Avenger Of Vengeance (1)

“Th-this bastard.”

They were angry, but they were afraid of the hippogriff. And they also feared Azadine’s name.

“If it is Sir Azadine, that means the one from the Messenger Clan, right? The one from the Chadra Plateau….”

“There have been plenty of fellows who tried to pass through without paying taxes by invoking that name, haven’t there? Couldn’t this one be a fake too?”

“Still, there probably is not another boaster riding around on a hippogriff. To be honest, if he wanted to get by without paying the toll, he could probably just fly away, so the fact that he is waiting here means….”

“No, I get it, so please just tell him to shut up already. He is loud and irritating, isn’t he?”

The road guards looked miserable.

But Scott kept provoking them with nagging comments and demands, scraping away at their tempers.

“Ah, by the way, I find myself in need of some drinking water. Might you perhaps have some clean water? If possible, I would also appreciate it if you filled my waterskin. As you all know, tasks like that are far more efficient when performed by people familiar with the terrain, landmarks, and arrangement of objects in the area. Yes? Surely you are not about to say you do not know that. Or is it this? The wasted time is yours, so you can go fetch the water yourself? Ah, dear me. Gentlemen, the value of time is relative. Unlike you, I possess a highly developed intellect, which means that in the same span of time I am capable of deeper reflection and higher thought. As a being possessed of intelligence transcending race, do consider efficiency. Ah, though perhaps that is difficult for your intellects to imagine? Or was the word efficiency too difficult for you?”

“Hey, you…!”

The toll collectors had finally had enough and lowered the heads of their spears to Scott’s chest level.

“Pardon me, but that orc over there is part of our group. Has he caused some sort of trouble?”

At last Azadine and Zebec arrived at the road.

Azadine had his face plainly exposed, while Zebec, being a wanted man, stayed off to one side and avoided the soldiers’ gaze with a visor-covered helmet pulled low over his face.

“Ah.”

“W-who is that?”

“Those are purple eyes, aren’t they? I-it really is Sir Azadine.”

The guards, flustered, drew back their spears.

“Ah, Boss. You came just in time. Whew. Look at these forearm muscles I got just from holding the hippogriff’s reins.”

“If you worry about even breathing, how do you manage to live?”

“That is exactly the problem, actually. When you breathe, a muscle called the diaphragm squeezes the lungs, and among the orcs I know, there was one whose diaphragm got so thick he died of respiratory failure.”

It sounded like a joke, but among orcs, whose muscles developed too easily, it was actually a common cause of death. Muscles even formed around the internal organs, shortening their lifespan through reduced heart and lung function. That was the cursed fate of the orcs.

Seeing the guards gaze at him with shining eyes, Azadine handed them money. On the way here he had emptied his small-change pouch at the inn, so the smallest coin he could take out of his purse was a silver one.

“For the toll. And with what remains, let each of you buy yourselves a drink as my apology for this fellow’s nuisance.”

“Oh no, really, you needn’t.”

“It’s quite all right. Ha ha ha.”

“Well now, you are a man who knows proper manners. Ha ha.”

Though the soldiers declined with their mouths, they gladly pocketed the silver coin Azadine handed over.

But then… Azadine noticed a wanted notice posted on the stake driven into the roadside beside them. Zebec’s wanted poster was attached at the very top.

“Then may we pass? I think we ought to hurry on our way. Though if, in the meantime, you have grown so attached to Scott that you wish to share a heartfelt parting, I won’t stop you.”

Azadine asked the soldiers just in case. They brightened immediately.

“You mean you are going to remove that orc and the hippogriff from here?”

“Of course.”

Apparently Scott had tormented them so badly that the mere thought of him leaving made them look ready to scatter flower petals in celebration from somewhere.

Without even being inspected by the guards, Azadine passed through the three-way crossing together with the disguised Zebec.

It was then.

“Hold on. No matter what, the one wearing the helmet there has to show his face.”

A man who appeared to be an officer, unlike the others, stopped Azadine’s group.

The soldiers clicked their tongues, but Zebec, without complaint, raised his visor. It revealed rough skin pitted with scars, and bandages wrapped around his cheekbones, making him look hideous indeed, with only his gray eyes remaining calm and sunken.

The disguise had been made using Bri hide, and it was so convincing that one could not help being deceived by it.

“Ah, s-sorry. Dear me. Our platoon leader has only been assigned here recently.”

“He got cut after trying to join the Celestial Fire Knights.”

“No, it is fine. He was only doing his duty.”

Azadine suddenly asked them a question.

“So, have you perhaps seen any people from the King’s Church?”

“People from the King’s Church? Hmm. Ah, yes, there is a female Holy Knight nearby, leading a merchant company and buying up grain.”

“With prices continuing to rise, the farmers are reluctant to sell, so I think she has been acting rather forcefully… though for the sake of the King’s Church’s dignity, it does not seem they have resorted to outright robbery.”

The soldiers trailed off.

