Chapter 82 – Stranger (2)
The drake named Third Dragon unhappily looked down on Crockta, who returned the glare without any hesitation. An orc and drake were having a staring competition.
The dark elf Anor, who appeared with Third Dragon, intervened between the two of them. “Haha, why are you doing this? There was a misunderstanding, but you can get along now. Isn’t that right? Right, Third Dragon?”
“Grrrr…”
“Urrrrung…”
“No, Mister Orc, why are you growling?”
“I’m not.”
“Huh?”
“Urrrrung!” Tiyo made a ferocious sound from the rear.
“That… gnome?”
“Urrrrung!”
“Excuse me…”
“It’s okay! I am imprinting with the beast dot.”
“Beas…t?” It seemed more like he was the beast. Anor shook his head. “Excuse me.”
Crockta and Anor backed away from the drake and the gnome.
“I am alive. I am Crockta. I’m heading north.”
“Yes, yes. I am Anor. That friend over there is Third Dragon.”
“It’s amazing that you’re friends with a drake.”
“Huh? Amazing? No, what are you saying? Hahahahat! No, no. Yihihihit! Crockta is funny!”
It seemed like this man liked compliments more than Crockta thought.
“Are you a dark elf from Dejame?”
“No. I’m originally from Nuridot, but I came down for a while because of Third Dragon. I was surprised to see orcs from the Great Clan two days ago.”
Nuridot was the closest dark elf city to here. Anor noticed his expression and added, “Is Crockta from the Great Clan?”
“No.”
“I see.” Anor seemed to think he was from Orcheim because he came down from the Luklan Mountains. “How are the Luklan Mountains? Is it great to live there?”
“It is a good place.”
“Then… Third Dragon can live here well right?”
His last words felt somewhat lonely. Crockta turned towards Anor. He was looking at Third Dragon with sad eyes.
“Third Dragon originally lived in the forest north of Nuridot… there are a lot of drakes there.”
“Then why did you come here?”
“That…”
Thanks to the psychological warfare with Tiyo, Third Dragon spread his wings and slowly started to fly upwards. Third Dragon’s wings were large and wide.
“Third Dragon was harassed by those drakes.” There was an abundant gust of wind from Third Dragon’s wings. The wide wings resembled a wyvern more than a drake. “Third Dragon is a mix between a wyvern and a drake.”
A monster hybrid! Third Dragon soared into the sky and roared.
Tiyo walked over triumphantly. “Look, the drake eventually ran away!”
“……”
It seemed more like the drake was tired and wanted to ignore him, but Tiyo had a very confident expression on his face.
“So, what serious story are you talking about over here? I will solve all your worries dot!”
“……”
Anor didn’t believe it but in the end, he talked about Third Dragon.
He had accidentally met a young Third Dragon in Nuridot Forest. Third Dragon was a mixture of a drake and wyvern. He learned that Third Dragon was being harassed. He was similar but different to them, meaning the drakes didn’t acknowledge him.
As Third Dragon grew, his wings became bigger and the harassment of the violent drakes became worse. Now Anor was the only friend Third Dragon could rely on. Anor didn’t like it and decided to bring him to Luklan Mountains where there were no drakes.
“What dot? Where are the ones who harassed him dot!”
Tiyo looked at Third Dragon flying in the sky. It was as though he couldn’t stand that someone he acknowledged was being ignored.
“You made a mistake Anor dot. That drake isn’t a guy who will run away!”
“Excuse me…”
“That guy, I will fix it dot! A man can overcome anything with a strong will!”
Tiyo started to preach a philosophy that was unique to him. Anor ignored him and looked at Crockta.
“Where are you going in the north?”
“Nameragon.”
Nameragon was the city of dark elves in the north that was in contact with the Temple of the Fallen God. It was the next most flourishing city after Spinoa, the capital of the dark elves where the world tree was located.
“It will be difficult… I am a dark elf but, the dark elves are closed off. They won’t easily accept an orc.”
“It’s okay. I am prepared.” Crockta shrugged. There was no way, but he would see once he got there.
Anor sighed, “Dark elves are overly hostile to strangers.”
The flying Third Dragon landed on the ground again. Third Dragon approached Anor and cried out. Crockta and Tiyo didn’t know what he was saying, but Anor nodded like he understood the meaning.
Anor spoke with a serious expression. “Wandering orcs have been seen. However, they are holding the flag of the Great Clan…”
Wandering orcs were similar to the Kapur Tribe, but they were small-scale and drifted around. The lack of a base meant they survived by robbing people. Recently, the Great Clan accepted orcs at random so even the thieving orcs joined them.
To a small city like Nuridot, even a small group of orcs was a big threat.
“What do we do?”
“Those guys are heading to Nuridot?”
“Yes.”
Crockta and Tiyo exchanged glances.
“Huhuhut! A crisis is an opportunity! We will help the dark elves dot!”
Crockta also nodded. “Good.”
In the past, he raised his reputation in order to enter the elven city of Arnin. If the dark elves didn’t let them in, they would do something wonderful to impress them.
“Let’s go dot!”
“Yes!”
Crockta and Tiyo’s eyes shone like they wanted to run at once.
Anor blocked them. “Excuse me, wait a minute!”
“Huh?”
“Nuridot is a long way from here! It will take all day…”
Crockta and Tiyo just laughed. “You can go slowly. We’ll go ahead and will be waiting.”
“Huh?”
Then Crockta leaned down towards the ground. Tiyo jumped up and grabbed Crockta’s neck. His two legs twisted together and he held on firmly to Crockta’s chest.
“Crockta, ready!”
“I’ll go first!”
