I fucking hate this place.

  This place was truly depressing as hell. I really couldn’t say it was boring. The monsters were already making us busy. We were now miles away from the city whence we came, and things were a bit different here in our path. There were less dark trees and more rough landscape. Dark slopes and hills here and there, and it gave off an empty yet dangerous feeling. There were small fissures and cracks on the rocky walls, and I could sense something looking through it, as if observing us as we passed by. There was definitely something there, it wouldn’t be strange to say that smaller monsters occupied such a place.

  The wind was cold and gloomy, as if making you realize this place was truly abandoned by all grace. The sun did nothing to improve the view, but only emphasized the desolation of this infertile land. There was not even a smell of something pleasant, it lacked the smell from a grassy plane, the forests, hell not even a smell of a decent civilization like how I’d get from home. The scent was dull.

  How could people live in a place like this? I wouldn’t know.

  There was nothing beautiful about this place at all. ‘But Estelia, there’s beauty in all things inside and outside’, so if it’s not beautiful on the outside it could be on the inside…? Pfft. Even this place was terrible inside. Even there are people that’s ugly outside and inside, and that’s the fucking truth! No telling me otherwise! ‘But beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, whatever, keep telling yourself that.

  But I digress. Together with my companions, we were heading for the capital city of this island. Everyone thought it would be a good place to stop and resupply, and check out the situation of the island. And it would be a nice opportunity to see a new place. I mean, remembering how shitty the last city we were in, I couldn’t wait to see how shittier the capital city would be. But typically, capital cities were better than others, but we’ll see.

  Oh yeah, the Cursed Children were still with us, just not moving along with us. Just like usual, they watched from afar. Floating wherever in the darkness.

  At any rate, the journey was not as straightforward as you’d expect. The reason was because of me. As we walked, I was panting, sweating more profusely than others. Damn, even Nira was not sweating much.

  “Can, can we rest for now?” I asked with a strained breath, near exhaustion.

  Everyone looked at each other and promptly nodded their heads. I sat down on the nearby boulder and let out a relieved sigh. Finally, my body could rest.

  “Princess, a couple of days we’ve set out and you’ve been like this,” Hartwin said. “Are you sick or something? In fact, you look a bit more terrible compared to recently.”

  “She’s a princess, you think she’d have the stamina of a working man?” Velar said.

  “Guess so, noble ladies don’t walk far distances.”

  I glanced at Taneva, he merely raised an eyebrow. It’s like he was saying to do what you want.

  “It’s my weakening body…” I said. “Perhaps you have heard when Taneva and I first spoke on the ship.”

  Hartwin shrugged. “I heard some of it, but not like I understood what it all meant. There’s the part where if you return to your home, you’d be in danger or something.”

  “I surmised that you’re sick because of your powers. And that’s why you were resting a lot on the ship. Are you still sick?” Velar was there when Taneva and I talked. And perhaps he noticed it when we went out to hunt the bandit leader. But perhaps he assumed that it was something that would subside with rest.

  “I didn’t get to really explain it, huh? Hm, yes, I get weak when using my powers, only if too much. My body gets wrecked, basically.”

  “That’s why we need you to become a full fledged god, right?” Hartwin said.

  “Yes, so I can sustain my power and return home to help. However, the damage has become worse. Using my abilities speeds up the process, and otherwise, my body still ever so slowly deteriorates. Even if I rest, it only returns some strength, but does not restore me completely.”

  “So the damage is permanent, I see.” Velar crossed his arms. “Then your fight with that demon must have done tremendous damage.”

  “My energy has been terrible ever since that day.” At least compared to what it was before.

  “Wow, it’s this bad already,” Hartwin said. “Should we hurry?”

  Even if I hurry, I wouldn’t be able to or even keep up. Rushing my movements would only tire me quicker.

  Currently, I could only walk continuously for like around two to three hours before needing a decent time of rest. Even continuing, I’d already be straining myself. I might pass out if I force myself further. I would not want that. Would be nice to have a mount, but the fact that we had to find those drakolisk creatures and tame them for each of us would be easier said than done.

