The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 112

#113. Too Many Corrupt Nobles 6

Before entering the fog-covered area, Azadin instructed Scott.

“Once we go inside, there will be those Naga Empire guys. When a battle breaks out with them, I need to be sure you won’t betray us.”

“I don’t betray my employers.”

“Didn’t the Naga Empire hire you, and then you surrendered to me?”

“It wasn’t the state that hired me, but the Nagas who were there at the time. And if you call surrendering a betrayal, you’re applying the term too broadly, aren’t you? So, what do you want from me?”

“That’s the thing.”

Azadin was at a loss. What Azadin really wanted was for Scott to make that ‘Naga Half-Orc’ oath.

But thinking about it, that act was something that Orcs used to look down on and insult humans, so asking for it was like spitting in the face of someone who was already down. [This refers to the Orcish practice of forcing humans to swear loyalty by invoking their mixed heritage, a humiliating act.]

Besides, would he really not betray them if he did that? Wouldn’t it be a completely useless act?

“No, it’s fine. I’ll just trust you.”

“You’re a silly one. Shouldn’t you be more worried about that Naga woman than me? She’s probably thinking of escaping at any moment.”

“Shatiya, well. There’s no way to persuade her not to run away.”

She’s a Naga, so there’s no way to make her stop being loyal to the Naga Empire just by telling her to.

“To prevent her from running away or betraying us, I’d have to kill her, but I don’t want to make such an easy choice yet.”

“…An easy choice, is it.”

The Orc, Scott, seemed deeply moved by Azadin’s words.

*********

“Then, I will guide you.”

Lord Brock stepped forward, cutting through the fog.

“So, Lord Brock, what kind of person is your wife?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I’m asking because she might shoot us with arrows the moment she sees us, not out of curiosity about your married life. What does she look like?”

“She’s a B’tuma with dark skin and dark hair. A young woman.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Azadin nodded at those words.

To get through the fog, Azadin first sent Ismael as a scout and Midiam to the rear. Sending anyone else as a scout or rear guard was less reliable than the two of them, who were from the Messenger Clan. [The Messenger Clan is known for their precognitive abilities.]

‘Because they can use precognition magic.’

But then, Ismael, at the front, blew his whistle.

“Everyone, stop.”

“What’s the matter?”

“There’s a spiderweb.”

“Ah.”

Everyone understood at the mention of a spiderweb. It was common for noble wives to become followers of Atra. Atra, the spider queen of the Kurt gods, granted youth, vitality, and beauty to her female followers. [The Kurt gods are a pantheon of deities, with Atra being a prominent figure associated with spiders and transformation.]

Many court ladies fell for Atra’s temptations to increase their power and beauty. Wasn’t Baroness Nort, Count Salasma’s concubine, also a follower of Atra?

“If they’ve spun a web this big… it must be huge.”

Azadin clicked his tongue as he discovered a corpse entangled in the web. The spiderweb was strung across a huge tree trunk that had been set up as a road marker and a nearby building, and a dog’s corpse was curled up in the web.

It was a fairly large breed of dog called a Bullmastiff, and a dog that should have been the size of a small calf with a muscular body had all its fluids sucked out, leaving only its skin.

“There are footprints here. Judging by the size… there was a spider bigger than a bull.”

Ismael showed Azadin the spider’s tracks.

“Okay. Since the fog is thick, we’ll cancel the scouting formation. Let’s close ranks.”

Azadin changed the formation.

“Scott!”

“What?”

“You’ll have to get out of the wheelchair.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Your wheelchair will be useful for dealing with the spider.”

Azadin took Scott out of the wheelchair and procured wood from a nearby building to make sharp wooden spears. He made four wooden spears and connected them to make a fence.

He put the wooden fence on the wheelchair so it could be moved by the wheels. It was too big and heavy to be carried by a person, but it was manageable when placed on the wheelchair.

It was a tool sufficient to stop cavalry or large monsters. He also connected the mountain goats with leather straps so that the wooden fence would move as the goats walked.

“And the other knights will maintain formation behind the wooden fence. Our archers will be behind them.”

Azadin immediately adopted a combat formation and walked forward. Scott, who had to walk on his own two feet because he had given up his wheelchair, grumbled.

“Ugh, I feel like my muscles are growing every time I walk… I use a wheelchair because I hate gaining muscle, isn’t this too much?”

Ordinary humans worry about losing muscle, but Scott, an Orc, worries about gaining it. Lord Brock stood in front, holding his shield and sighing.

“So, you’re saying my wife has become a spider?”

“It could be your lover or concubine, not your wife.”

“……”

“Lord Brock, did you have a concubine?”

Guillaume Valt asked Brock.

“I’m ashamed to say, but I don’t have a concubine, but I do have a lover.”

“A shameful story indeed. It is a sin to become a cultist, but do you know how much the flames of jealousy can devastate a person’s soul? Corruption seeped into the cracks of her devastated soul, so you are also responsible for this corruption!”

Brand rebuked Brock after hearing his words.

“No, I understand. Everyone has lovers, don’t they?”

Guillaume Valt defended Brock. He wanted to bring Brock, a vassal who held a key location, over to his side.

“What are you talking about? The laws of the King’s Church also recommend monogamy. Because they give in to lust and have more children than necessary, inheritance problems arise, and wars and conflicts break out, and the people suffer every time, don’t they?”

