by Kumo Kagyu
At her reassurance, he let out a faint sound, barely a word.
“…Yes.”
In the end, that was all Goblin Slayer said, and then he nodded.
§
The end of the ritual marked conclusion of the festival and its blessed day.
The bonfires burned low as people trickled out of the square, just a few flames left to lick at the night skies.
The pair wandered back down the stairs, returning from the guard tower to the ground.
The sun was gone completely, leaving the Guild Hall dark.
Though she normally could have found her way around in these circumstances, today was not normal.
“Oop—oh! Whoops…”
“Be careful.”
Guild Girl stumbled and caught onto Goblin Slayer’s arm.
Her heart jumped at the strength in it.
She was glad it was dark. She didn’t especially want him to see her face at that moment. Though she couldn’t hide the catch in her voice.
“Oh, I-I’m sorry…”
“No,” Goblin Slayer said, shaking his head. “It wasn’t…bad.”
“Wha…?”
“I mean today.”
“Oh…”
“From morning until night… So this is what a ‘day off’ is like.”
Her heart leaped again.
She felt a bit mercenary—how could she not? But she couldn’t ignore the joy that overrode the calculating side of her nature.
“O-oh, no, th-think nothing of it. I-if you enjoyed today, that’s wonderful.”
“I see.”
All the more reason she hurried toward the door, disentangling her arm from his.
The two of them were alone in the dark together. That was where this nervousness came from.
When they got outside, she was sure the feeling would change. That she would breathe easier.
With that in mind, she took the doorknob…
“…What?”
She cocked her head when it didn’t turn.
“What’s wrong?”
Goblin Slayer approached at a perfectly normal pace despite the darkness.
“Am I remembering wrong?” she was saying, still bewildered. “No… I didn’t lock the door. But…”
It’s locked.
The words began to form, not quite on her lips, when Goblin Slayer moved.
He grabbed Guild Girl around the waist and dove to the ground.
“Whaa?!”
He knocked over a table to shield them.
She fell on her backside, and a blade buried itself in the tabletop at almost the same moment.
“O-ow! Wh-what’s going on?!”
“Stay close to the wall. Watch your back and keep quiet.”
Goblin Slayer freed his sword from its scabbard as he whispered his commands.
Staying low, he slowly crawled sideways from behind their cover, maintaining his distance.
He pulled the knife from the tabletop and saw how it glinted starkly in the night. Then he set off after their attacker.
Far be it from Goblin Slayer to let them escape.
A small shape—a small man, about half the size of a human—scuttled through the darkness.
“A goblin?”
The only answer was a jeering hiss that smelled faintly of blood.
Then the attacker leaped.
He held a knife in a reverse grip, bringing it down like a predator’s fang.
Goblin Slayer brought up his shield to defend. There was a dull sound. A spray of liquid.
“Coated in poison.”
The slimy secretion rained on his helmet. But he had his visor. It would not blind him.
The enemy broke contact and landed on the ground, taking advantage of the distance that opened up for a lightning fast second strike.
Goblin Slayer deflected the oncoming blows with his shield and swiped with his sword, hoping to catch his attacker in the abdomen.
Sparks danced, lighting up the darkness.
The attacker had a knife in his left hand as well, using it to sweep aside Goblin Slayer’s blade.
His technique was refined, the assailant evidently an experienced hand.
“You seem most unlike a goblin.”
“G-Goblin Slayer…!” cried Guild Girl.
“There is no problem.”
She heard a creaking sound—the assailant gnashing his teeth, perhaps?
Guild Girl’s eyes were adjusting to the darkness, but the battling forms were still indistinct.
The attacker wore leather armor and protection around his abdomen. The cloth around it was light black, and so was his face…
“No…a dark elf?!”
Her shout served as a signal.
The attacker swung the knife in his left hand fast enough to cut the air itself and followed up immediately with something in his right.
Dazzling sparks burst from Goblin Slayer’s shield as he blocked the small blade three times.
Darts!
The brief illumination also allowed her to see the true attack behind the feint.
“Hrr…!”
The volley forced Goblin Slayer backward in a sort of half somersault.
He tumbled into the table with a spectacular crash, sending dust up into the dark air.
“Oh, ah, G-Goblin Slayer…?”
There was no answer.
Even in silhouette, she could see the numerous darts sticking out of his armor.
It was too much.
“No…”
“Yes!” A great shout drowned out her pained whisper. It came, obviously, from the enemy, who bellowed with a spray of spittle, “I did it! I did it! Hya-ha-ha-ha! Because of him—it’s all because of him!”
He cackled horribly as he jumped up and down, clapping his hands.
He stumbled over to Goblin Slayer and gave him a kick for good measure.
“Silver-ranked, pfft! Easy prey and a bit of luck, that’s all he had!”
Another kick. A third, then a fourth.
Goblin Slayer’s head bobbed each time the crude boot connected. The visor of his grimy helmet clattered awfully as he flopped like a cheap doll.
