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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Max]
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Chapter 3: An Unexpected Invitation (1)
Hamel descended from the tree with light steps.
The baby, nestled in his arms, slept soundly.
"Follow me."
With those words, Hamel started walking somewhere.
The village headman followed him as if in a trance. Before long, they arrived at a clearing.
"This is..."
"The monster's feeding ground."
The first thing that caught their eye was the carcass of a deer.
Its upper body, brutally torn, hung pathetically from a tree. The deer's blood, still fresh, dripped down, staining the surroundings red.
Around it were blood-stained rocks, torn clothes, and scattered bones.
Some belonged to animals, but others were unmistakably human.
Hamel silently gathered the scattered remains.
He skillfully collected what appeared to be human bones and set aside anything that could be considered a personal belonging.
That was all.
As if he had finished his business there, Hamel headed down towards the village.
A strange silence fell between the two.
How long had they been walking?
The rustling of leaves filled the air as the buildings of the village came into view.
The village headman was inwardly relieved that this uncomfortable journey was coming to an end.
"Why did you do that?"
Hamel asked abruptly.
But the village headman knew what he was asking.
Feeling that the inevitable had come, the village headman closed his eyes tightly and confessed his guilt.
It was less a confession of repentance and more like a criminal's admission.
"...The mansion I guided you to today was a nobleman's house. I had no choice but to prioritize it."
"There would have been a way to protect both children in one place."
Hamel paused, then sighed and continued.
"I did suggest it, but the Baron, the owner of the mansion, refused."
"..."
Hamel didn't press further.
He simply nodded in understanding.
However, he didn't hide his expression, which had grown even colder.
***
After delivering the bones to the villagers, Hamel immediately headed to the Order's temple.
Inside the rattling carriage, Hamel closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall.
He hadn't found any clues this time either.
How many more times would he have to repeat this?
The Priest of Azure Flame.
The youngest exorcist.
These were the names people called him.
But Hamel didn't think he was such a great person.
'On the contrary.'
Yes, maybe he was half-baked.
With an impassive face, Hamel scoffed at himself, recalling the scene of handing over the belongings.
The three missing children had returned home as skeletons.
Even if he had expected it, seeing it with his own eyes was undeniably different.
The parents of the children collapsed on the spot, staring blankly and shedding tears.
Some wailed like animals.
As if they were about to die.
As if they had lost all reason and strength to live.
Yet, Hamel couldn't do anything.
He couldn't even shed tears with the bereaved families or offer comfort.
His emotions had dried up.
'Only for revenge.'
He had forgotten sadness, compassion, and fear.
Hamel quietly took out the pendant hanging around his neck and opened it.
Inside was a portrait of a smiling woman and a strange scale.
The woman in the portrait was his mother.
Murdered by a monster in her bedroom.
Creak!
The leather strap wrapped around the hilt of his tightly gripped sword creaked as if about to tear.
***
He still vividly remembered that day.
That day, he wanted to hear the fairy tale his mother often told him.
He went to his mother's bedroom in his pajamas and heard a strange animalistic sound.
He was scared, but an unknown force made him turn the doorknob.
Thanks to that, Hamel encountered an unforgettable being that day.
Blood-soaked bed sheets and his mother's clothes torn to shreds.
And the monster, drenched in blood, greeted him.
Rustle!
Scales rippled on the monster's skin, and its gaping maw slowly approached Hamel.
Frozen like a stone, Hamel felt fear rather than anger.
He desperately wished it wouldn't come any closer.
At that moment, Hamel awakened his power.
Azure flames bloomed, and the monster recoiled in shock.
That was the end of his memory.
Hamel lost consciousness.
When he came to, the monster was gone, and the mansion was in complete chaos.
Dozens of mages were dispatched to hunt down the monster, but they found nothing.
The only evidence was a single scale, presumed to be from the monster.
Hamel had never forgotten the monster since that day.
Not long after the incident, Hamel left the mansion.
He had no regrets.
He was born with a lack of mana anyway.
The Gilmore clan, a renowned magic family.
Despite being the second son of the clan, Hamel, who wasn't born with even a shred of mana, was destined to be expelled someday.
Rather than being expelled, he left on his own.
Dreaming of revenge.
***
He ended up at the Order.
There was no better place to investigate the monster that had devoured his mother.
Fortunately, Hamel awakened his unique ability not long after entering the Order.
Azure Flame.
He gained complete control over the very ability that had saved his life from the monster.
As a result, he became an exorcist priest at the young age of 12, the youngest ever.
However, that was all he was allowed.
Hamel lacked more than just mana.
No matter how much he prayed, divine power wouldn't accumulate in his body.
Naturally, he couldn't learn blessings or consecrations. Even his unique ability remained stagnant for years, showing no signs of growth.
He became a half-baked priest.
Time passed, and he reached the present.
The clergy of the Order were disappointed by the fall of the genius.
Of course, their opinions didn't matter to Hamel.
But he couldn't give up on revenge.
