Aria led me through the tribe, her grip firm around my wrist.
Goblins parted for us, but not politely.
Their eyes followed me like crosshairs. Some glared at me as I passed.
Others whispered words I didn't need to understand to feel the hostility behind them. A few hands lingered too close to weapons.
If Aria let go of me, even for a moment, I was sure someone would test how fast they could draw blood.
I kept my posture calm, forcing my breathing steady. Fear here would smell like weakness.
"Don't mind them," Aria said quietly, though her eyes scanned the crowd with a warrior's awareness.
"We've lost people to kobolds. And you've lost people to us. Old scars don't fade just because the bleeding stopped."
"I understand," I replied. "Hatred sticks longer than memory."
She glanced at me, surprised, then squeezed my arm lightly. "Still… you're not what I expected."
"In what way?" I asked.
"You don't bark," she said. "You don't posture. Most males puff their chests like fools the moment they feel threatened." Her ears twitched. "You just… endure."
I said nothing.
The chief's hut loomed ahead, large, reinforced, and guarded by two goblins whose grips tightened when they saw me.
One muttered something sharp under his breath.
Before either could stop us, shouting exploded from inside.
"My daughter is a battle maniac!" a booming voice roared. "She doesn't look at any males! Am I supposed to die without grandchildren?!"
Aria stiffened.
Her face went red, furious, embarrassed, and dangerous all at once.
"I'll handle this," she growled, releasing my arm.
Then she kicked the door open so hard the hinges screamed.
"Dad! It's my life! I'll choose when, and with who!"
The hut shook with the force of her voice.
I stayed outside, painfully aware of the goblins closing in behind me. Too close. Too quiet.
Then Aria's voice dropped, sharp but controlled.
"And… I might have found someone who can solve our Orc problem."
Silence took place.
Heavy footsteps followed.
Chief Kalmar emerged from the hut, towering, broad-shouldered, his expression already twisted in outrage, until his eyes landed on me.
His jaw dropped.
Then he fell to his knees.
"My daughter brings me a kobold?!" he wailed. "Is this how I am repaid after raising her?!"
The crowd erupted, murmurs, snarls, laughter, outrage. Several goblins stepped forward.
I raised my hands slowly. "Chief, I didn't come here to, "
Before I could finish, Aria grabbed Kalmar by the collar and hauled him upright.
"NOT LIKE THAT!" she snapped. "He has a plan for the Orcs, you old stump!"
That word cut through the noise.
Plan.
Kalmar froze.
Slowly, his panic drained away, replaced by something colder. Sharper. His gaze locked onto me like a blade.
"A solution?" he asked. "From a kobold?"
"Yes," I said, meeting his stare. "A real one."
The crowd hushed.
That's when a staff struck the dirt. Hard.
A hunched goblin pushed his way forward, bone staff clenched in gnarled hands, eyes narrow and venomous.
Elder Bruuk.
Even before the memories surfaced, the air around him felt wrong, like rot under clean soil.
"Have we fallen so low," Bruuk rasped, "that we place our future in the claws of an outsider?"
Murmurs rippled again, this time uncertain.
"You would trust a kobold?" Bruuk continued. "After everything his kind has done to us?"
A few goblins nodded.
My pulse quickened.
This wasn't just talk. If Bruuk swayed them, Aria's protection wouldn't matter.
Aria growled. "Back away, Bruuk."
I stepped forward before she could escalate it.
I crossed my arms and looked down at him. "Funny. I bring a solution. You bring noise."
His eyes flickered.
"And yet," I continued calmly, "since you became an elder, the Orcs still raid the goblins. Your people still die. So tell me what exactly have you accomplished?"
The crowd stirred.
Bruuk's grip tightened on his staff.
Then his eyes gleamed with shrewdness, "For all we know," he snapped, "you may be a spy working with the Orcs!"
That did it.
Weapons shifted. Hands tightened. The tribe leaned forward as one.
Kalmar stepped between us, voice booming. "ENOUGH."
Bruuk recoiled, forcing a thin smile. "I only test him, Chief. We must be cautious."
I leaned down close to Bruuk's ear, my voice barely a whisper.
"You push too hard for someone who claims to care about this tribe," I said softly. "Almost like you're afraid of my plan."
His breath hitched.
And a smile tugged my lips.
Then I turned back to Aria and her father, saying:
"I'll explain my plan, and if the chief approves, we'll move right away" I declared.
Kalmar nodded. "Please, speak of your plan."
I held up the bag the system gave me and walked to them.
Inside were Valva fruits. I gave it to them and they accepted it wholeheartedly.
Kalmar took one, Seeing that it was fresh, he bit it.
His eyes widened.
"It's so good?! Was Valva always this tasty?"
I handed him the rest of the basket.
Aria didn't wait for me and took two for herself, biting into one while staring at me like I was more delicious than fruit.
The moment they touched the fruits, a glowing panel appeared in front of them:
[Rate the Delivery] ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ?
Kalmar jumped back in shock, even Aria's jaw dropped.
"What in the…?" Kalmar muttered.
"Please rate it 5 stars," I said politely.
Aria gave a full five stars immediately without thinking and Kalmar did the same.
Looking at Aria's profile, I felt a warm indescribable feeling in my chest.
When the rating finished, the system notification sounded:
[Delivery Completed, Interactions Recorded +1] [Next Requirement: Resolve Orc Threat]
Aria looked back at me, wanting to hear my opinion.
"So should we make an army to circle them and push them from behind?" she asked.
The system chimed:
[Host, the best moment to evolve is after the goblins fully accept your plan.]
I grinned. Absolutely, but I need to investigate Bruuk first. After all, he was the most resistant to my idea of helping.