Chapter 88: Duel (1)

Fortunately, thanks to the remarkable precedent set by Aran, Grace gave me an opportunity rather than suspicion regarding my unusual actions. Her tendency to welcome capable newcomers also played a role.

It was a bit complicated to think that Aran, the hero, had become my precedent, but at least now I no longer had to worry about hiding the fact that I was a reincarnate from Grace.

‘It feels like I’ve suddenly acquired this grand title of being a knight born to protect the North, but…’

In a world where destiny is seen as something as scientific as a law of nature, there probably couldn’t be a more effective title than this. After all, Aran, despite being a far stranger reincarnate than me, has convinced everyone simply by having the title of “The Hero destined to save the world.”

Anyway, before I could worry about such things, I had to deal with the immediate situation in front of me. Since Grace had handed over the right to negotiate, I was now representing the Northern Army, so I stepped forward with courage.

“I am Luke, a knight of the North. I wish to negotiate with you on behalf of Duke Grace.”

While Grace and I were conversing, Glaka, who had patiently waited, seemed to regard me as an unusual person now that I had spoken on behalf of the Northern Duke. His gaze was sharp.

However, having just gone through the ordeal with Grace, I was able to face him with a much calmer mind. The fact that I spoke informally was also a result of this. As Duke Grace’s representative, I was no longer someone who needed to be subservient to the Orc leader.

“Before we proceed with negotiations, let me ask. Do we absolutely have to fight?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm, surely the Orcs have some concept of trade. If you’re hungry enough to delay a fight, wouldn’t it be better to trade food and goods? Why insist on fighting?”

I flinched.

It seemed like Glaka had something he was hiding, as he fell silent. Orcs, with their large heads, wore their emotions plainly on their faces.

“Enough with the nonsense. Let’s get to the duel, human.”

“Of course, we’ll duel. I proposed it, after all. But we should fight under clear conditions, don’t you think?”

“Conditions?”

“If you win, we will temporarily pull back our forces as requested. But if we win, your people will be assigned to the Northern Army. Do you agree?”

“Human, this condition is unfair.”

“Hey, Orc. Right now, we’re willing to hold off on an all-out assault. We’ve already made a concession. But if you keep pushing your demands, can this really be called a warrior’s duel?”

“Ugh, I understand.”

Glaka, looking embarrassed, coughed awkwardly and acknowledged my point. But that wasn’t what I was after.

“If you want the conditions to be fair, there is a way.”

“?”

“You said you wanted us to withdraw because your people were hungry and had only just eaten, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Are you really that hungry? If we lose, should we give you food?”

At the mention of food, Glaka’s pupils briefly widened, but as the representative of the Orcs, he quickly regained his composure.

I chuckled inwardly and played it off casually.

“Oh, no reaction? Well, I guess food isn’t needed then. Instead, we’ll make sure we’re well-fed for the upcoming attack.”

“Wait!”

Glaka hastily called out to me, but then paused and withdrew his arm.

“Will you really give us food?”

“No.”

“Huh?”

“Now that I think about it, I don’t see why we would give you food. I don’t even know why you need it. For all I know, you might be pretending to be starving just to waste our supplies.”

“We are warriors. We do not stoop to deceitful tricks.”

“How do I know you’re not deceiving us? You’ve been dodging my questions about why you want a fight instead of a trade.”

“Ugh…”

Though Glaka had the courage to stand firm as a negotiator, his words kept faltering. Frustrated, he let out a sigh and eventually spoke.

“You’re persistent, human. Fine, I’ll tell you.”

“Speak.”

“Actually, there are no females in our group.”

Hearing that biological term caught me off guard, but once I realized they were not humans but another species, I understood the context.

“So, only males… Why is that?”

“The females of our kind have all been… captured by humans as hostages.”

Glaka trembled as he spoke, clearly ashamed, but he mustered the strength to continue.

“In order to free our females, we must follow their orders. That’s why we’re fighting you.”

Ah, I see now. The Orcs had dwindled to a small number, and without females to reproduce, they were forced to obey Dorgon’s commands in order to survive as a species.

The fact that the orcs seemed displeased with their current situation probably stemmed from this. They had been forced into submission not through power, but through dirty schemes. From their perspective, it must have felt like they were acting in a way unworthy of honorable warriors.

“Wait a second, this is getting complicated. So, if we win, we don’t have to surrender to the North, right? If we surrender, the hostages will die.”
“We will not lose to humans. Even if we do lose, the duel is an absolute rule of our race. We must uphold it, even if it costs us our lives.”
“Hmm.”

Looking at them now, they seemed like a species both simple and complex. They were willing to fight us to save the hostages, yet if they lost the duel, they would prioritize their race’s traditional rule over the hostages’ lives. It made sense logically, but emotionally, it was hard to grasp.

‘I found it, a way in.’

From the conversation, I had found a clue to solve the third plot of Dorgon and the orc army.

“Thanks for the information. But about the food shortage, what’s going on? I hate to say this, but if the hostages were taken and their numbers reduced, wouldn’t the food situation have improved?”
“That… that’s something I can’t tell you. Anyway, this is why we are fighting you.”

It hadn’t been easy to take all the women from a single race. Had they stolen or destroyed food during the process of capturing the female orcs? I wanted to know more, but Glaka’s silence meant I wouldn’t get the answers.

“Alright, it seems like the duel can’t be avoided, so we’ll do it. How do you want to do it? One-on-one, one from each side?”
“Our orc duels are always one-on-one.”
“Understood. Shall we begin right away?”

At my words, Glaka gestured for me to wait.

