Home/I Saved the Villain and Fell Asleep/ch 83

Chapter 83

"A goblin can go anywhere—because it's free. Don't be bound by rules. Since you've got the club in your hand, you should try everything you can."

I wondered just how far the goblin had gone with it.

"Hmm, little one. Look over there."

As the goblin's voice echoed, the temperature around us seemed to drop. His voice held a hint of anger. I followed his gaze.

A carriage with iron bars on its back was passing along the main road—like a prisoner transport. People whispered as they looked at the cage. Some watched with curiosity, others with fear. I followed their gazes and looked inside—there was an animal.

"That's the child I'm looking for. It's crying again."

It was a massive tiger. Lying in the cage with a resigned look, it slowly opened its eyes. Seeing that deep golden color, like molten gold, gave me a sense of déjà vu.

"How tiresome. This is why mystical beasts shouldn't come to the human world—too much curiosity."

"Chirp!!"

The Mountain God? Isn't that the Mountain God? I don't think there's another creature with those golden eyes...

"Look. Goblins are free and can do anything."

The moment he finished speaking, the scene shifted again. The goblin was standing on top of the cage where the Mountain God was trapped.

"Who's there?!"

"Where did he come from?"

"Grab him!!"

Soldiers began rushing in. As if finding it amusing, the goblin smirked and raised the club. A strange wind howled, and a storm began to rage.

"What suits a goblin best?"

He muttered to himself.

"Thunder and lightning?"

A roar echoed from the sky. At the thunderous boom, people scattered in panic.

"Or maybe fire?"

He smiled at me and gestured—blue flames began to bloom in the air. Blue will-o'-wisps.

Fire changes color with temperature. Red at the lowest, then yellow, then white... and when it's at the highest temperature and purity, it burns blue. Could Kali make blue flames? If he could, he'd become even stronger.

"Oh dear, you should be focusing on something else."

As if reading my mind, the goblin clicked his tongue. With a gesture, the iron bars were cut, and the tiger leaped out.

"Let's go, tiger."

Sitting lightly on the tiger's back, he nudged its side.

"Roooar!!!!"

With a threatening roar, the tiger charged forward. Mages who'd come to their senses began casting long-range magic, but the club knocked them all away—not a single spell reached us.

Once they were safe, the goblin handed the hat to the whimpering tiger.

"Sorry I'm late."

"Grrr."

"Ah, well. I said I'm sorry."

"Grr!"

"You're probably the only divine beast who dares talk back to me. Don't think I'm letting it slide because you're young—I just don't want to hear anyone say I bullied a little one. Here, play with the hat."

It really is the Mountain God! A tiger that goes gaga over the hat like a cat on catnip!

I'd heard there was a previous owner of the Goblin Club—it must be him.

"You're a thoughtful child."

He held out the handle of the club to me.

Even if he gives it to me, I only have wings, not hands... Huh? I looked down—feathers were gone, replaced by ten human fingers. They moved when I willed them, so they were definitely my hands.

"Oh my, a lovely young lady."

I looked up. A man well over two meters tall bent down to meet my eyes.

"Young goblin—live freely."

"I don't think I'm particularly oppressed, though?"

"Are you sure?"

"Huh?"

"Aren't you living oppressed by death?"

Death. I'd always worried that Kali would walk the original path and kill my family. But that's old news now—he wouldn't do that.

...Would he?

"Besides, goblins are capricious and rough—they become violent when things don't go their way. Their temperament is too wild to be raised gently in someone's arms."

He was insulting his own kind.

"In that sense, maybe fire suits you well. Birds of a feather."

Fire? Who's he talking about? Kali?

He summoned his pipe again, exhaled smoke, and held out the handle once more.

"My appearance before you is just a whim—don't overthink it. Go on, take it."

I hesitated, then reached out. The moment I gripped the handle, my vision warped.

"Nice to meet you, young goblin."

"Wait! I thought you were dead? Why are you in my dream?"

"I am dead. This is just a consciousness. Why did I appear? Hmm... let's say I felt sorry for you swinging the Goblin Club like a club for beating people."

"Ah! Wait! I'm not done asking! T-teleportation—can I use that too?!"

"You already know how. Just remember this feeling. Now, go."

The background began to swirl and distort. At the same time, my mana began to surge—I had to gasp for air. My mana spring, which had been fine when summoning the club or using magic, started pouring out like a waterfall.

I felt like a ship tossed on rough seas, then suddenly it stopped. I smelled earth, grass, and something burning.

"Huff!!"

I snapped my eyes open and looked around—a familiar forest. This was the path to the lake. Didn't I fall asleep near the lake?

"Grr..."

My whole body was stiff. Why was I sleeping on the ground? Kali wouldn't have just dumped me here and gone down alone.

"Ah...?"

The Goblin Club was in my hand—I didn't remember pulling it out. In the dream, I'd been holding it too—did I summon it in my sleep?

I stretched my stiff limbs and stood up. The acrid smoke I hadn't noticed was now right in front of me—unmistakably fire.

"Kali?"

Why suddenly? I told him to be careful with fire.

Could it not be Kali? Or if it is, why would he set the forest on fire?

My heart sank. Kali wouldn't set a fire for no reason. But... can I be sure?

With an inexplicable fear, I ran—ignoring the branches scraping my skin.

"Kali!! Bibi!!"

Where was Bibi? If he'd heard me, he'd have come running. Why...!

Running a bit further, I saw a figure standing alone in a small clearing—a man with pale pink hair, in a white shirt and black pants. It was Kali.

"Kali!!"

Wild flames rose around him, sparks scattering and catching on trees. Through the leaping flames, Kali looked up and saw me.

"Algenprina, Hariella."

Was it his voice, so different from usual? My heart plummeted. I couldn't breathe.

Snap out of it, Hariella. That's Kali—the one I've personally paved a flower path for, so he'd live differently from the original. His hair is pink. He's not the original Czerban Caelius.

But I couldn't calm down easily. I shook the club in my hand and cast Father's magic. The silver circle filled the clearing, and the flames died instantly.

"Kali."

"You..."

Kali's face was pale. His lips were bloody from biting them.

"You, just..."

"Huff! Ka-Kali, are you crying?!"

I could see tears welling up in his green eyes. Was I still dreaming? Is this real?

I ran to him and cupped his face in both hands.

"Hey! Why are you crying?! What's going on!"

Without a word, he pulled me into a tight embrace—so tight it was hard to breathe. No matter what I asked, he just gasped for air.

I patted his back somewhat roughly, trying to calm him, when a shadow appeared from above.

"Young lady!!"

"Shadow!"

"How, how? No—where were you?! We searched everywhere nearby!"

"What? Wait—start from the beginning. I'm too confused to understand."

The shadow was drenched in sweat from the search.

"After you fell asleep, the young master also dozed off. We were just keeping watch..."

The shadow hesitated and came closer. At the unfamiliar presence, Kali tensed up—I wrapped my arms around him.

The shadow lowered his voice and whispered in my ear.

"A green and golden magic circle spread over you, and then you suddenly disappeared."

"What? Disappeared? Me?"

"Yes. I saw it clearly—you vanished in the blink of an eye."

Green and golden magic circle. The goblin's teleportation.

"Just remember this feeling."

The deep, resonant voice of the goblin came to mind.

Oh my god. Did I just learn teleportation from the previous Goblin Club owner in my dream?

I don't know if I should be happy or despair. Of course, teleportation is great—zip here, zip there! ...But the problem is that this is the dark mages' long-cherished desire.

The only witnesses were Kali and the shadow before me.

"Take off your mask for a second."

At my command, the shadow removed his mask—a familiar face.

It's him!

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