The horse beastkin’s mane and lips trembled uncontrollably.
And understandably so. It was a water source stone.
In the Nakar Desert, even a rumor that an explorer had found a single water source stone in the sanctuary would lead to all kinds of vile deeds.
That kind of water source stone!
Just one of them was enough to support a small city. And here, they were embedded in the ceiling like mere pebbles scattered on sand.
And it wasn’t just the horse beastkin reacting this way.
The rabbit-eared Toh tribe, the feather-footed Woo tribe, the beak-faced and intimidating Kei tribe, the dog-like Kyeon tribe, and the round-eared narrow-eyed Seo tribe… all were the same.
“H-How could there be this many water source stones…?”
“J-Just at a glance, it looks like there are thousands!”
“What on earth is this…?”
The orcs smiled with satisfaction at their reactions.
After all, those stones were brought by Shane. The one they considered a representative of the gods.
Of course, none of them knew that a young girl had shed tears of blood, screaming in agony through the night for this.
– This damned mouth is the problem, this mouth! Graaaah!!
None of them could have imagined the scream of that underground race girl.
Just then, one of the Seo tribe hurried over to an orc and asked,
“W-Where on earth did you get these? Keeeeek.”
Given the distance between the Nakar Desert tribes and the Arunbida orcs, communication was expected to be difficult, but to their surprise, the orcs’ language wasn’t all that different from that of the desert tribes.
Considering the orcs originally came from a region near the Nakar Desert, it wasn’t too surprising.
At any rate, the orc wearing a confident expression answered,
“Found them. On the way from outside. In a huge temple.”
“A huge temple…?”
“In the big mountain range outside the desert.”
“Keeeeek…”
Since the source was outside the desert, not only did they have no way to go and obtain it themselves, but with the orc saying it that way, they couldn’t even lay claim to the water source stones.
The orc, completely unaware that he had just effortlessly defused the seed of a potential conflict, twitched his large lips.
“This is desert. I heard there’s no water here. If you need it, we sell that to you. We need iron and leather. Magic stones are important too.”
“Yo…you’re saying we can buy water source stones with mere iron and leather?”
At that, the other tribal representatives perked up their ears.
“We don’t need that much water. We just need to cross the desert. But desert is dangerous. We need lots of weapons.”
“Keek…”
The tribal representatives fell into deep thought.
Of course, as for leather, monster hides were in abundance. And as for iron….well, in this desert, iron was so common it was said that if you dig anywhere, you’ll find it.
The Nakar Desert was rich in iron ore, so much so that any cave you entered would yield some.
However, from the tribes’ perspective, the number of orcs (or what they believed to be the Don tribe) was the real issue.
From what the orcs said about crossing the desert, giving them iron might be acceptable. But if they forged weapons from it….who could say whether those weapons would eventually be turned on them?
But if they’re selling water source stones, doesn’t that prove they don’t intend to stay long in the desert?
If that’s the case, could they trust these orcs enough to sell them weapons?
That said, the representatives didn’t have the authority to make that decision here and now.
Tensions between the tribes in the Nakar Desert had already worsened recently due to the appearance of the Saintess.
Even on the way here, the representatives had split into factions, waging a fierce psychological battle among themselves. Parmash had gone through quite the ordeal just to keep things under control.
“Thank you for your kind answer. Keek. We’ll need to think this over a bit more.”
“Take your time. We orcs, we’re nice. We know how to wait. Khrung!”
“Hmm…”
And so, after organizing the information in their heads, they nodded and stepped inside.
What kind of cave was this? Inside, the cave was structured like a giant ant nest, with tunnels and vast chambers.
In one area, food ingredients that had been hunted and prepared outside were piled up, while in another chamber, guarded under tight security, there was a weapons storage.
Each and every weapon was heavy, suited to the size and strength of the large orcs.
“May I take a closer look at the weapons?”
This time, it was the representative of the cow beastkin tribe, who had a strong interest in weapons, that raised his hand and asked. Once again, the orcs took out a weapon from the storage and handed it to him.
“Ho…”
This beastkin was known in the Nakar Desert as a skilled craftsman of weapons.
Unlike other races, cow beastkin lacked claws and sharp teeth, so their combat style mainly involved using weapons in combination with their large horns.
Even to such a beastkin’s trained eye, the equipment the orcs had brought showed no signs of inferiority.
But that was only to be expected.
From the beginning, the orcs had forged various weapons themselves in order to survive the harsh environment of Arunbida, so they possessed a considerable level of blacksmithing skill.
Moreover, their techniques included secrets developed by humans.
And those secrets had been bought from some rather well-known craftsmen.
Unlike in the past, humans, burdened with the monumental task of conquering the Cradle, had fought countless wars even amongst themselves.
Because of that, human development could never be underestimated.
But how could the craftsmen share such secrets so easily?
– Wh-What is this? A check… Ah. Don’t tell me, you’re trying to buy me with money! Hng. But… why is there no number written on it?
– Write down the amount you want.
– …?!
At the very least, Shane was someone who believed there were very few things that couldn’t be solved with money.
And in reality, that belief had held true.
In the end, the craftsman had no choice but to take the check, damp with tears of emotion, and hand over the iron forging technique to Shane.
“Mmoo… This is some remarkably sturdy iron. The weight is just right, and the handle is in excellent condition.”
The cow beastkin fiddled with the glaive, a weapon not even their specialty, for quite some time before handing it back to the orc with a look of regret.
