“So what do you mean by I smell?”

Viper walked alongside Gob. She removed her mask letting her fiery red hair go.

“It’s so hard to tell you humans. You can’t smell, you cannot see in the dark.”

“We are a little hopeless at times. So what did you mean?”

Gob looked at her beautiful face. He considered most human females he saw to be attractive, but Viper was stunning based on her face alone. Did Hestia looked as good?

“It's other than the males. Like how you can tell how different flowers smell.”

“I don’t think I could tell properly.”

“I can. It's like smelling flowers or poop.”

Viper's laugh filled the forest. When she stopped laughing, she looked at Gob who didn't seem to understand his own joke.

“So how long did you knew?”

“Hmm? From the start of course. It was especially obvious when Curan had your scent.”

Last remark left Viper blushing. Goblin seemed to be equally unaware of her embarrassment. She changed the subject.

“You asked about female mages right?”

“Yes. All human females I met could use magic? Is it common?”

“Not really. Most people are farmers and such. I was only taught because of my cousin.”

“So females aren’t usually more dangerous?”

“That depends.”

Viper replied with a smile. Talking to anyone else apart from Curan was refreshing. Since the town got sealed she no longer could easily sneak inside. Well. She was the one who wanted to stay hidden from the likes of Fritz, but after some time she knew that it was a mistake. She felt alienated in the camp.

However, it was her idea to put a disguise and she would never give Curan the satisfaction of admitting that it was a bad move. Oh no. She saved him herself! Some silence wouldn’t break her spirit!

“Let’s play a game Gob. We would ask each other a question and each person needs to answer before he asks his own. You in?”

“Fritz tried it with Peter.”

“Did it work?”

“No. My question now.”

Viper laughed. The goblin was incredibly fun. She could understand why Curan wanted to keep him around as a genuine team member.

“Very well. Ask.”

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“Why did the girl chanted with long words before casting?”

“She is a priestess. They chant spells without using their own mana. They use the mana of the god that correlates to the spell they want to cast.”

“God?”

“That’s a second question, but I will give you a freebie this time. God is a being that embodies a different element of our lives like fire or water. There are gods for everything. If a believer wants to cast a spell, they need to give some time of their lives back in a prayer. Those spells are never instant, but can produce similar effects to normal spells. They are usually referred to as mystic or divine spells.”

“What is a...”

“Stop right there! It’s my time to ask.”

Gob nodded smirking. Viper clearly wanted to talk, so he wanted to exploit this little game in his favour.

“How old are you Gob?”

“I’m not old. Peter is.”

“What is this supposed to.. Oh! Since you didn’t get it I will ask differently. How many times have you seen snow?”

Gob wasn’t sure himself he counted it on his fingers.

“Seven? I think?”

“You look young, but it feels weird that you are only seven. How old were you when you, I don’t know, went hunting alone?”

“I’m not sure what you mean. All goblins hunt in packs.”

“I’m asking how much time it takes for a goblin to be an adult.”

“I’m not an adult. I never mated.”

Viper looked at him with a shock. What he was talking about.

“Eh? So, like when do goblin...”

“You asked two questions it’s my turn. Is there a god of goblin?”

Viper wasn’t sure how to respond. Goblins referred in manuals were depicted as lustful cunning animalistic beings with barely working tribe systems. She knew nothing of their beliefs.

“If you don’t know then there shouldn’t be any.”

“You said there is a god for everything!”

“Well there is no god of goblins I know of.”

“How is a god made?”

“They aren’t made silly. They just are.”

Seeing that her answer was disappointing to him Viper added.

“I can tell you of my theory, but you will tell me of your life from the start until we get back to the camp.”

“If you will teach me magic, I will answer it all.”

“Deal.”

Viper cleared her throat. She read a few magic books back in the royal library. Although what she was about to tell Gob was shaky at best.

“Let’s say that you have improved in magic to the point of being a goblin archmage.” She continued before he could ask. “It’s a title given to the strongest of magic users in the entire world.”

“Then after this you were to become the biggest goblin chieftain with countless goblins under your command. What do the goblins consider the most important?”

Gob initially wanted to answer food, but it felt wrong.

“Power. Goblins submit to power. The strong takes all.”

“Then imagine that all those countless goblins would pray that this power of yours would be given to them. They would say: Oh great Gob give us the power to fight and win!”

“Goblins don’t talk like this.”

“Just imagine that all of them are as smart as you are!”

Gob felt that he cannot imagine such a world, but he nodded at Viper to continue.

“Then after your death you would become the one they continued to pray to. In time they would build shrines with your statues and give you food.”

“I thought you said I’m dead. How will they give me food?”

“They would just burn it as an offering. So you would give them your blessing back.”

“No goblin would burn food.”

“Well the theory goes like this. If you were to have a lot of mana and died, then depending on people praying to you you would comeback as a god and grant them spells for whatever they would pray making you the goblin gob of strength.”

Gob was infinitely confused. He couldn’t grasp this concept at all.

“It makes no sense to me.”

“I don't think I can explain it in any other way.”

They walked a bit in silence until Viper asked.

“So will you tell me about your upbringing?”

“No. Your theory sucked.”

Viper bit her lips. Gob was using so many words he heard from Fritz and the merchants that she couldn’t tell if he really meant to offend her or just said it randomly because it seemed to fit. They walked a while in silence. Viper didn’t know how to make him talk more. She wanted to ask about Hestia, but after Curan told her about their little fairy glade adventure, she decided against it.

They were near the camp when Gob sat down under a tree. Noone would see them here. As she also sat down while putting her mask back Gob finally spoke. She would teach him magic. It was worth more to him than his memories.

“When I was born leaves were green.”