Herald Of Famine (4)

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁠⁠⁠⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁣⁣⁠⁣⁠⁠⁣⁠Karna’s armor and wings knocked away those arrows, but blood splattered.

“Kuh?! There are more of the Messenger Clan?”

Azadine took advantage of that opening, grabbed Scott and Zebec by their belts with both hands, and lifted them lightly. Then he threw himself backward, kicked off the surface of the water, moved forward, and climbed onto the boat.

There were three men and women of the Messenger Clan on this boat, and they were the ones who had shot Karna with arrows.

“My attack in the middle ruined the look of things, but my offer still stands. Sir Karna. Instead of trying so hard to shut my mouth, why not discuss it with the Courage Order? From the beginning, letting me go free was a trap set by the Courage Order, so should you, as someone belonging to the Wisdom Order, really be dancing in that trap?”

A person belonging to the Wisdom Order was being played by the schemes of the Courage Order.

In a way, it was a scene that plainly exposed the current reality of the Rescue Knights Order. After all, they were behaving in ways contrary to the virtues of the orders and knightly orders to which they belonged.

“Azadine!”

As Karna became enraged, his wings spat out fragments of flame like an erupting volcano and set the Grain Transport Ship on fire.

“Sir Karna!”

Izmilla tried to stop him, then immediately gave orders to the other Celestials behind her.

“Sir Aramis! Hurry and put out the fire!”

“Yeah!”

“Right. All of you just keep putting out the fire on the ship. Let’s go.”

“…….”

The men and women of the Messenger Clan who had brought the small boat silently followed Azadine’s words, pushed off with their poles, and advanced along the river. Even though they were going against the current, they were tremendously fast.

They passed by the stranded Grain Transport Ships blocking the river path and disappeared in an instant.

“Kuh!”

“He is right. Let us put out the fire on the Grain Transport Ship first.”

Izmilla restrained the enraged Karna and, together with the other Celestials and the members of the Celestial Fire Knights, put out the fire on the ship.

“Damn it. That bastard Azadine. I had been looking favorably on him, but he went and did something like this.”

The Celestial Fire Knights had been battered all over from fighting the Nagas and the Messenger Clan. The Celestials had suffered no deaths, but there were casualties among the soldiers and servants, and the horses were exhausted, so they had no strength left to pursue Azadine.

Moreover, Azadine’s group had already fled by boat, so as Izmilla had said, it was reasonable to simply put out the fire on the Grain Transport Ship.

“Izmilla. Keep everyone’s mouths shut about what we just heard.”

“Yes.”

Izmilla answered that while following Azadine’s traces with her eyes.

“Azadine. I am glad you are safe.”

The woman holding the pole looked back at Azadine and sighed.

“You really are coming to resemble Lady Arael.”

“Dimia. You were safe too.”

The ones who had brought this small boat were none other than the four members of Flowers, Birds, Wind, Moon who had once been Arael’s confidants: Dimia of the Flower, Seraph of the Bird, and Indim of the Moon.

Ever since Arael had handed her life over to Azadine and passed on, they had been operating in secret while investigating the Aragasa in order to carry on Arael’s will.

They had been tailing the Aragasa who were attacking the Grain Transport Ships, and when they could no longer bear to watch Azadine protecting the Grain Transport Ships yet fighting Karna with his life on the line, they had come out to help.

Azadine had noticed that and, with his usual nerve, provoked Karna to focus Karna’s attention solely on him, then swiftly succeeded in escaping with Scott and Zebec.

“Now you have completely become Lady Arael’s image. Don’t tell me, you bastard. You are not using that appearance to seduce the opposite sex and live a promiscuous life, are you?”

Indim looked at Azadine and abruptly threw out an impolite and absurd question.

“It has been a while since we met, and what nonsense are you spouting?”

“Then perhaps the same sex? You bastard. I cannot allow that. Azadine, that would be you disgracing Lady Arael!”

