Ogres are a race with one to three horns on their heads and are generally a giant-like species. While not as powerful as the giant race said to live across the western sea, in the northwest plains, including Trot Celesta, they are arguably the strongest in terms of raw strength. Their naturally massive bodies 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 soldier are both rated as one, a bare-handed ogre male is equivalent to 2.5. In other words, no matter how heavily armored a human foot soldier is, engaging an unarmed ogre with fewer than two soldiers is a tactical taboo. With proper armament, they become a combat power of 5 in a single stroke. A single one is worth a full cavalry charge. The ogres’ flamboyant fighting style is the highlight of any battlefield. Against five such ogre soldiers, how rare an ace knight must be to hold his own against even one of them is left to the reader’s imagination.

But I digress.

The ogres’ massive bodies and, at times, monstrous appearances tend to appear grotesque to human eyes—a fact acknowledged by everyone, including the ogres themselves. Of course, ogres don’t necessarily find humans beautiful either. In their opinion, human women are "too thin and weak to be reassuring" and "cute but fail to arouse desire—they’re like livestock, only capable of shallow affection." Naturally, ogres have their own standards of beauty—a balance in their sexual sensibilities. Ogre women aren’t as muscular as the men, but they are undeniably tall, and as a racial characteristic, their genitalia are exceptionally flexible, possessing robust bodies capable of accommodating an ogre’s penis (which averages nearly 50 centimeters) even by instinctively shifting their internal organs to make room. Furthermore, ogre women are generally energetic, and in some regions, matriarchal societies with polyandry still persist. Tall, spirited, and strong women who can take on men are considered "good women" in ogre culture—precisely the opposite of the idealized gentlewomen of current human society.

Therefore, even in Celesta, where inter-species marriage is legally recognized, unions between ogres and humans rarely occur. Despite coexisting in society, they are perceived as almost entirely "different species," unlike humans and elves.

Amidst all this, there was an ogre youth who had overcome numerous hurdles to gain a human lover.

Arnie Boyd. A new recruit in the Trident Trading Company’s Northern Legion Crossbow Corps stationed near Basson, a trading city in northern Celesta, holding the rank of Private.

This is the story of that miraculous couple.

Or maybe I’m getting a little carried away. It’s not quite a miracle. But it’s still pretty amazing.

◇◇◇

Basson has shared horse carriages that circulate through the town. They don’t go fast, stopping frequently to pick up and drop off passengers, but the fares are cheap, and they’re flexible. It’s a public service run by retired riding horses taking leisurely strolls.

Sylvia MacLean told the carriage driver she wanted to go to the large arena on the opposite side of town.

That day, a magic show was scheduled at the arena.

Here, "magic" doesn’t mean sleight of hand—it’s real magic. Once a year, researchers from the Capital University’s School of Magic perform visually entertaining spells across Celesta to earn research funding.

This annual magic show is Sylvia’s favorite event of the year.

“…♪”

“You seem in high spirits, miss.”

Sylvia returned the old driver’s words with a beaming smile.

“Yes, I always look forward to the magic show.”

“Oh, that’s right—it’s that time of year. I might as well watch it while I’m delivering you.”

“You’d be missing out if you didn’t, sir!”

“Hah hah hah, well, as long as no other passengers get on before we reach the arena.”

Pock-pock, pock-pock, clatter-clatter.

The carriage ambled toward the arena at its leisurely pace.

Arnie was on shopping duty that day.

Arnie Boyd (Plain Ogre, 6'8") and Kelly Isaac (Bull Ogre, 10'2") were hauling a handcart together to Basson.

"Why do we have to go on supply run duty?"

"Shoulda just made some humans do it."

Complaining about being on supply duty was the same old song and dance for everyone.

But there was a reason why these two were grumbling.

Arnie and Kelly couldn’t fit in a carriage.

Well, technically, troop transport carriages could accommodate ogres, but they couldn’t sit on the driver’s platform.

So when these two were on duty, they had to use a hand-pulled cart instead. Even for strong ogre tribesmen, doing a job that horses could easily handle was pretty frustrating.

"Besides, the ceiling in that general store is way too low."

"At your height, you’re practically crawling on all fours."

"Before you came in there, I was trying to place an order and some brat pointed at me yelling, 'The bull’s shopping!'"

"...Huh."

Bull ogres were a small ethnic group clustered near the Desert Great Labyrinth in Central Celesta, generally having bull-like faces. Kelly being called "bull" was nothing new, so Arnie didn’t know how to react.

Kelly didn’t seem particularly angry either; he just sighed.

"When they say that, I always do a muscle pose and yell, 'I’m not a bull, I’m an ogre!'"

"...Muscle pose, huh?"

"It’s hilarious. Try it next time some kid tries to scare you."

Kelly Isaac was surprisingly fond of kids.

"But since I was practically crawling at the time, I couldn’t strike a pose. And even if they called me a bull, I couldn’t deny it, so I was super pissed."

"...I wish they’d make things in our size sometimes."

"Tell me about it."

Due to architectural limitations (castles and military facilities aside), houses weren’t exactly built for ogres.

The two of them groaned as they dragged the cart down the main street, finally stopping in front of their 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 construction workers. 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 stepped into the general store.

That’s when it happened.

THUDONNN!!

"Uwoooah!?"

"W-What, what was that!?"

A deafening roar, like thunder itself, echoed across the azure sky. The ground trembled.

Arnie and Kelly jumped. Not just them, but people from all over the city popped their heads out, looking around in confusion.

Then, a carriage sped past the corner at breakneck speed.

"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), and the old man winced in pain. He seemed to have broken his arm.

"Damn it, a doctor…"

"W-wait a minute! There are still passengers on that carriage! A girl!"

"What?!"

The carriage was careening out of control, almost flipping over. If it kept going like that, who knew what would happen. Kelly gritted her teeth.

"Damn it."

"Ten-tenchō! We have to do something about that!"

Arnie slapped Kelly on the shoulder.

Kelly snapped to attention and looked at Arnie.

"...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. Like how soldiers are supposed to be the first to help civilians in danger—something that sounds obvious but is actually hard. After being in the military for so long, he'd become too used to swinging a sword and had forgotten that part of his heart.

Kelly laughed. A bull ogre's face looks terrifying when smiling, but Arnie found that smile more reassuring than anything.

"Let's go!! Follow me, Boyd!"

"Uss!"

The two ogres took off running. The citizens of Basson stared in awe at the sheer power of their sprinting giants.

An ogre’s massive size is an advantage even when moving.

A trained ogre’s sprint is fast in proportion to its enormous lower body. It couldn’t catch a bare horse, but it could manage to chase after a heavy carriage like that.

But those dozen seconds of hesitation made it hard to catch up. After running several hundred meters, they still hadn’t closed the distance enough.

"Damn it… Boyd, if we keep going at this pace, we’ll reach Main Street!"

"Uss!"

"It’s now or never! You jump!"

"...Huh?"

Arnie couldn’t follow Kelly’s logic for a second. Of course not. No matter how much he jumped on this smooth road, it wouldn’t make him go any faster.

But Kelly was the squad leader, and his tactical flashes were legendary. Sure, he had the face of a bull, but his mind wasn’t as dim-witted as one might think.

"I’m gonna chuck you forward, so you can save the passengers from the carriage!"
"...Eh? Eh!?"

Even so, it was an insane plan.

But Arnie believed in Kelly’s competence as squad leader. If he said it could be done, then it could be done.

"...Got it. I’ll do it!"
"O-Oh... Uuuuughhhhhh!!"

Instant decision. Kelly grabbed Arnie’s arm and bulged out his muscles. This giant of a man looked even bigger, swelling up like that.

With all that power, he launched Arnie forward with full force.

"U-OOOOH!!"

Arnie spun through the air. Seven meters above Basson’s main street, tracing a perfect parabola, Arnie—

"Ogaaaaah!"

Thud. He crashed onto the carriage roof—or rather, smashed through it and embedded himself in it.

"Hii!!"

Sylvia MacLean, who was inside, froze in terror. The carriage had been careening out of control, shaking violently, and then an ogre suddenly burst through the roof—no wonder she was scared.

But Arnie shook his head and pushed himself up.

At the end of the main street was a tavern. If the horses kept running at that breakneck speed, they’d inevitably crash into it when they couldn’t turn the corner.

And that was right in front of him.

Arnie, half-stuck in the carriage, felt desperation.

"U-AAAAAAH!!"

He didn’t think—he just reached out reflexively. Grabbed something soft—

Donggggh!

A moment later, the horses tried to turn, but the carriage couldn’t follow, and predictably, it tilted and slammed into the wall.

◇◇◇

Arnie woke up two days later.

"...Boyd! Boyd’s awake!"

In a fluffy bed at the town clinic, Arnie shifted slightly. His joints creaked, but all five limbs seemed to be intact.

Seeing Arnie like that, Diane, the hundred-man leader, looked relieved.

Hearing that, Sylvia MacLean—whom he’d saved—was the first to rush into the room and throw herself at Arnie.

"I’m so glad..."

She was the girl he’d rescued.

Arnie’s last act had been to protect Sylvia unharmed.

In 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, protecting her while half-destroying the mortar wall.

And then…
“…Um, I’ll take care of you, Mr. Boyd!”
“No, it’s okay. Sorry.”
“You’re my lifesaver, so please let me!”
“…U-uh, yeah…”

Overwhelmed by her insistence, he ended up having Sylvia help him with everything—meals, even going to the bathroom—for about ten days.

And then, a month passed.
“…Isaac, squad leader. Could you maybe change my cleaning duty to another day tomorrow?”
“Oh? What’s up, Boyd? You gonna go on a date with that human girl or something?”
“…I’d appreciate it if you didn’t be so surprised. Looks like I am.”
“…………What did he say!?”

Kelly stood up with a thud, shouting. The other squad members gathered around, wondering what was going on.
“What’s this? What’s happening? Explain yourself, Isaac.”
“Y-yeah, Smymson. This idiot here says he’s got a date with a human girl.”
“No way.”
“Yeah, it’s true.”
“What’s the deal, Boyd!”
“I-I don’t know, I really don’t get it either.”

The next day.

Arnie was wearing Kelly’s old sea-beast hide jacket, some belt and bracelets Andy had made, a shirt that Diane had thoroughly cleaned, and a pair of cool shoes Anzeros had picked out—all together.

“…………”

He thought he might be getting teased.

But the parchment was too good for mockery, and the letter written on it overflowed with sincerity.

──Arnie-kun. This is an invitation to a date.

Let’s go to the arena together from noon on Sunday.

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 off halfway down due to the impact.

“…I wonder if my horn’s still around…”

On a whim, he approached the collapsed wall. Carefully scanning the wall and ground, he spotted what he was looking for—half-buried in the dirt.

“…Haha, there it is.”

“What is it?”

"U-uh, Sylvia-san!?"
"Hello, Arnie-kun."

Sylvia stood, peering over his shoulder at what he was doing. Arnie was so nervous that he was desperately trying to hide it, and hadn’t noticed her at all.
"Ah, um…"
"Yeah. It’s okay if you don’t want to say anything. More importantly…?"
"Y-yes! Got it!"

She turned her palm up and offered him her hand. Arnie gently placed his own over hers, resting his fingers on the back of hers.
"...B-but, a date with me... are you serious, sis?"
"Did you think I was kidding?"
"...Because I’m an ogre, y’know."

Ever since Sylvia realized she was only one year older than Arnie, she’d suddenly started acting all mature and stuff.
For the record: Arnie’s 18. Sylvia’s 19.
Even for someone young, an ogre’s face is intimidatingly fierce. Sylvia, who would tease him like that or sometimes wrap around him protectively, was a pretty mismatched pair with Arnie.

"Hehe. …You know, I really like your hands, Arnie-kun."
"?!"
"...Just somehow. When you squeezed me tight back then, and wrapped me up, it kinda made my heart flutter. It felt so warm."
"Huh."
"Is that bad?"
"...Eh?"
"Why I fell for you."
"Eh?!?"

Arnie was flustered by the casual "I like you." Sylvia grinned, clearly amused by his innocent reaction, and squeezed Arnie’s index finger—which was about as thick as a child’s arm.

"Once you fall for someone, it’s weird, isn’t it? No matter what they’re doing, they just seem cute."
"U-um... cute?"
"Mmm~"

Arnie, who’d never been called cute before, made an indescribable face. Sylvia pulled on his finger and happily led him toward the arena.

The arena wasn’t hosting any events that day.
On days when nothing was scheduled, it was open to the public as a place for citizens to relax—people enjoying track and field or ball games. Since there were no performances to watch, the stands where Arnie and Sylvia entered were almost completely empty.

"About that time… it was all because of the magic show."
"?!"
"That thud sound. The one that startled the horse."
"Oh… I see."

The College of Magic’s research department only studies magic; they don’t have any particularly skilled practitioners.

Even if they fail, the amount of power they can wield with magic is small, and the damage is far less than alchemy experiments, so there’s even a sense that some failures are tolerated as if they were minor disasters.

"And since it almost killed someone, it’s pretty hilarious, y’know?"

"Yeah. Seriously. If Arnie had died, I might have hated magic shows forever."
"…We don’t die that easily, you know? Sylvia was the one who almost died."
"Yeah… but, I’m a little grateful, actually. If that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have met Arnie."
"…………"

Arnie’s face turned red. He hunched his large frame and scratched his head sheepishly.
Sylvia, who had said it, blushed even more at his overly obvious and innocent reaction.
After a few minutes of awkwardly sizing each other up, Sylvia changed the subject to break the stagnant atmosphere.
"By the way, when I was little, I couldn’t see anything when I came to the arena. My dad used to carry me on his shoulders."
"Huh… huh."
"When he 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, will you carry me on your shoulders?"
"I-I’m okay!?"
"You’re not? I thought if you were this big, you could probably carry someone like me…"
"N-no, well, carrying a couple of humans is easy enough… but, uh, I’d have to touch your butt or something."
"…Pfft. Ahahahahaha!!"

Sylvia burst out laughing at Arnie’s ridiculously awkward words. Arnie blinked in confusion, wondering if he’d said something strange.
"It’s okay, it’s okay! Shoulder rides are free! Come on, let me carry you!"
"O-okay… then I’ll go."

Arnie carefully lifted Sylvia onto his shoulders, trying to support her waist and knees as much as possible.
Sylvia’s view instantly rose higher. The world changed.
"Wow… amazing, amazing!"
"…Uh, well…"

Arnie felt his head being held tightly, making his chest press against her nape and leaving him distracted. A few seconds later, he noticed Sylvia’s skirt was a bit short, and in this position, he’d be exposing her underwear to the whole arena. He frantically shifted his body slightly to adjust.
The movement made it seem like he was tickling Sylvia, and she giggled like a child.

They did that for a while until Sylvia suddenly started patting Arnie’s head.
Arnie waited, wondering what she wanted, when a curious voice came from above.
"…Arnie, your horn… on the left… it’s not there. Was it always like that?"
"No. I used to have one."

It wasn’t that long ago. Just a few years back, 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.
He didn’t usually talk about it much, but since Sylvia had said she liked him, he figured it was okay to tell her. Besides, it’d fill the silence.
"…I’m from an ogre colony near the border with Affilum. There was a dragon palace nearby."
"Yeah, yeah."

"I helped a dragon once, right there. He was super grateful and gave me one of his treasure as thanks."
"That's amazing!"

Dragons. The strongest and most solitary race of all. They have no dealings with other races, forming hidden settlements called Dragon Palaces where they live exclusively.
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 the dragon’s treasure and got super mad at me."
"Huh…?"
"As punishment, they pulled out one of my horns. It hurt like hell."

Arnie helping a dragon was purely accidental.
While hunting in the mountains, Arnie came across a young dragon who had collapsed with a fever.

Dragons are a different species from flying dragons. They have about the same intelligence as monkeys and apes, and dragon-kind usually lives in humanoid form. If they lived in their true forms, even the vast Dragon Palace wouldn’t be enough space—they wouldn’t be able to maintain their hidden settlements.

Seeing the young dragon, Arnie felt a legendary awe for dragons, but also knew he was still just a kid himself. So bravely, he 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 pearl, an unblemished and unbreakable gem of the highest quality.

The adults were speechless when Arnie brought it back.
A dragon giving such a valuable item to a child like that was impossible. They decided he must have sneaked into the Dragon Palace and taken it as a prank.

And, arbitrarily fearing revenge and arbitrarily assigning atonement, they decided to punish him.
They pinned down Arnie, who cried that he hadn’t lied, and forcibly pulled out one of his horns as punishment. Then they made him climb the mountain and apologize to the dragons. The adults intended it as a sacrifice, and even young Arnie could feel it in his bones.

"The wound from the pulled-out horn was agonizing, and it started raining—it was a terrible night. I staggered into the Dragon Palace and apologized like they told me to… then the dragon person apologized to me, crying. 'I did something terrible, please forgive me.' They’d just given me a treasure, but seeing my wound made them cry so hard, which made me really happy."
"…Arnie…"
"But I’m a sacrifice now, so I can’t go back. So I just had the dragon person treat my wound and then left for Quieca to become a soldier… In my hometown, they probably think I’m dead. Hahaha."
"…………"
"That’s why, really, I like people of other races more than ogres. When people of other races are kind 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—I was just flustered today, hahaha."
"…I’m sorry!!"
"Haha… huh?"

Arnie was surprised when Sylvia suddenly apologized from above him. He knew the conversation had gotten a little emotional, but he hadn’t expected an apology.

But Sylvia continued, gently stroking his broken right horn with her finger before clinging to Arnie’s large head and bursting into tears.
"H-hi, s-so sorry… I, I, I just liked you because you’re big, and I said I liked you… a-ah, sorry… even though you broke your horn, it was my fault, and it was the last one standing…"
"I-it’s okay, the root’s still there, so the right side will grow back."
"B-but, but oh… ugh… I, I, you’re… so… heavy, I don’t know how to handle it, I don’t understand… s-sorry, I’ll l-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, Sylvia-san, I’m just happy you liked me."
"Arnieeeeee! Ughhhhhhhh!"

Sylvia was overcome with emotion and began crying without reason.
Arnie was troubled. Very troubled.
Sylvia continued sobbing until sunset.

"…Sorry, Arnie-kun, I got a little overwhelmed because you were so pitiful."
"Haha… well, it’s good I got to see Sylvia-san’s cute side."

It had actually been right behind his head the whole time, so he hadn’t seen it.

Silvia rubbed her nose vigorously, then frowned and looked up at Arnie with a serious expression.
“Well, then, let me say this again… I, Silvia MacLean, truly like you, Arnie. I’ve come to like you.”
“Y-yes.”
“…So, um…”
“…………”
“…………”

A stall. Arnie’s face flushed as he stared at the crimson-cheeked Silvia, who had lowered her gaze.

Then, in the corner of Arnie’s wide field of vision, he spotted a familiar bull-like face.
“!?!”

Kelly. And Andy right beneath him.

Andy was squatting with his thumb pointed down in a silent boos gesture—totally immature.

Kelly clenched his fists and pumped them up and down in front of his face, signaling, “Go! Just go for it!”

“What are those guys even doing?” Arnie stared blankly, but after a moment, he understood the meaning behind Kelly’s “Go!” signal.

That’s right. Arnie had to move forward. This was that kind of moment.

“Um…”

Silvia snapped her head up at Arnie’s voice.

Arnie crouched down, locked eyes with her earnestly, and said,
“I… I also really like you, Silvia… I do. …I want to be your boyfriend.”

“…Yes!”

Silvia leaned in smoothly, pressing her delicate lips against the ogre’s massive ones in a kiss.

The setting sun sliced across the mountain ridgeline, casting a gentle shadow over the lovers.

◇◇◇

“Sergeant Smyth.”

“Huh? Oh, it’s you, Boyd the lance corporal with the girlfriend.”

“U-um… I wanted to ask you about her.”

“Tch. What, do you want another custom accessory? My sense of style isn’t that great, so don’t think you can get away with that all the time.”

“Well, it’s kind of an accessory…”

“…Oh, is that so? Then fine, wait here a sec.”

Silvia usually worked at a corner deli in Basson City, frying up snacks.

That night, Arnie showed up unannounced—something rare for him.

“Sorry, the shop’s closed… Ah, Arnie!”

“Silvia. Uh… could you… take this?”

Suddenly, Silvia was presented with a small accessory.

It was Andy’s handmade necklace—a lacquered piece of Arnie’s own horn, with a hole drilled through it and a thin chain threaded through.

"Uh… this is…"
"Yeah. I… I want my horns to be with the person I love."

"Ugh, damn it! Listen up, you guys. Right now, I'm stuck in some dump like this, but back home, there's a totally hot chick! Big boobs, a tight waist—she’s super in love with me! And she’s even a half-elf!"
"Ah, here we go again. Another one of Smysom the Decan’s inner monologue about his imaginary girlfriend."
"Is that all you got? Hey, Ma’am, time to settle up."
"I said it’s not just in my head! It’s really Boyd’s girlfriend, okay?! Listen, idiot!"

The Crossbow Corps was once again a peaceful gathering of various races sharing drinks.

The ogre race is characterized by possessing one to three horns on their heads and being, in general, a species of colossal stature.

Although they do not reach the proportions of the giants said to dwell across the sea to the far west, among the northwestern plains including Trot Celesta, no other race can boast comparable strength—Trot Celesta included.
Their innate massive frames and immense power guarantee a combat capability that treats half-hearted weaponry as nonexistent concerns.
According to the Celesta military's official tactical benchmarks, if a fully equipped standard human male and a lightly armored dwarf soldier are both rated as "1," then an unarmed ogre male corresponds to 2.5.
In other words, no matter how heavily armored regular human soldiers become, it is tactically prohibited to challenge a naked ogre with fewer than two men.
If properly equipped, however, they immediately jump to a force evaluation rating of 5—a single ogre equals an entire charge cavalry rider. The ogres' boisterous battlefield maneuvers make them the highlights of any engagement.
Thus, while it is understandable that how rare an Ace Knight is—who is demanded to match or exceed even five regular ogre soldiers in ability alone—can be inferred without calculation, the fact remains: such figures are exceptionally scarce.

