"Wait, so why exactly is this such a big deal?" Gobta, who had just arrived, asked curiously.
"It's simple. Compared to orcs, ogres are a much stronger people. Under normal circumstances they wouldn't even dare attack a few of them, let alone a whole village of ogres. It's honestly hard for me to even imagine such a thing happening," Kaijin explained in a grim tone.
While they talked I was having a bit of a nervous breakdown. (How did I get dragged into this?)
I was sitting slightly off to the side, listening to the conversation at hand. And honestly, I was uncomfortable to put it mildly, not only with the general topic but also with the current company. While I did understand that their attack on us was just a big misunderstanding, that didn't mean I was suddenly eager to suddenly sit down and have a nice chat with them. In fact, I was feeling incredibly anxious overall.
I wasn't really paying much attention to the specifics, however I did pick up on a few things as they continued to talk, mainly the orcs and their attack on the ogre village. Still though, I felt out of place; I didn't know what to say and frankly felt like I shouldn't really be here. So, as the line of conversation grew bleaker, I found myself looking for any excuse to leave without coming off as rude or insensitive.
"Regardless of whether it should have happened or not, it happened, they did attack," the redhead hissed, his voice growing somber.
"The orc army raided our village in the dead of night while we slept," he muttered through gritted teeth. "By the time most of us awoke the village was alight, their roars filling the air before we even had time to prepare." The sheer hatred I felt from him as he continued made me flinch slightly. "The damn cowards didn't even have the courage to face us head on!"
He breathed for a second, calming himself before continuing. "They had weapons, armor and... they were numberless, pouring out from between the trees without end."
(T‑that... that must have been awful,) I thought as I listened, the grief and rage in his voice striking an unexpected chord with me. (I had a feeling... but I guess this world is more violent than I was expecting it to be.)
Just then, as the conversation continued, a calm, steady voice came from my side. "Excuse me."
"Oh... erm, hey?" I mumbled as I turned to look at the source of the voice, the old man.
(What does he want?) I asked myself internally, my wings pulling inwards to press against my back instinctively.
Seemingly noticing how uneasy I was, he paused for a second before continuing. "I just wanted to apologize. It appears my previous actions have caused you some turmoil, and I am deeply ashamed of that."
"It's... it's fine. You were just protecting your friends after all," I muttered awkwardly.
"Indeed I was, but I would not have had to if we had decided to take a more diplomatic approach to our first meeting. So once again, I apologize for wounding you." He bowed his head slightly before returning his attention to the conversation.
I appreciated that he had kept things short, and I was somewhat stunned by the sudden apology. I wasn't exactly a fan of apologies thanks to my previous experiences mind you, but he seemed genuine. Although I wouldn't have been so sure if it wasn't for my Truth Seeker subskill, something that was extremely useful for someone like me, someone who just so happens to have major trust issues.
(I guess... I guess he's not that bad after all...) I thought before following his example and returning to the conversation at hand.
"That could only mean that the orcs aren't working alone..." Rigurd muttered, his voice heavy with tension.
Kaijin nodded in agreement before speaking. "It makes sense. Under normal circumstances orcs wouldn't be able to get their hands on such armour and weapons, especially in such large amounts as you have described. In the end, it would be impossible for them, at least not without proper assistance from some kind of outside force."
"You would be correct. Someone was indeed helping them..." The redhead rumbled, his body shaking ever so slightly as pure rage boiled inside him.
"A masked majin?" Kaijin asked, the redhead's confirmation coming in the form of a simple nod.
(What's a majin? Some kind of monster?) I thought, momentarily confused. (Do you know Great Sage?)
[Answer: Majin are powerful and intelligent humanoid monsters; the word is more of an umbrella term that covers many different powerful humanoid monster races whose bodies are made primarily of magicules. That was the explanation I got in return for my question.] Her voice echoed in the back of my mind as she explained.
(Oh, okay then.) I mused, still not fully understanding but with a rough idea now.
"So that explains it. When you saw Lord Rimuru in the forest you assumed that it was him who had attacked your people?" Rigurd hummed, a look of realization on his face.
For a second I felt the rage inside the ogre leader calm, replaced by a feeling of shame. "That is correct, yes..."
"Okay, so what's all that supposed to mean?" Gobta asked while biting into a meat kebab.
"It's only a guess on my part, but it could mean that the orcs have sided with one of the demon lords," Rigurd explained.
(There are demons in this world as well?) I muttered internally, realising just how little I actually knew about this place.
"I don't know the details, nor do I care, if I'm being honest." The redhead hissed, shaking his head slightly in disdain. "All I know is that out of my three hundred brethren, only six of us are still alive today."
(Oh... no wonder they were so aggressive... I've never lost anyone I truly cared about before, but I probably wouldn't be able to think clearly if I did...) I thought, a pang of sympathy filling my mind.
For a moment I just took a second to try and picture what that would be like, what that would feel like, before I then hesitantly opened my mouth. "I'm... I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"W-what?" The redhead turned to me, clearly taken aback by my sudden words.
"I'm sorry for your loss," I said, this time with a bit more confidence. "I didn't know those of your village, but I hope you can avenge them..."
(Why am I saying this stuff? It's not like I even understand what it means to lose someone, so it's not like my words carry any real weight...) I thought, shifting slightly and feeling nervous as everyone's attention turned to me.
For a moment he didn't respond, but eventually he did. "Thank you... thank you for your kind words," he said with what sounded like genuine appreciation.
"Y-your... you're welcome..." I mumbled awkwardly.
Just then the familiar voice of Rimuru reached my ears. "Awww, it's nice to see my cute daughter getting along with our new guests."
