I Only Summon Villainesses

Chapter 190: The Merchant Archipelago

It was very early when we finally docked at Crystalis. We had traveled across the ocean through midnight and now we had reached the first island of the Merchant Archipelago.

The dock itself was little more than thick wooden planks hammered into the sea and held up by barnacle-crusted posts. The boards were sun-bleached, cracked, and damp near the edges where the water lapped against them. Ropes lay coiled and fraying, tied to rusted iron rings, and the air smelled of salt, algae, and old wood. Dozens of boats and ships bobbed gently beside it, knocking softly against the posts, their hulls weathered to the same gray-brown as everything else here.

’So this is the famous Merchant Archipelago.’

It looked like the ocean had been chewing on it for a hundred years.

The town didn’t just sit on the island — it clung to it. Thousands of homes with swooping, ink-black rooflines climbed the mountainside like barnacles on a titan’s hull. With the sun yet to rise on the horizon, every settlement had amber lanterns glowing, and they turned the dark cliffs into a constellation of artificial stars. The lights traced the slope upward in uneven clusters, some dense, some sparse, mapping out neighborhoods I couldn’t name.

It was quite the sight from the dock, the way the colors lined upward against the back of the mountain. As I came down from the ship’s bridge, so did Kassie, Yuan, Nisha, Tristan, and Levi — but Derry did not follow.

I glanced back in confusion, and the man smiled when he saw the worry on my face.

”Kiddo, don’t look so down. This ship belongs to me... I was never going to abandon it. Besides, I’ve got another job to deliver.” He spread his hands in that easy way of his. ”But trust, we will all meet at Recimiras. I possibly might even get there before you.”

I hesitated, something catching in my throat.

”I see...”

’He won’t die, right?’

The thought came unbidden and I shoved it down immediately. To not jinx it, I kept those words to myself and instead looked at Levi and Tristan. Neither of them seemed worried in the slightest.

It was as though they trusted Derry completely — had been through something like this a dozen times before. And they had, I knew that now. The best I could do was trust him too.

I exhaled slowly and nodded.

”Alright, Captain. We’ll meet at Recimiras.”

Derry grinned and gave me a lazy salute as I turned away.

Immediately after bidding him farewell, I took off with the others. We merged into the silent streets of the island, though despite how early it was, there were already people everywhere. Many of them were men in quality fabric, their dresses cut from cloth that probably cost more than everything I owned. Jewelry glittered at their throats, their fingers, their wrists — gold and gems catching the lantern light.

The merchants moved around with several servants trailing behind them, each carrying enormous bags of God knows what. Coin, probably. Or things worth more than coin.

We wove between the crowd and descended deeper into the town, then past it entirely, into the forest that grew thick along the island’s edge. Even there we kept going, pushing through undergrowth until the trees thinned and the ground turned to bare rock.

After a while of walking, we eventually reached a cavern entrance. Dark and yawning, it opened in the mountainside like a wound.

It was at that entrance that Yuan stopped and bowed to me and everyone.

There was a small smile on her face, and at that moment I knew. A thin smile appeared on my own face in return.

”Lord Cade... this is where I must depart from you.”

Hearing that twisted something in my chest. I knew I wasn’t exactly ready to let her go — at the same time, I knew there was nothing I could do. Yuan had her own business to sort. Her own path to walk.

I exhaled as I thought about it, trying to put on a stronger face. My smile spread wider, more genuine despite the ache.

”Alright, Yuan... we will meet again, won’t we?”

She nodded.

”Yes, Lord Cade. We will most certainly meet again.”

For a moment, neither of us moved. The others stood back, giving us the space without being asked.

’Don’t make this weird. She’ll be fine. You’ll see her again.’

I believed it. Mostly...

She turned to the right and walked down a narrow path that led to stairs carved around the mountain’s edge — a route that would take her to the official channels, the ones meant for law-abiding citizens who didn’t have warrants on their heads.

Nisha observed me for a long moment before speaking.

”She has no reason to cross the island illegally, so she can just use the STC. But we’re a bunch of criminals — no amount of forged IDs can save us from that.” She jerked her chin toward the cavern mouth. ”We need to go the illegal way.”

I turned to her as we entered the cave, our footsteps echoing off damp stone.

”And what is this illegal way?”

She smiled a little.

”Crystalis is about thirty-three islands held together by gigantic chains. Some are rising, some are falling into the ocean. They descend and ascend in turn.” She picked her way over loose rocks, her voice casual despite the information. ”In order to access the farthest island — where we catch the ship that’ll take us to Ashara — we need to cross them.”

She paused and added:

”Depending on our luck, we might have to cross just ten islands before we find passage. If we have the worst of luck, we might have to cross twenty to reach the Southern Harbor.”

’I should prepare myself to climb twenty islands.’

But more importantly — what did they mean by climb? How massive were these chains that we had to climb them?

Just as I thought about this, we reached the far opening of the cave and stepped out into open air.

My question answered itself.

A vast chain stretched from the wall of the mountain before us — each link the size of a small house, dark iron grown over with moss and barnacles as if the island had absorbed it into itself. The chain rose at an impossible angle, disappearing into the predawn sky where it anchored to another island floating above us like a mountain torn from the earth.

Before we departed, Levi looked at me and said:

”This island we’re leaving is Prismhaven. The one we’re ascending toward is Oreshore. We have to meet a friend at Wavegem, which is nine islands away — he’ll take us to Chainbreak, where we’ll catch a ship that’ll carry us to the Asharan continent.” He gestured vaguely behind us. ”We’ve also already crossed some of the thirty-three islands to get here, back when we sailed past the coastline. That includes Coinhollow and Glintport. So... the journey isn’t as far as Nisha makes it out to be.”

Hearing Levi say this gave me a semblance of relief.

”But that doesn’t mean it won’t be difficult.” His expression sobered. ”So brace yourself. People die from climbing these chains.”

’Why bother ease me when you know you’re going to do the exact opposite at the end?’

I stared at the chain rising into the clouds and said nothing.

I was completely and utterly offended with this one.