The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1026

 Chapter 1026

 

“S-She’s going through puberty?”

Raon asked again, thinking he must have misheard.

“You heard right, young master.”

Helen said, nodding.

“Most children in their mid-teens go through it. Of course, you were so mature that the phase passed quietly for you.”

She smiled faintly, saying kids at that age often rebel or lash out.

“You said Lady Sia is slowly returning to her original age, didn’t you? She’s passed childhood and is now becoming a teenager.”

Helen let out a soft sigh, as if it wasn’t anything strange.

“S-Sia! Dad was wrong! Please open the door!”

Edgar, unable to bear Sia’s anger, had tears welling in his eyes.

“I said go away! I don’t want to see you!”

Sia yelled that she wouldn’t open the door no matter what, and told him to go downstairs.

“Sia…”

Edgar clutched his chest and collapsed, as if struck by the shock of his daughter’s sudden change.

“Is, is this really okay?”

Raon’s eyes trembled as he looked at Edgar drooling and clawing at the floor with his nails.

“As I said, it’s something most parents and children go through.”

Helen shrugged, saying they’d adjust in time.

“When they reach this age, kids start thinking they’re grown-ups and hate being told what to do.”

She smiled gently. “It’s just a part of growing up.”

‘So this is something normal…’

Raon nodded faintly.

‘Well, I wasn’t really a kid to begin with.’

In his previous life, he only focused on survival, and in this life, he was living his second time, mentally already an adult, so there was no room for that kind of phase.

‘Come to think of it, Burren and Martha went through it too.’

During their trainee days, Burren and Martha, despite being little kids, acted all high and mighty like adults until they got beaten up by him and came to their senses. Compared to that, Sia didn’t seem strange at all.

‘Of course, Runaan is…’

She was just as blank now as she had been then.

Runaan alone seemed to have kept her childlike innocence to this day.

“In any case, there’s no need to worry too much.”

“That’s good. She’s doing well.”

As Helen reassured that it would pass naturally and lowered her hand, Evelyn walked over. She glanced at Sia’s room, which remained firmly shut despite Edgar’s sobs, and smiled softly.

“…Doing well?”

Raon narrowed his eyes at Evelyn.

“Don’t tell me you did something to her?”

Thinking back on what she’d said, it sounded like she might’ve done something to Sia.

“Yup! I told the young lady.”

Evelyn clapped her hands lightly and nodded.

“I said she shouldn’t just say yes to everything. That sometimes, you have to push back to grow up.”

She lifted her nose proudly, like she was quite pleased with herself.

“Ah…”

Raon’s jaw dropped as he looked at Evelyn standing so confidently.

‘So she’s the cause?’

It wasn’t natural, Evelyn had sparked it.

She’s completely unhinged!

Wrath hid behind Raon’s shoulder, still scared of Evelyn.

“It’s not a bad thing. If you hold everything in, it just explodes later.”

Evelyn waved her hand, saying that this was actually helpful for Sia.

“The young lady’s memories of living as the Green King have all disappeared, so now a child’s mind has taken root in an adult’s body, and she hasn’t been able to establish her identity. That’s also why her mental age is rising more slowly than her mind is developing.”

She twirled a finger, saying this change will help her.

“I feel the same way.”

Helen gave a small nod as she looked at Evelyn.

“Lady Sia has been holding herself back to match Sir Edgar and Lady Sylvia’s affection.”

She let out a low sigh, saying she could see that Sia had been intentionally acting like a child.

“It’s time she started to move forward.”

Helen brought her hands together in front of her, saying it was time for Sia to start the process of becoming an adult.

“…I see.”

Raon smacked his lips and looked toward Sia’s room.

‘Father is one thing… but I’m more worried about mother.’

Sylvia is solid as a fortress when it comes to matters outside the family, but when it comes to family, she’s softer than tofu, fragile and tender. He had no idea how she would take Sia’s change.

“I should try talking to her first…”

Raon stopped just as he was about to head up to Sia’s room.

‘Her presence is gone. Did she go outside?’

Not sensing her presence anymore, he figured she must have left her room through the window.

‘Did she run away from home?’

Raon furrowed his brows and quickly headed outside.

But he didn’t have to look far for Sia. She was swinging her sword by the lake, just like always.

“S-Sister.”

Raon composed himself and approached, careful in case she snapped at him.

“Raon!”

But unlike with Edgar, Sia smiled brightly and grabbed his hand.

“When did you get here?”

“Huh…?”

Raon blinked in surprise at Sia’s unexpectedly warm welcome.

“I’ve practiced the Fangs of Insanity a lot! Watch me!”

Sia said she wanted to show him and led him to the lake.

‘What’s going on?’

Raon blinked as he watched Sia act so warmly toward him.

‘Why is she still the same with me?’

Why do you think? Because you’re her little brother, of course.

