Volume 5 Chapter 105 – Tragedy of Kollon (4)
[Translator – jhei]
[Proofreader – yukitokata]
The invader froze like a statue as soon as he felt the blade.
He looked very nervous. A man who was a little shorter than Jin.
“I will not ask twice. Reveal your identity.”
“Wahaha…!”
Myuron Zipfel’s laugh could be heard from far away. Murakan and Kashimir evaluated the situation and shifted their vision from Myuron to the unknown man.
“I-I am—”
Gulp!
The man gulped and flexed his muscles. He was trying to suppress his shudders of fear.
Jin thought the man had some courage. It seemed that he wasn’t a knight or a magician, but just a normal civilian.
“Dino… Dino Zeglun. A journalist.”
As soon as he heard the name, Jin’s eyes widened.
‘Dino Zeglun, the journalist guy?!’
Jin remembered that name. Before his regression, Dino Zeglun was the journalist who exposed the Zipfels’ twisted objectives and the tragedy of Kollon.
He sheathed his dagger.
“Turn around.”
Dino slowly turned. Although he looked like he was in his early 20s, his facial features suggested that he was younger.
Jin began to analyze the journalist.
‘Early 20s, frail body. So this guy wrote the report against the Zipfels without a hint of fear. And he’s already investigating the Kollon Ruins, which means he’s been investigating this case for at least a decade.’
Respectable.
Jin felt respect for the man. A man named Dino, who came from nowhere with nothing to lose, exposed the Zipfels simply from pure work ethic.
The journalist could not look at Jin, who was already covering his face with Myulta’s Rune.
With fearful eyes, Dino also began to analyze him—whether the man with the helm was a Zipfel underling or a relic raider. Or maybe a person who also came to explore the Kollon Ruins.
“A journalist? Did you come for some news?”
Jin tossed the question, and Dino slowly nodded.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“What is it about?”
“…Before I respond, may I ask about your affiliation?”
“Man! Look at this runt. So fun to watch humans tremble in fear. Especially if it’s a journalist.”
Snickering, Murakan walked towards Jin.
Kashimir followed the black dragon. He pulled out two masks, covered his face with one, and handed the other to Murakan.
Jin began to laugh as well.
“Didn’t you two already reveal your face to this fellow?” .
“Covering up is still a good idea.” .
“Uh, I don’t want to put this on.”
“Put it on.”
“Well, whatever.”
And from this short conversation, Dino could easily identify the leader of the group.
‘This guy still sounds like a kid… but he’s the leader. He’s not a normal raider or a soldier. Who are these people? I don’t think they’re evil or anything.’
The two fixed their masks, and Jin opened his mouth once more.
“We won’t kill you or anything, so you can calm down. As for our affiliation… Hmmm… We’re just passersby.”
“You guys are… passersby?”
“It means, ‘Don’t ask.’ Now it’s your turn to answer. Is there some breaking news here? Or did you come for some allowance from the Zipfel Clan’s sixth son over there?”
Jin turned his head towards Myuron.
He intentionally threw a question to aggravate Dino. That way, he could identify the determined young man’s main goal. Then, Jin could reveal his own motives and team up with the journalist.
Dino chuckled and made an awkward smile.
“Allowance, you say… Yeah, there’s a lot of journalists like that. Rotten slaves who write articles that benefit the rich and noble. If you guys are Zipfel underlings, I’d be dead. I came to rake the muck and expose the garbage.”
Satisfied with the response, Jin smiled.
‘A very respectable fellow.’
It was known that courage shone brighter when one lacked strength.
With that in mind, Jin felt great satisfaction from Dino. Additionally, he had a feeling that the journalist would be a great ally with good intel.
“Exposing Myuron Zipfel. A random journalist! This is the most moving joke I’ve heard this year.”
“So… are you guys Zipfel underlings? Since I said I’ll expose Myuron, are you going to kill me now?”
Dino already forgot about his trembling fear. Weirdly enough, he trusted Jin when he said ‘We won’t kill you or anything.’
“No way. We came due to a friend’s request to rescue the Kollon natives. Unfortunately, we can’t reveal our identities to you, Journalist Dino Zeglun. However, I think we have a common goal. Don’t you think so?”
Dino blinked and stared at the three masked men.
Many different emotions made his heart race. Amongst them, the biggest was happiness from finding allies after a long era of solitude and isolation.
“You guys… you guys know about the Kollon natives’ plight…!”
