"Also, let's talk about this while everyone is still around." Hespar continued after Ashen agreed to help Agnes later when leaving.
"I suggest we keep the Medicinal Tinctures in the office until we have enough to distribute to everyone. Also, as the one making it, Agnes will be given three bottles instead of one when we have enough tinctures for distribution. If you have any objection in this regard, voice out now." Hespar said.
It seems that nobody had a comment on his decision on the distribution and Agnes' rewards. The reward seems to be quite reasonable to her as the maker.
"I'll continue then since there's no disagreement. The Medicinal Tincture can also be exchanged for other resources equivalent to the price of three silver coin pieces," said Hespar.
"Do anyone here have any question about this?" Hespar asked them one last time before everything was set in stone.
Everyone responded to him with a nod.
"Alright. That would be all. You may dismiss and return to your quarters if there's nothing else that requires my attention. I might be busy later on, so don't wait for me for dinner later." Hespar said and gave them the reason to excuse themselves.
"Noted, Sir! Thank you, Sir!" everyone responded to Hespar respectfully and took their leave in turn. Agnes and Ashen were the last to leave as they had to bring something along.
'Phew... Finally, some time to rest.' Hespar lay on his bed and decided to close his eyes for a while. He dozed off in less than a minute after closing his eyes, only to wake up when it was time for dinner.
'Not good. I should pay the Medical Division a visit quickly before they close." Hespar woke up and tidied himself in a hurry before leaving his office with the box of Mountain Lizard's guts.
A smile appeared on Hespar when he thought about Selene and her beautiful face. Feeling that Selene would be a great choice for him to look for, Hespar anticipated her reaction as he made his way to the Medical Division.
Unlike the other departments, the Medical Division had its operation hour written clearly to avoid the soldiers abusing their service. Unless in the case of an emergency, all other requests must be made between their opening hour.
It was close to closing when Hespar arrived at the Medical Division's office. He made his way straight into the tent and asked if he could meet Selene immediately, afraid that it would be too late for him to do so.
Selene came into the tent about fifteen minutes after being contacted by one of the receptionists.
"Wow... What a surprise. What brings our top graduate here today?" Selene asked with a smile on her face. It was evident that she was very happy with his visit.
"Paul told me roughly where is everyone was posted, so I know I can expect to see you here. Also, I was told that having an acquaintance in other departments is important. Since I only know you in this department, I thought I should give you a visit." Hespar explained his motive in an unromantic way.
"I should be happy because you only know me in the entire Medical Division, huh?" Selene had an urge to slap her forehead for getting excited over this blockhead.
(I should have guessed. How can Hespar be that smart to come here? It must be either a trick from Paul, that busybody, or someone else...)
Selene thought and continued to face Hespar with a smile.
"So, what brings you here? Do you need me for something?" Selene asked.
"Yes! I have something here for you. I hope you like it!" Hespar didn't hesitate before shoving that container full of guts into Selene's hand.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THIS?" Selene felt like pinching her nose up due to the smell of guts and inner organs. She was about to be speechless by Hespar and his lack of sensitivity to people's feelings. And that was not the worst part.
The main issue here is this fellow was treating the box of guts as a gift to her. Shouldn't he be presenting her with flowers and gifts if he wanted to build a friendly relationship with her?
"Mountain Lizard's guts," Hespar answered her question with a serious-looking face. He was devoid of embarrassment nor awkwardness when answering her.
"And... Why would you give me these?" Selene was shaking from head to toe while trying to control herself from throwing a tantrum. If it's not because Hespar was considered one of the best-looking individuals she had seen so far, and he's quite cute, she would have given him a punch.
But right now, she's praying to the god earnestly that Hespar would stop digging deeper into his own grave.
"I was told that those in the Medical Division need them to produce first-aid salves and healing paste. I'm sure you can make a lot and use it as practice, correct?"
"In the future, I'll be able to provide some of the blood plasma to you as well. I remember that you're the best person in class regarding medical knowledge. I'm sure you would be the best person to look for when I require some Blood-Stopping Paste in the future." Hespar said.
His answer was precise and straight to the point. Unsure it was his stupidity or honesty, the answer somehow relieved Selene's anger in a flash.
(Ah... I'm unsure if I am the stupid one or he was the stupid one. Maybe both of us are stupid...)
Selene shook her head, feeling funny and angry at the same time. The stench from the guts seems to get much better along with her mood.
"Then, I'll reluctantly accept your gift. I am still working, so don't come to disturb me unless I'm looking for you." Selene said while pouting. After finishing what she had in her mind, she turned around and left the tent, leaving Hespar on his own.
Hespar was still oblivious of the damage he had caused. Leaving the Medical Division and going straight to the canteen, he stuffed himself with the leftovers before returning to his quarters.
Meanwhile, Selene was speechless while looking at the box with lizard guts. A hailstorm of emotion overcame her in all ways, making her unsure if she was disappointed, happy, or angry. As there was no mirror inside her personal workshop, she couldn't realize the sweet-looking smile on her face, which revealed the truest feeling of hers.
...
...
...
(Yaji!)
The priest-looking goblin ruthlessly killed a pitiful goblin that fell into its hand.
Using an indescribable measure to trap this miserable prey, it fell into some ivy plant's embrace. In the evolved goblin's hand was a blunt knife, stabbing into the pitiful goblin's throat and letting it bleed to death.
The overall process was like conducting a ritual.
Soon, a few tendrils followed and rose from the puddle of blood. It then coiled around the priest-looking goblin and drilled into its flesh, and strengthened it slightly as the sign of the ritual was completed.
The same process was repeated until the prey caught by this evolved goblin was sacrificed. Five unlucky goblins were offered to grant the priest-looking goblin a faint amount of power.
(Humans... The next time I see you... It will be the day you turned into a sacrifice!)
The goblin whispered in its tongue language and sneaked away from this place. A while later, this mysterious place crumbles and returns to how it was before. It seemed to be a temporary spatial altar utilized just for the ritual.
Sneaking back into the main camp of the goblin army, the evolved goblin used its eloquent speech again to persuade young goblins to follow it. Such was the life of the goblins living in this stronghold, which was considered hidden quite well from the human territory.
The recruiting process continued for the entire night until it finally got around twenty foolish goblins hovering around it.
To make them faithful, the priest-looking goblin then tries to lead them to hunt for a wolf nearby. At first, none of the younger goblins were willing. Still, after some persuasion and deceiving, they finally agreed to move together.
They made their way around, with a few stops in between for no reason. The casual hunt that can be completed in mere hours took over four hours to get a bad start. The group eventually came across a young wolf.
As the leader, the priest-looking goblin was expected to display its strength. It didn't hesitate for a moment and went straight ahead. Using the power of the creepy tendrils, the goblin immediately restricts the wolf from retaliating or crying for help.
(Gigiyaja!)
It ordered the other goblins to take their tool to deliver the killing blow. The wolf was eventually killed, but only after they had attack after attack until half of their wooden or stone weapon was either broken or unusable.
With the wolf's blood in their hand, the goblins soon behaved like they were now veterans. Their cowardice seemed to begone as they now fought better and fiercer. In an entire night alone, the group killed over four Mountain Wolves, skinned them, and ate them voraciously.
To the goblins, a night of successful raids is equivalent to the experience of a human soldier in a week. Their numbers also started to grow from twenty to thirty-five after having a few died from the wolves' mauling.
And as it got closer to morning, the group started to get braver and venture to paths usually threaded by humans. The successful raid at night seemed enough to motivate them to start targetting the humans.