Chapter 134

“Here.” At last, from beyond the crowd of people, appeared a man with a beard like seaweed. The fur on Myuri’s tail stood on end, likely because he also wore an eyepatch. “Meyer Donnel. You the Twilight Cardinal?” “Greetings, Captain Donnel. Yes, that is what I am called.” Donnel seemed somewhat quirky—he looked Col up and down with an aggravated expression, looked to Myuri, then recoiled backward. No matter how gallant of a man of the sea he might be, a wolf was a hunter of the mountains, something he would normally never run into. “I need to speak to you with regards to the astronomer, Amaretto.” When Donnel heard that, he quirked his lips, giving a smile that looked like a scowl. “We rushed out of port as fast as we could when we heard someone snatched up our guest from our territory. And wouldya look at that? The Twilight Cardinal himself’s got a hand in kidnappin’!” Donnel’s gravelly voice revived a bit of his crew’s spirit. They were a stout crew of sailors. “No. This would not fall under such criticism. She was in Wobern to begin with. It is under the request of Prince-Elector Duran that I am to save this poor girl, on God’s behalf, from the plot in which she has found herself mixed up.” Donnel fell silent, but Col knew that was not because he was satisfied with his excuse. And yet the reason he did not immediately command his men to attack was because he was waiting to see how this situation would unfold. They were likely nothing more than sailors who just happened to be a part of the Ruvik Alliance, and were not the primary players in this plot. Or perhaps, more realistically, he may have been calculating how many of his men might survive if he were to command them to attack, bearing in mind Myuri’s fangs and claws. Either way, Col loudly and deliberately cleared his throat, and continued. “Amaretto the astronomer confessed to me that when she was trapped in her suffering, she had no choice but to lie. And this lie had to do with the forecast of the eclipse, which I believe you are presently pursuing. She confessed that no such thing existed to begin with.” “…Hah! And you want me to believe you?” His response was as Col expected, so he nodded generously. “Of course, if we believed anyone who asked us to believe them, then this world would not need the clergy. One copy of the scripture would be sufficient, and someone like me would not need to examine the injustices of the Church.” The Ruvik Alliance had reportedly gotten rich by trading in the luxury goods that supported the clergy’s lavish lifestyle. Donnel’s seaweed-like beard flared as he glared at Col in response to his sarcasm, and Myuri’s tail swished back and forth three whole times. “But together, we serve in the name of God. We should be able to understand one another and work together.” The bearded captain attempted to laugh it off, but he could not. That was partially because what Col said sounded like nothing more than lip service, but at the same time, he produced a large map from his pocket once he was finished talking. He knew from dealing with Myuri the first one to show fear was the loser. He boldly continued speaking, undaunted. “Captain, do you have anyone on your ship who is well-versed in trade?” “…What?” “Do you?” he asked again. The armed men exchanged glances and began murmuring among one another. Eventually, a tall, lanky man stepped forward through the crowd. First, he jumped in place at the sight of Myuri, then looked to Col, and drew up his shoulders. “Er, um…” “This is our chief navigator. Former merchant.” Col nodded in satisfaction before unfolding the map over the long table, which had probably been used as a platform in the battle. Donnel encouraged the chief navigator to join him, and he peered at the map. “Miss Amaretto was not researching a prediction for an eclipse in Wobern. She was looking into a particular legend.” “A legend?” “A story of a star that fell from the heavens. Prince-Elector Duran simply assumed she was researching an eclipse.” “……” Donnel and the chief navigator exchanged glances, indescribable expressions on their faces. Perhaps they both thought it was a little too unbelievable that Col would try to confuse them with tall tales. “Look at this map.” Those who had lost their way would always find themselves looking to a path when shown the way. Col pointed to a spot on the map, and both Donnel and the chief navigator looked at where he pointed. “In the era of the ancient empire, the fastest way to reach the north by land was by going through here.” He slid his finger from where sat the Holy See straight north. “There is no road like this now, of course—it’s cut off by a steep mountain range. Typically, one can only go north by hugging the mountain range westward and clinging to what meager manmade paths have been built there. I believe everyone knows of the sea route—there is no other choice but to go around the mainland to the southwest.” The two knew of the sea route, of course. They looked at Col, as though expecting new information. “However, how would you feel if we were to revive the ancient road here?” “What? What’s the point to any of—?” Donnel began, anger in his tone, but Myuri growled and bore her fangs. The chief navigator took a half step back with a little yelp, and Donnel, too, fell silent. “There is a point. I have heard that you trade in a lot of luxury goods in the south. If a road were to open here, then you could transport all your goods to the north very quickly.” “Hah?!” Once again Donnel was at a loss for words. He stared at the map in shock, then leaned in closer to look more intently. When he lifted his head, he looked at Col. “That’s foolish talk—wait…Hmm…” He fell silent again and looked back at the map. This is what it was like to have common sense overturned. “What do you think? Ahberg serves as the endpoint for the river that flows from Wobern, and at the same time it is the ideal port for