Chapter 438.

Rectar narrowed his eyes as he took the letter from Muston.

“Did he know we were in Sieghard?”

He hadn’t reported to Rune that he was going to Sieghardt, and he hadn’t traveled with rumors, but he hadn’t expected to hear from him so soon.

“I don’t think so.”

Muston looked at the letter and shook his head.

“Judging by the fact that it came straight to me, I don’t think it has anything to do with Siegfried.”

He said it was a disposable artifact that followed a person, not a place, and that Rune still wouldn’t know.

“No, it shouldn’t be that simple.”

Rectar shook his head slowly.

“The Lord of the Runes is not just powerful. Even if he’s closing the door, he must know we’re here.”

Rinju is a frightening man. Rushing to judge him would cost us dearly, so it was better to keep our options open.

“Let’s see.”

Rectar opened the letter.

“As expected.

Nothing special was written. It simply said that he had enjoyed his travels and should return home. The handwriting was warrior-like, as if scratched out with a sword. It was written by Lian Zhu herself.

“He himself has ordered me to return. I have no choice but to go.”

If it was anyone else, I would have ignored it, but it was Lin Zhu’s call, and I couldn’t refuse.

Tsk.

Rectar gave a short snort.

“A shame.

He’d enjoyed his time with Raon and Sylvia, and he’d gotten to know Glenn well enough that he was adjusting to life here, but he sighed at the thought of having to leave.

Ugh!

Rectar burned the letter and looked at his apprentice, his eyes as clear as snow.

“Muston.”

“Yes!”

Muston’s voice dropped, as if under the influence of an infant.

“If I were to leave Rune, what would you do?”

“You’re leaving Rune?”

His mouth dropped open as if the question hadn’t occurred to him.

“Yes.”

Rectar nodded approvingly.

“I have more important things to do now than worship my sword. My path and Rune will no longer cross.”

He looked at his puzzled apprentice as he spoke of leaving Rune upon his return.

“You’ll have to be honest with Muston.

Unless Muston’s eyes were filled with jealousy, as they had been in the past. There was no fooling the sincere, good-natured apprentice.

“Um….”

Muston scratched his chin for a moment, then lifted his head.

“You still have the oath between you and Master Lianzhu, don’t you?”

“Remains.”

Rectar let out a short sigh.

“I have one more favor to ask of you before we can end this relationship. Only….”

He balled his hands into fists in his lap and raised a serious gaze.

“No matter what the favor, I will fulfill it, and then I will walk out of here on my own two feet.”

“Then I’ll come out, too.”

Muston thought for a very short time before answering.

“Heh….”

Rectar stared at Muston, his eyes the size of fireglasses as he stared back at him with determination.

“You must have had something you wanted to accomplish in Rune?”

“No, I didn’t. My path is with Lord Raon.”

Muston shook his head coolly at the idea of walking with Raon.

“If I stay in Lian, I will be enemies with Master Raon the moment the seals are lifted, and I will leave Lian with him.”

Muston shook his head coolly and exclaimed that he could not betray Raon. The sincerity in his eyes was palpable.

“I still don’t know what Raon did to make you change like that.”

“He hasn’t done anything, he just exists, and he is the one I must follow.”

Muston stammered, not sure if he was embarrassed or not.

“I see.”

Rectar smirked. He would have preferred to stand tall as a pupil, but it wasn’t a bad feeling to say he would follow his grandson.

“Then we shall leave tomorrow.”

“Isn’t tomorrow too soon?”

“We’ll never see him again, so there’s no point in stalling. Get ready.”

“Um, okay.”

Muston bowed politely and left the room.

“Whoa….”

Rectar sighed in frustration and looked out the window, where the waxing crescent moon stared out at the world, its pupils distorted like the eyes of a beast.

“It won’t be easy.

He would have to walk through thorny roads to get out of Lianjue, as the lord of Lianjue would never order a mundane mission.

But he must return here, no matter what, to find happiness for his daughter-in-law and grandson.

Rectar sheathed his sword and lowered his eyes.

‘One way or another….’

* * * https://pindangscans.com

Raon sat still after his afternoon training, staring up at the darkening sky.

‘This is getting hard.’

Both the morning and afternoon training had left him swinging his sword with barely a moment to breathe, as Glenn and Rectar had gotten closer, plucking the best from each other’s teachings and killing the worst.

