ch5

Just InCommunityForumMoreRegrets and Wishes: One More Chance by jnscrtm Anime » Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken/転生したらスライムだった件 Rated: T, English, Hurt/Comfort & Romance, [Rimuru T., Ciel], Words: 104k+, Favs: 190, Follows: 196, Published: May 20, 2022 Updated: Jun 13, 202221Chapter 5: 4 - The Goblins

CHAPTER 4 – THE GOBLINS

(Rimuru's Perspective)

As we take our first step to the outside of the cave, we're greeted by the gentle, warm rays of sunlight. It's late morning on a day in late winter. One hour is left before the sun reaches its culminating point.

Although the sun is already up high, the air temperature isn't that high due to the current climate condition, so I don't feel a need to activate my [Natural Elements Nullification].

Since we're turning our aura off, some mindless beasts might target us. Such is my thought exactly when a boar abruptly (not really) appears from our right side and is about to attack us by jumping, trying to pounce on us.

I instinctively let go of Ciel-san's hand. I lower my stance and unsheathe my sword, quickly swinging it diagonally upwards.

My sword cuts cleanly through the boar's neck, splitting its body and head apart in the middle of air. It is one of basic moves in Oboro-style swordsmanship, [Oboro: Ryūsuizan]. A swift, single slash released with a high speed like a rushing stream of water.

(A.N., Oboro Ryūsuizan is written as 朧流水斬 in kanji, meaning "Haze: Stream Slash" or often translated as "Crestwater Slash")

I shake the blood off my sword and sheathe it back. I eat the boar's corpse with [Azathoth] and save it somewhere in [Imaginary Space] in case that we'll need it someday. I look around, observing the forest trees surrounding us.

Hmm...this is a perfect opportunity to see if I've really learned a thing or two from my 'cramming session'.

I focus myself, increasing the detection power of [Universal Perception] to the extreme level—according to my standard—and trying to grasp the surrounding conditions as widely as I can—without Ciel-san's help. I try to perceive everything within the distance as far as my own computational ability can reach.

As expected... Even within a radius of a few kilometres from my current position, I can already tell that the activities of monsters inside the Great Forest of Jura have exponentially increased.

No good. Different from what I usually did where I just ignored what I don't want, this time I try to grasp literally everything inside my perception area. This tremendous amount of information feels like going to overload my mind if I keep this going. I don't know if a complete spiritual lifeform like me can actually experience something like that, but I can certainly feel a great strain on my mind; and it almost feels like a real headache.

Ciel-san is the only one who can utilize [Universal Perception] to its fullest potential. She might just be able to do what I just did while doing some other things, and still manage to get all of them done in less than a few seconds.

I decrease the level of my [Universal Perception] back to minimum, sighing.

"What happens, Master?"

"Nothing." I just shrug it off.

I look at Ciel-san's clothes, then at the clothes I'm currently wearing.

Oh, that's right. I forget that we are still wearing the exact same outfits. "Ciel-san, if we are to meet our friends later on, they'll have to be able to tell us apart, won't they? So, can you change your outfit?"

Actually, our eyes' colours would be enough already. But I think wearing a different outfit can give a more contrast distinction, especially if seen from distance.

"Of course, Master." Without wasting time, she immediately follows my words.

Black mist appears and covers her body for a moment.

When the mist has completely faded away, she's already wearing a slightly different outfit.

Our trousers and arm sleeves all still have the same jet-black colour as before. But her shirt now is plain white while mine is jet-black with a line of white at the middle. Our belts' colours are also different—hers is red, mine is white.

I remove my white overcoat which I've been wearing since the start of the war.

Our outfits are created and/or modified using a magical technique called the Creation Magic. The one who had taught me how to do it was that loyal demon butler of mine who was famous for his typical "kufufufu".

This kind of thing is actually common among demons. What's special from ours is that, these outfits that we've simply created from the magicules leaking from ourselves are of mythical-class, although it mightn't perform as well as a passionately-handcrafted mythical-class armours, of course.

We continue observing the area surrounding the Sealed Cave for a week while keeping our presence hidden as much as possible from the investigators who keep coming and going to confirm Veldora's disappearance.

...

It's around midday on the twentieth day after we isolated Veldora in [Imaginary Space]. There are no more investigators coming for a time being.

When we comb an area to the east of cave, we can see three wolf-like creatures are charging towards us with an intense bloodlust. Turning on my [True Dragon's Haki] at a very low level is what it takes to scare them away.

"Yipe!" With a pathetic yelp, they stop charging towards us, turn around then scamper away.

Those direwolves...

I feel the presence of around thirteen goblins and four direwolves just nearby from the west direction. All of them are detected to be at the same confirming the coordinate using [Universal Perception], we activate [Space-Time Domination] to teleport us there immediately.

⁂

(3rd Person's Perspective)

Thirteen goblins and four direwolves are facing each other.

The goblins are physically war weaker than the direwolves. It usually takes about ten goblins to even have a chance to beat one direwolf. The goblins' equipment is also far from decent. They mostly only use second-hand swords, spears, and shields that they got from scavenging throwaway weapons and armours.

