Chapter 364

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***

On September 19, 1799, at the Toad Inn in the southwestern part of the Feudal State of Empire, Kiken.

Valeria sat in the lobby with her hair dyed black, wearing light leather armor and sipping beer. Her staff leaned against the wall, wrapped in cloth to resemble a lance, giving her the appearance of a novice adventurer engrossed in her task.

She had been fixated on a flyer hanging on the inn's wall for a while.

(Jin Runcandel said, 'Beauty, that is your other name.' Try embracing the stunning performance of Golden Peng makeup.)

Setting aside the embarrassing advertisement (though the ad of Golden Peng garnered tremendous attention), it was remarkable that even a small town like this had flyers posted.

"Not many mercenaries would order a beer in broad daylight and stare at an ad flyer with such a cold expression. I recommend changing your setup a bit. Order plenty of food, put a magazine for mercenaries in front of you, that would be great."

Jin took a seat in front of her, shrugging his shoulders.

"Are you really the one who said that?"

"That 'your other name' thing? No way."

Despite Jin himself being right in front of the consecutive ad flyers, no one recognized him.

Jin opened the menu and naturally called over the innkeeper. Then he proceeded to order a variety of dishes.

"Beef stew with lots of chili and onions, and ox intestine stew. Add plenty of pepper to this one. And..."

Jin stopped as he looked at Valeria's expression.

'I inadvertently mentioned the dishes we used to eat often during the time we spent together in our past lives. Since I got used to eating according to my teacher's preferences, my taste has changed a bit too.'

Fortunately, Valeria didn't react otherwise.

'Well, the dishes available at any inn are commonly found foods. There shouldn't be anything strange about it.'

But Valeria was thinking otherwise.

'Lots of chili, onions, and plenty of pepper. How can he be so precise? It's not extremely unusual, there are people who eat like that occasionally.'

Valeria's palate had been cultivated during her time with the Gray Owl Mercenaries. Suddenly thinking of them, Valeria gave a bitter smile.

'Strangely, sometimes... it feels as if Jin Runcandel knows me well.'

It's been a while since Valeria ate these dishes with others, but she thought it wasn't a bad feeling. Not exactly great either, just okay.

They ate to their heart's content, all the while pretending to be a typical duo of mercenaries and discussing their future as freelancers.

"Good work, Arya Aulhart. Impressive, you managed to find the Felinoids tribe in just three months."

As they left the inn and walked along the quiet path toward Wantaramo, Jin started talking.

"I haven't completely found them yet; as I wrote in the letter, I only found traces. They lead into the Wantaramo Forest."

Jin nodded.

Actually, I don't know that Wantaramo Forest isn't an ordinary forest. I heard the name for the first time this time.

Just as Jin was about to say that, Valeria continued.

"Moreover, if the Felinoids tribe hadn't intentionally left traces, I wouldn't have found even those. It's not me who's impressive, it's them."

"The Felinoids tribe intentionally left traces?"

"Yeah. They know that I'm looking for them. I think they noticed about a month ago, and since then, they've been subtly sending messages as if posing riddles."

The Felinoids tribe was leading Valeria to the Wantaramo Forest.

'If they could leave messages for pursuers, at least they weren't all wiped out....'

When he remembered the moment he left them alone with the cave barrier at the third tomb and departed. Even now, one side of his heart felt heavy as if weighed down with metal.

-The barrier of the Felinoids tribe is quite interesting. There are more troublesome things than you think.

The words the Spectre corps had spoken when they broke the Felinoids tribe's barrier and entered the cave.

Even after hearing those words, Jin never asked the Spectre corps what they did with the Felinoids tribe.

Perhaps it was because he couldn't afford to reveal unnecessary weaknesses or engage in psychological warfare with them.

Later, when Berakt appeared and he encountered another Spectres while leaving the forest, Jin couldn't shake off the fact that he hadn't asked the Spectres about the Felinoids tribe.

"I was planning to contact you after I had a chance to meet them in person. But since it is the Wantaramo Forest, it was necessary to bring a person whom they knew. I thought they might have deemed me a threat and decided to eliminate me."

"Eliminate?"

Jin asked, and Valeria smirked.

"Seriously, you don't know what Wantaramo Forest is?"

"Huh. I don't."

"Then why did you pretend to?"

"When did I...?"

"You just did."

"No, I was actually about to give an honest answer earlier. You just didn't give me a chance to speak."

Pfft.

Valeria let out a light laugh.

"Actually, I was testing you. I was curious about the information capabilities of Runcandel's flagbearer. It seems that information about Wantaramo Forest is not given to the lower-ranking flagbearers."

It wasn't a big deal, but it felt like getting hit on the back of the head.

"If you feel bad about it, then I apologize."

"It's fine. So, what's that forest anyway?"

