Chapter 27 - Part 2: Are you a cheat too?

[Do you know or not?]

This is what Dan-san taught me.

He enthusiastically explained that there are humans, animals, elfs, and monsters in this world. There are also dragons and spirits who are transcendent beings.

He said that animals and monsters are separated by their ability to think, but there is no clear distinction between them. I heard that in some regions, insects are also treated as monsters.

When I said: [That doesn't make any sense.], I was told that insects can be considered monsters because they are recognized by the church as something that can harm humans.

[So, that is how humans perceive them.... If I was to put in a single word, for us, a monster is a "failure". A failure to become something.]

[A failure to become something?]

[Yeah. We, goblins, failed do become humans. Frozen Spiders failed to become spiders. That is why, in general, monsters are weak.]

How can that be true?....

I was surprised at the unexpected comment. Papa seems surprised as well, and he looks very interested in the conversation.

[A goblin child can be killed by a kui¹. And until they reach a certain size, Frozen Spiders have tons of natural enemies in the forest. Something as big as yesterday is very rare.]

Wow! For the competition of survival to be that fierce. I guess that is why monsters are so fertile.

[For a monster to become strong, it must be given a name. That Frozen Spider from before probably had one.]

[A name?]

[If a strong person gives you a name, the world recognizes you as an individual. After that, you can use magic and receive blessings from spirits.]

That is how it goes then. Names are very important in this world, arent't they?

When you have a name, you are bound in many ways, but there are also benefits.

[What is your name?]

I'm sure it is tough name!

I can't keep calling him "former hobgoblin" forever, so I wanna know.

[I don't have one? I didn't get along with the previous leader. I took over after he was killed.]

So, you don't have one, huh.

Wait. You don't have one? And you still managed to evolve?

How high are your basic skills?

That is not funny, God!!

[Honestly, I'm envious of this little guy. It has a crest on its forehead, so, you must have given it a name.]

[This child's name is Gratia]

Gratia clicked its fangs.

It might be pround of its name. Maybe.

Without me realizing, it became somewhat of a study session. But as we were talking, we arrived at the village.

Looks like the man we freed was from this village. The villagers were astonished at first. Then, they cheered. And then they cried.

A woman came running, hugged the man and broke down crying. She appears to be his wife.

I'm so glad for you...

The knights will guide the other women to their respective villages tomorrow.

That reminds me. Are their mental health fine? The just went through a traumatic experience, right?

[Otou-sama, I want the captive people to be taken care of. It would be nice if it was by someone with experience in mental health, but....]

Are there psychiatrists here?

Even if not, just going to a doctor might alleviate their mental burden a little.

[That is a good idea. Let's dispatch the territory's team of healers.]

And now that I'm thinking, are the twin angels from this neighborhood as well?

I asked them and it turns out they are the children of the lord of the Iraga's territory, which is next to Jilva²'s territory, where we are. They really are from a noble family.

[I see, Count Iraga's.... Well then, I should let him know you are safe as soon as possible.]

On papa's orders, a carrier pigeon  was sent to Count Iraga's house.

According to papa, Count Iraga is an excelent lord. That means we should involve him in the plan... no, let's say he might be a good candidate.

I did him a favor by saving the twins, so, that is a plus.

Well, I will discuss this carrefully with papa later.

For now, I'm so hungry. Please give something decent to eat!

Once again, I was taken care of at the village chief's house.

The village's chief's wife was glad I was safe, and gave me a hot stew.

Ah, warm food. That is bliss!

The twins were gobbling the food up as well. I can't be helped, they hadn't had a hot meal in a long time.

I think most of the food we had when we were in the cave was fruit.

I asked the village chief's wife for some raw meat to split between Nox and the others.

Nox magnificently held the piece of meat with her legs and tore it apart.

Gratia held the meat in its legs and ate it while dexterously twirling it around.

What is up with this way of eating? It is way too cute.

It is like a caterpillar eating cabbage leaves.

Even after Gratia finished eating, it was still clacking its fangs, asking for more, so, I gave it some legumes from the stew.

It did the same thing and dexterously twirling it around, eating it.

This is dangerous! I think I'm going to get addicted to watching Gratia eat.

After we ate, it was time to pet Sol for the first time in a while!

But, before that.

I have to ask the village chief for some clothes!

I have to do something about the former hobgoblin's exhibitionist attire!

Sol lands in what seems to be the village public square.

The former hobgoblin, the twins and the villagers are all dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, I run up to Sol without thinking much and clung to him³ face.

OOh!, This smooth feeling. Sol's scales are the best!

Sol carefully observes the former hobgoblin, while I'm still clinged to him.

[The traits are different from the ogres⁴ I know of. And there are signs of of spirit magic... I see...]

I wonder if I will be able to sleep with Sol today.

