"My name is Arosh. I am the thirtieth fortieth fifth descendant of Akash the Great, oink!"
"Thirtieth fortieth fifth descendant?"
"Yes, oink."
"Do you mean thirty plus forty plus five?"
"No. Forty minus thirty plus five, oink!"
"So you're the fifteenth descendant, yeah?"
"You calculated that in the blink of an eye. You are a genius, oink!"
Phew. With mixed feelings, Lloyd stared at Arosh, who had just woken up. He thought to himself, Maybe I picked up a fool who doesn't have a frontal lobe. Or it could be that this orc has only fifteen wrinkles in his brain.
Just then, he recalled the event that happened earlier in the morning. He was exploring the ant cave with Javier, and they were in the last stage of the safety check, which had taken over 16 days to complete.
At last, they arrived at the deepest part of the ant cave, the storage where they found this orc. Surprisingly, he was alive.
"I feel shaky and numb because I slept for a long time. The ant's paralysis poison hurts too much, oink."
"Paralysis poison?"
"Yes, oink."
"Of course, I knew it was paralysis poison."
Things were starting to piece together in his head. Arosh was stored in a state of suspended animation. The purpose of keeping him alive was obvious. The ants must have stored him here as a source of food by using the paralysis poison. The best way to keep the food fresh was to keep it alive because livestock never spoiled or rotted. Arosh smiled, his sharp fangs sticking out of his mouth.
"My name is Arosh the Reckless. I cannot die when I have not gone through the coming-of-age ceremony, oink."
"Coming-of-age ceremony?"
"Yes, oink."
"So you're a minor?"
"What's a minor, oink?"
"Minor is…when you're not an adult yet."
"I will be accepted as a warrior orc after the coming-of-age ceremony. That's why I charged into the wild ants' territory, oink."
"Wait, your coming-of-age ceremony involves hunting a wild ant?" Lloyd asked.
"Yes, oink."
Arosh continued to explain.
"It is a tradition that was passed down from our great ancestors. That is, it first started when my grandfather's father's father settled in the eastern wilderness, oink."
"Just say he's your great-great-grandfather…"
"Anyway, I hunted a lot of wild ants. I punched, slashed, and killed them. I killed ten of them at once ten times. But I got too excited, oink."
"So?" Lloyd asked.
"I wanted to become the greatest warrior after killing the queen ant. So I headed into the ant cave, oink."
"You rushed to the ant cave? On purpose? Alone?"
"Of course. A warrior fears not being alone, oink."
"You're nuts."
The story made it clear to Lloyd how this orc ended up in the ants and became a lump of juicy meat. He got carried away by the adrenaline rush and threw himself into the ants. He fought until the ants circled around and wore him out. Eventually, the poison paralyzed him.
Lloyd chuckled. We have good luck. Both the orc that got rescued and me who rescued him.
He called to mind the event that took place here a while ago. As soon as Lloyd confirmed that the orc was alive, he carried the orc into his room. The estate went berserk as a result.
The maids, who saw the orc for the first time, almost blacked out in fear. The baron rushed into Lloyd's room as soon as he heard the news. Still donned in pajamas, the baron's face turned pale as a sheet.
"Lloyd, what are you doing?"
"I'm inheriting the throne…No, as you can see, I brought an orc here."
"Yes, but why?"
"Because I have a plan in mind. First, take a glass of cold water."
Lloyd responded calmly to ensure that the baron would relax.
"I found him while I was exploring the ant cave. Saving this orc would be greatly beneficial to the fiefdom someday."
"Beneficial? What do you mean?"
"As far as my knowledge allows, orcs are brave warriors, and they're very strict when it comes to returning the favors and exacting revenge."
It was true. Lloyd knew because he had read it in The Knight of Blood and Iron several times.
"I have heard of their character very well. But still, is this a good idea?"
"Yes. Even if this orc wakes up and throws a massive fit, Javier can easily subdue him."
It took quite an effort for Lloyd to convince the baron that everything would be all right.
Lloyd laid Arosh on the bed and called the physician. Thankfully, the doctor came up with the diagnosis right away.
"Hmm…Given his blue nails, he must have been poisoned by the wild ants to be stored away to be eaten later. Give him this, and he will awake soon."
"What is this?"
"The powder is made of dried and grounded tanaria leaves. It's perfect for treating paralysis."
Lloyd gave the orc the medicine. The physician was right. It worked very well. Within ten minutes of taking the medicine, Arosh stirred awake and opened his eyes.
"Anyway, thank you. If you didn't take me out of there, I could have been eaten by the ants, oink."
"Right? You're thankful, right?"
"Yes, you are my lifesaver, oink."
"Then you should return the favor for saving your life, right?" asked Lloyd.
"Yes, oink!"
"So is this the time for me to say what I want?"
He's falling for it. Lloyd's voice turned sly and Arosh nodded enthusiastically.
"Of course. Anything you want, human! Oink!"
"I need about 120 male orcs who can work in the mine for us."
Lloyd cut to the chase right away as if he had been waiting for the moment. He didn't beat around the bush. This was the reason why he saved Arosh in the first place.
Orcs were strong as they had great stamina and were powerful. Since they were brave and bold, they didn't fear jumping into dangerous situations. In short, orcs were as good as dwarfs when it came to tiresome mine work.
This is why I saved you. Why do you think I'd carry you all the way here if it weren't for that?
He saved the orc for that reason and to make the ore indebted. Lloyd spoke of what he wanted but against his expectations, Arosh looked suspicious. He even avoided Lloyd's gaze.
"Hey?" Lloyd asked.
"I thought you wanted me to say anything I want."
