Praise the Orc! Chapter 77:

Chapter 77 – Orcheim (2)

Once he heard about Caburak’s return, Caburak’s father and the Orcheim chief Gorit came running . He was a sturdy orc carrying a huge battle axe .

Caburak was still laughing while surrounded by pink flower petals .

The eyes of the two orcs met .  It was a welcome reunion after a long time . There were all sorts of emotions in Caburak and Gorit’s eyes .

“Father!”

Gorit was also thrilled .  The son he hadn’t seen for a long time had returned!

Crockta and Tiyo, who accompanied Caburak for a while, felt warm in their hearts as they watched the reunion . They quietly slipped back . Caburak and Gorit walked towards each other like they were going to hug passionately .

The petals created by Caburak’s magic streamed through the air .  And…

Peeok!

“Huuk!”

Gorit grabbed Caburak’s collar and launched him into the air .

“F-Father?”

“This guy disappeared without a word and now you are back?” It was a serious punch .  “And what about the Constellation Staff?”

“I-It was destroyed, Father…”

“You…!”

Gorit tried to hit his son again, but the orcs around him stopped it . It wasn’t easy to stop the big Gorit, so many orcs had to hold onto him tightly .  Gorit kept yelling wildly .

“Villagers! Listen to me! This son of mine suddenly disappeared with the treasure of my house, only to reappear and say that it is broken! Villagers, isn’t this nonsense . . !”

“If you hit him anymore then he might die . ”

Caburak muttered, “My life has been saved three times…” 

“I’ve lost my patience a long time ago! Now I will kill you!”

“Uhuh!”

Crockta and Tiyo watched the disturbance from the corner .

“Cough . ”

“It must hurt dot…”

They were the guests but they didn’t receive any attention because of Caburak .  No, if it was known that they were Caburak’s guests, Gorit might be furious at them as well .

Crockta asked the dark elf Yanura standing next to him .  “What happened?”

“I don’t know . Gorit had a son that was a brilliant shaman…then I heard that he disappeared one day with the artifact of his house . ”

One of the orc warriors in the village found them and sought their understanding .  “It looks like you are friends of Caburak so I’m sorry . It is because Gorit is hot-tempered . It might be dangerous now, but he will welcome you later . ”

“Thank you . ”

“My name is Marak . It is a pleasure . ”

“Crockta . Stay alive,” greeted Crockta .

“Hoh . I didn’t know I would hear that from an outsider . Stay alive!”

He smiled and replied . Crockta’s eyes widened . There weren’t many orcs who knew this greeting in the north, and the orc warrior even extended his fist towards Crockta .  Crockta bumped it with a sincere heart .

Marak laughed again .  “It looks like you’re not an orc of the Great Clan!”

In the end, Caburak used this as an opportunity to escape from Gorit .  He opened his mouth, “Now, now . Crockta isn’t from the Great Clan . Rather, he defeated people from the Great Clan and saved me . It was a big deal!”

The orcs’ eyes opened .  “Hoh, the warriors from the Great Clan . ”

“It wasn’t just one but multiple warriors!”

“You must be a great warrior . ”

Gorit discovered Crockta, Tiyo, and Yanura .

Gorit swallowed down his anger and approached Caburak . Caburak looked into his eyes . Caburak flinched as Gorit reached out, but Gorit just placed a hand on his head . Caburak looked like a little kid .

Caburak spoke with narrowed eyes .  “These are my guests . ”

Crockta greeted politely, “We came here after receiving Caburak’s invitation . I am the orc warrior Crockta . Stay alive . ”

“Hoh . ”

Gorit looked Crockta up and down .  “Are your parents from Orcheim?”

“No . ”

“I’ve never seen anyone outside of Orcheim say this greeting . Are you really not from here?”

Crockta laughed bitterly .

Then Caburak said, “Listen to my story! I traveled a long way…but…that…”

Caburak’s voice gradually trailed off at Gorit’s stare . He avoided eye contact .  Gorit kept staring at Caburak and nodded .

“I understand but you’ll have to explain it properly . We are being rude to the guests . Follow me . ”

They said farewell to Yanura who was continuing her mission, then Crockta and Tiyo were guided to Gorit’s house .  As the chief, Gorit’s house was a large log cabin . It was built up so that there was a second floor . Crockta and Tiyo were taken to a guest room .

They felt the accumulated fatigue as they set down their belongings . Crockta sat on the floor with Ogre Slayer, a weapon he always carried with him . He leaned back against the wall and a sound came out .

“Ohu…”

“……”

From then on, Tiyo stayed quiet . He was thinking about something with a sullen expression .

