Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: No Shipwreck for the Protagonist (3)
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“A guest hasn’t come in ages, so the chief had the meal prepared with special care.”
Yeomyeong didn’t say a single word the whole way to the chief, following the young orc’s guidance.
He quietly glanced around, inspecting the tents, or openly spread out his mana.
As if searching for something.
Seti, walking alongside him, didn’t ask what he was looking for.
Partly because she trusted he’d handle it just fine on his own, and partly because of the items visible between the tents.
Towering stacks of Spam boxes and tables and chairs made from recycled Spam cans.
Proof that Spam really was the orcs’ staple food, just as Yeomyeong had said.
‘…It wasn’t a joke. They really eat this stuff?’
While Seti reeled from the cultural shock, the two arrived at their destination.
The chief’s tent.
Large enough to comfortably fit twenty orcs, it was adorned with flashy red fabric and beast hides. Far too lavish to pass for a desert nomad’s tent.
“The guests have arrived!!”
As Yeomyeong paused to take in the tent, the guiding orc shouted and flung open the entrance flap.
Warm air greeted them first as they stepped inside.
Thanks to the luxurious carpet blocking the chill from the ground and the crude metal brazier burning steadily.
“Ah, the stars of today have finally arrived.”
Next to welcome them were the ten orcs seated around the tent, the one in the place of honor speaking up as he eyed them.
“Welcome, travelers. I’m Boldugu, chief of the Kiran Clan.”
The orc introduced himself with a thump on his chest. Yeomyeong returned the gesture, thumping his own.
“…I’m Cheon Yeomyeong of the Incheon Cheon Clan. As your guests, we pay respects to the clan’s master.”
Was his greeting that impressive? The orcs’ expressions softened noticeably.
Boldugu especially couldn’t hide his intrigued look.
“You bring water and know our customs well—quite the guest. But… embarrassingly, this is the first I’ve heard of Incheon. Where exactly is it?”
“…It’s a place name on Earth.”
“Hah, Earth? You’ve come from very far away indeed.”
Boldugu played it off casually, but the other orcs didn’t.
The moment “Earth” was spoken, naked emotions flickered in their eyes.
Suspicion and doubt… and greed.
Yeomyeong knew Earthlings weren’t exactly welcomed beyond the dimensional gate, but this reaction exceeded expectations.
Why’s an Earthling in the Magic Realm?
Gonna fetch a high price.
Look at that skin.
Of course, the reactions didn’t last.
Just as Yeomyeong started to frown, Boldugu slammed the floor, shifting the mood.
“Wherever you’re from, a guest is a guest. Anyone unhappy with tradition, get out now!”
No orc dared argue.
Some coughed awkwardly or looked away, but that was it. No further reactions.
A brief silence.
Once the mood settled, Boldugu spoke again.
“Welcome to our clan, Earthling Cheon Yeomyeong.”
“…Thank you for your clan’s hospitality.”
Yeomyeong bowed his head slightly and took a seat on the cushion the orcs had cleared for him.
Meanwhile, Seti lingered by the entrance, pondering her introduction.
‘Should I say Hamheung Hong Clan? Or Incheon Cheon Clan?’
The latter seemed better, but… unfortunately, her dilemma was pointless.
The orcs paid her astonishingly little attention.
No greetings, not even a glance. As if she didn’t exist in the space.
‘What’s going on?’
As Seti blinked in confusion, Yeomyeong beckoned her over.
“…Why’s everyone suddenly acting like this?”
She sat beside him and whispered so the orcs wouldn’t hear.
Yeomyeong gave a wry smile.
“Orc nomads don’t mix words with women. Especially taken ones.”
“…”
“Should’ve warned you. Sorry.”
Seti couldn’t help but chuckle at his apology.
“No need to apologize. I am a taken woman, after all.”
As she whispered that and poked his side playfully.
Boldugu clapped and called out.
“Alright, time to properly welcome our guests! Bring in the food!”
At his signal, orcs from outside rushed in with trays of food.
As if to prove the chief’s special attention, the trays overflowed.
Flatbread baked wide from fermented flour, grilled Spam.
Spam fritters coated in mashed boiled beans and deep-fried.
Goat meat slathered in Spam grease and roasted.
Blood sausage stuffed with mashed Spam, and Spam pancakes made by coating grain flour batter in minced Spam and pan-frying.
At least the last one, the yogurt, seemed Spam-free… or not.
Yeomyeong peeked and saw finely chopped Spam bits mixed in.
‘…At this point, it’s not a staple. It’s an obsession.’
Seti swallowed the words rising in her throat.
Food culture is relative. Why, Koreans pair kimchi fried rice with kimchi side dishes too.
It wasn’t poisoned honey gruel or anything—just properly cooked dishes on the trays.
Just… way too much Spam.
She squeezed her eyes shut, grabbed some food, and to her surprise, it tasted good.
