kscans

1

After leaving Krausk, Bard and Godon entered the Majuestz territory on the eighth day. Six villages surrounded the town where the lord lived in a small plain surrounded by mountains. The terrain was similar to that of the Mageia territory, where Godon Zarkos was the lord. The current lord of Majuestz, Alaguedo Enzaia, was said to govern well and the territory was peaceful, according to what they heard in Krausk. However, Bard felt that the air in this place lacked clarity. Nevertheless, they had to go to the town of Majuestz. They had promised to meet Jurchaga at an inn in the town. Jurchaga had left Krausk for Linz on the same day that Polpo’s innocence was proven, and said that he could report to the Count of Linz.

In the first village they entered, they witnessed a tax collector collecting taxes from the villagers. The villager, who appeared to be a lumberjack, had a metal axe, but it was taken away from him because he couldn’t pay the tax. The fact that a woodcutter could have a metal axe indicated the prosperity of the entire territory. On the other hand, the rough way of confiscating work tools indicated the low level of governance. It was inconsistent.

The tax collector, who had his subordinates beat the clinging lumberjack, turned to Bard and said, “Are you travelers? Those who pass through Majuestz must pay a toll of 100 gales per person. Pay up.” Bard thought it was a lie. The amount was too high for commoners to pay. They were being tricked because they were riding horses and wearing decent armor. Besides, it was doubtful whether there was any toll at all. It was strange for a tax collector who collected taxes from the villagers to collect tolls from travelers.

Nevertheless, Bard paid the toll for two people. Then he asked the tax collector to give him a promissory note. “We have no such a thing,” the tax collector replied. Bard thought it was strange that they just collected the toll and didn’t give a promissory note. He had never heard of such a thing. When the tax collector asked for his name, Bard gave it. Then they parted ways with the tax collector and went into the town.

2

“Well, it’s been about two years since the lord stopped leaving the mansion too much.”

“Since then, the officials have become arrogant and violent.”

“The lord’s younger brother is also sick, and many of the senior officials have died one after another.”

“It’s all because of the curse of the White Silk King, that’s what everyone says.”

Bard and Godon stayed at an inn and listened to the rumors of the town while they ate. They had heard of the White Silk before, but couldn’t remember what it was. After thinking for a while, they remembered that it was a demon. If that was the case, the White Silk King would be the king of demons. They asked if demons appeared in this area, but the answer was no.

“Oh, no. The White Silk King is a horse. A wild horse, to be exact. He’s the leader of a herd of wild horses. He’s white, big, fast, strong, and very smart. Everyone says that he’s not possessed by a demon.”

About a year ago, Lord Enzaia captured a beautiful wild mare to ride for his wife. That mare was the wife of the White Silk King. Since then, the White Silk King has been causing trouble near Lord Enzaia’s castle, leading his herd. In addition, salt and metal products are imported into the Majuestz territory from other northern territories, but Lord Enzaia’s caravans were frequently attacked by the White Silk King. In addition, around that time, the loyal officials who had supported Lord Enzaia began to die one after another from unexplained illnesses and accidents. Even the accidents were caused by hallucinations, so it could be called a curse. Lord Enzaia’s younger brother also fell ill and stopped going out. Taking advantage of the fact that the lord’s eyes were not on them, the officials did as they pleased.

In other words, the territory of Majuestz is now stagnant because of the White Silk King’s grudge. However, the people believed that the lord would soon end this stagnation.

3

“Please, have another cup,” the lady of the house said as a maid poured more sake into Bard’s cup. Bard couldn’t help but feel that something strange was going on. The day after staying at Gantz, a messenger from Lord Enzaia came and invited him to the castle. The castle was located in the mountains to the north of the town and was an old and magnificent structure.

Now, Bard and Godon were being entertained by Lord Enzaia and his wife with a dinner party. The lady of the house was a beautiful and elegant woman. However, when she poured the first cup of sake for Bard and Godon herself, Bard smelled her breath and thought, “What a sweet and decadent scent this woman exudes.” She might not be the virtuous lady she appears to be. Even her husband, Lord Enzaia, was strange. Bard and Godon were both knights, and the Zarkos family was a prestigious family, with Godon as its head. It was not unnatural for them to be invited to the castle. However, Lord Enzaia knew nothing of Bard or the Zarkos family. It was unlikely that he would invite a self-proclaimed knight without any attendants to the castle. Besides, since they had invited travelers, they should have wanted to hear information from various places, but they didn’t ask anything. They only asked about the birthplace of Bard and Godon and the purpose of their journey, with a somewhat distant and suspicious attitude.

