Goblin Slayer, Vol. 7

by Kumo Kagyu

  “I just got a little lightheaded with all the people…”

  “You haven’t seen anything yet. The capital is even more crowded.”

  “I can’t believe you can even breathe there…” I don’t think I could manage.

  Guild Girl snickered at Cow Girl’s assessment, stepping down from the carriage as if she did it every day.

  You know, when she holds those braids down against the wind, she really does look like a city girl. She couldn’t look more different from me.

  Cow Girl gave a private sigh, overcome by what a bumpkin she felt like. She had attempted to wear something a little different from usual, but she’d had nothing like the success of Guild Girl.

  She was embarrassed, though, to wear her mother’s dress again, so this was what she had been left with. And yet, she couldn’t quite settle into herself.

  Cow Girl wandered around behind the carriage to where the bags were stacked. They would have to unload the luggage.

  A leather-gloved hand slid out and stopped her. “I’ll do it.” The hand grabbed some luggage as soon as she heard the short sentence.

  She looked over and saw Goblin Slayer in his characteristic grimy helmet.

  “You rest a bit.”

  “Oh, I’m fine,” Cow Girl said, waving off her old friend. “I can ride a horse all day. A carriage is no problem. I know what I look like, but I’m pretty strong!”

  “Perhaps so, but this trunk has to do with my business.”

  Hmm, Cow Girl grumbled. That was fair. Personal business was important.

  “All right, well, let me handle my own luggage, at least.”

  “Okay.” For some reason, his brusque nod made her smile. She didn’t hide the grin as she grabbed her bag.

  She had never seen Goblin Slayer at work before. And doing something other than slaying goblins, no less. This wasn’t really different in kind from when she asked him to help around the farm, but still, it seemed new.

  She went over and stood in a corner of the station so that she would be out of the way; Guild Girl stood beside her, smiling. Cow Girl had learned enough in the six years of their acquaintance to know that this was not a pasted-on smile.

  “I’m guessing you haven’t seen him at work too often, either.”

  “Yeah. I’m usually behind a desk at the Guild.”

  “Oh yeah? …I guess that makes sense.”

  “Well, there was one time…” I thought I might have a heart attack.

  “Huh!” Cow Girl said, her lips pursed.

  As the two of them stood talking, work progressed apace.

  “Gods above. We haven’t seen this place in a year, and it looks like we left yesterday. Doesn’t anything ever change around here?” Dwarf Shaman said, casually grabbing trunks as Goblin Slayer hefted them down from the luggage rack.

  Like most of his kind, Dwarf Shaman was as strong as he was short. He piled up the cargo, one piece after another, without so much as breathing hard.

  “They say three’s a crowd, but we’ve got four in women alone. How are us men going to relax?”

  “Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Are they not beautiful and sprightly? That is enough.” Lizard Priest was taking the bags from Dwarf Shaman and putting them onto a luggage cart. Lizardmen were naturally brawny, but on top of that, he had the muscular build of a warrior-priest. He tossed the baggage onto the cart faster than Goblin Slayer could unload it.

  “And one cannot make light of a woman’s meticulous nature, either. Is that not so, milady Priestess?”

  “I really don’t think it’s anything special…”

  Priestess scratched her cheek with embarrassment, but Lizard Priest only laid on more praise. “Ah, but careful packing is so important. What if the clay tablets were to break?”

  Priestess looked at the ground. “It’s really nothing special… I just packed them with some reeds and moss.”

  The luggage in question was the clay tablets they had recovered from the library some days before. According to the nuns they had rescued, the tablets had been discovered at some ancient ruin or other, and the letters had not yet been decoded.

  That being the case, there was no point leaving them in some frontier burg with no resources. They could carry some kind of prophecy; or ancient, secret magics; or the hidden truth of all history; or…

  Old, indecipherable texts had been the cause of no small strife of late. The adventurers logically came to the conclusion that the safest thing they could do would be to leave the tablets at the Temple of the God of Law in the water town.

