Ogres are a race with one to three horns on their heads and are generally a giant-like species. While not quite as colossal as the giant tribes said to dwell beyond the western seas, in the Northwestern Plains—including Trot Celesta—they are arguably the strongest in terms of raw physical power.
Their innate size and strength guarantee combat prowess that renders ordinary weapons almost irrelevant. According to the official tactical index of the Celesta army, if a fully armored standard human male and a lightly equipped dwarf are both rated as one, then an unarmed ogre male is equivalent to 2.5. In other words, no matter how heavily armored a human soldier is, engaging even two unarmed ogres is considered a military taboo.
Equip them with proper weaponry, and their combat rating instantly jumps to five—equivalent to a single cavalry charge. The ogres’ boisterous fighting style makes them the stars of any battlefield.
Against such ogre warriors, an ace knight capable of holding his own against even five of them single-handedly is a rare breed indeed—one can only imagine how exceptional such a figure must be.
But enough digression.
The ogres’ immense size and, at times, monstrous appearance are generally perceived as grotesque by humans—a sentiment even the ogres themselves acknowledge. Of course, ogres don’t find humans particularly beautiful either. In their eyes, human women are “too slender and weak to inspire confidence,” and while “cute, they fail to arouse desire—more like livestock than lovers.”
Naturally, ogres have their own aesthetic standards. A different balance of sexual sensibilities. Ogresque women may not be as muscular as the men, but they are undeniably tall, with a species-specific trait: exceptionally flexible genitalia capable of accommodating an ogre’s average 50-centimeter-long member (even shifting internal organs instinctively to make room).
Furthermore, ogre women are generally energetic, and in some regions, matriarchal societies with polyandrous marriages persist. Tall, spirited, and strong enough to take on men—such a woman is considered “beautiful” in ogre culture, the polar opposite of the demure, idealized lady of human society.
Thus, even in Celesta, where interracial marriage is legally recognized, unions between ogres and humans are rare. Despite coexisting in society, they are viewed as almost entirely “different species,” unlike humans and elves.
Amidst this, there exists an ogre youth who has overcome numerous hurdles to win a human lover.
Arnie Boyd. A rookie trooper in the Celesta Northern Army’s Crossbow Unit, stationed near Basson, a trading city in northern Celesta, holding the rank of Private.
This is the story of that miraculous couple. Or rather—perhaps “miraculous” is overstating it. But it’s still pretty remarkable.
◇◇◇
In Basson, shared horse-drawn carriages circulate through the city. They don’t go fast and stop frequently to pick up and drop off passengers, but the fares are cheap, and they’re reasonably accommodating. It’s a public service run by retired riding horses taking leisurely strolls.
Silvia McReynolds boarded one of these shared carriages, requesting to be taken to the Great Arena on the opposite side of town.
That day, a magic show was scheduled at the arena.
Here, “magic” doesn’t refer to sleight-of-hand tricks but genuine sorcery. Once a year, researchers from the Capital University’s School of Magic tour Celesta, performing visually entertaining spells to earn research funding.
This annual magic show was Silvia’s favorite event of the year.
“…♪”
“You seem in high spirits, miss.”
The coachman’s words drew a beaming smile from Silvia.
“Yes! I always look forward to the magic show.”
“Oh, that time of year, is it? Well, I suppose I’ll take a gander while I deliver you.”
“You’d regret missing it, old man!”
“Hah hah hah, well, as long as no other passengers need the carriage to the arena.”
Pock-pock, pock-pock. The carriage rumbled along toward the Great Arena at a leisurely pace.
Arnie had shopping duty that day.
Kelly Isaac, my boss and the squad leader, and I were hauling a handcart to Basson together.
“Why do we always get stuck with shopping duty?”
“Shoulda just made some human give it a shot.”
Complaining about shopping duty is the same old song and dance.
But there was a reason why we were grumbling.
