A ruling was made regarding the promise made with the Herald Clan.
If someone made a promise to a stone on the roadside, should they be punished for breaking that promise?
The same applies to the promise made with the Herald Clan. They are beings without souls, no different from the stones on the roadside.
No, if anything, a roadside stone does not dare to disturb the light of the king's virtue. As followers of the emperor, they are far worse trash than mere stones. Therefore, any serious promise made with such trash holds no meaning. Breaking a promise or acting dishonorably—if the subject is the Herald Clan, then such actions are excusable.
Thus, the people of Hubris claimed that the Herald Clan were soulless beings, rejecting even the bare minimum of honor and legal principles that should be upheld.
Under such circumstances, even if Azadin were to make a promise to them, would they truly become penitent knights? No one could say for sure. And yet, Azadin still took pity on the people of Hubris.
"The people of Hubris must be handled according to the principles of Hubris, or else things will become difficult. The people here have chosen to take revenge on the Holy Knights, and as a result, they must abandon their farm and flee. That would be an extremely harsh life. So, I cannot make that decision for them."
"For all that, you seem reluctant to kill the Holy Knights."
When Ishmael asked, Azadin nodded.
"If I were fighting a formidable opponent and lacked the strength to do otherwise, it would be one thing. But killing those whom I know I can easily defeat—that is a painful act. It is an unnecessary killing."
"...."
Absolute confidence. Even the emperor's heralds found it difficult to display such confidence when facing the Holy Knights of the king's church.
In reality, the Holy Knights of the king's church had effortlessly deflected the arrows shot by Midiam and Ishmael, and they had even dodged Azadin's thrown javelins when they saw them coming. The trainee knight who was hit by a javelin had only been caught because he was ambushed from behind.
Yet, despite facing such highly skilled Holy Knights, Azadin had remained so composed?
"Living as a vagabond is too harsh, so you wanted to handle things under Hubris's system and laws as much as possible, is that it?"
"That's right. Hmm, but the funeral is over—where did that one go?"
A short while later, Tarkiev, who had fled from the farm, cautiously peeked back, gauging the situation.
"Ah, it looks like it's over."
"You came back again? I thought you would just keep running."
"Well, um… I couldn't fight against the Holy Knights of the king's church, given my position."
"If that's the case, then traveling with us will also be difficult."
Midiam criticized him sharply. The emperor's heralds were considered heretics punishable by death—traveling with Azadin would be just as problematic for Tarkiev.
When Midiam pointed this out, Tarkiev had no response. The real reason he wanted to stay with Azadin was that, now that the mercenary group protecting him was gone, he was afraid of traveling alone. He feared bandits, monsters, and even assassins sent by his half-brothers.
But Azadin also had his own reasons for keeping Tarkiev.
'His mother was the one who provided the emperor's gold coins, wasn't she? And she hired that mercenary group, too. I need to investigate further. Besides, since he has already become a petitioner of the gold coin, at the very least, he won't be able to betray us easily. As for avoiding battle with the Holy Knights… well, he is a noble of Hubris, so I suppose that's to be expected.'
Understanding Tarkiev's position, Azadin gave instructions.
"For now, let's finish up our maintenance as best as we can. Wash up, change clothes… pick up the arrows. I wonder if this can even be cleaned."
While the villagers gathered the bodies, Azadin made sure they prepared themselves.
***
The surviving farmers were gathering valuables and preparing to leave. They had killed the Holy Knights of the king's church and had dealings with Azadin, a member of the Herald Clan. They could no longer stay at the farm.
"This is all your fault!"
A young girl who had been tending sheep suddenly yelled at Azadin.
"If you hadn't come to our farm, my mom and dad wouldn't have died!"
"Shh."
A young man, presumably her older brother, quickly covered her mouth.
"My apologies, she's just a child…."
The farmer's son looked at Azadin fearfully, as if worried that he might retaliate against the girl's outburst. However, Azadin paid little attention to her impulsive words.
"So, what will you do now?"
Midiam asked the farmers, her pure curiosity driving the question.
"We'll take refuge at a relative's house nearby. We'll marry off those who can marry and find jobs for those who can work. As for the fields… the drought has been getting worse anyway, so it's becoming difficult to farm."
The farmer's son pointed in the direction they were heading—southwest, the opposite direction of Salasma.
"Then, I suppose we part ways here. We'll be on our way as well."
"Yes. May the emperor's blessing be upon the herald."
As the farmer's son said those words, the children gasped in horror, staring at their brother. It seemed he had mentioned the emperor's blessing merely out of courtesy, but even that was enough to strike fear and bewilderment into the children of Hubris.
[The people are treating me as if I were some plague. And yet, I worked to grant them civilization and wisdom.]
The emperor's voice sounded aggrieved by their reaction.
"A ruler who fails to establish a clear line of succession will be criticized no matter how wise or virtuous he is."
[That, I will concede. But even a single generation of peace that I achieved is valuable. And a generation for the Yaegas Clan is truly long.]
