Episode 105
Chapter 35: The Tragedy of Colon (4)

The moment the blade pressed against his back, the intruder froze like a statue.

Understandably, he looked extremely tense—a man slightly shorter than Jin.

“I won’t ask twice. Identify yourself.”

Ha ha ha…!

From a distance, the sound of Myuron Ziphl’s laughter echoed. Murakan and Kashimir alternated their gazes between Myuron and the man, creating an intimidating atmosphere.

“I—I am…”

Swallowing hard, the man clenched his body, trying to suppress the trembling that fear threatened to unleash.

At that moment, Jin thought this man had quite a strong spirit. He wasn’t a warrior or a mage—clearly just an ordinary person.

“Dino… Dino Jaglun. I’m a reporter.”

The moment Jin heard the name, his eyes widened.

‘Dino Jaglun? That reporter!?’

Before his reincarnation, Dino Jaglun was the only journalist who had boldly exposed Ziphl’s atrocities and the tragedy of Colon in detail. Jin remembered the name well.

He sheathed his dagger.

“Turn around.”

Dino slowly turned, revealing a rather youthful face. He looked to be in his early twenties but appeared even younger overall.

Seeing that face, Jin couldn’t help but think:

‘Early twenties, frail-looking body. And this rookie had the guts to write such fearless articles against Ziphl? And if he’s already investigating Colon, he’s been gathering intel for nearly ten years?’

Impressive.

That was the feeling Jin had. This man named Dino, with no wealth or background, had exposed Ziphl solely through unwavering professional integrity.

Dino, now turned away, couldn’t see Jin’s face—Jin had already activated Multa’s rune to conceal it.

With fearful eyes, Dino looked up at Jin, as if searching. Was this helmeted man one of Ziphl’s henchmen? A relic thief? Or someone who, like him, had come for Colon?

“A reporter, huh? Here looking for a scoop?”

Jin asked bluntly. Dino nodded slowly.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“What’s the story?”

“…Before I say, may I ask which group you belong to?”

“Ha! That’s a straight shooter. It’s always fascinating to see someone so fearless despite having nothing. Especially if they’re a reporter.”

Murakan chuckled as he stepped closer to Jin.

Kashimir, who came along, pulled out two masks from his coat—putting one on himself and handing the other to Murakan.

Jin chuckled softly at the sight.

“You’ve both already been seen by this guy.”

“Still, wouldn’t it be better to cover up now?”

“Ah, I don’t want to wear this.”

“Put it on.”

“Tch, fine.”

At that moment, Dino immediately realized who the leader of this group was.

‘Still sounds like a boy, but he’s the leader. Not some ordinary thief or mercenary. Who are these people? They don’t seem like villains.’

As the two rustled and put on their masks, Jin spoke again.

“Relax. We won’t harm you. When I asked if you belonged to any group just now… well, let’s say we’re just passersby.”

“Passersby…?”

“That means don’t ask.”

“Now it’s your turn. Got a scoop? Or did you come to get some pocket money from Ziphl’s sixth son over there?”

Jin glanced toward Myuron, deliberately asking a question that would embarrass Dino. That way, the young man driven by his mission would reveal his purpose—and Jin could show he shared the same goal.

Dino gave a wry smile.

“Pocket money… Yeah, there are plenty of reporters like that—rotten pens writing whatever pleases the rulers. If you’re Ziphl’s henchmen, then I’m a dead man. I came here to expose that trash.”

Jin smiled with satisfaction beneath his helmet.

‘A fine fellow.’

Courage shines brightest when one is powerless.

In that sense, Jin felt a strong affinity for Dino. He also had a powerful intuition that Dino would provide a crucial lead in this matter.

“I’m going to expose Myuron Ziphl. A mere lowly reporter, huh? That’s the best joke I’ve heard all year.”

“Are you all Ziphl’s henchmen? I said I’m here to expose Myuron—are you going to kill me?”

By then, Dino seemed to have forgotten his fear. Strangely, Jin’s promise not to harm him had inspired a certain trust.

“Not at all. We came at a friend’s request to rescue the local natives over there. We can’t reveal our affiliations or identities, but reporter Dino Jaglun… somehow, I think our goals are aligned. Don’t you agree?”

Blinking, Dino looked at the three of them.

A complex mix of emotions pounded in his chest. Most of all, he felt as if he’d found an ally in this long, lonely fight.

