Chapter 75

Chapter 24. Twisting Two Fates (7)

‘I almost died there.’

Rats, who had just emerged from the log cabin, thought this while still maintaining an expressionless face. This was the result of the extreme emotional restraint training he had undergone to become the leader of the special task force.

Quikantel had certainly displayed an overwhelming presence that far exceeded Rats' imagination, but he did not feel fear.

For the Viment special task force, death was a minor accident that could happen at any time during a mission.

‘But who were the other two in that house? The long-haired man could be Quikantel's lover, and the boy with the strange artifact covering his face… could he be their hidden child?’

It was impossible to imagine that Jin was Runkandel or that Murakan was a black dragon that had awakened after a thousand years of sleep.

In any case, Rats, who had completely misunderstood the situation, had a gut feeling that it wouldn't be easy to gather information on those people when he returned.

‘For the time being, I need to be especially cautious with close surveillance. I should instruct the team members to only report simple observations until Quikantel shows any special movements.’

While he regarded his own life as trivial, the lives of his team members were a different matter.

Rats judged that there was no need to assign his subordinates to the now sensitive Quikantel.

Thanks to Rats' judgment, Enya's family was able to board Tikan's trade ship safely.

Viment had not yet realized that Enya had disappeared.

Not until Quikantel left the log cabin to meet with Vuretta.

* * *

A week passed, mid-July 1795.

As Jin had predicted, there was no thorough surveillance of the log cabin, such as constant observation or tracking the locations of Quikantel and Enya.

Jin and Murakan had not left the cabin even once until then. Once a day, only Quikantel went to the city to buy food.

During this time, Jin's group also received a message from the Seven-Colored Birds, confirming that Enya had arrived in Tikan and was under the protection of Kashmir.

“Well, I thought it would happen, but it feels good to confirm Enya's safety in a letter. I can meet Vuretta with a light heart.”

Quikantel had already finished communicating with Vuretta, sending a letter inviting her to meet, as he had something to discuss about Enya.

Vuretta readily accepted the proposal, and the meeting was set for the next night.

“Will Vuretta come alone?”

“Kid, among dragons, face is a very important matter. Even if Quikantel just invited her to meet, it's impossible for her to bring a line of Zipple mages. Even if she were invited to fight, she would come alone.”

“Oh, so that's why you were so bold when you first came to the Viment territory?”

“Of course, this Murakan has no fear.”

“Great, really. And you don't remember almost dying as soon as you got here? If it weren't for Jin, you'd already be at the bottom of that cold sea.”

“That was a favor from me… Quikantel.”

“Less of a beating, huh?”

“What?”

While the two dragons were arguing about who was stronger, Jin was deep in thought.

‘…Face is important, so dragons come alone when called. But we are going to meet Vuretta as a group of three?’

So what?

Jin shrugged and tried to calm the two down.

“Yes, yes. Both of you, stop it. If you keep this up, you'll end up fighting before you even meet Vuretta tomorrow.”

Jin was so used to their bickering.

“We should decide again how to handle the meeting with Vuretta tomorrow.”

“What do you mean, how? Just tell her that you called her not for Enya but to find Latry, and if she resists, beat her up. That's the best plan.”

“I agree. Without Enya, I can act freely without any restraint.”

“Hmm. I like it, but it's not that simple. I don't think Vuretta will answer easily. Even if we win in a fight, Zipple will retaliate. We need to consider this at least.”

Jin spoke in a somewhat serious tone.

‘I thought that saving Latry, the guardian dragon of Uria, would be a big issue since it involves Zipple, but I didn't expect it to be this serious.’

Fighting Vuretta meant turning the entire Zipple into enemies.

And the current Jin did not have the strength to engage in a full-scale war with Zipple. Even if all of Kashmir's forces were brought in, it would be impossible.

In fact, saving Latry was not a profitable move.

It would mean turning the entire Zipple into enemies in exchange for Kashmir and Az Mil's contract and the Seven-Colored Birds.

Nevertheless, Jin decided to meet Vuretta for three main reasons.

First, he had promised Kashmir to find Latry.

Second, if Zipple was hunting down and removing contract holders or stealing contracts, it needed to be investigated now.

Third, children should always be protected.

“Hmm, our kid is right. I'm not afraid of their retaliation, but it's a problem worth considering.”

