A land of orcs with more men and fewer women

"Lilith, what about you? Are you okay?" Seth asked her, turning his head to the side.

"Me?" Lilith had no idea what Seth was referring to.

Seth turned his head, his eyes penetrating the hole in the cellar roof and seeing more of the night: "I often feel that Lilith is not a little orc."

Lilith's heart skipped a beat.

"Heh." Seth chuckled. "It's weird, isn't it? But sometimes, Lilith is just like the other little orcs. She's curious about street snacks and likes to go to Madam Ruispon's shop to buy clothes for the stone dolls."

Lilith's heart started beating normally again.

"Thinking back to that day when you and I said goodbye. Everything was so hurried, and the time seemed to be long, but we both seemed to have our own thoughts. In the end, we didn't say anything." Seth casually talked about the farewell that day.

"Hmm..." Lilith looked ahead without focus. After telling Seth that she supported him, Lilith felt an inexplicable rejection of what happened that day.

Seth had no intention of stopping: "That day you seemed to be completely enveloped by an invisible martial energy shield."

Perhaps Seth himself found the metaphor strange, and he laughed after he finished speaking.

"Huh?" Lilith was completely confused.

Seth explained: "Yeah. At that time, you suddenly became very depressed. The whole little orc seemed to completely block out the outside world and refused to communicate."

"Is...is there?" Lilith scratched her head embarrassedly.

"Yes." Seth turned his head to look at her and said seriously, "Of course, you look much better now. But the way you suddenly isolated yourself that day still made me worried."

"Seth..." Lilith lowered her head in embarrassment.

"Is it better now?" Seth asked.

Lilith was stunned. Are you feeling better?

No, she just put it aside and avoided it.

Likewise, Lilith avoided Seth: "Well...it's not a big deal."

She hated her own weakness and incompetence, but she couldn't change it.

So, even if I speak out my worries, it won't be completely changed by just one or two words from anyone, right?

Since it cannot be changed, what is the point in speaking out?

The result would only make other orcs look down on her. Of course, Lilith knew that Seth would not look down on her because of this.

However, expressing his disgust for his own character flaws to Seth only added to his troubles.

And Lilith subconsciously rejected this and didn't really want to discuss it.

Even though Lilith's attitude was clearly evasive.

Seth didn't seem to sense it for some reason. He turned his head to look at Lilith, his bloodshot eyes gentle: "Lilith, are you willing to talk to me?"

Lilith pursed her lips. Would Seth like to listen? His own negative emotions, troubles...character flaws.

Seeing that Lilith didn't say anything, Seth asked with a smile, "Do you think I'm weird?"

After Seth asked, he didn't wait for Lilith to answer, but just said to himself, "I also think I am weird. Haha. But, when I think about it, if it were Lilith, even if it was a very small worry or a very bad emotion, I would want to listen to you."

Really? Lilith looked at Seth in disbelief.

Seth understood Lilith's expression, he nodded with a smile, and the entire orc seemed like an tolerant sea.

Lilith pursed her lips and rubbed her toes on the stairs unconsciously: “…I…I…” Lilith kept saying “I” for a long time but finally said nothing.

She sighed heavily and condensed the content into one sentence.

“I hate myself.”

No longer looking at Seth, Lilith, the little orc, lay completely on the steps of the cellar, looking extremely dejected.

Perhaps it was because she was facing Seth that Lilith subconsciously did not want to destroy the impression she had left in Seth's mind.

Therefore, those parts that even I feel disgusted with...are even more difficult to speak out at this moment.

Seth was stunned. He found it hard to imagine how Lilith, a little orc, could say something like "I hate myself"?

Seth looked at Lilith with pity. He had not expected that Lilith's emotions were so delicate.

These days, Lilith...

She must be having a hard time, right?

"Why do you say that about yourself? Lilith, you're a very good little orc." Seth's voice was gentle, trying to comfort Lilith.

Lilith smiled bitterly: "I'm not good, Seth." She said in self-abandonment, "I just showed my good side to you and everyone."

"But... the real me is actually pretty bad." Lilith's eyes were a little sour.

She turned her head to look at Seth with some stubbornness: "I am weak, selfish, and incompetent. I am used to hiding in everyone's love, using weakness as an excuse to evade my due responsibilities."

Seth chuckled: "Everyone's love is to make you happy. It is not to create shackles of responsibility for you and make you suffer. Lilith, you don't have to be too hard on yourself."

