The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 297

Orc Scott whined about not wanting to build muscle in his legs.

However, they couldn’t let him ride around in a vehicle made from Brie’s corpse in a place where people lived.

So, Azadin decided to have the hippogriff eat the bizarre contraption Scott was riding and instead have him ride the hippogriff and send him ahead.

“Ugh! No, this monster. Eating this genius work of art! Captain! That’s too much.”

“Artistic masterpiece, my foot. And don’t call it a monster. Because you’re going to have to ride it.”

“No, Captain. Ride on the back of a hippogriff? I don’t know how much muscle I’ll build just trying to balance myself.”

“It’ll go away if you starve. Stop complaining and go. Anyway, the hippogriff doesn’t have much stamina, so it won’t fly far.”

“What about you and Lord Zibeck?”

“We’ll walk. Go ahead and wait. If you look at the map, there’s a three-way intersection a day’s walk south, let’s meet there.”

“What if something happens?”

“Then send a message with a message spell.”

Azadin took out some dried fish for emergency rations.

When Scott cast necromancy on the dried fish, it turned into a message doll.

“O-okay then. Ugh, please, nothing bad should happen.”

Scott took off south on the hippogriff.

“Shall we go too? Are you okay, Lord Zibeck? You don’t look so good. Should I carry you on my back?”

“I’m fine. Your jokes are too much.”

To say he would carry a knight in armor on his back. Zibeck gave a wry smile, but Azadin wasn’t joking.

Fortunately, Zibeck could walk, so he avoided the unsightly spectacle of being carried by Azadin.

*********

As they retraced the path the Celestial Fire had taken north, they naturally encountered signs of their exploits.

Travelers they met along the way raised their hands to Azadin.

“Hello. Warrior. You’re not a bandit, are you?”

“With your handsome looks and confident stride, you don’t look like a bandit, but rather someone of high status.”

The travelers were wary of the armed Azadin, but they looked at Azadin’s appearance and thought he was not a bandit.

“You’re Azadin, a training knight of the Rescue Knights.”

“Ah, you’re with the Rescue Knights.”

“If you’re Azadin, are you Lord Azadin of Chadra? From the Messenger Clan?”

“Wow. I’ve become quite famous. Yes, that’s me.”

“Well, well….”

“You’re different from the rumors.”

They seemed to feel favorably toward Azadin just from his appearance, showing kindness without any basis.

‘What kind of rumors are going around about me? And why are these people ignoring those rumors just based on my looks?’

Azadin was dumbfounded but stopped for a moment. Zibeck was getting tired, so they had to rest from time to time.

Zibeck used his sword hilt as a cane and sat on a nearby tree stump. When Azadin handed him a canteen, he accepted it without hesitation and drank. Meanwhile, a traveler asked Azadin a question.

“Do you happen to know about the Celestial Fire Knights?”

“I do. I’m actually on my way back from meeting them.”

“Oh, is that so? Do you know that they killed the Brie in the south and rescued the residents of the settlements? They were amazing, I heard.”

“Even though monsters are rampant, the flames of justice burn even more brightly.”

People were talking about the exploits of the Celestial Fire as if they were evangelists spreading the gospel.

“With a hero like Lord Azadin joining the Celestial Fire, the Rescue Knights are blessed. Haha.”

“I’m barely making ends meet as a merchant, but if I save up some money, I’m going to call my cousins and move to the Rescue Knights’ territory.”

“Oh my. We’ve been talking too much. It’s nothing much, but this might help with your fatigue.”

The travelers gave Azadin some dried, sugared fruits and went on their way.

“Hmm.”

Azadin, who had spent most of his life as a blind monster, was not used to people being so kind to him.

“Were people always this kind?”

Azadin shared the dried fruit he received from the travelers with Zibeck.

“Even when you were blind, you had an elegant grace. When you wore a mask, you were as magnificent as a flamboyant theater actor. But now that you have your eyes… all the missing pieces have been filled.”

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say that to my face. Besides, this happened after my sister’s death, so I don’t know if I should be happy about it.”

“It’s inevitable that people are swayed by appearances. The important thing is what kind of response you give to such kindness, isn’t it? Well, for me to be saying this to you, Lord Azadin, I’m not in a position to do so.”

Zibeck gave a wry smile and put the dried fruit in his mouth. The sour and sweet taste spread in his mouth, and he did feel like his fatigue was fading.

“Not in a position?”

“I’ve lost faith in the King’s Church, and my will to protect the people has faded. No matter the circumstances, the Celestial Fire is protecting the people, and instead of admiring them, I feel more suspicion and jealousy. Isn’t that so? To believe that there is a great evil behind them with only a faint suspicion and to blindly set off on a journey to Saint Mallory. My jealousy is so excessive that it feels like I’ve swallowed a burning lump of coal in my chest.”

“……”

Azadin also felt a pang of guilt at the mention of jealousy.

Azadin was also feeling jealous of Karna and the Celestial Fire.

