Fair Trade (2)

A fierce storm raged as Azadine’s companions stood stranded on the rooftop, waiting for him. They had made it up to the roof, but they had no idea where to go next.

At that moment, Azadine climbed the stairs.

“I told you to escape by boat, but you stayed and waited.”

“Took you long enough.”

Mediam greeted Azadine.

“Yeah.”

“So, should we escape by boat now?”

“No. Instead of running away… I got some good intel.”

“Intel? What do you mean?”

Ismail was baffled.

At first, they could hear Azadine fighting off the Nagas coming up from behind.

Then, suddenly, the sounds had stopped. They had been worried, but now Azadine appeared, completely unscathed.

“I met an interesting Naga and struck a deal. He gave me this.”

Azadine showed them a bracelet, and Shati gasped in shock.

“The Tear of Raja!?”

“You know it?”

“It’s a bracelet that symbolizes the Raja’s word. See that cracked jade attached to it? In the past, the Raja would match it with the other half to issue military commands.”

“So, it’s like a military seal. That’s quite the thing to give away.”

“These days, people just use magic to relay orders, so it’s obsolete, but it’s still a symbol of the Raja’s military authority. How did you get it? Don’t tell me… did you kill the Raja?”

“No. I made a deal with Raja Dehares of the Water Serpent Tribe. He agreed to overlook everything as long as I only targeted the Sea Serpent Tribe.”

“…N-No way. Dehares?!”

“You know him?”

“As if someone like me could know a Raja! Of course not.”

“Then why are you acting like you do? Anyway, Dehares also agreed to release the captives.”

“Ah! Look over there!”

Mediam pointed down below.

Sure enough, the Water Serpent Nagas were releasing the prisoners they had captured inside the building.

Not only that, but they had allowed the captives to take the food stored within the building. The freed people were now standing around awkwardly, holding biscuits or sacks of barley, casting uneasy glances at the Nagas.

“He’s got quite the bold personality. I think I like this Naga Raja.”

“You negotiated for their release too?”

Mediam turned to Azadine in surprise.

“From what I gathered, that Naga Raja really wants us to go after the Sea Serpent Tribe. So I told him that I’d be more motivated if he let the captives go. He agreed. Seems like a Naga with a sense of honor.”

“Th-That’s incredible.”

Mediam was in awe of how Azadine had managed to convince a Naga in this situation. And she wasn’t the only one.

“This is unbelievable.”

Shati, too, couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

“So, this thing is really that important? Shati, you hold onto it.”

Azadine handed the Tear of Raja bracelet to Shati.

“Huh? M-Me?”

“I think it makes more sense for you to carry it rather than me.”

“Well, that’s true…”

“More importantly, we should head to the lighthouse. Or should we restock our arrows first?”

Azadine moved under the eaves for cover and unfolded the map Dehares had given him. It was wrapped in waterproof fish skin, with a layer of oiled parchment inside. The material was so thick and durable that one had to scrape it with a pen for the ink to settle.

It was almost tough enough to be called leather, clearly designed with waterproofing in mind.

‘Since they belong to the Water Serpent Tribe, they probably travel through water a lot. Must’ve cost quite a bit to make.’

The map depicted the territories of the different tribes, as well as the patrol routes of their reconnaissance and guard units.

“If the Water Serpent Tribe is subtly cooperating with us, we can move around without encountering too many enemies. An unexpected ally. But from the looks of it, the Nagas have their own complicated politics too.”

“Of course they do. Hm.”

Shati gazed at the Tear of Raja on her wrist with admiration.

“But be careful. I heard that the Sea Serpent Tribe has started worshiping the gods of the Nether instead of the Cobra Queen. They’re mutating. They’ll be more monstrous than expected. We should restock our weapons. Using the Moon Horn Bow while soaking wet isn’t ideal. The Ashwood Longbow would be better.”

Azadine pointed to the armory within the Sea Serpent Tribe’s territory, marked on the map.

“Let’s avoid the Water Serpent Tribe while traveling. After all this, we should at least show some respect to the Naga Raja.”

“But what if they free those people now only to kill them later?”

Ismail still distrusted the Nagas, but Azadine shook his head.

“No… from what I can tell, the Naga Raja is someone who values his honor. He’s not the kind to go back on his word so easily. Or, well… should I say it’s not the kind, rather than he?”

“Of course! Nagas understand honor!”

Shati chimed in enthusiastically.

“……”

“What?”

“It’s just… when you say that, it somehow sounds less convincing.”

Azadine gave Shati a wry smile.

It seemed the Naga Raja had a way of communicating information to its kin, as the Water Serpent Tribe intentionally slowed their patrols and avoided Azadine’s group.

Thanks to this, Azadine and his companions were able to pass through the Water Serpent Tribe’s territory without much difficulty and arrived at the region controlled by the Sea Serpent Tribe.

“That must be the Sea Serpent Tribe.”

Unlike the Water Serpent Tribe, whose scales were smooth and sleek, the Sea Serpent Nagas had spiny protrusions growing across their bodies, resembling fish living among coral reefs. They were noticeably larger and far more intimidating.

Azadine’s party knew the routes of both the regular patrol units and the irregular patrol squads, allowing them to move undetected through the buildings and flank the guards stationed near the armory.

But then…

“Ugh. This place is getting moldy.”

Scott grumbled while crunching on dried fruit.

