The Young Master of Sepia
Raon clicked his tongue as he watched Dorian fidget, utterly at a loss. So that's what the belly pouch was about. The Sepia Merchant Guild didn't specialize in any one commodity—it was a general store that dealt in everything under the sun. And because Dorian was a young master of that guild, it finally made sense that such astonishing items had come pouring out of his belly pouch one after another.
"Th-This King knew it would be so!"
Wrath had been staring blankly, then hurriedly bobbed his head.
"Did you think This King would take just anyone as a subordinate? This King spotted the noble air blooming from that boy and took him in!"
He puffed himself up, immensely proud of his own discernment.
Always with the bluster... Apparently this kind of bragging didn't even register as a lie, because the nonsense just kept rolling off his tongue.
Raon shook his head and looked back at Dorian.
"I should've been the one calling you Young Master, not the other way around."
From the day they'd first met, Dorian had addressed him as Young Master. Thinking about it now, Raon was the one who should have been using that title.
"N-no! Absolutely not!"
Dorian shook his head with frantic violence.
"Don't be ridiculous. If we're going by background alone, you're way above me."
It was no exaggeration to say that Dorian—son of the Sepia Merchant Guild—stood far higher than Raon, who had been treated as the lowest of Zieghart's collateral branches.
"So why did the guild's young master hide who he was?"
Raon's gaze cooled. Dorian's nature made it unlikely he'd been deceiving anyone on purpose, but Raon still needed to know the reason.
"Haa..."
Dorian let out a long breath and lifted his head.
"I'm really not a young master. I'm an illegitimate son."
He rubbed at his belly pouch and hung his head.
"Illegitimate, and the youngest on top of that. All I ever got until I left the family was scorn."
"Scorn?"
"Yes. The Guild Master treated me like I barely existed, and my older brothers and sisters tormented me every single day."
His voice was so calm it was almost sad. There didn't seem to be a shred of attachment left for the Sepia Merchant Guild.
He looked after me because he lived a life like mine... The way Dorian had shown him goodwill from their first meeting, the way he'd gone out of his way to talk to him—it was probably because he'd seen his old self from the guild in Raon.
"In the Sepia Merchant Guild I might as well have not existed, and there was nothing to gain by telling anyone, so I didn't. I'm sorry..."
Dorian pressed his lips shut and bowed his head.
"No. You don't have to lay out every private detail."
Raon waved it off. Everyone had things they wanted to keep hidden. Being a subordinate, or even a friend, didn't mean you were entitled to know all of it.
"But Sepia is in the southwest. How did you end up in Zieghart?"
"The Guild Master set a trial."
"The Guild Master is your father, right?"
"Ah—yes."
"Hmm..."
The fact that he called the man Guild Master instead of Father said everything about how he'd been raised. That, too, was uncomfortably familiar.
"What kind of trial?"
"Take something from inside the guild and turn it into a greater treasure than anyone else. Whoever does that becomes the successor of the Sepia Merchant Guild. Naturally, every heir in the family took part."
Dorian exhaled as if the memory still sat heavy in his chest.
"Selection rights went in order of birth, so my older brothers and sisters took the Guild Master's connections, the trading rights, the gold, the guild's talented people. All that was left for me was this."
He ran a hand down the belly pouch and gave a faint, crooked smile.
"That pouch doesn't look half bad."
Dorian's belly pouch was nothing like an ordinary subspace pouch. The way it stored things was peculiar, and it seemed to have no spatial limit at all—a treasure you couldn't put a price on.
"The Guild Master never explained what it was, so nobody knew."
"Ah..."
That made sense. Faced with an unidentified pouch versus flashy connections, trading rights, and merchandise, anyone would pick the latter.
"I knew it was a subspace pouch, so I stuffed everything from the guild warehouse into it and ran. I never planned to inherit the guild anyway, so I had no intention of going back."
Dorian's eyes brightened. Judging by his expression, his time trapped in that guild had been genuinely miserable.
