The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 342

Zan frowned at Azadin’s words.

‘Um, could you reconsider? It’s easy for the commander to say, but I’m the one who has to deliver the message.’

‘You’re not going to tell Cohen Lionheart directly, are you?’

‘Well, that’s true, but…’

‘Cohen Lionheart knows that I went into the depths of the Wisdom Order and discovered the Celestial Reincarnation Ritual, and that I’m the last knight to be knighted by Lord Planck, right? But if I treat him like the King of Asander, it’ll get complicated. I just need to establish my position as a bit of a wild card. Don’t worry, I won’t harm Kalintz or you.’

‘Hmm. Is that so? I can’t say we haven’t already been harmed… It’s pretty obvious now that our commander has bet on you, Lord Azadin.’

‘You’ve made it that obvious already? You wouldn’t be a good gambler.’

‘I know, right? But if he’s not good at gambling, isn’t he a good guy to marry?’

‘Wouldn’t that kind of compliment be more pleasing if a young lady said it? Or… are you perhaps… is there something going on between you and Prince Kalintz? Are we going to have something to celebrate soon?’

Azadin chuckled and asked Zan.

‘More importantly, is there any news from Fireglyph?’

‘The information here is quite fast, isn’t it? I heard we’re also trading with the Arangi Kingdom.’

The Sandokar Gate had a road open to the Arangi Kingdom, so Azadin’s warlord was sending merchants along the Arangi Kingdom route, earning a considerable profit.

With money, weapons, and manpower gathering, Azadin’s warlord was continuing to grow.

Now that he was no longer an exile in the Chadra Highlands, he could gather rumors from the world in Arangi.

‘I heard that the Tarasar Kingdom is also being attacked by the Nagas [serpentine humanoids] on the coast, and that the Messenger Clan has started assassinating key figures in each kingdom. A large number of refugees are pouring into the Arangi Kingdom, and elemental wailing patients are appearing everywhere, and those who are desperate are becoming cultists and performing suspicious rituals.’

Azadin listed the rumors he had gathered so far and nodded.

‘Is there any other news from the Rescue Knights Territory?’

‘…Well, all the rumors in the Rescue Knights Territory are similar.’

‘Really? I heard there was more than that.’

‘Anyway, I’ll pass that on, Lord Azadin. Haa. Seriously.’

Zan retreated, wondering how to politely convey the message that the fearsome Northern Emperor Cohen was being asked to come in person.

*********

As night fell, snow began to fall. It was the end of summer, the beginning of autumn, but already snow was accumulating.

Azadin sat on the watchtower, listening to the sound of the snow piling up, and closed his eyes.

To be ready to face the vampires if they came, he lit a bonfire every night above the Sandokar Gate and took a nap in front of it.

Now that he had become the leader of a proper force, he could have left it to his subordinates and relaxed, but Azadin couldn’t do that.

Even now, there are those who curse Azadin because of his birth. The Messenger Clan, who had joined hands with the Naga Empire, were attacking kingdoms and creating refugees.

The refugees had no choice but to hate the Messenger Clan, who were shooting arrows and killing humans among the Nagas.

So it was not strange that there were those among the refugees who doubted Azadin’s true intentions.

They were eating the relief goods that Azadin provided, yet they doubted and hated him.

In such a situation, to maintain this force, Azadin himself had to persevere with all his might.

‘……’

Then, the sound of someone throwing firewood into the bonfire woke Azadin.

A middle-aged man with a lion’s mane of mixed silver and gold hair was throwing firewood into the bonfire.

The man, who had split the firewood with his bare hands as if it were a snack, threw the firewood into the bonfire and looked at Azadin across the flames.

‘A strange one indeed. The eyes of Harkonia? Isn’t that a trait that only appears in the Messenger Clan with noble blood?’

The lion-like eyes were scrutinizing Azadin.

It was Cohen Lionheart, the Northern Emperor.

Azadin, who was meeting the person he had only heard of by name, did not panic and calmly replied.

‘Well, well. It’s an honor to meet such a famous person.’

‘Let’s not say things you don’t mean. You don’t respect me, do you? You know that I’m reincarnating Celestials [divine beings].’

Azadin was actually surprised inside. There was no way Zan had already returned to the Northern Empire and delivered Azadin’s message.

If he hadn’t left for Sandokar almost at the same time as Zan departed, he wouldn’t have been able to arrive here like this.

Moreover, he had come without any killing intent or sign.

‘I trusted Araiel’s voice too much. To have been asleep until he got this close.’

[He is erasing his presence and signs with special magic. As an artificial spirit, I have no physical body, so I am vulnerable to magic that hides traces.]

Araiel’s voice explained her limitations. It sounded like she was making excuses for her mistake.

‘Are you the last knight to be knighted by Lord Planck?’

‘I suppose I am.’

‘Indeed, it is something that fate would lead to. To think it would be a member of the Messenger Clan. Is fate trying to test us all? Why would it entrust such a destiny to someone of a lineage that everyone hates, rather than a noble one?’

Cohen Lionheart grumbled as he warmed himself by the bonfire.

‘Do you really think that all the people will not despise the Messenger Clan and follow them? Can you be the great leader who will lead us through this Jupiter era? I won’t beat around the bush. Lord Azadin. Pledge your loyalty to me. To achieve great things, you need a lineage that overwhelms people.’

Cohen Lionheart realized that his words could be misinterpreted and became serious.

‘I’m not saying this to insult you. I highly value what you have accomplished so far. But the masses are foolish and have no eye for discerning the good from the bad. Just because you are a member of the Messenger Clan, the masses will distrust and belittle you. Can you enlighten them all? Can you achieve great things while enlightening the foolish masses in the midst of the calamities brought by the Jupiter era? There’s no way that’s possible. So, to achieve great things, pledge your loyalty to me.’