Although the food and sake served were of good quality, they couldn’t enjoy themselves to the fullest. Lord Enzaia suggested that they stay for a while longer, saying that he liked their uncomfortable presence.

4

What Bard noticed immediately on his arrival was that there were factions among the retainers, probably two. The retainers were divided into two factions that hated each other. One of them was the lord’s faction, but he didn’t know what the other one was.

The next thing he found out was that Lord Enzaia did not like Bard and Godon. His gaze was not that of someone looking at guests, but at an enemy. During the dinner on the second day, when Bard was asked “Have you found my weakness, Lord Rowen?”, he was taken aback. However, Bard remained calm and composed, saying, “This castle construction is truly magnificent. The terrain is ideal and the water supply is secure. As long as there are foods, it will not fall to a direct attack.” Enzaia laughed uncontrollably, but it was unclear what was so funny.

5

On the third day, a supply cargo left the castle but was attacked by the White Silk King in the northern mountains. The White Silk King led dozens of horses in the attack, and all the goods fell into the valley, killing many soldiers and laborers. Bard knew that two knights and twenty soldiers were guarding the supplies as they left. Both knights were reported dead, and one was said to have been kicked to death by the White Silk King. The attack took place on a narrow road along a steep cliff, and it seems that the White Silk King attacked by running down an unexpectedly steep slope. If this is true, the horse must have had the intelligence of a demon. Enzaia was not feeling well that day so Bard had dinner with Godon.

On the fourth day, Bard and Godon went to the northern mountains. They heard that the White Silk King had a certain territory and went to see it. They were told that the White Silk King would appear if they went alone or in pairs.

The White Silk King was there, running freely in the grassland away from the herd. Bard and Godon watched from a high place. It was a horse that they had never seen before, with a large horn protruding from its forehead. They thought it might be a demonic beast, but it was not. Its fur was said to be pure white, but it looked slightly gray. It ran incredibly fast and smoothly, with a free and unrestricted gait. Such a magnificient horse is a rare sight. Under the cloudy sky, its body running through the grass looked as transparent as a swimming fish.

“What a beautiful creature. It’s like a moonfish,” Bard thought. At the same time, he felt that its beauty was tinged with sadness and anger. (hint no 1: moonfish)

6 ===============================================================================================================

On the way back to the castle, something strange happened. As they rode their horses along the cliffside road, Bard felt a shiver run down his spine, and the road seemed to warp and twist. He stopped his horse, but the strange sensation quickly passed, so he urged his horse to keep going. However, the chestnut horse did not obey Bard’s reins. Suddenly, he heard the words, “When you have to face Nogelga(withcraft) or Noel(sorcery), you must discern the truth and hold your heart firmly. If you do that, there’s nothing to worry about.” These were the words of the mysterious old apothecary woman. Bard felt that he had heard those words for this very moment. (from prologue chapter 3)

Still on the horse, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Godon spoke to him from behind, but he ignored him. After a while, he felt calm enough. The wind blowing from the left bottom was pleasant. There was a cliff on the left side. The wind in the valley blows up from below.

So where was the wind blowing in his face coming from? There should be a road ahead. But the wind blowing in his face is came from the front and from below.

He opened his eyes wide. There was indeed a road ahead. A narrow road.

He drew his sword from his waist. The ancient sword emitted a faint bluish-green phosphorescence.

Bard took a deep breath and swung the sword forward. From the upper right to the lower left. And from the top left to the bottom right.

Then, the road that had been visible in front of him disappeared like an illusion, and a new one appeared to his right. If he had ridden straight on, he and his horse would have fallen off the cliff. They would have died, of course.

“Hey! What’s going on? Oh, it’s my uncle. I thought I saw a straight path ahead of me, but…”

Bard didn’t answer the question. He stared at the sky in front of him.

“It’s there. Something is there.”

