In the end, I ended up holed up inside the Sefuti Home for about two days.
「…I really drank too much. Three bottles of whiskey, seriously…」
The day before yesterday, I was completely out of commission, and yesterday I hogged the unit bath so long that Ladarion got mad at me. In the end, I gave up and spent four hundred thousand yen to install an extra toilet.
「The air outside tastes good.」
There was no longer any trace of the goblins’ stench, and the scent of the trees felt like it was cleansing my overworked liver.
「Looks like Muggle’s been practicing with his slingshot every day.」
At some point, an improvised shooting range had been set up, with all kinds of targets lined up.
It was still around eight in the morning, so Muggle and the wives weren’t here yet. Gorg and the others usually started work around this time too.
「Ladarion, take me to Gorg’s place.」
Whenever I went to the giant village, I had Ladarion carry me, otherwise, I risked getting crushed. Safety first. Pride comes second. Third and fourth don’t exist. Only survival matters.
「Ah, master!」
Just as we reached the village entrance, Muggle came running up to me.
「Morning. Sorry for leaving you on your own.」
Yeah, I know. I’m a lousy master.
「It’s fine! The slingshot’s so much fun!」
「Good. I’ll probably be away again for a while, but keep practicing until you can hit your target every time.」
「Okay, got it!」
I watched Muggle run off cheerfully before heading into the village.
When I got to Gorg’s house, a man who looked completely exhausted was slumped over the table. What happened to him?
「We’ve been searching for goblins day and night. After seeing how many there were, we couldn’t take any chances.」
Romy explained on Gorg’s behalf.
「So, did you find any?」
My detection skill still picked up some, but not even forty of them. Nothing too dangerous.
「Doesn’t look like there are many. But since there were so many before, we’ve decided to stay on alert for a while.」
「Makes sense. Well, if that’s what the village decided, keep at it. Goblins always seem to pop up from nowhere, after all.」
「…That’s why goblin hunting’s such a pain…」
Ah, so he ‘was’ awake.
「Come on, at least you made some money, right? Let’s see your card.」
When I took the card from Gorg, it had 3.7 million yen on it. That was a fortune.
「You look tired, so we should save the details for later. Ladarion, bring out the wine.」
I had Ladarion use the Aport Pouch to pull wine from the Sefuti Home.
「Give it to the villagers. Leave the bottles for the women here, they can eat and drink as they please.」
I handed out about thirty bottles of wine as encouragement.
「You brought plum wine too?」
「Yes. I brought extra. Drink enough to not get too drunk.」
Not that I was in a position to lecture about hangovers.
「I’m heading out for goblin extermination again. Take care of the place while I’m gone.」
「Are you going to be gone long?」
「I’ll try to be back in seven days, but it depends. If the Adventurers’ Guild gives a reckless request, I might not be able to return.」
「Understood. I’ll take care of things.」
Romy and the children saw us off and we left the village.
After a while I returned to the Sefuti Home to get my gear.
Because of the hangover I couldn’t do much, so the gear I could ready quickly was either the shotgun or the SCAR. Since it was just the two of us today, I took the KSG shotgun and had Ladarion equip the SCAR-L.
I kept the Aport Pouch on me and had Ladarion carry the backpack.
Don’t call it “for the girls”. Almost everything in that backpack is food. Most of it belongs to Ladarion, so of course Ladarion carries it.
Finally, I put on my poncho and stepped outside.
We walked for a while, passing green, growing wheat fields, when I picked up a few goblin signatures.
「They shouldn’t be eating the grain yet. What are they eating?」
「Probably mice.」
「Mice? Goblins eat mice?」
「Romy said it. Goblins are a nuisance, but they eat the field mice.」
I suppose goblins can be useful sometimes. Still, it’s a mixed blessing. I can’t imagine they only eat mice. They probably nibble crops too.
「Shall we exterminate them?」
「No, let’s not. Today my goal is to go to the Adventurers’ Guild.」
I still hadn’t completely sobered up, and my motivation was low. Besides, the town was nearly ten kilometers away. I couldn’t afford to waste my energy or time.
As we got closer to the town, the crowds thickened, and the stench grew worse.
「Ladarion, are you okay? If it’s too much, you can wait outside the town.」
I’d made her wear a mask with a built-in filter that cost about four thousand yen, but even that probably didn’t help much. With her heightened sense of smell, it must have been rough.
「…I’m fine. I’ll go with Takato…」
She sounded strained, but it seemed she didn’t want to be left alone, so she chose to come with me.
I nodded and passed through the town gate.
Perhaps overwhelmed by the number of people, Ladarion started clutching my poncho.
Holding hands would’ve been too embarrassing, so I just kept walking, and once again, the church up ahead was hosting a donation drive. Was this a daily routine or something?
「Ah, mister!」
Just as I tried to slip past unnoticed, the same kid I’d donated to before spotted me. Damn it.
I didn’t have the guts to ignore him after being seen, so I reluctantly dropped another silver coin into the box.
「Thank you!」
「Just a whim. No need to thank me.」
Having donated, my conscience was clear, so I walked off without hesitation.
「You did that before too?」
Ladarion tugged at my poncho and asked. She sounded… upset?
「Yeah, on my way back from the Adventurers’ Guild. It feels wrong to just walk past something like that.」
Seriously, having kids handle the donations is dirty play. If it were adults, I’d have no problem walking right past.
「…I see…」
「Something wrong?」
「Nothing.」
Her tone didn’t sound like “nothing”, but I understood enough not to pry.
I brushed it off and walked into the Adventurers’ Guild.
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