Chapter 24 – Astra Follower 5

“Uh!?”

-Mistletoe!

An attack landed on the enemy’s back.

“You bastard!”

The spider legs shot towards the target, but it didn’t reach.

“A spider cannot scratch their backs.”

The sword flashed along with the messenger’s sarcastic words.

Puak!

The mercenary captain’s head was blown off, and small spiders began to come out from where he had been cut to try and rebuild it. However, it was useless since the head had been cut away.

The Messenger Clan member, who had cut off the captain’s head with a single swing, leaned forward and trampled on the opponent with a cloak over the wound.

Puak!

When he stepped on the cloak, blood poured out and soaked it.

“Uh… eee.”

Tarki, who saw this happening, was shocked at how easily the man had killed the captain.

“Was this guy the leader? He didn’t lose his sanity despite becoming a spider. He must have been a fairly high-level Kurt clan member.”

He said this and then turned his head to look at Tarki, who didn’t lose his sanity either. Besides, the employer of the mercenaries was also suspicious.

“Ah, w-wait. I am…”

Srng

The sword that had killed the mercenary captain was not pointed at Tarki.

“Aren’t you a messenger? Then do not kill me, because… l-look at this!”

He hurriedly pulled a necklace from his pocket and shook the small leather pouch attached to it.

“Ah, you cannot see like this. Wait.”

Tarki pulled something out from inside the pouch.

A Gold Coin.

“…”

The messenger became silent.

“A-as I thought. My mother told me this! You can make a request to the Messenger Clan using the Emperor’s Gold Coin.”

“Even if you have a gold coin, it doesn’t matter if you don’t make a petition.”

“Ah, damn it! Fine.”

Tarki grumbled and tossed the gold coin into the triangle shape on the ground nearby. The gold coin disappeared, and a golden light shone inside the triangle.

The messenger sighed and sheathed his sword as he approached.

“H-How is that? I am your employer now, right?”

“The right word is petitioner, not an employer. So what is the content of your petition?”

“I was infected by that spider. Help me!”

“….”

The messenger sighed.

“Ah, this…”

[The petition has been accepted.]

The Emperor’s Voice announced this.

Azadine sighed.

“Why do I have to accept a petition from this piece of trash?”

“Trash is a bit too much.”

Tarki, who heard this, protested but then went silent when Azadine glared at him.

“Where did you get the Gold Coin?”

“My mother gave them to me.”

“And the mercenaries?”

“My mother hired….”

Tarki was an illegitimate child, but his mother came from a wealthy background.

When she heard that she would be officially brought into her husband’s family if she found a copy of the magic book, she hired mercenaries for Tarki and gave him some Emperor’s Gold Coins.

“Mother did this, mother did that. Is this what a man who plundered a village is saying? You are a child.”

“What? You bastard, how can you talk to your employer….”

Srng

Azadine’s blade moved past Tarki’s nose.

“Euk!?”

Tarki felt like his body could be cut as quickly as wool. He was like a literal piece of paper. Any more movement and his neck could be next.

“It is troublesome if you treat me like some servant just because you paid one coin. The Emperor’s Petition does not give you a slave in exchange for one coin, just protection.”

“T-then, what will you do?”

“Before that, are you unable to do magic?”

“Uh?”

“Your step-brother is Kozel, right?”

“You know Kozel?”

“Anyway. No matter how low your position is, if you are descended from the Eight Heavenly Kings, you can do magic to some extent, right? Ah, damn it.”

Azadine turned to see that the girl had followed him.

“Mediam.”

“Yes.”

“Thunderbolt. Weak. Please.”

“Uh, me?”

“Yes.”

Azadine had asked Tarki if he could use magic, but he himself could not.

‘I have some secret tricks, but even with those… it would be difficult to kill the spiders without harming the person.’

Therefore he had asked Mediam, but she was hesitating.

“I mean, as a fellow person from Manita Town, I can help you. However, don’t you think it’s a little too much to accept a gold coin contract that binds you?”

“…”

Mediam pointed out the part Azadine didn’t want her to say.

“R-right?”

“Can you just not take me in as a servant? If you do that, then I will use Thunderbolt.”

Mediam was someone who knew how to target a person’s guilt. If he didn’t recognize her as a servant, she wouldn’t use Thunderbolt.

With that said, Azadine will have to think of something.

Whether or not he acknowledged her as a servant, just so she could use her magic.

Could he even refuse this now?

“Ergh, you two… What would you even do after becoming my servant? Fine. I accept you.”

“Ah, t-thank you! I will work hard!”

She cast her magic excitedly.

“Hmmm.”

Ismail groaned in pain. Every word and action that Mediam gave to Azadine made his heart hurt.

