Chapter 6
Chapter 6
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 6
Chapter 3: The Tall Dwarf
"Kruoooo!"
"Sara! Get to the village, now!"
"Mr. Beron!"
"Go!"
A gigantic figure nearly five mir tall let out a monstrous roar, and the man called Beron shoved the girl he'd called Sara away as he shouted. For ordinary humans, low on the food chain, fleeing was the only real option in this situation.
They'd apparently stumbled on the ogre while hunting. Beron, bow still in hand, pushed Sara—who'd been gathering wild greens—behind him and did what little he could to fight back.
Twang!
"Groooooo!"
"Damn it. Like an arrow was ever going to work."
The shot was useless against the ogre. If arrows could punch through that easily, no one would bother making armor out of ogre hide.
"Aaargh!"
"M-Mr. Beron!"
Beron's resistance was swatted aside in an instant, and Sara, gripped by terror, couldn't move. The ogre's fear pressure was more than enough to paralyze her senses. Beron kept firing, but his arrows did nothing more than scratch the surface of the ogre's thick hide.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
"Sara! Please, run!"
Beron cried out again as the ogre charged with footwork that felt grotesquely nimble for such a massive body. But fear still wouldn't let go of Sara's ankles.
"M-Mr. Beron, I-I can't move my feet. Sob."
Shing!
"Damn it, you cursed ogre! Over here!"
Beron slung his bow, drew his sword, and shouted, desperately trying to pull the ogre's attention. But the creature was already closing in on Sara.
"Yaaah!"
"Urwooor!"
Finally, Beron rushed the ogre with his blade, and only then did it swing its heavy arm at him. The incoming limb was fast, but Beron, hardened by years of hunting, dropped low and managed to duck under it. That was all he could do.
"Kruwooor!"
"Kyaaaaaa!"
The ogre's roar was met by Sara's ear-splitting scream. The creature had apparently decided the now-distant Beron was no longer a threat, and its hand was reaching for Sara's head as if to crush it.
"No!"
Thwack!
Beron screamed, but what answered him was the sound of leather drums being beaten.
Fwoo-thwck!
Thwack-thwack-thwack!
"Groooo!"
"Wh-what the!"
"What're you doing, standing there like a fool? Get the little lass out of here, quick!"
Beron's ears caught an incomprehensible shout, following the sound of arrows that had flown into the ogre's body and turned it into a pincushion in an instant. And what he saw was a tall dwarf with black hair and bronze skin.
Fwooosh!
Thwack!
"Kruoo!"
"Even the young'uns got hide this damn tough!"
A great axe, swung hard enough to split the wind, bit deep into the ogre's shoulder and lodged there. The ogre howled, but Buru ripped the axe free, then carved upward from below in a full rotation.
"Split open!"
Shhhk!
"Gruoooo..."
Thud. Crunch.
Buru's great axe had driven up between the ogre's legs and burst out through its skull. The creature, body cleaved in half, toppled to both sides without another roar. Buru flicked green blood off his axe and looked over at Sara and Beron, still trembling to one side.
"The little lass all right?"
"..."
They said nothing, even after being rescued. Buru furrowed his brow. He reined in his irritation briefly and spoke brusquely.
"What, you mute?"
"D-Daerune Buruu. Nal-rer een-nay Buruu. (I-I'm sorry. Thank you, Earth Tribe.)"
What reached Buru's ears was strange noise, and the sight reflected in Beron and Sara's eyes was a sun-bronzed tall dwarf standing there with an enormous axe.
A brief silence passed before a suspicious question came from Buru's mouth.
"How'd you know my name?"
Buru was committing the atrocity of interpreting only two syllables however he pleased.
Buru and the ten-odd soldiers who'd loosed the arrows had surrounded Beron and Sara and were staring at them with open curiosity. Beron and Sara were equally bewildered, looking at the tall dwarf who'd saved them and the soldiers who were clearly regular troops. After all, Beron and Sara were slash-and-burn farmers—fugitive humans hiding from the state.
