“What’s the game we’re betting on?”
“Do you have any preferences?”
“Doesn’t matter. Go with whatever you feel comfortable with.”
Chinuavi spoke like he was doing me a favour, but I didn’t trust that.
Choosing the stock is also a part of betting. And for a goblin obsessed with winning, there’s no such thing as fair play. It was clear that he would try to come up with some excuse to change the game if the odds turned against him.
“What game are you most confident about?”
“Anything’s fine. Physical, mental, puzzles… Are you worried?”
“Then, shall we have a simple quiz?”
“A quiz… You mean riddles?”
“It’s similar. It’s much simpler than that, though. It’s just like a battle of knowledge. We take turns asking each other a question, and the one who can’t answer first loses.”
“Sounds great. Of course, it has to be a question that can actually be answered, right? For example, asking about the personal details of a stranger no one knows…”
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing like that.”
“Then that’s fine.”
Chinuavi smiled and clapped his hands.
“Who’ll answer first?”
“Why don’t you go first?”
“Um, no, no. We should start with you, because you proposed the game.”
“Well, alright, if that’s what you feel is best.”
The tension in the room gradually rose.
I could of course go first. No one knew more about this world than me right now. In terms of knowledge alone, I was confident I knew more than this young goblin.
However, if this guy made up his mind to raise a stink, it would be a different story. Some questions just cannot be answered because there’s no known answer. So I had to do it fast.
“Then, the first question. What am I?”
“… Huh?”
“Are you sure you don’t know? I made it easy on purpose.”
Hmmm.
I quickly understood the thought process of this clever bastard.
This guy didn’t even entertain the notion that he might lose the bet. So, wasn’t this a plot to ask questions about me during the game and letting me solve them, and then get something extra as a bonus reward for winning?
“Goblin.”
Well, I sure was lucky.
“… Really. You knew. I don’t know how a Westlander, who’s not even from the Eastland, could know this.”
“You can just ask me in the next round and find out. Of course, you have to solve my problem first.”
“Hehe, let’s hear it then.”
Even though he knew that I knew his plan, his smile didn’t change.
‘Hey, aren’t you a bit too confident?’
In fact, there are two reasons why it’s difficult to win against goblins when it comes to riddles or problem solving.
First. Because all goblins are basically born with the innate racial ability of a ‘decipherer’.
And the setting is that their deciphering ability is incomparable to ordinary adventurers, so much so that even the ‘Seven Kings’ party at the end of the story had one goblin.
In addition, there are traps and problems in the ‘Tower of Adventure’ that can never be solved by anybody other than a goblin, and Leo and his had to party borrow the power of a goblin outsider several times to pass through them.
This Chinuavi was the one who helped Leo’s party at that time.
Secondly. Even if they can’t solve a problem, doesn’t mean they can’t have it be solved.
Basically, the riddles that goblins enjoy cannot be solved simply with knowledge. Rather, similar to the game of ‘three worldly qualities’, they can come up with a nonsense answer by way of their wit, resourcefulness, shallow trickery and even wordplay. Just because you have a lot of knowledge and a lot of experience doesn’t mean they’ll let you win.
By doing this repeatedly, the goblins have developed quite an absurd habit. Even if their answer is not correct, they will cling to the notion that it is.
For example, if you ask a goblin why the moon changes its shape from new moon, to half and then full moon –
“Because the dreams of those who see it change its brilliance and size over time.”
He will give you this answer.
Even if you rebut with the actual scientific explanation, it’s no use. Because he’ll insist that his answer is also right.
Because of this, internal competitions between goblins can last for over a month.
But of course, that depends on the class of the problem.
‘Hoo boy, don’t let me down.’
I only had one winning card.
“I was going to play with you a bit, but since you’re doing this, I won’t. Trying to uncover my secrets? Prepare yourself.”
“Hey, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Don’t worry too much about not being able to solve it. You’re not alone in that.”
In fact, there was only one person in this world who could one day answer this question, if you left out those who’d already disappeared into the pages of history.
The future Leo.
“A Tower of Adventure hidden in the Midland. What is the king’s mark that lies at the top?”
I gave a satisfying gut punch to the guy who’d never dropped that relaxed smile from his face.
