Jin smiled inwardly. Even though Qwaul started shooting from the beginning, it was the moment when it was revealed that Qwaul was not entirely incapable of conversation.
Besides, isn't it Jin's specialty to answer questions and align with the conditions the other party desires?
"Let's start with the question."
"How did you find out I was here?"
"I heard from Madame Talaris."
"Talaris...?"
Tingen showed a surprised expression upon hearing her name. It was as if he heard the name for the first time.
At first, both Jin and Syris wondered if Qwaul and the Tingen mentioned by Talaris were different people. However, after a moment, he was startled and said:
"Ah! Talaris. Yes, Talaris Kendorma!"
"Isn't it Endorma?"
"Was it Endorma? Right...There was such a woman...…."
Not only Jin, but also Syris couldn't help but be amazed by Qwaul's reaction as his eyes deepened as he remembered his old memories.
In particular, Syris was feeling a kind of fresh shock beyond discomfort. She never wanted to, but Syris saw firsthand quite a few of the many humans who had been lovers of Talaris.
They all clung to her mother to the point of being pathetic. In severe cases, they even threatened to end their lives if she didn't meet them, but Talaris never reached out to those former lovers.
Syris had even dealt with those who, in some serious cases, were determined to tarnish the image of the hidden palace by spreading excessive rumors about Talaris. Like when Jin was an intermediate cadet, Syris went to Mamit to remove the Talaris's 307th boyfriend, Alcaro Chender.
Jin and Syris first met there.
'He...… couldn't even remember my mother? What kind of human is he? No, is that even possible?'
Even if they were not lovers, once you saw Talaris, she was an unforgettable figure.
In the first place, the public wouldn't even have the chance to see her, and her unique white-silver hair and aura, characteristic of the Endorma bloodline, exuded an inexplicable mystique that no one else could feel.
But it seemed that Qwaul had really forgotten her. No matter how she looked at it, he wasn't just pretending to forget.
"... No, didn't you already know? Until now, it was the energy of myriad ice that blocked your bullets."
The energy of myriad ice gave off a completely different feeling from ordinary ice-type magic. However, Qwaul clapped his hands as if he just recalled it. There was even Mort.
"That's right. Come to think of it, that friend is using the same power as Talaris Kendorma!"
"Endorma!"
Syris shouted.
Qwaul continued to gaze with a melancholic look, whether he should say it or not.
At this point, Syris was on the verge of losing her temper.
"Oh, Mort. It's been a while, my friend. Then you must be her daughter. Nice to meet you. I am Tingen Bauer."
"Get lost."
"And you must be her son-in-law, or a future son-in-law. Come to think of it, I heard that marriage talks are going on between the 12th flagbearer of Runcandel and the lady of the hidden palace. How is Talaris doing?"
Before Jin could choose how to respond, Qwaul shook his head.
"No, well! Forget it. I'm not interested in past love affairs."
"Ha, unbelievable."
Aren't your eyes too deep for that kind of thing... Jin wanted to say that, but he stayed quiet, looking at Syris.
"Well, anyway, if Talaris told you about this place, it makes sense. She remembered this place."
Qwaul seemed to have a lot of questions about Talaris, but he held it back.
Syris moved away from them, thinking that if she watched Qwaul any longer, she might draw her sword.
Jin gave Qwaul a moment to organize his thoughts.
A few minutes later, Qwaul's eyes were tinted with caution again. However, it was much lighter than the first time.
"Next question. It was explained how you found out about this log cabin and the alias Tingen Bauer. But how did you know my real name?"
"My informants found out."
"I'll tell you in advance. If you play a joke or tell a lie, the conversation ends there."
"You're strict."
"Do you think Runcandel's intelligence is superior to Zipfel's? Moreover, you're still only a 12th flagbearer, your intelligence is not from Runcandel but from the collective abilities of the Vamel Alliance. It's hard to believe that you've figured out my real name to that extent."
Qwaul's words contained one piece of information.
'Even Zipfel didn't know Tingen Bauer's real name, Qwaul Ganesto?'
How did you know something that not even Zipfel knew? Qwaul seemed to be asking that.
"It's true that my informants found out about your real name. My clan didn't even know about your existence, let alone that I was looking for you."
Jin couldn't classify Valeria as a simple informant, but in broad terms, she could also be classified as an informant for the Vamel Alliance, so he wasn't lying.
Qwaul stared at Jin for a while without saying a word.
"Hmm, I don't think you're lying."
