“It’s no use. I am about to die... I know this better than anyone...”
“Ogre, my child, I really can't bear to leave you... I still have so many, many things I want to say to you...”
Although I had long foreseen this day, I still felt regret—regret that I could no longer accompany my child and witness his growth.
...
My name is Heimino Ned.
That was the name given to me by our tribe's shaman, roughly meaning “the human-like one”—a fellow who looks like a human.
Yes, I am not human.
I am an ogre. An ogre who looks human-like, a bit of an anomaly.
Before I met that child, my life as an ogre was filled with failure—I had already lost from the very moment of my birth.
“Roar, only one head, Chief.” That was the first sentence I heard before I even opened my eyes after birth—spoken by the witch doctor who delivered me.
“Hmph... too small.” This disparaging remark came from my father—the chief of our ogre tribe.
For an ogre, having fewer heads is a bad thing. Additional heads can assist in spellcasting and increase one's field of vision. Having only a single head meant I would never master dual-casting, or perhaps... even be able to cast spells at all.
Of course, having fewer heads didn't necessarily mean one was useless. Many ogre warriors had only a single head... including my chief father.
He was a standard, powerful single-headed ogre warrior.
But, I had too many eyes—
“Not a cyclops... Can this child really make it?” The tribal shaman also let out a regretful sigh. I didn't know why they placed such high hopes on me...
Why was the shaman so disappointed?
It was because, for ogres, a cyclops has a far better chance of becoming a powerful warrior... because our ancestors were the mighty Cyclopes.
All monsters knew that the closer one's appearance was to their ancestors, the purer their bloodline.
Take my chief father, for example, who was several sizes larger than the rest of our kin.
One head, two eyes... how pathetic.
This meant I could neither become an outstanding ogre raider nor a powerful ogre shaman...
And in the end, reality confirmed exactly that.
Ogres revere the strong. Weak as I was, I was destined to have a low status, destined to be a "waste."
Even if my father was the chief.
And the cause of all this was probably because my mother was a human.
Though I only saw her once, and though she gave me such a frail body, I didn't hate her... After all, she was just a pitiful piece of food who happened to survive a bit longer than the rest—
Back then... I had just opened my eyes, and I spotted her in the crowd of ogres at first glance.
She didn't wail like the other food.
The pity and liberation in her eyes... those were complex emotions an ogre would never display.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this that I grew curious about humans, and about the human language.
However, that changed nothing.
My birth size was far smaller than my peers. Compared to them, I didn't look like an ogre at all; instead, I looked more like... a human, a piece of "food."
Only my deep blue skin proved my identity... If not for that, I would have probably been devoured by those stupid kin of mine long ago.
An ogre like me should have been abandoned immediately.
But, perhaps, maybe... it was because I was the chief's child.
“Let's raise him for now.”
Midst waves of disgust and disapproval, I survived...
And in this ogre tribe, I slowly grew up. Perhaps they still harbored a sliver of hope for me.
Unfortunately, they were bound to be disappointed.
Frailty became synonymous with my name, and in the end... I was never able to shake off this ridiculous label.
Even many of the younger generation born after me grew stronger than I was—my growth stopped when I reached 180 centimeters.
This completely cut off my hopes of becoming an ogre warrior.
When the tribal shaman repeatedly confirmed that I could not inherit the tribe's shamanic spells, I was finally exiled.
After all, I truly was too useless.
Fortunately, as an ogre, I was still stronger than a goblin. By constantly learning and evading, I managed to avoid dying in this Forest of Monsters.
But being a human-looking ogre meant I was destined to receive no good treatment. Almost every race rejected me.
Including those human explorers.
After all, the word "ogre" was synonymous with bloodlust and brutality, and this particular ogre looked so much like a human...
Even though I had clearly done nothing—I understood. I was an outlier, unable to fit in with ogres, yet unable to be a human...
Slowly, loneliness enveloped me. At that moment, I suddenly realized... possessing wisdom that exceeded my kind might also be a curse.
...
Fortunately, as an ogre, my adaptability was strong. As the days and years passed in exclusion, I gradually grew accustomed to it, only not knowing when I would die.
I envied the beautiful and elegant elves...
Envied the united goblins.
Envied those strong tauren.
I would also envy the powerful and civilized human adventurers.
But alas, I was after all just an ogre, a half-breed ogre who had never eaten a human. I was neither a human nor a pure monster, pleasing neither side.
If nothing unexpected happened, I would probably continue to live aimlessly like this until my body weakened and I died at the hands of monsters or humans...
But, an unexpected turn of events occurred.
I found a child—a human child.
The place where I met the child was a village, one that had been plundered by a Goblin King.
Just like always, after they finished plundering, I would go in to scavenge things I could use—this was one of the few times of harvest in my otherwise mundane life.
After all, compared to that pack of goblins, I was much smarter. The treasures they couldn't recognize were my wealth.
