The Goblin Realm of Gaya
The makeshift infirmary of Lan at the high-class inn in the Imperial Capital.
For some time now, Jubern had been taking his place in handling the duties while Lan was away on a mission with Haru.
It wasn't anything particularly grand since it was just pillar-related work.
More precisely, it was nothing but confirming the spread of incident reports from across the continent.
Yet the sheer volume was overwhelming. Even though a few reports had been filtered out, the rest piled up endlessly.
Jubern, who had come to the infirmary early in the morning to summarize his separate reports for Lan, stared blankly at the desk piled high with documents, pressing his forehead.
“Is this what they call… paperwork?”
Smack!
“You damn fool—! What kind of blasphemous thought is this?! Lord would never say such a thing to me!”
Jubern wiped away the thought and slapped his own cheeks, then grabbed the nearest document.
Unlike the usual ones he had quickly skimmed and processed, this one held his gaze for a long while.
[Chain kidnapping case in Dongye has been resolved with the perpetrator apprehended. Investigation into detailed accident circumstances will proceed with the Duke of Dongye.]
“Hm?”
It was short and simple, yet something felt off. Yeah. It was exactly that simplicity that was the problem.
Even if the perpetrator was just a child, he was a Yokai! Could they really cover up a Yokai sighting so easily?
Moreover, the “investigation” had consisted of simply killing every last one of the perpetrators. The report didn’t add up at all.
'Temporary commander of the encirclement unit. I believe his name was Baron Blanser. Quite suspicious fellow, isn’t he.
From the reckless sword swings to, perhaps, the fact that he hadn’t fired his killing intent at the exact moment, which might have exposed his presence and put Haru’s group in serious danger. And even the part about investigating the mastermind of this incident.
'He probably doesn’t know about the connection between Lord and me and those people. I’ll have to ask about this once Lord returns.
Tant, who had been helping Jubern sort the materials, noticed he couldn’t pull his eyes away from one document for so long and tilted his head curiously.
“Commander, is something the matter?”
“Hmm, no. It’s nothing, Tant.”
Creak.
After processing the Dongye materials, Jubern reached for the next pile, when Wolhyang opened the door and entered with Maru.
Jubern’s eyes met Wolhyang’s, and he immediately turned to Tant with perfect posture and saluted.
“Cease that! Attention! I greet the magnificent Pillar of the Continent…!”
Tsk.
Clunk.
Wolhyang, who had instinctively sought out Lan’s infirmary and remembered he was gone, clicked her tongue and closed the door again.
“Good day…! Uh, you’re there…”
Maru’s greeting was blocked by the closed door.
“...”
She had been blatantly ignored.
“Um, I’ll take care of the rest. Commander should rest now…”
“No, Tant. It’s fine.”
Jubern, who was growing increasingly fond of Lan these days, forced a smile.
* * *
'No… no… no…'
“Hoo… sigh.”
“Lord Haru, are you feeling quite unwell?”
Despite the constant ringing in his ears, Lan’s face was gloomy as he endured the fierce blizzard whipping around him.
Whoa? It’s summer, yet it’s a blizzard?
It was because he was climbing an extremely rugged mountain at that very moment.
Back when he had left the National Academy, he had half-doubted the instruction to prepare winter coats, but now it made perfect sense.
“There is very little time left. Please muster all your strength for just a little longer.”
Pfft.
He had heard that phrase four times already.
“Understood.”
With a cheerful wave that said everything was fine, he continued following behind Lan, silently enduring the flying blizzard.
Wind in the eyes was a completely new experience.
Fwoosh.
Bursting through the clouds that were sending snow flying, a serene landscape unlike the disorienting one just moments ago unfolded before him.
The deep blue sky looked as if it could ripple with a single touch, while the disgusting clouds that had been sprinkling snow like crazy now lay beneath his feet, creating the illusion that the sky and sea had swapped places.
A few fluffy clouds that smelled sweet like cotton candy floated in the sky or clung to the ridges of mountains soaring high into the heavens.
Near the peak stood a massive stone fortress, surrounded by snow, and traces of careful preservation of the mountain scenery were visible.
“We have arrived at last. Thank you for your hard work, Lord Haru. This is Gaya, the country of the Goblins.”
As Lan spoke, hot breath escaped between his lips.
“Goblins…? Aren’t goblins Yokai?”
“Haha. You could say half correct, half incorrect. What do you know about goblins, Lord Haru?”
“I learned they are Yokai with different skin and horns.”
“Yes, correct. But the goblins here in Gaya are very similar to humans, unlike the horned Yokai goblins. Though their builds are massive, they are friendly beings who enjoy playful mischief. You have no need to fear them.”
'One picture is worth a thousand words.'
The goblins of Gaya truly shared many similarities with humans. No, one could almost say they were identical.
Still, a few differences stood out. For men, average height seemed to exceed seven feet easily, meaning one would have to tilt their head back to look them in the eyes.
Naturally, the objects here were roughly one-third larger than those used by humans.
If someone had witnessed a goblin struggling to open a door whose handle was positioned between the navel and hips rather than at shoulder height, it would have been absurdly funny.
