Chapter 30 of 30

Chapter 30

Chapter 30 — Hi, Bixby (2)

[System Alert]

[You have received the permanent buff [Forest Connection] from Artemis.

No similar skill registered in the system can be found.

The buff will remain active.]

So this is information that doesn't appear through Appraisal.

I handed the remaining mushroom to the chief of Comansville Village.

With an expression that looked like he had just bitten into shit, he chewed the mushroom and swallowed it.

Anyway, I tried speaking with the goblin chief again.

“Ah, ah. Mic test. Can you hear me clearly?”

“I can hear you.”

“Oh! This is amazing.”

“...I heard from Bixby. You wanted to see me.”

“That's right. I am Eric Marcel, lord of this land. Are you the chief who rules the goblins in this region?”

Chief Argawinata straightened his back and shoulders before answering proudly.

“I am the ruler of the goblins who live in this land.”

“Nice to meet you. May I call you Argawinata?”

At my words, Chief Argawinata's eyes widened in shock.

Perhaps he was frightened, because even his hands began trembling.

This is probably his first time seeing a skill that can reveal someone's true name. No wonder he's scared.

Magic was common in this world.

However, something as transcendent as [Appraisal], which could reveal a person's true name, did not exist.

That was because ordinary magic worked through the caster's will and mana without any divine intervention.

Hunter skills, on the other hand, received information directly from the system server.

That alone meant they involved divine intervention.

It was also one of the reasons I had believed that regaining the Hunter System after becoming a lord would make developing my territory much easier.

I grinned.

“Let's negotiate.”

“A negotiation? About what?”

I raised my hand and pointed toward a distant mountain.

It was the mountain about twenty kilometers away that I had mentioned to Bixby.

“We'll establish a border there, and neither side will cross it.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then we'll kill each other until one side is dead. Nothing complicated about that, right?”

“......”

Chief Argawinata slowly raised his heavy eyelids and looked at Eric.

Then he muttered so quietly that it was almost impossible to hear.

—Tunjukan yang sebenarnya.

The spell the chief cast was a curse called [Truth of the Shadow], which revealed the killings committed by a person.

In Argawinata's eyes, Eric's shadow began to distort.

And within that shadow, countless monsters and humans were screaming.

An impossible number of dead souls writhed inside it.

Argawinata's pupils trembled.

That brat looks young on the outside, but under [Truth of the Shadow], he looks like some demon straight out of hell!

He then looked at the Wood Golems standing on either side of Eric.

The two ten-meter-tall Wood Golems looked as though they could mow down ordinary goblins like crops during harvest.

Even if I curse him, it probably won't do anything. For the sake of the tribe, this is the time to lower my head.

A chill ran through Argawinata after accepting the reality of the situation.

He managed to stop his whole body from trembling out of pride, but he couldn't hide the shaking of his hands or the fear in his eyes.

I stared at Argawinata and smiled, showing my teeth.

I had noticed the overwhelming fear in his eyes.

I don't know what he saw, but he's terrified.

Everything Bixby told me was a lie.

These goblins must be a small tribe, and they probably live nearby.

Once I realized the truth, I thought of a way to make use of them.

I could use them to guard and scout the border of the Great Forest.

If another group of monsters invaded, these goblins would be the first to notice.

Looking directly into Argawinata's eyes, I said,

“If you regularly inform me whenever monsters enter my land, I won't invade your tribe.”

Argawinata trembled.

Apparently, he realized he didn't have much of a choice.

“Lord of this land, I accept your proposal.”

“Then where should we set the border?”

“There is a small river on the way to that mountain. Let us use that river as the boundary.”

I looked toward the chief of Comansville Village.

It was a silent question asking whether that distance was acceptable.

After estimating the distance, the village chief nodded.

I held out my hand toward Chief Argawinata.

“This is a human custom called a handshake. Once negotiations are finished, we grab each other's hands and shake them.”

“Among goblins, that means you're asking to mate, so I refuse.”

“Ack!”

I immediately pulled my hand back.

Still feeling uncomfortable, I wiped my palm against my pants.

Damn, that scared me.

I should probably give him something instead.

I opened my equipment inventory and took out my university jacket, then handed it to Argawinata as a gift.

“This is proof of our friendship. We're about the same size, so it should fit you well.”

Argawinata awkwardly put the jacket on.

He looked like an old man wearing his grandson's university jacket.

The words printed across the back—

Korea University, Department of Hunter Support Studies

—bothered me a little.

“This is quite a luxurious and warm garment. I will wear it well.”

At that moment, the chief of Comansville spoke from behind me.

“What if we build a structure at the border and turn it into a trading post? The goblins seem to carry quite a few valuable medicinal herbs and ingredients.”

Chief Argawinata thought for a moment.

“In exchange, you would need to give us some livestock and grain.”

“Of course. Bixby can manage the trading post. He's smart, and we can communicate with him easily.”

Bixby became extremely excited at those words.

“Bixby! Bixby has work!”

Somehow, I had ended up having to spend money building a trading post and stationing several soldiers there.

Still, I thought it was a good idea, so I agreed.

The next day.

I arrived at the place where the goblin trading post would be built with the chief of Comansville, several villagers, soldiers, and the Wood Golems.

The small river ahead of us was shallow enough that even a few stepping stones would probably be enough to cross it.

“The water is shallow right now, but build the structure somewhere high enough that it won't be submerged even during a flood. And construct a beacon tower as well.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The golems began helping the villagers and soldiers prepare the construction site.

