#179: The Island Of The Naga (1) — The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger

The journey to Vthuma took over a week on foot. Fortunately, water routes were well-developed in Vthuma, so Azadine decided to travel by boat from the County of Kimalhazi.

However…

“Uh, boss. We have a small problem.”

“A small problem, my ass. I can smell the rot from here.”

There was a large cargo hold below deck for transporting livestock or rare animals. Inside it, Scott’s undead leopard was rotting.

It was expected—after all, it’s a necromantic corpse—but Scott had confidently claimed it would last at least a week without issue.

However, in Vthuma’s hot and humid climate, the undead leopard immediately began to decompose, and the stench spread throughout the entire ship.

“Ah, as they say, experience is the mother of all knowledge. You don’t truly understand until you experience it. But boss, we mustn’t fear failure. We are explorers, holding the torch of intellect as we venture through the unknown wilderness. A small loss is just….”

“Off the ship. Now. Or do you want to be thrown into the river?”

The captain and crew pointed toward the shore.

“S-Sorry about this.”

Azadine paid the captain extra. With a jerk of his chin, the captain signaled to his crew, who lowered a boat and prepared the crane.

“We’ll unload your goat too. It’s dying.”

“…What?”

As Azadine panicked, the crew opened the cargo hold and used the crane to lower the exhausted goat onto the boat.

“Wait… hold on.”

Azadine tried to protest, but the crew pointed at the rope ladder.

“Go. While we’re asking nicely.”

“What the hell is wrong with you people…”

Shati bristled at the crew’s rough treatment.

“Azadine! Should I just wipe them all out…?”

“M-My sweater…”

Shati insisted on a mutiny, but Azadine was too shocked by the fact that his goat was dying.

“Right, you’re the kind who won’t attack merchants unless seriously provoked.”

Grumbling, Shati climbed down the rope ladder onto the boat.

Thus, the crew dumped Azadine and his belongings at the water’s edge and returned to the ship.

“I told you we should’ve left the leopard behind.”

Shati kicked the dirt, irritated.

“I didn’t expect it to rot so fast. My advanced necromancy usually keeps them fresh longer.”

“But it did rot, didn’t it?”

“…This was my mistake for trusting Scott.”

Azadine had put too much faith in Scott’s impressive magic, forgetting he was an orc. And this was the result.

“So, we dump the leopard. What about your Kerim goat, boss?”

“…Hey, Brother Azadine.”

Jiswa stepped in, worried, and checked the goat.

“How is it, Jiswa?”

“This goat… I think it’s contracted Hippo Fever.”

“Hippo Fever?”

“Yes, it’s a disease that spreads from hippos near Vthuma to livestock. Most animals that catch it end up dying.”

Azadine inspected the goat and found it had a fever, rashes under its fur, and bloodshot eyes.

“Ugh. Shati, can you treat it?”

“Queen Cobra’s magic enhances natural healing, but it only accelerates wounds that would recover on their own. If there’s medicine for the illness, I can speed up the recovery. But if there’s no cure…”

“This is bad.”

Losing this goat would mean losing most of the group’s transport capacity.

Of course, Azadine was strong enough to drag the luggage to a nearby village or reduce their load, but this was more than just about logistics.

This goat had been with Azadine ever since he was appointed as a Messenger. If possible, he wanted to save it.

“Let’s try the Blue Turban Party’s elixir.”

Jiswa suggested.

“But Jiswa, the one you have is tainted, right? It’s even mixed with Greenswald’s blood. If it’s just sap, I can make that from my club.”

“Our elixirs are made by diluting the sap and mixing it with various herbs. Feeding the raw sap directly would be disastrous.”

“Isn’t it dangerous to give it the tainted one?”

“We just need to use it to keep it alive, then we can detoxify it with the medicine from that Messenger woman.”

“Right, that could work. Let’s try it.”

Azadine agreed to feed the goat the Blue Turban Party elixir.

—Shwaaah.

A heavy downpour drenched the area.

Azadine stood stunned, staring at the muddy road now soaked in rain.

Even after administering the elixir, his goat ultimately died.

Sweater, who once bounded up 80-degree slopes and never feared beast or battle, had succumbed to Hippo Fever in Vthuma.

