CH 176

“Oi, hunter,” Eugene called out.

“Y-yes,” the hunter answered while hurrying forward. As soon as the idiot half-orc left, Eugene and the others revealed their true colors.

“How long have you lived here?” Eugene asked.

“It has been a little over ten years,” the hunter answered.

“Were you always a hunter? You don’t look like you’re from this area,” Eugene asked. It seemed a little odd that a man who appeared to be over thirty had only lived here for a little over ten years.

“Y-Yes. My father was a hunter for Sir Rotun. He was caught hunting in secret, and we ended up here after wandering,” the hunter said while bowing. The snowy mountain wasn’t anybody’s territory, so there were several other hunters in a similar situation as him. It wasn’t illegal, and it wasn’t wrong either. Even so, the hunter was afraid of the knight who managed to kill two gray wolves during a blizzard. His keen instincts had been sharpened over the years of hunting, and it was warning him that the red-eyed knight was dangerous.

“I see. That means you are not a proper resident of any territory, right?” Eugene asked.

“That’s right,” he answered.

“And you are familiar with the geography of the nearby areas?” Eugene said.

“Of course...”

“Good. I will hire you as a guide,” Eugene stated.

“What?” the hunter mumbled as Eugene threw him a silver coin.

“Why? You don’t like it?” Eugene asked.

“T-That’s not it. But how far will you be going…” the hunter stuttered.

“The largest town closest to here with a lord or an administrator,” Eugene responded.

“What? But aren’t you a distant relative of the Tolo family? If it’s the biggest town in the vicinity, it’s naturally…” the hunter asked with confusion. How could someone related to the Tolo family be ignorant about it?

“So what? You don’t want to do it?” Eugene asked while jerking his icy eyes toward the hunter. He had been preparing to depart while straightening his collar.

The hunter froze over.

“It’s only three or four days away. Yes, yes. I will get ready right away. Please leave it to me,” the hunter could only agree before rushing to pack his luggage. Somehow, Eugene’s eyes felt much more daunting compared to true orc warriors.

***

“This is the biggest village around here?” Eugene asked.

The hunter answered, “Yes, sir. Sir Kunderima, a direct descendant of the Tolo family, serves as the administrator here.”

He had long realized that Eugene wasn’t from the region. The village, which they reached after three days, was so large that it even contained a market. It was considered an extremely important location—important enough for the Tolo family to send the eldest son of the tribal leader to manage it. However, the look on Eugene’s face as he looked around the village was…

‘Is he disappointed?’

Even if he was a distant relative of the Tolo family and wasn’t from the area, how could he act so indifferent after seeing such a large village? The hunter simply couldn’t understand, but it was only natural for Eugene.

“Sir, is this really big? Isn’t it similar to the village where you sold the wolf hides?” Mirian whispered after sticking her head out of Eugene’s cloak. Eugene silently agreed with her.

There were only unshapen, muddy roads in the village along with orcs, humans, and half-orcs dressed in rags. It was quite similar to a village belonging to the Tywin territory. It was unbelievable since it was considered a large, strategic location by the Tolo family, known to be the strongest among the orc tribes. Eugene couldn’t believe his eyes.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Hunter. How many of such villages does the Tolo family have in its possession?”

“Um… I’m not sure, but I know there aren’t more than three or four,” the hunter answered.

“And they call themselves a royal family? That’s ridiculous,” Eugene muttered.

“What?”

“It’s nothing.” Eugene brushed off the hunter’s word. He felt both disappointed and relieved. The Tolo family was considered the greatest of the seven tribes, and if an important village belonging to them was only this much, the other tribes had to be even worse.

The Bayman Orcs were known as the ruler of the North. But it turned out that they were less powerful than even a great noble of the Caylor Kingdom.

‘I think I know why the orcs united.’

They must have joined forces since they knew the grim truth of their reality.

“Oi, you there!” A few burly orc knights called out while tramping toward Eugene’s group. Rings decorated their large fangs, and they wore leather armor roughly woven from animal and monster skins.

“Are you mercenaries? Why are you here?”

“Is that a sword? Do you know how to fight?”

The group quickly surrounded Eugene’s party before bombarding them with questions. The orc warriors possessed fierce, rugged appearances. It was even difficult to tell whether they were males or females.

‘Tsk, did they find out? How unlucky.’

Eugene couldn’t believe his good luck had disappeared at a time like this. He pondered luring the warriors to a secluded place outside the village.

