Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 141
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 32. Isn’t It a Shame?
“Sigh.”
A sigh escaped from my lips. Tunka responded immediately to that sigh.
-There’s no need to worry like that. Who am I? I’m General Tunka. I’ll find a way, so you don’t need to worry about me….
“Give me the coordinates.”
-…What?
Coordinates?
Tunka could see my complicated expression as I wiped my face with both hands. Soon he could see me speaking curtly with an irritated face.
“Tell me the coordinates of where you are right now. I’ll come.”
-…Why?
Why?
At Tunka’s question, irritation surged up within me.
That’s what I’d like to know.
I don’t understand why I have to go either.
But I can’t just not go.
If the Wipper Kingdom doesn’t seize the Empire’s castle, won’t the Empire’s power remain unchecked?
‘…I don’t know what the Empire is thinking.’
I couldn’t understand why the Empire would bother with such a troublesome task and then withdraw.
Of course, the Empire could withdraw troops from the castle and disperse them to the other two castles that Tunka was targeting, concentrating their defense there, or they could attempt an ambush on the Wipper Army as they worked to extinguish the pillars of fire surrounding the castle.
Everything was a matter that could only be understood by going there directly.
I spoke to Tunka, who was staring blankly with only his eyes blinking.
“Why what? I need to procure a Priest and extinguish the fire pillars.”
-…You?
Tunka, who had been expressing doubt, soon closed his mouth. Kale Heniatus, sitting at an angle and looking at me. He wouldn’t speak nonsense.
-That’s true. You wouldn’t speak empty words.
“Then give me the coordinates. Let’s move quickly.”
I had made up my mind: go there quickly, extinguish the fire, and return. That was all.
Tunka watched carefully as I gathered a quill pen and paper for taking notes. I was preparing to receive and record the coordinates.
Tunka felt oddly conflicted.
Even if Kale Heniatus knew there was a Priest here and had a method to extinguish the fire, there was no reason for him to come to this place. The war was not yet completely over, and no one had cried out in surrender.
The standoff simply continued.
A place that could become dangerous at any moment. A battlefield. He couldn’t readily understand why Kale would willingly come to such a place.
At the same time, he understood that sentiment a little.
‘A good man.’
Tunka solidified his assessment of Kale once more and provided the coordinates.
-I’ll inform the Mage sent from the Roan Kingdom that you’re coming. I’ll have a teleportation circle installed and provide you with the correct coordinates again.
“Good. Do it quickly.”
-Understood. It’s been a while since we’ve met.
I nodded at Tunka’s words before speaking.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
Tunka grinned as if urging me to speak. Disliking the sight of that face, I turned away from the screen and opened my mouth.
“I’m going in disguise.”
-What?
“I’m ending the call.”
Click.
I cut off the video communication with my own hands.
There was nothing more to discuss with Tunka right now. All I needed was to receive the coordinates of the teleportation circle location later.
I rose from my seat.
Raon suddenly appeared from thin air and flew to my side.
“Human! What do you mean by disguise?”
Raon’s round eyes sparkled intensely. But I dismissed him lightly and opened the door to the 5th Floor, descending to the 4th Floor.
I knocked on the innermost door on the 4th Floor.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Please come in.”
A very gentle voice came from within.
I turned the doorknob.
Click.
As the door opened, the interior of the room came into view.
“…Young Master?”
Saint Jack sprang to his feet and greeted me.
The innermost room on the 4th Floor and the room beside it—these two chambers, layered with protective magic and alarm spells, were where the Saint and Saint Maiden resided.
“Greetings, Young Master.”
The Crazy Priestess Kage, who had also jumped up, offered me a mercenary-like bow. I regarded both of them quietly before speaking.
“Saint, is Hana currently in training?”
“Ah, yes. She is learning how to handle the dark attribute from Merry.”
“I see.”
“Yes. I heard that Rosalind and Choi Han are with her as well.”
“I understand.”
Unlike the Crazy Priestess Kage, who had flung the door open, my composure seemed strange to her. Perhaps sensing that she had noticed this, I turned my head to regard Kage.
Kage flinched.
“Kage.”
“Yes, yes?”
“Will you continue to stay at the Mansion?”
She was currently residing and lodging at my Mansion. This was because the Death God would appear in her dreams and weep whenever she tried to leave my Mansion.
I cannot express how much I despise hearing the weeping of a god whose face I cannot even see. Thus, Kaige found herself unexpectedly building a rapport with the Saint of the Sun God Church, a force diametrically opposed to her own.
She answered Kale Heniatus.
“Yes, if you say it’s acceptable, Young Master, then I would like to do so.”
Saint Jack chimed in from beside her.
“I cannot tell you how grateful I am that Kaige will be joining us. If it suits you, Young Master, I would be delighted if Kaige could remain here longer.”
Thanks to Kaige’s presence, I could suppress Saint Jack’s purifying power. This allowed me to approach Merry and my younger sister Hana without reservation.
Of course, I had become someone who could not even shake hands with my sister, but that was far less important than having her alive.
Kale Heniatus nodded readily.
“I’m also pleased that Kaige will be staying. So, about that—”
Kale Heniatus spoke to the half-Saint and the Mad Priestess.
“Let’s go save some people.”
“Pardon?”
The Saint asked blankly, while Kaige inquired calmly.
“Where are we going?”
Kale Heniatus smiled at Kaige’s response and answered.
“To the battlefield.”
“Pardon?”
This time, even Kaige asked for clarification. But before Kale Heniatus could answer, he stared intently at the two of them before tossing out his next words.
“And let’s disguise ourselves.”
“Pardon?”
“…What do you mean by that?”
From behind Kale Heniatus, who stood at the door, Raon—unable to enter and hovering about restlessly—cried out.
“These guys are disguising themselves too?”
At those words, Kaige paused and asked.
“…Do you disguise yourself too, Young Master?”
“Yes. Though I suppose most people just change their hair color.”
“…Hair color? You too, Young Master?”
Kale Heniatus answered flatly.
“Yes. I prefer to look somewhat holy.”
“Holy, what?”
Kaige stared at me with a bewildered expression, but I gave Raon an instruction without hesitation.
“Bring Rosalind here. And Choi Han too.”
“Do they disguise themselves as well?”
“Just bring them.”
“Got it, human!”
Raon flew off with an excited expression toward where Rosalind was. I watched him shoot away like a missile and sighed.
There was no helping it.
I had already shown my face to Tunka’s soldiers.
The battlefield where the Wipper Kingdom’s army and the Mogur Empire’s forces clashed.
Though the Imperial Army was absent for now, it was obvious that the situation would become complicated if a noble from the Roan Kingdom appeared there.
“Um, Young Master.”
“What is it, Saint Jack?”
“I recommend white as a holy color.”
I turned to look at Saint Jack. The innocent expression on his face as he spoke suggested he was delighted to be able to offer an opinion to me.
I opened my mouth, seeing his earnest face waiting for my response.
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
Alas, such is my fate.
I searched for my fate as Erhafen did.
* * *
The acrid stench of gunpowder and blood assailed my nostrils. Yet for one accustomed to the battlefield, such odors held no power to disturb.
Instead, a far more potent stimulus pressed upon me.
Tunka gazed at the teleportation circle that had been secretly installed within a tent positioned well away from where the military camp had been established.
Five figures stood upon the circle.
Among them, a man stood in the center.
Tunka stared at him in a daze, muttering under his breath.
“…What happened to your appearance?”
The man responded with his characteristic crooked smile, sweeping his hair back with his hand.
Long hair, nearly white, flowed smoothly in the wake of his fingers.
Kale Heniatus.
His hair had transformed to a pristine white, as pure as the unmarked white priestly robes he wore. The faint luminescence that seemed to emanate from those snowy locks made them appear almost like silver.
Ignoring Tunka’s slack-jawed reaction, Kale Heniatus turned his gaze toward Herrol Codian, his staff officer.
“How do I look?”
“I doubt anyone would recognize you as the young master, sir.”
As Herrol Codian spoke, he observed the mask held in Kale Heniatus’s hand—a mask that covered only the area around the eyes.
“With that mask on as well, I’m certain no one would identify you.”
Kale Heniatus, whose eyes had shifted to blue, offered a gentle smile. At the sight, Herrol Codian could not help but let out an admiring breath.
“You truly look like a Priest now, sir.”
“Then it’s a success.”
Raon, who had teleported ahead along predetermined coordinates and was crouching in one corner of the tent, cried out mentally.
-As expected, my masterpiece! Human, you look like a true Saint!
This entire disguise had been Raon’s handiwork.
Rosalind and Choi Han had swapped their hair colors. Rosalind now had black hair with black eyes, while Choi Han possessed red hair and red eyes.
The Mad Priestess and the Saint had each dyed their hair an ordinary brown. All of them carried masks like Kale Heniatus.
Kale Heniatus spoke to Herrol Codian.
“Where are the patients?”
“Are you planning to begin treatment immediately?”
Kale Heniatus donned a white mask.
He spread out his priestly robes as he answered.
“Is it not the will of God to seek out those who suffer, to find those in need of aid?”
Herrol Codian let out a hollow laugh at his remarkably pious appearance, but soon responded with gravity.
“I shall guide you.”
* * *
The soldiers of the Wipper Kingdom gazed at the pillars of flame with anxious eyes.
Especially those standing guard along the columns of fire that encircled the castle.
Rain had fallen from last night until dawn.
Yet these flames had not been extinguished.
This strangeness filled people with dread. Whenever anyone dared approach the pillars of flame, the heat seared their skin and stole their breath.
One soldier glanced around and whispered to his comrade beside him.
“Do you think the Imperial Army really created this fire?”
