Chapter 55
“Wow, this speed!”
My companion flew across the dark night sky as fast as it could, gliding like a shadow.
Thanks to Gari, we were able to cover in just a few hours a distance that would normally take several days by carriage.
“Gari, we’re getting close to our destination.”
“Really? Then I shall slow down a little.”
Gari reduced its speed.
We still had a bit of distance left to go, but below us, I could already see a swarm of blue goblins gathering.
“Oh my gosh, they’ve already made it this far!”
“I will descend, Creator!”
As we slowly descended, the sight of countless goblins surrounding a building on the coast came into view.
There were easily dozens of them.
“I’ve never seen goblins gather like this before…?”
The Grand Duke of Rupellen also sounded surprised by the unusual sight.
I quickly took his weapon and infused the blade with a streak of light.
“I’ll take the first strike. Your Grace, Gari—please deal with any that I miss.”
“There are way too many of them. It looks dangerous. Why don’t you hide somewhere? The baby dragon and I will handle them.”
“No.”
I rejected the still-worried duke’s suggestion without hesitation.
“Don’t attack until I give the signal. Gari—don’t rush out on your own either.”
“Worry not. I am a good dragon who listens well, unlike someone here.”
We held our breath and approached the building quietly.
“Creator, I thought goblins stayed still unless attacked first. Why do they look so angry?”
“I’m not sure either. Shh…!”
Listening closely, I could hear frightened voices inside the building.
“Wh-what are those things?!”
“I don’t know! They suddenly swarmed in and started attacking the building!”
“Please help us, I want to go home…”
Somebody was even sobbing.
We couldn’t just stand there any longer, so I lifted my arm.
“All right, I’ll count to three and we strike. Three, two—”
Suddenly, a window slid open and someone shouted as they threw something.
“You vicious things, get out!”
The black stone they threw hit a goblin square in the chest.
I gasped.
“That’ll only make them angrier!”
Normal attacks didn’t work on goblins.
Before the injured goblin could go berserk, we had to attack first.
I was just about to give the signal—
But the goblin that got hit trembled violently, then suddenly turned into smoke and disappeared.
“…Huh?”
A goblin disappeared from just a stone strike?!
As we stood there stunned, more people inside opened their windows and started pelting stones.
Every time a goblin got hit—ping, ping, they vanished.
“My attacks aren’t the only ones that work?!”
The unexpected development left me dazed, as if I’d been hit on the back of the head.
It was surprising, but a good surprise. We now knew the goblins could be defeated without using my power—or Gari’s.
“Let’s leave this side to them.”
I led the duke and Gari around to the other side of the building.
There, we took care of the goblins swarming that area instead.
Once we cleared every goblin in sight, people cautiously started coming out.
“Whew, I thought we were going to die trapped in there. What even were those things?”
“Ah! Who are you?”
They screamed when they spotted us.
Well… we did have a dragon with us. Terrified by goblins, it was natural they’d panic again at the sight of a dragon.
I quickly shoved Gari into my bag and nudged the duke forward.
He was much more recognizable as the ruler of the Rupellen duchy than a newly-appointed Hero like me.
As expected, they recognized him almost instantly.
“Oh my, isn’t that the Grand Duke? What brings you here?”
“We heard rumors you defeated the dragon and returned to the Empire with the Hero—”
“Then the lady next to him must be the Hero?”
“Look how she treats the Grand Duke—it’s got to be her!”
Before the duke could even speak, the crowd fussed and correctly guessed who we were.
“No chance to introduce myself, huh. Seems they’re more interested in my little mermaid than me,”
he chuckled, not disliking the attention on me.
Then he asked the people,
“What is this place? Why are so many people gathered here?”
“We work at the Pen-Sing Factory, sir. This building is the Pen-Sing factory.”
“The Pen-Sing Factory?”
“Yes. This is where we produce contract quill pens.”
The duke and I exchanged surprised looks.
Just then, a man with a grumpy expression pushed through the crowd.
“What are you all doing standing around? There could still be goblins out there—get moving and search!”
The people scattered nervously.
The tall, broad-shouldered man wore a long red coat down to his ankles with flashy gold buttons and a gaudy gold necklace around his neck.
His slick black hair was perfectly parted and greased smooth.
I politely informed him,
“There’s no need to search. I already cleared the goblins behind the factory.”
“You got rid of the goblins? And who are you supposed to be?”
He jutted out his belly, squinted his eyes intimidatingly, and glared at me.
“You can’t beat goblins with normal strength. Did you steal one of the factory stones?”
…Excuse me? Why am I suddenly a thief?
I opened my mouth to protest—
But the Grand Duke stepped forward first.
“It’s fine not to trust strangers. But openly showing suspicion? Not a good habit for a businessman.”
He smiled. “Isn’t that right, Director Jang?”
“You know who I am?”
“Even at night, I’d be hurt if you didn’t recognize me. After all, I am a very important customer of Pen-Sing.”
The man—Director Jang—immediately shifted his glare to the duke.
His eyes widened.
“Oh! Grand Duke Rupellen?! What brings you here at this hour?!”
“Director Jang Won-xing, I thought you were in the capital.”
“I’m a businessman—I go where the work takes me. Oh dear, I almost committed a grave discourtesy by not recognizing you.”
His fierce attitude evaporated instantly, replaced with flattery.
“I just established a new factory here and came to inspect it. But then swarms of blue goblins appeared—nearly scared me to death.”
“Do you know about goblins?”
“Oh yes, of course. Rumors say they appeared in Tian Kingdom and struck terror everywhere. Ah—and I suppose this young lady beside you must be the Hero who defeated them?”
“Since we’re on the topic, let me introduce her. This is the head of Pen-Sing Factory, Jiana.”
“Hello, I’m Jang Won-xing, founder of Pen-Sing. A pleasure to meet you!”
“Jiana,” I replied briefly with a smile.
“I’ve heard so much about you. What luck I have today, to meet such an esteemed individual!”
He extended his hand for a handshake.
But I didn’t want to shake hands with someone who had just accused me of stealing.
Sensing my mood, the duke stepped between us.
“Are you going to keep us standing out here? Shall we talk inside instead?”
“Ah—of course! Right this way!”
Director Jang grinned, then led us inside, talking nonstop.
“Perhaps you already know, but the Grand Duke is one of our most important clients. He has purchased so many contract quills! And still does. As the head of the company, I am always deeply grateful—”
“Flattery aside, could you explain what happened here?”
“Certainly.”
Director Jang then briefly summarized the goblin incident.