Arnie (Plain Ogre, 6’7”) and Kelly (Bull Ogre, 10’2”) couldn’t fit in a regular carriage.
Well, technically, the troop transport carriages could accommodate ogres, but we couldn’t sit on the driver’s bench.
So when it was our turn, we had to use this handcart instead. Even for the strongest of ogre-kind, doing a job that horses could handle was pretty damn frustrating.
“Besides, the ceiling in that Basson general store is ridiculously low.”
“At your height, you’re practically crawling on all fours in there.”
“I swear, before you came along, I used to place orders there and some brat pointed at me yelling, ‘Look, a cow’s shopping!’ to their friends!”
”…Huh.”
Bull Ogres are a small ethnic group clustered near the Desert Great Labyrinth in Central Celesta, generally having bovine features. Kelly getting called “cow” was nothing new, so Arnie didn’t know how to react.
Kelly didn’t seem particularly bothered either; he just sighed.
“When they say that, I go full muscle pose and yell, ‘I’m an OGRE, not a cow!’”
”…Muscle pose, huh?”
“It’s hilarious. Try it next time some kid tries to mess with you.”
Kelly Isaac. Surprisingly, he likes kids.
“But the last time, I was so hunched over I couldn’t even strike a pose. They called me a cow, and I couldn’t deny it, and it pissed me off!”
”…If only they’d build things in our size range…”
“Yeah, right.”
Due to architectural limitations (castles and military facilities aside), that wasn’t exactly happening with civilian housing.
The two of us groaned as we dragged the handcart down the main street, finally stopping in front of our usual general store.
Basson was currently one of the fastest-growing cities in Celesta.
“Fast growth” meant a lot of construction work, and plenty of ogre laborers. A pair of ogres wasn’t particularly unusual.
“Alright, Boyd. You take the order.”
“Me?”
“I’ll never forget that humiliation.”
”…Huh.”
Well, Arnie could squeeze in if he bent over a bit. He took the reins and headed into the store.
That’s when it happened.
BOOM!!
“Uwaaaah!?”
“W-What was that!?”
A deafening roar, like thunder itself, echoed across the azure sky. The ground trembled beneath our feet.
Arnie and Kelly jumped.
Not just the two of them were surprised—people from all over town peeked out, eyes darting around.
Then, a carriage sped past at breakneck speed, rounding the corner right in front of them.
“Hyaaah!!”
An old man tumbled off the driver’s seat as it went by.
“W-what happened? What was that!?”
“M-my horse got spooked and won’t listen anymore… ickk!”
“Grandpa!?”
Kelly helped him up (or rather, picked him up), but the old man was in obvious agony. He seemed to have broken his arm.
“Damn it, we need a doctor…”
“W-wait a minute! There’s still someone in that carriage! A girl!”
“What?!”
The carriage was careening out of control, barely staying upright.
If that kept up, who knew what would happen? Kelly gritted her teeth.
“Damn it.”
“Commander! We’ve got to do something about that!”
Arnie clapped Kelly on the shoulder.
Kelly snapped to attention and looked at him.
”…You think we can?”
“We’re the strongest Celesta soldiers, after all.”
“I said it.”
Arnie was young and full of dreams for the military—the kind of things that seemed obvious but were actually hard, like being the first to help civilians in danger.
After years in service, the heart that made swinging a sword worthwhile sometimes faded into the background.
Kelly grinned. An ox ogre’s face looked terrifying when smiling, but Arnie found that grin more reassuring than anything else.
“Let’s go!! Follow me, Void!”
“Uss!”
The two ogres took off running. The citizens of Basson gasped at the sheer force of their sprinting giants.
An ogre’s massive size was an advantage even while moving.
A trained ogre’s run was fast in proportion to its enormous lower body. They might not catch a bare horse, but they could manage a heavy carriage like that.
But those dozen seconds before deciding had made a difference—they still couldn’t quite close the gap after running several hundred meters.
“Damn it… Void, at this rate, we’ll reach Main Street!”