“The duel requires witnesses from both sides. I’ll go and bring my people.”
“Haha, are you worried that if we lose, we’ll kill you and attack?”
“You’re really blunt, human. Yes, that’s true. Our warriors don’t lie, but humans are quick to deceive.”
“It’s a sad society where distrust is rampant. But I understand your situation, since you have family as hostages. Go ahead and bring them.”

I motioned for him to go, and Glaka stared at me.

“If you want to talk more about the conditions, that would be difficult. After all, the reason for the food shortage is still hidden. But since your situation seems complicated, I won’t ask any further.”
“Hmm…”
“Shall we end the negotiation here? Anything else you want to say?”
“No.”

Glaka shook his head and headed towards the village where his kin lived. He didn’t seem to realize that he had been outmaneuvered.

After the negotiation, I returned to Grace and reported everything—the reason the orcs were fighting us and that it would be a one-on-one duel.

“Well done, finding that out.”

Grace seemed impressed when I came back and filled her in. She murmured to herself that she had made the right choice in trusting me.

“You don’t have to worry about the hostages dying.”
“Why’s that?”
“Dorgon isn’t just a warrior with a spear and shield. He’s also a strategist. He knows that if he executes the hostages, the orcs will charge at him like mad. And after the hostage situation, their anger is already boiling.”
“On the other hand, couldn’t he kill the hostages to lower their morale?”

“That could be possible, but…”

Grace scoffed.

“The Dorgon I know is a pragmatist who likes to take the safe and easy route. That’s why he messed with the Snowflower Tower and used the orcs. He wants to deal with me comfortably. He’ll probably bring the orc hostages to the battlefield, using them until the very end.”

It seemed that Grace, who had fought alongside the hero party during the great war, knew Dorgon well. Even I knew that Dorgon wasn’t someone who would go on an adventure.

“So if we rescue the orc hostages, won’t the orcs fully join our side?”
“That’s a possibility, if things go well. But honestly, I’m more concerned about something else.”
“What is it?”
“Are you confident in a one-on-one duel? That Glaka guy, he looked pretty strong.”

?

I suddenly had an uncomfortable feeling.

My plan was, of course, to have Grace fight. With the cheat card of being humanity’s strongest knight, I was confident we would win from the start, and the duel seemed like the perfect method. Save troops, gather information, and exploit the orcs. A perfect plan, or so I thought. But something was wrong at the last moment.

“This is your plan, so you should finish it. Right? Just so you know, I have no intention of meeting their demands. So make sure we win, no matter what.”

Grace seemed to have figured out my intentions, and she smiled slyly. Normally, I would’ve tried to convince or pressure her a bit more, but I knew that wouldn’t work, so I gave up immediately.

I had started this duel with the opposite intentions to Grace, and since she had called it a ‘test,’ it seemed like she was giving me a trial and also holding me responsible for the outcome.

‘Well, fine. I started this, so I’ll finish it.’

Even at the tournament, remember.

When we did something at the Snowflower Tower, the middle-aged officials of the North didn’t criticize me for speaking out and didn’t pay me any attention. This is the North, where merit is everything. In this place, a strong warrior can speak out at will. If you want to speak up, you should have the strength to back it up.

That’s why Grace told me that if I wanted to step up and protect the North, I needed to build the reputation fitting for such a role right here. Since I had turned down the title of hero myself, I was to take on the name of a knight of the North to avoid causing any trouble.

“Your Excellency, I have a request.”

At that moment, Elaine approached Grace and spoke.

“I’d like to be the referee for Luke’s side in the duel.”

Grace glanced at Elaine and nodded as if she understood.

“Alright.”

With Grace’s approval, Elaine expressed her gratitude and came over to me.

Smack!

“Ugh.”

She flicked my forehead. I frowned in pain but soon relaxed when our eyes met.

“I told you to stop worrying. You always surprise me with these things.”
“…I’m sorry.”

She bowed her head apologetically. Elaine then gently lifted my chin with her hand and said.

“I’ve also been bothered by your actions. Every time I see the great feats you accomplish, I sometimes wonder if you’re a heavenly messenger sent to protect the North.”

A heavenly messenger? It was a far grander expression than the hero Grace had mentioned, but it wasn’t entirely wrong. After all, I did fall from the sky, and my goal was to protect the North.

“Do you think I’m like a hero, Captain?”
“No.”
“You’re so blunt.”
“How can you be a hero when you’re always making my life miserable? You’ll never be a hero.”
“Haha… I have no words.”
“If you stay by my side, you’ll come to understand. You’re no great person, like a hero or heavenly messenger.”

Elaine sighed deeply and then said.

“Honestly, more than wanting to become a hero, I think you’re someone who wonders how to have a happy day today. You’re probably about to step up to preserve that happiness.”
“!”

Is this what it’s like when a lover truly understands you?

Elaine knew me well.

“Even so, what you did today was clearly reckless. Do you realize that?”
“Yes.”
“I have a mountain of nagging I could do, but I’ll save it for later. You’re my subordinate and a knight-in-training. My role is to help you with what you do. If I could, I’d fight in your place, but… that’s not possible, so I’ll offer some advice instead.”
“Thank you.”
“And.”

Elaine patted my shoulder lightly, then smiled faintly.

“I didn’t really dislike your actions. Every time you step in, something good seems to happen, so strangely, I’ve come to look forward to it.”
“…”
“Even if you’re not a hero saving the world, it’s true you were born to be a knight protecting the North. I’ll always believe in you.”

Having someone who believes in you unwaveringly by your side feels this good.

What I was about to say to Grace in defense, when Elaine affirmed it, I felt like it was truly real.

Thanks to that, my confidence grew. I now had the belief that I could win the duel with the orcs and successfully wrap this up.

I smiled at her and showed her my strong gaze. At the sight of me, Elaine smiled contentedly and lightly pushed me forward, as if urging me to go ahead.

It was time for the duel.