C489
"Kyaa! He just saw me, he saw me! Kekekeke!"
"...Until a moment ago, you were smiling calmly and maintaining some dignity in your own way, miss. Do you really have to laugh like a maniac every time?"
"But Jin looked at me!"
"It's natural to thoroughly check all directions during the infiltration. He didn't look at you."
"Besides, it's been so long since I last saw him like this."
"Miss, it hasn't been more than a month since your first and last encounter with Jin Runcandel. That can be considered a long time."
"Jin must be happy to see me, right?"
"Strictly speaking, you haven't seen him, except for the fact that you're secretly spying on him. Jin Runcandel doesn't know that you're pressing your flushed face against the crystal ball, miss."
"How much did he want to see me to come all the way here?""Miss, Jin Runcandel didn't come to see you but to harm your clan."
"Oh, my Jin has left Section Six! Does this crystal ball show the next section? No, is that it!? I don't want to miss a single second of that handsome face. Hedo, Hedo!"
The one behind is the crystal ball for the next section. And what face are you exactly talking about? All I can see is a black mask. Since we can't hear a voice, it's even hard to identify who Jin Runcandel is.
"Hehe, but I can see it all with my eyes."
"Please control yourself, miss..."
Hedo's gaze fell on Sandra's right arm.
To be precise, it was a prosthetic.
She wore a golden prosthesis since she had never recovered her right arm mutilated by Jin. Moreover, she had engraved Jin's face on the inner side of her forearm, and Sandra's room was filled with things related to Jin, such as carefully cut advertising brochures and newspaper articles.
As a second-class butler and Sandra's personal butler, how could Hedo not sigh at her like this?
"Huu."
In the end, Hedo lit ten cigarettes in a row.
That's how it had been since that day.
Sandra had been constantly talking about Jin, completely disregarding all clan matters.
It seemed that stress was making her hair fall out.
"Miss."
"Shut up, shut up. I need to focus because Jin is going too fast."
"Miss Sandra."
"Oh, what is it!"
"You have to report."
"Report what?"
"Jin Runcandel has reached the shipyard, which means you need to report to the Patriarch. You're on duty now."
Sandra opened her eyes and looked at Hedo for the first time.
Then she said.
"Hedo, then my husband will die. Or he will cease to be Jin."
"Well, that's probably true. But considering the survival skills the Twelfth Flagbearer has shown so far, you never know."
"So don't bring up such nonsense again."
Hedo hadn't brought up this topic with any expectations.
He knew his miss would naturally react this way.
He had just mentioned it with the feeling of grasping at a straw.
"And if you mention it again, even if you're Hedo, I'll split your mouth. Not horizontally, but vertically. Don't ruin my happiness. Understood?"
"Yes, yes. Do you want to try it?"
"It probably won't work."
"Just don't let it happen. If you're not going to report, at least stay quiet. This time, I have nothing to say to the Patriarch either."
"I have to meet Jin!"
The two were in the office of the Master of the Second Magic Tower.
When Zipple built the secret shipyard, they deliberately chose the Sota Desert, near the Second Magic Tower.
This was to inspect the shipyard through the use of crystal balls.
If they wanted to thoroughly control everything, including technology leaks, proximity to the tower was ideal.
Currently, as Jin had predicted, Zipple had presented the shipyard as bait to external forces to assess their power and abilities.
However, that was not its original purpose.
If Kinzelo had not revealed himself and if Joshua had not used his mysterious abilities, the shipyard would not have been wasted like this.
While Sandra rummaged through the office closet, Hedo touched his forehead and carefully examined the scattered crystal balls.
Almost all sections were being attacked simultaneously.
Beastmen and members of Kinzelo were wreaking havoc, and Joshua and his group were also seen.
Hedo especially observed the movements of Jin and his group.
'...It doesn't seem like they're trying to search the four sections they deliberately let escape.'
The movements were excessively complex.
If their intention was to destroy the shipyard and only check the important section, they should have taken the shortest route from the moment Kinzelo initiated the attack.
'But Jin Runcandel seems to be moving as if trying to oversee the entire internal situation, like someone who doesn't know Sections Four, Eleven, Seventeen, and Nineteen. Perhaps the Second Flagbearer didn't share those false pieces of information... No, wait.'
There was something strange.
This time he wasn't thinking about Jin but about Kinzelo.
'Not a single high executive of Kinzelo is visible among the people destroying the shipyard.'
Even after looking through the crystal balls of all sections, not a single high executive was visible.
There were no figures like Berakt or Bishkel, and most were beastmen at the assault team leader level.
At that moment, Hedo fully understood the situation.
Kinzelo didn't come alone to destroy the shipyard.
They used the attack on the shipyard as a diversion, and high executives are targeting other places. Some place with the real information.
Right here, the White Night Tower.