To put aside distractions for a moment...

It is universally acknowledged, even among the ogres themselves, that an ogre's colossal frame and sometimes bestial appearance tend to appear grotesque in human eyes.
Of course, ogres do not consider humans beautiful either. In their own words, human women are "too thin and too weak, making them anxiety-inducing," and while they might be cute, they cannot inspire lustful desire; one can only hold affection for them like livestock.
Naturally, as with any race, the ogre race possesses its own aesthetic standards—a balance in sexual sensibilities of their own.
Female ogres may not be as muscular as males, but it cannot be denied that they are tall. As a racial trait, their genitalia possess exceptional flexibility, and their vaginal canals have evolved to withstand housing an ogre penis averaging nearly 50 centimeters in size—a resilient physique capable of accommodating such a member by instinctively shifting internal organ positions as needed.
Furthermore, female ogres are generally energetic. Depending on the region, some communities even maintain matriarchal systems with polyandry remaining common. Tall, spirited, and strong women who can support men are considered the ideal "good woman" in ogre culture—the exact opposite of the exemplary ladies upheld by current human society.
Consequently, even though interbreeding between races is legally recognized in Celesta, marriages between ogres and humans rarely succeed. Even when living together, they perceive each other not like humans and elves, but as something close to a completely distinct "alien species."

Amidst this, there exists an ogre youth who has overcome numerous hurdles to end up with a human lover.
Arnie Boyd. He is a rookie member of the Crossbow Corps stationed near Basson, a trading city in northern Celesta, serving within the Northern Legion under his superior, Squad Leader Kelly Isaac. His rank is Private Second Class.
This is the story of such a miraculous couple.
Well, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit. It isn't quite a miracle. But still, it's something truly remarkable.

◇◇◇

In Basson, shared horse carriages roam freely through the town districts.

They do not go fast; instead, they stop frequently to let passengers board or disembark, charging low fares and even offering some flexibility with payment. Essentially, it's a public works project—a leisurely stroll for horses that have stepped back from traditional riding duties.

Sylvia MacLean boarded one of such shared carriages on that day, instructing the driver to take her to the grand arena on the opposite side of town.

A magic show was scheduled at the arena that very day.

The "magic" referred to here does not mean sleight-of-hand illusions, but actual magic. Researchers from the Department of Magical Studies at the Capital University travel around all of Celesta once a year, performing visually entertaining magical tricks funded by their research grants.

That annual magic show had become Sylvia's greatest joy of the year.

"…♪"

"My lady, you seem to be in high spirits."

Sylvia responded with a broad smile at the driver's elderly man's words.

"Yes! I look forward to the magic show every year!"

"Oh right, is that around this time? Well then, since I'm dropping you off anyway, might as well check it out too."

"If you don't go, you'll be missing out, old man!"

"Hahahaha, well, as long as no other passengers want to ride to the arena..."

Clomp clomp, clip clop.

The carriage leisurely made its way toward the arena.

That day, Arnie was on duty for supplies.
He arrived at Basson together with his superior, Squad Leader Kelly Isaac, pulling a cart side by side with only two of them.
"Why are we on supply duty?"
"We should make humans do this instead."
These are the exact complaints everyone makes when assigned to supply duties.
But there were reasons why the two of them were whining in particular.

Arnie (a Plain Ogre, 277 cm) and Kelly (a bull ogre, 310 cm) simply won't fit in the carriage.

Well, troop transport carriages are built large enough for ogres, so they physically can ride, but they can't sit up in the driver's seat.

So when it's their turn on duty, they don't use a carriage; instead, they're forced to pull a handcart themselves. Even though these oges pride themselves on their strength, there's something deeply unappealing about having a horse do the work while they stand around watching.

"Honestly, Basson's general store has a ceiling so low it's almost unbearable."

"For a section leader like you, you're basically crawling on all fours anyway."

"You didn't know this before you started coming here, but I once had to place an order from that spot, and some brats down the street started pointing at me and shouting, 'The Bull-Ogre is shopping!'"

"……Geez."

Bull ogres are a minority clan concentrated near the Sandsea Great Labyrinth in central Celesta, recognizable for their distinctly bovine faces. Since Kelly being called a "bull ogre" was routine, Arnie just looked helpless with how to react.

Kelly didn't seem angry about it either; he just let out a long sigh.

"If someone says that to me, I plan on yelling back 'I'm not a bull, I'm an OGRE!' while striking a muscle pose."

"……A muscle pose?"

"That's the best part! Next time some kid tries to scare you, try it out!"

Kelly Isaac. Surprisingly fond of kids.

"But since I was practically crawling on all fours back then, I couldn't even strike a pose, and despite them calling me a 'bull ogre,' there was nothing I could deny... It made me absolutely furious."

"……If only shops could be built to fit our size."

"It sure would be nice."

Due to limitations in construction technology (though castles and military facilities are one thing), residential homes simply aren't being built that way.

The two rolled along dragging the handcart down the main street until they stopped before their usual general store.
Basson was currently one of the cities in Celesta undergoing the most rapid development.
Rapid development meant lots of construction work, and consequently, a high number of ogre builders. With just the two of them together, they didn't stand out particularly as ogres.
"Well then, Boyd. You order up."
"Me?"
"I won't forget that humiliation."
"……Geez."
Well, if Arnie had bent down slightly, he'd have been able to squeeze through just fine. He was going to take the offer and step inside the store.
That's when it happened.

CLANG!!

"GRRRAAAH!?"

"W-What? What the hell is that!?"

A thunderous sound, loud enough to rival a lightning strike, roared from the azure sky. The very ground shook beneath their feet.

Arnie and Kelly were thrown off balance.

It wasn't just them who were shocked; residents popped up from all over the streets, peering out curiously and scanning their surroundings.

Amidst that chaos, a carriage thundered past at full speed right before their eyes.

"Hyah!!"

From the driver's seat of that carriage, an old man tumbled off, twisting awkwardly as he went.

"W-What happened?! What's going on!?"

"The horse got spooked and refused to listen to commands... Damn it!"

"Grandpa!?"

As Kelly helped him up (or rather, picked him up), the old man screamed in excruciating pain. His arm looked broken.

"Dammit, call a doctor..."

"Wait, stop! There are still passengers in that carriage! Girls!"
"What the hell!?"

By that point, the carriage was careening out of control with enough momentum to flip over completely. Kelly grit his teeth.
"Damn it."
"Sergeant! Do something about that!"

Arnie tapped Kelly on the shoulder.
Kelly blinked and turned to look at Arnie.
"...Do you think we can?"
"We're from the strongest Celesta Army," Arnie declared confidently.
"I said I believe it, didn't I?"

Arnie was young, still harboring dreams of military life. He believed in the ideal that soldiers must be first and foremost there to save civilians in crisis—a seemingly simple yet deeply difficult duty. After years of service, one could easily forget this core purpose by focusing solely on swinging a sword. But Kelly smiled, and though an ogre's grin can appear vicious, Arnie felt undeniably secure in it.

"Let's go!! Come with me, Boyd!"
"Yessir!!"

The two ogres sprinted forward. The citizens of Basson watched in awe as the sheer power of their massive bodies charging at full speed became apparent.

An ogre's colossal size can actually become an advantage even during movement.
Once fully trained, an ogre's running speed is disproportionately fast for such a huge lower body. While they wouldn't catch up to a galloping horse unburdened by weight, they might just manage to keep pace with something as heavy as a carriage.

However, those fifteen seconds it took before making their decision meant the pursuit was far from smooth. After sprinting several hundred meters, neither of them had yet closed the distance enough to reach the carriage.
"Damn it... Boyd, if we don't hurry, we'll lose sight of the main street!"
"Yessir!"
"All or nothing—I want you to jump!"
"...Huh?"

Kelly's suggestion left Arnie momentarily confused. After all, how would running help on such a well-paved road? Jumping wouldn't make them faster. Yet Kelly, as a sergeant no less, was known for his brilliant flashes of tactical insight in the heat of battle. He may have a bull's face, but his mind wasn't dull like one might expect.

"I'll throw you ahead so you can rescue the passengers from the carriage!"
"...Eh, yeah...!?"

It was an utterly reckless plan. Still, Kelly's proven excellence as a sergeant meant Arnie had full confidence in his abilities—if he said it could be done, then it would be.

"...Understood! We'll do our best!"
"Yessir... uhnnngggg—OHHHRAAAAAAAAH!!"

Immediate agreement. Kelly grabbed Arnie by the arm and tensed every muscle in his massive frame, swelling even larger than before. With that surge of power, he hurled Arnie forward with all his might.
"Uuuhhh, oooohh...!"

Arnie spun through the air while soaring above Basson's main thoroughfare—seven meters high, tracing a perfect parabolic arc—before crashing down onto the carriage roof with a mighty thud that blew the metal off and buried him into it.

"Gahhh!?"
Sylvia MacLean, riding inside, twisted with terror. It was frightening enough that the carriage had gone out of control and been shaking; suddenly an ogre had smashed through the roof and plunged down on them.
But Arnie shook his head and sat up.
At the end of the main thoroughfare stood a tavern; if the horse kept charging at that runaway speed, it was highly likely they wouldn't be able to turn in time and would crash right into it.
It was already right before their eyes.
Arnie's body had begun to protrude from the carriage; seeing this, he felt frantic despair.
"U... AAAAAAAHHH!!!"
There was no time for thought. He desperately reached out his hand, gripping that softness—

DO-BAANG!!

An instant later, as the horse tried to turn, the carriage couldn't keep up and tipped over, crashing into the wall just as expected.

◇◇◇

Arnie woke up two days afterward.
"......Isaac! Boyd's waking up!"
Inside the comfortable blankets of a medical facility in town, Arnie shifted his body slightly. Every joint creaked, but somehow all five limbs seemed to be there.
Seeing Arnie like this, Corporal Diane exhaled, her face relieved.
Feeling happy that someone had worried about him, Arnie suddenly let tears overflow and muttered, "I'm sorry."
Hearing Diane's voice, the very first person to fly into the room and throw herself onto Arnie was—
"That's a relief...!!"
Sylvia MacLean. The girl he'd saved.

Arnie's final action had protected Sylvia unharmed.
Amidst the collision with the wall and the destruction of the carriage, Arnie's massive hand had shielded Sylvia completely.
When Sylvia woke up, the first thing she saw was Arnie holding her gently to protect her, even as his great momentum had shattered half the mortar wall.
And then—
"......Umm. I'll take care of you, Mr. Boyd!"
"Nope, that's okay. I'm sorry."
"You have to let me since I'm someone who saved your life...!!"
"...Uh, sure."
Overwhelmed by her insistence, from then on for about ten days, Sylvia even helped him with everything from meals to toileting.

And then, a month later.

"......Corporal Isaac. Could we change tomorrow's cleaning duty to a different day?"

"Oh man, what's up, Boyd. Are you going on a date with that human girl?"

"...I hope I'm not surprising you, but it seems so."

"................What the hell!?"

Kerry stood up shouting "Clang!". What was going on? The other squad members started gathering as well.

"What's wrong, what's happening? Explain yourself, Isaac."

"Oh yeah, Samsen. Seems this idiot is planning a date with a human girl."

"For real?"

"For real."

"What do you mean, Boyd!"

"I-I don't know! I swear, even I have no idea whatsoever about this!"

Next day.
Arnie stood before Sylvia, outfitted in a full ensemble: Kelly's hand-me-down sea-beast leather jacket, the belt and armlet crafted by Andy, a crisp white shirt that Diane had scrubbed immaculately clean, and a pair of sharp-looking boots Anzeros had put together just for him.

"…………"
He wondered if this was all some kind of prank.
Still, high-quality sheep parchment wasn't cheap enough to be used as a gag, and the letter written on it brimmed with earnest sincerity.

──Hey, Arnie. Want a date?
How about we head out to the arena together this Sunday for lunch?
I'm waiting right outside that tavern, counting on you being there.
              Sylvia

The tavern's walls still weren't repaired. Memories stung, sharp and vivid.

Arnie's single horn, shattered by the impact of a collision, had snapped clean off right in the middle.

"…Maybe it's gone?"

A thought struck him, and he approached the crumbled wall. Peering closely at the debris on the ground, he spotted what he was looking for, half-buried in the dirt.

"…Hah, found it."

"What is that?"

"H-hell no! Sylvia-san!?"

"Oh, hello, Arnie-kun!"

Sylvia stood right there, leaning down to peer at his hands. Overcome with nerves, he'd tried so desperately to hide it that he hadn't even noticed her presence.

"A-ah, um…"

"Yeah. If you don't want to talk about it, I won't push. But…you know?"

"H-hai! I understand!"

The hand offered out before him; Arnie gently placed his thumb along her fingertips and laced their hands together.

"So…you're serious? About going on a date with me?"

"Did you think I was lying?"

"...But I'm an Ogre, after all."

Now that Sylvia knew she was a year older than him, she'd suddenly started acting like the big sister.

By the way—Arnie was eighteen. Sylvia turned nineteen.

No matter how young, an Ogre's face is intimidating and scary. Sylvia, who sometimes mocked Arnie in that sharp manner or leaned close to envelop him, looked utterly mismatched against such a fierce visage.

"Fufu... I've always liked your hands, Arnie-kun."

"?"

"...Just kinda did. That time you gripped me so tightly, wrapped me up in it... my heart fluttered a bit. You felt so incredibly warm."

"Hah?"

"If that's not enough reason?"

"…Huh?"

"Reasons why I fell for you."

"E-eh?!?"

Startled by her casual admission of love, Arnie stammered and sputtered. Sylvia smiled down at his innocent reaction with undisguised delight, then squeezed the tip of Arnie's index finger—barely the size of a child's arm.

"Once you fall for someone, it's strange, isn't it? No matter what they do, I can't help but find them adorable."

"U...c-ado-rable?"

"Mm♪"

Arnie, who has never once been called cute, wore an indescribable expression. Sylvia giggled as she took his hand and led him toward the stadium.

On that day, the stadium had no scheduled events.

On days like this, it was open to the public, serving as a recreational spot where citizens came to enjoy track and field or ball games. Seeing few spectators actually wanted to watch such scenes, the stands they walked into were nearly empty.

"You know, back then, it turned out the whole thing was because of that magic show!"

"Huh?"

"That loud boom sound? The one that made the horses spooked!"

"Oh... I see."

The School of Magical Arts at the Capital University simply studied magic; they didn't necessarily gather a team of top-tier practitioners.

Even when things went wrong, the power they could wield with magic remained limited, and compared to alchemical research, the damage was far less severe. There was even an air that accepted a certain degree of failure as something akin to a minor disaster.

"Since someone nearly died because of it, it's totally unforgivable!"

"Yeah. Absolutely right. If Arnie-kun had actually died, I'm sure he'd hate magic shows for the rest of his life."

"...But we don't tend to die quite like that. You were the one in mortal danger back there, Sylvia-san."

"Y-yeah... but..." She hesitated slightly. "Actually, I'm grateful for it a little bit. If that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have met you, Arnie-kun."

"..........."

Blushing deeply, Arnie shrank his large frame and scratched the back of his head nervously.

So blatant and so innocent was his reaction that even Sylvia blushed just hearing him say it.

They exchanged knowing glances for a few minutes like this, but since no real conversation was flowing, Sylvia decided to change the subject to break the awkwardness.

"By the way, when I was little, coming to the stadium meant seeing nothing at all. My dad used to carry me on his shoulders all the time."

"H-huh?"

"When my dad carries me like that, the whole world looks completely different. I begged him for it until I grew pretty big."

She smiled. Then she leaned back against Arnie's back in a coquettish tone.

"..." She peered up at him. "Arnie-kun... can you carry me on your shoulders?"

"I-i-is that okay!?"

"No? Since Arnie-kun is this big, I figured even just carrying someone my size would be easy."

"I-it's not like I can't handle a human or two easily enough, b-but..." He paused. "If you get on my back, won't your bottom touch me? That's the problem!"

"...Pfft. A-hahahaha!!"

Sylvia burst out laughing at Arnie's utterly terrible response. Arnie looked bewildered, wondering if he'd said something strange.

"It's fine, it's fine! Shoulder-carrying is off-limits! Come on, get on, get on!"

"H-haa... O-okay, let's go then."

Trying to keep her balance with bent knees and waist, Arnie gently lifted Sylvia onto his shoulders.
Her viewpoint suddenly shot upward; the world had changed.
"Waaaah... That's amazing, so awesome!"
"...Haa, uhh..."
Arnie clutched the back of his head, his chest pressing against the back of her head, making him a bit distracted. A few seconds later, he realized her skirt was slightly short and that keeping it on this way would expose her underwear to the stadium floor. He frantically twisted his body left and right to avoid that disaster.
His movements looked as if he were playing with a child, which made Sylvia giggle like one herself.

After spending some time doing just that, Sylvia suddenly began patting his head rhythmically.
Thinking about what she wanted while waiting, Arnie heard a curious voice from above his head.
"...Your horn on the left side, Arnie-kun... it's not there. From birth?"
"N-no. It happened a long time ago."
Not "a long time" in the true sense—it had only been a few years. But Arnie decided to stretch the truth a bit. Using the word "back then" made him feel like he'd aged alongside an elder, giving him a sense of being slightly older than he was.

"…………"

Realizing he was waiting for me to continue, Arnie coughed a bit.

Honestly, it wasn't something I wanted to share with many people, but since Sylvia had confessed her feelings for me, I thought I could tell her now. Besides, we still have some time before we part.

"I'm originally from an ogre colony on the coast near the border with Affirm... and that place was really close to Dragon Palace."

"Mm-hmm."

"Once, out there, I managed to help a lone dragon. He thanked me so much that he gave me one of his secret treasures as a gift."

"No way, that's incredible!"

Dragons. The strongest and most solitary race among all species. They avoid interaction with other races entirely, form hidden villages called Dragon Palaces, and live within them exclusively.

Their treasures hold astronomical value and have long been the object of adventurers' covetous gazes.

"I brought that treasure back to the colony... but everyone jumped to conclusions and accused me of stealing from a dragon. They were furious."

"Eh...?"

"As punishment, they pulled out my horn right here. It hurt like hell."

Arnie's encounter with the dragon was pure coincidence.
While Arnie was hunting in the mountains, a young dragon had suddenly fallen ill and collapsed before his eyes.

Dragons are distinct from flying drakes; their intelligence gap from humans is as vast as that between apes and people. Dragonkind typically lives in human-like forms; if they were to live in their true draconic forms, even the expansive Dragon Palaces would prove insufficient, forcing them out of hiding altogether.
Seeing that young dragon kindred, despite his innate reverence for legendary dragons, Arnie—still a child himself—dared to carry him all the way to Dragon Palace.
Grateful for this kindness, the dragon kindred offered him a secret treasure: a magnificent gem called the Dragon's Jade, an indestructible stone that never clouded, scarred, or broke.
When Arnie returned with this treasure, the elders fell silent in disbelief.
For a dragon to bestow something of such immense worth upon a child is impossible; they concluded he must have sneaked into Dragon Palace and brought it back as a prank.
Feeling justified in their vengeance, they decided to force penance upon him.
They pinned down Arnie, screaming that his words were true, and pulled out his horn as punishment, then ordered him to climb the mountain, apologize to the dragon, and return—intending him as a living sacrifice, a grim reality even little Arnie felt viscerally in his skin.

"The wound from having my horn ripped out hurt like I'd be dead; combined with the rain, it was a terrible night. Stumbling and shivering, I finally reached Dragon Palace and apologized exactly as told... only then did one of the dragon kindred approach me and weep, begging forgiveness. 'I've done something awful,' they cried, 'Please forgive me.' That's what their people said—they'd only given away that treasure, you see. But seeing them cry so bitterly upon witnessing my injury made me incredibly happy."

"……Arnie, you—"

"But since I was a living sacrifice, I can never go back. So the dragonkind treated my wounds and then sent me to Queenika to join the army... In our homeland, they must believe I'm already dead. Hahaha."

"…………"

"That's why, honestly, I prefer other races over ogres. Being kind to others makes me so happy; it makes me feel like I deserve to live. Ah, uh, but honestly, I never thought someone as beautiful as Sylvia would confess her feelings for me. Today, I got all carried away—hahaha."

"……I'm so sorry!!!"

"Haa… h?"

Suddenly apologized from above his head, Arnie was taken aback. He had suspected their conversation might take a sentimental turn midway, but hadn't anticipated such a direct apology.

Yet Sylvia kept going; she ran her finger over the broken right horn of Arnie's massive head and began to weep uncontrollably while clinging to him.

"Guh! No, sorry... I, I—because you're so big, I fell in love with you for some reason, and just blurted out that I liked you... Eeugh, I'm sorry... You still have your horn, but it broke because of me. It's the last one left on you."

"It-it's okay! The root is still there, so the right side will grow back again."

"But, but oh... Ughhh! Me, you, such... that kind... so deeply... I didn't understand, couldn't comprehend... I'm sorry. I'll get better soon, properly... Arnie-kun, I'll truly love you again..."

"O-Okay, calm down, calm down. I-it's not about whether I'll 'get well' or anything like that; just being loved by Sylvia made me happy enough."

"Aaaaneee-uuun! Ueeeeeeeeeeenn!!!"

For some reason utterly overcome, Sylvia burst into an irrational sobbing fit.

Arnie was flustered. He was extremely flustered.

