Goblin Remnants
The moment I stepped out of Sunset Hearth, the outside air hit me before the leftover smell of food could follow.
My stomach was comfortably full, my body was clean and refreshed, and though the bruises still throbbed, they were far better than they'd been that morning.
Not bad. Or more precisely—I was close enough to being ready to get thrown around again and still hold up.
Kaya spoke the second she cleared the restaurant door.
"Straight to the guild."
"Can't we at least digest a little first?"
"Garen looked you over this morning. From here on out, you work."
"Well… yeah, work's work."
"Want to sit this one out, then?"
"No? Absolutely not."
Mari cut in from the side with a snort.
"You're such a drama queen."
"Isn't working right after eating the real problem here? Don't you people have a labor union or something?"
"A union…? What's that supposed to be. Anyway! Do you think adventurers are freeloaders?"
That was fair enough that arguing felt pointless.
So we headed straight back to the guild.
It was around lunch, and the place was busier than it had been that morning. The reception desk, the board, even the rest area—everything was moderately packed. As we pushed through the crowd, a few more stares latched onto us.
"Look. That outsider's back."
"Guess he really did stick with Roy's party."
"Looks like they're heading out again today?"
I pretended not to hear. Whispering behind my back was nothing new. I wasn't idle enough anymore to waste energy on every scrap of it.
Kaya stopped in front of the quest board. Request sheets nailed to the wood crowded every inch of it.
Bounties, transport, gathering, escort, patrol, subjugation.
There were so many words that my eyes swam for a second. Kaya skimmed only a few, then pulled one free without hesitation.
"This one."
"What is it?"
"Goblin remnants on the northeast outskirts of the settlement. Not that many of them, and the distance isn't too bad."
"Nice. Perfect for this guy's level, right?"
Mari jumped in.
"Mari, you were cutting it pretty close yourself yesterday, weren't you?"
"What did you just say?"
"Both of you, quiet."
Kaya walked straight to the reception desk and handed over the request. Luce took the papers, scanned them, then looked up at us.
"Northeast outskirts goblin cleanup."
"Yeah. The three of us."
"I'll process Roy's absence as a temporary formation, same as before."
Luce's gaze flicked toward me for a moment. Our eyes met again, very briefly.
That short contact was startlingly clear. She looked back down at the documents almost at once, but the corner of her mouth had lifted, just barely.
What a suspicious woman.
"I'll add Siyun's name as well."
"Wow. This actually feels like going to work."
"You look pleased."
"A little, yeah?"
Luce smiled softly and added,
"Have you geared up?"
"We're heading there now."
Kaya said.
"Then I'll open the rental ledger for you too."
The equipment storage area was less impressive than I'd expected.
No gleaming named blades, of course—just rows of cheap gear meant to be beaten half to death and still work.
Wonder if this place has workers' comp… probably not. Kinda screwed, then?
From the lot, I picked out an iron sword of moderate weight. Not quite a full longsword, but long enough that calling it a short blade would've been a lie.
I grabbed a battered scabbard to go with it, and a pair of leather arm guards. While I was wrapping the scabbard strap around my waist and cinching the guards, Mari watched from the side and clicked her tongue.
"Looks decent enough."
"Right?"
"Until you open your mouth."
"That's harsh!"
Kaya checked the gear once and nodded.
"That'll do. I'll put yours on the ledger."
"Sweet~"
"You're paying it back."
"Yes, ma'am."
It had looked fine enough, but the moment it settled at my hip, the weight announced itself. For some reason it dragged up memories of combat marches back in the army. A K-2 got sneaky-heavy if you held it long enough, and this thing had its own dense pull.
Once we were ready and stepped out of the guild, the air near the village gate felt a little different than before.
The sun was still high, but just knowing we were heading outside made my body tense first. The armor and the sword might have been part of it—I was a little warmer than I should have been.
Hmm… is it summer?
The two guards at the gate looked up as we approached.
"Kaya, Mari. Where's Roy?"
Kaya answered shortly.
"Recovering. Just the three of us today."
"That so? Bringing the outsider too?"
"Yeah. Temporary attach."
"Whoa~ What was Garen thinking, approving a temporary attach like that?"
Mari jumped on the guard's comment at once.
"That's what I'm saying."
One of the guards looked me over, then jerked his chin.
"Don't die."
"Yes, sir. Kind of a rough pep talk, though?"
"It isn't a pep talk."
Mari huffed a short laugh.
We walked straight out of the village.
The air outside was quiet. The smell of people thinned; grass and earth came in stronger. A breeze cut through the trees once, and somewhere a bird burst up in a short, startled flight.
Ahh~ that phytoncide smell!
The path underfoot felt more uneven than it had on the way in.
We hadn't walked long. Still, by the time the village noise had fully fallen away, Kaya spoke first.
"I'll say it again."
"Yes."
"Mari opens with the first strike. I handle healing and basic support from the rear. And you—"
Mari cut in and finished for her.
"Stop anything that slips our way. Plug the gaps. Don't go charging ahead alone trying to look cool."
"Come on, I would never."
"Goblins are weak, but they're dangerous in a pack."
