The Orc and the Holy Relic
"Step back, Miss Lia," Jing warned, drawing his sword. Lia quickly retreated and pulled out a small dagger.
A few tense seconds passed. Soon, the heavy thuds of footsteps—which initially only Jing could hear—began to reach Lia's ears as well. By then, it was clear that whatever was approaching was not just a single Orc. Mingled with the heavy, rhythmic footsteps was the light clatter of horse hooves.
Lia gasped, astonished that the horse they had been tracking was still alive, let alone traveling alongside an Orc.
Snap. At last, a massive figure pushed through the dry branches and revealed itself. From the way the creature stared straight at him, Jing immediately recognized it as the mutant Orc they had encountered before.
"I see you're no longer traveling with your companion," Jing said, inquiring after the Boss Orc.
The mutant Orc scowled.
"Squeak. Just because I spared his life once doesn't make him my companion."
Jing's eyes widened. He was already astonished by the remarkably coherent response—unbelievable for an Orc—but his gaze drifted past the creature to the horse slowly emerging from behind it.
"You... you must know who was riding that horse, don't you?" Jing pointed the tip of his sword at the Orc. His eyes flashed fiercely, unaware that the horse and its owner had never actually parted ways.
"Squeak. Yeah. Isn't he the guy you're looking for? I found the horse wandering alone, as if its master had been attacked by other beasts, so I saved it," the mutant Orc said dismissively.
"You expect me to believe that?!" Jing bellowed, taking a step forward.
Neighhh!
The loud cry came from none other than Ran's horse. Jing and Lia watched in bewilderment as the agitated horse trotted forward. Ran's brown horse limped over and nudged itself against the mutant Orc's side.
Jing, who had momentarily lost his composure, froze as his eyes fell upon the crushed herbs smeared on the horse's foreleg. It was unmistakably a poultice used to treat a wound.
An Orc treating an animal's wound? In the wild, an injured animal was natural prey. The sheer absurdity of an Orc defying that law to save another living creature left Jing utterly bewildered.
Lia, harboring similar thoughts, hesitated for a moment before stepping forward. "You didn't actually see the rider get attacked, did you?"
"Squeak. Yeah. When I found this guy, he was already alone."
"Th-then, Ran is already..."
As Lia stumbled back in shock, the Orc's face contorted. "Squeak. Calm down. The guy I saw walked away on his own two feet. The terrible thing you're imagining might not have happened."
Lia gasped, then stared blankly at the massive creature, suddenly struck by the bizarre realization that the one comforting her was none other than an Orc.
"Jing, I suppose learning about the world through books really is useless. The texts all say Orcs are so low in intelligence that barely any can converse with humans. Even if they understand a few words, they're supposed to be barely articulate. Yet, here is an Orc who is practically eloquent."
"No, Miss Lia. The books are correct. That is how Orcs normally are. This one is just an anomaly," Jing corrected, quickly stopping Lia from absorbing incorrect information.
"Squeak. Are you two the only ones who came into the forest?" the mutant Orc asked, having listened to their exchange.
"Why do you ask?"
"Squeak. If you came to hunt Orcs, I'd naturally wonder if you split into two groups or if it's just the two of you."
Jing raised an eyebrow in confusion at the Orc's response. "Why would we be hunting Orcs?"
Despite hearing what should have been good news for an Orc, the creature's face scowled even deeper. "Squeak. So you didn't come looking for the Orc den?"
"We are looking for the Orcs."
"Squeak. You're heading to the Orc den but you don't plan to wipe them out? Then why go?" Lia stared at the Orc, puzzled by his tone, which sounded as though he desperately wished for every last Orc on this mountain to be slaughtered.
"Because we think the person we're looking for might be there."
"Squeak. Don't tell me it's this horse's master?"
Lia's mouth fell open at the Orc's question. Neither of them answered, but that silence was answer enough for the creature. He let out a deep sigh.
After rubbing his head for a moment, the Orc's gaze shifted to Sierra's Sword strapped to Jing's back. He stared at the object wrapped in thick cloth, appearing to contemplate something, before finally speaking.
"Squeak. Follow me."
Jing and Lia exchanged glances at the sudden proposal. "Where are you taking us?" Jing asked.
"Squeak. To the Orc den, obviously. Weren't we just talking about it?"
At the Orc's sarcastic retort, Lia frowned as if a memory had been triggered. "Jing, I don't know if it's just my imagination, but... that Orc's way of speaking sounds incredibly familiar."
"You too? Actually, I've been thinking the exact same thing since our last encounter."
Since there were very few people they both knew, Jing and Lia quickly realized the source of their déjà vu. Ran. That obnoxious, sarcastic tone was a dead ringer for Ran's.
