Radiant Dragon’s Otherworldly Reincarnation

Chapter 39. He is a Real Monster (4)

The next day.

“Ahem, I was very rude yesterday.”

“Not at all. It is alright.”

Turanta, now sober, met with him again the next day.

“Hahaha. It was the first time I'd had alcohol in decades, so I couldn't control myself.”

“If so, then it is understandable.”

“Hahahaha.”

“Hahahaha.”

Unlike yesterday, the atmosphere was warm.

Except for Patrick, who was wedged in the middle with a sullen expression.

“What are you so proud of to be grinning? An Orc who got drunk and passed out.”

“K-hmm. It was my first time with alcohol in decades, so I….”

“Even so, you drink until your tongue gets twisted right before an important meeting?”

“……”

Turanta had nothing to say.

But what could he do?

Orcs love alcohol, but they lack the ability to make it.

They don't farm, nor do they live by gathering.

In truth, while they might be able to gather tree fruits, the Orcs lacked the technology to ferment them into alcohol.

If they occasionally found something like naturally fermented mead, it was the greatest treasure for the Orcs.

When the chance to drink such alcohol to his heart's content came, he must have thought he might as well drink himself to death.

“Ahem, in any case, let us proceed with the conversation. I am Baron Jaycall Schneider, lord of the Schneider fiefdom.”

“I am Turanta, chieftain of the Red Rock Tribe.”

“First, thank you for accepting my son's unreasonable proposal, Chieftain Turanta.”

“…May I ask one thing?”

“Please speak.”

“Are you truly his biological parent?”

“……”

The image of Baron Schneider that Turanta had imagined on his way here was definitely not this.

What kind of being would the parents who gave birth to and raised the ferocious, violent, and wicked Patrick be?

Wouldn't they be someone several times more wicked and cunning than him?

He had come with great tension, thinking that if he wasn't on his toes, it might bring great harm to his tribe.

Well, he couldn't win against alcohol and drank himself silly, though.

Anyway, the Baron Schneider he actually saw was a completely different person.

How could such a demon come from such a person?

Wasn't he a good-natured human to the point of making one think that?

It was natural to doubt their parentage.

“Well, I'll be…”

“You stay quiet.”

Patrick was about to get angry, but Baron Schneider stopped his son first.

And he looked at Turanta and said.

“I'm sure my son must have made many unreasonable demands.”

“K-hmm….”

He couldn't bring himself to say, ‘That is not the case.’

Orcs are originally not good at lying.

Instead, Turanta said with a bitter smile.

“It is clear that your son is a great warrior. And our tribe is certainly greatly indebted to that great warrior.”

“I have heard it already, but did my son really catch the King Ogre? Perhaps the other Orc warriors were the active ones, and my son only helped….”

“I saw with my own two eyes the attack of that great warrior leading the King Ogre to its death. We have brought the corpse of the King Ogre, so you will be able to confirm it.”

“Good heavens….”

Baron Schneider looked at his son as if seeing him for the first time.

He knew he was strong.

Indeed, the title of a genius of the sword was fitting for his son.

But still, to think he would catch a King Ogre.

This was beyond the word genius.

“Ahem. To get to the main point, we have come to share a life on this land according to the words of the great warrior Patrick Schneider. But….”

Turanta paused for a moment before continuing.

“If two conditions are not met, we cannot share our lives with you.”

“Two conditions, you say. Please state them.”

“The first is that the humans must not fear or despise us.”

“I can guarantee that part. First, I myself have no prejudice whatsoever against the Orcs. I will issue a decree to the entire fiefdom prohibiting discrimination against the Orcs.”

“What will you do if a human disobeys that order?”

“Hmm, in that case….”

While Baron Schneider hesitated for a moment, Patrick, who was beside him, spoke up.

“Disrespectfully disobeying the lord's order? They should be hung upside down and beaten to death.”

“Yes. Upside down…. Ahem, they will be punished severely. This I guarantee in the name of Jaycall Schneider, the person in charge of this land.”

Baron Schneider briefly glared at his son who had interjected, but he understood that strict adherence to the decree was necessary to accept the Orcs.

And in fact, it seemed there would be no problem even without it.

‘From the perspective of our residents who are tormented by monsters, there will be few who would refuse the addition of Orc warriors.’

They were residents who might accept not just Orcs but even demons if it could keep them safe from monsters.

That's how serious the threat of monsters was in the Schneider fiefdom.

“I understand. I will trust the lord on that matter. But there is one more problem.”

“Please speak.”

“It is the question of ‘what benefit can we give each other by being together?’”

“That is….”

Baron Schneider was flustered.

He had not expected to hear talk of benefits from the mouth of the Orcs, who are called the race of warriors.

Turanta said to the flustered Baron Schneider.

“It is not just about what we will receive. Please also tell us what we can give to you.”

“…Why is that important?”

“A relationship where one cannot do anything for the other cannot be called an equal coexistence. It is one side taking care of the other.”

“……”

“I know that in order to share a life together as neighbors, it must not be such a one-sided relationship. To be together means to maintain an equal relationship with each other.”

At Turanta's words, Baron Schneider nodded.

Come to think of it, he was right.

A relationship where one side unilaterally takes care of the other can never last long.

At a glance, the talk of providing benefits to each other may sound materialistic.

But to put it differently, providing benefits was the same as becoming a necessary existence to the other.

If one truly looked towards the distant future, wouldn't preparing for such an equal, symbiotic relationship be what is truly necessary?