‘What great things are you trying to achieve?’

‘The unification of the Rescue Knights and the King’s Church, and the prosperity of mankind.’

‘Do you think that the prosperity of mankind is impossible in the current state?’

‘Yes. In the current state, we cannot overcome the coming Jupiter era. Even if we endure this Jupiter era while divided, what about after that? Is this division so valuable that it should be defended in the name of diversity? As long as human forces are divided and split, there is no future for humanity.’

‘Certainly, it’s not a valuable division.’

Azadin also acknowledged that point.

‘But if division has no value, does unification have value? I apologize for my impertinence, but I would be grateful if you could broaden my shallow perspective.’

‘Yes. Unification has value. Listen. The King’s Church reveres the blood of God, and the Rescue Knights worship virtue. But that is the ideal, what is it actually like? The believers of the Rescue Knights worship the blood of angels, and the King’s Church tries to replace even the king with their own justice and greed. They must become one. Only then can they fill in the gaps in each other’s doctrines and become complete.’

‘So, to achieve that great task, I have to go under you?’

‘Azadin. You are a member of the Messenger Clan. And the Messenger Clan is now doing everything they can to destroy kingdoms and kill people. Do you know how many people are dying at the hands of the Messenger Clan at this very moment? Can you bear their resentment and hatred alone? That is your limit. As a member of the Messenger Clan, you can become the leader of a small force, but eventually, you will face opposition from the forces that hate you.’

‘So, Your Majesty is saying that because of my lineage, people won’t recognize me, so I should use Your Majesty to achieve my goals. Is that what you’re saying?’

‘That’s right. I can be a great justification and shield for you. And that’s not all? I will give you a position above all others. It will be a higher and more honorable position than my sons. Spread your will in my name. You’re not interested in direct honor or wealth anyway, are you? If you are the last knight to be knighted by Lord Planck.’

Cohen Lionheart made an unprecedented offer to Azadin.

However, Azadin shook his head.

‘I’m sorry, but I must refuse that offer.’

‘Why? Are you still greedy for wealth and honor?’

Cohen Lionheart’s offer was too generous to be made by the King of Asander, the Northern Emperor, to a member of the Messenger Clan.

Nevertheless, Azadin refused Cohen’s offer.

‘I can believe that Your Majesty is sincere now, but I cannot believe in tomorrow’s Your Majesty.’

‘Are you saying that I’ll go senile tomorrow?’

‘Are you saying that Your Majesty’s heart will never change? If so, I can’t trust Your Majesty’s words even more.’

‘………’

‘Everyone’s heart is bound to change. But Your Majesty is trying to elevate yourself to the realm of God. So, after Your Majesty unites the two religions as the bloodline of the divine king, no one will be able to stop Your Majesty’s change of heart. You will unite the two religions and ascend as their living god. Then, who will stop Your Majesty?’

‘That’s a strange thing for a member of the Messenger Clan to say. Didn’t you submit to the Emperor? You helped him take over all eight kingdoms, and now you’re holding me to a strict standard. What I’m trying to do is necessary to overcome the Jupiter era.’

‘Even after overcoming it, Your Majesty will become the truth and justice. Without the reason and conscience of humans, everyone will have to submit to Your Majesty’s words. I want a world where virtue is the center, not a world ruled by a single superhuman, but a world where law, ideals, and virtue are the center, and where everyone follows their own conscience…’

‘Law, ideals, and virtue? Those things have no form and cannot last. The Golden King Manza Zadek was once a person who said the same things as you, but even he, who had the noble blood of the Yaegas gods, failed to achieve it and became a fat pig, didn’t he?’

‘But I was saved by that very thing.’

Azadin smiled bitterly.

A dropout of the Messenger Clan, a child who was despised and bullied by everyone, was saved by the old books of the Rescue Knights and Aldis’s love.

That was a miracle.

Of course, he knew. That there was frustration waiting ahead.

Miracles are rare, that’s why they are miracles. There is no guarantee that a miracle once seen can be reproduced. It would surely be a path with more failures than successes.

But Azadin had already been saved, so it was impossible to betray his faith now.

‘So, I appreciate the offer, but I must refuse.’

‘You’re a truly strange one. Why does a member of the Messenger Clan yearn for such things? What was the trigger?’

Cohen Lionheart wondered why Azadin was resisting him so much.

‘It’s a long story. Surely you’re not really curious about that, are you?’

Azadin asked with a smile.

Azadin’s and Cohen’s gazes collided across the bonfire.

Cohen, looking at Azadin’s unwavering gaze, knew that Azadin was someone who would never yield and clicked his tongue.

‘…That’s right. Actually, I’m not that curious. I don’t want to spend a long time listening to your story from your childhood until now.’

Cohen Lionheart also admitted honestly.

‘I predict, Azadin. When hunger and cold become extreme, everything you have built will be buried in the snow and disappear in vain. The justice and virtue that you love so much will not give you any answer. You may think it doesn’t matter now, that you can overcome it, but in the end, you will run out of strength and cry out in pain.’

‘……’

Azadin listened to Cohen’s prophecy and smiled bitterly.

The divine blood flowing in Cohen’s body was shining in his eyes. This was not just a curse, but a true prophecy.

‘You’re saying things that the Shade Hags would say. I understand, Your Majesty. Thank you for your concern. It was a pleasant meeting.’

‘Hmph. Saying things you don’t mean… But it was interesting. Yes, it was an interesting meeting, Lord Azadin.’

Cohen Lionheart got up from his seat.

Then, the members of the Northern Aragasa and the elves walked out of the darkness.

As they spread their cloaks and hid Cohen Lionheart’s large frame, his figure disappeared as if he had never been there.

And Azadin was left alone again with the bonfire.