The Ogre's Roar
“Wait, just a sec……”
Pushing my way through a crowd of hulking, muscle-bound men was far too difficult for someone like me.
Kenta didn’t panic even as the thing wrapped around his neck. Instead, in that brief moment, he managed to wedge his hand between his throat and Rai.
Thick veins bulged on Kenta’s shoulders and forehead.
His massive muscles twitched, but Rai had no intention of letting go.
Rai, who had held back until now, must have finally reached his limit.
[Stop, Rai. That’s enough!]
I had no choice but to shout since my voice couldn’t reach him otherwise.
Just as Kenta’s face began to flush with alarm, Rai suddenly went limp at my urgent command and slid to the ground.
Then, as if furious, he twisted his whole body and rolled across the dirt in a frenzy.
[Krrgh! You bear-like bastard! I swear I’ll kill you one day!]
Every time Rai slammed his tail against the ground, the earth caved in with deep gouges.
Eventually, unable to contain his rage, Rai rolled in every direction. His body slam shattered a wooden bucket into splinters.
The people around us widened their eyes and scattered to avoid him.
“Sorry, Rai.”
I really hadn’t expected him to actually try to eat the guy.
The mercenaries had licked their lips saying “That snake looks tasty,” but I thought they were joking.
At night, I slept beside Anelia. But perhaps I had grown too accustomed to luxury, because the borrowed sleeping bag smelled musty and felt suffocating. I couldn’t fall asleep.
The campfire lit by the night watch outside the thin tent flickered, making it even harder to rest.
As I kept tossing and turning, I suddenly felt Rai slithering into the sleeping bag.
[Rai!]
[What?]
He must have been sulking. His tone was curt.
[Curt, are we?]
[……What is it, Master?]
[You’re mad because I only told you to hold back?]
[No. It’s just that Master always scolds only me, never says anything when that bear-like human torments me…… and you keep praising that useless Undine thing…… and you always tell me to shut up…… And…… and! Hic.]
He says it’s nothing, but what’s with all those complaints tacked on at the end?
Rai was surprisingly narrow-minded. How could someone who had lived for over ten thousand years be like this?
He was also a jealous spirit who hated it most when I showed affection to other spirits.
This guy really never acted his age.
I decided to be a little generous and gently pulled Rai into my arms, patting and stroking his head.
[How much do I adore you, Rai? We’re always together, aren’t we? That means we’re like family.]
[Like…… family?]
[And even if Kenta bothers you, I have no choice but to endure it a little. I owe these mercenaries a huge debt. It’s not that I want to hold back—I have to.]
[It’s not just a little. You’re enduring a lot.]
[Ahem. And thinking I only like Undine is a misunderstanding. She’s young, so of course I take extra care of her, right?]
[Undine isn’t a child…….]
I was trying to soothe him with gentle words, but Rai muttered under his breath as if still dissatisfied.
[Undine is a child. Can’t you tell just by looking?]
[That water droplet Undine is at least thirty this year.]
What? How old?
[How old? Three?]
[Thirty! Three tens. Ten times three.]
Did I hear wrong? I dug at my ear with my pinky for a moment.
[No way…… That can’t be right?]
[To be summoned from the Spirit Realm to the Middle Realm, they basically have to have lived at least that long. Newly born ones can’t cross over here at all.]
[No way…… Undine is thirty!]
She’s so cute! That face is thirty years old?
[That’s correct. Very young spirits can’t adapt to the turbid nature of the Middle Realm, and they’re clumsy with their abilities. Besides, do you think a newly born lower spirit could form a contract over a skilled lower spirit?]
“What a shock……”
“Hm? Did you say something, Jeanie?”
“No! It’s nothing, sis.”
I quickly covered up the words I had accidentally muttered aloud. It seemed Anelia had woken up because of me.
[You mustn’t be fooled by appearances, Master! That Undine is the most despicable one! Pretending to be cute and monopolizing all of Master’s love!]
[So…… how long do water spirits usually live?]
[……Several hundred years?]
[……Then thirty really is a child.]
[Well, that’s true, but…….]
So Rai was trying to drive a wedge between me and Undine!
Undine’s innocent face and the number thirty didn’t match at all, but I soon thought, Well, I guess it’s possible.
Since Rai himself was over ten thousand years old, thirty for Undine was basically a baby. Yep.
Even I had to admit I was a master of mental victory.
[I can forgive that much. Undine is cute, after all.]
[Master, isn’t that discrimination! You called me an old man!]
Rai’s head suddenly popped out of the sleeping bag and waved in front of my eyes like a protest. But thirty and ten thousand years old couldn’t even be compared.
I quickly shoved Rai’s head back inside the bag before Anelia could see.
[Don’t stick your face out! Anelia hates sleeping with snakes!]
[This is too much! Do you think I wanted to be born looking like this?]
[What?]
[I hated this body from the start! There are dogs and cats, so why did it have to be a snake! This is all your fault, Master! Take responsibility! Hic. I could be cute too!]
I had been a bit too harsh earlier, so I tried to cheer him up, but it seemed Rai had a lot pent up. Seriously, catering to spirits is ridiculously hard.
