C301 - Vacation (2)
"Really? That's a great idea. I also got ten days off from my mom."
"Wow. Seriously?"
Unlike Murakan, whose face was distorted with disappointment, Gilly smiled, her eyes sparkling. She was genuinely happy that everyone was going on vacation together.
"That sounds exciting. I should get some new clothes and a makeover too."
"You sound happy, Gilly."
"The idea of all of us being together again is really exciting. It's been a long time since we last saw each other. Haha. When are we leaving?"
"We can't waste a minute if you're that happy, Gilly. Let's leave tomorrow," Jin said.
"What? Tomorrow? Then I must get to the city right away before the stores close."
"Go ahead, Gilly. Have fun."
Gilly grabbed her purse and rushed out of the room.
Jin smiled after her. Murakan just sighed.
"Let me say this in advance. I only told Gilly to take a vacation, and I never suggested that we all spend it together."
"Hmph, did I ever ask?" Murakan said petulantly.
"No, it feels like you're blaming me for getting permission."
"Who says I got permission?"
"Well, never mind." For some reason, Jin felt satisfied.
"Well, still, I don't feel bad seeing her so happy. If Strawberry Pie is happy, that's more than I can ask for."
"That makes me feel bad for gloating, you know?"
"What? Were you gloating? You brat."
Murakan glared at him, so Jin quickly pointed outside.
"If you're so eager for a date, hurry up and follow Gilly right now. You could help her pick out clothes and watch them do her hair. That's a kind of date, isn't it? You could bring her a fruit juice while she's shopping."
"Oh, that's an idea! I take back what I said about you."
Jin and Murakan high-fived.
"I'll be back late!" Murakan ran out.
Jin smiled as he looked out the closed window and watched Murakan catch up to Gilly. They left the Garden of Swords together. Gilly looked very happy as she turned and smiled at Murakan.
"They're so cute. As for me, I should take a well-deserved nap."
Jin had been exhausted ever since his return to the Garden of Swords.
He had to fend off Cyron's attack as soon as he arrived, battle Mary and Silderay, and carry out the assassination task of the black knight. He was overloaded with work without any time for rest.
Jin fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.
-----------------
It was nighttime when he woke up. A cool breeze was blowing, and the moon cast a beautiful light through the open window.
Gilly and Murakan hadn't returned yet. They were atop a hill, enjoying the nighttime view of Kalon with some fruits and beer.
Jin thought of savoring the quiet nighttime breeze from his bed for a while longer, only to abruptly get out of it.
I never opened the window, and neither would Petrow.
The window couldn't have opened on its own due to the breeze. He knew he had closed it before going to sleep.
Only one kind of being would sneak in through windows like thieves.
Assassins.
He knew he had a pretty deep sleep, but he should have been alert enough to notice if there were any assassins.
He didn't believe his brothers were foolish enough to let assassins into the very Garden of Swords, but in any case, he always maintained a certain level of alertness.
He hadn't noticed the window opening. How skilled could the culprit be?
Jin looked around in alarm. Then he chuckled when he saw a green rose tied to the nightstand.
It was a green rose.
Looks like Yona came. That explains everything. He would never have felt her approaching with the level of alertness he maintained.
There was a letter next to the flower.
[Dear little brother! Congratulations on becoming a flagbearer.
I was right by your side, but you were sleeping as if you didn't care about anything.
I considered killing you, especially because you disappeared after last year's incident and didn't bother to tell me anything.
But if I pulled out a dagger, maybe you would wake up.
I came by because I missed you. What did you say? You missed me too? Of course, I know. You don't have to tell me.
It seems you've grown much stronger, and I'm proud of you. I didn't wake you up because you looked tired.
Lately, I've had a lot of orders, and I've been very busy. All I can hope for is that some of my targets are people you need to get rid of or who have harmed you.
Anyway, let's meet again when things are a bit less hectic. Goodbye for now.]
Surprisingly, the letter turned into dust and dispersed once he finished reading it. It wasn't magic. The letter was written on specially treated paper by Sameel.
"Wow, Yona. I'm not sure if I should say she's being nice or just plain deadly."
Jin thought about how Yona must have secretly snuck in just to leave a green rose and a letter.
He felt grateful. The rest of his brothers wanted him dead, but Luna and Yona constantly reminded him of what having a family meant.
He held the green rose up to the moonlight. It reminded him of the patch of green roses he saw in Sameel with Yonah. He couldn't take his eyes off it for a while.
Almost forgot.
He remembered he had agreed to have a drink with the Tona twins, and they had also promised him some good liquor.
The Tona twins and Emma must have been waiting for quite some time. Emma would be eager, especially.
He headed to the Tona's room.
He opened their door and burst into laughter once again.
Seems like many things are making me laugh today.
