"Father, kuik!"
Thud thud thud!
Aroshi charged forward.
Worm-like tendons writhed across his body.
He kicked off the ground with calves as thick as lampposts.
His Ural Mountains wild boar-like bulk hurtled ahead at an unbelievable speed.
From the opposite side, an even larger orc responded with enthusiasm.
"Son, kuiik!"
Boom boom boom!
The middle-aged orc came running.
Python-like tendons bulged fiercely.
He kicked off the ground with legs thicker than utility poles.
A Tunguska nuclear fire bear-sized hunk of meat kicked up clouds of dust as it barreled forward.
And they collided.
Thwack!
It was a sight that made you pity the air molecules crushed between those two muscular hulks.
But regardless of such sentiments from onlookers, Aroshi and the middle-aged orc—father and son—embraced each other and marked their reunion with what passed for fervor among their kind.
"You punk, Aroshi, kuik!"
"Father! Kuiik!"
"You okay, kuik?"
"I'm fine! Sniff, kuik!"
"Good. But don't cry, son. Kuiik."
"Even in a moment like this, kuik?"
"Of course. You're already looking gaunt from all the hardship—if you cry carelessly, you lose nutrients and your muscles shrink, kuik!"
"Gasp, muscle loss, kuik!"
"A warrior's got to avoid that at all costs, right, kuik?"
"As expected of Father, so wise, kuiik!"
...No, wise wasn't the word—more like his brain was shaped like a dumbbell.
Lloyd let out a deep sigh.
The orc father and son were in the middle of their heartfelt reunion.
If you tossed them into the local gym, they'd probably warm up with a one-ton bench, squat, and deadlift set without breaking a sweat.
And here they were, jumping straight into muscle talk the moment they met.
In the novel *Iron-Blooded Knight*, orcs were called hardcore muscle idiots, and that description turned out to be spot on.
He couldn't help but chuckle.
At the same time, the events from half a month ago suddenly came to mind.
♣
"Will that plan work?"
"Yes, probably."
Lloyd nodded.
He picked up the teapot. Tilted it. Clear tea poured into the baron's cup with a trickle.
"As I mentioned, Aroshi trusts me completely. He sees me as his lifesaver. And I hear he's the chieftain's son."
"The chieftain's son?"
"Yes."
Lloyd lifted his own teacup. Tilted it. Took a sip and let it slide down his throat.
"He'll probably acknowledge his son's coming-of-age feat."
"Because of the queen ant's head... Yeah, that makes sense."
"Right. And I'll just add my spoon to the pot."
Joint kill, joint hunt.
He planned to slap on a title like that.
Claiming he'd caught the queen ant alongside Aroshi.
So he'd ask to be recognized as a warrior too.
"But will the chieftain accept you that easily?"
"It won't be simple. We'll have to try and see. The rewards if it works are just too big."
It was true.
If the orc chieftain recognized him as a warrior?
With Aroshi's backing, he could put 120 orc warriors to work as miners.
Sturdy, fearless orcs numbering 120.
They'd dig coal tirelessly.
Far more capable than a thousand human miners.
"And aside from room and board, labor costs would be basically zero. High-end manpower for free."
"But isn't it dangerous? Going straight into an orc village..."
"It'll be fine. Aroshi, the chieftain's son, sees me as his benefactor."
"Hmm..."
The baron's expression darkened.
He didn't like Lloyd taking such risks.
Orcs were a violent, savage race.
Heading into their territory?
If possible, he wanted to stop him.
Lloyd spent the time after patiently persuading the hesitant baron.
It was a battle of wills: baron versus Lloyd's stubbornness.
Of course, the winner was Lloyd.
"...Fine. But on one condition."
"What is it?"
"Take some soldiers. Thirty or so."
The baron insisted that at least that much escort was necessary for peace of mind.
Lloyd accepted the condition.
An escort of thirty soldiers.
Good insurance for any contingencies.
"Understood. Then I'll take thirty engineering corps soldiers, plus Sir Asrahan."
Preparations for departure proceeded smoothly.
They gathered camping gear, food, and so on.
The next morning, they set off.
The baron and his wife saw them off at the mansion's entrance.
They were genuinely worried.
Lloyd felt a twinge of guilt. But he quickly set it aside. Without him, they'd have fallen as in the original story. The couple would have met their deaths soon.
"Then, we'll be off."
He bid farewell with somewhat mixed feelings.
Thus, they departed the baron's estate.
The group crossed the Eastern Mountains together.
Aroshi was a capable warrior and guide.
