Night of the Soulless Heathens – 40



#40. Curse of Service 2

Calypso was confident that the other herald clans would be defeated if they challenged Azadin.

“Oh my my head still hurts from laughing. I feel like I almost died and came back to life. Huh?”

At that moment Calypso stopped walking. He felt a strange air in the forest that had dried up due to the drought before his eyes.

[Hello 106th Calypso.]

The voice of an artificial spirit spoke to me.

“What are you?”

[I am the voice. I am the voice of Arael.]

“Ah that’s Arael’s voice?!”

[Yes as you can see.]

“….”

Calypso was astonished. The Emperor’s voice is a powerful magic. It organically connects 108 artificial spirits across the continent managing people’s petitions transmitting information and creating a unified consciousness.

Such powerful magic could only be created by emperors with divine powers. Until now.

But Arael copied it in a similar way? Even though Arael was called a genius is this something that is possible?

“What do you want with me?”

[I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse.]

In the shade of the dry forest… a crow appeared.

Are you talking to a crow that has possessed you?

This is also similar to the Emperor’s voice. In order to convey his voice to those who are not Aragasa the Emperor’s voice often appears in the form of a bird.

But there was something strange about this crow. Calypso knew immediately why. There was a large wound on the crow’s chest and inside it was an eye that was pulsating like a heart.

*********

Azadin continued to call out to the Emperor’s voice but there was no response. He walked anxiously toward Salasma and discovered a dry stream.

“By the way it’s really dry. It should be raining by now.”

Everywhere Azadin saw farms were struggling to get water. The eastern inland region was divided into the western region which was originally abundant in water and the eastern region where water was scarce.

However with no rain in the eastern inland areas for a month the water in the western inland areas has dried up.

“It wasn’t like this when I went east.”

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As Tarki spoke he examined the horse’s condition. Tarki’s horse was also breathing heavily perhaps due to a dry throat.

“Hmm… the water is really cloudy.”

Azadin also stopped to water the goats and clicked his tongue when he saw that the stream was almost bare. It was almost muddy water and fish were splashing around.

In the still stream a huge number of fish were gathering in the water in the rapids and suffocating to death. Nearby farmers came and scooped out crayfish and fish.

“If you spread it out like that the fish seeds will dry out.”

“Well it’s going to die and rot anyway if we just leave it alone so it’s better to catch it quickly and eat it. But the next time will be a big problem.”

Medium also felt that the drought was becoming more serious.

The goats are panting. The herald clans prefer Kerim goats to horses. Kerim goats have better endurance than horses and have better jumping and rough terrain abilities. They can even climb steep cliffs and the wax esters from their long hair are widely used to maintain swords bows arrows and spear shafts.

However these Kerim goats are weak to heat because they have a lot of fur. In hot regions they need to be watered continuously so it is difficult to drag Kerim goats here in this drought-ridden area.

“If you drink that water you’ll get sick.”

“Then what about the well? If the riverbed had not been exposed the well would not have dried up yet.”

Azadin clicked his tongue as Ismail spoke.

“You need to get permission from the villagers to use the well.”

They are the messenger clan that people hate. Originally the messenger clan had dark brown skin which set them apart from other humans in Hybris but now that interbreeding has progressed a lot they have a mixed-race appearance similar to other races. Even the founder clan Midiam has the appearance of a northern Hybris person.

“Ahaha. Don’t worry about that. Aren’t I a knight?”

Tarki stepped forward.

“Hey! You lowly peasants!”

“….”

As Tarki began to abuse the peasants Azadin quickly took off his helmet and took his staff from his saddle.

“Oh that again?”

Ismail grimaced. Pretending to be a blind pilgrim.

“Tarky is acting so harassing so if we stay with him and look normal won’t he be considered one of the same gang? We’re just pilgrims so let’s just go together.”

“All right.”

After a while Tarki returned grumbling.

“What do you think? Those peasants would just die if a knight said so. Even if he asked them to hand over their wives they would do so.”

“You are going too far sir.”

“yes?”

“…I appreciate your keeping the pilgrimage but if you treat people so rudely you are accumulating evil karma. Please practice the virtue of compassion.”

“No what is that….”

“Let me try again. Excuse me.”

Azadin pretending to be blind and leaning on his cane approaches the peasants who are busy scooping out fish from the stream.

“Uh. What? Huh?”

“So you’re blind?”

“I am a pilgrim on the road and I would appreciate it if you would allow me to use the well. The knight who is watching over us has already given us permission but I am afraid that I have sometimes been too rude and have caused inconvenience to you all.”

“Oh that’s it.”

“That’s the knight Nari. The son of the Count.”