"I headed north, and a Zieghart swordsman I ran into by chance said I had some talent and recommended me. That's how I ended up here."
"And your mother?"
"They say she died when I was born. I never even saw her face, so I'm not particularly sad about it."
Dorian lifted a hand, his expression utterly matter-of-fact.
"That's everything. Not very interesting, right?"
"Yeah..."
Raon nodded. He'd taken the boy for a young master, but that couldn't have been further from the truth. Dorian had been born into circumstances as bad as his own—no, worse.
Still... A few things didn't add up. The pouch's ability had gone unexplained, which was how it had fallen to Dorian. And a child had emptied the guild's warehouse without anyone stopping him. There was a real chance something was being kept from view.
"Kh-hhk."
Wrath pressed the back of his hand to his eyes and sniffled.
"How pitiful. That poor child..."
This guy, honestly... Forget wrath—he didn't fit the title of Demon King at all. Raon really wanted to know who'd put him on a throne.
"Then why are they calling you back?"
"It's probably a mid-term check."
"A mid-term check?"
"Yes. The deadline was ten years, and it's been almost eight. They want to see what we've done."
Dorian sighed, adding that his siblings had almost certainly already been summoned.
"Then you should go."
"What?"
"You can't just throw away a chance to become Guild Master of the Sepia Merchant Guild."
"B-but I'm an illegitimate son. How could I possibly..."
He shook his head hard, as if the very idea were impossible.
"Giving up before you've even tried isn't the Light Wind Squad way."
"Ah..."
Raon's voice was gentle, but there was steel in it. Dorian's eyes filled like a full moon.
"If you succeed, you become Guild Master. If you fail, you keep living in the Light Wind Squad the way you do now. You've got nothing to lose. And besides..."
Raon raised a hand and clenched it into a fist.
"It's a chance to wreck—no, to get even with—the siblings who tormented you."
"Th-that's true. There's no need to be scared already. It's a little frightening, but..."
True to his cowardly nature, Dorian's chin trembled as he nodded.
"We don't know when they'll want you, so get ready to leave. I'm coming with you."
"R-Raon, sir? You too?"
"You got kidnapped because of me, so I at least owe them an explanation and an apology. And if I send you alone, you'll just clam up like a shrinking violet and come straight back. That makes me nervous."
"Ah—yes!"
His face brightened as if sunlight had fallen across it. He nodded and bolted for the lodging.
"You..."
Wrath narrowed his eyes to slits.
"You're not cheering that boy on. You want to make him Guild Master so you can use him!"
Look at that. You've finally grown some perceptiveness.
"Y-you wretch, more wicked than a demon! Your heart is surely charred black!"
I'm kidding. Raon smiled as he watched Dorian's retreating back. He looked after me. I ought to return the favor. It would be nice if Dorian took the guild, but it didn't matter if he couldn't. Raon simply wanted to stand as the boy's strength in a house that had given him nothing but scorn—a house he'd hated enough to never want to return.
Well then, I should also—
Hm? A gaze brushed him from the garden at his back. He set a hand on the Heavenly Sky Sword and turned.
That's... an owl? A young owl sat in a tree, staring straight at him. Must've been my imagination. It had felt like a person watching him, not a wild animal, but he'd clearly been mistaken.
"Hah."
He let out a breath and was about to head for Glenn's lodging when the owl spread its wings, dropped from the branch, and flew toward him.
"Kiiik."
The owl gave him a cute, smiling squint and settled gently onto his shoulder.
"Don't tell me..."
"That 'don't tell me' is exactly right."
Merlin's voice spilled from the owl's beak.
"Kh..."
Raon threw up an aura barrier to keep the sound from carrying, then clapped a hand to his forehead. This deranged stalker... He scowled and moved toward a quieter corner, where fewer people would see.
"Hiiiek!"
Wrath's jaw trembled as he stared at the owl.
"She's a genuine ghost! Why in the world does she keep following you?!"
...I don't know either. A squirrel, a sparrow, and now an owl—he hadn't expected her to charm yet another creature into striking up a conversation. The fact that all three of them were adorable was almost funny.
