"Ah, I'm so bored..."
Alice pounded the desk with her fist and sighed deeply.
"I shouldn't be stuck here doing this!"
She chewed on her lip as she gazed at the warm sunlight filtering through the window.
"Hehehe."
Roenn placed a teacup and cookies on Alice's desk with a gentle smile.
"You'll be able to finish soon."
"There's still so much left! I can't see the end!"
"There's a saying that starting is half the battle. You've already done more than half."
"Ugh, sometimes I think you're even more annoying than Father."
Alice shot Roenn a grumpy look but still popped one of the snacks he brought into her mouth.
"Hehehe."
Roenn just chuckled, as if any words from Alice were endearing.
"Any word from Raon?"
"He sent a message saying he should arrive in Sepia around noon today."
"Noon today?"
Alice frowned, eyeing the slightly tilted sun.
"Then he must have already entered Sepia?"
"I suppose so."
"Aaaaargh!"
Alice ruffled her sunset-colored hair and screamed.
"I should have gone too! It's not often you get to visit Sepia as a guest!"
"Hehehe."
"Don't you have any other laughs?"
"Hohoho."
Roenn changed his laughter, just as Alice asked.
"I hate that even more! You sound like Father!"
Alice slammed her head on the desk as if she was about to go crazy.
"Raon must be receiving lavish hospitality from the elves right now. Drinking fruit wine, seeing the World Tree, how nice..."
"That's probably true. Lord Rimmer seemed to hold quite a high position in Sepia."
"Right. I think he said it was a noble-level position. That's why he acted all high and mighty when we first met him. His current stupid self is much better."
"Hehehe."
Roenn nodded in agreement.
"Say, Roenn. Got anything interesting going on?"
Truly not wanting to work, Alice rubbed her forehead against the desk and called for Roenn.
"Well, Young Master Burren, Miss Martha, and Miss Runaan have been receiving training from the Wise Martial Palace Master recently."
Roenn, seemingly knowing what piqued Alice's interest, continued with his story.
"Really?"
Alice's head perked up.
"Denier is training the kids?"
"Yes. All three of them seem to be working hard, as if trying to catch up to Lord Raon."
"That sounds fun. Should I go watch?"
She licked her lips, looking interested.
"If I help those kids level up, wouldn't Raon come running to me yelling, 'Auntie!' the moment he returns?"
"If you want to hear him call you Auntie, you should finish your work for today first."
Roenn placed a new stack of documents on Aris's desk.
"Roenn, I'm really going to die at this rate..."
Alice grabbed Roenn's sleeve, her eyes welling up.
"Hehehe."
Roenn, maintaining an almost cold composure, slipped his hand away from Alice's grasp.
"Roenn. You've really changed. You weren't like this before!"
"People change, you know."
"Well, it's not just you. Father and others have changed a lot too. It's all because of Raon, right?"
"Maybe not everything, but he certainly has had a big influence."
He nodded with a faint smile.
"That kid's real talent isn't martial arts, but his charm that draws people in."
Alice closed her eyes for a brief moment, a gentle smile gracing her lips.
"I wanted to go on a fun trip with my charming nephew, but what a shame..."
She picked up her pen with a long sigh.
"Aunt will suffer here, so you better enjoy yourself."
* * *
"You said I just had to go and enjoy myself!"
Raon gritted his teeth as he deflected a semicircle of sword strikes with the Heavenly Drive.
"You said you lived an ordinary life back home!"
Though he had expected it, the situation went beyond his expectations, and his annoyance naturally caused him to speak informally.
"Why did you steal the sacred artifact?!"
"I didn't steal it! I really received it legitimately!"
Rimmer shook his head vigorously, saying he didn't know anything about it.
-Puhehehehe!
Wrath burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as if he found it all very amusing.
-This king knew it would be like this. I'd rather believe Greed. Why did you trust that pointy-eared fool!
'Shut up!'
Raon pushed away the giggling Wrath and focused on the incoming barrage of arrows.
Zheng!
The arrows clashed with the sword barrier of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation that Raon had set up in advance. With each impact of the arrowheads, it felt like being struck by a chunk of iron.
'This is supposed to be an arrow?'
It felt more like being hit by a spear filled with aura rather than an arrow. It was fascinating how they could create such power, even though the arrowheads seemed to be made of wood rather than metal.
Whoosh!
The elves hiding behind the thorny vines no longer seemed interested in talking as they continuously fired arrows.
Zheng zheng zheng!
Raon rotated his sword barrier to deflect all the arrows and glared at Rimmer.
"What's with this?! You said they would welcome us!"
To be honest, he didn't believe the welcoming part, but he never imagined they would be attacked right at the entrance.
"I, I don't know what's going on either..."
Rimmer didn't even wipe the cold sweat dripping from his forehead, looking bewildered himself.
"Sigh, I shouldn't have trusted you from the start. Should've just left you behind."
Dorian sighed, saying they should have left Rimmer in Zieghart instead of bringing the troublemaker along.
