Go Byeonggap chewed his lower lip without realizing it. For a solid five seconds, he stood frozen in place.

Because something had appeared that he’d never in a million years expected.

“A fucking coffin? What the hell is a coffin doing here?”

A coffin meant a corpse.

No way it’d be stuffed with groceries.

No wonder the place felt so goddamn creepy. He scowled, a chill crawling up his spine.

Should he just leave? He wrestled with the thought three times before steeling himself and stepping inside. A hunter couldn’t afford to be scared of a dead body.

The underground chamber wasn’t large. What little space there was felt even tighter, most of it taken up by ice.

“What the hell is this place?”

There were only two things here: a rectangular block of ice and a stone coffin. He swung his lantern around, hoping to find something else, but it was pointless.

He stood before the coffin for a long while, hesitating. Whatever lay inside, he had a feeling tonight’s dreams wouldn’t be pleasant.

“Ah, screw it.”

He’d come all this way—no way he was going back empty-handed. Go Byeonggap clamped the lantern between his teeth and started shoving the coffin lid.

A low grinding scrape.

‘Heavy.’

The stone coffin was substantial. It took someone like Byeonggap to push it open without much effort; an ordinary woman wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Slowly, the inside of the coffin revealed itself. The first things he saw were ten toes and a pair of bronze-toned legs.

Scrape. Scrape.

With each grating sound of stone against stone, more of the body was uncovered.

Past the knees and thighs came the groin. At the sight of it, his heart spasmed like a mad cat. Don’t misunderstand—it was absolutely not for some perverse reason.

‘A woman? She’s a woman?’

He’d guessed from the leg structure, but… it really was a woman.

“Hah!”

He drew on his internal energy and wrenched the coffin fully open.

A moment later, a woman lay fully revealed, flat on her back facing the ceiling.

“Hoo…”

Go Byeonggap was stunned for three reasons.

First. This corpse belonged to a woman—specifically, a female goblin.

Second. The woman’s condition was miraculously intact. It was impossible to believe she was dead.

Last. Her upper body was covered in a dense design—a tattoo.

“What was drawn on her?”

From above the woman’s pelvis up to below her neck, and all the way to just before her elbows, there was no trace of original skin—so thick were the tattoos.

If they were simple patterns, he might have written her off as an ancient-tattoo enthusiast. But they weren’t.

“Wait, is this… a map?”

A suspicion flickered through his mind. The long line running from her belly to her breasts—that had to represent a river. Beside it, he could see a mountain range, and here and there, what looked like fortresses.

To turn that suspicion into certainty, he needed to see her back.

Go Byeonggap hesitated for a moment, then clamped the lantern in his teeth. He reached out a hand to turn the woman’s body over.

His fingertips touched her shoulders. Her skin was cold as ice.

Just as he thought the hairs on his neck were about to stand on end—it happened.

Woooong!

“What the hell!?”

A faint orange energy seeped into the woman through his fingertips. It was internal energy. A considerable amount of his internal energy was being absorbed into her body.

“Damn it!”

Even as he scrambled back, the line connecting him to the woman refused to break.

Go Byeonggap dropped into a combat stance by instinct. In this world, who actually liked having their strength drained?

Thankfully, the strand of internal energy gradually thinned. Byeonggap, showing signs of fatigue, kept his eyes fixed on the corpse.

Silence filled the basement. One second, two seconds, three… The time slipped by, hollow and endless.

“What the hell just—”

«Huuuuuhk! Cough!»

“!?”

The woman’s chest swelled violently. Her back arched like a drawn bow, arms and legs trembling in fine, rapid shivers.

She drew breath like a newborn finding its first wind, then began gasping for air with desperate, ragged heaves.

«Hahk, hahk, hahk!»

“Hey—hey, hey, hey, hey…”

Byeonggap drew his sword and leveled it at her. He was no coward. Even so, cold sweat trickled down his neck.

In all his life, he’d seen plenty of strange things—but this was a first. A whole new category of weird.

‘Wait, why am I flinching? I’m the Goblin Lord, aren’t I?’

He’d been creeping backward, but now he snapped to attention. That was right. He was the Goblin Lord.

Whether this thing before him was a ghost, a zombie, or some third unknown category—if its essence was goblin, he had nothing to fear.

Byeonggap dropped the skittish act and composed himself into a dignified stance. The sword, of course, stayed right in his grip.

The woman’s chest rose and fell a dozen times. Only then did her breathing begin to steady.

A moment later. She finally opened her eyes.

