The guests of the Golden Annual Palace took their seats in the Palantír Hall after lunch, many feeling mildly sluggish and lazy now that their hunger had been sated. Grigori entered the hall in a gentle swirling mist of iridescent and crimson smoke. She smiled soothingly at all of them before blinking and chuckling as she noticed the drowsy expressions upon the faces of all the children.
"Children, feel free to rest in your rooms comfortably. If there are necessary records that you need to see, I'll have Mairon bring you back."
"Nya~... Don't... don't wanna miss... miss anything..." came the drowsy slur from TBOAH!Hong in between large feline yawns, and his sister nodded her head.
"Alright... in that case, it's fine." Grigori relented kindly before turning toward the Palantír and addressing Naur.
"Naur, please prepare the records of chapters 89-95. We'll be covering the Battle of Hais Island 5 in the ocean."
Behind her TCF!Beacrox blinked in surprise and sat up to attention at the mention of Hais Island 5. He wasn't the only one who reacted in surprise. The TCF!Whale Tribe members also twitched and fixed their attention upon the Goddess.
"Hais Island... Hais Island 5... wasn't that the Mermaid's hideout?" TBOAH!Archie ponders aloud while trying to jog his memory.
"It was more than just a hideout..." TCF!Paseton spoke up. He looked toward Cale and then his sister to see her looking at TCF!Ron and TCF!Beacrox with a soft expression of thought and consideration.
"Hais Island 5 was also an Arm Base." Cale volunteered the information. Grigori nodded and then allowed her gaze to wander around the room until it landed upon TCF!Ron and TCF!Beacrox.
"Patriarch Molan, we'll begin the records from around the time you returned to the Henituse Estate after investigating Hais Island 5. Is that alright?"
For a brief moment, TCF!Ron wondered what the Goddess would do if one of them voiced objections to her suggestions, but then he decided not to mess with a Goddess who was helping his family and healing all of them. So, he bowed his head, and with a benign smile that always made Cale feel chills, he consented to the records that were about to be revealed. Beside him, TCF!Beacrox also nodded quietly in consent, and Grigori unfolded her arms from behind her back and turned to face the Palantír as she took her seat.
"Alright then... let's resume watching the records."
<Chapter 89: I Suppose It Is A Gift (2)>
Cale noticed something was off as soon as they returned home.
"What is going on?"
"That, you see, young master-nim."
Deputy butler Hans was naturally the one who came out to greet Cale. But something was off. Hans seemed worried.
"Hurry up and tell me."
Cale did not look at Choi Han, Beacrox, On, and Hong who were behind him and instead only looked at Hans. He had a bad feeling. An ominous feeling filled his mind. Something must have happened, as the other servants and knights around Hans had the same expression. Cale's mind became complicated in those short five seconds.
"Young master-nim, Mr. Ron has returned."
"Ron did?"
"My father?"
Both Cale and Ron's son, Beacrox, looked toward Hans with shock. Ron was not supposed to be back for a couple more months.
Hans then closed his eyes tightly. That made Cale have an even worse feeling. Hans opened his eyes again and could not look at Beacrox as he continued to speak.
"Mr. Ron came back injured."
"Lead me there."
An ominous air filled the room. Cale sat silently and Grigori pointedly ignored the icy stares she could feel piercing her cheek - these stares were coming from the general direction of TBOAH!Beacrox, they were vicious because TBOAH!Beacrox seemed to know that his father's true fate in the TBOAH!World was about to be revealed.
His heart began to hammer and he felt chills prickling at his skin. A part of him didn't want to know what scenes would soon show up, worse still, he also didn't want to see the difference between TBOAH!Ron and TCF!Ron, even while knowing that no one had saved his father, TBOAH!Ron in their TBOAH!World.
A hand suddenly clasped his shoulder and he looked toward his father, TBOAH!Ron firmly held onto his son's shoulder anchoring him in the present. Without meaning to TBOAH!Beacrox looked over to see his counterpart was also being held in place by TCF!Ron. TBOAH!Beacrox swallowed the urge to scream and let out the breath he didn't even remember holding and unclenched his fists.
