Navarro del Kunas has been a ronin trader for ten years, and he finds a lot of excitement in his job.

For example, being hunted down by the Imperial Guards, being held to the head with a gun, and passing through the Imperial Starport with a warehouse full of smuggled goods, but all these things are not as good as the one he is experiencing now.

He ascended to the flagship of the Eighth Army.

Just realizing this had already made his legs weak, his heart racing, and cold sweat flowing.

The environment around him was even worse, with the cold corridors and dimly lit environments escaping mist, and the faint sounds coming from the darkness in the distance, all reminding him of where this place was.

If that wasn't enough, then what was going to happen next was the horror that really hit his heart.

- He will inform the Eighth Army of the truth about the diary in 1510.

Lie?

No, this is definitely not an option to choose from. People have all kinds of speculations and conjectures about the Astartes. It was also inevitable that the Eighth Army had many rumors within the Empire.

Some even say that they bathe in human blood every day and decorate with human skin and bones. Navarro is a well-informed man, and he naturally knows that rumors are actually unreasonable and exaggerated.

However, he still vaguely knew what the Eighth Legion was doing.

He certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to lie to people like them—and he'd long since lost faith in his deception.

That is, he can only tell the truth.

Navarro del Kunas trembled behind one of the servants and came to a room.

An iron table and an iron chair waited empty in the room, and his family's diary lay on it. The servant brought him here, and was about to turn away, but Navarro quickly stopped him.

The thing smelled of preservatives, and it stood stiffly in place, its hair and lips, its blackened gums encased in clear glass. He was staring at him at the moment, not saying a word.

This honor made the merchant ronin feel a cool breath from the soles of his feet to the heavenly spirit cover - who would transform the servant into this way?

He froze in place, and the thought of questioning was now gone. The servant received no response, so he turned away without hesitation.

The door closed quietly, the metal fit together seamlessly. Navarro turned slowly, and the lights immediately lit up before his eyes. Out of the mist, a giant slowly stepped out, and it was none other than Karil Lohals.

Navarro stared at him blankly, and a thought popped into his mind - was he here before?

"We're sorry about your ship, Captain Navarro del Kunas. But it was already too badly damaged, and it was covered with orc corpses. Your swallows didn't survive the storm, but we managed to salvage some of your belongings, and they're waiting to be inspected at the bottom of the Nightfall's cabin. ”

Navarro barely smiled, he didn't care what it was: "Thank you, thank you, my lord." ”

"Relax, Captain Navarro." Carlil whispered. "You can sit down and we'll talk. This is not an interrogation, and I will not hurt you. ”

The Rogue Trader sat down cautiously, only half of his chair next to him. The bitterly cold temperature pierced his heart through his clothes, and the words were already coming.

"To be honest, when I wasn't opening the diary and reading it, I wasn't really interested in it. I'm more interested in how you ran into those orcs than that. But I looked at it."

Carlil raised his right hand and gestured. He was calm, he was sensible, and his voice sounded like small talk. But what he said next made Navarro's heart even heavier.

"Money only circulates among mortals, and power cannot oppress certain backbones, therefore, we need names." Carlil smiled at him. "That's a funny thing."

This quote comes from one of my ancestors.

"I think so, after all, this diary is very old. Ordinary paper is obviously impossible for you to take around the ship and still stay in such good condition, is it witchcraft or psionic spells, Captain Navarro? ”

"I don't know, but I hope it's the latter." The merchant ronin said with a wry smile. "The Imperial Truth clearly affirms the evils of witchcraft and wizards, and I don't want to have anything to do with them."

"That's wise, then, let's characterize it as a psionic spell for now." Carlil clasped his hands.

"To be honest, I'm not very interested in the political threat drama that the family behind you is playing, Captain Navarro. Politics is already dirty, and every moment there are new tragedies happening under the influence of some big names. ”

"The galaxy is too big, and interstellar anti-corruption isn't our job – but. I'm interested in a certain name mentioned in that diary. ”

Navarro swallowed a bitter gulp and began to wonder which term in the diary had touched the big man's nerves. His meditative phase didn't last long, for Carlil had already uttered the name.

