Chapter 156
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 156
The meeting hall of the Parsha family was thick with a heavy silence.
Zemel wove a convincing narrative for Turan and the assembled vassals before stepping out to allow them a moment of private deliberation. Only then did the vassals, who had been listening with rapt attention, begin to murmur among themselves.
"What do you think?"
"It doesn't sound like a bad deal. After all, that disaster is a threat that must be dealt with eventually."
"I quite like the fact that they’re taking such a humble stance."
Thanks to Turan’s reputation for repelling the head of the Arabion family and his successful negotiations with the Zahars, the Parsha family had solidified its position quickly for a newly established Great Family. However, the reality was that their prestige still lagged behind the Great Families with centuries of history and tradition.
Yet here was Carmine—a family that, while not ancient, was considered a formidable power—treating them as their superiors. It was only natural for the vassals' pride to swell.
Turan, seated at the head of the table, read the atmosphere before speaking in a low, resonant voice.
"It seems everyone is leaning toward acceptance."
"Yes, well... even the compensation Carmine offered is significant, My Lord."
For this joint operation, Carmine had proposed an extraordinary bounty: two Holy Relics, a magic battleship, and two hundred tons of gold. Even for a request for aid between Great Families, these were exceptionally generous terms.
"Do the others share this opinion?"
"My thoughts differ slightly."
The one who spoke up was Haram, a guest of the Berk family, Turan’s mentor, and one of Parsha’s strongest assets. He spoke with a solemn, unyielding expression.
"We are expecting war with Ruban soon, and the threat from Arabion has not yet been neutralized. Opening a third front is effectively impossible to manage."
"But won't we have to subjugate the Great Sea Serpent eventually anyway?"
"We’ve already issued a Maritime Prohibition Order, so there is no immediate rush on our end. It is better to let Carmine, who is based in the North Sea, handle their own mess," Haram replied coldly to a noble’s question. Then, as if his business was concluded, he closed his eyes and nodded.
Turan watched him quietly before addressing the room.
"As he said, our current situation does not allow for complacency. We decline Carmine’s proposal."
"If we refuse this, the neighboring families might look down on us..."
The man who started to protest quickly trailed off, sensing the shift in the room's mood. Turan decided not to undermine his own authority by rebuking the man further.
‘It’s easier to bring this up since Master rejected it first.’
Turan had intended to refuse the moment he heard the proposal, but it wasn't simply because he was worried about fighting on three fronts. Considering that the threat of the Great Sea Serpent wouldn't be temporary, it would actually be better to finish it off while they had the chance to cooperate.
The real problem was that he couldn't trust the Carmine family.
‘They abandoned their capital because they were overpowered? What a joke.’
Based on Turan’s recent battles, the individual strength of the Great Sea Serpent’s kin was roughly equal to or slightly less than that of an average family head. There were about a dozen of them, and the King and Queen were likely only a bit stronger. If the leader of Carmine, the Lawyer, used his divine power as a Vessel alongside their other Vessels, they should have been more than capable of repelling or killing the beasts.
‘Unless the Vessels of Carmine are Half-Elves like those of Baraha or Ruban.’
Because the souls of gods and White Elves were mixed within them, Half-Elves suffered significant disadvantages when drawing out divine power. Those like Turan, Meisa, or Solif, whose spirits and bodies coexisted properly, could combine symbols at will using the power of their souls and suffered no side effects other than the depletion of spiritual energy. But the others were different.
Was it because the souls of White Elves and the symbols of the gods were fundamentally incompatible? If the gods of Carmine were of a similar sort, it would be understandable. But if not, it was highly likely they were plotting something—perhaps waiting until the battle was nearly over to stab him in the back.
Actually, there was an even bigger reason for his refusal.
It was the smell.
Throughout the entire time Zemel was talking, not a single scent drifted from his body.
‘He’s likely using a specific magic tool or Holy Relic to hide it, knowing I have Zahar blood. But still.’
Common sense dictated that if someone had no ulterior motives, they wouldn't hide their scent when coming to ask for help. They were hiding it because they had something to conceal—an emotion they couldn't let him sense. That alone was enough to make Turan lose any interest in the offer, regardless of the price.
