Ekan slowly gathered his strength with a grin on his face.
‘He’s so confident. It’s gotta be because he’s so young. He’s just a child at this point.’
Raon just waged everything on the outcome of a competition that even a three-year-old child would say was obvious. Just like Sheryl said, Raon was conceited.
‘This method is a bit unexpected, but I’ll teach him a proper lesson.’
He hadn’t gotten Sheryl’s permission yet, but it should be fine. After all, he just needed to break Raon’s spirits.
“Can I start?”
Ekan jerked his chin, strengthening his grip.
“Yes, of course.”
“Hmm?”
His grip was strong enough to make decent swordsmen scream, but Raon’s casual expression hadn’t changed at all.
‘So, he’s gotta be somewhat strong. I guess that’s why he challenged me in arm-wrestling.’
There were some swordsmen who were unexpectedly strong despite their skinny appearances. Ekan guessed that Raon was one of them and must’ve possessed muscles optimized for battle.
‘It’s useless though.’
Ekan smiled, then gestured at a Heavenly Blade swordsman next to him with his eyes.
“Are you both ready?”
The Heavenly Blade swordsman asked while shaking Raon and Ekan’s hands, which were clasped.
“I am.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s begin!”
As soon as it started, Ekan strengthened his arm fully. He was planning to just overwhelm him with power, without even trying to push Raon’s arm onto the table.
Rumble!
The clash of power in their hands was making the boulder supporting their arms tremble violently.
‘What’s happening?’
Although he was using a significant amount of strength, Raon’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. His hand was also holding on without getting crushed.
‘This is a bit strange.’
He was already using over 70% of his full power. A pretty powerful swordsman should’ve already freaked out and shook off his grip, yet Raon’s face looked so relaxed that he almost looked like he was drinking tea.
“Vice-division leader, you are trying right now, aren’t you?”
Raon lowered his eyebrows slightly, asking him whether or not he was properly trying.
“Hah!”
A vein popped on Ekan’s forehead.
‘I was going to go easy on him…’
He gave up the thought of going easy on him because he liked his fighting spirit. That arrogance needed to be fixed for sure.
“Of course not! The real deal is only getting started!”
Ekan strengthened his entire arm to push Raon back.
Rumble!
Even the ground connected to the boulder started to vibrate from the monstrous power.
‘This is going to hurt!’
He aimed to crush Raon by exploding all of the strength that his body could muster.
However.
‘Wh-What’s happening?’
Ekan’s lips trembled.
‘Why isn’t he being pushed back?’
Why was he not falling?
Raon’s arm didn’t get pushed back—instead, it remained completely immobile, like a thousand-year-old tree. He looked like a huge wall—no, an endless mountain standing in front of him.
“Argh!”
He gritted his teeth and raised his head to look at Raon.
“Ah…”
His hair stood on end when he met Raon’s red eyes, which were as calm as a lake in the middle of the night. Although he was using his full power, Raon’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.
“Hmm?”
Raon tilted his head, as if he found it strange.
“Let me ask you again. Are you sure you are trying right now?”
“You, how did you…?”
Even his voice was calm. It was impossible. There was no way anyone could be so strong.
“It’s my turn now. I’m starting.”
As soon as he said that, a tremendous amount of power struck him. He felt like a tidal wave that could reach the end of the sky in height had just slapped him.
“Kuh!”
It wasn’t just his arm’s strength. He unconsciously groaned from the powerful grip that was crushing his fingers.
“Uaah!”
He bit his lips until they bled to strengthen his arm, but willpower wasn’t enough to fight back against Raon’s strength.
‘T-Troll? No, even an ogre is weaker than this!’
The monstrous strength that even monsters themselves couldn’t compare to was making his shoulder fall apart. It was so strong that he almost unconsciously used his aura.
‘No! I’ll never do that!’
Even if he lost, he couldn’t win by cheating. He returned his surging aura back to his energy center.
“Uaaah!”
Ekan screamed, mustering all his remaining strength. He wanted to win at all costs because of his position as the Heavenly Blade’s vice-division leader and the way he looked down on Raon before the competition.
Boom!
The boulder finally collapsed from the tremendous strength between the two. Once the rising dust was cleared away, Ekan’s hand could be seen, knocked to the ground.
“Kuh…”
——————
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A small groan slipped from Ekan. The extreme pain felt like all his bones had shattered in his hand, but he couldn’t even show it outside because of the embarrassment.
He raised his head to look at Raon. He was dusting off his hand without even sweating in the slightest.
