By Zephyria 
The goblins called that building the ‘Training Grounds’.
Since it wasn’t Shierun’s pronunciation, the others in the party looked somewhat puzzled, but I immediately understood where the name came from. The character for ‘yearn’ was paired with the character for ‘devil.’ A garden that yearns for devils. The greed behind it was transparently evident in that name.
So, the Thousand-Faced Devil must be inside. I had wanted to see it again someday.
It was fortunate timing. With only those who could fend for themselves, rather than those I had to protect, by my side, and in this magic territory where I didn’t have to worry about damaging surrounding buildings no matter how we fought, it was truly a relief to encounter it here.
Although the goblins couldn’t draw a proper map, they said they knew how to read the signals written on the paths they frequented and re-carve them onto the walls. They hadn’t been involved in manufacturing zombies, but they seemed to have been busy delivering various necessities to the black magicians inside that building.
Having to follow this small-headed beast and move stealthily, I borrowed the power of a god once more.
A verdant grace seeped into the brows of the six humans. It was the same method used when sneaking into the King of Bivan’s castle. A god who couldn’t kill humans or monsters with his own hands was useless in this conflict. Fortunately, he was a god who couldn’t be killed by cutting or stabbing, so I decided to leave him here.
Gano Paquin repeatedly picked up and put down the pen he held, then picked it up again.
“Just like last time, it can blur cognitive abilities or manipulate memories for five days, but… I don’t know if it works on monsters that have already died. I don’t trust memories etched into the bodies of mere monsters.”
“I will avoid them as much as possible.”
[Hoo…]
No one here was startled by the god’s deep sigh anymore. Was this sigh a habit? I simply waited for his next words, idly nudging the abundant divine power around me with my toes.
The others chuckled and shrugged at me. It meant they were fine with it too.
[The domain of a god…]
“Speak it out loud, speak it out loud.”
But the divine speech echoing in everyone’s minds felt like a wasted effort. As soon as I pointed out his behavior, Gano Paquin quietly opened his mouth and spoke. His voice was, as always, a little vacant and gentle.
“…Ahem. The domain of a god isn’t just a mere play on words; it means becoming an absolute being in that particular field.”
“Yes. And so?”
“The God of Oasis can make water spring forth from empty desert spaces, and the Sun God can move eclipses and solar eclipses to dates of his choosing. I can read and store all existing records within the area my hands can reach.”
“…Hmm? Yes.”
What was the point of that?
As I just stared blankly, he raised his voice as if offended.
“If you happen to meet the youngest one in here, be careful.”
“Of what?”
“Just as I could scrape away your memories and provoke you, that one…”
Gano Paquin couldn’t finish his sentence.
However, I knew without hearing the rest. The Ninth is the god who governs love and people. I might be able to partially escape his machinations because I am not entirely of this world, but… love, love itself, was not something I could control.
After a moment of silence, I nodded.
“Yes. I will be careful.”
Now, only one problem remained.
I briefly looked around at the party.
Hugh Benson, Elvin Brooks. I knew both of them had experience killing many people. They had always taken the lead in dispatching black magicians whenever we wandered through magic territories and encountered them. Knowing they were trying to act as seniors, I didn’t stop them.
Leon? Although he walked around with a carefree smile, he was a mercenary who had traveled through vast areas from the entrance of the Yuil Mountains to the Shatun Desert. He must have seen his fill of all sorts of horrors.
However, Benjamin Claudian had no experience with killing yet. The most he had taken down so far were zombies. I worried about him one more time, as hesitation, even for a moment, could lead to serious injury.
“Once we enter, we will encounter black magicians who manufacture zombies. Most of them are from Shierun Academy, so you might recognize some faces, or you might not.”
“….”
“Will you be alright?”
Benjamin merely nodded at my question. His brow furrowed slightly, but he seemed indifferent. Hugh Benson, watching him, added a single, commanding word.
“Answer properly.”
“I am fine. I was taught that as a knight, one must not hesitate in dispatching enemies.”
“…Good.”
Now, only Mage Boulder remained.
He enjoyed observing various monsters, but whenever he saw a monster die, he would contort his large eyes and babble pointlessly. Mage Boulder had likely never harmed anyone, nor had he ever intended to. His round eyes looked so innocent, which worried me.
He pondered for a moment and then shrugged.
“To be honest, I haven’t created corpses, but I’ve handled many, so I think I can overcome the reluctance of killing people… I don’t want to be so foolish as to interfere with whatever you all do.”
“Yes.”
“But as you know, I’m a Research Mage, not a Battle Mage. I can only use spells I’ve memorized beforehand, and they’re a bit… imprecise. I can handle large targets like monsters well, but it’s safer to assume they won’t work on skilled humans.”
That was enough. I nodded.
“Just follow behind us and let us know if you see any magic circles or troublesome enchantments. If anything happens, as long as you keep yourselves safe, the rest of us will find a way to save you.”
