"Just what on earth do you two think you're doing?!"
THWACK! THWACK!
Luna aggressively slapped two women. The strength of a 9-star knight was nothing to scoff at, even if it were a simple slap. The two victims let out short groans which were barely audible due to the loud smack. In fact, they were sent back flying from the overwhelming force.
Boom!
The two women slammed into the wall behind them and trembled.
They were Myu and Anne. The instant they got slapped, they protected their bodies with aura. However, the shock was so strong that they couldn't avoid coughing up blood.
"You sent him to Zipfel territory? Myu, he's ten years younger than you! Have you lost your mind?"
Luna had just returned to the Garden of Swords after leaving to deal with some personal issues. As soon as she arrived home, she summoned her two little sisters who had assigned Jin his most recent mission.
The girls couldn't even look their sister in the eyes.
Luna wasn't just their eldest sibling to them. She was an existence they feared more than their father at times.
"Get up."
The sisters stood up with unsteady steps. These two were also Luna's youngest siblings like Jin. Her own flesh and blood. Seeing their lowered gazes and trembling, Luna pitied them a little, but she had decided to give them a stern warning today no matter what.
"Why did you do it?"
Myu and Anne didn't answer for a while and kept their heads down.
It wasn't because they had nothing to say. They were feeling bitter towards their eldest sister because she already knew the answer to that question. That it was because of the traditional familial conflict—the battle for hegemony—where children fought between each other for a higher standing in the clan.
"…Elder Sister Luna, are you seriously asking that question because you don't know the answer?"
Myu spoke up with difficulty to which Luna snickered.
"So what if I really didn't know the answer? You're not saying that a flag-bearer of the clan is now waging war against their youngest brother who's still in the intermediate class, are you?"
The two sisters couldn't say anything in return and trembled.
They felt embarrassed. While the battle for hegemony was a long-lasting tradition in the Runcandel Clan, a flag-bearer confronting a yet-to-be flag-bearer was a complete mismatch.
Flag-bearers fighting other flag-bearers, and cadets fighting other cadets.
That was the unwritten rule of the battle for hegemony in the Runcandel Clan. While the children didn't have to follow the rule at all times, Myu and Anne had taken it one step too far with their recent actions.
Luna looked down at her siblings for a moment before opening her mouth. Before one could react, her look of disdain had changed into that of murderous intent.
"Learn to be ashamed. The fact that you two are flag-bearers of this clan is a disgrace. It's humiliating for me."
""Elder Sister!""
The younger sisters raised their voices at the same time. However, Luna paid no heed to that and smirked.
"What? Do you think I'm exaggerating? Is it unpleasant getting mocked by me? Did I hurt your pride as flag-bearers?"
"You've never gotten involved in the conflicts of the clan, so what right do you have to say all thi—"
"Had you confronted the youngest and won, I wouldn't have gone this far."
"…What do you mean?"
Myu and Anne's eyes widened.
"You've already lost against him. The youngest returned from the Kollon Ruins after completing his mission. Jin arrived not long ago and went to report to Mother. I ran into him on my way home and verified his success with my own two eyes."
The two girls bit down on their lips.
"Do you understand why I told you to be ashamed now? You two ended up attaching wings on the youngest's back while trying to trample on him. I wonder whether there's ever been any flag-bearer in history who lost this miserably after confronting their youngest sibling…"
Luna continued talking sarcastically and her younger sisters' ears turned bright red. On one hand, they couldn't handle this humiliation. On the other, they were also terrified.
Myu and Anne wouldn't be able to lay a finger on Jin for a while. Their plan of destroying the youngest before he could fully develop had gone up in flames.
The sisters weren't confident that they'd be able to defeat Jin after he fully matured.
In a few years, the youngest would start getting his revenge against them. As they feared the future, a freezing chill ran down their spines.
They could only stare into the emptiness in stupefaction as they turned around to exit Luna's room.
Luna spoke up one final time before they could leave.
"From what I've observed so far, the youngest isn't a merciful child. You two should be careful from here on out."
"…Do you still have more mockery left to throw at us, Elder Sister?"
Luna wore a bitter smile on her face.
"No, I'm saying this because I'm truly concerned for you. Our relationship may have gone astray sometime in the past, but you two are still my little sisters."
Myu and Anne left without saying anything. Luna stared at the door for a while after their exit and sighed deeply.
Clack.
As she sat back down at her desk, a teacup was placed in front of her. Taimyun—her nanny who was waiting in the room next door—had returned to Luna's room.
"Ah, thanks, Nanny."
"Hoho, I thought that you had relapsed into your period of adolescence when you came home and immediately pummelled your siblings, Milady."
"Adolescence? At my age? As if…"
"It's because your teenage years were quite memorable. Sigh… Still, I'm worried about Ladies Myu and Anne. Considering the 13th young master's personality, I'm sure he won't forget what happened even in the distant future."
"Do you also think that they won't be able to compete with Jin, Nanny?"
"Hm, I believe that in another five years, they won't be able to rival Young Master Jin even in a formal duel. Considering that, Ladies Myu and Anne have less than five years left to live."
"Don't talk about such gruesome things. They're still our flesh and blood. If the youngest kills them once he's older… It gives me shivers just thinking of it. Speaking of which, have you looked into what we were talking about last time, Nanny?"