Scott had cast necromancy on the Kerim goat to at least haul their gear for now…

But Azadine had already seen how quickly the undead rot in Vthuma’s hot and humid climate. This one wouldn’t last much longer.

“Damn it. My goat I got when I became a Messenger… Sweater…”

“Don’t beat yourself up too much, boss. All meetings end in parting. Where there’s life, there’s death.”

“……”

“Not much of a comfort, is it?”

“No, this is a complete disaster.”

Azadine frowned.

Vthuma’s soil was thick loess—dense enough to build earthen fortresses—so when it rained, it turned instantly into mud.

Even the Emperor’s own imperial roads crumbled in Vthuma.

Torrential squalls, unrelenting summer and autumn storms, and the loess soil formed a vicious cycle that brought down even the great structures of Emperor Yaeslat.

When it rained like this, there was no traveling.

Even a brief squall turned the loess into slop too thick to cross.

At present, Azadine’s group had broken apart nearby trees, widened the surface area, and floated a raft while having the necromanced goat walk along the riverbed, towing the raft from below.

Because it was a makeshift raft, they had to balance the weight carefully and ride with extreme caution to avoid capsizing, leaving everyone on edge.

“Hey. We’re not going far like this. Let’s find the nearest village we can!”

Azadine called out to the Emperor’s Voice, raising his eyes skyward.

[There is a village. About three miles southwest!]

“You’re telling me we have to go three more miles like this?”

Azadine was horrified, but there was no other choice.

By the time they finally reached the village, the rain had stopped as if it had been a lie.

But the roads were still a complete mess.

In loess-rich Vthuma, people usually traveled by boat when it rained. If they had to walk, they’d lay wooden planks on the ground and only step on those.

Since the sun had already set, Azadine decided to stay in the village.

When they asked the villagers about lodging, the villagers pointed to a raised pavilion.

“Sleep there. A silver coin will do.”

“What? A silver coin for a roof with no walls?”

Azadine was shocked by the price gouging, but he paid anyway. Then the villagers brought them fruit and fish.

‘Ah, if food is included, then I guess it’s actually cheap.’

Besides, Vthuma didn’t cool down much at night, so this kind of open shelter was actually more comfortable.

In a house, it would’ve been too hot to sleep.

Apparently, rafting was more exhausting than expected, and Azadine’s group fell into a deep sleep, dead to the world.

They didn’t even set a night watch, relying instead on the Emperor’s Voice to warn them of anything approaching. Everyone finally got a decent night’s rest.

The next morning—

After breakfast, as they prepared to leave, the villagers looked at them strangely.

“Are you out of your minds?”

“It’s going to rain again soon. It’s dangerous to head out.”

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

“If you don’t have a boat, it’s best not to travel.”

The roads were still terrible. In areas where water had drained, it was merely a muddy mess, but in places where it pooled, it was impossible to gauge the depth of the sludge.

Traveling like that could be a death sentence.

“Th-then… could we borrow a boat?”

When Azadine asked, the villagers looked baffled. It was clearly not a question they expected.

“We are fishermen, but…”

“We don’t sell our boats.”

“All the boats are in use—none to spare.”

“Could you at least take us to a bigger city?”

“Can’t say. We don’t have any reason to go there.”

“I’ll pay you.”

“Well, we do trade with the occasional merchant, but money isn’t really…”

The fishermen were clearly reluctant.

No matter how much money Azadine offered, it was useless. In this remote village where money was rarely used, gold and silver were more of an emergency reserve than something worth coveting.

“Still, you’ve got great muscles and a handsome face. While you’re here, why not marry my daughter and settle down? With arms like that, you’d haul nets like a pro.”

Apparently, everyone’s attention was on Scott now—they all tried to woo him.

“L-look, we’re in a real hurry. We need to get to Vthuma right away.”

“Then you should try negotiating with the wandering merchant coming soon. He might give you a ride.”

“Ah.”

Azadine sighed in relief.

‘At least merchants still visit this village. Makes sense—they’d need fishing net repairs and to trade goods.’

Feeling a bit better, Azadine asked when the merchant would arrive.

“When you say ‘soon,’ how soon is that?”

“In two days?”

“What?!”

He was stunned. Vthuma could be attacked by the Naga at any moment—he couldn’t afford to waste that much time.

“Well, there’s another merchant coming today.”