Goblin Knight - Chapter 342



Only Noblemtl

EP.342 Once Upon a Time (21)

“Ugh… ugh… … .”

When I came to, the first thing I felt was a sharp, stabbing pain rising from my abdomen.

It was the worst feeling for someone who had just woken up, but it helped me a lot in coming to my senses quickly.

Blanc, who had regained consciousness semi-forcibly, groaned in pain while trying to clear his mind.

‘Apparently… I must have fallen because the wound from the executioner’s sword was too deep. Since I was able to get up again, I must have woken up before the executioners.’

I raised my heavy eyelids and cleared my blurry vision.

A dark sky with stars, a forest landscape similar to the one where he last fell, but different.

Did Nellyvia move him? She must have used magic.

So where is that Nellyvia?

– Uh… Oh, is this the original color? No, but I put in everything that looks good on the body… … .

In front of a campfire where the kindling was put together very carelessly, it wouldn’t be strange if it spread into a large-scale fire at any moment.

A girl’s voice could be heard mumbling as she sat with her back to Blanc.

The next sense to return, after pain, sight, and hearing, was smell. Something sour and bitter smelled boiling from the campfire.

Blanc frowned unconsciously, wondering what this smell was, but soon realized that he had smelled something similar before.

After I first learned from my mother how to use fire for cooking, it was the smell of the little animals and nearby trees that I would boil and burn to eat.

‘… … .’

Combining his current situation with Nellyvia’s words, an unspeakably ominous conjecture passed through his mind.

Blanc, who thought that he might die from poisoning rather than injury, quickly got up.

“nightmare.”

“Ah, ble… goblin!”

Nellyvia looked back at him with a glad expression.

What was visible behind it was a pot that had originally belonged to the kidnappers, and a bubbling sound that had not been heard properly a moment ago was heard along with the sight of something like dark red, sticky bubbles boiling up.

Perhaps he was trying to make something like a health food with his meager knowledge to help Blanc recover.

It’s kind of special, but… … .

‘… … That pot is no longer usable.’

I don’t know how they controlled the heat, but the berries inside were turning black and the shape of the pot was distorted.

Blanc let out a small sigh and pointed to a ‘nutritious food’ that was packed with various nutrients and minerals.

“Did you boil it for me?”

“Uh… That, that’s right. Even though you’re just a goblin of some sort, I’m personally making this a special treat for you because of your devotion to me.

“Thank you, but I politely decline.”

“uh?”

“That’s no longer fit for consumption by living creatures.”

While Nellyvia was looking at the pot with bewildered eyes, Blanc, who had avoided the death that was right before his eyes, finally examined his wounds.

It was a fatal injury, as the blade protruded out of the other side of the body. Normally, it would have taken dozens of days just to stabilize, let alone recover.

No matter how much healing power the demons used, it was obvious that this was something that could not be helped, as the wound was still unhealed and bleeding was clearly visible.

I really thought he wasn’t dead.

‘… … Well, it would be presumptuous to expect the concept of hemostasis from Princess Nellyvia, who has probably never bled in her life. Let’s at least consider the fact that she tried to feed him something.’

“The creature… is not edible… I thought it might not taste good… but that’s about it… … .”

“Mongma, where are my pockets?”

“Ah… here.”

A dejected-looking Nellyvia tossed his pouch to him… and then put it down in front of him.

The food we had gathered in the city had pretty much disappeared. It must have fallen victim to Nellyvia’s ‘nutritious food’.

Take out the hemostatic bandage and herbs from the innermost part.

As Nellyvia looked at him with eyes that seemed to ask, ‘What is that? What are you going to use it for?’, Blanc lifted up his top.

“Watch it carefully. It seems like you have something to learn.”

“What, what? What are you talking about all of a sudden? What on earth do you want me to do with your body?”

“… … Even if you leave a wound alone, it won’t heal. You have to wipe away the blood, apply the appropriate herbal medicine, and then wrap it with a bandage to expect at least minimal recovery.”

“ah.”

There’s a long way to go.

While Blanc was tying the bandage tightly with a gloomy look on his face, Nellyvia asked cautiously.

“Was it a mistake for me not to take that action?”

“To the point of determining life and death.”

“eww…….”

“By the way, it was a big mistake that you didn’t erase the traces of your arrival here. You can see the footprints, as well as the unnaturally bent bushes, even without looking closely. Anyone who has the will to track them can do so.”

“… … .”

