Goblin Slayer - Volume 10 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Storm Front

“Eek!” Priestess exclaimed, tumbling back into the bushes as bestial jaws snapped at her. “Eee-yahh…!” She lashed out with her sounding staff, and the fangs bit into it with a crack. 

Filthy saliva spattered in droplets on her slight face, making her tremble in fear. The monster before her was all bloodshot eyes and a terrifying size, a true hound of hell. There was no hope for the victim of the bite of a warg. 

“Ooh… H-hggh…!” Priestess summoned all her strength and kicked at the air with her pale legs, doing anything she could to keep the fangs at bay as they pressed ever closer. The warg’s limbs, each thicker than Priestess’s neck, pressed against her willowy body, the claws digging into her soft flesh. “Ahh… Ahh…?!” 

Thanks to her chain mail, it didn’t hurt, at least not much. Even then, her lungs and abdomen were still being crushed, and a groan forced itself out of Priestess’s mouth. She was struggling for breath, her vision growing dim. Somewhere past the warg, she could see the dark trees of the forest. Her gaze was that of a prey animal being crushed into the earth, struggling, yes, but ultimately waiting to be eaten—a pitiful creature. 

But Priestess was desperate and ready and clever to boot. She knew that she only needed an opening of an instant. 

“GARW?!” 

A second later, the warg yelped as it took a kick from the side and tumbled off her. 

“Are you okay?” 

“Y-yes!” Priestess coughed a couple times but was able to steady her breath, and when she looked up, she saw an adventurer. He wore grimy leather armor and a cheap-looking metal helmet. In his hand was a sword of a strange length, and on his arm, a round shield. “There’s another one, Goblin Slayer, sir…!” 

“I know.” 

“GAAWRG!!” 

As a second warg came rushing in, he slammed it on the nose with his shield. 

“Hmph.” 

The monster fell over with a cry, and he jumped upon it while stabbing down, tearing out its throat. 

Goblin Slayer used his shield to hold the creature down during the last of its violent death throes, then he slowly got to his feet. “…They’ll have noticed us now.” 

“Yes…probably.” 

“My intuition has dulled.” 

Priestess didn’t respond but stood up, wiping off mud and bits of shrubbery as best she could. 

Before them yawned the opening of a cave that seemed as if it had appeared from thin air in the middle of the forest. At the entranceway was a strange tower built from a combination of random junk and several types of bones—most likely including human. The smell coming off the pile of abandoned refuse mingled with the stench of excrement and intercourse that emanated from the hole, completely overwhelming the aroma of the trees. 

Even Priestess could tell at a glance that this was a goblin nest. “They have a shaman… And the place is guarded by wargs, not wolves. That means the nest is probably pretty large.” 

“Yes,” Goblin Slayer said darkly. “They’re waiting for us.” 

Needless to say, the two adventurers were on a goblin hunt. 

The battle between the forces of Order and Chaos continues endlessly. Places that once belonged to Order have fallen into a sort of no-man’s-land claimed by neither side. In such places, people build villages, seeking ever more space to live, and naturally they run into monsters. 

A goblin or two might be driven off by the young men of the village. Often, riding this wave of confidence, they decide to become adventurers. Two springs ago, Priestess herself had joined forces with some aspiring rookies for her very first adventure. 

They had gone, of course, to slay some goblins. 

When the goblins get to be too much for the local braves, when they start causing real problems, that’s when the adventurers are called in. 

It’s been three years since then… Crouching in the bushes, Priestess looked at his helmet where he crouched next to her. This spring would mark the start of the third year she had spent working with this unusual adventurer who went by Goblin Slayer. She herself was seventeen now, and she had grown up a little—or so she thought, but she couldn’t be sure. 

I don’t really feel more grown-up. 

She smiled, a touch bitterly, and gripped her sounding staff. “What do we do?” 

“There are supposed to be kidnapped women,” he said, all cool and calm. “Let’s smoke them out and reduce their numbers.” 

“All right, I’ll get ready!” Priestess nodded and promptly dug through her bag for her Adventurer’s Toolkit, producing a hammer and stakes and a coil of rope. “Never leave home without it.” 

She wrapped a handkerchief around her mouth to blunt the stench, then approached the cave entrance, walking as quietly as she could. She pounded the stakes into the ground and ran the rope taut between them, then slowly crawled her way back to the underbrush. While she busied herself with all this, Goblin Slayer was swinging his sword around, chopping down tree branches and gathering them up. Then it was his turn to go over to the entrance, where he dumped the pile of branches. 

“Green wood isn’t ideal for a fire, but it’ll smoke enough for our purposes.” 

Uh-huh. Priestess nodded with a smile and watched as Goblin Slayer struck a flint. Using an oily rag from their tinderbox as a starter, Goblin Slayer soon had the pile of branches puffing billows of smoke. 

