C312 - People Searching for Her (2)
On March 21, 1799, Jin, Gilly, and Murakan returned to the Garden of Swords after their well-deserved vacation.
The hooves of the horses pulling the armored carriage Runcandel resonated beautifully. Jin thought about Valeria's hideout, which Misha had informed him about, while occasionally waving to the people of Kalon from the carriage window.
'Mahmeet, huh...'
Mahmeet, the lawless city: Valeria was currently established there under her false name, Aria Owlheart.
"There's an inn in Mahmeet called The Moonlight Well. The bosses of that scum call themselves kings and reside there."
"I carried out a mission there during my cadet days. Is Aria Owlheart there too?"
"Yes. It seems like she's using Mahmeet as a kind of base camp. She lived there when she was around fourteen."
"This is crazy. A human girl of fourteen lived in that den of criminals? That girl named Aria must be quite talented too. And if she was staying at an inn where their leaders reside, does that mean Aria also holds a position in the city?"
"To be honest, I haven't looked into that. But I agree that the girl is like a finely sharpened sword."
This was the conversation they had before leaving Misha's bar, The Shadow.
Jin smiled as he imagined his former teacher, who now resided in Mahmeet.
'I thought she might be in Mahmeet around this time. I remember her telling me that Mahmeet was surprisingly more romantic than one would think.'
Jin knew that Valeria had lived there for two years. That's why he had asked the bartender in Mahmeet if he knew anyone named Histor when he went there to carry out a mission as a cadet.
There must be a reason she uses Mahmeet as one of her base camps. She never makes a move without purpose.
Jin was twenty-five years old, and Valeria was twenty-three when they met in their past life. They had spent about three years together.
At that time, they used to have heartfelt conversations and reveal their innermost thoughts, but Jin didn't know in detail about all of Valeria's activities.
Now, he would get to know his teacher six years earlier than in his past life.
Curiosity pricked at him.
What else would he learn about Valeria? Would they be together like in his past life?
Jin briefly thought about Valeria, but he soon shook his head. The reunion was only valid for him. He realized that getting too excited about meeting her wouldn't serve him any good.
He took out the two Shadow Energy Pearls from his inner pockets. They were distinguishable by their size and color.
"It's really fascinating, young master. To think these tiny beads were recording devices," Gilly spoke as she looked at the Shadow Energy Pearls.
"If that girl Aria can really restore the device, I'd like to see the scenes too. Are you heading to Mahmeet right away?" Murakan asked.
"Yes, I will, as long as I don't have anything urgent to deal with at the Garden of Swords."
The carriage came to a stop. The guardian knights opened the doors. Petrow approached the carriage and greeted them. He had been waiting at the entrance of the Garden of Swords for Jin's return.
"Hello, Petrow."
"How was your vacation, young master?"
"I had a well-deserved break. How have you been?"
"I don't have much to do, apart from paperwork and room management when you're not here, young master. I've been enjoying my time, sir."
Despite what he had told Jin, Petrow's days had been quite busy.
He looked after the Volta clan's lands while Jin was away, discussed matters regarding Jin with Deano, and invested the money allocated to Jin as a flagbearer in various secure businesses.
Above all these activities, checking the state of the clan was what kept him most occupied.
But as a result of his efforts, he discovered something peculiar.
"Madam Rosa is currently out, so you won't need to file a return report, sir."
"Where has she gone?"
"I apologize, Young Sir. I don't know where she is."
Petrow seemed to hint at the guardian knights surrounding them as he spoke. Jin caught the hint and immediately headed to his room.
Petrow began to speak as they entered the room. "Young master, the lady has gone to the Enchanted Fortress."
The Enchanted Fortress was the home of the Specters, one of the largest and most infamous mercenary groups, along with the Black Kings.
There was only one reason why Rosa would visit the place at this time.
"She must be meeting with Keliac Zipple."
There weren't many places on Earth where the leaders of the two clans could meet with security guaranteed.
The Enchanted Fortress was a kind of neutral area and had been used as a secret meeting place for the Runcandel and Zipple clans throughout the ages.
The Specters managed to maintain a force scale similar to the Black Kings, although they took on far fewer tasks each year because they received annual fees from both clans in exchange for using their base as a meeting place.
"How did you find out? It would have been top secret."
"The chief scribe of the clan owes a favor to young Lady Luna. I was able to use it to find out, sir."
Petrow played his only card to make the chief scribe do his bidding.
He should have done it only after informing Jin. But Jin didn't reprimand him and only waited to hear what he had to say about it. He believed Petrow had a good reason for making this decision.
Petrow's judgment was based on Joshua.
"I received information that the council of elders recently discussed a reward for the second flagbearer. I don't know the details of the discussion, but the lady went to the Enchanted Fortress right after her reward was decided. So, it was a crucial matter."
