Chapter 198: Rumors and Pursuers (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 198: Rumors and Pursuers (1)
The moment Jin and Murakan arrived, they were promptly kicked out of the house. They were even forced to use a teleport gate to travel all the way to Manji Island in the West Sea.
“Kicking people out so suddenly… you happy now?” Murakan grumbled.
Quicantel just shook her head. “The compass isn’t showing any changes. Hmm… Enya, you go out this time.”
“Huh? Me too?”
Enya was kicked out as well, sent to the same destination: Manji Island, located within the Secret Palace’s territory.
This time, the compass reacted. The instant Enya reached Manji Island, a red dot appeared on its map.
“Hmm… I think I understand. It seems this compass can’t detect the Contractor of Solderet. But does being near Jin also shield other contractors from being tracked?”
A red dot had appeared when Enya was on Manji Island, but it vanished the moment she returned to Tikan.
“I’ll take Enya and Yuria out with me,” Jin said.
When Jin took both of them outside Tikan, two red dots appeared over Manji Island on the compass—one for Yuria and one for Enya.
Then, Jin left Tikan by himself. No red dot appeared on the compass, neither in Tikan nor on Manji Island.
“…How strange. We’re certain the compass can’t detect Jin, but it’s not like his presence alone is shielding Enya and Yuria from detection, is it?”
Afterward, Enya and Yuria visited several other regions besides Manji Island. Each time, the result was the same, regardless of whether Jin was present. Whenever the two of them moved alone, a red dot would appear.
“It seems there’s something in Tikan,” Quicantel concluded.
“The Mirror…?”
To Jin, that was the only possibility.
They repeated the experiment, this time focusing on the mirror. It took less than an hour for the group to confirm that the mirror possessed the ability to hide contractors from the compass.
“To summarize: Jin is undetectable even without the mirror, but Yuria and Enya are. As long as the mirror remains in Tikan, this city is essentially a safe zone from contractor tracking.”
The compass was incapable of detecting gods with authority beyond a certain threshold, or their contractors. Since the mirror possessed attributes of both Klam, the God of Magic, and Solderet’s sealing magic, it interfered with the compass’s functions even more powerfully.
“Hmph, so even if we’d done nothing, the kid, his number-one fan, and the little ice pop would have barely shown up on the compass anyway. And even if they were detected when leaving Tikan, it’s not like they could be found immediately.”
“This also explains why Andrei Zipple couldn’t pinpoint Yuria’s exact location in the past,” Jin added. “It was likely due to the compass’s functional limitations.”
Still, their efforts hadn’t been in vain.
From now on, Jin’s group could track the approximate locations of contractors worldwide. Through that, they could infer whether the Zipples were kidnapping anyone. If red dots suddenly began clustering over the Lutero Magic Federation, it would all but confirm a kidnapping was in progress.
That wasn’t all.
‘If a new contractor appears—especially one we absolutely need—we can find them before the Zipples do, or at least at the same time.’
Furthermore, confirming once again that Tikan was a safe zone proved their six months of hard work hadn’t been for nothing.
“We should form a dedicated team to check the compass daily. Sir Casimir, I’ll leave that to you.”
“Understood, Young Master. Now that I’ve confirmed my daughter won’t be tracked, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”
“Young Master, I will give you the rest of the reports,” Gilly said.
“Right, please do.”
“First… you should probably take a look at this.”
Gilly spread a newsletter across the table.
[Bellado Principality, Island of Pirates. A Mysterious Powerhouse in a Black Magic Helmet Appears… Is He a Hero or a Villain?]
“Pfft—Puhahaha! Kyahaha! A hero or a villain? Ah, I’m dying! Look at our kid!”
As soon as he read the first line, Murakan pointed at Jin and burst into boisterous laughter. Even Siris stifled a few giggles.
The article’s content was roughly as follows:
[A mysterious powerhouse named ‘Barmul’ uses ‘lightning energy’ and is likely the new contractor of ‘Paitel,’ the Storm God.
If he is indeed Paitel’s contractor, it marks the appearance of a Storm contractor for the first time in 288 years.
He does not seem to belong to any major power. This is because the Zipples and the Viment Imperial Family have both officially expressed their desire to contact him.
It has been a very long time since the appearance of a figure whom the Zipples and Viment have courted so intensely. Runcandel has yet to express a position, and all eyes are on his future actions.
According to witness testimony, he was a man with flamboyant blonde hair and a beautiful, somewhat dissolute face. However, this is highly likely to be a disguise, and the possibility that he used a human skin mask cannot be ruled out.
His reason for visiting the island is unclear. While theories range from his goal being to wipe out pirates to him being after the wealth of the gambling dens, the public can only hope that this new supernova shaking the continent is a good person…]
At this point, Jin couldn’t help but feel his face flush. Hundreds of media outlets had already published similar articles.
‘I expected rumors about me to spread, but this is still somehow embarrassing.’
While Murakan mocked him, Jin focused on the information ‘hidden’ within the newsletter.
‘There’s no mention of Kinzelo or the compass anywhere. The same goes for the fact that big shots like Chukon Tolderer or Kall Zipple were there. There’s not a single line about the Runcandel Guardian Knights, the Special Task Force, or the Imperial Guard. The focus is entirely on me, the pirate cleanup, and the gambling den.’