Although such things were rare, occasionally finding a few items would make me very happy.
It was on that day that I met my unexpected event.
In an ingenious hidden compartment beneath the floorboards—I found a child, one who looked to be only a few days old.
If not for his crying, I wouldn't have even discovered him.
“How pitiful...”
That was my very first thought back then—probably because I saw my own reflection in this child.
Looking at the tiny child, the appetite rooted in my instincts surged up immediately. I had never personally hunted a human, nor had I ever tasted the flesh of a fresh human...
After all, I was an ogre, and he was a human. For me to eat him was only natural.
At that moment, I even opened my mouth.
But in the end, my reason suppressed it.
Because I knew this wasn't a good place to have a meal.
Well... and perhaps, maybe...
It was because the child cried out “Mama.” I had heard that word before—it was what humans called their mothers. This child was just as pitiful as me, losing his mother at such a young age...
In the end, after searching for a bit, I left that ruined little village with the child in my arms.
I don't know what got into me, but I didn't eat the child. Instead, I ended up raising the little guy.
Perhaps it was because he was the only creature who would smile at me without disgust.
Or perhaps it was because I needed a companion.
In this forest filled with monsters and exotic beasts, he, like me, would become an outsider.
...
My abilities were poor; it was already hard enough to feed myself with my usual hunts.
So to take care of this child, I had no choice but to disguise myself as a human and risk going to human towns to trade the things I had gathered.
This forest was vast, and apprentice adventurers often died here. Many of the items on their bodies had no use for monsters or exotic beasts.
But I knew they could be exchanged for a wonderful thing called money.
Thus, I would deliberately or accidentally collect the things they dropped.
Now, these collected items finally served their purpose.
Fortunately, I succeeded...
I managed to get food for the child. In the process, I also gradually learned the human language.
I didn't know how much I lost in bad deals, but the child survived, and that was enough.
Wasn't it?
I knew this process was dangerous, but for some reason, when I saw the child's smile, I felt that it was all worth it.
It wasn't that I saved the child; it was the child who redeemed me...
Perhaps I existed just for him.
...
“Father, why is our skin different?”
Whenever the child asked me this, I would always remain silent.
“Ogre...”
I softly called out the child's name—Ogre. It meant "ogre" in our tongue, representing the low grunts humans who didn't understand the ogre language used when talking about us.
“Because I am an impure ogre, and you are a human child...” I explained to him.
In truth, in my heart, I didn't want to tell him the truth.
But I knew that a day of parting would eventually come... I couldn't hold him back.
I had already paved his future path.
The Church of Truth to the west was quite good; they often adopted strong children.
Or perhaps I could use my gathered wealth to enroll him in a magic academy—if he had a talent for mana...
He shouldn't, and couldn't, become an outsider like me. My birth was an absolute mistake, but this child's was not.
That was also why I had been teaching him using human ways...
“Father, why do you say I'm a human child?” the young boy asked curiously.
Little Ogre was curious about everything, which was a good thing.
“You are not my biological son, Ogre. I found you.”
Even though Ogre didn't understand what that meant, I still had to tell him the truth.
He had to be human. He couldn't be an ogre like me...
But right now he was still too small and too adorable. I was worried about him, so I couldn't let him leave.
Yes, that must be it.
Just wait a bit longer...
“Then... can I still call you Father?”
“Of course, my child.”
Ogre was always so sensible it made my heart ache...
During this time, I also figured out the meaning of the crest Ogre carried with him—the Kessin Family.
It seemed to be a formidable human power from far away.
I just didn't know why it would appear in such a remote place.
...
“Father, look what I caught!”
“Ogre, didn't I tell you not to go outside!”
That was the first time I lost my temper with him, because it was too dangerous outside...
So much so that I completely overlooked the beautiful blue butterfly the child was showing me...
I broke his heart...
...
“Ogre, look what I brought you.” I lifted a mana rabbit with a smile, showing it to him as compensation.
As expected, the little guy seemed to love it.
“Wow, it's so fluffy!”
Ogre was very strong, so I wasn't worried that he wouldn't be able to handle a mana rabbit.
“Father, is this dinner?”
“Uh...”
At that moment, I realized that I was probably still a bit different from humans...
Perhaps I should properly teach the child so that he wouldn't follow in my footsteps...
Let's start by nurturing a kind heart!
“This is a companion I brought for you. When Father isn't around, it can keep you company.”
Life had to go on. I couldn't stay by Ogre's side forever.
Although an ogre teaching a human sounded a bit fantastical, I felt I could do it.
When Ogre grew a bit older, I would send him to learn to read and write. He truly grew very quickly and was very smart.
“Oh, so it's not for eating...”
“Of course there is food. Look what this is!”
“Wow, candy!”
In the end, Ogre accepted the rabbit anyway. However, I got the feeling that he didn't seem particularly interested in raising a pet...
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