Shepherd Wizard (Novel) - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Read it only at Utoon.net!
Discord         

The sky after the storm passed was so clear it seemed to mock the sailors struggling to live above the sea.

Under the blazing sunlight, the sailors cleaned the deck that had been ruined overnight.

“Ugh, my back.”

“Shouldn’t you be thankful your back isn’t broken?”

“True, hehe. Really thought I was going to die.”

Their expressions were bright as they exchanged jokes.

Though their bodies were tired, the experience of the past few hours had instilled a strange sense of security in them.

Turan looked down at them with a tired face while sitting atop the mast.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been this exhausted, really…’

Creating fire to heat the air inside the deck wasn’t particularly difficult.

The problem was having to maintain it for hours.

Moreover, later when the waves grew too large, he even had to manipulate incoming waves to prevent the ship from capsizing.

Actually, most of his power was lost in this process.

Unless at the level of a great family head, directly confronting massive nature with his current magic power was impossible.

But looking down at the people working hard below made his desperate struggle worthwhile.

In the end, no one died and the ship didn’t sink.

‘Come to think of it, this thing helped quite a bit too.’

Turan took out the holy relic from his pocket.

The reason he could rescue people he couldn’t even properly see in vision obscured by the raging storm.

It was using magic based on the sense derived from this.

Considering that a primary method of restraining magicians was blocking their eyes to suppress precise magic use, this was like removing one such weakness.

Meaning he could now instantly cast magic on ordinary living beings even through walls.

While admiring the treasure’s new function, he saw something floating far away.

Too small and numerous to be islands or reefs…

Before long, he could tell they were corpses or miscellaneous items that had flowed from some ship.

“Looks like those friends couldn’t weather the storm.”

“Oh dear.”

While passing traces left by some nearby ship, the previously cheerful sailors all shut their mouths and focused on cleanup with solemn faces.

None were unaware that without Turan, they would have met the same fate.

After completing repairs, the Blue Marlin resumed sailing southeast.

After hours of cutting through water riding the wind.

Finally, a black shadow began rising in their direction of travel.

The world’s center, the Enril Desert, welcomed them.

* * *

Due to position shifting somewhat from being caught in the storm, the Blue Marlin arrived at Komad City three hours later.

After reporting docking to harbor officials, the sailors began unloading cargo into warehouses.

Turan killed time sitting quietly at one side of the harbor watching other senior sailors supervise this.

Only when the sun was setting did Pires come looking for him with a sack containing a bundle of gold coins.

“I’m late, Lord Turan. Here is your promised employment fee.”

Turan frowned at the heavy weight receiving the sack.

Having handled enough money now to roughly gauge amounts by weight, what Pires gave was much heavier than what Turan had originally contracted.

At least three times more.

“This is too much. Wasn’t it originally sixty Karmaine gold coins?”

“If we only gave the promised money, even the gods wouldn’t forgive us.”

Pires explained that all the sailors including the captain had agreed to pool their share from the pirate ship sale while holding out the sack.

Turan shook his head and pointed to the chest he had been using as a chair.

“As you know, I’m already having trouble handling too much money.”

This was originally from his cabin, and since he couldn’t fit the 800 gold coins from selling the pirate ship in his bag, he had reluctantly brought it to store money.

To this answer, Captain Pires smiled and replied.

“Can’t be helped. If you won’t accept it, we’ll just have to throw it in the sea.”

Behind him speaking thus, the Blue Marlin’s sailors watched with gentle expressions ill-fitting their rough faces.

As if urging him to take the money immediately.

After a long staring contest, Turan finally burst out laughing and took the sack, stuffing it into the chest.

“If we meet again, I’ll treat everyone to a nice meal. All of you.”

“That would be the greatest honor.”

Turan stood up and shouldered the chest with two straps connected to it.

He would have to go around like this until disposing of this money.

As he walked toward the city, the sailors bid farewell behind him.

“We’ll miss you, Sir Knight!”

“Thank you!”

“We’ll never forget!”

Hearing the voices of the sheep he had saved, somehow the chest he shouldered felt heavy.

Not just because there was more money, but because he could feel something contained within.

Turan turned up the corners of his mouth as he headed into Komad City.

* * *

Komad, the largest city in the northern Enril Desert, had a population reaching 150,000.

The dress of sailors from elsewhere and locals was distinct, with locals mainly wearing hats with long draping cloth and one-piece clothes covering top and bottom.

At first he thought they were skirts, but looking closer they seemed to be outer garments like cloaks worn over separate pants.

While looking around thus, he felt a small spark approaching him from the side.

Turan reached out without looking and grabbed the other’s wrist.

“Aack!”

Whether trying to cut the straps of the chest he was shouldering, a small dagger two fingers long dropped from the young man’s hand.

Knowing the other’s wrist was broken, Turan continued walking the streets instead of dealing with him further.

Fortunately, the holy relic’s function didn’t make him overly tired even in places crowded with people.

While wandering the city thus, Turan could see someone who wasn’t ordinary for the first time.

‘That’s…’

Unlike ordinary people with flames concentrated only in their heart or one or two other places, a man burning throughout his body.

From his especially fancy clothes and sword at his waist, he could guess he was a knight belonging to the ruling family here.

As expected, using this holy relic’s power also allowed clear distinction between magicians and ordinary people.

“Excuse me. Are you perhaps a knight of the Dirmin family?”

Turan spoke thus while immediately projecting his power.

When magic power that would match a rural family head or mid-ranking member of a great family pressed down on him, the knight exclaimed in shock.

“Yes, my lord. Please command me!”

My lord – it seemed they used quite strange expressions to address nobles in this region.

