✦ ✦ ✦
†
Haru brought a white undershirt, short pants, and a sleeveless coat for the goblin. That was apparently about all he had in small enough sizes. But with enough time, Haru could make just about anything.
It wasn’t hard to get the goblin to wear his new outfit. Yori and Riyo looked away while Manato took his clothes off and then put them back on to demonstrate. Once he did that, the goblin imitated him and got dressed too. As for the cloak, the goblin watched Haru put on the spare cloak he had brought for himself. Then the goblin put on the cloak that Haru had given him. He even gave Haru a look first, as if asking if it was okay before doing so.
“Of course,” Haru said with a nod and a little chuckle.
“...aaaa...nks,” the goblin said, bowing his head.
Manato wasn’t the only one surprised by this. They all were.
“He just said thanks...” Yori murmured as her sister stood wide-eyed beside her.
“He learns fast,” Haru said before turning his masked face toward Manato. “You said he helped you yesterday?”
“That’s right. I owe him my life. Also, while I was trying to get the goblins out of the cage and they were refusing to move, one of them warned me about the slave soldier when it showed up. I think that was him too.”
“Now that you mention it,” Riyo said, raising her hand. “One of the goblins went back inside the cage after coming out. He helped me by pulling his friends who wouldn’t run away toward the door. That might have been him too.”
“Ohhh...” Manato was struck by the urge to give the goblin a big hug. But doing it out of nowhere would probably scare the poor guy. “You’re amazing. Like, really incredible. You’re considerate of your friends and even saved me when you had no real reason to. I’m surprised you’re here all by yourself, though.”
He felt itchy. What was this emotion? He wanted to go wild. But not as in, like, hitting and kicking things. It just felt painful to stay still. He wanted to do something, or rather, to help the goblin in some way.
“I brought this too,” Haru said, showing the goblin a cloth bundle, which he opened to reveal some of the bread they’d had for breakfast. He had apparently made it using flour from a grain that wasn’t rice or wheat, and to prepare it, all you had to do was add water to the flour and let it sit for a while before baking it. It was kind of chewy rather than being soft, and a bit sour, but also sweet. It tasted pretty good.
The goblin looked at Manato. “Umwa?” he asked.
“Yeah. That’s food. You can eat it. Eat. Do you understand?”
Manato mimed holding the bread, and bringing it to his mouth.
“Munch, munch, munch. Food. You. Hungry, right? Your stomach. Empty, right?”
“Uguh.” The goblin licked his lips, hung his head, and rubbed his belly.
“I don’t know if you’ll like it, but give it a try,” Haru said. He then held out the bread a little more for the goblin to take.
The goblin brought his nose closer and gave it a sniff. He was frowning. It seemed like he was unsure about eating it, but he had to have been awfully hungry, so he eventually grabbed the bread with both hands and lifted it off Haru’s palm. He started by licking it several times. The baked bread was a bit hard, and he didn’t seem to know what to make of it. Then he tried biting off just a little, and after chewing it for a few moments, he finally swallowed it.
“Mm... Uff...” He seemed to find the bread perplexing. But that didn’t mean he thought it was inedible. The goblin went for a much larger bite the second time.
“Mm... Off...” It might not have tasted all that good to him, but he still inhaled the rest of it in no time. He held his mouth shut with both hands as he thoroughly chewed and swallowed the last of his meal.
“Hahhh...” The goblin moved his hands away from his mouth and took a breath. Then he gave a thumbs-up with his right hand. Manato returned the gesture and the goblin bowed his head to Haru. “Taaanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Haru said with a chuckle.
“Okay!” Manato said, punching his left palm with his right fist. The goblin jumped.
“Ah! Sorry,” Manato apologized. “Did I startle you? Um, I didn’t mean anything bad by it. So, uh, I was thinking, why don’t you come with us? I mean, if there’s somewhere else you want to go, we won’t stop you. But if you don’t, well, being alone is... Uhhh, I dunno, I’m sure it’s dangerous and all? I think you’d have trouble. All sorts of trouble. Like with finding food. Would that be okay, Haru? And what about you, Yori and Riyo?”
“I’ve already made up my mind,” Haru said, looking at the goblin. “I guess it’s up to him.”
“Uuh?” The goblin pointed at himself and tilted his head to the right. It looked like he didn’t understand. Of course he didn’t. Not only did he not speak their language, the conversation had wandered quite far from its previous topic.
“It’s up to him, huh?” Manato said, crouching down so his eyes were level with the goblin’s.
“Hauh,” the goblin said, tilting his head to the other side now.
Yori came over next to Manato and crouched down too. “What do you want to do? Yori agrees with Manato. In fact, even if it isn’t what you want, Yori thinks we should take you in. If the thralls find you, you’ll be dragged back to the farm, or just get eaten on the spot.”
“Uff.”
