So I'm a Snake, Who Cares?

There are races in the world born to be miners.

Dwarves are like that, and so are gnomes, though their numbers have drastically decreased.

And although not widely known, goblins are also born miners.

While they lack physical strength, their small stature is advantageous for digging into the ground.

Above all, they possess the virtue of diligence.

Diligence, in other words, means being good at obedience.

Goblins can't unite. That's common knowledge.

They live scattered in tribal societies and fail to form proper kingdoms.

However, historically, there have been two instances of goblin kings.

If asked which comes first between a kingdom and a king, the answer would naturally be the kingdom.

A king cannot exist without subjects to rule over.

But this is not the case with goblin-like ein races.

Historically, there have been two individuals who evolved into 'monarchs' from goblins.

The goblin monarchs united numerous goblins scattered across the continent.

Each time this happened, the continent was engulfed in flames.

In modern times, the perception of goblins as insignificant is widespread.

But probabilistically, a goblin monarch could be born at any time.

Recognizing this ever-present danger and preparing for it, the kingdom...

「From 'Analysis of Ein: The Goblin Edition' - Author Unknown」

==

Clang- Clang- Clang

It's been almost a year since the noisy sounds began coming from beneath Elephant Rock every day.

This started happening after the Croc tribe began occupying Elephant Rock.

Elephant Rock was, as its name suggests, a massive rocky peak.

The rock, of course, extended its roots deep into the ground.

The noise was the sound of breaking the underground rock.

Clang- Clang!

With the goblins' crude iron tools, mining was excruciatingly slow.

But by now, they had dug quite deep.

"Dig straight, you bastards!"

A hobgoblin with a protruding belly, seemingly well-fed, swung a whip.

One of the goblins hit by the whip collapsed.

It was a goblin from another tribe, enslaved by the Croc tribe after their invasion.

"Hey old man, stop exaggerating."

"Sorry, sorry. Ack!"

The hobgoblin kicked the old goblin as he tried to get up.

"Oh? Not getting up?"

"Ack, ugh."

He repeatedly kicks and whips the goblin when he tries to get up.

The elderly goblin could only pick up his pickaxe again after his face was badly bruised.

Other goblins pretended not to see and kept digging.

The easiest way to control goblins was through fear.

There was another reason why they didn't think of resisting at all.

Digging under Elephant Rock like this wasn't the job of the lowest class.

There were others more pitiful than them.

"Oh."

One of the goblins swinging a pickaxe was startled.

Then he quickly raised his hand and shouted.

"Something else has been found!"

"What!"

A Croc tribe goblin holding a whip quickly ran over.

He closely examined the part recently excavated by the pickaxe.

It's a trace of a structure. Something artificial was hidden among the natural rock formations.

"It's been a month...!"

Since starting the excavation on the chief's orders, they had discovered a total of four artificial structures.

The frequency of discoveries has been increasing since the first one.

This likely means their excavation is gradually approaching its destination.

Of course, only the chief seems to know what's hidden down there.

"Bring the prisoners!"

At those words, the faces of the goblins digging lit up.

They would be able to rest for a while.

Three goblins were dragged in by the hobgoblins.

Each of them had signs of being beaten on their faces.

They were the ones who had attempted to attack Lunga tribe warriors by the river but failed and fled.

They trembled as they held the pickaxes.

The hobgoblin pointed to one of them.

"You first, go dig!"

"Redeka, please spare me!"

These weren't slaves but originally warriors of the Croc tribe.

They even had personal relationships with the supervising hobgoblin.

But the hobgoblin slapped the face of the goblin clinging to him.

"You bastard, if you didn't want to become a prisoner, you should have just died fighting."

"Sob."

"Heart-eating Snake? It's because you said such nonsense to the chief that you got beaten and ended up like this."

The defeated become prisoners, worse off than slaves.

The goblin had no choice but to take the pickaxe and approach the exposed structure.

He carefully digs into the dirt.

If the pickaxe stops, terrible beatings will begin.

"If you do well, you might live. If the chief is pleased, that is."

With such hope, they reluctantly pick up the pickaxe.

Everyone else stepped back.

Only one prisoner goblin remained, carefully starting the excavation.

About 30 minutes passed.

"Huh?"

It was an exclamation as if he had discovered something.

And then, a strange sound was heard.

Ting.

That was the moment flames burst out from inside.

