The Most Welcome Uninvited Guest
The Most Welcome Uninvited Guest
"Here. Beef seared briefly over a hot fire, chilled on the snow, then roasted in butter with strong-scented herbs."
Thud!
A thick wooden plate crashed onto the table.
It was less set down than thrown, with force that made the solid table boom under the impact. Juices that had filled the plate to its rim splattered in every direction.
A few golden droplets of fat landed on Leon's sleeve, and a single finely chopped herb settled precisely on the back of his hand.
The thick cut of beef tipped sideways, caught itself against the roasted root vegetables, and barely stopped.
Hot steam rose with it, carrying the heavy scent of butter and rendered fat and the cool fragrance of green herbs through the stone reception hall.
Judged by the food alone, the plate would not have been out of place before a king or a great noble.
The orc who had brought it showed not the faintest trace of hospitality.
A full head taller than Leon, he stood rigid beside the table and looked down at him. Old scars webbed his deep green skin. Beneath an apron stained with butter and blood hung a short axe.
"Eat."
It was an invitation to a meal, yet the voice was closer to a command.
Leon brushed the herb from the back of his hand and took in his surroundings.
The reception hall, carved from living rock, was wider than the banquet rooms of most noble houses. Red cloth and animal bones hung from every pillar; ancient weapons and shattered shields lined the walls like trophies.
Only Leon, Lakia, and Ugalu sat at the long table.
More than ten orcs ringed them. Warriors with axes, maces, greatswords, and spears watched every movement of Leon's fingertips without fail.
His sword lay against the far wall of the hall.
He had saved Ugalu, so he was an honored guest.
He was human, so he was an uninvited guest.
Liberia seemed determined to honor both truths at once.
They had set out luxurious food and thrown the plate. They had provided a soft chair and surrounded him with armed orcs. They had offered water, and while he drank, three of them watched his throat.
...What kind of situation is this.
Leon looked across the table at Lakia.
She sat with her back straight, watching him. Her silver hair was neatly arranged; her red eyes were cold and still. Only an untouched glass of water stood before her.
She looked less like someone seated for a meal than someone about to begin an interrogation.
Beside her sat Ugalu.
The chair made for him was wider and lower than a human's, yet his round belly still spilled over the edge of the seat. His short hind legs dangled in the air, not quite reaching the floor.
In front of him rose a mountain of underdone meat, mashed root vegetables, and red berries. He had already eaten half the meat; butter and juices smeared his mouth and chin.
Even so, his eyes lingered longer on Leon than on the food.
Chew.
Chew.
Even while working the meat, his gaze followed every motion of Leon's hands. When their eyes met, his short tail tapped the chair leg.
Tap.
Tap.
Lakia's brow twitched faintly with every sound.
"Eat before it gets cold."
At the orc's urging, Leon looked down at the meat on his plate.
"Did you make this?"
The orc's nose wrinkled.
"I did. I chose the cut, drained the blood, and counted the seconds over the fire myself. The moment the surface was done I chilled it on the snow and roasted it on a buttered iron plate."
Pride he could not quite hide colored the orc's voice as he explained. He pointed with thick fingers at the green leaves and black seeds.
"That herb grows only at the foot of the eastern cliffs. I picked it myself."
"It smells good."
The orc's chin lifted a fraction.
"Of course."
When Leon picked up the table knife, metal shifted on both sides of him. Spear points lowered; a mace came down from a shoulder. It was a dining knife with a rounded tip and a dull edge, yet the orcs reacted at once.
Leon stopped with the knife in his hand and looked at Lakia.
"May I cut it?"
"It was brought so you would eat it."
"The ones around me seem to see another use for it."
The orc with the mace bared his teeth.
"Use it for anything else and I'll crush your wrist first."
"I'll be careful."
Leon cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. The browned crust cracked with a crisp sound; juices ran from the interior that still held a hint of red.
He speared a piece with his fork and put it in his mouth. Every gaze in the hall gathered on his lips.
The outside was crisp, the inside tender. The cool fragrance of the herbs held the rich weight of melted fat and butter in check.
