Shepherd Wizard-Chapter 170.2

Turan spent several more hours inside the soul prison afterward.

He persistently interrogated Jemel, questioned another Carmine god, compared their testimonies, and checked with the half-elves one by one, which took quite a bit of time.

Still, he was able to uncover quite a lot.

First, that the gods of Carmine once numbered seven, and now there were five.

Second, that unless the head of House Carmine was removed, there was essentially no turning back in their relationship.

And finally, the third thing...

“They’re up to something suspicious over there?”

“Yeah. They don’t know exactly what, but apparently they’ve seemed even busier lately.”

In response to Meisa’s question, Turan replied as he put a bite of raspberry pie into his mouth, left behind by the maids.

Now that she was pregnant, Meisa had come to prefer sour flavors, so their meals lately often included more fruit.

“He’s been playing both sides for centuries, but it’s only in recent decades that communication with the other side has noticeably decreased. He used to meet secretly in person, but at some point, he started only sending agents or communicating via letters.”

Jemel had said that Monarch seemed to be completely preoccupied with something.

Otherwise, why would he offer up a sacred relic he’d kept for thousands of years just to deal with Turan’s forces?

“And with what Badal said before... yeah, it does seem suspicious. I don’t think he’s just lying low because his power has weakened.”

Of course, even if Monarch was scheming something, it was hard to redirect their military focus toward him.

Right now, the enemies geographically closer to Parsha-Varaha were the invading Great Sea Serpent mermaids, House Carmine, and House Ruvan.

“In that sense, there’s something I’d like you to do, Meisa.”

“What is it?”

"A letter. Recently, Ashiz finally succeeded in infiltrating a spy into House Aravion."

That was only possible because House Berk had originally been one of House Aravion’s vassals.

Although the critical affairs at that time had been handled by the now-deceased Berk couple, the knights who had managed the practical work were still around.

Through them, Turan planned to help Meisa build her own faction within House Aravion.

“Do you really think that’s possible?”

“I believe it is. House Aravion isn’t what it used to be.”

House Aravion had originally been divided into three major factions based on age, but now, the faction of middle-aged high nobles who had persecuted Meisa, the most powerful of the three, was practically destroyed.

One of the power centers, Cadrum, was dead, and many other influential nobles had taken heavy losses in several battles with Turan.

Currently, the mainstream of House Aravion consisted more of the younger faction, those who hadn’t voiced opinions back then but had favorable feelings toward Meisa and viewed her persecution as unjust.

Some among them had even gained stronger magic power through the corpses of their enemies and comrades, giving them a significantly stronger voice than before.

“Of course, that side isn’t what it used to be either. Since we fought each other, there are still quite a few who consider you a traitor......”

“I don’t care about people like that.”

Those who did nothing but stand by with their arms crossed when she was struggling, only to curse her once she exploded, why should she care about people like that?

Turan shook his head as he looked into Meisa’s sharp eyes.

“Anyway, our goal is to gather more useful information through the faction we want to persuade.”

If Monarch had even detected the conversation he’d had with Jemel in the soul prison, he would have shown some kind of reaction.

There had to be a reason he was so obsessively secretive about any information regarding himself.

And if the other side did react, there would be no quicker way to detect it than through the spy planted inside Aravion.

*

At the time Turan was busy handling post-war paperwork.

Solif was embracing his lover tightly along the riverbank in the northern part of the Land of the Lakes, enjoying a moment of affection.

"Was I too late?"

“I missed you. Solif……”

Berit pressed her head against Solif’s chest, tears welling in her brilliant green eyes.

Even then, it was a careful - or bluntly speaking, calculated, skinship to avoid smudging the makeup on her face.

A moment later, Berit gently pushed him away, blushing slightly.

"I might smell. I've been camping here for a while."

“I’m the one who probably stinks. I just came back from a fight. I’m not a Zahar; only nice smells come from you.”

He had returned to Kalamaf and washed up quickly before coming, but someone with Zahar’s sharp sense of smell wouldn’t fail to catch the lingering scents of blood, entrails, and filth.

