The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 261

In this situation, Izmilla agreed that taking Giacomo to the Knight Order would be a death sentence for him.

The question was, could Azadin be trusted?

Izmilla stared intently at Azadin.

When their eyes met, Azadin chuckled.

It was a laugh that seemed to mock the Knight Order’s laxity, yet even that mockery was so charming that Izmilla inadvertently looked away.

‘…Why do I trust him so much?’

There was no logical reason to trust him, yet she did.

Meanwhile, Giacomo’s tongue continued to grow and writhe.

Now, the tongue had grown to the size of a small dog.

“Camilla! Kuntachi!”

“Yeah!”

“Did you call?”

“Get Giacomo out of here. Make sure no one outside sees him.”

“That’s a tall order.”

“I think you can handle it, Camilla.”

“When I said it was difficult, I meant it would be difficult for anyone but me. Keep that in mind and compensate me later.”

“Understood.”

At Azadin’s words, Camilla entrusted the alchemist Giacomo to Kuntachi, grabbed a rope, and dashed outside.

“I’m going with you, sis!”

“Hey! It’s a stealth operation, so be quiet!”

Camilla and Kuntachi disappeared with the alchemist Giacomo.

*********

“Alright then…”

“This is nothing, right?”

Azadin transformed Aurelia Dawn back into a longsword and turned to look at Giacomo’s rampaging tongue.

Long tentacles shot out from Giacomo’s tongue, attacking Azadin.

Azadin swung Aurelia Dawn, cutting off the tentacles, but the toxic mucus from the tentacles splattered into Azadin’s eyes.

“Hmph.”

Azadin turned his head to avoid it and ignited Aurelia Dawn, slashing at the tentacles again.

Having faced all sorts of monsters, this was no match for Azadin.

‘It’s similar to Sir Ject’s tentacles. But weaker.’

The severed tentacles were slightly smaller than their original size, but they definitely left remnants.

“Good. This is enough!”

Azadin split Giacomo’s tongue vertically.

Giacomo’s tongue, which had grown to the size of a calf, was engulfed in flames and collapsed.

“Daring, Azadin. If I don’t participate in your scheme… what will you do then?”

Izmilla had decided to trust Azadin, but she seemed troubled by the unauthorized use of the Knight Order’s secrets.

“Then Giacomo’s poor daughter will suffer and die, and Giacomo will die in vain. The guys who tried to kidnap you using him will be emboldened and try to depose me.”

“……”

“You know, don’t you? Why they sent an investigation team leader without security clearance? This was a trap to hand you over to the enemy from the start. Sir Pavel wasn’t capable of leading the investigation team. I doubt the others are either.”

“It is against the Knight Order’s etiquette to disrespect an elder… but it is undeniable that Sir Pavel’s abilities were not up to the task at hand. And although you are violating minor rules, I understand that only you, Sir Azadin, can overcome the threat facing the Knight Order. Sir Azadin, I will cooperate with you.”

Izmilla agreed to cooperate with Azadin.

*********

The official communication channel of the Rescue Knights was an information transmission magic using ancient mirrors held by the bishops. [Bishops are high-ranking religious officials.]

However, since Fireglyph was a non-bishopric area without a bishop, they were reporting to the higher-ups through the blood letter transmission method used by ordinary blood mages. [Blood mages use blood in their magic rituals.]

“Ugh… hurry it up. I’m bleeding a lot here.”

Bernard coughed and complained, and since it was customary for the person who usually did this kind of magic to do it, Fireglyph’s official blood mage was preparing for the transmission. He was an old man trembling with his knife over a basin to collect blood.

“It’s true that an old man doesn’t have much blood.”

“So, please keep the message as concise as possible.”

“Understood.”

Azadin looked at Sir Pavel, whose lips were pouting, as if he was sorry that he had to rely on the magic of heretics.

“This entire investigation is your achievement anyway, Sir Azadin. You should do the report.”

“Ahahaha.”

Azadin laughed to hide his embarrassment.

Even if he lacked the qualifications, Sir Pavel, the head of the investigation team, should be the one to report. If Azadin reported, they would think that the investigation team leader Pavel was dead.

‘There might be people who want him dead.’

However, considering Sir Pavel’s nature and his administrative abilities, if he were to use blood magic transmission, the blood mage would die from excessive blood loss.

“Giacomo secured, the culprit is Sir Hexenmeier. Investigation team leader Pavel. Please send it like this.”

“Ah, okay.”

The blood mage cut his hand, mixed the blood in the basin, and used the blood to write a blood letter on the paper placed on the magic circle.

The same letters would be written at the receiving end, and the report would be made.

“So, who’s going to govern Fireglyph in the meantime? Is the captain going to do it?”

When Camilla asked, Yan and Tamil, the Fireguards, were flustered and said.

“W-well, originally, if there is no Chapter Master, the Fireguard would govern this place as an acting authority.”

“But the captain of that Fireguard, Sir Timothy, was also caught as an accomplice.”

