Chapter 227 Those Who Need Feelings

Suzuka, unfazed by the goblin's emotional plea, simply said, "Goblins don't need feelings; they need to get the job done. You can save the emotional speeches for someone who cares. Now, let's finish up."

Hermit, with a heavy heart and hurt feelings, dove into his tiny cave one last time to retrieve the remaining gems. As he emerged, the final handful of glistening crystals and gems clutched in his tiny hands, he stood by the growing pile with a sad face. His expression held little joy or happiness, but there was a sense of pride that at least his treasure was something precious and not just a pile of useless junk.

With a wavering voice, Hermit muttered to himself, "My precious treasure. The master may not care, but Hermit did good. These shiny rocks are priceless to me. Hermit did well. My precious treasure, you're in my hands again. I will cherish you forever and not let go." Despite the cold shoulder from Suzuka, the goblin found joy in the actual value of his gathered treasures, if not in the acknowledgment he sought.

Hermit, still standing by his pile of treasures, looked at Suzuka with concern etched on his face. The weight of the gems and crystals posed a transport challenge, especially for two travelers on foot.

"Master, how do we take all these shiny rocks back to town? They're heavy, and we can't carry them all the way. What do we do now?" he asked, his voice still carrying the sting of hurt feelings from her earlier coldness.

Suzuka started to slowly inspect and stash the gems into her magical item storage with a happy smile on her face. 

"Don't worry, Hermit. Your treasure will be safe with me. I've got a nifty little magical item storage that can hold all of these beauties. While I take care of this, why don't you start setting up a simple camp for the night, hmm? Just a fire, nothing too complicated. Even a goblin such as you can handle that, right?" she remarked, a hint of teasing in her tone.

Hermit, with a mixture of concern and curiosity, observed Suzuka store his precious gems in her magical item storage. Feeling a bit uneasy, he reluctantly turned away and shuffled a short distance to start preparing the campsite. 

Mumbling to himself for encouragement, he began digging a hole in the ground to serve as a fire pit.

"No appreciation, just a goblin, doing goblin things... but Hermit endure, for goblin future. Must trust master, she no wrong me. She needs a goblin, a goblin needs her. Together, build something better. Maybe she sees, maybe she cares. Goblins suffer but hope... hope in shiny rocks. Come on, Hermit, you can do this. Master says everything will be alright, and I have to trust her. For the future of goblins and my fellow slaves, I need to be strong."

 The evening air was getting chilly, and the goblin knew a fire would be crucial for warmth. Despite his initial worries, Hermit focused on the task at hand to contribute in his own way. As he worked, he couldn't help but feel a sense of anxiety about the disappearing gems and the mysterious magic Suzuka possessed. Yet, the growing chill of the evening motivated him to focus on the campfire, hoping it would bring some warmth to the otherwise gloomy situation.

With a satisfied grin, Suzuka meticulously counted and inspected each gem and crystal, mentally tallying their potential value.

 "Hmm, this one looks rare... probably fetch a good price. And this one is quite sizable... perhaps a couple of gold coins there. Oh, the sparkle on this one - definitely a valuable find."

She carefully stashed the gems into her magical item storage, her mind busy calculating the potential financial gains. Unbeknownst to her, Hermit glanced over with a worried expression, realizing that his precious treasures were now in the hands of someone who saw them merely as a means to an end.

Suzuka, lost in her thoughts, estimated the total worth of the gems.

 "I'd say roughly 40 gold coins for this haul. Not bad at all. This is great in fact. Who knew that some shit-smeared, stinking goblin would have a real treasure like this? This is turning out to be a great start. Now, if only the bandit's treasure turned out to be real as well, it would be perfect. Oh, please be real and not just some stupid goblin dream."

 With Hermit's treasure, now belonging to her, secured, she turned her attention to the goblin, who was struggling with the fire pit. 

"Hurry up, goblin! We need that fire for the night. Do something useful and use those little hands of yours! Or do you use them only to pick poop from your butt and place it in your mouth? You don't need to answer that, just hurry up! Chop chop!"

Hermit, with his tiny and dirty hands, rustled through the fallen leaves, inspecting rocks with a look of utmost concentration. His beady eyes darted around, searching for the perfect stones to ignite a fire. After a comical display of inspecting rocks, he finally settled on a few, pleased with his findings.

