The Orc Is Skinning a Human!!

The showdown that staked the pride of men. A test of endurance in the Bulgama. What was the result of that fierce battle? It was the victory of Hans, a Mithril-rank adventurer.

Cedric, drenched in sweat, stumbled out of the kiln, swaying on his feet. Hans, on the other hand, remained seated in a cross-legged position, still wearing a relaxed smile. Cheers erupted from the people who had bet on Hans.

"Yes! 5 Silver!"

"T-this can't be..."

Aria’s shoulders slumped. The fact that Cedric had lost felt far more painful than the 10 Silver she had lost. Age... it was something no one could hide!

As they slowly made their way out, Lumiella followed behind, giggling excitedly. "Didn't I tell you? I said ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hans would win, didn't I? Hehe."

"Hmph. I'm sure you're very pleased with yourself."

Lumiella poked Aria in the side as she pouted. "Aria! They say there are many adventurers who have ranked up thanks to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Bulgama training! We’re mages, after all—shouldn't we try training together once?"

"I'll pass. It seems a bit suspicious..."

Aria looked down at Sir Walter, who was being carried away by Orc employees. She didn't think following their lead would make her any healthier.

"That. Is the truth."

Suddenly, a fierce-looking Orc cut in. It was Karak, the former chieftain of the Twin Axe tribe.

"Rick also trained in the Bulgama and reached Gold rank."

"Who is Rick...?"

"Anyway, there is such a guy. You relieve fatigue in the bath, cleanse your body with a scrub, and if you practice mana control in the Bulgama, enlightenment comes."

Lumiella, hearing this, grabbed Aria and dragged her toward the Bulgama. She was someone with zero immunity to sales pitches. Aria, too, was weak against such forceful persuasion. In the end, the two only emerged from the Bulgama after sweating out every drop of moisture. Their legs were trembling, and their faces were flushed red.

"I think... it was training... but...?"

"Hehe... but it's... so hot...? Where to... next...?"

The two walked down the hallway with dazed expressions. Beyond their blurred vision, the names of various rooms floated by. Salt Room, Red Clay Room... and... Ice Room?

"I-Ice Room...? Why would His Highness... build a place like this...? It’s cold enough outside the new city anyway..."

"Oh... but still, let's... go in once...! Since we're here... we have to experience everything...!"

Lumiella, having already regained her energy, led Aria. The interior of the Ice Room was filled entirely with frost and ice. Just looking at it gave them goosebumps, making them hesitant to step inside, but—

Sssssss.

"Kuaaaaaaah!!!"

The two let out a sound of pure bliss simultaneously. The moment the cold air touched their heated bodies, an indescribable, thrilling pleasure washed over them from head to toe. Their burning bodies cooled in an instant. It felt as if even their minds were being cleared.

"I never knew cold wind could feel this good...! Even living in the North, I've never felt this before!"

"It's a pretty decent place, isn't it?"

"......Right?"

The two sat there for a long time, savoring the cold air. However. That happiness was short-lived. As the pleasure gradually faded... a chill seeped into their very bones.

"But I think... I'm too cold now...!"

"Already? Then shall we go back to the Bulgama?"

The two hurried out of the Ice Room and opened the door to the Bulgama once more. The intense heat melted their frozen skin in an instant.

"Haa... I think I'm going to live..."

Aria collapsed onto the wooden floor, stretching out. "Hehe. You're enjoying this too, right, Unnie?"

"I, I haven't told you my age yet..."

Fire. Ice. Fire. Ice. Once they had tasted that pleasure, the two could not stop. When they heated their bodies in the Bulgama, they missed the Ice Room, and when they cooled off in the Ice Room, they missed the Bulgama again. The women, who had enjoyed the sauna infinitely, only entered their lodging in the evening. They sprawled out on chairs, having bought eggs and banana milk. Lumiella peeled an egg and took a bite. Then, she took a long sip of the banana milk.

Gulp. Gulp.

"......!! I've lived long enough to see this. To think I'd be eating food like this in the North!"

"What? Don't they sell a lot of delicious things in the new city?"

"Hehe. I'm usually holed up in the workshop, so I just eat whatever."

Aria nodded as if she understood. One was the Green Tower Master. The other was a genius developer who was no exaggeration to say was the most famous person in Wintervalt after Kailan and Eleanor. Once both of them were immersed in their work, they had no time to worry about something as trivial as eating.

