CH 10

Mediam and Ismail followed behind Azadine and walked while observing him. At that moment, the two remembered what they had been entrusted with.

“Ah, wait, Azadine.”

“….”

Azadien didn’t answer them.

“Mr. Messenger?”

“….”

“The nice guy walking on the road?”

“Pfft.”

Ismail burst into laughter while Azadine sighed and stopped.

“What now?”

“There was something I forgot. I have a letter for you.”

“A letter? Who sent it?”

“Salasma, the district chief.”

“Tch.”

Azadine was clearly disappointed to hear that the letter was from the district chief.

“I guess you were expecting a letter from someone else?”

“No.”

Azadine shook his head.

“Sigh. Fine, give that here.”

Azadine received the letter from Ismail and opened it. The content mainly was a reprimand for omissions to his report and information about a voice stating that the copies of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth had been appearing around the world recently. Recovery of these copies would be reflected as part of the messenger’s personal evaluation.

‘If they wrote it down in a letter, then all the other messengers would already know.’

Azadine sighed again after he read the letter.

“Do you people know of the contents too?”

“Uh? We didn’t read the letter, though?”

“I heard that copies of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth have been appearing worldwide recently.”

“Ah! I know of that news. If it’s that book, it must be the one your father betrayed the clan for and dispersed around the world… ouch!”

As Mediam had spoken without tact, Ismail responded by stepping on her foot.

“What is it with you? What is it?”

Yet she still didn’t grasp the situation.

“Ah, enough. So, you people know, too, right?”

A lot of the members of the Messenger Clan would also know of the book if they knew someone who was a candidate for messenger. That meant even kids who weren’t formally trained would get the information from somewhere.

“How much are you getting? It said that it would be reflected in your personal evaluation, but in what form?

“The pages? That, well?”

“Do you not know? Hmm, I guess I need to see the district chief then.”

Azadine lamented that he had to go see the chief to discuss the letter.

“Good. Thank you for getting this letter to me. I received it properly.”

“Then, can you give me an acknowledgment of the letter?”

“Acknowledgement?”

“Yes, please take me in as your servant.”

“No, that is a no.”

“Why?”

“First of all, your motives for coming to me are very impure.”

“What motives?”

“Didn’t you come to challenge me to a duel because I looked like an easy target? Why should I take you in as my servant?”

“Right, that is my fault. But the messenger does need a servant anyway, right?”

“That is the second reason. In principle, the relationship between the messenger and their servant is a matter only for those involved. But customarily, it is something that is considered and arranged by their families. Little lady, will the Ethar really recognize me as your master? I am Azadine, the one who is hated and mocked within the clan. Did you tell your family head that you were coming to serve me and receive his permission to come here?”

“Ah, I-I didn’t.”

Mediam had simply rushed onward without a second thought as she was confident of beating Azadine and becoming a messenger. When Azadine pointed that out, she was shocked.

“Right? I don’t want to be involved with a mess of your own making.”

“Then is it because I am of the Ethar that you won’t accept me as a slave?”

“It’s a contributing factor, but I don’t normally like slavery.”

“I-I see.”

Mediam was speechless at Azadine’s words.

“So, since you understand now, can you back away?”

“Uh. Hmm.”

Mediam, still in shock, then asked.

“Then, can I not be your companion all the way there?”

“Companion? Why should I?”

“Yeah… I can also tell you about what happened in the clan.”

“…”

Ismail watched with wonder as Mediam began to beg. Mediam of the Ethar was originally an arrogant child. Yet, after Azadine had ignored her, she tried hard to go along with Azadine.

“Since the path, we’ll be taking is the same, can’t we just go there?”

“Well, I didn’t make this road, so feel free to do whatever you please.”

And with that, Azadine began to walk forward.

In addition to the 108 Messengers, the Messenger Clan also included those who accompanied the messengers and ordinary people making their livelihoods.

Among them, those engaged in commerce were spread out and formed guilds all around the world to support the messengers. Among those guild branch offices was the regional headquarters.

A messenger stationed there would be referred to as the local chief.

While it was originally created to support the messengers, commerce couldn’t be done clumsily.

The guild began to operate where good business opportunities were available. The structure has changed to the point where he wondered if the messengers now only existed to support the guild as its main objectives changed.

The system now worked like this.

‘Because we are doing business for the first time here, the attitude of the territory and existing guilds is a bit severe. I will have to kidnap the families of existing guilds and use them as collateral.’

‘The controller for access to Area XX demanded a bribe and seized the goods. If you bribe them once, then you will have to continue it in the future. I want you to warn them by killing them. Kill their whole family brutally and put it on display.’

