CH 11

The rumors said that Azadine was the weakest messenger in the history of the Messenger Clan. Adults threatened their daughters by saying that they would be married off to him. However, the Azadine before Mediam was wise, skilled, and experienced.

It was hard to believe that he only had three months of experience as a messenger.

“What is it? Why do you keep looking at my face? Is there something on my face?”

“The rumors say that you are cursed, and the marks of it are left on your face.”

“So?”

“But looking at it now, it all looks good. Actually, your older sister Arael is a peerless beauty, right?”

“Ack.”

At the mention of his sister’s name, Azadine pretended to gag.

“She isn’t the older sister, but the younger one.”

It is a custom of the Messenger Clan that the firstborn of a family needs to take on greater responsibility and authority.

“She claims to be your elder sister.”

“Have you met her?”

“I didn’t meet her, but I heard this.”

“Then you just heard rumors.”

Azadine declared this and began to walk.

The Messenger Clan was also composed of noble families below the five founding families. Below them came the commoners and those of low status.

Azadine and Arael were both born at the bottom of the hierarchy, as their father had been a traitor. They had nothing to inherit and no honor to maintain. Yet, both of them insisted on being the elder to the other.

“Huhu.”

Mediam smiled as Azadine’s appearance was now amusing to her.

“…”

On the other hand, Ismail was silent as he watched her laugh.

After walking through the hill for half a day, vegetation could be seen around them. In addition, water was also flowing nearby as the road looked wet.

“Ah, this?”

“There is a fountain close by. I happened to leave my supplies there. Shall we go and get them? Shouldn’t you people be giving water to the goats?”

Azadine led the two of them to the water spring. It was a bit of a stretch to call it a spring since it was just some water flowing through the rocks.

“The quantity went down a lot. This is bad.”

There was less water than when Azadine first spotted it. Still, the situation was better than on the eastern side of the mountains. That side was turning into a desert.

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

A Kerim Goat was grazing around the spring. It recognized Azadine and came running to him.

“Nice. Sweater, did you wait?”

A Kerim Goat had better balance and could jump further than horses. They were also good at traveling through rough terrain but were vulnerable to heat and dryness due to their long hair.

Azadine had deliberately released the goat near water so they could feed on the grass and had moved alone to the dry lands to carry out his mission.

There was a possibility that the goat might have been killed by bandits or wild beasts. Still, it had thankfully survived safely because the area was less populated. Azadine patted it and looked around.

“Let us take a break here. I will have to get my supplies back.”

“Supplies?”

Azadine picked up a large rock near the spring and pulled out a sack that was hidden under it.

“Nice. The supplies seem to be in good condition.”

The Emperor’s Voice had given him limited time, so he had to rush and leave many of the items he typically carried with him. Having recovered them safely, Azadine could breathe a sigh of relief.

“Um, I was just wondering if I could wash up.”

Mediam looked in disappointment at the small stream of water trickling from the rocks.

“As we head down the mountain, the quantity will increase slowly. For now, be content with watering the goats.”

At that moment, the bushes nearby began to shake.

“Kuak, what is this now?”

“Look here! Who gave you permission to fetch water from our spring?”

No matter who saw them, the six people that appeared clearly looked like bandits. There was blood on their mismatched armor, most likely from the soldiers they had killed or from commoners who had picked them up.

Mediam and Ismail looked at Azadine, who had put his hand on his weapon. He then asked them.

“I have no intention of fighting. What do you people want?”

“We want it all.”

“Yeah, catch the woman and kill the boys!”

The men approached confidently, confident they would win because they outnumbered them by three.

They were confident that Azadine was the only person who could fight properly. His unguarded state gave them confidence. At that moment, Azadine kicked a stone off the ground and held it in his hand.

“I am asking just in case, is there really no room for compromise?”

“What is this guy on about?”

“Seeing you have a mask on your face, what are you? A clown?”

“You think so?”

Azadine grabbed the stone in one hand and split it into pieces. At the same moment, the fragments were shot out like bullets and impacted with the lead bandits in their crotch.

“KUAK?!”

“ACK!”

Two of the men grabbed onto their crotch and knelt in pain.

“AHHH….”

“I-it pierced!”

Their pants were pierced in the crotch area and were stained with blood.

“Y-You bastard!”

The enraged bandits tried to swing their weapons, but Azadine simply pushed them aside and approached their leader. He had been the one who had ordered the girl to be captured and the men to be killed.

“Uh?”

“Man…”

Azadine punched lightly, causing a gust of wind to move with his fist.

Swish!

Blood splattered as the leader fell down, screaming.

“KWAAKK!”

“B-Boss?!”

“What?”

