Volume 5 Chapter 121 – Why Did You Come Out From There?

For a month, the 'Kollon Massacre' was big news.

After Dino published the paper, the Runcandel Clan and other forces pressured the Zipfels and looked into the issue, and the clan of magicians blamed Myuron for such actions.

However, the Zipfels were pushed to a corner after the remnants of the Kozak came into the table.

Of course, they—again—tried to push the blame on Myuron Zipfel. Additionally, they poured dark money into the press and sent ships filled with gold to the Vermont Empire, the capital of news coverage.

Citizens of the Huphester Alliance were furious, and citizens of the Lutero Magic Federation stayed quiet.

The Vermont Imperial Family led the confirmation of the Zipfels' confession, and the bubbles of the briskly boiling pot of furious people began to die down. The dirty deal was done.

Ultimately, the Runcandel Clan received some intel. The Vermont Imperial Family got some money, and the Zipfels lost their honor and pride.

A mole tainted the clan of magicians' image of 'good and justice'.

"The Zipfels are going to be quiet for a while with the death of the vice-pillar and the Kollon Massacre. Slowly, their true intentions are being exposed, and they can't stop their credibility from declining."

Dino spun his pen.

He and the Kollon natives had arrived in the Huphester Alliance, and Luna was protecting them. They haven't met her in person, but the people on the land treated the newcomers with great respect.

"Lord Jin… He understood each and every one of our desires at that young age. I think about it again, and it's amazing. I thought all Runcandels were obsessed with swords."

"But Lord Jin did the unthinkable."

Tika smiled, looking out the window.

There were many boxes filled with living supplies for the Kollon natives. Each box contained all kinds of things to support their tribes' recovery, including letters of encouragement.

The managers of the house had been organizing the materials all day and night.

"It is because the Lord saved us. And now, in contrast to the centuries of neglect, everyone is finally showing interest."

Tika slowly turned and began to light candles to honor the ones who died—including Laosa.

"From now on, we will direct our prayers not to Kullam, but to Lord Jin. I wonder when the 'passerby' in your article will become known to the world."

Passerby.

That was what Dino named the savior of the natives. Although the news already died down, everyone was asking about who the passerby was.

Every time Dino received the question, he said that he 'genuinely didn't know'.

"The truth will be revealed after Lord Jin becomes a Runcandel flag-bearer. This case will be put back into the limelight, and Lord Jin will be honored by everyone."

"By officially uncovering the secrets of the mirror—the relic that we were guarding?"

Dino nodded. He was waiting for that moment.

Jin becoming a flag-bearer, and then rising to the throne. Then slowly making the Zipfels disappear.

(Sender: Kashimir

Receiver: Cyron Runcandel

Report: The 'passerby' in the 'Kollon Massacre' were Jin Runcandel, Murakan, and yours truly. We also killed Myuron Zipfel together.

Others: Myuron's corpse was retrieved by the Zipfel Clan.)

At the Black Sea.

Cyron was furious after reading the message he received from Khan.

'The patriarch is enraged. What the hell did the Ghostblade write to garner such a reaction…?'

The stuffy Black Sea air got heavier, and Khan could only take glances at Cyron.

Whew…

The patriarch let out a sigh with all of his anger.

"Lord Patriarch, did something happen to the youngest?"

"Not that, Khan. In fact, the opposite. Apparently, they got Myuron Zipfel's head."

"I expected the youngest to be the main cause of the Kollon Massacre case, but after hearing the confirmation, I'm still pretty surprised. First was Andrei Zipfel, and now it's the vice-pillar of the Seventh Tower. He got rid of two pureblood Zipfels before even becoming a flag-bearer."

"But take a look at this letter."

As soon as he saw the message, Khan's face immediately drained of color.

"…There's no way. The Ghostblade has been sending these low-quality messages since last time?"

"The simple format is the result of my audacious comment. But this time, he left out a lot of meaty information."

As Cyron said, Kashimir did not list any important content that he wanted.

Grit!

Cyron gritted his teeth, and an earthquake rumbled throughout the Black Sea.

"The modern world has been crazy about this issue. However, no matter how strong the youngest is, he couldn't have handled the Kozak himself."

"Yes, someone else must be behind this. And the Ghostblade definitely knows."

The report about the Kollon Ruins didn't leave out Jin's name alone.

There wasn't a single line that mentioned the Master of the Hidden Palace, Talaris Endorma, and her daughter, Syris.

Thus, the people of the world began to speculate. Either one troop of the Ghost Mercenaries or Black King Mercenaries were deployed, Ron Hairan made a move, the Hidden Palace entered the battle, or the Runcandel flag-bearers assisted their—supposed—passerby ally.

Since Journalist Dino and the Zipfel Clan had their mouths shut, Cyron had no way of knowing what happened.

"How dare he offer the patriarch such curt letters. With your order, I can immediately go educate this man—"

Whooooosh!

In front of Cyron, a pure-white dimensional portal opened. Khan instinctively prepared his sword, but Cyron slowly raised his hand.

