Episode 233
Chapter 75. Rani Salome (2)
December 14, 1797.
Jin and Murakan arrived at the Holy Kingdom to meet Rani Salome.
The Holy Kingdom of Vankela was in the midst of its grandest festival, the “Advent Festival,” celebrating the day Ayula first descended upon the kingdom. It was a week-long event, the largest celebration in the realm.
Everywhere along the streets, colorful banners adorned with the symbol of the dormant volcano—Ayula’s emblem—fluttered in the breeze.
“The dormant volcano, huh? Every time I see it, I’m reminded how well humans pick their symbols,” Murakan remarked.
Ayula, the god of peace, was the deity worshiped as the patron god of the Holy Kingdom of Vankela.
Murakan recalled that Ayula was usually infinitely benevolent, but when angered, could burn anything to ashes.
“They say that whenever any god causes excessive chaos in the mortal world, Ayula threatens them under the guise of a meeting. Before I was even born, Ayula once wiped out a god—was it a god of blessings?—completely.”
“Really?”
“There was even a time when rumors spread that Ayula destroyed Númerus, the god of hope among dragons. In any case, a pretty extreme character.”
The streets were alive with pleasant melodies, laughter, and cheers. Not only the kingdom’s citizens but also tourists and reporters had gathered to enjoy the festival.
At the heart of the capital’s grand plaza, a dignified elderly man stood on a podium, waving to the crowd.
Clad in a golden staff and a crown shaped like the dormant volcano, his entire body radiating a soft yellow divine aura, and a warm smile revealing perfectly aligned teeth—this man was none other than King Miklan of the Holy Kingdom.
“Long live King Miklan!” the crowd chanted.
The people’s love for King Miklan was absolute. He was known for sharing the privileges of the elite with the common folk, a rarity in the kingdom’s history.
Usually, kings would reward the nobles who helped them ascend the throne with even more privileges, but Miklan was different.
Jin and Murakan watched him for a while.
“So that’s King Miklan, Rani’s father,” Jin said.
In his past life, Jin had never seen Miklan this close.
“That guy’s the current king?”
“Lower your voice, Murakan. If anyone overhears, it could be trouble.”
“Huh. He seems pretty ordinary.”
“Ordinary, you say?”
Jin felt the same.
“Most kings I’ve seen carried a certain aura—not necessarily powerful, but a sacred presence that made them hard to approach. But this guy… I’m not sure. He seems to have an aura, but at the same time, not.”
Rani’s trial had been postponed because of the king.
But it wasn’t that the king was using his power to block her punishment—it was because of the Advent Festival.
During the festival, it was tradition not to judge criminals. Moreover, Rani had played an important role every year.
The King’s Consecration Ceremony.
As the name suggests, it was a ritual where the king personally blessed each citizen. It was the highlight of the Advent Festival, and since she was fifteen, Rani had never missed reading the blessing on the king’s behalf.
—Therefore, if Rani Salome suddenly disappeared, it would look bad. The Dawn Society’s leadership seems to have temporarily released her. Looks like we’ll get to see her before the trial.
This was the information Kashimir had given them just before they arrived.
It was fortunate for Jin and Murakan. If the trial’s outcome was unfavorable, meeting her might have been impossible.
“Hm, no matter how I think about it, it doesn’t make sense.”
Crunch.
Jin bit into a candy shaped like the dormant volcano he’d just bought from a street stall, eyes fixed on the king. Both he and Murakan had dyed their hair red with gold-silver dye, posing as tourists.
“What doesn’t?”
“Rani caused a scene not long ago at the temple where the king performs the blessing. So why would they insist on having her involved in such an important event like the King’s Consecration? It doesn’t add up.”
“Maybe it’s just for appearances? She’s read the blessing every year, after all.”
“Still, it feels off. If Rani were to cause trouble during the ceremony, that would be a major incident. Not something you can just sweep under the rug like last time.”
Her outburst at the temple had only involved local citizens, so it hadn’t been reported by outside media. Unless you had top-tier informants like Kashimir, it was hard to know.
But this time, there were plenty of tourists watching. If Rani caused a scene, it would be obvious that the king and the kingdom’s prestige would be ruined.
“That’s true. They must have taken some precautions. Or maybe Rani was just temporarily out of her mind back then and still maintains a good relationship with the king.”
“We’ll find out when we meet her.”
Rani’s home was a small house near the Ayula Grand Temple in the capital. But it was rarely used, as many followers of Miklan and Rani came daily.
Her actual residence was at the Ayula Eastern Temple, currently under renovation and off-limits except to authorized personnel.
