"Yes!" The orc's heart lurched, and he hurriedly answered.
So I was right. Someone must have already agreed to teach them. Otherwise, why wouldn't the elf look pleased at all? He must know someone else will teach them even if I refuse. That has to be it. Good thing I agreed now. Otherwise, after midnight, I might have been the only one sent back to the quarry.
In fact, the elf himself thought it hardly mattered whether this orc taught them. With so many orc prisoners, surely some of the others had already agreed. At worst, they would have to wait a few more days. It made no difference.
"You should have said so earlier! Serves you right for eating two meals of prison rations! Everyone else got roast meat and wine. What an idiot!" the elf said. "What kind of roast meat do you want? How much? Let me warn you first: The Hinterlands doesn't allow food waste. You have to finish whatever you order!"
"I can choose?" the orc asked, his eyes widening.
"Yes! There's hawkstrider meat, beef, mutton, and boar meat. Again, you have to finish whatever you order. Don't be a fool like your chief. He ordered a whole roast hawkstrider, and he still hasn't finished it." The elf offered the advice kindly.
...The orc almost wanted to slap himself, inwardly cursing his own stupidity. He had seen the chief and his trusted followers eating roast meat and drinking. Why had he stupidly kept holding out? The chief had been eating his roast meat since daytime and still had some left, while he had foolishly gnawed on prison rations all day.
"I want roast hawkstrider too!" the orc said.
"How much?" the elf asked.
"A whole one!" the orc said.
"Are you an idiot? Can you