Cale met Tasha at an inn outside of the capital.
"The basement has been completely redone."
It was the same inn that Cale had used the last time he was in the capital when he delivered the bracelet to Alberu. Cale had heard that Alberu had purchased this inn. Currently, the ground floor of this building was an inn as usual, while the basement was being used to house the mages.
'There are a lot of mages.'
The basement had three levels in total, with approximately 30 mages running around getting things done. They all flinched once they saw Cale's group before they respectfully bowed toward Rosalyn and then disappeared.
Because this was all being done in secret, there were a lot of advanced magic devices throughout the area. The newest defense magic was purchased in order to fortify the basement as well. Tasha, who was the same height as Cale, lifted her head toward Cale and asked.
"Young master Cale, isn't this place wonderful?"
Cale could tell that Tasha was joking, and so he played along.
"I think our Henituse Castle will be much better."
"Really?"
Tasha waved her hand and started to laugh.
There was no way that was true.
This was an area made with the help of the talented mages from the Whipper Kingdom. The Whipper Kingdom was known for their magic devices. There was no way anywhere in the Kingdom could match up to the basement in front of them.
That was why Tasha knew that Cale was joking. He probably just said that because he loved his home very much.
"Come on young master Cale, this is much nicer than the Henituse castle. Although this may not be the best location, it has the newest magic devices. As you already know, the number of magic devices are currently dwindling. Of course, there is an anonymous merchant monopolizing and selling a lot of magic devices. I wonder where he got all of those magic devices from."
It was as Tasha said. That was why the fact that Alberu was creating a place for the mages to develop magic devices would be beneficial for the Roan Kingdom in the future.
That was also why Tasha was looking at Cale with pride. However, she slowly started to realize something was off. Cale, who was looking back at her, seemed to be half serious with what he had said.
Tasha looked toward Rosalyn, whom she had seen quite frequently these past few months.
'Hmm?'
Tasha then flinched after seeing Rosalyn standing there with an awkward smile. That made Tasha look over at the rest of Cale's group. There was Beacrox, who was still carrying the paralyzed Balbud, as well as Ron, Choi Han, Lock, On, and Hong. All of them were looking around with indifference.
Their unexpected reactions made Tasha look back at Cale, who was smiling. That smile made Tasha become uncertain as she started to speak.
"Uh, mm, young master. Really?"
Did the Henituse Castle really have more magic devices than this basement?
Although she did not manage to get the whole question out, Cale casually answered back.
"I'm not joking."
Rosalyn nodded her head in agreement.
"Haaaaa."
Tasha let out a sigh. The Roan Kingdom was not known for having a strong presence of magic. But the Henituse territory, the one that was located in the farthest corner of the continent, had all of the newest magic devices?
At that moment, Cale approached her and whispered in her ear.
"Didn't his highness tell you that he would get a part of the blueprints for a Magic Tower for you?"
That was top secret information.
Tasha's pupils started to shake before quickly calming back down. Her stiff expression loosened up and she started to laugh.
"Ha, haha."
She brushed her long hair back and asked Cale.
"I was wondering where he was going to get it from. You will be providing it?"
"Why are you asking such an obvious question?"
Cale pushed it aside like it was nothing. He really felt that way.
It would not make sense for him to not keep the blueprints when he was going to go destroy the Magic Tower.
Currently, the Henituse Castle and the castle walls were almost finished with the renovations. On the surface, Rosalyn was in charge of the magic devices, however, the majority of them were made by Raon.
'I don't give him 10 silver coins as an allowance for nothing.'
He wasn't giving Raon an allowance on a whim. He had given it to Raon knowing that Raon would end up making all of the magic devices for the castle and his ship. Furthermore, it is said to be better to learn about saving money when you are young.
"Young master Cale, I want to go visit the Henituse Castle."
"It is still under renovation. Come visit when it is completed."
"Really?"
Cale nodded his head and added on.
"Yes. Bring Mary with you too."
He wanted Tasha to bring him a worker.
Tasha let out a sigh-like laugh and vigorously nodded her head.
"Then I shall properly guide you now."
Her gaze headed over to Balbud. She looked at the blindfold and earplugs on Balbud before looking back toward Cale and starting to speak.
"We spent a ton of money on the underground prison so that he can't run away."
Although Tasha had a magic necklace on to make her look human, Cale could see her black pupils and black hair showing.
"Is that so? We are building a prison as well. I wonder how this one will be."
Cale accepted it like it was normal. He followed Tasha down to the third level of the basement. Cale then entered one of the prison cells.
"It's pretty nice."
"Isn't it? It'll be a nice place for him to stay."
Cale looked around the prison cell. There were multiple cells on this floor, but this specific cell seemed nicer than the others.
It looked like a typical room at an inn, but the unique thing about this cell was that all of the corners were rounded. It was built in a circular fashion so as to prevent the prisoner from being able to harm themselves.
Cale understood their intent.
