Goblin Knight - Chapter 344



Only Noblemtl

EP.344 Once Upon a Time (23)

Five days from the day the executioner began the pursuit.

After all that time of forced marching north, Blanc felt that the surrounding ecology had changed noticeably since he started.

The trees in the forest, which were so dense that they covered more than half of the sky, had been reduced by more than half, and even those had leaves that were narrow like scales.

Instead, the space was taken over by moss and unknown ferns.

The reason was simple.

‘The weather has gotten cold.’

The temperature, which was not above cool levels until a few days ago, has dropped to a level where it can be described as ‘cold.’

Even though it was a time when the weather was getting colder, it was not normal for the ecology to change this much in just five days.

Could this also be an effect of the ‘Two Months of Cold’? Is it possible to manipulate the local climate even if you are not awake?

It was something I didn’t know.

It was something that there was no need to think about now.

“(Found it! Goblin, found it!)”

Nellyvia, who was walking ahead of him, noticed something and called out to Blanc in a low voice.

She pointed to the clear hoofprints in the mud puddles where a thin layer of frost had settled.

“(It’s a footprint. What kind of animal does it look like?)”

“(Long, forked hooves. Boar… No, big hooves. Elk?)”

“(What can we infer from these traces?)”

“(Footprints that are still wet, heading in the opposite direction from the stream. It must have been a while since the beast that had quenched its thirst returned! Is that right?)”

“(There is only one way to check.)”

Blanc pointed in the direction the footsteps were headed.

Nellyvia seemed to stare out into the forest in that direction for a moment, then she spotted the next trail and hopped toward it.

At first glance, it may seem rash, but upon examining the ground, it appears that Blanc had only stepped on moss and rocks to minimize footprints, as he had instructed.

Talent. Blanc followed behind, laughing.

“(Goblin, do you see? Behind that tree over there!)”

After following the footsteps for a while, Nellyvia pointed straight ahead again and spoke.

Behind the tree trunk, the antlers of an elk were visible, grazing on the undergrowth. Nellyvia’s guess was correct.

At the sight of the girl smiling bashfully as if asking if he did well, Blanc habitually tried to pat her head but stopped himself with his arm.

‘… … I don’t know about anything else, but I just can’t get used to that smiling face.’

Blanc asked, his hand resting on the tree, which had stopped in a rather awkward position.

“(Okay. What should we do next?)”

“(…….)”

Nelivia, who had been staring blankly at Blanc’s hand, soon turned her head toward Elk, pointed her index finger at him, and muttered as if whispering.

“(Better one calm shot than many hasty shots. Don’t be impatient, and aim for the vital spot without waste… Take aim while inhaling, and take aim while exhaling-)”

See… eek!

A thin ice pick shot from the girl’s fingertips, ripping through the air and lodged itself in the elk’s neck.

Even though the huge body tilted and fell, not a single drop of blood flowed out of the elk, perhaps because the awl froze the wound as soon as it was embedded.

The elk, lying on the ground, slowly closed its large eyes, unaware of what had happened to it until the very end.

“Got it!”

Nellyvia jumped up and cheered.

This was the task that Blanc gave to Nelivia.

The process of learning how to track beasts with your own power and successfully hunt them without a trace using as little magic as possible.

Even with her natural talent, Nellyvia couldn’t have succeeded in all of this without magic, so she had failed in every way possible over the past three days.

Today, the third day, he seemed to have momentarily forgotten his dignity in the joy of having achieved a flawless and perfect success.

“At this point, it’s hard to tell that there was hunting going on here. Good job, Mongma.”

“Haha… With this, you’ve learned how to shake off a pursuer, erase your tracks, identify edible plants, make traps for small animals, and now even hunt! Your learning speed is incomparable to that of your lower races! Wouldn’t you say that survival in the forest is perfect with this!?”

Blanc snickered and said as she showed off her small chest and swaggered around with her momentum.

“Is that so? Then should we break up soon?”

“uh?”

“Well, since the princess said she doesn’t need my help in the forest anymore, I don’t think I need to slow down and go with you. I think we’re getting close to that Broken Moon Village, so at this point-”

“Ah, no, that… that… … !”

