Orun (1)
Did he really have to say it that scarily…?
What I had written was:
You, Orc
Surely he hadn't gotten angry because he thought I was saying he looked like an orc.
I snatched the paper back in a hurry and scrawled a new message to show him.
Search magic, know, half
After reading it, Redrago dropped heavily back into his seat. He let out a long breath and opened his mouth again—this time without the terrifying edge in his voice.
"I'd rather you not tell anyone that I'm a half-orc."
"Humans don't care for races that aren't their own. Half-breeds like me included."
"There's nothing to gain from it getting out."
So the treatment of other races was the same as in the world before my reincarnation—this world was no different. The books had written that humans hated, despised, and shunned other races. In truth, their loathing had gone so far as slaughter. Because of that, almost nothing remained of other races' magic, and information was desperately hard to come by.
I couldn't understand it. If they simply shared their cultures and their magic, they could have advanced together. Why go out of their way to cast them out and despise them?
And it was absolutely not just because I was sad I couldn't study other races' magic. Absolutely not!
I had pursued magic without end, researched it endlessly, and still something had always felt missing. Human magical knowledge alone was like a puzzle that could never be finished.
The man sitting in front of me right now was the first non-human I had ever met. Of course I was interested.
I nodded and held up the paper again.
Orc, magic, question
"I don't know much about magic either. I've only ever fought with my body."
Figures. He looked about as far from a mage as a person could get, so I hadn't expected much of an answer. But what he said next caught my ear completely.
"Ah… there might be mages in my father's homeland, though."
So his father was the orc. But an orc's… homeland…?
Did this world have a nation of orcs? If I went there… I might be able to learn their culture, their magic. Even if they only shared a name with the orcs of my past life, it didn't matter.
How different would orc magic be?!
"Tiable, are you that interested in magic?"
I nodded so hard my head nearly came off.
"Hmm. Sometime next week… around this day should work. Until then."
Hearing Redrago's words, I couldn't help myself—I jumped around like a little kid, overflowing with joy. Visiting a nation of another race that I'd only ever seen in books was that exciting.
Ever since her private talk with Redrago, Tiable had looked thrilled. What on earth had they discussed after he sent me out, for her to change this much?
Either way, after firing off offensive magic she was always so downcast—seeing her this happy was a relief.
"Tiable, you seem to be in a good mood lately. Can you tell me why?"
Tiable rolled her eyes as if thinking it over, then gave a little smile with her eyes and crossed both index fingers over her mouth.
A se… secret…? She was still hiding things from me…
At last, the day Redrago had promised arrived.
Orun, the nation of orcs.
When Redrago showed up at Hugo's house and announced he would be taking me with him for a few days, Hugo pressed him hard for a reason.
"What exactly do you intend to do by taking Tiable with you, sir?!"
"Nothing…"
"Then why take her at all?"
"…"
Redrago only stroked his chin in silence. He was probably worried that giving a real reason would expose him as an orc. Maybe he was just bad at lying—he could have at least fumbled through some excuse.
Sensing an opening, Hugo seized on it at once.
"If there's no reason, then there's no need to take her, is there?"
"…Are you defying a superior's order right now?"
Redrago played his strongest card.
"Ah—no, but still… Yes, sir… Please take her!"
Hugo started to say more, then caught Redrago's look and gave up. Still, the two of them seemed to have gotten fairly close—a far cry from the first time I'd seen them together.
As I walked off holding Redrago's hand, I glanced back. Hugo was watching us go with the pitiful eyes of a puppy watching its owner leave.
When Redrago told the coachman to take us to Orun, the man hesitated a little, but he set out all the same.
The road to Orun. It was far enough that we'd have to ride without stopping for about three days. What might happen along the way? The flutter of excitement didn't last long.
So this was how miserable a carriage could be…
The endless rattling pounded through my skull. This nausea… it was like mana exhaustion… no, maybe worse…
Urgh.
Redrago looked at me with concern.
"Sorry, but could we rest here a moment? The child seems to be struggling a bit."
The coachman scratched his head with one hand.
