C350 - Kinzelo's Visit (2)
For a moment, Jin couldn't help but doubt his own eyes.
Is she crazy... Is she doing this here?
His mind was left gaping, almost speechless, but after a while, Jin had to realize an even more shocking fact.
No one in the reception room had witnessed Margiella's actions.
Even a five-star knight or anyone with decent observational skills would easily notice such a scene. But all the martial artists who had reached the pinnacle had missed it.
It was a strange phenomenon.
'Even this woman is strange.'
Was it just a coincidence?
Thinking so, there were too many people in the reception room. Moreover, with Rosa present, the likelihood of all of them 'casually' missing Margiella's actions was lower than winning the lottery.
"Can I say it here?"
As no one had seen Margiella's whispering, it didn't seem strange to anyone that Berakt responded to Jin's question.
However, Berakt's response made the law enforcement knights alert once again.
Berakt seemed to want to speak with Jin personally despite Rosa being present.
"I don't mind."
As the Twelfth Flagbearer, Jin couldn't give any other response.
"That's fortunate."
Berakt paused before continuing.
"It's valuable information that can't be bought with money. First of all, I hope you know that our leader holds you in high regard."
"I've felt that way for a while, but it seems Kinzelo lacks talented individuals."
"There aren't many worthy humans in this world. This is the information I'll share with you. You're not the only one looking for the tomb."
Jin's eyes almost widened in surprise.
There's only one person whose tomb Jin is looking for.
Temar's tomb... Is someone else looking for it besides me?".
Despite barely maintaining his composure, Berakt smiled, clearly noticing Jin's confusion.
"Our leader said that saying this much should be enough for you to understand."
"It's intriguing information."
Jin responded indifferently, but his mind quickly became more complicated.
'Kinzelo too? Zipple? In any case, what do they intend to find in Temar's Tomb? And how did Kinzelo know I was searching for the tomb? There's no connection point.'
The most likely possibility was recent events.
The day when Berakt and Margiella arrived at the cave of the little beastmen to help Jin.
'During the process of breaking the barrier of the Cat Tribe, did the Specter Corps find information about Temar's Tomb, and Berakt interrogated them before killing them...?'
It didn't seem likely. Even if Berakt was powerful, it was hard to believe that high-level magicians like the Specters would fear death and give away information.
'Kinzelo knew the information about Temar's Tomb even before. Their leader is someone who existed even in Temar's time, so it's possible he confirmed that Zipple is looking for the tomb."
Coming to this conclusion, Jin met Berakt's eyes.
"So tell me what you want from me."
Return the stolen item, the compass.
Naturally, Jin expected to hear that, but once again, Berakt said something different.
"Cosmetics."
"What did you say?"
"I want a sample of the cosmetics sold by the beastmen. Its name... was it wood?"
"It's Jade, Sir Berakt."
"Ah, right. Jade. Can you give me some, Jin Runcandel?"
Even without asking, Jin could figure out why Kinzelo was making this silly request.
"Bouvard, that crazy bastard. It seems like he's been getting too much work lately."
In the business reports Jin received from the Golden Snow Tribe every week, there was information about customers using the Jade product, along with their sales figures.
The number of Jade users was rapidly increasing. Since Jin knew that there was only one person doing the "disguise business" before, Bouvard must be raking it in.
Without hesitation, Jin nodded.
"If you give me an address, I'll send it to you."
"Great, it looks like things are settled. Well then... Rosa."
"Speak."
"How about we have a drink together after a long time? Just the two of us. To be honest, I'm curious about the taste of the alcohol back then; it probably won't be the same."
Rosa obediently replied.
"Everyone, leave."
The Execution Knights left the reception room with disciplined steps. No one questioned the fact that Rosa and Berakt were staying alone; they simply went out to wait outside.
"You guys wait outside too. The warriors can wait outside the Garden of Swords."
Thanks to Rosa's approval, Jin was able to have a separate conversation with Bishkel and Margiella.
'Since my mother also hopes to get more information from them, she created this opportunity.'
The fact that he's not the only one looking for the tomb gave Rosa new insight into her younger son's activities.
"I want a drink too!"
As they left the reception room, Margiella spoke up.
"Sure, let's do it."
Boom!
Suddenly, Murakan transformed back into his human form and squinted his eyes. Margiella reacted with exaggerated astonishment and admiration.
"Kid."
"Yes?"
"I need to hear your conversation."
Murakan's face showed a certain annoyance.
-Anyway, the younger one needs to keep increasing his reputation. Otherwise, he won't be recognized by Runcandel even if he becomes a Flagbearer. Is that explanation enough?