However…

“Why aren’t you answering? Did you come here because you want to be in the vanguard? That wolf, you guys killed it, right?”

“You and that big friend look like you’re pretty good fighters,” an orc warrior said while gesturing at Galfredik wearing his hood and a wolf corpse in tow before pointing at Eugene. Eugene immediately grasped the situation.

“Indeed, we killed it. We’re here to dispose of it. I was also thinking of figuring out the current situation and joining the war,” Eugene said.

“Oh!”

“But even so, although our pockets are running a little light, I can’t side with just anyone, right? Since it’s a war, it’ll be better for me to serve under a rich, talented, generous lord, right?” Eugene said while recalling the actions of the talented mercenaries he had seen so far. He was taking a slightly flippant, confident attitude.

The orc warriors were delighted to hear Eugene’s words. His acting had been so perfect that even Partec would have applauded and mistaken Eugene as the perfect mercenary.

“Hey, where’s the need for that? Why don’t you just come and serve under the administrator, Sir Kunderima? Ah, my name is Gattudo, and I serve Sir Kunderima. A total of seven people, is that right? One looks quite small, so a servant. No, a slave? Anyway, I’ll make sure you’re treated right,” one of the orcs said.

“So I wasn’t unlucky after all…’

Eugene was here with a plan to evaluate the current situation of the Bayman Orcs. He had never imagined that someone would try to actively recruit him.

“Hey, Sir Kunderima is generous to humans, too. If you fight well, he won’t discriminate between big fangs and small fangs. Well, since you’re not a big fang, you won’t be able to command any troops, but you will definitely get your share of the spoil,” Gattudo explained.

“Is that so? That’s quite tempting.” Eugene pretended to contemplate. The orcs became convinced that they were on the brink of convincing Eugene, so they took an even friendlier attitude.

“Of course, of course… The other tribes haven’t even decided on their captain yet. On the other hand, we’ve already formed a vanguard around Sir Kunderima. Oh, yes, in addition, Sir Kunderima even recruited a druid from the snowy mountain!” Gattudo exclaimed.

“A druid?” Eugene asked with astonishment.

The orc warriors boasted with even more pride. “That’s right! His spells are amazing! Apparently, he’s even read the fortune, and the results came out great.”

“Hooh? What were the results?” Eugene asked. Romari slowly snuck to Eugene’s side with interest.

“He said that a red flower would bloom at the end of the White Fang Mountain! What do you think? Isn’t it a good sign? It means that we’re going to cross the mountain and kill all the little fangs. It’s not every day you hear such a great fortune,” Gattudo explained.

Eugene wasn’t entirely sure what the fortune meant, but the orc’s reasoning sounded plausible.

‘Hmm. But that’s not good for me, is it?’

Mercenaries were very vulnerable to magic, sorcery, and superstition regardless of whether they were orcs or humans. If a druid had truly made such a prediction, the morale of the vanguard would shoot through the sky.

‘If that’s the case…’

Eugene came to a quick decision and spoke while looking around at the orc warriors.

“Good. Since even a druid had said so, then there’s no need to worry any further.”

“Kuhaha! You made the right decision. Now, let’s go, friends!” the orc warriors exclaimed while patting Eugene’s back with his enormous hand.

***

The orcs led Eugene’s group to an old, worn-down manor house and assigned them a room with a quaint smell. The building was covered with moss all over the place, and it looked in dire need of repairs.

“Ugh. It smells like orcs.”

“That’s right! It’s literally a pigsty! Anyone with a nose could tell from a mile away! Kieeeekk!”

Romari and Mirian voiced their discontent, while Eugene and Galfredik were indifferent. After all, they were used to spending nights in subpar environments.

“Meat… I smell pork.”

“Sniff! The smell of pork oil is making me hungry.”

The beowulfs disguised as servants were still as hungry as ever.

“Excuse me… sir knight? Why am I here with you?” the hunter asked. He had unexpectedly accompanied Eugene to the building.

Eugene remained silent and handed over a shiny gold coin.

“I will be with you until the end, sir!” The hunter immediately bowed and declared.

“Good.” Eugene patted the hunter’s shoulder. He could still use the hunter.

“Romari,” Eugene called out.

“Yes.” Romari answered while approaching. She was pinching her nose to prevent the stink from assaulting her nose.

“Can wizards tell the future?” Eugene asked.

“Not everyone can. But it’s possible for wizards who are specialized in the field. I’m not too sure about the druids here, but even if they can, they’ll try to avoid it as much as possible. It’s quite taxing on the mind, after all,” Romari responded.