And if refusing made them enemies? Then they must have intended to be enemies for a long time already.
A moment later, Zemel returned to the hall. He looked visibly flustered when Turan delivered his refusal.
"W-Why... Lord of Parsha, please reconsider! This is not just a matter for our family, but for all of humanity!"
"My mind is made up. Perhaps we could cooperate after Arabion has fallen or a proper head has taken charge, but not now. You may leave."
The "proper head" he referred to was, of course, Meisa.
Zemel continued to try and change Turan's mind with honeyed words, but he was forced into silence when Turan told him flatly, "I do not wish to hear any more."
A mere subordinate of a family head could not afford to show his teeth before the head of another Great Family. Ultimately, having gained nothing, Zemel looked up at Turan with eyes full of rage and muttered under his breath. Even though Turan couldn't smell the man's scent, the emotion was strikingly blatant.
"...I shall take my leave. I wish you a long life."
Was the emotion revealed in that moment Zemel’s own, or that of the god dwelling within him? Either way, it didn't matter.
*
Before long, news of the exchange between the Parsha and Carmine families spread far and wide.
The story was that Carmine, having lost their capital, had begged for salvation only to be rejected. Some criticized Parsha for lacking the compassion expected of fellow humans, while others argued it was only natural given the powerful enemies at their borders.
Many of the high-ranking mages within the Parsha family, who had recently gone to rescue Ofen with Meisa, tentatively concluded that Turan’s decision was correct. While a few had been dazzled by Zemel’s groveling attitude and the promised rewards, cool-headed reflection suggested that the Great Sea Serpent was too formidable an enemy to risk fighting for gold and relics.
Shortly after the envoy left, another event occurred that proved Turan’s instincts right. Word arrived from the far east that the Great Family Ruban had begun marching toward the lands of Baraha.
"War?"
"Yeah. It’s a real headache, I tell you. We were just starting to get the territory back to normal..."
Due to the repeated wars, the Land of the Five Lakes—Baraha’s territory—suffered from a chronic shortage of mages. As a result, even the family head, Solif, occasionally had to go out on magical beast hunts himself. Mages from Parsha and Lavitas were staying there to provide both aid and oversight, but their numbers were small.
"What are their numbers?"
"I didn't see them myself, so I don't know the details, but the count is around twelve hundred."
"Twelve hundred... and Baraha?"
"If we really scrape the bottom of the barrel, eight hundred. Of course, most of them should be considered non-combatants."
Even if they managed to match two-thirds of the enemy's numbers, their actual combat power was likely less than half. Furthermore, they didn't even have Vessels who could wield power like the Half-Elves of Ruban.
"The Lavitas forces are currently taking the long way around through the Southern Sea, so we’re the only ones who can help."
"How much can you spare?"
At Solif’s question, Turan pondered for a moment, tapping his finger on the desk.
"Not much. We’ve had reports of suspicious movements on our end recently."
"Suspicious movements?"
"There are reports of mages from the Western Forest being seen frequently at the border of the Gray Zone."
A few years ago, the mage families ruling the Western Forest Zone had all suffered catastrophic damage during the Dark Elf uprising, but they had managed to recover their strength to some extent. Some who had fled at the time had returned, and nobles who had gained independence from other nearby regions had formed reclamation parties to become the rulers of new cities.
If they gathered their numbers, it would be a significant force. The fact that they were appearing near the border was not a positive sign for the Parsha family.
"According to the people I sent to investigate, they claim it's because a few powerful magical beasts were discovered nearby... but it’s hard to know the truth without me personally going there and kidnapping someone."
"Let's not do that. It's dangerous. Hmm, so you're saying it's tricky for you to pull troops away too."
Another thing that bothered them was the context behind Ruban’s provocation. Unless they were fools, they wouldn't just charge in after seeing how quickly the old Baraha had collapsed, right? It was logical to assume they had something that could stand against the two Great Families: Solif’s Baraha and Turan’s Parsha.
"For now, I could leave the main house to Meisa and provide support alone... Ah, speaking of which, there’s one more thing I wanted to discuss."
