By Zephyria 
Familiar items emerged from the goblin’s pack.
Two daggers, one ring, and two leg guards.
The aura emanating from the items, soaked in contaminated mana, was familiar. They bore a striking resemblance to devices used for the forbidden black magic known as Aventa Bump, which utilized malicious mediums to draw in surrounding mana and detonate.
Ruben, examining the items carefully, shook his head.
“The daggers are by Balhor, a craftsman whose work can be commonly found in the weapon shops of Sierren’s capital, but the origin of the ring and leg guards is unknown. They don’t seem to be the work of a craftsman. Yet, the finishing isn’t sloppy either.”
“Then… are they from the Imperial Knights?”
“No. Not those. The rest, excluding the daggers, were likely Artifacts. Even tools not made by a craftsman’s hand fetch a high price once magic formulas are inscribed upon them.”
“What do you mean? Imperial Knights’ belongings? Are they even labeled?”
Boulder interjected, his eyes gleaming. Ruben, without hesitation, briefly explained what he knew and what had happened before.
Then, Boulder asked the goblin how to use them. The goblin mimed digging into the ground with its bare hands, then placed one of the rings into the pit and covered it with soil. After patting it down, tiny black holes were immediately drawn on top.
When asked to retrieve it, the goblin, visibly frightened, shook its head. It seemed to know what it was. Using Finger Projectile Skill, he purified the accumulated black holes and dug up the shallow pit. He took out the revealed items and placed them with the originals.
Previously, dozens of Aventa Bumps had detonated sequentially in Dunmel Canyon, causing the mana concentration to thicken to such an extent that it affected Sierren’s capital.
Marianne had informed them through Tracking magic that a low-ranking mage in a black robe, carrying a staff, had been indiscriminately planting these. This time, it seemed this goblin had been tasked with the dirty work.
But how?
They now understood that monsters could learn and possessed their own form of thought. They also knew that monsters could interact and form bonds with other monsters or living beings. But… taking orders from humans?
“Is something like this possible?”
“Yes? What is?”
“For a monster to take human orders…”
“Goblins think in very simplistic terms, and their survival instinct is high. They can manage tasks like digging holes to plant things, but anything more than that… they can’t. However, there is a way they can.”
“A way?”
“Divine Revelation. They follow real-time commands very well. Of course, I never thought Divine Revelation was a real thing… but if you two are truly opposing the Ninth God, then perhaps it’s a divine command, isn’t it?”
“What you’re spouting out now…”
“It could be due to survival instinct, or perhaps because you’re not currently receiving Divine Revelation…”
Mage Boulder had dedicated nearly his entire life to pushing mana into his body.
Creating mana crystals within the body was treated the same as monsterizing a human. It was natural for Mage Boulder, who majored in Monsterology, to be interested. He might not have known it during his academy days, but Owen’s Heterogeneous Races likely formed the basis of his ideas.
Regardless, goblins were small monsters that could be easily captured and observed. It was not at all suspicious that Mage Boulder, a Monsterology major, knew a lot about goblin ecology.
After questioning the goblin further, Boulder waved his hands on either side of his head. He watched the goblin’s relaxed posture as it laughed and pressed its temples.
“For starters, I know nothing about black magic. Studying and contemplating forbidden magic in detail is considered the pursuit of history buffs or psychos among mages. I’ve only learned a little about how to deal with contamination from mana poisoning when I climbed the Yuil Mountains.”
“…Hmm.”
“So, I can tell that mana is condensed in these mediums, but I can’t quite interpret whether it’s contaminated mana or just regular mana. It only started absorbing energy after being buried in the ground; while it’s in this bundle, it only holds mana equivalent to a Type 2 Artifact.”
“…Type 2.”
“Yes. Just a tiny bit. So I’d need to see something a bit larger to tell… It seems this goblin buried quite a few mediums with its friends. It said it hasn’t been back to that place. It was told it would be ‘married’ once the mission was complete.”
“…Who. A god?”
“That’s what it believes.”
“…”
What was so important about that marriage?
Exasperated, I pressed further.
“I learned that goblins… are beasts that reproduce promiscuously.”
“That’s right. Which is why it’s strange. It’s just called marriage, but I suspect it might be some kind of ritual. In the goblin language, the words for event, ritual, and such were attached to words like family and clan.”
“…”
I stood to the side, looking down at the goblin, which was hunched on the floor in front of me.
The goblin before us had green skin. If we assume that goblins with black skin are those who have mastered the Demonic Cult’s Mind Arts, then this one has little to do with that…
…Black skin?
“Mage Boulder, could you check if that Wyvern has a Dantian?”
“Yes? …Gasp. Really? You felt contaminated mana during the fight? Its Breath was fire-attributed.”
