The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 28

Regarding the promises made with the Messenger Clan, the following judgment was made:

If someone made a promise to a stone on the road, should they be punished for breaking that promise?

The same applies to promises made with the Messenger Clan. They are soulless beings, no different from stones on the road.

No, if a stone on the road would not dare to disturb the light of the Emperor, then those who follow the Emperor are far worse trash than stones. Any serious promise with such trash is meaningless, so whether they break promises or act dishonorably, they are exempt if the target is a member of the Messenger Clan.

Thus, the people of Hybris claim that the Messenger Clan are soulless beings, rejecting even the minimum principles that honor and law should uphold.

In such a situation, even if Azadin makes a promise to them, no one knows if they will truly become penitent knights. Nevertheless, Azadin pitied the people of Hybris.

“The people of Hybris will have trouble if they are not dealt with according to Hybris’s principles. These people have to abandon their farms and flee as a consequence of choosing to retaliate against the Holy Knights. That will be a very difficult life. So, I can’t make that decision for them.”

“For someone who says that, you don’t seem to want to kill the Holy Knights,” Ismail asked, and Azadin nodded.

“It’s different when I have to kill because I’m outmatched in a fight with a strong enemy, but killing opponents I know I can easily defeat is a painful thing. It’s unnecessary killing.”

“…”

That’s absolute confidence. Even the Emperor’s Messengers wouldn’t show such confidence against the Holy Knights of the King’s Church.

In fact, the Holy Knights of the King’s Church were incredibly skilled at deflecting the arrows shot by Midiam and Ismail, and they could dodge the javelins thrown by Azadin if they saw them coming. The trainee knight who was hit by the javelin was only caught because he was ambushed from behind.

To have such composure while facing such high-level Holy Knights?

“You wanted to handle things under Hybris’s system and laws as much as possible because living as nomads is too difficult, is that it?”

“That’s right. Hmm, but the funeral is over, where did that guy go?”

Shortly after, Tarki, who had fled the farm, cautiously returned, looking around.

“Ah, it looks like it’s over.”

“You’re back again? I thought you’d run away for good.”

“Well, from my position, I couldn’t fight the Holy Knights of the King’s Church.”

“If that’s the case, it’s going to be difficult for you to travel with us.”

Midiam criticized sharply. They try to kill anyone who travels with the Emperor’s Messengers for heresy… From Tarki’s perspective, traveling with Azadin would not be good either.

Tarki, having nothing to say to Midiam’s criticism, looked embarrassed. The reason Tarki was trying to act with Azadin was because, now that the mercenary group that protected him was gone, he was afraid of encountering bandits, monsters, or even assassins from his other half-siblings while traveling alone.

But Azadin also needed Tarki.

‘His mother provided the Emperor’s gold, right? And she also hired that mercenary group. I need to investigate. Moreover, he became a petitioner of the gold [a person bound by a magical oath], so at least he won’t betray us easily. As for avoiding the battle with the Holy Knights, well, he’s a Hybris noble, so it can’t be helped.’

Azadin understood Tarki’s position and gave instructions.

“Let’s finish our preparations as much as possible. Wash up, change clothes… pick up the arrows. I don’t know if these can be washed.”

Azadin had them prepare as much as possible while the villagers were collecting the bodies.

*********

The survivors of the farm were preparing to leave, taking anything of value with them. They had participated in killing the Holy Knights of the King’s Church and had also made a deal with Azadin, a member of the Messenger Clan, so they could no longer stay on this farm.

“It’s all your fault!”

A young girl who was herding sheep suddenly blamed Azadin.

“If you hadn’t come to our farm! My mom and dad wouldn’t have died!”

“Shhh.”

A young man, who seemed to be her older brother, covered the girl’s mouth.

“I’m sorry. She’s just a child…”

The farmer’s son looked at Azadin, terrified. He seemed worried that Azadin might retaliate for the girl’s outburst. However, Azadin didn’t pay much attention to the girl’s outburst.

“So, what are you going to do now?” Midiam asked the farmers. Her pure curiosity had sparked the question.

“We’ll go to our relatives’ houses nearby and take refuge. We’ll marry off the children who can be married and find jobs for those who can. The fields… anyway, the drought is getting worse, so it was getting harder to cultivate them.”

The farmer’s son pointed in the direction they were going. Southwest, the opposite direction of Salasma.

“Then we’ll have to part ways here. We’ll be on our way.”

“Yes. May the Emperor’s blessing be with the Messenger.”

When the farmer’s son said that, the young children were terrified and looked at their older brother. It seemed they had mentioned the Emperor’s blessing out of courtesy, but even that was a frightening and bewildering thing for the children of Hybris.

[The people treat me like a plague. I tried to bring civilization and wisdom to the people.]

The Emperor’s voice was resentful of their reaction.

“A ruler who hasn’t decided on a succession will be criticized no matter how great or wise they are.”

