Dark Continent (3rd)

“There’s something I’d like you to do for me...”

I’ll try to change the topic.

Something natural to talk about to make it easy for her.

“..what is it?”

“I’ll keep my promise to come and visit you on a regular basis, but I’d like it if you’d get rid of everything poisonous in here before we start cleaning up.”

“...”

We both glanced at the small wooden box at the same time.

The items stored inside were all various poisonous plants and other items that could kill any creature on the Dark Continent.

It was something she had gathered as a means of escape.

“..every three days.”

“Come again?”

“I want you to come here every three days.”

“..what do you mean?”

“That’s the only way I’ll get rid of it.”

“...”

The chocololi’s mind is already lost. I noticed this same feeling beginning to show whenever I was around Ester-chan, but this has existed in the chocololi since before I met her. Goggoru-chan’s situation is dangerous. That expressionless face is terrifying me.

However, she could still resort to other methods of dealing with her isolation. Cut marks on her wrist from being in such a poor state of mind or making the mistake of getting a clit piercing with the hope that it would make men more interested in her.

When your mind is in this state, it can lead you to doing terrible things. One of those things could also be being more open to the idea of sex. Maybe I should use that to my advantage.

“..every four days.”

“...”

She’s already backing down from her initial offer.

Damn it.

She knows exactly what to say to manipulate my virgin heart.

“Every five days is as often as I can make it here. I have other matters I need to take care of...”

Goggoru-chan was in complete control thanks to her ability to read my mind.

Should I stand my ground?

I was trying to find the best way of handling the situation when,

“Attack!’

Someone else’s voice cut through the silence of the cave.

There was a solid thud on the opposite side of the doorway followed by the hinges creaking before finally breaking free from the wall altogether. The door was sent flying across the room before crashing into the opposite wall.

A figure emerged from the doorway backlit by a few rays of sunlight.

“Wha–? Y-You’re...”

“I wasn’t expecting to see you again...”

It’s the Dark Elf.

The Dark Elf has arrived.

There were also several other people behind her. I spotted the Heroes of the East and West’s parties, the Chara Bros party, and the researchers party from Academy City.

This is unexpected.

We’re much deeper into the forest where the more dangerous monsters are common. I suppose if they all teamed up, they’d be able to defeat a phoenix.

“W-What are you doing in a place like this!?”

The Dark Elf yelled at me.

“That’s what I should be asking you. Why are you here?”

“...”

Goggoru-chan and I turned to greet our new guests.

I wonder if their investigation into the wall led them here.

I noticed that everyone had fallen silent and were frozen in place.

“Oi, that girl’s from the Goggoru tribe, isn’t she!?”

The Dark Elf yelled once more.

Her eyes were locked on my cute conversationalist.

“That’s right. Is something wrong?”

Her brown skin, silver-white hair, and devilish tail are all signs that she is a Goggoru. The noble mage said so himself. Since the Dark Elf was able to tell at first glance, this must be common knowledge in this world.

As soon as she noticed the chocololi, the Dark Elf stopped moving and I swore I saw a brief look of fear flash across her face. Uwaa, amazing. That’s not the face an assassin should be making. I’m sure she has many dark secrets floating through her mind that she doesn’t want revealed.

“That can’t be. I’ve never heard of any Goggoru’s living this deep in the Dark Continent.” “They’re living standards aren’t that different from humans.” “That’s true, but one shouldn’t be strong enough to survive on its own out here.” “That’s what I was thinking.” “I wonder if she’s a member of a party.” “Don’t be ridiculous...”

It was the researchers and professors from Academy City that disagreed.

Presented with a chance to show off their knowledge, each of them started speaking at once.

The Hero of the West had to shout over them to regain control.

“We are looking into rumours about the resurrection of the Demon King. Our investigation led us to the Dark Continent where we decided to cooperate with these other parties as we looked into the large stone wall that suddenly appeared in the forest. After deciding to venture deeper into the forests, we stumbled across the staircase outside and decided to investigate.”

“Yes, you told me before.”

As expected of a hero.

He gives you all of the information regardless of whether or not you’ve heard it before.

I can’t blame him for deciding to take advantage of the situation he found himself in. A number of strong parties had united into one; the obvious decision would be to delve further into the more dangerous areas of the forest. Furthermore, I’ve heard that the deeper areas of the forests are entirely uncharted on any map.

This is a complete guess, but I bet mapping out an uncharted mass of land is considered to be a prestigious act for any adventurer. It’s the type of achievement that I’ve read about in textbooks. I’m sure the idea of being a part of this great achievement is what led the parties to decide to stick together.

“My turn. What are you doing here?”

The Hero of the West asked me this in place of the Dark Elf.

I noticed everyone behind him was interested to hear my answer. There were too many people to fit into chocololi’s tiny home (hole), so I could see a line of people leading up the stairs. Even the ones outside were pushing forward to hear my answer.

I haven’t done anything wrong, but I still feel a strange sense of guilt.

“I can’t tell you everything, but this is actually her home.”

I cast a quick glance over at Goggoru-chan as I gave my answer.

It’s probably best not to reveal to anyone else that there is a portal connecting the Penny Empire to the Dark Continent. As a noble from the country, I should do whatever I can to protect my own and my country’s domestic interests. I don’t even want to think about what the Prime Minister would do with that knowledge.