They couldn’t understand why their boss was reacting so severely when he had just been hit by one light punch. With this in mind, those who approached Azadine were startled. Their leader’s face had been ripped in half.

His nose was torn, and his cheekbones were crushed inwards. Bones were visible in the open, and his eyeballs dangled out the side as if they had been pulled out. It was a sight that no one wanted to see as if he had been mauled by a bear’s paw instead of a human’s fist.

“KWAKKKK!”

“Euk… W-what?”

“….”

The bandits weren’t the only ones surprised at the sight. The two children were also shocked.

‘What is that power?’

‘Is it really not magic and just a punch?’

Mediam and Ismail felt fear.

Three bandits had fallen instantly, and only three were left now. Those who remained were no longer motivated to fight.

“W-we apologize.”

“We didn’t recognize you!”

“But you people wanted everything? You said you didn’t want to compromise, though?”

“Oh, not at all.”

“Then why are you carrying a weapon?”

“Euk!”

The bandits immediately laid down their arms and knelt on the ground.

“Mediam and droopy eyes. Take their weapons.”

“….”

Seeing that he called Mediam by her name and Ismail as droopy eyes, he was still insistent on not calling her by a nickname.

Mediam and Ismail took the weapons and moved to Azadine’s side.

“Now, shall we ask questions? Why are you people here? As I see it, you don’t seem like thieves.”

‘Uh? They aren’t thieves?’

‘Not thieves?’

Mediam and Ismail were shocked by this, but the bandits who heard this looked elated.

“Yes, that’s right. We are actually good people.”

No matter how much they claimed, they clearly weren’t good people. Mediam frowned at them, but they began to say anything they could think of out of a desire to live.

“We were conscripted.”

“Conscripted?”

“Yes. Those bastards from the Margrave’s Castle… what was it? They were conscripting people to search for the pages of some book and were sending us towards random things.”

“Still, no rain has fallen in these lands. Everyone is becoming either wanderers or bandits.”

“We received an order to scout around to find an object for which we had no way of finding. As we turned around, we ended up meeting your noble self.”

They praised Azadine’s party as nobility, perhaps hoping that flattery would work.

There was no way they were happy after encountering Azadine. They had transformed into boot-licking machines because they saw what had happened to their leader.

But what they said through flattery was the truth, and there was no lie in it. Count Casel was trying to find a copy of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth.

“You are just thieves making excuses, right?”

“Impossible! This isn’t a road that mercenaries use either.”

The eastern lands had not seen rain in a month. Even if they were trying to rob people, they wouldn’t use this less populated path.

“Then we have no choice but to kill them to shut them up.”

Mediam clearly thought little of killing.

“Wait, Mediam. I don’t kill people that easily.”

“Uh?”

“We need to kill them. Even if they are people who might change, if we let them live now, our movements would be exposed.”

Ismail noted that the bandits should be killed even if they were disciplined.

“N-No!”

“Wait, please stop… how can you people think like that?”

The bandits bowed in fear as everyone there waited for Azadine to decide.

“The life of a person, once taken, cannot be brought back, so how can you think of killing someone that easily? Everyone should have a second chance.”

“Ah….”

Ismail and Mediam sighed. There were sometimes those who chose not to kill people. Yet did anyone ever imagine the Messenger Clan to have one of those in their ranks?

Meanwhile, the bandits were very happy.

“R-right. Ahem! Human life is precious.”

“As expected, elder! You are such a generous man.”

“Because of the elder’s mercy, I hope your family will be blessed for generations.”

“We will keep our mouths shut!”

“Ahem! How could we leave such a benefactor without showing our thanks? We are not shameless. If we betray this ever bright, merciful, and great person, we will end up in hell.”

Since when did Azadine become a person who enjoyed flattery? It felt as if the bandits were ready to become eunuchs for him.

Besides, weren’t two of their number already castrated now?

Azadine looked back and smiled.

“Well, if I used energy to inflict permanent damage to each of you, you wouldn’t be able to harm others even if you don’t repent immediately. That is the only way we can ensure they repent for the rest of their lives.”

“…”

“Uh?”

“Do not move too much. If you move, then not just your eyes, but even your face would fly off.”

“Euk!?”

“D-do not joke around!”

The bandits tried to resist, but Azadine’s fist struck the first one who tried to stand. Blood and flesh splattered onto his comrades’ faces.

“KWAAKKKK!”

“I told you to be still; otherwise, your noses would end up flying. Stay calm, and it will end with just one eyeball.”

Azadine felt sorry for the one who received more damage than necessary, but he wasn’t going to stop.

“Kuak!”

Terrible screams echoed through the trees in the forest.