Lilith shook her head and looked at Seth steadily: "Love requires responsibility and efforts from both sides."

Seth laughed again: "See, you realize it, don't you?"

"Hmm?" Lilith's blue eyes blinked at Seth, full of confusion.

"You see your flaws, don't you?" Seth said.

Lilith blinked.

Seth laughed: "You said you were weak, you said you were selfish, you said you were incompetent, you said you shirked your responsibilities."

Gentle bloodshot eyes stared into innocent blue eyes: "You didn't. You are a hundred times better than you think."

Seth said slowly: "Lilith, you are not weak, you can face your own shortcomings. You are not selfish, you said that love requires responsibility and efforts from both sides. You are not incompetent," he paused, relieved, "... because personal ability itself has its limits."

Seth put his hand on Lilith's head and ruffled her hair: "You are not running away, you are facing your own shortcomings by constantly criticizing yourself."

Seth said gently, "You're just looking in the wrong direction, Lilith."

With her hair hanging down her forehead, Lilith's little face suddenly wrinkled into a wet shape.

He said, "I think Lilith is very good."

He said: "Lilith's weakness, selfishness, and incompetence are good."

He said: "Lilith, who feels sad for her own weakness, selfishness, and incompetence, is very good."

She complained softly: "What are you talking about?..."

After a few breaths,

"Why?" she asked in a low voice.

He smiled: "Because you are you. The whole you."

Seth's bloodshot eyes had a whirlpool-like suction force that firmly attracted Lilith's attention.

"Your strengths and weaknesses are indispensable in my eyes. They make up the whole you."

A few strands of her light blonde hair were stuck to her temples.

It turned out that tears wet Lilith's face.

"Disgusting..." she muttered.

"What?" The voice was too soft for Seth to hear clearly.

"I said you're annoying!" Lilith sat up straight, half of her face was blocked by Seth's messy hair. Her mouth was wide open, her teeth were white, her mouth was red, and her volume was so loud that her uvula was vibrating, "I hate Seth the most!!"

While saying "hate", he made a sobbing sound.

Seth was startled by Lilith's volume at first, but after careful observation, he realized she was fine and felt relieved. Then he saw her hair was messy and she was crying like a little animal. Seth wanted to laugh and jokingly covered his ears, "Lilith, the little bell in your throat is vibrating!"

The "woo" sound stopped.

Lilith crossed her hands and covered her mouth. She stared at Seth through her hair. She made a meaningless sound through her hands.

Seth laughed: "Alright, alright. I know Lilith likes me the most. Alright, alright, I heard you."

Lilith's mumbling became louder for a moment, then she looked at Seth and gradually died down.

"Hmph!" He sat back on the stairs, no longer looking at Seth beside him. But he couldn't control his mouth, which kept rising.

Seeing this, Seth also lay back down on the stairs, his elbows casually resting behind him.

He looked up and found that the hole in the cellar ceiling seemed to be about to coincide with the position of the stars in the sky. He felt better.

Seth said to himself: "Anyway, I know Lilith likes me the most~"

Lilith glared, sat up, and put her hands on her hips, "No! Lilith likes mother, father, second father, third father, eldest brother, second brother, Pappas, and Antonio the most!"

A series of orcs appeared from Lilith's mouth.

Seth laughed secretly and said in a voice pretending to be disappointed: "Okay, okay... After that, it will be my turn, right?..."

Lilith was speechless. She pretended not to hear and sat back on the stairs.

Seth, who got the answer, smiled childishly.

The cellar became quiet.

The two little orcs looked up together, admiring the night view.

Feel the wind blowing into the cellar, feel the warmth of the night, feel the stars shining...

Staying with Seth in this cellar that is isolated from the outside world but has some gaps gives Lilith a moment of peace.

She said to herself, "Seth, thank you."

I will learn to accept myself completely, Lilith whispered to herself.