‘M-Monster…’
That was the only word he could think of. That single word was all that remained in his head.
“You are weaker than I thought.”
Raon licked his lips.
“Those muscles.”
He pointed at Ekan’s buffed muscles on his right arm.
“Did you make them to show off?”
“Sh-Show off? Did you just call me and my perfectly trained muscles a showoff?”
Ekan’s chin was trembling. Calling people who trained to get stronger showoffs was the worst kind of insult.
“L-Left hand!”
Ekan pulled back his shattered right hand, then extended his left hand.
“I’m left-handed! We need a rematch with our left hands!”
* * *
* * *
Instead of Ekan, who was gritting his teeth while extending his left hand, Raon looked at Sheryl, who was standing behind him.
‘So, the Heavenly Blade leader isn’t completely expressionless.’
Sheryl’s narrow eyes looked almost as round as the full moon.
“How…?”
She looked like she had lost half of her soul. She apparently didn’t even consider the possibility of Ekan’s loss.
“Gasp…”
“D-Did the vice-division leader lose just now? And in a competition of strength?”
“What is happening…?”
The Heavenly Blade swordsmen’s chins were trembling because of the unimaginable outcome. It felt great to see them shut their mouths, since they had been nitpicking them all day long.
“Woaaah!”
“Raon.”
“Vice-squad leader!”
“Shit! We are free from the chores!”
On the other hand, the Light Wind swordsmen hugged each other and cheered for the victory that they didn’t have much hope for.
“Let’s do it again with the left hand! I’m telling you, I’m left-handed!”
Ekan glared at the rejoicing Light Wind before extending his left hand. It looked like his pride was hurt because his muscles had been insulted.
“Why would I?”
Raon tilted his head with a smile.
“What?”
“I’m already the winner, so there’s no need to continue.”
“Th-That’s…”
“Shouldn’t you and the other Heavenly Blade members be deciding who will be in charge of the chores?”
“Bags!”
Ekan pointed at the bags placed next to the tent.
“Just like you suggested, we will carry your bags if I lose again this time!”
“Ah, we don’t need that. Dorian.”
“Yes!”
Raon snapped his fingers, and Dorian went to the tent while brimming with happiness. He juggled with the swordsmen’s bags before putting them inside his belly pocket one by one, as if he were performing a show.
“You saw him. We don’t need you to carry our bags, since we have the best quartermaster.”
“Ah…”
Ekan’s left arm trembled upon witnessing that scene.
“However.”
Raon pointed at Ekan’s sword around his waist.
“I’ll do the rematch if you teach us the heavy sword and powerful sword every evening.”
“T-Teach?”
“Yes. I don’t want a sloppy lesson, so if you promise to properly teach us the true meaning of the heavy sword and powerful sword, then I’ll accept a match using our left hands.”
“I’m perfectly fine with that!”
Ekan looked like he would even risk his life if it meant he could get a rematch.
“Then you will go back to doing the chores if I win, and you will apologize to the muscles that you insulted!”
He seriously asked him to apologize to his muscles. The pride of a muscle lover was more impressive than he thought.
“Alright, I accept.”
“Good! Let’s do it!”
Ekan rested on his belly and extended his left arm.
“Are we doing it on the ground?”
“I couldn’t properly use my strength just now because the boulder was tilted in my direction! Since my sleeve can’t bother me anymore, it’s going to be different this time!”
Left-handed, tilted boulder, and even his fluttering sleeve. He really had a lot of excuses.
“Alright.”
Raon smiled lightly and took Ekan’s hand.
What an idiot!
Wrath frowned while looking at Ekan.
Do you truly believe a muscled pig like you can defeat the King of Essence’s elegant and elastic power?
He called Ekan pathetic while tapping on his head.
“S-Start the match!”
“Uryaaa!”
As soon as it started, Ekan exploded all his power in his body to push Raon back. Apparently, he was really left-handed, since he was a lot stronger than the last time.
‘It’s pointless though.’
Since Raon had the system, it didn’t matter whether he was using his right or left hand.
Both of his hands could use the 181 points of strength, and he could even use his King of Destruction title if he thought about destroying something. No matter how strong Ekan was, he couldn’t force his arm down because he was just a human being.
“Since I’m getting bored, I’ll end this quickly.”
“What?”
Despite the fact that Ekan’s left hand was trembling from all the strength he put in, Raon easily put down his hand.
Slaam!
Although he didn’t use any aura to push it down, a large crater was created on the ground.
“Ah…”
Ekan’s left hand was buried in the crater.
“Th-This is impossible!”
