“Say, it mentioned appetite, right? Is she... going to be eaten?” 

“No, my dear boy. Now that they’ve sworn vassalage under the Fleuwagian Kingdom, the ogre clans are forbidden to eat humans. I’m afraid it meant something possibly worse than death.”

"Great... How frickin' great..."

Dar slumped over the table in silence once again, his bowl of steaming noodles still resting by his head, completely untouched. The inn they were staying at seemed pretty luxurious for a place constructed in a village full of barbaric giants. Silk tapestries of every part of the spectrum were draped across the wooden beams supporting the upper floors, and long red couches were set against the gleaming marble walls. 

"What the hell's even going on?" Dar murmured, still sitting face-down "Why won't they let anyone leave the village?"

The air reverberated with clamour from both Ogres and tamer-looking folk alike, punctuating his train of thought. And the fact that his company consisted only of Malfried did not help at all. 

'I'll get us out of this,' huh? I don't even know where to start...

"Apparently the Ogres are looking for one of their chieftain's killers." Malfried replied, pulling his stringy beard "Though I must say, prioritizing that over my safety is utterly ridiculous! In fact, my security should be tripled at the very least. Especially since a murderer is at large!"

"I see..." Dar said, eyes still half closed. Then they widened. "Wait... what?"

Had Malfried really said something useful this time?

"I know my dear boy. Their inconsideration is unbeliev--"

"No not that." the actor interrupted "Run what you were saying from the beginning,"

As the scholar repeated his words grumpily, Dar's blood ran cold.

"How did their chief die?"

"He was pushed off a cliff, from what I've heard. But that's beside the point. You see--"

Dar's thoughts ran wild, drowning out the rest of Malfried's haughty rambling. If his assumptions were correct, the Ogres must be out for him. That was sure to make things much harder. The only good thing he managed to discern from this, was that no one must've seen him that fateful day. Still, he had to take every possible measure to make sure he wasn't recognized, including removing his bandage and even cutting some of his hair.

Damn it. How was I supposed to know I killed some bigshot? No wonder he gave so much experience...

A pale pair of hands entered his line of sight, placing a cup of water beside his noodle bowl.

"Reii kashr," Dar said plainly "Your fingers are very pretty,"

He learned how to say some basic phrases in ogreish merely through observation, but unknown to him, the person standing behind him was not an Ogre at all.

"Ah-- Eto--, I mean Dolly?" he quickly corrected himself "Sorry, I mistook you for the server. You're back already?"

Standing next to her was Malfried's blonde assistant, who had seemingly just finished getting Dolly changed into a more respectable outfit. The potato sack was no more, now replaced with a navy blue blouse and brown ankle-length skirt. Both classy and timelessly fashionable, her clothes only served to make the beauty the twins shared, much more apparent.

"I thought I should probably dress differently," Dolly replied, looking dubiously at her skirt and shuffling. He had to resist the urge to ask her to twirl "They might recognize the bag you stole, after all,"

"Good thinking,"

Whilst yesterday's events had obviously hit her quite hard, she seemed to be doing a good job at not letting it show. However, Dar could somehow feel her fear as a result of being joined by the soul. And she could probably feel his. What they both found most worrying was their inability to sense Etoile's. Was there some sort of proximity role to this sixth sense?

Dar figured that having one-third of their soul killed off was extremely unhealthy. He really needed to draft up some sort of rescue plan.

Dar clenched his hand around the cup, unaware of a newcomer's arrival at their table until its tall shadow loomed over the four of them. The ogre cleared its throat and flourished its cloak in a manner that appeared ten times more impressive than Malfried's. Part of the inn seemed to agree, as they began to pipe down and watch. 

"Rehja io <Buran of Zharita!>" it boomed, drawing even more onlookers "<Thank you for> urikhassi"

The ogre then proceeded to take out a large pouch of gold and dropped it heavily onto the table, causing some water to spill as it shuddered under the weight. And with that, it promptly swept its cloak once more before leaving. The Idle chatter returned after a few seconds, but this time Dar could sense some envious gazes on him. 

"Quite a hefty sum," Malfried said, looking at Dar's dumbfounded expression "It's payment for the slave transaction. A mere fraction of my own treasures, but--"

The actor swore under his breath. This 'Buran' guy was clearly rubbing salt in his wounds. It didn't need to give small fry like him any payment in the first place. He was being mocked for his inability to stop him. And a small part of Dar silently agreed. What could he possibly do? 

However, though he could just be overthinking it, Dar couldn't help but wonder whether there was a dual meaning.

Is this a challenge? Did it already know I never planned on giving up?

The remnants of Dar's trampled pride seemed to stir. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he sure as hell wouldn't let things go the way this Ogre wanted. He felt wholly responsible for what happened, after all.

"I'm going to my room," Dar said promptly, as he rose from his seat "Thanks for the food,"

"You barely even ate! Do you even know where our rooms are?"

"I'll manage."

 

 

 

After climbing a few flights of stairs, Dar finally reached the room he was meant to be sharing with Malfried. Its layout was exactly to Dar's tastes, which was to say, perfectly simple. The only thing he could possibly wish for, was a soundproof wall straight down the middle. He definitely didn't want to know what Malfried had to say before going to sleep. And what voice could better satisfy a narcissistic scholar than the echoes of their own?

He wanted some time alone to bounce ideas off himself and its scarcely furnished interior would help if only a tiny bit. But the presence that had been tailing him for the past couple of minutes seemed to have other plans.

"I know you're behind me. What did you want to talk about?"

"You... know...?"

It was Fiel, Malfried's assistant. She'd been watching him closely since they met and Dar could tell she was bursting to say something. Judging from her awkward English, he could see that she was currently struggling to form words Dar might understand. As she flicked open a massive book titled "Classical Rustarrian to Arashiran By Malfried, Great Sage of Edelweiss, two-time winner of the Annual Glyph Translation Contest," Dar decided to make her job a little easier for her.

"<Speaking> Ogre <is fine>," he said, causing her to flinch.

 

 

Although the concept was a bit abstract, he could naturally learn words through context and observation whilst quickly committing them to memory due to some mechanic [System]'s Skill Menu. As a result, his vocabulary had been expanding rapidly. But his current fluency in speaking would have been impossible if it weren't for the extremely obvious exploit he'd found. Still, using it in public was a little awkward. And dangerous. He didn't want to accidentally offend anyone when most could probably snap his neck in a blink of an eye.

Fiel opened her mouth to reply, oblivious to the text window which had appeared in front of him.

"<I'm> narvita jadiin. <I first want to thank you for> tyuri ghas,"

"narvita jadiin." Dar repeated back to her "tyuri ghas,"

"<...?>

"<I understand. Continue>"

 

 

It didn't seem to matter whether he understood what he was saying or not. As long as the words were being directed to someone who could speak the language, it would trigger the conversation multiplier. Depending on how frequently he used these words, the multiplier would vary, and using untranslated words seemed to be the most optimal option.

"<Um... Are you sure you're fine with speaking Ogre?>" Fiel asked hesitantly <I don't want to cause you any> hirathu,"

"<I understand. Just ignore me and continue.>"

Sorry if I'm giving you a hard time. But I need these proficiency points.

Understanding and speaking were two completely different beasts after all.

 

After repeating the process a few more times, Dar finally reached a point where he could get a good gist of what she was trying to say. The window had stopped appearing as frequently anyway, which he took to mean that he'd reached some degree of fluency.

"<So let me just clarify. You're one of those branded prisoners they're looking for?>" Dar inquired, pacing back and forth "<And you want me to free the rest of them?>"

"<Yes. Malfried's name does hold some merit around these parts so they did believe I was his assistant. But we met right after you helped release some of my kin. I am greatly indebted to you.>"

Dar took his seat at the edge of the single bed, staring at the marble floor in deep contemplation. He didn't remember releasing any prisoners when he stepped into that Ogre camp. Then again, he also didn't remember how he'd met Dolly, nor did he remember ever being called 'Kadar'. 

"<In return, I'd be willing to use some of my men waiting outside to help rescue the other twin,>" Fiel offered. "<I'm aware of how selfish my request is. But you've shown extraordinary bravery before. If you show it once more, we'd gladly serve your cause,>" 

"<And if I decline?>"

"<We'll charge in regardless. I am not forcing you to accept this unreasonable proposal of mine.>"

It was a good deal that would probably increase any odds of success. Much better than trying to take on a whole tribe of angry Ogres with just him and Dolly.

"<Sounds good.>" Dar said, nodding "<So what's the plan?>"

Fiel walked over to a desk in the corner of the room, and unfurled a large piece of parchment. Squinting carefully at its contents, Dar could make out some sort of hastily drawn map made of circles and wobbly lines.

"<Me and all eight of my men will charge the underground prisons under the cover of night." Fiel explained, taking out a pen and scrawling a massive arrow into the center "<Then we release all the prisoners and fight our way out. Genius, no?>"

Dar stopped smiling. 

"<That's it?>"

"<Yes. I take it that the plan is not to you're liking?>"

"<Not to my liking!?>" he exclaimed in disbelief, "It's suicide!"

Although he'd been so incredulous that he had shouted in English, the assistant seemed to understand his sentiment. Even with his limited knowledge of the world, Dar was pretty sure it'd take way more than nine puny humans to defeat a whole tribe of half-giants.

"<This is no different than throwing our lives mindlessly at them>" he continued "<What part of this even screams 'Genius Plan' to you?>"

"<Me and my men agreed that it would be the best course of action," she muttered, scratching the map miserably  "<I put a lot of thought into it.>"

"<Really?>"

"<Yes! You see, there may only be nine of us, but once we free these prisoners our numbers will be roughly three hundred strong! Then...>" Her face grew slightly more animated as though about to reveal something revolutionary "<We destroy them from the inside out! They'll only see nine but we'll turn into three hundred! Three. Hundred. From. Nine!>"

"<OK. I get it.>" Dar said raising his hands in surrender as she leaned uncomfortably close to him, eyes widened like a psychopath. "<It's a good strategy. I'm sure we'll make an extraordinary three hundred.>"

"<You think so?>" Fiel exclaimed, now positively gleaming "<I knew you'd understand!>"

"<An extraordinary three hundred slaves that is.>"

Her face fell and she moved over to an empty corner where she tearfully plopped herself down. He really didn't want to burst her bubble, but whoever taught her tactics deserved to hang. How criminally bad could they have been to think that this was a 'Genius Plan'?

"<Listen,>" Dar began "<You said that these prisons were underground?>"

Fiel nodded.

"<Give me the map and pen.>" he continued "<I'll draft up a proper plan. So you just meet me tomorrow morning.>"

"<You will?>"

"<Yes,>"

"<Thank goodness! I knew we could leave it in your hands! My plan was practically doomed to fail. I promise I will be there on time, Captain.>"

She instantly got up and bowed, before dashing out of the room.

"<What?>"

Was that her plan from the beginning?

Dar smirked at himself. He'd been played this whole time. Maybe he should be the one crying in the corner.

"Can't even realize when someone's putting on airs..." Dar muttered to himself as he took the pen in hand and sat down by the desk "I'm really losing my edge,"

 His list of responsibilities was only beginning to pile.