Interlude: Misphia’s Ship’s Log

Ship's log. Misphia of Veronia.

05/17. The dark continent port of Jhilkaland.

Geizeric, Lilinrala, and I drank at a tavern starting at noon.

The drink was an alcohol made of horse milk.

"At first I thought it was weak bilgewater, but drink enough, and it starts to grow on

you."

We'd pillaged our way around the coast, but the raids had taken their toll. Geizeric's

ship was the last one we had left, and it was barely hanging on. In its current state, it

wouldn't last much longer.

There was nothing more pitiful than pirates without a boat.

"I've got a plan. That's why we're here… Oh, speak of the devil!"

Geizeric raised his voice.

"Shisandan! Gajasura! Chugarra!"

Three Asura demons walked into the tavern.

They had revolted against and were fighting the army led by Demon Lord Satan.

Smirking, Shisandan said, "Looks like things worked out."

Geizeric poured a mug and offered it to the demon.

"Drinks first. This is a bar."

"True enough."

Shisandan took the flagon and downed the off-white alcohol in one go. "Does this place

not have anything stronger?"

"Huh? No one said nothin' about there being stronger stuff here."

"They probably thought you didn't have the money for it."

The Asura demons couldn't contain their laughter as Geizeric wheeled around to roar

at the barkeep.

"Oy! I said gimme the best booze ya got, ya sunovabitch!"

"That's good enough for you. Nice and healthy."

"Goddamn! Who's the fool that goes to drink thinkin' about tomorrow!"

Geizeric was kicking up a storm. Lilinrala and Shisandan laughed at his uproar, while

Gajasura and Chugarra grinned wryly and paid the barkeep a dark continent gold coin.

The next round was a clear distilled liquor. The barkeep also placed a small jar of water

next to the bottle.

"What's this? How're ya supposed to tell which is the booze now?"

Geizeric poured a mug of the alcohol and took a big gulp.

"?!"

Immediately, the man's face tensed. The drink had to be strong to elicit such a reaction

from the hardened pirate. Chugarra chuckled at the sight.

"You're supposed to cut this with water," Gajasura explained as he poured some into a

glass and then diluted it.

"Ah!"

I was shocked. Both the liquor and water were clear, but when mixed, they turned

white.

"I hope you liked the surprise. Please enjoy yourselves." With that, the barkeep left to

check on another group of customers.

I tried a sip, discovering that the liquor had a slightly sour flavor, suggesting that, like

the other drink, it was also a kind of alcohol derived from milk.

It was strong but tasted great.

"Booze like this'll burn the throat. Let's get down to it 'fore I'm hoarse."

"Sounds good."

Making sure there was no one around to hear, we moved on to our main business.

"We've verified the weapons you stole from the demon lord's army. Everything checks

out, and there's more than enough of them too."

"Excellent."

"We also got our hands on what we promised." Shisandan pulled out a rough sketch.

"The location of the demon lord's ship—the Vendidad—and a map of the docks."

"This is…"

"Gajasura and Chugarra will go with you. If you manage to steal the vessel, you can sail

it straight back to your continent. Should the plan go smoothly, it will have an

enormous impact on our own battle, so feel free to use the Vendidad as you please."

"Fine with me! Whoever said Asuras aren't ta be trusted didn't know what they were

talkin' about."

At Geizeric's easygoing remark, Gajasura and Chugarra looked at each other.

"Asuras aren't afraid of death, but humans are different, right? There's no way you'll

be able to get out alive once things get ugly. If you want to walk away, this is the time."

Chugarra spoke in a testing tone, and in response, I grabbed the mug in front of me,

drained its remaining contents in one gulp, and slammed it down on the table.

"What pirate worth their salt would turn tail and run with treasure still there for the

taking?!"

Geizeric slapped his knee and burst into an uproarious laugh.