"B-Besame mucha! (S-Subjugation soldiers!)"
"Besame mucha? Beron... mucha mayo. (Subjugation soldiers? Mr. Beron, I'm scared.)"
Beron shouted in alarm.
Dwarf or not, the dozen-odd armored soldiers were unmistakably well-trained. And there was only one reason soldiers like that would come to these Reganza Mountains: a subjugation force sent to round up slash-and-burn farmers like themselves. Nothing else made sense.
"What's that? Mucha what? What, you think I'm gonna eat you?"
Watching the man and girl suddenly start yelling at him, Buru's expression turned incredulous.
Sara's blonde hair and pale skin were something Buru had never seen before. He'd heard rumors of such people living far to the west, which was the only reason he'd kept his composure. Then, amid those thoughts, his gaze dropped to the trembling girl's knee, and his composure broke. A long gash was bleeding freely.
"She's bleeding. Little lass, show me that leg, quick!"
Whoosh!
"Jebada ni id-run-nuh game-ni mai-ne-o. (Please, just don't touch this child.)"
"Quit yapping while I'm trying to fix it."
Buru shoved aside the man who was flailing as if to shield Sara, his face reddening as he shouted. Whether because Buru's strength was simply that great or not, the man went tumbling to one side, his eyes filled with desperation.
Buru examined the wound and called back to a soldier behind him.
"Someone bring me cloth and herbs, quick."
"Ah!"
"Here, General."
When Buru examined her injured leg, Sara—feeling the pain only then—let out a small whimper. Buru hurriedly applied the medicine the soldier handed him, wrapped the cloth around, and stole a glance at her face.
'Little lass's skin's white as milk, that is.'
The speed of his bandaging suddenly slowed as Buru sank into various thoughts.
'Face is tiny too, and that yellow hair's kind of cute, that is.'
Sara, for her part, eased her guard slightly under the hands tending her leg and studied Buru's face. Once the cloth was fully wrapped around the wound, she offered her thanks in a small voice.
"Gamoe Buruu. (Thank you.)"
"There. It'll be all right now. Up you get."
Hearing what sounded like his own name, Buru's expression turned bashful. He finished the treatment and stood.
"Ah."
"Hey now."
But Sara's injured leg must have pained her, because she tried to rise only to sink back down. Buru swiftly stepped in to support her. He shook his head side to side, looking at her face.
"Won't do. Get on my back."
"Huh?"
"Get on, quick. Night'll be on us at this rate."
"Eep!"
Looking at Buru's broad back, a faint smile crossed Sara's lips as she climbed on. They couldn't understand each other's words, but she could feel clearly that he wasn't a bad person—no, not a bad dwarf.
Beron, watching the sight, felt relief, but he was also stunned to see a dwarf so readily carrying Sara on his back. Dwarves were a proud race. He'd never seen one extend this much goodwill toward a human before.
"Back to camp."
"General, please, let me carry her instead."
"..."
A loyal soldier rushed up to Buru, who'd straightened with Sara on his back, speaking as though he found the sight profoundly unfitting. The surrounding soldiers wore similarly apologetic expressions at the sight of their general carrying a ragged girl. Touched by his men's concern, Buru waved them off and quickened his pace.
"It's fine. Let's go."
"General! Please, you mustn't. Leave her to us."
"Said it's fine and you keep at it. Giyul, you just grab my axe and follow."
But Buyeo Gi-yul apparently still believed his superior should never be doing such work, and he spoke up once more.
"General, even so—"
"Want to die?"
"..."
The killing intent that erupted in an instant sent a chill through Giyul, and a veteran soldier quickly snapped out a command.
"Move out!"
At the sound, Buru's expression turned cheerful again as if nothing had happened, and he strode forward with light steps despite carrying Sara on his back.
As Go Jin-cheon sat in meditation, Yeon Hwi-garam spoke to him.
"Buru has returned. He's brought a man and woman who appear to be local residents."
