Goblin Knight - Chapter 389



Only Krnovel

EP.389 The Scarecrow in Search of Wisdom (44)

Of course, that’s a given.

It is not easy to change the perceptions that have been engraved in someone’s mind for a lifetime.

Perception is the measure of what one considers right or wrong, what one prefers or rejects, what one loves or despises. In other words, it is a reflection of the life one has lived.

Can the trajectory of one’s life be easily changed by the will of others?

But, by some strange coincidence, Blanc is tasked with changing the perceptions of two girls in a time period he is not even familiar with.

They’re not ordinary girls either.

One was a girl who would later become the pinnacle of the Demon Tribe, and the other was a girl who would later become the pinnacle of the Executioners.

In the case of the demon girl, she had to change to be kind enough to feel altruistic towards those who had only considered her food or a lower-class creature throughout her life.

In the case of the executioner girl, she had to prove her goodness by not cutting off the heads of monsters she had considered her enemies and evil all her life, even if it meant betraying her faith.

Honestly, no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t believe how much sense this made. How could such a difficult problem be solved by a single goblin in less than two weeks?

But complaining won’t change anything, and if nothing changes, it’s Blanc who will get his throat cut.

Even if it is true that Nellyvia is destined to be with him anyway, there is no way to know when and how Mephis will make his ‘judgment’ and cut off his neck.

So Blanc pondered. No matter how much he tried to build a friendship with Mephis, he couldn’t turn to his allies, but he had to figure out how to delay the execution as much as possible.

And the answer Blanc came up with was… quite evil.

“… … If something similar happens.”

The first evening after setting out again, in front of a crackling campfire.

After sending Nellyvia away for a while, saying, “You’ve succeeded at cooking alone, so try hunting alone this time. Just don’t go too far.”

With the crackling sound of embers in the background, Blanc asked with a serious and eerie look on his face.

“What will you do? Will you side with the nobles and citizens who caused the deaths of countless people without any legal consequences, or will you side with the lowly people who were forced to die in the sewers?”

“Ugh… ugh… …”

Mephis groaned as he listened to Blanc’s suggestion of ‘a problem worth pondering on to pass the time in the middle of a quiet night.’

If Annely had been here, she might have been looking at them with a strange expression.

This was one of many problems that Blanc had encountered in the past, something that had really caused him headaches.

And… it was a story that was enough to confuse the perception of good and evil in young children.

‘First, we have to tell the human story.’

At first, I wanted to tell a story that was told from the monster’s perspective, like the werewolf Gian, but… that was too dangerous.

Before Empathy, it was possible that Blanc would recognize it as an attempt to seduce her and not even listen.

So what she needs is a story that she, the executor, can empathize with and relate to, but also a story where she can’t be sure what’s right and what’s wrong.

Because I wasn’t sure… it was a story that I had no reason to ask Blanc for advice on.

“Well, it is true that the nobleman did his best to revive the collapsing city and bring prosperity to it… but it is unacceptable that so many poor people were sacrificed for it… It is not a good thing… … .”

“Oh, so you’re saying you’re going to side with the poor? The lord and the knights who protected the city would all fall by your hand, so the city’s security would be emptied, and the poor who were released in the meantime would be filled with anger and throw the city into chaos. Everyone would be unhappy. Is that right?”

“Right, that’s not right… but still… still… … !”

“Then let’s add one more realistic problem here. The reason the city was able to revive was because the church supported the nobles. The priests also tacitly agreed to the silent massacre.”

“It can’t be! How can priests do such-”

“Do you really think that it can’t be true?”

When Blanc asked sharply, Mephis flinched and closed his mouth as if indignant.

But it still has that level of realism. That’s fortunate.

“… … In the first place, why… why are you suddenly asking such an uncomfortable question? A nonsensical trick to shake my faith-”

“It’s just simple curiosity. But are you really going to lose faith because of something like this? I think you know that it’s a plausible story, but what are you going to do if something like this happens in real life?”

“Ugh… ugh… … .”

“So think hard about it now. Will you stand on the side of the poor and follow the good even if it goes against the will of the church, or will you think that this is also for a greater purpose and stand on the side of the church?”

“… … .”

“Well, if you really don’t know, then you don’t have to do it. It was just out of curiosity and to pass the time. However, I can’t help but feel disappointed that the standards of good and evil that you were talking about were so vague.”

“this……!”

Mephis, who had been thinking for a while, looked up at him and said.

“Then, then you! What would you do if you were in that position!?”

“Me? Aren’t you asking the wrong question? I’m a monster to begin with. I can’t possibly be on the same side as the religious order.”

“That’s not what you were asking! After all, isn’t this a question of whether or not we can sacrifice the good of a few for the greater good!?”

“On the contrary, I would like to ask one thing.”

Blanc asked, nodding.

“Can you call it good when you have forcibly sacrificed the good of a few?”

“uh…….”

“Don’t confuse the greater ‘good’ with the greater ‘meaning.’ No matter what they say, from the perspective of the victims, they are nothing but evil disguised as hypocrisy. If you want to claim to spread good, you have to make that clear.”

“… … .”

Mephis lowered his head weakly and asked again.

“… … Are there differences between doing right and doing good?”

