Goblin Knight - Chapter 386



Only Krnovel

EP.386 Young Executor (5)

It’s not that I didn’t expect this situation.

One of the many thoughts that came to Blanc’s mind as he treated Mephis’ wounds was that this thing was… a pure and honest monster.

Even with minimal treatment, such as wiping away the blood and applying a styptic, the wound was ‘visibly healed’.

Among the many executors, he is given special treatment, so he must be hovering around with the best healing magic in the sect, or maybe he drank a potion instead of water… … .

Anyway, I thought that at this speed, I could get up quickly regardless of my serious injuries.

Just in case, Blanc had kept Mephis’ weapons far away.

It was meaningless.

“Execute the monster before your eyes!!”

“──!!”

The moment Mephis shouted as he suddenly got up, his small hand was already pointing towards Blanc’s torso.

It wasn’t because I knew the sword was gone.

In that brief moment, he reached for his waist, realized he had no sword, and entered into a fistfight.

‘Damn, my body, can’t keep up-‘

“Ugh!?”

“Blanc!!”

It was a speed that would have been difficult to avoid even when in perfect condition, so what would it be like now that I was almost exhausted?

Bam!! In an instant, Mephis grabbed him by the neck.

Nellyvia hurriedly formed several ice spears and fired them, but this too was meaningless.

Mephis seemed to reach into the air with his other hand, which was not holding his neck, and caught one of the flying ice spears, spinning it around and deflecting it away.

It was not a gesture imbued with skill.

Just… helplessness.

An overwhelming force that seemed to have come down from the heavens… … .

“The benefactors… … .”

“Ugh, huh… … ?”

“Where are the people who saved me!!”

My breathing, which had been so tight that I couldn’t even resist, relaxed just a little.

At that moment, I didn’t quite understand what he meant. Weren’t they the ones who saved Mephis?

Didn’t you know everything and do it anyway?

But immediately after, when he met Mephis’ eyes, Blanc was able to understand what he was saying.

‘… … Are you confused?’

It was a small misunderstanding.

Because of the shocking speed of action he had just shown, Blanc had assumed that Mephis had actually woken up a while ago and was waiting for the right moment.

But the confusion on Mephisto’s young face now was far from such skillful and cunning judgment.

Eyes shaking as if they can’t figure out anything…

‘So, that incredible quick attack just now was done solely with reflexes… … .’

As I once again realize that Mephis is an out-of-the-ordinary being, I consider the following words with the lack of oxygen.

Nellyvia answered in the same voice, both bewildered and furious.

“Where are you…? Where are you! I’m dying in your hands right now!!”

“Shallow lies! Why on earth would you monsters heal me!?”

“That’s exactly what I was telling that guy just a moment ago!!”

Nellyvia shouted, slapping Blanc.

“If you don’t believe me, look around with your great senses! Is there any trace of someone else being here besides us? You should be able to find out easily, right?!”

“That… that, that’s… but… … .”

As she said, Mephis’ voice seemed to be getting weaker as he looked around.

If that’s the case, it would have been better if the immense strength he had in his hand had also been weakened a bit. No, how can he have such strength when he was injured in such a serious way to begin with?

anyway…….

“Now… I’d like us to unpack this and talk about it.”

Blanc lifted his weak hand and lightly tapped Mephis’ wrist.

Mephis looked back and forth between his and Nelivia’s faces with an expression of indescribable bewilderment and confusion… … .

He said this through gritted teeth.

“Ah… no!”

“… … .”

“That- that’s right, you, you… It seems clear from the circumstances that you cured me, but that’s why we can’t let our guard down! We can’t let our guard down!!”

“Why?”

“Well, that’s- you are monsters!! That woman is a nightmare who likes to toy with humans and ruin them, and you are a goblin! A monster who has all the evil in existence in your body!!”

“Only the latter can form a consensus… … .”

“I need to know the reason, the reason… Are you trying to put some kind of spell on my body under the pretense of treatment? Even if I don’t see any signs of it, the moment I let my guard down and return to the Master, he’ll run wild with his sword or something-”

“… … Executor, Mephis.”

Blanc said in a firm voice.

“Just because what’s in front of you is a monster that needs to be dealt with… don’t pretend not to see anything else.”

“That, that’s what… … .”

“Isn’t there a simple answer?”

He looks straight into her shaking blue eyes and tells her the truth.

“You asked to be saved, and I saved you.”

“……why?”

“Because you weren’t evil.”

“But, but, you… … .”

“Yes. It’s a monster. It was just a moment ago that it tried to stop you and killed the humans in the fortress.”

I felt the hand strangling my neck tremble slightly, whether it was because of the belated pain or for some other reason.

Blanc said with a weary sigh.

“If I tell you that there was a reason for it… will you listen to my story this time?”

Mephisto fell silent again.

This silence was much longer than the previous one, and seemed to be one of unspeakable confusion and… some kind of fear.

It’s scary.

This is probably the word that doesn’t fit Mephisto the best… … .

But this time too, the answer was the same.

“I can’t… listen… to… that…!”

“… … .”

“I can’t listen to you! I won’t listen to you!! I already know, I learned it! Whatever you monsters say is an evil trick and deception!!”

“You learned… that?”

“Yes!! That’s why I won’t be shaken by whatever you say, because I have people’s smiles in my heart! Because I know those who can only be happy if they defeat you evildoers!!”

A cry of confidence… no, faith.

He learned and imprinted it on himself by repeatedly experiencing the sight of people being happy and expressing gratitude to him after defeating evil monsters.

Monsters are inherently evil, and in order to make people laugh, they must all be killed.

