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Chapter 223: The news that has come, the news that needs to be found (4)
“Woah”
As he bit into the sandwich, Kuzan spoke first instead of Yurien.
"It's not loyalty."
"What?"
"Unlike other hounds, Yurien wasn't the type to move out of loyalty to Joshua. He was afraid of Joshua. Just hearing his voice would make him tremble."
At Kuzan's explanation, Yurien gritted his teeth.
"Shut up, Kuzan...!"
"Did I say something wrong? Beris and I followed Joshua out of vengeance, and you followed him out of fear. But all of that is useless now."
"I told you to shut up!"
"If you want to live, it would be good to cooperate with the lord."
A tremor ran through the corners of Yurien's eyes. To anyone looking, it was clear that he was struggling to bear the humiliation.
"Well, being afraid of your master isn't something to be ashamed of."
Jin unlocked Yurien's shackles.
"I'll tell you this in advance, don't think about causing trouble just because these are off. There are plenty of people scarier than Joshua in this world unless you don't want to know that. Now, let's eat a little."
Gurgle...!
The same sound came from the stomachs of both Yurien and Kuzan.
For a while, they silently devoured their sandwiches. Throughout the meal, Yurien kept an eye on Jin and Alisa, particularly conscious of Jin.
He knew how much of a monster Jin was, as he had faint memories from when he became an avatar (Incarnation).
Unfortunately, all he remembered was Jin overpowering Faitel. It was only natural since Yurien's consciousness only woke up when he experienced an extreme mental shock.
'He says it's not loyalty but fear. If we play our cards right, we might be able to capture this guy too.'
Handling a person consumed by fear is simple.
You either remove the source of fear, make them fear something greater, or help them become strong enough to overcome their fear.
The first option was difficult to implement immediately, and the third required time and effort. Since Jin didn't have much affection for Yurien, he decided to use the second method.
"It looks like you're done eating. Let's get to the point. Yurien, I am Jin Runkandel. The younger brother of the trash you serve, contractor of Solderet. And this place is Tikan Free City, the land of my comrades and me."
"Cough, cough!"
Jin Runkandel.
On hearing that name, Yurien choked, and his sandwich got stuck in his throat. He hadn't heard Jin reveal his real name during the fight with Murakhan on Blue Bird Island.
He knew what the name 'Jin Runkandel' meant to Joshua.
Naturally, Jin continued as he handed over a glass of water.
"I'm telling you this information in hopes that we will be honest with each other, and as a warning, if you don't, your life could end here. Understand?"
Nod, nod.
It wasn't Yurien who nodded voluntarily. Alisa, who had been watching, grabbed the back of his neck and made him nod.
"Good, I like it. First question. Why were you guys gathered at Chungse Martial Arts then?"
Unlike Kuzan, Yurien was still unable to let go of his attachment to Joshua. So he just stared at the floor, and Kuzan, unable to watch any longer, opened his mouth on his behalf.
"We went to the island to strengthen Yurien's power under Joshua's orders. It was because Joshua felt a sense of competition towards a character named Barmel. I only found out that Barmel was the lord then."
"So there's a way to enhance Faitel's authority using Gramm's tomb. Did Faitel communicate this information to Yurien?"
"No, Yurien has been under us since a very young age. From a very young age, he often strengthened his power there. Joshua taught him how."
"So there was information related to Faitel in the family's secret documents? Anyway, it seems Joshua knew how to enhance Faitel's authority."
"I'm sorry, I don't know about that. You should ask Yurien for more details."
Jin looked down at Yurien.
"I have some news to share, it's about what happened at the island. Your master is dead."
"...You're saying Lord Joshua is dead?"
The urgency in Yurien's eyes turned into horror at once.
"Yes. He tried to kill me using the Runkandel's self-destruct device, and you almost died in the aftermath. It seemed like he didn't care whether you lived or died. I took care of you because I had a lot of questions."
There was a moment of silence.
Haha Haha
Soon after, Yurien let out a laugh mixed with self-mockery.
Just from what Jin had said, Yurien was able to understand the entire situation in an instant.
"Why are you laughing? Ah, because you're sure Joshua isn't dead?"
Thump.
He threw the newspaper he had brought with the sandwich in front of Yurien. It was a newspaper article about Joshua attending the knight inauguration ceremony in Shuchron.
"I saw him burn to death in the explosion with my own eyes. But the next day, he was fine... You must know something about this."
After briefly checking the article and the date, Yurien met Jin's gaze.
"So I was nothing more than an extra toy for Lord Joshua."
"What do you mean?"
"Given that he wanted the contractor of Solderet so much, I guess I didn't matter."
