The King Who Waits

Walking boldly toward the gate, Gob-tchi slipped inside the fence without a hint of suspicion from the others.

After waiting a short while, several high-pitched cackles began to erupt from the settlement. Shortly after, the gate creaked open, and a Poké-handed Gob-tchi popped his head out. After looking left and right to ensure he wasn’t seen, the goblin slipped back into the thicket where we were hiding.

I rewarded him with a clove of garlic and handed him another Slime Pouch filled with Labyrinth Water. Flashing a wicked grin, Gob-tchi returned inside the fence with a light step.

I repeated this process five times. By now, the high-pitched laughter coming from the settlement had transformed into an eerie, grand chorus.

Yes. Quite shamelessly, I had slipped in more Fairy Dust. I had already confirmed it would be effective by dusting Gob-tchi with Yo’s powder right after his Subjugation.

Deciding the time was right, we killed our footsteps and approached the settlement gate. Peering through a small gap, we looked inside.

The center was an open plaza, where a large number of goblins were rolling around laughing. Some were arm-in-arm, singing something like a song, while others were simply pounding the ground—they looked like they were having the time of their lives. There were several wooden huts around the plaza, and even a watchtower-like structure had been built. It was unexpectedly tidy; their civilization was more advanced than I had imagined. Also, being fairies, perhaps they don’t produce waste? There was almost none of the foul odor one might expect.

Scanning the interior quickly, I noticed a large building further back. And near it, I found my target: a goblin adorned with several large, red feathers on its head.

“Alright, there he is! Gob-tchi, you’re up.”

“Kee-hee!”

Letting out a creepy laugh instead of a verbal reply, Gob-tchi wove through his intoxicated kin and approached the Red-Feathered Goblin in an instant. He suddenly held out his hand. The Red-Feathered Goblin, who had been laughing merrily, glanced at the hand for a moment before extending his own.

The two exchanged a firm, steady handshake. Then, abruptly, Gob-tchi pointed toward the gate where we were lurking.

The Red-Feathered Goblin raised his head and looked straight at us. Realizing our presence immediately, his wide mouth, slit to his ears, distorted into a grin. Standing up at once, the goblin began walking with Gob-tchi. They cut through the noisy plaza and reached the gate, where the feathered goblin peeked through the gap.

After staring at me for a moment, the Red-Feathered Goblin silently held out his hand. I placed Red Magic Stones into it, one by one. Five, six, seven… still no reaction. Eight, nine—there, his palm snapped shut, and the goblin flashed that overflowing grin again.

When he immediately held out his other hand, I breathed a sigh of relief and shook it. Combined with the stones Gob-tchi had given him initially, that made ten magic stones.

Perfect. The conditions to open trade are exactly the same as in the game.

Actually, in Dra-Chro 2, this Red-Feathered Goblin was a merchant NPC. He was an incredibly useful character who would offer convenience within the dungeon and buy or sell various items for magic stones. I came here thinking he might be in a goblin settlement, and it turned out to be a bulls-eye. Softening his guard with my “Special Happiness Water” beforehand seems to have worked well, too. Besides, even if we were accidentally discovered, we could have escaped easily while they were busy laughing.

“Kee-hee-hee-hee-hee!”

“Nice to meet you, too.”

To the Red-Feather who was rubbing his hands together in a theatrical display of greed, I proposed my terms.

“I want to be friendly with the goblins. Can you do something about that?”

Despite being classified as “Wicked Fairies,” goblins are inherently clever and excel at calculating profit and loss. I figured that rather than killing them for experience, forming a mutually beneficial relationship would be a massive help in developing this floor.

After thinking for a moment, the Red-Feather squinted one eye and pulled a necklace from a pouch at his waist. It was a rather ghoulish item, lined with goblin fangs. He held up five fingers, so I handed over five more Red Magic Stones. The goblin took them, signaled for me to lower my head, and plopped the necklace over my neck. Then, he slapped my shoulder repeatedly, wearing a grin that could only be described as malevolent.

“Is this enough?”

I asked, and he nodded as if it were a matter of course. Just to be sure, I stored it in my item list to check; it was named Goblin Amulet. It certainly seemed the part, but it was an item I didn’t recognize.

Noticing my lingering doubt, Red-Feather suddenly grabbed a nearby goblin and shoved him outside the gate. Naturally, the random goblin came face-to-face with me. I almost cried out, but the creature looked up at my neck with a nonchalant expression and then flashed a friendly grin. It was a face completely devoid of hostility.

“This is incredible. Alright, can I get more of these?”

He thrust out five fingers again. Apparently, there are no discounts for bulk orders. I thought about getting some for Yoru and Kuu, but he shook his head. It seems that a human wearing the amulet treats their familiars and servants as allies by extension.

“T-this is quite nerve-wracking.”

“Are we truly safe…?”

The two men exchanged anxious looks, but the young girl was much bolder. She suddenly pushed the gate wide open and gave a spirited greeting.

“I’m Mia! Nice to meet ya!”

“Pushing through—!”

“Koo!”

At the sudden intrusion of a human and two monster-kids, the plaza went silent for a heartbeat. At least fifty goblins turned their bulging eyeballs toward us in unison. I felt a cold sweat run down my spine and swallowed hard.

But in the next instant, a massive roar of laughter erupted. The goblins laughed jovially, clapping their hands for us one after another. It seemed we had been accepted without issue.

“…As expected of you, my Lord. To tame them so easily through mere negotiation. Now the subjects of the Empire have increased once more—”

I decided to tune out the second half of Paula-san’s comment.

Seeing the friendly reaction of his kin, Gob-tchi rested his chin on my thigh with a smug look. He was clearly signaling that this was his achievement. I popped a clove of garlic into his mouth, and he started cackling “Kee-hee!” happily. I think he’s actually starting to get a little cute.

With our resolve steeled, we stepped into the settlement of the Wicked Fairies. We walked among the goblins, but not a single one bared their fangs or readied a bow or club. We crossed the plaza and approached the large building at the back.

“I’m thinking the stairs room is in here…”

Lifting the white rabbit fur hanging over the entrance, the interior was brighter than I expected. Or rather, it had no roof. In its place was a wooden fence surrounding the area and seats made of lined-up logs. They were cleverly tiered to look down upon the center. However, the middle of the large room was nothing but hard-packed earth.

And at the back of the room…

The stairs leading down were blocked by iron bars, and in front of them sat a throne fashioned from wood. Lounging back against the headrest was a single goblin. Even while sitting, it was clear his size was on a different level. A small silver crown sat atop his head, so perhaps he was a king.

Two ordinary goblins stood by the throne; one was elegantly fanning the king with a fan made of red bird feathers pasted onto a branch. The other held a wooden bowl filled with a mountain of garlic. As I watched, the goblin plucked a clove of garlic and tossed it directly into the king’s mouth. Usually, that’s where fruit like grapes belongs.

Noticing us standing at the entrance, the Goblin King nodded solemnly and raised a hand to dismiss his attendants… there was a cloth wrapped around the chest, so I assume they were female. Standing up slowly, the massive goblin raised his right index finger and gave it a beckoning “come here” motion.

Immediately, a massive cheer erupted from the surroundings. Before I knew it, the goblins had filled the log seats to capacity, hanging on like clusters of bells.

Right. This is a full-blown arena.

“What will you do, my Lord?”

“It looks like he’s telling us to bring it on, so let’s just take him down quickly. Level-wise, we should be fine.”

However, just as we were all about to step forward, Gob-tchi and Red-Feather hurriedly held us back. Boos erupted from the spectator seats in unison.

“Huh? We’re not allowed to fight?”

At my question, Red-Feather shook his head, held up a single finger, and pointed at the Goblin King.

“Sir Nino, since the King is alone, perhaps he means only one person can challenge him?”

At Hans-san’s words, Red-Feather nodded vigorously and slapped his shoulder familiarly. It seems that was the correct answer.

“Hmph! Isn’t that unfair since he’s so big?”

“Even so, this is their turf. I guess we have to follow whatever rules they decide to make up.”

If I were to pick someone who could definitely defeat that King, it would be Yoru, Kuu, or Mia. However, if he closed the distance, there’s a high chance Mia would be finished in an instant. Besides, fairy-type monsters tend to have high Magic Defense.

That left Yoru and Kuu, and Kuu has the advantage since he can fly. However, the issue is how effective his finishing move, Flap, would be against a single target—area-of-effect skills tend to lose potency when focused on one opponent.

In that case, Yoru has the most stable stats. As long as she lands her strike Tail, we should be able to secure a safe victory.

“Alright, Yoru, can I count on you?”

“I have no choice but to do it—!”

And so, it was decided.