章節 8: Chapter 167
Had Jin's group noticed the Transformer's existence back then, they would have looked for him and ordered a confession; how he transformed people, and what he was trying to gain with such power.
However, the situation was different. The Kinzelo Group was dangerous beyond compare, and the infamous Transformer had to be an integral member of the organization.
If anything happened to Bouvard, the organization would not let it slide.
'Thank god we found out. I was gonna deal with Bouvard pretty soon…'
When Kashimir reported that Bouvard was an executive of Kinzelo, he was a little surprised. He didn't think that dealing with him would be that much of a problem.
'We almost made a fatal mistake. I was about to touch a wasp's nest… I'm gonna have to thank the dark magicians some time.'
Jin didn't really have a reason to seek Bouvard immediately. However, having a light encounter wouldn't be too bad, since he gained an ample amount of valuable information from the dark magicians' hideout.
"The young master? Hm, I don't think capturing and dealing with him like Mato Baker is…"
"No, Miss Alisa. I just want to disguise myself as a customer and enter his fragment workshop once. I don't think the Kinzelo Group and the Dark Magic Association have such high security. But how can we know for certain? What other information can be dropped?"
The Kinzelo Group and the Dark Magic Association gave Jin their information not because their security was poor. They just didn't know about 'magic swordsman Jin Runcandel'.
Seeing their plan to capture the academy magicians, Jin knew that they had been doing this the entire time, even in his past life.
'I should take advantage of the situation presented before me. Once the world begins to divert their attention towards magic swordsman Jin Grey or Jin Runcandel becomes a little too famous, it'll be much harder to take action.'
At that point, gathering intel would be harder by tenfold. The moment that people find out about Jin Runcandel, they would also find out that Tikan was under his wing.
"Hm, if you say so. Seeing his face at least once isn't a bad idea. And Kinzelo doesn't know your face at all… Will you be going alone?"
Kashimir asked. Jin shook his head and responded with a smile.
"No. I got just the person to go with me. Oh, and Sir Kashimir, please make the Seven-Colored Peacock gather some information about the relationship between Kinzelo and the White Wolf Tribe."
* * *
Meanwhile, the Vermont Special Forces diverted all of their attention to investigating the novices at the Dark Magic Association eradication mission. Looking into the case were the leader of the 3rd Division Wratch and three of his subordinates, together with Special Forces of Magic 1st Division 3rd Lieutenant V and five of his subordinates.
"Did seriously no one remember their faces? Pascal Chip. You, Kin Maura, and Moz Orel are the ones who brought them as followers. Does it even make sense that you don't know their faces?"
"We really don't know, Lieutenant."
"We lost almost twenty magicians that would've protected the empire, and two 6-stars along with one 7-star died. If you don't tell me at once, the empire will be in great danger!"
V shouted at them, and the three novices clenched their eyes shut.
The courageous one was Chip.
"But sir, we really don't know anything. It's probably because of the overflow, but I have no memory of the event. We told you everything we know."
"You little—"
"And above all, if it weren't for them, not a single novice would've survived. Honestly, we want to find them to repay the debt…"
"Th-That's right, Lieutenant. We only remember the names Jin and Austin Grey. If you find them, will you please tell us?"
"Not just us three, but I'm sure everyone else is of the same mind. As respected academy novices, we should never forget our indebtedness…"
Wratch and V sighed.
All of the novices were the same. They definitely knew something, but they all kept their mouths shut.
Maura, Orel, and Chip said that they just wanted to return the favor. Nothing good would happen if the two agents found out that the novices got tricked by a pair of Special Forces impersonators. Plus, their fear of Jin was greater.
As for the other novices, they had different reasons. Amongst those who experienced the Heavenly Defiance, they just thought that Kidard of Profusion returned from the dead.
To magicians, Kidard's notoriety was nothing to be compared to. Although the novices haven't seen it for themselves, many of their parents experienced Kidard's magic firsthand. And following their parents' footsteps, the novices gagged in the presence of overload spells.
Regardless, it was either Kidard's second coming or his apprentice killed the dark magicians, so they knew that the Special Forces had no reason to pursue him.
Compared to buying Kidard's hate, making the Special Forces a little more disappointed was better.
The novices' parents thought that as well. In reality, the ones that the Special Forces should be pursuing should be the Dark Magic Association, not Kidard.
V spoke once the novices went away.
"Phew, the emperor said to never torture the novices. This has got to be a joke. I don't understand why they're doing that. It must've been that much of a shock. Sir Wratch, what do you think?"
