In a fraction of a second, the surroundings fell deathly silent.
That included Sonia herself, who understood nothing of what was going on.
[Huh? What? What does he mean by marriage? Why is this guy trying to give a necklace?!]
For a second, her mind went utterly blank, after which she finally came to the took in what was happening.
[Haaah?! Is he really asking me to marry him?!]
Her brain, now recovered from its unexpected stalling, begun firing on all cylinders.
[Isā¦is he really asking me to marry him? Is this really a real proposal?! Wait, calm down, and thinkā¦ there must be something deeperā¦a nefarious intention, hidden behind this gestureā¦wait, yes! He told me that heād be back! So, this must be why! To ask for my hand in marriage! Wait, wait, wait, wait, no, no, noā¦ thatās stupid. Absolutely ridiculous! Why would he ask me to marry him?! And āat first sight?! I meanā¦ thatās kind of romant ā ā¦ No! No, no, no! I canāt let myself be fooled! This guy left me lying on the ground back then! He left me even though I was right there, vulnerable and ripe for the picking!]
Though Thunder Sonia was impulsive and brash, she was far from dumb.
As the Elven Archmage, she always prioritized the well-being of her people, and constantly planned ahead.
He was an Orc she had only met once before.
There was nothing between them that would make him fall in love with her.
And if it really was ālove at first sightā, Bash would have taken Sonia home on that faithful night of the Nightmare of Siwanasi Forest and eaten her as his three oāclock snack. By now, sheād already be a mother of three.
So, he was obviously lying.
Then why was he doing this? What was the truth?
Incidentally, she had heard about how the Orc Hero had been going around gathering information.
He was notably looking for intel concerning Elven marriage activities.
In which case, he must have stumbled upon the sad tales of the Elf Heroās celibacy.
These included shameful stories of her being fed up with being a bachelorette, trying to woo a Human and subsequently failingā¦
[Waitā¦ does he think thatā¦that IāmĀ easy!?]
As soon as that thought crossed her mind, blood rushed to Soniaās face.
āAbsolutely not! I refuse! Who in their right mind would want to bear your child!?ā
The moment she blurted out her response, the surroundings erupted in a wave of āOhāsā and āAhāsā.
The Archmage could almost feel the wave of whispers propagating through the crowd.
[Geezā¦ what kind of dumb rumors are you guys spreading this timeā¦ please stopā¦]
Sonia fidgeted as she angrily glared at Bash.
At the very least, she wanted to show him and everybody else that she wasnāt some common whore you could just pick up whenever.
On the other hand, Bash was all smiles and as calm as a lake on a windless night.
āI understand. Thatās too badā¦ā
He then returned the shiny golden necklace to his pocket, turned around, and silently crept off.
Just like that.
It happened so unexpectedly that Thunder Sonia almost thought about stopping him.
For some reason, his shoulders were hunched over, and he looked distraught and depressed.
āWhat was that all aboutā¦?ā
She mumbled.
Thunder Sonia, Archmage and Hero of the Elves, would never know the entire truth.
Bash was slowly trudging down the path back to the inn.
āWhat went wrongā¦? It was all set up perfectly! You arrived in the nick of time and saved her when she was in trouble! And just when she was probably thinking about you, you showed up and proposed! With the shiniest goldiest necklace they had on sale at thatā¦! From what I read in that āElven Romance Weeklyā magazine, this ranks third among situations during which youād like to be confessed to!ā
āThunder Sonia is the Elven Archmage after all. She must have her own circumstances.ā
It wasnāt that Bash didnāt remember meeting Sonia during the Nightmare of Siwanasi Forest event.
During that last Orcish stand of Siwanasi, while General Baraben was being overwhelmed, the Orc Hero had been fighting a mysterious Elven sorceress who had ended up seriously injuring him.
But he hadnāt seen her face, and even less heard her name.
During that battle, Thunder Sonia was wearing a mask.
Unbeknownst to the Orc, it was a piece of equipment that amplified her magical strength and enhanced her senses.
In addition to that, the Elf Hero was wearing an entire treasure trove of Elven enchanted gear to help her keep the Orc Hero at bay.
Not to mention that they had never introduced themselves to each other.
Back then, Bash had heard of the title of āElven Archmageā in passing but had never known their name.
Therefore, it was correct to say that Bash had only learned of her name and saw her face for the first time during their meeting on the Elven border.
His claim that he had fallen in love at first sight was not a lie.
The battle between the two heroes had taken a heavy toll on Bash.
During the war, he had had countless close encounters with death.
But as the end of the conflict neared, this happened less and less frequently.
The siege of Siwanasi was among the final battles of the war, and it had been a long time since the Orc Hero had been wounded so severely.
He was so dazed by the end of his fight that he couldnāt remember how it ended or how he had escaped while surrounded by hordes of Elves.
All he could recall was how he had holed up in a bear den and how Zell had saved his life.
The āElven Archmageā.
The Orc Hero had heard of this personage.
An immortal and ancient 1200-year-old High Elf.
She was the Elves guardian deity.
It was said that she had been blessed by the god of wind and thunder, and that this power was related to her chastity ā if she ever lost her virginity, her magical gifts would be revoked.