Of course, they were now at the mercy of wind and air patterns; if worse came to worse, the smoke might even blow back at them, making life that much harder. Blinking eyes tearing up with smoke, Priestess held up her staff in a familiar gesture. “O Earth Mother, abounding in mercy, by the power of the land grant safety to we who are weak.” 

Her supplication connected her directly to the heavens above, and an invisible power miraculously welled up. A wall of protection shielded the faithful disciple, blocking the smoke and forcing it into the opening of the cave. 

All that was left was for the goblins to come fleeing out, fall into the trap, and be killed. It was such simple work—Priestess and Goblin Slayer had done something very similar at a fortress in the mountains once. Although they’d had proper fire for that operation. 

“I doubt the smoke will carry all the way into the interior. We can’t assume this will neutralize every last one… And there are the hostages to think of. Whatever happens, we’ll have to go inside ,” Goblin Slayer concluded in a low voice. 

Priestess put a slim finger to her lips with a thoughtful “Hmm,” then said anxiously, “I hope there are no other entrances…” 

“In a minute or two, we’ll do a quick sweep. Watch your back.” 

“Yes, sir, I’ll keep my eyes open!” 

She knew perfectly well what to do. Priestess puffed out her small chest knowingly and firmly adjusted her cap. 

This time, it was just the two of them. He complained that his intuition was worse than before, but it was probably just because the others worked with them so well. Normally a single arrow from their elven archer would have felled that warg, and the party would have advanced carefully into the nest. Their dwarven shaman would have appraised the construction of the place immediately and been able to tell them if there were any back doors—or if the goblins might be digging through the walls. And if it came to a fight, their lizardman would leap in with a great howl, his arms and legs and fangs and tail tearing open a path for them. 

To confront this cave with just the two of them was to realize afresh how much they relied on the others. 

But… Even as she privately griped, Priestess also felt a flash of happiness in her heart. So much had happened of late that she’d had very few chances to go goblin hunting alone with him. It’s been such a long time. 

Somehow it made her happy, and she stole a glance in his direction. “Oh…” That was when she discovered an unexpectedly sweet aroma. She looked in the direction of the smell to find a cluster of wild grapes bobbing gently. 

Priestess opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to decide what to say or whether to point them out. 

“What’s the matter?” Goblin Slayer abruptly turned to her and asked, making Priestess’s breath catch in her throat. 

“C-come to think of it,” she said, finally able to string a few words together, “they’ll be making wine from the early grape harvest right about now.” She put a hand to her chest to still her pounding heart. 

“Grape wine,” Goblin Slayer parroted. “You mean at the Temple of the Earth Mother?” 

“Yes!” Priestess nodded as eagerly as a puppy wagging its tail. But by then, he was already looking back at the nest, and Priestess followed him, red-faced. “It’s the sacred wine that they use at the harvest festival. Although, I have to admit it’s not as good as the stuff they make at the temple of the wine-making god.” 

“Is that so?” 

“That’s right,” Priestess said, trying hard to affect nonchalance. But then she took another little sidelong glance at Goblin Slayer. “…Would you like to try some when it’s ready?” 

“I wouldn’t mind,” he replied shortly. “But only after we’ve killed the goblins.” 

“Here they come.” 

At his low-voiced warning, Priestess said, “I’m ready!” Her lips were tight, but she was smiling like an open flower. 

Surely by this point, we need not describe at length what happened to the goblins. 

It was a warm day, the kind that hints at the coming of summer. 

§ 

“Oh, welcome back!” 

“You’re back!” 

The cheerful voices of Guild Girl and Cow Girl greeted them as they pushed open the door of the Guild. It was early afternoon. There weren’t many adventurers around, and the Guild was pervaded by a strange sense of apathy. 

Goblin Slayer strode boldly into the middle of the space, attracting the stares of the handful of adventurers who were there—taking a day off, hungover, or like him, returning from a job. The stares only lasted a second, though. 

“Yo, been a while.” 

“Yes.” 

“Goblins again?” 

“That’s right.” 

“You never get the urge to hunt something else once in a while?” 

“No.” 

“Don’t run that poor girl ragged.” 

“I won’t.” 

Casual voices greeted “the strange one.” 

The vast majority of adventurers only knew one another, at best, by sight, even when they worked from the same town. But that was another way of saying that even in the largest cities, you came to at least know one another’s faces. And who wouldn’t offer a word of greeting after spotting that distinctive cheap helmet? The man hardly ever started a conversation, but he would answer anyone who talked to him. 

It wasn’t a bad feeling. 

Like always, Goblin Slayer diligently responded to each voice that called out to him as he made a beeline for the reception desk. 

“You’re here.” This remark was aimed at the girl, his childhood friend, sitting by the receptionist’s desk. 

“Yeah, got some deliveries to make.” 

His voice was soft and low, but Cow Girl nodded and smiled, leaning toward him, her generous chest prominent. The cup sitting in front of her clacked, sending little ripples through the tea it held. Cow Girl chuckled and scratched her cheek in embarrassment, adding apologetically, “…And after I finished, I decided to stay for tea.” 