Boooooooong!

From the white portal emerged Snow Toad Mort, and on top of it was Talaris.

"Hmph. I was worried that you were at the meditating site. Good thing I came to the right place. Long time no see, Cyron."

"Talaris?"

"It's our first time meeting in a while. Can't you give me a more warm welcome?"

Khan and Talaris bowed to each other, and for a while, Cyron stared at her.

Feeling discomfort from his gaze, Talaris waved her hands.

"Oh my, that glare. One more minute under such scrutiny and I might die. I didn't come to fight you like last time, so loosen up."

"It was you."

"What was?"

"The one who destroyed the Kozak. It seems you helped Jin, Talaris."

Cyron eased his glare, and Talaris smiled.

"That's right. And I accidentally overheard your knight fellow's words. It seems Kashimir hid some information from you?"

Cyron handed the letter to her, and Talaris made a weird smile.

"Enough for you to get mad. Although I may have caused his myopia in the situation, he didn't mention a lot. So, you're gonna send this man here to beat him up?"

"More like a light warning."

"I wouldn't do that. In fact, I would praise him."

"Praise?"

"Yes. In this letter, Kashimir truly denoted who he works for. That he is not for Cyron Runcandel, but for Jin Runcandel."

Cyron's eyes narrowed.

Then, as if he understood, he nodded.

"…Good point. He's not just reporting to me, but also considering Jin's perspective."

"That's how much of a great person your youngest has next to him. That man—Kashimir. When he came to the Hidden Palace, you could see in his eyes that he knew he was risking his life. For Jin, that is. He seems like a useful guy, so give him some credit."

Cyron eased his expression.

As she said, Kashimir probably was adamant that he would be Jin's ally. Not many people could pledge allegiance to someone else in the presence of Cyron Runcandel.

"I almost messed with the youngest's best companion. I am indebted to you, Talaris."

"What about your son's debt to me? Hmph. Blocking the Kozak was a pain in the ass. I also almost became one of the Zipfels' targets."

"Did you really come here looking for compensation? Get that from the youngest."

"I'm joking. I actually came here because…"

Talaris paused and began to sweat a little.

"My daughter and your youngest son. What do you think about… their marriage?"

Khan's jaw dropped.

* * *

Shiver.

"What is it, Young Master?"

"Oh, nothing. I just felt a chill."

"You also felt that, Young Master? I also have been getting such shivers very recently."

Jin and Kashimir looked at each other and nodded.

Aside from the chills, they had been spending their days peacefully after coming back from the Kollon Ruins.

They needed rest. After Jin became a provisional flag-bearer, he and his companions had only been constantly engaging in big fights.

After destroying the Tesing Clan followed by the Kollon Massacre, Jin was the center of the world's issues.

And with these adventures, he had made massive improvements.

'6-star swordsmanship and 5-star spiritual energy. And with the mirror, my mana has become 7-star.'

He had to stop increasing his mana with the mirror. Weakening Solderet's seal further would be the end of the world.

However, holding onto the mirror while traveling from the Kollon Ruins to Tikan naturally increased his mana. Moreover, not gaining any sort of reward for the amount of work and commitment he had done would be discouraging.

Still, he felt a little desperate.

Spiderhand Alu. The man who was possibly related to Joshua Runcandel, Jin's older brother. Or perhaps the man who was related to the 'magicians who cursed Jin'.

The Seven-Colored Peacock still couldn't find any intel on him.

—It doesn't matter… You—You can't stop 'em…

—What?

—Even though it failed back then…

Jin recalled his last conversation with Alu right before the man died.

That conversation bugged him to this day. He admitted that the corruption and tyranny with the Zipfels—as well as seeing some of the darkest secrets of the world—was cool.

But Jin was most curious about the one who cursed him with Bladed Illusion.

'The fact that all of Alu's records are gone… I can't stop thinking about it. If the Seven-Colored Peacock still hasn't uncovered it until now, it means we can never find it…'

Jin let out a sigh, and one servant approached Kashimir.

"Master."

"What is it?"

"Uh, a man came to the residence. He looks like a beggar, but he introduced himself as an information broker. He said he wants to work under you, Master."

"Haha, my friend. Those kinds of guys come every year. It's obviously a back-alley street beggar who just heard about me. Give him some money for some food and a bath before sending him on his way."

"I was about to. But he seemed to know the exact location of one of our secret bases, so I came to you for assistance."

Kashimir's eyes narrowed.

"…He knows one of our secret bases? Where is that man now?"

The servant carefully pointed outside.

"Hoho, I have made a fool of myself in front of the young master. I thought that our security was immaculate and impenetrable… I am embarrassed."

Kashimir and Jin went to the window and looked down to see the man in question.

They saw a depraved man hanging onto the guards, begging for his life. Kashimir slapped his forehead.

Jin, on the other hand, was surprised. The man's name echoed in his mind.

'Jet?!'

The one who visited Kashimir was the Akin Kingdom information broker, Jet.

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