"You took the championship in the end. You were truly magnificent."
"You watched all of that too?"
"How could I possibly miss your exploits? I saw every bit of it—Garona on his knees, Cadis's arm coming off."
"The Family Head was there. So were the other leaders of the Six Kings."
"They can't stop me."
Merlin lifted a wing and laughed. The owl's eyes curved into crescents, just like a person's. What kind of obsession is this...
The preliminaries were one thing. From the semifinals on, every leader of the Six Kings had been present. That Merlin—an executive of Eden—had watched the matches while slipping past all of them was hard to believe.
"The more I watch you, the more I look forward to your future. I can hardly stand how excited I am to see what kind of man you'll become."
Merlin rubbed a wing against her cheek. She was clearly going for sultry, but in the body of a young owl it was just cute.
"Neither we nor the White Blood Cult will be moving for a while, so play however you like."
"The White Blood Cult too?"
He'd heard Eden wouldn't be making a move, but he hadn't expected the White Blood Cult to sit still as well.
"Thanks to that monster of a grandfather of yours, they took heavy losses on their side too."
Merlin beamed and gave her wings a little shake.
"Next you're heading to that innocent little thing's house, aren't you? The one from just now."
"......"
Raon didn't answer. He simply looked at the owl Merlin was possessing.
"I've told you before. You and I walk different roads. Even if you give me information like this, there's nothing I can do for you in return."
Even if Merlin was looking at him rather than Rocta, the fact that their paths diverged didn't change. He was grateful for the information, but he didn't want to take it under false pretenses.
"And I've told you—I don't care."
Merlin gave a small laugh and spread her wings.
"Besides, roads have a way of merging eventually. I might go to you, or you might come to me. Either's possible, isn't it?"
"That won't happen."
Raon shook his head, firm.
Merlin's eyes curved, soft and sure.
"I'll be watching over you from now on, too."
She preened the down on her belly with her beak, then gave her wings a shake.
"Give this child some bugs, would you?"
"Ah—I told you not to dump that promise on me—"
"Kyaaak."
He was about to tell her to keep her own promise when the owl burst into a cry.
"Kaaaak."
It tapped his shoulder with its talons, impatient for food.
"Kh-hnhh."
Wrath lifted his chin at the sight.
"That stalker gives This King the creeps, but watching you squirm is a delight."
He snickered at the owl demanding a meal and at Raon's deepening scowl.
"Where am I supposed to find bugs out here?"
"Vice-leader!"
He was still frowning at the owl when Dorian came bursting out of the lodging again.
"We're not leaving first thing tomorrow, right?"
"No. But..."
Raon pointed at the owl on his shoulder and let out a short breath.
"You wouldn't happen to have any bugs, would you?"
"......"
Dorian stared at the owl, blank, then his mouth fell open.
"A-are you opening a zoo or something?"
Glenn had returned from the banquet and was enjoying a light after-party with Roen and Sheryl.
"Zieghart came away with the greatest gains from this Six Kings conference."
Sheryl tipped her cup and smiled.
"Yes. Thanks to young master Raon and the swordsmen of the Light Wind Squad, Zieghart's reputation has climbed even higher."
Roen nodded in agreement.
"The Light Wind Squad is one thing, but Raon's growth rate is astonishing. When we went on that mission together he was Expert Peak-Class, and now he's already a Mid-rank Master. I've watched it happen from the side and I still can't believe it."
Sheryl muttered in disbelief and shook her head.
"What's even more remarkable is his explosive power. In this tournament, not a single opponent was weaker than he was. Mathis, Borini Kitten, Garona, Cadis—I still don't understand how he keeps taking down people stronger than himself so cleanly."
"I find myself amazed every time I see it as well. There is ordinarily an enormous gulf between ranks of Master, and yet he somehow vaults right over it."
Roen let out a wondering breath, saying he'd never seen a martial artist like Raon.
The two of them praised Raon to their hearts' content, then looked at Glenn in unison.
