The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 178

The journey to Butuma on foot would take over a week. Fortunately, Butuma had a well-established system of water transportation, so Azadin decided to travel by boat from the Count of Kimalhaji’s territory.

But then…

“Oh, Captain. We’ve encountered a minor issue.”

“Minor issue, my foot! I can smell it too. It stinks to high heaven.”

There was a large cabin at the bottom of the ship, intended for transporting livestock or exotic animals. The undead leopard that Scott had placed there was now rotting.

It was only natural, given that it was a corpse being controlled by necromancy. However, Scott had confidently assured them that it would remain stable for at least a week.

Unfortunately, in Butuma’s hot and humid climate, the undead leopard decomposed rapidly, and a terrible stench permeated the entire ship.

“Ah, it seems experience is the best teacher. There are things you don’t know until you experience them. But Captain, we shouldn’t fear failure. We are explorers, carrying the torch of knowledge, venturing into the unknown wilderness. A little loss is…”

“Get off. Now. Or shall I throw you into the river?”

The captain and the crew pointed towards the shore, indicating that Azadin’s group should disembark.

“S-sorry about that.”

Azadin paid the captain extra money. The captain then nodded to his men, and the crew lowered a small boat and prepared a crane.

“We’ll lower your mountain goat too. It looks like it’s dying.”

“…What?”

While Azadin was still trying to process what was happening, the crew opened the hold, loaded Azadin’s weakened mountain goat onto the crane, and lowered it into the boat.

“No… wait a minute.”

Azadin was bewildered, but the crew simply pointed to the rope ladder.

“Go. While we’re still being polite.”

“Hey, these guys are really…”

Shati was furious at the crew’s rough treatment.

“Azadin! Let’s just wipe them all out…”

“S-Sweater is…”

Shati was advocating for a mutiny, but Azadin was more concerned about the fact that his mountain goat was dying.

“Well, knowing your personality, you wouldn’t attack a merchant first unless they really got on your nerves.”

Shati grumbled and climbed down the rope ladder into the boat.

*********

Thus, the crew left Azadin’s group and their luggage on the shore and returned to the ship.

“I told you to leave the leopard behind.”

Shati kicked the ground, irritated.

“I didn’t know it would rot so quickly. My advanced necromancy usually prevents things from rotting.”

“But it rotted, didn’t it?”

“…In this case, it’s my fault for trusting Scott.”

Azadin had placed a lot of trust in Scott, forgetting that he was an orc due to his impressive magical skills. The result was this mess.

“Well, then, let’s ditch the leopard. What about the Captain’s Kerim mountain goat?”

“…Um, Azadin, brother.”

Jiswa looked at Azadin’s Kerim mountain goat, looking flustered.

“What is it, Jiswa?”

“This mountain goat… it looks like it has hippopotamus fever?”

“Hippopotamus fever?”

“Yes, it’s a disease that spreads from hippos near Butuma to livestock. Most of them die if they get it.”

Azadin examined it and, indeed, Sweater had a fever, a rash under its fur, and bloodshot eyes.

“Ugh. Hey, Shati. Can you heal it?”

“The Cobra Queen’s magic does boost healing, but that only helps wounds that would heal naturally to recover faster and better. If there’s a cure for the disease, I can give it that and help it recover quickly. But if there’s no cure…”

“This is bad.”

If Azadin lost his mountain goat here, the group would lose a significant amount of their travel baggage.

Of course, Azadin was strong enough to drag it along and find another means of transport in a nearby village, or reduce the luggage by getting rid of unnecessary items, but there was another problem beyond losing a pack animal.

This mountain goat had been with Azadin since he was appointed as a messenger. He wanted to save it if at all possible.

“Let’s try feeding it the Cheonggeon Order’s elixir.”

Jiswa suggested.

“But Jiswa, isn’t what you have contaminated? It’s mixed with Grimslough’s blood. If it’s Grimslough’s sap, I think I can make it from my club?”

“The elixirs we use are made by diluting the sap and mixing it with various herbs. It would be a disaster to eat the original sap as is.”

“Wouldn’t it be a problem to feed it something contaminated?”

“We can save it first, and then use the medicine that the messenger clan woman gave us to neutralize it, right?”

“I guess that’s a good idea. Let’s do it.”

Azadin agreed to give his mountain goat the Cheonggeon Order’s elixir.

*********

-Swoosh.

A downpour was pouring down.

Azadin stared blankly at the road, which had turned into a muddy mess in the rain.

They had given it the Cheonggeon Order’s elixir, but in the end, Azadin’s mountain goat had died.

Sweater, who could jump up 80-degree slopes as if they were flat ground and who was not afraid of any beasts or wars, had fallen to the hippopotamus fever of Butuma.

Scott had used necromancy magic on the Kerim mountain goat to at least carry the luggage, but…

They had already seen how quickly the undead rotted in the hot and humid climate of Butuma. The Kerim mountain goat wouldn’t last long either.

“Ah, damn it. My mountain goat that I received when I was appointed as a messenger! Sweater…”

“Don’t blame yourself too much, Captain. It’s the way of the world. Where there is meeting, there is parting, and where there is life, there is death.”

