Chapter 115

Chapter 115: A Golden Goblin Is My New Business Partner?

I earned a lot of money.

As the number of Hunters at the outpost increased, so did the restaurant's customers.

That translated directly into sales.

Hunter Shop revenue was no less than the restaurant's.

The most popular item, in particular, was the wild grape pie that boosted growth stat rate.

At present, wild grape pie's demand so exceeded its supply that I'd had to temporarily suspend sales.

That was how brutally fast the money was coming in.

'As a result, my account balance has rebounded to where it was before the building purchase.'

I used some of that money to buy materials needed for outpost construction.

Steel frames, cement, H-beams, tiles, flooring, logs, and more.

The logs were being used as material to build houses atop the Giant Leaf Trees Rin had grown.

The Eckard clan dwarves and Neville—who had experience with log construction—were participating in the work.

Anyway, I was currently taking a stroll through the dungeon along with Ria, Rin, and Bell, to harvest dungeon wild grapes and check on the grounds.

"Over half the dungeon is covered in wild grape-growing zones now."

"Right. So the whole dungeon has a sweet wild-grape aroma."

As Ria said, the entire dungeon smelled of wild grapes.

More than half of the dungeon had been converted to wild-grape zones purely through Rin's effort.

When dungeon wild grape sprouts appeared in zones where they hadn't been growing, the vines would wither and die soon after they started.

Once they died, that zone wouldn't grow dungeon wild grapes for a long time.

Having learned that, Rin had been diligently walking through the dungeon every day, feeding nutrients to newly sprouted shoots and stems so the dungeon wild grapes could grow properly, expanding the zones.

'Rin's every bit as diligent as Ria.'

Growing crops at the Rift house.

Growing wild grapes in the dungeon.

Growing the Giant Leaf Trees that would bear the outpost's tree-house lodgings.

And occasionally visiting the Sky Island to grow mandragora as well.

Through all of it, she had never once complained of being tired or not wanting to work.

On the contrary, Ria and I often had to urge her to rest.

'But it's awkward to tell her to stop, too.'

Growing plants was what brought Rin joy.

"Hmm!"

While walking, Rin stopped in her tracks at the sight of some wilting dungeon wild grapes, humming as she made them grow.

The wild grapes regained their luster and the berries plumped up again.

Finishing the fruit's growth, Rin smiled at them and took my and Ria's hands again to continue our walk.

Just then—

BZZZ!

A strange sound reached us, and when I turned around, something unexpected was happening.

Rin, seeing it, was horrified.

"Noooo!"

A small monster was snatching the dungeon wild grapes Rin had just grown.

'That monster is...'

Probably a Golden Goblin.

A goblin with yellowish skin had opened a portal, crossed through, stole dungeon wild grapes into a gold-colored sack, and then fled back through the portal it had come through.

Then—

"Awoo!"

Before we could stop her, Bell, who had been strolling quietly beside us, leapt after the Golden Goblin into the portal.

"Bell!"

Dashing into the portal by herself, of all things.

What was she going to do if the portal closed?

And who knew what dangers lay on the other side.

"Ria, take Rin and go home. I'll go after Bell."

"I'll come too."

"No. You're at twenty weeks of pregnancy now."

Now that Ria was at twenty weeks, her belly had begun to show significantly.

"...All right. Come back right away—with only Bell."

"I will. I'll be right back."

I couldn't leave my pregnant wife anxious.

Rin spoke to me too.

"Papa, pwease bwing Beww back."

"Don't worry. I will, without fail."

"Be cawefuw coming home."

"I will. See you in a bit."

I then stepped through the portal the Golden Goblin and Bell had passed through.

Right upon entering, I could see the tracks left by the Golden Goblin and Bell.

Luckily, it was a sandy zone, so tracking them through the footprints wasn't difficult.

I pulled my spear from Acresia and moved swiftly along the trail.

It wasn't long before I rounded a corner—

"Grrrr!"

Bell, who had grown to the size of a medium-to-large dog, was pinning the small Golden Goblin's head and back with her front paws, intimidating it.

"Bell!"

"Arf!"