Lloyd tilted his head in confusion with a nonchalant expression. Arosh avoided Lloyd's gaze again by rolling his eyes to the side.
"Mister?"
"Mister Orc, will you please look me in the eyes?"
"Oink. That is…difficult, oink?"
"Difficult? What is?"
"Human, I am thankful for being saved. I will do anything to return the favor. But what you asked for just now is of a different nature, oink."
"How is it different?"
"You're not a warrior, oink."
"So?" Lloyd asked.
"Anyone who is not a warrior cannot make orders to orcs. You are not qualified to do that, oink."
Arosh's face was filled with embarrassment to the point that he started to get flushed. With his whole heart, Arosh said, "I am sorry, human. I don't think I can answer your request, oink."
He was sincere. Arosh knew that this human named Lloyd had saved his life. He could have ended up as a piece of meat to the wild ants, but he saw the light of the day thanks to the human. He wanted to pay him back and wanted to give anything he asked for. Orc warriors didn't hesitate to sacrifice their life to return a favor. This was their dignity and honor, so Arosh's heart swelled with regret. He wanted to give what Lloyd wanted, but it was out of his control.
"Wait, do you mean that I cannot command your brothers because I'm not a warrior?"
"Yes, oink."
"What do I have to do to get accepted as a warrior from your people?"
"You must go through a coming-of-age ceremony. The same one as us. Your accomplishments also need to be recognized by the chief, oink."
"Really?"
A smile spread across Lloyd's face. Raising his chin, he asked, "I think I am qualified."
"What, oink?"
"Yeah. The coming-of-age ceremony? It's about hunting the wild ants, no?"
"Yes, oink."
"Well, then, can you look at that first?" Lloyd spoke as he lifted his hand.
He pointed at a corner of the room with his thumb, and Arosh moved his gaze. From Lloyd's shoulder to the bedside wall…His gaze finally arrived at the wall. An item was hanging there.
"It's the head of the queen. I thought I should hang it on the wall as a trophy. How is that?"
"Oink…?"
Arosh's mouth hung wide open in surprise. The head hanging on the wall belonged to the queen. It wasn't fake. His tribe had battled against wild ants since the beginning of their existence. There was no way he wouldn't recognize them, let alone the queen ant!
"How did you, oink?"
"What do you mean, how? I hunted and hung it there."
Lloyd lightly grinned as what he said was half true and half false. He did kill the queen by using the methane gas explosion, but he technically didn't kill it after fighting it firsthand.
Lloyd flicked his lips several times. Putting on a thick face, he said, "But you see… There's something interesting about how I killed it. Do you know what it is?"
"What is it, oink?"
"The queen didn't have much strength left in her when I fought her."
Lloyd's voice turned sly.
"It was worn out as if she had already fought someone else. That's when I came across a sword in the area. Javier?"
Lloyd turned around and Javier, who was standing still behind Lloyd, silently held up a sword. It was the sword they had found while investigating the ant cave. Arosh's eyes widened in surprise.
"Oink? That's my sword, oink?"
"Right? I knew it."
Lloyd smiled meaningfully.
"Now, things are starting to come together in my head. Can you guess who drained the queen before fighting me?"
"Is it me, oink?"
"Yes, that's it. You're smart."
Lloyd brightly smiled. Of course, Lloyd was lying through his teeth. The sword was discovered in an area with zero relevance to the queen, but the truth hardly mattered here. What matters is for him to believe it. He lied because he wanted to make this deal successful. Making a deal with the ore was all that mattered to Lloyd. However, it didn't mean that he was free from criticism. Lloyd endured Javier's piercing and judgmental gaze, branding him as a swindler. But once again, it didn't matter.
"Think for a second. Did you see any ant that was unusually larger than the others?" Lloyd asked.
"Oink…Argh…"
"I suppose you didn't have the time to take a good look at them because you were too focused on fighting, no?"
"Yes, oink."
"Let me tell you, there was a big one. Here's the proof." Lloyd took the knife from Javier and handed it to Arosh.
"Here, this sword is the proof. The queen ant was drained because of you."
"So what are you saying, human? Oink."
"Why, I am saying that I cannot take the full credit for catching the queen."
"Wait a minute, oink?"
"Yes, yes. We hunted it together. The queen ant died. In your hands and mine. We caught her."
"Joint effort. Joint production. Joint copyright. Whew, these are such beautiful words. Aren't they?"
"Then…Oink."
"Yes, so stand up straight. You're one impressive orc."
"Oink!"
"Great. Look at you. That's better. So, can you do what I asked?"
"What you asked? Oink?"
"Hey, we teamed up to hunt that queen ant down. So what you need to do is for you to take me to your village and get me approved by your chief. Once that's through, send me one hundred and twenty ores to our fiefdom."
"And I would…Oink…"
"You would be the warrior who passed the coming-of-age ceremony with flying colors. And what's even better is that you can return the favor you owe me. Everyone will be happy. How do you like that?"
Arosh stared at Lloyd. This human was grinning at him, had saved him from dying, and had eyes that looked kind and gentle. He was also making a suggestion Arosh was so grateful for.
Arosh decided what he must do.
"Okay, human! I am a warrior who never thinks lightly of someone's kindness. I will do my best so you can earn the warrior title, oink!"
Arosh, young and naive, held out his thick and chubby hands. Lloyd took it and gave a hard shake. Of course, Arosh didn't know anything. He didn't notice the agitated smile of the man behind Lloyd. He never imagined that Lloyd was gently smiling because he was able to scam this gigantic buffoon. Just like that, Lloyd's plan to hire the best miners to work for free in the newly completed mine was drawing close.
Translator: https://bettertranslation9.wordpress.com