Shepherd Wizard (Novel) - Chapter 82

Chapter 82

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When Meisa regained consciousness after being poisoned, Anieta Nagin, the head wife of the family head, came to her with a mocking tone and threatened her.

“This incident is entirely because of your mother, who dared to act arrogantly in front of me just for giving birth to a strong daughter. So be careful from now on. If you open your mouth carelessly somewhere, you and your maternal relatives might end up in a similar situation. You understand what I mean, do you not?”

Afterward, seeing two deaths truly buried as “accidents,” Meisa had continuously nurtured hostility toward the women of the Nagin family and its upper echelons.

Of course, all she could do was hurl insults through letters and words at her two half-brothers.

Since hearing this story, Turan had been pondering the true nature of the Nagin family.

Had the middle faction of Arabion merely used it as an excuse to torment Meisa, or was there something more binding the two together?

Yet at this moment, the sudden disappearance of the librarian and the presence of Renod Nagin were becoming entwined.

Turan cleared his throat lightly to suppress the tremble in his voice before asking again.

“Did he perhaps mention where he was going? He is close to an acquaintance of mine, so if he has not gone far, I would like to at least greet him.”

“Oh, is that so?”

The expression “A wandering noble connected to a great family’s mage?” was blatantly written on Gilon’s face.

“Yes. Renod Nagin was originally the son of the Arabion family head, but his maternal Nagin bloodline manifested, and he was adopted into that family. I have a connection with his half-sister, Meisa.”

“You mean that Skeleton Prin—Arabion’s heir! I have heard of her. You have ties to quite an impressive person.”

Perhaps because Turan displayed knowledge of great family affairs, Gilon, unlike earlier, showed no suspicion and nodded in acceptance.

It was possible he had heard a similar story from Renod during his prior visit.

In truth, what was more remarkable was that Meisa’s appearance was famous enough to have spread even to this distant place.

Indeed, her reputation had reached as far as the Enril Desert.

At that moment, Marvin Baltas, who had been quietly eating, interjected with a question.

“Is she really that emaciated? I heard she is so hideous you would fear seeing her in your dreams.”

“Shut your mouth, Marvin! She is not someone you can speak of so carelessly!”

Marvin, startled by Gilon’s shout after his reckless remark, bowed his head.

Turan had just revealed a connection to Meisa, and now Marvin was slandering her!

What if that comment reached her through Turan?

There were codes among nobles, but needlessly earning the enmity of the strong was foolish.

Of course, this effort to smooth things over was rendered moot as Meisa, hearing herself called hideous to her face, struggled to maintain her composure.

Naturally, none of them suspected that Meisa was the Skeleton Princess.

“Ahem, forgive me, but let us pretend those words were not spoken…”

“Of course. I have no need to pass unpleasant remarks to my friend. So, regarding the question I asked earlier?”

Thanks to Marvin’s thoughtless behavior, Turan gained a slight upper hand in the conversation.

“Ah, you asked where he was going? He said he was returning to his main family. He might have arrived by now.”

“I see.”

Turan clicked his tongue lightly, feigning disappointment, then asked about how many retainers Renod had brought, how long he used the library, and how long he stayed in Orem.

Perhaps to make up for the earlier blunder, Gilon answered diligently, allowing Turan to gather considerable information.

—

After the banquet ended, Turan called Meisa and Solif to his quarters and dismissed all the maids.

The topic of discussion was, of course, whether there was a connection between Renod Nagin and the librarian’s disappearance.

“First off, for the past few months, due to the war, no one except Renod visited the library. That makes him the prime suspect. Unless someone else sneaked in like I did.”

“From what we heard, his actions were absurdly illogical. He barged in with three nobles, forty knights, and even beasts, demanded to use the library, stayed for just a few minutes, and then left immediately. He excused it by saying it was impolite to linger in a war-torn city, but if that was the case, he should not have come in the first place.”

Solif muttered with a dumbfounded expression.

Indeed, if he had some other purpose in the library, he should have stayed for at least an hour or two.

Even skimming book covers to check for something specific would take well over several dozen minutes.

“Meisa, did he usually enjoy books?”

“I do not know. That b*st*rd was adopted into the Nagin family when I was nine, and I have not met him since. But I have no memory of him reading.”

Hearing Meisa’s words, Turan nodded lightly.

If someone who did not particularly like books brought nobles to visit a library, it had to be a family-level endeavor.

Given the circumstances, it was highly likely Renod had interfered with the librarian’s existence.

The problem was how he had detected and either destroyed or captured the librarian, and why he had done so now, suddenly, remained unknown.

“If Renod could do something to the elder, he must have at least three bloodline abilities. Otherwise, other great family mages who visited the library would have seen him too.”

“Or maybe he used some kind of tool? Like opening a gourd in the library and sucking the spirit inside to trap it or something.”

“There are artifacts like that?”

“There are tales of such holy relics in the east. I do not know if they are real.”

