The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 46

Generally, people who work in guilds have a sense of inferiority for not becoming heralds, so they can’t treat them carelessly.

However, Salem was a former herald with a high rank and a good family. In his eyes, Azadin was just a cocky upstart who became a herald through suspicious means, so he was displeased that Azadin was trying to negotiate with him on equal terms.

However, Azadin was also reaching the limit of his patience.

‘I absolutely can’t stand it. Should I just beat this guy up? With his personality, if I hit him, he’d probably kill himself out of shame, right? But I really can’t take it anymore.’

“Shall we go outside the awning for a moment to talk?”

“Are you going to attack me? Even though I’m old, I’m not old enough to be beaten by the likes of you.”

“If that’s what you think, then that’s good.”

Azadin went outside the awning first, and the regional manager, Salem, was dumbfounded.

“You impudent brat! Good. I’ll kill you with my own hands.”

Regional manager Salem also came out of the awning in anger. At that moment, the faint sound of a harp was heard from somewhere.

“Is Azadin here by any chance?”

A young and beautiful woman’s voice was heard.

“Ah, Aldis?!”

Azadin was shocked to hear that voice.

*********

The one who intervened in the dispute between Azadin and the regional manager was a female adventurer who had brought three horses, almost out of breath. The woman, who appeared to be in her early twenties, was tall and had a crescent moon bow on her waist, indicating that she was from the herald clan. [The herald clan is a group of elite warriors and mages, often associated with nobility.]

She held a small harp in her hand, which was probably the source of the harp sound from earlier.

A slender silver-decorated sword was at her waist, and traditional, elegant pheasant feather arrows were in her quiver. Her mere presence exuded beauty and grace.

Above all, her eyes… were a deep purple. Silver hair and purple eyes. Her elegant figure made her look like a fairy rather than a human.

“Ah, Lady Aldis.”

“What brings you to such a remote place?”

All the other merchants, except for the regional manager, bowed their heads before Aldis. Even regional manager Salem was showing respect to Aldis.

Although the heralds’ ranks are said to be established simply by filling empty positions, Aldis is the First Herald. She is a figure who has reached the pinnacle of skill and status among the 108 heralds.

“Please don’t do that. There are many people watching…”

Aldis said this and approached Azadin.

“Azadin, it’s been a while. Now I have to look up to you, huh?”

“Ah, Aldis. What happened?”

“I heard you were dismissed and rushed here from Arangi without stopping. How could you do such a foolish thing?”

Aldis said this and smiled at Azadin.

“Don’t worry. I appealed to the Grand Master. I said there’s no way you would betray us. But the Grand Master said he would keep the dismissal until the organization is back on track, and instead, he told me to come and reassure you.”

The Grand Master refers to Hatir, the current leader of the herald clan.

He is in charge of teaching the ‘Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon’ [a reference to a magical text or system] and magic, and he is the chairman of the council of elders, who are responsible for all decision-making in the herald clan.

Aldis had already appealed to the Grand Master…

Midiam, who was listening, clicked his tongue. It was foolish. This side was cursed, and how could they be reassured by just a promise to lift the curse later without any guarantee?

But Azadin actually let out a sigh of relief after hearing that?

“Ah, that’s a relief.”

“……”

It seemed that Azadin’s trust in this person named Aldis was almost absolute.

‘What is this? His attitude towards her is completely different from how he treats others?’

As Midiam was bewildered, Aldis took out a letter from her bosom.

“It’s a pledge signed by Hatir and the other elders. It’s a certificate, notarized before the Emperor’s voice, that your dismissal will be revoked in half a year. Actually, I insisted that your dismissal should be revoked immediately, but the situation in the organization is too big to reverse it right away, so I got this instead.”

Aldis showed it not just with words but with actions. To get such a signature from those high-nosed elders, even the proud Midiam had to acknowledge the influence Aldis had within the clan.

Azadin accepted the pledge and thanked her.

“Thank you, Aldis. To go this far… you’ve gone too far.”

“It’s the right thing to do. Rather, I’m worried that everyone is too old-fashioned and might have insulted you unnecessarily. But please understand, Azadin. Everyone is old, and we have a culture of seniority, so we are particularly sensitive to hierarchy. Since they are older, they can’t change the way they’ve lived so easily.”

*********

The herald clan, the Aragas, were originally a people skilled in martial arts and archery. But the power that made them known as the ‘God-King Slayers’ was the power of the magic book ‘Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon’ bestowed by the Emperor. The person who created the interpretation of that ‘Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon’ was Harkonia, the first leader of the herald clan.

Because she was a woman, the ‘Harkonia Interpretation’ had a higher effect on women. Therefore, the herald clan was composed of men with stronger physical abilities and women with superior magical abilities, and they worked together to carry out their missions.

In other words, ‘The Reincarnation of Harkonia’ is a title given to the strongest herald of the time. Before Arael obtained that title, Aldis was called ‘The Reincarnation of Harkonia’.

Born with purple eyes, the eyes of Harkonia, this girl was from the most prestigious Jedaha clan among the founding families and showed unmatched skills in magic and archery.

