Praise the Orc! Chapter 158:
Chapter 158 – Evil Solidarity (2)
There was the sound of shattering glass . People shouted with surprise as they gazed at the source of the sound . Very quickly, a crowd began to gather around . It was **** .
“T-That…”
“Idiot . ” Kim Hyunchul looked down at it from the coffee shop on the second floor and clicked his tongue .
“Why is he an idiot?” The face of Park Hansik, who was sitting across from Kim Hyunchul, hardened as he asked .
Despite the gruesome scene which had occurred before his eyes, Kim Hyunchul seemed to be emotionless . “What has been achieved? The child is hurt, and he isn’t the only one . There’s also another person who is hurt . ”
“Hey . ”
“Why? It’s true . ”
The Hyunchul that Hansik knew wasn’t such a person . Hyunchul was very timid but warm-hearted to his friends . However, he had started to change since playing the game .
“What are you saying? He was trying to save the child . ”
“Can’t I be honest? After all, if that person dies, he would be the only one losing something . ”
“This jerk… Your sins will be returned to you . ”
“Is this a mental victory? Encouraging good and punishing evil . It is just a concept that people use to comfort themselves . ”
“Don’t say that . ”
“Okay, is your job going well?”
“It is hard . ”
Park Hansik took a sip of his americano and looked out the window again .
People were surrounding the scene of the accident . A woman was hugging a child in her arms, regardless of the dirt on her clothes . Meanwhile, the other people tried to do first aid on the man who protected the child, but his body was **** and pierced with glass .
Fortunately, the man was moving, so he wasn’t dead . He could hear the sound of ambulance sirens in the distance .
Suddenly, Kim Hyunchul asked, “Work is hard?”
Park Hansik looked at him . “What? Can you help me?”
“Of course . Friends should help each other . ”
“Okay . I understand . ”
“If you are having a really hard time, tell me, and don’t hide it . I’ll let you rake in money . ”
“Rake in money?”
“Yes, rake in money . ” Kim Hyunchul grinned slyly . “You can make a few year’s worth of money at once . ”
It was the same face, but he now gave off a different impression .
Park Hansik looked at Kim Hyunchul and drank his americano silently . Then he asked, “You said you played the game?”
“Yes . If you are interested…”
“Are you role playing?”
“Role play? I don’t do such things . ”
“I see…”
Hyunchul instantly stopped laughing . Park Hansik smiled at his expression .
Then Kim Hyunchul adjusted his posture . “Why are you smiling?”
“What?”
“Why are you smiling? I feel bad, like you are laughing at me . I’m not just playing a game . It’s business . ”
At the end of Kim Hyunchul’s words, Park Hansik stopped smiling and narrowed his eyes, causing Kim Hyunchul to tense up slightly .
“……” Park Hansik shook his head with a smile . “I’m not saying anything, you brat . Calm down . ”
Hansik just wanted to tease Hyunchul, but Hyunchul’s pride was hurt for a trivial reason and he stiffened . Hyunchul had been like this since their school days . However, they were now adults and couldn’t maintain the same relationship as before .
They were no longer boys, and as adults, they had facial expressions that never existed before . Park Hansik’s head shake meant he was resigned about something . Every time he did that, he erased someone he thought of as a friend .
An old song played on the radio .
–Even though seasons come again
Where has my love gong
I didn’t send you away
I didn’t leave you either
“The song is killing my mood . ” Park Hansik rose from his seat . “I’m busy, so I should be going . It was good to see you . ”
“Already?”
“I told you, work is hard . I have to work without any breaks . ”
“Yes, I understand . Don’t overdo it . If it is difficult, contact me . ” Kim Hyunchul handed Park Hansik a card . “It is the same as going on a deep-sea fishing boat . Of course, it is much more comfortable, and there is more income . You just need to lay down for a few months or a year, as if you are sleeping . I’m telling you specifically…”
Park Hansik received the business card . It had ‘Luin, Elder Lord Clan’ written on it .
Park Hansik looked at Kim Hyunchul . Kim Hyunchul was wearing expensive clothes and an expensive watch, and he carried himself in an arrogant manner . Unpleasant emotions could be read in Hyunchuk’s eyes .
Park Hansik smiled again . “Yes . Stay well . ”
Park Hansik said goodbye before turning around . Maybe he wouldn’t meet Kim Hyunchul in the future .
“You too . ”
Kim Hyunchul looked at the leaving Park Hansik and leaned back . He smiled at Park Hansik . Then his nose twitched as he muttered to himself, “That child still acts as if he is in high school… Too bad . ”
He grumbled and took a sip of coffee .
Then he glanced out the window . The man from earlier was being carried into an ambulance . He was talking to the paramedics while lying down, so he didn’t seem to be in any danger of dying . Then the ambulance closed its doors and departed .
There was blood left on the ground where the man had been lying . There was no feeling of exhilaration . Hyunchul had seen this kind of sight many times in Elder Lord . These days, the blood in Elder Lord seemed more familiar than that of this world . Seeing the blood splattered on the ground was like meeting a familiar face in a strange place .
Then he suddenly heard the lyrics .
–It is gradually forgotten
I thought it was a love that would stay
Another day goes by
We live apart every day
“Yes, this song is depressing . ”
Kim Hyunchul closed his eyes . As he listened to Kim Kwangseok’s song, memories of his ‘Hyung-nim’ talking to him popped up .
‘The world is all about trying to survive . ’
Those words…
The past Hyunchul had been considerate, but that person had died . Now, he was someone who mocked a man who had jumped to save a child, wore expensive clothes and drove a foreign car . Park Hansik, who sympathized with the man, ran a small bar and struggled to pay the monthly rent .
