Chapter 230: Power of the Black Dragon (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 230: Power of the Black Dragon (3)
As Misha and Quicantel headed to their room, the two friends with dislocated jaws—Kuzan and Beris—returned to the drawing room. They wore expressions of utter bewilderment.
“Are you two all right?”
“……My apologies. I lost my composure for a moment when I heard she had struck Beris. I keep showing you my lesser side, Young Master.”
As Kuzan bowed his head deeply, Jin waved his hand dismissively.
“It makes you seem more human, so it’s fine. Honestly, if someone had hit Gilly, I would have snapped too.”
“I… I just asked if she was a thief… It was a perfectly reasonable question, given the situation… Hmph, damn it.”
Beris massaged her jaw, her face twisted in a grimace. Even though the healers had already treated her, her gums still tingled with a dull numbness.
She couldn’t shake the feeling of being wronged.
It had been a month since they arrived in Tikan after the incident in the Blue Bird Archipelago.
For the first week, she had been a complete wreck. She couldn’t bear the fact that she had been serving her true enemy, Joshua, all this time, nor could she handle the loss of her mana. Back then, the aftereffects of the final stage of Mana Backflow were so severe that she couldn’t have done much else anyway.
However, starting from the second week, Beris decided to follow Kuzan’s lead and try to settle in.
Though her treatment wasn’t finished and her mana hadn’t returned, she did whatever she could—from cleaning to laundry. Even when others told her she didn’t need to, they couldn’t break her stubbornness.
She felt that if she didn’t do at least that much, she would become utterly useless.
That was why she had been helping Latri prepare refreshments yesterday when disaster struck—all because she had asked a strange woman who appeared out of nowhere if she was a thief.
“Master, should I bring you some ice?” Enya asked, stepping in front of Beris.
“There you go again with that ‘Master’ nonsense. Are you crazy? Who’s your master?”
“You taught me the theories and principles of wind-attribute magic. You even passed down 5-star spells to me. That makes you my master.”
“By that logic, every teacher at the Viment Academy would be your master. Stop talking nonsense and get lo—”
Of course, losing her mana didn’t mean her naturally foul temperament had vanished.
“I never learned from them, though.”
“Do you think I don't know how the academy lectures are structured? They teach theory even in the beginner classes. Don't lie to me.”
“But I really never learned. I was… discriminated against quite a bit. Anyway, I’ll go get the ice, so please teach me another spell later.”
Surprisingly, Enya saw a reflection of herself in Beris.
The two shared absolutely nothing in common in terms of appearance or personality, but on this one point, Enya felt a sense of kinship.
The fear that I might be nothing more than a burden to the people here.
Ever since returning from the cave of the Dark Magic Association, Enya had been desperately throwing herself into training and her studies whenever she had the chance.
Thus, partly to help Beris adjust and partly for her own growth, Enya was persistently pestering her to teach her magic, one spell at a time.
Patter, patter.
As Enya dashed off to get the ice, Beris shook her head in exasperation.
“Now that I’ve lost my mana, even a brat like that looks down on me.”
Despite her words, Beris snatched the ice Enya brought back and pressed it against her jaw.
“There, now that you’ve taken it, it’s a promise. You have to teach me a new spell.”
“When did I ever say that?”
“I’ll be waiting in the underground training hall this evening! Well then, Young Master Jin, I’ll be going now!”
Before Beris could bark another word, Enya scurried out of the drawing room.
“Ugh, my head hurts. Kuzan, what is wrong with that girl? My mood was already ruined.”
Jin chuckled softly as he looked at Beris.
“Beris, let me give you a piece of advice. You’d better watch what you say to Enya when Quicantel is around. Regardless of your true intentions, she’ll beat you to a pulp without a second thought. I won't be able to stop her, and if you get hit, Kuzan will snap again, right? Then Kuzan will challenge her and get beaten too. It’s a vicious cycle.”
Beris wasn't purely a bloodthirsty killer by nature. Though her way of expressing it was extremely—and severely—clumsy, she felt grateful to Jin and the people of Tikan.
That was why she continued to teach Enya magic, even while hurling profanities every time the girl found an excuse to see her. Jin sensed this, which was why he simply let her behavior slide.
“Hmph.”
As Beris turned on her heel and stomped off, Kuzan bowed to Jin in her stead.
“I apologize, Young Master. I will explain things to her so she understands.”
“Leave it be. She only talks like that; she’s actually been a great help to Enya. Even Gilly praises Beris occasionally, saying she’s more helpful than expected.”
In truth, for Kuzan and Beris, Tikan was a land so bright it felt alien.
From their earliest, now-faint memories, they had been raised as hunting dogs for the Moon's Sacrifice. They had been used, had lost Taimun, and had ended up under Joshua.
The world they had known was indescribably dark and damp. But now, they were slowly realizing what it meant to live like human beings.
The same went for Julian.
“Is there anything making you uncomfortable lately, Julian?”
“……No.”
“I see.”
Jin didn't push the conversation further. Julian was still unable to escape the terror of Joshua and the fact that his guardian dragon had been captured.
By nature, he was extremely introverted and a man of few words. It was a wonder how he had managed to survive among those rough knights under Joshua.
