I Became a Goblin Ancestor

“So, what do you say?”
“……”

After all the fighting had ended, inside Ravina’s room.

Having taken off the stone mask that had made me feel bad and revealed my face, I was currently having a sincere conversation with Ravina, who had regained consciousness, sitting face to face.

Or rather, should I say I was trying to hear Ravina’s answer to what I was unilaterally demanding?

Yeon-ah was still blocking those from the Gold Flow Team trying to come in from outside, but her expression looked a bit strained, as if there were more people than during the battle earlier.

In other words, there wasn’t much time, so I slightly raised Hwa-gon and held it out in front of Ravina, who was keeping her mouth tightly shut.

Swoosh—

“You’re still not going to answer? Then…”
“Ah, alright! I’ll do it, you son of a bitch!!!”
“Son of a bitch…?”
“Ugh… S-sorry…”

Ravina immediately backed down and apologized as soon as I glared at her.

Was being hit dozens of times with Hwa-gon that painful?

Well, since she kept her physical body in a dream, she probably had never felt such physical pain until now, so it wasn’t incomprehensible.

Of course, that wasn’t a reason to delay Ravina’s answer now, so I urged Ravina to answer once again, and Ravina finally opened her mouth that had been mumbling and shouted as if cursing:

“Ugh… I, Ravina, swear by any means that I will not reveal to anyone that Shin-yeon is an ancestor!”
“Good.”

Flash—!

No sooner had Ravina’s shout ended than her words took form and seeped into her chest.

This was the goblin’s oath I had placed on Ravina when she was unconscious earlier.

“Now that oath will last until my weapon, the Precious Jade Waterfall Goblin Club, is broken. If there’s even a hint of you trying to break it, you’ll lose your life immediately, so be careful.”
“What kind of absurd contract is this…”
“Haha, but don’t worry, you’re allowed to at least think about blabbing.”

Ravina said so in a tone that couldn’t believe such an easy contract existed, but in reality, she couldn’t not believe it.

Because the moment the oath was made, she herself must have felt the goblin’s power constricting her heart.

She might try to test it by stubbornly trying to break it, but then her life would really fly away, so there was no problem.

Therefore, I returned the sneer I had received before the battle started and stood up from my seat.

“Tch…”
“Huh?”
“……”

As I was about to stand up, a curse was about to flow from Ravina’s mouth.

I lightly suppressed it with just my gaze, and at this oppression of mine, Ravina made an expression as if she would die of resentment, but reality wouldn’t change just because of that.

In the end, all that was left after everything that needed to be dealt with here was done were Ravina’s completely half-destroyed room and Ravina herself, whose spirit had been not just broken but shattered.

Seeing those sights, now certain that the job was completely finished, I called out to Yeon-ah, who had started to sweat:

“Yeon-ah! Let’s go now!”
“Ah, yes!”

Although my mood had hit rock bottom after being forced to wear the stone mask I had forgotten about, now it was time to return home.

The sun still hanging high in the sky, beating down on the ground.

Looking up at that sun, I lightly frowned.

The day had just begun, so I still had the unused time of the day grasped fully in my hands.

On the way out after leaving the cleanup of the Gold Flow Team’s wrecked tower to Tae-hyun.

Originally, I would have returned straight to the General Management Team’s tower, but my mood was sour and the sun was still high in the sky.

Having gone out for the first time in three days, I turned to Yeon-ah, who was following behind me, and asked:

“I’d like to wander around outside for a bit after a long time. Is that okay?”
“Of course, it’s fine. But if you’re going for a walk, may I accompany you as well?”

Yeon-ah immediately agreed to my question asking for permission to take a walk, but in turn asked me a question.

Of course, I would be happy if Yeon-ah came along, but the current time was already past 1 o’clock.

Moreover, Yeon-ah had come out in the middle of work. Therefore, I looked at Yeon-ah with a puzzled expression.

