Chapter 847
Episode 211: Orgal’s Negotiation (Part 1)
The masterpiece by K-Tam, once corrupted, had been restored to its original glory. And as promised, K-Tam created a collection of erotic paintings for Murakan and sent it to the Garden of Swords.
“Ah, this is… hmm. The fact that these are divine paintings makes them incredibly rare, but somehow, none of them feel erotic at all. Damn it, even though everyone’s completely naked, looking at them fills me with a sense of reverence.”
“Is that so?”
“Well, at least the portraits of those guys you asked for as compensation—I like those. They’re well done.”
Dranax, Biolo, Frey, Sildray, Diana, Sarah, Padler, and Veil.
Jin had requested portraits of the teenage knights as a reward for restoring the paintings. As soon as Jin and Murakan stepped out of the artwork, K-Tam could vividly recall their faces. This was yet another blow to Ziphl’s historical fabrications.
Jin hung all the portraits—except Padler’s—in the main residence of the Garden of Swords. Not in the corridors used for the knighthood ceremonies or the ancestral tombs, which were rarely visited, but in a place where everyone could see them clearly.
Because now, every member of the family needed to remember their history.
Unlike before, when as a prospective knight or even during knighthood, such knowledge was kept secret, there was no reason to hide it anymore. The oath had been broken, and there was no need to fear Ziphl’s watchful eyes. As soon as he returned, Jin shared everything that had happened inside K-Tam’s paintings with the family.
“Temar, I deliberately didn’t entrust you with the portrait of the first head of the family. When we end this war and reclaim all the lost history of our clan, that portrait will be hung in the Garden of Swords.”
So far, Jin had located seven of Temar’s tombs.
The history from a thousand years ago, once hazy and distant, had now been traced back to its main thread, and only a few tombs likely remained.
“The next tomb is probably connected to the last teenage knight who hasn’t appeared in any of the previous tombs—someone named Lucy.”
“The survivors… are you and… who else?”
“It’s hard to confirm if they’re alive or dead. The most likely candidate is Lucy.”
A conversation between Murakan and Lokia inside the painting.
By all accounts, Lucy was one of the last surviving teenage knights alongside Lokia after the war a thousand years ago.
[That’s my thought as well, Lord Soga. Lucy… Lucy. Aside from the fact that she was a woman, I can’t recall anything else. When I forgot other comrades before, even if I couldn’t remember them, I felt a pang of longing and pain. But with her, nothing comes to mind.]
“I feel the same, Luet. Since Lucy survived until the end, she must have been the greatest threat to Ziphl. That’s probably why her history was especially tampered with.”
[At that time, Ziphl lost Elona in the final battle with Temar. If Lucy was as strong as Sarah or possessed special abilities, that would make sense.]
There were no clues about the eighth tomb or Lucy.
“To find the next tomb or any trace of Lucy, the steward must fully recover his memories through Valeria. According to the history in the painting, the steward and Solderet created Temar’s tomb together back then.”
Confirming that Barisada was the key to somewhere also depended on Luet’s memory. It felt unsettling to dismiss it as mere false information caused by corruption.
[Yes. Or perhaps searching for Lokia’s whereabouts might be another approach.]
Lokia’s behavior in the seventh tomb was ambiguous enough that calling her a traitor, as Padler did, seemed off. Yet, it did align with her current actions.
—Diana, do you think this world is just?
—What?
—You know, if we’re honest, we’re the ones pursuing justice and liberation, but Ziphl, who manipulates history and commits atrocities to become the ruler of this world, causes more suffering than us. Is that really fair?
—What are you saying? Are you abandoning the family…?
—My ideal world no longer exists in this family. Hey, Kin, we lost so much fighting for Runkandel. And yet you want me to keep fighting? What right do you have?
Conversations between Lokia, Diana, and Kin inside the painting.
To Jin, Lokia seemed to be seeking a ‘just’ world. And that aligned with what those who called for the Sun God’s resurrection wanted. The Sun God’s followers believed the world would be perfected once the Sun God returned.
[By the way, it’s suspected that the corruption of the painting was the work of either Lokia or the witch… but I don’t understand why. Whatever the reason, since Lord Soga erased the false history caused by the corruption and faced the truth, their plan ultimately failed.]
“Well, the reason’s obvious, isn’t it, Luet? Whoever corrupted the painting was targeting me. Their goal was to break my mind with false history and make me go berserk. They’re probably uncomfortable with me regaining my strength and returning.”
[Oh, you can come up with plausible explanations, Murakan.]