"Do you mean Joshua intended to take your contract if he couldn't secure me? Am I wrong?"
Yurien didn't answer and just shook his tightly clenched fists for a while.
As Jin had guessed, Yurien was a kind of 'substitute'. A backup in case Jin's contract couldn't be stolen.
There were a few more contractors like him in Joshua's secret villas.
That's why Joshua didn't need to care much for Yurien at Bluebird Island. He had judged it as a prime opportunity to capture Jin without fail.
But when Garmund appeared and put Joshua in a crisis, he chose self-destruction. He didn't care if Yurien got swept away as well.
Lowering Jin's power was more important to Joshua than saving Yurien.
"What method does he use to transfer the contract? It's certain that he's using some strange and unpleasant method since he's still alive and active after Bluebird Island. I'd appreciate it if you could alleviate this discomfort."
"...If I tell you everything I know, can you protect me?"
Yurien seemed to have made up his mind.
He didn't ask if he would save him, but if he would protect him. Recognizing the difference, Jin nodded.
"If you spit out valuable information, as much as you like."
"There is a woman called the 'prophet'."
He was talking about someone Kuzan didn't know at all.
"A prophet?"
"She is Joshua's closest aide. I've only met her twice, but it seems that almost all of the choices he makes reflect her influence. She told us about Gramm's tomb in Bluebird Island, and also that I could strengthen my power with it."
"What kind of person is she?"
"A monster absolutely obedient to Sir Joshua."
"A monster, you mean she's that strong?"
"No, I don't really know about that. I call her a monster because she doesn't seem human. You said you killed Sir Joshua in Bluebird Island? That must have been a clone created by her."
Jin smiled contentedly.
Big information had sprung up, and the hypothesis established with his comrades had now become a certainty.
It was shocking to hear directly that he was 'a clone'.
"Do you also know how she clones Joshua?"
"I just know that a lot of people are needed."
"...What?"
"It seems she uses the convicts from Hyuphester. When he sends them to the prophet, a new body is created... The lord mainly used that body to handle people like me. To suppress us directly when we went berserk while strengthening his reserve contractors."
That was the moment when the reason why Joshua suddenly visited Bluebird Island was revealed.
Joshua had sent Yurien to Bluebird Island and was waiting nearby.
When he saw the thunderstorm forming over Bluebird Island, he mistook it for a rampage, not an avatar, and came forward himself to confront Jin.
'Crazy bastard. When a contractor rampaged, he couldn't send the family's knights, so he used a clone.'
Jin shook his head and held his forehead.
Even though they were convicts, thinking about him casually making his clones using humans as material made him feel sick to his stomach.
"Phew, he wouldn't have used his clone just for that. Do you know how many clones he has?"
"I don't know that. But I know that sometime back he lost a clone while suppressing a water contractor who went berserk."
It meant that he could have several clones at the same time.
Indeed, the prophet was a figure worthy of being called a monster, as Yurien described.
"We need to find out first whether this prophet is actually human. She must have told him how to transfer the contract too."
In fact, the prophet was still in the stage of gathering materials for 'contract fulfillment', but neither Jin nor Yurien could know that.
After a moment of contemplation, Jin looked at Yurien with a puzzled look.
"But you seem to know that if Joshua failed to catch me, he would take your contract. What was the reason you couldn't get away from him? Was he too scary?"
"Do you think it's possible to escape from Sir Joshua in Hyufester?"
"It wouldn't be impossible. You're not an ordinary person, but a contractor. If you had asked for an escort from Zipfel, they would have picked you up with open arms. Then Joshua couldn't touch you."
As Yurien wasn't an official Runkandel force, Joshua had no excuse to retrieve him if he went to Zipfel.
"Do you have a family being held hostage?"
"My guardian dragon is being held hostage. I don't have a family. They were all killed by Joshua. My whole village where I lived."
‘And yet you obeyed Joshua's orders, without any pride or desire for revenge!’
Jin didn't bother to ask such questions.
He knew how far his current life, born as Runkandel and always on the road to success, was from the emotion of 'fear'.
Most people cannot overcome fear.
But that's not a bad thing, he knew thanks to his miserable past life.
"You must think I'm silly. Beris, she always picked a fight with me because of that. But Jin Runkandel, this should be enough valuable information. Keep your promise."
"Protecting you won't be difficult. As long as you live buried in this land of Tikan as if you're dead, there won't be a problem. But it seems that's not what you mean."
"Right, retrieve my guardian dragon from Joshua. Without it, my pathetic life means nothing."
Jin nodded as if there was nothing to consider.
"I'll create the opportunity, so retrieve it yourself someday."
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