-Yes, then I have one more question.
-Please, go ahead.
-Where is Temar's Tomb?
-I don't know. Can I go now?
It was from the conversation Murakan had with Rosa shortly after Jin became a Flagbearer.
Although he was now Jin's Guardian Dragon, Murakan originally existed to protect all of Runcandel.
In Murakan's opinion, if a story about Temar's Tomb came up, Rosa should have been the one to suggest that they listen to the information together.
"My mother and Sir Berakt?"
"Yes. If I go back in now, your mother won't have any reason to kick me out."
"Well, go then. But don't get mad if they tell you to leave and come back to our room."
"Understood."
Murakan returned to the reception room, while Jin, Bishkel, and Margiella headed to Jin's room.
"Could you prepare some tea, Gilly?"
Margiella was a person with exceptional affability. She praised the tea to the point where Gilly's lips unconsciously formed a smile. However, she continued to be cautious around Margiella. After all, Kinzelo had been Jin's enemy since his cadet days.
"What's your rank in Kinzelo, Sir Bishkel?"
"I'm the Vice Leader."
As if there was no need to hide it, Bishkel revealed her rank.
"I'm disappointed. When I first heard that you were part of Kinzelo, I thought you were seeking their power to restore your clan. But it seems you have a completely different purpose."
"Even if you're disappointed, in reality, I was deceived, Sir Jin. It happened when you visited the Principality of Kurano during your days as a Provisional Flagbearer. I don't know what you did that day, but you managed to obtain information about the compass."
Since there was no evidence, there was no need to admit something that didn't require confirmation.
"Except for the fact that I planned to kill Bouvard that day, I don't think I made any mistakes. But do you want me to return the Compass?"
"No, it's ridiculous to ask for something that was taken from you in battle. That object now belongs to you, sir."
"I actually don't seem to care. As long as Bouvard exists, you can recreate it anytime."
"Not necessarily. I just have faith that when Sir Jin uses the Compass, he won't do anything that benefits Zipple."
As Jin shrugged, Margiella spoke up.
"Perhaps you have no idea of the troubles we've gone through to appease Lord Bouvard because of the compass, Sir Jin."
"It seems that Bouvard Gaston is desperately needed to make your King, the King of the World. Is it true that even Sir Berakt, who could chew up the Specters, placates Bouvard?"
Jin directly mentioned Kinzelo's "grand cause," but Bishkel's expression remained unchanged.
However, Bishkel was also suppressing her emotions and, deep down, she was surprised.
'Our grand cause hasn't been made public, how does he know about it? Did information leak?'
No information had leaked about the grand cause.
Jin found out before his regression. However, Bishkel had no way of knowing.
"Feel free to think what you want."
"The power of chaos seems to be quite remarkable. Both Bouvard Gaston and Miss Margiella are examples of that."
It was still an assumption that Margiella also possessed the "power of chaos."
Bishkel narrowed her eyes.
"...It's not good to casually talk about things you're not sure of, Sir Jin."
"It won't be worse than Kinzelo coming to Runcandel and talking about the tomb."
Even before, Jin didn't like that fact.
If Kinzelo really wanted to recruit him or propose an alliance, they could have conveyed that information in places where they wouldn't be overheard.
"I suppose Kinzelo brought up the topic of the tomb in front of my mother and the execution knights because it benefited them. Besides me, the Runcandels didn't seem to know much about the tomb."
After today, Jin was convinced that the Runcandels would put all their effort into finding Temar's tomb.
It was natural that there would be restrictions when searching for the tomb independently.
'I can move in secret, but in the process of finding the tomb, I'll inevitably run into other clan members.'
Since Jin was the only Thousand Year Contractor, there would be no need to share what he obtained from the tomb. However, it was still annoying.
'I need to make sure that the clan's search for the tomb also benefits me.'
Temar's Tomb.
Now the Runcandels would participate in its search, and there were already others looking for it.
In that case, the benefits Jin could gain were clear.
'I can use my clan as a shield. It can prevent other forces from finding the tomb or approaching it when it's discovered.'
Kinzelo also hoped that Jin would use the Runcandel in that way with the information they provided him.
"Who else is searching for Temar's Tomb?"
Jin asked Margiella, knowing that would be the real information Kinzelo wanted to share with him.
"Who do you think?"
"Zipple."
"Correct! But that's not all."
Click... Margiella gently placed her teacup back down.
"The Vermont Imperial Family is also searching for the tomb of Runcandel's first patriarch. Your movements have been exposed to them before, Sir Jin."
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