Chapter 267: During the Journey (2/2)
“Okay, I’ll drink the medicine, but you need to go to sleep already.” the Goblin King said.
“It’s fine, no? Come, drink. Or maybe you want me to help you drink!? Your body is so big, and yet you were thinking about such things?”
“I didn’t say anything like…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. As a believer of the G.o.ddess of Healing, I shall personally attend to you, Your Majesty.”
Reshia sat on the Goblin King’s lap and brought her face near his with a smile.
“Now, Your Majesty, say ahh.”
“Mu, ahh.”
The Goblin King opened his mouth obediently, and Reshia filled his mouth with her medicine.
“…How is it, Your Majesty? Do you feel better?”
“Yes, I feel much better, so you can be at ease and retire for the night as well.”
“I see, that’s good… At least, you’re feeling better now…”
As she said that, the last of her strength left her, and Reshia fell asleep. The way she looked as she slept with that peaceful smile was truly fitting of one known as a saint.
At the very least, that’s what the Goblin King thought.
The Goblin King laid Reshia on the bed, and watched over her sleeping face.
“So liquor can expel even the poisons of the heart… In that case, lend me an ear while you sleep and hear out the poison within my heart.”
The Goblin King fixed his posture on the chair, and drank the grape wine again.
The memory he remembered, that thing within him that made him feel as though there were another existence inside him, and that vague anxiety that made him wonder just who he was… The Goblin King let it all out, and perhaps, Reshia’s medicine was indeed effective. for before long, the Goblin King’s eyes closed on their own.
The poison within his heart expelled, a peaceful slumber took him, and when his slumber reached Reshias ears, she opened her eyes and stood up, then walked over the king to cover him with the blanket he used for her.
“…It’ll all be fine, Your Majesty. I’m sure, it’ll all be fine.”
Then she left the king’s room, and returned to her own to sleep.
◆◇◆
Ever since Gi Za became a Wizard Cla.s.s, his appearance had grown even closer to that of humans. Pale skin, a slender body, and hair, grown long to store ether, tied up into a single bundle behind. His brows were knitted together, but it did little to lessen his beauty.
He looked more like an elf than a goblin. So stark was the difference between him and Gi Go Amatsuki or the Goblin King that no one would think them to be of the same species. Although the same could be said for Gi Do Buruga the Alchemist, he did not have the long slit eyes that gave Gi Za a sagacious appearance. Instead, he had a pair of drooping eyes that made him appear gentle.
But then again, he was still beautiful, and the only thing that changed was the kind of beauty, so he wasn’t really all that different from Gi Za.
Compared to the two of them, Gi Go Amatsuki was a lot closer to the Goblin King in appearance.
With lean muscles in just the right places and a well-proportioned tall stature, his appearance was less elegant and more ferocious, giving him a charm befitting that of the strong. Even the slightest movements that Gi Go made oozed with strength, transforming into an aura that covered every fiber of his being.
A horn stood out from between his unkempt hair as though in defiance of the heavens, and his two eyes were tinged with a scarlet so deep it could penetrate even the darkness. He rarely showed his emotions, not even anger.
Through his thin clothing could be seen taut, brown skin as hard as steel, a curved blade was sheathed by his waist, and a pair of wide pants covered his legs. Behind him was the chief of the Snow Demons(Yugushiva), Yustia, who followed him wherever he went. She did not remove her demon mask.
And then, there was the Goblin King.
Riding on the terrifying, carnivorous horse, an Andrewarchus, he was a giant that extended nearly 2 meters off the ground. The way he looked as he boldly rode with his great swords by his waist might have appeared divine to the goblins, but to the villagers, he was the demon king.
That’s why the villagers tended to rely on the two goblins that looked more like them than the other two that were clearly alien. Such was the nature of man.
Every time they reached a village, the village chiefs would go to Gi Za Zakuend to appeal. And every time Gi Za would knit his brows and deal with them unhappily, but he never pushed them away because he knew that the king shouldn’t be burdened any more.
He would only inform the king with matters that truly required his decision. The other trivial matters he would discuss with Pale through letters to Revea Su.
For example, the boundaries of the neighboring villages, the right to use the spring, and quarrels surrounding the gra.s.slands. Problems were bound to rise when people lived near each other, and power and authority were needed to arbitrate. No amount of hands was enough when trying to solve such problems.
“There’s just too many of them. That witch… Surely, she wouldn’t pick a route full of problems, right?”
