Chapter 21: Dancing with Orcs! (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 21: Dancing with Orcs! (2)
Lying on the bed, Cloud showed no intention of opening his eyes.
Is he really sleeping? In a situation like this?
What kind of crazy bastard was this?
Were all heroes like this these days?
Krapa grumbled to himself as he stepped out of the cabin to check the situation.
Outside, the deck was a scene of utter chaos.
Passengers were causing a scene, begging to be saved. A crewman was yelling at them to get inside and stay put if they wanted to live. The captain was shouting orders at the top of his lungs.
And at the center of it all was a massive storm.
A whining passenger was blown away by the fierce wind, and the ship rocked violently with the waves.
"...Should I get out of here now?"
The thought of spreading his wings and flying away crossed his mind, but Krapa shook his head.
Doing so would be disobeying his master's orders.
Besides, even if he did fly, it was clear he wouldn't get far in this violent wind before falling.
Because of that damn garlic, he couldn't control his blood energy properly!
"Do I really have to leave it to fate like he said...?"
Just as Krapa sighed and turned to go back to the cabin, a colossal wave formed before the ship's bow.
A wave so massive, so enormous, it could swallow the ship whole.
"L-look at that!"
"Goddammit! Hold on tight!"
"Save me! Please, save me!"
Amidst the chaotic crowd, Krapa fell to his knees with a thud.
"My master..."
Why have you driven this loyal servant into such a deadly predicament?
For the first time since being reborn as a bloodkin, Krapa resented his master.
CRASH!
Nature's fury descended upon the ship.
*
Krapa had spent his childhood as an ordinary boy. His father was a blacksmith in a small village, so one could say he grew up in a relatively well-off family.
He was living out his perfectly normal days when it happened.
One dark night, a group of hooded figures attacked the village.
Their physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary humans, and the villagers were massacred without being able to put up any resistance.
Krapa couldn't escape them either.
He was slowly dying, holding his younger sister in his arms.
Is this the end? Is my life going to end so meaninglessly? I just wanted my sister to live...
As all sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind...
"Hmm, these ones look quite useful."
Through his blurry vision, he saw a beautiful woman...
"Stop sleeping and get up."
"Gah!"
Kicked in the stomach, Krapa was jolted awake from the dream of his past. He shot up, turning his head to survey his surroundings.
A barren land.
Withered trees and a plain that seemed to stretch on forever.
There were no shabby wooden walls or beds made of straw in sight.
"Where is this..."
"The western part of the continent. The land of the orcs."
"Orcs? Why are we suddenly in orc territory..."
"What do you mean, why? Because we were shipwrecked. Anyway, if you're awake, go drag those collapsed people over here. I'm going to gather some branches and start a campfire."
On the shore Cloud pointed to, fragments of the ship, crew members, and passengers were scattered about, some lying on the sand, others floating in the water. Krapa tucked the crew and passengers under his arms and carried them.
Dammit, to think I'm following the orders of an inferior being to save other inferior beings.
A double dose of humiliation!
For a moment, Krapa felt a sense of self-loathing, wondering if he should even bother living like this.
What am I thinking! This is my master's command. I have a duty to follow his orders!
His master had ordered him to watch Cloud's every move and report back. To do that, he needed to earn Cloud's trust, and to earn his trust, he had to pretend to follow his words obediently.
Therefore, what he was doing now was ultimately part of his master's command.
Suppressing his self-loathing, Krapa picked up the humans one by one and tossed them near the campfire Cloud had started. About twenty people were gathered around the fire.
"Good work. The weather's humid and we've got a fire, so we shouldn't have to worry about hypothermia. Let's just leave them be and rest until they wake up."
"Understood."
"Huh? Back to speaking formally? Just talk casually like you were before."
"...No, sir."
Was he holding a grudge?
Krapa added a line to his mental report on Cloud.
He holds a grudge.
*
As time passed, the people who had been unconscious began to wake up one by one.
"W-what?! Where am I?!"
"Howl, you go explain."
"...Yes, sir."
Each time someone woke up, Krapa would approach and explain the current situation. The reactions of those who heard the explanation varied.
"Wh-what kind of nonsense is that?! The land of the orcs? That's the complete opposite direction from where the ship was headed!"
Denial.
"O-orcs...? The monsters said to be even more brutal than barbarians...? Ah... it's over... I'm already dead..."
Despair.
"Me, in the land of orcs...? Dammit! How the hell does that captain navigate?! When I get home, I'll tell my father and have him torn to shreds!"
Anger.
"Hah... I heard orcs are so barbaric... If I get caught... Hah...❤"
???
...In any case, everyone who had been unconscious was now awake and aware of their reality.
The atmosphere was grim, as most were consumed by negative emotions.
Clap!
The sound of clapping drew their attention. They all turned toward the person who had clapped.
