Chapter 76
After leaving the goblin and mimic in the passenger compartment and entering the cockpit, I saw Ha-seon and the siblings waiting for me inside.
Their complexions didn't look very good.
"I'm scared..."
"Is that a monster?"
The children reflexively hid behind my back, trembling as they stared at the monitor, and Ha-seon also asked me in a slightly tense voice.
'Come to think of it, their reaction makes sense.'
No matter how docile that goblin and Tongtong were, they belonged to an entirely different genre from elves and dwarves.
A goblin in a suit with green skin and a long, slit mouth, and a box with sharp teeth that constantly drooled...
Their appearance was closer to monsters than otherworldly races.
...Come to think of it, maybe I had accepted them rather calmly.
"It's okay. Just think of them as, uh... a person in costume and a weird piece of furniture."
"Weird furniture..."
I tried to get them to view the two positively, and they calmed down a little.
They were scared, but I suppose that meant they trusted me.
For now, I decided to get the train moving toward Elf Town.
"Right, Jiwoo, I have a favor to ask."
To divert their attention, I spread the three golden boxes I'd drawn from the vending machine in the dungeon across the table.
As the shining boxes appeared, the children's gazes naturally turned toward them.
"Wow... They shine."
"For real!"
Fluorescent or glowing objects had always been good at catching children's attention.
They were able to shift their gazes away from the cockpit monitor in an instant.
"Could I ask you to handle the boxes again this time?"
"Of course!"
Maybe because he'd already successfully opened boxes several times before.
This time, Jiwoo answered confidently.
Even so, perhaps he was still nervous, because he swallowed hard before approaching the table.
Then he carefully placed a hand on one of the radiant golden boxes.
Click—Fwoosh!
The first box opened, and a sheet of old parchment popped out amid a gentle glow.
"Huh? What's this? Is it a map?"
When I picked it up to check, it turned out to be coordinates pointing to a specific area.
I couldn't tell what it was right away, but if the coordinates had come from a box, there was a high chance they pointed to a place hiding something, like the locations the Constellations had told me about before.
The Constellations always tried to give me something through coordinates.
Anyway, it was a pretty good start.
"Good. Jiwoo, the next one!"
"Yes!"
Jiwoo mustered his courage and opened the lid of the second box.
Clunk, fwoosh—!
"Urgh..."
This time, a rainbow-colored lump of mineral rolled out of the box, shining so brightly that I had to squint.
Mineral? Should I call it a crystal instead?
Honestly, I had no idea what it was.
!!
The moment the mineral appeared, the golem waiting behind us began stamping its front legs.
It seemed to be reacting as if something good had come out.
The dwarf would probably be able to tell me exactly what it was if I showed it to him.
"All right, the third and last one!"
"Yes!"
Excited by the golem's fussing, Jiwoo opened the third box without hesitation.
And the moment I saw the item that emerged from inside, I sucked in a breath.
A Skill Enhancement Ticket.
It was the same item I'd used before, and the one for which I'd even sought out a Constellation quest.
That was why I recognized it instantly.
"Damn."
A vulgar exclamation slipped out in front of the children before I knew it.
I belatedly covered my mouth and laughed awkwardly.
The children seemed to know what the exclamation meant too, because they looked at me and laughed.
Overcome with emotion, I vigorously ruffled Jiwoo's hair and patted his head.
"Thanks, Jiwoo!"
"Hehe!"
As I showered him with praise, Jiwoo broke into a bright smile as well.
Watching him, Ha-seon and Sua also soon had smiles spreading across their lips.
As the train gradually reached safe-zone speed, I checked the boxes of magic stones I'd received from the Chairman, the remaining credits, and the monster materials.
For now, I decided to use the enhancement ticket and mineral later.
"With this much..."
After a long time, I checked the cockpit panel to upgrade the train's various functions.
This time, I had plenty of magic stones, but I was a little short on monster materials.
'Because I couldn't defeat the most important boss...'
As I clicked my tongue in regret, Tongtong, visible in one corner of the cockpit monitor, trembled as if it had sensed something.
After consulting with the golem, I chose from the list of modifications.
I ended up choosing two functions.
The first was a remote storage function.
Previously, I had to come all the way inside the train to put something into or take something out of the train's storage, but with this modification, I could remotely retrieve or store items as long as I was within a certain distance.
It meant I could instantly send things over while hunting monsters or gathering materials.
There were plenty of other ways to use it, too.
For example, I could summon the train nearby and take the bombs stored inside it out of the storage.
ㅡThat was only an example.
"As for the other modification..."
The second was an upgrade to the existing monster lure.
After the upgrade, it could lure in more monsters, and conversely, it could also drive them away so they couldn't approach at all.
If I wanted to develop a safe zone, this function could become a major safeguard.
That was why I decided to upgrade both of them.
Both required a large amount of magic stones, but that wasn't a problem for me now.
I had two whole boxes of magic stones.
The moment I pressed the modification button without hesitation, the train began to shake.
"Sister! The walls of the train are glowing!"
Sua ran a hand along the train wall in wonder.
I had grown accustomed to the lights and shaking during upgrades, so I wasn't surprised anymore.
Instead, I returned to the passenger compartment, where the goblin was probably just as startled as the siblings.
