kscans

Chapter 163 - An Unnatural Occurrence

The person I’d saved was a red-colored goblin.

I felt a wave of exhaustion wash over me at the realization that it was a monster, but I had never seen a red one before. Normal goblins are green, and their color doesn’t change even when they evolve. This was exceedingly rare.

"I’m an adventurer and a hunter," I said, "but I have no intention of hunting you without reason. I saved you, so let’s call it even. You can go. But if you attack innocent people, I won’t show any mercy."

I let a little killing intent leak out.

The goblin was frightened, but for some reason, its expression also held a hint of relief. It was a strange reaction. As I turned to leave, it suddenly clung to my left leg.

"What is it?" I asked, confused.

The goblin was saying something, but I couldn’t understand a word.

As I wondered what to do, I realized this was the perfect opportunity to test that device I found in the kingdom’s ruins.

"Come to my hut," I said. "I have a device there that will let us talk."

I led the goblin back.

Bringing a monster to my camp was a foolish move, but I couldn’t sense any killing intent, let alone hostility. There was no sign of an ambush nearby. Besides, it looked like it was being chased. Something must have happened in the monster world. Gathering information couldn’t be a bad thing.

The goblin’s face showed it understood. It wasn’t very wary. It seemed to have placed some trust in me.

We reached the hut, and I opened a hole in the wall for us to enter.

Tina, who was waiting inside, saw who was behind me. "A goblin?! Why is it here?"

"Well, I’ll explain after we use this device," I said, taking the monster translation device out of my bag.

According to the instruction manual, I first had to press the red switch, then point the microphone on the right side at the monster. The monster’s voice would then be displayed on the screen. Come to think of it, how did an ancient alchemist know about the concepts of microphones and screens? I had questions about how it was made, but I decided to shelve them for now.

I pressed the switch. The screen glowed blue, blinked a few times, and then lit up steadily.

The goblin stared in amazement, but I ignored it and pointed the microphone at it. "Speak into this, please."

At my words, the goblin said something.

{CAN YOU UNDERSTAND?}

Text appeared on the screen.

Tina and I were astonished. To think an alchemist had perfected such technology was terrifying.

"Yeah, I can," I said. "Please, continue."

{THEN I WOULD LIKE TO ASK… IS THAT WOMAN YOUR PRISONER? …IT LOOKS LIKE SHE’S IN FETTERS.}

At this message, Tina and I both froze.

Right, I had completely forgotten that we had been in the middle of some bondage play. The goblin wouldn’t understand if I told it the truth.

"No, she’s my partner," I lied, trying to make it sound plausible. "But we were just captured by bandits. I managed to rescue her, but it seems those guys dropped the key somewhere. We couldn’t find it at their hideout, so we had no choice but to come back like this. I was about to try picking the lock when I heard the scream."

Tina was pouting slightly. My explanation made it sound like she’d been caught off guard. She hated to cut corners, especially since she was usually so meticulous. But I couldn’t think of any other explanation that would be convincing.

I placed my left hand on Tina’s right shoulder and gave her a look that said, ‘Please just go along with it.’ She reluctantly dropped her expression back to neutral.

The goblin replied, {THAT’S TERRIBLE.}

It was feeling sorry for us.

I realized the conversation wasn’t going anywhere, so I got to the point. "Now, for the main topic. Why were you being chased by goblins, your own kind? Please start from the beginning, if you would."

I asked the question seriously.

The goblin looked down for a moment before answering.

{I LIVED IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS TO THE NORTH OF HERE. THERE, ALONG WITH MY OWN KIND, LIVED MANY DIFFERENT SPECIES, AND I WAS THEIR LEADER. …BUT A FEW DAYS AGO, A MONSTER I HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE APPEARED, TOOK MY PEOPLE FROM ME, AND TOOK CONTROL. …THEN, IT USED EVERYONE TO TRY AND KILL ME. …FORTUNATELY, THERE WAS A HIDDEN PASSAGE, SO I MANAGED TO ESCAPE, BUT I WAS PURSUED ALL THE WAY HERE.}

So a revolution had occurred among the monsters. And if it was in the northern rocky mountains, it was highly likely these were the monsters from the border. Which meant the goblin in front of me was the former boss of the monsters that had been fighting humans for so long.

