Tch. What a backwater village.

Armin took a drink from a wooden cup. The yellowed alcohol inside tasted and looked suspiciously like piss. He dragged an arm to wipe his lips and frowned.

It reminds me of home.

The scruffy adventurer got up from his seat, left some change on the table, and stepped outside.

It was amazing that a town this small even had a bar. There were maybe three dozen buildings in this pitiful border village. A place like this, so close to the black mountain forest and producing a paltry amount of grain as tax, would be among the first to be abandoned if war broke out.

It was lucky for villages like this one that the black mountain forest was rich with resources. The monsters within were satisfied, and had no reason to attack the Humans on the plains. Usually, if adventurers came this far out, it was to subjugate monsters just after breeding season or gather herbs. There were almost never time-sensitive emergencies to deal with.

And yet, Armin had picked up a curious quest from the guild.

“Hey, chief,” the adventurer lifted a hand to greet a greying old man. “Is it still just standing there?”

“Indeed. It hasn't moved at all except to catch something for breakfast.”

“Hmm…” Armin stroked the handle of his sword absently and gazed out toward the tree line. Vaguely from here, he could make out a large pink Humanoid strutting around just outside of the forest.

That creature was an Orc. It had shown up about a week ago. At first, the village had panicked, but since it never made a move, they gradually calmed down. Still, they sent out a request to the adventurers guild to hopefully deal with the situation.

“Well, I've rested a bit after the long journey. I guess I'd better go see what it wants.” Or just kill it, most likely.

“Will you be alright by yourself?” the village chief asked. “We could send someone to go with you.”

The adventurer shook his head. “I can handle a single Orc. Besides, if anything goes wrong and we have to run, I don't want to draw it's attention here.”

There was no way to hide from the orc when approaching, so he just approached boldly. They were both standing out in the middle of the plains, facing each other from just a few paces apart. Armin started to slowly draw out his weapon when,

“You took too long!”

The orc let out some clumsy Human speech with a gruff voice.

This was a huge shock to Armin, who had been an adventurer for seven years and never heard a monster talk in his language before. Without realizing it, his grip on his sword lost strength, and it slid back into its sheath.

“I, Gido.” The Orc pounded his chest. “I was waiting long time for you.”

“You talk,” Armin’s voice came out sounding strangled.

“Yep.”

The orc didn't seem to consider it a big deal, but this overthrew some of the precious common sense Armin had gained through experience. Oh, but if it could talk, then of course he had to ask it what it wanted.

“What are you doing here?”

“Chief call me “bait”. I not supposed to come back without a Human adventurer.”

“W-what?!” The Human suddenly raised his guard and gripped his sword as if to draw it at a moment’s notice. “What do you mean by that?”

The Orc looked mildly annoyed and scratched at the back of its head. “There is three Human guests in our village. Chief says we show them a good impression and make friends. Now they won't go home. I take you to my village, and you take the Humans away.”

Armin’s mind began to work. Was this a trap? Could it be the truth? If it was a trap and he went alone to a hostile orc village, it would mean his death. Even if there had been Humans there, were they still alive?

No--what was he thinking? There was no way he could believe the words of an orc! The fact that it could talk didn't make it less dangerous at all. Instead, he should be more suspicious.

As the adventurer had just about made up his mind to fight, the orc let out a short “let’s go,” and scooped him up. Armin was caught by surprise, and he couldn't break free of the monster’s grip with his arms pinned to his side. He couldn't draw his sword from this position either. All he could do was kick his legs in protest, but all that was to the Orc was a mild annoyance.

Armin was carried along for three hours. At that time, he started to hear sounds of activity from behind him. He was being carried backwards, so he couldn't see what was ahead, but he supposed it was the Orc’s village. When the ground changed from grass and leaves to packed earth, the Orc finally set him down.