MPNS Ch 21

Chapter 21

Because of this, he had no choice but to go out on his own to locate the remaining commanders.

‘Who were the ones still left… Jikari Griff and… who else? Was it Lucien Turun?’

The ancestor of the Marquis Jikari Griff’s family, unlike Yullan Balt, Raymon Boltwick, and Turun, was a hero of commoner birth. It was said that he had been included in the Hero Corps purely on the strength of his own abilities.

In reward for slaying the Light Dragon Nashiu, the king granted him a great prize along with the title of marquis.

The Griff family, with the reward and resources they had received at that time, founded an intelligence guild that grew into a massive organization that absorbed information from across the entire kingdom.

‘What was the original setting again…?’

Jikari Griff, who could transform into a giant hawk, remained relatively quiet compared to the other commanders even when afflicted by madness.

This was not because he was taciturn, but because he possessed a somewhat animalistic mindset, and from the very start, the boundary between his reason and his instincts had been blurred.

Because of that, unlike the other commanders who, when engulfed in madness, would transform into gigantic beasts to attack villages or cause chaos on a catastrophic scale, Jikari would simply fly off into the forest, mingling with birds, completely forgetting he was human.

Of course, during that time, the reports brought in by small animals and birds only helped the intelligence guild become even more prosperous.

‘If I remember right, his wild nature was so intense that he would sometimes vanish even without falling into madness.’

Recalling the original, Nikiel quickened his pace toward the government building that belonged to the main palace.

If Jikari Griff was the same as in the original setting, there was no way Nikiel could find him first. Even his own subordinates wouldn’t know where their leader had flown off to.

Since tracking down a bird that had taken to the skies was impossible, the only one left was Lucien Turun.

Duke Lucien Turun was a magical pharmacist. His skill at combining magic and pharmacology was considerable, producing medicines that could kill or save a human life.

Not only was he proficient in physiological medicine, but he also possessed extensive knowledge in the “alchemy” of this age — which was essentially chemistry — and could even create simple explosives. He was an intellectual type. On top of that, there was also the setting detail that he was the Minister of Magic for the Ossinis Magic Bureau.¹

Today, Nikiel intended to aim for Lucien. At most, physical contact would be limited to holding hands, but even that much was important to determine what kind of reaction such touch would provoke from the commanders.

His plan was to use skinship as a weapon to tempt them, and then bargain — asking if they had any interest in calming their madness in exchange. If he could get even one of them on his side, then along the way, he could also ask about how this “Ossinis” or “Yuksinis” Kingdom actually functioned, and how the Subjugation Tournament² unfolded.

‘Well, using skinship to expend holy power isn’t bad either.’

He needed to determine whether the degree of physical contact mattered, or whether its mere existence was sufficient. Raymon had once grabbed him by the wrist, but had shown no reaction, so Nikiel wondered if only deeper forms of contact were effective.

As he walked, he plucked a foxtail grass stem, stuck it between his upper lip and nose, then interlocked his fingers behind his head as a rest while strolling.

The weather was cool, making the walk pleasant. In any case, since his blocked holy power had burst out earlier along with bouts of coughing blood, it was easier to endure now, and thanks to the breakfast Paul had brought him, his stomach was full.

As Nikiel hummed to himself, sticking to secluded overgrown paths, he suddenly heard someone’s voice in the distance.

“Don’t. And what of it?”

Oh? Who was that? Even though the palace was vast, Nikiel felt as though he always encountered someone no matter where he wandered.

But knowing that if they met, the other person would inevitably bother him with things like, “Your Highness, what brings you here?” or “If you keep walking through the forest you’ll be bitten by a snake,” he quickly slipped behind a large tree that looked as though it had been planted as part of a row.

Peeking out, he saw a man with long, snow–white hair walking this way.

Atop his hair — a bird that was not exactly small — pecked furiously at him.

‘Oh! That black hawk-eagle!’³

Nikiel recognized the bird. It was the very same ungrateful creature whose injuries he had once treated, only for it to vanish without a word of thanks. He wanted to approach and greet it, but the man beside it seemed unusual enough that Nikiel halted in place.

‘Seriously, why are the people in this country so big? He’s tall too.’

Not only tall, but his musculature was evident even from a distance. Up close, Nikiel expected, the man’s eye level would be higher than his own.

Broad shoulders and a physique visible even under the frock coat indicated he was someone trained in martial arts.

Yet Nikiel felt something strange. Even compared to other citizens of the kingdom, who typically had unusual hair and eye colors, his appearance was markedly different.

‘…Albino?’

The man’s hair was white as freshly fallen snow, his eyes a vivid scarlet. It resembled albinism, a congenital lack of pigmentation. The ruby-like irises sparkled beneath snowy lashes.