"Are we really not allowed in?"
Yua's lips trembled, seemingly unable to believe that they had become intruders from the very beginning.
"Keep firing!"
With the sharpened voice of the female elf, another wave of arrows came rushing in. The energy imbued in the arrows seemed to rotate faster and more fiercely than before, as if trying to break through the sword barrier.
'The power in these arrows is definitely different.'
Having encountered many archers on various battlefields, this was the first time facing such high-level archery.
Raon intensified the flames forming his sword barrier and closely observed the incoming arrows.
'It's not just about putting strength into the shot.'
The elves were imbuing the arrows with the subtleties of martial arts as they drew their bowstrings.
The impact felt like being hit by a massive chunk of iron with each deflection due to the swiftness, sharpness, and heaviness imbued in the arrows.
Among them, the female elf giving orders to the others displayed the most exceptional archery skills. In terms of swordsmanship, she seemed to be at least at the Master level.
'Imbuing Master-level martial arts subtleties into arrows, interesting.'
Seeing a new flow of martial arts in an unexpected place made his heart race.
-Urgh! The crazy bastard is at it again!
Wrath shook his head with a furrowed brow.
'What do you mean by crazy bastard?'
-Martial Arts Crazy Bastard! I'm talking about you!
'You're really good at making up weird words.'
Raon chuckled and refocused on the arrows.
'This is easy to observe.'
The elves were only firing to subdue, not with killing intent. Thanks to this, he could easily observe their arrows.
'We can clear up the misunderstanding later.'
Although he could easily subdue the elves with his full abilities right now, he wanted to expand his mental image by watching their archery.
Raon dispelled the sword barrier and started deflecting the incoming arrows directly.
Zheng!
The moment the blade of the Heavenly Drive clashed with the arrowhead, the power and subtleties imbued in the arrow deeply penetrated his grip.
'Swiftness and heaviness are properly imbued. And this time, they've added variation too.'
Though not quite the freely flying arrows Rimmer had mentioned, just seeing the variation subtleties imbued in the arrows was definitely educational.
Zheng zheng zheng zheng!
Raon focused on the elves' arrows pouring in from all directions, even with a smile on his face.
He deflected swift arrows with a blunt sword, heavy arrows with a fluid sword, and arrows with complex variations using a severing sword, refining his own swordsmanship.
After blocking arrows for quite some time, suddenly the incoming arrows stopped.
"Hm?"
Raon lowered the Heavenly Drive and narrowed his eyes.
"Are they not shooting anymore?"
"Would you feel like shooting at a smiling weirdo who keeps deflecting arrows?"
Rimmer shook his head and stepped forward.
"Wha-weirdo?!"
"When it comes to martial arts, you're a weirdo among weirdos."
He waved his hand as if disgusted and stood in front of the thorny vines again.
"I'll say it again. Sepia is my hometown, and I received this sacred artifact through proper procedures. I absolutely did not steal it."
Rimmer declared his innocence in a confident tone.
"How can we believe that?"
A slightly mellowed voice came from behind the thorny vines.
"If we really had bad intentions, you all would have lost your heads the moment you met this guy."
Rimmer shrugged and pointed at Raon.
"You can tell that much, right?"
After a moment of silence, the thorny vines parted, revealing the elf who had been hiding behind them.
She was a beauty with forest-green hair and sky-blue eyes that drew in one's gaze.
Her nose bridge wasn't too high, and her eyes weren't too large, but the harmony of her features created a natural beauty.
"What's your name?"
"Leylan."
"Oh? I think I've heard that name before. Are you from the Cotton Branch Tribe by any chance?"
"...Yes."
The elf who introduced herself as Leylan nodded slightly.
"I thought so. I heard a really pretty child was born there, so I went to take a look. You've grown up well."
Rimmer smiled, saying he was glad to see her grown up so nicely.
"What's your name?"
"Rimmer. If you still don't believe me, call old man Sterin. That old man will surely..."
The moment Rimmer requested someone to be called, an elf who had been listening fired an arrow. For the first time, it was a fierce arrow imbued with killing intent.
Crack!
Raon stretched out his left hand and shattered the arrow aimed at Rimmer in mid-air.
"Don't speak that name so casually!"
Not just her, but all the elves were now revealing their killing intent. Raon became curious about the identity of this Sterin person Rimmer had called.
"Who did you just call?"
"The big shot of Sepia."
"You damn human!"
Raon squeezed his eyes shut. He understood why the elves were emanating killing intent.
It was like coming to Zieghart and calling Glenn "old man". There was nothing to say even if he died.
"But I'm allowed to call him that..."
Rimmer blinked his eyes as if he didn't understand what he had done wrong.
"That's enough. Don't say anything more for now."
Raon covered Rimmer's mouth and bowed his head to Leylan.
"I apologize for the earlier statement. He's just stupid, not malicious, so please understand. As I said before, we are neither thieves nor intruders. If we can just clear up the misunderstanding..."