“No, that’s…”

The laws of the King’s Church recommended monogamy, but not many nobles followed it. So, this wasn’t a big flaw.

But Brand was furiously scolding the knights based on honor and principle.

‘Secretary Brand never used to talk back to his superiors like this. He’s a different person now.’

Lord Brock also felt bewildered at the furious Brand and apologized.

“Secretary Brand, I’m sorry. I have nothing to say, even if I had ten mouths. Just because a hero has three wives and four concubines…”

“Did he have three wives and four concubines before he became a hero? What a pathetic thing to say. So, what are you going to do? Are you going to kill your cultist wife and pretend you don’t know anything? Or…”

“If possible, I would like to restore her, but that’s impossible, isn’t it?”

“I’ve never heard of a person who became a spider bigger than a bull returning to normal.”

As far as Azadin knew, there was no way to save someone who had mutated so severely. If it were possible, it would be a miracle, but even the divine kings who had taken the thrones of the Eight Kingdoms had to pay a huge price for a miracle. [The Eight Kingdoms are a major political entity in this world, with divine kings holding significant power.]

“Then I will kill her and then take my own life.”

Then, Shatiya, who was listening, grumbled.

“Why are you guys deciding to kill or not kill as you please? That woman might be happy after becoming a spider-human, you know?”

“……”

Shatiya was a Naga, a member of the Kurt gods, so she might think that way, but it was a difficult story for humans to accept.

“More importantly, Shatiya, can we talk for a moment?”

Azadin called Shatiya aside and asked.

“Where is the Naga’s base?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Even after coming this far?”

“I’m just a prisoner who was captured because I lacked power, not someone who betrayed my own kind.”

“In this situation, finding the base doesn’t seem like betraying your own kind. Don’t you think something has happened to you Nagas?”

“What are you talking about? Do you think we’ve only dealt with one or two of those Atra followers?”

Shatiya was confident that Atra’s followers were not a threat.

“Can’t you see now? There are too few human victims.”

“So what?”

“You’re an idiot. How much loyalty do the Nagas have to humans that they would just create fog and wait until all the humans escaped? It’s proof that things aren’t going the way the Nagas intended.”

“……”

“Okay. If you won’t tell me, I understand. You probably made your base disguised as a brothel or a trading company anyway.”

“Ugh, don’t jump to conclusions!”

Shatiya protested, but she was secretly surprised.

‘How did he know, this guy? As expected, the Messengers, the Emperor’s Messengers, are not to be underestimated.’

“Hmm?”

Then Azadin stopped.

“Haa.”

When Azadin exhaled, his breath froze white. The season was past the beginning of summer. Lantark was a warm region, so it was impossible for breath to freeze in this season.

“This is…”

Everyone noticed that the air had gotten colder. And the fog was getting thicker.

“Be careful.”

Human shadows began to approach from inside the fog.

*********

“Huh?”

Guillaume Valt, who had been on guard, made a deflated sound.

“Krr!”

What appeared from beyond the fog were the mummy soldiers that the Nagas mainly used. But frost was clinging to their entire skin, and their limbs were frozen, so their bodies were breaking apart little by little as they walked?

Before they could even reach the wooden fence, their frozen legs broke, and the mummy soldiers fell forward and shattered like porcelain dolls.

“Grrr…”

And behind those mummy soldiers, there were other corpses and were-rats that were still alive but were freezing to death.

“Why are there were-rats here?”

“This is Saenop Village. My territory… but what is this?”

Azadin walked forward and examined the were-rat that was still alive.

“Hey. What happened?”

“Kuh. Y-you humans.”

“…A blanket. No, a mountain goat!”

Azadin brought a Kerim mountain goat and had the were-rat sit down, wrapping the goat around him. The goat’s fur and body temperature would have relieved the chill that was tormenting the were-rat. [Kerim mountain goats are known for their thick fur and warmth.]

“You fool. Do you think I’ll speak for you just because of this?”

“You don’t know anything. That lady over there is Shatiya, an agent of the Naga Empire.”

“Huh?”

“And that unlucky guy is Scott McGreene, an Orc necromancer.”

It wasn’t wrong. But it was a story that was easy for the listener to misunderstand.

“You shouldn’t judge by what you see. Minion of Mezeri. Tell me.”

“Umm… a Nether monster appeared during the council. It’s the work of a human witch!”

“The work of a human witch?”

“Yes. Ugh… c-cold.”

Even though the Kerim mountain goat was wrapping around him, the were-rat continued to tremble. His teeth chattered, and then his front teeth collided and broke, and blood splattered. But even that blood froze.

“What kind of woman is the witch?”

“T-the lord’s wife here.”

At that moment, Lord Brock was startled.

His wife was a witch? It was none other than a follower of Mezeri, a were-rat, who was saying that. [Mezeri is likely a deity or entity associated with were-creatures and chaos.]

“She cursed her concubine for stealing her husband. She kidnapped her in front of us and made her a follower of Atra.”

“A follower of Atra?”

“Yes. But the concubine who became a follower of Atra attacked her, and while the two were fighting, the witch summoned a Nether monster, but failed to control it!”

“……”

“The plan to summon a Nether monster to weaken the light of the King and destroy the human Eight Kingdoms… it’s better to abandon it! It’s not something we can handle!”

Even as he was telling the story, the were-rat’s body was freezing from the inside out. Eventually, the cold invaded his bone marrow, and the were-rat died.

“So, they’re going to summon a Nether monster to destroy the human world?”