Ankoku Kishi Monogatari (WN)

◆Young Omiros

The moonlight is shining upon the forest. The two of us keep walking through a place full of shadows.

「Sorry… I'm so sorry… Omiros. If only I never said I wanted to pick those flowers… Such things… Such things…」

Regena is sobbing non-stop.

There's a certain flower which grows in the Akeron mountain range that can cure her mother’s illness.

Regena, who knew about it, wanted to acquire that flower for her ill mother, but then we got lost on our way back.

We're lost inside this forest and the day has turned into night.

「It's okay, Regena. I wanted to help you, so this much isn't a problem」

I'm saying this to comfort Regena even though I'm also scared of the dark night. But, I can’t show such an unsightly state in front of her.

「It's okay. I'm sure that the search party is on its way. We will return home for sure!」

Regena is nodding after hearing me saying so.

「Uhm, if Omiros says so…」

We began walking again, but this time I noticed that something was following us.

「Omiros… It seems that something has been following us for some time…」

Maybe due to her anxiety, Regena also noticed that.

「Yeah, I know…」

We shouldn’t be walking with our backs facing the Akeron mountain range because we're the people of Algore, the closest country to Nargol. There aren't many humans inhabiting the area between the Algore kingdom and the Akeron mountain range, the border separating us from Nargol. The one following us might be a goblin.

I have heard a lot of things about goblins from my mother, cruel things… They are extremely ruthless monsters, so I don't know what will become of us if we are captured.

「Could it be… A goblin?」

Now, Regena is uttering my suspicion aloud.

「R-Regena! Let's sing! Goblins should be weak to songs!」

I heard about it from my mother. Goblins are weak against beautiful singing voices. I don't really know the reason, but it seems that the human singing voice sounds terrifying to them.

「Singing… A song?」

「Yeah! Sing a song! I'm sure that no goblin will approach us due to your beautiful voice!!」

I heard Regena singing a song before. I remember that she has an extremely beautiful voice.

「Yeah. I understand, Omiros. But, what kind of song should I sing?」

「You sang a song in front of me once before, right? Let's go with that one」

Regena nodded when I said so.

「I understand, that song huh…

In the deep corner of the forest.

A black bird is searching for true love.

Crossing over the mountain in search of love.

Flying over the blue sky.

In the middle of the emerald forest.

It met a white bird.

The black bird is singing with joy, and yet.

The white bird isn't singing.

In the midst of the black bird’s cry.

It’s flying toward the evening sun」

We continue walking with Regena singing that song.

Her beautiful voice reverberates inside the dark forest.

I'm listening to her singing voice in ecstasy. Our connected hands that trembled slightly have eased up a little. It seems that the song also eased up our fear.

The signs that someone is following us are gradually disappearing, too.

It seems we might be able to get back safe and sound.

「You… Have a beautiful voice, huh?」

A voice is saying so from inside the darkness.

Regena, who stopped singing, and I peer at the darkness. Someone is hiding there.

「W-Who are you!?」

I went in front of Regena in order to protect her.

Someone is coming out from the darkness.

「Go… Blin」

The one who appeared under the moonlight was a goblin.

He came out despite Regena’s singing voice. Is there a goblin who can resist singing voices amongst the goblins?

「I'm not a goblin, human」

The goblin is saying so with a pouting face.

「No way! I'm sure that the one standing before me is a goblin. Your face is that of a goblin!」

Surely, the goblin who appeared in front of us is closer to a human when compared to usual goblins, but his features are not that much different from a goblin’s. So, he might be a humanoid goblin.

「CEH! You won't believe me, huh. Eh, whatever」

The humanoid goblin is saying so while looking at Regena.

「My subordinates were running away because of the singing voice of that female over there, thus I had no choice but to show myself」

「Running away because of a singing voice? Isn't that a proof that you are a goblin?!」

But the humanoid goblin is shaking his head in denial.

「My underlings are goblins, but I am a HUMAN!」

I'm shocked from hearing that. Goblins are supposed to be creatures that tend to attack humans. Or so I’ve been taught.

And this guy just said that those goblins are his underlings, didn't he?

「If you really are human, you should have saved us you know!」

When I said so, the humanoid goblin made a surprised face.

「Why must this great me have to save you? I hate males」

The humanoid goblin turned his sight to Regena.

I saw a dangerous glint in his eyes.

「Let's run, Regena!」

「Yup!」

I felt that this humanoid goblin was up to no good, so I grab Regena’s hand to run away from this place, especially from him.

「As if I'll let you! PARALYZE!」

But my body felt sluggish when the humanoid goblin said that word.

Regena is also on her knees since her body is likely to have been paralyzed, too.

「Regena!」

「Sorry… Omiros…」

Regena is apologizing. Though the effect is weaker on my body, it seems that Regena has been completely paralysed.

「Huhm, so you can withstand the magic of the great me, huh?」

The humanoid goblin is approaching us while saying so.

「Stay away from Regena!」

I stand before the humanoid goblin.

「Huhm!」

Since I can't see the surroundings because of the darkness, I was tripped to my side by the humanoid goblin’s feet.

「UWAAAAAAAAA!」

I fell while screaming like that.

「OMIROS!」

Regena screamed after hearing my sorrowful scream.

But, she's falling over since her body is still in a paralyzed state.

「Oops!」

The humanoid goblin standing in front of Regena seized her chin to take a closer look at her face.

「No… Let go, LET GO OF ME…!」

I’m starting to hear Regena’s crying voice.

「Release Regena!」

I'm desperately trying to raise my body, but he kicked me and made me fall again.

「GUH!」

The humanoid goblin then trampled over my back with his foot, all the while his hand holding Regena’s chin.

「Be a good child!」

After saying so, the humanoid goblin put more strength into his feet.

「Uuuuh…」

That power is enough to make me moan in pain.

「If not, I'll crush you to death!」

The humanoid goblin is increasing the amount of pressure on my back. I couldn't even take a breath anymore.

「Stop, don't do such cruel things to Omiros…」

Regena is saying so despite her condition.

「I see, I see. Well, if you say so」

The humanoid goblin stopped applying his weight on his foot. Thanks to that, I'm no longer in pain, but my body can't move since his foot is still on my back.

「Hyiii…」

Regena screamed in fright. When I leaned my head to the side to see what just happened, the humanoid goblin seems to be embracing Regena.

「So you're a female human, huh?」

Saying so, the humanoid goblin’s hand brushes on Regena’s skin while sniffing her scent.

「Your skin is softer than that of a female goblin, and your smell is so nice」

It was as if the humanoid goblin is getting excited. It really is frustrating to not be able to do anything but watch.

Regena became more frightened.

「R-Re… Guargh…」

I can't speak very well. The reason might be the foot that’s placed on my back. Tears are streaming down from my eyes.

「I've decided! You'll become my woman!」

After saying so, the humanoid goblin then licked Regena’s face.

「H… HIIII…」

Regena lets out a muffled scream.

「I have imprinted my saliva on you. Now, you're MINE. My name is Goz! Your man!」

The humanoid goblin called Goz is laughing.

「I'm going to find you after you become an adult, so wait for me till then!」

After saying so, Goz vanished into the forest.

A while later, the paralyzed me and the crying Regena are left behind.

◆Prince of Algore, Omiros

The morning rays of sunshine made me open my eyes.

It’s just an unpleasant dream from my childhood. I dream of it almost every night nowadays.

The bitter memories of the time when I couldn't protect Regena.

After that, we were saved by the adults who came looking for us.

From that day onwards, I trained myself to become even stronger.

In addition, I wanted to protect Regena from various things within Algore.

For this reason, I also left Algore for one year on a journey to gain experience, but when I returned, Regena was already gone. Now, I don't even know for what reason I became stronger.

I came out of my room after tidying up my bed.

「Good morning, prince Omiros」

Someone called my name when I left my room. When I turned around, I saw a girl standing behind me.

「Please stop with that ‘prince’, Rilletes…」

The title prince doesn't sit well with me. I don't want to be called with such a title gained from banishing Regena into that goblin nest.

「How should I call you then?」

「Will you call me by my name just like before…」

「Okay. Good morning, brother Omiros」

Rilletes is the little sister of MacGius. Because my father was very busy, I was raised alongside Rilletes and MacGius. She, who’s basically younger than me by five years, was raised as the younger sister of MacGius, her blood brother and me. This is the reason for her calling me brother Omiros.

