Chapter 148: Valak (2)

༺ Valak (2) ༻

Valak opened his eyes as a throbbing pain coursed throughout his body.

The first thing he saw was a familiar ceiling. It was the roof of his own tent.

Then, he rolled his eyes and saw the black-haired man he had fought earlier, along with several other humans who seemed unremarkable.

Valak scrambled to his feet.

The tent wobbled as he moved his big body.

There was a moment of tension in the group, and Valak laughed out loud and shouted.

“Strong one! That was fun! Let’s do it again!”

His voice rattled the whole tent.

Vera made a face, then Renee and Aisha covered their ears.

Valak blinked. No one answered, and the tiny humans just stood there looking puzzled, so Valak turned to Vera again.

“Huh? Let’s do it again! It was so fun!”

“…Settle down.”

Vera answered as he put his hand on Valak’s shoulder as he tried to pull himself up, and pressed him down.

Thump—!

Valak, who was halfway up, slumped back down again.

His body fell with such force that it seemed like his knees would shatter. However, there was a big smile on Valak’s face.

“Ah! Contest of strength! I like it!”

Valak put his hand the size of a cauldron lid on Vera’s shoulder, and pressed it down.

“Tsk…”

Vera did not budge. The weight difference between an orc and human was not an issue for Vera, who had reached superhuman levels.

Moreover, Valak was injured right now.

Vera put more strength into his hand, crushing Valak’s shoulder to keep him from running wild.

‘I can break it a little.’

Let’s calm him down first.

He’s a psychopath who thinks about fighting the moment he opens his eyes, so it’s probably faster to injure him and make him lay down as I explain to him point by point. I can ask Renee to heal him later on.

With that thought, Vera stood up and crashed Valak’s body with a bloody sound.

***

Valak chuckled and nodded, his body twisted so badly that he could not even move.

“Ritual! Prove it through duel! Valak approves!”

It was such an easy-going approval that brought a look of disbelief to the group’s faces.

Also, it was a reaction that only Vera was able to predict.

Valak was a short-tempered orc who started a fight the moment he met him, so he concluded that he was not the type who would listen to long stories.

Meanwhile, Miller stepped forward.

He asked a question with a sullen face since he was not able to explain in detail all the numerous negotiation talks that he had prepared.

“Your Majesty?”

“I am not king of humans! Call me Valak!”

“Ah… yeah, sure, then. Valak?”

“Speak!”

“I’d like to ask about exactly what goes on in the ritual or how to get in and out. The Cradle of the Dead is not a place you can just enter freely, is it?”

Miller naturally had to ask. Wasn’t he someone who pursued sorcery and history? It could be the moment when the method of entering the Cradle of the Dead, which had been considered forbidden until now, would be revealed.

There was a hint of anticipation. However, Valak’s response shattered Miller’s expectations.

“You can just go! Prove yourself through a duel, and you can come out!”

“…Huh?”

“The Cradle respects warriors! If we become a warrior, we go to the paradise of fights! The King of the Dead can’t take us!”

His words and logic did not make sense.

Miller felt an odd sense of deja vu and shifted his gaze towards the twins, specifically Marek.

‘Somehow…’

Their logic seems similar. It’s a syllogism. Isn’t that what that human was doing?

Miller narrowed his eyes and started to glare at Marek, and Marek spoke to Miller with a dazed face.

“I’ll feel troubled if you stare at me like that, Professor. I’m not into guys.”

“This brat?”

“Both of you, calm down…”

Feeling like they were about to start a fight again, Norn stepped in and stopped the two.

Valak looked at the tiny humans who started making noises, then looked back at Vera again and exclaimed.

“Strong one! Let’s do it tomorrow! Prove it through duel!”

“…Tomorrow?”

“Fighters don’t run away! We don’t push off things that we have to do!”

Thud thud—

Valak forced his distorted body to move and puffed out his chest.

The sound was louder than before and could have rattled the whole village.

“Tomorrow is ritual! Today, we celebrate!”

The expression on Vera’s face disappeared.

‘Is he an idiot?’

That thought did not leave his mind.

***

Valak’s village had about two dozen orcs. The group chattered in a corner while watching the orcs prepare for the festivities.

It was mostly Miller who talked, as expected.

“Although things are progressing somewhat hastily, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. We don’t have anything significant to gain by staying here for long. Also, I’ve been thinking. Valak mentioned a ‘paradise of fights,’ right? It seems like that could be the keyword.”

He explained what he could only recall after cooling his head.

“The King of the Dead must be referring to Maleus, and not being able to take us because of the paradise of fights must be a religious reference. Or maybe Maleus is just lenient toward the Orcs.”

Miller’s accessories clinked as he moved around while speaking.

“Whatever it is, it seems that if we follow the orc’s ritual, we’ll be able to find a way to get out of the Cradle of the Dead without trouble. Hmm, I hope it’s something related to magic.”

He chuckled because that was what he wanted to say all along.

For now, they have to follow the orcs.

Renee nodded to Miller before looking at Vera and asking.

“Is there anything we should prepare, Vera?”

“There seems to be nothing else. If I have to say, I think you’d better get some rest today because we’ll have no time to rest soon.”

“Hmm, did he say it was a festival?”

“Yes, they are preparing beasts in the middle of the village. There’s about ten of them… there’s also alcohol. I’m starting to think that this is also some kind of ritual.”

