Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: What Happened at Raven Castle
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What Happened at Raven Castle.
It was a clear, bright day. Across the vast fields, the autumn-harvested wheat was sprouting fresh green shoots, and the farmers bustled about between the rows, weeding diligently.
Shura and I, with my hair dyed red, walked along a rural country path. The farmers glanced curiously at Shura's appearance but showed no suspicion. This area near Raven Castle was in the southwest of the Kalligo Kingdom, a realm ruled by the forces of darkness, so seeing someone who looked like a wood elf wasn't all that strange.
"There sure are a lot of humans living around here too, huh?"
"Yes. The western regions of the kingdom are mostly inhabited by humans."
The Kalligo Kingdom was primarily composed of dark elves, werewolves, and bloodkin, but humans made up a significant portion of the population as well.
Originally, many humans who followed the faith of darkness had settled here, but about eighty years ago, when the Karl Kingdom fell to the Yosrahim Empire under Grand Duke Cloud's leadership, a large number of nobles and commoners had fled here to preserve their dark faith.
Thanks to them, the kingdom's western frontier—which had been little more than wasteland—began to be properly developed, and now many humans called it their home.
"Hmm. I see."
As a castle came into view in the distance, Shura pointed it out.
"Master. That's Raven Castle over there."
"Oh? It's smaller than I thought."
Raven Castle was a major city with a population of seventy thousand. It was fairly large, but for some reason, it looked small to me. Karl Castle, where I'd lived, was the largest fortress in the northern Yosrahim Empire, and the imperial capital where I'd spent my school days was the grandest in the entire empire.
"Should we head somewhere else, then?"
"Nah, this'll do. I just need to sell some stuff quick and move on—no need to wander all over the place."
My final destination was Kara, the great desert trade city. The Kalligo Kingdom was just a brief stopover for some business, nothing more. No point wasting time detouring everywhere.
We arrived at Raven Castle before long.
A long line of travelers stretched from the gates all the way to the moat. It looked substantial even at a glance, and it was moving agonizingly slowly. Clearly, security checks were thorough here.
I frowned, resting my chin on my hand, feeling stumped. Without a proper identity token to show, this level of inspection was a real hassle.
But I had Shura with me. She was originally from the Kalligo Kingdom, and crucially, she was the wielder of Dalahan. The master of Dalahan was treated as a saintess on par with a Grand Saintess, so they weren't likely to give her companion—the me—a hard time.
As I joined the line, I murmured quietly to Shura.
"What do we do? I don't have any identity token right now."
"Just say you're from Aim Village."
Not a bad idea at all.
Aim Village was where Shura had lived. It was a slash-and-burn settlement that belonged to no nation, so claiming to be from there explained the lack of an identity token perfectly. Plus, with Shura—who was also from there—by my side, it made for a convincing story.
"We lived together there, and I came to the Kalligo Kingdom following you?"
"Yes."
"Perfect. Now I just need a new name."
"Right. You can't use your real one."
I had caused a huge ruckus at the Divinum Grand Temple just a little while ago. Using my current name would be a disaster—it'd mark me instantly as the blasphemous villain who'd defiled the sacred. Yeah, time for a name change.
But I couldn't abandon the name Yahn. It was the one my late mother had given me.
After racking my brain, I came up with one. It had an odd ring that would be hard for others to parse, but it captured my true identity.
"Kaoyan Anukin. Let's go with that."
"What does it mean?"
"In ancient Rune tongue, it means 'Yahn returned from hell.'"
Shura rolled her eyes. The word order was a bit off. Strictly speaking, it should've been "Anuyahn Kaokin" to match the literal meaning.
But oh well. I was a failing student in ancient Rune studies back in school. The fact that I hadn't botched the actual words was a miracle in itself.
"Ah, sounds good."
"Right? Pretty cool, huh?"
Shura averted her gaze. Wood elves weren't great at lying, either.
The line had shortened considerably by now. When our turn came, I strode up to the inspection post with confidence.
A knight in black armor approached us, exuding an intimidating aura.
"State your origin and name."
Shura went first.
"Shura Idess, from Aim Village."
"Shura Idess...?"
"Yes."
The black-armored knight repeated the name a few times, then jolted in surprise, his eyes widening. He'd just remembered the official communique that had arrived via magic communication yesterday.
He immediately ordered his subordinate soldiers to fetch the recent cooperation documents. Flipping through the list from the central command, he looked up with trembling eyes.
"Are you perhaps Shura Idess, the wielder of Dalahan who appeared at the Divinum Grand Temple just recently?"
"Yes, that's me."
As Shura nodded, the gate knight dropped to one knee and bowed deeply.
"This humble servant greets the master of Dalahan!"
"Glory to the Grand Saintess of Yin and Yang!"
The soldiers followed suit, kneeling, and soon the travelers in line behind us prostrated themselves as well. Some even crawled forward on their knees, begging for blessings.