“How would I know?”
“I mean, if they could make fire like this, wouldn’t we all burn to death too?”
“Fool! What nonsense are you spouting now!”
His comrade shouted in alarm, fortunately with no superiors nearby to hear. But as he observed the soldier’s expression, his brow furrowed.
The soldier had spoken out of fear he could no longer contain.
“I know it’s nonsense, but… all the Imperial soldiers suddenly fled and left only these pillars of flame behind. That’s why my heart feels so unsettled.”
The war dragged on, and now we had to guard this strange pillar of fire.
This soldier, a native of the Wipper Kingdom who despised magic, felt his heart pounding as he gazed at the pillar of fire, remembering the savage spells those mages had unleashed in the past.
“Damn it! Yet General Tunka brought everyone with us, even the wounded. He even gave some of his precious potions to those in critical condition.”
The soldier’s expression softened slightly at his comrade’s reproachful words.
General Tunka. Unlike his conduct within the kingdom before, he had not abandoned the wounded during this war.
But soon his expression hardened again.
“…Yet they’re all dying anyway.”
The potions had run out, and the treatment provided by healers without healing abilities had its limits. Listening to the moans of soldiers dying without returning to their homeland was itself a terror.
“Why do you speak only of such gloomy things? General Tunka and the Chief of Staff will surely find a way soon.”
The soldier offered a bitter smile at his comrade’s words. He had joined the war with fervent passion, believing magic must be eradicated, but as time passed, reality became clearer.
His voice emerged laden with doubt.
“Will they really— huh?”
He could not finish his sentence.
A white procession was approaching the center of the military camp in the distance.
Five people dressed in white priestly robes and wearing white masks were heading toward the tent where the patients lay, accompanied by General Tunka.
They were naturally Kale Heniatus’s party.
Kale Heniatus surveyed his surroundings as he made his way toward the tent housing the patients.
The atmosphere of the camp was grim.
-Human, do you see that pillar of fire? Should we sweep it away? If we keep going like last time, we’ll destroy this castle too!
Maple Castle, one of the three representative fortresses along the border where the Mogur Empire and the Wipper Kingdom met.
‘Destroy it? That would be madness. This is far too precious.’
Kale Heniatus intended to handle matters discreetly this time. As he surveyed the surroundings, his gaze met that of a soldier—one who had been standing guard in front of the tent where the patients gathered.
Kale Heniatus asked him with a gentle smile.
“May I enter?”
“Y-yes?”
The soldier was flustered by his dignified bearing. In that moment, General Tunka spoke calmly.
“Roll up the tent.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
The soldier whose eyes had met Kale Heniatus’s and the soldiers beside him hurriedly rolled up the tent. The scent of various medicinal herbs and the odor of illness wafted out.
Kale Heniatus slowly stepped inside.
Watching the five people enter, the soldier muttered a word that suddenly came to mind.
“…Priests.”
The soldier saw black and golden light emanating from the hands of the two priests following the white-haired priest. It was the power of healing.
Inside the tent, which had been filled with the aura of death and suffering.
The gazes of the patients, the ordinary healers without healing abilities who had been caring for them, and the soldiers assisting with treatment all turned toward the five priests.
Kale Heniatus opened his mouth.
“I have come by the will of heaven to aid you all in your arduous struggle.”
Ah.
Someone let out an exclamation.
In that moment, Kale Heniatus raised his hand.
“Let us begin.”
The Crazy Priestess Kage and Saint Jack split to the left and right beds respectively. Rosalind and Choi Han each followed one of them.
Jack placed his hand on the patient’s arm.
Shhhhh—
With a brilliant golden light, the wound began to heal rapidly.
“My, my arm—”
The healing began alongside the tearful exclamation of the arm’s owner as they watched the wound close.
Choi Han and Rosalind retrieved potions from their magical pouches to assist in treating the two priests. Kale Heniatus observed the scene and locked eyes with Tunka.
Tunka spoke with wavering eyes.
“You have so many potions— truly, I’m grateful.”
Kale Heniatus felt the gaze of soldiers and healers upon him and responded with a dignified gesture.
The potions had been generously provided by the Crown Prince from his personal funds.
Kale Heniatus recalled the conversation he’d had with Crown Prince Alberu before arriving here.
‘Extinguish the flames like in the Jungle? While dressed in the Secret Organization’s garb?’
Kale Heniatus, Rosalind, and Choi Han.
The three wore updated Secret Organization clothing beneath the loose-fitting priest robes.
Crown Prince Alberu burst into laughter.
‘Hahaha! The Empire is surely watching the Wipper Army from somewhere in hiding. This should properly confuse both the Empire and the Secret Organization.’
‘I’ll support you with my personal funds. Go and play the Saint properly before returning.’
Kale Heniatus gazed into the tent where the healing was taking place and reflected.
Since I’ve come this far, it would be a shame to merely extinguish the flames, wouldn’t it?
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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