Therefore, Hatir, the leader of the herald clan and the Grand Master, made her his direct disciple and put her into great missions from a young age. It was the interpretation of the God-King’s scripture. [The God-King’s scripture is likely a sacred text or artifact of great power.]

However, the God-King’s scripture was stolen by Acre along the way. The enraged council of elders and the leader activated the curse of service on Acre and pursued him, but Acre eventually escaped.

And his end was…

*********

The sound of a child crying was heard on the desolate road. People approached the sound of a child crying from the corpse of a person lying on the side of the road.

But those who saw the gruesome sight were shocked and made the sign of the cross and ran away.

“Oh my god.”

“A, a umbilical cord from a man’s stomach…”

“It’s a curse! It’s a curse!”

“Oh, God-King!”

People were horrified to see a man’s stomach split open and children with umbilical cords coming out of it. Some were even crying out of fear.

Acre, the traitor of the herald clan, had evaded all pursuers for the past year, but he could not escape the curse.

The corpse of a man who died giving birth to a child on the road, that was the end of Acre, the traitor of the herald clan.

*********

“Acre…”

Aldis, who was only a 12-year-old girl, got off her Kerim mountain goat and approached the dead Acre. [Kerim mountain goats are likely a breed of domesticated animal used for riding or transport.]

“Hmph. What a waste. I didn’t know that a researcher, not a herald, could hide such skills.”

The amber eyes of another man, Grand Master Hatir, narrowed as he looked at Acre’s corpse.

Acre was not a herald but a researcher. A mage with a natural talent for interpreting and researching magic. How could he have evaded the heralds’ pursuit and escaped again and again? It felt like he had been backstabbed.

“Then these children… are they children born of the curse?”

“That’s right. It’s the curse of service. I’ve never used it before… but the effect is certain. That foolish disciple. To betray the clan with such talent.”

Grand Master Hatir did not hide his disgust for Acre.

“But are those children okay? They seem hungry.”

“Those are the products of the curse. According to the service contract… it is said that a child born of this curse of service has greater talent than others.”

“Then we should take them.”

“But that could be Acre’s reincarnation. The blood of a traitor of the clan should be cut off. Besides, aren’t they twins! According to the service contract, only one child is born from the curse of service.”

“But I’ll check!”

When Aldis said that, Grand Master Hatir glared at her.

“The curse might affect you too.”

“They’re still babies. If we leave them like this, they might die.”

Aldis said this and rushed to check on the twins. The twins were a boy and a girl.

“Ah…”

“Why? Ah!”

Grand Master Hatir, who had approached, also frowned. One of the two children was missing an eye. The area where the eye should have been was filled with flesh instead.

“Indeed, twins are ominous.”

Hatir drew his sword. It was a long steel sword with a blue aura.

“No, Master!”

Aldis blocked his way.

“Get out of the way, Aldis. They are ominous. They must be eliminated!”

“But… there’s no reason to die just because they don’t have an eye!”

“Nonsense. How can they live if they can’t see? Considering the harsh fate of our Aragas, it would be better for them to die now!”

“But… just a moment.”

Aldis suddenly realized that the children in her arms were looking at her face.

“This child, can see.”

“What?”

“It seems they can see even without eyes.”

“What do you mean ‘seems’? Are you lying to me now because of some petty sympathy?”

“But I can feel their gaze.”

“There’s no way a baby can open their eyes yet. Hmm?”

As soon as Grand Master Hatir said that, he also felt a gaze. The baby girl in Aldis’s arms had opened her eyes and was looking at Hatir.

“Amazing. Is this child also the eye of Harkonia?”

“Yes. It’s the same color as my eyes.”

Like Aldis, the young girl who had just opened her eyes also had purple eyes. But there was another gaze that Grand Master Hatir could clearly feel. He could feel the gaze of the boy.

“Impressive. Indeed, the cursed children born of the curse of service. Is this a curse that creates even more superior clansmen?”

Grand Master Hatir clicked his tongue, knowing that both children had extraordinary power.

“I understand. Aldis, you take responsibility for them.”

Grand Master Hatir sheathed his sword.

“Since we lost the God-King’s scripture, we have to take something.”

*********

Thus, Aldis brought Azadin and Arael to the sanctuary. The elders who greeted her, after all the hardships she had endured, such as begging for milk, feeding them goat’s milk, and changing their diapers, were furious.

“These children might be the incarnation of the God-King’s scripture! Let’s kill them! They say they turn into books if we kill them!”

“There’s no way!”

“I don’t agree with the delusion that children turn into books, but I agree that they should be killed. Acre’s blood, flesh, and soul cannot be forgiven, even if they have been purified by the service contract. Punishment is necessary.”

Everyone was heartbroken. The herald clan had endured enormous sacrifices to obtain the God-King’s scripture. Many had died participating in the Tarasar succession war. [The Tarasar succession war is likely a major conflict in the world’s history.]

The God-King’s scripture, which they had barely obtained by sacrificing blood and gold, had vanished in vain, so they could not be in their right minds.