The power of Gram, the God of Thunder. If there’s a way to fully imbue that into Sigmund, I should take him back to the Blue Bird Archipelago then.
Just as Joshua had done, there was nothing wrong with strengthening Julian’s authority—provided Julian became completely Jin’s man.
Currently, in Jin’s mind, Julian was closer to a guest than a subordinate, while Kuzan and Beris were closer to subordinates than comrades.
“Sir Casimir.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Did anything come up regarding the Holy Kingdom while I was away?”
“After you left, I met with the priests along with Bran, but they were reluctant to speak. Of course, to avoid suspicion, I framed it as a concern that Tikan’s trade business might be affected. Fortunately, there were a few merchant ships that had passed through Santel.”
“Thank you for your hard work. You smell something fishy too, don't you?”
“Yes. In my opinion, the Holy Kingdom of Vankella can no longer be considered a neutral nation. They clearly aided the Zipple in this matter. Not a single proper article has been released about it yet.”
“The ones who blockaded Santel were the Heretic Inquisitor Paladins of the Dawn Order of Doctrine Protection. Furthermore, they were even using Rhetoric Art inside the city to brainwash the commoners.”
“They must have felt the need to hide the events of that day, even if it meant defying the strict orders of Holy King Miklan. Or, perhaps Holy King Miklan was on the Zipple’s side from the beginning…”
That was the worst-case scenario.
If the Holy Kingdom had already fallen completely to the Zipple, it would inevitably cause problems when Jin eventually fought the full-scale war of succession within his family.
Countless Guardian Knights would surely be killed or injured, yet they would be unable to receive support from the Holy Kingdom’s superior healers. Or, even if they did receive support, they would have to pay a price incomparably greater than before.
This wasn't a problem just for Jin, but for the entire Runcandel Clan—and by extension, all the martial houses of Huphester. That was how exceptional the Holy Kingdom’s healing powers and various medicines were.
“That is a possibility, but we should hope it isn't the case. Also, I met Rani Salome, the Holy King’s foster daughter, there.”
“Miklan is known within the Holy Kingdom as a doting father, to the point of being called a fool for his daughter. I’ve heard several anecdotes about it myself. But for him to send his own daughter to aid the Zipple… it really suggests the Holy Kingdom has already…”
“No, Rani was different from the other paladins and saints there. In fact, if it weren't for her, Murakan would have been captured by the Zipple or wouldn't have survived at all.”
Jin explained the situation in detail—how he met Rani to rescue Murakan, and what the battle between Kadun and Murakan was like.
“Rani said the Holy Kingdom had become corrupt, colluding with power and obscuring the truth. That’s why she decided to help us. After all, it was Kadun, not Murakan, who massacred the commoners.”
“To think such a thing happened… You received a great deal of help, Young Master.”
“Yes. I’ve been thinking, perhaps the Holy King placed Rani in the Dawn Order of Doctrine Protection to keep an eye on them?”
“You mean that instead of the entire Holy Kingdom siding with the Zipple, only certain factions like the Dawn Order might have joined hands with them?”
“Exactly.”
“That seems much more likely to me as well. Looking back at the policies the Holy Kingdom has implemented recently, most of them were things the internal vested interests would dislike. The ban on Rhetoric Art was part of that.”
It had been twenty years since Miklan abolished Rhetoric Art. Neither the Jin of his previous life nor the Jin of his current life was old enough to have felt the fierce backlash that occurred within the Holy Kingdom at the time.
Casimir, on the other hand, had been royalty, so he hadn't forgotten how meetings were held daily in Viment and how related articles poured out back then.
It was understandable, as the Holy King had banned the most powerful and easiest method of proselytizing.
“However, the idea that the Holy Kingdom’s vested interests joined the Zipple simply out of spite lacks a bit of persuasion. Especially with a giant power like the Zipple, there’s a high risk that if you bring them in, you’ll end up as nothing more than their puppet.”
“You’re right, Young Master. If that were the case, it would have been better to plot and drag the Holy King down instead. Hmm, we need to look into this properly. I have a feeling a much more complex web of relationships will emerge than expected.”
“First, please look into Rani Salome. I heard one of the 2nd Captains of the Dawn Order mention disciplinary action, so if Miklan couldn't stop it, she must be undergoing punishment.”
“Understood. Since she is Murakan’s great benefactor, I will also prepare a way to reward her without making it uncomfortable.”
* * *
The next morning, Murakan’s condition had improved noticeably.
The fever that had made him feel like a ball of fire was completely gone, and he was now sauntering through the corridors of Tikan with his tail held high, looking no different from any other cheerful cat.
The fever had broken naturally without the healers having to do a thing.
[Meow, meow.]
“Nyan.”
Shuri was even seen occasionally flipping Murakan onto his back and rolling him around like a ball.
“Maybe we shouldn't even turn him back? He looks happy in his own way. Why not just let him live like that, Jin? It would save some spirit energy too.”
“Lady Misha.”
“I’m joking. If only he were even half as charming as that when his mind was intact. Hmm… From now on, you might hear some screams and other rather loud noises, so just take it in stride and wait. Do you understand?”
Misha’s shadow loomed over the overturned Murakan.
She looked down at him and flashed a wicked, sinister smile.