"What misunderstanding are you talking about?"
A chilling voice rode on the wind blowing from afar.
The moment the subdued air stirred, a cold-looking elf with flowing blue hair landed on a tree that had suddenly shot up to the right.
"Ah!"
Rimmer seemed to recognize him and smiled.
"Now we're good! Someone I know showed up!"
He waved his hand, shouting not to worry.
"Erian! It's me! You know me, right!"
"How could I not know you, Rimmer."
The elf called Erian nodded his head calmly.
"You thief of the sacred artifact."
However, his next words were as chilling as if winter had melted.
"I knew it..."
"I told you so."
"I'm the fool for believing you."
Raon's, Dorian's, and the infant's icy eyes focused on Remer.
"Wha-what nonsense is that! You saw me receive this sword too!"
Rimmer shook his head so fast his features blurred.
"That sword was not yours to keep, but merely lent to you. You, who left with the sacred artifact and never returned, are nothing but a thief."
Erian drew the sword at his waist. Blue aura climbed up his wrist, releasing killing intent.
Swoosh!
As the cold wind's sword strike fell towards Rimmer's head, Raon moved.
Thud!
Raon roughly kicked off the ground and struck down the sword strike Erian had thrust.
Zheng!
As the sword strikes clashed, a wind that violently shook the forest burst forth.
"Hmph!"
Erian snorted and nimbly twirled his body. He regained his balance in mid-air as if he had become a bird, then swung down another sword strike.
'His body moves freely.'
He seemed to be manipulating the wind differently from Rimmer.
Raon felt the flow of wind Erian was moving through his skin and drew two lines with the Heavenly Drive. The flames that rose between the lines formed a round shape, creating a shield of fire.
Zheng!
Erian's wind blade failed to penetrate the Fire Wall and dissipated into a gentle breeze.
"Tch."
Erian furrowed his brow and stepped back. He seemed a bit daunted by the heat of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.
"How about that?"
Rimmer grinned and waved his left hand.
"I raised him!"
He still had a smile on his face, seemingly unaware of the situation.
"Shut your mouth."
Erian kicked the cracked ground with a grimace. A swift yet irregular movement. The scent of blood flowed from his practical sword strike.
It seemed many lives had offered their necks before his blade.
Raon extended his slightly bent knee. He leaned his upper body forward and stretched out the Heavenly Drive that had been tilted at his left waist. A blue blade of cold energy followed like a shadow behind the rushing silver blade.
Kyaang!
The first blade of the Frost Snap deflected Erian's sword, and the cold blade that followed aimed for his shoulder.
"Hup!"
Erian's eyes widened as if he hadn't predicted the cold energy blade, but he retreated swiftly using the wind-riding movement he had shown earlier.
Shrik!
However, the cold energy blade had already grazed his shoulder, leaving a small wound.
"Whew..."
Erian twisted his lips as he looked at the wound on his shoulder.
"Fine."
He pressed down on the shoulder wound with his hand curved like a bird's talon and raised his chin.
"If that's what you want, I'll show you your disciple dying."
Erian muttered that it was all their fault and brought his hands together.
Whoosh!
A powerful wind that made it impossible to keep one's eyes open surged around him. A green light orb in the air burst into magnificent light and spread enormous wings.
'What is that?'
Raon forcibly opened his eyes, feeling the powerful mana waves. A massive body was floating under the blue sky.
A hawk.
A gigantic hawk that could be called a drake was breathing blue wind.
Kieeeeee!
The green light hawk let out a terrifying roar towards the world. It was so intense that it felt like the entire forest was shaking.
"That's..."
"A spirit. And a highest-grade one at that."
Rimmer exhaled empty air as he looked at Erian.
"I knew he'd gotten stronger, but I didn't think he could summon a highest-grade spirit..."
He shook his head, saying it was a predicament.
"A highest-grade spirit can even face a Grandmaster. Be careful."
"Indeed..."
Raon nodded quietly. As Rimmer said, the energy emanating from the highest-grade spirit was approaching that of a Grandmaster . It wasn't an opponent that could be easily defeated.
"It's too late for regrets now."
Erian snorted and pointed at Raon and Rimmer with his finger.
"Tear them to shreds!"
"This should be fun."
Raon licked his lips and stepped forward, but the highest-grade spirit didn't move as if it hadn't heard Erian's order.
Swoosh!
No, rather than not moving, it was actually slowly retreating, riding the wind.
"What are you doing?! Attack them!"
"Kieeek!"
Even when Erian gestured again, the highest-grade spirit retreated completely and hid behind a tree.
"Hm?"
"Kie..."
When Raon tilted his head in confusion, the highest-grade spirit trembled and lowered its head. It was a posture of submission commonly shown by animals.
"Wha-what?! What have you done to my spirit?!"
Erian's jaw dropped in shock. Even when he approached and spoke to it, the spirit wouldn't rise.
'What's going on?'
As he turned his head, wondering what was happening, he saw Wrath picking his nose.
-What are you looking at.