CH 3

As sunrise approached, the knight woke the young girl up.

“Get up now. I am leaving soon to head back to his service, but….”

The knight looked at her fiance, who was hanging by the rope.

“I don’t think you will need to be supporting him anymore.”

Her fiance had already passed away. However, with her body that had not yet recovered, the girl stubbornly pushed her body under his corpse.

“Haa.”

The knight shook his head and turned around.

“What is your name?”

“I am ashamed to speak of my name.”

“I still need to know your name. The Messenger Clan will arrive soon, and I will ask them for help.”

“Hmm? The Messenger Clan?”

When the knight heard that name, he clicked his tongue.

“The Heavenly King Slayers, the people with no souls? Did you ask for them? I do not know if they are nearby, but even if they do arrive… There are 20 armed soldiers under Lord Kozel’s command. I will be there too. Within Lord Kozel… flows the blood of kings.”

The blood of kings, this was neither sarcasm nor lies.

The nobility and royalty who could use magic had the blood of gods within them, blood inherited from a tribe descended by the God, Yaegas. Normal humans could not fight against someone who could use magic and unnatural powers.

But the girl simply smiled weakly.

“A mage can be killed by those from the Messenger Clan. They, too, are mages.”

The girl had seen the gold coin disappear and a bird who spoke the language of humans. If that wasn’t enough proof that the Messenger Clan could use magic, what more could she say?

After all, they were called the Slayers of the Heavenly Gods, but didn’t they receive that name because they had killed kings with the blood of gods?

When the messenger came to intervene, they would avenge what had happened. Until then, she would need to endure it.

“Hmm, you don’t seem to be sane. Well, too many things have happened, and it is too much for just one person to handle it all.”

The knight was clearly upset to learn that the girl’s condition was no longer normal.

“I will come to find you again tonight. My name is Zebec, a holy knight of the King’s Church. I am not giving you my name, so I would be spared against a Heavenly King Slayer. If he comes, I will fight him with all my might.”

“…”

This self-proclaimed knight lowered himself as the sun rose and returned while hiding in the morning dusk.

It was an unusually hot and sunny day.

Knight Zebec was concerned for the girl and how she would survive today… Yet he couldn’t show that concern with the Margrave’s son, Kozel, by his side.

“Look here, teacher, smile. Aren’t you happy?”

Kozel began to draw water from a dry well and splashed it on himself.

“If the people are killed, taxes cannot be collected.”

“If you let uncivilized nomads roam, then thieves will only increase.”

“The margrave has other lands which are still fertile. If the people here are evacuated, then they will be able to survive this drought.”

“Why do the children born in the fertile lands have to take on damage for these lowly bastards? Shouldn’t this land be given to those born in a place of plenty? They had made their mark here and made mistakes.”

“Farming isn’t something that could be determined by a single person. It is something decided by the soil, climate, and sky.”

“And the light of the royal flowers also governs this decision. Isn’t that taught by the King’s Church?”

“…”

“They are suffering from drought because they are unfaithful to the Church. This is true according to doctrine, right?”

“That is an extended assumption.”

Zebec replied carefully with this… Even in the King’s Church, he, who had a low status, could not say any more to Lord Kozel, within whom the Blood of God flowed.

The real issue was that there were more people than farmland available.

It was better to kill and confiscate the land and relocate people here rather than allow the previous inhabitants to escape and become thieves who would disrupt the peace of the land.

Kozel had simply come here to exercise the Margrave’s wishes.

The villagers, who did not realize what was happening, still believed they would be spared if they stayed quiet and didn’t resist. Those who had died thus far were simply paying the price for trying to resist the great nobles.

“I am simply doing this to save the people, teacher. If you want to live, even by disobeying my orders, teachers, then do go ahead and try.”

“Wahahaha!”

The soldiers around them burst into laughter.

They were fond of distributing the loot and taking the wine and meat. This man, Kozel, was a good employer for them. Loyalty was only expected as the loot they plundered was also given to them.

However, all of this was almost unbearable for Knight Zebec. Alas, he was bound by the weight of his duties.

That night, Zebec went to the village entrance to try to help the girl once more but frowned as he arrived at the tree. Despite his treatment and help last night, she had failed to make it.

The girl lay dead on the ground, and her burden swayed in the wind, dancing along the chilling whistle of the air.

“In the end, she couldn’t survive. Even calling on the real Messenger Clan would have been useless if this was the case.”

Sir Zebec mumbled as feelings of regret filled him.

For what, though?

For a knight who belonged to the Church, mentioning such things was disrespectful. Did he really expect a messenger to arrive and punish Kozel?

“Such an idiot.”

Sir Zebec sighed and approached the fallen girl. It was then…

Srng.

