Chapter 121 : Chapter 121
Chapter 121 : Promise
The eyes of the orc, which had been blankly scanning me once, then Ratel once, and then me again, gradually grew larger.
Just as I was thinking how it had managed not to die at Ratel's hands on the floor above with such slow reflexes, the fellow sprang up as if bouncing.
And then, it displayed a suicidal act of charging straight toward Ratel.
Setting aside a one-versus-many situation, there was no way a single orc could leave even a scratch on Ratel's body in a one-on-one fight.
“Kkweeeek!!!”
Ratel seemed to feel that the attack from the foolish orc charging at him wasn't even worth dodging.
He gripped the neck of the stupidly charging orc just like that.
“Kkwe, kkwek……!”
In the blink of an eye, the orc, whose airway was seized by a human's hand, clearly had not expected this situation.
Its eyes lost their direction and shook here and there.
The flustered fellow struggled to escape Ratel's grip, but seeing its movements gradually slow down, it seemed to be of little use.
Its neck was likely just being squeezed tighter.
I also had some experience with being strangled.
Moreover, Ratel was acting rougher than usual, perhaps because he wasn't in a great mood.
It wasn't a clean snap of the neck; the way he applied pressure specifically to cause pain looked almost like he was taking his anger out on that orc.
It wasn't a very pleasant sight, and killing the fellow now was too hasty a choice.
“Kkwek……, kkweeeek……!”
The orc, held by the neck, floundered.
I grabbed the arm of Ratel, who showed no sign of loosening his grip as if he would end the orc's life right then and there.
“Kkwek, hey, stop it.”
However, as if something about my dissuasion soured his mood even further, he glared at me.
“Why? Since you have to live in that state for the rest of your life now, do you need another comrade to leech off of this time?”
“Kkwek, technically, it's not a new comrade. Kkwek, I've never had a comrade.”
The thought that now wasn't the time to be picky about such things crossed my mind a moment too late, but the words correcting his error had already burst out.
“……Kkwek, that's not what's important right now.”
“Jing or Ria would be very happy to hear that.”
This time, thanks to my intuition doing its job, I was able to swallow the words saying that neither of them would react as sensitively as he was.
The orc fellow, who had faster wits than me, did not miss the gap while Ratel was distracted by me.
“Kkweeeeeek!!! Kkwek!!!”
Using its slightly opened airway, the fellow screamed desperately.
“Shut up.”
Though Ratel, annoyed by the ear-piercing noise, immediately seized the fellow's throat again.
The orc's final struggle wasn't entirely in vain.
The painful cry of the monster sensing death touched the consciousness of someone who had been in a deep sleep.
“Kkwek, I told you to stop. Kkwek, if this fellow dies here…….”
“Kkwek…….”
I, who had been dissuading Ratel again, stopped talking at the rough cry coming from behind and turned my gaze toward the leader.
In the midst of all the commotion, I saw the hand of the leader orc, which had been closed as if dead, twitched.
Soon after, the tightly closed eyelids slowly rolled up, revealing murky pupils weathered by time.
“Kkwek!!!”
As the orc on the verge of death at Ratel's hands cried out pathetically, the leader slowly scanned everyone in the cave.
For a moment, it felt like our eyes met, but the leader's gaze did not stay on me for long.
Shortly after, the fellow proved his ability as the undisputed leader of the orcs.
Even before the situation could be fully grasped, the one-armed orc charged at Ratel.
It was a speed unbelievable for someone who had been lying limp like a corpse until now.
The worn-out sword swung by the one-armed orc failed to leave a wound on Ratel, but it succeeded in pulling away the orc that had been caught in Ratel's grip.
As a bonus, I, who had been holding Ratel's arm, was also pushed back by the fellow.
The leader orc threw his rescued comrade to the left.
It seemed his goal was to distract Ratel's attention and surround him to block any escape routes.
It was a brilliant judgment, but there was one problem.
This formation…… no matter how I looked at it, it seemed I was included in that brilliant plan?
A formation was completed with one orc thrown by the leader on Ratel's left and right, and me positioned directly in front of Ratel.
Ratel also seemed to feel that it was an arrangement designed to surround and attack him, as a hollow laugh escaped his mouth.
That relaxed appearance seemed to provoke the leader's fellow.
“Kkwek!! To the one who catches that arrogant human first, I will give the largest, tastiest head! Kkwek, everyone attacks at once!!”
The one-armed orc, with veins bulging on his forehead, familiarly gave orders to me and the remaining fellow.
His confident attitude seemed accustomed to leading a pack, and his husky, powerful voice also seemed to prove he was the boss.
Moreover, attacking one Ratel with the three of us was a very cowardly yet tempting command.
This might be the chance to land a blow on that foul-tempered protagonist fellow.
However, I decided to act rationally.
Since it was obvious that Ratel would eventually win even if the three of us pounced.
“Kkwek, calm down. Kkwek, if a big fight breaks out here, the path might collapse.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the astonished gazes of the two orcs were fixed on me.
At the same time, I realized my mistake.
Ah, orcs aren't supposed to be able to speak.
***
“Kkwek?!”
When the fact that I could speak was revealed, the reactions of the two orcs diverged.
Killing intent flared in the leader's eyes, while surprise spread in the eyes of the other orc.
I looked at the fellow who seemed a bit slow, being surprised only now.
I had been talking for a while, so why are you surprised now?
Though their vibes were different, the actions taken by the two orcs upon confirming that I could speak were similar in that they both approached me.
There was a difference in that the leader orc, who lunged with the intent to kill me immediately, was a bit more bellicose compared to the half-wit who cautiously took a step forward.
A fierce anger, as if burning, dwelt in his pupils.
