The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1161

 Chapter 1161

 

Raon headed to the lord’s manor restaurant with Wrath. It wasn’t that the demon king didn’t have a few suspicious parts, but since his intentions were so plainly visible, Raon thought it wouldn’t be bad to let it slide just this once.

Oooh!

As soon as Wrath entered the restaurant, he let out an intense exclamation.

As expected, the lord’s manor is the best! There’s never anything they don’t have!

Drooling, he stared at the various dishes piled on the large silver platters.

‘It’s not usually like this.’

Raon shook his head as he took out an empty plate to serve himself.

‘Grandfather specially prepared this so we could eat well, since the training is difficult.’

The restaurant in the lord’s manor was already considered the best in Zieghart, but the current buffet was a special arrangement Glenn ordered for the swordsmen undergoing harsh training.

Whatever the case, isn’t it good!

Wrath didn’t care about the reason, his mind was already stolen by the food spread before him.

Uhehehehehe!

Wrath’s eyes rolled as fast as when he met Lust, scanning over the dishes.

‘So then….’

Raon sighed with the empty plate hanging on his waist.

‘What do I need to take?’

Since he didn’t expect much from Wrath, he only gave a slight nod of his chin.

From now on, bring what the King of Essence tells you!

As if he had made his decision, Wrath stretched out his hand.

Bring two slices of the white pizza on the right side, and over there get honey and sesame too!

Already excited, he smacked his lips.

‘Pizza, honey, and sesame? Just that?’

Raon tilted his head as he stood in front of the pizza.

First, the King of Essence shall properly teach you what gastronomy is!

Wrath snorted as if telling him to just do as he was told.

‘Alright.’

Following Wrath’s words, Raon brought two slices of what looked like nearly plain pizza and honey, then sat down.

First, try the pizza.

Wrath pointed at one of the slices.

‘Okay.’

Raon nodded and took a bite of the pizza.

How is it?

Wrath rolled his eyes slightly as he asked.

‘It’s pizza.’

Since he’d eaten pizza, he simply said it tasted like pizza and nodded.

Haah, this…!

Wrath furrowed his brow deeply.

You think the King of Essence doesn’t know that! He told you to describe the taste!

He ground his teeth, saying this was important and Raon should answer properly.

‘It’s not bad. The cheese is a little salty and the smell is a bit strong, which are downsides, but the crust is crispy, and since the topping is light, there’s a decent simplicity to it.’

Raon calmly explained the pizza’s taste to Wrath.

You know it well. That is the charm of that cheese pizza.

Wrath nodded his chin, acknowledging that Raon wasn’t oblivious to tastes.

Then this time, dip that pizza in the honey you brought and sprinkle sesame seeds on top before eating it.

As he said that, he swallowed his saliva repeatedly as though excited.

‘Hmm….’

Narrowing his eyes, Raon lifted the pizza.

‘Doing this won’t change anything.’

Just do it!

‘Alright.’

Letting Wrath’s scolding pass over him, he dipped the end of the pizza into the honey and put it into his mouth.

“As expected, nothing cha— hm?”

Raon, chewing slowly, widened his eyes.

‘W-what? It’s completely different from before?’

When I ate the pizza earlier, the cheese’s saltiness and smell felt like flaws, but once the honey and sesame seeped in, it became an entirely different food.

‘The saltiness gets neutralized by the sweetness, and the strong smell disappears. And the sesame adds savoriness.’

The sweetness of the honey completely melted away the cheese’s saltiness and smell, and thanks to the sesame, savoriness was added. I hadn’t expected such a change from just adding honey and sesame, it was enough to make me let out a dumbfounded laugh.

‘This is good.’

The first pizza wasn’t bad, but the pizza dipped in honey now could easily be called gastronomy.

Right! So your tongue isn’t completely broken after all!

Wrath nodded vigorously, saying they could finally communicate.

Next, bring that fried fish over there!

He pointed at the boneless fried fish, as if already thinking of the next dish.

‘Fish is good. It’s rich in protein, suppresses inflammation in the body, and digests well, so you can swing your sword right away.’

Raon nodded, saying it was a good choice.

That’s not it!

Wrath shook his head violently.

As he said before, don’t think about those training-benefit reasons right now, just think about the taste!

Grinding his teeth, he begged him to please get sword-related thoughts out of his head.

‘Okay, I get it.’

Raon slowly nodded. Since he’d tasted a new pizza thanks to Wrath, he decided to keep following along for now.

Next, from the desserts bring lemon, and that basil whose leaves are stuck together without gaps.

‘Another unusual combination.’

Smiling faintly, he brought what Wrath had mentioned and sat at the table again.

Try the fried fish as is.

Like with the pizza, Wrath flicked his hand, telling him to taste the fried fish plain first.

‘Alright.’

Raon nodded and popped the fried fish into his mouth in one bite.

‘It tastes exactly like I expect. Savory, but greasy. Hard to eat a lot of it because of that.’

That’s right. You’re right.

Wrath relaxed his eyes a little, saying he felt the same.

