Chapter 67 - Cleaning Up Trash
Since the target mansion came into view, I had the car brought to a halt.
"That's it, then."
It was a much larger house than I had imagined.
It was a two-story building with a solid structure. The size was also beyond reproach.
Given its location near the station, it would have been a magnificent asset if it had been properly maintained.
However, as a waste of potential, the residents were destroying its real estate value with their own hands.
A garden filled with empty cans and plastic bags, leaving no place to step.
A nameplate so encrusted with brown liquid that it had become unreadable.
From the wide-open windows, overstuffed trash bags were spilling out.
As for the entrance, a washing machine that had fallen on its side was jutting out.
If you likened the house to a human face, the windows would be the eyes and the entrance the mouth. In other words, it could be described as being in a state of weeping and vomiting.
To me, this house looked like a dying patient. But to goblins, it was a comfortable den.
The sensibilities of them and humans would never coincide.
We are different races. So different that we kill and are killed.
"You wait in the car. You wouldn't want to go in a place like that, would you?"
After confirming that Angelica nodded her head, I opened the door.
Immediately, the outside air rushed in.
At the piercing, foul stench, Tanaka and Angelica both let out an "Ugh."
As for me, it was unpleasant, but not unbearable.
It was likely because I had spent so much time in that other world, being drenched in blood and viscera.
I had developed a complete resistance to filth, allowing me to breathe through my nose without issue.
I wondered if this meant I had grown stronger as a human, or if I had degenerated. I frowned and stepped out of the car, thinking it was surely the latter.
Without hesitation, I pushed straight ahead.
Applying Concealment, I entered through the entrance.
I felt bad for the original residents, but I was wearing my shoes. I didn't know what might happen, or what I might step on.
While remaining conscious of searching for enemies, I proceeded down the hallway.
I pushed through piles of stacked magazines and peeked into the rooms.
While I was inspecting the living room, I heard a sound coming from the direction of the kitchen.
Pacha, pacha, pacha.
Juru, juru, juru.
Nicha, nicha, nicha.
It was the sound of wet chewing.
I immediately moved my feet toward the source of the sound.
In my head, an image of a beast lapping up water surfaced.
Or perhaps a poorly behaved pauper chewing food with their mouth open.
Steadying my breathing, I stepped into that place.
—There he was.
A single small goblin sitting cross-legged in front of the refrigerator.
Clad in crude rags over green skin, he was frantically biting into raw meat.
To my utter exasperation, he had released his transformation and revealed his true form.
Does he mean to stop disguising himself as a human inside the house and just relax?
I'm sorry to interrupt your relaxation, but I'm going to shoot your legs out.
[Hero Keisuke used Light Bullet magic. 30 MP consumed]
Pikyun! With a high-pitched firing sound, an arrow of light pierced the goblin.
"Gugeh!"
The dwarf collapsed, letting out a foolish scream.
I immediately approached him, crouched down, and observed the meat.
Is it human flesh?
It is said that pork and human meat are difficult to distinguish by appearance alone.
I deactivated Concealment to conduct an interrogation.
"A human!? From where...!?"
I fired Light Bullets in succession, shooting through his hands, shoulders, and thighs.
"Gagyaaa!?"
"What kind of meat is this?"
"Pork..." the goblin answered in a trembling voice.
"Is that true? You didn't kidnap some kid around here and butcher them, did you?"
"Pork... I said... it's poooork..."
I didn't think this race was tough enough to maintain their pride after being tormented this much.
If so, it must be the truth.
I looked down at the scrawny goblin writhing in pain in a pitiful state.
Goblins were not only the ones who stole Elsa's life, but they were also the demi-humans who had invaded the Kingdom where we lived many times.
They could be called arch-enemies.
I was making that very creature prostrate itself with my own hands, inflicting one-sided violence.
It felt very good.
But at the same time, my chest ached terribly.
Because revenge contains both sweetness and bitterness in equal measure.
No.
To begin with, is this even revenge?
In the different world where I once was, I exterminated every single goblin.
If this were retaliation, it would have been settled long ago at that point.
And yet, goblins have appeared again like this.
