Chapter 207 Hermit's Secret Sanctuary

Suzuka tapped her chin as if deep in thought before continuing, "Now, it's a good thing to be excited but hold your horses for a bit. This will take some time. First, we'll need to gather resources and recruit other goblins. You, Hermit, will be their leader, guiding your fellow goblins and helping them build the town."

Hermit's chest puffed out with pride, and he nodded enthusiastically.

 "Leader Hermit! Yes, yes! Proud gobbos! Respectful gobbos we will be! Hermit will be the best leader and help gobbos build homes for little gobbies! No more eating feces and drinking piss! No more bones-crushing labor and torments! We will be great gobbos!"

Suzuka laughed and patted Hermit on the head.

 "That's the spirit, Hermit. We'll make this town a reality, and you'll be your kin's beloved leader. But remember, you'll have to tell us everything about the goblin breeding farms, their locations, and anything else that can help us rescue your fellow gobbos." Suzuka said, her voice dripping with false sweetness.

Hermit nodded eagerly, his eyes shining with newfound hope.

"Hermit will tell all! Anything for the gobbos and the town! Hermit will be a good leader!"

Suzuka smiled, her deceiving plan taking shape, the goblin practically volunteering to do her bidding. She mockingly pinched Hermit's cheek and said, "Aww! You are such a good boy! Oops! I meant, Leader."

Hermit's response was a mix of gratitude and devotion. He pressed his arms to his chest and looked at Suzuka with teary eyes. 

"Master. You are too kind. I, Hermit, did not deserve such happiness. This is the first time in my miserable life that I felt hope for a better tomorrow! My heart is swelling with joy just by the thought that fellow gobbos and little gobbies will have a place to live in peace. Thank you master for bestowing such divine hope to me and my kin!"

"Whow! Hermit, relax!" Suzuka calmed the goblin, "You know that this is not set in stone, right? I am just wording my plan, this will all depend on you now. So if anything goes wrong or we fail, do not come crying or blaming me, okay? This is a grand feat to accomplish, and I need you to commit to it. There will be no going back. It will be a hard and sacrifice-requiring process. It's either we do it or you can say goodbye to an easy life." 

With a serious expression, she continued, "But to achieve this, we will need a lot of goblins willing to work together, construct, and build. We could start with a small village to shelter the rescued goblins and slowly expand it into a town. Do you think your kin will be up for it?"

Hermit clapped his hands and jumped around excitedly like a stupid goblin he was. 

"Yup, yup, yup! Hermit ready! We will build! Gobbos are the builders! We craft, we build, we fall trees, we construct goblin farms, and dig caves! Master, we make lots of good homes for gobbos! Good homes, good food, and good fun! Hermit will work hard and do anything in my feeble power that needs to be done! We all will!"

Suzuka couldn't help but chuckle at the goblin's unwavering resolve and volunteering to do all the labor in building her town. She knew that he had no idea about her true intentions, and she allowed herself a sly grin as she laughed in her mind at how gullible the goblin was.

 "Good, Hermit. Remember your words well. You will go down in the history of your goblin kind. But enough with the plans for now; it's getting late. We should go to sleep."

Hermit stood in the middle of the room, naked and fidgeting in place. The cool air of the room tickled his sensitive green skin. With a chilling shiver, Hermit pleaded, "Brrrr! Master! We go sleep but please! Do not open the window! Hermit will freeze! Hermit is naked and cold, needs warmth." 

Suzuka, feeling generous after manipulating Hermit into her scheme, grabbed a pillow and a blanket and tossed them to the goblin. 

"Here! Try it out! A pillow and a blanket, as I promised. This should keep you warm and cozy."

Hemit's tiny arms trembled from the emotion of such a divine gift he had never even dreamed about receiving. At that moment, he felt as though the heavens themselves had smiled upon him. His eyes glistened with unshed tears of joy as he dramatically hugged the soft pillow and the blanket, holding them close to his chest. The material, so much softer than anything he had ever touched, felt like a piece of heaven itself. He sobbed in joy, barely holding in the tears that threatened to overflow, as he reveled in the sheer comfort of the softness.

"Master... snif! This is the happiest day of my life! How will I ever repay such kindness?" he cried out, his voice quivering with gratitude.

Bored with Hermit's emotional display, she yawned and stretched. In a sarcastic tone, she teased, "Yes, yes. Build me a statue in my honor when the town is done or something. Go to sleep, you drama queen."

Hermit, still clutching the soft pillow to his chest, looked at Suzuka with adoration. His voice was a soft, happy whisper as he replied, "Yes, master, we will... we will."

After Suzuka laid down on her bed and quickly succumbed to sleep, Hermit seized the opportunity. Quiet as a mouse, he crawled beneath her bed, clutching the soft pillow as if it were his most precious treasure. He gingerly placed the pillow on the ground, running his tiny fingers across its fabric, feeling the warmth and comfort it offered. As he buried his face in it, he let out a satisfying sigh.

