Merlin's Warning
Raon rubbed his eyes and looked at the squirrel perched atop the dresser. That's definitely a squirrel...
Am I dreaming?
No matter how many times he looked, there was nothing remarkable about it. No magic, no sorcery, no Battle Qi, not even a whisper of aura — just an ordinary squirrel. He could hardly believe this creature had spoken.
"If you keep staring at me that blatantly, I might get a little embarrassed."
The squirrel turned its head aside with a gentle smile.
"Hah..."
At the sound of that soft, measured voice, Raon's mouth fell open of its own accord. It wasn't a dream after all.
"What the hell are you?"
"You called my name, didn't you?"
The squirrel lowered its tiny paws as if bashful, a faint smile playing across its face. Raon had never known a squirrel could be so expressive.
"It's been a while, Raon."
"Merlin..."
Raon bit his lip. Just as he'd sensed from the start, Merlin's soul was dwelling inside that squirrel.
"Hearing you say my name in your own voice still thrills me more than anything."
Merlin swept a paw back through her hair. Or rather, she tried to — in her current form, it looked like nothing more than a squirrel rubbing the fur around its head.
"Th-that obsessive woman?!"
Wrath recoiled in horror, putting as much distance between himself and the dresser as he could.
"This King knew she wasn't dead, but to think she'd tracked you all the way here! She's a lunatic beyond all reason!"
His jaw trembled as if he couldn't believe a human like this even existed.
"Ghhh — the trauma is flooding back..."
Wrath clutched his head and collapsed onto the bed.
If you knew she wasn't dead, you could have said something. Raon frowned at the writhing cotton-ball of a demon king.
"I came all this way and you're looking somewhere else?"
Merlin perched on the edge of the dresser and crooked a tiny finger. She seemed to be going for sultry this time, but all it amounted to was a fluffy tail swaying back and forth.
"So you didn't die?"
"You were worried about me? I'm so happy!"
"Hah..."
A sigh escaped him on its own. The fact that conversation with her was impossible only confirmed it was Merlin.
"How did you even get out of there alive?"
"Even a rabbit digs itself an escape hole. A person ought to have at least one lifeline."
Merlin waved a paw as if the question itself were absurd.
"Though thanks to your grandfather, I did have to sacrifice quite a lot."
Her expression turned bitter as she spoke. Joy, then regret — it was strangely impressive how well a squirrel's face could convey both.
"Is the Gold Masked Snake still alive too?"
"The Gold Masked Snake is dead."
"Hmm..."
Something in Merlin's tone was slightly off, but Raon nodded for now.
"So you took that squirrel's form to survive?"
"No. My body is somewhere else. Why — do you want to see it?"
"Not a chance."
Raon let out a deep sigh and shook his head. They hadn't even talked for long and he was already exhausted.
"Then what's with that form?"
"When I heard the Six Kings Meeting was being held, I used a method of very slowly infusing this squirrel with my will. I didn't touch this child's body or soul, so of course no one would notice."
She hadn't used mana or magic, and she had no intention of attacking through the squirrel, which was why everyone had taken it for an ordinary animal.
"There was never any word that I'd be attending the meeting. And the fact that it was being held in Owen only spread recently."
"You're a principal party to this meeting, so of course I figured you'd come. Just in case, I scattered small animals that wouldn't raise any suspicion across all of the Six Kings' territories."
Merlin covered her mouth with a paw and giggled.
"Insane..."
That was all he could say. This is actually terrifying... Predicting his movements was one thing, but scattering small animals across the entire Six Kings just to cover every possible situation sent a chill crawling up his spine.
"Ghhh!"
Wrath clapped his hands over his ears as if he didn't want to hear another word. It seemed even he had suffered this kind of obsession before.
"So why did you come looking for me?"
"Family being together is only natural, isn't it?"
Merlin smiled as if she couldn't understand why he'd even ask.
"It's a shame I can't hold you the way I did back there, looking like this."
"Don't talk nonsense..."
"Then who do you think laid you down on the bed? When you were wearing that mask, you even slept with your head in my lap."
"Nnh..."
Honestly, he didn't remember. All he recalled was sitting in a chair, then waking up on the floor.
