Shepherd Wizard

Chapter 97

Translator: Pai_

The moment he heard the identity of the person sitting across from him, Turan quickly grabbed Meisa’s hand tightly.

Her body, which had instinctively tried to turn toward Turan, stiffened.

‘At least it's a relief that the person in question isn’t here.’

When they had entered, Solif had been introduced as a attendant of wandering knight origin, so he was currently resting in the servant quarters while looking after Bije.

Thinking back to their first meeting, Solif’s acting skills were not particularly bad, but the chances of him maintaining his composure upon suddenly meeting his father were slim.

"Godis, this is Turan and Miss Misha, whom I mentioned before. It just so happens that we met at the perfect time."

"I am Godis Varaha. In the name of the Sun, may infinite glory be upon you two young ones."

Godis, who greeted them in an old-fashioned manner, gazed at Turan and Meisa with somewhat drowsy eyes.

His eyes were filled with the intent to scrutinize his opponents.

"So, Turan, do you happen to know which family that man, Sol, who accompanied you back then, belongs to? I didn’t realize it at the time, but now that I look at it, he looks exactly like the heir to the Varaha family I mentioned then."

"I am not sure either. In fact, we parted ways not long after leaving the hot springs."

"Oh, I see. That is unfortunate, Godis."

Upon hearing this, Godis looked at Turan with his deep-set eyes and asked again.

"You are Turan, correct?"

"Yes."

"Did you happen to subdue a pirate group in the South Sea recently?"

"That’s correct. I don't quite remember the name, but there were some people who dared to kidnap and enslave others, so I took care of them."

After saying that, Turan added as if he had just remembered something.

"Now that I think about it, I did meet that friend back then. There were three islands that the pirates used as their base, so I was dealing with them one by one, and by the time I reached the last island, he had already taken care of all the executives."

This was a story that Turan came up with on the spot.

That he went to subjugate the Corvinus pirates, met Solif, who had independently dealt with the Varaha nobles, and later parted ways after briefly traveling together.

‘Of course, this won’t completely dispel his suspicions, but…’

As long as he could make it ambiguous whether or not Turan had actually clashed with the Varaha nobles, that would be enough of a gain.

"I see… Did that Sol happen to mention where he was heading?"

"I heard he was heading west. He had heard stories about the Sky Mountain Range and said he wanted to see beyond it."

Since Solif had actually expressed a desire to go there, it wasn’t a lie.

Though, of course, they probably wouldn't believe it outright.

"Are you currently traveling alone with just the two of you?"

"We recently hired a servant who was formerly a wandering knight. He is a diligent attendant."

Since more than a few people had already seen Solif upon entering, Turan responded nonchalantly as if it were a passing remark.

Upon hearing this, Godis widened his eyes and asked,

"Would it be possible for me to meet this servant?"

As expected, he suspected that Solif had disguised himself.

It made sense that he did not believe the heir to the Varaha family would be acting as a attendant, he knew his son well enough for that.

Just as Turan was about to refuse in annoyance, Rida lightly clapped her hands to divert attention.

"Now, Godis! While it’s good to have an enthusiastic conversation, I also wish to talk with my old friends. Could we perhaps-"

"Madam, I still have matters to discuss with these young ones."

Perhaps he believed he had found a clue in the fact that the one suspected to be Solif had been changed to a servant. Godis interrupted Rida with a somewhat angry demeanor.

For a brief moment, people frowned at his rudeness, but then a cold voice quickly subdued the atmosphere in the reception room.

"Look here, Varaha."

Rida, who always had a languid attitude as if she had lived through everything in the world despite her youthful face, was now staring at Godis with a cold expression that no one had ever seen before.

"I have welcomed you as a guest and have treated you generously for weeks, yet you are now even interfering with my reunion with an old friend. Moreover, it seems you are practically conducting an interrogation."

"I was merely-"

"I treated you with the courtesy befitting an elder, despite you being younger than my grandson, yet now you dare look down on me!"

With a sharp rebuke, a cracking sound echoed as the broken smoking pipe fell onto the leopard-print rug.

As Godis, overwhelmed by the fierce atmosphere, apologized and left the reception room, Rida finally let out a deep sigh.

“He really is a tiresome fellow. My apologies, Turan and Miss Misha. I brought you here as my guests, only to show you such an unpleasant sight.”

“That man seemed to suspect my servant. I’m worried he might try to track him down and harm him.”

“If he dares to do such a thing, I can assure you he won’t leave Merem alive. He wouldn’t dare cross me.”

It was unlike the ever-gentle Rida to react so fiercely, suggesting that she was quite angered by Solif’s father.

She lightly rang the bell beside her to summon an attendant, then ordered them to stop Godis if he attempted to seek out Turan’s servant.

“When did that man arrive?”

“Perhaps a little over two weeks ago.”

After saying this, Rida's expression turned somewhat apologetic.

