One of the goblin girls pounded at me, chanting, "New toy!" Her eyes resembled those of a predator closing in on its prey. If I didn't act quickly, I'd be in serious trouble. But just as I contemplated my grim fate, someone suddenly positioned themselves between us, causing the goblin girl's expression to contort from predatory delight to sheer terror. She stood there frozen in fear.
My vision remained hazy due to the poisonous gas, making it hard to see the person clearly. Then the mysterious figure extended a hand toward me and inquired, "Are you okay?" I eagerly grasped his arm and pulled myself up. Within a few moments, my vision began to return to normal, allowing me to see the identity of my rescuer.
It was the Goblin Layer I had encountered earlier in the morning. "Thanks for your help, but what are you doing here?" I expressed my gratitude and curiosity in equal measure.
"Well, I was worried about you because it seemed like you knew nothing about goblins. At the same time, I came here to hunt them and, if possible, capture a few to sell to the beast merchants," he explained.
"Beast merchants? What's that?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"You don't know what a beast merchant is? Aren't you a SumMoner? Did you come from a very remote location?" he inquired with a suspicious look and then continued.
"Well, whatever it is, every adventurer has their own story, and I won't pry into your past," he replied and continued "A long time ago, there was a war between the races like humans, elves, dwarves, and the lost races like demons, oni's, and so on. They used to kidnap and sell people as slaves, and this led to a decline in the overall population. Both sides eventually made a pact to abolish slavery.
That was a positive development, but it created a new problem. Many people lost their workforce due to the abolition of slavery, particularly in physical labor and as porters for adventurers. While you didn't have to pay for slaves, you did have to pay employees. Because of this, numerous business owners suffered substantial losses, ultimately leading to an economic crisis on both sides.
So, humans came up with a solution: they started using demi-races instead of lost races. Demi-races include humanoid creatures like goblins, banshees, harpies, gorgons, etc., and even were-creatures like werewolves, werebears, and were-eagles, etc"
The reason they're considered demi-races is that the SumMon spell works on them, usually not on people of the races or the lost races. This spell was initially created for use on monsters, but demi-races are different than normal monsters. They possess intelligence and can communicate with others, so they were labeled demi-races because they don't belong to any established race or category, be it any races or monsters.
This concept was widely accepted by both the people of the races and the lost races. However, The elves strongly disagreed. They declared that they would never use any individuals as slaves. Consequently, slave traders shifted their focus to capturing these demi-races. To distance themselves from the dark history of slavery, they adopted a new name: Beast Merchants. Now, they not only sold slaves but also summoned monsters," he explained, giving me a concise history lesson on slavery in this world.
Okay, that was a lot to take in. So, these so-called demi-races are essentially the demi-humans often seen in anime and manga, including elves and dwarves. Oni's are part of this category too, although they appear a bit different here.
So, there are two groups of people in conflict here. On one side, we have the races, which include humans, elves, and dwarves. That's all I know for now, but there might be more races out there somewhere. On the other side, we have the lost races, which consist of demons, oni's, and a few others. I'm curious about why they're called "lost races," but I'll have to use my search skills later because I have so many questions.
Now, this guy plans to kidnap some of these goblin girls and sell them as slaves. I don't know how to feel about it. I understand that this isn't Earth, and things like slavery are common here, but it still makes me uncomfortable for some reason.
However, at the same time, I can't help but feel a little excited. In many isekai anime and manga, the hero often buys female slaves who become their companions and sometimes even the main heroine. Should I go and check out these so-called beast merchants? Who knows, maybe I could meet someone special there.
As I contemplated it, Goblin Layer caught my attention. He wasn't carrying any weapons, which left me puzzled about how he planned to fight them.
"Will you be okay without any weapons?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"I don't need a weapon because I am the weapon," he said, delivering that somewhat cringy line. Then he inquired, "What are you planning to do now?"
"Well, for now, I'm thinking of returning to the capital city and coming back here later with a solid plan," I replied. Basically, I am running away from these green lollies, no I am making a strategic retreat.
"I'd like to buy you a drink later to thank you for saving me. We can meet at the adventurers' guild in the evening," I expressed my gratitude and offered to treat him to a drink later.
"Sounds good. I'll see you in the afternoon," he replied, bidding me farewell.
Then he turned towards the frozen goblin girl and removed his codpiece and threw it onto the ground, it fell down and bounced a few times with a metallic sound, then a large phallic-shaped shadow grew from the place where his codpiece used to be and it was cast in front of the goblins girls face, once she saw that she ran away like her life was on the line. Goblin Layer chased behind her.
Then after a few minutes, a lot of weird noises could be heard from the mines, they were not screams but moans. Now I understand why he is called Goblin Layer. He doesn't slay the goblins, well he kinda does it in a different way. I was shocked by this new revelation and started questioning what had just unfolded in front of me, even questioning my own sanity.
"What the hell is going on? I'm exhausted, and I need plenty of time to process what I just witnessed. Let's go back to the room," I muttered to myself, deciding to return to the guild dorms.
…..
After a few hours, I returned to the guild dorms, but Henshiro was nowhere to be seen. I simply lay on my bed, completely exhausted from what I had just witnessed. There were so many questions swirling in my mind. Alright, let's use the 'Search Engine' skill. It had been a while since I last used it.
"Skill Share - Search Engine."
As I spoke those words, a familiar blue screen appeared in my vision, complete with a search bar and a small magnifying glass icon. Alright, let's give it a try. I decided to type my first question: "What happened to the goblins in this world?" I hit the search icon to begin my search.
Once I entered my query, a string of words appeared in my field of vision: "Long ago, Goblins were small, green, and ugly creatures. Their only advantage was their rapid reproduction rate, which led to numerous problems. Many goblins began to evolve, forming various factions within their ranks, and they waged constant wars against each other.
Desperate for more soldiers, they resorted to kidnapping women from other races, but this strategy backfired. Many women became their victims, prompting leaders from the humans, dwarves, and orcs to form a temporary alliance to nearly exterminate these pests.
Their efforts were somewhat successful. The remaining goblins went into hiding and turned to kidnapping elves. Elves, being long-lived, required only a few women for reproduction. Unbeknownst to them, a mutation started occurring within these goblins, resulting in more female goblins. Eventually, they evolved into a female-only race and underwent changes in their appearance to become what they are now.
Because of this, many men hesitated to kill these child-like goblins. Some argue that this was not a mutation but a form of adaptation for the species to overcome their problems. Whatever the case, goblins are now being abducted for various purposes, including physical labor, acting as guards for merchants, and some even for prostitution. They have become ideal targets due to their high numbers and rapid reproduction rate.
Wow, that's a lot to take in. Basically, the goblins' roles have reversed since the mutation. I'm not sure how to feel about this. Part of me feels sympathy for these goblins, but then again, considering how I almost lost my chastity to those green lollies, it makes me question whether they deserve it. Anyway, I have to figure out a way to complete the quest, but I'm hesitant when it comes to killing those goblin girls.
What should I do? Wait a minute, I can use the 'Gas Exhaust' skill, but the problem is that it also affects me. Is there a way for me to use it without any problems? Hmm... As I recall my fight with Monkey Kong, he suddenly gained the 'Poison Resistance' skill after eating the final fried rice. Should I do the same?
With these thoughts in mind, I pulled out the book 'Book Of Culinary Kills.' Let's see, 'Final Fried Rice' is like a higher-level dish. Maybe I should start with something smaller, easier to eat in one go. I thought about this and flipped through the pages, then something caught my eye.