It was unbearable to watch.
Until just minutes ago, they had been talking together, walking together.
“S-stop it…”
She could only whisper, so quietly no one could have heard.
But now something was welling up in her heart.
“I said, stop it!”
“Serves him right for keeping all the girls for himself.” The assailant spun, his glinting eye fixed on Guild Girl. She made a fist in front of her chest. “And he was on such close terms with a Guild employee, no less. Not so righteous as he pretended to be, I think!”
Should she have kept silent? No. It had to be said.
She felt regret, but also a resolve that overcame it. Of course. No one had the right to kick him like that.
The poison dribbled from the dagger with a revolting color.
Should she shout again, call someone? No… Even if she did, it would be too late.
“!”
If nothing else, she would not avert her eyes.
Her intense glare only seemed to anger the attacker more.
“Don’t think I’ll let you off easy…!”
“Is that so?”
The voice was cold as wind from the depths of a well.
“—”
“What? Gargh…!”
Guild Girl’s eyes went wide, and the assailant could only manage a muffled choke.
Goblin Slayer alone moved.
He rose like a specter, still riddled with darts. His sword—
His sword was buried in the attacker’s viscera, having neatly found a gap in the opponent’s leather armor.
He tore violently through the man’s innards, causing their former aggressor to cough and choke.
The body fell backward, twitching, losing blood and strength.
“Hmph.”
Goblin
Slayer snorted, bracing his foot against the bloodied form as he pulled his sword out.
The attacker gave one last raw cough, then lay still.
“Go—” Guild Girl’s voice trembled. “Goblin Slayer…?”
“Yes?”
“Are you okay?! Are you hurt?!”
“I wear chain mail under my leather armor,” he said matter-of-factly, gently pushing away Guild Girl as she frantically tried to come close. “A simple dart can’t penetrate it.”
He grabbed the barbs and pulled them out of his armor. The tips were drenched in something—presumably the same fluid that had coated the dagger.
Goblin Slayer said disinterestedly, “He was a quick one. With my skill, I could not have beaten him.”
That meant that—to him, at least—the obvious solution had been a sneak attack. He could not win in a fair fight, so he didn’t engage in one.
But Guild Girl did not entirely sympathize with this perspective.
“I-I thought you…were dead……!”
Even as she spoke, tears beaded in her eyes and ran down her cheeks.
Once they had started, there was no stopping them. Confronted with the sobbing girl, Goblin Slayer could muster only, “Hrk…” He shook the blood off his sword to distract himself. “I’m sorry.”
“If… If you have to apologize…you shouldn’t…do it to begin with…!”
“…I won’t.”
Goblin Slayer nodded, and then with the tip of his sword he slid off the attacker’s mask.
“Sniff… Is…? Is he a dark elf?”
“That I don’t know.”
Guild Girl raised her head, still sniffling.
Dark elves were among the peoples who had words, also known as Players. They shared the same roots as other elves, but aligned themselves with chaos.
It could not be assumed that they were all Non-Players, those unpraying beings, because from time to time, a dark elf would return to the side of order.
With just a handful of exceptions, most dark elves were evil and reveled in defying law and order.
They had pointed ears like other elves, but light black skin.
She had heard they were usually tall, like their forest dwelling cousins, but the body on the floor hadn’t grown so well.
“But this is a rhea.”
“Wha…?”
Guild Girl gasped as she took another look at the corpse.
The face was black and grimy, but she had a distant memory of it.
And why not? Why else would he cover his face when he attacked?
Goblin Slayer used the heel of his boot to wipe the corpse’s face clean.
“Oh! That’s…!” Guild Girl put a hand to her mouth. She did recognize him. “He’s the one we accused of wrongdoing in that interview…!”
The features were twisted with hatred and bitterness and desire for revenge…but it was undoubtedly Rhea Scout.
An adventurer they had interviewed for promotion. The man who had quietly hoarded rewards and treasures for himself and hid them from his party members.
The interviewers had all but exiled him— Had he come back? Or had he been in town ever since?
Goblin Slayer stared at the rhea’s face.
“I believe I remember him.”
“Yeah. You sat in on our interview with him. That’s why—”
“No.” Goblin Slayer shook his head. “When I was eating at the tavern, he was whispering with another person. I saw him watching me at the Guild Hall before that, too.”
“You mean…”
“But if he had meant to target me alone, he wouldn’t have needed such strange clothing.”
Goblin Slayer grunted.
So many possibilities, so many choices—he couldn’t seem to decide what exactly he should do.
But there was only one conclusion to pursue, one warning to heed.
“The goblins may be on the move.”
With that declaration, Goblin Slayer pounded his sword into its sheath.
“I’m going. Can you stand?”
“Oh, um…”
Guild Girl didn’t quite know where to look. She was kneeling as if her legs were weak, but she was able to move.
But if she said she couldn’t, would he stay? Would it be better if he did?
“I… I’m fine.”
