It took four days for the agents to return with meaningful information.
"We didn't make any progress for the past few months, but we already got information after some clues. The agents brought some intel."
"What is it about?"
"About the Marius surname. It's a name found here and there in the region, but only one organization uses the name in the Delki Kingdom."
"Not a clan, but an organization?"
"Yes. There's an orphanage in the southern region of the Delki Kingdom called 'Lunar Sacrifice'. And everyone from that orphanage uses the Marius surname."
"It probably means that Alu and Taimyun were from the same orphanage. Although they aren't blood-related, they must have a deep connection."
"Correct. And it seems the agents got some cool information about the orphanage as well. Lunar Sacrifice was not just any orphanage."
Lunar Sacrifice's objective was not just to take care of orphans.
It was true that they took in many orphans, but the true motive was to sharpen the dagger of the king's army.
"The followers of Delki's king operated Lunar Sacrifice. They trained the orphans to become assassins or spies. It was shut down after the king's faction won the civil war."
"Basically, a secret weapon factory."
"Yes, and their training methods were brutal. They made the orphans create strong bonds with each other before forcing them to kill one another. Ultimately, the surviving child would be the chosen one…"
"Crazy bastards. Even the Runcandel Clan doesn't do that. Then, does the activity period between Nanny Taimyun and Alu overlap? I'm sure the age gap is huge."
"Although their activity periods do not overlap, apparently, Taimyun Marius visited Lunar Sacrifice whenever she had the chance. Even after she became one of the Runcandel Clan's nannies."
"Even then?"
"Yes. That's the main part of the agents' report. I don't know whether the Runcandels stayed silent about it or they simply didn't care. But she went at least once every two months."
According to Jin's knowledge, the nannies almost never had personal time. They only had one week in the entire year as an official break.
And, usually, they would forfeit their one-week break and return to their caretaking. They were mostly those with 'no place to return'.
'Personality-wise, Luna could've given her many unofficial breaks. But constantly visiting the same orphanage… Maybe she felt bad for the orphans who are in her same abject situation?'
In that case, it would make sense for Taimyun to give Alu an opportunity.
Either way, after confirming their relations, Jin felt a little uneasy. He wished that their surnames were coincidentally identical and that they had absolutely no connection to each other.
Then, even if Alu was related to Jin's curse, Jin wouldn't need to suspect Taimyun.
"What's the source?"
"There were some Lunar Sacrifice survivors in Delki. Nine people, excluding the deceased Alu. They were survivors when the Delki prince's faction shut down the facility."
All of the survivors acted in the shadows. Either they worked in the dark alleyways or as gangsters who ripped money off commoners.
"They were all careful with their speech regarding Taimyun. The agents' massive monetary bribes were barely able to pull out the information on Taimyun's frequent visits."
"I would really like to meet them. If I reveal my identity to them, they would tell us more about her."
"You're a provisional flag-bearer. Wouldn't that be a little dangerous?"
"It's fine. As long as it stays out of my siblings' ears."
April 1st, 1796.
Jin and Jet arrived at the transfer gate to go to the Delki Kingdom.
The Huphester Alliance. They didn't need many people to go to the Runcandels' land. There was nothing good about attracting attention.
"Hehe, Young Master! While this Jet is alive, I will protect you with my life."
Jin took Jet with him to give him the menial jobs.
"'Protect', my ass. At the small chance of battle, you'll just be a liability."
"Ahah! You'll take care of me? Oh, how grateful I am. If we ever get into any tight situation, I will not despise you for leaving me!"
"Why would I leave you? I got you into the Seven-Colored Peacock, so I got to milk you empty. How have your days been going?"
"Very good! If someone's an intelligence agent of the Seven-Colored Peacock, they get fed like elites! Fufu, if it weren't for you, Young Master, then a guy like me wouldn't have had an opportunity to work in such a place."
"Good point. Oh, the teleportation is starting."
"When we arrive, I will find a clean inn for our stay."
"No, no need. Today, we'll scour the western region where three survivors are living. For the inn, we will get it after we meet the three people and relocate to the northern region."
Woooom!
The transfer gate was activated, and Jin's surroundings began to rumble. Deep blue mana swallowed the two, and when they opened their eyes, they were in the waiting room of the Delki Kingdom's western region transfer gate.
The guide glanced at their identifications and smiled.
"Welcome, Mr. Jin Grey, Mr. Jet. We hope you had a wonderful trip."
Jin exited the room and put on his hood. Jet had a big smile on his face.
