It wasn’t that hard to get in either, but there was a bit of a trick to it. They had to put their hand on a specific part of the outside of the Ark, then say “open gate.” That was apparently something called a “command.” Once they did that, a part of the wall would whoosh open, and a pitch-black square-shaped hole would appear. Going through the hole would take them to a spot in front of the door at the end of the hall. If you looked closely at the part of the wall they were supposed to put their hand on, it would appear to be slightly recessed, which would help them find it, though it looked like it would have been pretty hard to notice if they didn’t already know it was there.
According to Haru, the entry procedure could be changed to something else, but as long as they remembered where to put their hand, the current method wouldn’t be all that inconvenient.
Once they had fetched trail rations and water, and they were all ready to head to Damuro, Manato sensed something. Well, not so much something as someone. There was a goblin on the hillside, poking his head out from behind a white stone.
“Oh! Could that be the same one we saw yesterday?”
Just to be safe, Manato kept his voice down. He refrained from obviously pointing at the goblin, instead using his eyes to indicate to Haru, Yori, and Riyo which stone the goblin was hiding behind. Well, no, maybe he wasn’t really hiding. He had stuck his whole head out and was clearly looking at the four of them.
“I dunno if he’s the same one we saw yesterday,” Yori said, cocking her head to the side. “He looks like he’s alone, so the odds are good that he is.”
Riyo had a pensive look on her face, but said nothing. Haru seemed vaguely uncertain as well.
“Hrmm,” Manato groaned.
If he moved toward the goblin, the goblin might run off again, so Manato decided to stand still and observe closely.
The goblin’s skin was more yellowy than an orc’s, but still green. He had no hair on his head and also no eyebrows. His skin was pretty smooth, and his eyes were pretty different from Manato’s, Yori’s, or Riyo’s. They had a lot of black in them. Or rather, they had almost no white. His nose and mouth protruded out from the rest of his face a bit, and his nostrils were thin and faced to the sides. His mouth looked large and had four prominent canine teeth. The ears that stuck out of either side of his head seemed to be fairly big too. They had pointy tips and drooped downward a little bit.
“Well... This one’s a toughie... Hrmm,” Manato groaned, crossing his arms in front of him.
“Is something wrong?” Yori asked.
“Yeah. Well, maybe not wrong, exactly, but I can’t tell them apart.”
“Tell them apart?” Riyo murmured.
She furrowed her brow a bit and looked over at the goblin. The goblin started to recoil. He was fine with Manato looking at him, but Riyo’s stare was awkward, huh?
“Okay,” Manato said, nodding.
He put his hand on the tachi that he had strapped across his back. The goblin jumped a little as he did. Manato smiled and shook his head.
“No, no. It’s not what you’re thinking. I’m taking it off, that’s all. Though, I guess the best thing to do would be to stop talking and just do it, huh?”
Manato took off the tachi and crouched to place it on the ground. Next, he placed the knife that had been hanging at his hip on the ground next to it. Then he spread his arms in an exaggerated manner.
“I don’t have any weapons. See? I’m not gonna do anything to you. Okay? I’m coming over now. Nice and slow. If you want me to stop, just say so. Not that I’ll understand, but...here I come, okay?”
“Manato?” Yori called out to him. He deliberately ignored her.
He walked carefully, step by step, toward the white stone the goblin was hiding behind. He kept his hands up.
The goblin’s black pupils were focused on Manato. What was he thinking? Was he thinking at all? Manato couldn’t tell. But at the very least, the goblin wasn’t running away. Not yet. If Manato broke into a dash, the goblin would likely bolt. He had to make the goblin believe he was totally harmless. That was the sense he got.
Eventually, he was able to get close enough—only a step or two away—that he could almost reach out and touch the goblin. Manato knelt down on the ground, hands still raised.
“I’m not gonna do anything to you. I can’t do anything like this. So, uh, I’m pretty sure you helped me yesterday, right? You’re that goblin? Thanks, man. Seriously. Do you know what ‘thanks’ means? Um, uh... I’m grateful. It’s an expression of gratitude. Hrmm, how can I get him to understand?”
Manato tried bowing his head.
“Thanks,” he said, looking at the goblin with upturned eyes to see how the little guy would react.
The goblin was giving Manato a look that said, What’s with this guy? What is he doing?
Didn’t work, huh? Well then, let’s try this.
Manato lowered his whole upper body, to the point where his hands touched the ground.
“Thanks. If you hadn’t helped me out yesterday, I might’ve died. You’re the reason I’m still alive. Thanks.”
He raised his head, wondering if that had worked. The goblin’s head cocked a bit in confusion. Another failure, huh?
“Umm, you see...” Manato sat up. He put his hands over his chest, then looked directly at the goblin. “Thanks, from the bottom of my heart! I’m seriously grateful!”
“Woh?” the goblin said quietly. From the sound of it, he still didn’t understand. If anything, he seemed a little taken aback.