Episode 428.

“Ha.”

Raon sighed and lowered his gaze. Rath was laughing hysterically, patting his bloated belly on his empty plate.

-Thank goodness!

-Is pineapple pizza that good?

After he had eaten three plates of pineapple pizza and complained that it wasn’t enough, I ended up eating 10 pineapple cookies. I felt like I was watching the devil himself, eating and eating and still getting hungry.

“I’m so full, I’m about to fall asleep.

My eyelids grew heavy with hunger as my sloth level increased.

-That is because of your weakness of mind; such a delicacy is hard to find anywhere, and you should eat as much as you can while you can.

Rath muttered that eating was his life, his reason for being, and that he needed to eat this much to live.

It sounded like the words of a glutton, not the Lord of Wrath.

‘All I’ve eaten since I got here is pineapple pizza, and I’ve eaten two a day because of you.’

Ras has demanded pineapple pizza every day, not just today, and has eaten it at least once a day since arriving at Habun Castle. I don’t cover up my food, but I’m getting tired of it.

“Wow. Master Budan, you emptied that?”

Dorian, who had ordered a scouting party meal, whistled as he looked at the neatly emptied pizza bowl.

“Hard to do, after beating up on people like that.”

He nodded, noting that he’d beaten Muston enough to change his mind, so he had every right to be hungry.

“Yeah. That was some shit.”

Buren set down the beer he was holding and agreed with Dorian.

“How the hell did you fix that stubborn jealous bastard?”

“Don’t ask. No business in front of a hawk.”

Marta raised a tightly balled fist.

“No matter how hard you try, you’re going to get beaten to death.”

She clicked her tongue, regretting that she hadn’t seen how she’d been beaten.

“Marta may be weak in strength, but she’s even weaker in heart.”

Lunan shook his head, chewing miserably on a pineapple cookie.

“What? This is crazy!”

Marta frowned at Lunan, then bit her tongue.

“What?”

Lunan curled his hand into a cat-like circle and gestured at Marta.

“Ewww, you’re illuwah!”

“Ew.”

Marta and Lunan finished their snacks, got up, and started chasing each other around the tavern.

As Raon smirked at Marta and Lunan fighting like sisters, Rath popped into view.

-You do realise you got lucky this time, don’t you?

“I know.

He nodded heavily.

‘Because the Lord of Jealousy was more evil than I thought.’

Envy’s personality was a bitch, but the deal she’d made with Muston was a leash full of thorns.

If she had bluffed, she would have been enslaved for life, crawling on the floor like Muston.

It was a fortunate confluence of circumstances, and she was not about to let it get to her head.

-Yes, he is wicked, but he is also crude and ugly, and had I been in control, I could have made him abdicate by the power of the King himself, without the need for Sloth’s name. But….

Rath’s eyes went cold. His stomach bulged, and he didn’t look so serious.

-There are those to whom the King’s name is not acceptable.

“The unworthy?

Raon tapped his fingers on the table, his eyes narrowing.

-Yes. Arrogance and greed.

Rath’s voice was heavy, as if the darkness had melted away.

-They’ll try to sell the Bone King, or the name of Sloth, to the two of them. Never speak. It will be more helpful to keep quiet.

‘You mean a bit of a nuisance?

Raon gritted his teeth, remembering the words pride and greed.

-‘The Emperor is not a hobgoblin! The Sloths and Envi you met are fools!

‘They’re not the only ones….

Raon narrowed his eyes at Rath.

‘Don’t you realise you’re the greatest hogu of all?

Rath muttered, unaware that he was the king of hogus, and only called other demons hogus.

-And Lust….

‘Lust?

-Flee on sight. Never deal with him, don’t even look at him, run away!

He shouted at him to run away, never to deal with the colourful beast. The other demons didn’t seem to care, and their purpose was to get away from him.

‘But what about gluttony?

-Gluttony….

“Ah. You’re the glutton, aren’t you? You must be busy doing double duty.

Raon nodded and patted Rath’s plump belly.

‘So when are you going to give me the power of gluttony, does it get stronger the more you eat?

-No! Don’t compare me to a carnivorous rabbit!

‘A carnivorous rabbit?

Hearing the word carnivore come out of his mouth made me wonder how much he eats.

There’s no normal demon king….

* * *

Gum Gui stroked his beard as he looked into Muston’s eyes as he knelt on the floor of the hospital room.

“What’s wrong with this guy?

The disciple’s eyes were absurdly clear. The malice and jealousy that had filled them only moments before had been washed away, leaving them as clear as a newborn child’s.

