Chapter 254: Feat of a Reserve Flagbearer (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 254: Feat of a Reserve Flagbearer (3)
“Veradin…?”
Jin’s eyes widened just as much as the others' as he slid off Shuri’s back.
Why is he here? And what happened to all this gold…?
The fire engulfing the mountain of gold bars was a raging inferno. Given that this was enough gold to sustain the Holy Kingdom for decades, the scale of the blaze was extraordinary.
Did you do this?
Just as Jin was about to ask, another familiar voice rang out.
“Lord Veradin! The fire has spread to the back! We need to flee— Huh? Jin!? Is that really you?”
A petite frame and a husky voice.
It was Dante Hairan. He had been hidden from view, busy checking if the fire had taken hold behind the gold stacks.
“D-Dante, too?”
With Dante popping out, even Jin couldn't help but stammer.
Seriously, why do these two always show up in the most unexpected places?
It was always like this. When he left Storm Castle, at the Arena of Cosmos, in the Nameless City of Samil, and now here.
Jin regained his composure and observed the two. Both of them had sparkling eyes, clearly overjoyed by the reunion.
“To think we'd meet in a place like this! There must be some kind of fate between the three of us.”
“Right, right! Hahaha! Back then, you were the one causing trouble in Samil, but this time, it's us.”
“By the way, what is that cat? It's huge.”
“More importantly, you’re riding the Red Jade Cat! How did you form a bond with a divine beast like that? Anyway, I’m so glad to see you! Hahaha!”
Dante and Veradin spoke simultaneously, pointing at Shuri.
Watching the two of them act so bright and innocent in front of the inferno, Jin felt a headache coming on.
“Didn’t you two just mention fleeing? Did you start this fire?”
“To be precise, Lord Veradin started it.”
Dante pointed at Veradin, like a child snitching on a friend.
“No, you did it.”
Veradin looked dead serious, but the person he pointed at wasn't Dante—it was Jin.
Jin’s eyes went wide as he pointed at himself.
“What? Me? When did I?”
“Lord Veradin, our friend just arrived. You were clearly the one who set the fire.”
“L-Let’s just say Jin did it. He’s a reserve flagbearer of Runcandel, so we can just say he's building up his achievements…”
Clang!
As Dante went to wave his hand dismissively at Veradin, a gold bar suddenly fell from his pocket and hit the ground.
Jin flinched, his gaze darting between Dante and the fallen gold bar.
“…You guys… are you crazy? Don’t tell me you swiped a bar from here?”
“I-It's a misunderstanding! I only followed Lord Veradin because he said he'd pay me for helping!”
“Dante! Did you seriously pocket a gold bar behind my back?”
At Veradin’s shout, Dante’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head.
“Lord Veradin! Why do you keep saying such strange things? You set the fire, and this was the payment I was promised…!”
It was a total farce.
Jin pressed a hand to his forehead and swallowed a sigh.
Right, Dante—there’s no way a straight arrow like him would be seduced by a mere gold bar. And Veradin… looking at him now, he seems a bit off. His eyes look somewhat unhinged.
Veradin broke into a cold sweat and glanced around nervously. Dante, meanwhile, grabbed him by the collar and raised his voice, demanding to know why Veradin was framing him as a thief.
“A-Anyway! I don’t know anything! We have to say Jin did it. Otherwise, we’ll both be in trouble, Dante!”
“You said no such thing when we came here!”
“I briefly lost my mind to rage back then!”
“Briefly lost your mind? We spent three days on a sailboat to get here, and you were perfectly fine the whole time! Was that resolve you showed—saying you couldn't forgive your family’s atrocities—all a lie?”
“Uuughhh.”
Veradin twisted his body awkwardly like a broken clockwork doll.
“Veradin, shut up. Dante, you explain the situation. We don’t have time; Zipple mages are about to swarm this place to kill me.”
“Jin, what do you mean by that?”
“I'm the one who exposed the truth behind this whole Holy Kingdom incident. I just revealed it in the plaza, fought the Zipple mages who came after me, and now I'm making my escape.”
“W-What? Then you mean you were Barmul?”
“You’re Barmul!?”
Dante and Veradin thrust their faces close to Jin’s.
It was one shock after another for all three of them. At the very least, Jin managed to maintain his cool. If he joined this parade of fools, the situation would devolve into a farce in an instant.
“Furthermore, I revealed that I am a reserve flagbearer of Runcandel, so Zipple is now in a position where they absolutely must kill me. I chose this escape route specifically to wipe out the gold Zipple gave the Holy Kingdom as a hollow gesture of goodwill.”
“Jin, we truly are fated.”
Dante clenched his fists, his expression moved.
“Our goals are the same. Lord Veradin might seem a little unhinged right now, but he asked for my help because he couldn't forgive his own family. He said that as the next patriarch of Zipple, he had to take responsibility.”
In other words, the three of them had come to this port for the exact same purpose.
Veradin and Dante had been incensed after learning about the situation in the Holy Kingdom through the newsletters. Veradin had decided to step forward personally to correct the atrocities, even though Zipple was his own family.
As heirs to Great Families themselves, Jin and Dante knew exactly how monumental that choice was.
That was why Dante—the next patriarch of Hairan—had agreed to help Veradin, even though it was just a request. He had been moved by Veradin’s resolve.
