Episode 519
Chapter 142: The Negotiations (Part 5)
Kinzello Headquarters.
The mood was grim. Not only had they suffered bitter losses in the Sota Desert, but now their commander had suddenly started coughing up blood again. Only Bubar and Ainas were chuckling quietly, seemingly unfazed.
“Sigh… Zephyrin-sama, using your power again like that…”
“If only the commander could regain full consciousness, maybe Zephyrin-sama could keep him in check. But no, his energy’s drained once more. This keeps happening. I think it’s time I said something, Vice Commander.”
Vishkel and Berakt spoke with frustration, and Jo nodded in agreement.
“No, if he’s the Demon Realm’s Grand Duke, then so be it. But this is too much, isn’t it? He spat out a handful of blood!”
“Mind your own business and shut up, Jo. Seriously, do I have to tell you to shut up every single time before you keep that mouth of yours closed? Should I break your jaw so you never speak again?”
“Hmm, I’m sure Zephyrin-sama couldn’t help it. Of all of us, he’s probably the one who wishes for the commander’s recovery the most, isn’t he? It must be frustrating, like with Lord Murakan from the Jin faction.”
“Hmm, that’s true. Margiela.”
Jo found it hard to hide his disbelief at times like this. If he had repeated Margiela’s exact words, Berakt would have probably lunged at him, furious at such insolence.
‘Tch, such a narrow-minded, filthy, smelly, discriminatory beast of a beastman!’
Just as Jo thought this, Margiela turned her head and locked eyes with him.
‘Don’t think such bad thoughts, Jo-sama!’
She mouthed the words silently, and Jo’s hair stood on end as he cleared his throat awkwardly.
Creak!
The door opened. Zephyrin entered.
“You’re here, Zephyrin-sama!”
Everyone who was seated stood up in unison, showing their respect.
“Oh, the Grand Duke… has arrived. When I mention him… even Horang comes.”
Zephyrin waved his hand dismissively at those who stood, signaling them to sit.
“That’s right, sister! Zephyrin Grand Duke is here? We were just talking about you.”
“You were talking about me? About what?”
“Well, what we were saying was… everyone was saying that Zephyrin Grand Duke…”
“Is impressive. Going alone into enemy territory is a burden for people like us. Thank you for your hard work, Zephyrin-sama.”
Vishkel quickly cut off Ainas’s words, steering the conversation away. He could tell Zephyrin was in a very low mood.
Berakt, who had intended to speak up, sighed deeply after seeing Zephyrin’s expression and swollen jaw.
‘Damn it, I’m a great warrior and yet I’m the one tiptoeing around him. What happened to that jaw…? Did he get beaten up?’
Zephyrin’s jaw was badly swollen.
“Hahaha, but Grand Duke! Where did you get that huge lump? If you pop it, will some story come out?”
Meanwhile, Ainas, despite being scolded once, shamelessly placed a hand on Zephyrin’s swollen jaw and giggled.
Of course, that huge lump was from a beating dealt by Thalaris.
“Ah, Ainas… you shouldn’t do that. The Grand Duke might get mad…”
“Hehe, I’ve never seen such a big lump! Sister! You should touch it too.”
“Ah… no, you can’t… no… no, you crazy! Die, just die! What are you doing to the Grand Duke? Die! Die!”
Suddenly, Bianca snapped, unleashing a rapid-fire barrage of punches and curses. Ainas yelped and ran off, but Bianca quickly formed a club with her hand and chased after her.
Margiela rolled her wheelchair over to Zephyrin.
“So, how did it go, Zephyrin-sama?”
“…We’ve agreed to hold talks, Margiela. The date will be announced by Lord Jin. We’ll be able to analyze the items at the meeting, and all information we uncover must be shared. Including that damn Lord Jin Runkandel.”
“Wow, that sounds like a major breakthrough!”
“Do you really think so?”
“Of course. If anyone else had gone, we wouldn’t have gotten anything.”
Meanwhile, the Caligo sisters and Bianca, who had been pacing anxiously among the officers, had somewhat regained their composure.
“Ah… what have I done? Sorry… did I hurt you, Ainas?”
“Uh, no. It’s okay… huh? But what’s that smell? Grand Duke, did you eat something? You smell really good.”
This time, even Bianca sniffed near Zephyrin.
After the beating, Zephyrin had eaten at Tikan before returning. Refusing food in such a situation felt like it would be beneath the dignity of a Demon Realm Grand Duke, so he had no choice.
‘Sigh… why were those cookies so annoyingly delicious? And that strawberry pie too…’
Zephyrin pulled out some Litra cookies from his pocket, and the Caligo sisters immediately bit into them, jumping with joy.
In short, it was a mess.
Vishkel couldn’t help but feel a bitter, sorrowful chill in his chest, wondering how Kinzello had come to this state.
“Would you like me to tell you a funny story to cheer up the gloomy Zephyrin-sama?”
Margiela said as she rolled her wheelchair forward.
“What is it?”
“Perhaps Lord Jin might soon face something a little sad, Zephyrin-sama.”
“Something sad…?”
Margiela smiled slyly.