“How can a person change so quickly?

Muston’s eyes had held such a strong command over Raon when he had given him his character advice, it was incomprehensible that it had disappeared in such a short time.

‘It’s like old times.’

My heart warmed, even if only slightly, as if I were looking at the young Muston when he first said Master.

“What happened?”

“Nothing happened.”

Muston bowed, more polite than ever.

“Why were you with Raon?”

“He helped me when I was lost.”

The word way seemed to have a strange double meaning.

‘And….’

The expression He. Muston had only ever referred to Raon as him or his child, which only added to the confusion.

“Be honest with yourself. What the hell are you thinking?”

“If you call it thinking….”

“You’re not going to pretend you’ve changed your mind and go back to lashing out at Raon, are you?”

I want to believe my apprentice, but he’s changed so drastically that I can’t help but be suspicious.

“Absolutely not, how would I dare to harm him!”

Muston slammed his head into the ground like a man condemned to die.

“He is my heaven, and I can never transgress Him; I would rather die than harm Him!”

Raon began to praise, as if the disciple had become a priest.

“Huh!”

What the hell….

He lowered his gaze and looked into the disciple’s eyes. They were clean. They were as clear as a stream that no one had ever waded in, so clear that it was impossible to see any ulterior motive.

“You mean he’s really changed?

There was no malice in his voice as he called Raon’s name. With his clear eyes and voice, I had no choice but to believe my apprentice.

“Raon.

What have you done?

It was clear that Raon had not given Muston another blow. The blood from his head had dripped to the ground, not from a blow.

He wondered what he could have done to turn someone like this, when he hadn’t done anything violent.

“Muston.”

“Yes, Master.”

Raon had told him to be polite to his master before sending Muston away, and for some reason he felt more polite than usual.

“If you say so, I’ll trust you for the last time.”

“Thank you!”

“You may rest for today, and tomorrow you may visit the people you have harmed and pay your respects.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t rest now.”

Muston shook his head and stood up.

“What?”

“Lord Raon told me that in the future, you shouldn’t let useless emotions get the best of you, and instead focus on your martial arts development, so you should start training now.”

He gripped the sword in his still-bruised hand as if to say he meant it.

“Ha….”

Sword Gui looked at Muston with a serious look in his eyes.

“Correcting someone like this….?

What the hell was that kid….

* * *

A week later.

Raon and the Berserkers prepared to leave, and headed for the gates of Habun Castle.

On the main boulevard in front of the gate, not only the uninhabited of Habun Castle were lined up, but also the inhabitants.

“If it’s nothing, why did you all come out?”

Raon scratched his cheek as he watched the people of Habun gather like a cloud.

It was a little embarrassing, not having saved them all like he’d done before, but having enjoyed himself.

“Human memories are not so easily forgotten.”

Miland smirked and glanced back, his gaze taking in the restored walls.

“Everyone in this castle owes their lives to you, and that memory has become a wall that will never fall, so take it upon yourself.”

He smiled, saying that grace is grace because it is not forgotten.

“You are right, my lord!”

“We have not forgotten that day!”

“We are always grateful!”

“Stay healthy!”

“We wish you good luck!”

Standing behind Miland, the uninhabited inhabitants of Habun Castle waved their hands in unison.

“Me too. No, we do too.”

Raon smiled faintly and bowed to Miland and the inhabitants of Harbun.

“You saved us from the Aryans, and I will never forget that.”

“Thank you!”

The Cyclone Corps followed Raon and bowed to the uninhabited people of Habun.

“We are each other’s benefactors. This is the best kind of relationship, one that benefits each other.”

Miland nodded his chin coolly in approval.

“I’ve told you before, Habunsheng stands behind you. Don’t be afraid to call on him in the future.”

He held up a hand to be called upon at any time, saying that with fewer monsters, there was less to do.

“The same goes for us. If Habunsung is in danger, we’ll come running, even in our sleep.”

Raon locked eyes with Miland and nodded.

“Ugh!”

Limer yawned and stretched.

“What’s with all the greetings from the swordsmen, let’s get going!”

He threw up his hands in annoyance.

“I don’t know why he’s such an ugly bastard….”

Miland sighed and shook his head.

“Yeah, well, he’s the best at being a jerk in Siegfried.”

Raon sighed as he stood behind Remer.

“I’d better get going, then.”

“Wait!”

Raon bowed one last time and turned to leave, but the toddler’s grandfather ran up and held out a large basket.

“I’ve packed your favourite pizza and cookies, I just made them, you can have them on your way.”

-Uh-oh!

