"Once you are completely finished with your incredibly annoying jokes, will you finally tell me how you happen to know my name?" she asked, her crimson eyes narrowing into sharp, dangerous slits within the darkness.
"Your name?" I paused for a deliberate, dramatic beat, scratching my chin as if actively combing through a massive mental archive. "Let me see... isn't your name Diana… the beloved daughter of the great Goblin King?"
"You... you know my father?! I mean—the supreme Goblin King?!"
The dangerous, suffocating pressure vanished instantly, replaced by a sudden surge of raw, childlike energy. Diana lunged forward, her slender hands gripping the rusted iron prison bars as her glowing crimson eyes lit up with pure excitement.
As she pressed her face closer to the faint, flickering light of the corridor, I was finally able to get a proper, unobstructed look at her features. She possessed light emerald-green skin and a messy tuft of short, vibrant purple hair. Structurally, she definitely possessed the hallmark traits of a goblin.
And yet... something was fundamentally off. Her features were far too refined, her stature far too elegant compared to the brutish warriors I had encountered in the cavern quarries.
"You are technically a goblin, right?" I muttered, tilting my head in confusion. "But... your facial structure feels remarkably different..."
Diana smirked, a proud, slightly arrogant expression crossing her face, as if she had been actively anticipating that exact question. "I don't exactly look like a standard, low-tier ground goblin, do I? That's because I'm not a pureblood. I am a half-goblin. My biological mother was a human."
"I see… hahaha…" I let out a thoroughly hollow, profoundly awkward laugh.
Internally, my modern brain was screaming. A human and a goblin?! What kind of wild, forbidden high-fantasy romance novel even leads to a biological combination like that?! I chose not to dwell on the logistics for the sake of my own sanity.
"What is so funny to you?" Diana frowned, her sharp ears twitching in minor annoyance. "Whatever... let's move past that. More importantly, who exactly are you? Your skin tone makes you look like a low-tier demon asset."
"Yes," I replied, crossing my arms and stepping forward with a manufactured wave of absolute confidence. "I am a demon, and I am currently standing in this cell to officially rescue you. Your father hired me personally."
"...My dad hired a demon?" Diana blinked, her crimson eyes scanning my fragile frame in utter, unadulterated disbelief. "And what exactly are you gaining out of a high-risk extraction contract like this?"
"My own life... I suppose," I chuckled nervously, gesturing to the heavy iron chains around the room.
Diana stared at me for a long, silent moment before letting out a soft huff. "...You are an incredibly weird creature."
"Yeah, I get that a lot from people," I admitted freely.
She sighed, the tension completely draining from her shoulders as she leaned her back comfortably against the iron bars of her cell. "So, let's hear it. How exactly do we bypass the automated security and get out of this subterranean nightmare?"
"Well, that is the specific part of the equation I am still actively figuring out," I stated bluntly. "But if my underlying operational theory holds true... this jailbreak will be an absolute piece of cake."
"Huuuh… I'll believe that ridiculous claim when I see it with my own eyes," she muttered, clearly entirely unimpressed by my lack of concrete preparation.
"So, the high-value demon tribute is officially resting within his cell."
A cool, familiar, aristocratic voice suddenly echoed from the far end of the damp corridor. The rhythmic sound of polished leather boots clicking against the stone floor grew closer with each passing second, accompanied by the dancing, amber glow of a high-grade torch.
Hmm… I recognize that voice.
Soon enough, the flickering light revealed Rosella's pristine pink hair. She stopped directly in front of my iron door, flanked by a trio of heavily armed prison guards. Rosella turned her gaze over her shoulder, looking at the enforcers with clinical detachment.
"Leave us immediately," she commanded smoothly. "The Church requires a private, isolated interrogation regarding his mana core. I will handle the captive myself."
The imperial guards hesitated for a brief moment, exchanging uncertain glances, but the weight of her academic uniform and ecclesiastical authority ultimately won out. They bowed their heads stiffly and walked back up the stone steps, their footsteps fading into the distance.
I smirked, leaning my shoulder against the cell bars. "Wow… you must possess some seriously impressive political leverage in this capital, human."
"And I am still actively reiterating that this is, without a doubt, the single stupidest strategic plan I have ever heard in my entire life," Rosella sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of her nose in profound exhaustion.
"I'll choose to take that as a massive compliment to my creativity," I said, extending my hand through the gaps in the iron gate. "So? Do you have the assets?"
"...Here." Rosella looked around the dark corridor one last time before swiftly tossing a heavy, metallic object through the bars.
My hand shot out, catching the item mid-air. The cold, heavy iron rattled in my palm. It was a massive silver ring holding two intricately carved master keys.
"This is exactly what you requested," Rosella whispered, her voice laced with intense anxiety. "The master keys to your cell… and the half-goblin's cell next to you."
"Well, that went significantly smoother than I initially calculated. Much appreciated, partner."
Rosella instantly looked away, her hands clenching the fabric of her green dress, her expression deeply conflicted. "It truly feels as though I am actively committing a horrific act of high treason against my sovereign kingdom... but you physically saved my life twice in those mountains. Still, I cannot fathom your true underlying intentions."
