Even before reaching the doorway, he could already hear Donny moving things around inside.
The sound of fabric rustling, wooden furniture shifting slightly, and soft footsteps made it obvious that the boy was still adjusting the room for him.
Most likely arranging the bedding properly so he could sleep comfortably.
When Issho stepped inside the room, he naturally could not see the surroundings, but his other senses immediately picked up the atmosphere of the place.
There was no dusty smell lingering in the air.
No dampness either.
Instead, the room carried the faint scent of freshly cleaned wood and washed cloth.
The air itself felt neat and organized.
Clearly, Martha had genuinely kept the room clean, just as she had mentioned earlier.
Donny turned toward Issho after noticing him enter.
“Would you like to sleep now?” he asked.
After hearing the question, Issho shook his head lightly.
“No,” he replied calmly.
“I would first like to eat.
I am actually quite hungry.”
The moment Donny heard that, he suddenly realized something and lightly slapped his forehead.
“Oh right,” he said awkwardly.
“How did I forget about that?”
After all, Issho had spent almost the entire day hunting and moving around without properly eating anything substantial.
“Follow me,” Donny quickly said afterward.
Issho gave a small nod and calmly followed behind him once again.
Soon afterward, Issho returned once again to the dining hall of the restaurant together with Donny.
The restaurant was still lively despite the late hour.
Warm lantern light illuminated the wooden hall while the smell of roasted meat, soup, and bread filled the air.
A few customers were still eating and drinking while laughing loudly among themselves.
Donny guided Issho toward an empty seat, and Issho calmly sat down.
After settling himself, Issho said to Donny, “I would like to eat something, but include a good amount of meat in it.
At least one pound.”
After hearing this, Donny nodded quickly.
“Alright,” he replied before heading toward the kitchen.
Soon enough, Issho’s food was served.
The meal itself was simple, but filling.
There was roasted chicken, warm bread, and a bowl of vegetable porridge.
The smell alone was rich and comforting after such a long and exhausting day.
Issho quietly began eating.
The roasted meat was tender and well-seasoned, the bread soft and warm, while the porridge carried a comforting warmth that slowly spread through his body.
After spending so much time surviving on poor food or barely eating at all, this meal honestly felt exceptionally satisfying.
Without wasting anything, Issho completely finished all the food served before him.
After he was done eating, Martha approached him with a faint smile and asked, “How was it?
Did you like the food?”
Issho nodded slightly.
“Definitely,” he answered honestly.
“I loved the food.
It tasted great.
I am completely full now.”
Hearing his response, Martha smiled proudly.
“That is simply how Alex cooks,” she said.
“His cooking has always been this good.”
Issho gave another small nod in agreement.
Afterward, without lingering much longer in the dining hall, Issho calmly returned toward his room.
The courtyard outside had already become much quieter now.
The cool night breeze occasionally rustled through the surroundings while distant insects chirped softly in the darkness.
However, there was still one thing Issho had not completed today.
His remaining daily quest.
He still needed to fight Fujitora in Shadow Fighting for one full hour in the real-world projection mode, not the meditation version.
Issho naturally had every intention of completing it.
But at the same time…
After everything that had happened today, his body and mind were genuinely exhausted.
From traveling all the way from the Duchy of Pendragon to the Fiore Kingdom, to surviving the long journey, hunting a wild boar, selling it, arranging a place to stay, finally bathing properly for the first time, and eating a genuine meal—
Everything had piled up together.
Right now, Issho honestly had no desire left to do another difficult training session.
He simply wanted to sleep.
And in the end, that was exactly what he did.
Issho quietly laid down on the bed inside the small room.
The bedding felt soft compared to the hard surfaces he had endured for so long.
Then, almost as if someone had pressed a switch inside him, the moment his head touched the pillow, his consciousness rapidly faded.
Within moments, he had already fallen asleep.
Clearly, he was extremely tired.
Outside, the night continued growing deeper and quieter.
Hours slowly passed.
But as the darkness gradually approached the final hours before dawn, something suddenly changed.
Issho’s sleeping expression slowly became restless.
His eyebrows tightened faintly.
His head began moving slightly from side to side against the pillow while his body trembled lightly under the blanket, as though something unpleasant had started disturbing his sleep.
Clearly, Issho was dreaming.
Inside the dream—
“Father… Father, I am very sorry!”