"I suppose so."
***
From their current position, there were two possible routes to Salasma. One was to head directly north. The other was to travel west and follow the Gray River through the Korasar region before heading north.
Azadin chose the latter route.
"It's a slightly longer path, but many refugees will be moving in this direction, so it'll be easier to blend in among people. Also, by checking the river's water level, we can gauge how severe the drought has become. As a herald, gathering information is important."
Having decided on the route, Azadin started walking along the road.
The eastern side of the 'Desert Spine' mountain range had been less affected by the drought, but even here, its effects could be felt. Though it was still spring, the grass and trees along the road were already withering.
Tarkiev, perhaps feeling guilty about running away during the battle with the Holy Knights, was now trying even harder to curry favor with Azadin.
"Truly remarkable. The Holy Knights of the king's church are said to be even more vigorous and energetic during their time as trainee knights, yet you defeated them all."
"Did you even see how the fight went?"
Midiam asked curiously.
"Well, um, not exactly…."
"You were too busy running away to watch, weren't you?"
"Ugh."
Tarkiev was flustered when the girl criticized him. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have stayed silent, but given his current situation, he couldn't afford to lash out at Midiam, who was openly flaunting her high status as a member of the Herald Clan.
"Hmm, be quiet for a bit. I'm tired."
Azadin, since he carried a lot of weapons and equipment, refrained from riding the Kerim mountain goat all the way to their destination to avoid overburdening the animal. Instead, he held the reins and walked. Though Azadin had far greater stamina than an ordinary person, the series of battles he had recently fought had left him fatigued.
"There are many other travelers here, so don't say anything reckless. If you start talking about how we dealt with the Holy Knights or anything like that…"
Azadin made a gesture of slicing his throat. Just then, a group of merchants approached them, calling out.
"You there, travelers! How about a cup of tea?"
They were street vendors selling tea.
Tea was a widely popular beverage across the entire territory of the Eight Divine Kingdoms—or rather, it was closer to being a necessity. In most places, except for a few areas with exceptionally pure water, the water contained lime and other impurities, making it unsafe to drink directly.
By boiling water with tea leaves, the lime and impurities would adhere to the leaves, purifying the water and making it safe to drink. Because of this, the Yaegas Clan actively encouraged the cultivation and consumption of tea.
Thus, it was common to see vendors on the roadside offering tea to travelers in exchange for money. These vendors carried makeshift stalls, equipped with wooden frames to support a water jug and a brazier, where they boiled water and brewed tea. Some even sold sweets made with sugar-mugwort.
However, the vendor addressing Azadin's group had a small flag bearing the insignia of the Korasar Peddlers' Guild attached to his cart.
"Come, come. The road is long, and there's little water. Have a cup of tea before you go."
He pulled out small wooden stools from his cart and placed them along the roadside. Azadin nodded and took a seat.
The vendor glanced at Tarkiev.
"What about this knight?"
"He's a petitioner of the Gold Coin. It's fine. There's no risk of information leaking."
Azadin stated this with certainty. The petition of the Gold Coin was a powerful binding spell, preventing those under its effect from betraying the Herald Clan of their own volition. Every herald knew this. If that weren't the case, there was no way someone like Azadin, given his personality, would tolerate a man like Tarkiev, who had once pillaged civilians.
"Ah, is that so?"
The merchant, who had been smiling just moments ago, suddenly stiffened. A look of relief crossed his face—he no longer needed to maintain a business-like smile.
"So, where are you headed, you who suddenly became a herald three months ago, bypassing all the proper procedures?"
His tone was openly mocking. Normally, heralds were transferred or reassigned only during the Summer Solstice Festival, which occurred once every two years.
At that time, those who had grown too old or injured to continue their duties retired, and the vacancies left by the deceased or retired heralds were filled with young and capable individuals, or with those recommended by the servants of heralds.
However, Azadin had bypassed this process and had been granted an exception, becoming a herald just three months ago. This had happened due to the strong recommendation of Kazas, a senior elder of the Herald Clan. But before that, Azadin had been widely regarded among his people as the son of a traitor, a failure, and an incompetent.
It was to the extent that a common threat used to quiet crying children was: "I'll marry you off to Azadin."
Perhaps that was why even a mere tea vendor, who belonged to the servant class, dared to mock him.
'If they saw Azadin's skills, they wouldn't be able to speak like that.'
Midiam thought so, but even she had never heard any rumors of Azadin's abilities. The only things that had circulated among the clan were stories of how clumsy and inept he had been in his youth. Because of that, even the lowest servants looked down on him.
"I'm on my way to Salasma. Is there something going on?"
"Yes. It's an optional task—you're free to refuse. But I hear you've already turned down many missions from the regional head, making yourself quite unpopular. If you're going to refuse the regional head's tasks, why even bother being a herald?"
"I'm handling the emperor's Gold Coin matters."
"Haha. There aren't that many matters concerning the Gold Coin."
"..."