Raon went to Dorian and examined his condition.

“You were thoroughly beaten up.”

“Y-You noticed.”

Dorian awkwardly smiled.

“There’s no way I wouldn’t notice, since they didn’t even try to hide it.”

Judging from his bruises, Raon could ascertain that those who beat him up weren’t using a weapon. They used their fists and feet instead.

H-How could you get beaten up by some strangers when you are supposed to be the King of Essence’s subordinate? How pathetic!

Wrath ground his teeth like an older brother that had seen his younger brother getting beaten up.

“I-I’m okay.”

“You don’t look okay, though.”

Raon frowned. Dorian was a coward, but he could take a beating. Considering the fact that he couldn’t even stand properly, they must’ve used aura in their fists.

“D-Dorian!”

“I don’t know who did that, but their joke went too far.”

Yua covered her mouth, and Roenn lowered his eyebrows.

“I’ll treat Sir Dorian.”

Roenn used his aura to scatter the remaining aura in Dorian’s body, and his face—which was distorted in pain—got better over time.

Raon turned around. There should’ve been one more person besides Roenn and Yua, but no one was there anymore. He must’ve been mistaken, since he was in a trance.

“Argh…”

Dorian groaned from the severe pain during the treatment.

“Please endure it for a bit. The aura inside your body needs to be removed for a quick recovery.”

Unlike his gentle voice, Roenn was controlling a tremendous amount of aura to remove the murky energy crushing Dorian’s inside.

“Who was it?”

Raon turned to look at Burren after confirming that Dorian’s face looked better.

“Garon Zieghart.”

“Garon Zieghart?”

“He’s the squad leader of Golden Crest, affiliated to the True Martial Palace.”

“The Golden Crest of the True Martial Palace…”

He remembered the name from Judiel’s book. It was written that he was a thirty-year-old young master in charge of the Golden Crest as the second son of Balder, the True Martial Palace’s master, and Raden’s older brother.

“Was it because of me?”

Raon clicked his tongue while looking at Dorian. As soon as he heard that he was affiliated to True Martial Palace, he could understand why he did it.

He must’ve been trying to take his revenge for beating up Raden and causing the activity suspension for the True Martial Palace.

“It should be mostly because of you, but there’s more to it.”

Burren shook his head in irritation.

“There’s more?”

Raon narrowed his eyes. The way he said there was another reason sounded questionable.

“He said the Golden Crest’s activity has stopped despite being a new squad because of the suspension on the True Martial Palace after the sword duel between you and Raden. Also, they didn’t get any rewards or reputation for their successful mission.”

Burren continued, pointing at the True Martial Palace that they could see from afar.

“On the other hand, the Light Wind has completely removed a White Blood Religion’s branch on their first mission and rescued the hostages. Since we built up enough reputation to be known throughout the house, and even the continent, he must’ve been annoyed.”

“So, his target isn’t just me, but…”

“Yes, he’s targeting the entire Light Wind.”

“I understand now.”

Raon smiled coldly. He finally understood why Golden Crest attacked Dorian. They were jealous of Light Wind, which had a different start from theirs. And their anger should have been mostly directed at Raon, who ended up being the reason for it.

“What a bunch of idiots. Are they really using the same method as Raden?”

“No, they are different from Raden. They…”

Burren told Raon about what happened in the cafeteria.

“They are playing dirty.”

Raon clenched his fists. Honestly, they couldn’t be considered guilty. They couldn’t be blamed for staying in the restaurant, and they would just say they unconsciously punched Dorian because their cherished clothes were stained if he tried to blame them for beating Dorian up.

Even if the department of justice dealt with the case, they would only give them a few days of probation instead of a larger punishment. It was meaningless to report the incident at that point.

“So, they want a duel, do they?”

“Yes. They asked for duels between the Light Wind and the Golden Crest’s swordsmen.”

“They are trying to take away our reputation.”

They must’ve plotted that in order to make the Light Wind’s reputation of crushing the White Blood Religion and defeating an apostle and archbishop their own. His method was incomparably dirtier than Raden.

“What are you going to do?”

“I shall accept.”

