“It seems that a high-ranking magician bears a grudge against one of the guests residing in the Moonlit Well, Milady.”
“I shall go locate the magician. You stay here and protect milady.”
The two men standing beside the girl spoke in turn.
However, she just snorted and spoke in a mocking tone.
“Do you think I’m some powerless idiot who can’t even protect herself? There are six of our guards inside the inn already. In other words, this may be a terror attack against the Hidden Palace. Ryu, go search for the magician. Hiten, come check on the guards inside with me.”
Ryu and Hiten lowered their heads in respect to the lady.
The girl who had commanded them was Syris Endorma.
She was the Master of the Hidden Palace Talaris Endorma’s daughter.
“We can kill someone like Alkaro whenever we want. So instead of him, make it your top priority to check on our guards’ safety and well-being.”
“Understood, Milady.”
Ryu leaped in the air to track down the magician. Meanwhile, Syris and Hiten entered the inn.
Boooom!
The third bolt of lightning fell onto the Moonlit Well. This time, an entire floor was destroyed, and the Kings of Mamit shouted their frustrations at the top of their lungs.
Even Syris and Hiten stopped in their tracks. Now that they were seeing it from up close, the lightning bolt’s power was far greater than they had expected.
“Fucking hell! Just which son of a bitch is it?!”
“Menka, you bastard! Didn’t you say you killed a few magicians from the Zipfel Clan not long ago? Aren’t they back to get revenge on you?”
“I was bluffing! It never happened!”
The customers ran out of the inn and bickered amongst each other.
But not all of them were doing so. As they were called the Kings of Mamit, some of them were getting ready for battle, while the others were trying to find the source of the magic spells.
Immediately, the final lightning bolt struck the inn.
The fourth bolt was far stronger than the initial three as Jin had amplified the spell using all the spiritual energy in his room; this, in turn, erased all traces of dark energy in it.
Boooom! Craaaash!
The streak of electricity struck the inn in the center, and the building was split in half. The divided inn was on the verge of collapsing on either side.
“Argh!”
“Keuk!”
More guests covered in soot and ashes escaped from the dust and joined the lobby.
Barely thirty seconds had passed since the beginning of this pandemonium. The people had no idea who had attacked the Moonlit Well.
“…Looks like the attacks have ceased.”
“Yes, Milady.”
As Syris and Hiten entered the remains of the building, Jin came falling down from the 2nd floor.
Thud!
“Urgh…!”
Falling from the 2nd floor wasn’t that painful, but Jin had dropped the final bolt near his guestroom.
(TL/N: In Korea, you start counting floors from 1st, 2nd. So there’s no ground floor/floor zero. So he didn’t fall from that high up.)
‘That last one was closer to the level of a 7-star spell… Maybe because I infused all the spiritual energy in the room with the spell.’
Had it not been for Orgal’s Pendant around his neck, Jin would’ve received a fatal injury. But as of right now, he had gotten away with a burnt robe and some veins popping here and there in his body.
The boy looked at his surroundings, acting as naturally as possible.
He had to check whether Alkaro was still alive or not. While he didn’t see his assassination target, Jin did catch the bodyguards running around in a rush.
There was still smoke filling up the air in the lobby. If Alkaro had survived the extremely powerful lightning spells, Jin had to find him now and kill him. This was his only chance.
Jin was about to take out his dagger, but froze. He looked up and saw an unknown girl looking down at him.
“Oh? I never thought I’d find a boy around my age here in Mamit. Hey, are you alright? You should head outside to safety for now.”
“Milady, our men seem to be gathered over there. All six of them are safe and sound.”
“That’s a relief. For now, tell them to assemble. And if they’re still protecting Alkaro, just order them to kill him.”
“Understood.”
“And once Ryu finds the magician, go capture him with our men. Since the spells all looked similar, it must be a single magician behind this attack.”
“Yes.”
The boy on the floor immediately came to a realization as he listened to their exchange.
‘She’s the Master of the Hidden Palace’s daughter! From her attitude, she came all this way to deal with Alkaro.’
An unexpected encounter.
But Jin thought of this meeting as a blessing rather than misfortune.
‘According to what she said, even if Alkaro survived the spells, they’ll kill him anyway. So there’s no need for me to check on him and kill him myself. Moreover, the Master of the Hidden Palace’s daughter thinks this attack was caused by a magician and doesn’t suspect me.’
From now on, the person holding the highest authority here in the inn would be the Master of the Hidden Palace’s daughter.
Even if the Kings of Mamit were revered by the city and treated as royals here, they didn’t stand a chance against her.
‘It’s highly likely that she’ll suspect this was a terror attack against the Hidden Palace. Then all I need to do is pretend to be terrified and escape from this place.’
It wasn’t just the girl. The rest of the customers residing in the Moonlit Well were thinking a magician had attacked them.
Thus, the chances of Jin being accused as the culprit were extremely low.
However, there was one problem.
‘If the Master of the Hidden Palace’s daughter sees my face, things can get complicated later on in life.’
It didn’t matter much if the leaders of Mamit or the small fry of the city saw his face. They would never meet again in Jin’s life, and even if it ended up becoming problematic, he could just silence them in the future.
But the Master of the Hidden Palace’s daughter was a completely different story.
She was someone Jin inevitably had to meet if he stayed at the Garden of Swords.
“Milady!”
“Is everyone alright? Where’s Alkaro?”
“Ah, that’s… We have no excuses. Alkaro has perished from the attacks just now. We have failed to protect him.”
“Is that so? That’s perfect. No need to be ashamed. Good work enduring that moron’s irritating behaviour so far. I came all this way to deal with him in the first place.”
While the girl conversed with her men, Jin grabbed a handful of soot and rubbed it all over his face. This was better than nothing to hide his face.