His intuition told him so. Bard tightened his grip on the ancient sword in his right hand and called out in his mind, “Stavros, lend me your power!”

Then, something indistinct appeared in the empty space. It was white, swaying, and had an uncertain shape, transparent and human-like, but not quite human. Bard swung his ancient sword at the strange thing, muttering “ayakashiiii,” and felt a vague sensation of cutting something. The strange thing trembled in the air and disappeared into the distance beyond the sky towards the direction of Lord Enzaia’s castle.

7

That was a demon. Bard was sure of it. He was a die-hard realist, but he believed in the existence of mystical creatures like demons. This was because Elzera Tercia had said that she had met a demon. Elzera was the lord of Pakula three generations ago and Bard’s second mentor and lifelong benefactor. She was not a person to speak in uncertainty. She said, “Demons cannot be seen by humans. Most of their bodies are in another place that is not of this world. However, if a demon becomes very angry or friendly with a human, its body will be attracted to this world and its form will become visible.”

What about the demon they encountered earlier? They could barely see its form with the power of the ancient sword, but they wouldn’t have been able to see it without it. In fact, Godon Zarkos couldn’t see the demon’s form until the very end. Does that mean the demon had no hostile intentions? Then why did it try to kill Bard?

The hallucination was undoubtedly caused by the demon. However, it was a very human-like behavior to make them see the road on the cliff as distorted and cause them to fall. (btw, the demon phonetic is youma)

For the past year or so, the senior vassals of the Enzaia family have been dying in strange ways, which is also thought to be the work of demons. However, whether they were senior vassals or not was a matter of human judgment. Would demons make such a distinction? It’s hard to understand. Everything that happen here is chaotic.

As he pondered in his room, he received word that his escort had arrived. It was Jurchaga. Bard greeted him and explained the situation.

“Hmm. I think I understand. I have a feeling that we should start with this castle. If we investigate this castle properly, we’ll find a lot of things.”

“It’s said that in this castle, you’re not allowed to go anywhere but the permitted areas, and the guards are strangely strict. But Jurchaga should be able to investigate it well,” Bard thought.

8

“Unfortunately, Lord Godon Zarkos was not well.”

Lord Enzaia said, as he put the horseshoes in place and walked the horses. Bard replied that Zarkos was a robust man and this was unusual. On the day Jurchaga arrived, the night when Bard and Godon were attacked by a demon, there was a message from Lord Enzaia. It said that they would defeat the White Silk King tomorrow and invited them to watch. Bard made Godon pretend to be ill and stay in the castle. Jurchaga stayed behind to look after him. Most of the knights and soldiers would accompany them to defeat the White Silk King, leaving Jurchaga free to explore the castle at his leisure.

“This is the graveyard of the wretched demon horse.”

Lord Enzaia looked down the cliff beside him, and Bard thought, “I see.” The cliff was steep on both sides, and there was a dead end ahead. If they were lured in and the entrance was sealed, there would be no escape.

“Lord Rowen. I’ve had enough of these attacks on our supplies. The strange deaths of my vassals one after the other are also the work of this curse. Today, I will put an end to it.”

It was clear from his face that Lord Enzaia meant it. Rocks were piled up on the top of the cliff, and many people were waiting for instructions. Many bushes were piled up in the valley. There were also about twenty oil barrels. Oil was a very valuable commodity in the frontier. A large number of arrows and flaming arrows were also prepared. It was quite an extravagant preparation.

However, this place was too close to the castle. It was also worrying that the terrain was very suitable for containment. It was hard to believe that the wise White Silk King would be lured here so easily. When Bard mentioned this, Lord Enzaia twisted his face with a laugh.

“No. He will definitely come. Let him see it.”

A young horse was dragged out and tied to a stake at the bottom of the valley. The tying was terrible, with two hind legs tied to one stake and two front legs tied to another stake, carefully and tightly. The soldiers who had finished their work left one person behind and climbed up the cliff with a rope ladder. The remaining soldier took out an execution whip.

“No way!” thought Bard, but it was exactly what he was thinking.

“Jagoth. Hit it,” Lord Enzaia ordered in a strong voice.

The soldier named Jagoth hit the horse with the whip. The young horse let out a mournful cry. Its coat was a grayish-white, reminiscent of the White Silk King.

