Chapter 16

I was in the room with the village chief and some other ogres. There was the chief who looked like an older Benimaru. He had the same red hair and red skin, but he had a few wrinkles here and there. I wouldn't call him old, but he was getting there. 

There was a female ogre with pink hair. She was shorter than the village chief, but I assume that's Benimarus's mom or something since she's sitting really close to the chief. She looked young. Like way younger than the chief. She is either very young or she is about as old as the chief. If it's the second option, then wow, talk about aging gracefully.

Of course, there was also Benimaru, and close to him, there was also a very old short silver-haired ogre with a silver tint to his skin. That is the future-named Hakurou. He should be the one teaching Benimaru swordsmanship. A famous ogre even with no name.

Then there is the ogre princess. The long wavy pink hair that was tied in a low ponytail, those red eyes, the two white horns. She had on a kimono and a white robe. The way she was sitting was evident in her background of being raised as a princess. She was sitting very elegantly. 

I don't know how this whole "fated one" thing works, but I was definitely feeling some kind of connection to her. I was sitting in the middle of the room facing the chief and even though my focus was on him, I couldn't help but sneak a few glances at her. 

I don't know what she was feeling, but she must be kind of good at hiding it since she isn't showing much on the outside. I wonder what thoughts are going through her head right now.

I kind of want to take some kind of opportunity to talk to her one-on-one, but this isn't the time and it shouldn't be my focus right now. 

While I was observing the ogres in the room the chief finally spoke up. 

"I've heard the main points of your warning from my son and some of the ogres that were with him. I want to know more details about what you are saying."

"There is a large army on its way to your village."

"What kind of army is it and how long until they get here?"

"It's an army of around one thousand orcs on their way here."

"Orcs? They are weak monsters. We don't have to worry about them. We are much stronger than them. I don't see any reason to worry about this."

"With all due respect, You should let me finish and you should think a bit deeper about an army of one thousand orcs."

I looked around and while there wasn't much reaction to just hearing about a one thousand-strong orc army on its way here, much to my surprise, I saw the old silver-haired ogre coming to his own conclusions. I could see the moment he reached an epiphany.

It was impressive, to be honest. All I said was that there was an army of one thousand orcs on its way here. Nothing more, nothing less. He must be using all the experience he's gotten over his long life. 

He spoke up to the chief. "Chief, you should let her continue to speak. If she says what I think she will, I fear you will have to consider making some hard decisions."

The chief looked to him and back to me. He had a more serious look on his face now. He wasn't dismissing the threat anymore.

"As I was saying, the orc army on its way here not only numbers one thousand, but they are also organized and have proper equipment."

"How well organized?"

"They are marching together without fighting amongst each other."

They were slowly starting to piece it together. I could see them start to worry. 

"How long until they get here?"

"It will be a few days maybe a week and a few days at best."

"If I choose to believe you, then I will have to discuss it with others and make a decision as soon as possible, but so far you have only been talking without providing some kind of proof about this orc army. What proof do you have about this."

It's a bit frustrating knowing that I'm right and they aren't listening to me, but sometimes it happens. 

"I don't have any physical proof, but I can show you the army. If you're willing to send a small group of ogres you trust, I can guide them to where they are and then leave and they can report it to you. The only problem is that it will take a lot of time, maybe too much time. Individually, I can go fast, but with a group I'll have to slow down if they can't keep up."

"So basically, I can either choose to trust you and start making some kind of plan right now or we wait and possibly be forced to make a very rushed decision that will carry bad consequences."

The chief's son spoke up. "Father, why do we have to trust her, she's a stranger that just showed up yesterday. Even if what she says is true, surely we can fight back against some orcs."

'Oh come on man. Are you serious? He may not be driven by revenge and hatred, but it seems he's very prideful. He has to be humbled in some way.'

The old ogre talked to the chief's son. "Young master, individually, ogres are stronger than orcs, but there's only so much that individual strength can do when faced against much superior numbers."

He was going to say something back, but I decided to add on to what the old ogre said. 

"I know I'm a stranger to your village, but I can tell you still think too much like a warrior. I assume you are being raised to be the next chief after your father and while being strong is important, it is far from being the only thing required for being a leader."

The chief was nodding his head a bit while listening to me and the other ogres were paying a bit more attention to my words. 

"If you're going to be a leader you have to have the people in your mind when making decisions. You say you want to fight back but tell me, how many ogres here are in fighting condition or know how to fight? I may not have been in this village for a long time, but I saw some children around, and considering what having a child means for a monster it's safe to assume that the parents of the children have lost most of their original strength. Village chief, how many ogres are currently living here?"

"Around three hundred ogres are living here currently."

"Let's be generous and suppose that there are two hundred ogres that can fight. In this scenario, each ogre would have to fight off five orcs by themselves. Not only that but remember that each orc is equipped with proper armor and weapons. And this all assuming that the orcs will spend time to only fight, if this were to happen they would simply use their numbers to not only fight but also attack the village and the vulnerable ogres residing there. In this case, the ones fighting will have to protect the others that can't fight, but also fight back at the same time. The skill required for that can't bef ound in just anyone."

He stood there in silence, thinking about what I just said. He just went and sat back down. It looks like I gave him a lot to think about. Not only him, but the other ogres in the room were also shocked and some were a little scared and worried, The old ogre remained looking calm, but I can tell that he agreed with most of what I said. 

I looked at the ogre princess and she was looking stressed, to say the least. She was trying to remain composed, but I could tell that she was really worried. I would guess she is worried about herself, her family and her home.

I don't know why, but I really wanted to try to comfort her and tell her not to worry about a thing. Who am I kidding, of course I know why. It's that "fated one" connection or whatever it is. Me and her are supposed to eventually end up together. How? I don't know. Maybe different opportunities will present themselves before us to make us fall for each other or something like that. Whatever, when the time comes, I'll do something.

The village chief finally spoke up trying to ease the tension.

"You have given us much to think about. I will make a decision after having a discussion with those close to me. You can return to the temporary residence I have provided you."

I got up and headed toward the door, but before I went out I said one last thing to them. 

"Remember this. You can either choose to leave and evacuate the village you have called home for your life and save everyone or you can choose to stay and fight, which will lead to the death of almost all of the ogres here and leave very few alive. Choose wisely." 

I left the meeting and went back to my little temporary home satisfied with what I said.

'This part of my plan is complete. I've put forth two options that put them in a situation where they must pick the lesser of two evils. Whatever they pick, they will have to find a new home and that's where I give them the opportunity to give then a new palace to call home.'

It was a little deceptive and dishonest, but one sincere gift such as giving them a new place to call home will cover all of that up in their eyes.