«Ooh. Now that is a fascinating story.»

Ea nodded with an impressed look.

Kiriyan, brimming with excitement, kept talking.

«And that’s not all. The fields up above—the Lord cultivated them himself. The chickens in the fence, too—those are his doing.»

«Your Lord must be quite remarkable, hmm? From what you’re saying, he sounds like a total fix-everything kind of man.»

«Naturally. He is nothing less than a benefactor to us.»

«I think I understand why you adore and follow him so dearly. It’s a wonderful thing to have a trustworthy leader.»

Ea and Kiriyan sat side by side, gulping down their soup rice. Even as they ate, the conversation never stalled.

The relaxed lunch hour was nearly over. One by one, the goblins who’d finished their meals began preparing for work.

That was when Gobungi shouted toward the assembled goblins.

«Goblins who’ve finished eating! Gather in the field! This is the Lord’s command!»

Ea tilted her head.

«Hm? Is something happening?»

«I’m not sure myself. I need to go see right away.»

Kiriyan finished off the last of his stew, then rose to his feet.

«Mind if I come watch? I’m no goblin, but still.»

«Hm. Better ask Lord first.»

«Good idea. Thanks for eating with me today, Kiriyan.»

«My pleasure. Let’s share dinner too, later.»

«Yes, I’d like that. I feel like we’re getting a little closer.»

Kiriyan gave a curt nod and headed toward the field. The other goblins gathered one by one.

Ea finished her meal at a leisurely pace. By the time she reached the field, every goblin was already assembled.

Go Byeonggap stood at their center.

«Everyone here? Gobungi, check for me.»

«Yes, sir!»

«Take your time.»

Gobungi tallied the heads with practiced ease.

Ea slipped behind Go Byeonggap in that opening.

«Excuse me.»

«Ah! You scared me!»

«What are you up to?»

Go Byeonggap steadied his startled heart before answering.

«Got something to do. Why?»

«Can I watch too? I’m curious what you all gather for.»

«Hmm…»

Go Byeonggap thought a moment, then readily agreed.

«Suit yourself. The ones helping you are here anyway.»

«Yay! Thanks! I’m very curious. Spirits usually are.»

«You add way too many useless comments.»

«Do I? But I love talking. If I can’t say what comes to mind, my chest gets all ti—»

«Enough, just go over there.»

«Hehe. Got it.»

Ea gently squeezed into the spot where the goblins were seated in a cluster.

«My Lord. Everyone. Is here.»

«Okay. Gobungi, you go sit there too.»

«Yes.»

The goblins lined up in formation and sat down. Go Byeonggap stood before them and cleared his throat.

«Eat well?»

«Yes! We ate well!»

«Mom!»

The goblins answered in unison, making Asvillam ring with their voices.

Ea started so badly she had to cover her ears.

«I called you all here for a reason. Today, a new member is joining Asvillam. That’s why I summoned you.»

«New. Member?»

The clueless goblins murmured. Go Byeonggap calmed them with practiced ease.

«Now now, everyone quiet and focus. Because from now on, the first female goblin in New Asvillam’s history is about to be born.»

Silence settled over the field. Heart pounding, Go Byeonggap opened the Ancient Shop.

He flicked his fingers a few times to find the desired item.

‘There.’

[Female Goblin]

— Price: 500,000 Crystals

— Description: A female goblin driven extinct by the curse. Possesses reproductive function and can give birth to females.

Go Byeonggap held for two or three seconds, then pressed the button.

[Would you like to purchase a ‘Female Goblin’?]

‘Huh.’

[Please select the ‘Female Goblin’ you wish to purchase.]

[Henrel, Maria, Kanna, Ariona, Susan, Delosi, Grancia…]

‘What the hell is this?’

Go Byeonggap frowned at the hologram.

A list of tens of thousands of names scrolled past—enough to keep him up for days if he tried to read them all.

‘I’m supposed to pick from these?’

