According to rumors, Azadin was considered the worst fool in the history of the Herald Clan, and adults often used him to scare children, threatening them with marriage to him. However, the Azadin standing before Midiam was wise, skilled, and even seasoned.
It was hard to believe that he had only become a herald three months ago, and that through unconventional means.
"What's with you? Why do you keep staring at me? Is there something on my face?"
"They say you've been cursed. That the curse is etched all over your face…"
"So what?"
"But looking at you now, you're quite handsome. I guess your older sister Arael is known to be a breathtaking beauty, isn't she?"
"Ugh."
At the mention of Arael's name, Azadin pretended to gag.
"She's not my older sister, she's my younger sister."
The Herald Clan had the custom of seniority, where even if twins were born on the same day, the one who was born first held more responsibility and authority.
"Well, she claims she's the older one."
"Have you met her?"
"Not in person, but that's what I heard."
"Then you've heard nonsense."
Azadin asserted this firmly and kept walking.
The Herald Clan also had a class system. The founding five families of the clan were at the top, followed by commoners, and beneath them, the lowly peasants.
Azadin and his sister Arael, born as peasants with a traitorous father, had neither inheritance nor honor. Yet, both of them insisted they were superior to the other.
"Hehe."
Midiam chuckled, finding Azadin's behavior amusing for some reason.
"..."
Meanwhile, Ishmael silently watched Midiam laugh.
After walking all day and crossing the ridge, the greenery finally started to regain its vitality. Nearby, water trickled out, wetting the path.
"Ah, what's this?"
"There's a spring nearby. I left some supplies there, so we might as well go find them. You need water for your mountain goats, right?"
Azadin led Midiam and Ishmael to the spring. It was an unimpressive place where water trickled out from between rocks.
"The water supply here has decreased a lot. That's bad."
The flow had diminished even further compared to the last time Azadin saw it. Still, it was better off than the eastern side of the mountain, which was nearing desertification.
"They should be around here… ah, there they are."
A Kerim mountain goat was grazing nearby. Recognizing Azadin, it gleefully ran toward him.
"Good boy. Sweater, you've been waiting, huh?"
Kerim mountain goats, with their exceptional balance and jumping ability, were adept at navigating rugged terrain. However, their long fur made them vulnerable to heat and dryness.
That's why Azadin had deliberately let the goat graze near the water while he himself went to perform his mission in the dry region.
There was a risk that the goat could be killed by predators or stolen by bandits, but since the area was scarcely populated, the goat had survived. Azadin stroked the goat and looked around.
"Let's rest here for a bit. I need to retrieve my supplies."
"Supplies?"
Azadin lifted a large rock near the spring and pulled out a hidden sack from underneath.
"Good, the supplies are intact."
Because the emperor's orders had given him little time, Azadin had rushed ahead, stashing most of his supplies here and traveling light. Recovering them now, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Hmm, I was hoping to wash up a bit."
Midiam looked disappointed at the meager trickle of water seeping from the rocks.
"The water flow will increase as we descend the mountain. For now, be content with watering the goat."
Then, the bushes rustled.
"Grrr. What's this now?"
"Hey! Who gave you permission to draw water from our spring?"
Six thugs, who clearly looked like brigands, emerged. Their mismatched armor, stained with blood, suggested they were either deserters or wandering vagabonds who had scavenged whatever they could find.
As Midiam and Ishmael exchanged glances and reached for their weapons, Azadin signaled them to stop and turned to the brigands.
"We have no intention of fighting. What do you want?"
"We want it all."
"Capture the girl alive, kill the men!"
The thugs, emboldened by their numbers and seeing only two young teens and Azadin, strutted toward them with confidence.
They assumed that Azadin was the only one who could put up a fight and underestimated him. At that moment, Azadin kicked a stone from the ground into his hand.
"Just to be clear, there's really no room for negotiation?"
"Why does this guy talk so much?"
"Look at him, with that mask on. What is he, a clown?"
"Yeah?"
Azadin gripped the stone and crushed it in his hand. The shattered fragments shot out like bullets, striking the groins of the leading thugs.
"Ugh?!"
"Argh!"
In an instant, two thugs dropped to the ground, clutching their groins.
"Agh, a-aah…"
"It's punctured!"
Their pants were torn, and their groins were quickly soaked with blood.
"You bastard!"
The enraged thugs raised their weapons, but Azadin shoved them aside and moved toward their leader, the one who had given the order to capture Midiam and kill the rest.
"Huh?"
"Excuse me."
Azadin lightly threw a punch, creating a sound like a sudden gust of wind.
-Slash!
Blood splattered, and the leader of the thugs collapsed, screaming in agony.
"Gaaaahhh!"
"B-boss?!"
"W-what the—?"
The punch had been so light that the other thugs couldn't understand why their boss was making such a fuss over getting hit. As they approached to check, they were startled. Half of their leader's face had been ripped off.
