Chapter 184 : Chapter 184

Chapter 184: Revenge and a Request

According ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍to the leader, the half-wit was certain to become quite an excellent hunter.

Considering ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍how he had managed to catch a few rabbits even in the middle of that chaos.

“Kkwek. ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍Next time, I can do better. Kkwek. It’s because I haven’t learned yet.”

The ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍bastard muttered while dangling the few small rabbits he held in his hand.

“Did ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍you forget I told you about ten times that I understood?”

Seeing ‍​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍how there was no answer, it seemed he had not forgotten. He had not been listening from the beginning.

At the half-wit’s persistent excuses, I held up my empty hands.

“No one cares if you can’t catch anything. I didn’t catch anything, did I? There’s no one who’ll say anything.”

What I meant was, so please shut your mouth already, but the bastard did not stop talking.

“Kkwek. Still, there are lots of humans. Kkwek. What will everyone eat?”

I was speechless, having never expected an orc to worry about my meals.

“......That doesn’t matter either. Among the humans there, none of them is a good-for-nothing who can’t even handle one meal.”

When I finally reassured the bastard, his face brightened greatly.

I had just thought it was fortunate he was simple, but then the half-wit’s face darkened again.

His mood really jumps all over the place.

“What is it this time?”

When I asked bluntly, the bastard pointed at my empty hands.

“Kkwek. Then are you the only one who can’t hunt? Kkwek. Are you the only good-for-nothing?”

The words were shaped like a question, but it seemed the bastard had already reached his own conclusion.

I could tell from that look of pity as he looked at me.

“......Think whatever you want.”

When I roughly went along with an absurd misunderstanding that was too annoying to even explain, the pity on the half-wit’s face grew deeper.

“......Kkwek. It’s all right. Kkwek. That scary human is as good at hunting as the leader. Kkwek. Cling to him well.”

“Yes, I’ll cling to him tenaciously and leech off him.”

As I answered halfheartedly and entered the cave, Ria was left alone to greet me and the half-wit.

Where did the others go?

“Kkwek. Where did the leader go?!”

The half-wit, startled that the leader had disappeared, shouted in panic.

“Calm down. The leader should be safe.”

When Ria calmed the half-wit, who was about to panic, I asked her with my eyes what had happened, and Ria pointed inside the cave.

“Ratel and the leader orc went inside.”

“Inside? You mean they went back to the center? Why all of a sudden?”

“The leader suddenly said there was something he had to check. He looked so urgent that Ratel and Jing followed him first.”

“Kkwek. I’m going too!”

The half-wit, who had been listening worriedly beside me, hurriedly moved in the direction Jing had pointed.

Seeing his back, the thought flashed through my head that this might be related to the half-wit’s reaction a short while ago.

I set Sierra’s Sword, which I had been holding, down on the floor.

“I should go too. Ria?”

“......I’ll wait here. Even if I go, I won’t be much help.”

There was no need to force her to come if she wanted to stay.

I nodded once and ran inside after the half-wit.

***

The scene at the center, where I arrived belatedly after following the half-wit, was unfamiliar and strange.

Dozens of orcs had surrounded two humans and one orc, and yet there was no tension.

I could not tell whether it was because I knew the two humans could deal with all of them, or because neither side showed any fighting spirit.

The orc swarm merely looked at the three standing in the center and did not show any threatening behavior.

Ratel and Jing also did not seem to have any intention of attacking them.

However, the situation of being surrounded by orcs seemed more than enough to stimulate the half-wit’s anxiety.

“Kkwek! Leader!!”

The bastard called the leader and ran forward.

At the half-wit’s shout breaking the silence, everyone’s gaze gathered on him.

I, who had been following behind him, also suddenly received the orcs’ gazes all at once.

By the way, that bastard was the one who shouted, so why are they staring so hard at me too?

Compared to their intense gazes, the bastards opened a path to the leader quite easily.

As expected, they did not seem to intend to attack the leader.

Nor did they seem to have any will to harm the two humans beside him.

As I pushed through the orc swarm and the distance to the leader narrowed, I understood the reason.

To be precise, it was right to say I realized it after seeing the bastard’s eyes as he looked at me.

He too had remembered something, similar to the half-wit.

Only then did I notice that the orc swarm’s gaze had been directed solely at me from the very beginning, not at the half-wit.

At last, the half-wit reached the center and ran to the leader with thudding steps.

“Kkwek. Are you all right? Kkwek. Those bastards didn’t attack you again, did they?”

The half-wit circled around the leader and asked frantically.

“Kkwek. Don’t make such a fuss, you idiot. Kkwek. Those bastards no longer want the leader.”

After grabbing the half-wit and stopping him, the leader turned his gaze toward me, who had been behind the bastard.

“Did you get a satisfying result?”

When I spoke first, the bastard obediently nodded.

“Kkwek. Yes. Kkwek. At least enough to know that I don’t have to hide and live alone with that idiot from now on. Kkwek. And I just confirmed that it’s thanks to you.”

With a much more comfortable face, the bastard looked around. When he stepped forward, the orc swarm quietly split to either side.

