The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 18

-Sreung! Midiam had already drawn her dagger and, using the Hwajopungwol’s Mistletoe technique [a movement technique that allows for near-instantaneous movement], disappeared from their sight.

In a flash, she was behind one of Azadin’s peers, a blade at his throat.

“What?!”

“This brat….”

Everyone was shocked by Midiam’s audacity; even Azadin was surprised.

‘I knew she was going to do something, but I didn’t expect this!’

As everyone panicked, Midiam’s young, yet sharp voice rang out.

“Hey. You servants dare to keep sneering at the messenger?”

“Ah, no, this little missy?”

At that moment, Midiam’s blade trembled.

-Swoosh!

With the sound of skin being cut, blood seeped out.

“Little missy? Can’t you tell what’s going on? I’m of the Etar bloodline. Does my word sound like a joke to you, servant?”

“Ah….”

“Why? Don’t you like the messenger? Then challenge him before you insult him. If you win, you can become the messenger, right? Why are you just whispering and sneering instead of challenging him? What? You’re going to decide the order among yourselves? How ridiculous. Do you think the messenger is that easy?”

The merchant guild members were taken aback by Midiam’s murderous aura.

She really looked like she was going to kill them.

According to the principles, Midiam was right. The messenger is the top priority, and the guild is just an organization to assist them. It was created to gather information and funds.

However, the people running the guild thought differently. The Emperor was dead anyway, and the messenger activities were forced by the curse, so they no longer had any meaning. What mattered was money and the social power that came with it—in other words, authority.

In any organization, the ones who bring in the money eventually become the masters.

Even so, the guild hadn’t openly ignored the messengers, except for Azadin. And Midiam was pointing out that very principle.

“What is your mission? To support the Emperor’s messenger for the sake of your clan, right? Then why are you insulting the messenger as if you’re something special? Does that help your mission?”

“No, that’s….”

“If you don’t like Azadin but aren’t confident enough to challenge him, then don’t show it. Smile pleasantly like you do when you’re trading with the Hybrids. Can’t you even do that? Then you’re not even qualified to be a servant. Go farm in the sanctuary or die by my hand now. You can’t even handle a child, yet you’re dreaming empty dreams!”

Midiam scoffed, removed the blade from the servant’s neck, and returned to Azadin’s side.

“Ugh….”

“Darn it!”

Only then did Azadin’s former peers come to their senses and hesitate whether to attack Midiam.

But….

“Hey, she’s… an Etar.”

“Oh, right, she is?”

“Damn it. We can’t just lay a hand on an Etar in our position.”

“Tch.”

Azadin’s peers suppressed their anger, remembering that Midiam was a member of the Etar bloodline.

“Oh, there’s a cloak here. How about using this?”

Midiam ignored Azadin’s peers staring at her and picked up a cloak that was for sale in the caravan.

“Use that.”

Azadin took it and headed to the bathhouse behind the caravan camp.

*********

“Azadin is here?”

The southern caravan leader of the Korasar Merchant Guild was a man named Derrick, originally a member of the Saban family, the founding clan of the messenger lineage, and he was also an Emperor’s messenger.

However, he attacked Araelle, a promising member of the messenger lineage, and was severely injured by her counterattack. In particular, his ankle, which had suffered a compound fracture, could not move properly even after it healed, making it impossible for him to work as a messenger.

Because of that incident, the Saban family sent Derrick to a collateral family as an adopted son and stripped him of his messenger position, deeming him unqualified to carry out the messenger’s duties.

This was a humiliating punishment, but also a lenient one.

Originally, disputes between messengers should be avoided, even if there is a valid reason. Derrick’s attack on Araelle was clearly for personal reasons, and he was defeated in a counterattack, so he had no right to complain even if he had died.

However, thanks to the strong support of the Saban family, Derrick was able to continue his life as a merchant instead of a messenger.

“Yes, Azadin has come. He requested some simple maintenance, so we’re taking care of it for now.”

“Take care of it. It’s our merchant guild’s mission to help the messengers.”

“Are you sure? That guy became a messenger three months ago, suddenly ignoring all the procedures. Everyone hates him.”

“It’s okay. Anyway, he won’t be able to act like a messenger for much longer, right? Didn’t the daughter of the Etar bloodline pass by here, claiming to be his servant? She must have been trying to challenge him to a duel. What an audacious little girl, right? Did she want to set a record of becoming a messenger at 13, like Araelle?”

Derrick smiled slyly.

He would have a record equal to Araelle’s, set by Araelle’s sibling, Azadin. But this time, Azadin would be the one suffering.

If that happened, it would be a very good picture for Derrick, who hated Araelle. But the servant who was reporting to Derrick was flustered.

“Th, that’s the thing.”

“What is it?”

“That Etar’s daughter just caused a ruckus in the barracks.”

“A ruckus? What are you talking about?”

“They say she slashed the throats of Azadin’s peers who were insulting him?”

“What?”

Derrick groaned at those words. The situation was clear. The Etar’s daughter, Midiam, had become Azadin’s servant.