Crockta carried Tiyo and started running towards the north. Anor stared at their backs blankly.
Crockta took advantage of his physical abilities and quickly escaped from the Luklan Mountains. He passed through the forest and onto a plain.
Tremendous speed!
Tiyo started firing General behind him. The colourful flashes of light caused a long trail along Crockta’s path. It was like the brilliant tail of a comet.
Tiyo cheered. “Kiyooooooo!”
Suddenly, Crockta shouted, “Tiyo!”
“What is it?”
“If you want to cheer me up, then please shoot in front of me! If you shoot behind, I can’t see the cool rays of General!”
“……!” At that moment, Tiyo flinched. “C-Crockta…”
“Huh?”
“This isn’t to cheer you on… and if I shoot forward…” Tiyo asked hesitantly. “Perhaps… do you not know about action-reaction…?”
“……!”
He had heard that term a lot, but what did it have to do with the situation now? But it was enough to make Tiyo dismissive of him.
Crockta muttered bitterly, “I know…”
In any case, Crockta was able to reach Nuridot more quickly with the boost from General. The city of dark elves gradually became clear. Once there, they found dark elves confronting the wandering orcs.
Crockta slowed down.
“We are here, Crockta.”
The dark elves and wandering orcs turned their attention to the duo. There were confused expressions on their faces. The sudden appearance of a fierce looking orc carrying a gnome!
Everyone staring blankly at him. Crockta coughed. Now it was time to think about a great line. A saying that would cause a reaction similar to Altanas! Crockta recalled that moment and imagined experiencing it twice.
“What, who is this jerk?” said a rogue orc.
“……!”
Before the shocked Crockta could respond, the other orcs laughed and sneered.
“Yes, he is even carrying a gnome. Is this orc serving the gnome?”
“An orc being a mule, how shameful.”
“Look at the red headband and tattoos, how old-fashioned.”
“He must think it is cool. Look, he is crying. Kuahahahat!”
Crockta’s fists shook. He could tolerate other things, but not someone making fun of his fashion sense.
Greatsword, greatsword.
Tiyo felt his anger through his trembling shoulders and advised the orcs.
“Getting Crockta angry, you will regret it!”
***
Anor was able to reach Nuridot after a long walk. The sun had already started to set. Fortunately, there seemed to be no problems with the orcs. The town was peaceful.
As Anor headed to the entrance, drunk guards greeted him.
“Uh, Anor. Where are you going?”
“……”
“I thought you finally ran away. You have no guts.”
Anor shut his mouth and walked through the entrance. He could hear the guards laughing behind him. This didn’t change even after entering the village. Every time Anor passed a dark elf, he could feel their unpleasant gazes on his back.
Anor suddenly wanted to see Third Dragon. But Third Dragon was already left in the Luklan Mountains. Anor muttered.
“How are yo…”
As he walked through the streets, he suddenly heard a noise from the town square. He wondered if there was an event, but a familiar voice rang out loudly.
“We protect our beautiful Quantes~ Gnome Garrison~ live with ~ today ~!”
It was a lousy song. Originally, he would’ve just passed by but Anor was drawn by the familiar voice.
“Bathe in the blood of creatures ~!”
The voice sounded like a child but a manly impression was coming from the speaker. A drunk gnome was running rampant in the town square. The town’s dark elves were clapping around him. He could see an orc with a red headband among the dark elves.
It was Crockta and Tiyo, whom he had met in the daytime.
“What…?”
Anor couldn’t believe the sight in front of him. The dark elves were closed off. They didn’t like strangers. The dark elves didn’t open their hearts to people who were different, even if they were born in the same town. But they were treating these strangers like old friends.
“The beautiful dark elf girl over there! Do you like gnomes?”
“Oh my?”
“I would’ve dashed over if you were one metre tall, but too bad!”
“Huhuhu.”
The dark elves burst out laughing at Tiyo’s joke. Anor had thought that they wouldn’t be able to pass the dark elves’ area and reach Nameragon. It was due to the isolation of the dark elves that he felt himself. But they had quickly entered dark elf society while Anor hit a wall.
“Great…”
Anor muttered. But he wasn’t feeling genuine admiration. Rather, it was the opposite. Anor suppressed it and whispered ‘great’ again. However, he couldn’t help feeling jealous.
“Hey, halfie,” called out a dull voice from behind him.
Anor sighed and turned around. A dark elf male with a well-tempered body like a dark elf looked at Anor and laughed. A group of young dark elves were following him.
“Your face is especially white today. Your ears are also reduced right?” He smiled. The other dark elves laughed at Anor. “If this continues, you will die after 100 years.”
“How old if the halfie right now?”
Anor glared at them. But none of the dark elves were scared of him. Anor turned back around.
“Where are you going Anor?”
“Go away, mongrel.”
That’s right. Anor was a half elf, a mixture of a human and dark elf. That’s why he was persecuted in dark elf society. He ignored the taunts from behind him and stepped away. Someone called to him again.
“Anor!”
He tried to ignore it, but the voice was different. It was very big and loud. He turned his head and saw the orc warrior Crockta approaching.
“You are alive! Did you arrive just now?”
As the sun went down, the shadows cast over Crockta’s face made him look more vicious. Crockta greeted him with pleasure before looking between Anor and the dark elf group.
“Oh, Anor’s friends. It is a pleasure.”
Anor flinched.
The dark elves, including the leader Nakai, were especially prominent among the dark elves who didn’t like strangers. Anor had been harassed for being a half-blood, despite being born and raised here.
Problems might arise…
Nakai’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Oh, orc warrior! Welcome. Hahahaha.”
Nakai seemed glad to shake hands with Crockta.
