18. Wow, you’re so clever today, Brother Roar!

The clues remain vague, but I already have a “way to prove it.” Sometimes, the truth doesn’t necessarily have to be proven by evidence. Just like this time, I’ve found another way to resolve the conflict between Prus and the Austro-Hungarians. For that, I first need to slightly resolve a “trouble.”

The next day, after silently reciting the Great Compassion Mantra all night and ultimately not doing anything strange to Kephiel, I shook my head and, sporting a pair of dark circles under my eyes, went to find the brothers Gelo and Gu Erdan. Because before resolving the “conflict,” I needed to meet the great wizard of the Austro-Hungarian tribe, the one I had thoroughly offended earlier, even leading to the appearance of that rat orc in my death script.

—

However, when I went to search for the orc brothers to find out the whereabouts of the great wizard, the usual duo of the Red and Green Fiends was not together today. In the empty training ground, only the red-skinned orc, Gelrom, sat there in a daze. Upon seeing me, he hurriedly swallowed a yawn he had just stifled and met my gaze.

“Gelrom, I’m here today to ask you two brothers to take me to meet the great wizard of the Austro-Hungarian tribe.”

I glanced around but still couldn’t find Gu Erdan’s figure. “But… isn’t your brother here?”

“Ah… ah! My brother went out; it’s just me today!”

Gelrom slapped his forehead and stood up. Although I had come to understand his reckless and impulsive nature, today I sensed a hint of… nervousness?

How long have we known each other? Could he really be worried that I would tear him apart?

“You… you said you want to see the great wizard, right? Of course, no problem! With me, a high-ranking orc, you have the right to meet the great wizard directly. But, uh… big brother, what do you want to see the great wizard for? That nasty old rat holds grudges; he must be itching to kill you after what happened last time. Although he wouldn’t dare act openly in the tribe… just running over like this… isn’t it a bit inappropriate?”

I certainly knew there would be danger, as that was precisely why I wanted to meet him.

But then again, hey… given Gelrom’s personality, he usually would have eagerly agreed without a second thought. Today, however, he seemed unexpectedly thoughtful, even considering safety issues—he was almost smarter than his brother, Gu Erdan…

Could he have taken the wrong medicine?

The situation was important, and Gelrom’s odd behavior today made me shake my head and not think too much about it. Why should I doubt someone who was kindly worried about me?

What mattered most now was to seize the moment and resolve the conflict between the elves and orcs with the “method” I had already prepared before any unexpected developments regarding the “Shadow” occurred.

“It’s fine, I just want to meet that great wizard and test his depths. Do you understand what I mean, Gelrom?”

Gelrom was still the same Gelrom. Perhaps he was just a bit slow to catch on, as he didn’t insist on anything further. Instead, he confidently agreed to take me to the clan of the “great wizard,” who had previously shown me great hostility and even concocted a death script against me—the Skaven clan, mostly composed of ratmen.

After the previous clan leader punished these orcs, the great wizard hadn’t caused me any trouble in the past few days. However, the death script initiated by him still loomed over me. How could that orc just give up?

So this time, I had to take the initiative.

“The Skaven clan is a rat clan, and their clan leader is also the great wizard of the Austro-Hungarian tribe. Although everyone’s loyalty to the clan leader is unquestionable since we are all orcs, how should I put it… the great wizard thinks about many things differently from the rest of us orcs.”

On the way there, as we passed through layers of checks thanks to Gelrom’s identity, I was surprised to find him unusually talkative today. He even began to ramble in my ear about the great wizard, almost as if he were preemptively warning me for my upcoming meeting.

“Well, he is indeed very smart, smarter than most of us orcs. Otherwise, the Austro-Hungarian tribe wouldn’t have made him the great wizard, presiding over the tribe when the clan leader doesn’t have special requests. But… it seems he takes pride in his intelligence and looks down on us, treating us like mere tools. He’s particularly ruthless towards those subhumans, even though they’re just doing menial tasks; there’s no need to make things difficult for them…”

Even though the script was reminding me that I was about to meet the great wizard, Gelrom continued to chatter away. While what he told me was quite useful, I didn’t need it at the moment, and…

“Gelrom, I can’t shake the feeling that you’re… quite insightful today.”

Knowing that I was in danger meeting the great wizard, he had just given me a lengthy discourse on the subject. It was surprising that this single-celled orc could understand so much about the great wizard’s inner workings—he was almost like a wise king.

As soon as I finished speaking, Gelrom immediately shut his mouth. His fierce, large eyes cautiously met mine for a moment, then… he nervously

[Eugilid was killed by an envoy of the Grand Sorcerer.]

The script reminded me once again, proving that my thoughts were certainly not wrong: this Grand Sorcerer would never be content after being taught a lesson by us, and his thoughts had been obstructed because of us.

So…

“Big brother, if you think it’s dangerous, we can turn back right now…”

“No, Gerolum, prepare yourself. Let’s report in and meet this Grand Sorcerer alone.”

Thus, I was even more determined to “meet” this clever orc, one of the few in the Austro-Hungarian tribe.

—