“The moisture’s getting to the dried fruit. It’s gonna mold soon. I’d better eat it all now.”

“……”

Dried fruit was one of the more expensive and valuable rations.

Of course, it was also more susceptible to humidity, so Scott wasn’t wrong—but the way he was greedily devouring the precious food made him incredibly annoying.

“Oh, come on, don’t give me that look. I’ll do my job properly. You should appreciate the fact that I’m even walking instead of using my wheelchair, you know?”

Scott picked up a wooden plank from the ruins and cast a spell on it.

The moment he released it, the enchanted plank shot forward with terrifying force, striking the Sea Serpent Nagas.

“Kuek!”

“Krukh!”

“Nice!”

Azadine also picked up a stone and hurled it with incredible strength, knocking down a Naga before charging in. Right behind him, Zebec drove his sword into another Naga, twisted the blade, and split its ribcage open.

The Sea Serpent Nagas were sturdier and stronger than their Water Serpent counterparts, but since Azadine’s group knew their patrol routes, ambushing them was easy.

“Alright. That was quick.”

Zebec severed the downed Naga’s neck and wiped his blade clean.

“Let’s check the armory.”

Inside, both humans and Nagas had looted most of the weapons indiscriminately, leaving little behind. However, they did find some arrows, longbows, and a large heavy crossbow.

“This should do.”

Azadine dismantled the metal bow section of the heavy crossbow.

“Wait… can a human even pull that—?”

Zebec was horrified as he realized what Azadine was doing.

Even a trained crossbowman had to use a foot stirrup and a hand crank to gradually wind up the string and load a heavy crossbow.

Yet Azadine simply pulled the steel bowstring back with his bare hands.

“Hmm. It takes a lot of effort, but it’s doable. The string’s too thick, though—it’s hard to wrap it around properly.”

“……”

“We’ll just stick with the Ashwood Longbows.”

Mediam and Ismail made their choice and looked at Azadine.

“But… I wonder if Sion is alright.”

“Yeah. We should let him know about our deal with the Water Serpent Nagas. Can we contact him with magic?”

“Yes. I’ll send a scouting bird.”

“A scouting bird?”

“I got the idea from watching Sion use his Scouting Cormorant Spell.”

Mediam had originally only used scouting birds for reconnaissance, but after seeing Sion’s technique, she had adapted it into her own style.

“Let’s call it… Scouting Golden Parrot. Hmm… this takes a lot of energy. Alright, let’s see.”

Mediam released the scouting bird to test it.

“Ahem, testing—one, two, three, four, five, six, seven…”

To their amazement, the artificial spirit of the scouting bird began mimicking Mediam’s voice.

Azadine was genuinely impressed by the sight.

“That’s quite the skill for a human. Ah, but don’t get too flattered. I’m only praising you by human standards.”

Scott “praised” Mediam on Azadine’s behalf.

“Huh?”

But Mediam suddenly looked troubled.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t see Sion anywhere.”

“At the boat?”

“Yes. He’s not even nearby. I tried calling out to him, but…”

For Mediam, projecting her voice through the scouting bird was already mentally exhausting.

But even when she called for Sion, he gave no response.

“That’s strange. Are there any Naga corpses nearby?”

Azadine asked if there were signs of a fight. If Sion had encountered the Nagas, there would be dead Nagas left behind.

“No. There’s no sign of a battle.”

“Then maybe he’s just hiding? Hm.”

“W-What should we do?”

“Sion is a former Messenger, right? And a member of the Ethar bloodline. He wouldn’t go down so easily. He can handle himself. The priority right now is checking the lighthouse. The problem is…”

Azadine unfolded the map and examined the lighthouse area.

The Sea Serpent Nagas had it under tight security.

“If I were alone, I could scale the walls and slip in unnoticed…”

But he couldn’t bring Zebec, Scott, or Shati with him, as they didn’t have wall-climbing skills.

“You guys stay back and wait. I’ll go alone.”

“That’s dangerous.”

“No, having more people would make things harder. Instead, attach the Golden Parrot to me. I’ll use it for communication. If things go south, I’ll escape, and you guys cover my retreat.”

“If that’s the plan…”

“But keeping the Golden Parrot active for long periods is difficult.”

“There’s a way to make it easier.”

Scott rummaged through a nearby storage room and pulled out a drowned rat corpse.

“I could relay information much more efficiently. But I’d have to use necromancy.”

“Necromancy…”

Zebec let out a deep sigh.

“…Fine. Do it.”

“You’re giving up?”

“I’ll have to atone for this later by becoming a Penitent Knight. Then again, I should be thankful that I even have that option.”

Ject the Arbiter would never let Zebec live. Until Ject was dealt with, Zebec wouldn’t even have the chance to properly atone.

“Alright. I’m doing it. No backing out later.”

Scott cast necromancy on the dead rat. Its head swelled grotesquely, its skull expanding to accommodate massive, bulging eyes, and its tail stiffened like a wire.

“Ugh. That’s disgusting.”

Mediam cringed at the sight.

“Hey, if you look closely, it’s kind of cute.”

Scott insisted as he handed the rat to Azadine.

“I’ll use this to communicate. Be nice to it.”

“What am I supposed to do? Kiss it?”

“That’d be great.”

“……”

Without another word, Azadine took the necromanced rat and pocketed it.