Chapter 77
After going to the Adventurers' Guild to find an inn where we could all stay, we were asked to exterminate goblins.
You probably have no idea what I'm talking about—but seriously, how did this happen?
Well, I certainly did get saddled with a troublesome job—
Still, this job seemed to have come from the Guild master's desire to somehow grant the troubled farmers' wish...
With the Guild's finances already strained, he had apparently appealed to the lord but gotten no response, leaving him no choice but to turn to me.
Besides, after seeing those children, a man would lose all dignity if he failed to do something here.
――The next day.
After eating bread and soup for breakfast, we all prepared to leave. Primula and the children were waiting at the Adventurers' Guild.
"All right! We're heading out now, but don't overdo it. If things get dangerous, retreat immediately and we'll rethink the plan."
"Yes!" "Yeah!" "All right!"
Although there were no clear penalties for failing a Guild request, apparently it would lower our ranking within the Guild.
Apparently, if we failed too many times in a row, they would stop giving us requests. In other words, people without the ability should go look for medicinal herbs.
The Guild master saw us off, but he kept glancing suspiciously at Anemone, who had joined our party.
"Um... Are you sure it's all right to take a child like this along?"
"She's the Great Archmage in my party. She can even use Explosion."
I decided to keep High Protection a secret. But honestly, I was worried about whether it was really all right to take such a small child into battle.
According to the beastfolk, that was normal. They said it was unavoidable if one wanted to become an adventurer.
That was true, but... Anemone herself wanted to become an adventurer, and she seemed prepared for it, so I found myself unable to say anything.
"What? This little girl?"
"Yes. She has plenty of practical experience."
"That's right. Miss Ane is several levels above the pathetic mages in this city."
Nyamena raised her right hand and flexed her biceps.
"That's right, nya."
"Nyaa!"
Bell rubbed her black body against Anemone.
"I did see her using magic during dinner yesterday, but... I had no idea she was that capable."
"Well, there's no need to worry."
"I understand that, but how are you going to transport all these people? Have you arranged a carriage?"
"No. I'll have my summoned beast transport them."
"...So we'll get to see the iron summoned beast everyone's been talking about."
The Guild master folded his arms, looking skeptical. He probably wouldn't believe it until he saw it with his own eyes.
"All right, clear some space! I'm going to summon something big, so you'll get crushed if you stay there. Come on out, M○tsubishi K○nter!"
A 4-ton long-body truck fell from the sky and bounced on the stone pavement.
"Whoa!" "What is this?!" "Eek!"
The farmers went weak at the knees before the iron monster that had appeared out of nowhere. The people walking through the city also murmured at the enormous object that had suddenly appeared before them.
The reaction was more or less the same wherever I brought it out. Since monsters were a familiar part of life in this world, people probably understood all too well how frightening they were.
"This is the summoned beast that will carry you on its back. It only listens to me, so it won't attack you. Don't worry."
"Are you sure it's safe?" "It won't bite us, will it?"
"It's fine. Come on, everyone, climb into the truck bed with your equipment."
Hurrying them along seemed to help the farmers steel themselves. One after another, they put their feet on the truck bed and climbed aboard.
The beastfolk grabbed the side panels and hopped aboard effortlessly.
"I heard it was a carriage without a horse, but does it really move without one?" "I don't know anything about magic." "Yeah, me neither."
"Do your best, Dad!" "Have a safe trip!"
As I watched the farmers' children, who were staying behind with Primula, wave to the worried adults in the truck bed, I filled the truck with fuel.
The gauge said there was enough, but I decided to be safe. Running out of gas at a crucial moment would be no joke.
Once I confirmed that everyone was aboard, I started the engine.
"Whoa!" "It started growling!" "Is this really safe?"
I could hear something from behind me, but they'd get used to it soon enough. For now, we had to get out of the city.
I set off slowly and headed for the city's north gate.
"What's that?" "That cart is moving without a horse!" "Is it magic?"
It wasn't just the farmers in the truck bed—the people on the street were also watching us and making a commotion.
This was drawing far too much attention. I wanted to get out of the city as quickly as possible. If I left the city on foot and then brought out the truck, it would take quite a while, and I would be wasting time.
We proceeded along the main street, finally passed through the city, and exited the north gate onto a road that stretched straight ahead.
The entire area was a breadbasket, covered in green wheat.
