Chapter 146
Chapter 146
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Reader's Route 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It was blasphemous to the extreme to speak such words to a king, but there are truths that can only be reached through unvarnished honesty, without the pretense of courtesy.
King Ansetus IV gave a wry smile at Azadin's evaluation, pure to the point of rudeness.
"An honest assessment. I'm no sage king or enlightened ruler, but I'm no tyrant either. Though I suppose I might qualify as a foolish one."
"It's true you let things slide with Salasma and Count Lantarik making such a mess of everything."
". . . ."
"I was worried you'd let your guard down too much."
"You insolent pup. Azadin, was it? I'll remember that name. In any case, even allowing someone like you near the Royal Throne would send the priests of the King's Church into fits. I can't officially permit it."
"Officially, you say?"
"I could cooperate unofficially. But first... you'll need to prove your loyalty to me."
"Prove my loyalty? How?"
"The Herald Tribe has infiltrated the granaries and poisoned the stores. Why don't you catch the culprit?"
"Hm."
Azadin looked troubled at those words.
He hated Arael, true enough, but that didn't mean he wanted to become mortal enemies with Arael's branch.
If he killed one of his own kind for the sake of the Kingdom of Corasar, the Aragsa wouldn't tolerate him—civil war or no.
The king must have known that, which was why he'd laid down such a condition.
Refuse here, though, and the king would have no reason to trust him.
"Understood. I'll investigate the poisoning and put a stop to it."
"Good. Succeed in that, and I'll let you examine the Royal Throne separately."
The king had given Azadin a tough assignment.
*********
Azadin, too, wanted a chance to meet with members of Arael's branch in this situation.
'I need to check if my comrades are safe. Sir Zibek, Shati, and Scott—they have no reason to be spared, so I'm worried.'
From the Herald Tribe's perspective, there was no reason to keep alive Sir Zibek of the King's Church Holy Knights, the naga Shati, or the orc Scott.
Even if Azadin was Arael's twin, they weren't likely to show the "concession" of sparing them just to avoid upsetting him.
'They have to be okay.'
With those thoughts, Azadin went to investigate the granaries.
"So this is the poisoning?"
"Yes. But as you can see, it's less poisoning and more..."
They called it poisoning, but contamination of the food stores was more accurate.
They'd first tried setting the granary ablaze, but the excessive dampness prevented the fire from catching, so they'd brought in animal carcasses and excrement, splashing the blood over the supplies.
After the guards spotted them, they'd killed one, gutted him, and smeared his entrails over more of the food.
That was how King Ansetus had come to describe it as poisoning.
"It's ambiguous. Isn't this just sabotage? They hit once and ran—no guarantee they'll come back."
"That's true, isn't it?"
The soldiers agreed.
"But calling it poisoning gives us cause to investigate internally—who administered the poison. We'll look into the soldiers, civilians, and maids."
"Yes?"
The soldiers were taken aback. Wasn't this Herald Tribesman saying he would investigate everyone inside the royal castle?
"It's His Majesty's decree, isn't it? Any complaints?"
"No, but..."
The soldiers caught on to Azadin's intent.
This Herald Tribesman was broadening the king's orders to conduct an internal purge, rooting out those aligned with Arael's branch.
In other words, twisting the royal command to achieve his own ends. The problem was that there was indeed a royal order, so the soldiers had no authority to stop him.
"Relax. I don't plan to investigate in my Herald Tribe form."
With that, Azadin donned his helmet.
"From now on, address me as Inspector Ephes."
*********
The refugees inside the castle were mobilized to craft arrows, haul stones, and draw water.
To combat the relentless rain and winds—and to keep Nether's madness from claiming idle minds—the castle's defense commander had called in civilians, putting them to work in exchange for food rations.
It brought some vitality to the castle and curbed the spread of madness, but it also created fertile ground for spies.
Azadin began investigating the civilians under the name Inspector Ephes.
There were about 20,000 refugees sheltered in the castle; screening them all was impossible.
But Azadin knew the Herald Tribe would position themselves to access the Royal Throne at any time, so he focused on those with access to the castle's core facilities.
"Let's check the maids."
"Maids, sir?"
"Yes."
"The maids are people of verified status. Some even come from noble bloodlines—we can't just investigate them lightly."
A position as a royal maid required confirmed identity, and it was a prime job for noble children lacking the magical talent for priesthood or Holy Knighthood in the King's Church.
So the soldiers couldn't imagine Herald Tribesmen infiltrating their ranks.
But Azadin shook his head.
"Really? Conversely, doesn't beauty and refinement make it easy to slip in?"
