[703] God of the Desert (2)
"Yacha… did you say?"
The Maga thieves' band knew who yachas were — S-class criminals even the Empire recognized.
'They still won't reach the captain's toes,' the deputy thought.
A manifestation was a standard of mastery rather than raw power; even among yachas the levels varied wildly.
When Baknyeo untied her faded, multicolored turban, a mane of black hair spilled out, so dark it looked ominous.
She wiped the sweat from her chest with the turban and studied the King Scorpions' corpses closely.
In the area pocked like a meteor strike, shredded scorpion carcasses lay strewn about.
In some places they'd been cleanly bisected; in others they'd been ground into tiny pieces as if pulverized.
"One Banya. Two yachas."
By the composition, there was no doubt who she was searching for.
"Where did they go?"
Although he wondered at how talkative the captain had been today, the deputy answered plainly.
"They headed south."
"What's south of here?"
"Vanguard… the largest oasis in the region. Merchants use it as a waypoint before crossing into the Paras Kingdom. The security is tight."
Baknyeo handed the turban to the deputy and mounted the Omek.
"Ah…"
The scent that made his head reel made the deputy want desperately to bury his face in the turban.
'Get a grip. She isn't a woman. She's an animal.'
She didn't wash until the rains came, had never been seen in underwear, and owned only a single ragged robe. Watching her urinate while walking was enough to make one flinch.
He'd never once thought her beautiful.
So why did his chest flare up like it was on fire whenever he came near her?
Baknyeo gave the order.
"Vanguard. We head south."
The members' eyes widened.
"You mean you're going to chase after them? The Desert God is coming."
As the beast-king, Baknyeo was the best judge of changes in the wind's temper.
"They left several hours ago. It's already too late. We won't make the time."
"Then go faster."
Isn't that impossible? the deputy thought — which was exactly why he'd been desperately trying to stop them.
"We can go fast."
He wanted to give Baknyeo what she wanted.
"But what about the job we're doing now? The altar-dismantling work?"
"We'll do it later."
It was the only solution Baknyeo offered.
"…Understood."
The deputy, having mounted the Omek, shouted to the bandits.
"We ride at top speed from now on! Destination: Vanguard!"
'They're insane. They'll get everyone killed.'
Baknyeo and the forty thieves set out for the south.
* * *
As night fell and the temperature plunged, even flying through the air felt like your skin might freeze.
"Ugh — cold. This is a problem."
Only then did they finally understand why Uorin had insisted they must reach Vanguard before sunset.
"Hang on a bit. There — you can see the oasis."
A vast oasis lay like a lake reflecting the moon, and beside it a complex of market buildings had formed.
'So that's Vanguard.'
Three apartment blocks formed an outer wall, and countless stalls filled the inner square.
Rian said, "That's a fortress. Steel-framed building, double-glazed windows. Did they really need to build it like that?"
"It's strange. And did you notice? More people have been showing up since the sun went down."
Merchants who'd been hidden until now were rapidly gathering at Vanguard.
"Yeah. Like they're being hunted."
Kida laughed.
"Heh heh! Worried? Uorin told us to come. That woman's crazy, sure, but she knows how to read a situation."
It sounded contradictory, but somehow it made sense.
"We fought like maniacs all day — let's rest properly. Besides, we got paid well."
As Kaidra approached, the merchants amassed at Vanguard all looked up and cried out.
"Hey! Look over there!"
The monstrous bird's arrival frightened the guards, and a siren wailed from Vanguard's watchtower.
"Monster! A monster's appeared!"
Someone pointed at Shirone.
"Wait! There's a person!"
With Uorin as her master, Kaidra settled in the nearest spot as if used to such scenes.
"What about Latusa? Put it in a stable and it'll just be another meal."
"Uorin said there's no need for special care. If you let it loose, it'll find food on its own."
Shirone leapt down from Kaidra and, pausing midstep, fixed his gaze ahead with a grave expression.
Countless merchants stared at Shirone's group.
"Um… hello?"
He greeted them in the continental lingua franca, but the merchants, who'd spent their lives speaking only Kashan, didn't understand.
"He's not a Middle Easterner, right? What's with that nasty green face?"
"Looks like desert poisoning. Pity. No chance of getting married like that."
Kida had never eaten a Middle Easterner, but she understood their looks and tutting.
"What are you? I'm a goblin! The handsomest goblin of all!"
The tutting grew louder.
"Where are you from?"
An older merchant asked, and Shirone answered.
"Rian, tell them. We're not merchants, and that monster is my summoned creature. Say I'm a mage."
That ought to convince them.
As Rian fumbled through the translation, murmurs ran through the crowd.
"A mage? If he commands a thing like that, he must be incredible."
"If that's true…"
Their eyes changed on the spot.
'Mages have money.'