Some Time Earlier… Outside the Cave
"Run away? Why on earth would I turn around and run away now?" I asked, my brow furrowing in deep confusion as Rosella suddenly gripped my tunic, desperately urging me to flee back into the forest canopy.
"It is incredibly difficult to explain the internal politics to a foreigner, but your life is in immediate, catastrophic danger the moment you step through those grand white gates!" she said, her lavender eyes wide with a genuine, frantic panic.
"I already figured out that much on my own, Rosella," I countered casually, crossing my arms. "The minor demons and tributes who are brought into this human kingdom never return to the outer borders. There is clearly an unspoken, deeply dark variable at play within the capital's infrastructure."
"No, you don't understand... you are entirely wrong about the methodology," she said, her voice trembling as she hesitated over her words. "If the High Council simply desired to execute the demonic population, they would perform the executions immediately at the border outposts. But they don't..."
"But...?" I pressed, leaning in closer.
She clenched her small fists until her knuckles turned ivory. "...They are actively utilizing live demons as centralized mana fuel blocks."
"...What?" The casual demeanor instantly dropped from my face.
"I am not permitted to know all of the classified architectural details," she continued, lowering her voice to a whisper as she glanced back toward the main road. "But creatures belonging to the demon race possess a far higher, more resilient natural mana density than any other living race on the continent. The Arvania Kingdom's magical infrastructure is entirely powered by draining that energy."
"I see… so they are systematically executing them through slow, indirect magical exhaustion," I muttered, a cold pit forming in my stomach.
"No... they don't allow them to die. They are still technically drawing breath."
"Then what—"
"They are physically alive… but their cognitive minds are completely, permanently gone," she interrupted sharply, a shudder running through her frame. "Their nervous systems function, but their consciousness is entirely hollowed out. They become hyper-aggressive, attacking anything that enters their visual field… like mindless, animated corpses."
...So, modern magical zombies.
My brain instantly mapped the concept to a classic survival horror trope. What is this, some kind of twisted Resident Evil scenario buried inside a fantasy world?
"So, now that you completely comprehend the horrific reality of the tribute system..." Rosella began, her eyes pleading with me.
"I am still going directly through those gates," I said, my voice completely firm, unwavering.
"What?! Are you completely insane?!" she cried out in shock. "Even after hearing the literal psychological horrors that await you in those lower chambers?!"
"I don't exactly possess the luxury of a choice here, Rosella," I said, offering a casual shrug. "I cannot return to the demon village of Kraven without a sustainable solution. And if I try to wander the outer mountains alone, the goblin tribes will eventually hunt me down and put my head on a spike anyway."
I looked her dead in the eyes, a confident, slightly wicked smirk spreading across my face. "To maximize my own survival and ensure your safe return, I made a high-level binding deal with the Goblin King. I rescue his captured daughter from the capital's dungeons… and in exchange, I secure a massive, permanent political alliance that guarantees my long-term safety."
"...That... that actually explains why the tribal guards cooperated so seamlessly during our extraction," Rosella murmured, her analytical mind quickly connecting the pieces. "But if that is your entire objective, then I can simply use my family's noble influence to—"
"No," I cut her off instantly, raising a hand. "If you attempt to utilize your official position to help a high-value prisoner escape directly, the imperial vanguard will trace the mana signature back to you within an hour. You will be stripped of your titles, and trust me, you don't want to find out what happens to a fallen priestess in a kingdom like this."
Rosella swallowed hard, her silence proving my point. "Then what is your grand, reckless plan?"
"It's remarkably simple," I said, my grin widening. "I go into the prison as a compliant captive. And then, I break out with her from the inside."
"...That doesn't sound simple in the slightest. That sounds suicidal."
"And that is exactly where your specific expertise comes into play."
"My help?"
"Yeah. While you were completely unconscious under that oak tree, I meticulously formulated the entire layout of our operation."
"...I am already incredibly worried about my survival," she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"You absolutely should be," I nodded in agreement. "I need you to safely secure the master keys to both of our designated cells... and if it is at all possible within your jurisdiction, I need you to actively delay the White Knight Captain and his mages from interfering with the lower sectors during the breakout."
Rosella stared at me, her breath catching in her throat. "...You are explicitly asking me to commit an act of unforgivable high treason against my home."
I offered her a brilliant, reassuring wink. "I heavily prefer the term... strategic betrayal."
Present Time
CLICK.
The heavy, ancient iron mechanism of my cell door turned smoothly as I twisted the silver key, the cold metal gate swinging open with a muted creak. I stepped out into the dark corridor, the heavy master ring jingling softly in my hand as I turned toward the adjacent cell.
Diana was standing perfectly still, her brilliant crimson eyes wide with absolute, stunned awe as she watched me casually unlock her own cell door.
"See?" I offered her a quick, cocky grin as the heavy lock fell away, freeing her from the anti-magic enclosure. "I told you it would be an absolute piece of cake."