Chapter 277: Congratulatory Delegation, An Unexpected Encounter (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 277: Congratulatory Delegation, An Unexpected Encounter (3)
“You’re saying they didn’t send a delegation because of me?”
Countless emotions flickered in Gilly’s eyes and gestures—shame, embarrassment, and guilt, mixed with bitterness and worry.
A tangled mess of negative feelings, the kind that makes a person feel small, seemed to wrap around her.
As Gilly bowed her head, Jin stopped questioning her and simply patted her on the shoulder.
“It’s alright. You have nothing to be sorry for, Gilly. I won’t hold a grudge against the McLorans over this, so don’t worry.”
Jin had immediately pinpointed the source of her concern.
“…I am ashamed. Thank you for your consideration, Young Master.”
In truth, Jin’s inner thoughts were far different from his words.
If the McLoran family had deeply wounded Gilly—if they were still causing her so much pain that she couldn't even confide in him or Murakan about her past—he fully intended to punish them. The fact that they hadn't sent a delegation was the least of his concerns.
“Strawberry Pie, don’t make such a sad face. Come over here. This un-cute brat’s little game of playing king is almost over, so it’s the perfect time for the adults to have a drink.”
As Murakan smoothly led Gilly away, Jin called for Petro.
“Petro.”
“Yes, Young Master!”
“Did the Volta family really not send anyone?”
“I will check again at once.”
By the time Petro returned, it was already past midnight.
“It is quite strange. All sorts of fallen nobles came and went, but only the Volta family failed to send a delegate.”
For families like the Voltas, who were truly at the bottom of the barrel, there was no need to worry about the reactions of the other Runcandel siblings. They simply weren't valuable enough for the Runcandels to bother maintaining direct relations with in the first place.
The other flagbearers wouldn't care which fallen nobles Jin met with, and neither would Rosa.
Therefore, the weaker a family was, the harder they usually tried to forge a connection with a pure-blooded Runcandel at a time like this. It was standard practice for them to scrape together what little money they had to send a tribute or even a family heirloom.
Yet, the Voltas had acted completely differently from the other fallen houses.
“Is that so… Hmm.”
Jin fell into thought.
Could someone in the family already know that a descendant of Picon Minche is in the Volta family? Even now?
Picon Minche.
He was indisputably the greatest blacksmith in the history of the continent, the man who had forged Barisada and Bradamante.
Nearly a thousand years had passed since his death, but the Minche Blacksmith Association remained the premier group of blacksmiths on the continent. The official blacksmiths of the association were treated better than most knights or mages, whether in Huphester or the Lutero Magic Federation.
In particular, the three great blacksmiths of the association—known as ‘Anvil,’ ‘Hammer,’ and ‘Fire’—were figures who commanded exceptional respect, even from Cyron himself.
Given the circumstances, who could have imagined that a direct descendant of Picon Minche was working as a mere butler for a fallen noble family?
In my past life, that fact was revealed when I was around twenty-three or twenty-four. It was definitely right before I reached one-star in swordsmanship.
He still remembered it vividly. The incident had turned all of Huphester upside down.
The descendant of Picon Minche went by the name Vinn Branche.
Like everyone else, he had no idea he was a descendant of Picon. Neither did his parents, his great-grandparents, or the generations before them.
At some point, Picon’s descendants had lost the surname ‘Minche’ and their identity, living as ordinary commoners. Their surnames had changed multiple times according to the marriage laws and customs of each era.
Then, out of nowhere, the God of Blacksmiths awakened within Vinn Branche, the butler of the Volta family.
To be precise, it was when Jin was twenty-four that Vinn first ‘perceived’ the God of Blacksmiths, with whom he was already contracted.
My information from my past life might be slightly off. It’s possible that was just when Vinn Branche’s story became public, and the family might have known his identity before then. Especially since Joshua has that Prophet on his side.
Jin nodded as he organized his thoughts.
Unlike now, the Jin of that time had failed to become a flagbearer and was subtly despised even by the servants. Naturally, he hadn't been in a position to grasp the inner workings of the clan. His days had consisted of training alone in a corner and slinking back to his room like a ghost.
On the other hand, the Joshua of that time wasn't much different from the Joshua of today.
Even if another sibling besides Joshua had secured Vinn Branche, they wouldn't have felt the need to share that information with the family’s failure.
Jin didn't even know which faction Vinn Branche had joined after he was revealed as the contractor of the God of Blacksmiths. He had simply assumed he had been absorbed into the Runcandel clan.
Regardless, the only way to know for sure was to see for himself.
“The Volta estate is in a rural part of the Schuteron Kingdom, right? Is there a direct warp gate?”
Are you… are you planning to visit the Voltas right now?
Petro was not the type of person to voice such a question.
“There is not, Young Master. I will immediately issue a Flagbearer’s Order to the gatekeepers to open a warp gate to the nearest city in Schuteron.”
*
As soon as he arrived at the southern Schuteron warp gate, Jin summoned Shuri and rode toward the Volta estate.
There was no longer any issue with being seen riding Shuri, but Jin stuck to mountain paths to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.
