Chapter 363: Traces (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 363: Traces (3)
“If I hadn’t told you, Sister, you might never have known.”
“Then Mother would have…”
She would have informed me and the other flagbearers. Because in the end, that would be what’s best for the clan.
Mary couldn't finish her sentence. Before hearing this story, she might have believed that. But now, she could no longer be certain that Rosa’s judgments were made solely for the clan's benefit.
The sandcastle of trust she had built for Rosa had crumbled.
“…Anyway, I’ve heard something incredible, and quite unexpectedly. If I reveal this in the council chamber, it will undoubtedly throw the clan into chaos.”
Not just Mary and Dipus, but all the flagbearers would move to find and protect Temar’s tomb. It wouldn't stop with them; the influential figures of the Elder Council—especially those like Jorden, who still clung to their ancient, withered ambitions—would join the fray.
This was a rare opportunity to achieve a ‘Great Feat.’
Some would step forward purely for the clan’s sake, while others would do so to satisfy their own thirst for glory.
Whoever found or protected Temar’s tomb would have their name etched into the history of Runcandel forever.
“Chaos. Looking back, that always seems to have been my role in this family.”
“That’s why the Elder Council hates your guts so much,” Mary said, her voice softening considerably.
“Isn't it the same for you, Sister?”
“I doubt it. Plenty of those old folks actually like me. Hmph. I just hope some order follows the chaos you’ve stirred up this time. See you at the meeting.”
*
However, Jin did not attend the next meeting. He left the clan once again, using a mission as his excuse.
It’s a relief I had a mission assigned to me at just the right time.
No matter what was on the agenda, the central theme of the meeting would inevitably be Temar’s tomb. There was nothing for Jin to gain by attending the session where Mary would drop her bombshell.
I wonder if Mary is flustered that I’m missing. Still, she’ll push through with the public disclosure regardless. The council chamber must be in an uproar by now.
It was a pity he couldn't witness the scene himself, but he had no desire to get dragged into an exhausting situation for no reason.
Jin intended to take his time returning—at least until all the key players were ready to take the stage and begin their activities.
Ten days, maybe fifteen. Returning after that should be enough. This mission is fairly significant, after all. Though, I suppose rescuing kidnapped royalty from an aerial fortress isn't that impressive for a flagbearer’s mission.
Of course, Jin wasn't the one actually carrying out that significant mission.
Vellop Schmitz was once again scheduled to rescue the royalty in his place.
I wonder if he’s doing alright, Jin thought.
At that very moment, Vellop was screaming as he searched every naval fortress near Viment. “Where on earth is the target?!” he yelled, dodging the relentless blades of mercenaries.
Hang in there, Vellop.
There was someone else who needed to hang in there as well.
To be precise, not a person, but a dragon.
Jin had arrived in Tikan to see that dragon wake up.
“You’ve arrived, Young Master?”
“Whoa! It’s Young Master Jin!”
“You’re here, sir!”
As he entered the mansion, Casimir, Enya, and Jet greeted him simultaneously. The other companions gathered to exchange greetings as well.
As always, Enya turned her back to him, clamoring for an autograph. Jin smoothly wrote his name on the back of her shirt as if it were second nature.
“She’s always getting these meaningless autographs,” Murakan remarked, ruffling Enya’s hair, which made Alisa chuckle.
“Don't you also have a hobby of collecting meaningless booklets, Lord Murakan?”
“Alisa, that’s different. How can collecting such sophisticated literature be meaningless? More importantly, that scent… Hmmm, it seems that Quicantel girl has brewed the medicine well.”
Murakan flared his nostrils, sniffing the air. What he called medicine was none other than the elixir made from Ozdok’s inner core.
Ever since Jin had obtained the inner core, Quicantel had stayed up every night brewing the spiritual medicine to wake Julian’s guardian dragon, Kaltor.
Though Murakan had told Picon he had no interest in elixirs brewed from inner cores, he was still a dragon; he couldn't help but lick his lips at the aroma.
“Well, she hasn't lost her touch. Quicantel has been amazing at brewing elixirs since the old days. So, how’s that Kaltor fellow? Any improvement?”
Since his rescue, Kaltor had been in a state no different from a corpse.
His pulse was so faint that even a master physician could barely detect it, and he was hardly breathing. His shattered bones showed no signs of knitting back together, and the wounds that had barely closed were now just scars.
Anyone who saw him would have thought he was already dead. A dragon with a fatal wound to its heart could never stand again on its own.
Even Murakan, who called himself the strongest of dragons, had slept for a thousand years after his heart was damaged. Even then, he wouldn't have woken up if Jin hadn't visited the Storm Castle’s basement.
