C500
Sandra had her arms wide open as she descended, wearing a radiant smile.
For those unaware of her circumstances or eccentric personality, it seemed as if she were welcoming her lover, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, with a heart absolutely thrilled.
Is that Sandra Zipple...?
Did she just refer to the Twelfth Flagbearer as 'my love'?
Is there some kind of relationship between the Twelfth Flagbearer and Sandra Zipple?
Joshua, Dyfus, and even Jane couldn't help but squint their eyes as they looked at Sandra.
It was absurd for her to appear out of nowhere and call Jin 'my love,' and it was shocking to see how Hedo, who looked like a monster, awkwardly reacted to her words.
Thunk!
Sandra landed about ten steps away from Jin with agile and light movements uncharacteristic of a magician.
"Hahaha, I thought you'd catch me and embrace me coldly. Are you going to avoid me like this?"
"In this world, some people consider avoiding a wise move."
"How do you like my outfit today? I ordered it with a special recommendation from the upper echelons of the Golden Peng. Do you like it?"
Jin's eyes didn't focus on the black coat and shirt that looked similar to his Runcandel ceremonial uniform, but on the golden prosthetic hand.
Jin also recognized that the engraved drawing on it was his own face.
-A right arm... that seems fair.
-What do you mean by 'fair'?
-I think it's too early to give everything I have. A right arm is neither too much nor too little. We're only on our first date.
Jin got goosebumps again, recalling the conversation they had in Gaifa.
The ongoing battle came to a halt, and everyone fell silent for a while, with only the sound of debris and shattered stones falling to the ground.
Jin simply nodded.
It wasn't a difficult decision. It suited Jin's tastes, and, more importantly, it seemed she could be of some help to get out of this dreadful crisis.
"I'm relieved! If you had deceived me, I was thinking of ordering that stupid muscle pig to kill those cute rats... Damn muscle pig!... Damn it! Hedo! How are you going to handle this? How are you going to take responsibility? Huh?"
Baaaaaa-!
The alarm sound grew louder.
In the sky, Drakka's dragons had already taken flight, and the battleship Kozec was preparing to depart.
"You said you'd definitely let me have dinner with Jin-nim!"
"...There was a small hiccup, miss."
"A hiccup? A hiccup! At this crucial moment, really, I'd rather die! How long have I waited?"
The Runcandels couldn't comprehend it at all.
The sight of that monster being so defenseless against Sandra was surreal.
And at that moment, Jin understood why Hedo didn't actively display his combat skills.
It's because of Sandra's orders.
Jin's feelings became complex.
The fact that he could be alive thanks to Sandra was more humiliating than relieving.
Jin had no choice but to think this way because her eccentric behavior, which didn't seem like an enemy's trick, was beneficial in some way.
If it weren't for Yona and Sandra.
This mission was already a failure.
It might be possible to escape, but undoubtedly, Runcandel had suffered a significant blow without any substantial gains.
'Not only Zipple and Hedo were complacent. I and other Runcandels also thought it was too easy.'
But it wasn't the time to lament or blame himself.
The problem could be fixed later, and today's humiliation would be paid with an even greater misfortune.
'What's somewhat fortunate is that the enemies didn't calculate all these unexpected variables.'
So, even now, he had to be the first to perfectly read the unexpected variables.
I don't know why, but Hedo values Sandra Zipple's orders more.
However, today Sandra and I won't be able to have dinner together.
'So he probably just tried to keep me alive to avoid Sandra's resentment.'
-If you have anything you've picked up here, leave it and go. If you do, I'll let you live for now.
As Hedo spoke those words, Jin couldn't help but feel uneasy about the phrase 'I'll let you live for now.'
'After retrieving the blueprints, Hedo planned to kill everyone except me and Murakan.'
Not only Joshua, Dyfus, and Jane, but also the Spectres who behaved pitifully like shrimp.
Jin was convinced of that.
The reason he wants to deal with the Spectres is either to erase the evidence that he prioritized Sandra's orders over his clan or because he didn't want to be bothered.
'And the reason he called the main house despite the fact that I might die was because if it later comes out that we stole the blueprints of the battleship and escaped unharmed, Sandra could also be in trouble.'
Jin felt like his mind was about to explode with consecutive thoughts about assumptions.
'Not only Murakan and I, but everyone in Runcandels must survive. At least until we escape from the Second Tower."
Drakka's main force would provide support, and after escaping the second tower, there might still be a challenging battle.
Yona, Dyfus, Jane, and even Joshua needed to survive to have the slightest chance of making it through that and escaping the Lutero Magical Federation.
'How should I do it? I need a way to negotiate with the Tower Guardian.'