Soon after –
“…”
The smile on the young goblin’s face disappeared.
Actually, I was not the one who came up with this problem. This was a problem that Siana would later find out with the help of the [Probability Adjuster Who Hates Fairness] while competing with the goblins.
At first glance, this question was related to an ‘adventurer’s dream’ and could be answered by trickery or using the shared knowledge pool of the goblins, but in reality, that was not allowed.
Because of the manga setting that ‘no one except the adventure king’ knows the answer to this problem.
In other words, this was something that only the already gone ‘adventure king of the previous generation’ could answer, and not even the goblins could answer this problem. The previous adventure king hadn’t been a goblin, after all.
I smiled to the young goblin who had lost his own smile.
“Now then, is it my turn to state my request?”
However, there was no response from Chinuavi. The boy just sat there, dazed and in silence.
I didn’t even bother to cheer him up. Because I knew how heartbroken a goblin who lost a bet could be.
After a while –
“… Senior. Tell me what you need.”
Chinuavi bowed his head.
The use of the word ‘senior’ meant that he accepted me as one to be revered. That he’d sincerely admitted defeat.
… Done!
I even felt like dancing a little jig of joy.
However –
“Hmmmm.”
An adult shouldn’t rejoice openly in front of the defeated. I conveyed my request as calmly as I could.
“It’s nothing special, just accompany me for a while.”
“What do you mean by accompany…?”
“Literally. Let’s work together.”
“How long… for how long?”
“Why do you keep poking around? You’ll understand everything when the time comes. Although, that’ll take a while.”
“… All right.”
Of course, it could take a very long time.
I was about to leave the room, telling the two of them to have a good time.
But Cocoa, who’d slowly followed me out, grabbed the hem of my clothes.
Then –
“Huh? What?”
“Squatjaw.”
“What? Why?”
“Suddenly, your face started telling many more stories.”
She said suddenly.
“… What? My face?”
“Yeah. You look full of worries. Did a lot of new circumstances suddenly crop up?”
“Uh… maybe it looks worse just because I’m tired?”
“Of course, you do look a bit uglier than usual. But that’s not the only thing, right?”
“Is that so?”
To be honest, I was terribly perplexed for a moment.
It was clear what Cocoa felt. That the new backgrounds had been overlaid on me.
And this was completely unexpected. Could they eye of a guide see through even that?
But I immediately denied it.
‘… Usually, you wouldn’t be able to see.’
I glanced at Cocoa.
It should’ve been impossible for any other guide. It was something I’d felt since she actually found Chinuavi, but really, this kid’s character setting seemed to have a much greater ability than one would expect.
Cocoa continued speaking with an indifferent expression.
“Anything else you want me to do?”
“Ah?”
“Isn’t there anything else you need me to do?”
It was really unusual. This kid, who grumbled and grouched whenever I asked her anything.
“What are you talking about? It doesn’t suit you.”
“Because I was worried about Squatjaw. Tell me if you need something.”
“What is this… Are you going to solve my problems now?”
“Since Squatjaw saved me, I have to help Squatjaw.”
Then, suddenly, she pulled out the Pierrot mask from her leather bag.
“Let me know if you need help. The one wearing this mask has never known failure.”
“…”
I stared blankly at Cocoa as she went back to the room.
Somehow, I flinched inside for a moment. My thoughts were a little jumbled.
To be honest, I’d never paid much attention to the people of this world. Except for the ones I’d loved since the days of reading the original, I didn’t even pay attention to most of the rest. Because they were not real. Because they were just characters. After all, they were fictional, made-up beings.
The same was true for Cocoa.
She was just a manga character. Wasn’t she just a background character who never even appeared in the original? I’d just thought that we had a temporary relationship, that we would only be together for a while, and there would be nothing after that.
But… that wasn’t the case. Now it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“That kid… she says all sorts of weird things.”
For a moment, it felt as if something had changed inside of me.
Skeleton House, Boss Room.
The original owner was nowhere to be found, and there were a total of three people occupying this place.
Me, Haka, and another.
“I came to provide support at Haka’s request, but I didn’t know that an unknown guy had gotten involved.”