"...I'm sure of one thing. Jin Grey was Kidard's apprentice, maybe even the man himself. If not, he would've never obtained the magic tome for the Heavenly Defiance from Vankella's eternal storage."
"I agree. When I first heard that Kidard died, I just thought that he died to an assassin. However, from all the press all over the world, they said that the tome for the Heavenly Defiance was still in the eternal storage…"
"In the case where Jin Grey is Kidard himself, we can't forget about the assistance from the Transformer. For many reasons, he could've faked dying by Jin Grey's hand and changed identities."
"Ah, the mysterious transformers that Groups 1 and 3 are pursuing… Hm, if so, then did Austin Grey kill the White Wolf Tribesman?"
Wratch didn't answer and looked around the scene.
'Austin was smaller than Jin Grey and had an unfitting mustache. They also said that his voice sounded weird. Estimated age is mid-teens to early twenties.'
That was the evidence provided by everyone other than Chip, Maura, and Orel. Even though their parents would've told them to keep their mouth shut, not telling the Special Forces anything was still a little suffocating.
Because of their late arrival, Goltep's corpse had already decomposed a little, but not his hammer. Wratch couldn't get his eyes off the weapon that was perfectly split into two.
He could only think of one name.
'Dante Hairan. Small body, weird voice, and a boy who could split that hammer in half… From my knowledge, Dante is a strong suspect. I must go to the Hairan Clan sometime.'
That night, Wratch took both halves of the hammer and sought the Hairan Clan. Then, he heard these words.
"I am not at a level where I can split it this cleanly. Looking at the cross section, the person you're looking for has to be at least 8-star. Anyway, who was the one who killed the dark magicians? Jin Grey?"
Thanks to that, Dante had more to talk about with Beradin. They also got more to talk about with Jin on their next meetup.
* * *
October 30th, 1796.
On the way to meet Bouvard in the Curano Dukedom, Jin had to go through the Kon Kingdom's transfer gate. He then stopped by the bar where he drank with Beradin and Dante.
He spent the day like that. At around lunch, he bought the ticket to transfer from the central region of the Kon Kingdom to the Curano Dukedom.
In the afternoon, the transfer gates were filled with traveling nobles and workers on business trips. With glasses on and without a sword, Jin had gloves to hide all his calluses. He looked like a businessman.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the transfer gate will open in fifteen minutes. Until then, please remain in your seats…"
The stewards checked the passengers.
Clop, clop.
Jin heard the sound of shoes—ones that recently went trending in the Kon Kingdom.
The owner of the footsteps stopped next to Jin and spoke.
"Can you move your bag? This is my seat."
Jin looked up at a woman with gorgeous red hair and a suit, then awkwardly smiled.
"Ah, yes. Sorry."
A little later, the transfer gates opened, and the passengers were swallowed with mana.
As soon as he arrived, Jin sought and found the street with the fragment workshop.
Bouvard's fragment workshop was not in the street where all the workshops were located. It was intentionally far away, in the outskirts of the capital.
Jin could buy suspicion, so there was nothing bad about being careful. He decidedly went from workshop to workshop and naturally asked each one about the most talented fragmentor. To which everyone brought up Bouvard's name.
"I don't know which clan he's from, but it seems he's searching for a genius fragmentor."
"I wanted him to fragment a bust of someone I truly respected…"
"In a little corner on the west side of the city, you can find Bouvard Gaston's workshop. Try going there. If you think he's still lacking, then there's no one else in Curano who can satisfy you."
"I was actually looking for a famous fragmentor on the way, it's the first time I heard of such a name. Bouvard Gaston? Never heard his name in the Vermont art magazines."
"The most talented ones aren't always famous. If only Bouvard's personality was fine, he would've become the emperor's sculptor. Maybe he would be scouted by Emperor Vermont."
"Is he that great?"
"Between those who know, Bouvard is said to be a god of fragmenting. Tsk, I don't understand why the gods gave such a horrible person such great talents. I'm so jealous, I could kill him!"
"Haha, calm down, sir…"
"You wouldn't know, since you're not from here, but Curano's workshop street used to be twice as big. But after Bouvard appeared, many fragmentors saved his creations and stopped their work."
"Huh."
The Bouvard Jin saw at the banquet didn't have that kind of image, but it seemed he was treated as the best of the best.
'What's the relationship between transformation magic and fragmenting?'
With that question in mind, Jin began to walk towards the fragment workshop. After a while, he arrived in a forest and spoke.
"Is it okay to reveal yourself now, Elder Sister Yona?"
章節 9: Chapter 168
Rustle, rustle.
Along with the sound of rustling leaves, a woman emerged from the shadows amongst the tree branches.
