Sugar Rush (7)

“But I didn’t expect the Messenger Clan to be running a slave system.”

“It’s not exactly slavery. It’s more like hostage-taking, but calling it slavery suits them—call it poetic justice, or symmetry. Those who trampled others’ freedom should have theirs taken in the same way, don’t you think it gives the story a certain aesthetic?”

“Aesthetic, huh.”

“And by keeping them secured… it’ll serve as a lesson to the new plantation owners.”

With the old plantation owners kidnapped, their legal heirs rose to take over as the new plantation masters.

They feared the incredible combat prowess of the Messenger Clan—and even more, they didn’t want their fathers, the former owners, to return.

So negotiations were smooth. Now that they couldn’t even stop Azadine alone and their plantation owners had been kidnapped, there was no reason left to justify slavery with “we raise and maintain private troops through the slave system.”

The new plantation owners appointed Randa Banema as guild leader and actively cooperated in establishing a new order in Bel Hoda.

“Then we’ll consider the petition resolved. And Randa Banema, I have a request for you as the head of Bel Hoda’s Sugar Industry Guild.”

“A request? What kind of request?”

“It’s for everyone on the plantations to convert to the Blue Turban Party…”

Just then, Jiswa jumped in and started proselytizing quickly.

“Back off. Know when you should and shouldn’t butt in, okay?”

Azadine pushed Jiswa aside and asked,

“The plantation owners may have changed, but their private troops are still intact, right?”

“Of course they are. But it’s just mass-produced weapons put into the hands of regular farmers. They’re not real soldiers. Good at catching runaways or lynching, maybe, but not true warriors. Those adventurers, now they were the real deal.”

Randa Banema was still reeling from how much stronger the adventurers hired by the other owners had been compared to ordinary troops.

And when she heard Azadine had taken them down like children… she couldn’t believe her ears.

“Those troops are now useless, so I’ll disband them. Well, we’ll keep a small militia. After all, there are still bandits and monsters causing trouble.”

“I’m not asking you to disband them. It’s the opposite.”

“The opposite?”

“Yes. A massive Naga army will soon invade Vthuma. We need to arm and train Bel Hoda’s private forces.”

“What? Are you serious?”

“I’ll assign a member of the Messenger Clan as your advisor for training.”

“How much training are we talking about?”

“A day or two should be enough for marching and hauling supplies. Also, please prepare provisions.”

“You’re seriously preparing for war? The Naga Empire? Is this real?”

“It’s real. So, what will you do? Of course, I’m not in a position to force you.”

“You’re holding the plantation owners, aren’t you? You could just threaten to release them—wouldn’t that be enough to force cooperation?”

“You can’t make friends through threats.”

“Seriously? After all the threats you’ve made so far. Sigh… well, fine. If Vthuma falls, Bel Hoda won’t survive either. If the Naga Empire really is invading, then I’ll mobilize all of Bel Hoda’s human and material resources to defend and aid Vthuma.”

Randa Banema agreed to Azadine’s request and extended a handshake.

“Thank you, Randa Banema.”

“No need for thanks, Azadine. I should be the one thanking you. You made it look easy with how quickly you resolved everything, but no one else could’ve done it.”

It looked simple because it was done quickly, but before Azadine arrived, Randa Banema had been driven to the edge, even seriously contemplating suicide. Time dulls desperation, but she vividly remembered how desperate she’d been when filing her petition.

‘I’ve gained quite the reliable ally. I’m glad I handled the petition.’

At that moment, one of Randa Banema’s subordinates entered.

“A military advisor has arrived for that Messenger Clan member.”

Azadine had asked the Emperor to send someone who could lead and train the private troops of Bel Hoda. It seemed that the advisor had arrived.

“That was quick. Faster than I expected.”

Azadine decided to meet the advisor.

“Amazing.”

The military advisor was a familiar face. A beautiful woman with curly brown hair and green eyes looked at Azadine.

“I was wondering what the hell you were up to for a while there—Azadine, you took Bel Hoda?”

“‘Took’ sounds harsh. Let’s say I formed friendly ties. But what brings you here, Janis?”

“What do you mean what brings me? This whole area was originally under my jurisdiction.”

“Oh. So the Messenger who rejected the petition was you?”

“Yeah. My job is to assist Lord Arael. But to think you’d rally all the Bel Hoda sugar plantations to your side…”

The Messenger Clan had long had an interest in Bel Hoda’s sugar guild. But if they helped one plantation, the others would quickly notice and push them out.

Gratitude washed away like water, but grudges were etched into bone. If you took a job related to sugarcane plantations and helped one side, you’d end up empowering the enemy side too—nothing but trouble.

Especially now, during a civil war within the Messenger Clan, it was all far too complex. Yet Azadine had resolved it all cleanly.

“You not only resolved the petition in my stead, but even took my subordinates to secure the plantation owners of Bel Hoda? And after all that, you want me to take the role of military advisor?”

“Yes. You may have rejected the petition mission, but you won’t reject this, will you? There’s a lot to gain.”

Becoming the military advisor to Bel Hoda, now rich from the sugar industry. A position people would bribe to get—handed over for free. No reason to refuse.

“Of course I won’t refuse. For Lord Arael’s sake and… well, Bel Hoda obviously…”

She coughed lightly and trailed off.

