Chapter 199 Drinking Beer For The First Time

Inside the inn, Suzuka grew increasingly restless and bored as she listened to David's and Jacob's stories, which seemed to drag on endlessly. Finally, her thoughts returned to the unfortunate goblin they had left alone in the alley for over an hour. 

She turned to David, her voice filled with a mix of irritation and concern. 

"Oh, for god's sake! I forgot all about Hermit. I hope he didn't bail on us and is still waiting in that box."

David stirred from his stupor and replied, worry in his voice, "God damn it, I completely forgot about that damn goblin. We need to go and check on him."

Jacob leaned back in his seat and casually asked, "Why did you leave the goblin all alone in some box in the alleyway? Just bring him inside and seat him by the table. Now that would be fun! I'd love to see a goblin drunk on beer, hahaha!"

David shot back, "What? Are you insane? What if people see him? He'll cause us a lot of trouble!"

Jacob chuckled and assured David, "Kid, you're in a shady bar. No one will give a flying fuck about some freak sitting at the table. Well... most of the folks won't. If anyone comes bothering, just tell them to bugger off!"

Suzuka, growing more irritated by the moment, interrupted the banter, saying, "Yes, yes, shut up, both of you. I'm going to bring the goblin here, and if anyone bothers us, I'll introduce them to the ground. We should have done that from the beginning. Now, I feel stupid for leaving the goblin behind in some stupid box by the dumpster."

With frustration in her voice, Suzuka exited the inn and made her way to the alley. Upon arrival, her worry was confirmed - the box was open, and Hermit was nowhere to be seen. She clenched her fist, gritted her teeth, and let out a frustrated cry, "Oh, for fuck's sake! The damn goblin is gone!"

 Her attention was abruptly diverted by a rumbling sound coming from under the dumpster. It was Hermit's belly, growling and rumbling from hunger. Suzuka crouched down beside the dumpster and discovered the shrunken goblin hidden beneath. She crudely pulled him out from his icy refuge and observed the alarming transformation he'd undergone. 

Hermit's limbs, lips, and the skin around his eyes had turned a sickly black-blue, and his once greenish skin had taken on a ghastly gray-blue hue due to the biting cold. Shivering and gasping, Hermit exhaled mist from his trembling mouth, a frail figure in dire need of warmth and sustenance.

Suzuka sighted in disappointment as she cradled the shivering, frail goblin. His small, quivering body seemed tinier now, shrunken and wrinkled even, like a lifeless doll ashen with the cold. The goblin's lips quivered, and his part-way closed eyes, once filled with timid curiosity, now held a vacant, haunted look.

In an effort to rouse him from his cold-induced stupor, Suzuka delivered a sharp slap to Hermit's cheek, followed by another. Hermit stirred, his cheeks burning and tingling with pain, as he slowly regained his senses.

The goblin could barely form words as he choked on his own shivering, "C-cold... brrr! So... cold... brrrreh! S-scared. Wh-what just happened? Why does my face hurt?" Hermit blinked, attempting to piece together the fragments of his hazy memory and make sense of his surroundings.

Suzuka's irritation gradually softened as she observed the pitiable state Hermit was in. Her voice still tinged with frustration, carried a trace of concern as she scolded him, "You fell asleep under the dumpster, you fool, and by the looks of it, you nearly froze to death. I told you to wait in the box, where you were safe and hidden, but no! You just had to go and rummage through the trash like you always do. Well? Did you find some tasty filth to chomp in that dumpster? Hmm? I bet you did. So, no dinner for you. It's a punishment for not listening to what I tell you."

Hermit, struggling to convey the horrors he'd endured, pleaded with desperation in his voice, "M-master! Pl-please!" Hermit stuttered in his goblin voice, his words coming out in a quivering, high-pitched tone, "Hermit tried his best, he really did! But... some... some human children found me in the box, and they... they beat me up, k-kicked me, and nailed a plank on my head, and... and... the rain! The cold! Hermit... Hermit nearly perished, master!"

The trembling goblin's words were punctuated by the sound of his chattering teeth and the visible shivers wracking his scrawny body. His voice, a pitiful and dimwitted tone, highlighted the dire straits of Hermit's plight, the wretched creature who had suffered through a series of misfortunes and now stood before his master, on the brink of collapse.

Suzuka, seemingly indifferent, responded, "You and your sob stories. I'm starting to grow tired of your pitiful made-up tales, Hermit. Get up! We're going back inside the inn. I'm not leaving you here; who knows what trouble you'll get into next."

