Chapter 475

As soon as Raon entered the room he was guided to, he started a simple interrogation of the two instigators.

Their names were Allen and Kopel. They must’ve been quite dedicated since they didn’t mention the Thespian Emperor’s name, but it didn’t matter.

Allen’s reaction in front of the gate had already made it clear that the Thespian Emperor was behind that childish act.

However, he couldn’t gain anything from complaining about the instigators if she kept denying it until the end.

Considering the Thespian Emperor’s reasonable mentality, she shouldn’t think that Raon would visit her immediately.

‘That’s why I’m visiting her.’

The reason he immediately went to the Thespian Emperor without even unpacking his baggage in his room was to attack the gap in her misconception.

‘Because I’m not trying to get any benefits nor honor from this.’

He already had more than enough money and fame. He just wanted to get on the Thespian Emperor’s nerves.

Seriously…

Wrath furrowed his brow with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

What the hell are you?

‘What?’

How did you even think of something like that? This isn’t something that can be learned just from taking notes!

Wrath pulled his cotton candy hair while saying that it was a problem-solving question instead of a question of memorization.

‘That’s right.’

Wrath was correct. The reason he could pierce the gap in her mentality wasn’t because he was extremely smart but because of the experience from his previous life.

It was the result of bloodshed as he continuously analyzed people to kill them.

“You’d better tell her to come out quickly.”

Raon swallowed the smile that was about to appear and shook his hand towards the warrior standing in front of the Thespian Emperor’s mansion.

“Because I’m rather impatient.”

The warrior guarding the Thespian Emperor’s mansion swallowed nervously upon feeling the frightening pressure and irritated voice coming from him.

“Our master must’ve gotten the message. Please wait a bit longer.”

The warrior clenched his spear and forced himself to maintain his composure. His unshakable eyes revealed his loyalty, which was even more powerful than his might.

“Haah?”

Martha tilted her chin and walked up to the warrior.

“A motherfucker picked a fight with us as soon as we entered this shitty city, and he is affiliated with you. Tell me one reason why we have to wait!”

The strain on her fingers looked like she was about to punch him.

“Th-there must be a misunderstanding. We should get the message soon, so please wait a little.”

The warrior didn’t move away despite facing Martha’s furious pressure. He stayed on the spot even though he broke out in a cold sweat.

“Kill?”

Runaan quietly came up next to him and grabbed the hilt of her cherished sword, Snow Flower.

“…No, save it for later.”

Raon quickly shook his head. He couldn’t understand why, but Runaan’s personality had become more than twice as impatient as before after the start of the mission.

Even someone like you can be ignorant in this aspect.

‘What?’

It’s because you held a party with ice cream.

‘But that was a long time ago.’

It doesn’t matter. The fact that you held the party is the important part. People like us remember the gratitude for ice cream.

Wrath was looking at Runaan warmly while saying that she was a perfect subordinate for him.

‘Hmm…’

Raon looked at Runaan while thinking about it. Her eyes did seem clearer than before.

‘Just because of ice cream? It’s mind-blowing how simple that is.’

While Raon was shaking his hand, the mansion’s door was opened and a middle-aged man came out. His hair was neatly trimmed back just like Roenn.

“My name is McCain, Lady Ariel’s servant. What brings you here?”

The middle-aged man introduced himself as McCain and bowed carefully.

“I came to talk because your Master Ariel seems to have caused some trouble.”

“What kind of trouble are you talking about?”

McCain asked with serious eyes, pretending he didn’t know anything about it.

“Are you sure I should say it here? I’m fine with it, but there are lots of people watching.”

Raon lifted his hands and curved his lips into a smile.

“……”

McCain furrowed his brow slightly and stepped aside past the door.

“Please enter.”

“Follow me, Dorian. And no one else.”

Raon left the team leaders behind and entered the mansion with Dorian.

The inside of the mansion was unexpectedly simple. There were no flashy decorations or antiques, which made it look like the annex building’s interior.