As he pondered up to that point.
Jin saw in the distance, behind Hedo, through the fleet filling the open sky...
He could see something familiar.
And the word that came to his mind at that moment was precisely this.
Divine luck.
The sky is helping me.
No, maybe this was already planned from the moment they arrived.
Jin immediately arrived at the conclusion of how to use this newly revealed variable in the sky.
Moreover, it seemed crucial not to miss the opportunity to gather as much information as possible about Hedo.
Jin brought his sword closer to Sandra Zipple's throat. Even when the blade touched her neck, she seemed pleased to be closer to Jin.
"Make way, Tower Guardian."
Hedo shrugged at Jin's words.
Hedo: "Do you plan to use the young lady as a hostage? You should know that's not a great threat, considering what you experienced on the Gaifa Islands."
"Of course, I know Sandra Zipple is half-immortal. However, that fact itself hasn't been adequately revealed to the outside world yet, has it? Besides, the fact that Sandra tried to help me escape won't have a good effect on both you and Sandra if it becomes known worldwide."
"I've said it several times, return the blueprints. If you do, I'll let you live."
"I'm giving the same answer. I haven't stolen anything. And when I said to make way, I meant not to harm anyone from Runcandel here, not just me and Murakan."
Hedo's gaze hardened.
"Don't you think you're making excessively unreasonable demands on enemy territory?"
"Even if you block my path, I trust I can escape from this place with Sandra. So, can you really control the mouth of this strange woman? There must be limits to controlling the media."
"You're crossing the line."
"Even if we engage in intense battles during the escape, Sandra won't die, and the fact that she is half-immortal is actually an advantageous condition for me in the current situation."
"You speak confidently, but I'm sure you're aware that it's impossible to take the young lady and leave the Lutero Magical Federation. Only you and Murakan can leave."
Jin shook his head firmly.
"I'll say it one last time. Make way, Tower Guardian."
Apparently frustrated, Hedo took out a cigarette.
The reason the Twelfth Flagbearer is obsessed with the young lady is that they need insurance in many ways.
Even if he lets them go, it's impossible to escape the pursuit of the main house.
Why insist on this?
'I thought he wasn't such a foolish person.'
Regardless of whether I step aside or not, unless the heavens' luck favors him, all the Runcandels here will inevitably face death...
Hedo had been thinking this since the moment he called the main house.
The reason he wanted to kill everyone, excluding Jin and Murakan, was that he needed a pretext.
He needed to have something to say when interrogated by Kelliark in the future.
Although he didn't see Jin and Murakan due to negligence, he can claim to have eliminated everyone else.
"Uh, honey."
Sandra, who was so excited looking at Jin's side profile, opened her mouth.
"I more or less know why you're doing this. You hate that damn musclehead, right? Today, I also feel like tearing him apart. How dare he put you in danger... But shouldn't you also consider Hedo's perspective a bit?"
Surprisingly, she had accurately deciphered all the hidden currents between Jin and Hedo in their conversation.
The fact that Jin needed insurance and Hedo needed a pretext.
However, she had been unable to realize the change in the sky because she had only been admiring Jin's profile.
"If everyone manages to escape safe and sound, both Hedo and I will be in trouble. We'll undoubtedly be interrogated. You don't want that either, right? Our married life hasn't even properly begun, and if I get stuck in some dungeon of my clan, you'd be sad, wouldn't you?".
"A dungeon? Miss, you won't end up in such a place."
"Hedo, shut up! I got this!"
Sandra shouted vehemently, then giggled and looked back at Jin.
"So let's go, the three of us, you, me, and the Black Dragon, quietly. That way, it's almost certain that you'll survive. I'll be the bait. Then, no one else will get hurt, right? We'll even have a dramatic escape date!"
She didn't seem to classify the other Runcandel as people, except for Jin.
Instead of responding, Jin stared directly at Hedo.
"It seems the Tower Guardian still doesn't understand why I insist so stubbornly."
Jin pointed his finger to the sky behind Hedo.
"When you see that, you'll think it's not a bad idea to accept my offer."
Hedo turned around.
In the sky floated over a hundred mass-produced battleships by Zipple; strangely, only one of them was illuminated.
It wasn't a Zipple battleship.
It was the battleship Grenille.
The flagship of Kinzelo that attacked the Sword Emperor Castle.
Grenille's cannons were aimed at the stationary mass-produced battleships.
"Wouldn't it be better if you let us go to stop that thing? I don't think there's a better pretext for both you and your young miss than that."
Jin smiled, and Hedo's expression wrinkled as he smoked a cigarette.
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KO-FI
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