Chapter 84: Orcs and a Female Knight 4
TL/Editor: Raei
Schedule: 5/Week Wed-Sun
Illustrations: Posted in discord.
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The orcs didn't touch the knight, and they seem to be seriously targeting the royal family.
The chat is on fire due to this bizarre situation.
They say this is a luck-based game: the rewards diminish if you don't rush but to rush, your party needs to be composed of high star characters.
Is this the essence of K-gaming?
The fiery debate about why the orcs didn't assault the knight is getting as intense as an expert panel discussion.
Even Han Se-ah is overwhelmed by this madness and hands over the chat management to a bot, stepping back a bit.
"The Knight Division... I really heard an unexpected story."
"Right. Orcs from the Tower hiding in the forest blessed by the royal family. Honestly, if someone else told me, I'd think it was the ramblings of a drunk."
"I hope this gets resolved quickly."
While the viewers are angry at the orcs, our group is puzzled by Obernu Forest.
Especially Irene.
Being a nun, her zeal is visibly burning in her eyes.
As a nun, she couldn't sit idly by while the orcs desecrate a forest blessed by the Goddess.
Orcs appearing in the famous blessed forest of the kingdom.Ñøv€l-B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.
The good thing was that the situation had become a pressing matter for the Adventurer's Guild.
If the orcs had simply settled in the Obernu Forest, it wouldn't be a significant issue.
But if 'Tower-born' orcs took up residence there, it would become a politically bothersome affair.
It might even give the kingdom an excuse to infringe upon the freedom of the Adventurer's City.
"The fortunate thing is that the orcs haven't acted yet. They just settled down, and they haven't rushed to the nobility or royalty. I don't know why they kidnapped the female knight, though..."
"Do you think the Shaman brought her and hid her for some wicked ritual?"
"Well, considering the orcs didn't touch her, the only explanation I can think of is a sacrifice."
This world of Heroes Chronicle, which is a fantasy based on Heroines Chronicle, had everything one might expect.
In a geeky collection game, a dark but voluptuous female character inspired by witches or black mages was almost a mandatory element.
Nuns in religious garments pretending to be innocent but sweating profusely over a potion pot, revealing their figures or a mischievous young girl who turns out to be a genius of witchcraft were all familiar tropes.
"Wicked sorcery or black magic, perhaps. Either wouldn't be surprising."
"You think neither would be surprising?"
"They picked a spot in the forest blessed by the Goddess from the many vast forests in the kingdom. I'm not sure if it's because of the blessing itself, a black mage is insulting the Goddess, or it's just their orc nature."
I respond to Han Se-ah's question seriously, but I'm a bit puzzled myself.
It seems that the quest will have to progress further to see what's really going on.
If our foes were humans, we wouldn't have to think too much about it.
Just a suspicious group targeting the royalty.
But the fact that our foes are orcs undermines the common sense I've built up over 10 years.
How can it be orcs?
They're the same prideful nobles who flocked to us after we hunted the Full Moon Wolf.
These nobles enjoyed the free city life where, with enough money, they could purchase honor through the adventurers.
They couldn't just stand by and watch as the kingdom reached out to the Adventurers' Guild.
"Do you plan to join this expedition too and snatch the head of the Orc Chief?"
"Of course, Ellis. A gate came from catching the Full Moon Wolf last time. I'm looking forward to seeing what the mages will come up with this time."
I'm looking forward to seeing what the mages will come up with this time."
In the early morning, before the rest of the group joined up, Ellis and I had a conversation that gave me a general idea of how everything was progressing.
The receptionists of the guild indeed had remarkable information skills.
Since adventurers are human, they tend to have favorite receptionists they see often.
Repeatedly encountering a beautiful receptionist during explorations and rest periods creates a certain fondness, even if it's not outright infatuation.
Adventurers are not secretive agents, so they tend to be loose-lipped in front of a beautiful woman.
Lately, phrases like "I've come down from the 30th floor" or "I don't think I'll go higher than the 20th floor for a while" becomes casual chatter that flows through to Ellis.
"This expedition will have more participants than last time."
"Yeah? The nobles opened their wallets, hiring lots of mercenaries, and it seems other adventurers are getting greedy because what happened on the 10th floor. By the way, there's a request for your party."
"A request?"
"Yes, a request. What kind of work are you doing in the tower that suddenly the Knight Division sends a request?"
A request from the Knights, specifically targeting the adventurer group led by Hanna.
Anyone could see it was related to Josephine, the female knight we had rescued yesterday.
As the group began to gather, we leaned over the table and read the request together.
With the grace of the Goddess skip this part, in honor of the royal skip this too.
The lengthy letter was almost half omitted when all the formalities were removed.
After cutting out the unnecessary portions and reading the rest, the request they made was quite simple.
Having hunted the Full Moon Wolf, rescued the female knight, and captured the mutant shaman, they requested that our party serve as guides.
"As guides? Should we accept?"
"No, it would be better not to. Fortunately, the request came to the guild in the name of the Knights, not the Royal Family."
"Hmm? The reward is quite generous, why not?"
My companions look at me in surprise at my instant refusal, wondering why I would turn down a request that offers gold just for guiding the way.
Their innocent expressions make Ellis chuckle.
She starts to explain on my behalf, tapping the long request form with her finger.
See here, the phrase For the glory of the Royal Family? When it mentions the royal family, it means they have no intention of sharing the honor. By accepting gold as the guide, we're agreeing that they'll monopolize any honor earned during the quest.
"So that means...?"
"I suspect it's probably due to hunting the Full Moon Wolf and creating the gate from its loot. The income from the gate leading into the tower...
Isn't it a tempting proposition for the nobles of the capital?"
By accepting this request, players can get a large amount of gold, but they won't receive any additional rewards.
We can't give up precious rewards like 20th-floor gate passes, skill points, equipment upgrades, and other valuable things that money can't buy.
In the end, the fact that the Kingdom's Knight Division has become a rival remains unchanged.
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