Chapter 92
Upon entering the chapel, I was immediately reminded of the gravity of the situation. The beds were all filled, extras had been brought in, and some patients were stuck lying on the ground with little more than pillowcases covering them.
The healers were clearly understaffed, as they were struggling to keep the place in order. Cupboards were left wide open, revealing a distinct lack of supplies to go around, and the same implements had to be sterilised and reused on a different person immediately after use.
Isolde was sitting on her own, surrounded by multiple empty potion bottles. Her complexion was even more pale than usual.
I didn't see Meztili right away, so I approached Isolde instead.
“I'm sorry, we're out of beds. Please wait outside until a nurse can find you a spot.”
Isolde spoke like a machine, her eyes fixed on the ground. Seeing her like that, I nearly forgot my earlier suspicions towards her. Nearly.
“What's with all the potions? Divine spells restore daily, right? These won't help.”
I opened the conversation with a genuine question. Isolde looked up slowly and smiled weakly at me. She even managed not to show any surprise at the sight of Bubblin.
“Ah, hello, Rex. Yes, mana potions do nothing for my divine spells, but conventional magic can be used for healing as well, you know?”
I did know, but I had never met a priest who would bother learning both. Divine healing is objectively superior easier to use, so only those who are not blessed tend to learn the mana method.
For convenience, I liked to think of divine healing as “automatic” and mana healing as “manual”. The fact that Isolde could use both meant she must have a strong understanding of the human body, to the point that she could probably perform surgery by hand if needed.
Technically, so could I. Although I was more comfortable with animals than humans, so I wasn't about to volunteer my services.
“Humies injured? Err… why are the humans hurt?”
Bubblin approached a nearby bed and cocked his head. The man there had his eyes bandaged over and was covered in burns. His breathing sounded painful just to listen to, but he appeared to be asleep for the time being.
“There was a battle.”
I answered Bubblin.
“Humans help injured? Goblins throw away useless things.”
His harsh words caused some angry glares from the people around him, but this was just how things were for goblins. If you drag the tribe down, you get tossed aside, no matter who you are.
“Humans like to save their friends when possible. It's the noble thing to do.”
I kept calm and explained as if I were talking to a child.
“Noble? Knights are noble, yes? Me save humie, makes me noble knight.”
Bubblin reached out and slapped his hand on the burn victim's chest.
“Arrrgh!”
The man was shocked awake and immediately returned to the world of pain that had become his body.
“Eh, shaddup. Sir Bubblin being noble!”
Bubblin's had begun to glow, and the light sank into the man's body, rapidly repairing his wounds in seconds.
Bubblin yanked off the bandages—rather aggressively—and continued to grab different parts to heal the man.
It looked incredibly unpleasant due to Bubblin carelessly slapping the man in all the worst spots, but nobody could argue with the results.
“Wh-what happened? I feel… great!”
The man stood out of the bed and gave himself a once-over, confirming he was as good as new.
“Noble deed complete. Pay me.”
Bubblin held his hand out expectantly, and the man finally realised that the one who saved him was the goblin standing by his side.
“U-uh… I don't have my coin purse with me.”
“Eh? No gold?”
Bubblin grabbed a nearby candlestick and lunged for the man, but was held back by Soot.
“Bubblin, being noble means to do good things without expecting a reward.”
I sighed as I disarmed the angry goblin.
“What? We have to be poor knights?”
He looked at me like I was insane.
“Mr… Bubbles, was it?”
Isolde slowly approached with a warm smile.
“Bubblin. Who you?”
“I am Isolde, a priestess of Faelora. May I ask for your assistance in looking after these poor victims?”
“Fay…bore-a?”
Bubblin looked to me, confused.
“She's a goddess, don't worry about that, though. Can you help them out?”
“Pay me.”
He held his hand out to Isolde.
“...Of course, the church can reward you for your great generosity. How about I give you one gold piece?”
Isolde made a terrible decision at that moment.
“Ten gold!”
Bubblin argued.
“That's… not really—”
“Bah! Poor church! Poor goddess! Useless! Clink has more shiny clinky coins!”
