Goblin Knight - Chapter 329



Only Noblemtl

EP.329 City Rats (9)

The reactions from the children varied.

But none of it was positive.

Among them, the brightest reaction was a question that seemed to be ‘Where is my hometown?’

While Blanc was flustered by the reaction that was far from what she had expected, Rani glanced at the children and said.

“I appreciate your consideration, but… I’m from an orphanage. I’m sure other kids are like that too.”

“… … .”

“So, I would like you to take me to the church, the closest church… That is… … .”

Lani paused and glanced at the gap in Blanc’s broken armor.

He realized too late that he was a monster, and he had a look on his face like he was thinking, ‘Oh no!’ about how the monster would hear him asking him to go to church in his monster body.

“church?”

“Hic, okay, I was wrong! It’s a bit weird there, isn’t it!? Then just take me to the village!”

“No, if I can just do something about the broken armor, then it doesn’t really matter… … .”

Anyway, I have been to church several times in the past… no, in the future for various reasons. I don’t dwell on that now.

The reason Blanc mumbled was different.

‘Why is it that you specifically call it a church?’

Was it because it was too far to return to the orphanage they had been in? Did they not want to cause any more trouble to the unknown goblin? Or did they just want to get away as quickly as possible?

It’s a sad possibility, but not impossible.

You thought you had barely escaped from your captors who were trying to sell you into slavery, but then a goblin suddenly appeared. You wonder what the hell is wrong with you.

But then the order is strange again.

If you just wanted to get away from him quickly, why would the word ‘church’ come before ‘the nearest town’?

“Is there a reason why you have to go to church?”

“Oh, no. There’s nothing like that! It’s just that they might take us in since we have nowhere else to go!”

“You have no intention of going back to where you came from?”

“Oh, no, of course I should… but first, I need help from other adults, so until I can find those people, I think it would be good for you to stay in the church… … .”

The words are crude.

Although the story is consistent, it feels like it was haphazardly put together.

There is probably something hidden. Especially when the word church is included, it is extremely ominous. It has been involved in more than one or two bad things.

It is also concerning why the rat swarmer would spend a huge amount of money to hire slave traders to kidnap these children.

but…….

‘… … There is no reason to dig it up right now.’

Blanc’s biggest guiding principle is ‘the possibility that an incident he did not intervene in could develop into a tragedy.’

Of course, the stories surrounding these children are still extremely suspicious, but unless the parties involved wish to reveal them, it is a matter of personal history.

So, if you leave that out, the only threats the children are facing right now are kidnapping and food, clothing, and shelter… Even without Blanc’s intervention, those problems can be roughly solved if they go to a nearby village.

It wasn’t a problem he had to get involved in.

Blanc, who had roughly decided on the meaning, sighed softly and said.

“Whatever you’re hiding, if you don’t want to reveal it, there’s no reason to dig it up. Alright, let’s go to the village.”

“Thank you… … .”

“But I don’t know the geography of this place very well. Where is the nearest town? Does anyone know?”

An expected silence followed.

The children were being transported in a carriage. There was no way to know where the forest was, let alone the road.

Damn, this is why I kept that coachman alive… and the only one who seemed to know the way ended up going on an underground journey with the rats.

Naturally, everyone’s gaze turned to Nellyvia.

“Mong… Nellyvia. And you?”

“You know this is the northern part of the continent.”

“Thank you for the most helpful advice in the world. I guess I’ll have to go down the river and hope I come across a village.”

“Huh? Why the river?”

“… … .”

What on earth was this reckless young lady thinking when she ran away from home and came out into the human world without even knowing such obvious common sense?

I said it because I was frustrated.

Did I really go out for a walk in the garden? After all, if I fly high in the sky, I can see where everything is and I can go back freely. If I have wings, will I think that easily?

I’ve never had wings before, so I don’t know. Where can I get one? Something like this, big, white, and majestic…

“Why are you suddenly not talking?”

“I was wondering where I should start to fill in some of your lack of common sense. I wonder if I felt this way too… … .”

“What the!? What kind of rude habit is that, goblin! You might not know what the river is like!”

“… … At least I accepted it quietly, so I guess I saved you some emotional distress. That’s comforting.”

Blanc shrugged his shoulders and stood up. He was slowly tidying up and leaving.

Nellyvia, who seemed to be indignant at being ignored, often followed him around, asking, ‘So why did you go down the river?’

The children, including Rani, just tilted their heads, wondering how the relationship came to be.

* * *

“Oh, indeed!”

After a while.

After Blanc put the children in the carriage, he sat in the coachman’s seat and drove the horse along the river.

Since Nellyvia is a dream horse with wings, there was a plan to fly in the sky and figure out the geography, but Nellyvia refused.

There is no big problem with using charm or simple magic for self-defense.