  “No need.” I shook my head. “We’ll keep at a pace that we can. No need to make it harder for ourselves. Besides, I still have plenty of time. If I don’t unnecessarily strain myself, I’ll be alright.” I wouldn’t die so soon.

  “Healing magic wouldn’t help?” Velar asked.

  “It merely relieves some of the pain.”

  “I see. Then we’ll rest whenever you need it.”

  “Thank you.”

  And thus, we all rested. I noticed Nira was staring at me as though in deep thought about me.

  “Something wrong, Nira?”

  She flinched and shook her head, her hair waving from side to side. “N-Nothing. It’s just… it’s terrible something like that is happening to you.”

  “Huh…” I was a bit surprised to hear that from her.

  “What if… What if you never knew about it? The way to fix you. Would you just slowly die…?”

  Huh, guess that would be it.

  If I never knew about it, and never got taken and stayed at the palace, perhaps a few months or years down the line, I might be dead. Without even knowing that there was a solution all along.

  “I guess so. But there’s no point in thinking deeply about that. You’ll only be wasting your energy. What matters is now I know the solution.”

  She mildly nodded before walking away and sitting down on a small rock. What a strange girl, didn’t think she would be that worried about it and just expressed it directly to me. Good people sometimes creep me out. No, maybe kind should how Nira be described rather than good? I mean, she wouldn’t hesitate in killing people so…

  A girl so young, so callous in taking a life. But I wondered what her limits were. Everyone had a type of people they wouldn’t want to kill. Still…

  She has a bright future ahead of her!

  Pretty good.

  I’ll watch your career with great interest, Nira.

  Amidst our rest, Taneva suddenly slowly stood up.

  “What’s up?” Hartwin asked.

  “We have little monsters coming at us.”

  Ugh, there is just never a peaceful moment in this fucking place.

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  Feeling tired of dealing with this shit, I let out a long sigh. I heard faint guttural grunts as the creatures came moving towards us. Their sounds were rough and throaty. I stood up as more and more creatures started to gather around us. Indeed, there were dozens of them, and surprisingly, they didn’t attack outright.

  They were small creatures, midgets, with dark greenish rough skin, sharp nails at the tips of their fingers. Weird shaped head with sharp noses. And they were naked. It was quite disturbing seeing the genitals of many of them dangling around — fucking hell. They were also holding wooden clubs. Their eyes were rabid red.

  Fuck, I never could have expected…

  I never thought I would see fucking goblins, things that were fictional creatures back in my old world. They were goblins, right? No way they were anything else. How many times have I seen these ugly little shits in shows and games and such. And some of them… Well, their concepts were pretty nasty. As a beautiful, gentle, young lady, I would prefer not to talk about that part.

  Considering their number here, I assumed these things move in large groups.

  Hartwin and Velar drew their weapons. Taneva, meanwhile, scratched the back of his head.

  “Too annoying to fight with fists like this.”

  “Never fought things like these before,” Velar said.

  Yeah, a lot of monsters here were pretty brand new for us. Especially for me as I never went out much.

  “Goblins,” Taneva said. “Vile, and quite stupid creatures. Don’t let them gang up on you. That’s how they fight, overwhelm you with numbers.”

  Cool, same name…

  “So I guess they’re weak individually?” Hartwin asked.

  “Yeah.” Taneva held out his hand and suddenly there was a dark hole that appeared from thin air. He put his hands inside it and he pulled out a jade colored spear from out of nowhere.

  My eyes blinked, dumbly staring at him and his spear.

  Woah, woah, woah, what the hell was that?!

  How did he even do that? Did he just conjure a weapon or something? Didn’t look like it was magically made. Whatever it was, it was something I never knew was possible. I was not alone in my surprise, the others felt the same as well, staring at the spear he pulled out of nowhere.

  Taneva glanced at everyone with a grin. “Surprised by my trick? Pretty nice, eh?”

