Chapter 380 A goblin and fresh eggs, right on time

Hermit wrestled with the answer for a long, agonizing moment, his nut-sized brain firing on all cylinders, desperately trying to grasp onto something—anything—that could make sense of this. He shook his head violently, his small hands clutching at his face, whimpering and sobbing, his entire body trembling under the crushing weight of reality. His ears drooped so low they brushed the floor, his tiny frame quaking as his heart screamed at him to reject it—but what choice did he have?

Finally, his fight drained away, his form slumping forward like a kicked puppy. His palms hit the floor, his hands feeling limp as he sniffled, his breath uneven. His whole body hurt—not from any physical wound, but from the deep, aching wrongness of it all.

"M-Master Helen…" his voice cracked, "this sacrifice is… acceptable."

He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head as if trying to banish the words from his own mouth, but he forced himself to keep going.

"I-In the breeding farms, we lost many of my kin each day… far more than just a few. They… they were ripped apart, used, discarded like rotten fruit." 

His breath hitched.

  "If we… if we could have what you gave us, if we could live like this, then sacrificing only a few is…"

The words got stuck in his throat. His body rejected them. He gagged on them, like they were bile rising from his stomach, but he forced them out, voice weak, broken.

"…acceptable."

A shudder ran through him, his fingers curling into his palms so tightly his nails dug into his skin. He felt sick. He felt ashamed. He felt like the most miserable creature to ever crawl upon the earth.

But what else could he do?

What else could he do?

Hermit slowly lifted his tear-streaked face to look up at Suzuka, his large, watery eyes pleading for some kind of mercy—though he knew there was none to be found. His voice trembled, hoarse from the weight of his own words.

“Master… it is acceptable.” 

He swallowed thickly, forcing himself to breathe through the suffocating knot in his throat.

  “But… but let me choose who to sacrifice. I will talk to my kin. I will explain it to them. We will choose those who will… who will volunteer for such a noble cause.”

He almost choked on the words, but he pressed on. 

“To keep the rest of us safe.”

Hermit bowed his head, his ears drooping as he clenched his eyes shut.

  “That way… it won’t be forced. We will have time to say our goodbyes. It will be their choice. A noble choice. Please, master. Give them at least, at least, let them have that much dignity.”

Suzuka let out an exaggerated groan, dragging a hand down her face before throwing her arms up.

"Oh gods, Hermit, I was just joking about calling you Your Royal Sadness—but by the gods, you are really living up to the name!"

She folded her arms, shaking her head as she looked down at him with a lopsided smirk.

"Look at you, drama-loving goblin. Did you even listen to me?"

She leaned down, poking his forehead with her finger. 

"You’re making it sound like I’m sending them to their deaths or something."

She straightened up, waving a dismissive hand.

"I told you—they will be fine. Listen to my voice, Hermit. I said—" she slowed her words down as if speaking to a particularly slow child, "—they. Will. Be. Fine."

She gave him a lazy grin, resting a hand on her hip.

"Think of it as a vacation. They'll go, get pampered, do some brain exercises, maybe even pick up a few skills along the way. Then who knows? Maybe they’ll send you a letter saying they’re living the high life. And when Valerius is done with them, he just sends them back here."

She chuckled, shaking her head again.

"Seriously, you act like I’m throwing them into a pit of fire. Lighten up, Hermit."

Hermit sniffled, his big ears drooping as he wiped his snot-covered nose with the back of his hand. His watery eyes searched Suzuka’s face, desperately clinging to the reassurance in her voice.

“A… A vacation?” he echoed weakly, as if trying to convince himself. His little green fingers fidgeted with the hem of his tank top. 

“Not… not a pit of fire? Not chains, or whips, or…” his voice trailed off, throat tightening at the horrible memories.

He swallowed hard, forcing himself to take a shaky breath.

“You… You swear it, Master? You swear they’ll be safe? That they won’t be hurt?”

His voice trembled, filled with fragile hope. 

“That they’ll be taken care of, that maybe… maybe they’ll even like it?”

He was grasping—clinging to the idea like a drowning man reaching for driftwood.

“If… If you swear it’s true… you give us a promise! And promise is not to be broken!” his hands clenched into tiny fists, shaking. 

“Then… Then I can accept it.”

His voice cracked at the last word, but he forced himself to stand a little straighter, to shove down the lump in his throat.

"Yes, yes, I promise. And like I said, I keep my promises. Just be quick about, I need someone by the evening." Suzuka said dismissively, waving her hand.

