Chapter 21: The Scar of Defeat
[Race] Goblin
[Class] Duke; Horde Chief
[Divine Protection] Goddess of the Underworld, Altesia
[Subordinate Beasts] Kobold (Lv9)
“Only shallow wounds, nothing serious,” replied Gi Go.
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[Level] 9
[Possessed Skills] <
[Attributes] None
“Yeah, although we didn’t come back unscathed.”
Having calmed down to some degree, I entered the prisoners’ shed.
◇◆◆
“A bit cranky today, aren’t you?” I asked.
To which the goblin in front of me responded with a smile as if deriding itself.
“I lost some of my subordinates… Even though I dared call myself king; it’s unsightly.”
In other words, you’re depressed? Even though you’re a monster?
Ever since I was acknowledged by the Goddess of Healing, Zenobia, and received her divine protection, I’ve been given a number of special privileges. The best education, exemption from taxes in different countries, preferential treatment should I enter a guild, and more.
One of the things I’ve been taught is the ability to see through lies. No matter who it is or what it is, as long as they possess intelligence, what they’re thinking will definitely show in their eyes. This is knowledge I received from humanity’s highest institute of education, the Ivory Tower!
And just as I’ve been taught, I gazed into the goblin’s eyes, but… it’s not wavering.
It’s common sense in human society that monsters are nothing but brutal, egoistical, creatures. Feelings of camaraderie don’t exist. They are slaves to their lusts, and would attack all humans as their instincts would dictate. And yet… what is this goblin!?
Ever since I’ve been caught by this goblin, this goblin’s done nothing but topple all of my common sense, shocking me time and time again.
That time when the orcs attacked too. Even though it’s obvious that goblins are far weaker than orcs, and yet… and yet it still purposely went to oppose them.
On top of that, it actually asked for its comrades to be healed first before it. For it to have that kind of nobility.
His visage when he proclaimed himself a king…
If only… If only he were human, then he would surely be remembered as a wise king for generations to come, forever preserved within the annals of history.
There’s no doubting it. Feudal lords frantically scrambling amongst themselves for land while they ignore the people. The royal families that would ensnare even their own kin to protect their own position. The officials that know only to feather their own nest. The commoners who would betray even their closest friends for a little gold. And that unsightly mess of a church for what should be a guide to god!
Why? Why won’t people be a little kinder?
I hated the capital’s atmosphere, that’s why I had hoped to work at a church somewhere near the borders.
For a moment, I held on to the hope that as long as the atmosphere’s different, then even the people would act differently. As a follower of Zenobia, I would save those who have been abducted, but instead I was driven into the Forest of Darkness… And now, for some reason, there is a goblin in front of me who is calling itself the king of goblins.
The change in the environment was a bit much, so I was pessimistic at first. But lately I’ve started to get used to it.
On top of that, the goblin in front of me doesn’t act like a goblin at all. A goblin’s a goblin, but for some reason, this one stinks of being human… I can feel it, in its behavior, in its words… I can feel traces of complex emotions.
Even though I was taught that goblins are simple. Even though my experiences proved that to be true. Even though goblins were supposed to be monsters that could do nothing else but live their lives, slaves to their desires as filthy, gluttonous beasts.
These goblins took that common sense, and turned it upside down.
And in the short time I’ve stayed here… I couldn’t help but find them to be more human than humans.
Yet despite that... I am human. If they were to fight against the humans, I wouldn’t be able to stand with them.
So please, I prayed. Don’t fight with the humans.
I am dreaming.
I know this because I know it to be so.
A dream wherein a sword-wielding maiden is facing against a monster.
The monster is towering; they are not equals. But the brave woman minded that not, and she opposed the crafty beast with her sword in hand.
The maiden had with her neither the craftiness to outwit, nor the strength to stall. The one thing she possessed was her courage.
Her brandished sword was proof of that, though her breath found itself tottering.
Aah, I thought. She’s going to lose.
