Chapter 176 – Last Words
Unable to control his strength properly, the leader assumed the blow must have hurt considerably as he dragged the fallen dimwit aside and laid him on the ground.
Then he looked down at the bastard sleeping with his usual foolish expression.
The leader had never intended to escape in the first place. Not when such a perfect opportunity had presented itself.
If he died as the leader, the dimwit could live the rest of his life without being threatened by the other orcs.
The leader did not have much time left anyway, and there had only ever been one reason for him to pass the position on to the dimwit.
Perhaps the dimwit, left alone after becoming the leader, would someday find another companion.
It was because of his small hope that another idiot just like the dimwit might suddenly appear before him one day.
“Kweek, I thought at least one might appear before you died.”
The leader muttered quietly.
Back then, he had still harbored a petty desire for revenge, wanting the dimwit to suffer for once. He had imagined all the trouble the dimwit would experience.
What if an orc exactly as stupid as him were born?
Perhaps an even greater idiot would appear, one who caused so many accidents that falling off a cliff immediately after birth would seem harmless by comparison.
The leader laughed again as he imagined the dimwit looking down helplessly, not knowing what to do.
Knowing him, he would panic even more than the leader had, certainly not less.
How ridiculous would it be to see the dimwit taking care of another idiot?
At the same time, however, the leader was certain of something.
No matter how ridiculous the situation was, the dimwit would recognize his companion far sooner than the leader had.
And with such a companion, the dimwit would probably be able to live in the cave without being lonely.
Of course, he would undoubtedly do many more stupid things as well.
The leader almost regretted that he would not be able to witness it with his own eyes.
But now, there was no need for any of that.
He did not know the details, but the humans appeared to be planning to destroy the black mass from which the orcs were born.
If so, no more orcs would ever be born.
That meant the dimwit would not have to spend the rest of his life guarding against other orcs.
More importantly, it meant the dimwit would not have to lose his memories.
* * *
I watched the dimwit collapse limply.
The leader spoke a few brief words to the unconscious dimwit, then dusted off his hands and rose without hesitation.
There was no lingering attachment or regret on his face as he approached me.
“Kweek, what do I need to do now?”
His face looked almost relieved as he calmly asked how he was supposed to die.
“You decided to die as the leader?”
“Kweek, why? Kweek, did you want the dimwit to become the leader?”
That wasn’t it, but no matter how I looked at it, together with the dimwit—
“Kweek, forget it. Kweek, dying while leaving him with his memories is already cruel enough to that bastard.”
I had nothing more to say to the leader as he muttered with a bitter expression.
It was not as though I was in any position to offer him some self-important advice.
* * *
The leader and I approached the center containing the black fog.
“Remember this. No matter what happens, you must not interfere. I’m going to slightly twist the contract created by Sierra Abiran, so no one else can be allowed to intervene.”
Before stepping into the fog at the center, I warned Ratel one final time. He nodded with an exasperated expression.
“Don’t worry, Ran. I’ll stop him even if I have to risk my life.”
Lia tried to reassure me, but her arms and legs were trembling like those of a sick deer, making her words entirely unconvincing.
“If it requires you to risk your life, then leave him alone. This is obviously something your life won’t be enough to stop, and surviving is what matters most, isn’t it?”
“I’m not planning to kill anyone.”
As Ratel complained, he probably would not actually kill Lia.
But if he truly set his mind to it, Lia’s interference would be no more effective than the fluttering of a sparrow’s wings.
There was no need to create more casualties for no reason.
“That’s why you simply must not interfere in the first place. Your only task is to cut this bastard’s neck after he completely becomes the leader.”
“Kweek, move your finger!”
The leader irritably slapped away the finger I was pointing at him and moved forward without hesitation.
I was thinking that he was remarkably bold for someone walking toward his death when—
“Hey. Don’t you have anything else to say?”
The quiet voice stopped him.
The leader turned and glared at Ratel, who had addressed him. His lips moved several times before he pressed them firmly together.
After a brief silence, the leader’s final words at last emerged from his mouth.
“......Kweek, when the dimwit wakes up, don’t touch him. Just let him go. Kweek, he’s a little stupid, but he’ll quickly find a way to survive.”
“......All right.”
At Ratel’s delayed response, the leader pressed his lips together again and turned away.
Holding Sierra’s sword in one hand, I distanced myself from Ratel and Lia as they watched the leader and me with grave expressions.
I went to do what I could.
When I had been an orc, I had been too desperate to notice, but walking through the black fog was not as unpleasant as I had expected.
If anything, surrendering my body to the warm fog was so comfortable that I almost felt as though I had become part of the black particles.
That did not mean I intended to remain here forever.
“Kweek, hey, tell me now. Kweek, how are you planning to restore me as the leader? Kweek, you’d better not say that everything was a lie after coming this far.”
Perhaps noticing that I was lost in pointless thoughts, the leader called out to me in a fierce voice.
After walking several more steps, I reached the place where the fog at the center had begun condensing and thrust Sierra’s sword into its center.
