by Ao Jyumonji
We had heard it went around the mines, bringing a small number of followers with it.
If you ever run into Death Spots, don’t hesitate, run immediately! Sometimes, it even comes up as far as the entrance. Even if you aren’t that deep in, you’ll still need to watch out.
We knew all that, but we weren’t careful. Because we’d never seen hide nor hair of Death Spots.
Now, that said, when a large — much too large — kobold that looked like Death Spots came at us, we weren’t so thoughtlessly optimistic that we expected to win.
It’s just... we were on the fifth level. It was a long way to the surface, and we couldn’t get away easily. We thought we had no choice but to fight.
Michiki and I would take on Death Spots in turns, while Merry, Ogu, and Mutsumi took care of its followers. That was the plan we followed. It went well, at first.
Death Spots was as strong as the rumors had said, but between Michiki and myself, we were able to keep it in check, and Merry and the others were gradually whittling down the number of followers. If someone got hurt, Merry healed them immediately.
The moment all its followers were gone, I thought we could do it. After all, Death Spots was already wounded, but we were uninjured. To be accurate, even after taking countless wounds, we were uninjured.
I misread the situation due to my inexperience. If we had run away then, we might have been able to shake off Death Spots and hidden ourselves somewhere. But we didn’t do that.
We attacked Death Spots, staining its spotted fur in blood. However, no matter how many times Michiki and I slashed it, Merry bludgeoned it, or Mutsumi struck it with magic, it refused to fall. We weren’t even slowing it down.
It had boundless reserves of stamina, and the pain from its wounds wasn’t weakening it; if anything, the pain was just making it madder.
It was an outlier, while we were ordinary.
First, it slashed open Ogu’s face with its claws. While Merry was healing Ogu, Michiki took a hard blow that broke his left arm. While Michiki was being healed, it punched me hard, and I lost consciousness.
I was out for thirty seconds at most. But in that time, Ogu had gotten killed.
Merry was desperately trying to keep a near-dead Mutsumi alive a little longer. Michiki was covered in wounds and trying to hold Death Spots off.
When I opened my eyes, I desperately drew Death Spots’s attention to me, letting Michiki fall back.
With the last spell Mutsumi let off before she breathed her last, Death Spots looked like it was faltering.
No, maybe that was just what I wanted to think. With every second, Death Spots was pushing me closer to the edge.
“Hurry, Merry! Hurry, heal Michiki!”
That’s what I shouted. Again, and again, I shouted.
Until Merry screamed back at me, I didn’t realize.
“I’m sorry, Hayashi! I’m sorry! I can’t use any more magic!”
You can’t just use magic as much as you want, for as long as you want. For mages and priests to use the power of the elementals and gods, they expend a spiritual power called magic power. Even I understood that much.
No... I hadn’t truly understood it.
Even thought I’d known Mutsumi and Merry occasionally meditated to regain their magic power, right then, things like how much magic power they had left, whether they could spare any, whether they were almost out... those were things I didn’t have a firm grasp on. Mutsumi and Merry hadn’t let us trouble ourselves with those things.
Anytime we needed it, magic came flying. Our wounds were healed. That’s what it felt like. We never even thought about how much the two of them were struggling to do that.
Even by the time we finished off its followers, Merry must have used a lot of magic power. And after a long, drawn-out battle, it had finally run out.
Michiki was the one who saved Merry and me. He worked up the last of his strength to stand facing Death Spots. Throwing one skill after another at it, he told me and Merry to run.
Merry refused, and she went to charge at Death Spots.
I stopped her.
I ran away, dragging her with me.
I won’t make excuses for what I did.
I abandoned a comrade.
Michiki wasn’t going to make it with those wounds. I wanted to at least grant the last wish of the friend who was risking his life so that we could get away.
I’m amazed that we made it back from the fifth level to the surface alive. We almost died many times on the way, and it took a day and a half.
But... we had lost them. Our precious comrades, our friends... three of them at once.