"Could you find out why exactly the reward was?"
"I apologize, young master. I couldn't find out."
"That's alright. Well done. The two events seem to be clearly related, at least."
Jin immediately deduced a scenario:
Joshua had achieved something.
And the result was significant enough for Rosa to accept the Zipple's offer herself.
Otherwise, Rosa would never have rushed to the Enchanted Fortress so urgently.
'It's not Barton Vichena. Mother wouldn't see Keliac over that matter. If it were him, she would have met with Keliac before sending me on the mission.'
What exactly did Joshua achieve?
Petrow had the chief scribe recount the ultra-secret meeting between Rosa and Keliac.
But he couldn't find out what Joshua had achieved or what he was supposed to receive as a reward. That only meant that whatever Joshua had achieved was more important than the secret meeting of the two clan leaders.
Jin was trying to concentrate on what it could be when he heard heavy footsteps at his door.
"Jin! Is Jin here?"
A raspy voice.
It was Jed.
Jin had to hold back his laughter. It seems he successfully improved the final move, the Cascade of Petals.
Jin, Petrow, and Gilly nodded.
"Hey, uncle."
"Little brat. If you were going on vacation, you should've told me."
"I didn't think you'd be upset about it."
"Who said I'm upset? Forget it. Your uncle felt humiliated by your absence, that's what happened."
"Did something happen?"
"Those darn old bags don't trust your uncle. Haha, follow me now. Today is finally the time to wipe those wrinkled faces off."
This was something he could never have imagined in his middle school days. But there was something endearing about Jed's enthusiasm.
"All right. Shall we, uncle?"
Jed grandiosely led the way like an excited child and headed to the training grounds.
He had no idea that his nephew had been determined to beat up his uncle from the moment they met.
Shing!
Jed unsheathed his sword as soon as they arrived at the training ground.
"Now, take a look. Your dear uncle has developed a finishing move that equals the Cascade of Legends you taught me."
"Uncle Jed. Before we begin, there's something I must tell you."
"What is it?"
"I've had a change of heart. I think you should call the upgraded petal cascade by its own name."
Jed glared at him. "Suddenly? Why?"
"I didn't feel like showing off my skills to the other elders. I could brag about the things I have, but they would never accept me anyway."
"What the hell are you saying? I've already discussed it with those old bags of bones. We agreed to reward you once I can prove that the clan's final move has improved thanks to you, after you return from your vacation. And I've already talked to them about the sixth finishing move, the lightning."
"Lightning? The sixth finishing move? What are you talking about? Please don't tell me the fourth flagbearer snitched on my other sword techniques to the elders."
"Is that a problem?"
Then Jin sighed and shook his head. "Uncle Jed. I don't have many cards I can play to survive in this ruthless clan. I wouldn't have enough even if I kept them all hidden and only used them in the most dire moments."
"That's... I guess you could feel that way."
"Also, the elders don't look favorably upon me anyway. I'm not very convinced I should share what I possess with them."
"However, dear Jin. Don't you care about your uncle's reputation? If you don't show them, they will think I lied out of my own ego."
"All you have to do is take credit for improving the fourth finishing move, the Petals in Cascade. I won't demonstrate anything about the sixth finishing move, the lightning, and I will never perform the Cascade of Legends before them."
Jed felt completely frustrated by how inflexible Jin was about it.
While he couldn't understand Jin's sudden change, it was undeniable that Jin was right.
Has something happened to him during the vacation? Why all of a sudden...?
Jed was pondering the matter when he suddenly realized something.
"That brat. You want something from me, don't you?"
Now that he thought about it, there seemed to be a mysterious smile on Jin's face.
"Jin, are you trying to negotiate with me?"
Then Jin shook his head in the most pretentious way possible.
"You little brat. You'd better be straightforward with me. If what you're asking is reasonable, I'll grant it."
"Alright, then let me ask. What did the second flagbearer, Joshua, achieve that Mother is heading to the Enchanted Fortress for?"
Jed's eyes widened. "What? But you've just returned. How did you find out about that?"
"Tell me, please."
"You seem determined to ruin your uncle's reputation if I don't tell you."
"I'm a flagbearer of Runcandel too. I don't want to be left out of crucial clan events."
As selfish as it sounded, Jin was right.
Jed sighed. "Jin, I don't know exactly what Joshua has achieved."
"I've asked too much of you. I apologize. I'm leaving now."
Jin bowed his head and turned, making Jed grit his teeth. "Hey, come on, brat!"
"Yes, uncle? Did you call me?"
He's in.
Jin looked confident. He locked eyes with Jed.
"You shouldn't tell anyone the things I'm about to tell you."
"I swear I won't."
"Have you...?"
Have you heard of a clan called Histor?
Jin was almost taken aback by the words.
Tags:
SYS (Novel)