Chapter 36: An 8-Carat Kalonde Holiday

Chapter 36: 8. Krakalond Holiday

Galloping horses sent pedestrians and patrolling city guards scurrying aside.

He rode straight back to the Night Watch Castle; Walt’s horsemanship was excellent, keeping him tightly behind Dakus.

Although undercurrents were swirling in Krakalond, it hadn't yet reached the point of plots involving Cain assassin attacks or ambushes on the direct lineage of the Hellfire family—though it was hard to say once they left the city.

After dinner, he had Butler Di arrange a room for Walt. Returning to the Thorn family was out of the question; he certainly wouldn't survive the night if he went back, and Neukel would likely kill Dakus.

With nothing to do tonight, after Dakus finished his bath, he took that magic lamp and began polishing it vigorously, just in case he was the Chosen One.

"Fake! This lamp must be fake!"

Dakus began rummaging through the room, looking for the legacy left by his younger brother. Since an attacker could hide in a wardrobe, Duruchi's wardrobes usually didn't have doors.

He opened a drawer, which was filled with glassware and gemstones, all shimmering brightly.

"Little brother, are you Smaug?"

There wasn't anything particularly sinister or strange in the room; everything was quite normal. It wasn't as if he would open a drawer and find an eight-pointed star emblem sitting there, corroding him day and night. That was impossible; the family's guards and servants weren't fools. If something was poisoned or problematic when purchased, they would notice, and if they couldn't tell, they would seek out the family warlock.

He opened another drawer, and Dakus was instantly slapped in the face by reality: inside lay an ancient, fossil-like horn. He didn't reach out to touch it, instead beginning to recall when this item had been acquired.

"Bought it the year before last. This should be a beastman's horn, right? I think I've blown it before? Huh!"

With a look of disdain, Dakus pulled the horn out and turned it over in his hands.

"This couldn't be the Beast Ancestor's Horn, could it? Well, maybe it'll be useful later—to blow when exploring the Old World and fighting beastmen, to give the beastmen on the other side some buffs."

Dakus tossed the horn onto the floor and pulled out an Asley-style quiver to examine.

"Hmm, it's aged. This hollowed-out pattern is beautiful. I think I know where this came from. Good stuff, it'll come in handy."

He flipped through two more drawers, all filled with fancy handicrafts.

Dakus shook his head speechlessly, then reopened the first drawer and began inspecting the items one by one.

"This ruby is decent. This?"

Dakus held the palm-sized, flat gemstone up to the candlelight for a close look. The ruby was engraved with Asu'an's emblem—a lifelike phoenix amidst burning flames, though the flames had long since gone out.

"This is Asu'an's emblem, the Extinguished Phoenix Binding Curse? I picked up quite a few good things today. Am I actually the Chosen One?"

"I remember this thing has resistance to fire and magic, right? If I take it, will that autistic one burn me?"

Dakus placed the quiver and the Extinguished Phoenix Binding Curse on the table. He originally intended to call a servant to take the horn away, but he shook his head and decided against it.

Today, Dakus's main goal had been to find something regarding alchemy, but unfortunately, he had come up empty-handed.

He unlocked the safety of his repeating crossbow, placed it by his side, looked at a recipe for a while, and fell asleep.

The next day, nothing happened.

After breakfast, Dakus took Walt to visit the three Tachea siblings.

The three siblings were already able to walk normally, with no visible scars on their bodies. If they were visible, the family's Law Enforcement Champion would be quite a failure.

After introductions, several Duruchi elites sat in the dilapidated drawing room chatting, while Alisha appraised the gemstones received yesterday.

After a while, the dealer arrived. Dakus exchanged a few words with him, settled the payment for Sovereign, and had a servant lead him to the family caravan; the last wave of caravans heading to Gorund for the year was about to depart.

Dakus sent Walt away, and the three siblings knelt before him.

"My Lord!"

Dakus leaned back in his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his right hand, and said slowly with his eyes closed, "Young Master Neukel has told me everything." Having said that, he stood up and leaned toward the three siblings, saying, "I'm sorry! You have suffered."

"My Lord!"

Dakus walked over to help the three siblings up, asking as he did, "Get up. Do you know what you drank back then?"

The three siblings shook their heads blankly. Rain said regretfully, "Once I drank that thing, I lost control."

Dakus let out a grim, cold snort. "Heh, alchemy paired with black magic."

Flanes was about to say something more.

Dakus cut him off directly, "Enough. We'll move past this. I'm going to the kitchen; I learned a new trick last night and I can't wait to try it out."

The matter had already been defined; repeating the same words over and over was meaningless.

In the afternoon, after being well-fed, Dakus watched Rain draw, Walt found a book to read, and Flanes and Alisha began measuring the manor, discussing how to plan it.

A retinue from Dakus's cousin arrived at the door.

Cowell performed a delicate, affected noble's bow and sang exaggeratedly, "Ah~ Good afternoon, My Lord. Cowell of the Mogal family pays his respects to you."

Dakus waved him off with a look of disdain. "Oh, enough, enough. Please don't act like that. You really should look in a mirror. Does my cousin have business with me?"

Cowell returned to his smirking self and said, "Yes, My Lord. Manul invited you all to watch a performance. I've even brought a horse."

They were all old acquaintances who had played together since childhood. The Mogal family were die-hard supporters of the Hellfire family; the *Soul's Claw* belonged to them. Cowell's father was a Fear Lord and held two seats in the Duruchi Council of One Hundred.

Snow began to fall, and the group of elites set off in a grand procession, crossing the bridge to the walls of a plaza in the commoner district.

On the wall, Manul sat there boisterously, his right leg resting on the table and shaking, sipping from a wine flask. Turning to see Dakus, he made an exaggerated gesture of an embrace, still clutching the flask, and laughed, "My dear, dear brother! Why didn't you wait for me yesterday?"

Dakus stared at Manul speechlessly, picked up a clean wine glass from the table, poured himself a drink, and began to sip.

The four scions of the Hellfire family and Manul's retinue all approached.

Dakus began introducing everyone to one another; for the three Tachea siblings and Walt, this was a high-level social gathering.

Manul suddenly looked at a Duruchi elite with a serious expression and shouted, "Elvis!" while wagging his finger.

The elite named Elvis had been trying to strike up a conversation with Alisha. He turned back to Manul, and upon realizing the situation, immediately bowed.

"My dear, dear brother, did you call us here to watch the snow?"

Manul cocked his head and said maliciously, "No! No! No! My dear brother, blood is much more beautiful than snow!"

Missed the timing _(:з」∠)_

(End of Chapter)