Especially since Solif had pierced through the body of a Great Sea Serpent and split it in two from the inside.

At his words, Berit didn’t lie and say he didn’t smell, she simply smiled sweetly.

A ladylike appearance completely different from her original personality.

If it had been Turan, he would have grimaced and openly called it fox-like behavior, but to Solif's eyes, it only looked good.

And truly, Berit was only acting this way because she knew it suited his taste, so it couldn’t be called wrong.

“Anything happen while I was away?”

“No. Thanks to the magic artifact sister gave me, I killed all those who came snooping.”

She even mentioned that one of them had been a Zahar noble, which made Solif furrow his brow.

“Zahar……?”

“They probably wanted to gather intel on this side. Judging by the fact they only sent a minor noble from a branch family, it didn’t seem like they considered it that important.”

Still, as they were of the same bloodline, she had initially warned him to reveal his identity by dropping his concealment. But when he ignored her, she said with a shy confession-like tone, she just killed him.

In this ruthless aspect, she was eerily similar to Turan.

Maybe it was because they were sixth cousins.

“But starting a little while ago, their movements seem off. They used to be somewhat careless, but now it feels different……”

“Maybe they figured out our bluff. That’s why I came quickly.”

Carmine and the Great Sea Serpent forces had been utterly defeated only a few hours earlier.

Unless they had something like a spatial transfer artifact or communication magic artifacts with the help of a powerful Enchanter like Meisa, there was no way such news could have traveled already.

In other words, even if they’d sensed flaws in Varaha’s forces, they had no solid evidence, only a hunch.

In that situation, Solif’s appearance would certainly serve to change their minds.

“Um, Berit nim! They’ve launched a raft onto the river…… Family Head!”

At that moment, a Varaha noble who emerged from the bushes was startled to see Solif and immediately stood at attention.

“Oh, Brother Arke."

“Uh…… you two are close?”

“A bit.”

Not wanting to admit they were just gambling buddies, Solif gave a vague answer, while Berit, who had been treating him like a subordinate without restraint, became visibly flustered.

Watching the two of them, Arke Varaha urgently called out.

“More importantly, it’s an emergency! They’ve launched a raft this way, and the heir of House Ruvan is said to be on board……”

“The heir of Ruvan?”

If so, it must be Calais, whom he had met before.

Meeting him again didn’t seem like a bad idea.

Though the chances were slim, just as him and Meisa had been persuaded by Turan to become allies, perhaps he could also be accepted as one of them.

If he could normalize House Ruvan that way, it would mean completely taking the eastern part of the world from the gods.

"I'll go see. Don't come out, Berit. It's better to keep you hidden."

“Okay. Be careful.”

Berit kissed her lover’s lips, paying no mind to Arke standing beside them.

Solif, momentarily smiling foolishly, quickly resumed a solemn expression and moved toward the riverside.

“Uh……”

“No way?”

“Everyone quiet! It’s the family head. Show your respect. Don’t kneel, just bow your heads!”

If everyone here bowed down completely, it would be obvious that this camp consisted solely of commoners.

Following the Varaha knight’s command, the commoners offered a clumsy greeting, bowing their heads awkwardly to Solif.

Passing through them, Solif saw a raft floating near the riverbank, with three or four nobles standing atop it.

"It's been a while, Solif!"

Calais, waving his hand cheerfully, looked no different from before.

That enormous frame nearly two meters tall, the muscular body, and the cheerful expression were all the same.

But Solif’s face as he looked at him was heavy and sunken.

"Oh, I'm already too late..."

“Too late? For what?”

“We didn’t meet often, but Calais always called me ‘hyung’. Not once did he use my name.”

Not just his way of speaking, his gaze toward Solif was different, too.

It wasn't difficult to notice the change from a somewhat sticky gaze to one that was plain and even bland.

"Well, I've been caught. You're sharper than I thought."

Calais, or more precisely, the former head of House Ruvan who had taken over his body, smiled awkwardly.

*****

For more chapters, you can check out my Patreon here –>https://patreon.com/Pai_

If you enjoy this novel, please review and rate it at Novelupdates. Thanks! 😊