Chapter 67: Ghost Sword Casimir (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 67: Ghost Sword Casimir (2)
Casimir was the very person Jin and his party had come to Tikan to find. Jin had been agonizing over how to approach him.
Yet here he was, showing up on his own. It was a completely unexpected turn of events.
What’s going on?
Jin and Murakan instinctively stepped in front of Gilly.
Casimir leaned against the doorframe and shrugged. The long, curved sword at his waist was striking—it was the very blade that had cut down hundreds of experts to earn him the epithet "Ghost Sword."
"Ah, my apologies. Did I disturb your rest?"
Murakan let out a scoff, finding the situation absurd. Jin, meanwhile, was already contemplating why Casimir had come.
It can’t be because of what happened in Akin. The captain of the guard must have told him our location. The innkeeper likely saw the seal and contacted the captain.
But why?
They had only been in Tikan for a couple of hours. They hadn't caused any trouble and were quietly enjoying their vacation.
As of now, there was no reason for Casimir to show any interest in them.
Suddenly, Yuria came to mind.
Could it be? Did Yuria tell Alisa about Murakan’s transformation, and Alisa, knowing that transformation is a draconic power, reported it to Casimir?
Convinced, Jin quickly pieced things together.
If he’s willing to suspect we’re dragons based solely on the word of a child like Yuria, it just means Casimir is that desperate. As his confidant, the captain of the guard must have been aware of the situation.
The circumstances didn't seem too bad.
He didn't station armed knights in the hallway to intimidate us. He brought them as a precaution in case he had to fight a dragon.
If that weren't the case, there would be no reason to leave them outside. If he wanted to intimidate them, they would have all marched into the room together.
Jin realized that Casimir’s evacuation of the inn followed the same logic.
He probably didn't just evacuate this inn but all the commoners in the vicinity. If a dragon flew into a rage because of his approach, the entire area would be reduced to rubble in an instant.
It took only a few seconds to process all of this, simply because so little had happened since their arrival in Tikan.
Jin thought Casimir’s actions were quite reasonable. Even without being certain Murakan was a dragon, he had mobilized knights and evacuated civilians.
However, Casimir had made one mistake.
"I’m not doing well at all, you bastard. Why are you speaking so informally? Do I know you?"
"Wh-what?"
"This is ridiculous. You think the world is your oyster just because you’ve got a sword on your hip and some lackeys following you around?"
The mistake was addressing them so casually.
As Murakan growled and unleashed a string of profanities, Casimir’s eyes filled with bewilderment.
It was a common legend throughout the world that dragons generally had foul tempers.
Casimir surely knew this, so it was a mystery why he had spoken so informally. Was it a lingering habit from his time as a pure-blooded member of the Viment Imperial Family, even if he was now a "Deposed Prince"?
Regardless, Murakan was exceptionally prickly, even among ill-tempered dragons.
"Who the hell do you think you are, barging in here and ruining my mood? I’m asking you, lowly creature. Do I know you? Answer me."
"I… I do not."
As Casimir answered, his handsome face contorted. He seemed utterly shocked on multiple levels.
Moreover, he seemed convinced that Murakan was a dragon. Otherwise, a man of Casimir’s stature wouldn't just stand there like a scarecrow after being subjected to such insults.
"What, is your mouth stuffed with gold? Still talking down to me, you insignificant thing. Come here. I swear, guys who think they’re hot stuff need a good beating to come to their senses…"
Despite telling him to "come here" twice, Murakan was the one who strode toward Casimir.
The sight of Casimir instinctively backing away was the highlight of the farce. By that point, Jin was struggling not to burst out laughing.
"Murakan, stop. Hey, I said stop."
Jin stepped in to block Murakan, who stood rooted to the spot, his eyes rolling wildly. If Jin hadn't intervened, he would have likely sent Casimir’s jaw spinning.
There were three reasons Murakan was this angry.
Eighty percent was because his poor Strawberry Pie had felt threatened, ten percent was because his rest had been disturbed, and the final ten percent was because of the informal speech.
Casimir, barely managing to compose himself, cleared his throat repeatedly.
"Ahem, cough! My apologies. I was arrogant. I meant no offense, so I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me."
"Sir Casimir, the Ghost Sword."
"Oh, you know of me?"
"How could I not? I was actually hoping to meet you during my time in Tikan."
Jin’s attitude was incomparably smoother than Murakan’s. Casimir, inwardly sighing with relief, did his best to avoid Murakan’s glare.
"I didn't expect you to visit so suddenly. I assume… it’s because of the cat?"
The dazed look in Casimir’s eyes sharpened, his senses snapping back the moment Jin mentioned the cat.
"And what is your name, young master?"
"I am Jin Runcandel."
He revealed his real name without hesitation. Behind him, Gilly reflexively covered her mouth, and even Murakan looked a bit surprised.
While it couldn't be helped if someone else recognized a reserve flag-bearer of the Runcandels, it was a cardinal sin for a reserve flag-bearer to reveal their own identity.
Of course, the one most shocked was Casimir.
"If you had attended my family’s recent banquet, we could have introduced ourselves then. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir Casimir."
