The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 362

“Don’t run away! Fight back!”Niselda hurled insults at Griselda and charged, but elite vampires and dwarf guards blocked her path.”Damn it! Griselda!”Just then, Azadin stopped her, trying to help.”Niselda, that’s not how you should talk.””Huh?””You should say it like this. ‘Oh, you tried to do something, but got hit right from the start and got completely wrecked? And you still call yourself a leader in front of other vampires?'””Krr! Just you wait!”Griselda, enraged by Azadin’s sarcasm, opened a secret passage.”-Every time you run away, you say ‘just you wait’? Don’t you have some line like ‘fear the night’? Well, maybe you can’t say that since you might not even be alive by tomorrow night?”-Rumble!The secret passage closed.Once closed, the secret passage was made of thick stone and could not be opened by force.”Damn it! She ran away again!”Niselda’s rage lashed out, clawing at the stone wall.*********Zibeck and Bernard began to deal with the remaining vampire remnants.The vampires Griselda had brought were powerful, but once Griselda fled, they lost their will to actively resist.The vampires, burned and writhing in agony from Aurelia Dawn, further depleted their morale.”Ughhh!””Please, have mercy!””Kill me!”Seeing their comrades begging for death after being hit by Aurelia Dawn, the other vampires began to flee in droves.In the end, only one remained.It was Bishop Akenar.She stood there, blankly staring at Azadin.Azadin finished off the suffering vampires and then turned to face her.”Count Azadin…””Bishop Akenar. I’m sorry I’m late. I came to save you.””But I’m already a vampire. I’m already dead. Right now, I’m just a blood-sucking corpse with the memories of my past life.”She took off her mask.Black hair and brown eyes. Exotic but beautiful features.A shadow of sorrow clouded the face of the beautiful woman of Chitai descent [Chitai is likely a fictional region or culture].”Please take my life and end this painful existence, Count Azadin. But I don’t want Aurelia Dawn. Shamefully, even after committing such atrocities, I’m afraid of pain. That Azure Steel axe, can’t it kill me without pain?””Bishop Akenar, you are a victim. You have no reason to die.””No, Count Azadin. Shamefully, when I was intoxicated by vampire blood, I willingly succumbed to that violence and pleasure. That’s the honest truth. Because I, who couldn’t choose anything in my life—not marriage, not divorce—chose only that violence and pleasure for myself.”Akenar was a victim of a political marriage.The king of Arangi had married her for political reasons, but later, as Chitai declined and Asander grew, he willingly chose to remarry the daughter of the king of Asander, Cohen Lionheart of the North.”Becoming a vampire was something Griselda did to defile my lineage, but unleashing my anger and lust was solely my own will. I must bear that responsibility.””So you think you deserve to be punished?””Yes. I don’t want to live any longer. My life has been nothing but pain. And my future life will be the same. At least your letters gave me some small joy, but how can I enjoy that joy when I’ve become such a filthy monster?””Then hand over the mask. I think that will complete my Errantry quest [Errantry quest is likely a personal quest or mission].””…….”Bishop Akenar handed over the widow’s mask that had been hiding her face. Azadin, having taken the silver mask, declared,”Then I will give you a punishment, Bishop Akenar. Naisandokar needs an administrative official. An administrative official who is well-educated, knowledgeable, and doesn’t offend others.””Huh?””My punishment for you is to make you work as an administrative official for a pittance.””No, but I’m… a vampire!”Then Niselda comforted her.”It’s possible to control vampirism. Sister Chadra has that power. I myself am controlling my urges with her help.””Even if there was a being who could control the urge to drink blood, or even turn me back into a human, I wouldn’t want to go back. I want to die and be at peace! That’s what my sin deserves…””If you really think you’re a sinner, you should know that you can’t choose your punishment. You’re a presumptuous sinner for daring to choose your punishment.””B-but… if Griselda orders me now, I will attack you!””Griselda won’t be alive by tomorrow. I promise you.””That….”Akenar was bewildered by Azadin’s stubborn words.”It’s not a joke, I really need someone to take care of the administration. Right now, I’m having an orc organize the administrative documents, and the tax collectors are saying they’d rather commit suicide.”Scott was going through the documents, tormenting the existing tax collectors, stewards, and officials. Every word he spoke was like skinning them alive without malice, and many officials were submitting their resignations.Despite Scott’s competence, he was not helpful to the organization.”I’m… needed? Really?””Yes. I need you. It may be a minor position compared to Bishop Akenar’s status, but I need your help.””