Only their number surpasses the direwolves'. But then, it's only a little more than thrice the direwolves' number. There's almost no hope left for the goblins to ever win this battle. Even still, the goblins' leader—one with the tallest body, a white bandana, and a black, spiked bludgeon—is standing fearlessly with a determined look despite their overwhelming difference in almost all aspects.

The goblins' swords and spears with the direwolves' claws and fangs finally clash each other for the first time. And so, the battle of life-and-death begins.

...

The battle immediately turns into the direwolves' favour.

Because the goblins are generally inexperienced in battles, they cannot attack the opponents, nor can they defend themselves effectively. Their attacks are easily dodged, and their defences have so many openings here and there.

One of the goblins has his hand bitten by a direwolf's fangs. He shrieks in pain, and his blood splatters out. Another one has his back fatally clawed. Their tendency to get panicked right away also makes things worse than it should be. They quickly become unorganized, making them even more vulnerable to the direwolves' attack.

The goblins' leader is still fighting with the strongest of four direwolves. He's got many wounds and scratches all over his body, yet he's still unfazed.

Unexpectedly, the direwolf attacks his legs with its claws, inflicting very deep wounds and causing him to fall to the ground. The direwolf immediately jumps and pounced on him. He tries to resist, but the direwolf is just too strong.

He closes his eyes, accepting his impending doom...

...

...or so it seems.

Just when the direwolf is about to deliver its final blow, an ominous, intense aura suddenly is felt by every single individual present. Seconds later, a small sonic boom happens without any forewarning.

Then, the squeeze that the goblins' leader feels from being pounced on gradually weakens and finally becomes non-existent. He opens his eyes. The direwolves are already lying helpless. What he sees are two beautiful figures standing on the middle of the ground which just a moment ago was a battlefield.

"Goddesses..."he mutters unconsciously.

"Master is so cool!" compliments the one with the white outfit as the other is sheathing his black sword back.

The one with the black outfit turns her face at her, a bit embarrassed. "Thank you."

(A.N., I'd write "she" and "her" for a few times because the goblins' leader whose name you already know thinks that Rimuru is a girl at the time)

Their appearances are like those of human girls, but their auras tell him otherwise; auras whose strength surpasses the one who gave him his name. No, it can even be said that their auras are comparable to the Storm Dragon's back when he was still sealed.

The one with the black outfit turns around then walks towards him.

The goblins' leader freezes in the place, shaking until the deepest part of his soul. If they come here to kill all of us...there's absolutely no way we can escape from this.

But such thought never happens, because...

"Umm...hello, I guess?"

...she greets him instead with a soft smile and a cheerful tone.

Huh?!

⁂

(Rimuru's Perspective)

Hffttt...that was a close call...

I managed to slash all of four direwolves.

They aren't dead. What I did is just slashing one of their legs or any other non-lethal spots. I coated my sword with low-potence paralyzing and sleep-inducing poisons, so they won't be able to wake up for another hour or two.

"Umm...hello, I guess?" I cast a smile at the one who's apparently the leader of the goblins. I crouch down near him. "Show me your wounds."

Not being able to say anything out of shock, he just lets me observe his wounded body. Well, we just appeared out of nowhere, and caused a sonic boom on top of that. So, really, he cannot be blamed for that.

I'm genuinely amazed by the determination this particular goblin has. Gritting his teeth in order to endure such injuries until the end without letting out even a single complaint; what a brave and responsible man he is.

"Many of your wounds are deep and fatal," I remark, taking out a bottle of Full Potion. "Here, drink this."

I put the mouth of the bottle on his lips.

After he has drunk all of the potion, the deep wounds all over his body gradually close themselves. When the process is complete, no more injuries are seen. Not even a scar is left, as if they were never inflicted in the first place.

This seemingly-miraculous phenomenon puts even more surprise on him, I guess.

He manages to regather his composure a moment later and hesitantly opens his mouth. "T-thank you very much, lady."

Here we go again. Sigh... "Don't mention it," I say. "Though, I am a 'lord', not a 'lady'. My partner is a lady."

It goes without saying that he's shocked just like the other people when I tell them this thing...

Alright, alright, I get it already! We're actually neither a man nor a woman as we are essentially genderless. The human form I'm using right now is based on a woman's appearance, but my mind in the end of the day is still the mind of an almost-forty-years-old man. And Ciel-san always acts like a girl in my eyes, so I consider her to be one.

So, don't protest at me if I keep calling myself a man and calling Ciel-san a girl...

Wait, to whom am I even talking? And why does this situation look similar to that certain trope? That breaking wall kinda thing? Oh, well. Never mind. It's not important.

"Ciel-san," I call, glancing at her, "please heal the others, too."

"As you wish." She gives each goblin a bottle of full potion, healing them completely.

All of them kneel and bow down so low that their heads touch the ground. "Thank you very much for saving our lives, lady."

"No need to thank me." She walks to my side. "If you want to thank then thank my master. I simply do as he commands me."