He pondered ways to become stronger and gathered information about monsters.
He compensated for his weaknesses in other ways.
He gripped his sword until his hands bled, mastering its use.
While other exorcists honed their abilities and divine power, he focused solely on martial skills.
He had a talent for swordsmanship, but even that was reaching its limits.
Hamel, lacking mana, couldn't imbue his sword with aura.
'An awkward in-between.'
That was Hamel, himself.
He had a unique ability useful for exorcism, but no divine power.
He had a talent for swordsmanship, but couldn't use aura.
A half-baked cleric who couldn't even comfort the wounded.
As Hamel willingly indulged in self-loathing,
"We've arrived, Priest-nim."
The coachman called out to him.
Clip-clop!
The horse came to a stop, and the carriage door opened.
Hamel stiffly nodded to the coachman and got off.
The bright morning sun had risen, showering him with its light.
Yet, Hamel didn't remove his robe.
Instead, he pulled it further down, covering his face, and hurried towards the temple.
"Young Master."
At that moment, a familiar voice reached his ears.
He reflexively looked up to find the owner of the voice.
An elderly man, neatly dressed in a suit.
Who could it be?
'Young Master... No one calls me that anymore...'
Hamel paused, his thoughts catching up, and looked at the old man's face again.
"...Gail?"
"I'm grateful you remember this old man."
"What brings you here?"
He asked indifferently, but honestly, he was bewildered.
Forgetting even his exhaustion, Hamel stared at him.
Gail, the head butler of the Gilmore family.
He was his father's right-hand man, the head butler, and a key figure in managing the estate.
Although Hamel only knew him from his childhood, Gail was one of the few people in the main house who treated him well, so he remained in his memory.
"This is a message from the Lord."
A message, so suddenly?
Hamel unconsciously furrowed his brow.
It was the first contact from the main house in years.
Has something happened?
Hamel cautiously accepted the letter and spoke to Gail.
"Please come in for now. I'll give you a room."
"Thank you for your consideration, Young Master."
Gail bowed deeply.
Hamel was uncomfortable with the title "Young Master" and the excessive courtesy, but he didn't show it.
He simply suppressed his fatigue and entered the temple. For Hamel, patience was more familiar than breathing.
***
After providing Gail with a small room, Hamel went to his study.
He wanted to calmly examine the contents of the letter.
He had intended to report the incident in the village to the bishop immediately, but he was curious about what his father's message contained.
Slide, thud!
Hamel paused as he was about to remove the seal with a letter opener.
'It's already opened?'
He felt a sense of incongruity from the sealing wax, but his attention was quickly drawn elsewhere.
A nostalgic feeling suddenly washed over him.
Five petals that looked like an overturned helmet.
The clan crest caught his eye.
'This is our clan crest. Wolfsbane.'
One of the few memories he shared with his father flashed through his mind. The memory was faint.
But his father always looked at Hamel with a mixture of love and resentment.
Probably because he was a half-baked child who wasn't born with mana.
He held no resentment now.
It would be a lie to say he didn't feel any such emotions, though.
Because he now knew what it meant to lack mana in a family of mages.
Hamel unfolded the letter indifferently and slowly read through its contents.
[To my dear son,]
[My son, do you remember the lush forest of our estate from long ago?]
[The salt mine full of life? The coastline with the blue ocean spread out before it, you must still remember those, right?]
[And the grand mansion of our family, where you could see all of this at a glance.]
He remembered it all.
The forest that occupied half of the estate, the salt mine that was the estate's main industry.
And the harbor used to sell the salt.
He hadn't visited the estate once since he was expelled, but still, he had lived there for 12 years.
'But why suddenly...?'
He was a little puzzled.
And at the same time, uneasy.
Has something gone wrong?
Hamel continued reading the rest of the letter.
[All of that is on the verge of disappearing.]
[If this continues, the family and the estate will fall and be consumed by darkness.]
[I need your help.]
[Please remember our family motto.]
"...We are explorers of the abyss, we will dispel the darkness and illuminate the mysteries."
Hamel muttered quietly with a frown.
It was an old memory, but hard to forget. Because his father smiled kindly at him only when he taught him the family motto.
After pondering the contents of the letter for a moment, Hamel rummaged through it and tilted his head.
'Is this the end?'
No matter how much he thought about it, this letter was strange.
The content, the circumstances, everything was questionable.
Above all,
"The fall of the clan...?"
The Gilmore clan was quite wealthy and a long-established, prestigious magic family.
What could be happening there?
Hamel got up from his seat and walked to the next room.
He wanted to hear the details from Gail.
Knock knock!
Hamel knocked on the wooden door and called out to Gail.
"Gail. I have something to ask you. May I come in?"
He waited for a while, but there was no answer or sound from the room.
Had he fallen asleep already?
Hamel slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. The door opened without resistance, accompanied by the creaking sound of its hinges. And there...
Creak creak creak!
Gail, hanging by his neck, was smiling broadly.
His eyes, however, were filled with madness.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Max]
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