The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 156

“You didn’t tell Sion Etar about what happened with the Wendigo, did you?”

“…….”

“If you and Midiam had reported it, Sion Etar wouldn’t have reacted so lukewarmly. Isn’t your refusal to follow me now also your own decision? Originally, you were supposed to follow Midiam in everything. After following her to chase me, your role was to keep persuading her, wasn’t it?”

“You knew.”

Ismail was originally a subordinate of Sion Etar. He acted as Midiam’s servant, but at the same time, he was always tasked with reporting Midiam’s actions to the higher-ups.

Ismail, who was supposed to follow the will of the Etar clan at all times, had kept the fact that Azadin had performed a miracle a secret. Moreover, he was now deliberately revealing the views of the Etar clan towards Azadin, showing suspicion and doubt without reservation, to warn Azadin.

“Don’t misunderstand. I really dislike you. I can’t stand someone like you on a visceral level.”

Ismail stated this directly to Azadin’s face.

“It’s just that Midiam is following you. I’m just doing my best to make sure she doesn’t get hurt.”

Following Azadin would bring harm to Midiam. That’s what Ismail was saying.

“Alright. I understand. Then, Midiam, let’s say our goodbyes here.”

Azadin decided not to allow Midiam and Ismail to accompany him.

“As a Messenger [a title within their clan], I should have taught the followers and helped them gain experience, but looking back, I haven’t taught you much. I’m sorry for being an inadequate Messenger.”

“Oh, no. You were the best teacher, Azadin.”

“Hey. Even considering everything, that’s not true.”

Azadin smiled.

“But if I may ask, Midiam, please do your best within the Etar to ensure that the name of Aragasa [a warrior clan] is not stained by the blood of the powerless.”

The training process for the Aragasas makes them hate the weak and powerless. Every time a trainee drops out, all the other trainees are made to suffer, making them hate the dropout and encouraging them to punish the weak privately.

How cruel would the Aragasas, who are merciless to their own kind, be to the Hybrids [people of mixed heritage] who had persecuted them?

Azadin was worried about that.

“Why are you so worried about them? Is it because you’re a believer in the angel faith?”

When Ismail asked, Azadin shook his head.

“When I was young… I was afraid.”

“Huh?”

“I couldn’t bear the fear that there was no one in this world who understood me. If only they showed a little goodwill… my thoughts were considered weak and cowardly among the Aragasas. Of course, I know that since I dropped out during training, my talk about being kind to the weak sounds like I’m asking for special treatment, so it’s not convincing.”

As a dropout from the Aragasa training, Azadin must have been ostracized and bullied by everyone.

It was so extreme that the young Azadin even doubted if they were humans of the same blood.

“Then I encountered the faith of the Knights of Salvation. The story of the three archangels dedicating themselves to humanity, and the holy knights protecting the weak following their teachings, was salvation itself for me.”

“Because you can be saved if you believe in them?”

“No. It’s more about confirming a sense of belonging. The fact that everyone is moved by good and beautiful stories. The fact that they, like me, yearn for what is good and beautiful, and that this has become a faith, a huge order.”

Azadin said that and turned to look at Midiam.

“So, I believe in you, Midiam.”

Midiam sympathized with Azadin’s aesthetics. The aesthetic that it was a vile thing to oppress the powerless Hybrids.

That was an invaluable point of empathy for Azadin.

“Yes, Azadin. Oh, right.”

Midiam raised her hand and pointed to the stables next to the fortress wall.

“I’ve prepared horses, goats, and luggage. I’ve prepared them in the stables that weren’t flooded.”

Midiam had retrieved the luggage that had been left in Sion Etar’s care. For Azadin, it was important, but for Zibeck, who had armor, it was even more crucial.

“You went out of your way to bring it? Thank you.”

“I’ve packed enough food too. And also this…”

Midiam took a sword from a box next to her.

“This is…”

Azadin smiled wryly when he saw it. It was the Azure Steel longsword that Lord Aldoph had possessed.

“Elder Kazas asked me to give it to you as a gift.”

“My teacher?”

“Yes.”

“This is troublesome.”

Azadin was perplexed.

The Azure Steel longsword was a priceless treasure. But its original owner was Lord Aldoph. Although he had lost an arm, he was the nephew of Ansetus IV, so he was not someone to be taken lightly.

Carrying such a person’s sword could lead to conflict.

And what if Lord Aldoph was still alive?

Azadin and Lord Aldoph’s relationship wasn’t bad, but if Azadin had his sword, wouldn’t he think badly of it?

‘No, I’ll say I’ll return it to the person who knows about it later, and in the meantime, I’ll borrow it.’

Either way, if Azadin refused the longsword here, it would only show that he was dissatisfied with Kazas or Aldis.

“Y-yes. Tell him thank you. Then, farewell. If fate allows, let’s meet again next time.”

Azadin said goodbye to Midiam and Ismail.

*********

Coming out to the unflooded highlands through the fortress wall, the city of Coral Sahar was visible at a glance.

The rain had stopped, and the water was receding rapidly. Pillars of dawn light poured from the sky, forcibly draining the water that had flooded the city.

The sea serpent Nagas were losing their momentum and retreating from the Coral Sahar Royal Castle, and small speedboats were rushing towards them.

“Fire!”

