Chapter 128

Daniela and I continued down the slope. Surprisingly, there were steps, which we slowly and cautiously made our way down.

“Asagi, have you noticed it?”

“Hm? Ah, of course.”

“…Are you sure?”

Not at all.

“Hahhh… Listen, these stairs we are descending now. They are moving away from the cliffside.”

“So that means…this doesn’t connect to the valley floor?”

“Yes, it does not.”

So what was this hole made for… Well, I guess we were trying to find that out.

After we had gone down for quite a bit, the path became level. It really didn’t connect to the valley. Not only that but there were magic lanterns installed at equal intervals. I had no idea what to expect, but Daniela’s mind seemed to be swimming with possibilities as she muttered, ‘no…but…however…’ As she was somewhat preoccupied, I was staying on the alert for her. But my scouting abilities were not as good as hers, and I was a little worried.

After we had walked for about ten minutes, the path split into two. The path on the right went further in. The one on the left was another staircase that would take us downward. However, it too was in the opposite direction of the cliffs.

“Which one should choose?”

“…The left.”

“Based on what?”

“My intuition.”

Daniela’s intuition. I trusted it. I had unprecedented trust in Daniela in general, so if she said it was her intuition, then I would believe her. Of course, I did have a tight grip on my sword hilt as we advanced. If something happened, I was the only one who would be able to protect her. Though, who knew if it would be necessary.

Twenty minutes passed since we went down the stairs. The stairs were wet from an underground spring or something, and we had to walk slowly to avoid slipping. That’s why it had taken so long. It would have probably not taken us half as long if we had walked normally. But we didn’t want to risk slipping and rolling down some stairs that seemed to go on forever.

When we reached the bottom, there was another path. It was just as I was thinking about how long it was, that things suddenly changed.

“Is…someone there…?”

It was a man’s voice. I looked at Daniela and advanced, swords in hand. We both used Presence Detection and caught it at the same time. It was strange. Like it had appeared out of nowhere. Was it a kind of presence that is suddenly detected at a specific distance?

“There are such magic tools. They are used to fool people.”

That was interesting. I’m sure it could be used for all sorts of things. If you wanted to hide from someone or hide someone from others. Which was it this time…? We stood there for a moment before it became apparent.

“Hu-mans…?”

It was a cell. The rock had been carved away and strong iron bars were set in them. On closer inspection, each iron bar had magic flowing in them. Perhaps this was what Daniela was talking about. And the person who was held inside of the cell was…

“An orc…?”

Yes, an orc. However, he was not just any orc. This one had pale skin and was able to talk in the human language.

“Help me! Get me out of here!”

“No, no, no, no. I’m not that stupid.”

“Please. There is no time!”

The orc pleaded as he came close enough to touch the bars. I had to think about this one.

“Daniela. What do you think?”

“…From our own experiences, I think it is evident that he is the abnormally evolved being.”

They tended to be able to talk and were highly intelligent.

“But if that’s the case, why is he in there?”

“I do not know… Perhaps he was betrayed by the others.”

The pale orc reacted to this.

“Yes, that is it. I was betrayed…by him! Him!”

Bam! He slammed a fist into the ground as his face twisted with anger.

“You must let me out of here so that I can kill him and free the others…”

“I see that you’re desperate, but I don’t understand the situation. Do you mind telling us?”

Thinking about it wasn’t helping. I didn’t intend on believing everything he said, but we would surely find something out by listening to him.

“…Of course. Yes, you would not know what to do if you don’t understand. Very well. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the king of the orcs. My name is Arthur.”

“King Arthur…”

We weren’t off to a great start…was he going to tell me that he pulled the sword from the stone next…

“I am different from the other orcs, somehow smarter. From the moment that I was born, I knew that I was not the same as other living creatures. Or perhaps I should say that I was told.”

“Who told you?”

“I do not know. It was like an instinct. I am sorry, I cannot explain it well.”

It was as if intelligence in abnormally evolved beings was a gift of some sort.

“I was raised among orcs, even though, deep within, I was different. And one day I realized it. How harsh and violent this world was.”

Arthur muttered quietly as he stared at the ground and made a fist.

“One day, the village I lived in was attacked…the Adventurers had come.”

Arthur didn’t look up as he continued.

“Everyone was killed. It didn’t matter if they were women or children. The small house we had all worked so hard to build was overturned and burned down. These Adventurers had the most twisted of smiles as they went around killing everyone.”

Arthur talked slowly and painfully and now raised his face. But there was no hatred or similar emotion that I could detect on his face.

“But I knew it. This was the way of the natural world. Orcs. Monsters. Such creatures are meant to be killed by humans.”

“And so you created this settlement and attacked the village?”

“No, that is wrong. I wanted to develop this place and create an environment where we could be independent. We would be orcs who did not attack humans. I wanted to change the way that we lived. And perhaps, one day. We would be accepted as our own country.”

This orc too? Was it the way of things for abnormally evolved beings to want a country? A place where they could live in peace without anyone bothering them.

“I have met someone like you before. A monster with the intelligence of a human. He also wanted to build his own country.”

Daniela said. Of course, she was talking about the Assault Kobold.

“However, he meant to use military power to destroy humanity and then build his county. Are you any different?”

“…I am sure he did want to build a country too, but I am different. I did not plan on doing this for myself. I only wanted a place where we could live happily. I had no intention of harming any humans!”

“And yet, an entire village was wiped out.”

Yes. There were victims in all of this. By the hands of the orcs.

“No…no…damn it. I was too late then…”

Bam! Arthur’s fist came down on the ground again.

“It must have been him then…the orc who betrayed me…Mordred!”

Mordred…who betrayed Arthur…

“It was Mordred who imprisoned me here. It was over two weeks ago.”

“The village was attacked after that, yes.”

“I am so sorry… There is no excuse…those people…”

Arthur scraped his head on the ground and apologized.

“But you have not done anything? Then there is no need to apologize.”

“But…I am responsible…as their king.”

“Then you can atone for it from here on out.”

I thought that was the best thing to do. Daniela looked at me and gave a slightly exasperated smile.

I don’t know. But meeting with Beowulf and knowing that there were good monsters had changed my perspective. I could never find myself becoming an enemy of someone so sincere. Well, I would definitely be killing this Mordred, but not Arthur.

“Should I really be spared… Is it really the right thing to live as an orc who does not attack humans?”

“Yeah, why not? I’m quite fond of the idea.”

“…What is your name?”

There were tears in Arthur’s eyes as he stared at me.

“I’m Asagi. Asagi Kamiyashiro.”

“I am Daniela. Daniela Villesilf.”

“Thank you…thank you. Asagi. Daniela. I have a request for both of you. Will you hear it?”

Daniela and I looked at each other and smiled.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Let us hear it.”

“Thank you…thank you. Please!”

Arthur stood up and said,

“Help me! Get me out of here!”

Daniela and I tore through the bars with our swords. My hands felt a little numb after it, but it wasn’t too hard.

“Good. Now I will take back my country.”

“Let’s go then, Arthur.”

King Arthur killed Mordred but was then killed by Mordred. But we wouldn’t allow that to happen. This kingdom of orcs who did not attack humans…I wanted to see it. He had fascinated me. Was I so strange for sympathizing with monsters? Daniela accepted me without saying anything…but if it came down to it… No, I shouldn’t think about that now.

And that was how I met the captive king.

Now, time to make some plans. I decided that I would help Arthur. But I had to think about how I would explain this to Virgil. If I didn’t do that now, things would get very complicated later on.