On the rooftop of a building battered by wind and rain, Azadin's companions were stuck, unable to go forward or back, simply waiting for him. They had made it to the roof, but didn't know where to go next.
Just then, Azadin came up the stairs.
"I told you to escape by boat, but you didn't leave and waited, huh."
"You took a while, didn't you?"
Midiam welcomed Azadin.
"Yeah."
"Then should we escape by boat now?"
"No. Rather than escaping by boat… I got some good intel."
"Intel? What on earth happened?"
Ishmael sounded baffled.
At first, they had heard Azadin fighting off the Nagas coming up behind them.
But then, the sounds suddenly stopped. Everyone had been worried—until Azadin appeared, completely unharmed.
"I ran into an interesting Naga and made a trade, and got this."
Azadin showed them a bracelet, and Shati gasped in surprise.
"Tears of the Raja?!"
"You know it?"
"It's a bracelet symbolizing the Raja's command. See the split jade on it? You had to match it with the opposite jade to move the command seal. Back in the old days…"
"Like a military seal, huh. That's a huge thing to hand over."
"These days it's obsolete because magic's developed enough to deliver messages magically, but it still symbolizes the Raja's military command. How did you get it? Don't tell me you killed the Raja?"
"No. I made a deal with the Raja of the Water Snake tribe, Dehares. He said he'd turn a blind eye if we only hit the Sea Snake side."
"…That, that can't be. Did you say Dehares?"
"You know him?"
"Someone like me knowing a Raja? Of course not."
"Then why act like you do? Anyway, Dehares also said he'd release the prisoners."
"Ah! Look at that!"
Midiam pointed to the lower part of the building.
Sure enough, the Water Snake Nagas were releasing the captured people from inside the building.
Not only that, the Nagas seemed to have allowed them to take the food they had gathered inside—people were stumbling out, holding biscuits or sacks of barley, glancing around nervously, unsure if it was really okay.
"Bold personality. I like this Naga Raja guy."
"You negotiated for them to be freed too?"
Midiam asked Azadin in astonishment.
"From the look of it, that Naga Raja wants us to screw over the Sea Snake tribe, not the Water Snake one. So I said I'd feel more motivated if the prisoners were released. And he agreed. He's a Naga, but seems like a trustworthy one."
"A-amazing."
Midiam was awestruck that Azadin had negotiated with a Naga in this situation. Not just Midiam.
"This can't be real."
Shati also couldn't believe what was happening before her eyes.
"Anyway, if this is that important, Shati, you take it."
Azadin handed the bracelet called Tears of the Raja to Shati.
"Huh? M-me?"
"Don't you think it suits you more than me?"
"Well, that's true…"
"More importantly, we should check out the lighthouse. Or maybe we should resupply the arrows first?"
Azadin ducked under the eaves and unfolded the map Dehares had given him. The map was wrapped in waterproof fish skin on the outside, and the inside was layered with oiled paper—so thick and firm that you had to scrape it with a pen to leave a mark.
It was nearly tough enough to be called leather—clearly designed with waterproofing in mind.
'Since it's the Water Snake tribe, I guess they travel by water a lot. Must've cost a good bit.'
This was an operations map showing the jurisdiction of each tribe, as well as the patrol routes of reconnaissance and security units.
"If we have subtle support from the Water Snake tribe as this map suggests, we should be able to move without encountering many enemies. An unexpected ally. Still, seeing this, looks like Nagas have complicated politics too?"
"Of course. Hmm."
Shati was gazing dreamily at the Tears of the Raja now on her wrist.
"But be careful. I heard the Sea Snake tribe no longer follows the Cobra Queen, but has started worshipping the gods of the Nether. They're mutating, so they're going to be more monstrous than expected. Let's resupply our weapons first. Using the Moon Horn Bow while soaked to your underwear isn't great. The Ashwood Longbow would be better."
Azadin pointed at the Sea Snake tribe's armory on the map.
"Let's avoid the Water Snake tribe on the way. After all they've done, we should at least show some respect to the Naga Raja."
"But couldn't they kill the people they just released later?"
Ishmael was still suspicious of the Nagas, but Azadin shook his head.
"No… from what I can tell, that Naga Raja values his honor deeply. He's not someone who'd go back on his word so easily. Or—should I say, not something, since he's a Naga?"
"Of course! Nagas are a race that knows honor!"
Shati chimed in support of Azadin.
"..."
"What?"
"Well, when you say it, it somehow sounds less convincing."
Azadin gave Shati a faint, awkward smile.
***
The Naga Raja must have had some way to communicate with his kin—Water Snake Nagas deliberately slacked off and avoided Azadin's group.
Thanks to that, Azadin and company were able to pass through Water Snake territory without difficulty and arrive at the region controlled by the Sea Snake tribe.
"So that's the Sea Snake tribe."
If the Water Snake tribe had smooth, sleek scales, the Sea Snake tribe looked more like fish from coral reefs—their bodies were lined with spines, and overall they were bulkier and more threatening.
Since they knew the patrol routes of both regular and irregular Naga units, Azadin's group was able to sneak past them and approach the Nagas guarding the armory from behind.
However…
"Ugh. It's gonna get moldy."
Scott grumbled as he crunched on dried fruit.
"There's moisture in the dried fruit—it's gonna mold. Gotta eat it all."