"Aah, aaaaaah!"

The goblin holding the pickaxe was engulfed in flames.

He screamed horribly and then collapsed with a thud.

Silence fell.

The hobgoblin broke the silence.

"Next."

"Sob, ugh..."

"Next!"

This was their method of overcoming traps.

A crude method of exhausting all traps by sacrificing prisoners and slaves.

It took a lot of time and blood was shed, but it was certainly an effective method.

The one who ordered all of this was none other than the chief.

The Hobgoblin King, Croc.

A burly warrior, a head taller than even normal hobgoblins, was watching the entire scene.

Croc wore armor made of woven iron pieces.

Originally, goblin tribes share power between the chief and the great shaman.

But not Croc.

He killed the great shaman with his own hands and ascended to the position of great shaman himself.

He killed the chiefs of other tribes and made necklaces from their skulls.

His appearance was terrifyingly fierce.

But there was a young hobgoblin who fearlessly raised his voice next to him.

"Father!"

However, there was still fear in that voice.

Croc, who was once just a gruff father, had now become a tyrannical emperor.

"Please, I beg you. Just spare Nanaluk and her siblings."

"..."

"I'll do anything you want, father!"

Croc acted as if he couldn't hear his son's plea.

Then suddenly, he turned to look at his son.

"Chandal."

Chandal, Nanaluk's lover, felt his breath catch for a moment.

It seemed as if flames were flickering in his father's eyes.

He suddenly grabbed Chandal's face.

Crunch!

"Kuuub."

"You anger me."

Chandal struggled, but his father's grip was like a rock.

Croc increased his strength and lifted Chandal completely off the ground.

"If you had asked me to spare only Nanaluk, I might have agreed. It's a man's instinct to protect his woman. But... to ask me to spare her siblings too?"

"Kuup, kuk."

"My son!"

Croc raged as if he was about to breathe fire.

"Making such a weak request!"

"Kuk."

"Kill Nanaluk's siblings with your own hands."

Chandal's eyes widened.

"If you kill those young goblins with your own hands, I'll spare your woman."

"..."

"If not, both you and your woman will die."

Chief Croc never speaks empty words.

He threw his son aside.

Chandal realized the fate that awaited him.

Blood and saliva mixed and dripped from his burst lips.

Croc paid no attention to whether his son wailed or not.

The only thing he cared about was what was being excavated right now.

It must be in there.

The power that will make Croc the true king of goblins...

The monarch of all goblins on the continent...!

==

Huhu.

There's one thing I miss about becoming a snake.

It's that I can't sing.

Well, it's not like I had a hobby of singing, but even when I'm in a good mood, I can't hum a tune.

All I can do is flick my tongue with a hiss.

In that sense, I hope I'll grow rattles on my tail in the next evolution.

There's a thing called a rattlesnake, right?

Having an instrument attached to my tail wouldn't be bad.

The reason I'm in a good mood is nothing special.

It's because I got to eat something delicious.

Crunch.

I put a bright red fruit hanging from a tree into my mouth and chewed.

As the juice spread, a sweet taste filled my mouth.

Fruit is delicious, whether as a human or as a snake.

Nanaluk also followed me and ate the fruit.

Then she spat it out with a 'ptui'.

"This has poison in it, so it'll make your stomach hurt if you eat it. Are you okay?"

Hmm, I was feeling a bit warm inside, so that must be why.

But my poison resistance was already high enough. This level of fruit was nothing.

"Snakes are really amazing. I wish I was born as a snake too."

Nanaluk was a knowledgeable goblin.

I was walking with her in the forest near the village.

It's something like a date.

"Focus. There's Blue Star Grass over there too."

Pelerian urged.

I tapped Nanaluk's shoulder with my tail and pointed, and Nanaluk picked the herb.

"This one, right?"

I nodded.

These were the herbs Pelerian had pointed out.

Many of them were already piled up in the basket.

After hearing that Elephant Rock had been occupied by goblins called the Croc tribe, Pelerian became urgent.

"There's no way mere goblins could break through my dungeon's defenses. I've set up several layers of defensive mechanisms and even prepared guardians."

He says that, but his haste is evident.

No matter how thorough the defenses, the power of time is formidable.

Those goblins might really break through the strict security.

And above all, it just feels bad.

"How dare they try to touch my things..."

Right. That's why I'm very angry too.

The things there are Pelerian's, and at the same time, they're mine, aren't they?