Of course, they didn’t care about that.
“Let’s head to the Eastern Temple.”
They stepped onto the teleportation gate heading east.
“Ugh!”
“Shouldn’t you be used to this by now?”
Murakan vomited immediately after teleporting. He was still sensitive to the gates.
“Damn it. Even with 40% of my power restored, I can’t even fly properly.”
“Hang in there. Once I’m the pilot, at least flying over Hupester will be smooth.”
The Ayula Eastern Temple was impossible to miss. The tallest building visible right after exiting the gate was the temple itself.
Compared to the bustling city center, the east was quiet. Even merchants had left to set up stalls downtown for the festival.
They climbed a hill and reached the temple. Unlike the heavily armored paladins blocking the city gates in Santel, the Eastern Temple was guarded by ordinary soldiers yawning lazily.
No workers were in sight; they had all gone downtown to enjoy the festival.
No one dared enter the temple without permission, and tourists had little reason to visit the east temple since all important relics had been moved to the central temple. So heavy security wasn’t necessary.
Jin pulled a small glass vial from his pocket and opened it. Inside was a sleeping poison made by Kuzan.
“Sorry about this, but it’s not dangerous.”
Jin looked at Murakan.
Murakan gave a reluctant look but sighed and transformed into a cat.
“Meow.”
Carrying the vial in his mouth, Murakan approached the guards.
Naturally, their attention shifted to the vial. Before they could inspect it closely, Murakan dropped it at their feet, releasing the sleeping poison.
“What’s this? M-my body…?”
Thud, thud.
“Sorry about this.”
After slipping a few gold coins to the guards, the two passed through the gate and entered the temple. Rani’s room was at the end of the third-floor corridor.
The closer they got, the stronger the smell of harsh alcohol.
Fortunately, no other soldiers were inside, so they met Rani without incident.
“Rani Salome. I didn’t know you liked drinking this much.”
Jin quietly closed the door and spoke. Only then did Rani look at him. Despite their deliberate approach, she hadn’t noticed them until now.
She looked like someone who had given up on everything.
“…Jin Runkandel?”
The fierce conviction and pride that once filled her eyes in Santel were gone, replaced by sorrowful, tear-filled pupils.
For a long moment, she stared at Jin in disbelief. She hadn’t expected him to find her so quickly.
“How…?”
“Didn’t I promise? I came to repay my debt.”
Bang!
Murakan transformed back into his human form and stood before her. Seeing him whole again, Rani set down her bottle and widened her eyes.
“Long time no see, religious fanatic. Thanks to you, I’m alive and found you. Looks like you’ve got some problems, but this great black dragon Murakan will fix everything. Now, pour me a drink.”
Murakan smiled and smoothly took the glass from her, preventing her from drinking more.
Rani blinked in confusion, then suddenly burst into tears, biting her lip to keep the sobs from escaping.
The two waited silently for her to calm down.
“Stop crying and tell us what’s going on.”
“My father… my father…”
“Your father? King Miklan?”
“My father’s been captured.”
Jin and Murakan exchanged glances with each other and with Rani.
“What do you mean? We just saw the king standing fine in the central plaza.”
“That was a fake. I don’t know how they did it, but it was a double with the same face. The real king was kidnapped.”
“What?”
“The king… kidnapped?”
The word “fake” immediately brought one person to mind.
Bubar Gaston, the sculptor from Kinzel.
At that moment, Jin understood why Rani had always been the one to read the blessing at the King’s Consecration Ceremony.
“They must have threatened her.”
The faction currently holding King Miklan hostage was using him to threaten Lani. They warned her to act as usual if she didn’t want to see the real Miklan die.
Unable to contain her fury any longer, she had caused a scene at the temple where the fake king was performing the blessing ceremony—and now she was waiting to be judged for it.
“Lani Salome, do you know who kidnapped the king?”
Kinzelro.
Of course, that name would come up. After all, they were using Bubar’s transformation magic.
But the name Lani spoke wasn’t Kinzelro.
“Jiple. They… they took my father.”
“Jiple? Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. It seems other factions are involved too, but… I don’t really know. There was so little I could do.”
Lani clutched her head, trembling.
“It’s okay, Lani. Drink some water first. Calm down, and then tell us everything clearly. Only then can we figure out what to do.”
The alliance between Jiple and Kinzelro was over.
Could they have joined forces again? The thought flashed through her mind for a moment.
Thud, thud, thud, thud—
Suddenly, heavy footsteps echoed from outside the door. Someone must have realized Jin and Murakan had broken in and was coming to confront them. But for some reason, the sound—
It was no ordinary footsteps at all.