episode_0112

Wow-! Wow-!

Vibrations were continuously ringing between the crotches of the goblin’s bat.

At first it was transparent and not visible at all, but as it was pressed against clothes, a rough outline emerged.

It appears to have been some kind of toy for adults.

I had no desire to know deeply about the identity of the toy.

“What are you doing standing around like that? Don’t you have any questions?”

“No, I was thinking about something else for a moment.”

“Please ask as soon as possible. Because I’m not the laid-back type either. Especially today, I want to enjoy my alone time.”

On the outside, it will look like you are having a normal conversation.

However, the goblin bat always grinned and showed a look of pleasure.

Trying to play with transparent toys even while talking.

If you are openly doing something profane in front of others, will you be embarrassed with just a toy?

I thought that if I went back like this, I might do something even worse.

“Then tell me about the Polymorph ability.”

“This is the ability to transform into a creature of lower rank than oneself. The end!”

“There’s no way there’s someone who doesn’t know that… … .”

“You are the one who asked about the knowledge that everyone knows. Could you please ask a question that is more worth answering?”

“I’ll admit it, the question was bad. I wanted to ask you about the process of how you learned the polymorph ability.”

“Hmm… … .”

This time, perhaps it was a very good question, but there was no immediate answer.

From her perspective, it was understandable because it was a past that could be as short as a hundred or as long as a thousand.

Still, I won’t easily forget my first experience of being able to transform into something else.

When you look back on the past, something will come to mind.

“It came to mind, but I’m reluctant to answer it because I have to bring up sensitive stories from the past.”

“You just have to cut out the sensitive parts and explain them.”

“Then the explanation may be a bit confusing. Is that still okay?”

“It doesn’t matter. Because it’s not a story I want to know even if it exposes someone else’s dark history.”

“Good. I’ll explain it as easily as possible, so listen carefully. First of all, in order for an object to acquire polymorph abilities, it must have a certain level of status. You probably know this.”

I nodded.

A sword or a bat is not a living thing. They cannot acquire abilities on their own, except for abilities they were born with and abilities acquired through specific materials.

However, my swords learned their polymorph abilities on their own without anyone’s help.

If only a specific sword had appeared, it could have been understood and passed on, but it turned out that this ability can be used on all swords.

Even Stella, who met her after living in seclusion, began using this ability naturally one day.

When I looked for commonalities to find the cause of polymorphs, the first thing that came to mind was myself.

Actually, I didn’t do anything except sell the sword.

“I also expected that the ego that comes from attaining a certain level of status would be the top priority. The problem is that I wonder how I acquired the polymorph ability when I had an ego.”

“I can’t say for sure, but I think it’s an ability given to me by fate.”

“A fate? That’s hard to agree with. Because at that time, I disposed of all the swords, so our relationship with each other was like nothing.”

“I didn’t say it was a two-way relationship. The trigger is when a sword with an ego becomes desperate for someone.”

After listening to the goblin bat’s words, I remembered the past I had heard from the swords and my feelings at the time.

I heard that Ilayna was disgusted by the new hero’s crazy ideals and came to desperately want me.

Scathach wished to apologize to me for seeing the value of his existence while passing through the noble warehouse and the magic tower.

I heard that Ecle and Lips met their new owners and desperately looked for me due to the constant abuse and pain.

I’m not sure about Hibana because I’ve never heard the real story. The same goes for Grishuras.

However, considering that both of them wanted to be by my side, I don’t think there will be much of a difference.

“Then what is Stella?”

[Me too. I was an iron sword that was widely used in the world, but I met the owner and grew to where I am today. For me, I desperately hoped that the owner would not abandon me.]

“That’s right.”

After listening to Stella’s feelings, the goblin bat’s words gained credibility.

However, there were still parts that were not conclusively understood.

“Good. As you said, let’s say the sword’s wish created the polymorph ability. Then shouldn’t the world be full of swords that can polymorph?”

In addition to Ilayna and Scathach, there were other famous swords in the world called holy swords and magic swords.

It means that they are by no means unique, and each of those swords will have their own owner.

Since it is called a holy sword and a demonic sword, it must have sufficient status, and it must also have an ego.

Still, I’d never heard of another sword being able to polymorph.

