ALL NOVEL Chapter 130
Chapter 130. Three Companion And Adventurers?
“Alright, enough with the greetings. So, there’s been a Goblin Hazard?”
The dwarf hag, switching the atmosphere, addressed the lizardfolk wife. It seemed she held the reins in their relationship.
“…Yeah, at first, I thought it was just a normal migrating colony. We gathered information in town, but there was no sign of a hazard or any reports of kidnapped humans.”
A moment of silence followed. The lizard’s expression turned grim.
“There were about ten members of the town militia with us, and an elf girl joined us just before we set out. I thought we could easily wipe out a small colony.”
Yaralai twitched at this but remained silent, true to her warrior nature.
“But when we cautiously peeked into the old mine, we saw a horde of monsters filling the vast open pit. There were holes all over the place. I think those bastards dug them themselves, so they probably weren’t that deep, but considering that every hole was a nest, it’s like a small nation.”
Shurla shook her head in dismay.
“We immediately gave up on wiping out the colony and focused on gathering information. But considering our original job, we had to bring back accurate intel on the enemy’s scale, or we risked paying a penalty. So, we pushed a bit too far…”
“You lot…”
“Hey, don’t lecture us. We did our best. It was lucky we split up the scouting teams, so my group and Reemo’s were the only ones that made it back alive. We did lose some people, though.”
Shurla seemed to puff up with pride, while her partner Reemo shrank apologetically.
Yutis, a sporty-looking woman who had joined us by chance, lowered her head and muttered a small prayer.
“The elf, the remaining squad, what happened to them?”
Yaralai murmured, her voice low yet commanding.
“Well… She was good with both spirit magic and imaginary arts, so we paired her with three physical fighters from the militia. But they haven’t returned. We were too busy escaping and protecting the civilians to check on them.”
“I see…”
With that, Yaralai stood and headed toward the tavern counter. I thought she might be going to the bathroom or ordering a drink, but she stopped by the wall next to the counter.
As I raised an eyebrow, the hag nudged me, saying, “Akira, go have a look.”
Pushed by the momentum, I stood next to Yaralai. On the wall, many scraps of parchment were pinned with small knives.
“What’s this?”
“Commerce Guild, town, country, and occasionally personal requests.”
“Huh?”
What the heck? This feels like something out of a tabletop RPG my boss would drag me into, where you role-play scenarios.
Wait a minute, isn’t this what adventurers do? The last time I asked the hag, she dismissed the idea. I think she said something like adventurers are just weirdos.
Still confused, I scanned the requests on the wall.
Proxy Hunting: Stone Coyotes. Bleeding required. Direct delivery (Good condition: ¥18,000) Commerce Guild
Proxy Hunting: Stray Buffalo. Guild reception required (Good condition: ¥900,000) Commerce Guild
Investigation: Goblin Colony Investigation. Reception at the mayor’s house required (¥30,000~) Mayor of Hanshon
Combat: Defense of Hanshon Town from Goblins. Reception at the mayor’s house required (¥10,000~) Mayor of Hanshon
Caravan Escort: Destination Sevites. Guild reception required (¥10,000/day) Commerce Guild (Heterillia Trading Company)
Caravan Escort: Destination Sevites. Guild reception required (¥10,000/day) Commerce Guild (Moggamooga Trading Company)
Caravan Escort: Destination Sevites. Guild reception required (¥15,000/day) Commerce Guild (Grah Trading Company)
…And so on. This is totally an adventurer guild request board. Yup.
Most of the requests were for caravan escorts or personal protection. Most personal requests were handled by the Commerce Guild, though a few directed us to the tavern counter.
The lack of goblin extermination requests and the presence of defensive tasks suggest they’ve given up on wiping out the enemy. This also lends credence to the rumor I heard about sending troops from the city-state of Sevites. They’ll probably wipe them out while we’re defending the town.
Of course, it would come with a hefty financial or military debt.
When Yaralai, who had been staring at the requests, returned to her seat, I sat down as well.
When I reached for a cigarette, I found my pack empty. I didn’t remember smoking them all, but I was supposed to be conserving them due to my limited funds.
Remaining funds: ¥302,909.
The next thing I knew, I had a lit cigarette in my mouth. I guess that explains why they disappeared.
No one complained about smoking in the tavern. In fact, some of the merchants were puffing on pipes.
“No extermination requests?”
“Well, of course not.”
Yaralai grumbled, and the hag answered with a snort.
“So, if there’s no request, are you not going to do it?”
“No.”
“Good.”
The hag nodded like a rock to Yaralai’s sharp reply.
“Hey, I don’t really get it, but are we allowed to do this on our own?”
“It’s a gray area. Ideally, you’d get permission from the town leader…”
“Can’t we just get it?”
“Humans won’t think we can take down a Goblin Hazard on our own. They’ll just demand we help with the defense.”
“True.”
“And if we ignore that and charge in, who knows what they’ll say later.”
I took a deep drag of my cigarette, filling my lungs with the bitter taste.
To be honest, I didn’t want to get involved in beast extermination, but one look at Yaralai’s expression told me that wasn’t an option.
The ones who suffer most from the whims of the higher-ups are always the people on the ground. So, we needed to check first.
“Hag, Yaralai. From what I’ve heard, this Goblin Hazard is huge. Can we really take it down?”
“We will.”
Yaralai answered instantly, but the hag shook her head.
“I understand how you feel, but calm down. I can’t say for sure until we see it, but if it’s an old mine, I might’ve seen it before. It was one of the biggest open-pit mines. But for them to settle in a place that floods during the rainy season, those goblins are as foolish as ever.”
“Can we wait for the rainy season?”
“It’s still a ways off, and I figure the big reason you want to rush in is to find any survivors. Time is precious.”
“…Sorry, you’re right. But if necessary, I’ll go, even alone.”
“I’m not saying I won’t help. We promised before, didn’t we? We’d help each other out if things got tough.”
I recalled discussing what to repay a life-saving debt with.
Yaralai had simply said I was a friend. So now, as a friend, I would make my resolve.
“But reckless actions are out. I can’t support that. Or are you telling me to die too, Yaralai?”
Yaralai, who had been furrowing her brow, finally looked up at me.
“No. But I want to save my comrades.”
“I get that. But the leader this time is the hag. You probably have a lot to say, but you need to accept it.”
“…Understood.”
After a brief hesitation, she agreed with firm words. Even the hag didn’t tease her this time. Instead, she seemed to sharpen her gaze, as if taking Yaralai’s place.
“Hag. I’m a novice when it comes to combat. I’m neither strategically nor tactically skilled. But I’ll back you up as best I can. Please, lead us.”
I tried to sound cool, but I could easily imagine this being far more difficult than escaping from the royal castle.
Why?
This time, more than anything, we were short on money.