He went up to the highest floor by following the guide, and he could see a door made from cedar. It wasn’t an expensive material, but it was neatly maintained.

Knock knock.

McCain quietly walked up to the door and knocked on it, and the Thespian Emperor’s voice could be heard from inside.

“Please come in.”

The door was automatically opened, and McCain gestured at them to enter with his hands.

Raon entered the Thespian Emperor’s office where sunlight was shining down faintly.

The room wasn’t luxurious at all, as an extension of the mansion’s atmosphere. The objects were hand-stained, and the strict pressure felt like it was a soldier’s office.

“I was a bit surprised when I heard of your visit, Sir Raon.”

The Thespian Emperor sitting on the sofa slowly stood up with a smile.

“Didn’t you say that you didn’t want to see me ever again?”

“I’m just a powerless individual. I have to obey orders.”

Raon walked up to the Thespian Emperor and nodded. He sat on the opposite side of her with a twisted smile on his face.

Despite the crude greeting from someone far younger than her, the Thespian Emperor’s expression didn’t change. Her willpower was as sturdy as always.

“I’m glad to see you again, but you could’ve taken a rest from the fatigue of your journey before coming here. How polite of you.”

The Thespian Emperor smiled faintly while pouring a red-colored tea into the teacup placed on the table.

“It’s because I’m not here for a pleasant greeting.”

Raon responded to the Thespian Emperor’s sarcastic remark foolishly on purpose and shook his hand.

“Ah, is it about what happened at the entrance? I apologize for that. However, it’s difficult to manage the spectators, even for me…”

She shook her head, telling him that she was already aware of it from a report.

Raon narrowed his eyes while listening to the Thespian Emperor’s composed voice.

‘She really isn’t an easy opponent.’

Raon would’ve lowered his consideration for her if she’d feigned ignorance, but she pretended to be unrelated despite having heard the news.

Her unsettled eyes almost looked like she was really telling the truth.

“I don’t think that’s possible though.”

Raon licked his lips while tapping the table with his index finger.

“After all, the men I caught mentioned your name, Lady Ariel.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The Thespian Emperor’s eyes widened in surprise. Raon thought once again that her composure was the most fearsome part about her, rather than her might or her ability to read heaven’s flow.

“They said that they were ordered to do it by you, Lady Ariel. You asked them to slowly get on my nerves once I reached the entrance.”

Raon focused on the Thespian Emperor’s expressions while stating the line he’d prepared. Her eyes wavered faintly, even if it only lasted for a short moment.

“No, I’m not related to them.”

The Thespian Emperor firmly shook her head.

“There’s no way I would disgrace myself in front of my guests from Zieghart.”

“I also don’t want to believe that Lady Ariel, who is praised as the Thespian Emperor by the people, would do something dirty and sloppy like that. However, the perpetrators said it themselves.”

“……”

The Thespian Emperor remained silent. Her sharp gaze seemed to be trying to figure out whether it was true or not.

Raon met her eyes and casually drank his tea.

‘She seems to be trying to figure me out.’

Raon had been hiding his expression for dozens of years, ever since his previous life.

Even if she could read heaven’s flow and was extremely smart, it was impossible to read his thoughts.

“The instigators are called Allen and Kopel. You’ve heard those names before, haven’t you?”

“I’ve never heard of them.”

The Thespian Emperor closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Sir Raon.”

She lifted her eyelids and quietly spoke.

“I’m sorry, but this is extremely rude of you. What are you going to do if they are trying to take advantage of my name?”

“I don’t know about that. I’m simply here because they specifically mentioned your name, Lady Ariel.”

“That’s why I’m telling you that it’s not true. Visiting me like this and acting rude is—”

“Well, it might be true. Moreover, it’s the White Whale that was rude to me by not even managing the crowd around the entrance. Are you actually threatening me now?” 

* * * 

Raon’s back parted from the sofa, and he put his hands together.