"Sob! It's truly fortunate that someone like the Grand Duke is the master of Wintervalt. He gives us a huge budget for the workshop, and he gives us such fun ideas..."

"That's true. How on earth does His Highness... know all of that?"

Aria peeled an egg and racked her brain quite seriously. No answer came.

Grand Duke's office. Eleanor approached Kailan with her usual bright smile. And as always, she brought good news.

"Your Highness! Here is the sales report for last month."

"Hmm."

"The sales of the sauna far exceeded expectations, and the new products are selling out as soon as they arrive. And..."

Eleanor smiled contentedly.

"The mascot merchandise is also receiving a very positive response. We are scheduled to release our Yongyong capes next week as well."

"That's impressive. It is all thanks to your hard work and that of the retainers."

"Fufu. I don't know how to express my gratitude."

Kailan flipped through the report he had been handed, page by page. '...The response isn't bad.'

Yongyong is catching on. Even if it's currently only popular within the North.

'I can't be satisfied with just this much.'

To capture everyone's heart... in other words, to sell Yongyong merchandise across the entire continent, a certain amount of groundwork was necessary. It wasn't enough for Yongyong to simply be cute. A star needed a proper story.

A satisfied smile spread across Kailan's lips.

"Your Highness...? Is there something you'd like to say?"

"No. It's nothing."

Yongyong's full-scale debut was just beginning.

A snowy mountain on the outskirts of the Wintervalt new city. A massive shadow descended over the snowfield.

Kuaaaaaaah—!

It was a Wyvern. A man jumped lightly from its back, his black cloak fluttering. Armor made of Wyvern scales. A Mithril sword at his waist. A Mithril-rank adventurer from the South, Galad of the Sky.

He was also called the Orc Slayer because of his past achievement of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠single-handedly subjugating an entire Orc village.

"......Fufu. I'm truly looking forward to this."

Galad pulled a crumpled request form from his pocket. It was a request that had been distributed simultaneously to large guilds across the Empire.

The content itself was incredibly unfriendly. It didn't even state what kind of work he was expected to do, and the reward was just a promise to pay generously. However, Galad raised the corners of his mouth.

'...Well, I can guess.'

The minimum qualification to accept the request was a staggering Mithril rank. Superhumans whose numbers across the entire continent were barely over forty. It was rare for a request to be entrusted to a Mithril-ranker.

'...The work they want me to do, and the reward. It won't be at an ordinary level.'

On top of that, there was even an interview.

'An interview.'

Since rising to Mithril rank, he had been in a position where he was revered wherever he went in the South. Being tested by someone was a sensation he had long forgotten. But it didn't feel bad. If anything, his blood was boiling.

'How long has it been since I've taken a test.'

Galad's gaze turned toward the spire of the Wintervalt Grand Duke's castle, which stood tall in the distance.

'Kailan Wintervalt......'

Swordmaster. Monster Grand Duke. A living legend with a track record of single-handedly stopping a Monster Wave.

'I've always wanted to meet him at least once.'

"Cough. Ahem."

Galad cleared his throat to calm his racing heart. Among swordsmen, there wouldn't be anyone who didn't admire that man.

'Heh. Naturally, there's no way I'll fail the interview...'

Galad, confidently tucking the request form back into his pocket, stroked the massive neck of the Wyvern that was lying quietly beside him.

"I'll be back in a moment, so wait here quietly in this cave."

Grrr......

The Wyvern let out a low growl and bowed its head. A lifelong partner whose soul had been intertwined through a mana contract years ago. Because their mana was connected, if one became endangered, the other would instinctively sense it.

"I'll be back before mealtime."

Grrr—

The Wyvern closed its eyes quietly as if it understood. He stroked the Wyvern's head and left the cave.

A moment later. Galad, having entered the hot spring village, stopped in his tracks.

"......Hmm?"

He felt a sense of incongruity. Even when he was crossing the mountain range on his Wyvern, the bitter cold of winter had been biting at his nose. It was typical northern weather, where breath froze and snowstorms obscured his vision. But the moment he stepped into the village, sweat began to bead on his forehead.

'Why is the weather... suddenly so warm?'

Galad looked up at the sky with a bewildered expression.

"......?!"

Galad's jaw dropped.

"......W-what is that?!"