"Clayton Looth." The tall, pale giant spat out the name and smiled abruptly.

His dark eyes caught Navarro's gaze as if by magic. The Ronin was horrified and tried to look away, but he couldn't. His body betrayed itself, and a bone-chilling chill swept over the escaping mist, making him shiver.

"An honorable Imperial soldier who is now serving as a second lieutenant in the Dark Angel's Auxiliary Army, the Empire's First Legion. What an honorable resume, but it's a pity that he didn't get this position through normal means. ”

"He bought an opportunity from your family, and you offered it—now, I would like to ask, Captain Navarro del Kunas, what kind of power does your family have to influence such a thing?"

Navarro del Kunas was silent for a long, long time before giving an answer. He didn't hide it, and even said something that Carlil didn't care about.

"My family followed the emperor earlier, and after the pacification of Terra, our ancestors chose to engage in business to gain wealth. The emperor allowed and personally issued him a trade license. After that, my family grew by leaps and bounds. ”

"We have a lot of wealth and connections, and the Clayton Loos you mentioned is just one of the thousands of people we've helped. When the family was still in its prime, we only needed to go and have tea with a few gentlemen from the Ministry of Military Affairs to get this done. ”

"But not now?"

"My family was removed from the ranks of nobility ten years ago, my lord." Navarro had a smile on his face that he didn't know if it was happy or bitter.

"How can I say it, it's self-inflicted. Knowing too many things that others don't want to know happens when we are purged, our wealth is taken away from us, many people are found guilty and executed on the spot, and only a few survive. ”

"I was one of them, my father was sick and rushed to the hospital, and in his desperation he shoved the trade license into the hands of me, the son he hated the most, and declared that I was just an innocent child. He asked the guards to spare me for the sake of the sacred paper. ”

"Looks like they've let you go." Karil jawed. "So, what's going on with this diary?"

"It's a curse." Navarro pursed his lips, a kind of helplessness on his face.

"A certain patriarch was very prescient, and he thought that this would happen, so he asked someone to write a diary. Uh, psionic spells. In short, it cannot be destroyed, and it must stay with a living Delkunas, or all the characters on it will scream loudly under the protocracy. ”

"That doesn't sound like a smart back-up measure." Carlil commented, and Navarro agreed.

The merchant ronin smiled bitterly and nodded: "To put it bluntly, it's actually very stupid, my lord." I waited in prison for half a year, and when I was released, this diary was one of my belongings. They gave it back to me."

"Then, a man warned me. He made me swear that I would never return to Terra for the rest of my life, or the rest of my family would be killed. And the book must always follow me, away from the crowd, and never be given a new name. ”

"Sounds like an interesting story, thank you for answering my question, Captain Navarro del Kunas, how about we release you, your crew, and your belongings on a planet with a starport in a while?"

Navarro froze.

"What?" He couldn't help but blurt out. "This, that's it?"

"What more do you want, Mr. Navarro?" Carlil smiled at him.

"You haven't sinned, and I don't care if your family has a secret back then. After all, there is no hatred in you. You can leave, go out and turn right, and you'll see a servant. It will take you to your room. ”

Navarro scrambled to his feet, looking like he wanted to leave, but his body froze in place, and there was a stunned look on his face that doubted if he was dreaming.

"No—you, aren't you going to ask more?"

"Would you like me to ask for more?" Carlil raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Those names are either hungry for money or hungry for love. The few who are hungry for opportunities simply want to join the military. ”

"They are not asking for a high position, nor are they asking for a place to wantonly loot the people's fat and ointment. I won't ask why your family fell, but at least the people who did the work still have a face."

"It's a great story, but unfortunately it doesn't belong to us. Keep your secrets and journals in your heart, Mr. Navarro del Kunas, and it will be your treasure. ”

There is one more chapter, today's ten thousand more.

(End of chapter)