As expected, he was rubbing the wall in surprise, but when I suddenly entered, he gave me an awkward look.
"What was that just now? The entire wall... no, this whole space flashedㅡ"
"It's nothing. Anyway, we're heading to the place where the elves and dwarves are now. I think it would be best if you stayed there for a while."
"Elves and dwarves?! Gasp, those two races are in the same space?"
"Yes. For now..."
"Hoo..."
Judging from the goblin's reaction, it seemed to be an extremely unusual thing.
The dwarf himself had previously said some harsh things about how the only good pointy-ear was a dead pointy-ear, at least until he confirmed that the elf was young.
Fortunately, the goblin didn't seem to have any major objections to living with them.
"As long as they'll accept me, anywhere is fine."
I gave a light laugh.
I wanted to say there would be no problem, but the goblin and the mimic...
Because both of them were strongly perceived as monsters, even I couldn't predict what kind of reaction they would receive.
***
The train came to a smooth stop on the familiar tracks.
I opened the door of Car No. 1, called for the goblin and mimic from the passenger compartment, and stepped outside.
With the drones and golem joining us, we'd been walking for about five minutes.
"...What?"
I stopped short at the unexpected sight before me.
A dwarf and several survivors had come out onto the road in front of the bank.
But there was something very strange about the survivors' condition.
They were all drenched in sweat, sprawled on the ground or panting heavily with their hands on their knees, their faces clearly showing that they wanted to die.
"Oh! You came at just the right time!"
The dwarf spotted me and approached with a hearty laugh.
"Why is everyone in such bad shape? Did monsters attack?"
At my question, the dwarf stroked his braided beard and guffawed.
"No! These fellows asked me to show them how to handle weapons, so I was giving them some very light basic physical training!"
At that spirited answer, the survivors, whose faces looked as if their souls had left their bodies, frantically shook their heads at me.
Apparently, there had been a minor communication error.
They had only asked him to show them how to handle weapons, but somehow it had turned into training.
It was then that I was about to send the survivors a sympathetic look.
Thud! Thud!
Tongtong the mimic, which had been slowly following behind me, and the half-goblin in a suit vest beside it came into view.
In an instant, the survivors' faces filled with horror.
Then they staggered to their feet and prepared for battle.
As expected, the dwarf reacted the fastest.
"How dare these evil monsters come all the way here...!"
The dwarf widened his eyes and raised the enormous hammer he had been carrying on his back.
He looked ready to smash Tongtong or the goblin to pieces at any moment.
From the dwarf's perspective, was the goblin closer to a monster too?
"No! Calm down first!"
I panicked and stepped in front of the dwarf's hammer.
The goblin also turned deathly pale and hurriedly brought the horn to his mouth.
"S-save me, Lord Dwarf! I'm just a merchant!"
'Korean?'
I'd assumed that, since it was a horn, he would naturally speak to the dwarf in Dwarven, but after hearing the dwarf's fluent Korean, the goblin seemed to have decided to use Korean instead.
The people looked confused at the goblin's booming Korean.
"Even the goblin speaks Korean..."
"It can't be a monster, right?"
"No... he came with our leader..."
"...Even if the goblin is one thing, that one is definitely a monster, isn't it?"
The survivors were horrified by the mimic's appearance and could only edge away while watching the situation carefully.
After the standoff, the dwarf held his hammer and snorted.
"Hmph! You call yourself a merchant? What on earth are you selling?"
"I'll prove it!"
The goblin tapped Tongtong as if he'd been waiting for that question.
Craaack!
Tongtong opened its hideous mouth wide like a patient at the dentist and obediently stood still.
The goblin was clearly accustomed to it; he shoved his upper body into the mimic's mouth and began rummaging around inside.
"Take a look! These are rare goods I obtained with great difficulty!"
What the goblin pulled out was a glass bottle filled with beans burned black and a red, mashed, unidentified gruel-like substance.
"Take a look at this! Humans would go crazy for..."
"Burnt beans and bright-red sludge... Who would pay money for that kind of garbage?! Get rid of it at onceㅡ"
The dwarf thundered, but the reactions of the survivors in the distance were the exact opposite of his.
"Huh? Aren't those coffee beans?!"
"They're real! Otherworld coffee..."
"Then is that ketchup?"
"Oh..."
Coffee and ketchup.
Even if people had differing tastes, there would be plenty of buyers if you considered their commercial value.
Ketchup aside, coffee seemed like it could become a huge hit.
There had been plenty of people even at the cafés in the Yeouido safe zone.
The people began asking the goblin questions.
"Do people in your world eat coffee and ketchup too?!"
"I'm curious what the ketchup tastes like..."
Faced with the humans' unexpected reactions, the dwarf awkwardly cleared his throat while holding his hammer.
"Ahem, ahem! Humans seem to eat all sorts of things, even beans burnt to a crisp... He certainly seems to have the makings of a merchant. And judging by how that box fellow just obediently holds its mouth open while someone rummages around inside, it seems well trained too..."
The dwarf stroked his beard and nodded.
Then he motioned with his hammer and took the lead.
It was a signal for us to come inside.
The goblin and I exchanged glances and nodded.