C751
On the first day of July 1803, after the decisive battle between the Temporary Alliance and the Evil God, ten days had passed in the blink of an eye.
The world was gradually returning to its previous state.
The sky and earth were free of chaos, with a clear blue sky, shimmering beaches, fishing boats floating on the sea, bustling market streets, and a daily life free from the fear of the Evil God...
Fortunately.
Not only the Lutero Magical Federation and the Vermont Imperial Family, but the entire continent, which had been plunged into chaos, began to recover its former appearance.
Not all humans from the Hufester alliance had been sacrificed to the Evil God.
As the chaos that had covered the entire continent subsided, it turned out that there were many more survivors in Hufester than the Temporary Alliance had expected.
"This is the first time I've realized that checking reports and numbers can be so pleasant and fortunate. Do these numbers and writings on this paper truly reflect the situation of each surviving region?" Mary asked.
Due to not having slept peacefully even once since the end of the war, her face was pale and fatigued, but her eyes were shining."Oh, you're not the only one who's surprised, Elder Sister! We keep sending messengers to personally confirm the numbers and reports. They are all true."
"That's why you should go in and rest, get some sleep. We'll take care of the Flagbearer tasks. Stop asking the same thing over and over again."
The Tona brothers replied.
Like Mary, both had sleepy faces with bright eyes.
"Do you think I'm going to win over you just because I've checked a couple of times? Are you crazy?"
"Ha! Are you going to hit us? Try it!"
"Well, uh!"
Thud!
Mary left fist marks on the foreheads of the two brothers.
"Ha! We, as Flagbearers, have our dignity."
"We're old enough. Uh, my forehead."
"No one's watching. I'm being lenient because it feels good. What about the younger one? Has he not woken up yet?"
"Why do you keep asking the same question... Ah, lower your fists."
"Elder Sister, you heard it directly from the Holy King an hour ago. She said the younger one is constantly recovering."
"I'm worried because he hasn't regained consciousness. I can't help but worry."
"But that's... What did she say? It's not a medical condition of being unconscious; he's just in a long sleep. She emphasized that he will definitely wake up, so you don't need to worry."
"I understand your intention to reduce the workload for the younger one when he wakes up, but if you keep going like this, your body will suffer more, Elder Sister."
"Bring the teapot, will you?"
"Ah..."
The brothers didn't realize.
Since the beginning of the conversation, Jin had been awake in another building.
While he was seeing off Lani, who had just left, there was no one in the room where Jin was lying.
Jin lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling.
This place...
A familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling, it wasn't Tikan.
Was it the Garden of Swords?
The room that Jin had used when he was still a cadet.
He was right there.
Although Jin could move his body, he continued staring at the ceiling as if he were bound.
He feared it was a dream.
Since Jin returned to the human world, the Garden of Swords had been destroyed several times.
During the first full-scale attack, Jin had witnessed with his own eyes the destruction of the Garden of Swords.
And the massive castle of the Evil God had been built on the same spot where the Garden of Swords used to be.
Therefore, Jin thought it was impossible for the Garden of Swords to remain intact like this.
Jin calmed his trembling heart and tried to recall his last memory.
He remembered the moment when he defeated the Evil God and plunged towards the surface.
'I seem to have seen the Garden of Swords intact back then.'
He got up from his seat and pinched his cheek.
It hurt.
He pinched himself harder, checked if he felt pain, and even took a sip of water from the glass beside him.
The sensation of the cold water sliding down his throat was clearer than ever.
"Young Master!"
Jin heard Gilly's voice.
"Young Master Jin!"
"Twelfth Flagbearer!"
"Sir!"
"My lord!"
"Jin!"
"Dear!"
The voices of his comrades echoed together.
They had all returned after bidding farewell to the Holy King and had just come back.
Gilly hugged Jin tightly, and her eyes filled with tears.
The other comrades also had wet eyes, especially Jet, who was sitting and crying, repeatedly saying:
"Sir, Sir, our Sir has awakened."
If Jet's crying were heard from outside, it would be mistaken that Jin had died rather than that he had awakened.
"Young Master, are you alright?"
"Dear! Does anything hurt? Do you know how worried I was, waiting for you for so long?"
"Young Master, you woke up after ten days. And as you can see... you did it. You saved the world and reclaimed Runcandel. That's what they say about you, Young Master."
As his comrades exchanged various words, Jin felt inexplicably mischievous.
"...Who are you?"
"...Young Master?"
"Where am I...?"
"What did you say?"
"My lord?"
"Y-Young Master?"
"Dear? No, this can't be!"
Jin's comrades opened their eyes wide, feeling a sinking sensation in their chests.