Thanks to the extreme cold, the goblins—regardless of gender or age—were drinking strong liquor from dawn, and when curiosity led him to take a sip:
“Uwooh!”
Taste was secondary; the sensation of organs melting felt like pouring lava directly into the mouth.
Since it was supposedly to withstand the cold, why not wear a coat instead of a sleeveless thin shirt?
“This place is governed by the total seven great goblins known as the Gwanji. As you can see, each of them is a master of Cheneung, making them the most suitable opponents to further enhance Lord Haru’s Cheneung.”
As Lan continued, the muscles revealed beneath the sleeveless shirts of the goblins were all impressive, and some were posing in the ridiculous swastika pose to show off their bodies to each other.
While explaining Gaya, Lan moved on and stopped before the largest of the seven mansions.
As Lan tried to enter the mansion, one of the goblins guarding the entrance blocked his path.
“To pass this way, you must throw me down…!”
“One?”
“One…”
Perhaps realizing Haru’s identity, the guardlet let out a weary voice and sweated profusely, looking around in confusion.
“Um, um. I saw nothing!”
“Is that so? Then it’s fine to pass?”
“Of course!”
“Thank you. Lord Haru, let’s go in.”
Urrurrrung.
As the massive doors of the mansion opened and he stepped inside, the contact mirror vibrated several times.
Upon checking the screen, several familiar faces appeared.
“Oi! I got it! But what’s with all the snow around? Where the hell are you?”
Answering Teraden’s question about arriving at the goblin country of Gaya with Haru, Teraden grumbled that he was beaten by Crow’s Duck every single day.
“No, no! Break time’s over. It’s happy sparring time again.”
Chuuuuk.
Beyond the screen, Crow’s Duck grabbed Teraden’s head hair and yanked it up from afar.
“Ouch, it hurts! Wait! If you pull all the hair out!”
“Pull it out? How dare you speak rudely!”
“Kyaaaa! I’m going to have a bald spot on my crown!”
Teraden screamed as Crow’s Duck dragged him off, and Blanser let out a long sigh.
“Sigh. This is driving me crazy. Lord Haru. I’ll see you later. Please take care of yourself.”
“Yeah, see you later.”
“Aaaaaack!”
With Blanser’s farewell and Teraden’s pained cry, the contact mirror screen went dark.
Fortunately, he seemed to be doing well.
…?
Unable to figure out exactly what he was seeing, Haru smiled calmly and placed the contact mirror in his pocket, unaware that he himself would soon be in a similar state.
* * *
Inside the mansion visited with Haru. The garden was cluttered with suspicious objects.
Among them was a long chair that appeared to be about three feet tall, without armrests or a backrest, giving it a plain feel.
Upon the chair lay a huge man with a fierce expression, holding an oddly shaped object whose purpose he could not guess.
It consisted of a thin iron rod curled tightly on both ends, with large stone boulders heavier than a thousand pounds embedded on each side.
“Lord Ran, who is this person?”
“Ah, my apologies for the late introduction. This friend is one of the seven Gwanji ruling Gaya, named Dae.”
“Dae? Then do the other goblins call him the Dae Gwanji?”
“Yes, that’s right. Why do you ask?”
“No, it’s just that it sounds quite cool.”
“Hoo! Hoo!”
With every rough breath from Dae, a pea-sized muscle popped up on his chest, and the stone boulders bounced up and down without mercy.
Oh my god. What am I looking at? How is this boulder moving? No matter how much of a Cheneung master, this is beyond imagination. Could Ran be asking me to do this? I’m a little worried.
Kuwoong—!
After completing his repetitive action, Dae set the boulder down, causing the entire mansion to shake as if an earthquake had struck and snow flew from the floor.
The Dae rose from the chair and slowly stood, his build vastly different from the ordinary goblins one would encounter on the road.
Dae laughed heartily as he had done in the distance, striking the swastika pose.
“You did well again today! My great pecs!”
“Hey, Dae. What if a blizzard comes?”
“It’s fine! No problem!”
“It’s been a while. Well, are all the preparations for the things I mentioned ready?”
“Perfect!”
“I hope you prepared it immediately.”
“Of course!”
Nodding his head, Dae reached out for a handshake, then hurried off somewhere.
“Uoooo! Roar! My biceps, roar!”
“...”
From what he had felt earlier, the goblins of Gaya seemed to have a strange side to them.
“Um, do I really have to lift boulders like that person? My waist might snap in half.”
His worried expression must have been read as a smile, for Ran covered his mouth and chuckled softly.
“Of course not. Dae is here only to help Lord Haru with his Cheneung training. Lord Haru will be training with the Dae Gwanji in Cheneung training and improving combat awareness here in the future.”
“Sparring? With whom?”
“Here, isn’t he?”
“…Eh?”
Where here?
There was only Haru, smiling brightly at him with the world in his eyes…
“Lord Haru. The time we have been given is limited. We cannot waste even a single second, so let us begin at once.”
With a warm smile and the sound of crack, Haru slowly clenched and unclenched his fist as he approached.
Whoa, maybe it would have been better if my waist had snapped in half?