Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69 After their reunion at the palace entrance, they first announced their arrival to Midella, Asiz's mother and the head of the Berk family.
She treated her son's savior, whom she hadn't seen in months, with great hospitality and granted them a private guest house.
Turan introduced Solif, who stood beside him, simply as a friend he had met during his travels—a wandering noble of the Pyromaniac bloodline. With his modest attire and missing arm, Solif looked every bit the impoverished, weathered wanderer, so no one thought to doubt the story.
After exchanging greetings with the Berk nobles he had met previously, Turan entered the guest house and asked Asiz about Haram's well-being. He asked because he didn't see the man who had served as his master in hand-to-hand combat and physical conditioning, as well as Asiz's uncle-in-law.
"My uncle? He went out to hunt a magical beast."
"A magical beast?"
"A giant wolf, I think. Based on its reported size and speed, he decided the knights wouldn't be a match for it and went out to handle it himself. He'll probably be back with its head in a few days."
Turan swallowed his disappointment, wishing he could have met him immediately, and took a seat in the guest house's drawing room.
Asiz and Solif looked at each other with somewhat awkward expressions, as people often do when meeting a friend's friend for the first time. It seemed it would take a bit more time for the two of them to become close.
Perhaps wanting to break the awkward atmosphere, Asiz showed interest in Bije, who was perched at Turan's side.
"What's this? A pet?"
"Her name is Bije. We've performed a soul binding."
"Oh… like Tilly?"
"Exactly."
Tilly was a massive horse, nearly three meters tall at the shoulder. Like Bije, she was a magical beast bound to a mage's soul—specifically, to Midella, the head of the Berk family. She had, of course, accompanied Asiz on his pilgrimage.
"Do you think I could pet her?"
"Ask Bije yourself. She's as smart as a human."
"Would that be alright, Bije?"
At Asiz's question, Bije started to scratch a message with her claws but stopped, realizing she shouldn't ruin the expensive table. Instead, she simply nodded.
Seeing her compliant attitude, Solif grumbled from the side.
"That brat… she was so fierce with me."
After clearing the air with small talk about the Golden Eagle, the conversation shifted to their recent activities.
"As for me, I've just been living life as usual," Asiz said.
"I heard you were going back out on a pilgrimage?"
"No, I should probably rest for a few years before heading out again…"
As expected of a long-lived noble, his sense of time was leisurely. Then again, Turan, who lived urgently and felt the weight of weeks and months like a commoner, was the outlier among nobility.
After a cup of tea, Asiz brought up the recent dark elf subjugation.
"I heard you participated in the dark elf subjugation with Meisa?"
"Where did you hear that?"
"The rumors are everywhere! They say a noble who's a god at slinging joined the fray. Who else could that be but you?"
"Fair point."
The Zahar nobles he had seen before used bows or other throwing weapons, but never a sling. It was generally perceived as a weapon for the lowly.
Turan hadn't been without thoughts of switching to a weapon with higher lethality, but it felt like a waste of the proficiency he had built over many years. At this point, he could throw a fireball as if using a sling, launching it harder and with less mana.
"Tell me the story. How did you get dragged into that? And what's this rumor about you having a Barrier Master bloodline?"
"Ah, that."
Come to think of it, he had told that lie while using the Mimic Relic. He had spouted so much nonsense wherever he went that he sometimes got confused himself.
Turan briefly scanned the surroundings with the relic's senses to ensure no one was eavesdropping, then used wind magic to seal the sound within the drawing room.
Seeing this, Asiz's eyes widened.
"Wh-what?"
He knew well that Turan was a magical genius, but being able to use such techniques so freely was a different story. As a vassal of Arabion, he knew that manipulating wind with such precision was not a realm reachable through mere practice.
"You… don't tell me you're of the Arabion bloodline?!"
"You didn't even tell this guy? You said he was your best friend, yet you have so many secrets," Solif muttered in disbelief at Asiz's shocked reaction.
Ignoring him, Turan leaned back deep into his chair.
"It's going to be a long story, so I'll explain everything from the beginning."
In the sealed room, free from any interference, Turan opened up about his parents' past, which he had discovered in Kalamaf. He told the story of the knight's daughter kidnapped from Arabion, her romance with a Zahar noble, and the eventual catastrophe.
Asiz, who hadn't suspected a thing, sat with his mouth agape wide enough for a bug to fly in. Solif, who at least knew of Turan's bloodline, merely clicked his tongue softly.
The story concluded with the boy Turan, born on Hisaril Hill in the west, living as a shepherd, meeting the hero Keorn, and eventually running into Asiz while traveling east. The latter half was meant to prove that he had met Asiz without any prior connection to the Zahar family.
"—And that's roughly how it happened."
After a moment of silence, Asiz gulped down his tea and ended up coughing. He then bowed his head slightly toward Turan.
"Thank you for being honest with me. I know that couldn't have been an easy story to tell."
