Shepherd Wizard (Novel) - Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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When Turan lived on Hisaril Hill, black eagles would prey on sheep like wolves and leopards.
Considering their weight wasn’t even a fifth of an average sheep’s, it was truly remarkable strength.
The one before him wasn’t particularly large for a monster, similar in size to its normal kin, but being a monster its strength would surely be much greater.
Unlike other monsters, the black eagle confined in a narrow cage was somehow staring at him while blinking its golden eyes.
“How much is this one?”
“1,500 coins.”
Somehow much cheaper than he’d thought.
Though even that was close to his entire fortune.
“What are its abilities?”
“It’s intelligent and flies well.”
Hearing this, he could somewhat understand why the price was set that way.
Monsters without special abilities were generally valued lower among their peers.
Plus being small in stature, its strength would be weaker too.
But even considering that, it seemed too cheap given its amount of magic power.
When he voiced this doubt, the family head’s daughter shook her head.
“Black eagles are usually popular. They can easily carry one person in flight. But this one is too smart, so even after taming it won’t listen. Says why should it listen to those dumber than itself.”
Just then, amazingly, the black eagle nodded as if answering that question itself.
After hesitating briefly, Turan asked.
“Did you just answer?”
Nod.
“You’re not just nodding to anything?”
Shake shake.
“You’re very handsome.”
Nod.
“Still, I think falcons look better than eagles.”
At these last words, the black eagle clacked its beak with an angry expression.
It wasn’t just understanding the nuance of Turan’s words but clearly comprehending them.
Though Tilly was smart too, not to this degree – this was practically human except for being unable to speak.
Turan spoke in a half-dazed voice.
“It definitely understands words.”
“Yes. We even tried teaching it letters but it either didn’t want to learn or couldn’t. Either way makes no difference.”
It was so willful that once when sold, it escaped and they had to ask the Zahar family to catch it?
“It’s a shame. It has good strength for its size and we fed it plenty of monsters too. If it just listened well, we could have sold it for much more.”
Though that sounded like complaining at first glance, there was a subtle encouraging tone mixed in.
As if saying you might be able to completely dominate it and become its master, in which case you’d be getting a good monster for an absurdly cheap price.
As he’d felt when talking with the family head, this family seemed to deliberately raise nobles as merchants.
While quietly listening to the explanation, Turan suddenly had a thought and spoke to the black eagle.
“Come to think of it, since you understand words I can just ask directly. Hey, do you have anything you want?”
The family head’s daughter smirked and shook her head.
“We asked several times too but it doesn’t properly answer such questions. Being such a willful one…”
But before those words finished, the black eagle tilted its head once then pointed at Turan with its talon.
The family head’s daughter gaped in shock.
“What, why suddenly…”
“You want me?”
The black eagle nodded at Turan’s question.
“I’m not that special a person. Is there a reason?”
To the following question, it just tilted its head side to side as if unwilling or unable to answer.
He thought it was indeed an inappropriate question to answer with gestures.
“Would you be interested in learning to read and write if I buy you? I’ll teach you directly.”
After seeing it nod to this question, Turan turned to the family head’s daughter and said.
“I’ll buy it.”
“What? Ah, that, we should probably recalculate the price-”
Seeing the black eagle suddenly being cooperative seemed to make her regret it.
Of course, Turan could easily show her reality.
“It probably wouldn’t be this cooperative with anyone but me anyway. Hey, right?”
At Turan’s words, the black eagle nodded strongly twice, then banged the iron bars with its talon toward the family head’s daughter.
As if threatening her to sell it to Turan immediately.
Seeing how perfectly they matched, the family head’s daughter looked back and forth between them before sighing.
“Well, can’t be helped.”
* * *
“Be joined as one. You are me and I am you…”
After bringing gold coins from the chest left at his lodging and completing payment, Turan bound with the black eagle in a ritual under the family head’s supervision.
Along with the incantation, he felt part of his soul connecting with the black eagle.
This was taming magic, the ability of beast tamer bloodline.
Not just temporarily controlling animals like other magicians, but an ability to spiritually bind two beings.
To undo this binding or change the connection’s target would likewise require a noble with beast tamer bloodline.
When the connection finished, Turan felt some of the black eagle’s thoughts flowing into him.
It was satisfaction and pride at finally finding something, and liberation at being able to leave the cage.
Just what had that monster seen in him?
Special bloodline? Talent? Or something else entirely?
“It’s done.”
Hearing the family head’s words, Turan opened the cage to free the black eagle.
Even after being released from the cage, instead of fleeing it hopped onto Turan’s arm and preened its feathers.
With such a natural attitude as if it had always belonged there.
“What should we name you?”
At Turan’s question, the black eagle made a cute “peep” sound ill-fitting its fierce appearance.
Along with this came its thoughts through the soul bond.
Though somewhat difficult to clearly decode being something between verbalized thoughts and abstract emotions, he could guess roughly.
“You want to choose it yourself? After learning to write?”
The black eagle nodded.
“Alright, as you wish.”
Since he wasn’t particularly talented at naming anyway, it was no loss for Turan.
Though it seemed perhaps too independent… but it should be fine since it listened well.
Turan recalled the sheepdog he had raised in childhood.
The one that came along when his mother bought the sheep flock and house from an old shepherd upon arriving at Hisaril Hill.
