Chapter 57

# Chapter 57: <Thinking>

Kale did not particularly refute Tunka's words. Instead, he pointed at Tunka and said,

"Are you guys, who want to tear everything down like you, also crazy?"

Tunka's lips, which had been curling up, finally burst into laughter.

"Hahaha-"

It was a loud, resounding laugh that echoed around. After laughing for a while, Tunka shook his head and replied to Kale's question.

"No, no."

Tunka's eyes, now free of laughter, were cold.

"We are not crazy at all."

Kale had expected Tunka to answer like that. Tunka firmly believed in the Non-Mage Union and would prove it with results.

"Yeah, I'm the same."

Tunka observed Kale's calm demeanor, which asserted that he was not crazy. After a long look, Tunka said casually,

"Come and buy it yourself."

Kale couldn't destroy the mage tower. He had no plans to do so. Tunka didn't say it, but Kale knew his subordinates wouldn't refuse.

"I was already thinking about it."

The largest magic device-producing country in the Western Continent. It was safe to say that the country's wealth came from mages and magic devices.

The Non-Mage Union needed money the most after their victory. They also wanted to erase all traces of magic. Kale was waiting for that moment.

'Prince Han will probably join in a different direction.'

The mage tower, which was thought to be nothing but a pile of rubble. Inside it was a treasure that the Non-Mage Union desperately wanted.

"But how did you know I'm part of the Non-Mage Union?"

Ha. Tunka's question made Kale sigh deeply again. Tunka was taken aback by this, and Kale seized the moment to speak.

"You're a tribal member of the Wiper Kingdom, and the kingdom is on the brink of conflict with the union. When you look at me with eyes that seem ready to kill me for being a mage, how could I not think of the Non-Mage Union?"

"…Think of it?"

Kale simply turned away from Tunka's reaction. Tunka wondered how such a guy could be so sharp and clever during war.

But Tunka's interest seemed to grow as he approached Kale.

"Why did you come?"

Despite Kale's blunt question, Tunka didn't flinch.

"To see what you're going to do."

A guy with overly good instincts. Kale waved his hand dismissively.

"Go play with the whirlpools. I'm busy."

"Are you a noble?"

Tunka found Kale quite intriguing. He thought Amir, a noble, was quite open-minded, but not as much as this guy. It was strange that the word "guy" stuck to this noble in front of him.

"I am a noble, just like you are a warrior."

Kale glanced around, knowing he had a lot to do today. Then Tunka's voice reached his ears.

"Interesting."

Kale frowned and ignored Tunka's comment. Instead, he unfolded a silver shield. Along with it, wings appeared and flapped slightly. At that moment, the voice of the black dragon echoed in his mind.

-I have good instincts.

Kale's body lifted slightly. The black dragon had perfectly timed the flight spell. Kale decided to deal with the other whirlpools first.

"Rice."

Kale called Tunka by his alias. He still pretended that "Rice" was Tunka's real name.

"Why?"

"Are you aware that today's events are a secret?"

"Of course. I prefer to keep interesting things to myself."

Tunka's smirk made him look like a madman. Perhaps it was the night, but his physique, disheveled hair, and smile made him even more terrifying. Kale said as he took off,

"I'll get you a ship and some sailors. You should hurry back to your hometown, right?"

"Ooh, thanks?"

Tunka, who hesitated for a moment, then answered cheerfully. Kale, who had a rough idea of what Tunka would say, waved his hand and flew away completely.

"Win. You will."

It would benefit him.

Kale changed direction to another island with a whirlpool. He had already collected several wind orbs and the water from the miraculous puddle.

The next day, Kale came to the dock early in the morning.

"Rice."

He showed Tunka the ship and the sailors. Tunka looked at them for a while before speaking.

"Come back in two months. The world will be different then."

Kale thought he shouldn't go to the Wiper Kingdom for two months. He saw a glint of madness in Tunka's eyes, ready to act.

"…Go quickly."

Kale subtly moved away from Tunka and looked at the sailors, signaling them to depart. Tunka, who had been watching, hesitated and finally asked,

"Are you weak?"

"Hmm."

Kale's quick, sharp answer made Tunka fall into deep thought again, looking confused. But he soon boarded the ship.

"Come back in two months, definitely."

"Sure, sure."

