Chapter 38

13 AN ENGAGEMENT One night had passed since the woman left. Bash was seriously injured, but thanks to fairy dust, he recovered without incident. Everyone remained silent until the end of the night. Zell and the twins were ruminating over the terrible battle from earlier. Bash was thinking about how he could have won. There was nothing to say. They barely moved. But with the coming of the dawn, they stirred into action. As they started walking, Ludo’s excitement seemed to return to him, and he started to speak. He rehashed the fight between Bash and the woman. The parts where he’d been sure Bash had the upper hand. The parts where he’d despaired. He seemed so excited that he couldn’t stop talking. Zell, good at talking, skillfully chimed in and brought up suggestions to liven things up, making Ludo even more excited. But Bash and Luca were silent. There was no particular reason why Bash didn’t talk. But no doubt he was recalling the way the woman’s breasts had swayed every time she moved during the battle. His lips curved into a grin. Luca, on the other hand, wore a much cloudier look on her face. And like this, they eventually passed through the forest. Beyond the clearing was a valley with a river flowing at the bottom of it. There was quite a drop-off, but they could hear the river gurgling loudly. No doubt because of the continuous rain. “Ah, this is the river where you fell, Boss! If we go up this river, we can return to our original location!” “Right.” Bash and Zell headed upstream without hesitation. However, the two ogres stopped in their tracks. “Master, please excuse us here.” “What are you going to do?” “For now, we’ll go back to our hometown. Ogre country is downstream, so…” “Right.” “I’d like to follow you, my master, and train forever, but after seeing the battle yesterday, I realized that at my current level, there is…really nothing you could teach me…” Ludo had been smiling up until this point. However, his face suddenly became distorted, and he began to yell. “I’m so frustrated! Not only can I not keep up when sparring with you, Master, I’m not even qualified to attempt it! I was so desperate to get revenge, but I couldn’t even fight against that woman! I understand it all so clearly now!” Ludo looked up at Bash, his face streaked with tears. “You knew it from the start, didn’t you? That I was still too much of a beginner to even start learning the basics! That’s why you trained me the way you did, right?” “…That’s correct.” Usually, Bash would have denied it, but he understood the situation too well. As expected, Ludo was too weak. He wasn’t even at the point of considering wins or losses. “I’ll train from scratch until I can beat that woman…or at the very least, I’ll do my best until the adults in my country acknowledge me as a respectable man!” “Your target might die at the hands of someone else in the meantime.” “…I don’t think someone who could fight on equal terms with my master would die that easily… And…well, knowing how strong my mother was, I assumed her killer had used a sneak attack, but after seeing the fight between you and the woman earlier, I realized it wasn’t so… So I’m not in such a hurry anymore.” “Then surely there’s no need for revenge at all anymore?” “But it’s true that she killed my mother…and besides, if I don’t have a goal to work toward, I won’t be able to stay motivated.” Then Ludo laughed, looking unburdened. Luca took a step forward, as if to back Ludo up. “Um, Mr. Bash?” “Yeah?” “Thank you very much for all of your help.” And Luca bowed her head. She looked up finally, fidgeting with her hands before her, gazing at Bash. “Since… Since the revenge plot is over with, would you still consider making me your wife once I’ve grown up?” “Mmm…” Bash thought it over for a minute. A few years… They wouldn’t have to get married right away. It was an engagement, wasn’t it? Though Bash wasn’t familiar with the protocol there. “Of course.” Therefore, he simply nodded. He’d be a free agent for a few years, at least. If he ended up meeting a monogamous elf lady or something, he’d still be able to wed her instead. “Yay! Thank you!” Seeing Luca light up, Bash half smiled, too. A half ogre, half human. No doubt she’d grow up beautiful, exactly Bash’s type. Thinking of having someone like that as his wife made his chest swell with anticipation. Though Luca was currently such a tiny thing, he could hardly picture it. Though adopted, she was technically the daughter of the great Rularula. More than good enough to be an Orc Hero’s wife. “Since it’s only going to be a few years, should you return to the orc country now, Boss? She can’t have kids right away, but why not kick back and wait leisurely at home?” “No, not when I’ve recently received some vital intel. Let’s press on to the demon country.” Bash spoke rather quickly. Because Bash’s big secret had nothing to do with wifely duties. The vital thing was to rid himself of his virginity on this quest. In other words, to avoid becoming a wizard warrior. Therefore, to give up the quest here and return home would be madness. “Hmm, I guess that makes sense, Boss…” Zell tilted their fairy head, not quite following. But Zell was a fairy, and Bash was an orc, and neither of them tended to sweat the fine details. “Well, anyway, Boss, it’s fine if you have many wives! Besides, if you had to handle the boss all by yourself, Luca, then no matter how much ogre blood you have in you, you’d probably break from the strain right away!” “Hmm.” Luca, still young, didn’t quite understand what the fairy was getting at. Still, ogres don’t practice monogamy. The suggestion of Bash having many wives didn’t really faze her. “…? I don’t really understand, but I’ll do my best to train as a bride in my hometown, so as to be of satisfactory service!” “Right!” Bash nodded with an expectant smile. And so Bash managed to find himself a fiancée. His first actual success since his journey had begun. As a step, it wasn’t really a big one, and it didn’t help him with his ultimate goal any. But it was a step in the right direction for the kind of future Bash envisioned. And so Bash’s quest continues. In order to achieve his true purpose, he is off now to the land of the demons. While still ruminating on the jiggling breasts of the swordswoman he’d fought along the way…