Wrath furrowed his brow like it was obvious.

To her, you’re the younger sibling she needs to protect. Of course she’d act warmly toward you.

He clicked his tongue, as if telling Raon to think it through.

‘Oh, right.’

Now that he thought about it, Sia had always put him first and looked after him. No matter how strong or grown-up he became, he was still just her little brother in her eyes.

“You two!”

As Raon watched Sia perform the Fangs of Insanity, the back door of the annex building opened and Sylvia stepped out. She was carrying a basket of snacks, seemingly for the two of them.

“Eat before you keep going. I baked cookies.”

Sylvia set the basket on the table, telling them to eat first.

“I don’t want any.”

Sia shook her head, saying she wasn’t in the mood for snacks.

“Don’t be like that, just have one.”

“I said I’m not eating! You’re interrupting. Just go away, mom!”

Without even looking at Sylvia trying to feed her a cookie, Sia turned her head away sharply.

“Ah…”

Sylvia’s lips trembled in shock at Sia’s reaction, and she bowed her head deeply.

“M-Mother!”

Raon quickly approached and supported Sylvia, whose shoulders and arms were shaking. It seemed like she was in deep shock from experiencing her child’s rebellion for the first time.

“Are you okay? It’s just that sister is—”

“Of course I’m okay!”

Raon was about to explain, but Sylvia wasn’t crying, she was smiling as she lifted her head high.

“Mother?”

Raon swallowed dryly as he looked at Sylvia, who was smiling contrary to his expectations.

“Why are you smiling…?”

“Well, I was thankful that you grew up so maturely without ever causing me any trouble… but I also felt a little sad. Now that Sia’s started rebelling… I’m so happy. So this is what it’s like…”

Sylvia smiled with her cheeks flushed, looking genuinely happy at Sia’s change.

“Siaaaaaaaa!”

In contrast, Edgar couldn’t accept his daughter’s change and cried out her name in a wail.

“……”

Raon tightly shut his eyes as he looked at Sylvia, who was smiling, Edgar, who was crying, and Sia, who was ignoring them both.

‘Is this family okay…?’

Just remembering the grandfather who shakes his foot out of excitement to brag about his grandson and ends up causing an earthquake made him question whether this Zieghart household was even functioning properly.

‘They’re too strange!’

No matter how strange they are…

Wrath shook his head firmly as if telling him not to talk nonsense.

There is no one stranger than you.

*   *   *

“Hmm…”

Raon smacked his lips as he looked at the swordsmen quietly meditating in the training ground.

‘Things have finally settled down a bit.’

It had been a month since he obtained the Soul Transfer Transformation. During that time, most of the Light Wind swordsmen entered a trance while sparring with him and ascended to a higher level.

‘Of course…’

There were a few who couldn’t enter a trance.

Swordsmen like Mark Goetten, who had only recently broken through a wall, didn’t emit any light and were unable to trigger the Soul Transfer Transformation. It seemed the trait didn’t apply equally to everyone, but had a stronger effect on those who were currently stuck behind a wall or undergoing mental distress.

Even so, it’s still absurd.

Wrath twisted his lips as if still in disbelief.

Everyone influenced by your soul broke through their walls, and there were even kids who leapt up two steps at once.

He pointed his chin at Yua and Yulius, who were training together with Runaan.

‘Those two have talent that’s not inferior to Burren or Martha.’

Yua and Yulius, fitting for the targets Eden had aimed for as the owner of the helmet, leapt over two walls at once the moment they underwent the Soul Transfer Transformation. Though still very young, it wouldn’t be strange to call them experts now.

‘If they keep breaking through one or two more walls like this… the Light Wind Palaces alone might really be able to face off against one of the Four Demons.’

Strengthen their aura with torture training methods, focus enhancement training to hone their willpower, and the Soul Transfer Transformation to raise their martial arts level—

Now that they could rapidly grow in essence, qi, and spirit, if the Light Wind division continued to grow, and if he reached the level where he could take on a leader of the Four Demons, then it might not be impossible to defeat one of them with the strength of the Light Wind Palace alone.

‘Of course, the hardest part of that…’

…would be my own growth.

Among the current heads of the Four Demons, not one of them is easy. Even ten years of training might not be enough to reach them.

‘It’s a fact that my growth has indeed slowed down.’

aon called up the reward message he had received yesterday.

[All stats have increased by 10 points.]

[The level of your soul has increased.]

[The rank of the trait <Soul Transfer Transformation> has increased.]

It was the message he received after helping the last remaining Krein enter a trance. Though the rewards were satisfying, something was different from before.

‘The rank of Heart Sword didn’t increase.’

Unlike when Martha and Runaan had entered a trance, the Heart Sword showed no change. That meant ordinary use of the Soul Transfer Transformation could no longer make the Heart Sword grow.

‘As expected from an absolute martial art.’