A party to commemorate the friendship of flagbearers 12, 10, and 11 from Runcandel and the successful first mission of flagbearer 12. Quite an honor.
Jin spotted a large banner with those words as soon as he entered the room. His praise was extremely evident in the way the twelfth was mentioned before the others.
Upon inspecting the banner, Jin saw the Tona twins, both wearing luxurious, questionably sourced cone hats, and there were lit candles on a table filled with fruits and snacks.
"Hello, Jin."
"Sit wherever you like. Haha."
"Brothers, what's all this?"
"Oh, about that. When Emma heard you were coming..."
He could hear the sound of meat sizzling from the inner chambers. Emma had been waiting all night to impress Jin by cooking the meat just as he arrived.
She then poked her head out from the kitchen to find Jin and hurriedly removed her aprons to greet him politely.
"You've come, young Master Jin. I've made many mistakes in front of you all this time. So, as an apology, I've prepared some simple dishes and drinks for you."
It was more than awkward. It was outrageously ridiculous, causing Jin to burst into laughter at the preparations.
"However, it doesn't look simple at all. This seems quite serious. Did you make all this food by yourself?"
"This is nothing compared to what you did for me and the young Tona masters on the day you returned, sir."
"Are you sure it's not poisoned?"
"Haha, of course not. Why don't you start with the appetizers? I'll be right back with the main course."
Jin took his seat. This brought a smile to Emma's face.
It also relieved the Tona twins, who had been worried that Emma's overly prepared welcome might leave him with a bad impression.
This is quite commendable.
That's what Jin thought. He was quite pleased that they had gone to such lengths to show their desire to be on his side. Yonah's gift had contributed to his good mood as well.
They are trying so hard to win me over; maybe I should play along.
Heitona opened a bottle. The fragrance of its contents filled the room.
"Congratulations, Jin!"
"Congratulations!"
It was the first time Jin had engaged in casual conversation with the Tona twins. They talked about things most close friends did. Frivolous and mostly insignificant things.
The twins did most of the talking while Jin listened.
Part of it was because Emma had advised them to get closer to Jin, but it was also because the twins genuinely wished to befriend him.
Initially, it was because of Jin's strength and quirkiness, but now, it was purely out of brotherly affection, one that had grown from all the days they spent together at Stormcastle and as cadets.
Of course, the Tona twins had offended Jin countless times in the past, but they had also looked out for him on several occasions.
The number of empty bottles grew.
Emma didn't join their conversation until past midnight and filled Jin in on clan and Hufester affairs.
Of everything that was discussed, here's what Jin observed...
"Young Master Jin. My clan, the Neiltrows, is a martial arts clan, but we also produce many judges every year. There are also quite a few active judges in my immediate family. So, I've heard something strange from my older brother, who serves as the chief judge of the Ponta region."
"What is it?"
"Apparently, Young Master Joshua issued a particular order to all the judges in Hufester to lower the threshold for the death penalty."
"Is it to reduce crime rates? Well, executing criminals is certainly one way to do it."
Emma nodded at Deitona's comment.
"That's probably the reason. But the interesting thing is the fact that convicted criminals have been transported to Ricarlton for execution instead of their own regions since the threshold was lowered."
"Ricarlton? Isn't that a city in the southern region?" Jin asked.
"Yes, it is, Young Master Jin. And there's another peculiar thing about it."
"Go on."
"I've heard that the convicted criminals transported to Ricarlton are only executed in mass. Executions are carried out in batches of several hundred at a time, but no one actually witnesses the executions. They only show how they burn the bodies."
A conversation Jin had in the past suddenly resurfaced in his mind.
"Do you know how that woman creates copies of Joshua?"
"I only know that it requires a large number of humans."
"What?"
"It seemed they used convicts in Hufester. They sent them to the Seer, and he got a new body. He mostly used those bodies to handle people like me, to reinforce potential contractors, and suppress them in case of overload."
That had been the conversation when Jin convinced Yulian to join his side in Tikan.
If what Emma had told him was true, then Ricarlton was likely the city where Joshua was using the convicts needed to create copies of himself.
'Emma wouldn't have brought this up knowing about the Seer and Joshua's copies. She must have brought up almost anything related to him, knowing I'm hostile towards him. To think I'd get a lead from someone so random.'
Emma certainly didn't know anything about the Seer or Joshua's copies.
But he guessed there might be something in Ricarlton when he saw Jin deep in thought after hearing the news she brought.
"I'm just a nanny. Maybe I went too far talking about the second flagbearer. I promise to mind my words when you're not around, Young Master Jin."
She hinted that she would never speak of this to anyone but him.
Emma was very clever in that regard.
"Seems like a smart thought." Jin smiled as he joined Emma and the Tona twins.
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SYS (Novel)