Chapter 623: The 78 of Laprarosa
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 623: The 78 of Laprarosa
The final victor of the Fighting King Tournament was neither Jin nor Baba, but Baltirok.
Kaio had been forced to withdraw from the remaining matches due to the injuries he’d sustained in the 22nd round. Jin and Baba, meanwhile, were preoccupied with having their severed arms reattached after they were buried in the rubble, making it impossible for them to continue.
In the days that followed, a palpable awkwardness settled between Jin and his brothers.
Jin felt a pang of guilt for having driven them so ruthlessly, regardless of his reasons. The members of the Pluto Tribe, on the other hand, felt ashamed. No matter their true intentions, they had been far too quick to cast Jin aside.
‘I might have said those awful things in a fit of rage… but looking back, it feels like we’ve always treated Brother Jin as someone more distant than the rest of us. Doubting his right to succeed was something that should have never happened in the first place.’
‘We should have been more magnanimous. If we’d shown the same resolve the 9th Fighting King did at the end, we wouldn’t be in this embarrassing situation.’
‘I was so furious I thought I was going to lose my mind, but everyone was too quick to talk about exiling Brother Jin.’
‘But Brother Jin’s performance was so convincing… It was hard to watch without saying those things.’
‘I was sick with worry that one of us might actually try to kill him. Even if Brother Jin had truly betrayed us, we should have shown him much sooner that we would never give up on our brother.’
‘Looking back, we could have realized he was just acting. He deliberately avoided the Heart of Light when he injured the 10th Fighting King. Even when he attacked the 4th Fighting King from behind, he could have cut much deeper if he’d wanted to.’
‘I can’t even look Brother Jin in the eye… We must seem so pathetic to him.’
What if Kaio had prioritized Jin’s honor instead of cursing Garmund before that shocking 22nd match?
What if, after the disaster of the match, Kaio had just laughed it off, given Jin a playful smack on the head, and the rest of the brothers had simply assumed Jin had some ulterior motive?
What if, even after that, they hadn’t split into factions and ganged up on him? If everyone had acted like Baba from start to finish… they would have looked far more impressive in Jin’s eyes.
These what-ifs tormented the Pluto Tribe.
Whether Jin’s method was right or wrong no longer mattered to them.
Though they had screamed about killing him, the true stance of the Pluto Tribe was embodied by Baba’s final actions. Unlike the countless vitriolic words they had spat in the heat of the moment, that single act was their only real truth—a sincerity that needed no words to be understood.
No matter how horrific the situation became, the unspoken rule that they would never abandon Jin remained absolute.
That principle had never once wavered.
Perhaps if there were thousands of Pluto Tribe members remaining, or if a different Fighting God ruled in Ban’s place, things might have been different. A few might have harbored other thoughts.
But that was not the case for the seventy-seven members of the Pluto Tribe in Laprarosa. They were of one mind, their conviction unshaken for even a moment, and they intended to keep it that way.
“…How’s your arm?”
Kaio sat down beside Jin, limping. He had come to Jin’s room an hour ago and had been pacing aimlessly ever since. He had asked the exact same question five minutes ago.
“Uh… the 5th Fighting King did a good job reattaching it.”
Jin’s answer was the same as it was five minutes ago.
“And the wound from the 9th Fighting King’s stab?”
“It’s nothing compared to the injury I gave you. It’s almost healed. I heard you’re finally able to walk a bit now?”
“Yeah…”
“Ahem. I went too far with you, 10th Fighting King. I’m sorry.”
As it turned out, Kaio was the only one who had suffered an injury that would require over a year to fully heal. Jin and Baba’s arms had been treated immediately using Boras’s specialized grafting technique.
“Brother Jin, you did nothing wrong. I was the one who lost his mind. I think my head wasn’t on straight during the first Fighting King Tournament in ages.”
“The problem was my method. It was too extreme, so I should be the one apologizing.”
“No, your method wasn’t bad.”
“Looking back, I don’t think it was the best choice.”
—Brother Jin! What are you trying to do? Have you already forgotten everything I told you?
—I’m doing this on purpose.
—What?
—I needed to provoke my brothers’ competitive spirit. Seeing the 8th Fighting King let me win made me realize something like this was necessary.
That was the conversation Jin had with Tantel after first instigating the conflict with Kaio. At the time, after hearing Jin’s plan to play the villain, Tantel had replied:
—I think I understand your reasoning. But Brother Jin, one thing is certain. No matter how badly you behave, the outcome is already decided. No matter what you do, no one here will truly hate you. Not a single one of the seventy-seven brothers left in Laprarosa. Just as you feel for them.
—I know. Though I am curious how that’s even possible.
—If you’re going to do it, then be as wicked as you can until the very end, no matter how grim things get. Even if their secret jealousy or envy comes to light, no one will actually try to cast you out. Not even if they speak to you like you’re their sworn enemy.