  “Heh-heh. That’s right, earn your keep, dwarf.” High Elf Archer jumped down from the carriage with balletic grace and a smirk that stretched from ear to ear. She gave Dwarf Shaman a hearty smack on the shoulder. “I’m gonna go pick up some gifts for my sister.”

  “Yes, fine. Gods… If we weren’t here to celebrate, I’d smack you right back on that flat little bottom!”

  “Why, you—!” High Elf Archer jumped backward, covering her modest behind with her hands and glaring at the dwarf.

  She was able to clown around like this because they were in the safety of the water town.

  A year ago, it had been different.

  Priestess closed her eyes for a second, with an emotion that mixed nostalgia with fear but was not quite either one. That summer, this area had been attacked by goblins, and hardly anyone realized it. The memories were still fresh for her. After all, the whole party had almost died fighting that enemy.

  “…”

  Goblin Slayer, who had been as close to death as any of them that time, slowly looked from one side of town to the other.

  “…I don’t sense any goblins here.”

  She found it rather satisfying to be able to come back and see what their work had achieved.

  They had been away for a year—yes, a whole year already.

  From what she could see, the water town looked almost exactly as they had last left it, everything still clicking along in peace. Merchants and travelers passed by, clerics in the service of the Supreme God hurried about, and children walked alongside their parents. Wizards and knights-errant queried passersby as to whether they didn’t need bodyguards to protect their belongings, boasting of their achievements in battle.

  The clattering of horse hooves mingled with the quick talking of merchants making deals with one another; a very important-looking woman worked her way down the street.

  But there were no goblins.

  For Goblin Slayer, that was enough.

  And insofar as there were no goblins, there was nothing for him to do here.

  And yet, I am here.

  He wondered what he should make of this.

  Even if he’d had any interest in a non-goblin-slaying quest, he would never have had the time to look at it. He had certainly never imagined he would take up a courier quest like this one.

  Follow the river that ran through the city upstream, to the south, and as quick as walking, you would find yourself at the elves’ forest.

  As such, the party had been asked to accompany the clay tablets; there was some kind of talk of the job covering traveling expenses. Because it was a Guild quest, they were allowed to use a Guild carriage to reach the water town. When they received the reward, it would be enough to cover their expenses in town, as well.

  Finally, there was the fact that they would be protecting clay tablets that the goblins might have some interest in. This was the aspect that finally got Goblin Slayer on board.

  “Okay, everyone, I’m going to go to the local guild to say hello and report that we completed the quest.”

  Everything had been arranged by the good offices of Guild Girl, with her fine sense of timing and her unflappable smile. Who better than a bureaucrat to orchestrate something like this? Any time plans for a quest involved more than simply going to a location, looking around, and killing some monsters, there was a way she could help.

  “After that, there’s the luggage, the inn, securing a boat… Oh, and g
ifts. Do we know what the couple likes?”

  “Best learn about the elves from an elf, I’d say. Got an opinion, Long-Ears?”

  “Naturally,” High Elf Archer replied, nodding confidently. Her ears gave a surprisingly majestic twitch, and she added, “Besides, I haven’t been back home in ages. I’ll need something to bring my clan.”

  “Er, uh, then maybe I can, too…?” Cow Girl edged her way into the conversation, putting a hand to her generous bosom. “I mean… I don’t get a lot of chances to come to places like this, and I kind of wanted to try a little shopping…” She sounded uncharacteristically hesitant, her eyes flitting from one place to another.

  High Elf Archer blinked several times. “Just come with me!” she exclaimed, smacking herself on the chest. “As a matter of fact, I’ve been to this town before. I can show you around!”

  “Well then,” Dwarf Shaman said, looking dubious about this display of confidence, “once we’ve found the inn and the boat, maybe we’ll tag along.” He stroked the white beard of which he was so proud. “Otherwise, who knows what Anvil might get up to on her own?”

