Ch.45The Carriage and the Goblin

On the morning of the second day after departing from Zemest, at 11 AM, the once barren landscape of rocky hills was gradually transforming into plains with grass and trees.

The relatively flat terrain with scattered small forests and shallow, narrow streams created an idyllic scene that made it easy to forget this was a harsh environment that could drive people to their deaths.

In the middle of Grantis’s fields, where tranquility and danger coexisted, Mina sat atop Ancestor, examining the single-action revolver I had given her through a magnifying glass.

She was trying to understand the revolver’s structure and list the materials needed for modifications before we reached our next destination.

“Hmm~ This is quite an interesting gun.”

“Interesting?”

“It has parts that would be completely meaningless for a magic bullet gun, while also missing components that would be essential for one. But the barrel is made of some mysterious metal with extremely high magical conductivity~”

The single-action revolver I brought from Earth was designed to fire gunpowder ammunition, so it naturally differed in basic design from Grantis’s magic bullet guns.

Moreover, if even the dwarves, who are more knowledgeable about minerals than anyone else, couldn’t identify the metal, my revolver might face the same difficulties with repairs and modifications as Seti’s gun.

“It’s like putting an elven woman’s dress on a dwarf man. With no breasts, the inside of the bra is completely empty, and the waist is so oversized that you can’t even tighten the corset, let alone close the collar. Ugh~ Now that I’ve said it out loud, it’s even more horrifying than I imagined…”

“Oh…”

I forcefully suppressed the image of Oppenbartel wearing Jessica’s clothes that was trying to form in my mind, and took back the gun from Mina, sliding it into the holster at my waist.

“So, do you think you can improve this gun’s performance?”

“Probably? But since I can’t identify the material for certain, it would be better to start with the magic bullet engraving rather than tampering with the gun itself.”

“Please do that. As long as the gun doesn’t become unusable, we can gradually improve its performance… Huh?”

“What’s that?”

As we were heading directly west toward the Third Western City, an unusual procession appeared in our field of vision.

A wagon pulled by a skinny, struggling horse was being chased by small silhouettes running toward us.

The wagon was about 150 meters away. The pursuers were too distant to see clearly, but they appeared to be small humanoid figures, with some riding on wolves and quickly closing the distance to the wagon.

“…Goblins! The wagon is being chased by a pack of goblins!”

“Goblins?”

“They’re monsters that travel in groups, eat people, and steal things.”

“If we’re dealing with monsters, we can’t just ignore this. Let’s go help.”

“I’ll go first.”

Seti, the fastest among us, grabbed her spear and ran ahead, while I quickly switched places with Mina, mounted Ancestor, and followed.

The situation with the wagon racing toward us was changing rapidly. As a goblin riding a wolf caught up to the wagon and tried to throw a hand axe at the driver, the young driver aimed a rifle with one hand and shot the goblin off the wolf.

But immediately after, the riderless wolf leaped up and bit the horse’s neck, causing the wagon to veer sharply to the left before overturning with a loud crash.

“Oh no! Hurry, Ancestor!”

“Neeeigh~!!”

I put the revolver I had drawn back into its holster, firmly gripped the reins with both hands, and spurred Ancestor forward.

The driver, who had jumped from the wagon just before it overturned, seemed uninjured, but the large wolf that had killed the horse was less than ten paces away from him. If it charged, the driver wouldn’t last ten seconds.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

“Yip!?”

The shots I fired from my revolver while practically hanging off the galloping horse didn’t hit their mark, but they were enough to get the wolf’s attention.

Startled by the gunshots behind it, the wolf turned around to see a beastfolk girl charging fiercely toward it.

“Thunk!”

“Kiii…!”

The brown wolf died instantly as the long spear blade pierced its side, unable to even properly let out a death cry.

Seti easily pulled her spear from the wolf’s body, passed by the bewildered driver, and headed toward the goblin pack. I arrived at the scene shortly after, slowing Ancestor down to check on the driver.

“Hey, are you hurt?”

“Who are you people?”

“Adventurers passing through! Let’s deal with the goblins first!”

“Understood!”

The goblin pack that had been pursuing the wagon seemed momentarily confused by the sudden appearance of reinforcements but soon began charging forward with loud cries.

Though I couldn’t understand the goblin language, their attitude suggested they believed their numerical advantage would lead to victory.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

“Boom!”

Indeed, the difference in forces—5 versus 15, or rather 3 versus 15 excluding Mina and Jessica who hadn’t yet joined us—was significant.

But that only mattered if both sides could deploy their combat power equally.

The goblins’ weapons—clubs, knives, and hand axes—were at a severe disadvantage in reach compared to our firearms and Seti’s spear.

Three from my revolver, one from the rifle, and one from Seti’s spear. In an instant, five goblins lay on the ground.

