Goblin Knight - Chapter 314



Only Noblemtl

EP.314 Time Problem (22)

In front of a pile of scrap metal emitting acrid smoke.

As Blanc was staring blankly at it, Nicolas made a metallic noise as if he was angry.

“What are you doing? You expose yourself so defenseless in front of the enemy in the middle of battle? Do you want to sacrifice your life!?”

“No, but, this… just now… … .”

“I know! I heard it too! It’s just a common dummy sound! It’s surprising that you’re still alive, an organism, and that you’re so easily fooled by such trivial tricks!!”

While Blanc was hanging his head, unable to find the words to respond, Gilan stood in the middle and spoke as if mediating.

“What… Calm down. You’re still new to this place, so it’s inevitable that you’ll make a mistake or two. You even saved me just now. Thank you, Sir Blanc.”

“… … .”

“Anyway, now is not the time to be arguing over something like that. We need to hurry up and finish the search before they invade again.”

Gilan staggered toward the other side of the management office.

Blanc, who had been watching the sight for a moment, looked down at the remains of the destroyed tin man again.

Even though it was known that it was a trap to lure him closer, the doll’s last voice was not easily forgotten.

Blanc muttered as he barely managed to turn his gaze away from the pile of scrap metal and explored something that looked like a strange glass tube.

“… … Is this, so to speak, the original nature of tin men to utter emotionally stirring words just before they die? Or is this what you called a ‘broken doll’?”

“What good is that? It’s already destroyed.”

“Don’t change the subject. You were able to sneak past me last night, but not anymore. I need to know everything.”

“Hey, organism.”

Nicola, who was rummaging through something like a desk with a flashing light, spoke without looking back at him.

“If there’s something I didn’t say about this matter, it means I calculated that it would be better not to say it. That’s exactly what happened with the broken doll. What can I do about it?”

“You clearly said that there is a device in the center of this facility that can turn a person into a human! If you use it-”

“How do you know how many times you can use it?”

“──”

“If the number of times is limited, if it’s not enough to turn all the ‘broken dolls’ back into humans… will you give in?”

Blanc froze at Nicola’s simple question.

I never thought of it that way.

But if that situation arises… … .

“Is that all? Since it has come to this, let’s dig deeper until we can both fully understand each other.

Have you ever thought about the scope of the ‘broken doll’ right now? You might be mistaken because there are exemplary broken dolls like me, but the vast majority are not like that. They just have crumbs of humanity like that.

If you put that in the category of broken dolls, what about the good dolls? Should you include those that can develop personalities if they’re broken just enough?

We have no way of determining whether the broken doll has a personality or a soul or not. We do not know whether the last words were a trap to make the enemy let their guard down or whether it was a fragment of a personality that came into existence under some circumstances.

What if we turned those dolls back into humans? The former would be better. All we have to do is kill the naked humans who are trying to oppose us once again.

But what if you become a human with only a crumb of your ego left? You will be born as a lump of flesh that feels pain. Do you really think that is the right thing to do?

If we assume really, really well, something with the intelligence of a toddler would be born, something that may or may not have the ability to learn…

Who the hell is going to take responsibility for this?”

Nicola continued his search, continuously outputting voices without stopping even once.

It meant that it was a problem that had been bothering me for a long time.

And at the same time.

Without being able to answer, Blanc couldn’t help but ask this.

“… … We have no way of knowing if a broken doll has a soul.”

“Yes. So, rather than worrying about it and leaving it in danger, it’s better to destroy everything.”

“Then you too?”

“… … .”

Nicola paused for a moment and was silent.

Soon he nodded slowly.

“I… I don’t know what kind of being I am.”

“… … .”

“I have thought about this thousands of times since I fell in love with her. Is this really a heart that was born with a soul? Or is it just a broken computational circuit like other dolls? Or… was it set up like this from the beginning?

I had no way of checking on my own. The woman and everyone around me said it was okay, but how could that be?

I don’t even know if my love is real, so how can they be sure!? I’m a fucking tin man in the first place! Not even a life! How can I truly love something like that!!

So I needed proof. Proof that I was worthy of loving them, of being loved. Proof that I had a warm heart…

The only way was to become truly human.”

Nicola made a squeaking sound.

In human terms, it would probably be like a sigh.

“Yes. As you said… I don’t know what kind of being I will be when I transform into a human in that center. I could become a lump of flesh without a soul, feeling only pain.

I thought it was a risk worth taking. I decided that for myself, not anyone else. What’s the big deal when you can have a soul?

But those ‘broken dolls’ you speak of aren’t like that. They can become tormented lumps of flesh simply by your will to help others.

So, if you want to bring this issue up again… … .

At least bring me a doll that says it wants to become human of its own free will.

“That’s the end of my story, organism.”

Listening to that story.

Blanc suddenly thought that he had heard Nicolas’ story somewhere before.

Why did I have to be born as a goblin?

Why wasn’t I born like a goblin?

Why did you consider evil to be evil, when you could have simply followed your innate evil without question?

I didn’t want to live like that, so I tried to have a shining soul. I made a crude imitation of the cross and recited the prayers without even knowing what they meant.

The goblin in the cave, even after being given the name Blanc, has been chasing that noble soul… … .

“You were like that too.”

“what?”

“Nothing. Anyway… I apologize. My thoughts were short, but they were too short. This won’t happen again.”

“Huh, that’s right.”

After finishing the outline, Nicola took his hands off the shiny desk he had been looking at and said.

“I’ve checked out all the places that seem like they need expertise, so I’ll have to join the merchants. You finish searching this room with that… wolf?”

“Okay.”

“By the way, is everything okay outside? I can’t hear any more sounds of battle. Judging from the fact that the alarm area is intact, they must have repelled everything… … .”

Nicola left with a clatter in the direction Gilan had gone.

Blanc, who was left alone with Trasha, soon let out a small sigh.

I thought I had continued my adventures and gained many experiences, but I still couldn’t tell right from wrong, so I thought I had a long way to go.

When travelers from all over the world heard this, they would frown and ask what more they had to experience there…

– Kreung.

“Trasha?”

Trasha lightly tapped Blanc’s shoulder as he sighed, perhaps thinking that Blanc was ‘dejected from losing the argument.’

Not really like that.

Still, Blanc was happy that Trasha was thinking of him, so he smiled and patted her head.

Trasha looked at him with blank eyes as if asking what he was doing and lightly bit his wrist and led him.

“Ah, that wasn’t comforting… … .”

– Boom.

As if telling me to stop talking nonsense and just follow him, Trasha wagged her tail and headed to the corner.

Blanc tilted her head. That was definitely… the place Trasha had headed to first when Blanc had been arguing with Nicolas.

What did you find there then? Then why didn’t you tell us earlier? You must have known how important the key card was to us now… … .

“… … Did you find something you shouldn’t know about?”

– Krrrrrr.

Trasha nodded as if to say yes, and stretched her front paws through the gap under the iron-colored display case.

Judging from the fact that only a little dust was swept up nearby, it seemed that Trasha had intentionally hidden it.

After a while.

As Trasha kicked her front paw, it popped out from under the display case… … .

“wait for a sec.”

Without realizing it, Blanc muttered in a bewildered voice.

“No… This doesn’t make sense. Why is this here? This is supposed to be… … .”

Blanc felt his hands tremble slightly as he carefully checked inside his bag.

Everything that was supposed to be there was there.

There was nothing wrong.

then.

What Trasha just took out is-

“Where on earth did you get that from,

no…….

“At what time was it placed here?”

The second rabbit’s foot.

The artifact that can even transcend time is once again in Blanc’s hands.