Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Chain of Hatred (2)
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『Sera's Perspective』
Gob lay prostrated before the door, turning his head.
He clutched a rag in his hand, wiping the floor.
The sight made Sera's chest sting as if pricked by thorns.
"What are you doing?"
Kasha tossed the words at Gob curtly.
While chatting with Sera, her hostility toward the monster had surged, sharpening her tone to a razor's edge.
Gob glanced up at Kasha briefly, then whipped his head away.
He resumed wiping the floor as if nothing had happened.
"Hey, you ignoring me?"
Kasha extended her foot and nudged Gob's waist.
Gob flinched but kept wiping, as if truly intending to ignore her.
"Hey, you ignoring me?"
Kasha nudged his waist again.
Gob flinched once more, then went back to cleaning the floor.
"Ha, this worthless shit. Hey, hey, hey."
Each time she barked "hey," her foot shot out.
But Gob steadfastly kept wiping the floor.
No matter what happened, he seemed dead set on ignoring it all.
Sera watched, the pain in her chest growing sharper.
"This bastard!"
Thud! Kasha's foot slammed into Gob's waist.
"Kahak!"
Gob let out a death-rattle scream and tumbled away.
"Ah..."
A sound slipped from Sera's throat unbidden.
Her hips bucked as if she might leap up any second.
But Sera clenched her fists tight, holding herself back as if gripping her own heart.
"Kehuk... Kkheuk..."
Sprawled on the floor, the goblin clutched his waist and groaned nonstop.
"Think you're easy pickings if I let you be? Huh?"
Kasha chased after Gob, raining kicks down on him.
Arms, chest, stomach, legs—she lashed out indiscriminately.
"Monsters like you should all drop dead. Filthy vermin."
Kasha spat contemptuous words, her lips curling into a grin.
Smiling mid-battle was Kasha's signature berserker trait.
But this wasn't a fight—it was plain bullying.
If she hadn't held back her strength, a goblin like him would've died from a single kick.
It wasn't for any greater cause or survival.
Just playtime to vent stress.
Sera knew that full well and clenched her fists until her nails dug into her palms.
"Keuk... Keheuk..."
Gob curled up, shielding his face with his arms, taking the hits.
The sight pierced Sera's solar plexus like an awl.
Thud! Thwack...! Heavy blows landed one after another.
"Keh...! Keuk...!"
Each strike drew a groan from Gob.
Sera suddenly found breathing hard, pressing a hand to her chest to steady herself.
The awl burrowed deeper into her heart, on the verge of touching it.
At that moment, Gob turned his gaze toward Sera.
Their eyes met squarely.
Gob squeezed his eyes shut, gritted his teeth, and stifled his groans.
"Still holding out? Let's see how long you last!"
Kasha bared her fangs in a wide grin and swung her foot even harder.
Thwack! The heavy impact echoed through the room.
If left alone, she'd break bones for sure.
Sera couldn't hold back anymore and shot to her feet.
She rushed to Kasha and seized her wrist.
"...Sera? What's wrong?"
Kasha looked puzzled.
As if she had no clue why Sera was stopping her.
"Ah..."
Sera let out a dazed murmur.
Even she couldn't understand why she'd stopped Kasha.
Killing monsters wasn't violence—it was justice.
Showing mercy to monsters was betrayal of humanity.
So why had she stopped the violence against a monster?
"Sera?"
Kasha called her name again.
"It's been so long since we met. I want to talk more."
Sera forced a smile, careful not to tip off the perceptive Kasha.
"How about a bath together?"
She linked arms with Kasha naturally, pressing close.
"Huh? A bath?"
"Yeah. To unwind and bond a bit. Sound good?"
"Of course!"
Delight bloomed on Kasha's face.
With her lesbian leanings, Kasha never turned down a bath invite from Sera.
"But leaving that thing alone makes me uneasy."
Kasha glared sharply at Gob.
"This is Lucy's domain, so it won't try anything. Leave it and let's go."
