“Will this work?”
I muttered as I looked at the tiny black dot on my shoulder.
“That's the way it looks like in the beginning. Later, if brother accepts the karma of a monster, it will change into a pattern that suits to it accordingly.”
"I see. So, how far are we from the border?”
“Not much long. Oh, haha, looks like we arrived.”
A colossal wall appeared in the direction Lugar pointed with his finger.
It's the border wall that separates the territory of the orcs from the territory of the Empire.
As we approached the wall, the soldiers guarding the gate aimed their spears.
“Halt, who are you? Why are being accompanied by the orcs?”
I beckoned to Callios. To which, he straightened his back and, with a solemn expression on his face, pulled something from between his arms and handed it to one of the soldiers.
“Now you know who I am.”
What Callios handed over was a plaque proving his identity as the heir of the Goldenbern family.
The tension disappeared from the faces of the soldiers who saw the plaque.
“So, young master is the nobleman of a kingdom. We apologize for the rudeness. But why did you come here, and that from the direction of the land of orcs?”
“The ship we took at the Kingdom of Alitia was wrecked in a storm. When we opened our eyes, we found ourselves in this place. Fortunately, we met a kind orc and were guided here.”
“You mean, kind… orcs…?”
The soldier looked at Lugar with an expression that spoke loud that he was listening to such strange ordeal for the first time in his career.
Well, my brother is kind. What's the problem with that?
"…I understand. We will open the gates. Hey, boys! Open the gates!”
The big gate opened with a creaking sound. People poured into the opened gates with enlivened expressions.
I stepped to follow them, but I stopped when I saw that Lugar was not coming along.
“What are you not coming along? Aren't you here to buy food supplies?"
“Orcs cannot enter here. It has been like that since time immemorial.”
Can't enter?
“Then how do you buy food supplies?”
“It's easy, the orcs give us the required amount, and our guards will buy the supplies for them.”
The answer came from someone other than Lugar. The person who answered my question was a middle-aged man in a red robe over his chain armor.
"Who are you?"
“I'm the commander of the Imperial Border Guards. Continuing with your previous question—we guards purchase the food supplies for orcs in case they enter the village and cause any disturbance.”
“Hmm… is that so?”
At first glance, it does sounds pretty reasonable.
There could be friction between the orcs and the villagers, there's always a chance.
The captain of the border guards said, looking at Lugar.
"Orc, what did you bring this time? I don't see anything expensive."
“This time, it’s money, not stuff.”
Lugar handed over one of the money bags he was carrying around his waist to the guard commander. The commander of the border guards opened the pocket and widened his eyes.
“Hey, this is…”
“It’s 500,000 gold. I hope you will prepare suitable grains and livestock for this.”
“…Wait a minute. How did you guys get all this money? Have you looted?”
“There was no looting.”
"Do not lie with me! Otherwise, there's no way you guys can possess this much amount of money! First of all, this is a damn foreclosure. I will personally go to your tribe and look for the clues that will prove it!”
The commander of the border guards, who opened his eyes wide, began to play dominance. I guess, I roughly know why—probably trying to usurp that money. You can tell just by looking at those greedy eyes.
I raised my hand and interrupted him.
“The money was given to me in exchange for guiding us to the border. Don't worry, it's not looted."
Saying so, I pulled out some pockets of money and waved them in front of him.
The guard commander's expression hardened when he saw the money bags. He bent his back slightly and asked cautiously.
“That… may I know, mister is the son of which noble family?”
“I'm not the son of any noble family. I’m just a rich adventurer.”
“Oh, is that so?”
The bent back was straightened out in an instant.
A huge shift in attitude.
“Hmmmm..! The source of the money is clear, so I won't ask any more. For now, let me prepare grains and livestock with this money.”
With that said, the commander of the guards left.
I looked at his receding back for a moment, then came to the gates with Lugar and the other orcs.
“Brother can go back, we…”
"Nope. I just have something to check.”
There's one thing I'm worried about, and I'm going to stick with the orcs until I can confirm that.
After a few hours, my unease became a reality. All the guards brought out were seven carts of grain and some seventeen cattles. It was an unusual situation.
‘How the f*ck is this pitiful sh!tful of goods worth 500,000 gold?’
No no, maybe not even 100,000 gold, let alone 500,000 gold.
‘Who do these punks see as stupid, huh?’
That was when I decided to grab the guard commander by his collar and rub his face on the floor.
– Chief! This is the first time we have received so many!
– If it's this much, wouldn't it be enough to go back and hold another banquet? Chief seems to have done a good job by forming a brotherhood with a human! Ha ha!
– Well, I was always good at making brothers.
The orcs' joyous voices could be heard from behind. When I turned around, they were looking at the grain filled carts and the livestock with great satisfaction.
The sight made feel bitter inside.
Aigoo… You idiots!
You can still be happy when others have already sucked your spine, bones and blood; leaving behind only some pitiful bits…
Only a deep sigh came out in the end.
‘…Okay, let's calm down. It's not like they are messing with me.'
Only Lugar and the people of his tribe will suffer if I beat the sh!t out of this guard commander at this moment.
To put it bluntly, if the Imperial side makes a decision that they will no longer trade because of this incident, Lugar will later have no way to obtain food supplies and the future will be bleak for his tribe.
Instead of using my fists, I have to do it in a smarter way.
In a way that makes it impossible for them to play others like fools in the future.
What would that way be…
‘Should I reveal that I am a Hero?’
If I reveal that I am a hero, it can be easily resolved. No matter how high is the āss of an imperial commander, would he be able to disobey a Hero's orders?
It is also a very reasonable command to not embezzle.
However, I am also a little reluctant to do so. If the information spreads that the Hero Cloud has crossed the borders of the Empire, nearby cities will know who I am.
It means that I will not be able to act as an adventurer and live as comfortably as I currently am.
It was when I was thinking about it.
‘Hmm, isn't that the guard commander, who had been watching the orcs happily pack the grains? Why did he abruptly ran out with a pale face?'
I watched as he ran out of the gate and bowed his head to the figure approaching on a horse.
“Frillite-sama, you have worked hard. I will take you inside.”
The figure the guard commander was bowing to was Frillite.
A beautiful woman with pure white skin and a lustrous red ponytail. She was wearing a splendid silver armor unlike what I had seen her in the Imperial Capital.
Why is she here?
That was the question, but there was something more important than that.
That is—she is also a Hero!
“My friend Frillite. Long time no see!"
I approached her as she was talking with the guard commander and put my hand shoulder to shoulder.
Frillite and the guard commander's eyes widened at the same time.
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