  “Can you later explain what it was?” I said with a casual look.

  “Sure.”

  “... Can I leave the fight to you guys?” I asked everyone. Considering my current state, it was best to leave everything to them and preserve my strength. Well, they have been handling most of the monsters from the start, anyway.

  They responded in an affirmative. I drew a blade just in case a goblin got close to me.

  I looked at Velar. “Velar, work with Hartwin as a duo. Guard each other’s flanks.”

  “Got it.”

  These were enemies that overwhelm you with numbers. Fighting your own battle would be pretty risky. Thus, for them, it was best to work together and guard each other’s vulnerabilities. Furthermore, these were unknown enemies, we had to be cautious and keep it tight. Couldn’t afford to be careless right now. As for Taneva and Nira, they were fine without any backup, as they could not die.

  I slightly winced as I glanced at a goblin who I guessed to be grinning…? Weird little shits. They might actually be sadistic, ugly monsters.

  The goblins charged all at once while my companions guarded my perimeter, trying to prevent any goblins from getting through to me. Velar swung his greatsword, cutting down a couple of goblins at once, but the rest jumped away to evade his blade. Damn, they just didn’t have to be stupid…

  Multiple goblins jumped at Velar altogether from various directions. He attacked some of them, but one little shit got in his flank, about to swing down his wooden club. However, a blade suddenly pierced the goblin’s throat, it was Hartwin. He promptly pulled out his sword and quickly dodged a strike coming at him. Still, I doubted that wooden club could have made some damage at a single strike on Velar’s armor. For Hartwin, though, it might be more risky.

  More goblins continued to engage them, and they kept on killing them.

  “My goodness, there’s a lot of them,” Hartwin complained.

  Velar kicked a goblin creeping up behind Hartwin, blowing the monster away bloodied. “Relentless too. They don’t seem to care if their ally gets killed.”

  These motherfuckers were weak, but they could potentially strike you from an unexpected direction with the help of their great number. And being struck from your vulnerable side could be fatal. One mistake and you’re finished, one strike could daze you and that’s when these goblins could gang up on you like a bunch of ants.

  Velar could probably take several hits himself, but it would be incredibly dangerous for Hartwin to get hit once. Good thing they were fighting together, otherwise they would be sweating shits right now.

  Meanwhile, Nira was decimating the goblins with her grotesque claws. She cut through them like a beast. She dodged an attack, but she failed to respond to another, thus it struck her from the side. She winced in pain for a moment before cutting down the goblin that hurt her. Another goblin grabbed and clawed her face, but she killed it not soon after. At any rate, there was no risk for her aside from feeling the pain, which she would definitely not like. Still, she wasn’t that good at fighting, it seemed, mostly relying on her undying existence. That could use some work if she were to become a skilled follower of mine.

  Taneva, on the other hand, was keeping it chill. Goblins charged at him in groups, but he nonchalantly swept his spear, smoothly cleaving through the goblins coming at him in waves, blood and bodies cut in half flew and scattered in the air. Like he was cutting through cheese or something. Motherfucker’s overpowered. Still, I was exceedingly curious how he just pulled out that weapon out of thin air. I was truly interested…

  I heard a small cry close by, and I noticed a goblin that got through the defensive line and was charging towards me. I readied my weapon. But when it got close to me, a claw suddenly pierced through the little monster’s chest. After throwing away the monster's corpse, the one who saved me, Nira, let out a relieved sigh.

  “Good work, Nira.”

  “Um… Yes.” And she continued on with the slaughter.

  A moment later, I noticed a goblin picking up stones. It would seem it was aiming for either Hartwin or Velar. Likely Hartwin because he was smaller and more vulnerable compared to the vanguard Velar.

  “Hartwin, watch out for the goblin with the rock!” I pointed towards the goblin that was preparing to throw the stone.

