Chapter 503: Visit (1/2)

Shion immediately answered Jin’s question.

“I want to help my sister. That’s what I truly want.”

“Okay. …Would it be okay if we postpone the food aid for the time being?”

Jin asked this to see if the demons valued their families more than their entire community.

“Yes. We do need food, but it’s something that can wait for a day or two. But my sister is different. If we don’t hurry, her life may be at risk.”

“I see.”

That sounded like a reasonable explanation.

“Okay, in that case, we depart tomorrow to help your sister. You two make sure to get a lot of rest today. I’ll be taking care of everything we need for the journey.”

“…Got it. Thank you.”

She understood what Jin had just said, but Shion was still having a hard time composing herself.

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“The Frantz Kingdom, huh…”

From his seat in Hourai Island, the real Jin pondered. Reiko had come back to join him as well.

“I know so little about that country… I should probably ask Reinhardt about it.”

It’s past 6 PM on Hourai Island, but it was just past noon on the Shouro Empire, about 12:30 at most. Jin arrived at Reinhardt’s house at lunchtime.

Reinhardt had just finished having lunch, and was enjoying a cup of tea with Berthie.

“Hey, Jin. What’s up?”

“I came here because there was something I wanted to ask you, Reinhardt.”

“Right this way, Master Jin. I’ll be making some tea.”

While drinking tea served by Berthie’s Automata Neon, Jin said he wanted to know more about the Frantz Kingdom.

At the same time, he also remembered to inform him that Shion of Shinrai’s sister had been captured.

“Hmm, the Frantz Kingdom? How should I put this? The king has a very powerful authority in that kingdom. It’s… close to an absolute monarchy, you know?”

Reinhard had paused to find the correct words to describe the Frantz Kingdom based on the knowledge he had received from Jin.

“I haven’t been to the Kingdoms of Klein and Frantz in my last diplomacy, so I can’t say that I have an accurate grasp of their current situation, but that country is a vassal state of the Celuroa Kingdom.”

“Ah, I’ve heard about that too.”

“The king’s name is… Ah, right. Rijean Du Berkley.”

Reinhardt paused for a moment, then continued.

“I think you should be able to get more information from the princess of the Klein Kingdom, Jin.”

But Jin shook his head at Reinhardt’s suggestion.

“No, I don’t want to bring demons… or rather, Shion and Lucas, to the public view. I want to at least wait until we’ve rescued Shion’s sister, Istalis, before deciding a proper time to do that.”

Because of that, Jin also asked Reinhardt to not share that information with his colleagues or report them to the state.

“Okay, I’ll keep quiet until then. The average person is more likely to have prejudice against demons, after all. I wish we could suddenly get along with each other, but even if we can’t, it would be nice to at least be able to trade with them.”

Reinhardt’s view as a diplomat was reassuring to Jin.

“But I will eventually have to inform the state of their presence.”

“Yes, of course. But I’d like to be able to at least get a good grasp on the situation.”

“Also, the Frantz Kingdom might be a small power, but still, don’t let your guard down, okay, Jin?”

“Yeah, I know. I won’t do anything rash.”

“If this was only a sightseeing trip, I wouldn’t say anything. You have Reiko and the Covert Units with you. But you’re going to rescue captured demons, you know?”

“Uh…”

It was a fair point. Jin couldn’t say anything back to him.

“You should be fine as long as you wait to see how things play out while sightseeing. But the moment you rescue that demon, don’t move a single finger. If possible, just return to Hourai Island as fast as you can.”

Jin still remembered that time when he was hit by an enemy golem back when he went to rescue Reinhardt from the Unifiers. Reinhardt was really worried about Jin.

“Understood. Thanks for the advice.”

After thanking Reinhardt and Berthie, Jin returned to Hourai Island.

“Father, how about we follow Reinhardt’s advice and ask Princess Lieschen about this?”

Reiko made such a suggestion. It was about 7:00 PM on Hourai Island, so it was a little past 4:00 PM in Alban, the capital of the Klein Kingdom.

“Hmm, right. I’m now able to freely cross their borders after all…”

There was also a Warp Gate near Alban. Following Reiko’s recommendation, Jin went through the Warp Gate to meet Princess Lieschen.

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“No matter how I look at it, not getting in touch with them beforehand was going to make meeting her more difficult…”

Jin was talking to himself while walking along the streets of Alban under the still bright summer sky.

“Let’s look for some of your acquaintances, Father.”

People like Gloria, Jessica, Pasco, Heintz, and so on, were all acquaintances of Jin to some extent. Those of them who were knights could be on patrol at this time, so there was a chance he could encounter them.

However, though he was sure it would happen eventually, an hour had passed without him meeting any acquaintances.