Chapter 44: The Lump Called Moritz (1)

If Moritz Bartenberg had to choose the worst humiliation he had ever suffered, he would undoubtedly recall the day he lost to Richard.

That duel, where he was defeated in front of the Knights he had gathered himself, even after resorting to cowardly tricks!

Ever since that day, Moritz fell into a deep, inescapable pit of self-loathing.

“Damn it! This doesn’t make any sense!”

He was furious, and then furious again.

The gazes of the Knights who followed him seemed to shout that he was a loser.

To make matters worse, word had it that Richard was now receiving guidance from the Lord’s right hand, Leon, which made Moritz nearly lose his mind.

“Arghhh!”

And so, Moritz had poison in his heart.

He would grip his sword the moment he opened his eyes for training, and at night, he would pore over swordsmanship books.

Revenge!

He put all his effort into regaining his position by showing everyone that he could take revenge.

How long did he spend, burning with such venom?

One day, the sky suddenly shattered.

Woo…

Through the broken sky, a huge red eye peered into the world.

As that terrifying gaze swept across the continent, Moritz, if only for an instant, locked eyes with the creature.

It was an immense misfortune for him.

“U-ugh…!”

Was this what it felt like to face the abyss?

He couldn’t breathe, as if he’d been thrust into the jaws of a predator.

“Kyahhh!”

The maids and servants screamed and fainted, and even the Knights trembled uncontrollably.

The hole torn in the sky closed up before long.

But the miasma that seeped through was so thick and accursed.

The miasma scattered across the continent.

It kept making him recall that monstrous eye.

Whenever that happened, Moritz’s hands and feet would go cold, and his body would shake.

His desires and his self-loathing only grew worse.

The venom he had harbored in his chest changed direction, starting to gnaw away at his mind and body.

Moritz simply did not possess the mental fortitude befitting his bloodline.

He couldn’t properly wield his sword or even get a good night’s sleep—those days dragged on.

Then, as time passed, Richard returned with the Third Knight Division.

Standing amidst the Knights, Moritz fixed his gaze on Richard.

His younger brother, who had completely changed in just a few months, had become someone Moritz could no longer hope to surpass.

That fact was unbearably bitter.

Here I am, lying in misery like this.

Why do you shine so brightly—Moritz’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Richard.

He wanted to hate him.

He wanted to just let himself be consumed by jealousy.

But he couldn’t.

“Want to train with me…? No, that’s not it. Ugh!”

Since that day, Moritz had muttered endlessly to himself in his room.

He didn’t even know what this feeling toward Richard was.

Maybe it just cleared his mind a little.

When he recalled the light his younger brother had radiated, some of his fear faded away.

“Moritz.”

Then, an opportunity came.

He happened to run into Richard.

“Why did you call me? I just got summoned by the Lord, so get to the point.”

“Well, you see—”

The lines he had practiced countless times in his room rolled around in his mouth.

Let’s train together.

I’ll apologize for all the trouble I caused and ask for forgiveness.

But those few words just wouldn’t come out, even if it killed him.

He thought his pride had already been shattered.

Instead, he was unbearably ashamed of his current self, trembling at miasma, and deeply mortified.

So, he wanted to be with the brightly shining Richard.

“Are you crazy?

“W-why all of a sudden?”

“I’m busy, I’m leaving.”

And so, after all that hemming and hawing, he was left standing there.

“W-wait!”

His desperate cry was ignored as Richard strode away.

Watching his cold-hearted younger brother’s back, Moritz ground his teeth.

Fine. I don’t need an apology anyway.

“There’s no way that bastard would forgive me! And it’s not like I wanted to get along with him anyway!”

I just need that guy’s light.

I’ll stick to him like a leech, at least until I break free from this damned self-loathing.

“You said you got summoned by the Lord, right? I’ll follow you wherever you go!”

Determination flashed in Moritz’s eyes as he chased after Richard.

Of course, he was confident he wouldn’t get caught.

He didn’t like it at all, but his greatest natural talent was not swordsmanship, but stealth techniques.

***

“Waaah! Drink, drink!”

“Cheers! Pour, pour!”

A banquet was in full swing.

The Third Knight Division was feasting on liquor and meat in the banquet hall, which they had gotten prior permission from the Lord to use.

“Can’t we enjoy this time a little more elegantly?”

“What are you talking about! You’ve got to let loose and enjoy yourself! Cheers!”

“The Orc knows how to have fun, huh?”

I shook my head.

They were already so drunk that it was impossible to reason with them.

“Isn’t there something to celebrate today?”

“That’s right, that’s right! Let’s make a toast!”

Eventually, they all got up from their seats and raised their glasses.

“To the awakened Adele!”

“Waaaah!”

Clang—!

The fine glasses clinked together with a cheerful sound.

“It makes me happy to be welcomed like this by all you men.”

Adele was sitting among the Knights.

This morning.

When I woke up, she was hugging me, giggling with a mischievous smile.

I was so startled.

“Adele! Come here!”

“Daddy!”

I seated Adele next to me.

I couldn’t leave her in the midst of those drunkards.

“How are you feeling?”

“I slept like a log and now I feel great!”

“You’re not just pretending to be okay again, are you?”

“Really!”

A quick glance at her expression showed she really did look refreshed.

…Though I still couldn’t quite believe it.

She was the type to always say she was fine and push herself, so I couldn’t help but worry.

