Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 191 - Either Way Is Fine

Chapter 191 – Either Way Is Fine

 

“…What?”

Jerix slowly rose to his feet.

His eyes widened. His jaw stiffened.

The relaxed composure he’d maintained the entire time vanished, replaced by obvious bewilderment.

Clink.

Despite my earlier request that He simply watch the performance, the One of Confusion ultimately revealed His will.

‘Continue.’

It seemed He was thoroughly pleased by Jerix’s reaction, which had reached the very pinnacle of chaos.

To be honest, so was I. Just look at him… standing there awkwardly, one arm half-raised, completely at a loss.

Thump.

Thump.

‘…I’m alive.’

Stimulation. Shock. Dopamine.

The only things that truly made me feel that I genuinely existed in this world.

This sensation… like needles repeatedly pricking my brain… was precisely why I still continued carrying the heavy burden called life.

“Mr. Mek… is much stronger than he appears.”

I wanted to savor this moment a little longer.

If I didn’t enjoy it while I had it, I’d only regret it later, once my heart dried out again.

“I was rather confident in my stamina… yet he completely wore me out.”

As I deliberately stroked my lower abdomen, Jerix quietly spoke.

“…When? Mek spent more time outside District 5 than inside it. But… I never received a single report about him meeting a goblin.”

“I imagine not. Our fateful meeting took place inside a labyrinth.”

Strictly speaking, we’d first met while waiting in line before entering the labyrinth.

But stories based on true events naturally became a bit more dramatic after being adapted.

“…So despite acting as though he were only interested in humans….”

The Goblin Great Chieftain covered his face with one hand.

My strike, aimed squarely at his greatest weakness… his only son… had landed perfectly.

He hadn’t noticed in the slightest that I was merely a fake daughter-in-law.

Such was the power of deception created through the harmony of Half-Elf Survival Techniques and Dark Clouds Rumble.

“Well… He’s an adult. It’s not really my place to interfere. But… this is all so sudden.”

Jerix’s voice softened noticeably. He now spoke with the warmth of a kind father-in-law addressing his daughter-in-law.

Just imagining how he’d react after learning the truth made my head grow hot. My heart pounded violently. The sinful exhilaration that filled me with vitality through imagination alone.

“…Are you feeling unwell? Your heartbeat has become much louder.”

“How could I possibly not be nervous… standing before Father?”

I’d nearly been caught. It wasn’t nervousness squeezing my brain and heart… it was excitement.

Quickly suppressing those fervent emotions, I hardened my expression, letting the atmosphere grow heavy once more.

“If You insist on carrying out Your plan… You’ll never meet your grandchild.”

“…So it really was a threat after all.”

“I told you… It’s not a threat.”

I leaned my upper body slightly forward.

“I have no intention of forcing my beliefs upon you, Father. I merely hope you’ll consider the path I wish you’d choose.”

“You’ve wrapped it in pretty words… but the essence remains the same.”

Someone like Marlin would’ve fallen for it.

As expected, a goblin whose mind had been filled through decades of experience and wisdom was different.

“If it sounds too much like a threat… then let me make it a request instead. For the sake of Mr. Mek… our child… and myself… please stop your blind hatred of humanity.”

“…I refuse.”

The moment I made an uncomfortable request, my kind father-in-law became the Goblin Great Chieftain once more.

“And spare me… the Harmony Church’s tiresome sermons about how excluding humans means it isn’t true harmony.”

Jerix lightly tapped the floor. Immediately, all the worms that had been wrapped around me vanished.

“Tell me. Do you know why there are so few famous goblin explorers actively working in Pletica?”

“Because… the race that makes up the largest portion of Pletica’s population, humans… subconsciously avoids goblins due to their resemblance to monsters.”

“Exactly.”

Once upon a time, goblins had literally been treated as monsters.

Even after finally being acknowledged as intelligent people, they still weren’t treated well.

All because they looked like monsters.

“I’ll be honest.”

Jerix closed his eyes.

“I hate humans. They call themselves the race of diversity… yet discriminate against anyone even slightly different from themselves. They judge people solely by appearances, and despite never having suffered historical divisions like goblins… they still insist on splitting into factions and fighting everywhere they go. I despise such a despicable nature.”

As someone who had once been human, those words couldn’t help but sting.

Though… they weren’t exactly wrong.

Objective truths, when impossible to deny, had a way of making people uncomfortable.

