episode_0010

Running on a mountain path is harder than you think.

And if the slope is steep, the act of running itself was dangerous.

But there was no choice but to run.

The goblins’ speed was almost the same as mine, but they were creatures who lived here.

The mountain path was extremely familiar to them.

Every time I stumbled and swayed, they caught up little by little.

I clenched my teeth at the sight of the goblins closing the distance, spewing out incomprehensible words.

If I were to fall, the goblins would immediately pounce on me.

That kind of future was imagined arbitrarily, and my legs trembled.

Was it right to trust Ban?

No matter how urgent it was, was following him to a place like this the right choice?

Wouldn’t it be better to turn back now, grab my sword, and fight?

But, could I win?

All sorts of thoughts cluttered my mind.

But my legs didn’t stop.

I don’t want to die.

I didn’t want to die, and there was something I absolutely had to do.

“Uwaaaah-!”

I let out a scream.

At my scream-like shout, perhaps the goblins got excited, as their breathing sounded rough.

In the first place, with so many victims, why wasn’t an official subjugation party formed?

At first glance, over 8 victims had appeared.

But why was it put out as a request to the adventurer’s guild instead of a subjugation party being formed?

No matter how rotten the world was, it was too strange.

“Damn it…!”

Fortunately, as Ban had said, it seemed like things like tree roots or protruding stones were cleared away.

As long as I didn’t trip, I wouldn’t fall.

I ran as fast as possible with short strides.

My breathing became ragged.

My ribs hurt as if piercing my lungs.

I wanted to lie down and catch my breath right away.

But I knew better than anyone that I shouldn’t stop.

I felt them chasing right behind me.

I narrowly avoided the dirty hands reaching out to grab me.

Since it was obvious I’d be caught if I continued like this, I decided to gamble.

I decided to cut through the bushes instead of the designated path.

Anyway, Ban would be hiding and waiting near the trap.

All I had to do was reach the trap, so it wouldn’t matter how I changed the route.

Covering my face, I plunged into the bushes.

My clothes were torn by branches, and branches snapped.

Broken branches scratched my skin.

It stung, but it was bearable.

Drops of blood formed and flowed.

Pushing off the ground, I lowered my upper body.

From here on, it was a long downhill slope.

If I stumbled and rolled, it would be my defeat; if I focused and ran, it would be my victory.

The foot that kicked the ground was in the air for over a second.

The next foot was the same, and it was clear that if I fell like this, I wouldn’t be caught by the goblins but would just die with my head smashed.

This was the best option.

Knowing that, I boldly took the next step.

“Kieek-!”

One goblin couldn’t properly chase me down the slope, fell, and rolled.

Its head hit a rock and was smashed, and blood splattered.

A foul smell wafted.

I was almost there.

Along with relief, I reminded myself to be alert.

I had seen many cases where things went wrong due to letting my guard down at the end.

“Uwaaaaaah-!”

I let out a scream.

It was a signal that I had arrived.

The goblins who chased me thought I was cornered and swaggered around boastfully.

I narrowly avoided the spot where the trap was set and threw myself forward, and the goblins chasing me, unable to react in time, fell into the pit dug by Ban.

One paused in what seemed like confusion, unsure of what to do, but was pierced by Ban’s spear that appeared from behind and died meaninglessly.

“……Phew.”

Even while pushing back his hair, Ban walked towards the pit.

Then he looked inside the pit and soon looked at me with a sour expression.

“7 of them, including the one I caught, makes 8… Where’s the one?”

“…It fell while chasing me and died.”

“Huh.”

I sighed at Ban’s action of approaching and looking me over as I sat down, my legs having lost strength.

“I’m fine, just quickly deal with those things.”

The pit was deep enough that they couldn’t climb out, but it wasn’t so high that falling from that height would kill them.

When I pointed to the pit with my finger, Ban clicked his tongue and began stabbing into the pit with his spear.

Unpleasant screams poured out.

Considering the state of his weapon maintenance, he shouldn’t be someone lacking skill.

Strangely, the screams didn’t stop.

It looked as if he was intentionally inflicting pain.

“…What are you doing?”

“It’s nothing special, just venting frustration.”

Come to think of it, Ban had found the settlement and planned the strategy before me.

That means he knew the state of the settlement.

Even though such venting might seem cruel, I couldn’t help but understand.

“Mister.”

“…Just call me Ban instead.”

“Ban.”

“Why.”

“It’s true that the goblin settlement was small, but… people were harmed. Why wasn’t a subjugation party formed?”

“You, you don’t know?”

What don’t I know?

As I looked at the ground and tilted my head in confusion, Ban told me about the current situation.

Matters concerning monsters are things that adventurers must resolve.