Compared with the wheat fields in my original world, though, the crops looked rather spindly. They probably didn't use much fertilizer. But there was only so much they could do in a world like this.
According to the farmers, the enemy had made its lair in a small forest a little over ten leagues away (about 20 km).
"If it's only about ten leagues, we should get there in less than half an hour, right?"
"Is this vehicle really... that fast?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
I opened the driver's-side window and spoke with the farmers in the truck bed.
After about ten minutes, the forest came into view, so I turned onto a side road on the right. Apparently, it was a single road from here. That meant we wouldn't get lost.
We traveled about halfway through the forest, then stopped the truck in the dim shade beneath the leaves.
"All right, we'll walk from here. It would be bad if they spotted us."
"All right!" "Let's go."
Everyone began climbing down from the truck with their weapons in hand.
"Boss, wouldn't it be better to charge in just like this?"
The male beastfolk helper leaped energetically from the truck bed and advocated a frontal assault.
"No. The farmers aren't used to fighting, so I don't want to get drawn into a chaotic melee."
"That's men for you. All they can think about is charging in."
The female beastfolk helper seemed opposed to the frontal assault as well.
"Still, following Boss's lead is the right call, isn't it?"
Nyamena admonished the old man, who looked dissatisfied.
"That's right, nya. Kenichi's right, nya."
"Nyaa."
"Still, we finally get to fight alongside Forest Cat-sama. I'd like to put on a good show."
The old beastman muttered that while looking at Bell—but when she heard him, she slapped her black tail against the ground and stared fixedly at him.
"Well, Boss is in charge this time. I'll follow his orders."
The old beastman had probably wanted to show off in front of Forest Cat-sama, but after she rejected his suggestion, he had no choice but to withdraw it.
"That helps. Besides, I intend to have the beastfolk lead the charge, so you'll get your chance to impress Forest Cat-sama."
"Heh-heh. That's more like it."
After everyone had climbed down, I stored the truck in my Item Box.
We walked for a while, keeping watch. With the beastfolk and Bell here, we would know immediately if any enemies were nearby.
Then we saw a break in the forest ahead... Apparently, the ruins where the goblins were hiding lay beyond it.
"Wait a moment. I'll have my summoned beast scout ahead."
"Boss, are you still hiding more amazing things from us?"
The old beastman stared at me suspiciously.
"Don't make it sound as if I'm hiding things."
I took a drone out of my Item Box and immediately launched it, raising it above the trees until the blue sky came into view.
"It flew!" "What is that?" "Is that a summoned beast too?"
The farmers around us began making a commotion, but I used it to scout the area. I see... The land ahead opened into a clearing.
"Hey, don't make so much noise. They'll spot us."
"What is that? There's scenery showing in a little window!" "What in the world is this?!"
Everyone stared intently at the images displayed on the drone controller in my hands.
"That's the view from the flying summoned beast."
"Is it magic?"
"Something like that."
Keeping watch and crouching low, we followed along while looking at the drone's image. Ahead, we saw the ruins.
The stone buildings had collapsed and stood exposed to the elements, covered in grass and ivy—but the view from above made it easy to get a good sense of the situation.
There was a hole where the entrance had presumably been, with two goblins standing guard.
They had small black bodies wrapped in rough scraps of cloth that barely covered them.
The wall above the entrance had collapsed into a platform-like shape. Two goblins carrying bows were pacing around on it, keeping watch.
Beyond that was probably a hall with its roof caved in. It was a large room surrounded by stone walls, and the goblins seemed to have made it their base.
My current position was hidden among the trees, so recovering the drone would be difficult. I landed it somewhere inconspicuous instead. I could retrieve it after the battle.
"We've got a general idea of the enemy's positions."
I gathered everyone together and explained the plan.
"All right, just as I said earlier—the two beastfolk helpers will charge in first. Myaree and Nyamena, take out the archers above."
"All right! We'll cause a ruckus!" "Leave it to us."
The beastfolk helpers were fired up. Courageous beastfolk were genuinely dependable at times like this.
"Leave it to me, Boss. Blackie, don't screw up."
Myaree and Nyamena readied their compound bow and crossbow.
"Who are you talking to, nya? My aim is better than Tiger's, you know, nya?"
"What did you say?"
"Save it for later."
"Ugh!" "Fnyu..."
"Boss, this is meant to lure them out, right?"
