Later that night, the leader of the Pigmen sat with Brug near the fires.
"That might be a good idea," the leader said thoughtfully.
He looked toward César from across the camp, then turned back to Brug and whispered,
"You know, all goblins are like that, even if they are different from the others."
Brug raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
The leader smiled.
"Goblins are… quite lustful."
Brug frowned, slightly annoyed because he felt the man was insulting his leader, but he quickly changed his expression when he realized there was nothing truly wrong with the comment, and soon he burst out laughing.
"That's not exactly a secret."
The leader leaned closer.
"I have an idea… my daughter could marry him..."
Brug blinked.
"Are you serious?"
"If she becomes his companion," the leader said in a low voice, "our tribe… no, our race will gain the greatest protection possible."
Brug rubbed his chin. Although he had already been controlled and his loyalty to César was great, that did not stop him from still seeking greater advantages for his people, so he murmured,
"...That could actually work."
Unfortunately for them, neither of them noticed that someone else was listening.
Behind a nearby tent, a tall pigwoman stood completely frozen.
'Marry a goblin?!' she thought in disbelief, never expecting that her father wanted her to unite with a goblin.
Her fists clenched.
Her eyes burned with fury as she listened to her father's plan.
Her name was Raka.
And she had heard everything.
"Absolutely not."
She rejected the idea immediately. She had no intention of being with a creature weaker than herself. Raka still believed the goblin must have used some kind of trick, so she began thinking of a plan.
The next day, César was training when a loud voice interrupted him.
"GOBLIN!"
César turned to see who had shouted and found a beautiful woman from the Pigman race.
He looked at her curiously, wondering what she wanted from him and why she was looking at him with such clear hostility. He looked her up and down. She was muscular, fierce, and clearly furious.
César blinked and calmly asked,
"What is it, Miss Pigman?"
She pointed at him.
"I heard my father plans to marry me to you."
César raised an eyebrow with curiosity. Of course he already knew. Brug had told him that very same night. César didn't comment on the Pigman leader's plan, since he would benefit from it either way.
"And what about it?" he asked calmly.
Her eyes shone.
"I refuse."
"Oh? Really?" César asked with a slightly mocking tone.
"But it's your father's order. Are you planning to disobey him?"
She scoffed.
"I will never marry someone weaker than me."
César tilted his head slightly and asked as if he had misheard,
"Weaker?"
She raised her spear.
"Fight me."
"If you win," she declared, "I'll marry you."
"And if I win…"
She smiled.
"You convince my father to cancel this ridiculous idea."
As if remembering something, she added cautiously,
"You are forbidden from using Aura or Mana."
"Well…"
César stared at her for a moment with interest. This whole spectacle wasn't really necessary, but he decided to accept. He thought it might be interesting and entertaining.
So he smiled.
"Deal."
There was no need to say anything else.
The duel began immediately.
Raka attacked first.
Her spear moved fast—much faster than most Pigmen César had seen before, of course before they had learned Aura.
But César stepped aside easily.
She attacked again.
And again.
Each strike missed by mere centimeters.
Her frustration grew.
"Stop dodging!"
César finally moved.
One step.
One strike.
He tapped her wrist.
The spear flew out of her hand.
Before she could react—
He appeared behind her.
An arm wrapped around her shoulders, locking her in place.
She struggled.
But she couldn't move.
Her eyes widened.
'How…?'
César didn't answer. He simply released her.
"You lost."
Raka stood frozen.
Her face turned red. Although she had previously hated the idea of marrying a goblin, it wasn't because of his race or anything like that. It was because she believed he was weaker than her.
But now she had seen that he was strong.
Even without using that power.
She stared at him for a moment, quickly calming herself before saying,
"...Fine."
She crossed her arms and snorted lightly, trying to hide her nervousness.
"A Pigman keeps their word."
She looked away.
"I'll marry you."
César laughed softly, thinking that he found her more interesting with every passing moment.
Later that night.
The torches burned slowly.
Inside César's house, Raka stood with her arms crossed.
She still looked defiant.
César looked at her with a burning gaze.
"You know," he said with a mock threatening tone, "you challenged me. Now you have to pay the price for daring to challenge your leader..."
She snorted.
"...I will keep my word. Do whatever you want with me, you perverted goblin."
César licked his lips.
He didn't need to say anything else.
He stepped toward her.