'Now that I think of it... Why did I do something that stupid?' My hands started shaking as I prepared for the aftermath. I had skipped too many steps! Why did I do it at once? Why did I give it away? God, I was so naïve...
But, oddly enough, they took it.
"Worship the mercy of His Holy Grace, and all your needs will be fulfilled!" Apparently, Bleart decided it was the right timing, so I'll trust him on that.
Almost crying, the king stood up, nodding and gesturing with his hands, and making all goblins return to their makeshift camp.
< Congratulations. You have surpassed 1000 Believers. Divinity Rank upgraded to Local God. >
Heh... Guess that works. What is a Local God though... Maybe I get more info on the world, I'll check it later. The goblins are still showing up as invaders on the minimap, though... Wait... Invaders! Thousands of them!
"Excuse me, where are you going?" I asked, making the king halt its steps and look back, pale.
"W—We are going to pack up and return to our cave. Your Holy Highness already gave us so much by being merciful..." I clearly went overboard and he fears me like an elephant fears a mouse... Why? Dunno. Being a God has its perks, it seems...
"Is that so... Why don't you stay for a bit?" I extended him an invitation... Thousands of invaders... So much EP...
"Er... Excuse me, did Your Holy Highness invite us in?"
'Yes, I did, No ulterior motives, believe me!' "Yeah. I mean, the dungeon is fairly small, but should be enough to accomodate all of you." The king's eyes widened at my offer. But his demeanor didn't look particularly happy... There was still a hint of fear, but something else was troubling him. I could see his gaze wander back towards the goblins retreating to the camp.
"Sorry, but we need to expand and prepare for the next raid... Our female numbers have dropped quite a lot. And also, our cave is... There was an accident."
'Oh... that's what's happening. It's probably quite burdensome to rule over this many goblins... Also, it doesn't seem like he treats them as consumables either. Such a dependable king...
"Oh, I see..."
"You, King, are naïve." Bleart's words threw me off guard, not just me either, the king was also confused.
"Huh? What do you mean?" he asked.
"Don't you realize, the power of His Highness?! He can solve all your difficulties with as much as a snap of his fingers."
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'Whoa, calm down there bro' My reaction to Blearts words were... complicated. But I needed to keep face and look mighty.
"Come inside, make yourself at home. We have lots to discuss."
'Bleart is trying too hard...' I thought, but no harm would come from his passive-aggressive stance.
The king paled further.
"Ahem. Bleart, don't startle the poor soul. I have no intent to take the rule of your people from you. Instead, I want to strike a deal, and bring those under you unto my banner. Bring the camp inside, we can talk more later today." I clarified what was happening, maybe it would calm the king down. His face slowly regained color as he breathed out a sigh of relief. Guess he was afraid of a Coup or something.
"Yes, My Holy Grace!" The king smiled.
'Oh god... even the new guy is talking just like Bleart.' My heart sank a bit... I tried so hard to talk to people normally... Now it's impossible.
"I'll be taking my leave to issue the orders, please send someone to guide me once we can go in." The king asked, with utmost respect.
"You can as soon as you get ready. The Shadows will wait for you at the entrance and lead the way." I brushed all formalities aside, after all, I'm apparently God. A pointless, powerless and ultimately useless God. But a god, nonetheless.
"Thank you so much! I'll not let them wait long!" The king nodded, turning around with a bow. He ran back to the camp, together with his prince, and quickly made his way back towards it. His merry-wishy behavior now released all the tension on me. I could finally relax, everything was going alright.
"Now... Shall we go inside?" I asked bleart, trying to keep myself together as I saw what was happening inside. Both were fine... but I couldn't avoid being worried about them.
"Yes, My Holy Grace."
And so, me and my sidekick walked back inside. Most of the Dark Goblins had already been sent back by this point, but the few I assigned to lead them in while avoiding the traps. As soon as I was outside the goblin's field of vision, I increased my pace.
"Bleart, wait for them at the third to last room, the one where we got rid of Gahan's last subordinates."
"Yes, You H—"
"Call me Gunther when not with strangers."
"Yes... Sir."
"That also does the trick." My tone changed. "Thank you for what you did, you guaranteed their cooperation in the best way possible."
"It is all for the sake of Your Highness."
"I know, but still, you did well." I had thought a lot about this while reading through my pages. It seems, for some reason, that High Tiered Goblins love one thing more than women, gold. "Here, a trinket for your good work." I pulled a gold coin out of my inventory. I had gotten quite a few coins from Gahan and co., and since it all converted automatically if I had one such coin, a gold coin could be made from copper and silver ones. 'Though this is more than half the money I got... But I don't think I'll need money any time soon.' I thought to myself, seeing Bleart receive the coin with tears in his eyes.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! My first gold! I'll cherish it forever, and ever, Your Holy Grace!"
'Yeah, yeah, I know... Couldn't you just accept it and be happy? There are places I need to be!' "Ahem... I'll be taking my leave. Take care, Bleart, I need to talk to you together with the king."
"I'll make all arrangements, My Holy Lord."
'Come on! At least stick to a single honorific! This is getting too out of hand!'
With a short exchange, I ran with all my might towards the small house in the safezone. Where my... lovers? wives? friends? Not sure what they were to me at that point... Oh, come on! They waited for me! That's all that matters right now.