Ultimately, Glen's knowledge of this world was rather limited, and at the moment, he had no inclination to delve deeper into the matter.

Since his clothing was conjured by a magical artifact, the bloodstains on it could be dispelled with a mere mental command. However, the blood on his skin necessitated finding a place to cleanse.

First, he incinerated all the goblin corpses at the scene with the dragon - breath fire. Only then did he proceed to search for water in the goblin dwellings.

Not far off, there stood a cage, a place where the goblins confined their prey. Inside, two humans remained alive.

Both were male, approximately twenty years of age. Judging by their appearance, they hadn't been imprisoned for long.

They had witnessed Glen's massacre in its entirety. Although they still retained some strength, they dared not cry out for Glen to rescue them.

For his part, Glen didn't attend to them immediately.

"Leaves! Mushroom! You may come over now!" Glen shouted towards the distance after cleansing the blood from his body.

The two young girls peeked out from behind a rock. Upon seeing that not a single goblin remained, their eyes widened in astonishment.

Previously, they had merely heard the goblins' battle cries and screams, as well as the crackling of flames. But they had never anticipated that the corpses would be incinerated so thoroughly.

Only when they entered the tribe did they discover that the ground was covered in cooled magma.

"The air here is saturated with strange elemental auras. It gives me an eerie sensation," Mushroom remarked, her eyes fixed on the magma as she analyzed.

"Never mind that. There are still two people imprisoned over there!" Leaves exclaimed, seizing her friend's hand and hastening over.

By the cage, Glen scrutinized the individuals within.

The pair were clad in thin, white singlets. Presumably, all their valuable possessions had been pilfered by the goblins, leaving them in a rather pitiable state.

From their physiques, Glen surmised that they possessed a certain degree of strength. Their arm muscles were well - defined, and there were several scabbed - over external wounds.

However, their fair complexions did not suggest they were seasoned adventurers. Moreover, the scent emanating from them was quite familiar to Glen.

"Are you nobles?" Glen inquired.

"Yes, sir," one of them replied cautiously. Despite his mental exhaustion, he knew he must remain vigilant.

At this moment, the two young girls approached. Glancing at the men in the cage, Leaves looked up curiously and asked,"Aren't we going to rescue them?"

"Wait a moment," Glen motioned for the girl to be patient.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

He then posed a series of questions to the men in the cage:"What are your names? What titles do you hold? And why are you trapped here?"

The two in the cage, being bound back - to - back, were unable to exchange glances.

After a brief silence, the man who had spoken earlier resumed,

"I am Anlim, and he is my cousin, Cora. Neither of us holds a title, but our fathers do. My father is a viscount, as is Cora's. A few days ago, we accompanied a group here for training, but we never expected to encounter such a large goblin tribe. The others were all slain, leaving only the two of us."

Upon finishing, he awaited Glen's response. But Glen merely regarded him with a smile, causing unease to well up within him.

Just as the expression on Anlim's face was on the verge of collapsing, Glen finally spoke,

"I'll afford you another opportunity. Tell the truth, or disclose the information you've withheld. Otherwise, you'll be left to the mercy of the wild beasts here."

"Sir, I've spoken the truth! I have no reason to deceive you! It serves me no purpose!"

Anlim protested vehemently, his eyes widening with agitation.

Glen turned and led the two young girls away.

"Wait! Release us first! We'll recompense you handsomely!"

Anlim and Cora shouted loudly at Glen's retreating form.

Yet, Glen continued to walk further away.

"I don't think he's lying," Mushroom said naively, looking up.

"He most certainly is. I can tell," Glen declared with certainty.

Just now, as Anlim spoke, his eyes darted about intermittently, much like a student attempting to fabricate an excuse when caught by the teacher for unfinished homework. Even someone with a modicum of experience could detect it, let alone Glen.

This was precisely why he had stared intently at the man with that look after he finished speaking.

The two young girls clearly appeared skeptical. They likely thought Glen was being deliberately enigmatic.

However, just as the voices from behind were on the verge of fading, Anlim's words abruptly changed,

"Very well! You've won! I'll tell the truth!"

Leaves and Mushroom's mouths dropped open instantly, their expressions adorably astonished.

Glen halted, ostentatiously ran his hand through his hair, and turning around, said,"Let's go."

Posing brings joy, especially in the presence of children... Glen strode ahead in high spirits, relishing the admiring gazes from behind.

Seeing them return, the two in the cage heaved a sigh of relief.

"I... I did indeed omit some details earlier. I sincerely apologize, sir," Anlim said, looking acutely embarrassed, considering how adamant he had been moments ago.

Glen remained silent, waiting for Anlim to continue.

The latter, aware that he couldn't afford to test the patience of this terrifying - looking individual any further, continued with a slightly uncomfortable tone,

"To be honest, our purpose here wasn't training. Instead, we intended to play a prank on someone. Have you heard of the Rose Demon - Hunting Group? The target of our prank was a new member of this group. We had a minor quarrel with her, so we feigned taking her here for training. In reality, we set a trap, planning to confine her for a few days to frighten her. But no sooner had we trapped her and were about to return via another route, feeling smug, than we were attacked by the goblin tribe."

Upon hearing this, before Glen could utter a word, Leaves grew indignant. She planted her hands on her hips and, pointing at Anlim in the cage, berated,

"Doing such a thing over a trivial quarrel?! That's outrageous! It's so perilous here, and now, look! So many lives have been lost! All because of you two!"

Anlim and Cora could only nod and force a smile.

Glen, however, stopped this girl brimming with a sense of justice.

"What are you doing? They're truly despicable!" Leaves protested, wriggling her shoulders.

"Not so hasty. I have something else to say," Glen said with a smile.

Both the two young girls and the men in the cage regarded him with confusion.

Then, Glen suddenly said,"You mentioned 'her', correct? What you really meant was that one of you had developed feelings for that young lady, yet she showed you no favor. Thus, you contrived a trap to force her into submission, am I right?"

The two in the cage stared at him as if they had seen a ghost.

Upon seeing their reaction, Glen knew he had guessed correctly.

When it came to matters involving women, these nobles usually had such motives. This was Glen's experience.

*********

If you like this novel, please rate it. Of course, the higher the rating, the better😊. I will write more exciting and interesting stories.