224. East, Hwaguk (12)
After a day like that, Hino, who obtained Shinsubang Cheonan, summoned all 10 leaders from early morning.
It was to share a location for an easier response to divine beasts scattered in various places.
“The locations identified using the Shinsoobang Cheonan handed down by Hanjo are as follows. Based on Hwajeong, Wonyo is to the northeast, Bichal to the west, and Hangui to the south.”
“Miho is…”
Curious because one bird was missing in the explanation, the head cautiously raised his hand and asked.
“Of the four limited express, it’s the closest to Hwajeong. I’ll go ahead with this one myself.”
“Wonyo was on my side if it was northeast? Shinsubang Cheonan is good.”
The heads then asked for the source of the Shinsoobangcheonan, which appeared as if it had fallen from the sky, and Hino told Jeto, whom he had met the night before, what he had heard.
A lot of people looked at each other in disbelief when he heard that Hanzo was in his tomb, but then a young leader raised his hand and shook it.
“I just came to see Hanzo in person.”
“Hmm… Hamuro. Then, can you tell me what you saw and heard?”
The old man, who was the eldest among the leaders, asked a young leader named Hamuro to explain, and Hamuro smiled and continued talking.
“Yeah… I couldn’t stand the rumor that Hanzo-sama’s grave had been opened. I sneaked in to see if there would be any trouble in the village while I was on my way back.”
“So?”
“The inside of the tomb consisted of a kind of ninja test with a total of five gates. In terms of level, it was suitable for late intermediate ninjas or early advanced ninjas.”
“It’s a test.”
“After going through all the barriers, I reached the end and was able to meet Hanzo. He was in a spiritual state with a transparent body and no physical contact. To put it in a word, the Hanzo I met there is a ghost or a specter. I can see it. I’ve never met Hanzo-sama in person, but judging from the level of Ninjutsu, it was definitely Great Ninja Hanzo-sama.”
“So what did Hanzo say?”
“I hope it will be a place where young ninjas can gain enlightenment, and Hanzo said he gives his full support to a man named Zeto.”
“Jetto…?”
“Who is Zeto?”
“It’s a name I’ve never heard of, let alone the head, even among advanced ninjas.”
The heads who were listening to the explanation of the name Jeto suddenly appeared and expressed their doubts.
Hino added an explanation to this.
“Zetto is the real name of the Exile.”
“Tsk…”
Happo, who already knew about him, recalled a bad memory and clicked his tongue.
“What on earth happened to get Hanzo-sama’s support? In the first place, he’s not even a ninja, and he’s just an outsider who has nothing to do with China.”
Happo grumbled.
It was a story that could hurt the pride of the 10 leaders.
After opening the tomb of Hanzo, the great ninja, which he himself couldn’t open, he met Hanzo before anyone else, and judging from the atmosphere, both Hanzo and the shrine maiden seemed to be supporting him.
Then Hamuro opened his mouth.
“If nothing else, you have to admit that in just a few days, you outperformed our bosses.”
“I agree. It’s an undeniable fact that he helped China. He did what we couldn’t. That’s the difference between him and us. I don’t think he’s a stranger and it’s not something to be proud of.” , Happo. Isn’t this a matter at stake for the fate of the country?”
“Well, when you think about how much you’ve suffered because of the divine beasts… It’s hard to see your husband’s face?”
She listened as if the upright head and the only female leader agreed with Hamuro’s opinion.
“Damn it, okay. I was too emotional.”
Happo ended up curling up.
But Happo wasn’t the only one who disapproved of the Paradise Exile.
One of the leaders, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, opened her mouth.
“But there is one thing I don’t understand. As Happo said, he is not a human of the country, much less a ninja. Why did he help the country? If he wants a reward, the country will give him a reward commensurate with his performance. Can you afford to get off?”
The name of the leader who threw out the question was Baku.
The leader who assassinated the shaman many years ago was killed, and he was a man who took his place.
“Is his actions believable in the first place? As soon as his feet touched the country, he drove out the special divine beast Miho, and after that, he opened Hanjo’s tomb and obtained the divine beast, Cheonan… Even if it was good, isn’t it strangely neat?”
“Looking back, it’s true that I can’t believe it, but I don’t think it’s an easy thing to do even if you’re aiming for a reward.”
Hamuro denied Baku’s opinion.
“So what I’m saying is that the key is what kind of reward our Paradise Exiles will want for such a great performance. To be honest, I think it’s okay to doubt depending on the content of the reward.”
“Hmm… What could he want? Is there anything you can figure out?”
As Hamuro asked, Hino, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.
“I understand Baku’s opinion. Certainly, given his status as a stranger and his achievements, it will not be easy to give him a suitable reward. But I don’t think you need to worry about the reward.”
Hino covered her mouth with her sleeve and let out a light laugh, then slowly continued her words.
“…Anyway, I asked him last night if there was any reward he wanted. Then he said he didn’t need any reward. He said he wasn’t asking for any reward.”
“Hmm…”
“Of course, even if he doesn’t want a reward, it’s the right thing to do, but at least he wasn’t trying to get a reward. Is that clearing things up?”
Hino’s voice echoed low in the room, and Baku’s mouth was tightly shut, while the other heads nodded in affirmation.
“…I don’t think there’s any further disagreement. Then let’s move on to this.”
Hino moved on to talk about the recovery operation, but Baku still didn’t look good.
It was because I was very dissatisfied that the plan had gone wrong.
‘An outcast from paradise… Where the hell did he come in…’
***
Meanwhile, the Paradise Exile had just gotten out of bed and was clutching his head in dizziness.
“…”
Did you oversleep?
It seemed that the sun was already in mid-heaven.
It wasn’t unreasonable since he hadn’t slept in days.
