The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1099

 Chapter 1099

 

Gooooooooo!

Red lightning flared and bloomed from Glenn’s shoulders. An energy filled with a noble will spread throughout the audience chamber.

“The, the head of house’s lightning?”

“Why all of a sudden….”

“It is lightning, but it feels different from usual.”

“It’s not painful, it feels like vitality is welling up.”

The executives' eyes widened as they felt Glenn’s lightning, which had always been merely intense, now supporting them.

“The head of Zieghart does not stand above the house.”

Glenn swept his gaze over the executives and roughly shook his hand.

“He stands at the very bottom to support the house,that is the position the head of Zieghart must take.”

He nodded heavily, saying that only by enduring the weight of the house could one truly become its head.

“However, that position can never be stood on alone.

A supporter who, even at a command to die, can smile and plunge into the flames.
Only a person who can gather retainers who follow their lord alone can become the head of the house.”

Glenn said that was the most important element and drew back the lightning that had filled the audience chamber.

The old man really knows it well!

Wrath acknowledged Glenn’s words with a broad smile.

So he hasn’t wasted his years entirely! Though he is very late.

He nodded, saying it seemed Glenn had belatedly realized those values.

“He’s right….”

“Yes. If you’re the head, you should have many who follow you.”

“But I never thought the head of house would say something like that….”

The executives shifted their gazes slightly, saying Glenn’s conviction about the head of house was different from what they had expected.

“I did not know it myself.”

Glenn let out a heavy sigh, as if he knew the executives’ thoughts.

“I ruled over the house, thinking only of my own strength and conquest of territory. Countless blood was shed not only against enemies but even within the house, and I ignored it all. It would be no exaggeration to say that I myself destroyed the honor and trust built by our ancestors.”

In a calm tone, he revealed the shameful past that could have been a deep scar.

“I almost carried that stupidity to my death, but thanks to a few people, I finally realized the path I should walk.”

Glenn’s gaze turned toward Raon, and a faint smile spread on his lips.

“Since then, I realized I had been standing at the top of the house, and I struggled desperately to step down below. It took much patience and effort, but fortunately, now I believe the house stands above me.”

Glenn’s lips curved in a thin smile, saying that even if only by a little, the house had come to stand higher than himself.

“I feel the same way.”

Karoon nodded with serious eyes, agreeing with Glenn’s words.

‘That’s right.’

Raon looked at Glenn’s calm eyes and smiled faintly.

‘He really has changed so much.’

The Glenn I first met exuded such a chilling air, it felt as though cold blood ran through him.

But little by little, he blended with those around him, accepting Sylvia as his daughter and myself as his grandson.

Of course, I had indeed built up many achievements of my own, but if Glenn had not first tried to change, none of it would ever have happened.

“I will say it again. Bring back supporters who follow only you and believe you are worth supporting. The more of them there are, and the greater their renown, the better.”

Glenn once again explained the test of gathering supporters.

“Question….”

“I have a question!”

As Karoon was about to raise his hand, Balder stepped forward first.

“You told us to bring back supporters, how do you intend to decide the results?”

Balder raised his hand and looked back.

“Isn’t there a huge difference between the head of house Wibix lending his support and that old peddler Wibix over there lending his support!”

For once, he pointed out the most important part. No, it was precisely because of his simple thinking that he was able to catch on to the core of the test more quickly.

“That’s a good question, Balder.”

Glenn, rarely, praised Balder and nodded.

“Wha, what? Are you sick or something?”

Aris approached in surprise and tapped Balder’s head.

“What’s wrong with you! Don’t forget, I’m a direct line of Zieghart and a palace master too!!”

Balder pushed away her hand, blowing his nose noisily.

“Strictly speaking, it would be right to count each and every person as a supporter. But tallying all of that in detail is not easy in many ways….”

Glenn looked at the five successor candidates in front of him and nodded.

“The people from whom you must gain support are the leaders of organizations. It doesn’t matter whether they are inside or outside of Zieghart.”

He nodded again, saying support must come solely from the leaders.

“No, but even among the leaders, their rank and power are different!”

“I haven’t finished speaking.”

Glenn frowned, telling him to be quiet.

“Eep!”

Balder realized he had gotten too excited from Glenn’s praise and shut his mouth again.

“The number of people led by the leaders who support you.”

Glenn raised his index finger and drew a circle.

“That number will be counted as the supporters who make you head of the house.”

He nodded, saying he would count the number of people under the leaders who supported them to calculate the result.

