To the Western Fortress
"Um... I didn't get a proper look back then, so I can't be exact. Still, I'll tell you what I know..."
Runesa set her fork all the way down. Simply calling the memory back seemed to frighten her; her face darkened.
"The area around the fortress was quieter than I expected. I thought it was safe, unlike the rumors—but while I was passing the fortress, I saw a skeleton carrying a sword that glowed blue."
A skeleton swordsman. So she'd actually run into that thing.
"I was sure I was going to die, so I ran. The structures around the fortress started breaking apart, and skeletons came bursting up out of the ground..."
Runesa squeezed her eyes shut.
"Haaah. I figured it was one or the other. Either they caught me and killed me, or my heart burst while I was running."
"That was nearly the end of you."
So it really was that bad. Close enough to what I remembered.
Before you entered the fortress, you fought the skeleton horde; then you went in and fought the skeleton swordsman. Hearing it told aloud made it sound dangerous, and yet it wasn't so different from what I knew. That, at least, was a relief.
"Yes, truly... I barely got away, and then I ran into goblins on top of that. I thought I was done for."
"Couldn't even beat goblins, and you were wandering around out there alone."
At Levan's words Runesa looked a little wronged. Her eyes grew moist, and she shook her head.
"I was just so out of breath from running that I couldn't fight at all. I'm not that weak..."
"Oh, is that so? Haha."
Levan laughed and poured her a drink.
"I-I can use magic, too. I'm slow at it, but I can."
"Magic?"
When I asked, Runesa's expression brightened a little, and she nodded.
"I have a spellbook I received from the count's household. I can cast with it. The count said that even with a spellbook, not just anyone can use one. Hehe."
A spellbook. Right. In Darkland, equip a mercenary with the right gear and they could use skills. I'd even stuck spellbooks that wouldn't sell on mercenaries like Runesa.
So she's roughly usable as a mage, then...
"A mage would be a big help."
"Ahaha. I'm hardly worthy of being called a mage."
"Come with us."
At that, Runesa's eyes went round.
"T-together? ...You mean that fortress?"
I nodded. Runesa pressed her lips tight and looked at me with eyes that all but radiated betrayal, so Levan chimed in, teasing.
"Yeah, good idea. You didn't think this drink and this meal were free, did you?"
Runesa flinched. She clasped her hands together, and they trembled faintly.
"Ah, um..."
She looked at me, flustered, and seemed to think it over for a moment. Then she let out a small breath and nodded.
"If I'm with the two of you, I think I'll be all right."
"That's right. Stick with Selen and you won't have to worry about coin. She may not look it, but she's good at finding work that pays."
Levan patted Runesa's back and set a fresh bowl of mutton stew down in front of her.
"Eat more."
Runesa eyed the food that was not free with open wariness, but soon she picked up her spoon and ate.
"...It's really delicious."
The way she ate so happily was cute. Cute enough that I wanted to keep her at my side, and I ended up smiling too.
"I'll keep feeding you things like this."
It was a promise I had no confidence I could keep, but I'd said it anyway.
Runesa nodded, looking moved. If the kid could just pull the weight of one person, the difference in what we could take on would be enormous. Of course, if she produced nothing, hauling an extra mouth around was no small expense. If I didn't want to end up abandoning her later, things would have to go well.
We spent about a day on recovery. Gear went in for repair, and with nothing to do but eat and sleep, I could feel the money in hand vanishing fast. Going out to gather herbs and ending up in a fight with gnolls had been a truly unexpected expense.
When the repaired armor came back, I put it on and looked over the parts that had been fixed: the abdomen and chest, stabbed and scraped by clubs, and even the trousers sliced open when my own blade had been forced back. On top of that, they'd said a buckle had snapped when I was thrown to the ground and had to be put back on.
"Did they really have to do this?"
Only the buckle gleamed, conspicuously new, and it bothered me.
"Hah... I can't relax."
I looked at Runesa, asleep in the next bed. That tiny thing eating so much was a problem in itself. People really aren't something you take in lightly.
"Runesa. Get up."
"Mm... Ah, yes, ma'am!"
She was on her feet the moment I called. Seeing her smile the instant she woke made me smile without meaning to.
"Get ready to head out. We're going today."
At the news that we were setting out for the western fortress, Runesa swallowed hard and nodded, her face tight with nerves.
"Get ready and come out. I'll be outside."
"Yes, ma'am!"
I stepped out of the inn first. Levan was waiting.
"So today's finally the day."
"Nervous?"
Levan shrugged.
"Well, aside from it being a little dangerous, we should be fine."
Then he looked at me, brow faintly creased.
"And don't you dare overdo it in there."
"I know."
"I heard that skeleton swordsman is insanely strong. There was a rumor he was the knight who used to guard the place."
He must have been worried enough to go around asking at the tavern. Still, it seemed he'd come away with something that mattered. As far as I knew, that skeleton was a knight who had died defending the fortress to the very end. An undead of knight caliber was not an opponent you took lightly.
