C459
When Gilly left to start preparing for Jin's journey, Murakan entered the room this time.
Upon entering, he looked at Gilly and forced a smile (to make her smile), but she just nodded in greeting and walked past him.
"Hmm, today Strawberry Pie's reaction seems to be 20% anger, 30% sadness, and 50% bitterness. There's not a single digit of error in this calculation, kid. You know that?"
"What nonsense is this again?"
"Well, what do you know? Ugh. You only know how to take advantage of Strawberry Pie."
A vein popped on Jin's forehead.
"You, the great Black Dragon, don't know how to flirt."
"What are you talking about?"
"And you only know how to make cheap jokes."
"You have no idea how much Strawberry Pie laughs at those jokes."
"Well, you don't need that kind of humor. Gilly only laughs when she sees your face."
"Ha! Look who's talking. The Thousand Year Contractor has no eyes, none. I raised you wrong. I should have known since the time you threatened to destroy the magazines!"
"And so what? Right now, Murakan, it's better for you to behave with her. She's frustrated enough for you to come and bother her, right?"
"Of course!"
"Because I can give you an excuse."
At this point, Murakan suddenly cleared his throat and gave a typical fake cough.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Jin burst into laughter.
"Go help Strawberry Pie, no. Help Gilly."
That was the reason.
If Murakan tried to help Gilly without this motive, the only response he would hear from Gilly would be, "It's okay, you don't need to bother."
On the other hand, he could naturally help her with this reason. All Gilly could respond was, "Oh, for the young master?"
"Hehehe, good. Well, kid, it's nice to hear that. So, you go find that Amela or whatever, and I'll take care of Strawberry Pie, and we'll do all the pending household chores together..."
"You're coming too. And there's no need for you to do household chores."
"Okay, I'll go... But why?"
"Aren't you my Dragon Guardian?"
"Well, that's true. But sometimes, the Dragon Guardian needs some time alone."
"Yes, you're right, but this time you must come. It could be quite dangerous."
"You'll be fine unless someone like Zephyrin shows up, don't you think? Isn't it better for someone like me to watch over Tikan?"
"There's no law that says Zephyrin won't show up again. Also, the Gaifa Islands require a proper escort."
Murakan frowned at the mention of an escort.
"Escort? Are you saying you want to use me as an escort?"
"Yes. The four major factions will gather at the Gaifa Islands. There will be important figures coming to represent them."
"So you don't want to lag behind them, right?"
In reality, even if Jin were alone, without Murakan, Lata, or Fey, he wouldn't be seen as a fool by anyone.
A year or two ago, many might have thought, "At most, he's the Twelfth Flagbearer."
But now Jin had truly ascended to the ranks of giants.
Before, he was a notable rising star shaking the world and causing a sensation with his talent.
However, after swallowing the Phantom Legion Mercenaries and Black King Mercenaries, there was no doubt that Jin had become an undeniable giant.
So even without Murakan, his influence wouldn't diminish, but he had the mindset that more is better.
The Gaifa Islands were like a small cage where all formidable beings in the world gathered.
That meant even a small spark could trigger a wild fight, and Jin and the Proch brothers might be insufficient in those moments.
Enemies could be numerous and powerful.
"True. We have to prepare for any unexpected situation."
"Well, I can handle quite a bit."
"Anyway, shall we? When you come back from helping Gilly, I'll prepare some remarks that you can use on the Gaifa Islands for various situations."
"Remarks? What kind of remarks?"
"I'll only tell you if we go."
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In the Gaifa Islands, the sea was calm and transparent, a warm breeze blew year-round, the forest visible from the sea was lush and full of tempting fruits, and the trees in that forest were laden with all kinds of unknown fauna.
It was truly a worthless area.
The nearby sea was calm...
but just beyond the island, treacherous currents and mysterious whirlpools abounded, making navigation for normal vessels impossible.
The warm breeze that blew daily would suddenly sweep the island, making it unsuitable for installing a transfer gate due to the dry sand and drops it carried.
The ground, despite its beautiful colors, produced resources that essentially lacked meaning.
Moreover, many people who tried to settle here couldn't endure for long, as a mysterious endemic disease erupted here every year.
The worst conditions in this place were caused by monsters. Gaifa was an unprotected zone.
It wasn't classified as a high-risk zone, but orcs and other demonic creatures roamed the island once or twice a week.
Therefore, Gaifa couldn't be used as a tourist destination, residential area, or even as a fun place for the wealthy.
Occasionally, there were people who tried to invest in the island or establish a personal space despite these unfavorable conditions.