The method was unfamiliar, but the result was excellent.
"It's delicious."
The ear of the orc beside the table twitched, just barely.
"Of course. In Liberia only three people roast meat better than I do."
"So you're fourth."
An orc standing by the window smothered a laugh into a cough. A vein stood out on the cook's forehead.
"Those three have simply roasted more meat than I have!"
"Then one day you might surpass them."
The vein eased a little. The orc glared at Leon for a long moment, then squared his chest.
"Of course."
Lakia watched the exchange in silence, then spoke.
"You aren't worried about poison."
"Ugalu is eating something similar."
"His food and yours are different. Almost no herbs went into Ugalu's. Strong smells make him sneeze."
As if on cue, Ugalu's nostrils flared. His head tipped slowly back; a thin thread of smoke rose from his small nostrils.
"Ugalu."
"Eh... achoo!"
Blue sparks flew from his mouth. One piece of meat in front of him charred black in an instant; several herbs on the table caught fire.
Lakia flicked her fingers and snuffed the flames.
Ugalu stared at the blackened meat for a moment, then bit into it just the same.
Crunch.
The corner of Leon's mouth softened.
Lakia's gaze snapped to him at once.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Because he's cute."
The air in the hall grew heavy. The orcs gripped their axe hafts as if they had heard something forbidden.
Lakia looked at Leon for a long time.
"You think dragons are cute?"
"I wasn't speaking of every dragon."
Leon looked at Ugalu, who was chewing with his cheeks puffed out. A green leaf hung from one horn; butter dripped from his chin.
"I meant that child."
"Kkyu?"
Ugalu's tail tapped the chair leg again.
Lakia wiped his chin with a handkerchief.
"Don't put your face in the plate. Hold it with your front paws."
"Oong-wang."
Ugalu made a sulky sound but picked up the meat with his front paws. After taking a bite he looked at Leon again.
When Leon ate, Ugalu chewed. When Leon lifted his water glass, Ugalu dipped his snout into his own bowl. When Leon looked away, Ugalu's tail slowed.
"Kkyu."
Leon kept his eyes fixed on his meat.
"Kkyuu."
Ugalu leaned to see Leon's face and slipped off the chair. Lakia caught him under the chest and set him back in place. Still held in her arms, he stretched his front paws toward Leon.
"Kkyuuu."
One of the orcs finally spoke.
"Human. Lord Ugalu is looking at you."
"I know."
"Then why don't you look back?"
Leon turned to Lakia.
"I thought I should have permission."
"Why ask me?"
"Because it seems you don't like me looking at Ugalu either."
"Of course I don't."
Ugalu's ears drooped.
Lakia looked at that face and let out a short sigh.
"...Still, look. See how he is."
When Leon met Ugalu's eyes, the drooping ears shot upright at once.
"You're eating well."
"Kkyu-ang!"
Ugalu waved the meat he was holding high. Juices flew in every direction and spattered Lakia's cheek and silver hair.
The hall went quiet.
Ugalu, reading the room, slowly lowered the meat.
"Kkyu..."
Lakia wiped her cheek with the handkerchief and stroked his head once.
"Don't wave it."
Leon swallowed a laugh.
Lakia glared at him.
"If you want to laugh, laugh. The face you make when you hold it in is worse."
A faint smile touched Leon's mouth. Seeing it, Ugalu wagged his tail in satisfaction.
Lakia set down her glass and began her questions.
"Where did you come from?"
"The north."
"Where in the north."
"A small fief that no longer has a name. It burned in the war."
"Family?"
The tip of Leon's knife paused for a moment.
"None."
"Dead?"
"As far as I know."
Lakia did not press further.
"Who taught you the sword, and have you ever killed anyone?"
"I never studied long under one person. I picked it up bit by bit from mercenaries and soldiers, and yes, I have killed people."
The mood in the hall grew heavier.
"How many."
"I didn't count."
"Why did you kill them?"
"To stay alive."
Lakia's red eyes narrowed.
"A human who kills people to protect his own life saved a young dragon."
Leon looked down at the scarred back of his hand.
