Chapter 48 - Aldis (2)

Generally speaking, Messenger Clan members that belonged to a guild had an inferiority complex. Since they could not become messengers, they tended to be very careful when dealing with them.

This did not apply to Salem.

Salem was a former messenger. He was a high-ranking individual from a prestigious family. In his eyes, Azadine became a messenger through the back door and was acting like a whiny child right now. Not to mention, he was trying to negotiate with him as an equal. Salem was extremely offended.

But Azadine’s patience was wearing thin as well.

‘I can’t stand this. Should I fuck this guy up? But suppose I beat the crap out of him, considering his personality. In that case, he’ll be too focused on how I humiliated him. I really can’t take this anymore.’

“How about we continue this chat outside for a while?”

“Are you trying to come at me? For your information, I may be old, but I can still take down someone like you.”

“If that’s what you think, I don’t see a problem.”

Azadine left the awning first, shocking Salem.

“You moron! All for the better, then! I’ll kill you with my own two hands.”

In a fit of rage, Salem exited the awning. At that moment, they heard the sound of a harp through the night air.

“Is Azadine here?”

It was the youthful, beautiful voice of a young woman.

“Ah-Aldis?”

Azadine was stunned to hear her voice.

That voice interrupted the impending clash between Azadine and Salem. The voice of a young female adventurer approached them along with three breathless horses. She appeared to be in her twenties. Looking at her tall stature and the Moon Horn Bow wrapped around her waist, it seemed that she was of the Messenger Clan as well.

She was also carrying a harp. The harp melody that had filled the air moments ago had probably come from her. A slim sword with silver adornments hung from her waist. Armed with the graceful traditional pheasant-feather arrows, she radiated beauty and elegance merely by being present.

Above all, her eyes were a deep purple color. Her silver hair, purple eyes, and graceful demeanor made her appear more like a fairy than a human.

“M-Miss Aldis.”

“How come you’re here in this remote place?”

Except for the distinct chief, all the merchants bowed their heads to Aldis. Even Salem greeted her with respect.

The ranks of the messengers tended to be filled up when a vacancy appeared. However, Aldis was the rank 1 messenger. She was the pinnacle of skill and status among the 108 messengers.

“Please don’t do that. There are too many people watching …”

Aldis said this and walked up to Azadine.

“Azadine, it’s been a while. I think it’s time you respect me as your superior now.”

“A-Aldis. What happened?”

“I heard about your dismissal. You know, I rushed here from Arangi without a break. I can’t believe I did something so silly.”

Aldis smiled as she said this to Azadine.

“Don’t worry. I pleaded with the Grandmaster that you’d never betray the clan. He said he would retract the dismissal once the organization was back in order. Until then, he’ll have to keep it active, so he asked me to come and reassure you.”

The Grandmaster Aldis referred to was the current leader of the Messenger Clan, Hathir. He was in possession of the “Book Beauties of Nature - Flower, Bird, Wind, Moon.” Due to his position, he was also responsible for teaching magic. Additionally, he also made decisions for the clan as the Chairman of the Senate of Elders.

And Aldis had already made a request to the Grandmaster…

Mediam, who was listening in, clicked her tongue. What a foolish thing this was to claim. Azadine was already under the curse, and there was no guarantee they would lift it. How could he be calmed with just words not backed by any guarantees?

But Azadine might actually be relieved to hear that.

“Ah, thank God.”

“…

From the looks of it, Azadine had absolute trust in Aldis.

‘Wait, what is this? He’s treating her completely differently than other people.’

While Mediam was shocked, Aldis took a letter from her inner pocket.

“This is a letter of oath signed by Hathir and the Elders. With the Emperor’s Voice as their witness, this certificate is a promise to retract your dismissal after six months. Immediate cancellation of the dismissal was debated as well. However, as the matter escalated, the organization suffered quite a blow, so we couldn’t cancel the dismissal immediately. Hence, this letter was sent.”

Aldis wasn’t simply making empty claims but also provided proof of her commitment. Aldis had made those arrogant, high-ranking Elders sign such a letter. Medium, also an arrogant and high-status individual, knew how difficult this was to do. She couldn’t help but acknowledge the extent of Aldis’ influence within the clan.

Azadine received the letter of oath and expressed his gratitude.

“Aldis, thank you for going… to such lengths.”

“I just did the right thing. If anything, because of their frustrating old-school ways, I thought they’d needlessly harass you. But try to put yourself in their shoes. They’re all old, and our clan takes a person’s rank quite seriously. So, they’re just sensitive when it comes to hierarchy. What I mean is, they’ve lived for quite a while, and it’s not easy for them to change their ways.”

Aragasa, the people of the Messenger Clan, was always gifted in martial arts and archery. However, they were called the Heavenly King Slayers for a different reason. The Emperor had given them a magical book with the powers of the Beauties of Nature - Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon. It was Harkonia, the first head of the Messenger Clan, who was the translator of this book.

As Harkonia was a woman, ‘Harkonia’s Writings’ had a better effect on women. Therefore, men with stronger physical abilities and women with remarkable magic typically went on missions together.

In other words, the most powerful messenger was called ‘Harkonia’s Reincarnation’. Aldis had this title before Arael became a messenger. Aldis was born with purple eyes, the same color as Harkonia’s. Belonging to the most prestigious bloodline among the Founding Families, Jeddah, she showed unparalleled skill in magic and archery compared to her peers.

