They have no weapon, but they're making a peculiar laugh. I was really scared, but I couldn't show it or I'll be dead. And so, my bag [quantum replica] transformed into a long sword. I tried to intimidate them, but they seemed more interested in me. That shocked me even more.
"A man! It's been a while," licking her lips.
I was a little taken aback by the Kappa. They are talking like humans. They talk, right?
"Hey, after you see our queen, do you think you can escape?" one of the green individuals said to me.
I was really scared but trying to remain calm, with my poker face near to crumbling. Like a human facing four dogs in the neighbourhood, I must never show my back.
Quantum replica—there was a feature: if changed into a weapon, you could pull out items on its surface, but you couldn't put items in, unlike the bag where you pull out and put in items.
So, I sneakily pulled an item, with then pulled its pin toward the ground.
I threw a smoke grenade from the craftsman's storage room. Pinching my nose with my index and thumb, I burst into a run before I started coughing.
Do you think I will fight four versus one? Not a chance in a million. I don't want to become prey for them.
Cough* Cough*
I could hear them coughing through the smoke.
"Get the human! Boy! You must get him!" the green person at the river shouted toward the other four.
I could see their silhouettes through the smoke, fanning it with their hands, but I didn't care.
"There he is!" one of the four green people was chasing me.
"Haaaaaa!" Before I knew it, I was screaming so loud! They were really chasing me, jumping from branch to branch. At this rate, they would catch me.
But then, I was near the area where the girls had left me.
"There he is!" Ginger shouted while pointing at me. The attention of Elina, Elisa, and Mel was on me rather than what was behind me.
"Wahhhhhhhhhhhh! G-g-g-g-g-g-g-goblin," Alisha freaked out.
"Crouch! Rapid fire!" Mel shouted to me. With her bow, she fired arrows at the goblin using her skill.
Rapid fire - a fast firing three consecutive arrow technique.
"Woah! So fast!" I said those words, but my expectations changed into something else…
Tak* Tak* Tak*
"What the hell!"
Three arrows she fired stuck on the tree. Why was Mel attacking the tree? She was not helping me at all.
As the four goblins neared me, "Hyaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Ginger charged at the goblins with her sword.
So, she secured me perfectly at her back and prevented the goblins, from becoming a greater threat than I was. I knew she was really strong, but not to this extent. I felt pathetic as a man, yet I was thankful to her, and suddenly...
"Ouch!" Before I could look at her dependable back, I was kicked by Ginger, losing control and rolling. I ended up rolling into Elina's legs.
"I-it wasn't my intention!" I defended myself, but I dared not move. Situations like this come with a billion chances.
"Pervert," Elina said those words and my world began to crumble.
Rub* Rub*
I couldn't see her expression, but I felt it wasn't a good idea to peek at her face. I might incur the anger of the goddess.
Rub* rub*
But before seeing what Elina was doing, she was already casting her spell.
Rub* rub*
"I didn't even hear her voice," I said, shocked; her skill was at an intermediate level. I was rubbing my hand on her legs.
'Is she chantless?' I thought when...
"Ha!" As she shouted, the fireball blasted the four goblins into a crisp.
"40 points, huh?" Elina muttered while looking at her bracelet to see the score. Then she realized, no, it was the four of them.
"Can you get off her?" Mel said.
"I like you," I said to Elina, unable to control my feelings, deeply in love with her. She was the ideal girl I had created.
Boink*
Elina with her wand, slapped my hand with her stick.
"Pervert!" Looking at me, she also pouted, as if I had done something wrong, but a hero never fades.
I distanced myself from her, feeling so happy I could die. Even Ginger, Alisha, and Mel were looking at me like I was a bad person. I hadn't done anything to them, so they had no right to be angry with me.
Then I gave my report to my party in the same area where they had left me. In other words, we were sitting by the tree trunks, truly appreciating the forest and its natural resting area.
"I found the queen goblin by the river," I said.
"So that's why they were chasing you," Elina remarked.
"If the goblin queen identifies you as a man, they'll pursue you," Ginger added.
"I hope they got you that time!" Mel said.
Alisha was still in shock, unable to speak after witnessing the goblin's body turn to ash, she look like she was going to vomit. I couldn't blame her; I felt the same when I saw the goblin's eye on the ground.
"Goblins are short of males, which explains why female goblins are so desperate for men, almost possessive," Ginger explained.
"G-goblin males are hunted down, and when male newborns reach reproductive age in the goblin village, they're used by goblin women. That's why goblins resort to getting pregnant by other species like humans, and so on..."
Alisha, usually shy, suddenly spoke fluently, displaying an unexpected knowledge about monsters.
But you know what's really strange? I didn't know about these aspects of goblins. When I wrote scenes of main characters hunting goblins, I just portrayed killing them in visually appealing ways.
I was the author, yet I lacked this understanding of goblins, and I almost got captured by them. They are truly dangerous for men.
"That's why there are hardly any males in this physical training group. You can skip the training occasionally," Ginger said sympathetically.
"I can skip it? Really, I can?" I was genuinely unaware of this option.
"Yeah, you can just be absent!" Mel said.
"But if you're absent too often, you might not be allowed to stay in Avalon," Alisha warned me.
I wasn't scared for my life but for my dignity. I didn't want to be a father to a goblin baby with my bloodline. It might seem selfish, but I'd do anything to protect them. If my blood flows through them, I won't let them die on my watch.
"Are you okay? Why do you have such a strange expression?" Elina asked me, concerned.
"So close, so close!" I said, covering my face.
Is she comfortable with me after what has happened, but it was better than her distancing herself from me.
"Let's go and kill the goblin queen," I suggested as we headed back along the same path as before. We approached the area cautiously.