"Ugalu wasn't trying to kill me. He was stuck between the trees, crying."
"Kkyu?"
Ugalu lifted his head, thinking he had been called.
Lakia looked at the corners of his eyes.
"You cried a lot."
Ugalu hurriedly turned his head and stuffed his mouth full of meat. His cheeks rounded.
When Leon smiled, Ugalu's tail wagged.
Lakia watched them, then asked,
"Where do you plan to go from here?"
"I haven't decided."
"You could go to a human village."
"Not many places take in strangers."
"We haven't taken you in either."
Leon glanced at the armed orcs around them.
"I'm well aware of that."
Lakia was silent a moment, then spoke coldly.
"When you finish eating, leave."
Ugalu's tail stopped. He set down his meat and looked back and forth between Lakia and Leon.
"Kkyu?"
When Leon drained his glass and wiped his mouth with a napkin, Ugalu's ears sank little by little. The moment Leon started to push back his chair, the hatchling let out a long cry.
"Kkyuuuu."
Ugalu leaned forward and stretched his front paws toward Leon.
The meaning—don't go—was clear to everyone.
Lakia caught him.
"Ugalu, that man doesn't live here."
"Oong-wang..."
Ugalu clung to Lakia's sleeve and would not take his eyes off Leon. Moisture quickly filled his large eyes.
Leon did not ask to stay. As if he had no wish to use Ugalu's feelings, he simply waited for Lakia's decision.
Lakia looked from the child's wet eyes to Leon's calm face and back again.
For hundreds of years she had never allowed a human to remain in the gorge. The decision to bring a stranger into the place where young dragons and orcs lived could not be made lightly.
That Leon had saved Ugalu and that he would remain safe afterward were two different matters.
Yet to Ugalu, Leon was the one who had rescued him in his most terrifying moment. She did not want to teach the child that even that kindness had been wrong.
At last Lakia let out a long breath.
"Until tonight."
Leon's brow moved slightly.
"Stay only until tonight."
Ugalu's ears shot up. His tail drummed the chair leg in a rapid tattoo.
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
"Kkyu-ang!"
Leon bowed his head to Lakia.
"If you permit it, I will stay gratefully."
"I'm permitting it because of Ugalu. Leave your sword where it is, and no wandering alone. Sleep only in the room I assign you. If you come out in the middle of the night, you'll be treated as an enemy."
"I will obey."
The orc who had cooked spoke.
"The room where we stacked firewood last winter is empty. The door is thick and the window is only big enough for a human head."
"Meaning too narrow to escape through?"
"Correct. Two warriors will stand outside the door."
Leon nodded calmly.
Lakia settled Ugalu back in his chair and pointed at the plate.
"Eat. I won't send Leon away today."
Only after hearing that did Ugalu pick up his meat again.
Leon resumed his meal as well.
The orc crossed his arms as he eyed the enormous portion still left on Leon's plate.
"Don't leave any."
"It's a considerable amount."
"If we give a guest too little, our honor suffers. If a human leaves food, our honor suffers."
"So in the end I have to eat it all."
"Yes. Finish it before the sun sets. For dinner we'll roast a whole lamb basted with honey and hot roots."
Ugalu's ears pricked and his tail wagged fast.
Leon looked down at the beef that was still half remaining.
Lakia lifted her glass and hid her mouth. The candlelight made it hard to be sure, but the corner of her lips beneath the red eyes seemed to lift a little.
Leon quietly picked up his knife again.
He had expected his life to be threatened as the price of saving Ugalu.
He had not expected to collapse from eating meat.
"Kkyu-ang."
Ugalu cried as if urging him on.
"I am eating."
When Leon put meat in his mouth, Ugalu bit into his own share with satisfaction.
The orcs kept their weapons ready and watched the human. Lakia studied Leon with cold eyes. Between them, only Ugalu wore the most comfortable expression of all, wagging his tail.
And so the awkward welcome feast for Liberia's first human stretched on toward night.
"You. So what is the purpose of your wandering?"
"I... am looking into the Dragon's Witch."
"...The Dragon's Witch?"
Until he raised the worst possible topic of conversation.