“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” Reshia said.
When the king realized someone was calling out to him and shaking him, he opened his eyes. After finally opening his heavy eyes, he realized that Reshia was in front of him with a face full of worry, while Pale wore a pensive face, and Kuzan of the Gordob Tribe was present.
“…How are you feeling?” Reshia asked.
“Ahh, not that bad,” the Goblin King said.
Despite what the Goblin King said, it felt like there was a haze around his thoughts and he couldn’t gather them properly. It was as though there was a part of his head that was hazy. He should’ve been awoke already, and yet there was a sense of fatigue as though he were still asleep.
“Your Majesty. Do you remember how you fell asleep?” Kuzan’s eyes were serious as she look up at the king.
“…” The Goblin King searched his memories, but he couldn’t remember.
“You suddenly collapsed while tending to your duties. Reshia-dono couldn’t wake you up even with her healing power, so she called for help from the goblins stationed nearby and had you brought to the bedroom,” Pale said as though she knew that the Goblin King couldn’t remember.
The Goblin King knitted his brows. “Collapsed? Me?”
“Yes. You’ve been asleep for roughly three days already. During that time I summoned Kuzan-dono and called for a gag order.”
As Pale turned to the short-statured Kuzan, so did the Goblin King.
“…Your Majesty. How about taking a break from your duties?” Kuzan asked.
The Goblin King glanced at the people looking at him and nodded.
“…Very well, I understand. There is no need to look at me like that.”
The Goblin King wryly smiled and promised to reduce his workload, then dismissed the people gathered around him. But even then, Pale still worried over his health, so after he promised to get some rest, most of his work was left to Yoshu and the rest of the civil officials.
As a result, Yoshu and the other civil officials quickly gained more prominence, but that just meant that the kingdom had grown too big for the Goblin King to manage on his own.
Now alone in the room, the Goblin King looked at his own hands.
As he felt the remnants of that dream entwined with him, he muttered.
“‘Go home’? I, want to go home?”
As strange as it felt, it was as though there were two of him, and the Goblin King continued to stare at his own hand. As he sunk deeper into his thoughts, the Goblin King became thoughtful.
Why was he even in this world in the first place?
He brought forward the biggest question he had and groped about in his memories. But in the same way that no one could remember the memories when they were born, the Goblin King too could only find himself at a loss.
After Pale, Reshia, and Kuzan left the Goblin King’s presence, they explained the king’s health to the people waiting at another room and decided to come up with a plan to deal with the situation.
Fortunately, the eastern expedition was going well.
The three goblin generals led the goblin forces and conquered the human minor nations like a blazing fire in a wheat field. At the same time, the economy to support their invasions was in good health thanks to the rise of the talented youth. Everything was going so well, inside and outside the kingdom, that it even seemed as though flowers could start blooming.
Presently, there weren’t any problems whatsoever with managing he kingdom.
“What of the king’s health?”
Gi Za Zakuend said with much displeasure as he glared at Kuzan.
“His Majesty isn’t well,” Kuzan said bluntly.
Everyone inside that room frowned.
“Is His Majesty’s life in danger?” Gi Za asked.
“I don’t know. But it has already reached the point where it is interfering with his life, so it’s certainly dangerous,” Kuzan said.
Gi Za swallowed his breath as his eyes opened wide. Immediately after, he hung his head low as though he didn’t want his expression to be seen, then he forced himself to say.
“I see… I take it, you have a way?”
Gi Za’s eyes shone with killing intent, but Kuzan showed no fear and simply shook her head.
“…You, and yet you dare call yourself a— Damn it!”
Gi Za was about to blow up and attack Kuzan, but he managed to stop himself. Even if he were to hurt her, the Goblin King wouldn’t recover. Besides, she knew the most among the goblins when it came to medicine, so if she didn’t have a way, then no one did, at least, not among the goblins.
“I have a proposal.”
As the room grew dark, a voice resounded. It was none other than Pale Symphoria.
“Can that proposal heal His Majesty’s illness?” Gi Za asked with a glare.
“It’s not impossible, but it’s a gamble,” Pale said.
“Enough putting on airs. Speak.”
Pale narrowed her eyes and looked at everyone in the room.
“We must find the servant god of the Goddess of the Underworld, the Wingless Sky Snake (Gawain).”
Everyone else other than Reshia were wide-eyed at her words.
“Gawain?”
When Gi Za heard the name of that god, the spirit within him stirred a little. It was because of a snake that claimed to be an apostle of Gawain that that spirit was with Gi Za today. Although he didn’t regret it, it wouldn’t be strange if he threw a witty remark.
“In the past, the Goddess of the Underworld challenged the world with four giant snakes serving her. Gawain is one of those. Or perhaps it would be better if I put it like this. He is the same sort as the Twin-Headed Snake (Bedydia) that the goblin tribes worshiped as the Lord of Decay.”
Kuzan fell silent at those words and turned her eyes down a little. She still remembered that time when that gentle voice returned her words to her.
“…Since it’s you who’s saying all this, I presume you already know where he is?”
Gi Za asked after finally regaining his calm. Pale quietly nodded and pointed to a single point on the map.
“The unexplored area of the west.”
Not only had the goblins not stepped into that region, even the humans were clueless about it.
“Can His Majesty be saved if we go there?”
“It’s a possibility. Until now, His Majesty has made allies of the god servants of the Goddess of the Underworld. If so, then perhaps he will do so once more.”
“Fine. We’ll abort the eastern expeditions and have our armies take over that region.”
As far as Gi Za was concerned, this was the unanimous will of the entire goblin race. The Goblin Kingdom existed only because of the Goblin King. Even if they were to conquer the entire continent, without the Goblin King, everything would be meaningless.
Victory, glory, even the honor that they’ve risked their life for. Everything only had meaning because their king was with them.
“No, that will not do.”
But Pale rejected that will of the goblin race.
“Why? There is nothing more important to us than the king’s recovery?” Gi Za asked.
“To you, perhaps, but His Majesty wouldn’t agree,” Pale said.
After being told that, Gi Za and Kuzan had to rethink their position. Would the proud and high king throw away the dominion he had finally achieved only because of his deteriorating health?
The answer was no.
“…Then at the very least, Ra Gilmi Fishiga’s Fanzel should go. They’re only in charge of the public order, so…” Gi Za found himself clicking his tongue as he made his proposal. He realized that it was a weak argument, but even then, he was so agitated that he felt he had to make the proposal.
“…Only 100 elite warriors will be in charge of the king’s safety. If we keep it at that number, it should still be easy to persuade His Majesty,” Pale said.
“Just 100?” Gi Za said.
“If you’re so confident in being able to persuade His Majesty, then by all means, please,” Pale said.
Gi Za had clicked his tongue and questioned her, so Pale snorted and glared at him.
“Fine. But I’m going too!” Gi Za said.
“Well, I suppose it can’t be helped. But you’ll have to convince the other generals who’ll want to accompany His Majesty. Understand?” Pale said.
“…Are those your terms? Fine. I accept.”
After Gi Za’s reply, Pale turned to Reshia.
“I’ll leave His Majesty in your hands then, Reshia-dono.”
“Huh?” Reshia said in surprise.
“You…” Gi Za groaned.
After hearing Reshia’s surprise and Gi Za’s groan, a faint smile appeared on Pale. As it turns out, she was relying on Reshia to convince the king.
