C314 - People Searching for Her (4)
"Your word is my command," Mesa replied obediently.
She had recently passed the final test to become a guardian knight and had been assigned as the twelfth flagbearer, alongside Scott Rymon, who stood on the other side of Jin.
"Scott?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Go clean up the trash on the streets."
Robberies, murders, violence. All it took was turning one's head to witness the anarchists committing crimes in real time. That was the scum who hadn't realized Jin had arrived in Mahmeet.
He didn't actually care if the underworld scum fought amongst themselves, but there were also civilians mixed in.
Jin's order aimed to put an end to the criminals who were violating civilians.
"I will fulfill your order, sir."
Mesa and Scott passed by Jin and began to move.
Within seconds, the shouts of the anarchists began to sound from different places. The frequency of the shouts rapidly decreased.
After Scott knifed a few, the rest got the hint. It wasn't just any guardian knight who had come to this place on a mission. A Runcandel Flagbearer was here, in this wasteland.
The streets fell silent immediately.
But Scott couldn't care less. He went through every alley like a ghost to carry out the cleanup.
The streets emptied as well. Mahmeet's criminals were busy hiding in their houses and taverns like prey spotting their natural predators.
Only a cold breeze swept through the empty streets. Mahmeet fell silent for the first time in years.
"Mesa and Scott have grown very strong."
Jin formed a soft smile. It was quite interesting that they were now full-fledged guardian knights.
It was about time for Vellop to return from the snowy ridges of the southeastern Mytell Kingdom as well.
The remaining seven members of the younger faction would also take their final tests.
"Once they all become guardian knights, maybe I should take them to a hellish training ground. If possible, it would be great if they all became strong enough to be called up as Black Knights before they turn fifty. Wait. Maybe I should make them work hard so they have no choice but to become Black Knights."
The two were completely unaware of Jin's wicked plans.
Mesa and Scott had to calm their excited hearts as they forced Mahmeet's anarchists to submit. They were ready to give it their all, now that they could be with Jin once more.
Jin walked slowly toward the Moonlight Pit.
Just as the lives of the younger faction boys had changed, my teacher's life will be altered compared to my past life once she meets me. Perhaps Joshua discovering her fake name at this moment could also be a result of my return to life.
That sent shivers down his spine.
He always knew that every little thing he did after his return to life could very well change the lives of the people around him.
That's why he tried his best to make decisions that would guide all his loved ones to a better ending, as much as possible.
But he wasn't sure what to do about Valeria.
He couldn't know if meeting Valeria would have a positive impact on her or not.
But now wasn't the time to ponder over such matters.
He should keep her by his side and provide her with a safety net. In my past life, neither the Runcandels nor the Zipples managed to capture her, but in this life, one couldn't be sure what would happen.
Valeria was undoubtedly a strong person. She was one of the strongest people he knew. It wasn't just about her combat ability. It was the strength of will that Valeria possessed as a person.
She was radiant and admirable.
But there were things in the world that couldn't be solved by willpower alone.
A good example would be a seventeen-year-old prodigy sorceress evading pursuit from two giant clans with no one to trust.
Unlike Jin during his days as a Provisional Flagbearer, Valeria had no siblings to hide her in Lafrarosa or comrades willing to risk their lives to protect her.
She would be unable to stay ahead of the pursuit by the two clans forever. If I don't help her, they'll eventually catch her.
As her disciple, now was the time to repay the grace of my master from my past life.
My confused heart calmed as I approached the Moonlight Pit.
"He has arrived, my lord."
Mesa and Scott bowed their heads as Jin reached the entrance of the Moonlight Pit.
Behind them, five union leaders and their subordinates were kneeling, neatly arranged in rows. There were about a hundred subordinates, and they were the officers of each of their factions.
Jin observed them for a while without saying anything. He was looking for Valeria.
She's not here.
So, the next step was to find a leader who might know Valeria.
"Fortunately, there's a familiar face here. You. Yes, you. What's your name?" Jin looked at the leader kneeling at the front as he spoke.
"I am Yorke, sir. Do I know you, sir?" The leader replied, stating his name politely.
Indeed, Yorke already knew Jin.
"Hello, kid. You seem like quite the talent for your age, but it won't do you much good to stay in this city for too long, let alone if you intend to cause trouble."
"Thank you for your advice. But I need to find someone. I'll make sure not to cause trouble for the people staying here," Jin had said.
"Haha, I heard that the other day you killed a thug in the taverns with a single blow, but now you're acting like a meek lamb."
"That's because you're different from all those. Turns out, I know very well what to expect from you."