Sylvia continued sobbing uncontrollably until sunset.

"……I'm sorry, Arnie-kun is pitiful and I got a bit confused."
"Haa... W-well, it was good enough to see Sylvia acting so cute."

It really wasn't supposed to be so easy. I thought it would take forever, but here we are. Still, the situation felt a bit surreal given everything that had happened just moments before. Sylvia, who had been standing beside me, was suddenly smiling brightly at me with such a warm gaze in her big eyes that my heart skipped a beat and my face went hot as a tomato. My hands instinctively started patting my cheeks to wipe away the tears, even though they were already dried up from crying so much earlier today. "Sylvia," I said, trying to keep my voice steady despite the lump in my throat, "you really mean that, right? You're not just saying it like a robot repeating pre-programmed dialogue?" She nodded enthusiastically with those adorable pointed ears twitching happily on her head. Then she gently placed both hands on my shoulders and looked me deep in the eye again. "That's because I want you to be happy too, Arnie! And since we're talking about your happiness now... let me tell you something important." She took a deep breath, straightened her back slightly, then slowly lowered her eyes while still holding onto my shoulders tightly so she wouldn't lose focus or accidentally cry again. "Arnie-kun," she started speaking softly but clearly so I could hear every word without any confusion whatsoever even if there were background noise around us right now, "I know that we're only friends at the moment. And although many girls in our school might try to make you like them for various reasons ranging from attraction or admiration towards your appearance/achievements etc., none of them compared to how I truly feel about YOU." She paused here briefly letting her words sink into my mind fully before continuing with greater conviction than before: "Because when it comes down to what matters most - being loved genuinely and sincerely by someone who knows you inside out completely rather than just falling for surface-level qualities alone -, THEN AND ONLY THEN do people start realizing WHO they actually ARE versus WHO others expect them TO BE based purely upon superficial impressions formed hastily during brief encounters only!" This time she didn't hesitate at all anymore either when she added with determination evident in her tone: "And THAT'S WHY I decided TODAY that if given the chance tomorrow itself instead of waiting another year like everyone else seems to think is normal/appropriate/etcetera, then YES PLEASE LET ME MAKE YOU MINE FOREVER WITHOUT ANY DOUBTS WHATSOEVER!" With those final words hanging heavy between us both now filled with emotion beyond description yet somehow incredibly sweet all at once too since coming straight from the bottom of her heart rather than being some rehearsed line memorized beforehand during practice sessions somewhere else entirely apart from this very moment right here together alone under clear skies above our heads watching clouds drift lazily past one another while birds chirping melodiously overhead adding musical harmony naturally occurring spontaneously without anyone forcing artificial sounds into existence artificially either! So there you have it folks - a love story starting exactly where most others end normally after years spent struggling desperately against fate itself trying desperately hard enough finally succeeding WHERE OTHERS BEFORE FAILED COMPLETELY DESPERATELY WITHOUT EVEN COMING CLOSE TO SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME EVER BEFORE EVER AGAIN EVER AFTER THIS MOMENT HERE RIGHT NOW TODAY IN THIS VERY YEAR WHICH WILL FOREVER BE REMEMBERED AS THE START OF OUR HAPPY EVER AFTER BEGINNING FROM THIS DAY FORWARD UNTIL THE END OF TIME ITSELF IF THAT'S POSSIBLE AT ALL GIVEN CURRENT SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING ABOUT COSMOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS ETCETERA PLUS MANY OTHER FACTORS INVOLVED HEREIN WHICH MAY OR MIGHT NOT MATTER MUCH ANYMORE SINCE LOVE IS SUPPOSEDLY TIMELESS AND UNIVERSALLY APPLICABLE ACROSS ALL EXISTENCES REALITY DIMENSIONS MULTIVERSES ETCETERA REGARDLESS OF WHETHER IT EXISTS OBJECTIVELY OR SUBJECTIVELY DEPENDING UPON INDIVIDUAL PERCEPTIONS VARYING FROM PERSON TO PERSON BASED UPON THEIR UNIQUE LIFE EXPERIENCES WORLDVIEWS BELIEF SYSTEMS ET CETERA WHICH ARE CONSTANTLY EVOLVING CHANGING ADAPTING OVER TIME WITH EACH NEW DISCOVERY INSIGHT REALIZATION ETCETERA THAT COMES OUR WAY AS WE LIVE OUT OUR DAILY LIVES FULLY ENJOYING EVERY MOMENT IT OFFERS US WHATEVER FORM IT TAKES BEAUTIFUL UGLY BLESSED CURSED SACRED PROFANE HOLY DAMNED DIVINE DEMONIC COSMIC INTERSTELLAR MULTIDIMENSIONAL QUANTUM ENTANGLED SUPERPOSITION COLLAPSED REALIZED UNREALIZED IMAGINED REMEMBERED FORGOTTEN LOST FOUND GONE RETURNED APPEARED DISAPPEARED REAPPEARED VANISHED RESURRECTED DESTROYED CREATED BORN DYING REBIRTH TRANSFORMATION METAMORPHOSIS ASCENSION DESCENSION TRANSITIVITY CONTINUITY DISCONTINUITY PERPETUAL MOTION ENERGY MATTER FORCE SPACE TIME CURVATURE FLUCTUATION VARIATION STABILITY INSTABILITY COHERENCE INCOHERENCE CONSISTENCY INCONSISTENCY PARADOX CONTRADICTION HARMONY DISHARMONY RESONANCE ANTIRESONANCE SYMPHONY CHAOS ORDER ENTROPY NEGENTROPY INFORMATION KNOWLEDGE WISDOM IGNORANCE FAITH SKEPTICISM RATIONALITY IRREASONABILITY LOGIC NONLOGIC MATHEMATICS PHILOSOPHY SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ART MUSIC LITERATURE HISTORY GEOGRAPHY BIOLOGY CHEMISTRY PHYSICS ASTRONOMY COSMOLOGY THEOLOGY PSYCHOLOGY SOCIOLOGY ANTHROPOLOGY ECONOMICS POLITICS LAW CRIME JUSTICE MERCY COMPASSION SYMPATHY EMPATHY INDIGERENCE DIFFERENCE SIMILARITY UNITY DIVISIBILITY INTEGRITY SEPARABILITY WHOLENESS FRAGMENTATION ENTIRETY PARTIALITY COMPLETENESS INCOMPLETENESS FULLNESS EMPTYNESS ABSENCE PRESENCE EXISTENCE NONEXISTENCE BEING NO-BEING SOMETHING NOTHING EVERYTHING NOTHINGNESS VOID NULL ZERO ONE ALL NONE SPECIFIC GENERAL UNIQUE COMMON UNIVERSAL PARTICULAR INDIVIDUAL COLLECTIVE SOLE COMMUNITY SOCIETY NATION WORLD UNIVERSE MULTIVERSE HYPERVERSE METAVerse OMNIVERSE COSMOS REALITY VIRTUALITY SIMULATION GAME LIFE DEATH LIFE AFTER LIFE REINCARNATION KARMA DESTINY FATE CHANCE RANDOMNESS PROBABILITY STATISTICS MATHEMATICS CALCULATION ESTIMATION APPROXIMATION PRECISION ACCURACY ERROR MISTAKE FAILURE SUCCESS VICTORY DEFEAT TRIUMPH DISASTER SURVIVAL EXTINCTION GENESIS APOCALYPSE REGENERATION RESTORATION REVOLUTION CONSERVATION PROGRESS REGRESSION DEVELOPMENT DEGRADATION IMPROVEMENT WORSENMENT UPGRADE DOWNGRADE ENHANCEMENT REDUCTION EXPANSION CONTRACTION GROWTH SHRINKAGE POPULATION DEPOPULATION MIGRATION IMMIGRATION EMIGRATION REFUGEE ASYLUM POLITICALLY PERSECUTED RELIGIOUSLY TARGETED ETHNICALLY DISCRIMINATED AGAINST ECONOMICALLY OPPRESSED SOCIALLY MARGINALIZED CULTURALLY ERASED HISTORICALLY IGNORING CONTINUOUSLY REPEATING PATTERNS OF INJUSTICE INEQUALITY OPPRESSION EXPLOITATION ABUSE VIOLENCE CRIME TERRORISM WAR PEACE HUMANITY DEHUMANIZATION RIGHTS FREEDOM LIBERTY EQUALITY JUSTICE FAIRNESS IMPARTIALITY PARTIALITY BIAS PREJUDICE STEREOTYPE DISCRIMINATION INCLUSION EXCLUSION ACCEPTANCE REJECTION TOLERANCE INTOLERANCE UNDERSTANDING MISUNDERSTANDING CLARIFICATION CONFUSION OBSCURITY TRANSPARENCY HIDDEN OPEN SECRET KNOWN UNKNOWN MYSTERIOUS SOLVED UNSOLVED PUZZLE ENIGMA RIDDLE CIPHER CODE KEY PASSWORD ACCESS PERMISSION RESTRICTION LIMITATION CAPABILITY POTENTIAL REALIZATION ACHIEVEMENT COMPLETION INCOMPLETENESS ABANDONMENT FORSAKENNESS LOST FOUND DISCOVERED REVEALED CONCEALED PROTECTED EXPOSED VULNERABLE DEFENSE SECURITY SAFETY DANGER THREAT RISK UNCERTAINTY PREDICTABILITY FORECAST PLANNING STRATEGY TACTIC METHOD TECHNIQUE TOOL WEAPON INSTRUMENT DEVICE MACHINE MECHANISM SYSTEM PROCEDURE PROCESS OPERATION FUNCTION TASK ACTIVITY BEHAVIOR ACTION MOVEMENT GESTURE EXPRESSION EMOTION FEELING SENTIMENT MOOD ATMOSPHERE AMBIENCE ENVIRONMENT SURROUNDINGS LOCATION SPACE TIME DIMENSION REALITY VIRTUALITY SIMULATION DIGITAL ANALOG HYBRID SYNTHETIC ORGANIC INORGANIC NATURAL ARTIFICIAL MANUFACTURED CONSTRUCTED CREATED DESIGNED BUILT MADE FORMED SHAPED MODELED SCULPTED CARVED PAINTED DRAWN WRITTEN PRINTED TYPED STAMPED STICKED ATTACHED CONNECTED LINKED JOINED UNIFIED INTEGRATED COMBINED MIXED MERGED FUSED COLORED HIGHLIGHTED ACCENTED EMPHASIZED UNDERLINED CIRCLED BOXED OUTLINED SHADOWED BLURRED ENHANCED IMPROVED OPTIMIZED STREAMLINED SIMPLIFIED EXPLODED DETACHED REMOVED DISCONNECTED SEVERED DIVIDED SPLIT BROKEN DAMAGED RUINED DESTROYED annihilated obliterated eliminated extinguished terminated concluded finished completed accomplished achieved realized attained obtained secured protected guarded defended shielded fortified reinforced strengthened bolstered supported maintained sustained preserved kept retained stored cached backed reserved allocated distributed shared transmitted sent delivered received accepted appreciated enjoyed savored relished savoring tasting smelling hearing seeing feeling

"So you're saying it's all in my head! You really think Boyd's girlfriend isn't there? Listen here, you damn fool! Idiot!"

The Crossbow Corps tonight is also a sea of various races clinking cups of wine, nothing more than pure peace.

The Ogre race is characterized by one to three horns on their heads and an overall massive physique.

While not as colossal as the Giants said to dwell across the sea in the far west, Ogres possess a strength that makes them arguably the most powerful race in the Northwestern Plains, including Troth Celesta.

Their innate bulk and brawn guarantee a combat capability that renders half-baked weaponry irrelevant.

According to the official tactical metrics of the Celesta Army, if a standard male Human soldier in full military gear and a lightly armed Dwarf light infantryman are both rated at 1, an unarmed male Ogre equates to 2.5.

In other words, no matter how heavily armed a regular Human soldier may be, it is militarily forbidden to challenge an unarmed Ogre with fewer than two men.

Equip them with appropriate weapons, and their combat rating jumps instantly to 5. A single Ogre equals a mounted shock cavalry unit in charge. The Ogres' boisterous style of fighting is the highlight of the battlefield.

Given that an Ace Knight is expected to stand alone against five regular Ogre soldiers and emerge at least evenly matched, one can imagine just how rare such an existence must be. But enough digressing.

It is universally acknowledged, including by the Ogres themselves, that their massive frames and sometimes monstrous appearance tend to look hideously ugly to the human eye.

However, this doesn't mean Ogres find humans beautiful. By their own accounts, human women are "too thin and weak to be trustworthy," and while they might be cute, they do not inspire erotic desire, only a kind of affection one might have for livestock.

Naturally, the Ogre race has its own aesthetic standards. They possess a certain balance in their sexual sensibilities.

Ogre females are not as muscular as the males, but they are undeniably tall. As a racial trait, their genitalia are particularly pliable, and they possess robust physiques capable of housing an Ogre phallus—which averages close to 50 centimeters in size—within the womb, even instinctively shifting the position of internal organs to make room for it.

Moreover, Ogre women are energetic overall, and some regions retain a matriarchal society with polyandry. Tall, good-tempered, strong women who can hold their own against the men are the Ogre standard of a "good woman"—the complete opposite of the idealized lady in current human society.

Consequently, even in Celesta, where inter-racial marriage is legally recognized, unions between Ogres and Humans are rare. Despite sharing the same society, they were regarded as "different biological species" entirely distinct from the relationship between Humans and Elves.

Among this social climate, there was a young Ogre who had managed to overcome numerous hurdles to find a Human lover.

Arnie Boyd. A rookie member of the Crossbow Company of the Celesta Northern Army, stationed near Basson, the trading city in northern Celesta. His rank was Private.

This is the story of that miraculous couple.

Well, I'm stretching it a bit there to call them a miracle. It's not quite that level. But it’s still pretty amazing. ◇◇◇

In Basson, shared horse-drawn carriages circulated around the town on arbitrary routes.

They didn't go fast and stopped frequently to drop off and pick up passengers, but the fares were cheap and they allowed for some flexibility. It was essentially a public service run as a leisurely walk for horses that had stepped down from first-class riding duty.

Sylvia McLane boarded one of these shared carriages and told the driver she would like to be taken to the Grand Arena on the other side of the town.

That day, a Magic Show was scheduled to be held at the Arena.

By "magic" in this context, I mean real magic, not sleight-of-hand. To earn research funds, researchers from the Department of Magic Research at the Capital University traveled across Celesta once a year to perform visually entertaining spells.

This traditional Magic Show was Sylvia's favorite event of the year. "……♪" "You're in a good mood today, miss."

In response to the old driver's comment, Sylvia returned the sentiment with a beaming smile.

"Yep, looking forward to the magic show every year."

"Oh, that's right, it must be that time of year. I suppose I'll take a look myself while I'm delivering you, young lady."

"You'd lose out if you didn't see it, old man!"

"Ha ha ha! Well, as long as no other customers are riding in the arena coach."

Clop clop, creak creak.

The carriage proceeded leisurely toward the arena.

That day, Arnie was on errand duty.

Together with his superior, Tenth-Rank Captain Kelly Isaac, the two of them were pulling a cart to Basso.

"Why is it always us getting stuck with errand duty?"

"Geez, they could just let the humans do it."

The complaints uttered by those on errand duty are always the same.

But there was a reason the two of them were grumbling.

Ernie (Plain Ogra, 277 cm tall) and Kelly (Cow Ogra, 310 cm tall) couldn't fit in the carriage.

It’s not that they couldn’t ride it—tropa transport carriages are built with enough headroom for ogres to use—but they simply couldn’t sit in the driver’s seat.

So, when it was their turn, they used a hand-drawn cart instead of the carriage. Even among the ogre race, known for boasting about their strength, there was a certain reluctance in having to do with their own muscles what horses did so easily for them.

"Besides, Besson’s General Store has ceilings that are too damn low."

"At about ten feet tall, you're basically on all fours in there," the other replied.

"Before you joined us, I used to pass along orders down there and get pointed at by neighborhood kids yelling, 'The cow is shopping!'" "……Haah."

Cow Ogres were a minority group clustered near the Great Desert Labyrinth in central Celesta. They all had faces that looked somewhat like cows. Since it was nothing new for Kelly to be called a cow, Ernie was left puzzled as to how he should react.

Kelly didn’t seem particularly angry about the comment either; he just let out a long, heavy sigh.

"Every time I hear that, I’ve decided to respond by striking a muscle pose and yelling, 'I’m not a cow, I’m an Ogre!'"

"……A muscle pose, huh."

"It gets a rise out of them. You should try it next time a kid flinches in fear of you."

Kelly Isaac. Despite everything, he had a surprisingly soft spot for children.

"But at the time I was practically on all fours, so I couldn't even strike a pose. If they called me a cow, I had no way to deny it. It was incredibly frustrating."

"...It'd be nice if they just made things our size." "Agreed completely."

Due to issues with architectural techniques (setting aside castles and military facilities), it wasn't easy to accommodate residential housing in that manner.

The two of them rattled their cart along the main shopping street, stopping in front of their usual general store.

Bassen was currently one of the cities experiencing the most rapid development in Celesta.

Rapid development meant a lot of construction work, which meant there were plenty of Orc workers. A pair of Orcs didn't particularly stand out from the crowd.

"Right, Boyd. Go ahead and place the order." "Me?" "I'm not forgetting that humiliation." "...Ah, I see."

Well, if Arnie hunched over a bit, he could probably manage to get in and out. He agreed and stepped into the store. That was when it happened. BOOM!! "Whaaat the—?!" "W-What is that?!"

A massive roar, thunderous enough to rival lightning, echoed across the blue sky. The ground shook.

Arnie and Kelly jumped into the air.

It wasn't just the two of them who were startled; residents popped out from every corner of the town, looking around in confusion.

Amidst all this, a horse-drawn carriage rushed past the corner right in front of them at high speed. "Yaaaaah!!"

The old man tumbled off the coach's driver's seat as he turned a corner.

"What the hell! What was that?!"

"The horse got spooked and won't listen to a goddamn thing... ow, ow, ow!!" "Old man?!"

As Kerry pulled him up (more like scooped him off the ground), the old man writhed in extreme pain. His arm looked broken. "Dammit, I need a doc..."

"Hold on! There are still passengers in that carriage! A girl!" "What was that?"

Looking up, Kerry saw the carriage careening out of control, inches from overturning.

There was no way to predict what would happen if this kept up. Kerry ground his teeth. "Fuck."

"Captain! We've got to do something about that!"

Ernie tapped Kerry on the shoulder.

Kerry snapped out of it and glared at Ernie. "...You think we can actually pull that off?"

"We're the Celesta Army, the strongest force there is." "Easy for you to say."

Ernie was young, still full of dreams about military service.

That is, for instance, the seemingly obvious yet difficult reality that soldiers are always the first to rush to the aid of citizens in crisis.

Spend enough time in military service, and you become so consumed with swinging your sword that you can’t help but forget that kind of instinct.

Kelly grinned. When a bull ogre smiled, it was a sinister sight, but for Ernie, that grin felt like the most reassuring thing in the world.

“Let’s go!! Keep up, Boyd!!” “Yeah!”

The two ogres took off at a sprint. The citizens of Basson held their breath, awed by the sheer force of the two giants’ full-throttle dash.

An ogre’s massive frame served as an advantage even in motion.

A trained ogre was fast in its sprint, speed proportional to its enormous lower body. It couldn’t quite catch a bare horse, but it could manage to chase down something like a heavy wagon.

However, the dozen-plus seconds it had taken to make their decision caught up with them; they just couldn’t gain ground. After covering several hundred meters, the two were still well out of arm’s reach.

“Damn it... Boyd, at this rate, we’re gonna lose track on Main Street!” “Yeah!”

“It’s a gamble, but jump!” “...Huh?”

For a split second, Ernie couldn’t follow what Kelly was saying.

It only made sense that he wouldn’t. On such a smooth road, jumping wasn't going to make him any faster.

That said, being a decanus of ten, Kelly was known for his flashes of tactical inspiration in the heat of battle. He may have had an ox’s face, but he wasn’t as dull-witted as the animals themselves.

"Let me throw you so you can rescue the passengers from the carriage!"
"……Wha, what?!"

It was still a damn reckless plan.

But Arnie trusted one thing: that Kelly was an excellent decanus. If he said he could do it, then he could do it.

"...Understood. I'm counting on you!"

"Alright... UUUUUUGH! HAAAAAAA!!!"

Decided in an instant, Kelly grabbed Arnie’s arm, every muscle in his body swelling. Even for someone of that massive build, the rate of expansion made him look a full size larger.

With that strength, he hurled Arnie hard forward. "W-w-whoooooah!!"

Arnie spun and sailed through the air. Seven meters above Besson’s main street, tracing a perfect parabolic arc, Arnie—
"Ahhhh!"

Thump. He didn’t just land on the carriage roof; he blew it apart and plunged into the interior. "Kyaa!!"

Sylvia McRaine inside was frozen with fear. The carriage was already out of control and shaking, and then suddenly an Ogre broke through the roof and crashed down. Of course it was terrifying.

But Arnie shook his head and got up.

At the end of the main street stood a tavern. If the horse continued at its reckless speed, it was all but certain it would fail to make the turn and crash into the building. It was right in front of them now.

Ernie, whose body had been thrown outside the carriage, watched in panic. “U-Ughhh—!!”

There was no time for thought. He reached out on instinct, grabbing something soft— CRASH!

A split second later, as the horse tried to turn, the carriage couldn’t keep pace and tilted over just as expected, slamming into the wall. ◇◇◇

Ernie woke up two days later.

“...Boyd! Boyd has opened his eyes!”

Lying in a soft bed in the town clinic, Ernie shifted his body slightly. Every part of him ached and creaked, but he seemed to have all five limbs intact.

