C668
Valeria Histor had finally discovered the location of Temar's fifth tomb somewhere in the snow field of Kaldarn, just two months before Jin returned from Laprarosa.
Thanks to the use of Record Magic to track Luntia's movements, Valeria was able to uncover the messages left behind.
And just after Valeria departed for the Snow Field of Kaldran with Neru, she was pursued by three forces: Runcandel, Zipple, and the Imperial Family.
From Runcandel, the Black Knight led the knights of the Black Sword Association, and Ronil led the pursuit group from Zipple.
They occasionally crossed paths with Valeria, but that was all.
But it was the Imperial Family that put Valeria in the greatest danger.
Valeria was desperately pursued for two months and couldn't contact Tikan even once, all because of the Imperial Family.
"Are there such outstanding pursuers in the Imperial Family...? Even the best forces from the Garden of Swords and Zipple couldn't find Valeria."
"Even though I am from the Special Forces, even the Special Forces or the imperial guards can't compare to the first division of the Black Sword Association or the Black Knight. Even if they were strengthened by the power of chaos or majinization... I'm not sure. The same can happen with Rosa and Zipple's subordinates," said Valkas and Alisa.Jin was telling his companions the things he heard from Valeria during the journey to Tikan.
"Some exceptional figures among the pursuers from the Imperial Family were knights from the Garden of Swords."
"Do you mean the Imperial Family betrayed Zipple?"
"That's right."
"The people who just transferred the eastern part of the empire to Zipple... Hmm. It could have been the smokescreen they gave to the East, or it could have been that they changed their stance after recognizing the power of the Garden of Swords."
"I think it's the first, Sir Valkas. For some reason, I have a feeling that the Imperial Family may have contacted Runcandel much earlier than we think. Since they possess a part of the first patriarch's body, they could have used it as a bargaining chip."
Valeria herself hadn't figured out when exactly the Imperial Family had betrayed Zipple. It wasn't an especially important issue.
-From what we've seen, Temar Runcandel's body itself is just a collection of ancient magic information. Since the deal went wrong, we didn't have a chance to analyze it properly.
The words Jin heard from Kinzelo while sharing the space-time device.
"Jin, you said you saw a large number of living golem sword magicians in Zipple's Holy Land."
"Yes, Quikantel-nim. We can't rule out the possibility that they shared the left arm with both the Garden of Swords and Zipple. Maybe that's why Zipple didn't realize the betrayal of the Imperial Family at all."
"...He can't rest even after a thousand years. His body is being torn apart and sent here and there. It's almost a relief that Murakan isn't here."
"What does it mean that the Sword Emperor is in danger?"
"Valeria said she killed some of the imperial pursuers she encountered and examined their records. Among them, this content was found."
<Runcandel gave the monster... to Airan Vermont of the Vermont Imperial Family, to kill Dante Hairan, the Sword Emperor.>
"Airan Vermont ranked 30th in the imperial family's succession before Amir's death. Neither Alisa nor I know the details about him, but he wasn't a notable figure. He seems to have been Runcandel's main contact."
Kashimir had little contact with Amir and Airan during his stay at the imperial palace.
There was hardly any chance of meeting due to the difference in rank, and in the first place, the imperial family had a strong tendency to hide as much as possible even among members of the same imperial family.
"Since it means he's practically a new person, we have to start gathering information about him from scratch."
"Don't worry, my lord! I'll find out everything about that Vermont guy, even the color of his underwear."
"By the way, are you referring to the knights of Runcandel, affected by chaos? It's strange that the name of the person who gave the monster isn't mentioned."
"There's one person that immediately comes to mind."
Said Jin, narrowing his eyes.
"Joshua Runcandel... I have a strong hunch that it's him."
"Young master, that damn dog... ahem, the despicable bastard! Did Rosa readmit him?"
Jin smiled at Gilly's furious reaction.
"Since the rebellion succeeded while my father was absent, there's no reason to abandon a well-behaved dog. Although he was like trash before, he might have changed now. Or rather, he might have been forced to change through chaos."
"It's a dirty and depraved story. Just thinking about him and Rosa makes my heart ache so much it's hard to bear."
"But if it's Joshua, is there any reason why his name doesn't appear in the Record Magic?"
"Well, it could be because he accepted chaos and became an entirely new existence. Of course, I can't be sure; it's just a hunch."
"Anyway, it seems there are three things we need to start right away. The first is to search the Sword Emperor Castle, and the second is to rescue the remaining allies within Huphester. And finally... should we enter the sixth tomb Valeria found?"
