The horns of the Orga tribe are, depending on the clan, often a crucial part tied directly to their identity. After all, they’re a race specialized for combat. Their massive bodies and developed canine teeth certainly embody what it means to be an Orga, but there’s no denying that the horns, which seem to symbolize aggression and fighting spirit, are the true emblem of an Orga. Thus, Orgas hold their horns in high regard. Since horns grow over time, they require constant maintenance—shaping them, trimming their length, or engraving symbolic patterns on them depending on the clan. However, even among friends, few would allow others to handle this task; it’s a matter of pride for an Orga to do it themselves. While other races often overlook these efforts, there are actually trends in horn modifications—such as cutting notches at the tips to make them forked, engraving regular intervals along their length, or sharpening them to deadly points. “Well, I thought they looked cool when I was young,” is a common excuse from middle-aged Orgas. Though these modifications offer no practical advantages, for bloodthirsty youths, having ornamental horns that remain unscathed through many dangerous escapades looks incredibly cool. Most often, however, those who try to achieve this end up breaking their horns halfway and regretting it bitterly.
Now then, Arnie Boyd (a 19-year-old Orga male recently turned pure-hearted) is a man untouched by such nefarious horn modifications.
After all, it’s pretty uncool for a dual-horned ogre to be missing one of his horns. Due to various circumstances, the root was pulled out and he won’t grow another one ever again. At this point, he already looks rather unsightly. Even so, he had been taking good care of the remaining horn, but it snapped off a few months ago. Well, considering that he saved someone’s life and got her in the process, he was okay with it. But now that his new horn has grown quite long recently, he’s wondering what to do about it.
「Hey Boyd, why are you staring at the mirror?」 「Oh, Mr. Rackman.」 As Arnie stared into a hand mirror, worrying about something, his colleague Greg Rackman (dwarf) approached him. A cadet is basically an apprentice soldier and holds the lowest rank in the military hierarchy. Since Greg was of the same grade as Arnie, he didn’t have to use formal language with him, but being a dwarf, Greg had a bear-like beard that made it feel awkward for young Arnie to call him by his first name. 「A guy staring at a mirror and making all these faces is kind of creepy.」 「Ah, ahaha… Well, it’s about my horn.」 「Oh, your horn?」
Ernie’s Northern Celesta Crossbow Squad, which is part of the support troops, has nearly 20% Orga members. Of course, they have a strong attachment to their horns and can tell Ernie how special or pitiful his condition really is. Greg thought about this and made an awkward face. He wasn’t good at comforting people. Ernie panicked when he saw Greg’s awkward expression. It wasn’t because of the broken horn. “N-no, I was just wondering if it might be time to have my horns trimmed into cones…?” “Oh yeah, you were like this when your horn broke.” Greg made a gap about five centimeters wide with his fingers. Ernie thought it had been a bit longer than that, but these details didn’t matter. “Yeah, pretty much. But they’ve grown quite a bit now, so I think it’s time to trim them.” “If you want, I’ll lend you a sharp knife.”
“W-well, I do have the tools for it.”
The problem is whether or not I should actually do it. In terms of appearance, there’s no reason not to do it. That’s all.
Ernie’s girlfriend Sylvia MacLean (a human woman on the verge of turning twenty who’s a pure-hearted type) was saved by Ernie from almost committing suicide with him when she was in a runaway carriage. She now wears the broken horn that fell off during her rescue as a necklace around her neck.
I was really happy to see how much she liked it back then, but ever since, every time I bring up the subject of that broken horn, she thanks me for our meeting or for our destiny and says something like “Oh Ernie-kun, you still talk about this? It’s so cheap compared to your girlfriend’s beautiful skin.” That’s what bothers me.
Now it’s become a symbol of our bond. I’m conflicted as to whether I should remove the broken part.
“Gotcha. By the way, can I hit you? With all my strength?”
“I’d rather not… if possible…”
Greg’s height was like that of a baby compared to Ernie’s massive body, but with the power of his dwarf race, he could easily knock out Ernie in one blow. Ernie sensed genuine malice behind Greg’s friendly smile and slowly stepped back. “Hmm, well, if you’re satisfied with that, then I don’t mind doing it.” “Y-Yeah, well, that’s true… but it does look awkward.” But Ernie also had a sense of aesthetics as an ogre and cared about what others thought. Frankly speaking, his broken horn sticking out looked terrible. Walking around like this would make Sylvia embarrassed too, so he felt bad for her. “Hmm… What should I do?” “Anyway, I doubt anyone other than ogres will care.” “Basson, there are actually a lot of ogres around…”
Between culture and culture, between love and decorum. While consulting Sylvia might be an option, it would only make her look sad as she says, “You can cut it off if you want.”