“The opposite sex is fine, but the same sex is not?”

“No, I cannot allow you to date anyone. You are a being who has inherited Lady Arael’s appearance and will. But if you live a promiscuous life, would you not become even more of a laughingstock to those who oppose you? I cannot forgive Lady Arael’s semblance being subjected to others’ mockery and contempt.”

“Haha. In other words, if I am insulted by others, you, Indim, will become enraged as though it were your own affair. Well, that is how it sounds to me.”

“N-needless words! It is because of Lady Arael’s will!”

“So you are saying I should live abstinently in order to carry on Arael’s will?”

“Yes. You understood well.”

“You know that is impossible even when you think about it yourself, right? In that case, how about you, someone I can trust, become my partner? If you keep your mouth shut, there will be no rumors outside.”

“Wh-what? Are you serious? While wearing Lady Arael’s appearance… Ah, no. That is.”

Indim became so flustered that he did not know what to do.

“You really are fun to tease.”

Azadine chuckled as he watched Indim panic.

“So what were you doing?”

Azadine ignored Indim, who was saying absurd things, and asked Dimia and Seraph a question.

“We were tracking the Senate’s activities.”

“That sounds exciting. What are those people up to?”

“Currently, the clan has obtained the thrones of Korasar and Vthuma, but the thrones are rejecting the Senate and not acknowledging them as kings. The Nagas tried to defile the thrones with Nether sorcery, but that seems to be failing as well.”

Thanks to Azadine and Arael pouring all the copies of the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth they had gathered so far into weaving a spell formula into Vthuma’s throne, even if the Light of the Crown could not protect the kingdoms, it seemed to be preventing the thrones from falling to sorcery.

“The clan members who expected that once they obtained the thrones, all their resentment from past persecution would be resolved and they would seize wealth and power are growing increasingly dissatisfied. The Senate is blaming all of it on the traitor Azadine interfering, and on you killing Elder Kazas and Leader Hathir.”

“Really? Then why did they attack the Grain Transport Ships?”

“Among the Nagas, someone called the Southern Heavenly King has appeared. They say he is not the Naga Queen, but someone blessed by an envoy of Nether, and he is uniting the Naga forces and planning the overall operation. Fimbulbert will be coming, and until then, their objective is to exhaust the humans’ stored food and find a sacred object called the Sun of Seon-u and make it theirs.”

“The Sun of Seon-u? What are you talking about?”

“We do not know well either. We only heard that if they have it, they can endure even Fimbulbert.”

“Really? Where is it?”

“The Nagas and the Aragasa are currently searching for it.”

“How are they searching for it?”

When Azadine asked, Dimia showed a smile.

“Do you happen to know of Elemental Wailing?”

“Ah… that.”

“Recently, Elemental Wailing patients have been increasing even more all across the world. And the Senate, in other words the traitors of the clan who joined hands with the Nagas, have been mainly seeking them out.”

“…Why?”

“They think that those afflicted with Elemental Wailing are useful in finding something called the Sun of Seon-u. But because we are few in number, we do not know more than that. I am ashamed, Azadine. We could not be of much help.”

“No. No. This was an enormous help.”

It was not empty flattery. It was surprising enough that whatever this Sun of Seon-u was would be a great help under Fimbulbert, but for it to be connected to Elemental Wailing was extremely precious and valuable information.

However, from what he had heard, the Nagas were moving in unity under someone called the Southern Heavenly King, and the Aragasa had joined hands with them and seemed to have fallen completely.

“The clan has completely joined hands with them and fallen. What about Mediam?”

He was worried about Mediam, who would be trapped among the fallen clan members.

“You mean that Ethar bloodline girl who was your disciple? Nothing is known. Well, they probably did not kill her. No, but do we really have to know that kind of information too? We are busy as well. We are investigating important matters with the future of humanity and the clan at stake, so we do not have the capacity to look after a child you personally know.”