“Don’t you still have work left? I’m sure there were quite a lot of documents when we left.”
“……”
“Yeon-ah?”
“That amount of work is something tomorrow’s me can sufficiently handle…”
“You should fulfill your own duties. Go back quickly. I won’t wander around dangerously, so don’t worry.”
“…Yes, I understand.”

It seemed she had thought of putting off work and wandering around with me, as I had suspected.

Yeon-ah turned around dejectedly at my firm words, shuffling her feet.

She kept looking back at me several times, as if she really didn’t want to go work, but when I waved my hand, Yeon-ah finally disappeared into the distance.

Eventually, she vanished towards the General Management Team’s tower, no longer even visible.

Left alone in front of the entrance of the Gold Flow Team tower, I too took a deep breath of the clear city air and slowly began to move my feet.

“I wonder if there’s anything that could lift my mood…”

For some reason, it felt like a fateful day, so I slung Hwa-gon, transformed into an iron bat, over my shoulder, hoping there would be something fun.

My destination was the shopping district of the 6th district, not far from the central district where I was.

Footsteps full of anticipation followed behind me, rustling.

Korea’s defense city was divided into a total of 51 districts.

The central district, the center of the defense city and where the Five Major Powers’ towers were built.

With this central district as the focal point, districts from the 1st to the 50th were arranged in a spiral shape.

Among them, the districts right next to the central district were the 1st to 3rd districts where top-tier and high-tier different races lived, the 4th and 5th districts, and the 6th district, a wealthy shopping area where all sorts of high-end goods gathered.

After that, notable districts were attached in order, and if there were exceptions, they were only the quite large slums of the 8th, 29th, and 44th districts, and the large and small slums that existed afterwards in the outermost periphery.

And the current location I had walked to from the central district was this high-end shopping district, the 6th district.

I set foot on the shopping street where various masked different races or humans with exposed faces were walking.

…
……
………

“Hooh, so this is the shopping district of the 6th district?”

『Indeed, it’s as magnificent as we saw on the device.』

The gazes of those walking around briefly poured on me as I just set foot at the entrance of the shopping district, but they quickly scattered.

Given that I was showing this face that could be called a peerless beauty, it would be natural for them to be flustered and whisper, but indeed, this was the 6th district shopping area where people with discerning eyes frequented.

I felt my interest piqued at this reaction quite different from other places.

“Well, it’s good that they’re not falling for my beauty, so I don’t have to bother worrying about it.”

Of course, although they quickly turned their gazes away, the unnatural movements revealed in their gestures showed that they couldn’t easily forget my beauty, but still, it wasn’t an annoying reaction.

Perhaps their high standards meant their vanity and pride were also high; I felt comfortable with the gazes that didn’t pierce my appearance and started to move my feet that had stopped.

“First of all, I have plenty of money, so…”

I had the device chip, a concept of a black card that Yeon-ah had given me to use, so money wasn’t an issue.

Therefore, as I started walking, what I examined were the products endlessly displayed on both sides.

From simple clothes and accessories to precious metals, gene mana stones, and weapons for hunters, the exhibits that had everything delighted my eyes just by looking at them.

“Internet shopping was fun too, but…”

『Indeed, nothing beats seeing and walking around in person.』

“Yes, just as you say.”

Of course, seeing the products directly in front of my eyes like this was much more enjoyable and fun than just moving my fingers on the device screen to buy.

For now, there was nothing I wanted to buy immediately, but at least there was nothing I wanted to look at carelessly, so I slowly looked around and moved my feet following the flow of people, and stopped from time to time to touch various products.

Of course, the gazes of the surrounding merchants pierced sharply at me, who wasn’t spending money freely in the 6th district, but those gazes soon disappeared like dead mice after properly confirming my face.

‘Isn’t that the General Management Team’s exclusive hunter?’
‘My goodness… it really is.’
‘It would be big trouble if we got on her bad side.’

With such self-mutterings, the merchants’ gazes completely disappeared.

I swallowed a satisfied smile inwardly at my backing of the General Management Team, which still solidly existed even though Yeon-ah wasn’t beside me.