Thanks to his familiarity with the terrain, they avoided dangerous monster habitats. After a ten-day journey, they arrived safely at the orc village.
And finally...
"Kuiik! Good to see you! I am Akushi, Aroshi's father, kuik!"
...He shook hands with the hulking orc chieftain, in front of hundreds of villagers.
"Yes, good to meet you."
"Heard from Aroshi. You saved my son, kuik?"
"Yes, more or less."
"Good! Then you're my benefactor too, kuik!"
"And also a warrior who hunted the queen ant alongside your son."
"...What, kuik?"
Akushi tilted his head.
Lloyd gave a glance to Haviel.
Haviel unwrapped the bundle on his back.
A black, gym-ball-sized lump emerged.
"The queen ant's head. We took it as a trophy."
"Ku, kuik?"
Akushi's massive Adam's apple bobbed up and down.
Nor was Chieftain Akushi the only one shocked.
The hundreds of orcs gathered around reacted the same.
"Kuiik? What's that, kuik!"
"Never seen an ant head that huge, kuiik!"
"Looks fierce, kuik!"
"Looks strong, kuik!"
"Looks tasty, kuik!"
"...We got a food thief here, kuiik!"
In short, the orc village erupted in awe and commotion in an instant.
This was no time to let the moment slip.
Don't give them time for cool-headed judgment.
Ride the wave while it's hot.
Lloyd judged thus and spoke quickly.
"We were scouting a beast ant nest. Found the queen staggering from exhaustion. Took great effort to catch her. But near the queen ant, we found an orc-forged iron sword."
"Orc-forged iron sword, kuik?"
"That's right. Your son Aroshi's sword."
Lloyd finished and shot a quick glance at Aroshi.
Aroshi snorted fiercely.
"The benefactor speaks true, kuik!"
"So you're saying my son fought the queen ant, wore her down, and then the benefactor finished her off, kuiik?"
"That's right. We fought together, kuik!"
"Hmm, kuik..."
Chieftain Akushi's thick eyelids twitched.
His deep green eyes flicked between his son, Lloyd, and the queen ant head.
He recognized it at a glance.
'It's real, kuik.'
He'd spent his life battling beast ants.
No one knew better than he how powerful their queen was.
And his own son had hunted such a foe.
The chieftain's massive pectorals quivered with emotion.
"Son, kuik!"
"Yes, kuiik!"
"Congratulations! You're a warrior now! I, Akushi, in the chieftain's name, declare that orc Aroshi is a proud warrior of the tribe, kuik!"
"Thank you, kuik!"
"Good. To celebrate, today's lower body, kuik!"
"Men train lower body, kuik!"
At Akushi's command, Aroshi bolted to one side of the village.
He hoisted a massive statue onto his shoulders.
It had to weigh at least half a ton.
And it was even gold-plated.
That wasn't all.
Around it, luxurious items littered the area, abused as workout equipment.
Chandeliers repurposed as weight plates.
The bars in between were pearl-studded pillars.
A treasure chest overflowing with gold coins served as a solid kettlebell!
'Holy crap, insane.'
A scene from *Iron-Blooded Knight* describing how capable the orcs were as warriors and raiders came to mind.
Seeing it in person was even more extreme.
'Decades of loot piled up. But the orcs have no use for gold and jewels anyway.'
Tsk.
Treasures reduced to gym toys.
Aroshi grunting as he squatted with the plated statue.
Watching it all made Lloyd's mouth water involuntarily.
All the while, Aroshi shouldered the statue and snorted.
Each time, he flexed his anaconda-thick thighs, rising and squatting repeatedly.
Chieftain Akushi watched his son with a pleased smile.
"See that? Today's a joyous day, kuiik."
The chieftain turned to Lloyd.
He reached out a pot-lid-sized hand and clapped his shoulder.
"Thanks, human. You didn't just save my son—you showed bravery hunting the queen ant with him, kuik."
"Then, am I recognized as a warrior too?"
Lloyd asked.
Sometimes, you had to be shameless.
With these folks, you asked outright.
Sure enough, Chieftain Akushi nodded readily.
"Of course! I, Akushi, in the chieftain's name, declare that human... kuik?"
"Lloyd. Lloyd Frontera."
"...Human Lloyd Frontera is a proud warrior of the tribe, kuik!"
Akushi's proclamation finally rang out.
The hundreds of orcs around cheered together.
And Chieftain Akushi shouted as if it were the most natural thing.
"The human benefactor is a warrior! To celebrate, the human benefactor does lower body today too, kuiik!"
"...Pardon?"
Hold on.