  “Ooh, how about you come over here and say that!” High Elf Archer exclaimed. Dwarf Shaman said something laughingly in return, and off they went again, arguing hard enough to sound noisy even over the hubbub of the water town streets.

  Lizard Priest rolled his eyes in amusement when he saw people watching the pair with surprise.

  “Well, just think of us as porters,” he said. “We do have the strength.”

  “Sorry. I know how much trouble you’re going to…” Cow Girl bowed her head apologetically, but the lizardman monk put his palms together.

  “What’s to apologize for? Consider it an act of gratitude for your plentiful supply of wonderful cheese. Think naught of it.”

  Cow Girl felt a hand on her shoulder. “Hee-hee. Well then, maybe I’ll join the rest of you after I finish everything that needs doing.”

  She didn’t know when Guild Girl had come up behind her. Her braid gave off a faint, sweet aroma; maybe she was wearing a bit of perfume. Just a dab, not so much as to be anything but tasteful. It felt a world away from Cow Girl.

  Must be nice…

  The thought passed in an instant, but it must have shown on her face.

  “A girl likes to dress up from time to time, doesn’t she?” Guild Girl was smiling almost mischievously.

  Cow Girl put up her hands. “Heh, yeah. Ha-ha… Think you could help me out?”

  Of course. Guild Girl smiled and nodded, and soon her gaze had moved along to something else.

  What was that something? You should be able to guess by now.

  It was Priestess, who stood looking rather uncomfortable, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t.

  “And what about you?” Guild Girl asked. “That festival outfit of yours was awfully cute.”

  “Eurgh?!” Priestess made a sort of choking sound and flailed her arms, spluttering. “That wasn’t—,” and “I-it’s not for me!” in between gasps.

  Cow Girl, however, had already circled around to cut off her escape. The farm girl boxed Priestess in with her generous chest, hugging her close.

  “Not so fast! I don’t know how that sort of stuff will look on me, either, but I’m still going. So you’re not getting away.”

  “Ohh… Please just…don’t be too hard on me…okay?” She was shaking like a small animal. Cow Girl nodded at her as if at a little sister.

  Well, Cow Girl herself wasn’t exactly a fashion maven. She would have to let Guild Girl take the lead…

  “……”

  Goblin Slayer was silently watching the girls banter with each other. Cow Girl had always been outgoing, but it was still good to see her become part of the group like this. Bright and laughing, zipping around and having fun.

  He let out a breath. A sort of relieved phew.

  “…I do not know much about either gifts or clothes,” he said flatly, grabbing on to the crossbeam of the luggage cart.

  “Ho,” Lizard Priest said at this, his tail wagging. “Porterage, then? Perhaps it could wait until all else is finished?”

  “There is a slight chance that goblins want these tablets.” Rather unusually for him, the words carried the ring of an excuse. “We ought to move them sooner rather than later.”

  “…You’re quite sure?”

  “I think so,” he said, the helmet moving. “I’m certain of it.”

  “Hmm…,” Lizard Priest mused, letting out a hissing breath. After a moment, though, his tail swayed gently. “Very well,” he said. “Once we have settled on an inn, we’ll dispatch someone to the temple.”

  “Please do.”

  Then Goblin Slayer began to walk off, pulling the cart behind him.

  By the time Priestess noticed the creaking of the wheels, he was already far away, a figure growing smaller in the distance.

  §

  He focused on nothing but the sound of the running river as he pulled the cart along.

  The people milling about him stared at the pathetic-looking adventurer then quickly passed him by. Admittedly, his outfit was somewhat shocking. People probably assumed he was some beginner.

  Why else would an adventurer, bedecked in full armor as if ready to delve into a dungeon, be pulling a cart through the middle of town? He didn’t quite look like he belonged among the rivers and boats of this city, whose elegance flowed from the old capital where it was built. People snickered at him behind their hands.

  None of this mattered to Goblin Slayer.

