Chapter 458: Those with Good Intuition, Those without (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 458: Those with Good Intuition, Those without (2)
Amela, the Great Mercenary of the Gaifa Archipelago, was an enigma. Despite her fame as one of the 3 Great Mercenaries, very little was actually known about her.
Feature articles praising her mystique appeared in the press every year, but the details were always sparse. This was only natural; Amela undertook at least one war-related commission annually and consistently delivered "extraordinary" results.
However, these reports lacked any real substance. Since few journalists had ever met her and she rarely appeared in public, it was no exaggeration to say the articles were spun almost entirely from imagination.
In his past life, Jin had only ever read about Amela in such articles.
Except for one time. His teacher, Valeria Hister, had once spoken of her.
— Amela wears the skins of the people she kills? I swear, the articles about that woman get stranger every day.
— That’s probably because she doesn’t bother punishing journalists for publishing false reports.
— That’s true. But I doubt she has any idea what the press writes about her, let alone how the public perceives her. She’s likely completely oblivious.
— Oblivious?
— Yes. From what I saw, she’s the type who is utterly indifferent to the ways of the world. And… she was incredibly pure.
— …Pure? I agree the skin-wearing rumor sounds like nonsense, but it’s an undeniable fact that she’s a monster on the battlefield. How can someone like that be pure?
— Being pure isn't always a good thing. Anyway, if you're done with your tea, let's head out for training.
It was a conversation they had shared one morning in his past life, while eating breakfast and skimming through newsletters. At the time, he hadn't considered Amela particularly important, so he hadn't given her words much thought.
‘Being pure isn't always a good thing, huh...’
Thinking about it now, the meaning behind those words was obvious. Amela was a person with only a faint concept of good and evil.
"Why do you think so?" Valkas asked, wanting to hear the reasoning behind Jin’s insistence on either recruiting Amela or keeping her in check.
"The fact that the Black King Corps and the Ghost Captain have formed an alliance with me—"
"It is not an alliance, but a bond between lord and subject," Valkas interjected. "You needn't choose your words so carefully for my sake, or for Rata’s."
"That fact is now known to the entire world. Honestly, I wanted to keep it hidden until my forces were more established. Regardless, there are now only two major neutral powers left in the world: the Great Mercenary Amela and the Secret Palace."
"That is true."
"The world doesn't yet know that the Secret Palace is allied with me, but the great powers likely suspect it to some extent."
"Well… the public likely sees it as more than a simple alliance. To them, you're practically family. Rumors of a marriage alliance between you, my Lord, and the Young Lady of the Secret Palace have been circulating for a long time."
"With only Amela remaining, my attempt to recruit her would put everyone on edge—including Amela herself. I’ve been too preoccupied to act until now, but other factions are likely already trying to contact her. If we’re unlucky, she might have already chosen a side."
Due to Jin’s recent actions, the world's power balance had shifted dramatically.
Seeing neutral powers that had stood alone for so long join the 12th Flagbearer of Runcandel, and watching the tension between the great powers tighten, those in the gray zones were all being forced to make a choice. They were deciding which side to stand on. The neutrals were disappearing by the hour.
"It is unlikely she has joined anyone yet, my Lord. She is a notoriously unpredictable individual."
"Do you know her well?"
"By Amela’s standards, I suppose I’m on the closer side. By normal standards, we’ve just happened to cross paths on the battlefield a few times and shared a meal or two."
As both Amela and Valkas were famous mercenaries, they had stood on the same battlefields under different commissions. Valkas narrowed his eyes as he recalled those moments.
"Are you aware, my Lord? Amela does not have her own mercenary company."
"Yes, she is known to operate alone."
"And yet, whenever I encountered her on the battlefield, I never once defeated her."
"Are you saying the gap between you and Amela is that wide, Sir Valkas?"
"Not between me and Amela, but between the Black King Corps and Amela."
Jin’s eyes widened. "What do you mean…?"
"I hate to admit it, but in terms of pure warfare, Amela holds the upper hand even against the entire Black King Corps, myself included. If it were a one-on-one duel rather than a war, the story might be different, and I would be confident. But I never had the chance to test that."
Valkas met Jin’s eyes and continued.
"In other words, you must bring Amela to your side. Fighting temporarily because of opposing clients is one thing, but becoming true enemies is another matter entirely. Personally, if it seems she might become our enemy, I believe we should consider eliminating her."
