Chapter 415 A Storm of Fury and Resignation

And then, Hermit did the deed. His stomach churned with a mixture of revulsion and resignation, but he knew there was no other way. It was the goblin way. This was survival—ugly, brutal, and unforgiving.

The hatchlings squirmed in the box, their tiny bodies writhing with hunger. Their translucent skin stretched over fragile bones, their wide, glistening eyes filled with a desperate need. They were so small, so helpless, and Hermit’s heart ached as he looked at them.

He glanced over at Kaka, who lay on the hay bed, his milky eyes filled with a quiet, resigned understanding. Kaka gave him a weak nod, his frail body trembling with the effort.

“Do what you must, my son. For them.”

Hermit nodded, his throat tight with emotion. He reached for a small, chipped wooden bowl that sat nearby, its surface worn smooth from years of use. He placed it on the floor in front of him, his hands shaking so badly that the bowl rattled against the wood. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, he positioned himself over the bowl, his face burning with shame.

The act itself was quick, but it felt like an eternity. Hermit’s body tensed, his muscles contracting as he forced himself to do what he had done so many times before—what he had sworn he would never do again. The sound was soft, almost muffled, but in the silence of the shed, it seemed deafening. The smell hit him immediately, sharp and pungent, and he gagged, his stomach lurching. He clenched his teeth, forcing himself to keep going, to finish what he had started.

When it was over, Hermit sat back on his heels, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps. He stared down at the bowl, his vision blurred by tears. The contents were warm, steaming slightly in the cold air, and the sight made his stomach turn. He wanted to vomit, to scream, to throw the bowl as far away as he could. But he didn’t. He couldn’t. The hatchlings needed this. They needed him.

With trembling hands, Hermit picked up the bowl and carried it to the box where the hatchlings were huddled. They were quiet now, their tiny bodies trembling with hunger, their wide, glistening eyes fixed on him with a mixture of fear and hope. Hermit’s heart ached as he looked at them, their fragile forms so small, so helpless. They didn’t understand what he was about to give them. They didn’t understand the sacrifice he was making.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

He placed the bowl inside the box, his hands shaking so badly that some of the contents spilled over the edge. The hatchlings, driven by instinct, immediately crawled toward it, their tiny claws scraping against the wood. They didn’t hesitate, didn’t question. To them, this was food. This was survival.

Suzuka’s eyes widened in shock as she realized what was happening. Her sharp senses caught the unmistakable scent, and her stomach churned with disgust and disbelief. 

“What the hell are you doing?! Are you out of your mind, Hermit?! Did you hit your head one too many times to think this was a good idea?!” she shouted, her voice sharp and cutting. 

Hermit flinched at her tone but didn’t turn around. His shoulders were hunched, his body trembling with shame and guilt.

 “I... I have to,” he whispered, “It’s... it’s the only way. This is how we, slaves, feed our hatchlings. It's for them.”

Suzuka stormed over, her golden eyes blazing with fury. She grabbed Hermit by the shoulder and yanked him around to face him, her nails digging into his skin. 

“The only way?! The only way to what? Poison them? Disgust me? What kind of twisted, barbaric—”

But then she stopped, her words catching in her throat as she saw the look on Hermit’s face. His eyes were filled with tears, his expression full of shame and desperation. Behind him, the hatchlings were quiet, bowl empty now, their tiny bodies no longer trembling. They looked... content. Satisfied. And Kaka, lying on the hay bed, watched with a quiet, resigned sadness.

Suzuka’s grip on Hermit’s shoulder loosened, and she took a step back.

 “You stupid goblin... What the fuck is this?” 

Hermit looked down, unable to meet her gaze.

 “It’s... it’s how we survive. In the breeding farms... there was never enough food. The adults... they had to... to feed the hatchlings. Like this. It’s... it’s natural for us. But I... I hate it. I hate it so much. But I have to do it for them. For the hatchlings. I don’t want to, but... I have to.”

Suzuka stared at him, then at the hatchlings, their tiny bodies now calm and still. She looked at Kaka, his milky eyes filled with a quiet, resigned sorrow. And she looked at Hermit, his face twisted with guilt and shame. For the first time in a long time, Suzuka was at a loss for words.