"Ahem!"
Color had risen in Glenn's face. He propped his chin on his left hand, barely holding down the corners of a mouth that wanted to climb into the sky.
"Well. The boy certainly has his peculiarities. He didn't simply grow strong on the back of some fortuitous encounter—he reached that place through effort, so his martial foundation itself is solid. Lower-ranked fighters can't break through it, and he's honed a swordsmanship sharp enough to find the gaps even in those above him. On top of that..."
The mouth he'd been forcing shut began, slowly, to lift.
He called the boy a fool, but Glenn's eyes were full of pride.
"Of course."
"Naturally."
Roen and Sheryl grinned at the sight of Glenn so thoroughly worked up.
"After this tournament, the entire continent will know what kind of person Raon is."
Sheryl tapped the table lightly, smiling.
"He's even earned the epithet White Sword Dragon. He's already left the promising-prospect tier behind."
An epithet with "Dragon" in it marked the finest of the younger generation. It was an acknowledgment that Raon stood on the same level as the upper ranks of the Continental Twelve Stars.
"He's already more than halfway through his current realm, so he'll reach the upper rank next year."
"Upper Master at twenty. He's rewriting history."
Sheryl and Roen kept praising Raon, thoroughly enjoying Glenn's struggle to keep his feelings in check.
"Ahem. Well. That's to be expected. Raon has talent, but he also never stops working. He's the sort of boy who makes you wonder what he'll look like tomorrow."
Glenn nodded and finally managed to shut his mouth completely. His eyes, however, were smiling, so there was no hiding it.
Knock, knock.
The three of them were each enjoying the moment when a knock sounded at the door. None of them were startled. They already knew who it was.
"I shall see to it."
Roen rose and opened the door. Raon stood there with a hand over his chest, head bowed.
"Forgive me for calling at this hour."
"What is it?"
Glenn's expression vanished in an instant. He lifted his chin, his gaze gone cold.
"I have something to report."
"Speak."
Raon closed the door behind him, stepped inside, and stood before Glenn.
"A short while ago, someone came looking for Dorian, the Light Wind Squad's quartermaster. He..."
Raon laid out Dorian's circumstances. The three of them offered no reaction at all. They simply listened.
They already knew everything? Even the name Sepia hadn't drawn a flicker. They'd clearly been aware all along.
"And so you intend to go with the boy?"
"Dorian was kidnapped because of me. I want to go, explain, and apologize—and return even a little of what I've received from him."
Raon spoke the truth without a shred of falsehood.
"What you've received?"
"Dorian came to me from the very beginning, when the rest of the family was keeping their distance. I may not be able to offer him much, but I want to help him as much as I can."
"I see."
Glenn gave a slight nod, his hand still propping his chin, his mouth pressed shut.
"It didn't occur to you that you might be kidnapped again?"
"The Family Head personally demonstrated what happens when someone kidnaps a member of Zieghart. Another madman like that won't be appearing anytime soon."
Eden's branch had been destroyed, and the White Blood Cult had lost apostles and cultists in droves. For a while, no lunatic would dare lay a hand on a Zieghart swordsman.
"That said..."
Raon touched his uniform lightly and lowered his eyes.
"Just in case, I plan to pretend to return with the family and slip away midway. I'll disguise myself, of course."
"Hrm..."
"Please grant your permission."
Raon bowed his head.
"Mm..."
Glenn stroked his beard and looked at Raon's hands.
"Do you have the ring Chamber gave you?"
"Ah—I left it in my lodging."
"Wear that ring at all times."
"Does it have a location-tracking function?"
"...Something like that."
He narrowed his eyes and told him again, firmly, not to take it off.
"Leave from Silfin Village in three days."
"Thank you."
"If you go bearing the Zieghart name, see the matter through properly."
"Understood."
Raon bowed with due formality and left the lodging.
"Haha."
"It would have been nice if he'd returned with us... hm?"
Roen and Sheryl looked at Glenn, worried he might feel the sting of being left behind. Contrary to their expectations, Glenn had a hand over his eyes.