Turan felt a deep sense of relief, joy, and gratitude, but he leaned back in his chair to hide it. He tried to maintain his composure, but his voice was slightly thick.
"I was just a coward for not telling you sooner."
In the past—specifically, until very recently—Turan had hidden his identity almost paranoically. The history of the knight Keorn, who had revealed Turan's Zahar bloodline to him, played a large role in this. After learning that his own relatives had slaughtered the family of the man he considered a father figure, a vague sense of self-loathing had taken root.
That feeling had only grown stronger because the friends he made afterward were all connected to Arabion. He feared that if his identity were ever discovered, his friends might look at him with contempt—a truly horrifying thought.
The turning point in shedding this self-loathing was learning that his other half was Arabion, and that he was a being born from his parents' love. The fact that the Arabion nobles he met in person weren't as noble as he had imagined also had an impact.
And after the battle on the island to save Solif, he had even overcome the obsession with keeping his identity a total secret. He had gained the confidence and the strength to clash even with Great Families for the sake of what he wanted to do and what he believed was right.
Furthermore, considering how much he would need to ask of Asiz from now on, it was necessary to lay everything bare here. There was no better way to show total trust in someone than by revealing one's lowest points.
Once the shock had subsided to some degree, Asiz began to joke, playfully talking Turan up.
"A union of bloodlines between Great Families… if you officially joined the main house, Meisa's position might actually be threatened."
"Keep my story a secret."
"Eh, why? Having Zahar blood might be seen as a bit uncomfortable, but a noble born with four bloodline abilities would be welcomed unconditionally. I mean, if you prefer wandering, I can't help that, but…"
Asiz's words reflected the typical mindset of the nobility. Most desired a life of luxury as a core member of a Great Family; they didn't want to live as a wanderer of unknown origin.
Turan glanced at Solif, who was sitting quietly, and asked, "That's also related to Solif here… is it okay if I tell him?"
"If you trust this friend that much."
With Solif's permission, Turan briefly explained Solif's identity and past. Upon learning that the man who looked like a mere wandering noble was actually the heir to a Great Family of the East, Asiz jumped to his feet and bowed.
"My apologies, I had no idea I was treating such a distinguished person so poorly—"
To think he would act this way when his own second cousin, Meisa, was also the heir to a Great Family. Turan was surprised by the unexpected reaction, but on second thought, it made sense that he would treat a stranger differently than a relative.
Solif shook his head, seemingly used to such reactions.
"That's enough. I've already left my family."
Ignoring the two, who were still incredibly awkward with each other, Turan continued his explanation. From here on, the topics grew even heavier.
He spoke of the various incidents he had encountered after leaving the Berk estate, and the secret information about the gods and the Great Families he had learned through them. Finally, he shared the hypothesis he had derived from it all.
By the time the story was finished, Asiz looked ten years older than when they had first met.
"Ah, this… these are stories far too heavy for me to handle."
"You mustn't tell the Family Head or anyone else who isn't here, Asiz. You're the only one I trust enough to reveal all of this to."
At Turan's solemn words, Asiz trembled slightly before letting out a deep sigh and rubbing his face with his hands.
"So, what do you plan to do now?"
"I want to find out if the Frea Divine Clan is behind Arabion, and if they are toying with Meisa's life the way they did with Solif's. Can you help me?"
This wasn't just someone else's problem for Asiz. Meisa's mother was the cousin of Asiz's mother, Midella, the head of the Berk family.
After a brief silence, Asiz spoke with a firm voice, his resolve showing.
"Fine, let's do it. We'll just think of it as putting on a grand play. I should at least be able to play a supporting role."
Turan burst into laughter at the words of the theater enthusiast.
After lightening the mood with a joke, they dispelled the room-sealing magic and called a servant for tea.
Unlike the way he had gulped it down earlier, Asiz now savored his tea elegantly before asking, "So, what do you need me to do first?"
"I want to restore this friend's arm. Do you know any healers? Their skill doesn't have to be top-tier, as long as they can keep their mouths shut."
"Ah, because… his true strength shouldn't be revealed?"
"Exactly."
Inherently, the stronger a magical being was, the more power was required to heal them. A healer couldn't help but realize how powerful their patient was.
Turan didn't want Solif's status as a high-ranking noble to be exposed. He didn't want rumors spreading about a silver-haired noble with immense power, and more importantly, Solif could be a hidden trump card if something unexpected happened while investigating the interior of Arabion. This was a strategic decision, separate from his usual paranoia.
"Hmm, there is one person. But she's someone who wanders around quite a bit, so I'm not sure if I can call her right away."
"Is she on a pilgrimage?"
"No, her hobby is healing commoners."
"Oh."
Based on that description alone, Turan gave the unknown healer a high rating.
According to the explanation that followed, her name was Lua Manag, a noble from the Manag family, one of Arabion's vassals. She had been born with noble-level mana to a family of knights and was subsequently adopted.
