“Phew. Thanks. It’s terrifying to imagine just how long I would have been beaten if it wasn’t for you.”
“Ah, yes.”
“By the way, can I order a beer? My body hurts so much. I think I would feel better if I had a drink…”
“… sure.”
Irene nodded at Kuvar’s words.
This was great.
As if it wasn’t enough to make a customer from 5 years ago buy him a meal, he even took them to additional places.
And even borrowed money.
His gambling debt was the reason, and it was also the reason he was getting hit.
Realizing that he had no money, the gambler began to trash him.
‘Why gamble without money?’
It was something Irene couldn’t understand.
Of course, he couldn’t just ignore him and move on.
He was a good-natured person, and the fact that they both knew each other mattered to him.
However, the biggest reason was that he handed a note to Irene five years ago, which caused him to have a small awakening.
‘You don’t have to be alone to stand alone.’
It could be seen as the Orc writing down a few words, which seemed reasonable, but at least for Irene, the words were of great help.
In a way, the note was the reason Irene could talk so openly with his classmates.
In the past, he was a person who had trouble interacting with people.
Besides…
‘It kept bothering me that he asked how old I was.’
Irene looked at the Orc, who introduced himself as ‘Kuvar.’
Did the Orc know about the dream and the mysterious man in it?
It was when he was thinking.
“You! Aren’t you too shameless, aren’t you?”
Tock! Tock!
Lulu, who stayed silent till then, pounded on the table.
The pounding was from a cat’s body. No matter how hard the paw hit, it didn’t make a threatening sound.
However, her gaze towards Kuvar was fierce.
And Lulu said again.
“If you met a few years ago, then you two are practically strangers! Borrowing money, and then eating with his money! You are such a worthless Orc! You disgusting gambler!”
“Huh? Gambling isn't a bad thing. My little friend.”
“Who is your little friend! I’m a pretty big cat!”
Lulu jumped up from her seat and puffed out her chest.
It was bigger than before, but still, a cat is a cat. Taking a sip of his beer, Kuvar said.
“You are still little.”
“You brat!”
“If I’m an addict who is blinded by money and puts all of my body, mind, and soul into gambling, then that’s a problem. However, that isn’t the case. Because I only get happiness from worldly goods, not money… but if you can have a good time with a few pennies, wouldn’t that be a bonus?”
‘What nonsense.’
Irene decided to keep those thoughts to himself.
It wasn’t unreasonable, but it wasn’t something the Orc, who was being trashed for his lack of money, could talk about.
But shockingly, Lulu didn’t say anything.
As if thinking that there was no logical objection to it, Lulu rolled her eyes.
At that moment, the Orc, who smiled brightly, put his hand on Lulu’s head.
“This kid!”
Naturally, Lulu tried to slap away Kuvar’s hand with her front paw.
The speed was so fast that even Irene admired Lulu.
However, her reaction changed.
Lulu, who was trying to get away, slowly put her head forward.
“What is this scent! It’s really good?”
Flutter!
Lulu sat down, rubbing her face into the Orc’s hand.
Irene was dumbfounded at the black cat’s behavior when Kuvar said with a deeper smile.
“I put some powder from a fruit called Taiho on my hands. It only grows in the northwestern part of the continent, but cats go crazy for it.”
“What? Was there such a thing?”
“Want some?”
“Give it! Not a little, but a lot!”
“If you promise to love me from now on, I’ll give it to you.”
“I can’t say that for sure. Instead, I won’t hate you!”
“Let’s settle for that.”
Kuvar nodded his head and took something out of his pocket.
The black cat’s eyes followed.
After confirming that the item was what she wanted, she quickly grabbed it and returned to Irene’s arms.
Lulu, drunk on the scent of Taiho, spoke with a smile.
“Irene… that Orc, might not be a bad one…”
“…”
“Hmm, it seems like I have become more comfortable with the picky sorcerer… now I need to solve the borrowed money problem.”
“Huh? But, you don’t have a singl…”
“Who am I! Aren’t I a fortune-teller? Orc fortune tellers are braver than humans! If this Kuvar gives divination, I think I’ll have more money than I can deal with.”
He was shamelessly praising himself.
If Lulu heard that in a clear state of mind, she would yell, ‘is there such a brave fortune teller who doesn’t have a single penny?’
However, the cat enchantress was now drunk on Taiho, and Irene showed considerable interest in Kuvar’s fortune-telling.
But his words couldn’t be 100 percent believed…
‘No, can’t we ask to find out about a dragon or something?’
Irene nodded his head.
He didn’t know much about fortune tellers, but he heard a few stories.
That they could guess recent events in a person’s life by just meeting them, or that they can recite a big event in someone’s life by just hearing their name, date of birth, and time of birth…
He wouldn’t have believed in such things before, but now it’s different.
Since he realized how amazing a sorcerer is, what a fortune teller does is easy to accept.
However…
“Is there a persimmon tree where you live?”
“… no.”
“Ah, it must have been there before. Maybe you were too young to remember.”
“Definitely not.”
“Maybe they planted it a few days ago? You’ll see it when you get home.”