These offices would send messengers on such missions. Azadine didn’t like it. Although the entire clan was bound by the Curse of Service, what the Emperor wanted from the clan was to maintain the peace, not perform assassinations, kidnapping, blackmailing, or intimidation.

Wouldn’t that make them no different than a hired assassin?

After Azadine had refused several requests made by the chief in Salasma, the whole district began to treat him differently. Since he was also the son of a traitor, he was treated with anger each time he visited. Inevitably, his relationship with the chief deteriorated.

That was why he always avoided coming to this place. However, the letter he received about the spread of the magic book seemed to make it a priority for the whole clan.

He had been ordered to head for and meet with the chief. Still, Azadine was currently located at a place that was on the border of the Margrave’s territory. Even if he walked along the road, he wasn’t sure how long it would take to reach Salasma.

Additionally, nearby villages were also abandoned, perhaps due to the dry weather of the past month. All of the tea houses and inns along the road were empty. As they continued walking down the road, the temperature began to cool as the sun went down. Azadine decided to camp by the road and began making preparations for it.

He had been in a hurry to leave alone, so he hadn’t bothered to prepare proper supplies. He laid his cloak down and sat down by a rock, sheltering himself from the wind. However, Mediam and Ismail stayed close to their goats.

“Come here.”

“No.”

Azadine responded to Mediam and Ismail’s offer to approach, but he refused to move. Seeing this chance, Mediam told Azadine.

“We are of the same clan. Isn’t it strange that people of the same clan would meet each other in this faraway town of Manita and choose to stay apart?”

“….”

Ismail was shocked at her words. Was this the same arrogant girl he knew?

He had been regretful that she was defeated by Azadine, but now he threw those feelings away. Mediam had never treated anyone like that before, and here she was, trying to appeal to Azadine.

“You don’t need water? I have some in the can….”

“….

Azadine sighed and moved slowly closer to the Kerim Goats. Just approaching them filled him with warmth.

“Well, since I’ve met my family here, this much should be fine.”

“Uh?”

Mediam laughed aloud and handed the can to Azadine.

“Ah, I feel sleepy. Shall we set a night watch rotation?”

“The Emperor’s Voice will give a warning, so messengers don’t need to stay alert.”

Azadine answered as such. Mediam then glanced over at him and looked up at the night sky.

She looked back at Azadine’s face. Under the bird-shaped mask, which was the standard feature of a messenger, his lower visage looked quite youthful, and his skin was smooth with almost no beard. Looking at his appearance under the mask, she could assume he was handsome.

‘I don’t know what he has hidden under that mask. The part that’s visible, though… he must be really handsome. I want to see what’s behind that mask.’

Mediam went to sleep with such thoughts.

They were tired from the long journey. When their eyes opened, the morning sun was already streaming in. They must have had a good and dreamless sleep.

“Now, now, little lady and droopy eyes. Wake up now.”

Azadine had woken up first and was now warming up. He had an amazing sleep wrapped in the warm fur of the Kerim Goats.

At first, he had clung to the goat as he woke up and came to his senses. He was slightly embarrassed and cleared his throat while he looked at the sunrise.

“Little lady. My name is Mediam, but if that is an affectionate nickname, I will accept it happily.”

“Right, Mediam.”

If he continued to call her that now, she would continue saying the same thing. Azadine, therefore, decided to call her by name.

“Ah, I am Ismail. You can call me….”

“You shut it, droopy eyes.”

Ismail had followed Mediam for some reason but could not make the efforts worth the journey. Azadine then looked at the goats and said.

“Last night, I really slept warmly, thanks to the goats. Thank you.”

“For what? I met my own people by chance in Manita. That is all.”

Mediam laughed at that.

“But these goats don’t have shoes.”

“Horseshoes?”

“If you put it in, the goats will not be able to go up the mountain trail, right?”

“But you two followed the Emperor’s Path, right?”

Azadine pointed this out.

“If you walk along the paved road with bare hooves, they will quickly become worn out. There are horseshoes among our belongings, so for now, walk without riding them. The goats seem thirsty, so if we don’t quickly get over the mountain and return to a place with plenty of water, they will die.”

Azadine began to speed up.

“Ah, the-then?”

As Mediam excitedly chased after him, Azadine drew a line.

“Until we meet other people nearby, you two can continue, got it?”

“Ah. Yes.”

Mediam looked at Azadine with stiff eyes.

Azadine walked along the path, his steps swift. Each step was also large enough that there was no difference in speed compared to the two riding the goat. Mediam continued to stare at Azadine’s face while urging the goats to move at the same speed.