He hadn’t expected this, and it threw him off.

‘Now I’m actually stuck.’

Byeonggap groaned. When you have too many choices, you hesitate—it’s just human nature.

‘Ah, screw it. They’re all probably the same anyway.’

Steeling himself, he pressed the purchase button. The name he settled on was ‘Doran.’

A moment later, 500,000 crystals were deducted from his account. And before him, a clump of light began to coalesce.

«Ooh!»

The goblins gasped in awe. Byeonggap stared blankly at the scene.

The ball of light rapidly took shape. First, a head formed, then gradually a torso and limbs emerged.

When the tips of her feet finally solidified, the shimmering light faded, revealing a woman. A woman clad in not a single thread—completely nude.

And she was not a goblin.

At least, that’s how it looked to Byeonggap.

‘What the hell is this?’

«……Eh?»

«That… what is it?»

«My, My Lord? What is the meaning of this?»

She was an incredibly beautiful girl. She had glossy, raven-black hair like silk and clean, bronze skin.

Her features were sharp and distinct, and her ears, drooping downward, came to a point.

She wasn’t very tall—about 160 centimeters, just reaching Byeonggap’s chest.

At a glance, she looked around sixteen or seventeen years old.

‘No, shit. The age isn’t the problem here.’

Byeonggap tried to steady his dazed mind and piece together what was happening.

‘Female’ seemed right, but where in the world was the ‘goblin’ in this?

He couldn’t find a single trace of a goblin anywhere on her. If he had to compare, she was close to human—but not exactly. There was a distinct, unsettling difference.

«…….»

The mysterious girl blinked a few times, then looked up at Byeonggap. Staring into her green eyes, he felt like he might get sucked in.

The girl then glanced around, taking in her surroundings.

Hundreds of eyes staring blankly at her. She flinched and took a step back.

«……What are you?»

Byeonggap managed to ask. The girl just kept blinking.

‘Can’t she talk?’

The thought crossed his mind for just a moment.

«Huh? What’s this?»

The girl scrunched her face up and spoke in a raw voice.

Byeonggap was as startled as when he’d first heard Ea’s voice. It was an undeniably enchanting sound.

‘I wish I knew.’

Go Byeonggap couldn’t seem to find the words.

* * *

«I don’t really know that either.»

«Figured.»

The mysterious girl, Doran, fidgeted with the cloak Byeonggap had given her and answered vaguely.

‘This is giving me a headache.’

Go Byeonggap talked with Doran in his personal tent.

No, it was more like an interrogation. He asked; she answered.

Trouble was, there wasn’t much to show for it.

Go Byeonggap had fired off about forty questions, and Doran had answered every single one with “I don’t know.”

Still, he’d managed to nail down two things.

‘Kid genuinely doesn’t know a thing. And she’s got no manners.’

Doran knew nothing. She was a blank slate. If only she’d had a few smudges on her—but no, she was pristine to a fault.

And green as unripe fruit. She was even now perched sideways on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other, bouncing her foot.

Go Byeonggap decided there was no point in pressing further.

«Alright. Let’s call it here.»

«Hey, Lord. Oh! I’m supposed to call you Lord, right?»

«Yeah, that works. What is it?»

«I have a question. What happens to me now?»

«You’ll… be staying here from now on. With the other goblins.»

«Oh, really? That sounds fun.»

«……»

Was she easygoing, or just brainless?

Doran didn’t throw a fuss. Go Byeonggap put a cigarette to his lips and lit it. Doran screwed up her face and leaned back.

«Ewww. I hate that smell.»

«We’re done. You can go now.»

«Where?»

«See that tent pitched over there?»

He pointed in a direction with his finger.

«What’s a tent? Oh, that thing?»

«Yeah. A girl named Ea will be there. Stick with her for today.»

«Okay, got it. Hmm-hmm-hmm. Ea, Ea, I wonder who Ea is~»

Doran hummed a tune as she sauntered off. She was lively in a way that was a little different from Ea.