“Wow, they really ate a lot. They even took the cookies I’d saved for the kids.”
“But I protected the strawberry pie, Jet. I couldn’t help eating some at the table, but the pie was off-limits. Absolutely.”
“Of course, Lord Murakan is the best!”
After the banquet, the group gathered in small clusters, chatting or smoking.
Thalaris was examining the blueprints and machines, having heard everything that happened in the Sota Desert.
“Hmm, we’ll need expert magic interpreters for these blueprints. This cipher magic is probably a new type created by Ziphl. The machine… that prophet said it would change the course of battle?”
“Yes, Lord Thalaris.”
“If it were about the Black King’s cannon that absorbs magic, I’d understand. But this tiny device? I can’t imagine how it’s supposed to be used.”
Everyone who had met Jin’s allies and helpers so far had the same reaction.
“I thought so too. But the more I pondered, the more I wondered if it might be connected to the cube summoning device Ziphl used in the Gaipa region…”
“The key will be Aria Owlheart, the last survivor of Hister, and Miss Misha. I’m not sure if it’s possible to decrypt the blueprints with record magic, but we should at least be able to identify the machine’s creator.”
“I agree.”
“And it would be great if Kinzello could handle the decryption… but the Black Dragon Misha might also be able to help.”
“We haven’t been able to contact Misha for a year now. It’s starting to worry me.”
The last time Jin met Misha was around this time last year, after visiting Temar’s second tomb to inquire about the recording device.
At that time, Jin had received information from Misha that Aria Owlheart was in Mamit, which led to a reunion with Valeria.
“A year… that’s nothing to a dragon, so don’t worry, son-in-law. We fought together, and she wasn’t someone you could just catch easily. I’d like to have a drink with Misha as a comrade sometime.”
“Yeah, kid. The Lady of the Bow is right. That wretched thing will show up when it’s time, so just forget about it. Ugh, just thinking about her gives me chills. But she’s not invincible. She’s good at decrypting ciphers and such dark stuff, but she fails a lot too.”
“Hmph, your handsome brother must be really scared of his sister, huh?”
“Hah, scared? No way.”
“Oh, so you’re actually worried?”
“If you knew that demon as well as I do, you’d realize how pointless worrying is. If she wants to hide, not even the gods can find her. What chance do mere humans have?”
“The Demon Stone combines the powers of many gods, so who knows? Maybe you need to be a little more honest.”
“Shut up. Anyway, I think it’s more helpful to find a genius magic engineer as soon as possible, rather than waiting for Misha. Improving the Black King’s equipment and figuring out that mysterious machine.”
“We need both the magic engineer and to meet Misha. There’s a lot to ask her.”
Thinking about the need for a magic engineer, Jin was digging through memories of his past life.
He was trying to recall which genuine genius magic engineers he knew who weren’t affiliated with Ziphl or the royal family at this point.
“Ramos Phil? Oh, he was already with the Royal Academy when I was a cadet. Hopper Newman? No. The Siler family… they only existed until the early 1700s, right?”
Magic engineering had always been one of Jin’s lesser interests in magic.
So he didn’t remember many names, and most of those he did were either dead or already affiliated.
“A genius magic engineer, huh… I did have a few of those types among my lovers. Should I contact one for you, son-in-law?”
“Your boyfriend? I don’t really trust him, Lady Bi-gung. And is it true you’re into those scrawny types?”
“I’d appreciate that very much, Lord Thalaris. I plan to meet all the magic engineers who aren’t affiliated with anyone yet.”
“Alright, but on one condition. Call me ‘father-in-law,’ and I’ll agree.”
“Of course, father-in-law. How could I not? After all you’ve done for me.”
“Jin, now you too!”
Siris flinched, her eyes widening.
“Aha! As expected! You’re the only one who actually got my joke today! Everyone else just gave me a deadpan look. Ha ha!”
Thalaris and Jin burst out laughing.
‘Is it really that funny to Mother and Jin? But somehow, I feel like laughing too. Maybe it’s the warm, friendly atmosphere.’
Siris fought back a smile.
“Oh, son-in-law, look at her. If you keep at it, she’ll laugh too. Did you know? When she was little, she called herself the Ice Princess.”
“Ice Princess…? Lady Siris, how old was she when she said that?”
“Huh? You’re the Ice Princess? Our little one’s the Black Prince. Ever heard of it? Runkandel’s Black Prince.”
“Black Prince? That sounds lame. Ice Princess sounds better, Jin.”
Snickering, Siris finally gave in and laughed along with them. She thought, this is nice.
After a while of laughing and chatting, Thalaris tidied his hair and stood up.
“Ha ha, thanks to you, son-in-law, I had a good laugh.”
“Shall we be going, Lord Thalaris?”
“Yes, we should.”
“I’ll prepare to see you off.”
“You’re coming too, son-in-law.”
“Bi-gung, you mean?”
“Yes. More precisely, to the Bi-gung training grounds.”
“Why the Bi-gung training grounds…?”
“Your sister, Mary Runkandel, received a secret manual directly from Siron. I’ll personally help with mastering the attributes. It’s my payment for the laughter.”