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"Hey, hey. Baldie. Do you have any idea what this is, huh?"
Murakan grabbed Picon, who had manifested through Vin Branche's body, and shook him as he spoke.
Jin had left the Imperial palace and visited Voltaga's territory with Murakan and Gilly.
After hearing that Kinzelo leader had the ability to handle 'metal' like a blacksmith's god, Picon had asked them to retrieve a piece of it.
After the Kinzelo leader had retreated with his group, fortunately, the metal formed by his authority was still left on the battlefield.
Most of the metal had been collected by Hairan and commissioned to the mages for research, and Jin had brought some back.
[You impatient guy, do you think analysis is something that can be done instantly just by looking at it?The analysis requires time.]
"How long will it take?"
[At least a week.]
"Can't it be faster?"
[A week is already incredibly fast. If we are unlucky, it could take several months, and we might not gain anything at all. Do you think it's easy to identify the user's information with just this piece of metal?]
"Hah! Who on earth is that bastard?"
Kinzelo's leader.
Two things had become clear about him after the battle. First, that he was a demon, and second, that he possessed immense power.
[He was a demon with power that could overwhelm even a 10-star knight, right? If he's that kind of demon, there's definitely unique demonic energy left in the metal, so be patient.]
"Alright, I got it."
[But what are you going to do with the remaining metal?]
Picon pointed at the metal pieces left in Jin's hand.
"I'm going to give them to Arya Hister."
[The record mage, right? That's a good idea; perhaps that mage can provide more information than I can.]
Valeria was currently having the busiest days among Jin's companions.
She is tracking Hister's magic, restoring the recording devices she received from Jin, and even searching for Temar's tomb on her own.
'I hope we can meet soon, but it's going to be busy and hectic. I should send a letter with the item. Also, I have to prepare a gift to send to the Emperor.'
The golden crown awarded by the Emperor as a reward had already passed through the transfer gate and arrived at the Garden of Swords.
He needs to return the favor.
'Majin's corpse.'
Rick Helter, the leader of Imperial Guard's Fifth Division, whom they had encountered in the Wantaramo Forest, along with his subordinates.
They had thought that their bodies would oxidize without a trace after they had chosen to become Majins. However, Valeria's ice barrier seal had preserved the part of his body as evidence.
Jin planned to publicly reveal this evidence soon.
'After speaking to him, it became clear that the Emperor is ready to abandon Hairan. He seemed eager to get rid of Hairan as soon as he recovered the stone.'
Kinzelo was refusing to take responsibility for the attack, and Zipfel was subtly pressuring Hairan, but the Imperial Family was not stepping in to help Hairan.
'It was inevitable that he had to send the Dragon Knights at the last minute, especially for the sake of the Imperial Family's authority. He also needs to find the whereabouts of the stone. Personally, he would have expected Hairan to be destroyed at that time.'
The Emperor wanted a more obedient Hairan rather than the 'arrogant and uncontrollable' Ron's Hairan.
It was definitely painful to lose the strongest knight of Vermont, Ron Hairan and his grandson, Dante, who is designated as the next strongest.
'However, it's not an irreplaceable force from the moment the variable 'Majin' was created. The Emperor considered Ron and Dante's potential threat to the Imperial Family a bigger issue.'
-Body transformation? Something like a living golem?
-It's similar but a bit different. Dark mages called it 'majinification.' It's not a perfect magic circle.
-It looks that way to me too. It's slow to activate, and it looks needlessly complex and crude at first glance.
The conversation Jin had with Valeria about Majins in the Wantaramo Forest revealed that the current Majins were not in a complete state.
Nevertheless, the Emperor believed that they could sufficiently fill the power gap left by Ron and Dane with Majins.
'In any case, we will be able to give a big blow to the Imperial Family's image just like when Zipfel's living golem problem was revealed.'
The Imperial Family seemed to be helping Kinzelo rather than Hairan after the terrorist attack. But the people were not all fools, so rumors were spreading even while the media was being manipulated and controlled. Rumors that the Imperial Family was trying to abandon Hairan.
Hairan and Jin's pens constantly released such articles, and the Vermont people were most angry about it.
The living golems and giant demonic creatures that seemed to obey human commands.
Most of the ordinary people trembled at the thought of a "living golem" especially after the Holy Kingdom incident.
This was thanks to Jin, who had exposed how brutal and cruel the process of creating living golems could be.
"Hey, kid. What are you thinking?"
"I think the public can't distinguish between Majins and living golems."
"Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"We will release an article stating that the Majin corpses obtained from the Wantaramo Forest are not Majins but living golems of the Imperial family."
"Young Master, is that really okay?"
"We are just manipulating the information, but the Imperial Family might cut ties with Hairan faster than I expected. I need to prevent that. The controversy over living golems is critical, so they won't be able to properly deal with Hairan while they explain and cover that up."
