Chapter 583: Sorting Out the Situation (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 583: Sorting Out the Situation (3)
Lokia Ganesto.
One of the Ten Great Knights from a thousand years ago, she was renowned as the old Runcandel's greatest powerhouse, relying on pure magic alone.
Jin and Valeria had seen her before, in the recorded images left within Temar’s fourth tomb.
“…It’s surprising enough that this is a core component of a teleportation device, but the name is Ganesto?”
It wasn't a common surname. In both his past and present lives, Jin had never encountered anyone with that name.
The name Ganesto had likely vanished from history, a casualty of the historical manipulation surrounding the Ten Great Knights.
“Tingen Bauer—the man known as Quaul Ganesto—is almost certainly a descendant of Lokia Ganesto. I felt a backlash from the manipulation of history while examining the records.”
Several unpleasant hypotheses immediately flashed through Jin’s mind.
Perhaps Lokia Ganesto had betrayed the old Runcandel, and her descendants had been aiding Zipple under aliases ever since. Or perhaps, their history erased, they had forgotten their grudge and simply become Zipple’s subordinates. Or maybe Zipple had fed her descendants a false history.
‘The Lokia Ganesto in the recorded images… she felt like a cruel and cold person. She even seemed to favor the Witch Heluram.’
—Patriarch—no, Brother! I can’t just sit here. I’m going to find that witch who’s said to be in the Black Sea. Lokia said that if it’s a witch, there might be a way. A way to stop Zipple’s manipulation of history…
Those were the words Sarah Runcandel had spoken in the recorded images from the third tomb.
A thousand years ago, with the war in full swing and the histories of the fairies and Runcandel being rewritten, Sarah had sought out Heluram based on Lokia’s advice.
Of course, Jin couldn’t judge the situation hastily. He had no way of knowing what had truly transpired a millennium ago.
Besides, Quaul was merely a descendant of Lokia, not one of Runcandel’s Ten Great Knights.
“I’ll have to find this Quaul Ganesto and meet him. I assume his location can’t be determined just from the blueprints and the records on the device, right?”
“Correct. The part’s manufacturing date is 1780. The year you were born.”
The blueprints were from 1775, and the teleportation device was manufactured in 1780.
Though Jin spoke of finding him, locating Quaul would be a near-impossible task.
Zipple would never leave a magitech engineer of that caliber unguarded. Quaul was undoubtedly the greatest magitech engineer of the current era.
‘Mother said she heard from the Prophet that this machine could change the tide of the war.’
Now that the machine was revealed to be part of a teleportation device, the Prophet’s words were proving true.
‘Furthermore, the Prophet told Mother that the ship blueprints could be supplemented and enhanced to begin fleet production immediately…’
If that was the case, the Prophet might also have the ability to complete this machine.
Thinking purely of efficiency, the best course of action would be to contact the Prophet immediately and begin negotiations.
In fact, that was exactly what Rosa had originally intended.
—Originally, I planned to utilize those things through the Prophet.
—However, I changed my mind after suspending Joshua’s status as a flagbearer. I will defer negotiations with the Prophet. During that time, prove to me that you have a method superior to the Prophet’s.
Rosa hadn't specified how long that period would last. Jin guessed, however, that the battle to subjugate Gliek had forced her to extend it beyond her original plan.
Currently, Rosa was overwhelmed with the task of getting the clan back in order.
Countless knights had died in the war. They had lost over three hundred elite knights, including five Black Knights.
Historically, whenever a Black Knight was reassigned or killed, Runcandel would promote the highest-ranking enforcement knights to fill the spot.
But now, even maintaining the ten-man system of Black Knights had reached its limit. The only notable change was Mon, who had been demoted to an enforcement knight after the Sota Desert incident, returning to the rank of Black Knight.
‘Besides, Mother herself has to be cautious because of the encroachment of Chaos.’
If it were merely a loss of military strength, Rosa would likely have pushed forward with the negotiations with the Prophet. That way, they could quickly restore their power and strike while Zipple was weakened.
However, since she was unable to properly exert her own power, she had no choice but to delay. As things stood, it would be difficult to negotiate with the Prophet on favorable terms.
“Production might have begun in earnest back then, but the technology was likely only recently developed enough for combat use,” Jin mused.
“Regardless of when it became usable, Zipple probably wanted to reveal the fleet and the teleportation device much later. Using the fleet as bait in the Sota Desert was a move to confirm the existence of the Prophet within your clan.”
Valeria returned the blueprints and the mechanical device to Jin. She had tried using record magic several more times but had found no new information.
“I really should be going now. If there’s any progress, I’ll send a letter to Tikan. It seems your sister might find a small clue regarding Temar’s fifth tomb soon.”
