Dancing with Goblins (2)

"Smells like herbs..."

A woman.

She had a hood pulled up over her head, but the curve of her figure made it no great feat to guess as much. The leather trousers she wore traced every line of her body, which made staring outright a little embarrassing. A Korean's dead-accurate eye for height put her at exactly 168 centimeters. In another world where the average person ran short, that counted as tall.

The hair glimpsed beneath the hood was a radiant gold, and her green eyes, scattering starlight, had a pull that drew a person in. Her skin was so white it looked nearly pale, without a single blemish, and even though she was doing nothing at all, a nobility hung about her. In short, she was a tremendous beauty. No—even tremendous beauty felt insufficient. She was breathtaking.

"A real beauty."

"Will wonders never cease. You're actually right, Raccoon."

Even the adventurers who were usually too busy talking about themselves stood spellbound, busy only with looking at her. The guild went quiet.

Whether she was used to stares like these or not, she strode straight over to Sonya.

"How can I help you?"

"I came to file a branch transfer."

Even her voice was outrageously lovely. Looks that overwhelming, and a voice to match—the world really was an unfair place.

"May I see your papers?"

At Sonya's question, the woman rummaged through her bundle and produced something.

"Yes, papers received. So you were Eline, registered with the Ur branch. Activity record's here as well... and your rank is Silver Plate."

Eline. Even the name was pretty. And a Silver Plate, no less—the rank the Adventurer Guild treated as its main fighting strength.

"Might you also recommend someone I could form a standing party with?"

"Of course."

She was looking for party members, too. Truly trustworthy people were hard to find, that was all; having a fixed party was far better. Match your breathing with someone long enough, and you gained a real edge in a fight.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was nodding along to Eline's words when Raccoon suddenly turned toward her.

"You lunatic, where are you going?"

"Watch and learn, Goat."

Raccoon said it with a grin that showed off a fine set of teeth. Face alone, you had to admit he was decent enough to look at. Maybe Eline would take an interest. He was handsome, after all.

In the meantime she finished the transfer and immediately accepted a third-grade quest. Just as she was about to walk out without a backward glance, Raccoon opened fire in a greasy voice.

"My lady, shall we go somewhere for a drink?"

Was this some new method of suicide? This wasn't the martial world, but the old warning held just the same: beware women, the elderly, and children. What was he going to do if that cringey middle-aged line set Eline off and she put a sword through him? He wasn't even asking her to party—he was hitting on her. And my lady? Did he think he was a noble?

Sadly, Raccoon did not get stabbed. She walked right past him without so much as pretending she'd heard.

An adventurer who'd been sitting quietly in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a corner, watching the whole scene, sneered. "Heh heh. Dumbass. Love the look on you. I had his number back when he started panting after anything pretty on the strength of that face."

The small-minded laugh at those who try, or so they say—calling the prize a flower on a cliff, sour grapes, rationalizing it all to themselves. The only ones mocking Raccoon were the adventurers who couldn't even work up the nerve to speak to Eline.

I was different. Me. Goat. The man who was going to be the greatest. A man who held it a disgrace not to try.

I stepped past the petrified Raccoon and stood in front of Eline.

"How about a party with me, Eline?"

I might be a miserable Bronze Plate right now, but before long I'd be soaring. Tomorrow's me would be worth more than today's, and the day after's me worth more than tomorrow's. A man at his floor. Goat. That was me.

Eline, who hadn't spared Raccoon so much as a glance, lifted her head slightly and met my eyes. For an instant the inside of the hood lay open, and I saw them.

Eline's pointed ears.

She was an elf.

She must have been hiding her ears under the hood to keep that fact concealed. Honestly, I was shocked out of my mind. In this world an elf was as rare as a dragon—rarer, maybe. But I, who do not go around announcing that sort of thing, am quite the gentleman.

"Why..."

Seasoning my nerves with Raccoon's half-wail, I waited on pins and needles for Eline's answer.

"You. What is your esteemed name?"

"Goat."

"A foolish name."

"Ah, is that so. Your way of talking's pretty foolish too, Miss Eline."

Maybe she simply hadn't been speaking the human tongue for long. There was something a little off about the way she talked. The adventurers around us, hearing me, looked ready to faint. Mouthing off to an adventurer of higher rank than yourself—that was about the feeling.

Eline scrunched up her face. Even that was a work of art.

"So what. Did you chip in on this weird way of talking? And you can drop the polite speech."

She was an elf as cool as she was beautiful.

"Oh yeah? Got it. So, you gonna party with me?"

Eline looked me over from head to toe. Running her own little hiring review, maybe?

"Hm... I don't party with anyone weaker than me."

With that, she walked out of the guild building.

I froze in the posture of a man who'd just spoken to her. I hadn't seen it coming, and it hurt.

"Mr. Babar, Mr. Ext, Mr. Marchen—please head to the clinic first. You look like you're in a lot of pain. Mr. Goat, you look like it's your feelings that hurt, so the clinic is up to you. Anyway, this way for a moment."

Sonya fished me out of the swamp of despair. We followed her up to the reception room on the second floor.

"You three, sit here and wait."

Sonya said that and left her seat. Gone to fetch the branch master, most likely.

"What do you think they'll give us for compensation?"

Babar was curious.

"First off, they owe us for the gear that got wrecked. Medical costs on top of that."

An adventurer is made of equipment and a body. So long as those two are intact, getting by isn't much of a problem.

"The guild's reputation is on the line too, so they'll cover at least that much."

"Hearing that does put the mind at ease."

