Chapter 251: Villain (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 251: Villain (8)
Zipple was now obsessed with one thing and one thing only: killing Barmul to restore the clan’s prestige.
They no longer cared about their public image, which had already plummeted to rock bottom. Barmul had exposed too many of their atrocities to the world. If they failed to eliminate him, the authority of the world’s greatest clan would be irrevocably shaken.
Of course, if Jin kept his identity hidden, they would likely use Karl’s death as a convenient excuse to sweep the entire incident under the rug.
“I’ll be an official flag-bearer soon anyway, so as long as I stay hidden until then, there won’t be a problem. And I have the perfect place to hide.”
Jin shrugged as he looked at Casimir.
“By the way, that Zipple Patriarch… isn’t he a bit too cruel to his own son? Not only did he send him to die under a false accusation, but he even resorted to assassination just to uncover your identity? I’ve never witnessed such depravity.”
“It’s enough to make one wonder if it was a fake, someone transformed by Bubar Gaston.”
“It was likely the real Karl, Sir Casimir. If it were a fake, Kinzelo would have been in a very difficult position the moment that fact was revealed during an interrogation. Besides, now that they’re hostile toward Zipple, they have no reason to go to such lengths for them.”
The cold and filthy pinnacle of magic.
That was how Jin defined Kelliark Zipple.
However, despite those vile descriptors, he was still the ‘pinnacle.’ He was an opponent Jin could not yet handle, one whom even Cyron did not strike down recklessly.
The thought that Kelliark would soon learn his identity sent a chill down Jin’s spine.
If the land Zipple had meddled with hadn’t been the Holy Kingdom of Vankella, Jin would never have revealed himself. Had this happened anywhere else, Kelliark would have caught him and taken his head long before he could reach a safe haven.
On the other hand, he felt a surge of anticipation.
He wondered just how much the world would be shaken when a reserve flag-bearer of Runcandel claimed a ‘victory by decision’ in his first real confrontation with Kelliark Zipple.
*
Following Karl’s death, Zipple offered no explanation to the Holy Kingdom.
Rani, her loyal retainers, and the citizens all knew that Zipple was the true culprit behind the nation’s ruin, but they lacked the power to punish them.
As the investigation into the truth was delayed day after day, the heated curiosity of the international press began to cool.
In contrast, the journalists of the Lutero Magic Federation churned out articles favorable to Zipple every single day. The press in Huphester countered with articles disparaging Zipple, but it was a meaningless gesture. They had been fighting a war on paper long before the Holy Kingdom incident, and in their respective territories, the opposing clan had always been painted as the villain.
The fiery interest of outsiders was also rapidly dying out. The nobles of various countries, in particular, no longer even showed their faces in the square where Rani and the citizens gathered. They had judged that there was nothing to be gained by needlessly catching Zipple’s eye.
It was, of course, absurd that Zipple had paid a mere token price by executing Karl Zipple.
But the Great Powers had the strength to make an absurd situation even more absurd.
If they so chose, they had the power to erase the voices of their weak victims and even punish third parties who dared to show the slightest sympathy.
The neutral public and smaller factions knew this all too well, and they were once again walking on eggshells around Zipple.
Furthermore, the neutral parties were making a specific calculation. While this incident in the Holy Kingdom would be a massive stain on Zipple’s history, no power was without its flaws. Eventually, once things quieted down, Zipple would deploy its wealth and people to sweeten the pockets and mouths of the neutral factions.
Just look away, and we’ll take care of you.
Zipple always soothed the neutral powers in that manner whenever a problem arose.
In contrast, Runcandel always practiced a politics of fear. As the two clans had different temperaments, their methods of manipulating the world were vastly different. In the case of the Holy Kingdom, Zipple’s method would certainly prove more effective.
Zipple’s galleons, laden with gold, were already entering the Holy Kingdom’s territorial waters.
This was presented as compensation for the ‘interference in internal affairs’ by Karl Zipple’s followers, an issue treated as separate from his death. The scale of the compensation was far beyond imagination—enough to secure the Holy Kingdom’s budget for the next thirty years without a single worry.
However, Rani naturally refused the compensation. Her loyal retainers could only grind their teeth and shed tears of blood.
“What on earth do those bastards think the Holy Kingdom is—no, what do they think human beings are?!”
The citizens also vented their fury, veins bulging in their necks.
Unconcerned by such reactions, Zipple silently unloaded the gold at the Holy Kingdom’s port. It was as if it didn’t matter who took it, as if they wanted anyone’s eyes to glaze over at the sight of this fortune, as if they were daring someone to steal it.
As proof, Zipple left not a single guard to watch over the unattended piles of gold bars.
The gold, stacked like a fortress in the center of the port, shone brilliantly. The sheer amount—more than an ordinary person, or even the king of a nation, could ever hope to see in a lifetime—inspired a sense of intimidation rather than desire.
Even if the Holy Kingdom ultimately refused the gold, Zipple would not take it back.
“They’re certainly putting on a display of financial madness.”
Jin observed the gold bars with his arms crossed. He could see it all. He knew exactly what would happen if the Holy Kingdom did not accept that gold.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find that much gold even in the hoard of a greedy Imperial Dragon. Man, I wonder how many limited-edition erotic picture books that could buy.”
