Chapter 321: Not Ink, But... (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 321: Not Ink, But... (2)
*
A private annex in the central infirmary of the Sword Emperor Castle.
“Oh, my grandson! You still haven’t opened your eyes? You there! When will my grandson wake up? Surely he won’t stay like this forever, will he?!”
“His pulse and temperature are very stable, Patriarch. He will surely wake up soon, so please do not worry.”
“Dante, oh Dante! My poor grandson, how much pain you must be in…!”
Dante continued to feign unconsciousness, never dreaming that Ron already knew he was faking and was simply playing along.
“My heart is breaking…! Your grandfather will be back shortly. Once you wake up, let’s go eat that Imperial Dragon King Soup you love so much. I shall tell the Emperor—no, His Majesty—to have a top-tier chef on standby.”
As Ron sniffled, Dante felt a strange thrill—a mix of excitement and the guilty pleasure of deceiving his grandfather.
Meanwhile, Ron saw right through his grandson and was barely suppressing his laughter.
Creak.
About ten minutes after Ron left, Jin entered the infirmary. At the same moment, Dante let out a groan as if he were just regaining consciousness.
“Ugh…”
“Young Lord, are you awake?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve fainted… How long was I out?”
“About thirty minutes.”
“I’m glad it wasn’t long. Ah, Paul Gray Mick. I’ve shown you an unseemly side of myself. The rest of you, please step out for a moment. I have some things to discuss privately with this friend.”
As soon as the doctors vacated the room, a wide grin spread across Dante’s face.
“Were you fooled as well?”
“No.”
“As expected, I can’t hide anything from you. Jin! How was my acting? Wasn’t it magnificent? Haha, by now, Grandfather must realize how much I cherish you. He surely promised you those three hundred million gold coins. No, he probably offered five hundred million!”
Dante’s voice rose, filled with excitement.
“I was worried deep down. I wondered if Grandfather would look kindly upon a Hairan and a Runcandel being friends. But in the end, Grandfather is on my side. If I wish to favor you, then Grandfather will also favor—”
Dante stopped mid-sentence as he caught sight of Jin’s expression.
The color had completely drained from Jin’s face, and his eyes were vacant, as if half his soul had departed.
“J-Jin? What happened?”
“I was cleaned out…”
“Wh-what?”
“Your grandfather stripped me of everything.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Dante couldn’t believe it, even after hearing it directly.
This devilish friend of his had been fleeced by someone? No matter how great his grandfather was, he simply couldn’t imagine Jin being the one on the receiving end.
“Uh, well… Hmmm. I’m sorry. I never imagined it would turn out like this. Grandfather isn’t usually that kind of person.”
“No, you have nothing to be sorry for. I was the one who got complacent. Phew, you certainly have a formidable grandfather.”
“Is there nothing I can do to help?”
Jin let out a short, dry laugh.
“Actually, I didn’t just lose things. I even signed a memorandum to hand over some ancient Ten Thousand-Year Steel in addition to the ceramics… but I did learn the extent of Hairan’s information network.”
The Black Knight assassination mission was a secret among secrets.
The fact that Ron knew exactly what reward Jin had received for completing that mission meant there was someone among the Runcandel flagbearers with a connection to him.
‘Whoever it is, they probably didn’t betray Runcandel. It’s likely someone who once owed Lord Ron a debt. It was probably a one-time tip. If he had a permanent spy planted, Lord Ron wouldn’t have been so blatant about it.’
In a way, Jin felt it was for the best. He decided he just needed to find out which flagbearer had passed that information to Ron and find a way to use them.
Furthermore, he had learned what kind of man the peerless knight Ron Hairan was. He was a model patriarch who never let his guard down and never sacrificed the interests of Hairan or himself, regardless of the situation.
Yet, he was also a kind and warm grandfather who would sacrifice more than his own life for the sake of his grandson.
‘In that sense, Lord Ron has already given me his greatest weakness.’
The mere fact that Jin was Dante’s most precious friend meant Ron could not treat Jin recklessly in the future. He had personally witnessed Dante being willing to throw away his life to save Jin.
‘Taking the ceramics and the Ten Thousand-Year Steel was a warning. A warning not to even dream of using him by putting Dante at the forefront.’
As Jin perceived it, this wasn't a warning from a position of strength. Rather, it felt more like a bluff from someone whose most precious treasure was being held hostage. Because of that, despite being fleeced by Ron, Jin didn’t feel like he had lost much.
‘I can recover what Lord Ron took today whenever I want. The problem is that I’ve lost an immediate source of funding.’
It seemed he would have to put in more legwork than expected to secure the necessary funds.
“Jin, for now, I’ll try to raise as much money as I can within the limits of what I can use without Grandfather’s permission. I can’t tell you how upset I am that I’ve caused you harm instead of helping.”
“It’s fine. Forget the money. I’ll get it from somewhere else.”
“Is that possible?”
“I’ll make it possible. More importantly, I ran into Veradin during my mission.”
“…You mean in Ventica, the conflict zone in the Mila Kingdom where Runcandel and Zipple clashed recently?”
Dante’s expression darkened. If Jin and Veradin met during a mission, it could only be for the purpose of killing each other.