"Resting here is a little dangerous…"
Redrago quietly pointed to the greatsword on his back.
"Well… if you're confident…"
The coachman glanced at me, then brought the carriage to a stop.
I might live after all—
Redrago never let go of his greatsword's hilt. Was this place really that dangerous? All I could see was an ordinary forest full of trees. Knowing we were only stopping because of me left a bad taste in my mouth.
Magic, use?
I walked up to Redrago and showed him the paper. He shook his head firmly from side to side.
"No search magic."
I'd meant a protection spell, not search magic.
Magic, protect
His eyes widened a little at the paper, and he tilted his head as if weighing it. He said nothing—but my master had always said silence was as good as consent. Right.
I cast the spell. A white membrane spread out from me and clung to Redrago and the coachman as well. Both of them looked mildly startled.
"Th-that little kid can use magic too?"
The coachman said it loud, and Redrago shot him a sharp look.
"W-well now, what an impressive child."
Amazing how fast a person's tone could change. Redrago really was scary. Objectively scary. He seemed a little kinder with me, though.
I walked over to him looking thoroughly pleased with myself. Whether he understood how I felt or not, Redrago ruffled my hair. I hadn't known having my head patted could feel this good. Ever since coming to this world, I'd lost count of how many times I'd let people put a hand on my head like I was some kind of pet.
Then the hand on my head dropped—and went straight to the hilt of Redrago's greatsword.
It happened in an instant.
With his other hand he seized my arm and yanked me behind his back. When I peeked out from behind that massive frame, a wolf with blue eyes of considerable size stood right in front of us.
Its jaws looked big enough to swallow a full-grown adult whole. The wolf opened its mouth and, without a shred of hesitation, lunged at Redrago, who had already dropped into a combat stance.
Whoosh—
The greatsword swept through the air, and the sound of it cutting the wind rang through the forest.
That was the end of it.
After that came only the sound of meat hitting the ground—twice. A single stroke had cleaved the wolf clean in two.
Redrago… this man had looked strong, but he was a lot stronger than that. Even the coachman just stared, as if he'd never seen anything like it.
I… maybe I hadn't needed to use magic after all…
The coachman refused to go any closer, so we got down where the gate was in sight and walked the rest of the way. Stopping now and then along the road had taken longer than expected. She'd been ready to fly when we set out, but the moment she got in the carriage she looked half-dead—kids really were kids.
"Tiable, put this on before we go in."
It was a large hooded cloak big enough to cover her entire body.
"Just as humans dislike orcs, there are a few orcs who dislike humans."
Tiable pulled the cloak on without a word of complaint, and we walked up to the gate. Sure enough, the suspicious cloak-lump beside me got us stopped by a guard.
"It's Redrago. The one beside me is a human girl. We're here on business for a short while."
"R-Redrago, sir? P-please wait just a moment."
There was no need to get that nervous—reactions like that were a burden. The guard scrambled off and came back with someone else.
Sovid—captain of the guard. Back when I used to serve in Orun's guard, this guy had been a unit captain. So he'd been promoted the moment I disappeared.
"It's been a while, Redrago. What brings you to Orun?"
"Is coming to see my parents not allowed?"
"No need to get sharp. I haven't even told you to stay out yet. Still—what's with the little one next to you?"
"A girl… I'm looking after for a while."
I ought to say this too. I hesitated a moment, then spoke.
"A human girl."
"A human? Kah—leave it to a half-breed. You go crawling over to the humans, and now you bring one back? Humans are small to begin with, but isn't this one a bit too much of a child?"
Still the same unpleasant bastard.
"You'd do well to watch your mouth."
Quiet. Low. Clear. Maybe he finally read the air around me—Sovid shut up after that.
"Ahem. Fine, whatever. Go on in."
At last—Orun.
Before we went through the gate, Redrago had handed me a cloak. To hide that I was human, no doubt. Even so, a walking cloak-lump was suspicious enough that a guard stopped us. The moment Redrago gave his name—
Wait.
Something was strange about the words Redrago was speaking. Aside from the word "Redrago" itself, I couldn't understand a single thing he said.
Human language and orc language… they were different?