Rath, who had been rolling his eyes in boredom, jumped to his feet and let out a roar.

-You’ve become a man! Good! From this day forward, you are a servant of the King!

Once again, Rath’s forced scouting began.

“No way… Yuck.

I looked into Raon’s basket and rolled my eyes.

‘Pineapple pizza and pineapple cookies….

My food cravings are ruining this.

I wanted to try other pizzas, but Ras had stuck me with pineapple pizza until the day I left.

I think I’ll have to stick to Nadine’s bread for a while.

“Grandpa I!”

The toddler put his pretend hands on my waist in frustration.

“You’ve been eating too much while you’ve been here, and you’ve gained weight. Starve yourself.”

“Ex….”

True to his word, the toddler’s cheeks filled with fat, but that only made him look cuter.

“Thank you.”

Raon gathered up the basket and bowed to the shopkeeper.

“No, thank you, I’ll take good care of that child.”

The manager took the toddler’s hands in his own, watery eyes.

“Don’t worry.”

I will never let him die before me.

I swallowed the words and smiled.

“My lord.”

Raon slowly turned his gaze to look at Miland.

“I shall go, then.”

“Is that the greeting, I thought it was a little different when you came?”

Miland waved a hand without returning the greeting.

“I’ll be going.”

He smiled faintly and bowed again. Suddenly, smiles appeared on Miland’s and the others’ faces.

“Okay. I’ll see you around.”

Raon nodded, looking out into the sunlight that made their smiles even warmer.

“I will definitely come back.”

* * *

Glenn drummed his fingers on the armrest of his neatly repaired throne and frowned.

“Why the hell aren’t you coming!

I’ve got gold plaques and rewards and praise lined up. He’d even written a script and memorised it by heart, but Raon and the Crazies hadn’t bothered to return.

“You said you were stopping by Habun Castle, but are you going to live there?

I was even more confused because I hadn’t heard from Limerick since his letter about stopping by Habun Castle.

“Whoa….”

When I saw the “wow” and “bang” of Limer’s old letter, my anger flared up again.

“I must kill him.

I thought about keeping him alive for old times’ sake, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I decided to kill it.

Tsk. Tsk. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

As the armrests of the throne shook as if they would break again from my frustration, the door to the realm opened and Roen entered.

“My lord.”

Roen bowed to Glenn, then smiled.

“They say the Berserkers are making a comeback.”

“Is that true?”

“Yes. They say they’ll be at the gates in about two hours.”

“Really?”

Glenn rolled his eyes and started to get up, but stopped short.

“Cough!”

He coughed unnecessarily, straightened his clothes and hair, and sat back down in the cockpit.

“This time I’m not going to get away with it, and I’m going to get back to work as soon as I’m done. You’re taking your time, what do you know about family!”

“As you should.”

“Only!”

Glenn rested his arms on the scepter, his eyes narrowing.

“What the Berserkers have done this time is no ordinary feat, so it’s only right that I give them some praise first. Roen.”

“Yes!”

“I will proceed with the promotion ceremony immediately. Gather the cadre.”

“Understood.”

Roen smiled faintly and left the realm again.

A short while later, all of the family’s cadres, both direct and indirect, gathered in the realm.

They had heard the news of the Berserkers and stood in silent rows, unperturbed by their sudden summons.

Glenn lowered his gaze, his aura as cold as ever.

As he twisted the armrests of his throne to hide his nervousness, he heard Roen’s voice from outside the realm.

“They say the Berserkers have returned from their mission!”

“Tell them to come in.”

I nodded in a low voice, and the door to the realm opened, and the dust-covered Berserker stepped inside.

“That guy….

Glenn’s fingertips twitched as he watched Raon walk through the door at the head of the line.

“Has he grown again in the meantime?

He’d thought he’d achieved enlightenment when he’d captured the wraith, but in the time he’d been gone, his body, mind, and martial arts had grown even further.

“You’re truly a child who can’t be guarded.

Just as he was about to wipe away his coldness, he felt a piercing gaze from the very back of the group.

Raising his head, he saw an unfamiliar grey-haired old man staring at him.

‘The author is….’

Glenn’s mouth curled into a tight line and his eyes narrowed.

“A sword demon?

He was a martial artist with a reputation that echoed across the continent, but it wasn’t his exploits that came to mind now, but the words in Remer’s letter.

<Gum Gui and Raon have become quite close, I wonder if this is his real grandfather?

Glenn’s mouth twisted as he gripped the armrests of the barely repaired throne.

“You think this is your real grandfather?

How dare you?