Chapter 60 | I, the Ogre

...

‘Was this really necessary...’

Ogre looked at the mother and daughter rather helplessly. He felt like he was being treated as a piece of precious cargo.

“What a shame... truly a shame,” Maqi sighed twice in succession.

This young female Knight was seeing a child flatter than herself for the very first time.

“Don't worry, you'll grow,” Maqi offered a word of comfort after her sighing.

She then reached out, wanting to rub Ogre's cute head, but was interrupted by Aunt Mima.

“Don't just go touching a Sister's head,” Mima gently scolded her daughter.

In response, Maqi simply stuck her tongue out.

‘Grow... grow what?’

Ogre tilted his head. He just felt that these women were all so strange...

Besides, please don't touch his head.

“Mm...”

Ogre responded casually. He could still detect the comforting tone in her voice.

However, he felt that he should still grow a bit taller.

Ogre had actually grown quite quickly over the past two years.

“Thank goodness you weren't captured by those wretched goblins. The Church really ought to go and wipe those filthy creatures out.” Maqi felt a surge of anger at the mere thought of this lovely young girl almost being captured and defiled by goblins.

As she spoke, she clenched her fists, seemingly utterly disgusted and resentful of those vile creatures.

“Don't worry, little sister Gelin. I will protect you.”

Having said that, Maqi patted her light armor and patted the weapon she was carrying to show it off.

‘Give me a break...’

Ogre sighed in his heart as he looked at the girl, who was only at the Apprentice-level.

If humanity truly had to rely on girls like Maqi, who hadn't even finished her training, to protect them, then this village would be doomed sooner or later.

There wasn't a single scratch on her armor, and she had even sprayed perfume on her clothes. No matter how Ogre looked at her, he didn't think Maqi would make a qualified warrior.

Warriors trained in academies could never be considered true warriors after all.

“Mm...”

But faced with the girl's enthusiasm, Ogre still nodded in response. He still needed to rely on Macar and the others to obtain a legitimate identity to enter the city.

So, whatever she said went.

“Alright, don't just stand there. Mom, I'll help little sister Gelin get ready.”

Having received a smiling nod in response, Maqi put down her sword and enthusiastically guided Ogre by the shoulders into the dressing room.

“That child...”

Mima chuckled softly, letting her daughter have her way.

Since her husband had passed away, she had rarely seen her daughter smile so happily.

Mima's husband had been a rogue Knight, and Maqi had inherited her Knight talent from her father.

“What should we have for lunch later...”

Mima looked at the bread, vegetables, fruits, and fish in the house, ultimately deciding that they would have a feast.

Normally, eating alone didn't require much effort, but since they rarely had such a lively gathering, they should naturally enjoy something nice.

“Aunt Mima,” Macar said, immediately standing up from the steps as he saw the door open again.

It was really quite a drag to have him stand guard outside all this time.

‘Can I finally go in?’

Just as Macar thought he was being allowed in, a purse was thrust into his hands.

Macar stared. “Huh?”

“Go buy some meat for me, Little Car. We still need to prepare a hearty lunch for Gelin in a bit,” Mima said with a smile.

It was the perfect excuse to send the boy away.

Looking at his aunt, who certainly treated him as family, Macar sighed helplessly. “Alright, Aunt Mima... we really should prepare something nice.”

If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have brought Lady Gelin here.

“Remember to buy it from Sam's place. The quality of his meat is better.”

Leaving him with those words, the door shut once more.

Macar couldn't help but feel like he was being used as a tool.

“Forget it, a little wait won't hurt.”

...

Inside the room, Ogre was also filled with helplessness...

With the way his hair was being braided, was she really sure she was helping him make a disguise?

Who in their right mind would braid such a beautiful hairstyle just to make someone look ugly?

The braided hair was pinned up at the back of his head, leaving only a single small braid on the left side.

The hair on his forehead was swept away completely, leaving only a touch of bangs as a decorative accent, fully revealing Ogre's exquisite features.

This added a touch of elegance and cuteness to an already beautiful and pure face.

Let alone anyone else—even Ogre found his heart skipping a beat when he looked at his current self.

‘Did this girl only learn this kind of stuff in the Church?’

True, it was beautiful, but looking pretty wasn't what Ogre wanted.

“Sister Gelin, your hair is so wonderful. What do you usually use to maintain it?” Maqi smiled with satisfaction as she admired the hair she had braided and pinned up for Ogre.

“No...” Ogre raised his hand and pointed to his throat, indicating that he was still mostly mute.

“Ah, sorry, I forgot...” Maqi apologized repeatedly.

Though Ogre couldn't spot any actual trace of remorse on this scatterbrained girl's face.

“D-Don't use...”

Ogre had to make an effort to squeeze out another word.

He suddenly felt that Lange and the others weren't actually that difficult to get along with...

‘What a pity. Such a lovely girl has a problem with her throat...’ Maqi sighed in pity once again.

“I really can't bear to apply that stuff to your face. Your skin is just too good...”

After admiring him for several minutes, Maqi finally yielded to Ogre's wishes and began applying the ugly makeup.

Ogre had been on the verge of taking matters into his own hands.

“What a shame. This beauty can't be displayed,” she lamented as she reluctantly finished the final adjustments to Ogre's face.

A face that originally would have scored a fifteen out of ten had successfully been downgraded to a seven after her exaggerated makeup session.

The upper limit of beauty was determined by the eyes, while the lower limit of ugliness was determined by the mouth and nose.

By widening his eyebrows and mouth and dotting on some blemishes, she successfully dragged Ogre's attractiveness down.

Some cosmetics that usually made people look prettier actually did the opposite when applied to Ogre's face—such as face powder.

The same went for the hair. When paired with his current look, the elegant hairstyle completely lost its charm, and the overall effect plummeted.

‘Sure, it looks average now, but this is different from the disguise I made before. Isn't this still eye-catching?’

What Ogre wanted was to lie low. While she had indeed made him look far less attractive, wouldn't such exaggerated makeup draw attention instead?

“D-Different...”

With no other choice, Ogre could only shake his head in protest.

“I knew you wouldn't like it either, Sister Gelin.” Maqi herself couldn't stand looking at it anymore. Before Ogre could say anything else, she pulled out a makeup remover wipe...