“Truly worthy of a Second Messenger—or rather, an incredible feat, Azadine. I have no choice but to acknowledge it.”

“That sounds like you didn’t want to acknowledge me before?”

“Well, come on, even if you are Lord Arael’s brother, you’re Azadine of Disgrace, aren’t you? I was confident in my own skills, too, and suddenly you’re the Second Messenger? Feels a bit like favoritism, no? I mean, numbers are just numbers, but the Aragasa are a pretty fiery bunch.”

“You said you were confident in your skills, right? Come to think of it, didn’t Sion Ethar lose to you…?”

Azadine remembered how Sion Ethar had used that excuse back in Coral Sahar.

“No way. That rumor about Sion Ethar losing to me is nonsense. He used that excuse to establish an alibi. He was originally the ‘Moon’ of the generation above us.”

Of the four in the Flowers, Birds, Wind, Moon, the one bearing the title of “Moon” was regarded as the most powerful and skilled.

‘If that’s the case, then Indim must be the best among them now, but… he didn’t seem that impressive at all.’

Azadine clicked his tongue as he recalled Indim constantly picking fights with him.

Janis gave him a warning about Sion Ethar.

“He spread that false rumor because we had a deal—he needed a reason to hand over people and items to us. To be honest, he’s way more skilled than I am. Be careful. He’s now sided with the Elder Council.”

“I see. Hmm, got it. If you can’t handle Sion Ethar, that just means you’re beneath me, so there’s no need to feel bad about me being Second Messenger.”

“Haha. Such confidence.”

Janis burst out laughing at Azadine’s remark, though her eyes didn’t smile.

“I’m letting it go because there’s a lot to gain. So, Second Messenger Azadine, are you heading to Vthuma now?”

“Yes.”

“You say you dislike Lord Arael, but if you stop the invasion of Vthuma, you’ll be held guilty of opposing the Elder Council’s decree. You’re okay with that?”

“Of course. Just don’t obstruct reinforcements from Bel Hoda.”

“Why would I? I’d be hindering the Elder Council’s plans. Besides, it’s not like you’re planning to use these people for war, right?”

“Right. The private troops may be decent for beating peasants with clubs on plantations, but they’ll die against the Naga. What we need is for Bel Hoda to transport supplies to Vthuma and act as engineers.”

“Got it. That much won’t be hard.”

Janis agreed to take on the role of military advisor that Azadine had passed to her.

Then suddenly, commotion erupted at the docks.

“S-Something’s happened! It’s serious!”

As the dockworkers shouted, bells began to ring at the port and throughout the sugarcane plantations.

“War has broken out in Vthuma!”

“The Naga are invading Vthuma! Ogres are attacking from the north, and Nagas from the south…!”

While Azadine was in Bel Hoda, the Naga’s assault on Vthuma had finally begun.

Hearing the commotion, Azadine bit his lower lip. He didn’t regret coming to Bel Hoda to accept the petition. Still, it would’ve been nice if the timing had worked out better…

“Things have suddenly gotten busy. When can we depart?”

“I just got here, you know?”

“You’re the local assigned Messenger—shouldn’t you know the situation?”

“Well, the Bel Hoda troops are just peasants with weapons. I don’t even know how much provisions are stockpiled, so I can’t say for sure. We’ll leave once preparations are done. Still, it’ll take at least a week.”

“Understood. Then I’ll head to Vthuma ahead of you with my companions.”

Surprisingly, waiting at the village gate was Randa Banema, who had already said her farewells, prepared with horses for Azadine’s group.

“They’re Arangisan horses that old man Salko had. I’ve loaded them with Bel Hoda’s specialties—Kashasha and assorted sweets. They keep well, so they should be fine for travelers.”

“Kashasha? That’s liquor.”

“A spirit distilled from sugarcane. Unlike rum, which is made from leftover molasses, this one preserves the sugars—it’s a refined, high-quality drink. You know how valuable alcohol is on the battlefield, right?”

“Of course.”

“And this… is the axe-head of an Azure Steel halberd. The ‘Executioner of Blue.’ Said to have been forged by the great dwarven blacksmith, Moroton.”

“The Executioner of Blue? That’s an incredible treasure. Are you sure you want to give this? You already paid in imperial gold and promised to support Vthuma.”

Azadine was astonished as he accepted the Executioner of Blue. His current Azure Steel longsword, “Blue,” was already impressive—but this was on a whole different level.

A cross-shaped weapon combining an axe and wedge, it gave off a faint glow, as if enchanted. The only pity was that it was just the head—no shaft attached.

“Rather than letting a masterpiece like this rot in our warehouse, better to have it in your hands. You’re trying to save Vthuma, right? Helping you means helping Vthuma. Sigh… Honestly, I had some of the Messenger Clan’s gold, but I didn’t realize your people were this admirable. The rumors were so wrong.”

“It’s not good to let your guard down too much…”

Azadine felt a bit uneasy seeing Randa Banema warm up to the Messenger Clan because of his efforts.

He wanted to accept her goodwill, but doing so made him worry about her future. The Messenger Clan was not a kind or forgiving group.

“I’ll gather the private troops as you asked and finish organizing them as soon as possible. I’ll also secure food supplies.”

“Thank you. Then, I’ll take my leave—we’re short on time. Please forgive the rude departure.”

With the Executioner of Blue in hand, Azadine mounted the horse Randa had prepared and set off toward Vthuma.