Episode 377
Chapter 115: Yona’s Warning (Part 1)

For a while, Valeria was too overwhelmed by the flood of emotions to say a word.

Even though she now understood the roots of her identity, she was still alone. But it was nothing like the lonely days before, when she had no clue who she was.

Reclaiming Hister’s history had given her mission a burning purpose beyond the bleak, blind duty it once was. It was about avenging the old fairies, Hister, and the gray owls.

[Besides keeping Solderet’s message, I’m glad I got to meet you.]

“When you say that, Lady Sheila, what do you intend to do now?”

Sheila closed her eyes at Valeria’s question.

Though Myla was dead, many cursed fairies still lingered in the Vantaramo Forest.

[I will remain in this forest, brewing the King’s Elixir with my kin. That is the last meaning left to us, the cursed.]

A fierce light began to glow around Sheila’s two wings.

[I will root out the traitors and restore order to the forest, so that the story of Jin Runkandel and you does not leak out.]

After Myla’s death, control of the forest had been up for grabs for a short time.

But the moment Sheila regained her old memories through Valeria, the power to command the forest returned to her. She was once again the queen of the cursed fairies.

And she had grown stronger. Simply by recovering some forgotten memories through Valeria, she had come closer to being a true fairy than the other cursed ones.

“Lady Sheila.”

[Speak, Jin Runkandel.]

“Before I leave the forest, there’s something I want to ask.”

[You want to know the location of the fifth tomb, don’t you?]

“Yes.”

[That’s all the secret I have. You’ll have to find the path to the fifth tomb yourselves.]

The clues Solderet left led only as far as the Vantaramo Forest.

From here on, they had to start from scratch.

‘Ziphl and Biment will keep searching for Temar’s tomb. Kinzello too. And since Sister Mary made the tomb issue public, there will be others from Runkandel looking as well.’

Once the four great powers began moving in earnest, even Jin wouldn’t be able to discreetly search for the tomb’s location.

Moreover, compared to the four powers, Jin’s own forces were minuscule. Even if the Seven-colored Bird was capable, it couldn’t match the manpower the four powers could deploy.

‘Without my master, I wouldn’t even stand a chance against the four powers.’

Just as she had found the Myoin tribe, Valeria would now seek out Hister’s heritage sites and Temar’s tomb.

So Jin didn’t need to waste mental energy unnecessarily until Valeria or Runkandel’s “tentative allies” uncovered the tomb’s location.

‘Anyway, my master is far more likely to find the tomb before the four powers do. He has the recording devices I gave him from Solderet’s records, plus the fragments of the fourth tomb we obtained today.’

After organizing his thoughts, Jin nodded.

“Understood.”

[It’s best you return now. No one outside will learn that you came to this forest. And Lulu, Miru.]

[Yes, Lady Sheila.]

[You both worked hard. Thank you.]

[We’re in the same position as Lady Sheila, after all. We had promises to keep for the thousand-year contract. This was just part of that.]

[Send my regards to Neru. I won’t ask where you’re headed.]

Jin and Valeria shared brief embraces with the Myoin tribe.

[Our tribe will always bless you, Jin Runkandel. Oh, and how are the little beastfolk? Judging by how well the cosmetics business is doing, I guess they’re doing fine.]

“They’re all protected in the Secret Palace. If you get the chance, please come visit with your clan.”

[Good. When I return, I’ll suggest setting up a hideout near the Secret Palace. Though for now, our clan will need time to regroup.]

Then Lulu looked up at Valeria.

[I owe you an apology. At first, I thought you might have no connection to Jin and even considered harming you.]

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

[And I won’t forget you. We’ll meet again someday. The sacred relic you cherished will be used when it can truly help the world. Just as you and Jin Runkandel are destined for the world’s sake.]

Destined for the world.

Lulu’s words carried a deeper meaning. She believed that the small sparks left by Solderet and the old fairies—Jin and Valeria—would eventually burn down Ziphl and restore the world’s history to its rightful place.

It was time to part.

Waving their hands vigorously, Jin, Valeria, and the Myoin tribe began to leave Vantaramo Forest in different directions.

Before Valeria disappeared from sight, she turned back once more to bow silently to Sheila.

“…After glimpsing the connection between the fairies and Hister in your records, I never imagined we’d find answers so quickly.”

I want to say thank you.

As Valeria trailed off, Jin smiled and handed her a handkerchief.

“Congratulations, Valeria Hister.”

“…A handkerchief?”

“There were tear stains.”

“Oh.”

It had been a long time since Jin had seen Valeria so flustered. Of course, she quickly regained her usual calm and wiped her face.

“You’re about to meet Lady Nokjangmi soon. It might be embarrassing if you show up like this.”

“The one who was so glad you stopped Ziphl’s reinforcements because you’re close friends? If it weren’t for her, things could have gone badly.”

“My sister.”

“My sister?”

Yona, his beloved youngest sister. Meeting her was always a joy, but also a source of worry.

‘She wouldn’t cause a fuss trying to kill Master, would she? After all, Master is also Samil’s benefactor…’

“Hee, what are you thinking, our youngest!”

Reflexively, Jin clenched his teeth. Startled, he almost drew his sword toward the voice. Valeria seemed similarly caught off guard, her eyes darting sharply to the left.

Yona stood behind them, a wide grin tugging at her lips.

“…I thought my heart would stop, sister.”

She meant it.

Even though Jin had opened his mind’s eye, expecting to meet Yona, he hadn’t sensed her approach at all.

As a martial artist, it was shocking. Jin’s martial skill was nearly at the level of nine stars—meaning that with fully awakened senses, even Samil’s top assassin wouldn’t easily find an opening.

‘Indeed, an assassin like Yona in this forest is like a god of death. Or maybe it’s because it’s Yona that she could approach like this.’

While Jin had grown, Yona had also reached a new level. She was an even more formidable assassin than he had imagined.

“Is it because of the girl beside you, our youngest? I’ve been following you for about thirty seconds, and you didn’t notice at all! What if I’d just stabbed you?”

“You shouldn’t joke about such scary things so casually.”

“Hehe, I’m not joking. I might not stab you, but I could stab her.”

With a half-glazed look in her eyes, Yona stepped toward Valeria. Jin panicked and stepped in front of her.

“Sister!”

“Step aside.”

“She’s my comrade. You can’t—”

Shh!

Before Jin could finish, Yona suddenly pulled something from her sleeve and threw it at Valeria’s forehead.

Screech!

If Jin’s reaction had been even a fraction slower—

He wouldn’t have been able to cut Yona’s weapon in time. It was a relief he managed to deflect it. He couldn’t quite make out what exactly Yona had thrown.

“What are you doing…!”

Jin glared and tried to push Yona away, but then he saw something gently fall onto Valeria’s head.

Pinguru…

It was Yona’s weapon—two cut stalks of pinguru grass.

‘Crazy, pinguru grass?’

The stalks, severed cleanly, landed softly on Valeria’s head as if that had been the plan all along (which Yona had perfectly calculated).

Like rabbit ears.

“Hehehe, long time no see, Lailin Hazard!”

Yona waved her hand, calling Valeria by one of her aliases.

“…Still the same, Lady Yona. It’s been a while.”

The two women were old acquaintances.

“I was really jealous just now. I wish our youngest would protect me like that when I’m in danger.”

“How have you been?”

“But how do I avoid getting into danger in the first place?”

“…Looks like you’ve been doing well.”

“Especially when you’re with our youngest. That might be tough. Lailin, you’re smart—why don’t you tell me how?”

Yona wasn’t listening to Valeria at all. Valeria, in turn, shrugged lightly, already familiar with Yona’s way of speaking.

“Phew, that prank was pretty threatening, sister.”

“I wouldn’t kill our youngest’s close friend. That would earn me a lot of hatred. Lailin is also Samil’s benefactor.”

Well, not that I couldn’t kill her if I wanted to, but you’d hate me for it…

Valeria thought she heard something like that but decided to ignore it.

“Your words are so touching, I feel like crying, sister.”

“Hehe, right? I did well, didn’t I?”

“Yes.”

“Then praise me already.”

“How?”

“Um, like giving me an autograph or something?”

Suddenly, Enya’s face came to mind, and Valeria couldn’t help but chuckle. She was a bit rough around the edges but impossible to dislike.

“I heard you stopped Ziphl’s reinforcements.”

“That was good too, right?”

“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I almost died if it weren’t for you.”

“Yeah, maybe that’s true. They were pretty formidable guys. I let them go alive because I thought Owl might get into trouble, but now that I think about it, I probably should’ve just killed them. They could come back to haunt you.”

“No, it’s really touching that you’re thinking about Owl’s position. You’ve just taken a step closer to being a florist, sis. That kind of social awareness is excellent.”

“See? I’m improving every day too!”

Watching Jin and Yona chatter away for a while, Valeria couldn’t help but think they made a charming sibling pair.

Like Yona, she too was gradually letting down her guard around others, little by little, ever since meeting Jin.

“But, sis, how did you end up protecting me?”

“You want to know when I started tailing you?”

“Something like that.”

Yona’s eyes sparkled, clearly eager to explain.

“I recently took down a big shot and got some time off. So I went back home to see you, but the family atmosphere was a mess. Heh, the youngest really dropped a bomb, huh?”

“You mean the story about Mary?”

“Yeah. Because of what you told Mary, the Sword Garden was turned upside down. And Mary conveniently skipped the meeting where it all went down, so she was in quite a bind. She was furious, threatening to come after you.”

“Hmm.”

“You’ll have to calm her down. But you know what? The really interesting part is something else. Heh, while I was looking for you to tell you that, I naturally ended up protecting you.”

“Interesting, you say?”

Yona grinned, but there was a dark, deadly edge beneath that smile.

“Some members of the Elders’ Council are actually trying to kill you, the youngest.”