The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 232

As Azadin had guessed, the force that attacked the pilgrimage, the Northern Aragasas, was backed by the Northern Emperor, Cohen Lionheart.

“S, still, wouldn’t it be better to keep him captured?”

“Forget it. Even if we capture him, we’d just have to keep watching him try to escape, and we don’t have the time for that. It’s just tiring.”

Azadin said this and threw the squad leader’s longsword he was holding.

-Clatter!

The longsword, which had fallen on the road, slid like a spinning top and stopped in front of the squad leader’s feet.

The squad leader was speechless.

Was Azadin really going to let him go instead of taking him prisoner?

“D, don’t be ridiculous! How can I live with my head held high after receiving such a handout! Just take me prisoner!”

“Oh, my. You’re quite spirited. The reason I’m not taking you prisoner is also because we can’t manage prisoners. Right now, we’re having a hard time just taking care of ourselves.”

“Then kill me!”

“The Northern Aragasas are so self-deprecating. Or are you all suffering from depression? Well, I heard the North lacks sunlight. If you don’t get enough sun, people become gloomy.”

“……”

It wasn’t a joke; the squad leader was now in a very dangerous situation.

The fact that the pilgrimage was attacked by the Northern Empire should not be revealed. Since Azadin had figured out the mastermind due to his mistake, he couldn’t let Azadin and his group go.

But was he supposed to attack the guy who had just let him go?

While it might be true for any race, the Aragasas were a tribe that particularly valued honor.

If Azadin had tried to kill him, he would have gladly fought him with all his might, and if he had been taken prisoner, he would have looked for a chance to escape and counterattack.

But if he was just let go like this?

“Damn it! Fine! I understand!”

The squad leader scratched his head and offered his sword to Azadin.

“I am Zan of the Yakuts family of the Ahaji tribe of the Northern Aragasas! From now on, I will join your side!”

“What?”

MacDougall, the scribe who didn’t know the complex circumstances of the Aragasas, jumped up.

“What nonsense! Absolutely not! It’s absurd!”

However, Azadin placed his hand on Zan’s shoulder.

“Good. You’ve thought it through. I welcome your voluntary participation.”

“Damn it. Voluntary, my foot.”

“Isn’t it voluntary? Then go home. I said I’d let you go.”

“No! It’s voluntary! It’s definitely voluntary!”

Zan, the squad leader of the Northern Aragasas, insisted that his choice was voluntary with a tearful expression.

*********

When Zan of the Yakuts family of the Northern Aragasas surrendered to Azadin, his subordinates immediately fled.

They would now report this to their superiors, reorganize, and then come to destroy Zan and Azadin with all their might.

Above all, Azadin had found out that the Northern Empire was behind the attack on the pilgrimage.

Of course, it was a fact that would eventually be known to the world.

Currently, the Northern Empire was planning to seize control of the Relief Knights by attacking not only this pilgrimage but all other pilgrimages, and even kidnapping the bishop to dismantle the Relief Knights’ organization.

Since they were making such a big move, it would eventually be exposed, but it was not convenient for that ‘eventually’ to be now.

They couldn’t reveal their true colors so quickly and easily.

“You made a big mistake by revealing that the Northern Empire is behind this to try and screw me over.”

“I am Azadin. The Emperor’s 108th envoy.”

Azadin responded with a smile to Zan. Then, Camilla, who was curious, asked.

“Wait a minute. Didn’t you say you were the 1st envoy before? What was that about?”

“I didn’t say anything wrong.”

“What? You didn’t say anything wrong?”

Then, after hearing Azadin’s words, Zan finally understood the situation.

“Damn it. I’ve been tricked. Could it be that you are the only envoy of the Emperor?!”

“That’s right.”

“I heard that the Hatir tribe was in chaos due to the rebellion of someone named Arael, but I never thought that all the Emperor’s envoys would fall. The envoy clan is finished. So, you are both the 1st and 108th envoy?”

“That’s correct.”

“Ah, that’s a relief.”

“What is?”

“Well, it’s like this. I was ashamed that I was no match for you, but if you are the only envoy of the Emperor, then it’s not so bad. If it’s you, you must have been a very talented person in the Hatir tribe, right?”

“……”

Azadin smiled bitterly at Zan’s words.

He had been treated as a half-wit among the envoy clan since childhood. However, there was no need to say that and cause a stir in Zan’s mind.

“Arael is my sister. I am Arael’s only blood relative.”

“Ah…”

It was actually an irrelevant story, but Zan naturally assumed that Azadin was also a great talent like Arael and felt relieved.

Then, MacDougall, who had been listening to Azadin and Zan’s conversation, sneered.

“It’s ridiculous that someone who surrendered immediately and switched sides is concerned about honor. You’re a shameless, thick-skinned person who doesn’t even need a helmet.”

From his point of view, he couldn’t understand Zan, who had switched sides like this. He could only think of him as a dishonorable and shameless person.

“What? You bastard?”

Zan glared at the scribe.

“He switched sides because of honor. So, he can be called an honorable person.”

Azadin explained the situation on behalf of Zan.