"H-he's just so..."
He covered his mouth and stared at the door Raon had gone through.
"That heart of his, thinking of his comrades—is it not admirable? How does a child like that even exist..."
Far from feeling slighted, Glenn's hands trembled with how proud he was of his grandson's heart.
"......"
Sheryl and Roen could only shake their heads. At this point, there was no teasing him.
His grandson fever is terminal...
Two days later.
House Zieghart was the second to leave the Owen Kingdom, following House Robert.
"Waaaaaaaah!"
"White Sword Dragon! White Sword Dragon!"
"Zieghart! Zieghart!"
"I'll never forget that duel as long as I live!"
"Thank you for saving us!"
"We'll be watching you from now on!"
The people of the Owen Kingdom roared not only Glenn's name but Raon's and Zieghart's as well. It was a complete reversal from the day they'd first arrived.
"Ohh!"
"We're actually popular?"
"This feels less like leaving Owen and more like coming home to Zieghart."
"No—we don't even get cheers like this back at the house."
The Light Wind Squad waved, answering the kingdom's roar.
"They're calling me the Whirlwind Sword! They're using my epithet!"
"Don't you dare call me Rakshasa!"
Burren grinned at the sound of his own epithet, while Marta glared daggers at whoever had called her Rakshasa.
"Haa..."
Dorian let out a sigh so deep it seemed to sink into the earth, no doubt dreading the return home.
"......"
The only one behaving as usual was Runaan, staring blankly up at the sky.
Raon listened to the Light Wind Squad's laughter behind him and narrowed his eyes. They're already slipping. Judging by their reactions, the moment they got back to the house they'd lose focus and go slack. I'll need to put some pressure on them. If he were returning with them it might be different, but he was going to be apart from them for a while. He needed to lock their minds down tight.
A low hum of power rolled out as Raon raised an aura barrier that enclosed only the Light Wind Squad, then turned to face them.
"You all know Dorian and I are dropping off tomorrow, right?"
"Uh..."
"O-of course we know."
"We know, but why bring that up all of a sudden..."
The Light Wind Squad's lips trembled at the sound of Raon's lowered voice.
"When I get back to the house, anyone whose growth I find unsatisfactory..."
"Ugh!"
"Kh..."
Raon swept a cold gaze over the squad. They swallowed dryly, looking terrified.
"...will undergo a month of Focus Enhancement Training."
"A-a month?"
"He's insane..."
"Th-that'll kill us!"
"That's not a training a human being can survive!"
The Light Wind Squad waved their hands wildly, as if he'd lost his mind.
"Not if you train hard."
"What even counts as satisfying you?! You have to tell us how much we're supposed to grow!"
Burren threw up a hand, insisting it was unreasonable.
"I'll decide when I get back."
Raon smiled and twirled a finger. The judgment was his. All they had to do was train.
"Damn it!"
"We're finished!"
"We won't even get to rest when we get home..."
"Mom..."
The Light Wind Squad clung to their horses, eyes welling.
"That demon bastard!"
"He's not a demon—that son of a bitch is a Demon King! The Demon King of Mockery, no less!"
Burren and Marta ground their teeth as they glared at Raon.
"Ohh! As expected, Eyeballs and Beef Girl know what's what! This brat's malice is Demon King-class! This King gets fleeced by him every single day!"
Wrath flew out in front of Burren and Marta and nodded furiously.
Raon gave a short laugh and turned forward again. That takes care of their training. The Light Wind Squad was strong now. Give them a sloppy line to reach and they'd smash through it and go straight to resting. He'd given them a reason to keep tempering themselves all the way to the end.
"Vice-leader. So we're heading straight to my house, then?"
"I'd like to, but there's one good deed I want to take care of first."
"A good deed?"
"That's right."
Raon nodded and looked up at the sky. I can't afford to get played again. Whether it was Eden or Derus, being used once was enough. To keep Derus from involving himself—just in case—he needed to pin the man down here for certain.
I'll start by taking four hours from him.