The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 206

“Do the stars look beautiful to me?”

The person who made Azadin feel that the stars were beautiful was Aldis.

The myths and legends she taught him, the devotion and love she showed him.

That’s why the stars were beautiful.

Those small lights twinkling in the night sky were not just lights, but memories, longing, and faith.

“I don’t know now. But why are you asking that now? If you want to mock me….”

Hostility laced Azadin’s voice, but it soon faded.

“Haa. Whatever you want.”

It was an attitude as if he had given up on everything.

“Please answer me. I deserve to hear your answer, Azadin.”

‘Who gave you the right?!’ He was about to retort, but Azadin remembered that Midiam actually had the right.

Yes. He had expressed his faith to this girl.

The girl certainly had the right to question him.

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

Ismail was furious at that answer.

Azadin shouldn’t have given that answer.

Why did they come all this way?! After all that hardship, did they come all this way just to see Azadin lose all hope in life and be defeated?!

Midiam stopped the enraged Ismail.

“Then, is protecting innocent people beautiful?”

“That’s….”

Once, those were Azadin’s words.

But Azadin had now lost faith in his own words.

However, the girl who had sympathized with his words was looking at Azadin with innocent eyes, with deep admiration, sympathy, and love.

“Azadin.”

The girl opened her mouth.

“The stars may not be beautiful. The desire to protect the people may not be beautiful either. But… the person who believes the stars are beautiful is definitely beautiful.”

“!”

Is there any value in this world beyond eating, fighting, and dominating?

Is there any value in those twinkling, meaningless lights in the sky?

There might be, or there might not be.

But the faith of the person who believes so is definitely more beautiful than the stars themselves.

This girl returned to Azadin the faith that was once Azadin’s voice.

“Right. That was once my belief. I have to take responsibility for saying those words to you. That’s quite heavy.”

“Not again….”

Ismail was annoyed at Azadin mentioning responsibility, but suddenly, a hot gust of wind began to emanate from Azadin.

“Huh?”

Azadin, who had been like a living corpse until just now, was radiating heat, and powerful energy was filling his body.

Azadin had regained his faith.

*********

The Etar clan had long ruled and protected the boy’s clan.

So the boy had to swear to protect the girl.

He had to dedicate all his talent and ambition to the girl, so the boy adored the girl.

Because he couldn’t bear it otherwise.

He would continue to live deceiving himself like this.

But one night, the girl called the boy.

A bold plan to challenge a messenger known as a half-wit and take his place.

It was an absurd request to ask him to listen to it.

The boy knew that this was impossible.

Even if it was a lower-ranking messenger, a messenger from a family that was not a proper clan was fierce.

They became messengers because they had immeasurable strength.

It might be possible later when his body was more mature, but there was no way that the young boy and girl could defeat an active messenger with their strength.

But the boy had to adore the girl, so he decided to grant her unreasonable wish.

“As expected of Ismail. Thank you. Is there anything you want? A treasured sword? Or a good bow?”

“No. There isn’t. But if we’re going on a long journey, we’ll need good shoes and a mountain goat. If we’re going to a hot place, a horse might be better, but if we take a horse, everyone will notice.”

“Huh, you have no greed. If you had some desire for material things, it would be easier for me to repay you.”

“You don’t need to repay me, young lady. After all, the Etar clan has long been greatly indebted to our family.”

“But….”

“Yes?”

“I still want to give you something. Ah, that’s it.”

The girl took off the necklace she was wearing around her neck.

“Keep this and show it if you ever get reprimanded later.”

“This is….”

It was a small jade talisman.

Proof that the ship captains of the five ships that the Aragas brought when they came to this land had shared. It was a jade talisman of exemption guaranteed by the leader to prevent the successors of the five families from being cut off due to committing crimes.

“I cannot accept this.”

It was something he could not dare to receive, nor should he receive.

But the girl was adamant.

“It’s the most precious thing to me, so I’ll give it to you. If you don’t want to receive it, just keep it for me.”

“Keep it for you?”

“Because I lose things easily.”

With that, the girl smiled.

*********

That girl was crying.

“Ah.”

Midiam covered her face with her hands.

Tears were flowing.

She had pretended to be calm, but in fact, she was also afraid.

It hurt her heart to see Azadin become a wreck, lose his faith, and be broken.

Nevertheless, she pretended to be as calm as possible and conveyed the most precious thing in her heart in order to return what she had received from Azadin.

It’s a relief.

It’s a relief that it was accepted.

And it’s a relief that Azadin lived up to her expectations.

As she felt relieved, the backlash of the anxiety she had been suppressing was pouring out in tears.

“Midiam.”

Azadin looked at the crying Midiam with a complex expression.

“I was too late, wasn’t I? Well, shall we make up for the time we wasted? But before that, I’m so hungry.”

Perhaps because he had regained his will to live, the hunger he had been able to endure until just now came rushing in.