Merry was in a terrible state. She was the priest, a healer in charge of saving her comrades, and she had let three of them die, then had her own life saved by a comrade.
Since then, I have never once seen her smile. Maybe she thinks she doesn’t have the right to anymore.
After that, we were picked up by Shinohara and joined Orion, but Merry dropped out right away. I think, probably, the comfortable atmosphere of Orion actually made it more painful for her.
Since then, Merry has joined any party that asks her to. However, she never sticks with any of them for long.
Everything I’d heard about her was completely different for the Merry I had known, so I got worried and went to talk to her. She only kept telling me she was fine, and I couldn’t help but feel a wall between us.
Seeing me was painful for her; that was what her eyes told me.
For her, I must be a symbol of the past she lost.
What she needs now is a future. That can’t be me.
Michiki, Mutsumi, and Ogu are dead, and I might as well be a ghost to her. We’re just her past.
She needs to find a future for herself. Otherwise, someday, she’ll sink into the swamp of depression, stop being able to move, and eventually, she’ll stop breathing.
19. For Now, Tomorrow
What do we do? What do we say to her? What are we supposed to do? Those questions were all Haruhiro had been able think about since before going to sleep last night. All he had been able think about until they had met Merry at the north gate at 8:00.
He didn’t come to a conclusion.
Once they reached the Old City of Damuro, he needed to focus on work, so he wouldn’t be at leisure to worry about anything else. The time he needed to hold precious flew by quickly, and after returning to Alterna, Haruhiro was finally able to look her straight in the eye for the first time.
“Merry. I’ve been wanting to talk to you,” Haruhiro began as they were leaving the merchant’s.
Merry said, “I see.” She wrapped her arms around herself as if bracing for something. “Make it quick.”
Haruhiro knew he had been acting strangely today. He didn’t know how to act towards Merry. Everyone must have felt that way. Of course, it was because they heard her story from Hayashi yesterday, but she didn’t know about that. Merry had likely noticed something had changed, and she had a premonition that something was coming.
Like a parting. An end.
Sorry, but could you leave the party? Haruhiro would say.
Merry would immediately say I understand, leaving at once, without further drama.
That was what Merry was getting ready to do now. That was how it looked.
Was it always like this for her? Every time, in every party? That was just too sad.
“Merry.”
You’re wrong, that’s not what it is. As if to tell her that, Haruhiro called his comrade’s name, never looking away from her eyes.
Merry furrowed her brow just a little.
It wasn’t just Haruhiro. Moguzo, Yume, Shihoru, Ranta, they were all looking at Merry, as well.
Merry noticed that, stiffening uneasily.
Seriously, that’s not it. That’s not what’s happening here.
“Merry. We had a priest in our party before. His name was Manato. Manato died. It might be more accurate to say that we let him die. We relied
on Manato too much. Manato was a bit of a perfectionist, see. If we got injured, he would heal even the slightest scratch. He was a reliable healer, and a tank, as well. He was always on the front line with Moguzo. On top of that, he was our leader, so we were making Manato take on three roles by himself. I thought he was amazing. But we took that for granted. It wasn’t easy on Manato. But he never let that show. So we never imagined how Manato was feeling. Now, all we can do is imagine it. Because Manato died. He’s gone now.”
It was probably occurring to Merry that she and Manato were similar. Quite possibly, she was assuming that Haruhiro had heard about her past and was telling her this because he knew that.
Haruhiro had been at a loss for what to do. He had heard the story from Hayashi. He knew roughly what happened long ago, and had a rough idea why she had turned out like she had. Should he tell Merry that? But, somehow, that felt wrong.
He knew what had happened, and why things were like this. But Haruhiro didn’t think people were that simple, and he couldn’t see into Merry’s heart. He couldn’t say that he understood her so easily. The only one I can open up about is myself.