Elric(Issho) was kneeling on the cold stone floor, his voice trembling as desperation filled every word coming out of his mouth.
“I never intended to peep at my sister-in-law!” he shouted desperately.
“That wretched servant came to me every single day, speaking about how beautiful sister-in-law was.
He deliberately tempted me with those filthy words!”
His breathing had already become uneven while fear and pain filled his voice.
“Yes, I am guilty of getting tempted by those words,” Issho continued while lowering his head, “but I am being framed!
Someone deliberately set me up!
Please, Father… please look at this properly!”
The enormous hall remained silent except for Issho’s pleading voice.
The atmosphere itself felt suffocating.
Tall black pillars stood around the punishment hall while dim flames flickered from torches mounted on the walls, causing shadows to sway ominously across the floor.
But despite all the begging—
No one spoke.
No one stepped forward.
Suddenly—
CRACK!
“Aahhh!”
A hunter whip violently lashed across Issho’s back, tearing through his clothes and flesh simultaneously.
His body shook violently from the pain before collapsing further onto the ground.
Fresh blood splattered onto the cold floor.
Before he could even recover—
CRACK!
Another whip landed across his body.
By now, Issho’s back already carried numerous crisscrossing wounds.
Blood flowed continuously from the injuries while pieces of torn cloth hung loosely from his body.
The hunter whip was not an ordinary whip.
Each strike tore flesh apart mercilessly.
Yet despite the unbearable pain, Issho still desperately raised his head toward the figure sitting at the front of the hall.
At the very center, upon a dark throne-like seat, sat a middle-aged man with an imposing aura.
Austin von Pendragon.
The family head of the Pendragon family.
And also the ruling Duke of the Alvarez Empire.
Even after seeing his own son kneeling there covered in blood, Austin’s expression did not change in the slightest.
His cold eyes remained completely unmoved, carrying the ruthless authority expected from the head of such a powerful family.
There was no pity in his gaze.
No hesitation.
Only absolute judgment.
Soon, after the final strike completed the full count of one hundred lashes, the punishment hall finally became quiet once again except for Issho’s painful breathing.
Austin slowly stood up from his throne.
“In our family,” he said coldly, “there is no place for such filthy acts and such filthy individuals.”
His voice echoed throughout the punishment hall.
“What you have done is a complete disgrace to the Pendragon family.
Therefore, you shall receive punishment according to the clan laws.”
Issho’s body trembled slightly after hearing those words.
Then Austin looked toward one side of the hall.
“Punishment Hall Elder,” he called out calmly.
“State the punishment.”
An old man wearing dark robes slowly stepped forward before bowing respectfully toward Austin.
“The punishment for such acts,” the elder said solemnly, “is clearly written within the clan rules.”
“To receive one hundred lashes from the cursed weapon Thorny Vine.”
The Thorny Vine—
It was the name of a cursed whip covered in countless tiny thorns capable of ripping flesh apart with every strike.
The elder then continued in the same emotionless tone.
“And afterward… the criminal shall be blinded using the Blinding Dagger.”
The moment those words fell, Issho’s face instantly turned pale.
“No—Father, please—!”
(A/N: Image in Comments area.)
But Austin interrupted coldly before Issho could continue.
“Proceed accordingly.”
His tone remained completely indifferent.
As if the person about to be punished was not his own son…
But merely some insignificant criminal standing before him.
Austin did not even blink.
Soon afterward, one of the guards stepped forward while carrying a dark dagger wrapped in a sinister black aura.
The cursed energy surrounding the weapon made the entire hall feel colder.
Issho struggled violently at that moment.
“Father!
Father, please!
I am innocent—!”
But no one listened.
The guard grabbed Issho firmly.
Then—
The black dagger moved horizontally across both of Issho’s eyes from right to left in one swift motion.
“AARRGHHHHHHHHH—!!!”
Blood instantly burst out as unbearable pain exploded through his entire body.
His scream echoed madly throughout the punishment hall.
And darkness swallowed everything forever.
Suddenly—
Issho woke up violently from the nightmare.
He immediately sat upright on the bed while breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
Cold sweat covered his body as his hands unconsciously clenched the blanket tightly.
His breathing was rough and uneven.
The lingering terror from the dream still felt horrifyingly real.
Because it was real.
This was not merely a nightmare.
It was a flashback.
A memory of what he had truly gone through.