Volume 3 Chapter 136 The Flower That Blooms Proudly I
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Why did Sir Jibril throw me away?”
Linca mumbled softly, staring blankly toward the swamp.
She didn’t notice how tightly she was gripping the warm mug of tea.
Kian turned to her, trying to figure out what kind of answer she wanted.
They sat close, almost touching, on the same rock.
Her face was filled with sorrow.
Under her straight bangs, her long, narrow eyes had lost their light.
”I don’t understand why Jibril let you go.”
Kian said gently. He kept his voice low and calm so it wouldn’t hurt her ears.
”You’re a strong warrior monk. Your skills in battle are top-level. I’ve seen you set up barriers in caves, clean places with magic, and control Shikigami. You seem just as good as a top magician. Right now, someone like Umar would do anything to have you.”
Honestly, even someone like Maribel, Guy, or Renaud would want her. If Oswald were still active, he’d definitely try to recruit her. Yelmar might even pay ten gold coins a month just to have her on the team.
If any group wouldn’t want her, it would only be someone like Jibril, who already had too many talented people.
”You’re also beautiful and charming as a woman. That includes what’s inside too.”
”You don’t know anything about what’s inside me, Sir Kian.”
”You helped me.”
Kian answered right away.
”Maybe Jibril will get called foolish for it, but I like that you have feelings and a strong sense of what’s right. I really do want to know you more.”
”…Is that so?”
”I think I understand why Jibril left you, though. Do you want to hear it?”
”You know how he feels?”
”Well, he’s my little brother, after all. I’ve played chess with him dozens of times since we were kids.”
”Oh, right… You’re good at chess, Sir Kian.”
Kian gave a small smile.
”Good? He beat me sixty-four times. I only beat him thirty-six.”
”Not many can win against Sir Jibril. I’ve never even won once.”
”Well, it’s probably just a matter of practice. The way you think in chess is a bit different from normal work. Some people just aren’t good at it.”
Linca took a sip of tea and then spoke again.
”Then… why did Sir Jibril hate me?”
”It’s not that he hated you. He just never had interest in you from the start. You weren’t his type. And since your parents were very loyal to him, he saw you more like a servant, not a friend.”
”He had no interest in me… not even a little?”
”Probably not. If someone you didn’t care about confessed their love to you, you wouldn’t react much either, right? Even if they were good at their job, you’d respect them as a coworker, but that’s it. Isn’t that how it is?”
”……”
”Your bad luck was that Jibril is too perfect.”
Kian kept talking.
”He wants people under him who can just do their jobs quietly. He likes loyalty and doesn’t want people who overthink. He doesn’t need powerful warrior monks like you. He can do almost everything by himself. When the mission is hard and cannot fail, he leads from the front. But he can’t handle all the little tasks, so he gives those to others. That’s why he needs people who can do simple work without making trouble.”
”That makes sense… Sir Jibril is like a god in what he can do. So for him, it didn’t matter if it was me or someone else.”
”Exactly. To Jibril, you were just a hard pawn to use.”
”Huh?”
”Think about it. Your parents helped Umar rise to power. As long as you’re around, their influence never really goes away.”
”…Oh…”
”And you sometimes say no to missions. You act from kindness and don’t always obey Jibril. You’re amazing, yes, but who wants a worker who might fail just because they have too much heart? Also, if you’re valued too highly, your family gains more power. They might start getting involved in his politics too.”
”I see. I understand.”
Linca bit her lip and hugged her knees, still holding the mug in one hand.
”Maybe someone like Shura was easier for him.”
”They were abandoned by their families. Jibril saved them as warrior monks. They gave him full loyalty. I get it now… It’s so cruel.”
”If you had been more simple and trusted Jibril blindly, he might’ve kept you. Your parents would’ve been pushed out to the far east, retired and forgotten.”
”But that part of me will never change. I could never hurt my father and mother. Not even if it killed me.”
”Then you can only say your luck was bad.”
”Fate is truly harsh…”
”Do you want to start over?”
Kian asked. Linca shook her head.
”If I changed into the kind of warrior monk Sir Jibril wants, I’d lose something important. I don’t want to be that kind of person. I will stay true to myself.”
”I see. But I’ve always wanted to start over myself.”
Kian stood up and checked the meat dish in the pot. He tasted the soup. It was okay.
Linca sat back down and looked at Kian with curious eyes.
”Do you think your fate would have changed if you started over, Sir Kian?”
”Of course. I know my skills well. With my power now, I could even match Jibril. I don’t plan to fight him, though.”
Umar would be taken out. Fighting inside the Azrael group wouldn’t help anyone, so teaming up made more sense.
If Jibril were to be killed, it would happen with someone like Oswald helping.
Or maybe—by killing Oswald and taking the power of the sun for himself.
Linca stared in shock.
”Sir Kian… You’ve changed. You used to seem so unsure about everything.”
”And you thought I was proud and hard to talk to, right?”
”N-no. That’s not it.”
”Haha. Well, that makes sense.”
Linca looked away, then changed the topic on purpose.
”How did you get that power? Is it from a vampire?”
”Azrael warrior monks usually heal by sending out magic, but I thought, what if I pulled magic in instead? When I learned how to absorb it, I looked for people I could draw it from easily.”
”You can’t get much life energy from the prostitutes here, right? If you catch a disease, you’re done, Sir Kian.”
”Yeah. I woke up to this power three months ago. I had a Highland elf friend who gave me magic. My power grew. I also met Oswald, a vampire researcher, and even made friends with a real vampire. After that, my skills got even better.”
”A real vampire?”
Linca frowned.
”I thought they died out a long time ago.”
”I won’t say too much, but I got blood—vampire blood—from that being.”
”That ‘being’… was it Lord Owl?”
”Oh? You figured it out fast.”
Character Notes:
• Linca – Jibril’s favorite girl. High-ranking warrior monk woman from Shin, with strong abilities like ignoring attacks and poisons.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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