Chapter 592
Episode 154: Siblings and Friends
“Long time no see, Jin!”
Veradin called out cheerfully.
“Hey, it’s our Jin!”
Beside her, Sandra waved her golden prosthetic hand—her right hand replaced by a gleaming mechanical limb—while her mouth was dusted with cookie crumbs. Jin flinched for a moment as he caught sight of his own face engraved on the golden hand.
“I got your reply to the letter I sent last time! Where on earth did you learn such romantic language?”
“…Reply? Romantic?”
Of course, Jin had no memory of sending any reply.
But Sandra was absolutely convinced that Jin had answered her through some kind of invisible signal.
“Next time, Radin said we should all go to the villa and hang out together.”
“No, I never said that.”
“Oh, Jin. Are you really dating Sandra? Then does that make you my… brother-in-law now!?”
“Radin, how many times do I have to tell you? You’re not my brother-in-law. You never were.”
“My friend is my brother-in-law? That feels… weird!”
“Isn’t it great?”
“Strange!”
“What kind of racket is this, invading someone else’s business on their day off?”
As soon as the siblings arrived in Tikan, they headed straight for the Litra Tea House. They barged in, ignoring Latri’s reminder that it was a holiday, shouting, “We’re Jiple!”
They did pay an enormous sum—more than the tea house could earn in a whole year without rest.
The problem was, the unwelcome guests forcing the Litra Tea House to open weren’t just those two.
In the far corner at the central table where Veradin and Sandra sat, a figure sat with their hood pulled low.
‘…Valeria!? Why is my mentor here?’
It was Valeria, whom Jin had met just a few days ago at the Second Castle of Hailan. Jin hadn’t heard from Kashimir that she was at the Litra Tea House.
Valeria had said she would stop by the territory near the Black Emperor’s Castle to thank Ron and then visit the heritage site, but she had come to the Litra Tea House for a brief rest, exhausted from dealing with the chaos near the Black Emperor’s domain.
Valeria was always a welcome presence to Jin. She had found Kwal much faster than expected and brought him into their fold, so Jin had been planning to reconnect with her.
But now, it was a bit awkward. He didn’t want to meet Valeria together with the two pureblood Jiple.
At least, Veradin and Sandra hadn’t shown any curiosity about Valeria sitting quietly in the corner.
“Let’s step outside and talk.”
“I like it here! I’ve always dreamed of having tea with Jin in such a lovely atmosphere.”
“There’s a better place…”
“Where?”
“The Tikan Kingdom’s conference room.”
A brief silence fell.
“Is it because of that person sitting over there, Hister?”
Jin was the only one startled by that.
“Come on, why would we worry about that? Even if he’s wearing a robe, with his red hair and silver pine staff—Radin and I are pureblood Jiple, of course we recognize him.”
Valeria knew they had recognized her. Her red hair and silver pine staff had been revealed long ago during the long pursuit.
She kept quiet because she knew she wouldn’t be caught by them. Jin’s worry wasn’t that Valeria would be captured, but the opposite.
He feared she might kill or capture them and use them.
To Valeria, the Jiple were mortal enemies who had destroyed her family and wiped out the Gray Owl Mercenary Corps.
‘She must have heard about us from my comrades and decided to watch us.’
Valeria was especially curious about Veradin. Could he really be the one to purify the Jiple, as the people of Tikan said?
Reluctantly, Jin took a seat at their table.
Jin and Veradin’s eyes met. Sandra, brimming with excitement, chattered nonstop, while the two men remained silent for a while.
The last time Jin had seen Veradin was during the Black Emperor’s Castle terror attack.
That day, Jin and Dante had asked Veradin for a favor.
They wanted him to create a scenario where the Jiple would begin to apply real pressure, so Hailan could clearly distinguish friend from foe.
A month ago, the results came in.
A bitter and tragic ending known to all. The royal family chose the Jiple and the White Stone over Hailan, awakening Gliek and corrupting the world.
Even if Veradin hadn’t accepted his friends’ request, the event was inevitable, but he carried a heavy burden of guilt as if it were a punishment.
“How have you been?”
“So-so.”
“No, you haven’t! Radin, tell us. If you hadn’t gone into a forced rampage, wouldn’t Kadun and Hedo have joined the Black Emperor’s Castle battle?”
It was expected from the battlefield that Veradin had done something for Dante.
“Rampage? Like during the Ventica mission?”
During the assassination of the Black Knight Barton Vicena, Veradin had attacked Jin in a frenzy.