“Not just retaliation, but we also need to consider the possibility of our defeat. Unlike you two, I think Vuretta might come with Zipple's vice-leader, Andrei, even if it means losing face.”

What if Vuretta came with Andrei?

Or even worse, with other elite mages? There was no answer. Zipple's elite mages each possessed combat power similar to lower-tier dragons.

Of course, Jin had a last resort in mind, but he wanted to hear Quikantel's opinion.

“Don't worry about that. If Vuretta brings others to the meeting place and tries to overpower me, I will request support from the Viment dragons.”

“Certainly a good plan. Even if we can't immediately reveal the kidnapping, if Vuretta is uncooperative about the Latry kidnapping, we have a good reason to ask for help from other dragons.”

“Exactly. Moreover, if I defeat Vuretta and other Viment dragons get involved, Zipple won't easily retaliate. Zipple and Viment are politically intertwined in a complex way.”

Currently, Viment was in a position to balance between Runkandel and Zipple.

If Viment sided with one, the balance between the two major families would be broken. Therefore, Zipple couldn't act rashly even if Vuretta was defeated by Quikantel.

If Zipple turned Viment into an enemy, Runkandel would ultimately benefit.

For Jin, it was a satisfactory answer. It seemed that no matter how the situation unfolded, he wouldn't immediately become a target of Zipple.

“Alright. Then tomorrow, I will trust Quikantel-sama, and Murakan and I will hide nearby and wait.”

“Huh? Kid, what do you mean?”

“We are the reserve forces. If Vuretta comes alone, the fight should be handled by Quikantel-sama alone. Do we have anything to gain by showing our faces to Zipple?”

Quikantel smiled contentedly.

“Right, Murakan. Try not to get involved unless absolutely necessary. I will handle the fight, so just watch.”

Although he was teasing, Quikantel genuinely worried about Murakan. In her opinion, the current Murakan was no match for Vuretta.

“...Damn, even if I'm past my prime and weaker. I don't want to be pitied by my ex-lover.”

“Who's pitying you? Stop talking nonsense and help if I'm in danger. Of course, I don't expect that to happen.”

* * *

If Vuretta had come alone, it wouldn't have happened. Quikantel possessed top-tier combat power among the active dragons.

However.

As Jin had predicted, Vuretta brought someone.

None other than Zipple's vice-leader, Andrei Zipple.

Quikantel was standing in the middle of the deserted island, glaring at Vuretta.

Jin and Murakan were hiding in the forest, having cast a large amount of spirit energy to erase their presence.

“Haha. This old man is meeting the Time Dragon, Quikantel, for the first time. Nice to meet you, I am Andrei Zipple.”

[...Vuretta. I didn't expect you to bring another human in response to my call.]

[I understand, Time Dragon. When I received your letter, I happened to be with Andrei. Since it was about Olta's contract holder, Andrei showed great interest and came along.]

Despite Quikantel's obvious displeasure, Andrei smiled.

The meeting was off to a bad start.

[Vuretta, you've been overly disrespectful since the last time you refused to show me Enya. I hope this doesn't happen again.]

[Understood. Let's get straight to the point. What do you want to discuss about Olta's contract holder?]

[Before that, I have a question.]

[Go on.]

[What have you done with Latry, the guardian dragon of Az Mil?]

The tone was filled with unfiltered hostility.

Vuretta laughed softly for a moment before suddenly becoming serious.

[Well... I see. You called me not for Olta's contract holder but for Latry. I had a bad feeling about this.]

Vuretta shook her head.

[Answer my question, Vuretta. What have you done with Latry?]

[Well, I'm not sure how to answer to satisfy you. Hmm, Latry... is doing well. I didn't know you had a connection with Az Mil's contract holder? Do you want me to help find Latry?]

[Exactly. If you understand, bring him here immediately. Az Mil's contract holder is desperately searching for him.]

Whoosh! Whoosh...!

Suddenly, whirlwinds began to rise all over the deserted island, summoned by Vuretta's wind power.

[Vuretta, you must be out of your mind. Even if you're not a Zipple contract holder, kidnapping a fellow dragon? Especially a young one? And now this seems like a challenge.]

[You've involved yourself too deeply in Zipple's affairs. It's unfortunate. But let me make this clear: if you hand over Enya to us, we will spare your life.]

This time, Quikantel smiled.

[Is that so? Convenient. I have no intention of sparing your life, no matter what you do from now on.]