However, if you cast high-level magic or break your human disguise, your location will be immediately revealed to the demons, and this runaway will end.

If that happens, not only will his goal become more distant, but his life could also be in danger.

Blanc quietly decided to take the first option, which was to ‘just go down the river’.

So, I think it’s really nice to see the horses dying of happiness while listening to the lead of a goblin or something.

Nelivia, who was sitting next to him and listening to Blanc’s stories about the world, clapped her hands and said as if she had realized something.

“Humans need water to live, so it was natural for them to form communities near rivers where water was easy to obtain! I understand that perfectly!”

Whatever the current situation, Nelivia is very intelligent as Annelie’s true self, and she quickly understands and accepts whatever he says.

But apart from that, I was bothered by the fact that he kept using words like ‘human’ and ‘food’.

Blanc asked, wondering if there was any point in disguising oneself as a human being when one speaks like that.

“I was just asking, but since you’re still like that, aren’t you trying to hide your identity for now? Your speech is so human, is that okay?”

“Huh, this is just a disguise to fool the demons who came looking for me. Humans didn’t care in the first place. Rather, there are males who like it when you talk to them like this.”

Nellyvia said with a look of incomprehension on her face.

If it had been Blanc a while ago, she would have made the same expression as her. Saying, “What’s so good about that?”

But unfortunately for his purity, the one who was by his side and educated him was Annelie, who was excellent in everything including special walls… … .

“Your karma is deep. You seem to be the most fearsome being in the world, humans.”

“Huh? Why did you like that guy?”

“… … You don’t have to know yet. It won’t be of any benefit to a young child to know.”

“Who says you’re young? You certainly look older, but I-”

“No, wait. Sorry, but let’s stop talking here. Even as I’m talking to myself, something’s starting to feel weird.”

It wasn’t just because of his age.

For some reason, I felt like if I continued this conversation any further, I would cross a river from which there was no return.

After barely stopping the conversation from going in the wrong (and dangerous) direction, Blanc hastily changed the subject.

“But what about the children in the carriage? We may not have been together for very long, but did they ever find your words and actions strange?”

“I was feeling suffocated by the restraints, so I showed them a few simple spells. They seemed to think I was a wizard. I’ve never met a human wizard before, so I don’t know, but do you think I have a similar vibe? Dignified and noble… .”

“Well, a friend of mine said, ‘They’re a group of people who all have a good head on their shoulders.’”

“… … .”

Whether or not Nelivia narrowed her eyes and glared at him, Blanc suddenly raised his head and looked at the distant sky.

Several puffs of light smoke appeared.

“Isn’t that… a trace of the community you were talking about? What, the village was closer than I thought?”

“No. It’s a community, but there are too few smokes to be considered a village. It might be a hunter’s hut.”

Even if it wasn’t the village they were supposed to visit, it was definitely good news. The presence of the hunters was proof that there was a village nearby for them to interact with.

Blanc yanked the reins and urged the horses toward what he assumed was the cabin.

But after a while.

“… … Stop for a moment. Wait here.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I think there’s something I need to see first.”

Blanc suddenly smelled a certain scent in the forest, stopped the carriage, and ran towards the cabin.

It was a smell that had become very familiar to me by now.

‘Human blood.’

That’s quite a lot, and it smells extremely fresh.

Whatever that place was, whoever it was that was there… death was coming.

Blanc, feeling close enough, kicked off the ground and jumped up to the tallest tree nearby.

The view that the forest had hidden was revealed.

The first thing that appeared in the forest was proof that Blanc’s predictions were wrong.

It wasn’t a hunter’s cabin or anything like that. It was a hastily put together camp made from scraps of supplies from around the area.

Judging from the demeanor of those lying there, they were clearly part of a gang of bandits who had attacked slave traders… or at least people in a similar industry.

‘A bandit camp. Someone just cleared it out. It would have been a hassle if we had just left. But… … .’

Blanc narrowed his eyes.

Thanks for saving me the bother, but who are you?

It’s too far away to see clearly, but judging by the marks on his sword, he’s definitely not an ordinary person-

– Hey, wait a minute! Wait a minute!!

A scream was heard from beyond the darkness of the forest.

A hushed, urgent male voice.

– Sorry, sorry… I’m sorry! I didn’t know! I didn’t know you guys were involved, and that things would turn out like this!!

– … … .

– Never, ever again… I will never get involved in something like this again. No, I will repent… I will repent! I will get my mind right and live my life as a servant of the law! So, so please-

The man’s begging did not continue any longer.

What followed was a splatter of sticky liquid and the sound of something blunt hitting a pile of leaves.

and.

– Everything… flows according to the will of the law.

All that was there was was a pure white hem that had disappeared into the shadows of the forest.