Chapter 238
Chapter 238
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 238
Chapter Title: And to the New Mission 1
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On the way back to Coxhall, Azadin kept running a fever until he finally lost consciousness.
Fortunately, there were no further attacks.
Thanks to the Coxhall governor, who had come out with his private soldiers out of concern for the bishop and the pilgrims, the pilgrimage group and Bishop Akenar were able to return safely to the Salvation Knights Order headquarters in Coxhall.
The Salvation Knights Order headquarters in Coxhall was a vast compound consisting of the bishopric building, the cathedral, and the knights' quarters.
Upon arriving at the compound, Akenar assigned a servant to Azadin and ordered the best room in the quarters for him.
"Nurse him. And fetch a doctor."
"Pardon? Bishop, this man is one of the Heralds. But..."
"No. Right now, he is a brother of our Order. I have knighted him myself, so he is under my guarantee. Do you understand? Doubting him is an affront to me. If I hear such talk again, I will not tolerate it."
"But..."
There was no longer any room to doubt that Azadin had become a member of the Salvation Knights Order.
Bishop Akenar had acknowledged his knighting, and officially, she was recorded as the one who had performed the ceremony for Azadin.
Even so, Azadin's status was that of a Hospitaller-Errant. He was only a Squire Knight at that.
For a bishop to personally assign her own servants to a mere Squire Knight and order them to care for him was excessive favoritism.
"I will not tolerate any more objections from now on. Follow my orders."
With that, Akenar hurried to the bishop's office in the Salvation Knights Order. There was an ancient relic there: a quartz mirror. Paired mirrors were magically linked, allowing conversations across distances.
This device enabled the Salvation Knights Order to operate closely across bishoprics around the world. It was a wondrous treasure that even the king's church coveted every time.
"I will inform the other bishops that the attackers on the pilgrimage were minions of the Northern Emperor. It may be a long meeting, so have the pilgrims and the other knights rest. And tell the pilgrims not to leave this bishopric. There may still be attackers and assassins lurking outside."
Akenar left those words behind and headed to the bishop's office.
"Hmm."
Camilla shrugged as she watched her retreating figure.
"The bishop is awfully kind. But I doubt the Order will believe we were attacked by the Northern Emperor. It's like the Heralds are accusing him. Who would dare take the word of some Herald rabble and suspect King Yaegas?"
"Y-Yeah."
Izumilla glanced at Azadin as she said it. Servants were loading him onto a stretcher and carrying him to a bedroom.
"Oh, right. This is our chance to see his face. I've been curious. What kind of guy hides behind a mask all the time? Heh heh."
Camilla excitedly followed after Azadin. Her younger half-orc brother, Kuntachi, stopped her.
"Hey, sis. I'm hungry."
"Ask the clerics for food. I need to see that guy's face."
"Wait a minute."
Izumilla held Camilla back.
"Do we really have to bother a sick man?"
"We have to take off his mask to nurse him anyway."
"That's true... No, you're not the one nursing him."
Izumilla blushed.
"You want to see it too, don't you?"
"W-Well, I saw it briefly in the dark."
"You saw it? What was it like?"
"I-I'm not sure. It was just a glimpse in the dark. But... um."
"Was he ugly? Or scarred or something?"
"I couldn't tell in the dark. But he seemed handsome. Though... no, that can't be. I must have seen wrong."
"What's so unbelievable about it?"
"He was ridiculously handsome."
Izumilla squirmed as she said it.
"What? That handsome? How handsome? Wait, don't tell me you like the pretty-boy type like my little brother?"
"No!"
"That's exactly why I have to see it now. We'll know when we look."
"Don't. What are you doing to a sick person..."
"But you want to confirm it again too, right?"
"Well, yes, but..."
"Then let's look. Come on, together."
Ignoring Izumilla's protests, Camilla followed the servants up the stairs.
The servants placed Azadin on a high priest's bed on the second floor of the bishop's quarters, stripped off his clothes, and finally removed his mask.
"Whoa..."
Camilla gasped in surprise at Azadin's finally revealed face.
"......"
Izumilla, confirming his face again, was equally stunned.
"He is handsome. What a letdown... I was hoping to tease him if he was ugly."
"Ahem. Ahem."
Izumilla and Camilla both cleared their throats awkwardly and brought a lamp to the bedside table. The increased light allowed them to see Azadin's face even more clearly.
At that moment, Azadin opened his eyes. He winced at the brightness but was startled to feel the glare at all.
"What? My eyes hurt... Why is everyone here?"