‘Hahaha. This person is a far more outstanding leader than I am.’

Baron Schneider thought he had no prejudice against Orcs, but upon admitting that Turanta, an Orc, was a more outstanding leader than himself, he couldn't help but feel a bitter taste in his mouth.

He was not jealous of the other's superiority.

But he couldn't help but feel shame and regret for his own shortcomings.

Just then, Patrick interjected.

“It seems I'll have to step in for that part…. Father. Will that be alright?”

“You will?”

“Since it is a matter I initiated, I believe it is right for me to adjust the details.”

‘And Father, being a pushover, is too vulnerable to these kinds of problems.’

At Patrick's words, Baron Schneider nodded and said.

“Alright. You may step in.”

“Yes. Thank you. Then, Chieftain Turanta.”

Patrick looked at Turanta and grinned.

It was the expression of a gambler contemplating how to fleece a new sucker who had just joined the table.

“First, what we want from you all is safety. There are so many monsters around our fiefdom. Just by taking care of those monsters, it is a great benefit for us.”

“I know that. But great warrior. In that case, what should we Orcs of the Red Rock Tribe receive?”

“Well. If what we receive is safety, then what you all receive…. How about civilization?”

“Civilization?”

“Yes. Moving away from living in leather tents, we will build safe houses where you all can reside.”

“A place to live…. In truth, that is not something we particularly need.”

“It's better than having nothing.”

“That is true, but….”

“And it's not just a place to live. We can also supply you with iron weapons.”

“Iron weapons are too light. We have no need for them.”

“You will need them soon.”

“Huh?”

“No, well, that's a separate story, and in fact, there are many other things we can provide. Like the excellent food culture of humans.”

“Food culture? Food?”

“Yes. The human food you ate at the banquet yesterday, it has a distinctly different taste from when you just roast it over a fire, doesn't it?”

“Ummm….”

“In addition, alcohol is also a clear part of food culture.”

“Alcohol?”

At these words, Turanta's eyes lit up.

Alcohol.

A treasure that the Orcs loved so very much, but which they could never obtain after their exchange with the outside world was cut off.

They could be provided with that alcohol.

With the delicious food of humans as a bonus.

Patrick grinned and said.

“How about it? Is this a relationship that benefits both sides?”

“Hmm, it is a sufficient benefit.”

“In that case, shall we draw up a contract?”

“Let's do it!”

Seeing Turanta's enthusiastic response, Patrick took out a contract from his pocket as if he had been waiting.

And he even brought out an ink pad and said.

“Now, first, Chieftain, please put your thumbprint….”

Thump!

“And our father. Stamp your seal. Here you go.”

“Wait, let me at least read it….”

“Ahem. Don't be uncool, what's there to read. You're originally supposed to stamp a contract without reading it.”

“Is that not the logic of a swindler?”

“Trust your son. Now. Let's stamp the seal right here. Right here.”

“Hey, you baaastard!”

In the end, Patrick directly grabbed his father's wrist and pressed the family seal made into a ring firmly down.

And he tucked the contract into his pocket and said.

“Now, with this, the alliance between the Red Rock Tribe and our Schneider family has been concluded.”

And Patrick grinned and said.

“Let's do weeeell together in the future. Well!”

Seeing that smile, Baron Schneider and Turanta simultaneously had the same thought.

‘Why do I feel uneasy?’

‘Why do I feel uneasy?’

***

A few days later.

A formal decree was issued to the residents in the lord's name.

“From now on, we will live together with the Red Rock Orc Tribe?”

“What? Together with the Orcs?”

“Will it be okay? I wonder if it'll be okay.”

The residents were somewhat anxious at first.

But when they learned that the one pushing this was the young lord Patrick, public opinion changed at once.

“Ah, it's something the Young Master is doing.”

“Then it must be a good thing. It will turn out well.”

“I know, right. Let's cooperate actively too.”

“Right. Right.”

Right now, the residents of the Schneider fiefdom were sending such blind support to Patrick that they would join in even if he said, ‘Let's dance naked for three nights and four days.’

And so, most of the residents agreed to live with the Orcs, and they soon learned the benefits of being with the Orcs.

“Oh, look over there.”

“They're Orc warriors. What did they catch behind them?”

“Looks like an Owlbear. They caught a big one.”

“Hahaha. The Orc warriors are indeed strong. I thought there was no one in our fiefdom who could catch such a big one besides the Young Master.”

The Orcs conducted extensive searches in the vicinity of the fiefdom and subjugated monsters.

In fact, for the Orcs, subjugating monsters was just something they naturally had to do as part of hunting for their livelihood and training for battle.

But by them doing so, the lives of the residents became much more stable.

Patrick had patrolled diligently before, but there was a limit to patrolling alone.

But when the Orcs stepped up, the effect was certain.

It became difficult to find a single goblin or kobold in the forests around the fiefdom.

The monsters caught by the Orcs were brought to the fiefdom and diligently butchered.

The meat went to the Orcs, and parts that could be sold for money, like hides or claws, went to the humans.

And in exchange for those byproducts, the humans provided the Orcs with various goods.

Mainly basic seasonings like salt or sugar and a few convenient daily necessities.

And they took a particularly large amount of alcohol.

They didn't need expensive alcohol either.

What the Orcs wanted was the cheapest and strongest kind of cheap liquor.

Rather, they would frown and refuse if given high-class wine or distilled spirits.

In any case, it was a trade where the desires of both sides matched well.

As such a relationship continued, the residents also quickly adapted to the Orcs.