“Ah….”

Raon blinked.

‘So, that means getting the support of an organization with a lot of people is what matters.’

Glenn had made it clear, they must bring the support of leaders, and the results would be determined by the number of people those leaders led.

In short, only by winning the support of leaders who command as many people as possible could one pass the second test.

‘Then this works out even better.’

At Habun Castle, countless people had gathered to protect the northern border.

By gaining the support of the Castellan of Habun Castle, it was the same as gaining the support of all under him, so I had already secured the equivalent of hundreds of supporters.

“From this moment, the second successor candidate test will begin.”

Glenn clapped his hands, declaring today’s meeting over.

“Whose support should we go after?”

“The Five Kings? Wouldn’t their support be the best?”

“Right. They have the most people. Especially the kingdoms.”

“No, the Beast Union has the most people! Their tribes can’t even be counted!”

The executives naturally brought up the names of the Five Kings first.

“For reference, aside from Zieghart, the Five Kings are excluded from this test. Going to them would only be a waste of time.”

Glenn said this would be his final piece of advice, then sat down on the throne. He closed his eyes, showing he truly wouldn’t reveal anything further.

‘What a shame….’

Raon smacked his lips lightly.

‘If they were included, at least two would have supported me.’

I wasn’t sure about King Lecross of Owen or Larian the Magic Tower master, but the Archmage of Eternal Flame, Chamber, and the Beast King, Ogram, would certainly have supported me.

‘But it’s the right call.’

Since the Five Kings were equals, it wouldn’t look good for them to declare support for any side.

Moreover, since the condition and atmosphere of the other Four Kings, apart from Zieghart, were not good, it was only right that they not be involved in this matter.

‘Hey.’

Raon elbowed Wrath, who was scratching his chin absentmindedly.

‘You have a lot of subordinates, don’t you?’

Of course you ask the obvious!

Wrath lifted his chin proudly, as if glad to have something to boast about again.

Loyal demons lined up under the King of Essence’s command! Compared to them, your house’s swordsmen can’t even be mentioned!

He nodded, saying both in numbers and in quality, they were far superior.

‘Then….’

Raon smacked his lips and leaned close to Wrath.

‘Why don’t you support me? With just you, I could win.’

Have you gone truly mad!

Wrath’s eyes bulged in disbelief.

Why would the King of Essence support a thief like you! Better to die than follow you!

He shouted furiously, telling Raon not to spout nonsense.

So that’s why you suddenly asked about the King of Essence’s subordinates! You truly are an unimaginably crazy bastard!

Wrath gnashed his teeth, grumbling about how Raon’s head could work in such a way.

If his subordinates knew he was in this state, they would come running immediately….

‘I’ll buy you bead ice cream.’

Raon lifted a finger.

D-do you think the King would fall for something like that….

“Any flavor, as much as you want.”

At those added words, Wrath’s speech abruptly cut off.

H, how many days?

‘Huh?’

How many days will that ice cream party last?

‘…….’

Handling the Demon King was truly easy. So easy it almost brought tears to my eyes.

* *   *

Karoon remained in the reception room on the first floor of the lord’s manor with Balder and Aris.

“This turned out well.”

Balder smacked his lips.

“I thought it would obviously be Raon and you, brother, who would advance, but if things go well, I might become one of the final two!”

He chuckled as if excited at the thought.

“You seem confident.”

Aris asked while tossing an entire whiskey bottle into her mouth.

“Of course!”

Balder smirked, as if asking why she even needed to ask.

“I’ve got tons of connections I’ve built up since childhood! Just a word from me, and they’ll all support me!”

He tilted his head, as if to say, ‘You know it well, don’t you?’.

“Hey.”

Aris set the bottle down and furrowed her brow.

“Why do you keep talking down to me? Do you have a death wish?”

She glared, warning him to try speaking like that again.

“Wi-will they support me…?”

Balder lowered his gaze and raised his tone at the end.

“Either way, this is my chance! Father must still think Raon isn’t ready to be head of house!”

He bit his lip, vowing to seize this golden opportunity.

“Balder. You’re under a huge delusion.”

Karoon shook his head, arms crossed.

“What delusion?”

Balder blinked as if he truly had no idea.

“As you said, you’ve built up decent connections with many people since childhood. Overwhelming ones that neither Raon nor Serena can compare to. But that is…”

Karoon narrowed his eyes at Balder and Aris.