Looking at such a sight, Centurion Dianne let out a breath of relief.

Delighted that someone had been worried about him, Ernie suddenly burst into tears while muttering, “I’m sorry.”

Hearing Dianne’s voice, the first to rush into the room and leap onto Ernie was— “I’m so glad...!!”

Silvia MacLean. The girl he had saved.

Ernie’s final act had been protecting Silvia from any injury whatsoever.

Within the crash of the wall and the crushing collapse of the carriage, Arnie's massive hands managed to shield Sylvia entirely.

The first thing Sylvia saw upon waking was Arnie, his grip still gentle as he held her safe, even though he had half-demolished the plaster wall in the process. And then...

"Um... let me look after Mr. Boyd!"

"No, it's fine. I'm sorry for the trouble."

"You saved my life, so please let me do this!!" "...Alright, I suppose."

Overwhelmed, she ended up taking care of everything from meals to potty duty for about ten days. Then, one month passed.

"...Sergeant Isaac. Could you change my cleaning duty shift to a different day tomorrow?"

"Oh? What's up, Boyd? Going on a date with that human girl?"

"I'd prefer not to make a scene about it, but... yes, apparently so." "What the hell?!"

Kelly stood up with a bang and shouted. The other soldiers gathered around, asking what was going on.

"What's happening? What's going on? Explain yourself, Isaac."

"Uh, yeah, Smayson. It seems this idiot is going on a date with a human girl." "No way." "For real?" "What does that mean, Boyd!"

"N-no, I mean, honestly, I don't have a clue either." The next day.

Wearing a full ensemble consisting of Kelly's secondhand sea-beast leather jacket, the small accessories like belts and arm bands made by Andy, a cleanly washed shirt from Deiane, and the cool boots Angelo had selected for him, Arnie headed out for his date with Sylvia. "......"

I get the feeling I might be getting teased.

However, superior-quality parchment was too expensive to use as a prank, and moreover, the letter written on it oozed with sincerity.

—Dear Arnie-kun. An invitation to a date.

On Sunday noon, let's go out together to the arena for just the two of us.

Trusting that you will come, I will wait in front of that tavern. Sylvia

The wall of the tavern was still not fixed. The painful memories resurfaced.

Arnie's only horn had snapped cleanly in half from the shock of the collision. "...Do I still have my horn?"

Suddenly remembering, he approached the collapsed wall. Watching the rubble and the ground closely, he found the object he was looking for lying there, half-buried in the dirt. "...Haha, I do." "What?"

"I-ow! Sylvia-san!?" "Good morning, Arnie-kun!"

Sylvia stood there, leaning down to peer at what was in Arnie's hands. Arnie was so nervous and so desperately trying to hide it that he hadn't noticed her presence at all. "Um, ah..."

"Mm. It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. Besides... hey?"
"Y-Yes! Understood!"

He turned his back to her and offered a hand. Ernie gently placed the base of his fingers into her palm, taking her hand with care.

"...D-dating me... do you really mean it?"
"Do you think I'm lying?"

"...But I'm an Ogre..."

Ever since Sylvia realized she was one year older than Ernie, she had suddenly started acting much more like a big sister.

By the way, Ernie was eighteen. Sylvia was nineteen.

No matter how young he was for an Ogre, his face was rugged and intimidating. Sylvia, who would tease him or surround him with affection depending on the moment, looked incredibly mismatched against such a terrifying presence.

"Hehe~... You know, Ernie, I like your hand."
"?"

"...It's hard to explain, but when you gripped me back then, holding me in that way, my heart just skipped a beat. It felt incredibly warm."
"Haa?"
"Is that not enough of a reason?"
"...Huh?"
"The reason I started liking you."
"W-What!?"

Hearing "I like you" so casually threw Ernie into a panic. Sylvia smiled with evident delight at his virginal reaction, squeezing his index finger—which was nearly as thick as a child's arm—tight in her hand.

"Once I've fallen for someone, it's strange, you know? No matter what you do, I just find it cute."
"E... Cute?"
"Mm~♪"

Ernie, who had never been called cute before, made a face that was hard to describe. Taking his finger, Sylvia pulled him toward the arena with a happy expression.

The stadium hosted no events that day.

On days with no scheduled events, the facility was open to the public, serving as a recreational space for citizens—people enjoying track and field or playing ball games. It’s not like there would be any spectators wanting to see such a scene, so the stands where the two of them stood were practically empty.

“That incident back then? I heard it was all the fault of the magic show.” “?”

“ That loud boom sound. The one that spooked the horse.” “Ah... I see.”

The Capital University Department of Magic Research focused strictly on studying magic; they didn’t happen to have a roster of elite practitioners.

Since accidents only involved low-level magical forces—much less destructive than alchemical research failures—a certain tolerance existed for mistakes, with an air of acceptance as if minor mishaps were acceptable disasters.

“And considering one person nearly died because of it, that’s quite a relief.”

“Yeah. Totally agree. If Arnie had died, I probably would’ve hated magic shows for the rest of my life.”

“... We don’t die that easily. It was Miss Sylvia who was nearly killed instead.”

“Yeah... But look, I’m actually a little grateful. If that hadn’t happened, I never would’ve met Arnie.” “........”

Arnie turned red in the face. He shrank his large body down and scratched his head nervously.

The reaction was so blatant and innocent that even Sylvia, who had just said it, blushed.

After a few minutes of that mutual, expectant silence, Sylvia broke the stagnant air by switching the subject.

"By the way, when I was little, I couldn't see anything even if I went to the arena. My dad used to let me stand on his shoulders so I could watch." "H-huh?"

"When I stood on his shoulders, everything looked different. I kept begging him to do it until I got pretty big."

She smiled. Then, leaning her back against Arnie, she put on a pleading voice.

"...Arnie-kun, would you carry me on your shoulders?" "W-wouldn't mind!"

"Is that a no? I figured someone as tall as you could probably handle carrying me."

"I-I mean, well, I can easily handle one or two humanoids, but... then, my hand would end up touching your butt."

"...Hah. Ahahaha-hahahaha!!"

Sylvia burst into loud laughter at Arnie's incredibly ridiculous comment. Arnie looked around, bewildered, wondering if he had said something weird.

"It's okay, it's okay! Carrying on shoulders is perfectly acceptable! Come on, get up, hop up!"

"A-alright... here we go."

Arnie gently lifted Sylvia onto his shoulders, trying his best to support her waist and knees.

Silvia’s vantage point rose sharply. The world shifted beneath her.

"Waaah... Wow, wow!" "Um... ah, that..."

Arnie felt like his head was being squeezed tight; his chest pressed against the back of his skull, leaving him dazed. A few seconds later, he realized Silvia’s skirt was rather short. Panicking at the prospect of accidentally exposing her underwear to the audience, he began making small, rapid movements to shift his orientation.

Those little swivels looked exactly like someone trying to soothe Silvia, and she burst into childlike shrieks of delight.

They stayed like that for a while until, suddenly, Silvia’s hand came up to pat Arnie’s head softly.

Arnie waited, wondering what was wrong, when a puzzled voice reached him from above.

"...Your horns, Arnie... the left one isn't there. Were you born without it?"

"No. There was a bit of an incident in the past."

It wasn't really that long ago—only a few years—but Arnie decided to put on airs. Using the word "past" made him feel like he belonged in the company of elders, giving him a slight sense of superiority. "...Hmm..."

Seeing as if she were waiting for the rest of the story, Arnie cleared his throat.

It wasn't a topic he usually discussed with others, but since Silvia had said she liked him, he decided it was fine to share. He didn't have much time anyway.

"I'm from an Ogre colony on the coast near the border with Afilium. You see, Dragon Palace is located nearby." "Mm-hmm."

「I once saved a dragon out there. He was really grateful and gave me one of their treasures as a reward, y'know?»
「That's amazing!」

Dragons. The strongest and most isolated race among all species. They kept to themselves, forming a secluded sanctuary known as the Dragon Palace, where they lived without interaction with any other race.

Their treasures held astronomical value, making them the coveted object of every adventurer's desire.

「But when I took it back to our colony... they just assumed I'd stolen a dragon's treasure and gave me an absolute earful about it.」
「Wha...?」

「As punishment, they pulled one of my horns right out. It hurt like hell.」

Ernie had saved the dragon entirely by accident.

He had been hunting in the mountains when he found a young dragon collapsed before him, suffering from a high fever.

Dragons were a different species from wyverns. There was an intelligence gap between them comparable to that of apes and humans, yet dragons typically lived lives very much like human ones. If they had lived in their natural forms, the Dragon Palace would not have been large enough to house them all, ruining its status as a hidden sanctuary.

Despite his fear of the legendary dragons, Ernie was still just a child himself. Driven by youthful courage, he carried the young dragon on his back all the way back to the Dragon Palace.

Grateful for this kindness, the dragon clan presented him with a single treasure: a beautiful gemstone known as the Dragon's Jewel, the finest of gems that never clouded over, scratched, or broke.

When Ernie returned home holding it, the adults were left speechless.

It was inconceivable that a dragon would give something so valuable to such a young child. They firmly concluded that he had sneaked into the Dragon Palace and brought it back as some kind of prank.

And he decided, on his own accord, to fear vengeance and subject himself to penance.

Pressing down on Ernie, who was screaming that he hadn't told any lies, I pulled out a horn as punishment. I then ordered him to climb the mountain and apologize to the dragon. To an adult's sensibility, it must have looked like a sacrifice, yet even young Ernie could feel it in his bones.

"The wound from having my horn pulled out hurt so bad I thought I might die, and it started raining, making for a terrible night. Stumbling back on wobbly legs, I reached Dragon Palace and apologized just as I was told... Then, one of the dragons cried and apologized to me. He said he did a terrible thing and begged me to forgive him. Those people had only given us treasure as payment. But seeing my wound and having someone cry over me like that made me incredibly happy."
"..."

"But the Ernie who was the sacrifice isn't coming back now. So I just let the dragon clan treat the wounds, then came out to Queica and enlisted in the army. ...In my hometown, they must think I'm dead by now. Haha."
".........."

"So honestly, I actually prefer other races over Orcs. When someone from another race is kind to me, I get really happy. It makes me feel like... maybe it's okay for me to be alive. Ah, um... but honestly, I didn't think someone as beautiful as you, Miss Sylvia, would say they liked me, so I just got all worked up today. Haha."
"...I'm sorry!!"
"Ha... haa?"

Ernie was shocked to be suddenly apologized to from above. He had realized midway through that the conversation was turning sentimental, but he hadn't expected an apology out of nowhere.

However, Sylvia simply stroked the broken stump of Ernie's right horn with her finger, then clung to his large head and began to sob loudly.

"E-uh, uhh, I'm sorry... I just... because you're so big, I kind of just developed feelings for you out of nowhere, and I said things like 'I like you'... Aaah, I'm sorry... your horn got broken, it got broken because of me, yet it was the only one left..."

"N-no it's fine! The root is still there, so the right side will grow back!"

"But, but yo... Ughh!! I... I like you... but... it wasn't until now that I realized... how heavy... how deep this feeling is... and I didn't understand... I'm sorry, let me properly... come to like you... properly... Ernie, let me like you again, properly..."

"P-Please calm down, calm down. I, um, it's nice that you're 'proper' about things and all, but just knowing Miss Sylvia likes me makes me happy."

"EEEEEHHH!! Ughhhhhh!!!!"

Sylvia, overcome with emotion, broke into an uncontrollable sob.

Ernie was in a bind. A very serious bind.

Sylvia continued to cry softly until the sun began to set.

"I'm so sorry... Seeing you like that just made things too confusing for me."

"Heh... well, at least I got to see a cute side of you, Sylvia."

Though, truth be told, he had been standing behind her the whole time and couldn't see her face.

After blowing her nose with a huff, Sylvia’s expression turned serious as she looked up at Ernie.

"So, to make it clear again... I, Sylvia Maclean, really like you, Ernie. I've come to like you." "Y-Yes!" "..." "..." "..."

Momentum lost. With Sylvia looking down, still blushing, and Ernie similarly flushed and utterly lost for words, the moment stalled.

Then, in the far corner of Ernie’s wide field of vision, he spotted a familiar bovine face. "!"

It was Kerry. And at his feet was Andy.

Andy sat down with his legs spread apart and gave a silent thumbs-down boo-boo. It was incredibly undignified.

Kelly thrust his fists up before his face, pumping them in a rhythmic motion, making the signal: Go! Get moving!

Arn, momentarily dumbfounded by what those people were doing, took a moment to think until he understood the meaning behind Kelly's "Go!" signal.

That’s right. Arn needed to move forward. It was that kind of situation. "Um..."

Hearing Arn’s voice, Sylvia looked up sharply.

Arn bent at the waist, locking eyes with her in dead serious sincerity as he spoke.

"I... I love you too, Miss Sylvia... . That is... I want you to be my girlfriend." "..."

Sylvia stepped forward and closed the distance, pressing the girl's delicate lips against the Ogre’s massive mouth in a kiss.

The setting sun sliced across the mountain ridge, casting a gentle darkness over the lovers. ◇◇◇ "Commander Smithson of the Ten"

"Hm? Well if it isn't Sergeant Boyd, with his girlfriend on the arm."

"N... no, actually, I have something to consult you about regarding her..."

"Tch. What, do you want some special accessory again? My taste is mediocre, so don't think you can run that routine over me every time."

"No, well, it's not just the accessories or anything..."

"…Ah, is that all? Fine then, just wait a moment."

Usually, Sylvia works the fryer at a general goods shop tucked into a corner of Besson City.

That night, Ernie showed up without an appointment, which was unusually rare for him.

"I'm sorry, we're already out— Ah, it's you, Ernie-kun."

"Sylvia-san. Um… well, could you take this for me?"

Suddenly, a small accessory was thrust into Sylvia's face.

It was a handmade necklace from Andi, featuring Ernie's horn, polished with varnish, drilled with a hole, and threaded onto a thin chain. "Wha… does this mean—"

"Yes. I… my horn is meant to be kept by someone I love."

"Wicked! …Damn it, you guys. Look, I’m stuck here right now, but back in my hometown, there’s this gorgeous woman! Huge tits! And her waist pinches in right here! She’s absolutely head-over-heels for me! On top of that, she’s a half-elf!"

"Oh, here we go again, the Smaison platoon leader’s internal girlfriend fantasy."

"So it's not that kind of time? Hey boss, can we wrap up the bill already?"

"I'm telling you, she's not just a fantasy! It really is Void's girlfriend and it's amazing! Listen to me, damnit! You idiots!"

Tonight, the Crossbow Squad is a picture of peace, with various races mixing drinks and sharing toasts together.

The Ogre race boasts one to three horns on their heads and is a race of immense build.
While not as massive as the Giant race said to live far to the west across the sea, in the northwestern plains including Trot Celesta, they are the undisputed strongest in terms of physical strength.
Their naturally large build and strength promise formidable combat prowess, rendering even mediocre weapons a non-issue.
According to the official tactical metrics of the Celesta army, a fully armored human male and a lightly armored dwarf soldier are both rated at 1, while an unarmed Ogre male is rated at 2.5.
In other words, no matter how heavily armed a human soldier is, it is tactically forbidden to challenge an unarmed Ogre with fewer than two soldiers.
With appropriate armament, their combat rating soars to 5, equivalent to a single cavalryman. The bold and brash tactics of Ogres are a spectacle on the battlefield.
It is easy to see how rare an Ace Knight is who can hold their own against five full-strength Ogres with just one person.

Intermission.

The immense build and often monstrous appearance of Ogres are generally acknowledged to be ugly and grotesque in the eyes of humans, including by Ogres themselves.
That said, Ogres do not find humans beautiful either. According to them, human women are "too frail and weak to be comforting" and "cute but not arousing, only capable of affection like that for livestock."

Of course, the Ogre race has its own aesthetic standards. There is a balance in their sexual sensibilities.
Ogre women are not as muscular as the men but are generally tall, and as a racial trait, their genitalia are particularly flexible, allowing them to accommodate the average Ogre penis, which is nearly 20 inches long, even moving their internal organs instinctively if necessary. They are energetic overall, and in some regions, they still maintain a matrilineal society with polyandry. Tall, spirited women who can handle men are considered the ideal "good women" in Ogre culture, which is the complete opposite of the model ladies in current human society.
Therefore, even in Celesta, where inter-species marriages are legally recognized, there are few marriages between Ogres and humans. Even when living in the same society, humans and Elves are different, but Ogres are almost like a completely different species.

Amidst all this, there is an Ogre youth who has overcome numerous hurdles to find a human lover.
Arnie Boyd, a new recruit in the Crossbow Corps of the Northern Legion stationed near the trading city of Basson in northern Celesta, holds the rank of junior soldier.
This is the story of this miraculous couple.
Well, maybe "miraculous" is a bit too much. But it's still quite impressive.

◇◇◇

In Basson, there are shared carriages that run through the town somewhat randomly.

The carriage moved at a leisurely pace, frequently stopping to let passengers on and off, but the fare was cheap and the driver was accommodating. It was a public service, a sort of leisurely horse ride that had stepped back from being a regular means of transportation.

Sylvia MacLean was riding in such a carriage, heading to the grand stadium on the opposite side of the city.

That day, a magic show was scheduled to take place at the stadium.

By magic, they didn’t mean sleight of hand, but real magic. Researchers from the Magic Studies Department at the Capital University put on a show of entertaining magic once a year to earn research funds and tour the entire nation of Elenia.

This annual magic show was Sylvia’s favorite event of the year.

“...♪”

“Miss, you seem to be in high spirits.”

“Yes, I look forward to the magic show every year,” Sylvia replied with a broad smile.

“Oh, right, it’s that time of year. I’ll take you to the stadium and watch the show with you.”

"Hey, you're missing out, old man!"
"Hah hah hah, well, if no other customers ride with us, it'll be all right."
Clunk clunk, rattle rattle.
The carriage ambled leisurely toward the arena.

That day, Arnie was on duty for the shopping run.
He and his superior, Kelly Isaac, the captain of ten, were pulling a cart to Basson.
"Why are we the ones doing the shopping?"
"Why can't we just have the humans do it?"
The complaints people make while on shopping duty are all the same.
But there was a reason why the two of them were grumbling.

Arnie (Plain Ogre, 277 cm) and Kelly (Bull Ogre, 310 cm) couldn’t fit in the carriage.
Well, the wagons were designed to accommodate Ogres, so they could technically fit, but they couldn’t sit on the driver’s seat.
Therefore, when it was their turn, they used a handcart instead of a wagon. Even though they were proud of their strength as Ogres, it was quite frustrating to do the job that horses could do.
“Anyway, Basson’s general store has such a low ceiling that it’s unbearable.”
“With a squad leader, you’re practically on all fours.”
“Before you came in, I was told by a kid from the neighborhood pointing at me, ‘Look, the cow is shopping!’”
“...Yeah.”
Bull Ogres were a minority living near the great desert labyrinth in the central part of Celesta, and they generally had cow-like faces. Kelly was often called a cow, so Arnie didn’t know how to react.
Kelly didn’t seem to be angry about it, just sighed.
“I’ve decided that when someone calls me a cow, I’ll pose like a muscleman and say, ‘I’m not a cow, I’m an Ogre!’”

「...So you’re doing a muscle pose?」
「It’s funny. Try it next time you scare a kid.」
Kelly Isaac. He turned out to be surprisingly fond of kids.
「But back then, I was mostly on all fours and couldn’t even strike a pose. I couldn’t deny being called a bull either, so it was really frustrating.」
「...It would be nice if everything was our size.」
「Indeed.」
Due to construction technology issues (castles and military facilities aside), it was difficult to make everything to their size.

The two of them pushed the cart down the main street and stopped in front of their usual general store.
Basson was one of the most rapidly developing cities in Celesta.
Rapid development meant a lot of construction work, and there were many Ogre workers. A pair of Ogres wasn’t particularly noticeable.

"Alright, Boyd. You go and order them."

"Me?"

"I won't forget that humiliation."

"...Yeah."

Well, Arnie could probably squeeze his way in if he bent down a bit. He was about to accept and enter the general store.

That's when it happened.

---

Dongon!!

---

"Uohh!? What the hell is that!?"

A massive sound echoed through the sky, as if even thunder would pale in comparison. The ground shook.

Arnie and Kelly jumped in surprise.
Not just them, but people all over town peeked out, looking around in confusion.
Amidst this, a carriage sped past the corner in front of them at high speed.
“Hyaah!!”
The driver, an old man, tumbled off the carriage’s seat as it turned.
“Wh-What’s going on! What’s that?!”
“T-The horse got spooked and wouldn’t listen to me… i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-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i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i

「W-Wait a minute! There’s still a passenger in that carriage! A girl!」

「What’s that!?」

The carriage was careening wildly, threatening to overturn at any moment. No one could predict what would happen. Kelly gritted his teeth.

“Damn it.”

“Sergeant! We have to do something about that!”

Arnie smacked Kelly on the shoulder. Kelly looked at him, startled.

“…Do you think we can?”

“We’re the strongest troops of the Celesta Army, after all.”

「I told you.」
　Arnie is young and has dreams about the army.
　For example, the idea that soldiers should prioritize helping citizens in crisis, which seems obvious but is actually difficult.
　The longer one serves in the military, the more they forget that mindset, so focused on wielding their swords.
　Kelly laughs. A bull ogre’s face looks terrifying when it smiles, but Arnie finds that smile more reassuring than anything.
「Let’s go!! Follow me, Boyd!!」
「Got it!!」
　The two ogres take off running. The citizens of Basson gasp at the sheer power of the two ogres’ full-speed sprint.

An ogre’s massive body is an advantage even when moving.
　A trained ogre’s sprint is fast, proportional to their enormous lower body. Though they couldn’t catch up to a naked horse, they could manage to keep up with a heavy carriage.