The clapper, Cloud, smiled and spoke.
"As you all know, our ship was wrecked in a storm. And we've ended up in the land of the orcs. In this situation, there is only one choice we can make. We must somehow travel to the border and get out of here."
"Travel...? Is that even possible? If the orcs spot us while we're moving, it'll be over..." someone said in a voice devoid of confidence.
It was the same person who had been muttering in despair earlier. He wore an expression of someone who had given up on everything.
Cloud nodded at his words.
"You're right. If we run into orcs with this many people, we're screwed."
"Then..."
"But do you have a better idea than the one I've proposed? If you do, please share it. I'll consider it positively."
"...I don't."
"Then let's do as I say. Isn't it better than just sitting here waiting to die? At least this way, our chances of survival increase, even if only slightly."
Cloud looked around at the people gathered around the campfire. Their expressions were better than before. A positive sign.
"I can't listen to this any longer."
And just when things seem to be going well, there's always someone who has to ruin the mood. It was a familiar situation, so Cloud's expression didn't falter.
Really.
He looked, expressionless, at the man who had objected.
A young man who appeared to be in his late teens. It was the same guy who had been ranting about his father earlier. A middle-aged man who looked like a bodyguard stood beside him.
"Is there a problem?"
"It seems you're trying to take control of this group, am I right?"
"I am, but is there a problem with that?"
"...You're bold. Well, I don't dislike that about you. But wanting to take control is another matter entirely. You shouldn't be the one in charge. The only one who can take charge here is me."
His voice, speaking as if it were the most natural thing in the world, was filled with arrogance and confidence.
What's this? Does he have some brilliant plan?
Cloud tilted his head and asked.
"And why are you the only one who can lead this group?"
"That's obvious. It's because I'm a noble. It's natural for a commoner to follow a noble, wouldn't it be strange for a noble to follow a commoner?"
After saying that, the young man observed the others' reactions. He didn't need to. The moment the word "noble" was spoken, everyone either lowered their eyes or fidgeted nervously.
The ingrained mindset of the subjugated, carved into them over long years, had kicked in.
The young man smiled with satisfaction and continued.
"Therefore, from now on, I will be in control of all of you. This is not a suggestion or a request, but an order. Anyone who disobeys my command will face summary judgment... Gack!"
Kicked in the side, the young man went rolling across the ground. The middle-aged man who had been standing as his guard immediately drew his sword.
"Lord Calios! You bastard! What do you think you're doing?!"
Cloud glanced at the sword pointed at him and then gave an order to Krapa.
"Howl, beat him up. Just enough so he can still move."
"Yes, sir."
The middle-aged man's brow furrowed at the casual conversation, as if they were discussing tidying up some object.
"What? Do you dare insult me, you cur?! You'll pay for that insult with your life!"
The sword swung horizontally, aiming for Krapa's neck. It was a clean, flawless slash. Krapa blocked it with his palm.
"What?!"
The middle-aged man was stunned.
He blocked my sword just by holding out his palm?!
Impossible.
A knight's sword isn't something that can be blocked so easily!
But he didn't have much time to be shocked.
Krapa's fist slammed into the middle-aged man's face.
Thwack!
A dull thud, like being hit with a blunt weapon, echoed. Krapa climbed on top of the man as he fell backward. He then began to beat him mercilessly, swinging his fists wildly.
"Heh heh. Heheheh...!"
...all while letting out a bizarre laugh.
Cloud sighed.
"Don't break his bones. We'll need him to travel with us."
"Understood!"
His voice was incredibly cheerful.
Hmm, have I been too hard on him? Then again, marinating even the beef jerky in garlic juice might have been a bit much.
Cloud felt a slight pang of remorse.
Not that he was going to stop feeding him garlic, though.
"Do you have any idea who I am to be pulling a stunt like this?!"
Struggling to his feet, Calios glared at Cloud with a terrifying intensity.
"And who might you be?"
"I am Calios Goldenbaum, the rightful heir to the Goldenbaum Viscountcy of the Prona Kingdom. Do you understand now? Your actions are an affront to the Goldenbaum family... Urk!"
Kicked in the stomach, Calios once again tumbled to the ground.
"Ugh... You, you! Did you even hear what I said? I'm..."
"I heard you. The son of some viscount family from the boonies, right? And here I thought you were some important noble."
"What...? The boonies...?"
Calios wore a look of disbelief.
The boonies?
Did I hear that right?
Unfortunately, it seemed he had.
He called my family a backwater family...?
There were only two possibilities.
Either this man was a reckless lunatic, or...
He had a background so superior that his family seemed laughable in comparison.
Thinking rationally, the latter was more likely.
"Wh-who are you...?"
Cloud crouched down, meeting Calios's eyes. The reflection of the terrified young noble was captured in his cold, sunken eyes.
Cloud spoke.
"Who do you think I am?"