Hunger’s the best sauce, sure, after a full day in the desert without a bite… but the cooking skill was genuinely top-notch.
‘…Did orcs really make this? Not humans?’
While Seti ate, half-amazed, half-impressed.
Boldugu and Yeomyeong chatted idly.
“Oh my, stranded in the heart of the Magic Realm by a dimensional gate mishap?”
“…An unfortunate accident. But meeting you, Chief, must mean Mordak protected us.”
“The Black God is stern yet merciful on the other hand. So, no friends or allies to contact right away?”
“Yes, they all think we’re dead by now. We need to reach out soon…”
The subtle conversation and Spam-grease-scented meal dragged on.
When the trays were nearly empty, orcs entered carrying a massive pot.
Budae jjigae, maybe?
Seti checked the pot hopefully, but the contents were far from it.
A thick green broth that killed any appetite at first sight.
Chunks of Spam, a goat head, and unidentified green meat floated in it.
The visuals were bad enough, but the stench was vile.
Like a three-year-old corpse—utterly repulsive, unbearable to humans.
Seti gagged reflexively just from looking.
‘…Oh no.’
She stifled repeated dry heaves and clamped her mouth shut, feeling the stares.
The orcs, led by Boldugu, looked deeply offended.
Smell and taste aside, gagging in front of food was rude enough.
And as a clan guest, it was like smearing mud on the host’s face.
“Hmm… well, this is…”
As Boldugu frowned at the unexpected rudeness and orcs toyed with their tusks.
Yeomyeong stepped forward. He bowed slightly and said,
“My apologies. My wife is pregnant…”
What? Pregnant? Seti screamed internally at the sudden excuse.
But outwardly, she played embarrassed, averting her eyes in instant improv.
Nothing could’ve been a better excuse right then.
“…Hah, morning sickness. You should’ve said so earlier. We’d have skipped the strong-smelling dishes.”
“Sorry. It’s still early… I thought she could handle this much.”
“Ah, I get it. I made the same mistake with my wife’s first pregnancy.”
Whether fooled by their act or not, Boldugu and the orcs dropped the gagging issue.
But they hadn’t forgotten it entirely—their gazes toward Seti were anything but normal.
Different from the looks when her Earthling status was revealed.
Greedy eyes, like staring at gold coins.
They tried sidelong glances to hide it… but superhuman senses picked it up clear as day.
Yeomyeong must feel it too. So why let it slide?
As Seti’s doubts deepened, the orcs started slurping the revolting green stew.
***
“Sorry, because of my gagging…”
After excusing themselves from Boldugu and leaving the chief’s tent, those were Seti’s first words.
She felt heavy-hearted, thinking she’d made Yeomyeong lie for her sake.
Yeomyeong waved it off lightly, as if it were nothing.
“Nah, you did great. Thanks to you, we skipped that nasty stew and got out without issue.”
Seti pouted.
“…You don’t have to say that.”
“Not empty words. I was really racking my brain on how to escape.”
She checked his face, wondering if he was joking, but his expression was dead serious.
“Seti, you feel something off too, right?”
“…More or less.”
Yeomyeong glanced back at the trailing nomad orcs, then whispered too low for them to hear.
“Scan the surroundings with mana from here.”
Seti did. She spread mana through her body, probing the nomad camp.
Countless tents, orc nomads, even Spam boxes.
The more she scanned, the stronger the eerie dissonance.
But she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.
…What is it?
As Seti looked at Yeomyeong puzzled, he gave a hint.
“Children and women.”
“…”
Children and women? Realization dawned, furrowing her fine brows.
She scanned again, just in case.
But no matter how far she extended her senses, not a single child or woman in the nomad camp.
None at all.
“…How is this possible?”
Seti gawked between Yeomyeong and the tents in disbelief.
Does this make any sense? Not an army or bandit camp, but a proper tent village with only able-bodied men?
As her shock lingered, Yeomyeong gazed at the tents with sunken eyes and spoke.
“Seti, remember what I said right before we left?”
She nodded.
“In the Magic Realm, if you’re lucky, you might run into nomads or slave traders… right?”
“Yeah. I figured it’d be one or the other, but we hit the jackpot—both. Nomads who double as slave traders.”
“…”
Nomads who double as slave traders. Basically bandits.
That explained the orcs’ attitudes in the tent perfectly.
They didn’t even know we’re superhumans and planned to enslave us from the start.
No wonder their eyes lit up at “Earthling” and “pregnant.”
“…Yeomyeong, what do we do?”
Seti clenched and unclenched her fists as she asked.
If they just got their hammer and sword back from the lodging… no, even bare-handed, wiping out this village would be a breeze.
“Not me—Seti, you decide.”
“…Me?”
“Wipe them out moderately, grab some mounts, and bail from the Magic Realm? Or find their base, eradicate them all… and snag travel funds too.”
“…”
“I’m fine either way.”
No need to think. Seti grinned ferociously.
“Of course the second one.”
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