"It's been a while, Jin!"
Veradin shouted brightly.
"Darling, my Jin!"
Sandra, who was next to him, swung the golden prosthetic arm that replaced her right hand and cookie crumbs covered her mouth. Jin was startled for a moment looking at the picture of his face engraved on the golden prosthetic arm.
"I received your reply to the letter I sent last time! Where did you learn such a romantic language?"
"... Reply? Romantic?"
Of course, Jin doesn't remember sending a reply.
However, Sandra firmly believed that Jin had replied to her through some kind of invisible signal.
"You asked me to go to the Radin's villa and hang out with you next time."
"No, when did I?"
"Oh, Jin. Are you really dating elder sister Sandra!? So now you are my...… brother-in-law!?"
"How many times do I have to tell you, Radin? He is not your brother-in-law anymore, but your brother-in-law in the first place."
"I can't believe my friend is my brother-in-law, it feels a bit strange!"
"Isn't it nice?"
"It's strange!"
"What kind of commotion is this in someone else's shop, especially on a holiday?"
As soon as brother and sister arrived in Tikan, they went to the Latrie refreshment store. Then they reluctantly entered the refreshment shop saying 'We are Zipfel!' to Latrie, who announced that today was a holiday.
Instead, they paid a large amount of money that the Latrie refreshment store could not touch even if it worked non-stop for a full year.
The problem was that the two were not the only uninvited guests who were forcibly entered the Latrie refreshment Shop.
Behind the central table occupied by Veradin and Sandra, a person with a deeply hooded cloak was sitting.
'... Valeria!? Why is the teacher here?'
It was Valeria, whom Jin had met just a few days ago at the second castle of Hairan. Jin hadn't heard from Kashmir that she was also at the Litrie refreshment Shop.
-Anyway, you don't need to feel regretful since we'll be seeing each other much more often from now on. There are more things we need to share and help each other with. I plan to use Tikan occasionally in the future when avoiding pursuit from Zipfel.
At that time, Valeria had clearly mentioned that she would stop by near the territory of the Sword Emperor Castle's territory to express gratitude to Ron and visit the succession temple, but she stopped by Latrie refreshment store to take a break for a while. It was because she was tired of dealing with the chaos in the vicinity of the Sword Emperor Castle.
Valeria was always a welcome presence to Jin. Recently, he found Qwaul much faster than expected and recruited him, so he was about to contact Valeria again.
However, the current situation was a bit awkward. He didn't want to meet Valeria alongside the two pure-blood Zipfel.
Fortunately, Veradin and Sandra were not showing any interest in Valeria, who was still sitting in the corner.
"Let's go out and talk."
"I like it here! It was my dream to have a cup of tea with Jin in such a nice atmosphere."
"There is a better... place."
"Where?"
"The meeting room of the Tikan Kingdom."
There was silence for a while.
"Is it because of Hister sitting over there?"
The only one surprised at that remark was Jin.
"Ah, what are you worried about between us? Even though she is wearing a robe, she has red hair and a silver pine wand, but Radin and I are pure-blood Zipfel, so can't we recognize that?"
Valeria already knew that they recognized her. During the long pursuit, her red hair and silver pine staff had already been revealed a long time ago.
Valeria chose to remain silent, knowing that she had no chance of being captured by them. What worried Jin was not Valeria being caught, but the opposite.
Jin was rather worried that she would kill or capture the two of them and use them.
For Valeria, Zipfel is the mortal enemy who destroyed her clan and annihilated the Gray Owl Mercenary Corps.
'Since she has heard about the two of them from me and my companions, has she decided to wait and see?'
Valeria was curious about the two, especially Veradin. Was he really the one who could lead the purification of Zipfel, as the people of Tikan claimed?
Reluctantly, Jin took a seat at the table of the two.
The eyes of Jin and Veradin met. The excited Sandra chatted nonstop, and the two were silent for a while.
The last time Jin met Veradin was during the Sword Emperor terrorist attack.
That day, Jin and Dante asked Veradin for a favor.
In order for Hairan to be able to clearly distinguish between friend and foe, they asked him to make Zipfel to pressure Hairan in earnest.
The results came out a month ago.
It was a bitter and sad ending that everyone knows. Because the imperial family chose Zipfel and white stone over Hairan, and as a result, Glyek awoke and the world was contaminated.
It was an incident that had no choice but to happen even if Veradin hadn't asked his friends, but he was carrying heavy guilt like a punishment.
"How are you?"
"So, so."
"No, he is not doing well! Radin, speak up. If you hadn't forced yourself to lose control, then wouldn't Lord Kadun and Hedo have participated in the Sword Emperor Castle war?"
It was predicted from the battlefield that Veradin would do something for Dante.
"Lost control? Were you in the same condition during the Ventica mission?"