“I see,” Eugene said, nodding.

“Are you worried about what you heard earlier?” Romari asked. Eugene couldn’t deny it.

“I’m sure you don’t have to worry too much about that. Even wizards aren’t always accurate in their divination. If that were true, then all nobles would have long scrambled to win over a wizard or a sorcerer,” Romari explained.

“Hmm.”

“And that’s also the reason why wizards and sorcerers avoid completely subordinating themselves to nobles. They’re always asking for ridiculous things like divination, and those people would even throw tantrums if it happens to be wrong,” Romari added.

“So, I don’t have to worry too much about it?” Eugene asked.

“Yes…”

Eugene was convinced. Romari was generally unreliable, but she was quite competent when it came to magic.

About ten minutes later…

The orc warriors returned. Eugene and his group followed them to meet the village administrator, Kunderima. The manor’s restaurant, which wasn’t very spacious, was crowded with mercenaries and warriors. Loud shouts could be heard from all over the place, and even several fistfights were taking place.

‘It’s a mess…’

Even the administrator, the direct descendant of the Tolo family, was intoxicated and was groping a whore even in broad daylight. No one was attempting to take control of the situation.

Eugene felt a little strange because most of the warriors were orcs, as well as the administrator and the whore, but on the other hand, he could clearly see that this land was ruled by orcs. He was simply unaccustomed to being in the presence of so many orcs.

“Sir Kunderima. These are the mercenaries I brought. They are skilled enough to kill a gray wolf,” Gattudo said

“Oh~ Is that so?” the orc noble responded while turning his gaze toward Eugene. His fangs, which were the size of a human finger, were dyed black.

Eugene slightly bowed his head. “It’s an honor to be able to fight under your command.”

“Kukul! How reliable. Are you not from the area by chance? Your accent is a bit strong,” Kunderima asked. Although Eugene’s proficiency in the Brantian language had vastly improved, his way of speech was a little different.

“Yes. My family is from the central part of the country. We crossed over in my grandfather’s time, but we still speak the dialect at home,” Eugene explained.

“Hooh. I see.” Kunderima believed Eugene’s excuse. It was only natural since the current generation of orcs had never crossed the snowy mountain.

“So, you killed a gray wolf? Did you happen to catch it in the White Fang Mountain?” Kunderima asked.

“Yes, sir. My family is located there,” Eugene answered.

“I see. Then do you know a path to cross the mountain?” Kunderima asked.

“Unfortunately, I don’t,” Eugene answered.

“Tsk.” Kunderima clicked his tongue.

Eugene quickly pointed at the hunter before speaking, “However, this man has been hunting and digging herbs for my family for a long time. He is very knowledgeable about the White Fang Mountain.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Kunderima asked with interest. A light glimmered in his eyes.

The hunter revealed a pale look as he looked alternatingly between Eugene and Kunderima.

Eugene continued. “Of course. How else could I have killed a gray wolf in this weather? It’s all thanks to this man. He knows the White Fang Mountain like the back of his hand. He’s a very capable man.”

“Kuhaha! It’s worth looking forward to. Hey! Nice to meet you,” Kunderima boisterously laughed before greeting the hunter.

“Y-Yes!” The hunter had no choice but to nod instinctively. He had been overwhelmed by Eugene’s icy eyes and Kunderima’s large fangs. He knew that either man could kill him if he disobeyed any of them. Still, he decided that it would be better for him to act in the interest of the one who paid him a gold coin.

“Then I will hire him as a guard for the vanguard,” Kunderima declared.

“...?!” The hunter’s expression turned even more ghastly, but Eugene remained nonchalant as he suggested, “What about hiring all of us? I heard that you hired a druid. Since we’ve already hunted gray wolves in the White Fang Mountain, I think we would be of great help to the druid.”

“Kuhuh! That's a good idea.”

Kunderima was convinced by the mercenary’s words. He could see the proof of the mercenary’s skills in front of him in the form of a dead gray wolf. Eugene was also satisfied. He had gained the power to lead the vanguard of the Bayman Orcs and a sorcerer to wherever he desired.

‘I don’t see Maxenne. Did he fail to make it into the vanguard?’

Eugene wondered where the high-spirited half-orc was. Fortunately, his curiosity was soon answered.

TL’s notes: It seems like the author is choosing to use the terms wizards & sorcerers interchangeably (마법사 & 주술사). From what I gather, druids are classified as unique beings within the umbrella that is wizards & sorcerers.