Episode 584
Chapter 151: Situation Recap (4)
The Tower of Stories.
“So there was a research facility right in the heart of the Empire…”
Octavia ground her teeth as she spoke. She was still wrapped head to toe in magical bandages, remnants of the war’s aftermath, with various life-support tubes connected to her back.
Dark spots showed through the gaps in the bandages. Having endured both the corruption of chaos and the super-regeneration granted by the demon stone, she would need the life-support devices every day for the foreseeable future.
“The royal family… those treacherous bastards had more guts than we thought. The Empire’s capital was a place our mages came and went from daily.”
Kadun, standing beside her, was also struggling to contain his anger.
Hedo smoked calmly, his expression unreadable.
He truly had no strong feelings about the matter and was simply maintaining his composure, but to Octavia and Kadun, it seemed as if he was exercising superhuman patience, coldly analyzing the situation.
“They’re despicable, yes, but it’s actually fortunate that the royal family still has a trump card left. So calm down, Kadun. And you too, Captain of the Phantoms.”
At Hedo’s words, Kadun and Octavia cleared their throats awkwardly.
“…Sir Hedo is right. We’ve shown a shameful side.”
“Indeed… those bastards are cornered, so they’ll shamelessly reach out to us again.”
Since the Black Emperor War, the world’s balance of power had been shaken to its core.
It was no longer certain that the Ziphl family stood alone at the top.
Though they hadn’t completely lost their status as the leading family, the great powers of the world were unaware of the full extent of their losses—only guessing it was worse than expected.
Thus, the two major families eyed each other warily, desperate to reinforce their strength by any means necessary.
Rune Kandel was still active.
It was now a given that he had entered the domain of the Five Kings of the Black Sea, but Ziphl had to consider the possibility of his return to the continent at any time—and the presence of the Prophet was a constant concern.
In that context, Ziphl couldn’t help but covet the royal family’s mind-control technology.
The royal family could never ally with Rune Kandel—because of Jin. Even if Rosa ignored that and sought an alliance first, it would be an unappealing offer. Rune Kandel lacked any magical engineering expertise.
More importantly, the royal family had maintained a closer relationship with Ziphl than with Rune Kandel.
Though the Black Emperor War had caused betrayals on both sides, they now needed each other.
“That’s right. Because of Rune Kandel’s Twelve Riders, the royal family’s attempt to cut ties failed. They have no choice but to rely on us. Any negotiation will proceed on favorable terms. This is something to welcome, not to rage against.”
Ziphl didn’t yet know the true extent of the mind’s power. The reports from Jin’s side claiming abilities beyond nine-star rank and super-regeneration were likely exaggerated.
Still, the royal family must have had a reason to cling to them so desperately, even resorting to deception. Their combat power could be assessed firsthand during negotiations.
“Punishment can wait until after we extract their technology and the family recovers.”
“But one strange thing remains: how did Rune Kandel’s Twelve Riders learn the location of the research facility? Our family’s intelligence isn’t inferior to theirs.”
At Hedo’s words, Octavia nodded.
“In my opinion, it’s because a survivor of Hister is with the Twelve Riders. Ever since the Twelve Riders countered the family head’s grand magic during the war, it’s almost certain that the survivor and the record mage have been together.”
The Second Demon King of Annihilation Flame Jade, known from the Black Emperor War, was easily broken by Jin as if he already knew the spell.
Octavia’s gaze shifted to another life-support device behind her.
There, Veradin Ziphl—the one who had tried to go berserk—was sealed. Since the start of the Black Emperor War, he had never regained consciousness.
And it wasn’t just Octavia and Veradin who relied on these devices.
At the very top floor of the Tower of Stories, Keliak was also confined within a life-support system.
In other words, Ziphl was facing its worst crisis in a thousand years.
“Keliak had just declared he would personally find Hister’s survivor, yet both the Black Dragon Misha and the survivor have been incredibly lucky.”
“We should wait for the royal family’s contact first. And when that child awakens… we should have them meet with Rune Kandel’s Twelve Riders.”
“Octavia, no matter how close the Twelve Riders are with that Veradin guy, do you really think he’d spill any information about Hister?”
“There’s no harm in trying, Kadun. The Twelve Riders will be curious about Veradin’s condition anyway, so they won’t avoid the meeting.”
As the conversation flowed, Hedo felt somewhat uneasy. Before attending this meeting, Sandra Ziphl had made a request.
“Aunt will definitely let Veradin meet Jin once he wakes up. Please tell them I want to go along.”
“That’s not possible, miss.”