No sooner had that thought formed than the merchants surged toward Shirone.
"What is this! Why are these people like this!"
Hawking inside Vanguard was strictly forbidden — fights between merchants would shut down trade for the day. Outside, though, predators preyed on fools.
Especially if it was a mage who summoned monsters; buying everything in sight would be child's play.
"Here! Buy my goods! Special wares! Quality guaranteed!"
"You have to tell us what it is!"
A torrent of calls spilled through the Ultima system.
"Buy my stuff! Hurry, buy before he kills us!"
'If he's going to kill them, why go into business?' Shirone thought as a gaunt man thrust out a clump of black dirt that reeked.
"This is just what you need — a potion to become immortal."
"Immortal?"
"Just a spoonful stirred into water and you won't die until the next morning. You'll have the night of your life."
"I'm not buying! I won't buy anything!"
"Perfect for one person! Don't you know the saying about the right hand not knowing what the left hand does?"
Shirone shouted, "Rian! I can't understand a word they're saying!"
Rian grabbed Shirone and pushed through the crowd.
Kida, glasses crooked, stood dazed for a moment; when Shirone arrived she twisted her body.
"Run! Get inside!"
Crossing Vanguard's gate, the faint cry of Kaidra's monstrous bird echoed through the sky.
"Wow! Really something! A total hard sell."
Shirone dropped to a knee to catch his breath, and a woman's shrill laugh rang out.
"Hohoho! Of course. This is the heart of the desert, ruled by emptiness. No one can keep their wits here."
She was a plump woman in her forties, flanked by two sword-bearing guards.
Her dark skin had been powdered so white it looked unnatural, and her lips were stained a bloody crimson.
She fanned herself with a Middle Eastern fan, a corset laced tight beneath a sheer dress.
"You are…?"
She flipped the fan back and greeted them.
"I'm Momodo, Vanguard's thirty-second administrator. I heard you're a mage — is that true?"
"Yes."
Rian didn't even need to translate.
"Forget the fuss outside and spend lavishly in Vanguard. Tonight will be long."
"What do you mean by that?"
Rian translated.
"The Desert God will soon sweep over this place."
"Desert God?"
Shirone had seen the term in a dead man's journal.
"The Desert God is Noscarta — an equatorial wind unique to the Akkad Desert's environment. A massive sandstorm that wipes everything away."
"If it's such a powerful sandstorm, how has this place stayed safe until now?"
Momodo pointed at a huge machine installed between the U-shaped apartment blocks.
"It's a sand evacuation device. Even if a storm comes, it pumps the sand away immediately. Oasis Luna never dries up, and this device is Vanguard's pride."
It was the only sanctuary in the central desert.
'Huh. So that explains the King Scorpions' mass flight…' What kind of sandstorm could drive away monsters over two meters long in packs?
"Vanguard is safe. So spend your money! Enjoy yourselves! Even the Desert God can't stop your luxury."
After Momodo finished her promotional spiel and left, Shirone's party wandered through the market embroidered with brilliant colors.
"If she's that confident, let's relax. At least we won't be buried in sand, right?"
If the desert storm came, they'd be stuck for a while.
"Maybe. First, let's eat. We didn't get anything while fighting the King Scorpions."
They chose skewered grilled salamander.
It looked revolting, but Kida's philosophy was that when you're somewhere new you have to try the local specialty.
They bought pointless souvenirs and each picked up a jar of special cream to protect their skin from the sun.
"Travel is fun. Where to next?"
"How about over there?"
Shirone pointed to a row of colorful tents lining the street.
"It's an astrology tent. I heard the Akkad Desert tribes are skilled at that."
"Ah, predicting the future?"
Kida blinked and snorted.
"I don't believe in that. Even statistically, there are so many — do all the world's prophets gather here?"
"Ha! Pretty much."
Shirone thought the same, but as a Banya who had realized the Law, he was genuinely curious.
"True Law-seeing astrologers are extremely rare. Still, it'd be fun to try. Memories are memories."
Each tent had a long queue.
'Well, this is the desert.' People living in a land of death would naturally be anxious about the future.
"They're popular. We'll probably have to wait a long time."
"That tent has no line."
A tent flying a crystal-orb banner — to their surprise, not a single person was waiting.
Kida eyed it suspiciously.
"Usually a place like that must be terrible."
"So what? We don't really believe it anyway. Hearing someone else tell us our fate could be fun."
Since they were resting, they wanted to try a few things.
"Heh heh! I'll be the ruler of the world."
Shirone pushed aside the tent flaps and stepped inside.
"Excuse me. Huh?"
A girl about his age had even put her face veil on the table and thrown her head back, sleeping soundly.
Drooling and with no intention of waking up, she lay there — and Kida slipped in behind Shirone and said,
"There's always a reason a place fails."