The female beastfolk helper seemed to have realized my plan.
"That's right. Make a big commotion, then blow them away with a powerful spell when their companions come out of the ruins."
I handed the female beastfolk helper a pressure-cooker bomb and explained the plan.
"So I just leave this pot in front of the entrance?"
"Why a pot?"
The old beastman looked puzzled, so I explained what the pot really was.
"It's a pot that explodes when activated by magic."
"Whoa!"
After hearing that, the old beastman hurriedly moved away from the pot.
"Ha-ha, so it won't explode unless magic is used, right?"
"Exactly. Don't take any unnecessary risks. We only need to lure them out. If you don't get away in time, you'll be caught in the spell and blown away."
"Oh-ho! Dangerous, dangerous."
The old man hunched his shoulders.
"It would be easy if we could just set fire to everyone inside."
"Mage-sama! There may be women and children held captive inside. I'd like you to wait before doing that."
"Ah, right. We have to take that possibility into account."
After reducing their numbers with a powerful spell, our plan was to shoot the enemies that emerged from a distance.
Just as we had practiced in the Guild's backyard, we would work in pairs, hiding behind the polycarbonate tower shields and repeatedly loading and attacking.
That should allow even the farmers, who had never experienced combat, to manage somehow.
Since this would be a real battle, I gave Anemone some aluminum sheets that could be used as magical catalysts.
"Anemone, use these if you need them. I'll leave the decision to you."
"Okay!"
"All right! Begin the operation!"
"All right! Let's go!" "You got it!"
The male and female beastfolk helpers raised a battle cry, lifted their cutlasses and transparent bucklers, and charged the entrance where the goblin sentries stood guard.
"Uoooh!" "Yaaah!"
Perhaps they were slow to react to the sudden attack. One of the blades sank deep into a sentry's skull, spraying brain matter all around.
"Gyaa!" "Giiiii!"
An arrow pierced the head of the black goblin who was trying to aim his bow down at the beastfolk who had charged in.
"Agh!" "Ghk!"
He died instantly, of course. Myaree and Nyamena were incredible—they each took one down with a single shot from this distance.
No matter how impressive a compound bow or crossbow was, sniping required extraordinary skill.
"Not bad, Tiger."
"You too, Blackie!"
The sudden commotion began throwing the area into chaos. We could hear something shrieking and shouting farther inside.
It didn't sound like a conversation, but apparently they had a proper language of their own.
Sensing a large force of enemies approaching, the beastfolk helpers placed the pressure-cooker bomb at the entrance and returned.
More and more came out, black figures swarming forth—like insects.
"Anemone, can you do it?"
"Yes! No problem!"
Anemone held the polycarbonate tower shield at an angle and took aim at the pressure-cooker bomb.
They would never guess that pot was actually a bomb.
"Everyone, get down! Hide behind the transparent shields!"
"Mm! Explosion (Small)!"
The pressure cooker burst in an instant with a cloud of white smoke, scattering fragments and several hundred nails around it. Its speed was what set it apart from a magical explosion.
When Explosion was used, one could see the slow-moving flames of the blast, but this thing burst apart in an instant.
The goblins were literally blown apart, reduced to mangled corpses with their entrails spilling out.
Even when I tried to avoid the violent route, things always ended up like this.
Once people learned that I possessed power, plenty of them came swarming to rely on it.
Unlike my original world, what this world needed was pure strength. Strength was everything.
"Ugh..."
Even if they were monsters, seeing humanoid bodies blown apart was hard to stomach.
And their blood was red too. If monsters bled black or blue like they were supposed to, it would be easier on my S○N score...
I had no personal grudge against them, but if those were the rules of this world, there was nothing to be done.
Even if we didn't attack them, they would bare their hostility and attack us. Negotiation was impossible as well.
We had no choice but to kill them before they killed us.
"What the—?!" "You call that Explosion?!"
The beastfolk helpers were astonished. They must have seen Explosion before.
When the dust cleared, the entrance had collapsed completely, blocking it off.
"Hey, this is our chance!"
"Chance?"
"No, I mean opportunity! Opportunity! Everyone, charge!"
"Y-yes!" "Let's go!" "Uoooh!"
We climbed over the goblin corpses and surged toward the ruins, but naturally, the entrance was blocked.