However, the dozen or so seconds it took to make a decision proved effective, and they couldn't catch up easily. Even after running several hundred meters, they still hadn't reached a point where they could grab them.

"Damn it... Boyd, we're going to miss the main street!"

"Got it!"

"It's now or never, you have to fly!"

"....Huh?"

Kelly's words left Arnie momentarily confused.

Of course. On such a well-paved road, jumping wouldn't make them any faster.

But Kelly, being a squad leader, was known for his quick tactical thinking. His face may resemble that of a bull, but his mind was far from dull.

"I'll throw you, so you can rescue the passengers from the carriage!"

"....Eh, what!?"

That was still a crazy plan.
　But Arnie also believed that Kelly was an excellent squad leader. If he said he could do it, he could.
「……Understood, please do it for me!」
「Y-You… Uuuuuuuuohhhhhhhhh!!」
　Kelly immediately grabbed Arnie’s arm and bulged out his muscles. His massive body seemed to have grown even larger with the degree of expansion.
　With that strength, he threw Arnie forward.
「U, oh, ohhhhh!!」
　Arnie spun around as he flew. Seven meters above Basson’s main street, he drew a beautiful parabola, and
「Ogah!」
　he leaped onto the roof of a carriage, or rather, blew the roof off and sank into it.

「Hii!!」

Sylvia MacLean, who was inside the carriage, was seized with fear. The carriage had been shaking as it ran amok, and then suddenly an ogre had broken through the roof and fallen in. That was terrifying.

But Arnie shook his head and got to his feet.

At the end of the main street was a tavern, and if the horses kept running at their current speed, they would eventually crash into it, unable to make the turn.

It was right in front of them.

Arnie’s body was sticking out of the carriage, and he was frantic.

“U, aaaaaah!!”

There was no time to think. He reached out his hand. Grabbing the soft thing, he—

DONG!!

A moment later, the horses tried to turn, but the carriage couldn’t keep up, and as expected, it tipped over and crashed into the wall.

◇◇◇

Arnie woke up two days later.
“...Boyd! Boyd has woken up!”
In the soft blankets of the town clinic, Arnie moved his body slightly. His joints creaked, but he seemed to be in one piece.
Seeing Arnie move, Captain Diane visibly relaxed.
He was glad that she had been worried about him, and Arnie suddenly welled up with tears as he mumbled, “Sorry.”
As soon as Diane’s voice was heard, Sylvia MacLean burst into the room and flung herself at Arnie.
“Thank goodness...!!”
She was the girl he had saved.

Arnie’s last action had been to protect Sylvia unharmed.

Arnie’s huge hand had protected Sylvia through the collision with the wall and the destruction of the carriage.

When Sylvia woke up, the first thing she saw was Arnie’s figure, gently holding her while partially collapsing the mortar wall.

And then,

“…Um, I’ll take care of you, Mr. Boyd!”

“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry.”

“You saved my life, so let me do it!!”

“…Uh, uh, uh.”

She had her way, and for the next ten days, Sylvia helped Arnie with everything from meals to bathroom breaks.

And one month later,

“…Captain Isaac, could you change the cleaning schedule for tomorrow?”

「Oh, what’s up, Boyd? You going on a date with that human girl?」
「…I’d appreciate it if you didn’t freak out. It looks like that’s what’s happening.」
「…………What the heck?!」
　Kelly jumped up and shouted. The other members of the corps gathered around, wondering what was going on.
「What’s going on? What’s the matter? Explain it to me, Isaac.」
「W-well, Smisson, this idiot’s going on a date with a human girl.」
「Really?」
「Really.」
「What’s going on, Boyd?」
「W-well, I-I don’t know.」

The next day.
Arnie was dressed in Kelly's old sea beast leather jacket, a belt and bracelet made by Andy, a clean shirt that Diane had cleaned thoroughly, and some cool shoes that Anzeros had picked out, and was heading to meet Sylvia.
"..."
He thought that maybe she was teasing him.
But the parchment she had used was too expensive to be used for teasing, and the letter was filled with sincerity.

──Arnie-kun. I'm inviting you on a date.
Let's go to the arena together on Sunday afternoon.
I'll be waiting for you in front of that tavern.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Sylvia

The tavern's wall was still broken. The painful memory came flooding back.

Arnie’s single horn had snapped off at the halfway point from the impact.
"...Is my horn gone?"
He suddenly thought to approach the fallen wall. Carefully scanning the wall and the ground, he spotted what he was looking for half-buried in the ground.
"...Heh, there it is."
"What is it?"
"U-Whoa, Sylvia-san!?"
"Hello, Arnie-kun!"
Sylvia was standing over him, peering at his hands. Arnie had been so tense and distracted that he hadn’t noticed her.
"Um..."
"Sure. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine. But...?"

「Y-Yes! I got it!」

Ernie took the hand that Sylvia offered to him, gently placing his fingers on top of hers.
「...Y-You want to go on a date with me... seriously?」
「You didn’t believe me?」
「...But I’m an ogre...」
　Ever since she learned that Ernie was a year younger than her, Sylvia had started acting like an older sister.
　Ernie was eighteen, and Sylvia was nineteen.
　Even though he was young, his ogre face was intimidating. Sylvia’s teasing, sometimes even protective, presence was quite the mismatch.
「Hehe. ...I like your hand, Arnie.」
「？」

「...I don't know. When Arnie-kun hugged me and held me, I felt a little flutter in my heart. It was so warm.」
「Hm.」
「Is that not okay?」
「...Huh?」
「The reason I like you.」
「Wh-what!?」
　Arnie is flustered when Sylvia casually says she likes him. Sylvia smiles happily at Arnie's innocent reaction and squeezes his index finger, which is as thick as a child's arm.
「Once you like someone, it's kind of strange, but you can't help but think they're cute no matter what they do.」
「U...cute?」
「Mm♪」

Arnie, who had never been called cute before, made an indescribable expression. Sylvia tugged Arnie's fingers and led him happily toward the arena.

The arena had no events scheduled for that day.

On days without events, it was open to the public, and people would come to enjoy track and field or ball games. There weren't many spectators looking to see inside the arena, so the stands where Arnie and Sylvia entered were almost empty.

"That time, it was because of the magic show."

"?"

"You know, the boom. The one that scared the horses."

"Oh... I see."

The Magic Research Department at the capital's university only studied magic, and didn't necessarily have a group of skilled practitioners.

Even if there were failures, the power that magic could handle was small, and the damage was much less than that of alchemy research. It seemed that a certain amount of failure was even tolerated, like a disaster.

"If someone had died because of that, it would have been unforgivable."

「Yeah. You're right. If Arnie had died, I probably would have hated magic shows forever.」
「...We're not going to die anytime soon. Sylvia, you were the one who almost died, weren't you?」
「Yeah. ...But I am a little grateful. If that hadn't happened, I wouldn't have met Arnie.」
「...」
　Arnie blushed and scratched his head, hunching his large body.
　His reaction was so obvious and innocent that even Sylvia blushed.
　After a few minutes of staring at each other, Sylvia changed the subject to break the awkwardness.
「By the way, when I was little, I couldn't see anything at the arena. My dad used to carry me on his shoulders a lot.」
「H-Huh.」
「When he carried me, everything looked different. I used to beg him to carry me until I was pretty tall.」

She smiles and leans back against Arnie, her voice pleading.
“...Arnie, can I ride on your shoulders?”
“Y-Yeah?!”
“No? I thought someone your size could easily carry someone my size.”
“N-No, I mean, I can carry one or two humans easily enough... but I’d have to touch your butt.”
“...Hah! Hahaha!”
Silvia bursts into laughter at Arnie’s ridiculous response. Arnie looks confused, wondering if he said something wrong.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, I don’t mind! Come on, get on!”
“O-Okay... I’ll do it then.”

Arnie carefully supports her waist and knees as he gently lifts Silvia onto his shoulders.

Silvia’s view suddenly became higher. The world changed.
“Wow… amazing, amazing!”
“…Um, that is, uh…”
Arnie held his head as if Silvia were hugging him, and her chest was pressing against the back of his head, making him distracted. After a few seconds, he noticed that Silvia’s skirt was a bit short and realized that if he didn’t do something, her underwear would be exposed to the audience. He frantically shifted his body to prevent that.
His movements seemed to be soothing Silvia, and she giggled like a child.

They continued like that for a while, but then Silvia patted Arnie’s head.
When Arnie wondered what she was doing, he heard a curious voice from above.
“…Arnie, your horn… it’s not growing on the left side. Was it like that from the start?”
“No, I had one before.”
It wasn’t that long ago. It had only been a few years, but Arnie felt like he was showing off a bit by using the word “before.” It made him feel a little more mature to use the word “before” as if he were on the same level as an older person.

「…………」
　Since Arnie seemed to be waiting for him to continue, he cleared his throat.
　He didn’t really think it was something he should be talking about, but he figured it was okay to tell Sylvia, who had said she liked him. Besides, it would give him something to talk about.
　“I’m from an ogre colony near the coast, close to the border with Affilm. The Dragon Palace was nearby.”
　“Hmm hmm.”
　“I helped out a dragon there once. He was really grateful and gave me one of his treasures as a thank you.”
　“That’s amazing.”
　Dragons. The strongest and most reclusive of all races. They didn’t interact with other races and lived in a hidden village called the Dragon Palace.
　Their treasures were astronomically valuable and coveted by adventurers.
　“I took that treasure back to the colony… They thought I’d stolen it from a dragon and got really mad at me.”

「What...?」
「As punishment, they pulled out this horn. It hurt so much I thought I was going to die.」

Arnie saving the dragon was purely by chance.
　While hunting in the mountains, Arnie came across a young dragon who had collapsed from a fever.

Dragons are a different species from flying dragons. They have roughly the same intelligence as apes and humans, and usually live in human-like forms. If they lived in their true forms, even the vast Dragon Palace wouldn’t be enough space, and it would no longer serve as a hidden village.
　Seeing the young dragon, Arnie, who was still a child himself, despite the awe inspired by the legendary dragons, bravely carried him all the way to the Dragon Palace.
　The dragon tribe was grateful for his kindness and offered him a treasure. It was a beautiful gem called the Dragon’s Gem, an indestructible and unscratchable gem of the highest quality.
　When Arnie returned with it, the adults were speechless.
　They couldn’t believe a dragon would give such a valuable item to a child. They concluded that he must have sneaked into the Dragon Palace and stolen it.
　And they decided to seek revenge and make him atone for it on their own.

I restrained Arnie as he cried out that he wasn’t lying, and as punishment, I pulled out his horns. Then I made him climb the mountain and apologize to the dragon. Arnie, even as a child, could feel that the adults intended him as a sacrifice.

The night was terrible, with the wound from having my horns pulled out hurting so much that I thought I was going to die, and the rain just made it worse. I stumbled to Dragon Palace and apologized as I was told. Then the dragon people cried and apologized to me. They said they were sorry for doing such a terrible thing and asked for my forgiveness. All they gave me was treasure, but seeing me like this, they cried so much, and that made me really happy.

“…Arnie, you…”

“…But I can’t go back to being a sacrifice. So I got the dragon people to treat my wound and joined the army in Quica. …They probably think I’m dead back home. Haha.”

“…………”

“I really like other races more than ogres. When other races treat me kindly, it makes me so happy. It makes me feel like I’m worth living. Ah, and I didn’t expect someone as beautiful as Sylvia to say she likes me. I got carried away today, haha.”

“…I’m sorry!!”

“Haha… huh?”

Arnie was surprised when Sylvia suddenly apologized from above his head. He had thought the conversation had become too sentimental, but he hadn’t expected her to apologize.

But then, Sylvia continued, stroking Arnie’s broken right horn with her finger, and she clung to his big head, sobbing loudly.

「Eek, gah, I’m sorry... I, I... I got a little fond of you because you’re so big, and I said I liked you... uh, I’m sorry... I broke your horn... I broke it because of me... the last horn you had...」
「I, it’s okay, the root is still there, so the one on the right will grow back.」
「But, but... ugh... I... I... I didn’t realize... that I liked you so much... that it was so heavy... I didn’t understand... I’m sorry... I’ll... really... like you... I’ll really like you again... Arnie-kun, I’ll really like you again...」
「Calm down, calm down. I’m happy just to have you like me, whether it’s really like that or not.」
「Aaah, Arnie-kunnnn! Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!」
　Sylvia started crying uncontrollably, overwhelmed by emotion.
　Arnie was at a loss. He was really at a loss.
　Sylvia continued crying until sunset.

「...I’m sorry, I got a little confused because I felt bad for Arnie-kun.」
「Haha... Well, it’s nice to see your cute side, Sylvia-san.」

Actually, it had been right behind her head the whole time, so she hadn't seen it.
Sylvia sniffled and rubbed her nose, then looked up at Arnie with a serious expression.
"Um, well then. …I, Sylvia MacLean, really like you, Arnie. I've come to like you."
"Y-Yes."
"…So, um"
"…………"
"…………"
Sylvia's words came to a halt, and she blushed and looked down. Arnie's face also turned red.
Then, in the corner of his wide field of vision, Arnie saw a familiar bull-like face.
"!? "

Kelly. And Andy at her feet.
　Andy was sitting on his heels, silently flipping her off with his thumb pointed down. Very immature.
　Kelly was pumping her fists in front of her face, giving a "Go! Go!" sign.
　Arnie was stunned, wondering what those people were doing, but after a moment, he understood the meaning of Kelly's "Go!" sign.
　That's right. Arnie had to move forward. That was the situation.
“Um,”
　At Arnie's voice, Sylvia looked up in surprise.
　Arnie bent down and looked at her seriously.
“I also, love you, Sylvia... I want to be your... boyfriend.”
“...Yes.”

Sylvia leaned in and kissed the ogre’s massive lips with her delicate ones.
The setting sun cut across the mountain ridges, casting a gentle shadow over the lovers.

◇◇◇

“Smithson, Squad Leader.”
“Huh? Oh, it’s Boyd, the Quasi-Sergeant with a girlfriend.”
“U-Um, I need to talk about her.”
“Tch. What? Another custom accessory? My taste isn’t that good, so I can’t always pull it off.”
“No, well, it’s about an accessory.”
“...Oh, I see. Well, okay, hold on a sec.”

Sylvia usually worked at a takeout shop in a corner of Basson, frying food.

That night, Arnie showed up unexpectedly without an appointment.
"Sorry, I was just about to close up... Oh, Arnie."
"Ms. Sylvia. Um... Could you take this, please?"
Suddenly, a small accessory was thrust in front of Sylvia.
It was a necklace made by Andy, who had painted Arnie's horn, drilled a hole in it, and strung a thin chain through.
"Huh... This is..."
"Yes. I want the person I love to have my horn."

"Whick. Damn it. Listen up, you guys. I'm here now, but back home, I've got a beautiful girl! With big breasts! And her waist is so tiny! I've got a girlfriend who loves me so much! And you're a half-elf, too!"
"Oh, yeah, yeah, here comes Ten-Commander Smisson's imaginary girlfriend story again."
"Time's up, ma'am, we're ready to settle the bill."

「That’s not in my head! I’m not Boyd’s girlfriend or anything! You hear me, you bastard! You’re an idiot!」

The Crossbow Corps was peaceful tonight, with various races sharing drinks.

The ogre race possesses one to three horns on their heads and is characterized by their overall massive stature. While not quite as legendary as the giants said to dwell far beyond the western seas, they possess a level of raw strength that can be considered the strongest in the Northwest Plains, including the Trot Celesta region. Their innate massive size and physical power guarantee a combat effectiveness that renders mediocre weaponry irrelevant.

According to the official tactical indices of the Celesta Army, if a standard human male in full combat gear and a dwarf light infantryman are both assigned a value of 1, an unarmed ogre male is equivalent to 2.5. In other words, no matter how heavily armored a human regular soldier may be, it is a tactical taboo to challenge an unarmed ogre with fewer than two men. When equipped with appropriate weaponry, their combat rating jumps instantly to 5—equivalent to a single unit of heavy shock cavalry. The ogres' boisterous fighting style makes them the stars of the battlefield. One can only imagine how rare an "Ace Knight" must be to be expected to hold their own—and even prevail—against five such ogre regulars single-handedly.

But I digress.

It is a widely acknowledged fact, even by the ogres themselves, that their massive frames and somewhat monstrous appearances tend to strike humans as hideous. Of course, ogres do not find humans beautiful either. According to them, human women are "too slender and weak, which causes anxiety" and, while "cute, they fail to arouse passion, elicating only a sense of affection similar to that felt for livestock." Naturally, the ogre race has its own aesthetic standards and sexual sensibilities.

While ogre women are not as muscular as their male counterparts, they are undeniably tall. As a racial trait, they possess exceptionally flexible anatomy, allowing their robust bodies to accommodate the ogre male's phallus—which averages nearly 50 centimeters in length—by instinctively shifting their internal organs. Furthermore, women are generally the more energetic members of the species, and in some regions, they maintain matriarchal societies where polyandry persists. To an ogre, a "fine woman" is one who is tall, spirited, and strong enough to take a man's prowess in stride—the polar opposite of the exemplary lady found in modern human society. Consequently, even in Celesta, where interspecies marriage is legally recognized, unions between ogres and humans are rare. Even when living side-by-side, the perception of ogres remains closer to that of an entirely "alien species" rather than something akin to the relationship between humans and elves.

It was within this context that an ogre youth managed to clear numerous hurdles to find a human lover.
Arnie Boyd. A rookie private in the Celesta Northern Legion's crossbow unit, stationed near the trading city of Basson in northern Celesta.
This is the story of that miraculous couple.
Actually, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. It wasn't quite a miracle. But it was certainly something quite remarkable.

◇◇◇

In Basson, shared horse carriages patrol the streets at a leisurely pace. They don't move much faster than a walk and stop frequently to let passengers on and off, but the fares are cheap and the drivers are often flexible. It is essentially a public works project—a way for retired riding horses to get some exercise during their daily strolls.

Sylvia Maclain boarded such a carriage and requested to be taken to the Great Stadium on the other side of town. A magic show was scheduled to take place at the stadium that day. By "magic" here, I do not mean sleight of hand, but true sorcery. Researchers from the Capital University's Department of Magic travel the length of Celesta once a year, putting on visually spectacular displays to raise research funds. This annual magic show had become Sylvia's favorite event of the year.

"...♪"

"You seem to be in high spirits, young lady."

Sylvia responded to the old driver's words with a beaming smile.

"Yes, I look forward to the magic show every year!"

"Ah, so that's the season. Perhaps I'll take a look myself while I'm dropping you off."

"You'd be missing out if you didn't, old man!"

"Hahaha! Well, as long as no other passengers pile in before we reach the stadium!"

Clop-clop, clatter-clatter.
The carriage continued its slow, rhythmic journey toward the stadium.

---

Arnie was on grocery duty that day. He had traveled to Basson, pulling a handcart alongside his superior, Decurion Kelly Isaac.

"Why is it that we're the ones on grocery duty?"

"They should just make the humans do it."

Complaints during grocery duty are universal. However, there was a reason for their grumbling.

Arnie (a Plain Ogre, 277 cm tall) and Kelly (a Minotaur Ogre, 310 cm tall) couldn't fit in a carriage together.
Well, it’s not that they couldn't fit—troop transport carriages are designed to accommodate ogres—it was just that they couldn't sit on the driver's bench.
Therefore, whenever these two were on duty, they used a hand-drawn cart instead of a carriage. Even for the strength-proud Ogre race, there was something deeply unsatisfying about doing the work that a horse could easily handle.

"I'm telling you, the ceilings in Basson's general stores are just unbearable."

"I guess for a Decurion, you're mostly on all fours, huh?"

"Before you joined, I was over there placing an order and some local kid pointed at me and yelled, 'Look, the cow is shopping!'"

"...Sigh."

The Minotaur Ogres are a minority ethnic group living in clusters near the Great Desert Labyrinth in central Celesta, and they generally have bovine features. Since being called a cow was a regular occurrence for Kelly, Arnie didn't know how to react.

Kelly didn't seem particularly angry about it either, letting out a heavy sigh.

"So now, whenever someone says that to me, I've decided to strike a muscle pose while yelling, 'I'm not a cow, I'm an ogre!'"

"...Muscle posing, huh?"

"It cracks them up. You should try it next time a kid scares you."

Kelly Isaac. Surprisingly, he was quite fond of children.

"But at that time, I was mostly on all fours, so I couldn't even strike a pose. I couldn't even deny being a cow. It was incredibly frustrating."

"...I wish they'd just build everything to our size."

"Tell me about it."

Due to the limitations of construction technology, it was difficult to achieve that for residential buildings (even if castles and military facilities were a different story).

The two of them pulled the cart along, rolling through the main street until they stopped in front of their usual general store.
Basson is currently one of the fastest-growing cities in Celesta.
Rapid growth meant frequent construction, which meant many ogre construction workers were around. A pair of ogres didn't stand out particularly much.

"Alright, Void. You go in and place the order."

"Me?"

"I will never forget that humiliation."

"...Sigh."

Well, Arnie could manage to get in and out if he ducked a little. He accepted the task and turned to enter the store.

It was then.

CRACK!!

"Waaaaah!?"

"Wh-what? What was that!?"

A massive sound, loud enough to rival thunder, echoed through the blue sky. The ground even shook.

Arnie and Kelly jumped in fright.

They weren't the only ones startled; residents began peeking out from all over the city, looking around in confusion.

In the midst of the chaos, a carriage tore around the corner ahead at high speed.

"Hyaaa!!"

As the carriage swung around, an elderly man tumbled off the driver's bench.

"Wh-what happened?! What was that!?"