In the sky. There were two suns floating. As a Mithril-rank adventurer who had challenged numerous secret realms, this was the first time Galad had ever seen a sky with two suns. Just as Galad ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stood frozen with his jaw agape—

An adventurer wearing a silver ID tag whistled as he passed by. Galad hurriedly grabbed him.

"H-hey. You there, adventurer."

"Huh? Me?"

The Silver-rank adventurer, who had been pulling a handcart, stopped and looked back at Galad.

"There are... two suns in the sky. Do you happen to know what on earth is going on?"

At Galad's serious question, the Silver-rank adventurer glanced up at the sky and burst into a laugh.

"Haha. You look like an adventurer too, but how can you be so ignorant of information and expect to make money? It’s been ages since Grand Duchess Eleanor married into the North, and you're still asking that?"

"What does that mean? What on earth does the Grand Duchess have to do with the sun?"

Galad spent most of his time adventuring with his partner Wyvern, Zephyr. So he had little interest in what was happening in the world. Besides, this was his first time in the North.

"If you roll around as an adventurer here for just a few days, you'll naturally find out."

The Silver-rank adventurer chicly went on his way.

"......"

Mithril-rank adventurer Galad was left alone in the middle of the street.

'Two suns...... as expected, there are still many places in the world I haven't adventured yet.'

He tried to pull himself together. He wouldn't maintain the dignity of a Mithril adventurer if he were surprised by something like this. He had to stay calm.

"They said there was a hot spring around here somewhere."

Galad tightened his collar and hurried his steps. When he decided to come here, he had happened to see a flyer on a bulletin board. A flyer depicting a northern hot spring. A bath with steam rising, and eggs and milk neatly placed beside it. 'Conditioning is essential before going to an interview.'

Galad walked through the hot spring village with an excited step. Before long, a massive steel-wood sign with a blue hue entered Galad's field of vision.

[Wintervalt Hot Spring]

Galad smiled with satisfaction as he looked at the entrance, where steam was rising.

"......Oh, this is quite decent, just as I heard."

It was the moment he opened the sliding door of the inn and stepped inside.

"I'm here for the shift change! Brother!"

"Kuruk. Good work. Watch the counter well."

Something massive entered the staff break room in the corner of Galad's vision.

"......Huh?"

Galad rubbed his eyes. Did he see wrong? Didn't this employee... just swap with an Orc earlier? There was no way.

'It must just be a guy who looks like an Orc.'

Galad shook his head. He must have been exhausted from flying all the way to the North.

"Welcome, guest!"

Sitting at the counter was a brightly smiling human youth. It was natural. A human should be sitting at the counter. It was strange for an Orc to be sitting there. Galad cleared his throat and put on airs. It was time to show the gravitas of the South's best adventurer.

"I'd like a room for one night. And... before I unpack, I want to go into the bath first."

"Ah! Is this your first time using our inn? Would you like some help with the first-time guide and course explanation?"

"Not necessary. Hot springs are all the same. I'll handle it myself, so just give me the key."

The clerk smiled brightly and handed him the key.

"Yes! Then I hope you have a relaxing time!"

Galad snorted and headed confidently toward the men's bath area. After stripping off his clothes in the changing room, Galad headed to the large bath wearing only a light bath towel. Hot steam rushed toward him.

An open-air bath with warm steam rising. The smell of sulfur piercing his nose. As he soaked his body once, a sigh escaped him naturally.

'......Good. It's the best.'

He felt the fatigue accumulated from flying to the North melting away. 'If I sleep for a bit like this and wake up, I'll be able to go to the interview in the best condition.'

A smile spread across his lips naturally. It was just then, as Galad was stretching in the bath with a satisfied expression—

Wooooong—!

"......!"

One corner, thick with steam. Beyond a wooden partition labeled [Scrub Room]. A force so intense it was suffocating erupted.

'W-what is this massive aura......!'

Through the slightly opened crack in the door, the scene inside entered his view. On the bed. A man was lying face down, completely limp, without a single thread of clothing on. And standing in front of him was—

A massive Orc, over 2 meters tall, with green muscles rippling. Furthermore. In that Orc's hands, a red aura was flickering ominously!

"This... shit!"

This was the heart of Wintervalt. Wasn't this the most peaceful inn in the territory ruled by the Grand Duke! And yet, a monster had brazenly infiltrated and was butchering a human in broad daylight!

Chwaaaaaak—!

Galad hurriedly jumped out of the bath and lunged toward the Orc.

"You filthy monster bastard!!!"