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“I’m sure of it, even if I can’t look at your face.”
“Wow, you’re quite the ladies’ man, Orc.” The woman laughed this time. Then she put her hand to the cloth on her face. “Even with this ugly face hidden under the cloth?”
“Mm…”
What appeared under the mask was a face with ugly scars. Half of her face was covered with burns or something, and on top of that was a large sword wound. The only part of her face that was intact was near her left eye.
In fact, the ogre children groaned and shuddered at the sight of her face. The wound was that bad.
“It doesn’t matter, wounds are the pride of warriors.” He could have said that, maybe because of his recent seduction trip. If the first thing he had seen on his journey had been that burned and scarred face, he would have frowned. After all, the face was an important factor in finding a wife.
But Bash had seen all kinds of beautiful women on this journey. Starting with Judith, a human; to Thunder Sonia, an elf; Primera, a dwarf and Silviana, a beastwoman.
All of them had beautiful skin and no scars on their faces. But that was not the case with all the other beautiful women. For example, the elf women he saw in Siwanasi Forest had large scars on their faces. However, their beauty was not marred by their scars, and Bash did not hesitate to propose to them. That’s right, beauty had nothing to do with scars.
“Well… I’m glad to hear you say that, even after seeing this face.” The woman’s tone was indifferent, but her mouth was relaxed. “Anyway, what do orcs do with a beautiful woman in front of them? I’m sure you’ll try to throw me to the ground and r̲a̲pe̲ me, won’t you? Well, well, you’ve just come out of the muddy waters, aren’t you too lively?”
“No, sexual intercourse without consent is forbidden in the name of the Orc King.”
“Oh, then why the war cry?”
Bash looked at the ogres. Seeing this, the woman nodded her head as if she understood.
“Oh, so… even orcs help people, huh? So, what you just said was just a compliment to soften my attitude… haha, I never thought I’d be flattered by an orc again… that’s really disgusting. I’m going to kill you.”
“When I said you were beautiful, I meant it.”
“I don’t get it. You just show up out of nowhere and say things that don’t make sense? I mean, what are you up to?”
The woman nodded. But Bash had no intention of contradicting her. So he answered truthfully.
“I want to make you my wife.”
“Hahahaha!” The woman laughed out loud. It was not an indifferent laugh, but as if something that had been held back was about to burst forth. “Ah, forgive me. I laughed at your sudden proposal, but I wasn’t making fun of it. When my face ended up like this, I gave up on the idea of becoming someone’s wife. In fact, no one has made a pass at me since then. So this is a first. I’ve never been courted with such a serious face.”
“…”
“And I liked it more than I thought I would. I was amused at my own reaction.”
It was the most positive impression Bash had had so far. Because, in a way, it was an answer that could be taken as accepting.
“Then…”
“But, Orc, you can’t help people and suggest something like that at the same time. Especially in this situation. “
The woman looked to the side. The two ogre children were at the other end of her gaze. They looked at Bash with anxious faces.
“…”
“Well, you’re an orc. You can throw me down while you help them and r̲a̲pe̲ me as you please.”
“As I said, sexual intercourse without consent is forbidden in the name of…”
“The Orc King. Yes. You seem to be a well-educated Orc who faithfully obeys the rules set forth by the Orc King. I can’t make out your orc face, but if I look closely, you´re handsome. No, is it the flattery from earlier? Anyway, Orc, it’s good to be serious, but it’s not good to be too strict. I basically said, ‘If you win, you can do whatever you want’. Doesn’t that mean I agree?”
It was a difficult question. If Zell had been here, he would have discussed it with her right away. And Zell would have given him a clear answer.
“So, come on.” The woman turned her palm up and signaled him with a small gesture.
“Why are you provoking me?”
“Because you killed my beloved griffin. After that I have to go home. And of course I would want to kill you for that, too, wouldn’t I? But, well, I also have a troublesome personality, and I can’t just jump on the bandwagon and swing my sword at someone who took the trouble to tell me that I’m beautiful now. So if you come at me, I’ll have no choice but to swing my sword.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I mean it. Oh, and don’t worry too much about the griffin. I was attached to him, but not that I care. We had a brief relationship. You don’t have to take it so seriously, like I’m out to avenge him or something.”
Bash, however, was confused. He didn’t know what the woman meant or where the conversation was going. What was she trying to do? He still wasn’t sure what he should do.
“What do you want to do now? Orc, if it’s okay with you, I think I’ll leave. I wanted to kill those two because they were too much trouble, but if you stand in my way, I’ll give up. If you stand there and tell me I’m beautiful, then I really have no choice.” Finally, the woman forced Bash to make a decision.
“…Nnngh.” Bash thought, confused. He had two choices: Continue to propose to the woman and take her as his wife, or give up his proposal, grant the water spirit’s (possible) wish, and save the children.
I don’t get it!
Or, if there had been someone here, say Houston “The Pig Killer”, he could have told him not to be fooled. There had to be a way to have both, and what the woman said about agreeing to “throw her down and r̲a̲pe̲ her” and save the siblings. You can do it, he’d told him. If only he knew what was happening.
But Bash was the only one here, and with his options limited by the woman’s arguments, he couldn’t think of anything else to do. There were two options.
Normally, Bash would have chosen the first; the woman herself said she was fine with it. He didn’t have Zell’s support here, but she could still be his wife if he just said the right words. He had had many chances before, but this was the greatest of them all. After all, she had accepted his proposal.
The purpose of Bash’s journey was to find a wife. If he achieved that goal, the lives of these ogre children he didn’t even know would be a small price to pay.
However, it was also true that the water spirit had saved his life a few minutes ago. The water spirit was trying to convey some kind of wish to Bash. It wanted Bash to do something. It was just a hunch, but there was no doubt about it. Otherwise, there would be no reason for it to save him in the first place. Bash had never been loved by the spirits in his life, so it wasn’t possible that he had been brought to this place to take a suitable wife. If that was the case, it must have been because of the spirit’s desire to save the children’s lives.
If he disobeyed the spirit’s wish, great misfortune would befall him… If that was the case…
“I will save these two.”
“Then I’ll leave this place. I’m still a busy woman, and I have things to do.”
“Of course.”
“Then, goodbye. If you two have learned your lesson, you can go home.” The woman said this and started walking in the downpour. Without getting her feet buried in the mud, she disappeared deep into the forest in an instant. She had very long legs. After all, she was a worthy warrior, as Bash had first noticed.
“Oh, wai…!” The boy reached for the woman’s back, but his hand fell effortlessly. The hand fell into a puddle of water created by the heavy rain and was held up in frustration. The boy looked up slightly to see Bash. “Thanks for saving us…”
Bash nodded at the boy’s words. But he also thought it might have been unnecessary. The boy was trembling as he looked down. The girl crouched beside him, looking at Bash with a disgusted expression.
Like the orcs, many ogres were warriors. It was not uncommon for them to seek battle, or even a place to die in battle, like stray orcs. Maybe he was interrupting them.
But the next moment the boy stood up and spoke.
“I was impressed by your swordsmanship just now! Please make me your student!”
The sudden words were drowned out by the sound of the rain and did not echo. But they certainly reached Bash’s ears.