I Became the Maid of the Lout Prince-Chapter 492: A Goblin King (1)

“S-Shit... what the hell is that? Damn it all!!”

Standing nearly four meters tall, with a hulking body, it was clearly a Goblin King—larger even than a Hobgoblin or Goblin Lord. Physically, it was one of the most powerful monsters among goblins. Just the sheer size alone was enough to stir disgust.

‘Why is something like that showing up in this cramped goblin nest...?’

Was there a story like this in the original? No, Ironhold doesn’t even appear until the fourth arc, after the academy graduation.

If this Goblin King had truly existed in the original story, Ironhold would’ve been a very different place. Perhaps this was a butterfly effect caused by all the things I’d done in the past. Regardless, one thing was certain—there was no way to avoid a fight here.

‘Grargh... Gehrr...’

-Drip.

Even if the idiot wasn’t a threat, the Goblin King, drooling as it eyed me and Mirif, clearly had no intention of letting us leave the cave alive.

“S-Sister Lily! What should we do in a situation like this?!”

“...I don’t know.”

How should I know? I’d never fought a Goblin King before.

Sure, I’d faced stronger enemies, but back then, I had trustworthy allies by my side—Seraphine, Agnes, that guy whose name I won’t even try to remember... or Ethan, for instance.

But now, with two novice E-rank adventurers—one of whom was a complete idiot—I was alone against an enemy like this.

“First of all, don’t panic. Just get into formation.”

“W-What?! Formation against that thing, you idiot?!”

“...Sister Lily?”

“I’ll handle the Goblin King. You, idiot, hold your sword and keep the goblins off Mirif. Mirif, focus on healing that idiot while holding off as best as you can until I kill that thing.”

“H-Hey! Don’t joke around! How the hell are you going to kill it?! And with all those goblins too—there’s no way I can handle all...!”

“You can do it, damn it! Just focus!!!”

“...”

What the hell is he whining about? It’s not like we have any other choice if we want to survive.

As much as it pained me to rely on him, he had to step up if we were all going to make it out alive. Even I couldn’t protect Mirif and fight the Goblin King at the same time.

‘Now’s not the time to hide any magic or spirit skills...’

While Sally’s fire magic wasn’t an option in this confined cave, Sei’s wind magic would be a huge help against the Goblin King.

“Damn it all!!”

With the realization that fighting was his only option, the idiot gripped his sword and, as I invoked shockwaves and wind magic, launched myself into the air.

‘Graaarrg?!’

The Goblin King looked up, startled by my leap. This close-combat style wasn’t really my preference, but without a reliable frontline, I had no choice.

With the help of the shockwave and wind lift, I aimed a dagger directly at the Goblin King’s right eye.

-Squelch!

‘Graaaagh!’

Having more daggers made it easier to use them as disposable weapons. Normally, I’d only carry what I could hide in my skirt, but now I didn’t mind using them freely.

The Goblin King had conveniently regarded our small party as mere prey, allowing my first strike to land cleanly.

-Whoosh!

“Ah, damn...!”

And right then, the Goblin King swung its massive club at me—a thick tree trunk wielded as easily as a regular goblin’s club, thanks to its size.

-Crunch!

“Gah...!”

“Sister Lily...!!”

I tried to block it with an arcane shield, but a single layer wasn’t enough to stop something of that size.

If Ethan were here, he’d probably adjust his stance mid-air to dodge or slice through the log with a razor-sharp sword. But for me, neither my close-combat skill nor blade length was sufficient.

“Oh, Goddess, please grant the miracle of healing!”

“...Hah.”

The only saving grace was that Mirif’s healing magic kept me from collapsing from the pain.

Even though it was only a minor heal, moving too much could reopen the wound, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that. All that mattered was surviving and killing these monsters.

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‘Sei, I need one more leap with wind support.’

‘No. If you do it again, you’ll get hurt.’

‘If I don’t jump now, I won’t get hurt; I’ll die. Please, Sei.’