“When we lost Manato, honestly, I thought we were finished. That it was impossible to go on without him. But, even after Manato died, we were still alive. If you’re alive, you can’t just do nothing. For now, we have no choice but to keep ourselves fed as volunteer soldiers. Even if we are just trainees. So, we invited you to join us. Because, without a priest, we can’t do anything at all, you know. That was the only reason. There wasn’t anything else to it.
“But, me, Ranta, Yume, and Shihoru, we were the leftovers to begin with. Moguzo managed to get into a party with some guy named Kuzuoka, but he got thrown out, and they even took all his money. With Manato bringing us together, it wasn’t perfect, but we managed to become a party. We became comrades. That was all it was. But we became comrades. Sometimes things don’t go so well, and sometimes we get angry and fight with each other. But, in the end, we’re all still precious comrades. Rather than dwelling on why we became comrades, right now, the important thing is that we are comrades. As for me, Merry, I think of you as a comrade.”
Merry said nothing. Aside from blinking occasionally, she just stared back into Haruhiro’s eyes.
“...I feel the same.” Shihoru raised her hand. “I think of you as a comrade.”
“That’s right,” Yume grinned. “Merry-chan’s a real cutie-pie, after all.”
“I-I do.” Moguzo was still wearing his barbut. “Of course I think of you as a comrade. It’s reassuring, having you there.”
Ranta snorted. “Yeah, me too, well, you know... The way I make a fuss over little injuries. It’s not like I haven’t reflected on it at all. Doing that kind of stuff. ...Anyway, you’re a comrade, I guess?”
“I guess it’ll snow tomorrow,” Haruhiro said, looking up at the darkening sky. “Since Ranta says he’s reflected on something. Hopefully snow is the worst that happens.”
“Even I reflect on things sometimes! My ability to learn is crazy high! After being with me all this time, you still haven’t figured that much out?!”
“Well, setting that aside...”
“Hey, Haruhiro! Don’t try to just move on! You’re making me sad!”
“I think it’s about time we settled on a goal. Our current objective, I mean—”
Haruhiro looked at Merry. Merry was the same as before. She just kept staring at Haruhiro.
It’s probably not out of rejection. She’s not rejecting us. I want to think that. That’s enough for a start.
“— since it’s been kind of vague up until now. We don’t seem to be working hard to save enough to buy our badges; we seem to just be living day by day. I want to stop doing that, and choose a direction to focus on.”
“Our goal is to become billionaires! Also, world domination!” Ranta burst in.
Haruhiro ignored Ranta and continued on with what he was thinking. Aside from the noisy Ranta and silent Merry, they all agreed at once.
“I’m only interested in money and power,” Ranta broke in. “I wanna be popular with girls, too, though. But, once I’ve got the money and the power, then the rest’ll work itself out. ...Well, as a goal, that’s a step before being a step before being many steps before that goal, but I guess it’s fine, really.”
Yume sighed. “Blah, blah, blah, blah, he just keeps goin’ on.”
You said it, Haruhiro thought as he looked Merry in the eye. “Merry, do you have an opinion?”
Merry cast her eyes downward.
She tucked her chin in a little. Was that a nod? He decided to take it as one.
“Will you join us for dinner?” he asked.
“No,” Merry said, adding in a quieter voice, “...not yet.”
“I see.”
He couldn’t expect it to happen right away. Even if he spent some of his precious time, something he could never know how much he have left of, to take the next step, by the time he did, the end could still be right around the corner.
So of course I want to be in a hurry. Considering that. Still, this was a step forward.
For Haruhiro and the others, who were still all inexperienced or worse, they had to move forward with little steps like this.
Just as Merry turned to go, she said clearly, “See you tomorrow.”
For now, tomorrow would come.
20. The Little Pride of the Goblin Slayers
They woke before the bell rang at 6:00, and began to prepare. They ate whatever seemed good for breakfast, heading to the north gate for 8:00. They met up with Merry and headed to the Old City of Damuro. They still weren’t done making their map of the Old City yet. They mapped out more of it while searching for goblins.
