C665
"It’s as you heard, Sir Ronil. The Histor needs the Holy Land of Zipple to recover."
Ronil's eyebrows furrowed as Jin responded naturally.
Jin had not seen him display such emotions during their previous encounters.
Kadun and Octavia blinked in disbelief.
They never expected to hear such shocking news at that moment, when they had come to negotiate a temporary alliance.
"Sir Jin, there are many ears listening right now. Did you think it was appropriate to bring up such a topic here?" asked Ronil.
"I didn't know it was such a big secret. The leader of Kinzelo mentioned it casually," Jin replied, and Ronil glared at Orgal.
Orgal barely managed to stand up, waving his hands apologetically.
A moment of silence ensued.Meanwhile, Jin asked all his companions to leave, except for himself and Kashimir, leaving only Orgal and Zephyrin by Kinzelo's side.
"Sir Orgal, what were you thinking when you did this?" Ronil asked.
[Coff...]
"The master is not in a condition to continue speaking, so let me answer on his behalf, Zipples," said Zephyrin, lifting Orgal.
"First of all, I hope the members of Zipple do not get too excited and listen to my story. I understand that Sir Jin brought up a delicate topic without much thought, which may have caused frustration."
"Frustration? Is that all?" interrupted Octavia, causing Zephyrin to narrow her eyes.
"Please don't interrupt me. Let it be clear that this is not a request, but a warning. My master knew of the existence of the Holy Land even before you called it that, and he used to be its caretaker. So you acquired it when my master lost his power," said Zephyrin firmly.
"Are you claiming ownership then?" Ronil's voice calmed again.
Jin thought Ronil's composure was impressive but suspected there was more.
It seems he didn’t come here without considering the Holy Land.
Perhaps showing displeasure was part of the plan.
"That’s not true. If there comes a time when we can reclaim it by force after defeating a public enemy, then who knows. But right now, that place clearly belongs to the Zipple. However, it’s hard to endure being treated as if I don't even have the right to speak about what I know."
"What will you do if you can't endure it, Demon Dragon?"
It seems the successor of the Fire Dragon Trakalnis is curious about that, so continue if you wish.
When Trakalnis' name emerged, Kadun's eyes widened.
"How do you know about Trakalnis......!"
"It was quite a satisfying meal, as I recall."
Normally, Kadun would have raged at that moment, ready to kill Zephyrin.
However, the fire dragon Trakalnis was the king of the fire dragons before Kadun and the most perfect creature of Sheenu.
Nevertheless, there were no stories left of Trakalnis in the world, and even Kadun himself would struggle to remember his name if he didn’t concentrate. �
The reason was none other than the fact that Trakalnis' death was the greatest "shame" of Sheenu and the Fire Dragons.
It was Sheenu's will and the old Zipple's doing to erase Trakalnis' history to cover up that shame.
'Don't tell me she killed Trakalnis... this demon dragon?'
Zephyrin smiled coldly, as if she saw through Kadun's thoughts.
"Maybe Kadun is right. If it’s hard to believe, ask your God directly, Kadun. I'm not sure if Sheenu can restore that memory, but... "
Kadun turned his gaze away from Zephyrin.
He didn’t remember the moment Trakalnis died, nor did any terrifying memories come to mind.
However, an inexplicable fear slowly crept into Kadun's heart.
Even if I had faced you in your prime, I wouldn’t have been so scared. The reason you don’t know me well is because I couldn’t fight you back then.Jin was recalling the day Zephyrin's true identity was first revealed on Black King Mountain and the words she had said to Murakan.
'Did Kadun drop his tail in eleven...?'
Jin couldn’t easily imagine her dominance just by looking at Orgal, who was hunched like an invalid, and Zephyrin who had shown herself so far.
However, it was evident that Kadun was visibly shocked even when speaking disrespectfully of Sheenu.
What surprised Octavia most was Kadun's reaction.
Since Kadun had stepped back, she could no longer express her anger towards Zephyrin.
"Well, it seems Kadun's curiosity has been satisfied. Shall we return to the main topic now?"
Zephyrin gestured towards Jin.
"...The atmosphere has soured for no reason. I didn’t bring up this story with that intention, so I apologize to both parties."
"Sir Jin saved Zipple's face, it’s an important matter."
