Chapter 784: The Princess Bit First (Patreon)

The two orc children stared at Luke like he was some kind of monster. The girl had already given up trying to bite or punch him. She’d spent a good while doing both while he made the soup, and once she realized neither had any effect, she settled for glaring at him with pure hatred. When her brother got a little strength back after eating the fruit, the two of them even tried to run. That didn’t work either. Luke simply caught them and put them back by the fire.

By human standards, the girl looked about eight years old. Her brother, maybe five. Franky sat nearby. The boy had insisted on coming along, and Luke figured having another kid around might make the little orcs less hostile. Maybe. In practice, Franky looked more like someone waiting for his share of the food.

Luke filled a bowl for Franky, then took one for himself. He started eating slowly, letting the smell fill the damp cave. On purpose, he made exaggerated sounds of satisfaction after every spoonful. The two orc children stared at the bubbling pot. The girl licked her lips without realizing it, but the moment she noticed Luke watching, she turned away and sat with her back to him.

“Want some?” Luke asked the little boy.

“No. He doesn’t,” the girl answered without turning around.

“N-no...” the orc boy mumbled.

Luke kept eating, loudly and deliberately, making himself as annoying as possible. The girl’s stomach growled so loudly that even Franky looked over.

“This is really good. Wow.” Luke raised his bowl. “Think I’ll have seconds.”

The girl clicked her tongue.

Luke picked something up and dropped it into the orc boy’s hand. “Here.”

“W-what’s this?”

“Fox tongue.”

The boy grimaced.

“You orcs eat that?” Luke asked.

The boy shook his head.

“So what do you eat?”

The little orc pointed at Franky’s bowl.

“Mine? No way.” Franky hugged the bowl to his chest. “Go hunt your own food, green rats.”

Luke ignored him and looked back at the boy. “So you don’t like fox tongue?”

Another shake of the head.

“You know, I happen to have an extra bowl of soup.”

“Don’t fall for his tricks,” the girl snapped, turning around. “He just wants us to eat that.”

“Yes. That is exactly what I want.”

He filled a bowl and handed it to the boy, who stared at the soup, then at Luke, then at his sister. The smell was too rich, too warm, too good for two starving children to ignore.

“We’re not hungry,” the girl said.

Both their stomachs growled at the exact same time.

Luke tilted his head. “I don’t know. That sounded like a lie.”

It didn’t take long before they gave in. They ate fast, like someone might rip the bowls out of their hands at any second, and Luke had to tell them to slow down before they choked.

“Want more?”

“No,” the girl said flatly.

“I-I do...” the boy murmured.

“Coming right up.” Luke dipped the ladle back into the pot.

“Hey, human! You made that food for me,” Franky complained.

“There’s enough for three kids.”

“I’m not a kid,” Franky shot back.

The orc boy went back to eating. The girl kept glancing between her empty bowl and the pot. She obviously wanted more, but her pride was putting up a heroic and completely useless fight. Luke filled another bowl and set it in front of her. For almost a full minute, the little orc pretended the soup didn’t exist. Then she grabbed the bowl and started eating again. They really were starving.

“My name’s Luke. That’s Franky.” He pointed with his spoon. “What are your names?”

“Ko-Kobi...” the boy mumbled.

“And yours?”

“None of your business,” the girl replied.

“I’m trying to be nice here. Trying to figure out what kind of mess this is. I found you two locked in a cage. But fine, we don’t have to be friends. I’ll just take you back to that dwarf couple, since apparently they’re your friends.”

“No, please,” the girl said immediately. Her voice came out quieter than she wanted, and she looked away. “Just... don’t send my brother back.”

“The dwarves aren’t your friends?”

“T-they...” Kobi tightened his grip on the bowl. “They hit me. The woman... liked burning me.”

Luke stopped eating. “If you won’t tell me anything, I’ve got no reason to help you. You can go back to the dwarves or the orcs.”

He started to stand.

“Please, don’t.” The girl clenched her fists. “My name is Rheera. Okay? Please don’t do that. They’ll hurt my brother.”

That did it. After that, the two finally agreed to answer Luke’s questions. They were still afraid of him, but they were even more afraid of being handed back to the dwarves or the orcs.

“How did you end up in the dwarves’ cave?”

“We were in the forest with Ragga. Running away,” Rheera said. “He was hurt. We found the dwarf couple. They killed Ragga and locked us up.”

From there, she told him the rest in pieces. The dwarves had hidden them in a compartment beneath the forge. They gave them barely any food or water, just enough to keep them alive. The orcs almost never went inside the forge. They only came for the finished weapons. Luke listened in silence, piecing it together.

“I know exactly who you are, even if you lie to me,” he finally said. “And I get why you lied. You’re the Treasure of the Orc Royal Family. That makes you very valuable.”

He set his bowl beside the fire.

“But I’m curious. Why are the two of you stranded on this continent instead of safe in your own kingdom? How did you get here?”

Rheera and Kobi looked at each other. Now they knew Luke understood how valuable they were, but they still hesitated. The little boy looked at his sister, silently asking for permission.