“And if I’m the problem, it’s more likely Lokia than the witch. I’m impressive, sure, but the witch fears nothing.”
After that, Murakan and Luet spent some time reminiscing about old comrades.
Murakan had shed enough tears inside the painting to never need to cry again, and though that sorrow still lingered in his heart, he knew well that for their sake, he had to stand up and move forward. Jin and the new comrades had no intention of letting things end like that.
Jin stepped back and reviewed the reports.
The war between Ziphl and the Red-Eyed Tribe hadn’t changed much. After all, he had only spent about three days inside the painting.
‘Even with Elona added, the overall situation is still neck and neck. If Elona hadn’t been there, the Red-Eyed Tribe might have gained the upper hand early on.’
There were no reports yet that Ziphl had found the Red-Eyed Tribe’s stronghold.
‘Ziphl must know their base is somewhere underground. It’s a relief they’re not recklessly destroying the world with Elona leading the charge. Our alliance would have a hard time dealing with that.’
Similarly, the Red-Eyed Tribe was sticking to their declaration of war, avoiding civilian casualties and continuing the conflict accordingly.
Jin felt a bit proud of that.
If he and the Balmur Alliance weren’t here now, the world would have turned into hell because of their war.
Suddenly, the communication device in the office emitted a heavy resonance. It was a call from Tikan.
{Lord Jin.}
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
{Ameris just informed me that it seems Zephyrin has awakened from a coma.}
Ameris had considered Zephyrin one of her own heads. That was why, the moment Ameris woke up, Zephyrin and Orgal lost consciousness simultaneously. The timing of their unconsciousness and Ameris’s awakening matched perfectly.
“In that case, we should go immediately to collect the rightful payment from them for our last deal.”
Not long ago, Kinzel had asked Jin to protect them from the Red-Eyed Tribe for a while. Jin had agreed, on the condition of receiving a large amount of steel and a method from Kinzel to bypass the Demon-Sealing Wall and bring demons in.
They were still receiving the steel, but there had been no word about the demons yet. Orgal and Zephyrin, who were responsible for bringing the demons through Kinzel, had been unconscious.
{Will you be leaving now?}
“Yes. I’ll return to Tikan, not the Garden of Swords.”
{Understood, Lord Jin. Please be careful.}
Kinzel’s Divine Headquarters.
Once again, Bubar and Ainas were sitting in front of the main gate, watching ants and playing around. When they saw the Red Owl appear, they jumped up.
“Th-they’re trespassing in someone else’s yard again!”
“Jin Runkandel has come charging in again!”
Jin ignored them and passed by, but Murakan did not.
[Wah!]
He deliberately shifted from his human form to his true face to scare them.
“Ugh!”
“If you hit me, I’ll tell on you to my sister!”
[Heh heh, scram.]
Bubar and Ainas fled in a panic toward the gate. Jin and Murakan followed slowly behind.
“We’re here to collect what your leader owes us. Step aside.”
“…Wait, I need to report this to the higher-ups.”
Jin waited patiently for the gatekeepers. If he had barged in ignoring them, Orgal might have reacted as extremely as last time.
Of course, with Murakan here, no matter how bad Orgal’s mood was, he wouldn’t act out.
“…You may enter.”
“Wow, you’ve got guts, huh? Talking back to Lord Murakan like that.”
The gatekeeper trembled so much he couldn’t even look at Murakan.
Inside, the hostile gazes of the demons were just as palpable as before. But unlike last time, none of them tried to make a clumsy attack. They just bared their teeth like frightened beasts.
‘How exactly do they bring those demons here? Maybe today I’ll get an answer.’
Of course, the feeling upon entering and leaving the bathroom is always different.
Kinzel might deny having paid enough for the last deal.
‘But if Orgal and Zephyrin have any sense, they know now is the time to cooperate with me. There’s no rule that the Red-Eyed Tribe must keep fighting only Ziphl.’
Kinzello and the Jeokmyeong tribe were fundamentally at odds. The beastmen couldn’t even mount any resistance, and so far, Jin had confirmed that the demons’ combat abilities were no match for the core figures and advanced technology of the Jeokmyeong.
“Jin Runkandel… We never said we were ready to pay the price for our last deal. How did you know, like some kind of ghost, that my master and I had awakened and come looking for you?”
“Zephyrin, it’s been a while.”
“Let me take a guess. That big serpent, Ameris, must be with you.”
Jin smiled knowingly at Zephyrin, who had mentioned Ameris’s name so casually.
“So, you were one of Ameris’s heads after all?”