I landed a short distance away from the entrance of the village . Then I put Felz down onto the snowy ground and raised my index finger to my mouth . He looked at me with a puzzled expression .
“Huh? What?”
“You bloody idiot…”
I frantically covered his mouth and we hid behind some bushes that were covered in snow .
“Waah!”
“Be quiet…! There are goblins…”
“!?”
I finally managed to calm him down . Yes, goblins had entered the village . No one had remained here to protect it . Still, I hadn’t detected any in the area on my way to the Imperial Capital, so I thought it would be fine . But now there were more than a few goblins in the area surrounding the village .
That being said, I could still take care of them in a few minutes . However, Felz was here as well . I couldn’t exactly carry him and fight . That’s why I had wanted to put him down here and go in to fight alone…
“I’m going to go take care of this . You stay right here . Got it?”
“I can protect the village…”
“Felz?”
His eyes were fixed on the village up ahead . Something was strange…
“I can do it!”
“Hey, wait!”
Before I knew it, he had suddenly run ahead He unsheathed his sword as he ran, and I could see that he was unstable . I frantically used Legs of the God Wolf to launch myself into the air and come up to him from behind . Then I tackled him into the snow . He struggled wildly in the snow, and so I threw the Snow Arachne cape over him . I pulled down my own hood and ducked low .
I could tell through using Presence Detection that the goblins had noticed us .
There were about ten in all . Still, things could get bad if they managed to surround us .
They were now close enough to see, and so I slowly raised my head . There was a goblin holding a sword, a goblin holding an axe, and a goblin holding a bow . They were all wearing armor, but aside from the first three, the others were wielding thick tree branches or other makeshift weapons . They looked pretty pathetic, and judging by their armor, they appeared to have come from the abandoned city . They must have gone through one of the other exits then . Adlus’s men would have known if they had come out of the tree hollow .
“Hey, Felz . What are you trying to do…?”
I whispered to him . He was still trying to make a run for it .
“You can’t even swing a sword properly . You’ll just die if you charge into them . I understand that you want to protect your village, but to do that, you need power . Understand?”
“Ggg… But, I’m my father’s…I’m the chief’s son… So it’s my duty…”
Now that was a surprise . Felz was the chief’s son .
“He died protecting the villagers… Now my brother is protecting them in the Imperial Capital . That’s why I have to go and protect the village…”
The chief had been quite young . I see . So he was Felz’s older brother .
“I’m very sorry about your father . There are some things that you can’t do anything about . ”
“…”
“And if there are people around you who are offering help during such times, you should accept it . Do you understand?”
“My father…there was no one to help him . Everyone was desperate . My brother…we’re all helping each other now . And the military is helping us . ”
“Exactly . Now, what about you? Who will help you?”
He slowly raised his head . There were tears in his eyes .
“Help me… Mister Asagi…!”
“Leave it to me!”
Before the tears fell, I wiped them away and turned them into ice . He looked at me in surprise, and I smiled .
“Wait here . I’ll clean this up in a minute . ”
The goblins had lost interest and were turning away . Perfect . And so I got up and covered Felz with the Snow Arachne cape .
Then I ran . Once I was sure that there was enough distance between me and Felz, I activated Legs of the God Wolf . Then I stepped on air with my stretched out left foot and boosted the speed of the wind while charging into the group of goblins .
“Ggggaggg!?”
“Giggggi!!”
The Velnoir slammed into the archer, severing him in half . Then I pulled back and caught the closest goblin’s sword with the sword breaker .
“Gggaaa!!”
The axe-wielder swung down at me, and so I pulled back, dodging the attack and then kicked him dead with a foot that was boosted by Legs of the God Wolf . At the same time, platinum wind blades were launched into the air and shredded up the group of goblins .
Without pausing for a second, I turned back to the goblin whose sword I had broken, and took off his head .
It was a good thing I had prioritized those who were armed . The goblins that were cut by the wind blades were now moaning on the ground . I walked forward and killed them one by one .
And when the last one was finally pierced by my sword, I sighed in relief .
“Phew…”
I wiped the blood off of the blade and sheathed it before turning to Felz with a hand wave . Something white started to move . I knew what it was, because it was mine . Still, the camouflaging was pretty impressive… It was like the cape was made of snow .
“Thank you, Mister Asagi . ”
“Don’t mention it . Cold isn’t it? Let’s go to the chief’s house . ”
As we walked to the village, I told Felz that we had used the houses during the last time we were there . It was a blizzard, so we had no choice… Adlus said they would compensate them for it later .
“It’s because of all of you that our village is safe . No one would dare complain about that . ”
“All the same . We’re grateful for it . ”
We soon arrived at the chief’s house . The door was frozen shut and covered in snow, so I had to push it away with my foot .
When I opened it, I saw that it was the same as how we left it . A lot of things had been used, but we cleaned up after ourselves, and no one had gotten in since .
“…Huhh…uuu…”
Felz took one step in and started to sob . Perhaps this place had reawakened memories of his father’s death . This kind of thing always made me feel awkward .
“…”
Not sure of what to do, I tried patting him on the head . This was because it was what I would have wanted when I was in pain .
Then Felz clutched my leg and started to howl loudly . I really didn’t know what to do . All I could to do was pat him gently .
Once Felz had calmed down, we moved to the table where Adlus had studied his map, and we sat down facing each other . Then I took out two containers of soup from the hollow bag, that I had bought yesterday .
“Here . Drink this . It’ll warm you up . ”
“Thank you…”
He accepted the soup with a sniffle and slowly brought it to his mouth .
“…I know things are really hard for you now, and I almost feel wrong for saying this, but I have to go . My comrades are camped near the home of the goblins . ”
“…Yes . ”
“I have to return to them . This is so we can kill all of the goblins that attacked this village . If we don’t do it now, the Imperial City might be in danger next . Do you understand?”
