Volume 8, Chapter 205: The Military Envoy
Volume 8, Chapter 205: The Military Envoy
The success of a military envoy during a war did not mean that his or her achievement was going to be praised, no matter how successful his or her work was.
The danger was much higher than just entering a battlefield. It was much worse than that, in other words, to misunderstand. Misunderstanding the events or discussions was much worse than the battle itself, therefore, misunderstanding the facts was what the military enjoys feared.
Why? Because a military envoy did not tell messages to the allies like any other messenger. The military envoy had to ride without armament into the territory of the enemy’s army alone, and convey the intention of his or her own army without hesitation.
If a military envoy failed to do so, he or she would be immediately decapitated, and even if he or she sent the worst possible letter, there was even danger that a sword would pierce the chest as a demonstration for retaliation. In this case, it would be better to go to the battlefield and wield a spear for the just cause.
Even if you died, it would be on the battlefield since you fought for your homeland or for your friends. However, to deliver only a letter and die because of it, that would be classified as an idiotic death.
On this day, the military envoy, who was carrying a letter from the Great Holy Church army to the Heraldic army, was muttering such things in his mouth endlessly.
The military envoy thought it was not worthy at all. He would get some sort of rewards, yes, but if he died, he wouldn’t use any of it. If he had a family, he could still share the rewards with them even in death. However, the dangerous role of a military envoy was always left to someone lonely. Summing up, it was a role for a person without family or friends like the current envoy. It was not worth it since a life could be lost along with the useless rewards. The military envoy could not stand it.
The feelings of the military envoy swelled even more when he set foot in the army location of the Heraldic religion. Some of the Heraldics had strangely long ears. The military envoy realized that those people were the elves since they had a different appearance from humans. They were walking around everywhere. The military envoy had heard the elves supported the Heraldic Order, but he didn’t think that they would be so free to roam around humans.
The military envoy had heard that the elves liked eating people happily. There were rumors that the human heart was their favorite delicacy. Some even cursed humans so that they wouldn’t move forever. It was a horrifying story, and the military envoy’s feet became cold.
The fact that he came to deliver the letter himself was even scarier. The military envoy felt that his heart was strangely heavy.
The military envoy then recalled the man of the great rebellion, who was the Lord of Vice, the traitor Lugis.
He was a symbol of evil, alongside the witch Matia. Both were the flagship of the Heraldic religion.
People said the Lord of Vice had a huge body that could kill a large demon beast with one hand, and that his figure was always covered with green flames.
The military envoy could see the blade coming towards his neck even if the contents of the letter did not make that traitor angry. The man sent as a special envoy prayed in his chest to the God of the Great Holy Church for such predicament to never come true.
—
…I hope the conversation will be valuable to us both. Captain Richard Permilis.
I first doubted my own eyes when I saw the signature at the end of the letter. I sharpened my own eyes and I stared at the ink stains for a couple of times.
It wasn’t a spelling mistake. Could it be another person with the same name, or a brother who was alive? With such stupid delusions in my mind, I stared at each letter of the signature as if I was eating it alive.
It was useless. No matter how much I tried to deceive myself, I was familiar with this seemingly messy signature. I even recognized the strange calligraphy. I liked this strange way of writing myself, and I knew only one person who wrote like me. That person was named Richard.
However, what kind of change happened in his heart? Why did he write his surname, which he hated for a long time, at this moment in time?
「This is the old man Richard’s writing. What a nostalgic name. 」
I muttered in the Great Tent, and not just to myself. All of the generals were looking at me without opening their mouths. My voice echoed in the tent after I’ve received the letter.
The letter from the Great Holy Church arrived right when Saint Matia and the generals of the Heraldic army were holding a meeting enthusiastically around the military table. The liaison soldier, who would have acted as an intermediary, ran into the Great Tent, breathlessly, with a letter in his hand. The situation was so abrupt that I thought it was an enemy attack.
I didn’t ask about the contents since it was a letter delivered from the general of the Great Holy Church army. I didn’t know the destination of the letter was me.
But, well, it was obvious why the liaison soldier was out of breath. The fact that the enemy army’s envoy came to deliver the letter was the proof that the enemy was close by. It was the evidence that the crucial time was about to arrive.
All of us realized that the enemy who wanted us killed was just around the corner. Whatever form it was given, it caused strange pain in my heart too. It would make sense for the new recruits who were not accustomed to the battlefield to be upset by it.
「Do you have someone familiar in this sort of war, Lugis? 」
Eldith, who was sitting beside me, looked into my face and said those words. Her big blue eyes had interesting colors.
「Familiar, you say. Well, it’s my mentor, who took care of me when I was a hungry ghost.」
I narrowed my eyes when I realized that he now led the army of the Great Holy Church.
Yes, that’s right, that old man took care of me. It was that old man who provided shelter for when I was only a thin dog. He taught me how to live in the back alleys, how to find food to eat, and how to swing the sword.
In the darkness of the Gharast Kingdom, I managed to grab my life and become an adventurer thanks to that old man Richard.
However, the values that he taught me were not that legitimate.
After all, the old man Richard was a vicious man himself. He was a violent person, and a man who preyed on the flesh of the weak. There was no way that I would receive all the teachings from such a person.
That’s why the only education I accepted and received from that old man was the manners of the back alleys. Exactly, he taught me how to survive even if I wasn’t someone exposed to the sun. If some of the people listened to this, they would be spitting on the spot.
Still, even now, I didn’t think it was a mistake to ask old man Richard to be my teacher. He was once a symbol to the former me.
I was immersed in my old memories for a moment as my eyelids became heavier. When I opened my eyes again, I suddenly found that the air in the Great Tent had become a little heavier than before.
「…Lord Lugis, what did that mentor of yours tell you? 」
Ann spoke with a voice that was as stiff as the air. Her facial expression, pulled by the firmness of the voice, showed some sort of tension. What was wrong? It felt as if something extremely bad had happened here.
I moved up and down my shoulders to the mysterious appearance of the surroundings and leaked some words while distorting my eyebrows.
「He wants to talk to me directly, just me and him. No, actually it feels as if the old man has gotten fragile with age since he wants to deepen the old relationship with me.」
I said with a dry throat.
Of course, that shouldn’t be the case. That old man Richard wouldn’t send a military envoy to the enemy’s army camp for a silly reason, such as wanting to deepen his old relationship with his former student.
Ahh, it truly felt nostalgic. If this vicious and horrible old man was going to move, then he must be trying to draw something strange here.
Richard Permilis was a person who could not escape from such nature. The words of order and justice were surprisingly unsuitable for him. And I was familiar with the nature of such an old man. That’s exactly what I hated about him.
Ann and Matia were discussing something while staring at the letter. Perhaps, they were planning the best way to deal with this sudden turn of events.
However, my viscera had already decided. I stood up from my seat while distorting my cheeks. Then, I threw the following words at the liaison soldier, who was still kneeling near the entrance to the Great Tent while waiting for an order.
「…Liaison soldier, tell the military envoy of the Great Holy Church that Lugis has accepted the invitation. Let’s go see the face of that old man Richard for the first time in a long time.」