"…How is it?"
"Mm! It's good, sir."
"I'm not that old…"
Being called 'sir' at the age of 15 was harsh.
"Sir is right."
Jin cracked an awkward smile and shrugged.
They bought some ice cream for the girl with the dragon plushie. Although watching her happily eat the cold treat was cute…
'How the hell do we deal with her?'
While evaluating the situation, Murakan got tense and clenched his fist.
Gilly was furious—her expression cold as stone. Whenever the little girl looked at her, however, she flashed a bright smile.
Thankfully, it was only a little girl who witnessed Murakan's transformation.
Thank goodness.
'What if it was a group of adults and not a little kid? The Zipfels would have put a bounty on me immediately.'
Murakan learned from this experience. Indeed, humans often didn't care about others' businesses, but he promised to be careful when transforming.
Jin sighed as he stared at a hunched-over Murakan who was racked with guilt.
'Damn… As bad as it is for us, it's worse for him. After all, he was a grand black dragon who didn't need to care about people's gazes.'
It had been five years since he broke out of the glass coffin in the Storm Castle's underground chamber.
Murakan's emotions hadn't changed even from before his slumber a thousand years ago. Although he wanted to cause mass destruction, he patiently held in his urges and matched the behaviour Jin expected of him.
Excluding the several rowdy moments at the Storm Castle and Garden of Swords, the shadow dragon suppressed his emotions well.
'If I think about it like that, I kinda feel sorry.'
Jin bought more ice cream and gave it to Murakan. Without a word, Murakan received the treat and smiled. Gilly exploded into laughter.
Oblivious to what was happening, the little girl grinned.
"Then is that guy not a cat?"
"Yeah, I guess Euria is seeing things."
"Euria isn't seeing things! That guy is cat. You are not cat."
"Haha, you like cats?"
Jin and his companions were sitting on a bench, watching the cute kid eat ice cream. Her name was Euria.
"Mmmm…"
"Euria, do you know the way home?"
"No, Euria don't know."
They listened to her story and concluded that her parents lost her in the crowd, and she encountered Jin while wandering the streets.
So, the three decided to find the child's parents. They didn't have any immediate objectives anyways.
Twenty minutes passed, and the child's parents never showed up.
"Young Master, shouldn't we take her over to the guards at a nearby garrison? Technically, we aren't obliged to solve this problem."
"That would be good. Did you finish your ice cre—"
As soon as she heard 'guards', Euria frowned.
"I don't like there. Make mommy tired."
"The garrison makes your mother tired?"
"Ya, that place make mommy very tired."
At that moment, a million thoughts went through their heads.
'Is she being exploited?'
'Is her mother a criminal?'
There weren't many interpretations of the girl's words.
After a bit of thinking, they still agreed that taking her to the guards was the best conclusion. Euria pouted then accepted her fate.
"What a nice child, Young Master. There was a time when Young Master was also… Hmmm, never mind. Haha."
Finding the way to the garrison wasn't hard. Living up to its name, the Free City did not have anyone who was scared of outsiders.
The garrison looked immaculate, with 'The Free City of Tikan Central Defense Force' written neatly on the white walls.
Jin liked the presence of a central defense force. Whatever issue existed, dealing with problems at a big organization was easier.
"Tikan Central Defense Force. How may we help you?"
"Oh, uh, this child…"
"Oh, it's Euria. Hey, guys, bring the chief."
"Do you know this girl?"
"Haha, more than just know. She's the chief's daughter."
"Huh?"
Euria, who apparently hated the garrison, was being treated like a princess.
So that's what she meant when she said the garrison made her mother tired. The three of them smiled simultaneously.
"Hey, kid. You dare fool the great Murakan?"
"I didn't fool you, cat man."
"I said I wasn't a cat."
Clomp, clomp.
A tall woman walked towards them. She looked at least 2 meters tall with broad shoulders and had a knife scar on her left eye.
It wouldn't be a surprise if she operated several dark organizations like Tesing, but she was wearing a military uniform. It was hard to miss the flashy 'chief' badge.
The woman embraced Euria before picking her up.
"Haha, Euria. My bad, my bad. Mom remembered she had some work to do, so I rushed back and accidentally forgot about you."
"It's okay."
"Of course it's okay. The people in this city know that if they mess with you, they'll go to the sky world. Or they'll never see the sky again."
She was throwing violent jokes in front of a 5-year-old, but the words were filled with love and affection.
The three spectators were at a loss for words.
"You guys brought Euria? My apologies. I am Tikan's Chief of Defense, Alisa Betzer."
They exchanged handshakes.
"Tourists, I see. It seems that I was a little careless since I knew that the citizens knew Euria well."