"Let's go see."
Jin-cheon had expected them to be found quickly, but this was sooner than anticipated. He emerged from the command tent. Striding out, he saw Buru carrying a somewhat young-looking blonde woman on his back.
"I've returned."
"Mm. That woman must be one of the locals."
"That's right."
As Jin-cheon slowly studied the pair, Hwi-garam smiled faintly and pointed toward the man off to the side.
"The man next to her was found as well."
"..."
"Ahem."
Only then did the other man enter Jin-cheon's field of vision. His brow furrowed slightly, and he shot a glare at Hwi-garam beside him. Then he fired back as if he didn't appreciate the remark.
"You think I didn't notice him?"
"Just stating the facts."
Jin-cheon tore his gaze from the shameless Hwi-garam and approached, still carrying himself with weighty composure.
"She's injured. Bring this woman and the man to my command tent, and send for food."
"Yes, General."
Jin-cheon gave the order, then turned and walked a few steps before stopping. When Jin-cheon halted, Hwi-garam, who'd been following behind him, asked with a note of curiosity.
"Are you not going in?"
"Hwi."
Jin-cheon spoke without turning around.
"Yes."
"It's time for patrol. Take my place."
Step. Step.
In the end, Jin-cheon preemptively blocked Hwi-garam from following and disappeared inside alone.
"Brought the General!"
"Tell them to come in."
Inside were Sara, her eyes wide and darting about, and Buru, diligently fussing over her at her side. And off to one side, present yet present-not—completely ignored and marginalized—was the man, Beron.
Uru's voice came from outside, and once Jin-cheon granted permission, Uru entered with a young officer in tow.
"This is a deputy under my command. They say he knows every language under heaven, starting with the tongue of Daejin-guk—Rome, that is."
"Is that so."
"Y-Yes, Great General! My parents were merchants—traveled all the way to the western lands and knew the languages of the western traders well. I learned from them since I was young, so I'm quite proficient."
Whether from standing before Jin-cheon, whose station was sky-high, the young man answered loudly, stiff as a board. Jin-cheon nodded and pointed to one side, ordering him to interpret.
"Try speaking to them."
"Sir!"
A moment later, the deputy steadied his breathing, stepped up to Sara, and spoke.
"Hello."
"...?"
"Ahem. Not that one, then. Er... Bonjour, madame."
"...?"
"Hmm. In that case—buon giorno."
"...?"
"Hrm."
Jin-cheon's brow twitched and an uncomfortable sound escaped him. Sweat began to bead on the forehead of the young officer, who was fully absorbed in his interpreting efforts. He smiled at Jin-cheon as if making an excuse and opened his mouth again.
"I-If I try them all at once, one of them's bound to hit. Buenos días? Bon dia? Salaam aleikum? Guten Morgen? Chao anh? And..."
"Uru."
"Yes."
The deputy's rapid-fire voice was growing shakier by the word. Jin-cheon called Uru's name quietly.
"I'd briefly forgotten."
"Forgotten what?"
"That neither you nor Buru... can be trusted for anything besides battle."
"..."
A silence fell. The soldier brought in for interpreting watched Uru's face transform into something demonic and felt despair creeping in. Then Buru, watching from the side, opened his mouth with a sneer.
"Well? Some blowhard, eh? Uru, wherever you go, don't you go telling folks you bear the Eulji name. It's damned embarrassing."
Mocked even by Buru, Uru wordlessly bowed his head, then grabbed the soldier by the scruff of the neck and dragged him out.
Snatch!
"Drop it, blowhard."
"G-General Uru! A-another chance!"
The deputy being hauled away cried out, his face deathly pale, but Uru silently ignored him and whispered into his ear.
"Shut it. Let's start with two sets of horse armor on your back and one hundred laps around camp."
"No! Blonde young lady, please, just answer! Ohayou gozaimaaaaasu!"
The deputy's voice, refusing to give up even at the end, echoed on well past the tent.