The ferocious, mighty beast pitted against a frail maiden; who would believe otherwise?
Yet the woman showed no signs of retreat, her steps, not faltering even once.
The maiden walked. And a howl that could swallow both heaven and earth erupted, yet she faltered not.
The earth split, she dodged the threat. Slipping through the monster’s attack, she opposed the monster with only a sword in hand.
…And then she reached it.
The bosom of the monster wielding a flaming great sword.
In the instant that the flaming great sword fell, the monster’s face met with mine.
It was me.
The monster stopped in its tracks.
And the maiden’s sword pierced into my chest.
The flaming sword fell from my hands, and it pierced itself onto the maiden.
Then a voice spoke.
“This is destiny,” it said. “Your destiny, that is.”
“Thanks to you,” I replied, putting on as much of a tough act as I could, but unfortunately, my body wouldn’t move.
“Let me throw that question back to you, why do you accept destiny?” I asked back.
I thought I heard her sigh, but as expected, I couldn’t tell what she was thinking behind her voice.
“My elder sister revolted against her destiny to rebel. And again, just now, she opposed me as soon as she saw me… Don’t you think it’s foolish?” said the goddess.
“…The source of your power, the will to rebel (insurgent will), is not infinite. In fact, it is already reaching its limits.”
As the goddess said that, Reshia’s glowing fingers touched my forehead.
And I felt heat move from my forehead to my chest.
Again!?
“You won’t be able to break free from the saint’s charm,” declared the goddess.
You wish to trample on my heart again!?
Who would have thought that being too busy to check my status would actually bite me back like this!?
The charm of the goddess I had neglected released a great power that pressed hard against me.
“Ku… Gu…” I groaned.
I tried to stand up, but I failed, and I fell to my back instead.
As if to obstruct the moon up in the sky, Zenobia who’s been hiding Reshia’s feelings, looked at me.
“It’s not really my place to say this, but please take care of this child,” said the goddess as she neared me, bringing herself over my chest.
“How much longer do you wish to toy with people’s feelings!?” I yelled.
Reshia’s glowing finger headed towards me once again. When her finger pierced into my chest, I felt something change within me.
“A gift from me. This should release the curse from… si–ster…” said the goddess as her voice slowly faded.
Reshia tottered a bit, then finally losing all strength, she fell on my chest.
“But you should take care. The more you use magic, the closer you will be to sister,” whispered the goddess through Reshia, as she twisted about on top of me. “My sister is also known as the goddess of rebellion. The goddess who rebelled against my father, the goddess of revenge and rebellion. That’s why… please… protect this… my beloved… daughter…”
After that, the only thing I could hear was Reshia breathing as she slept.
…Not long after, I noticed that my arms could move again, and the voice of the goddess of the underworld no longer echoed.
I stretched my hands toward the twin crimson moons.
Zenobia…
You said that it was foolish of me to rebel against destiny.
And you also told me to protect Reshia.
But the destiny I saw... aren’t you aware of it? The face of the sword-wielding maiden?
That maiden; she was crying. Reshia was crying.
If you’re telling me to protect that.
Then just as I've thought, I don’t have a choice but to rebel against you and your brethren.
I won’t die, and I won’t kill Reshia. If that is a revolt against the gods, if that is a rebellion against destiny, then so be it.
I shall gladly become a rebel.
The effect of the [Skill] <
Because of the divine protection of the goddess of healing, Zenobia, the mental attacks of the goddess of the underworld, Altesia, will be suppressed.
Think the protagonist’s mental irregularity is at its peak yet?
TL Note: In the kill kill kill part near the start of the chapter, the protagonist actually started turning into how the goblins speak in this novel.
The goblins, you see, normally speak in katakana with some hiragana here and there and some broken sentences, so since the protag started talking in katakana near the end of his intoxication, it kind of showed how he was actually devolving into a monster for real. Just something I thought some of you guys would be interested in knowing. P.S. I really wanted to translate Reshia's glowing finger as shining finger xD.
Author’s Note: