C768
The knights, who had been tightly restraining the boy, loosened their grip and stepped back when Jin gave them a commanding look, his expression intimidating.
“Wow! I’ve finally gotten to meet Sir Jin! It’s such an honor to meet you, Sir Jin! My name is Luche Fibrizo. I’m from Cole Village in the southern part of the Brakle Autonomous District, and I’m sixteen years old. I’m also a prominent member of both the official and unofficial Jin Runcandel fan clubs...”
Luche paused for a moment and pulled out the official membership badges from each fan club run by Enya and Sandra.
Even amidst her disheveled appearance, the badges were so clean and shiny that they sparkled.
‘...Enya and Sandra said not just anyone can receive these badges.’
Luche continued to smile, showing off the two badges until Jin nodded his head once.
Tellot couldn’t help but touch his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.
Not only had Luche been disrespectful thus far, but he never imagined anyone could act so recklessly even in front of the young patriarch of the Runcandel family.
“In the fan club, I’m known as the dedicated Luche, the true sunflower of Jin!”“Well... alright, let’s start with a handshake then. Thanks for liking me so much.”
“Wow, what an honor. A handshake with Sir Jin? I’m going crazy, absolutely crazy. Oh, Tellot-nim, could you hand me a handkerchief?”
“Haha, this is hilarious. How did you get so bold?”
When Tellot handed over a handkerchief with a puzzled expression, Luche vigorously wiped her tightly clasped hands, instantly dirtying the handkerchief, and then shook Jin’s hand.
Handing back the dirty handkerchief as it was, she bewildered Tellot even further.
For a while, Luche didn’t let go of Jin’s hand, making him feel uncomfortable.
But Luche burst into joyful, dizzying laughter.
“So, are you the contractor of the God of Architecture?”
“Yes! I found out about that not long ago. Suddenly, a voice echoed in my head, telling me I should become the contractor of the God of Architecture, Barbobo, instead of Barbobo, and make a contract with me...”
Barbobo was indeed the name known as the God of Architecture.
It was a name only known to those who had studied gods to a certain extent.
“Then, did you come to me because you want to use that ability as Barbobo’s contractor?”
“Of course! I’ve always dreamed of joining the Vamel Alliance. One day, I wanted to do something big with Sir Jin. And now, that dream might come true! The heavens have granted my wish. I have no talent for magic or swordsmanship, so it seemed difficult to succeed in that field and meet Sir Jin.”
“Calm down a bit, and let’s have a relaxed conversation, Luche.”
“Alright!”
“First of all, anyone can join the Vamel Alliance, even if they don’t possess such special abilities. In general terms, even the residents living in the alliance’s lands are considered members of it. From that perspective, you’ve been a member of the alliance ever since you sought refuge here.”
“That’s even better. Now I can be more than just an ordinary member of the alliance; I can become a member who works directly with Sir Jin!”
Of course, even though Luche was really a potential contractor of Barbobo, she didn’t know about the shipyard in the Sword Emperor Castle territory.
However, she had come to Jin, believing that once she completed the contract and gained power, she could greatly help the Vamel Alliance in every way possible.
“If that’s the case, I’d be glad too. But what does it mean to be a provisional contractor? They said there would be trials to complete the contract with Barbobo.”
“Well...”
For the first time, Luche hesitated at Jin’s question.
Jin watched her calmly, showing no impatience.
“No, now that I think about it, I should first ask how someone from the southern Brakle Autonomous District ended up here. Being from Brakle, you must have belonged to a fairly affluent faction, considering its proximity to the capital.”
As a city near the capital, most of Brakle’s residents, even if they were commoners, belonged to the upper class.
It wasn’t just Luche’s bold personality that allowed her to stand confidently in front of Tellot.
It was also likely because she had grown up in a situation where she didn’t have to cower much.
Above all, Jin had a guess as to why Luche had come here.
“Because my family collapsed.”
“...Could it have been when the Fourth Flagbearer of my Family attacked the Brakle Autonomous District before they killed the evil god?”
-During the time we requested support from Tikan’s side, there was another attack.
-At that time, were there large-scale troop movements again?
-No, there weren’t. Dyfus Runcandel, along with two Black Knights, attacked the Brakle Autonomous District. Since we were prepared, civilian casualties were not significant... but the Spectre Captain suffered a serious injury. After recovering from previous wounds, Kadun-nim entered the battle and was injured again.
A conversation between Ronil and Jin when Dyfus attacked the Lutero Magical Federation.
“Yes, when Dyfus attacked, I lost my home and belongings.”
Luche’s family had suffered exactly at that time.
Seeing Luche speak about her family, ruined by the actions of his elder brother, Jin felt a choking sensation in his chest.
When Jin’s expression darkened, Luche waved her hand to dispel any concern.