"No, no. It's fine. It's a relief that she's your daughter. We were worried that it would take longer to find her parents."
"Oh, it seems that you also ate some ice cream. Euria, make sure to thank them. Good girl. Anyways, thank you very much. How may I return the favor?"
"If there are any good inns nearby, it would be great if you could recommend some. We just arrived… "
"Oh, a place to stay? Hold on. Euria, what did you say?"
Whispers.
Alisa bent over and lent her ear to Euria, who then began to whisper.
Alisa thought for a moment, wrote something on a piece of paper, stamped it, and handed it to Jin. It was a simple letter.
"It's an introductory letter with the Chief of Defense's seal. Wherever you go, if you show them this pass, then you will be treated with the utmost respect. The provided food will change as well."
"That's amazing. It will be of good use. We shall leave now."
The three left the building, and Alisa shrugged her shoulders.
"Euria, you really saw a cat turn into that man?"
"Mm, but they didn't want to share it. So I guess they didn't tell you."
Alisa patted Euria's head.
"Alright, everyone has their secrets."
And then she thought:
'Transformation… Only dragons can do that. And there's no way Euria is lying. I must ask Kashimir.'
The power of Tikan's Chief of Defense's pass was beyond their expectations.
Jin chose the most luxurious inn in the outskirts of the city. When he showed the pass to the receptionist, employees were summoned to escort them, and all kinds of services were discounted.
On top of that, they were offered the most luxurious room without a reservation. Jin, Murakan, and Gilly were finally able to rest comfortably.
"Wow. We've only experienced this kind of treatment in Huphester. Isn't nepotism great?"
"The cushioned bed is great, kiddo. Our living space needs to be more like this. Our place in Akin was a pain in the ass."
"I have a good feeling about this place, seeing the great fortune we got as soon as we came. Oh my, the cocktails and sautéed shrimp are delicious. Young Master, have a taste. Can we order some more?"
"My goodness, Gilly. No need to ask. Just order more."
Their visit felt like a vacation trip.
'This is new.'
The three have been together since their days at the Storm Castle, but it was their first time experiencing this kind of hospitality.
Gilly seemed to be especially happy, for she was constantly singing and humming a tune. Seeing her indulge in the lavish goods, Jin felt pity.
'She likes this stuff so much. As soon as she became a fair lady, she got stuck with me. No time to play, no time for herself.'
He wouldn't have made Gilly go through this in his past life. In fact, he wouldn't make anybody in the clan experience this kind of abject deprivation. Even if they weren't pureblood Runcandels.
Was this lifestyle truly for Gilly? Was it righteous to let her live her life from here?
For a moment, he considered letting Gilly go.
"Gilly."
"Yes, Young Master?"
"Have you ever regretted accompanying me?"
Gilly halted her humming and movements and stared at Jin. She knew exactly why he posed this question.
"Not once in my life. This kind of joy is meaningless if not spent with you, Young Master. Oh, including Lord Murakan. Though, he is definitely annoying at times."
"On that note, let me ask you, Strawberry Pie. Why do you remain stuck to the Runcandels? You don't seek treasures like that Emma person, nor do you want political power."
Jin was thankful that Murakan joined the conversation. He didn't know how to respond to Gilly's heartwarming response.
"Uhm… that's…"
"Did I catch onto somethin'? Or do you feel indebted to the clan for life? Your dedication definitely has some ulterior motive."
"May I share regarding this topic at a later time?"
"When are you gonna tell us, huh? Strawberry Pie?"
"When I become old and senile, perhaps?"
"That's not too far in the future. I can wait until then, but you'll have to tell us why."
Gilly meant that response as a joke, but Murakan took her seriously. Realistically speaking, a few decades of her life was nothing to Murakan.
"Haha, I guess I'll order some more shrimp."
Once Gilly left the room, Murakan called Jin over.
"Hey, kid."
"What?"
"It's a blessed life."
"Agreed."
Not long after leaving, Gilly returned to their quarters.
However, her startled face didn't look as if she had ordered more shrimps.
"Young Master, Lord Murakan, something's not right. There's not a single person in sight in the lobby."
"What?"
"Employees, and guests included, all seemed to have cleared the building. Something…"
Clunk, clunk, clunk.
At that moment, dozens of footsteps resounded from the hallway, approaching their vicinity. It was definitely the sound of marching soldiers equipped with steel boots.
The stomping stopped at their door. Then, a more quiet pair of footsteps approached it.
A man entered the opened door.
Murakan was clueless about the man's identity, but their visitor was a famous swordsman that Jin and Gilly knew.
"Hello there."
It was Ghostblade Kashimir.
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