Bubblin initiated goblin haggling, and because Isolde foolishly mentioned gold instead of silver or copper, he would stubbornly refuse any other form of currency.
I spotted Meztili briefly coming out from a side room, only to quickly duck back in and shut the door.
I mouthed the words “good luck” to Isolde, then quietly took my leave and followed Meztili.
As I stepped inside, I was immediately hit by the stench of death. If not for my time in the Crucible, it would have been enough to get a reaction from me.
The thick, stagnant air seemed to push against me to return the way I came, but I ignored the eerie feeling.
I was standing atop a spiral stone staircase, the echoing sound of Meztili’s distant footsteps signalling just how deep this place went.
Tiara poked her head out and blinked at me.
“Right you are, Tia. I can't see a thing like this.”
We linked up, and suddenly my vision was no longer hindered. There was an empty torch sconce right by the door, and the smell of smoke suggested that Meztili had descended with the only source of light in hand.
“I guess that means she's alone down here…”
Feeling the guilt resurfacing, I quickly moved downward and stepped out into a much wider space.
Catacombs. That was the word that came to mind as I looked upon the numerous spaces carved into the walls where the dead had been laid to rest.
Near the entrance, there was nothing but long dead skeletal remains, but in the centre of the first room was a series of wheelbarrows with piles of the freshly dead stacked up.
I took a moment to stand before them all and reflect. Some of these men had been killed by me. Many had just been following orders. And all were now in a place they didn't deserve to be.
And it would happen again and again. An endless cycle of death and stagnation. An endless decay. I would send many more to join them in the coming years, and it was likely that some whom I hold dear would end up the same way.
But it was unavoidable, and all would be justified in the end, so long as I succeeded.
“Eep!”
I looked up to see Meztili ducking around the corner.
“Wh-what are you doing down here? You frightened me.”
She peeked her head out slowly.
“I thought you might like a hand. This looks like a lot of work for one person.”
“Hm? But I’m not al—ow!”
“Shuddup! Just go with it, girly!”
I heard a hushed voice, but it was obviously Anubis.
“Ah, well, yes. I am alone… uh…”
She stepped out—or rather, something pushed her out to face me. But even then, she didn’t know what to say.
“How about you show me what to do, and we can get started?”
I offered.
“Are you sure? It’s not pleasant work.”
“I have a strong stomach.”
She still hesitated, and she kept glancing back towards the hallway she came from, but gradually, she came towards me. Though, she kept a little more distance than usual.
“For the soul to be properly laid to rest, attentive care must be paid to each individual. And for their spirit to remain uncorrupted, there cannot be any missing pieces of the body, else the mind will become equally fragmented.”
She began to explain the funerary rites as she approached the nearest body.
“Please lay this one out on that table.”
I did as she instructed.
“Remove the clothing and any personal belongings, but leave anything with religious significance.”
I went through the dead man’s pockets, finding some loose coins. The main thing of interest was the imperial ID, which Meztili took and looked over as I finished my job. She then handed me a curved blade to easily cut through the clothing.
“I haven’t found anything religious-looking. Am I done?”
I stepped back after placing everything into a silver bowl and discarding the clothes into a pre-existing pile.
“There is no need to exsanguinate or preserve them. We simply lack the time and manpower to offer such a service. Their funerals will be held with an empty casket. However, I have prepared a solution to mask the smell during decomposition.”
Meztili carried out a deep bucket filled with misty greenish liquid and handed me a washcloth.
“Fleur helped with this recipe. It is effective, but it will stain the skin. I suggest wearing gloves.”
I did as suggested, and while she oversaw my work, I made some small talk.
“Wouldn’t it be better to burn some incense in the room? It would save a lot of time.”
“Each body requires individual care.”
She repeated that phrase.
“Besides, as a follower of Nekrotica, I will need to later harvest the organs as an offering.”
I paused what I was doing and slowly looked up at her.
“...Why not do that now?”
I withheld the criticism that was lurking in my thoughts. It was not the morbidity that bothered me, but rather the fact that I knew such an offering was entirely pointless. The gods just needed faith to sustain themselves, meaning this practice had been thought up by a mortal at some point.