Ernie was stroking the horns of a carrot that had lost its tail—figuratively speaking—and struggling with his dilemma when there was some commotion at the front entrance of the barracks. “Someone’s back.” “Yeah, looks like it.” In recent days, things had become quite noisy. The three-month-long leave granted to the squad leader for personal matters was coming to an end in a few days, and more soldiers were returning every day. Though they were part of the military unit by work association, most of them were young single men, so camaraderie ran deep. Some even brought back piles of souvenirs, making each soldier’s return after their first leave something of an event. But there was something off about this particular commotion.
“Hey, Boyd, Rackman! Come over here and slap my cheeks! But if you do it seriously, I might get decapitated, so go easy on me.”
“What’s that, Ja-Jaack?”
“Can I just tap them?”
“No, not like a mere tap. Anyway, come over here!”
The two exchanged glances and followed Jean-Jacques to the entrance where they saw a giant man resembling an ox. No, it was actually an Ogre subspecies named Kelly Isaac, the Decanus.
Beside him, or rather clinging to his lower body, stood a woman with her back straight and a dignified air about her.
“…Is that a lady? She doesn’t look like she’s from around here.”
“She’s wearing military gear. The same fabric as what the Angelos squad uses.”
“Aren’t you close to Isaac Decanus? Don’t you feel too close?”
“Actually, isn’t that just because Isaac’s captain is too big?”
“That guy could block the entrance all by himself.”
“N-no no, I saw her coming from over there, and she was riding on top of Isaac’s captain’s shoulder!”
“Ew”
“The first most enviable situation for an ogre.”
………… Ernie does this a lot at Sylvia’s request, so he looks away slightly.
Seeing that, Jean-Jacques and Greg send him nasty glances.
Anyway,
“It sounds like you’re introducing yourself to everyone in the hall.”
“Hey, wait up! We’re coming too!”
“Hold on a second!! Damn it, don’t leave behind the short-legged ones!”
The three ran with thudding footsteps.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
When the woman in the cloak took the military salute pose of the Celesta army, the trio arrived within earshot. Seeing everyone around them return her greeting with slightly lax smiles, the trio hurriedly placed their fists on their left chests.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
When Jean-Jacques asked one of the nearby soldiers, she smiled thinly and repeated his words before he could open his mouth.
“Please take care of me as well. I am Lance Corporal Linne Mikagami, transferred from the Third Infantry Regiment of the Western Army Corps of Celesta today. My military specialty remains infantry, and I will be serving in a guard role.”
“Oh… Well, Mikagami Lance Corporal also has the title of Ace Knight. And she’s a wolf beastman, my… well, you could say we’re from the same hometown or that we’ve known each other for a long time.”
Kerry tries to explain herself as tactfully as possible. Lynne coolly takes off her hair ornament and shows the ear she had been hiding. “I joined the army because I admired Isaac’s rank of ten-person leader. Please take care of me from now on.” “Hey, Lyn… Mikagami.” “You don’t have to force yourself, Kerry. …I explained that we’re in a perfectly fine relationship, didn’t I?” “No, well… um…” The way she looks at Kerry with complete trust and the gestures she makes, along with Kerry’s flustered behavior. The approximately forty soldiers gathered in the entrance hall almost simultaneously understood what was going on. “Mm-hmm. Nice to meet you, Mikagami Lance Corporal.” And then Bit Williams (a twenty-eight-year-old human who burns with envy), also a ten-person leader like Kerry, steps forward with a lecherous grin.
“And Isaac. I know it’s a bad time after such a long journey, but we’re all really in the mood to train.”
“Ah… umm… Williams?”
“Of course you’ll lead by example as a soldier of Selcata, right, Isaac?”
“Calm down. Just hold on. Let’s be rational about this as soldiers of Selcata.”
“Mmm-hmm. No one has lost their head yet.”
”…”
With the massive height difference between them, the bull was slowly backing away.
“Kuh…”
“Mmm-hmm, you’re really getting into training mode there. Good attitude, future centurion.”
“I-YO! Centurion-in-training assistant deputy trainee!”
“Shining bright!” As they chimed in, the soldiers hurried toward the armory. And soon enough, a few of them returned with nostalgic smiles, winding up crossbow strings. “So,” Bit (a Human known for his fake smile, 28 years old) declared to Kelly with a wide grin. “Which is better? Running away with a shield or running away empty-handed?” “What kind of choice is that!!” “I’d hurry if I were you. I was just doing target practice so I already have my weapon.” “Ku…uu…uhhhhhh!!” Kelly sprinted full speed toward the armory.
