Larksper (2)
Larksper didn't know how to read.
To his eyes, it just looked like worms crawling around.
"La… Lark… It's here!"
The page the girl pointed to with her small finger.
Larksper could see the flower he had once seen before.
"Is this Larksper?"
"Yes. Cliff, blooming. I, cliff, born."
"Born on a cliff?"
"So, I, cliff, from, born."
"Born from a cliff! I understand what you're saying now."
"Hard to understand?"
Rosaria nodded with a smile.
"Your way of speaking is strange."
She didn't seem to be mocking him.
Larksper didn't even get angry because she just genuinely felt it was strange.
"I, not much, learned. So, understanding, slow."
"Rosaria was like that too in the past. So, I learned a lot from my Dad. He knows a lot!"
"Dad?"
"Yes! He's the big boss of this tower!"
"Big boss? Big, person... The Tower Master?"
"Yes!"
'So, this girl is the daughter of the Tower Master?'
Rosaria looked down at the flower illustration in the encyclopedia.
Larksper.
Unlike other flowers that sprout from the ground, it blooms on cliffs and has eight leaves clustered together in the crevices of rough rocks. When it matures, a long stem grows and blooms.
It only grows on the cliffs of the Kalton Mountains, and unlike other flowers that spread their seeds through the wind, only a living carrier can help the reproduction of Larksper.
That medium is a bird called the cliff swallow.
Only this bird can help with reproduction, so it is also called the "cliff swallow flower."
"Larksper... it must be a very pretty flower. Have you seen it?"
"Larksper, Larksper, only once."
"Why? Why have you seen it only once?"
"Cliff, steep, dangerous."
"It must be so pretty... You'd want to see it again, right?"
Her pure eyes kept asking questions.
Even though he was an orc, he could feel something undeniable in her eyes.
Larksper nodded.
"…Yes."
"Rosaria will bring it for you later!"
"Understood."
Larksper didn't pay much attention to her words.
Rosaria began to read the book on the spot.
Larksper also tried to read the book following her.
However, for him, the characters were nothing more than curly black ink marks.
"Girl, do you know the characters?"
"Rosaria can read!"
"Can you teach me the characters?"
"You don't know the characters?"
Larksper nodded his head.
"I don't know."
"Then, then Rosaria will be your teacher!"
"Teacher?"
"A person who teaches! Rosaria is the teacher! And Larksper will be the student."
"Teacher, student."
Larksper nodded his head.
At that moment, someone walked in through the open door.
It was the tower's mage.
He carefully searched for something, and when he found Rosaria, he was startled and came inside.
"Young lady!"
The mage who found her pulled Rosaria away from Larksper.
His face turned serious as he spoke to Rosaria.
"How can you just come in here like this?"
"Why?"
"Isn't he an orc!? Orcs are monsters! They're dangerous!"
Rosaria seemed to not understand the mage's words.
"He's a nice person. He asked Rosaria for help and played with me."
"You need to be cautious! If you approach such suspicious beings casually, you won't be able to do anything! You shouldn't be around creatures without a proper background!"
Larksper had never spoken with other humans before.
So the other mages didn't think deeply about the fact that Larksper could understand their words.
Larksper heard what he said clearly.
Creatures without a proper background.
He already knew how insulting those words were.
Larksper got up from his seat and approached the mage.
The mage drew his wand and retreated.
"O, Orc! Can't you back off!?"
Larksper's eyes sharpened, and he raised his clenched fists.
He swung those fists toward his chest, shouting with a roaring voice.
"Larksper!"
Thump!
"Not a coward!"
Thump! Thump!
"Warrior's spirit! Pride! Exists!"
The mage couldn't understand what he was saying.
It just seemed like a threat to him.
His shout caught the attention of the mages spread throughout the tower.
There was a tense atmosphere, as if someone was about to jump in.
After three minutes of silence, their mediator finally appeared.
"What's going on?"
Reed, with his uniform off, stood in the middle of them in his white shirt.
"The orc was in the same room with Lady Rosaria. I warned her because of that, but the orc suddenly stood up and started beating his chest, threatening..."
The mage explained everything from beginning to end.
Hearing that, Reed looked up at Larksper.
"Why did you beat your chest and threaten my subordinate?"
"Human, insulted, Larksper. Warrior's spirit, pride, insulted."
The mage had insulted him.
Reed could be sure of what happened after hearing those words.
"I have a rough idea of what happened."
Reed looked at the mage first.
His expression was fierce, but his tone was polite.
"Why do you think I converted the first-floor warehouse into a room for this orc?"
"I... I don't know."
"It's because I'm confident that this orc has no reason to harm us. Did you think I would leave a troublemaker who causes accidents in the tower?"
"I apologize! I definitely didn't intend to mean that!"
"I appreciate your concern for my daughter's safety. However, your insult makes it sound like you don't trust me, and I don't feel good about it."
"I apologize, Tower Master!"
Reed then looked down at Rosaria.
Rosaria, sensing she was going to be scolded, looked up at Reed, biting her lips.
"Rosaria."
"Yes..."
"It's true that you caused trouble for others. If you disappear without saying anything, won't other people have a hard time?"
"Rosaria was curious... His name is a flower's name, so I wanted to look it up together."
"Understood."
Larksper nodded his head, acknowledging that he didn't know much about communication methods.
His willingness to admit it was admirable, unlike his barbaric appearance when he pulled out the horn of the Rhinotodus.
"Do you want to learn characters?"
Larksper nodded.
"Larksper wants to learn."
"Why?"
"Larksper adapts, adapts to help the tribe."
"Who taught you that language? Is it the same person who taught you to speak?"
"A wandering mercenary captain. His name is Kal. Kal taught Larksper a lot."
"What happened to that mercenary captain?"
"He died. Goblins attacked. Ambushed, died."
"He died in vain."
"That's why Larksper couldn't learn characters."