"..."
Dried fruit was a high-quality ration.
Of course, that also meant it was vulnerable to moisture, so what Scott said wasn't wrong—but the fact that he was selfishly devouring such a precious ration made him unbelievably annoying.
"Aw, don't glare at me like that. I'll do the job right. I mean, the fact that I'm walking instead of using a wheelchair should tell you how committed I am, right?"
Scott picked up a wooden plank he'd salvaged from a ruin and cast a spell on it.
The moment he let go, the plank shot out with terrifying force and struck the Sea Snake Nagas.
"Guh!"
"Gragh!"
"Nice!"
Azadin also picked up a stone and hurled it with terrifying force, knocking down a Naga as he charged. Zebeck followed behind, stabbing a Naga with his sword, then twisting the blade to slice open its ribcage.
The Sea Snake Nagas were tougher and stronger than the Water Snake Nagas, but since they knew the patrol routes of these ones, launching a surprise attack was easy.
"Good. That was fast."
Zebeck severed the neck of the fallen Naga and wiped his blade clean.
"Let's check out the armory."
Inside the armory, Nagas and humans alike had already raided the place, so there wasn't much left. However, they were able to find arrows, longbows, and a large heavy crossbow that had been left behind.
"This one looks usable."
Azadin detached the steel bow section from the heavy crossbow.
"Can a person even draw that…?"
Zebeck was horrified as he realized what Azadin was planning.
Even a seasoned crossbowman needed to plant a foot on the stirrup and use both hands to crank the mechanism, slowly winding it to draw the heavy crossbow.
But Azadin was simply pulling the steel bowstring with his bare hands.
"Mm. It takes a lot of effort, but it's not impossible. Though, the bowstring is too thick—it's hard to wrap and shoot cleanly."
"..."
"We'll just stick with the Ashwood Longbows, thanks."
Midiam and Ishmael said that and looked at Azadin.
"But I wonder if Zion orabeoni is alright."
"Right. We should let him know we've made a pact with the Water Snake Nagas. Can we contact him with magic?"
"Yes. I'll send out a scouting bird first."
"A scouting bird?"
"I got the idea after watching Zion orabeoni use his."
Midiam originally only used scouting birds for reconnaissance, but after seeing the Scouting Bird – Cormorant technique that Zion taught her, she developed a variation of her own style.
"Let's call it Scouting Bird – Gold-crowned Macaw, maybe? Mm… this takes a lot of energy. Let's see…"
Midiam released the scouting bird to a distance and began testing it.
"Aah, testing. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…"
Sure enough, the artificial spirit of the scouting bird was mimicking Midiam's voice.
Azadin, watching, was quietly impressed.
"Not bad—for a human, that is. Ah, don't get too emotional just because I complimented you. It's only praise within the standards of a human."
Scott 'praised' Midiam on Azadin's behalf.
"Huh?"
But Midiam looked flustered.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't see Zion orabeoni."
"Where is the boat?"
"Yes. Not even near it. I even called out, just in case…"
Letting the scouting bird emit sound to signal its location was taxing even for Midiam, who was mentally linked to it.
But even when she called out to Zion, there was no response.
"That's strange. Are there any Naga corpses nearby?"
Azadin asked if there were any signs of slain Nagas. If Zion had run into Nagas, there should be traces of a battle.
"No. No signs of fighting."
"Then maybe he's just hiding? Hmm."
"W-what should we do?"
"Zion is a former herald, right? And he's of the Aether bloodline. He's not someone who'd go down that easily. He can handle himself. What matters now is checking the lighthouse. The problem is…"
Azadin unfolded the map and studied the lighthouse area.
The lighthouse was heavily guarded by Sea Snake Nagas.
"If I were alone, I could scale the wall and slip in without a fight…"
But he couldn't bring along Zebeck, Scott, or Shati, who didn't have wall-climbing skills.
"You guys stay back and wait. I'll go alone."
"That's dangerous."
"No, the more people, the harder it gets. Instead, attach that Gold-crowned Macaw to me. I'll use it to communicate. If something goes wrong, I'll escape—so be ready to open a retreat path."
"Well, in that case."
"But keeping up the Gold-crowned Macaw takes a lot of effort for me too."
"There's an easier way."
Scott rummaged through a nearby storage room and pulled out the corpse of a drowned rat.
"For me, it's way easier to relay info both ways. The catch is—I have to use necromancy."
"Necromancy…"
Zebeck sighed deeply.
"Use it. Just do it."
"Giving up?"
"I'll have to become a penitent knight over this compromise. Though, in my case, I'm lucky enough just to have the chance to become a penitent knight."
The Judge, Zekt, would never let Zebeck live. Unless they dealt with Zekt, there would be no chance for Zebeck to formally become a penitent knight.
"Alright. I'll do it. No going back on your word later."
Scott cast necromancy on the dead rat. Its head swelled with an enormous eyeball that seemed to fill its whole brain cavity, and its tail stiffened like a wire.
"Ugh. Disgusting."
Midiam grimaced at the sight.
"No, if you look closely, it's kind of cute."
Scott insisted as he held the ratling out to Azadin.
"I'll contact you through this. Treat it kindly."
"What, like kiss it or something?"
"That'd be great."
"..."
Azadin silently took the necromanced rat.