Chapter 519: Negotiations (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 519: Negotiations (5)
Kinzelo Headquarters.
The atmosphere was grim. Not only had they suffered bitter losses in the Sota Desert, but the Leader had suddenly coughed up blood again. Only Bubar and Ainas were giggling and playing around as usual.
"Sigh, Lady Zephyrin. To think you used your power again..."
"The Leader needs to regain consciousness to keep Lady Zephyrin in check, but his energy has been depleted once more. This keeps happening. I feel like even I should say something this time, Vice Captain."
As Vishkel and Verakt spoke in frustration, Joe nodded.
"I mean, I don't care if she’s an Archduke of the Demon World or whatever. Isn't this a bit much? He coughed up a whole mouthful of blood!"
"Shut your mouth and stay out of this, Joe. Do I have to tell you to shut that trap of yours every single time? Or shall I break your jaw so you can never speak again?"
"Umm, Lady Zephyrin probably couldn't help it. Isn't she the one who wants the Leader’s recovery more than anyone else here? She’s in a similar position to Sir Jin’s Murakan, so she must be frustrated, too."
"Hmm, that is true, Margiella."
Joe found it difficult to hide his feeling of absurdity whenever this happened. If he had said the exact same thing as Margiella, word for word, Verakt would have lunged at him with killing intent for being presumptuous.
Tsk, you narrow-minded, dog-like, filthy, stinking, discriminatory beastman!
The moment Joe thought that, Margiella turned her head and met his eyes.
You shouldn't have such nasty thoughts, Sir Joe!
She mouthed the words to him. Joe’s hair stood on end, and he let out a hollow cough.
Creak!
The door opened, and Zephyrin stepped inside.
"You've arrived, Lady Zephyrin!"
Everyone who had been sitting stood up at once to show their respect.
"Oh, the Archduke... is here. Speak of the... de... devil..." Joe stammered.
Zephyrin waved her hand dismissively, signaling for them to sit back down as if it were a chore.
"See, Sister! That’s what we were saying! Archduke Zephyrin, you're back? Everyone was just talking about you."
"Talking about me? What about?"
"Ah, what we were saying was, everyone thinks Archduke Zephyrin is—"
"We were saying how magnificent you are," Vishkel hurriedly cut Ainas off, changing the subject. "Seeking out enemy territory alone is a daunting task for subordinates like us. Thank you for your hard work, Lady Zephyrin."
He had realized that Zephyrin was in an extremely foul mood.
Even Verakt, who had just claimed he would say something, could only let out a sigh after seeing Zephyrin’s aura and her face.
Damn it, to think I, a Great Warrior, have to walk on eggshells like this. And what happened to her jaw...? Did she get hit?
Zephyrin’s jaw was severely swollen.
"Gyahaha! But Archduke! Where did you get that lump? If I poke it, will a story pop out?"
Ainas, on the other hand, tactlessly burst out laughing and reached out to touch the swollen jaw.
Of course, that massive lump was the result of being struck by Talaris.
"Uh, ah, Ainas... you, you shouldn't do that. The, the Archduke might... get... angry."
"Heehee, I've never seen such a big lump! Sister! You touch it, too."
"I... I said no... I said... I said NO, you crazy bitch! Die, just die! What do you think you're doing to the Archduke? Die! DIEEEE!"
Thwack! Thud! Bam!
Bianca suddenly snapped, unleashing a rapid-fire barrage of punches and profanities. Ainas yelped and fled, but Bianca had already manifested a club in her hand and was chasing after her.
Margiella rolled her wheelchair toward Zephyrin.
"Um, how did it go, Lady Zephyrin?"
"...We agreed to hold a meeting, Margiella. Sir Jin will notify us of the date. We are allowed to analyze the items at the meeting site, but we must share all the information we discover. With that damn Jin Runcandel, that is."
"Wow, that’s a great achievement!"
"Do you really think so?"
"Of course! If anyone else among us had gone, we wouldn't have gotten anything."
Meanwhile, Bianca, the Caligo sister who had been chasing Ainas around the other executives, regained some of her sanity.
"Uh... what did I... do? Sorry... did it hurt, Ainas?"
"Uh, yeah. No. It’s okay... Huh? But what is that smell? Archduke, did you eat something there? You smell like something delicious."
This time, even Bianca sniffed the air near Zephyrin.
After taking a beating, Zephyrin had been forced to have a meal in Tikan. Refusing the meal in that situation would have been beneath the dignity of an Archduke of the Demon World, so she had no choice.
Sigh... why were those cookies so annoyingly delicious? And that Strawberry Pie, too...
When Zephyrin pulled out the Litra cookies she had brought in her robe, the Caligo sisters immediately snatched one each, took a bite, and started jumping around in joy.
To put it simply, it was a madhouse.
Vishkel couldn't help but feel a bitter, sorrowful chill in his heart, wondering how on earth Kinzelo had ended up like this.
"Shall I tell you something interesting to cheer you up, Lady Zephyrin?" Margiella said as she rolled her wheelchair closer.
"What is it?"
"Something a bit sad might happen to Sir Jin soon, Lady Zephyrin."
"Something sad...?"
Margiella gave a faint smile.
* * *
"Geez, she really ate a lot. She even swept up all the cookies I left for the kids."
