The cleanup of the dead imps was in progress, with villagers joining to assist in treating wounds and collecting fallen warriors. Capable warriors gathered imp bodies, and the atmosphere was filled with smiles and laughter. Orcs relished physical battles, celebrating victories with joy. Hunters returned with enough food for a feast, eliciting cheers from the gathered crowd. The chief rested in a tent, recovering from wounds, while Takagi enjoyed freshly cooked meat with light bandages covering his wounds.
A young boy, Hanz, approached Takagi after assisting with medical supplies. "Shouldn't you be helping? You're the only one eating."
"I took it all for granted, Hanz! The savoring deliciousness of good food... I miss it. I will forever enjoy meals like they will be my last," Takagi mumbled between bites.
"Chewing and speaking is bad manners!" Hanz scolded, prompting laughter from the crowd.
"Um, can I speak to you for a second?" a girl asked.
"Who are you?" Takagi replied.
"That's the girl you hit with the spear, remember." Hanz said.
"Ah, I remember. Sorry about that" Takagi proclaimed.
"I would like to thank you for rescuing my father!" She joyfully said.
"Your father?" Hanz asked.
"Yes, the chief is my father."
"What! That mean-looking orc is your father! You two look nothing alike" Takagi said, surprised.
"If it wasn't for you, my father would've been left alone in the battle with that monster, and he wouldn't have survived. I was told by the other warriors that you exploited all the weaknesses and finished the monster."
"Your father is really strong. I'm sure if I didn't help out, he would've figured it out on his own. Anyways, the only reason I did so well was that I already knew what the dark imp's weaknesses were, that's all."
"Dark Imp? What's an imp?" She asked.
"An Imp or rather a Forest Imp are small beasts that lurk deep in forests like these. They are those small ones right there," Takagi said, pointing at the bodies of forest imps in the distance.
"Those …imps had been attacking our village for days now. We had still been recovering from a fierce attack during the night" she proclaimed.
"Imps during the night are tougher to fight. They're faster, stronger, and, well... you get the gist" Takagi stated, whilst taking another bite of his food.
"How do you know so much about them?" She asked.
"Um, I travel... a lot, yeah," he nervously replied.
"I've always wanted to travel, go to different lands, eat different types of food, and experience the different cultures around the world," she said with a glare in her eyes.
"..." Takagi replied in silence.
"Sounds great, I know. I had no idea the world was full of creatures I've never seen before, especially those that look like him," she said, looking at the slain body of the dark imp along with its severed head.
"You'd be surprised. There are far scarier out there, much worse than this little guy," Takagi smiled.
Her disbelief brought forth silence and fear, surprising everyone nearby. The orcs turned away, all except one.
"But, I thought this was already unbeatable. How could something stronger than that... dark imp exist?" _ said.
"And I was barely able to beat it... I need to get stronger if I want to join them," Takagi thought to himself.
In the center of the celebration, a small makeshift tent housed the chief, who began to move about. "Ugh, that hurts. Oww... that's probably broken. How long has it been since the battle? Since I'm all bandaged up, that means we won, or should I say, he won. Haha, that elf did it. Not bad, not bad," the chief said.
He walked out of the tent, limping but smiling upon seeing the joyous atmosphere. Injured orcs cheered for the chief, who reassured them before trying to depart from the gathering. One thing remained – thanking Takagi for saving his life.
"Has anyone spotted the elf?" he inquired. Making his way over to where Takagi was located, guided by directions, he found him engrossed in a hearty meal.
"Hey there, you!" he exclaimed, approaching from behind and giving Takagi's shoulder a slap. "Didn't think I'd be up, huh? But I'm alive as ever. Hello there."
"Nope, I wasn't worried; I knew you'd be fine," the chief replied.
"Oh... well, how's the food?"
"Delicious. Want some?"
"I'll pass. Look, Takagi, I wanted to talk to you."
"Yes?" Takagi replied, still chewing.
"Chew your food first!" Hanz shouted.
"I would like to humbly thank you for saving my life earlier from the beast or monster. I could've died, but thanks to you, I'll be able to protect this village another day."
"Don't worry about it," Takagi turned to smile at the chief and waved his hand, dismissing the need for thanks.
"I would also like to offer you an apology," the chief finished with silence.
"But why, chief? There is no need to apologize for anything! If this is regarding you trying to kill us earlier, we promise it's not a big deal!" Hanz replied, while Takagi just stared at the chief.
"I didn't trust you guys at first, and my goal was to test both of you because I was going to do unspeakable things to you," the chief said, then bowed his head.
Takagi appeared confused, and so did Hanz. "When you attacked my daughter, and I was hesitant to bring you back to our village and misjudged you both, and for that, I offer you my sincerest apologies," the chief said.