Tantel’s words had been spot on.
However, the reason Jin had been so ruthless wasn’t just because of Tantel’s assurances. He, too, had been certain his brothers would never abandon him—and that was precisely why he felt even more sorry.
Kaio placed a hand on Jin’s shoulder. Seeing that large, sturdy hand tremble slightly, Jin felt another pang of guilt.
“That might be true. But the same goes for the other brothers. We showed each other our worst sides, not our best. It’s not really my place to say this, but we can’t always show only our best sides to one another.”
Jin didn’t reply, instead readjusting Kaio’s bandages to make him more comfortable.
“Me and the other brothers… as you can see, we’re pretty simple-minded. A lot of the time, we can’t even see what’s right in front of us. That’s why everyone just screamed in rage. I think the Fighting God stayed quiet because she’d already figured everything out. I was especially bad. I even threatened you, Brother Jin, though I had no intention of following through.”
“That was a natural reaction, given the situation.”
“No. Even after your sword exploded in my chest, I didn’t stop to think about why your Heart of Light was perfectly fine. Most of us just figured you were acting out because you were holding the ability to send us outside over our heads.”
“That was also a reasonable assumption to make.”
“But it’s also true that in the process, it came out that we were treating you a little differently, Brother Jin.”
“I don’t think so, 10th Fighting King. I was the one who provoked everyone. And even when I pretended I was going to kill Brother Baba, you were all prepared. Prepared to still treat me as a brother even if I killed him. In a way, you all let me win.”
“Brother Jin.”
“Yes.”
“Ah, wait. I can’t stand any longer. Help me sit. And don’t make such a grim face. It’ll all heal in a year anyway. Regardless, we’ll keep letting you win in the future. That fact will never change.”
Kaio, having eased himself into the chair with some difficulty, let out a long sigh.
“However, because of this incident, the meaning of that has changed slightly.”
“How so?”
“It’s changed from letting you win because you are ‘Brother Jin’ to letting you win because you are a ‘brother.’ Or rather, it’s more accurate to say we cannot win. You aren’t weaker than us, Brother Jin. I’m not just talking about martial skill. It’s because none of us could ever push forward with our will while being hated to that extent, like you did.”
“Is that so?”
“So, please forgive us.”
“Forgive you for what?”
“For the fact that we were treating you as ‘Brother Jin’ instead of just as a ‘brother.’”
“What on earth are you talking about…”
[You two are really putting on a pathetic show.]
Suddenly, Ban and Ling Ling stepped into the room. Ban gave Ling Ling, who was sticking her tongue out, a light smack on the head.
[Ow!]
“I hit you so it would hurt, Ling Ling. And I don’t think you’re in any position to talk. Weren’t you also unable to kill Brother Jin?”
[Ban only picks on me! Oh, heeheehee.]
Ling Ling tried to snap back at Ban, but she burst into giggles as Ban began to stroke her neck.
“You’ve come, Fighting God.”
“There’s no need to stand, 10th Fighting King.”
Ban’s gaze shifted to Jin. Fifteen days had passed since the end of the Fighting King Tournament, but this was the first time she had spoken to him personally.
Outside the door, all the other members of the Pluto Tribe were waiting with their heads bowed.
“You all fought like children this time.”
“We are sorry.”
“I apologize.”
“It was rather endearing to watch. There will be plenty of occasions to fight in the future, so keep fighting just like that. Like children. Though you would do so even without me telling you.”
Ban handed Sigmund, which she had brought with her, to Jin.
Jin stared at the sword in silence for a long moment.
“Brother Jin. The master of this sword would not have changed, no matter what you did or how much the other brothers craved it.”
“…I know.”
“If its meaning has become even heavier for everyone, then that is enough.”
Jin took hold of Sigmund.
Ban said nothing more about the incident.
Baltirok, the final victor of the Fighting King Tournament, looked somewhat disappointed—not because he craved the sword, but because he wasn’t the one to personally hand it over.
“Now, what do you think the brothers should do next?”
At Ban’s question, the members of the Pluto Tribe quietly exchanged glances. They weren’t sure what kind of answer she was looking for.
Naturally, all eyes converged on Jin.
“I believe we should rebuild the destroyed Main Hall.”
Ban nodded at Jin’s answer.
“The 13th Fighting King has the right idea. From this moment, all brothers shall follow the 13th Fighting King and begin the reconstruction of the Main Hall.”
Watching the seventy-seven brothers rush toward the ruins of the Main Hall with disciplined haste, Ban had a thought.
Perhaps, from the moment Jin arrived, they had already begun to escape their dead world.
What Ban saw now was not a landscape of people trapped in a forgotten, dead world, but a scene brimming with life.
As she slowly followed after them, it looked as though all seventy-eight of Laprarosa were gathering in one place.
Along with one pet chaos.