Episode 439.

“Don’t you think you’ve gone too far?”

Julius pouted, kicking at a stone embedded in the floor.

“You don’t even give me time to say goodbye properly, and then you leave!”

I rolled my eyes, remembering Rectar and Muston, who had been informed so late that they had literally said goodbye and left.

He’d gotten to know them, even if only briefly, and a wave of regret washed over him.

“Hey.”

Julius gestured to the toddler who had finished practicing and was straightening his robes.

“Why are you so quiet. Aren’t you sad that Rectar-sama is gone?”

“I am.”

The infant nodded lazily.

“But you must have your reasons, because I didn’t hear you tell a bad lie.”

“The sound of a bad lie?”

“Yeah. He was quiet, even with his heart pounding.”

She told me that she was sure they had to have had a reason.

“I’m not saying you two were lying either, I’m just saying it’s unfortunate….”

Julius let out a long sigh.

“I haven’t thought of my grandfather in a long time.

The closer he got to Rectar, the more he felt like he was practicing swordsmanship with his late grandfather, so he couldn’t help but be sorry for the quick parting.

“Me too, but we’ll meet again next time, so we’ll just have to bear with it.”

Yu Yu smiled wryly and walked toward the garden of the annex.

“Where are you going?”

“It’s dinner time, and the master isn’t coming, so I’m going to fetch him.”

I told Julius to go inside first, then ran out of the annex.

“He always skips meals if I don’t come to him.

Raon is the kind of person who gets so focused on his training that he forgets he needs to eat.

If he didn’t make sure he wasn’t hungry, he’d be practicing into the night again.

“It’s a lot of work… huh?”

A pouch dropped out of the sky as the toddler walked out of the garden in the direction of the five-act training center.

It was about the size of an adult man’s palm, and it was scarlet in color.

“What is this?”

I scratched my head as I picked up the pouch from the ground. I raised my gaze, but saw nothing.

“What happened?

There were no buildings, trees, or wind blowing around, so I don’t know where this pouch could have landed.

Thinking it was strange, I opened the scarlet pouch.

Inside was a small, compressed collection of swords and armor, gloves and boots, various books and cooking utensils, and dozens of pineapples.

It was no ordinary pouch, but a subspace pouch.

“Mmm….”

The toddler clenched his jaw as he closed the pouch.

“This needs to find its owner.

A normal pouch would be empty, but a subspace pouch. A pouch that was filled to the brim, the owner must be looking for it.

She picked up her pace and hurried to the fifth performance hall, knowing she had to tell Raon.

Gain

Raon was standing in the center of the training hall, reading a book she couldn’t make out.

“Master!”

“Ah, Yua.”

Raon smiled faintly when he saw Yu.

“What brings you here at this hour?”

“What’s the matter, I was afraid you’d skip your meal again!”

Yu Yu wrinkled her nose as she placed her hands on her hips.

“Madame told me to bring you here!”

“Ha….”

Raon flashed a light smile at the toddler, who stuck her chin out.

“Why are you laughing!”

“Sorry. You’re cute.”

It had been a long time since he’d seen a toddler make a face, and he couldn’t help but laugh at how cute it was.

I quickly apologized and put the spear and sword manual in my hand.

-Khhhhh….

As I tidied up my surroundings, Rath suddenly lifted her head and snorted.

-It’s the pineapple girl again, she’s the only one who cares about the Bone King!

Rath gritted his teeth, realizing that if it weren’t for the toddler, he would have gone without dinner again.

“She’s looking out for me, not you.

-Loudly. That’s what it means to be affectionate, not your inspirer!

He waved a gnarled hand in the air as if he knew the meaning of affection.

‘To me, it’s more affectionate to give me a book of martial arts than a meal.’

Raon slapped the back of his hand against Rath’s stomach and turned to the toddler, who stood tall and proud.

“All right, then. Let’s go. Now that you mention it, I’m getting hungry, too….”

He was about to suggest that they return to the annex when he noticed the luxurious pouch in Yuu’s hand.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, I think someone lost this.”

“Lost it?”