“Is it really okay to decide immediately?”

“It’s a good opportunity.”

He got lucky, since he wanted to test how much the could do since he finished acquiring it. Since the Golden Crest squad’s leader Garon recently became a Master, he was a good test subject.

The seventh apostle ended up that way because he kept looking down on him. Raon wanted to try winning against a Master that wasn’t careless.

“The Golden Crest is powerful. Although it’s a relatively new organization, their members should be at least a rank higher than us.”

Burren reluctantly wrinkled his nose.

“Young Master Burren is right. Since the Golden Crest is affiliated to the True Martial Palace, none of them are novices. It will be difficult for the Light Wind to win.”

Roenn let out a small sigh, standing up once he finished treating Dorian.

“You are right. It will be difficult for the ‘current’ Light Wind to win.”

Raon smiled slightly. Judiel’s report also considered the Golden Crest to be one rank stronger than the Light Wind.

“However, this is also an opportunity for the Light Wind.”

“You also said that earlier, but what would that opportunity be…?”

“External enemies usually allow for faster development.”

“Ah…”

Roenn’s eyes widened upon realizing his meaning.

“The Light Wind will use this opportunity as a foothold to reach one step higher.”

Since Glenn already gave them books of martial arts, it was the perfect timing to increase everyone’s might.

“And…”

Raon ferociously looked at the bruises all over Dorian’s body.

Yes! Explode all the bastards that beat up the King of Essence’s subordinate!

It had been a long time since the last time Raon and Wrath agreed with each other.

* * *

True Martial Palace

Golden Crest’s HeadquartersGaron was leaning back against a sofa inside a strange room with dozens of noted swords displayed in the walls.

“It was nice to see that the Light Wind guys couldn’t do anything.”

The Golden Crest’s vice leader, Techly, grinned. He was the one that made Dorian trip and hit his chin in the cafeteria.

“Considering the fact that they didn’t even know how to react to us, they must’ve succeeded in their mission with sheer luck.”

“Well, that should be the case.”

Garon snickered and nodded. There was no way those younglings were skilled enough to destroy the White Blood Religion’s Porvan branch and defeat an apostle.

“Considering Burren’s immature reaction, that Raon guy shouldn’t be a big deal either. However…”

Techly licked his lips before he continued.

“Rimmer is part of the Light Wind. How shall we deal with that monster?”

“Monster?”

“He’s a monster that was called the Sword of Light when he fought right next to the head of house. Even though he is supposed to be injured, shouldn’t we prepare countermeasures against him?”

“No such thing is necessary against a disabled gambling addict.”

Garon's lips curved into a scornful smile.

“He’s just an insect that wastes his time gambling after his mana circuit and energy center were broken. He’s simply no match for me.”

“But considering the rumor that he fought equally against the tenth apostle on his last mission…”

“And where did that rumor come from? From the Light Wind Squad. Moreover, there were no witnesses to the fight, which means no one knows whether he fought equally, or barely managed to survive or begged for his life like trash.”

“Ah…”

“But it doesn’t mean I’m just looking down on him.”

Garon stood up. With sharp and sedate energy spreading out from him, the noted swords decorating the room started to resonate at once.

Whir!

He extended his hand as if he were commanding them, and the size and flow of the swords’ resonances changed to create an orchestra of swords.

“I picked the fight because I’m fully confident that I can win, even if Rimmer managed to recover to Master level.”

Garon stopped the orchestra, and the majestic sword resonances stopped, silence returning to the squad leader’s room.

“Do you understand?”

“Ah, yes!”

Techly nodded, his teeth chattering.

“How about you, then?”

“Pardon?”

“It must be true that Raon managed to defeat the seventh apostle, although he must’ve been lucky, or the apostle was careless. Can you win against him?”

Garon raised his chin slightly.

“Just withdraw if you don’t think you can win. I can just take care of him.”

“I-I can do it. I’ll win, no matter what.”

Techly quickly shook his head, his eyes filled with fervor.

“No matter what? That sounds like it was worth recruiting you.”

Garon nodded his head in satisfaction.

“But what are you planning to do if they don’t accept the match?”

“I’ll visit them again.”

