Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 356 0.0003%
After Xia Nan shared his conjecture with the two members of the Blackwood team, the air in the private room fell into a deathly silence.

They were all experienced adventurers; even if they hadn't personally experienced such events, they had at least heard about them.

Therefore, it is clear how terrible and extremely dangerous it would be if there were something that could silently influence people's minds and modify their cognition without anyone noticing.

They highly respected Xia Nan's abilities and character, knowing he wouldn't speak without reason.

Margaret and Soldin barely considered the possibility that the other party was deliberately deceiving them, and immediately began to think about countermeasures.

"If it's really as you guessed, that pastel gem in Horaco's hand has a special alluring effect."

"I think there's one thing that needs to be confirmed first."

Margaret crossed her arms over her chest, her body language conveying a defensive posture, and her face was serious.

"Have the three of us... already been affected by the gem?"

The female swordsman's reminder made Xia Nan's heart skip a beat.

The other party's consideration is correct.

If the situation has deteriorated to the worst point, and their minds and wills have been controlled by the gems, then things will become very troublesome.

After all, to some extent, the two members of the Blackwood Squad did make the decision to stay in town with Horak to investigate the source of the gems. Xia Nan also did not choose to leave immediately after arriving in Giraffe Town, but instead slowly prepared the supplies that might be needed for the upcoming long journey.

To be honest, the three people's behavior in Giethoorn can all be attributed to the influence of the gems. As their subconscious fascination with and desire to possess the gems gradually fermented, they couldn't help but want to stay in town longer.

Fortunately, after careful consideration, Xia Nan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

First, even though the gem had already affected the perceptions of the group, Xia Nan was able to notice the "strange behavior of the townspeople and Horak" and proactively informed the two members of the Blackwood Squad of his discovery. Furthermore, Margaret and Soldin did not deliberately ignore it but instead thought about it seriously.

This means that even if they are affected by some kind of psychological influence, it will not be too severe.

It has not yet developed to the point of blocking cognition and forcibly modifying thoughts and will.

Secondly, regarding Xia Nan himself...

He felt that he had complete control over his actions and thoughts.

If he were to have the thought of "leaving Giethoorn immediately" right now, he wouldn't feel any resistance.

You can leave whenever you want.

Whether he leaves or not is up to him.

This also means that the gemstone did not have the same effect on it as Horaco.

At the same time, Margaret, who had just raised the question, realized this as soon as she finished speaking.

This slightly eased his furrowed brows.

"So what should we do?" Sitting to the side, Soldin's expression was unusually serious.

Clearly, this straightforward dwarf also realized the seriousness of the situation.

"Should we abandon the mission and leave immediately?"

"However, judging from Horak's performance, he might not be willing to come."

Of course, this wealthy businessman wouldn't cause them any hesitation.

No matter how much wealth one possesses, one is ultimately just an ordinary person without extraordinary powers—the wealth itself has not yet reached a level sufficient to bring about a qualitative change.

To put it bluntly, if it were some adventurer team with relatively low moral standards, let alone the fact that they realized the danger in Gynthorn and were sitting in a private room discussing how to explain things to their employer, they would probably have already robbed the other party of everything halfway through the mission and then blamed it on goblins or other monsters. What could anyone do about it?
If all else fails, since we're an adventurer's party and have no family to hold us back, we can escape to a few neighboring provinces and who could catch us then?
While Soldin was ostensibly asking the two how to explain things to Horak, he actually just wanted to see how Margaret and Shanan would treat the wealthy businessman.

Xia Nan will not cross his bottom line in this regard.

At this moment, he is pondering the more suspicious points he has discovered.

According to Horaco and his assistant Af, rumors about possible gem mines around Giethoorn had been circulating in Newme for months.

Given the vast distance between Giethoorn and Newme, there must have been informants in several towns along the way as well.

Strangely, despite the immense wealth represented by the gem mine, the only gem that actually flowed out of Giraffe Town over these past few months and hundreds of days was the one in Horak's possession.

Xia Nan didn't believe that greedy adventurers and merchants would miss this opportunity.

