Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Section 8: The First Spirit
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It was a massive drinking bash.
Giants over three meters tall were downing mugs bigger than human heads in one go, tearing into hunks of meat thicker than a person's torso, and rocking their bodies in excitement.
Dung.
Dung-dung.
Dung-dung-dung.
Drums made from beast hides echoed from all directions. Listening to it in the darkness gave off an almost majestic vibe... but why were they pounding out a marching rhythm at a festival?
Anyway, there was probably no day as joyful for the ogres as this one.
But for guests like us, it was nothing but agonizing torture that was hard to endure.
I didn't care about anything else—just the stench was unbearable!
The indescribable foul odor wafting from the ogres' bodies, combined with the increasingly rancid smell of the sea serpent meat, was a biological disaster of epic proportions.
Please, you guys! Stop rocking around already!
"Hoo..."
If I could, I'd unleash Tempest and purify them all in flames.
But no. I had to hold back. I'd endured CBRN training back home—could I really not handle this?
"But this is tougher than gas exposure training..."
"Your Highness? Did you say something just now?"
Meredes, sitting beside me with her hand over her nose and mouth, asked. I replied the same way, hand clamped over my nose and mouth.
"No, just that the smell is brutal."
"It's so bad it's hard to keep my eyes open. You look unwell—maybe we should head back now that we've made an appearance?"
"No."
I shook my head, enduring the torment.
"We've barely been here an hour. Let's tough it out a bit longer, even if it's rough."
"I'm fine, but I'm worried about you, Your Highness. If it's okay, why not take a whiff of this?"
Meredes pulled a slender elixir vial from her bosom and offered it. Wait—where'd she get that from? The elixir vial felt oddly warm.
"Is this... night vision elixir?"
"It's gotten late, so I brought it just in case. You don't have to drink it—just sniff it. The scent isn't bad, and it'll help you forget the pain for a while."
God bless her.
I uncorked it without a word and started inhaling deeply.
"Sniff..."
Sharp mint, slightly rotten wood root, and damp earth.
Even being generous a hundred times over, I couldn't call it pleasant. But compared to the stench around us, it was heavenly.
"Sniff... sniff... haa..."
Doing this made me feel like some kind of junkie.
As I purified my senses like that for a while, I spotted Didi across from me and subtly offered her the vial.
"Didi."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Isn't the smell here awful? Sorry I dragged you into this. Take a sniff of this at least."
"Thank you, but I'm okay. It's tolerable compared to where I used to live."
"Really? There's a place worse than this?"
"Yes."
Didi nodded as if it were obvious.
Sure, she was from Zagura, the empire's biggest slum, but even that filthy place couldn't stink worse than here, right?
"Kahaha! What're you doing? Drink up! Got more booze here!"
Three-Eyes, who'd stepped away briefly, returned with a massive mug. I buried my face in the mug instead of the elixir vial and sighed.
"Yeah... this is it..."
"Your Highness, you're still in detox, so it's best to avoid alcohol. The head maid warned against it too."
"I'm not drinking. Just sniffing. This stuff smells amazing."
The booze Three-Eyes brought was fragrant mead made from honey. Meredes finally nodded and took a sip from her own mug.
"It's made from honey but not sweet. Fascinating."
"That's because they pack it with aromatic herbs when brewing. Ogres love the scent."
"I've hardly ever drunk alcohol, but this seems like good stuff. Others would like it too."
Meredes nodded and took a few more sips. In my ninth run, I'd hauled tons of this back and sold it, shaking up the empire's liquor industry. Made me a nice chunk of change too.
Getting chummy with the Mar Ogres meant endless benefits down the line.
Of course, the big ones were them siding with the empire during the anti-empire war and sending warriors to play a major role in the Otherworld war.
That alone more than repaid the hassle of dragging thirty sea serpents here.
But looking back over my nine regressions, I'd fought and wiped them out far more often than I'd allied with them.
Why?
The smell was awful... but that wasn't it.
At first, I didn't know their strengths well, and wiping them out had its perks too.
Clear them out, and I could mine the Jairut Mountains' rich veins endlessly.
Plus, smoother trade with the Albius Kingdom beyond the range, and I could even coax them into sending reinforcements during the Otherworld war later.
But those veins spewed poison if mishandled, wearing out miners fast (ogres were immune), and Albius reinforcements weren't superior to the ogres'.
Above all, befriending the Mar Ogres let me snag something unique here and nowhere else.
That's why I'd come all this way myself... Ugh, but when the hell does it start?
"Oh! They're already at it over there! Hahaha! Good, great!"
Just then, Three-Eyes laughed, pointing at a shaking hut in the distance.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
The whole house shook like there was an earthquake...
Ah, damn it.
The ogres, hyped from the festival, had paired off and gone into houses.
Ogres gonna ogre—the scale of their deeds was absurd.
Did fresh sea serpent meat act like an aphrodisiac for them?
