PLOM Part 2 Chapter 3 – Moonlight Novels

Part 2 Episode 3

We spent a month searching for the Hawk Talon clan in this labyrinthine Aragald.

‘Damn Aragald. The people of the Hawk Talon clan must be masochists who enjoy the cold and pass that down to generation after generation. Why would they prefer such a remote place in a highly developed modern society?’

I should have instilled fear in White in the past and said something like, “<The Hawks clan will be cursed for generations if they don’t move to a place with a mild climate and flat terrain!>”

Rue looked back at me as I walked like a lost ghost.

“Rue, are you tired? Do you want a hug?”

I stared at Rue standing motionless on the slope and then grabbed his hand, hoisting him onto my back.

The handsome blue-haired man, who was obediently carried without resistance, was busy laughing. There was no doubt that seeing me look like I was dying while climbing the mountain was amusing to him.

However, this heroic show of strength couldn’t last long. It was because Rue’s long limbs got buried in the snow and increased its resistance.

In the end, I gave up on giving him a piggyback ride and put him down, and Rue, as if he had been waiting, grabbed my hand and walked ahead.

“You know, Rue.”

Why was that?

For some reason, the closer the flickering lights appeared like a mirage beyond the cold wind, the greater my sense of unease grew.

“If I’m right, this area is clearly our destination, yet I don’t sense any signs of human presence at all.”

Rue chuckled softly.

“Sharp observation. Humans who make the peak of Aragald their home usually fall into two categories: dead or about to die.”

“Why do you have to say such an ominous thing right before we arrive?”

“But Daisy, think about it. Nothing would have changed even if I had said this a fortnight ago, right?”

That was because I had a reason to meet the Hawk Talon clan.

With a faint hope, we quickly narrowed the distance that was only a few steps away from the brightening lanterns.

Then, I had to resign myself to the reality that the ominous premonition was indeed accurate.

Resign myself? No, I was completely lost in the hopeless sight before my eyes.

The Hawk Talon clan’s village we finally arrived at was nothing but ruins with only old shell frames left behind.

“Whew……”

WHIRRRR.

The blizzard howled.

About seven or so wooden houses haphazardly gathered in the narrow flatland. However, there was not a single intact space; they were all either destroyed or abandoned with only cold air lingering.

Even after we walked around, the only noticeable things were the ground buried in snow, the frozen boards, and the occasional signs of migration. Damn it.

“They must have abandoned this place. And a while ago, too.”

I asked back in a tired voice, “How long ago would that be?”

“Hmm. I’d guess at least half a century ago.”

So…… they abandoned this neighborhood and descended the mountain half a century ago?

Should I be relieved that the Hawk Talon clan were not a bunch of masochists who enjoyed the pain of the wilderness? If they had indeed been a bit perverted, this suffering of mine would have ended here.

Lying buried in the snow, I opened the pouch I had carefully kept inside my bag.

Soon, a tiny head popped up and looked at me, crying.

Peep-

It was a baby grey hawk.

“Rue.”

Rue (the demi-god) glanced at me, confirming that my conversation partner was Ru (the baby hawk), and then turned his head away again.

“What should we do, Ru? A month’s journey has been in vain.”

Tweet.

“I thought we might meet your distant relatives by coming here.”

Everything was gone.

Why had we been wandering around Mount Agalad in struggle for a month?

It was to find the Hawk Talon clan and learn from them how to raise and communicate with the baby grey hawk, ‘Ru’.

The grey hawk Ru was a precious heirloom that had been asleep for a long time in the ‘Dian Cecht’s eyes’. Therefore, it was my duty to raise and educate this lovely creature to the best of my abilities.

Because Dian Cecht was my friend and the savior of my life.

‘But how can that lantern be intact?’

A lone lantern intact amidst the ruins.

I rose and approached the suspicious flame.

Now that I looked closely, the small and sturdy lantern was not floating in the air but embedded in a stone pillar firmly fixed in the ground. The language engraved on the rather wide pillar was very unfamiliar.