“But Sir Jin, you don’t have to worry! You didn’t give the order, and in fact, you came to the Lutero Magical Federation to help me. Besides, although I lost my home and belongings, no one in my family died. Fortunately, everyone was away at the time.”
“That’s at least a relief. I’ll do what I can to recover the lost property.”
“There’s no need for you to worry about that. The insurance money was supposed to be paid, but those damn Zipple bastards didn’t give it to us. At the time, about fifteen affected families, including mine, didn’t receive the full amount. Is it tough to meet payments during wartime? They nearly killed me when I confronted the fire dragon, Kadun.”
Tellot clicked his tongue again at that moment.
If Luche had faced Kadun, she wouldn’t be alive in this world.
“Anyway, back then, my whole family was in a desperate situation because of Zipple. On top of that, there were strange rumors, so as a family, we decided to emigrate to Hufester.”
“Strange rumors?”
“There were rumors that Zipple was conducting experiments on living golems using residents. Even though Sir Jin tarnished their reputation during his time as Provisional Flagbearer, they couldn’t be reasoned with, not even after being humiliated like that!”
Jin had been aware that Zipple might continue with the experiments on living golems.
The living golems he saw in the Holy Land couldn’t have been created out of nowhere.
“Anyway, losing my home and money is painful, but for the most part, my family has a positive attitude and wants to live well in Hufester. It’s not that big of a deal. If I succeed as a key member of the Alliance, that’ll be enough...”
Jin smiled and patted Luche’s shoulder.
“Still, I have to apologize for not stopping the Fourth Flagbearer sooner.”
“It’s okay. Is there anyone in this world who doesn’t owe Sir Jin a debt? If it weren’t for Sir Jin, I would’ve died at the hands of the evil god. Everything’s fine.”
“First, I need to verify you a little. We need official confirmation that you’re really Barbobo’s contractor.”
“How do we do that? As a provisional contractor, I can’t demonstrate my powers...”
“Stay still, it’ll be over in a moment. Chief Butler.”
[Yes, Young Patriarch.]
“Verify Luche’s records.”
Lueth placed her hand on Luche’s forehead and activated her authority.
[Luche, you said you heard Barbobo’s voice not long ago. Can you remember exactly when it happened?]
“It was about fifteen days ago, early in the morning. Around four, I think.”
[I’ll briefly examine your record from fifteen days ago, so don’t be alarmed.]
When Lueth finished speaking, images began to play ominously in the recording window.
It was indeed fifteen days ago when Luche heard Barbobo’s voice.
Unfortunately, at that moment, Luche had been reading an ecchi magazine she had found by chance while on her escape route.
Luche awkwardly scratched the back of her neck in that scene, and Jin let out a chuckle, remembering Murakan.
“Oh... how did I end up finding something like this? Maybe it’s a valuable magazine. According to rumors, Jin’s guardian dragon, Murakan, has a hobby of collecting this kind of magazine. Should I take this with me later? Who was it? Who spoke to me? What? Barbobo?”
Since Barbobo’s voice was only transmitted to Luche’s mind, it didn’t appear in the video.
However, the possibility of manipulation or acting was very unlikely.
There was no reason for her to pretend to hear Barbobo’s voice while reading the magazine alone in a corner of the refuge, hidden from her family, at four in the morning.
“I’ve finally received a divine contract proposal! Alright, how should I proceed? What... How can I execute something like this right away? Wait, Barbobo! God of Architecture! Can you give me some advice before you leave?”
The video Lueth verified ended there.
“Haha! I never expected my private life to come to light in this way. It’s embarrassing. Anyway, I wonder if Murakan-nim would like this magazine.”
“Well, if it’s an ecchi magazine, he tends to read the first collection. It seems the verification is complete. Now, can you tell me what the trial Barbobo mentioned is?”
Based on Luche’s earlier hesitant reactions and the questions about how to handle it in the video, it seemed that the trial was something impossible for her to accomplish.
“Well, the trial is...” Luche began.
“Don’t be so cautious, just speak freely,” Jin interrupted.
“If I tell you, will you help me?” Luche asked.
“If it’s something I can help with.”
“Alright, then I’ll trust you and speak. The trial Barbobo required was this: to take charge of a construction project that even the God of Architecture would find challenging.”
A project that even the God of Architecture would find challenging...
As soon as Jin heard those words, the Sword Emperor Castle territory came to mind.
Lueth and Tellot were also thinking the same.
‘If this is true, there’s no need for me to meddle in the dangerous Brakle Autonomous District by checking the compass.’
With a mischievous smile, Jin responded to Luche.
“Luche, let’s go somewhere together.”
-
KO-FI:
https://tinyurl.com/SHADOWK
-
( Up to '120' more ch4pt3rs)