“Thank you very much, you were a lot of help.” A goblin wearing wolf furs and a bear skull clasped Elrith’s hand. Bracelets made of bones jangled as the goblin shook Elrith’s hand while bowing and nodding. “We thought all angels were evil, but you have shown us the truth.”

“It’s an angel’s duty to strike down wayward demons,” Elrith said. “There’s no need to thank me so much.” The goblin’s hand was scaly, and Elrith’s palm was beginning to itch.

“Oh, don’t be so modest,” Sally said and rested her head on Elrith’s shoulder, wrapping her wings around his body. On her stomach, there was an egg-shaped bag strapped around her waist and shoulders. Tufts of wolf fur peeked out of the seams. Elrith retracted his hand and nodded at the goblin tribe leader before slipping his arm over Sally, hugging her closer.

The goblin shuffled from one foot to the other. “Benefactor,” she said. “Is it possible”—the goblin lowered her head—“for you to leave the bodies to us?” Behind Elrith, bound by ropes, there were four demon corpses. If Palan was here, he’d recognize them as the demons he set free.

“Well, it’d be inconvenient for me to bring them with me,” Elrith said. “I don’t see why not.”

“Thank you, benefactor,” the goblin said. “This will surely increase the strength of our tribe. We lost too many members to the demons. With this, we can survive the coming winter. You’ve saved us.”

Elrith furrowed his brow. The goblins were going to eat the demons, but he didn’t feel as if he should stop them. While traveling through the outer lands with Sally, they heard rumors of a group of demons slaughtering the native population. Sally wanted nothing to do with it, but Elrith was intrigued by the description of a bull-headed demon that sounded similar to the one Tuic, his deceased second-in-command, used to own.

“Are you thinking about what he said?” Sally asked and nuzzled his cheek with the top of her head. She released his shoulders and covered the bag on her stomach with her wings as if she were protecting it. Elrith nodded. Before the bull-headed demon died, Sally had tortured out the information concerning Tuic’s death. Palan had done it—disbanded the contracts and killed Elrith’s subordinates—for the price of an eventual favor. “Are you worried about Raea?”

“Of course I’m worried about Raea,” Elrith said. The goblins were dragging away the demon corpses. “I don’t even know if she’s still alive after Mom and Dad…. Yeah.” For a while, Elrith had been in denial over his parents’ actions, refusing to do anything. Sally had to hunt for food and take care of him. She was a lot better at surviving without shelter anyways. Taking care of him had brought the two closer—way closer than Elrith ever thought he would get to anyone. He lowered his head and placed his hand over Sally’s wings. According to her, in a few more weeks, he’d be a father.

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“I’m sure Raea and Palan are fine,” Sally said and smiled at him. “Palan doesn’t seem like the type of person to die that easily. He’ll definitely take care of Raea.” Elrith had heard those words dozens of times over the past weeks, but he never felt reassured. Palan was coldhearted and killed Elrith’s second-in-command, most likely with Raea present.

“Benefactor.” A goblin approached the two and offered them a pouch. “These are herbs we’ve gathered. They’re very useful for creating formulas for babies—makes them grow strong and healthy. We noticed you discussing childcare and hope you will accept our goodwill.”

Elrith’s face reddened. “Thank you,” he said and received the bag. Though it was only filled with herbs, it felt heavy in his hands. For some reason, his stomach churned as his heart raced. “We’ll use them well.”

The goblin nodded and smiled. “Benefactor’s a good person. We’ve heard rumors of another demon nearby who destroyed a lizardman village,” it said and scratched its head. “I thought benefactor would like to know. It’s in that direction.” The goblin pointed towards the northeast.

“That’s the way we’re going,” Sally said and furrowed her brow. She glanced at Elrith. “We can avoid this one, can’t we? I don’t want anything to happen to you.” She admired him for his sense of duty and diligence, but sometimes, she wished he wasn’t so righteous. As a coward, she believed in staying as far away from danger as possible.

“We can make a detour,” Elrith said with a nod. “The suns are going to set soon. Why don’t we find a place to stay for the night?”

“Benefactor,” the goblin leader said. She had finished directing the transfer of demon corpses. “If you’re looking for a place to stay the night, why don’t you stay with us? We don’t have enough rations to throw a feast, but we can offer you a meal.”

“A meal…,” Elrith muttered. Though Sally had been taking care of him, she had no idea how to cook. When she lived underground, she’d eat the mushrooms raw or take them to the cafeteria. When she lived aboveground with Palan, Cleo was always the designated cook. Not to mention it was difficult to start a fire without any arms. Sally tried her best, and Elrith appreciated that. But it had been a while since he had a proper meal since he didn’t know how to cook either. “Then we’ll stay the night. Is that fine with you?”

Sally nodded. “I’ve never tried goblin cuisine before,” she said and tilted her head. “I’ve never tried many cuisines now that I think about it.”

“In the future,” Elrith said. “I’ll let you try everything you want. It’s a good thing we don’t have to worry about what the baby can’t and can have.”

“Angels have to worry about that?” Sally asked, her eyes bigger than normal. She glanced at the bag by her waist and cradled it. “I didn’t know.”

“There wasn’t any reason for you to have known,” Elrith said and placed his hand in Sally’s light-brown hair. He murmured, “It’s hard to believe I’m going to be a father. When we reach the third sector, I’m going to marry you.”

Sally’s face flushed as she lowered her head and stepped into Elrith’s embrace.