Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 107

“Man, I’m going crazy.”

Beric muttered, barely holding onto his trembling body. It was all well and good to set off on horseback with bravado, but the cold wind of the winter night was more brutal than he had imagined. If they had walked, it wouldn’t have been this bad.

“Those bastards who stole our stuff are dead if I catch them. Ugh. If we had the carriage, huh? We wouldn’t be this cold, right?”

“If we had the carriage, we wouldn’t have come out here in the first place.”

“Ah. That’s right.”

Beric sniffled, having not thought of that. Ian returned to the path where they had turned the carriage around and looked around. The only thing illuminating the surroundings was the brightly shining moonlight.

“Beric. Where did you first see that dog?”

“A little further up that way. I went to take care of business. Oh, but what do we do? I didn’t bring a lantern.”

At his words, Ian blinked. As if to say, why worry so much when you have a mana user?

Zzzing.

“Don’t fall behind, stay close. It’s dark.”

“You can do that too?”

“It’s basic. I’m condensing mana and holding it.”

“Geez, then why have you been using a lantern all this time?!”

“…If there’s a lantern, you use the lantern. I thought you were only weak to heat, but you’re also weak to cold. You keep talking nonsense.”

Ian walked ahead, condensing his mana. Wherever his footsteps landed, a bright light lingered and then disappeared. In the sleeping forest, there was no sound of even a common cuckoo, only the rustling caused by the wind.

“Around here! This is the place.”

“Hmm.”

Reaching a familiar spot, Beric cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.

“You mutt! Come out! Let’s talk about what we couldn’t earlier!”

But only a weak echo returned. Ian looked down the opposite side of the hill and gestured.

“It would be best to go into the village.”

“Into the village? Sure. Let’s get out of the wind.”

A small path led directly to the village. If the dog had taken up residence in the village, it could have come up here without going through the carriage road. Ian went down without hesitation, and Beric quickly followed.

Swoosh.

Ian and Beric, entering the village, held their breath for a moment at the strange atmosphere. It felt like any sound would immediately wake the residents from their sleep.

It was so well-maintained that it didn’t seem like a village that had been abandoned for a long time.

“They said no one lives here, right?”

“Yes. They said it was left abandoned because it was difficult to demolish. By the way, why are you lowering your voice so much?”

“I don’t know. I guess it feels like I’m trespassing.”

The cause of the mass deaths, according to the Magic Department, was food poisoning. So, there were no signs of any battles or attacks in the village.

“Beric.”

“Huh?”

When they had gone about halfway through the village, Ian stopped in front of a one-story cottage. It was a small house with a cozy feel. Ian tilted his head.

“Go inside.”

“Go in here? Me?”

“Then? Me?”

Ugh. If you’re told to do it, you have to do it. There’s no other way.

Beric gripped his sword and stepped into the yard. He grabbed the doorknob and looked back at Ian.

“But why here? At least tell me the reason.”

Ian elegantly tilted his head and looked down at Ian’s feet. There was another auxiliary door that small animals could freely pass through.

“This is the first house with an animal door.”

“Okay. I get it. It’s exactly the size of that mutt. I’m opening the door?”

“It’s best to be careful. It’s a suspicious fellow.”

Squeak!

Despite Ian’s advice, Beric threw the door open with all his might. He immediately held out his sword, taking a defensive stance, but it was disappointingly empty.

“There’s nothing here?”

“Let’s take a look. If we search around, we’ll find something.”

Beric plopped down on the sofa and looked around the house. It wasn’t warm, but it was clean. He suddenly noticed a picture hanging on the wall. It was a picture of a white-haired old man and a blue-haired boy smiling brightly.

“Ian. Look at this. It looks like the people who lived here.”

Ian narrowed his eyes and frowned. Even putting aside the unusual blue hair, weren’t their ears particularly pointed? Judging by their clothes and overall appearance…

-You guys!

“Aaaah!”

At that moment, a strange yet familiar voice suddenly rang out. Beric was so surprised that he jumped up in a panic, while Ian calmly turned around. A dog was sitting there proudly.

-Coming into someone else’s house without a sound, how rude!

“How about you announce yourself before appearing? Huh?”

-The impudent intruder has a long tongue!

Ian noticed that the voice was strangely youthful. He put the picture down on the table and called out to the dog.

“Are you a divine beast living here? The people in the picture seem to be your owners, it’s a nice sight.”

The dog remained still with a solemn expression. But it couldn’t hide its wagging tail.

“I apologize for the discourtesy during the day.”

“I was the one who got bitten, why are you apologizing?”

“I heard you asked for some time, right? Do you have something to ask? I also have something to ask you. It seems like it will be a meaningful time for each other.”

Ian ignored Beric’s words and made a suggestion. The dog, who had been listening quietly, slowly moved, and its shadow stretched out in the moonlight.

‘…A human shadow.’

It had the appearance of a dog, but the shadow was human.

Ian realized that things were more complicated than he had thought. It wasn’t a divine beast or a dog that was cursed, but a soul that was residing in it.

-Before that, I need to confirm something. What is your connection to the Magic Department?