Though that feeling of being moved was currently being chipped away by Veradin’s nonsensical behavior now that the deed was done.
“So, it doesn’t matter if we say I set the fire. I would have done it anyway if you guys hadn't.”
“Jin.”
Veradin’s expression shifted as he locked eyes with Jin.
“Our mages attacked you? To cover up the truth and protect the family’s prestige?”
Jin gave a silent nod instead of an answer.
Veradin’s gaze darkened.
“And they’re chasing you right now?”
“Yeah.”
“Those… bastards… Have they no shame? I’ll kill them all.”
Veradin’s hair began to flutter as if caught in a wind. He was drawing up his mana.
8-star.
Or perhaps even higher.
Gauging Veradin’s mana, Jin inwardly drew a sharp breath.
When did he get this strong? In my past life, it was known that he reached 9-star at the age of thirty.
Jin had assumed Veradin's power was still at the 7-star level. Since he was a monster capable of Ultra-Simultaneous Casting, he was already superior to most 8-star mages even with only 7-star mana.
But he was wrong. The mana fluctuating from Veradin felt close to the 9-star level, even at a glance.
“Calm down, Veradin.”
“Family prestige? Just how many innocent people are they going to kill because they think that crap is important?”
Suddenly, the day he first met Veradin came to mind.
— …Well, fine. Impressive. But as a senior in a similar position, let me give you a piece of advice. Even if you meet other Zipples later and experience something unpleasant, don’t go around cutting off fingers. Wouldn't that make things too exhausting for our families?
— Now that is a funny joke, Veradin Zipple.
— Hmm, why? If Runcandel and Zipple fought a bloody war over every minor issue, there’d be nothing left of the world. I said it in the sense that you should think of the commoners who suffer in war.
That was the conversation they had when Jin had tried to cut off Veradin’s finger inside the Mitel Kingdom’s teleport gate.
I always thought Veradin was an unreadable guy. I figured there was no way he, as the next patriarch, wouldn't know about Zipple’s evil deeds.
But now, it seemed Veradin truly hadn't known the extent of Zipple’s atrocities. His behavior might be eccentric, but perhaps Veradin was a person far removed from the 'Zipple' Jin knew.
“Do you know what this gold signifies, Jin? It means that if the Holy Kingdom doesn't accept this and move on, Zipple will keep them impoverished for decades. That’s no different from saying they’ll let over a million commoners starve to death.”
Veradin was once again showing the side that had moved Dante.
Jin felt like he understood why Veradin was so erratic.
He’s afraid.
While he was enraged by his family’s evil, Veradin was also shuddering at the thought of what would happen next.
However, the news that Zipple’s mages had attacked Jin caused his rage to overcome his fear. In fact, knowing Jin had been attacked, nothing but rage remained in his head. Reason and all other emotions had vanished.
If Jin had made a similar choice in the same situation, Runcandel would have crippled him and expelled him from the family regardless of the reason. While the entire family was moving desperately to protect its prestige, it was unthinkable for an heir to overturn the board out of a sense of justice.
“I know. That’s why I stepped forward to deal with the gold even after revealing my identity.”
“Then how can you tell me to calm down!”
“It’s different when I step forward versus when you do. As a third party, I can just provide the Holy Kingdom a pretext to refuse the gold and then run away. But what about you? If you personally kill the mages coming here, what happens next?”
“My father will understand my intentions.”
“It's not my place to say, but your own brother, Kelliark Zipple, was killed by an assassin sent by your father. Kelliark, the 4th Tower Master, was used as bait just to lure me out. Do you really think you…”
“Fire! The gold is burning!”
“It must be the fire he set! Catch him, at all costs!”
Suddenly, shouts were heard from a distance. The mages chasing Jin had arrived at the port.
“Enough. Jin, Dante. You two go first. I will stop them.”
Veradin spoke in a low voice. Mana was forming a new fire in his hands.
Destruction Flame Orb of the Dark Heaven, Type 1. Unlike in Samil, the spell formula was being woven perfectly.
“Lord Veradin.”
“It has been fun.”
Hah.
Jin let out a sigh.
Is this like a late puberty phase? I understand how he feels, but there’s a limit to making mistakes while drunk on rage. He’s acting like a moth to a flame.
In Jin’s opinion, there were many ways to end this situation more efficiently and cleanly.
“Fine, we'll pull back first, Veradin.”
“Jin! If we’re the only ones who flee, Lord Veradin will—!”
Dante turned his head and shouted.
“Dante, you were gallantly defeated while trying to stop me.”
Crack!
Jin’s right fist slammed squarely into Veradin’s jaw.
“Urgh.”
Thud! A follow-up front kick hit the solar plexus. Veradin collapsed forward, coughing up blood. Jin even stepped on the back of the fallen Veradin’s head, grinding his face into the dirt.
The sudden attack caused a violent mana backflow.
A gurgling sound could be heard as Veradin foamed at the mouth.
“J-Jin?”
“You don't want to see him come to a bad end, do you? Get over here.”
Jin wrapped his robe around Dante, bundling him up.
“It might sting a bit, but keep your mouth shut until I give the signal. Shuri, take him.”
As Jin climbed back onto Shuri’s back, the cat took Dante in her mouth.