[ Disciple, a guest has come. ]
I rolled my eyes at Sierra’s word as a guest, but at least no one was in the room.
At that moment, a small, familiar voice came from outside the window where the sunlight had penetrated.
“…Sir Zeto…”
“…Keraph?”
As I spread my feelings, I was able to notice that Keraf was hiding outside the window.
I immediately stood up and approached the window.
“What are you doing there? Rather, how did you get here?”
What is Keraf doing here?
This is the east, and I never thought he would follow me to the east.
Soon, I hear Keraf’s whisper outside the window.
“I hurriedly came here because I had some information to tell you… But it’s not more important than that…!”
ㅡ Dreureuk.
I finally opened the window and checked Keraf’s face.
Keraph, who was crouching under the window, looks up at me.
“What’s up?”
“A wild dog…! A wild dog is coming…!”
“Oh, wild dogs. So?”
I did something else.
“No, a wild dog is coming…? I ran into it on the way. I managed to get rid of it…”
“He’ll be back soon. That guy has a nice nose.”
“So you must dodge quickly!”
“Hmm…”
It didn’t matter that the wild dogs were coming.
I even left my coat there so that I wouldn’t get lost on the way.
But this is the inn where the cadets are staying, in other words, the place where the women who try to protect me excessively are in close proximity.
If they see a wild dog trying to kill me while I’m here, a bloody bloody battle will break out regardless of my will, as I have no intention of fighting it.
So, if you want to greet wild dogs, you’d better move.
“Mr. Zeto…! It’s not time to stay still…!”
Anyway, why is Keraf making such a fuss?
“Keraph… Is it because of what happened to the wild dog?”
I don’t know how he managed to get rid of the wild dog, which is famous for its persistence, but it seemed certain that something had happened between the two.
‘Turtle? Rabbit?’
Keraph, who was dripping with sweat at my question, muttered something gibberish about a turtle or a rabbit.
At first glance, the Keraf was in poor condition.
Thanks to that, I couldn’t even figure out what happened between the two.
***
It was the night that Jeto met Hino after arriving at Hwajeong.
Keraph and the wild dog were on their way to Jeto, when night came and, at Keraf’s suggestion, they made a fire and rested for a while.
“…This is the first time I’ve tried such delicious food.”
The boy who ate the grilled snake cooked by Keraf smiled broadly.
“Is that so…? It’s good that it suits your taste. Eat a lot.”
“Hmm, I heard they eat snakes, so I thought they might be poisonous, but they’re not.”
“I’ve removed the poison beforehand. I don’t use such mean tricks. Did you starve for a few days before that? I’m afraid all the snakes nearby will dry up…”
Snake hunting was the boy’s job.
Keraph told the boy to catch as much as he wanted to eat, but he caught well over twenty snakes, all of which went into the boy’s stomach, and the snake he was holding was the last one.
“It’s been a…A week.”
The boy who counted while bending his fingers answered that.
“…Thank you anyway. I ate delicious food, so I should give you money, but I don’t have any money.”
“It’s okay. It’s not even a dish worth paying for.”
“Somehow I thought I couldn’t feel the disgusting smell unique to the demons, but you were a nice guy after all.”
The disgusting smell unique to demons the boy was talking about was a term for demons, and it was a keraf that couldn’t properly create demons due to a congenital disorder, so it was natural that it didn’t smell disgusting.
“You’re a turtle, but you’re a trustworthy turtle.”
“What is a trustworthy turtle?”
“Okay. Let’s be friends with me. My name is Volk.”
The silver-haired boy Volk reached out to Keraf with a smile.
“I am Volk, the son of Zargas, chieftain of the Great Fang clan.”
“The Great Fang Clan?”
“It was the most outstanding clan among the Lycanthrope clan. Now, all of them have died in the war, so only me and my sister remain… So what’s your name?”
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“My name is… Kerud… Kerud.”
“Kerud? That’s a strange name. Are all demons names like that?”
“That’s right.”
Keraf did not give his real name.
What good would it do for you to tell the name of an assassin?
He opened his heart that he made food for him.
“Well, I don’t care about names.”
Volk laughed and patted his stomach, leaning against the coffin behind him.
‘Please… Please go to sleep…’
Keraph, who was lying down at the same time, stared at Volk.
Why did Keraf make grilled snakes while grooming countless snakes one by one? He was waiting for him to fill his stomach and fall asleep from satiety.
“Haam… You’re sleepy…”
Soon Volk blinked his eyes, opened his mouth, and yawned.
And soon after, the silver-haired boy started snoring at him.
Keraph waited for Volk to fall into a deeper sleep and then carefully stood up.
“…”
Keraph looked down at Volk and then turned his back. The city that looked like a fire was visible in the distance, so he thought he could reach Zeto before he woke up.
In fact, he was able to reach Zeto before the wild dog, so his plan was successful.
“Hmm… Kedur…?”
By the time Volk woke up, frowning at the pouring sunlight, it was already too late when he checked the traces of the Keraf that had disappeared.
No matter how stupid Volk was, there was no way he couldn’t even interpret the current situation.
It was a Volk who played a trivial race, but he was aware of it instinctively. That his finish line and Keraf’s finish line are the same.
Volk never thought it was a coincidence that he met his demons while on the train to China.
Anyway, I heard that his target, ‘the one who returned from paradise’, was being chased by demons and countless assassins, which meant that Keraf could be a competitor.
Wasn’t even the direction we were going the same way all the time?
“This cunning turtle… Dare to take my 50,000 gold…”
At the same time as Volk’s teeth were grinding, a growl of a beast came from his mouth.
Even the ears of the lycanthrope that were hidden by the intensified emotions were revealed.
Until this point, Volk didn’t know.
The goal he was aiming for was a disastrous future in which the blind man would treat him like a slave in a mine.
The turtle always win