“I will tell my kin, and I will choose.”

His lips quivered, but he set his jaw. 

“If this is the price to keep the rest of us safe, then… Then we will pay it.”

Suzuka waved a dismissive hand, already turning back toward her desk.

“Yes, yes, just get it done. It’s a long trip back to Rockmine Town.”

She picked up a pen, about to scribble something down, when she suddenly froze mid-thought. Her yellow eyes flickered with realization.

“Wait… wait a minute.”

She set the pen down and tapped her fingers on the desk.

“It takes about a week to travel. And goblin eggs hatch in… what? Ten days?”

Her fingers drummed faster as the problem clicked into place.

“Well, that’s a problem.”

She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms.

“We can’t send eggs like that. Valerius needs them fresh, so he can hatch them in optimal conditions. If we send them now, they’ll either hatch on the road or spoil. Either way, he’s not getting what he wants, and that means we won’t get what we want.”

She let out a sharp sigh, “Ugh, now we have to figure this out before nightfall. Great.”

Her gaze flicked to Hermit, lips curling into a smirk.

“Well, Mister ‘Royal Sadness,’ any bright ideas? Or are you just gonna stand there looking like kicked puppy?”

Hermit flinched under Suzuka’s sharp gaze, his oversized ears twitching nervously. He wrung his hands together, his stubby fingers fidgeting as he shifted his weight from foot to foot like a child caught in trouble. His voice was a shaky whisper over the pounding of his own heart.

“W-Well… actually, Master, um… eggs don’t always take ten days to hatch. Sometimes it’s sooner, d-depending on the conditions, you see. If it’s too cold, or if they’re jostled too much, they can… um… hatch sickly goblins. Or worse, they can go bad. Rotten eggs smell terrible, and they’re useless. S-So, um, yeah, sending them now… b-bad idea.”

He gulped, his throat bobbing as he glanced at Suzuka’s expression, searching for any sign of mercy. Finding none, he hurriedly continued, his words tumbling out in a frantic rush.

“B-But! I—I might have a solution!”

His meaty goblin fingers twisted together, his nails digging into his palms as he cautiously peeked up at her. His voice dropped to a whisper, as if saying it too loudly would make it real.

“L-Larry, you know, on his way back, h-he rescued a bunch of goblins, right? A-And, um… some of them were—w-well, you see, they were…”

He trailed off, his green skin turning an even sicklier shade as he nervously swallowed the words. His eyes darted around the room, avoiding Suzuka’s piercing stare.

 “They were what, Hermit? Spit it out.”

Hermit winced, his entire body flinching as if he expected to be struck. He nodded quickly, his words spilling out in a panicked jumble.

“R-Right! S-Some of them were… um… used for breeding.” 

He hunched his shoulders, his ears drooping as he braced himself for her reaction.

 “Y-You see, Master, some of the goblins were used for breeding. They pump them full of eggs inside them. The eggs grow there, and when they’re ready, we… we lay them.”

His voice cracked, and he shuddered, his small frame trembling as he forced himself to continue.

 “It’s… it’s horrible, Master. The eggs are so heavy, and they move sometimes, like they’re alive. And when it’s time to lay them, it’s so painful. Some of us don’t survive it. And the ones who do… they’re just used again and again, until their bodies give out.”

He swallowed hard, his lip quivering as he rushed to finish. 

“B-But the point is, some of the goblins Larry rescued are already carrying eggs! S-So if we send one of them instead of just eggs, th-they’ll lay them right when they get to Valerius! That way the eggs will be f-fresh and safe, and um… you know… not hatch on the way or, uh, go bad.”

He lifted his head just enough to gauge Suzuka’s reaction, his eyes wide with fear and his lip trembling as if expecting her to laugh in his face—or worse, gets disgusted with him. His small hands clutched at his chest, as if trying to hold himself together under the weight of his own words.

Suzuka smirked, crossing her arms as she leaned back slightly.

"Excellent. See, Hermit? You can use that head of yours when you actually try. Good job. It’s like hitting two birds with one rock—Valerius gets exactly what he needs, and we keep things running smoothly. A goblin and fresh eggs, right on time. Perfect."

Her eyes flickered back to him, the smirk never leaving her face.

"Now, go see to it. Find a volunteer who’s willing to go, make it happen. Or—" she tilted her head, her grin widening "—I will."

She let that last part hang in the air, her tone playful yet laced with just enough edge to make Hermit scramble to get moving.