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“I don’t think it’s a good idea to throw this stuff around just because we’re at peace! How many heroes do you think are resting here? It’s not good for the Beastmen, and it’s not good for the spirits who fought to take this place back… oh…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, this magazine… this is it!” Zell raised the magazine as high as she was and read the article.
‘The six methods to conquer the man of your dreams!’
‘How to choose a marriage partner you won’t regret for the rest of your life.’
‘The 100 common sense tips that will make you irresistible to girls!’
‘Beastmen’s take on love and marriage that you won’t hear anywhere else.’
‘Coordination for a marriage-oriented relationship (men).’
Yes, it was a magazine.
“The Monthly Bly.”
“…What’s that?”
“You don’t know? It’s a magazine published after the war by Bly, a major human trader.”
“A magazine?”
“It’s a bunch of papers with news from all over the world, and things that interest people.”
“Is there such a thing?”
Naturally, there was no such thing in the Orc Country. There weren’t even any paintings of any kind for orcs.
“And this is a special issue about love and marriage!”
“How dense you are, Mister! That means it contains a lot of information about love and marriage gathered by Bly, a great trader!”
“Is it reliable?”
“Of course! Bly is a former member of the elite human intelligence department!”
“You mean that Bly…!?”
The human race was of weak constitution compared to the Beastmen and Dwarf races. They also had no great aptitude for magic like the Elves. Despite this, they were the main allies of the Four Races Alliance. Why? Because they were wiser than the Elves. They valued wisdom and knowledge above all else, and were skilled at gathering information. The information gathering ability of humans was so great that it would be impossible to account for how many times they overcame their inferiority.
Both Houston, the “Pig Killer”, and “Last Breath” Breeze Kugel, provided Bash with great information. Yes, human information was valuable.
And then there was Bly, the great trader. The title “great trader” didn’t ring a bell, but everyone knew him as “Bly, the Press Wizard”. He would get important information about the enemy army out of thin air, and place the location of ambushed soldiers on the military charts on his desk. The result was victory. Although Bash, as an orc, didn’t understand it, he had heard the Demon generals grumble about “losing to Bly again” on more than one occasion. Although he never appeared on the battlefront, he was the man who reigned over the human race, a race adept at handling information. That was Bly. There was no one in the Seven Races Federation who could have outwitted this man, except Gediguz, the Demon King. However, it was also Bly who sent the human prince Nazar and his death squad against Gediguz, the Demon King.
In the new era of peace, the business he started was to provide information that people wanted. In particular, special issues on love and marriage sold well. It was that kind of era.
“Bly was the man who came up with the perfect strategy to gain victory against us orcs.”
“In other words, if you follow the information in this magazine written by Bly…”
“I’ll find a wife easily!” Bash took the magazine. With trembling hands, like a magician who has found a grimoire with forbidden arts written in it. “I didn’t think there was such a thing…”
The magazine. It was a special issue on marriage and love. Beastmen’s take on love and marriage that you won’t hear anywhere else. It was exactly what he needed right now. And it was stuff he wasn’t going to hear anywhere else, too. That information was now at his fingertips.
There had been many times when I was sure of victory even before the battle began…
Bash had lived through a lot of fights. When he was a new recruit, he didn’t know what the outcome of the battle would be. But as he gained experience, he gradually began to see which side had the advantage and which side did not. Of course, just knowing the trends was not enough to know which side would win, but it was possible to identify when the tide of battle would turn. There were times near the end of the war, before the battle even began, when he could more or less know which side was going to win. That was exactly what he felt now.
“I am deeply moved. You’ve been through a lot, but I see we’re close to the day when you’ll have a wife, Mister.” Zell was in the midst of that feeling, too.
“Right.” Bash snorted. Since leaving the Orc Country, they had traveled through Human, elves and dwarf’s countries. This was the Red Forest. They had come a long way when they thought about it…
“However, you can never be so careful as when it looks like you are going to win. Let’s be cautious.”
“That’s right! No matter how many winning tactics you use, if you’re not careful, you can lose the battle!”
“That’s right.”
“But then, why would they throw this magazine in a place like this? And it’s a human magazine…”
There was no particular reason to throw it away. Whoever had finished reading the magazine had thrown it away without giving it much thought. But they didn’t see it that way. They would never have thought to throw away such a valuable thing for no reason. And they would never have thought that they were for sale for the price of an hour’s work.
“I don’t think so… was it the guy from before?”
“Oh, that’s right, I’m sure of it! He was a human, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he had a human magazine!”
They remembered the man they met near the border. Errol, the messenger of love and peace. He was a man with a mysterious atmosphere. Perhaps he heard what Bash and Zell were saying and took the trouble to leave them the magazine. Because he was a messenger of love and peace.