Hans guided Cale as quickly as possible and stopped in front of a room. It was not Ron's room but a luxurious bedroom that was reserved for high ranking guests.
"Open the door."
"Yes sir." Hans opened the door after hearing Cale's stern command.
The door opened and a terrible rotting smell filled Cale's nose.
"Young master-nim."
Cale stiffened up for the first time since coming over to this world.
"...Ron."
The assassin Ron, that sly old man, was laying on the bed.
"F, father!" Beacrox rushed past Cale into the bedroom.
Cale looked into Ron's eyes and asked.
"...Ron, why is your arm like that?"
Ron had returned earlier than expected and one of his arms had been cut off.
<Chapter 90: I Suppose It Is A Gift (3)>
"I somehow ended up like this."
Ron's benign smile was the same as always. However, his face was pale and full of small injuries. The rotting smell also got stronger as Cale got closer. His left arm, starting from the shoulder area, was missing.
In the Palantír Hall, TCF!Ron released his son and subconsciously flexed his left arm, the prosthetic arm that Mary had made for him, was incredible and he really enjoyed the benefits that came with it - like how it was able to handle collecting Dead Mana for example. He recalled that time back at the Elf Village on Ten Finger Mountian when Cale had ordered him to collect up the remaining Dead Mana and then his thoughts reminded him of Cale's state at that time after he'd used the fiery thunderbolt for the first time.
TCF!Ron clenched his fist and a cold glint returned to his gaze before he shook his head at TCF!Beacrox's concerned expression. He cast away the anger he felt at the memories of the past. He had gotten his revenge and he had even been able to achieve more than he could ever have hoped for - all thanks to his tiger-disguised-as-a-puppy young master. Fond memories tickled at his heart and he decided that the Puppy Young Master would be needing plenty of the good ol' lemon tea to wash down the hearty meal he had at lunchtime.
"Hans."
"Yes sir."
"Get out."
"Excuse me?"
Cale looked at Hans, as well as the estate's staff and his father' subordinate, before clarifying.
"Everybody except Beacrox and Choi Han, get out."
Hans hesitated for a moment, but quickly took everyone out of the room after seeing the expression on Cale's face. Even On and Hong slowly moved back after seeing Cale's gaze. The baby kittens On and Hong looked at Ron multiple times with anxious expressions before heading out of the bedroom.
The image of the two meowing kittens stirred the sober ambience in the room. The severity of this situation weighed heavy and burdensome upon many people regardless of which timeline they came from.
The bedroom looked much bigger after those people left.
"Do you have enough strength to speak?" Cale's calm question floated toward Ron. Ron had a gentle smile on his face and did not seem to be hurting at all.
"Yes, young master-nim."
"Then explain. How did you return like this when you went to hunt some foxes."
Ron turned away from Cale and looked toward his son, Beacrox. Beacrox was on his knees by the bed, looking toward Ron's empty shoulder.
'Maybe I shouldn't have come back.'
A strong growling sound of disapproval came from Cale, it was followed by a very unhappy rumbling version of Ron's name from the red-head. TCF!Ron felt that tickling itch of fondness in his chest expand again when he saw the familiar and surprisingly similar expressions of anger and betrayal upon both TCF!Beacrox and Cale's faces. He cleared his throat lightly and spoke up to appease them both.
"Young Master, just ignore this foolish thing... It's all in the past anyways..."
"Hmmm... We would have turned the whole continent upside down to find you if you didn't come back..." Cale clicked his tongue, quietly muttering and grumbling to himself about how Beacrox wouldn't have even needed to ask for his help because Cale would have searched for Ron to bring him back if he somehow disappeared. TBOAH!Beacrox was touched and stole a glance at his counterpart only to see a small smile toying at the corner of TCF!Beacrox's face at Cale's murmurs.
But this was the only place that came to his mind. If he was going to die, he wanted to see his son and a couple other people one last time.
At hearing this, Cale became calm and quiet again.
"Ron..." he called out, this time without looking in TCF!Ron or in TCF!Beacrox's direction, instead he kept his gaze firmly upon the lines and recording showing from the Palantír.
"Good job coming back. Well done for coming home."
TBOAH!Ron was unable to stop himself from flinching and beside him, TBOAH!Beacrox swallowed thickly once again.
As if to add salt to their wounds, TCF!Ron responded with a very docile and calm tone.
"Of course, Young Master... Where else could I possibly go? My place is serving you, by staying at your side."
Kim Rok Soo, seated beside Cale, smiled softly and then nodded to himself, once again reaffirming to himself that he had done a good thing by making the deal and leaving things in Cale's hands. Cale was clearly far better than he was and he was grateful for it all. It made him feel at peace, he felt relieved as if the burdens and deaths he'd carried in his past were being washed away by Cale every time he saved someone and changed their fate. He exhaled softly and sat back with a serene expression upon his face.
"I came across from the Eastern Continent. It was when Beacrox was very young." Ron started his story. He needed someone who would take care of his son. "As you already know, I am an assassin. The Eastern Continent's underworld has five famous assassin families. One of them was our family, the Molan family, and I was groomed to become the next head of household."
"Father." Beacrox called out to Ron.
"Our family was destroyed by an organization called, 'Arm.' Everybody else died while I managed to avoid them and escape over to Western Continent with my son. I had been hiding my identity in order to survive."
Taylor corked his head and turned to look down at TCF!Cage and TBOAH!Cage, seated on either side of him for a moment considering something before he returned his gaze back to the Palantír.
Ron let out a deep sigh. His face was very pale.
"It was because, although this organization called Arm rules the underworld, they were just a low-ranking organization. The core of their operation was elsewhere. I felt fear from the strength of this organization that was beyond what I could even fathom. That was why I have been living as a lowly servant."
Ron started to frown. "But I caught onto their scent for the first time in tens of years."
Beacrox flinched. Ron's gaze headed past Cale to Choi Han who was standing there with a look of disbelief. The scent of Arm was on this twisted yet good bastard.
TCF!Choi Han blinked and then scratched his cheek, he looked like he wanted to say something, but then TCF!Rosalyn beside him handed him a snack from the table - the oats bar was surprisingly delicious from the very first bite and it made him forget whatever wise-crack comment he was about to make toward TCF!Ron for his thoughts.
"Choi Han had the scent of, 'Arm,' on him when he first came to our castle."
That was the reason Ron and Beacrox had attacked Choi Han when he first came over from Harris Village. He had the scent of, 'Arm,' on him. Choi Han's pupils started to shake.
"...Then the assassins I killed in Harris Village?"
"Yes, there is a good chance they were from Arm."
"Remind me... is this the first time the Young Master-nim is hearing that the Secret Organization was called Arm?" TCF!Bud asked curiously.
"Hmmm... sounds like it is." TCF!Glenn replied in a hushed whisper after giving it some thought.
Choi Han looked toward Cale as Ron continued to speak.
"I was able to figure out that they were stretching their reaches to the Western Continent when I went and investigated in the capital. It was more like a dog walking into a Tiger's Den than hunting foxes."
Ron wondered what gave him the confidence to go attack them, but knew that he would have done the same thing if he had the choice again.
TBOAH!Bud corked his head and opened his mouth, TBOAH!Glenn felt the instant sixth sense of danger surge to life again, but this time he was too late to shut his best friend up again.
"What?! Isn't that because their acts of terrorism cause Cale Henituse to get hurt? OOF-!?!"
TBOAH!Glenn launched a sharp left hook into TBOAH!Bud's diaphragm that knocked the wind right out of him.
"Shut it! Don't you know who you're talking about right now!?" TBOAH!Glenn hissed with disapproval radiating off him.
He needed to know what they were planning to do.
"While I was looking around, I ran into one of Arm's attack squads and figured out what they were doing."
He managed to get a bit of information after destroying that attack squad. "However, I then somehow ended up losing my left arm and barely managed to escape with my life."
Ron had a bitter smile on his face. He was a mess. For someone who practiced a double daggers style that used both hands, this was a severe hit to his strength. At that moment, Cale, who had been listening quietly, started to speak.
