The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 228

Because the Emperor’s gold coins were highly valued, many people believed that using them was like summoning a foolish demon from an old tale, allowing them to command messengers to bring all the wealth and glory of the world.

“As the title ‘Emperor’s Messenger’ suggests, we are merely messengers. We have done our job by delivering the voice and the will. If you want to use us further, bring more gold coins.”

“That….”

Izmilla was flustered.

She had indeed presented the Emperor’s gold coin, but it was given to her by her patron, so she couldn’t obtain more at the moment.

“It seems you don’t have any more gold coins. Then, as an Emperor’s Messenger, I’ll conclude my service here.”

The young man named Azadin said this and drew his longsword.

“Huh?”

The clerk was taken aback by the longsword the young man had drawn.

“What is it?”

“Th, that’s a Seramite longsword. It’s a sword that only the Knights can obtain, so how is it in the hands of the Emperor’s Messenger? Surely it’s not a fake… but it clearly looks genuine.”

“What’s that?”

The female bandit asked, and the clerk replied.

“A Seramite longsword is made from an alchemical metal created by mixing silver and the blood of angels. It is exceptionally effective in destroying evil, and in the hands of a righteous Relief Knight, it emits heavenly flames that burn evil to the bone. Also, the blade has a life-like power, so even if it’s damaged, it repairs itself gradually. The blade’s strength and sharpness are said to be inferior to Azure Steel and slightly duller than a well-made steel sword, but its self-repairing ability and heavenly flames make it the best weapon. Above all, it is a weapon that is exclusively manufactured for and possessed by our Relief Knights, so not just any knight can have it. In the history of the Relief Knights, there are still less than 150 Seramite longswords ever made.”

“…….”

Azadin listened to the explanation and examined the Seramite longsword in his hand. He hadn’t been particularly impressed by the sharpness or strength of the blade, but was it really such an outstanding sword?

“Thank you for the detailed explanation. Then, shall we proceed as brothers of the Relief Knights?”

“What?!”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s as I said. I also want to join the Relief Knights.”

“…….”

“What!?”

The clerk MacDougall and the novice knight Izmilla were shocked by the absurd words of the Emperor’s Messenger.

“You want to join the Relief Knights. You?”

“Yes. Why? Is it not allowed?”

“The Relief Knights is not a place where just anyone can enter! It is a gathering of honorable and righteous knights.”

The clerk said vehemently. Then, the female bandit chimed in from beside him.

“It’s too pathetic to say it’s not a place where just anyone can enter when you’ve dragged in the dregs of the village and criminals from prison.”

“That’s….”

The clerk, who had spoken too much, stopped speaking.

You weren’t going to put them in the Relief Knights, but use them as serfs.

He couldn’t say that.

The justification for the pilgrimage bringing people was always the recruitment of the Relief Knights.

It was not possible to openly say that they were taking people as slaves because they were short of hands, when those who lacked the qualities would inevitably become serfs working on the knight’s farms.

“Why do you want to become a Relief Knight?”

Izmilla asked, curious.

“I heard that anyone can become a member of the Relief Knights if they are sincere under the virtues of wisdom, courage, and mercy. From the moment I heard the story of the three archangels descending to this land for the people, exhausting all their power and remaining on the land to save people, I admired them and wanted to become a member of the Relief Knights. Why?”

“No, that’s….”

A legend that even the Relief Knights no longer believed in came from the mouth of the soulless blasphemer.

Izmilla, who didn’t know much about the world, felt that Azadin’s words sounded more like mockery than sincerity.

“Wh, what should we do?”

“Absolutely not, Lady Izmilla. This person is….”

A soulless blasphemer. The words rose to the clerk’s throat, but he barely held them back.

When he thought about it, there was no way for the pilgrimage to return safely without this man’s help. No, what if he turned hostile and attacked if they refused him right now?

“How about we let him join the pilgrimage for now? You’re the leader of the pilgrimage now, right?”

The female bandit interrupted Izmilla and Azadin’s conversation.

“Even if he joins the pilgrimage, becoming a knight is something to decide later, isn’t it? Right?”

“Th, that’s right.”

Izmilla felt bewildered by the female bandit’s words that she had become the leader of the pilgrimage.

She was still lacking in experience in all aspects. But now, she had become the head of this small group, which was too embarrassing to even call a pilgrimage.

“Ah, I understand. Then, Azadin of the Messenger Clan. I will accept you into our pilgrimage for now.”

Izmilla was forced to make this dangerous choice as the temporary leader of the pilgrimage.

‘Haa. This is really a dark future.’

Azadin felt bewildered as he saw the novice knight’s distrustful expression as she accepted him.

The soulless blasphemer.

The weight of this phrase was painfully new.

The Aragasas [a clan of messengers] were complete outsiders and untouchables in this Hybris [a region or kingdom].