That long eye contact was Qwaul's way of detecting lies. There seemed to be no evidence, but since they moved past it, it was fine for Jin.
"I also have a few things I want to ask."
"Do it after I finish my question."
"Why is Zipfel's engineer, especially a figure crucial to the development of teleportation devices and mass-production battleships, stuck in a place like this? Moreover, why aren't there any mages coming to escort you, even to this extent?"
Qwaul didn't really hate Jin's behavior, ignoring his words and asking questions.
He thought that this side was better than the powerful people of Zipfel, who used to show a servile appearance by carefully looking at himself.
Perhaps this small favor was the price for helping him remember a long-forgotten past love, but Qwaul vehemently denied that fact.
"Even those rods you made, they seem to have the ability to interfere with the concentration of martial artists' aura. No matter how I think about it, it's strange that an engineer of your caliber is left neglected in a place like this."
"Neglected? Did you say I was neglected? Hah! You don't know me well. No one can restrain me."
For some reason, at that moment, Jin thought of the black dragon he knew well.
'It reminds me of Murakan....'
These kinds of individuals, whether described positively as simple and unique or negatively as somewhat foolish and arrogant, sometimes showed signs of being obsessed with something.
Jin hoped that Qwaul would also have that kind of element.
"Zipfel released you, is that what you're saying?"
"I was trying to be nice, but you keep talking about things that scratch my pride. Zipfel? They were just interested in my abilities and were accommodating me for a while. I've never been affiliated with them."
Jin had a rough idea.
'Zipfel is probably unable to deal with this eccentric individual recklessly. This person seems to be someone who, even if slightly offended, would never cooperate. So, they had no choice but to go along with his wishes.'
Nothing was known about this arrogant genius engineer, Tingen Bauer.
If Jin didn't get some of the mechanical device and battleship blueprints from Sota Desert, and if Valeria hadn't been there, and if he had no connection with Talaris, he probably wouldn't have found this place.
Even if he had found it, it would have been at a much later time.
In addition, Qwaul had the ability to hold his own against quite a few people, and Zipfel was suffering from severe power shortages after the Sword Emperor Castle War.
'But even so, it's insufficient to explain why Qwaul Ganesto is neglected. Maybe it's because the name Ganesto is not yet known to Zipfel.'
Mind manipulation.
Suddenly, one of Zipfel's spells came to Jin's mind. At least from what he had seen so far, Qwaul seemed unaffected by mind manipulation.
'Their mind control is not yet perfect, so if we exclude that, things somewhat fall into place. And, why was Qwaul working with Zipfel in the first place?'
Even though he wasn't from an academy, and his fame wasn't widespread, it was evident that Qwaul Ganesto was a genius engineer of a different caliber.
Therefore, it was quite possible that Zipfel noticed him due to his exceptional abilities.
'He's not just someone to be recruited easily. If he just needed advanced engineering equipment or resource support, he probably would have used the academy first.'
Zipfel must have made an attractive offer to Qwaul.
To redeem himself, he's going to put an enemy on the Zipfel for a while.
Jin came to that conclusion.
"Perhaps you were working with Zipfel because there was something appealing to you? The desire as a pure scholar worked on things like teleportation devices or the development of mass-production battleships."
"Think whatever you want about that part."
Jin thought it meant yes.
Originally, upon hearing Qwaul's answer, Jin would have felt a bit stuck.
Because the Runcandel and Vamel Alliance did not have any alternative offers against teleportation devices and mass production battleships.
But now, the situation is different.
There is a mana suction spray all-purpose mana spraying cannon, something that Amela affirmed to be a masterpiece of ancient artifacts, and they also have some of the battleship blueprints and parts of the teleportation device.
Particularly, the parts and blueprints were clearly a masterpiece among the masterpieces even to Qwaul.
"Let me ask you directly, Qwaul Ganesto. If I could make you an offer as attractive as Zipfel, would you consider working with me?"
"That's not possible."
"Do you want to hear my proposition? You said you would consider leaving the cabin if I had your questions and met the conditions?"
"Even though I said so, I don't really have any expectations. If you're thinking of moving me through torture or something like that, feel free to do it. However, by doing so, you will become the villain, setting back the progress of this world by centuries."
Jin didn't respond to that and instead pulled out a mechanical device from his pocket, presenting it to Qwaul.
"I thought you might want to complete this thing, but it seems I was mistaken."
Then, Qwaul's eyes widened as if they were about to pop out.
"What, what! Why do you have it!?"
Jin couldn't help but smile once more.