Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: The Warrior's Advice
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After my fight with Graktar ended, I received instruction from him on overall combat techniques.
“You make a sword out of your mana core and use it? What kind of Mage even thinks of something like that?”
After exchanging blows once, he had grasped what kind of person I was.
In the first place, the hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship I had learned were nothing more than imitations—things I copied after watching others use them. In the end, help from someone who truly understood combat was necessary.
I could have learned from Kyle, but if my goal was to win the arena in the end, I thought it would be better to listen to the advice of Graktar, who had survived countless battles.
“Hm. Your grip strength and angles aren’t bad. Looks like you’ve seen proper technique somewhere. As expected of a Hero? I did hear you’re from a Dragon Slayer family…”
As he watched me swing the iron sword, Graktar corrected my mistakes. He explained that rather than trying to cut the opponent down with brute force, it was more important to deflect attacks and maintain a solid defensive stance.
“No, try again. Just now, my waist was open, right? In that case, it’s more efficient to deflect first, then cut.”
“But wouldn’t that get you hurt?”
“This is the Forsaken Hollow! As long as you don’t kill someone outright, minor injuries can be treated anytime!”
Graktar laughed as he smacked my back repeatedly with his huge palm.
Normally, since Monsters and the Demon Race have different ways of thinking and different values from humans, I would have hesitated about whether I could fully trust him.
…Aside from his love of fighting and family, he’s kind to the point of being almost naive.
From drinking with him, I realized that even among the many lunatics in the Demon Realm, he had one of the most normal mindsets.
Was this also something that had changed after entering a Contract Relationship with Victoria?
In the past, even if it were for the sake of winning the arena, I would never have sought help from a Monster.
“All men grow by fighting! Astal! This level of injury doesn’t even count as a scratch!”
Perhaps drunk, Graktar raised his voice and laughed heartily.
Though he usually showed a calm and rational demeanor, when facing warriors he acknowledged, he spoke casually, like a friend.
“Have another drink! When you make a new friend like this, a warrior has to drink!”
The alcohol I bought for Graktar wasn’t cheap, making it perfect for easing the fatigue and lingering tension of battle. With a satisfied smile, he kept urging me to drink.
“…There’s someone who’ll get angry if I drink too much.”
I drank only the first glass and didn’t touch the rest. If it were discovered that I’d been drinking this time, I was afraid of what kind of temptation Victoria might unleash on me.
“Don’t tell me—it’s that Dragon! Figures. With your scent all over you like this, there’s no way she’d leave you alone!”
Graktar downed another drink while looking at me with envy. I could even hear the gulping sound clearly.
“That’s why I’m worried. People like us never know when we’ll die, so I kept pushing my feelings away on purpose…”
Maybe it was because I hadn’t had a drink in a long time. Or maybe it was because Victoria wasn’t nearby and my guard was down.
I found myself confiding worries I couldn’t tell anyone else to Graktar. It helped that he wasn’t someone I’d be seeing every day—someone who was essentially a stranger.
“…What? Why are you being such a coward!”
Graktar twisted his face as if he truly couldn’t understand the moment he heard my words. He looked like a completely different person compared to the carefree expression he’d worn just moments ago.
“If there’s someone who likes you, shouldn’t you treasure that even more? Astal, I didn’t think you were this timid!”
“No one in the Hero’s party has ever survived. You know as well as I do—the Demon King is absurdly strong.”
I let out a deep sigh as I spoke. Everyone joined the Hero’s party with hope at first, but what awaited them in the end was nothing but miserable despair.
But then—
“…Aren’t you mistaken about something? The First Hero is still alive.”
Graktar revealed unexpected information. I had heard bards spread rumors through songs and poems that the Hero who first opposed the Demon King was still alive—but I thought it was just gossip.
“That was actually true? I thought it was just a rumor…”
Judging by Graktar’s tone and attitude, he didn’t seem to be lying.
“In the first place, that guy is Durahan. It’s famous enough that most people in this territory know it.”
“…What did you just say?”
“I hear it’s been so long that he’s forgotten his name from when he was human. Then again, since he’s branded a traitor to humanity, maybe that’s just how he rationalizes it.”
I was too shocked to speak for a moment. I couldn’t believe that the being who killed my parents and massacred my village had once been human.
“Wasn’t the First Hero named Vermilion?”
I recited what I knew about the First Hero to confirm it. It didn’t make sense that the man honored with statues across the Empire was Durahan.
“That’s probably the Second. It’s likely the continent erased all records of the First Hero.”
“How do you know all this?”
Graktar shook his head, denying nothing. I grew curious about the source of his information.
Just how did he know things in such detail?