“By ship,” Rheera said. “There was a rebellion. Our mentor protected us and hid us on a ship. We ended up here, in the humans’ land, and we’ve been running from the Orc Lord ever since. He’s a bad orc.”

“Okay. Now I get it.” Luke leaned back slightly. “Don’t worry. I’ll help you get home.”

He was looking at the key to ending the war. All Luke had to do was negotiate with the Orc King. Better yet, he could use that leverage against the human kings. If they guaranteed him access to the Teleportation Array, he could end the invasion by returning the Orc King’s children. The pieces fit almost too well.

End the invasion. Get access to the array. Return the royal heirs. Go home.

Simple.

Finally. Some luck.

He’d finally get back to his family.

“What’s the name of your kingdom?”

“Malmgar,” she said. “And my name is Rheera Malmgar.”

“All right, Princess. I’ve dealt with orcs before,” Luke said. “They weren’t exactly big on negotiation. But we were trapped in the same place, so it was them or me. These orcs from the last few days, though, seem to have a society closer to the goblins or ratmen I’ve met.”

Luke leaned back slightly. “I’ll negotiate your return to the Orc King. In the end, everybody wins.”

Both children went still.

“Please don’t give us to the Orc King,” Rheera said.

“Why? Afraid your father’s going to ground you or something?”

“The Orc King isn’t our father...” Kobi murmured.

Rheera pressed her lips together. “He killed our parents and took the throne.”

Luke stared at her.

Oh, come on. There goes my plan.

The two little orcs told him the rest. Kobi was six. Rheera was eight. The orc who had taken their kingdom was named Gurgal. He had served as a Marshal of Malmgar under their father before betraying him, killing their parents, and taking the throne for himself. After that, the two children spent some time on the run with supporters of the Royal Family until those supporters finally managed to get them off the continent. Their homeland was still at war, and there were other Orc Kingdoms too, all fighting each other.

The children couldn’t answer most of Luke’s more specific questions, especially the military ones. They were far too young to understand that side of things. But by then, Luke had enough to understand the situation.

“And then you ended up here.”

They both nodded.

“So, in summary,” Luke said, “keeping you around is a problem.”

“I-I want to make a deal with you,” Rheera said.

“A deal?” Luke raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure you’re in a great position to make deals.”

“You’re strong, aren’t you?” Her voice trembled. “I know you are.”

“No. I’m pretty weak.”

“It’s true,” Franky said without hesitation. “The human is very weak.”

Hey, man. That was a joke.

“That’s a lie,” Rheera insisted. “You beat General Ruax. If we’re here, that means he’s dead. And the giant spider said you’re her boss and you’re really strong. The strongest boss there is.”

Norn, you and I are going to have a serious conversation about leaking military intelligence.

Luke straightened and studied the little orc. For someone who was supposedly only eight, Rheera was smart. She was scared, obviously, but she was doing everything she could to hide it. She was used to pretending she wasn’t.

“Fine. I’m strong. So what?”

“I-I want you to protect me and my brother.”

Luke laughed. “Just because I’m strong doesn’t mean I’m a good person. I’m actually pretty bad.”

“No, that’s a lie,” Franky said. “You’re a good person.”

Could you maybe stop sabotaging my negotiation?

Luke was going to have a talk with Franky later. Maybe two.

He cleared his throat.

“I don’t know how things worked where you came from, Orc Princess, but I’m not one of your supporters. I’m not protecting you for free. There’s nothing in this for me if I keep you and your brother around.”

“I’ll pay you. I know humans like gold and jewels. I have lots.”

“Pay me?” Luke looked her up and down. “I’m not seeing any jewels on you. Unless your brother ate them all. In that case, I believe you.”

Franky burst out laughing.

Rheera’s cheeks flushed with anger, but she kept herself under control. “My kingdom is rich. We have mines with rare, incredibly strong metals. Gold. Tamed beasts. Lots of them. I can pay you.”

“Interesting.”

“I’ll pay you very well,” she said proudly.

“Let me make sure I understand, Princess. You’re going to pay me with something in a kingdom that isn’t even yours anymore?”

Rheera went quiet. She had no answer to that.

Luke touched his necklace and opened the pocket dimension. He pulled out one of the many sacks of gold he’d obtained in Sunken Realms and dropped it onto the ground with a heavy thud.

“I don’t need gold. Also, we are literally standing in a cave full of ore. And there’s another cave farther down with even more. So far, you haven’t offered me anything I actually value.”

Rheera stared at the gold, and some of the pride drained from her face.

“T-there’s a metal there that’s very rare. Even my kingdom doesn’t have much of it. W-would you take that?”

“Not really interested. Do I look like a blacksmith?”

Rheera went quiet again. Luke waited for another offer. None came. Instead, the little orc sat down by the fire, pulled her knees to her chest, and buried her face between them.

“Fine. I don’t have anything else.” Her voice cracked. “Just leave us to the orcs, then...”

Oh. She’s crying.

Luke sat there for a few seconds, unsure what to do.