“It is.”
“Every time you meet the Twelve Riders, you’re practically committing treason. The family head has turned a blind eye so far, but if it continues…”
“Ah! I have a plan. The record mage is with our own, right? Then Aunt won’t send Radin’s mind under manipulation, so she’ll be a little uneasy. We don’t know what Radin might say! I’ll take on the role of watching over him.”
“From my perspective, your mouth is more of a problem.”
“Anyway, make sure you pass that on. End of story.”
Sigh…
Hedo exhaled deeply, smoke curling from his cigarette. Reluctantly, he finally spoke up.
“Captain of the Phantoms, how about sending Miss Sandra along with Prince Veradin?”
If anyone else had said it, Octavia wouldn’t have even considered it worth listening to.
“Why do you think that, Sir Hedo?”
“I believe it’s necessary to monitor Prince Veradin. We don’t know what memories he’s regained or lost after his recent rampage. We can’t assess that quickly, and the survivor of Hister might check if Veradin’s mind has been manipulated.”
“That makes sense. But if that’s the role, shouldn’t we send someone more reliable than a ticking time bomb like Sandra…?”
“If we send someone competent, the Twelve Riders will become suspicious. Naturally, the scope of their conversation will narrow.”
Though Hedo felt his reasoning was somewhat weak, he thought it better than dealing with Sandra’s future outbursts.
Surprisingly, Octavia and Kadun readily accepted his suggestion.
“You’re right. There’s a strange vibe between the Twelve Riders and Sandra, isn’t there? That might actually help. And even if not the record mage, the Twelve Riders have a contractor of Az Mil. Detecting mind manipulation is a piece of cake for them.”
The “strange vibe” was just Sandra’s one-sided infatuation, and there was no way the Twelve Riders would lose their composure over it—but Hedo kept quiet.
“Understood, Sir Hedo. Please tell Sandra to prepare as soon as Veradin wakes.”
He would have felt better if they had refused.
Hedo just nodded with an awkward smile.
Of course, Thalaris never expected that his seventy-seventh lover from thirty years ago would still be living in a log cabin deep in the Palein Kingdom’s wilderness.
He had only lent the cabin hoping his daughter and son-in-law might actually go on a date.
Young man and woman, a remote foreign wilderness, and perhaps an old log cabin still standing—there were few better conditions for love to blossom.
Whoosh!
As the pure white dimensional gate opened, the scene before them was as romantic as Thalaris had hoped.
A dense forest, untouched by sunlight, formed a dome of broken trees, and in the center stood a beautifully weathered log cabin, like a picture.
“So this is the wilderness. I never thought the log cabin you mentioned, Thalaris, would really exist.”
“Ha, Mott. Your mother’s wandering ways are partly your fault. If you didn’t have dimensional travel abilities, she’d have half as many lovers.”
[Booh, booh-ong…]
“Anyway, there’s no sign of damage here, so we can quickly check and leave.”
“Yes, Sir Syris.”
But contrary to Thalaris’s hopes, the two seemed more like they were here on business, immediately focusing on their task.
‘If I’d known it would be this easy to find clues about Quawl Ganesto, I would have asked Valeria to come only this far.’
If they had record magic, they wouldn’t need to search every corner of this wilderness—they could simply review the records Quawl left behind.
If no other information surfaced, it might be best to return later with Valeria.
However, as soon as they entered the cabin, they found signs of recent habitation.
The faint smell of food lingered, along with a strong scent of tobacco.
The floor was littered with cigarette butts and empty bottles, so many that there was barely room to step.
“…Someone’s living here? Surely not that Quawl Ganesto.”
“I’d be glad if it were Quawl Ganesto, but things going too smoothly makes me uneasy.”
“Until recently—or maybe even now—he might be working as an engineer for Ziphl. There’s no way he’d be living in a place like this, unguarded.”
“Still, let’s wait and see who it is.”
“Motte, take a look around. Move carefully and stay hidden…”
Siris, who was speaking to Motte through the window, suddenly fell silent. Beyond Motte, a figure was approaching.
At first glance, the man looked like a typical bandit—scruffy beard, wild hair, the whole rugged appearance. Seeing him, Siris immediately gave up hope that he might be Kwaul. There wasn’t a single sign of his mother’s taste in that appearance.
But then, without warning, the man shouted at the two of them and pulled something from his coat.
‘…A compact magic cannon?’
Screech, click-click!
What had seemed like a small magic cannon suddenly shifted as its parts moved, quickly transforming into something larger than medium-sized.
“What are you guys?” he demanded.