Episode 437.

The jester swordsmen swallowed hard and looked up.

The sun had begun to set and Raon stood on the scarlet-stained dais, his eyes glowing.

“Mmph….”

Buren’s fingertips trembled as he looked into Raon’s glowing eyes.

“Something seems to have gone wrong with your eyes….”

Raon’s eyes usually had a cool, even cold, glow to them, but now there was a madness in them that seemed out of place.

“I don’t think they’re back, they’re back.”

Marta sighed, falling into step beside Buren.

“You have the eyes of a madman.”

She bit her lip, recognizing the look in his eyes as the same as the eyes of a clown prosecutor when they’ve lost their minds from hard training.

“I don’t think so.”

Lunan’s shoulders shook, as if he was acutely aware of the shift in momentum radiating from Raon.

“Eyes as cold as ice cream….”

She lowered her gaze, her eyes even more sinister than they had been when she first began her concentration training.

“Ugh….”

“What, doesn’t she give off a bitchy vibe?”

“Why are your eyes like that, it’s scary!”

“What the hell happened with the patriarch?”

The clown swordsmen were also wrinkling their foreheads as they realized that Raon’s eyes and aura were different than usual.

Jabbering.

Raon took a step toward the jester. It was a short stride, but it carried the weight of a giant.

“Long time no see.”

He flashed a broad smile behind him. His eyes, however, were more rounded, exuding a dark terror.

“How have you been?”

Raon asked, glancing down at the podium to check on everyone.

“We’re fine….”

“Resting well….”

“Warm up once in a while….”

“I have learned something from my time here.”

He didn’t answer the greeting, but lifted his chin.

“Realized what?”

“What is that?”

One by one, the clown prosecutors raised their hands, curious despite the atmosphere of fear.

“That I have been sinning against you.”

“Sins?”

“What kind of bullshit is that?”

“That, I don’t know….”

Lunan, Marta, and Beren shook their heads, unable to comprehend Raon’s words.

“A very big sin, too.”

Raon raised his right hand and ran it through his disheveled hair.

His eyes turned a deeper shade of blood, and the jester pursed his parched lips.

“I have underestimated your potential and have not pushed you to your limits. There are still gems underground, and I’ve only scratched the surface.”

He bowed his head, apologizing for having done so much wrong, for having ignored you.

“My training with you and Rectar this time has made it clear to me, how to become stronger, how to push my limits, everything.”

Raon laughed, as if he no longer needed to worry. The jaws of the clown swordsmen clenched at the searing madness that radiated from his bright smile.

“Ooh, we’re fine!”

“Yeah, we don’t have to go over the fucking limit!”

“Johnny-come-lately. I like it now.”

Buren, Marta, and Lunan waved their hands frantically.

“Don’t cross that fucking line!

“I saw him break into a cold sweat, and he’d die if we did!

‘I want another ice cream….’

The three of them refused the new training, shouting in their hearts that they couldn’t go through hell again.

“Bu, Bu Danzhu. No, Vice Lord, our concentration training is enough!”

“Of course, you don’t need to bother me anymore!”

“You’re busy, Vice Master, and we’d be too apologetic if we took up your time!”

“There’s a saying that the Old Gu is the master, so we’ll just do what we’re doing!”

Dorian, Crane, and the rest of the jester swordsmen shook their heads, feeling a shiver of anxiety run down their spines.

“I’m fine, there’s no need to make us walk back when there’s a faster way. Good things are meant to be shared, not eaten alone. From now on, I’ll spend my evenings training with you.”

Raon raised his curled fist in front of him, wanting to grow together.

“I don’t need to share….”

“You’re right, you should keep the good stuff to yourself!”

“Me, I’m feeding the puppy….”

The clown tilted his head and pursed his lips, looking even more threatened.

“No, I can’t be the only one.”

Raon flashed a chilling smile and slid down the dais.

“I said I can’t be the only one to be beaten again!”

“You’re just trying to be mean, you demon!”

“Not the devil, I’m the devil!”

“Forget it, everyone draw your swords.”

Raon ignored the clown’s protestations and drew his Celestial Sword, the faint glint of madness in his eyes.

“I’ll show you how much fun swordplay is.”

* * * https://pindangscans.com

After briefly instructing each of them on how to incorporate sword techniques into their swordplay, Raon stepped back up onto the dais.

“From now on, you will begin to practice incorporating the principles of the Pleasure Sword into the swordsmanship you are practicing. No matter what your swordsmanship is, make sure to incorporate extreme speed.”

As he gave the training instructions, he slashed down from top to bottom with his Heavenly Sword.

