The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 180

The Naga merchant, Deha, chuckled at Azadin, a sound that quickly escalated into full-blown laughter.

But for Azadin, the situation was far from amusing.

“That’s hardly a joke. It’s more likely to make me frown than laugh.”

“It’s a good joke for us, isn’t it?” Deha asked, turning to his fellow Nagas, who responded with a chorus of booming laughter, “Kha ha ha!”

“Looks like your boss is quite the comedian,” Azadin remarked dryly.

“More importantly, Shati, come over here. Aren’t you a Naga?”

“…Yes?”

“No way.”

Azadin stepped in, halting her progress.

“If you’re going to call Shati over, at least guarantee her safety. On your honor.”

“What? Why are you making such a condition?”

“Shati wouldn’t betray her own kind anyway. From my perspective, I can’t ask Shati to fight her own people for me. So, as payment for using Shati all this time, you can at least vouch that she is innocent and has always tried to be loyal to the Nagas.”

“What? I don’t understand even more now. What are you talking about? Why are you so concerned about her?”

“I think it’s the best choice I can make in this situation. If I look after her this much, she won’t resent me as much even if she’s forced to help me, right?”

“It’s as if you think you can kill us all and use her again. Can’t you see the numbers?”

“Well, a person needs to be optimistic.”

“Pfft.”

The Naga merchant, Deha, burst into laughter again.

“Alright, Shati. I, Nagaraja [Naga King] Dehashuram, swear on my honor that I will not hold you accountable for your past actions. Come here.”

“Tch. If you put it that way, I have no reason to stop you.”

Azadin lowered his hand, no longer blocking Shati’s path.

“……”

Shati hesitated for a moment, then slowly moved towards Deha, or rather, Dehashuram.

“Alright, then.”

With Shati gone, Azadin’s group was reduced to just Scott, Azadin, and Jis. With fewer targets to attack, the situation was much more favorable for the Nagas. No matter how skilled Azadin was, it wouldn’t be easy for him to escape this alive.

But then, Dehashuram said something unexpected.

“I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse. Will you die here fighting heroically? Or will you accept my invitation?”

“Invitation?”

“Yes. I’d like to have a serious conversation with you. Following the custom of hospitality, I will treat you as a guest. What do you say?”

Dehashuram’s words startled his Naga subordinates.

The custom of hospitality was a sacred tradition. Even if you were mortal enemies, if you were welcomed as a guest, the guest would treat the host with respect, and the host would provide food and lodging and would never poison the guest’s food or attack them while they slept.

Inviting someone under the custom of hospitality was an ancient practice that meant you could only harm each other again after returning to the same situation as before the invitation.

Breaking this custom would make you a dishonorable person, and while that might not matter to a commoner, a Nagaraja would lose too much by breaking this custom.

In other words, inviting Azadin meant that he wouldn’t harm him for at least a while.

Naturally, the Nagas seemed unable to understand Dehashuram’s choice. But Dehashuram’s status was such that he could easily dismiss such minor objections, so they remained silent, waiting for Azadin’s answer.

“Before that, I want to ask, what’s your relationship with Dehares?”

“He’s my cousin. Aren’t I better looking than him?”

“I’ll accept the invitation…”

*********

Azadin and his group, having accepted Dehashuram’s invitation, headed towards the palace.

The path from the pier to the palace was adorned with an elegant garden. To maintain the paved path decorated with Bodhi trees and flame trees in the frequently raining climate of Butuma, it would require the constant attention of gardeners and workers.

“The gardeners and servants are human.”

Azadin noticed that the people tending to the garden trees were human.

“There are no Nagas interested in landscaping. Oh, and our chef is also human. At least we don’t do such rude things as serving human meat to our guests.”

“But…”

As they walked up the path to the palace, they could see tents pitched all over the hill. The Naga army for the invasion of Butuma was camped on this island.

‘Now that they’ve shown me this, they won’t just let me go. No, of course not. These guys knew about me.’

Knowing that Azadin had interfered with the Nagas’ affairs many times, it wouldn’t be strange if they tried to kill him right away.

Why would they bother to welcome him as a guest and guide him to the palace?

“Why are you inviting me? Don’t your subordinates say anything?”

“The Naga social hierarchy is more rigid than that of humans. If I decide, no one can say anything.”

Dehashuram said with a smile.

“The reason I invited you is because I like heroes. Does that sound believable?”

“No.”

“I want to hear your story. Actually, the reason I found out about your actions was because there was a messenger tribe that sold your information.”

“Sold my information?”

“To be precise, Count Salasma died, and since none of the agents returned alive, I was curious. So, I asked the messenger tribe, and they said that you were Salasma’s messenger. When I tracked your actions like that, it turned out you were an amazing hero.”

