Are You an Orc Spy?

"I..." Malone stammered, then finally shook his head bitterly. "Those things are confidential, Miss Tiffany. I can't tell you."

"I see..." Tiffany lowered her head in disappointment. How she wished her savior were a chivalrous, Robin Hood-like figure, able to leap across rooftops just like the heroes in the biographies and rescue her from this extremely dangerous orc encampment.

But Tiffany had been escorted here by orc soldiers the whole way—which meant she had seen the dense mass of orcs outside the camp.

Even the most famous gentleman thief couldn't come and go freely in a camp like this, could he? Let alone bring her along.

"Then... Mr. Malone..." Tiffany asked sadly, "are you a spy?"

"Huh? What? A spy?" Malone hadn't expected Tiffany to ask him something like that.

"Yes..." Tiffany looked up and met Malone's eyes. "You're human, yet you're here in an orc camp, talking to those orcs..."

Tiffany recalled what had happened earlier. Fear had made her forget many things, but it had also helped her remember others.

"I've seen how savage and cruel those orcs are, Mr. Malone. They didn't hesitate for a second when they hacked Richard in two. But just now... whatever you did, they didn't seem to have any intention of killing you. Is there some sort of deal between you and those orcs?"

Tiffany might have been a sheltered young lady with little experience of the world, but she had read plenty of tales of adventure. The bards' portrayals of war were certainly romanticized, but they weren't without value.

After all, reality had brought about something even more unbelievable. Even the bards could never have imagined that one day Stormwind would fall to green monsters, its streets running with blood.

"Mr. Malone!" Tiffany cried. "How could you do this? Don't you know... those orcs have captured Stormwind!"

"They did that to Richard, and they did that to Mary..." Tiffany shouted, then broke down sobbing.

"My parents, my family, and Uncle Tom, Aunt Scarlett... they're all in Stormwind. The orcs will surely hurt them... they'll... Mr. Malone, how could you be an orc spy? Don't you have a family?"

Tiffany wept as she spoke. Malone had saved her life and protected her virtue, but the girl had been terrified throughout these past few days. All her negative emotions erupted in that instant, turning into tears and anger.

"No, no... Miss Tiffany, you've got it wrong." Malone hurried to explain. "I'm not an orc spy."

"You're not?" Tiffany raised her head, her tear-blurred eyes brimming with tears.

"Though... there are some things I can't explain to you, and I don't even know how to put them into words... but, Miss Tiffany, please believe me." Malone's expression was solemn. "I'll get you out of here. I won't let those orcs hurt you."

"Please believe me." Malone repeated himself, his heart filled with tenderness for Tiffany.

Back when he'd played the game, Malone had never given much thought to factions or conflicts. After all, he'd only been playing a game.

Now that he was in the middle of it all, having seen the orcs' brutality and Tiffany's weakness and despair with his own eyes, Malone understood this world more deeply.

Malone was afraid of dying. He desperately wanted to avoid the Bronze Dragon's patrols. He might be lonely, he might be isolated, but at least he could leave everyone behind and live on his own.

But not until he knew Tiffany was safe. They had only just met and exchanged a few words, yet this beautiful human girl had already won Malone over. If she were a princess, he would gladly become a knight and swear fealty to her.

"Really?" Tiffany looked at Malone's sincere face, unsure whether she should believe him.

"Maybe you don't believe me yet..." Malone looked at Tiffany. He knew he couldn't explain why he was in the orc camp, and the girl had every reason to be suspicious.

"I'll protect you, Miss Tiffany. And tonight, I'll get you out of here, away from the orcs' main camp." Malone made his promise, even though he still hadn't worked out exactly how he would do it.

"I..." Tiffany wanted to say, "I believe you," but the simple words had reached her lips and, for some reason, she couldn't make herself say them.

For a while, Malone and Tiffany fell silent. Though the man and woman in the orc camp were so close to each other, a cloud still hung between their hearts.

Just then, faint footsteps sounded outside the tent, drawing closer.

Malone raised his head warily and stood, fists clenched as he faced the entrance, shielding Tiffany behind him.

Tiffany heard the footsteps too. The human girl shrank back like a startled bird, but when she saw Malone standing in front of her, she felt a little regretful.

Yes—whatever his reasons, Tiffany believed Mr. Malone had been forced to stay in the orc camp.

When she was very young, the old nurse had told Tiffany bedtime stories and said, "Miss, human eyes never lie."

Tiffany had looked into Malone's eyes. She felt he had no reason to deceive her—she was no queen or princess, and the orcs had nothing to gain from her.

I should apologize to Mr. Malone later, Tiffany told herself. He saved you, you foolish Tiffany, and you suspected he had ulterior motives. That wasn't something a kind person should do.

At that moment, Tiffany didn't consider one thing: if the person about to enter was one of those evil orcs, what made her so sure Malone could protect her from the clutches of those savage enemies? When had she begun trusting him so completely?

"Who is it?" Malone had no idea what Tiffany was thinking behind him. If he had, perhaps he would have jumped for joy.

But now, all his attention was on the person about to enter the tent. He asked quietly in Orcish.

"It's me." Teron Gorefiend lifted the canvas and entered the tent. In his right hand, he carried an earthenware jar, steam rising from it.

"What's wrong?" Teron Gorefiend asked, puzzled by Malone's ready-for-battle stance, though his shattered face showed no change in expression.

"Nothing. I thought it was someone else." Malone shook his head and stepped forward, intending to take the jar from Teron Gorefiend.