"You! I was worried. Jumping through a portal on your own—what were you thinking?"

"Whine..."

"You got angry because it stole the fruit Rin had just grown? Still, don't do that again."

"Whine...!"

She seemed to understand.

I then turned my gaze to the Golden Goblin under Bell's paw.

"So Bell caught a Golden Goblin."

No matter how elusive a Golden Goblin was, it couldn't escape Bell's keen senses and speed.

The Golden Goblin was thrashing, trying to break free.

Then it said something to me.

"Spare me!"

It was probably ancient language.

Since I was wearing the Sigil of Wisdom Magical Bracelet, which enabled communication, I could understand the goblin's speech.

"You can talk."

"Human, what are you saying?"

"So only I can understand it."

I opened Acresia.

The Golden Goblin gave a start of surprise.

"That is—! The Legendary Pouch!"

Legendary Pouch?

Acresia was, indeed, a legendary-class pouch.

It had no storage limit.

I pulled out a Sigil of Wisdom Bracelet—I'd had Ruina make several to give to the guild's quasi-officers—and fastened it on the Golden Goblin.

Would it work on monsters, too?

"Can you understand me now?"

"Ooh! I understand!"

It worked.

"Right. Since you seem to know about my Subspace Storage, Acresia, if you want to live, tell me everything."

My first time ever making a threat.

"...Spare me!"

"If you talk, I'll spare you—so talk. If you don't talk, I'll devour you into Acresia, you understand?"

"Yeek!"

"Yip!"

Bell, why are you cowering, too?

Was it an instinctive fear of Acresia?

The goblin, terrified, opened its mouth.

"I only learned just now that the legendary storage is named Acresia!"

"Is that so? Either way, tell me everything you know."

"Among the Golden Goblins, a legend has been passed down for generations! That a legendary storage exists! That one who possesses it can store items without even touching them!"

Correct. Without touching, one could store them with the Absorption skill.

The Golden Goblin continued,

"And it is said that stolen items can be stored without limit!"

"What else?"

"I heard that there are two legendary storages!"

Oh? Intriguing stuff.

It seemed to be referring to Acresia and Yaike's Treasury.

"And?"

"According to legend, the two legendary storages bear different attributes! One side is Greed and Gluttony, the other is Wrath and Lust!"

If the goblin's legend was true, then Acresia must be Greed and Gluttony.

Which made Yaike's Treasury Wrath and Lust.

The seven deadly sins. Something of that sort, perhaps.

'When I picked up the Essence of Dikreta after taking down Elena Misha, I felt an intensely vile sensation. And at the same time, a filthy desire was creeping in, trying to consume me.'

Considering that, Yaike's Treasury's true name might actually be Dikreta.

The goblin went on,

"The being who created the legendary storage found the storm of emotions too much to bear, so he split the storage in two, it is said!"

So originally, Acresia and Yaike's Treasury had been one.

Which meant the master spoken of by the Lich and Elena Misha was trying to reunite the two storages into one, and therefore wanted to take Acresia's ownership from me.

If the legend the goblin spoke of was true, then the owner of the storage would take on those emotions.

'Is that why I've gotten greedier?'

Greed for wealth.

Greed for family and a beloved.

Greed for cooking ingredients.

'Come to think of it—before being Awakened, I had a bit of a pushover streak.'

I used to get taken advantage of easily.

Especially by the Executive Chef.

But after being Awakened and possessing Acresia, that had nearly stopped.

Could that also be Acresia's influence?

A small one, perhaps.

Still, not a major change, so I couldn't be sure.

Moving on.

"Anything else you know?"

"Nothing! That is all! Spare me as promised!"

"A promise is a promise. I'll spare you. In exchange, close the portal you opened."

"Understood! Closing it immediately!"

"And don't hold a grudge and attack me after I let you go."

"Never! Golden Goblins specialize in portal and stealth abilities, but as a species we're very weak! No attacks!"

"I'll trust that. Bell, release."

"Arf!"

Bell lifted her paws from his head and back.

"Whew! I thought I'd die!"

"Close the Rift first, please."

"Got it!"

We went back to where Bell and I had entered the portal, and the Golden Goblin closed it.

