Goblin Knight - Chapter 326



Only Noblemtl

EP.326 Once Upon a Time (6)

The raindrops that had been falling one by one soon turned into a torrential downpour that covered the forest.

As the raindrops pounded against his shattered armor, the first thing Blanc did was to fix the carriage he had damaged.

It was obviously not a show of respect to the owner of the carriage. In the first place, it is impossible to know whether that human slave trader was the real owner of this carriage.

Wouldn’t they need a carriage to take the children they brought here back home?

‘The pillar is completely out… Damn, I hit it hard. I hope this will help somehow.’

The damage to the carriage was greater than expected, and it seemed like rain and wind would continue to pour in if things continued like this.

What can I do? Blanc picked up a stone of a suitable size nearby, broke it into the shape of an awl, and slammed it into the space between the pillar and the roof, securing it in place.

But even if Blanc had somehow managed to solve the carriage problem, he still had a bigger problem left.

A problem that cannot even be solved with a makeshift solution.

These were horses that pulled the carriage.

– Pururpuhihihiiing!!

“… … .”

As if sensing his gaze, the horses tied to the carriage began to buck violently and shake their bodies.

Blanc sighed as he admired the dazzling rodeo of horses flailing about like madmen.

It’s been so long since we broke up, but I already miss the pumpkin carriage and Trasha so much.

They say you realize how precious something is only after you lose it. Well, it was precious to begin with… … .

“Something seems to be a problem, goblin?”

As Blanc was pondering what to do with them, a girl’s voice was heard from behind him.

It was Nellyvia who was sitting on a tree branch, holding the umbrella of grass he had given her, and watching him with interest.

“I tell you, it’s truly admirable that you’re willing to repair the carriage for me and drive it yourself. But it seems like you couldn’t do anything about the limits of your species.”

“… … It’s not for you specifically. It’s to send those kids back.”

“Well, what do you think? It looks like you’ve already hit a snag on your journey, hasn’t it?”

Nellyvia slightly raised one corner of her mouth and wrapped purple magic around her right hand.

“If only someone had not forbidden my fascination and magic, then this little problem could have been solved in no time.”

“… … I never forbade their use. I just meant that there may be ways to achieve better results, even if it takes a little bit of backtracking, so don’t think of them as the solution to all your problems.”

“Huh, that’s exactly what you’re saying. If you could take back what you said right now, I’d be happy to help you, right?”

“… … .”

Instead of answering her, Blanc slowly approached the horses, his eyes swathed in the monster’s characteristically murderous intent.

At first the raving grew more intense, but with each step he took the horses gradually became quieter.

Soon, when he put his right hand on the chin with a good-natured smile, the horse became as gentle as a fine horse that had been with him for ten years.

It wasn’t like that before. It seems like I’ve gotten stronger. It’s sad to feel the change in this way.

“I don’t think that’s necessary. Sincerity always gets through… It seems like the horses know my sincerity.”

“… … I feel like I forgot how to breathe?”

“You must have been that touched.”

“That’s ridiculous. You told me not to take the easy way out with magic… … .”

Nellyvia shook her head as if it was absurd.

Regardless, Blanc patted the horses’ backs twice to signal that they would do well going forward, then looked at the children inside the carriage.

“When will the children you put to sleep wake up?”

“I didn’t really think about that when I put you to sleep. You’re not dreaming right now, so you’ll wake up as soon as you recover from your fatigue.”

“Then it will take quite a while. These kids have been through so much. They must be very tired both physically and mentally… … .”

“Should I wake you up?”

“No. This is better.”

Blanc turned his head from the sleeping children towards a nearby tree trunk.

The slave driver, whose existence had been forgotten while he was impaled on the tree (and who certainly didn’t want to be discovered again), let out a terrified hiss.

That was understandable.

Even if he had a mutant goblin right in front of him that could kill him right now, didn’t he know at a glance that one of the goods he was dragging was a demon of some extraordinary status?

“Because I can listen to the story without worrying about anything else.”

“Me, Nari, please, please… Just let me live. Even though it looks like this, I have a family to take care of. I will never tell anyone what I see or hear here… … .”

“Begging for your life is good, but your skill level is lacking. In a situation like this, wouldn’t it be better to say you didn’t hear or see anything to increase your chances of survival?”

“Ah! I, I actually can’t hear-”

“stop.”

Blanc, who had no intention of watching the farce, grabbed the hilt of the silver sword that had been piercing him.

The slave trader’s voice rang out in pain.

“From now on, just answer the questions I ask. It’s better to be honest… Monsters have particularly keen senses.”

“Oh, of course. Just ask me anything!”

Blanc nodded at the coachman’s answer, which seemed more motivated to answer than before.

“First things first. Where did those kids come from? Why were they captured and brought here by you?”

“It was a request, a request!”

“……request?”

The question of whether to send the children home was met with strange answers from the beginning.

Blanc frowned and asked back.

“Was there a request to kidnap the children?”

“That’s right! We don’t normally operate in this area. Of course not. Some big shot guy is doing business near the northern part of the empire! This is-”

“It is our land.”

“… …Because this is the territory of the Demons!”

Nellyvia nodded in satisfaction at the man’s answer.

