Novel Full Chapter 230 - 230. Philosophy
Magnus tried to judge Zenrok's intentions to invite him. This must not be a bank-related business or else it would have been conducted in the bank.
Magnus shook his hand, "Hello, thank you for inviting me. You must be in a real hurry to not wait a single day."
Zenrok embarrassingly smiled, Magnus though couldn't help but feel in his heart that Goblin's smile always seems unnatural and ugly.
"Here, this is my wife, Ferisga and my 3-year-old son, Novator." Zenrok Introduced his family.
Magnus nodded to them, then he handed a big box of chocolates to the kid Goblin. Magnus for the first time in his little life was seeing a kid Goblin. He didn't know what to expect but a kid Goblin turned out to be just a miniature version of the already mini Goblins. They didn't have as many wrinkles on their faces from the constant frown though.
"Thank you, your... Your mystery." Novator accepted the gift like a gentleman, ignoring the slight mishap in pronunciation.
"Haha, you're welcome." Magnus laughed. He would've ruffled the boy's hair if he had any. It seemed all Goblins were cursed for partial baldness. Even the lady Goblin had a bald frontal forehead and long wavy hair on the rest.
~I guess she's pretty from Goblin's eyes.~ he thought.
He looked around at the house, it was luxurious, filled with gold artefacts, showpieces, paintings on the wall. There were chandeliers after every few steps. It gave him the feeling of a luxurious Victorian house.
When Magnus was judging the goblin family, Zenrok was also judging Magnus. He was after all meeting him for the first time.
He saw no prejudice in Magnus' eyes and the way he interacted seemed very natural, as if nobody was above or below, there was no difference between their species.
Zenrok felt that instead, he had flaws in himself as even though he had so many doubts about goblin philosophy, he still inherently felt he was superior, though he quenched such stupid thoughts immediately because even if they were equal, Magnus was still the King of Britain, not just the muggle part but also the magical part, as Merlin had made sure everyone submitted to the muggle king Arthur who fought for the lives of all.
~I wonder if he can help me get some solace.~ he thought.
"Please, let's go to the dining hall, dinner is ready." Zenrok invited him.
Magnus followed in, he was alone as Abe had left. When he arrived at the dining table, he found the chair to be very small for his size. He waved his wand and made it so space would be generated for Magnus' legs. This in return made sure that he didn't sit above the goblin family and in fact at the same level.
It was to be noted that Goblins love to sit in higher places than wizards as they have some sort of inferiority complex. Just take Gringotts for example, all clerks in the visitor's hall sit a few feet higher than the average human height, hell, even Hagrid would feel they are higher.
They took their seats and food arrived, it was normal food, just the same as what humans eat. Magnus expected they'd have some special cuisines but it turned out they were not much different after all.
"So, how is work going on at the Gringotts? I heard the warriors caught many criminals." Magnus inquired.
Zenrok nodded, "Yes, sir. We have rounded up many of those in the posters. But, the big fishes are always staying hidden or well-protected. We have only been able to take one of them down."
"Patience, they are bound to make mistakes someday. And when they will show themselves, we strike." Magnus advised him and focused on the meal.
After dinner, Zenrok's wife and son left the room to go and watch the television. Since this was a muggle styled house in the muggle part of the world they had no problem in getting electrical instruments.
"Let's go to my study room, Your Majesty," Zenrok suggested. Agreeing, Magnus followed behind.
However, when they arrived in the study, Magnus was left speechless. It was a big hall, maybe 50X50 metres big, there were rows and columns of bookshelves, each having hundreds of books. There were alone thousands of books in this room.
"Aren't you a warrior goblin, do you read all of them?" Magnus inquired with interest. He had never met a philosopher goblin before.
Zenrok nodded, "Fighting is my profession and reading is my passion. And I believe that my pursuit of knowledge has greatly helped me in fights, as my mind has broadened to look beyond what an ordinary goblin would."
Impressed, Magnus was deeply impressed by Zenrok. So he asked, "Have you read each one of them?"
"Yes, I only add a book to the library after I have read them, this library in a way is like my personal knowledge repository. Everything in this room is in my head." Zenrok couldn't help but sound proud of this achievement. He guessed that he was probably more learnt than the manager of Gringotts at this point.
"Amazing, I am a keen reader too, I read about anything I can, as no knowledge is ever useless. I am bad at potions yet I try to read and memorise all recipes. Anyway, should we talk about the reason you invited me here?" He finally asked.
