For several days after his meeting with the Count, Zich spent his days quietly doing his own things. He sometimes oversaw Hans, Snoc, or Lara’s training, accompanied Leona in her sightseeing, and even wandered around the residence’s garden with nothing to do. It was the perfect way to rest and play. Zich’s peaceful and leisurely lifestyle was especially eye-catching inside the hectic estate since everyone else was busy cleaning up after the war. However, as expected, no one reprimanded Zich, and even those with their complaints kept them to themselves. After all, their opponent was a human who had fought head-on with a legendary dragon; that alone garnered the admiration of all, and the moment they voiced their complaints aloud, Zich’s followers would probably kill them before Zich even lifted his finger.
Contrary to what everyone thought, Zich wasn’t only playing around. Zich sat on top of his bed and closed his eyes. All sorts of memories wandered and floated inside his head. These were unfamiliar memories he had never seen or experienced before. They weren’t organized and were sometimes vague, abstract, and intangible. These memories could be more accurately described as strange sensations. These were memories that Lyla sent him.
Zich organized the information that entered his head. He could divide the information that Lyla sent him into two categories. One was information about the mastermind behind everything, and the other was information about Glen.
‘He really is running away like a little rat.’
Glen was frantically heading somewhere. He looked just like a beggar, but even in the chaos, he was clutching tightly onto Tornium which he had managed to snag by luck. Perhaps treasured this sword even more since it was the only thing he had left after losing everything. He probably thought that Tornium was his last hope.
‘As I thought, he must be heading to the mastermind’s location.’ There was no other secret hideout that Glen could go to right now. Zich hoped that Glen would quickly reach that place. It wasn’t because he was curious about where the mastermind’s base was—that was already contained within the information Lyla sent him, including the mastermind’s identity. Zich’s main concern was that the mastermind led a very formidable force, and above all, the original World Tree was in their possession.
Until now, the mastermind couldn’t use the World Tree’s mana profusely for personal matters since they needed to maintain the Brushel System. Now that the Brushel System had crumbled, that wouldn’t be the case anymore, and Zich would have to fight someone who could use the World Tree’s mana as their key weapon.
‘Just the thought of it gives me chills,’ Zich thought. The mana that the World Tree’s clones possessed was already beyond massive. It was unimaginable how much mana the World Tree would have. There was no need to explain further when one considered how the Brushel System, which could accomplish an unbelievable miracle like turning back time, was sourced solely by the World Tree’s mana.
‘The dragon’s mana was at least similar to the amount of mana I had.’
Even Zich, with his world record-breaking amount of mana, was smaller than a firefly in front of the mana that the World Tree had. At the same time, Zich doubted that even the mastermind could use up all the World Tree’s mana, or else he wouldn’t have bothered to go through all that trouble and humiliation to use Glen Zenard. Even so, it would be extremely dangerous and threatening to deal with the mastermind. Thus, Zich really looked forward to seeing Glen meet the mastermind and unknowingly inform Zich of everything that the mastermind was going to do. The only problem was that it seemed like Glen still hadn’t managed to make contact with the mastermind yet.
‘That slowpoke bastard,’ Zich cursed at Glen and opened his eyes again. It didn’t seem like Glen was going to meet the mastermind for the time being. He would probably have to wait a couple more days. There was no need for Zich to look at the exact moment they met anyway. Lyla would pass on that information to him well, and it wasn’t too late to attend to other matters for now.
* * *
“It’s been a while, Sir Zich!”
“Yes, it’s been so long!”
A couple greeted Zich with wide smiles on their faces. They were his subordinates from before the regression—the vampire, Joachim Dracul, and the succubus, Evelyn Rouge.
“Greetings, you two.” Zich also greeted them with a smile. There wasn’t a hint of ridicule or vicious sarcasm in his tone. He was simply making a heartwarming smile.
Joachim said, “We want to congratulate you first for accomplishing such a great feat. Sir Zich, I knew how amazing you were, but to that think you would be able to defeat a legendary dragon.”
Evelyn agreed. “How truly amazing.”
As expected, the two praised Zich’s victory over the dragon first upon their reunion.
“I didn’t do it on my own.” Zich wasn’t the type to shy away from boasting about his accomplishments, but he wasn’t also the type to exaggerate or twist the truth either. Thus, he spoke in a way that would’ve made most listeners think he was simply speaking humbly.
“According to what we heard, you were the one who fought head-on against the dragon and played the greatest role in leading the dragon slayers to the path of victory.”
“That’s true.” Zich wasn’t the type to deny facts either.