Indim grumbled as he answered.

“I understand, but was that something you had to answer while getting that irritated?”

“It is because we are not exactly living comfortably either, and you keep saying frustrating things.”

Indim still did not seem to like Azadine.

“Yes, yes. You worked hard. Honestly, you were the four members of Flowers, Birds, Wind, Moon, talents of the level of future heads who could lead the clan, yet even after Arael died, you have kept your faith with her… I am grateful.”

“Gratitude that is not worth even a single coin is… Tch. Hey. You bastard. Show me your face a little. No, damn it. Why are you covered in blood? To smear blood over Lady Arael’s appearance! Who do those insignificant knight order bastards think they are?!”

Indim remembered Azadine’s face, that is, Arael’s appearance, and was left unable to contain the turmoil of two emotions: his inner anger and his adoration for Arael.

‘I need to be careful. This bastard might later carve off my whole face and decorate something with it.’

Azadine felt a sense of danger while watching Indim’s reaction.

“More importantly, Azadine, I know that you entered the Rescue Knights Order. Then why… are you fighting those people from the Rescue Knights Order?”

Dimia worried about Azadine as she wiped the blood on Azadine’s body with the sleeve of her own clothing.

“It would be a long story if I told it. Since my companions have gathered at just the right time, I will tell you.”

Azadine told them how the Northern Emperor Cohen Rioneir had inserted his own forces into the Rescue Knights Order, and how the Celestial Fire Knights had been created by using a secret art that ground down angel statues and reincarnated them as Celestials.

When Azadine told them the information he had found out, everyone was astonished.

Even Zebec and Scott, who had already heard the story, once again marveled at the actions of the knight order that had committed such blasphemy, and at the grand plan of the Northern Emperor behind it, as well as the patience required to achieve that plan.

If even the two people who already knew it reacted that way, then the four members of Flowers, Birds, Wind, Moon—no, the three members hearing it for the first time—could not help but be surprised.

“Ah. My goodness. Something like that happened?”

“To think an entire knight order of that size was made through such a technique. Just how long would they have had to prepare….”

“You have also been living busily. To think you entered the Rescue Knights Order with such deep intentions, I am impressed. To be honest, I was ashamed because I had suspected that you had thrown away your mission and everything else and were simply going around enjoying yourself.”

Seraph was especially impressed with Azadine. In truth, he was someone who had been intensely disappointed when he heard that Azadine had entered the Rescue Knights Order.

He knew that Azadine liked the Rescue Knights Order.

So he had suspected that Azadine had gone to the Rescue Knights Order after throwing off every burden, simply to obtain the rest he had dreamed of since childhood. He had suspected that Azadine was running away from his great mission.

However, when he learned that Azadine was trying to fulfill a new mission within the Rescue Knights Order, he felt ashamed in proportion to how strong his suspicions had been.

“Of course. He is carrying on Lady Arael’s will. He should be capable of at least that much.”

Indim snorted while watching Seraph feel ashamed. Was he trying to say that he himself had believed in Azadine?

“So what will you do now, Azadine?”

“I will have to return to Chadra, prepare food, and train troops. Also, I must recover the Wendigo’s Dagger, and I have to charge into Banreung Academy to investigate Elemental Wailing. I have many things to do.”

Currently, the Wendigo’s Dagger was held by Triodana, a Celestial of the Wisdom Order.

“The Wendigo’s Dagger. Shall we recover it for you?”

“No. I will handle matters related to the knight order. You should continue monitoring the movements of the Aragasa. If possible, check Mediam’s whereabouts as well. I know you are busy and have a lot of work, but if you are dealing with the Aragasa anyway, it should not take that much extra effort, right?”

Azadine discussed what had happened so far and his plans from this point on with the four members of Flowers, Birds, Wind, Moon—no, now the three members.

Azadine, Scott, and Zebec got off at a rapid where the current was too strong for the small boat to continue upstream.