The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 6

“Whew, I’m alive.”

After sitting in meditation for about the time it takes to brew a tea, Azadin put the cap back on his almost empty canteen and returned it to the boy.

“So, little miss and droopy eyes. What business brings you here?”

“Little miss? How unpleasant. Do you speak to me like that knowing I am of the Etar Clan?”

Midiam was subtly angered by Azadin’s treatment of her like a child.

The Etar Clan was one of the five founding families of the Herald Clan, a family that not only produced heralds for generations but also amassed enormous wealth through merchant activities. They were a prestigious family in every aspect: lineage, wealth, and authority.

“As a subordinate, you are not a member of the Etar Clan but merely my subordinate. Do you wish to be respected as a member of a founding family? Then give up being a subordinate. Then I will treat you like a young lady of the Etar Clan. Ah, but you do know that officially, a herald is not influenced by the nobility of their clan, right?”

Azadin made the girl aware of her position.

No matter how great her family was, Azadin, as a herald, had no reason to treat her with respect. When she was a subordinate, there was no reason to treat her with respect, and even if she wasn’t a subordinate, there was still no reason to treat her with respect.

“No….”

“Looking at you two, it seems you just volunteered to be my subordinates because you were bored in the sanctuary. You’re not thinking of challenging me to a duel, are you?”

“……”

Midiam was taken aback. Of course, she had intended to challenge Azadin to a duel.

Azadin, the shame of the Herald Clan, the son of a traitor. He was said to be a half-wit who couldn’t use magic and was bullied by other members of the Herald Clan in his youth.

The fact that he, who everyone treated like a fool, was suddenly chosen as a herald caused an uproar among the young people of the Herald Clan because of his bad reputation. But unlike the rumors, Azadin, whom she actually met, was bold.

He was not shaken by the sudden arrow attack and easily countered her aggressive remarks. Moreover, his actions were full of confidence.

“Ah, you really were going to challenge me to a duel. Arael has ruined all the kids. Or are you looking down on me that much?”

Azadin understood the intentions of these children and clicked his tongue.

Azadin’s twin sister, Arael, was also the child of a traitor, but unlike him, she was famous as a genius.

A woman of unsurpassed beauty, overwhelming magical power, and outstanding swordsmanship.

She, who was born with everything, became a subordinate and challenged a herald, easily defeating him. She defeated an adult herald at the age of 13 and took his position.

As with any organization, the Herald Clan was an organization that particularly valued hierarchy. Arael’s unconventional actions were not pleasing to the leaders and elders.

However, a duel between clan members was a right guaranteed by the Emperor’s voice [a divine decree].

Arael boldly acquired that right, and as a result, she continued to break through the elders’ schemes and machinations with her skills, solidifying her faction within the Herald Clan.

Perhaps because of her existence, it became a reality, not just a fantasy, among the young people of the Herald Clan that they could take the position of a herald through a duel.

“I won’t say anything bad, so give up and just go back to the sanctuary. Taking a subordinate who has no intention of respecting me is worse than working alone.”

It was a sound argument. But there was no way Midiam, who had come this far, would just go back.

However….

“Midiam, no. This man….”

The boy, Ismail, stopped Midiam.

The rumor that Azadin was incompetent. And Midiam’s skills, which were superior to anyone of her age.

Even considering that, his instincts were telling him.

The man in front of him was dangerous.

Midiam also felt it.

It was different from the rumors.

Azadin was not a fool; rather, he appeared strong and intelligent.

But….

‘If I didn’t challenge him just because he was strong, that would be too cowardly, wouldn’t it?’

She had come here with the intention of dueling, and she didn’t want to back down now just because she was scared of her opponent.

Once you give in, you give in again.

Even while feeling fear, Midiam challenged Azadin to a duel.

“Herald Azadin. I, Midiam of the Etar Clan, formally challenge your position as a herald.”

“Are you serious? If you win, my position as a herald goes to you, but you know what happens to you if I win, right?”

“Of course, I know. Your control over my life and death, right? Everything I own becomes yours. I am prepared. When that time comes, I will quickly commit suicide….”

-Thwack!

At that moment, Midiam suddenly fell off the mountain goat. Azadin had lightly flicked a stone, hitting her between the eyebrows.

But it was too fast and powerful. She had only been hit by a stone flicked with a finger.

“Cough?!”

“Little miss, those who think so little of their own lives should not take up arms.”

“Huh? Lady Midiam….”

The boy, Ismail, was also genuinely flustered. It had happened right before his eyes, but he couldn’t even figure out what had happened.

“I’ll pretend it didn’t happen, so go back to the sanctuary. If I accepted every challenge from those who think like that, there wouldn’t be any free people left in our clan.”

Azadin advised the audacious boy and girl, but Midiam was enraged by his sudden attack.

“How can you be so rude as to ambush someone who is challenging you to a duel!”

“Hmm?”

Azadin was surprised to hear her retort.

