Chapter 459


    <b>C459</b>


    When Gilly left to start preparing for Jin''s journey, Murakan entered the room this time.


    Upon entering, he looked at Gilly and forced a smile (to make her smile), but she just nodded in greeting and walked past him.


    "Hmm, today Strawberry Pie''s reaction seems to be 20% anger, 30% sadness, and 50% bitterness. There''s not a single digit of error in this calction, kid. You know that?"


    "What nonsense is this again?"


    "Well, what do you know? Ugh. You only know how to take advantage of Strawberry Pie."


    A vein popped on Jin''s forehead.


    "You, the great ck Dragon, don''t know how to flirt."


    "What are you talking about?"


    "And you only know how to make cheap jokes."


    "You have no idea how much Strawberry Pieughs at those jokes."


    "Well, you don''t need that kind of humor. Gilly onlyughs when she sees your face."


    "Ha! Look who''s talking. The Thousand Year Contractor has no eyes, none. I raised you wrong. I should have known since the time you threatened to destroy the magazines!"


    "And so what? Right now, Murakan, it''s better for you to behave with her. She''s frustrated enough for you toe and bother her, right?"


    "Of course!"


    "Because I can give you an excuse."


    At this point, Murakan suddenly cleared his throat and gave a typical fake cough.


    "Cough, cough, cough."


    Jin burst intoughter.


    "Go help Strawberry Pie, no. Help Gilly."


    That was the reason.


    If Murakan tried to help Gilly without this motive, the only response he would hear from Gilly would be, "It''s okay, you don''t need to bother."


    On the other hand, he could naturally help her with this reason. All Gilly could respond was, "Oh, for the young master?"


    "Hehehe, good. Well, kid, it''s nice to hear that. So, you go find that Am or whatever, and I''ll take care of Strawberry Pie, and we''ll do all the pending household chores together..."


    "You''reing too. And there''s no need for you to do household chores."


    "Okay, I''ll go... But why?"


    "Aren''t you my Dragon Guardian?"


    "Well, that''s true. But sometimes, the Dragon Guardian needs some time alone."


    "Yes, you''re right, but this time you muste. It could be quite dangerous."


    "You''ll be fine unless someone like Zephyrin shows up, don''t you think? Isn''t it better for someone like me to watch over Tikan?"


    "There''s now that says Zephyrin won''t show up again. Also, the Gaifa Inds require a proper escort."


    Murakan frowned at the mention of an escort.


    "Escort? Are you saying you want to use me as an escort?"


    "Yes. The four major factions will gather at the Gaifa Inds. There will be important figuresing to represent them."


    "So you don''t want tog behind them, right?"


    In reality, even if Jin were alone, without Murakan, Lata, or Fey, he wouldn''t be seen as a fool by anyone.


    A year or two ago, many might have thought, "At most, he''s the Twelfth gbearer."


    But now Jin had truly ascended to the ranks of giants.


    Before, he was a notable rising star shaking the world and causing a sensation with his talent.


    However, after swallowing the Phantom Legion Mercenaries and ck King Mercenaries, there was no doubt that Jin had be an undeniable giant.


    So even without Murakan, his influence wouldn''t diminish, but he had the mindset that more is better.


    The Gaifa Inds were like a small cage where all formidable beings in the world gathered.


    That meant even a small spark could trigger a wild fight, and Jin and the Proch brothers might be insufficient in those moments.


    Enemies could be numerous and powerful.


    "True. We have to prepare for any unexpected situation."


    "Well, I can handle quite a bit."


    "Anyway, shall we? When youe back from helping Gilly, I''ll prepare some remarks that you can use on the Gaifa Inds for various situations."


    "Remarks? What kind of remarks?"


    "I''ll only tell you if we go."


    -----------------------------------


    In the Gaifa Inds, the sea was calm and transparent, a warm breeze blew year-round, the forest visible from the sea was lush and full of tempting fruits, and the trees in that forest wereden with all kinds of unknown fauna.


    It was truly a worthless area.


    The nearby sea was calm...


    but just beyond the ind, treacherous currents and mysterious whirlpools abounded, making navigation for normal vessels impossible.


    The warm breeze that blew daily would suddenly sweep the ind, making it unsuitable for installing a transfer gate due to the dry sand and drops it carried.


    The ground, despite its beautiful colors, produced resources that essentiallycked meaning.


    Moreover, many people who tried to settle here couldn''t endure for long, as a mysterious endemic disease erupted here every year.


    The worst conditions in this ce were caused by monsters. Gaifa was an unprotected zone.


    It wasn''t ssified as a high-risk zone, but orcs and other demonic creatures roamed the ind once or twice a week.


    Therefore, Gaifa couldn''t be used as a tourist destination, residential area, or even as a fun ce for the wealthy.


    asionally, there were people who tried to invest in the ind or establish a personal space despite these unfavorable conditions.


