Chapter 301
Chapter 301
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 301
Chapter Title: Shadowed Sky (6)
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It wasn't a style he was familiar with, but he could tell it was an exceedingly luxurious building. Fernandez gazed at the gold thread intricately embroidered on the thin silk of the curtains and thought as much.
The curtains billowed through the open window, catching the evening sky. He spread out a map and stared vacantly beyond the heavens for a moment.
The end of their journey was drawing near, whatever form it might take. To put it coldly, his body was gradually breaking down. The signs were clear when compared to the time he first received the Religiosa Demonica baptism.
He felt fatigued. His muscles and bones, organs, and sensory organs had aged subtly but unmistakably. To begin with, the Demonica baptism he had received wasn't perfect. His physical composition hadn't been sufficiently developed compared to typical Demonica.
Yet it was a body without deficiencies. Around seventy to eighty percent of the functionality shown by ordinary Demonica. In other words, it surpassed the maximum limits of a well-trained commoner by more than double—a level he had no right to complain about, considering his past life.
He had survived harsher environments than this and emerged victorious from more desperate moments. This much was merely within the predicted loss rate for him.
But now... at this very moment, he had no choice but to hesitate.
'One to three years...'
Fernandez let out a deep sigh. His estimated lifespan was five years. The limit of minimum functionality for his body was one to three years. It was something he had considered from the moment he became a Demonica, calculating his physical performance and consumption rate.
Thus, he didn't regret the vanishing lifespan or the crumbling body. His goal had never been peaceful longevity or a comfortable old age, and atonement had been fulfilled with the resurrection of his dead son.
However, if there was one variable that made him hesitate...
'Will I be able to at least hear what the kid says?'
-Fernandez...
It was the existence of his child. Just as his son's death had negated his life, the child Kirhas carried... even if no immediate attachment formed toward that child.
Even so, it alone was affirming his life, making him value it on his own terms.
-Kirhas is a great chieftain. She's already gripping and shaking the hegemony of the wastelands, and if time passes and she matures fully, that position will only solidify further. Moreover, Dane in the east and even the Empire's emperor can be considered our allies. It's entirely different from that boy's case.
'I suppose so.'
Over the past two years or so, Fernandez had built sufficient rapport with powerholders across a vast region from the continent's center to the east. His child would surely benefit from that... unlike his son.
-Don't make it some noble nonsense about sacrificing for your own child, Fernandez. We started all this out of our selfishness. Don't pretend to be noble now. We can be ruthless, but no need to be petty.
Feizashi said coldly. Indeed. The regret and remorse from his son's death had been his driving force, but it wasn't some sublime repentance born of goodwill. It was base selfishness. Mere cheap self-consolation directed at himself.
He wanted atonement from his son. Forgiveness from his son. To see his son's smile, his happiness. Was that truly for the boy? No. It was just the comfort Fernandez projected onto him. Selfishness.
Don't pretend to be a mature father now. Don't even try to become one. Feizashi turned his head away as he said it.
'Thanks.'
And so, Fernandez nodded. His motivations, his goals and will, could not crumble so easily.
-Tsk.
At that moment, a light footstep sounded on the balcony railing. Fernandez instinctively gripped his sword hilt. It was a reaction close to instinct.
'Shaksisi?'
-Too early for that?
No matter how capable Kirzath Shaksisi was, she couldn't have detected Leia's arrival at port and mobilized within just a couple of hours.
-Tap.
An utterly stealthy footfall. Without a Demonica's senses and his accumulated experience, it would have been an imperceptible noise.
Fernandez slid his sword under the bed, gripping it reverse for quick drawing, and watched the window. Soon, a small furry bundle flickered on the windowsill.
The tension coiling through his body drained away limply. Fernandez let out a short laugh and a sigh.
"Kirhas. I can see your tail."
"Ah."
A face cautiously poked out from the window. With eyes dripping mischief, Kirhas crept inside stealthily.
"Don't the buildings here have doors on the outside?"
"Well, a window's a door too, right!"
Kirhas grinned cheekily as she approached, then plopped down on the sofa by the window opposite Fernandez. Her tail swayed languidly in the breeze.
"Looks like rain's coming soon... silver lord."
"So?"
"If it's raining, it's kinda hard to wander outside..."
Kirhas eyed him cautiously, then grumbled.
"We came all the way to this distant foreign land, and I don't wanna just sit cooped up in the inn!"
"Want to sightsee the city?"
"Yeah! That's not weird, right! Of course, we're not here to play... but... still..."
He had no intention of refusing from the start. Fernandez suppressed a smile and watched Kirhas mutter excuses.
"And... it might be good for the baby...?"
Kirhas's face flushed red as if it might burst as she said it. She bowed her head deeply, fidgeting with her fingers.
"The young ladies of the capital sometimes... stroll the city with their lovers... or so they say..."
She mumbled while stealing glances at Fernandez's face. She knew it too. Even if not in detail, this itinerary involved a great demon and was an urgent matter racing against time.
In the midst of that, Fernandez, who handled both strategy and combat, couldn't have much free time. He was already forgoing sleep to invest every moment in preparations, planning, or training.
