Wildness and Masks

"Hahaha, look at Hande! Scared right onto the floor!"

The bald man's reaction sent the bearded man and the other mercenaries like him into fits of laughter.

They weren't afraid of the bald man, Hande.

"You, you! You're not! No... you are!" Ignoring the crowd's mockery, the bald man, drenched in a cold sweat, stared up at the seated Ogre.

This left Norse dumbfounded. She turned to look at Ogre.

What in the world just happened?

Surely I didn't scare him to the ground just by shouting, did I?

"If there's an issue, we can resolve it in the Arena or outside the city. Causing trouble for others here isn't a good look, is it?" Ogre speared the last piece of steak with his fork and put it in his mouth.

While nutritious, the elven tree fruit didn't provide everything. A bit of meat was necessary now and then.

"N-no, I won't do it again! I swear!" Hande placed a hand on a nearby table and stool, stumbling a few times before he managed to get to his feet.

What had he just seen?

*This guy... this guy is definitely not human!* Fear filled Hande's eyes as he looked at Ogre.

In that instant, he was once again reminded of the terror of his first foray deep into the Forest of Demon Beasts.

If he hadn't been lucky enough to run into a nameless knight back then, he would have ended up in the bellies of those blue-skinned ogres.

That sense of powerlessness was still buried deep in his heart, dominating him to this day.

"This meat is a little charred, and they used too much salt." Ogre picked up his napkin, wiped his mouth, and then rose to walk over to Hande.

Ogre's movement sent another wave of fear through the already shaken bald man. "S-s-sorry!"

Hande instinctively took a step back, his small axe bumping against the table behind him.

If his legs weren't still weak, he probably would have fled long ago.

"Your button is undone." Ogre raised his hand, intending to offer a word of caution.

But unexpectedly, the motion made Hande slip and sidestep again, landing him right on his rear in a restaurant chair.

"Hmph..."

Ogre let out a speechless chuckle and lowered his hand.

*Not a bandit or a thug... but there's not much difference. What a waste of a good build. He's even more of a coward than I thought.*

*It's civilization that allows such gutless, unproductive people to survive...*

*Sometimes, I wonder what the Empire's laws are even protecting.*

"Lange!"

Just as Ogre was about to leave, Norse finally snapped out of her daze from the series of events.

"Hm?" Ogre, now at the door, turned around.

"Next time, I'll prepare the ingredients better," Norse said softly.

It was her indirect way of saying thank you.

"Then I'll come again next time." Ogre picked up the mask from his waist, put it on, and left the shop.

To Ogre, this was just a minor incident, a brief intersection of paths.

He didn't care whether he was rewarded or not.

After all, if Ogre expected a fair reward for every good deed, he'd probably spend half his days agonizing over it.

Take it if it comes, forget it if it doesn't.

It was just something he did on a whim.

Ogre looked up at the starry sky and the round moon, recalling the words his father once told him: *'No matter where we are, the night sky is just as beautiful...'*

"Time to find a place to rest." Ogre lowered his head and walked past the grand hall of the city's Church of Dawn.

...

Early the next morning, Ogre, now in a different set of clothes, arrived beneath the bell tower.

A full night's sleep had restored his clear-headed temperament.

*Am I... afraid?* Ogre gazed at the unknown bell tower, a strange feeling rising in his heart.

This was already his third time approaching this place.

Ogre wasn't sure if he was feeling anticipation or fear.

"Since I've already decided, there's no need to hesitate." He reached out and touched the black pearl hidden in his clothes, then walked forward without any more indecision.

Soon, he arrived at the mysterious area without a hitch.

The process was even smoother than Ogre had imagined.

There were few signs of other people beneath this massive central structure.

"This is the Church of Truth's territory, but there are hardly any guards in sight..." The abnormal smoothness of it all put Ogre on edge again.

A place so contrary to common sense... must be hiding a secret.

*A Priest who turned into one of the blood race...*

Ogre walked toward the bell tower, recalling the information Yard had revealed.

"This is a restricted area of the Church of Truth! If you have entered by mistake, leave at once! Otherwise, I am authorized to pass judgment upon you!"

Ogre finally saw the guards of the Church of Truth at the base of the bell tower.

Unlike the Church of Dawn, the hierarchy of the Church of Truth was not immediately apparent from their attire.

Their guard Knights, unlike the Paladins of Dawn who wielded warhammers and swords, generally carried rod-like, magic-inscribed staves.

But strangely, they didn't call the staves that could fire explosive magic 'magic tools,' but rather—'guns.'

These were the exclusive magic staves of the Church of Truth, and Ogre knew little about them—only that these special 'guns' weren't even sold in the Black Market.

Because the magic within them was difficult to replenish.