“Sister Luntia? No wonder I heard Brother Dipus took command of the efforts to block Chaos instead of her. So she was looking for Temar’s tomb. It’s surprising that she’s found something helpful to you.”
“There might have been information within Runcandel that you weren't aware of. The 3rd Flagbearer is moving based on that.”
Valeria offered Jin a handshake.
“See you again.”
“Take care.”
* * *
Two days later, in a completely unexpected place, Jin found a clue about Quaul Ganesto.
“Did you say Quaul Ganesto’s alias is Tingen Bauer?”
In the inner sanctum of the Secret Palace, a haggard-looking Talaris asked with wide eyes the moment she heard the name.
“Do you know him?”
“Neither Quaul Ganesto nor Tingen Bauer are common names. Especially if it’s the magitech engineer Tingen Bauer… I’m certain he’s someone I know.”
—A genius magitech engineer, hmm… I had a few bookworms like that among my former lovers. Should I try contacting them for you, Son-in-law?
Immediately after obtaining the device, Jin had mentioned the need for an engineer to Talaris.
And surprisingly, Talaris had been in a relationship with a man named Tingen Bauer in her youth.
“He was my seventy-seventh lover. Hmm, it was a lucky number, and I remember him very clearly because of his unique personality. He was the very definition of a ‘crackpot genius.’ To think he was making something like this for Zipple…”
“Hah, Lady Talaris. Is there any way to contact him now?”
“I remember the house where he used to live, but the chances of him still being there are low, right? It was a log cabin in the remote wilds of the Pailin Kingdom—that was over thirty years ago.”
“Still, it would be best to go and check. What kind of person was he?”
A brief smile flickered across Talaris’s lips as she recalled her memories of Quaul.
Just as Jin thought her memories of him might not be so bad, Talaris’s expression soured.
“He was an arrogant prick. I didn't think there was another human in this world besides your father who could dump me!”
“…Pardon? Did you say my father?”
“Ah, don’t misunderstand. Your father ‘dumping’ me was in a duel, not a romance. Anyway, Tingen cut ties with me back then, saying he was busy with some research. I haven't heard from him since. Regardless, when my daughter returns, I’ll lend you Mort. Go have a look at the house where he lived.”
“Understood.”
Bo-ong—!
As if on cue, Mort appeared before Talaris and let out a cry.
Black spots of Chaos remained scattered across Mort’s body. However, unlike Jin or the other infected, Mort was gradually purifying the Chaos with his own energy.
“Honestly, my daughter is certainly one to keep people waiting.”
“Mother.”
It was the first time Jin had seen Siris since the war.
“Lady Siris.”
Jin expected her to be angry with him. He felt responsible for the fact that Talaris was suffering from severe internal injuries and had lost most of her strength.
“Jin.”
But contrary to his expectations, Siris showed no anger. Instead, she looked at the spots remaining on the back of Jin’s hand with a worried expression.
“…Are you alright?”
“Uh, yes. I’m fine for now.”
Siris stared silently at the back of Jin’s hand for a moment. Feeling the situation was somewhat awkward, Jin cleared his throat.
In the past, Siris would often get angry whenever Talaris got involved in matters concerning Runcandel or Zipple because of him and suffered for it.
However, that wasn't because she was angry at Jin; she simply hated seeing the great powers look down on the Secret Palace.
She had long since acknowledged Jin as her comrade. Her days of acting prickly out of childishness or a strange sense of rivalry were in the past.
The battle to subjugate Gliek, in particular, was something Talaris would have had to step forward for anyway to fulfill the mission of the Secret Palace, even without Jin’s involvement.
Siris understood that it was thanks to Jin that the Secret Palace had only suffered this much damage. She had heard from Talaris that if Jin hadn't been there, she would have had to completely undo Elona’s seal.
If Elona had been released, the Secret Palace would have had to cut itself off from the world for a long time until she disappeared.
Furthermore, Jin’s help didn't end there.
Siris’s gaze shifted to the space behind Talaris. She could see Spirit Energy mixed into Elona Zipple’s seal.
The Black Dragon Misha.
Immediately after the subjugation battle, she had come at Talaris’s request to help maintain the seal.
Because Elona could potentially break free at any moment, Misha had poured all her strength into the seal without taking any time to recover.
As a result, Misha was currently in a state no different from suspended animation, bound together with Elona’s seal.
Jin followed Siris’s gaze toward Elona’s seal and Misha. Before entering the seal, Misha had told Jin she was fine, but seeing her now, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.
“Thank you for your concern, Lady Siris.”
“I’m sorry I couldn't be of more help.”
“Hmm, the atmosphere between you two is nice. Daughter, go on a date with my son-in-law right now. To the Pailin Kingdom.”
When Jin explained the situation with Quaul, Siris nodded readily.