For Azadin, who was trying to reorganize the Chadra Plateau and innovate the organization, the Celestial Fire was an obstacle.

‘I need to make achievements while innovating the organization, but if these guys step up and take all the popularity, my existence will fade.’

It was a feeling that a fair paladin should not have, but Azadin was human, so it was only natural that he felt jealousy and regret.

“Well, let’s not think too deeply about it. It’s true that the Northern Emperor Cohen Lionheart is annoying. If we investigate and there’s nothing, we’ll just have to put up with him, and if there’s something, then we’ll have to take him down. Isn’t it simple?”

“That’s right. Talking with you, Lord Azadin, clears my mind.”

“Nonsense, anyone would know if they thought about it calmly, not just me.”

As they walked, they heard a minstrel singing at the entrance of an inn on the road.

“Listen, everyone! Hear the story of the Celestial Fire Knights defeating the giants! And please moisten this poor poet’s throat with sweet mead.”

“We don’t serve mead at our place. We only sell ale.”

The innkeeper grumbled as he poured out the water he used to mop the floor near the entrance.

“Haha. Then ale is welcome too. Please consider mead as just poetic license.”

“…Defeated giants?”

Azadin, who had originally intended to ignore the inn, became curious, and the minstrel immediately latched onto him.

“Are you curious? Then here.”

“…No, I’m also a Rescue Knight. I’m not that curious.”

“Come on. Please, with a warm heart, support a hungry artist.”

“Oh, for goodness sake.”

Azadin saw Zibeck, who was exhausted, sit on a chair in front of the inn and gave a coin to the minstrel who was holding out his hat. Then the minstrel shook his head at the coin.

“A little more.”

“You’re cheeky, aren’t you? Take what you’re given.”

Azadin grumbled, but took out a steel coin and put it in. Then the minstrel was satisfied and began his story.

“The Celestial Fire Knights are a beautiful young knight order that was formed by the Rescue Knights to restore the passion of the pure angel faith in this world of widespread corruption. Their leader, Karna, is the grandson of the famous Northern Emperor, and all the knights under him are so beautiful that their eyes pop out. The sight of them riding their steeds across this land is like the second coming of angels, and in fact, they all have angelic blood flowing through them.”

“If Karna is the grandson of the Northern Emperor, then he’s of the Yaehgas divine clan, right? So why does he have angelic blood flowing through him?”

“Perhaps the angelic blood was mixed in from the maternal side? If so, Lord Karna would be the rightful ruler that the angels and the Yaehgas divine kings have sent for us humans. Ah, I’d like to toast to Lord Karna.”

“……..”

“If I toast to Lord Karna, this poet’s tongue will turn as smoothly as a well-oiled water mill.”

“…Here’s a drink.”

Azadin gave a coin to the innkeeper, who chuckled and poured him an ale.

“Oh my, young warrior. Don’t be fooled by this guy’s tricks. Hey, you! You’ve already gotten quite a bit, why are you holding back on the story?”

“Oh, come on. I’m boosting your sales, innkeeper. It’s not like I’m drinking ale because I like it so much. I’m doing business in front of your shop, so I’m just trying to help you make a living too.”

“I’m the one paying, though?”

When Azadin said that, the minstrel pretended not to hear and gulped down the ale before continuing his story.

To summarize the story: The Celestial Fire Knights, after hearing the prophecy of Pimbulbert, were on their way to Chadra to demand food supplies to stockpile before people starved. On the way, they encountered three giant brothers who were robbing travelers, and they tried to subdue them. However, when the knights charged at them, the three giant brothers ran away. The Celestial Fire Knights, thinking they couldn’t catch the giants like this, chose the three best knights from their order and challenged them to a duel of equal numbers.

The giants, daring to accept the challenge of humans, agreed, and the three Celestial Fire Knights each took on one giant and killed them.

“When Lord Karna swung his sword like lightning splitting an old tree, the giant’s head was split vertically! Wow. What tremendous power. The gossips say that the paladins of the King’s Church have superior qualities, but that’s because they haven’t seen the Celestial Fire! If they saw the might of the Celestial Fire, the paladins of the King’s Church would be too ashamed to show their faces! So, people of the world! Stop praising the paladins of the King’s Church so much! If they meet the Celestial Fire, their legs will tremble like reeds in the autumn wind. Let’s save our knights’ face! Hahaha!”

Was it because he was drunk? The minstrel was saying things that could get him into trouble.

Azadin was listening to the story with a wry smile when suddenly a beer mug flew out of the inn and hit the minstrel on the head.

“You cheeky bastard! How dare you mock the King’s Church?!”

“Ugh…”

The minstrel was startled and turned around. The empty beer mug was made of wood, so it didn’t cause serious damage, but he was more surprised than hurt.

People who appeared to be members of the King’s Church were walking out from inside the inn.

“Whose tongue dares to mock the King’s Church? And whose ears dare to… huh?”

They were about to draw their swords when they spotted Azadin.

“Huh?”

Their faces changed drastically.

It was clear that they recognized Azadin.