The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 130

Among the vast collection of books, Brand found a drawer hidden within a bookshelf, and inside it, he discovered a memoir and a vault.

“Well, well. If there hadn’t been a guide, I would have wasted about five hundred years here.”

Midiam was in awe, looking at the many books.

It was fortunate that Brand had returned to his senses at such a timely moment; otherwise, they would have spent all their time rummaging through this study.

“It’s hard to believe, seeing Count Garnahear in his old age, but in his youth, he was a very bright and talented man. He was a promising and excellent lord.”

“Unbelievable.”

“That’s what aging is like. Without you knowing, you change into something different day by day.”

Brand, reminiscing about the past, seemed to be in pain. He then approached the writing desk and began to transcribe.

“I will transcribe the important parts of the Count’s memoir. Specifically, the parts about the Emperor’s treasury.”

In his youth, Count Garnahear traveled far and wide in search of the Emperor’s treasury, leaving behind his recollections. He had apparently gotten very close to the treasury and even obtained related treasures, including the Emperor’s key.

“Let’s see….”

Azadin read the transcription that Brand handed him.

“Where the thrones of Arangi and Banreung intersect. On the land where the serpent twists its body twice, there is the gate of an old kingdom with the remains of an old waterfall. Here, an ancient master craftsman who made a contract with the Emperor created the key to the treasure. There are two keys; the king of the old hill and the king of the old furnace each took one and swore allegiance to the Emperor. When the age of Jupiter approaches, the Emperor arranged to leave behind power to protect humanity in the distant future. Entry is possible with the key, but the treasury will truly open when the age of Jupiter, which the Emperor is preparing for, arrives.”

Azadin clicked his tongue after reading it.

“What is this nonsense? Even with the key, it’s impossible to open the treasury, but entry is possible?”

“As you can see, there were two keys. Arael only took one of them, so don’t worry too much.”

“There’s every reason to worry.”

Even so, Arael had already taken one of the two keys, hadn’t she?

Moreover, Arael had many talented people, and she herself was a very powerful mage. Azadin couldn’t afford to be careless at all.

“I don’t know how hard the Count tried to obtain that key and open the Emperor’s treasury. But he still couldn’t open it.”

“Arael is a self-proclaimed goddess, so she’s probably more capable than the Count. Well.”

“Hahaha. To this old man, Azadin, you are also a remarkable person. Take these treasures that the Count kept here. The Count kept them with his memoir, and they are treasures of the dwarves, so they are probably more important than the key.”

Brand took out an orange pen, black arm guards, and chainmail gloves and handed them to Azadin.

“This pen is a pen of flame letters. If you heat it with fire and write, you can use the magic of flame letters.”

Brand heated the tip of the pen with a candle and wrote on his axe-spear with it. Then, flames danced on the axe-spear, letters took hold, and the blade began to burn on its own.

“Nice.”

“Actually, it’s not very useful. It only activates when you light a fire, and people die anyway when an axe blade goes into their skull, right?”

In other words, what’s the point of putting flames on a weapon when you die if you just get hit by a sword? There might be a way to transfer heat by holding the blade on the armor for a long time, but there’s no reason to hold a weapon on armor long enough to transfer that much heat.

“No. That’s true for melee weapons.”

On the other hand, it was different for the Messenger Clan, who mainly used bows. They could put fire on arrows without consuming much magic, so it was very useful.

“The arm guards are the arm guards of the shadow shield. These are quite significant. And the gauntlets are the gauntlets of strength. They are all treasures of the dwarf king, so they are priceless, but take them. They will surely be of great help in finding the Emperor’s treasury.”

“Magical treasures, huh? Where?”

Azadin put on the gauntlets of strength and lifted a large bronze writing desk next to the study.

He could lift it.

However, Azadin was already strong due to the physical enhancement by Kazas Hese, so it couldn’t be said that this alone had an effect.

“…It doesn’t work on me. It seems the gauntlet’s magic activates the body.”

Azadin felt that the gauntlet’s magic was clashing with the magic of the distorted grimoire inside his body, preventing it from working.

“Anyway, is it okay to decide to give such precious things without Sir Guillaume Balte’s permission?”

“If you intend to open the Emperor’s treasury, you will need these to gain the trust of the dwarves. Of course, these are useful treasures in themselves, but Sir Guillaume Balte is not such a rigid person. You know that, don’t you?”

“You broke the middle of his axe-spear. There won’t be any rigid parts left.”

“Haha. That’s right. It’s a bit late to say this now, but Sir Guillaume Balte will become an excellent count. He will be a great ruler, incomparable to his father.”

Even though he had tried to kill Guillaume, Brand highly praised him.

“I agree with that. Still, I’ll take them after consulting with Sir Guillaume Balte.”

“You are very proper.”

“More importantly, what will you do now, Sir Brand?”

“I will stay here to assist Sir Guillaume Balte, hold funerals for my children, and find and care for any of my surviving relatives who may have escaped.”

Having said that, Brand bowed deeply to Azadin.

