Goblin Knight - Chapter 383



Only Krnovel

EP.383 Platinum

After the night the wolves swept through.

As morning came again, I looked at the fortress scenery that had become a little more peaceful.

“You’re awake. In the meantime, the casualties have been taken care of, Silver Executor.”

“Details?”

“We have recovered the bodies of 338 Imperial soldiers, 40 White Executors, and 14 Blue Executors, including 13 who were buried under collapsed walls and buildings. Dozens of other lightly injured people are recovering, but the seriously injured… … .”

“They won’t survive. They’ll be infected with the plague.”

Listening to the report of the blue enforcer under his command.

Goethe, who had only just woken up, let out a deep sigh while lying on his sickbed.

“Death can be no threat to those who have lost their future. How much more so, knowing that death applies to us as well, how delighted they must have died while watching humans covered in their black blood.”

“… … .”

“It’s the result of forgetting that even a cornered mouse can bite a cat. That’s why you must always leave at least one escape route when hunting.”

Goethe, who had been muttering in a bitter tone, slowly got up from his sickbed.

“Are you okay? It wasn’t an ordinary injury.”

“That’s an unbecoming tone for an executor. Do you think such concerns will help enforce the decree?”

“It was the Silver Executioner who advised us to live as Executioners but die as humans.”

“I also told you to be careful of what other people think. These days, small ‘deviations’ like this are still allowed, but the times are getting worse than you can imagine.”

Goethe lowered his head and looked at the two large wounds he had received from the goblin the night before.

Of course, it hasn’t healed yet… but I sprinkled holy water and wrapped a bandage. So there’s no problem with continuing.

After putting on the robe that was neatly placed next to the sickbed, Goethe took out a piece of tobacco from it and put it in his mouth and asked.

“Where is it?”

“This is the innermost chamber of the fortress. All the surviving executors are stuck there.”

“Ha, my head hurts a bit. Is there any way to deal with that safely among the things we ‘learned’?”

As we continued to chatter about trivial things, the screams coming from inside grew louder.

It was a scream that could not be described as the sound of a pig being slit.

As I grimaced and stepped towards the source of the scream, I saw a man lying on the bed in the center, struggling, while five or six executioners sat in a circle, concentrating.

It was Archbishop Ira.

“Ugh, ugh… My hands, my feet feel like they’re falling off… …! Hurry up, hurry up and do something about it!!”

“It means that the frozen senses are returning, Archbishop. However, if we hurry any further, the wound will melt and the bleeding will be uncontrollable… … .”

“Who doesn’t know that!? That’s why I’m telling you to find a better way, you incompetent bastards!!”

Whether it was pain, fear, or just my naturally stubborn nature.

Goethe felt a little bit of admiration at the sight of Ira, who was running wild in a form that was no different from the one he had last seen.

Well, I didn’t come here to see that kind of appearance. Goethe opened his mouth with a small cough.

“I, the executor, stop. From now on, I will be in charge of the treatment of the fourth archbishop.”

“We are protecting the Archbishop according to the statute. Even the Silver Executor cannot follow that order.”

“Protect the archbishop who is enforcing the decree by all means, something like that.”

Goethe took something shining out of his bosom.

It was a silver coin.

“But now that this raid is over and the extinction of the werewolves is almost certain, the expression ‘enforcing the decree’… doesn’t seem to fit anymore.”

“… … .”

“Again, this time I decree in the name of the silver coin. From now on, I will be in charge of the treatment of the fourth archbishop. Do you understand?”

“I understand.”

The executors in charge of Ira’s treatment bowed respectfully and left the room.

Eventually, Ira, who was left alone, looked at him with eyes that seemed unable to understand what was happening.

“What, what is it? Why is everyone suddenly… … .”

“Your Eminence, I am glad to see you safe. The silver executioner Goethe sends greetings once again.”

“… … Are you safe? Are you safe!? Does this look safe to your rotten eyes, you idiot!!”

Ira shouted with bloodshot eyes.

“Yeah, you, you little punk, welcome back! I had a lot to say to you anyway! Wasn’t it all your fault that I ended up like this in the first place!!”

“… … .”

“The best of the Executors, even given the nickname Silver, couldn’t defeat that one mongrel goblin kid, so he turned me into this!!”

“… … .”

“I don’t know why you bit those guys, but it has to be a good reason to heal my body without any pain!! Otherwise, I’ll-”

“Archbishop.”

Goethe said, cutting off Ira’s voice.

“Have you ever thought about this?”

“What are you thinking?”

“You… I wonder why a useless piece of trash like you was promoted to the position of Archbishop.”

Ira opened her mouth wide.

