491 – I’Ve Had So Much To Do
I’ve really had so much to do. It’s really hard.
The time I spent in Ende was short, and I’ve been working hard lately, so it’s been really hard. Ende is so big. If you just walk around and read people’s minds, the day will pass by.
Reading minds, organizing situations, moving, and reading minds again. It was a difficult task, like organizing a chronicle one by one in a haphazardly organized library.
But hey, there are people who enjoy such organizing tasks. It was secretly fun to pick out the Orcs from tens of thousands of people and ruin them. I feel a sense of accomplishment as they gradually become anxious as they enjoy the sweet fruits hidden among the citizens.
Today, I finished my work easily and returned to the mansion after shaking off the tail. As I passed through the dark yard and was about to enter the mansion, two human figures flickered. The Regressor and Aji were waiting for me in front of the mansion.
What the heck. Have you been waiting for me without sleeping until now? It’s useless… but somehow my heart feels a little warm. It’s so heartwarming to have someone waiting for me.
“Where have you been?”
Cancel. My heart, which had been warming up, started to smoke and become heavy again. I answered coldly after hearing the Regressor’s fat answer.
“Why? I’ve been working as Mr. Shay wants.”
“You can tell me where you’re doing what and when you’ll be back. Don’t worry for nothing.”
“Then what did you explain and leave? You just said you’d be late for dinner today and disappeared.”
“I came late for dinner!”
“I didn’t even have a chance to say when I would come. Could you please listen to me?”
The Regressor’s face turned even fatter as he had nothing to say.
‘I’m strong and I know roughly what to watch out for in this time period, but you’ve lost your strength even though you’re the king of humans. What if you get hurt or die if you go alone without Aji?’
Your thoughts are kind compared to your words? Just don’t talk and just think. Or just tell me everything honestly. Then I’ll go half way.
“Don’t just stand outside the door and come in.”
‘I don’t know what you’re doing, but it seems like you’re really busy, so you should rest.’
Change your thoughts and words. You have a knack for saying good things in a bad way.
When I came back, I saw a full table of food on the table. Usually, the Regressor puts it in the subspace, but he hasn’t put it in yet because he’s waiting for me.
The Regressor asked, putting his hand on the table full of food.
“What did you eat?”
“I ate it roughly while working.”
“Do you want to eat?”
“I’ll skip it today because it’s before bed.”
“Speak quickly. I’ve already pressed it.”
Your actions are faster than your questions. I decided to eat it gratefully because I was hungry. I felt warm as I quickly finished the red soup that had been boiled softly.
The Regressor, who had waited for me to finish eating, opened his mouth as soon as I put down the spoon.
“You. Are you a magician?”
“Gasp. How did you know that?”
“Why are you surprised? You used to go around saying that you were a magician.”
“How do you remember that? I thought you would have forgotten by now.”
“Why? You’re not famous, but I remember that much.”
“I doubt Mr. Shay’s memory more than my fame.”
“Hey!”
After we exchanged friendly accusations, the Regressor leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed.
“As I was walking around, I heard the name magician. They say you’re causing a lot of trouble in Ende? I couldn’t help but wonder.”
“I’m not really causing trouble. I’m just having a little fun with people.”
“So. I heard that the public sentiment is not that bad?”
Oh. Is it already in the Regressor’s ears? This is a bit surprising.
“What’s the public sentiment like?”
“For ordinary people, they are treated as playful criminals. And the Ende Security Forces and Obelisks are secretly welcoming it. They say that the magician only ruins those who disrupt the peace.”
It’s rewarding. I nodded my head with a proud heart. The Regressor said, looking at my reaction.
“So. What are you doing under the name of a magician? Security Forces?”
“It’s a little different from the Security Forces. They can’t take any action before an incident occurs. Even if it does, it’s hard to tell who is the villain and who is involved.”
“Do you know?”
“Of course. Eavesdropping, hiding, deceiving, acting. Hiding among humans and provoking desires. I, the king of humans, am good at such things.”
I left out only the mind control technique in my explanation, but the Regressor, who had experienced all sorts of strange abilities until now, accepted my achievements without much doubt.
“Before fighting the Wolf King, we need to fix the order of Ende. We can only fight the Wolf King if we concentrate all of Ende’s power.”
“What? You’re good at it when you actually work? Do it early!””This kind of prescription is like a stimulant, and if you take it for a long time, you’ll develop a tolerance. Confusion comes from inequality, and if you don’t solve it fundamentally, it will eventually explode. Besides, if they get used to it, they’ll find another way.”
Right now, I’m an outsider here, and I’m running around revealing my tracks, so they’re not in their right minds. But if they find out my identity by chance, I’ll instantly transform from a symbol of fear to a target that must be killed. If there’s an external enemy, the Orcs will become even tougher and confront me.
‘That’s true. They may not be of much help when it comes to fighting, but they’re really helpful in other minor areas.’
