“...It seems I would be best served discussing this matter again with Captain Custodio, then.”
“Is shapeshifting a form of illusion? I’m more familiar with petty tricks like illusions.”
“For starters, shapeshifting is vastly different from illusions, but explaining that will take a long time so I’ll skip it for now. However, looking down on illusions is very dangerous, you know? Illusions are a fearsome type of spell that become scarier the more skilled the caster is. Also, there are those illusionists who aren’t satisfied with a surface understanding and choose to specialize along that path.”
“So it’s when they specialize?”
“Ahh, yes. For example, there are spells like 「Perfect Illusion」 which can defy all five senses. And beyond that, there are those who have refined their illusions to the utmost limit, who can use a certain skill once every few days to deceive the world itself.”
An illusion that could deceive a world was beyond her capacity to imagine.
“Ah, how exactly does that worldly illusion work?”
“From what I know, it’s a spell that lets you rewrite any aspect of the world, I think. Well, simply put, using an illusion like that could even bring the dead back to life?”
“Eh!? You’re talking about an illusion, right?”
“Oh yes. An illusion which tricks the world — the ultimate secret of illusions. By deceiving the world itself, an illusion can be made real.”
All she could think was Wahhh~ Even if one said that the pinnacle of illusion could do such a thing, it was so incredible that she did not quite understand what he was saying.
“So, does nobody manage the inborn talents of this country?”
“No, I’ve never heard of it before. Does the Sorcerous Kingdom do such things?”
“My country does not have that practice either. I plan to do so in the future, but that will require considerable effort… it might end up being a matter of ten or more years in the future.”
The Sorcerer King had already envisioned the events of the next ten years in his mind. This was the difference between a king and a commoner.
In other words, a tremendous difference.
♦ ♦ ♦
The Orcs were held in a building whose windows were boarded up from the outside. This was quite a big structure, probably the second or third largest in this city.
There were many paladins gathered at the entrance. It would seem they were on guard against what was inside.
After seeing the Sorcerer King approach, the paladins genuflected before him to express their respect.
“I’ve heard from Captain Custodio that the Orcs are in this building. May I enter?”
“Yes! Of course you may, Your Majesty!”
“Then you should go from this place and return to what you should be doing.”
The paladins looked up.
“But the Captain ordered us to be stationed here. We may not leave our posts.”
“...Did she now? Then I take back my previous words.”
Saying so, the Sorcerer King passed between the paladins and pushed open the door. Naturally, Neia was following him.
There was a sour odor in the air which seared Neia’s nose. This was not poison gas, but the smell reminded Neia of when she had once followed a paladin to a jail. In addition, there were other smells mixed into it — smells that made her want to throw up.
“This is…”
When she heard the Captain mention it earlier, she had thought about why the Orcs had been specially brought along.
Neia knew that she was about to learn the truth, but at the same time she deployed the wings of her imagination. If this was not just a problem that the Orcs faced, if there was a grand alliance against Jaldabaoth, would the demihumans who wanted to fight back against him rally to their banner?
As Neia thought all this, the Sorcerer King kept pushing doors open as he advanced. One could say that letting the Sorcerer King go first was a matter of fact now.
They crossed rooms and passed through corridors.
Just by walking, she realized that this place was filthier than a jail.
The place was filthy with blood, vomit, and other detritus. The conditions here were so terrible that there was no way to imagine what had happened here.
Orcs were demihumans around the height of a man, with porcine facial features. They were said to be a species that loved cleanliness. They would not be happy to live in such a place[2].
Neia watched the hem of the Sorcerer King’s cloak. While she was worried about how his magnificent garments might be stained, she could not tell him to wait outside either. After all, nobody could possibly speak for the wise Sorcerer King.
Soon, Neia’s keen senses picked up traces of many creatures breathing and moving ahead of them. There was also what sounded like crying children and mothers trying to comfort them.
Orcs…? Not humans?
Neia was confused. She had never considered the possibility that Orcs might have families and raised children. The Orcs who came to the Holy Kingdom were invaders. They were hated enemies. Therefore, she had stopped thinking about them in any other sense.
As Neia sank into confusion, the Sorcerer King opened the door.
The vile odor intensified, and there were several screams.
“The undead!”
“It’s a Skeleton! Why!?”
“Those bastard humans! They sold us to the undead!”
“They’re actually using the undead! Those filthy humans!”
“Mama—! Save me—!”
“My boy—!!!”
The Sorcerer King stopped at the entrance. As expected, even the Sorcerer King was puzzled by this.
“Ah — ahem! Silence!”
After the Sorcerer King bellowed his order, the noisy room fell silent. Of course, that was only for a moment. It immediately filled back up with a racket that was several times louder than before. They were wailing about roughly the same things. No, there seemed to be more voices bemoaning their fate and begging for mercy for their children, regardless of what happened to themselves.
“...Haaah.”
The Sorcerer King sighed, as though he were tired. After that — he slammed on the door. His bony white hands possessed incredible power, and the door bounced away, swinging out until it struck the wall with an incredible sound. The demihumans fell silent immediately.
“Shut up. The next one of you who speaks without permission had better be ready to die.”
The Sorcerer King took a step into a room that seemed to have been frozen in silence — with some parents trying desperately to cover their children’s mouths — and the demihumans all retreated from him.
“I did not come here to kill you. On the contrary, I am here to save you.”
Usually, Neia the human would have a lot of difficulty trying to read the face of a demihuman such as an Orc. However, just this once, Neia was absolutely confident in herself.
Every single one of them was going No way.
“Explaining to everyone at once is troublesome. Send out a representative.”
A moment later, an Orc looked like he was about to rise, but the Orc beside him stopped him. However, he still took a step forward.
He may have been a skinny Orc, but he had clearly possessed a strong body once.
“...May I assume that you are the representative?”
The Orc said nothing and simply nodded.
“...What’s wrong? Why do you not speak?”
“Ah, perhaps it is because Your Majesty ordered them to shut up just now?”
“While I felt that I had given my permission, it would seem nobody understood it that way. You, the Orc who has stepped forward, I permit you to speak. Begin by stating your name.”
2
The pigman depiction of orcs apparently derives from Ludovico Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso, where they had piggish features. Other depictions include the original corrupted-elf Uruks by Tolkien and the Warhammer greenskins. It seems Maruyama has decided to make them full-on pig beastmen. No, this is not a translation of the CN TL note below.