Chapter 102: Tragedy of Colon (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 102: Tragedy of Colon (1)
It was an unexpected discovery.
The Well of Mana. To think it was the Mirror… Who would have imagined that a map from a pirate fleet’s martial arts tournament would point to that?
Before Jin’s regression, this ancient artifact had been revealed to the world by a brave journalist.
At the time, the journalist had broadcasted the mirror’s appearance and the natives’ testimonies in exhaustive detail, exposing the Zipple Clan’s atrocities to the entire world.
Naturally, it dealt a fatal blow to the image of the Zipple, who always postured as apostles of justice and peace.
However, it was impossible for a single journalist to stand against such a gargantuan clan.
The people who had initially vented their fury at the Zipple’s wickedness were slowly swayed by the clan’s public relations campaign and eventually fell silent.
The resentment and sorrow of the Colon natives were never broadcast to the world again.
As for the journalist who had exposed the atrocities, all news of him ceased entirely. It didn't take long for people to forget that brave man.
And so, the natives of Colon went back to living as if they were invisible.
…Then this map must have been made by the natives. Like the Rune of Mul-ta, its value wasn't recognized, so it must have been wandering the world.
Perhaps the natives had hoped that adventurers who found this map would recognize the plight of those being oppressed by the Zipple.
Colon was a place Jin had intended to visit eventually anyway.
He needed to find the mirror before the Zipple did to prevent them from mass-producing mages, and more importantly, he needed to investigate the forbidden magic experiments being conducted there.
For Jin, this was the perfect excuse at the perfect time.
I don't possess the sense of justice to save unfortunate natives like that journalist did… but if I deal a blow to the Zipple, it won't be a bad thing for them, at the very least.
There was just one problem.
"Kid, what’s with that look? Do you actually know what Latri drew?"
His companions didn't know that Jin was aware of the tragedy of the Colon Ruins and the mirror.
Being a regressor is occasionally inconvenient at times like this.
Still, it was a problem that could be easily solved.
After all, he had established himself in Tikan for moments like this.
"No, I don't. I just have a bad feeling about it… Sir Casimir, I think we need to investigate this map."
"Yes, I agree. My daughter’s vision of the past is concerning, and… I have a feeling this map didn't just fall into Young Master Jin’s hands by chance."
"You're right, Young Master Jin. First, we should search for someone who knows this archaic language. That’s the only way we’ll find any clues."
"Sir Casimir, this is just a hunch, but I think it would be best if the Seven-Colored Bird didn't conduct a public investigation. Since the object is steeped in such deep resentment, the tragedy Latri saw might still be ongoing."
"That makes sense. Hmm, mages who massacred indigenous people… I hope the Zipple aren't involved in this."
*
The Seven-Colored Bird immediately began gathering information about the map that day, but they failed to achieve any significant results for two weeks.
It was only natural.
Currently, the natives of Colon belonged to the Pailon Kingdom of the Lutero Magic Federation. Furthermore, after being discovered by the Zipple hundreds of years ago, most had been massacred, leaving only a tiny fraction behind.
Even those few remaining natives were effectively imprisoned in Colon, so finding someone who could read the indigenous archaic language was a difficult task, even for the Seven-Colored Bird.
However.
A clue was found in a very close place, one that even Jin hadn't anticipated.
February 17, 1796.
Jin took a break from his morning training that day and visited the Tikan Central Guard, where Alisa worked, along with Yuria and Latri.
"Jin Oppa. Mom will like this, right?"
"Of course. She’ll probably pick you up and spin you around."
Yuria had asked Jin to come along so she could give her mother a drawing she had made of their family.
"Welcome to the Tikan Central Guard… Oh, Yuria. Hello!"
"Hello! Where’s my mom?"
"My daughter! Mom’s right here! Ah, you two came along as well. Oh, what’s this?"
"A present!"
Yuria offered the drawing with a beaming smile.
The moment she saw it, a massive grin naturally spread across Alisa’s face.
"My goodness, my daughter is such a good artist… Let’s see, this is Casimir. Here’s Jin Oppa, and you even drew Enya Unni?"
Gilly, Murakan, Quicantel, and even Latri were packed into the small sketchbook page. After looking at the whole drawing, Alisa swept Yuria up into her arms.
"Hahaha! You should be an artist when you grow up. Now, wait just a moment with the Oppas. Mom just needs to finish a few papers, and then we’ll go have lunch together. Shall we have the seafood stew Yuria likes?"
"Ooh, seafood stew! I love it!"
Whether it was because Alisa was so happy or because of the mention of seafood stew, Yuria began singing a strange little song, "Seafood stew, seafood stew."
Jin and Latri couldn't help but smile at how adorable she was.
The sound of pens scratching busily echoed from all around. It was a mix of guards processing paperwork and those brought in for crimes writing their apologies.
Letters of apology.
Since Alisa took office as the Captain of the Guard, Tikan’s crime rate—which hadn't been high to begin with—had practically hit rock bottom.