  Hartwin drew back his sword, the tip aimed at the direction of the goblin holding a stone. His blade glowed before he vigorously thrust it forward. Magic flew and pierced through the air like an arrow, and struck the target goblin in the head. Of course, that was not the only goblin that attempted to throw stones, and they had to be dealt with. Hartwin shot his magic from a distance, and even Velar sent magical slashes that cut through a range of goblins.

  Time passed, more and more goblins were slaughtered. The smell of blood and torn flesh had begun to fill the air, and it was starting to annoy me a little. They smell more terrible than killing a room full of humans.

  Once they realized that they absolutely had no chance of winning after suffering heavy losses, the goblins began shouting monster sounds and started retreating. That was a good thing, and quite a relief.

  Taneva lowered his spear. “Should we go after them?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Why should we? They’re already running.”

  “Goblins are petty. They’d remember our faces and might go for revenge.”

  “... Does it matter? We’re leaving this area soon, anyway.”

  Taneva shrugged. “Guess not. They shouldn't chase us further away from their territory.”

  Hartwin took in deep breaths, tired from the numerous enemies he had to fight and kill. “They’re much more annoying than the monsters we faced recently.”

  Yeah, at least those monsters were solo most of the time. And if not, we have something like the wolves, but these goblins were much more annoying, and a bit clever in their own way. Not to mention their numbers and their ugliness. Who the fuck likes looking at their genitalia dangling at your face?!

  Velar stabbed his sword to the ground, breathing steadily. “Good thing they fled. They’re smarter than I thought. Despite how they look.”

  I then noticed Nira holding a live goblin by the neck. She was staring at it, as if she was pondering something. As she did, she was frowning and obviously hesitant. I quite had an idea what she was having trouble with.

  I approached her with a smile.

  “You’re thinking of feeding on it?” I asked.

  She slowly looked up at me with her wide eyes. “Um… Yes.”

  “You look hesitant.”

  “...”

  “Are you thirsty?”

  She shook her head. “No really… But I thought it might be good to feed whenever I could…”

  “Let me guess, you don’t want to feed on it.” I crouched before her, glancing at the goblin glaring at me. “You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. It is quite a disgusting creature.”

  “... But it’s such a waste.”

  “Well, not like you’re currently desperate, right? At times like these, we can choose not to eat something or not. You don’t have to force yourself to feed from something you don’t like.”

  “...”

  “In fact, it is good to hold a standard.”

  “A… standard?”

  “Yes. We ought to have standards, it helps set up how much we can accept. To keep our dignity.”

  “Dignity?”

  “It’s important to have dignity. It is how to get respect from others, and more especially, respect to ourselves. If there are more choices to go about, then do not stoop so low, to something that makes you feel revolted. If feeding on this thing disgusts you, dispose of it.”

  She glanced at the goblin, scrutinizing it as if she was deliberating on the route she should take. After taking a deep breath, she said, “I don’t want to feed on a goblin.” She pierced her claws into the goblin’s chest and she cast it aside.

  “Excellent.” I patted her head before turning to everyone. “I think we should move on before they call for backup.” If these critters were this many here, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had more back where they came from.

  Of course, everyone agreed. And so we went on, leaving the dozens of goblin corpses behind. I was sure some beasts would eat them all up pretty soon.

  On the way, Taneva returned his spear into the dark hole.

  “So, mind telling me how that works?” I asked him.

  “Oh, it’s like a personal space of mine where I can store all kinds of things.”

  “Is that safe?”

  “Of course. Been using it for a long time now.” He grinned. “Made things convenient for carrying stuff.”

  Wow, it really sounds convenient.

  “How many can you put in there?”

  “Well, I already put in a lot.”

  “Wow. Can I also use something like that?”

  “Yeah, you certainly could.”

  “Nice.”

  I’ll certainly learn how to do that. Like my own inventory? Pretty cool.

  Eventually, we encountered a village, a ruin of it at least. Seemed pretty abandoned for years now. Considering that it could be a good place to stay for the night, we entered the village.

  “Empty,” I said. “Better check the place first. If it’s good, we’ll sleep here for the night.”

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