74. Shocking Orcs
Following Gu Erdan, the carefree Golrom finally realized what my and Kephiel’s stealthy appearance and serious demeanor represented. They didn’t ask many questions but immediately led us to a place they claimed would be “absolutely free of any disturbances”—in front of the Grand Chieftain’s temple of the Austro-Hungarian tribe.
At this moment, the two orc brothers stood still and turned to us.
“If we’re talking about the most ‘serious’ occasion in the Austro-Hungarian tribe, it must be in front of the Grand Chieftain’s temple!”
“That’s right! No one would dare come here without permission, and… even though you said you wanted to tell us a ‘secret,’ as dignified high orcs, we must let the Grand Chieftain know about these matters!”
Two orc brothers looked at us with righteous indignation, as if to say, “If we weren’t in the Great Chief’s temple, we wouldn’t be listening to this!” Although I wouldn’t really hold my tongue over something like this, it still made my mood a bit complicated to explain the purpose of my visit with Kephiel here in the “Great Chief’s” temple. Because…
“There’s no problem; this is indeed the ‘most suitable’ place.”
I glanced around. This was the place where the Great Chief of the Austro-Hungarian tribe occasionally descended, and naturally, the orcs regarded it as a kind of “temple.” The decorations around and the offerings at the front all reflected the simple orcs’ respect for their “Great Chief.”
I hoped that, unlike those who merely revered brute strength and placed undue emphasis on “rank,” treating the subhumans within the Austro-Hungarian tribe as mere servants, Gelo and Gu Erdan could “understand.”
“Now, I’m going to tell you two some… not-so-good news. I hope… you can maintain this calm after hearing it.”
After giving a slight reminder to Gelo and Gu Erdan, I slowly began to speak, watching as the two orc brothers grinned widely, showing their sharp fangs.
“It’s okay! Under the guidance of the Great Chief, we orcs are very reasonable!”
But therein lay the problem…
“What if what you admire, including you two, is actually… completely different from what you think it is?”
My words quickly left Gelo and Gu Erdan stunned.
【Ogilid revealed the identity of Zelus!】
On the surface, she was just a subhuman little fox responsible for cleaning the temple, with no status other than that of a janitor. Yet behind the scenes, she could transform into the Great Chief, whom the orcs had to bow down to and obey. This situation arose entirely because the orcs did not know the true nature of the “Great Chief,” whom they viewed as a guardian deity. They only knew that the Great Chief appeared as a massive shadow, exuding absolute authority and pressure.
Perhaps this was also a necessary measure taken by Zelus to maintain the existence of subhumans within the Austro-Hungarian tribe. After all, not all subhumans were as powerful as she was. In reality, the subhumans in the Austro-Hungarian tribe were merely a group of slightly more capable beast-eared girls. Even if Zelus were like them, she could not help them gain their own status among the orcs, who revered brute strength.
Moreover, Zelus might not have the time to worry about this now; her own identity was at risk of exposure. If her subhuman identity were revealed among those orcs… could she still continue to be their Great Chief?
After my speech, I looked at Gelo and Gu Erdan.
“In summary… the ‘Great Chief’ you admire might actually be a very strong subhuman, rather than a mighty orc. Now that you know the situation, what do you plan to… do?”
It seemed I wouldn’t get an answer to this question anytime soon. After all, the two orcs in front of me were completely wide-eyed, their brains still processing what I had just said. I immediately focused on the script, waiting with Kephiel for any slight reaction from the two orc brothers.
Because I was taking a risk.
Having quietly arrived at the Austro-Hungarian tribe, we had no real “support” to speak of. Ikaros was not some all-powerful fairy who could bend the world to her will; the only ones we had a slightly better relationship with were the orc brothers, Gelo and Gu Erdan.
But… they are also beastmen, and in this incident regarding the “true identity of the Great Chieftain,” they cannot distance themselves from it! So I must take the risk of revealing this secret. If their reaction is one of furious anger, denying the existence of Zelus, then to immediately safeguard the secret, Kephiel would have no choice but to “deal with” the two beastmen right here. At least until the incident is over and everything is safe, I could let them return to the Austro-Hungarian tribe. This is one of the reasons why I absolutely needed to find a “place where no one knows to share the secret.”
After this, it would naturally fall to me and Kephiel to face the difficulties together.
However, if these two beastmen could be a bit more flexible and open-minded, they would become indispensable allies in resolving the dangerous script involving Zelus!
After a long while, the two beastman brothers finally responded. Fortunately: the situation was not as troublesome as I had imagined.
“Big brother, you… you’re not joking about some strange human festival, are you?”
“Gelrom, do you think I’m joking, rushing here in the dead of night to tell you this?”
“Gelrom, you shut up first.”
Gu Erdan spoke up, “Honestly, I feel like it might take me a year and a half to digest this… But since we began to remember, we have already acknowledged the existence of the Great Chieftain. Our dignity as high-ranking beastman warriors, etc., will not allow us to deny this just because of a little thing. It has nothing to do with identity; the Great Chieftain is the Great Chieftain.”
Unlike Gu Erdan’s seriousness, Gelrom scratched his head in regret: “Oh no, I remember I brought it up before…”
Zelus probably wouldn’t bother to hold that against you, Gelrom. But then again, judging by the brothers’ tone, the Great Chieftain must have existed since they were young, which means that Zelus, that bear-fox, is not exactly young…
“But big brother, this kind of thing… we two can barely accept it. But the other beastmen might not be so accommodating…”
“I know, that’s exactly why I came.”
【Gelrom and Gu Erdan have accepted Zelus’s identity!】
The script appeared, and I finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
With the help of these two brothers, what Kephiel and I needed to do next became much simpler.
“I’ve only shared this secret with the two of you because… I need you to sincerely help your Great Chieftain, knowing her identity.”
Looking at the astonished faces of the two brothers, I continued, “If nothing unexpected happens, your Great Chieftain may soon encounter some troubles that will likely expose her identity…”
“The big picture might be hard for you to grasp, so I’ll be straightforward: are you two willing to protect the entire Austro-Hungarian tribe?”