“Why are you so worried?”
‘If a net is spread to catch me…’
“What nonsense. If that was going to happen, you shouldn’t have become the snake bride of the goblins in the first place.”
That was Pelerian’s explanation.
“In fact, weren’t you the one who made that goblin girl evolve into a Hobgoblin King?”
‘Did I do that!’
“If those goblins cross over to the continent and expand their forces, you’ll soon become famous.”
Nanaluk, looking at me with an innocent expression.
Yeah, it was you. It was you from the beginning.
The foreshadowing I had laid out.
“Anyway, as long as you’re a monster, there will inevitably be those who try to hunt you. Don’t be a coward for no reason.”
‘Yes…’
“Look at me. Although I was treated as the world’s public enemy, after a certain point, no one even dared to challenge me. Being strong is what matters. Strong enough that no one dares to challenge you. Didn’t you speak confidently earlier?”
‘…Ah.’
“Become a samu-nyeong!”
Right, Pelerian is correct.
I’m ashamed of myself for getting scared for a moment.
Let’s get rid of this petty-bourgeois thinking!
At that moment, Nanaluk had her subordinates bring potions.
Twenty bottles of potion in bamboo containers.
“Thanks to your potions, we saved dozens of lives. If you need more, I’ll give you all that’s left.”
It would be difficult to make more potions once we leave the great forest.
Since there are many goblins, she can’t use potions like water either.
Twenty bottles is plenty to be grateful for.
I opened one bottle of potion with the Invisible Hand magic.
Then I made Nanaluk hold out her hand and poured a little potion on it.
“This would heal just by applying saliva.”
She’s incredibly tough, even with a piercing wound on her hand.
“Po-potion!”
Someone shouted.
Looking back, there were two humans standing.
It seems there’s also a girl hiding in the carriage.
‘Oh.’
“What’s wrong?”
‘No, it’s just that the face seems familiar…’
That young guy wearing armor.
I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere…
While I was trying to remember, suddenly the door of the half-destroyed carriage flung open.
What jumped out was a little girl with blood flowing from her head.
“Sn-Snake Lord!”
She slid in front of me like a soccer player doing a celebration, kneeling down.
“Please save us!”
And with a fluid movement, she bowed her head and prostrated.
Hmm, a human with excellent etiquette.
“Please share the potion. Oliver and Sir Zain are badly injured.”
Oh.
An unexpected request.
For such a young girl to bow to a snake, not asking to save herself, but to save two grown men.
‘Hmm…’
To be honest, it tugged at my heartstrings a bit.
It was also pitiful.
“What nonsense, human!”
But Nanaluk shouted.
“How shameless. Boys, clean them up right now… Huh, why?”
I, startled, bit and pulled on Nanaluk’s clothes.
As expected of a hegemon, she’s merciless.
‘Wait, don’t kill them yet.’
“You want to finish them off yourself? Ah, that makes sense. To absorb their mana.”
‘No, that’s not it…’
Pelerian clicked his tongue.
But he didn’t seem to want the humans killed either.
“No, I don’t mind if they’re killed?”
I ignored him.
Nanaluk is looking at me with round eyes.
I feel like I should say something monster-like.
I told Nanaluk to convey my words.
Nanaluk willingly acted as an interpreter.
‘I have something to ask.’
“I, Ouroboros, king of monsters, will ask.”
‘…’
The interpretation is very dramatic.
‘Um… First, what’s your name, little one?’
“Before begging for your life, state your name!”
Nanaluk’s interpretation seemed to have completely captured Pelerian’s heart.
“Excellent! As expected of becoming a king. She knows what dignity is.”
This elf always liked formalities and had a tendency to show off.
The girl answered calmly.
“I, I am Rania Greyrim, daughter of Viscount Greyrim…”
Ah.
She seems to be the young lady of that territory that I and the monsters had just completely crushed.
There were so many corpses.
“That evil Gunter… captured my father and locked my mother in a tower… So we were on our way to my maternal grandfather’s house.”
As expected, Gunter is undoubtedly an agent of evil.
I’m sure I saw a collapsed tower in the territory…
The girl who introduced herself as Rania was shedding tears.
‘Don’t cry. It makes me feel bad.’
“It’s unpleasant. Stop making crying noises.”
‘…’
Alright, let’s just act like a monster now.
‘I can share one bottle of potion, but do you have anything to offer in return?’
These are the first humans I’m conversing with.
That noble girl seems to know nothing, but the knight or the older man might know something.
Information or… that armor looks tempting too.
Oh!
The knight’s armor. It’s the same design as what Gunter and his lackeys wear.
Now I remember.
Isn’t he that crazy pervert knight who kissed my tail?
The guard captain lost his life saving that knight.
To survive again, he really has a tough life thread.
‘I have things to ask too. Oh, and do you have any spare swords?’
“If you want to beg for your lives, offer tribute. Whether it’s valuable knowledge or quality weapons.”
‘Wow. Amazing, Nanaluk.’
I started to enjoy this a bit too.
Previously, I thought the human-faced spider was 0.9 Nanaluk, but I was wrong.
Nanaluk is an irreplaceable, perfect interpreter.
If she didn’t have dreams of establishing a goblin kingdom, I would want to travel with her continuously.
I asked because the Elven Broadsword was broken.
Honestly, the goblins’ swords were terribly crude.
But the humans gathered with serious expressions and whispered among themselves.
“Miss, are you really okay with this?”
“It’s fine. Whether it’s a family heirloom or whatever, we need to survive.”
Then the knight brought a dagger and carefully held it up.
“This is a treasure of the Greyrim territory…”
Oh.
It’s a beautiful dagger.
A dagger with a gentle curve like a falchion.
The blade gleaming with a white light caught my heart.
“Its name is Dawn’s Ashura. It’s a dagger made of white silver, but…”
Ashura. Even the name was incredibly beautiful.
──────────────
[Dawn’s Ashura]
A dagger made of white silver.
Its flaw is that it’s too light, but it’s enchanted to never lose its edge.
──────────────
I lifted the dagger with the Invisible Hand magic.
It’s light! Maybe because it’s a dagger, but it was definitely lighter than the Elven Broadsword.
Ah, this cool sensation.
It’s been a while since I held a sword.
I performed a sword dance right there.
The sword cutting through the air draws beautiful curves.
「The proficiency of Clumsy Swordsmanship lv2 increases.」
It doesn’t look clumsy at all.
The knight was staring at me blankly.
With a puzzled expression.
I asked why he was staring like that.
Nanaluk translated.
“Your gaze is disrespectful.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“Is something strange?”
“It’s just that the movements are those of swordsmanship, not dagger techniques…”
Are dagger techniques and swordsmanship different?
I peeked at the knight’s status window.
──────────────
[Knight Zain lv27]
…
──────────────
He was indeed an unremarkable fellow.
However, there were some notable skills.
──────────────
[Skills]
…[Iron Lion Official Sword Technique lv12], [Dagger Technique lv2] …
──────────────
Oh!
Just in case, I also checked the man behind.
──────────────
[Hunter Oliver lv36]
[Skills]
…[Ferang School Dagger Technique lv20] …
──────────────
Drool dripped from my mouth.
I think I’ve found it.
Valuable knowledge to receive as compensation.