"I protected Strawberry Pie, though, Jet. I couldn't help what happened at the table, but I couldn't let her take Strawberry Pie. Hmph."
"Of course, Lord Murakan, you're the best!"
After the feast, the group gathered in small clusters to talk or smoke.
Talaris had heard everything that happened in the Sota Desert and was now examining the blueprints and the machine.
"Hmm, we'll need proper decryption mages for the blueprints. This cipher magic is likely a new type created by Zipple. As for the machine... that prophet said this would change the tide of battle?"
"Yes, Lady Talaris."
"If it were one of the Black King Corps' mana-sucking cannons or something, I'd understand, but I have no idea how a small object like this is supposed to be used."
All of Jin’s companions and allies had reacted the same way.
"I felt the same way. But as I kept thinking about it, a thought occurred to me. Could it be related to the cubes Zipple used in the Gaifa Archipelago—the summoning devices?"
"Aria Owlheart, the last survivor of Hister, and Lady Misha will be the keys. I'm not sure if it's possible to break the blueprint's cipher with Record Magic, but we can certainly find out who created the machine, can't we?"
"I think so, too."
"And while it would be nice if Kinzelo did all the decryption for us... I think the Black Dragon Misha might be able to help as well."
"I haven't been able to contact Lady Misha. It's been a year. I'm starting to get a little worried."
The last time Jin had seen Misha was around this time last year. He had visited her to ask about the recording device after returning from Temar’s second grave.
At that time, Misha had given Jin the information that 'Aria Owlheart is in Mamit,' which naturally led to his reunion with Valeria.
"A year, huh? That’s nothing to a dragon, so you don't need to worry, son-in-law. Having fought alongside her, she didn't seem like the type to get caught by just anyone. I’d like to share a drink with Lady Misha as a comrade myself."
"Yeah, kid. The Palace Master is right. That brat will show up on her own when the time comes, so let's just put her out of our minds. Ugh, just thinking of her face gives me the creeps. And she’s not omnipotent, either. She’s good at dark stuff like cipher decryption, but she fails plenty of times, too."
"Ooh, does the handsome older brother find his big sister that scary?"
"Hah, me? Scared?"
"Ah, so you're actually the type who worries?"
"If you knew that demon as well as I do, you'd realize how meaningless the act of worrying is. If she decides to hide, even the gods can't find her. What could mere humans do?"
"The Demon God Stone combines the powers of several gods, so who knows? You might need to be a bit more honest, brother."
"Shut up. Anyway, I think finding a genius magic engineer as soon as possible would be more helpful than Misha. Both for improving the Black King Corps' equipment and for identifying that mysterious machine."
"We need a magic engineer, and I also need to meet Lady Misha. I have a lot to ask her."
Considering the need for a magic engineer, Jin began busily searching through the memories of his past life.
He was trying to recall which of the true genius magic engineers he knew were not yet affiliated with Zipple or the Imperial family at this point in time.
Ramos Phil? Ah, he was already part of the Imperial Academy when I was a reserve flagbearer. Hopper Newman? No. The Silderay family... did that family only exist until the early 1700s?
Magic engineering had been one of the lowest priorities among Jin’s interests in magic.
As a result, he didn't remember many people, and even those he did were mostly dead or already affiliated with someone else.
"A genius magic engineer, hmm... I had a few nerds like that among my ex-lovers. Should I contact them for you, son-in-law?"
"Your lovers? I don't find that very reliable, Palace Master. And were those scrawny types your taste, too?"
"I would appreciate it if you did, Lady Talaris. I plan to meet any magic engineers who aren't yet affiliated with anyone."
"Fine, but on one condition. I'll do it if you call me Mother-in-law."
"Of course, Mother-in-law. I should naturally call you that. Look at how much you've done for me so far."
"Jin, not you too!" Siris flinched, her eyes widening.
"Pfft, as expected! My son-in-law is the only one who reacted properly to my joke today! Everyone else is so serious. Ahahaha!"
Talaris and Jin burst into laughter.
Are Mother and Jin really finding this that funny? But for some reason, I feel like laughing, too. Is it because of this warm and friendly atmosphere?
Siris suppressed the smile that was trying to form on her lips.
"Oh, son-in-law, look at that. She’s almost laughing. Son-in-law, did you know? When she was little, she used to call herself the Ice Princess."
"Ice Princess... No, Lady Siris was the Ice Princess? How old were you then?"
"Hah? You're an Ice Princess? Our kid is the Black Prince. Have you heard of him? The Black. Prince. of Runcandel."
"Black Prince? That’s lame. I think Ice Princess is better, Jin."
Snicker. In the end, Siris couldn't hold it back any longer and burst into laughter with the rest of them. This is nice, she thought.
After laughing and chatting for a long while, Talaris straightened her hair and stood up.
"Ahahaha, I had a good laugh thanks to my son-in-law."
"Are you leaving, Lady Talaris?"
"Yes, I must."
"I'll prepare to see you off."
"You have to come with me, son-in-law."
"To the Secret Palace?"
"Yes. To be precise, to the Secret Palace training ground."
"Why the training ground...?"
"I heard you received a manual for a Secret Technique written by Cyron himself from your sister, Mary Runcandel. This mother-in-law will personally help you master it quickly. Consider it payment for the laughs."