"I can feel it! The nice weather makes me feel like we can get the information we want very easily."
"Who's the first survivor we're meeting?"
"Let's see… Gaber Marius. He's doing gangster stuff in a neighborhood called Nelta, which is about an hour away on horse."
"Go get a horse."
"Yes, sir!"
Despite coming to West Delki for the first time, Jet returned with two robust horses not even thirty minutes after he left. On top of that, he used less gold than what Jin gave and returned all of the change to the young Runcandel.
Jin felt a little surprised.
'In my past life, he was a dog who would eat me alive when given the chance. Well, in this life, he tried to sell me, Murakan, and Gilly away. People's business. I really don't get it.'
Jin lightly shook his head, and Jet frowned.
"Young Master, do you not like the stallion that I got? Or was I too late?"
"No, you did great. Keep the change. Let us depart."
"Oh, goodness! Thank you! I will use it wisely."
Neigh!
They sped down the stone road made for horses and arrived in Nelta around noon.
"It should be around here… Oh, over there, Young Master. The Nelta Vigilante Group. Ah, these funny fellows. They call themselves 'vigilantes' when they're filthy gangsters."
Jin almost scoffed at the pathetic organization trying to claim their actions as just, but he suppressed it and knocked on their door.
"Young Master! Please let me do these things. The bad energy will stain your precious hands. And if we are knocking on the gangsters' cove in the daylight, we must knock more vigorously to have at least one guy turn up."
"Really?"
"Yes. These fellows usually work during the night and sleep during the day, so they won't hear a single thing from such a shy knock."
Ehem!
Jet cleared his throat before kicking the front door.
"We are here to meet Gaber Marius! Come out!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs, and some passersby stared at the peculiar sight.
Thump! Thump, thump!
Even after many kicks, the wooden door didn't seem to be opening any time soon.
"Huh. Well, would you look at that? It seems they partied all night and are in a deep slumber. Not a single one came out."
"Maybe no one is in there?"
"There's no way. Gangsters usually love their base to death. Hey! Come out! Anyone!"
There was still no reaction from Jet's continued kicks on the door. Embarrassed, he scratched his head, and Jin put his ear on the door to listen for any footsteps.
Jin didn't hear any footsteps at the time. However…
'This is…?!'
From the bottom of the door wafted a strange stench of blood.
As if he also sensed it, Jet—who also had his head on the door—looked up at Jin with a hopeless expression.
"These guys… Did they have a fight through the night? I think we should take down the door and barge in. If the smell reached all the way here, it's not just one or two people dead."
"Back off. I'm taking down the door."
"No, you shouldn't. We'll attract attention. And if we use a sword now, then it'll bite back at us. Please wait. Seeing the keyhole, it seems like the type that I can pick."
"You can do that?"
"Haha, I've been in the shadows for a while. Kuu… This brings back memories. When I was young, I fed myself with the use of my lockpicking skills."
Jet pulled out a long pin and hook, then wrestled the lock. After five minutes—
Click.
The door was unlocked.
"It was a good idea to bring me with you, right?"
Creaaaaaaak.
When the door opened, the smell of iron got more potent. The inside was dark enough to drown out the sun. Nothing could be seen.
Jet closed the door and lit a lantern.
Chhsssssss.
And their jaws dropped.
"The fuck? What in the world…?"
"O-Oh my goodness. What—This… Young Master, something is definitely wrong!"
The room looked like hell.
The floor, walls, and ceiling were sprinkled with bits of human flesh. From the estimated twenty corpses that should be present, not a single part of their bodies remained untouched.
If they weren't used to blood and corpses, they would have fallen to the floor and begun vomiting everywhere.
"Erk."
"These guys didn't die long ago. Not all of the blood has hardened yet."
"Huh, now that you say… No, with this much of a massacre here, did nobody outside really notice? Did they get ripped apart by a monster? Or did they misbehave in front of a knight?"
A chilling feeling crawled up Jin's spine.
"First, let's find Gaber Marius. I doubt any of the corpses' faces are recognizable, though…"
Jet carefully stepped on parts of the floor without blood puddles as he searched for Gaber. Jin inspected the corpses.
'This isn't from a high-ranked knight. These guys' bodies were ripped apart by a wind-type spell.'
This was at least the work of an 8-star magician. Similar to the 8-star wind spell, Hellwind.
And the Huphester Alliance dealt with magic-related crimes with utmost importance.
"Jet, that's enough. Let's get out of here as soon as possible. As you said, we could possibly be accused or taken in as an affiliate."
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