Naturally accepting that calm obedience, the leader walked.

“Kkwek. Follow me. Kkwek. You must have something you want to say too.”

The one who stopped the leader as he moved forward as if telling me to follow was Ratel, who had been quietly watching the leader until now.

“You’ve been treating us like we don’t even exist since earlier. If you have something to say, say it here.”

The leader turned back and looked for a moment at Ratel, who was looking at him crookedly.

“Kkwek. I don’t care. Kkwek. But if we keep staying here, your companion will become troublesome.”

At the leader’s calm answer, Ratel raised one corner of his mouth faintly.

It was not even a threat directed at himself. No, it was an expression of ridicule, as if asking whether words too bland to even be a threat could persuade him.

But the leader’s warning was effective enough.

Because the orc swarm surrounding the center began moving little by little.

This time, not to surround the center, but to surround me.

“Lord Ran, come this way.”

The flustered Jing tried to pull me back, but he could not handle all the orcs crowding in.

-Kkweeeek......

A few of them broke through Jing’s guard and reached their hands toward me.

I stopped Jing, who was taking an attacking stance to block the orcs.

“Just leave them be. It doesn’t seem like they intend to attack.”

“No. No matter how docile they seem, they are orcs. Why are you so calm?”

Ignoring Jing as he stood in front of me as if he had heard something absurd, I moved toward the leader.

“Lord Ran!”

Jing called me in panic from behind, but the thing he was worried about did not happen.

The orcs did not attack me.

However, just as the leader had said, a troublesome situation did occur.

Because the bastards who had surrounded me in a circle began observing me with curious eyes and thrusting their faces toward me.

Judging by the way they twitched their noses while making sniffing sounds, they seemed to be smelling me.

At that unbearably burdensome behavior, I waved my hand to push the orcs back, but only for a moment. New bastards surrounded me again and sniffed at me.

This burdensome situation worsened by one more level when a few of them reached out and grabbed me.

As if admiring some strange creature, the bastards touched my hair or poked my arms.

The one who ended this annoying situation was the leader.

Perhaps thinking there would be no end at this rate, the bastard pushed through the orcs, came closer, and lifted me by the scruff of my neck.

Thinking that every time I entered this cave, I seemed to be treated like luggage, I gestured with my eyes toward the remaining orc swarm at Ratel and Jing, who were about to follow.

I meant for them to buy time so the bastards could not follow, but I could not tell whether they properly understood.

Since they did not follow while the leader strode away, the meaning to stop them must have gotten through somehow.

By the way, Jing aside, why is that bastard listening so well for once?

While I was wondering that, the leader lifted me up like pulling up a bean sprout and left the center burrow with quick strides, putting distance between us and the orc swarm.

***

Once we had opened some distance, the leader set me down on the floor.

“Kkwek. Didn’t I say things would become troublesome?”

The leader raised his eyebrows as if to say, see?

“You didn’t say they’d treat me like an unknown lifeform.”

“Kkwek. They weren’t treating you like an unknown lifeform. Kkwek. They liked you.”

“That was liking me?”

I recalled again the orcs who had burdened me by sniffing with their noses and thrusting their faces toward me.

Well, thanks to my ability, I was used to animals showing me goodwill.

Though it was the first time that target had become monsters.

However, it was still a mystery why that trait had suddenly activated.

“Kkwek. Since they can’t speak, they express it in other ways. Kkwek. Everyone’s intelligence has fallen compared to the old days.”

Perhaps my confusion showed on my face, because the leader added an explanation.

By old days, he probably meant the past far beyond even his life.

If it was true that the leader had recalled the memories of the past like the half-wit.

“Have all the empty parts of your memory been filled?”

“Kkwek. Yes, to some extent. Kkwek. What we were promised, and who broke the promise first.”

That much is almost the same as remembering everything.

It meant the bastard no longer grew angry without knowing the cause.

Put another way, it also meant the direction of his anger had become clear.

Unlike the past, which had been filled with nothing but rage, the emotion in the bastard’s eyes was calm instead, making it impossible to know what lay inside.

“What does it feel like to have memories from a thousand years ago intact?”

When I asked directly, the corner of the leader’s mouth rose faintly.

“Kkwek. It feels like my head has become clean. Kkwek. Until now, I was always angry, yet I never knew the clear reason. Kkwek. Now I know who made me so angry.”

“Then what do you want to do now? Do you want revenge against the human who broke the promise?”

Yes, in the end, this was what I was curious about.

Whether the bastard, after learning all the past, would hate humans like before, or whether his anger would stop at Sierra Abalan, who had broken the promise.

After remaining silent for a while, the leader slowly opened his mouth.

“Kkwek. Yes. If possible, I want to catch that bastard, tear off his limbs, and feed him to beasts. Kkwek. Because we were deceived by that human, we have lived eating each other without receiving what was promised to us.”

“Is that why you called me?”

I stared directly into the bastard’s eyes as he looked down at me threateningly.

“You said you had something you wanted to say. Wasn’t it because there was something you wanted to confirm?”