“They need to decompose for three weeks before harvesting. Having the scent masked to this degree makes that process much less… repulsive.”
“I see. But most of these people probably aren't followers of Nekrotica, right? Shouldn't a different process be used for them?”
“Nekrotica is the goddess of death rebirth. She will see any soul to where it needs to be, regardless of their faith or prejudice against her.”
I silently stepped back as I finished up.
“Now we just need to house the body into a free space. You can transport them in whatever way you find comfortable, just try not to damage the body.”
I unceremoniously hoisted the body over my shoulder and followed Meztili down the hallway she came from.
It did not take long for the skeletal remains to be replaced by the far more numerous recently deceased bodies.
“This place doesn't seem big enough for all of these.”
I mused.
“The old will be removed to make room, and their bones can be ground up and reused for healing potions.”
“Nothing goes to waste, huh? I can appreciate that line of thinking.”
She nodded, but still refrained from engaging in conversation with me. Since I arrived, she had only opened her mouth to answer my questions, like an emotionally removed tutor.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Sorry for yesterday. I hope you weren't waiting for me or anything.”
I decided to just act like a mature adult and own up to my mistake.
“I wasn't waiting.”
She denied firmly.
“...Was there a reason?”
But she softly continued the topic anyway.
The truth was that I simply forgot about her after seeing Rose. It wasn't even a conscious decision where I chose one over the other.
But admitting that would just hurt Meztili’s feelings even more. It was better to tell a comforting lie.
“I don't want to make any excuses, but lots of things suddenly came up at once. Paris was secretly working for a group of assassins hired to kidnap Fleur. Merk found out I had her restrained in secret, then my sister needed support after everything that happened. I should have found some time to let you know at least. I'm really sorry.”
“...Here is good.”
She pointed to a cavity in the wall.
“Why the highest one? There are two free spaces beneath it.”
“Here is good.”
She repeated, ignoring my protest.
This was probably some passive-aggressive way of punishing me for being a terrible friend, but it was better than being yelled at. And so, I lifted the body above my head and tried to place it in the slot with dignity.
This was a far more challenging task than I expected. It was not a question of physical strength, but the way the limbs flopped down and got hooked against the wall made it an incredibly awkward endeavour.
There was simply no way to do it without looking incompetent.
“Hmhmhm…”
Meztili quietly laughed to herself while she watched me struggle.
The urge to just throw the corpse in and force the limbs into place was beginning to surface, but Meztili took mercy on me before it came to that.
“Here, let me show you an easier way.”
She cast a simple spell to briefly animate the body, commanding it to obediently lie down on its back.
“...I'll leave the high ones to you from now on.”
I turned on my heel and walked back to get started on the next body, not allowing her to catch sight of my embarrassment.
I had initially thought that my assistance would halve the amount of time Meztili needed to spend on this task, but in reality, I was only clearing one body for every ten she did. That's a pathetic 10% increase in productivity.
In fact, given how often she had to stop and redo something I messed up, she was probably going even slower than before.
“Don't just check the pockets, people tend to hide things in all sorts of places.”
Meztili took one of the boots I discarded and turned it upside down, causing a small pendant to fall out.
“This looks like a family portrait. Please add it to the sentimental pile. We will try to find the next of kin and return these later.”
She looked inside the pendant, then handed it to me, only for me to realise I recognised the faces inside.
“These kids… I met them earlier. Lukas and Michaela. That would make this man their father.”
The corpse lying on the table now seemed much more to me. A father who left behind two young children, unable to witness their growth…
“Rex? Are you okay?”
Meztili sounded concerned.
“I'm fine. I'll give this to Linus when I get a chance. He's their uncle.”
I pocketed the pendant and took a deep breath.
“Okay… you can always go if this gets too difficult for you.”
I shook my head and silently resumed my work.
Everyone has a story, and everyone has someone who will mourn them. The Soleans were no different, yet I still ended their lives. How many orphans had I personally created?
