Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter SS4

House-Sitting (For Several Days) in Maalt 

I found myself in Lorraine’s abode; I was all but too familiar with it. I also had something to say today, and that was why I was here. 

It had been close to a decade—nine years, actually—since I became an adventurer. Those nine years were, in turn, spent with Lorraine. I suppose we had known each other for a long time, perhaps too long. Both of us understood the weight and importance of this bond, although neither of us saw it fit to express in words. 

“It is rare for you to be outside of Maalt, is it not, Rentt? Well, to be precise, you have taken quite a few one- or two-day trips. But for a few days this time... How many days was it, again?” 

“It would be about five days. Maybe even longer...” 

There was a simple reason as to why I was discussing this with Lorraine, details and all. She was a friend whom I had known for a long time. But even more than that, an adventurer’s next request or assignment could very well be their last. As such, I had instructed Lorraine to take care of the house for the next five days, and that if I was gone for more than a month, I would be as good as dead. 

For the record, I had no intention of dying, but it was impossible to predict what the future held. Such knowledge was surely in the domain of god, or at least some other omnipotent being. 

“I see. Well, do be careful. Also... What is it this time? Another assignment?” 

“Yes. I’m headed to a small village in the north by the name of Dorotan. It seems like a bunch of goblins have made a nest there, and a request was sent to the guild for their slaying.” 

“Again they send you to some far-off corner of the rural hinterlands. I suppose that is why the request was left as-is. Adventurers are not usually too keen on long distance travel.” 

“Yes, more or less. It isn’t exactly a big nest either. In fact, it’s quite small, populated by about five of them at best. That alone, however, is enough to threaten the livelihoods of the villagers, so I’ll be going there to put those goblins in the ground.” 

“Only five? I suppose I should not really be worrying about you, then. Ensure that you are not careless, yes?” Contrary to what she said, Lorraine was clearly worried. 

“I know, Lorraine. Well then, I’ll be off now.” 

With that, I walked though the doors of Lorraine’s abode, heading toward the pick-up point for a local horse carriage service. 

I had dropped by Lorraine’s with the intent of saying goodbye before I left. If anything, I found myself grateful that horse carriages went anywhere, even to the far corners of the rural hinterlands. I hoped that the service was regular, at least; I would hate to return to Maalt on foot. 

“Ohh...! How good of you to have come! We’ve had that request out for a month now! We feared that no one would ever come to help us...” 

It was a great welcome. At least, that was what I thought as I sat in the house of the local village elder, having arrived at Dorotan shortly before. They seemed pleased to see me, if anything else. 

Perhaps that was to be expected since so few adventurers would bother making their way out to a border village such as this. While requests could be put up by anyone, no aid would come if the assignment was not taken. For a while, the villagers in question had to put up with the goblin menace themselves, so it was not unheard of for villages to incur severe casualties in such cases. Compared to that scenario, having an actual adventurer take up the assignment and provide their services was above and beyond what they expected. 

Perhaps me being only a Bronze-class adventurer would not bring them much comfort. I would need a few days to flush them all out, but at least it would be done without too much trouble. It would seem they expected great things of me. 

“Well then... The request specifies that I need to destroy a goblin nest in the area. The fee will be five silver coins. If that is acceptable, I would like to know more about the surrounding geography, and where the nest is located...” 

“No, no! You should rest for the night. It has been a long journey, no? We have prepared you a room, too, but of course, we are a small village... We hope you find our humble welcoming and amenities acceptable...” the village elder said, bowing deeply. 

This seemed a little overboard for a simple goblin-slaying request, but I suppose this was how things were in border villages. Goblins, being monsters with a high reproductive rate and some degree of intelligence, posed a huge threat to such villagers. If any other kind of monster was allowed to take root here, this village would become completely uninhabitable. 

In addition, irregularly-occurring monsters appeared in populated areas from time to time. Those who defeated such monsters were treated with the utmost respect by the local inhabitants. Of course, some adventurers chose such assignments so that they would be treated as kings. However, feeding one’s own ego was not what a normal adventurer would do. 

