Dancing with the Goblins (8)
When the solidly built branch chief came down, every eye in the room swung to him.
"I—there was a huge number of goblins coming toward Baikal!!!"
The adventurer, who gave his name as Frederick, said it with his whole body shaking. He'd been out on a job digging herbs that grew a little deeper in the forest, and on the way back to Baikal after a pleasant stretch of gathering, he'd run into the same goblins we had seen.
Hearing that, the branch chief turned to me.
"Goat. The goblins you saw—were they heading the opposite way from Baikal?"
"That's right. They were moving deeper into the forest. That much I'm sure of."
He nodded, then looked back at Frederick.
"Did you get an exact count?"
"Th-that is..."
The way he hemmed and hawed, he'd clearly been too shocked to do anything but bolt. He looked too soft to keep his head after seeing that grotesque goblin army. No wonder he hadn't even thought to count them—just panicked and scrambled all the way back.
"So in the end we don't know the numbers, and we can't even be sure they're marching on Baikal..."
The branch chief had it right. The goblins had been heading toward Baikal, yes. But there was no telling whether they were actually moving to attack, or simply drilling and had happened to be pointed our way.
Raccoon sidled up beside me.
"Hey. What do you think's gonna happen?"
"What else? We call the adventurers up right now and get out there."
In a sense, we were being made to pay in advance. The information was uncertain, so we could have taken a little more time to prepare and put a proper subjugation force together—the Adventurer Guild's rule, after all, was to cross-check several reports before it acted. But if the goblins really were marching on Baikal, then every moment we spent hesitating would be precious time thrown away. That slim possibility left us no choice but to move fast. Human lives were too precious to set on a scale against a mere maybe.
Hearing me out, the branch chief wore a peculiar expression. Then he called for Eline and me.
"Eline. Goat. The two of you, come up to the second floor for a moment."
Eline and I climbed to the reception room—familiar by now, and more than a little tiresome.
The moment he sat, the branch chief got straight to it.
"We're short on time, so I'll be blunt. Do you think it's better to meet the attack here, or the other way around?"
It wasn't a question that needed thinking. I answered at once.
"We go out. Obviously."
"And why do you think that?"
"Even if we die, dying outside buys the people inside the walls time to run."
Baikal was a small territory, and its walls were pathetic at best. Still, having them was better than having nothing. But if—just if—we fought with our backs to those walls and lost?
"Best case, we advance and crush them first. Next best, even if the subjugation force falls, the people of Baikal get out."
"Pretty sharp, you goat."
The branch chief nodded as if he agreed.
"I think the same."
"So how are you going to build the subjugation force?"
At Eline's question, he offered his own answer.
"Baikal's Silver Plate adventurers number five, including you, Eline. I'm thinking of building the squads around those five—and you, Goat."
The Silver Plates were more than capable of leading a squad. But me? Why?
"Branch Chief, I'm a Bronze Plate. There are plenty of Bronze adventurers with more experience than I have."
"True enough. Merhen, Kale, and Audrey are fine adventurers too."
He took a sip of water and went on.
"But among them, I believe you're the best. Your raw strength may be somewhat lacking, but you've taken on countless jobs without losing a single party member, and you don't flinch when you fight monsters—you hold the very front and don't give ground. Even inside the guild, your reputation is good. That's why I think you're the right man."
You may not realize it yourself, he added, but you're carrying the hard role of tank remarkably well.
I was grateful to be thought of so kindly. Squad leader, though, was a dangerous seat. Back in school they used to say a class president who did the job well only broke even. I wasn't keen.
As if he'd read my mind, the branch chief sweetened the deal.
"I won't ask you to do it for free. Complete this mission as squad leader, and I promise you a promotion to Silver Plate."
Silver Plate! The moment that sweet word hit me, I couldn't think straight. This was nothing short of a jump ticket that force-leveled me on the spot. Just as leveling up let you pour more into stats and skills and strap on better gear, becoming a Silver Plate started with the quest payout shifting from six parts adventurer and four parts guild to seven and three. Lower fees on equipment. Access to higher-grade commissions. If you wanted, you could even lodge at inns partnered with the Adventurer Guild at a reasonable rate. In short, you spent less and earned more. On top of that, the minimum jobs per week dropped from two to one. Being counted among the guild's core fighting strength came with real perks. No wonder every Bronze Plate dreamed of rising to Silver.
Squad leader was undeniably a hard post. Turning down a reward like that was harder still.
"You have my undying loyalty!!"
"I am also in favor."
"Thank you."
After that, everything moved at a sprint. They would wait for the adventurers returning by the end of today, form the subjugation force tomorrow morning, and set out at once. For those resting between jobs, people who knew them would go and pass the word.
"Oh, right. What about sending Raccoon as a messenger?"