Jin nodded at his firm tone.
"I understand. Identifying what Amela wants is the top priority. Do you know of anything specific?"
"Exploration."
"Exploration?"
"Amela has spent her whole life wandering and exploring the world. Once, after a battle, I asked her about it casually over a meal. She seemed to be searching for something with an incredible passion… though she wouldn't tell me what it was."
If I can just find out what that is, I can easily win her over.
A sharp intuition flashed through Jin's mind.
‘Utterly indifferent to the ways of the world. Perhaps the reason my teacher described her that way in my past life was because Amela is completely consumed by her own goal.’
He needed to ask the current Valeria if she knew Amela. It might even be a good idea for them to go together.
"Regardless, I should go meet her and have a talk."
"Indeed, my Lord. And it might be helpful to take the Prochi siblings with you."
"Rata and Fey?"
"When the three of them met on the battlefield before, Amela seemed to find those two strangely cute. Though Rata looked like he absolutely loathed it."
It was hard to imagine anyone finding Rata "cute," but there seemed to be no harm in taking them along.
"Understood."
"Then I shall return to supervising the construction. If Amela proves cooperative, please give her my regards."
As Valkas left, another person sought Jin out, as if they had been waiting. It was Gilly.
"Young Master."
"Yes, Gilly."
Jin had known for a while—or rather, realized recently—that Gilly wanted to talk to him about something. He had been waiting for her to organize her thoughts before speaking up.
‘She’s been troubled because of Dox.’
The McLoran family had failed to offer their greetings when he became a Flagbearer. And now, Dox—the very man he'd gone to great lengths to save—had left without a word. Through all of this, Gilly acted as if she were the one at fault. (For Jin, Dox's departure felt more like a gift—a clear warning to raise his guard—but Gilly couldn't see it that way.)
"I am worried… about what will happen if my broth—no, if the Black Knight fails to carry out your orders, Young Master."
"Why are you the one worrying about that, Gilly?"
"That… because he is a person of my family."
Stopping for a moment, Gilly continued in a hesitant voice.
"Because he is… a member of my family."
"To a Black Knight, family holds no meaning. And as I told you before..."
Jin stopped, barely suppressing the anger rising within him. Naturally, that anger was not directed at Gilly, but at the McLoran family, who were making her feel so small.
"I will not hold any particular ill will toward the McLorans. Not unless they openly harm you. So, do not worry."
When it came to Gilly, even Jin struggled to control his emotions. He told her not to worry, but his eyes were simmering with a murderous intent so deep it wouldn't have been surprising if he’d marched off to slaughter the McLoran family that very moment.
Gilly couldn't lift her head, pained by that fact, and Jin realized it a beat too late.
‘Ah.’
Knowing that Gilly’s feelings should come before his anger was one thing; putting it into practice was always difficult. But Jin knew why. He remembered it vividly.
In his past life, when he was exiled, Gilly had met the same fate. The McLoran family had not lifted a finger to help her. With the influence they held in Huphester, they could have assisted her in any number of ways.
Of course, it would have been impossible to help her become a warrior again, but they could have at least prevented her from meeting a lonely and miserable death. That was the reason Jin was so furious with the McLoran family.
"Besides, whether that Black Knight obeys my order or not, he has no choice but to provide me with meaningful information. If he disobeys, I can deduce that all active Black Knights are involved with Ricalton. If he obeys, he’ll be digging into Joshua’s secrets for me."
Jin spoke again, reigning in his anger.
"Furthermore, Joshua will no longer trust that Black Knight, which means there’s a high probability he will eventually come over to my side—as long as Joshua doesn’t kill him before I become the Patriarch."
"Ah…"
"I'll save him."
"Pardon?"
"If it looks like Dox is going to be killed by Joshua, I’ll save him. As I said, he isn't a warrior of the McLoran family; he’s a Black Knight. He’s one of the clan’s most vital assets, so I have no intention of letting him die a meaningless death. That’s why I saved him this time, too."
When Gilly bowed her head, Jin shrugged.
"You see? There’s nothing for you to worry about. I’ll be leaving for the Gaifa Archipelago soon, so please prepare my things. I've missed having you take care of my preparations. It would be nice to feel that again before I leave."
"Understood, Young Master. I will prepare them immediately."