“Are you insane? Erotic picture books? How can you even think of something like that right now?”
“Just… because?”
Jin shook his head.
“At a glance, that gold could cover the Holy Kingdom’s budget for thirty years—fifty, if managed well.”
“Seems so.”
“Which means, if they don’t take this, Zipple will make sure they struggle for money for the next fifty years.”
If they accepted the gold and buried the incident themselves—if they turned a blind eye to the uncomfortable truth just once—Zipple would make the Holy Kingdom wealthy.
If not, they would thoroughly sever the Holy Kingdom’s financial lifelines.
As Jin said, the gold bars sitting at the port carried that very meaning.
“If you throw away your pride and desire for revenge, you get to live a wealthy life. But if you defy them to the end, that gold will go to the neutral factions instead. Zipple will interfere with the Holy Kingdom’s trade and make them regret not taking this money.”
Right now, the citizens’ sentiment toward Zipple had hit rock bottom.
But how long could that last?
Most ordinary people did not possess convictions as strong as Rani or her loyalists. A typical life was a sequence of days spent pursuing survival and small joys through labor and its rewards.
When a nation becomes poor, its people become poor as well.
If wages decreased despite working harder, if the quality of life showed no sign of improvement while the intensity of their labor only increased… would the citizens still support the choice made by Rani and her retainers today?
It was unlikely.
The responsibility for the citizens’ impoverished lives would ultimately fall not on Zipple, who imposed the brutal economic sanctions, but on the leadership of the Holy Kingdom. Zipple would undoubtedly continue to meddle in their politics to ensure such a moment arrived quickly.
Rani and her loyalists would find it impossible to find a way out, and they would eventually be remembered as tyrants or incompetent leaders.
“I thought of the erotic picture books because I didn’t want to think about all that annoying stuff,” Murakan grumbled.
“I’m sure you did.”
Of course, there was Runcandel. Runcandel wouldn’t just sit idly by while the Holy Kingdom collapsed. But would they stabilize the nation by pouring in as much money as Zipple?
They lacked the justification. There were plenty of impoverished lands within Huphester’s own borders; taking care of the Holy Kingdom before them was out of the question. It was an issue that could even lead to internal division.
Ultimately, if it came down to a battle of wealth, Runcandel would be the one to find it more exhausting.
“Let’s go,” Jin said. “Time to put an end to this bullshit.”
*
December 24, 1797.
Rani decided to begin the memorial rite for the Holy King and the victims of the bio-golems. The trial had not yet concluded, but the rite could be delayed no longer. The body of the fake Holy King, which the saints had preserved with divine power, had finally begun to decay, and Vitura’s displayed corpse had rotted away completely.
Furthermore, the memorial rite had to be finished before the neutral press departed for good. The fact that the trial for the Holy King’s assassination remained open served as a minimal safety net for Jin.
The memorial rite was scheduled to last for three hours. Naturally, Rani herself was to recite the prayers.
“Everyone, please take your seats,” Rani said as she stepped onto the podium. Her voice was low, but every person in the square knelt on the ground and closed their eyes in unison.
“O Ayula, your most faithful daughter, Rani Salome, stands here for the unjustly slain Holy King Miklan and his citizens. Please respond to my prayer, so that within Your voice, we may cherish their final moments…”
Dilettantes often called the Holy Kingdom’s memorial rite the ‘Milky Way Prayer.’ This was because the divine power of those gathered for the repose of the dead would bind together and emit a soft light. During this time, the prayers would resonate, allowing even those with low divine power to radiate a characteristic yellow glow.
The brilliance of the yellow light bathing the congregation depended on the divine power of the one leading the prayer.
Because of this, Jin and Murakan couldn't help but be impressed anew.
Rani Salome… I knew her divine power was immense since she protected Murakan in that poison-filled land, but still…
The entire square was glowing a brilliant yellow. As she recited the prayer, Rani’s body trembled, infusing her divine power into the thousands of citizens gathered before her. Just as the dilettantes described, it truly looked as if a milky way were flowing across the earth.
The reporters thought this was the last scoop they could get from the Holy Kingdom. No memorial rite this grand had been held in recent years.
“…Therefore, today, the children of Ayula hope that they may safely find their way into Your embrace. May this light reach You, and may their eternal lives be filled with blessings.”
As soon as the prayer ended, Rani swayed precariously and gripped the podium.
It was a truly perfect memorial rite.
However, the people did not know that Rani’s prayer had gone beyond perfection and performed a miracle. They did not know that Vitura’s corpse, which had already rotted and been buried, had regained its original form deep within the earth.
This was a secret that even Rani did not know, one that only Ayula and the soul of the deceased Vitura would ever share.
Huff, huff…
After catching her breath for a long moment, Rani looked out at the crowd.
“The memorial rite has concluded. And today, I, Rani Salome, wish to introduce to you all an outsider who has sacrificed much for the Holy Kingdom.”
The citizens looked up at Rani in confusion. It was customary to thank those who had gathered and then step down from the podium.
In that moment, the reporters caught a scent.
The scent of Barmul’s imminent appearance.
“My friend, please come forward.”
While the citizens looked around, Jin slowly stepped onto the stage.
He pulled back his hood, revealing his gold-dyed hair. Then, without a hint of hesitation, he spoke.
“I am Jin Runcandel.”
