Are MZ Shamans In Trouble In Romance Novels? - Chapter 35

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

35.

“Ah! Ah! Massage gently! Gently!”

Calisia, who had been leaning against a tree, screamed at the fierce grip she felt on her arm. It was because of the knights who had stuck to her like glue, saying that muscle massage was essential after punishment drills.

“This is how it needs to be done. Please bear with it a little.”

Several hands as large as pot lids kneaded Calisia’s arms firmly.

“But miss. Your arms are still so soft—where did all that training you’ve been doing go?”

“Aren’t you too thin? This isn’t an arm, it’s like a tree branch or a skewer.”

The knights who had been pressing her arms as if to eliminate all muscle couldn’t hide their bewilderment as they asked. It was because of her arms that were still transparently pale and slender despite rolling under the scorching sun with them. Could it be that all noble young ladies were like this?

“Talking about skewers, what nonsense. But where the hell did that bastard Ian go!”

Calisia, who was dying from the torture-like massage, suddenly raised her head.

“Don’t tell me he went off alone, leaving just us? After making people suffer like this!”

She looked around, searching for Ian who hadn’t shown even his nose at some point.

“No. He said he was going somewhere briefly.”

One knight shook his head.

“Isn’t he just saying that and not coming back? The Northern Region’s tiny bit of loyalty unfortunately only went this far.”

Calisia emphasized ‘tiny bit’ and ‘only’ particularly strongly as she mocked them thoroughly.

“What are you saying! Northern men never make promises they can’t keep!”

The knights who were offended by this raised veins on their necks and clenched their fists tightly.

“Agh! My arm! My arm! My arm!”

The problem was that Calisia’s arm was caught under those rough hands. She glared at the knights desperately from the brutally strong pain that brought tears to her eyes.

“It hurts! I said it hurts!”

Calisia, whose anger hadn’t subsided, struck hard on the backs of all the knights in front of her. Though it probably wouldn’t do much damage to bodies packed full of muscle.

“Miss! Calm down! Please calm down!”

“It hurts! Miss!”

“Talking about calming down, what nonsense! Then what about me! How much did I hurt!”

Calisia pointed at the knights’ hands, telling them to please have some conscience. The hands with protruding knuckles were unmistakably biological weapons.

“….”

The knights who had fought a battle with Calisia stared at the gravesite in a daze. Iron club. The miss’s arm wasn’t something like a skewer but an iron club. Enough to make them wonder how such spicy power could come from those small, delicate hands.

“…But miss, why are we suddenly hiding?”

The knights who suddenly came to their senses tilted their heads, not understanding what this was all about. They had crammed their bodies into a corner as instructed, but still.

“We need to catch a crow, don’t we.”

“A crow?”

“When hunting, hiding your presence is basic. Why do you think predators crouch low? But you became knights without knowing such things? Didn’t Ian teach you?”

Calisia clicked her tongue while looking at the knights whose eyes had gone round. This is why medieval people won’t do. Ancient people even hunted mammoths. All the kids are lacking. It’s really the end times, the end times.

“Us?”

The knights who were dumbfounded stuck their heads forward and asked back.

“Miss. You seem to not know well, but when it comes to the Northern Region, it’s hunting!”

They continued their protest, saying that the Northern Region was about hunting monsters that came down from the Dorkan Mountain Range every year.

“Alright. I got it. So we’re hunting right now.”

Calisia answered in a tone that clearly showed her annoyance and resumed watching the movements of her prey. Actually, crow hunting had been foreseen from the moment she planned the grave excavation. Special secret arts and materials were needed to revive Thomas’s memories.

“But why are you really catching crows all of a sudden?”

“To make whole roasted chicken. You know that meat is first freshness, second freshness, so we need to catch it alive, right?”

Caw-

Calisia, who had said something that could be a joke or serious, giggled with an ominous face.

“Crows?”

Several knights frowned as if disgusted. It wasn’t about being picky with food out of luxury. The Northern Region’s winter was viciously harsh and barren compared to other regions, so crops didn’t grow well.

Moreover, the territory was vast, so there were villages where the ducal house’s influence didn’t reach. Not only that. Going hungry during monster subjugation expeditions every year was commonplace. In that process, the Northern Knights had eaten everything edible and inedible. But not crows.

Guardian of graves, black birds that grew eating corpses, and flying beasts that brought death. Crows were truly symbols of ill omen.

“Miss. They say crow meat tastes like corpses. Those things don’t have much meat either.”

“Is the Northern Castle’s food that terrible?”

“No wonder you keep eating at the separate palace.”

The knights raged about who the cook in charge of the Northern Castle was. They could tolerate other things, but they couldn’t stand discrimination when it came to food.

“Miss. We’ll kidnap—no, persuade—the separate palace cook and bring them to the Northern Castle. So please reconsider.”

“Crow meat really doesn’t seem right.”

“Remember freshness. We absolutely have to catch it alive. Let’s see the skills of Northern men.”