Whoosh!

The ferocious, razor-sharp slash of the Lightning Sword was imbued with the ultimate in speed, and a red sword light cut through the darkness.

“Nu, I can’t see it.”

“Was the vice lord’s sword that fast?”

“It’s not like he’s seriously swinging it now….”

The clown swordsmen’s jaws dropped as they watched Raon’s sword slice through the air with such speed that it was as if the sword hadn’t even moved.

“You’ll see when you try, but it’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Raon lowered the celestial sword and twirled his fingers.

“I want you to visualize extreme speed in your swordplay and swing with all your might.”

“Yes!”

The clown swordsmen shouted back, then slammed their swords down.

It was a swordplay I’d seen countless times before, but it was faster than before.

“Hmm?”

“This isn’t that hard, is it?”

“It is. It’s just a matter of practicing swordsmanship on top of the art of the sword.”

“It takes a lot of auror, and you have to concentrate, but it’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Everyone smiled, realizing that the training wasn’t as difficult and strenuous as they had thought.

“Not bad for a first time.”

Raon nodded to the clown swordsmen.

“However, you have not yet mastered the art of the sword, so begin again.”

He cited their lack of focus and speed and instructed them to resume their swordplay.

“Yes!”

The clown swordsmen nodded vigorously as they realized that this drill wasn’t too difficult, and they began again. Their speed was noticeably faster than their first attempt.

“Again.”

But Raon shouted again, as if he wasn’t satisfied yet, and the swordsmen did it a third time.

“Again.”

Raon’s “again” never ended. After more than two hours of performing sword techniques at full strength and incorporating unfamiliar tricks into them, the exhaustion was evident on the swordsmen’s faces.

“Hey, this is no joke!”

Buren exhaled harshly, lowering his sword.

“I could do it at first, but back-to-back swordsmanship drains me like a leech….”

Marta gripped her knees and gritted her teeth.

“Marta, you’re weak….”

Lunan’s eyes narrowed, almost naked.

“If you’re going to say that, get up!”

Marta frowned, grabbing Lunan’s scruff and lifting it.

“Shut up!”

“Lord, I’m going to die….”

“I didn’t realize it was so hard to perform back-to-back sword techniques.”

“I think I’m more tired because I have to put in unfamiliar moves….”

The clown swordsmen were even more exhausted than their captains, and they bent down to catch their breath.

“One more time.”

Raon ordered, this time with more concentration, as if he didn’t like it.

“What the hell is wrong with you!”

“I’m doing it right!”

“Tell me what’s wrong!”

The swordsmen frowned, wondering how long they would have to repeat themselves.

“I’ll tell you if you want to know.”

Raon cast a stern gaze at the men in front of him.

“Beren, you’ve been off-balance from the start. Your focus on speed has thrown off the flow of your swordplay. Marta, you’re more familiar with the art of the strong sword than the light sword. Speed and strength are not the same thing, so get it right. Lunan, don’t doze off, concentrate. Dorian, you’re too slow. I need you to spread out faster….”

He went on to point out all the deficiencies of the clown swordsmen, starting with the three captains.

“Heh….”

“Wow, you saw all of our shortcomings?”

“How is that possible after training all day?”

“He’s a real monster….”

The clown prosecutors shook their heads in admiration and amazement as they listened.

“Your arms are playing, and you’re swinging your sword when we’re supposed to be admiring it!”

Raon crooked his chin and scowled, and the clown swordsmen raised their swords again, startled.

“Shrug….”

“Damn!”

“One of these days I’m going to be stronger than him, and I’m going to train the hell out of him!”

The swordsmen’s movements were faster and more precise than before, as if they remembered the disadvantage they’d heard earlier.

“Again!”

Raon shouted again, of course, still not pleased.

-Hmm….

Rath yawned and patted his head.

-These wretches can’t get better in a day. They seem to be trying, but why do they keep repeating themselves?

He muttered that he was hungry and that they should go back and eat.

“Not yet.

Raon shook his head as he pushed at Rath’s chubby belly.

“It can get better, and they need to work on it.

They can’t be the only ones to suffer the torture of a full-blown swordplay lesson all day. I wanted them to know the pain.

“One more time!”

-Haah….

Rath sighed deeply as he watched Raon’s eyes widen.

-There is not a man in this neighborhood who is not mad….

* * * https://pindangscans.com

The next day.

As Raon was catching his breath after a grueling morning of lectar training, Glenn appeared and held out the nadine bread.

“I will eat.”

He took the nadine and raised his gaze. It could be an illusion, but Glenn’s expression seemed as soft as the warm bread.

“Sure.”

