Chapter 141
Chapter 141
Episode 141
It was a few hours after I had secured Alexios's cooperation.
Just as I was getting annoyed enough to consider escaping, a familiar goblin arrived to let me out.
"Your personality hasn't changed at all. How much trouble have you caused in such a short time…?"
"Oz, why must you repeat the same sin? I heard many people were hurt."
And she brought the person I found most difficult to face right now.
My posture, which had been casually leaning against the wall, instinctively changed to kneeling. A smirk played on Alexios's lips as he watched from across the room.
‘Damn it… this is humiliating. I can't even lift my head.’
"…is what I'd like to say, but if it was something Oz did, there must have been a reason, right?"
“……”
Is she an angel?
How can she still trust me after I'd utterly devastated the courtroom and broken the goblins' limbs?
Such kindness is, in my current state, more like poison.
I certainly did commit those acts with some purpose.
But it wasn't without personal motives.
To be precise, I committed the acts with a ratio of 20% purpose and 80% personal desire.
"I apologize, Arietta. I am ashamed. I won't make any excuses, so please, just be angry with me."
"Puhaha…!"
I can't lift my head even more.
From across the room, Alexios's laughter burst out, as if he couldn't hold it in any longer.
This bastard… just wait until this is over. I'll get rid of you as soon as you're no longer useful.
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Arietta never got angry with me in the end. That was even scarier. Still, at least I managed to get out of that damn prison.
However, since there were no buildings in [Goblin Forest] to accommodate guests, the group seemed to be staying at Baekyang's house.
So, naturally, I was also to stay at Baekyang's residence for the time being. It felt a little awkward.
“……”
Baekyang's house felt more rustic than I expected. A reception room… No, to be precise, it felt similar to the hideout Lucia had made?
It seemed to be used merely as a place to sleep.
"Your parents?"
"Oh my~ Do you want to greet my parents? Isn't that moving a bit too fast?"
"…Enough with the nonsense. If you don't want to talk about it, then don't."
Baekyang giggled and played a prank. Honestly, it was a level of prank that could be laughed off, but considering Eleanor and Arietta were also in this space, a chill ran down my spine.
The fact that the two of them were staying together was already unsettling.
Arietta is fine, but I'm afraid of what impulsive actions Eleanor might take.
As for Marie, if she stays quiet, her presence isn't strongly felt, so it probably doesn't matter much.
"Ah, speaking of which, where did Ulla go? I haven't seen her."
"Ulla is negotiating for the release of the Fist King. It's probably quite a headache, isn't it?"
"Really? Maybe it'll be fine since I broke their limbs."
"That's true too~"
Baekyang replied leisurely, as if it were someone else's business.
"If you were going to break them anyway, it would have been good if you broke Jeokmae's high nose too…"
"I can definitely tell you two don't get along."
Is it because they're ice and fire? Nah, surely it can't be such a simple reason.
"What about the others?"
"Noah and Marie are taking a nap now, tired from wandering around."
Arietta giggled, as if amused. She must have been imagining the two of them sprawled out asleep.
"No, they're not children…"
"They're similar, you know. And their clothes suited them well, didn't they?"
"You're the one who dressed them?"
Come to think of it, Baekyang would have mainly guided them through the Federation, so there's no other culprit besides her.
Sorry, Bihyeong.
No, actually, I'm not sorry.
"But they did suit them, didn't they?"
"Yeah."
They did suit them. If it had been sold as a paid skin in the game, I would have been willing to buy it.
"You two look good too."
"Ah… Is that so? Hehe, I don't know what to do when you compliment me like that."
"Are you flirting with me too? Don't you have any shame?"
It was just a polite compliment, but the reaction was unexpectedly harsh.
Arietta fiddling with her fingers shyly was as expected, but Baekyang looked at me as if I were a suspicious person.
Can't I even give compliments?
I only did it because I thought it would be awkward if I didn't say anything to those two, but this is too much.
As expected, I don't get along with her.
"Let's have a meal."
"What? You can cook?"
"…Among us, I'd say I'm the most domesticated."
"That… by process of elimination, that has to be true."
Eleanor and Marie cooking? Just imagining it was terrifying.
I would never make the mistake of asking those two to cook or putting their food in my mouth.
Would I be crazy enough to eat food given by those two?
One, I don't know what pranks she'd pull with the food, and the other, I don't know what she'd put in the food.
"What about me?"
"…Arietta, you are a noble person, so I think it's best not to participate in such matters if possible."
"Oz, I'm not a special person. Such treatment makes me a little sad, you know?"
"Arietta. Aren't we guests? In situations like this, staying still is helping."
"…Alright."
Arietta seemed a bit disappointed, but it couldn't be helped.
What kind of cooking would you ask a blind person to do?
Peeling an apple might be possible, but cooking that involves multiple steps would seem extremely dangerous.
I don't want to face a disaster in any sense. Then the only one I can trust is this seemingly lazy goblin…
"Haa…"
Honestly, this one is ambiguous. I don't know how to judge her.
First, she's similar to Eleanor. But at the same time, she's also someone who takes good care of people.
"Just so you know, I'm a picky eater."
"How impudent."
Anyway, if it tastes bad, just you wait. I'll immediately repay the humiliation she just gave me.
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While Arietta went to wake up the two who were sprawled out asleep, having nothing else to do, I went to peek at Baekyang. Baekyang's cooking seemed quite stable.
It was unexpected, yet at the same time, felt natural. It seemed I wouldn't be able to repay the humiliation from earlier after all.