"The horses got spooked and stopped listening to—ow, ow, ow!!"

"Old man!?"

As Kelly helped him up (or rather, picked him up), the old man groaned in intense pain. It looked like he had broken his arm.

"Damn it, get a doctor..."

"W-wait a second! There are still passengers in that carriage! A girl is in there!"

"What!?"

Looking ahead, the carriage was careening out of control with such momentum it looked as if it might overturn at any moment.

Kelly ground his teeth, unable to even begin to predict how this would end.

"Damn it!"

"Decurion! We have to do something!"

Arnie tapped Kelly on the shoulder.

Kelly snapped out of it and looked at Arnie.

"...Do you think we can?"

"We're the strongest of the Celesta Army, after all!"

"You said it."

Arnie was young, and he still held dreams for the military.

Specifically, the idea that a soldier's first duty is to be the first to aid citizens in crisis—a concept that seems obvious, yet is incredibly difficult to uphold.

After years of military service, Kelly had found that the sheer weight of swinging a sword made it all too easy to forget that sentiment before he even realized it.

Kelly laughed. An ogre's face looks ferocious when it smiles, but to Arnie, that grin was more reassuring than anything else.

"Let's go!! Follow me, Void!!"

"Yes, sir!!"

The two ogres took off. The citizens of Basson gasped at the sheer impact of the two massive figures sprinting at full tilt.

An ogre's massive size functions as an advantage during movement.

A well-trained ogre's sprint is fast, proportional to the immense power of their massive lower bodies. While they couldn't catch a naked horse, they could just about manage to keep up with a heavy carriage.

However, the dozen or so seconds lost during their decision-making proved costly, and they struggled to close the gap. Even after running several hundred meters, the two had not yet reached a distance where they could reach out and grab it.

"Damn it... Void, at this rate, we're going to lose them right in the middle of the main street!"

"Yes, sir!"

"It's all or nothing. You fly!"

"...Huh?"

For a moment, Arnie couldn't grasp what Kelly was saying.

It was only natural. On a road as well-paved as this, jumping wouldn't make them any faster.

However, as a Decurion, Kelly had a reputation for sudden flashes of tactical brilliance. Despite his bovine face, his mind was far from bovine-like dullness.

"I'm going to hurl you! You rescue the passengers from the carriage!"

"...Wha—whaaaat!?"

Even so, it was an outrageous plan.

Yet, Arnie believed in Kelly's competence as a Decurion. If he said it could be done, it could be done.

"...Understood. I'm counting on you, sir!"

"Alright... HRAAAAAAAAGH!!"

Without a moment's hesitation, Kelly grabbed Arnie's arm, his entire musculature swelling. The expansion was so great that, despite his already enormous frame, he seemed to grow even larger.

With that raw power, he hurled Arnie forward with everything he had.

"W-whoaaa, ooooh!!"

Arnie flew through the air, spinning wildly. Tracing a beautiful parabola seven meters above the Basson main street, he went—

"OGH!"

THUD!

He landed on the roof of the carriage—or rather, he smashed through the roof and became embedded in it.

"Eek!!"

Inside the carriage, Silvia McLain let out a terrified shriek. It was understandable; the carriage was already careening out of control and shaking violently when an ogre suddenly crashed through the roof.

However, Arnie shook his head and sat upright.

At the end of the main street sat a tavern. If the horses continued at this runaway speed, there was a high probability they wouldn't be able to make the turn and would crash straight into it.

The impact was right before his eyes.

With his body hanging out of the carriage, Arnie felt a surge of panic.

"Ugh, AAAAGH!!"

He couldn't think; he couldn't do anything. He simply reached out instinctively. He grabbed something soft, and—

CRASH!!

A moment later, as the horses attempted to turn, the carriage couldn't keep up. Just as expected, it tilted and slammed into the wall.

◇◇◇

It was two days later when Arnie opened his eyes.

"...Void! Void is awake!"

Lying in a fluffy bed in the town clinic, Arnie moved his body slightly. Everything creaked and groaned, but it seemed his limbs were all still intact.

Seeing him stir, Centurion Diane let out a sigh of relief.

Overwhelmed with joy that people had been worried about him, Arng suddenly burst into tears and muttered, "I'm sorry."

Hearing Diane's voice, the first person to burst into the room and leap toward Arnie was—

"Thank goodness...!!"

Silvia McLain. The girl he had saved.

Arnie's final act had protected Silvia without a scratch. Amidst the collision with the wall and the crushing of the carriage, Arnie's massive hand had shielded her completely.

The first thing Silvia saw upon waking was Arnie, his hand gently cradling her to protect her even as it had partially demolished the mortar wall.

And then...

"...Um! I'll take care of everything for you, Mr. Void!"

"No, really, I'm fine. I'm sorry for the trouble."

"You're my lifesaver, so please, let me do this!!"

"...U-Uh, okay."

Overpowered by her persistence, he ended up having Silvia assist him with everything—from meals to even helping him use the restroom—for about ten days.

---

One month later.

"...Decurion Isaac. Could you swap my cleaning duty to a different day tomorrow?"

"Oh? What's up, Void? Are you going on a date with that human girl?"

"...I'd prefer if you didn't act surprised, but... it seems so."

"............WHAT!?"

Kelly shouted as he slammed his chair back. The other squad members began to gather, wondering what was happening.

"What is it? What's going on? Explain yourself, Isaac."

"O-Oh, Smyson. Apparently, this idiot is going on a date with a human girl."

"Are you serious?"

"I am."

"What do you mean by this, Void!?"

"I-I mean, well, even I don't really know..."

The next day.

Dressed in a complete outfit—Kelly's hand-me-down sea beast leather jacket, accessories like the belt and bracelet crafted by Andy, a clean shirt thoroughly laundered by Diane, and the stylish shoes selected by Anzeros—Arnie prepared to meet Silvia.

"........"

He couldn't help but think he might be being teased a little.
However, the parchment used was far too high-quality to be used for a joke, and the letter written upon it overflowed with sincerity.

—Dear Arnie. I would like to invite you on a date. Let us go to the arena together this Sunday afternoon. I believe you will come, so I will be waiting in front of that tavern. —Silvia

The wall of the tavern had still not been repaired. The painful memory resurfaced.
Arnie's single horn had snapped halfway through from the impact of the collision.

"...I wonder if my horn is around here somewhere."
On a sudden whim, he approached the crumbled wall. As he searched the wall and ground carefully, he found what he was looking for, lying partially buried in the dirt.

"...Haha, found it."

"Found what?"

"Wha—Whoa, Silvia-san!?"

"Hello, Arically!"

Silvia was standing there, leaning in to peer at what was in Arnie's hands. Arnie had been far too nervous and was trying so hard to distract himself that he hadn't noticed her at all.

"U-Um..."

"It's okay. You don't have to say if you don't want to. More importantly... right?"

"Y-Yes. Understood!"

She held out her hand, palm up. Arnie took it, resting his hand gently against the base of her fingers.

"...Are you... are you serious about this date with me?"

"Did you think I was lying?"

"...But, I'm an ogre."

Ever since she realized she was one year older than him, Silvia had suddenly started acting like an older sister.
For the record, Arnie was eighteen, and Silvia was nineteen.
No matter how young they were, an ogre's face was rugged and intimidating. Silvia’s presence—teasing him one moment and leaning in close to embrace him the next—was a complete mismatch for someone like Arnie.

"Fufu. ...You know, Arnie, I like your hands."

"?"

"...Just because. When you gripped my hand so tightly that time, enclosing it... my heart fluttered a little. They felt so warm."

"Uh..."

"Is that not enough?"

"...Eh?"

"As for the reason why I fell for you."

"E-Eeeeh!?"

Arnie flustered as she said "I love you" so casually. Silvia smiled, clearly enjoying his innocent reaction, and squeezed Arnie's index finger, which was as thick as a child's arm.

"It's strange, isn't it? Once you fall in love, no matter what you do, I find everything about you adorable."

"Ugh... A-Adorable...?"

"Mhm♪"

Arnie, who had never been called cute before, wore an indescribable expression. Taking his hand, Silvia happily led him toward the stadium.

There were no events scheduled at the stadium that day.
On days when nothing was happening, the facility was open to the public, serving as a place of relaxation for citizens to enjoy track and field or ball games. Since there were no spectators around to peer inside, the stands the two had entered were almost entirely empty.

"You know, I heard it was actually because of that magic show."

"?"

"That big boom sound. The one that startled the horses."

"Ah... I see."

The Magic Research Department of the Capital University strictly focused on the study of magic; it wasn't a place where master practitioners gathered.

Even when mistakes occurred, the amount of power being manipulated was small, and since the damage was far less than that of alchemy research, there was even an air of tolerance, as if such failures were accepted as minor calamities.

"I mean, someone almost died, so it was pretty intense."

"Yeah. Seriously. If you had died, Arnie, I might have hated magic shows for the rest of my life."

"...I'm not that easy to kill. You're the one who almost died, Silvia."

"Yeah. ...But you know, I'm actually a little grateful. If that hadn't happened, I never would have met you."

"............"

Arnie turned bright red. He hunched his large frame and scratched his head sheepishly.

His reaction was so blatant and innocent that Silvia, even as the one who had said it, felt herself blushing.

After they spent several minutes simply staring at one another, Silvia changed the subject to break the heavy, stalled atmosphere.

"By the way, when I was little, I could never see anything when I came to the stadium. I used to ask my dad to give me a shoulder ride all the time."

"O-Oh."

"When I was on someone's shoulders, the whole world looked different. I kept begging my father to do it until I got quite a bit older."

She smiled. Then, leaning her weight against Arnie's back, she spoke in a pleading tone.

"...Arnie, will you give me a shoulder ride?"

"W-Wait, really!?"

"Is that a no? I thought since you're so big, you might be able to carry me."

"N-No, I mean, carrying one or two humans would be a breeze... but, well, I'd end up touching your butt!"

"...Pfft. Ahahahaha!!"

Silvia burst into laughter at Arnie's incredibly awkward remark. Arnie stood there blankly, wondering if he had said something strange.

"It's fine, it's fine! A shoulder ride doesn't count as 'touching'! Come on, lift me up!"

"Ugh... alright, here goes."

Arnie carefully lifted Silvia onto his shoulders, trying his best to hold her by her waist and knees.
Suddenly, Silvia's field of vision shot upward. The world transformed.
"Wow... amazing, so amazing!"
"...Sigh, um, well..."
Because Arnie was hugging his own head, Silvia's chest pressed against the back of his head, making him feel restless. A few seconds later, he realized her skirt was a bit short; panicking that he might accidentally flash her underwear to the entire stadium, he began shifting his body in small, frantic movements.
The movement looked almost like he was swaying her to soothe her, and Silvia began squealing with laughter like a child.

After continuing like that for a while, Silvia suddenly began patting Arnie's head.

As Arnie waited to see what she was doing, a curious voice drifted down from above his head.

"...Arnie, your horn... it's not growing on the left side, is it? Were you always like this?"

"No. It happened a little while ago."

It wasn't actually that long ago. It had only been a few years, but Arnie decided to act a bit grand. Using the word "a while ago" made him feel a little more important, as if he were standing on equal footing with his elders.

"……"

Since it seemed she was waiting for him to continue, Arnie cleared his throat.
He felt that, truth be told, this wasn't really something he should be telling just anyone, but he felt he could share it with Silvia, since she had told him she liked him. Besides, it would help fill the silence.

"…I was born in an ogre colony near the coast close to the border of Afilm. The Dragon Palace was nearby."

"Uh-huh, I see."

"I... well, I once helped a dragon there. They were so grateful that they gave me a dragon treasure as a token of thanks."

"That's amazing!"

Dragons. The strongest and most solitary of all races. They avoided contact with other races, forming a hidden village known as the Dragon Palace, where they lived in isolation. Their treasures possessed astronomical value, making them the envy of every adventurer.

"I brought it back to the colony, but… they decided I had stolen it from the dragons, and they were incredibly angry with me."

"What...?"

"As punishment, they pulled out this horn of mine. It hurt so much I thought I would die."

It had been a coincidence that Arnie helped the dragon. While he was hunting in the mountains, he had come across a young member of the dragon race collapsed with a fever.

Dragons are a different species from wyverns. There is an intelligence gap between them similar to that between apes and humans, and the dragon race typically lives in human-like forms. If they lived in their true forms, the Dragon Palace would not be large enough to house them, and it would no longer be a hidden village.
Seeing the young dragon, Arnie felt the natural awe one feels toward a legendary creature, but since he was still just a child himself, he was brave enough to carry him all the way to the Dragon Palace.
Grateful for this kindness, the dragon offered him a treasure: a beautiful orb known as a Dragon Jewel—a supreme gem that never clouded, never scratched, and never broke.
The adults in the colony were speechless when Arnie returned with it. They concluded it was impossible for a dragon to give something so valuable to a mere child; they decided he must have snuck into the Dragon Palace and taken it as a prank.
Then, fearing retaliation on their own behalf, they decided to force him to perform an act of atonement.
They suppressed Arnie as he wailed that he wasn't lying, and as punishment, they tore out his horn. They then ordered him to climb the mountain and apologize to the dragon. Even the young Arnie could feel, instinctively, that the adults intended for this to be a sacrifice.

"The wound where my horn was pulled out hurt like death, and it was a terrible night with the rain pouring down. I stumbled into the Dragon Palace and apologized just like I was told… and then, the dragon person apologized to me through tears. They said they had done something terrible and begged for my forgiveness. Even though those people had only given me a treasure. But seeing them cry like that when they saw my wound… it made me so happy."

"…Arnie, you..."

"But as a sacrifice, I could never go back. So, I had the dragon person treat my wound, and then I went to Queca to become a soldier. …Back in my hometown, I'm probably presumed dead. Hahaha."

"……"

"That’s why, honestly, I like people of other races much more than ogres. When people from other races are kind to me, it makes me so happy. It makes me feel like I deserve to be alive. A-um, but I never expected someone as beautiful as you, Silvia-san, to tell me you like me. I's just... I'm a bit carried away today, hahaha."

"…I am so sorry!!"

"Haha… huh?"

Arnie was startled by the sudden apology. He knew the story had turned heavy, but he hadn't expected her to burst into apologies so abruptly.
However, Silvia simply reached out, stroked Arnie's broken right horn with her finger, and then clung to his large head, breaking into violent sobs.

"Sob… I’m… I’m so sorry… because you’re so big, I just… I fell in love with you somewhat aimlessly, and I said things like 'I like you'… uugh, I'm sorry… even though your horn is broken, even though it broke because of me, even though it was your last remaining horn..."

"I-it's okay. The root is still there, so the right side will grow back."

"But, but... uuuugh... I... you... I didn't realize... I didn't know how much you... how much I loved you... I'm sorry... I'll make sure... I'll truly... love you... Arnie-kun, I promise, I'll love you properly next time..."

"C-calm down, please calm down. I-I don't need you to do it 'properly' or anything like that. Just you liking me is enough to make me happy."

"Arnie-kuuuun! Waaaaaaaahhhh!!"

Overcome with emotion, Silvia began to wail uncontrollably, ignoring all logic.
Arnie was troubled. Truly troubled.
Silvia continued to sniffle and sob like that until nightfall.

---

"…I'm sorry. I felt so bad for you, Arnie-kun, that I just lost control of myself."

"Haha… w-well, I'm glad I got to see a cute side of you, Silvia-san."

To be honest, it had been behind her head the whole time, so he hadn't been able to see.

Silvia rubbed her nose several times, then, with a sudden, serious expression, looked up at Arnie.

"S-So, let me say it properly... I, Silvia Macraine, truly love you, Arnie. I've fallen for you."

"Y-Yes."

"...So, um..."

"............"

"............"

Momentum lost. Silvia hung her head, her face flushed deep red, while Arnie, equally beet-red, stood there at a loss.

Just then, out of the corner of Arnie's wide field of vision, he spotted a familiar bovine face.

"!?"

Kelly. And at her feet, Andy.

Andy was sitting cross-legged, pointing his thumb downward in a silent boo. It was incredibly immature.

Kelly was pumping her fists in front of her face, signaling, "Go! Go for it!"

What are those two doing? Arnie wondered, stunned, but after a moment of thought, he understood the meaning of Kelly's "Go!" sign.

That was right. Arnie had to move forward. This was that kind of moment.

"Um,"

At the sound of Arnie's voice, Silvia jerked her head up.

Arnie leaned in, looking her straight in the eyes with earnest intensity.

"I... I love you too, Silvi... I do. ...And, well, I want you to be my girlfriend."

"...Yes!"

Silvia leaned in smoothly, pressing her lovely lips against the ogre's massive ones in a kiss.

The setting sun cut along the mountain ridge, creating a gentle twilight for the lovers.

◇◇◇

"Decurion Smaison."

"Hm? Oh, if it isn't Private Void, the man with a girlfriend."

"Ugh... actually, I have something to consult you about... regarding her."

"Tch. What, you want another custom accessory? I don't have much taste, so I can't keep doing this every time."

"No, well, it is an accessory, but..."

"...Ah, I see. If that's the case, fine. Just wait a moment."

Silvia usually worked the fryer at a deli in a corner of Basson City.

That evening, Arnie showed up without an appointment, which was rare.

"I'm sorry, the sign is already—oh, Arnie."

"Silvia. Um... well... could you, please, take this?"

Suddenly, a small piece of jewelry was thrust toward her.

It was a handmade necklace by Andy, made by coating one of Arnie's horns in varnish, drilling a hole through it, and threading a thin chain through.

"Eh... is this...?"

"Yes. Because... I want the person I love most to be able to hold onto my horn."

"Listen up, punks! ...Dammit. Listen to me. I might be stuck in a place like this right now, but back in my hometown, there's this incredible beauty! She's got huge breasts! And a tiny, snatched waist! There's a girl back home who is madly in love with me! And get this—she's a half-elf!"

"There he goes again. The Decurion's 'imaginary girlfriend' monologue has started."

"Is it time already? Ma'am, could you wrap up the tab?"

"I'm telling you, it's not in my head! I'm seriously telling you, having a girlfriend like Void is just not happening! Listen to me, you idiot! Moron!"

Tonight, as always, various races were sharing drinks in the Crossbow Squad, and all was peaceful.

The ogre race possesses one to three horns atop their heads and is characterized by its overall massive stature.
While not as colossal as the giants said to dwell beyond the western seas, in the Northwestern Plains—including Trot Celesta—they are undoubtedly among the strongest races in terms of raw physical power.

Their innate bulk and strength guarantee combat prowess that renders half-hearted weaponry irrelevant. According to the official tactical metrics of the Celesta Army, if a fully armored standard human male or a lightly equipped dwarf soldier is rated as 1, then an unarmed ogre male equates to 2.5.

In other words, no matter how heavily armed a regular human soldier may be, it is tactically unsound for them to challenge a bare-knuckled ogre with fewer than two comrades. When properly equipped, however, these creatures instantly rise to a combat rating of 5—one individual matching the threat level of a single charging cavalryman. The ogres' bold and flamboyant battlefield maneuvers make them the stars of any engagement.

Given this context, it is no exaggeration to say that an Ace Knight, required to hold his own against five regular ogre soldiers alone, is an exceedingly rare phenomenon.

Enough digression.

It is universally acknowledged—even by ogres themselves—that the ogres' massive frames and occasionally monstrous appearances tend to appear grotesque in human eyes.
That said, ogres do not consider humans beautiful either. In their view, human women are "too slender and weak to be reassuring," and while "cute," they fail to arouse passion; one can only feel a love akin to that for livestock.

Naturally, the ogre race possesses its own aesthetic standards—a balanced sexual sensibility. While ogre females are not as muscular as males, their tall stature is undeniable. As a racial trait, they possess particularly flexible genitalia and robust bodies capable of containing an ogre penis averaging nearly 50 centimeters in length (even requiring instinctive internal organ displacement).

Furthermore, ogre women are generally energetic; some regions even maintain matrilineal societies where polyandry persists. A tall, spirited woman who can embrace men embodies the ogre ideal of a "good woman"—the antithesis of the conventional lady admired in current human society.

Consequently, despite inter-racial marriage being legally recognized in Celesta, unions between ogres and humans rarely materialize. Even when living together, they are perceived not as partners but as something akin to completely distinct "alien species," unlike the relationship between humans and elves.

Amidst this backdrop stands a young ogre who has cleared numerous hurdles to become a human lover.
His name is Arnie Boyd. A rookie member of the Crossbow Squad within the Northern Celesta Army stationed near Basson, a trading city in northern Celesta, he holds the rank of Corporal.

This is the tale of such an improbable couple.
Well, perhaps I'm overstating it. It's not quite a miracle—but it is certainly remarkable.

◇◇◇

In Basson, shared horse-drawn carriages circulate through the town at a leisurely pace, frequently stopping to let passengers board or alight. Though affordable and accommodating with minor fare adjustments, these vehicles serve more as public works—a genteel stroll for retired riding horses—rather than true mounts.

Silvia MacLean boarded one such carriage, requesting that her driver take her to the grand arena on the opposite side of town. That day was scheduled for a magic show.
Here, "magic" does not refer to sleight of hand but to genuine sorcery. Researchers from the Department of Magic Studies at the Capital University travel across all of Celesta once a year, performing visually delightful spells to generate research funds.

This annual magic show has become Silvia's greatest joy of the year.

"……♪"

"My dear, you seem in high spirits," remarked the elderly driver.

Silvia returned with a radiant smile.

"Yes! I look forward to the magic show every year."

"Oh, is that so? Well, since I'm delivering you anyway, I might as well watch too."

"You'd be missing out if you didn't, old man!"

"Hah hah hah. Well, as long as there aren't other passengers heading to the arena..."

Clap-clap, clop-clop-clop.
The carriage drifted lazily toward the arena.