So this was selfish. She hadn't even told the others, slipping out of the room as secretly as possible. She wanted him all to herself. She felt entitled to it, but seeing his weary eyes upon arrival made it hard to press on.
-Pat.
Fernandez, who had approached unnoticed, placed a hand on the head of Kirhas, who was hanging her head and hemming and hawing. He stroked her hair slowly and gently.
"Let's go."
"Y-Yes!"
Kirhas snapped her head up and shouted with a bright smile.
* * *
Kirhas walked along, holding a skewer of grilled meat, casually browsing the street stalls without a care. She chewed the meat and chattered endlessly at Fernandez.
Fernandez responded to her with a faint smile, but his eyes weren't on her. Merchants handling meat, slaves carrying loads to somewhere, commoners walking the streets...
At a glance, it looked like a typical market scene, with mere curiosity toward foreigners speaking an unfamiliar tongue. But no.
'Three of them, sticking close.'
They were being tailed. It was only natural, really. If a man called the elf queen's honored guest suddenly went out, eyes would follow. But it was too blatant.
"Silver lord, silver lord? Are you listening?"
"Yes. Ah, that looks tasty."
"Where!?"
"That drink over there. It's a tea made by roasting seeds from fruit grown in the hot southern regions and pouring hot water over them. I think I've had a few cups myself."
"Is it good?"
"Not sweet. But the flavor's excellent."
"I'll buy some!"
Kirhas darted off toward the stall. Fernandez watched her back with a brief smile, then turned his head. The merchant staring holes into him flinched and averted his gaze.
'Not Shaksisi... must be Al'Mukapa's underlings.'
Shaksisi wasn't that sloppy. The continent's nearly unique intelligence agency capable of confronting the Empire's Ironsides head-on wouldn't be so amateurish.
Fernandez approached the merchant slowly. The man's face paled rapidly.
"You have a lot of calluses."
"I-It's from hard work, sir!"
The merchant shuddered at Fernandez's fluent Kirzath accent. Seeing that, Fernandez sighed inwardly. The city's ruler was wise and bold, but his retainers left much to be desired.
This would complicate things... and that wasn't welcome. He needed to be more direct.
"I understand Beile's concerns, but I came out just to tour the city. If you're reporting back, tell him I'd prefer he sends Shaksisi next time."
"...How are we to know if you're truly sightseeing or scouting invasion routes?"
"Invasion? Ha, who would bother invading this place?"
"The eastern kingdoms or the Empire. If they attempt a landing with elven fleet support, could we even stop them?"
"If it happens, you couldn't stop it anyway. No need to stir suspicion in me now."
Fernandez chuckled dryly. The man disguised as a merchant flinched.
"If your lot had even half of Beile's foresight, you'd halve his worries. No need for that, or even the intent—so if you want to grasp our true purpose, come to the inn with Shaksisi."
"Why Shaksisi...?"
"No intention of telling you. Go."
Fernandez despised incompetence. It was close to an innate trait. In this era of war, where incompetence led straight to death and individual errors could doom entire groups, it bordered on sin.
At his insulting words, the merchant stiffened and withdrew. Almost simultaneously, Kirhas came running across the street with a laugh, holding a cup of clear, deep maroon liquid.
-I wish I could taste it too.
Feizashi smacked his lips. Kirhas handed the cup to Fernandez and took a sip herself.
"Eek!! Bleh! It's bitter!"
"Haha, that's the point."
"It's really, super bitter!!"
She scrunched her face in complaint. Fernandez burst into laughter at the sight, and Kirhas, who had been puffing her cheeks and grumbling, started laughing along.
The two strolled the streets as evening fell, trading banter.
* * *
"He requested Shaksisi?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Shaksisi... Shaksisi."
Al'Mukapa frowned. Like all intelligence agencies, Shaksisi's main duties weren't limited to intelligence gathering, control, and opinion manipulation. They included elite agents for active assassinations and sabotage, and served as symbols of terror.
Requesting to meet them directly meant... Al'Mukapa shook his head.
"We misjudged."
"What do you mean...?"
"Possibility of an unofficial diplomatic envoy."
Information gathered by Shaksisi flowed refined directly to the sultan's ears. Thus, for direct contact with the sultan bypassing official channels, no route was faster.
The commotion with the Serpent King might have been for that. If the Serpent King suddenly appeared, dropped an eastern human in Kirzath's port city, and called him an honored guest, Shaksisi would see it as an anomaly requiring contact.
"It's out of my hands now. Could be from the Empire... or no, the Church."
"The Church, you say?"
"Heard anything about the recent situation in the east?"
"No."
"Keep it in mind. The Empire barely rose from a great schism, and the eastern churches splintered and scattered before barely reuniting. Anyone seeking contact with the sultan amid that couldn't use official diplomacy."
In a delicate tension where neither could call the other a full ally, establishing a secret diplomatic line with the leader of a nation just out of a long war required covert means.
It was obvious they'd face internal political attacks otherwise. For fractured, unstable groups like the Empire or the Holy Pantheon churches, attempting diplomacy with a hostile nation demanded secrecy.
"Do as they wish. Call Shaksisi and prepare a banquet."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Officially, it'll be welcoming the elves' honored guest, so spare no effort. Envoy... envoy..."
Al'Mukapa frowned and shook his head.