“What a headache.”

Go Byeonggap shook his head and blew out a stream of smoke. It scattered into the air.

‘Is that… what goblins looked like before their regression?’

The conversation with Doran hadn’t yielded much. But he could still piece things together. After some rounds of deduction, he arrived at a conclusion.

‘The female goblins went extinct before Asvillam even fell. So they wouldn’t have gone through the species’ regression. That means her appearance is probably the original form of the goblins before their decline.’

Unless the Ancient Shop had been lying from the start, there was no way he’d bought a goblin and gotten something random.

‘Unbelievable. That might actually be the true form of a goblin.’

He let out a hollow laugh. Doran. And the rest of the goblins. The gap between them was too vast. Almost sad enough to cry over.

‘Just what kind of shit did you people pull to end up like this?’

Go Byeonggap smoked for a while.

After a bit, he went looking for Ea. He found her down by the river with the goblins and Doran. She was doing dishes.

From a few paces away, Byeonggap watched them for a moment in silence.

«Can I try that too?»

«Hm? Does that mean you’re offering to help? If you help, this Ea would be very happy. I like receiving help. And I like helping others, too.»

«Then I’ll help. Looks fun.»

Doran squeezed in between them, helping with the dishes in her clumsy way.

Byeonggap sighed, then called out to Ea.

«Ea.»

«Hm? Ah! When did you get here? I didn’t even notice you standing behind me.»

«Come here a second.»

«Ah, fine. You have something to say to me, I take it?»

Byeonggap led Ea to a quiet spot.

«What is it you have to tell me?»

«I need you to look after Doran for a while.»

«That girl’s name is Doran? Pretty name. Anyway, understood. Leave it to me.»

«Then I’m counting on you. Take her around, teach her things. Sleep with her too. If you need anything, tell me. I’ll get it for you right away.»

Better to keep her with Ea than with the other goblins, he figured.

Ea agreed readily.

«Got it. Making new friends is always a pleasure. Somehow I feel like Doran and I will get along well. I just got that feeling. I have good instincts. As a matter of fact, there was this one time—»

«Got it. Got it, so go finish the dishes.»

«Mm, understood.»

Byeonggap sent Ea back. That spirit always drained him to talk to.

He headed straight out of Asvillam. He planned to catch some shut-eye.

Say what you will, but when your head was pounding, sleep was the best medicine.

“Let’s hit the shower and take a long nap for the first time in a while.”

He stripped off his clothes and tossed them aside. It wasn’t like anyone was watching.

He reached down to take off his underwear.

And right at that moment—

—CRASH! Boom!

“Wh—what the fuck!?”

The building shook with the roar.

In a flash, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind.

‘What the hell? War? Did a missile just fall? Or an earthquake? A sinkhole? What? What is it?’

Go Byeonggap lunged for the window, his underwear half-hitched up his thighs. He yanked the blinds aside and threw the window wide open.

Oh, my God.

“What the—”

Words died in his throat.

Missiles, earthquakes, sinkholes—this was something far more outrageous than any of that, unfolding right in front of his rented room.

‘Why the hell is a monster on the street?’

“Aaaargh! Fuck! Fuck! Stay away!”

A chill scream cut through the air. Byeonggap craned his neck, straining to see where it came from.

A monster was closing in on a man.

The man’s legs gave out; he crumpled to the ground. The monster, without a shred of mercy, tore him apart.

Blood and filth splattered across the building’s outer wall.

“Grrrrrr…”

The monster slowly turned its head. Then its eyes met Byeonggap’s, who was staring down from the fourth-floor villa.

‘Fuck!’

Byeonggap, moving like a madman—

No—half out of his mind, he pulled his discarded clothes back on. Once he’d grabbed his longsword, he bolted straight out the door.

Even as he pounded down the stairs,

he couldn’t make sense of what the hell was happening.