“I am Turan from Abacha. I would like to greet your master – would that be possible?”

While rural family knights might be different, knights of cities ruled by great families and their vassal families were relatively proud.

This was because relatively weak and humble families often visited such cities during pilgrimage requesting hospitality.

Since there could be benefit if they happened to connect well with a noble from a great family with a strong child.

Therefore, if Turan had relatively weak magic power like when he visited the Baltas family, he would have received treatment befitting a guest from far away.

But the current Turan was several times more powerful, so the Dirmin family couldn’t slight him.

Led straight to the palace in the city center while shouldering his chest, Turan was bathed and given new clothes without lifting a finger before meeting the Dirmin family head.

“Welcome. I am Karl Dirmin.”

The Dirmin family head, Karl, appeared to be about thirty.

His actual age was probably between 100-150 years.

The flames burning throughout his body were so much more intense than the knight seen earlier it was dazzling.

Having actually compared magic power too, Turan could now use him as a reference to know whether others were stronger or weaker than himself.

“Hmm.”

Just then, Karl stared at Turan’s face before briefly furrowing his brow and tilting his head.

Though a very small movement, his keen senses didn’t miss it.

“So, your name and family?”

“Turan Brahms.”

“Brahms…?”

“Just an old name of fallen guardian bloodline now.”

The surname he gave was actually the name of an old guardian bloodline that had existed near Karmaine’s land, which he had noted while using the library.

Though nobles impersonating other family names was normally taboo of taboos, vaguely glossing over like when visiting other families in Zahar’s notoriously treacherous land was too dangerous.

Unlike at the Berk family, there was no one’s benefactor status to cover for him.

Fortunately, Karl looked at his trained physique and dagger at his waist before nodding without probing further.

“I see. So… you want to buy our family’s monsters?”

“Yes. I have no small amount of money.”

More precisely, he desperately wanted to spend this damned money somehow, but he didn’t say that far.

No need to reveal weaknesses in trading.

“So it seems.”

Karl said this while reading Captain Samudel’s letter of recommendation from Turan.

It stated that Turan had traded with him and a pirate ship on Miguel Island to obtain 800 Zahar gold coins, essentially proving the money was obtained through legitimate means.

“We have quite many types of tamed monsters. Rideable ones, flying ones, swimming ones, ones that can use hands… Tell me what you want. Nothing we can’t sell if the price is right.”

Though he added that it would be hard to buy really expensive ones with money one person could carry.

He felt somewhat awkward seeming more like a merchant than the head of a magician family.

“Could I see them directly?”

“Fine. I’m rather busy so I’ll have my daughter guide you.”

While standing thus, Turan asked as if in passing:

“Have you perhaps seen someone who looks like me?”

“Hm?”

“It felt like you recognized me earlier.”

Unlike his calm exterior, all Turan’s senses were focused on the other.

Who would have thought a vassal family head, not even the Zahar main family, would show signs of immediately recognizing his face.

But contrary to expectations, Karl smiled and answered:

“No, it’s nothing. Really. Just felt like you resembled someone I know a bit.”

Though considering probing further, Turan decided to retreat one step for now.

They say haste always ruins things.

Since he sensed no panic or hostility from the other, he could take his time looking for opportunities.

Shortly after, the family head’s daughter who appeared about his age guided Turan to the breeding grounds.

“You have quite a lot of money for a fallen noble, enough to buy monsters?”

Unlike the family head who maintained proper courtesy, this lady openly showed an attitude looking down on Turan, but he didn’t even pay attention.

Not particularly because her magic power was visibly much weaker than his, but because his head was full of other thoughts.

‘Who did he think of seeing me?’

Turan could find quite a few similarities with his mother’s face in his memories.

From the slim face shape to straight mouth, somewhat large ears and ash-colored hair.

But there were many differences too.

Eye shape and color, nose shape…

Though parents’ appearances aren’t necessarily passed down exactly to children, Turan would secretly try to picture his father’s face through such features unlike his mother’s.

Just who had the Dirmin family head been reminded of seeing Turan’s face? Father? Mother? Or someone related to those two?

If they were acquainted, they couldn’t be of low status at least.

While lost in such thoughts, they had already arrived at the breeding grounds.

“Here.”

“Impressive.”

Unlike expected, the breeding grounds were quite luxuriously arranged.

He had thought they would just keep them in stone rooms with iron bars, but they had individual rooms for each monster with grass and trees planted and even streams made beside them.

Turan cleared his forcibly rising thoughts and looked over the monsters one by one.

‘Wolf… that size couldn’t be ridden. Elephant, troublesomely huge. Horse… seems far inferior to Tilly in both size and magic power. Is this a snake?’

Looking over the monsters, none seemed quite right.

When he asked the horse’s price just in case, a shocking answer came back.

“That one? Since we raise it quite carefully, would have to ask around 4,000 gold coins.”

Turan had 800 Zahar gold coins and just over 900 Karmaine gold coins.

Considering Karmaine gold coins were slightly larger than Zahar ones, and he had some other minor currency too, his entire fortune wasn’t even half that horse’s price.

Turan immediately regretted thinking he had become quite wealthy and didn’t need money.

How expensive must Tilly be, with far superior abilities than that one.

‘Well, that’s why it could protect Asiz against two necromancers alone.’

Though it would have lost without his help ultimately, even that much made it remarkably strong among monsters.

Buying a monster seemed excessively inefficient – should he look for a family that makes magical devices instead?

But traveling the desert carrying that money-filled chest would be troublesome, and prices didn’t seem likely to be cheaper there either.

While walking around thus for a while, Turan stopped seeing one beast.

A black eagle covered in smooth dark brown feathers was staring straight at him.