While Meisa asked in surprise and Solif answered seriously, Turan tapped the desk, lost in thought.

“The Nagin family’s bloodlines are Ruler and Tamer.”

“I know Tamer, but Ruler is new to me. Is it unique to the west?”

“It is rare even here. In fact, the Nagin family might be the only ones with that bloodline.”

Meisa responded calmly to Solif’s question.

The Ruler bloodline, as its name suggested, had the power to dominate living beings, but despite its grand title, it was not very practical.

As Turan had learned firsthand, magic to control creatures rarely worked on magical beings.

Of course, its ability to manipulate living things was exceptional, so a strong noble could command tens of thousands of humans with a single gesture, but where would they even use that?

A noble of that caliber could easily wipe out tens of thousands using other bloodline abilities anyway.

Bloodlines that did not spread widely always had a reason: either they were too powerful and thus strictly controlled and eradicated, or they were too useless to gain traction.

Hearing this explanation, Solif said with a puzzled look.

“But do spirits have magic? Undead would, of course.”

“Of course they… did not.”

Turan realized that when he last met the librarian, he had not sensed any flow of magic from him.

In other words, even though the librarian was a spirit born from a magically constructed building, he was not a magical being himself.

“Then it might be possible he used the Ruler bloodline to dominate or attempt to dominate the spirit.”

“If he destroyed it, that is one thing, but domination is troublesome. I said a lot to the elder. If they captured and interrogated him…”

“They would know almost everything about you?”

“Exactly.”

Turan groaned softly, feeling the headache of this complicated situation.

From the Night Hunter he saw in the underground labyrinth to his own bloodline, the secretive information the librarian knew was far from trivial.

“It looks like we need to confirm it ourselves. I am also curious why he stormed the library at this particular time.”

Even if a divine being in the Nagin family found the librarian’s existence bothersome, it was odd to leave it alone for thousands of years and then act suddenly now.

The only notable recent event was Turan’s encounter with the librarian, but no matter how he thought about it, that did not seem like a reason to eliminate him.

Switching perspectives, could they have only recently discovered the librarian’s existence?

The trigger might have been Turan casually mentioning the librarian to the Baltas nobles.

No, even then, it was too strange to think that information had circled back to the Nagin family.

Though only one region apart, the western wilderness and the snowy plains ruled by Nagin were practically different cultural spheres.

At Turan’s words, Solif spoke with a half-doubtful expression.

“You are not planning to confront Nagin head-on, are you? Sure, they are a backwater great family, not on par with Arabion or Zahar, but… somehow I feel like you would actually do it if you said so.”

Great families were typically revered by ordinary mage families, but even among them, there was a hierarchy.

The most esteemed were the ancient families founded by direct descendants of the Freya divine lineage, whose power had not fully waned after the old empire’s fall.

Arabion and Zahar fell into this category, with histories spanning at least two to three thousand years.

In comparison, great families established through bloodline unions with new central ancestors were considered a step below.

Baraha, Ravitas, and Karmain belonged here, with histories usually between one and two thousand years.

Nagin was a newer great family, emerging even later, with a history of less than five hundred years.

To ordinary humans, that was an immense span, but by noble standards—where a generation was a hundred to two hundred years—they were mere upstarts.

That was why, despite being a great family, they were settled in the harsh snowy plains.

Still, a great family was a great family, and the possibility of a divine entity backing them made a frontal clash not just risky but reckless.

“Attacking directly would be insane. For now, we should track Renod. If we are lucky, we can catch him before he reaches the Nagin family. If not, we will infiltrate like before.”

“It has been a month, has it not? Would he not have returned to his family by now?”

“If a single noble ran back alone, maybe, but he brought dozens of knights with him. We do not feel it because we travel by Bije, but the world is larger and harder to navigate than you think. Especially with a large group.”

“Now that I think about it… it took me months to get from Baraha to the southern seas. Even alone.”

Though nobles and knights moved faster than commoners, without proper roads they had to detour around terrain, rest for meals, or sleep, preventing them from moving as swiftly as flight.

Moreover, the northwestern snowy plains of Nagin and the western wilderness were not connected by old empire roads, requiring an even longer detour.

Meisa, listening quietly, asked in a low voice.

“Then are we leaving tomorrow? The lord here might not like that.”

“We need to leave right now. Sorry, but we cannot afford to worry about their dignity when we are this pressed.”

—

Honestly saying they had to leave urgently would likely just lead to arguments and wasted time, so Turan left a brief note and departed Orem City with his group.

The three, riding Bije’s swing, flew northward without delay.

To move as quickly as possible, they fed Bije recovery potions and flew relentlessly for a day and a half without rest.

A distance that would have taken Turan over two weeks on foot shrank in an instant.

The problem was that none of them had been here before, so they did not know Renod’s travel route or even the location of the Nagin family’s stronghold.

They had no choice but to investigate on foot.

“Found anything?”

