Chapter 330: Temar’s Third Tomb (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 330: Temar’s Third Tomb (2)
Jin’s eyes widened.
“My enemies? Who would do such a thing? And how do you know?”
Neru, the Catfolk, did not answer immediately, merely shaking her head slowly.
[We do not know the specifics. We simply felt a looming crisis, as if the cave were about to collapse. It is thanks to this intuition that our race has survived without being driven to extinction by humans.]
The intuition of the Catfolk.
Surviving on intuition alone didn't sound particularly reliable. However, having just experienced the mysterious power that had transported them from the cave to this island, Jin decided to trust her.
“And is it also your ‘intuition’ telling you that the ones coming to destroy this place are my enemies?”
[No, that is a logical deduction. Considering the chain of events, the only reason our home would be attacked at this time is because of the dealings you started with the Gold Snow Tribe. The only reason I cannot pinpoint the exact enemy is that you simply have too many.]
You didn’t need a Catfolk’s intuition to know Jin had a lot of enemies. It wasn’t hard to imagine a threat from the Zipple, or even a move from within Runcandel as part of their internal power struggles.
Since Kinzelo had also been involved in the Holy Kingdom Incident, any outsider would see Jin as a man contending with all three of the world’s great powers.
Which one could it be?
Was his family planning to strike the beastmen to sabotage his business or send a warning?
Had the Zipple launched an attack after seeing Jin, a wanted man, brazenly advertising his presence? Or, since the Catfolk’s cave was in the Land of the Beastmen, was Kinzelo invading for some ulterior motive?
All three were plausible, making it impossible to judge hastily.
“If what you say is true, Neru, then the attack on the cave is my fault. I will take responsibility.”
[We will broadcast a warning to the smaller beastmen so that you won’t have to. We already have a space prepared for them to flee to.]
“That’s a relief. But there’s always a chance of the unexpected, isn’t there? It would be better to go back now and tell them to escape immediately.”
Jin had no desire to witness a horrific massacre of the smaller beastmen.
[If we tell them too early, the movements of the Gold Snow and Water Tail tribes might escalate the problem. Furthermore, our intuition says that doing so would make it impossible to fulfill the promise with Solderet.]
“It sounds like you’re holding the lives of the smaller beastmen hostage for a promise to Solderet.”
[That is correct.]
“Why go this far? What if they’re wiped out? Once they’re dead, no one can take responsibility for that.”
A sudden surge of anger rose within him.
Of course, all of this was based on the Catfolk’s ‘intuition’—the claim that his enemies were coming, that the beastmen might be slaughtered, and that warning them early could cause more trouble.
Yet, Jin could not shake the ominous feeling.
[Jin Runcandel.]
Neru lowered her eyes, her expression bitter.
[We, too, wish to protect the smaller beastmen, as we always have. You ask what we will do if they die, but for us, the greater concern is failing to fulfill our promise to Solderet. It is a promise we have waited a thousand years to keep.]
Jin didn’t respond, simply meeting Neru’s gaze.
[How much sacrifice do you think has been made for this promise? Your ancestors, my comrades, and countless humans and dragons. Five hundred years ago, one of my companions died while being hunted by the Zipple.]
Jin let out a low sigh.
Fulfilling one’s mission as Solderet’s contractor.
When he had first contracted with Solderet in his previous life, he had never entertained such thoughts. He had only intended to follow Solderet’s lead, become an unparalleled magic swordsman to rule the world, and exact a small measure of revenge against the family that had abandoned him.
After his regression, however, he was gradually learning that Solderet’s authority was not a power granted without a price.
His regression itself seemed to be Solderet's doing, and since every gift prepared for him was powerful enough to turn the world on its head, he didn't think the price was excessive.
It just felt cruel. Both to him and to those who had sacrificed themselves for Solderet’s arrangements.
Scritch, scratch…
The drawing Neru was tracing in the sand was nearing completion. The branch had formed a bizarre sigil, a type Jin had never seen before.
[It may be hard to believe, but I want you to know that we, more than anyone, wish to protect the smaller beastmen.]
“What was the relationship between the Catfolk and Solderet?”
[Friends. The Cat God and Solderet were very close. And Solderet saved us and the other small beastmen from being slaughtered by Javier several times. All the smaller beastmen owe their lives to Solderet.]
Flash!
Suddenly, the sigil Neru had drawn began to glow with a violet light.
Unlike the dark magic Rontelgius had recently used, this violet light felt almost divine.
This was the phenomenon that occurred when the seal on the Third Tomb was released. It was also the same power the Catfolk used to create their hidden sanctuaries.
[If your enemies had arrived here before you, you would never have been able to enter Temar’s Third Tomb.]
“I don’t entirely accept your choice, but still…”
Jin paused for a moment, looking at the seal.
“Thank you. I’m not sure what else to say.”
