Shepherd Wizard (Novel) - Chapter 121

Chapter 121

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The suddenly-appearing heir of Ruban, Kalaise.

At his appearance, everyone in the dueling arena immediately bowed their heads deeply.

This made the stiff, upright posture of Turan’s group stand out even more.

“Perhaps you could introduce the others as well?”

“These are my parents. And these are close friends.”

Despite the vague introduction, Kalaise maintained his smile and offered an exaggerated bow.

When a two-meter giant swept his hand wide and bent at the waist, the space around him seemed to be consumed by his presence.

“Friends and parents, I must show proper respect. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kalaise Ruban.”

Unlike his casual manner with Solif, his tone when addressing the others was exceedingly polite.

In this atmosphere of introductions, Godis and Romi, as well as Turan and Meisa, revealed their names.

Of course, Meisa used her alias “Misha” that she employed publicly, while Turan used a newly created name, “Gosan.”

Once again, he had borrowed the name of a resident from the village below Hisaril Hill.

“Miss Misha and Mr. Gosan… Mr. Gosan?”

“Yes.”

“I heard you claimed to be the Baraha family head’s illegitimate child.”

“Your intelligence is quite swift.”

“Well, what happened recently was rather significant.”

From his words, he seemed to know exactly what had occurred in Helio, the capital of Baraha.

Considering the distance between that place and Ruban’s capital would take over a month by ordinary human pace, news could not have traveled by conventional means like letters.

Especially since thorough inspections were being conducted due to the commotion they had caused.

For news to travel so quickly, they must have used message-carrying birds or recruited some of the mages who operated the light towers.

For a family that proclaimed isolationism, they seemed remarkably attentive to surrounding situations.

After brief introductions, they left the noisy dueling arena and sat facing each other in a nearby open space.

The mages who had come to the dueling arena pushed their duels aside, watching them from a distance.

“So, what brings you here? Surely it’s not just to thank us for spending so much money.”

“Your manner of speaking has changed quite a bit from before. Back then, you were more formal and polite than I was.”

“Well, that’s…”

Unable to explain the “shell” process of personality modification for god possession, Solif glossed over the question.

Kalaise, who had been quietly observing, stroked his bushy beard and said:

“Well, I prefer your current demeanor more. First, I came to deliver news. Baraha has started to notice that you’ve crossed into the Frostwind Forest.”

This was entirely expected, given that more than two weeks had passed since they left the Land of Five Lakes.

Any great family worth its name would notice such movement unless they were completely blind.

Of course, there wasn’t much Baraha could do about their presence yet.

To capture Turan’s group, Baraha’s family head would need to personally intervene or deploy the family’s full strength, which would mean war the moment they entered Ruban territory.

Unless, of course, the Ruban family chose to overlook such an incursion.

“Did they perhaps put a bounty on us? Promising something nice if we’re captured?”

“They seem to be preparing a direct request. They said they would hand over the entire Garam region if we captured you alive.”

The Garam region was one of the border areas between Baraha and Ruban, famous for its high-quality iron mines.

Considering it contained four cities, this was an extraordinary offer.

Hearing this, Solif let out a small gasp.

“Wow.”

“Of course, we decided to decline. We’re not on such good terms to grant such a favor, and capturing powerful mages who can stir up the headquarters of a great family with just two people wouldn’t be worth it. Maybe if they offered a third of the Land of Five Lakes, I might consider it.”

Despite his bear-like physique, Kalaise’s words revealed a shrewd merchant-like quality.

“Well, that’s that. Let’s get to the real purpose of your visit. You must want something from us.”

“Won’t you thank me?”

“What?”

“The fact that Baraha has discovered your location, or that they’ve put out a request—these are quite important pieces of information that I’ve shared without asking for anything in return. I think I deserve at least a word of thanks.”

“That’s… right, thank you. Of course.”

Though it was a lukewarm expression of gratitude, almost poked out of him, it seemed sufficient for Kalaise, whose face softened with a warm smile.

“Then I should receive something in return for your gratitude.”

“What would that be?”

“Let’s have a match, over there.”

Naturally, Kalaise pointed to the dueling arena.

Solif responded with a disgruntled voice.

“That won’t be possible.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve already died once today. If we’re going to do it, it has to be tomorrow.”

At his words, Kalaise looked at Turan’s group with surprise.

“Surely you didn’t lose to some insignificant nobodies… Indeed, a tiger doesn’t associate with wolves or wildcats. They are worthy of being called your friends.”

As Kalaise chuckled, Turan felt complex emotions.

Undoubtedly, this person too had been raised as a vessel for gods to replace bodies, just like Meisa and Solif.

