Goblin Slayer, Vol. 4 Read online

  There was an empty bread plate in front of her. At his seat, there were beans, bacon soup, and bread.

  Rookie Warrior opened his mouth in confusion, closed it, then opened it again.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “Ahh…”

  It seemed like if he said anything else, he would just make her angry again.

  And there’s no need to fight first thing in the morning.

  He took a spoon and brought some soup to his mouth. Apprentice Priestess gave a hmph.

  “And your clothes. Are they still hanging behind the stable?”

  “Oh, uh, yeah.” Rookie Warrior nodded. He took a bite of hard bread and swallowed. “They weren’t dry yet.”

  “Okay, give them to me later. That stink will never come out the way you wash them. I’ll do it for you.”

  “Oh, uh…sorry.”

  “I don’t want to end up stinky just because I hang out with you.” And then she turned away from him.

  The failure of their last outing had been entirely his fault. “Sorry,” he murmured, focusing on his food.

  He tore off a piece of bread, dipping it in the soup. When it was good and soggy, he scooped up some bacon with his spoon and ate everything together. The soup was thin and tasted mostly of salt. He ate without a word, dutifully.

  If the guy who was supposed to be the shield was so hungry he couldn’t move, what would their small party do then? This was another part of his job.

  All finished, he tossed his spoon on top of his empty plate and nodded.

  “Okay. Weapons.”

  “It’s a waste just to leave that sword down there.”

  “No, but listen,” he said back, pouring some water from the carafe on the table into his glass. “I need a weapon if we’re going to go back and find it.”

  “And do you have the money?”

  “About that…”

  He gulped down his water. Apprentice Priestess reached for the carafe at the same moment he did, so he filled her glass.

  “Thanks,” she said, putting both hands around her glass and bringing it to her lips. “You don’t have any, do you? Money, I mean.”

  “Maybe I could borrow…”

  “Stop that. Don’t take on any debt.”

  “Nah. I mean loaner gear or something.”

  Borrow a weapon. He thought about some of his acquaintances, wondering if any of them would be willing to lend something.

  It might be easy enough to get his hands on a dagger, but that didn’t inspire much confidence.

  And to borrow anything like a longsword—like the one he’d lost with a single swing—would count against him.

  Trust was not such an easy thing to come by.

  He was just giving a deep, involuntary sigh when…

  “Hm? What’s up, kid? Pretty early in the morning for such a long face.”

  The lighthearted comment sounded above him.

  His head jerked up. He saw an adventurer carrying a spear that glinted in the light.

  The tag that hung around his neck was Silver—the third rank.

  “Oh, uh, well…”

  “I’ve got a date, by which I mean an adventure, so I don’t have long. But I’ll listen while I can.”

  Rookie Warrior suddenly found himself lost for words. Spearman, renowned as “the frontier’s strongest,” beamed a friendly smile toward him.

  The young warrior swallowed. Next to him, Apprentice Priestess jabbed an elbow into his side. He nodded resolutely.

  “Uh, actually, I…I lost my weapon on our adventure yesterday.”

  “Oh yeah?” Spearman frowned instinctively. “That’s rough,” he said, his voice tinged with apparent sincerity.

  “I want to go get it back, but I don’t have a weapon, so…I was thinking maybe there was a chance someone would loan me one…”

  “A spare you can borrow, huh? …I’ve got some extras, so I could let you use one, but…” Spearman looked Rookie Warrior over from head to toe, then concluded: “I’m not sure you have the strength for it.”

  “Erk…”

  The slightest sound of embarrassment escaped him.

  Rookie Warrior was thin and flexible, but in terms of muscles, he was no match for Spearman.

  They just had different body types. Naturally they would use weapons of differing weights.

  “And if you lost this one, too, I’ll bet you couldn’t pay me back.”

  “True, yes?” Even he can’t bring himself to extort money from a junior adventurer.

  A beautiful woman appeared at Spearman’s side, quiet as a shadow except for her murmured words.