“I understand . And I’ll be fine on my own . ”
He nodded courageously . But he wouldn’t be alone .
“Didn’t I tell you? I’m going to send some Adventurers to come and protect this place . ”
“But don’t you need them?”
“I’ll make up for their absence . Don’t worry . After all, I’m an Rank Adventurer!”
“I see! That’s amazing!”
He finally understood my greatness . Asagi is pleased .
“I thought you were just the errand boy for the real fighters!”
“Uh, did you not see me laying waste to all those goblins?”
“I didn’t see that . ”
“…”
He hadn’t witnessed my heroics . Boy, your life was not even close to being complete .
“I didn’t know that people could fly when they reached Rank . ”
“That’s because I’m the only person who can do it . But the others are really strong as well . ”
“So you’re a big deal then, Mister Asagi . ”
“That’s what I’ve been saying . ”
It was a ridiculous conversation, but it seemed to cheer him up, which was a relief . So, humans really did tend to think negatively when they were hungry . I was almost always hungry when in a bad mood, and food always made me feel better . Wasn’t Daniela living proof? She was an optimistic person, right?
“It’s possible that goblins might return here again . So I need you to stay here and hide . I’ll have the Adventurers use a signal . When you hear a whistle, you open the door . ”
“A whistle . Got it!”
“Alright, good kid . ”
I said as I tousled his hair . Before leaving, I took out a few meat skewers for him to eat, and then put on my cape again .
“Alright, stay low and keep quiet . And lock all of the doors when I’m gone . ”
“Okay… I’m a little scared, but it’s my house . I’ll protect it . ”
“Good . See you later then . ”
I was still worried, but the sooner I left, the sooner the Jades would get here . I made sure that he had locked the doors, and hurried on my way .
When I had first looked down and saw Felz there, I was annoyed at what I was about to get involved in, but I was glad that I helped him . Of course, I never even considered leaving him . But I wasn’t thrilled about it . Save him quickly and move on . That was all I had been thinking…
“Protect the village, huh…”
He was young, but had a clear vision of what he had to do . Even if it was too big a burden for him currently . What had I been doing at that age? What had I been thinking? Would I have faced a creature that threatened my life?
“Nope… No way in hell . ”
Even when I was young, I knew what it meant to die . And would have done anything to avoid it . I was still like that in a way . But I was able to acquire the power to stand up against enemies . That’s why I was able to fight now . Otherwise, I wouldn’t even be here . I was scared of just getting injured .
Once I was alone, I started to compare my past with that boy . And when I did, I found that he was better in every way .
I could not help but respect the little guy .
I could finally see the campsite . Well, with the help of Eyes of the God Wolf, anyway . They were either guarding the area or organizing their tools . But one figure was looking in my direction . Of course, it was Daniela . Maybe I should wave .
“Welcome back, Asagi . ”
“I’m back! Ah, that was damn tiring . ”
Everyone gathered around me as I landed by the entrance . Marcel and Silket were there too . And so I gestured for them to come closer .
“It’s good to have you back, Mister Asagi . ”
“Welcome back . ”
“Hey . Things were certainly easier, thanks to you, Silket . Oh, and your father was really worried about you . ”
She looked very happy when I said this . She was really close to her father .
“I’m quite fond of Mister Marcera as well . We even have similar names . ”
“Now that you mention it… Well, whatever . I have a favor to ask you two . ”
I wanted to ask them to take care of Felz . And when I told them about what had happened, they readily accepted .
“The quest is about protecting the village, after all . Leave it to us . ”
“The three of us will be waiting in the village for your safe return . ”
“Thank you . Well, I’ll have to go and ask Adlus about it, but I’m sure it will be fine . I just want you to hurry . Also, there’s a signal . You have to whistle when you reach the chief’s house . Then Felz will open the door . ”
“Understood!”
“I understand!”
They replied energetically and then returned to their tents, probably to grab their bags . In the meantime, I was going to tell the guards that the two would be leaving, but there was no one on top of the wall . Hadn’t Daniela been there?
“Ah, yes . It is my watch . ”
“Then you should watch! You shouldn’t be standing here!”
“You want me to stand over there when you have only just returned? You must really hate me now . ”
What…no…but it was an important job…
“Hey, you . I believe it is nearly time for you to take my place?”
Daniela said as she grabbed a random Jade . Of course, she had a threatening attitude that suggested she wouldn’t take no for an answer .
“No…we just traded a minute…”
“I see . So you will take my place . Thank you . ”
“…Yes . ”
What a tyrant . Daniela was scary…
I arrived at Adlus’s tent . Daniela was next to me . I secretly apologized to the guy that was forced to take her place .
I pushed open the closed flap and entered the warm tent . My eyes wandered around, searching for the source . There was something in the center that looked like a stove . A silver cylinder . There was a glass window in it and behind that was a shining red light . I suppose it was magic .
Then my eyes met Adlus, who was seated on a chair .
“That was quick . ”
“Who do you think I am?”
He chuckled at my arrogant reply . We had started off on the wrong foot, but it was nice that we could make light of it now .
“So? Surely you didn’t just rush back empty-handed?”
“Now you’re just being stupid . I’ll unpack in a minute . Go and call the others . ”
“Fine . Let’s go . ”
Anis, who seemed to have suddenly become Adlus’s aide, answered and followed after him . I also turned on my heels and exited the tent . I regretted having to leave that warmth, but there was a job to do . Daniela regretted it even more than me, and I had to pull her out myself .
By the time we reached the center of the campsite, everyone had gathered in a circle . Now, for the long away feast . Daniela would create a wind barrier and we could enjoy a nice old barbecue .
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