"Be better if we can squeeze out more."

Soothing the lot of us, as angry as we were, was going to take a very large sum of money. I left the taciturn Ext where he sat and went on chatting with Babar, until a knock came and a man stepped in. Sonya was with him.

"Pardon the intrusion."

The branch master was exactly the image I'd expected. A sturdy, compact build, a scar carved into his right cheek. The limp suggested he'd retired from an old injury.

"Axel, Branch Master of the Baikal Adventurer Guild. I'll come straight to the point. I've come about your compensation."

Circling around a point was something we'd have declined on our end as well, so this was welcome. Adventurers are like that. Spend your days beating monsters to death, and eventually even the brain packs in with muscle.

Ext, who hadn't said a word until then, opened his mouth.

"Hehe, suits us just fine. What sort of compensation did you have in mind?"

"Free replacement of the equipment damaged in the course of the quest, and medical expenses."

At the branch master's words, Babar asked carefully.

"...Is that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all, by any chance?"

"Of course it isn't."

The branch master gave Sonya a look, and she held a sheet of paper out to the three of us.

"...What's it say?"

Babar couldn't read.

"Let's have a look."

"Hhk..."

"What, what, what is it."

"It says they're paying fifty silver apiece?"

At my words, Ext shot up out of his seat.

"Thank you!! Thank you!! Fuck!!! Glory to Baikal!!!"

"Huh..."

I was just as stunned by the sum. Room and board at the cheap inn where I was staying came to forty copper. I could do absolutely nothing and still idle and eat for more than a hundred days. Factor in the new gear, and this was an enormous windfall. I could move to a better inn with the money. Or I could set it aside and trade up my equipment later.

A good weapon produces excellent performance, and excellent performance generates more profit. A truly insane virtuous cycle. Keep saving like that, and someday I could offer a donation to the Magic Tower and ask them how to get back to Earth. Even without going all the way to the Tower, a three-year-old would know that good gear is a tremendous help to staying alive.

"The Adventurer Guild feels a great responsibility for this incident. I guarantee nothing of the sort will happen again."

For a man of a branch master's standing to bow his head and offer a courteous apology—it was the very model of a perfect apology.

"Well, we didn't die in the end, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so it's fine."

I felt as if the body that had been aching in every corner was completely healed. So this was financial healing?

"Ahem. And I have one proposal."

Axel took a sip of water and went on.

"You will have heard it from Miss Sonya here. Lately the goblins, and monsters in general—the rate at which they appear has been rising."

The branch master asked us to take on a survey of the forest south of Baikal.

"Of course it will not fall to you alone. Before long the guild will issue a request to every adventurer."

He would, however, pay us more than the official commission. This, too, was part of the compensation, or so he said.

"Reasonable pay, and I mean to grant you bonus points when you sit the Silver Plate promotion review."

Or, instead of the bonus points, he could simply pay more. The branch master added that as well.

Silver Plate!

It had already been a year since I fell into this world and became an adventurer, and I was still Bronze Plate. Baikal was a small territory; there simply hadn't been that many quests to begin with. If you can't stack experience, how are you supposed to level up? In short, the branch master was offering the likes of us an experience potion. With this bonus on the table, a promotion to Silver Plate might actually be worth gunning for. And once I had a Silver Plate, I could leave for another territory. A Silver Plate serves as identification.

"Could I take more of it in pay instead?"

"Of course."

If I meant to lay my bones in Baikal, taking the money instead of the rank-up boost wasn't a bad trade.

"The particulars, Sonya here will explain."

With that, the branch master limped out.

Thud.

The moment he was gone—

"Kiiiii-yohooooo—!!!!"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!!"

"Uhellellellellel!"

The three of us celebrated, each in his own way.

"Focus, please."

"Yes, ma'am."

The mission Sonya laid out for us was simple.

"Mr. Marchen is injured, so I'll assign you one more party member."

"Yes, that's fine."

I answered for the other two, who were still too excited to half-listen.

"Come by the guild by nine tomorrow morning."

With that, we went back down to the first floor.

"Then I'll see you all tomorrow."

I parted from the party, returned to the inn, and ate some slop that might have been stew and might have been pig feed. Then I washed in a hurry and slept.

The next day, I headed for the Adventurer Guild.

"Good morning."

I greeted Sonya in a refreshed mood.

"Yes, yes. Looks like everyone's gathered."

Babar and Ext had already reported for duty.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

For some reason, Raccoon was with them.

"Because he'll be taking the search mission with you, Mr. Goat."

"Tsk. That so."

Even so, Raccoon wasn't a bad pick. The bastard was a racist, sure, but he was someone you could leave your back to. Having no ranged damage dealer in the party nagged at me a little, but it was only a scouting job, so it would be fine.

"Does everyone remember the request?"

"Of course."

"Anything at all to do with monsters—if you see something suspicious, please report it right away."

"Set your worries aside."

"Then I'll issue your equipment, so follow me."

We received the new gear in the same second-floor reception room as yesterday. Worthy of a forge under contract with the guild, the quality was excellent, and I liked it.

"Tch. I was about due for new gear myself."

Raccoon seething only made me more satisfied.

"Shall we head out, then?"

Seasoned adventurers all, our preparations were flawless. A short check of the gear, and we passed through Baikal's gate. After about an hour of walking, the mouth of the southern forest came into view.

"No matter when I come, this place is downright creepy."

Fitting for a place where every kind of dangerous monster lived—I hadn't even stepped into the forest, and already I had the chills.