It seemed like he was still shocked by Yanura’s words . Tiyo was proud of gnomes . He firmly believed that gnomes were the wisest and most rational species . The magic engineering developed by the gnomes could be called the essence of civilization .

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine dot…” There was no strength in his voice .

“You don’t know the situation, so don’t become too frustrated yet . ”

“I don’t need to hear the situation… gnomes should absolutely never hold hands with those selling slaves dot…”

Crockta laughed, “So it seems like both you and I will need to hunt our own species . ”

“That’s right dot…”

“You should sound more assertive when saying this . ”

Tiyo smiled as he got up .  “Thank you Crockta . But please don’t worry . I was only thinking for a moment dot . ”

“About what?”

“How to slay those guys!”

Crockta nodded . Problems of the heart could only be solved by oneself . Tiyo would soon return to the Tiyo that Crockta knew .

“I’m going dot! Ohhhhhhh!”

It seemed like he had already returned .

Then the door opened and Gorit appeared . He stared down at Crockta and Tiyo .  The duo became nervous due to his fierce eyes .

“Let’s go . ”

He spoke curtly, “Go where?”

“Where?” Gorit cried out in a large voice .  “Isn’t a bath necessary for men to know each other? To the hot springs!”

 

***

The fatigue was resolved after soaking in the hot water .

“Ohhhh, good dot…”

“The best,” muttered the duo .

Gorit was sitting on the other side . The strength of his body was further emphasized by the hot spring . Despite his age, his chest muscles were bulging .  Gorit scanned Crockta with a similar expression . His body was muscular and covered with tattoos . The flesh tempered from wielding his greatsword was magnificent .

“Hrmm . ”

Crockta moved his gaze towards Caburak . He was a small orc . If it wasn’t for his skin color, it wouldn’t be strange for Caburak to be mistaken as a human .  Caburak dropped his eyes at the gaze that seemed to rebuke his lack of a muscular body .

“It has been a long time since I’ve come to the hot spring to relieve fatigue dot! Thank you Gorit! Men need to bathe together!”

The most surprising one was Tiyo .  He had the face of a cute gnome but his muscles were like Bruce Lee . It felt like the face of a bird being placed on a tiger .

“Huhut!”

A six pack appeared on Tiyo’s stomach! Crockta and Gorit had body fat as well as muscles, so they didn’t have such clear abs . Tiyo stretched out and posed in front of everyone .  The gnome showing off his muscles in front of orcs!

“Cough!”

Gorit opened his mouth, “That gnome friend over there is good . ”

“The guards of Quantes don’t neglect their training! Ohhh!”

“Quantes?”

It was an unfamiliar name .  Caburak explained, “Father, they came from the south . ”

“The south, do you mean the wilderness?”

“Even below that . ”

Surprise appeared on Gorit’s face . There was only one place beyond the wilderness . And nobody had come from that place in a long time .

“Perhaps?”

“That south . ”

“Hah…” Gorit looked at Crockta again . Unlike his previous erratic behavour, it seemed like he was pondering something .  “Somehow it seems correct . You said that you were alive . ”

Crockta nodded .  “Yes . ”

“Do all the orcs in the south say this?”

“Of course . ”

“Then you must remember the saying . ”

Crockta understood what he was saying .  Crockta opened his mouth and they both spoke at the same time,

“Bul’tar!”

“Bul’tar!”

The voices of the two people combined .  Gorit got up . Crockta also got up . At the same time, the two bumped fists .

“Nice to meet you, Warrior Crockta!”

“Likewise, Gorit!”

Crockta finally met a real orc in the north .

Gorit asked Crockta about the south . Crockta replied carefully and sincerely . Gorit nodded at the story of the orcs on the continent . He especially formed a fist after hearing about Crockta’s mentor, Lenox .

“The orc’s soul still lives on in such a wonderful place . ”

“I think so as well . ”

“The north has forgotten all of this…hah…I am ashamed . ”

In the north, the only place that still followed the orc’s traditions was Orcheim . Now even Orcheim was being threatened by the Great Clan .  The orc who had become the great chieftain was really mad for war . He wanted to make the entire north the territory of the orcs .

“The events in the north will also affect the south . ”

“What do you mean?”

“Once the southern wall is opened, that crazy chieftain won’t leave the continent alone . ”

Crockta realized something .

The north would become completely opened in 10 years . The remnants of the creatures were still in the forest, but any army could go against them . Then the continent and the north would go to war .

“Maybe the great chieftain is already thinking about it . The Great Clan has recently been heating up their war preparations . ”

Gorit hit the surface of the hot spring . Ripples spread out .

“You mean…”

“The time that the Great Clan started to hunt slaves and invade other tribes on a massive scale was around the time you opened the north . ”

“……!”

