Chapter 307 - 277: An Extra Insurance

Chapter 307: Chapter 277: An Extra Insurance

Shire carefully handled Lust’s interrogation. When it came to the use of Magic, he played completely dumb.

This fit his image as a goblin. If he had started lecturing it on the differences between Demon Magic and the Magic studied by humans, Lust would have probably turned him into goblin jerky in no time.

But as Shire spoke, Lust grew interested in the Goblin Kingdom to the north. "Are you saying that the Feathered Serpent Evil God might possess my eye—the item I commissioned you to find?"

"Honorable Forest God, I can’t be certain," Shire said, shaking his head. "I can only tell you that to survive in the forest, one must align with a powerful force. Those goblins aligned themselves with the Feathered Serpent, but who does the Feathered Serpent align with?"

Lust smiled without a word, quietly waiting to hear what Shire would say next.

"I believe if that Feathered Serpent is already an Evil God, it no longer needs to align with anyone. But before that, it must have been aligned with a powerful force," Shire did his best to make his words convoluted, attempting to muddle Lust’s judgment. "That force hasn’t appeared, which means the Feathered Serpent must have acquired some powerful item, allowing it to be independent of any other Race."

"Er," Lust frowned. Shire’s explanation had left it a bit baffled. It felt like it had listened to a long string of words but hadn’t actually heard anything. "You mean, that Feathered Serpent has always been aligned with... no, wait. It’s never been aligned with anything."

"Correct, great Forest God," Shire said, nodding repeatedly. "An item like that could constantly provide it with power, which is how it gradually became an Evil God."

"I believe only the item the Forest God has tasked me with finding could possess such immense power." He took a step forward as he spoke, lending weight to his words.

"Did I say the eye was powerful?" Lust glanced at Shire.

"You did," Shire said with a firm nod. "You said so the first time we met."

"Did I?" Lust muttered to itself. It tried to recall the situation, but it spent every day traversing the Mirror World, constantly traveling to all corners of the world and using its power to cross the Boundary Wall. It honestly couldn’t remember. ’Still, my eye should, by all rights, be incredibly powerful.’

"So what are you getting at?" it asked, sizing up the goblin before it with a scrutinizing gaze.

"I only ask that the great Forest God grant me aid should my people face danger when we fight them," Shire said, respectfully lowering his head.

He held the position for a long time, nearly a minute. He could feel the Demon Lord’s gaze on him like a scraper, carving back and forth across his body. If not for his immense self-control, he would have been trembling from head to toe.

"You’re a little too clever, not much like a goblin," Lust’s voice finally sounded. "Your Common Speech is quite good. I’m somewhat surprised."

Shire pursed his lips. He didn’t know why it had suddenly become so cautious. ’Could it be that the two Magic spells cast on me have already worn off? No, that can’t be right. They’re still active.’

’A Demon Lord isn’t so easily persuaded, after all,’ Shire thought. He quickly came up with a reason and said, "Humans taught me Common Speech."

"Humans?"

"Yes. I was raised by humans. They taught me many things, including Common Speech, which is why I can speak it. But for some reason, they threw me back into the forest," Shire said, patting his chest lightly, his tone calm. "I’ve only survived this long thanks to that knowledge. But I know that to keep on living, I must worship a Divine Being. Only with a Divine Being’s protection can I truly thrive."

Lust frowned again. A red light flashed in its eyes as it seemed to judge whether the goblin before it was lying. For a creature like a goblin, lying was practically instinct.

Unfortunately, its brow only furrowed deeper. ’This goblin... isn’t lying.’

Shire stood calmly in place. Everything he had just said was true—just truths taken apart and reassembled. ’Back when I was human, I was raised by humans and did receive a good education. But for some reason, those people grew jealous of my family, caused me to turn into a goblin, and then threw me into the forest. See? All true.’

"Fine," Lust gave up on its "interrogation" of the goblin. It was aware that some human nobles kept strange creatures for their amusement. There had even been Great Nobles who dressed goblins up as dwarfish jesters to be toyed with at banquets. "Go north and investigate as soon as you can."

"Yes." Shire bowed respectfully.

When he looked up again, the "him" that had been standing before him was back in the mirror. That "Green Egg" merely shot him a glance filled with Pride before turning and walking deeper into the mirror until its figure vanished.

’It left right away this time,’ Shire thought, glancing at his Domain map and seeing no sign of Lust’s presence. ’That creature didn’t explicitly agree to help, but it didn’t refuse either. So arrogant, just as expected.’

’But as long as I report to it a few more times during my campaign against the Feathered Serpent Kingdom, it’s bound to take notice,’ Shire mused, stroking his chin as he gazed at the mirror. The Mirror World no longer showed a deep channel of Darkness, but had returned to its normal state. His reflection also looked much more ordinary. ’It won’t pass up this opportunity.’