“Alright, everyone, go after them! When he grabs the shield to block the arrows, shoot him!!” “YEAH!!!” The crossbowmen cheerfully chase after them. “Hey… wait a minute. What are you going to do to Kelly?” “Just leave it be.” The only one left from the Angelos Guard (infantry), Hank Bronson, firmly grabs her shoulder and stops her. “It’s part of the ritual.” “A ritual…?” “Yeah…. See, there’s no centurion or decanus of the Angelos around now.” “What does that have to do with anything?!”
While we were having a pointless conversation, the live firing exercise targeting Kelly had already begun. “Ughhh!! D-don’t you guys actually mean to shoot me?!” “I’m sorry, Isaac Squad Leader! I know it hurts but this is part of our training! Die.” “We’re not doing this because we want to either! Just die!” “You think you can go back home and brag about your hot girlfriend, huh?! Sorry.” “Don’t use such hard-to-answer grammar when cursing!!” The shield they call a “bulletproof” shield is actually lying in the armory. It’s an extremely heavy shield that only an ogre could easily wield. It will deflect crossbow bolts at close range, but Kelly’s huge body won’t fit under it. “Ouch! I got grazed! You bastards!!” Kelly still managed to escape desperately. “…What kind of unit is this here?”
“Welcome to the most popular and close-knit unit in the Northern Army.”
It sounds like a joke, but it’s probably true.
At night, the commotion of the day had settled down. Everyone was having dinner at the mess hall while teasing Linné and Kerry about how they got together and what they liked about each other. “Well, that is kind of a blessing for us comrades.” ”…When I started dating Sylvia, it was nice to have Centurion and Decanus Anzelos around…” “Hahaha, well if you’re not as tough as Isaac, you wouldn’t dare go there.” Ernie watched from a distance with a mix of irritation and happiness at Linné and Kerry. He wiped his forehead discreetly while sweating. Yeah, everyone’s scary. “But…”
Now Kelly has a girlfriend too. Which means that he won’t be brushed off when it comes to love advice anymore. And since Kelly is an ogre, albeit a variant one, there’s a common understanding regarding horns. “Alright.” Ernie finished his chunk of meat seasoned with pepper (a super hearty meal for the gluttonous ogres) and followed Kelly out after him.
“What about the horns?” “You can just cut them off,” she said as expected, causing both Kelly and Linnie to tilt their heads in confusion. “No, but… I mean, I don’t want to sever our memories.” “Sounds like a romantic, Boyd.”
Kerry laughs heartily, and Linnie smiles and nods. With Kerry’s rough but caring nature and Linnie’s quiet yet dependable personality, they make a pretty good couple. “Whether it’s romance or anything else, I’m all for it. But… well, you know, since Sylvia and I are different races… I don’t want to lose any of the bonds we’ve built.” “I see… but come on, if you’re so in love with her already, you should have more confidence.” “While physical things can be lovely, putting too much emphasis on them can make women feel insecure. If they think that their memories are valued while their love isn’t trusted…” “…I get it…” “So I think trying to take the next step is a good idea.” “…The next step?” “Yes. Why not turn this into another precious memory for both of you? You can make your bond even stronger by taking that next step together.”
Tap, tap. Sylvia carefully shaped Ernie’s horns using his trusty knife and file. “Uh, don’t round off the tips too much; that’s how you trim a kid’s horns.” “Yes, ma’am… Hey, why did I suddenly feel like letting you do this?” “Well, um…”
“An ogre’s horns are precious. They embody our pride. That’s why we don’t let others touch them.” “To entrust your horns to someone else… Well, in my colony, it’s a serious declaration of love.” “…Hey, Kelly-san. Can I ask you something? May I trim yours?” “Eh… Uh, yeah… You’ve really grown fond of me, haven’t you?”
“My pride is that Sylvia-san likes me. If the horns are supposed to embody my pride, then the ones trimmed by Sylvia-san’s hands are the proudest horns for me.”
“…Alright.” “Wait, am I being too cool? Isaac taught me that line.” “No. …I’m happy.”
“So, I’ll take the right horn—” “Kate!?” “I-I guess I’ll take the left then…” “You can let my big sis and me share your horn instead of a dick♪” “…Horn… gulp” “Hey, wait a second.” “Heh heh. Isaac, what a coincidence.”
“W, Williams!?” “A-and who’s the guy making those inappropriate comments over there? The one who looks like Masabu Mikagami?” “No, calm down. Let’s talk this out first. This kid has trouble speaking standard Japanese.” “Oh yeah… I’ll ask him about his dick’s dialect at the barracks later. Maybe we can do some exercise while we’re at it.” “Wait! Listen to me!” This is part of an extra chapter that ties in with Isaac’s story from Extra Chapter 2. I’ll be posting that one soon as well.