Sera tugged Kasha along, arm in arm, diverting her attention.
"Fine, whatever. Come to think of it, it's been forever since we bathed together~!"
The demon who'd been kicking Gob moments ago was gone; Kasha's face lit up with childlike joy.
"Yeah, really been too long."
Sera chimed in casually, stealing a glance at Gob.
Gob stared intently at her face.
Sera ignored his piercing gaze and left.
『Gob's Perspective』
Sera and Kasha left, leaving me alone in the corridor.
If I'm not imagining it, Sera just helped me out back there.
She dragged that beast bitch away on the pretext of bathing together.
Might be wishful thinking, but at the end, Sera's eyes were definitely on me.
Something's changed in Sera, but is she still Sera?
-Creak...
A breeze from somewhere made the door rattle.
I turned and saw Sera's room.
Maybe the clue to her sudden change is in there?
I glanced around, then slipped into Sera's room stealthily.
A white, pristine room.
Filled with peach scent—so thick, closing my eyes felt like paradise.
For a split second, I wanted to bury my face in Sera's bed, but I had to find clues now.
Scanning quickly for anything unusual, a notebook on the desk caught my eye.
My gut screamed clue—my heart pounded.
I rushed over and flipped it open. Sera's diary.
Early entries were mundane: meals, weather. Skimmed past.
Words like 'curse' and 'purification' jumped out.
No time to read it all. Focus on recent changes.
Recent pages mentioned me.
[...Took off my robe to gauge Gob's reaction, and he couldn't look away from my chest. So cute.]
The day at the cabin, eating fruit. It was there.
What? She did that on purpose? No wonder it felt off.
Sera had feelings for me too. My lips twitched up.
[Could've healed Gob's cut finger with prayer, but pulled out a handkerchief instead. To hold his hand.]
Thinking back, yeah. She could've used prayer. Such a tease...
[Got swept up in the mood and did naughty stuff.]
[Panicked, not knowing what to do, so I rushed back.]
[How should I act from tomorrow? Are we lovers now?]
[But I swore my body to the Goddess. I must stay pure.]
[Plus, Gob's a monster. Dating one... people would―]
....
Sera's been worrying about it too.
Of course. Anyone would.
Dating a goblin? They'd call her crazy. Even I'd think so.
That's normal. I knew it already.
...So why does my chest feel so tight?
"What are you doing."
A cold voice seeped from behind.
My heart froze solid.
I turned slowly. Blue eyes stared me down.
Lucy had appeared out of nowhere. At least it wasn't Sera.
"What are you doing. Question."
Her dry tone repeated.
I needed some excuse, but I couldn't speak.
"You can't answer. Fine, rephrase: Were you up to no good. Question."
-Shake shake.
No good was vague, but I had no intent to harm anyone.
"You have permission to enter Sera's room. Question."
-Shake shake.
"You didn't know it's wrong to enter someone's room without permission. Question."
...Nod.
Goblins are dumb and don't know that.
"Be careful next time. Always get the owner's permission before entering a room."
-Nod nod.
Luckily, she bought it because I'm a low-intelligence monster.
Good thing I'm a goblin this time.
"Why's your condition like that."
Lucy strode toward me.
Tall as she was, her strides were long—she was in my face in moments.
"Bruises all over. Kasha's doing. Question."
-Nod nod.
Please chew out that bitch if you can.
The hit spots still throbbed. From experience, bruises for sure.
"Gotta warn Kasha. But..."
A glint flickered in Lucy's eyes as she looked somewhere.
Following her gaze: Sera's diary.
"You were reading the diary. Question."
"...."
Lie or not?
No point—even if I lied, would it work?
In this pose, what else looks like reading a diary?
Lie and get caught? Better say I didn't know it was wrong.
"You were reading the diary. Question. Answer."
Lucy asked again, same tone.
Couldn't tell if she was mad from voice alone.
-Nod.
Steeled myself and nodded.
I'm a dumb goblin. Forgive me just this once...