Orc Hero Story: Discovery Chronicles

That was something to be proud of. It was something to be immensely proud of. Such a strong man, such pride. This is pride, thought Eye.

If Bash, while fighting Bone, had said in the end, “Sure, I fought it, but that dragon was a weakling. Nothing more than a little lizard, gahaha”, then things would have been different. Without a doubt, Eye would not have been able to hold back. Dragons had no concept of pride or honor, but if Bone had been ridiculed by a tiny human, Eye could have felt indescribable rage. If she had been dragged to the ground and beheaded by a small human in a war she did not wish to participate in, and had her flesh and bones torn apart to be used as a tool in a trivial war, she would not have forgiven Bash.

I have explained it in a difficult-to-understand way, but in reality, it is simple. Eye was so moved by the first heroic tale she had ever heard in her life that she couldn’t help but let her heart dance.

“You killed a dragon and gained ‘honor’.”

“Mm-hmm. Yes.”

Eye also felt proud seeing Bash confidently nodding.

“Then what about me…”

And at the same time as she thought that, she wondered where that left her. She was the one who fled in the midst of the battle, transformed with Newt and hid, trying to survive. Where was her honor?

She had never had the concept of honor in her life. But now that she knew it, she had to be aware of it. She had to be aware of her honor.

“Bash.”

“Yes?”

When Eye called him, Bash turned his gaze toward her. It was a different look. It was very different from when they were talking. If she had to venture a guess, she would say it was a look similar to the one he gave her when he attacked her. Although it felt different… Eye thought it was a look with killing intent.

Eye was intelligent. So she knew. Bash was a first-class warrior who had been through many battles. He had broken through the disguise magic of a human mage, and had seen through the camouflage of a beast warrior. He had also defeated that Great Elven Archmage.

Therefore, he must have realized it from the beginning. He must have seen through Eye’s poor magic. In other words, that Eye’s true identity was that of a dragon.

That was the answer to the question of why he didn’t kill her.

In other words, Bash felt disappointed when Eye escaped and appeared in human form. He wondered if there had ever been such a dishonorable dragon.

So, as he recounted the story of Bone and the many proud warriors, Eye would ask Bash.

Is that enough for you? Does that protect your honor?

“Will you really protect your honor?”

“Hm? Yes, I will defend the honor of the orcs under any circumstances.”

“Would you kill the dragon to protect your honor?”

“Hm? Yes, I would. I will kill it for your sake.”

“But I don’t want to die…”

“Hm? I see.”

However, Eye’s true intention had not changed. She did not want to die. No matter how much they told her that her death would bring honor to Bash, she still feared death. She didn’t believe she could become a brave and honorable warrior like Bash or the warriors in his stories.

“Before, the dragon fled.”

In the first place, for Eye, the fight was already decided. She had lost and even used her magic Newt to plead for her life. Wasn’t that the answer?

“You’ve already won, haven’t you?”

“The dragon is not an opponent who easily accepts defeat.”

Even Eye was glad to hear Bash say that, but he was overestimating her. Eye was terrified of fighting Bash and would flee right now if she could. “Honor” was certainly something she longed for, and she was interested in the idea of a proud death. But still…

“Can you maintain your honor… without killing the dragon?”

Still, she didn’t want to die. She desired to live so much that she wanted to cry at how pathetic she was.

“Protect my honor… without killing the dragon?”

“Yes.”

Bash closed his eyes with an extremely serious expression on his face. The gesture was as if he was pondering something, and Eye couldn’t hide her unease. Then, Zell leaned in and whispered something in Bash’s ear. Eye’s anxiety grew stronger. She must be saying, “Let’s kill this thing already.” There was a scene like that in the story he had just told her.

“…” Finally, Bash looked directly at Eye as if the conversation had ended. After all, was he going to kill her? Killing someone who had no honor wouldn’t bring him much honor. But even though he had faced such opponents before, Bash had defeated them. She was sure of it because he had just said so. “My honor…”

“…”

“If I take a beautiful woman like you as my wife, it will be protected.”

“…?”

Suddenly, a concept appeared that she didn’t quite understand. Wife. What was a wife?

“Wife?”

“Yes, I want you to be my wife and have my children.”

To give birth to a child. Then the wise Eye understood. The word “wife” meant “mate”.

“If you take me as your wife, and I become your mate, that maintains your honor, why?”

“No ordinary orc could take you as a wife, even if it meant risking their entire life. If I take you as my wife and you bear my children, I will be spoken of as the greatest of all orcs. Until the day when the orcs are annihilated.”

“…”

“Although it may be humiliating for you to be the wife of an orc…”

I see, thought Eye. According to dragon tradition, after someone uses Newt, they usually conceive a child with the person who defeats them. The same happened with Bone. However, Bone didn’t use Newt because she was cornered, and Bone herself didn’t want to have a child with the human. But she did. Why did those who use Newt have a child with humans? Eye had been wondering about this for a long time…

But here it was. This word from Bash was the answer. It was required by the other party. For a human, taking a dragon as a mate was an act of great honor. It was probably more honorable than killing a dragon.

And it was probably out of concern for Eye’s honor that Bash didn’t immediately offer to take Eye as his mate. Certainly, it would be dishonorable for a dragon to be taken as a mate by a tiny human. At the very least, the Eye from a few days ago would probably not have liked it. Even if dragons had no concept of honor, they probably wouldn’t like the idea of having a child with a human.

“…”

But Eye thought it was already too late to think about that dishonor. She even used Nut to plead for her life and now had the opportunity to defend her honor, but she threw it all away and clung to life. Dishonor or not, it didn’t matter. What mattered was survival.

Furthermore, Eye had learned about honor. Bash was an honorable warrior, much stronger than Eye.

It didn’t seem so dishonorable if it was him. As Bone had once said, it was common for a strong individual to join with another strong individual, even in the world of dragons. Eye didn’t have that experience yet. But she was not bothered or disgusted by the fact of being with Bash for the first time, but she recognized that Bash was stronger than her, and she was sure it was because of what she had heard about honor and pride. Bash was now a hero whom Eye admired.

The answer was obvious.

“I understand. You and I will be mates.”

That day, for the first time, Bash’s marriage proposal came to a successful conclusion.

Frizcop: Yaaaaaay! Today is a day of happiness, ladies and gentlemen. Total happiness. And anyway, who is that half-dragon half-human child that was mentioned? Only questions remain!