Chapter 298: Unearth (18)

"What's wrong?"

"It's just... he was always so willful. Thinking of him wandering about without sending me word of what he's doing... It frustrates me." The captain steadied his breath. "His name is Barboa."

He spoke as though I were someone worthy to hear it.

"We are close. He's an elder to me, and in our hidden order, he holds a rank above mine. He's hard to meet even for us, yet you know of him. That's remarkable."

I had only mentioned him at random, but it turned out they were indeed close.

"Well, not exactly. I only happened to see him during a trade with someone else. He wouldn't remember me."

Captain Nexmond's admiration only deepened. "As a plenipotentiary envoy, he handles only the most secretive and critical clients. To have seen him even at a transaction, regardless of who the other party was... I have indeed met a great man today."

"..."

Should I correct his misunderstanding? It hardly mattered. It wasn't unbelievable either.

I recalled the Red Flake assassin-sister, Elwin Esau, codenamed Starlight Blue Fox. The fox-masked one who bore witness to the emperor's assassination attempt. Her thin, black-gloved, white hand had once

killed

Marquis Leandro in a single strike. Only an elixir of absurd potency had restored him after his heart was shattered. She'd even wielded the so-called legacy technology, and equipped with an impossible sum of forbidden techniques. For someone like her, even small errands required a high-ranking envoy.

"So, if I gain full membership, would I be able to trade with him as well?"

That earned me a troubled look from Nexmond.

"Though we are each independent agencies... if you show your card, most will gladly trade. As a member, your worth as a partner is already proven," he added, with quiet conviction, "we place unshakable faith in one another's discernment. But Barboa is willful. If he dislikes someone, he'll never let them aboard his ship."

"

Hm

."

"Threats would be useless as well. He'd resist until the bitter end, thinking it mattered little either way. Should you meet him, I ask you to please, persuade him. And tell him to send word to me, if you would. I would be deeply grateful."

"That much I can do."

It wasn't much of a request. In truth, I was only curious about the man who had died by the marquis's hand, all because of me.

"Have you any other questions?"

There was one.

"His body... was it also..."

I hadn't even finished the question before the captain understood. "No. Not a single modification. He hasn't replaced anything, not even an earring."

"..."

With a wholly untouched physique, he'd hoisted anchors and set sails on his own. That alone marked him as extraordinary. No wonder he took pride in choosing his clients.

Fwoooaash...

Another wave rolled in, and foam broke against the hull. White seabirds shot upward over the blue waters. Their broad wings carried them freely across sky and sea, red eyes gleaming. Each dive ended with a silver fish clamped in a long beak, thrashing violently. The birds' keratin tips,mercilessly tore through scales.

"By the way..." the captain asked me as he watched the slaughter. "You said you plan to oppose the imperial family. May I ask in detail?"

"Well..."

I had spoken grandly, but in truth, I had no concrete plan. As I'd once told Lime, I waved it off with a vague line about helping Rubia. Unlike Lime, Nexmond asked nothing further.

He simply nodded with a calm smile. "That is much simpler than the first request you gave. For her, I will promise full support."

Knock, knock.

It was time for the captain to return to command.

Ending our talk, the captain stepped out to furl the sails. "Excuse me for a moment."

The trade ship, which had flown across the waves, slowed under its heavy cargo. The horizon vanished, replaced by a small harbor on the coast.

So that's the place.

A deeply indented inlet in the winding shoreline. Without a skilled hand, no ship could enter. The captain went up to the deck, barking orders, then seized the wheel himself. With his precision control devices and mechanical parts, his steering bordered on acrobatics.

The ship slipped neatly between two cliffs, mooring at the perfect center. On the sandy beach inside, several small fishing boats were drawn up. No large vessels, yet space enough for many, with a hall big enough to serve as a warehouse.

Stepping down, the captain surveyed the harbor. "This is Kinis Harbor. We use it as a hideout in emergencies."

"You tell me even that?"

He chuckled. "Of course. This place exists to escape the Empire's gaze. You saved us from their soldiers yourself. Why wouldn't I tell you?"

His eyes gleamed with unwavering trust. Not in me, perhaps, but in the judgment honed by decades of dealing with countless goods and men.

"Then I will spread the word to the guild. Show your card, and it will suffice most anywhere."

"So I needn't give my name?"

"I doubt I'm yet worthy of hearing it. Once I've delivered the Lurium, then we'll see."