    However, all of them disappeared about thirty years ago when the formidable mercenary Am set foot on this enormous and seemingly useless ind.


    Swish, Swish...


    The boat smoothly crossed the mist-covered sea.


    The one exining this information was Lata Proch, who had been rowing the boat alone throughout the entire journey to the ind.


    "There have been various rumors about that reason, my lord."


    "Do you mean the reason why fewer people have approached the Gaifa Inds since Am arrived?"


    "Rumors circted that Am killed everyone who came looking for something hidden on the Gaifa Inds. There are stories like hiding lovers, hiding kidnapped children, and so on."


    "Naturally, there must have been stories about hiding treasures too."


    "Yes. So quite a few mercenaries and pirates came to the Gaifa Inds. They were all a bunch of fools, and... no one ever saw them again."


    People in the world might not know if one or two had disappeared, but if a group had vanished, it could only be because of Am.


    "On rare asions, there were a few lucky ones who survived and came back, but they showed signs of fear at the mention of Am''s name."


    Rumors like Am wearing human skin or being a cannibal arose from those incidents.


    "One thing is clear, Am really dislikes guests whoe to these inds."


    Exiting the misty area, Gaifa became visible.


    "That''s right."


    More guests had gathered in Gaifa than ever before.


    Lata was sure.


    Am wouldn''t be receiving the guests.


    And if she met with them, it would undoubtedly be for military purposes, not hospitality.


    "By the way, there''s a rumor that Am... has a favorable impression of the two brothers."


    "I don''t care if Valkas-nim told you, but don''t worry about our feelings, Jin-nim," said Fey.


    Valkas had told them the same story before his departure.


    She continued with her words.


    "And... I''m not sure if I can call it a ''favorable'' feeling. I think Valkas-nim mentioned it while thinking about the day we happened to eat together on the battlefield. But my brother and I have seen Am on other asions besides that day."


    "If it''s not ''favorable''?"


    "It''s difficult to express it in words. It seemed like she considered us as toys or ymates. She said talking is boring and brandished her sword against us."


    "It''s an embarrassing story, but there was one time I got a cut on my forehead during one of her surprise attacks."


    At that moment, Jin realized a strange sense of dj vu hearing the story about Am.


    The ambiguity of the border between good and evil, the willingness to perform actions that could kill someone as a joke.


    There was someone whom Jin wanted and who also had that trait.


    ''Elder Sister Yona.''


    From what he had heard, Am had a lot inmon with Yona.


    And a word naturally came to Jin''s mind:


    Chaos.


    ''Maybe Am has the chaos of Elder Sister Yona.''


    Of course, it could just be that she had a twisted personality.


    But other circumstances fit well.


    The part where Am single-handedly overwhelmed all the ck King Mercenaries in the war.


    Valkas evaluated Am as someone with special abilities, more than as a transcendent War with a battle skill of 10 stars or higher.


    -Am has spent her whole life wandering and exploring the world. I asked her when we ate together after the battle. She seemed to be searching for something with great longing but didn''t reveal exactly what it was.


    Jin remembered what Valkas had said.


    A sharp intuition seemed to pierce his head from all directions.


    Am is looking for something rted to Chaos.


    The source, the reason, or a way to control or eliminate the Chaos she possessed.


    If Am is looking for that, what can I offer her?


    Jin''s knowledge about "Chaos" was quite limited.


    Most of what he knew came from Tris''s recent exnation.


    But what about his enemies?


    How much did they know about it?


    The Imperial Family might not know anything, but Kinzelo and Zippel probably had more information.


    Especially because the Leader of Kinzelo seemed to be a Demon God-level being.


    ''If Am''s goal is information about Chaos, I''m in a quite disadvantageous position, especially since I''m probably thest one to arrive at the Gaifa Inds.''


    While contemting these thoughts, a familiar scene entered Jin and hispanions'' vision.


    Not far away, smoke and mes began to erupt from the center of Gaifa.


    There was no need for further exnations; the smoke indicated that a battle was taking ce, and it was unfolding rapidly.


    "My lord."


    "What should we do?" Lata and Fey asked, and Jin immediately made a decision.


    If there had been only one major faction that had arrived at Gaifa, they would have hurried to see it immediately.


    It was probably a battle between Am and the main factions.


    However, it wasn''t the right time to intervene.


    It could be a battle between the main factions, a skirmish involving Am, or a showdown between Am and some of the main factions.


    They all had one thing inmon:


    Interest in Am.


    As long as the Four Great Factions didn''t collectively decide to eliminate Am, she was actually the safest in any situation.


    Because they would all try to rescue her.


    "For now, let''s go more slowly. And if possible, let''s find a suitable ce to hide and observe what happens and how the battle unfolds," suggested Jin.


    <b>-</b>


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