“…Yes?”

“The heads of the adventurer’s guild are also rotten to the core, so if a monster subjugation isn’t done through them, they send letters to pick fights. Unless you’re a considerably high-ranking noble, people dislike fighting with the adventurer’s guild, so they usually put in a request to the adventurer’s guild and leave it rather than handling the subjugation themselves.”

“Why…?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Ban scratched the back of his head irritably and grumbled.

Perhaps Ban also didn’t seem to know the exact circumstances.

“Rather than such gloomy talk, let’s dismantle the goblins.”

“Do I just need to tear off their noses?”

“Right, you only get paid if you submit proof of subjugation.”

With shaky legs, I barely managed to stand up and approached the pit.

In the case of goblins, the elongated nose is proof of subjugation.

In other words, you just need to cut off the noses.

Ban lowered me into the pit with a rope, and stepping on the goblins that were pierced here and there with their intestines, blood, and filth spilling out, I cut off their noses one by one and threw them beyond the pit.

It was so grotesque and disgusting that nausea surged up, but I managed to hold it back.

“Kid.”

“It’s Eli.”

“I suddenly got curious, what would happen if I let go of the rope here?”

“……Huh?”

“Then I wouldn’t have to share 2 with you, right?”

“That joke is in bad taste.”

The pit was roughly a little over 2m deep, and if he let go of the rope here, I would inevitably be isolated.

The soil was soft, making it difficult to climb up by bracing against the wall.

“It’s a joke, yeah. I wanted to tell you that jumping into the pit like that is dangerous.”

“…Sigh.”

Why would a person who’s old enough act so childish?

After cutting off all the noses, I gave the signal to pull the rope and lift me up, and he obediently pulled the rope, taking me out of the pit.

“Let’s go to the settlement. On the way, we’ll cut off the nose of the one that fell and died, and clean up the settlement too.”

“We should.”

Even so, while I didn’t know about other things, I felt like I wouldn’t be satisfied unless that unpleasant totem was torn down, so I moved my steps with difficulty.

Ban, who arrived at the settlement with me, ordered me to gather dry branches, and when I diligently gathered them, he set the branches on fire and began burning the totem.

Perhaps it had already become a nest for insects.

As it began to burn, centipedes, maggots, flies, and all sorts of insects crawled out, creating a disgusting scene.

Feeling relieved at the thought that the job was finished, Ban spoke to me.

“You’re braver than I thought, and more ignorant than I thought, but are you perhaps interested in continuing to work with me?”

“…No.”

“Don’t be like that, if there’s work like this in the future, I’ll do it 7:3. How about it?”

Surprised by Ban’s action of smiling playfully and bending his knees to meet my gaze, I tightly closed my eyes.

But, it was right after our eyes had already met.

“…You.”

I didn’t say anything.

I knew exactly what words would follow.

“You’re really unpleasant.”

It wasn’t the light tone from before.

There was no hint of playfulness mixed in.

Just like stating a fact, there was contempt.

The person who was just joking with me a moment ago.

The person who was just asking if I wanted to work together a moment ago.

As if a different person, he ruthlessly revealed his disgust.

The disgust he showed while burning the goblin totem, he was revealing it to me.

As if I were on the same level as that cruel and horrible totem.

The strong hand that reached out and grabbed my neck didn’t let go even when I shook my head and resisted.

In the end, the words I had to say were fixed this time as well.

“…So, sorry… sorry…….”

I didn’t even know what I should be sorry for.

But I had to say that.

I couldn’t breathe properly, so my voice couldn’t come out properly.

Ban threw me down onto the floor just like that.

“Ack-!”

My head was spinning.

I couldn’t breathe properly.

My body twisted in pain, but my eyes were squeezed shut.

He’s doing this because I looked at his eyes.

If time passes, he’ll calm down and go back to normal again.

Believing that, I curled my body into a ball.

I prepared for the pain that would soon come.

…But the pain didn’t come.

Slowly, I got up from where I was and looked around.

“……He went down the mountain first?”

While I felt fortunate that I hadn’t suffered anything worse, worry came first.

“……What about the quest reward.”

4 silver coins.

I should have received it, but I had no idea how to get it from someone who showed such disgust.

While sighing deeply and kicking at stones, I saw something sparkling lying next to me, catching the moonlight.

When I picked it up, it was 4 silver coins.

“……Even while feeling disgust, his calculation is precise.”

I don’t know if I should call this amazing, but I felt like I shouldn’t meet him again, and even if I did, I shouldn’t pretend to know him.

Because disgust, once etched, doesn’t easily disappear.

“…Still, I earned money.”

It wasn’t a loss, but a proper reward for successfully completing the quest.

“Hehe….”