It was time to bring out the secret weapon from my Item Box: a nine-meter scaffold that could reach the top of the cliff. Climbing onto the collapsed ruins would be easy with this thing.
We all ran up the scaffold and reached the top of the ruins. Looking down inside, we saw that about twenty goblins were still left.
Black figures swarmed below. The sight reminded me of ladybugs hibernating for the winter.
There was also a slightly larger individual dressed in flashy clothes. That one was probably the mini-boss.
"They're trapped like rats! We have the high ground, so take your time and aim! Begin firing!"
Just as we had practiced, we loaded and fired while hiding behind the shields. The goblins attacked us with arrows and stones from below, but we had the advantage of higher ground.
Those attacks couldn't penetrate the polycarbonate shields, after all.
I had been worried that Bell might charge in, but she was surprisingly intelligent. She waited patiently above, watching until the attack was over.
"Take that!" "This is for my wife!" "Die!"
The goblins seemed to realize they couldn't win and began trying to escape through the door at the back.
But once they did that, all we had to do was concentrate our attacks on that one point.
"Mmm! Wrathful Flame—Fireball!"
The mini-boss tried to use its companions as shields while fleeing, but it was hit by the Fireball and became engulfed in flames.
This was also Anemone's first encounter with humanoid monsters, but she didn't seem to hesitate.
Perhaps in a world where combat was so commonplace, there was no problem once one had made up one's mind.
Then the remaining goblins were subjected to a concentrated barrage from the crossbows and turned into pincushions.
"All right! Cease fire!"
The hall below was filled with goblin corpses. Even monsters had red blood—it was literally a sea of blood.
Although the wall could not be climbed from outside, there were stairs on the inside. We all descended those stairs to the lower level.
The beastfolk began putting down the goblins that were still moving.
"These guys are good at playing dead." "Leave this one to me."
"Hey, Blackie, which side should we take?"
"The right, nya."
"What are you talking about?"
According to them, we needed ears or fangs as proof of the extermination.
Apparently, unless they all took ears from the same side, the left and right ears would be counted as one goblin, leaving us cheated.
It would certainly be a problem if we killed fifty but only got credit for twenty-five.
The reward for this request did not change based on the number killed, but we still needed proof of the extermination.
"Hey, anyone who's free, help recover the arrows."
The aluminum and stainless-steel arrows were advanced technology in this world. Aluminum could also be used as a magical catalyst.
It would be bad if these got into circulation. Fortunately, we had fired downward from above, so none should have been lost, and they would be easy to recover.
"But it stinks in here."
As the beastfolk said, the room was filled with a terrible stench. It must have been especially unbearable for their sensitive noses.
"Boss, there's a sound coming from that door too."
"What? Could there be survivors?"
We surrounded it and had the male beastfolk helper go inside. It was pitch-black inside, with no windows or lights.
"Damn it!"
The beastman spat the words out after entering.
Inside were the women who had been kidnapped. They were naked and appeared to have been tortured, and most of them were dead—but three were still breathing.
"Phew... It was the right choice not to use fire. Should we take these bodies back to the village too?"
The stench was so strong that I nearly vomited, but I somehow held it back.
"No, not in this condition... I think we should bury them in this forest."
In this world, only exceptionally important people had graves. Ordinary people were simply buried somewhere and left at that.
If we encountered their families, telling them that the victims had been buried in the forest would give them peace of mind.
Otherwise, corpses were often left exposed and devoured by animals and monsters.
"All right, leave that to me. I'll take care of it with a summoned beast. Myaree and Nyamena, handle looting the equipment. I doubt there's much worth taking, though..."
"Boss, that's not true. It looks like they have equipment stolen from travelers and adventurers too."
"I see. I'll leave it to you."
"You got it!" "Nyaa."
I took plastic cases out of my Item Box for storing the equipment we stripped and the goblins' ears.
Bell sat with her paws tucked beneath her, silently watching everyone bustle about as they stripped the equipment.
After placing the women's bodies and the enormous pile of bones in plastic cases, I stored them in my Item Box.
They looked humanoid, but anyone who could commit such atrocities without hesitation was truly a monster. It felt like wiping them out without mercy was unavoidable.
I could have simply put the women's bodies into the trash can on my status screen, but I couldn't do that. They deserved a proper burial.
After leaving the ruins, I went into the forest and summoned Ko○tsu-san to bury the victims' bodies.