Both of them took seats, facing each other. Zenrok solemnly spoke, "Sir, for the past few years, I have been questioning my ways, my life and the way how I behave. As a Goblin, it is expected out of me to hate wizards, humans and lust after money. I was taught to feel superior to wizards. But, these days, as I was hunting for these dark wizards, I came to a realisation, that wizards and Goblins are not very different.
"They are greedy, they kill, they scheme just like goblins. Then how are we superior to humans? How are we better? What is even the meaning of the life of a goblin? Just to work for the bank? Is that all we're supposed to be? Slaves of our own species?"
Magnus realised that this goblin didn't need anything, he just wanted to have a good talk, though he wondered why Zenrok chose him to talk.
Magnus started, "Well, all I know is that a free man should choose his own life rather than following others blindly. This world is like a rat race, and everyone is just looking at the back of the one in front of him and keeps on following. A few of the rats who dare to look to the side realise they want something more, so they stop following and start leading. Hitler was a rat once, he was also a soldier, but he decided to lead. The dark lord, the current one and the previous one, both received the same education as other students, yet only they were the ones to become the dark lord.
"I, for example, can follow my predecessors, be a rat and rule as they did, silently and obediently. But I have chosen not to since I have the power, I shall change the world for the better, fulfil the dream of mine and Merlin, a dream of creating a united and just world. It's far fetched but I am ready to fight for it.
"And that's what matters in the end. Are you ready to fight for what you want? Or will you surrender and continue running in the race?" Magnus passionately explained his own ideology to Zenrok.
Moved, yet a little confused, Zenrok asked, "What makes me and you different, sir? Are we really born to be in this rat race only?"
Magnus replied harshly but truthfully, "Zenrok, you, me, my friends, Dumbledore, the dark lord, nobody is special, everybody is the same pathetic heap of cells. We're all built the same, just with different heights and looks. How do I know? Well, in the end, we all bleed the same, RED.
"Tell me, if you had not trained hard, what would have happened? You wouldn't be the head warrior, right? You could have been some clerk or maybe a cleaner Goblin. Yet, here you are because you worked for it.
"Hard work gives something back, it could be good or bad. But, remember, your destiny is always in your hand, you could laze around with it or work hard and build something out of yourself.
"Your ancestors were all warriors, they were not greedy bankers before. It's only because of years of greed that Goblins have turned like this. You are a new start, don't let the fire burning in your heart die."
Zenrok came to an understanding slowly, yes, he was different, and now he knew why. It was because he wanted to be different. Why would he want to be a part of the rat race?
"Thank you, your majesty, but I still don't understand what I should do? All my life I have known only to kill. I didn't like it, but it was my job. Now, what can I even do to change that? How do I get out of the rat race?" he wondered.
"Simple, you jus... *BOOM*"
Magnus' words were cut short as all of a sudden a loud explosion sounded from upstairs at the entrance.
Zenrok who seemed like a philosopher not long ago looked like the vicious warrior he was, and Magnus who seemed like a saint not long ago left out radiant powerful energy.
*TING*
Zenrok picked up his sword and Magnus summoned Despair. Both of them rushed upstairs.
"Shh... there are three of them, wizards." Magnus quickly alerted Zenrok. Both of them hid behind a wall, that would lead them to the gallery which directly overlooked the entrance.
"AA..."
Zenrok was about to charge but he was pulled back by Magnus, "I have experience in dealing with such ambushes. You stay behind me and cast spells on them."
Magnus didn't let him speak and immediately charged forward with his Despair sword as his shield, which absorbed all attacks thrown at it. Since it was a lobby, they didn't have many places to throw their spells to.
"HAAAAAAA..." Magnus and Zenrok shouted loudly to demoralise the three attackers.
The three of them quickly tried to run back but... *BOOM*
Zenrok's spell hit the wall behind them, covering it in the fire. The three were trapped at a dead end.
*THUD*
They fell down, seeing his chance, Magnus took out his wand from the other hand and cast, "EXPELLIARMUS!"
Three wands flew out of the hands of the three attackers. The next second, Magnus's sword rested on the leading man's throat.
*BOOM*
"YOUR MAJESTY!"
"SIR!"
"KING PENDRAGON!"
"THESE BASTARDS!"
All of a sudden 15 tall men ran inside, they were in long coats and big hats, covering their faces in a magically cast shadow. All of them circled around them and pointed their wands at the three men's heads. They were from MEDA or the Ministry.
The three attackers cried and literally peed in their pants, drenching the furnished wooden floor with their mess. They started pleading. "W-We... please..."
However, Magnus put his sword on one's neck, making them go silent and pale.
With an angry yet calm expression, he loudly spoke, "LAWLESS SCUMS! ANY LAST WORDS?"
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