Chapter 802
Episode 198: A Losing Deal (Part 2)
Tikan.
Jin had received a message while in the Garden of Swords and came here immediately. It was barely a day after the meeting about the Red-Eyed Tribe incident had ended.
“Long time no see, Lord Vishkel.”
As Jin stepped down from the Red Owl and extended his hand, Vishkel grasped it with a blank expression. But Jin didn’t miss the tension lurking beneath that stoic facade.
“By the way, what brings you here all of a sudden? It’s been about a month since last time… back then, our alliance reached out wanting to meet Orgal. Surely you’re not here now just to deliver a reply?”
—We must meet Orgal, Your Majesty. He surely knows Sanna. If we go to him directly like last time, it’ll cause chaos. Please send a letter immediately.
Right after meeting Sanna at the Tower of Stories, the Balmur Alliance had requested a meeting with Kinzelro to gather information about her.
But Kinzelro never responded. Meanwhile, Ameris had awakened, Orgal and Zephyrin fell unconscious, and the Red-Eyed Tribe launched an attack.
From the start, Jin had pointed this out, putting Vishkel and Kinzelro’s officials in an awkward position.
“Lord Jin, the commander was busy and couldn’t respond immediately. As vice-commander, I offer my apologies on his behalf.”
“Ah, so Lord Vishkel, you’re not here to answer my letter, but to discuss something else, right?”
“…Yes.”
“To clarify again: you ignored the meeting request from the ruler of the Balmur Alliance and the sub-governor of Runkandel, using busyness as an excuse. Now, whatever the matter is, you’re in a position where you have to come begging me, shamelessly showing up unannounced like this. Is that it?”
Vishkel clenched his teeth inwardly but kept his expression steady. Jin’s sarcastic tone was spot on.
“…I have nothing to say against that. I will take responsibility for the disrespect in whatever way necessary.”
Jin studied Vishkel for a moment, organizing his thoughts.
“Kinzelro’s situation must be worse than I thought. There’s definitely trouble with Orgal and Zephyrin, and it’s not just because of the Red-Eyed Tribe.”
Kinzelro was coming at him with far more humility than Jin had expected.
“You say you’ll take responsibility… What if I demand Bubar’s head?”
“That pig—no, I cannot give you his head, but I would offer my own arms.”
“Don’t do that, brother!”
Margiela called out dramatically, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe her dry eyes. Jin stifled a chuckle at the sight.
“Don’t be so serious. I’m not the Red-Eyed Tribe; what would I do with a person’s head or arms?”
At the mention of the Red-Eyed Tribe, Vishkel’s brow furrowed.
“Compensation for the disrespect is unnecessary. I, too, nearly came to blows with Orgal when I rashly visited Kinzelro’s headquarters. Let’s just forget it.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Instead, I hope today’s conversation will be honest and open. Just as you offered your arms so readily, if you show a sincere willingness to lay everything on the table, I will listen with a positive and generous attitude. But if you try to scheme or calculate to take more, Kinzelro will leave today having lost everything and gained nothing.”
Vishkel nodded gravely.
Looking back, Kinzelro had always made losing deals with Jin, but today’s would be especially unfair.
“I will be careful.”
“Good. I’ve kept you standing long enough. There’s a nice spot in the garden—let’s have some tea and talk.”
As they sat at the garden table, cookies and refreshments were brought out. Ainas immediately began stuffing cookies into her cloak to give to Bubar. Seeing this, Vishkel had to calm the storm brewing inside him. At least Bubar hadn’t come with a whole bundle.
“First, I’m curious why you came instead of Orgal or Zephyrin.”
“They are currently unconscious.”
As Jin had warned, Vishkel admitted the truth without resistance.
“…Unconscious?”
“For about ten days now. It happened suddenly, without any warning.”
Hearing this, Jin immediately thought it coincided with the time Ameris had awakened. When he asked for the exact date, it matched perfectly.
‘This must be connected to Ameris somehow… but why? Ameris said she didn’t know them. I’ll have to ask when Kinzelro returns if they have any guesses.’
Since Orgal and Zephyrin were unconscious, Jin couldn’t confirm whether they knew Ameris. He shook his head with a look of regret.
“I thought Orgal had toughened up since meeting Veil last time, but it seems he’s still unwell. Is there any sign of them waking?”
“The demons examined them and said there’s some improvement. They believe it’s not a physical issue but mental trauma.”
“I see. That explains why Orgal and Zephyrin couldn’t intervene even after the beastmen’s branch was destroyed. Oh, you’re probably wondering how we know all this. We sent Sister Yona to watch over them. And we met those creatures before Kinzelro did.”