“That’s true, but shouldn’t the person who shot an arrow at me while I was walking by be more ashamed?”

“It’s different from ambushing someone when challenging them to a duel!”

“No, you should be more ashamed. I was ambushed in a situation where I couldn’t even see you, but you were ambushed when my presence was clearly in front of you. Which one of us was more careless?”

“……”

“Give up. Once a duel starts, there’s no turning back, and I’m sorry, but you’re weaker than me. Only Arael can defeat an adult at the age of 13. I know my reputation in the clan is low, but they wouldn’t give the position of herald to someone who could be defeated by a 13-year-old girl.”

Azadin tried to refuse the duel again. However, Midiam shook her head.

“Do you think I would take back what I said? You ambushed me when I challenged you to a duel for the position of herald! You should be ashamed! Azadin! A duel starts with each of us a hundred paces apart! How dare you tarnish an honorable duel with such an ambush!”

“Ah… are you serious?”

Azadin scratched his nose.

“Of course! I’m serious!”

Midiam got on her mountain goat and began to move back, creating distance between herself and Azadin. When they were about a hundred paces apart, she got off the mountain goat.

“There, a hundred paces! Azadin! I challenge you for the position of herald!”

“Good grief, you’re really going to do it?”

As Azadin was dumbfounded, a chilling voice suddenly rang out.

[The duel is established, Herald Azadin. You must accept the challenge.]

“Oh, for goodness sake.”

“…The, the Emperor’s voice!?”

Ismail was also flustered. The spirit that was said to be attached to each herald, the Emperor’s voice. He had heard it too.

Now that the Emperor’s voice had become a witness, it could no longer be dismissed as a child’s folly.

‘This is a disaster.’

Ismail became anxious.

He was from a family that had served Midiam’s family since his parents’ generation.

He had volunteered to be Azadin’s subordinate along with Midiam to safely return her home.

But Ismail had been careless. If Azadin was really the fool he was rumored to be, and if he had become a herald because of the elders’ curiosity or delusion, then Midiam would be able to win.

No, not just Midiam, but anyone. In fact, Ismail’s peers all dreamed of challenging Azadin to a duel and becoming a herald if they had the chance.

But the Azadin he had actually seen was definitely not an easy opponent.

‘But from the young lady’s point of view, she would consider it an insult to back down from her initial intention just because she was intimidated by her opponent.’

She regarded fear as shame and tried to break through head-on. It was a common tendency among children who were still ignorant of the world and had not experienced setbacks.

The problem was that this duel was not something to be taken lightly. Once you failed, you became a slave. To become a slave of Azadin, who was the object of ridicule among the Herald Clan, would be a more terrible humiliation than death.

Now that the Emperor’s voice had intervened, it was impossible to cancel it. If Midiam won, it would be fine, but if she lost, it would be a disaster.

“I just need to win!”

At that moment, Midiam strung an arrow on her bow.

‘He must be the type who has trained in martial arts instead of magic. Then I need to keep my distance and fight!’

Midiam cast a spell on the arrow.

‘White Crane!’

She shot the arrow high….

‘Yellow Crane!’

Then she shot an arrow low. It looked like the same two-arrow attack as before, but if he tried to receive the magic-infused arrows like before, he would be in big trouble.

‘His quiver was empty. Since the arrows I shot earlier were two, there must be two in that guy’s quiver! Since we’re far apart, he’ll want to receive these arrows with his quiver too!’

In duels between members of the Herald Clan, the number of arrows each person had was very important. Azadin would definitely try to receive these arrows as well.

Indeed….

Azadin did not try to avoid the arrows but waited for them to come.

‘Hmm? He’s confident enough in his skills.’

Thinking that, he also strung an arrow on his bow. He ran forward and shot an arrow upwards.

-Whoosh!

With the sound of the wind tearing, Azadin’s arrow shot down Midiam’s arrows in mid-air. Surprisingly, it didn’t hit them directly, but just by flying around them, the aftermath of the wind caused Midiam’s arrows to lose their power and fall clumsily.

Azadin set up his quiver and caught the falling arrows. This time, he picked up a stone from the ground, held it with his thumb and forefinger, and pulled the bowstring.

‘It’s impossible.’

Ismail, who was watching the duel, chuckled when he saw Azadin trying to shoot a stone with a bow.

There was a special bow made for shooting stones. It was called a sling bow, and it had a guide to make sure the stone or other projectiles flew properly, and the bowstring also had a projectile guard to effectively transfer the power of the bowstring to the projectile.

Without such a device, just putting a stone on a bow and shooting it would be a good way to break your hand.

But….

-Thwack!

Azadin simply shot the stone.

‘Huh?’

Azadin grabbed the bow, twisted his hand extremely, and then struck it, throwing the bow like a discus.

‘An extreme Aragasa shooting method?!’

A battlefield archery technique that sacrificed accuracy to maximize projectile speed by striking the bow. It was a method that even the Herald Clan now called an old-fashioned shooting method.