This is the first time I've ever done something like this.
The last time I went on an extended trip outside of the village, Durghan was leading the way, and there wasn't any ambiguity. The mission this time isn't something simple like “kill a Magic Beast,” either.
There’s three reasons I came personally to oversee the investigation. First is because I'm very curious. Second is that I want to see the situation myself in order to make a good decision on our next move. Third is, if this has anything to do with Fomors, War Orcs, or Demonic Beasts, my strength might be necessary just to get out alive.
It will take a day and a half just to get to where we’re going. Obviously, we’ll have to hunt for food along the way, since there wasn't any extra in the village to take with us. As far as camping supplies goes, we’re only bringing a pelt for each of us to sleep on and some firewood. For the firewood, we’ll have to replenish our supply as we go. We won't need it for every meal, because Orcs have strong stomachs that can handle raw meat, but there are some animals in the forest which can't be eaten unless they’re cooked. Snakes would be a good example.
In my old world, I heard that the poison in snakes is actually safe to ingest. It kills you if it gets in your bloodstream, but because the snake has to eat the poisoned prey, there’s no problem if you just swallow it. In this world, that’s fine for normal snakes, but Magic Beast snakes usually have
We walked for a few hours without any problems. I've seen a few War Monkey tracks, but they’re mostly old ones that have already gone much farther Northwest. Besides the War Monkeys, the concentration of Magic Beast traffic here seems unusually low. I can't help but wonder if the thing with the War Monkeys scared them off.
I haven't found any substitute for a clock yet in this world, but I've gotten used to judging the time of day using other factors after living here for more than eighty days. It seems close to about two o’clock now. I guess it's time we start to look for prey as we go.
Fiara and I have made the boys carry the luggage, but we also take turns carrying it when it's their turn to hunt something. My heart is pounding a little. I feel like I'm on a school field trip, or an adventure… Ah. This actually is an adventure, isn't it?
Sometimes I forget that being the chief of an Orc village, adventuring in the forest to kill Magic Beasts, chatting with spirits, and practicing magic shouldn't be normal for me. I still have the super-adaptable mind of a human after all. I'm already used to it.
Hm? Fiara looks a little strange. Is her body feeling okay? I don't know if one is usually supposed to take it easy right after evolving or whatever.
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“Fiara, you're making a face. Are you feeling alright?”
“Chief… Um, I'm not sure. I feel uncomfortable inside. It feels like something is slowly turning over again and again, and it's mildly irritating.” She put a hand over her abdomen and frowned as she tried to explain her symptoms.
“What? Aren't you just hungry?” I answered immediately without thinking.
“Eh? No… Hunger is more like a stabbing feeling, you know? This doesn't hurt at all, but it’s disconcerting.”
Oh yeah. Orcs don't feel hunger, they just feel pain in their stomachs. I had forgotten because I have
Come to think of it, wasn't the drive to eat supposed to be less important for certain evolutions of Orc? Maybe the hunger curse is removed so they can focus on what they really want to do.
“...Chief?”
“Ah, sorry. I got lost in thought.” I shook my head and returned to the situation. “Fiara, what you're feeling is hunger. Orcs usually don't feel hungry, it just hurts when our stomachs are empty. Other species have a separate sensation for hunger. It's enough to let you know you need to eat, but it doesn't become an all-consuming need. It's probably because you evolved that you no longer experience hunger the way an Orc does, but more like how a Human experiences it.”
“This is… hunger?” She looks amazed and stares down at her stomach.
“Um… just in case, don't skip too many meals to do research. Just because it doesn't hurt anymore, doesn't mean you don't still need to eat.”
“Ah, no. I'll be careful. I feel like I've understood more about where Orcs fit in the world, and how other races see us…”
Hm? She’s not having an existential crisis, right? She looks fine… Well, whatever. The guys are just looking confused. Of course, they don't have any idea what we’re talking about.
I see Dodoran there with the guys, and I remember that Fiara “reserved” him before the mating ceremony. I bet he was happy not to have to participate with so many… eligible candidates. I wonder how he feels now that Fiara has evolved?
When it’s Fiara’s turn to hunt something, and she wanders away a bit, I decide to chat with him about it.
“So I understand you're saving yourself for our genius Magic caster,” I teased him slightly.
“Uh… yes, chief.”
“How do you feel now that your mate has become a Wisdom Orc?”
“Um…”
“... Hm?
“No, just… why are you asking me?”
“Huh?”
Come on. I'm trying to gossip here. This guy keeps pouring cold water on the conversation.
“That’s… because I'm curious. I want to know what you think about her. You accepted her advance. Doesn't that mean you think of her in some positive light?”
“Well, she didn't want to do anything this year. I said yes, and now I'm safe for a whole year.”
… I knew it was bad, but the lack of sexual desire in male Orcs is just dumbfounding. Do the Expansionist tribes really rape human women? … Wait, they did say it was the males doing the raping… right? Right?!
I'm just not going to think about it. Either way is definitely bad.
However, since not knowing was leading to me coming up with various terrible scenarios in my head, I checked with Fiara during dinner.
“Of course it’s the men who do it. If the women did it, their population still wouldn't grow back fast enough. Not to mention all the children would just be half Orcs.”
… What?