“…What exactly are these creatures? Honestly, I thought they were connected to you. But their methods seem far removed from yours.”
“That’s right. The Red-Eyed Tribe is neither Balmur Alliance, nor Runkandel, nor my brothers. They’re an ancient warrior race that awakened by chance.”
“An ancient warrior race that awakened by chance?”
“Kinzelro seems to have no information about the Red-Eyed Tribe. Even though they dwell in a realm similar to the demons’.”
“What do you mean…?”
Jin pointed to the ground.
“Underground. The Red-Eyed Tribe lives underground. You don’t mean to say you didn’t know demons lived underground?”
Vishkel hid his surprise.
He had no idea how Jin knew the gate to the demon realm was underground. Kinzelro was completely unaware of Jin’s meeting with Shinu or the events at the Tower of Stories.
“I’ll leave it to your imagination how I first encountered the Red-Eyed Tribe and why I ended up killing their leaders. But don’t think the Red-Eyed Tribe started moving because of me, or that Kinzelro suffered because of it. You’ve been meddling underground for a long time.”
Vishkel had no reply and waited for Jin to continue.
“I’ve heard that within Kinzelro, you, Vishkel, are suspected to be the one who opens the gate to the demon realm.”
Hearing that, Vishkel recalled what Octavia said in the Sota Desert.
—Demons… Could it be that you opened the gate? So this is your power, Vishkel Ibriano!
‘Back then, the tower keeper Hedo was a key member of Ziphl… So after defecting to the Balmur Alliance, Octavia must have passed that information to Lord Jin.’
Both then and now, the idea that Vishkel was some kind of gatekeeper to the demon realm was a complete misunderstanding. Now, he finally had a chance to clear that up.
“I have no abilities related to the demon gate. What you heard was probably Octavia Ziphl’s mistake. The commander handles all matters concerning the demon realm.”
“Then what about Miss Margiela?”
“My sister is the same.”
“Yuria.”
As Yuria immediately confirmed with her power, a blue thread appeared.
“Then how does Orgal bring demons from the demon realm?”
The unspoken part of that question was how he bypassed the entrance to the underground world guarded by Ameris.
Vishkel didn’t grasp that part—he had no information about Ameris.
“I haven’t yet said what I want to ask of you. If you want information about the demon realm, you should first hear my request.”
“Go ahead.”
“Share with us all the information you have about the Red-Eyed Tribe.”
“All information is impossible. But I can share everything revealed by the record magic we’ve been permitted to use within Kinzelro’s territory.”
“And until the commander awakens, deal with the Red-Eyed Tribe on our behalf.”
“What you’re saying could be interpreted as Kinzelro having no power at all, and that if the Balmur Alliance attacks with full force, Kinzelro is doomed. That’s a dangerous statement. Was Kinzelro unable to handle even part of the Red-Eyed Tribe?”
“We’re only trying to stop the slaughter of the beastmen. The demons are present, so it’s not that we can’t stop them, but without the commander, our mobility is limited. Our investigations show they use spatial teleportation. As you know, the beastmen can’t fight them.”
“True, even Berakt and Badreizo were terrified. For the beastmen, the Red-Eyed Tribe is basically a natural predator.”
“Will you accept our proposal?”
“Since we’ll be helping Kinzelro and learning about the Red-Eyed Tribe, it doesn’t seem like a bad deal. If I agree, I might also learn how Orgal is using the demon realm.”
Jin pretended to hesitate for a moment, then nodded.
In truth, Jin had nothing to lose. The Red-Eyed Tribe would focus on hunting beastmen for the time being, and to use record magic in that area, Kinzelro’s permission was required.
Even if he chose not to help, Jin never truly believed Kinzello would fail to stop the Jeokmyeong tribe and meet his end. As Vishkel had said, the only serious losses would be among the beastmen forces.
More than anything, Jin was wary of the possibility that the Jeokmyeong tribe might side with Kinzello. Though their doctrines differed like the various sects of the Sun God’s faith, they all shared the same desire for the Sun God’s resurrection.
“Very well. But I have one last condition to add,” Jin said.
“Go ahead,” came the reply.
Jin grinned and nodded toward Aynas.
“I want you to settle the cookie debt Aynas Kaligo owes me.”
“Wait, this was a paid service!?” Aynas blinked in surprise, staring at Jin.
“…How do you want me to calculate it?”
“Last time, Kinzello refused my steel trade. Even when I offered a hefty premium above market price. In the end, he sold that steel not to us, but to Ziphl.”
Jin was basically demanding that the steel deal that fell through be counted as part of the cookie debt.
Vishkel clenched his teeth but had no choice but to nod in agreement.