Chapter 185 It was not a Dream

As Hermit sank deeper into unconsciousness, a flirtatious yet mocking laugh echoed louder and louder in his ears. Hermit fainted, his limp body lying on the floor as he mumbled in his dreams, "Why... why, goddess?"

His body twitched and shivered in pain, the cold stone floor chilling his bones as he uttered a name in his nightmarish dreams, "Lusseria... why?"

Meanwhile, as Hermit enjoyed his coma induced by the crushed guts and suffocation, David circled around the guild building and entered through the main door. He sat close to the reception desk and waited for Hermit to do his bidding.

Suzuka was engaged in a heated argument with the quest coordinator, Lisanna, about monsters and what valuable resources can be salvaged. However, after some time, Suzuka grew concerned about why Hermit was taking so long to clean the restroom. She excused herself from her friendly banter with Lisanna to check on him.

She took off and walked through the restroom doors, only to find Hermit sleeping on the ground, moaning and mumbling something incoherent. The words were unknown to Suzuka; they sounded like some ancient, lost language or just a bunch of nonsensical clicks and chirps.

Hermit mumbled in his strange language, "Oh... Guhghh! Goddess... ughh! Why must... Hermit suffer... ouch! So much..."

Suzuka walked up to Hermit and shook him from his sleep while saying, "Get up, you stinking goblin! Find a better place to sleep. Why do you like feces so much that you even sleep with your face in dung? Come on! Wake up already!"

Hermit stirred from his slumber, his eyes fluttering open, his facial expression stupefied. "Whaa? What happened?"

Suzuka crossed her arms and glared down at Hermit as he struggled to regain his senses.

"What happened, you ask? You happened, Hermit! You were supposed to be cleaning this sorry excuse for a restroom, not taking a nap on the floor. At least I see you finished."

Hermit, still groggy and disoriented, blinked up at Suzuka, his goblin eyes unfocused.

"Restroom? Cleaning? Oh, right... supposed to be working... but... but... ah yes, I finished cleaning."

Suzuka couldn't help but roll her eyes at Hermit's apparent forgetfulness as she stepped out of the restroom. 

Hermit wiped his brow, smudging dirt across his face in the process, as he finally emerged from the once-filthy room.

Suzuka, waiting just outside, raised an eyebrow at Hermit's messy appearance and said teasing, "Well, Hermit, you may still smell like the bowels of a swamp, but at least the restroom doesn't anymore."

Hermit mumbled sheepishly, "Sorry, Master Helen. Hermit tried his best."

Meanwhile, David, who had been patiently waiting for Hermit to finish his task, watched them from a distance. His eyes bore a hint of intrigue as he observed the peculiar bond between Hermit and Suzuka. 

They made their way towards the reception desk, where Lisanna awaited them. Hermit's oversized, goblin-like ears hung low, still bearing the scars of his recent ordeals. Lisanna, with a mixture of amusement and pity, seized Hermit by his meaty ears and spoke in her usual mocking tone, "Well, look who's finally finished with the cleaning, you filthy thing. As a small reward, I'll give those scarred ears of yours a special treatment with some body oil. Maybe it'll help with the scarring."

Hermit, though gritting his teeth against the rough treatment to his sensitive ears, couldn't hide his eagerness and humbly whimpered, "Oh, yes! Master Lisanna, please! Fix Hermit's ears, like you did last time."

After a few minutes of Lisanna's skilled and gentle ear massage, the scarring on Hermit's ears became slightly less visible. Hermit cradled his meaty ears in his arms, pressing them to his chest as if they were precious treasures.

 "Oh, my ears! Not as perfect as before, but a good improvement. Thank you, Master Lisanna!"

Hermit couldn't resist showering his beloved ears with kisses and affectionate licks, his bizarre display of love a testament to the bond he shared with his ears.

Suddenly, a boisterous laughter rolled through the guild hall. With a dramatic slam of the main guild hall doors, Laughing Larry made a grand entrance. His charismatic energy filled the room, and he sported a new hairstyle that perfectly complemented the scar he had recently acquired across his eye. 

With his characteristic charm and loud laugh, Larry greeted the guild members, "Hello there, fellow adventurers and lovely ladies! Laughing Larry is back in action."

Hermit, upon spotting Larry, could hardly contain his emotions. His eyes widened, glistening with tears of joy. His lips curled into a grotesque, yet heartwarming smile that stretched from ear to ear. His body quivered with an overwhelming sense of delight.

He leaped from the reception desk and crashed-landed onto the stone floor, a minor scrape on his elbow and knee from the fall, but he paid it no heed. He quickly scrambled to his feet and scuttled toward Larry with his hands outstretched, his tiny legs a blur of movement. Tears and snot burst from his face as he cried out to his dear friend.

"Oh, Larry! My friend! Hermit missed you so much! Please, Larry! A hug! A hug! Give Hermit a warm, comforting hug of friendship, love, and affection, please! Larry! Hold me in your embrace!"

Larry knelt down and met Hermit with a warm and friendly hug. Hermit leaped into the air, dove into Larry's embrace, and nestled himself wrapping around Larry's waist. He clung to Larry like a long-lost brother releasing the pent-up sorrow, pouring out his woes and hardships endured over the past day. Larry listened with a genuine smile, his laughter fading into the background as he embraced his goblin friend. 

"Oh, Larry! Me bestest pal! You won't believe the horrors I've faced, the pure brutishness of it all! Mistress Helen! She tricked me into gobbling my own kin, my fellow goblin hatchlings! She fed me goblin hatchling eggs, Larry! Unhatched goblin hatchling eggs, can you believe? They wee things stared right into my soul with their beady peepers afore I unknowingly swallowed them down!"