"There, pick that lily of the valley too."

I tapped Nanaluk's shoulder and she picked the lily of the valley.

"This should be enough."

The gathering was finished.

I tapped Nanaluk's shoulder to signal that we should go back.

Of course, I just shook my head and twirled my tail.

Nanaluk understood it strangely well.

I never thought there would be a goblin who communicates so well.

"You're a really strange snake. Sometimes you seem more like a goblin than a magical beast. You even understand our language."

I'll take that as a compliment, Nanaluk.

We returned to the village together.

Naturally, I was the center of attention in this goblin village.

A snake that understands language, I'd be curious too if I were them.

Moreover, this snake was up to some unusual things.

"Wait a moment."

Saying that, Nanaluk brought a large pot.

It was the iron pot I had requested this morning by pointing with my tail.

"Have her fill it with water."

I did so.

Thanks to the excellent assistant Nanaluk, things were progressing smoothly.

If you ask what I'm up to.

Well, it's potion making.

"All sorts of plants grow in the great forest. There are few ingredients that can't be obtained."

I knew Pelerian was a magician, but he was really a know-it-all at an incredible level.

He even knew the method of making potions.

In a situation where potions were almost depleted. We needed more potions to break through the goblins' security and reach Pelerian's dungeon.

"First, put in the crushed Bloody Frog. You need to skim off the foam."

How do I express skimming off the foam?

I tried my best to mimic the action of skimming foam.

Nanaluk understood perfectly.

"You want me to skim off the foam like this?"

Hmm.

'I'd rather travel with Nanaluk instead of Pelerian.'

"You rascal!"

Pelerian heard it.

"Do you know how valuable this potion recipe is? I once sold a single potion recipe and got a whole castle in return."

'Hmm, is that so.'

"That's right!"

Then I should memorize it too.

Maybe someday I can sell it and get my own castle.

After boiling a full pot of potion until it became sticky, less than half remained.

Thinking we might be making food, many goblins gathered around. Some shamans were mixed in among them.

"What exactly are you making?"

Even Nanaluk didn't know what I was making.

You'll all know soon enough.

Nanaluk prepared ten water bottles made of bamboo.

When we filled them with the potion, it was just the right amount.

──────────────

[Adriana-style Red Potion]

Shows remarkable effect in wound healing.

Its recipe is highly secretive and hard to obtain, making it a rare item

──────────────

Oh, it was true.

This seems like a really good potion.

Except for the lack of mana recovery effect, it looked better than the potion that novice knight Zain had.

"I've been fooled all my life."

I subtly pushed three out of ten bottles towards Nanaluk.

It was her labor cost.

"Oh my, what a waste."

'We have to give this much for using her labor. She did everything.'

Nanaluk was grateful too.

"But I'm not sure what this is. Is it something to eat?"

Nanaluk opened the cork of the bamboo container and tried to drink it.

You're fearless, not even knowing what a potion is.

I stopped her.

It would be faster to show its performance.

So I approached one of the goblins who was watching.

Follow me.

"M-me?"

It was a goblin with a wound on his hand.

"Alright."

Why is this goblin speaking formally to me?

Anyway, I wrapped my tail around the potion bottle Nanaluk had opened and poured it on the goblin's wound.

Sizzle

"Oh my gawd!"

The goblin was startled when steam burst from his hand.

Soon he was shocked to see that the wound on his hand had healed.

"Th-this is truly Ulluullullu!"

He suddenly shouted like that.

The watching goblins started murmuring.

What's this, why are we talking about Ulluullullu again?

And a shaman goblin who was watching rushed over breathlessly.

She looked at me and the pot alternately with an excited face.

"Is this really the water of life?"

It's a potion.

It seems goblins don't have the concept of potions.

Alarmingly, the shaman took a knife and cut her palm.

Then she smeared the remaining potion from the pot on it.

Steam rose, and the wound healed.

The effect of Pelerian's special potion is quite good.

"Ah... They say the sacred snake understands our words and bestows the water of life..."

The shaman muttered that name with a pale face.

"Ulluullullu..."

A few watching goblins chant Ulluullullu with their hands clasped.

"Oh my? This is..."

Pelerian's expression turned strangely cunning.

I found it amusing too and waved my tail.

"Ulluullullu! Ulluullullu!"

A few goblins followed and waved their hands.

This is fun.