“And these bodies? Seems a little messy for someone’s home.”

The Hero of the West motioned at the lifeless Sylph bodies and the pools of blood.

I can’t disagree. A young girl isn’t likely to call a place like this home.

I’ve noticed that I’ve had a lot of encounters that happen at the worst possible time. I wonder if it’s at all related to my slowly decreasing LUC stat. I should probably pay more attention to it in the future.

In fact, it’s been a while since I checked.

Seriously.

I was expecting it to be low, but I didn’t even know it could go negative. It’s even in the four digits. My LUC has plummeted while my overall level has hardly increased.

I fought a Red Dragon when I was a much lower level, but now I’m worried that I’d lose before the battle even starts due to my poor LUC.

What determines LUC in the first place?

If everything that’s happening is due to my LUC being so low, I can’t imagine the situation getting much worse. It may just become fatal.

“..is something wrong?”

“Uh, n-no, I was just wondering what I was going to eat for dinner.”

“Really? Well, I won’t dig any further...”

I couldn’t come up with a good excuse.

I was interacting with my status window that is invisible to everyone else. It looked like I was performing some weird ritual in the air.

I don’t know how I can explain it.

“Professor Journal, may I ask you something?”

“What is it, Star-dono?”

“I overheard you earlier say something that caught my attention. Do you think it’s possible she isn’t an ordinary Goggoru?”

“What do you mean?”

They’ve only been together for a few days and they’re already showing off by calling each other by their names. I’d expect nothing less from a hero. He can pass even the highest charisma checks. I’m sure all of the beautiful women from the Academy City party will become members of his harem.

A simple task for someone like him.

“Haven’t the Goggoru tribes left the Dark Continent?”

“If what I’ve read is true, that’s correct...”

Professor Journal shifted her gaze from the Hero of the West to Goggoru-chan.

The rest of the crowd was now watching the professor with great intent. The blood of the Sylph’s cast a dim red glow across everyone in the room which just served to increase the already high tension that was building.

The professor took a breath before sighing and saying one single line.

“Could she be a High Goggoru?”

“A High Goggoru?”

“Yes, a more powerful subrace of the Goggoru.”

“I’ve never heard of them.”

“From what I’ve read, they’re a racial variant of Goggoru that managed to adapt to life on the Dark Continent. They have increased physical abilities that put them far above the average member of the Goggoru tribe. The more important fact to take note of is their heightened sense when it comes to their reading ability.”

“I have heard of that. They can read the mind of anyone they touch.”

“That’s the case for the normal Goggoru. It’s been said that a High Goggoru can read a target’s mind without making physical contact. I recall reading about them from an ancient text kept within the libraries of the Great Holy Kingdom.”

“T-They don’t need to physically touch us?”

“If what the text said was true, the range of their ability is close to the length of a spear. I doubt she can read our minds at this distance, but it’s possible the range varies for each specimen. I’d like to experiment with it if possible.”

“What...”

After hearing the professor’s words, the Hero took a few steps back.

Everyone else followed in unison. Thanks to this, the entire group had now moved a few metres away from us. The leaders of the group, including the Dark Elf, all retreated back toward the entrance.

Honestly, I wanted to join them in moving away from Goggoru-chan.

I wanted to leave her side, but at the same time, I desperately want to french kiss her.

“We can’t know for sure if all of this is true. The text was ancient and there’s no way of verifying it. However, we do know the Goggoru Tribe has left the continent and yet here she is. This at least lends some form of credibility to the text. I say we can assume she doesn’t need to touch a person to read their thoughts and at least the range of a spear is safe to keep. No matter what, anyone standing next to her is completely vulnerable to her ability.”

Naturally, everyone’s eyes shifted to me.

My soy sauce face is getting all of the attention because I’m standing so close to Goggoru-chan that our arms are almost touching. She wouldn’t need a spear to reach me; a knife would do just fine.

I want to put my arm around her shoulders.

“..are you aware of this?”

“I knew the basics of what you just explained, Professor.”

“Y-You did...”

Come closer. It’s more fun than it sounds.

Come, feel the pleasures of the chocololi invading your very being.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, umm, it’s not that anything is wrong, but how can you be so calm? I just can’t help but be impressed... Or is it possible that you’re so strong that you can resist the effects of a High Goggoru at that distance?”

“I can read every one of his thoughts.”

Goggoru-chan spoke for the first time since the Dark Elf broke down her door.

I was hoping she’d stay silent.

“..she’s not lying.”

“O-Of course...”

The Hero of the West fell silent.

Nobody spoke for what felt like several minutes.

It was the legendary uncomfortable silence.

That’s fine.

I’m used to it.

I should just try to change the subject.

It could be dangerous if any of them got curious about why I’m with Goggoru-chan in the first place. I should focus on trying to control the direction the conversation goes in order to protect my own privacy.

“I wish you’d act less rude to her. You did just break into her home after all. I’d appreciate it if you could at least treat her with some level of kindness.”

“Why does it matter how we treat a creature that isn’t human?”

“You could say that my religion is beautiful females. Being something other than human doesn’t disqualify her.”

This is my truth.

“I see. I think I’m starting to better understand you. There’s no need for her to be making that face; we have no intention of hurting you or her. We’ll leave you two alone.”

“Thank you.”

***