C592
"It's been a while, Jin!" Beradin exclaimed cheerfully.
"My darling, Jin!"
Sandra, who stood beside him, swung the golden prosthetic arm that replaced her right hand and cookie crumbs covered her mouth.
Jin was momentarily taken aback seeing the image of his face engraved on Sandra's golden prosthetic arm.
"I received your response to the letter I sent you last time! Where did you learn such a romantic language?"
"...Response? Romantic?"
Of course, Jin didn't recall sending a response.
However, Sandra firmly believed that Jin had responded to her through some sort of invisible signal.
"You asked me to go to Radin village and go out with you next time.""No, when did I do that?"
"Oh, Jin. Are you really dating Elder Sister Sandra!? So now you're my brother-in-law...?"
"How many times do I have to tell you, Radin? Don't assume he's your brother-in-law, he already is your brother-in-law."
"I can't believe my friend is my brother-in-law, it feels a bit weird!"
"Isn't it nice?"
"It's weird!"
"What kind of commotion is this in someone else's store, especially on a festive day?"
As soon as the brothers arrived at Tikan, they headed to Latrie's shop.
They entered reluctantly saying "We're Zipple!" to Latrie, who announced to them that today was a holiday.
Instead, they paid a large sum of money that Latrie's refreshment stand wouldn't touch even if it worked tirelessly for a whole year.
The issue was that the two of them weren't the only uninvited guests forcing their way into the shop.
Behind the central table occupied by Beradin and Sandra, sat a person deeply cloaked.
'...Valeria!? What is she doing here?'
It was Valeria, whom Jin had seen just a few days ago at the second castle of Hairan.
Jin hadn't been informed by Kashimir that she was also at Latrie's shop.
"Anyway, you don't have to regret it, because from now on, we'll see each other much more often. There are more things we have to share and help each other with. I intend to occasionally use Tikan in the future when avoiding Zipple's pursuit."
At that moment, Valeria had clearly mentioned that she would stop by near the territory of Sword Emperor Castle to express gratitude to Ron and visit the succession temple, but she stopped by Latrie's shop to take a rest for a while.
It was because she was tired of dealing with Chaos around the Sword Emperor Castle.
Valeria was always a welcomed presence to Jin.
Recently, he had found Qwaul much earlier than expected and recruited him, so he was about to get back in touch with Valeria.
However, the current situation was a bit awkward.
He didn't want to encounter Valeria alongside the two pure-blooded Zipples.
Fortunately, Beradin and Sandra showed no interest in Valeria, who remained seated in a corner.
"Let's go out and talk."
"I like it here! It was my dream to have a cup of tea with Jin in such a pleasant atmosphere."
"There's a better place..."
"Where?"
"The meeting hall of Tikan Kingdom."
There was silence for a while.
"Is it because of Histor sitting there?"
The only one surprised by that comment was Jin.
"Ah, what are you worried about between us? Even if she's wearing a robe, is red-haired, and has a silver pine wand, but Radin and I are pure-blooded Zipples, can't we recognize her?"
Valeria already knew they recognized her.
During the long pursuit, her red hair and silver pine wand had long been revealed.
Valeria chose to remain silent, knowing she had no chance of being captured by them.
What worried Jin wasn't that they would catch Valeria, but the opposite.
Jin was rather worried that she would kill or capture the two of them and use them.
For Valeria, Zipple is the mortal enemy who destroyed her Clan and annihilated the Gray Owl Mercenary Corps.
Since she heard about the two of them from me and my companions, has she decided to wait and see what happens?
Valeria was curious about the two, especially Beradin. Was he really the one who could lead the purification of Zipple, as the people of Tikan claimed?
Reluctantly, Jin took a seat at the table of the two.
Jin's and Beradin's eyes met.
Excited Sandra chattered non-stop, and the two remained silent for a while.
The last time Jin met Beradin was during the terrorist attack of Sword Emperor.
That day, Jin and Dante asked for a favor from Beradin.
So that Hairan could clearly distinguish between friends and enemies, they asked him to make Zipple seriously press Hairan.
The results were known a month ago.
It was a bitter, sad ending that everyone knew.
Because the imperial family chose Zipple and the White Stone over Hairan, and as a result, Gliek awakened and the world was contaminated.
It was an incident that had to happen even without Beradin's intervention, but he carried a heavy guilt as punishment.
"How are you?"
"Fine, fine."
"No, it's not fine! Radin, speak up. If you hadn't been forced to lose control, wouldn't Kadun-nim and Hedo have participated in the War of Sword Emperor Castle?"
It was predicted from the battlefield that Beradin would do something for Dante.
"You lost control? Were you in the same condition during the Ventica mission?"
During the mission to kill Barton Vicena, the Black Knight, Beradin lost his sanity and attacked Jin.