The thought rattled me, but it did not change anything. In a way, it might have been for the best that I faced this reality directly. After all, I would rather be a villain who appreciates the gravity of what he does than a monster who mindlessly discards the lives of others.
“I-I heard you and Axel were promoted.”
Meztili moved the conversation along. I had the distinct impression she just enjoyed having someone to talk to for a change, but her voice always sounded so hesitant. Like she was scared she would offend me in some way. She was much more comfortable when we were only talking about magic or our duties.
“Junior knights are allowed to hire two squires, right?”
Uh oh.
“Have you thought about who you will choose?”
“Yeah…”
“Were you thinking of a spellcaster? I think you need one personally.”
“Mhmm. A spellcaster and a paladin.”
“A paladin? Can you really find one of those here? I kind of hope not…”
She mumbled to herself while she worked her magic to send another group of bodies walking to their resting places.
“They tend to be rather zealous. I have heard many stories of innocent worshippers of Nekrotica being unfairly attacked by the paladins of other orders.”
She began recording the names of the deceased in a ledger as she slowly became more confident in speaking freely.
“Maybe a priest instead? Isolde would be a good pick. I can get along with her surprisingly well. Although maybe Guy would be a better decision? He is a bit wary of me, but I don't think we're on bad terms or anything.”
“Sorry, I already made my decision.”
I cut her off before things could go any further.
“Oh…”
An awkward silence lingered over us for an uncomfortable stretch of time. After a good five minutes of this, I hesitantly tried to regain the comfortable atmosphere between us.
“Will you be returning to the dorm tonight? Rose, Felicia, and Leon have moved in. It would be good for you to relax with us and unwind from all of .”
I gestured to our surroundings.
“...There are still many souls that need to be put to rest. I will return when I am no longer needed here.”
“Yeah, but you don't need to do it all at once. Rest for a while at least. We even have a goblin waiting upstairs right now. You should meet him.”
“No thanks.”
She did not look my way. She had absorbed herself entirely into her work by that point.
Her expression may have been hidden, but her body language was more than enough for me to read her like a book.
“I have two days until Alma arrives, then I need to get serious again. There won't be much time for chats like this...”
I moved to the opposite side of her table as she was piecing together a man who had been cut into multiple pieces. I recognised him as the man I fought at the Burning Sprite, but that wasn't important at the moment.
“It would be good to just unwind a little in the meantime, but I don't really like large groups. So, how about we go on a date, just the two of us?”
She slipped suddenly, sending the deceased man's heart flying into the air.
“Wh-what?”
She stuttered and tripped backwards, having to brace herself against the wall.
I caught the heart and carefully returned it to the man's chest as I spoke calmly.
“A date. You and me. It's the least I could do to make it up to you.”
“B-by date… d-do you mean like a friendly date? As friends? friends?"
“If that's easier for you, sure.”
I shrugged, intentionally remaining vague about my intentions.
This wasn't some deeply thought-out scheme with a higher purpose. I just found it funny to watch her panic so comically.
“U-uh… I've never— I mean, I wouldn't know what to do… It would be boring.”
“So you don't want to?”
“No! I mean, y-yes?”
“Yes, you don't want to? I see… sorry to have inconvenienced you.”
I pretended to wipe away a tear from beneath my mask and began to walk towards the stairs.
“W-wait!”
She practically sprinted over and grabbed my arm.
“Yes?”
I turned to her, all signs of faux sadness removed from my smiling face.
“...When?”
I pretended to think deeply and decided to play with her a little more.
“Well, I want to spend as much time as possible with you, so how about first thing after breakfast, tomorrow morning, of course.”
“A-as friends, right?”
“If you like.”
“Stop being vague! Is this a real date or not?”
She punched my shoulder, but her slender arms held no strength behind them.
“Haha, are you nervous? Don't worry, I'll handle everything, so you can just enjoy yourself.”
She stepped back awkwardly and lowered her head.
“I'm serious… if this is just a joke, please stop.”
A pang of guilt struck my heart upon hearing that soft, vulnerable tone from her. It felt like she might actually cry if I kept teasing her.