They instantly turn around and now bow at me instead. "Thank you very much for saving our lives, sir."

To be honest, I'm still not comfortable with this kind of reverence, and perhaps will never be. It just feels...too exaggerated

"No worries," I simply answer. "We just happened to pass by, anyway."

I turn my face back at the goblins' leader in front of me. I stare at him, applying [Analysis and Appraisal]. He stiffens again, maybe still worried that I will do something bad to him.

"The race is still goblin," I say, "but the physical and magical capabilities are considerably much higher than the others. Are you named, then?"

Actually, I've known the answer even before I analyse him. And the result of [Analysis and Appraisal] has already told me that he's named. It won't hurt to have a nice little chit-chat. No need to hasten the time.

"Ah, y-yes, sir. My name is Rigur."

"Rigur, is it?" Ciel-san crouches down too. "Why are you and your friends here? Has something wrong happened?"

He starts explaining their condition. "Our god had protected this land for generations. But around three weeks ago, he hid himself from us. As the result, some newcomers from the land of the east have started pushing into this area and have been constantly harassing us as of late. Small clashes lead to huge number of casualties. That is why we went out of our village, in hope that we could at least retrieve some crucial information for our kin to survive."

"I am aware that this is selfish of me to say this to the ones who just saved us." He suddenly prostrates before us, head touching the ground. "But I wish to ask a favour. Please help and save our village."

"Fine, we'll help you," I answer without hesitation.

He lifts his head up, looking at us with a face brimming with hopes. "Do you really not mind, strong ones?"

"We really don't mind, do we? Ciel-san?" I turn my face at her.

"Yes, we do not mind to help all of you." She confirms my words, reassuring the goblins' leader. "You lead the way to your village."

"M-much obliged." He slowly stands up and turns towards the west direction. "Then, please follow me. All of you, follow me, too."

All of the goblins stand up, following Rigur's instruction. He leads us to their village.

After we've arrived, lies in front of us a depressing scenery. Perhaps I've long forgotten about this, but this is how they are: a group of weak, scraggly, dingy, and impoverished goblins. I'm not even sure that their houses can be called "houses".

We're guided to the biggest shack, the one supposed to be the most structurally sound among the other shacks. Yet, look at that. The thatched roof is pitted and rotting away in some areas. The walls are nothing but pieces of nailed flat wood. The walls give an impression like they're ready to collapse at any time.

We are asked to wait.

A few moments later, three goblins enter the shack. "I am sorry to keep you waiting for so long, honoured guests," says one of them. He's a very old, frail-looking goblin, accompanied by Rigur and another goblin wearing a red bandana.

"Ah, don't worry about that." I smile warmly. "We haven't been waiting for that long."

"I deeply apologize that we cannot give you more hospitality. But this is all what we can offer," the old goblin says while sitting in seiza position. He brings out some cups with something resembling tea in it. "I am the elder of this village."

I don't know what this drink exactly tastes like. I did once drink it but I didn't have any sense of taste at the time. [Analysis and Appraisal] immediately gave me a report that this didn't have any poison, but bore a bitter, acrid flavour.

Because they've tried to play nice with us, I'll drink it for the sake of politeness. I take a sip of it. Sure enough, it does taste that way, almost resembling a normal tea just without any sugars. And it's surprisingly drinkable, not like that "tea" made by a certain purple-haired, single-horned girl.

Geez, even thinking a glimpse of that memory already gives me a shiver down to my spine.

"Strong ones, I believe that my son, Rigur, has explained our situation. Is it true that you are willing to help us?" This time, it's the elder who takes initiative to start talking.

"Yes, that's true," I say.

"We want to try fighting them but we lack power and number." He puts his both hands on the ground, lowering his head. "My son insisted together with some other goblins that they would try to retrieve information, even if it would put their very lives on great risks. He was the strongest warrior whom we have."

He turns his face at Rigur. "If you had not saved him, strong ones, perhaps things would have been much worse." He tells us their story with a tone that sounds like he's going to cry. Even some people who are currently peeking from the entrance door have a gloom expression on their faces.

"But even if Brother can survive," adds the elder's son with the red bandana, "we are not sure how long would we be able to withstand all of this constantly-increasing harassment. So, we hoped that you would be willing to help us."

"I understand." I turn my gaze to the elder. "But Elder, tell me one thing."

"Y-yes?" He raises his head in response.

"What will we get in return for helping you?" I stare at him intensely, as if I was demanding for their lives. "Is there anything you can give me?"

"We"—he lowers his head until it touches the ground followed by his sons—"we shall swear our eternal loyalty to you, strong ones! Please grant us your protection!"

'This looks so familiar.' I can't take my mind off that thought. No matter how many times have I seen this scenery, it always reminds me of my junior, Tamura, when he desperately asked me for help. I turn my [True Dragon's Haki] off to quietly yet clearly tell them that their request has been accepted, without any further conditions to fulfil.

"Alright, your plead is granted. I will give you my protection," I declare, marking the start of our new history.

~TO BE CONTINUED~

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