Although Gi Za didn’t hide his displeasure from all the complaints, he had no choice but to hear them out.
“The monsters can be dealt with by Gi Go.”
Gi Za carefully thought the problems through, and solved them one after another.
But then the village on their fifth day of travel caught his attention. It was a village with the same distance from Revea Su and Garm Su, in a region that was once considered as the northern part of the Holy Shushunu Kingdom.
“What!? Goblins attacked you!? Hmph, well, we have just right the person to deal with that.”
Gi Za happily received that report, and immediately asked the Goblin King to dispatch Gi Go. Gi Go Amatsuki was beside the king when Gi Za made that request, so he pet.i.tioned the king to approve his dispatchment with his red eyes. When the Goblin King nodded, Gi Go the Sword King took just one goblin with him along with Yustia, and then set out toward the scene of the crime.
As the Goblin King proceeded in his path to world domination, from time to time, they would happen into ‘wild goblins’, goblins not under his banner. At such times, the higher variant goblins were most suited to deal with them.
Gi Gu Verbena and Gi Gi Orudo would surround them with their monster beasts and subordinates, and try turn them into their own, but Gi Ga Rax and Ra Gilmi Fishiga tended to cut them down instead.
The reason for that was because there was a high chance that a conflict has occurred since they’ve been spotted by people already. As someone who had to unite an army made up of many species, Gilmi had to be strict with himself and with others. The same was true for Gi Ga. After all, Aransain had the Leon Heart Clan and the Valkyria, but the main force was the goblins.
Gi Gu Verbena was a goblin supremacist, and believed that any sin a goblin has committed before meeting the king can be forgiven. But the reason he could afford to do that was because he led an army purely led by goblins, and the only humans he had were the few battle slaves that were used for support.
The same was true for Gi Gi Orudo. His army generally had no humans, so he could add goblins to his army without fear of backlash.
The higher variants each had their own way of dealing with the wild goblins, but Gi Go’s way of dealing with them could only be described as thorough.
“The leader of this wild horde needs to be apprehended.”
Gi go said to Yustia and the other goblin upon examining the area where the attack was reported. After that they went into the woods and looked for the wild goblin village that should be somewhere nearby. The goblins had sensitive noses from the start, and that ability was further heightened as they evolved, so Gi Go didn’t struggle much to find the village. When he found it, he boldly entered. The wild goblins stirred upon seeing him, but with him towering over them by at least four heads, a single glare was all it took to make them cower.
“Call your chief.”
Before his heavy and menacing voice, and the aura of the strong that emanated from him, the wild goblins shuddered in fear. So great was the pressure that the chief of the horde couldn’t stand it and ran off. When Gi Go saw that, he gave an order.
“Kill him.”
Like an arrow loosed, Yustia and the other goblin bolted off. They ran like the wind through the dazed goblins, and with a single leap, lopped off the head of the rare goblin and pierced through its heart.
It was the goblin who beheaded the wild goblin chief, while it was Yustia who pierced its heart.
“Good. Henceforth, you shall submit to us, and you will be moving from this village. Refuse, and that goblin’s fate shall be yours.”
None dared to oppose Gi Go’s declaration.
“Masterfully done.”
Gi Go praised, and Yustia happily nodded, then he turned to the rare-cla.s.s swordsman goblin.
This goblin has been with him since their time fighting one war after another. Gi Go drew his curved sword and held it right above the goblin’s shoulder.
“I shall bestow upon you a name. I name you Go Rai.”
The rare cla.s.s goblin bowed his head, and when he returned to the wild goblins with the chief’s head as Go Rai, he subjugated the horde, and prepared to return to the king.
“Umm, Gi Go-dono,” Yustia asked.
“What?” Gi Go said as he watched from the rear most of the new horde.
“Why didn’t you kill them?”
“…In the past, a friend of mine often told me this. That he would like to see a world where humans and goblins can live together.”
“I see. The king won’t get mad, will he?”
“There’s no need to worry. His Majesty isn’t so narrow-minded. But if he does blame me for this, then I shall offer my head.”
“Gi Go-dono!”
“…It was a joke. Hmm, it seems I’m not very good with jokes. Everyone always becomes so serious when I make one.”
Gi Go smiled, and Yustia caressed her chest.
“If you died, I would have to die too.”
“Hmm, that would be troubling.”
Yustia and Gi Go walked together as they followed after the new horde.
The Goblin King’s party waited for Gi Go’s group to arrive before setting off for the volcanic region.