The few who were brought in were mostly people who had picked flowers from public gardens or had caused minor drunken disturbances; they were usually released with a warning after writing an apology.
The city isn't that large, but it’s impressive that it’s managed this well. Lady Alisa is certainly remarkable. Even though the Huphester Alliance is managed directly by the Runcandels, violent crimes happen quite often there.
While Jin looked around in inward admiration, Latri was also observing the lawbreakers with interest.
"Humans are truly mysterious creatures. Even though they know they’ll be punished for breaking the law, why do they repeat the same mistakes every time?"
"I wonder. Don't dragons do the same?"
"Hmm… No, now that I think about it, I suppose dragons are foolish too. Haha, that was a silly thing to say. Oh, please keep it a secret from Lord Murakan that I said dragons are foolish."
"You seem to worry about Murakan a lot, Latri. Does he bully you?"
"It’s not that. Do you know what my parents told me until my ears bled? 'If you go outside, beware of the Black Dragons. Especially the siblings Murakan and Misha…'"
It was clear that Latri had been so busy being careful of Black Dragons that he had fallen for the tricks of the Wind Dragon, Buretta.
"And among dragons my age, Lord Murakan is a total legend. It’s a mix of good and bad reasons, but… Huh?"
Latri, who had been explaining, suddenly stopped mid-sentence and fixed his gaze somewhere.
His eyes landed on the back of a man being questioned by a guard. Jin’s gaze naturally followed, and he saw the man defending himself in a slurred voice.
"Yesterday… alcohol… much… did. Sorry… am."
"Hey, you! What’s with that tone? Huh? You don't sound sorry at all. If you're drunk, you should just go home and sleep. Why were you singing in the middle of the night and waking everyone up?"
"Because… sad. Ah, sorry… am."
"And how many times has this been! I told you, if you keep this up, the bars won't let you in. Do you have any idea how much I have to beg the local owners not to kick you out?"
"Thank you… Uh, want a smoke together?"
"Ha! Dammit, you're going to be the death of me. Fine, we’ll have one smoke, and from now on, you drink quietly, okay? Please."
"Understood… But, I have no smokes."
"You little…!"
He seemed like an ordinary drunkard who frequented the guard station. He didn't cause major trouble, and since he came so often, he had built a decent rapport with the guards.
His skin was a deep, striking red—he was one of the red-skinned people.
A red-skin? He’s exceptionally red, even for one of them.
Tikan Free City was home to many different races, as its name suggested, so it wasn't particularly strange.
However, the expression on Latri’s face as he watched the man was unusual.
"Young Master Jin… That man looks almost identical to the natives I saw when I resonated with Yuria."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes. Plus, that awkward speech… it means he isn't a native speaker of the Continental Common Tongue."
It wouldn't hurt to check.
"Let’s show him the map. After we go eat seafood stew together."
When the man and the guard went outside to smoke, Jin followed them. The man familiarly accepted a cigarette, and the guard spat out a few affectionate curses before heading back to work.
"Excuse me."
"Boy, who… are you?"
"Let’s go get some hangover soup together. I drank a lot yesterday too."
"Oh, good. But, I have no money."
"It’s on me."
*
The red-skinned man sitting in the seafood stew restaurant, frantically checking his surroundings, was named Aropan Tupan Meipan.
Pan, for short.
"Boy… why you no say Guard Captain here? Guard Captain scary."
In reality, Alisa wasn't pressuring Pan at all. She had already heard the general situation from Jin and Latri.
"Eat up, Pan. You're a good kid, so stop getting arrested."
"I see this Ahjussi a lot too. He’s always there whenever I go see Mom."
"Not… always."
As the delicious-looking seafood stew was served, Yuria’s and Pan’s eyes sparkled in unison.
"I will eat well!"
The man who had been nervous just a moment ago was gone; Pan began devouring the seafood stew like a madman. It seemed his pockets were usually empty.
After an hour of a meal that felt like a battlefield, Pan spoke up.
"Um… Boy."
"Yes?"
"Can I… pack some of this? Brother is hungry."
"You can pack plenty. But before that… Ah, he’s here. Over here!"
Jin waved his hand at a man who had just stomped into the restaurant, huffing and puffing.
It was Murakan, who had rushed over after receiving a telegram to 'bring the map.'
"Of all the things… to think you'd have me run errands like this! I am Murakan! Murakan! You could have sent a lesser being for this!"
"Sir Casimir is swamped with work every day, Gilly has a ton to do, and Enya has to study. You're the only one lazing around. You should at least do this much."
"What about Quicantel!?"
"Leave her out of this."
Latri watched Jin with eyes full of admiration, and Jin took the map he received from Murakan and carefully showed it to Pan.
"Pan. Do you… happen to know what this is?"
The moment Pan saw the map, his demeanor changed.
"...Th-this, where… did you get this?"
He was visibly, and deeply, shaken.