"If you overdo it again this time, I'm ditching you and running. Just so you know."
I stared at him, and Levan looked away. Then he glanced toward the inn and waved.
Runesa came running toward us, loaded down with baggage.
"Why'd you pack so much?"
"I bought supplies with the silver you gave me. It's a dangerous place... I got antidotes and restoratives, and camping gear too."
She gripped the straps of her pack and smiled with confidence.
"This kid's exactly the type we needed."
I nodded at Levan's words.
"Let's go."
Heading west, I thought of the gnolls we'd met before. They weren't creatures you ran into all that often, and we didn't encounter any while passing the village today.
"It's that way."
The road Runesa had fled along. Follow it, and it would take us to the fortress.
"We might run into goblins again on the way, so stay alert."
We passed the village and entered the forest. The woods around the village had a wide path cut through them, so you could see quite far. It still felt like a place where people had lived. Fences lined the road, and broken farm tools, left where they'd been used, were still in sight.
"Should we pick up some of the fruit?"
Small fruits had fallen from the trees growing beside the path.
"Leave them and the animals will just take them anyway."
At that, Levan looked at me with a furrowed brow.
"What."
"Don't overdo it. Keep this up and you'll get rich."
I picked up a few of the firm red fruits. They tasted a lot like apples, and they were good. Can't he tell?
Follow the road a little farther and a small river soon came into view; follow the river, and the place where we had first met Runesa appeared just as quickly. When I'd gone to save her I'd been running too frantically to notice, but so long as no monsters showed up, it was still a peaceful, beautiful stretch of country. We crossed the river over the bridge where we had fought the goblins before.
"There was a goblin village near the river. I think it would be better to go a way that doesn't run into them."
"Goblins aren't really a problem. What do you want to do?"
They weren't a problem, but there was no need to waste strength right before a big job.
"Then guide us whichever way keeps us as far from them as we can get."
"Yes! Understood!"
Following Runesa's lead, we walked toward somewhere the goblins probably weren't. If there was a village, we'd have to clean it out eventually.
"But weren't there some of those goblins that got away alive back then?"
Levan brought it up out of nowhere. Now that he mentioned it, we hadn't finished them all off when we saved Runesa.
"There were."
"Hmm. Then it might be a bit dangerous, no? Those things will remember your faces."
Even so, goblins weren't much of a concern. It wasn't a story that put me on edge, but at Levan's words Runesa looked at me uneasily.
"You mean they might take revenge?"
"That sort of thing happens quite a lot."
Levan said it with a laugh, and Runesa immediately scanned the surroundings, tense.
"More than anything, Selen's the one in danger, don't you think? They'll throw their lives at her before they come after you."
They remember the human who killed their comrades, and they take revenge. That is the frightening thing about goblins.
"And they can't keep their hands off themselves the moment they see a pretty human woman..."
"E-even if it comes to that, I'll help."
"I wouldn't count on it."
Hearing Runesa's trembling voice, which was not reassuring in the slightest, I couldn't help but laugh.
Just then, a small sound came from the brush beside the path. Anyone could tell it was something small moving through the bushes. Goblin. The thought came at once.
"Hold on."
"Yes?"
When I stopped, Levan frowned and drew a dagger.
"Knew something felt off."
"D-don't tell me they've actually shown up?"
Runesa's face went white, making a mockery of the will to fight beside us she had shown only moments ago. I nodded, and she fumbled a book out from inside her clothes.
"Can you use it right away?"
"...Yes. I-I'm not confident, but... a fireball should be possible."
"Get it ready."
Fight counting on even a single spell, and the weight of the fight grew considerably lighter.
"Selen, I think it's over there."
Levan pointed at the brush, and as if in answer it shook more violently.
"Anything around here I can throw?"
He looked about and picked up a rock the size of his palm.
"They'll come right out."
He set himself as if he meant to throw the stone with everything he had.
"Here goes."
—whoosh!
The stone flew with a sharp crack of air and whipped into the brush as if sucked in.
"Kyek!"
It must have struck true. A scream rose from the goblin lying in ambush, and in that instant the ones who thought they'd been found came out from every side.
"Wh-what is this?"
"Uh... th-there are way too many of them."
The ones surrounding us looked to be more than ten. One of them even held a staff.
"That's a shaman, right?"
Levan's voice had gone noticeably more serious, as if the sight had tightened him up.
"Yeah. From the look of it, it can probably raise the dead ones too."
"Ugh. Undead already?"
Revive the other goblins all it liked—it still couldn't do a thing about its own life. That was the limit of a goblin shaman.
"Runesa, ready?"
"Yes."
She answered quietly and looked at me, sweating.
"The one with the staff. Try to hit it. We'll handle everything after."
Runesa nodded, and in that moment a fireball bloomed in front of the spellbook.
"Oh, so this is magic? First time I've seen it."
"Be quiet."
The instant the fireball formed, the goblins seemed to sense the threat and rushed us.
"Loose it!"
With my words, the fireball flew straight for the shaman standing in the middle.