Chapter 432 - Second Episode: Ogre Rehabilitation Plan
Due to Serena's words, my participation in the Demon Realm conquest was put on hold for the time being. However, there's also the matter with the Gigant. We have to do something about humanoid monsters being created by suspicious methods. Serena had no objection to this point.
"First, it's the Ogres. If there are those who like eating human flesh, we'll end up in conflict no matter what."
Even for Violet, who acts as a bodyguard for Goblins and Alraunes, Ogre measures are important. She even asked if she could kill Ogres as soon as she found them during patrols. For now, I've had her wait. There's no reason to kill them without question when they haven't done anything.
"Today is the experiment of what happens if we make them use magic like crazy, as Jeanne said, right?"
"Yes. Let's start with that."
With Henry-sama and the others' participation decided, the experiment began.
Since Robinson-san is also here today, we'll go catch an Ogre immediately. In addition to Henry-sama's group, Beatrix, Bonnie, Robinson-san, Violet, two Goblin scouts, and I ride in the medium-sized bowl. Since Violet is here, it's just Camouflage without Magic Reflection, but Orcs and the like probably won't notice.
"Um, why the boar kigurumi?"
Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama are wearing boars. Their faces are completely hidden, and there are even tusks and hooves, so they look like bipedal boars from any angle.
"We are going to explore the monsters' territory. How can we not become monsters ourselves?"
The Goblin scouts are touching Henry-sama's tail and rejoicing. Of course, it's real.
"But isn't it hot?"
"Atmosphere is important for these things."
Creating an atmosphere is fine, but it's still October. Originally, the boar was a winter garment for going into the mountains of Primordia. They must be drenched in sweat. Besides, Eleanor-sama is a mage, but how will Henry-sama fight in an emergency? He can't hold a weapon with hooves.
"It's unarmed combat. These hooves are painted silver, after all. They are excellent for offense and defense, and magic passes through them well."
Despite being penniless usually, he's quite extravagant.
According to Violet, Ogres are numerous in northern Nishi-Nakanohara. Perhaps they fled because Violet or the Gigant were hard on them. We decided to go to the back entrance of the Demon Lord's cave, where we went before. That's because it seems okay to kidnap an Ogre, take it into the cave, and fire magic like crazy there.
Scouting from above, the Goblin scouts found them easily. Then, when Robinson manipulated them and called two of them under the bowl, the Orcs nearby gathered suspiciously. Ignoring them, Violet wrapped them round and round with thread, and when she hung them like bagworms, the Orcs fled in a hurry. No wonder. It was strange enough that their Ogre comrades suddenly started walking blankly and stood still, and then thread suddenly came out of the empty air and turned them into bagworms. Moreover, the two were being carried while floating in the air. They couldn't see what was carrying them. It would be stranger if they didn't run away. They probably won't come near here for a while.
Hanging the two Ogres dangling, we flew to the back entrance. Violet and the Goblins seemed to have never been to the back exit, and when they reached the vertical shaft, they were staring at the magnificent view as if glued to it.
"I didn't know there was a place like this. I didn't know either."
A whole town of Nakanohara would fit in there. I can't even imagine how many stories deep it is. It's as if a part of the Demon Lord's cave collapsed. There are several rock ledges on the side walls, and several trees are growing. Weeds are thick at the base of the trees, and many climbing plants are hanging from the cliffs, so many places are covered in green. Perhaps surprised by the Ogres dangling in the air, birds took flight with a flutter.
"Wait a minute, stop!"
Violet found something. The Goblins are also pointing. Apparently, it's a thicket on a rock ledge... or rather, since the rock ledge is wide, it's a small grove.
"Look, can you see?"
Um, I can't see it at all. Even Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama, who boast good eyesight, don't seem to see anything. I cast Sight on all the humans. However, even when far-sightedness became effective, I couldn't tell.
"There's a horizontal hole beyond that thicket."
A horizontal hole...
When we brought the bowl closer, it was just a grove.
"Violet, I'm sorry but we can't see it. If you can tell where the hole is even if we come back later, I want to finish the Ogre experiment first."
"Okay. I'll probably recognize it right away whenever I come. It's not urgent. We can't explore while dangling Ogres, right?"
"Sorry about that."
Henry-sama smirks. Apparently, a new exploration target has been found.
"Then, let's finish the experiment early."
Eleanor-sama is starting to look lively.
