Chapter 194: The Golden Companion (1)
「Goblin.
A weak monster about the size of a human child, with physical abilities slightly inferior to that of a human male.
They mainly live in groups and enjoy using poison and ambushes, making them quite tricky to deal with alone.
Moreover, their evolutionary system is almost infinitely diverse.
They gain experience and become warriors or wizards, and there are often cases where they grow into lord individuals and lead fearsome goblin armies.
Among the goblins with such an infinite evolutionary system, there is an individual that undergoes the most unique evolution, called the Golden Goblin.
They shed their ugly appearance and come to look like ordinary humans, with their green skin dyed golden. They are also quite tall compared to other goblins, and the unique goblin odor disappears.
(A sketch of a Golden Goblin drawn with a pencil)
An evolved form that is practically half-removed from the goblin race.
However, the reason why this evolved form is still classified as a goblin in the taxonomic classification is that the insidious desire that goblins possess remains the same.
To be precise, their desire for gold is unbelievably huge.
The sentence that most perfectly summarizes the life of a Golden Goblin would be that they scrape together money by any means necessary.
Furthermore, the most unique part is that as long as they have gold, the life of a Golden Goblin does not end.
A companion of gold who lives forever.
The most peculiar individual among the evolved forms of goblins.
There is a joke among the common folk that if you find a Golden Goblin, you can obtain enough gold to feed three generations, but it is questionable whether there is anyone who can catch a Golden Goblin that lives forever.
━Sacred Treasure Monster Encyclopedia, 94p」
🔹🔹🔹
“T, That’s the Holy See’s airship!”
Mytilene Auction House, next to the airfield.
This island is one of the few neutral zones on the continent, and since it has to receive customers from all over the world, both the port and the airfield are among the largest on the continent.
He has seen enough of those coming from noble families, so he usually indifferent even when a customer of high status arrives.
“They say it’s a cardinal-class airship?!”
The airfield staff began to panic as they watched the Holy See’s airship attempting to land from afar.
Basically, it’s an unspoken rule that the Holy See does not make official visits to Mytilene.
It wouldn’t look good for religious people to come to the Mytilene auction house, which is overflowing with money and pleasure.
Even if they did come occasionally, it would be ordinary priests on a group airship, not like this, with the Holy See’s official airship flying the cardinal’s flag. This was a first.
Woooooooh━.
The airship descends.
It slowly docked towards the empty dock, following the guiding magic lights.
Thud.
It arrived, receiving the attention of everyone at the airfield.
The first one to disembark was Cain.
Cain swept his hair back, feeling everyone’s gaze on him.
“Popular, aren’t we?”
“You can say that again.”
Following behind him were Elena, Lourens, Anje, and Wiseman.
And then Morning and Aurelia, who were keeping each other in check, disembarked together.
“What is the purpose of your visit?”
A man who appeared to be the airfield’s clerk rushed over and asked.
Cain looked back and forth between the other three, who seemed to hold quite high positions here. But all three women gestured for Cain to do as he pleased.
Cain shrugged and replied.
“Well, it’s for the obvious reason.”
The clerk nodded reflexively at Cain’s words.
“You must have heard the news that a good item is coming out at this summer’s grand auction. I hope you win the bid for something you really like━.”
“We’re here to catch and punish the bastard who sold us a strange item.”
“━Excuse me?”
The clerk, who naturally thought they had come to buy something at the auction, blinked his eyes.
Cain looked at the clerk with a playful smile.
“We heard that the bastards who sold us the item are here, so we came to punish them.”
“Wouldn’t they have escaped by now━?”
The clerk asked, averting his eyes.
He could tell at a glance that this was no ordinary young man, since he had arrived on the Holy See’s airship.
But even he would have run away if such a person had come to the neutral zone of the Mytilene auction house so openly.
“No.”
Cain smiled brightly.
The summer sun seemed to shatter on his black hair, making him look even brighter.
“No one can leave here now.”
“I don’t quite understand what you’re saying…….”
Snap━.
Cain snapped his fingers.
The Empire’s duke and the Holy See’s cardinal, who were behind him, smiled bitterly and nodded, and the crew aboard the airship they had arrived on connected their communication devices.
Wooo woo woo woo━.
Other airships, which had been transparently melting into the air, appeared.
And they were combat airships.
Money-eating monsters that were only used in national-level battles!
And that wasn’t all.
Beyond the airfield, on the emerald blue sea, black warships began to reveal themselves, shedding their camouflage.
“We won’t stop you from entering.”
Cain patted the clerk on the shoulder and continued speaking as he slowly walked forward.
“But not even a single rat can escape now.”
“This is a neutral zone! Do you think other nations will just stand by and watch?!”
The clerk protested.
He had come to this island in pursuit of freedom, and as someone who had lived only for gold without any oppression, he couldn’t help but feel his temper flare up at the sight of such a massive force.
Cain nodded understandingly.
“They’ll have no choice but to watch.”
“……?”
“I brought the forces of the Empire and the Holy See, so where else would they go?”
“……!”
If you were to name the strongest nation on the continent, it would be the Empire, and if you were to name the strongest competitor to the Empire, it would undoubtedly be the Holy See.
It was because the current strongest nation and the past strongest nation were at odds with each other that the Free City Alliance and other small nations were able to survive. But if the two sides joined hands, who could withstand them?
Cain pointed his chin towards the magnificent Colosseum auction house in the distance.
“Let’s meet the highest-ranking person here first.”
🔹🔹🔹
Morning whispered quietly to Cain.
“It seems our spies have been dealt with, seeing as they’re not responding.”
“Tracking?”
Morning was a little surprised by Cain’s question. A very small magic circle was drawn on each of their spies’ teeth.