“That’s right. According to the conditions I have mentioned so far, it would not be strange at all if there were a country somewhere in the world founded by a group of weapons.”

“Are there any other conditions?”

“That’s right. And most people do not achieve the conditions and do not get the polymorph ability.”

“What is that?”

“The person whom an object recognizes as its owner must be bound to it by fate.”

After fate, this time it’s fate.

I twisted my lips at the thought that these were all abstract conditions.

If it weren’t for what the goblin bat said, it would have been innocent even if he had been accused of being a quack and gone away.

“It’s fate… … What can I say, it’s a difficult condition.”

“That’s right. So, I think this part is difficult to convince.”

“I’ll listen first and then judge. I’m curious as to why you said it was fate.”

“Okay.”

The goblin bat took out a bear bat from its chest.

When she put the stick in her mouth and snapped her fingers, tobacco appeared in the empty pipe and it caught fire.

Since it was a goblin bat that could be said to be a new item, it was not strange at all to use magic on it.

“I was the bat favored by the first Goblin King. Even though I was not yet a king when I was created.”

“The first goblin king was your destined partner?”

“That’s true, but it’s a little different. Because the time when I acquired my identity as a god was not at the beginning, but after several generations.”

A goblin bat blowing thick cigarette smoke and mentioning past events.

I felt pity in her slightly downward-slanted face.

“What I learned as soon as I got my ego was that the owner who created me had already passed away. And it was being passed down to later kings.”

“Could it be that you happened to meet the goblin of destiny?”

“Accurate. Surprisingly, I met a goblin that looked so similar to the first goblin king that I thought he had killed it. It made me wonder if I had returned from the underworld?”

The goblin bat laughed mischievously and waved its hands.

It seems that the days when I faced the goblin of fate were quite enjoyable.

“So you must have been living with that goblin all along?”

“… … It would be great if that were the case.”

“No?”

“It’s not particularly wrong. The only flaw was that our time together was extremely short.”

He puts the stick in his mouth again and exhales smoke.

I learned that whenever my mouth feels bitter, the goblin bat smokes tobacco.

“Unfortunately, he was not born into royalty. He resembles the first king, but he was born as just a goblin.”

“Because it was said that it would be passed down to future goblin kings. There was no need to go to him.”

“Yes, that’s why I tried to give up too. If only he hadn’t stolen me and run away.”

“If I had stolen the king’s exclusive property, I would not have lived up to my name.”

“Even if you think about it, it’s really foolish, right? Still, I was very happy at that moment. Because he wanted me that badly. But like you said, that joy didn’t last long.”

He was talented but lacked growth, and was said to have been captured by goblins after a long chase.

Since he touched the king’s treasure, he is guilty without further ado.

Unlike the bat, which returned intact to the king, the master of fate was imprisoned and subjected to severe torture.

“The pain of my master slowly dying gave birth to desperation, and that is how I gained the ability to become a polymorph. But by then it was too late.”

Her owner did not have long to live, as the torture was actually intended to kill her.

A vain death. The goblin bat asked Gombangdae with a self-deprecating smile.

“I was going to hit them all and destroy them. But do you know what that idiot said to me? He told me not to hate them too much. I’m so dumbfounded… … .”

“So you stayed in the goblin village even though you took on the nuance of hating goblins.”

“That’s right, I would have left at any time if I had the chance. The new owner came out just in time because he was stronger than the goblins.”

widely-!

She slammed the ashtray on the table and threw away the charred tobacco.

The sound that rang out clearly announced the end of the story.

“How about it? Do you understand a little about the fate I spoke of?”

“I understand. However, I still don’t know why I am the target of the fate of six swords each.”

“You will find out about that gradually. Even if we want to pretend we don’t know fate and ignore it, we naturally pull each other towards it. So if you want to know your fate, you better not try to avoid it.”

“I see… … .”

It’s still unclear.

What destiny was, seemed far away to me.

However, there was a clear realization that I gained through the stories and advice given by the goblin bat.

“Sword Saint, are you here? His Majesty has called the Sword Saint!”

“You mean I just have to avoid it?”

“Okay.”

I turned my back on the smiling goblin bat and headed towards the entrance.