"Perfection walking on Earth," the goblin said.
The sea goblin continued, his voice shaking. "We were a small family living beneath the sea for a very long time. We didn't meet or interact with other beings. We ate fish and lived quietly. But we were chased by a powerful enemy, and we had to flee the depths. When we reached the surface, we realized something strange, we could breathe."
He swallowed hard.
"The first beings we saw were humans. And the first thing my grandfather said was perfection. He admired you. Loved you. Believed in you. That is why we willingly became your servants. We helped you. We did everything we could. We would never harm a human, not even a single hair. If one of our children so much as touched a human, we would kill them ourselves."
His body trembled violently.
"We have been loyal servants for thirty… maybe fifty years. Please believe us. We did nothing. Nothing like that."
The Vice Captain stopped laughing.
"So," he said calmly, "you were good, obedient slaves for decades. But admiration breeds envy. Hatred. Especially when you know you will never become like us. That kind of longing turns rotten. It fuels resentment. And that resentment led you to kill. Am I wrong?"
The goblin shook uncontrollably. "Please, sir. You are right about many things, but not this. We would never hurt anyone."
Desperate, he turned to the Vice Captain's uncle. "Please. Tell him about the festival."
The Vice Captain looked at his uncle. "What festival?"
His uncle replied evenly, "Every year, there is a festival. A goblin-hunting festival. It's like hide-and-seek. There are prizes for whoever finds a goblin and beats it."
The goblin nodded frantically. "Yes. We participate willingly. Every year. Without payment. We never resist. Please, we would never hurt anyone."
Laughter filled the room.
Teddy scoffed. "Pathetic creatures. A disgrace to your race. A disgrace to your ancestors. Vice-Captain, allow me to kill them."
The Vice Captain thought for a moment. "Whether they are killers or not, their existence is pathetic. I agree. But what do the rest of you think?"
He looked back at the goblins.
"If you want to live," he continued, "give me a reason for your innocence. Something that shocks me. Something worth sparing you for. Information, perhaps."
The goblin hesitated, then spoke. "Do you remember the Great Flood?"
The Vice Captain frowned. "The Great Flood?"
He glanced around the room. "Does anyone here know what that is?"
No one answered.
The goblin continued quickly. "We helped stop it. Me, my father, my grandfather. We were useful to you."
The Vice Captain narrowed his eyes. "I've never heard of it. So how were you useful? Explain."
The goblin nodded. "Yes, sir. The sewers of the small town and many others are connected. Pipes from larger cities flow into them. It built up over time, until there was a massive eruption."
He lowered his head.
"The entire city was flooded… with waste. We helped clean it."
The Vice Captain smiled again.
At first, he thought it might be something serious. But the more the goblin spoke, the more insignificant it sounded.
Teddy stepped forward, ready to crush the goblin.
The goblin screamed, backing into the corner. "We used our special ability, sir!"
The room fell silent.
The Vice Captain's raised a hand, signaling Teddy to stop. "Continue," he said.
The goblin breathed heavily. "Unique abilities don't come from training. They appear by coincidence. And maybe… because we wanted to help you so badly, we developed one."
He looked up, terrified.
"My family gained the ability to convert waste, human waste, corpses, remains, into spirit stones."
Shock crossed the Vice Captain's face. He stood abruptly, moved in an instant, and struck the goblin, sending him crashing aside.
"If you are lying," he said coldly, "the consequences for you and your family will be unbearable."
"I'm not lying!" the goblin cried. "Please, I can prove it!"
The Vice Captain spoke. "Does it have to be human?"
"No, sir," the goblin replied quickly. "It works extremely well on humans, but it also works on other beings."
The Vice Captain nodded. "Good."
He gestured to one of the knights. "Take him. Slam him into the corner."
The goblin was thrown aside, blood spilling onto the floor.
The Vice Captain looked down at him. "Turn that into a spirit stone. That blood is wasted on the floor. If you succeed, you'll prove your innocence, and I'll spare your life. And your family's."