Surprisingly, Kirgar was the first to speak.

“Please, human. Don’t take our land. We have nowhere to go; our clan would perish if you forced us out.”

Sol turned to face the begging A-Rank orc but couldn’t help but feel resentment.

“You killed Lapis and you expect me to listen to your pleas?”

Each of his words was heavy and laced with suppressed rage. Kirgar could tell Sol was furious about the death of his comrade and knew he wouldn’t be forgiven. But that didn’t mean his clan had to suffer for his actions.

“Direct your anger at me, not my clan. I was the one who killed her. If you take our land, tens of thousands of orcs will perish to Orna’s wrath or die trying to invade other nations.”

No nation would accept such a large number of orcs, as it would destabilize their country, which was why the only option left to them would be an all-out war in hopes they could carve out a territory large enough for their clan.

Sol knew such a war would completely dwarf the one he saw at the fort two months ago. Their clan’s existence would be on the line, and they would be forced to mobilize every man, woman, and child they could in hopes they could claim new territory. The deaths in such a war wouldn’t just be from the orcs but from whichever nation they decided to invade, which would either be the Holy Kingdom of Delvania or his Kingdom of Crestelia.

Regardless of which nation they invaded, he didn’t want to be the cause of so many deaths from both sides.

Sol reassured him, “I won’t force the orcs out of their homes. But you will pay for her death.”

“Thank you…”

Even though Kirgar’s fate was sealed, he was glad he prevented the death of his clan.

Sol then turned back to Orna, who had been waiting patiently for his decision.

“Great Orna-”

“Just Orna is fine. You are a guest, and we are conducting a trade after all.”

“You really like trading, huh.”

Sol accidentally spoke his thoughts out loud and immediately apologized.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way!”

Orna let out a booming laugh that shook the entire cave.

“Haha! Do not worry, human, it's true after all. I simply love the act of making a deal, from finding out what both parties desire to finding a solution that benefits all involved. Sadly, it's something Naria still doesn't understand. She sees trading as an absolute contract, and it doesn't matter if one or even both parties come out unsatisfied. Ah, but don’t tell her that; she needs to learn it on her own.”

‘I don’t think I’m going to talk to a literal goddess anytime soon…’

The more he conversed with Orna, the less terrifying he found it. Sure, it was a being that could nap through entire centuries and easily cause extreme natural disasters even in its self proclaimed wounded state, but it was starting to give the feeling of a wise old man who sits out on the front of his house and talks to anyone who passes by.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Then about what I was saying. Orna, I don’t want to own half of the region. But I have a suggestion. Can you no longer demand tribute from the orcs?”

Sol didn’t really have any desire to own such a large piece of land. What would he even do with it? He would rather the orcs no longer require tribute so they no longer had a reason to invade their kingdom.

The squad was surprised at what he was asking, but no one was as surprised as Kirgar. He didn’t understand why a human was going so far to solve their problems, but he felt touched nonetheless.

Sadly, Orna didn’t find it acceptable. “While it's honorable for you to help their clan, even when you are clearly enemies, the fruit is only worth at most five centuries of tribute. After that, I would have to collect once more. But even so, it wouldn’t be in my favor as the fruit would then not expedite my recovery by much. Only by combining the fruits with tribute can I hope to recover within the next millennium.”

Kirgar’s face darkened as he realized their clan would have to pay tribute for centuries. He doubted their clan could survive in these lands for so many years before they all became sacrifices for it.

Sol also understood this wouldn’t solve their problem, even if Orna accepted that condition, so he tried to find another angle.

“What if… we perform the ritual for life clusters?”

“Uhh… Sol, how do you suppose we do that?” Rex asked. As far as he knew, nobody in their squad was an expert in rituals.

“I don’t mean right now, but we can go to our kingdom and share what we know. If we work alongside the knowledge Orna has and what the orcs have discovered in their attempts to perform the ritual, we might be able to solve it.”

Aron was speechless. “You want our kingdom that has been constantly invaded by orcs for the past 40 or so years to work alongside the orcs?”

Even Kirgar didn’t see how that could happen. Orcs weren’t the most receptive to help from outsiders. He wasn’t even sure if they would accept it.

While everyone doubted his plan, two saw the potential.

Duncan placed his hand under his chin and spoke his thoughts out loud. “It might be possible… Not only would it solve the orcs’ tribute problem so they no longer have a reason to attack us, it would likely open the door for many advancements in magic. I don’t think the kingdom would be against such an arrangement.”

Orna agreed. “If the orcs could produce life clusters once more, my recovery would also be much faster.”

Sol further added, “We could also tackle it from the dwarven side and search the tunnels for their kingdom. If we find it, we can find out how they made the life clusters. We would just need some time to do it.” He then turned to the large eye. “So what do you say, Orna? Do we have a deal?”

Orna was silent, but one could see how its eye wrinkled, not unlike how it would when smiling. Sol believed deep underground, this massive being was grinning. The ground shook as he laughed once more.

“Hahaha! This is why I love a good trade! Everyone wins! You have yourself a deal! But there is one more thing I wish to add.”

“Huh, what is it?”

“If this plan of yours works, I gain a steady supply of life clusters once more, the orcs would no longer need sacrifices, and your kingdom would no longer be invaded. But you and your allies do not gain anything. I will amend that!”

The ground began to shake again, but this time the ground in front of Sol began to crack. The ground split open as three large reptilian scales rose from the ground in front of him.

Orna spoke with a slightly less energetic tone; it clearly took a lot of effort from him to present those three scales.

“Human. In my long life, few mortals have interested me as much as you have. If not for the fact your laws don’t align with mine, I would have selected you as my chosen. Instead, I present these scales, each imbued with one of my laws: the Law of Frigid Winds, the Law of Trade, and the Law of Dragons.”

“You're a dragon?!” Sol shouted in surprise. He was also confused at the mention of laws as he had also heard the Commander mention it before during his training. At the time he thought it was referring to the rules in how some techniques worked but it seemed there was more to it. He made a mental note he would ask the Commander when he returned.

“You didn’t know?” Orna thought it was obvious. He wasn’t hiding it and even said his draconic name.

Sol and the rest of the squad shook their heads. How were they supposed to know they were bartering with a dragon?

Kirgar explained to Orna, “Oh Great Orna. Dragons are considered a myth to most. Besides you, nobody has seen another dragon.”

Orna let out a hum in acknowledgment. “I see. I can understand why. After all, there is only one other dragon in this world.”

‘There's another?!’

The squad's understanding of the world was flipped upside down.