Looking at it with the city as the center, the Roble District seemed to be located to the west.
To the west was the town of Mars, and Roble District was one of the five districts there.
By the way, Lasagna Village was located to the northeast, and its official address was something like Lasagna Village, Rang District, Misrim Town.
The distance between towns and cities was about ten kilometers, which you could walk if you wanted to, but carriage wagons traveled back and forth regularly. The fare was three copper coins one way. A round-trip ticket cost five copper coins, which was cheaper.
While we were listening to the Margrave Koraus’ goblin situation, a guide for the Roble District arrived.
He looked to be in his mid-thirties and seemed like someone who worked mainly in clerical jobs rather than physical labor.
「Rusul. Sorry for calling you out when you are busy. I need you to guide Takato here and…」
「My partner, Ladarion.」
Right, I had not introduced her. My mistake.
「Guide Takato and Ladarion to the Roble District. The two of them specialize in goblin hunting. They have been registered as provisional adventurers. The guild is grateful for their work, so we decided to cooperate. The town of Mars should support them as well.」
「Specialists in goblin hunting. That is quite admirable.」
「The founder was a great mage who had a deep grudge against goblins. I heard he threw all of his assets into creating a goblin extermination business.」
That was the story we were going with.
「…I see. Whether that is true or not, if you are willing to hunt goblins, it is a great help to us.」
「He may seem stiff, but he is reliable. If you need more people, visit the Mars Town Adventurers Guild branch.」
So, in other words, get manpower from their side. Understood.
「I am Takato. Pleased to work with you.」
I stood up and gave Rusul a small bow.
「I am Rusul, assistant branch manager at the Mars Town Adventurers Guild branch. Pleased to work with you as well.」
He placed his right hand on his chest and bowed.
「We will leave right away. Is that alright?」
「Yes. No problem.」
So, we headed behind the Adventurers Guild, where a box wagon and three cargo wagons loaded with many people were waiting.
「Please get on one of the empty cargo wagons. We will depart soon.」
There was no detailed explanation, but we were not looking for one either. We climbed into an open cargo wagon.
As soon as we boarded, it departed. We passed through the same gate we had used a few days earlier when we first came here.
While watching the scenery roll by and thinking, I walked this road before, I sensed goblins hiding in the bushes.
I had not noticed it last time, but there were definitely more goblin presences here. Why?
The wagon turned off the main road at some point. While I continued watching the scenery and sensing goblins, ruins appeared.
No, maybe it was an abandoned settlement. It looked like it had been left alone for a long time. Grass and trees had grown wild, and I could sense goblins all over the place.
Is this the Roble District? I wondered, but the wagons did not stop. They passed straight through the ruins before finally coming to a halt. What?
The people riding with us were murmuring in confusion about the wagon stopping. After a short while, Rusul came over.
「From here, this man, Bais, will guide you to the Roble District. Bais is from Buzz Village in the Roble District, so I will have him speak with the village chief. If anything happens, send Bais to me.」
So, he was not taking us all the way there. Well, since our main goal today was reaching the Adventurers Guild, I did not mind treating this as a travel day.
「Understood. Thank you for bringing us this far.」
We stepped down from the wagon, and I thanked Rusul.
「Apologies for only taking you partway. We also have others we need to transport.」
I told him not to worry, and we parted ways with Rusul.
After watching the wagons leave for a while, I turned to look at the guide, Bais.
From his leather jacket and the sword at his side, he was clearly not the same type as the men riding in the wagons. He was probably a member of the Adventurers Guild.
「I am Takato. This is Ladarion. Please guide us.」
「I am Bais, a guild employee. I look forward to working with you.」
After a brief introduction, we started walking toward Buzz Village.
「Bais. What were those ruins earlier?」
I asked about what had been on my mind.
「They were the old domain capital. Two hundred years ago it was attacked by a horde of monsters. They were unable to demolish it and left it abandoned, and it eventually became a goblin nest.」
They regularly send adventurers in to clear them out, but the plants have grown too thick and tangled, so they cannot eliminate them as well as they want. By the way, the men from earlier were miners.
「Goblins also appear in the mines, so it causes real trouble. They rummage through food stores and dig through leftovers as they please. Even I, a transport worker, get called out often.」
They really should put more budget and manpower toward goblin extermination. While they can still recover the damage.
After walking for about thirty minutes, we reached a vineyard.
「Are grapes the specialty here?」
The vineyards stretched over a wide area. It was too large for local consumption.
「I would not say specialty, but we do export them to nearby territories. Still, goblins appear here too and it causes trouble. If possible, it would help us if you reduced their numbers before the autumn harvest.」
There did not seem to be any in the fields right now, but the ruins earlier were crawling with them. They had completely made that place their home.
After another thirty minutes of walking, Buzz Village came into view.
It looked like a village of about two hundred people, surrounded by a fence, with wooden houses built close together.
「The buildings are really close to each other.」
「Children get kidnapped by goblins, so we surround the houses and let them play in the center.」
I see. That was how they protected and raised their children.
「There is no inn here, but if you need lodging I can speak with the village chief.」
「No, we will be moving while exterminating goblins, so we will be fine. We will start with the goblins hiding around the fields and work our way toward the ruins. We will leave the goblin bodies where they fall, so can the villagers take care of the cleanup?」
「That will not be a problem. If it means getting rid of goblins, it is an easy task.」
After getting his agreement, he led us to the village chief. He introduced us and explained that we had come for goblin extermination.
「We will be making loud noises while dealing with goblins, so please inform the villagers.」
「Understood. We will leave the goblin hunting to you.」
Thanks to Bais, everything went smoothly, and we began by clearing the goblins in the fields.
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