Chapter 36 (2/2)

However, here was the figure of Set, an A rank monster, Griffon. In addition, although they hadn’t seen him fight, they knew that Rei had defeated the D rank party Claws of the Hawk by himself.

However, Rei kept looking further into the dark from where the 9 Orcs came from. When Milein followed Rei’s glance in doubt, one more shadow appeared from the darkness.

The figure was even larger than the Orc Generals, who were larger than other Orcs, exceeding 3m in size. In addition, it was wearing extravagant armour and held what seemed to be a magic great sword. And above all was it’s dignity, power and spirit. Such things were clearly different from the other Orcs.

Milein, who saw the figure of the Orc, half called out to Sulunin who was the brains of the party while almost being overwhelmed by the pressure.

「Sulunin, do you know what that Orc is?　It isn’t any type of Orc I know……anyhow, I have a bad feeling.」

「Impossible!?」

As Milein’s voice came out, Sulunin turned his gaze to the Orc and cried out involuntarily.

It was the first time Ecryll had seen Sulunin like this, he usually used polite words and was calm all the time. However, Milein, who had been in a party for a long time with Sulunin, had fortunately or unfortunately seen Sulunin like this several times before. For example, when they met the aquatic monster called Water Kelpie during a Goblin extermination. Or when they ran into a Aruraune Queen, which is a high ranking species, while doing a Treant extermination quest. In other words, whenever they ran into unplanned monsters or when the met with stronger monsters.

TLN: Okay some new monsters here that need a bit of explanation. The Water Kelpie is a Scottish shape shifting mythical creature. From google, a Aruraune is a monster from a game but is essentially a Mangadora, other wise known as a Mandrake.

「Sulunin, tell me. That Orc……what is it?」

Desperately calming the bad feeling spreading through her chest, Milein asked Sulunin about the Orc without removing her eyes from them.

Sulunin’s voice as he responded was somewhat hoarse.

「The king of the Orcs, the one that rules the Orcs, in other words, an Orc King……it’s, a B rank monster.」

「-!? ……I see. It’s natural for Sulunin to be like this.」

Milein took in a sharp breath at Sulunin’s description. A rank B monster, it’s difference with a rank C monster isn’t just 1 rank. Like there is a hard barrier between S rank and A rank, there is a similar barrier between B rank and C rank. As it soaked into her, she understood as she had gone past the barrier between D rank and E rank. There was a test to raise your rank, it wasn’t just for show.

「It’s troubling……we surely can’t expect Axe of the Thunder God, who are in the east, to come towards us in the west.」

In order to calm her restless mind, Milein deliberately spoke out in a carefree tone. Thanks to that, Ecryll, who had been trembling at the existence of a B rank monster, somewhat regained her composure.

Meanwhile, Rei set up the Death Scythe next to Milein and opened his mouth to speak.

「There’s no need to be frightened. After all, these guys are only failures of soldiers who decided they couldn’t beat the Orc subjugation force I mentioned earlier and are running away.」

The sneer he had left no doubt behind his words. Though they might not have understood his words, the Orcs got the meaning and looked towards Milein for a moment before getting excited.

「Hey, Rei!　Don’t provoke them so much. Do you think we can do this by ourselves!?　We can’t do anything now but buy time for reinforcements to come.」

「That’s right. It’s regrettable but we can’t beat the Orcs with our current combat strength……your Griffon, even if it’s a A rank monster, we’re still out numbered. Even if the Griffon can survive, it doesn’t mean anything if we don’t.」

Following Milein’s words, Sulunin also advised that they should devote themselves to buying time and avoid fighting.

However, Rei ascertained the enemy’s combat force while paying no attention to the words of the two.

(Orc King, I’ll assume I’ll do something about that, the problem is the high ranking species. Archer, Mage and General, one of each. ……It seems there’s no other way.)

Spitting out a sigh in his mind, he directed his gaze to Milein.

「Milein, there is 1 suggestion.」

「What?」

「To get out of this, Set and I will be using our hidden trump cards. However then, naturally, you guys will see our last resorts, please promise that you won’t reveal it to others.」

「……What if I say no?」

「In that case, Set and I will quickly leave this place. You can do something about the Orcs with just the 3 of you.」

Rei finished saying so quite bluntly.

Saying it with a natural expression was enough for Milein to understand that they would run without hesitation if she said no.

「Milein.」

Ecryll gave a small mutter. Even if you said that she had calmed down since seeing the Orc King, she still wasn’t able to completely remove the fear of the presence of the other party. One of the reasons why Ecrylll could calm down was because there was a Griffon as an ally, an existence higher than the Orc King, who had an overwhelming presence as a friend. If Milein turned down Rei’s proposal, once Rei left with Set, it wouldn’t be possible for them to escape, she subconsciously called out to Milein.

Of course, Milein was the party leader and felt it immediately, spitting out a small sigh.

「I understand. We promise absolutely to not tell anyone about Rei and Set’s trump cards. Is that good enough?」

「Ah. Even if you say it here, it’s still only a verbal promise, isn’t it?　After the fight with the Orc King is finished, I would like to use Magic Oath. Is that okay?」

「Magic Oath?」

As Milein was unfamiliar with magic, she looked to Sulunin. Because Sulunin didn’t know this magic, he only shook his head silently.

「What will you do?」

Rei prompted for a reply. Though Milein was somewhat uneasy about the unfamiliar magic, she had already made up her mind. After all, the only choices available here were to receive Rei’s Magic Oath and survive or refuse and fight the group of Orcs including the Orc King by themselves. And if they chose the latter, at best they could die in battle, at worst……no, no mistake, she and Ecryll would end up as breeders for the Orcs for the rest of their lives. If so, it was better to survive even if they had to receive a strange magic.

「I understand. We will protect your secret and also accept the Magic Oath.」

「Good. Set, it’s okay now.」

「Guru~」

Set gave a small cry at Rei’s voice. The Orcs seemed to have been restrained by the A rank monster, Griffon, until Rei’s voice called out.

Even if the Orcs were in a situation where they couldn’t move, they instinctively felt that the Griffon in front of their eyes wasn’t a mediocre opponent.

Thus, the last battle of the settlement began with the Orcs, Rei, Set and Scorching Wind.