Casimir, who had frozen for a moment, managed a faint smile.
Jin Runcandel… He’s already implied that man is a dragon, and now he’s boldly stating his real name. Has a Runcandel ever associated with a dragon?
At least in Casimir’s memory, such a thing was unheard of. Since ancient times, dragons only formed relationships with mages who contracted with gods or those who wielded special supernatural powers.
That flippant man is clearly a dragon. He speaks like a back-alley thug, but the pressure I felt for that split second was immense.
Casimir’s gaze shifted naturally to Gilly as he observed the group.
And isn't that woman Gilly McLoran?
Before becoming a deposed prince, Casimir had seen members of the McLoran clan visiting the Viment Imperial Palace. Gilly didn't remember him, but Casimir had never forgotten the terrifying power of the Claw that a young Gilly had displayed on the training grounds.
There was no room for doubt. The boy before him was a Runcandel. He just couldn't immediately wrap his head around why Jin was with a dragon.
"It seems this will be a long story, Sir Casimir. Please, have a seat."
Casimir dismissed the knights he had stationed in the hallway. It was an extremely dangerous move from his perspective, but it was a calculated decision to make up for the discourtesy of speaking so informally to a dragon.
Murakan, however, looked quite displeased.
Gilly, respecting Jin’s judgment, had already placed a new glass on the table. Murakan had no choice but to go along with the mood.
Glug, glug.
Jin filled Casimir’s glass with wine.
"Young Master Jin, does your family know that you are with a dragon? I never imagined a Runcandel would be accompanied by one."
"The family doesn't know."
"You speak of a life-threatening secret so casually."
"That’s because you just dismissed your knights, Sir Casimir. If things go south, I could just bury you here, depending on how this conversation goes."
When Jin spoke with a joking tone, Casimir could only manage an awkward laugh.
"I suppose the ice snacks I gave Yuria weren't enough. If I’d known, I would have bought her something better. It seems both Alisa and you, Sir Casimir, trust Yuria a great deal, to listen so closely to a child’s story."
"...Since Young Master Jin has shared a difficult secret, I shall share one as well. That child is my daughter. I have no reason not to believe her."
Casimir had a good build, but he paled in comparison to Alisa. Still, imagining them together, they seemed surprisingly well-matched…
No, that wasn't important right now. Jin nodded slightly and waited for him to continue.
He had never heard that Casimir had a daughter in his past life.
Furthermore.
"And my daughter is a contractor of 'Az Mil'."
"If it’s Az Mil…"
"Yes, the God of Eyes, Az Mil."
In an instant, Jin understood why Alisa and Casimir trusted their daughter’s "eyewitness account" so implicitly.
A being who had contracted with the God of Eyes could never misperceive a phenomenon or an object. Optical illusions were impossible for them.
"I believe this is of equal weight to the secret of you associating with a dragon."
The contractor of Az Mil is my daughter.
Revealing that required immense courage. A contractor of Az Mil possessed not only the "Absolute Eye," which saw all things and phenomena as they truly were, but also the "Precognitive Eye."
Every power-hungry person in the world searched frantically for a contractor of Az Mil, driven by the desire to dispel the anxieties of the future.
Perhaps that was why contractors of Az Mil often met tragic ends after being exploited. The Zipple and the Viment Imperial Family were particularly aggressive. It was an open secret that they sought to keep contractors of Az Mil by their side "by any means necessary."
"Wait, lowly creature. If that brat is a contractor of Az Mil, where is her dragon? There wasn't a trace or scent of a dragon in this town. The dragons of Az Mil are known for being notoriously protective of their contractors."
His interest piqued, Murakan sat at the table, his hostile aura significantly softened. Jin instinctively realized the reason Casimir had come here.
The image of Yuria holding her "dragon doll" flashed through his mind.
He came here in such a hurry because Yuria’s guardian dragon disappeared.
A shadow fell over Casimir’s face.
"...Yuria’s guardian dragon suddenly vanished a year ago. I suspect Viment or Zipple kidnapped it, but I have no proof."
"Where in the world is there a dragon stupid enough to get kidnapped? That makes no sen—"
Murakan cut himself off, his pupils dilating.
"Wait. It’s been a year? Your daughter… she’s about five years old, right?"
"Yes."
Casimir’s head slumped. His heart ached for his daughter, who had lost her precious friend and now only clung to a doll made in its likeness.
But the problem was much bigger than Casimir realized.
"Then that means your daughter has been seeing the future continuously! A contractor that young can't control their authority without a dragon’s regulation. For heaven's sake, seeing my transformation must have been part of a future she saw."
"Pardon? Yuria is seeing the future continuously?"
"Humans might not know this, but the mental burden of witnessing the future is taxing even for a dragon. Right now, your daughter is too young to feel it because she can't distinguish between dreams and reality."
"Wh-what does that mean?"
"At this rate, your daughter will soon go insane and become a hollow wreck. Once she gets just a year or two older, she’ll start feeling the fatigue, and from there, it’ll snowball. It will become uncontrollable. You have to find that dragon immediately."