I asked Rue, who had arrived earlier and was examining the pillar.

“What does it say?”

After a brief silence, Rue’s gentle voice echoed through the blizzard.

“The Hawk Talon clan (grey hawk) participated in the Glass Violet War that broke out in the year 1550 of the Aragald calendar, contributing to the restoration of peace and freedom in the Kingdom of Astrosa. Moreover, they are the only clan that has inherited the falconry method using the now extinct grey hawk.”

‘The Glass Violet War?’

Ah, the war that the rebels commanded by Rue in his human days fought in.

“In the year 1650, marking the 100th anniversary of the Glass Violet War, the Hawk Talon clan migrated to the Kingdom of Banahel. Since they were the last indigenous people to inhabit Mount Aragald, this place is commemorated by leaving it as a 1st-grade cultural heritage of the Kingdom of Banahel.”

So these ruins were a cultural heritage sight.

No, was it because they were ruins that they remained as a cultural heritage? Setting aside the records, the information that the Hawk Talon clan migrated to the Kingdom of Banahel was very welcome.

The Kingdom of Banahel.

A country that wielded the second most influence in the Northern Continental Union after the kingdom of Astrosa – it was the root and heart of the Northern Continent’s culture and was closely related to the history of Rogue. I don’t know any more details, so we’re moving on.

Rue, who had been looking at the pillar for a while silently, slowly stroked his chin.

“Hmm. It’s kind of disgusting.”

“I find this whole situation abhorrent too. And to think we have to repeat the hardship for another month as we descend the mountain.”

“It’s not that… I don’t remember agreeing to designate the ‘territory of the Hawk Talon clan’ as a 1st-grade cultural heritage of the Kingdom of Banahel, Daisy.”

“Agree? Does a country belonging to the Union need the demi-god’s permission to designate a cultural heritage?”

“Yes, and, given the deep connection between the Hawk Talon clan and me, there’s no way I wouldn’t have heard about a major event like migration. It’s strange. The king of Banahel, that timid fellow, couldn’t have deliberately hidden it.”

A look of pure questioning, rather than displeasure or anger, appeared on Rue’s face.

Then, after stretching for a while, I took out my compass and map.

(tl’s bad attempt to translate the map)

“How about we head down to the Kingdom of Banahel to get the answer to that question? The Hawk Talon Clan is there anyway.”

“It’s the most efficient way.”

“Let’s see… if we move along the shortest route in this direction, it should take about a week to arrive, right? Once we get there, we’ll be able to warm ourselves up in a bath and enjoy a proper meal. Something other than dried meat or bits of dried fruit, like a steaming hot fish stew with plenty of pepper.”

“Of course.”

“But Rue, what identity do you masquerade as in the Kingdom of Banahel? A noble? A tycoon?”

Rue gave me a secretive smile.

Seeing that he just gathered the compass and map without giving me an answer, it seemed he had no intention of telling me.

Without giving a specific answer, he seemed to have no intention of telling me as he gathered the compass and map. Considering Rue’s status in Astrosa, it seemed likely that he was using the wealth and status of a noble family whose lineage had been cut off. He was a Calepa, so he wouldn’t be broke.

‘Judging by that somewhat sinister smile, he might not have an ordinary identity.’

Hmm. Could he be disguising himself as royalty?

It was a pretty good guess, wasn’t it? From what he’d said, he seemed to be close with the King of Banahel.

Was he masquerading as the king’s own brother?

Oh, who in the world would do such a crazy thing? Well, Rue would, of course. If he was a royal, even better. We’d at least be able to get a good rest after all this hardship.

One week later.

We arrived in front of a dilapidated townhouse in the busy slums.

I knew Rue would pull some bs like this

They’re married, btw. They’re husband and wife. This was a conversation between husband and wife. screech

The Northern Deus mountain can also, I learned recently, because of the joining of the 데우 with the 스산 can also mean Divine if related to a similar context, so I added both translations there. I will use Deus in the story until this is clear though. I am also unsure about one or two names in there but your tl tried her best lol, names are harddd.

here’s the og map: