Serene

The reason the orcs couldn't mobilize their forces was likely on account of potential reinforcements from allied races of humans. Examples of this are centaurs from Quickwind Plains to elves of Shadow Forest. It is possible they could be taken out from behind while engaging the humans.

'What if they make an alliance?'

With the undead and grey elves, for instance.

However, their relationship was left in the dark after the dispersal of the Alliance of Kings, precisely since the Undying King's demise. Manabu had thought of using us as a means to conquer the Cyrene Mines. But it was a rush of him. Only after collecting intel on this Operation of Two-Headed Snake did I see where his rush coming from.

We've always had to be ready against the potential of orcs and possibly undead declaring war on humans. They're the strongest races on Grimgar right now. I'm just drawing this from the obscurity of their relationship, but the so-called Undying King might truly rise anytime as well. Manabu is trying to stop that— no, he just doesn't wish to be swept along with Arabakia when all those things occurred. That's the whole reason he's trying to make deals with goblins, kobolds, and orcs to get what he wants.

Was there also more to what Soma of Daybreaker aimed for in Ishmal? Is it simply to kill the Undying King? Or are there other goals?

There're still so many questions.

***

"Do you think it's the right choice?" Suzune inquired.

At some point, it had apparently gotten into a habit for her to idle away in the volunteer soldiers' courtyard of the lodging house. Well, it's not that often, though. Considering how long, or short we lived together now.

"I don't think you've done something wrong."

Like any other of our conversations, I sat close beside her.

Suzune had decided to accept the order. All of us plan to enlist tomorrow morning together.

I continued. "We don't necessarily need to insist on having Zoran Zesh and Abael's bounties. They're originally for the frontier army, anyway, and we probably won't be given the chance to even see them. Suzune, you intend to use this only for the party to understand how strong the orcs are, correct?"

"..."

"I think this is a good opportunity. The prospects for retaking Deadhead and bringing down Riverside are bright. From the sounds of it— at least in Deadhead— it was a sure victory."

Suzune scoffed slightly. "Those are just hearings. They can't be trusted completely."

I shrugged, kicking the pebble under my feet. "But if it's the truth, and they do win, we'll have difficulty seeing orcs in the long term."

"That's... a regrettable matter, indeed." Suzune sighed.

"And we can always use the help of other volunteer soldiers if we are in a pinch."

"I know that much."

"Are you concerned?"

There was a long pause before she responded. "A little, I think."

We've never set foot in the place, let alone met the occupants. They might be a source of worry.

"Manabu-san, is it?" Suzune hung her head. "What's he like?"

"If you ask my honest opinion, he seems like the man version of you." 

I expected Suzune to be dissatisfied with my unserious answer, but "I see..." she didn't. 'Well, whatever.'

"I'll be going to my room."

Suzune silently nodded.

The men were still awake when I reached the bedroom.

"That's another chance gone awry!" Kanji yelled from the top of Ken's bed.

Our room was lit by a lantern in between the two bunk beds. While we still had a lot of money to spare, we always tried to conserve them the best we could. The night has been quite deep. Usually, they're asleep by this time.

"Shut up. I wanna sleep," Ken grumpily said from underneath his bunk. See?

"What, you're not angry? Weren't we partners just before this?! This is a golden opportunity, man. And Yousuke absurdly swatted it away! Don't tell me you're influenced by him?"

I went over to my bed. Even on my feet, I was able to get a good look at Yousuke and Kanji's faces. Our bunk beds weren't especially high, after all.

I questioned Yousuke. "Kanji's misbehaving again?"

Yousuke broke into a dry smile. "You guessed it right."

There had been several times now that Kanji tried to talk us into doing 'horny' stuff with him. Ken surprisingly or unsurprisingly was easy to goad, but Yousuke and I kept them from taking that gambit. It would've been detrimental to the party vibe.

"Ah, Kiyotaka! You, and Yousuke, are you two gay or something?! It's not as if you're not interested in this, is it?!"

"I'm pretty certain it's just you're being excessive with your desires."

"Because I'm a healthy young man, duh!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"What's with that response?!"

I lay my body down on the bed. Kanji has always been loud among us. The loudest of the party along with Kei, maybe.

"Instead of babbling about things we won't listen to, why don't you tell us other fun stories, huh?" Ken said. He didn't sound sleepy. "I mean, you've been out most of the time during training. Are there any tales about encounters with dragons or something when you do all that stuff? Hearing them is better than the useless crap you've always spouting."

"That 'was' interesting," Yousuke expressed. From the sound of it, he was genuinely interested. 

"Dragons?" Kanji didn't appear to have a problem with the change of topic. One of the things about him was that he was easily sidetracked himself. "I've never seen one. They were in Tenryu, right? South of Alterna."

"Just tell us another cool encounter."

"Uhh, no. There isn't. Itsukushima is a pro at dodging trouble, bud. There hadn't been a problem with my training until now."

Kanji practiced in the Quickwind Plains. A vast plain with its swift winds under the blazing sun and the bright moon.

"Really now? There's nothing cool then?"

"D-Don't blame me on that! What do you expect, huh?! —uhh, well, something. Something. Ah, there is one! There're these giant creatures wandering around Crown Mountains!"

"Giants...?" Yousuke sounded bemused.

Kanji stirred slightly from his bed. "Yeah, like, literal giants, you know? Well, I have no idea about how tall, big, or even their clear appearances were. I've only ever seen the silhouette of a thin stick from a distance. They were probably humanoid, though."

"Huh, that's something," Ken mumbled. "I have a feeling we'll face them sometime in the future..."

Yousuke groaned a little. "I didn't wish for that."

Ken cackled. "Well, yeah. I guess you don't want to, normally."

"You're a priest, huh?" Kanji said lowly. "Seeing your comrades willingly get hurt to defend others must be awful."

"'You' can tell?" 

"Kiyotakaaa. Can you not diss me out of nowhere? You should know I'm a once-in-a-lifetime type of friend you can get. Understood?"

"In a way, sure."

"Just get to the point! What're you trying to say?! Spit it out!"

Yousuke laughed. It was a loose, hearty laugh. Nothing like Yousuke. But none of his comrades bothered to pay attention to that and just joined in the laugh. It was a nice party to have.