Almira, the master blacksmith appeared in my mansion currently smithing a weapon on the anvil.

"Are you not happy to see me? You have been famous in Sandurk Region and yet you didn't even inform your mentor about your achievement? Isn't that kinda cold for someone who begged me to become my apprentice?"

"Ah...errr... just kinda busy with all the things happening all around that I am quite occupied to even visit everyone to tell about my exploits. And besides, my actions are not good enough to be called as something I can be proud of."

Almira smirked and continue hammering the mold weapon on the hammer. "That's right. Be humble and don't brag about your exploits. It is the most logical way since you might have just lucked out this time. What about next time though? Will you be able to do that again? The future cannot be seen unless you are a seer or a person with the ability to peek into the future. People will imprint in their minds that you can do anything just because of one achievement. Push more and break through your limits. If you are confident already, then you are indeed good to brag about those achievements of yours."

"It isn't like you to drop such a cheesy sentence, master," I joked on Almira.

"Oh, shut up. I am only stating the obvious so it is up to you to decide."

Almira sure likes to be poetic but gets bashful once she drops such things obviously.

"By the way, master. You don't usually leave your workshop, how come you are here in my mansion? Is it due to the results that occurred in Sandurk?"

"Huh? I am not interested in your exploits out there in Sandurk or wherever. I am here to assign you to a quest since you are my apprentice and you have the qualifications to do this. Since I know you would be busy, I decided to visit your home to directly drop the message. I am quite sure you would be here in your mansion after quite a while even if you are busy with some stuff."

"A new quest?"

"Yep. The elf folks are currently asking me to help them forge the ballista arrows they are about to use since they have predicted that the demons are on the move. They wanted to make sure that the incident that occurred during the last years won't happen again."

Just when I was about to say something in regards to the quest, the male goblin appeared and chimed into our conversation, and stole the spotlight.

"Did you just say the "elf folks"?" the male goblin appeared out of nowhere that even the most unfazed woman in Resurgia Almira was surprised by his sudden appearance.

"Eh? Who is this guy? A goblin? How come a goblin is inside your home Bladeheart?"

"Ah, let me explain," the goblin volunteered on explaining things.

During his explanation, I learned that his name is Garo, and that was the time I learned of his name. I didn't ask for his name in an attempt to keep his trust in me as high as I can and waited for him to voluntarily reveal his name to me. And this conversation alone revealed it. He also explained things on Almira for a bit which are all info I currently know.

"I see, so you wanted to send back the baby that has is being hunted by the demon army to the elves so that she can get the protection she needed from the Yggdrassil Tree Essence huh? So can I see the child? I know a few folks from the elf folks so that we will know who is the right elf we can give her back."

"Sure. Aru, can you come here for a sec?"

"Coming dear," the female goblin who was known as Aru appeared while carrying the little baby in her hands.

"Maybe we should move to a different area to talk? The forge is quite dark and bad for the health of the kid."

"I agree with that. Let's go to the living room," I said.

The two goblins nodded and followed us to the living room. There, Aru shows the Priestess to Almira. And as expected of the most unfazed person, she is not shocked after seeing the kid.

"No wonder this kid is being chased by the demons. She is one of the descendants of the Priestess and from the pattern on her face, I can tell that she is the priestess of the stars. Now I understood the fear of the demons to the baby and why they are relentlessly hunting you. It is a good strategy to the demons' side."

"What do you mean?" Garo asked.

"It seems you don't know about the priestesses right since you just said that you guys are in the demon army's frontline which means you guys are cannon fodder. It is normal not to disclose this info to others. However, since you have already defected from the demon army and you are currently taking care of a priestess, then it is only your right to know this info. Are you ready?"

"Yes. I promised her parents that we will protect her until our last breath."

"Good. Priestesses are known for their immense power of Holy Magic. They are able to cast high-tier magic that most of the time, only deities can use. Not only that, due to their ability to cast Holy Magic, they are the defenders of the Resurgia continent against demon threats. With their abilities, they can easily defend the entire continent with their powers alone. Each one of them is a pillar to create the barrier to protect Resurgia continent. If one of the priestesses dies, then the whole barrier will also collapse.

"From the kid alone, once she grows up and gets to understand the situation, maybe around 5 to 6 years old, she will be able to awaken her holy abilities and she will be tasked to be one of the defenders of Resurgia from being taken over by the demons," Almira explained.

Garo was speechless after the explanation. From the look on his face, he didn't expect the kid's role in the demon battle will be very big.

"I am not scaring you with the responsibilities of a parent to a child that is destined to do something big in the future. I am just saying this so that you will know what will happen to her in the future and to also prepare her for the best path she needed to take."

...

After a few hours of discussing things, Almira left the mansion as she has to go back to her forge to sleep. Without any orders to create, she is in a good mood for a rest. As for Garo, he is just silent and is currently pondering on the situation.

"So that is why the demons keep searching for her and are the main priority to be taken instead of us. I find it kinda strange too since they went to always take the baby as a priority and take us down as the last one. So she is always the one who is the most needed piece to finish their plan. Once she is dead before she gets to become a lethal weapon that can potentially kill them, they would do the preemptive action to kill the baby that was destined to do the things before she can even do something."

"Are you going to back out and deny it? I can take the responsibility," I offered,

The male goblin was startled when I give him the option and looked down. Aru rubbed Garo's back to calm him down. After all, so much information is being processed and if I am in his shoes, I would also be confused whether to continue the fight or abandon everything and go back where it used to be.

"I know that the option you just gave me is really enticing and will also alleviate our problems with the demons that are constantly trying to kill us. However, I started this war, I should be responsible enough to finish things my own way. I will see this thing until the very end. I won't just stay still and keep denying the situation. I will protect this child."

Garo stood from his seat and grips his fists very tight.

"So please, [Savior of Sandurk], please train me and help me get stronger to help protect her. Even if she is not my real daughter, I needed to do this as a parent. So please, help me get the chance to fight back against the enemies without becoming a burden."

All of a sudden, a panel appeared before me and the panel contained a notification about Garo which caused me to be surprised.

[Elite Goblin Garo wanted to pledge allegiance to you. Would you like to accept him? He will become part of your companions and will be capable of fighting with you in the future.]

Yes/No