His nose was split, his cheekbone shattered with bone dust visible, and his eyeball dangled loosely from its socket. The sight was less like he had been punched by a human fist and more like he had been struck by a bear's paw.
"Gaaaahhh!"
"Eek! W-what is this?"
"..."
It wasn't just the thugs who were shocked; Ishmael and Midiam were equally horrified.
'What is this power?'
'Did he really do this without magic, just by hitting him?'
Fear gripped both Midiam and Ishmael.
Three thugs were already down, leaving only three standing. Seeing Azadin's overwhelming performance, the remaining thugs completely lost their will to fight.
***
"We, we're sorry!"
"We didn't realize you were a knight, sir!"
"But you said you wanted everything and weren't willing to compromise, right?"
"No, no, we didn't mean it!"
"Then why are you still holding weapons?"
"Eek!"
The thugs immediately dropped their weapons and fell to the ground, bowing.
"Midiam, Droopy Eyes. Collect their weapons."
"..."
The fact that Azadin called Ishmael "Droopy Eyes" instead of using his name clearly showed he had no intention of giving him a more affectionate nickname.
Midiam and Ishmael retrieved the thugs' discarded weapons and returned to Azadin.
"Let's ask some questions, shall we? Why are you here? You don't seem like ordinary bandits."
'Huh? They're not bandits?'
'Aren't they clearly bandits?'
Midiam and Ishmael were confused by Azadin's statement, but the thugs brightened at his words.
"Yes, that's right! We're just innocent commoners."
They were definitely not innocent commoners. Midiam frowned, but the thugs, desperate to survive, started spilling everything.
"We've just been conscripted, that's all."
"Conscripted?"
"Yes. The children of Margrave Kazel have been conscripting people randomly to search for the pages of some book."
"And as if the drought in the inland regions wasn't bad enough, people are turning into vagabonds and bandits…"
"We were ordered to scout this area for some useless item when, fortunately, we encountered esteemed individuals like yourselves."
They called their encounter with Azadin and his group a fortunate meeting, flattering him shamelessly despite the absurdity of it.
There was nothing fortunate about this encounter. Two of them were castrated, and their leader's face had been torn apart by Azadin's punch, leaving his survival in question.
Still, their story, while mixed with flattery, was truthful in describing the situation.
Margrave Kazel was indeed using people to search for the pages of the Book of the Divine King.
"They're just thieves making excuses, aren't they?"
"No, I don't think so. This isn't a path where merchants or travelers would usually be."
It had been a month since the drought hit the eastern inland region. Even if they wanted to rob wanderers, they wouldn't have chosen this sparsely traveled route.
"So, we'll have to kill them to silence them…"
Midiam casually suggested killing the thugs as if it were the most natural course of action.
"Hold on, Midiam. I don't kill people that easily."
"What?"
"We have to kill them. Even if they were genuinely repentant, leaving them alive would expose our movements."
Ishmael argued that they should be killed, regardless of their sincerity, to prevent any risk of exposure.
"N-no, please!"
"We were momentarily possessed by bad thoughts, but we would never dare to betray you!"
The thugs, terrified, prostrated themselves and looked to Azadin for a decision.
"Once you take a life, it can't be undone. How could I kill so easily just for my own convenience? Everyone deserves a second chance."
"Ah…"
Ishmael and Midiam sighed in frustration. They had occasionally heard of people who followed a non-killing philosophy, but to think one would exist within the Herald Clan?
Meanwhile, the thugs were overjoyed.
"Y-yes, exactly! Life is precious, sir!"
"Truly, you are a righteous man!"
"May blessings be upon your family for generations!"
"We will keep our mouths shut, we swear!"
"Yes, yes! How could we ever betray the benefactor who showed us such mercy? We'd be damned to hell if we did!"
They had seamlessly shifted into full-fledged flattery, as if it were their second nature. They'd probably thrive as eunuchs in the royal court, considering two of them were already castrated.
Azadin smiled slyly as he looked at them.
"Well, if I inflict some permanent damage on each of you, you won't be able to harm others easily, even if you don't repent immediately. That should give you plenty of opportunities to repent for the rest of your lives."
"..."
"Huh?"
"Don't move too much. If you do, it won't just be your eyeballs—you might lose your entire face."
"Ugh?!"
"D-don't be ridiculous!"
The thugs tried to resist, but Azadin's first strike hit the one who moved first. Blood and bits of flesh splattered across the faces of the remaining thugs.
"Gaaahhh!"
"Didn't I tell you to stay still? Now you've lost your nose too. If you behave, I'll just take one eyeball and be done."
Although Azadin seemed sympathetic toward the thug who had taken excessive damage, he showed no signs of stopping.
"Aaaghh!"
Terrible screams echoed through the forest like rolling thunder.