I approached the child while staying alert for the Rosquito and nudged for a reaction with my foot.
「…Uu…」
Oh, alive. Since there was no bleeding, they must have been knocked out after being blown away.
「Ladarion. I’ll carry the child. You handle the lookout」
It felt wrong to leave the kid beside the splattered sheep and the splattered Rosquito, so I moved a bit farther away.
I placed the H sniper on the ground for now, lifted the child in a princess carry, and moved them. This kid was light. The sunburned face was thin. He probably did not even weigh thirty-five kilos.
Even I could carry them easily, so he had to be extremely light. Was he not eating properly?
I laid the child down behind a rock that offered decent cover and checked for injuries.
There were no bruises on the head, body, arms, or legs. But internal bleeding was still possible, so I summoned a bath towel to place under his head and draped a thin blanket over him.
There was nothing else I could do until they woke up, so I returned to check on the Rosquito.
「Has it moved?」
「No. It’s not moving. Completely dead」
Good. If something like that survived, I would need to walk around with an anti-materiel rifle from now on.
「So, what should we do?」
I could not call the police, and I was not sure if leaving it was acceptable. Or maybe I should have Ladarion return to her original form and bury it. What was the right thing here?
「Takato」
While I was thinking, Ladarion shook me and pointed.
I looked in that direction and saw a group on horseback riding toward us.
「Keep your weapon pointed down. But do not let your guard down」
「Okay」
I pointed my P90 down as well but kept my finger on the trigger.
The ones who arrived looked like adventurers in their thirties. They carried swords and bows and had the presence of seasoned fighters.
「You the one who did this?」
The man who seemed to be the leader dismounted and asked while keeping his hand on his sword.
「Yeah, that’s right. We were hunting goblins when we saw a Rosquito flying. We judged it dangerous and took it down. There’s an injured child behind that rock. Please take care of it」
The leader ordered one of his men to go check. He had impressive command.
「You’re that Takato guy, right?」
「Yeah. From Rusul-san?」
「Yeah. Heard there was a man and a kid who specialized in goblin hunting. I wondered what you were like, but you’re tough enough to kill a Rosquito」
「If I look like a tough guy, then your eyes are bad. I’m just a man who relies on his gear」
「Heh. Being able to use your gear well is a kind of strength too, Goblin Killer」
Goblin Killer? Wait, that was supposed to be me? What a lame alias. Not that I wanted to be called Goblin Slayer either.
「So, what should I do with the Rosquito’s body? I only hunt goblins, so I don’t know anything about this sort of thing」
「Strip the materials and then burn or bury it」
「You can have the materials. Could you handle the disposal? We earn money from goblin hunting so we don’t know how to harvest parts and don’t need them」
「Understood. We’ll take care of it. But we have our pride, so we’ll pay you a share」
「If that works for you, I have no objections. Do as you like」
「Deal struck. Everyone, get to work」
They must have been adventurers for a long time because they worked efficiently. And they used fire magic. Amazing.
Seeing flames burst from a palm made me excited.
「Magic, huh. Must be nice to use it」
I had failed to protect my chastity and could not become a magic user, but if I could shoot fire I might have kept it. I wanted to say something cool like “Burn” while lighting a flame.
I pushed that thought deep down and headed toward the child.
「How is he?」
One of the men had his palm glowing. Ho○mi? Ke○ru? Was it a Heal spell?
「Looks like he took a strong hit. It was pretty bad, but thanks to the quick treatment he should recover without issue」
I never expected magic to be this amazing. Maybe I should find someone who can use healing magic too.
「…U… ah… e…?」
The child woke and looked confused at the sight of us.
「Stay resting. We’ll notify the shepherds’ guild」
So, sheep were raised under a guild. Different places, different customs.
At some point another man had already run off to inform them, and several men wearing clothing like Mongolian traditional outfits came rushing over.
「We’ll leave the sheep to you. Carry this child gently. He just recovered and their body is still weak」
The healer gave instructions quickly and calmly. Every one of them was a capable member of the team.
「Y-yes. Thank you very much」
We left the child in their care and walked back toward the group’s leader.
「We’ll return ahead of you and report to Rusul-san. Come by later」
「Understood. We’ll head over at our own pace」
The adventurers arrived swiftly and left just as swiftly.
「…If adventurers like them exist, it would be nice if they handled goblin extermination too…」
If they were that strong, clearing goblins would be easy. They could probably handle not just five thousand but even ten thousand.
Complaining wouldn’t change anything. If they could do it, they would be doing it already. Since they couldn’t, a novice like me had been asked instead.
「Ladarion. Let’s go」
「Okay」
I picked up the H sniper I had left behind and we headed toward the town of Mars.
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