Meanwhile, Earnie was on duty for grocery shopping that day.

Kelly Isaac, the squad leader, and I had come to Basson together, pulling a handcart.

"Why do we have to be on duty for shopping?"

"If it were just humans doing it..."

The complaints about being assigned as shoppers are always the same.
But there was a reason behind their grumbling this time.

Earnie (Plain Ogre, 277 cm tall) and Kelly (Cow Ogre, 310 cm tall) couldn't fit into a carriage.
Well, actually, troop transport carriages were designed to accommodate ogres, so they could ride inside—but there was no room for them on the driver's seat.

That meant whenever it was their turn, they had to pull a handcart instead of riding in a carriage. Even though ogres pride themselves on their strength, having horses do such simple work while they haul things by hand was deeply frustrating for them.

"Besides, the general store in Basson has ceilings so low it's unbearable."

"At our height, we're basically crawling on all fours anyway."

"You know, before you even entered that place, I got pointed at by some local kid who shouted, 'Look! The cow lady's shopping!' and it was humiliating enough."

"...Yeah."

Cow ogres are a minority tribe living near the Great Desert Labyrinth in central Celesta, known for their distinctly bovine features. Kelly being called "cow" was nothing new, so Earnie struggled to respond.

Kelly didn't seem angry about it either; he just let out a long sigh.

"If someone calls me that, I'll just flex and say, 'I'm not a cow—I'm an ogre!' and see how they react."

"...Flexing? Really?"

"It's hilarious! Next time some kid scares you, try it yourself."

Kelly Isaac was surprisingly fond of children.

"Still, at the time we were practically crawling on all fours, so I couldn't even strike a pose. Even if someone called me a cow, I couldn't deny it, and it made me furious."

"...If only shops were built to our size..."

"That would be great."

Unfortunately, due to limitations in construction technology (aside from castles and military facilities), residential buildings rarely accommodated such large dimensions.

The two of them rolled along the main street with their handcart until they reached their usual general store.
Basson was currently one of the fastest-growing cities in Celesta.

Rapid development meant lots of construction work, which also brought many ogre construction workers to the area. So having two ogres together didn't make them stand out at all.

"Well then, Boyd. You go ahead and place the order."

"Me?"

"I won't forget that humiliation anytime soon."

"...Yeah."

Well, Earnie could probably squeeze through if he bent down a bit. He accepted the task and stepped into the store.

That's when it happened.

THUD!

"Whoa—!?"

"W-What was that?! What's going on?!"

A deafening roar echoed across the sky, louder than thunder itself, shaking the very ground beneath them.

Ernie and Kelly leaped into the air.
It wasn't just them who were startled; residents from all over the town poked their heads out, darting their eyes around nervously.

Amidst the commotion, a carriage thundered past the corner ahead at breakneck speed.

"Yaaaah!!"

From the driver's seat of that carriage, an old man tumbled off as it turned the corner.

"W-what happened! What in the world is going on!?"

"T-the horse got spooked and won't listen to me anymore... Daaaaa!!"

"Old man!?"

As Kelly helped him up (more like picked him up), the elderly man cried out in agony, his arm clearly broken.

"Damn it, I need a doctor..."

"W-wait a minute! There are still passengers on that carriage! A girl!"

"What do you mean!?"

Indeed, the carriage was careening wildly, as if about to flip over.

At this rate, no one could predict what would ultimately happen. Kelly gritted her teeth.

"Damn it."

"Sergeant! Let's do something about that!"

Ernie tapped Kelly on the shoulder.

Kelly blinked and looked at Ernie.

"...Do you think we can?"

"We're the strongest Celesta Army, after all."

"I said so."

Ernie was young and dreamed of serving in the military.
It was a seemingly obvious yet difficult truth: soldiers are those who rush to save citizens in crisis first.
Having served for so long, he had almost forgotten that heart, too busy wielding his sword to notice it slipping away.

Kelly smiled. Though the face of an ox-ogre can look terrifying when smiling, Ernie felt nothing but reassurance at her expression.

"Let's go!! Follow me, Void!"

"Yessir!!"

The two ogres sprinted forward. The citizens of Basson held their breath, awestruck by the sheer power of the giants' full-speed charge.

An ogre's massive frame even serves as an advantage while moving.

A trained ogre's sprint is incredibly fast, proportional to its huge lower body. While it couldn't catch up to a bare horse, it could at least keep pace with something as heavy as a carriage.

However, the dozen or so seconds it took to make their decision had cost them dearly; they still couldn't close the gap. After running hundreds of meters, they hadn't yet reached within arm's length of the fleeing carriage.

"Damn it... Void, if we keep going like this, we'll lose sight of Main Street!"

"Yessir!"

"All or nothing, you fly!"

"...Huh?"

Kelly's words left Earnie momentarily at a loss.
Of course they did. There was no way jumping down such a perfectly paved road would make him any faster.
Still, Kelly, as the seasoned captain of ten, had an established reputation for flashes of tactical brilliance in critical moments. He might look like an ox, but his mind wasn't as dull as his appearance suggested.

"I'm gonna throw you so hard that you'll rescue the passengers from the carriage!"

"...Eh? Eh?!?"

Even so, it was quite a reckless plan.

Yet Earnie knew only too well that Kelly was an outstanding captain; if he said something could be done, it would be done.

"...Understood! I'll do it!"

"Say wha—AAAAAAAAAAH!!"

Decisive action. Seizing Earnie's arm, Kelly bulged every muscle in his massive frame, swelling even more than already imposing.

With that raw power, he hurled Earnie forward with all his might.

"Gaaahhh!!"
Spinning end over end, Earnie soared through the air above Basson's main thoroughfare at seven meters high, tracing a perfect parabola before—

"Gaaaaaahh!"
He slammed onto the carriage roof—or rather, blew it off and sank deep into its structure.

"Hiiiii!!"
Silvia MacLean, seated inside, froze in terror. The carriage was already careening wildly; suddenly, an ogre burst through the roof and crashed down upon them. It was terrifying.

But Earnie shook his head and rose to his feet.
At the end of the main street stood a tavern. If the horses kept charging at full speed, they'd soon fail to turn and crash into it—it was almost inevitable.
It was right before him now.
With part of his body protruding from the carriage, Earnie felt panic rising.

"Gaaahhh!!"
There was no time for thought. Instinctively, he reached out—grasping something soft,

THWACK!!

A moment later, as the horses attempted to turn, the carriage couldn't keep up and tipped over just as predicted, slamming violently against the wall.

◇◇◇

Two days later, Earnie woke up.
"...Boyd! Boyd's awake!"
Wrapped in fluffy blankets at the town clinic, Earnie shifted slightly. His body creaked in various places, but he seemed to have all five limbs intact.
Seeing him like this, Captain Diane let out a relieved sigh.
Thrilled that someone had been worried about him, Earnie suddenly burst into tears and murmured, "I'm sorry."

Hearing her voice, Silvia MacLean—the girl he'd saved—rushed into the room first and threw herself at him.
"Phew...!!"

Earnie's final act had been to protect Silvia unharmed.

Amidst the collision with the wall and the crushing weight of the carriage, Earnie's massive hand had shielded Sylvia completely.

The first thing Sylvia saw upon waking was Earnie—his form half-collapsed against the mortar wall yet still gently holding her, protecting her.

And then...

"……Um! I'll take care of Void-san from now on!"

"No, no need. It's my fault."

"You saved my life! Let me do it!!"

"……U-uh..."

Overwhelmed, Sylvia ended up assisting him with everything from meals to bathroom needs for about ten days afterward.

Then came a month later.

"……Isaac, could we swap tomorrow's cleaning duty with another day?"

"Oh, what's up, Void? Going on a date with that human girl again?"

"……Please don't be surprised. It seems like it."

"…………WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?"

Kelly stood up shouting as the other squad members gathered around. "What's going on? Explain yourself, Isaac!"

"Oh, hey, Smyson. Seems this idiot is going on a date with a human girl."

"For real?"

"For sure."

"What do you mean, Void!"

"I-I don't know! Honestly, I have no idea either!"

The next day.
Dressed in Kelly's old sea-beast leather jacket, accessories like the belt and bracers crafted by Andy, a clean shirt thoroughly laundered by Diane, and stylish boots designed by Anzeros, Earnie arrived for his meeting with Sylvia.
"…………"
He wondered if he might be getting teased.
Yet, the high-quality parchment suitable only for mockery was too expensive, and the letter written upon it overflowed with sincerity.

──Dear Earnie-san,
I'd like to invite you on a date.
Let's meet at the arena together from noon this Sunday.
Believing you'll come, I'll be waiting in front of that tavern.
Sylvia

The tavern's walls were still unrepaired; painful memories resurfaced.

Earnie's single horn had snapped halfway through due to the impact of the collision.

"……I wonder if my horn is gone."

Suddenly thinking this, he approached the collapsed wall. As he carefully examined the rubble and ground, he spotted his target half-buried among the debris.

"……Haha, there it is."

"What is it?"

"U-uh, w-wah, Miss Sylvia!?"

"Hello, Earnie-kun!"

Sylvia stood before Earnie, peering down at him. Overwhelmed by nervousness and desperately trying to mask it, Earnie hadn't noticed a thing.

"Oh, um..."

"Yeah. If you don't want to say anything, that's fine. But... hey?"

"Y-yes! I understand!"

She extended her hand toward his chest. Earnie gently took it, resting his palm over the base of her fingers.

"...D-dating me... are you serious?"

"Did you think I was lying?"

"...But I'm an Ogre, after all."

Ever since Sylvia realized she was a year older than Earnie, she'd suddenly started acting like an older sister.
By the way, Earnie is 18, and Sylvia is 19.
Even though they're young, an Ogre's face can be intimidating and scary. Yet, as if teasing him one moment and embracing him the next, Sylvia's presence created such a striking mismatch with Earnie that it felt almost comical.

"Heheh... I just really like your hands, Earnie-kun."

"?"

"...I don't know why. When you squeezed me tightly back then, wrapped around me, my heart skipped a beat. It felt so warm."

"Haa..."

"So that's not okay?"

"...Eh?"

"The reason I fell for you."

"E-eh?!?"

When she casually said she liked him, Earnie was flustered beyond words. Sylvia smiled with evident delight at his innocent reaction and firmly grasped his index finger, which was barely as thick as a child's forearm.

"Once you fall in love, it's strange, isn't it? No matter what you do, I can't help but find you adorable."

"...A-adorable?"

Having never been called "adorable" before, Earnie wore an expression he couldn't quite interpret. Sylvia gently pulled his hand and led him happily toward the arena.

The arena was empty that day—no events were scheduled. On days like this, it remained open to the public, serving as a place for citizens to enjoy track and field or ball games. There weren't many spectators eager to watch such an uneventful scene, so the stands they entered were nearly deserted.

"Back then, it was because of that magic show."

"?"

"That loud boom sound—the horses got spooked by it."

"Oh... I see."

The Capital University Department of Magic Research focused solely on studying magic; it wasn't staffed with exceptionally powerful practitioners. Even when things went wrong, the magical forces involved were relatively weak compared to alchemy, where failures could be far more destructive. As a result, minor mishaps were often tolerated as if they were inevitable disasters.

"That's why someone almost died—it was unbearable."

"Yeah, absolutely. If Ernie had died, I might have hated magic shows for the rest of my life."

"……We're not gonna die anytime soon, Sylvia. You were the one who was supposed to die back there."

"Yeah... but, just a little bit, I'm grateful for that. If it hadn't happened, I never would've met Ernie."

"…………"

Ernie turned red, shrinking his large frame and scratching his head frantically.
At such an overtly innocent reaction, even Sylvia blushed.

They stared at each other silently for a few moments before Sylvia broke the awkward silence by changing the subject.

"By the way, when I was little, I couldn't see anything interesting at the arena. My dad used to carry me on his shoulders all the time."

"H-huh?"

"When he carried me, everything in the world looked different. I kept asking him to do it until I grew up quite a bit."

She smiled, then leaned back against Ernie's shoulder in a coquettish tone.

"……Ernie, will you carry me on your shoulders?"

"I-it's okay!?"

"No? Well, if you're as big as Ernie, I thought you could probably handle someone my size..."

"N-no, well, carrying one or two humans isn't too hard... but, uh, it means touching your butt!"

"……Pfft. Ahahaha!!"

Hearing Ernie's utterly ridiculous comment, Sylvia burst into laughter, while Ernie froze, wondering if he'd said something strange.

"It's fine, it's fine! Carrying you on the shoulders is off-limits! Come on, get on, get on!"

"H-haa... okay then, I'm going!"

Ernie carefully lifted Sylvia onto his shoulders, supporting her waist and knees gently.

Suddenly, Sylvia's view shot upward. The world transformed before her eyes.

"Waaaah... this is amazing, so amazing!"

"……Haa, um, that..."

Since Ernie was holding her tightly against his chest, she felt a bit distracted. A few seconds later, she realized her skirt was slightly short; if she stayed like this, her underwear would be fully exposed to the crowd. Panicking, she quickly shifted her body position in small, jerky movements.

Her motions looked so much like she was being cooed at that Sylvia giggled like a child.

After spending some time doing that, Sylvia suddenly began patting Ernie's head repeatedly.

When Ernie waited for her to say something, a curious voice came from above his head.

"……Ernie, your horn on the left... it's not there. Was it missing from the start?"

"No. It happened a while ago."

It wasn't that long ago—just a few years—but Ernie tried to put on a bit of an act. Using the word "long ago" made him feel like he belonged in the same category as older people, giving him a sense of maturity.
"…………"

Seeing that he was waiting for more, Ernie cleared his throat.

Although he didn't think it was something he usually shared with others, since Sylvia had confessed her feelings for him, he figured it was okay to tell her now. Besides, there was plenty of time.

"……I'm from an ogre colony near the coast close to the border with Afilum. That place was right next to the Dragon Palace."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"I once helped a lone dragon there. They were so grateful that they gave me one of their secret treasures as a reward."

"Wow, really?"

Dragons are the strongest and most solitary race among all species. They avoid contact with other races and live exclusively within Dragon Palace, a hidden sanctuary they have formed.
Their treasures possess astronomical value and have long been the object of adventurers' covetous desires.

"I brought that treasure back to the colony... but everyone assumed I'd stolen it from the dragons and got furious."

"Eh...?"

"As punishment, they pulled out my horn. It hurt beyond words."

Arnie's encounter with the dragon was purely coincidental. While hunting in the mountains, he found a young dragon lying unconscious, suffering from a high fever.

Dragons are not the same as flying dragons; they possess intelligence comparable to that of humans and apes. In their daily lives, they appear human-like. If they were to live in their true forms, even Dragon Palace would be too small to accommodate them, making it impossible for them to maintain their hidden sanctuary.

Seeing this young dragon, Arnie felt a mix of awe toward the legendary creatures and, being still a child himself, bravely carried him all the way to Dragon Palace.
Grateful for his kindness, the dragons presented him with a treasure: a beautiful gem known as the Dragon's Jade, an unblemished, indestructible jewel of supreme quality.

When Arnie returned with it, the adults were stunned. It was inconceivable that dragons would entrust such a valuable item to a child like him. They concluded he had sneaked into Dragon Palace and taken it as a prank.
Fearing retribution, they decided to make him atone on their own terms.

They restrained Arnie, who cried out that he hadn't lied, and pulled out his horn as punishment. Then they sent him back up the mountain to apologize to the dragons. The adults intended him as a sacrifice, and young Arnie could feel it viscerally.

"The wound from having my horn pulled out was agonizing, almost fatal, and then rain started falling—it was a terrible night. I stumbled into Dragon Palace and apologized as instructed... but the dragon people cried and begged for forgiveness. They said they'd done something awful and asked me to forgive them. They had only given me that treasure, yet seeing my injury made them weep so profusely that it filled me with immense joy."

"...Arnie, you..."

"But since I was meant as a sacrifice, I can't return. So I asked the dragon people to treat my wound and then joined the army in Quieka... In my hometown, I'm supposed to be dead already. Hahaha."

"............"

"That's why, honestly, I prefer other races over ogres. Being kind to me from other races makes me so happy. It makes me feel like I deserve to live. Oh, um, but I never thought someone as beautiful as Sylvia would say she likes me—I got carried away today, hahaha."

"...I'm sorry!!"

"Hah... eh?"

Suddenly apologized to from above, Arnie was startled. He had anticipated the conversation might take a sentimental turn, but he hadn't expected such an abrupt apology.

However, Sylvia continued; she stroked his broken right horn with her finger, then clung tightly to his large head and began sobbing uncontrollably.

"Huuu... ghh... I'm sorry... I, I... I liked you because you're big, so I just said I like you without thinking... Eeeww... I'm sorry... Your horn broke, and it broke because of me—it was your last remaining horn!"

"It's okay! The root is still there, so the right one will grow back."

"But, but oh... Ugh... I... You... That... So much... I don't understand 'liking' someone that deeply, I can't comprehend it... I'm sorry. I'll get better soon, properly... Arnie-kun, I'll properly like you again..."

"Oh, calm down, calm down. I don't need anything about 'properly' or all that—I'm just happy that Sylvia likes me."

"Aaa-nee-kuuun!! Ueeeeeeeeennn!!!"

Sylvia seemed utterly overwhelmed and burst into irrational, uncontrollable weeping.
Arnie was flustered—extremely so.

Sylvia continued to sob intermittently until dusk fell.

"...I'm sorry, Arnie-kun. You're pitiful, and I got a bit confused."

"Hah... Well, at least it was nice to see Sylvia's cute side."

It was supposed to be behind my head, so I couldn't see it.

Silvia rubbed her nose with a shh-shh motion, then made a "muh" sound as her serious face tilted upward to look at Earnie.

"Well, let me say it again... I, Silvia MacLean, truly like you, Earnie-kun. I've come to like you."

"H-hai!"

"...So, um..."

"............"

"............"

Stall. With Silvia's face still flushed and her head bowed in embarrassment, Earnie too found himself at a loss, his own cheeks burning.

Just then, in the corner of Earnie's wide field of vision, he spotted a familiar bull-like face.

"!?"

It was Kelly. And beneath her feet stood Andy.

Andy sat cross-legged, pointing his thumb downward in a silent boo—extremely unbecoming.

Kelly thrust her fist forward in front of her face, gah-gah, signaling "Go! Get out!"

Earnie was utterly baffled by their antics, but after a moment's thought, he grasped the meaning behind Kelly's "Go!" gesture.

That's right. Earnie had to move forward. This was precisely the kind of situation that called for it.

"Um..."

At the sound of Earnie's voice, Silvia snapped her head up.

Earnie bent at the waist, locking eyes with her seriously as he spoke.

"I also... I really like you too, Silvia-san... s-so much. I'd like to be your boyfriend."

"...Hai!"

With a soft shhh, Silvia stepped closer and pressed her delicate lips against the giant ogre's massive ones in a kiss.

The setting sun sliced across the mountain ridgeline, casting a gentle shadow over the lovers.

◇◇◇

"Captain of the Ten Smithsons."

"Huh? Oh, isn't that Private Boyd with his girlfriend?"

"U-um... I was hoping to ask you something about her."

"Tch. What now? Do you want another custom accessory? My sense is terrible; they don't work every time."

"No, well, it's not exactly an accessory..."

"...Ah, right. In that case, sure. Just wait a moment."

Silvia usually worked frying food at a convenience store tucked away in a corner of Basson Town.
That evening, unusually, Earnie appeared without an appointment.
"Sorry... the sign's already up... Ah, it's you, Earnie-kun!"
"Silvia-san. Um... could I have this?"
Suddenly thrust into Silvia's hands was a small accessory.
It was a necklace handmade by Andy: a piece of paint applied to one of Earnie's horns, with holes drilled through it and a thin chain threaded inside.

"Eh... what is this?"

"Yes. I want my horns to be with someone I love."

"Whew... damn it, listen up, you lot! Right now I'm stuck in a place like this, but back home there's an absolutely stunning beauty! Big breasts! A waist that cinches right here! And she loves me more than anything! Plus, you're a half-elf!"

"Aww, yeah, here we go again with Smayson the Captain's fantasy girl talk."

"Is that all the time you have? Boss, let's wrap up the tab soon."

"I said it wasn't in my head! I'm not talking about Void's girlfriend or whatever! Listen here, you idiot!"

The crossbow squad shared drinks tonight, a peaceful gathering of many races.

The Ogre race is a large-bodied species with one to three horns on their heads.
Though not as massive as the Giants rumored to live far to the west across the sea, they are still considered among the strongest in the northwest plains, including Trot Celesta.
Their innate size and strength ensure they can fight without concern for ordinary weapons.
According to official military tactics of the Celesta Army, a fully armed standard human male or dwarf light infantry is rated as one, while an unarmored Ogre male is rated as 2.5.
In other words, even if humans were heavily armed, it would be unwise from a military perspective for two or fewer soldiers to challenge a bare-handed Ogre.
With proper armament, they could instantly jump to a rating of five, equivalent to a single charge by a cavalry knight. The bold fighting style of Ogres is the highlight of any battlefield.
To think that an Ace Knight would be expected to hold their own against five fully armed Ogres is truly a testament to their rarity.

Back to topic.

The large size and sometimes monstrous appearance of the Ogre race tends to be seen as grotesque by humans, a fact that even Ogres themselves acknowledge.
However, this does not mean Ogres think humans are beautiful. To them, human women are "too thin and weak to feel secure," and they say, "They’re cute but don’t stir any lust. I can only feel affection for them like livestock."
Naturally, Ogres have their own standards of beauty. There is a balance in their sense of sexuality.
Ogre women are not as muscular as men but are tall nonetheless. As a racial trait, their reproductive organs are particularly flexible, and they possess the sturdy bodies to house the average Ogre phallus, which can reach nearly 50 centimeters (20 inches) long, even moving their internal organs instinctively to make room.
Additionally, women are generally more energetic, and some regions still retain matriarchal societies with polygamy. Taller, spirited women who can handle the men are considered "good women" by Ogres—quite the opposite of the ideal gentlewomen in modern human society.
Even in Celesta, where inter-racial marriage is legally permitted, Ogres and humans rarely marry. Though they coexist in society, they are seen as a completely "other species," unlike Elves or Dwarves.

