Chapter 162
Chapter 162
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: The Malaria Elixir 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Indim took Azadin's warning to watch out for the Green Turban Party as a challenge to his own abilities.
"Hmph. Trash like that."
"You're not scared? Didn't you get caught by the Elder Council because you were so careless?"
"......"
Indim was rendered speechless, like a mute who had eaten honey.
When the Araelle faction had been riding high, he must have looked down on the Elder Council and Aldis. But at the crucial moment, they had snatched the most important Royal Throne, leaving the Araelle faction floating aimlessly.
Azadin's words struck a sharp blow right at their vital point, having lost most of their foundation through carelessness.
"What the hell are you, anyway? Weren't you on the Elder Council's side?"
The Aleph of the Winds bid farewell to the bothersome guests with a smile and then ran up to Azadin to ask.
Unlike Indim, whose face was hidden by a mask, the Aleph revealed his face—a refreshingly masculine one adorned with a stylishly grown beard, making him a handsome man.
Moreover, his eyes were heterochromatic: the right one green, the left one black, exuding a mysterious charm. Even in this harsh environment where survival was tough, he attracted women's attention.
"I merely act according to my beliefs."
"Then hand over the copy of the New King's Scripture you took from Dimia. Prove you're not with the Elder Council."
"You seem to have misunderstood my words. My beliefs don't align with you either."
"Hey, Azadin. What I'm saying to you now isn't a request. It's an order. Just because you're Araelle's brother..."
"I'm not whining to you as a superior either, Aleph. Right now, I'm the 2nd Herald."
"Ha. Azadin of Wu'an. You, the 2nd Herald? The Elder Council must have been awfully generous."
"I need to be at least the 2nd Herald for Dimia's face to be saved."
Azadin reminded him of the fact that Flower Dimia had lost to him. Aleph flew into a rage.
"You bastard. Dimia at that time was in the middle of a ritual, so her harmony of Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon was disrupted. It wasn't her true skill. You're not looking down on our four Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon masters because of that, are you?"
"Ah, this isn't the time for a pride contest. My bad. Let me see Araelle if she's here."
"Araelle will contact you. Withdraw for now. The Green Turban Party guys are watching."
The Green Turban Party had demanded that Azadin's group investigate the Araelle faction. If the two showed they knew each other, it would raise suspicions.
'It's already too late for that, though.'
Azadin thought so but withdrew for the time being.
*********
That night, rain began to fall on Adiroph, perhaps due to the rain clouds rolling in from Coral Sahar.
The tents in the encampment fluttered. The refugees hadn't brought proper tents, so rainwater soaked them.
Adiroph was in a warm region year-round, so getting wet didn't mean freezing, but it was a deadly threat to patients suffering from fever.
"This is bad."
Azadin was under a roof made of waterproof cloth.
Neither Azadin nor Zibek had packed tents for travel. They each carried only a single small waterproof tarp for versatile use.
They had managed to make some kind of roof with the tarps, but it was shoddy and unavoidable.
One tarp would have sufficed for Azadin alone, but Shati and Scott didn't even have tarps, so the makeshift roof they created was of little help.
"Captain. I could gather muscles from various creatures and use necromancy to support a roof. That way, one sheet of cloth could cover a wide area like a pan lid."
"Don't. People are watching."
Azadin stopped Scott from trying to use necromancy for such trivial things.
At that moment, a woman's voice came through the rain.
"Azadin. I said we'd meet in Btuma, but here we are."
"Araelle..."
Azadin knew the owner of that voice. It was Araelle coming to find him.
"You're traveling by land and stopped here, huh."
"The Earl of Garnahair got the key to the Emperor's treasury here, in the Barony of Adiroph. I planned to investigate while fleeing to Btuma."
Surprisingly, Araelle was explaining their actions. Then came the panicked voice of her confidant, Indim.
"Lady Araelle. What if that guy's an Elder Council spy? Is it okay to give him info on the Emperor's treasury?"
"No. Azadin isn't an Elder Council spy. Right?"
Araelle stated firmly.
"Who knows? Lady Aldis granted me the rank of 2nd Herald. Once my guardian becomes the top power in Ar'gasa, I'll naturally enter the core of Ar'gasa's power. So why do you think I'm not on the Elder Council's side?"
"You've got a holy knight in your group. And an orc and a naga, no less. Quite the diverse bunch."
"......"
Even though Scott and Shati were using transformation magic to appear human, Araelle saw right through their true natures effortlessly.