"It looks like you've selected the path of mental torture instead of physical torture."
He could see Tasha nodding her head at his words.
This was not just any criminal. He was someone with a bit of rank in the organization that was responsible for a terror incident at the capital. There was no way they would treat him like any other criminal.
Tsk.
Cale clicked his tongue and motioned to Beacrox, who sat Balbud down on a couch. He then removed the blindfold and the earplugs.
Balbud could not stop shaking because of the paralyzing poison. However, he had to open his eyes.
"Open your eyes."
It was because of Beacrox's cold voice. Balbud had to work hard to be able to open his eyes, and once he did, he saw a nice room that looked kind of odd. There were many eyes looking down at him as he sat there tied up.
Tasha looked toward Cale with confusion, as Balbud seemed to be in decent condition. She had heard that Balbud had received a big injury. Her confused gaze made Cale start to speak.
"He cannot move his lower body. However, we healed the small injuries around his body."
"You really are too nice, young master Cale."
Tasha shook her head. Balbud could not believe it. They had tortured him with all sorts of poisons every day without killing him.
Of course, Beacrox had done that while saying that he still wanted to learn more about poisons. Cale pretended not to notice the actions of the son who had not forgotten about how his father had lost his left arm.
Cale avoided Tasha's gaze, that seemed to be asking how there could be such a soft person. Tasha then turned to look at Balbud when Cale started to speak.
"If you are planning to use mental torture, should I introduce you to an expert?"
The excommunicated priestess, Cage, was an expert in mental torture.
"No thank you. We have our own methods."
Cale looked away as Tasha smiled toward Balbud. She really was not just an average Dark Elf. There was a reason she was responsible for everything in the shadows for Alberu.
"I look forward to chatting with you in the future."
Tasha's gentle voice toward Balbud gave Cale the chills. Cale motioned to Tasha that they should leave the cell after Cale saw Balbud's pale face, and Tasha got up and headed out of the cell with them.
Tasha verified that everyone other than Balbud was out before she ordered the guards to guard properly as they headed back up to the surface.
She casually asked Cale a question as they walked up the stairs.
"How were the Elves?"
Cale could hear both curiosity and wariness in her voice.
Cale had left Hans and Pendrick at a different inn today. It was because there was a complicated relationship between Elves and the Dark Elves.
Cale pretended not to know about that complicated relationship as he answered back to Tasha.
"Typical Elves."
"Hmm, really? You must be their eternal benefactor since you protected their branch of the World Tree though."
"There's also Raon."
Raon. Tasha, who understood what Cale meant by saying Raon was there, nodded her head in admiration.
"They must have treated you like a saint."
Cale could not think of anything to say in return.
Tasha stealthily asked Cale, whose silence seemed to acknowledge that she was right.
"Just what are you selling to the Whipper Kingdom that Alberu keeps laughing for no reason when he is alone?"
"… His highness keeps laughing when he is alone?" ((PR: Cale broke him.) )
Cale felt like that scene could be part of a horror movie.
Cale did not want to see Alberu laughing like that.
"Yes. Every time I go to report to him, he's always laughing while saying that he's looking forward to what you are going to do."
"I guess that's possible."
Tasha could see that Cale's smile was similar to Alberu's smile. The two of them really were similar. This made her certain about one thing.
"It's not something that will benefit the Whipper Kingdom."
"Of course not. I am a citizen of the Roan Kingdom."
That indifference response made Tasha feel relieved. Tasha, who hid her relief from Cale, opened the door to the surface and cheered Cale on.
"I hope everything goes well. Let's drink together next time."
"Sure."
Cale, who stepped back onto the surface, could hear Raon's voice in his head.
– Is what we are going to do considered a scam?
Raon had heard everything Alberu had discussed with Cale, as well as everything Cale had done to prepare.
'Technically it is not a scam.'
It was not a scam. It was just that he was only going to sell half of the item.
– Either way, I just need to destroy the Magic Tower as you want. Will you give me 10 silver coins if I do it?
Cale whispered back to Raon, who seemed to be full of anticipation.
"I'll give you a gold coin."
– Oh, my lord!
The Dragon was shocked.
Cale started to imagine the show that would play out as they destroyed the Magic Tower. It sounded like it was going to be quite entertaining.
Raon, who was thinking about getting a gold coin, snapped out of it to ask Cale a question. Cale, who was about to get on the carriage, stopped for a moment after hearing Raon's question.
– Are we going to go meet the large Whale and the little Rat?
Cale nodded his head as he got on the carriage.
Hans and Pendrick soon joined them in the carriage as they headed toward the Roan Kingdom's Northeastern coast, the location of the Ubarr territory's naval base.
* * *
Cale slowly looked around the Ubarr territory coast that he had not seen for a few months. He sent Ron and Beacrox to the Cliff of Winds to meet with Witira while Cale moved around with only Choi Han, Lock, and Pendrick by his side.
On and Hong chose to head to the residence with Hans, as they did not like water.
