by Kumo Kagyu
“Come on, Orcbolg. You’re being insensitive, even for you,” High Elf Archer said, pursing her lips with a frown. She had noticed Sword Maiden’s clouded expression.
Goblin Slayer fell silent for a long moment, then said, “Please go on.”
“It was truly a terrible incident.”
Yes, terrible.
The Temple of Law was here, to be sure, but this was still the frontier. Not long ago it had been a lawless expanse, home to monsters and bandits. It could hardly now be without crime.
Though the light of the Supreme God shone abundantly, it was not enough to reach into twisted human hearts.
“Law and order… It is said they have continually been the weaker in the struggles of this world.” Sword Maiden continued, in a murmur, “Though evil has not triumphed in this world, neither has it been vanquished,” and joined her hands, offering a brief prayer to the god she served.
Waiting for her to finish, Lizard Priest stuck out his neck as if paying particular attention.
“So, is this to say the investigation has yielded no results?”
“…Yes. I am ashamed to say it, but it’s true…”
Perhaps an agent of chaos was involved or a follower of the Dark Gods? Or something else?
Amid a slew of hypotheses and conjectures, the town watch had immediately launched an investigation. For a city whose streets bustled day and night, there was surprisingly little evidence. And without evidence, there was nothing to be done, no matter how badly one wished to catch the criminal.
In the midst of all this, the water town experienced a dramatic rise in crime.
“Petty theft, random attacks in the streets. Violence toward women, kidnappings…”
“Hmm.” Goblin Slayer snorted as Sword Maiden mournfully related the state of things. “I don’t like it.”
“You don’t like anything, Beard-cutter,” Dwarf Shaman said, well accustomed to his companion, and gave Sword Maiden a wave as if to say, Don’t mind him. He rested his chin in his hand and his elbow on his folded knees. He didn’t even feel like having a drink of wine. “I admit it’s rather strange. But surely that’s not why you summoned us here.”
“You’re correct. They decided that if they could not track down the killer, perhaps they could catch him at his work.”
Thus, not only the town watch and guard, but adventurers, too, were dispatched.
They broke up into several groups, diligently patrolling the night streets and chasing down any suspicious characters.
It was a blunt approach, a plan marked by its practicality.
But it worked.
One of the adventurer groups saw small humanoids attacking a woman and cut them down.
In the light of the adventurers’ handheld oil lamps, the tiny corpses turned out to be…
“—goblins. Beyond doubt.”
“Hmm.” Goblin Slayer, who had been listening silently, made a sound of deep interest. “It was goblins?”
“Goblins… Not just one or two, I suppose,” Dwarf Shaman breathed, running his hand pensively along the flowing beard of which he was so proud.
Priestess tapped her finely formed pointer finger against her lips and made a thoughtful sound. “The question is how they got into town,” she said. “They certainly didn’t just walk through the gate.”
“That’d leave an underground route or the waterways,” Dwarf Shaman said.
High Elf Archer chimed in. “All these victims—those monsters weren’t just passing through.”
“What do you think?” Goblin Slayer’s helmet turned toward Lizard Priest.
The scaled priest gave a contemplative roll of his eyes, then opened his jaws and said, “Goblins…hmm. Goblins live underground. This town is built above a more ancient city. Surely there are ruins of some sort below it…”
“No question, then,” Goblin Slayer said decisively. “They’re stupid, but they’re not foolish. If I were them, I would simply nest in the sewers.”
“Once again, you demonstrate your ability to think like a goblin…”
It was hard to tell whether High Elf Archer was admiring or sarcastic.
“Of course,” Goblin Slayer replied with a nod. “If you don’t know how they think, you can’t fight them.”
Sword Maiden betrayed a hint of confusion at Goblin Slayer’s words, but nonetheless, she nodded firmly.
“Surely it was the Supreme God who guided an adventurer like you to accept my quest.” A faint smile rose suddenly to her face, and her voice was clear; her relief was evident. “I myself, after a month of reflection, concluded they must be underground.”
“A month?”
“Yes. And at first, I offered a quest to the adventurers of this town…”
“What did they do?” Priestess asked quietly, but Sword Maiden shook her head wordlessly.
“I see…,” Priestess said.
That was all the answer she needed.
They didn’t come back.
Many Porcelain and Obsidian adventurers who went to slay goblins met the same fate—like two of the three companions Priestess had first ventured into a cavern with.
Once the disturbing scene had been unexpectedly revived in her memory, it was not easy to wipe away.
Priestess almost thought she could catch the dank, rotten whiff of the cave and scrunched up her face a little.
“It was then that I heard a song of Goblin Slayer, hero of the frontier.”
“A song?” Goblin Slayer said, uncomprehending. “What do you mean?”
“You didn’t know? You’re a ballad, Orcbolg.” High Elf Archer drew a circle in the air with her pointer finger. “Turns out it doesn’t have much to do with the real you, though.”
“I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“But surely you know,” Lizard Priest said, narrowing his eyes. “Wherever there are bards, they will sing of valorous deeds.”
“To what end?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t see the connection, Beard-cutter.”
