Episode 121
Chapter 38: Why Are You Coming Out of There?
For the next month, the world was abuzz with news of the “Colon Native Massacre Incident.”
Dino published articles, and when hostile forces like Runkandel joined the media war, Zipple pinned all the blame on an individual named Myuron Zipple.
But when the broken parts of the “Kozek” were revealed as additional evidence, Zipple found himself cornered for a while.
Of course, Zipple dismissed the deployment of Kozek as another rogue act by Myuron Zipple. He funneled massive bribes into every news outlet and even sent several gold-laden merchant ships to Bimant, the media’s epicenter.
The civilians of the Hupester Union were outraged, while those in the Lutero Magic Federation kept quiet.
When Bimant took the lead in supporting Zipple’s innocence, the boiling pot of scandal simmered down. The dirty deals had been remarkably successful.
In the end, Runkandel gained indirect benefits, Bimant made money, and Zipple lost his honor and prestige.
Most notably, Zipple—who had always championed “goodness” and “justice” as absolute values—was left with an indelible stain on his reputation.
“Zipple will have to lay low for a while. From the recent death of Bugaju to the Colon massacre, his ugly true colors are slowly coming to light. There’s no way to stop his prestige from crumbling,” Dino said, twirling his pen.
He and the natives had recently arrived in the Hupester Union under Luna’s protection. Though they hadn’t met Luna in person yet, the estate’s caretakers treated them with such kindness that they were deeply moved.
“Prince Jin, it’s amazing how you, at such a young age, can see through all this so clearly. I thought Runkandel was full of sword-obsessed fanatics.”
“But there’s one thing Prince Jin didn’t expect,” Tika smiled, pointing to the mansion’s courtyard below the window.
There, donations from around the world for the Colon people had piled up—letters filled with condolences and encouragement among all kinds of supplies.
The estate’s caretakers had been busy sorting through them for days without a moment’s rest.
“Thanks to the prince saving us, so many people have finally taken an interest in Colon. After centuries of being ignored.”
Tika slowly turned and relit the candles filling the room.
They were candles to honor the dead, including Laosa and their fallen kin.
“From now on, our prayers will be directed not to Klam, but to Prince Jin. I wonder when the world will finally learn exactly who those ‘passersby’ mentioned in your article really were.”
Passersby.
Dino had referred to the heroes who saved Colon simply as “passersby” in his articles. Even now, as the incident quieted down, people were still curious about who those passersby were—but no news outlet had uncovered their identities.
Whenever asked, Dino would feign ignorance, playing the part of someone who truly didn’t know.
“The truth about the passersby will probably come out after Prince Jin becomes Runkandel’s Rider. Naturally, the incident will be spotlighted again, and Prince Jin will officially state his position as Runkandel’s Rider.”
“Along with revealing the sacred artifact we protected—the ‘Mirror,’ right?”
Dino nodded, clearly looking forward to that day.
Jin becoming Rider, seizing Runkandel’s dominance, and systematically dismantling Zipple’s standing with solid justification.
Sender: Kashimir
Recipient: Siron Runkandel
Report: The key figures in the Colon Massacre Incident—the “passersby”—are Jin Runkandel, Murakan, and myself. Jin Runkandel, together with Murakan and me, killed Myuron Zipple.
Note: Zipple’s body was recovered by Zipple himself.
The Black Sea.
A thick vein bulged on Siron’s forehead as he received the letter from Khan.
“The Lord is furious. What could the Rider have written this time…?”
The already heavy air over the Black Sea grew even more oppressive, and even Khan found himself nervously glancing around.
Sigh…
Siron let out a frustrated breath.
“My Lord, has something happened to the youngest son?”
“No, quite the opposite, Khan. This time, he’s taken Myuron Zipple’s head.”
“I suspected the youngest son was the key figure in the Colon Massacre, but hearing it directly is still shocking. After Andrei Zipple, now the Tower Master of the Seventh Tower is gone too. Two major purebloods eliminated before even becoming Riders.”
“But you should see this letter yourself.”
As Khan read it, his face turned pale.
“…Could it be that the Rider has been submitting such careless reports to you all this time?”
“The brevity is because I told him to keep it short, so that’s fine. But this time, the Rider deliberately withheld information from me. How dare he…!”
As Siron said, Kashimir had omitted most of the crucial details that should have been included in the report.
Gritting his teeth, Siron caused a faint tremor in the Black Sea’s central region.
“The whole world has been buzzing about this incident lately. But no matter how talented the youngest is, he couldn’t have handled Kozek alone.”
“Yes, someone else must have been involved. The Rider can’t be unaware of that.”
Not only were Jin and his group’s names missing from all Colon-related articles, but there was also no mention of Lady Talaris Endorma, the Vice Palace Lord, or her daughter Siris.
So the public could only speculate—whether the Ghost Corps or the Black King’s faction had intervened, whether Ron Hailan had moved, whether the Vice Palace had joined the fight, or whether Runkandel’s Riders had been on the scene.
With both journalist Dino and Zipple’s side keeping silent, even Siron didn’t know who had stopped Kozek.
“How dare he withhold such information from me. If you give the order, I’ll go and teach the Rider a lesson right now…”
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a white dimensional portal opened right in front of Siron. Khan instinctively drew his sword, but Siron raised a hand to stop him.