“I was so dumbfounded when I heard this… …!”

Nellyvia, who had been away for a moment, asked again.

“We’re evil? That’s fine! I don’t want to deny that either! But then, what are you!?”

“I am a good person who spreads the meaning of Yul-”

“Good? You’re going to strangle the person who saved your life and not even listen to what he has to say!? Even if I have no interest in theories of good and evil, I know how ridiculous that claim is!!”

“… … .”

“If you were really sure of what you said, this conversation wouldn’t have continued! That guy’s neck would have been broken and I would have been taken away or torn in two! What the hell are you doing!?”

“That’s, that’s… … .”

“This is really pathetic. Make it clear! Either you’ll be a person who upholds Eunwon’s duty at least, or you’ll give everything to a dog and take our heads to remain as that great ‘good’! Just do one thing!!”

A third silence came to Nellyvia’s rebuke.

There was a long silence, like the second one.

Mephis’s hands, which had been trembling slightly for some time, began to tremble so violently that they seemed to lose their strength.

A faint teardrop appeared in his young eyes.

Only then could I clearly realize… … .

“I… I, what, what do you want me to do… … !”

Mephisto was still young.

“Thank you for saving my life. I didn’t want to die there. I still had a lot to do, I wanted to share more of the warmth I had learned, I wanted to be praised by everyone, by the Archbishop.

Of course I want to repay the favor, because it’s right to give back what you’ve received, that’s the cycle of goodness – but, but… you are monsters!

Those who are absolutely unforgiveable to Yul. Those who are worthless even listening to, those who are made up of only evil and therefore deserve to be killed… …!

“I was chosen by the will of the law and became the one who spreads the will of the law ahead of everyone else – how could I go against His first will!!”

A tone that almost borders on being a slap in the face.

I felt a sense of uneasiness.

At one point, he asked Annelie if there was a better way, saying that he didn’t want to lose anything, that he didn’t want to sacrifice anyone in the face of the approaching tragedy…

Because it sounds like that voice.

“Why… of all people, do you have to be a monster?”

Mephis muttered, sobbing.

“Rather, if you were evil but human… why did you have to be a monster when you could have asked for repentance as the fifth act of mercy… ?”

“… … .”

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I can’t trust you. Whatever you say, I can’t help but take it as a trick… … .”

“… … .”

“If only there had been some… faith, some sign that I could trust you… … .”

“… … Proof?”

Blanc absentmindedly recalled those words.

Proofs. Proofs of the Executors… … .

Come to think of it, there was something called the coin of Yul in the world.

A gold coin given as a reward by executors when expressing gratitude, and so important that it could be summarily executed by decree if its meaning was deemed to have been blasphemed.

Blanc, who had had a few run-ins with the enforcer, like it or not, also had the coin.

And, quite coincidentally, the coin was not even a common gold coin, and the executor who gave it was-

“──Backpack!”

“uh?”

“Nelivia, there should be a coin deep inside my backpack, take it out!”

“What, what? You had that coin too? But in this situation, that… what is this?”

Nellyvia tilted her head, looking at the platinum coin in her hand.

“… … This is platinum? Yul’s coins are all made of gold-”

“Platinum?”

“okay.”

Blanc spoke to Mephis, whose eyes were wide open.

“A long time ago, I received that platinum coin in return for helping a certain… peculiar executor.”

“… … .”

“As Nellyvia said, I thought the coins of Yul were gold coins, but this one is made of platinum, so I always wondered what it meant. Do you know its meaning?”

“judgment…….”

“judgment?”

Mephis, who had been blankly staring at the platinum coin, suddenly turned his blue eyes toward Blanc.

It wasn’t the eye that saw Goblin Blanc.

I was looking straight into Blanc’s golden eyes… … .

“… … Everything flows according to the will of the law.”

“huh?”

“Today, this coin has come into my hands and I have inherited the ‘responsibility of judgment’, which is also the will of the law. It means that my judgment is respected… as long as it does not go against the law.”

“What are you suddenly saying… … .”

“Then, I.”

Mephis closed his eyes.

And then… slowly, I released the hand that was holding Blanc.

“My intention to execute you… does not change. It is the first decree.”

“… … .”

“But I have not yet judged, for I do not know enough about you to be able to take upon myself the responsibility of judging.”

“then?”

“Let this be my first and last deviation. I, I… White Executor Mephis, will now resume my surveillance duties instead of returning to my unit!”

“what!?”

“The deadline is until I am confident that I know enough to take the ‘responsibility of judgment’. Of course, you have no veto!”

Mephis cried out in a trembling voice.

Blanc simply thought to himself, apart from Nellivia, who was dumbfounded as to why this was happening.

Yeah, you can’t have everything you want right now.

Just as I cannot yet save all the victims of tragedy, you, who are still young, cannot yet save all faith and grace.

That doesn’t mean you have to give up any of them.

Even if you can’t reach it right now, if you believe that you will reach it someday, there’s no reason to give up now.

Isn’t that the privilege of our ‘young’ ones?

… … I don’t know how this thing that happened just now will play out in the future.

I am satisfied with the reprieve given.

To you, who has already been painted a clean white, I am grateful that I have the opportunity to show you even a little bit of a ‘different line’.

so…….

I hope that you, the future you who have already been through the war, will remember this day as a bitter day more than anything else.

“Please take good care of me, Mephis.”

“… … Stop talking nonsense. I just gave you a brief reprieve, but I still want you to-”

“Then… I guess I can finally get some sleep now.”

“Huh? Huh- What, why is your body… Me? Because of me!? No, don’t close your eyes! Don’t die!!”

Blanc closed his eyes with a much lighter heart.