The wind was certainly gentle, but it was cool.
The wind blowing through the trees in the forest carried the scent of grass.
In contrast to those ordinary, peaceful sensations, the scene before him reeked of blood.
A green-skinned Orc with long fangs gleaming.
He held a weapon stained with something red.
Known to possess greater strength and thicker skin than humans, yet unquestionably an intelligent being.
Before that Orc, Desi had fallen with a clumsy sickle in hand. Gritting his teeth, he scrambled away—SCRABBLE!
“Ugh.. Aaaah!!”
Desi narrowly avoided the Orc's next attack by rolling his body away.
His legs trembled like a thornbush, and cold sweat stung his eyes.
From a distance, Makani kept throwing stones, trying to drive the Orc away.
But it only made the Orc scowl harder.
“The police! No, that's not it... What was it called? Anyway, call the police!!”
Desi rambled as he avoided another attack.
THUD-!
But the Orc's other fist struck Desi in the torso.
His body was flung through the air.
＂Gah-!!＂
Struggling to keep from falling, Desi gritted his teeth and swung the sickle.
His clumsy stance and flailing arm cut nothing but empty air.
No matter how much mountain climbing and fieldwork had strengthened his body, it did not make him good at fighting.
It was an entirely natural situation.
After dodging a few times, the Orc drove another fist into Desi's face.
“Gahk!”
Blood burst from both of his nostrils, and Desi fell backward as his vision turned yellow.
Desi clutched his face and let out a groan.
‘It feels like I got hit by a fucking boulder!’
“You monster!!”
The young woman from Kan's shop swung a wooden stick she had somehow found through the air with a WHOOSH, WHOOSH.
The Orc easily avoided it again, but,
THUD!
A stone thrown by Makani struck the Orc squarely in the eye.
“Aaaaargh!”
Blood streamed from the Orc's eye as he staggered.
“Now, Desi!!”
At Makani's urgent shout, Desi fumbled around for the sickle.
His fingertips felt the sickle's wooden handle.
He sprang to his feet, forcing strength into his legs.
Gripping the sickle tightly, Desi struck at the Orc's neck.
＂Haaah!!＂
THWACK!
”D-Damn it!“
Desi's powerful strike lodged in the Orc's left arm.
‘Wasn't it unfair to block it with his arm at that very moment.......’
“You bastards!!”
The Orc raised the mace in his right hand high.
Metal gleamed in the sunlight as it reflected the rays.
The light pouring into Desi's eyes stole his vision.
‘Ah... my second life.......’
Just before it ended.
“URK!!”
The Orc flinched with a strange sound.
Red blood spurted from his chest like water from a squirt gun.
”Kan?!”
At Makani's cry, Desi barely moved his trembling body and looked behind the Orc.
Kan had forcefully stabbed the Orc from behind with a sword.
Kan's hair was clumped with oil, and mud and red bloodstains clung to his body like scars.
His eyes flickered with heat haze, like the Orc's.
“You... fucking bastard!!”
Screaming, Kan began twisting the sword embedded in the Orc this way and that.
“Aaaaargh!!”
Blood tears streamed from the Orc's eyes as he grabbed the sword protruding from his chest, but Kan pulled it free at that moment.
Orc blood and fingers flew before Desi's eyes, and with a brief groan, the Orc fell to his knees.
”Huff... huff...“
A silent stillness.
Now, even the birdsong and rustling leaves seemed to have closed their mouths.
There was only the sound of blood flowing from the Orc's body and the breathing of those whose thoughts had frozen.
And Kan's low sobbing spread over it all.
”Kan... What is this now-”
Without hearing Desi's question, Kan swung his sword and struck the Orc's neck.
CHOP!
Blood burst like a fountain, and a horrible groan rang out.
”Ugh..!“
Watching from a distance, Makani began to retch.
The sword was embedded in the Orc's neck without severing it, and blood sprayed out through the gap.
That was how Kan committed murder.
.
.
.
For a while, only the sound of ragged breathing could be heard before the Orc's corpse.
Desi and Makani had no way of knowing what had happened.
All they could do was watch Kan kneeling beside the Orc, wailing, and the young woman from the shop patting his back.
Makani cautiously approached Kan.
”Um... Kan? Are you all right?“
Perhaps he had not heard Makani's voice.
Kan continued to cry.
His hands and feet were trembling violently.
In that trembling, Kan's tears did not flow but fell as though scattering.
It was the wail of someone who had lost his entire world.
The young woman bit her lip, struggled to raise her head, and looked at Desi.
Her face, too, was streaked with tears, the skin around her eyes red, and the light had been erased from her gaze.