Despite losing a third of their forces in just five steps of their charge, the remaining ten goblins didn’t stop.

Two headed for Seti, while four each rushed toward me and the driver.

The goblins’ decision to neutralize the gun-wielders first wasn’t a bad strategy. If they could engage in close combat before we reloaded, the situation would turn in their favor.

‘If they could engage in close combat, that is.’

No one is foolish enough to stand still reloading when enemies are right in front of them.

The driver turned his back to the goblins and ran at full speed, while I simply spurred Ancestor to move at a moderate pace, easily securing the opportunity to reload.

“Stone Bullet!”

“Thunk!”

“Bang!!”

As Jessica’s Stone Bullet and Mina’s single-shot pistol, who had just joined the battle, took down two of the goblins chasing the driver, the remaining goblins stopped their pursuit and began to flee.

But they wouldn’t escape unscathed. The last thing those goblins saw was a brown-skinned beastfolk girl rushing like the wind, swinging her long spear sideways.

The two goblins that had chased after Seti must have lost their lives in the blink of an eye.

“It’s over.”

Watching Seti decapitate two fleeing goblins at once, I slowly dismounted from Ancestor.

Behind me lay the bodies of four foolish goblins who had tried to chase on foot after someone escaping on horseback—someone armed with a six-shooter, no less.

Seeing that all the goblins had been eliminated, the driver, who had collapsed to catch his breath as the tension drained from him, slowly stood up and bowed deeply in gratitude as we approached.

“Thank you for your help. I thought I was done for.”

“For someone who thought that, you handled yourself pretty well. Your shooting wasn’t bad either.”

“It’s nothing compared to you adventurers. Ah, I’m Albert Brown, a transporter.”

“F-rank adventurer, William J. Kim. These are my companions Jessica Walter, Elem Lu Seti, and Minarette Belghand.”

As we shook hands and introduced ourselves, Jessica, Seti, and Mina waved in turn.

Normally, introducing party members or representing the party in conversations would be the role of the leader, Jessica, but since she preferred to observe as an advisor rather than step forward as the party leader, I usually took the lead in interactions with others.

“So, Albert, how did you end up wandering outside the city without an escort?”

“Haha… I deeply regret it now. Since fast monsters rarely appear in this area, I thought I could make it to Zemest without any problems as long as I had a barrier scroll.”

“Seems you paid a hefty price for that lesson. What do you plan to do now?”

“Umm… Is there any chance you could use your horses to pull my wagon to Zemest? I’d pay half the transport fee.”

“We’re actually coming from Zemest, so going back would be inconvenient. But we could take you to the Third Western City for free.”

“Th-that’s a bit…”

Albert hesitated at my offer to pull his wagon to the Third Western City, looking visibly uncomfortable.

His attitude seemed suspicious, but I maintained a casual demeanor and continued the conversation calmly.

“Either way, you’ll have to abandon the wagon and cargo and walk back, right? Wouldn’t it be better to return to the Third Western City and regroup?”

“T-to be honest, I don’t have much money left. If I could reach Zemest on time and receive the transport fee, I could reward you all and buy a new horse, but if I go back now, not only will there be delivery delays, but I won’t even have the funds to buy a horse and start again…”

“Ah~ I see. What should we do?”

“A day’s detour shouldn’t be a problem, right? It’s not like we’re in a hurry.”

“I don’t mind either.”

*nods*

“Thank you! I will never forget this kindness!”

“Let’s start by righting the wagon and cleaning up. We can’t leave the horse and wolf carcasses here either.”

We righted the overturned wagon and divided the tasks to handle the aftermath of the battle.

Jessica used fire magic to burn the horse and wolf carcasses, Seti collected the goblins’ magic stones, and Mina checked the wagon for damage, while Albert and I worked together to retrieve the scattered cargo boxes.

“This should be the last box. Grab that side, and on three! One, two, three!”

“Heave!”

After loading five boxes onto the wagon, we lifted the final box that was furthest away. As we did, I felt something wet on my palm supporting the bottom of the box.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“The bottom of this box is wet. Looks like something inside broke and leaked.”

“I don’t think there was any liquid cargo…”

“Sniff, sniff… Whoa! This is urine!?”

“Ah!?”

My body instinctively jumped back when I smelled the liquid on my hands while supporting the box with my thighs.

Because I stepped back and let go without warning, Albert, who was holding the opposite corner, lost his balance and dropped the box to the ground.

“Crash!”

“Eek!?”

When a girl’s voice came from inside the box that had fallen to the ground, everyone around us fell silent for a moment.

No one present failed to realize what had happened and what—or rather who—was inside this box.

“Open it.”

I pointed my revolver at Albert, who had frozen pale in the same position after dropping the box, and commanded in a low voice.