I had assumed she had no experience with romance due to her upbringing, which was the only explanation for why she could have been harbouring a slight crush towards me. But in that moment, I realised she may be even more sheltered than I anticipated.
I could not claim to have any strong romantic feelings for anyone, but that kind of instant connection was exceedingly rare. I was the kind of person who would give any girl I found attractive and likable a chance to see if something deeper could be attained. However, I was stepping into some dangerous territory with an innocent girl like Meztili.
It wasn't like I was opposed to the idea of dating her for real, just to see how things progressed between us, but that kind of weak motivation would only hurt her if she was too emotionally invested.
I had to remind myself that I was much younger than when I still dated in my past life, and the level of maturity was completely different now. We were in our late teens, and it wasn't like people of Arden were dating a new person every other day thanks to online dating. This was the era of courtship, something I had little experience with.
A little too much time had passed as I reflected on my behaviour, and I realised that Meztili was growing agitated while she awaited a response.
“I would like to get to know you better. But we don't need to go any further than you're comfortable with. I'll still be your friend regardless, so let's just relax and have fun.”
My words were carefully measured, intended to neither reject her nor push any expectations onto her.
“...Tomorrow morning. I'll see you then.”
She hurriedly fled deeper into the darkness.
“Well… it would be pretty awkward if I just stuck around after that, right? Guess we should head back, Tia.”
Even though there were still many more bodies to clean and store away, I decided the gentlemanly thing to do would be to take my leave.
***
[Meztili’s POV]
My heart was pounding so hard that I was afraid it was about to wake the dead. Had that really just happened? Had someone asked out?
Me? The cursed child? The daughter of death? The maggot? The rancid corpse tender?
It wasn't a prank, right? I was allowed to get my hopes up a little, wasn't I?
“Hoho, what a shock, eh, kiddo?”
My grandfather's skull floated down from the ceiling, evidently having watched the entire exchange.
“I must admit, when I saw that boy come down here, I had half a mind to give him a good zapping for bailing on you last night. Good thing I held back, eh?”
He cackled loudly.
“So? Whatcha gonna wear? Make sure to show some skin, especially around the neck and shoulders. And waist. And thighs… Show some cleavage too.”
“Grandfather!”
I screamed at my horrible relative with seemingly no boundaries.
“What? It works! Men are idiots, kiddo. Flash just enough of the goods, and you’ll have them wrapped around your finger. How do you think your harpy of a grandmother seduced me?”
“He said we could just spend time together as friends, you’re making it weird!”
I protested.
“Oh, come on. He clearly left it open to interpretation. You can take this however you want, and I know you want to experience young love! Don't think I haven't seen those dirty books you keep under your bed!"
“I-I don't know what you're talking about!"
I protested, making a mental note to find a new hiding spot.
"...Is this really okay? What if he’s just being nice because he feels bad?”
“Who cares? In fact, that just makes it easier to nab him for yourself, seeing as he’ll feel obliged to stick around. That gives you time to work your moves on him all day long… And all long, too, kekeke…”
“Wait, wait, wait! This is ridiculous! My Gift won’t even allow me to show my face. N-not to mention anything else!”
“Ehhhh… That’s true, huh?”
Grandfather twirled on the spot slowly while bobbing up and down, all the while making exaggerated thinking sounds. Until, after a few seconds, he stopped.
“There one way we could mitigate your condition. Though it’s not exactly subtle… Maybe we can ask that dark-haired girl for help with that, though.”
“Lily? She’s not exactly good at keeping secrets… But what did you have in mind, exactly?”
My interest had been piqued, even against my better judgment.
“We’ll get to that. First, you need to get yourself a proper outfit. Something than priest robes and bandages. Ooooh, I’m so excited! I may yet live to see my great-grandchild!”
I held back from attacking him for his vulgar comments, only because he had a good eye for fashion and might legitimately be helpful in getting me prepared for my… date.
My face grew hot again, and I tried to keep my mind busy with my work.
It didn’t work.