Hermit, hidden beneath the bed, spoke to himself in delighted hushes, "Oh, master's gift! A pillow. So soft, so comfy! Hermit's treasure it is now! It's all for Hermit now. Shh, don't wake up, master. Sweet dreams, master! Hermit loves the pillow. Hermit's secret treasure."

He continued to caress the pillow and cuddle with it, almost as if it were a long-lost love.

 "Pillow, you're my best friend now. So cozy, like a cloud. Hermit will take good care of you. Keep you safe from master's drool." In his excitement, Hermit whispered his thoughts to the pillow, a playful grin on his face.

Hermit gazed at his growing treasure trove under the bed, his eyes sparkling with delight. He picked up his notebook and held it up as if these inanimate objects were his new friends. 

"Lookie, lookie! Master gave Hermit this! Yay! Master loves Hermit! Hermit loves Master!" he chirped, his voice full of childish glee.

Then, he clutched the pencil and waved it in the air.

 "And this! Oh-ho! So many words to write! Oh, yes, yes! Master is the best! Bestest master in the world! Hermit's so lucky, lucky gobbie!" Hermit couldn't contain his excitement as he continued to revel in his newfound riches.

With the pillow and blanket in his hands, he wrapped them around himself, rolling on the floor and pretending to snuggle in them. 

"Hermit's cozy, so cozy! Warm and snuggly, oh-ho! So happy, happy gobbo! Warm! Soft! Master is so good to Hermit! Hermit feels like a king!" he yelled in a whisper, rolling around in pure bliss and giggling uncontrollably. The goblin's heart swelled with joy, and his scrawny body trembled with excitement, the emotion nearly overwhelming him.

Hermit, in a state of sheer bliss, carefully arranged the pillow on the floor, his tiny fingers meticulously adjusting its position. Then, he nestled himself on it, curling into a snug ball, and tugged the blanket over his scrawny form. The warmth and softness of the blanket enveloped him, sending waves of delight coursing through his little goblin body. He carefully tucked his enormous ears under the blanket. The comforting warmth enveloping his ears overwhelmed him, and he couldn't help but release an uncontrollable giggle, "Ghegegege!"

With a wide, toothy grin, he began chattering happily, "Master! Hermit is so comfy! Pillow soft and fluffy, and blankie... oh, blankie like clouds! Ghegege! Hermit loves! Master best! Yum-yum sandwich, warm blankie, and soft pillow, Hermit in goblin heaven!" He snuggled deeper into the blanket, practically purring with delight.

Under the comforting warmth of the blanket, Hermit felt like he was in a cozy goblin palace. His enthusiasm bubbled over as he clutched the notebook and pencil, his beady eyes dancing with delight. With exaggerated excitement, he began to scribble and draw within its pages, all the while muttering and mumbling to himself in his goblin gibberish.

"Looky here! Gobbie drawings! Yes, yes, yeees! Pretty pictures!" Hermit's voice rose in an almost manic cheerfulness as he filled the notebook with his crude but enthusiastic sketches.

 "Gobbie houses, glowing cave mushrooms, shiny rocks, pretty coins in a box, and... oh, bug snacks!" He grinned manically as he drew squiggles and shapes that only made sense in his dimwitted goblin mind. Turning the pages with glee, he started to write his story.

The dim light cast a warm, gentle glow over the little world Hermit had created for himself under Suzuka's bed. His secret treasure trove, his haven of warmth and joy, was a place where he could enjoy the gifts his master had given him and express his feelings and thoughts on the pages of his notebook.

As he continued to write and draw, he softly whispered to himself, "Thank you, Master Helen. You've given me the most precious gifts; trust and hope! I'll cherish them forever."

Hermit's tiny hands moved deftly across the pages of his notebook, pencil gliding effortlessly as he poured his heart and soul into it. Underneath Suzuka's bed, in his secret sanctuary, he embarked on a journey through time, capturing the memories that had shaped his life.

He began with the earliest memories, tracing back to the very day he hatched from his egg. He sketched the small, fragile creature he once was, barely a speck in the vast world. The image of the eggshell fragments scattered around him brought a smile to his face, a testament to his resilience and the beginnings of his remarkable journey.

Hours passed as Hermit meticulously documented his memories, capturing the essence of his life beneath Suzuka's bed. When he reached the last pages of his notebook, he gazed at his work with a profound sense of accomplishment and gratitude.

Hermit's eyelids began to droop as he reached the end of a heartfelt thank-you note to Suzuka. It was time to rest, to dream of the new life he was building with his newfound treasures and his master's kindness. He carefully set the notebook and pencil aside, cocooned himself further into his meaty ears then the cozy blanket, and closed his eyes.