"You made a child cry, Luke", Artemis said. "What a terrible man. Truly evil."

Hey, I didn’t mean to. I thought we were negotiating. I was taking it seriously.

"With an eight-year-old?"

Kobi wrapped his arms around Rheera.

Now they’re both crying. What do I do?

"Not making them cry more would be a start."

“Do you have valuable stuff in your den?” Franky asked with absolutely no tact. “Like that room we found you in? There were cool skulls in there. If you don’t want them, I do.”

“Valuable stuff...?” Rheera lifted her tear-streaked face. Then her eyes widened. “If you protect me and my brother, I’ll give you everything in my family’s treasury. Weapons, armor, staffs... all of it will be yours.”

Part of Luke found that interesting. Another part already had the obvious counterargument ready: all that treasure was probably in the current Orc King’s hands. But he didn’t want to make her cry again.

“And how exactly are you going to give me this treasure?”

“Um...” Rheera wiped her face with both hands and tried to look determined again. “When I’m grown up and take back the throne, I’ll give it to you.”

Luke had to hold back a laugh.

“So basically, I have to protect you for the next ten years? I don’t know about that. I’m pretty sure I can get better equipment before then. And I have absolutely no guarantee you’ll win this fight for the throne.”

“I will.” Rheera’s voice hardened. “I’ll avenge my family. I’ll kill Gurgal. And you don’t have to protect me for ten years. I have supporters in the kingdom who’ll help me. Some of them are already here. Ragga, our protector, was taking me to them. They’re hiding.”

She took a deep breath before continuing.

“If you don’t hand me and my brother over to Gurgal or Rokhan, and you help us find our supporters, I promise I’ll give you everything in the treasury. You have my word as the future queen.”

Rheera explained what she knew. The supporters were orcs loyal to the Royal Family who had sailed to this continent. Ragga seemed to have been in contact with one of them, but he’d been wounded while they were fleeing an ambush. Rheera knew what would happen if she and Kobi fell into the wrong hands. That was why her offer was so generous.

She also explained that the people of the Orc Kingdom were fiercely loyal to the Royal Family. The orcs seemed to put the royal bloodline above everything else. That was why Gurgal wanted them captured. With both heirs in his hands, he could lock down his control of the kingdom.

Luke was silent for a few seconds. It was a terrible deal. No guaranteed reward. No guaranteed throne. No guarantee Rheera would even survive long enough to take it back.

Luke looked at the two children.

“Deal.”

He held out his hand. “I’ll help you find those orcs.”

Rheera stared at his hand for a second, then shook it.

“You have my word. As the future queen.”

Kobi, still half hidden behind his sister, reached out with a small, trembling hand. “M-mine too. Protect my sister.”

After talking a little longer, Luke returned to the castle. For now, he left the orc children in the cave. He still needed to sort through everything he’d learned and talk to Charlie and Angie.

Inside the laboratory, he walked over to one of the walls. Roses grew among a tangle of vines and other plants, spreading across the stone like living veins. Luke picked two and used [Seed Conversion].

“Back to full stock.”

He’d replaced the two roses he’d used to put Rheera and Kobi to sleep. That section of the lab was his experimental garden for plants with special compounds. The seeds of the [Tree of Mother Freya] had been altered through [Botanical Transmutation], changing the plants’ entire structure. By fusing them with other species, Luke had created something new: hardier plants with stronger effects. Another small upgrade to his arsenal.

The next day, Luke went looking for signs of Gurgal’s forces. On the day of the attack, two orc factions had clashed in the forest: those loyal to Orc King Gurgal and those serving Rokhan, the Orc Lord. General Ruax had been defending the territory under his control, so Gurgal’s orcs had to have come from somewhere nearby. A camp, an outpost, another occupied territory, Luke wanted to know which.

I got lucky getting the location from the ratman king. Even luckier finding the Orc Treasure. The timing was perfect.

He paused.

Well, actually, there was some bad luck too. If I’d gotten the information about the dwarves earlier, I would’ve found the so-called Treasure of the Orc Royal Family much sooner. Hell, I almost missed both of them by a single day.

Luke had accepted Rheera’s deal partly to comfort the little orc and partly because he wanted a better understanding of orc politics. Finding one of her supporters would be useful, but the odds of that little girl and her brother ever reclaiming the throne seemed low. The kingdom’s strongest military leader was already sitting on it.

What Luke really wanted was information about the Orc Lord and the Orc King, and Rheera’s supporters would almost certainly have some.

There’s a good chance the Orc Kingdom has a Core too. Maybe control of the Core passed to the heirs when their parents died. That could be how Gurgal knows they’re still alive.

But there were ways to take a Core from someone. To claim it. The question was how that worked in an Orc Kingdom.

Maybe it isn’t that simple. Maybe it depends on the citizens recognizing the ruler?

Luke still didn’t know, but one thing was clear: Gurgal needed both heirs to fully secure the throne.

Which meant Luke hadn’t just rescued two children. He’d taken something the Orc King couldn’t afford to lose.

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