Goblin Slayer

The idea was enough to make her head spin, but she knew it would be pointless to object. Once her group got an idea into their collective head, they wouldn’t be dissuaded—and it was true that they didn’t have any money.

Warlock looked back down at her spell book, but she was acutely aware of the others watching her silently. So they thought this was settled? Yeah… It was probably settled.

Oh, for… I just… Arrgh!

§

“Bah, fine!” an adventurer shouted, shoving back her chair and heading for the reception desk. Priestess watched her from where she sat in the waiting area.

Actually, it wasn’t quite accurate to say either that she sat or that she watched. She was continually standing up anxiously, pacing around, then sitting back down before repeating it all again. And she wasn’t specifically looking at anything so much as simply allowing light and sound to reach her eyes and ears—she probably didn’t even really hear the conversations.

She had bigger things on her mind.

“Urgh… Urgh… Urrrrghhh…” She seated her slim behind on the chair once more, restlessly, and fiddled with her golden hair. She’d been like this all morning—she wished she’d spent a little longer checking herself in the water’s reflection. “I wonder if I look okay…”

“Oh, you’re fine. You don’t have to worry quite so much.” Inspector, the sigil of the Supreme God hanging around her neck, smiled gamely and answered the question for the umpteenth time. She may have served a different god, but she was just like Priestess in that she was working hard to move forward—she was just a little farther down the path. She wanted to see all these boys and girls work hard and grow strong. However, it was her policy not to particularly encourage or chastise anyone. If they asked for help, she would help them, but anything more struck her as meddling.

Anyway, when a person was entering on the middle ranks, it was high time she should be used to this sort of situation.

“The Temple of the Earth Mother in the capital asked for you personally. I get why you’d be nervous.”

“Of course…”

Still, Inspector thought (as if it had nothing to do with her), it was a bit much to thrust on her so suddenly. Word of their little event had somehow reached the capital, which had indicated that they would be sending an observer and that the person was to be shown suitable hospitality. And to show that hospitality, they’d picked this girl, as readily as if she’d had an arrow pointing over her head.

Inspector was used to these big-name visitors; receiving them was all in a day’s work for her. In fact, she sort of liked it—it got her out of doing paperwork for the duration—but maybe adventurers didn’t feel the same way. Between this and the talk of the dungeon exploration contest recently, Priestess must have been at risk of buckling under the pressure.

“You should be thrilled. This means they know your name all the way in the capital.”

“Yeah, that’s, uh, great… You don’t think it’s really Goblin Slayer that they recognize?”

It was less humility than simple fact to say that Priestess herself wasn’t all that important. Anyway, it was pretty typical for the warrior to be the most prominent member of a party, followed by the wizard, then the priest, and lastly the scout. Notwithstanding the good dark elf ranger of legend—or striders, who were basically as celebrated as warriors… Or a priest of great eminence whose name was known far and wide from the frontier to the capital.

“You adventured in the capital once, right?”

“Yes…”

“Well, maybe that’s when they found out about you,” Inspector said. In her view, though, it didn’t really matter what the reason was. They’d asked for Priestess, which meant her reputation wasn’t a bad one. Having one’s name widely known was the ultimate boon for an adventurer.

“The Trade God tells us: Seize every opportunity and don’t let go. Now an opportunity’s fallen into your lap—you’d sure better take it.”

The next quest, the next job, the next adventure. Fighting and growing. Then pressing even farther ahead. Inspector clenched her fist for emphasis, but her lecture seemed a bit lost on Priestess.

“Are you embarrassed that you’re famous?” she asked.

“Not really. It’s more like…I’m not sure I can live up to their expectations yet.” Priestess looked deeply uneasy, but then an awkward smile worked its way onto her face. “I’m trying my best to tell people
I can do it
when I know I can.”

“That’s what it comes down to, isn’t it?” Self-confidence was so important. You couldn’t get by on humility alone. On the other hand, it wouldn’t do to become a preening diva, either; there was always a bigger fish. And when you didn’t know about someone’s circumstances, then arguing about whether their achievements were down to luck or ability was, well…

“People will say what they want. All you can do is work hard to help things turn out well.”

“…It’s tough, isn’t it?” Priestess glanced in the direction of Heavy Warrior—no, Female Knight. Or was she looking at someone who wasn’t there? Was she looking for Witch, perhaps, or even Goblin Slayer? “All the accomplished adventurers look so amazing to me. I can’t help wondering if I could ever catch up with them.”

“You’ve got it backward. They’ve all learned to
look
amazing.” Inspector cackled. “It’s just for show!”