“When I returned home and looked at the portraits, I realized your companion had the same face. I shared the story with my family as a bit of amusement, but then one of my grandchildren went and reported it to the Varaha family in hopes of getting a magic artifact.”

Come to think of it, hadn’t they promised a fairly decent magic artifact just for reporting Solif’s whereabouts?

To someone like Rida, such a reward would be meaningless, but to a young noble, it was certainly tempting.

“So that’s what happened…”

“I must apologize once again for causing you such trouble. I scolded the child thoroughly, so please forgive them.”

“There’s nothing to forgive. It’s not like I specifically asked for secrecy.”

Since he had come with a request, Turan accepted Rida’s apology with a gracious smile.

*

After exchanging some small talk and catching up to lighten the mood, Turan finally got to the main reason for his visit.

He wanted Meisa, using the alias Misha, to receive treatment for a serious injury.

“Oh? She’s injured? She looks fine on the surface… No, in fact, she looks much better than before. Back then, she was far too thin, but she’s much healthier now. Though she could still use a bit more weight.”

Typically, to grandmothers, young people always seemed too skinny unless they were severely overweight.

At Rida’s remark, Meisa gave an awkward smile before lifting her clothes slightly to reveal the amputation wound below her waist.

Rida's eyes widened in shock at the gruesome sight.

“This…?”

“She was injured while hunting a powerful magical beast recently. We treated it as best we could, but as you can see, the condition is quite poor.”

“My goodness… For nobles of your caliber to sustain such injuries, the beast must have been stronger than even Aikul.”

Turan briefly imagined Aikul fighting against a Great Sea Serpent.

That monkey king, possessing magic power on par with Solif before he absorbed the sea serpent’s power, was undoubtedly formidable. However, against that monstrous beast, he likely wouldn’t have stood much of a chance.

“That’s right.”

“Well, at least it’s not a difficult request. Normally, hiring a healer of my level would require filling a room with gold and jewels. But since I already owe you an apology, I’ll do it for free.”

At Rida’s playful attempt to make a show of generosity, Meisa bowed her head respectfully in gratitude.

“Thank you for your help, Lady Rida.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Now, let’s take care of this right away-”

Rida placed her hand on Meisa’s abdomen and began channeling her magic power. However, almost immediately, her expression changed.

Startled, she took a step back and muttered in a low voice,

“Miss Misha… No, just who are you…?”

“I was going to bring this up first, but Misha is quite powerful. That’s precisely why we sought you out, Lady Rida.”

Rida, her face full of suspicion, glanced back and forth between Meisa and Turan before letting out a groan.

She was likely trying to recall whether there was any noble family she knew whose members matched Meisa’s appearance. But it seemed nothing came to mind.

“As I’ve noticed before, you’re truly a friend of many secrets, Turan.”

“Will you help us?”

“Let me take another look.”

Fortunately, Rida did not press further and instead resumed examining Meisa’s wound.

Unlike before, when she had intended to perform a light treatment, this time she had Meisa lift her top halfway and carefully touched the wounded area, prompting Turan to politely turn his head away.

“This is bad.”

“Is it that serious?”

“It’s hard to say whether it’s serious or just unfortunate, but because it was clumsily patched together with weak healing abilities, the internal damage is a mess. No wonder she couldn’t move her legs when you carried her in earlier.”

According to Rida, the inside of Meisa’s body was in a makeshift, hastily repaired state.

Her internal organs and blood vessels were at least somewhat aligned, but her bones, nerves, and muscles had been crudely reattached without proper healing.

This was not only because her injury had been handled too roughly during treatment but also because the healing potion and magic artifact used were of far lower quality than what Meisa’s body required.

To properly correct a wound that had been poorly healed like this, a much stronger form of recovery magic was needed than would normally be required.

“So then…”

“To fix this, our family head will likely have to personally intervene.”

Only someone of that caliber could wield a healing power strong enough to be effective on someone like Meisa, who had grown to match the level of nobles from great families.

“If it involves borrowing the family head’s power, it won’t be free, I suppose.”

“Absolutely not. In fact, it may not even be possible at any price. Even for the family head, forcibly reconstructing such a wound would consume an immense amount of power.”

The heads of wizard families rarely left their main estates, as they needed to remain prepared to protect their families and retainers from potential attacks.

Of course, in a house like the Lavitas, which had no real enemies, the family head could afford to take a brief hot spring trip as before. However, they still needed to avoid situations that required expending vast amounts of power.

"But there is a way."

"Would you please tell us?"

“It’s much easier to heal a fresh wound than to forcibly correct one that was improperly healed.”

Upon understanding Rida’s words, Turan and Meisa’s expressions hardened.

What she meant was that they should cut her waist open again and reattach it properly.

“T-That’s…”

Meisa’s voice trembled violently as she responded, an unmistakable sign of the pain and terror she had endured during the initial injury.