“Yes. So, it seems that the acting authority should be designated by the investigation team leader…”

The two Fireguard knights glanced at Sir Pavel.

This man, who was at a ripe old age and only a regular knight, a Hospitaller [A knight who provides medical care], must have either been terribly inept or joined the Knight Order very late.

Either way, he was not qualified to govern Fireglyph. He was far behind the knights of the Chadra Plateau in terms of rank and experience.

However, the person in question seemed to be in a good mood at the thought of governing this huge city.

“Hahaha. Although my talents are meager, I will dedicate myself to this great task.”

At Sir Pavel’s words, the Fireguards were flustered and spoke up.

“That’s good, but…”

“Do you perhaps know about the Chadra Outlaws?”

The Fireguards asked in a secretive tone, as if they were telling an old tale to scare children.

The Fireguards shuddered at the mention of the name Chadra Outlaws.

Just mentioning it made them recall their figures, and they couldn’t bear it. But Azadin was indifferent.

“No. When I was training as a herald, I learned about the key figures and heroes from all over the continent, but this is the first time I’ve heard of them?”

‘Where are these country bumpkins hyping each other up with their outlaws? Aren’t they ashamed?’

That’s what he seemed to be thinking.

“They are five prisoners who were confined to the Chadra Plateau but established their own independent forces. They are people whom the Knight Order could not kill despite their heinous crimes because they were too talented, so they had no choice but to confine them.”

“Who are they?”

“The Necromancer Knight Sir Sok. The Wild Druid Sedrin, the Half-Vampire Nicelda. The Smuggling King Chashan, and the Hippogriff Rider Sir Selim.”

“Ah.”

Azadin was impressed.

“All five are new to me.”

However, judging by their titles, they didn’t seem like easy opponents.

If Azadin were to govern Fireglyph, would they just stand by?

And what if Azadin left Fireglyph to Sir Pavel and returned to Vermilion?

‘Considering Sir Pavel’s and Izmilla’s abilities, it would be insufficient.’

In the end, Azadin governing Fireglyph was the most realistic option.

‘Well, even if I leave it to Sir Pavel, I’ll end up doing it anyway.’

*********

The Smuggling King Chashan was the leader of a dwarf criminal organization, a self-made man who formed the massive drug smuggling organization ‘Dwarven Arrow’ that operated throughout Banlung and Arangi.

In Banlung, where he was arrested, they were concerned that his organization would split and grow even more after his death, so they handed him over to the Rescue Knights. The Rescue Knights, who also had no way to deal with him, confined him to the Chadra Plateau to weaken the organization.

After that, ‘Dwarven Arrow’ continued to operate, appointing a new boss in place of Chashan, but Chashan formed a new organization even on the Chadra Plateau, creating his own smuggling line and even making products directly in Fireglyph, amassing a huge fortune.

As the most well-informed of the Chadra Outlaws, he was the first to hear the rumors that Fireglyph’s Chapter Master Sir Hexenmeier and his guards, as well as Fireguard Captain Sir Timothy, had been deposed.

“The Emperor’s herald, Azadin. It seems the Knight Order has brought another strange one to the Chadra Plateau.”

Chashan was a dwarf with blue tattoos all over his body, and the tattoos went up to his face, making him look bizarre.

This was a magical tattoo that proved he was a dwarf sorcerer.

The magic tattoos, which were made to better control the innate power of magic, were glowing and emitting magic according to Chashan’s emotions.

“What should we do, boss?”

The Smuggling King Chashan’s base was the Southeast Rock Wall. The manager of this place was Sir Braham, a knight of the Rescue Knights.

He was an elderly Hospitaller-Paladin, the next highest-ranking knight in the Chadra Plateau after Sir Hexenmeier and Sir Timothy. His career as a paladin was even longer than theirs.

However, this Sir Braham was calling Chashan, a prisoner he was supposed to manage, ‘boss’ and smiling obsequiously.

“Braham, you’re the most experienced paladin here, right? No matter what, it’s not right for a herald from a newly joined clan to swallow Fireglyph. It’s going to be hard for a newcomer to monopolize such a delicious area, so let’s propose a divided or joint rule.”

“Ah, I am not the most experienced paladin. Sir Sok was higher in rank than me.”

The Necromancer Knight Sir Sok. He was a man who had committed heresy by being obsessed with necromancy research and was now a prisoner, not a paladin. But like Chashan, he was also ruling as a de facto ruler.

“He’s a prisoner. It’s not his paladin experience that matters, but the experience of his puppet, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes, that’s right. As expected of you, boss. Your insight is amazing. But if we propose a divided rule, won’t the others step up too?”

“Of course, we have to go first and set the stage. We decide who gets the best part, and the others come in on the stage we set. It’s too much to try and eat Fireglyph alone. That herald clan guy probably isn’t thinking of eating it alone either. Now, gather the guys. Let’s go do some business.”

“Understood.”

Sir Braham immediately began preparing to leave for Fireglyph.