Jin was about to say another word, asking who he was, but Valeria's entrance interrupted the moment.
"Well, surprisingly, you have a mischievous side. Isn't this prank a bit much for the people who have been waiting with bated breath?"
Although her tone seemed cold, Valeria was smiling broadly.
Apart from the ten days of sleep, she had been monitoring Jin's condition, showing a record window about him.
The current record indicated that Jin had awakened and was playing a prank.
"Was it too cruel? I apologize to everyone."
"It was quite cruel, Young Master. I thought my heart would stop."
"I almost punched you."
"Dear, your head is really okay!"
"Yes, it's fine. But it seems I need more time for my body to recover. Gilly, are all our comrades safe?"
"Yes, my lord. No one died in the Vamel Alliance."
Just by looking at the atmosphere, it seemed likely. In this war, the Vamel Alliance had suffered the least damage.
No, it went beyond that.
The Vamel Alliance had become much stronger than before the war.
For a while, Gilly and the others explained the current situation to Jin.
The allied clans and the civilians of Hufester had mostly survived, and about three thousand knights, a hundred scribes, and numerous servants had survived in Runcandel.
Of course, it wasn't a time for pure joy.
The population of Kalon city had been completely sacrificed, and the number of knights who had fallen and been corrupted by the chaos was countless.
Considering the global scale, the number of dead easily exceeded millions.
Although the Evil God had died, the disappeared would not return.
However, it was also true that things believed to be completely gone were now blooming, infusing a sense of hope.
For the living, there was a foundation to prepare for tomorrow.
The reason Jin's comrades were enthusiastic at all times was that they had to be, to push away the sadness of the war and move forward.
"The fact that so many people survived in Runcandel is the result of the Evil God's attachment to the Family. Even if the Evil God had completely destroyed the world, her intention was to leave behind the Garden of Swords and Runcandel."
Valeria opened the record window and showed the content related to that.
It was a record of the mixed feelings that even the Evil God herself didn't know.
Before the decisive battle, the Evil Goddess poured most of her efforts not into building the massive and terrifying castle, but into rebuilding the Garden of Swords.
The Evil God sealed the entire restored Garden of Swords and built the castle on top of it.
And all the surviving members of the clan were trapped inside, without having been corrupted by the chaos.
"She herself became an Evil God and corrupted most of the Family's knights with her power... but preserved and protected some without causing them harm."
"That's right. The Evil God left behind the Garden of Swords as she remembered it from the human Rosa Runcandel, not the Garden of Swords that she had defiled."
Jin recalled the final battle at that moment.
The white and lonely scene that resided deep within the Evil God's inner realm.
"...Perhaps she left behind the last castle as preparation for her defeat. Because if she died, you would have to lead the remaining people."
There was a commotion outside.
It was because Jet had gone out and revealed that Jin had awakened.
The heavy footsteps of the clan's knights caused vibrations.
It was the preparation to receive Jin. Gilly opened the wardrobe and took out a coat that Jin had never worn.
"Young Master, it's best if you go out and see the details later."
Jin silently looked at the coat, which resembled a Flagbearer's attire but had different embroideries.
Ten black swords embroidered on the collar...
The only one who had this coat in Cyron's Runcandel was Luna before she turned nineteen.
That coat symbolizes the 'Young Patriarch' of the Sword Family.
Even when Joshua externally played the role of the young patriarch, Cyron didn't allow him to wear this coat.
"...Could it be that my father has returned?"
"The patriarch has not yet returned."
"Then who can allow me to wear this coat? Even though I contributed so much, I can't wear it alone. I am still the Twelfth Flagbearer of the Family, Gilly."
Instead of answering, Gilly silently bowed her head, as if telling him to put it on.
In the end, after standing still for a few seconds, Jin got up and quickly washed his face before putting on the coat.
When he stepped out of the room, the knights who were waiting in the hallway followed him, saluting.
Jin wanted to see all their faces, but it seemed he had to go to the garden first.
In the garden, all the surviving members of Runcandel were lined up.
Mary and the Tona brothers were leading the way, hoisting the Family's flag.
Hearing and seeing are different experiences.
Jin felt his heart swell at the sight of the lined-up knights.
When Jin approached, the knights parted, saluting.
At the end of the row were people Jin did not expect.
[You've come, Twelfth Flagbearer.]
[You've finally awakened.]
Alpen and Tasha were the first to address Jin.
And among them was the one-armed former patriarch, who bore a face strikingly similar to Cyron's.
[Come, my great-grandson.]
The one-armed former patriarch, who was rescued in the final battle, smiled contentedly and spoke.
He was the 57th patriarch of Runcandel and Cyron's grandfather.
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