As a Guild employee, she knew the stories behind the legends. How the renowned knight errant had nearly died on their very first adventure, how the bold cleric’s sword had been melted, leaving her in tears. Her famous one-hit kill hadn’t actually killed in one hit, leaving the party’s scout to finish off the monster.

“Everyone’s the same deep down inside. All of them.”

Inspector realized this might have been the first time she’d had a conversation like this with Priestess. She’d talked to Priestess’s friends—Guild Girl, Padfoot Waitress, High Elf Archer, the girl from the farm—but one-on-one like this… Maybe it was simply another roll of the gods’ dice.

In the Four-Cornered World, the dice could change people’s wills and fates. Just like they might direct meetings and partings. That being the case, she wanted to do her best to build good relationships…

“Oh!” Inspector’s thoughts were interrupted when Priestess looked up.

The bell over the door of the Adventurers Guild jingled, and two people came in. One was a nun, her healthy brown skin visible under her habit; she was laughing jovially and waving.

“Hullo there! Sorry for the wait. It’s been so long since I’ve been to town—can’t blame me for getting distracted!”

The woman’s voice was as bright as the sun; Priestess smiled and got to her feet. “Oh, not at all…! Thank you for coming out today. Wait—you’re the one they picked for a guide?”

“Mm-hmm. I’ve been itching to get out of there anyway. So boring. It was the perfect chance.” And she had seized it, just like Inspector had been talking about. Priestess giggled.

Inspector, appraising the women’s relationship as she observed the exchange, constrained herself to a polite bow. It would have been uncouth to break into their conversation, and the nun likewise only nodded.

“I’ve got to say I was surprised, though,” she said. “The world seems so big—until it seems so small!” She played with a stray black curl. (Wasn’t her wimple supposed to hold all her hair?)

“I’m afraid I’m not sure what you mean,” Priestess replied, inclining her head.

“No worries, then,” the nun said with a grin. “Anyway, guess I’d better start by introducing our esteemed visitor. Please welcome our friend from the temple in the capital…”

Priestess took a sharp breath and blinked. Inspector likewise exclaimed, “Hoh!”

“Hello! I’m here!”

The girl who peeked out from behind the nun was quite lovely—and the spitting image of Priestess.

§

“Er, uh, yes, y-you’re here… Why are you h—?”

“Shh! Shh! Shhh!”

Before she could get the words out, Priestess found the girl practically jumping on her, pressing a finger to her lips. Feeling the softness of that body, seeing her own face so close to hers, Priestess immediately felt her cheeks flush.

“L-listen, I didn’t run away this time, and I’m not here just to have fun. I swear…!”

Priestess nodded emphatically at the girl’s—the king’s younger sister’s—declaration. It seemed like the only response that would get the other girl away from her—and allow her to breathe again.

“Er, uh…sorry. I mean… I apologize.” The girl backed away, and Priestess let out a relieved breath.

“B-but
how
did you get here? Did they really agree to it?”

“Well, it’s Temple business. I’m here as a priestess sent from the Temple of the Earth Mother.” The king’s younger sister coughed importantly and puffed out her ample chest, then gave a brief click of her tongue. “Although,
ahem
, it’s a secret from His Maj—I mean, from my brother that I’m here!”

“Ah.”

Well…

It would be hasty to take this for mere self-indulgence or a lack of remorse. Launching headlong into a situation without thinking about it and taking action only after thorough consideration of the circumstances were perhaps more alike than they seemed. A smile came to Priestess’s face to see this girl, who had been through such an awful experience, bounce back so quickly. She had to admit she felt some sympathy for the young lion who ran the country, but this was a good thing; she was sure of it.

“Huh, so you two know each other?” Sister Grape said, smiling as she watched the girls giggle together. Maybe, for her, this really was just about staving off the boredom. Or maybe she was happy for this friend whom she regarded like a sister. More likely still, it was both at once that made her squint with happiness and say: “You really do look like sisters, standing side by side.”

“You think so?” Priestess asked.

“I sure don’t.” The king’s younger sister thought they were different in quite a number of ways. She and Priestess looked at each other quizzically.

Then again, it wasn’t unpleasant to be told they resembled each other.

Inspector interrupted the chatter with a delicate cough. “So, uh…”

Ah yes. Priestess quickly straightened up and faced the king’s younger sister properly. “So you’ve come from the Temple of the Earth Mother in the capital to observe our activities here—is that correct?”

“Er, yes. That’s right.” The girl nodded, then added, “Umm,” trying to decide how to explain. She nodded again. “There was that thing with spring being late, right? And after that, the trouble over the consecrated wine.”

