Chapter 6: Inferno at the Cave Entrance

But… it doesn’t really seem like it’s my fault, does it?

It’s not like I knew anything about it, so I don’t think I need to feel guilty.

Besides, becoming a saint candidate or going to the academy doesn’t guarantee happiness.

They’ll probably just end up being sent to the battlefield.

Sure, there might be hope that they can quit that position later, but at the point the main story of the game starts, it might already be too late and that opportunity could vanish entirely.

Because the real Demon King comes back and invades.

No—wait, wasn’t he already resurrected before I was even born into this world?

I heard that he starts really acting around the middle of the game’s main story, after he builds up his strength.

So… hmm, maybe just living quietly in a rural village isn’t such a bad thing after all?

I’m definitely not just rationalizing because of guilt.

Probably.

“Adventurer!”

As I was thinking about that and came down to the first floor, Chloe, who had been sitting on the inn’s entrance steps, stood up with a bright smile on her face.

“Were you waiting for me?”

“Yes! I was heading back to the village anyway! I thought it’d be much easier for you if someone guided you! …Um, but…”

Chloe’s eyes glanced behind the two of us, as if searching for something in the air.

“What about the others?”

“The others?”

When I asked back, Chloe hesitated a little and asked cautiously.

“Um, do you not have any other companions?”

Ah…

“Nope. It’s just the two of us.”

“Just the two…?”

“Two is enough.”

“Uh, but still…”

“Alright then, shall we get going?”

When I looked at Siwoo, he gave a slightly awkward smile.

Chloe still looked pretty uneasy, but since we spoke so confidently, she seemed unable to refuse.

Well, I get it.

It’s not like she could just ask another adventurer for help either.

Makes sense.

The frontier village we arrived at with Chloe looked even more rural than the one I used to live in.

Honestly, calling it a village might be a stretch—wasn’t it just a small cluster of houses?

Did they even have an inn or anything like that here?

There was a small chapel in the village square, but even that looked more like an ordinary house, with just a crude wooden symbol of the church slapped onto it.

A circle overlapping a large cross.

I could kind of guess what religious vibe they were going for.

“Only two people?”

The place gave off a completely backwater vibe, but since it was a frontier village, the population was relatively young.

And many of those young people had come from the nearby big city, Cloren.

Technically, this place was part of Cloren too, but when I say Cloren, I mean the part inside the lord’s castle.

“Look, Sister. Two adventurers alone can’t handle a goblin den. We’ve counted over thirty of them. Even if they’re small, once they charge in with weapons, there’s no way to stop them.”

So… did some villagers sneak over and check it out themselves?

If that’s the case, there’s a good chance there are even more than they saw.

And honestly, I agree with that guy.

If I were just an ordinary adventurer, I wouldn’t have taken on something like this.

If I were a normal adventurer, that is.

“You’re probably right. With that many, it might be too much for just the two of us.”

When I responded calmly, the man gave a big nod.

He looked very displeased—not because he didn’t like us or didn’t trust us, but purely because the numbers didn’t look good.

“B-but…”

Chloe looked at me, her voice slightly timid.

She must’ve been flustered.

Back at the lord’s castle, I told her we could do it, but now here I was saying something else.

“No matter how hard we go at the goblins, a few are bound to slip out. Even if we wipe out the main camp, if we miss a couple and they cause damage, then it’s all meaningless, right?”

As I casually put both feet up on the table and said this, the man’s mouth dropped open.

“What the hell are you—”

“So if you don’t have weapons, at least bring something like a plow or whatever. Then just spread out and surround the cave the goblins were spotted in. There are plenty of men here anyway.”

When I leaned all the way back in my chair, hands clasped behind my head, the man’s face turned red.

Same with the other men around us.

Did I hurt their pride or something?

“Huh?”

“Uh… could you put your legs down?”

“Why?”

“It’s… showing.”

“Oh, are you still going on about that? I told you, I’m wearing pants underneath.”

I said, clearly exasperated, and Siwoo pointed at Chloe.

Chloe had both hands covering her face.

But her neck and ears were still visible—and they were completely red.

And if she’s going to spread her fingers like that, what’s the point of covering her face?

I could still see her eyes.

Seriously, she really doesn’t get it.

***

In front of the cave where the goblins had settled, the stench of burning meat filled the air.

Goblins aren’t exactly known for their cooking skills.

They just hack up meat and throw it over a fire.

Naturally, the outside gets charred while the inside stays raw.

Whatever’s left after eating, they just toss into the flames, so of course the smell of burnt meat is overwhelming.

It seemed like the villagers hadn’t come this close.

A wise decision.

If they wandered too near and got eaten, that would be a tragically pointless way to die.

“Alright, let’s go over the plan one more time.”
When I spoke, Siwoo nodded.

“I’ll take out as many as I can at the cave entrance. Your job is to stop any of them from scattering toward the villagers.”

“And if I can’t stop them, I’m supposed to aim for their arms or legs, right?”

“Exactly.”

We’ve got to leave them in a state the villagers can actually handle.

Seeing Siwoo nod again, I turned around without any worry.

I trust him.

He might not be on my level when it comes to swordsmanship, but he’s no slouch either.

And when it comes to archery, he’s definitely better than me.

Even if the game didn’t set him up as a combat-type protagonist…

Well, what choice do we have?

If I went in alone, it’d definitely end in disaster.

I walked ahead, with Siwoo following at a distance behind me.

Up ahead, the goblins on lookout noticed us.

“Kiiieeek!”