“Haa, that was certainly our fault. However, we aren’t related—”

“Oh, so you admitted your mistake. So, you were related, right?”

“That’s not what I meant! I admitted the mistake about the crowd—”

“Ah, so about hiding them among the crowd and ordering them to get on my nerves, right?”

Raon cut her off and kept saying stupid shit.

“……”

The Thespian Emperor’s hand holding the teacup started to tremble. Her expression was still as peaceful as before, but she was starting to become enraged.

Argh!

Wrath’s fist was trembling violently.

Even the King of Essence is angry at this! This is infuriating!

He pounded his chest, saying that he was getting upset instead.

“Let me tell you again. Those people who insulted you are not related to me whatsoever.”

The Thespian Emperor shook her head, saying that she’d never ordered them to act out. Considering how she asserted the fact, she must’ve been confident that Raon wouldn’t be able to find any connection between them.

‘That’s to be expected.’

Raon knew that much the moment he’d decided to come to the mansion.

Then why are you even here?

‘What else? I’m just here to make her angry.’

…It was a great success.

Wrath awkwardly nodded.

Her face looks fine, but she’s boiling with anger right now.

He pointed at the Thespian Emperor and murmured that the objective was already achieved.

It was definitely true since the wrath specialist was guaranteeing it.

“What you are doing right now can bite you in the fut—”

“Aah! I don’t know about complicated stuff like that. What I’m telling you is that they stated your name, Lady Ariel! Allen and Kopel said it!”

Raon consistently repeated the exact same thing, to the point where he sounded like an idiot.

“In that case, can I have a meeting with them?”

“That’s a no.”

Raon energetically shook his head, as if he were making fun of her.

“I can’t give my captives to the enemy. You might just kill them!”

“That’s never going to happen.”

“You should never say never. I also thought that the Thespian Emperor would never order them to get on my nerves.”

“Ugh…”

Veins started to bulge slightly on the Thespian Emperor’s forehead. Her composure was wavering.

“Then what do you want?”

“I’m not sure.”

Raon rubbed his thumb with his index finger.

“Haa…”

The Thespian Emperor closed her eyes and sighed.

“How much do you want?”

“Did you just ask me how much I want? Are you actually trying to nullify this matter by paying me?”

Raon covered his mouth while jumping up to feign surprise.

“No, you just rubbed your fingers! That clearly implies that you want the mon—”

“I was just scratching it because I was bitten by a mosquito. What are you even talking about?”

“There are no mosquitos in winter!”

“They exist in Zieghart. They are very tenacious.”

He furrowed his brow while blowing at his finger, which was perfectly fine.

“Ugh…”

The Thespian Emperor scratched the table with her finger.

‘What the hell is this guy…?’

After she’d reached her realm, she’d become capable of seeing what people wanted from the smallest conversation.

She could even figure out the emotions of warriors or magicians more powerful than her, or even the king of a country or a head of house. However, what the punk in front of her was thinking was completely incomprehensible to her.

‘No, he’s definitely not a punk.’

Raon must’ve been only acting like a punk, and his brain should’ve been running nonstop.

He clearly had an objective behind his visit, but she couldn’t figure it out at all.

‘He can’t pressure me with the testimony from Allen and Kopel. It won’t ruin my reputation either. It’s not like he wants money from me, so what could be…?’

She looked into his eyes, talked to him, and observed his behavior, but she couldn’t read what he wanted at all.

The man called Raon Zieghart was the most peculiar person she’d ever seen.

Raon smiled faintly while looking at the Thespian Emperor, who was biting her lip slightly.

‘She must be thinking about why I’m doing this.’

She seemed to be going nuts because she couldn’t figure out why he was being so unreasonable like that.

‘Of course she can’t figure it out. I have no objective.’

He had no intention of humiliating the Thespian Emperor, extorting money from her, or getting her to apologize.

He was just messing with her. That was his only purpose, and that was why she couldn’t guess his objective.

‘Now that I think about it, I do have an objective. She’s going to get enraged every time she sees me in the future.’

