The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 22

“Huh?!”

-Mistletoe!

The enemy was already on his back.

“You bastard!”

He lashed out with his spider legs, aiming for the attacker.

But… they didn’t reach.

“Spiders can’t scratch their own backs.”

With the messenger’s sneer, a flash of sword light appeared.

-Thwack!

The mercenary captain’s head flew off. From the gaping wound, small spiders poured out, trying to fill the void, but it was futile without the head.

The messenger, who had decapitated the mercenary captain with a single blow, leaned forward, stomped on the body, and covered the wound with his cloak.

-Thud!

As he pressed down, blood gushed out, soaking the cloak.

“Uh… uh.”

Tarki was bewildered, watching the messenger who had ambushed and killed the seemingly formidable mercenary captain in one swift motion.

“Is this guy the leader? Even after being spider-ified, he hasn’t lost his mind… he must be a fairly high-ranking subordinate.”

He said this and turned his head to look at Tarki. Tarki, too, hadn’t lost his mind. Moreover, he was the employer of the mercenary band, making him suspicious in anyone’s eyes.

“Ah, w-wait a minute. I’m just….”

-Shhh!

The sword that had severed the mercenary captain’s neck was now pointed at Tarki.

“No, you’re a messenger, right? Then you shouldn’t kill me! Because… l-look at this!”

Tarki hurriedly pulled a necklace from his pocket and shook it. A small leather pouch was attached to it.

“Ah, you can’t see it like this. Just, wait a minute.”

Tarki took something out from inside.

It was a gold coin.

“……”

The messenger paused.

“Y-yes, just as my mother said! The messenger clan can be controlled with the Emperor’s gold coins!”

“Even if you have a hundred gold coins, they’re useless if you don’t petition [formally request assistance].”

“Ah, damn it! I get it!”

Tarki grumbled and threw the gold coin into the triangle that was engraved nearby. Then, the gold coin disappeared, and a golden light shone inside the triangular shape.

The approaching messenger sighed and sheathed his sword.

“Uh, uh, how is it? Now I’m your employer, right?”

“The correct term isn’t ’employer’ but ‘petitioner.’ So, what is the content of your petition?”

“I’m infected by that spider, save me!”

“……”

The messenger sighed.

“Oh, man….”

[That petition has been accepted.]

The Emperor’s voice announced the acceptance of the petition instead.

*********

Azadin sighed.

“Why do I have to accept such trash as a petitioner?”

“Trash is too much.”

Tarki, who was listening, protested, but he shut his mouth when Azadin glared at him.

“Where did you get the gold coin?”

“My mother gave it to me.”

“The mercenary band?”

“My mother hired them….”

Tarki was an illegitimate child, but his mother came from a wealthy family.

She had heard that if she brought back a copy of the Divine King’s Scripture, she would be made the head of the family. So, she had drawn money from her family, hired a mercenary band for Tarki, and even obtained the Emperor’s gold coin for him.

“A guy who was happily plundering the village keeps saying ‘mother, mother’? What a little brat.”

“What? You little… is that how you talk to your employer….”

-Shh!

Azadin’s blade grazed past Tarki’s nose.

“Ack?!”

He felt the sensation of his fine hairs being cut. It was truly a paper-thin difference. If he had moved even a little more, his head would have been completely severed.

“Just because you paid the gold coin doesn’t mean you can treat me like a servant. The Emperor’s petition isn’t about hiring slaves in exchange for gold. It’s about yearning for the protection of the law.”

“T-then, do something about it.”

“Before that, can’t you use magic?”

“No.”

“Your half-brother, Kozel, could at least make things sparkle, though?”

“You know Kozel?”

“Anyway. Even if you’re a fallen member of the Eight Divine Clans, you should be able to use some magic. Ah, damn it.”

Azadin twisted his body and turned to look at the girl following behind him.

“Midiam.”

“Yes.”

“Wall of Thunder, weakly. Please.”

“Uh, me?”

“Yes, please.”

Azadin had asked Tarki if he could use magic, but he himself couldn’t use magic either.

‘I do have some secret techniques, but even with those… it’s difficult to kill only the spiders without harming the person.’

Azadin asked Midiam. Then, Midiam hesitated.

“Well, as a fellow clansman from a distant land, I can certainly help you. But I think it’s a bit much to help with the gold coin contract and then refuse to take me as a retainer [a loyal servant or follower], don’t you think?”

“……”

As expected, when Midiam pointed out that part, Azadin was also embarrassed.

“R-right?”

“Wouldn’t you consider making me your retainer soon? Well, I’ll cast Wall of Thunder regardless.”

Midiam knew how to attack his conscience.

If he didn’t acknowledge her as a retainer, she wouldn’t cast Wall of Thunder.

If she said that, Azadin would surely find another solution.

But she would cast Wall of Thunder whether he acknowledged her as a retainer or not, but she would like him to acknowledge her.

Saying it like this, it’s too much to refuse, right?

“Ah, you too. What would you do as my retainer? Fine. I’ll accept you as my retainer.”

“Ah, t-thank you! I’ll work hard!”

Midiam was excited and cast Wall of Thunder.

*********

“Ugh.”

Ismail groaned. Every single word and action Midiam directed at Azadin tore at his heart.

They might not be significant words or actions, but until now, Midiam had never shown such interest in anyone else among their peers.

Midiam had always been like that. She had no interest in the things around her, and her eyes were always directed towards the outside world.

