Meeting Kashimir was their main objective for coming to Tikan. However, they struggled to find a way to meet him.
But to think that he would come straight to their doorstep. Quite the unexpected turn of events.
"What's this?"
Naturally, Jin stepped in front of Gilly and Murakan.
Kashimir leaned on the doorway and shrugged his shoulders. It was hard to miss the scimitar on his waist. It was a curved blade that slaughtered hundreds of strong opponents before its owner was given the name 'Ghostblade'.
"Oh my. Did I disturb your peaceful break?"
Murakan—who was amused by the situation—smirked. Jin thought about why Kashimir came to them.
'There's no way he knows about our business in Akin. It seems the chief of defense leaked our general location, and the inn owner saw our pass and contacted her.'
But why?
They just arrived in Tikan and have only been in the city for a grand total of two hours. They didn't do anything in particular—just spent some quality quiet time.
There was no reason for Kashimir to be interested in them.
Then he remembered their encounter with Euria.
'Unless…? What if Euria told Alisa about Murakan's transformation, and knowing that transformation is an ability only dragons have, Alisa reported it to Kashimir?'
Certain of the possibility, Jin began to formulate the scenarios in his head.
'If he was convinced by a 5-year-old who witnessed it and believes that we are dragons, it means that he's desperate. As a close acquaintance, the chief of defense probably knows this as well.'
It didn't seem like a horrible situation, though.
'The armoured knights outside don't seem to intend to threaten us. They were brought to prepare for a possible fight against a dragon. If not, there's no reason to keep them outside. They would've come into the room if they wanted to scare us.'
Jin realized that Kashimir evacuated the people inside the inn for the same reason.
'Probably evacuated not only the inn, but the surrounding area as well. Causing a dragon's rage because of this encounter would devastate the vicinity.'
It didn't even take a few seconds to evaluate the situation. Their short stay in Tikan easily narrowed down all of the possibilities.
At this point, Jin thought he could safely approach Kashimir. In addition to not knowing that Murakan was the dragon, he mobilized the troops outside and evacuated everyone. His preparation was immaculate.
However, he made one small mistake.
"'Oh my', my ass. You bitch. You talking like that to me? Do you know who I am?
"Wh-what?"
"So fucking annoying. You think the world is so easy just because you have a cool weapon on your ass and some goons to drag around?"
Kashimir didn't greet them—more specifically, Murakan—respectfully.
Murakan continued to spit swears and curses, and Kashimir was startled.
It was a widely known fact that dragons didn't have the greatest personalities.
Kashimir should have known this, but he just nonchalantly greeted Murakan anyways. Though he was the Fallen Prince, was his attitude because he had been part of the Vermont Imperial Family?
Regardless, Murakan was on the nicer side amongst the nasty dragons.
"Who do you think you are, messing up the nice mood. I'm asking you, you mongrel. Do you know who I am? Answer me."
"I… don't know."
Kashimir's handsome profile was ruined as he answered Murakan. He seemed to be very shocked.
At that moment, he was certain that Murakan was the dragon. Otherwise, he wouldn't stand still like a scarecrow after being brutally humiliated.
"Oh, is there a lump of gold stuck in your throat? You're still not talking, you dumbass dog. C'mere. Get your ass over here. People like you need a nice beating to get into the right mind…"
Despite telling Kashimir to come to him, Murakan stomped towards the other man.
Kashimir shivered in fear as he slowly backed away. Jin wanted to laugh at the sight.
"Murakan, calm down. Relax. Don't worry about it."
Jin softly stopped Murakan. The dragon then stood still, eyes fixed on Kashimir. He would've spun the other's jaw multiple times if he hadn't been stopped.
There were three reasons why Murakan was pissed.
The biggest reason was because he made his poor Strawberry Pie feel threatened, and then it was a split between him disturbing their peace and lacking respect.
Barely catching his breath, Kashimir cleared his throat.
"Ehem! My apologies. It seems I was insolent. I did not intend to aggravate you, so please, I humbly request your forgiveness."
"Sir Ghostblade Kashimir."
"Uh, pardon me, but you know who I am?"
"How would I not? I've been wanting to meet the glorious ruler of Tikan."
Jin's demeanor was much calmer than Murakan's. Kashimir cleared his mind and avoided Murakan's gaze.
"I didn't know that you would suddenly visit like this. Maybe because of a certain cat?"
Hearing this, Kashimir regained his composure and the sharpness in his eyes. He overcame his trauma when he remembered what he originally came for.
"And your name is?"
"It's Jin Runcandel."
Without hesitation, he said his real name. Gilly—who stood behind him—covered her mouth. Murakan was also slightly surprised.
Someone identifying as a Runcandel heir was an occasion out of their control, but revealing his own identity should've been avoided at all costs.
Of course, the one who was surprised the most was Kashimir.
"If you had attended the banquet not so long ago, then I'm sure we would have met beforehand. It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Kashimir."
Kashimir slightly smiled.
