#1 This Isn't Bad Either (Maid - Butt Back View) (3)
"Grrroooaaarrr!!"
As soon as I stepped out of the hotel, what I saw was a horde of muscle-bound, slab-like monsters.
One glance was enough to tell they were orcs. My knowledge of fantasy wasn't extensive, but orcs were so ubiquitous across media that there was no mistaking them.
There were a little over ten in plain sight, but according to the maid who was sensing our surroundings, there were about three times that number lying in ambush nearby. Adding it all up, maybe around fifty in total?
Among them, one stood out at the front even among the orcs—a wretched-looking orc with patchy hair. Mea, standing beside me, explained he was their leader, the orc general.
"Grroink! Groooaaarrr!!"
"...Why are these guys barging onto someone else's property making pig-squealing noises?"
"If I may, my king, it seems they wish to negotiate. They're loudly proclaiming their proposal to you, Lord Gaon."
...Is that what it was? Now that I focused, I could pick out bits that sounded vaguely like human speech mixed in. I couldn't understand it myself, but Mea and Lete apparently could.
"So, what do they want?"
"Food, shelter, and women."
"...Hmm?"
From what Mea told me, they were raiders, plain and simple. Spotting a fancy hotel smack in the middle of the forest was bound to tempt them. Being pigs at heart, they probably sniffed out the kitchen aromas from afar. As for women... in fantasy settings, orcs kidnapping and raping women was par for the course. I knew they were supposed to be hyper-libidinous breeders.
Sure, the national pastime for orcs was porking elves, but even without an elf here, we had Lete with her similar looks. No wonder they were drooling.
Fair enough. But fifty of them? What to do?
We had the heroine Lete, but I hadn't enhanced her yet, so she was still probably just Lv.1. Should I summon soldiers now and fight back? I'd burned through a ton of resource magic building the base, and I wanted to stick to the strategy guide in my memories for what was left.
As I pondered, Mea chimed in.
"Worry not, my king Gaon."
Mea nodded to Lete, who took a step toward the orcs. At that moment, a different kind of squeal—not the usual pig noise—erupted from among them.
The orcs occupying the plaza in front of the hotel. Black thorns sprouted from the ground at the feet of several, piercing their bodies clean through.
"Foes of this caliber can be left to Lete."
Spotting their comrades attacked, the orcs grabbed their weapons and assumed battle stances. Clang! Clang! They clashed blades to psych each other up, and the lead orc general raised his massive axe high, bellowing a war cry.
Lete charged straight at the oncoming orcs without hesitation. And so the battle began.
'...But...'
I couldn't understand the orcs' words. I didn't even know how orcs were treated in this world to begin with.
Still, their demeanor just now felt a bit off from what Mea described... more gentlemanly than bloodthirsty, maybe? Nah, probably my imagination. Mea wouldn't lie.
'Guh, my mistake...!! Forgive me, Father...!!'
Orc General Barosy was a hero unit of high standing among orcs, from the esteemed Steel Fang tribe.
The Steel Fangs, based in these harsh badlands, prided themselves as superior warriors compared to orcs nestled in lush forests or near human villages.
In an environment where the weak didn't survive, only those with the grit to grab an axe at birth and charge into battle lived. And yet, they had endured, even prospered in breeding—though their numbers topped out around two hundred due to the barren land.
Each was a one-man army, and they took pride in that. Above all, they had a great hero blessed by the orc god: Lv.4 hero unit Orc Marvash, Barosy's father and current tribal leader.
But that very strength became their downfall. Two nearby nations deemed them a threat and mobilized forces to wipe them out.
The orcs fought bravely, holding their own—even overwhelming at times—against forces twenty times their number. But elven spirit magic, holy knights' divine spells, a timely famine that left them starving, and above all, a dispatched Lv.5 human holy knight sealed their fate.
They lost. Only a handful of young warriors survived, fleeing into the Bewitching Forest. They couldn't save the women and children—the cowardly humans had struck their village first.
The forest's poison was potent; even the somewhat resistant orc warriors couldn't last long. Escaping pursuers into the woods had been smart, but without a swift exit, the toxins would claim them.
Yet this was the Bewitching Forest: easy to enter, impossible to leave. They wandered lost as expected.
Pursuers at their backs, poison all around. They subsisted for days on tree roots, bugs, and tainted springs.
At last, they stumbled upon a bizarre outpost in the forest's heart—and its apparent owner, a certain king and his seed.
Oddly, amid the toxic mire, this one spot brimmed with pure, clean air.
'Should've been more careful.'
'Should've bolted the second we saw him!'
That king reeked of danger at first sight. Barosy, survivor of the badlands, had faced every threat imaginable. No foe, not even higher-level ones, instilled fear. He'd fight to the death, bravely. Fear was shame for a Steel Fang.
Not even the Lv.5 human holy knight who slew his father great hero fazed him.
But for the first time, fear gripped him. Not for any clear reason. The man wasn't bigger or tougher than Marvash. If anything, he looked scrawny compared to orcs.
Yet the dread persisted. Like facing the legendary King of Ruin—
Their pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears. Their humble request for brief respite on the king's land was denied.
Greed overrode sense—they were at their limit, but they pushed. Now, his foolish choice doomed him and his tribe to annihilation.
'Father, the tribe you entrusted to me... I couldn't protect it.'
Their fate ended here.
But. 'At least—I won't shame you, Father. I'll die as a warrior!!'
Dying in battle against the King of Ruin's seed would be a warrior's honor. Rallying himself, Orc General Barosy roared and swung his axe.
The battle was one-sided.
Barosy was a hero like Lete, but her Ruin attribute set her apart from ordinary heroes.
Plus, this was our base. Lv.3+ bases debuffed enemies and buffed allies—a huge edge. The base's defenses kicked in too: orcs plummeting into sudden pits, skewered by spikes, or incinerated by laser beams from the hotel's upper floors.
Even the ambushers charging out couldn't turn the tide. Their numbers dwindled rapidly; total wipeout loomed.
Lete reveled in the slaughter per her nature—but suddenly, her fun halted.
A voice only she heard—'Command Voice'—ordered a ceasefire mid-battle.
The black thorn poised at the throat of Orc General Barosy, on the brink of death, withdrew. He blinked in confusion as Lete clicked her tongue and retreated.
And in her place, the King of Ruin stepped forward.
A being radiating terror just by existing, a clear threat to humanity—no, to all life—approached him and extended a hand.
As if not the King of Ruin, but a king come to save.
"Shall we have a little chat?"