I sidled up close to Shura and whispered in her ear.
"Hey? Isn't the Yin-Yang God a neutral deity?"
"Ah, yes."
"So why are these dark church folks acting like this?"
"Who knows. Maybe because it's a creation god?"
"Maybe, huh?"
The Yin-Yang God was another name for Lumenox, one of the supreme creation gods. No matter that it encompassed light divinity, the forces of darkness couldn't ignore it—Lumenox was the father who had created the dark god Nox, after all.
Anyway, it wasn't a bad thing. Thanks to this, I got into the city without any identity token issues.
More than that, the moment they learned I didn't have one, they whipped up a top-grade pass granting free passage throughout the kingdom, all in record time.
Ah, this is why you gotta play the long game with a good woman... but man, I hope I don't end up as a whipped hubby.
"Here's the shopping district."
A knight had been assigned to guide us there. When we mentioned to the lord who came out to greet us that we had items to sell, he'd kindly provided an escort. But something felt off—we were looping around. That path to the right over there looked like the one we'd taken in reverse earlier, but now we were heading up it the opposite way.
"Didn't we pass that street already?"
When I voiced my complaint, the knight awkwardly averted his eyes.
"All the buildings look pretty similar, so first-timers often get confused."
"I see."
The knight subtly eyed Shura.
"That said, Grand Saintess... must you leave today?"
"Yes. We need to hurry if we're going to make it to Kara."
Kara was a desert city on the trade route between the Prosia Continent and the eastern Oriental Continent. It wasn't exactly part of any nation, but one thing was clear: it wasn't under Kalligo Kingdom or dark faction control.
"Kara... that's quite far. Will you be staying long?"
"Yes, probably."
"Ah, of course... In that case, we've prepared a farewell banquet at the official residence. Would you honor us by attending?"
Shura glanced at me questioningly, but I shook my head. No need to linger without good reason.
"Nah. We can portal there in no time anyway."
Shura turned to the knight.
"We appreciate the kindness, but we're in a bit of a rush."
The knight shot me a sharp glare. He clearly had some grudge against me.
'Damn, wanna gouge those eyes out. No, hold it. It's only been days since the last incident... Chill. Just chill.'
I turned away and browsed the shops. There were restaurants selling exotic delicacies, fruit stands, and general stores.
I stopped at a street vendor. An elderly man had set up a stall with wooden boxes and assorted carvings. My eye caught a white mask, and I stepped closer.
It covered the lower face, with a sharply defined nose bridge that gave it a striking look. I inspected it and tried it on over my lower face. It fit comfortably, like it was made for me.
"Hey, gramps. How much for this?"
"Five copper leaves."
Cheap. Five coppers was about the price of a cheap meal.
I flicked a glance at our escort knight. He locked eyes with me for a staring contest, then snorted and pulled a silver leaf from his pouch, handing it to the old man.
"Oh my, such a large sum..."
The grandfather looked flustered. One silver was a thousand coppers. A day laborer living hand-to-mouth wouldn't have that kind of change.
As the old man struggled with the shortfall, I flashed a friendly smile and waved it off.
"Keep the change, gramps."
The knight's face twisted, and the old man glanced nervously at him. But things wrapped up quickly—I walked off wearing the white mask over my lower face, Shura followed, and the knight hurried after without time to haggle over change.
"This is the place."
After what felt like an eternity, we arrived at "Botton's Clothing Emporium." The building was sizable, and the display of luxury garments suggested it was perfect for selling my goods.
Shura and I pushed open the shop door.
"Welcome!"
A middle-aged man approached with a warm, rubbing-his-hands smile. Botton, the owner of Botton's Clothing Emporium.
"Got some clothes to sell. How much cash you holding?"
"Hahaha. What kind of clothes are we talking?"
"Very expensive ones."
Botton chuckled. Probably thinking, how pricey could clothes really be?
"Let me see them. I'll appraise once I take a look."
I unwrapped my bundle and pulled out a garment—the ceremonial robe I'd worn when I ran away. It was a graduation gift from my uncle, crafted by Sir Rolfrain, the empire's top clothier and imperial tailor. Needless to say, it was valuable.
"Here."
As I unfolded it, Botton's eyes widened in shock.
Lightning-patterned gold thread embroidery, adorned with precious gems. The breast pocket featured high-grade essence buttons, and the top-quality silk fabric was dyed with that ultra-rare crimson dye. Dismantling it for materials alone would probably exceed Botton's entire fortune.
Botton swallowed dryly, examining the seams, his eyes trembling. The stitching was nearly invisible, each knot bearing the mark of a master tailor.
Rummaging further, he spotted the swan maker's mark and the Yosrahim Empire's imperial crest, then recoiled in horror and set it down. This was a gift from the Yosrahim Emperor himself, made by the world's greatest tailor, Sir Rolfrain.
What Happened at Raven Castle. End