Red hair and a suit—the woman who sat next to Jin at the transfer gate. The woman examined her surroundings, then hopped down from the tree.
"Oh, Brother! Jin! Hehehe!"
A very excited voice.
She had been following Jin ever since she found him at the Kon Kingdom. He had used his Mind's Eye in order to even detect her.
He never had this plan in mind, but it was perfect.
"I was so tired of ignoring you on the train!"
"Me too. How have you been, Sister? Also, what is that disguise? I thought you dyed your hair with blood. At the transfer gate, that is."
"I heard from Owal that if I meet you again, then Father will kill you. So I dyed my hair with my favorite color. Fixed my face with some make-up too, hehe."
"Hm… I don't know how those relate."
Jin put his emotions aside and remembered one warning.
—He also warned me through you. To never even think of using Elder Sister Yona.
Cyron's warning that came with the Black Light Cuirass—to not use Yona.
However, Jin shut his eyes and wanted to use Yona's power. He wasn't killing Bouvard, just a light favor to eavesdrop…
'Even if Father finds out, wouldn't he be fine with it…?'
Well, it wasn't illegal if no one found out.
And even if he did get caught, he could nullify the punishment by offering a majestic bust of Cyron.
'What the hell am I thinking? If Father was someone to glance over crimes, then our clan would've never become so great. I'll just not get caught. Never.'
"Don't worry! Owal said he'll keep it a secret too. Also, I've had my senses heightened, and there wasn't anyone chasing us."
"Thank goodness. Though, I was also moving while keeping an eye out."
"So, why did you call for me?"
"Half because I just wanted to see your face again, and the other half is to ask for a tiny favor. Anyway, take a look at this."
"What is it?"
Jin took out a mysterious vial containing a black liquid. He unscrewed the cap and downed the bottle.
"Keugh, Thousand-Poison Antidote. I'm using it well. I should show off the present you gave me, you know?"
"Ahahahaha…. Jin, you're too funny. That's Black Moss Poison. Really hard to get your hands on. Did your friends get it for you?"
"Yes."
"I'll kill them. How could they give my brother such a thing?"
"I asked them to get it for me."
"Be quiet. I don't like it at all."
Yona's eyes became sharp, and Jin shook his hands frantically to calm her down. If she also found out that he was fed poison as soon as he woke up from his coma, Yona would actually kill them.
"Heh. Still, seeing that the antidote worked out well, it feels good!"
Reuniting with Yona after two months, she was still hard to read. However, Jin didn't hate her for that, and he didn't even feel any pity.
Yona didn't like sympathy for whatever weird actions she did.
"So, what's the favor?"
"From here on out, I'm going to meet a fragmentor named Bouvard Gaston. If you can, please eavesdrop on him. Whether he's just muttering to himself or conversing with another person."
"Simple, alright. Instead, when I'm done, you have to play with me."
"You're gonna have to watch him for days. If you're okay with it."
The siblings chattered and walked through the forest together. As they walked for about two hours, they saw a sign that read: 'Artistic Explosion'.
Bouvard Gaston's fragment workshop.
The workshop sat atop a shallow hill, dyeing itself in the sunset.
Tons of fragments—big and small—laid in front of the workshop. The fascinating thing was, from each and every fragment, a strange aura could be felt, even from their distance.
'Shocking. Even for someone who's not an expert, I could feel it. Enough for other artists to feel hopeless.'
Getting closer and taking a gander, it was true. Anything fragmented to look alive looked as if it would move when touched, and every single inanimate object felt more dimensional than an original object.
Yona glared at the fragments. Instead of falling into admiration, her eyes looked uncomfortable and angry.
"Sister?"
"These fragments…"
"Are you alright?"
"Ah, yes. Uh… This is a little embarrassing. This… Someone like me made this. I just know."
"Excuse me? Someone like you?"
'Is it something about her special powers?'
That thought shot through his head, but he didn't ask.
"Very interesting. Can you tell me now how you found this place?"
Jin thought for a second, then unloaded the information he earned from Mato Baker. Yona was someone he could trust as much as he did Luna.
"Hm, so that's what happened… The Transformer? This fragmentor? And you beat him up at the banquet."
"Not too sure just yet. I just came to see if I can uncover some things."
"First, I'll erase my footsteps. Even if you can't detect me, don't think I abandoned you."
Right after she finished her sentence, she disappeared. No matter how much he opened his Mind's Eye, he couldn't detect Yona's position or her existence.
'So this is her full strength. It seems she hid between the fragments. Before that… her reaction was weird. Elder Sister Yona and Bouvard being similar people…?'
Clang, clang!