In any case, it would be unbecoming of me to refuse their offer. If anything, it was common for villages like this to throw lavish parties welcoming adventurers, in exchange for lower reward fees. Regardless, I should accept their generous offer, if only to put them at ease. 

I nodded in response. 

“Well then... I shall partake in your hospitality. But you don’t have to go too far, though...” 

I clearly said that, yet an intimidating amount of food—a feast, really—was now placed before me, along with copious amounts of wine, all having been served by the village’s young women. Both the food and wine, apparently made with produce grown in the village, were not as clean as the produce one would find in Maalt. The ingredients themselves, however, were fresh, and the meal was delicious. 

I felt that this much was more than enough of a reward for slaying a few goblins. 

“Don’t hold back! Please, have some more,” the village elder said, pouring more wine into my goblet alongside the young women. 

I would have to put on quite the show tomorrow, as I now had a duty to these people, especially after being treated to such a feast. 

With a fair amount of good food and wine in my belly, I turned my thoughts to tomorrow, and found myself anticipating the successful end of this assignment. 

“...I see them, all right. Is this all of them?” I asked the man next to me, spotting a goblin emerging from its burrow in the undergrowth. 

The man in question was the village hunter, who held valuable knowledge on the construction and scale of the goblin nest. I had taken him with me at the recommendation of the village elder. 

“Yep... The other hunters didn’t see anything else. This is all of them.” 

“...Well then. Let’s get to work...” 

“Eh...?” The hunter seemed genuinely taken aback at my words. “There’s five of them in there! You gonna be okay?” 

“Yeah. Just you watch,” I said, leaping out of the tall grass we had been hiding behind. Confirming that all the goblins in question were indeed in the burrow, I withdrew a spherical object from my tool belt, throwing it with considerable force deep inside. With a loud bang, the sphere exploded, filling the burrow with a great deal of smoke. 

Hanging back, I waited as the goblin’s screams slowly abated. Eventually, the cries fell silent until they could no longer be heard. As soon as the smoke cleared, I entered the burrow. 

“...Sleeping well, I see...” I said as I looked at the sleeping goblins, slowly and methodically crushing each and every single one under my blade. 

Even if I were not much of a fighter, sleeping goblins were no match for me. It hardly took half an hour for me to complete my extermination. 

Although the sphere was a tool that granted me victory, it was one I had personally made. I would say that it evened out into somewhat of a profit in the end. See, this specific sort of tool was very troublesome to make. But If one were to buy it from the stalls of Maalt, it would cost at least ten silver pieces. 

Having slain all the goblins, I collected their magic crystals, bidding farewell to the hunter. Upon heading back to the village, I informed the elder of my assignment’s completion, and was thanked by each and every villager in the process. 

That night, the village threw yet another feast for me... While I had wanted to return to Maalt right away, I suppose I could not turn down their offering. 

During the feast, the elder once again filled my goblet, all the while thanking me for what I had done. 

“...Thank you so much, good sir! Thank you...! You have saved us all! Say... What do you think of that girl over there? She’s quite the looker, no?” 

The girl in question was perhaps the most beautiful woman in the entire village, and quite young, at that. 

“Well, yes, I suppose...” 

“That’s my granddaughter, see! If you would like, why not take her hand...?” 

I suppose the elder was concerned for the future of this village from here on out—the girl, too, batted her eyelashes at me, her cheeks red with her shy smile. 

I, however, shook my head. 

“I do apologize, Elder, but—” 

“I see... I suppose there is no choice... We think highly of a great adventurer such as yourself! But we shall give up on that prospect!” the elder said, smiling. 

I couldn’t help but think of a certain face that crossed my mind as I offered my refusal, along with the certain words I had to say to a certain someone I knew. 

And so it came to be that I returned to Maalt. 

“Well? How was it?” Lorraine asked. 

“Oh, as always.” 

With that, I began brewing some tea, like I always had, before reclining back in a chair with a book I picked off the floor of Lorraine’s abode.