There was a hostile feeling in the way it spoke the words ‘Magic Department.’ Ian answered preemptively before Beric could say anything.

“I am a mana user, but I am not affiliated with the Magic Department. Rather, it’s more accurate to say that I’m walking a different path from them.”

The dog’s eyes narrowed. As if the fact that he was a mana user was unpleasant. Ian deliberately picked up the picture, changing the subject.

“Were your owners from Astana?”

It was important to find a gap when hostility was blatant. He hadn’t missed the tail wagging when he mentioned the owners earlier.

-You know about Astana!?

The dog’s eyes widened when Astana was directly mentioned. It seemed surprised that someone in Bariel knew about Astana.

“Yes. I can tell by the blue hair and clothing. It’s rumored to be a beautiful country, I’ve always wanted to visit.”

The tail wagged even more vigorously.

It seemed easier to handle than he thought.

“Is it true that those who live in the remote canyons, called the end of the world, are more relaxed than the clouds and more natural than the wind?”

-That’s right! You know something, you know!

The dog couldn’t hide its excitement and jumped up and down. Then, without realizing it, it landed on Ian’s lap. Ian held the dog’s body tightly and smiled.

“And that they traditionally inherit necromancy.”

-Ah.

“Let’s talk in detail. I’m Ian, and that’s Beric.”

Ian wondered how to shake hands, but in the end, he grabbed the dog’s front paw and shook it lightly. He was worried that it might dislike it, but surprisingly, the dog seemed satisfied with the gesture of courtesy.

-Hasha and Tokundai. Call me Hasha.

“Nice to meet you, Hasha. First, let me ask. Why did you assume I was related to the Magic Department? Did you see me using mana?”

-Yes. I saw it through the eyes of the undead.

“So it was yours. Then are you a bandit too?”

-That’s nonsense!

“Then your owner is a bandit?”

-No! I am the boy in the picture!

At the dog’s words, Beric looked at the picture again carefully. Then, as if dumbfounded, he stretched the dog’s cheeks.

“But why does this guy talk like this? How old are you? About ten years old?”

-Can’t you let go! How can you count the days I’ve lived every day?

“What a mess. You little thing. Do you remember biting me earlier? Come here. You have four legs, so you only need three, right? Huh?”

“Beric. Astana walks differently from us in time. The average lifespan is 300 years, so with this appearance, he would be about thirty years old.”

At Ian’s words, Beric immediately stopped stretching the dog’s cheeks. The dog growled as if it was wronged and glared at him, then bit Beric’s hand again.

Crunch!

“Aaaah! Damn it!”

-Even if you look at it this way, my teeth are as good as a tiger’s!

Ian barely separated the two excited beasts and immediately changed the subject.

“But Hasha, if you’re from Astana, how did you end up here? And what is that form?”

At the question, Hasha’s growling subsided. As if recalling the memories in detail, its black eyes sparkled in the moonlight. It seemed like it was going to be a rather long story.

-It was Wesley. That woman.

“Minister Wesley of the Magic Department?”

The name of the woman who was the lover of the second prince, Gail, and the current head of the Magic Department, was definitely Wesley. At the sudden but certain mention, Ian couldn’t hide his surprise.

-An invitation came to Astana for the purpose of cultural and academic exchange. My grandmother was the head of the largest faction in Astana, and under the king’s orders, she brought me to Bariel.

At first, everything was new and interesting.

I learned that there were buildings as huge as tall cliffs, and I realized that the wind that howled through the rocks could be drowned out by voices.

But the joy didn’t last long.

-Because Wesley suggested using necromancy on a living person. She kept forcing my grandmother to do something that was absolutely impossible.

“I don’t understand, I need Ian or a mutt to explain it to me.”

Beric scratched his ear and asked. It was natural since he had never heard of words like necromancy or undead in his life. Ian muttered, organizing his thoughts.

“Necromancy is originally meant to be used on corpses. Using it on a living person is not just a matter of life, but it goes against the laws of nature, so no one knows what will happen.”

-The cornerstone of misfortune and the root of destruction. Ahem! My grandmother was different from other sorcerers, she was wise.

It seemed that they had fled because of Wesley’s unreasonable proposal. He didn’t know why they didn’t return to Astana and came to the countryside, but he guessed that there must be a reason.

Ian stroked Hasha’s neck and asked.

“Okay. I roughly understand why Hasha is here. If you’re talking about other sorcerers, it means that Wesley is still researching necromancy.”

-Those who are obsessed with necromancy have always caused blood and war.

Surprisingly perceptive. Since they were preparing for a rebellion, it was a fairly accurate guess. But in the history of Bariel that Ian remembered, there was no mention of the undead in Gail’s rebellion.

“So? What happened after that?”

At Ian’s question, the wagging tail stopped abruptly. It was clear that he remembered the day when all the villagers died.

-Wesley eventually found us.

With that short answer, Ian could guess a lot. The traces of the past flickered in Hasha’s sparkling eyes.

-And in the end, she confirmed what happens when necromancy is used on a living person. I am the proof of that.