[T.L: punisher87]
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"It is as you have heard, Sir Ronil. The Hister needs Zipfel's holy land to recover."
Ronil's eyebrows furrowed as Jin replied naturally.
Jin hadn't seen him display such emotions during their previous meetings. Kadun and Octavia blinked in disbelief.
They never expected to hear such shocking news at this moment, when they had come to negotiate a temporary alliance.
"Sir Jin, there are many ears listening right now. Did you think it was appropriate to bring up such a topic here?" Ronil asked.
"I didn't know it was such a big secret. Kinzelo's leader told me casually." Jin retorted, and Ronil glared at Orgal.
Orgal barely got up and was shaking his hands as if he was sorry.
A moment of silence fell. In the meantime, Jin asked all of his companions to step outside, except for himself and Kashmir, leaving only Orgal and Zephyrin on Kinzelo's side.
"Sir Orgal, what were you thinking when you did this?" Ronil asked.
[Cough, cough....]
"master is in no condition to speak any longer, so let me answer on his behalf, Zipfels." Zephyrin said, lifting Orgal up.
"First of all, I hope that Zipfel members won't get too excited and listen to my story. I understand that Sir Jin brought up a sensitive topic without much thought, which may have caused frustration."
"Frustration? Is that all?" Octavia interrupted, causing Zephyrin's eyes to narrow.
"Please don't interrupt me. Let me make it clear that this is not a request but a warning. My master has known about the existence of the holy land even before you called it that, and he used to be its caretaker. So you got it when my master lost his power." Zephyrin said firmly.
"Are you claiming ownership then?" Ronil's voice became calm again.
Jin thought that Ronil's composure was impressive, but he suspected there was more to it.
'It looks like he didn't come here without considering the holy land.'
Octavia and Kadun may not know, but Ronil seemed to have a hunch. Maybe showing displeasure was all part of the plan.
"That's not true. If there comes a moment when we can take it back with force after defeating a public enemy, then who knows. But right now, that place clearly belongs to the Zipfel. But it's hard to bear being treated as if I don't even have the right to speak about what I know."
"What will you do if you can't bear it, Demon Dragon?"
It seems that the successor of the Fire Dragon Trakalnis is curious about that, so keep going if you want."
When the name Trakalnis came up, Kadun's eyes widened.
"How do you know about Trakalnis... !"
"It was a pretty satisfying meal, so I remember."
Normally, Kadun would have flown into a rage at this point, ready to kill Zephyrin.
However, the fire dragon Trakalnis was the king of fire dragons before Kadun and the most perfect creature of Sheenu.
Yet, there was no history left of Trakalnis in the world, and even Kadun himself would have a hard time recalling his name if he didn't concentrate.
The reason was none other than the fact that Trakalnis' death was the greatest "shame" of Sheenu and the Fire Dragons.
It was the will of Sheenu and the old Zipfel erased the history of Trakalnis to cover up that shame.
'Don't tell me she killed Trakalnis...… this demon dragon?'
Zephyrin smiled coldly, as if seeing through Kadun's thoughts.
"Perhaps Kadun is right. If you find it hard to believe, ask your god directly, Kadun. I'm not sure if Sheenu can restore that memory, but... "
Kadun looked away from Zephyrin's gaze.
He didn't recall the moment Trakalnis died, nor did any frightening memories come to mind. However, an inexplicable fear was slowly creeping into Kadun's heart.
-Even if I were facing you in your prime, I wouldn't have been that scared. The reason you don't know me well is that I couldn't fight you back then.
Jin was recalling the day when Zephyrin's true identity was first revealed at Black King Mountain and the words she had spoken to Murakan.
'Kadun dropped his tail at once...?'
Jin couldn't easily imagine their prime just by looking at Orgal, who was hunched over like a sick person, and Zephyrin that had been shown so far.
However, it was clear that Kadun was visibly shaken even when he spoke disrespectfully of Sheenu.
Octavia was most shocked by Kadun's reaction. Since Kadun had backed down, she couldn't express her anger towards Zephyrin anymore.
"Well, it seems like Kadun's curiosity has been satisfied. Shall we return to the main topic now?"
Zephyrin gestured towards Jin.
"… The atmosphere has soured for no reason. I didn't bring up this story with that intention, so I apologize to both sides."
"Sir Jin saved Zipfel's face, it's an important matter."