"Enough of the useless talk. Be honest. Why did you come?"
"Because I was worried about you."
For the first time, Merlin's bright voice dropped low.
"You have a Family Head right beside you who crushed even your leader without breaking a sweat. There's no need to wor—"
"Tatcheon is targeting you."
Merlin shook her head just as Raon was about to bring up Glenn.
"Targeting me?"
Raon frowned at her.
"Because the Family Head came after me and inflicted catastrophic damage on Eden?"
"No."
Merlin shook her head firmly. He was starting to get used to her as a squirrel.
"Because of your future."
"My future?"
"Tatcheon believes you'll become the greatest obstacle to Eden's cause. He intends to kill you while he has the chance."
"While he has the chance?"
"He's expended a great deal of power in all sorts of ways, so he can't move as he pleases."
She smiled, adding that if he just weathered this one attempt, he'd be fine.
"I don't know when during the meeting he'll make his move. It won't be while the leaders of the Six Kings — like your grandfather — are nearby, at least."
That much was true. No matter how stealthily Tatcheon struck, he couldn't slip past Glenn's eyes.
"You borrowed an animal's body just to tell me that?"
Raon pointed at squirrel-Merlin, narrowing his eyes.
"Of course. We're family."
Merlin nodded, rubbing her head with both paws.
"Hmm..."
Raon bit his lip. What am I supposed to even say to this? He'd already thought she was insane when she threw everything she had into holding back the White Blood Cult and Eden. He'd never imagined she'd go so far as to hand him information like this. Understanding why she would do all of it only made him feel worse.
"Listen, I..."
"Ah, one more thing."
Merlin raised a finger.
"I overheard this on the way here. Your name came out of Derus Robert's mouth."
"What?"
He hadn't expected Derus's name to come up at all. His head snapped up.
"The way he was looking at you bothered me, so I approached as if by coincidence. In a single sentence, your name came up twice. Raon, and Raon Zieghart. Don't you find that a little strange?"
"And after that?"
"I couldn't hear because of the barrier. If I'd gotten any closer, this body would have been torn apart."
She clicked her tongue, wishing she'd enhanced the squirrel's hearing even a little more.
"Raon, and Raon Zieghart. Twice, in one sentence...?"
Raon swallowed dryly. Don't tell me. It wasn't common for someone to put a person's name into a single sentence twice. And the pairing of "Raon" and "Raon Zieghart" set alarm bells ringing in his head. Is that bastard suspecting a connection between the me of my past life and the me of now?
It sounded absurd, but of every possibility Merlin's words had conjured, that one had the highest probability.
Think it through. How many times had he carried out an assassination? The first had been when he'd gone after the Green Lightning Ghost, but no outsider had seen a thing. The second was when he'd cut down the Fourth Apostle, and quite a few people had witnessed that. That alone wouldn't be enough for him to recognize me.
Just in case, he hadn't used the assassination arts he'd learned from House Robert. He'd applied the swordsmanship he'd mastered since then, turning it into an assassin's blade. At the level of the martial artists present, none of them could have identified it. Which means he doesn't have certainty.
If Derus had been sure when they met, he would have asked probing questions to test him. Judging by everything so far, Derus's suspicion wasn't that deep. Now I get it. The strange look Derus had given him at their first meeting hadn't been about the Yonan Family at all. He'd been looking at Raon and suspecting he was the Raon of his past life.
Why would he suspect that? He's not the kind of madman who'd compare people just because they share a name. No matter how he turned it over, he couldn't find a reason for Derus to suspect he was the Raon of his previous life. No. That's not what matters right now. He needed to think of a way to throw off Derus's suspicion.
Raon emptied every last breath from his lungs and closed his eyes. What Derus will do if he suspects me is obvious. He'll have Matio watch me, to see if any trace of the assassin remains.
Matio was Derus's closest aide — the butler of the shadows, the man who had brainwashed Raon and drilled him as an assassin. He would observe Raon's every move, hunting for leftover habits. A waste of effort. Raon bit his lip, a cold smile touching his mouth. I already erased all of it.