Then now squeeze lemon juice over it, and put the basil on top.

‘I’d rather just eat quickly and leave…’

Just do it!

‘…Okay.’

Raon let his shoulders drop a little and, following Wrath’s instruction, squeezed lemon juice over the fried fish and topped it with basil before eating it.

‘Hm? This is different too?’

The fried fish’s savory flavor stayed the same, while the lemon juice’s sourness and the basil’s fragrance erased only the greasiness completely. It was filled only with mildness and savoriness, to the point I felt I could keep eating it like this until I was full.

‘This is tasty. Definitely better!’

Raon widened his eyes and ate the remaining fried fish.

Uhehehehehehe!

Wrath laughed with his mouth stretched wide, both from the joy of eating and from the joy of having his recipe acknowledged. It was a childlike laugh.

‘You came up with all of this?’

Raon let out a short laugh as he looked at Wrath.

Gorgonzola pizza and honey are originally eaten like that, but the sesame was added by the King of Essence. And fried fish is often eaten with lemon juice, but the basil was added by the King of Essence.

Wrath lifted his nose high, saying he added his own touch to the existing methods.

‘Wow, I didn’t even know about pizza with honey, or fried fish with lemon juice.’

Raon let out a faint laugh. The food at the annex building had never been bad, so he would just eat whatever was given and immediately head out to train. Because of that, he had never thought a world like this existed.

Which is why you’re stupid.

Wrath let out a sigh, saying he had suffered because of that.

So how is it? Fun, isn’t it?

Snorting, he asked as if saying this kind of life wasn’t so bad either.

‘Yeah….’

Raon drew a thin smile as he looked at foods that made a big difference from small changes.

‘It’s fun.’

Then what are you doing!

Wrath shouted as he raised his hand.

Move on to the next thing right away! This time, bring lamb and mint!

*   *   *

“A-am I dreaming right now?”

Krein rubbed his eyes as he watched Raon piling food on his plate.

“That guy is staying in the restaurant this long?”

He let out an incredulous laugh, unable to believe it.

“I thought the same.”

Burren furrowed his brows deeply.

“Raon… no, palace master staying in the restaurant more than five minutes like this, I think it’s been a long time since I saw that.”

He swallowed dryly, thinking of the Raon who used to shove food down his throat and leave in five minutes.

“Is he actually crazy?”

Martha tilted her head slightly as if suspicious.

“Trying to sleep next to Runaan earlier too. And even now, he isn’t just eating food normally, he’s eating it in weird combinations.”

She bit her lip, saying Raon didn’t seem like Raon.

“Raon is Raon… it’s just…”

Runaan tilted her head, still holding her fork.

“He feels more familiar….”

She nodded, saying that when Raon slept beside her earlier, she had felt some kind of different atmosphere from him.

“Familiar, huh….”

Martha narrowed her eyes, saying she still didn’t quite understand.

“Well, we should trust him for now. He must have reasons for everything.”

Burren nodded, saying that even if it was strange, they should wait.

“Hmmm!”

Dorian had already brought various foods onto his plate and sat at the table.

“What’s this? The combination’s strange.”

Krein narrowed his eyes as he saw foods that were a bit different from Dorian’s usual tastes.

“I brought them the way Sir Raon ate them.”

Dorian said he wanted to try eating like Raon, and dipped pizza into honey and sesame before putting it in his mouth.

“Oohh!”

The moment he chewed the pizza, his eyes widened as if he’d seen a new world.

“This is delicious! The cheese’s strong smell is gone, and it’s sweet and nutty!”

Saying it was truly delicious, Dorian swallowed the rest of the pizza in one bite and began eating the fried fish with lemon juice.

“This is crazy too! The savoriness is dancing a sword dance in my mouth!”

He trembled at his fingertips, saying Raon’s choices were all delicious.

“I-I want to try too!”

“I-Is it really that good?”

“I have to try it as well.”

“Hmm….”

Krein couldn’t hold back and picked up a new plate, Burren watched carefully, and Martha and Runaan were already up getting pizza.

“That guy….”

Buren narrowed his brows as he watched Raon repeatedly bring food and try new combinations.

“He’s not suddenly going to become a chef or something, right? Please….”

*   *   *

After learning the world of gastronomy from Wrath, Raon went to find Dorian.

“What? You want to learn my supply method?”

Dorian’s mouth fell open as if asking if he was serious.

“Yes. I want to learn how you choose and store your supply items.”

Raon nodded, saying that was why he had come.

“Oh, that’s not hard! As expected, Sir Raon appreciates my supplies!”

Dorian nodded, saying it was worth risking his life to follow Raon around.

“Then we’ll start right away! Please follow me!”

He said he was just about to add some supplies and entered the forest.

“Today, I plan to add some good wood and stones. Last time, the Holy Kingdom of Schper made me give away all sorts of wood and stones.”

Dorian nodded, asking him to watch carefully.

“You can give me stones and wood like this.”

Smiling, he put stones and wood lying around the North Grave Mountain into his belly pocket.

“Like this?”

Raon picked up a stone the size of a person’s face at his feet and brought it to Dorian.

