Somewhere in the middle of the journey, he got a bit paranoid that the goblin might use the same strategy he did to escape, so he stripped Gool naked and tied his hands together before doing the same with his feet.
He took a step back, scratching his chin with his pointer finger and thumb as he surveyed the goblin closely.
"Hmm... not bad. But having this thing in my vicinity... it may have dangers of its own. It most likely wasn’t at a party with just those two I met earlier..." He began muttering to himself. "Right, that’s what I’ll do... yes... this way, he can’t scream to alert any other ally of his."
Midas decided to gag the goblin with a round rock, the exact shape of a circle, and a rope around its mouth.
Before too long, he arrived back at base.
Although he was exhausted, he wanted to do one thing as soon as possible.
He dropped Gool, immediately walking into his hut.
There, he had prepared extra pieces of chitin armor along with leaf and vine armor as well.
Due to the goblin being completely covered in blood, it was stinking up the whole jungle.
Types of insects Midas had never even seen before had been following him throughout his journey.
He was just finally excited to get changed before anything else.
As he took a step into his hut with unsuspecting eyes, time seemed to slow down for those observing the scene.
Midas’s eyes began to slowly drift toward a specific area inside the hut.
His face then slowly turned sour, his brows furrowing with confusion.
"W-what the hell are you doing in here!?" He said, now taking a couple of steps back as fear flashed over his pupils.
He stared at a man seemingly lying down for a nap inside his hut.
The man was no stranger.
It was he.
Dorian Vaal Morvayne.
The man lay completely still, his torso turned to the side as he placed his head atop his palm--the top half of his arm resting against the ground.
His face was elegant and unbothered, as if he was at complete peace... until he heard Midas’s scream.
Immediately, Dorian’s eyebrows furrowed with what looked like immense rage while his eyes remained closed.
"What the hell d’ya want!?" He shouted abruptly, flaring his nostrils at the end as if he was the right one in the situation.
"W-what do you mean!? You’re the one who’s inside my home right now! W-why are you here!? I-in fact... there’s no time for questions. Please leave!"
Midas turned, standing straight as he pointed toward the exit. His eyes were closed, his head facing the ceiling.
Suddenly, a deafening silence fell over the air.
Midas opened his eyes, which were still facing the roof. ’Shit...’ He forgot about any repercussions.
In that moment, a flashback occurred in his mind: ’But that doesn’t mean I won’t kill you.’
The words of Dorian when the two had first met popped up in his mind.
Dorian finally opened his lips after a long pause, "Mmm... nah." Out of nowhere, he began snoring!
Midas looked down with shock and even a hint of anger, ’Y-you basta--’ He cut off his own words in his head, ’G-gahh! I can’t even insult this guy in my own mind.’
"Hmph... I do not care for the thoughts in the heads of others. If I had cared, I would have never grown any wings. I can not ever hope to win against the thoughts of every man on the planet. But who cares... they don’t exist anyway. All that exists is my fist, and your face." Dorian smiled before beginning to snore again out of nowhere.
Midas was shocked, ’He said that while he was asleep this whole time!? Just who the hell is this guy?’
He continued trying to kick Dorian out.
He now had permission to think his own thoughts.
"Just get out!"
"Nah..."
"Please! Is that what you want me to say!? Just get out! You don’t own this place! I built it with my own hands." Midas’s tone lowered at the end. ’Well... at least I collected the materials...’
"No. Now stop asking me to leave, you’re boring me. I’m sure you still care about your life." Dorian’s tone was cold, especially at the end.
Midas paused this time, closing his mouth. He took a step back, turning and leaving the hut.
He sighed, ’I’ve lost... He said, his shoulder sagging. He walked over to the goblin, now wanting to tie him to a post or tree so he couldn’t escape.
He arrived back where he had left the goblin at the edge of his base.
There, his eyes narrowed with confusion as he stared at a blood stain on the floor.
"Hmm..." He muttered, "I could have sworn I left him here."
...
He exhaled again, "So you escaped, huh... my luck just keeps seeming to get worse in this world..."
Midas mumbled to himself for a few seconds as he turned and slowly carried his gaze over his whole dominion--carefully searching for anything that resembled a goblin.
Suddenly, he noticed something unique.
It was hidden in short grass, but a small drop of blood reflected a glimmer of the sun directly into Midas’s eyes for a split second.
Midas knelt down, folding the grass over to look at its other side.
Just as he expected, a footprint made of dried and slightly wet blood was plastered on the floor.
Oddly, however, it looked like two footprints right next to each other.
’It’s as if he hopped with both feet... which is probably what he did...’ Midas shook his head, disappointed in himself for underestimating the goblin.
’The way I knocked it out... I don’t even think I would wake up this quick from it. I shouldn’t have underestimated that shitty thing.’
The footprints were hard to make out, but not impossible.
Midas continued in the direction of the footprints, folding grass over wherever he saw a bit of blood.
Doing this quickly led him closer and closer to the center of his base before leading right into... his hut.
Just then, a booming yell exploded out of the hut--blowing its roof off.
"WHY THE HELL IS THERE A GOBLIN SEX DOLL IN MY HUT!?"
The debris from the roof landed all over Midas, completely ruining his new armor.
’Screw my life...’