"Even if you don't know about Wantaramo Forest, you must have heard of the Drink of Regal Hymn, right?"

"I've had it before. My father gave it to me."

"Most people in the world probably think of you as the disliked youngest child, but you were a beloved child. To think even Chiron Runcandel granted you the Drink of Regal Hymn. Wantaramo Forest is the land where the Drink of Regal Hymn is made."

It was then that Jin finally realized why, when Kashmir was young, the emperor and associates of Vermont negotiated with Wantaramo Forest.

Drink of Regal Hymn.

A special drink brewed for a special day, at a special time, for a special person.

Only one race in the world could brew the Drink of Regal Hymn.

'Descendants of the Fairy tribe...'

In the Wantaramo Forest, the descendants of the Fairy tribe lived.

Very few knew this fact.

Even most of the dragons who had lived for thousands of years didn't know, let alone 12th flagbearer.

Literally standing at the pinnacle of the world or close to it, those in power and their close associates, or those with the special ability to uncover the world's many secrets, were the only ones who knew the true nature of Wantaramo.

And those who did know about Wantaramo were always cautious when approaching it.

Wantaramo Forest was a public property of the giant forces. If rumors about Wantaramo were spread to unnecessary individuals and they caused problems in the forest, everyone would suffer the consequences together.

"Jin Runcandel."

"Yeah?"

"Last time when I glanced through your records, I learned that the Fairy tribe have a close connection to my clan."

-<Within the records device of Solderet that Jin Runcandel confirmed, ancient fairies had an obligation to keep records.>

-<A thousand years ago, all the ancient fairies remained faithful.>

-<They had a deep connection with humans bearing the name Hister.>

During the investigation to restore the recording device and the search for the Felinoids tribe, those sentences within the records had been Valeria's major focus.

"Moreover, you mentioned that you observed the ancient Fairy in the third tomb using abilities similar to Hister's magic records."

"Yeah, that's right."

"So, while I was searching for the Felinoids tribe, I realized that the Drink of Regal Hymn, brewed by the descendants of the Fairy tribe, might also be a form of record-keeping. It's odd that I'm only realizing this now."

"Are you implying that there might be some connection between the descendants of the Fairy tribe and your clan?"

"Exactly."

"In that case, there's also a possibility that the Felinoids tribe has some awareness of your true identity. That could explain why they intentionally led you to Wantaramo Forest."

"That's the reason I called you. As far as I know, the race known as descendants of the Fairy tribe deviates considerably from the universal image people have."

The Drink of Regal Hymn is a drink with the ability to convey stories.

In its own right, it's incredibly romantic, inspiring numerous poets to compose songs about the descendants of the Fairy tribe.

As a result, when people hear "descendants of the Fairy tribe," they usually conjure up images of small, adorable figures and, for some reason, enigmatic and beautiful forests.

While their appearance and scenery match common imaginations quite closely...

Their actual personalities don't.

"The descendants of the Fairy tribe are extremely exclusive and brutally harsh towards outsiders. If someone ignorant stumbles upon Wantaramo Forest and happens to cross paths with them, they'll be killed without a doubt."

"It is the first time I have heard of it."

"They don't even kill without pain. They play with their target like a toy and finish them when they get bored."

Valeria's perspective was completely different from Jin's. She had no trust whatsoever in the Felinoids tribe.

So, it wasn't unreasonable for her to believe that the Felinoids tribe intentionally left traces and lured her into Wantaramo Forest with the intent to kill her.

"Maybe the Felinoids tribe had a favorable impression of me and was trying to call me here by leaving traces, but they must have informed me that Wantaramo is a dangerous place. Well, even I would probably do something like this if suddenly pursued by a tracker, so I don't really hold ill feelings towards the Felinoids tribe."

"If the descendants of the Fairy tribe are truly as cruel as you say, it might even be possible that the Felinoids tribe sent out a distress signal."

"That possibility can't be ruled out."

As they reached the entrance of Wantaramo Forest, it was nighttime.

Amidst the chilling wind, the distant howls of beasts echoed, and the forest seemed to indicate its low human presence by not even having a path at the entrance.

Woo-ahh...!

As Valeria activated her record magic, glowing blue markings appeared on the ground.

<To allow pursuers to find, Lulu of the Felinoids tribe left traces here.>

Such a sentence was written on a semi-transparent window that appeared before Valeria. The blue markings were all footprints left by Lulu.

Following the glowing footprints, after about thirty minutes of venturing deeper into the forest, the two of them could sense the landscape suddenly changing.

The thickly clustered trees nearby began to twist. The forest moved as if it were a massive entity, and the trees clung together and fell apart, making a rumbling sound.

'Ha...!'

Jin's pupils widened as he saw the insides of a twisted tree.

And then, he felt a surge of anger.

It was because Lulu, covered in blood, was bound within the tree.