By 'what we were talking about last time', Luna meant the incident when someone attempted to assassinate Jin in the Storm Castle. She had asked her nanny to look into their other siblings to find out who was the culprit behind the attempt.
Technically speaking, it was a curse instead of an assassination attempt, but Luna didn't know about that.
Moreover, she had misunderstood the situation. When Jin brought it up, she believed that he was around 5 or 6 years old. However, he was actually a 1-year-old baby when someone had attempted to cast the Bladed Illusion curse on him.
This was because Jin hadn't mentioned that he still remembered everything from back when he was an infant.
"Yes. First of all, the culprits aren't Ladies Myu and Anne whom you pummelled earlier. Back then, they were still in the intermediate class, so it wasn't difficult to dig up information about them."
"Hm… That makes sense. I'm pretty certain it's not Mary or Yona either. Same with the Tona twins."
"Then the remaining suspects are Young Masters Joshua, Dipus, Ran, Vigo, and Lady Luntia. Except for Young Masters Ran and Vigo, I cannot carelessly investigate the others."
"Right. Joshua, Dipus, and Luntia's standings are already established and stable. Things can get troublesome if we investigate them recklessly."
"Then should I begin with Young Masters Ran and Vigo for now?"
Luna pondered for a moment and tapped on the table with her finger.
"No. Let's just keep an eye on everyone for now. If we keep poking our heads in everyone's affairs, you might get in danger, Nanny."
"A wise decision. Although there was an assassination attempt back in the Storm Castle, Young Master Jin is growing properly, so I believe there is no need to worry too much now."
"No matter who the culprit is, they must know that I'm looking after Jin now. They won't make a move carelessly anymore. Anyways, thank you for your help so far, Nanny."
"It was my pleasure. Should I prepare your meal now?"
"Yeah. Some alcohol as well. The usual."
Rosa had myriads of questions she wanted to ask her youngest son when he returned after accomplishing his mission. However, she didn't express them out loud.
Mamit and the Kollon Ruins. Everyone had expected him to fail, but each time, he returned triumphant and proud.
Was he blessed by the heavens? Or did he receive the help of a third party each time? Nobody knew the answer.
But with this mission, Rosa was certain that it was the latter.
'There's an exceptional expert supporting the youngest from the shadows. And the youngest is using that to his advantage to complete his missions.'
Accomplishing one's missions with the help of another went against the unwritten rule of the clan. The only help one could ask for during a difficult mission was reinforcements from the clan.
However, Rosa decided not to question her son nor to blame him.
Soon, countless influential envoys from all around the world would come visit the Garden of Swords just to have a look at the youngest. Cyron would host a banquet, and the star of the show would be Jin.
Even if he had gotten the help of a third party from outside the clan without informing them, the most important fact was that he had returned alive from the mission.
Rosa could always reprimand her son on a later date at an appropriate moment after having gathered enough evidence.
"Good work. No need to go report to the flag-bearers. Go take a good rest for today. I'll inform them about your return."
"Thank you very much, Mother."
As soon as he exited the main building where Rosa's office was located, Jin sensed gazes on him. Cadets showed admiration in their eyes, guardian knights wore looks of astonishment, whereas flag-bearers had looks of contempt and disgust.
'Mother and my siblings must think I received the help of someone else to complete my missions.'
Well, that wasn't his problem.
Jin didn't plan on resolving this misunderstanding for now. Everything would be uncovered in the future when he reveals his true powers and declares himself a magic swordsman who had contracted with Solderet.
As soon as Jin entered his room, Gilly ran up to him and hugged him tightly. When he felt her tears on his cheek, Jin realized how worried Gilly had been for him.
"I'm alright, Gilly. I'm strong now. I might even win against you in a duel in the near future if I went all out."
"If something terrible had happened to you, I would've done everything to get revenge on the ladies at the expense of my own life, Young Master."
"Geez, don't talk about such scary things, Strawberry Pie. You're too hot-blooded. Isn't it good now that he's back with us safe and sound?"
"Give me a minute, Gilly. Murakan, take a look at this."
Jin took out the glass bottle in which he had put the shards of the living golem's core.
"It's the heart of a living golem. You were lucky, kid. Seeing how you're unscathed, this one must've been a failure. Did you find it at the Kollon Ruins?"
"The two guards positioned outside the warehouse suddenly transformed into monsters and attacked me. They regenerated no matter where I cut them. But I managed to kill them by destroying the cores in their chests."
As Jin explained the situation, Gilly's face turned pale. Murakan calmly explained what forbidden magic and living golems were to her.
'Last time, it was a cemetary giant, and now it's a living golem? Those Zipfel bastards are getting on my nerves…'
What on earth were they scheming?
Murakan shook his head and spoke to the other two.
"In any case, this must be the Zipfels' handiwork as you said, since the Kollon Ruins are in Zipfel territory."
"That's right."
"You and I need to make some time and visit that area again in the future. I need to go take a look and ask them what they're scheming personally."
Jin was somewhat nervous about having to return to the ruins due to the living golems, but since Murakan was going with him, it would be a much safer trip than his recent mission.
'And if we're lucky enough, we could even try searching for the mirror, the Fountain of Mana. Even if we wreak havoc, the Zipfels will have no choice but to sweep it under the rug due to their usage of forbidden magic.'
Jin nodded to the dragon.
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