'Holy shit!'

"Yes, Your Holy Highness. By naming a monster you allow it to evolve beyond its original race."

"Oh... I see. But why did your race change?"

"The amount of power bestowed upon a monster is based on the latent potential of that monster, or how much XP it has accumulated over time, and how powerful the bestower is."

"You mean..."

"Indeed, this me had no power since I had just been created. For all the power I gained is but a fraction of You Highness'."

"... This feels completely overpowered... Is there no cost or anything?"

"But of course. By naming a high tier monster such as myself it would be normal for the bestower to slumber for weeks or even months. Your Holy Highness' power is just immeasurable."

'Oh... It seems a couple of the thought threads are disabled... Guess those went into slumber as he said... Still, ain't this too overpowered?!'

"I have verified a portion of my soul is indeed unavailable... I guess your slumber theory is true.

"But it is, my lord. I would never mislead your Highness."

'Suck a cheeky remark... Well, at least he is kinda reliable. Now that I mention it... He? Wait, since when?!' I suddenly realized as I thought to myself. My Goblin assistant looks a lot more like a human now. He was even taller than before, and a little more... yeah, I can't exactly call it muscular, but he no longer looks like an easily breakable twig of a person. "You look a lot stronger out of a sudden." I casually mentioned.

"It is all due to Your Holy Highness' power! I could never have fathomed to become this much better version of myself. I owe you my entire life, Your Holy Highness!" His answer was... a bit to energic for my taste, though.

"Ugh... Bleart... You can call me Gunther from now on."

"No, My Holy Lord, it is not acceptable for this inferior me to address you in such casu—"

"It's an order, then. Call me Gunther."

"—Y-Yes... Yo—Gunther..." I almost laughed at how nervous he got... It it was calming.

"Good. Now, to the next thing, what do we offer the Goblin King."

"Hmmmm..." He sat down in front of me. While resting his chin on his hand, Bleart slowly thought with me on what to do next and how to manage the danger. "I guess Goblins need food and women... The easiest path would be naming the females."

"Naming the females? Isn't naming a power thing? Why would me offering that change anything?" I had no idea what he was talking about, despite having discussed other options before.

"My—Gunther, remember how just your word was able to make me evolve into another race?"

"Yeah, you said it was because my rank was very high or something."

"Precisely. Goblins have a very short lifespan when compared to most other races. Not only that, the proportion of females to males is incredibly low."

"Oh, so that's why Goblins kidnap females of other races..."

"Yes. But it goes even further. Because said females are so rare, they are precious and a whole group of goblins can meet its demise if some get killed."

"Oh... So they don't fight because they are to be protected."

"Indeed. And, because they don't fight, they don't get levels, so the chance of them undergoing evolution after being named is pretty slim."

"So, by offering my power, which is way more usable for naming since I don't just go into a coma, and since being who I am, the females have more chance of evolving... But it still doesn't make sense. Why would it even matter?"

"Oh, so you don't know..."

"Is there something very important I'm missing?" Despite not looking like it, while this conversation took place, I was also browsing through multiple instances of data, on many kinds and classes of Goblinkin and Goblinoids. Yet, I still could not get why this was so important...

"Lifespan. Evolved Goblinkin and further, Goblinoids, have a lifespan that is way way longer, sometimes even matching those of Humans and some humanoid races."

"Oh..."

"Since goblin pregnancies are slow, and the original race depends on the male, these females can bear many more children before dying, which can in turn stabilize the population of the group. Goblins are also born in large groups per pregnancy, up to 3 or 5, depending on the race of the bearer. The stronger the race of the female, the more children at once."

"I see... This is a grat talking point for the Goblin King then."

"I see this as our Trump."

"But how do we prove him we are indeed telling the truth?"

"Good point, Your... Gunther. I guess the only way would be to name one of them right there and then."

"... Ok, then. But what should we ask in return?"

"I thought Your—"

"Just you."

"..." The Goblinoid Minister struggled, biting his own lips while forcing himself to speak. "I thought you had figured that part. them living in the dungeon would be an amazing win-win situation for both."

"Oh, right. I had forgotten about that for a second. Also... It seems there's some movement outside."

"That's good timing. The king isn't there yet, I reckon."

"You are right. But there's a way larger amount of goblins assembling near the entrance. I think we should move out for once."

"I'll follow your wise decisions, M—Gunther."

"Thanks, Bleart. You are my right-hand man."

"... It is an honor." The goblinoid thought for a second before responding. I pretended to ignore the tears forming on his face as he replied to me. 'I'm proud of you.' I thought to myself, seemingly becoming quite attached to this intelligent monster. Guess I finally have an actual friend, one that is not interested in jumping my bones. Not that that is a bad thing, but friends and lovers are a whole different thing.

"The honor is all mine. I could never have expected you to be this helpful."

DarkGodEM

December was literal hell, but the year ended on a good note. Thank you all for the patience and support. I am back.
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