The branch chief let out a heavy sigh.
"Hm... I'm sorry to do this to Raccoon, but I don't think we can. We're so short-handed even a cat's paw would help. Tell him for me."
He had to go see the lord the moment he finished with us, so he wouldn't have a spare moment.
"Mm, don't you worry. I'll tell the little raccoon nicely."
"Thank you. Then let's get moving."
Eline and I followed the branch chief as he hurried downstairs, and we returned to the first floor.
There was a minor scene of Raccoon howling when he heard the news. Even so, the adventurers who got the word stayed calm in the middle of the confusion. After One-Eye and his crew had died last time, it was as if the water had cleared on its own. Some of them were even steeling themselves.
"Yeah. When this fight's over, I'm definitely confessing to the girl at the flower shop."
But that hopeful chaos vanished the instant Sonya announced the leader of each squad.
"Wait, a Bronze nobody as squad leader?"
"And a rookie with barely a year under his belt?"
I could understand the reaction. My stomach already ached at the trouble waiting ahead. Still, it was some comfort that Sonya took my side.
"If you've got a complaint, take it up with the Branch Chief yourselves. He's the one who made the picks!"
Her snap quieted the uproar somewhat, but the low muttering didn't stop. Raccoon, maybe worried, leaned in.
"Hey. You okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be? If they've got a problem, they can take the Branch Chief one-on-one."
"Then we ought to head out and get ready, too."
"Let's."
Eline, Raccoon, and I pushed through the crowd and left the guild. The place was a din—people pouring in to hear the news, people sprinting out to carry the mobilization order to adventurers on their day off, people arguing every which way about what it all meant. We bought field rations and the usual supplies, then parted for our own lodgings.
The next morning, the subjugation force assembled before Baikal's southern gate. The five Silver Plate adventurers and I stood at the very front. Behind us, each squad had seven Bronze Plate adventurers and five of the lord's private soldiers.
"...Fuck, fuck, why is our squad the only one with a Bronze for a leader."
"How the hell should I know, you piece of shit. Take it up with the branch chief."
I could hear the squad grumbling. I ignored it. The day they'd be moved by my overwhelming command presence wasn't far off.
We stood there waiting, and the lord appeared atop the wall. It was a send-off, so he meant to say a word. Eline, standing beside me, muttered as if surprised.
"The lord didn't run off, either."
"Right? I was sure he would have fled."
The lord's soldiers had at least received something you could call training; they stood in a rough line. We ignorant adventurers had no such thing. We just clumped together and stood wherever.
"All right, everyone—attention!"
The branch chief bellowed it. Sure enough, there was a gravity to him befitting an adventurer who'd thrown his weight around in his prime.
"Before we march, the lord will speak! Listen well, all of you."
Time was short, so the address wasn't long. Whew. If this other world had come with a school principal, I might have died of boredom. Roughly, he would remain here and fulfill a lord's duty even if it killed him, and he asked us to do our part in subduing the goblins. His way with words wasn't exceptional, but there was a resonance that came from sincerity.
The lord's son stood before the gate as well, listening to his father with a resolute face. He was coming with us to hunt the goblins, or something like that. Because that was a noble's duty. Though I had to wonder if the young master had ever actually swung that longsword. His forearms were skinny as hell.
The adventurers' previously flippant faces turned grim. Each of them steeling themselves in their own way, I supposed.
"Responsibility, my ass."
Raccoon said it quietly.
"Hey, hey, shut up. Can't you see the mood's good right now? Get caught saying that and it's the death penalty."
"Responsibility's nice. But if everybody's dead, none of it means a thing. The most precious thing is your life."
Whatever he was so bitter about, Raccoon sneered up at the lord and his son. Well, he probably had some miserable past or other. I wasn't particularly curious. Whether Raccoon liked it or not, we advanced toward the forest.
"Up until yesterday, I thought it was peaceful."
The human heart is a sly thing, just as Raccoon said. When nothing's on your mind, you look at the woods and call them peaceful. The moment you decide something's happened, the very same trees turn grim as a grave.
One of the squad members following behind me spoke up.
"Boss, how long you figure the hunt's gonna take?"
"What's your name?"
"Patrasche."
"Oh, right, Patrasche. I don't know either. I'm a tank, not a fortune-teller."
"But I heard the boss has some kinda miraculous ability. Can't you work something out with that?"
"No. You little shit."
We pushed on with our guard up, but it got us nothing. When the light failed, the subjugation force set about making camp.
"Fuck—Lord above!!"
"God our Father, who art in heaven, look down with mercy upon me who has marched out to subdue, and grant that those wretched little creatures may do me no harm..."
The drawing of lots had begun, to decide who would stand the night watch from hell.
Raccoon, assigned to my squad, drew a twig.