ITK C235: Resonance of Misunderstandings

Hmm… I wonder if they’re doing okay?
When I received the report that there was a village nearby, I thought it was natural for me to go and visit our neighbor.

But Orkubo stepped up and said, “I’m the one responsible, so please leave it to my team and me!”

And so, all I could do was wait at the castle for their return.
Impatiently. Waiting.

Were they able to introduce themselves without a hitch?

As I kept watching the mountain path down to the village in suspense, I soon saw several figures coming up from the other side.
It’s the orcs. They’ve returned safely.

I also saw a few unfamiliar figures with them. From a distance, I was sure that they were people. In other words—the human villagers.
The fact that they looked all slightly tipsy and happy was enough to tell me how successful their meeting went.

“We’re back, My Lord!” says Orkubo in an uncharacteristically good mood. “This is the representative of the village at the foot of the mountain. He has accompanied us to meet you!”

The old man, who calls himself the elder, is also the head and representative of their village.
Orkubo’s visit went so well that they ended up drinking the night away.

“Oh, my! Orkubo didn’t cause you any trouble, did he? I’m his master!”
“Not at all! Thank you for treating an old man from the village like me with courtesy.”

Even the elder is in a better mood than I expected.
He seems relieved to find out that the monsters he thought were a disaster upon the village were actually harmless neighbors.

“The vegetables you gave us were so delicious that we used them all up for the feast. All of us had never eaten such delicious food before…”
“It was nothing. I’m glad you enjoyed them.”

We’ll send you some more later.

The great success of the meeting was evident just by this friendly atmosphere.

The elder then toured around Orkubo’s castle.

“Dear me! What a magnificent structure. I never knew orcs could build castles in such detail!”
“Oh, no, this is just…” says Orkubo bashfully.

Our orcs are unique in many ways, though!

“To be honest, I felt like I died the moment we heard that monsters had settled here, but now, all of us in the village are relieved to know the truth.”

I didn’t realize that we made you feel so weary.
I’m sorry we didn’t take action sooner.

“But now the misunderstanding is cleared up, isn’t it?”
“Actually, there is one problem.”

Huh?!

“When I heard that there are monsters on the hill, we immediately appealed to our feudal lord.”

Monsters have appeared!
Please send out your troops to kill the monsters and drive them away! Please help us!

…Like that?

“We sent our fastest chap.”
“Then, he must have heard the news already!”
“Well… Our fastest chap is also one with the poorest sense of direction.”

Yikes.

“Just a few days ago, he came back to the village once, saying he took the wrong road. He’s a hopeless fellow, I tell you.”

That’s why no help has arrived even after a month?
What are you doing when your village is in danger?

“But it was a fortunate error this time, wasn’t it?”

The misunderstanding was cleared up while the fast, directionally challenged person was still dawdling, so everything worked out peacefully.

“But just a while back, he returned, saying he has finally reached the feudal lord’s place.”
“Darn it!”
“He said that the lord will be rushing with his troops within five days. He’s such a good man who’s compassionate even toward a small village like ours!”

Is he? Judging by the pattern of things, I thought he’d be a villain or some other…
But what now? If I connect the dots based on the elder’s story, the troops led by the feudal lord will be here in five days at most, right?
And that too, armed and ready to fight.

“I’m sure they’ll understand if we explain the situation from the beginning,” says Orkubo, as happy-go-lucky as he can be, but I think he’s overly optimistic.

A castle is essentially a warfare facility built to protect its inhabitants and kill the enemy efficiently by hiding behind its solid walls and gates.
Those involved in its administration must have such a strong awareness.

For example, a feudal lord.
If this feudal lord came to the castle with the will to fight, would he easily back down if his opponent told him they hold no animosity and just want to build one for fun?
Wouldn’t someone who takes that at face value be toyed by Zhuge Liang?

“What do we do then?!”
“There’s no way we can seriously confront them!”

Perhaps the most peaceful way to solve this would be to demolish the castle and leave before the troops arrive. Still, it would be a pity to destroy the castle the orcs put their heart and soul into building.
We have to protect the castle, convince the imminent feudal lord, and keep the village’s peace.
The ingenious idea that meets all those requirements is…

“…All right.”

Eureka.

“I’m going to carry out the only brilliant plan to achieve all of those. Orkubo, I’m going to make some changes to your castle. I hope you don’t mind.”
“My Lord!”
“I’ll take command from here on out! Work hard, everyone! The deadline is only five days away!!!”

Thus began our preparations to intercept the feudal lord’s army…

Five days later, the feudal lord arrived with his army precisely as promised.
His army was much larger than I had imagined, with hundreds of men.

Is this how he plans to surround and kill the orcs that are stronger than humans?
But I won’t let that happen.
The preparations to intercept them lies with me!

“Orkubo, start your speech!”
“Are you certain you want me to do it?” asks Orkubo, but our opponent has come with the intent to kill you orcs.

It’d be meaningless if orcs don’t go out to intercept them.

“I-If you say so, My Lord…”

I watched from the top of the castle as Orkubo descended the authorized personnel-only safety route of the mountain.

“But… is this really the right choice, My Lord?” implores another orc. “If we can’t get them to back down through negotiation, isn’t it still too violent to just fight them?”
“Don’t worry. Don’t opponents become solid pals with each other after a match or two?”
“No, My Lord, they don’t.”

We will dare to convey our harmless intentions, which cannot be expressed by words alone through fighting!
After we have clashed with each other with all our might, we will then realize that we can reach a mutual understanding.

That’s why I’ve thoroughly remodeled Orkubo’s castle and its defenses to repel the attackers without them suffering any damage.

In other words, I turned our castle into an attraction.
With this, we will let them know that we mean no harm.

Orkubo finally makes his speech after reaching the feudal lord’s troops.

“Well met, human troops! I am Orkubo, the lord of this castle!”

He sure has become an expert in acting like a villain.

“If you think you have what it takes to challenge my castle, so be it. You will be rewarded with a great prize should you be able to reach and conquer the castle tower. I hereby declare the start of a war, a castle siege. You will attack, and we will stay inside to defend it.”

I chose the name of this battle based on my world’s knowledge—Orkubo’s Castle.

yes. takeshi’s castle reference.

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