"If you intend to keep being so sarcastic, wake up Orgal, Zephyrin. I don't think we’re here to have a war of nerves."
"That's why humans aren’t very good. Is it because your lives are short that you lack courage? Anyway."
"Sir Ronil."
"Speak, Jin-nim."
"Histor's survival is necessary for us to eliminate the common enemy. If it’s difficult to open Zipple's Holy Land, at least provide the Tear of Numerus."
"I don’t think we can even attach the words 'Tear of Numerus' to it. And we don’t possess the Tear of Numerus either. Let me take a look at Histor first."
The task of showing Valeria, who had lost consciousness, to Zipple.
Even merely doing so made Jin feel like he was committing a sin, but he had no choice to save her.
Since her appearance had already been exposed to Zipple, there was no reason to be cautious and hide it.
After going to the hospital room and looking at Valeria, the leaders of the Zipple side sighed or pointed with their foreheads.
Although they already knew the information, seeing it with their own eyes was another thing.
"...I understand why you first asked for the Tear of Numerus. Fatigue is an inevitable state. Did Sir Jin retain the seal?"
"Impressive. Only a few people in Zipple can maintain such a seal."
"What shall we do then? If you can’t open the Holy Land and there are no tears, then what? Just by exposing Histor to Zipple, I've already suffered a loss, but I'll bury it and take care of it myself."
Jin wanted to say that if you’re not going to open the Holy Land, you should leave immediately.
"This is not a decision we can make on our own, Sir Jin."
"Our side and Kinzelo are participating in the meeting with responsible individuals who can make an instant decision on the spot always."
"I know. I'll return immediately... to report this situation to my father and get a response."
"We’ll be waiting for good news."
"Although everyone is trying to save Histor for the temporary alliance as a whole, or more precisely, for their own desires, a reasonable compensation will probably be needed for this, Sir Jin."
It took three days for the Zipple leaders to return to Tikan.
This time, Ronil came alone with some assistants, without Kadun or Octavia.
"My father also said there was no other way but to open the Holy Land. He allowed us to bring Histor to the Holy Land."
"What are your demands?"
"First, only Histor can enter the Holy Land. Second, as compensation for this incident, each alliance shares some information about purification and chaos control with Zipple. This must be accompanied by the presence of the Thousand Year Contractor."
"I refuse."
Jin flatly rejected the proposal as if he had nothing more to hear.
"Well... then we won’t be able to save Histor."
"I heard Orgal say that if a full mana body goes to its Holy Land, it leaves some kind of mana trace. Zipple can receive considerable rewards just by studying that trace. We don’t know how much damage that research will cause us after the alliance dissolves."
Jin shrugged.
"Who benefits more from Histor's injury? It’s Zipple. We all want Histor alive, but Zipple can even investigate. So, please, don’t be too greedy. If it breaks this time, I'll put aside all the talk about Histor. Don’t push your luck."
"Agreed. If so, we’ll open the Holy Land without conditions, but you must agree to move with senses blocked as much as possible to avoid exposing the Holy Land's location. Also, I don’t want Jin-nim and Histor to have another escort."
The requirements were just words Ronil had thrown out, and these words were based on the clan elders' opinions.
Ronil wasn’t happy with their opinions.
"I understand perfectly. When would be a good time to leave?"
"If it suits you, we can leave right now."
-----------------
Since boarding the Kozec, Jin hadn’t taken a single step in the windowless cabin.
He merely clung tightly to the sealed Valeria and waited for the ship to stop.
It hadn’t been five days since the ship had reached its destination.
"Thank you for your hard work, Sir Jin. You may disembark now."
As soon as Jin got off the ship, he realized he was inside a huge building.
It was larger than the construction yard he had seen in the Sota desert in the past.
Ronil guided Jin for about two hours. When they reached a door inside the building, Ronil stopped walking.
"This is as far as I can guide you. After this, I can’t access, so another person will assist you."
Only two Zipples could freely enter and exit through the door.
One was the patriarch, Kelliark Zipple, and the second.
"Are you Jin Runcandel?"
The next patriarch, Beradin Zipple, approached Jin from the other side.
The friend he hadn’t seen in about three years greeted him in a dry voice instead of the usual cheerful one.
"Follow me, I’ll guide you to the Holy Land."
Jin found Beradin’s back very unfamiliar as he walked ahead through the door and saw a sword at Beradin's waist.
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