Night of the Soulless Heathens – 180



#180. Naga’s Island 2

“Oh I see. Well it doesn’t matter.”

“What I’m saying is if he’s carrying this many people then this Naga merchant must be of very high status.”

“How many people are there?”

“At least eight guys are leaving.”

“At that level it’s worth dealing with.”

If I told you that eight of them were a human being you would usually laugh at me.

However Shati who had seen the fights Azadin had waged so far knew that his words were not an empty promise.

“But be careful you are a person of high status.”

“okay.”

Azadin listened to Shati’s advice and approached the merchant.

*********

The Naga merchant who had brought along acrobats dressed in fancy attire attracted people by showing off their acrobatic skills in the open space in front of the village dock.

The acrobats’ talents were of a low level such as juggling and spinning flaming poles but in this remote area even that was a great spectacle.

“Come on now. I brought you some goods from various places so please buy some today. Oh Miss. Don’t be shy. This is a fabric called Nasam in Btuma and it’s translucent like this. If you wear it as a veil your beauty will be mysteriously highlighted and all the young men in the village will be moved.”

The merchant Naga was also a good talker so he would probably do very well in business even without the acrobat. However the goods he brought were expensive for the country fishermen to buy.

“I want to buy a fishing line made of three strands.”

“The netting too. I don’t understand why the netting made in our town is so thin but not so strong.”

“Oh my. How can you catch up with the craftsmanship of the local craftsmen with just a piece of cloth? It’s all a skill. But you’re only going to buy that? You always buy strings and needles but this time wouldn’t you like to buy something a little better?”

“Oh by the way this time we have some guests besides us.”

“customer?”

“Come out.”

As the villagers spoke Azadin and his party walked out.

“Hmm? I’ve never seen you before. More like travelers… maybe the Cheonggeun Party? I don’t really like the Cheonggeun Party. They always ask me to do things for them without paying.”

“Of course I’m not asking for it for free. I’ll pay for it so could you give me a ride to Btuma? I’m trying to go to Btuma but the roads are a mess because of the rain….”

“I don’t plan on going all the way to Btuma but I can give you a lift to nearby Bel Hoda. Of course it won’t be free but the price has to be right.”

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“Bel Hoda?”

Azadin unfolded the map and looked for Bel Hoda.

As there is a major road drawn on the map to Btouma it seems that if you go to Bel Hoda you can easily walk to Btouma.

“How about a gold coin to Bel Hoda?”

“Would you like to write a little more?”

“yes?”

“When I say gold outsiders seem to think it’s something special but eight-tenths of the gold of Hybris comes from Btuma. Gold isn’t that precious here.”

“….”

Of course it’s a bluff. Just because it’s a gold mining area it doesn’t mean that gold is cheaper than other places. Above all the value of gold coins is certified by the eight kingdoms and merchants.

It may be a boast that is easily understood by those who are ignorant of the ways of the world. However Azadin was not a fool who did not know that.

‘This kid’s trying to eat me? But looking at him like this is he a Naga who had nothing to do with the invasion of Btuma?’

Contrary to Shati’s warning this man seemed to be full of business mindedness. He lived very faithfully as a merchant and was quite talkative.

He was a person who was more likeable than Nagara with his handsome appearance and eloquence.

Could it be that he was not involved in the invasion of Btuma?

“If gold is that cheap then gold coins are fine. Then I’ll give you an item.”

“Oh my. That’s the gold coin. I asked for a lot.”

“I thought I’d give you iron instead since gold doesn’t seem to be very welcome here.”

Azadin took out the weapons that had been turned into toys by his dead goat. Most of them were taken from those who had attacked Azadin so they were of uneven quality.

“Hmm…. It’s a bunch of junk. Isn’t this the shaft of a heavy crossbow? Who would pull something that’s just a shaft?”

The merchant went out and examined the weapons while grumbling like that.

“I’ll just give you the price of scrap metal. This won’t do.”

“The price of scrap metal is too much. Isn’t this a pretty good knife?”

“I see that you are also in a difficult situation with your feet tied up. But don’t you think that weapons are a burden? Well then take this and a gold coin. I will give you a ride to Bel Hoda with those. We will also provide you with food on the way.”

“Let’s do that.”

Azadin confirmed the deal with the Naga merchant.

“Oh I’m sorry for the late introduction. My name is Deha. As you can see I’m a merchant.”

“I am Adan of the Cheonggeun Party this is Jis this is Scott this is Shati.”

When Azadin introduced the group the merchant who had been called Deha was startled.

“Shati?”

“Deha…..”

It seemed that there was something to be said for Shati Deha’s name.

*********

That’s how I started trading with the fishermen and merchants.

Fishermen gave Deha the skins of animals they caught near the smoked fish and Deha sold them nets fishing lines ornaments seasonings spices and iron tools.