He didn’t feel much until now because Mediam hadn’t shown any interest in her peers.

Mediam had always been like that. She was never interested in those around her, her eyes locked toward the world beyond.

Which was why Ismail longed for her.

Arael was called the clan’s genius, but he had never seen her. Mediam was pretty, daring, and skillful. Above all, she had a right to challenge anyone because she was from the Ethar clan.

When Ismail was young, he would jump off waterfalls to get her attention. Still, she was indifferent to him.

However, she was pushing herself to Azadine now. When he saw that, it felt like he was falling a billion times.

“What is with him again?”

Azadine sighed while he looked at Ismail, who seemed unwell.

“Kuaaaal!”

Tarki, who was hit directly by Mediam’s Thunderbolt, fell down screaming as the dead spiders began to ooze out of his body.

As expected, the Thunderbolt could expel the spiders in his body. Even if his body hurt, it was better than dying to these spiders.

“Phew. It is quite difficult to control the power to not kill a person. Anyway, mission accomplished. Isn’t it great?”

Mediam said this to Azadine as she stumbled slightly. He moved in to support her.

“Are you fine? Sorry. Seems like I overworked you.”

“N-no. Some rest, and I will be fine. Daughters of Ethar aren’t so weak.”

Mediam chuckled and laid down.

“Then, since the petition is done, shall we kill him now?”

Ismail asked this, annoyed at seeing Mediam close and happy with Azadine.

“What, you brat? Euk!?”

Tarki was shocked at these words, but he was suffering from the aftereffects of Thunderbolt and felt no power in his limbs. Even if a child like this tried to kill him, he would have no choice but to die.

Besides, seeing that little girl use magic… even if his body was in good condition, he couldn’t fight back.

‘Isn’t this shocking? I cannot even be compared to them. I wonder if a Heavenly King Slayer could do this much.’

It was the same for the man that killed the mercenary captain… Tarki now realized that he had no way of fighting back.

“Ismail, don’t speak nonsense.”

“His petition was granted. Then can we not take his life now?”

“No. Once they become our petitioners, we do our best for them, even after we finish it. Killing them right after isn’t the right way to show our sincerity. Besides, the Emperor’s Voice hasn’t spoken yet.”

Azadine said no to Ismail’s request.

“Even though he breaks the Emperor’s Law and hurts people?”

“If that was the case, he couldn’t have made a petition no matter how many Gold Coins he had. At least this means that he won’t violate the nation’s laws too much in the future.”

A petition made using a gold coin wasn’t just a magic spell. It was done when the petitioner did it with a sincere need. It was not some magic that would trigger when they threw a gold coin into the triangle. The Emperor’s Voice assessed the wishes and goals of the person before deciding to accept it.

If not, the holy knights or a heretic hunter from the King’s Church could make a trap for messengers using the gold coins.

If they petition the Messenger Clan, they become people who would side with the clan even if they don’t like it.

‘That was why I provoked him to make a petition, but I didn’t think he would actually do it.’

Azadine didn’t like Tarki, but seeing his petition succeed in front of his eyes meant there was no reason to ignore the petition.

‘Well, if I think about it, this is good. Didn’t I already earn two gold coins in one day?’

When the village was attacked, a villager had made a petition there. However, they had died before Azadine arrived, so he was still given the gold coin.

Tarki, who he saw later, did it right before him, and the petition was cleared by using Mediam. This way, he had earned two coins. This could be a happy moment.

‘I do feel bad for the victims who lost their lives after spending a gold coin. But if those who wronged them were punished, they would be happy. It is just that I personally do not like this one.’

Azadine glared at Tarki.

“W-wait. Aren’t you saying too much when you plundered some from me?”

Tarki realized neither Azadine nor Ismail liked him and tried to make excuses. However, this was just a baseless statement.

“What? What does that mean?”

“No, aren’t you just lazy, incompetent, and an idiot?”

Tarki was revealing his noble actions right in front of them.

Those who lived at the border had to clear a barren land while exposed to dangerous monsters. Lords with foresight who wanted to expand their territory through land clearing would inevitably reduce their taxes and station troops to ensure their safety.

It was a place where the work was more difficult than in other places. Even though the profit was there, the work was equally hard.

That was because someday, when the people gathered, the fields would bloom, and the dangerous animals would be driven out. The place would then become as productive as other cities.

However, most lords wouldn’t wait that long. From their point of view, the frontier was just where a lot of lazy people gathered near the border.

They didn’t care that cultivating land which wasn’t farmland was a tough endeavor. This wasn’t limited to just Casel, but was a prejudice held by most nobles.

This was why Count Casel gave the refugees who abandoned their lands and evacuated due to drought a cold reception.