Volume 3 Chapter 16 There's Still A Mystery Remain, But...
As Gram pointed out, the goblins, who had their leader (the troll) defeated, couldn't keep up their crazy attacking stance and fell apart. They couldn't continue their usual tactic of constantly attacking all at once.
Even though they used to come at us in groups, it was easy to handle them. Even though we might be a bit worn out, goblins without their group strength are no match for us.
"...For now, we should be okay. But, this is just a temporary fix, so we can't be reckless."
"No, we've been saved more than enough."
I can't just rely on Mikage. Thanks to Kyunei's magic, I've recovered enough to move. My body still feels a bit stiff and creaky, but it shouldn't be a problem to deal with the goblins.
"Geez, always being reckless... Be prepared when we get back, okay?"
This is something I have to be prepared for more than "usual". It's both exciting and terrifying.
"In order to do that, I have to do my best to return safely. --Magic Blade, come!"
Black light emits from the Stigma on my left hand, and Gram appears in my hand.
'I've been called, and I'm here! But seriously, partner, you're always reckless! If I were a girl, I might fall for you!'
Enough of that. There's still work to be done, so let's do it seriously.
'Don't say things that kill the mood, partner. You could show a little more appreciation for me, you know?"
...Could it be that the spear I threw at the troll's head hit right on target?
'Yeah, that's right. Thanks to me. I haven't told you until now, but I can actually move a little on my own, partner.'
When I look back on it, I sometimes felt a sensation of being 'pulled' when handling the Black Spear. I always thought it was just my imagination.
'But it's more like lightly tugging at your clothes. So with just a little adjustment, about eighty percent of it is your skill, partner. You can be proud of that.'
Receiving words of praise, I used the spear to regain my composure.
"Now, one more push. Let's go!"
--After a little while, we were able to push the goblins back into retreat.
The damage to the buildings was considerable, but in terms of human casualties, we were able to keep it to a minimum.
Of course, there were some casualties, so we couldn't be openly happy about it. Still, we received words of gratitude from the villagers. That was a kind of relief.
On that night, in a barely recognizable house that had been destroyed, the villagers kindly let us use it as our temporary base. We lit a fire, and while I received healing from Kyunei, I talked to Mikage.
"Still, that scale was way too abnormal. There were about five times more than I expected."
"Yeah, I was surprised too. I never thought there would be that many."
During the heat of the battle, I was completely focused and didn't realize just how many goblins there were. Near the border of the village, where the battle was centered, there was a massive pile of goblin corpses.
We had already finished collecting the goblin ears as proof of our victory. Now, all that was left was for the villagers to gather the bodies and burn them. Leaving the corpses untouched would cause the meat to rot and become a source of disease.
"...Yukina-sama, this might be an abnormal situation after all."
"You've been saying that since earlier."
"No, it's not what I mean by that."
Mikage placed a hand on her chin and looked serious.
"It's true that Yukina-sama mentioned the underestimation of the goblins by the mercenaries. However, that's because there haven't been any major issues so far."
"I'm having a hard time following. What's going on?"
I tried to ask Mikage for an explanation, but Kyunei, who had just finished wrapping bandages around my arm, answered first.
"I'm pretty sure the soldiers from our country regularly conduct monster sweeps near the royal capital. Wasn't this area part of that range too?"
"Yes. Except for a few, the purpose of the military is to maintain the nation's order and peace, unlike mercenaries who operate for money and fame. It's inconceivable that they wouldn't be aware of the danger posed by goblins."
It's a logical conclusion.
Monsters are always a persistent issue in human society. It's unlikely that a nation would leave the handling of that solely to mercenaries.
Relix's brave expedition was not only meant to give him experience but also to address the unresolved issues that had been neglected.
In the past, the national army regularly crushed goblins, preventing the formation of nests.
"Wait, then how do you explain the Kobold's Monster Rampage (Stampede)?"
"That forest is a place where mercenaries frequently come and go, so its management is mostly entrusted to the Mercenary Guild. However, in emergencies, the national army may also intervene."
Apparently, the guild was severely reprimanded by the country over the Monster Rampage incident. At one point, the authority of management was taken from the guild and it seemed to have shifted to the country.
"Yukina-sama's promotion test chose the Kobold's extermination due to a request from the country, so it was unavoidable. If the guild had resisted, the management authority of that forest would surely have shifted to the country."
"That forest is a source of livelihood for rookie mercenaries. Given the stern warning from the country, we have no choice. but to comply for a while."
Kyunei was involved as an external collaborator in that test, and it seems like she heard about that kind of thing as a behind-the-scenes person.
For now, let's leave the guild's issues aside and get back to the conversation.
"Yukina-sama. How long does it take for goblins to build a nest and swell to that scale?"
"I don't know about that. I'm not a scholar or anything."
Although I know more about the danger of goblins than mercenaries, I would still have trouble if asked about their detailed ecology.
"By the way..."
Kyunei spoke, as if she had remembered something.
"After driving away the goblins and healing the villagers again, I heard that they had never seen a troll in the vicinity of this forest."
"Of course not. If you find such a huge creature, it's a much bigger problem than goblins, for sure."
Although there's a sense of disappointment this time, if it's normal, it's a matter that should be requested urgently. In fact, if they had seen it, it would have been mentioned in the mercenaries' request form.
"...Wait a minute. So, where did that troll come from?"
"Well, it must have drifted from somewhere with goblins."
Goblins don't have a specific habitat. They start breeding wherever there's enough food for the group to survive.
"True, but if that were the case, this village would have been destroyed by now."
There are numerous examples of trolls leading goblins, but Mikage mentioned that she had never heard of them establishing a base and preparing to invade human territory.
"Instead of going through all that trouble, the troll would have led the goblins to crush this village, right?"
Now that it's been said, it does make sense.
The goblins were building a nest to establish a base for attacking the village.
In other words, if the conditions necessary for attacking the village had been met, there would have been no need to build a base. The conditions were already met with the presence of the troll.
"...Somehow, the more we talk, the deeper the mystery becomes."
As Kyunei says, it seems like there's more to this than we first thought. It feels like there's something going on that we never even imagined.
"Anyway, we'll go after the goblin's nest tomorrow morning. We'll talk later."
But first, let's focus on doing the job right. We'll tell the guild about all the questions we have and let them handle the rest.
Little did we know then that things were about to get a lot worse than we thought.
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