Araelle appeared under Azadin's rain shelter. She was still beautiful and powerful, but somehow her eyes looked weary.
"I'm glad you look safe, Azadin."
"Since when did you start worrying about me like that? So, what happened? After Lady Aldis took the throne of Corasahr from you? Did all your loyal followers turn on you?"
"Yeah. They stole the vision I presented wholesale. It's only natural."
"Serves you right. What now? Lady Aldis says she'll spare you if you come over, no hard feelings. Thinking of changing your mind at this point?"
When Azadin asked, Araelle scoffed.
"My will hasn't been broken yet. I'm grateful for Aldis's kindness, but I can't just join her now on that alone. And Azadin. You actually suspect Aldis too, don't you?"
"Me? Suspect Lady Aldis?"
"If not, you wouldn't be meeting me like this. Doesn't it make you suspicious, seeing the Elder Council do the dirty work at just the right timing while they pick up the gains?"
"......"
Araelle's words hit Azadin's sore spot dead-on. But he denied it with effort.
Doubting Aldis's kindness would be tantamount to denying everything that made Azadin who he was.
"The Elder Council might be like that, but not Aldis."
"I think so too. Aldis is a being made thoroughly pure."
"What do you mean?"
"Azadin. It might sound like an excuse now, but the fiasco in Coral Sahar was calculated."
It was so absurd that it took Azadin a moment to process her claim.
Azadin ended up laughing in disbelief.
*********
"So, you're saying the meal was all prepared, but getting it snatched by Aldis was planned from the start? And gathering most of our clan under the Araelle faction banner, only to lose it all in one go?"
"Yes."
"That's impressive. Got a face of steel? How can you even say that? Araelle. You're claiming you deliberately let them take your vision, policies, foundation—everything? I'm serious: did you go mad from studying nether magic too much?"
When Azadin asked, Indim exploded in anger.
"Shut your mouth, you Elder Council dog! Ar'gasa's Elder Council is far more evil than you think. We absolutely cannot let them take over this world! Lady Araelle is the only hope, and you dare insult her!"
"She's the hope? You, who almost summoned a nether death god to destroy Corasahr Kingdom?"
Unable to hold back, Zibek, who had been listening from the side, chimed in. Indim glared at Zibek.
"Shut it, holy knight. I'm barely holding back from killing you right now. If you insult Lady Araelle..."
"Hey, Araelle. Shut Indim up."
When Azadin demanded it of Araelle, she silently looked at Indim.
"I'm sorry."
Indim apologized while facing Araelle, avoiding Azadin as much as possible.
"I won't deny that my actions harmed the people of Hibris. But some staging is necessary to avoid greater harm."
"Weighing human lives like that is disgusting. Whatever, I've found you disgusting for a while now, so that's fine. But you say it was anticipated—so what's your excuse for that?"
"It was to draw out Aldis. And it was successful."
"No, how is that a success for you? You lost everything you built! Plus, your pursuit of the throne was genuine!"
"To be honest, if I could obtain the throne and its power, that would have been great. But if Aldis appeared and took it, I thought that would be even better."
"So, getting the throne taken was actually better for you in the end? You're kidding."
"It's hard to understand, Azadin. But there's one more person I need to draw out from there."
"Not Aldis? Who?"
"2nd Herald Hatir."
"2nd Herald Hatir?"
"Yes. He's the son of the Emperor and Harconia. He's Aldis's father. He vanished suddenly five years ago."
"......"
If true, he would be far more legitimate than Aldis.
"So. Now that the throne's been taken, what's your plan?"
"I can't tell you everything. Azadin. But if I said nothing and just asked you to join us, that would be unreasonable too, right?"
"Trying to win me over?"
"Yes. So listen well, Azadin, for that reason. We're trying to find the Emperor's treasury right now. But those Green Turban Party bastards have seized the entrance to it."
"And?"
Araelle pulled out a small porcelain vial and showed it to him.
"Put this in the Green Turban Party's food. If the nether kin fall asleep, they won't interfere when we approach the treasury."
"Something this easy? Why not do it yourselves?"
Poisoning food would be trivial for top-tier heralds like Araelle or the four Flower, Bird, Wind, and Moon masters. So why ask Azadin?
"We can't. That Daoist is too sharp."
At that moment, Zibek spoke.
"Their bodies are already coursing with strong nether magic. That Daoist is probably nether kin too, so he'd be highly sensitive to kin from other factions."