Goblin Slayer - Volume 8 - Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – O My Pryers, Have You Reached Heaven?

“So after all that, he didn’t accept a reward?” 

“No!” High Elf Archer pounded the table, making the dishes jump. “Can you believe it?!” She had been grievously wounded not long before, but after a few days’ rest, she was already back on her feet. That was an elf for you. 

Guild Girl glanced, a little discomfited, at the others at the table but, nonetheless, still smiled. Witch enjoyed a sip of her wine with an innocent expression, and as for Priestess, she looked much the same. 

For those gathered around the table, each with their own thoughts, High Elf Archer’s fit of temper was nothing new. 

Everything had been more or less as normal in the frontier town while Goblin Slayer and his party were away. Adventurers drank, laughed, went on adventures, fought, and came home—or, occasionally, didn’t. 

It was just daily life, Priestess thought, that they had come back to. 

“I have to point out,” Guild Girl said, “he did take a reward.” 

“Yeah—for goblin slaying!” High Elf Archer’s ears bounded up and down in absolute frustration. She looked thoroughly drunk—except that the stuff in her cup was grape juice. Evidently, she was in an exceptionally bad mood today. 

“Well, that’s just who he is,” Guild Girl said quietly. She leaned on the table with a what can you do. “Even if the person he rescues is a young noblewoman…he simply sees goblin slaying as goblin slaying.” 

And for him, maybe it is. 

“Maybe,” Priestess concurred. 

She said nothing else, partly because there was nothing in the statement to disagree with, partly because it was true, and partly because she felt the same way. 

“I heard there was a real ruckus in the capital, too,” Guild Girl went on. “Another of the evil cultists’ bases was destroyed or something. But I wonder who this Knight of Diamonds you hear about sometimes really is.” Guild Girl cocked her head. 

Priestess didn’t know the answer. It was true: for the person she was thinking of, goblin slaying was just what he always did. 

But… 

But even so, she could tell that maybe there were more worldly ways to go about it. 

He had saved a daughter of the royal household, even if it was “just” from goblins. He might not have been able to demand anything he wished, but surely, he would have been permitted a significant request. 

Like in a fairy tale, he could have married the princess and lived happily ever… Heh! Well, maybe not. 

But he might well have asked the king to take sterner measures against goblins, or requested a promotion to Gold rank, or asked for some discreet royal support, or… 

Maybe he should be dreaming a little bigger…or not. 

It was a flippant thought. Yes, Priestess saw that. 

But he simply said, “This is goblin slaying.” 

No more and no less, and that was enough. 

Goblin Slayer… 

That was what he wanted, and that was what he kept doing. 

“Ahh…” 

“Well, now… What’s this, sighing?” Witch, ever perceptive, immediately picked up on the little exhalation. “Today, you said something very, cute…about not wanting to go, home.” Did something happen to upset you? Witch’s eyes ran over Priestess, full of concern, and the younger girl looked at the floor as if to escape. 

“No, not really…” 

Not really, but… Her voice pinched, and she shook her head ambiguously. 

But what can I do to be more like you? 

She couldn’t possibly ask such a childish question. 

She wanted to be outstanding. Beautiful and strong, giving, always mellow, knowing anything and everything, elegant and refined… That was the kind of person she wanted to grow up to be. 

Like Witch—like Sword Maiden. 

After everything was over, after Sword Maiden had come rushing to the city, he and she parted without so much as a word. Sword Maiden had been busy dealing with the aftermath, and Goblin Slayer had withdrawn quickly. 

Was that really all right? 

But something must have passed between them, something they could communicate without speaking. Even if she didn’t know what it might be. 

For Priestess, though, the adventure that had begun with Sword Maiden’s quest concluded without ever really feeling to her as if it had ended. 

What had she been able to do? Indeed, could she do anything? 

Priestess brushed a hand over her garments, feeling the mail beneath, covering her small chest. 

She wanted to be a source of strength. 

That was what she had prayed for, but there were no sudden, eye-opening changes. She was still a novice adventurer with just a year or so under her belt, still an inexperienced Steel rank. 

Suddenly, she was moved to glance around: She saw Rookie Warrior and Apprentice Cleric quietly celebrating something. At a table across the way, Heavy Warrior’s party was seated, Female Knight making some bold pronouncement. 

At every turn, the tavern was filled with adventurers who seemed to sparkle. 

And…what about me? 

“It’s…hard, isn’t it?” The words, coinciding with her thought, came spilling out suddenly and quietly. 

“Hmm?” High Elf Archer said, drawing a circle in the air with her finger. “What’s hard? Tell your big sister elf.” 

“I mean…getting stronger?” Priestess put a finger to her lips, thinking for a moment, and then said, “…Or maybe just growing, I guess. I was just thinking, it’s not so easy. It’s…just a little overwhelming.” 

“Well, sure,” High Elf Archer said as if none of this were any surprise. “Even a tree doesn’t grow up overnight. If it did, man, that’d be a shock!” 

Her words held the kind of knowledge and wisdom only an elf could have possessed, but they were expressed with a very un-elf-like attitude. The disparity caused Guild Girl to laugh, the tinkling in her voice like the ringing of a bell. 

“Well, worrying about it won’t get you anything,” she said. 