Perhaps it was his way of respecting my opposition to the imperial family. Not that I had a name to give. We agreed that goods could be routed through Yube Jinney.

Then, the captain turned back to me. "If you have no pressing matters, you could come along. You might see one of my trades in person."

He was surprisingly warm, perhaps because I had saved his life. Seeing who'd received such advanced prosthetics could prove useful.

Yet, I shook my head. "No. This is where we part ways."

I recalled the map Lime had given me. Not far from here, a tribe suffered exploitation under the Necron cult.

Nexmond's face fell slightly, then he produced a pouch of gold from his pack. "Then at least take this for your travels."

Even at a glance, I could tell it was heavy. I accepted it and stored it in my inventory.

The captain licked his lips and swallowed, still unsettled by the sight. "Truly astounding..."

Isaac, silent until now, said again,

"What are you doing, a circus act? You should charge more than that for a show like this."

His voice sounded strangely weak.

***

I left the captain behind and followed the map inland. The journey began at the coast beneath the eastern mountains, and the forest trail was dark and dense. Between the tightly packed trees, sharp peaks jutted upward. Now and then, the path gave way to sudden cliffs dropping into shadow.

As I walked the silent, gloomy road, I asked the crow doll, "Isaac?"

"..."

Since parting with the captain, he hadn't said a word. His eyes were closed, and unease gnawed at me.

"Are you all right?"

"The big eyed goblin. I went overboard when I played with his memory." The crow doll struggled to lift its eyelids, then let them fall shut again. "Would it help if I fed you mana?"

I remembered how I had done so not long ago, but each time the effect had weakened.

Isaac's voice rose faintly, heavy as if sinking into the earth. "No. It wouldn't help now. Don't worry. I'm managing it."

"What about Lurium?"

"I told you before. Under no circumstances will I take it from you..."

His words trailed off, going limp as if he lacked even the strength to finish.

I had to get Lurium for Isaac's sake, lest he lost consciousness altogether.

"Put me inside the inventory."

"In the inventory?"

His eyelids fluttered once in a tiny nod. "I need to be severed from the light. Even now, it gnaws at me. If Illien senses I used my power, then... hurry."

So, even the faint beams filtering through the canopy tormented him. Perhaps only the forest's shade had allowed him to speak this much at all.

Swoosh!

I opened the void and placed him inside. I caught a glimpse of his form shrunken many times over, vanishing as the space closed.

"..."

Would he recover there? I stared at the sealed air before me, then turned toward my goal. From here on, it was unexplored ground. A road I had never walked, not even in all my regressions.

When I met Boomtong, it was Isaac's help that let me alter his memory and seize the inventory. Could I make it through so smoothly without him?

The path grew narrower and harsher. Few spots offered safe footing, yet strangely, the sunlight grew stronger. The trees of the forest had all withered, their leaves bleached white and dead, letting the sun blaze through unhindered.

"..."

Unlike the goblin villages, there were neither stench of rot nor heaps of corpses. Yet, step by step, the forest itself seemed to turn into a corpse. I recalled the map.

This place should be the Krotte village...

Krotte were round-bodied beasts covered in fur, burrowers that lived underground. They weren't much of a threat. The Necron cult exploiting them could hardly be formidable.

I had only to stroll in, slaughter whoever picked a fight, and free the village. That would win Lime's favor. At my level now, there was no danger at all, yet tension still crept in. I had relied on Isaac more than I realized.

"You refused my proposal, didn't you? Then you must have an alternative. You've died more than ten times, living through everything you just described. Think for yourself. You'll come up with something better than what I just said."

I remembered his words.

Rustle.

For now, I sank into the darkness. Until I found the enemy, remaining hidden would be wise. Even weak foes could produce surprises. The ghosts, immune to my Detection, could be wandering nearby. Only after acquiring perfect awareness of the enemy and the terrain would I strike. I'd erase even the smallest chance of failure, like testing even the stones of a bridge before crossing.

Isaac had carried me this far, even to the point of collapse. I would not waste that by resetting everything back to the start.

Focus.

Meditation.

Detection.

[Entering Active State.]

[Skill efficiency increased by 400%...]

[Detection range further amplified.]

[Detection accuracy further amplified.]

Tracking...

[Skill: Tracking Lv. 15 activated.]

[Mind's Eye (C+) activated.]

[Special state achieved: Clear Mirror, Still Water

.

]

My highest-level skills, far above anything my targets could withstand, cascaded outward, seizing all above and below ground in their grasp.