(MC POV)
"Now what do you have to say?"
"Me… Guggh… Me sorry…"
"I can't hear you."
"Me sorry… Me no eat foxes no more…"
"Good," I spat, dropping the stupid goblin back on the ground after the thorough beating I had given him.
I dusted my hands before taking a step back, turning behind to see the two foxes looking at me with a weird expression on their faces.
"What?" I asked.
Akari shivered, "Master, can I just say you're really hot?"
Ok… Where the hell did that come from?
"Please ignore my sister, Divine One… She's always been a little… Unhinged…"
Right… Anyway…
I cleared my throat, "Ahem… As I was saying… Do you know how you came to obtain this new power of yours?"
"Gob… Gob looking for berries… Gob find pretty stone in forest… Gob took it and… And became strong… Gob not know where pretty stone come from."
So basically this goblin literally just came across an Origin fragment that was just… Sitting there? Out in the open? With nothing to guard it?
At least this meant that there wasn't someone who was passing these around like candies for some reason or another. Hey you never know, ok? It could be a possibility!
Either this is the luckiest or unluckiest goblin in existence or the universe is conspiring against me. How the hell did this thing go undiscovered for so long? It's not like these Origin fragments are only recently popping up, right?
Wait… They aren't… Right, omniscience?
…
Ok, good. So there is indeed a fixed number of Origin fragments currently in existence with no new ones appearing anytime soon. Good to know.
Anyway… How do I get the Origin fragment out of him?
…
Oh, that simple? I can just pull it out of him? Alrighty then, I'll just do that after we finish this problem here.
"So… King Gob? You know that the monsters you have been fighting against are under me, right?"
"G… Gob knows now… Gob no fight… No kill Gob, please…"
"Well, all you need is to get your monsters to join us, should be easy enough, yes?"
His eyes lit up, "Yes! Yes! They listen to Gob! Gob will tell them to join you!"
Well that was easy. Honestly I don't really care if he agreed to it or not. Heck, I don't even care if the monsters end up joining us or not. If they weren't cooperative, I'm sure Akari and Shiori would have ordered their extermination because of the threat they posed.
And if they chose to join us, then so be it. Even if they were to betray us later, it wouldn't even matter since I could just reverse any damages they did.
Then again, I trust Benjamin and the rest to be able to take care of things without me in the first place since I'm only just here to prevent that catastrophic war I saw as a potential future. Aside from that, they've been doing fine without me, even though this was most definitely not what I expected to happen back when I saved them…
Speaking of which… I wonder how they will react to Lilith?
Hmm… I guess they should have already known about her situation considering Akari and Shiori had already seen her.
Speaking of which…
I turned back towards the two foxes, both of them watching the goblin warily.
"Err… So he's agreed to surrender and turn over the other monsters to us… That means this matter is settled, right?"
Shiori shook her head, "It's not that simple, Divine One. Monsters have always respected only one thing: power. They follow this little goblin because of the power he possesses. Even if he orders them to surrender, they will simply see him as weak and have someone else replace him as the new head, most likely an even more moronic one who would be much more aggressive in their methods."
I frowned, "Hold on… This guy is already the strongest monster they know and even if he surrenders, the others would think he's weak?"
Akari made a snorting sound, "There's a reason why these trash are still trying to oppose us despite being outmatched, Master. The smarter ones have already accepted their positions, the hot-headed ones are already dead, thus we're left with the idiots that formed a group because they're too idiotic to decide for themselves."
Err… I don't think the equation is that simple but what do I know?
Unexpectedly, the goblin spoke up, "Yes! Yes! Other monsters stupid! Even more stupid than Gob! Gob smart! Gob make them work! Gob useful!"
"Shut up, nobody asked you, trash," Akari growled, showing a level of hostility that I didn't expect from the usual her.
The goblin whimpered and shrunk back like a beaten animal. Funny how the tables have changed so quickly.
I raised an eyebrow at the foxes, "Ok… Then what do you suggest we do?"
Shiori's tails swayed in the air slowly, "Hmm… Honestly those monsters are more of a bane than a boon to us, so we would rather just get rid of them."
"Buuuuuut~" Akari drawled, her own tails flicking from side to side, "If Master wants to avoid us splattering them into nothingness, then all Master needs to do is to kill that little green moron there in front of them! They'll see Master as the stronger one and bow to you!"
The goblin let out another whimper but made no sounds of protest.
Now I see why he was trying desperately to promote his usefulness just now.
I turned back to look at the goblin who was trying his absolute best to make himself look smaller. I didn't really consider it before but I guess the fact I subdued him also kind of played into respecting power thing, that's why he's not even trying to fight back anymore.
In this regard, I guess I would prefer to deal with monsters than humans since it's more simple.
"Well… How about we just go and see the other monsters first before we make a decision? If it comes down to it, I can just get rid of them myself."
"Ooohhh~ Watching Master work is always a treat! Count me in!" Akari giggled, rushing over to rub her snout against my thigh.
Shiori wasn't as receptive to the idea, however and protested, "At least have a larger escort, Divine One. It would make a much better impact if you were to show up with them as well."
I saw the merit in her suggestion so I nodded my head, "Alright, then I'll leave it to you to prepare if that's ok?"
"Of course. I will deal with it right away, Divine One."
Alright! Now we'll just go there, wave our powers around and that should be all good!
I didn't think this would be settled so quickly and easily. Guess I was worried for nothing!
