Partially buried into the frosted soil, with walls only four feet above the ground and roofs made out entirely of thin panes of ice, that even while frosted over let through as much sunlight as possible unless covered by heavy snow.
If someone unaware entered the village and didn't pay attention to the size of the doors at the end of slopes leading to each house, they could even assume that those buildings were constructed by a particularly short race.
"I demand to speak with your representative! If you don't have one who isn't unconscious, nominate another one! If you can't discuss amongst yourself because of your fear, the first volunteer who will come out will be treated as the representative!"
Rotsard declared, his voice a bit calmer as if he realized that too much intimidation would have the opposite effect to what he wanted.
And then he simply waited.
For a few minutes, it really did seem as if the Snow Orks holed up in their houses would attempt to completely ignore him, but then, finally, sounds started to come out from one of the houses.
Almost seven-feet-tall Snow Ork, at a glance much thinner than any of the ones encountered by Rotsard, even though wearing the same type of white fur clothing, emerged from it.
Not an elderly man, a woman.
And she wasn't even going alone, tagging along behind her was a tiny, for the Snow Orks' standards, child wearing so many layers of fur that they looked round, almost like a ball.
The child was clinging to the woman's leg so much it was hard for her to walk, but she made her way towards Rotsard anyway, without scolding it.
She finally stopped in front of him, and was even attempting the Snow Orks' version of polite greeting…
"..."
"!!!"
*thump*
…but Rotsard looked up at her, his beastly yellow eyes meeting her navy blue ones, and all color drained from her face as her legs gave out and she plopped down, not even on her knees but straight on her butt.
"Neesa? Neesa!?"
She slouched and cowered, too afraid to even attempt to raise her head and meet those beastly yellow eyes again, causing the child, startled by her sudden collapse, to cry out in a scared voice.
"..."
The child wasn't the only one startled, as Rotsard, who did not mean to intimidate the Snow Ork woman and simply attempted to properly look at her, shifted awkwardly, not sure how to proceed.
"Huh. I guess you are the representative now. Would you introduce yourself?"
"...!?"
After a brief consideration, Rotsard shrugged his shoulders and said rather casually, making the Snow Ork child flinch and look at him fearfully
"?"
But when the bleached-blond-haired human tilted his head and simply looked at him in silence without any threatening motions, the child glanced between him and the woman he tagged along with and clearly made a decision.
"I… I am Kellin. Son of the leader of the village's hunters..."
"Hello. It's nice to meet you, Kellin. How old are you?"
The child sniffled a little bit but did answer, making Rotsard nod and inquire further.
"...four…"
"!"
Kellin mumbled slightly pitifully while raising his hand. Most likely to show the number with his fingers, only that the gloves he was wearing were the full mittens, so the presentation didn't really fulfill its purpose, but it certainly did look extremely adorable, and the cuteness seemed to have a physical effect on the human who ended up flinching.
"I see, I see. You're a very brave boy, you know? Is this your mother?"
"...?"
After a moment to compose himself, Rotsard nodded along and added, glancing over at the woman who still didn't dare to look up, causing Kellin to turn towards her with surprise before turning back to Rotsard and shaking his head.
"This is my big sister, Neesa. Papa said that mama is with the spirits now and can't come back anymore."
Kellin explained while his chin started quivering and his eyes glossed over with tears.
"Ohh… I see. Kellin, come over here for a bit."
"..."
Rotsard nodded and then beckoned the young Snow Ork while taking out a handkerchief. The child glanced over at his sister, but since there were no signs from her indicating she wanted him to stay, Kellen simply trotted over right to the bleached-blond-haired human's side.
Rotsard then gently wiped the child's eyes and put the handkerchief to his nose.
"Blow your nose."
He said, and Kellin complied obediently, snorting instead of sniffling.
"Good boy."
"...mister… Why did you beat up my papa…? A-and everyone?"
Rotsard folded the used handkerchief and put it in Kellin's pocket before patting his head. That made the child look down and ask, as if he was trying to figure out why someone nice had done something bad.
"Your papa and the others were defending your village. That was the right thing to do. But then I ended up making a mistake and showing up right in front of them instead of where I thought my destination would be, and they attacked me. Considering the circumstances, they did the right thing… that's why I only beat them up and didn't go any further."
"...!"
Rotsard explained with a shrug, and the Snow Ork woman flinched and slightly raised her head, stealing still scared but at least not terrified glances.
"..."
"Oh? What's with that little face?"
The child pouted and started sulking, making the human laugh and ask with amusement.
"...papa said that if he is attacked, a man should always fight back…"
Kellin ended up revealing grumpily, only making Rotsard more amused.
"Hoho~! I see. He said that, but you never expected he would be on the receiving end of that fighting back~"
"...mhmm…"
Rotsard chuckled and pointed out, to which the Snow Ork child nodded while fidgeting.
"That's fair. I did go a bit too far, even though I knew they had a valid reason to be so aggressive… Anyway, I'll be staying only for a little bit longer. I at least want them to regain their consciousness so your village won't be completely defenseless."
The bleached-blond-haired youth smiled lightly right as he reached out and started patting the child's head, although he was looking at the sister while he spoke.
Afterwards, he did only what he said.
He wasn't welcomed like a guest, and he would refuse that treatment in the first place. Then, after roughly an hour, Rotsard opened himself a portal leading to the group of ice mana users he had ignored as too weak the first time.
At that point, there was barely any time left before the life and death duel…
"You might have got beaten up, but your initial decision was the correct one."
"..."
Rotsard declared to the silent Snow Orks, all looking away awkwardly, before walking through the portal without even looking at it properly…
"...!"
*thump*
…and barely managed to land on his feet as it turned out the exit one was pointed directly towards the ground.
But, he finally made it to the arena.