"
Commanders of both the direct lineage and the collateral line chimed in as if shaping public opinion around Balder's words.
"With that kind of record, the right to enter the Red Gold Treasury is only fair."
"Exactly. He cut down three of Eden's ghosts!"
"He became the youngest Master on the continent and made the name of Zieghart ring across the land."
There were commanders and squad leaders who spoke in his defense, but they were outnumbered, and their voices did not carry far.
"Heh heh."
A smile tugged at the corner of Karun's mouth. This was exactly what the direct lineage wanted—a messy clash of opinions, the situation thrown into confusion.
"……"
Glenn rested his chin on his hand and did not move, whether he was thinking or simply uninterested. The look in his eyes was bland, as if to say, Convince them yourself.
I knew it would go this way.
Raon clicked his tongue under his breath. Of course the direct lineage would come out like this. From their position, they would rather take a scolding from Glenn than let a reward of this size come his way.
Which was why he had deliberately left out one of his greatest achievements.
"Ah. There is something I have not mentioned."
Raon turned around and raised a finger.
"If it's something he brought back from the Yonan family, an artifact?"
"One artifact isn't going to…"
"Exclusive purchase rights."
At the words exclusive purchase rights, the commanders' eyes rolled like sailboats hit by a wave.
"I obtained the exclusive right to purchase unique-grade artifacts produced by the Yonan family ahead of anyone else."
"Hahk!"
"Wh-what?"
"Insane. Exclusive purchase rights?"
"I-is that true?"
The squad leaders who had been defending him, and even the direct lineage who had been opposing him, went white with shock.
"Yes. A delegation from the Yonan family will be coming shortly to arrange the trade. You can confirm it then."
Raon lifted his chin and looked down on the direct lineage. His vivid red eyes crushed their jealous stares beneath them.
"Does anyone still believe this reward is excessive?"
"Kkng…"
"Urgh!"
"Damn it…"
Naturally, not a single person raised a hand or stepped forward.
"Puhahahaha! Oh, that hits the spot!"
Rimer's laughter, from where he stood at the very back, punched through the heavy air and rang against the ceiling.
"Well then."
Raon turned back and looked at Glenn. The man's expression had not changed at all, as if he had known from the start. If there was any difference, it was that the corner of his mouth twitched a little more.
That's irritating.
He wanted nothing more than to crack that iron mask of a face.
No choice, then.
It was a little embarrassing, but he decided to use the secret weapon he had heard about from Pedrick.
"Raon Zieghart. Come forward."
"Yes!"
He nodded and approached the throne.
"To you, who have splendidly completed this mission, I grant the Golden Plaque and a one-time right of entry to the Red Gold Treasury…
Ugh!"
The moment Glenn stepped forward to hand over the Golden Plaque, Raon put on the same brilliant smile he had shown Pedrick.