Seth closed his eyes and smiled.

~~~~~

Seth accompanied Chief Kurta all the way and sent the orcs to the city lord's mansion.

He took the initiative to pick up Lilith and put her on the frame.

Before leaving, Seth leaned close to Lilith's ear and whispered, "Love is not a responsibility. It does not require the other party to pay."

Lilith disagreed and wanted to refute.

Seth had turned away.

Lilith stood on the antelope carriage and looked at Seth's departing back.

The red crystal dangled beside his ear...

Grandma Kurta called her in, "Lilith, come in. Curfew is almost here."

Lilith subconsciously looked up at the sky and saw the second moon rising in the sky.

She was no longer as anxious as she had been at the first moon.

"I'm coming." Lilith responded to Grandma Kurta and turned to walk into the car.

Rouxi led her to sit together. The two little orcs smiled and winked at each other.

Seeing Lilith's appearance, Kurta felt a little relieved.

After adapting for a while,

Kurta coughed twice and stopped the two little guys who were chatting animatedly.

The three younger generations in the car, except Kurta, daughter Diana, granddaughter Lilith and Rouxi, all looked at Kurta, waiting for her to speak.

We are all family, curfew is imminent, and time is limited.

Kurta didn't waste any words or set the stage, and asked directly: "Lilith, the city lord called you over. What happened? Can you tell grandma the details?"

When Kurta interacts with younger people, he never acts like a big boss. He does not speak or act without boundaries just because the other person is younger than him. Sometimes, there is indeed a sense of distance.

But the younger generations in the family did not stay away because of the sense of distance. On the contrary, Lilith, Rouxi, and Lilith's four brothers all regarded Kurta as an elder they could trust.

When it comes to the city lord, Kurta's questions are very measured. He leaves the power to judge the tone of the incident entirely to Lilith.

In addition to trust in Lilith, Kurta believed that if the matter was too serious, the city lord would not be able to bypass Lilith's elders.

So, calling away Lilith alone probably wasn't a big deal.

However, this time Kurta may have really miscalculated.

Fortunately, Lilith was an orc who knew the importance of things. In fact, even if Grandma Kurta didn't ask her, Lilith was going to tell her about it.

Now that Grandma Kurta asked, Lilith recounted in detail her conversation with the City Lord in the carriage.

There was a long silence. Kurta and Diana, mother and daughter, looked at each other and could see the speechlessness in each other's eyes.

Rouxi didn't understand. She sat there looking at her mother on the right, at her sister Lilith on the left, and then at her grandmother opposite.

After Lilith finished speaking, she saw that neither Grandma Kurta nor Aunt Diana had spoken. She was worried about herself. Did she make a serious mistake? She panicked.

Kurta adjusted his mood for a while, and noticing Lilith's uneasiness, he explained and comforted her: "Don't be afraid, Lilith. It won't have a big impact."

"Ah?" Lilith was stunned. She looked at Grandma Kurta with wide eyes, then turned to look at Aunt Diana. Seeing that the expressions of the two elders did not look like they had encountered any major events, she felt relieved.

"Really, Grandma Kurta? The city lord's plan really won't cause unrest in the city?" Lilith confirmed again.

Kurta nodded, with a look of helplessness and fatigue.

Diana spoke on behalf of her mother: "It really won't have much of an impact."

Knowing that her sister and her family were about to move, Diana understood that Lilith might be worried about the relatives who stayed in Lira. Diana lowered her eyes and smiled. This child was really kind. She was ashamed of her previous calculations. She and Kunta were the closest sisters in the world. It was all because of her unwillingness that they became what they are now. Diana's lips were bitter...

Lilith certainly believed in the judgment of the two elders.

Could it be that I have been making a fuss all along? Lilith was a little embarrassed.

But isn't the city lord's status very high? Lilith thought of this and felt confused again.

Seeing Lilith's expression, Kurta guessed what she was thinking: "The Lord Mayor is indeed the orc who has the final say in the city. But when it comes to the issue of the successor, the Lord Mayor cannot make a dictatorial decision."

"But... the city lord seems very confident in his plan." Lilith recalled the city lord's confident look, and there was uncertainty in her tone.

"My Lord City Lord has been in a high position for many years, and everything has gone smoothly for him. Naturally, his arrogance has increased year by year." Kurta said with a hint of sarcasm.

Diana added: "Lilith, Lila City was built a long time ago, and its internal system is huge, and it has long formed inertia. The interests of all orcs are tied to it."

Lilith tilted her head, pondering the meaning behind Aunt Diana's words.

Kurta's words were more straightforward: "After being in power for a long time, it is inevitable that there will be a few crazy city lords among the successive city lords of Lila City. But Lilith, you see, Lila City still exists today. The city lords have changed generation after generation."

Lilith suddenly clenched her palms, feeling a sharp pain.

She lowered her head and saw that the palm of her palm, which had just healed, was torn again.

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