Chapter 57

Chapter 20. Beyond the World (3)

Sembe rushed straight into the main house, thinking to himself.

'Jin Runcandel! The unparalleled genius who became a 5-star knight at fifteen and my savior. Who would have thought he would come to me in the middle of the night to ask for help!'

It was overwhelming, truly overwhelming. After all, it was Runcandel who had brought his own guardian knights to save him before. It was a luxury that no amount of money could easily buy.

What could it be? If he is the son of Runcandel, he must have more money than he can spend. Perhaps he needs it urgently for a secret mission?

'No matter what, I will have played a small part in the great deeds he will achieve. Maybe when historians write Jin's biography, they will mention Sembe of Bilga in a line or two.'

In the ten minutes or so it took to gather the money, a thousand flights of fancy unfolded.

When Sembe returned, his large leather bag was filled with all sorts of valuables and gold coins.

"Huff, huff. Sir Jin, here it is!"

There's too much. Just by a rough estimate, the treasure must weigh over 30 kilograms. It's impossible to carry all this and set off on a journey.

He sifted through the bag and took a handful of jewelry and about five hundred gold coins. Even that amount is something ordinary people could never dream of in their lifetimes.

"I'll take this much. It was nice to meet you, Sembe Bil."

"It's an honor for me, Sir Jin. I hope you complete your mission safely, whatever it may be…!"

"Sure, see you later. Oh, and about the guards at the entrance when I came in…"

"I understand everything. I'll take care of it neatly, so don't worry. And I won't say a word about today until you give me permission."

When Jin first saved Sembe in the southern border area of Zhan, he didn't think much of it. But now, Jin decided to classify Sembe as a pretty good friend. He doesn't forget favors and is quite perceptive.

'I should take care of him a bit, somehow.'

Sembe waved enthusiastically until Jin's figure disappeared.

* * *

Runcandel's aspiring knights usually live in extreme poverty for the first two months or so.

The children of swordsmanship families, who have only learned how to hit, stab, and cut people, generally have a very poor sense of money. It's only natural that they have never earned a single penny before stepping out into the world.

Therefore, they have no choice but to experience a poor life until they go to the Viment Investigation Team with a string of mammoth heads or earn money as mercenaries.

Chomp, chomp.

However, on the fourth day of being aspiring knights, Jin, Gilly, and Murakan are now wreaking havoc in the best restaurant in the Zhan Kingdom. They ordered dozens of dishes, but their money bags are not even scratched.

"Murakan, don't eat too much. We have to go through the teleportation gate in an hour. If you vomit again like last time…"

"Shut up, kid. Even if I end up vomiting everything, it's still the life of a predator to eat first."

"Of course."

"Sir, try this too. The food in the Zhan Kingdom isn't bad."

"Ha ha ha, Strawberry Pie. You were the one who said, 'Isn't that extortion, Sir?' yesterday, and now you're eating it so well."

The reason the three are not riding Murakan and using the teleportation gate instead is not because of Gilly's fear of heights.

The kingdom they are heading to, Akin, is a country where the dark organization Teshing is causing chaos, but it is still part of the 'Lutero Magic Federation.' The Lutero Magic Federation is under the management of Jip.

And currently, 80% of the active dragons are with Jip. Entering such a place riding Murakan would be tantamount to declaring war.

'Runcandel can't break its pact with Jip because of those dragons.'

And the gods who created those dragons.

In Runcandel, there is only one divine contractor, Jin, but the situation is different in Jip. Dozens of contractors support the families.

They are all eagerly waiting for the day Syron dies.

If Syron were gone, they could easily bring down the thorn in their side, Runcandel.

"It's about time, let's go."

3:00 PM.

The three finished their meal and completed the procedures at the Zhan Kingdom's teleportation gate. Since Murakan doesn't have an ID, he had to transform into a cat to board.

"Teleportation will begin shortly."

Woo!

The attendant announced the operation as they took their seats in the quiet VIP waiting room.

A bright blue magical force gently enveloped the three, and a moment later, they opened their eyes at the Akin Kingdom's customs.

"Welcome to the Lutero Magic Federation, Akin Kingdom."

The fake IDs once again smoothly allowed them to enter the country. As they stepped out of the teleportation gate and onto the street, the bright sunlight stung their eyes.

'After 15 years.'

The capital of the Akin Kingdom where he spent the last year before his regression.

Although there is a 15-year time difference from his previous life, the scenery here is not much different from back then. Street vendors are set up everywhere, and homeless people are squatting next to them, with people on the streets looking gloomy.

The warm and bright climate contrasts sharply with the well-paved roads.

'It must be because of Teshing's tyranny. I remember it was especially severe during this period.'

Gilly also seemed to notice the discrepancy and carefully observed the surroundings.

"What a strangely dark city. The weather is so nice."