“You know about the plight of the Colon natives…!”

“Not in detail. Just that after Ziphl conquered them centuries ago, they’ve lived worse than slaves.”

“Kid, are you sure it’s okay to tell him all that?”

Murakan interrupted, but Kashimir gently stopped him—covering Murakan’s mouth with his hand and stepping back a few paces.

‘What the hell are you doing, you little pest? Are you crazy?’

Murakan shot Kashimir a fierce glare.

“Prince Jin seems to want to use this reporter to gain justification for punishing Myuron Ziphl. Let’s just watch.”

Kashimir whispered, savoring a quiet sense of victory. Indeed, Jin planned to use Dino to build a case.

After Andrei’s death, and now another pure-blood Ziphl’s demise, there had to be a solid reason to prevent a bloodbath between the great powers.

‘Besides, Dino likely already holds various clues and evidence about Ziphl’s oppression of Colon. He’s risking his life coming to Ziphl’s restricted zone right now.’

Of course, there were still some things to verify.

“Dino, we actually arrived here during the day and have been watching Myuron since. We don’t know the full situation inside, so we’re waiting for the right moment. Our goal isn’t to assassinate Myuron, but to rescue the natives.”

First, they needed to gauge how much Dino really knew. Maybe he was just passionate but lacked concrete information.

But Dino quickly satisfied Jin.

“There’s only one inside—Myuron himself. And I think the one who asked you to rescue the natives is the priestess Laosa, who escaped three years ago. Am I right?”

“You’ve been investigating since then?”

“No, not really. I only started looking into Colon recently. Laosa is a name I learned from interviewing the natives.”

Dino explained.

After Laosa’s escape, Ziphl began brutally abusing the remaining natives. After a fire last year, Colon was sealed off, with only Myuron left to manage it.

“All of this is to obtain Colon’s sacred relic. Ziphl was once very eager to get it, but now only Myuron remains. Probably lost interest after failing for over 300 years.”

Dino pulled a notebook from his coat and handed it to Jin.

It was filled with detailed records of incidents since Myuron arrived in Colon.

January 3, 1796: Three natives disappeared—likely dragged to Myuron’s basement.

January 5, 1796: More natives I was in contact with vanished. I managed to interview another native named Latika Tika Mamootika. According to him, Myuron seems to be conducting some kind of experiment… I can’t forget the fear in Tika’s eyes.

Jin carefully scanned the notes, focusing on the word ‘experiment.’

“You’ve been carrying this around? If Myuron saw it, you’d be dead.”

“Once he figures out my intentions, it’s over anyway. This notebook is proof I’m doing something worthwhile—a responsibility I’ve given myself. As you can see, Myuron is using the natives as test subjects.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. I’ve even heard testimonies that before Colon was sealed, biological golem experiments were conducted here. The natives who told me didn’t even know what a golem was…”

Dino had far more information than Jin expected.

“Myuron’s basement is the strongest evidence. Before he arrived, there were over 200 natives. Most were dragged underground; only about 50 remain.”

Dino clenched his teeth. Meanwhile, Jin kept reading. Dino clearly had a deep connection with the Colon natives.

The basement.

If they could preserve or sketch that place and publicize it, they’d have solid grounds to kill Myuron.

“Recently, he’s stopped using the natives as test subjects. Maybe to get the relic, he’s left only the minimum number alive.”

Jin continued reading.

February 6, 1796…

I was caught by Myuron while gathering information. Fortunately, he was drunk and even offered me a drink, causing no harm. I think I can use this to get closer to him.

February 7, 1796.

I wasn’t sure if Myuron would remember me when I went to see him, but thankfully, he did. He even said he’d forgive me for coming into Ziphl’s restricted area and invited me to visit occasionally to keep him company over drinks. That was a success.

And that was just two weeks ago.

“…So, you managed to get close to Myuron?”

Dino nodded with a faint smile.

“Yes. The reason I came today was to watch him, keep him company over drinks, and gather information. Myuron always holds a drinking party right in the middle of the room and never leaves until it’s over.”

By this point, Kashimir and Murakan couldn’t hide their surprise. They had been anxiously waiting since morning, but thanks to this chance encounter with the reporter, they were able to grasp the internal situation all at once.

“I believe our meeting was fate. So… how about this? I’ll distract Myuron, and you check the basement.”

Jin looked at Dino for a moment, then shook his head.

“No, that’s not going to work.”