Chapter 148: The First Celebration
Everyone was preparing to begin rebuilding.
Goblin Builders were already discussing walls while the Stone Guardians were getting ready to start lifting rubble, and the Goblin Statues wished to start clearing roads.
Then Mithra suddenly smiled faintly. "Wait," she said.
Everyone paused.
She looked around at everyone. "We’ve been talking about rebuilding," she said, "but shouldn’t we celebrate first?"
Silence.
Then one Goblin Builder scratched his head. "She’s right," he said.
Another stretched his sore arms. "A celebration now will make rebuilding twice as enjoyable," he said.
A third laughed. "And we’ll probably work twice as hard afterward," he said.
Laughter spread.
One elderly Builder folded his arms. "We absolutely cannot rebuild while hungry."
Another nodded seriously. "That’s against Builder tradition."
Arthur blinked. "...That’s a tradition?"
The Builder smiled proudly. "It is now."
Another Builder immediately pointed. "I vote the Hunters bring twice as much meat."
The Hunters immediately protested. "You just don’t want to hunt!"
"We’re building the bonfire!"
"So?"
"So we’re supervising."
Sun laughed. "...I respect that level of laziness."
Mithra rolled her eyes.
Arthur laughed. "I never thought I’d see Sun excited over a party," he said.
Sun immediately pointed at him. "I almost died," he said. "I deserve food."
Kong nodded seriously. "Fair," he said.
Everyone laughed. The atmosphere immediately became lighter.
Then golden light began appearing around the Cronwall Tribe. Arthur noticed first. "Huh?" he said.
Everyone slowly turned. The Cronwall Tribe’s bodies were beginning to glow.
The Mu, Su, and Yan Tribes immediately became concerned. "What’s happening?" "Are they alright?"
Arthur tilted his head. "Could they be returning?" he asked.
Vedas quietly nodded. "My mana," he said, "is nearly empty. I can’t maintain Dawn Descend any longer."
Arthur smiled. "So you’ll just summon them again later," he said.
Vedas chuckled. "Exactly," he said.
The tension immediately disappeared.
Gruk laughed. "That’s probably for the best," he said. "The others back home are probably panicking."
Suri nodded. "They’re probably searching everywhere for us," she said.
Another Hunter laughed. "They’re definitely blaming Gruk," he said.
Gruk immediately protested. "Why me?!"
Everyone laughed.
Vedas suddenly lowered his head. "I’m sorry," he said.
The Cronwall Tribe immediately stopped him, and every single one shook their head.
Gruk smiled. "My King," he said. "Never apologize for calling upon us."
Suri walked toward him. "When we accepted you as Chief, we already made our decision." She placed a hand over her chest. "We’ll always answer your call."
The other Hunters nodded. "So will we."
The Direwolves barked proudly.
Vedas trembled slightly. Then smiled. "Thank you," he said.
Gruk smiled. "My King." "You gave us something we never had before."
Vedas tilted his head. "...What?"
"A future."
Silence.
Gruk looked toward Dawn. "When we first followed you, we only wanted to survive." He smiled. "Now we’re building a kingdom."
Vedas quietly lowered his head. "...Let’s build one together."
Every member of the Cronwall Tribe smiled. No one said goodbye, because they all knew they would be back in a little while. Golden light carried them away, and the throne room became quiet.
Immediately, the city burst into activity. Goblin Adults began organizing everything. The Hunters headed into nearby forests, gathering meat, fruit, and herbs.
The Mu Tribe returned carrying enormous river fish almost bigger than themselves. The Su Tribe came back with baskets overflowing with herbs, berries, mushrooms, and unfamiliar fruits. The Yan Hunters proudly dragged back massive deer-like beasts together.
Arthur blinked. "...That thing’s huge."
One Yan Hunter grinned. "We chased it."
Another corrected him. "It chased us first."
Arthur nodded. "...That explains a lot."
The Goblin Builders began constructing a gigantic bonfire in Dawn’s center. Stone Guardians carried enormous logs. Goblin Statues arranged massive cooking pits. Children ran around excitedly.
Arthur laughed. "This feels more dangerous than the battle," he said.
Athena blinked. "Why?"
Arthur pointed. "The children."
One child nearly knocked another into a Stone Guardian. The Guardian carefully caught both. The children immediately looked up. "...Again?"
The Stone Guardian slowly lowered both children. Before either could run away, it gently tapped both of them on the head.
The children giggled. "I think he scolded us."
"No." "I think he likes us."