“Right…” 

“And no one will trust you if you just go off on your own and then come back claiming you’ve done a bunch of training.” 

Guild Girl must have seen others like Priestess before. Her knowing advice was so gentle and kind it made Priestess want to cry. 

“Come to think of it,” Guild Girl added, “I’ve got good news. Good news for you, at least.” She clapped her hands and winked—maybe she had noticed how Priestess was feeling. 

“Good news…?” 

“The royal princess, I’ve heard, has converted to a devout belief in the Earth Mother. Er, not that she’s joining a nunnery or anything.” 

“That’s…” Priestess, completely at a loss for what to say, looked at High Elf Archer. 

The elf was all shrugs. It seemed there weren’t many people she could discuss this with. 

She found an image passing through her mind, of the girls who had gone to the Temple after their first adventure. Their bodies had been mostly unharmed. It was their hearts that were most concerning. Priestess knew all too well how easy it was to break a heart, to shatter a mind. 

It was no good. 

She had been no good. Again. 

“It seems she had a chance encounter with a cleric of the Earth Mother.” 

“What…?” 

Thus, these words that followed caught Priestess completely by surprise. She looked vacantly at Guild Girl, who had the look of a child sharing a secret. 

“Allegedly, she said, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I want to grow up to be like her.’” 

“?” 

Now Priestess was well and truly speechless. 

“Like her”? 

Was she being too presumptuous to think that “her” was…well, her? 

“Wha— What…?” 

Unexpectedly, she found her vision blurring. She blinked, rubbed her eyes. It didn’t get any better. And her cheeks were so hot. 

With no idea what to do, Priestess sobbed a little and let her face become tear streaked. 

She had to get herself back under control. She was supposed to act cool and collected. 

If that poor girl were to learn about this, it really might break her once and for all. This wasn’t the end of anything, but for Priestess, it was everything. 

And yet, for some reason, the world stayed misty and the words remained stuck in her throat. 

“…Hey, that’s great. That really is good news,” High Elf Archer said softly, gently. Witch patted Priestess on the back. 

Guild Girl stayed silent—whether because she understood or not, it was impossible to tell. 

Really and truly happy to the depths of her heart, Priestess fought to open her mouth to say something. 

At that moment, the tavern doors swung open, and Padfoot Waitress went rushing past Priestess. 

For adventurers, the night was still young. 

§ 

The twin moons shone chill in the night sky. 

His breath fogged, mingling with the moonlight. 

Goblin Slayer walked down a small road outside town with his usual nonchalant stride. 

Nothing had changed. 

He had accepted the quest, gone to the location, killed the goblins, rescued the captive, and come home. 

That was everything. 

That was his duty. 

Just like the way the dry grass crunched under his feet, he knew. 

Nothing had changed up to this moment, and nothing ever would. 

The road went ever on and on, endless. 

Words High Elf Archer had spoken to him once upon a time suddenly came back to him. 

Look only at what’s in front of your eyes. 

His master had said something similar once. Though he had added, Because you’re too stupid for anything else. 

Just focus on what’s in front of you, take care of it, then go on to the next thing. 

Keep looking forward; move your feet. Stand up and proceed. 

That way, everything in the world will be taken care of. If you don’t do it, nothing will change. 

“……” 

Goblin Slayer found himself thinking: 

I cannot walk the same path as those girls. 

Unlike Sword Maiden, standing upon those walls; unlike Noble Fencer, fighting ever on; unlike even Priestess, who always kept moving forward, Goblin Slayer did not believe in the gods. He had never properly prayed. He didn’t see the point. 

But for exactly that reason, he was deeply impressed by those who could and did believe. 

He felt that way about Lizard Priest, too, and Dwarf Shaman. Even High Elf Archer and Guild Girl. 

He wasn’t sure what Spearman believed. Heavy Warrior, though, he was confident. Each and every one, everyone… 

Goblin Slayer stopped and looked up at the heavens. Two moons hung amid an uncountable number of stars. 

He grunted softly, almost a groan. Then he shook his head. 

He hadn’t known what was right, but he knew what he ought to do. There was only one thing. 

He picked up his foot, stretched it out, and took a step. Then he raised the other foot, stretched it out, and took another. 

Walk. Move forward. Don’t think about whether you’ll get there or not. To keep walking, that was everything to him. 

“Oh, welcome home!” 

He raised his helmeted head when the voice came. 

There was a warm light, not too far distant. It must have been seeping out a window. 

He spotted her right away, leaning out the window, her red hair blowing in the night breeze. 

“It’s dark already,” she said with a smile and a wave. “It’s dangerous to just stand there staring into space!” 

He caught the scent of boiling milk on the breeze. 

“Yes,” he said at length, squeezing out the words. “I’m home.” 

Even though she could hardly have heard him, the girl grinned, “Uh-huh!” and nodded. “Dinner’s ready, okay? Come on in!” 

“…Understood.” 

He thought. 

Nothing has changed. 

He went on adventures and killed goblins. 

That was who he was. 

That was what he had chosen. 

And if the result of that choice was that nothing changed? 

He spent no more time thinking about it but went into the house, closing the door slowly behind him. The sound of it shutting echoed warmly through the cold night air. 

Autumn was nearly past, and soon it would be winter.