(W-who is he calling cute?) I huffed slightly and glared at him as he walked over, which only made him chuckle.
"Daughter?" The redhead repeated, surprise on his face. The other two ogres looked just as surprised at the sudden revelation.
"I officially adopted her a few days ago," Rimuru said with a smile. "Her full name is Suu Tempest, by the way."
(Oh yeah, I forgot to introduce myself.) I sighed; it had honestly slipped my mind.
While I was thinking that, Rimuru continued. "By the way, your sister is really something else."
"She knows so much about medicinal and cooking herbs that the goblinas immediately took a liking to her," he said to the leader of the ogres, gesturing off to the individual in question off in the distance.
The female ogre he referred to was standing some distance away, surrounded by a small crowd of goblinas. Honestly, I hadn't expected the pink-haired ogre to be the redhead's sister, but apparently she was. Anyway, now that I wasn't in the middle of a fight, I could finally get a good look at her.
As previously mentioned, she had pink hair, but of course there was more to her than just that. She had reddish-pink eyes and two white horns, and she bore similar tear markings under her eyes like the redhead did, however instead of red the markings were pink. She wore a rather beautiful kimono, covered slightly by a greyish-white robe that was draped over her form. Additionally, she was wearing white socks as well as red and black sandals that concealed her feet; honestly, her clothes were probably the fanciest looking out of all of the six ogres.
"She was a very sheltered child. I'm sure it makes her happy to be relied upon," the redhead nodded, seemingly pleased that his sister was fitting in so well.
"She seems nice..." I muttered under my breath, catching Rimuru's attention with my words.
"So why don't you go over and join in the fun?" He suggested. I was almost tempted, but after a moment of thought I shook my head.
"I... I don't... I don't like crowds," I said, and he sighed softly.
"Alright, whatever makes you comfortable."
There was a short silence, then Rimuru returned his attention to the redhead and asked "Now, what exactly are you going to do?"
"What do you mean?"
Seeing that he didn't understand, Rimuru clarified. "What's your next move?"
"Are you going to try and rebuild your village? Or maybe find some place to relocate?" He suggested with a tilt of his head. "Your comrades are relying on you, after all."
The redhead didn't hesitate. "The answer is simple, we'll regain our strength and then we'll hunt down those filthy pigs and get revenge."
"Do you even know where they are?" Rimuru asked, causing the leader of the ogres to go quiet and look away.
(I'm guessing he hadn't really thought of that...)
And so the conversation continued, and one thing became painfully clear: the redhead didn't have any real plan moving forward. Okay, that wasn't entirely true, his plan basically boiled down to gathering strength before hunting down and killing the masked majin as well as all the orcs. Even I could tell that wasn't going to end well, considering there were only six of them against who knows how many orcs.
In the end, Rimuru made an offer: a formal partnership of sorts. He suggested that the ogres join under him so they could work together against the orc threat if it came to that. After all, there was no telling if the orcs would stop at destroying just the ogre village; it was very possible that they could come and attack us next.
Of course, the redhead didn't accept immediately. He needed time to decide, and honestly, I think the offer might have hurt his pride, even if he knew it was probably the best option available to him right now. After Rimuru agreed to give him some time to mull it over, the redhead soon got up and walked off into the forest to think, with Rimuru also leaving to go back to enjoying the food of the festival.
As for how I processed all of this, I didn't really know what to think. I felt a lot of things at that moment, most of them not good. Fear was the main one, not for myself, mind you, but for the town and everyone in it. The idea of all of them getting killed... that thought alone probably filled me with the largest amount of dread that I had felt since waking up.
Eventually, after talking with Kaijin, Rigurd and the others for a while, I got up and walked away as well. The redhead wasn't the only one who needed time alone. I found a quiet place where I could take a minute to go over it all in my head.
"Well... that was quite the emotional conversation..." I muttered, my back against the hard trunk of a tree.
"At least the sky is beautiful tonight," I breathed, taking in the stars above as my thoughts turned sombre.
(If they come here... everyone could die... the first place that I've ever felt like I truly belong could... could actually end up being destroyed...) I thought, imagining the scene playing out in my head.
For a second I just sat there contemplating, before asking myself a question that had lingered in the back of my mind. "Can I... am I strong enough to stop that from happening?"
(No.) That was the answer I came to a moment later. (No, I'm not.) It was true. While yes, I was powerful in theory, the problem was that I had little to no experience with actually using that power in normal situations, let alone using it in a fight to the death.
"I could train more, get better at fighting, but... that's not the main issue now, is it?" I sighed.
(The main question I should be asking is whether or not... I... I can kill.) I mumbled internally. (Orcs are probably intelligent, sentient creatures, so it would be like killing another person.)
(Could I actually bring myself to do that...?)
A part of me wanted to say no, to not get involved and just hope nothing bad happens, to just keep my head down and pretend that everything will turn out fine. Maybe, if I was still my old self, that's what I would have done. Actually no, there would be no "maybe" about it; that's exactly what I would have done. Unfortunately for that old part of me, things had changed over these past few days, and now I was drawing a line in the sand, so to speak.
For the first time ever I had found a place where I felt appreciated, where I felt loved. Thanks to my reincarnation and my change in mindset, I could actually appreciate these things for what they were truly worth. And I wasn't willing to give them up. I wouldn't allow my past, my suffering, to make me hesitate now. So then, what was the answer? Could I kill to protect this place? Could I stand the idea of staining my hands in blood for my own happiness and for the happiness of the people of this town? The answer was simple, all things considered.
"Yes..."