On the speedboats were archers from the Messenger Clan. They shot arrows at the Nagas.

Normally, shooting arrows from a boat is difficult, even for the best archers, due to the swaying waves. However, the Messenger Clan, true to their reputation as renowned archers, inflicted fatal wounds on the Nagas with every shot, making it impossible for them to withstand the attack.

Some Nagas tried to avoid the arrows and dive into the water to climb onto the boats, but soldiers armed with long hooked sickles were already there, striking down the Nagas that tried to climb aboard.

The Nagas, who had been invading the Coral Sahar Royal Castle with terrifying force, were being swept away in vain.

“At least the residents of Coral Sahar will be cheering.”

Zibeck was impressed as he watched the speedboats clearing out the Nagas with terrifying force.

What Ansetus IV had been helplessly suffering, Aldis Jedah had dealt with quickly as if it were a lie, as soon as she took the throne. To the residents of Coral Sahar, who had been waiting for their death, it must have seemed like a miracle.

“They probably used all the copies of the Divine King’s Scripture that the Council had.”

“Huh?”

“Sion Etar and Elder Kazas had gathered copies of the Divine King’s Scripture and were waiting here. When the Ara’el faction approached the throne and used sorcery to extract white mana from it, the copies of the Divine King’s Scripture nearby naturally accumulated a huge amount of white mana.”

When Azadin accepted the power of the Divine King’s Scripture, he was able to feel a much stronger power than usual, and that was why.

When white mana is leaked from the throne, the nearby copies of the Divine King’s Scripture are affected and gain powerful strength.

The Council gave all the copies of the Divine King’s Scripture they had collected to Aldis, who was the suitable person for the throne, and the moment she sat on the throne, she activated the light of the king and displayed miraculous power.

The dramatic performance was bound to captivate the residents of Coral Sahar.

“I can’t give the copies of the Divine King’s Scripture to the Council. I need to control them all.”

Azadin intended to keep all of them, including the copy of the Divine King’s Scripture he had obtained this time.

“But before that, Scott. Can you examine this bracelet closely?”

Azadin handed over the bracelet he had received from Aldis, which stored the Divine King’s Scripture.

“It’s not something you should do while walking, boss. Well, it doesn’t seem to have any tracking magic or anything like that on it.”

“Really?”

Azadin was a little relieved to hear that there was nothing like that on the bracelet.

Was it because he had seen Aldis suddenly usurp the throne and become empress?

He had started to have various doubts about her, but thankfully, it didn’t seem to be as bad as he thought.

But then it happened.

[Azadin…]

A voice calling Azadin was heard from the water’s edge.

A large crab crawled out of the water. On the crab’s belly shell, there was a large eyeball and a mouth.

“Ara’el? How do you feel? Being in a position where you’ve had your meal stolen?”

Azadin sneered at Ara’el’s voice.

‘Ah, this isn’t the time to be sneering.’

Azadin wanted to hear the details from Ara’el. However, Ara’el was the person who had inflicted deep wounds on Azadin, so when the opportunity came to mock her, it was hard to resist.

‘Well, when else would I get to laugh at Ara’el?’

Ignoring Azadin’s mockery, Ara’el’s voice replied.

[Seeing that you’ve come out of the fortress so quickly, you must also be suspicious of Aldis’s actions, right? Head to the Butuma Kingdom. Let’s talk about the future there. Of course, don’t bring any other Aragasas.]

The Aragasas had created many local trade associations in various countries, like the Coral Sahar Merchant Guild, and used them as intelligence organizations.

“Okay. Where in Butuma should I go?”

[It’s not a good time to tell you the exact location now. I’ll keep in touch, so let’s meet then. See you!]

Ara’el’s voice exploded with a pop, and the large mud crab shattered into pieces.

“Ugh. It smells delicious?”

Scott said, smelling the sweet scent of flesh as the crab was smashed.

“Don’t pick it up and eat it.”

Azadin warned Scott.

*********

Originally, Coral Sahar was trading with Butuma by ship, so regular liners and merchant ships were going back and forth.

However, due to the Naga attacks, both regular liners and merchant ships were cut off, so Azadin had no choice but to travel by land. While waiting for the communication lines to be restored, it was obvious that new watchers sent by Sion Etar would stick to him.

Azadin moved along the coast, and whenever he rested, he began absorbing the power of the Divine King’s Scripture that had recovered. He was taking the white mana that was filling the Divine King’s Scripture into his body, further strengthening the power of Kazas’s lineage.

Around noon, Azadin’s group set up a pot on the sandy beach, and while Shati was preparing the meal, they began to strengthen their mana again with the Divine King’s Scripture.

“Damn it! Why do I have to cook because of that damn orc?”

“Dry rations are expensive. And I’m sorry, Lord Zibeck, but you don’t know what taste is.”

After trying to get him to cook, it turned out that Lord Zibeck had a disastrous cooking skill. Instead, he was incredibly good at fishing, and his fish preparation skills were also excellent.

However, he couldn’t do anything more than grill the prepared fish with salt. If he tried to make a stew or anything, he would ruin the dish beyond belief.

Shati suspected that Zibeck was sabotaging because he didn’t want to cook.

“I-I’ll go get some water.”

Zibeck, perhaps feeling sorry that his cooking was disastrous, volunteered to help without being asked.