CH 44.2

“Will you challenge her again?”

“Yes.”

“…You can’t win.”

The boy before him, on the other hand, was, in a word: inadequate. He might have trained well, but he was far from being strong enough to fight the swordswoman. If the woman felt like it, she would chop off his head in a heartbeat.

“Tsk… I know!” Ludo bit his lower lip in frustration, but he looked at Bash and told him clearly. “But I’m going to challenge her and win next time.”

“I see.” Bash didn’t feel like stopping him. Sometimes a warrior had to face an opponent he couldn’t beat and win. And if he lost, he died. That was it.

“…”

Ludo then drew his sword and held it out in front of Bash. Bash did not move an inch. If it had cut him, he would have counterattacked, but there was no sign of it.

“That’s why! I beg you one more time! I know it’s impolite to ask such a thing of you, Orc Hero. I beg you one more time! Please make me your apprentice!”

If this were a bar in the orc country, the place would have been in an uproar. First of all, everyone would have stood up and threatened the boy. “Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?”, “You’re being rude!”, “Get in line. I’m going to be Sir Bash’s first apprentice.” “No, me. I’ll be first.” …And from then on it would be a fist fight. When all was said and done, all that would be left would be the destroyed bar, dead orcs, and only Bash standing.

“Mmm…”

Had it been Bash back then, he would have refused immediately. A veteran’s duty was to nurture young warriors, but now Bash was a man traveling for another purpose. He had no time to worry about the boy.

“Brother, you are being rude. That you would ask such a thing of Sir Bash…”

“But Luka, you saw what he did before. If we learn from his sword, we’ll definitely be able to defeat her…”

However, there was one thing that bothered him about the twins in front of him.

There is also the water spirit’s desire.

The water spirit was trying to tell him something. Bash guessed that the wish would be to save the twins. And that wish had just come true.

But would a spirit go to the trouble of telling an orc with whom it had no relationship? By nature, a spirit would never reveal itself to someone with whom it had no connection. If that were the case, he felt he should do something else.

What did the spirit want Bash to do with the twins? If Zell were here, she could explain its intentions to him…

…

Spirits were demanding and capricious beings. When they were angry, even the fairies who were close to the wind spirits were scared to death.

He had heard many anecdotes: A dwarf village that angered a fire spirit was destroyed by a volcanic eruption; a human village that angered a water spirit was wiped out by a terrible storm; a lizardmen village that angered an earth spirit was swallowed by a fissure in the ground; a fairy who offended a wind spirit was once swept away by a sudden tornado, only to be spared after a night on her knees in the air. Spirits were not to be offended. Everyone who lived on this continent understood that.

For example, if Bash had left the place and said, “I saved them, that’s enough”. If that was not what the spirit wanted, it might get angry.

Wait… no, so that’s it? Suddenly, Bash remembered Lula Lula of the Frozen Eyes. She was a beloved of the spirits, he remembered. She was an ogre with little aptitude for magic, but the fact that she cast ice magic with such vigor was proof of that. It would not be surprising if the water spirit was allied with the twins and wanted to help them get revenge. Or maybe one of them was loved by the water spirit.

Either way, it was possible that the spirit wanted the twins to succeed in their revenge. Bash made this judgment based on the little information he had.

“Very well. But only until the rematch with this woman. I have my own goals, too.” He didn’t know how much he could help. But thinking about the future, he couldn’t not do what the spirit asked him to do.

“Really, thank you very much!”

Ludo bowed his head. If this were the orc country, the other orcs would have cheered. They would be disappointed that they had not been chosen, but if Bash had recognized him as his apprentice, that was something to celebrate. He wouldn’t be surprised if he even jumped into the air.

“So, Bash… no, what is your purpose, Master?”

“I’m looking for something.”

“What is it?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“I see. I understand.”

Ludo wasn’t interested and didn’t pursue the matter. Bash was grateful. It was hard to explain when you were asked to get to the root of a problem.

“Anyway, this will be very helpful. I look forward to working with you in the short time you’re here.”

“I don’t know if you will defeat her, but I’ll train you somehow.”

“Yes, please!”

So Ludo became Bash’s apprentice. The de facto number one apprentice. That was what young men in Orc country said when they talked about their dreams, rubbing the bridge of their noses, stammering and a little embarrassed. It was a more than dignified position.

Ludo was delighted, and Luka, on the other hand, had a worried look on her face. But neither of them noticed.