If her virginity was truly the source of her strength, then there was no way she would agree to marry.
Bash wasnāt very hopeful that his proposal would succeed in the first place.
Nonetheless, he was still extremely disappointed.
āI saw it all!ā
Someone called out to Bash.
As he turned around, he saw a female Elf. She was enviably entwined arm-in-arm with a Human man.
The Elven woman, who looked like a first-class warrior, was familiar with the Orc.
Yes, she was the one that had told him all about the āGiant Eagleās Nest.ā.
āYou areā¦ā
āYou have the guts to propose to Lady Sonia! Color me impressed! I never would have thought that Orcs could be so bold!ā
āOhā¦ā
It was Azaleaā¦whose name Bash had completely and utterly forgotten.
She looked very excited.
āItās a shame you got turned down, though. No matter if youāre the Orc Hero or not, sheās out of your league.ā
āI suppose soā¦ but there are always more fish in th ā ā¦ more Elves in the forest.ā
āHaah?!ā
Azaleaās expression turned murderous.
Bash instinctively clenched his fists in response.
However, the Elf immediately calmed down and laughed.
āAh, youāre an Orc after allā¦ā
āIs that an issue?ā
āNo, thatās not what I mean. Orcs might not know this, but Elves donāt appreciate it when a man goes around trying his luck on women willy-nilly. And after proposing to Lady Sonia so flamboyantly, asking for another Elfās hand in marriage would beā¦ not well seen, to say the least.ā
āSo, itās hopeless to try and get another Elf as a wife?ā
āI guess so.ā
āUmuā¦.ā
Bash groaned.
He had never thought that heād be able to use the shiny gold necklace only once.
But it was the same on the field of battle.
Opportunities only showed up once.
It was only when you missed your shot that you realized that it was a once-in-a lifetime chance.
āIf so, it canāt be helped.ā
āDonāt feel too bad about yourself! Iām sure a man of your stature will find someone soon!ā
āI hope soā¦ā
Even though Bash was as stoic as stoic warriors got, he couldnāt help but lose heart.
He had come prepared to fail, but now that he knew that all the Elves who had witnessed his proposal now disqualified him as a potential mate, he felt even worse.
No matter how steadfast the Orc Hero was, he was beginning to feel pangs of regret.
āWell, Iāll be going now. Iām having dinner with my darling to celebrate our victory!ā
āUm, excuse meā¦ā
āWell, Iāll be going now. Iām having dinner with my darling to celebrate our victory.
āUm, excuse me, ā¦ā¦.
Said Azalea as she walked off, dragging a skinny, shabby-looking man in tow.
He was most likely this ādarlingā person ā one of the weakest looking individuals Bash had ever seen, and he didnāt seem to be a sorcerer either.
In Orc culture, marriage was considered the epitome of success and honor. The Orc Hero needed every scrap of information he could get.
āJust a second, I have something to ask that man.ā
Hence, Bash called out to them.
Azalea slowly turned around.
Her eyes were full of unfettered fury, like a dragon watching over its treasure.
āTouch my darling, and youāre dead meat,ā her look seemed to say.
āHow did you get this woman?ā
āHuh?ā
As soon as Bash asked this question, the Elven womanās eyes darted towards her partner.
The man flinched, and hesitated for a couple of seconds, his face going through a litany of emotions: fear, surprise, confusion.
Taking a deep breath, he answered.
āAzalea once saved my life during the war. Back then, I got caught by a Succubus, and my body and mind were in tatters. If it werenāt for her, I would have died, just like that, having my life sucked out of meā¦ So, after the peace treaty was signed, I came to Elf Country to repay her kindness. At the very least buy her a meal, or a drink. And it turned out she was looking for a husband. So, I thought that that was my chance! Never in my wildest dreams would I have hoped to even get close to a woman as beautiful as Azalea, but with the circumstances, I believed I had a shot. So, I gathered my courage and took the plunge. One thing led to another andā¦ā
āā¦ I see.ā
Bash was ashamed of himself.
In the back of his mind, he had thought that perhaps this man had used some cowardly tactic to woo Azalea.
But that wasnāt it.
He had a single, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
And he had grasped his only chance at victory and held on to it with all his strength.
This man may not have been a warrior, but he understood this and dove head-first into the fray. That was why he was able to win.
The difference between him and Bash was that while the latter knowingly took it upon himself to fight an unwinnable battle, the former took a chance while knowing he had a chance at victory.
For Orcs, there was no shame in throwing oneself into an impossible conflict.
But if he wanted to emerge victorious, he shouldnāt have used his only chance to fight a fruitless fight.
It was hard to say who was correct.
Yes, just like General Baraben and Great War Chief Gunda Guzaā¦
āIāll take your story as a reference and keep it in mind. Thank you.ā
āOh, no problemā¦ good luck.ā
The man bowed before following Azalea and leaving.
The Orc felt that the Elven womanās steps were even lighter than before, and the couple were even closer.
Bash enviously looked at the shrinking backs as they walked away, hearts aflutter.
Let me do this preemptively before the negative Nancys get on my case in the comments.