However, after a brief moment, she clenched her teeth and nodded.

“I… I’ll be fine. If that’s what it takes to heal properly.”

“A brave young lady! Good, then I’ll speak with the family head myself.”

“Even with that method, is it still difficult for you to handle, Lady Rida?”

“Difficult. If it were another part of the body, I could heal it gradually, but you can’t exactly stop and rest halfway when reattaching a severed waist, can you?”

She had a point, so Turan let out a low sigh and nodded in agreement.

With the method decided, the discussion now turned to the cost of treatment.

If Rida had been the one using her magic, they might have been able to rely on her goodwill to get it for free. But with the family head personally involved, that was out of the question.

“Have you prepared anything as payment?”

“Yes. We have a fair amount of wealth.”

The vast amount of gold and silver he had mined from the island in the past was more than sufficient. And if that wasn’t enough, Turan was willing to take on a few troublesome tasks as additional compensation.

Hearing this, Rida nodded.

“Understood. I’ll inform the family head today, and if that child have time, you can meet and discuss it together.”

Turan pretended not to notice that Rida had absentmindedly referred to the family head as “that child” and carried Meisa out of the reception room.

The presence he had sensed outside for some time now finally spoke to him.

“Turan.”

The owner of the voice was none other than Solif’s father, Godis Varaha.

After leaving the reception room earlier, he had been waiting outside for Turan all this time.

“If you’re here to ask about meeting my attendant, I’m going to refuse. You’d no doubt find some excuse to cause trouble.”

“Ah… I-I see. In that case, could you at least accept this?”

Perhaps because he had just been severely reprimanded, Godis, appearing somewhat dispirited, handed over a letter instead of insisting on his request.

Since Turan’s arms were occupied carrying Meisa, she glanced at his face before accepting the letter on his behalf.

“If you ever happen to meet that Sol again… the heir of Varaha, please show him this letter.”

With those words, Godis, shoulders slumped, withdrew without further comment.

It seemed he truly intended only to deliver the letter.

“This letter… there’s nothing strange about it, is there?”

“I don’t sense anything unusual for now.”

Just as Meisa said, from the perception of the sacred relic, it was nothing more than an ordinary letter devoid of any magic power.

A short while later, upon returning to their assigned lodging, Turan first called for Solif and Bije, who were staying in the servant quarters.

“How’s your recovery going? Judging by the look on your face, not too well, I’d guess.”

“It seems we’ll have to rely on the house head’s help.”

“Ugh.”

Solif groaned immediately, clearly thinking about the cost, but then swallowed his words.

He had noticed the heavy expression on Meisa’s face as she sat on the bed.

After using wind magic to block the air around their lodging for privacy, Turan got straight to the point.

“More importantly, there’s something concerning you as well.”

“What is it?”

“Your father is here.”

At Turan’s words, Solif’s face twisted into a bizarre expression.

It was closer to bafflement than fear, anger, or rejection.

“Him? Why is he here!?”

“Looks like he was brought in as part of some kind of search party tracking your movements. The moment I mentioned having a attendant, he started suspecting it was you. If you ever run into him, be careful. Better yet, don’t meet him at all.”

“Damn… I'm not confident I won't be discovered if we meet."

Since Solif rarely spoke about his parents, Turan didn’t know exactly what kind of relationship he had with his father.

However, judging from his tone, it didn’t seem like he held deep resentment toward him.

“And your father left you a letter.”

“A letter?”

“He asked me to give it to you if I ever met you.”

Turan handed over the letter he had just received. Solif took it, and as he read, his face grew more solemn.

Soon after, his expression began to distort slightly.

"Damn, I shouldn't have looked at it."

“Why?”

“It’s the same old nonsense. Just blaming me for everything…”

With a sigh, Solif held out the letter as if telling Turan to read it himself.

Turan took it and read through it with Meisa.

Just like when they first met, Godis’s writing was filled with excessively formal and archaic expressions, making it difficult to read.

After skimming for a while, Meisa summarized it succinctly.

“In short… ‘You ran away, and your mother is heartbroken. Did you really kill the elite warriors sent to bring you back? If so, return and repent. The family head has promised to forgive all your sins.’ Something along those lines.”

“Forgiveness, my ass. They even issued a wanted notice for me.”

Solif muttered under his breath as Turan continued reading.

Just then, something felt off, and Turan narrowed his eyes.

There were several places where the spacing and phrasing felt slightly unnatural.

“Hmm…”

“What?”

“No, it’s just… this part seems a bit strange.”

“Where… Ah!”

As Meisa looked at the section Turan pointed out, she suddenly let out a small exclamation.

“If you read two letters diagonally from this point onward, it forms a hidden message. I used to do things like this with my mother when I was younger.”

“What does it say?”

At Solif’s question, Meisa traced the letters with her finger and read them aloud.

“Never… come… back.”