  She was a witch who wore clothes that accentuated her full, voluptuous figure. Apprentice Priestess found her face turning red, and she averted her eyes.

  “And a magical weapon, would surely not, suit you well, no?”

  A loaner magical weapon?!

  Rookie Warrior’s eyes bulged as Witch whispered and giggled.

  For a beginner like him, metal armor was the stuff of dreams. A magical weapon might as well have been distant legend.

  I hear you can find them in ruins and labyrinths if you’re really lucky, and I do see them for sale occasionally.

  But they were several digits too expensive for him to ever think of owning one.

  “So instead, let me, give you something, good.”

  Witch retrieved something from her neckline with an elegant motion—a single candle.

  It didn’t appear to be the usual white, but bluish—which was, on close inspection, because of the colored letters covering it.

  The profusion of characters was carved into the candle in a flowing script that Rookie Warrior could not decipher.

  “It’s…” Apprentice Priestess blinked several times. “…a candle?”

  “Yes.”

  Witch winked and lowered her voice as if she were revealing a deep, dark secret.

  “This, see, is a seeking candle…When, you near, the object of your search, it gets, warmer. See?”

  A magic item. Rookie Warrior swallowed hard.

  There was no need for them to use it themselves. If they sold it, it would bring in more than enough for a good sword…

  “Feel free, to, sell it—turn, it into money.”

  Her smile seemed to see right through him, and Rookie Warrior found himself staring at the ground. Apprentice Priestess gave him another poke in the side with her elbow.

  “Oh, um. I, uh— Th-thanks. Thank you very much.”

  “Not, at all. A little, something, to help.”

  Rookie Warrior received the item hesitantly as Witch wore an amused expression and smiled.

  “Well, then. We have our…date.”

  “Yep. Don’t die, kids.”

  Spearman gave Rookie Warrior’s hair a parting ruffle and set off at a jaunty pace.

  Witch followed right behind him through the Guild doors.

  Rookie Warrior set his right hand on his head, where he could still feel that powerful palm.

  “…They’re so cool.”

  “Yeah.” Apprentice Priestess allowed herself a whisper. “Perhaps…”

  §

  “Uh-uh, nope, no way!” In the grassy field behind the Guild, Scout Boy was seated and waving his hands frantically. “I lost my own dagger recently. The one I have now is borrowed. If I lent it out, Cap would kill me!”

  “You lost it? What happened?”

  “It got dissolved by a giant slug.”

  “What are you doing?” the rhea Druid Girl asked, raising her eyebrows.

  “A giant slug, huh? Lucky you…”

  Rookie Warrior pursed his lips, receiving an elbow in the side from Apprentice Priestess. “We’re Porcelain-ranked, while they’re in a Silver party. We can’t compare.”

  “You were killing giant rats, right?” Scout Boy asked. Rookie Warrior frowned and nodded.

  “And I lost my sword doing it.”

  “You’re just lucky it wasn’t a
one-of-a-kind item.”

  Scout Boy glanced up at where Heavy Warrior was swinging his massive two-handed blade.

  There was a whoosh as it sliced through the air, and then a thud as Female Knight leaped in.

  The two-handed sword prevented him from carrying a shield, but the ease with which he wielded it was a testament to the magic power he’d been given.

  Strike, block, hit, parry, slam, overhead swing, deflect, cut, repel.

  His weapon was finely crafted, as was his armor. The shine of the carefully worked weapon was unmistakable even in the sunlight.

  “…Wish I had one of those.”

  “One of what?”

  “That greatsword,” Rookie Warrior said, resting his chin on his hands. “A two-handed blade.”

  “Forget it,” Apprentice Priestess said, her eyes widening. “Even if you had one, think what would happen.”

  “Yeah, whatever.”

  “Does she mean he’d only ever cut thin air?”

  “She means he’d never hit anything.”

  Scout Boy and Druid Girl’s chatter caused Rookie Warrior to turn away in annoyance.

  “If I did hit something, though, it’d be awesome.”

  “Those weapons are so heavy, you’d be exhausted before long.”