“The Aragasas are a group where family and bloodline are important. It’s even more precious since they left their homeland and came to this continent of Hybris. So, when fighting against others who are not Aragasas, it’s one thing, but if a fight breaks out between Aragasas, it’s considered a civil war involving family, bloodline, and grudges. Would it be easier to understand if I said that rebelling in a civil war is due to the commander’s lack of virtue?”

Azadin’s explanation was quite objective, and it gave a fresh shock to Zan, who had vaguely made a decision as an Aragasas.

“Of course, if this guy were a high-ranking officer or commander, the story would be different. But as a low-ranking officer, he owes me his life. If he stayed in his organization, he would have to forget the grace of saving his life and turn his sword against me because of his superiors’ orders, but he considered that dishonorable. That’s why he surrendered even though I said I would let him go. No one would blame him for ignoring such a shallow grace of saving his life in the first place.”

“Ah, so…”

Everyone understood why Zan had surrendered to Azadin after Azadin’s explanation. Then, Zan shook his head and warned.

“Don’t misunderstand. From the moment I surrendered, I think I’ve repaid a good portion of that shallow grace of saving my life. I don’t intend to stick with you guys comfortably forever. If you’re careless, I’ll escape.”

“That’s another cute part of you, telling us that.”

“Ugh.”

Zan shut his mouth tightly as Azadin spoke with a smile.

“By the way, is it true that the Northern Empire is behind this? Why is that Northern Empire targeting me?”

Ismilla was curious about that point.

“I don’t know that either.”

Zan refused to answer.

He had surrendered to Azadin, but he had no intention of spilling information from Azadin’s side. He only intended to escape after repaying his debt.

“So, in this group, I’m the one with the most experience in making rational judgments and setting up strategies. Everyone agrees, right?”

Azadin asked his group.

Of course, everyone had been saved thanks to Azadin, so they had nothing to say. However, the scribe MacDougall protested.

“No! Lady Ismilla should be our leader!”

“Because she’s the bishop’s illegitimate child?”

“No. How dare you accuse her of such a thing!”

“Then you must know something. Why?”

“I, I don’t know. I don’t know anything, but if I may say one thing, the trainee knights of the Order are also noble and righteous beings. The noblest person here in terms of status is Lady Ismilla, so she should naturally be the leader of this group. That is the providence of God, and if that is not the case and an impious person like you gives us instructions and we follow those instructions, our faith and sincerity will be questioned later during the interrogation.”

“What do you think about that?”

“I will entrust the command to you.”

Ismilla, the person in question, transferred command to Azadin.

“Then I will make decisions as the leader. Of course, I will respect each member. So, don’t ask Zan here questions he can’t answer. Even if he doesn’t answer directly, there’s a lot to gain just from him being with us.”

“……”

In fact, Azadin had easily figured out that the Northern Empire was behind them. There was no point in provoking Zan by touching his feelings, as it would only hasten the point at which he thought he had repaid the grace of saving his life.

‘This guy is skilled.’

Azadin had already had experience in skillfully playing hard to get, taking the sorcerer Shati around and extracting the magic of regeneration, which was difficult for humans to use.

If Shati were here, she would have been genuinely worried about Zan, who had been caught by Azadin.

“Okay. Then why don’t you get some sleep now? We’ll have to move at night. Camilla, did you search the corpses and gather food?”

“Ah, yeah.”

“Let’s share that and get some sleep.”

Azadin said this and laid out planks near the prisoner transport wagon to make a bed.

*********

When night came, Azadin opened his eyes.

“Did everyone get enough rest?”

“My sister did.”

The female bandit Camilla answered like that.

It seemed that everyone except for the half-orc Kuntachi was on edge and hadn’t been able to rest properly.

Azadin rolled up the blanket he had used while sleeping, tied it to his backpack, and threw it.

-Rumble…

A translucent ghost ram suddenly appeared, caught the backpack Azadin had thrown with its head, and then lifted it onto its back. The backpack was neatly attached to the saddle ring.

“What is that?!”

“It’s my mount. I can only summon it at night, though.”

Azadin said this and smiled bitterly.

This ghost ram was a transformation of Arael’s voice, and because it was a ghost, it could only be summoned at night.

Its speed was as fast as flying, so it could quickly respond to Ismilla’s call, but it wasn’t good for others to see. To the eyes of ordinary people who were weak to superstition, it would look like a demon riding a spirit.

As expected, MacDougall pointed that out.

“Are you planning to ride that? Are you going to kill all the good people on the road with heart attacks? It’s scary just to look at. Where did you learn such evil skills? Is it because you’re from the envoy clan? Even if it’s a living thing, how can you openly use a technique that binds and uses the dead spirit?”

“It’s not necromancy, it’s an artificial spirit. I haven’t harmed any living creature. If anything was harmed, it was… a part of the soul of the owner who created this artificial spirit.”

Azadin said that, feeling the traces of Arael remaining inside the ghost ram.

Of course, the scribe’s words were also valid. It was a sight that could easily cause heart attacks to people walking on the night road.

However, they were not in a position to be picky about their situation.

“Put all the luggage on the ram. Let’s go.”

They moved all the luggage onto the ram and moved as lightly as possible. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be able to shake off the pursuers.