“Yes.”
“How was Lord Veradin?”
Dante hadn’t seen Veradin since Jin’s escape from the West Sea.
“He wasn’t himself. It was more than just memory manipulation; his mind itself was no longer sane. He didn’t seem to recognize me, and he even attacked me.”
Jin spent some time explaining the events of that day to Dante. Throughout the story, Dante could not hide his bitter expression.
“…I can’t even imagine how devastated Lord Veradin will be if he ever regains his senses.”
“He probably isn’t in that warmongering state every day. I’ve seen reports in the newsletters describing him carrying out public activities like banquets normally.”
“I want to save him.”
“I agree. But we have to wait for the right time. For a more certain opportunity.”
“Jin.”
“What is it?”
Dante hesitated, his eyes darting between Jin and the floor as if trying to broach a difficult subject.
“If—and I mean if—Lord Veradin is beyond saving. If he can never return to the person he once was and can only live as a puppet for Zipple… what will you do?”
He asked the question, but he didn’t expect the answer he wanted. He thought Jin would say, without hesitation, that they should give up on him, or that killing him would be the kindest path.
The reason he asked anyway was because he wanted to confirm something. He wanted to know if Jin might feel the same way he did.
“I’ll find a way.”
Dante snapped his head up at Jin’s answer.
“Truly?!”
“Of course. Why would I lie? I gain nothing by giving up on him. And he is our friend.”
“Jin! I’m deeply moved!”
“So, tell Lord Ron. Tell him I’m not as purely calculating as he thinks.”
“Since Grandfather found out about our relationship today, I plan to speak about you a bit more comfortably from now on.”
“Sure, sure. I should probably head back soon.”
“Already? Why not stay for dinner and a drink?”
“With someone who was just unconscious from anemia?”
“That was all an act, as you know.”
“Forget it. Invite me when you hold a banquet later. And just in case, try sending an invitation to Veradin, too.”
“I will!”
*
That night, as soon as he returned to Tikan, Jin realized once again just how much Ron Hairan cherished his ‘only’ grandson (though Dante did have siblings).
“Young Master! Young Master Jin! What kind of magic did you perform?”
Tikan, which had been as gloomy as a funeral home just this morning, was now in a festive mood.
“Sir Casimir?”
“You truly are Tikan’s lucky charm, Young Master. Almost every martial family in Viment, excluding the Imperial Family, is competing to bring us money and goods.”
Jin, listening in a daze, broke into a smirk.
‘Dante, you lucky bastard.’
This was how Ron had evaluated Jin: a brawling brat who, if he lost one thing, would surely seize two or more in return.
While there was no doubt that Ron loved and acknowledged his grandson more than anyone else in the world, that was a separate matter. He believed that among his grandson’s peers, Jin was undoubtedly the best—in martial prowess, insight, strategy, guts, and even magic.
Therefore, he had judged that unless he was going to break Jin’s wings completely, any half-hearted meddling would do his grandson more harm than good.
It was a calculation made purely for his grandson’s sake, down to his very bones.
“It’s a windfall! In fact, it’s as if we’ve swapped our old clients for even more solid ones!”
Casimir looked ready to burst into a dance.
‘Lord Ron made the perfect decision. He didn’t just give me money; he solved the fundamental problem.’
The fact that almost every martial family in Viment, excluding the Imperial Family, wanted to trade with Tikan wasn’t just good news because the city’s economy was reviving. It meant that when Jin and Casimir operated Tikan in the future, they wouldn’t have to walk on eggshells around Runcandel as they had before.
Of course, since they now had to be mindful of Ron and Hairan instead of Runcandel, their autonomy was compromised to some extent.
However, from Jin’s perspective, if he had to fight one of the two powers—Runcandel or Hairan—for Tikan’s complete independence in the future…
The latter was far less of a burden. Runcandel was clearly a stronger clan than Hairan.
“If even just the martial families who visited today are confirmed as trading partners, we won’t even need to look for more money.”
Jin shook his head at those words.
“Still, the more money, the better, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Of course! Actually, I just received word. Your guests will be arriving soon. Ah! Look there, I believe Zet is bringing them now.”
Looking out the window, Jin saw a large figure following Zet. The figure wore a robe with the hood pulled up, approaching the mansion with a gait that seemed strangely off-kilter.
“Milord! I’ve brought them!”
Zet threw the door open boisterously.
Up close, the robed figure looked even larger. Its skeletal structure was so bizarre that it didn't seem human.
Jin shrugged as he looked at the golden eyes sparkling inside the hood.
“You guys are so good at disguising others. Was this really the best you could do for yourselves?”
“What? I think this is pretty great!”
Whoosh!
As the robe was cast off, several bundles of fur that barely reached Jin’s waist were revealed. The large figure was actually four members of the Gold Snow Tribe, stacked together to look like a single human.
“Uh, no, it’s not great. It’s been a while, Top.”
“Hey now. Is that any way to greet a business partner? We aren’t those paupers in the cave anymore. If you please, call me Top, the Chief Merchant of the Golden Top Merchant Group, Sir Jin Runcandel, 12th Flagbearer of Runcandel.”