C459
When Gilly left to start preparing for Jin's journey, Murakan entered the room this ti.
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 calculation, 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 Black 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 Pie laughs at those jokes."
"Well, you don't need that kind of humor. Gilly only laughs 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 ti 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 to co 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 into laughter.
"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 Ala or whatever, and I'll take care of Strawberry Pie, and we'll do all the pending household chores together..."
"You're coming 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 sotis, the Dragon Guardian needs so ti alone."
"Yes, you're right, but this ti you must co. It could be quite dangerous."
"You'll be fine unless soone like Zephyrin shows up, don't you think? Isn't it better for soone like to watch over Tikan?"
"There's no law that says Zephyrin won't show up again. Also, the Gaifa Islands require a proper escort."
Murakan frowned at the ntion of an escort.
"Escort? Are you saying you want to use as an escort?"
"Yes. The four major factions will gather at the Gaifa Islands. There will be important figures coming to represent them."
"So you don't want to lag 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 Flagbearer."
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 rcenaries and Black King rcenaries, there was no doubt that Jin had beco an undeniable giant.
So even without Murakan, his influence wouldn't diminish, but he had the mindset that more is better.
The Gaifa Islands were like a small cage where all formidable beings in the world gathered.
That ant even a small spark could trigger a wild fight, and Jin and the Proch brothers might be insufficient in those monts.
Enemies could be nurous and powerful.
"True. We have to prepare for any unexpected situation."
"Well, I can handle quite a bit."
"Anyway, shall we? When you co back from helping Gilly, I'll prepare so remarks that you can use on the Gaifa Islands for various situations."
"Remarks? What kind of remarks?"
"I'll only tell you if we go."
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In the Gaifa Islands, 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 were laden with all kinds of unknown fauna.
It was truly a worthless area.
The nearby sea was calm...
but just beyond the island, treacherous currents and mysterious whirlpools abounded, making navigation for normal vessels impossible.
The warm breeze that blew daily would suddenly sweep the island, 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 essentially lacked aning.
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 place were caused by monsters. Gaifa was an unprotected zone.
It wasn't classified as a high-risk zone, but orcs and other demonic creatures road the island once or twice a week.
Therefore, Gaifa couldn't be used as a tourist destination, residential area, or even as a fun place for the wealthy.
Occasionally, there were people who tried to invest in the island or establish a personal space despite these unfavorable conditions.
However, all of them disappeared about thirty years ago when the formidable rcenary Ala set foot on this enormous and seemingly useless island.
Swish, Swish...
The boat smoothly crossed the mist-covered sea.
The one explaining this information was Lata Proch, who had been rowing the boat alone throughout the entire journey to the island.
"There have been various rumors about that reason, my lord."
"Do you an the reason why fewer people have approached the Gaifa Islands since Ala arrived?"
"Rumors circulated that Ala killed everyone who ca looking for sothing hidden on the Gaifa Islands. 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 rcenaries and pirates ca to the Gaifa Islands. 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 Ala.
"On rare occasions, there were a few lucky ones who survived and ca back, but they showed signs of fear at the ntion of Ala's na."
Rumors like Ala wearing human skin or being a cannibal arose from those incidents.
"One thing is clear, Ala really dislikes guests who co to these islands."
Exiting the misty area, Gaifa beca visible.
"That's right."
More guests had gathered in Gaifa than ever before.
Lata was sure.
Ala wouldn't be receiving the guests.
And if she t with them, it would undoubtedly be for military purposes, not hospitality.
"By the way, there's a rumor that Ala... 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 sa 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 ntioned it while thinking about the day we happened to eat together on the battlefield. But my brother and I have seen Ala on other occasions besides that day."
"If it's not 'favorable'?"
"It's difficult to express it in words. It seed like she considered us as toys or playmates. She said talking is boring and brandished her sword against us."
"It's an embarrassing story, but there was one ti I got a cut on my forehead during one of her surprise attacks."
At that mont, Jin realized a strange sense of dj vu hearing the story about Ala.
The ambiguity of the border between good and evil, the willingness to perform actions that could kill soone as a joke.
There was soone whom Jin wanted and who also had that trait.
'Elder Sister Yona.'
From what he had heard, Ala had a lot in common with Yona.
And a word naturally ca to Jin's mind:
Chaos.
'Maybe Ala 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 Ala single-handedly overwheld all the Black King rcenaries in the war.
Valkas evaluated Ala as soone with special abilities, more than as a transcendent War with a battle skill of 10 stars or higher.
-Ala has spent her whole life wandering and exploring the world. I asked her when we ate together after the battle. She seed to be searching for sothing with great longing but didn't reveal exactly what it was.
Jin rembered what Valkas had said.
A sharp intuition seed to pierce his head from all directions.
Ala is looking for sothing related to Chaos.
The source, the reason, or a way to control or eliminate the Chaos she possessed.
If Ala is looking for that, what can I offer her?
Jin's knowledge about "Chaos" was quite limited.
Most of what he knew ca from Talaris's recent explanation.
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 seed to be a Demon God-level being.
'If Ala's goal is information about Chaos, I'm in a quite disadvantageous position, especially since I'm probably the last one to arrive at the Gaifa Islands.'
While contemplating these thoughts, a familiar scene entered Jin and his companions' vision.
Not far away, smoke and flas began to erupt from the center of Gaifa.
There was no need for further explanations; the smoke indicated that a battle was taking place, and it was unfolding rapidly.
"My lord."
"What should we do?" Lata and Fey asked, and Jin imdiately made a decision.
If there had been only one major faction that had arrived at Gaifa, they would have hurried to see it imdiately.
It was probably a battle between Ala and the main factions.
However, it wasn't the right ti to intervene.
It could be a battle between the main factions, a skirmish involving Ala, or a showdown between Ala and so of the main factions.
They all had one thing in common:
Interest in Ala.
As long as the Four Great Factions didn't collectively decide to eliminate Ala, 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 place to hide and observe what happens and how the battle unfolds," suggested Jin.
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