He grinned, touching his Chesire mouth with his finger.

“And this time, I will be rougher than before, so they won’t be able to refuse.”

* * *

* * *

Raon entrusted Dorian to Burren, then went to the medical detachment, where Rimmer was hospitalized.

As he opened the door and entered the room, he could see Rimmer happily humming on the bed. Raon thought he really had a positive personality, since he could hum after getting struck by lightning.

“You look happy.”

Raon smiled slightly, placing the fruits and cookies that Sylvia gave him next to the bed.

“Your complexion is also better than usual.”

“There’s no way I would be happy, since it’s so suffocating to do nothing but lay here. I feel tired no matter how much I sleep in this hospital room!”

“But that was already the case.”

“Shut up, punk!”

Despite what he said, Rimmer couldn’t stop his mouth from smiling. He was apparently enjoying sleeping as much as he wanted to without working.

“Are those yours?”

“My mother prepared them for you.”

“Wow, I knew it! She is truly the only sun in this cold land.”

He smiled brightly, taking an apple from the fruit basket to start eating.

“I have something to report.”

“Report?”

“I learned about this incident a moment ago, and apparently the Golden Crest Squad from the True Martial Palace…”

Raon told Rimmer everything about the Golden Crest Squad picking a fight.

“Damn, that’s one nasty method right there.”

Rimmer spat out the apple seeds and frowned.

“Is Dorian okay?”

“Sir Roenn healed him.”

“That man is reliable.”

Rimmer nodded, saying that Dorian should be okay.

“What are you going to do now?”

“What about you? What do you want to do?”

Rimmer asked back.

“I think it would be better to accept the challenge.”

“Why do you think so?”

“The Light Wind currently has a higher reputation than their strength. And that’s…”

“Because of you.”

“It’s awkward to say so myself, but yes. That’s why I would like to raise the Light Wind’s skills to match up to the reputation. Since they received the books on martial arts from the head of house, having enemies will give them a good opportunity to get stronger.”

“You are right.”

Rimmer immediately nodded.

“I agree with you, so do as you wish.”

“Why?”

“Hmm?”

“We might end up losing the fight.”

“So what?”

Rimmer shrugged, as if that wasn’t a problem at all.

“You guys are young. Being young means that you have the opportunity to challenge many things, fail, and get back on your feet. Some unfortunate people don’t even get to have that chance, but you guys are lucky enough to have the house back you up.”

“Hmm…”

“Just do it. You will get stronger whether you win or lose, and you will learn from the experience.”

It was a rare occurrence that Rimmer remained serious as he continued talking. He looked like a completely different person.

“But I’m not doing it.”

As Raon was admiring the fact that Rimmer could be like that sometimes, his voice suddenly became frivolous.“What?”

“I mean the match. Everyone from the members to the squad leaders have to fight. I’m telling you I’m not going to fight.”

Rimmer continued, munching the cookies.

“I can’t possibly fight a greenhorn like him with the long career I have behind me. That’s why you should be the one to fight.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You realize that many people in the house don’t believe that you managed to defeat the seventh apostle, right?”

“Yes.”

Raon nodded. Probably because Rimmer usually praised him a lot, many from the direct line and the collaterals believed that his victory was made up.

“This is a good opportunity to make them shut up by defeating Garon. Moreover, it will be a great achievement.”

“Great achievement?”

“A Master defeating another Master is nothing special. However, defeating Masters twice as an Expert will become a great achievement and make your soul stronger. It’s also going to allow you to establish your position in the house.”

Rimmer’s blue eyes sparkled in anticipation.

Winning against Garon would increase his stats once again.

Fame, reward from the duel, and stats. There were so many things to gain from winning.

“I’ll take care of Garon, then.”

“Since you are accepting it so quickly, I guess you were planning to defeat him yourself all along.”

“You can be sharp sometimes.”

Raon chuckled. Although Rimmer didn’t know about his progress with the , he was aware that Raon was targeting Garon already.

“Sometimes? I’ve always been the sharpest person.”

“Are you telling me to believe that when you always go broke in the gambling house?”

