The Goblin Warehouse(2)

Ancestors are the leaders of each race.

The king and queen of a race.

The beings called Ancestors are the heads that lead an entire race.

However, unfortunately, in most cases, even the team leaders of the Five Departments who assist right next to the Ancestors can rarely see the Ancestors’ leadership-like appearance.

This is because situations where Ancestors need to show their leadership rarely exist in the defense city.

After all, where would there be opportunities for Ancestors to step up when most problems are resolved even before the team leaders, let alone the Ancestors, need to intervene?

Therefore, from the moment the concept of the Five Departments was established in the defense city until now, there were almost no cases where each Ancestor showed their appearance as a leader.

But at this moment.

Seo-hyun unknowingly swallowed a small exclamation at the glimpse of Shin-yeon’s appearance as the Great Chief.

Flash—!

‘That’s… the goblin bat.’

The iron bat that Shin-yeon took out absorbs light once and repaints its appearance in brilliant golden color.

Then black horns grow on top of it.

Although Arashi and Esi didn’t seem particularly surprised as if they had already seen it before, Seo-hyun, who was seeing this for the first time, couldn’t help but be surprised.

“To think you were carrying around the goblin bat disguised as an ordinary weapon…”

Of course, there had been several instances where Shin-yeon had shown various scenes with the iron bat, so she didn’t think it was an ordinary weapon, but still, she hadn’t even imagined that it would be the goblin bat.

According to the stories written in documents, the goblin bat is like another life for the goblin Great Chief.

In a way, it was natural for Seo-hyun to be surprised that she had been boldly carrying around such a bat pretending it was an ordinary weapon.

However, Seo-hyun’s surprise was only momentary.

The next moment, the words that came out of Shin-yeon’s mouth were shocking enough to surprise not only Seo-hyun but also Arashi and Esi.

Boom—!

“All jangseungs in the village, listen.”

A voice with an intonation no different from usual, a voice no different from normal, flows from Shin-yeon’s mouth.

But perhaps because of the serious tone unlike usual, for some reason, a voice with an indescribable weight echoed throughout every corner of the goblin village, and the jangseungs stuck in various places stirred at that call addressing them.

Creak— Crack—

The jangseungs look at Shin-yeon while eerily turning their monolithic wooden necks.

At the sight that gave goosebumps just by looking, Seo-hyun unknowingly swallowed, and right after.

Shin-yeon’s words, which had been cut off for a moment, continued again.

“From now on, this place is no longer called the goblin village. So destroy this place without leaving a trace until I return from the warehouse.”

《《《Yes!!!》》》

The jangseungs shout a resounding answer as soon as Shin-yeon’s order falls and walk out from where they were stuck.

The sight of jangseungs nearly 10m tall rushing out en masse and raising their fists was nothing short of a nightmare, but for the three who had just heard Shin-yeon’s words, that wasn’t what was important.

“W-w-wait a moment, Lady Shin-yeon?!”

Arashi urgently calls out to Shin-yeon as soon as her words end.

As Shin-yeon turns her head, Arashi asks her with an expression of incomprehension:

“Destroy the village, you say? Wasn’t this the village where the goblin clan lived? Even though you say they lived here for less than a year, is there really a need to destroy it…”

“That’s right…! As the Ancestor said, this village is too precious to be destroyed like this.”

Seo-hyun immediately nodded and expressed her agreement with Arashi’s words.

As Arashi said, this was the goblin clan’s village where goblins lived in the past.

Of course, it’s said they didn’t live here long due to the outbreak of the Gate Rampage incident, but it was undoubtedly a village where emotional attachment would remain for the goblin clan.

And even if there was no emotional attachment, the historical value and name value that this goblin village holds would be priceless.

So from a general perspective, there was no reason at all to destroy this goblin village.

Thus, Arashi and Seo-hyun harbored objections to Shin-yeon’s order to destroy this village.

However, to these doubts of the two, Shin-yeon simply answered calmly with an expressionless face as if asking what the problem was.

“I feel bad every time I see this place. So I’m destroying it… Is there a need for any other reason?”

A single straightforward answer, without metaphorical expression or roundabout reasoning.

As heard, Shin-yeon was simply trying to destroy this place because she didn’t like it, because it made her feel bad.

“……”

“……”

But at this answer, Arashi and Seo-hyun could no longer say anything.

Because the emotions contained in that single absurd answer more than filled the non-existent reasons.

Though neither words nor expression showed any sign, Shin-yeon’s intense emotions were somehow clearly felt.

Those emotions were justifying the validity of Shin-yeon’s order.

“If that’s the case… it was unnecessary meddling. I have nothing more to say.”

And since this appearance of Shin-yeon was already something glimpsed earlier, Arashi nodded while gently pressing her lips with her fan.

No matter how self-centered a ghoul Arashi was, she wasn’t someone tactless enough to try to continue the conversation even after reading such an atmosphere.

Although she couldn’t know exactly, Arashi immediately backed down from the situation that she could roughly guess from that single sentence just now.

And at Arashi’s behavior, Shin-yeon opened her mouth with a faint smile as if grateful.

“Alright, then let’s really go now!”

As soon as Shin-yeon let out an energetic shout, the goblin bat she was holding floated up and started flying as if proclaiming itself the guide.

Following that, seeing Shin-yeon following it, Arashi, Seo-hyun, and Esi followed Shin-yeon without anyone going first.

Leaving behind the goblin village that they would no longer be able to see.

---

About 30 minutes after entrusting the demolition of the village to the jangseungs and starting to follow behind her, following Hwa-gon who said he would guide the way.

『We’re really almost there now! Although it was hard to recognize because the terrain has collapsed a lot over the past 73 years, it’s really right in front of us now!』

At Hwa-gon’s buzzing shout above my head, I relayed the message to the three coming up from below.

“He says we’re really there now. It’s right ahead, he says?”

“That word… I think I’ve heard it at least ten times already…”

“But this time it seems to be true. I’m starting to feel it too.”

Since we had heard it several times since twenty minutes ago, Seo-hyun, who was coming up holding Arashi in her arms, exhaled a slightly rough breath and showed signs of disbelief.

Well, even I would probably start to doubt if I were made to walk for twenty more minutes after hearing we’ve arrived several times.

However, this time I encouraged Seo-hyun by assuring her, as I too began to feel the intense energy.

“Really… to think there’s a warehouse on top of such a treacherous cliff. The goblin clan’s warehouse is truly hidden in a dangerous place.”

“That’s for sure… it’s fortunate that we all have the ability to climb such a cliff.”

Then Esi muttered so as if nauseated while looking down at the path we had climbed so far.

And I had to honestly agree with her words.

The path we were currently climbing following Hwa-gon’s guidance was truly a sheer cliff.

It was a cliff of such height that if one fell by mistake, it wouldn’t be strange for their body to spread out like a kimchi pancake.

At least I was using the goblin clan’s strength and flexibility to step on or grab small protrusions to climb up, Esi was using her water droplet capable of flight, and lastly, Seo-hyun was stepping on mana footholds from her combat suit while carrying Arashi and climbing up.

Of course, Arashi could also fly using ghoul clan magic, but that would involve concentrating mana powerful enough to attract monsters, so it was impossible.

“It’s fortunate that Seo-hyun is strong enough to carry Arashi…”

“Lady Shin-yeon?! I’ll have you know I’m very light despite my appearance!”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case judging by how drenched in sweat Seo-hyun’s face is?”

The cliff was so steep that if there had been someone among the three who couldn’t climb this cliff, that person would have had to wait helplessly at the bottom of the cliff.

To the point where I even felt resentment towards the former Great Chief for moving the warehouse to such a place.

So I agreed with Esi’s words, and Arashi’s gaze, who had become sulky from the previous conversation, sharply pierced the back of my head.

But how long had we been silently climbing the cliff while deliberately ignoring that gaze.

Clunk—!

『We’re here! This is the place!』

“Finally…!”

I let out a shout of joy at Hwa-gon’s words, who had stopped in front of a crack in the cliff, saying we had finally arrived at the entrance of the warehouse.

“Is this the entrance?”

“H-have we finally arrived…?”

“We’ve finally arrived at last.”

Following that, Esi, Seo-hyun, and Arashi approach beside me as I stand on a rock ledge.

The three looked at the crack in the cliff that Hwa-gon was pointing to from beside me, and the first evaluation of me and the three was a single word not much different:

“It’s less impressive than expected.”

“The entrance is unexpectedly modest.”

“Rather than modest, it’s truly at an extremely ordinary level…”

An entrance just big enough for one person to enter, located near the top of the grayish cliff.

However, if one goes in any further, the inside of the crack is completely blocked by rock walls as if it had always been that way.

Since the shape of the crack isn’t special, nor is the surrounding cliff unusually shaped, the first impression feels like nothing more than an unremarkable entrance.

Undoubtedly, the intense energy I had felt from just before was flowing out from here, but with the entrance looking like this, a question naturally arises.

“Hwa-gon, are you sure this is the right place?”

So when I asked Hwa-gon, who was floating in the air, like that, Hwa-gon vigorously shook his body to express affirmation.

『This is definitely the right place! Shin-yeon, isn’t there a keyhole to insert me right next to you!』

“A keyhole…?”

At Hwa-gon’s fiery shout, I slightly turned my head to see a clearly visible round hole.

However, it wasn’t just a plain round hole, but a hole in the shape of a circle surrounded by triangles wrapped around it.

Probably the circle in the middle refers to Hwa-gon’s body, and the triangles wrapped around it refer to the horns on Hwa-gon.

“It does look like a hole to insert you, Hwa-gon.”

『That’s right! So stop doubting and hurry up and open it!』

And at Hwa-gon’s shout to insert him as soon as possible, I grabbed Hwa-gon as he flew into my hand, and slowly turned Hwa-gon’s head towards the hole.

“…Alright, then.”

As I finished preparing to insert Hwa-gon, a gulping sound could be heard from behind.

The three behind me seemed quite tense at directly witnessing the historic moment of the goblin warehouse door opening.

But I was just as nervous.

Somehow doing something befitting of a Great Chief for the first time since awakening as one, I suppressed my pounding heart.

And I calmed my trembling hand and firmly grasped Hwa-gon, whose direction I had aligned.

“…Opening.”

Then I slowly started pushing Hwa-gon into the keyhole.

Rumble—

Then with a sound like something being pushed away, Hwa-gon smoothly entered the keyhole.

And finally, when Hwa-gon was pushed in to the end of the keyhole, leaving only the handle.

Craaack—!!!

The rock wall inside the crack split open with a thunderous sound and showed us the way.

The goblin warehouse, said to be wider than even the mountain god’s lake.

The only entrance leading to that place.