“Not very well. We only know that they were conquered by the Zipfels centuries ago and that they’ve lived their lives as slaves until now.”
“Hey, kid. Can you tell this guy all of that?”
Murakan intruded on the conversation, and Kashimir lightly put his hand over Murakan’s mouth before pushing him backwards.
Murakan glared at Kashimir with beastly eyes.
‘Eup! What’re you doing, runt? You crazy?’
‘Young Master Jin seems to be digging for information to find a deterrent against the Zipfels’ retaliation for Myuron’s assassination. Let’s just watch.’
Kashimir had a good feeling about Jin’s actions, so he whispered to Murakan. Just as he said, Jin was trying to get something out of Dino.
In order to prevent a full-scale war, they needed to find a way to prevent the Zipfel Clan from acting upon another pureblood Zipfel’s death.
‘In fact, it’s likely that Dino knows a lot about the clan’s atrocities against the Kollon natives. Even now, he’s in the restricted area, hunting for scoops.’
Of course, they needed to check for a few things first.
“Dino, we have actually been here since noon, and we’ve been observing Myuron ever since. Because we don’t know what’s going on inside, we’re just gathering intel. We’re just here to help the Kollon natives escape instead of assassinating Myuron.”
First, how much Dino knew about the Kollon Ruins’ situation. It could be that he only had the fervor for his quest instead of any valuable information.
However, the journalist provided a satisfying answer once more.
“It’s only Myuron who’s here. And I think that the person who asked you to help the Kollon natives must be Prophet Laosa. Is that right?”
“Have you been investigating this area ever since?”
“No. It hasn’t been long since I started exploring this region. I just found out about her while I interviewed the natives.”
His story went on.
After Laosa escaped, the Zipfel Clan began to abuse the Kollon natives. After last year’s arson case, they sealed up the area and forced Myuron to tend the land by himself.
“That’s what they did to obtain the divine relic. The clan seemed to be diverting all their attention to it, but now, it’s just Myuron here. Maybe their interest declined. I mean, they still haven’t found it even after three hundred years.”
Dino pulled out a journal from his chest and handed it to Jin.
A journal with all of the events that happened in the Kollon Ruins after Myuron’s arrival.
(January 3rd, 1796.
Three Kollon natives missing. Myuron probably dragged them into the basement.)
(January 5th, 1796.
The Kollon natives I used to talk to are all gone. I could interview Latika Tika Mamutika. I was told by this native that Myuron was conducting experiments on them. Tika… her eyes were filled with fear.)
As Jin calmly read through the journal, he could only focus on the word ‘experiment’.
“Nice journal you got here. As soon as Myuron finds out about this, you’d be dead meat.”
“As soon as they find out about me, I’m dead. This is proof that I’m doing worthwhile work, and it keeps me responsible. I’m sure you already know from the journal, but Myuron is conducting experiments on the Kollon natives.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m certain. Before the Kollon Ruins closed down, I heard that the Zipfels were conducting living golem experiments. However, it seems the Kollon natives who reported these sightings didn’t seem to know about living golems…”
Dino knew much more than Jin expected.
“Myuron’s basement will be the best evidence. Before he came, there were at least two hundred natives. However, most of them got dragged into the basement, and now there are only fifty of them left.”
Dino gritted his teeth. Jin was still scanning the journal, and it seemed the journalist had deep ties with the natives.
Basement.
If he could preserve the evidence or publicize a sketch, it could prevent the Zipfels from budging.
“Recently, he hasn’t been using the natives for experiments. He may be leaving some alive to find the relic.”
Jin continued to read the journal.
(February 6th, 1796.
While investigating, Myuron caught me. Thankfully, he was drunk, and he didn’t do much other than offer me a drink. Maybe I can get more information by taking advantage of this.)
(February 7th, 1796.
I set out to find Myuron if he remembered me, and thankfully he did. He said that he’ll forgive me for coming into a restricted area as long as I come as a drinking buddy. It’s a success.)
And that was two weeks ago.
“…Ho. So you’ve succeeded in encountering Myuron.”
Dino grinned and nodded.
“Yes, my visit today is to get some information out of him while acting as a friend. Myuron always sits there, drinks, and causes a ruckus.”
At this point, Kashimir and Murakan couldn’t hide their surprise. They had been waiting since daylight, making no progress, but this journalist provided everything they needed to know.
“I am very thankful that I met you all. So… what do you think? I will attract his attention, so you guys can go check out the basement.”
Jin shook his head.
“No, we can’t do that.”
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