"If you intend to keep being so sarcastic, wake up Orgal, Zephyrin. I don't think we're here to have a war of nerves."
"That's why humans are not very good. Is it because their life is short that they have no courage? Anyway."
"Sir Ronil."
"Speak, sir Jin."
"Hister's survival is necessary for us to eliminate the common enemy. If it's difficult to open the holy land of Zipfel, please provide at least the tear of Numerus."
"I don't think we can even attach the words 'Tear of Numerus' to it. And we also do not own the tear of Numerus. Let me take a look at Hister first."
The task of showing Valeria, who had lost consciousness, to Zipfel. Even just doing that made Jin feel like he was committing a sin, but he had no choice but to do it to save her.
Since her appearance had already been exposed to Zipfel, there was no reason to be cautious and hide it.
After going to the hospital room and looking at Valeria, the leaders of Zipfel's side sighed or pointed their foreheads.
Even though they already knew the information, seeing it with their own eyes was another matter.
"... I can see why you asked for Numerus' tears first. Fatigue is an unavoidable state. Did Sir Jin keep the seal?"
"Impressive. There are only a few people in Zipfel who can maintain a seal like this."
"What shall we do then? If you can't open the Holy Land and there are no tears, then what? Just by exposing Hister to Zipfel, I have already suffered a loss, but I'll bury it and take care of it myself."
Jin meant that if you were not going to open up the Holy Land, you should leave immediately.
"This isn't a decision that we can make on our own, Sir Jin."
"Our side and Kinzelo are participating in the meeting with decision makers who can make an instant decision on the spot every time."
"I know that. I'll go back immediately...to inform my father of this situation and get an answer."
"We'll be looking forward to good news."
"Although everyone is trying to save Hyster for the temporary alliance as a whole, or more accurately, for their own desires, there will probably be a reasonable compensation needed for this, Sir Jin."
It was three days later that the leaders of Zipfel returned to Tikan.
This time, Ronil came alone with a few attendants without Kadun and Octavia.
"My father also said that there was no other way but to open the Holy Land. He allowed us to bring Hister to the Holy Land."
"What are your demands?"
"First, only Hister is allowed to enter the Holy Land. Second, as compensation for this incident, each alliance shares some information about chaos purification and control with Zipfel. This must be accompanied by the presence of the Az Mil contractor."
"I refuse."
Jin flatly rejected the proposal as if he had nothing more to hear.
"Well...then we can't save Hister."
"I heard from Orgal that if a complete mana body goes to your holy land, it leaves a kind of mana trace. Zipfel can receive a considerable reward just by studying that trace. We don't know how much damage that research will cause to us after the alliance is disbanded."
Jin shrugged his shoulders.
"Who benefits most from Hister's injury? It's Zipfel. We all want the Hister alive, but Zipfel can even research. So please don't be too greedy. If it breaks down this time, I'll leave all the talk about Hister aside. Don't push your luck."
"All right. If so, we will open the Holy Land without any conditions, but you must agree to move with your senses blocked as much as possible to prevent exposing the location of the Holy Land. Also, I don't want Lord Jin and Hister to have another escort."
The requirements were just words that Ronil had thrown out and these words were based on the opinions of the elders of the clan.
Ronil was not pleased with their opinions.
"I understand that much. When would be a good time to leave?"
"If it's okay with you, we can leave right away."
* * *
Since boarding Kozec, Jin had not taken a single step in the windowless cabin.
He just held onto the sealed Valeria tightly and waited for the ship to stop.
It wasn't until five days had passed since the ship had reached its destination.
"Thank you for your hard work, Sir Jin. You can come out now."
As soon as he got off the ship, Jin could tell that he was inside a huge building.
It was larger than the construction yard he had seen in the Sota Desert in the past.
Ronil guided Jin for about two hours. When they reached a door inside the building, Ronil stopped walking.
"This is as far as I can guide you. After this, I cannot access it, so someone else will help you."
There were only two Zipfel who could freely come and go through the door.
One was patriarch, Kelliark Zipfel, and the second was.
"Are you Jin Runcandel?"
The next patriarch, Veradin Zipfel, was approaching Jin from the other side.
The friend he had not seen in about three years greeted him with a dry voice instead of the usual cheerful one.
"Follow me, I will guide you to the Holy Land."
Jin felt extremely unfamiliar with Veradin's back as he walked ahead through the door and Jin saw a sword on Veradin's waist.
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