「Did you go to the mountains again?」

Her eyes became slightly cold when she asked me that.

Rilletes and MacGius’s parents were executed by the former king, Qupis. That might be why she dislikes the fact that I'm looking for Regena.

「I won't go today… I mean I have to make preparations to attend the ball of the Velos kingdom…」

Parish and I are going to attend the ball of the Velos kingdom which is going to be held five days from now on behalf of my father. And today, I have to to prepare myself for that event.

「So you're still going to search for “her” on another day?」

「…」

I'm at loss a for words when Rilletes asked that question.

「She’s already dead, you know…」

「Rilletes!」

I unintentionally shouted at her.

「But you keep saying that she's alive. Why… Why are you so sure of that? No human, not even the soldiers, can come out alive once they enter the goblin’s nest…」

Normally, it's as she said.

But then, I recall the matter of Goz, the human-like goblin who said that he'll send his subordinates to pick Regena. Why do I see that dream nowadays? Because of it, I know that Regena might have been caught by Goz and may still be alive.

Thus, I continue searching for her in the goblin’s nest while holding to such a remote hope.

I never told anyone about that possibility. When I was a child, none of the adults believed me when I told them about that humanoid goblin.

Though they might have trusted me if Regena also told them, maybe because she didn't want to recall such painful memories, the person herself didn't say anything. Naturally, I won't blame Regena for this matter since the one who was the most traumatized by this event was Regena.

The only one who believed me was Regena’s mother. She was kind to me, the young master of her rival clan.

She was the one who gave me and Regena the magic amulet, which is also my treasure that can repel goblins.

Regena’s mother passed away two years after I met Goz.

Now, the only one who knows about the existence of Goz is me.

But, no one else, including Rilletes, believes in the existence of Goz. From her perspective, I must be the greatest fool.

「I mean, an accident might happen during one of the times when brother Omiros goes into the goblin nest… I've had enough of seeing people dear to me dying…」

Rilletes is saying so with a gloomy face.

「Sorry, Rilletes…」

I gently caress Rilletes’s face.

Such a kind girl is worrying about my safety. But then again, I couldn't just stop looking for Regena.

「It's okay, the brave Parish is also with me. I will definitely come back alive…….」

Hearing my response, Rilletes displays a slightly peculiar face.

「What's the matter, Rilletes?」

「It's about Parish-sama… I don't want to badmouth him since he’s our lifesaver, but… I noticed that he acts strange sometimes」

「Acts strange?」

「Yeah… I don't know how to explain it, but I just feel that he's strange…」

Rilletes’s intuition is sharp. Did she notice something?

「Come to think of it, where is that guy right now?」

「I don't know. I haven’t seen him all day long」

Rilletes replied while shaking her head.

Parish always disappears like smoke from time to time. It seems he went somewhere today.

Just where in the world is that guy when we have to make our preparations to go to the Velos kingdom today?

◆ Goblin Prince Goz

After leaving the filthy goblin village in the south, I finally arrived in the northern part of Akeron.

It's been a long time since I returned to the Karon kingdom.

It's a better place when compared to the other goblin nests, nevertheless it's still a goblin nest.

「Stop right there, human! ! What’s your business, gob?」

The crowd of goblins surrounded me. But then, my acquaintance came out from inside.

「There's an image recorded with picture magic gob. He's a human called Parish gob. What are you doing here?」

「It's been a while, general Keneo」

Ignoring the question, Keneo was surprised when I called his name.

「Why do you know about my name gob? 」

「It seems that even general Keneo can’t see through it」

Keneo is quite formidable amongst the goblins. But, it seems he really has no knowledge about my real appearance.

I cancelled my magic to show him my real appearance. I didn't want to show this figure if possible but things will go nowhere if I don’t show him my real face.

「Ah! You're P-Prince GOOOOOOOOOOOOZ!!」

Keneo and those goblins shouted when they saw my appearance. That was natural, since the brave of the humans, Parish, is the son of their queen.

「That's right.    It's Goz, general Keneo. It's been a while. I want to meet my mother, would you let me pass? 」

I bow slightly while requesting.

Keneo is the husband of my older sister. I can't be so impolite toward him. My older sister is far stronger than me, in short, a dangerous existence. Thus, it's better if I show my courtesy toward Keneo.

