Chapter 764
Episode 187: The People We Must Find, An Unexpected Clue (5)
The reason Jin had told Orgal about Lokia’s true objective was to gauge whether Orgal and Lokia were working together.
He looks genuinely surprised… Could it be that he had no idea about Lokia’s goal? He doesn’t seem to be pretending.
Though it felt like Jin had given away information too easily, it wasn’t necessarily a loss.
If the two weren’t allied, then without relying on the Balmel Union’s power, Jin had effectively assigned another tracker to Lokia.
A heavy silence hung in the air.
Jin watched Orgal, who was deep in thought, weighing his response. He was certain now—Orgal was truly caught off guard by this revelation.
“Hey, Orgal. Let’s drop the formalities and be honest with each other. Judging by your reaction, this must be quite a shock. I heard all this from Sir Fadler.”
[…From the Azure Thunder King?]
“Yeah. Sir Fadler said that Lokia Ganesto betrayed her family a thousand years ago, colluding with witches to corrupt Temar. He himself was deceived by her, and before he died, he revealed that his true goal was the resurrection of the Sun God.”
The golden aura of the pocket dimension faded, revealing the conference room once more.
“Lokia was also the one who drove all ten of the knights to their deaths back then. Only Veil was spared because she was necessary for Lokia’s plans.”
[That’s strange… Now that you mention it, I’m starting to remember.]
The historical tampering applied to Lokia hadn’t completely vanished. Orgal was only now recalling fragments of memory after hearing Jin’s account.
“What memories?”
[Just once, a thousand years ago, there was a chance for the Sun God to be reborn. Right before that moment—the moment when the deity could have returned to this world—I erased someone from history…]
Suddenly, a fierce murderous intent flashed in Orgal’s eyes, so intense that even Jin flinched.
[Lokia Ganesto. That treacherous worm…! To only remember this now!]
Whoosh!
Like a dragon enraged, gray wings unfurled from Orgal’s back. The immense energy radiating from him shook the entire building.
No way this is an act. Just as Sir Fadler said, Orgal was also betrayed by Lokia a thousand years ago.
A strong intuition told Jin that he might be able to solve this without lifting a finger.
“Ah, damn it. Why are you suddenly so angry—wait, uh.”
Jin quickly covered Veil’s mouth as she was about to curse. There was no need to use harsh words with Orgal, who could find Lokia on his own and deal with her.
When it comes to digging up information on Lokia, Orgal’s side is better than ours.
Right now, even Valeria’s record magic has its limits in tracking Lokia.
Once they start gathering intel, we can share it bit by bit.
Alternatively, keeping a close eye on Kinzello, who was tracking Lokia, would be a smart move. It would be much easier than chasing Lokia directly.
“Calm down, Orgal. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this emotional before. Anyway, to sum up: you missed the crucial chance to resurrect the Sun God a thousand years ago because of Lokia, right?”
Orgal’s sensitivity today was understandable.
He had just been recalling the “once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity to revive the Sun God” during the meeting.
He couldn’t remember exactly how he lost that chance—until now, thanks to Jin.
It was all because of Lokia.
[If it weren’t for that disgusting worm, the world could have been whole again a thousand years ago.]
“I can’t agree with that, but Runkandel also has a debt to pay to Lokia Ganesto.”
[A debt? You speak as if Lokia is still alive.]
“She is. My sister met her recently. Valeria, can you show Orgal the record?”
The records about Lokia Ganesto had already faded within Runtia’s pocket dimension.
Instead, Valeria opened the record window and showed Orgal that she had examined the records herself.
“The blurred sentence here says that when Father returns from the Black Sea, something I can’t handle will happen. It was something Lokia said when she proposed a contract to my sister. She said Lokia is still alive because the witch granted her immortality.”
Orgal gradually calmed down, regaining his composure. As his anger subsided, Jin’s behavior struck him as odd.
Why is Jin giving away such high-level information so easily?
Jin seemed to see right through him.
“You look surprised that I’m sharing this info so freely, but I’m not doing it for nothing. I get something out of it too.”
[The fact that the records about Lokia are blurred bothers me. I can’t help but think the missing parts might say you’re colluding with Lokia to deceive me.]
“Oh? You think I’d team up with some shadowy figure like Lokia… Even though our temporary alliance ended, that’s a disappointing accusation. Orgal, who was it that cut down the Evil God?”
