Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 41
“What is that?” Shivers squinted, straining to see more clearly. “Is that a light?”
Eugene, like a deflated balloon, lay lifelessly at his feet, barely looking up. “Where do you see light? I only see the moon.”
“Get up,” Shivers said unsympathetically, half-pulling him to his feet. “You’re too weak. Even the youngest squire in my team is stronger than you.”
Eugene was dissatisfied. “After choking nearly to death and walking most of the night, it’s amazing I can still breathe—is it a crime to be an ordinary person?”
“Stop complaining. We need to find them quickly.” Shivers tried to recognize the surroundings, looking for any signs left by the Duke, but it was too dark to see any trace on the trees and rocks.
This made the Knight Commander a bit anxious. Although the Duke himself wasn’t weak in combat, he always felt uneasy not having him in sight—after all, his master wasn’t someone who had to personally deal with every little trouble. All he could do now was pray that at least Charlie was with the Duke, looking out for each other. Thinking of this, he exhaled roughly, pushing Eugene a bit rudely, urging him to walk towards the faint light in the distance.
In most cases, Shivers was willing to be a gentleman, but if the other party was a lazy pig who wouldn’t move without a whip, he had no choice but to adopt the stern attitude he used to train new knights.
“Can’t we walk when it’s light?” Eugene reluctantly dragged his feet. The fatigue from escaping death in the water made him just want to close his eyes and sleep.
“No. We can’t be separated for too long,” Shivers said succinctly. “In the dark, people instinctively move towards the light, and it will be hard to determine that direction once it’s light.”
It took a while for Eugene to realize what the Knight Commander was saying, and he perked up a bit. “Is it really a light?”
He immediately thought of the farmhouses in the fields, with their heavy wooden doors blocking the cold wind outside, warm gas lamps inside, the smell of pine burning in the fireplace, and the scent of roasted chicken from dinner. A plump hostess would kindly offer the spot nearest to the fireplace to lost travelers, diligently serving bread and hot milk… Suddenly, he felt strength return to his legs.
Shivers, frowning, hurried him along without an immediate response. Initially, it was a flickering, very small light point, moving quite fast, probably a carriage lamp. Later, it became a fixed patch of light, likely stopped at a tavern or inn—the people who had already gone to bed lit lamps had rekindled the stove for the arriving carriage, making the light bright enough that even Eugene could see. This was a reasonable assumption, but for some reason, he felt a vague unease, like walking in a pitch-dark sewer, sensing creatures lurking in the dark—although invisible, that evil aura heightened his entire body’s defensive instincts to the extreme.
He worried about the Duke facing unpleasant malice head-on. It was his duty to stand guard with his sword before danger approached, but at the moment, he…
“They should be fine,” Eugene suddenly muttered.
Shivers turned to look at him.
“Your Lord, when he fights, he’s ruthlessly unlike a person. Over in the Green Woods, he broke a horse trader’s nose with a single cane strike, and that trader was a former soldier,” Eugene said. “So, no matter his appearance… Nobody dares underestimate him.”
Eugene considered himself a rakish scoundrel, and in a different setting, although he wouldn’t act disrespectfully in the presence of a crowd of nobles, he would still make jokes about Dwight in private. But after a fight on the edge of the Green Woods, to be honest, Eugene still didn’t dare to look directly at this Duke, who, despite his gentle appearance, had fists much harder than his own.
Shivers paused, realizing that the other seemed to sense his anxiety and was trying to reassure him, and suddenly smiled.
“You’re right. The Duke is strong.” The Knight Commander’s blond hair, dried by the wind, shone under the moonlight.
Eugene just breathed a sigh of relief when his collar was yanked again.
“But letting the master worry is also a knight’s dereliction of duty.” Shivers’s bright smile disappeared in an instant. “We must reach his side to support him as soon as possible, so move your lazy ass. We can’t let them touch him.”
“‘Them’?” Noticing Shivers’ word choice, Eugene was puzzled. In this wilderness, he didn’t think there were any creatures other than field mice and owls.
“I don’t know, but my gut tells me, those guys behind the lights, they’re not…” Shivers adjusted his wording carefully, cautiously saying, “Humans. At least not ordinary humans.”
“What do you mean they’re not human?”
Two figures quickly slid down the slope. The dew on the grass tips before dawn wetted their hems.
The invisibility potion didn’t make them truly invisible, but after drinking it, their scent completely merged with the surrounding environment, making them undetectable even to trained hunting dogs, as long as they remained hidden.
Charlie didn’t look back the whole way. Dwight felt that even the rabbit fur on his face was stiffly bristled, the whole person was like a perpetually alert giant hedgehog.
“They’re not natural creations. They’re the poisonous weeds that sprout at the feet of demons—the incarnations of dry bones in graves, immortal and evil creatures.” His voice, which was normally comforting and effortless, was now cold and hard, as if the words themselves could collide with a crisp clatter. “Extremely ominous, not to be tested, looked at, or touched.”
Dwight watched his firm back, feeling a strange sensation.
It was as if a delicate and novel but lifeless ornament that had been hanging on the wall suddenly gained a bit of warmth, sparking a bit of interest to look more closely.
