Chapter 802
***
Tikan.
Jin received a message at the Garden of Swords and immediately headed to this place.
It was only a day after the meeting regarding the situation with the Red Legend Tribe.
“Long time no see, Bishkel.”
Jin descended from the Red Owl and extended his hand for a handshake, to which Bishkel responded with a stoic expression, shaking his hand. Jin didn’t miss the underlying tension beneath his expression.
“So, what brings you here all of a sudden? Last time… it must have been a month ago. Our alliance contacted Orgal and requested a meeting. Are you finally here to give an answer?”
- I need to meet with Orgal. He surely knows Sanna. If I go to him directly like last time, it will cause a stir, so send a letter immediately.
After encountering Sanna at the Tower of Stories, the Vamel Alliance had requested a meeting with Kinzelo to extract information about Sanna.However, Kinzelo didn’t respond, and in the meantime, Ameris awakened, Orgal and Zephilin fell into a coma, and they faced an attack from the Red Legend Tribe.
From the beginning, Jin had been pointing out this problem, making Bishkel and the Kinzelo executives feel uncomfortable.
“Sir Jin, the matter was delayed because the Leader was busy. I apologize on his behalf for not responding promptly.”
“I see, then now, Sir Bishkel, you didn’t come here to give me an answer to my letter, but for another matter. Is that correct?”
“…Yes.”
“Let me clarify again. You ignored the meeting request from the Young Patriarch of Runcandel and the leader of the Vamel Alliance, using the excuse of being busy. But now, although I don’t know the details, you are in a position where you need to express your regrets and have come to me hastily without prior notice or consideration. Am I understanding correctly?”
Bishkel kept his expression silent, silently cursing in his mind. Jin’s sarcastic tone was on point.
“Even if you think that way, I have nothing to say. I will take responsibility for any discourtesy in any way.”
Jin briefly observed Bishkel and organized his thoughts internally.
‘Kinzelo’s situation seems worse than I expected. It’s clear that there are problems with Orgal and Zephyrin, and not just because of the Red Legend Tribe.’
Kinzelo appeared in a much humbler posture than Jin had anticipated.
“Will you take responsibility in any way… Even if I have to demand Bouvard’s head?”
“That pig, no, I can’t give you his head. But I will offer my own arms.”
“You can’t do that, Elder Brother!”
Margiella called out to Bishkel in an exaggerated voice.
Even she took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of her dry eyes, causing an internal smile in Jin.
“It’s just a thought, don’t act so resolute. I’m not a member of the Red Legend Tribe or someone who would accept human members for any purpose.”
Bishkel’s frown deepened as soon as the term “Red Legend Tribe” was mentioned.
“I will accept compensation for the discourtesy. Since I also recklessly visited Kinzelo’s headquarters and almost ended up fighting with Orgal, let’s consider it water under the bridge.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“In return, I expect today’s conversation to be honest and frank. Just as you tried to offer your arms, if you truly show a willingness to share anything, I will listen positively and generously. But if you try to calculate or scheme to keep things for yourself, Kinzelo will leave today without gaining anything.”
Bishkel nodded vigorously.
Looking back, Kinzelo had always negotiated secretly with Jin, but today’s deal was particularly unfair.
“I will be careful.”
“Very well. I kept the guest standing, but there is a pleasant spot in the garden. Let’s sit down and chat over a cup of tea.”
As they sat at the garden table, cookies and cakes were served.
Ainas immediately took the opportunity to stuff cookies into her pockets, and seeing her, Bishkel had to calm his boiling insides.
It was fortunate that Bouvard hadn’t come this time.
“Now, first of all, I’m curious to know why you are the one who came instead of Orgal or Zephyrin.”
“Both of them are currently unconscious.”
As Jin had predicted, Bishkel directly stated the fact.
“…Unconscious?”
“It’s been about ten days. It happened suddenly without any warning.”
As soon as Jin heard that, he realized it coincided with the time Ameris awakened.
When he asked about the exact dates, the time when the two lost consciousness and when Ameris awakened matched exactly.
‘It seems to be related to Ms. Ameris… Why? Ms. Ameris said she didn’t know them. I should ask her if she has any guesses when Kinzelo returns.’
Since Orgal and Zephyrin were unconscious, it couldn’t be immediately confirmed whether they knew Ameris or not.
Jin sighed with an expression of regret, lowering his head.
“I thought he would toughen up a bit after meeting Bale last time, but Orgal still seems to be in poor health. Are there any signs of him waking up?”
“I heard from the demons, who examined him, that it was a possible psychological shock rather than a physical problem.”
“I see. Even when the Red Legend Tribe ravaged Kinzelo’s territory, Orgal and Zephyrin couldn’t step forward. Ah, you might be curious to know how I know all this. I sent my Elder Sister Yona to observe and encountered them before Kinzelo did.”