Her patience had been hanging by a thread, and the sight of Hermit’s grim act was the final straw. Her sharp eyes, usually so cold and indifferent, now burned with fury, disgust, and something dangerously close to desperation. Her fingers flexed as if she were ready to tear something—or someone—apart.

“Aaaaaaaaah, fine!” she shouted, her voice echoing through the shed like a thunderclap. Hermit flinched, his tear-streaked face snapping up to look at her, while Kaka let out a weak, startled groan. The hatchlings, startled by the sudden noise, froze mid motion, their tiny bodies trembling.

Suzuka stormed over to the center of the shed, her golden eyes blazing. 

“You want to stuff your faces so badly that you’d even eat your own stinking, disgusting shit instead of enduring one day of hunger? Fine! You win! You hear me? I said you win!”

She reached out to her item storage. She activated it, and a cascade of food spilled out onto the floor: few bags of dried meat, hard bread, a big pile of vegetables, and even a small sack of grain. It was everything she had.

“Here!” she shouted, gesturing wildly at the pile of food.

 “This is all the food I have in my item storage! If you don't want to ration the food, then so be it! Dig in until you explode, I don’t fucking care! Just for the fucking love of god, do not stink up the shed with your... your disgusting displays ever again! Do you hear me? Ever again!”

Hermit stared at her, his mouth hanging open in shock.

“Don’t,” Suzuka snapped, cutting him off with a sharp gesture.

 “Don’t you dare. I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear anything from either of you. Just... take the food. Eat it. And for once, try to think about someone other than yourselves.”

She turned on her heel and stalked back to her corner of the shed. She dropped onto the floor with a huff, her arms crossed tightly over her chest, her sharp eyes fixed on the wall. Her breathing was heavy, her chest rising and falling with the force of her emotions.

Hermit sat in stunned silence for a moment, his mind struggling to process what had just happened. Slowly, he reached out and picked up a piece of dried meat from the pile, his hands trembling. He looked at it for a long moment, then turned to the hatchlings, his heart aching with a mixture of relief and guilt.

“Here,” he said softly, his voice trembling as he broke the meat into small pieces and placed them in front of the hatchlings.

 “Eat. It’s... it’s real food.”

The hatchlings hesitated for a moment, their tiny noses twitching as they sniffed at the meat. Then, driven by hunger, they began to eat, their tiny mouths moving rapidly as they devoured the food. Hermit watched them, his heart heavy with a mixture of love and shame.

Kaka let out a weak, raspy sigh, his milky eyes fixed on Suzuka’s hunched form.

 “Thank you...” 

The moment Kaka’s weak, raspy voice uttered what sounded like gratitude in the guttural tones of the goblin language, Suzuka’s already frayed patience snapped completely. She didn’t understand the words, but the tone was enough to set her off. Her sharp eyes, which had been fixed on the wall, now burned with a fiery intensity as she whipped her head around to glare at Hermit.

“And while you’re at it,” she shouted, “might as well take the damn soup pot I cooked! Feed your beloved Kaka. Since apparently, as stupid as you are, you forgot to give him anything to eat since you dragged him out of that pit full of shit!”

Hermit flinched, his face paling as Suzuka’s words hit him like a physical blow. He completely forgot about it. She stood up and stalked over to the small fire where a pot of soup simmered. She grabbed the pot by the handle, not even bothering to use a cloth to protect her hand from the heat and thrust it toward Hermit.

“Here! Take it! Feed him! Because apparently, I’m the only one around here who has even a shred of common sense! You’re so busy playing the martyr for these hatchlings that you can’t even feed your own father—or whatever the hell he is to you! What kind of son are you, huh? You drag him out of that pit, and then what? You just let him lie there, starving, while you cry over a bunch of squeaking brats?!”

Hermit’s face twisted with guilt. He reached out and took the pot from Suzuka, his hands trembling slightly. Hermit’s stomach growled at the smell, but he ignored it, his focus entirely on Kaka.

The moment Suzuka’s words hit him, Hermit’s heart sank like a stone. His face paled, his hands trembling as the realization washed over him like a cold, suffocating wave. He had been so consumed with the hatchlings, so overwhelmed by their desperate cries and his own guilt, that he had completely forgotten about Kaka. His father—his father—had been lying there, frail and starving, while Hermit wallowed in his own misery.