Glenn gestured for her to eat slowly, then stepped back.

-Fuck!

Lars shouted and tore his hair out of his face.

-That damned bread doesn’t just taste like rubber! It tastes like rubber stuck to your tongue all day long!

He begs Nadine not to eat it, but he has no choice, as he can’t survive Glenn’s grueling training without it.

-Ah, no, no, no… off!

He swallowed the nadine bread in one bite, and Rath slumped over like a broken limb.

“I’m done eating. Let’s go.”

Raon left the stunned Rath with his tongue hanging out, and turned to Glenn.

“I see.”

Glenn nodded and stepped to the side.

“Hmm?

Why did he go to the side?

Normally, this would be the place to demonstrate, to tell him to follow along, but he was off to the side.

“Put the change into the broadsword.”

Glenn didn’t demonstrate, but instead instructed me to draw my sword first.

“Understood.”

Raon nodded, and drew his celestial sword. Thinking he’d bothered, he unsheathed his transmuted broadsword.

Whoosh!

The blade, as slow as a slug’s crawl, transformed from heat into a searing blur.

The sword pole of the Heavenly Sword unraveled like a thread, causing a stream of clear change.

“Hmph….”

Glenn stroked his chin and lowered his eyebrows. His expression was one of ambiguity.

“The sword strike was a little faster. The center of the change is the wrist, and I didn’t use all of it. Don’t worry about the speed, focus on the change.”

He slammed the raised sword downward. Hundreds of blades filled the air, as if erasing all the shortcomings of his swordplay earlier.

“Try again.”

Glenn waved his hand in the air as he tried to correct the flaws he’d pointed out.

“Uh….”

Raon’s mouth gaped as he fixed the hilt of the Celestial Sword.

“You’ve changed too, my lord?

Just as Rectar had begun to train a bit harsher under Glenn’s influence, Glenn seemed to have softened under Rectar’s influence.

As they watched each other train, it was clear that their teachings had changed.

“What are you doing without moving?”

“I will now.”

Raon let out a short sigh as he lifted up his Heavenly Sword.

“But if I do this….

Aren’t you just making it harder on me?

* * * https://pindangscans.com

Raon groaned at the end of Glenn’s outwardly softer, but actually more vicious training.

”This is killing me.”

To satisfy Glenn, he had to push the auror and his concentration to the limit with each swordplay, and after repeating it into the evening, his body felt as heavy as soaked cotton and his mind was dazed.

“I can’t do this.

I can’t let this stress get to me.

Training the clown swordsmen would be the only way he would be able to endure Glenn and Rectar’s training tomorrow.

As Raon pondered how he would train the troupe today, Rectar entered the hall.

“My lord.”

Rectar’s mouth curled as he approached Glenn.

“I see you’ve changed your training methods.”

“Lord Rectar has changed his teaching, too.”

Glenn smiled, realizing that Rectar’s lessons had changed as well.

“As I watched him teach, I realized that I shouldn’t be so gentle; sometimes a little roughness is good.”

“On the contrary, I’ve seen that it’s better to give a little explanation, so that they know what they’re missing, and if they can’t do it, they can do it better.”

“You’re right, and that gives you more time to swing the sword.”

“Indeed. I must have practiced swordplay ten times more today than I did yesterday.”

The two of them were having a back-and-forth conversation, and suddenly they started discussing how to make the training more rigorous and demanding.

“Uh…?”

Raon’s eyes widened as he looked at Glenn and Rectar, who exchanged genuine smiles.

“When did we get so close….

* * * https://pindangscans.com

Rectar returned to his room after watching Yua and Julius practice their swordsmanship. He flopped down on the bed and smiled weakly.

‘This is fun.’

I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve felt this way.

Teaching Raon, who could learn five if I showed him one, raising a pupil as pure as a blank slate, and teaching Julius, a toddler like a grandson, to use a sword. I’ve had nothing but happiness since coming to Siegfried.

‘Plus….’

Teaching Raon has also brought me closer to Glenn, as we share a common goal. Whenever we talked about how to make Raon stronger, it was like talking to a cousin.

I wanted this to continue, because I was having more fulfilling moments than I had with Edgar.

“You don’t want to leave. Just a little longer….”

There were two knocks on the door as Rectar lay down on his bed and closed his eyes.

“Master.”

“Come in.”

It was Muston’s voice, so he came right in.

“I apologize for the late hour.”

He stepped into the room, his expression icy, unlike when he’d watched me train earlier.

“What is it?”

Instead of answering, Muston pulled a stark white letter from his bosom.

“I’ve been ordered back from Rune.”