Chapter 325

[T.L: punisher87]

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Tikan.

Jin's companions were huddled together, gazing at the newly acquired shadow force marble.

"So, you got this by raiding that bastard's mansion, huh?"

Murakan scratched his chin and spoke.

It was difficult for him to understand, just like the rest of them, how Joshua ended up with Solderet's recording device.

"How the hell did that happen? Why does that guy have Solderet's recording device? And you even killed a demon and it turned out to be Rontelgius?"

Next to the shadow force marble lay Rontelgius' magic tome. Also, there was a bundle of papers dropped by the slain demon.

"Do you know the name? No, do you even know the family?"

"I know the name. Listen carefully, kid. You guys were incredibly lucky. Because surviving an encounter with Rontelgius' demon is no small feat."

"Just stabbing him in the throat killed him instantly. He seemed quite weak."

"That's why I said you were lucky. Rontelgius is a noble family of the demon race. They are one of the four grand ducal families with the greatest power just below the Demon King."

The Demon King, the four grand dukes of the Demon World.

Jin couldn't comprehend how significant that position was, how great the power and influence they held. He and others couldn't understand it quickly.

They had never experienced demons before.

"Nowadays, with the decline of the demon race, it's natural that you guys don't know their name. But there was a time when even formidable dragons avoided conflicts with Rontelgius. It wasn't just about dying or getting injured."

As seen from the curse hanging on Lampen Rontelgius's magic tome, the Rontelgius family was known for their mastery of curses among the demons.

"Curses are curses, but Rontelgius was a family close to the Demon Beast King, Orgal. Murakan may not have known because he was asleep, but Orgal had a notorious reputation even during the Holy Kingdom Protection War."

However, after the Holy Kingdom Protection War resulted in the victory of the Human alliance, Orgal withdrew from the human world. Orgal had never been particularly visible in the human world, but he completely disappeared after the war.

"Cuicantelle, it seems the demons have been quite weakened since then, right? To the point of being taken down by his single blow."

"The demon was in a weakened state, as Jin said. And if Jin wasn't Solderet's contractor, he would have been cursed without any chance to resist."

Cuicantelle spoke with a hidden meaning while looking at Jin.

"Your brother, Runcandel's Second Flagbearer. We need to find out how he managed to get involved with Rontelgius and if he knows the purpose of the shadow force marble. We should investigate."

How Joshua obtained the shadow force marble and his relationship with the demons were currently a mystery.

"Does that guy even know that the shadow force marble is a recording device?"

"Well, once I return to the clan, Joshua will approach me first."

"Young Master, Joshua has no reason to do that. When we escaped from the Ekan Kingdom, I made sure to erase all traces."

Jin smiled at Kuzan's words.

"Yes, you erased all the evidence. But even without evidence, that guy will be convinced based on intuition alone. That won't be a problem. It's just part of the power struggle, and the dragons haven't intervened."

"So, are you going to ask Joshua directly about it? What it is?"

"I'll decide based on the atmosphere. I still can't predict how he will react."

"Then, when you return, we'll look into Rontelgius. It's hard to believe that the demon died so easily. Maybe it was a discarded demon from Rontelgius, or perhaps Rontelgius itself has fallen."

"We should also find someone who can decipher the magic tomb and the bundle of papers. They seem to be important clues. And..."

Jin looked at Yulian, who was sitting quietly in one corner of the office.

"We should discuss how we can awaken Yulian's guardian dragon."

The Thunder Dragon, Caltor.

He had fallen into a state of "sleep" after enduring prolonged and brutal torture. As a result, even after his rescue, Yulian couldn't exchange a single word with the guardian dragon he longed for.

"I mentioned it earlier, kid. The dragon called Caltor has a broken heart and needs at least five hundred years to recover."

Gilly instinctively covered Murakan's mouth.

"There must be some way, Yulian. So don't be too disheartened and wait patiently."

Yulian looked at his comrades with red eyes.

"Thank you all..."

As he said that, everyone blinked their eyes.

It was because Yulian had used a respectful tone for the first time.

"The cheeky brat is using formal language. That's surprising. Gak-gak! It feels good. Well, this Murakan will somehow awaken your guardian dragon, so just wait quietly until then. Come to think of it, since he is not even a thousand years old, his heart should recover easily."

"It seems like things are roughly settled. Then Gilly, Murakan, and I will return to the clan in a couple of days. Since I have been emptying the Garden of Swords too often lately, it'll be difficult to visit the Tikan for a while, unless there's something special happening."

***

"Then, I'll see you next time."

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for always taking care of us, Arya..."

Valeria lightly bowed her head and turned around.

The elderly people of Donkey Village waved their hands, revealing their few remaining teeths, until she disappeared from their sight.

As soon as she was completely out of their sight, Valeria clenched her teeth and touched her forehead.