***
[Rex’s POV]
I returned to the chapel fully expecting to find Bubblin and Isolde still haggling, but instead, I was greeted by a near-empty building and a large crowd gathered outside. There were a couple of nurses still present, but with no patients to care for, they seemed to be busy simply cleaning up the place.
“Where is everyone?”
I approached one of the nurses.
“Oh, you were still down there? Um, your… has made quite the impression on the church. He healed practically everyone here, but…”
She awkwardly looked away.
“But what? What did I miss?”
“It may be best for you to see for yourself, I dare not disparage an imperial squire… Even if he is a goblin…”
She mumbled the last part with a look of disdain. I chose to ignore her impolite implication and went outside to push through the crowd.
The mood seemed highly polarised, with the former patients mostly looking content and amused, while the soldiers and church volunteers grumbled with impotent annoyance.
And the cause of it all was plain to see in the centre of the crowd, a small green goblin who seemed to be arguing with an exasperated Isolde.
“No! We agree on 10 gold. Then, plus one gold for every extra humie. Fay-bore-a owe me 30 gold!”
“We never agreed on that! I said we would pay what we can, then you made up all these rules afterwards.”
“You not pacific enough. Your fault. Where my money?”
I could piece together what happened from the context alone, but for amusement’s sake, I stepped up to play peacemaker.
“Is everything alright? Looks like Bubblin’s healing is even better than I thought.”
Isolde looked at me like a knight in shining armour who had come to rescue her from the abominable beast before her.
“Rex! Good timing, please talk some sense into your… Squire. His demands are completely unreasonable!”
“Boss! Cheapskate priest girl breaking her oath to me! Noble Bubblin could take fingers as payment, but graciously gives her chance to make things right. Me do good?”
Some members of the crowd laughed, while others sighed and whispered conspiratorially.
“She owes you 30 gold, right?”
I asked, and he nodded emphatically.
“Yes, yes! 40 gold she owes, just as you say!”
“50 gold, huh? You’re so generous to let them off for just 60 gold!”
“Kehehe!”
Isolde’s eyes practically leapt out of her head, but I held my hand up to stop her from intervening.
“Unfortunately, your nobility has reached such a level that no human here could possibly repay your magnanimity. But you know what? The name of Bubblin the Saviour will be forever engraved into the hearts of the town and its people. You will surely be looked upon favourably when the big boss wants a new knight.”
“Hmm… No gold?”
“You will get your gold, but you will need to be patient. We humans are not as smart as you goblins, who keep your gold nearby all the time. It will take time for them to get your payment to you.”
Bubblin didn’t look happy with this, but he at least wasn’t arguing anymore.
“Blegh! Fine!”
He threw his arms up into the air.
“Me tired! Away, fire pig!”
He leapt onto Soot and rode off into the town.
“Aww, I wanted to see how that would play out…”
“Yeah, I never thought I’d be glad to lose an arm, but seeing that little idiot bullying the priestess was quite the show.”
Two men shared a laugh, and the crowd slowly dispersed, leaving me alone with Isolde.
“Thank you, but why did you have to make that promise? He will just come back tomorrow demanding money again.”
She looked utterly worn out.
“Maybe. But it's more likely he will forget how much he owes by tomorrow. Just insist that he actually demanded silver instead of gold, and if he argues, say: ‘A real knight would stick to their word,’ and he should go along with it.”
“That doesn’t seem very honest.”
“When dealing with goblins, trying to be ethical or morally upright will only drain your wallet, and probably your blood too. Be glad Bubblin is a saint by goblin standards.”
I chuckled, then pointed back to the chapel.
“So what happened? Did he really heal everyone just like that? There’s no way he’s more adept than you at this, right?”
Isolde scratched her cheek awkwardly.
“Honestly, it makes no sense to me. He was definitely using divine magic to heal, but whenever he ran out, he just downed a mana potion and went right back to it.”
“Huh? How can that be possible? Is it mana, or divinity that he was channelling?”
“Definitely divinity. But somehow, he is fuelling the magic with his own body rather than relying on a blessing. I tried asking about it, but he didn’t understand what I was saying at all. As far as I can tell, the only thing stopping him from casting infinitely is how quickly his body can metabolise the potions.”