“…Who exactly are they? Honestly, I thought you might be involved in the situation. But their methods seem far beyond the course.”
“Yes, the Red Legend Tribe is not part of the Vamel Alliance, Runcandel, or my siblings. They are an ancient battle race that awakened by chance.”
“An ancient battle race that awakened by chance?”
“Kinzelo seems to have no information about the Red Legend Tribe. Although the Red Legend Tribe resides in a similar area to the demons.”
“What…?”
Jin pointed his finger towards the ground.
“Underground. The Red Legend Tribe resides underground. You must have known that the demons live underground, right?”
Bishkel hid his surprise.
There was no conceivable reason for Jin to know that the gate to the demon world existed beneath the surface.
Kinzelo currently had no knowledge of Jin’s meeting with Sheenu, nor did they know the events that took place in the Tower of Stories.
“As for how I first encountered the Red Legend Tribe and the reason why I had to kill their tribe members, I’ll leave that to your imagination. But I hope you don’t think that the Red Legend Tribe started their activities because of me and that Kinzelo suffered as a result. You guys have been interfering with the underworld for a long time.”
Bishkel couldn’t respond and waited for the next words.
“From what I’ve heard, it’s presumed that you, Bishkel-nim, have the role of opening the gate to the demon world within Kinzelo.”
Upon hearing those words, Bishkel immediately recalled what Octavia had said in the Sota Desert.
- A demon… Could it be that you opened the gate? Then, that’s your ability, Bishkel Ivelianos!
‘At that time, Hedo, the Tower Guardian, was a key member of Zipple… Did he tell Sir Jin the information he heard from Octavia?’
Whether at that time or now, it was a complete misunderstanding that Bishkel had the power to open the gate to the demon world.
This was finally an opportunity for Bishkel to dispel that misunderstanding.
“I don’t have any ability related to the gate to the demon world. The information you heard was probably a misconception from Octavia Zipple. Matters related to the demon world are solely the responsibility of the Leader.”
“Then what about Miss Margiella?”
“My sister is the same.”
“Euria.”
Immediately, Euria confirmed the truth with her power, and a blue thread appeared.
“Then how does Orgal bring the demons from the demon world?”
The omitted part of that question was how they avoid the underworld entrance that Ameris is guarding.
Bishkel didn’t catch the omitted information.
He had no knowledge of Ameris at all.
“I haven’t told you what favor I want yet. If you want to request information about the demon world, it seems appropriate to first hear the request.”
“Go ahead and tell me.”
“Share all the information you have about the Red Legend Tribe with us.”
“I don’t know everything about them. However, I can share all the information revealed through Record Magic with Kinzelo’s permission.”
“And in the meantime, act as a substitute to deal with the Red Legend Tribe until the Leader awakens.”
“Sir, according to your words, it could be interpreted that Kinzelo has no power, and if the Vamel Alliance launched a large-scale attack, it would collapse. It was a rather risky statement. Was Kinzelo unable to handle even a part of the Red Legend Tribe, let alone the whole set?”
“It’s just to stop the massacre of the beastmen. It’s not to the point that we can’t stop them with demons, but without the Leader’s presence, our mobility is limited. According to our research, they use spatial teleportation. As you know, the beastmen can’t oppose them.”
“Well, even Berakt and Badray were terrified. For the beastmen, the Red Legend Tribe is truly an arch-enemy.”
“Will you agree to the proposal?”
“Well, it doesn’t seem like a bad condition since we can learn about the Red Legend Tribe while helping Kinzelo. If I agree, I can also learn how Orgal is using the demon world.”
Jin pretended to contemplate for a moment before nodding.
In fact, Jin had nothing to lose in this deal.
Since the Red Legend Tribe would focus on hunting beastmen for the time being, Kinzelo’s permission was required to use Record Magic in that area.
Besides, even if he didn’t help, Jin didn’t really believe that Kinzelo would be completely defeated by the Red Legend Tribe.
As Bishkel mentioned, the beastmen forces would suffer significant losses, but that was all.
Above all, Jin was wary of the possibility of the Red Legend Tribe allying with Kinzelo.
Despite their differences in doctrine, they all seemed to desire the resurrection of the Sun God.
“Very well. But I would like to add one more condition as a final request.”
“Please, tell me.”
Jin smiled and pointed to Ainas with his eyes.
“I hope Ainas Kaligo will calculate the value of the cookies she took.”
“What? I have to pay for these!?”
Ainas looked at Jin with surprise.
“…How should I calculate it?”
“Last time, Kinzelo rejected my steel deal… Even though I offered to add several times the market price. In the end, you sold that steel to Zipple instead of us.”
It was a suggestion for Bishkel to hand over the steel from the failed deal in exchange for the value of the cookies.
Bishkel could only nod with a wry smile.