"Wow, his eyes are purple."
"Hm?"
Azadin touched his face and gave a wry smile.
His mask was off.
And purple eyes, no less. Weren't those the eyes of Harconia? The eyes of Arael, the inaugural Second Herald revered auspiciously by the Heralds, had manifested in Azadin as well.
It was only natural, since he had inherited them from her.
"Hey, you're handsome. Heh heh. Why hide a face like that behind a mask? Show it off more. Afraid of getting scars? Fair enough if that's it."
"......"
Azadin had never heard compliments about his looks before. Of course, plenty of people wanted to see his freakish eyeless face. During Herald selection training, peers, seniors, and even juniors had come specifically to gawk at him like some spectacle.
He could stomach it from seniors, but being treated as a sideshow by juniors of lower rank had been a deep trauma that still haunted his nightmares. Seeing these two ogling him brought that pain rushing back.
But unlike then, their eyes held goodwill.
"Are you talking about my face right now?"
"Yeah. Hey, the bishop seems to adore you. Did you show her your face too?"
"I did. She's my patron as a knight, so hiding it felt rude."
"Hahaha. So the bishop's fallen for you?"
Izumilla, overhearing, smacked Camilla on the back in shock.
"Mind your tongue! How dare you speak such insolence!"
"It's not entirely baseless. And I'm warning you to be careful. Careful. That mask the bishop wears? It's the kind female clerics use to ward off men's wandering eyes. Why do you think it was made? Because in the past, there were scandals between clerics and outsiders."
"That's exactly why saying it is blasphemous. Anyone hearing could charge you with irreverence, so refrain."
"Everything else is fine."
To cool his fever, Azadin took a wet cloth prepared by the servants and covered his eyes.
"I want to rest, so could you leave?"
"Fine. But why cover your eyes?"
"I don't like this face."
"What? Why?"
"Because it reminds me that I'm alive having stolen my sister's life. And I hate people treating my face like a freak show. Happy now? Get out."
Azadin shooed them away and lay back on the bed. The fever swallowed him up, and with a sensation like plummeting into an endless abyss, he fell asleep.
"I'm not leaving~"
Camilla said that, but Izumilla grabbed her hem and dragged her out.
*********
The bishops' council lasted three days.
During that time, Izumilla and the other prisoners, Camilla and her half-orc brother Kuntachi, and the blood sorcerer Bernard endured grueling interrogations.
Just as the boredom was driving them to madness, the council finally ended.
"You've waited long. How are you feeling?"
Bishop Akenar greeted Azadin, now recovered from his fever.
"Just a cold. I'm fully recovered."
Azadin gave a wry smile.
He had never caught colds or minor illnesses before. All Heralds were the same; the tome of Flowers, Birds, Wind, and Moon repelled even trivial ailments.
But Azadin's current body was that of a dying invalid. Though the tomes and magic from Arael had made his power immense, that strength coexisted with fragility that could shatter at any moment.
Like burning liquor trapped in a thin glass cup, teetering on the verge of the blaze shattering the vessel itself.
And moreover.
'My mana is growing stronger.'
Absurdly, Azadin felt the power of the New King Scripture stirring within him once more.
The New King Scripture and Flowers, Birds, Wind, and Moon were growing rapidly inside him like summer weeds, steadily gaining strength.
But if he wielded that power?
His body, already returned from death's door, couldn't endure it. Blood flowed from his nose and eyes, and fevers raged.
'A life that should have ended anyway, kept alive by Arael's grace. I should be grateful.'
Azadin dismissed the wounds and pain as trifles and thanked Bishop Akenar.
"Thanks to you, Bishop, I could rest safely."
The Salvation Knights Order had originally intended to throw Azadin into an interrogation room or underground cell.
But Bishop Akenar had specially housed him in the finest bedroom in the bishopric and assigned her own servants to nurse him.
She had shielded him from their overreach.
"You deserve a commendation. Not only did you aid the Order in the pilgrims' crisis, but you saved the attacked village and laid Sir Plank of Wisdom to rest—a great merit. The Coxhall governor himself promised a reward for whoever did so. But the other bishops suspect you. Especially..."
Akenar sighed.
"Northern Emperor Cohen Lionair wields great influence over the entire Salvation Knights Order. As you know, he is a king who rose from our ranks. We can say the Order produced a king. So many in the Order support him..."
"Then the other bishops want me gone, truth be damned. A Herald slandering the Northern Emperor."
"Yes, Azadin. The Order does not welcome you."