Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 97: To the East

The brother Goff was talking about was, in all likelihood, me. Unless ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he had gone west and found a new brother without my knowledge, it was clear he had gone looking for me.

“Looks like we missed each other…”

Just as Mev said, the forest was so vast and the paths so numerous that we must have crossed paths. Though the situation wasn't urgent, it was better to move quickly, so I had no choice but to speak to the anxious Ogre.

“If Goff happens to stop by here again, could you tell him to come to the East?”

“Hmph… I… I will.”

He seemed to sense that we wouldn’t be spending the night and would be leaving right away. He answered my words with slumped shoulders.

“B-But… are you really leaving without staying?”

“We also regret that we cannot join the Big Ogre Clan. However, a meal might be fine…”

“That’s it! Prepare a feast for our guests at once!”

“Uwooooooar! Prepare the feast!”

In an instant, they erupted in a clamor. Black Spear, who seemed unaware that the jungle Ogres had such personalities, wore a completely bewildered expression. The same was true for Hakajin and Ragia.

And so, we were treated with lavish hospitality. I didn’t eat any, but there were humans, of course, as well as all sorts of rare fruits from the jungle, the meat of magical beasts, and even liquor they had brewed themselves. Given the Ogres’ large bodies, the sight of them chugging alcohol straight from the barrel was a spectacle of raw power. It made me happy to think that Goff had probably changed in the same way.

“Keuh… Am I really such a bad Ogre? You can’t just leave like this! Look how well I treated you!”

“Leaving without even saying goodbye seems a bit much, don’t you think?”

The atmosphere was good, but the problem was that he started his drunken rambling. Worse, most of it was about Goff. It was incredibly difficult to listen to. Of course, hearing stories about Goff was enjoyable, but the issue was that most of it was just the Ogre’s whining. It was exhausting me, and even Black Spear, who was so fond of Trolls, was growing weary. As the chieftains drank together, the newcomer Little Finger looked completely overwhelmed. His eyes screamed that he wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible.

“Kkireuk… kkireuk… An… an ungrateful Ogre, kkireuk.”

That was all he could manage, chiming in with a response like that every so often. He would even flinch and shudder in surprise whenever the Ogre occasionally shouted.

“By the way, who is this petite Goblin lady?”

“She’s a newcomer who just joined. I’ve taken her under my wing for three years.”

“I see! Black Spear, you’ve reached that age as well… But don’t get too attached to the new Green Skins! Betrayal can happen in an instant. Blood Dagger! You’re not far behind, so take my words to heart! Never open your heart…”

Listening to his story, it didn’t seem like Goff had done anything particularly terrible, yet he clung to this attitude. Still, this feast was yielding some useful information—for example, the fact that more and more humans were heading east these days. Perhaps because he was a decent storyteller, time flew by, and before we knew it, the night had grown pitch-black.

I glanced around. The Goblin Three Sisters were playing, climbing on the Ogres’ backs and heads, while Gark and Hark were having a drinking contest with an Ogre who looked like a heavy drinker. The Ogre village was more fun than I expected. Just as I was feeling this, the other clan members and Black Spear’s tribesmen also looked like they were having a great time. Eventually, it became an awkward time to leave.

Only then did I realize why Goff had escaped this place as if he were fleeing.

This was all a scheme by this Ogre who seemed starved for affection.

Clever bastard.

He was much smarter than I thought.

His plan was to wear us down with endless stories and feasting, then make us stay as long as possible. The Big Ogre, sensing that it had become an awkward time for us to leave, smiled once more, the corners of his mouth turning up.

“Well, it seems to be too late today… How about you leave after having lunch tomorrow? As soon as you wake up, I’ll give you a tour of the jungle.”

It was a truly cunning smile. A drinking party would probably break out at lunch. And then, it would once again become an awkward time to leave. I couldn’t help but swallow my saliva.

“Ke-hem… It’s late today, but I think it would be best to leave early tomorrow morning.”

“Don’t be like that! If we’ve shared a drink, aren’t we brothers?”

His eyes looked anxious. I simply offered him a faint smile, not giving an answer. We would flee the moment morning came. I suspected he would later rant to the next travelers passing through this jungle about the ungrateful Blood Dagger and Black Spear, but at this rate, it felt like we would be stuck here for a week.

Finally, after downing drinks for a good while longer, the party came to a close. Many of the tribe members were passed out cold, sprawled out on the ground without even a tent. Ragia and Jung Hayeon also seemed a little drunk.

It was a rest I hadn’t felt in a very long time. A small smile escaped me at the thought that enjoying a day of rest like this wouldn’t be so bad.

A little more time passed, and I decided it was time for me to get some sleep as well. I was heading toward a moderately empty tent when it happened.

“Hey. Blood Dag!”

A voice called out to me from somewhere. I turned my head and, absurdly, saw Mev looking at me, a cup in her hand.

