Chapter 4: The Redcap Goblin

Lady Makeda Rutgard is the Royal Consort of King Gowinson VII who ranked second to Queen Suiko. Lady Makeda was blessed with beauty and intelligence that made the king fall for her, which also become the reason why everyone fear her. She had a daughter with the king, who she resembles a lot, having the same almond blue eyes, named Bridget. Lady Makeda was once a powerful sorcerer in her time but she abandoned it to pursue her dream to become the Queen. She was planning to obtain a prince and wanted to use her daughter for influence which is why she's against with her relationship with the Royal Knight, Raijin.

"Royal Knight Raijin has arrived", the royal consort's maid called.

"Let him enter", Lady Makeda said.

"Your Majesty, what is the matter of calling me at this late hour?", Raijin politely asked, half kneeling.

"Escort my daughter safely in the palace", Lady Makeda requested.

"Your Majesty, I believe I can't do that, she is currently on her training test", Raijin replied.

"I guess I shall make her a princess and marry a prince, what do you think?"

Raijin was shocked and was silenced for a while. Her words stuck in his head like a bullet. He was afraid of those things to happen, but he was also worried to get caught if he helps her and might lead to that fearful event.

Raijin stuttered as he replied, "I—I, I shall go".

Every night, dungeons across the Supercontinent Pangaea opens and different monsters are actively roaming around. The first King ordered not to destroy the dungeons and use it for his own advantage to avoid night attacks and espionage from rival kingdoms. Throughout the years, the people had adapted to remain themselves indoors at night for security and protection. In addition, the research about the informations of the different monsters and dungeons are leaded by the Supernovice Class and being published in the job system library.

"What's the problem? Am I heavy?", Sachi asked, riding on his partner's back.

The guy did not respond and just continue carrying her on their way to the palace. Sachi was worried, she felt that something strange is happening to him. She noticed that the way he walks seemed like he was in pain so she carefully peeked on his face.

"Oh no! Your face is all red!", Sachi exclaimed.

The seemingly focus guy was embarrassed by what she said. He lost control and felt imbalance all over his body. He immediately decided to rest for a while.

"I do not know if there is a disease or negative status with symptoms that will make your face red, hmm, maybe it is the reason why you came late a while ago", Sachi uttered innocently, sitting beside him in a bonfire.

"Wew! This is not a disease or a negative status, it's just a reaction when someone's face come closer to each other—"

"Reaction?", Sachi responded quickly, facing him in an even shorter distance.

The guy blushed, shook his head and whispered to himself, "She's really naive".

"You say I'm naive, by any chance, do you know me?", Sachi asked curiously.

"Oh, you heard me, well, what I mean is—wait, why are you asking me?", he replied.

"The truth is, my memory was lost", Sachi said, frowning.

"Woah! Do not tell that easily to someone you just know in a day, you might get fooled if you do not act with caution", he said.

Sachi was a little surprised on the way he reacted and immediately showed him a smiling face.

"I was just hoping for someone who knows me to recognize me because I can't remember myself, by the way, you still left my question unanswered", Sachi replied.

"What if I say yes?", he replied with a serious-looking face.

Sachi was quite stunned with what he said, however, before she could utter a word to reply, the guy followed up a response to break the silence.

"Hahaha! I was just kidding, see? look at how naive you are", he blurted.

"Oh, I almost believe you, that was so mean", Sachi replied, pouting.

That very moment, they heard someone nearby screamed.

"It was Bridget's voice! Let's come and help her", Sachi said.

The two went to Bridget's location and saw her deeply wounded on her abdomen. Sacchi assisted her while the guy took the attention of the redcap goblins away from them.

Bridget was crying in pain beside the dead body of her female partner, she was poisoned by the pikestaff of the redcap goblin. Sachi poured holy water on her wound to cleanse the it and wrapped it with a cloth to stop the bleeding.

The guy kept attacking the redcap with his impressive combat techniques but then, the goblin was not greatly affected. Suddenly, he felt a scorching pain on his back, he became a little unstable that enabled the redcap goblin to scratch his face with its pointed nails His eyes immediately turn around to look for Sachi, only to find that she was grabbed by another redcap on her neck.

The redcap goblin strangled Sachi on the ground and lifted its left hand to stab her with an axe. Sachi was breathing hard and crying out of fear. Her face was filled with a mixture of tears and sweat that burst out consistently as her temperature slowly drops. She tried to reach something on her backpack, but it was too late.

The guy was thirty feet away and struggling to ran towards her to aid. He ran as fast as he could and when he almost reach her, the redcap thrust the axe three times to Sachi's body making the ground bloody. Just then, the guy reacted as if he felt the pain like he was the one being stab, he threw up blood from his mouth and fell into the ground. The redcap took off its cap and soak it in the blood of Sachi and wore it again. The cap transformed into a hollow branch and encapsulated the goblin as a preparation for its dormancy state. The guy on the other hand, crawled slowly to Sachi's body and took out a piece of paper from his upper garment.

Meanwhile, Bridget was out of their reach and was unconscious, the night is still long, and more redcap goblins are approaching them because of the smell of the blood. The guy was running out of ideas on how to escape in their current situation, until he heard a galloping horse advancing towards them. He saw an unidentified man riding a white horse, he was shining brightly as he lifted his sword above the sky. The light flows from his sword and filled the ground, driving away the redcap goblins in the vicinity. The monsters uttered a dismal yell as they burn and vanish in flames, leaving behind a large tooth and a red cloth.

"Get up and collect the large tooth, it is a rare drop of redcap goblins that only those with holy skills can slay", the man ordered him.

The guy carefully stood up, pick the large tooth and store it in his backpack.

"Hey, what was a Royal Knight like you doing here?", the guy asked.

"You seemed to know a lot, I didn't even dressed in a royal knight's garment, yet you still know it", the knight replied.

"You don't need to get dressed for me to know what class you are, just by looking at your handsome horse is enough, anyway, isn't it against the rules for you to come and help the adventurers during our examination? Tell me why you are here", the guy confronted him.

"Hmm, I don't want to argue with you, I just came here as a common person not as a royal knight, by the way, are you alone or are you with Bridget?", the knight replied, calmly.

"Yeah, I'm alone, if you want to take her just do it, just pretend you are her partner so she won't fail the test", the guy said.

"But how about you?", the knight responded.

"Wew! So many concerns, do you came here for me or for her?", the guy replied mockingly.

The knight takes off his helmet, cast a lopsided smile and shook his head. He removed his armor and replaced it with a fine adventurer clothes. He presented his right hand to the guy and introduced himself.

"I'm Raijin, a Royal Knight in the Palace".

The guy did not took his hand instead he replied, "Gin'Ichi Kazegena from the ninja clan".