Vwoom!
Out of the white portal leapt none other than the snow-eyed toad Mot, carrying Talaris.
“Hmm, I was worried you might have moved your meditation site. Glad to see you found it. Long time no see, Siron.”
“Talaris?”
“After all this time, can’t you be a little warmer?”
Khan gave Talaris a polite nod, while Siron stared at her for a moment.
Seeing his gaze was uncomfortable, Talaris waved her hand.
“Oh, that look. If you keep staring, I might get fired up. I’m not here to challenge you like before, so lighten up.”
“So it was you.”
“What was?”
“The one who stopped Kozek. Looks like you helped Jin, Talaris.”
Siron’s expression softened, and Talaris smiled.
“Yes. And I happened to overhear your subordinate talking. Looks like Kashimir has been hiding information from you.”
Siron handed her the letter, and Talaris smiled knowingly.
“You have every right to be angry. Though I’m involved, to hide things from you like this… So, you’re sending that guy to give him a good beating?”
“I intend to give a light warning.”
“I’d advise against that. This is something to be praised.”
“Praised?”
“Yes. With this letter, Kashimir has made it clear whose man he is. Not Siron Runkandel’s, but Jin Runkandel’s.”
Siron furrowed his brows.
Then, as if understanding, he nodded.
“…That makes sense. He’s prioritizing Jin’s position over mine in his reports.”
“That means your youngest son has found capable allies. When Kashimir came to the Vice Palace, his eyes were full of determination—for Jin. He seems quite useful, so maybe cut him some slack despite your annoyance.”
Siron’s expression finally softened.
As Talaris said, Kashimir had effectively declared his loyalty to Jin. And only a very few could afford to do that to Siron.
“I almost made your youngest son’s subordinate suffer. Consider yourself indebted to me, Talaris.”
“Your son owes me? Hmph, stopping Kozek was tough. I almost came to blows with Zipple.”
“Don’t tell me you came here to collect that debt? That’s for the youngest to handle.”
“Just kidding. The real reason I came today is…”
Talaris paused for effect.
“What do you think about my daughter marrying your youngest son?”
Khan, who had been listening, gaped in shock.
Startled.
“Why do you look like that, young master?”
“Ah, nothing. I just suddenly felt a chill.”
“Did you feel it too, Prince? Lately, I’ve been getting this eerie feeling for no reason.”
Jin and Kashimir exchanged knowing looks and nodded.
Aside from the occasional shiver down their spines, they had been enjoying relatively peaceful days since returning from Colon.
They needed the rest. Since becoming a prospective Rider and leaving the family, they had been embroiled in one major battle after another.
From annihilating Tesing to the Colon Massacre Incident, Jin had been at the center of most of the recent upheavals shaking the world.
And truly, his progress was nothing short of remarkable.
“Swordsmanship at six stars, spirit energy at five stars. And with the mirror, his magic power instantly jumped to seven stars.”
Using the mirror to boost magic power was something to be avoided whenever possible. If the Solderet seal were to weaken, the world would be doomed.
But since he had carried the mirror all the way from Colon to Tikan, his magic power naturally increased—there was no helping it. Besides, after all the hardships he’d endured, it wouldn’t have been right to receive so little in return.
Still, Jin felt an inexplicable sense of urgency gnawing at him.
Alu the Spiderhand.
Jin’s eldest brother. A figure who might be connected to Joshua Runcandel. Perhaps even linked to the very wizard who had cursed Jin in his past life.
The Seven-Colored Bird had yet to uncover any concrete information about Alu.
“You can’t stop him, anyway.”
“What?”
“Even if you failed back then…”
That was the last conversation Jin had with Alu, just before he tried to kill him.
It still haunted him.
Exposing the corruption and tyranny of Ziphl and uncovering the world’s many secrets was rewarding work, but what Jin wanted most was to learn the identity of the one who had cursed him with the “Blade’s Madness” in his previous life.
“The fact that all information about Alu has been erased keeps bothering me. If even the Seven-Colored Bird can’t dig anything up, then maybe he’s lost forever…”
Just as Jin was about to sigh in frustration, a servant came looking for Kashimir.
“Master.”
“What is it?”
“A man came to the mansion. He looked like a beggar, but he claimed to be an informant. He said he wants to work under you.”
“Haha, kid, there are plenty of those every year. Probably some street thug who heard my name and showed up hoping for a handout. Give him some money for a bath and a meal, then send him on his way.”
“That was my plan, but he knows the exact location of one of the Seven-Colored Bird’s secret headquarters. I thought you should know before deciding what to do.”
Kashimir’s eyes sharpened.
“…He knows one of our secret bases? Where is he now?”
The servant cautiously pointed outside the window.
“Heh, looks like he made a fool of himself in front of the young master. I thought the Seven-Colored Bird’s security was solid, but this is embarrassing.”
Kashimir and Jin naturally moved to the window to look down at the man in question.
Kashimir rubbed his forehead in irritation at the sight of the man clinging to the gatekeepers, begging.
Jin’s heart skipped a beat as he silently called the man’s name.
“Zet…!?”
The informant who had come to Kashimir was none other than Zet, Akyn’s informant.