Chapter 916 |
Chapter 916
Although the truth of these healers' abilities was uncertain, the group was convinced that they were Awakeners and had undoubtedly been the ones who saved Nahan.
‘However, there wasn't enough time to inquire further about those healers.’
Had the Cavalry been in a more relaxed situation, they might have considered staying longer, or even selecting some of their own to exchange places and send to the Southern lands. However, neither option was feasible at the moment, so returning after gathering only that much information was the best they could do. The party concluded their mission after establishing a way to communicate with the Southern merchants they had met.
This was the extent of Nathan Zuckerman's report on overseeing the mission. Now, Kanna and Pruelle were here to provide a more detailed account from their own perspectives.
Yuder decided it was better to sit and chat while waiting for Kishiar, rather than standing.
"Please, take a seat."
He offered them water, but both Kanna and Pruelle shook their heads in refusal.
"What about Nipollen? I think there's some milk."
As if recognizing its name, the cat suddenly leaped from its brother's arms and approached Yuder. Yuder gazed expressionlessly at the small head that nuzzled against his ankle.
"I told you to stay put because everyone's busy here. Come here quickly."
"It's okay, let him roam as he pleases."
At Yuder's interjection, Pruelle, who was hastily trying to restrain his brother, sat down with an awkward smile.
"Thank you. After our trip to the desert, Nipollen has become more active than before. He still doesn't often return to his human form, but... I take it as a good sign."
"We were incredibly lucky. The tribe we were connected with through the merchants revered cats as sacred animals. It was fortunate for us on the mission, but especially for Nipollen, it seemed to be a very positive experience."
Kanna interjected with a smile. This was a detail that had not been mentioned in Nathan Zuckerman's report.
"Cats?"
"Yes. Despite our group appearing somewhat suspicious, they readily agreed to help us, largely thanks to Nipollen. I was worried Nipollen might be sad to leave, given how friendly he had become with the cats raised by that merchant group."
Luckily, Nipollen didn't seem to mind too much. The cat, after circling Yuder's ankles repeatedly, suddenly jumped up and cautiously settled on his lap. Pruelle was startled again, but Yuder merely glanced and didn't seem to mind.
"By the way, what was the name of that merchant group?"
"Donabi Manaik. It means 'Tabby Whiskers.' The tribe's name is Nabi Manaik, which would be 'Cat Whiskers Tribe' in the imperial language."
Of course, these were names Yuder had never heard in his previous life. They seemed to be a rather small tribe.
"And what about their connection with the Shuden Trading Company? What was that about?"
"Oh, that. I didn't hear it from them; I found out through my abilities. It's a bit long to explain... But I was planning to inform the Commander anyway."
According to Kanna's story, the Tabby Whiskers merchant group primarily dealt in the trade of monster by-products through maritime routes. By chance, they happened to establish a trading connection with the Shuden Trading Company in in a country to the north. Since the Shuden group also specialized in trading rare goods made from monster by-products, this connection was not surprising.
Naturally, merchant groups sharing the same trading partners would inevitably learn various things about each other. The Shuden group, eyeing an opportunity to expand into the Southern lands, judged the Tabby Whiskers group to be a potentially valuable ally.
“So, Mick Shuden himself went there to meet them. It seems they were a great help when he decided to expand into the Southern lands. I was able to access this information because of that.”
The fact that Mick Shuden, an Awakener who could see the true nature of people, had personally met with them and decided to continue business indicated that the people of the Tabby Whiskers group were deemed trustworthy.
‘Shuden group was almost uniquely known for establishing a branch in the Southern lands... So that's how it was connected. Thinking about it, it would have been difficult to set up a branch in the south without local help.’
In fact, Yuder had been aware of this information since the time he first met Revlin Shand Apeto, when he saw Kishiar comfortably using the Shuden group's identity badge. He had simply thought of it as the group's shrewd business acumen, not expecting it to intertwine and become helpful in such a situation.
“If that’s the case, it might be a good idea to reach out to the Shuden group. If we can maintain a long-term cooperation with the Tabby Whiskers group, it would be beneficial for us too.”
“Right? I was planning to suggest the same to the Commander. From what I observed while there, the tribe's attitude towards people from north of the desert was quite positive. Frankly, we haven't been treated that well by anyone we met in the South. Probably the encounter with the Shuden group brought significant changes to them.”
The Cavalry would continue to gather information about Nahan and the Southern lands, but the quality of information accessible to the locals was naturally higher. This was even more the case in a closed-off area with independent tribes, like the South.
‘According to Aton, while the Wolf's Eye tribe is preparing to stir up the north of the desert, they are also attempting to unite the other Southern tribes.’
He had thought that their momentum was so formidable that they might have almost completed the unification internally. But listening to Kanna, it seemed the situation was not so straightforward, with the tribes not yet completely unified.
‘That’s fortunate from our perspective.’
Just discovering this made the mission a success of incomparable value.
‘...The Wolf's Eye tribe. The Owl Wings merchant group. And the Cat Whiskers tribe. These three are what we need to focus on going forward. And perhaps the Black Moon Faith as well.’
A cold smile appeared on Yuder's lips as he organized his thoughts.
“You’ve done a lot, Kanna.”
“Uh, yeah. Thanks for saying that... But was there something... unusual in the information I provided? You seem overly pleased...”
“...That’s a pleased expression?”
Listening quietly until now, Pruelle asked with a look of disbelief.
"Elle, you still can't read Yuder's expressions, can you? The fact that he smiles like that means he's in a very good mood, so remember that. The only time Yuder has smiled like that was the night before he introduced a particularly intense training menu, an event that is still talked about to this day. The next day, we all went through hell..."
Kanna whispered with a warmth in her eyes that seemed both full and empty. A tension appeared on Pruelle's face. Yuder was a bit taken aback but decided not to say anything.
He immediately remembered what training Kanna was talking about.
'It was the full training we did before heading south.'
At that time, fewer than ten people managed to complete it within the time limit. Of course, the first person to complete it was Yuder Aile himself, who had devised the training.
The reason his mood was quite good the day before the training started was because, in less than a year since its creation, all 330 members had improved enough to attempt the training, realizing the significant improvement in their skills.
'This training was also done in my previous life, but back then, it was designed to be completed around the third year...'
This meant that the current members were improving at a speed three times faster than in his previous life, and their strong will to undertake the training was equally strong. No matter how good the training menu Yuder prepared, if the participants were not willing to attempt it, the training could not be conducted.
From Yuder's perspective, even seeing some members fall behind was meaningful enough to warrant the challenge, but it seemed the members had interpreted it somewhat differently.
"So... I see. I'm looking forward to the training we'll be doing going forward..."
Pruelle swallowed nervously and smiled. At that moment, Yuder felt a strange sensation and turned his gaze to look at his face.
"Elle."
"Hm?"
"You seem to have a fever."
"Ah... Caught? I've had a slight fever since I returned yesterday. Probably because of the fatigue accumulated from the desert trip, so I took medicine right away to bring down the fever, and it's not affecting my daily life, so I was just going to rest."
"No. Just go back now."
"...Why?"
Yuder closely examined the face of the young man with relaxed, red hair. Although he seemed not to notice it himself, Yuder's intuition was certain.
Right now...
"That's not just a slight fever. It looks like your second gender manifestation is about to start, so you should head back."
"...Second gender manifestation? Me?"