"What do you—"
"If a beautiful woman versed in courtly etiquette shows up with a letter of recommendation from someone trustworthy, claiming noble birth—who's going to verify it?"
"Even so, you can't inspect the maids. They're women, after all."
"Exactly. Strict separation of sexes, right?"
The soldiers protested, but Azadin adjusted his helmet and puffed out his chest.
"I am Inspector Ephes now. Ahem."
'What the hell?'
The soldiers were baffled by Azadin's absurdity, but they couldn't stop him. The king had indeed ordered him to investigate, even if somewhat distorted.
". . . ."
Azadin obtained the list of maids from the head maid and got to work.
"Shall we head to the maids' quarters?"
"The maids' quarters?"
"N-No, absolutely not."
"I'm not going inside. Spies would approach the area around them."
Azadin headed to the vicinity of the quarters. And there... he spotted a familiar figure.
A burly stonemason in a leather cap was repairing a wall near the maids' quarters... and the build looked familiar.
'Kahsan?'
It was Kahsan of the Herald Tribe, the bow-breaker, disguised as a stonemason and working here. Likely to easily exchange info with an infiltrated maid.
Kahsan, helmeted, didn't recognize Azadin and kept at his task in silence.
But then the trailing soldiers spoke up.
"Even if His Majesty ordered you, we can't tolerate rudeness toward the maids."
"Yeah. Herald Tribesmen among the maids? Ridiculous."
". . . ."
At that moment, Kahsan glanced casually toward Azadin.
-Thwack!
Kahsan hurled his chisel—the tool he'd been using on the wall—straight at Azadin.
"Tch!"
Azadin sensed the soldiers' careless words had blown it, batting away the incoming chisel.
"Eek?!"
"Get back!"
Azadin whipped off his helmet, blocking the flying stone shards aimed at the soldiers.
"Azadin?!"
"Kahsan. Your presence here means Nefti must be around too, right?"
"Tch!"
Kahsan spun and bolted. His bear-like bulk moved with astonishing speed, vanishing in seconds.
"Stop!"
Azadin gave chase as Kahsan flung whatever he grabbed backward. Azadin shed his cloak to deflect the projectiles, closing the gap.
"Damn it!"
"Kyaa!"
Kahsan collided head-on with a laundry-bearing servant girl and maid.
He grabbed the servant like she was Azadin's target and hurled her down the stairs.
"Ugh!"
Azadin leaped to catch and save her. In that instant, Kahsan cast a spell.
He enchanted a small stone with "Flower-Bird-Wind-Moon Heron" and fired it. It curved sharply sideways, homing in on a vital spot.
A spell typically used on arrows for drastic lateral deviation—but it massively boosted penetration too, turning the stone into a spear equivalent.
Azadin channeled anti-magic into his foot, kicking the stone aside, but Kahsan widened the distance in the opening.
"Hey! You bastard! Ugh..."
Azadin felt his leg go numb from the heron-enchanted stone as he limped; Kahsan escaped.
"No way that hulking brute is that fast. Ugh..."
Azadin grumbled, helping the servant and maid back to the corridor before sighing. The soldiers caught up belatedly.
"Huff... huff huff..."
"Incredibly fast. You!"
"W-What happened? The Herald Tribesman?"
"Goddamn it... Pardon me, but can you shut your mouths? You planning to advertise we're hunting Herald Tribesmen? He clocked us because of you lot."
"Because of us?"
"Yeah. Spouting 'Herald Tribesmen' left and right while I had my face covered—wasted effort, and he bolted."
"Th-Then you'll report to superiors?"
The soldiers paled. By Azadin's account, their failure was on them—could mean flogging from higher-ups.
Flogging involved binding to a post and lashing the back; brutal, something to dread.
"Forget it. I let him slip too—no great shakes on my end. I'll report up, but I'll cover for your slip-up."
". . . ."
The soldiers were stunned by Azadin's unexpected mercy. A Herald Tribesman looking out for them?
"So what now? Still investigate the maids?"
"No. The commotion just now likely alerted and flushed out any maid infiltrator. Instead, question the stonemasons."
*********
Kahsan had shaken Azadin's pursuit swiftly, but sprinting suddenly through the castle drew plenty of eyes.
And with his massive build, his striking features piqued curiosity. He'd killed a man, dumped the body, and vanished in the gap.
Azadin, with soldiers in tow, met the stonemason foreman.
"...He was skilled. Said he came from Lantarik, so I believed him."
The foreman broke into a cold sweat.
"Who did he meet with often?"
"The maid Literua. Figured it was his old employer's place."
"Literua? Height? Hair color? Description? Why was he working near the maids' quarters? Who assigned the task?"
Azadin fired questions rapidly; the foreman was flustered.