(EP-21.2) Angmar #1

021 – Peaceful Angmar #1

“You bastard, King Angmar died ages ago!”

━King Angmar didn't die, King will come back! For the abandoned races, King will come back and lead again!

Kwaaa— The ogre roared.

“That's it.”

In the midst of all the commotion, I could clearly hear Aira's soft voice. When she snapped her fingers, the ogre's body suddenly floated into the air.

━Gorgor in the sky. Gorgor flying!

Said ogre was then smashed into the lake.

Goreureureureu- Pungdong, pungdong.

He sank to the very bottom, struggling to and fro. However, his gigantic body could never float up to the surface, as if he was held underwater by an invisible force.

“It, it’s a miracle!”

“Is this the power of Queen Aira?”

“The ogre, who treated a heavily-equipped knight like a child, was defeated with just a simple snap….”

There was a sense of fear and awe in the eyes of the soldiers watching this scene. Truly, a Rank 7 Archmage transcended Human beings…

It was majestic. A once-in-a-lifetime experience that you had to witness with your own eyes.

Seuk, seukseuk-

Everyone laid down their weapons, bent their knees and bowed their heads. Before them, the Queen of Angmar stood proudly.

This wasn't a bad thing.

The soldiers would soon spread the word of this exploit among the people.

However, I just couldn't let it end like this.

“Aira-nim, how about letting him go?”

“This ogre has insulted the royal authority, yet you want to let him live?”

Aira was intent on killing the ogre.

In fact, Aira was right. We should not keep a rampant monster alive. Nevertheless, I didn't want Aira to commit murder.

Also, I had another reason for wanting to save the ogre.

“I'm sure the wise Aira-nim already knows. Ogres are stupid and can't think of taking over a castle without someone's command."

“… That's true.”

“If Aira-nim is using water torture to find out who is behind the ogre, I think now is the right time to get him up for interrogation.”

"Yes, it’s exactly what I was thinking.”

Seueuk.

Ttak.

Once Aira snapped her fingers, the drowning ogre was lifted into the air and dumped on the ground.

A mouthful of water spurted out of Gorgor’s mouth.

━Water. So hateful. Stop making me drink….

He didn't seem to have the energy to resist anymore.

I approached and asked the ogre.

“I don’t think you could have done this alone. Who's your Master?”

━Master? I am Gorgor. Gorgor don't take orders! Rather, Gorgor came to collect debt! Past year, Gorgor worked hard to repair Einrich Castle. However, no wages!

“No wages?”

━Gorgor worked hard to fix and rebuild castle, but no pay…

What was going on here?

I asked the Guard Captain who was standing next to us.

“Is this true?”

"Something like that did happen. Sir Knight Scout, the outsourcing officer of the castle, has delayed the payments….”

The Guard Captain then pointed to the severed corpse, which was badly mutilated.

So to recap, this ogre Gorgor was an employee at Einrich Castle, but revolted due to not getting paid?

“How much of the wages have not been paid?”

━Two years, ten months and twenty days!

He'd suffered for a long ass time…

I then asked.

“Arrears in wages are prohibited by the royal laws. Why the hell did Sir Scout not pay?"

"That's….”

The Guard Captain scratched his nose and glanced at Aira.

“Sir Scout said that it was his right. That was… The right to not pay. It’s like the right to whip slaves.”

“No, why did you even think that kind of ‘right’ exists?”

“The royal palace’s law book is thick, so wouldn’t it be possible to find something like that?”

“No!”

Everyone around me was startled by my resolute answer and started to gossip.

━You don't have the right to not pay wages?

━It's more shocking than not having the right to whip!

━Then what about the right to whip slaves once a day?

I badly wanted to make some retorts to these remarks, but decided to hold back.

After all, this was a revolt by an angry worker because he didn't get paid.

I thought something like this would happen, so I strengthened the rights of slaves and the like.

━Gorgor! Have rights to confront injustice!

However, I was curious about the other issue.

As mentioned, ogres were not intelligent enough to understand complex things like rights and laws. Someone must have instigated this…

Gorgor wouldn’t have acted like this on his own. He must have picked up the words somewhere. So, I asked again.

“Gorgor, did anyone tell you to do this? Maybe someone who talked about rights and laws?”

This might be an opportunity to spot those who were plotting a rebellion.

━There is, same smell as you.

Seueuk.

Immediately, I felt everyone's eyes on me…

Why are you looking at me like that?

It wasn’t me!

This was the first time I saw this guy.

“Theo…”

Aira then called me from behind.

Hearing this, my body went rigid.

I hurriedly defended myself.

“I did not do it. I just met this ogre for the first time today!”

Tuktuk— I kicked the ogre's hard skin in frustration. But then, his hazy brown eyes lit up.

━ No, Gorgor feels like, met you somewhere.

"What?" Without realizing it, I started speaking informally. However, Gorgor soon closed his eyes.

━But the person Gorgor met yesterday was woman. She spoke about Human rights. Said that Gorgor's labor should be valued…

What was that?

Someone in this world who actually talked about Human rights? I wanted to meet them, even if only once!