C259 - Trackers (1)
"Altering your memory? What do you mean by that?" Dante's eyes widened in horror.
Even Jin felt a chill run down his spine.
"The clan has been manipulating my mind for some time. Forging memories is actually feasible in magical theory, you know?"
As Beradin said, it was theoretically possible.
There were rumors that the special force Vermont was also secretly forging memories, but the only faction truly capable of memory forging was the Zipple clan.
Dante realized that Beradin wasn't joking. He was stunned by the shock for some time.
"I can't believe it. Why would someone do that? What do they gain by falsifying your memories, my friend?"
"I have no idea either. It's the first time it has happened since my uncle's death, so it must be the elders, or..." Beradin paused and furrowed his brow. "Or they did it on my father's orders to falsify my memory. But I can't understand their motives, especially considering the recent incident. It's not like I witnessed something I shouldn't have. The whole world saw how my clan tried to cover up the Holy Kingdom incident with money."
"It seems the memory manipulation might have been imperfect," Jin replied after hearing his story.
Beradin's eyes widened. "That's convincing. Maybe they were trying to erase another memory and accidentally manipulated the memory of that day as well. I'm sure doing things like that must be hard to pull off perfectly, even for my clan."
"You realize it's nothing to be happy about, right?"
"But I feel like I've finally found a clue. It makes some sense when you put it that way. But what memory were they trying to erase then? There was nothing particular in the recent entries of my diary."
"It's just a theory."
"But I feel like your theory might be correct."
"Still, you would know better than me. How could I know which memory your clan is trying to erase from your head?"
"Urgh, trying to think is giving me a headache again."
Jin remembered the day Latrie returned to Tikan.
"Lord Jin, there's something I must inform you of first. My daughter's guardian dragon returned today about three hours ago," Kashimir had said.
"Latrie has come back?"
"Yes, but there's something strange about him. He doesn't seem to remember anything from the entire time he was missing. For now, he's with my daughter, but he also doesn't seem to understand what has happened. Could it be that he wasn't kidnapped?"
"It can't be, since Biuretta herself confessed it to Quikantel."
Jin also thought it was strange that Latrie's memories had disappeared.
He hoped the Zipples had erased Latrie's memories, but to think they would do the same to Beradin.
Or maybe Beradin was lying. Or he could simply be mistaken.
But Jin decided to dismiss those possibilities.
Latrie's memories must have been erased by the demon god's stone. They erased all his memories during the period he was kidnapped. The reason they bothered to alter his memories instead of simply killing him must have been a measure to ensure the safety of Az Mil's contractor.
If that was the case, Beradin's memory manipulation could also have something to do with the demon god's stone.
Perhaps the reason Beradin risked his life to set fire to the gold wasn't, after all, his anger over the Holy Kingdom incident.
It's likely that Beradin witnessed other atrocities committed by the Zipple clan, like the demon god's stone, before setting fire to the gold.
And amidst his confusion, the revelation of the Holy Kingdom incidents made him impulsively rebel against his clan.
Jin thought about it and sighed inwardly.
The migraines he suffered and the extreme instability he showed in the Holy Kingdom could also be side effects of memory manipulation.
But it was not a good idea to ask him if he knew about the demon god's stone.
Now that he knew about Beradin's memory instability, he had to take precautions.
If Beradin had been enraged by the demon god's stone, who knew what he would do after Jin mentioned it.
Until they were sure Beradin would act rationally, it was best that Beradin didn't know.
"Beradin?"
"Yes?"
"I think there can only be one reason why the Zipples would be manipulating your memories. They are trying to turn you into a successor who perfectly fits their preferences. And it's not the elders who are behind it. Keliac Zipple, your father, has to be behind all of this."
Jin was sure of this now. Beradin was nothing more than a perfectly groomed successor in his past life.
Unlike what was known about him in the world, Beradin had also signed a contract with two gods back then. But regardless of the type of power he obtained, all the power he amassed had to be used for the Zipples, not for himself.
At that time, there was no peculiarity of Jin living his second life, and therefore, Beradin had no power to resist his own clan. He had reached the age of thirty without knowing about the atrocities his clan committed and what they were doing to him.
"I suppose so, don't I? Damn it, and here I thought I was an exemplary successor in my own right. Even this isn't enough to please my father, is it? I'm contracted to two gods, and my magic skills are about to reach nine stars!"
Tuyan and Phinia said nothing. They had finished cleaning. They sat by the window on the other side and drank tea.
No human in history had ever signed a contract with more than one god at a time. Beradin was the first human to do so. But Dante was so shocked by the memory manipulation that he barely even reacted.
Jin's gaze briefly fell on the dragons. Beradin smiled when he saw it.
"By the way, why don't you ask?"
"Ask you what?"
"How I entered into a contract with two gods."
"You must have had so much potential, I suppose. Plus, it's not a question to ask at this moment."
"Right. The fact that you're a Magic Swordsman is much crazier than the fact that I signed a contract with two gods. Wait, but that's quite annoying when you think about it. See, you keep saying that it wasn't you who killed Kiddard Hall. Not only did you kill him, but you even took his Inverted Sky."
Jin was about to respond when Beradin continued.
"Furthermore, you were the one who impersonated me in the kingdom of Arkhin! Hey, Dante. What do you think? I'm more scandalized that he took us for fools all this time than by my own memory manipulation. He's a swindler, that's what he is. We'll have to turn him in to the police."
There they were, saying whatever came to their minds.
Jin shrugged, and Dante nodded clumsily.
"Beradin, my friend, you don't have to try so hard."