“This is the child of the White Silk King. Originally, we captured it and used it as bait to capture the White Silk King’s wife as my wife’s ride. But the White Silk King’s wife was a terrible mare and threw my wife off, injuring her. Of course, we killed her on the spot. Since then, the White Silk King has become evil. He has the ears of a demon. He will surely hear his daughter’s cries. Jagoth. Keep hitting. Hit it, hit it, hit it!”

Lord Enzaia’s face was like a devil as he commanded. Knights love wild horses. If there is a good one, they catch it and ride it. Domesticated horses have low vitality, so sometimes they need to be injected with wild horse blood. The knights long for areas where wild horses run free. Those who can do such things can no longer be called knights.

Bard couldn’t stand the constant sound of the whip and the horse’s screams, and was about to speak up to reprimand Lord Enzaia. At that moment, he heard the strong and thick sound of a horse’s footsteps. The White Silk King had come with tremendous force. There were no other horses in the herd. Just one. It would have been impossible to follow at that speed.

“Drop it!”

Lord Enzaia ordered fiercely. The prepared rocks fell, burying the entrance to the valley. The White Silk King ran to the young horse, ignoring the falling rocks.

“Cut it, Jagoth!”

The soldier who had remained in the valley on Lord Enzaia’s orders brandished a large curved sword.

“No way. Noooo.”

The sword mercilessly sliced off the young horse’s head. The White Silk King screamed. It was a cry of grief, filled with sadness and anger. Horses are intelligent. The White Silk King understood as well as a human what had just happened and who was responsible. His lament shook Bard’s chest. Before he knew it, Bard himself was crying out in mourning, just like the White Silk King.

As a result, he noticed a little late. Two of Lord Enzaia’s soldiers put all their strength into their spears and rammed them into Bard’s horse’s buttocks. The chestnut horse screamed and jumped off the cliff. As he fell, Bard looked back and realized what had happened. Strangely, at that moment, he saw Lord Enzaia’s expression clearly. A face that looked at Bard’s death with delight.

Bard fell with his horse and the chestnut horse twisted its body. And scratched the slope of the cliff with its front legs. Again and again. Bard clung desperately to the horse. The impact of the fall was imminent. He was thrown away from the horse and hit the ground on his back.

Normally, he would have died. But Bard’s equipment was made from the tough hide of a river bear monster, and a cushion made of hair and belly skin was attached to the leather on his back. Bard got up and ran to the chestnut horse.

It was dead. Its neck was broken. Its two front hooves were bloody and torn. It had scratched the cliff with its hooves to slow their fall. Both of its hind legs were bent and crushed in an impossible way.

This horse probably stretched out its hind legs as far down as possible when it landed to lessen the impact on Bard as much as possible. And then, after landing, it hit its head on a rock due to the recoil and died.

Bard clung to the pitiful corpse and wept. He cried out loud, tears streaming down his face. It had been years since he had cried like that. But he couldn’t stop crying.

“Bard Rowen!”

It was Lord Enzaia’s voice. Bard stood up and looked up from the bottom of the cliff.

“You filthy spy. Who sent you? The Randleboar family? The Marigle family? Do you know my true identity? But you won’t tell anyone. You will die here and now. Godon Zarkos is probably already dead. Burn!”

At Lord Enzaia’s command, flaming arrows were shot. Their targets were the large pile of bushes and the oil barrels lined up in the distance. If they stayed there, they would burn to death while being shot by the arrows. Soldier Jagoth, who had climbed up the rope ladder, had his head crushed. White Silk King stood in front of him, glaring at Lord Enzaia on the cliff with burning hatred in his eyes.

White Silk King looked at Bard. Bard looked at White Silk King. Strangely, Bard felt like he knew what White Silk King was thinking. White Silk King ran straight at Bard. Bard made no attempt to dodge. White Silk King lowered his stance. Bard grabbed onto his neck and used the recoil from White Silk King’s change of direction to jump onto his back.

He ran and ran. White Silk King ran with incredible speed.

They ran through the valley where flaming arrows rained down. A fallen rock blocked their path ahead. White Silk King turned around just in front of it.

“That’s right. That’s good. We can’t climb up there. If we do, the rock will collapse and crush us. Even if we could, it’s a position where we’ll be targeted by arrows,” Bard thought.

