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Chapter 34. A man who can wait is a popular man
“It’s morning already.”
Bash awoke at the inn, stretched, and got ready. He washed with hot water, sprayed on some perfume, and put on the formal clothing of the Beastmen. He ate his meal on the second floor of the inn and returned to his room. He sat down on his bed, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes.
He felt very good. He knew he had to follow the plan of action devised by the wisest of the information gatherers. Looking back, it was a good time when Gediguz, the demon king, was alive. They could win any battle just by following the orders from above. Without the king, Bash would not have become as strong as he was now and would have died somewhere.
“Will she come today?” Zell munched on almonds for breakfast and filled a jar with fairy dust. There was also quite a bit of food left over. Today’s fairy dust would undoubtedly be almond flavored.
Bash didn’t move. He didn’t go out, he didn’t exercise, he just stood still. He didn’t go looking for a girl, and he didn’t go to the bar.
“I don’t know why, but it’s nice just to wait.”
He waited. But for what? For a chance. For the moment to come. Bash waited. He was sure that Silviana, that exquisite beastwoman he had met the other day, would visit him.
Because the magazine had said so.
‘If a girl says she wants to see you again, don’t push. Don’t be pushy. A smart man is a popular man.’
The secret to the Beastmen’s love life was “to wait”. That was what the magazine said. So Bash decided to wait. Having run all over the world on all kinds of battlefields, he thought he was good at frontal attacks, but he was also good at ambushes. If necessary, he could wait in the bushes for 10 or 20 days. If the enemy didn’t come, he wouldn’t even think twice. And what he was waiting for now was his future wife. It shouldn’t be difficult for him. It was waiting all that time that made the love burn hotter.
“…”
So Bash kept waiting. From the uproar in the palace until today. From dawn, even when the sun was directly overhead, he didn’t move a muscle. Even when the sun began to show signs of setting, he did nothing. When the sun was already setting, he would go back to eating, but after that, he would remain still again. When the whole village went to sleep, he and Zell took turns watching and waiting.
A few days passed. Today, Bash would wash again, eat, and wait patiently in his bed at the inn. After waiting so long, you’d think he’d know she wouldn’t come even if he kept waiting, but Bash had waited longer than that before, and even succeeded. When he defeated the Sweeping King, Coudelant, he did so by ambush. So Bash would wait. He would wait forever. Forever and ever, for days and days, forever and ever… And then, before he knew it, the wedding ceremony of the third princess would be over, the spirits of all the people would have died down, and the emblem of virginity would appear on Bash’s forehead, and he would finally realize it. The woman’s words were a lie, she would never appear…
But that was not what happened.
“She came…”
That afternoon. A certain person visited the inn. Bash, who had sharpened his senses as if he were in a battlefield ambush, recognized her immediately. He heard strange footsteps entering the inn. The source of the footsteps exchanged a few words with the innkeeper, then headed straight for Bash’s room. Judging by the footsteps, it was a woman. Her footsteps were soft, but not deliberately muffled. It was the characteristic walk of a noblewoman. There was no doubt. It was her.
“Mister, you can’t afford to make a mistake when we’ve come so far!”
“I know. I’ll make sure I succeed.”
Princesses were among the most popular women among the orcs. When they talked about who they would like as wife, a princess always came up. The princess was a close second to the knight. However, it was hard to get them. Unlike knights, they were few and far between and had little chance of appearing on the battlefield. Another characteristic of royalty was that if they fought orcs and were outnumbered, they would quickly retreat. Even if they were pursued, desperate resistance awaited them from the knights escorting them. Even when outnumbered, many princesses would rather commit suicide than be r̲a̲pe̲ by orcs. They wer a rare and precious flower, visible but unattainable. Such was the existence of a princess.
As far as Bash knew, there were only a few orcs who could marry a princess. Most of them were from old fairy tales. During Bash’s lifetime, only one orc had been able to marry a princess: the orc king Nemesis.
Silviana, the fifth princess of the Beastmen. She would be a suitable wife for the Orc Hero Bash. Such an opportunity might not come again. With that in mind, he was more excited than ever.
“…Hm.”
And then there was a knock at the door of Bash’s room.
“Come in, it’s open!”
At Zell’s words, the door opened. There stood a person dressed in an expensive, plain, but instantly recognizable silk robe with a hood covering her face. The face peering out from behind the hood was the same beauty they had seen only once, just the other day. She was the fifth princess, Silviana. The person he had been waiting for had arrived. It was time for a successful ambush.
“Hehe…” She looked at Bash and smiled softly. “I seem to have startled you with my sudden visit.”
“No, I was expecting you.”
“Eh…” Silviana stiffened at Bash’s words. Indeed, if one looked closely, Bash was dressed in a formal suit. It was the formal attire of the Beastmen, as if he was going to a ceremony. It was as if he was receiving an important person…
“Ehehe, so you couldn’t wait any longer?”
“Actually, I could wait quite a while.”
“…” Silviana seemed to shudder a little in response to these imposing words. The conversation was not going well. However, she quickly calmed down and sat down next to Bash, who was sitting on the bed. Then she rested her body on his shoulder. Bash’s arms were pinned to her ample breasts. “Oh, Sir Bash! Darling! I adore you!”
“Mm. Me too.”
Silviana dropped to the bed and closed her eyes. As if waiting for something. As if she wanted to say: “Come on, I’m ready”.
“Then let’s go.”
But Bash got up.
“Eh, where to?”
“That’s obvious.” Bash said to the confused Silviana. One of his fangs gleamed. “Let’s go on a date.”
That was the winning strategy he had read in the magazine.