"If you're going to keep watching like that, why don't you hand me that onion over there?"
"Hmm…"
She didn't seem surprised at all that I was watching. Well, there's nothing really embarrassing about it.
Someone like Lucia is the strange one.
Come to think of it, Lucia was caught trying to steal cat cookies, so it was indeed embarrassing for her.
"Are you making Dakbokkeumtang?"
"…You're quite knowledgeable about Federation culture."
Chicken and onions. And seeing vegetables like chili powder and potatoes, it came to mind. Besides, that's about the only Federation dish I know that uses chicken.
"Understanding, after all, begins with recognizing cultural differences between each other."
Actually, this place feels more like home to me… but it'll sound cooler to say it this way, so never mind.
There's not much to gain by looking good to her, but nothing good will come from getting along badly either.
Maintaining an appropriate relationship, wouldn't that be best?
"No, simply recognizing differences doesn't mean you can understand each other."
Baekyang was uncharacteristically serious. Her drawn-out way of speaking was gone. Her eyes held an emotion that could have been anger or sadness.
One thing was certain: she regretted something.
Baekyang sighed deeply and said.
"No matter how much I try, the fact that I am a goblin won't change. And neither will the prejudices that come from that."
In this world, hatred between races is subtly ingrained. Lucia also spoke that way. And while she complained about it to me, she never got angry.
She also knows that the words treated with contempt seem natural and universal to us.
I don't know how to solve this problem. It was a problem that remained unresolved even in the world I came from.
There's nothing to do but just try.
I understood Baekyang's words too. Didn't I also expect her to play tricks just because she was a goblin?
The 'perceptions' deeply ingrained in society are even difficult to recognize.
"Do you really think so?"
But there's a contradiction in what Baekyang says.
"Then why on earth did you try so hard?"
She had done her best to understand and accept differences.
I know this even without carefully observing her.
Her actions subtly conveyed consideration for others.
Even after just a few conversations, you can tell that, contrary to her speech, she surprisingly cares for others.
She clearly recognizes and acts on the fact that everyone is different.
"But who would recognize that? You? Ha…! Even now, you're here to watch, suspecting I might play a trick just because I'm a goblin?"
"It wasn't exactly surveillance."
"But you did suspect me. Because I'm a goblin."
“……”
I have nothing to say. Because what she said was exactly true.
I harbored prejudice against her based solely on the fact that she was a goblin.
It's always like this. Even knowing how terrifying and dangerous prejudice is, I repeat the same mistakes.
I also know that it's that difficult and hard to recognize.
But I merely knew.
"I tried. I lived suppressing my instincts as much as possible. But others don't do that, do they? My efforts alone won't change everyone's perception of goblins, will they?"
Baekyang expressed her dissatisfaction to an extent that would be unimaginable from her usual demeanor.
Her expression felt less like passion and more like she wanted to give up.
"And how many people do you think would understand me just because I try hard?"
Probably only Eleanor and Marie so far.
Eleanor is just that kind of person, and Marie doesn't even recognize such differences in the first place.
For better or worse, there were people who understood her.
Of course, there would have been people who didn't. People who distanced themselves from her just because she was a goblin.
And even worse than that.
"Sorry…"
People who didn't distance themselves from her but still revealed their prejudices as they were. Those who showed clumsy consideration.
Yes, people like me.
I was the one pushing her the hardest. I understand why she dislikes me.
It wasn't just a simple reason like violence during practice.
It stemmed from my subtly revealed attitude.
"Onion."
"Huh…?"
"I said give me the onion."
"Oh, oh, right. I forgot."
Baekyang was now looking at me with narrowed eyes, demanding the onion I held in my hand.
It was almost as if what just happened was a hallucination.
But my eyes don't see hallucinations. If so, then this ordinary response is clearly her consideration.
"…I hope it turns out delicious. Federation food suits my taste."
"Hmph."
She tried. She tried, but she wasn't rewarded. But she doesn't vent her anger. At most, she just expresses her resentment and internalizes it alone.
"Baekyang."
"What now?"
Then why does she try? Is it because Bihyeong told her to experience the wide world and interact?
No, it's unlikely she would have tried so hard for such a trivial reason.
It's clear there was some kind of reason. There must have been a reason why she had to, an impetus that changed her like that.
I can vaguely guess something. But I can't be certain.
It would be good if my guess is right, but it might not be.
I'll believe her.
I won't make such empty promises.
Because showing it through actions would be much better than words.
I was the one who pushed her. I subtly did something bad.
So, I'll have to try to understand her as much as she tried to understand others.
"Something interesting is going to happen soon, so you can look forward to it."
"…People who say things like that usually cause big trouble."
"Even if Noah calls me master, it's not like that, you know?"
"I never said Noah, though?"
"…That was prejudice too."
"Well, you're right, though. I actually am talking about Noah."
Baekyang giggled.
A goblin's mischievous prank. But it was a prank born of her consideration to lighten the rigid atmosphere, a prank for understanding.
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A path shrouded in thick fog.
A human figure appeared from the Samdo River.
"Wow… I don't know how long it's been since I've been outside…"
Soyeon, who appeared in [Goblin Forest] using the Samdo River, smiled faintly at the moon in the sky.
It turned out just as the boy she met on the road once said.
It seemed they would meet again for something other than getting lost.
"Ah, this isn't the time for this… I have to go meet Bihyeong first…"
Even the faint fog that had been obscuring the moon lifted.
It was the moment the girl, walking under the moonlight, stepped into the world once again.