“Even so… cutting off all interaction with humanity is far too extreme.”

“I know. I know perfectly well… that I’m doing something foolish.”

“Then stop.”

“I cannot.”

Keeping his eyes closed for a moment longer, Jerix finally opened them, looking upward through the opening in the tent ceiling.

“I intend… to make them understand.”

His slow, steady words sent shivers down my spine.

Conviction. A belief born only through brutal experience or relentless learning.

Every syllable carried the weight of that conviction.

“With the blood of the innocent… and their screams… I’ll erase the deeply rooted hostility and contempt humans harbor toward other races.”

The Goblin Great Chieftain lowered his head, meeting my eyes directly. His gaze overflowed with profound resolve.

“I shall create… a world of complete peace and harmony… where no one looks down upon anyone else.”

Jerix the Invincible was not an extremist tyrant.

He wasn’t some goblin constantly shouting in rage.

He was an idealist, pursuing his dream through unwavering reason.

“If you’re about to lecture me… claiming this isn’t the true harmony Artein desires… don’t bother. I’ve heard it enough already.”

[The hypocritical goddess’s sermons truly are tiresome!]

“I’ll gladly bear the infamy… of being remembered as a foolish goblin… if it means ending the conflicts between races caused by humanity.”

“Even if it means trampling your fellow Association members?”

“The opinions of the other members… don’t matter.”

Jerix’s eyes gleamed brightly.

“I… am the Interracial Association.”

Far too arrogant. His pride reached the heavens.

And yet… it wasn’t entirely false.

“1,239.”

Suddenly mentioning a number, the Great Chieftain smiled faintly.

“The number of Mysteries I currently possess. Every precious legacy handed down by my ancestors… resides within me.”

The martial Mystery belonging to the Shaman Class: [Inherited Resolve].

Upon death, it transferred every Mystery one possessed to another shaman who shared the same object of faith.

Even while endless conflicts raged because of humanity’s tyranny, every previous Great Chieftain had passed down their strength.

So that one day… in a future unseen… all goblins might unite beneath one great hero.

“I’ll say it once more. I have no intention of stopping. Even if that means… even my own grandchild may become a sacrifice. I’ve already resolved… to fall into Hell.”

“……”

The face of the strongest goblin in history was utterly serene. As though he truly didn’t care if he burned in Hell for eternity.

“Tell Mek as well. I’ll gladly trample over him… if that’s what it takes to continue forward.”

“…Very well.”

At first, his pupils had shaken incessantly. Now, he sat there as motionless as a stone statue.

He’d become boring. Having completely lost interest, I stood immediately, without the slightest hesitation, and walked toward the exit.

“What I said… about you never seeing your grandchild if you don’t abandon your plans… was sincere, Father.”

It wasn’t a lie. Jerix would never give up… And the “grandchild” had never existed in the first place. Merely a fictional character I’d invented.

“I’ll see you again.”

Leaving only those words behind, I leisurely exited the tent.

Immediately afterward, I fulfilled the labyrinth’s completion condition… witnessing the monster known as the Starving Wolf… and returned outside.

Truthy displayed a message.

[Observation — Jerix still hasn’t abandoned his convictions. If anything, he may push forward with even greater determination….]

Returning to being the clever little Karr, I leisurely walked while replying,

“I know.”

Of course, I knew.

“So that’s what makes it good.”

Whether Jerix’s resolve wavered even slightly or… whether he steadfastly upheld his convictions exactly as he’d declared.

Either outcome was fine. I’d welcome either one wholeheartedly.

“Wouldn’t you agree… Lord Okail?”

Clink!

The cheerful sound of chains rang out.

‘Worth watching.’

High praise, in Okail’s own way.

 

***

 

“Wake up.”

The morning of the finals.

Someone shook me awake while I was peacefully sleeping, having boldly monopolized the worst room at Sleeping Piglet as the expedition leader.

I’d been dreaming a nightmare where Yoonji was ruthlessly criticizing me while wearing a horrifying expression.

Honestly, I wanted to sleep a little longer.

Still rubbing my sleepy eyes, I sat up… only to find a perfectly muscular Demon standing over me.

“You’ve arrived… Your Majesty, the Demon King.”

Still half asleep, I hurriedly dropped to one knee in greeting.

Patting my shoulder, the Demon King leaned casually against the wall, arms folded.