As they practiced more and more intensely than before, by the end of the afternoon training, they were so exhausted that they could barely lift a finger, and they naturally slumped down as they were now.

“Hmmm, maybe I should lighten up on the lectar balls….”

Glenn muttered Rectar’s name as he rubbed his forehead, wondering if he had found something to improve on in his training.

“Hah….”

Raon blurted out, looking at Glenn.

“Why are you two so close….?

The first time Glenn and Rectar had met on the training grounds, they’d lunged at each other like they were going to fight, but now they were chatting like stilts, each influencing the other in different ways.

‘Training is good, but the level of difficulty goes up too fast.’

I’m grateful that they’re training me to be stronger, but I don’t know what to do about the increasingly intense workouts that are becoming overwhelming.

“Well, there are some good things about it.

I get to keep the clown.

Glenn and Rectar’s training has taught me how to teach swordsmen so they can grow quickly.

Under their tutelage, the clown’s swordsmanship has improved dramatically.

-Dirty Bastard….

Rath shook his head in disbelief.

“What?

-To drag others along just because you don’t want to be beaten alone, that’s the height of filthiness!

‘What nonsense.’

Raon looked at Rath and shrugged.

‘Can’t you see the selflessness of wanting to get stronger with everyone, not just myself?

Our future missions will be more difficult than anything we’ve ever faced, so we need to grow our clowns while we still have the chance. The desire to relieve stress is only 5% of the time.

-Five percent is half!

“It’s only half.

Raon mumbled something about it and laughed.

-Whoa, I’m not going to argue with you. Now go eat your dinner, your inspiration is numbing my tongue!

Rath rolled his eyes, still feeling like he had rubber on his tongue.

“Maybe.

I had been practicing so hard that even though I ate nadine bread for lunch, my stomach thundered. I should probably go to the annex, eat, and come back.

“Patriarch. Thanksgiving drip again today…hmm?”

Raon was about to greet Glenn when the door to the ballroom opened and Rectar and Muston entered.

“Rectar?”

The two were not in their training clothes, but were dressed as travelers, as they had been when they first met. Judging by their attire, they were about to leave Sigkhardt.

“Why all of a sudden….?

They hadn’t said anything during the morning training, so I didn’t expect them to leave suddenly.

“Are you leaving?”

Glenn gave a small nod, as if he too had realized that Rectar was leaving.

“Uh, yeah. A friend of mine said he needed help, so I guess I should go.”

Rectar sighed, noting that he hadn’t had time to tell his close friend beforehand.

“Is it serious?”

Glenn lowered his gaze behind him.

“I can help you if you need it.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll probably ask you out for a drink when I get there. I’ll take it with a grateful heart.”

Rectar’s eyes narrowed for a moment, as if he hadn’t expected Glenn’s offer of help, but then he smiled.

“Anyway….”

He flashed a bitter smile.

“I guess we’ll have to call this bet my loss. I apologize for making such a big deal about winning and then leaving you here. Raon, I’m sorry for you, too.”

Rectar mumbled something about how he was sorry he hadn’t taught her properly, despite his confident words.

“I’ll come back when I’m done, and then I’ll give your swordplay my undivided attention.”

“Not that.”

Before Raon could speak, Glenn stepped forward.

“My lord?”

“This is how you end a wager? I’m not taking it.”

“Well, since I’ve conceded defeat, as I said before, it’s up to you to take the lead in teaching Raon….”

“That’s not what I said.”

Glenn shook his head solemnly.

“I’m saying that the bet shouldn’t have ended so hollowly. I’m not one to talk without a lectar ball, so I think our wager is off.”

He curled his lip, not wanting to end a bet he’d been interested in for so long so easily.

“We’ll postpone our wager until after Mr. Rectar returns.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Yes, Raon. How about you?”

“I’m good.”

Raon looked at Glenn and Rectar in turn and nodded. He couldn’t help but smile at the way the two strangers had gotten to know him.

“Me too.”

Rectar smirked and tugged at his sleeve.

“You’ll regret it later, because I now know how to teach Raon.”

“I’m looking forward to that. I’m sure I can find more uses for him.”

Glenn and Rectar looked at each other and grinned, the scarlet sunset behind them warming their smiles.