The work was progressing so quickly that the trading post could probably be completed within a single day.

The beacon tower being built here would be used to warn us of monster invasions.

Whenever it was lit, we planned to add a special mineral that produced red smoke.

I called over the chief of Comansville and reminded him of several precautions.

“Chief, don't cheat the goblins during trade. And teach the villagers not to start fights with them.”

“Understood.”

I also didn't forget to warn him about safety.

“But if the goblins attack you, fight back immediately. Your lives are more important than friendly relations.”

“You don't have to worry. Humans are the only race that doesn't keep its promises.”

That was news to me.

Seeing my confused expression, the village chief continued.

“I don't know much about elves or beastmen who have become accustomed to human society, but I've heard that wild races are very strict about keeping promises.”

Wasn't he being a little too relaxed?

“Stay careful. You only have one life.”

“Yes, my lord.”

—Kuuuu.

At that moment, one of the Wood Golems informed us that it had spotted goblins.

When I looked across the stream, Bixby and several other goblins were approaching while carrying bundles of goods.

They really were impatient bastards.

“Bixby, why are you already here?! We're still building the place.”

“Human landowner, can't you take these first and give us payment later?”

“If you trade like that, someone might cheat you.”

“Cheat? Are we not friends now?”

The word friends made me smile.

Still, I'll have to wait and see.

Goblins are a race that used to rob humans.

Humans and goblins had fought against each other for an extremely long time.

Our relationship was still something that needed caution.

“Fine. Let's see what you brought first.”

The bundles the goblins placed on the ground were filled with all kinds of medicinal herbs, mushrooms, fruits, and seeds.

The village chief and I crouched beside them and began estimating their value.

“This one, this one, and this one are very good medicinal herbs. But what is this black, stone-like mushroom...?”

“That's a truffle. It's an expensive seasoning.”

“Oh! The goblins are going to become rich.”

“Seriously. If we sell these at the auction house, Bixby might end up richer than you, Chief.”

Bixby understood what I said and started jumping up and down excitedly.

“Bixby wants pig! Deer! Meat! Fresh meat!”

“I'll trade these for sheep instead. It'll take some time, so wait.”

“Bixby will wait for lamb!”

The agricultural auction house in Marcel's lord's castle.

Since this was the first trade involving goods brought by the goblins, I personally visited the auction house with the chief of Comansville.

I wanted to warn them not to sell the items too cheaply and also calculate roughly how much commission Comansville should take as the intermediary.

The auctioneer showered the goods with praise.

“My lord, these are the finest among the finest goods. Where did you obtain such things?”

“Comansville will bring them here from time to time from now on. Make sure they receive a good price.”

“Were they gathered by the settlers?”

“No. We traded with goblins for them.”

The auctioneer's expression changed to shock.

“What? How did you manage to tame those savage and cruel creatures?”

“Skillfully.”

“...Yes, my lord. In any case, I'll make sure the auction proceeds smoothly.”

“Good. Thank you. I'm counting on you from now on.”

When I, the lord himself, personally thanked him, the auctioneer's expression brightened.

He would probably make an effort to ensure the goods continued selling for good prices.

Part of the sales revenue would also be used for the frontier village.

Knowing that I could save even a little of the territory's budget put me in a good mood.

During the auction that followed, everything went exactly as I had hoped.

The herbs, mushrooms, fruits, and seeds brought by Bixby the goblin were all sold for high prices.

A short while later.

This time, I took the chief of Comansville, who was carrying the money from the auction, to the livestock market.

—Baa-aaah.

The man who had brought the sheep was a shepherd.

I had brought him along so that he could establish a direct trading relationship with the chief of Comansville.

The shepherd stroked one of the sheep and began his sales pitch.

“My lord, the weather has gotten colder, so the sheep have put on plenty of meat. This is the perfect season, when their meat has just the right amount of fat.”

“You don't need to give me the sales pitch. Don't get greedy. Just give us a reasonable price.”

“How much were you thinking?”

“You sheep-selling bastard—no, you shepherd bastard!”

—Flick!

Without thinking, I flicked him on the forehead.

“Ow! What did I do wrong?”

“Ah, that just brought back some old memories. Just sell them at today's market price.”

“Yes...”

“And I'd like you to drive the sheep all the way to their destination.”

“Of course. We should provide that much service for our customers.”

“It's a little far.”

“Hahaha! We shepherds can walk all day if necessary!”

The shepherd, who had no idea that he really would be walking all day, ended up driving the flock all the way to Comansville.

The next day again.

Since this was our first trade, I stopped by the trading post to personally make sure that the flock of sheep was handed over to the goblins properly.

Bixby was sitting on a chair inside the trading post while dressed in human clothes.

Apparently, the soldiers had found some children's clothing for him.

With a hat and shoes on as well, he looked exactly like an elementary school kid.

“Bixby, has anything unusual happened in the Great Forest?”

“Human landowner. You should greet someone first. Asking about business immediately is rude.”

—Shing.

I drew Soul Reaper and waved it around.

“I'm older than you. You're supposed to greet me first.”

“Eek! Human landowner is scary. You act like an old man.”

Despite saying I was scary, Bixby remained seated in his chair, casually swinging his legs back and forth.

This bastard is pretty good at reading the situation.

“Bixby, stop pretending to be weak. Just tell me if anything happened in the forest.”