“As planned by Grand Duke Karr… I shall remain here. Once the tournament begins… I’ll commence my own operation.”

Since the Demon King, the world’s most dignified unemployed man, wasn’t participating in the tournament and had nothing particularly pressing to do, I’d prepared a special mission for Him.

Something even more important than stopping Jerix.

“So… If I encounter the silver-haired Half-Elf along the way… I should proceed together with them?”

“Correct. I’m counting on You, Your Majesty.”

“Set aside your worries, Grand Duke Karr. I shall carry it out splendidly. I’ll look forward to it with a pounding heart.”

Emotions like worry were negative concepts, unworthy of someone like me… the Grand Duke of the newborn Demon Realm.

The emotions I ought to pursue were anticipation and excitement. Nothing but the highest forms of positivity.

“However… I do have one request.”

While I diligently lowered my head, acting adorably through Half-Elf Survival Techniques, the Demon King suddenly spoke.

I immediately bowed even lower.

“Please command this loyal servant however you wish.”

“Grand Duke Karr, as you know… my body is ordinarily as heavy… as cargo sunken into the deepest ocean.”

The Demon King placed a hand upon my head.

“So… I would like you… to recharge me with positive concepts.”

“Ah!”

Apparently, rather than consuming positivity in real time through intense combat, He intended to charge Himself to the fullest beforehand, then begin His mission.

Although the aftereffects of the sealing ritual would gradually drain His strength after a day, charging up beforehand would allow Him to begin at full power from the very first day.

“So that’s why you came so early. I almost thought… You’d rushed here simply because you missed me too much.”

“That is also true! You’re my only loyal subject! It’s terribly lonely!”

“But what about Librarian Kiji?”

“That one’s far too frail. It’s no fun. Anyway… Hurry and recharge me.”

How could I possibly refuse my lord’s request?

I immediately began the Positive Concept Production Procedure.

And approximately three hours later…

“…Are you satisfied now?”

Despite my high Stamina stat, my body had grown noticeably sore.

As I rubbed my aching muscles, the Demon King nodded vigorously.

“Grand Duke Karr… You truly are a jack-of-all-trades!”

Having thoroughly filled Himself, the Demon King rose, straightening His shoulders.

His bearing was completely different from when He’d first arrived; an overwhelming dignity and authority now radiated from Him.

It was as though an entire vast world had been compressed into a single point.

The recharge had been successfully completed.

“…I’m glad.”

I forced my trembling legs to stand, having entertained Him with far too much enthusiasm.

“You’ve done well. As a reward… I’d like to bestow upon you a Sin Mystery. Do you have any objections?”

“I do.”

“You… do?”

“I merely fulfilled my duty as Your servant. How could you possibly reward me for that?”

“Hwahaha!”

The Demon King grabbed my head and vigorously ruffled it.

“As expected of Grand Duke Karr! I’m giving it to you because I wish to! So don’t refuse!”

Thanks to that brief exchange, I’d left an even better impression… and earned a reward besides, this too was part of Half-Elf Survival Techniques.

The ideal outcome, drawn forth through humble modesty backed by my high Charm.

“I should head to the tournament now. Leave everything outside the labyrinth to Me. Now go.”

Planning to receive the Sin Mystery after the tournament, I stepped into the courtyard.

“What took you so long?!”

“You deserve penalty points, Captain!”

The others were already waiting for me.

“Come out, Perrin.”

“Grrrrrr…!”

Perrin emerged from my abdomen, taking the form of a wolf Beastman.

“Everyone, at last… the day of our decisive battle has arrived.”

Quietly brushing aside the issue of my tardiness with the authority of a captain, I looked over each member.

Every one of them wore a determined expression.

It was the Moonlight Expedition’s first time competing in the Exploration Tournament.

They were understandably nervous.

“Kaaaar!”

Astrimia, being a sword, felt no nervousness whatsoever.

Cheerfully shaking her blade, she spoke.

“Before the tournament starts, say something! Anything!”

“Merry Christmas.”

“…Huh? What does that mean?”

“You asked me to say anything.”

“Not that…. I meant something for the team.”

“Is there anyone here… who isn’t confident about winning?”

Brightfeather timidly raised a hand, looked around, then quietly lowered it again.

“Apparently not. As expected.”

Fwoosh!

Using [Death · Flame · Transformation], I ignited a beacon of victory in midair and boldly declared,

“Now then… Let’s go win this tournament.”