Chapter 48.1
Orc Hero Story
Lowayne “Skillful Hand” was a former human soldier. He came from a farming village and, as his alias indicated, was unusually capable with his hands. During the war, he was a member of an engineering unit and was involved in all sorts of behind-the-scenes operations, from blowing up escape routes and disarming traps to setting up camps and building roads and bridges. Although he had participated in battles, he had never raised the head of an enemy general, partly because he was in the background. Perhaps because of this, the reward he was to receive for his war efforts was nothing more than crumbs.
The village where he was born had long since been reduced to a pile of rubble. He was good with his hands, but not very polite, and he had trouble finding work, perhaps because he clashed too easily with his superiors. This was not uncommon in the post-war period for a human who had been a soldier. Some managed to find work and survive, others left the country and found work in other nations, while others turned to crime. Or, more accurately, they became so desperate that they had no choice but to turn to crime.
Lowayne became a thief, breaking into houses that appeared to have money, stealing what he could, and selling it. He was probably one of the most profitable of the criminals who appeared in large numbers after the war.
Unfortunately, one day, the house he broke into turned out to be the home of the mistress of a very important person. To make matters worse, the aristocrat was in the middle of making love to his mistress. The nobleman’s guards were known knights, so they easily captured Lowayne. Normally, a thief caught in the act would be imprisoned for a few months. During that time, at least he would not have to worry about food and shelter. Prison was the last refuge for people like him.
But not for Lowayne, who had seen something he shouldn’t have. After a very long trial, he was sentenced to death.
Luckily, the current death penalty law stipulated that he should be “sent to the succubi”. So he would be taken to the Succubus Nation, where he would become “food”.
At that moment, Lowayne was desperate. He had heard of men captured by succubi on the battlefield. He had seen the bodies when he had to rebuild a fort that had been taken by the succubi. They were in a motley pile in the underground prison, and at first he didn’t recognize them as corpses. They looked like dried pork or something. When he learned that they were desiccated human figures like mummies, he felt that succubi were a terrifying existence, along with the difference between their appearance and what they were capable of. He would die and be desiccated like the others. At the thought, his eyes darkened completely.
In fact, he thought he would die for several months after he was sent to the succubus nation as “food”. Every day, several succubi would hold Lowayne, whisper sweet words to him with glowing red eyes, and squeeze him over and over again. No doubt it was a pleasure that almost drove him crazy. But it was clearly hell. He thought he would die soon, and indeed some of the “food” shipped at the same time as Lowayne died in less than six months.