Even in the Relief Knights, who were not the King’s Church that served the Yagas gods, the treatment of the Aragasas was not very good.

‘I thought it would be a little better in the Relief Knights since they are in competition with the King’s Church, but I guess they are still Hybris people. It seems that the events of Butuma haven’t been fully conveyed yet, but it’s already like this.’

Even though it didn’t seem like the news of the Aragasas committing massacres in Butuma and joining hands with evil forces to commit terrible sorcery had been properly spread, the hostility was great.

Could he really join the Relief Knights and be with them?

Should he just give up?

Should he return the Seramite longsword he received from Lord Planck and just leave without a word?

‘But if I do that? What will be after that?’

Only a wretched soul who lost Aldis and caused Arael’s death would remain.

What was Arael’s intention in bringing Lord Planck and Azadin together?

Azadin thought of his sister, whom he hadn’t talked to much, and put the Seramite longsword back into its scabbard.

“Then, I’ll take it that you’ve allowed my entry. Lady Izmilla. Since it’s something done in your name, I hope you will keep this promise with your honor.”

“If you uphold the dignity of the Knights and fulfill your mission. But where did you get that Seramite longsword?”

“Lady Izmilla, how can you ask that? The opponent is the Emperor’s Messenger, who is utterly immoral, a demon of gold coins, and called a soulless blasphemer. He must have killed a good and noble knight and stolen it. Only the holy knights recognized by the church can possess a Seramite longsword.”

The clerk MacDougall whispered to Izmilla so that Azadin wouldn’t hear. However, Azadin had good hearing, so he could hear everything.

“But I was the only one in our pilgrimage who had a Seramite longsword. It doesn’t seem like any other knights nearby would have one.”

Azadin, seeing Izmilla and the clerk whispering meaninglessly, said a word to dispel their doubts.

“I received this from my deceased master. Nothing like what you’re thinking happened.”

“Ah.”

“Let’s get ready to depart. It’s not good to stay here. Let’s move.”

“Understood.”

Izmilla was embarrassed when she realized that Azadin had heard all their whispers.

‘She seems to have some shame, seeing as she knows embarrassment. But that clerk seems to know something?’

Azadin took note of the clerk, who seemed to know more than the novice knight.

*********

The fog began to clear as dawn broke.

The traces of the terrible massacre were scattered everywhere. Most of them were the escaped prisoners and farmers, those who were going to be taken as serfs by the pilgrimage.

The knights seemed to have escaped well, probably because they were on horseback.

And among them were the corpses of the attackers.

“This is….”

Izmilla found a corpse lying dead with a bundle of javelins on its back.

A small man with a cleanly severed neck was lying down. Could this man have been the one who threw the javelins?

“It was a were-rat.”

Azadin said that and searched the man’s corpse, taking out a seal. It was the holy symbol of Mezeri, the god of the were-rats among the Kurt gods.

“Cultists? Why would cultists attack the pilgrimage?”

“Rather than cultists, they’re probably an assassination squad disguised as cultists. It’s easy to pin it on them in case of anything. Well, these guys are probably actual cultists, but wouldn’t you be able to hire cultists if you paid them?”

While Azadin was saying that, the female bandit was searching the corpses, taking what she needed and handing it to her brother.

Seeing her meticulously taking things from the corpses every moment, he could tell what she usually ate and how she ended up in prison and got dragged here.

Azadin asked the female bandit.

“By the way, you guys. You don’t seem to be affiliated with the Knights, what are your names?”

“Ah, me? I’m Camilla. My brother is Kuntachi.”

“I am Bernard.”

“Nice to meet you. So, what do you think caused this attack?”

The female bandit Camilla grinned.

“It seems like this young lady is quite valuable. It seems like they attacked the pilgrimage targeting this young lady.”

“To kill her?”

“No, rather than to kill her….”

“Wait! That’s an important event of the church, how can you try to tell it to outsiders?! You must not forget that you are still an immoral prisoner who has not been fully reformed! This is why the reformation of the Knights is needed! A person who became a prisoner for greedily coveting other people’s property now openly talks about the secrets of the Knights!”

MacDougall was furious and tried to shut the female bandit’s mouth, but then the female bandit’s brother, the half-orc Kuntachi, stepped forward.

“You, you insulted my sister? You did insult her, right?”

“N, no, I….”

MacDougall tried to retort, but the half-orc’s fist flew before he could.

“You insulted my sister! I’ll punish you!”

But then Azadin intervened.

“Alright, alright! Stop!”

Azadin received the half-orc’s fist, which seemed like it could crush a rock, with both hands and kicked MacDougall away to create distance between the two.

-Flower, Bird, Wind, Moon, the Pure Pine of Kazas Hae.

Because he had been erasing the grimoires that were boiling inside Azadin’s body, it didn’t have the same power as before, but it was still enough to control the ignorant half-orc’s strength.