Ah…
Those adventures felt so long ago to Priestess, but they evoked a rush of nostalgia as well. Now that she thought about it, the year seemed to have passed in a hurry, but she’d done a great many things. She’d taken on the battle on the snowy mountain, taken much initiative in the events surrounding the wine, and then they’d all headed to the country in the east.

“And then there was the necromancer’s army recently.”

“Oh, yeah, that. I think the hero eventually took them down.”

The events of which the king’s younger sister and Inspector spoke were of utmost importance to the nation—and Priestess had been involved with them, however tangentially.
That kind of makes me feel like I’ve actually become a pretty serious adventurer…

Heh, sure.
She felt a touch of confidence well up within her. Although she reminded herself she mustn’t become conceited. Priestess puffed out her chest just a little—Sister Grape noticed and shook her head. “Better be careful,” the nun cautioned.

“We were worried that something else might happen over the winter—and that’s why I’m here!” said the king’s younger sister before admitting shyly that she wouldn’t necessarily be able to do anything about it simply by being present and observing.

That’s true enough
, Priestess thought. A single priest alone was unlikely to sway matters. But it felt very different from having no one come at all.

And for the one who showed up to be this girl, of all people. She spoke only in her capacity as a priestess, yet she was, in the end, the first princess—the younger sister of the ruling monarch. There could have been no better way for the authorities to make it clear that they weren’t taking this situation lightly. Namely, the situation on the western frontier—Priestess saw she would need to rise to the occasion, herself.

“Um, all right, then. Shall I show you around?” she suggested hesitantly.

“Good idea!” the king’s younger sister chirped. “There are so many things I want to see. So, uh, you’re doing a dungeon exploration contest in some old ruins, right?”

“Yes, ma’am. The specifics are in this report.” Inspector politely handed the princess the sheaf of parchment she’d been holding. “Might it not be best to study the details with your own eyes?”

“Yeah, good idea. You definitely have to see these things for yourself.” The girl hugged the papers to her chest, sounding like she sincerely believed what she was saying. It was so easy to make baseless pronouncements when you didn’t know what you were talking about—and to go charging in because you didn’t know what you were dealing with. She’d learned well the lesson that seeing and studying something for oneself made all the difference in the world.

“All right, I’ll never hear the end of it if I don’t get back. It looks like you ladies can handle things.” Sister Grape, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, was suddenly waving good-bye.

True enough. Inspector nodded as well. The girls seemed to be good friends—this was going to be fine. “Very well,” she said, “perhaps you could show us to the…” She thought for a moment, trying to pick the right word, then decided that anything was fine so long as it got the point across. “…the venue?”

“Yes, of course,” Priestess said with a smile and a nod. “Just follow me!”

§

It’s downright cruel…

That’s what Guild Girl was thinking as she hefted the metal head covering and tied the strap under her chin. The ancient ruins were illuminated only by the orange flicker of a small flame. The stone walls and pillars were decorated with bizarre patterns and carvings or, in some places, scenes that appeared to illustrate stories. Their significance had been long lost to time; no living human knew what they meant. In the dancing shadows cast by the light, they almost seemed alive.

I’ve heard such things actually exist in the underground cities built by the dwarves.
Supposedly, images of miners and smiths “worked” in the carvings, while engravings above gates bowed to visitors. She herself had never been to the famous dwarven cities, though; she only knew by hearsay. Although she
had
once been to an elvish city with him and his friends…

“Humans have what’s called a dominant eye. Left or right: Inevitably, one of them is stronger than the other,” Goblin Slayer explained, completely ignoring the fact that he was interrupting Guild Girl’s thoughts. He was practically crawling on the ground, making chalk marks in various places. Guidelines for where to position the goblins in the dungeon.

He had a lantern in one hand—most unusual for him—and was watching his surroundings vigilantly as he made these preparations.

Guild Girl trotted after him, trying to take care not to stumble or fall.

“For most people, it is the right hand and eye that are dominant. In other words, it’s harder to fight a foe to the left.”

“Th-that makes sense…I think?” The entire subject seemed rather brutal to her.

Obviously, that was nothing new, and this was, after all, part of her job. And goblins, goblins, goblins, goblins, goblins was how it went every time with him.

B-besides, I don’t usually get to spend so much time talking with him, so this has its upsides…!
The thought dispelled her flash of disgust. “It’s true. I know most adventurers… They seem to wield their weapons in their right hands.”

“Which is also where most magicians hold their staves, and it’s the hand with which they aim at their targets. It’s difficult to cast spells with the left hand.” Some people did carry a shield on the left, so it wasn’t completely useless. With this final comment, Goblin Slayer stood up, seemingly having finished making his marks. “Some people use the left-handed search, as well. A scout with a free left hand should be the first to be attacked.”