Say that out loud. Don’t just think about it and let it pass. Since I have the ability to read minds, I let it slide, but if it were someone else, they would have given up and run away long ago.
“I understand. Is there anything else you need?”
“Not really. Oh, even earthworms squirm when you step on them, so Ende’s troublemakers are likely to cause a riot. If we can just get through that, there won’t be any future problems.”
“If they’re troublemakers, should we deal with them in advance?”
“It would be better for Ende to resolve it on their own. Internal discipline is a shortcut to greater unity.”
‘Hmm. Well, the only times Ende hasn’t been able to stop the Wolf King in the past were when Ende’s power was weak. That Hughes guy, he’s a really convenient type to have as an ally. He’s friendly with everyone. He knows human physiology well. Strictly speaking, he seems to be good at internal affairs… I’d like to keep him at the base.’
hahahaha. What. You’re the same. You’re the type that’s convenient to have as an ally, but if you become an enemy, you’ll be terrible. If you become an enemy, you’ll die without even knowing what happened next time.
“Since I’ve done my part, should we now examine what Mr. Shay has done? What did you do, Mr. Shay?”
“I went to the Beastmen and delivered Ende’s message. The Wolf King is invading, so let’s join forces for the peace of the plains.”
“Do we even need that much strength?”
“They’re barbarians. If we don’t reach out to them first, they might join the werewolves and invade Ende.”
Oh, right. I heard that the werewolves have joined forces with the Wolf King. The Wolf King, who is hostile to all humans, doesn’t attack werewolves, so it’s possible that he could form an alliance with humans through them indirectly.
It’s like a well-oiled machine. The Regressor had some ideas of his own.
“Orc Berserker Grull. If even he, a pigman with reason, lends his strength to Ende, we’ll be safe.”
Oh ho. Orc Berserker. A pigman with reason and strength…
…Orc? Pigman?
An ominous thought crossed my mind, but since he’s not a citizen of Ende, it should be fine, right?
There is no group that exists without force. If there is, don’t come out and refute this statement, and hurry up and hide. Another group with force will come and swallow you up right away.
The Orcma’s force, ‘Fangs’, is a mercenary group made up of pigmen, and at the same time, it is also the largest group cooperating with the Orcma.
The first Fang, Urkpeng, said to his subordinates.
“Two of the liaisons with the ranchers outside Ende have disappeared. Rumor has it that they were found naked and crucified on the outer wall of Ende. Fifteen wagons were turned into playing cards, and the pack animals were taken by drunk horse-men and paraded around before being recovered by the Ende security forces.”
Taken one by one, these are minor damages. However, all of these damages are accumulating and worsening their unity.
“Above all, the magician… He’s attacking only the ‘Orcma’.”
The biggest reason why the Orcma was able to grow in power is their anonymity.
It’s not surprising that pigmen cause trouble. However, the Orcma hid among such pigmen.
Some of them may not even know that they are part of the Orcma. Some of them know, but don’t know exactly what they’re doing. Some of them play quite a key role, but they themselves don’t commit any crimes.
They’re too insignificant to care about, and it’s impossible to tell who’s good and who’s evil. Hidden in anonymity, the Orcma gradually increased their power.
“The magician. We can’t leave him alone. For the glory of the Orcs, no… At least to be treated as equals to other pigmen. We need to secure more rights. The days when Orcs were persecuted. The days when you could cut off an Orc’s head on the street and get away with it… We can’t go back to those days.”
If it were those days, the Orcma wouldn’t have been able to exist in the first place. If they caused trouble, they would have been beheaded and tortured right away. Not just them, but their families as well.
But not anymore. Ende is a city of pigmen, and the treatment of pigmen has improved. After the appearance of the furry saintess, it’s impossible to kill pigmen indiscriminately like before. In this situation, accurately identifying the Orcma is as difficult as accurately removing only the painful part of the body. If you remove it wrong, the body will be damaged.
However, the magician is doing just that. Whether he’s really using magic or not, the Orcs who are afraid of being singled out because of his existence are turning away from the Orcma. If this continues, not only will the Orcs not revive, but their unity will also collapse.
Urkpeng, who had renewed his determination, looked at his subordinates and asked.
“Have you spread the false information?””Yes. I told the collaborators to gather here to establish a code for dealing with the magician. If the magician has somehow obtained information, he will want to disrupt this meeting.”
“Right. If the magician comes here without knowing, I’ll bite his neck.”
“But we don’t know who the magician is. Will we be able to find him?”
“There aren’t that many humans in Ende. Any human who comes here can be considered the magician. Let me know as soon as you find him.”
Hiding in various places, the orcs waited for the human who would naively come here. The collaborators who were also deceived came, but they were sent back through a secret passage that had been prepared in advance.
‘When will you come, magician? If your goal is Okma, you won’t miss this opportunity.’
Like orcs hiding in their dens, they waited for their prey quietly but fiercely.
And then, for a moment, a figure wearing a hood was seen slowly approaching among several passersby. There was no bulge visible above the deeply pulled-down hood.