“Hmm? I heard he was a fallen fool, but did he at least defeat the Etar’s daughter? Or did the Etar’s daughter check his skills and decide not to challenge him yet?”

Derrick tried to figure out Midiam’s intentions.

A bold girl who came to take the messenger position through a duel. In Derrick’s eyes, Midiam was an arrogant girl who was confident that she could beat Azadin with her skills.

Even if Azadin was hated by the messenger lineage, the Emperor’s messenger should be respected. For a young girl who had just finished her training to challenge a messenger was an act that disrupted the clan’s hierarchy, and conservatives would not have liked it.

However, Derrick actively guided the girl. If Azadin was defeated by Midiam, it would be a disgrace for Azadin and would also tarnish Araelle’s reputation.

But she was faithfully carrying out her duties as Azadin’s servant.

“Maybe she’s just trying to assess the situation since challenging him to a duel would be too reckless. Or maybe she likes Azadin. Anyway, she’s someone who will become a messenger at the upcoming Summer Festival.”

“Is that so? Hmm. I thought she was a reckless scatterbrain, but she has some sense. So, what is Azadin doing?”

“He’s taking a bath.”

“Is that so? Then tell him to join us for dinner and invite him to the meal.”

“Understood.”

The subordinates left to convey Derrick’s words to Azadin.

*********

The caravan’s camp consisted of several tents, and Azadin was taking a bath in two of them, with bathtubs placed inside.

Azadin handed over the laundry to the servants and soaked himself in the tub.

“Excuse me, Lord Azadin?”

A servant approached. His attitude was polite, so he seemed to be an employee under the messenger lineage Aragas, not a member of the lineage itself.

“What is it?”

“Lord Derrick would like to invite you to dinner.”

“Derrick? Okay. I have something to say too.”

Azadin accepted the invitation to dine with Derrick.

Derrick was having dinner in a lavish tent in the center of the caravan.

“It was a dinner invitation, wasn’t it? You didn’t even wait for the guest to arrive.”

Azadin was dumbfounded to see Derrick eating first, even though he had invited him.

“Well, I was eating first. Why don’t you take a seat?”

Derrick calmly wiped his mouth and offered Azadin a seat. It was a lower seat. Azadin sighed, seeing Derrick openly insulting him.

“Derrick.”

“Endure that much. Your servant attacked the members of the Korasar Merchant Guild, right? Did you know they were employees of the Saban family when you touched them?”

This was the problem.

Clearly, for the messenger lineage, the messenger is the top priority. It’s a position that transcends bloodlines.

In other words, it’s like the past civil service examination, a government position that transcends social status through merit.

However, the five founding clans and those who work for their businesses focus on money, profit, and the power that comes with it. They prioritize the authority of their family over the honor and authority of the messenger.

The problem is that if you ignore this, the backlash is too strong, and you can’t do anything properly.

“Fine. Today, since Midiam was indeed rude, I’ll endure the rudeness directed at me.”

In fact, Midiam was not Azadin’s servant or anything, but Azadin decided to take responsibility for her actions and put the food Derrick had offered into his mouth.

“Let’s get to the point quickly. I recently dealt with a horde of ogres and goblins….”

“You did?”

“I found this.”

Azadin placed a bone wand on the table.

“Have you ever seen this?”

“Ah, this.”

Derrick nodded.

“The regional manager called me because of that, Azadin. The Kurt god cultists are looking for a copy of the Divine King’s Scripture… and this is the tool they use to find it.”

“So everyone knew.”

“Yes. You’re the only one who doesn’t know because you don’t report to the regional manager properly.”

“Would I want to report when everyone is eager to insult me?”

“You came here quite well for someone who says that.”

“I just happened to be passing by.”

“Anyway, bringing this wand is a pretty good achievement. I’ll praise you for that. Did they have the Divine King’s Scripture?”

“They didn’t. Not them.”

“Really? You’re talking as if you found the Divine King’s Scripture somewhere else.”

“I did? I guess the other messengers couldn’t find it?”

“…….”

Derrick’s eyes widened at Azadin’s words.

“Why?”

“Y, you found a copy of the Divine King’s Scripture?”

“Just one page, though.”

Surprised, Derrick opened his mouth and hiccuped.

“Wh, where did you find it?”

“Hmm, judging by your reaction, it seems like everyone else is lagging behind?”

“Where and how did you find it!”

“It was under the well in an abandoned pioneer village in the eastern inland area.”

“Really? Damn it. You got it that easily?”

“It wasn’t exactly easy.”

Perhaps if the ghosts hadn’t guided him, he wouldn’t have found the copy of the Divine King’s Scripture even if he had just emptied the well. But he didn’t feel like telling him the details.

“So, if you have a copy of the Divine King’s Scripture, you’ll be tracked by this wand, right? If you’re going to collect copies of the Divine King’s Scripture, you’ll need a way to avoid being tracked by this wand, right?”

“M, more than that, if you have a copy of the Divine King’s Scripture, hand it over.”

Derrick demanded the copy of the Divine King’s Scripture from Azadin. But Azadin sensed something strange in how desperately Derrick wanted it.