Orc Hero Story: Discovery Chronicles

New chapter, new chapter!

BIG THANKS to my latest Ko-Fi contributors, 123321 and The Gentleman!

Here we go!

Elves.

A race with a life expectancy of around 500 years.

They were mainly located in the forests in the southwestern side of Vastonia, but there were settlements sparsely spread over the southeast and northwest.

As a people, they were exclusive, aggressive, and prideful beyond belief, and extremely quick to eliminate any other species that intrude on their territory.

Overall, their total population was not very large, but they were excellent at wielding both swords and bows, water and wind magic, were amazing at stealth, and due to their longevity, the accumulated experience of their warriors made them ferocious opponents.

This…was the perception the other races had of the Elves during the war.

This information remained generally correct.

There was only one difference – they were no longer as isolationist as they used to be.

With the end of the war, a new wind had begun to rise in the Land of Elves.

Particularly, their relationship with their former allies – the Humans and Dwarves, has been flourishing.

Not only in matters of trade, but also movement of people. The volume of tourism and travel had exploded.

Nowadays, even the eldest Elves had been born after the beginning of the war – that is to say, even the most senior of their population were relatively young when compared with their long history.

The de facto stance of the Elven population had always been that, as a long-lived and knowledgeable race, they were the betters of the short lived and ignorant species. After the war, however, it became apparent that despite their longevity, they still had a lot to learn from the other nations.

Not to mention that the never-ending conflict had all but wiped out the Elves’ accumulated wisdom and knowledge – their vast archives had been burnt to the ground, the books used as tinder and the shelves as fortifications.

There was now nothing to back up the haughty and prideful attitude of the Elves.

As such, the Elves were now in the process of transitioning into a more diverse and tolerant nation, abandoning their backwards traditions and embracing foreign cultures.

In a thousand years, which was no more than two Elven generations, they would have rebuilt their vast stores of knowledge, and their pride would be restored…

But that was a question for the future – as of right now, their top priority was to rebuilt their devastated country.

In order for a country to recover, there was a single resource that was of the utmost importance.

Most countries were lacking this particular resource, and the Elven nation was no exception.

Yes, it was people human resource – population.

And thus began a marriage-boom… that would soon be followed by a baby-boom.

The phenomenon began at the very top of Elven society – the so-called high Elves, and then trickled down to the common populace.

Marry. Give birth. Proliferate.

However, the war had reduced the already small Elven population.

The blame could be firmly placed on their repeated head-on confrontations with the Succubus armies, resulting in an enormous amount of mostly male casualties and a slew of widows.

Were Elves polygamous, like the Dwarves were, this wouldn’t be as big an issue, but Elven traditions dictated that Elves should be strictly monogamous, loving only their spouse until either party dies.

Therefore, the Elven King North-Pole came up with a policy.

Called the “Half-Elf Measure”, it provided men from other species subsidies and nationality, provided that they were wed to an Elf.

It was meant to encourage foreigners to come and marry Elven women.

The plan was a huge success.

Humans in particular, who had become infatuated with Elven beauty during the war, came in droves to the Elf Country.

But what would happen if the policy was too successful, and the whole nation was filled with nothing but half-Elves?

There were some who voiced their worry, but most understood that the urgency of the situation necessitated an emergency measure, and the problems of tomorrow could be left for later.

The more astute of the Elves had thought even further. Being a long-lived race and patient race, they would simply cut off the policy when the immediate issue was resolved. Eventually, half-Elves would have children with full-blooded Elves more and more, diluting the blood of other species until it becomes negligible.

This was the reason why the country was currently filled with foreign men and local women, both searching for a chance at love. There were now marriages everywhere.

The circumstances made it so that interspecies marriage was not only accepted but promoted.

This was a great opportunity for Bash.

............

“—and that’s why there’s a marriage boom in the country right now! Tons and tons of lonely Elven women in stock! You’ll definitely find yourself a woman, mister!”

“Oh!”

Bash and Zell were currently having a strategy meeting at a nearby inn.

The Hero had always wondered what the reason behind Houston sending him this way might be.

He came here ignorant – but now he was convinced that this marriage boom was why.

Now that he thought about it, the events surrounding his entry into Elf Country were pretty strange.

When he first arrived in town, Bash was looked at strangely.

This was to be expected, of course. After all, Orcs rarely traveled outside their own nation – only stray Orcs did.

Naturally, the guards had accosted him immediately, and had questioned him.

However, those same guards immediately backed down, saying: “Well, sure, he’s an Orc, but looks like he’s just a normal traveler,” and “If Lady Sonia says so…”

Were these normal times, this would have been impossible.

Even though three years have passed since the end of the war, the Elves wouldn’t have changed into tolerant multiculturalist in such a short timeframe.

But if there were measures in place that encouraged welcoming foreigners, then it wasn’t unreasonable for the Elf Country to be so… different.

“Hey, mister, listen. When it comes to Orcs and Elves, you two are like cats and dogs. Or water and cats. Or cats and anything really. With how much bad blood you have between each other, even though interspecies marriage is exploding, you might not have much of a chance…”

“I know. What should I do?”

“Well, there are many steps to take, but the basics are the same as when you try to seduce Humans. Elves are kind of similar to Faeries. They’re the guardians of the forest – they love nature and are loved by nature in return! That’s how Elves are, so it’s important to respect their traditions and culture! First things first, we need to make sure the perfume you use smells like flowers. I like flowers, and I’m a Faerie! And if Elves are like Faeries, they like flowers too! Oh, and one more thing, you need to wear clothes that aren’t too revealing, because showing skin is something only reserved for your special someone when it comes to Elves!”

Bash looked down at his attire.

He wore the same thing he always did – a typical Orcish outfil… but Elves didn’t like showing their skin.

He supposed it would be a good idea to hide as much of his skin as he could.

But… if that’s the case, why were the three Elves that he had met earlier wearing such… revealing outfits.

The Hero concluded that that Human must have been special in those women’s eyes.

And so… if you become an Elf’s “special person”, they would show you their body.

Bash’s chest swelled – he was about to burst with anticipation.

“I see!”

“Alright, just leave it to me! Let’s go and get you dressed to the nines right away! Onwards to the clothing store! I’ll take care of it all! I’ve even looked up the store’s location!

And thus, led by Zell, Bash headed to a nearby clothing store.

Yes, this Elf King dude’s name is literally North Pole.

Portrait of the Elven King – Year 3 Anno Pax, colorized