He was drooling from his mouth. He was apparently too shocked from the consecutive defeats.
“How could he muster so much power from that thin arm? How could he be so strong when he has nothing but small muscles?”
“Unlike your fashion muscles, my muscles are the concentrated muscles meant for battle. They are also called the CMB.”
“F-Fashion muscle? My muscles are fashion muscles…”
Because he already lost two times, he couldn’t argue against the fashion muscles comment and buried his head in the ground.
“D-Did he lose again?”
“…That wasn’t even close.”
“It was too one-sided!”
The Heavenly Blade swordsmen’s eyes turned blank in despair as they sank to the ground.
“That’s crazy…”
Sheryl had also lost her usual cool expression. Her lips were trembling, and her face had turned pale.
“Well then, let’s clean up.”
Raon stood up and shook off the dirt on his clothes and hands.
“Managing the horses, dish washing, cooking, tent installation, etc. Those are the chores that the Light Wind has been doing that the Heavenly Blade are going to be in charge from now on, and we are going to get a swordsmanship lesson from the vice-division leader Ekan every evening. Correct?”
“……”
No one responded. Ekan, Sheryl, and the Heavenly Blade members alike—they were just standing there blankly, unable to recover from the shock.
“We are free from the chores!”
“Woaaah!”
“We can now take it easy!”
“I’ll show them how much I can nitpick.”
The Light Wind swordsmen burst into laughter in anticipation of repaying all the nitpicking they had received.
“This is why I didn’t want to do this from the beginning!”
Ekan stood up with an extreme frown on his face. He shook his dirty left arm towards Sheryl.
“I told you I was bad at picking on people like a kid!”
He quickly signaled the dazing Heavenly Blade swordsmen with his eyes.
“Th-That’s right!”
“It was so difficult to find fault in them because they were so good at everything.”
“It was hard to nitpick them as ordered.”
They started sighing, saying that the Light Wind’s camp preparation was perfect to the point that there was nothing to criticize.
“Did you just say you nitpicked us as ordered?”
“What do you mean?”
Martha and Burren tilted their heads.
“You must’ve realized it, but our criticisms were unreasonable.”
“We weren’t trying to annoy you guys, we were just ordered to do so.”
“We wanted to do it in moderation, but you were too patient…”
The Heavenly Blade swordsmen awkwardly scratched their heads.
“No way…”
“Did the Heavenly Blade Division leader actually order you to do that?”
Every Light Wind members’ eyes were focused on the Heavenly Blade leader.
“Haa…”
Sheryl sighed and nodded. She looked rather enervated.
“Yes. I ordered it.”
“Why?”
“Since the Light Wind has been excellent in both missions and sparring, I wanted to take you down a peg or two so that you wouldn’t become arrogant. However, it looks like I didn’t need to worry about you, considering how you solved this issue. I’m sorry.”
She closed her eyes and sincerely apologized.
“We are sorry as well.”
“You did a good job. It was difficult to find fault in you.”
“Yes, we had to act more and more childish because of that.”
“You don’t look like newbies at all. I’m sure you will achieve great things.”
The Heavenly Blade swordsmen also bowed in apology and showered them with compliments.
“I see.”
“I did find it strange.”
“Everything was for our sake.”
The Light Wind members nodded, tricked by Ekan and the Heavenly Blade’s plot.
“Hmm, I understand if you did it for our sake.”
Raon also smiled while looking at Sheryl and the Heavenly Blade.
“Th-Thank you!”
“Yes, you are as open-minded as you are strong.”
“As expected of the students of Sir Rimmer!”
“However.”
When the Heavenly Blade swordsmen were about to brush it off, Raon raised his hand.
“Since the deal is a different story, you have to do your work.”
The reason everyone started to apologize, from Ekan to the Heavenly Blade leader, was obvious. They wanted to get their leadership positions back without having to do all of the chores.
‘Do you take me for an idiot?’
They must’ve hoped to share the chores equally by appealing to their hearts, but apologies and the bet were different stories. The chores were still theirs to do.
“You can see them, right?”
Raon pointed at the dishes piled up behind him.
“You should wash those dishes first and fix the night watch order after that.”
“Ah…”
Ekan and the Heavenly Blade members turned pale. They didn’t expect him to remain so cold-hearted despite their apology.
Hmph, what a bunch of idiots.
Wrath raised his chin while looking at the Heavenly Blade.
Did you really believe this guy would overlook it when he is like a venomous snake? He will bite you and won’t release you until the very end.
He was right. There was no way Raon would miss such a hard-earned opportunity to train.
