Goblin Slayer, Vol. 3

by Kumo Kagyu

  “No,” he said. “But I don’t understand why you’re doing this.”

  “Because I want to?” She brushed aside his black hair with one hand, moving the little stick in her right hand in his ear. “Heh-heh! It’s actually pretty fun, cleaning your ears.”

  “Is it?”

  After that, he fell silent.

  She took that as a good sign, enjoying the feeling of the weight on her knees.

  A cool breeze blew out of town, over the hill where the daisies had been in bloom.

  The sunlight was still warm, but the wind seemed to be growing colder.

  A sweet aroma arrived on the breeze—fragrant olives.

  Could the smell really have carried this far? she wondered.

  The world seemed at ease.

  He hadn’t told her much, but…

  The rain had stopped, the storm had passed, and everything was over.

  Travelers on the way home frowned at the goblin corpses they found along the roads.

  The low-ranking adventurers who had been dispatched shortly after dawn to clean up were probably none too happy, either.

  But the one who had silently gone about digging holes and setting traps did not seem to pay it much mind.

  The festival was over, and he had done what he had to do. That was all. And that meant…

  “I have to go back to how I was, too…huh.”

  “…What’s that?”

  “N-nothing,” she said, then brought her lips close to his ear and blew gently.

  He shifted in surprise.

  I knew this would be fun, she thought.

  “Done. Flip over. I’ll do the other side.”

  “…All right.”

  He obediently rolled over, like a giant puppy.

  He was a bit too dangerous for a pet, though, and maybe not impressive enough for hunting.

  A stray?

  She stroked his hair at the thought.

  “Not quite. You do have a home.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Hmm, I wonder.”

  She chuckled meaninglessly and tugged on his ear.

  “Stay still, now. I wouldn’t want to get it too deep.”

  “That would be a problem.”

  “You could stand to be a little less serious, though.”

  She giggled. What did her laugh sound like to him, now that they were so close?

  His voice was always slightly muffled by his helmet. Did hers sound the same to him?

  As she mulled over these thoughts, he gave a grunt.

  “Sorry. Let’s take a break.”

  “Huh?” Cow Girl blinked, but withdrew the ear pick. “Sure, but… What’s up?”

  “We have visitors.”

  He had heaved himself up. She followed his gaze and did indeed spot several people.

  One was small, one slim, one short, and one towering.

  “…Ahh.” Even as she smiled in understanding, he was donning his helmet.

  He lowered the visor, secured it, gathered his gear, and nodded. He was ready.

  “You don’t have to be embarrassed.”

  “I’m not embarrassed,” he said as he stood. He surveyed the faces of his four companions, and then asked, “Goblins?”

  “Yeah! And how! Not that I want anything to do with it, but…” High Elf Archer made a sound halfway between a snort and a sigh. “That receptionist girl pleaded with us, said nobody else would do it. So we didn’t have any choice…”

  “Let’s go. Where is it? How large?” It took him no time at all to decide.

  That was the answer he always gave. High Elf Archer rolled her eyes to the clouds, but Lizard Priest was used to this already.

  “In the mountains. Evidently a rather sizable nest.”

  “All right. Equipment?”

  “Oh! I already bought everything!” Priestess seemed simultaneously proud of herself and a bit embarrassed.

  That explained the large-ish bag she was carrying. If they had to go into the mountains on foot rather than by carriage, they would need quite a range of items. And she was already enough of an adventurer to have thought ahead and obtained everything.

  “Food and wine, I assume. And everything else we normally use?” asked Dwarf Shaman.

  “Good.” Goblin Slayer nodded. “Whatever else we need, we can get when we arrive. Was it a villager who filed the quest?”

  “Indeed.”

  “Then they’ll know the area. First thing when we get there, we study the terrain.”

  Cow Girl watched him prepare, one item at a time.

  There was something irresistible about it, something so utterly reliable, and she felt a smile creep over her face.

  She stood quietly from the grass. At the same moment, he turned his helmet toward her.

  “Sorry. I’ll be back.”

  “Sure. Don’t worry about it. You’re the only one who can do it, right?”

  “…Yes.”

  Then he spoke up again, as if something had just occurred to him.

  “The fragrant olives.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I researched them, but I don’t think they fit me.”

  “Oh, no?” Cow Girl cocked her head, the wind picking up her hair. “I think I’d have to disagree…”

  “Would you?”

  “Sure.”

  “I see.”

  And with that he fell silent and left on his adventure—no, his goblin hunt.

  He would beat them. He would beat them and come home.

  Cow Girl understood perfectly that this was how he would spend his days.

  And she would spend hers waiting for him. Just as she always did—now that the festival was over.

  She watched him go, smiling, then turned back to the farm with a whisper. Now, then.

  The wind gusted from far away, carrying once more the scent of the olives.

  Those flowers represented four things: purity, humility, true love…and first love.

  I think it fits perfectly.

  Her murmur, like the fragrance of flowers, was borne away by the wind.

  Autumn had deepened, and the footfalls of winter approached.

  AFTERWORD

  Thank you, thank you. Kumo Kagyu here. I hope you enjoyed volume 3.

  That means this is also my third afterword, but I’m still not used to writing them.

  So, as ever, I’ll start with my thanks.

  First of all, I am so grateful to have made it to three books. It’s all because of my readers, my editors, the bookstore people, and so many others. Thank you, thank you.

  Thank you, as always, to everyone who encouraged me while I was writing on the web, as well as the site admin.

  All my gaming friends, thanks again. I’m sorry for that incident where I mistook you for one of the zombies and blew off your head with a shotgun.

  To my creative friends, I always find your advice extremely helpful. Thank you.

  Mr. Noboru Kannatuki, thank you for providing another volume of wonderful illustrations. I’m sorry I don’t have anything more productive to say than “Wow! That’s amazing!” every time I get your pictures.

  My gratitude goes out to all of you, all the time.

  The first collected volume of Mr. Kurose’s manga version of this series is coming out at about the same time as this book.

  It’s a comic full of goblins, whom Goblin Slayer slays. Wow! It’s amazing!

  Thank you for doing such constantly high-quality work. I’m sorry I don’t have anything more productive to say than “Yeah! That’s it! Do it! Finish him off!” every time I get your chapters.

  I hope you’ll continue working with a writer like me.

  In this story, Goblin Slayer slayed all the goblins who showed up.

  Maybe we’ll do something different for the next volume. I’m thinking of a collection of short stories about what other people get up to while he’s off slaying goblins.

  And maybe Spearman and Heavy Warrior sub in a weirdo instea
d of their scout, and he guides them up a tower. Do the three of them get along or not? Well, that’s how human relationships are. I think.

  And then there’s the drama CD… The drama CD? The drama CD! Hard to believe, isn’t it?

  I’m thinking it’s going to be an adventure involving Priestess and High Elf Archer. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

  To the actors and staff, I look forward to working with you.

  Gosh. Geez, I mean, I can’t help thinking about what an incredible thing this has become. A year ago, this wasn’t even my wildest dream.

  I mean, really, we have no idea what life has in store for us.

  It’s brought home to me just how important it is to get yourself out there and do things.

  And I’m going to do my best on everything coming up. I hope you’ll join me.