Not that he wasn’t interested.
Dwarf Shaman pounded his belly at Goblin Slayer’s display of perplexity.
“When word of your doings gets around, everyone will want you to slay their goblins for them!”
“Hmm…”
Sword Maiden’s eyes, hidden behind cloth, briefly met Goblin Slayer’s, hidden behind metal.
She bit her lip, then with a look of determination, bowed her head.
“Please. I beg you to save our town.”
“I don’t know whether I can,” Goblin Slayer said frankly. “But I will kill the goblins.”
It was simply not how one spoke to an archbishop, let alone a former hero.
Priestess said, “Goblin Slayer, sir!” and tugged on his arm, lips pursed. “You must find a better, you know, way to…talk…”
“It’s the truth, isn’t it?”
“That’s why it’s so important to be careful how you say it.”
“Hrm.”
Goblin Slayer let out a harsh snort, but even he could only fall silent.
Lizard Priest gave a jovial wave of his tail at the sight of his flummoxed friend, but his tone was serious.
“If they’re in the sewers, our usual tricks won’t work.”
“I’m kind of sick of our usual tricks, anyway,” High Elf Archer said dejectedly. “They’re…weird.” She gave him a gentle jab with her elbow. “You know what he means, right?”
“Yes.” Goblin Slayer nodded. “We have to go in and destroy them, but the underground area is large. It would be troublesome if some escaped.”
“No! Being in the sewers means we’ll be right below everyone who lives here. Get it?”
She didn’t know why she was surprised. Orcbolg had been this way as long as she’d known him. Burning down fortresses, making people douse themselves in guts, killing goblins in the most terrible ways, drowning them, using human wave tactics…
“No fire! No water! No poison gas! No entrails!”
>
“I told you, I have no intention of using any of those,” he replied in a tone he normally reserved for scolding Priestess, bringing High Elf Archer up short.
Her long ears jerked in annoyance, but she was the one who at last said, “Fine,” and desisted.
Lizard Priest ignored her mutter of “What’s with this guy?” and said, “But why can’t your town watch or your army handle these creatures?” He slapped the stone floor with his tail to emphasize his doubts. “I am not acquainted with the situation of this town, but surely this is not beyond their jurisdiction.”
“They…”
“…no doubt told you there was no need to involve the military for something as trivial as goblins,” Goblin Slayer said brusquely when Sword Maiden hesitated.
Sword Maiden looked down slightly, and her lips trembled. A most elegant answer.
It wasn’t hard to understand.
The adventurers went in precisely because the town watch and the military did not get involved.
The town watch took money to train and equip, and their families lived in town. If they were injured or killed, a pension would have to be paid to their relatives.
How different it was with adventurers, who took responsibility for everything themselves.
Above all else, the resurrection of the Demon Lord in the spring was still fresh in their minds.
“Can’t be helped, I suppose,” Dwarf Shaman said with a sigh and a stroke of his white beard. “Plenty of those demons still running around the Capital. I guess this is what adventurers are for…”
“Mrrm. Two sure founts of trouble are human money and human politics,” Lizard Priest said.
“I am most ashamed to admit the truth of your words,” Sword Maiden said, as if confessing a sin.
Tragedies in this world were many and endless.
As Sword Maiden had said, ever since the world’s inception, law and order had been lesser lights.
No one had the power to change that, not even slightly.
Even the Earth Mother, who offered salvation to those who were broken—her salvation was only for those who wished, asked, and prayed for it…
Hence why monsters were known as the Unpraying.
And yet…
“I do not much care for such things,” Sword Maiden whispered, turning her face aside.
She sounded like a young lady who had done some embarrassing thing.
“I don’t care.” Goblin Slayer cut through it all with a few curt words. “How do we get underground?”
“…”
Sword Maiden’s hidden eyes played across his helmet as if seeking some expression.
“Hey.”
“Oh. Yes, excuse me.”
The voice that answered his call was somehow distant, almost delirious.
Sword Maiden reached into the neckline of her thin garment, withdrawing a piece of paper from her generous bosom.
The folded sheet looked quite old; it seemed to be a map of the sewers.
“I think it would be best for you to enter the sewers via the well in the back garden of this Temple.”
Her slim, white fingers caressed the map as she spread it out on the floor. The wrinkled sheepskin made a rustling noise as she unfolded it.
“Hence, during your investigations, I offer you this Temple as lodging.”
“Mm.”
Goblin Slayer made a soft sound as he studied the map. It was discolored, already chewed by insects, but it spoke to the sheer size of the sewers. Perhaps it had made some sense to the ancient architects, but now…
“It’s like a maze,” Priestess said anxiously, looking at the map over Goblin Slayer’s shoulder.
Goblins worked their way completely through this underground labyrinth to attack humans? Facing them would be much harder than fighting other monsters, even poorly.
Maybe I’m just nervous. Had he noticed her quietly shift her gaze to him?
Goblin Slayer pulled the map closer, then tapped it lightly.
“How accurate is this map?”
“These are old plans from when the Temple was built…”
Sword Maiden shook her head gently. The gesture sent beautiful waves through her rich hair.