…….””Wait here. I’ll be back after dealing with Griselda.””……..”Akenar, bewildered, decided to wait as Azadin instructed.*********”Excuse me, Count Azadin. Are you really going to use that vampire as an official?”Edir asked out of curiosity.”Of course. It’s no joke that I need her. If I keep making Scott do the administration, everyone will die of frustration.””But isn’t that disloyal to the Order? You’ll report that she’s dead to the Order, right?””It’s not virtuous. Where is the justice in punishing a soul who has suffered her whole life for something that wasn’t her fault?””But is it up to a mere low-ranking knight to judge such things? If you decide what is good and evil on your own without consulting the high-ranking clergy, I fear the discipline of the organization will collapse.”Everyone flinched at Edir’s words.”Then you understand that it’s also reckless for a mere squire to dare to contradict the Count?”Niselda’s voice carried a subtle killing intent.But Azadin stopped Niselda.”If you truly want to be a knight, you must be faithful to virtue and ideals themselves, not to the organization. The same goes for the King’s Church. The reason why the King’s Church regards the king as a noble being is not because they inherited the blood of God, but because they protect the people with all their might.””…That’s right.”Zibeck agreed with Azadin.Zibeck, who had been internally wandering after being excommunicated, was often surprised by Azadin’s words.Of course, Zibeck also thought that Azadin’s words and beliefs were right.But thinking something is right and putting it into practice, believing in it and pushing it through, are separate issues.He didn’t have the confidence to stand tall and face the world when it told him he was wrong and ordered him to kneel.But how could Azadin have such an unyielding spirit?Why was it that someone from the lowest and most hated race, someone who was hated and despised even within that race, could do this?That question was also felt by Edir. What was this squire believing in to keep questioning Azadin?”Is it really possible to cure a vampire? Can you turn them back into a human?”This time, Edir asked Azadin a question.Niselda answered instead.”Rather than turning them back into a human… we can at least save them from being blood-sucking monsters. If we have the help of the head nun.””The head nun of Chadra can do that? What is she…””She is Shade Hagg. The daughter of Wild Magic, but she left the coven and joined the Rescue Knights [Rescue Knights is likely a religious or knightly order].””…Ah.”Edir clicked his tongue at those words.”Are the Rescue Knights out of their minds? Using a Shade Hagg as a head nun? They’re a strange, baseless order.””What was that?”Niselda’s breath grew rough.She couldn’t stand the insult to her respected head nun and the Rescue Knights.And she couldn’t tolerate this man’s impudence in kicking away Azadin’s kindness in speaking to him politely.But Azadin calmed Niselda’s anger and said,”Shade Hagg, half-vampires, minotaurs, the Herald Clan [Herald Clan is likely a specific group or race]… anyone can be a brother of the Order as long as they believe in the Order’s creed, regardless of their origin. We are not in a position to be picky about who we accept.””…….””Edir, the same goes for you. I need your help.””Huh?””Naisandokar wasn’t this big from the start. It was able to grow into such a large force because people believed in us and followed us, one by one. We will need the help of more people in the future.””Is that so? But you are heroes, and I am just a squire. I had pride in myself as a swordsman, but…”Compared to the swordsmanship of the half-vampire Niselda, the blood mage Bernard, and Zibeck, the power Edir possessed was so insignificant that he could only volunteer to be a porter.”How can someone like me be of any help?””The people who came with you praised you for arriving safely in Sandokar thanks to you.””Huh?””I heard that you led and protected people to Sandokar. I’ll say it now. Thank you, Edir.””Count?”Edir wondered if Azadin was sincere. Did he really help? Was leading people to Naisandokar such a great thing that he deserved to be thanked by Azadin?Did this Herald Clan really value and appreciate not only a powerless squire like himself, but also each and every refugee who would only consume food?”…Count, you are truly a Rescue Knight.”Niselda didn’t like Edir, but she had to put aside her anger because Azadin had thanked him.Perhaps that was why Azadin had openly praised Edir.So she preached to Edir that Azadin was truly a Rescue Knight.’No way. A soulless blasphemer has a more sincere faith than anyone else?’At that moment, Azadin, who was walking at the front, stopped moving.