"Pu-puberty?"
Raon asked Helen, thinking he must have misheard.
"You heard correctly, Young Master."
Helen calmly nodded, confirming it was indeed puberty.
"In fact, most children in their mid-teens go through puberty. Of course, you were so mature that the period passed quietly for you."
She smiled faintly, saying that children at that age often rebel against their parents or engage in delinquent behavior.
"You said Lady Sia is slowly returning to her original age, right? She's now passed through childhood and entered puberty."
Helen exhaled briefly, saying it didn't seem particularly strange.
"Si-Sia! Daddy's sorry! Please open the door!"
Edgar's eyes welled up with tears, seemingly unable to bear Sia's anger.
"Go away! I said I don't want to see you, Dad!"
Sia shouted for him to go downstairs, insisting she would never open the door.
"Sia..."
Edgar collapsed, clutching his chest, apparently shocked by his daughter's sudden change.
"Is... is this really okay?"
Raon's eyes trembled as he watched Edgar drooling and scratching the floor with his nails.
"As I said, this is something most parents and children go through."
Helen shrugged, saying they'd get used to it soon.
"When children reach their mid-teens, they think they're all grown up and dislike being controlled."
She smiled, saying puberty was one of the processes of becoming an adult.
"Something most children go through, huh...'
Raon nodded slightly.
'Well, I wasn't really a child.'
In his past life, he could never have experienced puberty as he only thought about survival, and in this life, it was his second time around, with an adult mind, so going through puberty didn't make sense.
'Come to think of it, Burren and Martha went through puberty too.'
He recalled that during their trainee days, Burren and Martha acted like adults despite being kids, only to be knocked back to their senses by him. Remembering that time, Sia's condition didn't seem particularly strange.
'Of course, Runaan...'
She was and still is oblivious. It seemed that only Runaan maintained the same innocence from childhood even now.
"Anyway, you don't need to worry too much."
"Good. You're doing well."
As Helen lowered her hand, saying it would pass on its own, Evelyn approached from the side. She smiled brightly, looking at Sia's room that remained closed despite Edgar's whimpering.
"...You're doing well?"
Raon narrowed his eyes at Evelyn.
"Don't tell me you messed with my sister?"
Reflecting on her words, it seemed she had done something to Sia.
"Yes! I told the young lady."
Evelyn nodded, clapping her hands lightly.
"That it's not good to always agree. I said you have to rebel sometimes to become an adult."
She raised her smooth, crescent-shaped nose bridge proudly, as if pleased with herself.
"Ah..."
Raon's jaw trembled as he looked at Evelyn standing proudly.
'So this one was the culprit?'
It seemed Sia's puberty didn't come naturally, but was created by Evelyn.
-That one is truly out of her mind!
Wrath hid behind Raon's shoulder, still seeming scared of Evelyn.
"It's not a bad thing. Bottling up emotions only leads to an explosion."
Evelyn waved her hand, saying it was actually helpful for Sia.
"The young lady has lost all memories of living as the Green King, so an adult body with a child's mind has settled in, preventing her from establishing her own identity. That's also why her mental age is rising slower compared to her mental growth."
She twirled her finger, saying it would be better for Sia to go through puberty quickly.
"I agree."
Helen nodded slightly, looking at Evelyn.
"I noticed that Lady Sia was deliberately lowering her mental age to match the gentleness of Lord Edgar and Lady Sylvia."
She let out a low groan, saying she could see Sia intentionally acting like a child.
"I think it's time to break down that wall."
Helen also agreed that it was right to prepare for the process of becoming an adult now, clasping her hands in front.
"I see..."
Raon licked his lips as he looked at Sia's door.
'Father aside, I'm worried about Mother...'
Sylvia was as hard as a wall when it came to external matters, but softer than tofu when it came to family affairs. He wasn't sure how she would take Sia's changes.
"I should have a talk first..."
Raon stopped as he was about to go up to Sia's room.
'Her presence has disappeared. Did she go outside?'
Seeing that Sia's presence had vanished, it seemed she had left the mansion through the window.
'Did she run away?'
Raon frowned and immediately went outside. However, he didn't need to search far for Sia. She was swinging her sword in front of the lake as usual.
"Si-Sis."
Raon cleared his throat before approaching Sia. He slightly opened his eyes, thinking he might get an earful from her who was going through puberty.
"Raon!"
But unlike with Edgar, Sia smiled brightly and took his hand.
"When did you get here!"
"Huh...?"
Raon's eyes widened at Sia's unexpected warm welcome.
"I've learned a lot about the Fangs of Insanity! Watch me!"