"And then, Larry, oh, the torment! She deceived me into feasting on my own goblin kinfolk, cooked up as prime cuts of goblin meat, juicy and tender, served with a side of despair! I swear I could hear the sobs of my fellow goblins in every chomp! I ate it! But I did not know! I did not know!"

"Oh, Larry, dear Larry! You won't believe the agonizing trials I've suffered in the last day! There was this gigantic, wrestling raccoon that taunted me! It thrashed me mercilessly, shamed me, and snapped my precious ears in two just to make fun of me more! It had muscles thick as tree trunks, Larry, tree trunks!"

"And then the scrap grubs, Larry! Oh, the trash munchies! I feasted on the most scrumptious morsels from the garbage heap, fit for a king, I'm telling you! I stuffed my belly so full it bulged like I'd swallowed a belly pillow!"

"But... but before all that! Over at Master Helen's abode, I had a battle with the porcelain beast! I fought it tooth and nail, but it nearly swallowed me whole, Larry! It was a life-or-death skirmish!"

"But the worst of the lot, Larry, there was the savage David! He pounded poor Hermit into oblivion, like a tempest of fists! I was a punching bag, Larry, a sorry, sagging punching bag! He spat on my battered mug! Whacked me, slapped me across the face, bound my ears with ropes, and strung me up like a punching bag!"

As Hermit spoke the dreaded name "David," a sudden surge of emotion overwhelmed him, propelling him from his chair. He charged toward Larry and Hermit, his voice rising to a tone of anger, "That damn goblin is lying! He's spinning tales, spewing nonsense! It's all a charade!"

Larry, gripped by the intensity of the moment, released his hold on Hermit and rose to confront Suzuka. His eyes bore into her, a storm of confusion and anger swirling within them. He asked, "Helen! Is what Hermit says true? How could you let such horrors befall him? You were meant to protect him, not subject him to this."

Then, Larry turned to face David, his voice stern and disappointed. 

"And you, David! I thought your anger toward the goblin was temporary, but now I see an obsession with causing harm to this unfortunate creature. What's happened to you, boy? Why can't you just let him be?"

David's temper flared, and he began to argue with Larry, his voice charged with frustration and anger. 

"What's wrong with me? Larry, I should be asking you that very question! Can't you see? This thing, this creature, is a monster - a vile goblin! Who's to say he's not putting on an act, pretending to be a sniveling, pathetic goblin? Behind your back, he might be plotting, ready to stab you when you least expect it! You can't trust a goblin, Larry. He could be a spy, a scout, feigning weakness to infiltrate our town. Perhaps he's paving the way for his filthy goblin freaks to invade, to kidnap our people, our women for his breeding farms, or worse! How can't you see it, Larry? He's a filthy monster, used at deceiving you all. You're swallowing his lies whole, trusting him more than those you've known for most of your life!"

Larry let out a weary sigh, his eyes conveying a mixture of compassion and distress. He addressed David, attempting to bridge the depth of misunderstanding that had formed.

 "David, boy! You must understand, that this goblin here is not our enemy. He's a friend and much more than that. He holds the key to a future where we can finally put an end to the long-standing conflicts between goblin kin and the rest of us. He holds no sinister plots; he hasn't harmed or even touched any of our people. His heart is filled with kindness and a longing for peace and friendship, nothing more. He's not one of those cruel goblins who oppress good ones like Hermit; he's a victim seeking our aid. What's more, there are many more goblins like him who yearn for nothing beyond a life of peace and happiness. Just like you and me, David. Please, understand this: with Hermit's presence, we can construct a bridge of understanding between friendly goblins and us. Through this, we can demonstrate to all the honest goblins that they don't have to fight but can join forces with us against their oppressors. Together, we can forge a better future for all."

Moved by Larry's words, Hermit couldn't contain his emotions any longer. He stood beside Larry and clung to his leg, tears streaming down his face as he felt the overwhelming warmth of acceptance and friendship. He whimpered from joy, his sobs muffled by his hand pressed against his mouth. 

Larry turned to Suzuka, his gaze seeking proof once more, "I ask you, Helen, please tell me if what Hermit said about his suffering is true."

Suzuka chuckled, shaking her head, her voice laced with jest. 

"Oh, that Hermit of ours, what a joker he is. Of course, it's not true. But you know what is true, Larry? He did raid the trash bins, upset his belly, and created a rather unpleasant scene in the toilet, shiting not only the ground but the wall too. Lisanna did ask him to clean it, and he ended up snoozing with his face down in a pile of dung. Perhaps that's where he conjured up that absurd dream of his. Take a look at him now; he's perfectly fine, except dung smeared on his face. Not a scratch on him, except maybe a few self-inflicted ones. If what he was saying were true, he'd be covered in wounds, but he's unharmed. As I said, he was just having a bad dream, face down in a poop."

Larry glanced down at Hermit, who clung to his leg, still teary-eyed, shivering in distress, and face smeared with feces. A glimmer of understanding dawned on David's face, and he took a step back, realizing Suzuka didn't want Larry to chew her out as well for not keeping a look at the goblin.

Larry's gaze turned back to Suzuka, "Thank you, Helen, for clearing that up. I see he is in good shape, with no injuries. I have to admit, his story did sound exaggerated, I'm sorry I doubted you."

David, understanding that it was his chance to make up with Larry nodded in agreement, "I... I'm sorry, Larry. I jumped to conclusions. I didn't know that he served such a grand and noble cause. I am sorry that I doubted your judgment, Larry."

Hermit, now feeling anxiety and despair rising in his mind, looked up at Larry with fear in his eyes and mumbled, "But but but... it was not... a dream, Larry."