The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1285

 Chapter 1285

 

Huh?

Wrath turned to Raon with his eyes wide.

You found a way to awaken <Pride>?

‘Yeah.’

Raon nodded calmly without even looking at Wrath.

‘Now that I think about it, it’s actually pretty simple.’

He had spent all this time wondering how he was supposed to awaken <Pride>, but while dealing with the duties of acting head of house, he realized the answer might be far simpler than he thought.

‘I just need to act prideful.’

Uh…

Wrath blinked blankly, unable to continue speaking.

From everything the King of Essence has seen, you’re the furthest person imaginable from <Pride>!

He shook his head as if Raon had completely misunderstood something.

‘Me? Far from <Pride>?’

Raon tilted his chin as if asking what nonsense he was hearing.

Of course you are!

Wrath raised his voice like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The King of Essence has never once seen you act arrogant! What kind of madman reaches the Absolute realm after surpassing Transcendence and still clings to basic swordsmanship?!

He waved both hands furiously, insisting Raon would never understand the emotion called <Pride>.

And despite becoming acting head of house, you still let people speak casually to you! You’re so polite it’s exhausting! What part of you screams <Pride>?!

Wrath frowned deeply, telling him to stop talking nonsense and think again.

No matter how talented you are, awakening <Pride> won’t be easy! It’s different from the other Demon Kings’ authorities, but more importantly, you and <Pride> are fundamentally incompatible!

He snorted as if he could guarantee it.

‘Ugh, my ears hurt…’

Raon sighed and rubbed his left ear after enduring Wrath’s nonstop nagging.

‘Well, you’re right that me and the authority of <Pride> don’t naturally fit together. But….’

A confident smile spread across his face as he lifted his chin like Pride himself.

‘That might actually make it easier. I just have to do the opposite of what I normally do.’

Raon smacked his lips, saying he was confident he could draw out pride.

Ha…

Wrath let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

You seriously have something in mind?

His eyes trembled, shaken by how confident Raon looked.

‘Just watch.’

Raon took the teacup Roenn had poured for him and deliberately set it directly on the desk instead of the saucer before turning around.

“Please get some rest.”

Roenn smiled warmly and walked behind the desk to tidy up Raon’s workspace.

‘See that?’

Raon glanced at Roenn and nudged Wrath with his elbow.

Huh?

Wrath parted his lips slightly, completely confused.

See what?

‘Sir Roenn carefully brewed that tea for me, but I didn’t finish it. And instead of placing the cup on the saucer, I left it on the desk where it’ll leave water stains.’

Raon let out a long breath, convinced that leaving the tea unfinished was arrogant.

…

Wrath could only stare blankly at the back of Raon’s head, too dumbfounded to answer.

‘Hmm!’

Raon nodded proudly, thoroughly satisfied with himself, then stepped down from the platform.

“Acting head of house. Thank you for your hard work.”

Sheryl smiled brightly as she lifted the stack of documents Raon had finished reviewing with both arms.

“Ah…”

While greeting Raon, one of the papers slipped from her hands and fell to the floor.

Thud.

Raon caught the falling paper with his right hand, flipped it upside down compared to the rest of the stack, and placed it back on top.

“Be careful.”

After leaving behind that warning, he gave a slight nod and walked off.

“Yes! Thank you!”

Sheryl bowed toward his back with a cheerful smile.

‘See that?’

Raon jerked his chin toward Wrath as if asking whether he’d witnessed it properly.

Huh…?

Wrath narrowed his eyes again.

See what exactly?

He tilted his head, genuinely unable to understand.

‘I could’ve picked up the paper and organized it properly, but instead I handed it back upside down. And on top of that….’

Raon curled his lips upward as if impressed by his own arrogance.

“I even warned her to be careful. How arrogant is that?”

He spread his arms and lifted his chin as though he had already become the monarch of Pride.

Ah…

Wrath trembled from head to toe, his mouth hanging open like he had completely lost the ability to speak.

Has he finally lost his mind?

A truly arrogant person wouldn’t pick up the paper in the first place. They’d probably kick the rest of the documents away while scolding her for making a mistake. He genuinely couldn’t understand how doing someone a favor counted being arrogant.

‘This is only the beginning, so don’t miss anything.’

Raon crooked his finger at Wrath as if telling him to follow along, then walked out of the audience chamber.

“Thank you for your hard work!”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

The swordsmen stationed at the lord’s manor hurried toward Raon and bowed deeply, looking genuinely moved to see him finally emerge this late at night.

“Do you know who I am?”

Raon lifted his chin and repeated the kind of line arrogant people always used.

“You’re the acting head of house!”

“The Sword Emperor, Raon Zieghart!”

Even though the question was strange, the swordsmen answered with warm smiles born from genuine respect for him.

“That’s right.”

Raon nodded calmly and walked past them.

‘See that?’

N-no…

Wrath’s eyes shook violently.

What nonsense is this now?!

‘Arrogant people always say things like that wherever they go and throw their weight around.’

Raon nodded, thoroughly pleased with himself.

No, that line itself was definitely arrogant, but…!

Wrath's hands shook with exasperation.

It only means something if you say it somewhere people don’t know you! What’s the point of acting like that in a place where your face is practically stamped onto every wall?!

Watching Raon’s bizarre behavior gave him a splitting headache. He wanted to smack the back of Raon’s head immediately.

“You there.”

Ignoring Wrath’s scoff, Raon stopped beside a servant who was cleaning.

“When cleaning the ceiling, don’t use a cloth by hand. Use a long pole instead.”

After giving the servant advice, he resumed walking.