If there was a way out of this situation, there was only one. As if he understood that thought, White Silk King headed for the gap in the valley. Faster and faster, while catching the burning bushes on either side of his vision. He accelerated towards the dead end. The oil barrels exploded one after another behind them, sending flames and black smoke into the air. White Silk King finally reached the end of the gap.

And then. He began to climb up the steep slope. It was a sheer cliff, and White Silk King ran up the almost vertical slope as if like magic. The soldiers were stunned for a moment and shot arrows at him like mad. However, the wind blowing up from the valley caused the arrows to lose their momentum and be blown away in all directions. The thin and weak arrows couldn’t even make White Silk King and Bard flinch.

Finally, White Silk King climbed up the cliff and jumped up high. The place where he landed in mid-air was right in front of Lord Enzaia. Lord Enzaia drew his sword and tried to attack White Silk King. Bard’s ancient sword struck his raised right wrist, causing Lord Enzaia to drop his sword. White Silk King opened his mouth wide, grabbed Lord Enzaia’s head, twisted his head and threw it towards the valley. The sound of his neck breaking could be heard. Lord Enzaia’s body, still wearing heavy armor, floated in the air and passed in front of Bard’s eyes. Bard sensed a sweet stench. Lord Enzaia’s body was thrown out by the momentum and fell into the burning valley. It landed on the bushes, sending up sparks of fire, then lay motionless. Several oil barrels exploded in succession, and flames and black smoke covered Lord Enzaia’s body.

Bard turned around to face the soldiers who were about to attack him. The soldiers froze. Half of them looked at the fallen lord. The other half were looking at a group coming from the direction of the castle.

“That’s the lord, the real lord,” the soldiers murmured. The knight with the long hair and beard at the front looked a little like Lord Enzaia. No, it seems that this is the real Lord Enzaia. The soldiers’ killing intent vanished. Bard and White Silk King seemed to have survived.

9

Bard was swaying on White Silk King’s back. No, it wasn’t White Silk King anymore. For some reason, White Silk King didn’t want to leave Bard, so he got a saddle and put him on it. Without any resistance, White Silk King followed Bard’s reins. It seemed that White Silk King also wanted to go on a journey.

If that’s the case, White Silk King is too harsh of a name. Bard thought of the sight of a fish swimming in the water as he raced through the grass. So he named this white horse Yueitan. (bingo =) yueitan==>moonfish)

Jurchaga, who remained in the castle, immediately demonstrated his skills and discovered the existence of an underground prison. There were two prisoners there. One was the real Lord Enzaia. The fake one was his younger brother. The younger brother imprisoned the lord and took his place. There were also loyal retainers who followed the younger brother, but there were more who opposed him. Some of the opposing retainers were killed, and some were forced to follow the lord as hostages. The underground prison was sturdy, and only the fake Lord Enzaia knew where the key was. The loyal retainers waited patiently, suppressing their anger.

Jurchaga, who was originally a famous thief, said that he could get the key as easily as a “piece of cake”. After the guards were drugged and stunned, Lord Enzaia was released without any trouble. The castle was quickly taken back by Enzaia. Although they were attacked by assassins sent by the fake Enzaia, Godon Zarkos managed to defeat them.

Lord Enzaia wanted to entertain his three benefactors, but Bard said, “Lord Enzaia must regain his health, which has been damaged by his imprisonment. Besides, there is much work to be done in the castle and the territory. We will continue on our journey.”

So they left the castle early. However, the real reason for their sudden departure was the second prisoner. The person is now sitting in front of Bard.

Long ears. Earth-colored skin. Green compound eyes. A small body. Arms and fingers like tree branches.

It was a child of the Lujura-Tiant clan. The Lujura-Tiant are a particularly mysterious tribe among the demi-humans. They are few in number and avoid humans, so they are rarely seen. Lujura-Tiant are said to use magic to confuse and kill humans. They are feared and hated by the demi-humans.

When Juchaga found the Lujura-Tiant in the underground prison, he quickly took him out of the castle and hid him in the forest. When Bard learned of this, he left the castle early and sent Jurchaga to fetch the demi-human. When asked why he did this, Jurchaga replied, “Why? If I left him there, he would be killed.”