  “But I’d look really cool.”

  “And they’re not cheap, either.” Apprentice Priestess wagged her finger reprovingly at Rookie Warrior, and there was nothing he could do but keep quiet.

  “It’s like she cast Silence on you!” Scout Boy barked a laugh. “Boy, has she got you under her thumb!”

  “Oh,” Druid Girl said with a quiet snort and a calm expression, flicking her leaf-shaped ears. “As though you wouldn’t waste all our money if I didn’t hold the purse strings.”

  Scout Boy had brought the rebuke on himself. He gave a click of his tongue, and Druid Girl nodded in satisfaction. Then she asked, “Hey, what if you asked the Guild for advice?”

  “You mean about borrowing a weapon?”

  “No, how to kill giant rats. Maybe they have some tips.”

  “Hmmm.” Apprentice Priestess made a low sound. “I wonder if it could be that easy.”

  §

  “I’m afraid it’s not that easy.”

  Of course not.

  Guild Girl shook her head slowly at Apprentice Priestess, putting her hand to her cheek and looking troubled.

  “I thought not…”

  “We ask adventurers to do it because it’s not easy, essentially.”

  “If anyone could do it, there wouldn’t be any work, huh…,” Rookie Warrior said. “Oh, one antidote, please.”

  “Of course, here you go.”

  Apprentice Priestess took the proffered bottle and stowed it carefully in her item bag. At least the bitter memory of when she had run and tripped, shattering one inside her pack, served a purpose.

  “Say, how about a healing potion?” added Guild Girl.

  “I’d love one, but…you know, the money… Do you have any bandages, or herbs, or ointments?”

  “It really isn’t that easy, is it? Still, though…” Guild Girl cleared her throat with an air of importance. “There may be something I can teach you…”

  “Really?!” Rookie Warrior rattled his chair as he leaned out over the counter.

  It was past noon, and there were few other adventurers to be seen in the Adventurers Guild.

  Most of them had already selected their quests and set off enthusiastically for adventure.

  Rookie Warrior and Apprentice Priestess had waited until this moment to ask for help, and they would have hated to go home without so much as a single hint.

  “Anything! Anything at all!”

  “Well, it really is a very obvious idea…” Guild Girl raised her pointer finger, which emphasized the neatly trimmed nail. “Strengthen your defense. At least have some chain mail, or something similar, so the rats and giant roaches can’t bite you.”

  “But we don’t have any money…!” All of Rookie Warrior’s excitement dissipated, and the chair clattered again as he slumped back, his voice utterly dejected.

  Guild Girl leaned her head to the side, causing her roughly braided hair to spill down.

  “You can get a slight discount if you buy used equipment.”

  “Don’t they get that from dead people?” Apprentice Priestess asked a bit coldly, and Guild Girl made a how rude sound of displeasure.

  “Some of it comes from retired adventurers, or people who traded up. We don’t carry anything cursed.”

  “But you do have items from dead people, right?”

  “Well, we… But never if they became undead…” Guild Girl looked hesitant for a moment. But soon she wore her smile again. “Anyway, gear is gear, right?”

  Rookie Warrior heaved a sigh.

  And no money is no money.

  “Any other ideas…?”

  “Let’s see… Oh, are you using a lantern?”

  “Yes, the one from the Adventurer’s Toolkit,” Apprentice Priestess said a bit wearily. The Adventurer’s Toolkit contained rope, a lantern, chalk, and several lengths of chain, all in one place. So far, only the lantern had been much use to them, and she sort of regretted buying it.

  “There are people who use a torch instead of a lantern, because it doubles as a weapon.”

  Guild Girl mentioned with a smile that rats and insects both despised fire.

  “What kind of adventurer would do something like that?”

  “Well, for one—”

  Guild Girl stopped suddenly, and it was as though a flower had bloomed across her face.

  Rookie Warrior followed her gaze, finding the entrance to the Guild.

  The saloon-style doors creaked open, and the nose-prickling odor of iron came wafting in.