Keneo ponders for a while after hearing my request.

「Please wait for a while gob! I'm going to ask her highness permission gob」

After general Keneo said this, his subordinates went to meet my mother.

「This way, Goz」

After Keneo called me, I went along the corridor toward my mother’s room.

There are several huge gates connected to my mother’s room.

I fell on my knees and bowed my head toward my mother. This mother of mine is merciless toward anyone who’s rude to her, including her own children. That's why I have to show my utmost courtesy.

「It's been a while, my dear mother」

「Raise your face, Goz」

I raised my face since my mother alowed it. Thus, I saw the figure of my mother, Datie. My mother was as ugly as ever.

And the child who was born between the goblin queen and male human is me.

When it comes to crossbreeding, if the child is male, then it'll inherit his father’s race and if it’s a female, then it'll inherit her mother’s race. Thus, I am a human.

Female goblins rarely come out of the nest. The ones that come out of the nest are the males. There's no such thing where male goblins kidnap male humans and bring them back for female goblins for breeding. And there's no way human males will mate with those ugly female goblins, anyway. That's why in normal cases, female goblins almost never give birth to male humans. But, there’s always an exception. Namely, me.

These goblins will bring back male humans for a powerful queen like my mother.

I don't know what kind of a person my father was since he was already dead long before I was aware of my surroundings. But, I can imagine the reason for his death. He might have had quite the handsome visage for my mother to be attracted toward him.

And then, he must’ve been raped by my mother. As long as someone drinks the powerful aphrodisiac made by her, any male will get an erection even if the other party is ugly as hell. She most likely squeezed him dry till he died.

I touched my face. Even though there's no mirror, I can tell that my face resembles that ugly face of my mother. The nature of the parent of the other race is inherited by the child. For example, the male human born from their elf mother possesses powerful magical power.

That's why, even though I’m not a goblin despite my mother being a goblin, I inherited her goblin characteristics. My face is that of an ugly goblin. My younger brother who died right after his birth was the same.

Even if one of my parents is a goblin, goblin nests aren't a nice place for humans. The feeble children of humans will die immediately.

I somehow survived since I inherited my mother’s magical power. But, it seems that my younger brother and elder brother weren't as lucky as me. They didn’t inherit my mother’s magical power. I heard that I'm the only male born from my mother who survived this long. All the others were already dead.

Looking at my mother, she might be the strongest goblin around since her magic power is equal to that of members of the demon race.

Though mine is a far cry from my mother’s, this powerful magical power is the sole grace from my mother.

「Come to think of it, I rarely see you nowadays… To think that Parish was you in disguise. It seems that the magical power of the scouts couldn't see through your illusion」

My mother is saying so while laughing.

I never told anyone that I went to the human kingdom by changing my appearance for the sake of severing my connection with my mother. Thus, this problem happened.

「Dear mother… I was attacked by a silver-haired witch when I was using my identity as Parish a while ago. Do you know about her identity, dear mother? 」

My mother pondered for a while when I asked that question.

「Silver-haired witch… Ah, I remember now. She was the woman who came along with that awe-inspiring Diehart-sama. I made a report to Diehart-sama since some people were making a disturbance in the southern settlement lately. Moreover, I wanted to meet Diehart-sama…」

My mother said so with an fascinated face.

I can be sure of it now that my mother told me. That silver witch was sent by my mother.

I did heard about this person called Diehart. He is the dark knight who defeated that terrifying hero. And that beautiful silver witch might be Diehart’s subordinate.

「Dear mother, I have no reason to go against you. Naturally, that also includes his majesty, the

demon king. But, is that matter really that urgent for you to report it to his excellency Diehart?」

Though I was spared in our last meeting, it doesn't mean that I won't meet her again. There's no way I'm going to let myself be killed at that time.

「I know, I know. This matter has been conveyed to his excellency, you know. Did you come here only for this reason?」

One of my goals for coming to this place has been achieved, but I have another goal in my mind.

「There's another matter. Dear mother, may I ask for your aphrodisiac?」

「That drug? What are you going to do with that?」

「It seems that a ball party or whatever, you might even call it a feast, is going to be held in a human kingdom called Velos. I'm going to use it on those female humans during that time」

I laughed while saying so. The secret drug created by my mother isn't just effective on males, it works wonders upon females, too. I'm going to enjoy the ball three days from now to the fullest.

