Episode 325
Chapter 100. What kind of punishment…? (1)
Tikan.
The comrades gathered around, heads close together, staring at the newly acquired spirit energy orb.
“So you’re telling me Joshua got this by raiding that bastard’s villa?”
Murakan stroked his chin thoughtfully.
He found it hard to believe that Joshua had Solderet’s recording device. Just like the others.
“How the hell did that happen? Why the hell does that guy have Solderet’s recording device? And on top of that, there was a demon there, so you killed it—and it turned out to be a Rontelgius?”
Next to the spirit energy orb lay Rontelgius’s grimoire, along with a bundle of papers stained with the blood of the slain demon.
“Does that name ring a bell? Or should I ask if it’s a noble family?”
“It’s a well-known family. Listen carefully, kid. You got insanely lucky. Because you survived an encounter with a demon from the Rontelgius family.”
“But I just stabbed it in the neck and it died instantly. It looked really weak.”
“That’s why I said you were lucky. The Rontelgius family is a ducal house in the demon society. One of the four most powerful dukedoms, right under the Demon King.”
The Demon King. The four great ducal houses of the demon realm.
The comrades couldn’t quite grasp how prestigious and influential that was.
They’d never faced demons before.
“Nowadays, the demon society in Inse has almost vanished, so it’s natural you don’t know the name. But back in the day, even most dragons avoided conflicts with Rontelgius. It never ended with just a few deaths or injuries.”
As the curse hanging over the grimoire of Rontelgius Lampen—the dead demon—showed, the Rontelgius family was renowned for their mastery of curses.
“Curses aside, Rontelgius was one of the closest houses to the Beast King Orgal. You wouldn’t know, Murakan, since you were asleep, but they were infamous even during the Holy Kingdom’s defense wars.”
But after the human alliance’s victory in the Holy Kingdom’s defense wars, the demons left Inse. They rarely showed themselves even before, but now they had completely vanished.
“Quikantel, sounds like the demons have really fallen on hard times since then? If that kid could take one down in a single strike.”
“They were weakened, as I said. And if Jin hadn’t been Solderet’s contractor, he’d have been caught in the curse for sure.”
Quikantel glanced at Jin and continued.
“Your brother, the second Rune Knight of Runkandel. We need to find out how he got involved with Rontelgius, and whether he knows how to use the spirit energy orb.”
How Joshua got the orb, and what his connection to the demons was—all of it was a mystery for now.
“Do you think he even knows the orb is a recording device?”
“Hard to say. But once we return to the family, Joshua will probably make the first move.”
“Master, Joshua has no grounds for that. When he escaped the Ekan Kingdom, I made sure to erase all traces of him.”
Kuzan’s words brought a smile to Jin’s face.
“True, all the evidence is gone. But even without proof, he’ll be certain based on suspicion alone. That won’t be a problem. After all, it’s just part of the hierarchy war, and there’s no sign the dragons are involved.”
“Kid, so you’re planning to ask Joshua directly? Whether he knows what it is?”
“That depends on the situation. I can’t predict how he’ll react yet.”
“Then once you return, we’ll investigate Rontelgius. No matter how you look at it, it’s hard to believe that demon died so easily. Maybe it was a demon cast out by Rontelgius, or perhaps the whole family has fallen.”
“We also need to find someone who can read the grimoire and the bundle of papers. They seem like important clues. And…”
Jin looked over at Yulian, who sat dejectedly in a corner of the office.
“Let’s also discuss how to awaken Yulian’s guardian dragon.”
The Brain Dragon, Kaltor.
He had fallen into a ‘sleep’ state after enduring prolonged, brutal torture. Even after being rescued, Yulian hadn’t been able to exchange a single word with his long-missed guardian dragon.
“As I said earlier, kid, Kaltor’s heart is shattered. It’ll take at least five hundred years to recover—”
Gilly quickly covered Murakan’s mouth.
“There has to be a way, Yulian. So don’t lose heart. Just wait patiently.”
Yulian looked at his comrades with reddened eyes.
“Thank you… all of you.”
The comrades blinked in surprise.
It was the first time Yulian had spoken so politely.
“That silver-tongued bastard’s using honorifics now. How touching! I, Murakan, will do whatever it takes to wake your guardian dragon. Until then, behave yourself. Come to think of it, since you’re not even a thousand years old, the heart might recover more easily.”
“Looks like we’ve got a rough plan. Then Gilly, Murakan, and I will head back to the family in a couple of days. We’ve been away from the Garden of Swords too often lately, so it’ll be hard to stop by Tikan for a while—unless something urgent comes up.”
“Then, until next time.”
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks for always looking out for me, Aria…”
Valeria bowed lightly and turned away.
The elders of Donkey Village waved their few remaining teeth and hands until she disappeared from sight.