Leaving the horizontal hole exploration aside, we arrived at the back entrance of the Demon Lord's cave. It's a huge horizontal hole. There's a large pond right away. Groundwater or rainwater must have accumulated. When scouting with Sense Living, there's nothing in the water, but as usual, there are a large number of house centipedes on the walls and ceiling. We proceeded further and landed at the edge of the pond.
"This is perfect. Let's have the Ogres exterminate the house centipedes. Robinson, please. Let's experiment one by one in order."
Eleanor-sama said, and Robinson-san began manipulating. He went to the Ogre Violet had wrapped round and round and pulled one thread. He extended a leg from his flank, grabbed the Ogre, and threw it into the pond with a 'poi', and at the timing when both feet touched the water, he pulled the hand holding the thread hard. The Ogre spun around on the water. Both feet splashed the water. The other Ogre, still wrapped round and round, let out a scream.
When the Ogre fell into the pond with a 'dobon', Violet pulled the thread back. Since the end of the thread was attached to the Ogre, it was pulled up with a 'zubuzubu'. The Ogre, dragged onto the sandy beach just like that, had its mouth open sloppily and its eyes were spinning. It might be unconscious. Robinson-san, who no longer needed to manipulate, gently lowered his raised right hand.
"Eh? It fainted. Did I overdo it?"
Violet stuck out her tongue.
"W-Well, there's one more, after all."
Even Henry-sama's face is twitching.
"It was definitely on purpose."
I pretended not to hear Eleanor-sama whispering.
When Violet said something to the Ogre wrapped round and round, it was nodding desperately. Beside it, the unconscious Ogre was lying down.
"It says it'll be quiet. Let's try with this one. We don't have to manipulate it at first, so let's have it do various things."
Saying that, she put fire on the tip of the leg on her flank. It was the first time I saw Violet's magic. When she brought that flame close to the Ogre wrapped round and round, it burnt through the thread with a 'chirichiri'.
Eleanor-sama winked at me. As expected, it was on purpose.
"Now, please make a Fire Ball float on your palm. Like this."
Eleanor-sama produced one fire ball on her right palm.
Violet translates. I see. If it were being manipulated, it wouldn't be able to follow Violet's advice. So, she scared it into listening.
"It's quite good, isn't it?"
When Eleanor-sama said that, she puffed out her chest with a 'fufun'.
Now, the Ogre can't do it well. It can produce it on its palm, but it didn't float fluffily; it felt like it just fired it upward. It did it twice, three times, but it was the same.
"It says it can't do it."
Even when Violet, who produced fire from the claw of the leg on her flank, translated, it couldn't. Apparently, it has never done it before. Not only itself, but it has never seen other Ogres doing it either.
"Then, can you change the trajectory after firing? Like this."
The fire ball Eleanor-sama fired changed its trajectory greatly and hit a house centipede.
When Violet translated, the Ogre was shaking its head left and right. It seemed unable to do it.
"How do you hit the target?"
It's Beatrix. Among us, she has the shortest career as a mage. When she first did mouse extermination, she missed several times.
"Somehow, it flies straight toward the target, so the initial aim is crucial, it says."
When told to defeat one house centipede, it aimed desperately and hit it brilliantly. It's triumphant.
When asked how it produces the flame, it crossed its arms and tilted its head to think. Eventually, it came back saying that if it thinks it wants to produce it, it comes out. It's different from humans. Humans, even beginners, create an image of the flame properly before producing a fire ball on their palm and then firing it. When she had just learned it, Beatrix said it was an image of throwing. Being able to change the trajectory or speed was after she became an adult and started being a monster hunter.
"I see. The reason it fires without chanting is because it doesn't fire after creating an image like humans do."
Incidentally, Violet apparently creates an image before firing, just like humans. However, since her original magic control power is high, chanting is not necessary. It's the same as me firing mid-level or lower magic without chanting.
"Then, the real thing starts from here. Robinson, please."
She's quite enthusiastic.
The Ogre manipulated by Robinson-san, when it thrust its right hand forward, began firing Fire Balls toward the house centipedes. It continued to fire a fifth, sixth shot, but perhaps because it was being manipulated, its expression didn't change. For a human basic magic single-user, it would be about the limit. As it layered seven, eight shots, it began to drip sweat. I want to believe that a basic mage won't fall to the dark side. At the tenth shot, its knees began to wobble.