「Fufun, that drug, huh. Well, that sounds interesting, take some with you」

「Thank you very much, dear mother」

After saying my gratitude, I left the queen’s room.

Treading the passage toward my own room, I kicked those annoying female goblins that were ogling on me.

I have no interest in sleeping with these ugly female goblins after sleeping with female humans.

After returning to my own room in Karon kingdom, I realized that this place wasn't that much different compared to when I saw it last time.

This room might be the only habitable place for humans in this Karon kingdom.

My room isn't damp and humid like your usual goblin nest. Despite light entering from the roof, my room won’t leak when it’s raining.

The males born from my mother, the queen of goblins, are to be raised in this room.

And while being a human, I was raised as a goblin prince.

Though my authority as a prince isn't that powerful since my mother has a lot of children, but since I'm a prince, there weren't any inconveniences with my life in the Karon kingdom.

I was raised by goblins.

My face is as ugly as a goblin’s from a human’s perspective, but I, the most handsome goblin, can sleep with any female goblin I choose as much as I desire.

I did receive a severe scolding from my mother for overdoing it, though she pardoned me that time for warning me to control myself in the Karon kingdom from that moment.

Instead of the Karon kingdom, I did as I pleased in the goblin area on the southern side of the Akeron mountains.

Though the goblins in the southern side aren't under my mother’s control, I can do as I pleased and no one can stop me since they fear my mother, the queen of Karon.

But, the nest of those fools stink when compared to Karon; their females are also as boring as hell and not as good as the ones in Karon.

I decided to leave the Akeron mountain range for the area ruled by humans, bringing along some of those stupid goblins.

And then when I led them toward the closest human settlement, I met Regena.

I thought that I met my destined person.

I did have a look at female humans from afar before, but it was the first time I wanted to make a female human mine.

That's why I drooled.

And then, I made a plan to secure Regena for myself.

I wanted to kidnap her, but I thought it's better to wait for her to grow since human children are prone to death in goblin nests.

That's why I decided to overlook her at that time and build my power to kidnap her later.

And then, I learned magic with such zeal that I managed to learn powerful magic a few years later, even if it can't be compared to my mother’s magic.

After that, I headed toward Algore to kidnap Regena.

No matter how much powerful I became, going against all the humans in Algore was still dangerous. That's why I decided to look for a chance to infiltrate Algore.

According to my investigation, it should have been fairly easy to enter Algore for a powerful warrior.

But I was rejected the first time I went there.

The reason was because I'm too ugly.

Thus, I decided to change my appearance with magic and then go inside. I used an illusion magic that should be able to charm any person with a weaker magical power than mine.

I also decided not to use my goblin-like name, so I chose Parish, instead.

Since there are no magicians in Algore, no one could see through my disguise.

But, I can't be careless since even if no one can see through my disguise, some people will feel something off due to my disguise.

And then, I, who managed to infiltrate Algore as a freedom fighter, finally got a chance to look at Regena from up close. However, since Regena felt uncomfortable whenever she saw my appearance, I couldn't get too close to her.

I couldn't feel any magic power from the young Regena. I wonder what happened? Did her magical power grow since I last saw her? Or else, is she being protected from my magic with some sort of magic tool? Either way, I couldn't get too close to Regena.

Thus, it was when I completely lost my interest in approaching Regena did that annoying hero come.

For some reason, of all things, that hero is trying to woo Regena, even though she's mine!

I must prevent that at all costs, thus I made my move.

Though I can't use charm magic, I can still use magic to make someone become more aggressive.

I used that magic on the younger people of Algore to become hostile toward the hero and later incited them to launch an attack against him.

The angry hero then fought against the warriors of Algore.

As a result, the warriors of Algore lost one-sidedly to the hero to the point that they couldn't fight anymore. Following such barbaric acts, the hero left Algore.

But then, something happened. Algore’s leadership isn't inherited by blood, so there was an internal power struggle.

The warriors of Algore who became agitated due to my own magic started an insurrection.

Though such insurrection was beyond my expectation in the beginning, I decided to use this chance.

I continued to pour oil for those small insurrections until they became an all out civil war between the rest of Algore’s clans against Regena’s clan.