"The mages of Kolon say it's a place where the scenery is nice but not a place where people can live. Let's find a place to stay and look for our prey."

"Yes, Sir."

But Jin had already decided on a place to stay and had already chosen his first prey.

Zet.

In his previous life, Jin was quite close to Zet. When he first came to Akin, he settled down with Zet's help.

But it wasn't a good kind of closeness. Zet was a person skilled in backstabbing.

'That scoundrel. He's probably running around calling himself a top-notch information merchant, scamming fools. Damn, just thinking about it makes me angry.'

In his first life, Jin was classified as a fool by Zet. How many times did Zet scam him by introducing him to Teshing's underground auction house?

This time, he plans to firmly correct the scoundrel from the start.

'Beating up Zet and using him as a subordinate will be useful in many ways. It will make it easier to convince Gilly and Murakan during our actions in Akin later.'

Jin doesn't plan to reveal to Gilly and Murakan that he is a regressed person.

Therefore, every time he acts on information from his previous life, he has to come up with plausible excuses for the two.

Just like now.

"Kid, do we have to find a place to stay in such a shabby alley? There were plenty of good inns on the main street over there."

"Sir must have his reasons, Mr. Murakan."

"We have plenty of money, so there's no need to stay in such a place, Strawberry Pie."

"It would be great to walk around this neighborhood, where unregistered mages gather, exuding a strong scent of money. Right, Murakan?"

"Ha! Do I, Murakan, have to stay in a cheap inn that even an orc would reject because of some insignificant creatures?"

Jin was making up reasons to lead the two to Zet's inn.

It can't always be like this. But once he starts using Zet as a subordinate, he will be free from such problems.

What? Sir, how did you know that?

Kid, why do we have to do that? Whenever Gilly and Murakan say such things, he can easily convince them by saying he got the information from Zet.

"Hmm, this place will do."

After an hour of bickering with Murakan, Jin finally stood in front of the inn Zet operates. It felt like he had walked for ten hours just listening to Murakan's complaints.

'Find Zet at the entrance.'

Seeing the sign after a long time, Jin couldn't help but chuckle.

Anyway, the inn's name has always been hard to understand, both then and now. It's a good name if you consider that it's actually an information merchant.

"Why here of all places?"

"The mages of the Kolon ruins say… No, I just have a feeling."

Murakan's mouth was still pouting as he entered the inn, while Gilly seemed to trust Sir.

A thin man with a pointy head was dozing at the counter. It was Zet. He seemed to be unaware of their presence, snoring and emitting a strong smell of alcohol.

"Are you the innkeeper?"

"Ugh. Ah, customers? Welcome."

Zet lazily straightened up and quickly glanced at the three, immediately classifying them as fools.

'A pimp in a shirt, a novice swordsman, and a woman, half-decent. A maid? Clearly a group of nobles playing at adventure.'

Although he thinks this, Zet shows a bright smile on the surface.

"Are there any vacant rooms?"

"Well… all the rooms are vacant. You came at the right time. I'm a proud man. I offer the best rest at the lowest price to travelers! Come, choose any room you like."

Zet, who suddenly stood up, naturally pushed Jin's group upstairs. He was telling them to choose a room to stay in and come back down.

Not telling them the price and making them use the service first is a typical scammer's tactic.

Going further, Zet quickly prepared three glasses of cool drinks while they were upstairs. He planned to make them drink it casually and then charge them extra.

If they were experienced mercenaries, he would have stopped at that.

But Zet doesn't plan to handle this inexperienced party so easily.

'Once they come down and drink this, they'll all be taken to the underground auction house to start a new life, hehe. What a windfall!'

Zet decided this the moment he saw them.

He planned to drug them all and sell them as slaves at Teshing's underground auction house. Quick planning and execution. This was the background of how Zet became a major information merchant in Akin.

Of course, Jin is sitting on top of Zet's head.

'He must be eagerly waiting to scam us with that old trick. Get ready to fall, Zet.'

When they came back downstairs, Zet, as expected, greeted them with drinks.

"Oh, you must be thirsty from your travels. Have a drink, hehe. It's our inn's special orange juice, very delicious. Even nobles often come here for this."

The blessed body of Runcandel has some resistance to ordinary poisons, so such cheap sleeping pills have no effect.

Jin thought,

Should I chug a glass and start beating him up, saying the sleeping pills taste great? Or should I pressure him to drink first and make him confess?

However, there was one thing Jin overlooked.

"Is this insignificant creature's head broken?"

Murakan had been in a bad mood all along.

Murakan clearly saw the sleeping pills floating on the surface of the juice.

"Hey, kid! You said you had a good feeling. While I beat you up, you can reflect on whether your feeling was really good or not."

Creak.

Murakan closed the inn door gently and said. Zet was destined to reveal everything after enduring Murakan's beating.