“Wh-who are you?”
The small manor of the Volta family was so dilapidated it looked like it could collapse at any moment.
The entrance was guarded by two scrawny boys whom it felt embarrassing to even call gatekeepers. It was unclear whether they were starving because they hadn't been paid or if this was just how they looked.
“I am the 12th Flagbearer of Runcandel, Jin Runcandel. I have come to see the Lord of Volta. Lead the way.”
“Uh… Ah!”
“U-understood! My Lo-o-ord! My Lord! A Flagbearer of Runcandel has arrived!”
The two boys shot up and screamed for their master.
When the Lord appeared a moment later—looking quite scruffy himself, though not as bad as the boys—Jin almost let out a hollow laugh.
The door to the manor broke as the Lord stepped out. It had happened because he’d opened it a bit too forcefully in his haste.
At that moment, Jin had to discard every theory he had been pondering on his journey.
Forget a warp gate; they look so poor they probably couldn't even afford a single horse. A delegation? In this state?
The Voltas hadn't sent a delegation simply because they had no money.
It was amazing that a noble family this destitute, no matter how far they had fallen, still existed within Huphester’s sphere of influence.
“Wh-what brings the 12th Flagbearer of Runcandel to such a humble place?”
“I came because I have something to ask. But first, how on earth did things get this bad?”
Even though it was their first meeting, Jin couldn't help but ask.
“Ah, there was a famine in the territory recently… and bandits and monsters have been rampant… It is quite embarrassing.”
“Why didn't you request aid from the Schuteron royalty?”
“The royal family effectively abandoned this territory long ago. As you can see, it is land of little value…”
Jin understood immediately. Just as the Lord said, the territory looked utterly worthless.
“St-still, this year’s winter crops are being harvested properly, so I think we can be self-sufficient… No, what am I saying? My apologies, Sir Jin Runcandel. We did not have the means to send a delegation, so we could not pay our respects.”
Just as the Lord of Volta was about to drop to his knees, Jin caught him by the shoulder.
In truth, Jin wanted to give him a hug and a bag of gold. He was now certain that the Voltas hadn't caught the eye of anyone in the Garden of Swords yet.
If anyone had known about Vinn Branche’s existence, there was no way they would be living like this.
From Jin’s perspective, the Lord of Volta had done his part perfectly.
“I didn't come to hold that against you. I came to meet a friend named Vinn Branche. I heard he is employed as the Volta family’s butler.”
The Lord’s eyes widened.
“Vinn? Why are you looking for him?”
“Do you need to know?”
At Jin’s calm voice, the Lord and the gatekeepers shook their heads at lightning speed.
“No! Sir Jin, it’s just… Vinn… our butler…”
The Lord’s eyes suddenly turned red.
“He was taken by bandits three days ago. He was clearing the snow on the road out front when it happened… I wish they had taken someone as old and useless as me instead…”
It was a pitiful sight to see the Lord of Volta sobbing, but Jin didn't have time to comfort him.
“I will bring him back immediately. Pray that Vinn Branche is safe.”
He was likely safe, provided the changes in history caused by Jin’s regression hadn't reached this remote village.
“Pardon?”
“Direction.”
“I-it’s north. The bandits headed north.”
“Let’s go, Shuri!”
Mya!
As Shuri kicked up a cloud of snow and shot forward like an arrow, the people of the Volta family could only blink and stare at their retreating figures for a long time.
After riding north for three hours, the bandits’ den finally came into view.
“What the—!”
“Who are you!”
As Jin pushed aside the crude curtain covering the entrance of a natural cave, the bandits, who were in the middle of a drinking party, jumped up and shouted.
He could say with certainty that these were the dregs of the dregs—small fry he hadn't even encountered during his days as a reserve flagbearer.
Not every city in the world was a metropolis, and not every person was an elite.
Jin had grown up surrounded by monsters and superhumans, but he knew there were people in the world who struggled against even such insignificant bandits.
“Vinn Branche, raise your hand.”
“I asked who you are!”
“You look like some noble from the capital, but you should just keep going. Don’t get yourself hurt.”
Jin saw a slender young man in the back raise his hand. That was Vinn Branche.
After that, there was no need to draw a sword or throw a punch.
When Jin released a tiny fraction of his spiritual energy, the bandits instinctively flattened themselves against the ground or began to tremble. As he intensified it slightly more, every single one of them fainted.
Vinn looked around with terrified eyes before slowly approaching Jin.
And as he drew closer…
Jin felt a strange resonance, similar to what he had experienced in the Blue Bird Archipelago. It was almost identical to the phenomenon of Sigmund resonating in response to Gram’s Tomb.
Wooooong…!
This time, however, the one resonating was not Sigmund, but his reclaimed beloved sword.
Bradamante.
Bradamante was resonating with the God of Blacksmiths, who was contracted to Vinn.
“Today is a very lucky day for both of us,” Jin said, offering his hand to Vinn.
The moment Vinn took Jin’s hand, he experienced a voice echoing in his head for the first time in his life.
[Bradamante! Vinn, hurry and take that sword he’s holding. Now!]