She mustered everything she had to say this, then reached out and put a hand on the table.
Goblin Slayer collected the darts in the rhea’s mask, then stuffed them in his pouch. He wiped the poisoned dagger’s blade and belted it on.
After a quick check of his equipment, he inspected where the darts had hit him. He decided there was no problem.
“In that case, please take care of things here.”
Nodding, Guild Girl used the table as support to unsteadily rise to her feet.
What had happened? What was happening? She didn’t know. How could she know?
The day of celebration was over. Her day of happiness was gone.
“…I just, I mean, I don’t… I don’t understand all of this, myself…”
Well then. She would just have to go back to being the Guild receptionist, treating him like another adventurer.
“B-but whatever it is, please do your best!”
She put the biggest smile she could manage on her face, and Goblin Slayer answered with just two words:
“I will.”
Now she’d done it.
Yes, even the sweet-hearted goddess Illusion could make a mistake.
She had found a vibrant young girl living in a village.
She had noticed that this girl had feelings—though one-sided—for a boy who was ill.
She prepared story markers to lead her to an herb that would cure the illness.
She guided hale and trustworthy allies to the girl to aid her.
The caves and monsters in the girl’s path she made simple enough to overcome.
All was set. All was perfect. She was ready to oversee the girl’s brilliant adventure.
Then came the moment of truth. She flung the dice as hard as she could…
But it morphed into an awful thing.
Unhappily, unluckily, the girl’s swords and spells missed by a mile.
The monsters, who should have been no hindrance at all, landed crushing blows and wiped the girl and her party out.
Not even the gods know if this world is ruled by fate or chance.
Thus, the dice alone are absolute. They cannot be rerolled.
Of course, there is nothing to say that a second roll would come out any better than the first. But be that as it may.
The goddess Illusion lost the adventurers she had watched over so caringly, so lovingly.
It was a common enough story. Most unfortunate. But it was done, and there was no undoing it.
The poor young woman’s exploit ended there. It was time to ready the next adventurer.
But before that, the goddess went to her bed, buried herself in the blankets, and wept into her pillow.
She would probably be sniffling away for some time before she got over the loss of this adventurer—just like with all the others.
The trouble was the god Truth.
This god cast his eye upon the accursed thing in the deepest reaches of the dungeon, the thing the girl had never been able to obtain.
Illusion was otherwise occupied, and if she wasn’t going to use it, why shouldn’t he?
This was his chance to create a trial that would really give those adventurers something to chew on.
A Demon Lord, a Dark God, or some yet unknown ancient threat revived.
Never-before-seen traps, unsolvable labyrinths, fearsome monsters, strange quest givers, betrayal, intrigue!
The more experienced the adventurer, the less likely they were to accept a quest without scrutinizing it closely.
By the time Illusion realized what Truth had so gleefully prepared, things were already well under way.
She could hardly order him to stop now,
but events seemed headed for a terrible conclusion.
Now, what would Illusion do…?
“Whoa, what’s with him?”
“Has anyone ever seen such a dirty adventurer?”
“Hey, isn’t that Goblin Slayer?”
“Goblin Slayer?”
“They say he specializes in slaying goblins.”
“So is that getup part of his goblin slaying strategy?”
“I guess. He is Goblin Slayer.”
“Goblin Slayer…huh.”
“Heeeeyyy! Watch out for goblins!”
Goblin Slayer ran doggedly through the crowd, weaving among citizens still under the festival’s thrall.
He wore his grimy leather armor and cheap-looking helmet, carried his sword of a strange length, and had his round shield strapped to his arm.
Even a brand-new adventurer would have had better equipment, but his form quickly disappeared into the throng.
He received some strange looks, but no unknowing ones.
The Guild Hall was at the entrance to the town, just beside the town gate. Having left Guild Girl behind, he made a beeline for that gate, and beyond it…
“Goblin Slayer, sir!” He heard a voice like a tinkling bell behind him.
He didn’t need to turn around. He already recognized its owner.
“You’ve come.”
“Yes, sir! I received a handout…an oracle!”
It was Priestess, clutching her staff—no, her flail—with both hands.
She was still dressed in her scant ritual outfit as she rushed up, her breath coming in labored gulps.
So it was she, and not Goblin Slayer, who attracted the most stares.
She managed a serious expression even as she flushed with embarrassment.
“It told me to find you… Um, what…?”
“Goblins, I’m sure.”
As the pair passed through the town gate, a shadow approached them soundlessly from the side.
That clear voice. That slim figure. High Elf Archer’s ears bounced, and her eyes narrowed like a cat.
“If Orcbolg’s running, what else could it be?”
“Indubitably, indubitably.”
“Beard-cutter here isn’t exactly hard to fathom.”
Two more shadows followed her.
The towering Lizard Priest joined his hands together in a strange gesture, while Dwarf Shaman stroked his beard merrily.
Each of them was already prepared with whatever equipment they thought best for battle.