Chapter 32 – Black Magic Chaos (2)

Perhaps Kozel was indeed trash-like among the Count’s children. However, Tarki wasn’t all that different, considering he plundered innocent people.

But these two, Kaka and Chicho, must be saying these nice things because they felt close to Tarki. If they met Kozel, they would probably say the same things to him too.

This was an obvious attitude, and, considering their actions, they were trying to not make many enemies within the family.

“So, where is brother heading to?”

“I am heading back to Salasma. I lost the mercenaries, and I have to move around alone… coincidentally, these people were also heading in the same direction, so they are accompanying me.”

“Well, if you continue this way, the Rescue Knights are camped that way.”

The two then turned towards Mediam and Ismail.

“… such a beauty. A girl this pretty might get picked up by the Rescue Knights. You should try avoiding that.”

The Rescue Knights recruited orphans from all over the world, and there were rumors that they often kidnapped healthy-looking children. Kaka and Chico must have warned her because she was the kind of pretty child that was quite in demand.

“Are you telling me to avoid that path and join the wyvern hunt? We aren’t fighters, just simple pilgrims.”

Azadine’s group were now disguised as innocent pilgrims, helpless people who had asked Tarki to escort them. Yet with the threat of Mediam being dragged away by the Rescue Knights, they should join a hunt instead?

“Well, I am indeed asking you to do that. It just means joining a group that is taking a different route. Now that there are many people, bandits and monsters wouldn’t recklessly attack you.”

When trying to avoid packs of monsters and bandits, even strangers would group up to increase their numbers. However… it was surprising that they would choose to avoid crossing paths with the Rescue Knights.

Suppose the bandits and monsters were possible disasters that may or may not happen. Were the Rescue Knights a confirmed disaster?

“Even if it is a wyvern, it would avoid places people travel through. We are going to hunt it, but we’ll do it separately. We will just go on the same path for now.”

“Hmm?”

However, Azadine, who had faith in the three archangels, asked curiously?

“But do we really need to avoid the Rescue Knights? Even by going off the path? No matter what kind of people they are, they wouldn’t possibly force a child who didn’t want to join them, right?”

“….”

Kaka, Chico, and even Tarki were surprised.

“It seems like you’re a sincere believer…”

“Is he stupid? Maybe that is why he is a pilgrim. What is he talking about?”

“Anyways, the Rescue Knights cadres blocking the path here are dangerous because they are the corrupt ones.”

“Ah.”

Azadine understood that.

“No matter what group there is, when they are working away from their principles, it is hard to reason with them.”

“Ahaha, r-right”

Kaka let out a flustered laugh.

“Then let us head this way.”

Azadine’s party requested Kaka and Chico to let them join their group. The siblings then led them to join a party made up of their employers and merchants.

“It is good to have a lot of people. Even thieves and beasts won’t attack us recklessly if we have a large party.”

The merchants readily welcomed their new companions.

While staying overnight at an inn, the merchants and adventurers invited Azadine to a drinking party.

“Aren’t you pilgrims moving safely, thanks to our adventurers? Let’s sit down and be friends for now.”

They said they wanted to strengthen their bond, but it was more of them talking about sacrificing their bodies for money. They had hired the adventurers and paid for the security, but Azadine was just along for a free ride.

‘Even if we are helpless pilgrims like they said, it would be important to fill the number into a large one to avoid thieves and beasts, right? Is it too much to hire mercenaries? The merchants don’t seem that great.’

The mood was already turning sour, so he was worried about how the situation would end up later. Of course, the man spoke without thinking because he was drunk. Still, he must be saying this to Azadine because he was acting meek.

Azadine refused to drink. He wore a helmet to hide his wound and would have to show his face if he decided to drink. The scars on his face were memorable, so he didn’t want to reveal them to others.

“Since I am a pilgrim, I have to refuse.”

“Huh. This young friend is being timid again.”

“It will be hard to be a pilgrim if we falter right from the start.”

“No, it is because we don’t have a specific time or place for our pilgrimage. I am doing this to gain some enlightenment and gain good karma.”

“Ahh. He must have done something in his hometown.”

“Did you touch some noble’s daughter?”

When everyone saw Azadine, the pilgrim, they most likely saw him as a young man who had caused an accident in his hometown and fled under the pretext of a pilgrimage.

“Ehh, stop now. Do not mess with this boring friend. Do not expect anything from him.”

Fearing that Azadine or Mediam would get angry, Tarki tried to stop them, but the drunk people continued to question Azadine.