“It’s the same for me and our sister. Most of our connections overlap, since we built them from the same standing as father’s children.”

Karoon shook his head.

“On the other hand, Raon went out into the world from childhood and, by his own effort, formed ties with many people. His connections are entirely his own. Even without the Four Kings’ support, it will still be a threatening number.”

Karoon nodded, as though he had already finished calculating Raon’s advantage.

“I may not be like Raon, but I’ve built up some connections too. There might not be any room left for you two.”

Aris grinned, saying she’d met quite a few faction leaders while sailing the seas.

“Th-those people all follow you, sister?”

Balder’s eyes went wide with surprise.

“Well, I’m a bit pretty, aren’t I? They just came to me on their own.”

Aris propped her chin on ten fingers and smiled.

“Not because of your rotten temper?”

“You’ve really lost it!”

She couldn’t hold back and smacked the back of Balder’s head.

“If becoming head of house is truly your dream, you don’t have time to be sitting here.”

Karoon downed his tea in one gulp and rose from the sofa.

“The one in danger right now isn’t Raon. It’s us.”

Leaving those words behind, he walked out of the room.

“L-let’s go together! We should discuss so we don’t overlap!”

Balder, rubbing the bump on his head caused by Aris, went out following Karoon.

“Good grief….”

Aris stretched and let out a long yawn.

“I don’t particularly have any interest in becoming head of house, but what should I… Ah!”

She exclaimed and snapped her fingers.

“That’ll work!”

*   *   *

“Void Sword Division leader.”

Raon called out to Serena, who had stepped out of the lord’s manor ahead of him.

“Light Wind Palace master.”

Serena bowed her head politely toward him.

“Congratulations on becoming a successor candidate.”

Raon smiled and bowed in return.

“You kept the words you once told me. I was moved to see you pursue your goal all the way through.”

He smiled, recalling the moment back during his trainee days when Serena had declared she would become head of house.

“You remembered.”

Serena scratched her cheek as she looked at Raon.

“It’s a little embarrassing, but thank you.”

Her lips trembled slightly, as if she hadn’t expected to receive such heartfelt congratulations.

“If only the Light Wind Palace master had come under me back then, I might have achieved it sooner. It’s a pity.”

Serena tapped her chest playfully, lamenting that she hadn’t been able to bring him under her wing during his trainee days.

“Maybe so, but I think you’re much more impressive as you are now.”

It wasn’t a lie. Even if she had the help of the Void Sword Division, climbing this far on her own abilities was a much greater feat.

“But this is as far as I go.”

Serena let out a deep sigh.

“I don’t think I can pass the second test.”

She lowered her head, saying she had only built up achievements and had no connections to bring in.

“But still….”

Raon shook his head as he looked into Serena’s eyes, even as she claimed she had no confidence in passing.

“You’re not planning to give up, are you.”

Her eyes shone with determination, contradicting her words, as if she would somehow accomplish it no matter what.

“Of course. If I were going to give up, I wouldn’t have come up here in the first place.”

Serena lightly shook herself off and nodded.

“From now on, I’ll scour the entire continent if I have to. To find supporters of my own.”

She told him to do well in the test and left. Whether her final words were truly serious or not, her steps were both quick and heavy.

“What will you do, palace master?"

Burren came up beside him and asked.

“I’ll have to go find my own supporters too.”

Raon stroked his chin and furrowed his brows.

“Even if someone has received my help or feels favorably toward me, supporting me is another matter.”

Though I had built ties with many people through countless missions, I wasn’t confident that all of them would support me.

I intended to receive supporter tokens only from those who could truly follow me.

“Even if you choose that way, won’t you still have quite a few?”

Martha frowned deeply.

“For starters, the Wise Martial Palace will support you. It’s not my decision, the swordsmen of the Wise Martial Palace are extremely grateful to you for taking care of father until the very end.”

She smiled, saying the Wise Martial Palace had already made their choice.

“There’s also the Holy Kingdom Of Schper. The Holy King of Schper and the Saintess would come running the moment they hear your name.”

Burren grinned as he mentioned the name of the Holy Kingdom of Schper.

“My house too….”

Runaan yawned long as she brought up her own family, House Sullion.

Strictly speaking, the Holy Sword Alliance would support you as well…

Wrath scratched his head as he mentioned the Holy Sword Alliance, which was still in the Four Demons.

“There really are a lot….”

Raon’s lips curled lightly as he thought of the factions he hadn’t even named yet.

“Where should I start?”

 

 

 

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