“There are many shamans in the Great Clan . It isn’t unusual for them to read this happening in the sky . ” Gorit said with a firm expression, “The great chieftain wants to unify the north and then invade the continent . ”

“……!”

“Something strange…”

The butterfly effect .

Crockta was well aware of this . Any action he did would bring about tremendous changes that he couldn’t predict . As Jung Ian, Crockta had assassinated many people and sometimes changed the situation of the world . In the permanently sealed secret records, Jung Ian was probably the wildest butterfly in the world .

Crockta’s expression hardened . Tiyo’s face became serious .  Only Caburak had an unknown smile on his face .

Gorit hit his son in an attempt to alleviate the atmosphere .

“This guy, Caburak . What were you doing all this time?”

“I did some traveling . ”

“What type of trip…!” Gorit shouted . His eyes shook as he became angry again .  He swallowed back his anger and whispered, “All your power has disappeared…”

“……!”

Crockta and Tiyo looked at Caburak . Caburak just laughed while revealing his broken teeth .

“You can’t deceive me . You had much stronger blood than your mother, who is a shaman . But…”

Gorit had been very glad when Caburak came back . It wasn’t simple because Caburak was his son, but because a strong tribe member had returned . Caburak was a mighty shaman so they could resist the great chieftain threatening the north .

But now the power felt inside Caburak was at the level of a mere shaman, maybe even less .

The power of his son Caburak, who had been called a genius shaman, had almost disappeared . His magic power that was like the ocean, faded like the bowl had broken and only faint pieces were left behind .

“……”

Caburak just smiled instead of answering . Gorit shook his head with a dark expression .  Then he spoke again, “Cough! No . Something must’ve happened . I won’t ask anymore! It is enough that you came back safely . ”

“Thank you . ”

“Aish!” Gorit shook his head and sprang up .  “I need to meet the mayor of Dejame so please enjoy this slowly . ”

Then he left the hot spring alone . Crockta and Tiyo couldn’t say anything as they watched Gorit put on his clothes .

They didn’t know anything about Caburak . At first, they thought he was just an optimistic orc but he turned out to be a genius shaman . Now he was an unfortunate man who lost all of that magic power .

But Caburak’s face still looked casual .  “Father is right, I lost too much . Should I tell you? Kyulkyulkyul . ”

“Caburak…”

“I don’t care so don’t worry about it . ”

Caburak slowly lowered his body . His body was submerged under the surface of the water, leaving only the area above his nose revealed . His eyes flashed through the vapor of the hot spring .  Despite saying he was broken now, Caburak’s eyes were calm and straightforward .  

A strange sensation was coming from him .  His eyes seemed like he was looking into the distance . Then his shoulders suddenly trembled . He was recalling the past .

Within a short period of time, Caburak’s body rose up again .  His pronunciation became clearer .

“I said I would show you Orcheim’s Holy Land . ”

Crockta nodded . They stopped by here because of that in the first place .

“I couldn’t tell my father but before showing you the Holy Land, I want to tell you why I lost my magic power . ”

“You don’t have to explain…”

“No, I heard Crockta’s words about the gods and realized something . That is why I have to tell you . ”

The two people couldn’t say anything .  Caburak raised a hand to the surface of the water . He stared at his hand soaked in water like it was burning .

“I saved the world . ”

What did that mean? Crockta and Tiyo cocked their heads in confusion .  

Caburak looked at them and laughed .  Then he said once again, “I risked my life to kill a demon and saved the world . ”

“……!”

His eyes were shining .  Crockta realized that Caburak was serious .  

A shaman who saved the world .

Crockta nodded . Caburak had his own story . Crockta wanted to know more about this orc .

“I understand . Tell me more . ”

“It is a long story so…I will tell you on the way to the Holy Land . Let’s leave . It is hot . ”

“I see . ”

Crockta and Caburak left the hot spring . The tough bodies of the orcs emerged from the water .  But one person wasn’t seen .

“Huh?”

Crockta looked around and found Tiyo . He hadn’t risen from the hot spring where he was soaking himself .

“Tiyo?”

“Um…”

Tiyo winced . This wasn’t the dignified gnome proud of his physical appearance .  “Get up first…I…slowly follow…”

“What…?”

A shy attitude like he had lost all confidence! What had made him so timid?

Crockta followed Tiyo’s gaze .

Tiyo was looking at Crockta and Caburak’s bodies and slowly lowered his gaze .  He moved past the orcs’ solid chest and abdomen . Then the part of the orcs that was shrouded by steam…

That…

Tiyo dropped his head .  Crockta couldn’t say anything…

“I’ll go first…come slowly…”

“Thank you dot…”