“We also take commissions. If you request it, we can make weapons too. But not too many. We’re busy too.”
“You take commissions, you say? Mmooo!”
While the cow beastkin kept their own techniques tightly guarded for fear of them leaking outside, the orcs had no intention of staying long in the desert from the beginning. So they boldly declared their willingness in such matters.
Even after that, the beastkin’s eyes sparkled as they looked over the various magic tools the orcs had brought with them (of course, all supplied by Shane).
Some were especially interested in the visual recording orb, and among them—
A bird beastkin with a huge beak laughed and said,
“Kakak! Kakaaak! A visual recording orb? What a strange item. Is this for sale too? I’m also intrigued by the other so-called magic tools.”
At that, the orc shook his head regretfully.
“We only have a limited number. Magic tools. They’re rare. So we don’t sell them.”
“Pity… Kawk-kawk.”
At first, Shane had considered using magic tools as a primary trade item, but they didn’t seem to be in high demand.
Unlike water, which could never be abundant enough, magic tools were more of a luxury item used by only a select few.
Most of the beastkin had shown interest when they first saw the unfamiliar tools but soon lost interest. They apparently decided they weren’t of much use for surviving in the desert.
The only one who seemed to maintain interest in the magic tools until the end was the bird beastkin. However, Parmash who was a master at reading others had already realized that the emotion behind the bird beastkin’s gaze wasn’t mere curiosity.
Two emotions in particular stood out to him.
He’s anxious… and afraid. But why?
Among the six tribes gathered here today, excluding the cat tribe, the only one that had officially pledged loyalty to the Saintess was none other than the rabbit tribe.
The rabbit beastkin, with their exceptional mobility and large ears capable of detecting sounds over 50 meters away, were also highly sensitive to vibrations.
However, their fighting power was significantly weaker compared to the other tribes, and their numbers were relatively small as well.
That was why they were the first to side with the Saintess.
He had also heard that the gentle cow and dog tribes had recently begun to show interest in that side. But the bird tribe was different.
They had maintained a stance of neutrality from beginning to end.
They didn’t deny the existence of the Saintess, but they hadn’t hastily joined her either.
And yet, that member of the bird tribe had shown enough interest in the magic tools to catch Parmash’s attention…particularly, he seemed obsessed with the image recorder.
Seeing that bird tribe’s representative, Parmash recalled a conversation he’d had with Shane a few days ago.
***
“A tribe that shows interest in magic tools….especially one that’s fixated on image recorders is highly likely to be connected to the fake Saintess.”
“Why is that?”
“Because illusions and dreams can’t be recorded on video.”
“Ah!”
Just as Shane had said.
That image recorder was practically the Saintess’s Achilles’ heel.
***
Afterward, the beastkin who had toured the orcs’ residence reacted in various ways, then left with thoughtful expressions on their faces.
Having seen them off, Parmash now faced Shane, who had quietly entered his room at some point.
“The bird tribe, huh…”
At Parmash’s comment, Shane closed his eyes for a moment.
There had been no spies from the bird tribe in his previous life. The bird tribe had maintained neutrality to the very end.
But perhaps due to Shane’s interference in this life, the bird tribe’s representative had ended up joining under the Nameless One.
It was still just one representative. But that meant he had the chieftain’s trust. And if such a representative was serving Nameless, it likely meant the tribe’s chief had already been won over.
But it seems the entire tribe hasn’t been swallowed up yet.
While Shane thought this over, he also concluded that this wasn’t something to be relieved about.
It was because he was beginning to see what Nameless was aiming for.
The bird tribe hadn’t been created to swallow up other tribes in the first place. It was likely established solely to monitor this side.
“Have there been more bird beastkin mercenaries in the city lately?”
“Hmm… Now that you mention it, their numbers have increased by about ten percent. And on top of that, trade requests from the bird chieftain have also… Wait a minute. Don’t tell me!”
Parmash, being a chieftain himself, quickly grasped what the bird’s behavior meant.
“They’re spying on us.”
“Still, why go to such lengths? It’s not like the Saintess lacks followers already.”
“Because they’re used differently.”
“Differently… Ah, I see.”
Once again, Parmash nodded in understanding.
Right now, the Saintess was gathering other tribes through a fundamentally moderate approach.
In that situation, ordering her allies to spy on others wouldn’t make sense. Moreover, it would be difficult to use those who had already joined her side as spies.
“That just means we’ve become that much more of an irritation to Nameless.”
The rumors about a new Saintess and the sudden appearance of the orcs—
It had surely ruffled Nameless’s feathers.
Even so, he couldn’t make a move easily, which must have been frustrating.
“Take this.”
“This is…?”
Shane handed over a small, magical device in the shape of a music box.
“I made it myself. If you channel mana into it, it’ll emit a loud sound whenever you start to dream.”
“Oh…”
As expected of someone who had arrived with the Saintess.
To Parmash, the man before him felt like a spirit from legend. Someone who would grant any request just by being asked.
Of course, Shane knew better than anyone how powerful Lucid Rem could be, which is why he had no choice but to prepare such a countermeasure in advance.
“With this, at the very least, we can prevent the temptress from stealing information.”
“Thank you, truly.”
Greatly satisfied, Parmash expressed his gratitude, and Shane nodded in return before wrapping up the rest of the conversation and heading back to his quarters.
But contrary to expectations, the dream didn’t come to Parmash.
It came to Shane.
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