“Got it. Then we’ll send over some paladins and militia members to help.”
“Understood, Lady Custodio. Then if you’ll excuse me, Your Majesty.” The priest opened the door and went back inside.
Watching the priest go, the other four realized they had nothing else to do here, and moved on to their next destination.
For Neia and the King of Darkness, that meant to the orcs.
“If there are demons around, it’d be handy to have someone who can see through transformations,” the king mentioned to Neia as they were walking.
No demons had been spotted in the city, but given the presence of demon writing, he must have surmised that demons were or could be around.
“Demons transform?”
“Yes, some of them—into men, woman, or sometimes animals.”
“Oh… So you’re hoping for someone with a talent for seeing through transformations? My apologies. I’ve never heard of one like that. Oh no, I have heard a legend like that. I remember reading it in some book, but I have no idea if anyone currently can…”
“…I guess I should ask Lady Custodio about that, too.”
“Are transformations like illusions? I tend to think of illusions as tricky magic spells, but…”
“First of all, there’s a big difference between a transformation and an illusion, but it’ll take too long to explain, so allow me to omit the finer details. In any case, you shouldn’t underestimate illusions! How terrifying the magic gets depends on how quick the illusionist’s wits are. And particularly if they’ve truly specialized instead of just putzing around.”
“Specialized?”
“That’s right. For example, Perfect Illusion can deceive all five senses. And someone who has reached the ultimate powers of illusion can acquire a move that can only be used once every few days but allows them to deceive the world.”
Deceiving the world was an act on a level Neia couldn’t even imagine.
“How amazing a feat is that, deceiving the world?”
“From what I’ve heard, it can do anything any other tree of magic can do. To put it simply, you could even use it to resurrect the dead.”
“What?! But it would be an illusion, right?”
“Yes, causing the world to be under an illusion is the illusionist’s ultimate power—because if you can deceive the world, then your deception becomes the truth.”
“Whoa” was the only way she could react. Hearing that if someone mastered illusion, they could do something so powerful, it was so awesome that she couldn’t quite wrap her mind around it.
“So does anyone in this country keep track of talents?”
“No, I’ve never heard of anything like that. Does the Nation of Darkness track talents?”
“We don’t yet. I’d like to in the future, but it seems like it will take quite a bit of work… It might still be a decade or so off.”
Apparently, the King of Darkness was thinking about things even ten years in the future. Maybe that was the difference—a big one—between kings and commoners.
•
The orcs were in a building that had its windows boarded up from the outside. It was fairly large, probably the second or third largest in the city.
A number of paladins clustered at the gate and seemed to be wary of what was inside.
When they saw the King of Darkness approaching, they all dropped to one knee in a show of respect.
“I heard from Lady Custodio that there were orcs in this building. Can I go inside?”
“Yes, of course, Your Majesty!”
“Then you can all leave and do whatever other work you have to do.”
The paladins looked up. “But the commander ordered us to guard this location. We can’t leave.”
“…I see. Then I take back what I said.”
With that, the King of Darkness passed between the knights and pushed the door open. Neia followed him, of course.
A potent acidic smell wafted out and into Neia’s nose. It wasn’t poison; it reminded her of the smell of a prison cell she had visited a long time ago with one of the paladins. There were other stomach-turning odors mixed in.
“What in the world…?”
She had wondered when the commander had brought it up: Why were the orcs brought here?
Though she knew she would find out soon, the wings of her imagination spread. If this isn’t a problem that only affects the orcs, if it could be a rallying point in the fight against Jaldabaoth, maybe some subhumans will resist, too.
While she was thinking, the king continued opening doors. It already felt normal to have him leading the way.
They left a room and entered a hallway.
Walking in it for a moment was enough to tell that this building was dirtier than a prison.
It was filthy with blood, vomit, and excrement. She couldn’t begin to imagine what had happened here, but it was a terrible environment.
Orcs were subhumans about as tall as humans with piglike faces; they were said to be a tidy race. There was no way they would stay somewhere like this by choice.
Neia looked at the long hem of the King of Darkness’s robe and worried that his splendid clothing would get dirty, but there was no way she could ask him to wait outside. There was no one with the wisdom to stand in for him.
Eventually, Neia’s sharp ears began to hear things that indicated the presence of a large number of living things, including a child crying and a voice that sounded like the mother trying to calm it.
They’re orcs…? Not humans…?
Neia was at a loss. She had never considered that they would have families and raise children. The orcs that came to Roebel were invaders, enemies to be hated; she had never thought anything about them past that.
Neia was still confused when the king opened the door.
The awful smell grew worse, and shrieks went up.
“An undead!”
“It’s a skeleton! What’s he doing here?!”
“Those humans! They sold us to undead! Shit!”
“Controlling undead? Those grimy humans.”
“Mama! Help!”
“My boy!”
The king stopped in the doorway. He must have been confused, too.
“Ju— Ahem. Shut up!”
His order caused the room to fall silent. But it only lasted a moment.
In the next, the shouting echoed twice as loud