“If that’s the case, it’s completely justifiable to boast about your achievements,” Joachim chuckled. Joachim had gained a considerable amount of weight since the last time Zich saw him, and he looked drastically different from his previous stick-skinny, gaunt self. Now that he had as much fat as an ordinary person on top of his tall height, Joachim’s size could give the weak-hearted a bit of a scare. Sticking right by his side, Evelyn gave off an elegant atmosphere as expected of an aristocratic lady. She looked happy to be next to the person she loved, and every single one of Joachim’s actions showed how much he cared for her. The two lovebirds appeared extremely happy with each other’s company. There wasn’t a hint of the bloodthirsty vampire or a succubus with twisted lust in those two.
“I’m glad to see that both of you seem to be doing well.”
Their conversation officially began once Zich and the two sat on the sofa facing each other.
Zich asked, “Is it all right for you two to come all this way?” Based on what the previous Count Dracul did, the Dracul family’s standing was in a very precarious position. It was to the point that Joachim had to go all the way to Janmalpi to solve a case there to gain the favor of a noble there. Thus, it was surprising that he had traveled so far simply to meet an old friend. Yet, Joachim looked at ease.
“The reason why I came here is most of all to see you, Sir Zich, but I also came with political purposes in mind. It might be hard to believe, but the Dracul Estate is currently the most stable it’s ever been since I stepped into my current position. It’s all thanks to you.”
“That’s the importance of personal connection, I suppose.” Zich nodded. As social creatures, humans often helped each other out, and depending on the person’s skill, one could receive a wider scope and depth of help. Thus, people sought to build connections with people from whom they could receive the most help and acknowledged a person’s ability to build relationships with skilled people.
Because of what the previous Count did, Joachim struggled to build such connections and lost all his previous ones. It would’ve been hard for an ordinary person, but for him, his family went back and forth between the edge of collapse. Yet, all this changed when Zich’s existence came to light and his fame and glory spread further. Dragon slayers appeared into the world, and news that the representative of this group, Zich, was considerably well-acquainted with Joachim spread at the same time. Beyond just being acquainted, word spread that Zich had personally stood on Joachim Dracul’s side to reveal the past Count Dracul’s schemes and seated Joachim in his current position. Naturally, the royal and noble families who had looked warily at the Dracul family began to seek to make connections with Joachim.
It was never bad to be in good relations with a family who had connections with a dragon slayer. Furthermore, if they were lucky, they could even make a direct connection with the dragon slayer himself.
“Thus, no one even dares to resist me within the estate. They are all trembling in fear that a dragon slayer would come in person with his sword to crush everything upon my request.”
“Well, they aren’t wrong,” Zich said. If Joachim requested it, he could crack those sly guys’ heads into many art pieces.
“Haha, but thankfully, it doesn’t seem like I would ever have to make a request like that. Although it's true that your name holds great influence, it’s not like my standing is as downright terrible as before.” Joachim’s skills and hard work brought in stability and trust from his estate’s residents, and his engagement with a family of greater social standing than him—the Rouge family—stabilized his position even further.
“That’s fortunate then.”
“Yes, it really is fortunate.”
Joachim replied to Zich with an agreeing smile. If Hans, Snoc, and Lara had been there with them, they would have all wondered the same thing. Joachim was saying that it was fortunate that nothing much happened to him, but was Zich really talking about Joachim when he said, ‘That’s fortunate?’ While Zich and Joachim conversed, Evelyn was searching around the room as if she was looking for something.
“Excuse me, Mr. Zich.”
Zich turned to Evelyn at her call.
“Where is Ms. Lyla?” Evelyn was really fond of Zich, but she was a bit closer to Lyla.
“She’s sleeping.”
“Sleeping? Has she tired herself out from doing something so exhausting?” It seemed like Evelyn thought Lyla wasn’t coming out because she was tired. Thus, her tone was light and she thought she could see Lyla while she stayed in the residence for a couple of more days. Thus, Zich corrected her misunderstanding.
“Yes, she finished a very exhausting job recently, so she won’t be able to wake up for a while.”
Realizing the severity of the situation through his words, Evelyn asked, “…Did something happen?”
“Yes. I can’t tell you the details, but Lyla is still in deep sleep. You won’t be able to see her this time.”
“Are you perhaps informing me of her death in a roundabout way…?”
“That’s not the case at all.” Zich firmly denied her worries. Evelyn placed her hands on her chest and sighed. To her, Lyla was her closest friend.
“Then when will she wake up?”
“I don’t know exactly. No, to be exact, it is up to me. She has become such a sleepy head that she can’t wake up on her own, but I am planning to wake her up as soon as possible.”
“…I don’t know what exactly happened, but if you say so, Mr. Zich. You must have your reasons. However, please give it your all. I also want to talk to Ms. Lyla too.”
“Of course. I also have to give my reply to her too.”
“…A reply?”
“Yes, a reply.”
It was the reply that Lyla wanted in the past. Zich could give it now.