A flushed face. Dazed eyes. Staggering feet. Anyone could see that Mev was drunk.

“Isn’t this too much?”

It was the first time I had ever seen such a sharp look in Mev’s eyes.

“You’re alllwayss playing with that plant! Isn’t that too much?! I was the first one here! I was the first one who asked to mate!”

She wasn’t just a little drunk. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was completely plastered. I had a vague sense of it before, but this was the moment I realized the liquor brewed by the Big Ogres was quite strong. More worried than bewildered, I spoke to Mev, my voice filled with genuine concern.

“Mev, you seem drunk. You should go inside and get some sleep.”

“I’m not a kid! I’m an adult ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠goblin! Stop treating me like a child! A-And I’m not drunk at all!”

Her claim of being an adult goblin was all the more amusing, considering she was currently a fairy. It was even more ridiculous because as she insisted she wasn’t drunk, her feet got tangled and she almost fell, barely catching her balance with her wings.

“I’m sleeping with you tonight! I’m sleeping with you!”

As I’ve said before, it wasn’t that I had never slept with Mev. Of course, nothing else had ever happened, but because of that, I could guess what she was implying now, which left me flustered. She even flew over and clung tightly to one of my feet, refusing to let go. This was completely different from the Mev I had known until now. She’d thrown tantrums before, but she’d never been this persistent. It seemed she had been under a lot of stress. However, Mev was still too small for me to relieve that stress for her.

“Hey, let go of this.”

Mev clung to my foot, determined not to let go. I gave up trying to reason with her and started walking alone, but Mev remained attached to my foot, being dragged along.

“I’ll never let go! I want to be held too! I… I want to be held! I want to do it too!”

It was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠truly baffling situation. My leg was getting progressively wetter, and I realized Mev was rubbing her face, now a mess of tears and snot, against my pants.

“Huuuh… I can get bigger too… Huuuh… I can get bigger if I get pregnant… Huuuh…”

I had no idea what basis she had for claiming she could get bigger if she got pregnant, but Mev kept repeating the same words as if chanting a spell. The situation was getting louder, and even members of the other clans were starting to sneak glances our way.

Since I was, of course, familiar with the concept of embarrassment, I had no choice but to quickly drag Mev into a tent. As soon as we were inside, she looked at me with eyes full of expectation. But my body was incapable of feeling lust to begin with, and Mev, covered in tears and snot, looked less sexy and more like a cute child. A sigh escaped me automatically.

“F-Finally!”

I don’t know what she was expecting, but she mumbled with a slurred tongue and threw herself onto a piece of cloth laid out in a corner of the tent. Then, she slowly brought a hand to her mouth.

“Heeheeheehee…”

It seemed she couldn’t contain her giggles, as laughter kept leaking out from between her fingers even though she had her hand clamped over her mouth. Then she waited for me with a demure expression. The sight of her trying to look seductive, licking her lips, was a spectacle.

Seeing my expression, she must have thought she was doing a good job, because she became even more aggressive. Unable to watch any longer, I turned my head away.

Just as I was seriously contemplating how to deal with Mev, I began to hear the soft, steady sound of breathing. It was the signal I’d been waiting for. Mev had finally fallen asleep.

“Chieftaaain… As expected… the chieftain is the best…”

I don’t know what she was dreaming about, but Mev kept making strange noises in her sleep. Watching her, I vowed never to offer Mev any liquor given by Ogres again.

The next morning, I had no intention of being swayed by the Ogre any longer, so I woke up quite early. But there was no trace of Mev in the tent. I could see that she had even neatly tidied up the spot where she had slept.

She remembered. She must have recalled yesterday’s embarrassing memory and fled my tent. As I sat up, I saw some incredibly crooked, messy letters.

‘Chieftain. I’m sorry…’

I couldn’t understand why I found it so funny. I tried to suppress my bursting laughter as I stepped out of the tent. Along with Black Spear’s clan and Little Finger’s clan, we were able to leave the Big Ogre’s settlement early in the morning.

Of course, I didn’t forget to leave a note of thanks. The key was that the Ogre race seemed to be heavy sleepers, as they didn’t notice us leaving. It was only after we had walked for a long time, when the sun was high in the sky, that a scream echoed through the jungle. Hearing it, we all shared another laugh.

It had been a rather enjoyable rest. After that, there were no memorable incidents. We occasionally encountered magical beasts or humans, but they were never a problem. If anything, they served as a good way to stretch our tired bodies.

From their perspective, it was truly an unlucky situation. But that had nothing to do with us.

Moving to an entirely new region was no small feat, so we walked for a very long time. After passing through the jungle, when I began to feel the scenery slowly changing, more than two months had already flown by.

That’s how I could roughly tell. We had passed through the jungle and reached the edge of the swamp.