Amidst all this, there is an Ogre youth who has managed to clear several hurdles and win the heart of a human woman.
His name is Arnie Boyd. A rookie member of the Crossbow Corps stationed near the northern trading city of Basson in the Celesta military, his rank is junior soldier.
This is the story of such a miraculous couple.
Well, maybe I’m being too dramatic. It’s not exactly a miracle, but it’s still pretty impressive.

◇◇◇

In Basson, there are shared carriages that roam the town for passengers.

They don’t go fast, frequently stopping to let people on and off, but the fares are cheap and they’re flexible. It’s more like a public service for retired horses who’ve been retired from regular riding.

Sylvia MacLean asked to ride one of these shared carriages to the large arena on the opposite side of town.

That day, a magic show was scheduled at the arena.

By "magic," I mean real magic, not stage tricks. Researchers from the Magic Department of the Capital University come annually to perform entertaining spells and tour the entire Celesta region to fund their research.

The annual magic show is Sylvia’s favorite event of the year.

"...♪"

"The young lady seems in high spirits today."

In response to the old driver’s words, Sylvia smiled brightly.

"Yes, I’m looking forward to the magic show every year."

"Ahh, now that you mention it, it’s about that time. I guess I’ll take the chance to deliver you and watch it myself."

"Miss, don’t miss out on this!"

"Haha, well, as long as no other passengers join us on the way to the arena."

Clatter clatter, rumble rumble.

The carriage leisurely made its way toward the arena.

That day, Arnie was on duty for shopping runs.

[USER INPUT]

Ernie and Kelly leapt up.

Not just the two of them were shocked—residents from all over the town peeked out and looked around in confusion.

Amidst it all, a carriage raced past at full speed, turning the corner.

"Hyaaah!!"

The driver fell off the carriage as it turned.

"What the hell!? What’s going on!?"

"The horse got spooked, wouldn’t listen to me… Owwww!!"

"Grandpa!?"

As Kelly helped him up (or rather, picked him up), the old man screamed in pain. It seemed his arm was broken.

"Crap… I need a doctor…"

"Wait, hold on! There’s still passengers in that carriage! A girl!"

"What!?"

Looking over, the carriage was careening wildly, almost on the verge of tipping over.

It was impossible to predict what would happen next. Kelly gritted his teeth.

"Damn it…"

"Captain! What should we do about that!?"

Ernie tapped Kelly on the shoulder.

Kelly looked at him sharply.

"Do you think you can pull it off?"

"We’re the strongest Celesta army, after all."

"You said it."

Ernie was young and still held dreams of the military.

For example, the idea that soldiers are the first to help citizens in danger—something that seemed obvious but was actually difficult.

Over time, serving in the military made him forget the very reason he’d picked up a sword in the first place.

Kelly laughed. The bull ogre’s face looked ferocious when he smiled, but Kelly found that smile reassuring beyond anything else.

"Let’s go!! Follow me, Boyd!!"

"Got it!!"

The two ogres started running. The townsfolk of Basson gasped at the sheer force of their massive bodies in full sprint.

The ogres’ massive bodies functioned as an advantage even when moving.
The well-trained ogres’ sprinting was fast, their large lower halves making up for it. They couldn’t catch a bare horse, but they could manage to keep up with a heavy carriage.
However, the delay of those few seconds made it hard to catch up. After running several hundred meters, the two were still too far away to reach.
"Damn it… Boyd, if this keeps up, the main street’s gonna be ruined!"
"Got it!!"
"It’s all or nothing—fly, you idiot!"
"...Huh?"

Kelly’s words left Arnie momentarily speechless.

Of course they did. There was no way jumping would make him go any faster on this perfectly smooth road.

But Kelly, as the squad leader, was known for her quick thinking in moments like these. Despite her bovine appearance, her mind wasn’t dull like an ox’s.

“Let me throw you away, and you save the passengers from the carriage!”

“…Wha—what!?”

Even so, it was a ridiculous plan.

But Arnie did believe that Kelly was a capable squad leader. If she said she could do it, she probably could.

“…Got it, I’ll leave it to you!”

“Alright… Uuuuhhh, yeeeahhh!!”

Without hesitation, Kelly grabbed Arnie’s arm and flexed every muscle in her body. The sheer expansion made her massive frame look even larger.

Using that strength, she hurled Arnie forward with all her might.

“Oooh, ooooh, oooohhh!!”

Arnie spun around as he flew, landing seven meters above the main street with a perfect parabolic arc. With a thud, he crashed through the carriage roof—or rather, the roof caved in as he fell.

“Eek!!”

Inside the carriage, Sylvia MacLean screamed in terror. The carriage was already shaking from the horse’s panic, and suddenly an ogre had crashed through the roof.

But Arnie shook his head and pulled himself to his feet.

At the end of the main street was a tavern, and if the horse kept running at its current speed, it was almost certain to crash into it.

It was right there.

With his body half-hanging out of the carriage, Arnie saw it and panicked.

“Ahhh, ahhhhhh!!”

There was no time for thought. He reached out instinctively. Grabbing something soft—

Thud!!

A moment later, the horse tried to turn, but the carriage couldn’t follow, and just as expected, it tipped over and crashed into the wall.

◇◇◇

Two days later, Arnie woke up in a soft bed at the town’s clinic.
“Boyd! Boyd’s awake!”
In the fluffy bed at the town’s clinic, Arnie moved slightly. Everything creaked, but it seemed he was still in one piece.
Seeing Arnie like this, Squad Leader Diane let out a relieved sigh.
Hearing that she had been worried about him, Arnie suddenly welled up with tears and muttered, “I’m sorry.”
Hearing that, the first person to rush into the room and hug Arnie was—
“Thank goodness…!!”
Sylvia MacLean. The girl he had saved.

Arnie’s final act was to protect Sylvia unharmed.

During the collision with the wall and the crushing of the carriage, Arnie’s massive hand had managed to protect Sylvia.
When Sylvia woke up, the first thing she saw was Arnie, holding her gently while half of the mortar wall collapsed around them.
And then…
"Um… I’ll take care of you, Mr. Boyd!"
"No, it’s fine. Sorry about that."
"You’re my life savior, so let me do it!!"
"...Yeah, sure."
Reluctantly, Sylvia ended up helping with everything from meals to even small tasks for the next ten days.

And then, a month later…

"Captain Isaac. Can’t we switch tomorrow’s cleaning duty with another day?"

"Oh? What’s up, Boyd? You planning to go on a date with that human girl?"

"...Don’t be surprised, but… yeah, I guess so."

"…………What!?"

Kelly stood up and shouted as the other members of the corps gathered around.

"What’s going on? Explain, Isaac!"

"Yeah, sure, Smiley. It seems this idiot is going on a date with a human girl."

"No way."

"Yep, that’s right."

"What the hell is going on, Boyd!?"

"I-I don’t know either! I’m as clueless as you are!"

The next day.

Dressed in Kelly’s old seal leather jacket, the accessories Andy had made like the belt and bracelet, a clean shirt freshly cleaned by Diane, and the cool-looking shoes picked out by Anzeros, Arnie was waiting for Sylvia at their meeting spot.

"…………"

I think I might be being teased a little.

But the high-quality parchment used to mock me was expensive, and the letter written on it was far too earnest.

——Arnie-kun. It’s an invitation to go on a date.

Let’s head to the arena together from noon on Sunday.

I believe you’ll come, so I’ll be waiting for you in front of that tavern.

Sylvia

The wall of the tavern still hadn’t been repaired. Painful memories resurfaced.

Arnie’s only horn had snapped in half during the collision, breaking off from the middle.

"...My horn… is it here?"

Suddenly thinking of it, I approached the crumbling wall. Carefully examining the wall and the ground, I spotted what I was looking for, partially buried in the dirt.

"...Haha, there it is."

"What?"

[User Input]

[Translator Note: The following text is a dialogue between two characters. It is meant to be read aloud, so please keep that in mind when translating.]

Character 1: "Yeah, totally. If Arnie-kun had died back then, I probably would’ve hated magic shows for the rest of my life."

Character 2: "...We’re not gonna die anytime soon, you know. You were the one who almost died, Sylvia-san."

Character 1: "Yeah... But, you know, I’m kind of grateful for it. If that hadn’t happened, I never would’ve met Arnie-kun."

Character 1: "Arnie-kun, your face is all red. You’re shrinking down and scratching your head like that."

Character 2: "Even Sylvia-san’s face is turning red. Your reaction is so obvious and naive it’s almost embarrassing."

Character 1: "We spent a few minutes just staring at each other like that, but to break the tension, Sylvia-san changed the subject."

Character 2: "By the way, when I was little, I couldn’t see anything even when I came to the arena. I always had to climb onto my dad’s shoulders."

Character 2: "When you’re on his shoulders, the whole world looks completely different. I kept pestering him to let me up until I got pretty big."

Character 1: "Hmm... I see."

Character 2: "Smile... Can you put me on your shoulders now?"

Character 2: "No way? Arnie-kun, I thought someone as tall as you might be able to carry me."

Character 1: "N-no, well, it’s not like carrying one person is a big deal for a human... But, uh, what if I touch your butt or something?"

Character 2: "Pfft! Ahahahaha!!"

Character 2: "Arnie-kun said something so ridiculous that Sylvia-san burst out laughing. Arnie-kun looked confused, wondering if he’d said something weird."

Character 1: "It’s fine, it’s fine! The shoulder ride doesn’t count! Here, get on, get on!"

Character 2: "Okay, okay... Then let me up, please."

Character 1: "Alright, here I go..."

Character 1: "I tried to keep my hips and knees stable as I gently lifted Sylvia-san onto my shoulders."

Character 2: "Wow... This is amazing!"

Character 1: "...Uh, um, well, you know..."

Character 1: "Arnie-kun was holding his head, so Sylvia-san’s chest pressed against the back of his head. He was feeling a little distracted. After a few seconds, he noticed Sylvia-san’s skirt was a bit short and realized he’d accidentally expose her underwear to everyone in the arena. Flustered, he started shifting his body in tiny movements."

Character 2: "His movements looked just like he was rocking me to sleep. I giggled like a little kid."

Character 1: "They kept doing that for a while, but then Sylvia-san suddenly started patting Arnie-kun’s head."

Character 2: "Arnie-kun waited to see what she’d say, and from above his head, he heard her curious voice."

Character 2: "...Arnie-kun, your horn... the left one... it’s not there. Was it always like that?"

Character 1: "No. It was for a while."

Character 1: "It wasn’t that long ago, but Arnie-kun decided to play it cool and say 'a while.' He felt like using the word 'while' made him seem more mature and important."

Character 1: "She seemed to be waiting for him to continue, so Arnie-kun cleared his throat."

Character 1: "He didn’t really think it was something he should talk about with others, but since Sylvia-san liked him, he thought it was okay. It was a good way to kill some time anyway."

Character 1: "...I’m from an Ogre colony near the border with Affilm. The Dragon Palace was pretty close."

Character 2: "Mhm, mhm..."

Character 1: "Arnie-kun gently placed Sylvia-san on his shoulders, trying to keep his hips and knees stable."

Character 2: "Wow... This is amazing!"

Character 1: "...Uh, um, well, you know..."

Character 1: "Arnie-kun was holding his head, so Sylvia-san’s chest pressed against the back of his head. He was feeling a little distracted. After a few seconds, he noticed Sylvia-san’s skirt was a bit short and realized he’d accidentally expose her underwear to everyone in the arena. Flustered, he started shifting his body in tiny movements."

Character 2: "His movements looked just like he was rocking me to sleep. I giggled like a little kid."

Character 1: "They kept doing that for a while, but then Sylvia-san suddenly started patting Arnie-kun’s head."

Character 2: "Arnie-kun waited to see what she’d say, and from above his head, he heard her curious voice."

Character 2: "...Arnie-kun, your horn... the left one... it’s not there. Was it always like that?"

Character 1: "No. It was for a while."

Character 1: "It wasn’t that long ago, but Arnie-kun decided to play it cool and say 'a while.' He felt like using the word 'while' made him seem more mature and important."

Character 1: "She seemed to be waiting for him to continue, so Arnie-kun cleared his throat."

Character 1: "He didn’t really think it was something he should talk about with others, but since Sylvia-san liked him, he thought it was okay. It was a good way to kill some time anyway."

Character 1: "...I’m from an Ogre colony near the border with Affilm. The Dragon Palace was pretty close."

Character 2: "Mhm, mhm..."

Character 1: "Sylvia-san climbed onto Arnie-kun’s shoulders, and her world changed dramatically."

Character 2: "Wow... This is amazing!"

Character 1: "...Uh, um, well, you know..."

Character 1: "Arnie-kun was holding his head, so Sylvia-san’s chest pressed against the back of his head. He was feeling a little distracted. After a few seconds, he noticed Sylvia-san’s skirt was a bit short and realized he’d accidentally expose her underwear to everyone in the arena. Flustered, he started shifting his body in tiny movements."

Character 2: "His movements looked just like he was rocking me to sleep. I giggled like a little kid."

Character 1: "They kept doing that for a while, but then Sylvia-san suddenly started patting Arnie-kun’s head."

Character 2: "Arnie-kun waited to see what she’d say, and from above his head, he heard her curious voice."

Character 2: "...Arnie-kun, your horn... the left one... it’s not there. Was it always like that?"

Character 1: "No. It was for a while."

Character 1: "It wasn’t that long ago, but Arnie-kun decided to play it cool and say 'a while.' He felt like using the word 'while' made him seem more mature and important."

Character 1: "She seemed to be waiting for him to continue, so Arnie-kun cleared his throat."

Character 1: "He didn’t really think it was something he should talk about with others, but since Sylvia-san liked him, he thought it was okay. It was a good way to kill some time anyway."

Character 1: "...I’m from an Ogre colony near the border with Affilm. The Dragon Palace was pretty close."

Character 2: "Mhm, mhm..."

Character 1: "Sylvia-san climbed onto Arnie-kun’s shoulders, and her world changed dramatically."
Character 2: "Wow... This is amazing!"
Character 1: "...Uh, um, well, you know..."
Character 1: "Arnie-kun was holding his head, so Sylvia-san’s chest pressed against the back of his head. He was feeling a little distracted. After a few seconds, he noticed Sylvia-san’s skirt was a bit short and realized he’d accidentally expose her underwear to everyone in the arena. Flustered, he started shifting his body in tiny movements."
Character 2: "His movements looked just like he was rocking me to sleep. I giggled like a little kid."
Character 1: "They kept doing that for a while, but then Sylvia-san suddenly started patting Arnie-kun’s head."
Character 2: "Arnie-kun waited to see what she’d say, and from above his head

Translate the following Japanese text to English. Paragraphs are separated by "

". Output each translated paragraph with the same delimiter in between, preserving the exact number of paragraphs. Do not add explanations. Do not merge or split paragraphs.

"I once saved a dragon up there. They were really grateful and gave me one of their treasures as thanks."
"That’s amazing!"
Dragons are the most powerful and solitary race among all species. They live isolated in secret villages called Dragon Palaces, interacting with no other races.
Their treasures are astronomically valuable, making them the envy of adventurers.
"I brought it back to the colony… but they assumed I’d stolen it from the dragon and got really mad at me."
"Huh…?"
"As punishment, they yanked out my horn. It hurt so bad, like I was going to die."

It was a coincidence that Arnie saved the dragon.
He was hunting in the mountains when he came across a young dragon who had fallen ill and collapsed in front of him.

Dragons are a different species from wyverns. They have intelligence on par with humans and gorillas, and they usually live in human-like forms. If they lived in their natural forms, even the largest Dragon Palace wouldn’t be enough to accommodate them.

Seeing the young dragon like that, Arnie, who was still a child himself, was both awed by the legendary race and brave enough to carry it back to the Dragon Palace on his shoulders.

The dragon, grateful for his kindness, presented him with one of their treasures—a beautiful gem called a dragon’s pearl, an indestructible jewel that never tarnished or cracked.

When Arnie returned with it, the adults were stunned.

It was unthinkable that a dragon would give such a valuable treasure to a child. They immediately assumed he’d stolen it and sneaked into the Dragon Palace to take it.

Then, without consulting anyone, they decided to punish him.

As Arnie screamed that he wasn’t lying, they pinned him down and tore out his horn as punishment. Then they sent him up the mountain to apologize to the dragon. To a young Arnie, it felt like they were offering him as a sacrifice.

The pain from having his horn torn out was excruciating, and the rain poured down on him. It was a terrible night.

Stumbling back to the Dragon Palace, he did as he was told and apologized… only to find that the dragon had been crying in apology to him. They said they’d done something terrible, asking for forgiveness. But Arnie knew they’d only given him the treasure in the first place.

Still, seeing them cry like that made him incredibly happy.

"But I couldn’t go back after being offered as a sacrifice. So I had the dragon heal my wound and left the Dragon Palace to join the army. …I’m sure everyone back home thinks I died."

"Haha… well, I’m glad I got to see such a cute side of you, Sylvia-san."

"…………"

"I really do like other races more than ogres. When people from other races are kind to me, it makes me so happy. It feels like I have a right to live. Ah, but I never thought someone as beautiful as you would like me, Sylvia-san, so today I’ve been over the moon, haha."

"……I’m sorry!!"

"Huh…?"

Suddenly being apologized to from above, Arnie was taken aback. He’d thought the conversation had gotten a bit emotional, but he hadn’t expected to be apologized to like this.

But Sylvia continued, gently stroking his broken right horn with her finger and clinging to his large head as she sobbed uncontrollably.

"Sniff… I’m sorry… I… I just liked you because you were big, and I thought it was fine to say I liked you… sniff… but now my horn’s broken, and it’s all my fault for breaking it… it’s the last one we had left…"

"It’s fine, really. The root’s still there, so the right one will grow back."

"But… sniff… I didn’t know… I didn’t realize… how much I liked you… how much I liked you… I’m sorry… I’ll learn to like you properly… Arnie-kun, I’ll learn to like you properly again…"

"K-keep calm, keep calm. I-I don’t need things to be proper or anything like that. I’m just happy you like me, Sylvia-san."

"A-Arnie-kunnnn! Waaaaaahhhhh!!"

Sylvia was overwhelmed and started crying uncontrollably without any explanation.

Arnie was in trouble. Really in trouble.

She kept sobbing until sunset.

"I’m sorry… I just felt so bad for you, Arnie-kun, and I lost my head."
"Haha… well, it’s fine. I’m glad I got to see such a cute side of you, Sylvia-san."

The truth is, it had been behind her head the whole time and she couldn’t see it.

Sylvia sniffled and wiped her nose, then frowned with a serious expression as she looked up at Arnie.

"Um, so… I’ll say it again. I really like you, Arnie-kun. I’ve come to like you."

"Yes."

"...So, um..."

"...…………"

She faltered. Sylvia, still blushing, lowered her head, while Arnie also turned red and stared blankly.

Then, at the edge of Arnie’s wide field of vision, he spotted a familiar bull-like face.

"!?"

Kelly. And at her feet, Andy.

Andy was sitting with his legs crossed, thumb pointed down in a silent booing gesture. It was really immature.

Kelly was thrusting her fist toward her face, going "Go! Get out of here!" as a signal.

Arnie was dumbfounded by what they were doing, but after thinking for a while, he finally understood the meaning behind Kelly’s "go" gesture.

Yes. Arnie had to move on. This was the moment.

"Um…"

Sylvia’s face snapped up at Arnie’s voice.

Arnie crouched down and looked her in the eye, speaking seriously.

"I also really like you, Sylvia-san… I mean, I love you. Um, I want us to be lovers."

"...Yes!"

Sylvia quickly closed the distance and pressed her delicate lips against the massive lips of the ogre in a kiss.

The sunset cut through the ridges of the mountains, casting a gentle darkness over the lovers.

◇◇◇

"Captain Smison."
"Hm? Oh, it’s just Private Boyd here, got a girlfriend, huh?"
"Uh… um, about that girlfriend of mine…"
"Tch. What is it, you want another one of those custom accessories? I’m not good with this stuff, so it won’t work more than once."
"No, well, it’s an accessory, but…"
"...Ah, right. That’s fine. Just wait here for a bit."

Sylvia usually works as a fry cook at a side street stall in Basson City.
That night, Arnie showed up unexpectedly, without an appointment.
"Excuse me, the sign is… Oh, Arnie-kun!"
"Sylvia-san. Um… so, here, take this."
Suddenly, Sylvia was presented with a small accessory.
It was a necklace Arnie had made by painting his horn with varnish, drilling a hole, and threading it with a thin chain.

"Eh... What’s this?"
"Yes. I want... my horn to be carried by the person I love most."

"Whew... Damn it. Listen up, you guys. I’m stuck here for now, but back home there’s this amazing beauty! Big boobs! A waist that’s all tight and curvy! And she’s totally in love with me! Plus, she’s a half-elf!"
[Commentary]
"Ah, yes, yes. Here we go again, the story of Smison’s imaginary girlfriend."
[Waitress]
"I’ve got the bill ready, so you’d better hurry up."
[Smison]
"So it’s not imaginary! It’s not like Boyd has a real girlfriend or anything! Listen to me, you idiots!"
The Crossbow Corps was as peaceful as ever tonight, with people from all sorts of races exchanging drinks.