Because of that, Ismail had admired Midiam.

Araelle was called the clan’s greatest genius, but the gap between them was too great, and he had never seen her in person. Midiam was beautiful and bold, but she was skilled, and above all, as a member of the Etar bloodline, she had a strong influence within the clan.

So, in his childhood, Ismail had even jumped into a waterfall to get Midiam’s attention. Yet, she had remained indifferent.

But now, she was almost forcing herself on Azadin. Seeing that made him feel like his heart was collapsing.

“Why is he like this again?”

Azadin sighed, seeing that Ismail’s condition had also become strange.

*********

“Kkyaaaak!”

Tarki screamed and collapsed, directly hit by Midiam’s Wall of Thunder. Spiders died and pus flowed from various parts of his body.

As expected, Wall of Thunder was able to completely eliminate the spiders that had infected his body. It did inflict damage on the host, but it was much better than being tortured by the spiders.

“Whew. It’s quite difficult to adjust the power so as not to kill him. Anyway, I’ve completed my mission. Isn’t this great?”

Midiam said that to Azadin, then staggered and slumped forward. Startled, Azadin supported her.

“Are you okay? I’m sorry. It seems like I pushed you too hard.”

“Ah, no. I’ll be fine if I rest a bit. The daughter of Etar isn’t that weak.”

Midiam smiled faintly and lay down.

“Then, now that the petition is resolved, shall we kill this guy?”

Ismail asked that. He seemed annoyed that Midiam was being too friendly with Azadin.

“What, you punk? Ugh?!”

Tarki was startled, but the power of Wall of Thunder still remained in his body, and he couldn’t move his limbs. He was in a state where he couldn’t even fight back if a child like that tried to kill him.

Moreover, seeing that the young girl had just used magic… even if his body was fine, he wouldn’t have been a match for them.

‘They’re amazing? They’re incomparable to me. Is this what it’s like to be from the clan of the Divine King Slayer?’

The guy who had subdued the mercenary captain, whom he had found so difficult, in one go… Tarki realized that he had no means to resist them now.

“Ismail, don’t say unnecessary things.”

“We have fulfilled his petition. So, isn’t it okay to take his life now?”

“No. Once someone becomes a petitioner, we do our best even after the petition is completed. Killing them right after the petition is over can’t be seen as doing our best. Besides, the Emperor’s voice gains vitality from the petitioners.”

Azadin rejected Ismail’s request.

“Even though he is someone who violates the Emperor’s law and sacrifices the people?”

“If that was all, he wouldn’t be able to petition us no matter how much of the Emperor’s gold he had. It means that he is at least someone who will not greatly violate the national law in the future.”

The gold coin petition is not a simple magic. The petitioner must petition with a true desire. It is not a magic that is activated simply by throwing a gold coin into a triangular shape, but the Emperor’s voice comprehensively evaluates his wishes, his goals, and such things, and then decides whether to accept the contract or not.

Otherwise, if the holy knights or inquisitors of the King’s Church were to obtain the Emperor’s gold coins and set a trap, a great crisis would befall the messenger clan.

Once someone petitions the messenger clan, they become a collaborator of the messenger clan, whether they like it or not.

‘So, I provoked him to try petitioning, but I didn’t expect him to actually become a petitioner.’

Azadin didn’t like Tarki, but seeing him succeed in petitioning in front of his eyes, he had no justification to ignore his petition.

‘Well, but thinking about it, it’s a good thing. Did I already earn two gold coins in one day?’

As the village was attacked, a resident who was originally in the village made a gold coin petition. But he died before Azadin arrived, so the gold coin used for the petition was simply given to Azadin.

After that, Tarki, whom he met, also petitioned, and this was also successful because Midiam saved him from the parasitic spiders with Wall of Thunder. He had earned two of the Emperor’s gold coins in one day. This was a tremendous achievement.

‘It’s a pity for the victim who lost his life in vain after spending the gold coin, but if I punish these guys, it will be a kind of revenge. But I really don’t like this guy.’

Azadin looked at Tarki with a displeased expression.

“W-wait a minute. Isn’t it too much just for plundering some settlers?”

Tarki realized that Azadin, who had opposed Ismail, also didn’t like him, and he began to make excuses. But those excuses were truly absurd.

“What? What do you mean?”

“Well, aren’t the settlers lazy, incompetent, and stupid bumpkins?”

Tarki revealed the nobles’ perception of the settlers.

*********

The residents of the frontier settlements had to cultivate barren land while being exposed to dangerous monsters. Thoughtful lords who wanted to expand their territories by cultivating land would reduce taxes for such settlers and station troops to ensure their safety.

Since they were doing more difficult work than others, they should be given consideration even if the profits were small.

Someday, when people gathered in the settlements, the fields matured, and dangerous wild animals or monsters were sufficiently driven away, the settlements would have the same productivity as other cities and would repay the investment made so far.

However, most lords do not think that far. In their eyes, the settlements are just lazy subjects who don’t produce much but demand a lot.

They do not consider that they are living by cultivating land that was not originally farmland and that they live in places where trade is not active. They only focus on the fact that the amount they earn is less than in other places, and they belittle and hate the settlers as lazy and incompetent beings.

This is not just the case with the Marquis of Kazel. It is a misguided prejudice that many nobles have.

That is why the Count of Kazel had a cold attitude towards the refugees who abandoned their settlements and fled due to the drought.