It would be good if they could reveal this truth and make him an ally, but it wouldn’t be easy to persuade him without extraordinary circumstances.

They had only managed to convince the other two because they were being mistreated in their families.

While quietly observing this, Turan heard a tiny voice in his ear.

Meisa had used wind magic to discretely transmit her voice.

[What do you think he’s planning?]

[I’m not sure, but I don’t sense any malice from him.]

At this close distance, Turan could sense that Kalaise’s scent carried no hostility or wariness.

In fact, what he felt whenever Kalaise looked at Solif was rather…

“This is quite unfortunate. Anyway, let me get to the real purpose. Great-grandfather—that is, the family head—wishes to see you all.”

“The Ruban family head? Or should I say, your family head?”

For Turan’s group, who knew the Ruban ruler was also a fallen god, this was a difficult request to accept… especially if it meant going to Ruban’s capital.

Though they had grown considerably stronger, they weren’t yet at the level to face a great family head wielding divine power and hundreds of mages.

Especially after just hearing about the request to capture them.

Turan slipped between the two and said:

“We appreciate the invitation, but we were about to leave this place, so it would be difficult to visit. It might also cause inconvenience. Please convey that we won’t forget the kindness of the invitation.”

“Is this your opinion as well?”

Kalaise asked Solif without even looking at Turan.

This alone revealed who he considered most important among the group.

“Well… yes. I’d appreciate if you could convey our sincere apologies.”

“Hmm, I see.”

Despite the refusal to obey what was essentially a command from a god-like family head, Kalaise showed no signs of anger.

With a regretful expression, he shook his head and stood up.

“It wouldn’t be right to force unwilling people. I probably couldn’t even if I tried.”

For an heir to a great family, this was a remarkably self-aware statement.

Kalaise flicked his hand lightly, and several knights who had accompanied him began clearing away the table they had set up.

“Ah, if you decline the invitation, there’s a message I was told to deliver. ‘Keep changing clothes a secret.'”

At Kalaise’s words, everyone’s faces hardened.

The meaning of this phrase was clear.

A warning not to spread widely their discovery of the fallen gods’ secret…

Of course, none of Turan’s group had any intention of spreading such rumors.

The moment they did, they would become targets for all the fallen gods scattered throughout the world—who would be insane enough to do that?

If they did such a thing, even Hisaril Hill would not be a satisfactory hiding place.

Arabion, Zahar, Carmine and others currently in conflict would all unite their strength to eliminate them.

“And this is something I’m telling you personally, the Baraha family head arrived in Helio last night. Just so you know.”

“Is this also being shared out of kindness?”

“Consider it a debt I’m adding to your account. If you’re grateful, you can come back to the dueling arena sometime and have a match with me.”

Kalaise winked at Solif and then promptly left.

Judging by the wolves and horse magical beasts visible at a distance, he had likely ridden them here.

Watching them depart from afar, Solif suddenly brushed his arm and said:

“Something feels strange whenever I meet that guy.”

“Why?”

“It’s like there’s something sticky in his gaze… When we first met, he asked how I trained my body and suggested we have a ‘bodily conversation’ in private. Being around him gives me goosebumps.”

Turan thought he understood why Kalaise had made such suggestions, but decided not to mention it.

All things considered, it seemed better for Solif to remain ignorant of the truth.

* * *

After the meeting with Kalaise, Turan’s group decided to leave the dueling arena immediately.

They had already been considering departure due to spreading rumors, but now that they knew the Baraha family head had returned to headquarters, there was no reason to stay.

After retrieving their belongings from the inn, they mounted Bije and moved rapidly westward.

Their pace when seriously traveling was completely different from their leisurely journey before.

In just five hours, Turan’s group traveled nearly a thousand kilometers from the dueling arena and reached the shores of the Northern Sea.

“Is this really the Northern Sea already? So soon?”

“This bird complains a lot, but her speed is unmatched. Ow! Hey!”

Romi mumbled in astonishment at the sight of the sea.

Solif, boasting to his mother, stroked Bije’s head only to yelp when his finger was pecked.

After a brief rest, they immediately sought out a ship from nearby fishing villages or small towns.

Since five people would be traveling together, they purchased a larger vessel rather than a small fishing boat like before.

“Can five people really handle a ship like this?”

“It’s more than adequate, so please don’t worry.”

Godis’s concerns were quickly proven unnecessary once the voyage began.

Drawing on their experience sailing the fishing boat previously, Turan, Solif, and Meisa swiftly prepared the ship.

Adjusting the sail ropes, cutting through the water at the bow, generating wind to increase speed, and handling the rudder—everything flowed without a hitch.

