That day I did not meet the village chief. I left the village, walked for a while, and then returned to the Sefuti Home.
I spent the rest of the day trying not to think about anything. Before bed I hit the sandbag, worked up a heavy sweat, washed it off in the shower, and drank a can of beer. I fell asleep feeling good.
When I woke up the haze in my head was gone, and I got ready for the day.
「Ladarion, check the fields. I will head there after I speak with the village chief」
「…Are you alright?」
「I’m fine」
Ladarion looked worried, so I answered with a smile. If I do not switch my mood, I will only get myself killed. I will not drag yesterday with me.
I equipped the Benelli M4 again, slung on my backpack, and stepped outside.
No one was on the road, and I could not sense any goblins within a kilometer. They were completely on guard against us now.
When I entered the village, Bais-san was there. Maybe he is the one in charge of Buzz Village.
「Takato-san!」
As soon as he saw me he ran toward me. What now?
「Thank you so much! You saved my daughter!」
His daughter? Then that child from yesterday was his. What a coincidence.
I calmed the sobbing Bais-san until he settled down.
「So, did you hunt the goblins that were in the village? It seems like they are gone now」
「Yes. I searched the whole village and killed them. I never thought they would slip all the way into the village」
He said they often show up at the fields, but it had been around ten years since they last invaded the village itself.
「They appear out of nowhere. They can show up anywhere」
「Yes. The village was careless. We decided to start doing patrols from now on」
That was good. Seeing children get hurt is painful.
Bais-san guided me to the village chief. I asked about what happened after I left yesterday and told him that the goblins had disappeared from the fields.
「I figured there were quite a few of them, but four hundred?」
「Yeah. After clearing that many they managed to escape though」
「They really are troublesome monsters. They run away so quickly that we are always at a loss」
All the village chief could do was complain. I understood why, but he seemed to have built up a lot of frustration.
「If there are no goblins in the fields when I check today, I will head to the town of Mars tomorrow」
「…I see. That is unfortunate」
He probably wanted me to stay, but he should understand that things would not function unless the goblins were exterminated. All he could do was show how disappointed he was with his whole body.
「Then I will patrol the fields and hunt goblins on my way to the town of Mars」
I said that and left the village chief’s house.
「I will report to the town of Mars as well」
「Yes, please do」
I wanted to ask about the child, but I avoided the subject on purpose. I went down from the back of the village into the fields and headed toward the vineyard where the grapes grew like blueberries.
The vines here were low and there were no weeds, so there were no goblins at all. Since there was nothing, I could do in these fields, I left and followed a narrow farm road heading north.
There were no goblins, but there might be other monsters, so I stayed alert as I walked. On the roadside I saw a group who seemed to be adventurers picking herbs.
Was this that thing? The classic beginner quest where adventurers gather medicinal herbs?
They also noticed me and stopped picking, turning in my direction.
「I was sent by the Guild Master of the Adventurer Guild to hunt goblins. If you see any around here, I would like you to tell me」
The moment I mentioned the Guild Master, their tension faded and I could see their shoulders relax.
「If it is goblins, they are in that mountain」
The adventurer pointed, and I looked in that direction.
A mountain rose there, maybe a hundred meters tall, covered mostly in broadleaf trees.
「Thanks. What request are you working on?」
「We are collecting Kotormu」
I had no idea what that was, but I nodded like I understood and told them to be careful before parting ways.
I already knew there were many goblins even before entering the mountain, but the plants and undergrowth were so thick that it looked hard to get inside. I might need to bring the machete for this.
I searched for an opening to enter and luckily found an animal trail. I went in and, once my whole body was hidden, returned to the Sefuti Home. When I did, I found that Ladarion had come back as well.
「Taking a break?」
「Yeah. There were no goblins so all the walking made me tired」
「Me too」
While resting, we opened our handmade maps and checked each other’s positions.
「Want to meet up and tackle this mountain together?」
Ladarion was still near the vineyard, but judging from the position, she was less than a kilometer away. It would not take long to meet up.
「Okay」
So, I had my faithful Ladarion come to me.
「Alright, I am counting on you」
Once she returned to her true form, I had her clear the mountain path with the machete.
I followed behind Ladarion as she swung the machete, and whenever we found goblins I blasted them with buckshot.
By noon we had taken down thirty, and after lunch we took down another thirty.
「Takato. I can see a town」
It was evening and I was thinking of stopping when Ladarion grabbed me and lifted me up.
「That is probably the town of Mars」
It was surrounded by walls that were not very tall, but the town itself was a decent size.
Around it I could see white animals scattered around, probably goats or sheep. Maybe livestock was common here.
「Let’s have Genghis Khan tonight」
Just looking at them made me crave Genghis Khan.
「Jingiskan?」
「It is a dish where you grill lamb on a rounded iron plate. Good meat tastes great」
The Genghis Khan place we went to for drinks was delicious.
Ladarion’s stomach growled loudly.
「Haha. Alright, let’s head back」
「Yeah!」
She put me down and we returned to the Sefuti Home.
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