Sia walked him to the front of the lake, saying she wanted him to see her Fangs of Insanity.
'What's going on?'
Raon blinked as he looked at Sia, who was treating him affectionately.
'Why is she the same with me?'
-Why? Because you're her brother, of course.
Wrath frowned as if asking why he was questioning something so obvious.
-To that child, you are a younger brother who needs protection. Of course it's natural to treat you kindly.
He clicked his tongue as if telling Raon to think about it carefully.
'Ah, that's right.'
Come to think of it, Sia had always prioritized and taken care of him. No matter how strong or big he became, it seemed he was still just a little brother to her.
"Kids!"
As Raon was watching Sia demonstrate the Fangs of Insanity, Sylvia came out through the back door of the annex. She was carrying a snack basket, seemingly for him and Sia.
"Eat this before you continue. Mom baked cookies."
Sylvia put the basket down on the table, telling them to eat before continuing.
"I don't want to."
Sia shook her head, saying she didn't feel like having snacks.
"Come on, just have one."
"I said I don't want to! You're in the way. Go away, Mom!"
She turned her head sharply, not even looking at Sylvia who was trying to put a cookie in her mouth.
"Ah..."
Sylvia seemed taken aback by Sia's behavior, her lips trembling as she lowered her head.
"Mo-Mother!"
Raon approached Sylvia, whose shoulders and arms were shaking, to support her. She seemed to be in great shock from experiencing her child's rebellion for the first time.
"Are you okay? Right now, Sis is going through puberty..."
"I'm more than okay!"
As Raon was about to explain, Sylvia raised her head, not crying but laughing.
"Mother?"
Raon swallowed dryly as he looked at Sylvia laughing contrary to his expectations.
"Why are you laughing..."
"Actually, I was grateful that you grew up so maturely without causing me any worry, but I also felt a bit sad. I'm so happy that Sia is rebelling. So this is puberty..."
Sylvia laughed with her cheeks flushed red, as if happy about Sia's change.
"Siaaaaaaa!"
On the contrary, Edgar, unable to accept his daughter's change, wailed out Sia's name.
"..."
Raon squeezed his eyes shut as he looked at the laughing Sylvia, the crying Edgar, and the ignoring Sia.
'Is this family alright?'
Thinking about his grandfather who was causing earthquakes by stomping his feet in excitement to show off his grandchildren, Raon doubted whether this House Zieghart was functioning properly.
'This is too weird!'
-No matter how weird it is...
Wrath shook his head firmly as if telling him not to talk nonsense.
-There's no human weirder than you!
***
"Hmm..."
Raon licked his lips as he watched the swordsmen meditating quietly in the training ground.
'It's finally coming together.'
A month had passed since he acquired Spirit Transformation. During that time, most of the Light Wind Palace swordsmen had experienced a state of enlightenment through sparring with him and ascended to a higher level.
'Of course...'
Some hadn't awakened. Swordsmen like Mark Goetun, who had only recently broken through their limits, didn't awaken Spirit Transformation as the light didn't bloom for them. Spirit Transformation seemed to have a greater effect on those who were stuck at a wall or experiencing a slump in their heart sword, rather than applying to everyone.
-Even so, it's still cheating.
Wrath twisted his lips as if he still couldn't believe it.
-All those influenced by your soul have broken through their walls, and some kids even climbed two steps at once.
He jerked his chin towards Yua and Julius, who were training with Runaan.
'Those children's talents are no less than Karoon's or Martha's.'
Yua and Julius, worthy of being Eden's targets for the helmet's owner, had jumped over two walls at once as soon as they received Spirit Transformation. Though much younger, it wouldn't be strange to call them masters now.
'If they keep breaking through one or two more walls like this, we might really be able to compete with the Five Demons with just the Light Wind Palace.'
Strengthening aura through torture training methods, enhancing mental power through concentration training, and raising the level of martial arts through Spirit Transformation.
Now that they could rapidly develop spirit, energy, and mind, if the Light Wind Palace continued to grow like this and he became strong enough to face the leader of the Five Demons, it didn't seem impossible to defeat one of the Five Demons with just the Light Wind Palace's martial prowess.
'Of course, the hardest part there is...'
His own growth.
Among the remaining leaders of the Five Demons, there isn't a single easy opponent. Even with 10 years of training, he might not be able to reach them.
'It's true that my growth has actually slowed down.'
Raon called up the reward message he had received yesterday.
[All abilities increase by 10 points.]
[The realm of your soul rises.]
[The grade of the trait increases.]
This was the message he received after awakening Krein, the last one remaining. While the content was good, there was a difference from before.
'The grade of my Soul Sword didn't increase.'