The Stone Guardian quietly returned to standing guard.
Arthur smiled. "...They’re learning."
Athena nodded. "Or remembering."
...
Night fell.
The enormous bonfire lit.
One Goblin beat a drum carved from an ancient hide. Another picked up a wooden flute and someone else clapped.
Soon the entire plaza echoed with music.
Children immediately began dancing.
One little Goblin suddenly grabbed Arthur’s sleeve.
"Come dance!"
Arthur blinked. "I don’t know Goblin dances."
The child puffed out his chest. "I’ll teach you!"
Before Arthur could escape, three more children grabbed his arms.
"This foot!"
"No! That foot!"
"You spin here!"
Arthur somehow became even more confused.
"...Why does this dance have so many spins?"
One little Goblin looked offended.
"So everyone can see you."
"...That makes sense."
The children immediately began teaching him.
Arthur copied them.
Wrong.
Again.
Wrong.
Again.
He accidentally spun the opposite direction, and the children burst into laughter.
"No!"
"You’re dancing backwards!"
Arthur scratched his cheek. "...That explains why everyone was laughing."
Not far away, Mithra laughed so hard she nearly dropped her drink.
Arthur immediately pointed at her. "If I’m suffering... you’re suffering with me."
Before Mithra could protest, Arthur grabbed her wrist. "W-Wait! I’m not—"
Too late.
The children immediately surrounded both of them.
"Another student!"
"Teach her too!"
Mithra looked completely helpless.
Arthur grinned. "Now we’re equal."
"You planned this!"
"...Maybe."
Soon... Both of them were awkwardly trying to follow the children’s movements.
One spun too early.
The other was too late.
Everyone simply laughed.
High above...
Eden giggled as she floated around Arthur and Mithra. Her tiny wings were flapping as she copied every movement. "Look! I’m dancing too!"
The children immediately cheered.
"Eden’s the best one!"
Arthur sighed. "I’ve been outperformed by someone born yesterday."
Even Athena couldn’t stop herself from laughing.
Several Hunters challenged one another.
Other Goblin adults started singing loudly despite forgetting half the lyrics.
Nobody cared, as soon everyone joined anyway. Even the Stone Guardians stood around the edge like silent protectors. The Cronwall Tribe returned, and the reunion was much louder this time.
Food began arriving, such as Roasted meat.
Fish.
Fruit.
Soup.
After five minutes, an enormous pile of roasted meat quickly disappeared.
Goblin Hunters stared. "...Already?"
Another slowly looked toward the culprit.
It was Kong who had just swallowed another skewer. "More!"
One Goblin narrowed his eyes. "...I challenge you."
Sun covered his face. "Bad idea..."
Five minutes later...
Empty plates surrounded Kong.
Every challenger had already given up.
One Goblin leaned back in shock. "Impossible..."
Another groaned. "He’s a monster."
Kong puffed his chest out and raised one fist. "WHO’S NEXT?!"
Silence.
Not a single Goblin moved.
Then...
One little Goblin slowly pointed toward Arthur. "The Prophet!"
Arthur blinked. "Oh? That would be interesting."
Kong immediately grinned. "Let’s go, Arthur!"
"Sure, but don’t complain if you lose."
"As if!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
Near the bonfire...
One Goblin Elder proudly beat a massive drum.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
Several Goblins clapped along.
Then...
Athy landed nearby, and she quietly watched.
One Goblin noticed. "...Want to try?"
Athy tilted her head. "Sure."
The Elder smiled. "I’ve played for forty years. You won’t beat me."
Arthur laughed. "Athy seems confident."
Athena sighed. "He doesn’t know."
"Hm? Athy can blame the drums?"
"I don’t know, but she never takes a challenge she can’t win."
"Oh?"
The contest began.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
The Elder played first, which everyone applauded. But then Athy stepped forward and lifted both wings.
TAP.
TAP.
TAP-TAP.
BOOM.
BOOM-BOOM.
The rhythm suddenly changed to the point that even the children started dancing again.
One Builder blinked. "Why is this better?"
The Elder slowly lowered his drumsticks. "I... have been defeated."
Athy proudly puffed out her chest. "You need more training."
Silence fell for a few seconds
Then the Elder burst into laughter. "I really do!"
Everyone applauded.
...
One Goblin Hunter quietly walked over to Leon. "Thank you."
Leon looked surprised. "...For what?"
"You saved my brother."
Leon blinked. "...I did?"
The Goblin Hunter nodded. "It was your golden dragon that saved his life from the Behemoth Chief."