“Kkwek, you……!”
I thought I knew what kind of misunderstanding the fellow who used to be the leader had made.
He must have thought that I, who could speak, had targeted his position as the next leader and bitten his neck.
“Kkwek!! Did you attack me!!”
The fellow, who had completely misunderstood after seeing me able to speak, charged at me, aiming for my neck.
I agonized over whether I should fight him or just leave him be.
Since we were both in orc states and I had a healthy body, it didn't seem difficult to overpower him.
The problem was just the amount his lifespan would decrease in that process.
Should I just let myself be caught once for now?
Anyway, judging that turning the leader's attention away from Ratel would also help in extending the fellow's lifespan, I obediently accepted the fellow grabbing me by the scruff of my neck.
And I regretted it immediately.
No matter how much he was dying, a leader was still a leader; the grip strength choking my neck was fierce.
However, compared to the attack that followed, this level of unpleasantness was no more than tripping over a stone root while walking.
“Kkweeeek!!”
Compared to when he began to thrust his mouth in to bite my neck while letting out a shriek.
Thanks to my unnecessarily sensitive sense of smell, I could better sense the unpleasant stench mixed with the fishy smell peculiar to orcs and his bad breath.
Cursing under my breath, I maintained my distance by diligently pressing against the leader's neck to avoid getting it bitten.
Still, one thing had become certain.
In order for the fellow to reclaim the leader position while his neck had already been bitten once, he had to attack the opponent's neck again.
I suppose I've let myself be handled enough.
I threatened to kick the belly of the leader orc, who was starting to lose strength.
The leader, who dodged my slow attack, backed away.
Not missing the gap, I gasped for breath and opened my mouth.
“Kkwek, why don't you use your head? Kkwek, even right now, I am intentionally missing numerous opportunities to kill you. Kkwek, as your savior…… well, maybe not. Kkwek, anyway, since I basically saved your life, there's no need to be so prickly.”
“Kkwek, you saved me?”
The leader's fellow scanned me slowly as if he were hearing some utter nonsense.
“Kkwek, there's no other way to describe dragging you, who was unconscious and even heavy, all the way here.”
I felt someone's piercing gaze from the side, but I turned my head, feigning ignorance.
“Kkwek, then why on earth did you save me?”
At his question, I rolled my eyes once.
“Kkwek, because someone needs to be sitting in the leader's seat.”
At my somewhat honest answer, the leader let out a heavy breath.
“Kkwek, so you're not saying you're going to become the leader?”
The thing that blocked my voice as I tried to answer the suspicious question again was the scream of the one remaining orc.
“Kkweeeek!!”
What is it this time?
Turning my head toward where the scream was heard, a strange sight met my eyes: Ratel's sword was at the subordinate orc's neck, and the sword the leader had dropped was pointed at the entangled me and the leader.
“What nonsense are you trying to do again?”
I don't know exactly what happened on the floor above, but Ratel asked as he pointed his sword at the fellow's neck, as if he had a lot of pent-up feelings toward the half-wit.
“Kkweeeeeek!!!”
At the cry of the terrified half-wit, the leader rolled his eyes.
The fellow clearly judged that there was nothing good about letting the half-wit die in this situation where he didn't have a single ally.
The leader sprang away from me and ran out, grabbing the half-wit by the hair and pulling him back.
The half-wit retreated with a scream at the somewhat rough handling.
The leader looked at me and Ratel alternately with strange eyes, as if he didn't care about such things.
Realization flashed across the fellow's face, soon followed by a thin sneer mixed with anger.
“Kkwek, I almost got fooled. Kkwek, were you planning to become the leader by joining hands with a human?”
At his idea, which had suddenly taken a complete turn, Ratel and I looked at each other.
To think he saw us as a close enough pair to join hands.
If he had felt the chilly air swirling between Ratel and me just before he woke up, it was a conclusion that never could have been reached.
The leader fellow seemed to take my silence, as I was struck dumb, as an affirmation.
“Kkwek, to covet the leader position and receive help from something like a human, you should be ashamed.”
The leader spoke to me with the most condescending gaze he could muster, but unfortunately, there wasn't much impact.
Since it was rich coming from a fellow who had survived thanks to the help of me and Ratel.
However, unlike me, who didn't think much of it, receiving help from a human seemed to be an indelible humiliation among orcs.
“Kkwek, you stupid fellow who doesn't even know what a dirty thing it eventually is to become a leader by borrowing a human's strength.”
The fellow glared at me and spoke with a deeper loathing than when he had heard that I aimed for his neck.
His voice was so laden with anger that I wondered if he would die of high blood pressure if he found out that I was also actually a human.
Come to think of it, as soon as the fellow regained consciousness, the one he had lunged at like a madman was none other than Ratel.
It seemed there was a reason why the orcs in the original work would charge to kill as soon as they discovered Ratel's party.
Whether it was loathing or anger, it was a good sign that the leader had regained his senses.
Since what mattered now was whether we could move him alive.
“Kkwek, I don't know what you're talking about.”
As if he thought my answer was an evasion, the corners of the fellow's eyes shot up again.
“Kkwek, even if you become the leader by joining hands with a human, do you think you can lead the pack properly? Kkwek, I don't know what you've done, but humans do not keep promises, you foolish fellow.”
From the fellow's long lecture about humans, a word that couldn't be ignored burst out from within.
Promise.
He definitely promised.
It was a word that had been grating on my nerves since getting close to this strange island, and the leader fellow had also said something similar before.
It would be a commonly used word if it were used commonly, but well.
There wouldn't be many common occurrences for orcs, who had lived on an island surrounded by rivers in all directions since birth, to bring up a promise with humans.