”First, um... Desi? Could you call some patrol guards here?“
”Ah... Yes, yes.“
Desi nodded and hurriedly began running toward the village.
Even as he ran down the mountain trail, he fell several more times.
Was it because his legs shook on the downhill path?
Or because he trembled after witnessing death before his eyes?
Suppressing the urge to retch several times, Desi ran with difficulty.
He had not even been able to properly look at the death of a dog.
He could not bring himself to break a chicken's neck with his own hands.
And yet, he had witnessed the neck of a human who was merely a different color being cut off and fall.
The shock made it impossible for him to smell the tranquil scent he had breathed in to his heart's content until then.
There was a fishy smell in his nostrils.
Not the fishy smell of the sea or fish, but the fishy smell of blood.
.
.
.
Had a few minutes passed?
No, it had been a few hours.
Kan calmed his emotions, stood up, and left, saying he would go see his father.
Makani tried to speak to Kan, but the young woman from the shop caught Makani and stopped her with a quiet shake of her head.
”Over here!”
Desi's voice began to carry from the distance.
”Desi!”
”Makani!”
Two patrol guards followed behind Desi.
They wore gray clothes and had swords at their left hips.
”This can't be.......“
One patrol guard could not hide his shock at the Orc's corpse.
”Didn't you say Kan was here too?”
At the question from the patrol guard who appeared to be in his mid-forties, the young woman from the shop quietly approached.
”Follow me.“
The younger patrol guard stayed behind to guard the Orc's corpse, while Desi, Makani, the middle-aged patrol guard, and the young woman from the shop followed along.
.
.
.
Everyone froze at the horrific sight.
The strong, unpleasant fishy smell made them all cover their noses.
And they pressed their lips shut.
Several human corpses lay scattered deep along the mountain trail.
Their necks had been cut off, and spears were lodged in their bodies.
It was the site of a massacre.
The ground seemed to have drunk blood, enough that a red hue showed through it.
“W-What is this.......”
Makani trembled as she looked around.
One-sided slaughter.
Nothing more, nothing less.
In the distance, Kan was clutching one body as his shoulders shook.
The young woman turned around, approached the patrol guard, and began to speak.
”We had ordered goods from the next village, but they had not arrived, so we were traveling there ourselves.“
The young woman began to tremble all over.
Blood flowed from the lip she had been biting.
”Then... we encountered a group of Orcs... They said something incomprehensible and drew their swords.......“
”Calm down and tell me slowly.“
The patrol guard patted the young woman's shoulder to calm her.
”That, that was all. There were five escort guards, but they all... all died. I was too busy fleeing from the situation.......“
After finishing, the young woman began to cry from fear and the horrific experience.
”Why would Orcs.......“
Makani looked unable to believe it.
Then the patrol guard murmured quietly.
“Don't tell me it has come all the way here...?”
“What do you mean?”
Desi did not miss that quiet murmur.
Perhaps it was because of the experience from his previous life, when he had lived watching other people's reactions.
The patrol guard glanced at Desi, sighed, and scratched his head vigorously.
“For now, I think we all need to go to the unit.”
.
.
.
-Guard Corps-
A narrow, dark room inside the Guard Corps.
A few candles faintly lit the small room.
There was a window beside it as well, but the sunlight could not get in very well.
”Now, you just need to write the earlier incident down in detail on this paper. Given the current state of affairs, there will not be a major investigation.“
”What do you mean by that?“
At Desi's question, the patrol guard hesitated.
”Well.......“
”I'll explain.“
A middle-aged knight with blond hair opened the door and entered.
His well-maintained armor reflected the candlelight inside the room.
”Uncle Ar? Hello.“
Makani greeted the middle-aged knight.
Noticing Desi's confusion, Makani spoke.
”He's a friend of my father. He's the commander-in-chief of the Guard Corps.“
Desi could not hide his astonishment at Makani's connections.
To any man who had served in the military, he was the kind of uncle who made one too intimidated even to swallow.
”Ahem, Makani, here you should call me Commander.“
Ar sat down and carefully began to speak.
”This is quite a remote rural village, so the news has not reached us, but... border clashes with the Orcs are growing more serious now.“
”Clashes?”
“It has not become a war yet, but... there are also reports that Orcs who had entered the country are carrying out terrorist attacks in several villages and cities.”
As he listened to Ar, Kan began crumpling the paper.
He looked up at Ar with eyes tangled with rage and grief.
Ar met Kan's gaze.
But Ar's eyes were calm and unshaken, enough to overwhelm Kan's rage.
“I think we need to report this news to the Royal Palace.”