As long as Kinzelo isn't insane, they won't target Drakka.
After convincing himself of Kinzelo's intentions, he observed Jin again and understood his movements.
'Jin Runcandel is also aiming here. And he is calculating when to enter the Second Magic Tower to take full advantage of Kinzelo.'
Once the objectives and movements of the intruders were understood, it was time to respond.
"Hedo, how about this shirt and coat? I ordered them especially for the high circles of the Golden Peng, and they say they are exactly to his liking. They even went into detail explaining how close they are to him. It made me jealous, and I almost killed them."
"Miss, how many reinforcements did you send earlier?"
"How does the outfit look?"
"They are beautiful. But, could you tell me how many Tower Mages you sent to the shipyard?"
"I sent them all."
"....I must have misheard. Could you repeat that?"
"I thought Tower Mages would cause a commotion and disturb my enjoyment with my husband, so I told them to leave."
"Emergency reserve personnel?"
"Yes!"
"And the space-time device..."
"That bastard used it in Gaifa and shattered it into pieces."
"Oh, I see."
"How foolish!"
Ting!
Hedo's muscles bulged even more, causing the buttons of his shirt to pop off.
When Hedo felt intense stress or anger, his muscles tended to swell.
However, what angered him was not Sandra's cheerful response.
The first reason was the broken space-time device, and the second, the actions of the Spectre Corps.
Are those specters fools?
Even if the young lady ordered them, how can they just leave like that?
It was highly unlikely.
The Spectre Corps had underestimated Sandra.
Sandra's orders would have seemed irrational and strange to anyone who heard them, so at the very least, they should have come to receive her confirmation.
"Octavia Zipple underestimated the young lady, so her subordinates will see her as a brat and treat her as such."
Thud! Crack!
His shirt was completely torn, revealing his "enormous" physique.
The incredibly powerful muscles, which no one could forget once they saw them, had repeatedly exceeded their limits. They combined remarkable strength with indescribable beauty.
'I suppose I should give them a warning.'
Hedo gritted his teeth, and Sandra hummed.
"Anyway, isn't my outfit beautiful? Having Hedo praise it is the first time since I was five, isn't it? Haha, what if Jin falls in love with me? Here I go, Jin! Just a little more... Ah!"
When Sandra was about to run out, Hedo grabbed her by the nape.
"What are you trying to do?"
"...Miss, your outfit is very nice, but it has too many wrinkles. And your hair is messy."
"Really?"
"It's better to have a well-dressed appearance, especially when you're about to meet someone you admire and want to impress. You should take a bath; in the meantime, I'll prepare your clothes. I'll also choose appropriate jewelry for you."
Hedo carefully removed dirt from Sandra's shoulders.
"And what if I can't meet my husband? Jin has to escape soon. Reinforcements will swarm from Drakka like cockroaches."
"Don't worry, miss. Jin Runcandel will come here."
"What did you say? Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"And what if he doesn't come?"
"If by chance my assumptions are wrong, I will personally capture him and bring him here."
Hedo had never disappointed her, so Sandra nodded immediately.
"Very well! Good thing I sent everyone away. A second meeting in this empty tower is very romantic. Hedo, you'll leave too when Jin comes, understood? I want some alone time with him."
To avoid lying (since Kinzelo and Joshua would also arrive), Hedo changed the subject with a smile.
"And, miss, before you go take a bath, please give me the key."
He referred to the key to the vault that held the most important items of the Second Magic Tower, including the ship plans.
In such a situation, it was safer to have them in his possession than to leave them in the vault.
"Here, take it."
Sandra handed him the key hanging from her neck.
As she was about to turn around, she remembered something and told Hedo.
"Oh, Hedo, before telling me to dress nicely, you should put on some clothes too. What's wrong with you? Everything is in tatters, and you're barely wearing scraps of fabric. Even your glasses are crooked."
Sandra jumped up and adjusted Hedo's glasses.
They were still crooked, but Hedo laughed.
"I never thought I would serve someone as shameless and crazy as you."
"I didn't know I would fall in love with Jin either."
The two left the room together.
Sandra went to the bathroom, and Hedo headed to the vault.
By the way, Runcandel and Kinzelo really have potential.
'I thought they would only focus on the shipyard, but it seems they are also aware of this place.'
While Hedo inserted the key into the vault, he paused and raised an eyebrow.
The sensation of inserting the key into the lock was strange.
It was as if someone had already opened the vault today.
An unsettling feeling, as if the key went in too smoothly.
Click!
He quickly opened the vault.
The inside was empty, and Hedo could only touch his forehead once again.
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KO-FI
'Ko-Fi' for Adv4nc3 Ch4pt3r ( Up to '120' more ch4pt3rs) Publication of up to 6 w33kly ch4pters, thanks.
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