‘He’s scared,’ Dwight thought.
The Duke, like a child who had discovered a new toy, was no longer particularly concerned about the other’s impolite act of forcing him to drink the strange potion. Instead, he observed the rabbit-headed shopkeeper’s back under the dim light of the North Star.
“So, they’re demons?” The Duke drawled. In this era when gods had fallen and demons had vanished, there still existed evil beings, neither human nor ghost. Sometimes these were remnants of the power left by demons who once roamed the land, and sometimes they were the nefarious products of black magic or alchemy, existing in various forms, but they could be destroyed by the church and mages. They were collectively known as demons.
They stopped only when they were as far away from the manor as possible.
“Strictly speaking, they’re not demons, as holy water and magic have little direct effect on them,” Charlie said, panting. It was just beginning to dawn, but he still pulled out a palm-sized pocket lighter from his coat pocket, briefly used the light to check the surroundings, then snapped it shut.
“They are ‘Lamp Bearers’,” he said in a whisper, finding a relatively flat piece of ground to sit. “No one knows where they come from or how long they have existed. They are immortal spirits that exist only for an ancient mission and cannot be commanded by outsiders.”
“Lamp Bearers… I remember similar beings in the scriptures of Legolas, the God of Darkness” Dwight said slowly. “I once visited their Starry Cathedral when I was a child. Inside, the murals depicted cloaked figures holding candlesticks, bowing as they led the way for the gods, named Chimichus, which in ancient Guchira language means ‘Gravedigger’.”
The sky gradually tinted crimson, and the air became moist and fresh.
Charlie gradually regained his composure, tipping the brim of his hat at Dwight. “Nowadays, people’s main worship has shifted from the three great gods of Darkness, Light, and Life to the gods of Sky, Earth, Sea, as well as War, Harvest, and Wealth. The once mighty three main gods have become historical symbols over time, greater in symbolic than actual significance, and even scholars studying these beliefs are no longer active. That you could accurately identify Chimichus is truly indicative of your extensive knowledge.”
“The Church’s definition of Chimichus does indeed have similarities with the Lamp Bearers. It might be a symbol rewritten from the Lamp Bearers after historical distortions. On the surface, ‘lamp bearing’ and ‘grave digging’ indeed convey the same idea—’searching’, but deeper aspects have not been unearthed or expressed… In the teachings of the God of Darkness, Chimichus exists to light the way for the gods, but the Lamp Bearers aren’t actually lighting the way for their masters. They carry the light, passing through forests, swamps, and busy streets, and following their steps, one can find a certain hidden and forbidden existence.”
He stopped there, shutting his mouth. Dwight, clearly unsatisfied, pressed, “What existence?”
Charlie made a strange expression between a smile and a frown, seemingly trying to lighten the serious atmosphere, but failed. “It’s taboo. Those who know wouldn’t easily disclose it. Everything about the Lamp Bearers is something I’ve deduced from appearances, which may not be accurate.”
Seeing Dwight’s face fall, he added, “But one thing I am sure of is that the ‘Lamp Bearers’ are as ominous as a plague. They have no emotions or logic, nor do they attack humans, but once humans come into contact with them, only regrettable outcomes follow. The wise course is to stay as far away from them as possible before the curse takes effect.”
Dwight looked at him with a half-smile, his customary mocking expression clearly conveying, “I know you’re not telling the whole truth”. But one of the old nobility’s virtues was being very perceptive, usually not indulging in unsightly prying when the other party was unwilling.
Besides, the shopkeeper had thick skin even before he turned into a rabbit-headed man, and now with an extra layer of fur, he cared even less, nonchalantly saying, “So it’s best we don’t go near that manor. The Lord of that manor’s problems are worse than we thought.”
“Let’s go downstream along the river. There should be more villages along it to buy a carriage… or a fine horse. Shivers will catch up,” Dwight said with disgust as he glanced at his coat, smeared with mud and grass. As the daylight grew brighter, he became increasingly intolerant of his own disheveled appearance.
Charlie was somewhat surprised by the Duke’s agreeableness, as it was usually the case that “if Rabbit Head dislikes something, he has to try doing it”. However, a night of disarray must have been quite unbearable for the Duke of Brandenburg, whose need for a hot bath and clean sheets surpassed his usual penchant for troubling Charlie.
Once the Duke recovered, he would probably continue to pursue the matter of the Lamp Bearers, Charlie thought, his head buzzing. Earlier, he had anticipated that they might encounter traces of the Lamp Bearers on the continent of Doran, but he didn’t expect to nearly face them so soon. It was the worst-case scenario—just seeing them from afar still left him with the shudder of a venomous reptile slithering over his spine, a threat to his life lingering long after.
They must find Columbus as soon as possible and leave this dangerous area. If necessary, he could summon Darby Belly Fish again… With this thought, Charlie turned to look deeply in the direction of the manor, pressed the brim of his top hat, and hurriedly followed the Duke, stepping on the dew, along the river.
The author has something to say:
Charlie’s words and actions are somewhat contradictory, but it’s not a bug. He just isn’t telling the whole truth.
<<< || Table of Contents || >>>
Kinky Translations 