“Azadin of the Messenger Clan. I cannot thank you enough. When I was lost in my madness, I don’t know if it was a delusion of a madman or a prophecy given to me by the spirit of madness, but I saw you become a knight among knights, a great hero admired by all.”

“……”

The prophecy of madness. It was a secular superstition that the prophecies uttered by madmen would eventually come true. Prophecies like the age of Jupiter were also being feared as prophecies of madness when they were spoken by madmen.

According to the laws of the King’s Church, madmen who spoke of the age of Jupiter were all subject to execution, but the reason why executions were not actually carried out was the belief that misfortune would befall anyone who harmed a madman who spoke of the prophecy of madness.

But now, Brand, who had been lost in madness, was prophesying that Azadin would become a great hero?

“A hero, you say?”

Azadin gave a bitter smile.

“I also saw it in a delusion, so I don’t know if it’s a delusion or a prophecy. But I hope all the angels protect your future. May you have good fortune….”

Brand bowed his head sincerely to thank Azadin.

*********

“I feel like I’m being used too much for their convenience.”

Shati was using regeneration magic on Guillaume Balte’s arm and fixing it with a splint.

“Ugh…. Oh, it’s so itchy.”

“Don’t scratch it. You’ll bleed. It’s your bone that’s itchy, so scratching your skin won’t help. I’ll have to put a thick bandage on it. Honestly, warm-blooded creatures have no regenerative power. They whine just because a bone is broken.”

“Ahem. Do you have any thoughts of staying in Lantaric?”

“Are these guys thinking of me as some kind of healing potion? Can’t you be a little more careful? I have to leave. This is magic of the Kurt gods. Even if the power of the Kurt gods is great, shouldn’t those who serve the Yaegas gods at least show some restraint?”

“Well, it’s not just that… Anyway, there’s no more information to extract from you, and you’ve already been branded a traitor by the Nagas, so wouldn’t it be just suffering if you go back?”

“They’ll understand if I explain.”

“Are the Nagas such a generous organization?”

“……”

Indeed, Shati knew very well that her fate was so twisted that it would be difficult to be forgiven unless she brought back at least a copy of the Shinwangjinseo [a sacred text].

‘No, I was the one who had the Shinwangjinseo stolen by that guy in the first place. I need at least three copies, or even more….’

As she was thinking that, Azadin came out of the study.

“Shati. Is the treatment finished?”

“Yes. Well, it’ll still be broken for about two weeks, but compared to the slow natural healing ability of warm-blooded creatures, it’s a blessing, right?”

“So it seems. Then, take care. Count of Lantaric.”

“Where are you going?”

“Since Arael’s group took the key, I have to report it. I need to go back to my clan and talk to a higher-up. If possible, I want to break the curse of service.”

“Will it be okay?”

“I’m sure they’ll release it.”

“Huh?”

“Arael lured me in with the condition that she would release the curse. Unless the elders are stupid enough to keep using the curse as a weapon, which I doubt, they won’t be that stupid.”

Guillaume Balte was taken aback by Azadin’s words.

‘Well, it’s highly likely, but it’s his own business, his own life at stake, and he can be so sure based on just an assumption. Should I call him amazing? His martial arts are amazing, but what’s truly amazing is his courage and mind? The Messenger Clan is really scary.’

“Oh, and I forgot to mention, there were some dwarf treasures in your father’s study, and Mr. Brand said it would be okay for us to take them? But I thought I should tell you about it.”

“Take them.”

“I haven’t even told you what they are yet?”

“What you have done for me is already more than a life debt. What would be too precious? Besides, if Sir Brand says you need them, then you must need them.”

“Thank… no, let’s say I’m borrowing them. I’ll definitely come back to return them someday.”

“Haha. Then I’ll be waiting. In the meantime, I will accommodate the people of Salasma suffering from famine and the refugees created by the war. Since I have obtained the position of Count of Lantaric with your help, I must become a ruler who is not ashamed. I will try to become someone who is not repulsive in the eyes of Azadin, the Emperor’s Messenger.”

“To that extent….”

Guillaume Balte’s determination was so firm that Azadin was rather ashamed of himself.

*********

As the sun set, lanterns were lit in Lantaric.

This city, which was as prosperous as Salasma, or even more economically prosperous, was buzzing with anticipation for the new count.

“Sir Guillaume Balte, huh? Isn’t he too ugly?”

“I heard he’s a hideous man.”

“Duke Adler was handsome, though.”

To the common people, nobles were just providers of gossip with their fancy clothes and appearances. In that sense, people were supporting Adler more than Guillaume Balte.

Azadin smiled bitterly as he listened to the conversations of the people in the tavern.

“They’re judging the person who will decide their fate based solely on appearance.”

“It’s because they have no expectations for the nobles so far.”

Zibeck, a holy knight of the King’s Church, said that instead.

It was not something a faithful holy knight should say, for a member of the King’s Church, which taught that it was natural for the bloodlines of the Yaegas gods to rule the world, to deny and emphasize the corruption of the nobles.

Has there been a change in Sir Zibeck’s feelings?