Putting mental pressure on her was bound to help him in the future. That was actually an extremely important aspect.

Raon frowned while tapping on the table.

“So, what are you going to do about this? They could’ve started attacking us, and I might have been fine, but some of our members could’ve been injured!”

“About the safety issues, I’d like to apologize—”

“It’s not just a safety issue! They mentioned your name, Lady Ariel!”

“I’m telling you, they aren’t related—”

“Hah, I don’t care. I won’t leave until you apologize.”

“Haa…”

The Thespian Emperor exhaled roughly. Gray steam was coming out from her mouth.

“But I can’t apologize for something that I haven’t done.”

“But they said you did.”

“I’m not related to it.”

“Hah… In that case, I’m not leaving.”

Raon murmured ‘Let’s see who wins’ and buried his back deep into the sofa.

The Thespian Emperor closed her eyes tightly before opening them again.

“Alright, I’ll apologize.”

She nodded. She seemed to be trying to quickly end this matter.

“About what?”

“……”

The Thespian Emperor closed her eyes tightly upon hearing his cheerful response.

“But you asked me to apologize, Sir Raon.”

“You weren’t being sincere. And you didn’t mention what mistake you made.”

“Ugh…”

The Thespian Emperor’s cheeks turned red. She seemed to be contemplating whether she should kill him or not.

“Hieeh…”

Raon’s smile seemed to be telling her to try it if she could, but Dorian, who was standing behind him, turned pale.

Devildom is the survival of the fittest, but…

Wrath’s head was trembling in fear.

Is the human realm the survival of the lunatics?

* * *

Raon finally left the Thespian Emperor’s office in the evening. They obviously didn’t manage to come to a consensus, but their expressions were the complete opposite.

The Thespian Emperor’s darkened face looked like she was completely exhausted while Raon looked even more energetic than before, as if he’d gotten a deep sleep.

“Raon.”

“What took you so long?!”

Runaan and Martha came running towards him. They quickly examined Raon’s body to see if anything bad had happened to him.

“The talk was just extended.”

Raon casually shook his hand and told them that nothing special had happened.

“Thank you for waiting. Let’s go back.”

He simply shook his hand and went towards the room that he had previously been guided to.

“What even took you so long?”

Martha came up next to him and asked with a frown.

“I acted like a punk.”

“Like you usually do?”

She smiled, saying that he was the perfect punk.

“But Martha is more of a punk than him.”

Runaan stared blankly at Martha.

“Why me?!”

“Because you are Miss Rakshasa.”

“Hey!”

Martha leaped like lightning, and Runaan ran away by jumping like a rabbit.

“Haa, I really thought I was going to die.”

Dorian shook his head.

“Why are you so afraid? They can’t attack us anyway.”

“I know, but still…”

His lips trembled as he said that he was extremely terrified by the Thespian Emperor’s expression, which looked like she was wearing a mask.

“Anyway, I don’t want to do this ever again. I think I lost some of my lifespan.”

“You won’t have to for a while.”

“What are you planning to do now?”

“Since I managed to crack the Thespian Emperor’s mind…”

Raon furtively looked back and continued.

“It’s time to rake in some money.”

“Money?”

“Yes. Let’s rest for today and start tomorrow.”

Raon smiled faintly and entered a small garden in front of the lodging. There was everything they needed inside the vast lodging, but the location wasn’t too good since it was at a corner of the city.

“Huh?”

“He’s back!”

“Vice division leader!”

“Why are you so late? We couldn’t eat dinner!”

Burren and the swordsmen gathered at a small training ground next to the garden and waved their hands towards him.

“You should’ve eaten without me.”

Raon waved his hand in apology and noticed a red-haired woman next to Yua. She wasn’t from the Light Wind division, but her back was familiar.

“Gasp!”

The woman turned around at the speed of light and screamed while covering her cheeks.

“Goddamn handsome!”

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – Kyangi]

[Proofreader – Harley]