“Uss!”
“It’s now or never—jump!”
”…Huh?”
Arnie couldn’t follow Kelly’s plan at first. Of course not. No matter how well-maintained this road was, jumping wouldn’t make him go any faster.
But Kelly was a First Sergeant, and he had a reputation for sudden tactical brilliance. Sure, he looked like an ox, but his head wasn’t as dim-witted as his face suggested.
“I’ll chuck you forward, then you gotta yank those passengers outta the carriage!”
”…Huh? Wha—!?”
Even so, it was a crazy plan.
But Arnie believed in Kelly’s competence as a First Sergeant. If he said they could do it, they could.
”…Alright, I’m game!”
“Oooh—UUUUUHHHHHAAAH!!”
Instant decision. Kelly grabbed Arnie’s arm and bulged out every muscle in his body. This hulking mass seemed to grow even larger with the sheer rate of expansion.
Then, using that power, he launched Arnie forward as hard as he could.
“Ugh… oh, ohhhhhh!!”
Arnie spun through the air. Seven meters above Basson’s Main Street, tracing a perfect parabola—
“Owgh!”
Thud. He slammed onto the carriage roof—or rather, crashed through it and embedded himself in the wood.
“Eek!”
Silvia McReynolds, who was inside, went rigid with terror. The carriage had been careening out of control when an ogre suddenly burst through the roof—it was terrifying.
But Arnie shook his head and pushed himself up.
The end of Main Street was coming into view, where a tavern stood. If the horses kept running at full speed, they’d inevitably crash into it, unable to turn.
It was right there.
Arnie, half-stuck in the carriage, felt panic rise.
“Ugh, aaaaaah!!”
Thoughts vanished. Instinctively, he reached out and grabbed something soft—
THWACK!!
A moment later, the horses tried to turn, but the carriage couldn’t follow. As expected, it tilted and slammed into the wall.
◇◇◇
Arnie woke up two days later.
”…Void! Void’s awake!”
In the fluffy blankets of the town clinic, Arnie shifted slightly. His joints creaked, but all five limbs seemed intact.
Seeing him like that, First Sergeant Diene breathed a sigh of relief.
Hearing Diene’s voice, Silvia McReynolds was the first to rush into the room and throw herself at Arnie.
“You’re okay…!!”
The girl he’d saved.
Arnie’s last act had been to protect Silvia unharmed.
Amidst the collision with the wall and the crushing of the carriage, Arnie’s massive hand had managed to protect Sylvia.
When Sylvia awoke, the first thing she saw was Arnie, gently holding her as he himself had half-destroyed the mortar wall in her defense.
And then…
“…Um. I’ll take care of Mr. Void from now on!”
“No, no, that’s alright.”
“You’re my lifesaver, so please let me!”
“…U-uh, well…”
Overwhelmed by her insistence, he ended up having Sylvia help him with everything—meals, even his trips to the privy—for the next ten days.
Then, a month passed.
“…Isaac, squad leader. Could we maybe switch tomorrow’s cleaning duty?”
“Oh? What’s this, Void? You and that human girl going on a date or something?”
“…I’d prefer you not be so surprised. It seems like it.”
“…Wh-what?!?”
Kelly stood up with a thunk, shouting. The other soldiers gathered around, asking what was going on.
“What’s the matter? Explain yourself, Isaac.”
“Y-yes, Symon. This idiot here says he’s going on a date with a human girl.”
“No way.”
“Yeah, it’s true.”
“What’s the deal, Void!”
“N-no, I mean, I have no idea either.”
The next day, Arnie stood at their meeting spot in full regalia: Kelly’s old sea-beast leather jacket, the belt and armlets Andy had crafted, a shirt freshly cleaned by Diarne, and a pair of cool shoes Anzelos had picked out.
“…………”
He wondered if he was being teased. The parchment was too good for mockery, and the letter itself overflowed with sincerity.
──Arnie-kun. A date invitation.
Let’s go to the arena together this Sunday afternoon.
I’ll be waiting in front of that tavern, believing you’ll come.
Sincerely,
Sylvia
The tavern wall was still unrepaired. Painful memories resurfaced.
Arnie’s single horn had snapped cleanly in half from the impact.
“…I wonder if my horn is still there.”
On a whim, he approached the collapsed wall. Carefully scanning the ground, he spotted what he was looking for—half-buried in the dirt.
“…Haha, found it.”
“What’s that?”
“U-uh, Sylvia!?"
"Hello, Arnie.”
Sylvia stood close, peering over Arnie’s shoulder. He was so nervous he barely noticed her there.
”Uh… well…"
"Yeah. It’s okay if you don’t want to say it. More importantly… huh?"
"Y-yeah! I get it!”
She turned her palm up and offered her hand. Arnie gently placed his on top, at the base of her fingers.
”…A-really? A date with me… are you serious?"
"Did you think I was kidding?"
"…But I’m an Ogre, after all…”
Ever since Sylvia realized Arnie was only a year younger than her, she’d suddenly started acting like an older sister.
For the record: Arnie’s eighteen. Sylvia’s nineteen.
Even for someone young, an Ogre’s face is intimidating and scary. Sylvia, leaning against him playfully or sometimes almost protectively, was a striking mismatch.
“Hehe… you know, I kinda like your hands, Arnie."
"?!"
"…I don’t know why. But when you grabbed me tight back then, wrapped me up, it gave me this little kun feeling. It was so warm."
"Huh."
"Is that bad?"
"…Huh?"
"Why I like you."
"Eh?! What?!”
Arnie flustered at her casual “I like you.” Sylvia grinned, clearly amused by his innocent reaction, and squeezed his index finger—about the size of a child’s arm.
”Once you start liking someone, it’s weird, isn’t it? Like, no matter what they do, they just seem cute."
"U-uh… c-cute?"
"Mmm~”
Arnie had never been called cute before, so he made an odd face. Sylvia pulled on his finger and happily led him toward the arena.
The arena wasn’t hosting any events that day.
On days like this, it was open to the public—athletes practicing, people playing ball games—it was a place for citizens to relax. Since there were no spectators, the stands they entered were nearly empty.
”Turns out, it was all because of that magic show."
"?!"
"That thud sound. The one that scared the horse."
"Oh… I see.”
The Capital University’s Magic Research Department only studies magic; they don’t have any particularly skilled practitioners.
Even if something goes wrong, the magical force is small, and the damage is far less than alchemy experiments—so there’s even a sense that some failures are tolerated like minor disasters.
”And it almost killed someone! That’s just not cool.”
“Yeah. Seriously. If Arnie had died, I might’ve hated magic shows forever.” ”…We’re not gonna die that easily, you know? You were the one who almost died, Silvia.” “Yeah… but, you know, I’m a little grateful. If that hadn’t happened, I never would’ve met Arnie.” ”…” Arnie’s face turned bright red. He hunched his large frame and scratched his head. His overly obvious and innocent reaction made Silvia blush too. They spent the next few minutes staring at each other in awkward silence, so Silvia changed the subject to break the tension. “By the way, when I was little, I couldn’t see anything when I came to the arena. My dad always carried me on his shoulders.” “H-huh.” “When my dad carried me, the whole world looked different. I begged him for it until I was pretty big.” She smiled and leaned back against Arnie’s shoulder in a pleading voice. ”…Arnie, can you carry me on your shoulders?” “R-really!?” “No? I thought if you were as big as Arnie, you could probably carry someone like me.” “N-no, well, carrying a couple of humans is easy… but, uh, I’d be touching your butt, wouldn’t I?” ”…Pfft. Ahahahahaha!!” Silvia burst out laughing at Arnie’s ridiculously awkward words. Arnie looked puzzled, wondering if he’d said something strange. “It’s okay, it’s okay! Shoulder rides are on the house! Come on, let me carry you!” “O-okay… here I go.”