"Yeah, it's really no problem, chief man, with the food, we're even."
"Nonsense, wait here; I have a gift for you, something of value that would be my pleasure to hand down to you as a reward for helping us," the chief replied.
"Chief, there's really no..." Hanz was stopped abruptly. "Shhh, okay, that'll be fine," Hanz replied to the chief.
The chief smiled and limped away to talk to his daughter, helping another set of injured orcs. "Why did you accept?" Hanz hissed.
"It's rude not to accept gifts; besides, maybe it'll be something cool!" Takagi replied with a smile.
After half an hour, Takagi and Hanz, or rather Takagi, had finished eating. They sat there waiting for the food to digest. Hanz was hesitant to help any of the orcs out; he was still rather shy. Off in the distance, the chief's daughter came back with several things in hand, and the chief received them, then began to walk towards Takagi and Hanz with a smile.
"You know, this one's more of a courtesy, but wearing clothing is something every race has in common, so I got you a fresh change of clothes!" he exclaimed as he walked over to Hanz and Takagi. "I got something for you both, but most importantly these."
He took out a spear and a staff. "These are from my armory," he added. The spear was long and not made of wood; rather, it was finely crafted, sharp, and stylish. A long spear that made Takagi's eyes sparkle in excitement. The staff was different, a long wooden staff that had a curve at the top, enclosing a small red stone. Although Hanz had seen more impressive staffs and surely knew that this was of lesser value, his father taught him always to be grateful for any gesture of kindness, no matter the value; kindness was always the richest form of exchange.
"For... for me?" Hanz said in awe.
"This is amazing!" Takagi said as he gladly took the spear off the chief's hands. "Now try these on also, oh and here's yours, Hanz," the chief said as he handed them their new set of clothing and weapons.
Takagi tried on the outfit the chief had given him; it was rather stylish and fit perfectly. For the bottom, he wore a white long-sleeved shirt and a fancy vest with a gold crest that concealed the zipper at the top of the vest. It came with two leather straps around the shoulders to attach any weapon to. For his bottoms, pants and a belt to go over his long-sleeved shirt. At last, some boots so he wouldn't have to be barefoot. Hanz got a coat with a classy blazer and a fine white dress shirt that came with a brown bow. For bottoms, he changed into some regular pants a little bit larger than he was.
"These clothes are a little much. Not even the villagers have clothes like these," Takagi said to the chief.
"Both sets were my son's clothing. That vest and shirt were his favorite. Take them as a token of my gratitude, and the weapons are a thanks from me and the people."
"There's really no need, chief," Hanz exclaimed.
"Yeah, and what do you mean, 'were'?" Takagi asked.
"My son. He passed away before we fled out into this forest."
"We've been meaning to ask what happened that you would have to flee to such a horrible place," Hanz asked.
"It's a long story; I wouldn't want to trouble you," the chief replied.
"Well, now I want to know!" Takagi blurted out.
"Takagi, don't be rude!" Hanz screamed.
"It must've been two months by now. We come from the city of Grunthree, a great small city that has many things to do, a place that used to be safe from any harm, undisturbed, and happy. That is until this man came and invaded the village. He burned bodies in the city's center and enforced his rule. Most of us men from the city's defenses had no choice but to challenge him, but we all fell to his might and army. We managed to at least make it out with our lives intact. As a form of punishment, my wife and oldest son were tortured and, after several weeks, publicly executed. I... I had no choice but to watch as my family was taken away from me. In that instant, many of us had enough of the cruelty of that man, Bruger Frathgar, the man left behind to enforce the rule of their new king. I will never forget his name or face for as long as I live," the chief proclaimed then clenched his fist and wept a single tear.
The chief got up and left Hanz and Takagi. His pain was too great to bear, and so he couldn't be next to anyone in that instant. Takagi looked at the ground quietly, and Hanz shed many tears in response to the sad story.
"I don't understand how people can be so cruel. Watching your own family... and then forced to flee your home. This guy must be the real deal if the chief didn't challenge him," Takagi whispered.
"He couldn't," the female orc came back and said.
"He was told if he tried to challenge the head of the city, more innocent people would be slaughtered," she said as she looked down in noticeable pain.
"Just one more asshole whose ass I have to kick," Takagi said, then got up.
"My name is Takagi, and he is Hanz. We didn't properly introduce ourselves," Takagi respectfully said, then bowed.
"Why did you bow? Um… my name is Shelur… Shelur Fray," she replied, in shock.
Takagi got up from his bow and gave her a serious stare. "Point me in the direction of Grunthree," he said boldly.