  He kept walking along the route that he had pounded into his memory, and eventually, he arrived at a resplendent building standing by the waterside, supported by marble columns. People dressed in clerics’ robes and clutching law texts came and went busily through the front entrance. There were others among them who looked very serious; these were people who had come for some suit and who now approached the temple with trepidation.

  The sun had passed its zenith already, its clear, bright rays reflecting off the image of the sword and scales. This was the great Temple of the Supreme God, who gave this world law and justice and order and light.

  There was probably no safer place on all the frontier than this. Goblin Slayer, however, continued to scan the area vigilantly as he strode with his cart into the temple.

  In the waiting area, people shot him anxious glances as they marked time until their cases would be heard. He went farther into the building.

  “Excuse me, sir, please stop there!” Naturally, he had been noticed. A sandals-clad young cleric came rushing up.

  Goblin Slayer halted with a “hrm,” and then he noticed the young man appeared to be praying something softly. He assumed it was something like Sense Lie. Things were so complicated these days.

  The adventurer brought the cart to a creaking halt.

  “I’ve come to complete a quest,” he said.

  “Sir?”

  “A quest,” he repeated, pulling up the silver tag around his neck. “Perhaps it will help if I say Goblin Slayer is here.”

  Unfortunately, it didn’t help.

  “Please wait just a moment, sir,” the cleric said, rushing back inside and leaving the adventurer by himself.

  Goblin Slayer crossed his arms and, as he had been told, he waited.

  He felt that he had often seen such rushing about lately.

  Perhaps young clerics are all alike…

  At length, the young man returned with an older woman and, for the third time, Goblin Slayer explained, “I have come to complete a quest. The transport of some texts.”

  “Yes, of course, sir, I understand,” the woman said with a friendly smile. She nodded at him several times. “The archbishop is waiting for you. Please, come this way.”

  “All right.” Goblin Slayer grasped the crossbar of the cart again and began walking.

  “My apologies for delaying you,” the priest said, but Goblin Slayer merely gave a slight shake of his head as he went by.


  The woman—the acolyte—who went ahead of him swayed her hips in a way that caused her behind to wiggle each time she walked. Not enough to be unseemly, however; in fact, her movements were very graceful.

  The Supreme God was the master of law. But it was said that it was Pray-ers who should make official legal judgments. Perhaps, then, this acolyte was simply trying to act appropriately for a place of judgment. And for Goblin Slayer, there was no higher praise than to recognize something as the fruit of much practice.

  “If only you had come around the back way, you wouldn’t have had to wait,” she said, clearly implying his status as a personal friend of the head of this temple.

  “I did not know that,” he said. He didn’t sound at all reproachful. “I’ve caused you trouble,” he added.

  “Not at all, sir, it’s quite all right. I’m sure the archbishop will be overjoyed.” She smiled widely at him.

  Goblin Slayer tilted his head slightly in her direction. “…I believe I remember meeting you before.”

  “Yes, sir. And may I thank you for all the good you did our archbishop at the time.”

  “I only slew the goblins.”

  This woman was an attendant, one of those who served Sword Maiden closely. He worked this over in his mind. “Hmm. Does she sleep now?”

  “Indeed, and very well, at that.” The acolyte looked as if she were talking about her own child as she smiled. “She’s slept like a baby this past year. I’m sure she feels much safer now.”

  Ah, but don’t tell her I told you. It would only make her pout.

  He nodded. “I see.” And then he added, once more under his voice, “Well and good, then.”

  They proceeded farther into the temple, past the courtrooms where cases were heard, through hallways full of shelves. Toward the innermost sanctum, a place of marble pillars and silence.

  He had taken this path before, and it led to the same place as before.

  Several great, round pillars surrounded the room, sunlight the color of honey drifting between them.

  At the far end of this farthest room stood a statue of the Supreme God, like the sun, an altar set before it. And at the altar was someone with perfect posture clasping the sword and scales, a beautiful woman offering prayers…