In other words, the four great powers—Runcandel, Zipple, Kinzelo, and Viment—had already finished controlling the media narrative.
‘The fact that the Zipples and Viment are officially expressing a desire to meet me means they haven’t guessed my identity, and they aren’t confident they can find me anytime soon.’
If they were, there would be no reason to make such a public statement. It was the Zipple and Viment way to set secret traps, then forcibly recruit or kill their targets once they were caught.
‘And through these articles, those who have questions or grudges against me have gained many clues.’
Specifically, those who had met Jin while he was using the ‘black magic helmet.’
Kuzan and Beris, whom he had fought in the Delki Kingdom, and Latz, the leader of the Special Task Force’s 3rd Squad whom he had encountered at Quicantel’s cabin, were the primary examples.
They now had one definitive clue to track Jin. From now on, if he used the Rune of Mul-ta anywhere and left a witness, they would gradually close in on him.
It wasn’t just them. The four great powers, along with other major families and organizations, were unlikely to remain idle.
Jin had become a celebrity overnight. Not as Jin Runcandel or Jin Gray, but under the name Barmul.
“Those bastards who’ve seen the Rune of Mul-ta will be tearing through these articles from now on,” Murakan said. “Kuzan and Beris—those two, and that Latz guy—they’ll probably be the most persistent.”
“Kid, are they even a match for you anymore?”
“They would be.”
“It seems you’ve returned from the Land of the Fighting God with a new power, Young Master,” Gilly noted. “Although I haven’t seen it myself, seeing the Zipples and Viment act so aggressively, it must be a great power beyond easy imagination.”
“You’ll be shocked when you see it, Strawberry Pie. We saw it once on the way back, and it was breathtaking. Kid, show Strawberry Pie later. Along with the Spirit Sword.”
“Of course I will.”
For some reason, he felt a little shy, but Gilly was simply filled with pride.
“Now, let’s wrap this up and have a drink. It’s been a while, everyone. Seeing us all gathered in Tikan like this again makes me feel quite emotional,” Gilly said.
That day, Siris did not return to the Secret Palace and instead enjoyed the party with her companions. While the others laughed and chatted, Siris remained mostly silent, quietly hiding the joy she felt inside.
*
At the same time Jin and his companions were partying through the night in Tikan, a group of warriors had gathered at a secret villa in Huphester. It was Joshua and his followers.
“A black helmet and the power of lightning… What do you think?”
Joshua’s gaze fell upon Kuzan and Beris, who stood with their hands clasped behind their backs. On the table lay the exact same newsletter Jin had read.
The two had recently sworn their allegiance to Joshua, having settled their minds. They had decided that their only path to revenge against Solderet's Contractor and the Black Dragon was to serve the man who would become the future Patriarch of Runcandel.
“I believe it could be him,” Kuzan replied. Meanwhile, Beris was smiling brightly at a young man sitting next to Joshua.
“Because of the black helmet?”
“Yes. We have searched the world thoroughly since that day, but no one wearing such a helmet has ever been sighted. Since he is a magic swordsman, he could have easily shrouded his blade in lightning-based magic.”
Fuuu…
Joshua exhaled a cloud of smoke, his expression heavy.
“…Yes, I thought so too.”
“My lord, do you believe Barmul is not the Contractor of Solderet we've been pursuing?” Kuzan asked.
Joshua nodded.
“Well, I’m not certain. If new information hadn’t come in, I probably would have reached the same conclusion as you—that he was putting on a show to hide the fact that he's Solderet's Contractor.”
“If you could tell us what information you received…”
“It wasn’t a show. The articles didn't mention it, but apparently, the lightning energy Barmul used instantly killed five White Wolf assault captains on the spot.”
Kuzan, and Beris, who had just been smiling at the young man, both bit their lips hard.
Since the death of Taimun Marius, they had received no new information regarding the Contractor of Solderet. When a powerhouse wearing a ‘black helmet’ appeared, they naturally assumed it was him. But lightning energy instead of spirit energy!
It was an impossible pill for Kuzan and Beris to swallow. The idea that Barmul was likely not their enemy was more shocking than the news that five White Wolf assault captains had been killed by lightning.
“This is annoying. Five White Wolf assault captains? It’s obviously someone else. If his magic was that powerful, Kuzan and I would’ve been turned to charcoal when we first met him. Who the hell is this Barmul guy? He doesn't sound like a mage,” Beris said, her expression turning provocative.
Then, she licked her lips while looking at the young man sitting next to Joshua, who had remained expressionless the entire time.
“Hey, you. Are you really Paitel’s Contractor? From where I'm standing, it looks like Barmul is the real deal.”
Bloodlust flared in the young man’s eyes. A moment later, crackle, lightning began to spark from his body.
“Enough.”
At Joshua’s single word, the young man’s expression went blank again.
“Five White Wolf assault captains in an instant… What do you think, Julian? Could you do the same?”
“I cannot.”
When the young man answered calmly, Joshua shook his head.
“Then it seems the time has come to strengthen your power.”
Beris licked her lips, satisfied. Ever since joining Joshua and meeting Julian, she had found great pleasure in constantly tormenting him.
Under the table, Julian’s hands were trembling violently. It was not a tremor caused by anger toward Beris, but by fear of Joshua.