With his new knowledge concerning the Goblin diet, Yuusha was pretty confident that he wouldn’t starve with the goblins. Raiding for livestock, with an actual purpose, Yuusha thought and found himself slightly impressed by the goblins. The fact that they found humans “not tasty” helped a great deal. It means, that the meat they offered me last night was probably from some animal. Whether it’s a pig or a deer or a rabbit, hardly matters at that point. And if their tastes are so… normal, then it is also likely that the meat wasn’t rotten. I wonder how they preserve it? Salt? Smoke?

Still, to be on the safe side- Yuusha gathered whatever food he could find in the room on short notice and put it in a makeshift bag, made out of his torn jacket. The girl will need to eat something too, he rationalized. Ah, I forgot! Do chickens need a roster to keep laying eggs? Damn biology. Better hurry and check if the farmers had a rooster or not.

Yuusha rushed to the door. Before he stepped outside, he took a look at the couple one last time – they were still crying on the floor. Yuusha felt a tinge of guilt that he couldn’t do anything more for the farmers. They’ll remember me as a villain, won’t they? Taking their daughter away? Oh, yeah – the lowest of scum, Yuusha answered himself and left the bleak room.

Heading out of the house Yuusha saw that the goblins were ready to go. Sorzak was carrying a cow. Wha- oh yeah, the one which the green one couldn't handle before, Yuusha remembered. At this point, the imposing strength of the Hobgoblins seemed normal to him.

“Move!” A small goblin shouted at the three pigs in front of him. He was herding them with a tree branch he must’ve picked up somewhere. Four other goblins carried chickens – two chickens for each goblin.

The rooster! Yuusha went up to one of the goblins. On his way, he noted that despite how hard the chickens tried to get out of the goblins’ grasp, they had surprisingly little trouble simply holding them under their armpits. These guys might be stronger than they let on, Yuusha thought and stopped next to the goblin with the male chicken. The last thing I want is to fumble and lose a fight with a goddamn rooster.

“Rooster? If I'm a rooster, I say if I'm a rooster-” Oh, god, not now! Yuusha remembered a cartoon he saw while he was in America but quickly snapped back to reality.

The goblin froze in front of Yuusha, trembling, but did not let the chickens escape. Whatever they think I am, it’s good that I an even greater effect on the regular goblins. Yuusha thought. At least I have this going for me. Whatever this actually is.

Yuusha pointed at the rooster and then at the shed. Take it to the shed! Yuuji commanded.

The goblin ran off to the shed. The rooster probably wasn’t in the shed, but this is the easiest and fastest to explain, Yuusha was relieved it went so well.

The goblin ran back from the shed with just one chicken. Wait, if you left two chickens already before, then you should’ve replaced- oh whatever, let’s just get out of here! Yuusha’s patience was wearing thin on this whole chicken ordeal and his inability to communicate properly. I need to figure out a way to relatively believably explain why I was pretending to be mute, and fast!

Yuusha walked to Sizarbob, but slowed down half-way, pretending he noticed something at his feed. She’s still screaming? Yuusha glanced at the girl in Sizarbob’s arms. How long has it been now? Doesn’t she get tired? Sizarbob turned around and looked at Yuusha. Feeling no desire to walk next to a crying pre-teen, Yuusha simply showed a thumbs-up, and the raiding party moved out of the farm.

On his way out Sizarbob busted open the gate in the wooden fence, which caused it to fly open and destroy the small remaining part of the fence between the gate and the first hole Sizarbob made, increasing the path for the goblins. The party was slightly slower on their way back to the army. Mostly due to the poor handling of the pigs, that kept trying to run off course.

“Hope your plan work,” Sizarbob said loudly so that Yuusha could hear him from a distance. Sizarbob barely had to try – he had a naturally loud voice. “Goblins no skill farming.”