“……”

“I guess that’s not very comforting?”

“No, we’re in a total mess right now.”

Azadin frowned.

Butuma’s soil is made of a thick loess material, enough to build earthworks, so when it rains, it quickly turns into a quagmire.

Even the Emperor’s Road and the Imperial Road, built by the Emperor himself, had collapsed in Butuma.

The combination of the squalls, the relentless storms that come in summer and autumn, and the loess soil had destroyed even the great structures of Emperor Yaeslat.

It was impossible to move when it rained this much.

Even a short squall would turn the loess soil into a quagmire, making it impossible to pass.

Currently, Azadin’s group was splitting nearby trees to make them as wide as possible, floating them on the water, and using necromancy magic on Azadin’s mountain goat to walk on the bottom of the water, pulling the raft.

It was a makeshift raft, so they had to be careful to balance the weight to prevent it from capsizing, which made them very tense.

“Hey. We can’t go far like this. Let’s find a village as close as possible!”

Azadin sent the Emperor’s voice up to the sky as a guide.

[There is a village. About 3 li [approximately 1.5 kilometers] to the southwest!]

“We have to go 3 more li like this?”

Azadin was shocked, but there was no other way.

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

However, the road was still a mess.

In the loess-filled Butuma, people mainly traveled by boat when it rained, and even those who walked on land had to lay planks on the ground and only step on them.

Moreover, the sun had set, so Azadin decided to stay in this village.

When they asked the villagers if there was any accommodation, they pointed to a pavilion.

“Stay there. It’ll be one silver coin.”

“What? One silver coin for a building that’s open on all sides with just a roof?”

Azadin was shocked by the exorbitant price, but he paid the money. Then, they brought fruit and fish to Azadin’s group.

‘Ah, if it includes food, it’s actually cheap.’

Moreover, the temperature did not drop even at night in Butuma, so it was comfortable even in such a pavilion.

It would have been too hot to sleep inside a house.

*********

Perhaps because they were so tired from riding the raft, Azadin’s group fell into a deep sleep, oblivious to anything around them.

They didn’t even need to set up a night watch because the Emperor’s voice warned them of anyone approaching, so they were able to rest well for the first time in a while.

And the next day.

When they prepared to leave right after breakfast, the villagers were puzzled.

“Are you out of your minds?”

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

“What? What do you mean…”

“It’s best not to travel without a boat.”

Indeed, the road was still a mess. The places where the water drained quickly were muddy but walkable, but in the places where the water had collected, it was impossible to gauge the depth of the mud.

They would not live long if they traveled on such a road.

“Th-then, is it possible to rent a boat?”

When Azadin asked, the villagers were dumbfounded. It seemed like he had asked a question that was beyond their common sense.

“We are fishermen, but…”

“We don’t sell boats.”

“We’re using all the boats we have, so there are none left.”

“Then, could you take us to a big city?”

“Well, we don’t have any reason to go to the city.”

“I’ll pay you.”

“We do trade with merchants who come to our village occasionally, but that’s about it.”

The fishermen seemed reluctant.

No matter how much money they were offered, it was useless. In an isolated village where monetary transactions were not frequent, gold and silver were just reserves for emergencies, not something to be coveted.

“Rather, you have great muscles and a handsome face. Why don’t you settle down with my daughter and become my son-in-law? With those thick arms, you’d be good at pulling nets.”

They all seemed interested in Scott and tried to entice him.

“We’re really in a hurry. We need to go to Butuma right away.”

“Then, negotiate with the wandering merchant who will come soon. He’ll give you a ride.”

“Ah.”

Azadin breathed a sigh of relief.

‘So, a merchant does come to this village. That’s right. They have to repair their nets and negotiate for supplies.’

Finally relieved, Azadin asked about the merchant’s arrival time.

“Soon, as in when?”

“In two days?”

“What?!”

He was shocked to hear that. They couldn’t waste that much time when they didn’t know when Butuma would be attacked by the Nagas.

“Oh, there’s a merchant coming today too.”

“There’s a merchant coming today? That’s a relief.”

“Well, that friend is a Naga.”

“Damn it. You shouldn’t have said that!”

The villagers mentioned another merchant.

“…A Naga merchant?”

“Yes. Well, you know. Do you dislike Nagas?”

“Ah, no. If it means we can get out of this village, I don’t care.”

“Then that’s good.”

“The merchant will come around evening, so rest until then.”

*********

As the villagers had said, Azadin rested well until evening.

And as evening came, they could hear the sound of a stringed instrument being played by the river.

It was still early evening, before the sun had completely set, but the villagers began to light torches, and children ran excitedly to the river, playing flutes.

“Greetings. Greetings.”

A splendid ship approached the riverbank. A young man with a gold necklace around his neck walked off the ship, grinning.

“It’s a Naga.”

Shati recognized him and clicked his tongue.

“Not only him, but they’re all Nagas.”

Shati insisted that the sailors and guards were all Nagas.