Unlike when he first awakened Martha and Runaan, there was no effect on the grade of his Soul Sword. It seemed that ordinary Spirit Transformation could no longer develop the Soul Sword.
'As expected, it's the martial art of the absolute.'
It would be even more nonsensical if Glenn's transcendent martial art could grow through repeated Spirit Transformation. It seemed that the Soul Sword now needed to be developed in a different way.
'Should I focus solely on my personal training after handling the accumulated tasks?'
As Raon was contemplating what kind of training to do, he noticed people passing by outside the fifth training ground.
'Lord Lawaine?'
He saw Lawaine, Alice's subordinate and the self-proclaimed Pirate King, walking towards Federick's mansion with his subordinates dressed as pirates.
'His expression doesn't look good.'
Raon followed behind Lawaine after seeing his hardened gaze while smacking his lips.
***
"Stop."
Lawaine halted in front of the temporary lodging where Alice was staying.
"We'll be staying here for a while, so clean up the inside and outside of the mansion."
He instructed to tidy up the mansion, saying they didn't know when Alice would return.
"Yes!"
"Understood!"
The pirates, despite their fierce appearances, responded neatly and scattered to various parts of the mansion.
"Hmm..."
"Lord Lawaine."
As Lawaine was letting out a short sigh while looking at the darkening sky, Raon, who had followed him, called out.
"Huh? Lord Raon?"
Lawaine turned around with wide eyes, as if he hadn't realized Raon had followed him.
"Wh-what brings you here? Lady Alice is still..."
"I know."
Raon nodded, looking at the mansion that had lost its warmth.
"Aunt is doing joint training with Karoon, right?"
He smiled faintly, saying he knew she wasn't here.
"Ah, of course you'd know better than me."
Lawaine scratched his smooth forehead as if embarrassed.
"I haven't seen you for a while, where have you been?"
Lawaine and his pirates had stayed in Zieghart to take care of Alice and disappeared after she woke up. Raon was curious about what they had been doing since they suddenly vanished.
"As you well know, Lord Raon, there are ports and cities protected under our name as the Pirate King. We went to inspect those places on Lady Alice's orders."
Lawaine nodded, saying they had gone to check on the ports and cities they protect under Alice's command. However, his expression didn't look good.
"Shall we have a chat?"
Raon pointed to the distant annex, suggesting they go together. Alice's temporary residence wasn't far from the annex as it was next to Federick's mansion.
"Alright, I understand."
Lawaine nodded as if he couldn't refuse and followed him.
"So you've returned to Zieghart to report to Lady Alice."
Raon only turned his eyes to Lawaine as he walked ahead.
"Yes, for the report..."
Lawaine's lips trembled slightly as he said the word 'report'. There was clearly something wrong.
"As far as I know, Aunt won't be coming down for a while."
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked towards the direction of the main building. Alice and Karoon hadn't responded even to Glenn's call a while ago as they were focused on training. They probably wouldn't come out for another month or two.
"I see."
Lawaine bit his lip slightly, as if he hadn't known that much.
"Let's go in and have some tea..."
Just as Raon was about to open the door of the annex with Lawaine:
"Helen! I told you not to mix Dad's laundry with mine! Wash them separately!"
Sia's cold voice erupted from upstairs.
"No, Dad's not that dirty! I shower once a day!"
Edgar pleaded to Sia with his hands clasped, saying he wasn't that dirty.
"You should do it twice! Morning and evening!"
Sia shook her head fiercely, saying she still didn't like it.
"Go!"
She snatched the laundry from Edgar's hands and slammed the door shut.
"Siaaaaaaa!"
Edgar fell to his knees on the floor, calling out his daughter's name mournfully as if he had lost a lover.
"Um..."
Lawaine's eyes trembled, at a loss for words at the unexpected scene.
"It's almost over. Don't worry."
Raon said it was nothing to worry about as he led Lawaine into the reception room.
"I've brought tea."
Judiel came in with tea as if she had been waiting, and poured it for him and Lawaine.
"Thank you."
"It's nothing."
She bowed slightly before silently leaving the reception room.
"Now, tell me."
Raon looked at Lawaine with his hands clasped in front of the steaming tea.
"Did something happen during your mission?"
"Hmm..."
Lawaine let out a long sigh before raising his head.
"I really can't hide anything from you, Lord Raon."
He let out a low groan as he stared into the teacup that was rippling like waves.
"I mentioned previously that there are villages and ports I protect under the name of the Pirate King, right?"
Lawaine clenched his blackened fist and bit his lip.
"Two of those villages were completely annihilated, without a single person left..."