Calisia completely ignored the knights’ earnest advice and pointed to a particularly plump crow.

“….”

What did that thing eat to get so fat? The knights with drooping lips carefully shook Calisia’s shoulder. They gazed at Calisia with desperate eyes.

“When I say one, two, three, we pounce.”

But Calisia’s attitude remained firm. Eventually, the knights surrendered to her stubborn persistence.

“Whew-.”

The knights who created a solemn atmosphere crouched down low. Without bows, catching a flying bird alive required agility above all.

“…One, two, three!”

Calisia shouted in a suppressed voice. Following that secret signal, the knights rushed toward the crow.

Caw!

Caw!

The flying beast, startled by the black shadows pouncing on it, fluttered its wings and flew up.

“There! Up there!”

“Catch it quickly!”

“Here! Here!”

Running, rolling, and shouting. The knights who had rolled up their sleeves flailed about trying to catch the crow. It was chaos beyond chaos.

“Got it…!”

The brunette knight stepped on the ground and leaped high up into the tree. His calloused hand snatched the crow’s body.

“I caught it!”

He who had rolled down to the dirt ground held up the crow with an excited face. His voice trembling with excitement seemed quite moved. When did he complain about not wanting to do it?

“Applause! That’s the spirit of a Northern man!”

Calisia, who shouted “That’s it!”, clapped generously for the brunette knight. The other knights who had struggled to catch the crow also whistled and cheered. It was because they felt proud by association.

“Northern Region!”

“Northern Region!”

“Stop.”

Amid the knights’ rising voices, a heavy voice suddenly flew in.

“…Hup!”

The knights, startled as if struck by lightning even by that not-so-loud voice, covered their mouths. A silence where not even breathing could be heard arrived, and sweat began to seep out.

“Now you cause trouble the moment I take my eyes off you.”

Calisia and the knights who had been watching each other slowly turned their stiffened necks. It was Ian who had returned at some point. He neatly placed the items he had been carrying in both hands on the ground. New clothes and ointment to give to Calisia.

“….”

Troublemakers. Ian pondered how to handle this behavior that was beyond absurd and pathetic.

“Get down.”

No matter how much he thought about it, there was only one answer. If they couldn’t come to their senses to the end, he had no choice but to make them learn through their bodies. Eventually, it was time for punishment drills again.

***

Caw- Caw-

In the very deep night,

The sound of crows cawing at an unusual hour echoed through the Northern Castle Kitchen. It was because of the ritual called Crow’s Eye. There were exactly three materials needed to perform the Secret Arts: salt, crow’s blood, and an object to serve as a medium. In this case, it was Thomas’s Notebook.

“….”

Calisia looked pitifully at the black bird trapped in the birdcage. Among all the birds, crows were specifically used as offerings because of their special ability. Since ancient times, crows have been known as birds that connect the afterlife and this world. This ritual was a kind of workaround and Secret Arts technique that peered into the memories of the deceased through the crow’s eyes.

Calisia struggled to lift the sack filled with salt. It was for Thomas, today’s main character. Perhaps intimidated by the grand word “ritual,” he sat on the floor with an anxious expression.

“Ugh- this is heavy.”

Calisia circled around Thomas, generously sprinkling salt. It was to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances. She dropped the now much lighter sack to the floor. Her shoulders, back, and arms were throbbing with muscle pain.

“This is why I can’t stand Northern people.”

Calisia cursed as she looked at her pathetically trembling arms. Every time her overworked muscles from the night screamed in pain, she wanted to grab Ian by the collar.

“He knows the situation perfectly well. The kid has no compassion. None.”

-Um… Miss. This is really going to be okay, right?

Amid her muttering, a voice tinged with fear was heard. It was Thomas, whose face had turned pale.

-Of, of course you did everything properly, Miss.

Trapped in the Salt Circle, he couldn’t hide his anxious expression and fidgeted with his hands. It was due to instinctive rejection.

“Whether this fails or succeeds, I’m the one who’ll suffer anyway, so don’t worry too much.”

Calisia said, trying to soothe Thomas who was now almost crying. It was true. Crow’s Eye was a ritual that put strain on the caster. Because one had to pay the price for taking a life, even if it was just a mere creature.

-Really?

Thomas, finally reassured by Calisia’s words, patted his startled chest. His face noticeably brightening was a bonus.

“Why are you so happy about me suffering?”

Calisia’s eyebrows twitched, annoyed by his excessively brightened expression.

“Look at the loyalty of Western people. It’s enough to make me cry. Really cry.”

If it weren’t for Vision, I wouldn’t do this. Calisia, grumbling continuously, took out a talisman she had prepared in advance. It was to attach to the notebook. Though nothing special, it had the effect of making the connection between the medium and the deceased somewhat smoother. It was like a kind of lubricant.

“Someone’s about 3 seconds away from their eyes popping out. Someone else is so happy they could die. Just die.”

Calisia firmly attached the talisman to the notebook.

“….”

Now all that remained was the crow’s blood.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————