"So you were not able to determine the identity of this organization called Arm?"
"Unfortunately, no."
Ron was not any closer to that information than before.
"Ron."
Ron looked toward Cale, whose aura had increased while they were apart. He felt a sense of pressure that made him want to bow.
"Who cut off your arm?"
"...It was a young mage who seemed to be cutting the arms of all enemies."
Choi Han flinched and looked toward Cale.
Other members of the audience flinched as well, they all seemed to recall the only one person crazy enough to do such an atrocious and ridiculous thing.
"Crazy bastard." Some harsh words were coming out of Cale's mouth.
Arm was probably the secret organization that Cale knew about. This was the organization responsible for the attack on Harris Village, the ones to give Raon over to the Marquis, the perpetrators for the capital's Plaza Terror Incident, and the attack on the Blue Wolf Tribe. Furthermore, Cale felt like he knew the person who cut off Ron's arm as well. Choi Han probably knew him too. The mage that led the Plaza Terror Incident. There was a good chance it was the blood crazy mage, Redika.
This confirmed their suspension as well - it had to be 'him', the only mage Cale had encountered thus far who was psychotic enough for Cale to dub him as 'crazy bastard'.
"How, how could something like this happen." Choi Han seemed to be in a state of chaos as he stood there with his fists clenched.
However, there was something else Cale needed to verify. Ron was strong and his specialties were assassination and stealth. He was stronger than Redika. There had to be a reason Ron got his arm chopped off and had to run away.
"What is this rotting smell?"
Cale needed to figure out the identity of this rotting smell that was filling the room. It was the smell of rotting flesh.
Kim Rok Soo's expression turned blank and a light sheen of sweat began to pepper his brow. Cale suddenly reached out and a responding thump came from their direction. Everyone turned toward the front row and blinked cluelessly curious. They watched Cale hand Kim Rok Soo a brownie.
"Don't think about unnecessary things!" He ordered his Soul Swap Partner in a quiet voice.
Those words made everyone pause and soon they were repeatedly staring between the Palantír and Cale. A thought occurred first to those with sharper minds, but gradually the others soon caught on as well.
"How does Cale Henituse know the smell of rotting flesh?" They seemed to take a keener interest in the body of Kim Rok Soo.
For him, as the former Cale, who had lived during the time of the losing wars it made sense that he would know the smell of rotting corpses, since there would have been many deaths...
"And didn't the earlier records state that he'd been pinned down during the final battle in Puzzle City under a pile of ally corpses."
So it made sense that Kim Rok Soo would know, but how does Cale Henituse know. Several individuals shuddered as something akin to dread prickled at their senses.
Ron smiled instead of answering the question. That smile made Cale frustrated and he immediately walked over and pulled off the blanket covering Ron.
The record on the Palantír revealed the gruesome sight of Ron's injury, as well as the reactions it received from Beacrox, Choi Han, and Cale.
"There's already a censorship for sensitive and underage viewers so you don't need to be concerned about the children." Grgori announced when, out the corner of her eye, she saw TCF!Violan reach out to hastily attempt to cover TCF!Lily's eyes.
"I was hit by some poison."
Ron's thigh and torso were slowly turning black due to poison. There was a slimy fluid on it as well. Choi Han had never seen something like this before. However, Cale had seen it before.
"Mermaid poison."
Ron looked toward Cale.
"...They were the ones who were helping the mermaids."
Cale sighed as he came to that revelation. He covered his eyes with his hand. To be honest, he had suspected this.
He had suspected that the secret organization was involved when the Whales first told him about the Forest of Darkness. It only made his suspicions stronger when they found that the ingredients from the Forest of Darkness had made the mermaids stronger.
"Damn bastards."
He wouldn't let them run wild in his territory. He didn't like the 'Assassin Ron'.
This was fine, assassins were scarier enemies that any other, everyone knew that.
However, seeing him like this made Cale realize something. Ron was someone under his command. Cale, actually, Kim Rok Soo, was oddly affectionate to those under his command. It was because he was only able to survive thanks to the help he received from others.
