Chapter 249
Chapter 249
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 249
Chapter Title: The Knight Order's Secret Weapon 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Nice to meet you."
Azadin shook hands with Kalints as well.
"I see the sword on your back is Aurelia Dune."
"You know of it?"
"It's one of the famed blades of the Hospitaller Knights. The fact that you've reclaimed and wield it means you laid Sir Plank to rest, yes?"
"Yes."
"Heh. If you're open to it, why not join me? I could use talented people like you in many ways."
"Regrettably, I'm merely a squire knight of the Hospitaller Knights at present, so I can't serve whomever I please on a whim."
"Ah, right. Of course. Heh. Well, take care. The Chapter Master called the torturer and soldiers to his office. I hope it's not about you."
Prince Kalints said this and patted Azadin's shoulder. A massive hand, like a bear's paw, brushed the dust from Azadin's shoulder.
"Until next time, Sir Azadin."
"Yes, Your Highness. Until next time."
Prince Kalints left with a meaningful nod to Azadin.
Decurion Jan and his band of northern Aragasas followed the prince out of the office. Then, through the same door they'd exited, a servant entered.
"You've kept us waiting. The Chapter Master summons you. Your attendants should wait here—you're to enter alone. And please disarm..."
It was a blatant demand.
"Uh... this feels off, sis."
Even Kuntachi, whose wits weren't the sharpest, sensed the Chapter Master's malice.
"You okay with this? Maybe we just flip the table and bolt?"
Camilla suggested it, but Azadin merely shrugged.
"Even bare-handed, it doesn't seem all that dangerous."
"What?"
"Besides, my comrades can hold onto my weapons, right? This isn't just any famed blade."
"Th-that should be fine."
The servants acquiesced to Azadin's request.
Azadin unstrapped his longsword Aurelia Dune and his moon-horned bow, handing them to Kuntachi, and even removed his small utility dagger before he was allowed to meet the Chapter Master.
*********
Chapter Master Sir Hexenmayer was a northerner now in his mid-forties.
He had once been a warlord battling hobgoblin tribes in the north, and his remarkable prowess had earned him a place in the Hospitaller Knights.
Upon joining the Knights of Courage, he had believed without doubt that he would one day become a Knight of Courage himself.
But his superiors took issue with him breaking his vow of celibacy by keeping numerous concubines, and he was ultimately pushed out of the running. Instead, he was made Chapter Master here in Fireglyph.
Chapter Master was a high position, but being Chapter Master of the Chadra Plateau chapter was little more than exile—doomed to spend eternity fending off monsters in this forsaken place.
Harboring a grudge, he had accepted overtures from the Northern Emperor, a fellow northerner, and leaked intelligence on the pilgrimage caravan.
And now, he had summoned Azadin—the very man who had thwarted the caravan's annihilation—into his domain.
He had soldiers at the ready, a scribe with prepared confession documents, and even a torturer in tow. Yet upon seeing the black-haired youth enter his office, Hexenmayer found himself momentarily awestruck.
The young man stood tall and elegant, like a celestial angel incarnate in human form.
His exquisite features evoked ancient statues, his mysterious violet eyes gleamed, and his flawless skin drew admiration even from a rough-hewn northern warrior like Hexenmayer.
"Impressive. So you're Azadin, herald of the Emperor?"
"Yes. And I stand here now as a Hospitaller-Errant."
The soldiers shifted uneasily at Azadin's response. It was elegant and dignified—nothing like what they'd expected.
"How fares Vermilion Fortress?"
"The platoon leaders I served under recently all fell in the line of duty. I only learned upon arriving at the site."
"My apologies. No one told you."
An apology slipped from Hexenmayer's lips.
He had come prepared to seize and imprison the man on the spot—yet here he was, uttering regrets. Even Hexenmayer couldn't fathom why.
It was Azadin's sheer poise, his extraordinary presence—it was drawing him in.
"No harm done. I fully understand how busy you must be."
"So, what happened at Vermilion Fortress? Did you emerge unscathed? What claimed those prior platoon leaders? Has the murderer been neutralized?"
Hexenmayer feigned ignorance, though he knew full well the culprits were shade hags.
But Azadin caught on the moment he asked if the murderer had been "neutralized" rather than captured.
Azadin couldn't possibly have slain shade hags, so of course he wouldn't ask if they'd been caught.
"The culprits were shade hags. A woman tormented by the prior leaders' profane violations turned witch and summoned them. They fulfilled her contract's wish."
"And how did you survive? Wouldn't the witch's curse still linger?"
"Embarrassingly, the shade hags deemed my soul the Emperor's own and spared me the curse. Regrettably, though, our scribe and squire MacDougal perished."
