Chapter 137: Troubled thoughts

Eventually, the golden luster faded from Aiden's eyes, while his [Draconic Aura] receded, releasing the unsurmountable pressure from the chieftain. He looked at the prostrating leader on the ground. A small, unnoticeable smile momentarily swept through his face as he addressed him with his 'normal' voice.

"Rise. Despite your stupid greed, I will give you one last chance. Be responsible from now on and take good care of the residents of this village. Be different from what the world thinks about us, be better."

He turned around, looking at the two youths standing guard at the entrance, looking very proud despite the lack of weapons in their hands or any combat experience. He could only inwardly sigh seeing this, this was caused by his acting after all… He had to take some responsibility for their changed fates.

Looking back at the goblin chieftain, who just stood up, still having a frightened expression, Aiden continued.

"Also, take care of those two. They are good seedlings, they could be exceptional warriors one day. They have been chosen."

The goblin looked at the backs of these two youngsters for a moment, before nodding his head. Even if he couldn't see anything special about them now, he didn't dare to complain. He respectfully answered the order.

"Yes, Lord. I will personally train them! I swear on my life! But…" he turned meek as his thoughts trailed to the harsh life of their species. He only continued after a few audible gulps. "...But the training can be harsh, and I can't protect them at all times. To survive and become full-fledged members… That's down to them only."

Naturally, while Aiden never experienced their life, after witnessing the previous leader's memories, he was familiar with his words. The training he mentioned was more like a series of trials. To progress, they had to set out on increasingly dangerous hunts and bring back treasures or food to obtain merits. 

Only by obtaining a sufficient amount of standing could they eventually progress to the last part, the Selection. This was a gruesome and cruel event, where they all battled in gladiatorial combat, oftentimes against each other, but on rare occasions against captured wild beasts. At least half of the participating young fledglings met their early ends there. This might seem counter-productive, but one has to remember, that goblins do not put much value on individual life, due to their incredibly fast reproductive rate. 

Figures like this chieftain that had some sort of shamanistic power were incredibly rare, but regardless of that, they still had to go through this 'Rite of Passage'.

Listening to the chieftain's words, Aiden lightly nodded, agreeing with him.

"I know. Their fate is up to their own. However, they will have the right to enter the Selection, regardless of what merits they obtain. Train them well and leave the rest up to them. With that, you can save yourself as well."

Turning around, he stepped towards the entrance, but before he left, he spoke in a cold tone, sending another wave of shivers down the chieftain's spine.

"Remember, I will know if you betray my trust. You don't want to test my patience."

With that, he stepped out of the building, leaving the frightened creature to himself. He said what he wanted, and even made some way for the two younglings who still had no idea they were simply used.

---

Walking past the two young goblins, he stopped for a moment. He turned his head sideways, and spoke in a clear tone, shocking the two of them. This was the first time they could hear his voice, so far he had been silent!

"The chieftain will personally help you in your training. However, it is still up to you if you can pass the Selection and be recognized as warriors. Train hard to become one and be worthy!"

With that, he was about to walk away but was stopped when a delicate dark green hand grabbed his left hand and gently pulled on it.

"But…" The female goblin opened her mouth to speak, with a respectful, reverent tone. "...We want to follow the Lord!"

The male youngster fervently nodded his head next to her, adding his already obvious thoughts to the argument.

"Yes, Lord, we want to go with you, and learn about the world!"

Aiden sighed inwardly. He created a much bigger mess than he intended, with his actions. He needed to act a bit but couldn't just wander around since all eyes were on him as soon as he entered the premises. They treated him like some kind of holy being! He obviously knew from the gained memories that his hair was an indicator of higher standing, but he still underestimated it greatly! He could only sigh and lament on his actions but could not back out unless he wanted to massacre everyone.

In the end, after a brief moment of silence, he turned around and looked at the two youngsters who were looking at him with shining, hopeful eyes with a polite smile. Still, in the end, he shook his head, knowing he wronged these two.

"Sorry, you can't follow me for now. Later, once you are full-fledged and recognized adults, warriors of your tribe, you will have the chance to follow me. For now, stay here and train hard."

Although they were sad hearing his rejection, they still nodded their heads, accepting his words. Both of them spoke in unison.

"Yes, Lord! We will work hard to earn your favor in the future!"

"Go, meet with the chieftain, and listen to his words. Don't worry, he shouldn't do anything to harm you." Aiden urged them.

Looking at the entrance to the hut, they hesitated for a moment and turned back towards the young goblin lord in front of them. After a brief moment of silence, the female managed to blurt out what both of them were thinking about.

"Lord, when will we see you again?"

Aiden smiled at the question, trying his best to look calm and collected. Inwardly he was almost screaming with frustration already. He wanted nothing more than to leave.

"I can't give you a definite answer to that, I'm sorry. I will return in the future, until then, do your best to be better than what the general view paints our race. Not all of us are evil monsters. You two are prime examples of that!"

He didn't want to wait and give them more chances to ask questions. He had troubles coming up with answers, so as soon as he finished speaking, he turned around, and with measured but hurried steps he walked away. He wanted to get out of this place and just put this whole ordeal behind him.

Still, despite the mishaps, he gained a lot of information that he can report back to Granny and his Master. Goblins arrived and settled in the depths of the forest! Although the new leader was an incompetent greedy idiot and didn't know much, he managed to get some important information out of him. 

Combined with the memories he gained, along with the blurred ones he could piece together some pieces of this puzzle. He didn't know the relevance of this strange gnarled magic wand that the old leader was carrying, nor did he know why it was put to such a high pedestal in the eyes of these villagers, but he knew that these weak-minded fools were merely pieces, puppets moved by someone else.

The existence gained control of the leader easily, and from that point on, he used him as a pawn to further his goals and set up something grand. These creatures were merely heralds, precursors for an incoming disaster that could swipe through not just this small irrelevant city, but the entire kingdom.

Walking forward, he ignored the glances the rest of the villagers gave him, he was deep in thought. Thinking about it, why should he even care about these humans? Most of them were dark, with tainted hearts and evil thoughts. Wouldn't it be better to just let 'nature' take its course? 

But thinking about it a bit more, he knew that his sentiment was flawed. There were good people as well in this crowd. The elderly couple, the Nortons, that suffered because of them was one prime example. Or the red-haired princess… and his brother could have some merits as well… 

He was sure that his family would be safe, regardless of the dangers, Granny had many mysterious secrets around him, and his Master was incredibly strong as well, they would not let any harm come to Lily.

Glancing at his system's interface, he reminded himself of the pending main quest he also just received. He had a small glimmer of hope that he could find some clues about this 'Demon Grotto' he had to visit, especially after seeing the tempered memories of the ex-leader, but in the end, he came back with nothing. 

He wasn't closer to solving this mystery than before...