Isekai Losers!

Vol 2, Chapter 14: Professor Doctor Goblin

"Huh??" Ivan moaned obnoxiously as he slouched forward. "They are the reinforcements? I mean, no offense to them, the big guy looks pretty tough and all but... it's just two people."

Penta sighed calmly. "Look, Ivan. These two may not be an army or whatever you were expecting, but they will be a tremenduous help for us."

"How? It's just two people. We have two people in Lyugo—"

"Will you shut up already?" Lynn snapped at Ivan, her eyebrows furrowing in irritation. "How about you listen to them before you spout nonsense?"

"Your friend here is quite impatient." the smiling man stood up, his voice high-pitched and raspy. "I understand that, however. I will be hasty." he continued, walking over to Ivan.

"I believe introductions are in order. My name is Professor Doctor Hope Grilich, you may refer to me as Doctor Goblin, for convenience."

"Doctor Goblin...?"

Ivan looked down at the short man, unable to get a good read on his expression, considering he hid his eyes behind a large pair of glasses while keeping up a seemingly perpetual grin.

"I am a scholar, a member of the Royal Wisdom Seekers of Vasil specializing in goblinology." the man raised his gloved right hand, as if he was about to wave. Instead, a small crest-like artifact magically appeared in his hand instead. The item looked pricey, exuding a sort of mysterious authority. The patterns on it were quite detailed, with a raven depicted in the very middle.

"Woah." Gabriel seemed amazed by the sudden display of magic.

"Well, I suppose this crest wouldn't mean much to you, considering your origins."

And just like that, the crest disappeared, and the man moved his empty hand towards his comrade, who was still sitting.

"My partner here goes by Ovro. He is a goblin hunting specialist."

The half-naked man in question didn't say or do anything. Not even as much as a nod.

"I presume you must be Ivan?" asked the doctor, offering his hand to the skyborn.

"Uh, yea. Sure..." surprised by the man's straightforwardness, Ivan mumbled about as he shook his hand.

"It's a pleasure." declared the man. "Regarding your worries—I suppose we aren't the kind of reinforcements you were expecting, but I can say with certainty that our support will greatly accelerate your efforts against the goblins."

"I see..." Ivan replied, still stunned by the man's words.

Only after Ivan spoke did the doctor release his hand and walk back to his seat.

"Please, have a seat, Mister Ivan. It would be terribly rude of us to begin the discussion while you are standing." remarked the Doctor.

"...Oh– Right." still entranced, Ivan reacted a good second after the doctor spoke. He then sat down next to Lynn.

"Now, I'd like to mention that before your arrival, your friends here have already relied to me every piece of information about the goblin situation they could think of. My hypothesis and plan will be based off of that info, though I encourage all of you to correct me and offer suggestions if you notice any inconsistencies."

The three adventurers, as well Penta, looked at the doctor with anticipation, not really saying anything, though Gabriel seemed to have given a tiny nod that could easily be overlooked.

"Right. As you already figured out on your own, the nest within the mines seems to be an outpost, a part of the whole. It is a place where goblins carried out an organised effort of mining iron ore for weapons. They haven't focused on attacking humans, and their breeding rate was average at best, considering the number of young you've eliminated in the nest. Furthermore, all the goblins did was mine the ore—they didn't forge the weapons. All this leads to the conclusion that the unending hordes of goblins come from a different place, which might be the center of this organised goblin society."