During the mission to kill Barton Vicena, the Black Knight, Veradin lost his sanity and attacked Jin.
"Similar."
"Although the mana you showed at that time was amazing, it wasn't to the extent that you couldn't be subdued without Kadun and Hedo."
"My mana had become much stronger than during the Ventica mission. Now this isn't surprising, is it? Until yesterday, I was stuck in the life support device. Well, thanks to that, my clan won't be able to manipulate my mind for a while."
So far, Zipfel has been manipulating Veradin's mind through special methods, including dark magic and Demon God's orb.
However, it was impossible now because the Demon God's orb was broken and Kelliark was tied to the life support device, and Veradin's body and mind were damaged from running wild.
In the past, when Veradin first confessed about his mind manipulation, Jin thought it was merely for Zipfel to groom Veradin as a suitable successor.
It didn't seem like that now.
"Then, it seems that you've lost all of your mana now."
Jin didn't feel mana from Veradin at all. The current Veradin had a body that couldn't be called that of a mage.
"Not only mana, but also my memories have some issues. I can't remember my siblings' names well, and I've forgotten a lot about magic. It is a side effect of losing control. The mana will definitely return, but I can't be sure about the memories. Well, as for magic, I can always learn it again."
The current Veradin had lost much more memories than Jin thought.
Even so, among the lost memories, the conversations he had with the two people he cherished the most, Jin and Dante, remained intact.
"What the hell is Zipfel trying to do by manipulating your mind and enhancing your mana?"
"Well, all I'm sure of is the fact that my elder sister Sandra and I are some kind of test subjects. As you know, my elder sister is the living golem, and I...… I can't think of anything yet. It's not for grooming me as a successor, as you mentioned before. It's because my father is getting closer and closer to immortality."
The appearance of Kelliark rejuvenating through the power of the Demon God's orb was confirmed by everyone who participated in the Sword Emperor Castle war. It was unlikely that such a Kelliark Zipfel would hand over the patriarchy to Veradin.
Suddenly. Jin came up with an assumption.
'The physical abilities of Sandra Zipfel, which she showed in the Gaifa Islands, far exceeded that of an ordinary mage. And since Veradin's mana is being strengthened at the same time as his mind manipulation...….'
A powerful body with high-speed regenerative abilities and artificial mana enhancement.
What if Zipfel's purpose is to combine the two to create a living golem weapon? It's just like the ultimate magic swordsmen in ancient Runcandel....
Moreover, Veradin had contracted with more than one god at the same time. It wasn't just because Veradin was a blessed mage, it was likely the result of an experiment.
Jin didn't voice that thought. It felt nauseating, as if he would vomit.
"Anyway, I'm sorry. You and Dante have suffered so much because of my clan."
"It's not your fault."
"I am Zipfel. Judging by the way the world is running now, my lineage itself is a sin."
"Such self-pity doesn't suit you, so get rid of it. Dante still has no intention of fighting you, and I don't think you're at fault."
"Are you going to abandon our Radin?"
"I think I need to think about it."
"Okay, just throw away Radin and live happily with me."
Jin let out a chuckle at those words.
"Veradin, do you remember the things I told you during the terror attack?"
-No matter what the situation is, it is good as long as the three of us don't betray each other
Veradin remembered it well. During the time he lost consciousness in the life support device, the words Jin said in the Sword Emperor Castle were the only milestones in Veradin's subconscious. Just as Ron, Dante, and Jin, who were tainted with chaos during the Sword Emperor Castle war, reflected on each other and did not get lost in the end.
"Of course. If it hadn't been for those words, I wouldn't have come here."
"That's enough."
"I don't understand what you're talking about, but include me too."
"It's about betraying Zipfel."
"If you swear to officially marry me, as many times as you want."
In reality, Sandra had never done anything harmful to Jin. And she had already made up her mind to join Veradin in purifying Zipfel.
Only because she thinks Jin will like her more if she does that. Of course, Jin didn't completely trust Sandra, but she would never willingly harm him in the future.
"I'll call Dante, so go back after a drink. When you return, report that Hister's survivor was here. That way, the Zipfel's higher ups won't think there was no gain. It's like turning a suspicion into a confirmation.
"No, no. Jin, you should go on a date with me. You promised, right?"
"I'd appreciate it if you thought of the four of us going on a date together, Sandra Zipfel. I never promised."
Less than an hour later, Dante visited Latrie's refreshment shop. As soon as Dante saw Veradin, he hugged him for a long time without saying a word.
And when the drinking party was over and the Latrie refreshment Shop was quiet again, Jin and Valeria stayed behind to examine the record window together.
"Record magic cannot confirm whether Veradin Zipfel's words about his mind was not manipulated are false or true," Valeria said.
Instead, the record window clearly revealed one record left at the Latrie's refreshment Shop today.