Should I use his belly as a pillow? Or maybe his fur as a blanket... Wait, maybe cuddling against Sol's cheeck while he is lying down would be more fantasy like.

[...., Are you even listening to me?]

Hum, I really want to try the fur blanket though. I'm so torn.

[Nema! Don't you want to hear my words?]

Yay! Sol just called me "Nema"! That surprised me!

[This one is not a ogre. Ogres can't use spirit magic. But I'm unaware of a monster with these characteristics.]

In other words, not even Sol knows.... Weren't you a living encyclopedia?

Or rather, spirit magic!?

[Supiwits? Can you see!?]

I asked the former hobgoblin after sprinting so fast, my nose almost touched him.

[If what you call spirits are those translucent insects flying around, then yes. I can see them.]

Insects? Please don't say something that could destroy my dreams.

Intead of insects, what about fairies? But there are no fairies in this world. Dwarfs are too big, at the size of a human child. And I don't know the race of Thumbelina.

....There is nothing else to compare to other than insects....

Let's leave this problem for later! That sounds good!!

[Supiwit Magic? Can you use?]

It was a selfish request, but the former hobgoblin easily agreed.

Sol teached him how to use it, and he was practicing.

Since I didn't have anything I could use as a target, I was looking around, and one of the knights made a golem.

It is an amazing magic too. But I wonder just how much more amazing is spirit magic! My heart is fluttering!

The former hobgoblin adress someone in an empty space...

Boom.....

I can hear the sounds of debris scattering.

Let's see... It exploded, right?

[Can spirit magic be used remotely...?]

So. Papa said magic is released from the caster, and as such, it can't be suddenly activated at a distant place. If you want to do that, you have to use a magic tool.

[I just asked the fire spirit to take the golem down.]

Sol looks amused at everyone's surprise.

A new golem was made, and this time, it was cut into small pieces. it seemed that a wind spirit formed a whirlwind. After that, they turn the golem back into earth...

The water spirit turned the golem into mud, deforming it. After that, it removed all the water from the golem, making reparing it impossible.

And what about the earth spirit? The same attribute as the golem.

The golem became more glossy.... It seems that attacks with the same attribute as the target are less effective.

That said, it can change the properties of the soil and manipulate the growth of plants. Perfect for farming.

[You can use all attributes....]

Speaking of which, Sol has fire and wind. But the former hobgoblin can use magic in all attributes.

He is a cheat too, in a way.

Isn't he a new species then? He isn't a Holy Beast, but can use spirit magic, which is very rare, right?

[So, it is a new species! Why don't we call it "shinki"?]

[Shinki? That is a weird sounding name.]

That is because it is Japanese."Mori no Oni" means "Forest Ogre", so "Shinki"⁵ is perfect.

As I was patting myself on the back for my naming sense, I noticed a white crest on the former hobgoblin's forehead.....

Hey, that not his name! That is the name of the species! It is not a personal name!

Oi, God. Come down here for a minute! You are just toying with me!

I stomped on the ground, to vent my frustration, that I couldn't take out on anyone.

[Nema....]

Papa is also dumbfounded.

And this time it isn't even my fault!

[It is the name of the species, daddy!]

Even if I say that, it is not like I can take it back.

Ah, enough, ok. The former hobgoblin's name will be Shinki!

[So, that is how it is. That is how you increase the number of servants you have.]

They aren't servants, are they!?

And you are the only one who chose on your own, Sol. The others came by chance, or God's choice.....

That is right! I did nothing wrong!!

[I'm sorry. I gave you a name without even asking.]

[It is fine. You showed us a way to survive. I was going to ask you anyway.]

Well, I don't know how it is going to turn out, but even if the plan doesn't work, there is always another way.

[I, Shinki, leader of the goblins, pledge my allegiance to Nefertima.]

Shinki bows his head after saying that.

Oh, he looks like a knight!

[Are you really fine with me?]

[Now that you gave me a name, you are my master.]

Yay! I'm the boss of the gobins, now!

... I feel like I took a very wrong turn somewhere....

---

Translator's Notes:

1. Kuis are small, olive-brown animals with long bodies and short legs, as mentioned at the beginning of chapter 26.

2. That is what the previous translator uses, so, I will stick with it. I changed jilva-dai to jilva's territory though.

3. It is very hard to determine the gender of certain characters. Particularly the animals. Until I find evidence, I'm keeping Nox and Dee as female, because that is how the previous translator refer to them and Gratia as "it". Sol "changed genders" from one translator to another, but in this chapter he used "Ore", so I'm using male pronoums for him.

4. The word is "Oni", which can refer to ogres, demons and other things. The previous translator uses "demon", but a goblin becoming a ogre just makes more sense to me. Tell me what you think about it.

5. Same kanji, but different readings.

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