Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Seal of the Thunder Dragon King
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The warrior from Maganen answered.
"Yes."
Rakrak was indeed using a seal.
A wooden one engraved with his own name, dipped in water mixed with charcoal dust and stamped down.
Rakrak said.
"The one asking for that seal stamp—is it the crayfish called 'Rubo'?"
"No, it's not."
"It's not? Then why do they want the seal stamped?"
"Well..."
The warrior from Maganen recounted the incident Tatar had faced.
Tatar spotted Astasidian ships beyond the coastline.
He found it odd.
It hadn't been long since Rubo had wrapped up their fifth trade and departed.
'Has Rubo come back already?'
But no, that wasn't the case.
Rubo belonged to the turquoise Astasidian tribe, but these newcomers were blue Astasidians.
Fortunately, they showed no hostility toward the Lizardmen.
The Astasidian leader approached Tatar, who stood on the shore, and spoke.
"Greetings. I hear you're the esteemed Tatar of the Thunder Dragon Kingdom? I am Marang of the Blue Shell Tribe."
"...Thunder Dragon Kingdom? ...Esteemed Tatar?"
Tatar echoed the unfamiliar terms, and the Astasidian replied.
"Word of the Thunder Dragon Kingdom is spreading like wildfire among us Astasidians. They say that beyond that sea lives the descendants of dragons, wielding the power of lightning, dressed in fine silks, and armed with swords of unbreakable metal forged tough as can be."
Tatar paused in thought.
He had indeed shared such tales with Rubo of the turquoise tribe.
For a Tatar proud of Rakrak's renown, it was a joy to tell those ignorant of Rakrak's feats what he had accomplished—and why this nation was truly great.
'...But I don't recall ever calling them descendants of dragons.'
Stories needed a bit of embellishment for flair, but Tatar felt "dragon descendants" was pushing the boast a tad far.
Other nations had exchanged diplomatic documents a few times before, and the country name Rakrak had used then was the far more modest Black Scale, nothing like "Thunder Dragon Kingdom."
Before Tatar could point that out, however, Marang pressed on.
"If it's agreeable, how about trading with our Blue Shell Tribe as well...?"
"Mm, sure."
"And we have one more request."
"What is it?"
Marang held out a bolt of silk and said.
"If it's no trouble, could the esteemed one stamp here the seal of Thunder Dragon Great King Rakrak...?"
Tatar fell into momentary thought at the grandiose title of "Thunder Dragon Great King" and the unusual demand.
Asking for a simple seal stamp wasn't hard for Tatar.
Rakrak was king, but to Tatar, he was also a battle brother who'd fought by his side.
They'd shared water and food on the battlefield, so a mere seal was no big deal.
'But handing a stamp over on blank silk? That's suspicious.'
A seal was proof that the king had seen and approved something.
Stamping blank silk would endorse its value, sure, but...
'If they add writing to the stamped silk later, it becomes as if Rakrak endorsed whatever they wrote.'
So Tatar had no choice but to ask Marang.
"What's the reason?"
"Well... the reason is..."
Marang anxiously clacked his claws together in front.
Even if Tatar didn't know Astasidian gestures well, he could tell the creature was fretting.
Marang said.
"It's because we won."
"Won against what?"
"Our archipelago has seen long strife. Not just among other races, but we Astasidians divided into many tribes. But this time, our tribe ended the fighting."
"Good for you. Congratulations."
"Thank you."
Marang folded his legs and bowed low, his whole body dropping—what looked like a greeting to Tatar.
"But a few hold grudges against our victory. To win their acceptance, we need endorsement from the greatest king recognized in our archipelago—the Thunder Dragon King of the Thunder Dragon Kingdom."
"......"
"If the Thunder Dragon Great King stamps this silk as proof of our strength, we can live in peace without discord."
Tatar grew even more perplexed.
'Just how exaggerated have our nation's tales become among them?'
For now, Tatar told Marang it would take time to get the silk stamped via a runner to Rakrak.
Marang promised more shellfish and pearls next visit and begged for the stamped silk by then before departing.
Tatar didn't fully buy Marang's story.
'I get that Rakrak's seal is valuable to them. But everything rang a bit off. If they want a stamp on documents, wouldn't it make more sense to write the reasons first instead of blank silk?'
There were other issues too.
'Rubo, who's traded with me most, only left recently. Rubo must be the one spreading tall tales about the Thunder Dragon Kingdom... er, Black Scale. It doesn't add up that other crayfish beat him.'
Tatar sent the silk along with his concerns to Rakrak.
Rakrak reached a decision without much deliberation.
He told the runner.
"Then we just go verify in person."
"Pardon? Rakrak yourself?"
"No. Leave this to Warrior Captain Tatar."