"Similar."
"Although the mana you showed then was amazing, it wasn't to the extent that you couldn't be subdued without Kadun and Hedo."
"My mana had become much stronger than during the Ventica mission. This isn't surprising, right? Until yesterday, I was trapped in the life support device. Thanks to that, my clan won't be able to manipulate my mind for a while."
Until now, Zipple had been manipulating Beradin's mind through special methods, including dark magic and the Demon God Orb.
However, it was now impossible because the Demon God Orb was broken and Kelliark was tied to the life support device, and Beradin's body and mind were damaged from running so much.
In the past, when Beradin first confessed about his mental manipulation, Jin thought it was simply for Zipple to prepare Beradin as a suitable successor.
Now it didn't seem like that.
"Then it seems you've lost all your mana now."
Jin didn't feel Beradin's mana at all.
The current Beradin had a body that couldn't be called that of a Magician.
"Not only the mana, my memories also have some issues. I don't remember my brothers' names well, and I've forgotten a lot about magic. It's a side effect of losing control. Mana will definitely come back, but I can't be sure about memories. As for magic, I can always learn it again."
The current Beradin had lost many more memories than Jin thought.
Still, among the lost memories, the conversations he had with the two people he valued most, Jin and Dante, remained intact.
"What the hell does Zipple intend by manipulating your mind and enhancing your mana?"
"Well, the only thing I'm sure of is the fact that Elder Sister Sandra and I are some kind of test subjects. As you know, my elder sister is the living golem, and in... I still can't come up with anything. It's not to prepare me as a successor, as you mentioned earlier. It's because my father is getting closer to immortality."
The appearance of Kelliark rejuvenating thanks to the power of the Demon God Orb was confirmed by everyone who participated in the War of Sword Emperor Castle.
It was unlikely that such a Kelliark Zipple would hand over the patriarchy to Beradin.
Suddenly, a guess occurred to Jin.
'Sandra Zipple's physical abilities, which she demonstrated on the Gaifa Islands, far exceeded those of an ordinary magician. And since Beradin's mana is strengthening at the same time as his mental manipulation...'
A powerful body with high-speed regenerative abilities and artificially increased mana.
What if Zipple's purpose is to combine both to create a living golem weapon?
It's just like the last magical swordsmen of ancient Runcandel...
Furthermore, Beradin had contracted with more than one god at the same time.
It wasn't just because Beradin was a blessed magician, it was likely the result of an experiment.
Jin didn't express that thought.
It made him feel nauseous, as if he were about to vomit.
"Anyway, I'm sorry. You and Dante have suffered a lot because of my clan."
"It's not your fault."
"I'm Zipple. Judging by the way the world is running now, my lineage itself is a sin."
"Such self-pity doesn't suit you, so get rid of it. Dante still has no intention of fighting against you, and I don't think you're to blame."
"Are you going to abandon our Radin?"
"I think I need to think about it."
"Okay, abandon Radin and live happily with me."
Jin let out a chuckle at those words.
"Beradin, do you remember the things I told you during the terrorist attack?"
-"No matter what the situation, it's good as long as the three of us don't betray each other."
Beradin remembered it well. During the time he lost consciousness in the life support device, Jin's words at the Sword Emperor Castle were the only milestones in Beradin's subconscious.
Just like Ron, Dante, and Jin, who were tainted by Chaos during the War of Sword Emperor Castle, reflected each other and didn't lose sight of each other in the end.
"Of course. If it weren't for those words, I wouldn't have come here."
"It's enough."
"I don't understand what you're talking about, but count me in too."
"It's about betraying Zipple."
"If you swear to officially marry me, as many times as you want."
In reality, Sandra had never done anything harmful to Jin. And she had already made the decision to join Beradin to purify Zipple.
Just because she believes Jin will love her more if she does.
Of course, Jin didn't fully trust Sandra, but she would never willingly harm him in the future.
"I'll call Dante, so come back after having a drink. When you come back, report that the Histor survivor was here. That way, Zipple's upper echelons won't think there was no gain. It's like turning suspicion into confirmation.
"No, no. Jin, you should have a date with me. You promised, right?"
"I would appreciate it if you considered having a date with all four of us, Sandra Zipple. I never promised."
Less than an hour later, Dante visited Latrie's shop.
As soon as Dante saw Beradin, he hugged him for a long time without saying a word.
And when the drinking party ended and Latrie's shop returned to quietness, Jin and Valeria stayed to examine the record showcase together.
"The Record Magic can't confirm if Beradin Zipple's words about his mind not being manipulated are false or true," Valeria said.
Instead, the record window clearly revealed a record left today in Latrie's shop.
<Beradin Zipple's determination not to betray Jin Runcandel and Dante Hairan has been further strengthened here>.
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KO-FI
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