Originally, grain purchases were supposed to be handled at the Saint Mallory trade office.

But if they did that, the Rescue Knights Order would impose tariffs, so instead they brought a merchant company directly and dealt with the farmers face-to-face.

This was tax evasion, to be sure, but it had been tacitly overlooked until now. When caravans came inland, they did not merely buy grain with money, but also brought all sorts of needed goods to the villagers, which in turn benefited the villagers as well.

But the King’s Church was hardly likely to sell luxuries or crafts to the residents, so it had become a matter where the Rescue Knights Order ought to say something sharp to the King’s Church for stirring things up so freely within its territory.

“You may run into her if you continue on, but if possible, it would be best not to deal with her. I hear that female Holy Knight is a disciple of an inquisitor.”

“A disciple of an inquisitor?”

At those words, Zebec visibly flinched.

“Does that bring someone to mind?”

“Not just one. There are several. But as for which one it might be….”

“Hmm. It would be best if we could avoid meeting her, but I do not know if that will be possible. Still, from here on there will be plenty of villages.”

Now they were close to Saint Mallory, and looking down from the hills below, one could see wide farmlands spread out beneath them, farms cultivating those lands, and villages formed where those farms clustered into townships.

‘If I were alone, I’d just have flown on the hippogriff, but traveling on foot means we’ll probably run into them, doesn’t it? If I’m not flying on this hippogriff, it’s troublesome in all sorts of ways.’

Azadine slightly regretted his decision to bring the hippogriff along.

If he had known he would end up meeting with Zebec’s party, he would have led a horse instead.

But Firewinter puffed itself up the moment its eyes met Azadine’s.

It was proud of itself for having flown Scott here in obedience to Azadine’s orders.

‘The things it does are cute. I think I can understand a little why Selim likes hippogriffs so much.’

Azadine felt his mood ease as he watched the hippogriff’s cleverness.

Receiving an enthusiastic send-off from the checkpoint soldiers, Azadine set back out on the road.

Just removing Scott from in front of them was enough to make them see Azadine as a savior.

“How much did you torment them for them to react that well?”

“I merely shared a little of my superior insight with those too lacking in intellect to control themselves. And sure enough, they all seemed moved to tears of gratitude. Fortunately, even fools can still tell jade from stone.”

“…….”

Azadine was left speechless listening to Scott’s shamelessly self-serving interpretation.

After that, Azadine seated Scott and Zebec on the hippogriff and continued onward by land.

As they drew closer to Saint Mallory, the roads grew busier with more and more travelers, and many people stared at Azadine’s group as they led the hippogriff along.

“Ah, so you are the famous Sir Azadine?”

“Indeed.”

The road was crowded, and there were many checkpoints as well, but whenever Azadine presented his travel pass, they all nodded and let him through.

Sir Zebec, a wanted man, was disguised with makeup tools made from Bri hide, but for the most part no one even made him remove his helmet.

“It is a problem to become too famous.”

Azadine felt a sense of displeasure at the illusion that the whole world seemed to recognize him.

At heart, an imperial messenger was an imperial secret envoy, and there was nothing good about becoming famous. Some people would do anything to become famous because they enjoyed such notoriety, but Azadine was the sort who disliked fame.

Azadine’s group arrived at the bridge checkpoint on the outskirts.

From this point onward, it was Saint Mallory territory. This was not yet the city proper, but from here on it fell under Saint Mallory’s jurisdiction.

But upon that bridge stood a female knight of the King’s Church, glaring fiercely and blocking the road with a flag in hand.

“Who is that?”

When Azadine asked in puzzlement, Zebec replied.

“That is Sir Maya.”

“Sir Maya?”

“Have you forgotten? She was Bishop Salasma’s adjutant, Sir Kazrek’s illegitimate daughter.”

“Mm. Ah. That one.”

Azadine recalled her. Sir Kazrek was certainly the man who, after wounding civilians in an unfortunate stray-arrow incident, tried to kill the witnesses to cover it up and then clashed with Azadine.

As a result, Azadine had ended up bearing the stigma of being a killer of Holy Knights, and that Sir Maya had pursued him in the name of avenging her father…

“She still hasn’t given up? This is far from Salasma, so she should go back already.”

“Be careful. From the look of her, she does not seem to be in her right mind. Besides, she will recognize both you and me.”

“…….”

The problem was that she was blocking the road, and at this point turning back was hardly an option, because the hippogriff Azadine was leading drew far too much attention.

Sure enough, Maya spotted Azadine’s group.

“You there, leading the hippogriff! We are currently searching for a wanted criminal! I ask for your cooperation.”

“By what authority is the King’s Church conducting a search here?”

The moment Azadine countered like that, she visibly flinched.

“You are….”

Hearing Azadine’s voice, she tilted her head. Then she raised a finger and covered the area around Azadine’s eyes in her field of vision.

Looking only at Azadine’s lower face, his mouth, jaw, and neckline, she was startled.

“Could you be…? Azadine?!”