“Goblin metabolism is something else. I don’t think it's physically possible for them to suffer any side effects from potion overdosing.”
We looked at each other as we both realised what that meant.
“So… He’s practically unstoppable, right? Is it really safe to have such a creature running freely around town?”
Isolde asked.
I didn’t respond, but we both began running after Bubblin before anything unpredictable could occur.
“Does he still have any potions on him?”
“I gave him everything I had. I hoped that would be a good replacement for gold, but… Well, you saw how that worked out.”
Isolde and I spoke as we ran.
“He should still have another 12 on him… Just out of curiosity, if the worst were to happen, how could we stop someone who can infinitely heal their own wounds?”
“Hey, he’s still my squire, I’m not gonna tell you how to beat him just because you asked.”
Tracking Bubblin was easy for a variety of reasons. There were confused bystanders pointing and gawking in the same direction as one another, heavy damage to the footpath from where Soot had trampled the ground, and the distant sound of clanking armour and goblinoid cackling.
In fact, we sighted him pretty quickly. The problem came after that.
“Fire pig! Go fast!”
Soot was enveloped in a golden aura, and he dashed away at Bubblin’s command at twice his normal speed.
“Was that—”
“. It looks like your friend can cast up to at least the third level of divine spells… But that spell is usually restricted to followers of Skori and Aelthara.”
We both slowed to a walk, seeing no point in trying to keep up with the rapidly shrinking pair.
“I don’t really know what to say anymore. There is nothing about this goblin.”
I sighed and looked over at the building Bubblin had been stopped outside of before he took off.
“The Sweet Tooth, huh?”
It was the same place I had taken Fleur and Oliver way back when we were a team. It had taken some damage during the attack, and the door was all boarded up with a ‘closed indefinitely’ sign nailed to the front.
“Maybe he’s looking for food?”
Isolde suggested.
“Yeah, I’m inclined to agree… But everything is closed, right?”
“Yes, but there are a couple of stalls near the gates where soldiers are handing out relief packages. It's just dried meat and bread, but they’re free.”
I didn’t have any better ideas, so we started walking towards the western gate, hoping to find a goblin and his boar mount waiting in line for free food. As we passed through town, though, I was secretly taking note of anything that might make for a good location to take Meztili.
Naturally, all the obvious choices had been closed, but there was still a small park area that would be perfect for a private conversation.
“Hey, Isolde.”
“Hm?”
“Have you got a boyfriend?”
“No, although I have received many offers.”
She tilted her head quizzically.
“Have any of them taken you for a date? Specifically here, in Borderton.”
“A couple, why?”
“I’m taking Tilly out, I thought you might have some suggestions. What did you enjoy, and what did you hate?”
She gasped loudly and beamed up at me.
“Really!? Oh, Faelora! You have truly blessed me!”
She suddenly jumped onto my back and cast a spell.
“Quick! Get the goblin under control, then we can get a whole schedule going. Oh, this is going to be great! Make sure you show up with a gift, okay? She likes stuffed animals, but has a weird taste, you might need to make something by hand. go with flowers, they make her sad. Oh! Can I come too? I’ll find some sucker, and we’ll make it a double-date, okay?”
Flustered by her sudden enthusiasm, I could only shut my mouth and sprint towards our destination. I probably should have just asked Rose for help instead…
Our haste—pun intended—turned out to be for nothing, as we soon found Bubblin loudly snoring in the middle of the path, with Soot standing guard by his side. I noted the loaf of bread clutched tightly in the sleeping goblin’s arms, and the bag of half-eaten fruit and vegetables lying at Soot’s hooves.
“Great! We found them, nobody’s hurt, and we can focus on what really matters.”
Isolde jumped off my back and swiped my coin purse.
“Whoa! You’re loaded! You better go all out, you hear me? Tilly’s a delicate child, you know?”
She began listing out—in needless detail—all the fancy things I should buy for a girl on a first date. I listened intently, but my mind desired to zone her out.
