"What?! A shelter?!"
Even Jarius, with all his worldly experience as a transmigrator, was caught off guard by the question, his mind reeling.
He looked at the human girl before him with uncertainty, hesitating as he spoke.
"Why would you say that?"
The human girl studied Jarius' reaction and response, her face falling with disappointment.
The shelters were marvels of advanced technology, built by humanity in the final days of the previous era to escape calamity and preserve their bloodline's spark.
Though countless shelters had crumbled over endless ages, their human inhabitants fading silently into oblivion.
The girl had clung to the hope that some human bloodlines endured. This was why, upon hearing of the winged people's appearance and traits, she had chosen to accompany the goblin envoy to their tribe.
But alas, the Winged King before her, despite his near-human appearance, was not of human origin!
She shook her head, forcing a smile.
"Nothing, esteemed Winged King. I spoke out of turn."
She turned to leave.
Jarius watched the human girl, his brow furrowing. Then, like a bolt from the blue, inspiration struck!
In his previous life, the game's lore had included scattered references to the ancient eras of the Felander continent.
As a veteran Felander player, he could easily pass as a human from the previous era, maybe even score some benefits. No harm in trying.
He was very envious of the goblins' recent advancements, after all.
Clearing his throat softly, he said.
"Airships, trains, seafaring, steam!"
Steam punk worlds, right? He'd played plenty of those in his past life!
The girl froze, as if rooted to the spot.
With each word Jarius uttered, the human girl's eyes grew brighter.
When she turned back to face him, seeing his gentle gaze, she gasped in delight.
"You know of our lost era! Are you truly one of my people?"
Jarius shook his head.
"I'm not. Or rather… I was once human."
"And no, I didn't come from a shelter."
He deliberately muddied the distinction between "humanity" and "humans," speaking only truths.
But the girl didn't seem to care. She gazed at him, her beautiful eyes brimming with hope.
"Whether you carry human blood or not, my eyes and soul tell me your spirit is wholly human!"
"Dear kin, if one day humanity's descendants forget everything, you must remind them of our glorious past. No matter how fallen or humbled we become, they must endure, clinging to life, awaiting the chance to rise again!"
"And in times of need, please, shelter them."
Jarius' brow creased, a question mark practically hovering over his head at her grim words.
"Are things really that bad for you? I thought your people held high status among the goblins."
The golden-haired girl gave a bitter shake of her head.
"In our shelter, the great Sequence Bearers are long gone. Those of us who remain are no match for the goblins' extraordinary champions!"
"When the goblins breached our shelter, we had only just awakened. We had no time to wield the shelter's weapons against them!"
"But your weapons,hey can defeat mighty Titans, yet they can't handle goblins?"
Jarius pressed, more confused.
"It's because Titans carry traces of human blood. They're likely descendants of creations we humans made long ago, evolved over time."
"Our weapons are uniquely effective against them. But goblins? They're different. To us, they're anything but weak."
She explained.
"I see,"
Jarius said, finally understanding.
The girl continued.
"To answer your earlier question, it may seem to others that we hold high status among the goblins, but that's an illusion!"
"Goblins are an utterly selfish race. They marvel at our civilization, covet our past, study our knowledge, and seize our weapons—yet they fear our potential!"
"They control us."
A mocking smile twisted the girl's lips.
"Our shelter holds hundreds of awakened kin, and over the years, we've borne many children."
"The goblins learn from our knowledge but forbid us from teaching our own children."
"King Amigel of the goblins gave us a choice: become an ordinary race on Felander, left to survive and multiply on the continent, or bind ourselves to the goblins forever."
"Binding means eternal servitude. How could we ever agree?"
"So we chose the former."
Jarius nodded in understanding, sighing.
"It's easy to imagine that, in time, humanity will become just another weak race on Felander, teetering on the edge of extinction."
"Exactly," The girl said, "But we humans would rather start anew than live as slaves!"
Her smile resolute.
She looked at Jarius, her gaze heavy with purpose.
"If humanity faces peril in the future, I beg you to lend them aid. Please."
"I will,"
Jarius promised with a nod.
"May I know your human name?"
"Jarius."
At those words, the girl's face lit up with a relieved smile.
"I'm Christina."
The next morning.
The goblin envoy bid farewell to Jarius and his people, departing for the goblin court.
Jarius stood atop the mountain, watching them vanish into the distance.
His gaze lingered on the human girl's retreating figure, and he shook his head with a sigh.
"In my past life, while playing the game, I often heard rumors of ancient ruins. Felander's historians speculated that the previous era was a steam punk age."
"But they never knew that back then, humans were the masters of the continent!"
"Speaking of which, if the system were working, wouldn't I have just triggered a legendary quest?"