“…”
“Me, do it for me! Guess mine too!”
“You? Hmm…. I feel this right away. You seem to be very fond of raw salmon.”
“Isn’t that what every cat likes?”
“That’s because you, the cat, know that, but I, the Orc, didn't know that information. Even so, I managed to get it right.”
“…”
Kuvar’s reasoning was a mess.
Throwing in words that might seem highly probable and trying to make a reason around it.
And if that’s refuted, he made another excuse.
And with that, their trust was blown away.
“Irene, that Orc…”
Lulu, who was close to Irene’s ears, voiced her thoughts. However, it wasn’t quiet. It could be heard from the other side too. Kuvar scratched the back of his head.
“This. Today isn’t my day. Well, there are days when I’m not in good shape.”
“This is enough.”
Irene answered appropriately.
He was a little disappointed. But it wasn’t a bad feeling.
It was fine if he wasn’t a fortune teller.
He had already gained a lot from the note 5 years ago, so it was safe to say that the money he lent was enough for it.
No, considering Lulu’s favorite Taiho, he received a lot more in return.
However, Kuvar didn’t give up.
“Huhu, this friend. You don’t believe that I’m a true fortune-teller.”
“No, uhm, that…”
Irene tried to say something.
If he was upfront, he would have responded right away, but Irene wasn’t talented in that area.
He thought about how the situation could be handled, but he couldn’t think of anything.
Of course, Kuvar wasn’t upset. He just pointed it out.
Because of the change in the air, Irene took the Orc’s following words seriously.
“The burden on your heart is bigger than anything I have seen before.”
“Yes?”
“It used to be well hidden, but it’s out in the open now. With a hard and heavy iron stake in your chest, it must have been hard.”
“…”
“It isn’t something that you have placed on yourself. Someone completely unrelated is doing that.”
“What? Aren’t you a bluffer? What is with this…”
“Hmm, to be honest. I’m not very good at fortune-telling. But now, I’m looking into Irene Pareira, not with fortune-telling but with animism. Well, even though my spirit skills aren’t at the level where I would show off… still, they aren't so messy that I can’t recognize a strong and unnatural taboo.”
Kuvar smiled brightly at Irene’s stiff expression.
Lulu’s expression was also stiff.
Although she wasn't involved in it, she could guess what Kuvar meant.
The man in the dreams.
His life, where he wielded his sword, was nothing but the life of a lump of metal.
The same went for his swordsmanship.
Even the man’s motives weren’t known. All that was known was a moving ‘steel giant.’
A strong presence.
Crudeness and weight that cannot be controlled by one’s own will.
Kuvar’s metaphor was very appropriate.
Irene looked at Kuvar without realizing it.
Sssh!
The Orc opened a pouch and poured its contents on the table.
Not something special like Taiho, just soil.
However, what happened next was weird.
Some of the scattered soil gathered together and turned into hard metal.
“Orc spiritualists believe that the world is made up of five elements. Hard metal is born from earth…”
Sss…
As Kuvar swung his hand, water droplets began to form on the metal.
Eventually, the water which formed was soaked into the pile of soil, and a tree the size of two fingers grew.
“Water appears attracted to it, and the tree grows with the energy of water. And the tree…”
Tak!
Wheeing!
Kuvar snapped his fingers, and sparks rose from the tree.
The flame which was burning with the firewood went out, but it didn’t completely disappear.
Pointing to the ashes, Kuvar said.
“A fire is lit, and the flame that was exhausted will eventually return into the earth. The world is constantly maintained by the cycle of the five elements.”
“….”
“It’s the same with life. Just as earth nourishes metal, metal gives water, water nourishes trees, trees gives fire, and fire nourishes earth. The five elements are the source of life that maintain harmony through balance and coexistence. Huh.”
“… so, does my current state mean that my balance and harmony of energy is broken?”
“You understand quite quickly. As I said before, it's too heavy and crude.”
“Then, how do we get rid of the iron stake?”
“It cannot be removed. Didn’t I say that balance is important. However, the force is too strong, so in this case, it’s necessary to suppress the energy by borrowing the opposite element’s energy. This isn’t some win-win, you need the element of fire. And that… could be a good opportunity.”
Thu!
As Kuvar waved his hand, metal rose again from the soil.
Although smaller, it was undoubtedly an iron stake.
It was dull and clunky. It didn’t look like it couldn’t be easily handled.
However, when fire came, the situation changed.
Shhh….
The shape of the iron stake changed due to the heat.
The fat lower part changed into the shape of a handle, and the upper part boasted a sleek and sophisticated look.
It was as if a fairytale swordsman took out a sword, a really beautiful one, enough to make anyone happy.
Kuvar handed the small sword to Irene, who was watching it with a blank expression.
“This was an iron stake considered as a burden, but now it was smelted beautifully through such a hot flame… like this, it can be reborn as a great sword anyone wants to wield.”
“How do I make a flame hot enough to melt an iron stake into a sword?”
Irene asked.
This was no light matter.
Kuvar, when talking about fortune-telling and animism, was completely different.
There was a sense of seriousness in his eyes.
And the answer was very simple.