After recognizing that Roen was an assassin, he had wiped away every action, every movement, that an assassin might make, until not even the faintest trace remained. Thanks to Sylvia, even his mindset had shifted from assassin to swordsman. No matter that Matio was the instructor who had personally brainwashed and trained him — he would never be able to tell. Still, just in case.
He mapped out how he would carry himself from here on. After checking his body language from every angle, he nodded.
"Done thinking?"
Merlin, who had been gnawing on the dresser, smiled awkwardly. She didn't seem able to fully suppress the squirrel's instincts.
"Yeah. Thank you."
Raon bowed his head to her. It had all unfolded because of her delusion, but the help she'd given him was genuine. He thanked her with his whole heart.
"Family doesn't say things like that."
Merlin repeated the exact words Sylvia had once spoken to him. Something in his chest ached.
"You don't have to say it."
She climbed down from the dresser and laid her tiny paw over his hand. Warmth radiated from those minuscule fingers.
"......"
For a moment — just a brief moment — the thought of using Merlin as she was crossed his mind. The one-sided affection of a Grandmaster-level archmage would be an enormous help in everything to come. No. No, it wouldn't.
Raon struck his own cheek with savage force. A sound like tearing flesh rang through the silent room.
"Raon?"
"H-have you gone mad as well?!"
Merlin and Wrath both stared, eyes wide. That's right. It would be madness. If he used Merlin like that, he would be no different from Derus Robert — the man who, even after Raon's reincarnation, still made him burn with the need for revenge. Even if she were an enemy, mocking a person's entire life was something he could never do.
"I'll say it again. Thank you for the information. But I'm not Lokta Deporte, your family. His soul was absorbed into me."
Raon looked at Merlin and told her, honestly, what had happened in the mental world.
"He's gone from this world. I'm your enemy, not someone you should be helping."
"Did Lokta say anything at the end?"
"He..."
Raon closed his eyes. Lokta's last words still lingered in his memory. They hadn't been anything special, but he would never forget them for as long as he lived.
"He was worried about you. He said you had sins, but that there were reasons you committed them."
"I see. So that's how it was..."
He waited for the resentment that should have come back at him, but Merlin was silent for a long time.
"Raon. You really are Lokta."
Merlin beamed. It was the kind of expression a squirrel would make after stuffing itself sick on sunflower seeds.
"Lokta was a knight. He wouldn't do anything shameful."
"I told you, I'm not Lokta!"
"I said it before. As long as Lokta's soul dwells within you, you're Lokta to me."
"I am Raon Zieghart."
"I'll call you by that name, then. Raon."
"Kh..."
Raon bit his lip. He'd thought she might have come around, and then the stubbornness started all over again.
"I don't mind if my love is one-sided. As I said, that's what family is."
"I'm not your fam—"
"Ah, I'm almost out of time."
Merlin's voice trembled, and the squirrel's fur stood on end.
"If my will lingers any longer, it'll be a burden on this child too. I hope you survive this time as well."
She smiled one last time and waved. It was an adorable squirrel, but it felt as though he were watching Merlin herself say goodbye.
"When I'm gone, take care of feeding this child. That was the deal, after all."
The moment those last words faded, the squirrel's eyes cleared.
Squeak?
The squirrel came to its senses, stared blankly at Raon, then darted under the bed to hide.
"That obsessive madness... it was enough to terrify even this King..."
Wrath's jaw trembled as he stared at the empty dresser. She might be, at that.
"This King cannot fathom why nothing but lunatics gather around you!"
Well... Raon couldn't quite bring himself to say that Wrath was the strangest of them all.
Knock, knock.
He was shaking his head, about to call the squirrel out from under the bed, when a knock came from outside.
"Vice Leader! Why aren't you coming out? It's our turn to enter!"
Dorian's frantic voice.
"Dorian, come in for a second."
"Huh?"
He opened the door and stepped inside.
"Do you have any nuts?"
"Of course I do. Peanuts? Almonds? Walnuts? Pistachios? Sunflower seeds? Pine nuts? Pumpkin seeds? Cashews? I've got them all."
It had been a while since Raon last felt it, but Dorian's preparedness really was extraordinary.
"Sunflower seeds and peanuts."
