Chapter 274 – Re: Medy

Day 10

John was out in the courtyard well before dawn, meditating beside the fountain, cycling his Ki around different points of his body. He was finding that he could move it with more refinement now, though it was still moving as a vast blob instead of following tracks like his mana. He could push it out of his body in spots if he focused enough, though it didn't last in the air very long before wanting to move back inside of him. 

He had nightmares again last night, of Zerglings invading this mansion, tearing everyone apart limb from limb before ending him. He woke up in a cold sweat and realized he was still alone in the room. He activated Tracking and found Aqua was nearby, so he assumed the girls had finally taken their own rooms.

There were over a dozen giant bedrooms in that wing of the mansion, and most of the women were sleeping in groups of three or four, so there was plenty of space remaining for them. He had taken to calling it the women's wing and wouldn't go in there unless invited by one of them, as they needed a safe space from males. There were only two easy ways in: from inside the mansion or through the fire exit at the far end, which was locked from the inside, so no one could enter. Someone could climb the wall and enter through the balcony, but that door was locked at night as well. 

Don't borrow trouble. Right now, it's just eighteen goblins, half of whom are females, that could possibly break in, with two of them already living with their mothers there. Your mansion is deep in the woods, supposedly far away from everything. No one is going to attack them without causing a ruckus.  

Speaking of the balcony, he had an audience. One of the women who had been in a stupor was watching him, holding a broom handle in her hands. If he didn't know better, he thought she might be standing guard, ready to chase off any would-be intruder with a broom. He had given her a wave, but instead of returning it, she placed her hand on her chest and bowed, then returned to watching.

Well, if they are going to stand guard, I'll have to get them some actual weapons. Let's plan on making a workshop this afternoon after I hunt with Mi. Oh... Ee wanted to go explore that mine too. I'm not sure if all the bats are out, so I should go with her, or send Aqua or Kichi along to be safe. 

He sighed. He had so many things to do, and not enough time to do them. 

"Here, notch the wood like this, then stuff it full of moss. Afterwards, take a stick from the bonfire and light it on fire. Keep feeding it smaller branches so it keeps burning throughout the day. You might need to split the groove deeper, but that can wait until later. It will probably take a few days to finish, but it will bring the stumps down below ground level." 

"Why are we doing this? Shouldn't we be out hunting for food?" Grak asked. He was the goblin that John kicked a few days ago, and was one of the goblins who volunteered to do this job before John left to go hunting with Mi.

Speaking of Mi, he hadn't seen her or Ee yet this morning, but assumed they had been drunk with Aqua last night and were still sleeping it off. He wouldn't give them crap for missing training, since he had tasked them to watch over her. Still, it rankled him a bit that none of them showed up yet.

"We are doing this so we can plant this area with more crops, to make gathering food easier later on. Unless you just want to hunt for grubs all day, this is a more reliable way for us to get food than hunting and gathering. Just like the rabbits we're raising will become food someday. More work and effort now will give us a better life later." 

"But you get to go out and hunt still! Why do we have to do this while you do that?"

"You volunteered for this."

"I didn't know it was to burn stumps! I thought you would be taking us out so we could level up and evolve like Kichi, Aya, and Kia!" He shouted, with his two cronies agreeing with him.

"Fine. Go hunt, I'll do your work."

"What?"

"You heard me. Go hunt. I'll sit back, relax, and do this instead."

"Uhh... I thought..."

"You thought what? That you would just get a free ride to evolving by hanging off my coattails? There is work to be done everywhere on this farm, not just hunting. Look! Kichi is out watering the berry bushes right now. He didn't complain when I gave him that job earlier. Aya and Kia are both helping our mothers construct a gate over at the mansion. They didn't complain about doing more mundane jobs. So tell me, why are you?" John snapped. 

"Grrr... what do you want me to say? If I argue with you, you will just kick my teeth in again."

"Only if you attack me first." He replied, then changed his tone to be softer. "Listen, all I want is for you to do what I asked you to do. There are a lot of stumps here, and even if you start now, it won't be finished today. Someone else will continue it tomorrow, and probably the next day as well. As for hunting, I plan to help everyone level up, but there is no guarantee you will evolve if you do. You will get your chance to join me in the next couple of days."

"Fine. I still don't see the point of doing this, but we'll burn your damn wood. You'd better keep up your end of the deal and help us level up."

"Check that attitude, and I will. Now, get back to it. The stumps won't burn themselves." John said, then walked away before Grak or his two cronies could reply.

He was worried he was allowing a cancer to grow within this community, but short of killing them off, he didn't know what to do with them. He wasn't ready to kill him over a disagreement, and Scouter told him that he was more frustrated than angry. He had been hunting almost every day, but four other goblins had evolved before he did. 

It was true enough about them levelling them up and evolving. Kichi and the two girls had evolved last night, the fight with the boar apparently enough to push them to level 100. Kichi was now the same height as John, with a distinct increase in muscle mass and a full head of curly black hair. 

The two girls were shorter than they were, probably only about five feet tall, but now had distinctly feminine curves. One had orange hair, and the other had dark blue hair. They still had light green skin, but they looked much more human than monster now. He could see why hobgoblins could live in the more tolerant human villages. All three of them thanked him enthusiastically, and Kichi wanted to spar with him immediately. John obliged and kicked his ass to the ground, thankful for all the time he spent with Rumi learning how to fight with his feet. 

"Now, where in the heck is Mi? She was so excited about going hunting today." He mused, walking over to the shed. If Aqua wasn't waking up, he would take care of her rabbits for her.  

Heh, it's almost like my wife in my past life. Get her pets, and I ended up having to take care of them. Oh well, at least these ones I can eat eventually. Thankfully, this one isn't a bird. 