“From now on, if you’re struggling, tell me right away. Don’t push yourself too much.”

“Hmm…”

Adele answered with a slightly downcast look.

I patted her on the head.

“Thank you. For saving Gide.”

At my words, she beamed.

Her emotions changed so quickly—she really did seem like a child, just as she appeared.

Even though she was actually a tree that had lived for thousands of years.

“Adele!”

Just then, Aaron, already quite drunk, staggered over.

“Thank you! Really, thank you! For saving our grandpa…!”

“All right, stop. How many times are you going to say thank you?”

Honestly, Aaron had been repeating his thanks to Adele ever since she woke up. It was kind of funny.

“Grandpa…”

Thud!

“Ugh, hahaha! See! Aaron’s down!”

I knew he’d drunk too much.

The Knights who’d been laughing around him dragged Aaron off to a corner.

“He’s completely out, huh?”

“Leave him. He’s finally letting go of all that tension.”

Aaron had been running nonstop to save Gide.

He must have been under a ton of pressure.

In fact, it was amazing he’d held it together this long.

“Adele. Tell me about the southern World Tree.”

I glanced at the rowdy Knights, then asked Adele.

“Margarten… Is it a different being from you?”

There are two Elven Forests.

The northern forest is Adelgarten, and the southern one is Margarten. Likewise, there are two World Trees.

“You know, Daddy, we were originally one root. I was both Adelgarten and Margarten.”

“So now you’re saying you’re different beings.”

“Yeah. It just takes less energy to split our consciousness.”

Put simply, Margarten was Adele’s other half.

“We’re so withered that we can’t even communicate anymore. After I met you, Daddy, I tried to reach out, but still nothing.”

“So it’s in the same condition as the Elven Forest I saw.”

Adele nodded gloomily.

She kept glancing at me, probably worried about the Elves living in Margarten.

“I tried to send my nutrients over, but my roots don’t reach Margarten…”

“When this mission is over, let’s figure something out.”

It was something that had to be done anyway.

The Southern Continent, with its abundance of wizards, was dangerous, but Horgyo (Cult that worship Hor) had to spread there too.

Plus, it was a chance to draw the South Elves to my side.

“Mm!”

Trying to sound cheerful, Adele answered and tapped the table with her finger.

There’s so much to do.

“The North Elves will awaken soon.”

I had already told Adele.

I’d said that I needed their strength for the coming battle.

They were one of my hidden cards.

I sent Knights to the residents of Snowfall, so they should arrive before the expedition sets out.

My Believers and Chosen Ones would have to struggle now.

That’s the fate of Chosen Ones—to bleed for the cause.

As I was deep in thought, Huger sat down next to me and threw an arm over my shoulder.

“Cheers! Why aren’t you drinking?”

“Hey, go have fun over there.”

The strong smell of alcohol hit my nose.

“Hehehe, come to think of it, that human warrior’s brother looks just like me!”

Suddenly, he blurted out something random.

If someone looked like Huger… it could only be Moritz.

“You met Moritz? Where?”

Huger had been holed up at the Third Knight Division’s quarters.

Even with the Lord’s permission, the mood in Bartenberg wasn’t good enough for him to walk around.

“Cheers… The tribe told me to keep it secret…”

I stuffed a big chunk of meat into Huger’s mouth.

“If you can pay for all the meat and booze you’ve been guzzling, fine, otherwise, shut up.”

“Fine! I’ll talk! On our way to the office, a human scent was following us. If he’d hidden his scent, it would’ve been perfect stealth!”

I frowned.

Moritz, that unpleasant guy, had been tailing me?

I already knew he had a talent for stealth.

But he hated it so much, he stubbornly stuck to swordsmanship, which didn’t suit him at all.

“Why didn’t you say anything right away?”

“At first, I wasn’t sure. But even when the great human warrior went into the office, he stayed in the same spot.”

So Huger snuck back and caught him by the scruff of the neck.

“Chwek, you have no idea how shocked I was when I grabbed him! He’s definitely an Orc! He even bit me! Maybe he’s my child—”

“Enough of that nonsense.”

“Anyway, he said he was the great human warrior’s brother. Cheek! So we eavesdropped outside the office together.”

I wanted to smack my forehead.

This pig had the nerve to boast about doing something so pointless.

“Why, exactly?”

“Cheek! Well, it didn’t seem like he had any bad intentions. In fact, he seemed to admire the great human warrior. He begged me with a face just like mine, so I couldn’t refuse…”

For a second, I’d forgotten. No matter how un-Orc-like Huger was, he was still an Orc.

A true blockhead, through and through.

And there were two blockheads in this banquet hall.

As I sharpened my senses, I finally picked up on a presence that had managed to stay hidden until now.

I crooked my finger in that direction.

“You. Come here.”

“Hiiik!”

The gazes of the entire Third Knight Division, who had been busy drinking, turned toward the corner of the banquet hall.

There sat Moritz, crouched and hiding.

His pitiful face was as pale as a ghost.

“So, you’re asking to be killed, huh?”

“R-Richard! Wait a second!”

I approached him.

“How dare you tail me? I knew it from the moment your face turned red. Are you finally into men or something?”

“That’s not it! I, I want to be with you! I even got permission from the Lord!”

“You crazy bastard—”

I couldn’t take it anymore.

I lunged at him.