'So he's Jin Runcandel… After revealing that man as the dragon, the boy just reveals himself. Was there even a case where the Runcandels and dragons got along?'
According to his knowledge, it was impossible. Since ancient times, dragons only formed relations with magicians who either contracted with gods or have special abilities.
'That frivolous man is the dragon. His speech and tone was like a back-alley thug, but the momentary pressure and threat he gave off was immense.'
Analyzing the crew in front of him, Kashimir naturally turned his eyes towards Gilly.
'And isn't that woman Gilly McRolan?'
Before being deemed the Fallen Prince, he had seen some of the McRolans at the Vermont Imperial Palace.
Although he didn't remember Gilly precisely, he had a vivid memory of a young Gilly displaying a claw's potent power at a training academy.
And there was no doubt about it. The boy in front of him was a Runcandel. Though, he couldn't understand why Jin was being accompanied by a dragon.
"It's a long story. Sir Kashimir, please take a seat."
Kashimir ordered the soldiers to clear the area. In his position, it was a dangerous move, but he acted out of pacifism to gain the favour of the dragon.
Murakan, however, was still annoyed.
Respecting Jin's decision, Gilly set three goblets on the table. Murakan was forced to follow the kid's agenda.
Glug, glug.
Jin poured some wine into Kashimir's goblet.
"Young Master Jin, does your clan know of your whereabouts with a dragon? I've never thought of a Runcandel and a dragon working together."
"The clan does not know."
"You're telling me a risky secret like it's nothing."
"Because you just sent your soldiers away. If things don't go as I planned, and depending on the outcome of this conversation, we can just get rid of you."
Kashimir assumed that Jin was joking and awkwardly laughed.
"I guess we didn't give Euria enough ice cream. If we knew this would happen, we would've bought her better stuff. I guess Sir Kashimir and Alisa really trust Euria? Seeing that you acted upon the child's seemingly fake story…"
"And since Young Master Jin shared a clandestine secret, I will share one as well. Euria is my daughter. There is no reason for me not to trust her."
Kashimir looked robust, but he definitely was lacking compared to Alisa. However, picturing the two next to each other, they do look nice together…
'No, that's not important right now.'
Jin nodded and continued to speak,
"I have never heard news of Sir Kashimir having a daughter."
As if that information wasn't enough, Kashimir added to his words.
"And my daughter contracted with Az Mil."
"By Az Mil, you mean…"
"Yes, the God of Sight, Az Mil."
Jin finally understood why Kashimir and Alisa trusted Euria's absurd story.
Anyone who contracted with the God of Sight would never be 'seeing things'. There was no such thing as hallucinations for them.
"I think my secret is of equivalent weight to yours."
—My daughter contracted with Az Mil.
Revealing such truth required a great sum of courage. Az Mil's contractor not only gained the 'Absolute Eye' that enables them to see the truth behind everything, but also the 'All-Seeing Eye' which allows them to see a vision of the future.
All of the rulers and leaders in the world searched for the one who contracted with Az Mil with the hopes and greed of avoiding the uncertainty of the future.
Which is why most of Az Mil's contractors were abused and taken advantage of, living the rest of their life in misery.
Especially with the extremity of the Zipfels' and the Vermont Imperial Family's actions. Everyone knew that they wanted to keep the contractor by their side 'by all means'.
"Wait, you mongrel. If that kid is Az's contractor, then where's the dragon? I didn't sense any presence of a dragon in this city. It's well known that Az's dragons take really good care of the contractors."
Engaged in the conversation, Murakan sat in a chair, which settled the mood. Combining the dragon's words with the image of Euria holding onto a dragon doll, Jin finally deduced why Kashimir came to them.
'For some reason, the dragon disappeared. That's why he urgently came here after hearing of another dragon's presence.'
Kashimir's face dimmed.
"…Euria's guardian dragon suddenly disappeared about a year ago. I think that either the Vermont Imperial Family or the Zipfels are at fault, but it's just a hunch."
"What kind of stupid dragon would get kidnapped just like that? At least speak some sense…"
Murakan paused, then his eyes widened.
"Wait, it's been a year? And your daughter… is 5?"
"Indeed."
Kashimir dropped his head, holding a hopeless and melancholic expression as he thought of the day he lost his friend and creating a doll for his daughter to commemorate them.
But right now, losing an acquaintance was the least of Kashimir's concerns.
"Then that means your daughter is constantly looking into the future! A young contractor can't control their abilities without their dragon. Holy shit, she probably saw my transformation from a vision."
"Pardon? Euria is constantly looking into the future?"
"A measly human like you wouldn't understand. Witnessing the future inflicts so much mental strain—even for a dragon. Right now, your daughter is so young. She can't differentiate between fantasy and reality."
"Wh-What do you…"
"At this rate, your daughter will go crazy and become bedridden forever. After one or two years, she will slowly feel exhausted, and it just snowballs from there. It becomes impossible to stop. We must find that dragon."
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