A blue blade touched his neck before he even realized it.

“Stop. Move, and I will cut you down. Do not even look here.”

A young man’s voice spoke in a warning. Sir Zebec was startled at the blade, which was suddenly touching his vitals. He sensed no one in this desolate place beside a couple of trees. Yet now, someone was holding their blade to him? It was as if a ghost had approached him.

“A member of the Messenger Clan? Really?”

“That is true. But you don’t seem like the petitioner? A knight? One of the Rescue Knights, by any chance?”

“I am Zebec of the King’s Church.”

“… ah.”

The young man’s voice communicated his clear disappointment.

“I am asking to make sure, but you are not the petitioner? No, if you are a knight of that Church and had made a petition, that would be insanity.”

“Are you making fun of me!?”

Zebec was enraged.

“The petitioner is dead then. Well, I received the gold coin for free, but… may I know of the situation?”

“If you would remove that blade from my neck and give me some space, I would gladly tell you.”

“Hmm… You must have had some confidence that you wouldn’t be ambushed. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be suffering this indignity. If you are a knight of the Church, you should have at least that much confidence.”

The young man’s body seemed to blur for a moment, and he had moved away before Zebec could realize it.

“Shocking.”

Sir Zebec was stunned by how quick the boy was.

Was he a ghost, or was it magic?

“A mage?”

“All from the Messenger Clan have their own magic. Except for me…”

“Not magic?”

“Superhuman physical strength is difficult to distinguish from magic.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. What is your name? What is your rank?”

“….”

“I already told you my name. I am Zebec of the King’s Church.”

“Ah, is that so? Excuse me. I am the Emperor’s Messenger, the 108th, Azadine. In the eastern dialect, it is Ashadin.”

The young man politely bowed. He was tall for his age and wore a bird-shaped mask over his eyes and nose and a hat capped by pheasant feathers.

“If you are the 108th…”

The maximum number of messengers under the Emperor was 108. In other words, the one in front of Zebec was the lowest ranking. However, judging from how he had moved so swiftly, he wasn’t an ordinary person.

“Then, as promised, speak about what happened here.”

“That…”

Zebec then told the tale of the girl and her family from what he knew.

“Ah, it was like that….”

Azadine of the Messenger Clan clicked his tongue after hearing this story. An owl then flew in and landed in front of him.

[The contract was established. The gold coin is yours. No. 108, Azadine, move on to the next mission.]

The moment he heard the bird speak, Sir Zebec was shocked. It wasn’t unusual for a bird to speak, but the content of its message was what shocked him.

“You will just leave after receiving the coin just because the person died?”

“Ah, it must mean that this knight of the Church wishes for the petition to be granted. If the petition is granted, something will happen to your lord’s son, you know?”

“Euk.”

Sie Zebec realized that he had spoken wrongly and drew his sword.

“No such thing will happen, soulless one. I will take you down.”

“What?”

Azadine smiled bitterly at the knight who was aiming his sword at him.

“Aren’t you sad to see blood with that sword which was silent in the face of injustice?”

“….”

“Are you angry? At whom? Me? Or are you angry at yourself for staying silent?”

“What do you know….”

“I know nothing, but I think I know more than you realize.”

Azadine pointed to the sky.

“Do you know the constellations in the night sky? Of the myths that are tied to the names of the stars?”

“What are you trying to do by saying this? What do you expect me to say?”

Sir Zebec was shocked by these words.

This young man, what was he talking about?

“Depending on whether or not people have a sense of beauty, they would feel different things while seeing the same thing. To some, the hero of a myth. To others, just a pale light that shines in the darkness, just like mana.”

Azadine pointed to the corpses.

“Just like how you and the other soldiers saw these people being trampled upon differently.”

“It wasn’t different. I just couldn’t do anything.”

“No, it wasn’t that. You healed the petitioner and even waited for me.”

“I am a Knight of the King’s Church. We are sworn to serve those who inherited the blood of the Heavenly Kings!”

“I don’t wish to fight you either, sir knight. If you had pity on that girl, then realize that your sword is now the enemy.”

“….”

As Sir Zebec fell silent, Azadine turned around. It was a clear situation for a strike to his back. It was an advantageous situation, but Sir Zebec didn’t swing his sword.

Azadine moved his hand. A black light flashed, and the ropes were cut, dropping the corpse that had dangled on them.

Azadine lifted the male corpse into the air with just one hand and extended one foot to catch it before it fell to the ground.

“….”

Such amazing skill and sword technique.

Sir Zebec was confident in his own skills, but even he could tell that the man in front of him was a true monster, one that was several levels above him.

Was this what was expected of the Messenger Clan?

Wouldn’t it be almost difficult to kill someone who had such power?