Through their shared look, they knew they were thinking of the exact same person, but neither spoke his name aloud. They both owed Ran far too much to commit such a rude comparison.
"Squeak. The Orcs on this mountain are led by a single Boss Orc, and lately, he's been targeting me. You saw that yourself last time."
Jing nodded at the mutant Orc's words. "Yes, the leader was chasing you. And you spared him."
"Squeak. I did that so I wouldn't become the leader. Once you become the boss, the rest of those idiots follow you around, waiting for orders."
Lia tilted her head, unable to comprehend. "Isn't that a good thing? With your intelligence, you could rewrite Orc history entirely."
Jing silently agreed, but the mutant Orc—true to his mutant nature—made a face of pure disgust. "Squeak. If I wanted to do that, would I be hiding out here?"
"So, you want us to wipe out the rest of the Orcs?"
The mutant Orc nodded. "Squeak. Yes. But if you don't think you can kill them all, leave the leader alive. If he dies, I might end up as the next boss."
His face, twisted in sheer exhaustion, seemed to carry a genuine sincerity. Jing stared into the creature's eyes, trying to gauge how much of his words could be trusted. The dark pupils stared back at Jing without a single tremor. Jing realized he had never looked at a living Orc's face so quietly, for so long. Feeling a strange sense of confusion at how little this monster differed from a human, Jing was the first to look away.
"Jing, let's follow him. We were going to look for the Orcs anyway. It doesn't matter how many of them there are to you, right?"
Snapped out of his thoughts by Lia's question, Jing nodded. "Yes. If your theory is correct, Lord Ran will undoubtedly head to where the Orcs are."
"Squeak. If you've decided, move it," the mutant Orc urged, cutting off their whispering.
Jing and Lia gripped their weapons tightly and followed behind him.
"But Jing, why did Ran plan to enter the Orc den in the first place? Normally, one wouldn't expect to encounter Orcs on the way to the Temple."
"I'm not sure. But it seems clear that it has something to do with this sword."
I swallowed a small sigh at the exchange between Lia and Jing behind me.
Good grief, did they really come all this way blindly without even figuring that out? What happened to the Skinny Priest from the original novel? Did he die without explaining anything to them?
"Squeak. Did you two come from the Temple?"
Jing hesitated, as if trying to discern the motive behind my question, before slowly nodding. "Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Squeak. The knights of the Temple sometimes enter this forest."
Of course, I hadn't seen it myself; it was just what happened in the original novel. I was merely reciting the information from the Skinny Priest that these two had never gotten to hear.
"Are you saying they made an effort to wipe out the Orcs?"
I shook my head at Jing, who was still interpreting things too optimistically. "Squeak. No. They didn't kill a single Orc. And they only ever entered the forest around this time of year."
His face darkened at my answer. "Then what did they come here for? If monsters appear in a place where people travel, isn't it only natural to deal with them?" Jing's face was tinged with a faint trace of anger as he questioned the absurdity of it all.
What you're about to hear is only going to get worse, not better.
Feeling a slight pang of discomfort at his premature agitation, I continued. "Squeak. They came in and counted the Orcs. Very meticulously. Every year around this time. It was as if they were checking how much the Orc population had grown."
Lia's expression froze as she listened to my words. Her footsteps slowed, and she came to a halt. Jing stopped alongside her, and so did I. Breaking the sudden silence, she looked up at me.
"Hey. I've just thought of a very disturbing hypothesis, and I need to confirm it. You have to answer me honestly."
Her voice trembled slightly. I looked at her and nodded. Taking several deep breaths, her lips parted and closed before she finally clenched her fists in resolve.
"You Orcs... how did you end up on this mountain? Did you come from somewhere else?"
"Squeak. No, we don't know where we came from. Most of us have been here since the moment we opened our eyes."
"Since when?"
At her whispered second question, I pondered for a moment before speaking. "Squeak. Longer than you might think."
Lia frowned, clearly dissatisfied with my vague answer. I'm sorry, but I have no choice. I watched her, waiting for her to draw closer to the heart of the matter.
"Fine. Then do you know how much the Orc population increased last year and the year before that?"
This was an easy question to answer. "Squeak. Five last year, and four the year before."
Lia's face drained of all color at my response. Realizing that our conversation was heading in an ominous direction, Jing quickly stepped closer to Lia, who looked as if she might collapse at any moment. "Miss Lia, what is it?"
She grabbed Jing's arm with trembling hands. "Jing... last year, five people from our village crossed over to Limis. The year before that, it was exactly four."
The color began to drain from Jing's face as well. Lia's grip tightened, clutching Jing's sleeve so hard it threatened to tear.
"Could this... really just be a coincidence?"