One of the two goblins pointed at me and screeched—a wheezing sound, like air leaking from a balloon.

It was about the height of a seven-year-old child, but its face was nothing like one.

Its mouth and eyes were abnormally large, and its skull looked like it had no flesh—just skin stretched tight over bone.

Its ears were long like an elf’s, but patchy with tufts of fur, making them look grotesque.

They had spotted me and screamed, but then the two goblins looked at each other and tilted their heads in confusion.

That’s because I was the only one they could see.
Aside from my gear, I had the physique of an average-height woman.

To those two, I probably didn’t seem like much of a threat.

But even so, they didn’t charge recklessly.

They stood in a posture that looked like they were about to dash back into the cave at any moment.

Were they planning to bring reinforcements?

I drew my sword.

“Keeek!”

Seeing that, the goblin who had pointed at me screeched again and turned to dash into the cave—

But never made it.

An arrow had pierced its neck.

Siwoo, who had silently moved off to the side, had let loose a shot.

Thick, tar-like black blood ran down the shaft of the arrow lodged in its throat.

“G-gkeh… kegek…”

Thud.

Seeing its comrade collapse, the other goblin turned and fled into the cave without even a scream.

I chuckled and glanced over at Siwoo.

He shrugged at me.

Well, it didn’t matter. I hadn’t planned on fighting inside the cave anyway.

I gripped my sword and positioned myself at the fairly wide cave entrance.

How long would it take them to come pouring out?

“Whoops.”

I casually sidestepped a stone a goblin had thrown and swung my sword.

“Kegh?”

The clanging sound of metal rang out as the goblin’s crude pitchfork clashed with my blade.

Its weapon, gripped tightly in both hands, was knocked aside, and the goblin lost its balance mid-charge.

Spinning to the side, I brought my sword down on the creature’s head as it stumbled.

The goblin dropped dead on the spot.

“They really just keep coming, huh.”

Honestly, it was surprising the village had only suffered this much damage so far.

Now I could see why Siwoo said they’d stolen the holy relic.

In the game, it was just mentioned in passing—“the village took heavy damage”—but in reality, this must’ve been a nightmare.

Thwack!

An arrow flew in and pierced a goblin’s skull.

The goblins kept surging out of the cave relentlessly—but once they were out, they didn’t know what to do.

Corpses piled high at the entrance, forming an accidental barricade.

I could just step back a few paces if needed.

But the goblins had no such luxury—their only way forward was out.

The cave entrance was wide, but not enough to swarm me all at once.

Just stepping forward a few feet gave me all the space I needed to cut them down.

Of course, this wouldn’t be doable for a typical adventurer.

No matter how ideal the position, human stamina has limits.

But—

Haa…

Just as my breathing started to get heavy, a cool sensation washed over me, and calm returned.

It wasn’t just that the adrenaline had faded—my heart rate genuinely slowed, and strength returned to my limbs.

It was the same feeling I always had after meeting Siwoo—whenever we trained or went on a request together.

How could I not notice by now?

Smack!

“Gah!”

A goblin burst through the crowd and swung a crude blade at my unarmed left thigh—

And I smashed its head in with my fist.

That was thanks to the physical enhancement blessing I’d received from the Grand Cathedral.

Of course, the powers I gained after awakening as a Hero served as the foundation.

But still—

“Ha, they really don’t stop coming.”

I must’ve cut down at least thirty of them myself by now.

Some had managed to slip past, but they’d have been taken care of in the rear.

And yet, the goblins still kept coming from inside the cave.

Were they completely unaware of what was happening out here?

Swinging my sword, I hesitated for a moment.

—Well, whatever.

It’s not like I was trying to hide this in the first place.

I leapt back in a single bound.

The frontmost goblins hesitated, clearly confused about why I was retreating.

But before that hesitation could fade, I raised my left hand.

“Kiiek! Kreeek!”

They didn’t quite understand what I was doing, but at least they sensed something was off.

Several goblins rushed toward me anyway—only to be struck down by arrows mid-charge.

One managed to survive and leapt into the air—

—and in that moment, my prayer reached the Goddess.

“Huh?”

A voice sounded behind me.

Had the people gotten close enough to see the battle and gain some courage from it?

Judging by the voice, it was probably Chloe.

A goblin screamed.

The one that had leapt at me covered its face as if it had been burned, then fell to the ground—
—and crumbled to ash.

The goblins behind it suffered the same fate.

Realizing the situation too late, the remaining goblins turned and scrambled back into the cave.

Naturally, I walked in after them.

***

Meanwhile—From the villagers’ perspective—

“Wh-What is that…”

One of the villagers murmured as they watched from behind.

None of them had thought the adventurer who stood alone at the cave entrance, cutting down dozens of goblins, was “normal.”

But this— a figure whose hand glowed with light, incinerating monsters into nothingness— this was something else entirely.

“Miss Nun… can you do that too?”

One of the men, clutching a pitchfork, cautiously asked Chloe.

But his eyes never left the radiant cave entrance.

“…No. If I could, I wouldn’t have let the goblins be for this long.”

Chloe answered as calmly as she could manage.

Even so, her heart was pounding in her chest.

She could aid in killing monsters with divine power—disrupting their regenerative abilities, or in some rare cases, burning them slightly.

But to reduce them to ash, leaving no trace behind?

That was the kind of thing you only read about in holy scripture.

—The kind of thing you only saw in scripture.

Wait… no way—?

It finally dawned on Chloe who this “adventurer” might be.