Shling!
Syris unsheathed a pure-white sword and raised it in the air.
“The Hidden Palace shall now take control over this inn! I am Syris Endorma, daughter of the Master of the Hidden Palace Talaris Endorma, captain of the Hidden Palace’s Seven Swords. All those who oppose will be considered enemies of the Hidden Palace from now on.
“Hiten, order our men to block and regulate all movement and activity in a radius of five hundred meters. Make sure nobody can move until Ryu has found the magician. Understood?”
“Yes, Milady.”
“Ah, um. Did you say you’re the Master of the Hidden Palace’s daughter? Still, this place is Mamit. So as the Kings of Mamit, it’s a bit irritating if you try to take control of the situation despite our very obvious presence. Also, isn’t it highly possible that we were attacked because of the Hidden Palace in the first place?”
The one who spoke up was the King of Mamit who had mentioned about ‘manners’ this morning to Jin. Once he finished stating his point, the other kings around him nodded in agreement.
“Hiten.”
“Yes.”
“Bring me his head.”
As those terrifying words echoed, Hiten vanished from his spot without a trace.
Scrrt!
The guard appeared behind the opposer out of nowhere, and a metallic linear flash was reflected in everyone’s eyes. Hiten brought the head of the dead man—who still had his eyes open—and politely laid it at Syris’s feet.
“I mentioned that all those who oppose would be considered enemies, didn’t I? And ‘Kings of Mamit’? Have you been playing royals in this rubbish heap of a city for so long that you’ve forgotten your places? Is the Hidden Palace a joke to you ‘kings’?”
The Kings of Mamit all averted their gazes, some coughing awkwardly.
They weren’t weak in any way. If the Kings of Mamit all united their forces, they could even stand a chance against Syris’s subordinates. However, none of them wanted to have the Hidden Palace as their enemy.
“Ehem. We don’t want to have you people as our enemies either. But at the very least, do respect us and be mindful of our positions. The one who just died wasn’t completely wrong either, was he?”
“If it’s revealed that the attack was aimed at the guards of the Hidden Palace, we will compensate you for the damages. But what if it’s the other way around? What if our men were innocent bystanders of an attack that was aimed at one of you people?”
Syris sharply retorted, to which the Kings of Mamit couldn’t refute.
“Sigh, alright. Do as you wish. We didn’t know that the guards who were protecting that druggy were part of the Hidden Palace. We shall leave you in charge. We also wish to find the magician and kill him, so our goals are aligned.”
“Good. For now, have all the survivors gather here. Currently, one of the Hidden Palace’s Seven Swords is searching for the magician out there. But it’s still possible that the culprit is someone amongst you.”
“That’s unlikely. None of us are magicians.”
“I don’t doubt that. But it’s possible that one of you recently got on the bad side of this magician in question. Pieces of trash like you cause all kinds of trouble wherever you go, am I right? In any case, have everyone gather here.”
The Kings of Mamit all sighed as they descended the stairs along with the other survivors. Meanwhile, Syris lowered her gaze.
“Why are you still dilly-dallying here? Didn’t I tell you to head outside to safety about three minutes ago?”
Unlike her conversation with the Kings of Mamit, Syris was using a much softer and tender tone when addressing Jin. The boy curled up in order to hide his face as much as possible.
“Tha-That’s… Because it’s terrifying. And I hurt my leg earlier. I’m sorry…”
“Ahahaha, you’re quite fearful for a young man, even though you’ve got a sword at your belt. How cute. Now, get moving. And forget everything you saw today. Oh, and put this on your leg before leaving.”
“Thank you very much.”
Syris took out an ointment that was brewed using healing mana. Jin was about to receive it with his sooty hands, but Syris smiled and shook her head.
“Look at your dirty hands. Just let me put it on you. Pull back your pant leg. Still, aren’t you quite the lucky one? Not only did you survive a terror attack, I, Syris Endorma, am personally putting ointment on your leg. You should feel honoured.”
Jin clumsily pulled back his pant leg. Syris crouched down and rubbed some ointment on the boy’s shin. In the middle of his shin was a deep and long gash.
‘Why is she so kind? The Master of the Hidden Palace’s daughter was infamous in my first life for being crazed and out of her mind. Were the rumours completely unfounded?’
Once she finished putting on the ointment, Syris and Jin’s gazes met each other.
The girl had not a single ounce of suspicion towards the boy. Furthermore, she was happy to finally meet someone of her age group in this desolate city and felt like helping him out.
“There, all done. Hiten! Why is Ryu taking so long? Don’t tell me he can’t find the magician? That Ryu?”
“He is somewhat late indeed. Should I head out there and search for the culprit as well?”
“Hm, forget it. The magician seems to be skilled at concealing themselves. Even so, they must be inside the city, so it’s only a question of time. I doubt Ryu won’t be able to find his target. It’s just a measly magician after all.”
“I concur.”
After straightening his pant leg, Jin stood up and bowed deeply.
“Um, how can I return this favour?”
As he asked her, Jin had to hold back the smile that was about to creep up on his face. After completing the terror attack, if the Kings of Mamit held him back for some reason, things could’ve gotten complicated for him. However, the situation had unfolded so easily.
Moreover, Syris wasn’t trying to check Jin’s face properly either. She was simply showing him kindness and sending him on his way.
“How could you ever repay a debt to someone like me? Just think of this as a nice memory. And if you remember me from time to time, just bow in the direction of the Hidden Palace whenever you can. Well then, bye!”
Having left the Moonlit Well inn, Jin followed the streets and left Mamit.
While he had gotten some help from Syris, Alkaro had still died from Jin’s own magic, so he had no reason to feel guilty or ashamed about the completion of his mission.