Anyway, the world was unfair . Those who truly realized it also discovered that they had to be unfair . If he was more unfair to those who were unfair, that unfairness would work for him .
‘A good life? Don’t make me laugh . Look at me . I am successful . Look at you . Because I live like this, I drive a foreign car . Don’t worry about the excuses of a loser and just follow me . ’
“Hyung-nim was right . ” Kim Hyunchul checked his phone . There was a message . It was from ‘Keynes’ who had made him like this .
It was time to work again . Kim Hyunchul got up from his seat .
Outside the cafe, a woman was sweeping up the blood-stained glass pieces . The broom was dyed red . Based on her apron, she seemed to work in a small restaurant next to the cafe .
Kim Hyunchul looked at the scene quietly and asked, “It isn’t your store, so why are you cleaning it?”
She replied back, “This is important . It is the same neighbourhood that is my home . It is ugly . I don’t want to wait for someone else to clean it up . Don’t you think?”
“Yes…”
Kim Hyunchul lit up a cigarette . There were so many good people in the world . So, he and his ‘Hyung-nim’ were bound to be successful .
“Good work . ”
Kim Hyunchul spat on the floor and walked away while blowing cigarette smoke .
***
The emperor, Akantor, looked down at them from the throne .
Luin was always nervous meeting him, but Keynes and Rommel seemed to be fine . Keynes always said it was a game, while Rommel wasn’t the type of person to be shaken by this . Rommel had to learn all types of courtesies when Akantor had still been the king . Now that Akantor was the emperor, Rommel had to be more formal .
He was accustomed to it now, but it still wasn’t easy kneeling down . Luin was a modern man and unfamiliar with the class system . Of course, while playing Elder Lord, he learned about the class system which wasn’t visible in modern times .
“Can I trust you?”
When Akantor had been a king instead of an emperor, he had been a quiet man . He had always smiled, and he had looked more like a nobleman than a king . However, he now looked down with an arrogant face and didn’t hide his feelings . It was the right of the strong .
“If it fails, it is the end . I will prevent you from escaping to the abyss for eternity . ”
Luin’s nose twitched nervously at the words . It meant Akantor would use the Concrete method . The fact that NPCs understood the weakness of those cursed by the stars gave Luin a strangely fearful feeling .
It was no different to what he felt when watching movies about robots conquering mankind . However, by walking this tightrope, they earned wealth and honour .
“We will make certain of it . ” Keynes said . He excelled in gaining favour with NPCs . “Please remember the role we have played to allow Your Majesty to sit on this precious throne . We will always devote our loyalty to Your Majesty . ”
“Of course . I’m well aware . However, this is the empire . We can never fail . ”
“How can Your Majesty talk about failure?” Keynes bowed his head . “The trend in the world is heading towards the empire, Your Majesty . A pebble can’t stop a river . Espada will be decimated . ”
“That isn’t the failure I’m talking about . ” The emperor leaned against his armrest . “You have to kill that orc . ”
Keynes spoke with a serious face .
“Crockta . ”
“Yes . That ugly orc needs to be killed and hung at the gates . No, it would be nice to capture him alive and pour maggots and worms over him to gnaw on his body . ”
The emperor’s anger had reached its peak . Everything flowed according to his will . No, it followed the blueprints presented to the emperor by Keynes and Rommel . Crockta was the exception .
The emperor wasn’t the only one who wanted to kill him . It was the same for Keynes . Crockta was an unpredictable variable for him . He wanted to get rid of Crockta and eliminate all possibilities of failure .
However…
“Your Majesty . Don’t waste our forces on him . He is an individual . An individual can never beat an army . We should look at the bigger context, and he will eventually be trampled on by the army . ”
To Keynes, Crockta was a stumbling block . However, he knew how stupid it was to consume energy to catch a bug .
Luin nodded as he listened to the conversation . Keynes used to say this to Luin .
“He is a strong person, but he will lost the moment he goes against an army . He is alone . He is strong and difficult to catch, but not fatal . He is tricky like a mosquito . It is better for us to ignore him than worry about him . When winter comes, the mosquito will freeze and die . ”
Looking back at how much Crockta had interfered with them, Luin came to admire Keynes’ sober judgment . Luin thought about using the full force of the army to kill Crockta . However, Keynes was right . Crockta was a monster who beat Adandator . He would somehow manage to run away .
They just needed to do their jobs . Then one day, Crockta would be found as a corpse on the battlefield .
The emperor said, “I want his head . ”
Keynes bowed his head .
“If Your Majesty…”
“But you always speak the right words . If it were someone else, I would set up a trap to kill Crockta . ”
It was a gentle tone toward a faithful servant .
Luin laughed inwardly . Keynes would also be smiling . Everything went as Keynes said .
The young emperor was merely a child who wanted to play a game . Sometimes he wanted to be dignified, while other times he wanted to be impulsive . There were also times when he wanted to be praised as a king .
He had flimsy ambitions .
Then at that moment…
“Your Majesty, an imperial guard is waiting to see you . ”
The guard shouted from outside the throne room . Then the emperor replied, “Send him in . ”
The door opened . A servant entered and knelt down before the emperor .
“Your Majesty, I am an officer on the west side, Gospel .
“Yes . What is going on?”
“I saw this and thought Your Majesty should know…”
He held out a piece of paper . It was a letter .
“This is being sent out randomly all over the empire . ”
“What is this…?”
The emperor accepted it . The guard closed his eyes and fell facedown . His choice was right .
Kwaang!
The emperor threw an ornament decorating his throne .
“Rommel! Keynes!”
“Yes, Your Majesty . ”
“I want that garbage orc called Crockta on his knees before me! I will give you Adandator and the White Lion Knights! Go right now!” The emperor’s face distorted into a scowl . “Catch Crockta!”