Arnie carefully lifted Silvia onto his shoulders, trying to support her waist and knees as much as possible. Silvia’s view instantly rose. The world changed. “Wow… amazing, amazing!” ”…Uh, well…” Arnie felt like his head was being squeezed, and his chest bumped against her nape, making him feel uneasy. After a few seconds, he noticed that Silvia’s skirt was a bit short, and he panicked, realizing he’d be flashing her underwear to the whole arena if he didn’t do something. He frantically shifted his body slightly. His movements made it look like he was trying to calm Silvia down, and she giggled like a child.
They did that for a while until Silvia suddenly started patting Arnie’s head. Arnie waited, wondering what she was doing, when he heard a curious voice from above. ”…Arnie, your horn… on the left… it’s not there. Was it always like that?” “No. I used to have one.” Not that long ago, though. It had only been a few years, but Arnie decided to brag a little. Using the word “used to” made him feel older and a bit more important. ”…” She seemed to be waiting for him to continue, so Arnie cleared his throat. “It’s not really something I talk about much, but… I’m from an ogre colony near the border with Affilum. There was a dragon palace nearby.” “Yeah, yeah.”
“I once saved a dragon all by myself, right there. He was super grateful and gave me one of his treasure as thanks.” “That’s amazing!” Dragons. The strongest and most solitary of all races. They have no dealings with other species, forming hidden settlements called Dragon Palaces where they live in isolation. Their treasures are astronomically valuable, the object of every adventurer’s desire. “I brought it back to the colony… but they decided I must’ve stolen a dragon’s treasure and got super mad at me.” “Huh…?” “As punishment, they pulled out one of my horns. It hurt like hell.”
Arnie had helped the dragon purely by chance. While hunting in the mountains, Arnie came across a young dragon who had collapsed from fever.
Dragons are a different species from flying dragons. They have an intelligence gap comparable to that between monkeys and humans, and dragonkind usually live in humanoid form. If they lived in their true form, even the vast Dragon Palaces wouldn’t be enough, and their settlements wouldn’t remain hidden. Seeing the young dragon in such a state, Arnie, despite his awe of the legendary creatures, was still just a child himself, so he bravely carried him on his back all the way to the Dragon Palace. Grateful for his kindness, the dragon offered him one of his treasures. A beautiful dragon’s jewel, an unblemished and indestructible gemstone of the highest quality. The adults were speechless when Arnie returned with it. There was no way a dragon would give such a valuable item to a child. They concluded he must have sneaked into the Dragon Palace and taken it as a prank. And, arbitrarily fearing retribution and arbitrarily assigning penance, they pinned their ears back, held down Arnie as he screamed that he hadn’t lied, and pulled out one of his horns as punishment. Then they ordered him to climb the mountain and apologize to the dragon. Even young Arnie could feel that the adults intended him as a sacrifice. “The wound from the pulled-out horn was agonizing, and it started raining, so it was a terrible night. I staggered into the Dragon Palace and apologized like I was told… then the dragon person apologized to me and cried. Said they’d done something terrible and asked for forgiveness. They were the ones who gave me the treasure, but seeing my wound made them cry so much, which made me really happy.” ”…Arnie, you…” “But as a sacrifice, I couldn’t go back. So I just had the dragon person treat my wound, and then I left Quieca to become a soldier… In my hometown, they probably think I’m dead. Hahaha.” ”…” “So, honestly, I like other races more than ogres. When people from other races are nice to me, it makes me so happy. It makes me feel like I’m allowed to live. Ah, um, but I never thought someone as beautiful as Sylvia would say they liked me, so I’m just flustered today, hahaha.” ”…I’m sorry!!” “Haha…huh?” Suddenly being apologized to from above his head startled Arnie. He knew the conversation had gotten emotional, but he hadn’t expected an apology. But Sylvia simply stroked his broken right horn with her finger, then clung to Arnie’s large head and burst into tears. “Ugh, s-sorry… I, I, I just kind of fell for you because you’re so big, and I said I liked you… ugh, sorry… even though you broke your horn, it was my fault it broke, even though it was your last horn.” “I-it’s okay, the root’s still there, so the right one will grow back.” “But, but oh… ugh… I, I don’t know how to handle this… I don’t understand how much I like you, how heavy it is… I’m sorry, I’ll learn to like you properly… Arnie, I’ll like you properly again…” “C-calm down, calm down. I, I don’t need you to like me properly, I’m just happy Sylvia likes me.” “Arnieeeeee! Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh!!” Sylvia was overcome with emotion and began sobbing uncontrollably. Arnie was troubled. Very troubled. Sylvia continued to sniffle and cry until sunset.
