Chapter 50

# Chapter 50: <Into the Whirlpool>

Amir, who had no way of knowing about Kale's complicated thoughts, continued speaking as he saw Kale's expression grow more serious.

"When I looked at his appearance, he seemed to be from one of the tribes of the Wiper Kingdom. You can tell from his clothing and physique."

Indeed, it was Tunka.

The more Amir spoke, the paler Kale's face became.

The leader of the Non-Mage Union, which opposed the Mage Union, was once a tribal person from within the Wiper Kingdom who was dismissed as a barbarian.

But there are no barbarians in the world.

All humans possess the same intellect and merely grow and develop in their own ways over time and through history.

The tribal people who occupied the rugged mountains and coastlines of the Wiper Kingdom without using magic focused on maximizing the inherent physical strength of humans.

And they sought to overthrow the Wiper Kingdom, which had a power structure comfortable only for mages, to restore its original form.

The citizens of the Wiper Kingdom followed these tribal people. While outsiders might have called them barbarians for taking over the country, to the citizens, they were no longer barbarians. They were simply free people.

Reason had been overthrown by instinct.

'The problem is that Tunka is truly ignorant.'

Clever barbarian? Such an expression existed, but to Kale, Tunka was merely simple and ignorant, strong only in physical power.

And the most frightening thing is an ignorant person.

Because you can't communicate with them.

"Master, you don't need to worry too much about that person. His physical recovery is quite fast."

Kale waved his hand with a stern face in response to Amir's words.

"I'm not worried at all. I just hope he stays in treatment for a long time."

Kale wished that he wouldn't run into Tunka until he left. Amir and the knights who had escorted her from the capital looked at Kale with warm eyes.

Kale had no time to care about such looks. Why did Tunka appear now? Just thinking about it gave Kale a headache.

"Miss Amir, can you show me to my quarters?"

"Of course. Your body hasn't fully recovered yet, right?"

"Yes, I'm still in pain."

"…Oh, let's go quickly."

As Amir hurried her steps with a serious face, she soon adjusted her pace to match Kale's. Seeing this, Kale had a thought.

'Even if Villos is from the Phlynn Merchant Guild and has outstanding abilities, how could he be so certain that a civil war would break out? How could he know so quickly?'

Kale had known about Villos' abilities and had not taken their previous conversation seriously. But now, Villos was an illegitimate son within the guild, with limited access to information.

Yet, the fact that Villos knew suggested one possibility.

'The civil war is happening sooner than in the book.'

Thinking this, all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Then, what had brought the civil war forward? But Kale did not dwell deeply on this fact.

The fact that Tunka had drifted here alone was significant. It meant that he had been attacked by mages, his ship had been wrecked, and he had returned from the north with newfound power.

If that was the case, history would not change.

The divine power that terrified the mages. The pinnacle of pure physical strength in humans. Tunka had survived in the sea, mountains, deserts, jungles, volcanic regions, and the northern ice lands, relying solely on his physical strength.

Tunka, who had endured nature. The mages, who used the natural power of mana, could not defeat him.

'Unless it's a dragon.'

A dragon would kill Tunka with a single blow.

Kale said he wanted to rest as soon as he arrived at his quarters, entered his room, dismissed everyone, and looked up at the ceiling.

"Hey."

"Why, human?"

The black dragon appeared. Kale firmly instructed the black dragon.

"Stay with me for a while. Don't go anywhere."

He realized from the incident with Chae Han and the black dragon that trying to avoid Tunka might only lead to more trouble. He needed to be prepared.

"I'll do as I please."

The black dragon blew a raspberry and turned away from Kale. But seeing its wings flutter, Kale was confident it would listen to him. The dragon's body and words were inversely proportional.

Kale felt more at ease after instructing the black dragon. He then looked around the room. It was a mansion on a high ground in a small seaside village, built by the Ubar family when the new head of the family took office.

'It doesn't fit.'

It was a very good mansion that didn't fit in a small seaside village. This meant that the current lord of Ubar, Amir's mother, had intended to develop the front sea of Ubar as soon as she took office.

And the fruits of her efforts were gradually showing after ten years.

'Bringing Gilbert into the fold and receiving support from the Whelsman family isn't a quick process.'

Kale had a meeting with the lord before leaving Ubar. The lord would come to this place from the city where the castle was located.

Kale roughly memorized the schedule and stood by the window. Through the large window, he could see the entire seaside village and the Windy Cliffs.

The Windy Cliffs.

For hundreds of years, the sea in front of the cliffs has been plagued by whirlpools that torment the people of Ubar trying to venture out into the wider sea.

Still, the lord valued this front sea.

There were two other seaside villages, but this village was centrally located between them. With its crescent-shaped coastline and steep cliffs on either side, it was the only village among the three where ships could easily dock.

Moreover, the islands in front of the village provided an excellent visual landscape and had significant military value.

Kale planned to visit the smallest island at the center of these islands the next morning. Right in front of that island was the 'Voice of the Wind,' the source of all the whirlpools.

Tunka had described the Voice of the Wind in the book like this:

"Quiet, yet chaotic power."

It was exactly the kind of power Kale wanted.

Quiet, fast, and capable of making the strong chaotic. Kale's lips curled into a slight smile. He was looking forward to the next morning.