‘...’

Sei grimaced at me, clearly displeased, but I focused on propelling myself forward with another shockwave.

-Whoosh!!

‘...Huh?’

But just as I leaped, the Goblin King’s club came swinging toward me with deadly accuracy.

‘Graaargh! Gyaaah!!’

Wait, if I take this hit directly, it could be really bad...

As my mind blanked in that split second, suddenly, a gust of wind yanked me downward, avoiding the blow.

-Whoosh!

“Aaaah!!”

-Boom!!

As I tumbled to the ground, the club whooshed over where I’d been, smashing into the cave wall and sending tremors throughout the cave.

‘...I warned you it was dangerous.’

‘Ah, t-thanks for saving me, Sei.’

‘But you didn’t listen to me, Lilith.’

‘S-Sei?’

‘...I don’t care anymore.’

-Whoosh.

‘W-Wait, Sei! Sei!!’

Before I could thank her properly, Sei dissolved into a gust of wind, disappearing before my eyes.

I was so shocked I couldn’t even process what had happened. But I had no time to worry about Sei’s sudden departure.

‘Geurrgh... Graaargh!’

The Goblin King was struggling to free its club from the wall—a golden opportunity for me to strike.

‘I doubt she’s really gone... I’ll think about it later.’

With Sei’s wind magic gone, the same kind of aerial attack was out of the question. Besides, the Goblin King wasn’t going to fall for the same trick twice.

Fortunately, I’d saved up enough skill points from recent level-ups. Using 16 of them, I unlocked the skill I needed most right now.

『Mana Bomb』

『Attack Magic Power +10%』

『Arcane Tornado』

A more advanced version of the shockwave, Mana Bomb.

And Attack Magic Power +10% for a slight boost in power.

Both were useful, but I’d only unlocked them to access the next skill I needed: the high-power, quick-casting arcane spell, Arcane Tornado.

By distorting the flow of magic, it creates a powerful arcane vortex in a straight line. It consumes 50% of my remaining mana, but the effect is guaranteed.

-Slam! Crash!!

“Damn it! How much longer, huh?! Aaagh!!”

“Oh, Goddess, grant the miracle of healing...!! Please, oh Goddess, the miracle of...!!”

As the idiot blocked the goblins’ clubs with his sword—or rather, took most of the blows directly—Mirif was desperately healing him from behind.

The Goblin King, still busy dislodging its club, presented the perfect moment for me to unleash Arcane Tornado.

“Mana! Become a sharp blade of arcane power and shred everything before me! Arcane Tornado!!!”

With a brief incantation, a vortex of arcane power spiraled forward from my fingertips, tearing through the goblin horde without mercy.

‘Ker...!’

‘Gyaaah!!’

‘Kee...’

Dozens of goblins were shredded to pieces by the whirlwind of arcane power.

Only a few goblins near the idiot survived, and I quickly dispatched them with a few swift slashes.

-Slice!

“Get up, you idiot!”

“Hah... S-Shit... Is it over...?”

“Over? Hell no. We still have to kill that thing, idiot.”

‘Graaaargh!!’

“...Hahaha.”

The Goblin King, having finally freed its club, roared and faced us once more. But the situation was much better than before. Now, if I could just keep the idiot distracting it for a moment, I’d have enough time to cast Mana Blast.

With one good Mana Blast, I could finish this Goblin King in one shot.

“Hey, idiot. Just hold it off for a bit. I’m about to end this with the next spell—”

“Forget it!! I’m out of here! You can die here for all I care, you damn witch!!”

“Hey! Idiot!!”

Seeing the smaller goblins defeated, the idiot tossed his sword aside and bolted for the cave exit.

“Outta my way! I’m just gonna leave, so go play with those two!”

...

It took less than five seconds for him to disappear from sight, leaving us behind.

‘Graaaargh!!’

-Crunch!!

“Guh...”

...Damn it.

If he was going to ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ die, he could’ve at least bought us some time.