“Something like that.”
“Your magic was incredible then, but it wasn’t so strong that Kadun and Hedo couldn’t handle you.”
“My magic was way stronger than during Ventica. This kind of thing doesn’t surprise me anymore. Until yesterday, I was stuck in a maintenance device, unable to move. Well, thanks to that, my family can’t manipulate my mind for a while.”
Until now, the Jiple had controlled Veradin’s mind through dark magic and special methods involving demon stones.
But now, with the demon stone shattered, Keliak trapped in the maintenance device, and Veradin’s body damaged from the rampage, they couldn’t.
When Veradin first confessed to the mind control, Jin thought it was just because the Jiple wanted to groom him as a suitable heir.
Now, he wasn’t so sure.
“So, you’ve lost all your magic now?”
Jin felt no magic from Veradin. He was no longer a mage in his current state.
“Not just magic, my memory’s messed up too. I barely remember my brothers’ names, and I’ve forgotten a lot of spells. It’s a side effect of the rampage. The magic will come back for sure, but I can’t be certain about the memories. As for the spells, I can just relearn them.”
Veradin had lost far more memories than Jin realized.
Still, the memories of the two people he cherished most—Jin and Dante—remained clear.
“What exactly are the Jiple trying to do by controlling your mind and boosting your magic?”
“Who knows? The only thing I’m sure of is that Sandra and I are some kind of test subjects. You know, she’s a bio-golem, and I… I’m not sure yet. Like you said before, it’s probably not to groom me as an heir. My father is getting closer to immortality.”
Everyone who fought in the Black Emperor’s Castle battle had seen Keliak growing younger through the demon stone’s power. It seemed unlikely he would hand over the family headship to Veradin.
Suddenly, a thought struck Jin.
‘Sandra’s physical abilities on the Gaipa Archipelago far exceeded those of an ordinary mage. And Veradin’s mind control and magic enhancement are happening simultaneously…’
A powerful body with rapid regeneration combined with artificial magic enhancement.
What if the Jiple’s goal was to combine these two to create a living weapon? Like the ultimate magic swordsmen of old Runkandel…
Moreover, Veradin had contracts with more than one god at the same time. That was probably not just because he was a blessed mage, but the result of an experiment.
Jin didn’t voice the thought. The disgust made him feel like vomiting.
“Anyway, I’m sorry. My family has caused you and Dante so much pain.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“I’m Jiple. Judging by how the world is now, my origin is a sin in itself.”
“Cut the gloomy talk. It doesn’t suit you. Dante still doesn’t want to fight you and believes it’s not your fault.”
“Are you going to abandon our Radin?”
“That’s something I need to think about.”
“Fine. Radin can be abandoned, as long as you and I live happily.”
Jin chuckled at that.
“Veradin, do you remember what we said during the Black Emperor’s Castle terror?”
He remembered it clearly.
While unconscious in the maintenance device, Jin’s words at the Black Emperor’s Castle had been the only guiding light in Veradin’s subconscious. Like how Ron, Dante, and Jin reflected each other amidst the chaos and never lost their way.
“Of course. Without those words, I wouldn’t have come here.”
“That’s all that matters.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but let me in too.”
“You’re saying to betray the Jiple.”
“If you officially swear to marry me, then sure.”
Sandra had never truly harmed Jin. She had already decided to join Veradin in purifying the Jiple.
Simply because she thought Jin would like that better. Naturally, Jin didn’t fully trust Sandra yet, but she would never intentionally harm him going forward.
“I’ll call Dante over. Have a drink and then head back. When you get back, just tell them there was a survivor from Hister here. That alone should be enough to convince the Ziphl leadership that their efforts yielded nothing. It turns suspicion into confirmation.”
“No, no. Jin and I have a date to go on. We made a promise, remember?”
“Think of it as the four of us going on a date together, Sandra Ziphl. Though, I don’t recall making any promises.”
About an hour later, Dante arrived at the Litra Tea House. The moment he saw Veradin, he wordlessly embraced him for a long time.
After the drinking ended and the tea house grew quiet again, Jin and Valeria stayed behind, reviewing the record window together.
“We can’t verify through record magic whether Veradin Ziphl’s claim of an unaltered mind was true or false,” Valeria said.
But the record window clearly revealed one thing left behind at the Litra Tea House today:
<Veradin Ziphl’s resolve not to betray Jin Runcandel and Dante Hailan has only grown stronger here.>