“Th-That’s because… Erm…”

Rimmer shut his mouth in embarrassment and hung his head.

“Anyway, I’ll accept their challenge since you agreed as the squad leader.”

“A-Alright.”

Rimmer awkwardly smiled, then drew a circle with his finger.

“By the way, where did the lightning even strike you? The weather hasn't been that bad recently.”

“It’s a long story. I seriously almost cried this time because I was falsely accused. I was beaten up because of something I didn’t even do, and seriously…”

“Beaten up? No way, did someone beat you up just like Dorian?”

It’s understandable that Shitty-ears would get beaten up, since he’s so weak. Actually, he deserves even more beatings!

Wrath started giggling upon hearing that Rimmer got beaten up by someone.

“Huh? I-I wasn’t beaten up! No one can beat me up!”

“But you just said…”

“That’s just a figure of speech!”

He fiercely shook his head and changed the subject.

“Since we’ve decided, you should go to them already and tell them you are accepting the duels.”

“That won’t do.”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to make them visit us again.”

Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. Raon had no intention of giving them an ordinary reply for accepting their challenge.

“My pouch, I mean, Dorian got beaten up. They shall pay for it.”

* * *

Raon didn’t mention anything about the duels against the Golden Crest to the Light Wind members. He just helped them with their training and learning the new skills, without doing anything exceptional.

As such, five days passed. The day before Rimmer returned from his holiday in the medical detachment, Dorian was freaking out as he came running.

“V-Vice-squad leader!”

Dorian’s fists were trembling, his eyes filled with anger and fear at the same time.

“Th-They are back! They are going wild in the restaurant!”

“How impatient of them.”

Raon snickered. As he had expected, the Golden Crest bastards couldn’t even wait for a week and returned after five days. They were asking him to either accept their challenge or admit defeat.

“Wh-What shall we do? The squad leader isn’t even back yet…”

“I think we should wait until the squad leader returns.”

Dorian and Burren anxiously bit their lips, since they didn’t know that they had already decided to accept the challenge.

“Let’s go meet them.”

“Seriously? Just like that?”

“But you don’t even have a plan!”

“It’s okay. It will work out.”

Raon smiled to reassure them and went to the restaurant.

“Hey, what are you doing right now?”

“Bring the food already!”

“Why is the restaurant not taking any orders?”

“I-I apologize. We don’t have the ingredients for that…”

They could already hear the fussy voices of the swordsmen and the staff’s suffering voices from outside the door.

“They are asking for dishes that can’t be made here. They are trying to pressure us by harassing the restaurant staff.”

“They really act like proper thugs. I wonder where they learned it.”

Raon snickered, then opened the door.

About ten swordsmen wearing white uniforms were sitting all over the places inside the restaurant, and the staff were trembling, unable to figure out what to do about them.

It was a chaotic scene, with many tables and chairs either broken or turned upside down.

“I’m telling you I want to eat it right now. Bring it to me right away!”

“What are you waiting for? Did you turn into a statue or something?”

The Golden Crest swordsmen ignored Raon’s company despite having noticed them, glaring at the staff.

“I-It’s him! The tall guy who put his legs on the table! He was the one that beat me up!”

Dorian pointed at the Golden Crest’s vice leader, just like a kid tattling to his daddy.

“Just wait here.”

Raon nodded, then went to the serving table. He filled his food tray while humming, before turning around.

“Huh?”

“Ha!”

“Th-That crazy bastard…”

The Golden Crest guys dropped their jaws, since they didn’t expect him to start eating in that situation.

Raon headed to the relatively intact table with his food tray, pretending to trip over his feet to smash the tray filled with food on the vice leader’s face.

Smack!

Although the tray was filled with food, it must’ve still had a great impact since the vice leader’s head wavered significantly.

“Ah, sorry about that.”

Raon gathered his hands to apologize, watching the stew and oil flowing down from the vice leader’s face and uniform.

“You son of a bitch…”

When the vice leader furiously stood up as if he wanted to kill him, Raon walked up to him instead of backing off and smiled.

“Are you trying to hit me now?”

Raon’s red eyes sparkled in a deadly light.

“Do it, if you can.”