Bard spoke to the Lujura-Tiant’s child after leaving the castle. First, he asked for his name. The child of Lujura-Tiant replied, “I am Maura”. It was fortunate that he understood human language.

“This is Sui,” Maura continued as a white shadow suddenly appeared in the air.

“Wow, is that a demon?” Godon Zarkos was surprised, but Bard and Jurchaga were not. Bard was not surprised because he had seen it from the beginning, but was Jurchaga not surprised either?

“No, it’s not a demon. It’s a spirit.”

According to Maura, a spirit that has been bitten by a human becomes a demon. Bard don’t know how to bite a spirit, though.

There is a Lujura-Tiant settlement in the northeast. He came there out of curiosity and was caught by Enzaia’s younger brother. The younger brother locked him up, threatened him, and took over his brother’s position, killing troublesome vassals. However, the fake Enzaia thought that Maura himself had the power to create illusions. In fact, Maura had asked his friend, the spirit Sui, to create the illusion.

Maura wanted to return to his friends, so they decided to send him there. It was not a hurried journey.

Bard talked to Maura while he held the reins of Yueitan and carried him in his arms. As they talked, Bard was suspicious of his own feelings. Even though they had been threatened, this demi-human and spirit had killed more than ten people. Bard and Godon could have been killed as well. But he felt neither hatred nor fear. The old Bard would have thought that Maura and Sui should be hated and punished for their crimes. Since he started this journey, he felt as if he had washed away many of his old prejudices.

They were walking with a Lujura-Tiant, who was said to be the embodiment of evil, on a horse, and a demon that was the essence of evil was nearby, but there was no sense of disgust. It was a pleasant walk. The indescribable horror that Bard felt in Enzaia’s castle was not caused by these two.

“Ah, I see. The lady’s family must have been worried about Lord Enzaia as well. With all the strange rumors flying around and prominent retainers dying one after the other,” Bard commented, interrupting the conversation between Jurchaga and Godon.

What was happening in Lord Enzaia’s castle was too contradictory to be taken at face value. Was his younger brother really the mastermind behind it all? If so, his methods were half-hearted, weakening his own power and leading him down the path of destruction. It was also strange that they had left the heir in the Lady’s family for so many years. The Prezeal family couldn’t have been completely unaware of the situation, so why did they leave them alone? Moreover, the Lady herself seemed to be acting boldly and freely as the mistress of the house, rather than being held hostage and forced to obey.

Even if the Prezeal family were to send troops and take control of Lord Enzaia’s castle, claiming the territory for themselves by pushing the young heir forward to restore order, Bard wouldn’t be surprised.

As Bard spoke, Godon groaned, “Mmmmmmm,” and Jurchaga shrugged, saying, “Nobles are scary!” He then took out a bottle from his backpack, drank the contents, and exclaimed in high spirits, “Uh, Delish~ So delicious”.

“What is that?” asked Godon.

“Oh, it’s sake. Lord Enzaia gave it to me. Would you like some?” replied Jurchaga. (he said enzaia kyo no danna, not quiet sure how to localize that. maybe mister lord enzaia??)

“Ah, yes! Hmmm! This is really good. It’s the best sake I’ve ever had,” said Godon, believing Jurchaga’s words.

Bard was surprised that Jurchaga had stolen it, but said nothing. Instead, he rode up to Godon and took the bottle from him. It was a bottle with a crest on it, indicating that it was a high-quality product made in the central part of the continent.

He took a sip and felt the strong stimulation of the distilled alcohol burning his throat. His tongue and mouth burned as well. At the same time, he felt a smooth and deep flavor. When he exhaled, a smoky and unique aroma passed pleasantly through his nostrils.

In the end, he still didn’t know the name of the chestnut horse. It had been raised by the Zarkos family, but even Godon didn’t know its name.

“I always seem to be blessed with good horses,” Bard thought as he drank from the bottle again, silently praying for its spirit to rest in peace. He savored the taste of the sake in his mouth, which was complex and changing with time, accumulating bitterness and astringency, turning the clear liquid to amber. Sake didn’t mind the impurities that stained it. It quietly held on to them and eventually melting them all together into a smooth and mellow flavor, which was the essence of this sake.

Bard savored the sake in his mouth slowly.