"Try hard at what?"
"You're forcing yourself to sound cheerful and bright."
Jin felt a shiver down his spine as Dante spoke.
Beradin must have felt the same. He seemed stunned as he blinked, but quickly shook his head. "No, that's not true. I'm actually fine, you know?"
"How can someone be fine after having their memories manipulated? And by your own clan, the one you trusted! You can be honest with us. We're friends, aren't we?"
"Yes, the truth is, I'm fine with everything."
An uncomfortable silence followed. Dante could only fake a few coughs, his ears reddening with indignation.
"But it seems they didn't touch the diary, even when they manipulated your memories."
"Those guys take care of the diaries, that's why." Beradin pointed to the dragons.
"Do your guardian dragons know about the memory manipulation?"
"Yes, they do. In fact, it's the opposite. Not many people in the clan know that I'm a divine contractor and that I have two guardian dragons."
"But why don't they do anything about it?"
"Because Itelmion and Richta haven't said much about it. The two gods must have decided that it doesn't harm me. In fact, they seem eager to see me tamed soon so that I can become the patriarch as soon as possible."
Becoming the patriarch of the Zipple Clan meant becoming the most powerful figure in the whole world.
It was the best thing that could happen to the two gods who chose Beradin. Not only would it elevate their reputation, but they would also have dominion over all the other contractors of the clan.
Although Jin couldn't see the true motives of the two gods at the moment, it all seemed too repugnant to him. The dragons, strange and overly courteous, also got on his nerves.
Puppets.
The word struck him.
Beradin wasn't living his own life. He was living the will of someone else. A will stained by conspiracy and atrocities.
"You just thought of me as a puppet, didn't you?"
"That's insane."
"How did you figure it out?"
Startled, Jin and Dante looked at each other. Dante thought the same as Jin.
"So, what are you going to do now?" Jin composed himself and asked.
"About what?"
"Leaving the Zipples."
"Ah, that. I suppose it won't be easy. The only realistic way to do it is to wait for you to become a flagbearer and capture me as a hostage. But that could easily lead to a full-blown war. Besides, there's no telling how much your brothers could torture me."
"The Runcandels and the Zipples fight each other all the time, regardless of you."
"That may be true, but Jin, I also have my share of responsibilities. If my clan is going in the wrong direction, I should be the one to stay and correct it, don't you think? I'll restore everything. I'll make the Zipples the clan I've always been proud of again."
"That's the most unrealistic goal of all."
"Not if I have the help of you two."
"Friends or not, there are some lines we cannot cross. The Runcandels can't help the Zipples."
"That's very cold of you. I'm starting to feel disgusted again."
"Of course, I suppose I could personally help you. But what will happen afterward? Helping you will cause a division within the Zipple Clan. If we succeed, the division will be so immense that the clan has never faced such a crisis. Do you think the Runcandels and the other clans will just sit back and watch?"
That would never happen.
Once Beradin created a division within the Zipples, all factions would seize the opportunity to destroy the clan. And before that, Beradin's determination was impossible from the start.
"Moreover, do you think you'll still be the person you are now by then? They will continue manipulating your memories. Are you sure you can maintain your identity? I don't think it's something you can control by will or belief. You must leave the Zipple Clan, Beradin."
"So, you think I would succumb and change my way of being if I don't, right?"
"Yes, I do."
"That might be the case. I can't deny it. But Jin, you would have made the same decision as me if you were in my shoes. I'm not leaving the clan."
"No, if I were you, I would leave the Runcandel Clan if I were forced to live a life where my own will was slowly taken away from me without my knowledge."
"Jin." Beradin smiled and continued. "I'm not an extraordinary guy like you."
There was a tone of resignation in his words. Jin didn't know what to say.
Beradin wasn't a fool either. He knew better than anyone how terrifying the idea of memory manipulation and altering his personality was.
The discrepancy between his diary entries and reality, and the resulting confusion, were things he had been struggling with for years.
"Jin, I understand Beradin too. I'd like to support his opinion," Dante said.
There was a good reason why Jin insisted on Beradin's need to leave the clan. He didn't want to face a future where he or his Runcandel brothers had to kill him.
"I know it's shameful to say this, but as long as you two never abandon me, I think I should be able to change clans. I don't care if the clan's powers diminish in the process. Huh?"
After Beradin expressed his opinion, the portal door outside the vacation house suddenly lit up.
Someone was coming to this place. The only people who could come at this precise moment were members of the Zipple Clan.
At that very moment, the two guardian dragons who had been having tea jumped to their feet and stood before Beradin in a fraction of a second.
They seemed to be protecting him.
"Tuyan? Phinia?"
Unlike their courteous attitude before, the two dragons didn't respond. They raised their energies without much emotion.
A group of magicians emerged from the portal door. They wore gray robes without crests.
They had no markings of the White Night, nor of the special and elite classes of the Magicians. The gray robes didn't even inform others of their Zipple status.
Jin didn't know what this meant. But he could deduce it from the way they handled mana and the speed at which they cast chain spells as they emerged from the portal door.
They must be like the black knights of the Runcandel Clan.
Whoever they were, one thing was clear. They were here to capture Jin.
"Jin, I didn't call them!" Beradin desperately shouted.
Jin nodded. "Beradin."
"It wasn't me, believe me, really..."
"I know. I won't hold it against you, so stop panicking and order your guardian dragons to protect Dante as well. Those guys seem to be trying to blow this whole place up."
Jin looked out the window and saw that the sky was red from the chain spell cast by the gray-robed magicians.