“Let’s go, then.”

Rectar bowed to Glenn, then looked at Raon.

“I have already spoken to the members of the Annex, and I will see you again soon, so work on your training.”

“Understood.”

Raon straightened his posture and bowed respectfully.

“Mr. Raon. I will see you next time, and as you said, I will endeavor to cultivate both martial arts and spirit!”

Muston waved with a twinkle in his overwhelmingly clear eyes.

“Ah, yes….”

Raon nodded awkwardly.

“I won’t see you off.”

Glenn flicked her hand away as if to tell her to hurry up.

“That would be a shame, I’d rather….”

Rectar smiled softly and grabbed Raon’s shoulder.

“I’m going to borrow yours, Raon.”

“Hmm, just this once.”

“Thank you.”

He tapped her shoulder as if to hurry her along.

“I’ll be back with a ride for the two of you.”

“Please do.”

Glenn instructed, not to be rude, but to be polite.

“Understood.”

Raon gave Glenn an eye salute and stood in front of Rectar and Muston.

“Follow me.”

He let out a low sigh as he opened the door to the rehearsal hall.

“It’s a shame you’re leaving so suddenly.

It’s not because I can’t train with the Ten Thousand Swords. It’s just that he’s leaving so abruptly now that we’ve gotten to know each other.

He led the way without saying a word, and before I knew it, they had arrived at the family’s main gate.

“Huh….”

Raon grinned at the sight of the slowly opening gates.

“You shouldn’t be so disappointed.”

Rectar smiled softly, as if reading his expression.

“To meet is to part, and we will meet again soon enough, so focus on your training, lest I disappoint you.”

“I understand.”

Raon nodded, smiling faintly. Rectar, like Glenn, was a man of his word, so it seemed that they would indeed see each other again.

“I’ll do my best to surprise Mr. Rectar the next time I see him.”

“Looking forward to it. And….”

Rectar stroked his beard, then lowered his hand. His expression flashed as grim as dawn.

“Next time we meet, I’ll answer your questions.”

“Answer….”

It sounded like he was referring to the answer to the question I’d asked him earlier about knowing my father.

“I see.”

Raon nodded, indicating that he would wait.

“I’ll be going then.”

“See you again, Raon!”

Rectar turned away, and Muston gave him a cool smile.

Raon bowed deeply to Rectar’s back, who had given without receiving.

“Thank you.”

* * * https://pindangscans.com

When Raon saw Rectar and Muston off and returned to the Fifth Stage, Glenn had not returned to the Gazoo.

“Have you gone yet?”

As I approached Glenn, who was staring up at a sky that was turning gray, his gaze turned downward.

I felt the hairs on my head stand on end as I met his calm red eyes.

“I’ve been waiting for you because I have something for you.”

Glenn shook his head, realizing that while the teaching bet was off, the calculations weren’t over yet.

“If you call it a calculation….”

“Do you remember that I originally intended to teach you martial arts?”

“Ah, yes.”

Raon nodded. Glenn had told him that he had originally intended to teach him martial arts when he first encountered the Rectar.

“By that reckoning, I should be the one to teach you, but if I touch your martial arts now, I’m breaking my word, so you’ll have to learn them on your own.”

Glenn snapped his fingers, and a red spark shot out of thin air, followed by a book. It was a thin booklet, no bigger than a finger, with the name Spearblade written on it.

“The Spearblade is a sword that literally holds the clear sky. Only….”

With those words, Glenn turned around, and a black sword like the darkened sky blossomed from his hand.

Huaah!

The black sword sliced through the darkness with a majestic aura as if it contained the sky itself.

Wherever the sword flowed, heavy ripples followed, spreading an immense sword power. A different realm. A five-armed warrior. No, it seemed as if the entirety of Siegfried had fallen into Glenn’s grasp.

“My sky is dark.”

Glenn glanced back, and the black sword in his grasp was gone, as if it had vanished into thin air.

“You shall take your sky and learn to wield a spear.”

With those words, he twisted and vanished with the falling darkness.

Raon caught the hilt of the spear as it fell from the sky and thought of the words the infant had spoken earlier.

“He’s so sweet….”

Maybe that was true.

-Does that make sense!

Rath shook his head furiously.

-No kind human being would serve Nadine bread!