Azadine took his helmet off. Since he was traveling with them, it would be impossible to keep his helmet on when eating and drinking. Besides, if he had to show his face one day, it would be better to show it from the start instead in the middle. He had placed a blindfold over his eyes.

“Uh? What is that?”

“I have a wound there. The pus keeps coming out.”

The blindfold looked wet as if something was leaking. It was oil from the Kerim Goats’ hair mixed with wax that was applied together to resemble pus.

But of course, the people there didn’t need to know that.

“But can you see in front of you?”

“I can see through this gap. Very little.”

Azadine lied again. No one was interested in touching a wet blindfold. They didn’t even look at it for that long.

“Now, let us all have a drink!”

The merchants and adventurers offered a drink to Azadine.

“Drinking alcohol when the wound is severe makes it worse.”

“It’s bound to happen anyway, right? Is the pus oozing? So whether you drink or not, it doesn’t matter.”

“Hehehe.”

Everyone was drunk and went back to talking.

“Will you not drink? I will have to consider this as a party. You were moving with the children and didn’t want them to be taken away by the Rescue Knights, right?”

“But are they your son and daughter? If not, your siblings? The girl is very pretty.”

“Siblings.”

“Is that so? You don’t look alike. Even your hair color doesn’t match.”

“We are cousins.”

“And you are on a journey with those children?”

“Yes, but I have other relatives, so we intend to meet with them.”

“Hahaha. If it is alright, how about sending her to our family as an adopted daughter?”

“….”

Sending a child as an adopted daughter could be taken literally. Still, it could also be a vague proposal about raising a pretty child to be their future lover.

Therefore there needed to be an understanding when making an adoption proposal to not cause mishaps and speak about how the child would be raised.

These merchants don’t seem to have good characters considering how they acted after a few drinks.

“You, drink, man!”

The drunkards kept forcing Azadine to drink too.

“S-sorry for refusing so much.”

Azadine finally accepted the drink.

The drunken merchants were talking and joking around.

“But I heard there is a pretty nice woman where we are going this time?”

“Ah, right. There was this nice woman at the sawmill.”

“No, how can there be a nice woman in such a poor village?”

“She’s someone from the Messenger Clan.”

“…!?”

“What? The Messenger Clan?”

“To be precise, the head of the sawmill bought her because she is a woman from the Messenger Clan that was sold as a slave.”

“A woman from the Messenger Clan was sold into slavery? Does that make sense? Those bastards are monsters.”

“Did you see her?”

“I thought they were incredible when I was younger. How did such a woman get captured?”

“Ah, to be exact, she isn’t a member of the Messenger Clan, but her father was. The man used to be part of the Messenger Clan and had gotten a woman pregnant. She then gave birth to the child, but her parents must have caught on.”

One of the missions of someone of the Messenger Clan was to make an heir or find a spouse from a foreign tribe. The clan was relatively small. The genes would eventually weaken if blood was too intermixed within a clan.

If only those within the clan married each other, it would eventually weaken the genes and people. Therefore, the clan had to intermingle with the people of Hubris.

However, if they didn’t take these children to a Sanctuary of the Messenger Clan, such problems inevitably occur.

“Hehe. Is she really from the Messenger Clan?”

“Isn’t it just the daughter of some man who had an affair and then sold her by claiming she was from the Messenger Clan?”

Even the Emperor and Kings forbade slavery.

From their standpoint, the kings and officials knew that there was a decrease in productivity when slaves weren’t acknowledged. It wasn’t an environment where slaves could be acquired through wars; allowing it would simply lead to a rise in cults.

There was no need to create more traitors when people were already siding with the Kurt clan and other dark forces.

To the people of Hubris, however, the Messenger Clan were sinners. Just a rock on the side of the road. They would just kick it aside and enslave them with no thought.

This was what it meant to be called Soulless Beings. Violence inflicted on them didn’t even register as evil karma in the cycle of reincarnation. Against the Messenger Clan, any injustice, violence, or scams were justified.

In other words, you could falsely accuse someone of being from the Messenger Clan to enslave them.

“Well, she was pretty. And if you give the head of the mill a bottle of alcohol, you can even hug her.”

“What? Is that true? Any alcohol would do?”

“Hehe. I want a slave like that too.”

“You can buy the Messenger Clan child she gives birth to. But it will be a bit pricey.”

“But, wouldn’t there be almost no blood from the Messenger Clan?”

“So what? It will be a slave.”

They all laughed.

Clech!

Suddenly, a loud noise came, and one of the talking adventurers turned his head. Azadine stood in front of him with a red face, visibly drunk.

“Euk! T-this brat!”

“What?”

“What did you say?”