“Alcohol…”

Renee licked her lips at the mention of the word.

Vera’s eyes trembled as if there was an earthquake.

“…Saint?”

“What? Why?”

Renee tilted her hand with an innocent look on her face.

‘She’s not aware of what she did.’

Vera felt a sense of anxiety as he watched Renee respond subconsciously at the mention of alcohol. He also had a thought.

‘I have to stop her.’

No matter what happens, he must prevent alcohol from entering Renee’s mouth. That strange conviction rose within him.

The last thing Vera wanted to see on such a day was a drunk Renee.

***

It was time for the sunset to paint the world red.

In the early evening on the Geinex Plains, which had nothing but fields.

Vera continued to explain the scene in front of him to Renee.

“I think it’s time for the festival. The orcs have started lining up in two spots. I think we can pick up our food over there. Can you wait here for a while? I’ll bring your share as well.”

“Thank you.”

“Yes, in a moment.”

Vera pushed himself up and made his way to the center of the village. The orc who was distributing the cooked beast to his kin smiled at the sight of Vera approaching. He tore off a leg of the beast that was as big as his torso and handed it to Vera, saying.

“Strong one! Glad you joined us for ritual of fighters! Do your best!”

Vera stared at the orc’s face as he took the leg that was handed to him.

The bruise on his right eye that Vera gave him this morning was swollen.

“…Are your eyes okay?”

“Doesn’t even hurt! This is nothing to fighter!”

Vera chuckled at his answer.

“That’s a relief. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He figured that this race was both energetic and stupid.

Indeed. Despite suddenly appearing, causing a commotion, and even beating up their King, the orcs’ faces remained unwrinkled.

He was just smirking casually, like he was feeling cheerful.

‘He’s not calculative.’

He’s just showing how he feels.

It wasn’t something Vera did well, so he had something to learn here.

Vera’s gaze shifted back to Valak in the distance, who was tearing into the beast. Then, he thought.

His use of intention might have come from that indifferent attitude.

‘Maybe…’

Everything might be connected.

The ‘Form’ and ‘Intention’ that Vargo mentioned, Theresa’s advice on knowing how to be a child, and Renee’s light that he had faced during the previous round.

The desire to not overthink things might be the foundation.

Vera was lost in those thoughts as he walked toward Renee.

***

“Vera.”

Aisha spoke.

Renee and Vera simultaneously turned their heads toward Aisha.

“Why did you call me?”

“I didn’t.”

“…What?”

“Look! That’s also named Vera!”

Aisha pointed toward the bottle that the twins and Miller were drinking from.

Only then did Vera understood what Aisha meant.

It was because a rather familiar bottle of alcohol was there.

Cheap rum, Vera.

It was where his name came from.

“Vera? What is Aisha talking about?”

Vera’s heart sank, but Renee’s words brought him back to his senses and he answered.

“Ah, she was saying that the twins and the Professor’s drink is called Vera. It’s interesting. It’s only usually distributed within the Empire, but it has made its way here.”

“They plundered it.”

Hela, who came to Vera at some point, answered.

Hela sat next to Renee, with a ‘Vera’ in her hand.

“I’ve heard the stories. They attack smugglers who pass by the plains once in a while.”

Renee’s eyes sparkled at Hela’s words and said.

“Can I try it?”

Panic washed over Vera’s face.

“…What?”

Is she tempted at the mention of alcohol?

As soon as Vera, sensing the crisis, was about to turn her down, Hela was one step faster than him and handed ‘Vera’ to Renee.

“Here you go.”

Vera locked gazes with Hela. She ignored him and left, then praised herself.

‘I did well.’

Hela realized. She had been silently taking care of Renee, but just doing mechanical work does not equate to ‘serving’.

Like Annie, sometimes you have to step up and do things first to be favored.

Hela clenched her fist and shook it up and down.

Vera looked at her back with a smirk on his face, then turned to Renee and spoke.

It was to stop her from drinking.

“Saint, alcohol is…”

“I can shake off my hangover.”

Her answer was a clear rejection.

Renee shook the bottle with a big smile on her face.

“Why are you suddenly stopping me now?”

Vera couldn’t find the words to reply.

Renee felt Vera getting flustered and opened the bottle with a grin.

Renee already knew the connection between the bottle and Vera’s name.

There must have been something related to it in the past that the Orgus projected.

So she had a thought.

She hoped that Vera wouldn’t hate that his name was associated with the liquor, and that he could love his name as it was.

Also, she was feeling a little playful.

Renee raised the bottle to her mouth and downed as much as she could in one gulp.

A pungent, unrefined, and crude aroma.

She rolled it in her tongue for a while, savoring it, then swallowed it.

‘It’s strong.’

It seems like a pretty strong drink.

Despite not being much of a drinker, Renee knew that this drink was something one would drink ‘to get drunk.’

“Saint…”

Vera’s worried voice rang in her ears.

Renee lightly smiled and said.

“Vera is delicious.”

Vera stiffened at her slightly playful and ambiguous words.

His face began to flush red.

Vera’s expression turned sour.

“…You shouldn’t play around like that.”

“What do you mean? I just said that the alcohol tastes good.”

“…”

Renee giggled.

Vera just glared at Renee.

Aisha, who was busy with the beast’s leg, clapped her hands at the sight.