[Do not worry too much. As I said, we sensed the danger in advance. Once you return from the tomb, we will evacuate the smaller beastmen to a place where they will never be found.]
Vroom!
Spirit energy began to billow from the violet sigil. The energy soon coalesced into an oval-shaped portal.
[At last, we can keep the thousand-year promise. Go on in, Jin Runcandel.]
“I’ll return as quickly as possible. So that no one gets hurt.”
[Yes. And I have one request.]
“Tell me.”
[Please tell the friend inside that they’ve worked hard. That Neru, on behalf of the Catfolk, thanks them for a thousand years of lonely labor. No matter how I try, I can no longer remember who they were…]
Neru spoke in a sorrowful voice.
—Lord Olmango, do you know what kind of guardian is inside the second tomb?
—[I cannot answer that.]
—Why not?
—[All memory of them has vanished. No matter how I try to recall, only the faintest image comes to mind.]
A similar thing had happened when he’d met Olmango to find the second tomb. Just like then, Neru seemed to have forgotten who her ‘friend’ was—the one who had guarded the tomb for a thousand years.
It was the result of the Zipple erasing them from history.
“I understand.”
Jin stepped into the portal of spirit energy.
*
Unlike the first and second tombs, the Third Tomb showed no signs of destruction or error.
The space wasn't merely composed of dark spirit energy, either. It looked like the central hall of a castle. It also felt strangely familiar, and Jin soon realized why.
‘It looks exactly like the interior of Storm Castle I saw in the first tomb. This is the central hall.’
There was no reason to be surprised.
He had already seen people replicated through spirit energy via Misha, and he had met guardians who were perfect copies of their forms from a thousand years ago. There was no reason a space couldn't be recreated as well.
He felt a desire to examine the thousand-year-old appearance of Storm Castle in detail, but he moved quickly. His heart was heavy with the thought that the beastmen might be in danger if he was late.
This was his first time visiting one of Temar’s tombs alone.
The first had been with Murakan, and the second with his comrades.
In the previous tombs, there had been formidable guardians: Silderay Runcandel and Sarah Runcandel. Both were far stronger than Jin could handle at the time.
But this tomb was different.
‘Lord Olmango said there are no such guardians here, so there would be no need for combat.’
Like Neru, Olmango didn't know exactly who was inside the Third Tomb. However, Olmango had retained slightly more memories of the person than Neru had.
—I heard that inside the Third Tomb is the Head Butler of Runcandel from that era.
The Head Butler.
The figure who handled all manner of affairs for the magic swordsman clan of Runcandel a thousand years ago.
‘Even now, the family’s Head Butler possesses more information than most Flagbearers. Especially Heinz, my father’s confidant; he might know more of the family’s secrets than even Joshua.’
The same would have been true for the Runcandel of a thousand years ago. In any organization, the person who directly manages the clan’s affairs inevitably becomes a repository of its secrets.
‘However, the Head Butler here might not have an intact mind or memory. Even Lady Sarah’s mind was severely worn down from enduring a thousand years…'
Thud, thud, thud.
As he reached the end of the central hall, a person bowed toward Jin.
[I have been waiting for you, Sir Jin Runcandel. It is an honor to meet you.]
“You know my name. Are you the former Head Butler of Runcandel?”
[I am. Solderet mentioned the name of the thousand-year contractor several times. I am the Head Butler of Runcandel, Ruet Damiro Yul.]
Ruet Damiro Yul.
The Head Butler had striking red hair—the exact same shade as Valeria's. Ruet looked like a young human woman, but a single glance was enough to know she wasn't.
Her eyes sparkled as if the Milky Way flowed within them, her ears were pointed, and a round gemstone was embedded in her forehead.
She was of the Fairy race.
‘A Fairy as the butler of the old Runcandel… I thought the Fairies were already extinct a thousand years ago, with only their descendants surviving.’
The Fairy race had vanished, and not many records of them remained.
Only the ‘descendants of the Fairies,’ who occasionally brewed ‘King’s Liquor’ for special people on special days at special times, lived on in the current world. Even they were beings one rarely encountered.
Though few historical records remained, it was an accepted fact that a Fairy’s lifespan was equal to that of a dragon.
Perhaps that was why Ruet showed no signs of madness or collapse, despite enduring a thousand years alone.
“Ruet Damiro Yul. Neru of the Catfolk asked me to convey her gratitude for your hard work on behalf of her race. I feel the same way.”
At those words, Ruet gave a lonely smile.
[I cannot recall what kind of friend Neru was… I only feel a strange sense of longing.]
“…I see.”
[Sir Jin Runcandel, you too will forget my name once you leave this space. You will not remember what I look like or what conversations we had.]
Click…
Ruet took a small box from her robe and opened it. Inside was a Spirit Energy Orb.
[Instead, you will be able to remember everything you see through this recording device.]