The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 9

According to rumors, Azadin was the worst fool in the history of the Messenger Clan. Adults would threaten children by saying they would marry them off to Azadin to scare them. However, the Azadin before Midiam’s eyes was wise, skilled, and even seasoned.

It was hard to believe he was a messenger of only three months, and that too, through unconventional means.

“What? Why do you keep staring at me? Is there something on my face?”

“According to rumors, you’re cursed. They say that curse is still visible on your face…”

“So?”

“But now that I see you, you’re quite handsome. Well, your sister, Araelle, is said to be a peerless beauty, right?”

“Ugh.”

Azadin made a retching gesture at the mention of Araelle’s name.

“She’s not my older sister, she’s my younger sister.”

In the Messenger Clan, there’s a tradition of respecting elders, where the one born even a moment earlier has greater responsibility and authority.

“But she claims she’s the older sister.”

“Have you met her?”

“I haven’t seen her in person, but that’s what I heard.”

“Then you’ve heard nonsense.”

Azadin stated firmly and walked on.

There are social classes within the Messenger Clan. The five founding families are at the top, followed by commoners, and then the lowest of the low, the untouchables.

Azadin and Araelle are siblings from an untouchable family with a traitor as their father, so they have nothing to inherit and no honor. Despite this, both Azadin and Araelle insist that they are the superior one.

“Hehe.”

Midiam found Azadin’s behavior amusing and burst into laughter.

“……”

On the other hand, Ismail remained silent, watching Midiam’s laughter.

*********

After walking for half a day and crossing the hill, the vegetation finally began to show signs of life. Moreover, water was seeping out nearby, making the path wet.

“Ah, what’s this?”

“There’s a spring nearby. I happen to have my supplies there, so shall we go find them? You guys need to water the goats too, right?”

Azadin led Midiam and Ismail to the spring. It was a rather pathetic place, with water trickling out from between the rocks.

“The water level has decreased a lot here too. This is a problem.”

The water level was even lower than when Azadin had last seen it. Still, the situation was much better than on the east side of the mountain, which was almost turning into a desert.

“It should be around here? Ah, there it is.”

There was a Kerim goat [a breed known for its agility and hardiness] grazing near the spring. It recognized Azadin and ran towards him, delighted.

“Good boy, Sweater, you waited well?”

Kerim goats are better at balance and jumping than horses, making them good for rough terrain, but their long fur makes them vulnerable to heat and dryness.

That’s why Azadin had deliberately released the goat near the water source to graze, while he went to the dry area to carry out his mission.

In this case, there was a possibility that the goat could be killed by wild animals or looted by bandits, but it seemed that the goat had survived safely because it was a remote area. Azadin stroked the goat and looked around.

“Let’s rest here for a bit. I need to retrieve my supplies too.”

“Supplies?”

Azadin lifted a large rock near the spring and took out a sack hidden underneath.

“Good. The supplies are in good condition.”

The Emperor’s voice had given him too little time, so he had to rush, leaving most of his belongings here and going empty-handed. Azadin finally breathed a sigh of relief after safely retrieving them.

“Hmm, I was hoping to wash up a bit, but…”

Midiam looked at the meager stream of water trickling from the rocks, disappointed.

“The water will increase as we go down the mountain. For now, be content with watering the goats.”

At that moment, the bushes began to rustle.

“Cough. What is this?”

“Hey! Who gave you permission to take water from our spring?”

Six men, who looked like thugs, rushed in. Whether they were remnants of a defeated army or just vagrants who had picked up any armor they could find, their mismatched armor was stained with blood.

Midiam and Ismail glanced at Azadin and reached for their weapons, but Azadin stopped them and asked the thugs,

“I don’t want to fight. What do you want?”

“Well, we want everything.”

“Hey, capture the girl alive and kill the guys!”

The thugs were confident because they outnumbered them, and the opponents were just two young boys and girls and Azadin. They swaggered as they approached.

They had assessed that Azadin was the only one who could fight properly and were being careless. At that moment, Azadin kicked a stone from the ground and grabbed it in his hand.

“Just in case, is there really no room for negotiation?”

“Hey, why are you talking so much?”

“You’re wearing a mask, what are you? A clown?”

“Is that so?”

Azadin gripped the stone in his hand and crushed it. At the same time, the crushed stone shot out like a bullet, hitting the crotches of the thugs in the lead.

“Guh?!”

“Agh!”

Two thugs instantly grabbed their crotches and collapsed.

“Ah, ah….”

“I-it’s pierced!”

The pants were torn, and their crotches were instantly stained with blood.

“Y-you bastard!”

The enraged thugs tried to swing their weapons, but Azadin pushed them aside and approached their leader, the one who had ordered to capture the girl alive and kill the rest.

“Huh?”

“Excuse me.”

Azadin threw a light punch, and it sounded like a gust of wind.

-Whoosh!

Blood splattered, and the thug leader screamed and fell.

“Kuaaaaah!”