“Yep. It’s clear that you don’t understand. But you seem smart, and if you stick with us, you’ll figure it out. Yori can see it in your eyes. You think a lot, and you’re trying to figure out what Yori’s saying. Hey, so, do you like that cloak?”
Yori only glanced at the cloak Haru had given the goblin. She didn’t make any gestures beyond that. But that was enough to make the goblin grasp his cloak. Then he grabbed it a bit lower and lifted its long hem. Finally, he nodded to her.
“Kuh...lowk. Lah...ike.”
“You do, huh?”
Yori patted the goblin on the head. He didn’t try to avoid her touch, allowing her to pat him freely. It seemed like he didn’t mind it. If anything, he seemed comforted by it, and even happy.
“A name,” Riyo murmured. “If he has a name, I’d like him to tell us what it is.”
“I’m not sure if he would have one or not,” Haru said, crossing his arms.
The simplest way to find out was to ask. Manato pointed to himself.
“Manato. Ma-na-to. Manato!”
“Mah...to?”
“Ohhh, you’re almost there. Ma!”
“Ma.”
“Na!”
“Nah.”
“To!”
“...To.”
“Yeah. Manato!”
“Manahto.”
“Yeah. That’s the way. Next...”
“Yo-ri,” Yori said, pointing to herself.
Then she pointed to Manato, said his name, and pointed back to herself again.
“Yori,” she repeated.
The goblin nodded.
“...Yori.”
“Yep! Yori.”
“I am...” Riyo placed her hand over her chest. “Ri-yo.”
“...Riyo.”
“I’m Haru,” Haru introduced himself.
“Haru,” the goblin repeated without hesitation.
“That’s right. I’m Haru. Who are you?”
“...Yewww.” the goblin said, probably imitating Haru, and crossed his arms. “Manato. Yori. Riyo. Haru... Yewww. Ahh... Wada... Fiy... Kakkah...”
“Is he speaking some kind of Grimgar variety of Goblin?” Yori whispered to Haru.
Haru shook his head. “Nah. The goblins did have their own language, but this isn’t it.”
“Yori learned a little Goblin from her master, but she isn’t hearing any similarities. The goblin language has a distinctive guttural sound to it. Like clearing phlegm out of your throat. But he’s not making any sounds like that.”
“Aak,” the goblin said, pointing at himself. Then he clicked his tongue, crossing his hands in front of his face repeatedly.
“Chaa. Iah. Nah. Bah. Boh.”
“Ohhh,” Manato said, nodding a few times.
The goblin touched his face with both hands. “Tah, tah. Wadah. Fiy.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Boppe. Bah. Boh.”
“I see.”
“You understand him?” Yori asked, her eyes widening. “What’s he saying?”
“I have no clue.”
“You were totally acting like you did, though.”
“Well, I kinda get it. Like, he doesn’t have a name, per se, just a thing he’s called. That’s basically what he’s trying to tell us. Right?”
When Manato asked this, the goblin gave him a big nod.
“Tahh, tahh.”
“Tata!” Manato said, placing his hand on the goblin’s arm. That made the goblin shudder a little, but he didn’t try to shake free.
“...Tatah?” the goblin asked hesitantly.
“Yeah,” Manato replied. “Tata. Manato, Yori, Riyo, Haru, and you’re Tata.”
“Yewww...Tata.”
“Tata!”
“Tata,” the goblin said again, then, pointing at himself, repeated, “Tata.”
“Let’s go with that. Tata!”
“Ledsgowid...at. Tata!”
“Tata, comrade. All of us, Tata’s comrades. Manato, and Yori, and Riyo, and Haru, Tata’s comrades. We’re all comrades!”
“Comrahhhds. Manato. Yori. Riyo. Haru. Tata. Comrades. Alluv us.”
“Comrades!”
Manato gave a thumbs-up, and the goblin, Tata, immediately returned the gesture.
Oh no. I can’t hold back any longer, Manato thought, right before he embraced Tata.
“Tata! Thanks for saving me! Thanks for coming all this way by yourself! I’m so glad you did. Just overflowing with joy. We’re comrades now, Tata!”
“Foh... Woh...”
Tata stiffened and groaned.
Maybe I should let go? Manato was starting to think, but then Tata wrapped his arms around Manato too. He was returning the hug.
“Ha ha! Tata!” Manato lifted Tata up with a laugh, and then spun around holding him. He would have stopped immediately if Tata had shown any signs of not liking it, though.
“Ouh, wohuh!” The little goblin was laughing. Or at least, Manato thought he was.
“More?! You want to spin more?!”
“Wawa, hoah!”
“You haven’t had enough yet?!”
“Fuoh!”
“Isn’t it about time you stopped?” Yori asked.
“Huh?! Why?!”
“You’ll get dizzy.”
“It’s fine! I’m not dizzy at all!”
“Well, even if you aren’t...”
“Auh, ofuh, geh, bfoh...”
“Tata?! What’s wrong?!”
“Told you so.”