"The method Jeanne thought of is also quite nasty, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Previously, Harris said she was suited to be a heretic inquisitor."
"Oh my!"
The old couple, who had knocked out so many people, were whispering so they could be heard. Really, what do they intend?
At the eleventh shot, it finally hit its right knee. Its aim was already unsteady, and it was raising its right hand toward a wall where nothing was. I had Robinson-san wait a bit and soaked a hand towel in the pond water. It's cold, so it's just right. When I wiped the sweat from the Ogre's forehead after wringing it hard, it shook its head left and right as if saying no.
"It's just a little more, so please do your best. It'll be over if you faint."
Whether it understood my words or not, it fired the twelfth shot while shedding tears.
Violet says something. The Goblins too.
Hearing that, the Ogre raised its head with a high snort.
With trembling hands, it fired the twelfth and thirteenth shots!
"I told it that if it did its best, it would be sent back with a souvenir of five boars."
At Violet's words, we all looked at each other.
"If you fire two more shots, I'll add one more."
It's Beatrix. She's in good spirits at times like this. When Violet translated, it fired two shots. It's the fifteenth shot. Now it's completely sitting on its butt, desperately supporting its right hand with its left. Its upper body is swaying. It looks like it's about to collapse at any moment.
"If you fire two more shots, I'll give you a brand new chain mail."
It's Henry-sama. Is that okay?
When Violet translated, it clenched its teeth, fired one shot, and for the second... smoke came out of its right palm with a 'pusun', and it finally fainted.
"That's a shame. I was going to make a steel sword the prize after the chain mail."
Eleanor-sama is also quite something.
Violet laughed with an "Ahaha".
We successfully knocked out the Ogre, but the problem starts from here. Will the Ogre really rehabilitate? If this is no good, annihilation becomes a reality. I want to avoid it if possible.
Leaving the unconscious Ogre to Violet, we went to the nearest Western Plains Kingdom Army Garrison and got a brand new chain mail. Even though he's penniless, he's the former King. He was able to get a brand new one that fit the size. Next, we went boar hunting. Promises must be kept. The Goblin scouts found them easily, and Beatrix froze them. When Eleanor-sama lifted them up with the soil using Clump Sand and put them in Wilson-san's medium-sized bowl, the souvenir was ready.
When we returned to Violet's place, the Ogre that participated in the experiment had regained consciousness. Seeing the other one still unconscious, Violet must have treated it. I don't know how she did it, but in Morandine, she quickly made a Ghoul healthy that would have died if it weren't immortal. In human terms, she might be a recovery mage on par with the Headmistress.
However, the crucial Ogre is blank. It feels like its spirit and energy are completely exhausted.
"How is it?"
"Somehow, it feels like its soul went somewhere. I didn't think it would become like this."
Even when asking Violet or the Goblins, it seems strange.
While we were boar hunting, Violet apparently asked various things.
First, why does it like the flesh of humans and spirits?
The answer was spot on: to obtain magic power. It's not particularly delicious. In terms of taste, boars are superior.
Second, why does it torture them to death?
The answer was somewhat different from my imagination: to make them submit with fear. If comrades are killed in a cruel way, humans and spirits will be terrified. As a result, it thought they wouldn't resist.
"It's the same as humans. Humans also take cruel execution methods depending on the country."
According to Eleanor-sama, dropping the head with an axe or sword, or hanging them, are on the lenient side. Burning at the stake, carving the body bit by bit, burying them from the neck down in the ground and sawing the neck with a wooden saw, having four horses pull the limbs in four directions until they are torn apart, developing execution tools that give the opponent long-lasting pain to kill them, and many other quite terrible things have been done in history. Just hearing about it makes me feel sick.
"Is that effective? That?"
It's Beatrix. She didn't see it directly, but her parents were executed. It was treason. However, the sentence for what they had done was judged appropriate, but it was judged as a tragedy at the end of a famine. While she was chanting a prayer to the Goddess, she was stabbed in the heart from the back and died. The time she suffered must have been short. A grave was also made. The Lord at the time who handed down the verdict also suffered and regretted it. Perhaps because of that, the current Lord is quite favorable to the surviving Beatrix.
"I don't think so. Please think of the feelings of the bereaved families of those killed in cruel ways. Law is made by people for people. If we lose the heart of compassion, it is no longer law."
"Right?"
Beatrix murmured at Eleanor-sama's words.