"Ah, so that's why?"
"Exactly."
While mana was the most important thing in the world of nobility, the gap based on birth wasn't non-existent. Those born between equal noble couples, like Asiz or Solif, were the most highly regarded. Those with one noble parent—usually a concubine mother—were in the middle. Those born to knights or commoners who awakened through atavism were considered the lowliest.
Unless their skills were truly exceptional, they were bound to be outsiders among the nobility.
"On top of that, everyone thinks she's a weirdo for going around healing commoners, so she's not very well-liked. Not that I care about that stuff, though."
As expected of the incarnation of sociability who was on good terms with everyone from the family's knights to the servants.
At any rate, she sounded like exactly the kind of person Turan was looking for. If she had no close noble friends other than Asiz, she certainly wouldn't go around spreading rumors.
"But if we're unlucky, it might take a few months."
"Just send word for now. If it's going to take too long, we can go to her directly. This girl is the fastest thing in the world."
As Turan spoke and stroked her head, Bije let out a cute cry that didn't match her massive size.
*
Staying in the Berk family's guest house after so long felt like being in another world.
Turan washed up and changed clothes in a room overflowing with all sorts of magic devices that aided daily life, then called Asiz and Solif to enjoy a feast in the guest house's dining room.
Since leaving Komad City, where he had bought Bije, he hadn't had the chance to enjoy such a luxurious meal. His palate was being pampered for the first time in months, and his mood naturally soared.
Solif, who had lived his whole life as the heir to a Great Family, seemed to feel similarly.
"Yeah, it was a damn house, but things like this were nice. Ah, I missed this a little…"
"Want to go back?"
"Don't joke. I think the food here suits me better."
After comforting their weary bodies and minds to some extent, Turan first wrote a letter to Meisa. He wrote that he was staying with the Berk family and wanted to meet, so she should either come here or invite him. Since someone would undoubtedly look at the letter first, he didn't mention anything that would be difficult to say in public.
'Ideally, I'd prefer it if Meisa came here.'
He was still a bit reluctant to enter the Arabion main house. That was why he had only gone as far as the outskirts of the city when he went to see the departure ceremony before.
Of course, entering the house would have its own advantages. There would be information he could only discover by seeing it with his own eyes.
After sending the letter, he went to Asiz's room in secret to bring out the task he had been putting off: analyzing the magic devices he had acquired during his recent travels.
"Wait, just how many are there?"
"A lot, right?"
"This is more than just 'a lot'…"
Turan had laid out a total of fifteen magic devices. For an Enchanter family like the Berks or the Great Families they served, this might be manageable, but for ordinary nobles, this was enough to bankrupt a family.
Letting out a hollow laugh, Asiz began to inspect the magic devices one by one, placing his hands on them.
The first things he examined were the ring and earrings obtained from the western wilderness. As expected, since they belonged to low-level nobles, they weren't particularly impressive. One allowed the wearer to see better in the dark, and the other provided a slight resistance to fire. The earrings might be somewhat useful, but the ring was truly worthless, so Turan thought it might be better to give it to Solif.
Next, he inspected the magic devices of the Baraha nobles. Most were for defense, support, or mimicking bloodline magic, and as expected of magic devices from a Great Family, their performance was excellent. While Turan had figured out their functions to some extent through actual combat, confirming their exact performance and side effects was essential for using them. This wasn't an easy task without an Enchanter among one's acquaintances.
As he memorized the functions of each device and debated which to use and which to distribute, Asiz finally placed his hand on the transformation mask. This was the item the Baraha noble had used to toy with Solif and disguise himself as a pirate.
Asiz closed his eyes and injected mana to discern its properties, but his face suddenly contorted.
"Hmm…"
"What is it? Is something wrong?"
It was a reaction he hadn't shown once while inspecting the other devices. When Turan asked, Asiz opened his eyes and replied.
"The function itself is a bit gruesome, but it's useful. If you place it on a corpse's face and inject mana, it stores that face. If you place it on a living person's face and activate it, it changes their face to the stored one. It lasts until the mask is removed, and it continuously consumes mana."
"How much does it consume?"
"For knights, a few hours would be the limit. For a noble-level mage, their recovery rate might be just barely higher than the consumption, so they could potentially wear it indefinitely. Though they'd barely recover any mana after using magic."
Mana recovery speed was proportional to one's total capacity. According to that explanation, a high-level mage like Turan could wear it semi-permanently, with his recovery speed only slowing down slightly. Since he could just take the mask off when he needed to fight at full strength, it was a manageable side effect.
"That's good."
"It is. With this level of functionality, it could be considered a top-tier magic device. However… it seems like there's a matching piece to this. It feels like you need to use it with that other item to unlock its true functions."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Read 203 more chapters ahead on NovelDex!
https://noveldex.io/series/the-shepherd-wizard
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━