Though the clan that I supported was weaker than Regena's, they still won because of my support.

After executing the king, Regena’s father, I incited the winning clan to send Regena to the goblin nest.

There, as long as I save her and take her to Karon, Regena will become mine for sure.

But then, another problem occurred. Someone took Regena before I had the chance to save her from the goblin nest.

I don't know who saved her, but according to the goblins who I sent to monitor them, the savior was someone who rode a dragon. In any case, I missed my chance again.

Maybe I should’ve just used another means to get Regena, but it's too late now.

Though annoying, there’s nothing  I can do to undo this either. Let's forget Regena for now.

But instead, I'm going to mess with the other female humans until my identity is exposed.

The finest ones amongst them will surely come to this ball.

I am looking forward to it.

◆ Ogre witch, Kujig

「Zengu… What in the hell…」

I'm looking at my youngest child who has already turned into bones.

「How… could you turn into something like this? WHO IN THE HELL DARES TO DO THIS TO YOU?!」

My eldest son, Ringu yelled. It seems that he couldn't hold back his anger after knowing that his youngest brother was killed.

「MAMA! BROTHER! OVER HERE!!」

It seems that my second son Pyoug found something.

When I looked there, something was written on the wall.

「It seems that those guys who murdered Zengu went towards the north」

He uttered so while looking at the letters on the wall.

It was written that the murderer of my youngest son is the little sister of the hero.

It seems that the little sister of the hero went north from this place. That means she has some sort of business over there.

Though it might be a false message, it was easier to understand once I saw that the culprit is the little sister of the hero.

She might be the little sister of the hero, but I won't forgive the one who murdered my youngest son. I'm gonna kill her for sure.

Since my youngest son Zengu didn't come to celebrate my birthday, I just found out about his status after I met his eighth brother, Zaig. I rushed out toward his home at my fastest speed with magic upon hearing information about it.

「ANOTHER EMERGENCY OVER HERE, BROTHER RING!!」

Now it’s the turn of my fifth child, Kaig, who found something.

「What is it now?!」

Ring and Pyoug head toward Kaig’s location and leave me alone over here. Any further searching is unnecessary seeing that we found the culprit.

「THIS IS―――! ISN'T THIS MY TREASURE BOOK THAT I LENT TO ZENG! ! EVERYONE OF THEM IS GONEEEE―――!」

「THE POSTER OF MY BELOVED IVALIA-CHAAAN――――!!」

「GODDAMMIT! WHO DID SUCH A VILE ACT! THIS IS THE LAST OF IT!」

「So… Cruel. Even I――― Am yet to enjoy it!」

I can hear the agonizing wails of my sons on the other side.

Maybe because we found out the place where the culprits are heading to, there's no way we could stay still in this place.

We must go after them!

Fortunately, she went north, towards my own region. We're going to catch up with them immediately.

I went to the fireplace where my sons are gathering in a circle right now.

「YOU GUYS! LET'S GET GOING! LET'S MAKE THAT LITTLE SISTER OF THE HERO TO PAY FOR HER SIN OF KILLING ZENG!」

My sons nodded in agreement when I said so.

「LET'S DO THIS, MOM!」

「OOOH! LET'S MAKE HER PAY FOR HER SIN OF BURNING OUR MOST IMPORTANT TREASURE!」

「OOOH! LET'S BURN HER IN THE SAME WAY!」

「LET HER FEEL MY SORROW AS THE ONE WHO DIDN'T EVEN SEE IT YET!」

「ASHES… TO… ASHES…」

「This pain… Of being unable to enjoy it anymore…」

「MY IVALIA-CHAAAAAAAAAA――――N!」

「IT'S THE LAST O~~~NE!」

「LET'S KILL HER!」

My sons are directing their anger at the hero’s little sister. It seems that their anger can't be quenched after seeing their little brother murdered.

Naturally, mine, too.

For I am a descendant of the ogre who served the heavenly giant race who once waged war against the gods of Elios.

Though the heavenly giant race was defeated and had vanished from this world, those ogres were left with their master’s inheritance.

Even if she is the little sister of the hero, this won't end in this way as long as I use that inheritance and take advantage of it.

「Let's get going! Though I don't know who that little sister of the hero is, this ogre from the Kujig family will take your life! Prepare yourself for our revenge!」