“Yes. They passed through three days ago. Northwest.”

“Good thing we found them. Let’s get back on.”

“Ugh, this is exhausting.”

Whenever they spotted a village or town, they landed discreetly nearby, confirmed whether Nagin mages led by Renod had passed through, and moved in the direction indicated.

Throughout this, Turan never forgot to change his face with a disguise mask.

If a confrontation occurred, they might trace who had pursued them.

After a full day of investigation, Turan’s group finally caught up to Renod.

“Found him.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Three nobles, thirty-eight knights… two must have died or split off for some reason. Looks like there are three beasts too. Probably bonded to the nobles.”

“I overheard earlier that it is a four-day trip to Nagin’s capital, so he would have reached home tomorrow or the day after. We got lucky.”

In the dark night, Turan used the holy relic’s senses to peer into the Nagin mages’ campsite hundreds of meters away as if it were in his palm.

Since Renod had been named the representative of the Nagin nobles, the strongest mage among them was likely him.

Indeed, one of the three possessed upper-tier noble-level magic.

“Renod was not considered an heir in the Nagin family, right?”

“Right. Just notably skilled.”

“He does seem about that level from what I can see.”

Leaving Meisa, Solif, and Bije to wait on one side, Turan cast a stealth spell and entered the Nagin campsite.

A barrier was set up, likely by a barrier mage among the nobles, but with his piercing senses and flight ability, he breached it easily.

“Whew, it is getting chilly. I can feel we are back home.”

“The south was nice and warm with summer.”

“Warm, brother? I was dying from the heat.”

“A knight complaining like that!”

Turan tuned out the knights’ chatter, avoiding the bright bonfire as he approached Renod.

Just then, a growl sounded nearby, and a massive beast passed by.

“A wolf… no, a dog?”

A dog whose head reached human height even on all fours prowled around, glancing toward Turan.

There was also a bear and an elk, both even larger.

Truly a composition worthy of a great family with the Tamer bloodline.

Shortly after, Turan reached the largest tent where Renod stayed.

Before entering, he heightened the holy relic’s senses, revealing the symbols of the person inside.

A hand reaching toward a dog-like beast represented Tamer, and a human figure with strings attached, controlled from above, represented Ruler.

Fortunately, no other symbols appeared.

“Only two bloodline abilities so far. Still, just in case…”

Activating all his defensive artifacts, Turan lifted the tent flap and stepped inside, tense.

If Renod revealed himself as a vessel of the Freya divine lineage and unleashed power, the Soul of Fire would erupt, signaling Meisa and Solif to rush in.

Yet, despite this caution, Renod merely lounged crookedly in a chair, showing no reaction, looking bored.

After waiting nearly a minute, Turan let out a small sigh of relief.

“What? Was it not Renod?”

He had suspected Renod due to his potential to harm the librarian, but surprisingly, Renod had only two bloodlines and failed to notice Turan’s approach.

Of course, Zahar stealth was typically undetectable even by top-tier nobles without special means.

Or perhaps, like Badal Arabion before, a third bloodline only appeared when magic was activated.

Turan calmly analyzed Renod’s possessions and the artifacts within the tent.

If he had subdued a spirit, it would naturally be stored in an object imbued with magical power.

“The cloak does not seem likely… the staff is suspicious, so should I take it? On hold for now. The ring is on his finger, so I cannot snag it quietly. And this…”

Turan’s gaze settled on a chest in the tent’s corner, specifically a jewel box inside it.

Slightly larger than a palm.

Not only did it radiate unusually strong magic compared to the other artifacts, but something grey shimmered within.

“Could this be it?”

From its appearance to the properties felt through the holy relic’s senses, everything pointed to it.

This was likely the artifact sealing the spirit.

Glancing at Renod, Turan slipped the jewel box into his cloak, exited the tent, and returned to Meisa and Solif.

Naturally, none of the Nagin mages noticed this.

Releasing his stealth, Turan let out a deep breath.

“Hoo.”

“Did you find it? Was it Renod?”

“You were not caught, were you?”

Meisa and Solif, waiting anxiously, spoke up quickly.

Both seemed burdened by the possibility of facing a divine entity while waiting nearby.

“I was not caught and found this. I am not certain, but I think what we are looking for is inside.”

“An artifact? None of us are enchanters, so we cannot confirm it right away. Is it safe to just open it?”

“We do not have time to find Asiz. If this is not it, we will have to ambush them, subdue them, and interrogate. Bije, we might need to flee immediately, so keep the swing ready, will you?”

[Got it!]

Smiling slightly at Bije’s confident writing, Turan carefully opened the jewel box.

Considering it might be a trap, he stood apart from the others with defensive artifacts activated.

With a hiss, thick smoke poured out, and a muttering voice emerged from within.

“Ugh, where am I now?”

“Long time no see, elder.”

Recognizing the librarian’s voice from not long ago, Turan greeted him with a smile.