“L-leader?!”

“W-what?”

The punch was so light that they couldn’t understand why their leader was making such a fuss over just one hit. As they approached, they were shocked. Half of their leader’s face was torn off.

The nose was ripped, the cheekbone was crushed, bone fragments were visible, and the eyeball was dangling and popped out. It was a gruesome sight, as if he had been hit by a bear’s paw rather than a human fist.

“Kuaaaaah!”

“Hic… W-what is that?”

“……”

It wasn’t just the thugs who were shocked by the sight. Ismail and Midiam were also in shock.

‘What is this power?’

‘Is it possible that he did this just by punching, not magic?’

Midiam and Ismail felt fear.

By now, three of the thugs were down, leaving only three. They had completely lost their will to fight after seeing Azadin’s actions, which had neutralized them in an instant.

*********

“W-we’re sorry.”

“We didn’t recognize you, sir!”

“But you wanted everything, right? You said there was no room for negotiation?”

“Oh no, that’s not true.”

“Then why are you holding weapons?”

“Oh dear!”

The thugs immediately dropped their weapons and prostrated themselves.

“Midiam and Droopy Eyes, collect the weapons.”

“……”

Midiam could feel his stubbornness in not using affectionate nicknames, calling her by her name and Ismail as Droopy Eyes.

Midiam and Ismail collected the weapons dropped by the thugs and returned to Azadin.

“Then, shall I ask you a question? Why are you here? You don’t seem like just ordinary bandits.”

‘Huh? Not bandits?’

‘Aren’t they bandits?’

Midiam and Ismail were confused by Azadin’s words, but the thugs’ faces lit up at his words.

“Yes, that’s right. We’re just good civilians.”

They were definitely not good civilians. Midiam frowned, but the thugs, desperate to survive, began to say whatever came to their minds.

“We were just recently conscripted.”

“Conscripted?”

“Yes. The children of Count Kazel, what was it? They’re conscripting people to find some book manuscript and using them recklessly.”

“Even though it hasn’t rained in the inland region, everyone is becoming vagrants or bandits….”

“We were ordered to scout for a hopeless item and were heading this way when, well, we were fortunate to meet such a noble person.”

They were praising their encounter with Azadin’s group as a meeting with a noble person, but they were making ridiculous flattery with a straight face.

There was no way they could be happy to meet Azadin’s group. Two of them were castrated, and their leader, whose face was torn off by Azadin’s punch, might not even survive.

However, although their words were mixed with flattery, there was no lie in the events themselves.

Count Kazel was making moves to find a copy of the Divine Scripture.

“Aren’t these guys just thieves making excuses?”

“That’s unlikely. This isn’t a road where merchants or travelers would be.”

It had been a month since it had rained in the eastern inland region. Even if they were trying to rob vagrants, they wouldn’t have chosen this remote path.

“Then, we have no choice but to kill them to silence them….”

Midiam casually suggested killing them.

“Wait, Midiam. I don’t kill people so easily.”

“Huh?”

“We have to kill them. Even if they are truly reformed, if we let them live, our whereabouts will be exposed.”

Ismail argued that they should be killed even if they were reformed.

“Oh, no!”

“We were just possessed for a moment… How could we ever think of doing such a thing?”

The thugs were startled and bowed their heads. They all looked at Azadin, waiting for his decision.

“A life once taken cannot be returned. How can I kill someone so easily just for my own convenience? Everyone should have two chances.”

“Ah….”

Ismail and Midiam sighed. There were some pacifists who didn’t kill people, but who would have thought there would be one among the Messenger Clan?

On the other hand, the thugs were very excited.

“Y-yes, that’s right! A person’s life is precious.”

“As expected of you, sir! You are fair and just.”

“Your family will have blessings for generations to come because of your compassion!”

“We will definitely keep our mouths shut!”

“Yes! Yes! How could we betray our benefactor after receiving such grace? We are not so shameless. If we betray such a righteous, compassionate, and great person, we will fall into hell.”

It was as if they had known Azadin for a long time, and flattery had become a way of life. They could probably do well as eunuchs in the palace right now.

After all, there were two who had been castrated.

Azadin looked back at them and grinned.

“Well, if I give everyone a permanent injury, even if they don’t repent right away, it will be difficult for them to harm others. There will be plenty of opportunities to repent in their remaining lives, and that’s the only way.”

“……”

“Huh?”

“Don’t move too much. If you’re not careful, not only your eyeball but your whole face will fly off.”

“Ugh?!”

“D-don’t be ridiculous!”

The thugs tried to resist, but at that moment, Azadin’s fist struck the first one who stood up. Blood and flesh splattered on the faces of the other thugs.

“Kuaaaaah!”

“I told you to stay still. Your nose is flying off now. If you had stayed still, you would have only lost an eyeball.”

Azadin felt sorry for the thug who had been injured more than necessary, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping.

“Kuaaak!”

A terrible scream echoed like thunder through the trees in the forest.