Hermit let out a meek whimper, tears welling in his eyes, he meekly replied, "Yes, master, I'm sorry, master." His frail and shivering form slowly rose, his trembling body bearing witness to the harsh conditions he'd endured in the alley, a reminder of his vulnerability in a world that often showed him little mercy.

With indifference towards the goblin, Suzuka roughly grabbed his scrawny arm and began leading him back to the inn. Hermit, already on the brink of collapse, mustered the strength for just one step before his fragile body gave out. He crumpled to the ground, shivering and barely conscious.

Unmoved by Hermit's plight, Suzuka, with a cold face, dragged his limp, lifeless body across the murky pavement, her steps hasty as she pulled him along.

With Hermit's frail form in tow, Suzuka made her way through the inn's entrance. Without so much as a glance in his direction, she unceremoniously flung the goblin onto the chair next to Jacob. Hermit flopped onto the chair like a discarded rag doll, his scrawny limbs splayed out, his lifeless form sprawled on the chair, his big ears hanging off the chair like dirty sheets.

Jacob, with a playful grin, couldn't hide his amusement as he greeted Hermit, "Well, well, I'll be damned! And here comes the devil himself! The prized Hermit the Goblin! Looks like we're about to witness the sight of a goblin sipping on some beer after all. What a great evening this is turning out to be!"

After taking a closer look at the shivering goblin, Jacob couldn't resist offering his opinion. 

"But I have to be honest with you, Helen. That is one pitiful goblin you've got here. By the skin color, I assume he nearly froze. You do know that goblins are weak to the cold, right? Well, not that I give a lick, I'm just sayin'."

David, his tongue loosened by the drinks he had, suggested a cruel and cold-hearted fate for the goblin.

 "Weak to the cold, huh? Let's strip the goblin and hang him on the inn's sign, and leave him there for the rain to pelt his filthy green skin."

Jacob brushed off David's cruel suggestion with a playful grin, "Whoa, whoa! Relax, young man! This little goblin is our guest; we should get him a drink." 

He raised his hand and playfully snapped his fingers to signal the waitress, saying, "Hey, good-lookin'! Bring us two tankards of beer!"

David, swaying slightly from the alcohol, mustered a weak protest, "No! No! Make it three!"

Suzuka, who had resigned herself to the situation, finally gave in with a sigh, "I'll take one as well, make it four!"

The waitress promptly delivered the beer, placing the tankards on the table before making her exit. Jacob grabbed two tankards, one for himself and one for the goblin. He extended the tankard toward Hermit, but the pitiful creature remained unresponsive, his eyes half-closed and devoid of life, a vacant gaze fixed on nothingness, his eyes that of a dead fish.

Jacob encouraged the goblin, "Drink up, little goblin, this will warm you up right away."

Hermit responded with a pained wheeze, "Gheee... gheee..." The cold had sapped almost all his strength and life; he was unable to even fully close his eyes.

Jacob took matters into his own hands. He pried open Hermit's mouth and poured some beer inside. The goblin, parched and desperate, greedily gulped down the beer, only to experience an unexpected burning sensation coursing down his throat. He began to whimper, "Greeeeh! Greeeh!"

The sensation of alcohol was entirely new to Hermit, and it sent a searing heat down his throat. He reached for his neck, clawing at it to quell the burning discomfort. Gradually, a warmth spread through his body, and his eyes, which had been devoid of life, began to flicker with vitality. His once grayish-blue skin gradually regained its usual greenish hue. In a matter of moments, the warmth of the beer spread through his chilled body, replacing the frigid agony with a comforting, although strange, heat.

As Hermit's eyes fluttered, life slowly returned to them, and his pallid skin gradually regained its usual green hue. He blinked sheepishly, he looked around, coming back to his senses from his stupor. His mind was clouded by fear, his consciousness struggling to adjust to the unfamiliar surroundings and faces that surrounded him.

Hermit's eyes blinked again, and as his consciousness returned, he found himself surrounded by unfamiliar faces in an unfamiliar place. Panic seized him, and he began to shake his head in search of an escape. In the midst of this turmoil, he spotted a familiar face - his master, Helen. Overwhelmed by fear and longing for her comforting presence, with a heart-rending cry, he leaped into Suzuka's embrace, his voice trembling with anxiety, "M-master! A hug! Please! Hermit is scared!"

However, Suzuka was not in a particularly affectionate mood. She caught Hermit mid-air and unceremoniously plopped him back onto the chair, her tone dismissive, "Relax, you dumb goblin. Sit in your chair. I'm not here to cuddle you."

Hermit slumped into the chair, his eyes watery, his oversized ears drooping almost to the ground, his limbs hanging limply from the seat, dangling, and his head bowed in fear and timidity, casting an image of a broken and pitiful creature.