He first shook the bell on the door. Curano's fragmentors often operated underground, so they couldn't hear customers knocking on the door.
Thud, thud!
Footsteps echoed after shaking the bell for some time. Bouvard lugged his heavy body up the stairs, as if he were pissed.
The door swung open.
"What kind of…"
'Runt.'
Failing to continue his words, Bouvard stared at Jin for some time.
"Bouvard Gaston. Long time no see."
"Eeeek! What do you think you're doing here?!"
He grabbed a handful of salt from his pocket and threw it at Jin.
To his standards, the ones seeking his workshop were 'dirty lowlife' customers, which was why he always had salt prepared.
And amongst the lowlife, Jin was the worst.
Fwing!
Fwip!
Jin quickly evaded the projectiles and didn't get hit by a single salt crystal.
"That's a bit harsh. I came as a customer today."
"Customer, my ass. I don't take customers like you!"
"Oh, you're gonna be like that? I'm no different than your savior."
"Saaaaaavior??? Saaaviooorrr?!?!"
"If my siblings or a guardian knight heard what you did at the banquet, your limbs would've been ripped off. You would've never dreamt of crafting such beautiful fragments."
"Shut up and die!"
Crack!
Bouvard's fist hit Jin's chin.
"Phew, stop it now. Even if I am a prospective successor, this is—"
Crack!
Getting hit twice, Jin felt something snap.
The strings of his patience were snapping apart.
'Yeah, maybe beating up this guy might not be too bad. No, but does he have no fear, or is he just stupid?'
The moment the third fist flew…
Thunk!
Jin dunked his fist on top of Bouvard's head.
"Kugh!"
The short battle was different from the battle at the banquet. Jin went through an amazing transformation while Bouvard remained as a pitiful 5-star.
Bouvard lost balance and fell backwards, but Jin caught his wrist and kept him upright.
Then, another person emerged from inside the workshop.
"Bouvard, what's the matter… Young Master… Jin?"
"Lord Vishukel…?"
He didn't expect Vishukel to be at the Artistic Explosion that day.
"Young Master Jin, why are you here? Are you not in the middle of your provisional flag-bearer trials?"
"About that…"
"L-Lord Vishukel! This guy embarrassed me at the banquet and sought me again to cause a disruption…! Aaahhh! Please kill him!"
At that moment, Vishukel's eyes met the salt on the ground. He also glanced at Jin's slightly swollen chin and forehead.
'This disgusting fatass. It's obvious what he did wrong.'
Swallowing those words, Vishukel took a deep breath.
"...Please come inside, Bouvard. Apologize to him. Who are you telling me to kill?"
"Why should I?!"
"You threw the first punch and incited violence. And you're telling him to apologize? You have anything to say for yourself?"
Vishukel scolded Bouvard, whose face wrinkled in a frown. Vishukel had been very stressed because of him recently.
"Eeeerk… Still, I can't apologize!"
"Uh, yeah, then I'll do it for you. I'm sorry I hit you, Bouvard."
Jin conceded and pushed Bouvard into the workshop before shaking hands with Vishukel.
'So this calm and cold man is also in the Kinzelo Group…? Sir Kashimir told me that Bouvard was above Vishukel, but it doesn't seem like it.'
And Vishukel had no idea Yona was nearby.
'As much as Vishukel is an 8-star, he must have a more polished Mind's Eye. I'm sure Elder Sister Yona will adjust accordingly.'
Letting go of Jin's hand, Vishukel shrugged.
"I apologize, Young Master Jin."
"No worries. I came knowing that this would happen. I should've been more patient. I apologize for causing you stress."
"No need. Anyway, what brings you here…?"
"I wanted to have a bust of my father created, and all of the fragmentors in the workshop street recommended this place. This was my last, last straw."
"Hm, I see."
"I do have a rough past with him, but it's still my father's bust. Seeing the fragments in the front, it seems I came to the right place. I couldn't hide my astonishment from Bouvard's pieces."
Vishukel's eyes narrowed.
"Young Master Jin."
"Yes?"
"Everyone knows that Bouvard's fragment work is amazing. However, I don't understand your demeanor as the Runcandel Clan's youngest child."
"Ah, did I act disrespectful in any way?"
"Correct. The young master I saw at the banquet wasn't someone who'd act upon such an extraneous situation. In fact, if you needed a bust of Lord Cyron, anyone from this area would've been just fine."
As if admitting defeat, Jin shook his head.
"You saw right through me. Indeed, there was an ulterior motive. The one I wanted to meet wasn't Bouvard, but you, Lord Vishukel."
Jin glared at Vishukel with burning eyes.
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