"But the crayfish archipelago is far across the sea."
"That's why I asked about ship numbers."
Rakrak said it like it was no big deal.
"If we're trading anyway, don't we need to know how these crayfish live, what skills they have, and what we can gain from them? So relay my words exactly to Tatar via Maganen's runner."
Rakrak's will reached Tatar days later.
Tatar had already steeled himself for it.
Tatar and the warriors learned to sail from Rubo's Astasidian crewmen.
Sailing was a first for Tatar and the warriors, but fighting unseen foes alongside Rakrak had been firsts too.
As their domain expanded, new lands and creatures appeared; they'd learned unknown skills, and now new archipelagos emerged. The warriors embraced it all.
Adventure was routine for them.
They hit rough weather en route, but Tatar arrived safely at the island.
Rubo's turquoise Astasidian tribe's island.
He met Rubo right away.
"Esteemed Tatar of the Thunder Dragon Kingdom! What brings you?"
"Mm..."
Tatar hesitated on where to start before getting to the point.
The self-proclaimed Marang of the blue Astasidians had asked for a stamp on blank silk.
Hearing that, Rubo raised his large claw high and snapped it open and shut. He was furious.
"That...! Marang! What a rude bastard!"
"Why's that?"
"That Marang is the chieftain of my rival blue Astasidian tribe!"
"He claimed he'd unified the Astasidians."
"Lies!"
Tatar nodded. It figured.
"He's scheming to borrow the Thunder Dragon Great King's prestige with that seal!"
"Is he now?"
"Yes! We Astasidians haven't merged into one great tribe yet. But if someone shows up waving the Thunder Dragon Great King's seal? Especially if it says he backs their tribe? Many tribes would side with them. They'd gain the edge in this long stalemate."
"I see."
Tatar pondered carefully.
His nation being revered on this tiny island chain was intriguing, but someone exploiting Rakrak's name didn't seem like a huge issue for Tatar or Rakrak.
It was just crayfish squabbling far across the sea.
When Tatar voiced this, Rubo got angry again.
"Esteemed one! Don't you know much about trade?"
"True enough. I'm a warrior, not a merchant."
"Then let me explain. Think: what did that Marang offer in exchange for the seal?"
"Said he'd handle the next trade properly."
"See? That's it. No solid promises! Marang's trying to buy the Thunder Dragon Great King's seal dirt cheap!"
Tatar nodded.
Marang was shady.
'He acted so untrustworthy because he planned to deceive me from the start.'
But Tatar could level the same doubt at other Astasidians too.
Like the one before him, Rubo.
"Then how much would you pay for it?"
"...Pardon?"
Tatar pulled silk from his pouch.
Rakrak's seal was stamped on it.
"Rakrak said to bring it just in case. Burn it if unneeded."
"Heavens no! Burn it?!"
"Rakrak entrusted this to me. If needed, it's not some empty 'Thunder Dragon Great King' title—it's Rakrak's real authority."
"R-Really?"
Tatar said.
"So tell me. How much for this?"
"P-Please wait a moment..."
Rubo consulted his kin, clacking antennae, then returned.
But Tatar rejected the price before even hearing it fully.
Rubo raised it twice more, but Tatar shot them all down.
Tatar didn't know trade well, but those offers would've satisfied Rakrak. Still, Tatar was stubborn.
'I'm no merchant. So I'll do exactly as Rakrak instructed.'
As Rubo hemmed and hawed, Tatar said.
"If you can't pay, I'll try other Astasidian tribes."
"A waste of time. We've traded most with you, esteemed one. Others aren't as wealthy."
"But I've only trusted your word so far. And you've sold our goods hawking us as dragon descendants. Profited extra from that."
"...Urgh."
Rubo, caught red-handed, mumbled excuses.
"True. I spread those tales to make silk and iron more valuable. 'Lizardman silk' or 'Lizardman iron' doesn't sell like 'dragon descendant craft.' But it's not total lies! That's how it looked to us."
Tatar inwardly rejoiced seeing Rubo tell the truth—Rakrak's lessons worked.
'Start with flat refusal... what next?'
Truth be told, the method Tatar recalled wasn't purely Rakrak's.
Rakrak had picked it up from Huigyeong.
Not learned directly, but Huigyeong had bragged about profits from prior trades, so Rakrak filed it away for later.
And it wasn't purely Huigyeong's either.
Huigyeong had gleaned it from other merchants at Autom City.
Human wisdom, in other words.
"But there's a way to rebuild trust between us, Rubo."
"Wh-What is it?"
Tatar recalled human wisdom.
"Rubo, summon all the chieftains who can meet this price."
"Pardon?"
"I'll give the silk to the highest bidder."