However, all of them disappeared about thirty years ago when the formidable mercenary Amela set foot on this enormous and seemingly useless island.
Swish, Swish...
The boat smoothly crossed the mist-covered sea.
The one explaining this information was Lata Proch, who had been rowing the boat alone throughout the entire journey to the island.
"There have been various rumors about that reason, my lord."
"Do you mean the reason why fewer people have approached the Gaifa Islands since Amela arrived?"
"Rumors circulated that Amela killed everyone who came looking for something hidden on the Gaifa Islands. There are stories like hiding lovers, hiding kidnapped children, and so on."
"Naturally, there must have been stories about hiding treasures too."
"Yes. So quite a few mercenaries and pirates came to the Gaifa Islands. They were all a bunch of fools, and... no one ever saw them again."
People in the world might not know if one or two had disappeared, but if a group had vanished, it could only be because of Amela.
"On rare occasions, there were a few lucky ones who survived and came back, but they showed signs of fear at the mention of Amela's name."
Rumors like Amela wearing human skin or being a cannibal arose from those incidents.
"One thing is clear, Amela really dislikes guests who come to these islands."
Exiting the misty area, Gaifa became visible.
"That's right."
More guests had gathered in Gaifa than ever before.
Lata was sure.
Amela wouldn't be receiving the guests.
And if she met with them, it would undoubtedly be for military purposes, not hospitality.
"By the way, there's a rumor that Amela... has a favorable impression of the two brothers."
"I don't care if Valkas-nim told you, but don't worry about our feelings, Jin-nim," said Fey.
Valkas had told them the same story before his departure.
She continued with her words.
"And... I'm not sure if I can call it a 'favorable' feeling. I think Valkas-nim mentioned it while thinking about the day we happened to eat together on the battlefield. But my brother and I have seen Amela on other occasions besides that day."
"If it's not 'favorable'?"
"It's difficult to express it in words. It seemed like she considered us as toys or playmates. She said talking is boring and brandished her sword against us."
"It's an embarrassing story, but there was one time I got a cut on my forehead during one of her surprise attacks."
At that moment, Jin realized a strange sense of déjà vu hearing the story about Amela.
The ambiguity of the border between good and evil, the willingness to perform actions that could kill someone as a joke.
There was someone whom Jin wanted and who also had that trait.
'Elder Sister Yona.'
From what he had heard, Amela had a lot in common with Yona.
And a word naturally came to Jin's mind:
Chaos.
'Maybe Amela has the chaos of Elder Sister Yona.'
Of course, it could just be that she had a twisted personality.
But other circumstances fit well.
The part where Amela single-handedly overwhelmed all the Black King Mercenaries in the war.
Valkas evaluated Amela as someone with special abilities, more than as a transcendent War with a battle skill of 10 stars or higher.
-Amela has spent her whole life wandering and exploring the world. I asked her when we ate together after the battle. She seemed to be searching for something with great longing but didn't reveal exactly what it was.
Jin remembered what Valkas had said.
A sharp intuition seemed to pierce his head from all directions.
Amela is looking for something related to Chaos.
The source, the reason, or a way to control or eliminate the Chaos she possessed.
If Amela is looking for that, what can I offer her?
Jin's knowledge about "Chaos" was quite limited.
Most of what he knew came from Talaris's recent explanation.
But what about his enemies?
How much did they know about it?
The Imperial Family might not know anything, but Kinzelo and Zippel probably had more information.
Especially because the Leader of Kinzelo seemed to be a Demon God-level being.
'If Amela's goal is information about Chaos, I'm in a quite disadvantageous position, especially since I'm probably the last one to arrive at the Gaifa Islands.'
While contemplating these thoughts, a familiar scene entered Jin and his companions' vision.
Not far away, smoke and flames began to erupt from the center of Gaifa.
There was no need for further explanations; the smoke indicated that a battle was taking place, and it was unfolding rapidly.
"My lord."
"What should we do?" Lata and Fey asked, and Jin immediately made a decision.
If there had been only one major faction that had arrived at Gaifa, they would have hurried to see it immediately.
It was probably a battle between Amela and the main factions.
However, it wasn't the right time to intervene.
It could be a battle between the main factions, a skirmish involving Amela, or a showdown between Amela and some of the main factions.
They all had one thing in common:
Interest in Amela.
As long as the Four Great Factions didn't collectively decide to eliminate Amela, she was actually the safest in any situation.
Because they would all try to rescue her.
"For now, let's go more slowly. And if possible, let's find a suitable place to hide and observe what happens and how the battle unfolds," suggested Jin.
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KO-FI
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