“Well, maybe, but maybe not. At least, in this case, there is definitely a ‘right and good thing to do.’ You just overlooked it.”

“That… how on earth… … ?”

“Then let me give you a model answer.”

Blanc said with a sly smile.

“The executioner who rushed to the scene realized that one of the poor was the child to whom he had given the coin, and upon questioning the child, he learned that the priests had taken the coin of the law.”

“uh.”

“The executor could execute priests without going against the will of the church, and could root out corruption linked to them without any problem. The poor could have their grievances recognized and came under the protection of the church.”

“That, that… … .”

“Okay, that’s strange. Do you have anything to say?”

“What is that! Isn’t that completely unreasonable!! Why did Yul’s coin suddenly pop out!? And you didn’t even say anything about the priests stealing the coin-!!”

Blanc looked straight into his eyes and asked.

“So, did you intend to find out?”

“… … !”

“Have you ever tried to find out how corrupt the city is? Have you ever tried to find out if any of the poor have helped the executioner, or why the priest has driven the poor so hard? No. You just thought within the framework of the story I told you.”

“That too… is far-fetched, isn’t it? Since it was probably a made-up story from the start, there’s plenty of background information… … .”

“You said you were just killing time, but you never said you made it up.”

Mephisto’s eyes widened.

“yes?”

“That’s what happened to me. The executioner appeared at the critical moment when all the poor people were about to be massacred and said that to sort out the situation. Isn’t that great?”

“I am…….”

“I don’t know everything about the Executor, but I think this is the kind of person you should dream of. You have to achieve something like this ‘force’ to be able to do the ‘good and right thing’ you want.”

Blanc prepared to conclude his speech.

“If there’s a moral to be learned from this story, it’s that if you want to make a miracle happen, you have to know everything you can. We’ve come together unexpectedly, but I want you to be that kind of executor.”

“… … .”

“Well, let’s stop this boredom. It seems like Nellyvia is coming back from hunting, so I should prepare dinner. I feel relieved that I can do it on my own now-”

“You said it was a personal experience….”

“huh?”

Mephis looked up at Blanc and asked him as if calling him to stand up.

“So, where were you standing there?”

“Aha, you want to believe the monster’s words?”

“I don’t plan on doing that. I’m just curious… … .”

“Then I’ll give you the answer I gave you before.”

Blanc shrugged and answered.

“There are people within my reach who need my help. So why hesitate?”

“… … .”

“When such a situation arises, my only standard of judgment is one: good or evil. It is beyond my ability to discern right from wrong.”

“… … Are you giving up on right and wrong?”

“That’s what I thought back then. I thought my limits were limited to discussing good and evil. But what happened after that made me change my mind a little.”

Without realizing it, Blanc was looking at Mephisto.

“The moment I thought everything was over, the executioner showed up and turned the tables. It was a miracle. If I had given up and remained silent earlier, would the miracle have happened?”

“It wouldn’t have happened… would it?”

“Yes. The mind that wanted to be good created a miracle. The cycle of goodness led to the right path.”

“… … .”

“Therefore, when I have to choose between good and right, I always choose good. I believe that right will follow. Is this enough of an answer? Or will you also say that this is a deception by an evil monster?”

“No, that… … .”

“I’m joking.”

Blanc sat up completely, smiling faintly.

Now I really had to prepare the food. Judging by the smell of blood flowing out, it seemed to be reindeer, but if I didn’t prepare in advance, the meal would be delayed-

“I…….”

Mephis was carefully holding his collar.

“what?”

“… … My thoughts on your monster haven’t changed at all, but I found that story just now quite interesting. So, so.”

“Huh?”

“If you feel like it, even if it’s just a little bit… Could you tell me more about that story?”

“uh…….”

Blue eyes were sparkling.

It seems like the story hit her tastes even harder than she had thought… … .

Although most of these stories cannot be properly told because they did not even happen at the time, I thought it was a good opportunity.

An opportunity to naturally instill his values ​​in Mephisto while fostering friendship.

If you can also sneak in the truth about the church along the way, who knows how that suspicion will play out later on?

So, Blanc nodded without thinking.

“Well, if you have time, I’d be happy to-”

“aha.”

There was a thud, the sound of something falling.

It was the reindeer corpse that Nellyvia was holding with magic.

“Nellivia? You’re back-”

“You two have become really close friends, huh?”

“……uh?”

“When I asked you about it, you would avoid it by saying things like the temple of Goudae and such… But you’re telling it so excitedly to someone you’ve only met a day ago, and who was your most dangerous enemy.”

“Huh? No, that’s not it-”

“Yeah, I should have noticed it a long time ago. It’s obvious to anyone that there’s no reason for it, but you should have known when you saved me… … .”

Nellyvia cried out with purple eyes.

“You like young women! You changed your mind because someone younger than me showed up! Do you like young things that much!? You lecherous goblin!!”

“I’ve heard all sorts of curses in my life, but this is the first time I’ve heard something so bizarre! What kind of crazy talk is that!!”

Blanc sincerely protested against the slander, which was extremely unfair in many ways.

What was especially frustrating was that, by Blanc’s standards, they were far older than him.

… … The first dinner after Mephis joined the group was inevitably delayed because of the need to resolve that unfortunate misunderstanding.