In my last run, when the meat wasn't fresh, this chaos hadn't erupted on the first day...
Creak-creak!
Bang! Crash!
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Kids, this is too much.
It was like having newlyweds next door, keeping you up all night with the racket.
"Three-Eyes, I'm heading off with my mate too..."
"Chieftain, mind if I step out?"
"Yeah yeah! Go on in!"
Two nearby ogres greeted Three-Eyes and slipped into a house behind.
Not even ten seconds later, an intense, frenzied rhythm kicked off. Innocent Meredes stared at the shaking house and asked.
"Your Highness, why are those houses shaking so violently?"
"Well..."
I tossed back a swig of mead without thinking and shook my head.
"House repairs? Beats me."
No idea. This little kid Prince Claude knows nothing.
Anyway, what I wanted to hurry up wasn't those ogres' massive clapping sounds. How long did I have to endure this torment waiting here?
"He's here!"
Right then, a four-armed ogre burst out from deeper in the village.
"The Master has spoken from the sanctuary!"
Phew. Finally starting.
"What's that? Why's that ogre freaking out?"
I asked Three-Eyes, though I knew. He jumped up in panic.
"Nepal! Nepal's our sanctuary shaman!"
"Shaman?"
"Yeah. He guards the shrine, always listening for the Master's voice. But why's he acting up? Is it 'cause we didn't include him in the festival?"
"Shamans can't join the festival?"
"Right. Can't tell when the Master might speak, so they have to guard the shrine entrance."
"Tough gig. But Master? What's that?"
"The Master owns these mountains."
Three-Eyes lowered his voice gravely.
"He's a massive rock spirit. Our ogre guardian deity."
"Rock spirit, huh..."
"Yeah. Humans don't know about spirits?"
"Heard stories. But they have those here?"
"Yeah. The spirit's always in the shrine. We Mar Ogres hold the shrine, so we're the boss tribe among all mountain ogres."
"Three-Eyes! There you are!"
The shaman rushed over, yelling.
"The Master just spoke from the sanctuary! Bring the human who helped us there!"
"A human to the sanctuary? For real?"
"For real! Hurry, or the Master'll get mad! Quick!"
The shaman anxiously scanned us humans, including me. I looked at Three-Eyes calmly.
"What's this about? Dangerous?"
"Uh... probably not. Master doesn't harm ogres. And you're an ogre friend. So he won't harm an ogre's friend."
Weird syllogism, but not wrong. I nodded and stood.
"Alright, let's go. Some ogre-style welcome event?"
"Your Highness, a massive rock spirit—won't that be dangerous?"
Meredes sprang up lithely and asked. I shrugged it off.
"It's their guardian deity. Probably calling to praise us. If you're worried, come along."
"Of course I'll follow. I can't let you go alone."
"Do what you want. Didi? Wanna come? Lifetime chance like this doesn't come often."
"...Understood."
Didi, who'd already stood to gauge the mood, followed. The shaman ahead whirled around in surprise.
"Hold up! Why're all three of you coming? Just one!"
"The Master said bring the human who helped the ogres to the sanctuary, right? All three of us helped, so all three go."
"Uh... yeah? Got it."
The shaman scratched his head and resumed walking. What a doofus ogre. Gonna get chewed out big time by the Master later.
But no choice for the plan. Someone had to be the victim and witness to my scam show in the shrine.
First time trying this in the ogre rebellion route... but it wasn't really bad, right?
* * *
Deep into the village, a large cave adorned with branches and flowers appeared.
"Can't go farther."
The shaman stopped at a huge stone marker by the entrance.
"Master called you—go in alone."
He pulled a nearby torch and offered it. I shook my head and activated holy magic, lighting up my palm.
"No torch needed. How dark inside?"
"Passage is dark, but it brightens at the deepest part. Don't wanna get yelled at by Master later—hurry in."
Sorry, you're definitely getting yelled at later. But you're kinda pitiful, so I'll put in a good word.
Hiding my expression, I led into the cave. Didi, following, whispered.
"Your Highness, I didn't do anything this time—okay if I go in?"
"Same for me. This was all Your Highness's achievement. Won't the rock spirit get mad if extra humans show?"
Meredes chimed in. I just smiled and shook my head.
"Nah. He called the helpers—why get mad?"
"True, but I heard spirits aren't bound by human logic."
"So what. Apologize if he does. Rock spirit, huh... Ogres have a rock spirit."
"Pardon?"
"Heard other races besides humans get spirit protection?"
Meredes and Didi nodded together. Elves had forest spirit protection, and ancient seal folk on southern isles had fire spirit blessings—famous tales.
That's why humans needing spirit magic had to enter other races' sanctuaries like this.
Force it, and you fought the spirit to the death instead of gaining magic. Best was giving what the race needed and earning the spirit's trust for mutual win-win.
"Your Highness, that must be the shrine."
Meredes pointed to the bright light at the cave's end. I nodded and stepped into the vast space ahead.