“There is improvement. However, Lady Quicantel said that because his body is so weakened, she has to be extremely careful even when administering the elixir,” Latri said, looking toward the door with a worried expression. Beyond it was the room where Misha had once healed Murakan.
“So he needs more time.”
“Yes. But she said there’s no chance he won't wake up, so you don't have to worry.”
“Who’s worrying…?” Murakan answered dismissively, but his eyes flickered toward Julian, who was sitting in a corner. He seemed concerned in his own way.
Julian had been sitting there for days, skipping meals, waiting for Kaltor to regain consciousness.
Jin started to offer words of comfort but swallowed them. It wouldn't be too late to say something once Kaltor had actually woken up.
“By the way, I don't see Beris.”
“Ah, Master is working right now. Litra Tea House Branch 2 is opening soon, and it looks like she’ll be the head chef there. Latri says she has quite a talent for it…”
Enya still served Beris as her master. And Beris, having given up on pushing her away, was now sincerely passing on her magic.
From Taimun Marius’s hound to a tea house chef…
Beris was now more accustomed to the daily routine of baking cookies than to her days as a genius mage with a modified body, killing people on command.
She was raised as a killing doll from such a young age… I wondered if she could ever live a normal life after losing her magic. It seems to suit her surprisingly well.
For some reason, Jin was reminded of Yona. He hoped that his youngest sister, too, might one day be able to live a normal life.
“What about Kuzan?”
“Mr. Kuzan went to check on the Seven-Colored Bird’s work earlier… Oh, there he comes.”
The group’s heads turned toward Kuzan, who was just entering the hallway.
He was carrying armfuls of documents from the Seven-Colored Bird. Upon seeing Jin, he bowed his head in greeting, only to drop everything.
Rustle!
“Whoa, careful there,” Jet said, rushing over to help organize the fallen papers. Seeing Jet make a gesture of clinking glasses in the air—asking if he wanted a drink tonight—made Jin chuckle. The two of them got along surprisingly well.
“Young Master, I was actually about to contact you,” Kuzan said. “You’ve come at the perfect time. A letter has arrived for you.”
There was only one person who would send a letter to Jin in Tikan.
Valeria!
Rip! He tore the letter open the moment he received it.
[I’ve found traces of the Catfolk. It’s a forest called ‘Wantaramo’ located west of the Principality of Kiken. I suspect you might know that it’s no ordinary forest.
We’ll talk more in person. Come to the largest inn in the southwestern part of the Principality of Kiken by September 19th.
Also, I’m out of cosmetics. Bring some for me.]
It was the message he had been waiting three months for.
And Valeria had kept her word.
During that time, the Seven-Colored Bird had also deployed as many people as possible to find the Catfolk, but they had been frustrated by the complete lack of clues.
It showed just how difficult the Catfolk were to find. She had only managed it in three months thanks to her Record Magic.
But, Wantaramo…? I’ve never heard that name before. And what does she mean by it not being an ordinary forest?
Valeria assumed Jin would know, but the name Wantaramo Forest was unfamiliar, even when he searched through the memories of his previous life.
“What’s it say, kid? Did she find the Catfolk?”
“Not completely, but it seems she found traces. She says it’s a forest called Wantaramo in the Principality of Kiken. Do you know what kind of place it is?”
“Wantaramo? There’s a forest like that?”
While the other companions seemed to have no clue, Casimir clapped his hands as if he remembered something.
“I remember hearing my father and the ministers talk about a forest called Wantaramo back when I was a prince. I’d forgotten because I was so young, but the name brings it back. I must have been seven or eight at the time.”
“Oh, you insignificant creature. Right, you were royalty, weren't you? Since it’s land belonging to a principality, it makes sense you might have heard of it.”
It’s no ordinary forest.
The companions, excluding Murakan, were carefully examining that passage in the letter Jin had set down.
“The Emperor and his ministers wouldn't waste time discussing some obscure forest in a principality for no reason. There must be something there,” Casimir said with a nod from Jin.
As he said, if it was a place name significant enough for an Emperor to discuss directly with his ministers, it was by no means an ordinary forest.
“Sir Casimir, does anything else come to mind?”
“I don't think… Ah! Back then, the ministers mentioned that they had failed in negotiations with Wantaramo. Thinking back on it now, that’s a strange memory. Imperial ministers talking about negotiating with a forest in a principality.”
There was no reason for negotiations to exist between an Empire and a forest.
Extraterritoriality.
The Wantaramo Forest was land that belonged to the territory of Viment, yet was not under its rule.
“Kid, once we get there, that Aria Owlheart person will tell us what kind of place it is. Why overthink it?”
Murakan was right.
“She expects me to know everything. I’m just worried it’ll be embarrassing if I know nothing,” Jin said, shrugging with a smile.