"What is it?"
"It's about Berit."
At Turan’s words, Solif’s face stiffened slightly. "What about her?"
"I’m thinking of dispatching her to Baraha. What do you think? Even if it’s not me, having a high-ranking Zahar noble would be a huge help for scouting and tracking."
"Suddenly?"
"She requested it herself."
A few days ago, Berit had come to Turan and asked to be sent back to her main house. Her reason was that the bond between Turan and Meisa was so strong she couldn't possibly wedge herself in, and she didn't want to waste any more time here. She had also grown quite fond of Meisa during her stay.
Of course, Turan had refused her initial proposal. Berit’s dispatch involved complex political calculations, making it a difficult decision to make on a whim. Furthermore, returning her could be interpreted as a hostile signal.
However, during several conversations, Turan realized the real reason Berit wanted to leave Parsha. Since Solif had become the family head, he didn't stay in Kalamaf often, and because she couldn't see him frequently, she wanted to leave.
"...So, instead of sending her back to Zahar, you’re sending her here?"
"Her stealth ability is almost useless inside the Sun Temple anyway. I have plenty of excuses to give Zahar. We took her in under the pretext of a 'companion marriage' in the first place; we can just say the target changed a bit. She’s still with the head of a Great Family, isn't she?"
Hearing this, Solif let out a groan as if he’d been pricked. Turan let out a hearty laugh and shook his head.
"I have a rough idea of how far things have gone between you and Berit. Linking the two of you isn't a bad deal for us either, so as long as you’re okay with it, it’s fine."
Based on their past conversations, Berit was an ambitious woman. As the daughter of a successor, she had enough talent to aim for the position herself, but after realizing her mana had hit a limit at the high-rank level, she sought to gain power as the consort of a family head.
She had come to Parsha to pursue Turan but was frustrated by his iron wall. In the meantime, her heart had shifted toward Solif. His looks were to her taste, his power was formidable, and he was the head of Baraha—a Great Family with a long history, even if it was currently diminished.
Unless she was a fool, instead of fruitlessly banging on Turan’s door, she would have returned to her main house and tried to find a way to be dispatched to Baraha. Turan had simply offered her a more attractive option.
"I told her that in exchange for sending her to Baraha, she has to leak Zahar’s information to us. Since I’m the one doing Zahar a favor, I should naturally get something in return."
"Using even a friend’s love for politics... you’ve really become a scheming politician, haven't you?"
"I wouldn't have used this method if you didn't like Berit, but fortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case."
At Turan’s remark, Solif coughed awkwardly and forced his gaze away. As he said, Solif—who was previously analyzed to have a preference for older, married women—had at some point become strongly attracted to Berit.
Perhaps it was impossible to perfectly categorize a person’s preferences. Could it really be called love if you could say, "I like this kind of person and dislike that kind"? Such emotions simply arrive one day and brand themselves onto the heart like a seal.
"Is Berit sincere about me?"
"From what I can feel, yes."
Just as Turan had done in front of Talis while disguised as Onil, Zahar nobles could suppress the emotions drifting in their scent to some extent if they were conscious of it. However, Berit didn't have the ability to control herself to that degree, and at some point, she had stopped hiding her feelings for Solif in front of Turan.
The difference between simple lust and love is subtle and difficult to discern, but Turan judged that Berit’s feelings were closer to the latter.
"Damn it, fine. Let's do that. I don't know how we went from talking about war to talking about women, but..."
"I told you just now. Use Berit for scouting as a Zahar noble."
"You want me to throw the woman I like into danger?"
"Unless there’s someone with abilities like mine, there’s no danger in simple scouting. And once she provides the organized data, it’ll be easier for me to handle things."
Turan pointed to the world map hanging next to the lounge, specifically the section depicting Ruban’s territory.
At the marching speed of a typical mage army, it would take about fifteen days to get from the border to Baraha’s capital, Helio. With a Zahar noble scouting ahead to confirm the army’s composition and deployment, that was more than enough time for a family-head-level assassin to run rampant, throw the army into chaos, and force a retreat.