“Wow…”

“If we could have sailed this fast last time we went south, we wouldn’t have suffered so much.”

From his words, it seemed the voyage when he had tried to find Solif by visiting the Siraf wetlands hadn’t been particularly enjoyable.

The voyage proceeded smoothly.

After the death of the Giant Sea Serpent, the Northern Sea’s climate had become quite calm, and the merfolk seemed to have quieted down, perhaps because the rebellious commoner class had been depleted.

With the Baraha couple handling the ship’s navigation through basic fluid manipulation and wind magic, Turan and the other two could devote their spare time to practicing soul magic.

“Inhale… exhale…”

In the cabin below deck.

Despite the floor swaying with the waves, the consciousness of the three meditating remained completely undisturbed.

What they had gained from repeatedly dying in the dueling arena over the past few days wasn’t just combat experience.

Through continued near-death experiences, they had all become accustomed to maintaining extreme meditative states where the mind blocks external interference.

Compared to their first attempts when they couldn’t concentrate and ended up chatting with each other, this was truly remarkable progress.

‘The true self…’

Turan imagined with closed eyes.

The four symbols residing within him.

Like the Arabion family head had once done, how would they interact if intermixed?

No, this was thinking too far ahead.

What he needed to do now was to first awaken his soul, to refine his mind separate from his body into another form, thereby awakening spiritual awareness.

If one wants to run, shouldn’t one at least be able to walk or crawl first?

Fortunately, thanks to the recent deaths, Turan’s spiritual sense seemed to have awakened considerably.

If there were a shell between mind and body, it felt as though there was at least a crack in it now… A sensation that felt on the verge of breakthrough with the right catalyst, yet frustratingly spinning in circles.

‘To overcome this state, just near-death experiences won’t be enough. I need something else…’

He had even tried asking the librarian to attempt contact with his spirit form several times, but this too had failed.

Should he actually try using drugs?

Realizing that such wandering thoughts had partially broken his meditation, Turan tried to refocus on the state of non-self.

At that moment, there came a pounding sound from the deck above.

“Everyone needs to come up for a moment!”

Turan woke Meisa and Solif from their deep meditation and went up to the deck.

There were the Baraha couple, and Bije with a strangely anxious expression.

“Bije says something strange is happening ahead.”

“Something strange?”

“He says the seawater is being sucked downward…”

Bije, standing nearby, pointed with his talon to a spot on the deck.

There, probably written by him just moments ago, were the words: ‘The seawater is being sucked into something!’

“What could it be?”

“I have no idea…”

“Are the merfolk up to something again?”

The merfolk royalty who had disappeared after the Giant Sea Serpent hunt.

They had been repeatedly committing hostile acts such as driving marine magical beasts toward the coast to threaten humans.

While it would be an exaggeration to assume they were behind everything happening in the sea, they were naturally the first suspects that came to mind.

“I’m not sure, but let’s avoid it for now.”

“That sounds wise. I’ll go with Bije to check it out up close and report back.”

“Don’t get too close.”

Ignoring Meisa’s concerned warning, Turan gripped Bije’s legs and took off.

After flying about one kilometer west, the phenomenon Bije had mentioned came into view.

“This must be it.”

Bije chirped in agreement.

Seeing it directly, “seawater being sucked downward” was quite an understated description.

As if a massive hole had opened at the bottom of the sea, a tremendous roaring sound accompanied an enormous whirlpool that sucked in everything nearby.

Anyone caught in those currents would find escape difficult, even for fairly powerful nobles.

As Turan approached a reasonable distance, he could sense a presence at the far center of the whirlpool.

‘Could it be a Giant Sea Serpent?’

Though not as large as the one they had hunted before, the creature’s form was still enormously long and massive compared to ordinary creatures.

The creature had opened its mouth wide in the depths, sucking in vast amounts of water to create the whirlpool.

‘Should I leave it alone? It seems to be doing something harmful…’

Yet attacking from here was hardly favorable.

Most of his preferred attack methods would be ineffective against a target hidden underwater.

Perhaps using light magic with the Sun bloodline would be the best option…

As he deliberated, suddenly the Giant Sea Serpent closed its mouth and stopped sucking in seawater.

The whirlpool seemed to naturally dissipate, and then the creature began to surge rapidly upward.

“Bije, up!”

As Turan urgently called out, the form of the rising Giant Sea Serpent changed.

First to a shorter, blunter shark-like appearance, and then to a shape resembling a humanoid species.

Finally, a merman boy burst out from beneath the sea—Armani, who pointed at Turan and shouted:

“I wasn’t mistaken! It’s been a while, kind demon!”