“I’ve crawled through all kinds of gutters in my life. I climbed up from the very bottom—places where only humans abandoned by the world gather.”
Instead of a detailed explanation, Graktar pointed to the scars on his face and body as he continued. At a glance, they told the story of a harsh life.
“Anyway, since Durahan used to be human like you, I think he understands cruelty very well.”
Graktar tore into a well-roasted turkey leg and spoke as if it were nothing. I couldn’t understand why he would share such high-level information with me—someone who could become his enemy.
“Why tell me this…? We could be enemies in the arena.”
“A warrior can tell a lot about someone’s life once they clash fists. Besides, you already dumped your woman troubles on me!”
Graktar said that trust wasn’t something one side gave first—it was something built by giving and receiving together.
Unlike the way Orcs are often portrayed as stupid and violent, Graktar showed a bold yet sharp intelligence.
“And once you survive long enough in the arena, you meet all kinds of races. Someone you thought was an enemy might help you, and someone you trusted as a friend might betray you.”
He said this while gazing into the distance. His hands and eyes trembled, and it felt like he was holding back sadness.
Because the place he was looking at was a list of names—those who had lost in the arena.
“Do you think nothing remains after death, Astal?”
“……”
“I don’t think so. Even if their existence disappears, the feelings and memories they left behind remain for a lifetime.”
Graktar poured himself another drink. I drank along with him, sensing from his serious tone that he had wrestled with similar worries.
“I had a woman who loved me too. She was a half-orc who fell for me watching me fight. She clung to me, calling herself a fan, so at first I kept my distance—just like you.”
“Because she got in the way of fighting?”
“Yeah. I thought that once personal feelings got involved, I wouldn’t survive. Besides supporting my family, I didn’t want to care about anything else.”
Graktar opened the locket hanging around his neck as he spoke. Inside was a faded photograph of a man and a woman.
“Sharana cried just from getting nicked by a sword. Honestly, she was far from my type. Maybe because half her blood was human, she was sharper than a normal Orc.”
His eyes reddened slightly as he looked at the photo.
“So that strange feeling I had until now was all…”
At last, all the pieces clicked into place. Why Graktar held values not so different from humans, and why he was friendly even toward me, a member of the Hero’s party.
It was likely due to the influence of Sharana—his lover.
“Yeah. I learned a lot from Sharana. That’s why I don’t even touch human flesh. She was far too good for me.”
Graktar nodded as if my guess was correct. Then, as if nothing were wrong, he closed the locket and lifted his drink. Watching him, I couldn’t help but drink as well.
“…Didn’t you say you’d only have one glass?”
“These kinds of stories are hard to tell without alcohol.”
“You’re surprisingly flexible. That’s why I like you….”
Graktar continued with a grin. The sound of two men clinking glasses echoed through the tavern.
“Later, Durahan learned about my relationship with Sharana, and we ended up facing each other as enemies in the arena. But do you know what the truly stupid part was?”
“……”
“She deliberately lost to save me. She didn’t block my axe with her shield like she always did. She let my attacks through on purpose and took a fatal wound.”
Her name was on the list Graktar had been staring at earlier. Beneath it were dates, like a memorial.
“In the end, I survived without ever properly telling her that I loved her. Before that, I was desperate to live—but now, even that feels meaningless.”
“So that’s why you tried to entrust your younger sister to me.”
“Exactly. You’ll have to beat me to reach Durahan anyway. I don’t want you to make the same mistake I did. And honestly, I want to see that bastard die.”
That was why Graktar showed no goodwill toward Durahan, the lord of this territory, or even the Demon King, ruler of the Demon Realm.
I pressed my lips together and stayed silent. I thought listening like this was better than offering shallow consolation.
“Anyway, my advice is this—you need to be more confident. No matter if you have to avenge your parents, or if death is right in front of you… don’t you think it’d be a shame to die without ever loving someone, Astal?”
“…Alright. I’ll keep that in mind.”
I nodded as I listened to Graktar’s advice, and my impression of him changed somewhat.
At that moment—
“By the way, a woman who looks like your girlfriend was watching the fight from afar earlier.”
“…What?”
Along with Graktar’s words, I felt a familiar presence. Sensing something was wrong, I turned around.
“Hello. I’m this man’s lover—may I join you?”
A platinum-blonde woman sat down with a bright smile, as if it were nothing.
data-start="10751" data-end="10754">It was Victoria Everheart, known to the world as the Flower Saint.
— Didn’t I tell you last time to touch my chest instead of drinking…? Do I really need to punish you properly? Maybe tie you up tight and make you look at only me…
Hearing her Inner Thoughts, I had no choice but to swallow hard, like someone caught doing something wrong.