This hulking uncle.
What did he just say?
'No way he means for me to shoulder that 500-kilo statue and squat, right?'
Lloyd swallowed dryly without thinking.
But ominous hunches had a way of hitting the mark perfectly.
Chieftain Akushi slapped his back heartily and guffawed.
"Come on! I'm in a good mood, so I'll join you, kuik!"
"..."
"Men train lower body! Kuik!"
"..."
Heavens above.
Lloyd's vision went dark.
The cheers around him only grew louder.
Lloyd felt a bone-broth-like awkwardness bubbling up.
"Uh..."
"Kuik?"
"I like working out, and I've lifted heavy stuff on sites plenty, but that's a bit..."
"Kuiik? What do you mean, kuik?"
"Seems too heavy for me."
Lloyd said honestly.
It was true.
He was pretty confident with heavy loads.
Thanks to the Asrahan Heart Method, his physical abilities surpassed an ordinary person's.
But smiling through squats with a 500-kilo awkwardly shaped statue on his shoulders? No way!
"Thanks for the workout recommendation, but is there something lighter?"
He didn't want a snapped back or legs.
So he asked.
But he saw Chieftain Akushi's face harden.
"What? You can't lift that, kuiik?"
"That's right."
"Even after being recognized as a warrior, kuik?"
"Well..."
"A warrior can't lift that? Ridiculous, kuik!"
"..."
"That's one of the lighter ones in the village. For young warriors to warm up. If you can't lift that, you don't deserve the title, kuik."
"Look, I'm not an orc."
"Still a warrior. Gotta do it, kuik."
Akushi had turned serious before he knew it.
Lloyd's expression hardened too.
'Damn.'
Things had been going too smoothly.
Who'd have thought a squat would trip him up out of nowhere.
He racked his brain furiously.
'If I back out of this lower-body nonsense now, the warrior recognition and everything flies out the window. What to do?'
Quitting here was too regrettable.
Warrior status meant huge gains.
120 sturdy orc warriors as free miners.
He didn't want to give that up easily.
Of course, busting his back with reckless bravado was worse.
'Need a way out.'
No squats.
Appeal with something else instead.
Play to his strengths, something he could do.
That'd earn their recognition.
Lloyd's eyes darted quickly.
He scanned every corner of the orc village.
Gathered every bit of info on the environment, their tendencies—everything in sight. Sorted it. Analyzed it.
Then, something clicked.
'Wait.'
His fast-moving gaze stopped.
It was a pit dug in the corner of the village.
"What's that?"
He pointed and asked.
Chieftain Akushi answered.
"That? Meat disposal pit, kuik."
"You throw away meat?"
"Yeah. Dump it there and bury with dirt, kuik."
Akushi nodded.
"Rotten stuff we can't eat. Eat that carelessly, get stomachache. Get weak, can't train. No training, muscles shrink, kuiik."
The chieftain's voice thickened with regret.
"Such a waste. If we could eat it all without tossing, that's more muscle. Always a shame, kuik."
"Really?"
"Yeah, kuik."
Akushi smacked his lips.
Lloyd's mouth curved up slyly.
'This is it.'
A mid-novel scene from *Iron-Blooded Knight* came to mind.
Some time from now, after quite a bit had passed.
Adventuring Haviel ends up facing an orc tribe alone.
He uses his wits in a tough fight to force their surrender.
Those wits? Sabotaging their hunts.
'The orcs' wasteland home is barren. No farming possible, foraging can't sustain them. They rely almost entirely on hunting for food.'
Hunting the wasteland's massive, terrifying monsters.
That's how the orc tribe got their meals.
To do so, they had to grow braver.
But they had no tech to preserve the hard-won food.
They just piled it up and ate.
The food spoiled quickly.
'Haviel figures that out and messes with their hunts hard. In less than ten days, the orc village is starving.'
Poor preservation meant no stockpiles.
Repeated hunt failures cut off even fresh supplies.
Starvation was inevitable.
Lloyd recalled that novel plot.
"I have one proposal."
"Proposal, kuik?"
"Yes."
He looked up at Chieftain Akushi and said.
"Skip the lower-body workout. Instead, I'll build you a cool food preservation vault, and you recognize me as a warrior."
Pay me handsomely with all that loose gold and treasure too.
Get warrior status, take workers home.
While at it, snag the construction contract and fees.
Eat the pheasant, eat the egg.
Win the game, eat the baron.
See the sights, grab the coupons.
Lloyd finished his calculations, and a sly smile bloomed on his face.
(End of Chapter 32)
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