“Yeah. I picked it up when I was coming here a little while ago….”

The toddler told Raon how he picked it up.

“Can you give it to me for a while?”

“Yes! Please find the owner!”

“If you can.”

Raon took the pouch from the toddler and examined it.

“It’s a subspace pouch.

He looked inside and saw that it was filled with various items.

There were clothes that would fit a toddler, armor and swords, cooking utensils, and even a pineapple.

‘This looks like the stuff of a toddler. But why do I feel mana outside my pockets?

Thinking this was odd, I put some auror in my pocket.

Huh.

A pale golden glow emanated from the outside of the pouch, and the name Yuu popped into my mind.

“Huh? My name?”

“You must be the owner.”

“What? I’ve never been given anything like this….”

“Judging by the fact that it fell from the top of your head, it’s yours.”

“Oh….”

The toddler’s mouth dropped open, as if he hadn’t realized it was his pocket.

“I thought….”

Raon smiled weakly as he handed the pouch back to the infant.

“It must have been given to you by someone with a lot of heart.”

* * * https://pindangscans.com

Raon had finished eating and was resting in his room when there were two knocks on the door.

“Come in.”

He knew who it was by the vibe he felt outside the door, so he told them to come right in.

The door opened softly, and Sylvia stepped into the room, carrying a small mittens.

“May I come in for a moment?”

“You’re already in?”

“Yes. I was just asking.”

Sylvia smiled and sat down in the chair next to the bed. She put the gloves she’d brought with her on the table.

“Your room never really changes.”

She looked around the room and sighed heavily.

“What do you mean it never changes?”

“It’s just the way your mom decorated it when you were a baby. There’s no difference. Don’t you even want to decorate your room?”

“Hmm….”

Raon chewed on his lip and scanned the room.

There was a time when it was called Sunshine, and because of Raon’s name, the room was a little too bright for his liking, but it wasn’t too bad.

“Not really. Decorating my room is a chore.”

“Hah, such a boring son, so sad for his mom. Good thing she has a toddler and Julius.”

Sylvia frowned, wishing she could get it together sometimes.

“I see.”

Raon smiled faintly and nodded.

“So what brings you here, you didn’t tell me at mealtime.”

“You know what this is?”

Sylvia drummed her fingers on the vial on the table.

“Is it an elixir?”

Most of what was in a cuff like that was elixir, so I assumed it was.

“Yes. It’s not a normal elixir either.”

Sylvia swallowed hard and opened the lid of the cuff.

Inside were two small glass vials, each containing a translucent milky liquid.

“Mmm….”

I lifted the lids of the vials. A vaguely sweet aroma hit my nostrils.

“Milky liquid and a sweet scent? This can’t be….”

Raon’s jaw twitched as he looked at the vial again.

“That’s right. Fairy tears.”

“Of course….”

It was as expected. The only elixir with this color and this scent was Fairy Tears.

“I’ve never seen fairy tears in real life.

Despite its name, fairy tears had nothing to do with fairies.

Deep in a cave beyond the reach of humans, the energy of heaven and earth gathered and congealed into a liquid, a superlative elixir that promised immortality with just one drop.

“Why does your mother have this?”

“Lord Rectar left it behind.”

“What?”

Raon repeated, his eyes widening. Honestly, I was more surprised than when I saw Faerie’s tears coming out of her cuffs.

“Helen was cleaning up Rectar’s room and found it lying in the corner. I wanted to return it, but you’d already left….”

Sylvia shook her head, feeling like she’d left too much of a gift behind.

“Wasn’t there a letter or something?”

“Yes. Nothing special, just a thank you for making my time here so enjoyable.”

She showed me a small note, which said, in short, that she’d had a great time.

“We had a great time, too….”

Sylvia sighed heavily, realizing that she’d gotten more than she bargained for.

“You’re right.”

Raon nodded, watching Sylvia bite her lip.

“As my mother said, we received much more.

Rectar had taught them all swordsmanship, taught them a little more about who Glenn was, and brought smiles to Sylvia’s and the children’s faces.