He laughed at that memory. They inherited her father's parrot when he passed, and the damn thing had the mouth of a sailor. It lived for another ten years, and he would have to hide it whenever they had company over. Well, he did until it started to scream bloody murder about being attacked by the cat. They didn't have a cat at the time, but by god, it was good at convincing people that they did. 

Inside the shed was another disaster, with all the patio furniture pulled out and what appeared to be a cushion fort built next to the rabbit pen. Another empty wine bottle was discarded nearby, telling him all he needed to know. "Okay, this has to stop. She can't be leaving messes everywhere she goes and leaving it for others to clean up."

He was reminded then of what Card had told him about her: that she needed firm guidance, or else she would fall back into a hedonistic lifestyle. With a sigh, he opened the door of the pen and filled the rabbits' water dish, then left the shed and made his way to the mansion. Hunting would have to wait; he had a bunch of booze he needed to go lock up and a former goddess to go discipline.  

He wasn't relishing the thought.

After taking all the booze from the kitchen and putting it in a lounge that had a full bar with doors that had locks on them, he started going around the other rooms to try to gather up all the booze. There was a lot, but he thought he had found the majority of it, and it was all behind lock and key now.  

"Now, where is Aqua?" He mumbled, then activated his Tracking ability. She wasn't in the women's wing any longer, but somewhere in the basement. He started to make his way down there, but was intercepted by Lina at the door to the baths.

"Sorry, Milord, but the women are bathing right now. I won't stop you if you wish to enter, but I ask that you respect their privacy." She said, bowing her head.

"Ah... well, is Sui in there? We need to have a conversation about her drinking. She has been leaving messes all over the mansion."

"She is. We had noticed the issue as well, and it is being rectified as we speak. Please, leave women's business to the women."

"Okay... she... she is okay, right?"

"Yes, Milord. She is perfectly fine." She said, then stood on her toes to whisper close to his ear. "She is cleaning up her mess in the grotto with a small, stiff brush, a rag, and some soap. She isn't allowed to use her magic to hasten the job."

"I approve. I was going to drag her around to clean up her messes, but this will probably work better." He said. It sounded like a good punishment for turning a few parts of the mansion into a pigsty.

"We will make sure she cleans everything, Milord. Will you be taking your bath at your normal time tonight?"

"My normal time? If you mean late, then probably. Oh, after lunch, I want to talk to the artisans about their needs for a workshop. We have some supplies in that old cave that they might be able to use as well."

"I will be sure to pass that on, Milord. They are excited to be able to work again; it has been some time since they could work their trade."

"Well, I don't know exactly how much work I have for them. There are not even forty of us here."

"Any bit of normalcy will help with the healing process. I'm sure you will come up with something for them to do."

"Right. Oh, and I locked up all the booze I could find. If anyone finds more, let me know, and if anyone wants some, just ask me for the key."

"I will pass on your order to Jean. We will scour the place for you, Milord."

"Thanks, Lina. How is the little one?"

"Not so little anymore. He is ready to move out already and join the other goblins. Makes me want- well, I want another one. Is that weird?"

"Normally, no, but I didn't expect you to want another goblin child."

"I don't have much choice in the matter. It's not like I can go back home and get married now."

"Umm... what?"

"I've been tainted by goblins. No man will want to touch me anymore."

"What?"

"I've had goblin babies. All of us have. Even if our traumas were healed, and we returned to human territory tomorrow, we would only be met with pity and disdain. Men won't want to touch us, let alone lie with us, if they knew we had been with goblins. Not to mention, most of us are beyond marriageable age now. I'm afraid we would just return to human lands to become old maids at best or prostitutes and die in an alley at worst."

"I know I'm repeating myself, but what? You don't want to return home?"

"I don't speak for everyone, My Lord, but to live here in a palace among goblins, surrounded by women in the same situation as me, or to live in squalor among humans, I will choose this life every time."

"Squalor? Is it that bad in human towns?"

"For a peasant bard like me? Yes. I will literally have to sing for my supper every night. I barely made ends meet when I was a young and attractive. I thought I had hit my big break when I joined Jean's caravan, as she liked how I sang and played the flute. She recommended me to her father, and I was heading to their mansion for an event. Then we were attacked and- well, you know the rest. It has been nearly two years in that hole. Two years of popping out...*sob*."

John wrapped his arm around her, activating Healing Hands. "Shh... It's okay. You're safe here. No one is going to hurt you again, and you can stay as long as you want. You are still a very beautiful young woman, children or not."

"You mean it, you find me beautiful?"

"Of course." She was pale and malnourished, yet a fairly attractive young woman. Since she was so short, she would have been called a dwarf back on Earth, standing only around four and a half feet tall, but she was well proportioned. Her light brown hair seemed to have regained its lustre already, and her brown doe eyes were looking up at him hopefully.

"And we can stay?"

"As far as I'm concerned, you can. If anyone wants to return home, I'll find a way to get them there, but if you want to stay, I won't tell you no. You have all gone through more than enough."

"Thank you, Milord. I will tell them that." She said, snuggling into his belly, arms wrapped tightly around his waist. "Your hand feels really good."

"So do yours." He replied, enjoying this close contact. 

After a minute, she released him, wiped her nose, and stood back up. "Thank you for that, Milord. I needed that."

"If you ever need anything, you just need to ask."

"I'll remember that, Milord."

He left after that, mulling over their conversation. He was hoping to help rehabilitate these women from their traumas, then return them to their homes. By the sounds of it, because of the way this society views people in her situation, many of them don't actually have homes to return to. 

Still, at some point, he would give them the option to go back, even if only to give their families some closure before returning here.

It was the right thing to do.