"I've come to visit at someone's request." Ogre didn't waste words, proactively taking out the Silver Badge. "Could I trouble you to give this to the master of the tower..."

To keep a low profile, Ogre had gone out dressed in a very ordinary... women's outfit.

He had even deliberately applied makeup and disguised himself to look like an ordinary girl.

"Young lady, do you understand what you're doing?" The other guard looked at Ogre with a strange expression.

Bringing a token from the Church of Dawn to the Church of Truth's territory—wasn't that a clear provocation?

If he weren't concerned about the status of the badge's owner, he would have been tempted to drive her away directly.

"Please, sirs. Just let the master of the tower see this. He'll let me in." Ogre also sensed something was off.

How did he get stuck outside?

Could it be that his guess was wrong? Did he really have to wait another half a month to get in?

"Young lady, we'd like to help you, but we can't just go in ourselves. So please, you should leave," the first guard couldn't help but say.

Ogre was stunned. "Huh?"

They couldn't go in? Then what was the point of all his mental preparation?

"But I really..." Ogre put away the usually infallible Silver Badge, a pitiful look on his face.

"Go home, young lady. If you keep lingering, I'll have to get rough," the other guard warned again.

"Alright..." Ogre sighed softly and prepared to leave.

He felt like he had come all this way for nothing.

*Do I have to go find Yard again...*

Thrandic's transformation had made Ogre wary of the teacher he once respected so deeply.

But, if he really couldn't get into the bell tower...

Then finding Yard was his only option. He couldn't just abandon the commission Great Cleric Fra had given him.

Besides, he had already received Fra's help.

Mainly, with that mark on his head... it would be hard to run even if he wanted to, especially if Fra was rescued.

Calculating the time, Macal should have already taken the aid from the Church of Truth to rescue Fra today...

"Uncle Einahi!"

Just as Ogre was about to turn and leave, a dignified young woman with short black hair and a basket walked past him.

"Little Karen, what brings you here today?"

Ogre turned to see the guard from before warmly greeting the short-haired young woman.

*It's her...* Ogre had turned because he recognized the black-haired girl.

She was the one who had handled his recent deposit—the receptionist for the Church of Truth at the Dandelion Merchant Guild.

"Uncle Einahi, it's a holiday today! The guild isn't open, so I came early," the black-haired girl, Karen, replied playfully.

"Hahaha, I forgot," the guard, Einahi, laughed heartily.

"Hahaha, he just drank too much last night and got his days mixed up," the other guard teased.

*Is she here to chat with the guards, or... is she connected to the person in the bell tower!* Ogre slowed his pace, observing and pondering.

Karen took two dark brown eggs from her basket. "Drinking isn't good for you. Here, try some of my new stewed tea eggs—they're a delicacy I learned how to make from the east."

As she spoke, Karen pressed the eggs into the hands of the two guards.

"I only drink occasionally. See, Leidona? I told you little Karen was a thoughtful one," Einahi said cheerfully as he accepted the cooked egg.

"Thank you, little Karen. And as for me, I'm not like Einahi, you know. I've already quit drinking," the other guard, Leidona, declared with conviction.

Anyone with eyes could see that the relationship between these two guards and the black-haired girl named Karen was clearly not ordinary.

"Hehe, I'm heading in now." Karen placed the gray cloth back over her basket, then held it with both hands in front of her as she walked toward the bell tower door.

This action immediately spurred Ogre to react.

"Wait!" Ogre reached out and called to the black-haired girl.

"Hm?" Karen stopped and turned her head in confusion, looking at the girl who had called out to her.

For some reason, she felt like she had seen this girl somewhere before.

"I need to see the master of the tower. This is my token. Could you please take it inside for him to see? I was sent here by a friend of his." Ogre trotted to the front of the guards and held out his hand toward Karen from a distance—in it was the Silver Badge.

It wasn't that Ogre didn't want to hand the badge directly to Karen, but this was as far as he was allowed to go.

"Young lady, don't come any closer." The guard placed his 'gun' staff horizontally in front of Ogre.

"It's alright, Uncle Leidona. It's no trouble." Karen smiled at Ogre, then turned and walked back toward him.

"Thank you." Ogre held out the Silver Badge with both hands.

The black-haired girl, Karen, shifted her basket further up her arm and also reached out with both hands.

"You wait here for a moment, little sister," Karen said with a smile after taking the Silver Badge.

Perhaps because they were both 'girls.'

Karen's tone was noticeably gentler than when she had handled Ogre's deposit, less formal and business-like.

"Then I'll be in your debt, big sister." Ogre took a few steps back and returned the smile.

He had a feeling this might actually work.

*What a coincidence...* Ogre thought to himself.