heading north. The Kingdom of Winfiel is not that far away, and of course, Cobb Island is in a very convenient spot. Think about it—you could transport your goods from south to north a month faster than your competitors. Doesn’t that sound attractive?” Travel cost money. Goods lost their quality as more time passed, and so grew the possibility those products would be lost, stolen, or put on the black market by the very ones tasked with transporting them. Captain Donnel clutched onto his wild, mane-like beard and hummed, as though trying to see if this was a dream or not. “The Twilight Cardinal’s tryin’ to work with us?” “I do not want to start a war. All I want to do is examine the Church’s long history of injustice.” “……” Donnel looked straight at him, yet he was also the first to look away. He rubbed his thumb over his mustache and gritted his teeth like Myuri did. He was unsure and thinking. “But the prince-elector’s here on the map.” Donnel’s thick finger rested on Wobern. The relationship between the people of the sea and the mountains dwellers had never been particularly good. Ahberg, especially, had been treating Wobern terribly with regards to distribution of goods. “If we were to open this road, then profit would come to every person in this entire area. Especially to Wobern, the keystone of this region. I believe persuading Prince-Elector Duran to cooperate is possible.” “……” Donnel looked at Col, then dropped his eyes back down to the map again, as though hiding his interest in the idea. “And?” “The prince-elector does not have a personality suited for war. This area has held martial prowess in high regard for a very long time, so he is not well-respected. Plus, these people are being forced into a disadvantageous position due to the flow of goods, so they see the prince-elector as unreliable and are turning their dissatisfaction toward them.” Donnel, a member of the very alliance who was forcing Wobern into that disadvantageous position, did his best to put up an aggressive visage before looking at Col again. “The hell do you want us to do, then?” “If you are to conduct legitimate trade and stop squeezing the people of Wobern for all they’re worth, then it can be framed as a victory Prince-Elector Duran obtained, and then the prince-elector will be able to avoid political peril.” Col then pointed to a spot on the map. It was a part of the mountain range where Amaretto said the star the Moon-Hunting Bear hunted had fallen. “In exchange for letting Prince-Elector Duran take the credit, I will arrange for special trading privileges for you once the road to the south opens. How does that sound?” The south was a rich land, and the temperate climate meant the region was full of all sorts of foodstuffs. And since the south was then connected both by land and by sea to the desert regions, curious items Col had never seen before often traveled those roads. And what would happen if those things could be brought to Ahberg with overwhelming speed? “Of course, products from the north could be carried south, too. Captain, I’m sure you know the Kingdom of Winfiel is my backer.” Col leaned into the captain’s face, in the way Myuri often did to him. Among the rest of Donnel’s features, reddened from the salt and the sun, his eyes were strangely beady, and they rested hard on Col. “The kingdom produces an incredible amount of wool,” Col explained. It was fast to transport things by ship, yes, but some seasonal conditions caused shipments to fall behind schedule due to adverse winds. But if a proper land route were opened, then trade could carry on throughout the year. Of course, this was all a supposition, and there was no telling if it would truly go so well. But that was what faith was to begin with. People prayed to God because they believed the days to come would be good. “Could you return to Ahberg and speak about this with the rest of the Rivek Alliance?” Of course, Donnel alone would not be making the final decision. However, those who engaged in trade would easily see the benefits of this proposal. If nothing else, the winner of this battle at sea had practically been decided. Vadan and his crew had completely reorganized themselves for battle and were ready to counterattack at any moment. And it was clear from looking at Myuri that if Donnel or any of his men were to make any sudden movements, this standoff would devolve into a bloodbath in an instant. And that meant it was better to return unharmed with a small handful of souvenirs instead of needlessly fighting back and suffering terrible casualties… This captain had to have gone through the decision of whether to keep pushing forward or to pull back, over and over again, now that he had gotten caught in this seaborn storm. Donnel closed his eyes and spoke through his teeth. “My word ain’t gonna be enough to convince the others.” Col immediately nodded. “Of course, I will also go to persuade them. It seems Miss Amaretto wants to apologize for lying to everyone as well.” Donnel’s clenched jaw loosened, and his shoulders seemed to relax. But his one eye still rested on the open map. Perhaps he could not stop imagining what trade would be like once items could freely travel when the north and south were connected. There was a one catchphrase shared among merchants: When a merchant falls down, they do not get up for free. Those who dreamed of joining the clergy thought similarly: there was joy in falling down, because that is a trial given by God. The two were more similar than either thought—there were ways they could understand each other. “Heh,” Donnel snorted, and twisted around. Myuri’s ears piqued and she nearly leaped at him—it almost looked like he was drawing his sword. “Can’t wait to see the surprise on the bigwigs’ faces,” Donnel said. After wiping his hand on his clothes, he stuck it out to Col. When Col grasped it in return, Donnel snorted again and ordered his crew to retreat.