Dehashuram explained that he had pieced together Azadin’s actions using information from the messenger tribe and the Nagas.

“I’m embarrassed. It’s nothing much.”

“No. That’s not true. You’ve messed up a lot of our Naga affairs, so everyone is angry and wary. It’s not a trivial matter at all. It’s so amazing that it’s hard to believe it’s the achievement of one person. Did you really do all of that?”

“That’s…”

“Oh, let’s talk about that later. First, take a bath to relieve your fatigue. Then, let’s talk over tea and a meal.”

Dehashuram called the human servants and had them guide Azadin’s group to the bathhouse.

*********

After finishing their bath and changing into new clothes, Azadin’s group looked around Dehashuram’s palace.

Perhaps because it was a place for trade, it wasn’t a Naga-style building but a thoroughly human-style mansion, specifically in the Yaegas style, overlooking the sea.

Food and refreshments were being prepared in an elegant garden overlooking the sea.

“Welcome.”

Dehashuram was waiting for Azadin in the garden’s pergola with his servants. Of course, with bodyguards. Nagas armed with tridents and nets were making their presence known.

Because of the custom of hospitality, they wouldn’t harm him, but from the Nagas’ point of view, they could trust the honor of Nagaraja Dehashuram, but not Azadin’s.

Azadin also didn’t let go of his weapons, trusting only Dehashuram’s honor, so these armed guards were a minor matter.

“Alright, then.”

Azadin accepted the invitation and sat down.

“Shall we talk?” Azadin asked, tearing off a piece of the pre-meal bread on the table.

“You’re planning to invade Butuma, right? But haven’t you already lost the Coral Sahar throne to the messenger tribes? And yet, are you going to ride in a palanquin carried by the messenger tribes again? If you thoughtlessly ride in a palanquin carried by others, you’ll be thrown off a cliff with the palanquin.”

“Do you really think so? Hmm. From the Naga Empire’s point of view, this situation is very good.”

“Why?”

“From the perspective of the Yaegas gods, would they really acknowledge the messenger tribes taking the throne?”

“I guess not.”

Azadin immediately understood what Dehashuram was saying.

The war between the messenger tribes and the Eight Divine Clans would soon begin.

The usurpation of Coral Sahar was a very good trigger for dividing the humans.

“Then are you going to attack Butuma too? Are you on the side of the Elders or Ara’el?”

“It doesn’t matter which side. If the messenger tribes are divided, that’s good too.”

“If you’re fine with either way, why did you invite me?”

“Well, because the things you’ve done are achievements worthy of being called heroic from our point of view. You calmed the Wendigo’s rage, eliminated Count Salasma, and showed considerable activity in Coral Sahar, right? I wanted to see such a hero.”

“To split my heart and eat it?”

“Of course not. Actually, there are requests from the messenger tribes to secretly eliminate you if you show up.”

“……”

“It’s amazing that both the Ara’el faction and the Elders have made requests. You’re the sister of their goddess in the Ara’el faction, and you also have a high-ranking person as your patron in the Elders. So, those who see you as a thorn in their side have asked us Nagas… It’s hard for us to understand.”

“So you want to satisfy that curiosity. Hmm, alright. Since you’ve shown me sincerity, I should show you sincerity too.”

Azadin took off the helmet that was covering his face.

“Ah.”

Only then did Dehashuram realize that Azadin had no eyes.

“I’m called Azadin of Muan. Also known as the cursed Azadin.”

Azadin began to tell his story from his birth.

Why the messenger tribes hated Azadin, and why they looked down on him. And the grace of Aldis and Kazas who raised him, and how the other messenger tribes were jealous of the position Ara’el gained as she grew.

“Amazing. I wondered why the messenger tribes didn’t leave and still lived as the emperor’s messengers, but it’s because of such a powerful curse, and you’re the product of that curse! Even Ara’el is a product of that curse? That’s an amazing story. Oh, can I tell this story to others? It seems like it would sell very well when I’m acting as a merchant.”

“Please refrain from doing so, I’m embarrassed.”

“Then I’ll tell it when your fame has risen so much that it can’t be hidden. Since you’re still covering your face and not in the public eye, it’s not the right time yet. But later, when everyone wants to know about you, then, Azadin of Muan, please forgive me if your past comes out of my mouth.”

“I’ll have a chance to raise my fame if I get out of here alive. Shouldn’t both you and I be alive in the future?”

“Hahaha. That’s true.”

Dehashuram laughed at Azadin’s words, then suddenly was surprised.

There was a hidden meaning in Azadin’s words. Both of them had to be alive in the future?

Wasn’t he implying that not only Azadin’s life was threatened, but Dehashuram’s as well?

Of course, Azadin hadn’t disarmed, but what could three people do?