What does that signify?
Is this goblin a survivor that I failed to finish off?
Or is he an individual that came from a completely unrelated world? If that were the case—
"You, what dimension were you born in?"
At my question, the goblin replied while sobbing.
"Gaia... Gaia...!"
It was a world I didn't know. Not Earth, not the different world I was in, and not Aqua where Kana was.
This guy had no connection whatsoever to the goblins that tormented Elsa.
I felt something cooling down inside me.
Tormenting this guy any further would just be venting my frustration.
It would be meaningless. I should end this quickly.
"I heard you have humans trapped inside. Where are they?"
"Upstairs..."
A gnarled finger pointed toward the ceiling. He likely meant the second floor.
I delivered the finishing blow to the goblin and left the kitchen.
I headed back toward the entrance and stepped onto the stairs.
I went up, skipping every other step.
Every time I moved my feet, a creaking sound rang out.
The handrail was in a miserable state, covered in dust and rat droppings.
I made sure not to touch it and ran all the way up.
There were two rooms on the second floor.
I'll start by checking the one in front. Just as I thought that and reached for the door, two goblins burst out from the room in the back.
Reflexively, I generated Light Swords from both hands to intercept them.
The goblins, their arms and legs severed, tumbled down the stairs.
So the one in the back is the target, then.
Since they had confessed in an easy-to-understand way, I stepped into the room where those two had been.
"...This is terrible."
Inside, five or six humans were tied up.
They were all young men, covered in grime. Duct tape was stuck over their mouths.
A stale stench, like when passing a homeless person, irritated my nasal membranes.
I didn't even want to think about where they had relieved themselves or what kind of food they had been given.
I immediately cast Sleep magic on them and attempted a status appraisal.<
I had suspected as much, but they were all genuine humans.
'Kosuke Fujimoto'
A name I recognized was among the appraised hostages.
It was the name of the boy that the goblin called Agil, whom I had encountered at the game center, had been impersonating.
In other words, the real Kosuke Fujimoto, whose identity had been stolen by that guy, was here.
The Fujimoto here is just a victim. I have to save him.
Looking at him, it seemed his limbs had been crudely tied for a long period, and his wrists and ankles were severely congested.
At this rate, they might rot right off.
I cast magic on Fujimoto.
"Heal"
Simultaneously with the incantation, the wounds on his limbs closed before my eyes. I healed the other victims in the same manner.
I loosened the ropes on their limbs.
After that, once they woke up, they would likely escape on their own.
I left the room and decided to check the remaining areas in order.
After further investigating the second floor and confirming there were no abnormalities, I descended to the first floor.
Every time I encountered a goblin, I cut them down and forced them to spit out information.
If there were humans, I put them to sleep and treated them.
It was nothing but a repetitive cycle.
The last one was hiding in a closet in the Japanese-style room.
"Hi...!"
He was curled up in his already small body, trembling violently.
When in a position of strength, they act with utmost cruelty, but when in a disadvantage, they reveal their cowardly side.
What a petty mentality.
I had moved past hatred and hostility and was beginning to feel an emotion akin to pity.
These guys didn't choose to be born as goblins either; it would be mercy to kill them in a way that caused as little pain as possible.
I readied my Light Sword and began the interrogation.
My plan was to ask everything I wanted to know, then finish him with a single thrust to a vital point.
"Are there any other goblin nests?"
"...In Nekoyashiki..."
"I already heard that from the others. Give me some new information."
I pressed the weightless tip of my blade against his chin.
The goblin's knees shook as his eyes darted left and right.
Eventually, as if remembering something, his face went pale.
"...Ah, that! In a house not too far from here, a super beautiful woman lives... Everyone said they wanted her! I-I think that house will be attacked next. If you go there, you might meet the others too..."
"Do you know the name of this beautiful woman?"
"Rio. It's Rio. Rio Saito. I heard Agil was targeting her, but since he's dead, she's up for grabs. Hey, I told you something good, right? So please, let me live, okay? Please? Ple...!"
Since he began a begging for his life that was unbearable to watch, I cut off his head.
Rio is in danger.
I dashed out of the mansion at full speed.