Leon thought for a second. "...Right." He smiled faintly. "I’m glad he’s okay."
The Hunter bowed deeply. "So am I."
Several Goblin children carefully approached the golden dragon in awe. "...Can we touch your scales?"
Mephistopheles looked at Leon.
Leon shrugged. "Your decision."
The dragon sighed dramatically. "...Fine."
Within seconds, he disappeared beneath curious Goblin children.
"They’re shiny!"
"Warm!"
"So big!"
Mephistopheles closed his eyes. "...This is my life now."
Leon smiled. "Pretty much."
Arthur suddenly stood, raising his cup.
Everyone slowly looked toward him.
Arthur smiled. "Today you guys protected your new home." He looked toward every Goblin. "And we protected each other." He turned toward Vedas. "And now you all finally have your King."
He raised his cup higher. "To Vedas!"
"To your new Goblin King!"
Every cup immediately rose.
"THE GOBLIN KING!"
The cheering echoed through Dawn, and even Vedas looked slightly embarrassed.
Sun shouted, "Speech!"
Everyone joined in. "Speech! Speech! Speech!"
Vedas sighed. "You’re all impossible," he said.
Everyone laughed.
One Goblin child suddenly raised a hand. "King Vedas?"
Everyone turned.
"If we have a King now," the child said, "what’s our Kingdom called?"
Silence. Even the children stopped playing. Every Goblin looked toward Vedas.
Arthur smiled. "Good question," he said.
Vedas looked toward every tribe.
The Goblins.
The humans.
The Fairy.
The dragon.
Even the stone beings standing silently around the plaza.
He quietly smiled. "...We’ve already become something no kingdom has ever been." Everyone blinked at those words. "So... I want our name to reflect that." Then he smiled. "It should be called Utopia," he said.
Silence filled the plaza.
Eden quietly whispered, "The names make me feel so warm."
Melo smiled. "It has a lovely sound to it."
Even Athy’s eyes shone with a nod.
One little Goblin quietly repeated it. "Utopia..."
Another smiled. "...I like it."
The word quickly spread through the crowd.
"Utopia."
"Utopia..."
"It sounds nice."
"It sounds warm."
Arthur immediately froze. "Wait," he said. His eyes widened. "Did my mom tell you about that?"
Vedas chuckled. "She did," he said.
Everyone immediately became curious. Maria? What did she say?
Vedas smiled softly. "She once told me one of the things she wished to see was a city filled with countless races getting along together," he said. "She told me it was a sight that she wrote about as a kid, and wondered if it was possible to see it in person."
Silence.
Arthur slowly lowered his cup and laughed softly. "...She really did."
He could almost hear her voice again. ’Wouldn’t it be amazing if everyone could live together?’
Back then he found it amazing as well and hoped to see it as well. And now, he was starting to see something like it beginning to form.
For a moment, he wished she could see this.
Mithra quietly smiled. "That sounds like Maria," she said.
Arthur nodded. "It does," he said.
Mephistopheles suddenly asked, "Why?"
Everyone turned. The dragon calmly continued. "What makes you think that can actually happen?"
Everyone looked toward Vedas. Whether it was all the Goblins, his friends, or even the Stone beings who seemed motionless.
But to everyone’s surprise, Vedas didn’t look embarrassed or worried. Instead, he smiled, a calm, confident smile.
Arthur noticed.
He didn’t interrupt.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
He already knew Vedas had found his own answer.
Vedas smiled.
"Because..."
He slowly looked around the celebration.
At the Goblins laughing together.
At the humans eating beside them.
At Mephistopheles pretending to be annoyed while dozens of children climbed over his golden scales.
At Melo gently letting Su Tribe children play with her five tails while she laughed with them.
At the Stone Guardians standing watch over everyone like silent protectors.
Even the Goblin Statues quietly watched the celebration.
Then Vedas looked back toward everyone. "...Because it already exists."
Silence filled the plaza.
Nobody interrupted him.
"You all came from different tribes."
"You all lived different lives."
"You all had different fears."
His smile became warmer. "But when we were being invaded, everyone came together and acted like one big tribe and simply protected each other." He slowly spread one hand toward the celebration. "If so many different people could come together now? Why can’t it be the same in the future... I believe it can, especially with everyone’s help."
The area fell silent.
Arthur slowly laughed. "That’s a much better answer than I was expecting."
Vedas smiled. "I learned from the best."
Arthur scratched his cheek. "I don’t know about that."