It’s not even farming- Ah! Yuusha almost gasped out loud. He got a suspicion. I haven’t checked in a while... Yuusha kept pestering his orange crystal like it owed him a million dollars, but he did not check on another thing. Yuusha brought up his stats.

[Name: Yuusha Kigiraya]

[Class: None]

[Level: 1]

[Health points: 10]

[Mana points: 10]

[Strength: 1]

[Endurance: 1]

[Dexterity: 1]

[Willpower: 1]

[Intelligence: 1]

[Skills:

Evil Language: Level 9 (16%)

Good Language: Level 0 (1%)]

Oh, praise our Lord and have mercy on our souls – I actually have a stat with a number above “one”! Yuusha wanted to see the skill in more detail.

[Skill: Evil Language

Passive

Overall level: 9 (16%)

Evil Speech: level 8 (98%)

Evil Writing: level 0 (15%)

Evil Reading: level 0 (3%)]

So at least some skills are learned passively, huh? All of them? Maybe, though not likely. So, instead of finding a class specialist who would grant me a class, could I achieve the class of “Wizard” by just starting to read “Wizardy” scrolls? Do I have to do it that way? But then that would mean I would have to go to a temple to become a “Monk”? Lame. Maybe this applies only to “passive” skills? Too many variables. And I don’t have any “Wizardy” scrolls or “Monk” temples at hand to test my theories.

And “Evil” and “Good” languages? Are these the only two languages in this world? That would be good because then I would be set as long as I manage to learn them both. Though it could also mean it’s the only two languages I’ve encountered thus far. “Good language” being at level zero with one percent makes sense - thus far I've only understood word "papa".

“Evil Writing” at fifteen percent? Did it give me bonus points for those drawings? If I remember correctly, back in our world, in ancient times the first writing was basically simplified pictures. But combined with “Reading” at three percent, it increases the probability that some form of writing exists for this language exists, I just haven’t stumbled upon it- except for that symbol on the goblin banners. As for the speech-

“They back!” Yuusha was awoken from his thoughts as if from a daze by the “welcoming” goblin screeching. The raiding party reunited with the rest of the goblin forces uneventfully.

“Sorzak, put loot at back with wagons,” Sizarbob commanded his brother. “If cow slow – cut up. Go!”

“Garsaul!” Sizarbob called out. A yellowish hobgoblin crept up. He was as tall as Sizarbob, despite constant slouching. But even though Garsaul was skinnier than either Sizarbob or Sorzak, he somehow seemed nastier and harsher. Garsaul stank far worse than any of the other hobgoblins, that was for sure. But that was not what was so off-putting about him. He had a presence. An uncomfortable aura.

Garsaul was almost completely naked above the west. What cloths he dead wear seemed to serve one purpose – to fit as many sharp objects on his body as he liked. His main weapon was on his back, held by a worn-out leather belt – a two-meter-long, forward angled blade with no guard. And though Garsaul did not have as much mass as his other hobgoblin companions he was by no means scrawny. Sizarbob looked like a mountain, Garsaul looked faster, more agile. His left arm up was deformed, crooked, disproportionally longer, but no less muscular. Garsaul was covered in scars, though none of them seemed fresh.

Hasn't been injured in a fight for quite a while, Yuusha assumed.

“Loot grows. Stay at rear and protect. Take this.” Sizarbob dropped the girl at Garsaul’s feet. She was more or less quiet for the last three minutes of their journey and was now simply weeping softly.

“Keep alive. We exchange for many chickens later,” Sizarbob explained to Garsaul. “If girl no walk – throw in head wagon. With head attached.”

Garsaul looked down and stared and the girl for a good half-minute as she laid on the dirt road.

“Ahem,” Yuusha cleared his throat.

Garsaul turned his head to Yuusha, stared at him for another ten seconds, then grabbed the girl by the wrist and slowly went to the back of the column, dragging the girl behind him. She is going to need a new dress, Yuusha thought as he watched the girl disappear behind the goblin troops.