And that smile soon turned into a contented one.

"Master! Uncle Vikros made some special seafood dishes for you!"

"Uncle Vikros was really excited about being by the sea!"

"Right, Master Kale! Please eat a lot!"

Kale looked at the ten wolf children who had brought food to his room with a contented expression.

He had told others that the wolf children were Rak's cousins who had lived in the same village and lost their families to bandits.

His smile deepened. Of course, it wasn't because of the ten children. Kale's eyes were directed at Vikros, who was bringing in a tray.

The son of Ron, the chef, and a torturer, Vikros always appeared extremely neat, with not a wrinkle or speck of dust on his clothes.

He was the same now, but his eyes were dark.

"Master, please eat."

"Thanks. I appreciate the delicious food you always make."

Kale thanked Mes, the oldest of the ten wolf children at 12 years old, and picked up his fork.

"Master, we want to help too. Rak said we can't just be freeloaders."

During the journey, the wolf children, led by Mes, had asked to be given work. At that time, Kale assigned them kitchen duties.

"Maybe helping the knights would be better. But I'll let you try your best."

Mes, unlike Rak, was confident and calm, and had a good grasp of the wolf children's strength. That's why Kale gave them kitchen duties.

"You're still children. Dangerous tasks like those of the knights are not for you. Help Vikros with the vegetables and such."

"Of course, as Rak said. Yes, we'll do our best."

The children who said they would do their best worked very hard. Perhaps because of this, Kale noticed that Vikros, who had been looking more and more tired, had a slight smile on his lips. As the wolf children set the table and carried the dishes out, Vikros remained standing still.

"Uncle, aren't you coming?"

The wolf children were lively and clear-eyed, calling Vikros 'uncle' and treating him warmly.

"…I'll come."

The children left the room first. The wolf children, who had once been from a rural mountain village, now all wore neat clothes and had tidy hair, thanks to Vikros' leadership.

'He'd make a great nanny.'

Thinking that Vikros would immediately grab a kitchen knife if he heard this, Kale pretended not to notice his gaze. Vikros, who outwardly lived as a clean and polite chef, couldn't be cold to the wolf children. He just occasionally gave Kale a long, hard look.

Kale, holding his fork and knife, said to Vikros as he was about to leave.

"I'll enjoy it. Thanks for the delicious food."

"…Yes."

Click. The sound of the door closing as Vikros left. Kale muttered to himself.

"Why is he trying to take over my father's job?"

Vikros didn't need to bring food. But he had started taking over the tasks Ron used to do whenever he had the chance. Thanks to this, Kale never felt the absence of Ron, who used to attend to him.

Either Vikros or the wolf children would come to attend to him.

Kale looked around the room and said.

"Come and eat."

Kale's dining partners, On and Hong, and the black dragon, rushed to the table and started eating. Kale watched the sunset over the sea from the window and leisurely enjoyed his dinner.

And the next day.

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, Master."

Kale greeted the old man in front of him.

A fisherman who had navigated the front sea of Ubar for decades, coexisting with the whirlpools. The old man, known as the best veteran in this small seaside village, had a dark, weathered skin and wrinkles around his eyes from years spent at sea.

"Please trust me. I can take you safely to the central island."

Amir nodded in agreement.

"That's right. With such a fine fisherman, you can go anywhere in the front sea of Ubar. I should accompany you, but I have some business to attend to."

"That's fine, Miss. Introducing me to such a fine fisherman is enough."

It would have been troublesome if Amir came along. Kale had already decided who would accompany him on the boat today. The fisherman asked.

"Are the three of you going together?"

"Yes. Let's go quickly."

"Sure. Just get on board."

Kale boarded a small but sturdy boat with a roof. The deputy captain followed him. Since the deputy captain was coming, there was no need to bring other knights. Also, the islands were uninhabited, so there was no cause for concern.

"Master, I hope you have a safe trip."

"Thanks."

The butler Hans, holding On and Hong, saw Kale off. The cats, On and Hong, struggled to get out of Hans' arms as he approached the water. They liked the smell of the sea but hated the water.

-I'll fly there.

Naturally, the black dragon planned to follow invisibly. Kale made a light joke to the last person boarding the boat.

"Vikros, I heard there are many rare seafood in the nets near the islands. It would be a good opportunity to broaden your horizons."

"…Thank you, Master."

Vikros, who joined because of Kale's call, boarded the boat with a reluctant face. Seeing everyone on board, Kale told the fisherman.

"Let's go."

"Sure."

The fisherman, the captain of the small boat, started rowing with his son. In the swirling sea, even an excellent boat and magical propulsion were not important.

Only the experience accumulated over the years. The old man's rowing was more useful.

"The boat might shake a bit, so please hold onto the handles tightly."

The old man said this calmly, and the boat set off. A moment later, Kale cursed.

"Damn."

The boat was shaking. The small boat was dangerously skirting the edge of the whirlpool, which seemed to suck everything in. The sea's undulating movements, as if trying to swallow the boat, shook it violently. Splash. Swish. Amidst the cacophony of water sounds, the old fisherman shouted.

"Hahaha. Master, isn't the whirlpool truly magnificent?"

The fisherman was a man of great courage. Kale, with a pale face, pushed away the deputy captain's hand that was gripping his collar.

He felt seasick coming on.