“I’m joking. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

After ruffling Nellyvia’s fidgety hair, Blanc lightly lifted the fallen elk.

After a moment, the thought crossed my mind that I had finally put my hand on my head like I did with Annely.

Blanc said, holding a little regret but not showing it too much.

“Let’s go to the stream. We’ll drain the blood in the water there and then have dinner.”

“… … .”

Nellyvia glared at him, clutching her disheveled hair, and followed him without saying a word.

Judging from the fact that he kept touching his head the whole time he was walking, he must have been in a rather unpleasant mood.

Should I apologize later?

It was still too difficult for me to deal with women.

* * *

“Goblin.”

After finishing grooming the elk and eating it.

Nellyvia, who had been looking at him with a sullen expression as if she was in a bad mood the whole time, opened her mouth, separate from the elk meat that was the most satisfying thing in the world.

Blanc, who was preparing to go camping, finally felt that it had come, and he was ready to apologize for the ‘insolence’ he had shown her while hunting.

But what Nellyvia said was something else.

“What were you doing?”

“Uh… I’m just a wandering knight. Like I said.”

“Huh, what about a knight… Aren’t you supposed to be appointed as a knight by the edible- human nobles? And what kind of knight are you?”

“Poking where it hurts.”

Blanc smiled bitterly.

“As you said, I can’t be called a knight since I haven’t received a title… but I have been appointed. So I guess I can call myself a knight.”

“If you’ve been appointed, doesn’t that mean you have a title?”

“It’s complicated. That’s-”

“Oh, and don’t even bring up the story about the Goudae Temple. It’s such an obvious lie.”

Nellyvia said, quietly watching the campfire.

“Anyway… if you’re a wandering knight, then you’re looking for someone to appoint you as a knight.”

“It’s a little different… but roughly?”

“Then, after all this is over. So, after we’ve somehow shaken off the pursuit, are you planning to go wandering again? In search of your master?”

“… … .”

It was difficult to answer.

How else can I say that I am not simply going on a wandering journey, but that I am disappearing from this timeline forever and returning to the future?

So when Blanc remained silent, Nelivia looked at him, wondering how he interpreted the silence.

“Is that so?”

“… … .”

“Well then… can’t I be your master?”

“huh?”

“Well, it doesn’t really mean anything… I want to reward you for your dedication, and more than anything, aren’t you a very convenient person? Since you know so much about the outside world, I like to keep you by my side to entertain myself whenever I need a change of pace!”

Nellyvia spoke to Blanc in a voice that seemed to be rambling.

A very convenient being. A much better interpretation than the crazy goblin I first met a week ago.

but…….

“I have no choice. I refuse.”

“uh!?”

Nelivia opened her eyes wide in genuine surprise at Blanc’s sharp rejection.

There was a good reason for this, other than the fact that one day we would have to return to our original time.

“Oh, why? I’m personally appointing this person as my confidant! There’s no greater honor!”

“Honor is not important. If you want my loyalty, you have to be noble enough. So much so that I want to follow you just by seeing you.”

Blanc glanced at Nelivia and asked.

“Do you think you are that kind of being?”

“… … .”

“Refined your soul so that you can confidently answer that question. Prove to me that you are worthy of my loyalty. Then I will think about it.”

“Ugh… extreme… … .”

Nellyvia glared at him, her cheeks puffed out in anger.

Like it or not, Blanc stabbed reality.

“In the first place, there is still too much to go to discuss such a story. It has only been five days since the Executor discovered my existence.”

“Still, there has been no pursuit. I haven’t even seen the hem of that white robe, let alone the executioner.”

Nellyvia said hopefully.

“We’ve come a long way from where we were first attacked, and a lot of time has passed. Could it be that we really got away? Why, because I erased the traces as you taught me-”

“I couldn’t erase everything, though. I think I missed a few minor details, like flat, fallen leaves.”

“How can you check even such trivial things!”

“That little thing separates the beginner from the expert. Anyway… that was a very good point you made.”

Blanc muttered, frowning.

“I still don’t understand why the enforcers haven’t found us yet.”