“There are some things that can’t be helped when you’re young. I didn’t feel good but… what can I do?”

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“But you came at a good time. I’m going to boil some crayfish right now.”

The peasants welcomed Azadin kindly.

‘From now on let’s send Tarki forward only when a rude provocation is needed. Or the knights of the King’s Church.’

Azadin made that pledge and followed the farmers to the village.

*********

The village by the stream was a fairly large village with over 700 households. In the north where the population is not that large it would be a castle or a city but in the central inland region or the south where the population density is high it would be nothing more than a village.

However since there were many people gathered there were permanent shops in the central square of the village and a trading post with crane equipment for easily unloading goods from carriages and horses.

In the dried-up city when the water level rises facilities for water transportation can also be seen.

“Okay. So how can you walk if you’re blind?”

“I am a wandering pilgrim in search of miracles. I seek the protection of the Holy Trinity.”

“You’re still young what a world.”

“What a handsome fellow. Did his eyes get hurt in the war?”

While Azadin was dealing with the villagers his servants Midiam and Ismail fed water and hay to the goats. In the meantime the villagers were boiling crayfish.

Fish can be smoked and preserved by slicing but crayfish are too troublesome to do so so they are boiled and eaten on the spot. Since there is an abundance of food that needs to be eaten right away people are also generous.

“Here let me have this.”

The peasants served boiled crayfish sprinkled with wild garlic and prickly ash to Azadin and his party.

“Oh thank you. Is this a crayfish?”

“Yeah. The water has dried up so much recently.”

“The fish will eventually rot and disappear anyway so I’m going to make smoked fish and just eat the crayfish right here.”

“It’s a crayfish festival a crayfish festival. Everyone come.”

“Thank you. You must be blessed to receive travelers so warmly.”

Azadin accepted their offer politely.

“Hmm.”

Midiam and Ismail sat next to Azadin looking embarrassed.

“I feel like I’m being scammed.”

“That’s right. I think it was like this last time too…”

Ismail was not pleased with this situation.

When Azadin pretends to be a blind pilgrim the villagers treat him well. Then Azadin also takes on a moral debt to the villagers.

Since human kindness is not free a proud person would rather pay with money. It’s cleaner that way.

Azadin’s way is not that of the Heralds. He does not hesitate to confront and entangle with the Hybris.

The Heralds hate the Hybris because they are persecuted by them but Azadin is already persecuted among his own clan so to him there is no difference between the Hybris and the Aragasa.

The problem was that Medium was fascinated by that method. Ismail could tell that Medium was fond of Azadin even when he was nearby.

Because you lost the duel you need to raise this man’s value so that your own value can be maintained?

That’s not it.

This man’s unique mental world which could not possibly exist in Aragasa fascinated Medium.

‘This man is a foreign object. The problem is that Medium is a person who likes new things.’

Ismail braced himself as he watched Azadin share crayfish with the Hybris.

*********

Azadin and his party got up after giving water to the goats and eating crayfish with the help of the villagers.

“If you get hungry eat something on the way.”

“Be careful not to get hurt!”

People gave Azadin boiled crayfish.

“Okay then…..”

Azadin who had been well treated after receiving the crayfish went down the hill path past the stream with his party. However Azadin stopped when he saw the scene unfolding before his eyes.

“why?”

“No wait a minute.”

Azadin took out the wooden box he had kept in his bosom. It was a wooden box containing the umbilical cords of the children whom Azadin a slave woman who had surrendered to Azadin during the Black Magic Disaster had promised to rescue.

In addition to the woman’s notes there was also information received from the Corasar Peddler Guild. Azadin frowned when he read it.

“This is that village.”

“yes?”

“I didn’t realize how big the village was. Look.”

The village of about 700 households was actually formed by the merger of two smaller villages with new buildings built between the old ones connecting the two villages and making them one.

“This is… close?”

“That’s right. There would be no need to take the slave that far away. Let’s look for it.”

Azadin quickened his pace.

Even if it wasn’t slavery buying and selling children under the guise of adoption was commonplace within the Huvris.

It is common for children adopted as foster children to work on farms or in factories to help with the family business from a young age and earn money.

Nevertheless adopted children are in a distinctly different position from slaves: they have the right to inherit and are not subject to abuse by those who are at least considered parents.

It cannot be said that such things did not happen at all but if one was caught abusing a child it was treated as a serious crime regardless of whether it was in the King’s Church or the Knights Templar.

Even so although both were easily exposed to the environment of child labor they still had more elements of legal and institutional protection than slavery.

In other words those who are treated as slaves are exposed defenseless and without any protection.

“In the name of Aragasa we cannot allow such a thing to happen to children.”