“Since it’s heavy anyway, let’s just eat it all.”

Ismail took out some dried rations from his backpack and suddenly sighed.

It was because he had grabbed the necklace, the ‘jade talisman of exemption,’ at the bottom of his backpack.

‘Ah. Am I… free?’

Now, he no longer needed to pretend to adore the girl and suppress his ambition or freedom.

He had already rebelled against the leader. He was not in a position to keep his loyalty to the Etar clan.

But why was his heart so heavy?

Surely, this was what he had wanted.

He too had desperately hoped that this girl’s heart would reach him.

‘In the end, I wasn’t completely indifferent either. How arrogant I am. I was so afraid of my pride being broken, of my pride being hurt, that I even observed my own feelings of affection from a distance….’

It was then that Ismail was suppressing his complex feelings.

[Is it all over?]

There was a bird watching Azadin, Midiam, and Ismail. A large eyeball was embedded in the bird’s body.

[If it’s all over, let’s meet. If you follow the nearby river, there will be a port to the northeast. I’ll be waiting there, so come find me.]

It was Araelle’s voice.

*********

Waiting at the meeting place were Araelle and her subordinates. There were ten people: the four of the Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon, Janice, the younger sister of Dimia of the Flower, and their servants.

Azadin counted them and clicked his tongue.

The once-powerful Araelle faction was in a sorry state.

‘Except for the four of the Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon and Janice, there are no messengers. As expected, everyone switched sides when the leader revealed his true colors and Corasar fell?’

Most of those who had been in the Araelle faction had turned their backs when the reclusive leader Hatir appeared and the ambitions of the Council of Elders were realized.

The only ones who remained loyal to Araelle were these five and their servants, but there were two familiar faces added to them.

“Captain! I’m glad you’re safe.”

Scott and Sharty were with Araelle’s group.

“What are you doing there?”

“Well, it seems that since I’m a talented person, there are many places that want me. It’s hard to live up to everyone’s expectations.”

“Just so you don’t misunderstand, I was caught. I tried to escape, but I was caught by them.”

Sharty corrected him.

“So. Why did you want to see us?”

Azadin asked Araelle.

“Because we need to join forces. Here, this was yours, right?”

Araelle said, throwing something to Azadin. It was Azadin’s saddlebag.

Looking inside, the head of the axe-spear made of Azure Steel, the ‘Azure Executioner,’ gold coins, and even the Emperor’s gold coins were still there.

But there were no copies of the Divine King’s Scripture.

“How did you find it?”

“I attacked Amun-Zadek.”

“Hmm? Did you kill him? Even that guy would have been needed to gather and command the refugees.”

“You’re defending the guy who locked you up in prison and left you to die. You haven’t changed.”

“I was indebted to the Golden King, so killing that guy is a bit much. But I don’t think you killed Amun-Zadek either, Araelle?”

Araelle was not a bloodthirsty killer.

Even if she had a personal grudge against Amun-Zadek and had a reason to kill him, wouldn’t she postpone killing him in this situation?

Once this chaos subsides, Amun-Zadek will lose his power.

Originally, he had been boasting of his immense power as the official successor, but he, who was based in Butuma, had suffered a serious blow to his support base.

On the other hand, Darhan-Zadek, another child of the Golden King who was training an army in the north, would preserve his base, so even if Azadin did not take revenge on Amun-Zadek, the path ahead for him would be difficult.

In this situation, if Araelle had any sense, she would not kill Amun-Zadek and cause chaos.

“Yes. I only took the copies of the Divine King’s Scripture.”

Araelle said, opening her hand.

White magic letters floated above her palm. A sphere of light made of countless languages of light danced on her palm.

The Divine King’s Scripture, not complete and with some parts missing, but a powerful grimoire of white magic that was not corrupted or contaminated.

“That is?”

“It’s made by combining the copies of the Divine King’s Scripture that I collected, the ones you collected, and the ones that the Council of Elders had transcribed a long time ago. If I put this into the throne of Butuma, it will purify the throne that the leader has defiled, and I will become the Divine King of Butuma.”

“…….”

It was an amazing achievement. That Araelle was capable of this.

If Aldis had shown this to the clan before taking Corasar, everyone would have praised Araelle and rebelled against the clan for her sake.

But now that Hatir and Aldis have taken Corasar and even captured Butuma, its meaning is fading.

“You’ve collected a lot, haven’t you? But even if you show this, is this all….”

Azadin looked at the four of the Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon and Janice.

“Most of them are powerless in the face of the order that the Council of Elders has engraved.”

“They are people who have lived as slaves for a long time. Among those of low status, there are those who sympathize with Araelle’s ideals, but they still don’t want to resist the five families or the Council of Elders.”

The Seraph of the Bird, Aleph of the Wind, burst out in resentment.

Azadin, who had become too curious after hearing those words, asked.

“What exactly is different about what Araelle is trying to do from what the Council of Elders is trying to do?”