“Yes.”
Now, what would we see once we entered?
No matter how I turned it over in my mind, I couldn’t predict anything. I could only swallow a sigh.
❖ ❖ ❖
We walked with Goblin Kkokko leading the way.
Most of our burdens were left to the god, and all spirits had been dismissed. The god’s advice to protect the spirits, who were sensitive to mana clashes, was followed precisely, as we didn’t know what kind of fight awaited us.
Kkokko was thoroughly intimidated. Its hunched shoulders made me worry if it would cause trouble. Boulder, Leon, Elvin, and Benjamin followed behind, walking with short, goblin-like strides.
Hugh and I followed them, using stealth to conceal ourselves. Although the god had used his power to make us appear as goblins to others, magic territories were places where nothing could be guaranteed, so we proceeded cautiously out of concern.
A magic circle, imbued with Silence Magic, greedily devoured the surrounding sounds. This helped us conceal our footsteps well. As a small entrance came into view in the distance, Kkokko’s pace quickened. It was about to break into a run, so I grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and stopped it.
Although it couldn’t fully sense my presence, Kkokko, being perceptive, soon became quiet.
Whether it understood my intention to act normally so the enemies wouldn’t sense anything suspicious, or if it was simply scared, I couldn’t tell. In any case, Kkokko walked with its usual quick steps, and I had the leisure to survey the surroundings.
Zombies lumbered past me. The faint, fetid smell of blood made me frown. I turned my gaze towards the entrance where the monster zombies emerged. It seemed to be at least 10 meters high. Since there was no door, one could easily glimpse inside each time a zombie emerged.
From within the interior, built with stacked bricks, zombies, thoroughly soaked in a purplish liquid, crawled and walked out. Their appearance resembled the zombie dens I had seen in my past life. Back then, only human blood was used, making it red, but here, it seemed they were mixing monster blood.
Without further time to observe, we entered the building through the low entrance.
And then, I was briefly shocked.
“Ugh.”
[Quietly.]
I immediately chided Benjamin when he let out a clumsy gasp. However, everyone was equally taken aback by the unexpected situation.
The passage Kkokko guided us through was wide enough for five or six goblins to pass at once. But the height was the problem. The ceiling, which was high enough for goblins, was so low that it only reached my chest when I stood up straight.
Most of us in the party were of good build. We weren’t going to crawl in an unfamiliar land, were we? We all smiled wryly and lowered our stances. While none of us were incapable of managing ourselves, seeing Leon and Benjamin, who were particularly large, clench their teeth was disheartening.
Walking with our knees bent, ready to draw our swords at any moment, we looked like we were in a martial arts stance.
With the passage blocked on the sides, only the front and back visible, it felt unsettling to walk with such difficulty. My worry that this goblin might be leading us astray vanished as I saw the anxious look on its face.
Kkokko, who had been looking around incessantly, let out a squawk. A goblin ahead of us shouted back and sprinted towards us. It looked like it was going to embrace us, but both of them spat on the ground.
Then, they sniffed each other’s noses, twitching their snouts, and circled each other. The goblins’ pointed ears twitched up and down. Amidst their chirping, other goblins began to show their faces one by one.
Boulder, with a look of emotion, wiped away tears and nodded.
“They must be brothers from the same womb. Three years is a long time for goblins, yet they remember each other. They seem to have deep affection. Ah… aren’t they really cute? This one next to me is their cousin. So, they’re descendants of a maternal sibling. Their eyes really resemble each other.”
“Hmm.”
Hugh Benson murmured in a low voice.
“Ask how many goblins are here.”
“Yes.”
Boulder let out a strange chirping sound, and Kkokko immediately grabbed its relatives and began asking them various questions. To our surprise, the answers were normal and clear.
“They say four tribes are here. About fifty individuals per tribe.”
“And they’re all in this normal state, not as zombies?”
“Apparently, small monsters are inefficient for use as combat zombies. Goblins are more obedient and have better intelligence and cooperation than medium to large monsters, so they seem to be used for errands.”
“How many black magicians are here now?”
Kkokko’s relatives, though looking puzzled, answered readily.
“There are seven humans. The leader is on the top floor, and the rest are wandering on the lower floors.”
“Can Kkokko guide us?”
“Yes. And… they’re asking if they should all evacuate.”
If such a large number of goblins left the building en masse, they would surely be noticed.
“Are there no places to hide within this building?”
“Uh… yes, there are. The goblins’ sleeping quarters. Should I tell them to hide?”
“Then it would be better to tell them to hide when the time is right, keeping an eye out. Tell them it would be more dangerous if they all went outside before anything happens.”
Kkokko, having heard Boulder’s words relayed, shut its mouth into a straight line and nodded.
How could that goblin have such a determined expression? I suppressed another sigh that was about to escape.