Marfin stared at Elfrez for a few seconds, then tilted his head toward Ryden, who was wiping away his saliva, a deep frown stretched across his face.
'They don't… remember.'
The realization drew a deeper crease between Marfin's brows. His fingers tightened around Faceless as he studied the mask for a few seconds longer before lifting his gaze.
"It's fine… I have a rough idea of it, so there's no need to put it on right now," he said, offering the mask back to Elfrez.
"Keep it. It's your compensation," Elfrez replied with a light chuckle. "Weren't you concerned about your safety and secrecy?"
"Ah… so you're telling me to stay in disguise so no one recognizes me?" Marfin asked, tilting his head to the side.
"If you could remain disguised at all times, that would be even better for you," Elfrez said calmly. "After all, no one would ever learn your true identity. However…" His gaze sharpened slightly. "That kind of life would take a heavy toll on you, wouldn't it?"
'Would it?' Marfin lampooned inwardly, memories of fake ears and tails flashing through his mind.
Shaking away the lingering thoughts, Marfin focused on Elfrez's words and nodded.
"Yeah… it's impossible to stay in disguise all the time."
"Figured as much," Elfrez replied. "You can conceal yourself when you need to—and as for when… I'll leave that judgment to you."
He then turned his gaze toward the sleeping Mirai.
"And she will remain in the Eniyon Mansion until she's mature enough to understand the atmosphere around her," Elfrez continued calmly, "and until she can properly control her null-incantation ice magic."
Turning back to Marfin, his expression became a bit playful.
"So… does all of this gesture raise even a tiny bit of that trust of yours?"
[Ding! The chained sub-mission has been completed! Would you like to view the details?]
→ Yes
→ No
The sudden notification blurred Marfin's vision, and he accepted it on reflex.
The screen dissolved, replaced by a translucent interface displaying the mission completion details.
───────────────────────────
⛓ CHAINED SUB-MISSION COMPLETED ⛓
───────────────────────────
Completion Status: Successful
───────────────────────────
🧩 MISSION SUMMARY
───────────────────────────
Objective:
▸ Demand compensation from Elfrez Eniyon
Outcome:
▸ Compensation accepted
Validation:
▸ Voluntary compliance confirmed
▸ No coercion detected
▸ Authority acknowledgment registered
───────────────────────────
🎁 REWARDS APPLIED 🎁
───────────────────────────
▸ Relationship Status +15 (Elfrez Eniyon)
▸ Quest Function: Unlocked
───────────────────────────
[Ding! A new function has been detected. Would you like to view the details?]
→ Yes
→ No
Marfin skimmed the completion interface, then swiftly dismissed the notification.
'I know most of it… I'll check the details later.'
He looked back at Elfrez and shrugged lightly.
"Who knows… maybe it did. Or maybe it didn't."
He simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Either way, you've only secured us from threats outside your dome."
"But"
"What if… we're abused within it?"
"The chance of something like that happening is explicitly zero. However, we will still take precautions."
He paused, then smiled faintly.
"And whether I would be the one to oppress you or not…" Elfrez hummed. "Let's just say you'll have to gamble on it. Haha."
'Gamble on the certainty of you abusing us?'
'Would it truly be a gamble?'
A small smile tugged at Marfin's lips as his gaze flicked upward.
[Relationship Gauge: 40% — Deeply Interested]
'With this number… I don't think it would truly be a gamble after all.'
He returned his gaze to Elfrez.
"I'm reluctant to do it… however, it seems I don't have any choice but to place my faith in you."
"Haha… that's an honor, I suppose." Elfrez waved it off lightly. "Anyway, now that everything is cleared up…"
He turned toward Ryden, who was yawning softly.
"Did you contact the Others? How long will it take them to reach this point?"
"I contacted them earlier," Ryden said, scratching the back of his head. "They said they'll reach these coordinates sometime between early sunrise and full dawn."
"That's certainly fast…"
"Well, they mentioned they didn't encounter any ambushes—unlike us."
"That's strange." Elfrez frowned slightly. "Weren't the Orc Lords practically occupying the Goblins' den? Wasn't that the reason the Goblins were following Orc orders in the first place? And wasn't that why the forest fell into unrest?"
"I honestly don't know," Ryden replied. "But it's certainly a relief that they weren't attacked."
As he spoke, his hand tightened around the hilt of his sword.
"Isn't that kind of domination common everywhere?" Marfin chimed in, a light frown forming on his face. "At least, I've been witnessing this phenomenon—dominant monsters subjugating weaker ones—for days now."
"That's the harsh rule deeper inside the forest… but here in the outskirts, it was nonexistent—until a few days ago." Elfrez muttered, doubt lacing his voice. "I wonder what's really happening…"
Silence fell over the three of them for a few moments, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Anyhow, I'm starving. Let's eat something."
Elfrez broke the silence and chuckled mischievously, his gaze settling on Marfin.
"Unfortunately, even as the largest food exporter/Importer from the Human Realm, I don't have any food on me."
"However, now that we're at your home, we're essentially your guests, no?" He asked Marfin.
Upon Marfin's subtle nod he. Continued," Surely you won't let your guests starve, right?"
"Of course not!" Marfin replied with a bright smile.
He hurried up to the treehouse, pulled out the stored meat from his inventory, and brought it down with him.
"I have some cooked meat… for my guests."
He offered it to Ryden and Elfrez.
Ryden stared at the meat for a few seconds, his eyes sparkling, before grabbing a piece and devouring it.
"Th-this is delicious! Did you cook it?"
Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed another piece… then another, eating with utter reverence.
Elfrez, however, studied the food intently before finally picking up a piece.
"Well, I'm not particularly fond of eating meat," he said lightly. "However, when a host offers it, it would be rude to refuse."
He placed it in his mouth, his long rabbit ears twitching faintly.
"This… this is truly marvelous," Elfrez said, impressed. "You have the makings of a great chef."
He, too, reached for more.
Marfin watched them eat hungrily, a smile stretching nearly to his ears.
'Of course it's delicious—everything tastes better when you don't know it's goblin meat.' he lampooned inwardly.