If it was just three goblins, they had gotten to the point where they could handle them without too much issue now. However, when the lightweight-class goblins that specialized in evasion were thrown into the mix, they had to be careful.
Sometime the goblins had ranged weapons, as well. Mostly it was crude shortbows. Their arrows were slow and didn’t have much force, so they weren’t that scary, but crossbows were dangerous. If they took a hit from them in the wrong place, crossbows could be instantly lethal. And heavily equipped goblins were sometimes strangely strong, so if they underestimated them, they would be in for trouble.
For groups of four or more, unless the conditions were exceptionally good, they let them go. Four goblins was about their limit.
If they saw a group of five, they pretended they hadn’t. If there were five, six, or more goblins, it was safe to assume they were a family, or a clan, or some other group with their own territory. There were often similar groups nearby, so attacking one was like stepping on the tail of a tiger.
Most of the goblins acting alone looked poor, but sometimes they had valuable items hidden in their goblin pouches. That made them a target.
Once a day, they would go to that place.
The goblins of the Old City fell into two broad categories: those that stayed in one place and didn’t move around much, and those that traveled from place to place. Those guys were the latter of the two. They were only in that place occasionally.
When the party saw them from a distance, they had a hard time just sitting still.
But, no. Don’t rush it. It’s not time yet.
Currently, Haruhiro’s was the only party using the Old City of Damuro as their hunting grounds. They didn’t need to worry about anyone stealing them from them. Now was the time to build their strength.
When they returned to Alterna, though not every day, they would go to Sherry’s Tavern.
Not to do anything in particular. They just drank and talked. Merry didn’t do much talking, but that was a million times better than Ranta, who talked far too much.
The other volunteer soldiers sometimes poked fun at them, saying, “Hey, Goblin Slayers,” or “How’s it hanging, Goblin Slayers?” or, “Is Damuro fun, widdle Goblin Slayers?” Actually, any time they w
ent to the tavern, they could count on being called that once or twice.
Ranta would say, “Oh, shut up!” but if they got mad each and every time, there would be no end to it.
Haruhiro didn’t mind the name that much, actually. He thought it didn’t have such a bad ring to it.
Goblin Slayers. It’s nice. I quite like it. If they’re calling us that, we’ll become the best goblin slayers in the Volunteer Soldier Corps.
Day after day, it was goblins, goblins, goblins. Goblinsgoblinsgoblins.
At first, all goblin faces looked the same to him, but now Haruhiro could tell them apart pretty well. The vast majority were male, and females were exceptionally rare, he noticed. According to Merry, most of the females were kept in the New City by upper-class goblins as wives.
“There’s one harem I’m not at all jealous of...” Ranta said.
“Even goblin girls wouldn’t take you, Ranta.”
“You moron, Haruhiro, don’t you know? I’m hot stuff even with the gobs! Don’t take the Wandering King of Hotness Ranta so lightly!”
“You say that, King of Hotness, but Yume sees you talkin’ to girls in the tavern and gettin’ ignored, y’know.”
“Th-That’s just... well... you know... even an invincible guy like me has that happen occasionally...”
“The King of Hotness gets shot down too, huh. Even though he’s supposed to be the hot, hot King of Hotness.”
“Quit saying ‘King of Hotness’ over and over! Besides, if those idiots can’t understand my charm, they aren’t worth snot! The people who get it really get it! Merry, if you were forced to choose one of the three of us, who would it be? Totally me, right?”
“If I had to, Moguzo-kun.”
“Wha...?!”
“Huh? M-Me...?” Moguzo opened his eyes wide, he seemed more astonished than shy.
“Hmm...” Haruhiro looked back and forth from Merry to Moguzo.
Yume said, “Hoh!” She seemed impressed.
Shihoru looked at Merry, blinking.
“Wha, Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Whargh!” Ranta bit his tongue stuttering over his words. “—Wh-Why?! Not me, but Moguzo of all people?! That choice is unbelievable, you know?!”