“But the city’s water does flow down there. If anything has collapsed, I cannot imagine it’s very much.”
“All right.”
With a nod, he nonchalantly rolled up the map and tossed it into the air.
Lizard Priest deftly stretched out his arm and caught it in his sharp claws.
“You’re our navigator.”
“Certainly.”
“Let’s go, then. No time to lose.”
No sooner had he spoken than Goblin Slayer set off with his bold stride.
The other adventurers looked at one another, then nodded helplessly.
“Well, that’s Orcbolg for you,” High Elf Archer said lightly, rising. She adjusted her great bow on her back, counted her arrows, then went after him at a trot.
Elves’ footsteps were so quiet they might weigh nothing at all; Lizard Priest found them all but inaudible. He gently opened the map he’d caught, double-checked it, folded it again, and put it carefully in his bag. “There do seem to be ruins deeper in, but we shall not know until we see for ourselves.”
“You said it. And we can’t count on our long-eared lass to lead the way. Beard-cutter is another matter.”
Dwarf Shaman stroked his beard, unable to watch them walk into such danger alone.
The two of them patted each other on the back, then stood up, looking pleased.
“You must excuse us, then. We shall be on our way.”
“Can’t keep long-ears and Beard-cutter waitin’ now!”
And the two of them departed.
Priestess had no time to gawk, either.
Scurrying to ready her gear, she straightened her garments and stood.
“Well, um, milady archbishop. I—I’ll be going, too.”
Ahem. She gripped her staff with both hands and bowed her head to Sword Maiden.
“If I may…,” Sword Maiden called out to Priestess as she turned to leave. She reached out one slim hand as if beckoning.
“Yes?” Priestess asked, looking questioningly at her.
“Perhaps it is not my place to ask this, as the quest giver…”
Priestess could not quite read Sword Maiden’s expression as she spoke. All emotion seemed to have left her lovely face, like a receding tide. It was hard to escape the impression that she had donned a mask.
“But are you not afraid?”
Her question was quiet but clear.
Priestess knitted her brow slightly; her eyes wandered the room. What should she say?
“I… Yes. I am afraid. But…”
Then, she said nothing more. She had never stopped being afraid, not since she had first entered a goblin den on that day long ago.
And yet…
Her averted gaze followed those adventurers, walking ahead of her, some ways away…
A towering lizardman. Next to him, a stubby dwarf. A slender elf. And…
A warrior. Dressed in a cheap-looking helmet, grimy leather armor, with a small round shield and a sword that seemed a strange length.
“Hee-hee.”
Standing there, nearly alone, a smile welled up on Priestess’s face.
She was a disciple of the Earth Mother, but if she were to pray to the Supreme God she would ask one thing:
That she never be without even one of these companions.
“…I’m sure we’ll be all right.”
And with that, she shyly offered a prayer under her breath.
“…All right, the papers are in order. Thank you so much for always making these food deliveries!”
“Of course. This is our livelihood, after all!”
“Ahh, everyone loves the things from your farm, though. They’re delicious—that’s most important—but they’re cheap, too.”
“Ha-ha-ha! …Yeah, everyone’s been so kind t
o us since…since what happened last spring. It’s been a huge help… Sigh…”
“Why the long face? Something the matter? If it’s the price, I’m sorry to say I can’t negotiate, though.”
“Oh no, uh… No. It’s just, he’s away, and I’m…you know?”
“Heh-heh! He’ll be fine. Mr. Goblin Slayer is always prepared.”
“I wonder. I guess he’s not the type to just wander into trouble.”
“Personally, I would think you’d be more worried about…other things. What with all the time he’ll have on his hands.”
“What other things?”
“Please. He’s in a far-off city with two women. And not a small city, either. There’ll be lots of opportunities…”
“B-but there’s a couple of men with him, too, right? A-anyway, he wouldn’t…”
“I admit, he’s never seemed like the type.”
“…Hey. In adventure stories, they always… I mean, the hero always saves the princess or the village girl, and then they get married, right?”
“Sure. Lots of plays and books like that.”
“Does it really happen?”
“All the time. Frankly, it leaves our female adventurers wanting for husbands.”
“…Okay. So, when he saves some girl, what do you think he looks like? To her?”
“Huh? Well…like the frontier champion, the slayer of goblins… I mean, speaking just to his looks…”
“……”
“Would you like some tea?”
“Yes, please.”
“There’s a festival coming up, isn’t there? The autumn harvest.”
“Can’t miss it.”
“Let’s do it.”
“Let’s do it.”
And so they were decided.
A shrill scream echoed across the stone of the waterway built by those ancient people.
A goblin fell backward, a hatchet buried in its forehead.
Without flinching, Goblin Slayer kicked the corpse into the river of sewage that ran nearby. It fell in with a splash, then floated among the polluted bubbles for a moment before sinking out of sight.
“That seems to be the last of them.” Lizard Priest wiped the blood from his blade, a fang-sword that had recently been buried in a goblin’s throat.
The flame of an abandoned torch on the floor wavered, and the light danced over the carnage all around.