Snakes can be cute too. Why does everyone act like that?
[Hngh, hngh.]
[Hey, stop crying! It’s noisy.]
[Master is so cold-hearted!]
[Shut up! Today’s quota of kindness is over.]
[……Huh? When did you use it? I didn’t feel anything!]
[It just passed by. Thank you for using our service, dear customer.]
Go to sleep already. I roughly stroked Rai’s head.
Of course, spirits didn’t actually sleep.
That was why Rai did an excellent job acting as both a night watch and an intercom.
[Today was exhausting too. That wagon made my butt hurt so much.]
[By the way, Master?]
[Mmm? I’m trying to sleep…….]
Between the unfamiliar travel and repeated nights of camping, the accumulated fatigue must have hit me. The moment I closed my eyes, sleep began to pull me under.
[Do you like ogres?]
I was wondering what nonsense he was about to spout this time.
“Emergency!”
The sharp ringing of a bell I had heard once before—ding ding ding—cut through the night, instantly snapping me awake.
This was the bell they rang when monsters appeared.
“Monsters! Emergency! Everyone up!”
While I muttered a short curse under my breath, Anelia had already risen and was swiftly putting on her protective gear. She moved so fast my eyes could barely follow.
“Jeanie! Come out of the tent!”
“Huh?”
“Hurry!”
Still in my pajamas, I was dragged out by Anelia’s hand.
Outside, the mercenaries who had heard the bell were already in tight formation, fully alert.
How did these people know an ogre was coming? I had Rai, but still…….
“Three o’clock direction!”
A flock of birds burst from one side of the forest. At the same time, the night watch stationed nearby screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Form up!”
“Over there.”
Anelia urgently shoved me under a wagon. I rolled underneath and hid, nodding frantically as she gave me strict instructions.
“Stay hidden here. If it gets dangerous, run that way. Understand?”
“Y-yes.”
“And don’t make a sound!”
With those words, Anelia dashed toward where the ogre’s presence could be felt. In her hands were a pair of sharp dual blades.
“Kruooooargh!”
With a roar that shook the ground as if declaring itself the ruler of this land, the ogre appeared, smashing trees aside with its body.
Lying flat on the ground, every vibration felt vividly real to me—the earth, the sound, even the wind.
I had seen orcs before, but this was my first time seeing an ogre. It was exactly three times bigger than I had imagined.
If you put a cow next to an ogre, the cow would look like a puppy.
An involuntary gasp of awe escaped me.
“Whoa. It’s huge……”
[It’s actually quite large even for an ogre.]
If Rai, who was usually so stingy with praise, admitted it was big, then this was definitely no ordinary ogre.
Ogres were among the strongest monsters. That was why they usually lived alone and often reigned as kings of the forest.
Judging by its size, this one might really be the king of the area. In that case, we were nothing more than rude intruders who had trespassed on its territory.
“Form ranks!”
“Where the hell is Kenta! Anelia! Over here! Everyone hurry!”
Everyone looked frantic, but the busiest and loudest voice belonged to Shabel’s leader—the one I had thought only bossed people around for no reason.
He commanded the members with flawless precision, and everyone moved as if they had coordinated many times before, quickly forming lines and raising their weapons.
So this was what a mercenary corps was like.
At first glance they seemed like a haphazard mix, but when they came together, they pooled their strength perfectly.
It was a completely different style from the polished, orderly battles of knights.
[By the way, Rai, do monsters normally appear this often? Orcs keep showing up too.]
[This is actually on the milder side. It used to be much worse. When traveling through the mountains, you’d run into monster packs every few hours.]
[……The ‘old days’ you’re talking about is almost ten thousand years ago, right?]
[Well, yes, but still.]
“Hmm……”
This happened often, yet it looked incredibly dangerous. No wonder the king regularly organized monster subjugation parties.
“Watch out!”
Every time the ogre swung its arm, people were sent flying helplessly through the air.
It was true that ogres were famous for their monstrous strength.
Among monsters, they sat near the top of the food chain. Compared to orcs, the difference in power was like that between a dog and a tiger.
If an orc could be taken down by one strong warrior, an ogre required a group of strong warriors working together to hunt.
The monster studies I learned in class were finally coming in handy. Especially when I needed to know my odds of dying in an ambush.
“Aren’t we at a disadvantage?”
[Crossing the mountain range always carries this kind of risk. Plus, it’s a full moon tonight, so the monsters are more ferocious than usual.]
“……Can you say something hopeful instead?”
A vivid purple moon hung clearly in the sky.
Was it okay for me to stay hidden here? The ogre was getting closer. Should I run?
I quickly understood why Anelia had dragged me out of the tent.
The ogre’s feet easily crushed the tents. If I had stayed inside…….
A shiver ran through me.
Should I run? Or stay here? I was seriously debating it when the ogre suddenly leaped into the air.
It jumped so high that its pitch-black silhouette was etched against the moon like a stamp.
A bad feeling washed over me.
And my premonition was spot on. The moment the ogre’s body slammed back to the ground, I was hit with the foul, meaty stench unique to carnivorous monsters.
“Why!”
Why me of all people!