“It’s a human!”
The orcs immediately rushed out of their dens. From the roof, behind the wall, and from the ground, the orcs sprang up and surrounded the human. The human who had approached wearing a hood was startled by the shadows that had suddenly sprung up and looked around in confusion.
“I found you. Magician.”
Urkpeng, who approached him, growled menacingly, clashing his gauntlets together.
“How long did you think you could hide your identity?”
“I don’t know who you are, but this is as far as you go.”
“You’ve finally shown your tail.”
There was no way that the human who had come here wearing a hood now could be anyone other than the magician. It was a simple but reasonable deduction. The orcs were confident in the trap they had set and surrounded the human.
But they should have thought a little more.
The magician who had been hiding his identity and wandering around Ende until now would not have approached so obviously.
“I don’t have a tail.”
The human who had declared this confidently pulled off his hood with force. The orcs, who had been trying to confirm the magician’s face, gasped at the identity revealed under the hood.
“However, I do have feet that can step on tails. It seems… you’re the ones who have shown your tails.”
Sapien. Ende’s official and the captain of the Obelisk.
The orcs were startled when they saw Ende’s strongest guardian and looked at each other. Even though the orcs were a famous mercenary group, they were not heavily armed in the city, and… their opponent was the strongest official of the Obelisk. It would be a problem if they touched him, and they couldn’t touch him in the first place.
“B, but the magician is…”
“A letter arrived at the Obelisk anonymously. It said that an impure group would gather at this time and place.”
The moment the hood fell to the ground,
Bang. Sapien, who had struck the ground like a thunderbolt, grabbed one of the orcs by the neck and slammed him into the ground. The orc lost consciousness and one of his fangs in the savage attack.
Ende’s warriors fight beasts. That’s why they gradually come to resemble beasts. They survive by imitating the movements of beasts that have survived in the wild.
Sapien, who had incapacitated one of them with an explosive burst of energy, took off his gauntlet and put it on. It was bigger than his fist, but it didn’t matter. His savage energy filled the gauntlet.
“Was the person who sent the letter the magician? I should thank him. He gave me the opportunity to clean up the trash all at once.”
“Profit…!”
In a desperate situation, the orcs made a special decision. Urkpeng shouted.
“Disperse!”
It was unclear whether they would win even if they fought. The bigger problem was that their opponent was an official.
One thing that the suin promised to the vassal states in order to be recognized as a city of the suin was to guarantee the safety of officials. If the suin harmed or attempted to harm an official, Ende could take necessary measures.
The biggest thing was that the home country, the Lilac Principality, could intervene.
The pig suin created Okma in order to revive themselves. If they were to receive outside interference before they could establish themselves, everything they had done so far would be for nothing. They ordered a retreat, hoping that as many orcs as possible would be caught.
But there was one more thing they had overlooked.
From Noble mtl dot com
“If you thought you could escape… you’re disappointed.”
Even though many humans left Ende, feeling threatened by the wolf, the official who had volunteered to stay in Ende alone remained. The Obelisk, the guardian of the city, was not someone that a mere mercenary group could deal with.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Every time the human’s hand moved, one of them fell. Orc-shaped marks were imprinted on the wall and floor. He kicked the floor and walls like a beast and ran.
Urkpeng charged at Sapien with his gauntlets raised.
Thud. The collision between the orc and the human produced a loud noise. A piece of iron shaped like a finger popped out of the broken gauntlet. It belonged to Urkpeng, whose energy was relatively weak.
The suin have excellent physical abilities, but they lack intelligence. That’s why their energy is relatively weak, and why they have not become the mainstream of history.
Urkpeng shouted, grabbing Sapien with his deformed gauntlet.
“Go! Disperse!”
“Captain…!”
“Hurry!”
“What a pitiful effort.”Sapien flipped his body and threw him to the ground. The orc’s back collided with the ground. Sapien left him gasping for breath and went to catch the rest.
At that moment, the orc’s strong hand grabbed Sapien’s hem. Urkpeng’s mouth was bleeding, but he tightened his grip.
“You’re not going anywhere…!”
“Hmm.”
His tearful resistance was meaningless. Sapien’s fists and kicks mercilessly beat Urkpeng. The orc’s large body flew through the air more than five times before his grip loosened.
However, the time he had bought was quite valuable. While the time was being wasted, the orcs took their fallen comrades and disappeared all at once.
Sapien shook his hem and muttered as he watched the street where the orcs had disappeared.
“If I had known this would happen, I would have brought some men with me.”
He was confident that he would not be hurt. However, he had not thought about catching all the fleeing orcs. The magician’s letter had been delivered so suddenly that he had no choice.
However, it was something to have caught even one of them. There were many ways to make him talk. There were even more if the opponent was a pig-man.
“By the way… the magician. Who is he, really?”
He wondered what the identity of the man who had caused such a stir in the city was. However, Sapien did not give it much thought.
If it would help the city, he planned to use it to his advantage.