He had received so much more than he had given, that his fairy tears were a burdensome gift.

“Raon.”

Sylvia lowered her voice as she fiddled with her cuffs.

“What?”

“This is my idea….”

She hesitated, then slowly parted her lips as if deciding.

“Maybe Mr. Rectar and your father have something to do with it.”

Sylvia pressed a finger to her dry lips.

“I know you’ve been told it has nothing to do with you, but I think that’s a lie, because every time I see Mr. Rectar, I think of your father.”

“He reminds you of my father?”

“Actually, I’ve been thinking about him since the first time I saw him, wondering if he’d come back alive and old.”

She chuckled. I whispered that I thought it was ridiculous, but I meant it.

“Come to think of it….

I remembered the first time Sylvia had looked at Rectar’s face and been stunned.

“Fairy tears made it clear. Rectar and your father must be related. I can’t say for sure, but I’m guessing they’re related.”

Sylvia frowned, not believing anyone would part with such a precious elixir otherwise.

“That’s what I think, too.”

Raon locked eyes with Sylvia and nodded.

“And I’m sure she’ll tell you what the relationship is when you come back.”

“Will he? I don’t think he’ll tell me….”

“No, I won’t. He’ll tell you.”

The look in Rectar’s eyes was not that of a man who would lie; he would explain himself, and when he came back here, he would tell me everything.

“Just wait.”

-Raon.

Rath raised a serious eyebrow as Raon reassured Sylvia with a faint smile.

“Hmm?

It was rare to see the cotton candy look like this.

“What’s going on?

I lowered my gaze nervously, expecting information about lectar.

-That liquid.

Rath cleared his throat at the sight of Fairy’s tears.

‘Uh….’

-It’s sweet and thirst-quenching, and you should try it right now!

‘….’

I was firmly mistaken.

The only time carnivores get serious is when they’re doing carnivorous things….

* * * https://pindangscans.com

The next morning.

Raon came out to the five-armed training grounds after memorizing all of the spear sword martial arts books overnight.

‘This sword art is much harder than I thought.’

I can see why Glenn thought of teaching it himself.

It wasn’t just an advanced sword art, it was a super-advanced sword art with enlightenment. Apparently, Glenn hoped that he would be able to perfect it and become a Grandmaster.

“I can only thank you for your high hopes.

It was not enough to thank him for teaching him sword techniques in person, and then giving him a sword book of such excellence. The only way to repay him was to do my best to master the spear so that he wouldn’t be disappointed.

Thrumming.

Raon drew his spear. Slowly, like a baby’s first steps, he unfolded all twenty-six of the spear’s blades. The sword form itself was not difficult to follow thanks to the fire ring, but it was naturally impossible to capture the true intent of the spear sword within it.

“You said to capture the heavens.

The sky as I see it.

‘The sky….’

Thinking about it, in my previous life, I must have looked at the sky a lot to relieve my frustration. I was leashed by Derus Robert, so I quenched my thirst by looking at the sky, which contained freedom itself.

On the other hand, the sky I saw while living my current life was loaded with weight. Seeing the sky, which is the same no matter where you look, I vowed to be different.

“Vast freedom and unchanging heaviness.

An unlikely combination indeed, but it was the best way to describe the man he was now.

Raon lowered his eyes and balled his fists.

“Freedom and heaviness.

The key to mastering the art of ascension is not to deceive yourself. I was who I was in both my past life and my present life, so it seemed right to take both, not one or the other.

“You two have taught me so much.

Glenn and Rectar’s teachings have broadened my horizons, and I’m beginning to get a sense of how to wield the spear.

Raon was about to begin practicing with the spear again when the door to the training hall burst open. Raon thought it might be his captains, but it was Dorian who stepped inside.

“Master, we’re in trouble!”

Dorian was breathing heavily, his mouth full of crumbs from his snack. He said it was urgent, but the way he looked, I didn’t believe him.

“What’s going on. Are you trying to even out your supplies again….”

“Ironclad….”

Raon tried to shrug it off and resume his training, but Dorian’s next words stiffened his arm.

“The Ironclad is missing!”