After losing his mother to illness and the dog dying of old age too, Turan never raised another dog.
He could handle shepherding well enough without a sheepdog’s help using magic power, and moreover, he didn’t want to experience losing something precious to old age again.
Probably he wouldn’t have to worry about that while raising this black eagle.
Generally, monsters were physically superior to equivalent magicians despite being less skilled with magic, and accordingly had tremendously long lifespans.
Perhaps this one might even live longer than him.
“Fascinating.”
Family Head Karl muttered watching the two of them.
“Even when Baraha’s heir came before, it wouldn’t give them a glance, just what about Mr. Brahms attracted it?”
The Baraha family would be the name of a great family situated east of the Enril Desert.
Born with sun bloodline to handle fire and light, wasn’t it?
Since Turan also didn’t know why this one was drawn to him, he planned to ask after teaching it writing.
Though unsure if he’d get a satisfactory answer.
“I’ll take good care of it.”
“Do as you please. It’s not our child anymore once sold.”
Karl added what might have been a curse or advice, saying if it escapes you’ll have to catch it yourself.
“Then…”
“Ah, one moment.”
Just then, the family head stopped Turan as he was about to leave.
For some reason, vague hesitation appeared on the face that had always been calculating like a merchant’s.
“Feel free to ignore this. But do you perhaps have a connection to Lord Talis?”
“Lord Talis being…?”
“No, nevermind. Just wondering. Please forget it.”
Seeing his attitude as if hearing it for the first time, Karl quickly shook his head.
As if trying to make his question from earlier nonexistent.
Turan sensed that Karl had seen this someone named Talis in his face and engraved that name in his memory.
And decided to try asking a question he couldn’t earlier due to the atmosphere.
Since they threw out an irrelevant question first.
“Then Family Head, may I ask one thing too?”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you perhaps know a woman named Bije?”
“Bije?”
“She looked like this.”
Turan took out paper buried in the deepest part of his bag.
Ash powder scattered on the quality paper formed the image of a woman who appeared to be in her late twenties.
“Drawn with magic. Good skill for guardian bloodline.”
“I had a friend skilled in this draw it for me.”
Drawing portraits by scattering ash powder on paper was a technique learned while practicing magic with Meisa.
By picturing the form in mind then arranging ash powder in that shape on paper, even those without artistic talent could project what they imagined.
Though hard to be confident of perfect recreation since it had been 5-6 years since his mother passed away, it was similar enough that someone who knew her would recognize the likeness.
Turan focused his senses on every single movement of the family head studying the picture intently, and the scents emanating from his body.
‘How will it be.’
The reason he showed his mother’s portrait without hesitation was because she was an ordinary person.
Even if Turan’s innate Zahar bloodline came from his mother, as long as she wasn’t a magician it would be hard for her to be important enough to have committed any major crimes.
Of course, he’d have to consider the possibility of immediately leading to his father upon learning his mother’s identity…
But contrary to expectations, Karl looked at the picture for a while before shaking his head.
“Don’t know at all. Don’t think I’d easily forget such a beauty if I’d seen her. Perhaps your mother or sister?”
“Similar.”
Even in a state of extreme focus on smell, no scent of surprise or shock came from the other.
Turan felt both relief and disappointment at this fact.
“Seems you have some circumstances too.”
“Who in the world doesn’t have circumstances?”
“True enough.”
Judging by his heavy tone, he too seemed to live with his own hardships.
What those were would be unknowable to an outsider like Turan.
After completing the contract, Turan left the palace heading south of Komad City to properly test his new friend’s abilities.
Gazes gathered at the sight of him with a large black eagle perched on his arm and even a knight following behind.
After walking for several dozen minutes, the scent of dry sandy wind gradually wafted over.
Finally spread before his eyes was desert with only sand to the horizon…
Though he had glimpsed it while coming by ship, it felt new actually stepping on it.
Turan lightly reached out to stir the dry air.
‘As expected, it’s not hot since it’s winter and night. Rather cold if anything.’
Probably being at the desert’s northernmost point was part of the reason too.
The Enril Desert was famous for being horrifically vast, with different climates even within the same desert by region.
Looking at maps, wasn’t the territory ruled by the Zahar family three to five times the size of Arabion’s?
Though considering desert characteristics, the population might actually be even less than that.
“Well then, shall we try a light flight?”
As soon as the words finished, the black eagle took off, and Turan gripped its sturdy legs with one hand.
Strong force grabbed his body as the world instantly sank below.
“Oh…”
As the headwind blew strong enough to hurt his eyes, Turan quickly blocked the wind before him.
A sense of speed completely different from floating magic that just lifted one’s body.
It seemed much faster even than his own running.
However the Zahar nobles caught this one, it definitely wasn’t by chase.
Unless they captured it secretly while hidden.
Glancing back, Turan smiled realizing Komad City had already shrunk enough to see at a glance.
On the opposite side the desert still stretched endlessly, but viewed from above unlike from the ground, it didn’t look so daunting.
As if the sense of distance had decreased greatly.
When Turan cast floating magic on his body to reduce weight, the black eagle seemed excited by the lightened load and beat its wings faster.
“At this rate we could cross the Dakein Plains in a day with plenty to spare…”
Truly, it was such speed that all his previous traveling on foot seemed foolish.
Until the eagle tired and descended, one person and one black eagle thoroughly enjoyed their flight.