"As for Narg and Zivra, you shouldn’t be worried," Zarah said calmly.
"I’m not worried," I replied almost imdiately.
Okay... maybe that wasn’t completely true.
Zivra possessed abilities related to the mind, and after seeing what skills in this world were capable of, only an idiot would dismiss sothing like that entirely. The possibility of manipulation was naturally sothing worth being cautious about.
But at the sa ti, she had sworn an oath.
And while divine oaths weren’t completely foolproof, especially when it ca to loopholes or unintended interpretations, they still carried weight. Breaking one wasn’t sothing most goblins could casually survive.
So that eased part of my concern.
Not all of it.
But enough.
Besides, Narg wasn’t helpless. I had already shared resistance-related abilities with him and several other core mbers specifically because of threats like ntal interference and emotional manipulation. Even if soone attempted sothing against him, he wasn’t the type to go down easily.
So overall...
Yeah.
I wasn’t too worried.
"There will no doubt be more pairs once our numbers increase in the future," Zarah continued.
"That’s true," I admitted before glancing toward her. "But based on what I know, I didn’t think goblins were really the one-partner type of creatures."
Relationships among them usually seed driven more by instinct, convenience, or temporary attraction than genuine attachnt. Long-term devotion didn’t exactly co to mind when I thought about typical goblin behavior.
Which honestly made what was happening between Narg and Zivra feel even stranger.
"Why?" Zarah asked.
"Don’t goblins usually just... spread their seed all over the place?"
The mont the sentence left my mouth, I regretted the wording.
Yeah... that sounded terrible.
"...Yes, that is true," Zarah replied, surprisingly calmly.
That sohow made it worse.
And now I wasn’t even sure which part she was agreeing with anymore. The part about goblins not being the one-partner type... or the part about spreading their seed everywhere.
"Goblins are rather horny creatures," she finished casually.
I imdiately turned toward her so fast I almost strained my neck.
"Horny?" I repeated. "Who taught you that word?"
Zarah lifted her head slightly, looking genuinely confused by my reaction.
"Granny Flogga?"
Of course, it was Flogga.
That old hag.
What other insane words had she been teaching them behind my back?
"But," Zarah continued before I could dwell on it further, "since the clan has been led by a Chosen for a long ti, and Granny Flogga guided everyone for many years, the one-mate rule was drilled into the clan."
"One-mate rule?" I repeated.
"Yes," she said with a small nod. "You are not allowed to have more than one partner at a ti. That is the rule."
"Seriously?" I asked, unable to hide my amusent.
Out of all people, I genuinely didn’t expect Flogga to be enforcing sothing like that. Especially not after she had been the very sa goblin casually suggesting we increase the clan’s population by sleeping around.
The contradiction was honestly ridiculous.
"Yes," Zarah replied with a smile. "But not everyone follows the rule. Granny Flogga gets very angry when that happens."
"Really? She actually does?" I asked, already able to imagine the scene in my head.
Flogga yelling at goblins while threatening them with her cane honestly felt completely believable.
Then suddenly, I rembered sothing.
A grin slowly spread across my face.
"Oh, I know one rule breaker."
"You do?" Zarah imdiately turned toward , curiosity clear in her eyes. "Who?"
"Thok," I answered without hesitation. "I caught him sneaking around with so of the new female goblins."
Zarah gasped softly before shaking her head in realization.
"No wonder he was acting so disturbed earlier."
I nearly laughed, rembering it.
The idiot had been avoiding eye contact the entire day like soone carrying a life-ending secret.
"We should report him," Zarah said with complete seriousness. "I also know one rule breaker as well."
My brows rose instantly.
"Really?"
"You want to know who it is?" Zarah asked, clearly noticing my interest.
I nodded imdiately.
Without another word, she leaned closer until her lips were near my ear before whispering.
"It’s Gobbo."
"Gobbo?!" I blurted out louder than intended.
A few nearby goblins imdiately turned toward us at the sudden outburst.
"Gobbo?" one of them repeated before quickly getting to his feet, apparently assuming I had called for him.
The goblin had already started heading in Gobbo’s direction before I hurriedly waved him down.
"No, no. I’m not calling him," I said, trying not to laugh. "Sit down."
The goblin looked completely confused by the situation but obeyed anyway, slowly returning to his al while still glancing back at suspiciously.
"You have to be quiet," Zarah scolded softly.
I grinned shalessly.
Honestly, I was enjoying this gossip far more than I probably should have.
Gobbo of all goblins?
That genuinely caught off guard.
I expected soone like Dribb, one of the trio, or maybe even Zonk, to be causing problems like this. Those guys practically radiated chaotic energy.
But Gobbo?
Gobbo always acted like he was the reasonable one whenever Dribb did sothing reckless or stupid.
And now I was finding out he was sneaking around.
That hypocrite.
"We should report them to Flogga," Zarah suggested.
I nodded imdiately in agreent.
"Yes, we should," I said with complete seriousness despite the grin threatening to spread across my face. "They can’t just go around breaking the one-mate rule."
Honestly, part of was already imagining the outco.
The sight of Flogga chasing Gobbo around while beating him with her staff would probably be one of the funniest things I’d witnessed in this world.
"You seem rather excited about this," Zarah observed.
"I’m not excited," I lied shalessly.
She gave a look that made it obvious she didn’t believe in the slightest.
Then, after a brief pause, her expression shifted slightly.
"What about you?" she suddenly asked. "Have you broken the one-mate rule?"
I froze.
The question caught so off guard that my thoughts blanked for a second.
’Why was she asking that all of a sudden?’
I turned toward her properly, and the mont I saw the seriousness in her eyes, any amusent I had monts ago faded almost imdiately.
Ah.
So this wasn’t just random curiosity.
"No," I answered quickly, shaking my head. "There’s only you."
Zarah stared at for another second before slowly nodding, and the subtle tension in her shoulders eased slightly afterward, enough for to notice.
Then, a few monts later, she looked back at and asked quietly,
"Will you break the one-mate rule then?"
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