Kale casually waved goodbye to Tunka as he turned away from the ship. Tunka's voice, very loud, came from behind.

"My name is Tunka! Remember it well!"

Kale turned around. The medium-sized ship, sparkling in the morning sunlight, was leaving. Tunka, waving from the ship, shouted.

It looked like a scene from a shonen manga where the protagonist departs. Kale turned away with a look of having seen something he shouldn't, without any lingering thoughts. Tunka's voice, insisting he remember the name, continued to echo behind him, but Kale never looked back.

Just thinking about two months from now made his stomach feel full. He would gain a lifetime's worth of retirement funds and a sturdy castle.

Kale returned to his lodging and met others. He stroked the backs of the kitten On and Hong, who had been locked inside since he went to the beach.

"You didn't have to come to say hello."

"No, we wanted to thank you and apologize for startling you back then."

On and Hong were staring blankly at Witira, who was speaking. These two, who usually didn't react much to anyone, were different with Witira.

Witira, carefully observing Kale's expression, asked cautiously,

"Are you feeling well?"

"Well, as usual."

Thanks to the vitality of his heart, Kale's physical condition was always above average. He only needed a couple of hours of sleep to fully recover from fatigue.

He then spoke to Witira, who had suddenly become silent, and her brother Paseon.

"Enough with the thanks. It will lose its meaning if you keep saying it. The same goes for the apology."

"Yes, thank you."

Kale looked at Witira, who was showing him respect, indifferently but also observed her. A descendant of the whale king, different from the ordinary merfolk chiefs. A ruler of half the sea, the whale king was no different from the king of a kingdom.

Yet, Witira spoke to Kale with respect. She didn't do so with Choe Han in the books.

'Why hide your status even though you revealed you're a whale?'

But Kale didn't reveal his doubts from yesterday. He was also trying not to show that he knew a lot about the whale people.

"More thanks. Even if I say not to."

Kale spoke to the picturesque siblings.

"It's good that the two of you met. You can leave now."

He had sent Tunka back and wanted to meet the lord of Ubar and return to the Hennitus estate as soon as possible. Of course, he had things to do there, but he wouldn't rest until he left the Wiper Kingdom.

At that moment,

"Sir Kale."

Witira. The whale's voice was as beautiful as that of a Siren, a terrifying creature that lured people into the sea with its beautiful voice.

Thinking of the Siren, Kale felt a chill at the back of his neck. He turned to look at Witira, feeling strange.

"We have a very old enemy. As you know from healing Paseon, it's the merfolk."

I know. I know very well.

"But my brother Paseon discovered why they suddenly became stronger."

What was this about? Kale's brows furrowed. Paseon continued,

"I was being chased by the merfolk because I found the reason for their sudden strength."

Paseon, a half-whale, had been chased and killed by the merfolk. He had a reason for being chased, and the information he knew was crucial in the conflict between the merfolk and the whale people.

"I heard you are from the Hennitus family."

"…So?"

Witira and Paseon exchanged glances at Kale's question, which made him feel very uneasy. Finally, Witira looked at Kale and said,

"The Dark Forest. We want to go there. No, we must go there."

Kale, hearing a name he hadn't expected, blurted out,

"Our estate?"

The Dark Forest. Where Choe Han had lived for decades, one of the five mysterious regions in the Western Continent.

And a place the Hennitus family had long guarded for the kingdom.

"I beg you. I have prepared sufficient compensation. Can we go together?"

The large whale and the small whale looked at him earnestly. On and Hong tapped Kale's knees with their paws, a small expression of their wish to go with him. At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and it opened. The wolf boy Mes entered.

"Sir, I've prepared tea and snacks."

Two wolf children followed, carrying a tray and a teapot. Vikros was watching from outside the door.

-I am more handsome and beautiful.

Kale closed his eyes, hearing the black dragon's muttering in his mind. He felt like he was at the center of a chaotic whirlpool.

"Sir?"

Witira's cautious question made Kale raise his hand. Witira closed her mouth. Once the wolf children left and the room was quiet, Kale's eyes slowly opened.

Leaning back on the sofa, he looked relaxed. His disheveled red hair was stylish, but his dark brown eyes were deep and unreadable.

Witira and Paseon, looking into those eyes, heard his dry voice.

"Tell me in detail."