This was also fine, in fact, this revelation was a well-known, yet unspoken truth among all of Cale's family and friends.
Beacrox, Ron, and even Choi Han could not say anything after seeing this angry expression on Cale's face. They had never seen such a look on Cale's face before. Cale put the blanket back onto Ron's body.
"Is it the ocean?"
"It is an island."
Cale was not showing any anger anymore. He just gave the order with indifference.
"Young master-nim?"
Cale's indifference continued as he responded to Ron.
"You will go with me as well. Be prepared." He then started to grumble a bit. "How can an assassin come back injured?"
"I am still alive."
Cale recalled the contents of Ron's messages to him.
< I am still alive. You are alive as well, right, young master? >
Cale let out a sigh.
"That mouth of yours is still alive at least. Beacrox."
"...Yes sir." Beacrox responded without any energy. Cale put his hand on Beacrox's shoulder.
"Hurry up and go repack our bags. Grab everyone as well."
Cale's next words made Beacrox quickly turn his head around and look at Cale.
"We need to at least get rid of the mermaid poison."
TBOAH!Beacrox knew how deeply Cale's words would have been felt by his counterpart - in fact those words would have sounded like sweet salvation to him too, had he been in his counterpart's position. He exhaled and traced the pattern on the hilt of his kitchen knife - drawing comfort from the familiar etching on the blade's hilt.
The mermaid poison had the darkness attribute and there was no known cure. Beacrox, who specialized in torture and assassinations, knew this better than anybody else. It was the same for Ron. That was the reason why he came to see his son. He returned home, to his second hometown, to see his son one last time before he died.
It was thanks to Ron's immunity to many poisons as well as the highest-grade potions from Count Deruth that were preventing his flesh from drying up and the poison from spreading elsewhere. The highest-grade potion was allowing him to have some strength while feeling no pain. It was only possible because the Henituse family was wealthy.
TCF!Deruth seated with his family on one side simply smiled casually and calmly waved away the humble incline of TCF!Ron and TCF!Beacrox's heads when both of them turned toward him to express their gratitude to him. TBOAH!Beacrox also felt the urge to thank TCF!Deruth for his kindness.
"I simply did what anyone would, Ron has been serving our family and taking care of Cale for years, I knew that treating him and keeping him as comfortable as possible until Cale returned would be for the best." He stated, some people, in particular TCF!Eruhaben and TCF!Ron heard something hidden between the lines as well, but neither of them chose to point it out to TCF!Deruth.
"T, there is a way to cure him?" Beacrox, the usually prim and proper man, stuttered. Cale repeated his order very clearly.
"Move quickly. Don't worry. Your father still has many years to live." Although Cale said it jokingly, it did not feel that way.
Contrary to his words, Cale's expression was stiffer than ever.
Ron started to speak once Beacrox left and it was just the two of them.
"Young master-nim."
"What?"
"They, Arm, seem to be aiming for the sea route with the mermaids."
Ron shared the important information that he had barely managed to obtain with Cale. Cale immediately responded.
"I know."
"Excuse me?"
"It's obvious."
It was obvious. It was even more obvious once Cale heard that they had come over from the Eastern Continent.
"Ron, I know it is hard, but can I ask you one more thing?"
"Yes, of course."
"Did anyone see your face?"
"...Only that mage."
Ron did not look happy as he shared this fail as an assassin. On the other hand, Cale's eyes became cloudy.
"Young master-nim?"
"Hmm?"
"You're not going to go to war against that organization, are you?"
"What do you think?"
Ron was struggling with the poison, but started to smile. He could see what Cale was planning to do.
"I'm sure it will all work out to your benefit."
"You know me very well."
TCF!Ron sighed sagely, "Despite knowing that, the Young Master still managed to surprise this old man with the plan he came up with and pulled off."
"You know Lemonade Gramps, the Human's plans always surprise everyone, sometimes even himself! Even this great and mighty dragon is sometimes surprised with his plans!" Raon speaks up to add smugly, TCF!Ohn and TCF!Hong giggle and nod in agreement with their youngest sibling.