While they were trading Shati called Azadin.

“what’s the matter?”

“Captain. That Dehara is a high-ranking Nagaya. He is probably a member of the royal family of the Water Snake Tribe like the Nagaraja Dehares we saw before.”

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“Hmm are you calling me captain too?”

“I heard Scott calling you. So what? Should I call you honey? Anyway I guess you knew because you didn’t seem too surprised.”

“You look similar to Dehares. And since you say your name is Deha I guess it’s you. But I think that guy noticed that you told him to leave.”

“I guess so.”

“Anyway I have no choice. I have to ride.”

Azadin agreed to get on Deha’s ship and paid the agreed price.

“Okay. Then let’s get on right away. Oh but we are traders so we have to stop at a few more places along the river and the coast. Is that okay? You know that it would be ridiculous to stop doing business just for a single gold coin because the loss would be huge.”

“How long does it take?”

“Three days is enough to get to Bel Hoda. Our ship is a speedboat.”

Deha said so and smiled.

Deha’s ships despite their ornate decoration and size were very fast.

Normally they use sails to ride the wind but in places with little wind or rough water they cast magic to change the flow of the water and push the boat forward which is incredibly fast.

“Now while we’re sailing come and take a look at some of the rare and exotic goods we’ve collected in our cabin.”

“I’m not going to buy it.”

“Just to kill some time. Haha. So as not to disturb the sailors while they work.”

Whenever the sailors who were going on a business trip had to use magic they would always invite the party to their cabin so that Azadin’s party would not see them using magic.

Azadin already knew that they were going to leave but he respected their eagerness to hide the fact that they were using magic and so he devoted himself to looking at the exotic items that Deha was boasting about.

Actually the stuff was fun too.

“Look. It’s a pendulum. Isn’t it so artistically made? Isn’t it smooth? What kind of craftsman must have had the passion to polish metal so smoothly? Oh and did you know that a pendulum never goes higher than its initial height? That means even if you do this….”

Deha raised and lowered a pendulum made of small iron beads aimed at his philtrum.

“Ah. But here in this rocking boat….”

Azadin warned but it was too late the bullet had already struck Deha’s philtrum.

“Ouch. Ah. What a minor mistake… Huh? My nose is bleeding.”

“….”

Whenever the sailors tried to use magic Deha would turn the attention of Azadin and his party.

*********

So they stopped by another village on the coast and made a deal. Since it was a village they had already done business with several times both the village and Deha had prepared the necessary supplies in advance so the trade was completed quickly.

“Then if we just stop at one more place we will arrive at Bel Hoda. From Bel Hoda to Btuma it is a distance that can be reached in two or three days by boat or by foot so don’t worry. Did you like the food?”

“yes.”

“You have arrived at your destination so now you can’t ask for a refund saying that one gold coin was too expensive.”

“Haha. That’s impossible.”

“Okay then let’s just stop by one last place.”

Deha steered the boat with a smile.

Deha’s boat which had been moving along the coast after leaving the river mouth soon approached an island where rough waves were crashing.

however….

[Azadin.]

The Emperor’s voice called Azadin.

“why?”

[There are magical spirits that monitor the sky.]

Azadin startled asked in his mind without making a sound.

‘Like a visionary? Or what? Arael’s voice?’

[No. It’s the magic of the Kurt tribe. And there are monsters under the water too.]

“….”

After a while Deha’s ship docked at the dock. Then the Nagas walked out confidently in their Naga form and tied the ship with ropes.

“Welcome welcome.”

Deha greeted Azadin and his party with his usual smile.

But the sailors had their weapons drawn those who approached the dock also had their weapons drawn and from the water huge tentacles burst out tearing the surface.

Anyone can see that we are surrounded.

Jiswah was so surprised that he came up next to Azadin.

“Master Tao.”

“No. You’ve been trying so hard to hide it all this time so why are you doing this now?”

Azadin asked Deha who suddenly revealed his true colors.

“Aren’t you Azadin?”

“Am I that famous?”

“Your reputation is quite famous. Aren’t you notorious for being promoted in an instant among the messenger clan?”

“Is that why you came to know me?”

“No that’s not all. You have interfered with our Nagas’ work on several occasions. You possess the Wendigo Dagger you killed Count Salasma and you were the one who destroyed our detachment at Coral Sahar. Perhaps if we told the Heralds of your exploits they would know that your promotion to Second Lieutenant was not out of favoritism.”

Surprisingly this outgoing Azadin knew quite a bit about the steps he had taken so far.

“Then I guess you know that if you try to kill me here today it’s going to be quite a struggle.”

“Please don’t do that. We love heroes. And you are a great hero.”

“….”

“There is a story that if you eat the heart of a hero your rank will rise…”

“hmm.”

“I’m joking. Haha.”