“Th-thank you very much!”

The servant clasped both hands together and bowed deeply, looking overwhelmed just from having heard Raon speak to him.

‘See that?’

Raon twisted his lips again as if asking whether Wrath had seen that too.

W-what?! What is it this time?!

Wrath ground his teeth, exhausted but barely holding back his anger.

‘That servant is obviously far better at cleaning than I am, yet I still gave him unsolicited advice. How arrogant is that?!’

Raon even patted his own shoulder proudly, clearly impressed with himself.

You absolute moron! You told him to use a pole because it’s dangerous for him to reach up there like that!

Wrath’s lips trembled with a mix of rage, disbelief, and sheer frustration.

I-If the King of Essence stays here any longer, he is going to melt away! That madman is going to make him explode from sheer frustration!

He already knew Raon was excessively polite, humble, and kind, but he had never imagined he was this hopelessly insane.

Every word out of Raon’s mouth made Wrath’s irritation spiral further out of control.

“Ah!”

Just as Raon was about to leave the lord’s manor, a young maid walking from the opposite direction gasped in surprise. Startled, she failed to notice the floor ahead of her and stumbled forward as if she were about to fall.

Fwoosh!

Raon stepped forward with the Supreme Harmony Steps. Before anyone could even blink, he appeared beside the stumbling girl and caught her before she fell.

“Th-thank you…”

After finally getting a clear look at Raon’s face, the maid lowered her head while clutching her reddened cheeks in embarrassment.

“Hmm.”

Raon merely gave a small nod again without saying anything and walked past the girl in her maid uniform.

‘See that?’

He winked at Wrath behind him as if asking whether he’d watched carefully.

Stop asking if he saw it already! You’re seriously driving the King of Essence insane!

Wrath screamed that he was genuinely on the verge of exploding.

Grrgh…

Still, this time he found himself wondering what exactly was supposed to be arrogant about it. By any normal standard, all Raon had done was save a girl from falling.

W-what was it this time…?

In the end, Wrath couldn’t hold back any longer and finally asked.

‘Hah!’

Raon lifted his chin like he had been waiting for that question. At least that part genuinely did look arrogant.

‘I actually predicted she was going to fall, so I could’ve saved her before she even lost her balance. But I was so overconfident that I moved a split-second late.’

He clicked his tongue, criticizing himself for trusting too much in his own skill instead of saving her sooner.

‘And up until now, I’ve been accepting everyone’s greetings with my back turned. Greetings should be exchanged face-to-face between people. How arrogant is that?!’

Raon looked completely beyond saving, utterly intoxicated by his own twisted interpretation of pride.

The King of Essence wants to kill him...

Wrath’s fists trembled violently.

Never before has the King of Essence felt such a profound urge to murder someone! AAAAAARGH!

He screamed from the unbearable headache pounding through his mind.

‘Now then…’

Ignoring Wrath’s reaction entirely, Raon swept his gaze around.

‘Who should become the next victim of my pride?’

He looked around for his next target with a satisfied smile, clearly convinced he was doing an excellent job.

Haaaah…

Wrath let out a long, exhausted sigh.

How is the King of Essence even supposed to explain this…?

The gap between Raon’s idea of arrogance and what actual arrogance looked like was so absurdly wide that Wrath didn’t even know where to begin.

Hey! The King of Essence is telling you, pride is— huh?

Just as Wrath finally managed to gather his thoughts and start explaining—

Swoooosh.

Raon had already taken off, even using his footwork technique as he dashed away to display his own unique brand of “arrogance” elsewhere.

Y-you crazy bastard! Where are you running off to now?!

Wrath shrieked and rushed after him at full speed.

What you’re doing isn’t pride, it’s just… ridiculous antics! Everything you’ve done so far has been nothing but good deeds!

‘Just keep watching.’

Without listening to a single word Wrath said, Raon approached Balder, who was walking toward the main building.

“Oh! Nephew! No, acting head of house!”

Balder recognized Raon immediately and waved both hands enthusiastically.

“I heard what happened! You completely crushed the Heavenly Demon, didn’t you? That’s my nephew! No, acting head of house!”

As if Raon becoming acting head of house meant absolutely nothing to him, Balder smacked him on the shoulder with his massive hand.

“So when’s my martial art gonna be finished, nephew? No, acting head of house?”

Whether he was genuinely an idiot or only pretending to be one, Balder kept calling Raon “nephew” before awkwardly correcting himself every time.

“Be patient. It’s almost done.”

Raon nodded calmly, saying there wasn’t much left to finish.

“It’ll be a martial art worthy of your expectations.”

“R-really? Got it! I’ll keep my mouth shut and wait! Nephew! No, acting head of house!”

Beaming excitedly, Balder headed into the lord’s manor.

‘See that?’

Still somehow not tired of this, Raon jerked his chin toward Wrath again.

What now?! What was it this time?!

Wrath didn't want to ask, but his morbid curiosity won out. He bit his lip and demanded an answer.

‘The martial art isn’t even close to finished. I’ve barely started it, yet I told him it was almost done and that he should look forward to it. How arrogant is that?!’

Completely intoxicated by his own supposed arrogance, Raon spread his arms wide and gazed up at the sky.

...Huh?

Wrath tilted his head while staring at Raon.

T-that was actually arrogant!

Acting like the work he’d barely even started was almost finished, then telling someone to look forward to the results, that was genuine arrogance. But before he could even point that out, his emotions exploded first.

That idiot’s actually starting to look pathetic now! Just finish the damn martial art for him already!

You evil bastard!

 

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