The only possibility is that when the first "gold prospectors" arrived in the town, the townspeople were already deeply influenced by the pastel gems, exhibiting the same paranoid and irritable reactions they show today towards Horac, collectively concealing and avoiding relevant information.

This kept successive waves of potential buyers away from the treasure.

Thinking of this, Xia Nan suddenly felt a subtle feeling in his heart.

He seems to have personally experienced one such large-scale case of cognitive influence:
—The sheep-deer statue, the Neweum incident.

However, at present, pastel gemstones are far inferior to the former in terms of both scale and influence.

To some extent, its charm and control abilities only affect ordinary civilians and have no effect on professionals.

After all, the adventurer team that sold the gem to Horak was the one who traveled all the way from Gynthorn to Newme with the gem. After so much time has passed, they are still able to put the gem in their possession at the auction house.

This also means that the alluring effect of the pastel gemstones is far weaker than the sheep-deer human figure and what Xia Nan and others had imagined.

Admittedly, thinking about this, Xia Nan, who had just been planning to leave the town as soon as possible, couldn't help but have some other thoughts.

If the pastel gems are indeed related to otherworldly realms as he previously suspected, but without such eerie mind-control effects...

"Let's talk to Horak and get to the bottom of this."

Xia Nan raised his eyes and looked at Margaret and Soldin in front of him.

"After all, he was the one who initiated this mission. Regardless of how he reacts to the speculation, and whether we stay in the town or leave, I think he needs to know these things."

The two members of the Kuroki squad had no objections.

……

……

Guest rooms on the second floor of the hotel.

It was afternoon, and the dim light of the setting sun streamed in through the window, casting several people's shadows on the wall, swaying and flickering.

After listening to Xia Nan and the others finish their analysis, Horak sat stiffly behind the table, his expression seemingly maintaining its usual calm, but a hint of offended anger flashed in his eyes.

"Bewitching?" The slightly plump, round-faced businessman instinctively covered his chest. "You mean... I, and even the residents of Giraffe Town, have been controlled by this gem?"

"Was it not my intention for Newme to personally lead the caravan here?"

At this point, Horak took a deep breath, as if to calm the turbulent emotions surging within him.

His chest heaved, and he closed his eyes for several seconds before slowly opening them again, speaking in a calm tone, trying not to offend the others:
"Mr. Xia Nan, and the two members of the Blackwood Squad."

"The reason I was willing to pay you far above average wages and treat you with the highest standards along the way is because I know your reputation in River Valley Town, and I know you are not those despicable people who use the name of 'adventurers' to secretly engage in 'robbery'." "And your responsible performance on the journey has proven that I was right."

"We've had a great time working together, haven't we?"

Why break the trust between us at a time like this?

At this point, as if unable to contain his surging emotions any longer, Horak's tone unconsciously rose.

"Even if you really don't want to accept my commission... it's okay, I can do it myself. After all, I brought so many people from Newme, so I always have a backup plan."

"But personally, I feel that you don't need to have any additional doubts about my views on gems."

Horak's stressful reaction was exactly what Xia Nan had expected.

He turned to look at Margaret and the dwarf, then glanced up at the steward, Afro, who stood silently behind the wealthy merchant.

Xia Nan did not back down at all. His dark eyes were fixed on Holak across the table, referring to the plan he had discussed with the others before coming.

Staring intently into the other person's eyes, his tone was calm yet unwavering:
“Mr. Horako, if what you say is true, then what we are doing is precisely a responsible act.”

"As guards hired by the caravan, we naturally have to consider all possible dangers. If a disaster were to strike and we failed to warn you, wouldn't that be our dereliction of duty?"

"Furthermore, if the pastel gemstones you wear truly have the power to control people's minds, as we suspect, then any judgment you make based on that is itself unreliable."

"If you want us to assist with the investigation, fine."

"But first... for the safety of everyone in the caravan, I must confirm exactly what we are facing!"

Xia Nan leaned forward, and the oppressive feeling brought by her stern temperament and cool appearance instantly soared to its peak.