This guy was one of the Black Shadow executives, name unknown.
In other words, a nameless bastard was glaring at me right now.
“You can’t know everything in the world.”
“An uncertain ally is more dangerous than a sure enemy. I want you to reveal your identity.”
Not only that, for some time now, he’d been pecking at me, asking for my identity.
I didn’t know what kind of information he’d gotten from Haka, but he had some ability – at least, in irritating people. So much so that my hands were throbbing a bit from being clenched all the time.
“The mafia turns a huge profit, so why would you think that your organization is the only one interested in these guys? Didn’t you approach them about a year or so ago? I’m sorry, but it was originally our toy. You guys just came nibbling while we were distracted with some other problems for a while.”
“… Then you are our enemy.”
“Maybe later, but not right now. Why did I have to run to the enemy camp like this? Because the goose that lays the golden eggs is at death’s door due to your negligence. Why else do you think I’m here?”
“How could the mafia be annihilated by those little bastards?”
“You should’ve already heard from Haka. Those guys are strong. Well, I don’t think you’ve still understood properly.”
Despite Haka’s request for assistance, at best less than half their troops were dispatched from the Black Shadow headquarters. And he was the sole executive accompanying them.
This was not because Haka had a small influence in the organization, but rather because of the sanctions of the preceding plot.
In fact, no matter how much Haka requested, it was not ‘plausible’ that the entirety of the Black Shadow would move in without even having fought a single, proper battle first. Moreover, the mafia were still all here.
In fact, even in the original story, the key Black Shadow executives only came out after all the low-ranking assassins had fallen. Even ‘that guy’, who was ranked number one in their armed forces, appeared only after all the executives themselves had fallen.
In other words, it meant that I had to face Leo and the rest with only the combined troops of the mafia and the low-ranking assassins that had arrived.
“You’re pampering the mafia like they’re your own kids. Fine. Let’s just sort it out together. I was just going to watch, but I’ll get my hands dirty.”
That’s worse. If you do, it would immediately lead to an all-out power battle between Leo’s team and the Black Shadow, and mine and the mafia’s role would be completely overshadowed.
“Okay. Haven’t you heard my proposed strategy from Haka? Just do that. If you use the mafia, it’ll be a good stage for you to show off your skills.”
“I heard. But how do I know I can trust you? What if you’re secretly in league with that Leo kid? Won’t our side be in trouble then?”
I grinned in response.
“If you’re that worried, watch from behind. I’ll be in the front.”
Actually, this was something I’d been thinking about from the beginning.
Leading the mafia group and standing in front of Leo.
The reason was quite obvious. Because I need to let the readers know that I was the behind-the-scenes boss that controlled the mafia. That way it would surely attract the readers’ attention.
Of course, I’d already secured a few points. The process of subduing ‘Seven Rings’ was bound to have had attracted the author’s attention already. Presumably, my reappearance probability would now be close to 100%.
But that didn’t stop me from grabbing even more awareness. The points I’d get from that would be pretty nice, too. It would be risky, but it was well worth taking the gamble.
Just in time –
“Ohh, there they are! Entering the city!”
There was a report announcing the arrival of Leo’s party.
I turned to the others.
“Then let’s go.”
The three of them recognized me at first sight.
“What? You? Squatjaw?”
“Interesting. How could you know we’d be here? Are you really that… like you told me back then… a secret agent?”
“It’s nice to see you again…but you’ve got a lot more friends with you now compared to the casino? Were you… a member of the mafia?”
Moreover, their reactions were very appropriate.
Remembering me, and expressing surprise at the same time.
I greeted with a smile at my end.
“Hi there.”
“Could you explain this situation?”
Then, to Siana who had asked, I gave a cryptic answer.
“Well… we’re enemies for today.”
Alright –
“Today?”
“What the hell do you mean?”
“You mean you’re going to attack us?”
The expected reactions properly came out once again.
All right, this was it.
I didn’t know what kind of restrictions the author would shoot at me if I left this strange scene as is. His plot development was already messed up.
So, from now on, I had to direct the situation like the author wanted.
I winked at Leo and his party, and at the same time, signalled to the mafiosi standing at my back.
“These three. Get rid of them.”
“What’s the game we’re betting on?”
“Do you have any preferences?”
“Doesn’t matter. Go with whatever you feel comfortable with.”
Chinuavi spoke like he was doing me a favour, but I didn’t trust that.
Choosing the stock is also a part of betting. And for a goblin obsessed with winning, there’s no such thing as fair play. It was clear that he would try to come up with some excuse to change the game if the odds turned against him.
“What game are you most confident about?”
“Anything’s fine. Physical, mental, puzzles… Are you worried?”
“Then, shall we have a simple quiz?”
“A quiz… You mean riddles?”
“It’s similar. It’s much simpler than that, though. It’s just like a battle of knowledge. We take turns asking each other a question, and the one who can’t answer first loses.”
“Sounds great. Of course, it has to be a question that can actually be answered, right? For example, asking about the personal details of a stranger no one knows…”
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing like that.”
“Then that’s fine.”
Chinuavi smiled and clapped his hands.
“Who’ll answer first?”
“Why don’t you go first?”
“Um, no, no. We should start with you, because you proposed the game.”
“Well, alright, if that’s what you feel is best.”
The tension in the room gradually rose.
I could of course go first. No one knew more about this world than me right now. In terms of knowledge alone, I was confident I knew more than this young goblin.
However, if this guy made up his mind to raise a stink, it would be a different story. Some questions just cannot be answered because there’s no known answer. So I had to do it fast.
“Then, the first question. What am I?”
“… Huh?”
“Are you sure you don’t know? I made it easy on purpose.”
Hmmm.
I quickly understood the thought process of this clever bastard.
This guy didn’t even entertain the notion that he might lose the bet. So, wasn’t this a plot to ask questions about me during the game and letting me solve them, and then get something extra as a bonus reward for winning?
“Goblin.”
Well, I sure was lucky.
“… Really. You knew. I don’t know how a Westlander, who’s not even from the Eastland, could know this.”
“You can just ask me in the next round and find out. Of course, you have to solve my problem first.”
“Hehe, let’s hear it then.”
Even though he knew that I knew his plan, his smile didn’t change.
‘Hey, aren’t you a bit too confident?’
In fact, there are two reasons why it’s difficult to win against goblins when it comes to riddles or problem solving.
First. Because all goblins are basically born with the innate racial ability of a ‘decipherer’.
And the setting is that their deciphering ability is incomparable to ordinary adventurers, so much so that even the ‘Seven Kings’ party at the end of the story had one goblin.
In addition, there are traps and problems in the ‘Tower of Adventure’ that can never be solved by anybody other than a goblin, and Leo and his had to party borrow the power of a goblin outsider several times to pass through them.
This Chinuavi was the one who helped Leo’s party at that time.
Secondly. Even if they can’t solve a problem, doesn’t mean they can’t have it be solved.
Basically, the riddles that goblins enjoy cannot be solved simply with knowledge. Rather, similar to the game of ‘three worldly qualities’, they can come up with a nonsense answer by way of their wit, resourcefulness, shallow trickery and even wordplay. Just because you have a lot of knowledge and a lot of experience doesn’t mean they’ll let you win.
By doing this repeatedly, the goblins have developed quite an absurd habit. Even if their answer is not correct, they will cling to the notion that it is.
For example, if you ask a goblin why the moon changes its shape from new moon, to half and then full moon –
“Because the dreams of those who see it change its brilliance and size over time.”
He will give you this answer.
Even if you rebut with the actual scientific explanation, it’s no use. Because he’ll insist that his answer is also right.
Because of this, internal competitions between goblins can last for over a month.
But of course, that depends on the class of the problem.
‘Hoo boy, don’t let me down.’
I only had one winning card.
“I was going to play with you a bit, but since you’re doing this, I won’t. Trying to uncover my secrets? Prepare yourself.”
“Hey, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Don’t worry too much about not being able to solve it. You’re not alone in that.”
In fact, there was only one person in this world who could one day answer this question, if you left out those who’d already disappeared into the pages of history.
The future Leo.
“A Tower of Adventure hidden in the Midland. What is the king’s mark that lies at the top?”
I gave a satisfying gut punch to the guy who’d never dropped that relaxed smile from his face.
Soon after –
“…”
The smile on the young goblin’s face disappeared.
Actually, I was not the one who came up with this problem. This was a problem that Siana would later find out with the help of the [Probability Adjuster Who Hates Fairness] while competing with the goblins.
At first glance, this question was related to an ‘adventurer’s dream’ and could be answered by trickery or using the shared knowledge pool of the goblins, but in reality, that was not allowed.
Because of the manga setting that ‘no one except the adventure king’ knows the answer to this problem.
In other words, this was something that only the already gone ‘adventure king of the previous generation’ could answer, and not even the goblins could answer this problem. The previous adventure king hadn’t been a goblin, after all.
I smiled to the young goblin who had lost his own smile.
“Now then, is it my turn to state my request?”
However, there was no response from Chinuavi. The boy just sat there, dazed and in silence.
I didn’t even bother to cheer him up. Because I knew how heartbroken a goblin who lost a bet could be.
After a while –
“… Senior. Tell me what you need.”
Chinuavi bowed his head.
The use of the word ‘senior’ meant that he accepted me as one to be revered. That he’d sincerely admitted defeat.
… Done!
I even felt like dancing a little jig of joy.
However –
“Hmmmm.”
An adult shouldn’t rejoice openly in front of the defeated. I conveyed my request as calmly as I could.
“It’s nothing special, just accompany me for a while.”
“What do you mean by accompany…?”
“Literally. Let’s work together.”
“How long… for how long?”
“Why do you keep poking around? You’ll understand everything when the time comes. Although, that’ll take a while.”
“… All right.”
Of course, it could take a very long time.
I was about to leave the room, telling the two of them to have a good time.
But Cocoa, who’d slowly followed me out, grabbed the hem of my clothes.
Then –
“Huh? What?”
“Squatjaw.”
“What? Why?”
“Suddenly, your face started telling many more stories.”
She said suddenly.
“… What? My face?”
“Yeah. You look full of worries. Did a lot of new circumstances suddenly crop up?”
“Uh… maybe it looks worse just because I’m tired?”
“Of course, you do look a bit uglier than usual. But that’s not the only thing, right?”
“Is that so?”
To be honest, I was terribly perplexed for a moment.
It was clear what Cocoa felt. That the new backgrounds had been overlaid on me.
And this was completely unexpected. Could they eye of a guide see through even that?
But I immediately denied it.
‘… Usually, you wouldn’t be able to see.’
I glanced at Cocoa.
It should’ve been impossible for any other guide. It was something I’d felt since she actually found Chinuavi, but really, this kid’s character setting seemed to have a much greater ability than one would expect.
Cocoa continued speaking with an indifferent expression.
“Anything else you want me to do?”
“Ah?”
“Isn’t there anything else you need me to do?”
It was really unusual. This kid, who grumbled and grouched whenever I asked her anything.
“What are you talking about? It doesn’t suit you.”
“Because I was worried about Squatjaw. Tell me if you need something.”
“What is this… Are you going to solve my problems now?”
“Since Squatjaw saved me, I have to help Squatjaw.”
Then, suddenly, she pulled out the Pierrot mask from her leather bag.
“Let me know if you need help. The one wearing this mask has never known failure.”
“…”
I stared blankly at Cocoa as she went back to the room.
Somehow, I flinched inside for a moment. My thoughts were a little jumbled.
To be honest, I’d never paid much attention to the people of this world. Except for the ones I’d loved since the days of reading the original, I didn’t even pay attention to most of the rest. Because they were not real. Because they were just characters. After all, they were fictional, made-up beings.
The same was true for Cocoa.
She was just a manga character. Wasn’t she just a background character who never even appeared in the original? I’d just thought that we had a temporary relationship, that we would only be together for a while, and there would be nothing after that.
But… that wasn’t the case. Now it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“That kid… she says all sorts of weird things.”
For a moment, it felt as if something had changed inside of me.
Skeleton House, Boss Room.
The original owner was nowhere to be found, and there were a total of three people occupying this place.
Me, Haka, and another.
“I came to provide support at Haka’s request, but I didn’t know that an unknown guy had gotten involved.”
This guy was one of the Black Shadow executives, name unknown.
In other words, a nameless bastard was glaring at me right now.
“You can’t know everything in the world.”
“An uncertain ally is more dangerous than a sure enemy. I want you to reveal your identity.”
Not only that, for some time now, he’d been pecking at me, asking for my identity.
I didn’t know what kind of information he’d gotten from Haka, but he had some ability – at least, in irritating people. So much so that my hands were throbbing a bit from being clenched all the time.
“The mafia turns a huge profit, so why would you think that your organization is the only one interested in these guys? Didn’t you approach them about a year or so ago? I’m sorry, but it was originally our toy. You guys just came nibbling while we were distracted with some other problems for a while.”
“… Then you are our enemy.”
“Maybe later, but not right now. Why did I have to run to the enemy camp like this? Because the goose that lays the golden eggs is at death’s door due to your negligence. Why else do you think I’m here?”
“How could the mafia be annihilated by those little bastards?”
“You should’ve already heard from Haka. Those guys are strong. Well, I don’t think you’ve still understood properly.”
Despite Haka’s request for assistance, at best less than half their troops were dispatched from the Black Shadow headquarters. And he was the sole executive accompanying them.
This was not because Haka had a small influence in the organization, but rather because of the sanctions of the preceding plot.
In fact, no matter how much Haka requested, it was not ‘plausible’ that the entirety of the Black Shadow would move in without even having fought a single, proper battle first. Moreover, the mafia were still all here.
In fact, even in the original story, the key Black Shadow executives only came out after all the low-ranking assassins had fallen. Even ‘that guy’, who was ranked number one in their armed forces, appeared only after all the executives themselves had fallen.
In other words, it meant that I had to face Leo and the rest with only the combined troops of the mafia and the low-ranking assassins that had arrived.
“You’re pampering the mafia like they’re your own kids. Fine. Let’s just sort it out together. I was just going to watch, but I’ll get my hands dirty.”
That’s worse. If you do, it would immediately lead to an all-out power battle between Leo’s team and the Black Shadow, and mine and the mafia’s role would be completely overshadowed.
“Okay. Haven’t you heard my proposed strategy from Haka? Just do that. If you use the mafia, it’ll be a good stage for you to show off your skills.”
“I heard. But how do I know I can trust you? What if you’re secretly in league with that Leo kid? Won’t our side be in trouble then?”
I grinned in response.
“If you’re that worried, watch from behind. I’ll be in the front.”
Actually, this was something I’d been thinking about from the beginning.
Leading the mafia group and standing in front of Leo.
The reason was quite obvious. Because I need to let the readers know that I was the behind-the-scenes boss that controlled the mafia. That way it would surely attract the readers’ attention.
Of course, I’d already secured a few points. The process of subduing ‘Seven Rings’ was bound to have had attracted the author’s attention already. Presumably, my reappearance probability would now be close to 100%.
But that didn’t stop me from grabbing even more awareness. The points I’d get from that would be pretty nice, too. It would be risky, but it was well worth taking the gamble.
Just in time –
“Ohh, there they are! Entering the city!”
There was a report announcing the arrival of Leo’s party.
I turned to the others.
“Then let’s go.”
The three of them recognized me at first sight.
“What? You? Squatjaw?”
“Interesting. How could you know we’d be here? Are you really that… like you told me back then… a secret agent?”
“It’s nice to see you again…but you’ve got a lot more friends with you now compared to the casino? Were you… a member of the mafia?”
Moreover, their reactions were very appropriate.
Remembering me, and expressing surprise at the same time.
I greeted with a smile at my end.
“Hi there.”
“Could you explain this situation?”
Then, to Siana who had asked, I gave a cryptic answer.
“Well… we’re enemies for today.”
Alright –
“Today?”
“What the hell do you mean?”
“You mean you’re going to attack us?”
The expected reactions properly came out once again.
All right, this was it.
I didn’t know what kind of restrictions the author would shoot at me if I left this strange scene as is. His plot development was already messed up.
So, from now on, I had to direct the situation like the author wanted.
I winked at Leo and his party, and at the same time, signalled to the mafiosi standing at my back.
“These three. Get rid of them.”