Then, something crossed my mind, and I asked the Golden Goblin,

"By the way, why were you stealing dungeon wild grapes?"

"You must mean Meloph! Because I was hungry! Are you going to take them back?"

"I won't. Go ahead and eat."

"Thanks, human!"

The Golden Goblin plopped down where it stood, pulled Meloph—the dungeon wild grapes—from its golden sack, and began eating.

'I thought he'd bolt the moment the portal was closed, but he's unruffled.'

Had he been that hungry?

I opened Acresia, pulled out some Meloph jam, spread it on a slice of bread, and offered it to the Golden Goblin.

"What is this, human?"

"Try it. It's jam made from Meloph. Spread like this on bread, it's tasty."

Suspiciously, he took a bite.

"This is delicious!"

"Is that so? Then try this one, too."

I pulled out Applecherry jam and spread it on bread the same way.

The Golden Goblin tasted it.

"This is delicious too! What fruit is this made from?!"

"It's called Applecherry. A fruit that looks like this."

"Oh!"

I also pulled out a raw Applecherry and handed it to him.

He took it, tasted it, and marveled continuously.

He was eating well.

But why was I feeding a Golden Goblin?

"You, you're a good human!"

"I am a good person, yes."

Giving someone food does make one a good person.

"Don't you have anything to give me? Something interesting."

"Give? I'll look!"

The Golden Goblin rummaged through his gold pouch.

Then he pulled out a single blue leaf.

"You can have this!"

"What is it?"

Picking it up with my hand, a system message appeared.

[Arcana Mana Herb]

[Effect: Consuming it immediately restores 5 Mana.]

An herb that immediately restored Mana.

"Where'd you get this?"

"I stole it from some dungeon! I forget which one!"

"Oh? A shame. Do you have any fruits from it too?"

"I have fruit too!"

He pulled out a blue fruit.

It looked like a cherry tomato.

No system message appeared when I touched it.

There was nothing special about the fruit, it seemed.

Looking at the fruit, the Golden Goblin frowned.

"That fruit, it's not tasty!"

"Is it? Then could you give it to me? I'll give you plenty of food in exchange. Let's trade."

"Trade? Good!"

The fruit likely had seeds inside.

If I planted those seeds and asked Rin to grow them, perhaps I could cultivate Arcana Mana Herbs.

'This Golden Goblin really is gold.'

In exchange for the herb and the fruit, I handed over a variety of things to eat.

Starting with bread, then smoked meat, vegetables, and various fruits.

I even gave him some snacks and jellies.

"You really are a good human! I misjudged you!"

"Now that you know, that's enough. Do you have a name?"

"I do. I'm the Golden Goblin Lug."

"All right, Lug. I'm An Seon-u. What would you say to trading with me from time to time?"

"Oh! I'd like that! But how would we meet?!"

"There's a way. Follow me."

I had been making dungeons and then closing them, repeatedly, to raise my Dungeon Creation level.

I opened a Gate Portal to the dungeon I was currently creating and expanding for leveling purposes.

"Ooh, this is the ability of the Legendary Pouch!"

Lug's eyes sparkled.

"You go first."

"Got it!"

Lug entered first,

and Bell and I followed.

After arriving at the dungeon with its spacious hall, I said to Lug,

"Lug, you can open a portal to any place you've been once before, right?"

"If I remember it, I can!"

"Then memorize this spot well. We'll barter here for the time being."

I opened Acresia and pulled out two large plastic bins, placing them on either side of the hall.

"When you gather items you think would interest me, Lug, come here and leave them in the left bin. Every few days, I'll come here to pick up what you've left, and I'll fill the right bin with preserved foods that keep well."

"A fine method! This way we don't even need to meet to trade!"

"Right. It's a non-face-to-face arrangement, so it requires mutual trust."

"I'll trust it!"

"I'll trust it too."

I held out my hand, and the Golden Goblin shook it.

Thus, a trading relationship with a Golden Goblin opened.

Having sealed our verbal contract, I opened a Gate Portal right away so as not to keep Ria worrying, and headed back to the Rift house with Bell.