"Yes, sir!"
Dorian nodded, pulled a cylinder packed with nuts from his Belly Pouch, and handed over the sunflower seeds and peanuts.
"Come on out."
Raon slowly offered the peanuts and sunflower seeds under the bed. The squirrel took them one by one in its mouth and crept out.
"Eek? A squirrel? Why is there a squirrel in here?"
"It was starved for affection."
Raon smiled bitterly, lifted the squirrel — cheek pouches already stuffed with the sunflower seeds from his palm — and set it on the windowsill. The little creature glanced back, tilted its head, then vanished toward the garden.
Raon watched the sun sink for a moment, then pulled on his coat.
"Let's go."
Following Dorian toward the banquet hall, Raon found no one else in sight — only the swordsmen of Zieghart waiting at the door. So we really are last. Banquets had the lower ranks and younger attendees enter first, which meant House Zieghart went in last of all.
"Whoa, Raon. You've grown, huh? Making me wait?"
Rimer sauntered over with a scowl.
"A vice leader daring to keep the squad leader— ghhk!"
"You're the one who wasted more time."
Of course, before Rimer could pick a fight, Sheryl drove a blow into his side and sent him staggering sideways.
"Raon. Did something happen?"
Runaan came up and tilted her head.
"No. Nothing much."
Raon shook his head with a faint smile. There were things weighing on him, but they weren't the kind of things he could unload on anyone else.
"Family Head. Everyone is assembled."
Sheryl bowed toward the waiting room on the right. The door opened, and Glenn appeared. He wasn't in formal dress — just his usual uniform — but it suited him all the better for it.
"Let's go."
He glanced their way for a moment, narrowing his eyes, then gave a small nod.
"Yes, sir!"
Led by Sheryl, the Zieghart swordsmen answered as one and followed Glenn to the banquet hall doors.
"We welcome the heroes of Zieghart."
The knights guarding the entrance slammed their spears against the floor and threw the doors wide. At the same instant, the announcers' magnificent voices swept through the hall.
The Northern Overlord, Glenn Zieghart, and the heroes of House Zieghart now enter!
The bustling atmosphere of the banquet hall sank in an instant. Every gaze turned their way.
"That's him. The Northern Annihilation King, Glenn Zieghart."
"Th-this isn't a joke. What kind of presence does a person even..."
"Ugh, I can't breathe."
"So the stories were true — that he overwhelmed the White Blood Cult Leader and Tatcheon by himself."
"It's worse than before. I can't even look him in the eye..."
Those who faced Glenn found themselves crushed by his hegemony, unable to lift their gazes or meet his eyes, their jaws trembling. Terrifying, isn't he. Most of the strong kept their power reined in to some degree, but Glenn was the type to let it show, and every face in the hall had gone pale. This is perfect.
Raon smiled faintly as he felt the atmosphere settle. Not a single person is paying attention to me. Glenn had taken every gaze in the room, so there was no need to forcibly hide his presence. At this rate, he might accomplish what he'd come here to do without any trouble at all.
"This way, if you would."
King Lecross, already seated on the dais as the host, pointed to the seat beside him with a warm smile. Derus was already sitting to his left.
Raon pretended to watch Glenn's back as he ascended the dais, all the while studying Derus — and their eyes met.
Derus smiled as if to say, we meet again. The sight of that false, polished smile set Raon's head burning all over again.
"You fool..."
Sensing the rage boiling up from within, Wrath frowned.
Don't worry. I'm fine now.
Raon circulated the Ring of Fire, quelling the fury that had surged inside him. He bowed his head to Derus with a smile that held not the slightest wrinkle.
When he lifted his gaze, Derus's expression had stiffened, just a fraction.
Keeping his face perfectly natural, Raon studied the two butlers standing behind the man. The one on the right. The old butler on the left was an errand-runner who handled affairs in the light. The friendly-looking middle-aged butler on the right was the real power — Matio, hiding in plain sight. This is why you never know how the world will turn.
Thanks to Merlin, a variable no one could have predicted, it wasn't the other side putting him to the test. It was him.
Raon turned his back on them, a cold smile on his lips. It's been a while, Instructor.