– Human.
Of course, Raon was with Cale.
– Human, that. That thing!
Raon called out to Cale a few times, but could not finish his sentence. But Raon was not the only one.
"Young master-nim."
"Mm, Cale-nim."
"…Oh my."
Lock, Choi Han, and Pendrick were each at a loss of words as well. Cale could not help but look at that thing while trying to look around the naval base.
'Good thing we made it so that only those with the proper authorization could enter the base.'
Thanks to Alberu, who was extremely wary of the Northern Alliance sending some spies, the naval base was under multiple layers of security. That was why Cale was relieved after seeing the thing in front of him.
Choi Han pointed toward the Henituse portion of the coast with his finger.
"Cale-nim, that, that is a ship, right?"
"Yes, it is a ship."
Of course, this was Cale's first time seeing it as well. He had only received reports about how the construction was going through video communication.
Choi Han was mumbling like an idiot with a shocked expression on his face. An extremely large ship was in front of his eyes.
"…Anybody will be able to tell that is a Henituse ship."
Cale, who was confidently nodding his head, actually, Kim Rok Soo, was relieved after seeing the almost completed ship. It was different compared to the Korean Turtle Ship that he knew about. (I already explained this when it was first mentioned. )
Choi Han seemed to be just shocked at the size of the ship, rather than thinking about Korea or the Turtle Ship as Cale had.
Unlike the Turtle Ship on Cale's mind, this ship did not have a turtle shell covering the deck. Instead, the deck was open with turtle shell shaped walls on either side of the ship.
The plan was for many different magic devices to be inside these shell-shaped walls so that they can shoot up into the air.
"Haaaa."
Cale let out a sigh after seeing the ship.
He had underestimated his father and the Henituse family's way of doing things.
Raon, who had been quiet for a while, finally started to speak again.
– H, human, is that all gold? Is all of that yellow actually gold? All of those shiny things on the ship are gold?
Choi Han let out a gasp.
"It is a Golden Turtle."
The turtle shells on both sides of the ship were gold in color. Furthermore, there was a dashing turtle sculpture at the bow of the ship. Even the ship's mast had a Golden Turtle on it.
All of the gold on the ship was shining brightly underneath the sun.
"Young master-nim, I didn't know you were from such a wealthy family."
Even Pendrick, who had no desire for materialistic things, could not help but gasp at the large amount of gold on the ship. Cale looked toward them and clarified things. He needed to do so before they got the wrong idea.
"I want to say this so that all of you do not get the wrong idea."
Cale noticed Mueller running over from the shore as well as Witira, Ron, and Beacrox heading toward them from the Cliff of Winds. He then looked back at the group that was with him and slowly started to speak. They were all waiting to hear what he had to say.
"It is only gold-plated."
It was not completely made of gold.
Choi Han and Pendrick looked toward him with shocked expressions, but Cale had said what he needed to say, so he ignored them and greeted Witira, who arrived before Mueller.
"Long time no see."
"Yes, young master Cale. Have you been well?"
Contrary to Witira's happy greeting, she did not look well.
"I've been well, but you don't seem too good."
Cale asked about it right away, since he didn't like to beat around the bush. Witira nodded her head as if she had expected this and started to speak. She also did not want to waste time beating around the bush.
She got right to the point.
"We ended up getting tangled up with the Eastern continent because of the mermaids."
At that moment, Ron and Beacrox looked toward Witira. The Eastern continent was their hometown and a place that Cale did not know much about.
"We gathered a lot of information thanks to that, but there is something that is difficult for us to do. I came while hoping that you might be able to help us."
"You want to ask me for a favor?"
"Not a favor, but an exchange of information."
Cale had expected this.
It would not be something small, since the Whale Tribe said they would come in person. However, he could not feign ignorance and avoid them. He needed to know what was going on so that he could avoid any headaches.
He was certain that it was related to the secret organization. If it was too difficult for Cale to deal with, he planned on passing it off to someone else, like the Elves, Alberu, or even the Gold Dragon.
"Speak."
Cale motioned for Witira to continue. She cautiously started to speak again.
"The ones who gave us this information were the members of the race that was known for being the strongest race in the Eastern continent."
'Strongest race?'
Although that caught Cale's attention, he focused more on the, 'was known for being,' portion that seemed to describe it as something from the past. He felt a chill run down his back, even though there was no breeze.
"The Tiger tribe was at the point of being obliterated because of that organization. We happened to run into their shaman-."
The Tiger tribe.
Cale did not hear anything else Witira had to say. He blanked out the moment she said, 'Tiger Tribe,' and blinked his eyes a few times.
"…The Tiger tribe?"
Cale asked to see if he had heard correctly. However, Witira thought that he had not heard correctly and stopped what she was saying to confirm.
"Yes, the Tiger tribe."
Just the name alone made it sound like it would be one of the strongest races in the Eastern continent. They apparently also had a shaman.