[I admit that. But the peace I achieved in one generation is valuable. Moreover, one generation for the Yaehgas gods is not really that long.]

“I suppose so.”

*********

From Azadin’s group’s current location, there are two routes to Salasma: one going north and the other going west and then north along the Gray River that runs through the entire Korasar region. Azadin chose the route that went west and then north along the Gray River.

“It’s a bit of a detour, but many refugees will be moving this way, so it’ll be good to blend in with the crowd, and by seeing how much the river’s water level has decreased, I can tell how severe the drought is. Getting information as a Messenger is also important.”

After deciding on the route, Azadin walked along the path.

The east side of the ‘Spine of the Desert’ mountain range was less affected by the drought, but even here, the effects of the drought could be felt. Even though it was still spring, the grass and trees along the roads were withered and dried.

Tarki, feeling guilty about running away when Azadin fought the Holy Knights, began to flatter Azadin even more diligently.

“Wow, you’re amazing. They say the Holy Knights of the King’s Church are more energetic and lively when they are trainee knights, but you defeated them all.”

“Did you even see it? How we fought?” Midiam asked, curious.

“Well, I didn’t see it directly, but…”

“You probably didn’t see it because you were running away with your tail between your legs.”

“Ugh.”

Tarki was embarrassed by the girl’s criticism. Normally, he wouldn’t have stayed quiet, but given his current position, he couldn’t easily get angry at Midiam, who was clearly showing off her high status as a member of the Messenger Clan.

“Um, be quiet. I’m tired.”

In Azadin’s case, he carries a lot of weapons and equipment, so if he rides the Kerim mountain goat to his destination, his subordinates have to walk too much. So, he walks while holding the reins, and even though Azadin has better stamina than most people, he has been constantly fighting recently, so he was accumulating fatigue.

“There are many other travelers, so don’t talk nonsense. If you say things like you defeated the Holy Knights…”

Azadin made a gesture of slitting his throat. Then, some merchants started to solicit Azadin’s group.

“Hey there, travelers. How about a cup of tea?”

It was a street vendor selling tea.

Tea is a popular drink throughout the Eight Kingdoms. Or rather, it’s closer to a necessity. Except for a few places with clear water, most places have a lot of lime and impurities, so drinking it straight would easily cause illness.

When you boil water with tea leaves, the lime and impurities in the water stick to the tea leaves, purifying the water and making it drinkable, so the Yaehgas gods actively encouraged the cultivation and consumption of tea.

Therefore, there were vendors on the roadside who brewed tea for travelers and charged them money. These vendors had a portable cart with a water jug that one person could carry, and they hung a brazier on it to boil water and brew tea. Some of them also sold sweets made with sugar cane.

But on the merchant’s cart that was soliciting Azadin’s group… there was a small flag of the Korasar Peddlers’ Association.

“Come on, the road is long and there’s not much water. How about a cup of tea before you go?”

He took out some very small wooden chairs from the cart and placed them on the side of the road. Azadin nodded and sat down.

The merchant glanced at Tarki.

“Is that knight with you?”

“He’s a petitioner of the gold. It’s okay. There won’t be any information leaks,” Azadin stated definitively. The petition of the gold is a very powerful type of oath magic, and those who use that magic cannot arbitrarily betray the Messenger Clan. It’s a fact that all members of the Messenger Clan know. Otherwise, Azadin wouldn’t have tolerated a guy like Tarki who was looting civilians, given his personality, right?

“Ah, is that so?”

The merchant’s expression, which had been smiling until just now, hardened. It was a look of relief that he no longer needed to put on a business smile.

“So, where are you going, the one who suddenly became a Messenger three months ago, ignoring all procedures?”

He was openly sarcastic. Originally, the Messenger Clan’s personnel changes take place during the summer solstice festival, which happens once every two years.

At that time, those who are old or injured and can no longer serve as Messengers retire, and the vacancies created by those who died on duty or retired are filled by young and capable individuals, or those recommended by the Messenger’s staff.

However, Azadin became a Messenger three months ago as a special case, ignoring those procedures. It was due to the active recommendation of Elder Kazas of the Messenger Clan, but Azadin was originally the son of a traitor and was well known among the Messenger Clan as a failure and incompetent.

So much so that the threat of ‘sending you to marry Azadin’ works to calm crying children.

Is that why? Even this teahouse vendor, who is just a servant, is being sarcastic to Azadin.

‘If they saw Azadin’s skills, they wouldn’t be able to ignore him like that.’

Midiam thought so, but she also hadn’t heard any rumors about Azadin’s skills. Only rumors about how immature he was in his childhood continue to spread among the clan, so even the servants are ignoring him.

“I’m going to Salasma. Is there something going on?”

“Yes. It’s a mission you can refuse. But I heard you’ve already refused many missions from the regional manager, so you’re on their bad side? If you’re going to refuse the regional manager’s missions, why be a Messenger?”

“Because of the Emperor’s gold work.”

“Haha. There probably aren’t that many gold jobs.”

“…”