The moment articles and evidence about "Imperial Family's living golems" started circulating, the Imperial Family would have to pay the price for even subtly supporting Kinzelo.
They would also have to clearly draw the line with Kinzelo. If they continued to show an ambiguous attitude, they could be falsely accused of owning the living golems that attacked Hairan in the first place.
In that case, the Imperial Family will appear to have failed to purge the most famous clan of Vermont by collaborating with terrorist forces without any justification.
"Come to think of it, the Emperor didn't know that you had the Majin corpses, did he?"
"No, he didn't. That's why he was so confident. If he had known, he might have proposed a trade in a more humble manner. I wouldn't have accepted, though. But Dino will be very busy for a while."
Jin smiled as he imagined the Emperor's expression when the articles about Majin corpses began to shake the entire Vermont.
"Ron Hairan was born in the wrong era. If he had been born when your father wasn't around, he would have been worthy of being given the title of the strongest. This kind of treatment is not even close compared to Chiron Runcandel."
Murakan shrugged his shoulders.
"Anyway, Mr. Picon, we'll be going now. Please contact us if you find any clues after the analysis is complete."
[Understood.]
***
Jin, Murakan and Gilly were greeted with unexpected cheers and applause as soon as they arrived in the city of Kalon through the transfer gate.
"Wow!"
"The hero of the Hairan incident!"
"The flagbearer recognised by the Sword Emperor!"
"The great black dragon!"
Thousands of people welcomed the group. They had been waiting near the transfer gate for several days and eagerly anticipating Jin's arrival.
Jin had been staying at the Sword Emperor Castle until recently and had returned straight after visiting the imperial palace, so he hadn't realized the extent of the situation.
However, he was already being praised as the hero of the Sword Emperor Castle terrorist attack in the outside world, along with Murakan. The news of their remarkable feat had spread throughout the continent, including Huphester.
Of course, there were many martial artists who had also displayed remarkable valor that day, but it was only natural that Jin and Murakan had stood out.
Murakan had completely imbued the skies with his shadow force to protect the Sword Emperor Castle, while Jin had fought side by side with the Emperor himself on the front lines.
There was even a rumar going around that Sword Emperor Castle would have been completely destroyed that day if it weren't for Jin and Murakan.
"Oh mighty Black Dragon, please look this way!"
Normally, causing such a commotion in the downtown of Kalon would have been unthinkable.
The transfer gate area was usually well-maintained, as it was primarily used for official missions.
Furthermore, it was impossible for people to gather like this to welcome the 12th flagbearer, who was rumored to be out of sight.
However, the fact that the residents had gathered to enthusiastically welcome the 12th flagbearer was a result of the '10%' supporters that Jin had gained after the Patriarchy declaration.
"What are they?"
Murakan said with his blunt tone,but he was not entirely displeased with the voices of humans praising him.
"It seems like they are people who support you, Young Master."
"Strawberry pie, is it really necessary for people to make such a fuss for helping the Sword Emperor Castle?"
"I think it's because we still played an active role despite having Ron Hairan... People are probably hoping that this incident will lead to an alliance between Runcandel and Hairan."
The alliance between Runcandel and Hairan was a topic that was frequently mentioned among the people of the world.
Right now, Zipfel is ahead of Runcandel, but everyone has expectations about how much the gap will narrow if Hairan is incorporated into the Huphester.
Of course, it was mostly wishful thinking, but people held hope given that the imperial family is keeping Hairan in check and Jin's activities.
"It seems like there are more people here to see you than me, Murakan."
"I get the same feeling."
"Why do you think that is?"
"Well, you've been the guardian of Runcandel for the past thousand years, and you showed considerable dignity in Hairan as well. So, don't just stand there with that stern expression; smile a bit."
"Why should I do that?"
Murakan shook his head and smiled despite his response, and even more enthusiastic cheers broke out among the residents.
Then, a man wearing a monocle approached the group along with the guardian knights.
It was Petro, a first-class butler.
"You are here, Young Master."
"It feels like it's been a while since someone greeted me so calmly."
Indeed, as he mentioned, Petro would usually rush to find Jin whenever he returned. Most of the time, Jin came to the garden of Sword after causing an incident or stirring up the clan, and there were always people who tried to kill him.
This time, too, Jin had returned after causing an incident. Given the circumstances, he had provided significant assistance to Hairan. He also stopped an attacker believed to be the Black Knight.
"I hope there won't be any swordsmen waiting for me sharpening their swords this time."
"Not exactly, but there are fewer people openly declaring enmity against you compared to before, young master."
"That's good to hear."
"However, a guest arrived a little while ago without any prior notice, Young Master."
"Who is it?"
"Ghost leader, Lata Proch. He came to see you and appeared at the Garden of Swords without any prior notice. He also brought a considerable number of armed mercenaries with him..."
Petro sighed as he spoke.