At the question asking whether the target of his anger was me, the leader neither affirmed nor denied it.

He only answered a question with a question.

“Kkwek. The human who broke the promise used a strange power. Kkwek. Like you, or the human who went around with you. Kkwek. Both of you must be related to the one who broke the promise, aren’t you?”

“That bastard isn’t.”

An answer firmer than I expected flowed out of my mouth.

The leader narrowed his eyes.

“Kkwek. Then what about you? Kkwek. What about you?”

His eyes, shining with anger that did not match his calm voice, stayed fixed on me and did not move.

“If I’m the descendant of your enemy, what are you going to do to me?”

***

The moment I finished speaking, the leader grabbed me by the collar and lifted me.

“Kkwek. What suddenly got into you? Kkwek. You should have escaped with that lie you’re so good at.”

Hearing even the leader say something like this meant I really must have been caught lying that many times.

“I’m not going to do that now.”

“Kkwek. Have you finally run out of lies to make up?”

At the bastard’s sarcasm, I shook my head.

Making up a story was not the important thing.

What mattered was whether the other party was worth trusting or not.

“If I wanted to make up lies, I could make them endlessly.”

“Kkwek. Then what the hell is this?”

“I intend to see you for a long time. And someone told me that if you gloss over situations with lies, you can’t last long with each other.”

Though that had also come from the mouth of a certain liar.

The leader closed his mouth.

Judging by his expression, he seemed so dumbfounded that he had momentarily lost words.

“Kkwek. What an arrogant bastard. Kkwek. Who said you could see me again? Kkwek. So what if you’re a little honest? Why would I meet you again?”

“What? Looks like you aren’t going to kill me.”

The leader, who had come back to his senses and was scolding me, closed his mouth again.

This time, his mouth twisted as if he had bitten a sour grape.

With a sigh, the bastard slowly set me down on the floor.

Looking down at me while twitching his mouth, the bastard scratched his head in irritation.

“......Kkwek. Fine. I never intended to kill you from the beginning.”

“I know. If you’re going to lie, you’ll need to practice a lot. If you want to look like you’ll really kill someone, you should at least strangle them until they can’t speak.”

As someone who had experienced nearly dying at the leader’s hand, the strength with which he had gripped my collar felt weak enough to make me laugh.

When I pointed with my finger at the collar he had grabbed, the leader’s face crumpled.

“Kkwek. This is why you hear people call you cheeky and unlucky every time.”

Come to think of it, that problem remained too.

“Speaking of unlucky, thanks to you, even the half-wit calls me an unlucky bastard. Don’t you know you should watch your words in front of a child?”

“Kkwek. Be quiet. Kkwek. If you say that, do you think it’s fine for you to call that bastard half-wit?”

It was a sharp point.

“That’s true too. Then what should I call him? Idiot?”

“Kkwek. Enough. Kkwek. It’s my fault for forgetting that you’re a madman.”

The leader, who muttered as if drained of strength, plopped down on the floor.

“Kkwek. Thanks to you, I came back to life, and thanks to you, the half-wit too......”

The leader, who had unconsciously called the half-wit half-wit, stopped for a moment.

“......Kkwek. The idiot survived too, so I don’t want to kill you.”

“The promise from a thousand years ago has been completely broken. What you longed for over a long time will no longer come true.”

“Kkwek. That too was already decided a thousand years ago. Kkwek. From the moment that damned bastard betrayed us.”

“Do you really not want revenge on me, who inherited that damned bastard’s blood?”

Well, I was not really Sierra’s descendant, though.

“Kkwek. What use is that when it wasn’t something you did? Kkwek. I’ll call the sin of having the wrong predecessor paid for with this matter.”

The leader, leaning against the wall, looked up at me.

“Kkwek. Come if you want. Kkwek. But I won’t forgive you if you drag other humans here. Kkwek. I no longer want to be involved with humans.”

The bastard said it with a lightened face.

The idiot’s words about how the leader had used to peek at the cabin came to mind, but I held my tongue.

This was not a matter I should meddle in.

“Kkwek. By the way, what were you going to do if I really raged and said I would kill you?”

As if the thought had suddenly occurred to him, the leader broke the silence and asked.

“It wouldn’t have mattered. I was confident I wouldn’t die.”

What bullshit is that?

The bastard’s eyes asked that as they swept over my body, which was small compared to his.

“I was confident I could run away too.”

“Kkwek! Then why did you ask if I wanted revenge?!”

“Ah, that was because I have a favor to ask. I couldn’t be sure whether you’d listen or not after learning that I’m the Emperor’s descendant.”

Deep wrinkles formed between the leader’s brows.

“Kkwek. What an outrageous bastard. Kkwek. You were just testing me?”

“It’s still better than lying, isn’t it?”

The leader, who could not find anything in particular to argue with, let out a sigh.

“Kkwek. So, how serious is this favor that you even risked your life for it?”

The request was less serious than the bastard worried, which made it feel more burdensome to say.

After thinking about how to make my demand sound lighter, I opened my mouth.

“You just need to kill us.”