«……»

Byeonggap swallowed hard, staring at her. She rolled her anxious eyes around the room, then—half a beat late—noticed him.

Her already large eyes went even wider.

«Hyu-hik! Aaah!»

She tried to sit up, then immediately collapsed. Her body didn’t seem to obey her.

No surprise there. After lying in this icebox of a basement, moving like a live fish would’ve been the real miracle.

«You… are you human, or a ghost?»

Byeonggap beat her to the question. The woman only stared back in shock, not answering, her face frozen in pure terror.

She managed to prop herself up on her elbows, glancing left and right as if searching for something. From the look on her face, she didn’t find it.

Half a beat later, it dawned on her that she was naked. She frantically covered herself.

Well, he’d already seen everything.

«Hwaaah!»

She let out a sudden yelp. A high, clear voice, just like Ea’s or Doran’s.

But whether her tongue was twisted or her mouth had gone stiff, the sound was unintelligible.

«What? What did you say?»

«G-get back!»

«Oh. You said get back.»

Byeonggap obediently took a few steps backward. She shot him a look that said, Are you messing with me right now?

Then, like a madwoman, she began muttering to herself.

«Why? Why did a human awaken me? A human—how? Why?»

She looked up at Go Byeonggap with hollow, disbelieving eyes. Then she suddenly wrapped her arms around herself, trembling violently.

«Cold. So cold. Ugh…»

‘She’s insane…’

He didn’t appreciate her attitude, but watching her shiver from the cold stirred a flicker of pity in him.

He slipped off the shirt he was wearing and tossed it to her.

«Here. Put that on for now.»

«…»

Without a single word of thanks, the woman draped the shirt around herself. She coaxed her stiff, uncooperative body into motion and rose to her feet.

She was quite tall. Go Byeonggap had to admit—he was genuinely impressed by her figure.

Nearly 180 centimeters of slender frame, sculpted and lean without a trace of excess. Her silver hair cascaded down to her waist with an oily sheen, and her large, pointed ears drooped downward.

All in all, she looked remarkably like Doran.

The shirt didn’t quite cover her lower body. The woman kept tugging at the hem, visibly annoyed that it wouldn’t stretch any further.

Deciding he couldn’t watch this any longer, Go Byeonggap spun around and spoke.

«Follow me. Let’s head up first.»

With that, he climbed back to the surface. The woman followed with a look of deep distrust, though apparently unwilling to freeze to death.

«It’s pitch-black in here. Watch your step.»

«I’ll manage on my own!»

‘What a nasty temper. And why’s she speaking to me so informally?’

Her reaction was distinctly different from ordinary goblins. Even Doran, cold toward everyone else, treated him with respect.

It wasn’t that he was offended by the casual speech—just taken aback.

Go Byeonggap kept stealing glances back at her. The woman kept looking around restlessly, like someone searching for something they’d lost.

Finally, they reached the surface. In that instant, she dashed ahead of him and cried out in all directions.

«Your Majesty! Where are you? Your Majesty! Show yourself, Your Majesty!»

Her voice was desperate, heartbreakingly plaintive. But no matter how sorrowfully she called, only echoes rang through the empty temple.

She suddenly glared at Go Byeonggap.

«Are you an envoy of the enemy? Where is His Majesty the Emperor?»

«What nonsense is this? Who’s the Emperor?»

«What?»

The woman bolted without warning. She passed through the deep, dark corridor and arrived at the central hall of the temple. She flinched and trembled at the sight of the ruined sanctuary.

«Th-this… what happened…? Your Majesty! Your Majesty!»

With an anguished voice, she cried out for this ‘Emperor’ or whoever he was. Go Byeonggap just stared at her back, dumbfounded.

«Why are you hiding? Your Majesty, please show your noble face, Your Majesty!»

«Stop. There’s no Emperor or whatever you’re looking for here. I took a look around—nothing.»

«Liar! I can feel the Emperor’s presence—close as this…»

The woman’s eyes went wide as she stared at Go Byeonggap. Her mouth fell open. Her arms trembled violently.

«Ah… Aaaah…»

«What now?»

«How… how can I feel the Emperor’s presence from you? By what reason?!»

Goblins instinctively recognize their Lord. It’s not like he walks around with “I’m the Goblin Lord” stamped on his forehead.

This seemed to be a similar case.

That cranky woman had finally figured out who he was. Go Byeonggap smirked and answered.

«As you can see, I’m your Lord. I’ll explain everything step by step, so let’s get out of here first.»

«Ii— Uwaaah!»

«Huh!?»