"You pass for your manners. Well, then I'll let you stay here a few more days."
"Thank you. I won't forget the fact that the kings of Mahmeet did me a favor, even after my return."
That was the conversation Jin had with Yorke and the other kings of Mahmeet while on the intermediate-class mission.
"Yes, Yorke. The guy who made comments about my manners in the Moonlight Pit lobby got his head cut off by the swords of the Secret Palace. Do you remember me now?"
"Oh!" The leader's eyes widened as he nodded.
Of course, he remembered.
After Jin had terrorized the Moonlight Pit to carry out his mission and pretended that the Magician had come from the outside, the leaders of Mahmeet suffered under Siris for a long time afterward.
It was all because Ryu and Heiten, of the seven swords of the Secret Palace, were unable to find the Magician - Jin - who had launched the lightning call at the Moonlight Pit.
Siris continued to harass the leaders for some time afterward in an effort to find the culprit.
Only after a while did she realize that the boy she had released, Jin, might have been the culprit.
And when she did, she gathered the leaders and had them investigate the boy's activities in Mahmeet, from his date of arrival, purpose, and every little thing he did in Mahmeet.
It was a great misfortune for the leaders of Mahmeet, but they had no power to refuse Siris's orders.
"Lady Siris." The boy popped the head of a newbie named Tonk in a tavern shortly after arriving in Mahmeet. Then he acted like he was looking for someone. He came to the Moonlight Pit and did nothing else in Mahmeet."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, lady. As I see it, he may not be the culprit at all. You know it doesn't make sense for that kid to be casting six or seven-star spells."
"If it's not him, are you saying my men lost the sorcerer?"
"That's not what I meant. And even if you were right and he really was the culprit, Lady Siris, I don't think he was targeting the Secret Palace. Maybe one of us offended him, and he took it out on that person."
"Who was he looking for?"
"I was told he was looking for someone named Fizta or Fester."
It was Yorke, the leader standing in front of Jin at that moment, who had spoken to Siris back then.
Yorke deliberately told Siris the name was Fizta or Fester because he was very upset with her, but he had clearly confirmed that Jin, at the age of fifteen, was looking for a Histor.
Of course, Siris had to waste a lot of time trying to find a Fizta and a Fester.
"I apologize for not recognizing you immediately, Sir Jin."
"Yorke, stay here. The rest of you, disappear from my sight as fast as you can," Jin spoke in a low voice.
The other leaders and subordinates quickly scattered like roaches.
The power represented by the Runcandel name within Hufester was not something lawless individuals could confront.
"Let's go inside and talk."
Yorke's intuition told him at that moment that Jin had returned to Mahmeet to find the person he had been looking for four years ago.
"Yes, sir!"
The two entered the Moonlight Pit. Scott and Maya then guarded the inn as gatekeepers. The lobby was completely empty.
"I'm looking for someone."
"Yes, Sir Jin. Please tell me who it is. If you can give me the name or description, I assure you I can find that person, as long as they are within Mahmeet."
"Is there a girl around seventeen years old residing in Mahmeet right now? She would have red hair and a silver pine staff."
"Red hair and a staff..." Yorke searched his memory.
As far as he knew, there were no red-haired girls with a silver pine staff in Mahmeet. Besides, how could a seventeen-year-old girl survive in this violent city?
But it reminded him of someone.
"There are no red-haired girls with a staff, but there's a girl of a similar age who recently joined my organization as an errand girl."
"What's her name?"
"She said it's Aria. I don't know her last name. She was born in the alleys, and she's quite sharp too."
Jin's heart began to beat faster. "Is there no one else?"
"None, sir. That girl is the only one under twenty years old. Should I bring her here?"
"Let me check."
"Yes, Sir Jin. Please wait a moment. I'll go tell my subordinates to bring Aria."
Yorke was about to get up, but the lobby's ceiling suddenly collapsed, dropping a spear through it. It was a blue spear formed with lightning-based mana.
It was the variation spell Jin had experimented with in the Great Mitra Desert.
The spear pierced Yorke's head and stuck into the ground. Yorke didn't even have time to scream.
Jin slowly raised his head and looked up.
There was a hooded figure whose figure was visible through the hole in the ceiling.
He could recognize the person, despite the hood covering the face. Even the unfamiliar brown hair peeking out from the hood was enough to convince him.
It was Valeria Histor, his master.
He felt as if time had stopped.
He wanted to shout her name, tell her that it had been so long. All sorts of indescribable feelings crossed his heart like rays of light spreading in all directions.
"Jin?" Valeria asked upon meeting Jin.
Tags:
SYS (Novel)