Extend your arm forward, palm facing up:
“Take it out; we need to check it.”

"No!"

Suddenly, a wooden chair fell to the ground, and a loud thud echoed in the room.

Horak practically jumped to his feet, clutching his chest with both hands, instinctively taking a few steps back, his face pale.
"This is mine...you can't..."

"I didn't mean to take it away." Xia Nan's tone remained calm, but her speaking speed was slightly faster, putting considerable pressure on the other party.

"It's just an inspection, right in front of you, without leaving this room. I'll keep it in my hand, look at it, and then return it to you."

"I guarantee this with the honor of the Blackwood Squad."

The two people behind him nodded repeatedly.

The air fell silent once again.

On Horak's round face, muscles twitched and trembled with fat, his eyes widened involuntarily, and his breathing became extremely rapid.

Reason told him that the demands of the adventurers across the table were reasonable and indeed a reflection of their responsibility to the caravan and to themselves.

But deep inside, a primal, intense possessiveness was roaring wildly, refusing to give that treasure to anyone.

Her eyes darted around, her gaze shifting back and forth between Xia Nan's palm and her own inner pocket countless times.

Finally, after who knows how much time had passed.

Horak's voice rang out in the room once again.

"...Just...just for a moment..."

His voice was hoarse, filled with unspeakable pain and struggle.

The wealthy merchant's arm trembled as he pulled out the small box containing the jewels from his pocket.

I didn't even dare to open it, nor did I dare to look at it for long.

He simply pressed the box firmly into Xia Nan's palm and then instantly turned his head away.

The moment his fingertips left the box, Horak's body trembled violently, as if his soul had been ripped away. His eyes were momentarily blank, and all his strength dissipated. He swayed and almost lost his balance.

He made an uneasy gurgling sound in his throat, and his hands unconsciously rubbed together, revealing his visible anxiety and emptiness.

With things having developed to this point, even the steward, Afu, who was standing at the back of the room, noticed that something was wrong with his boss.

They were not exactly wealthy, but at least a family with a fortune of thousands. How could they possibly show such a poor state over a small piece of gemstone?

On the other side, the Kuroki squad almost instantly confirmed Xia Nan's conjecture about the gem's charm effect through Horak's reaction.

Throughout the entire arena, perhaps only Horako himself was unaware of how different his struggles were from his usual behavior.

Xia Nan did not urge the other party.

He simply stretched out his hand calmly, and as Horac handed him the small box containing the jewels, he firmly and decisively clenched his fist and pulled the box back to his side.

He ignored everyone else around him.

He concentrated all his mental energy and, with an extremely vigilant and focused posture, used both hands to open the wooden box.

hum-

The pastel gemstones he had glimpsed briefly on a campfire night were now in his sight once again.

The clear, pinkish light, like flowing water, is reflected in the dark eyes, as if it has its own life. The soft, clear glow after the twilight is refracted and ripples in the countless tiny facets inside the gemstone.

No bigger than a fingernail, yet it seemed to contain all the beautiful things in the world, lying quietly in the center of the box, attracting the attention of everyone present.

“So beautiful… I never thought so before…” This was the dwarf Soldin, whose eyes were somewhat fixed on something.

"Damn it, shorty, close your eyes!" Margaret jumped up from her seat.

"Have you finished looking? Hurry up and give it back to me!" This was Horak instinctively taking two steps forward, trying to snatch the gem back from the adventurer in front of him.

Of course, all of this comes from the outside world.

Guided by the silver ring formed from the [Dream Corridor] on Xia Nan's right ring finger, it gently touched the surface of the gemstone;
Invisible and colorless energy is quietly absorbed from the gemstone and enters the ring face;

After the familiar mechanical voice, which only he could hear, rang in his mind.

At this moment, none of that mattered to Xia Nan.

"Ding!"

"【Dream Corridor】The neural terminal has detected energy substances and is automatically replenishing them..."

"Charging successful!"

"[Remaining Energy]: 2% → 2.0003%"

(End of this chapter)