His skin, too, was pale as snow, yet his large and imposing frame gave him a masculine impression, while his facial features leaned toward beauty rather than handsomeness — a charm born of that contrast.

Nikiel searched his memory.

‘Now that I think about it, wasn’t Lucien said to be an albino? I think he also had some congenital illness.’

As Nikiel reflected, the man addressed the bird circling above his head.

“I don’t understand why you’re trying to drag me into something you could easily do alone.”

…Was he crazy? Why was he speaking to a bird — and in formal honorifics, no less?

Nikiel forgot that when he had treated that bird before, he himself had spent the entire day talking to it, and simply thought the man was strange.

In any case, seeing this as a chance, Nikiel decided to approach and start a conversation. If he could discuss skinship and ask about alchemy, today’s venture would not be a waste.

But as Nikiel slowly stepped forward, the bird — which had been crying “chiriri” — suddenly swerved sharply and began flying straight toward him.

“Jiki!”

The man called out urgently. Without thinking, Nikiel extended his arms to catch the incoming black hawk–eagle.

It had been speeding towards him with talons spread wide as if to seize prey, but drew them in and dove into Nikiel’s arms — as though unwilling to hurt him.

“You little rascal!”

Nikiel hugged the bird carefully so that its momentum wouldn’t hurt it, laughing. Seeing it again after so long was genuinely delightful.

Just as humans might find it hard to distinguish between birds, a human like Nikiel might usually have trouble recognizing one, yet he somehow knew at a glance that this was the same bird.

And the bird likewise seemed to recognize him.

If it hadn’t, it wouldn’t now be rubbing its beak insistently against his jaw, smearing it with animal scent like a beast marking its kin.

“Why did you disappear without saying anything? You startled me.”

“Piro-ro. Piriri—.”

The bird chirped on from within his arms, and Nikiel nodded along as though he understood. While they continued their half-understood conversation, a deep voice spoke.

“Your Highness.”

Nikiel reflexively turned his head. It was the same man who had been talking to the bird earlier.

His long hair — not quite as wavy as Nikiel’s — slid down like a silver river. With utmost formality, he placed his right hand lightly over his chest and bowed his head toward Nikiel.

It was the perfect execution of court etiquette.

‘Wow, so this is that Ossinis capital-style greeting Paul was talking about.’

Nikiel thought in admiration and gave a small nod in return. The man met his eyes calmly.

Still stroking the bird’s feathers in a single direction, Nikiel regarded the man steadily.

‘Seems like he really is Lucien… How do I confirm his name?’

The man glanced at the bird in Nikiel’s arms, perhaps sighing faintly.

But since the only person in this place who didn’t sigh at the sight of him was his attendant Paul, Nikiel pressed on without hesitation.

“Well then, Duke… may I ask what brings you here?”

“I was simply taking a walk in the gardens behind the government building.”

The fact that the man showed no reaction to the title “Duke” suggested he was Lucien Turun, one of only two dukes in the kingdom.

‘The other one’s the bad-tempered Raymon, so if the man in front of me is the other duke, he must be Lucien.’

The Ossinis Kingdom covered a vast territory but had few high-ranking nobles. So if he didn’t so much as blink at being called “Duke,” that was proof enough.

While Nikiel was turning this over in his mind, Lucien gestured toward the bird in his arms.

“…Are you close with that bird?”

At his question, the bird suddenly stopped its sweet chirping and began to flap its wings and screech sharply in warning.

Lucien glared back without yielding. For a fleeting moment, Nikiel thought he saw the black pupils within the red irises narrow into vertical slits.

Startled, Nikiel pulled the bird deeper into his embrace — no doubt because the emblem of Lucien Turun’s house was a serpent.

Of course, birds of prey could eat snakes, but that serpent was no mere rattlesnake; it was closer to a venomous taipan or a gigantic python.

‘In terms of size, more like an imugi or an iron serpent.’⁴

Imugi and iron serpents do not actually exist, but the serpent Lucien could summon would likely be as large as those legendary creatures.

No matter how brave and fierce this cute little bird might be, it wouldn’t stand a chance against such a snake. Nikiel hugged it tighter, blocking it from Lucien’s sight.

notes:

1. Ossinis Magic Bureau: A high governmental body overseeing magical administration in the Ossinis Kingdom.
2. Subjugation Tournament: A large-scale recurring competition in which warriors hunt or suppress dangerous beasts or enemies.
3. The so-called “black hawk–eagle” refers to 검독수리, a large bird of prey found in Korea; here it’s likely larger and more fantasy-like in scale.
4. Imugi (이무기) and iron serpent (강철이): Mythical serpentine creatures in Korean folklore, depicted as massive and sometimes magical, akin to lesser dragons.