That was when it happened. Without warning, the woman lunged at him. Even in her frenzy, she aimed for the sword at Go Byeonggap’s waist.

Her speed and movement were far from ordinary.

«She’s really lost it.»

But his body was still stiff. Go Byeonggap furrowed his brow deeply and dodged. Then, by reflex, he drove a fist into her abdomen.

«Kkeok!»

The woman vomited stomach acid and went limp. She’d passed out.

“Ah, damn. Didn’t hold back. …Why’d you attack out of nowhere anyway?”

He grimaced and heaved her over his shoulder. Another troublesome thing had popped up.

* * *

«Lord, Lord! That woman woke up.»

He was about to light a cigarette while staring up at the night sky when Tiny came running to report.

He’d just been about to spark it… Go Byeonggap clicked his tongue and shoved the tobacco back into the pack.

«Right, let’s go.»

«Lord, we gotta hurry. That woman’s got a nasty temper.»

«What? Why?»

«Dunno, she’s screaming her head off.»

Go Byeonggap clicked his tongue and quickened his pace. By the time he reached the house where the woman had been placed, shouting was already spilling out.

«Can’t you untie this right now?!»

«P-please calm down!»

‘Should’ve just left her.’

He stepped inside. In the room were a few goblins, Ea, and the woman, bound and lying on the bed.

Ea was sweating buckets trying to soothe her.

He’d tied her up tight knowing she’d cause trouble, and sure enough—chaos in full swing.

«My Lord, you’ve arrived.»

«My Lord.»

As Go Byeonggap entered, the goblins greeted him. The woman saw this and wore an expression of utter disbelief.

«You’re here! What a relief. I was so on edge.»

«Good work. Everyone, step out.»

Go Byeonggap pulled up a chair and sat down.

«You slept a long time. Must’ve been tired, huh?»

«How? How could a mere human inherit the Emperor’s lineage…?»

The woman fired the question without preamble.

The phrase ‘mere human’ grated on Go Byeonggap, but he decided to let it slide for now.

«That’s a long story. And if you want to hear it, why don’t you introduce yourself first?»

«I don’t want to talk while tied up. Untie me this instant! No… please, untie me.»

«Untie you? How can I trust you after what you did?»

«What happened earlier was… a mistake. If you don’t untie me, I won’t say another word.»

Go Byeonggap crossed his arms and let out a dry chuckle. He signaled the goblin behind him with a glance.

«Untie her.»

«Yes!»

The work foreman, Sabungi, stepped forward and released the conveyor belt.

The reason he’d given in so easily was simple. The woman seemed stubborn, and even if she threw a fit, he was confident he could subdue her.

She frowned deeply, glaring at the hob goblin.

«What are these hideous things?»

«Huh? Hideous?»

«Yes, hideous. In all my living years, I’ve never seen such ugly creatures.»

«You’d better watch your tongue from now on. These are goblins. Same as you.»

«Goblins? The same as me?»

The tension in the air unwound like a snapped conveyor belt. Luckily, she showed no sign of hostility.

Instead, she just tilted her head, utterly baffled.

«We haven’t even exchanged names. I’m Go Byeonggap. Just call me Lord. And your name?»

«…Merilin.»

«Good, Merilin. We’re both tired, so let’s get straight to it. Who are you, and why were you beneath the temple?»

«Before that, I need to hear something. What do you mean these goblin creatures are the same as me? Where are my people? I want to see them. Call them for me.»

«They’re right here?»

Go Byeonggap pointed a grim face toward the goblins behind him.

Merilin’s expression turned even grimmer.

«W-What are you talking about…»

«They’re all goblins. Your own kin.»

«No, that’s impossible—cough! cough!»

Merilin broke into a sudden fit of coughing, as if she’d just been served a reminder. Just then, a normal goblin padded over, a wooden bowl of water in his hands.

«H-Here, drink this.»

«Get away from me!»

«Eep!»

Merilin shoved Tiny hard. He landed on his rump, water sloshing all over him.

A vein bulged at Go Byeonggap’s temple.

«Don’t come near me! You grotesqu—gck!»

It happened in an instant. Byeonggap shot to his feet like lightning and seized Merilin by the throat.

Thud!

«Gh… guhk!»

«Aagh! D-Don’t, you! Stop it!»

He slammed Merilin against the wall. Choking, she clawed desperately at Go Byeonggap’s arm, her face twisted in pain.

Go Byeonggap spoke, his voice soaked in murderous intent.

«Touch the children one more time. I swear by the sky — I’ll kill you.»