For the past few years, no pursuers from any faction had come close to her. They either circled around her long-abandoned hiding places or wasted their efforts by targeting completely different locations.

But this time was different.

'Donkey Village's hiding place has been exposed... and the movements of the pursuers have become more sophisticated.'

Zzing-!

As Arya infused mana into the staff, a blue mana radiated from it.

The mana soon formed a translucent, rectangular shape "window," and surprisingly, words began to appear on it.

Clever and McRolan. Surnames of the prestigious Huphester's Knight Clans.

Based on those names, Valeria could infer that the faction that had found her was the Runcandel's Guardian knights.

-My mother and older brother are looking for you. They discovered what name you're currently using. Arya Aulhart, right?

-I have more than just that alias. And I've been erasing my tracks well.

-Anka Rofman, Riley Hazzard, Lucille Scop, Hartia Ben. Are those not your aliases? And if you say you've been erasing your tracks well, aren't you and I having this good conversation?

A conversation she had with Jin in Mamit came to mind.

'...It seems I underestimated the major clans too much. The movements of the pursuers have changed.'

The fortunate thing from Valeria's perspective was that it wasn't Zipfel who discovered Donkey Village but Runcandel.

Whoosh!

Valeria released the record magic and looked back towards Donkey Village.

'The elderly will contact Runcandel soon.'

Just a few days ago...

Those people who followed her like saviors. The elderly of Donkey Village were mostly abandoned by their children and had no hope, clinging to life without any prospects.

And yet, those elderly people revealed everything about her to Runcandel. There wasn't much they knew, but they told everything they could.

Valeria never expected loyalty from those elderly people.

No, Valeria didn't expect loyalty from anyone.

However, an indescribable bittersweet feeling arose from deep within her heart, and there was nothing she could do about it.

'At least no one was exterminated because of me. I should move on. Towards the hiding place in the Lutero Magic Federation.'

She traveled diligently until nightfall.

Using land and sea routes, she used more than five different identities while passing through checkpoints. Along the way, she stopped by "Samil" and received letters and goods Jin sent to her.

She safely arrived at the "Palin Kingdom" of the Lutero Magic Federation. And as soon as she arrived there...

In the middle of the entrance to the checkpoint, she saw Jin Runcandel's face.

(Jin Runcandel guarantees your beauty. Golden Peng cosmetics.)

Huh!

Unknowingly, Valeria swallowed a gasp and looked up at the advertisement.

'A cosmetics advertisement...? What on earth is this guy thinking?'

Valeria stood there, unable to tear her gaze away from the billboard for a while before she finally moved her steps.

When she arrived at the hiding place in the Palin Kingdom, it was dawn. Only then could Valeria check the letters and goods she found in Samil.

(It's the first letter. These are cosmetics tools that can create a convincing disguise when applied haphazardly. You should be grateful that these items will fix your clumsy disguises. If you think you might be caught, contact Tikan. That's all for now.)

Valeria raised her head as she examined the goods.

There was one more letter.

(I didn't expect to send a second letter so soon. The reason being, there's another recording device. I hope we can meet as soon as possible. Contact Tikan so we can arrange a meeting place.)

'He obtained another Shadow force marble!?'

Ha! With a burst of energy, Valeria let out a sigh.

Obtaining a recording device that she couldn't find no matter how much she searched all over the world was something that Jin Runcandel seemed to do effortlessly.

Even for the sake of research, Valeria thought it was necessary to meet Jin Runcandel once again.

'Anyway, it's a gain for me. Jin Runcandel, I will make good use of you.'

***

As soon as he returned to Huphester, Jin's butler, Petro, urgently sought him out.

"Young Master!"

"What's the matter, Petro?"

"Something big has happened. The Council of Elders has issued a disciplinary action against you!"

"A disciplinary action? For what reason? Calm down and tell me slowly. What is the content of the disciplinary action?"

Although he asked, to some extent, Jin had anticipated this.

The involvement with the Golden Snow tribe and the cosmetics business they started. It was undoubtedly the reason behind it.

'Most likely, a detention or a disciplinary unit order was issued. Being subjected to a disciplinary unit may be better than being confined to the Garden of the Sword.'

After experiencing the life of a flagbearer, Jin thought that being stuck in a disciplinary unit for about a year wouldn't be so bad.

There were too many prying eyes in the Garden of Swords. Therefore, as a contractor of Solderet, there were too many things to be concerned about whenever he had to fulfill his duties, such as visiting Temar's Tomb or managing Solderet's affairs.

'Anyway, even if I go to the disciplinary unit, it's an easy task to achieve results and create a justification for returning to the main family. It might actually work out…'

Just as he was thinking that, the disciplinary measure that came out of Petro's mouth was something Jin had never expected.

"The content of the disciplinary action is a ban on external activities. The duration is three years..."

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