The leader inspected the sword as it pierced through the fog and embedded itself in the ground, then turned his nervous gaze back toward me.
“Kweek, what is that supposed to accomplish? Kweek, nothing is happening.”
“Of course not. I haven’t done anything yet. Strictly speaking, restoring you as the leader means making you one of the contract’s conditions.”
The leader watched me with an expression that showed he understood none of it.
“But I can’t break the original contract with my power, so I’m going to twist it slightly. Don’t just stand there. Sit down. How long are you going to keep staring down at me?”
At my urging, the leader awkwardly sat down, still wearing a puzzled expression.
After confirming that he was seated, I reached toward Sierra’s sword embedded in the ground and grasped its blade.
“Kweek!! What are you doing?!”
“I already told you. I’m going to twist the contract slightly.”
After replying dismissively, I watched my blood run down the sword and pool on the ground.
The effect appeared immediately.
A faint light began spreading from the ground where my blood touched it.
It must have meant that even a half-blood prince like me still fulfilled the requirements to participate in the contract.
Then again, if I had not been qualified, I would never have heard that voice hounding me to keep my promise in the first place.
The demand that Sierra’s curse-like contract had persistently made of me was simple.
It meant this power had already decided upon the answer it wanted from the very beginning.
Still gripping the sword, I slowly opened my mouth.
“I have come to keep my promise.”
Speaking the one sentence I had avoided by every possible means was easy.
The real problem always came from accepting responsibility for those words and dealing with what followed.
The moment I finished the sentence, scorching energy spread from my hand throughout my entire body.
The heat continued intensifying until I thought my whole body might burn away.
As my temperature rose without limit, it felt as though even my brain was sizzling.
Struggling to remain conscious, I reached toward the leader as he anxiously looked around.
Then I wrapped my hand around his neck.
The leader flinched, apparently feeling the same burning sensation I did.
Even so, he did not pull away from my hand. I could tell that he had steeled himself in his own way. He understood that this would cost him his life.
He had not completely overcome his fear, but the resolve in his eyes revealed as much.
All of this was probably for the dimwit.
It was a situation I could never have imagined when I had only read the original story.
An orc was sacrificing his life for his companion.
Whatever the case, all I had to do was follow the original plan and restore him as the leader.
I knew perfectly well that anything beyond that would be worthless meddling.
Nevertheless, perhaps because the heat had gone to my head, unnecessary words escaped my mouth.
My head was burning, while the orc before me continued trembling despite the heat.
“The dimwit will live well even without you.”
The leader blinked at the nonsense I had unconsciously blurted out.
Then the fear vanished from his face.
Pretending not to notice the faint smile that appeared there, I waited for everything to end.
* * *
By the time the light and heat gradually subsided, the leader had lost consciousness and collapsed.
Although I remained conscious, I was completely exhausted. I sank to the ground a short distance from the leader and gasped for breath.
Once my temperature returned to a level at which my mind could function properly, I began noticing my surroundings.
The black fog encircling us was gradually thinning.
Was this enough to consider it a success?
Everything had happened exactly as El had taught me.
Along with his arrogant face, I recalled his equally arrogant voice.
—Once you twist a contract that has already been established, the curse will weaken as well. In that interval, cut off the leader’s head and destroy the holy relic. Then you will be able to save Feedus’ child.
Judging by the weakening curse, it appeared that El had at least not lied.
Was cutting off the leader’s head all that remained?
Using Sierra’s sword for support, I rose and saw the faint forms of Ratel and Lia beyond the fog.
They had obeyed my instruction not to interfere so thoroughly that neither had taken even a single step past the boundary created by the black fog.
“Ran! Can we come inside now?”
Lia asked while pointing at the black fog covering the ground.
They were probably both waiting to enter the moment I gave them permission.
Ratel said nothing, but his eyes were fixed on the unconscious leader. He probably knew that the time had come to cut off the leader’s head.
I knew the correct thing to do was tell them they could enter.
Instead of calling them over, however, I pulled Sierra’s sword from the ground—the sword that had been supporting my body.
I had not come here to do the right thing.
Ratel was the first to react to that otherwise ordinary action.
“You crazy bastard......!”
And he reacted rather violently.
He charged toward me as though ready to strike me, but after only a few steps, he was forced to stop.
More precisely, he was unable to approach beyond a certain distance and was shoved backward.
Apparently shocked at being repelled before he could react, Ratel’s eyes widened.
“You’d better stay where you are. The harder you try to force your way inside, the more violently it will repel you.”
I had been told it was a spell designed to prevent interference while the contract was being carried out.
How the bastard who taught me knew so much about it was another matter that required investigation.
Ignoring my warning, Ratel repeatedly attempted to force his way inside, but every attempt ended in failure.
His menacing aura intensified with each unsuccessful attempt.
“How did you do this? Release it right now!”
He shouted, but threatening me would accomplish nothing.
I did not know how to release it either. It would probably disappear once the curse was completely gone.
Until then, all I had to do was the wrong thing.
I raised Sierra’s sword high. My target was the neck of the leader lying before me.
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