”…Sorry, Arnie, I got a little lost because I felt sorry for you.” “Haha… well, I guess it’s good I got to see Sylvia’s cute side.”
She’d been right behind me the whole time, so I hadn’t seen her.
Sylvia rubbed her nose vigorously, then frowned and looked up at Arnie with a serious expression.
“Well, then, let’s start again… I, Sylvia McReynolds, really do like you, Arnie.”
“Y-yes.”
“…So, um…”
“…………”
“…………”
A stall. Sylvia flushed and lowered her gaze, and Arnie’s face burned as he stared blankly ahead.
Then, in the corner of Arnie’s wide field of vision, he saw a familiar bull-like face.
“!?!”
Kelly. And at his feet, Andy.
Andy was sitting with his legs crossed, thumb pointed down in a silent boos gesture—so childish.
Kelly clenched his fists and pumped them up and down in front of his face, signaling, “Go! Just go!”
What are those guys even doing? Arnie stared in bewilderment for a moment before finally grasping the meaning behind Kelly’s “go!” signal.
That’s right. Arnie had to move forward. This was that kind of scene.
“Um…”
Sylvia snapped her head up at Arnie’s voice.
Arnie crouched down, locked eyes with her earnestly, and said,
“I… I really like you too, Sylvia… I mean, I want to be your boyfriend.”
“…Yes!”
Sylvia leaned in smoothly, pressing the delicate lips of a maiden against the massive, ogre-like lips of an Orc.
The setting sun sliced across the mountain ridgeline, casting a gentle shadow over the lovers.
◇◇◇
“Smyth, Squad Leader.”
“Huh? Oh, it’s you, the boy-dwarf with a girlfriend.”
“U-um… I wanted to ask about her.”
“Tch. What is it this time? You want another custom accessory? My sense of style isn’t great, so I can’t just whip those up every other day.”
“Well, it’s kind of an accessory…”
“…Oh, is that so? Alright then, wait here a sec.”
Sylvia usually worked at a corner deli in Basson City, frying up snacks.
That night, Arnie showed up unannounced—something rare for him.
“Sorry, the sign’s already out… Oh, Arnie.”
“Sylvia. Uh… could you, like, take this?”
Suddenly, Sylvia was presented with a small accessory.
It was a necklace Andy had made himself—Arnie’s horns were lacquered and drilled, then strung on a thin chain.
“Uh… this is…"
"Yeah. I… I want my horns to be held by someone I love.”
“Ugh, damn it! Listen up, you guys. Right now, I’m stuck in some backwater like this, but back home, there’s a hottie—big boobs, a tight waist, and she’s totally in love with me! And get this, she’s even a half-elf!"
"Ah, here we go again. Smaysun Tenth Captain’s inner monologue about his imaginary girlfriend is back."
"Is that all you got? Hey, Camisaaan, time to settle the bill."
"I said it’s not in my head! She’s actually Void’s girlfriend, okay?! You morons, listen up, you idiots!”
The Crossbow Squad was once again a peaceful gathering of various races sharing drinks.