Honestly, it was a letdown.

I had expected a boss to be incredibly strong. To have the presence and power befitting a demon lord. But this thing, aside from its unusual color, had the appearance and strength of a regular goblin.

I couldn’t fathom how it had become a boss.

"From the sounds of it, it’s a hard story to believe," Tina said. "But then again, what would a monster have to gain by lying? And it might connect to why the fighting at the border has intensified. What are the new monster’s intentions for leading the others?"

The goblin replied to her question.

{IT SAID IT WANTS TO DOMINATE HUMANKIND.}

That was quite the revelation.

"Domination, huh?" I said. "That’s a monster with some serious ambition. An existence we must defeat. But I have a question for you. Why were you fighting humans?"

{BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE WOULDN’T BE SATISFIED OTHERWISE. …BECAUSE EVERYONE SAID WE SHOULD FIGHT HUMANS. …THAT’S ALL.}

It displayed the words while looking down.

So this goblin just did what it was told. Even if it didn’t want to. That made things even stranger. How could something with no drive become a boss?

"Why did everyone follow you?" I asked. "I don’t mean to be rude, but you’re weak, aren’t you?"

{I DON’T KNOW. …WHEN I REALIZED IT, EVERYONE WAS LISTENING TO ME. …SO I JUST STARTED LEADING THEM.}

The text appeared, accompanied by a look of confusion.

So it didn’t even know itself. In a video game, the logical conclusion would be that it has some kind of mind control ability. To be honest, I still wondered if I was being manipulated right now, but I felt no sense of affection for it. If it tried anything funny, I was fully prepared to cut it down.

"What do you think, Tina? About what it just said?"

"I’m half-convinced," she replied. "If the fighting at the border intensified because the monster boss changed, that would make sense. My doubt lies in whether this goblin was really the previous boss. It’s possible the real boss is dead, and this one, a subordinate, has taken up its will."

That was a convincing argument.

It would explain why this thing had no power.

{THAT’S FINE WITH ME,} the goblin displayed, its expression unconcerned. {AS LONG AS YOU UNDERSTAND THAT I AM HARMLESS.}

It seemed to have no sense of pride.

"What are you going to do now?" I asked. "Tomorrow, we’re heading to the place you came from to fight the monsters. We might even fight the boss. What do you want to do?"

{IT WOULD BE A LIE TO SAY IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ME. …IT’S SAD TO BE SEPARATED FROM EVERYONE I LIVED WITH FOR SO LONG.}

A sad expression appeared on its face as the text scrolled.

This was a tough one. Even if it was a monster, its feelings were no different from a human’s.

But I was a hunter. I could show respect, but not sympathy.

However, thinking about what would happen after we defeated the boss, this goblin might be necessary.

"I have a proposal," I said. "If we defeat the boss, I want you to go back and take your place as leader. But don’t feel like you owe us anything. I’m a hunter. My job is to hunt monsters. If you all stop causing trouble for humans, I’ll be out of business. So I need you to go back to pestering humans, just like before."

The goblin thought over my proposal before replying, its eyes filled with resolve. {IF THAT IS WHAT IT TAKES TO RETURN TO MY PEOPLE.}

"I agree," Tina said, though she looked reluctant. "Our job as adventurers is to protect people from monsters. Peace is the best outcome, but being out of a job would be difficult for me."

Even a model adventurer hated the thought of unemployment.

"So we have a deal?" I asked. "And of course, this is our little secret, right?" I placed my right index finger to my lips.

Tina nodded, and the goblin nodded too. Apparently, it understood the gesture.

"Alright, let’s get some sleep," I said. "And Tina, let’s get those fetters off."

I pretended to pick the lock and removed them.

Tina and I slept inside the hut, while the goblin slept outside.

It seemed to be more comfortable out there.