“Since you promised, you shall do the chores.”
Sheryl let out a small sigh, looking at the Heavenly Blade swordsmen.
“You will be in charge of the chores until the end of the mission. Start with the dish washing for now…”
“Why are you talking as if it’s someone else’s matter?”
Raon tilted his head while looking at Sheryl.
“What?”
“Remember what happened when we started this bet. What did I say?”
“Wh-What do you mean?”
“I said, ‘If I win, the ‘Heavenly Blade’ shall take care of all the chores that we’ve been doing until the end of the mission.’ And I meant the ‘Heavenly Blade’!”
“Ah…”
Sheryl’s face turned pale upon hearing that.
“You didn’t say anything when I suggested the bet earlier, so I’m sure you aren’t going to deny it now, right? Since you are the Heavenly Blade Division leader!”
“Th-That’s…”
Her face turned red from her panic. A Grandmaster being unable to manage her expression was a refreshing sight to behold.
“Wow!”
“Th-That’s crazy. Seriously…”
“Did you plan all this from the beginning?”
“Is he really human?”
The Light Wind and the Heavenly Blade swordsmen exclaimed at once at the sight of Raon dominating the situation.
“I-I just made a vow. I’m never going to offend him ever again. I’d rather die than make him my enemy.”
“You are slow. I already made that vow at Habun Castle.”
Krein and Dorian shook their heads.
Huh, are you even keeping her on a leash? You really are nasty! Even in Devildom, there’s no one worse than you!
Wrath was also shocked at seeing how Sheryl ended up.
“Well now, we don’t have much time.”
Raon clapped his hands to gather everyone’s attention.
“The Heavenly Blade Division leader and the members should go wash dishes, and please gather some firewood on the way back. The vice-division leader needs to teach us the heavy sword now, so let’s move quickly.”
Raon grinned as he looked at the speechless Heavenly Blade and Light Wind.
‘Six people added to my list of doormats.’
* * *
Since the Heavenly Blade went to discuss the matter, Raon was sitting in front of the bonfire along with Light Wind members.
“A-Are you sure this is okay?”
“I’m happy about not having to work, but is it really alright to annoy the Heavenly Blade…?”
“I-I’m a bit afraid of the consequences.”
Burren, Dorian, and Krein nervously licked their lips, looking at the Heavenly Blade behind them.
“Just think about the lessons.”
“Do you prefer getting pushed around like pushovers? Why are you so scared when you are wielding a sword?”
Runaan looked happy in anticipation for the lesson, and Martha was smiling since she managed to vent her frustration.
“Don’t worry. They aren’t the type of people to hold a grudge over something like this.”
Judging from the Heavenly Blade’s actions and speech so far, and their leader’s personality, they weren’t going to harm them just because of an incident like that. It was okay for them to stay relaxed and enjoy themselves.
“Th-They wouldn’t, right?”
Dorian nodded and took out a snack from his belly pocket.
“Sigh, I feel like I caught some stomach disease recently.”
“Me, too.”
Burren and Krein frowned, grasping their stomachs.
“But it does feel nice to not have to do the chores.”
“Night watch is the best part for me. I really hate having to wake up in the middle of sleeping.”
“As for me, I hated washing the dishes the most.”
“Oh, yeah. Now that you mentioned, the dish washing was the worst.”
As Raon was listening to the Light Wind’s chatter with a smile on his face, footsteps could be heard from behind him.
Step.
It sounded like someone was coming to teach them, but the small sound couldn’t be Ekan’s footsteps.
Once the footsteps stopped in front of him, he raised his head. And the Heavenly Blade leader was standing there, her purple hair fluttering in the wind.
“I’ll be in charge of the swordsmanship lesson instead of the vice-division leader Ekan.”
She was gently looking down on the Light Wind members with her arms crossed.
“Whaat?”
“Th-The Heavenly Blade leader is going to teach us?”
“Wow…”
“Wh-Why?”
The Light Wind members dropped their jaws while looking at the Heavenly Blade leader.
‘It went according to my plan.’
Raon chuckled while looking at her. He was hoping that would happen when he made her do the chores and bet the swordsmanship lesson in his wager with Ekan, and it went exactly as he expected.
S-Stop your bullshit! You couldn’t have possibly thought this far unless you are a god!
Wrath stuttered. He apparently couldn’t believe him.
‘It’s true.’
Raon chuckled, looking at the Heavenly Blade leader, who was slightly blushing.
‘Because I figured even a Grandmaster would hate to wash dishes.’