He gathered a small pile of dry leaves, meticulously arranging them in anticipation of creating a blaze. With a bunch of small, broken dry branches in hand, Hermit commenced his attempt at making fire. He awkwardly beat the rocks together, attempting to produce a spark but with every second smack he hit his spindly fingers, accompanied by a painful yelp, "Krrrk!"

 But he did not give up, he persisted as if his life depended on it. Sweat trickled down his face and fell on the ground, his palms became slippery but he persisted. After painful and grueling numerous failed tries, he managed to strike a spark that caught the dry leaves, slowly igniting a flickering flame.

Exhausted from the ordeal, the goblin collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. His body lay sprawled out like a sack of potatoes, drenched in sweat. It was clear that the strenuous task of igniting the fire had taken a toll on Hermit. Looking at Suzuka with hopeful, puppy eyes, he sought approval and perhaps a bit of praise for his accomplishment.

However, Suzuka, instead of offering encouragement, couldn't help but mock him.

 "Well, well, look who managed to make fire after all. Took you long enough, goblin. Should've brought a chair and snack to watch this comedy. I could ignite the fire in a few seconds and here you are, beating rocks for a few hours. What a slowpoke you are, but then again, what did I expect? You're just a useless goblin." She chuckled at the sight of the exhausted and pitiful goblin sprawled on the ground, achieving the simplest of tasks.

Hermit, lying face down in the dirt like a broken twig, felt the weight of Suzuka's mockery like a heavy stone on his frail, hunched shoulders. As he sobbed quietly, his tiny frame shook with each heartbreaking cry. Tears welled up in his beady eyes, and his voice trembled with sorrow as he poured out his feelings of defeat. Tears streamed down his dirty face, and his pitiful cries filled the air.

"Wreee... Master... it's not easy for Hermit... Hermit tried his best. Wreee! Hermit tries so hard, but fire-making is not easy. Rocks are tricky, leaves are tricky, everything is tricky. Master laughs, but Hermit just wants to be a good goblin. Wreee! Why is Master so mean? Hermit only wants to be good for Master," he whimpered, his voice choked with self-pity.

As he spoke, Hermit's body shook with each hiccuping sob, his tiny hands gripping the dirt as if searching for some comfort in the cold ground.

He paused, sniffing and wiping his nose with the back of his hand, then continued in a voice choked with emotion, "Rocks hurt Hermit's hands, and leaves didn't listen to Hermit. It's not fair, master. Hermit just wanted to be good... for master. Why does the master say mean things? Hermit tries, really tries, but rocks and leaves are mean to Hermit. Master is big and strong, why make fun of little Hermit?"

Suzuka, unfazed by Hermit's emotional outburst, dismissed his feelings with a callous tone.

 "Quit with the waterworks, Hermit. You're not a baby, and I don't have time for your drama. Sit by the fire and warm yourself up. I don't need a sobbing goblin, I need you functional to lead me to that bandit camp in the morning. If you freeze to death tonight, you won't be of any use to me. So toughen up and get over it. Man up for god's sake."

The flickering flames danced in the firepit, casting eerie shadows on Hermit's dejected figure as he sat by the fire, nursing not just his aching body but his bruised spirit as well. Suddenly Hermit's belly let out a thunderous grumble that could scare away even the most fierce monsters. He stood up and whimpered, "Oh, poor me... me hungry. So hungry."

Suzuka did not pity the goblin and told him, "If you're hungry, go find something to eat. You're a goblin inside a forest, it's like you're back home. Finding food should be easy for you. Go, hurry up before your belly attracts some monsters."

 Hermit, his belly making loud protests, shuffled away from the campfire with a face twisted in hunger and self-pity. Suzuka, busy with her meal, cast a glance at the pitiful goblin and rolled her eyes.

Hermit shuffled away from the campfire, his small figure hunched over in a pitiful display of self-pity. Rubbing his eyes with the back of his grimy hand, he whimpered, "Okay, Master. I'll just take a quick stroll around and find something to eat. Don't worry, I'll be back in a jiffy."

Suzuka nodded absentmindedly, more focused on eating her meal than the wellbeing of the goblin. Hermit wobbled away, his spindly legs struggling to carry him as he shuffled around the campsite with his head hanging low. He scanned the forest floor, searching for anything remotely edible. His scavenging efforts brought him to all sorts of nasty and vile things – squishy mushrooms, crunchy bugs, and slimy plant roots. With each find, he examined it closely, sniffed it cautiously, and then shrugged, tossing it into a makeshift sack he had fashioned from leaves and twigs.