Either way, Blanc thought.

So is this the North before the Yulma War? The time when humans were still afraid of the Demons?

But a bunch of mere bandits and slave traders were trying to invade the land of monsters to sell children?

“That’s a big deal. That request really promised such a great reward, didn’t it?”

“That’s right! I don’t know how the story got distorted, but because of that reward, those thieves got caught up in it because they thought we were delivering something great!”

“… … What exactly did you agree to receive? A lot of money?”

“It’s usually not a lot of money.”

The groom turned his arm behind him to take something out of his pocket, but he yelped in pain as he realized that it was impossible because of the sword piercing his shoulder.

But Blanc realized that there was something in the coachman’s back pocket and reached for it.

After a while I took my hands out of my pockets.

In Blanc’s hand, although covered in blood, it still had its golden sheen…

“What? It’s just a gold coin. Do you think I’m worth something great? Is it really worth risking your life for a few coins?”

Nellyvia said with a disappointed look.

But Blanc couldn’t do that.

“… … No, it’s not just any gold coin.”

“what?”

“This is… Yul’s coin.”

“Huh? You know!”

The slave trader said with a surprised look.

He seemed surprised at the fact that he, a monster, knew of Yul’s coin before even recognizing its existence.

“Explain. What is that? I know that Yul is the god of the religion that the feeders believe in the most.”

“Then you know almost everything. It is a gold coin protected by the name of Yul. Its value will not be damaged under any circumstances and it cannot be stolen… … .”

“It looks to me like you just took it?”

“It’s not physically impossible. It’s the authority of the decree that prevents it. The moment this coin is defamed in any way, it becomes subject to the decree.”

“Wow, you really know a lot. Have you ever been in a church before… Ah.”

The man who had been rambling on and on thought about Blanc’s race again and quickly shut his mouth.

Nellyvia muttered with a bewildered look in her eyes.

“He really is a politically correct guy… … .”

“Interesting observation, but let’s leave it at that. So what you’re saying is that the person who commissioned the kidnapping of the children offered a huge reward in the form of a coin.”

“Yes, yes. Is it worth your while? It’s common to get your eyes kicked in these kinds of situations, but it’s different when Yul’s name is involved. If you succeed, you will receive the promised reward unconditionally without any complaints. If you succeed… … .”

“… … .”

It didn’t matter how great the reward they were promised in return for their commission was.

Blanc looked at the coin with serious eyes.

‘The fact that this popped up doesn’t necessarily prove that the church or the executor was involved, but… … .’

The coin of the law is sometimes used by the executor when he makes a special request, so it is possible that the coin passed around and ended up reaching this slave trader through the client.

In fact, that’s probably much more likely.

But… I still have an ominous feeling.

When have the events that I initially thought were just ‘Blanc’s daily life’ ever gone smoothly?

Perhaps, ‘Blanc’s daily life’ would include that too… … .

“Let’s put this back for now. I don’t want to be the target of execution… Damn, I don’t know if this is a stolen judgment or not. It’s all ambiguous.”

“Heh. You’re afraid of the Executor? Those worthless, petty religious idiots?”

“… … .”

I ignored Nellyvia’s sarcasm, which was bound to make my mouth tickle.

After returning Yul’s coin to the slaver’s pocket, Blanc looked at him again.

“Let’s continue the story. The person who asked you to kidnap him, you said earlier that you knew him, right? You said something about how you hate breaking promises.”

“Ah… uh, um, that’s right… … .”

“Then tell me what you know. Who is he? What kind of author is he that wants to kidnap children? And if you have any idea why he has the Yul coin-”

“Hey, goblin?”

As Blanc was trying to dig up information, he started to attack the groom.

Behind him, Nellyvia muttered with a slight frown.

“What is it, Nellyvia? This guy… … .”

“I’ll say this as a favor. Get out of there.”

“What is that… … !”

Just before completing the question, Blanc also sensed something strange and took a big step back, pulling out his silver sword from the man.

The slave driver let out a scream as blood gushed out, but that was of no importance.

What you really need to pay attention to is… below.

Because it was under the slave trader’s feet.

“Why all of a sudden- what is this, hhhh!?”

Kwaruruk!!

The dirt floor seemed to ripple for a moment, and then in the blink of an eye a huge number of brown rats leapt out of the ground and climbed up the man’s legs.

They were so fast and nimble that the man who was about to scream was unable to make any more sound because of the rat stuffed into his mouth.

“Ah, ah! Guk, keuhup, huh, keuhk… … !”

“Oh my god, what the hell is this!!”

Blanc spit out curses as he stomped, cut down, and blew up hundreds of rats.

But it was meaningless.

The rats, which were replenished faster than he could kill them, quickly covered and destroyed the man’s body.

Whether it was camaraderie or frugality, the rats even took the corpses of the rats Blanc had killed and disappeared into the tunnel they had come from.

After the tidal wave of rats passed.

All that remains where the slave trader’s stables had been until just a moment ago is a pile of dug up dirt.

And there were only coins that glowed gold.

“……under.”

In the meantime, you say you won’t damage the value of the coin. How sincere…

Blanc was so dumbfounded that he couldn’t help but laugh.