The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 57

Silvia’s eyes narrowed slightly. *Roman Dmitry?* Of all people, it was him. She had been looking for someone interesting, and to find him here was unexpected. She looked at Roman quickly, from his head to his feet. *Hmm,* she thought. First, his face. He was even more handsome than she had heard. Dirt and dust from the mine covered him, but his strong face and sharp eyes still showed a powerful, attractive charm.

Silvia continued to look at him, even more interested now. Her eyes moved from his face down to his body. She was surprised and impressed by what she saw, even through his dusty clothes.

“Wow,” she whispered. *This is amazing.* His body was like a perfect statue, carefully made by an artist. She could only see parts of his muscles under his clothes, but she could tell they were strong and smooth.

To be honest, Silvia had started to doubt if coming to Dmitry was a good idea. Her granduncle had asked her to come to Lawrence after a long time, but she worried that Roman might not be as impressive as she had been told. She had hoped he would be at least acceptable in looks. If he was even just okay-looking, his other qualities were perfect for her family’s plans.

*He is the eldest son of the Dmitry family, and he defeated the strong swordsman Homeros. People say he might lose his position as heir to his younger brother, but now I’m not so sure. Why would a noble family make their son work in a mine? This must be Lord Romero’s way of training him. And his recent victories must have made Roman even more important.* Yes, she decided. He was definitely worth the trip to Lawrence.

Silvia finished her quick assessment of Roman. She turned to the other noble ladies and smiled. “Let’s go and meet Roman Dmitry,” she said. “It would be polite to say hello before the party.”

“Yes, let’s,” one of them replied eagerly. Smiles appeared on all their faces. They all had the same purpose as Silvia. Their families had told them to try and get Roman’s attention and make a good impression. They were all eager to be the one he noticed, and they moved forward together towards Roman.

“Excuse me,” one of the ladies said, her voice sounding sweeter than before. “You are Roman Dmitry, yes?” The women who had looked annoyed and unhappy earlier were completely changed. They didn’t seem to mind the dust in the air or getting their beautiful dresses dirty. They smiled at Roman, their faces bright and welcoming, like the first day of spring.

But Roman didn’t reply. He just looked at them with a steady gaze. Silvia stepped forward, her smile practiced and perfect. “Hello, Roman,” she said smoothly. “I am Silvia of the Lawrence family. I wanted to thank you personally for helping our family recently. Without your help, the Lawrence family might not have survived the attack from Barco. And,” she added, her eyes sparkling, “you are even more handsome than people say. They say a hero has arrived in the Dmitry family, and seeing you, I can certainly believe it.”

Silvia was clever, like a fox. Her words flowed easily, her face showed no flaws, and she knew exactly how to use her beauty to impress. But she had made a mistake. She was talking to Roman Dmitry.

“Ah, yes,” Roman said, his voice flat and uninterested. “I understand.” It was a short, cold answer. He wasn’t inviting them to talk more. It was as if he was telling them to leave him alone. Without even looking at Silvia again, Roman turned his back and walked away, Hans hurrying to keep up with him.

Right away, a sound of suppressed laughter came from nearby. “Pfft.” Flora, who had been watching from a little distance, couldn’t hold back her laugh. Roman was always the same. He was just as cold to everyone, not just to her. Feeling a little sorry for Silvia, Flora went over to her and asked if she was okay.

Meanwhile, Hans rushed after Roman, his steps quick. “Young Master,” Hans said, trying to catch his breath. “Those ladies will be at the party. Could you not have been a little kinder to them?”

“I would have been kind if they were people who deserved kindness,” Roman replied, his voice firm. “But I didn’t feel like pretending to smile for them.”

“Oh dear,” Hans sighed quietly. It was a disappointing answer. If Roman had just been a little more friendly, he could have easily made important friends with those noble ladies. But seeing how strongly Roman refused to even try, Hans thought that Roman was truly unable to win people over, no matter what.

Hans changed the subject. “I understand, Young Master. But how long do you plan to work in the mine? Lord Romero didn’t tell you to do this, and you have been working hard for days. Everyone is getting worried about you.”

Lately, people had been talking a lot about what Roman was doing. Lord Romero and Rihannan were especially worried about Roman’s health. Hans was asking Roman about it for them. Roman kept walking. As he walked next to Hans, he explained why he was working in the mine.

“Do you remember the day I met Yaja in the poor part of town?” Roman asked.

“Of course, I remember,” Hans replied. He could never forget that day. It was the day Roman started to become different, and it was such a big change that he remembered it very clearly.

“That old man, Yaja, who was ninety years old, told me the story of Dmitry,” Roman continued. “He said Dmitry was once a family of common people, but they became powerful because of the iron tools and weapons made in their smithy. After hearing that, I thought, Dmitry’s real beginnings are in the smithy. Shouldn’t I learn about that too?”

This was a new beginning for him. Roman had truly accepted his new life. He was making new connections with people, and the name Roman Dmitry was becoming known. So, he wanted to understand everything about Dmitry completely. It wasn’t just about becoming the next leader of the family. Just like he had started at the very bottom in the Demonic Cult, he wanted to feel the real heart of this place, starting from the bottom of Dmitry.

That’s why he had come to the iron mine. People thought the smithy was the most important part of Dmitry, but Roman believed the miners in the iron mine were just as important. He didn’t even ask his father for permission. He simply went to the iron mine and said he wanted to work there too. At first, the mine boss was unsure about Roman’s reasons, but he soon agreed to let Roman work as a miner. For days, Roman worked hard, digging out iron ore in the dusty tunnels underground. He worked honestly, doing his share of the work just like all the other miners.

“Dmitry’s real strength comes from the smithy,” Roman explained, “but even deeper than that, it comes from the iron mine. The miners work hard, sweating and toiling to dig out the iron ore. Then, the hot fires of the furnace turn it into iron tools and weapons. *That* is the true heart of Dmitry. I want to experience that work and understand it myself. Only then can I truly know what they go through. If I am going to be Roman Dmitry in the future, I can’t just talk nicely to the people here without really understanding them.”

“…Young Master,” Hans said softly, stopping in his tracks. Tears came to his eyes. *When did he become so mature?* Hans thought. Roman, who had changed so much and grown up so quickly. Hans felt deeply proud to be Roman’s servant, seeing how Roman was always changing and becoming better.

Roman kept walking, his coldness not waiting for anyone. But Hans quickly followed him and called out, his voice full of emotion. “From now on, I will take care of Young Master’s clothes, every morning and evening! It doesn’t matter if they are covered in dust! I will wash them perfectly, as if nothing happened! Hans is ready to give his whole life to serving Young Master!”

As always, Hans stayed close behind Roman, like his shadow. They arrived at the training ground. It was a large, open space, and dozens of men were practicing there, sweating under the sun.

“One!” Chris called out loudly.

“One!” the soldiers repeated, their voices strong.

“Two!” Chris commanded.

“Two!” they echoed. They swung their swords again and again, following Chris’s instructions. Chris walked among them, watching their movements closely and pointing out mistakes. The soldiers were focused and determined, trying hard to improve their sword swings based on Chris’s advice.

The recent war with Barco had changed everything. The soldiers had seen Roman and Chris in action, and they now felt a deep respect and loyalty towards them. Roman had defeated the powerful 4-star swordsman Homeros, and Chris had defeated the 3-star swordsman Yanson. Their view of Roman and Chris had completely changed. Before, they might have seen them as just leaders from the edge of the kingdom. Now, they seemed like amazing, almost unbelievable heroes.

“Chris,” Roman called out.

“Yes, Young Master?” Chris replied quickly, running over to Roman in one long step. The soldiers kept practicing, not even pausing to look at them. Roman watched the training for a moment, then asked Chris, “How is the training going?”

“I am teaching them the training methods that Lord Romero taught me,” Chris explained. “Everyone is very eager and learns quickly. I think they will improve a lot very soon.”

After the war, Roman knew he needed to become stronger. So, with Chris’s help, he started teaching the soldiers a basic training method from the Demonic Cult. He taught them how to build inner strength using the Asura mind training method, and how to fight effectively with the Asura sword style. It was called “basic,” but it was actually very advanced knowledge, worth more than gold in this world. Roman was rewarding the soldiers who had fought with him in the war, giving them a chance to become Aura Swordsmen. If they trained hard and followed his teachings, these thirty soldiers might achieve the amazing feat of becoming Aura Swordsmen.

*But this is not enough,* Roman thought to himself. There were unexpected things in the war, like Flare and Homeros. He hadn’t known about them beforehand, and this lack of information almost led him into a dangerous trap. Luckily, his great strength had been enough to overcome the problems. But Roman knew from his past life that he couldn’t always rely on just brute force.

*I need my own group of spies and informers,* he thought. *People who can gather information and understand my enemies completely.* The problem was, to create such a group, he needed money and people, and he didn’t have enough of either yet. So, he had to find a way to use his current position and situation to his advantage.

His trip to the mine was also part of this bigger plan. As he had told Hans, he wanted to understand Dmitry from the ground up. But more than that, Roman wanted to see the very source of his family’s power with his own eyes, as the eldest son of the Dmitry family. He needed to understand the true situation of Dmitry. Only when he fully understood his current position could he figure out how to use it to achieve his goals. Roman Dmitry was not someone who acted without reason. Because he always had a clear purpose, he didn’t complain, even when he was covered in dust and working hard in the mine. He was dedicated to what he was doing.

And lastly, Roman had one more important thing to do. “Chris,” Roman said, turning to him. “From now on, I will teach you a new sword style.”

When Roman said these words, Chris felt his heart skip a beat. *…He’s going to teach me swordsmanship too?* he thought in surprise. Actually, Chris had been feeling a little frustrated while teaching the soldiers. It wasn’t that he doubted Roman, but he didn’t understand why Roman hadn’t taught him anything new for himself. He had learned the Asura Sword Technique and the Asura Mind Training Method, but Roman had only studied them as a teacher, telling Chris not to try and make them his own fighting style.

And now, Roman was explaining the reason. “You started from a different place than the others,” Roman said. “Unlike people who knew nothing, you already had your own way of fighting and thinking. It’s not easy to accept new ideas when you already have your own strong beliefs. So, I wanted you to learn to be more open-minded and adaptable. To be able to think in new ways based on what you see and learn, instead of being stuck in old ways of thinking. If you hadn’t shown that courage to accept a new way of fighting, you wouldn’t have survived your battle with the 3-star swordsman.”

The fight with Yanson had been a test. It was a way to see if Chris was ready. In that fight, Chris had pushed past his limits and defeated the 3-star swordsman. Now, he was ready to learn something new and powerful. Chris watched Roman silently, his eyes shining with eagerness. Roman looked at him and smiled slightly, giving him a great gift.

“The sword style I am going to teach you now,” Roman announced, “is called Lightning Flash.” The Lightning Flash Sword was a legendary style, once famous throughout the land. It was Roman’s most powerful skill, the skill that made him one of the greatest fighters in the world. And now, he was going to teach it to Chris.