Once out of their view, Valeria clenched her teeth and pressed her palm to her forehead.
In recent years, no pursuers had ever come close to her. They either lingered near long-abandoned hideouts or chased false leads elsewhere.
But this time was different.
‘The Donkey Village hideout has been discovered… and the pursuers’ movements have become more precise.’
Ziiing—!
Aria infused her staff with magic, and blue energy spread along it.
The magic soon formed a translucent, square-shaped “window,” and to Valeria’s surprise, words began to appear on it.
< A 29-year-old woman from the Clever family visited Donkey Village and intimidated the elders. No further records available. >
< A 34-year-old man from the Macloran family visited Donkey Village, coaxed the elders, and inquired about Aria Owlheart’s whereabouts. No further records… >
Clever and Macloran. Noble houses of Hupester.
Thanks to those names, Valeria guessed that the ones searching for her were the Runkandel’s guardian knights.
-My mother and eldest brother are looking for you. They’ve found out the name you’re currently using: Aria Owlheart.
-That’s not my only alias. I’ve been covering my tracks well.
-Anka Roffman, Ryline Hazard, Lucille Scope, Hartia Ben. Aren’t those your aliases? And if you say you’ve erased your tracks well, why are we meeting and talking like this?
She recalled the conversation with Jin in Mamit not long ago.
‘…I clearly underestimated the great families. The pursuers’ tactics have changed.’
The only relief for Valeria was that it was Runkandel, not Ziphl, who had discovered Donkey Village.
Whoosh!
Valeria dispelled the record magic and glanced back toward Donkey Village.
‘The elders will contact Runkandel soon.’
Just days ago, these were the people who had followed her like a savior. Most of the elders in Donkey Village had been abandoned by their children, barely surviving without hope.
They had now told Runkandel everything they knew about her—though it wasn’t much.
She never expected loyalty from those elders.
No, she never expected loyalty from anyone.
Still, a bitter feeling welled up deep inside her.
‘At least, thanks to me, they weren’t all wiped out. I need to move quickly. To the Luterro Magic Federation’s hideout.’
She traveled diligently through the night.
Using over five different IDs while traveling by land, sea, and teleportation gates. She stopped by ‘Samil’ to collect letters and supplies sent to her.
She arrived safely at the Luterro Magic Federation’s “Pailin Kingdom.” And as soon as she arrived—
There, hanging right in the middle of the teleportation gate entrance, was a huge portrait of Jin Runkandel’s face.
(Your beauty, guaranteed by Jin Runkandel. Golden Gourd Cosmetics.)
Huh!
Valeria swallowed involuntarily and stared up at the advertisement.
‘A cosmetics ad…? What on earth is that guy thinking?’
She stood there, dazed, unable to look away from the billboard for a while before moving on.
It was dawn when she reached the Pailin Kingdom hideout. Only then did she check the letters and supplies from Samil.
(This is the first letter. These are cosmetics and makeup tools that, when roughly applied, create a decent disguise. They’ll fix your sloppy disguises. If you’re ever caught, contact Tikan. That’s all.)
Valeria shook her head as she examined the items.
There was one more letter.
(I didn’t expect to send a second letter so soon. There’s another recording device now. I hope we can meet soon. Contact Tikan so we can arrange a meeting place.)
‘They got another spirit energy orb!?’
Ha! With a sigh of disbelief, Valeria exhaled deeply.
No matter how hard someone searched across every corner of the world, they couldn’t find a recording device like the one the youngest of the Runcandels seemed to acquire effortlessly, anytime and anywhere.
Valeria thought to herself that, for the sake of her research, she really needed to meet the true Runcandel once more.
“Well, either way, this works to my advantage. True Runcandel, I’ll make good use of you.”
The moment he returned to Hupester, the butler Petro came rushing in, urgently looking for Jin.
“Master!”
“What is it, Petro?”
“It’s serious. The Elders’ Council has designated you as a subject for disciplinary action!”
“Disciplinary action? For what reason? Don’t panic—explain it calmly. What exactly is the charge?”
Though he asked, Jin had already anticipated the situation to some extent.
The cosmetics business he’d started with the Geumseol clan—surely that was the cause.
“Probably a reprimand or a transfer to confinement. Honestly, being confined might be better than staying in the Garden of Swords.”
Having experienced the military life, Jin thought that being locked away for about a year wouldn’t be so bad.
There were too many eyes watching in the Garden of Swords. As the contractor of Solderet, he had too many responsibilities to worry about—like searching for Temar’s tomb or managing Solderet’s arrangements.
“Even if I’m sent to confinement, it’ll be easy enough to produce results and make a case to return to the main house. Maybe this is for the best…”
But before he could finish that thought, the disciplinary measure Petro announced caught Jin completely off guard.
“The punishment is a ban on leaving the estate. The duration is three years…”