“We can’t use this!”

Dorian suddenly lowered his brows deeply and shouted, as if he had never smiled.

“Huh…?”

Raon widened his eyes as he looked at Dorian.

“This isn’t it! It’s completely different!”

Dorian took out a stone nearly identical to the one he brought and muttered that it was different.

“This kind can’t be used! Again!”

He shook his head with the eyes of a commander who had rolled across battlefields for decades.

“Then this one….”

Raon brought him a piece of wood of the same type as the one Dorian had taken.

“This is wrong too! It’s bent, you can’t use it anywhere! Sir Raon, don’t you have absolutely no eye for this?”

He shot out a sharp glare and irritation, saying no this time as well. He was serious enough to be scary when it came to supplies, unlike other times.

“Ugh….”

Raon regretted coming, but continued to follow Dorian to the end to understand what part of supplying he found fun.

“Now you’re starting to get it. Supplies aren’t all the same. Even wood of the same kind has different uses depending on whether it’s bent, which way it’s cracked, and its thickness.”

Dorian nodded, saying he was finally ready to acknowledge him a little.

The next day during break time, Raon went to find Burren.

“What? You want to learn my fashion?”

Burren widened his eyes as if surprised, but he couldn’t hide the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“So you’ve finally noticed my fashion!”

“In the Light Wind Palace, you care the most about clothing.”

Being a direct line, Burren had worn expensive clothes since childhood, and even for training clothes he paid attention to fashion and color matching. Raon felt there might be something to learn there too.

“Alright! I’ll teach you as kindly as I can!”

He smiled and motioned for Raon to come closer, as if telling him to leave it to him.

But Burren’s enthusiasm didn’t last ten minutes.

“What were you thinking picking green pants with a red shirt!”

Burren screamed, asking how he could possibly choose something like that.

“…I’ll try again.”

Raon swallowed and went to change again.

“T-this time sky-blue pants with a yellow shirt? Ah….”

Burren squeezed his eyes shut as if he couldn’t even look.

“Get out! You’re not someone who can be taught!”

He waved his hand, saying he had never seen such rotten taste before.

“J-just watch a little more.”

Raon pressed his hands together and bowed his head.

“At least now you look somewhat like a person. Right. If you don’t know, just wear a plain white top with black pants. Leave difficult colors like yellow or red alone!”

Fortunately, because Burren’s personality had softened a lot over time, Raon avoided getting kicked out and was able to learn just a little about fashion from him.

After gaining a bit of confidence thanks to Dorian and Burren, Raon went to find Runaan again. But this time too, he couldn’t follow her.

“Raon. You’re too bad at this.”

Runaan shook her head as if teaching him was pointless.

“Ah….”

Raon grabbed his head.

‘This really isn’t working.’

I had learned the reasons and standards Dorian used to choose supply items, and I had grasped how Burren picked clothes, but being able to nap easily like Runaan was still close to impossible for me.

“Hmm, but your face looks more relaxed….”

Runaan stared at him quietly, then stepped forward.

“Raon. Put strength into your whole body.”

“That’s not hard.”

Raon nodded and tensed his entire body with strength and tension.

“Now relax all of it.”

“Okay.”

Following Runaan’s words, he released all the strength he had filled himself with.

“Repeat that ten times and then try to sleep.”

“Got it.”

Raon followed Runaan, the embodiment of sleep, exactly, repeating the cycle of tensing and releasing his body ten times.

‘Hm, this is making me a bit drowsy?’

Repeating the cycle of tightening my entire body until my bones and muscles made noise, then releasing it, naturally drained the tension from my body and made me feel languid.

‘My eyes are closing naturally….’

It wasn’t like usual, when he forced his eyes shut to sleep, his eyelids grew heavy on their own.

‘Haa….’

Raon accepted that feeling as it was, sat on the floor, and leaned his back against the wall. The wall and ground warmed by the sunlight amplified the drowsiness even more. He breathed out slowly as he inhaled the warm air.

“Hup!”

Raon’s head tilted back, and he unknowingly bent his waist forward.

“Ah, damn. I could’ve slept!”

He was so frustrated that his focus had been broken at the last moment, right when he had been able to sleep.

“I’ll try again.”

“No….”

Runaan shook her head slowly as she looked at Raon.

“You slept. Not even five minutes, but you did.”

She gave a faint smile as if saying Raon had finally done it.

“I slept? Ah, now that you mention it….”

It was very faint, but through my mental world, I felt that a short amount of time had passed.

“This is fun. I want to sleep more.”

A smile appeared on his lips from the desire to take even a brief rest within the drowsiness and languor.

‘For Dorian, it’s supplies. For Burren, it’s fashion. For Runaan, it’s sleep. Finding what you want to do and fulfilling that desire.’

Raon felt himself understanding people, even if only a little, and drew a soft smile.

‘That might be what it means to be human.’

Just as he had slipped into sleep without realizing it a moment ago, he was slowly taking a step toward a higher realm.

‘If not revenge against Derus… then what is my true desire?’

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