Kaya said.
"One of them looks easy. Two or three latching on at once is a different story."
"So… I cover the gaps, no solo heroics. That right?"
"That's right."
"Understood."
The weight of the iron sword at my side felt sharper all of a sudden. It was scary—but not something I could just carry around either. From here on, I had to use it properly.
A little farther in, the first wrong sound reached us.
A low, short snickering. The underbrush stirred.
Kaya lifted a hand at once—stop.
We halted together.
Below a shallow slope at the forest's edge, three goblins.
One was rooting around the base of a tree; the other two were cackling over something between them. They hadn't seen us yet.
Mari murmured, barely audible.
"Three."
"Confirmed."
Kaya answered.
"I'm going."
"Yeah."
Flame gathered at Mari's fingertips. This time it wasn't rushed like before. She steadied her breath, fixed her eyes, and raised her hand in a short motion.
Whoosh!
A fireball arced through the air.
Boom!
One goblin took it square in the chest and went flying. It hit the ground already burning, thrashing and screaming as it rolled.
The other two were the problem.
One threw itself sideways on pure reflex. The other looked straight at us from the spot the flame had grazed.
"Kyaaaak!"
We'd been made.
"They're coming!"
Kaya shouted.
I drew the iron sword almost on instinct.
Shing.
Ahh… that cold, heavy feel… heavier than I thought.
Definitely heavier than a dagger. But the sensation wasn't entirely foreign. The memory of Garen rapping my wrists with a wooden staff came back sharp.
Feet.
Eyes.
Openings.
One goblin charged straight at me, clutching something like a short spear.
I was scared. But my body moved before the fear could catch up.
It came in thrusting.
I didn't take it head-on. Half a step to the side, iron sword angled up, and I let the spearpoint glance off.
Clang!
Metal rang short and sharp. My palm buzzed, but I didn't give ground.
Its upper body opened right after.
Now.
I drove the sword in almost on pure instinct.
It felt nothing like stabbing with a dagger. The iron blade was heavier, duller, shoving through flesh and organs as it tore its way in. It sank far deeper than I expected, and the sensation was far more horrific than I'd braced for.
The goblin's pupils blew wide. It staggered, flailed once more, then collapsed.
"Good!"
Kaya's voice snapped across the short distance.
In that same breath, the last one changed direction. Not toward me—toward the rear. Toward Kaya.
"Shit!"
I twisted my body at once.
The goblin charged Kaya with a short blade in hand, and she was late pulling up her Holy Power.
I tightened my grip on the sword and drove in from the side like a tackle.
Garen's voice rang in my head.
Upper body lifts.
Feet.
Wrist.
I dropped my stance a fraction and shoved the blade in short and sharp.
Under the arm the goblin had stretched toward Kaya, into the side of its torso—the sword went in.
Thuk!
It screamed and twisted.
In that instant, a small light flared at Kaya's fingertips. My vision flashed once, and the goblin's movement locked for a beat.
Enough.
I twisted the blade free and stabbed again, this time for the throat.
Thuk.
It went down and stayed down.
A brief silence.
The one still smoldering from the fire was already still. The two at my feet were finished too.
The forest went quiet again, but this quiet was different from before. The tension of a fight just ended lay thin across the top of it.
"Huuu…"
Only after I let the breath out did I notice my hands shaking. Goblin blood dripped steadily from the tip of the iron sword.
Heavy.
My wrists throbbed too.
My hands didn't lock up the way they had the first time I killed a goblin. The hesitation, the guilt—both had clearly thinned. But that didn't mean I felt nothing. The sense of cutting a living thing short with my own hands hadn't fully gone away either.
Just before the thought could dig any deeper, Mari spoke first.
"Better than I expected. A lot better."
"Is that a compliment?"
"…I'll call it one for now."
Kaya turned her eyes toward me as well.
"Your movement's improved a lot since the first time I saw you."
"Oh—after just one day?"
"Yeah. Short as it was, the training shows."
"Oh… so that's the Garen violence effect."
"Stop talking nonsense and catch your breath first."
Somehow, those words felt good.
I let out a pointless little laugh.
Mari was already crouched down, slicing open a goblin's chest with short, efficient cuts.
"Well. Don't just stand there staring—come help."
"…Yes, ma'am."
I dropped down beside her.
Inside the chest, near the core. When I reached in, my fingers closed around a murky gray-green Mana Stone. One from the second goblin. One from the third.
"Three."
I held the three Mana Stones out on my palm, and Mari nodded.
"Good. Settlement won't be a problem."
"Already?"
"Yeah. We can do it as soon as we hit the guild."
"Hell yeah! Day's wages secured!"
"What are you even saying."
Kaya scanned deeper into the woods once more.
The wind shifted by a hair. The sound of leaves brushing came from somewhere farther in.
"Are we heading back?"
I asked.
Kaya thought for a second, then said,
"No. We're fine to keep going a little longer."
Mari's head came up right away.
"Good. Let's push a bit deeper."
I adjusted my grip on the sword again.
As if what we'd just done was only the start, the forest held a deeper, heavier silence.