Chapter 6 (2/2)
“d.a.m.n, cursed fate. Why do the heavens test me so…?”
It was only when they had embarked on their way and when no other people were in vicinity that Kurotan spoke.
“Keung. I thank you for listening to my request. I will not forget the favor.”
Luke frowned slightly.
“The keung keung noises are really bothersome. Your body has changed, and even your snuffling sound seems to have changed as well?”
“I don’t know. Keung”
Luke looked seriously at Kurotan.
“All right, Kurotan. Just as you have deemed me a good commander, I have decided to give you my trust this once. But remember…”
“What?”
“You are no longer an Orc, but a human. Your soul may be that of an Orc’s, but from now on you must think and act as a human.”
“I already know. That was the plan.”
“Good. To become human, you must listen to my every command. And we need to fix the way you talk.”
“Keung. The way I talk?”
“Yes.”
Luke’s face turned even stricter as he continued to glare at Kurotan.”
“From now on, you are my subordinate and servant.”
“Se-Servant?”
“A master-servant relations.h.i.+p makes the most sense when you consider Hal’s status, which belongs to you now, and my status.”
Unexpectedly, Kurotan tried to deny it fiercely.
“I cannot accept it. How can an honorable warrior become a servant?”
“You are no longer the Great Warrior of Orcs, but a retired army cook. You must also get used to your new name.”
“My mother gave me my name. I cannot change it.”
“It is a must for you to adjust to the human world!”
“Still, somethings are just impossible.”
Luke sighed in frustration.
“You’re stubborn as an Ogre.”
Luke did not know where to start with the Orc wearing a human mask.
‘I think I may have bitten a bit more than I can chew.’
Luke regretted having made the decision so spontaneously, but once again the water had already been spilled.
Luke took Kurotan towards the rear of the headquarters. They took a carriage carrying wounded soldiers and reached Lactel City, which also served as a supply base, in three hours.
They were unable to converse at all due to the presence of soldiers that had been wounded in the final a.s.sault. Of course, the moaning of the wounded made for a mood that was not meant for conversing.
The military carriage did not need any identification at the city wall. Luke and Kurotan were able to enter the city without problems, and got off the carriage at the central square.
“Thanks for the ride.”
Luke turned around once out the carriage. He looked back at Kurotan, and frowned with curiosity.
“Are you all right?”
Kurotan had completely frozen. He was standing absolutely still and moving only his eyes back and forth.
“Do you feel sick from the carriage ride?”
“Hu-Humans…”
“What about humans?”
“There are t-too many humans.”
Luke smiled at Kurotan’s words. Lactel City was a decently developed city, and the central square had a lot of human traffic. It was not strange for Kurotan, a former Orc, to feel so out of place and amazed.
‘I suppose Orcs don’t get to see the booming civilian life of humans.’
Luke smirked and pulled on Kurotan’s arm.
“Not one word, Kurotan. Just follow me.”
It was in no way easy to move around with an Orc in the form of a human.
Luke entered a restaurant in order to appease their hunger. Kurotan entered somewhat normally, thanks to Luke’s advice.
However, a problem occurred when their ordered dish arrived.
Kurotan took one look at the bread that Luke had ordered and frowned fiercly.
“Keung. We do not eat these things.”
“Then what do you eat.”
“Meat, intestines, fat! Give me something like that!”
“That was when you were an Orc, and since you’re no longer an Orc…”
“I still refuse to eat weird things like this.”
Kurotan, in a tantrum, threw the bread on the ground, and Luke had no choice but to order a meat stew.
“Here’s your dish.”
When the meat stew arrived, Kurotan’s eyes seemed to s.h.i.+ne with light. The next moment, the eyes of the people all came to rest on one spot.
“Oh my goodness, how hungry must he have been….”
“How long has he been starving?”
The pieces of meat in the stew were being grabbed by the grubby hands of Kurotan and being devoured without being chewed more than once or twice.
Kurotan proceeded to slam his face into the dish and began to drink the rest of the soup with his tongue, like a dog. He was doing so without a care in the world, not caring whether or not the people stared.
Luke grabbed the back of his neck in an attempt to fend off the on-coming headache.
“What should I do with you?”
Oblivious to Luke clicking his tongue, Kurotan finished the remaining meat stew in the blink of an eye.
“That wasn’t enough. Kurotan wants to eat more.”
“You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, you know how much that was? It’s at least three times more expensive than bread!”
“Kurotan does not know of those things.”
Luke, looking as if he was about to cry, shoved the rest of the bread he’d been eating into his mouth.
“Let’s talk later.”
“But I’m hungry.”
Luke glanced to the side, and Kurotan’s face stiffened when he followed Luke’s gaze. Everyone in the restaurant was staring at him.
“Wh-Why are they looking at me? Do you think they’ve found out about my ident.i.ty?”
Luke quickly swallowed the last of his bread and stood up.
“Shut your mouth and just follow me outside.”
Luke hurriedly paid for their meal and took Kurotan outside.
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