The clan’s leader, Grandmaster Hathir, took her in as a disciple and assigned her a great task from a young age. She was tasked with translating the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth. However, Acre stole the copies of the book before the translation could be completed. The Leader and the Senate of Elders were infuriated and activated the Curse of Service and Acre. Despite their pursuit, he evaded them until the end.

With that said…

The cries of children rang through a deserted path. People around heard the cries coming from a corpse on the ground. As they came closer to look, they saw a grotesque scene, making them sign a cross in the air and run away in fear.

“Oh my.”

“Umbi-umbilical cords from a man’s…”

“It’s the curse! the curse!”

“Oh, Heavenly King.”

The passersby saw children with their umbilical cords still attached to a corpse. They were petrified at the sight, with some shocked to the point of tears.

For a year, the traitor of the Messenger Clan managed to elude all that had pursued him. Yet, in the end, Acre had no recourse to the curse.

His corpse lay on the street after he gave birth to his children. That was the end of Acre’s life.

“Acre…”

The girl was only 12 years old, and she dismounted from her Kerim mountain goat and approached Acre’s corpse.

“Hmph. What a waste. He wasn’t even a messenger. Who knew a researcher like him would be hiding such power?”

A man was looking at Acre’s body as well. It was Grandmaster Hathir who was narrowing his amber eyes as he looked.

Acre wasn’t a messenger but a researcher. He was a mage with an innate talent for interpreting and studying magic. However, the messengers who had chased after him could not capture him as he continued to elude them. It was like a slap to their faces.

“That means these children… were born from the curse.”

“Yeah. Curse of Service. It has never been awakened before this… but it definitely works. What a fool. He had such outstanding talent. Why did he have to betray the clan?”

The Grandmaster Hathir made no attempt to veil his contempt for Acre.

“But are those children alright? They seem hungry.”

“Well, they’re gifted because of the curse. According to the Contract of Service… children born by this curse are more talented than the rest.”

“Then we should take them with us.”

“Yet Acre could have been reborn as one of them! A traitor doesn’t deserve to continue his bloodline. On top of that, they’re twins! Only one child would usually be born from the Curse of Service!”

“Still, I’ll just take a look!”

Grandmaster Hathir glared at Aldis for insisting on doing this.

“You can’t be sure the curse won’t affect you.”

“They’re just babies. We can’t just abandon them. They could die.”

Aldis walked up in desperation and examined the twins closely. A boy and a girl.

“Ah…”

“What is it? Ah!”

Grandmaster Hathir scowled as he approached the corpse. One of the babies had no eyes. His eye sockets only had flesh but no eyeballs.

“As I thought. The twins are a bad omen.”

Hathir drew his long, bluish steel sword.

“N-No, Master!”

Aldis blocked him from the front.

“Get out of my way, Aldis. These two are sinister beings. We need to get rid of them!”

“But… it doesn’t make sense to kill them just because one doesn’t have eyes.”

“What nonsense! How will he live if he’s blind? Think of the brutal fate that an Aragasa has to face. Killing him now is better for all of us!”

“But… please give me a minute.”

Aldis suddenly became very aware that the babies in her arms were staring directly at her.

“This baby-he can see.”

“What?”

“I think he can see even without his eyes.”

“Really? You think so? Are you really lying to me because of some pathetic sense of pity for them?”

“But I can tell he’s looking at me.”

“A baby’s eyes couldn’t possibly be open already. Hm?”

Despite saying this, the Grandmaster also felt a hint of fear. He could sense a gaze as well. The baby girl in Aldis’ arms was staring at him with wide-open eyes.

“How shocking. Does she have Harkonia’s eyes too?”

“Yes. Her eyes are the same color as mine.”

The baby girl had just opened her eyes; they were purple, the same color as Aldis. Even so, the Grandmaster could feel another gaze he could not ignore coming from the baby boy.

“How remarkable are these cursed children born from the Curse of Service? Will the curse improve the clan for the better?”

Grandmaster Hathir immediately discerned that both children possessed extraordinary powers. He clicked his tongue at this realization.

“Okay, I get it. Aldis, they’re your responsibility now.”

Grandmaster Hathir then sheathed his sword once more.

“We failed to recover the Heavenly King’s Book, so it’s better to return with something rather than nothing.”

Aldis then finally returned to Sanctuary with Azadine and Arael. On the way there, she soothed the children, fed them with goat’s milk, and changed their diapers. After all of her hard work, the Elders went on a rampage upon their arrival.

“These children might be a reincarnation of the Heavenly King’s Book! Let’s kill them! Their death could revert them into the book!”

“That makes no sense!”

“I oppose such a delusion of children turning into books, but I agree with the point of killing them. Even if the Contract of Service purified Acre’s blood, flesh, and soul, I could not forgive him. Punishment is necessary.”

Indeed, everyone in the clan was heartbroken. The Messenger Clan had made great sacrifices to obtain the Heavenly King’s Book. They had wasted countless lives in the struggle during the war for Tarasar’s Throne.

Despite having devoted all that gold and blood, the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth had slipped away from them. It was inevitable that they would lose all reason.