Azadin recited his prepared lie.
*Hm. I see. So the shade hags' curse only binds the Hospitaller Knights? This one's no knight of ours—he's the Emperor's herald, beyond its reach. If the curse were lifted, I could've seized Vermilion Fortress for my coffers. As it stands, is he the only one who can manage it?*
If Azadin were purged, Vermilion Fortress would revert to an unmanageable ruin. The knights, who desperately needed its rare cinnabar resource, couldn't afford that.
This was precisely what Azadin had banked on.
He was the sole one capable of managing Vermilion Fortress. If they wanted stable cinnabar supply, he was their only option. That was the impression he aimed to plant.
But Hexenmayer hadn't summoned Azadin merely as a knight of the order.
"Sir Azadin, reliable sources claim you possess a copy of the Divine King Formation Scripture..."
"A copy of the Divine King Formation Scripture? I once had it, yes. But I returned it to Btuma's damaged quartz throne to repel the Nether's emissaries threatening Btuma. I already submitted a sworn statement in Coxhall."
"Hmm. I've seen the statement."
Before meeting Azadin, Hexenmayer had intended to toss him straight into a cell.
But in person, Azadin's refinement was no joke—and without him, cinnabar production would grind to a halt.
"Don't misunderstand. I called you to learn about Vermilion Fortress, nothing more. You're free to go. I'll supply whatever the fortress needs—submit a requisition. I'll even send a new scribe."
In the end, Chapter Master Hexenmayer had no choice but to approve Azadin's continued oversight of Vermilion Fortress.
*********
"That was close."
Azadin let out a sigh of relief after the meeting.
It was clear they'd planned to imprison him, but his excuses, the cinnabar mine's vital importance, and his likable demeanor had collectively derailed their scheme.
Moreover, they seemed unaware MacDougal was a Mercy Cult assassin, so his death registered as just another nameless scribe's demise.
As a member of the Knights of Courage, Chapter Master Hexenmayer had no ties to the Mercy Cult.
"See? Told you. Just show your face around."
Camilla preened in the waiting parlor.
"Sure, showing my face helped. But don't you think emphasizing that I'm the only one who can run the cinnabar mine was key too? Why boast so much?"
"Even so, that creepy mask? Straight to the dungeon. They clearly meant to screw you over. Give credit where it's due."
"Fair enough. I truly appreciate the advice, Camilla. Your merit saved me. Otherwise, disaster."
"Right? So, let's buy something nice."
No sooner had Camilla spoken than blood mage Bernard stepped forward eagerly.
"While we're here, I'd like to purchase some alchemy equipment."
"Alchemy?"
"Yes. I dabble in it."
"Makes sense. You came here specifically to study blood magic, didn't you?"
"Indeed. Though not just for study—alchemy will generate revenue too. Doing it right at a cinnabar mine? Profit margins would be stellar. And my skills are no small matter."
"Hm. Very well. Let's shop."
Azadin decided to hit the market for alchemy gear and other supplies while in Fireglyph.
His group asked merchants where to find alchemy equipment.
"For that, try the Vandike Merchant House."
Azadin's expression hardened at the recommendation.
"They have an outlet here too?"
"Of course. Pricey, but they stock rare goods—best business in town. Biggest building in the square is theirs."
"Ah, there it is."
Azadin spotted the shop in the square's center and hesitated.
The Vandike Merchant House was a front for the herald clans, like the Korasar peddler guild. Tools for gathering intelligence and amassing wealth to seize secular power. A venture of the Five Great Bloodlines.
Though the Emperor's voice had faded, leaving Azadin as the sole remaining herald of the Emperor, the herald clans—the Aragasas of Harconia lineage—had not perished.
Their mundane influence endured.
*If I go, will they ambush me? I'm curious how things stand, but they won't welcome me now.*
To his kin, Azadin was an arch-enemy who had shattered their aspirations.
What had become of the other clans since Leader Hatir's fall? Intriguing, but Azadin opted not to court trouble by seeking them out.
"You handle the alchemy gear yourself, Bernard. Pick what you need."
"Is that alright? What about costs and haggling?"
"Stay within this budget."
Azadin handed over a pouch of silver and gold coins.
"We'll meet by the victory monument after."
Azadin pointed to Fireglyph's victory stele. Erected at the square's entrance, it commemorated the heroes who fought here and honored their souls.
"Understood."
Azadin parted from his group to examine the Fireglyph victory stele.
It marked the Fireglyph War, where the Three Great Archangels repelled the Nether's armies.
Eight hundred years on, the inscription had eroded from rain and worn from human touch, barely legible. Yet Azadin gazed upon it, imagining an era when all humanity united against colossal aberrant dark gods.
But then.