“So, let’s say… you almost killed me three times now, through your ignorance.”

Once because I didn’t even know how to stop the bleeding from his wound, once because I revealed my location to my pursuers, and once because I almost poisoned him when he was already in a terrible state.

Even if there was no malice, it was the truth.

But, because of the tone of voice, Nellyvia, who had been feeling depressed, got angry and raised her voice.

“… … Aren’t you being a bit harsh! Do you know how much trouble I had to take to get you here without a big shock!? But how could you-”

“nightmare.”

Blanc, who was fully bandaged, spoke quietly.

“I can’t protect you all by myself. Not even before I got injured, and even less now.”

“uh…….”

“So you have to figure out how to survive on your own. You have to be able to do things that I can do, and even things that I can’t reach. What if I leave you for some reason?”

Either he gets ambushed while hunting for food, or he gets forcibly separated by some sort of magic, or the rabbit’s foot suddenly sends him back to the future… … .

… … Or else, you can’t even return to the future and get killed by the Executor in this time zone.

Because only Princess Nelivia was guaranteed survival in the future, and Blanc was not.

“I understand that your tone was bad. But this is a matter of survival. One mistake, one thing you don’t know, can lead you to a crisis.”

“… … .”

“So, put aside your petty pride. I will do my best to protect you, so you must also humbly acknowledge and accept your mistakes and ignorance. Do you understand?”

Nellyvia did not answer right away, but bowed her head.

However, he was only mumbling in a voice so small that even that could not be heard properly.

“Why… … .”

“what?”

“… … .”

Nellyvia, who had been silent for a long time without answering, raised her face again.

On a fresh face, eyes filled with a hint of venom.

It seemed like he had made some kind of resolution.

“… … Teach me how to do it. There’s no need to teach me twice. After all, most people remember most things after seeing and hearing them once.”

“I see.”

Blanc glanced at the bonfire that was burning dangerously, threatening to burst into flames through the forest at any moment.

“First, let’s start with how to properly light a fire.”

Perhaps if he had woken up just a little later, there would have been one more time when Nellyvia almost killed him.

* * *

After putting out the immediate fire (literally), Blanc carefully sat down in front of the new fire.

After all, it’s not like you can teach everything you need to know about travel and survival in a few hours. There are just too many variables to consider.

It would be right for her to correct herself every time she makes a mistake when exposed to a new environment or situation.

So now was the time to check the goal.

“Mongma, how far is your territory from here?”

“Flying a little faster than a swallow, about 5 days? Um… Do you understand?”

“… … .”

Although it was a very abstract answer and difficult to understand, Blanc decided to try to fit it into his own experience.

I remember riding a trama across the plains and almost paralleling the swallows flying low.

Since a horse is slightly slower than a trasha when running at a trot on the plain, does this mean that if you only count the straight distance, a horse can arrive there in five days by running at full speed?

But the horse can’t run that fast, the terrain isn’t all flat, and in addition to having time to eat and rest, he also has to shake off his pursuers…

‘Even if I go without getting involved in anything, it will take about 40 days. And even that is on the condition that the horse follows my commands perfectly… Wait, horse?’

I forgot because I was absent-minded… Now that I think about it, wasn’t there a horse and carriage when I left the city?

Where did they go?

“Mongma, what about the horses?”

“Didn’t we run away with all our might when we were attacked by the executioners and fell off our horses?”

“… … .”

Okay. There is no need to even talk about the difficult journey anymore.

Considering the speed, they should have returned to the city to get the horse, but at this point, with the Executioner chasing them, returning to the city would be suicidal.

There are two options.

The first thing to do is to find a fast vehicle, whether it be a horse or something else, and enter the territory of the Demon Tribe.

And if there is another option.

“In the unlikely event that we cannot reach your territory within 77 days… is there a place nearby where we can avoid the attention of the Executors?”

“Well, we as the Demons know how tenacious they are, so it seems like we won’t be able to avoid their pursuit. But… … .”

“but?”

“… … I know a place where even those guys won’t be able to easily chase after them. And the timing is just right.”

Nellyvia’s face became pale as she spoke.

Although she did bring it up in words, it seemed like she really didn’t want to go all the way to the very end.

“A land where, at a certain time, the harshest winter in the world rages. A place where even your breath freezes and shatters, and your eyelids stick together every time you blink, eventually becoming unable to open them forever… … .”

Nellyvia said gloomily.

“We called that place, that, and her… ‘Two Months of Cold.’”