Compared to those around, my clothing, gait, and formality were not proper in any way, but the existence of the General Management Team raised my value higher than anyone else here.

Morally speaking, it might look like a villain using their backing to pressure those around them, but what of it?

It was natural to like being treated well as a living being before being the great chief of the Goblin Clan, and I had never wildly wielded my power, so there was nothing to be ashamed of.

To be honest, people were just surprised by what the General Management Team had cultivated, so if they blamed me for that, wouldn’t that be the problem instead?

Anyway, as such, I had no intention whatsoever of hiding my backing, so I continued looking around the shopping district in a comfortable atmosphere, and how much time had passed in this utterly comfortable shopping time?

Just as my dirty mood from earlier was starting to fade, I suddenly heard a sound and put down the item I was holding, raising my head.

…! …. …!

A small cry coming from somewhere.

At the cry uttered in a voice parched and cracked as if unable to drink even a sip of water, I raised all my senses and narrowed my pupils.

“…Where is that sound coming from?”

While muttering such a self-question, I diligently hastened my steps towards the direction the sound was coming from.

The reason I was walking like this, being capricious just because a small cry was suddenly heard during the enjoyable shopping, was nothing special.

It was just that a cry with a voice that didn’t fit at all in this beautiful and elegant space was heard, and I became interested in that cry.

Originally, curiosity is the basic reason that becomes the principle of all actions.

Additionally, I had a personality that needed to confirm it if I became curious, so that alone was reason enough to go solve the question.

“It seems to be around here…”

Therefore, I continued walking, searching for the place where the sound was coming from, and how much time had passed like that?

Thud–

“Here it is.”

At the end of a secluded road in the 6th district shopping street.

I stopped my hurried steps in front of a small alley there.

An alley so small that two people could never pass through together, only wide enough for one person to pass through, spread out before my eyes.

And what was inside was a dark and dirty path lit only by faint lighting.

The damp, musty humidity ate away the smell of garbage and small animal corpses, emitting a nauseating scent, and the bloodstains clinging to the walls gave an unpleasant feeling.

But the moment I saw a human silhouette on the verge of collapsing, leaning against the wall inside that path, I stepped into the alley without hesitation.

Thud, the crude footstep sound of sneakers echoes inside this small alley.

At the same time, the small human’s head slowly starts to be heard turning.

Eventually, I stopped in front of that small human, a girl judging by her appearance, and looked down at her as she turned to look at me.

“Ah, ah…”

The girl uttered an unintelligible mumble in the cracked voice I had undoubtedly heard earlier.

The girl, wearing rotten clothes here and there, showed signs of beating and scars from something on her body, and I knelt down to meet the gaze of the girl who looked so familiar… yet identical to memories I had already discarded as nightmares.

A sloshing sound accompanied filth sticking to my legs, but I didn’t particularly pay attention to it.

What I was looking at was only the girl’s blurred eyes containing a single emotion.

Thinking that the fateful feeling I had before coming to this 6th district was truly not a vain intuition, I said to the girl:

“…Consider yourself lucky. If I hadn’t worn the mask today, I wouldn’t have come here or taken you with me.”

My soft hand touches the girl’s dry hair.

A chance encounter in this dirty place because I had worn the stone mask and felt dirty.

Although her whole body had already become a rag too difficult to move, the mind of revenge not yet let go was still coiled in the girl’s eyes.

Just like me back then on that day I had already passed, the girl was anticipating a future that would come someday.

“I don’t know where you came from… but I like you.”

But if left like this, it was obvious she would die before that future could come, so I poured a little water I created into the mouth of the girl who had collapsed powerlessly as soon as my hand touched her.

Then the girl’s complexion became more comfortable.

Next, I tucked Hwa-gon into my waist and picked up the girl on my back, feeling her incredibly light body weight.

Without exaggeration, the girl seemed like she would fly away if just the wind blew, so I held her more tightly on my back and lightly kicked the ground.

Although there wasn’t a single item I had bought here today, it seemed like I had achieved all the purposes of coming here just by finding and meeting this girl.

Truly a fateful encounter.