Jin nodded at Quikantel's conclusion.
"That's right. It seems I need to personally take care of all three."
The remaining important allies within Huphester were Vin Blanche and Picon Minche, the godsmith he had contracted with.
Additionally, there were several individuals presumed not to be on Rosa's side, such as Petro, Jin's butler, and Heinz, Cyron's butler, and the nanny and family of the "siblings," several people presumed not to have joined Rosa, and the natives of Colon in Luna's territory.
However, there weren't many individuals who could be of practical help, aside from high-ranking officials like Vin Branche.
But even if they weren't a source of power, Jin couldn't leave them alone.
That is not the way of alliance between Jin and Vamel. Above all, the Garden of Swords didn't seem to care about them right now for some reason, but it was still unknown when Rosa might use them as hostages.
"No, it's probably better for you to stay out of the rescue mission within Huphester."
"I think so too, young master."
"I think so too, young master!"
Jin's companions unanimously opposed his reentry into Huphester.
"It's almost a miracle you returned safely from the snow field of Kaldran this time. You are the leader of the Vamel Alliance, the center of the Temporary Alliance, and the only opponent to Rosa. So until the day we decide to go against Rosa, don't even think about going to Huphester yourself."
When Jin was about to respond, Mary put her hand on his shoulder.
"Yes, younger brother. I know you're the strongest among us, and that's why you try to take on more burden than you should. But that doesn't mean you have to get involved in everything. Even our father didn't do that. Well, maybe he couldn't."
"Elder Sister."
"I'll gather a team to rescue the infiltrated in Huphester. I'm saying this in advance in case you're worried, but in the process, even if it's Elder Brother Dyfus... I won't lose my cool even if I see that Elder Brother Dyfus has become like Elder Sister Luntia."
"I'll ask for help from the Nameless. Although almost all the personnel are looking for Elder Sister Yona, I'm sure some will help."
Jin was unable to persist against the stubborn attitude of his siblings and companions.
"Alright. Since I have to move personally for the matter of the Sword Emperor Castle and Temar's tombs, I thought it was too much to do it myself, but I guess it's time to say it out loud."
"Do you plan to go immediately to the Sword Emperor Castle?"
"Yes, I plan to go once Valeria wakes up and I hear the rest of the story."
Valeria had lost consciousness due to the reigning chaos on the way back and hadn't been able to communicate the information about the sixth tomb to Jin.
"I see."
"I miss Dante a lot."
Since returning from Lafrarosa, Jin hadn't yet met with Dante.
This was due to the constant incidents occurring since his return.
Moreover, just as Jin had personally intervened in almost everything in the Vamel Alliance, in the Empire, Dante played that role.
Currently, except for Dante, there were hardly any individuals of the superhuman level left in the Empire.
Since the Empire's best talents were lost during the time of Gliek's subjugation, Dante had a lot of responsibility to take on.
Maybe because the shock he received from Beradin was great, the mere thought of meeting Dante soon comforted Jin, even if it wasn't for a good reason.
Even if Dante faced some crisis, Jin trusted he could handle it.
"I hope I can meet a friend and clear my head without problems for a while."
"That's right, young master. If the person in the record Valeria found is at that level, no matter what they do, they can't threaten the young master."
Of course, Gilly wasn't really worried, but her words weren't insincere either. Simply, it was difficult for Jin's companions to imagine Jin in crisis because of Joshua.
Someone found the meeting room.
It was Qwaul and Valeria.
Qwaul had been waiting in front of Valeria's room in the hospital, piling up cigarette butts like a mountain until she woke up, and had brought her with him.
"Uhhhh!"
Suddenly, Qwaul hugged Jin and burst into tears.
No one had imagined that rough and unrefined engineer could cry so miserably.
"Good job... Well done! You really saved our Valeria..."
Jin's companions already recognized this fact, they consoled him for a while, sympathizing with Qwaul's tearful appearance.
Valeria also didn't say anything despite widening her eyes at Qwaul's reaction.
"Huhuhuhuk, even the chaos has completely disappeared!"
"I couldn't tell you everything since I lost consciousness due to the chaos, Jin. How far did I tell you?"
"It was the location of the sixth tomb."
"Ah, that's right. The place where the Sixth Tomb of Temar exists is not a region, Jin."
"It's not a region? Do you mean the subspace?"
Valeria responded by nodding her head.
"Yes, it's a subspace. However, it's not a region, but a subspace that exists within a certain sword."
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