“You, just now, what did you say… … ?”

“Of course you have tried it. You have tried it many times… but you probably concluded your question by saying, ‘Only the First Archbishop recognized my excellence.’”

Goethe chuckled and shook his head.

“That is wrong. He did not expect any excellence from you. In fact… all the other archbishops he appointed directly were like that.”

“What… that… … .”

“As far as I know, there are two conditions for being appointed as an archbishop. One is that he must be worthy of the title and the story it will carry, and the other is… … .”

He pointed at Ira, who was blankly listening to the story.

“A person who possesses so much power, yet is so simple-minded and stupid that he can manipulate it as he pleases.”

“… … .”

“Other than that, it’s enough to be able to understand and read the text. Regardless of your character, as long as you can properly follow the laws, that’s enough.”

But, he continued speaking.

“It seems like you couldn’t even do that.

As far as I know, what the first archbishop asked of you was ‘the neutralization of the werewolves’ and ‘the bloodline of the Saintess of Wolrang’.

It wasn’t that I was using my authority to indiscriminately draft executors and imperial soldiers to fight werewolves and make life-or-death decisions.

Just look at what’s out there.

The fortress that should never have fallen to the wolves was completely destroyed, and the existence of firearms and plagues that should have been treated as top secrets were revealed to the countless people.

Only an idiot could believe that there was a connection between the ‘Wolf Rampage’ and the ‘Plague’.

Can you imagine what the church will do to keep this information from leaking out? Well, I won’t go. Except that something terrible will happen.”

ha.

Again, after taking a deep, deep breath… … .

“… … This was not the reason I arrived here, but I believe that this was also the guidance of the law.”

Hwaruk.

A flaming spear appeared in Goethe’s hand.

“W-W, wait, wait a minute! You, you, what are you trying to do!!”

“Among the Executors, those who have achieved exceptional achievements and proven their loyalty are awarded the Order’s highest honor, the ‘Silver’, and… are granted the privilege of glimpses into some of the Order’s true secrets.”

The tip of the spear, which drew a splendid circle in his hand, was pointed at Ira’s heart.

“But with power comes responsibility. In return for knowing the secret, we assume the responsibility of judgment.”

“Huh, nonsense! You executors are supposed to serve and protect me!? That’s the law!! Where is your judgment in that!!”

“Of course we do not disobey the law. That is why your life was still hanging on. However, there is no law that requires us to protect an archbishop who has completed his duties.”

Goethe said, looking at the coin in his other hand, which was as clean and transparent as a mirror.

“It is at this very moment that the responsibility of judgment is given. The responsibility to judge whether the meaning of the law is contained even in things that do not follow the law… The responsibility to judge one’s own faith. We call the symbol of that responsibility the platinum coin.”

“Pear, platinum? What is that… … .”

“And based on all my faith, I judge that there is only one meaning of the law here.”

Goethe raised his spear high.

“Your story ends here, Third Pig. Never to be told to anyone again.”

“he-”

It didn’t even take a moment for the spear to sink into his heart.

He breathed his last with bewildered eyes, as if he could not believe his own death, or rather, as if he did not even realize that he was dead.

Goethe looked at it for a moment and muttered.

“… … I truly believe that it is fortunate that there is no one to mourn for you. May you wander and burn forever in Purgatory, without anyone to defend you.”

With a snap of his hand, he transformed his long spear into a fireball, without even looking at Ira’s body turning into a handful of ash.

When Goethe came out, he was greeted by a blue executioner waiting by the door.

“What happened?”

“According to the will of the law.”

“What a shame. Because of that damned bastard, the little one I took in this time got slightly injured.”

“Then it won’t hurt?”

“That’s why I get even angrier.”

Tsk. The blue enforcer clicked his tongue toward the inner room.

“What are you going to do now? The decree to chase ‘one’ still stands.”

“Then we have to chase after it.”

“I’m really curious as to why you had to run away this way… What are you going to do with the other executors?”

“what?”

Goethe asked in a puzzled voice. Another executor? You don’t mean the ones in this fortress, do you?

“I mean Mephisto.”

The blue enforcer answered.

“That Mephis guy, after chasing the escaped wolves… why hasn’t he come back yet? Even though the other Executors have.”

“… … .”

“I’m not too worried since it’s him and no one else, but should I still go look for him? It’ll probably take quite a while, but… … .”

Goethe could not answer that question right away.

For some reason… the question he had asked himself just before losing consciousness came back to his mind again.

After walking for a while with my mouth shut.

Only after I got out of the building and saw the blue sky in contrast to the devastation on the ground.

Barely opening my mouth, I tried to judge-