If the transcendental martial art Glenn alone had perfected could grow just by repeating the Soul Transfer Transformation, that would be the real nonsense. It seemed he needed another method to grow the Heart Sword.

‘Maybe after clearing out the piled-up missions, I should focus solely on my personal training.’

As Raon was considering what kind of training he should pursue, he turned his gaze and spotted people walking past the fifth training ground.

‘Sir Rabawin?’

Ravawin, Aris’ subordinate and someone who was made out to be the Pirate King by Aris, walking towards Federick’s mansion with his subordinates dressed in pirate attire.

‘That expression doesn’t look good.’

Raon, noticing the hardened look in Rabawin’s eyes, stepped down from the platform and quietly followed behind him.

*   *   *

“Stop.”

Rabawin halted in front of the residence where Aris was temporarily staying.

“We’ll be here for a while, so make sure to clean up both inside and outside the mansion.”

Not knowing when Aris would return, he instructed them to get the place in order first.

“Yes, sir!”

“Understood!”

Despite their fierce appearances, the pirates responded crisply and scattered around the mansion to begin organizing.

“Hmm…”

“Sir Rabawin.”

Just as Rabawin let out a short sigh and looked up at the darkening sky, Raon, who had followed behind, spoke to him.

“Huh? Sir Raon?”

Rabawin turned around, eyes wide, as if he hadn’t realized Raon had followed him.

“W-What brings you here? Lady Aris hasn’t returned yet…”

“I know.”

Raon nodded as he looked at Federick’s mansion, which had grown cold in her absence.

“Aunt is training with Sir Karoon, isn’t she?”

He smiled faintly, saying he already knew she wasn’t here.

“Ah, right… Of course you’d know better than I do.”

Rabawin scratched his smooth forehead in embarrassment.

“I haven’t seen you for a while, did you go somewhere?”

Rabawin and the pirates had stayed in Zieghart to take care of Aris, but disappeared after she woke up. Since they had vanished suddenly, Raon was curious where they had gone.

“As you probably know, Sir Raon, there are villages and harbors under our name and protection. At Lady Aris’ command, we went to check on those places.”

Rabawin nodded, saying they had traveled to inspect the harbors and villages under their protection at Aris’ order. But his expression didn’t look good.

“Shall we have a little talk? It’s been a while.”

Raon pointed toward a distant annex building as he suggested they go together. Since Aris’ temporary residence was next to Fedrick’s mansion, it wasn’t far from the annex building either.

“Hmm, all right.”

Rabawin nodded as if she couldn’t refuse and followed him.

“So you returned to Zieghart to report to Lady Aris.”

As he walked ahead, Raon turned only his eyes toward Rabawin.

“That’s right. It’s… to report.”

Rabawin’s lips trembled slightly as he said the word report. It was clear something was going on.

“As far as I know, my aunt won’t be coming down for a while.”

Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked in the direction of the main building. Aris and Karoon hadn’t responded even to Glenn’s recent summons, likely because they were focused on their training. It would probably be at least another month or two before they came out.

“I… see.”

Rabawin bit his lip slightly, as if he hadn’t known that.

“First, let’s go inside and have some tea….”

Just as Raon opened the annex building door with Rabawin—

“Helen! I told you not to wash my laundry mixed with Dad’s laundry! I asked you to wash them separately!”

Sia’s cold voice burst out from upstairs.

“I’m not that dirty! I shower once a day!”

Edgar, protesting that it wasn’t fair, brought his hands together toward Sia.

“It should be twice! Morning and evening!”

Sia still wouldn’t accept it and shook her head furiously.

“Go!”

She snatched the laundry from Edgar’s hands and slammed the door shut with a bang.

“Siaaaaaa!”

Edgar dropped to his knees on the floor, crying out her name sorrowfully as though he had lost a lover.

“Uh, um…”

“U-Um…”

Rabawin, caught off guard by the unexpected scene, trembled slightly in his gaze, not knowing what to do.

“It’s almost over. Don’t worry.”

Raon, as if it were nothing serious, led Rabawin into the reception room.

“I’ve brought the tea.”

As if she had been waiting, Judiel immediately brought the tea and poured it in front of both Raon and Rabawin.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

She gave a small bow and quietly left the reception room.

“Now, please tell me.”

With his hands folded before the steaming teacup, Raon looked at Rabawin.

“Did something happen during your mission?”

“Haaaa…”

Rabawin let out a long sigh, then slowly lifted his head.

“As expected, there’s no hiding anything from you, Sir Raon.”

He let out a low groan as he stared into his teacup, its surface trembling like waves.

“I mentioned earlier that there are villages and harbors protected under the name of the Pirate King, right?”

Clenching his darkened hand into a fist, Rabawin bit down on his lip.

“Two of those villages have been completely destroyed, without a single survivor….”

 

 

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