It was a magic that tracked their location, so even if they died, as long as their teeth remained, they could find their bodies.
Morning pointed to the basement of the auction house they were walking through, indicating the location as if it were natural for Cain to ask.
“Here.”
“These bastards moved quickly.”
“One hundred percent.”
“Let’s go. Let’s see who sold such a dangerous thing to our dear Magic Marquis.”
At the end of the long brick corridor, there was a huge green door.
Clank, clank━.
The door opened as soon as Cain stood in front of it. Inside, a middle-aged man was sitting on a sofa, smoking a thick cigar.
He looked at Cain for a moment.
“The hero?”
“It’s convenient that you recognize me right away without any fuss.”
Cain plopped down on a single sofa across from him. The rest of the group naturally stood behind Cain.
“Sigh. I was wondering who could mobilize the Holy See and the Empire, who are the worst enemies imaginable, but……”
Then his gaze fell on Cardinal Aurelia and Magic Marquis Wiseman.
“The Cardinal would be capable of it, but I’m a bit curious how the Magic Marquis managed to raise such a military force━.”
“Want me to tell you?”
Thump━.
Cain put his feet up on the table between him and the man, asking back. Then he rested one arm on it and looked at him.
The man, sensing that he would only get tired if he heard the answer, gave his name.
“I’m Nicholas. The administrator who manages this Mytilene.”
“Cain.”
“Yes, hero Cain. The glorious hero chosen by the holy sword after hundreds of years.”
[‘Summer’ nods, as if he knows something.]
“Jealous?”
“Not really. I am curious, though. I wonder how high the price would go if we put that ‘Summer’ up for auction in our establishment.”
He blew out a heavy cloud of cigar smoke from his mouth. The fact that it was going down instead of up indicated that it was no ordinary poison.
‘He doesn’t know Morning and Lourens’s identities. Same goes for Elena.’
Cain rested his chin on his hand, roughly gauging the extent of the man’s information network.
He looked every bit like a thug who had come to collect money.
The administrator, Nicholas, shook his head slowly.
“Do you know how much gold is flying away every second, hero?”
The forces of the Empire and the Holy See that Cain had summoned were surrounding the island where the Mytilene auction house was located.
They weren’t blocking anyone from entering, but they were blocking anyone from leaving.
Cain shrugged.
“Do I need to know?”
“Sigh. You have a sharp tongue for a young hero.”
“It’s nothing compared to the smell of blood coming from you.”
Nicholas’s eyes narrowed.
He had heard that Cain had used honorifics when he arrived at the airfield and spoke to the clerk. He wondered why the hero was suddenly speaking informally to him, but the answer became clear with that last statement.
“You have a keen sense of smell.”
“Not only is my nose good. I can also see the grudges clinging to you.”
Cain raised his hands and shuddered as if teasing a child. Nicholas stared at him blankly for a moment.
Then he burst out laughing.
“Not bad. I can sell the grudges that the hero has certified to the necromancers.”
“That’s a relief. It seems you really love money that much. I don’t need to know, but you must know how much money is flying away every second, right?”
Cain lifted the corners of his lips.
Without power, you have to struggle from the bottom up to learn things, but with it, both your body and mind are at ease.
With one of the three dukes of the Empire and one of the eight cardinals of the Holy See by his side, Cain was unstoppable.
━Lock them up.
At first, both Morning and Aurelia had expressed their disapproval.
Mobilizing an army was no easy task.
━Isn’t the problem the same for both of us? It’s fine if we move together.
The resources and manpower consumed were secondary issues; the reason why the two nations found it difficult to mobilize their respective armies was because of their mutual vigilance.
But what if they joined hands and moved together?
And what if there was a hero commanding them?
━I’ll be the justification.
With Cain’s suggestion as soon as they boarded the airship, the two nations were able to move swiftly and surround the island where the Mytilene auction house was located.
One side desperately needed Cain’s ‘Summer,’ and the other side was in a position where they had to follow, so it wasn’t difficult.
Moreover, considering the near-disaster that had almost occurred in Märchen, the Empire even had the justification of revenge.
A complex web of desires had led to this situation.
Crack━.
Nicholas’s hand tightened.
The thick cigar he was holding snapped in half.
“What is it you want?”
Nicholas’s declaration of surrender.
No matter how much the Free City Alliance boasted, they still couldn’t compare to the Empire or the Holy See.
And they were even more powerless in this neutral zone.
Morning and the others looked at the back of Cain’s head, expecting him to immediately apprehend the people who had sold the devil’s heart.
However.
“Everything.”
“……What?”
“The identity of the Commons who sold the heart, which you’re trying to hide from us.”
“…….”
“The bodies of the Empire’s people who disappeared from here, the money, compensation, honor, and goods. Hand it all over.”
“Are you a thief in your past life by any chance? No, seeing as you’re not stealing secretly but coming with an army to take it, you must be from the old noble family.”
Nicholas’s slightly relaxed eyes shot open. He stood up from his seat and turned around.
“Impossible. You might as well declare war and take it by force, hero.”
“You think I can’t?”
Cain didn’t move an inch and asked back calmly.
It was Nicholas who flinched.
[‘Winter’ says the winner of this battle of nerves is Cain.]
“You should know that me speaking to you like this is a considerable courtesy.”
Cain, on the other hand, crossed his legs and glared at Nicholas. Then he gave a small smile.
“So bring it all out yourself. Starting with the guys who sold the heart to our innocent Magic Marquis Wiseman.”
Lourens glanced at Wiseman.
As if she had heard the word “innocent” for the first time in her life, Wiseman’s face was slightly flushed, and Lourens clicked his tongue.
He thought that compared to Cain, who was charging forward on the fastest path without hesitation, Wiseman was indeed innocent.
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