[People can change at any time.]
“Even if I were colluding with Lokia, what’s the problem? Find out for yourself, and if your paranoia turns out to be true, then you can take me down. You seemed ready to fight me just a moment ago.”
[Fine… I understand what you want. You want to use me to track Lokia.]
“Now we’re getting somewhere, Orgal. Even if it’s not a full alliance like before, how about a temporary cooperation?”
[Not cooperation, but exploitation. Still, I’ll play along.]
Orgal really had no choice.
Even if he refused, Jin would likely use Valeria and Mumei to track Kinzello’s movements.
Besides, if Lokia came looking for Runtia again, Kinzello wouldn’t be able to confirm it.
If Jin wasn’t working with Lokia, there was no reason to refuse. Orgal could always rely on Valeria’s help whenever he found a clue about Lokia.
“Alright, that’s settled. Now, shall we move on to the steel trade?”
[Last time, the King of Tikan just spouted nonsense and left. He wanted to buy steel at a higher price during these times.]
“I added information about Lokia to the deal.”
Jin’s shameless remark made Orgal smirk.
[That’s not something we can pay for. We’re not losing anything here.]
“I doubled the money from last time.”
[Are you serious about buying steel?]
“I am. Honestly, you’re making a profit just by taking the money, right? I hear you have more than enough.”
[Can you handle that money? I heard you’re busy rebuilding Hupester.]
“As long as it’s not all at once, I can manage.”
[Sorry, but no. Honestly, I thought you’d have some amazing offer if you came in person, but I’m disappointed. Unless you’re sharing your technology, forget about the steel deal.]
From that moment, Jin put on his best acting, wearing a face that said, I’m frustrated and angry, but I won’t show it.
“That’s going too far. I think it’s more of a loss if your technology improves than if we just build more ships and strengthen our forces.”
Fortunately, it seemed to work—Orgal smiled gently.
[You’re confident in your forces. Trusting the God of War and Murakan, huh? Anyway, the negotiation is over.]
“I’ll be going. If you change your mind, contact Tikan anytime. But then, you’ll have to deal on worse terms than this.”
[That won’t happen. So don’t bother me about steel anymore. Contact me if there’s anything unusual about Lokia.]
After Jin and his group left the headquarters, Shagal came to find Orgal.
“Commander.”
[Shagal.]
“Jin Runkandel knew Zito’s name.”
[You must have been surprised when he suddenly mentioned Zito. He didn’t tell you because he didn’t want you to get curious.]
“That makes sense. But Jin also asked me about the Demon Realm.”
[Did you answer?]
“Yes. He asked for payment for agreeing to the duel.”
[I sensed there was some trouble. He took you down in one shot.]
“It was embarrassing, but I learned a lot. I only told him that the Demon Realm isn’t just one. Then he asked if your and Demon King Zito’s territories were different, and left.”
“I see.”
“Did I make a mistake?”
“No, Jin Runkandel will find out soon enough. Since there’s nothing we can do even if he knows, don’t worry about it.”
“Understood.”
[I’m going to write a letter now. Go to the Third Demon Realm and deliver it to your father. We’ll need the help of the Phantom Horses.]
The Red Owl’s next destination was the Wantaramo Forest.
When Jin’s group arrived at the forest’s edge, Neru, Lulu, and Miru of the Myoin tribe greeted them. Valeria had sent them a letter in advance.
They needed to find their old friend, Ruet Damiro Yul, the former butler of the old Runkandel family.
“Have you been waiting long?”
[No, only about a week.]
“You seem to have waited quite a bit… I’m sorry.”
[Don’t worry about it! I had a great time talking with Lady Sheila.]
The third tomb of Temar, where Ruet was, had originally been a Myoin tribe hideout but was destroyed by the Wraiths shortly after Jin’s visit.
Therefore, Valeria concluded that to enter Ruet’s tomb again, they would need something related to Ruet, much like Runtia’s pocket dimension.
Veil, Padler’s sword Silus, and Leet’s younger sister Sheila.
Even with all those elements combined, if they couldn’t reopen the door to the destroyed Myoin tribe’s hideout, finding Leet would be nearly impossible.
“Let’s hurry and check it out. I have a feeling it’ll work. When I took a bit of Sheila’s energy and went near the ruined hideout, there was a strange reaction.”
Thinking of the terrible loneliness Leet must be enduring, Jin stepped deeper into the forest.