  It was hard to blame Rookie Warrior for the “Ergh” that escaped him.

  A most curious adventurer appeared in the entrance.

  He wore a cheap-looking steel helmet and grimy leather armor, a small shield was tied to his arm, and a primitive club hung at his waist.

  He was the adventurer called Goblin Slayer.

  “G-Goblin Slayer, sir, I told you, it’s too soon…”

  “Is it?”

  A priestess in white vestments soiled to a gruesome red-black came hurrying in after him.

  Goblin Slayer’s reply was brief. He acknowledged the two at the reception counter, then started walking with his bold stride. He sat down on the bench in the waiting area with a thump. Priestess collapsed next to him.

  Guild Girl, wiggling her fingers down by her side in a sort of signal, squinted as if to say, It can’t be helped.

  “You have to clean up. I’m always telling you. People will misunderstand,” she grumbled. Then she noticed the expressions on the faces of Rookie Warrior and Apprentice Priestess. “Are you two all right?”

  “Oh, we, uh…”

  “Um…” Apprentice Priestess scratched her cheek awkwardly. “We said something rather…rude, before.”

  She was talking about something from several months earlier, but the event was still fresh in their memories.

  They had thought he might be trying to use his rookie companion as bait.

  Now it seemed like a terribly inappropriate thing to think, but at the time they had been convinced they had to rescue Priestess.

  “Ah!” said Guild Girl with a giggle, catching on. “I’m sure it’s fine. He doesn’t let those sorts of things bother him.”

  “Yeah, but it bothers us…” Rookie Warrior said, and then blinked. He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. Something was off.

  The newcomer wore a cheap-looking steel helmet and grimy leather armor, a small shield was tied to his arm, and a primitive club was at his waist.

  A club?

  “…Doesn’t he use a sword?”

  “Now that you mention it…” Apprentice Priestess looked in Goblin Slayer’s direction, too. “…I guess he does. A really cheap-looking one, though.”


  “Yeah, you’re right.”

  “And that girl is covered in blood spatters…”

  What in the world happened? The young pair looked very worried, but Guild Girl only gave a chuckle and a smile.

  “Wondering about them?” she asked, pointedly tapping some papers against her desk to straighten them. “The best way to learn about adventuring is to ask an adventurer.”

  “S-sure…”

  But that person was Goblin Slayer.

  Then again, he was also an adventurer of the third, Silver, rank.

  But…he was also Goblin Slayer…

  “…Okay, then!”

  It was Apprentice Priestess who stood up with all the enthusiasm she could muster.

  “H-hey, what—?”

  “Asking,” she said, staring fixedly forward, “costs nothing!”

  Then she left the floundering Rookie Warrior and started marching forward with an air of determination.

  Rookie Warrior glanced at Guild Girl. She was still smiling.

  “Aww, man…!”

  Now Rookie Warrior rallied himself and stood.

  Guild Girl’s expression, of course, never changed.

  §

  “Umm…,” Apprentice Priestess called out, eliciting only a tired “Wuh?” from Priestess.

  It was clear she had just finished an adventure with Goblin Slayer. Apprentice Priestess frowned, only now realizing that she should have chosen a better time.

  “What is it?”

  “Eep…”

  And on top of that, there was that low-pitched, dispassionate, almost mechanical voice.

  The steel helmet moved slowly, with a piercing gaze beyond the visor. The man’s armor was covered in dark bloodstains.

  He really does look like living armor or something…

  With that rather untoward thought in her head, Apprentice Priestess swallowed.

  “Uh— Um!” Rookie Warrior broke in as if to cover for her. He ignored her complaint of Just a second! and continued in a familiar tone.

  “There’s something we’d like to ask you…if it’s okay.”

  “What is it?”

  Goblin Slayer’s reply was brief, and it was delivered in that same low-pitched voice.

  Next to him, Priestess’s head was bobbing from side to side.

  “Quietly, please.”

  “Oh—erk… S-sorry…” Rookie Warrior replied in a strained voice. His hands were stiff, and shaking a bit from nervousness.