“No, that’s not it. It’s just in case.”
Ruben, who had been listening nearby, also chimed in.
“Is a Dantian… an organ that can be visibly excised?”
“Yes? Of course not. For Lord Ernhardt’s Circulating Qi or the newly developing Hip-Circlet, they use existing blood vessels as conduits to circulate mana and accumulate non-material plane energy in a specific location, right? You can’t see it immediately even if you cut open the abdomen… For mana users like myself, we can read traces that a Dantian existed in this spot. Residual mana. Yes, just checking for residual mana.”
“…Hmm.”
“Alright, then go and check. After that, I’d like to examine the place where the goblin buried the mediums.”
“Then I’ll check that too before we head there. If it’s suspicious on the way, we’ll turn back immediately, and if it seems fine, we’ll get a proper look at you using that purification method Lord Ernhardt used last time!”
“…Hmm.”
Somehow, I felt like a wizard’s plaything. Boulder, excited, flapped his way towards the Wyvern.
Ivan, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, merely gave a slight bow of respect before heading straight to his workers. He watched the workers, who were busy tending to the horses and caring for their faint-hearted, collapsed companions, pouring out various words.
Still, seeing that not a speck of dust had soiled Ivan’s clothes filled me with pride. His neat attire was proof that Sienna had taken good care of him. It was indeed good that he had consistently trained his lower body.
I soothed my heart with such idle thoughts for a long time. Yet, a corner of my heart remained anxious.
Ruben was still not looking at me.
His gaze was fixed on the goblin’s unfastened pack. I couldn’t be sure if he was upset thinking about acquaintances he had lost, or if he was sulking about something towards me, making my mind restless.
“Ruben.”
“…Yeah.”
Even when I called his name, the child’s gaze didn’t return to me.
I endured the time, glaring pointlessly at the goblin.
❖ ❖ ❖
In conclusion, Mage Boulder succeeded in finding traces of a Dantian by dissecting the creature. However, the residual mana in the monster’s body was not pure at all, making it difficult to consider it internal energy, he explained.
I knew the Demonic Cult used cruel Mind Arts, but not knowing their exact principles or activation methods, I could not explain further and fell silent.
Ruben ordered Boulder to cut out only the preservable parts and store them, and Boulder excitedly chopped up the Wyvern’s flesh and put it into an empty container.
After a simple meal together, we decided to move to the place where the goblin had buried the mediums.
It was bothersome to have the workers trailing behind. I had more than one thing I wanted to ask Ruben immediately.
However, Ruben, perhaps conscious of others’ gazes, or perhaps truly having grown distant from me, acted meekly the entire time. He didn’t reach for my hand, didn’t meet my eyes kindly, and stared intently at the bare ground with a thoughtful expression.
No, it was just a baseless thought. The child simply had many things to ponder.
Thinking so, when we set off again, I immediately climbed onto Ruben’s horse right after he did. I wrapped one arm around his waist and held the reins he gripped with my right hand. Ruben flinched, tensed his lower abdomen, and stiffened his body.
“…Huh?”
“Let’s go like this.”
I had climbed on with the intention of not backing down, even if Ruben showed his displeasure. I couldn’t retreat with just a slight hunch of my shoulders. In less than half a day, my insides had turned so black that I could no longer bear it. My stomach churned as if I had swallowed spoiled food.
We moved forward, urging the horses on, with the workers closely following behind to avoid danger. Ruben still did not lean against my chest or act spoiled.
Why, on earth?
So, I whispered the words I had held back into Ruben’s ear.
“Ruben.”
“…”
“Are you afraid of me?”
It was undoubtedly a good thing that I had reached some realm without realizing it.
I had lived to become strong in both my past and present lives.
I was born to become strong, and I added bone-grinding penance every day to become even stronger.
Therefore, strength was undoubtedly a value that took precedence over all else for me, yet the thought that Ruben no longer worried or cared for me made me feel as though I had been thrown into the deepest abyss alone, unable to find my place.
Even though he knew I was this kind of person.
I had prepared myself to cherish every aspect of Ruben, so why…
Ruben did not answer immediately. My heart grew anxious, and I pressed my chin against his shoulder. I wished for the child to look back at me, his cheeks blushing. When I overlapped my hand with Ruben’s, which was gripping the reins, Ruben let out a low sigh.
“It’s not like that.”
“Then…?”
Tensely, I focused all my nerves on Ruben’s voice. Ruben’s face was pale. He gave a short laugh as he was. But I had heard Ruben’s laughter more than once. I immediately recognized it as forced and my heart grew twice as anxious. Ruben whispered.
“Mika. Were you thinking of leaving me?”
“…What?”
“Since when?”
Startled, I was speechless.