Orc Hero Story - Discovery Chronicles (Orc Eroica)-Chapter 9.3: Proposal
Here it is folks, the last official release of volume 1. I’ll be taking a couple of week off before the next release, so thank you in advance for your patience! I hope to see you all back soon!
Coming up next is LN exclusive content, the epilogue and a side-story, and then onto volume 2!
“I couldn’t hear your conversation… so what did he come to Krassel for, finally?”
As they neared the town, one of the soldiers spoke up.
“Hmm? You don’t get it?”
“Ha, I was hoping you’d explain it to me, if you could.”
At these words, Houston turned to Judith.
He shot her a knowing glance, as if to say, “you understand, don’t you? You can clear it up for him.”
Judith sighed as she began her explanation.
“After the war, the Orc King made the decision to lay down his arms and chose to submit to their demands. You already know this right?”
“Yes, I do. You also were also present at the treaty’s signing ceremony, weren’t you, Sir Houston?”
“I was. Some of the Orcs there didn’t look particularly happy about the situation.”
“Not particularly happy? You mean some of them were against brokering peace with the Humans?”
“Precisely. Orcs are a warlike race by nature. “We’ve been fighting since we were born, and we like it that way! Peace? Fuck peace! I want violence!” is what many of them thought. Well, many would be an understatement. There were a lot of dissident Orcs.”
One of the soldiers gulped.
“And those dissatisfied with the newly instituted state of things left Orc Country and scattered around the world… And they keep causing trouble, rampaging to their hearts content. Just like the one we met today.”
Judith had learned quite a bit about Orcs from Houston.
After all, she had a whole year’s worth of watching him hunt stray Orcs.
She knew what a stray Orc was truly like.
Most of them were third-rate and mediocre, both in the aptitude as men and their skills as warriors. They wouldn’t obey the Orc King’s orders.
However, she had also heard that there were stay Orcs who broke the mold.
They were first-rate warriors.
Fierce men that had experienced many a battles and slain hundreds of enemies.
They were strong and cunning.
And they knew how to survive.
“Yeah, this whole case was due to a stray Orc… but what does that have to do with Sir Bash’s journey?”
“You still don’t get it?”
Judith shrugged.
“To put it simply, Sir Bash is attempting to find and destroy these Orcs that bring shame to their people.”
Judith understood.
She likened Bash to an honorable knight.
He was disciplined and faithfully obeyed the lord that he served.
Which is why he had repeatedly mentioned the Orc King’s name.
And the thing that the Orc King, and by extension, the Orc Hero, Bash, were trying to protect…
“They want to restore the pride of the Orc race.”
Most other races thought of Orcs as savage and barbaric.
This was a correct assessment.
But that didn’t mean that they weren’t also proud warriors.
This is what Bash, the one and only Orc Hero, was trying to convey to the world.
They have committed mistakes in the eyes of the other races, yet they did not lose their will and pride.
They were warriors that had the ability to repent. To repair their bad karma.
“Well, after all this, I think my opinion of the Orcs has changed for the better. Just a little bit, though.”
Judith hated the Orcs.
She loathed the Orcs that broke her sister.
They were a race that didn’t treat Humans, especially women, as being deserving of respect.
They only though of them as tools to enable procreation. A walking, talking baby factory. There was no way she could ever like them.
However, she now realized that even amongst such an abominable people, there were individuals worthy of respect.
And as a knight, she had even found someone who she could look up to.
The fact that she had found this out was surely of great significance.
Judith thought so.
“But Sir Houston, you knew about this from the beginning, didn’t you? Why Sir Bash came to Krassel?
“Hmm… Well…”
Houston gave her a toothless smile.
He was terrified and distraught at first.
But he soon realized that Bash was actually on a mission.
The only reason he had been able to come to this conclusion was due to his extensive knowledge on Orcs.
Observing and studying Orcs was what he did for a living.
And thanks to his skills and experience, he was able to help out a Hero and avoid any cultural faux-pas.
The Knight Commander was proud of himself.
“If we’re going to call ourselves Knights, this is the least we should be able to do.
“Ha… I’ll do my best to become as honorable as Sir Bash in the future!”
Judith was determined to burn the events of the last few days into her memory.
She would never forget her meeting with him.
To forever remember his proud deeds.
And hopefully, one day, she would become just as worthy…
“But first things first, you’re getting suspended and getting a pay cut. I won’t take away your knighthood out of respect for Sir Bash. Take some time to reflect on your actions. All you guys too!
“Yes. sir, I understand!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Yes, sir!”
And with that, Houston and Judith made they way back to the Fortress City of Krassel, thanking their good fortune for having met Bash.