“Our little secret.” She’s not slacking off. Guild Girl put her finger to her lips, and the girls both giggled. 

The months since last winter’s battle had passed so quickly. Cow Girl’s was the face of a girl whose village had been destroyed by goblins, yet shadows no longer clung to any part of it. Every time he saw that, Goblin Slayer would let out a relieved breath. Guild Girl was also pleased to see her friend safe and sound. 

It’s important to have friends you can drink tea with , Guild Girl thought. 

She cleared her throat with a little cough, then glanced discreetly behind Goblin Slayer. “Good work out there. Were either of you injured?” 

Priestess, pattering up behind Goblin Slayer, shook her head and replied, “No.” There was always that unmistakable, wry sympathy in the voice of Guild Girl when she spoke to her. After all, at the moment, the still-young (though just turned seventeen) girl was covered from head to toe in blood. Priestess looked tired, but she mustered an admirable smile. “We managed,” she said. 

“Really?” This time it was Cow Girl who frowned at Priestess’s gore-soaked vestments. “You can be honest, you know.” She shot Goblin Slayer a suspicious look. “He won’t have any idea what you mean if you don’t spell it out.” 

“Hrk,” Goblin Slayer grunted at what sounded like reproof, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he fell silent. Cow Girl, who knew this was what he did when he didn’t know how to respond, bit back a laugh. 

Goblin Slayer’s helmet turned toward her, then he forcibly changed the subject. “I would like to make my report.” 

“Yes, yes. Goblin hunting, right? How was it?” Guild Girl, also chuckling, prepared her pen and paper as she sat down. 

“There were goblins,” Goblin Slayer stated, as though that was enough detail to describe the adventure. After a moment’s thought, he added, “Also, dogs.” 

Priestess smiled wryly and spoke up with some hesitation. “The goblins in this nest were keeping wargs… Like I said, we managed, somehow.” 

“The size of the nest was relatively large, but there was nothing unusual.” Then he added gruffly, “The goblins were the same as always.” 

Guild Girl nodded along, her pen running quietly across the page. Goblin-hunting quests tended to increase in spring, the season when new adventuring parties registered. A few of the parties would take assignments to the sewers or elsewhere, but most of them went after goblins. Mostly they succeeded; a few didn’t and came running home. And a few more never came home at all. 

It was hardly a reality unique to goblin hunting. But for Guild Girl, who saw firsthand the story that the raw numbers told, it was an unpleasant time of year. 

This has been a relatively easy spring, though , she thought, sighing inwardly. After all, they were starting to get new adventurers—though all too few—who had gone to the training ground for some basic instruction. The support of Female Merchant (once an adventurer herself) and the efforts of many other adventurers were bearing fruit. Maybe more of them will start living a little longer now. 

Guild Girl knew that putting many individually minor things together could create something great. Humans were not elves, and thinking very far ahead could be difficult for them, but they knew that every road began with a single step. And road building was a human specialty, even if they didn’t quite measure up to the dwarves. 

Still… 

It wouldn’t do to forget about the present, either. It was the start of spring, when most new adventurers registered, although the peak had already passed. There was probably no one left who accepted goblin quests by choice. 

Except for one person. 

“…I think we may have to lean on you again this year, I’m afraid.” 

“I don’t mind,” Goblin Slayer said, so quickly he was almost interrupting her. “It’s my duty.” 

As Goblin Slayer solemnly reaffirmed his personal mission, Priestess wore an ambiguous expression. Guild Girl studied the pair, then got to her feet without another word. She took a bag of gold out of the safe and measured it in a weighing scale. It represented the bronze coins, along with a smattering of silver, that the farmers had managed to collect. It still weighed what it had when they had changed it over. 

Goblin Slayer took the money and divided it in two, giving half to Priestess. 

“Your reward.” 

“Th-thank you!” Priestess bowed her head hurriedly and retrieved a cute embroidered purse from her item bag. As she carefully put her coins away, Goblin Slayer nonchalantly flung his pouch of money into his bag. The helmet slowly turned toward Cow Girl. 

“What are you going to do? Go home?” 

“Hmm…” Cow Girl appeared to think for a moment, twiddling her fingers. Her body language implied there was much she wished she could say. 

Goblin Slayer observed her steadily from within his helmet. 

Ultimately, though, Cow Girl swallowed whatever she had wanted to say, breathing out a sigh instead. “No, I think I’m good.” She shook her head, then offered something of a lopsided smile. “I’d like to do some more shopping. Looks like everyone’s back; why don’t you go say hello?” 

“I see.” His head turned toward the tavern. “I will.” 

Cow Girl nodded, then pointed an accusing finger at him. “And make sure you give that poor girl a chance to change clothes!” 

“Hrk…” 

The “poor girl” in question looked up from her bag with a squeak when she found she was suddenly the topic of conversation. “Oh, no, I’m just fine. Really…!” 

“I disagree; I think you’ll feel much finer after you put on some nice, clean clothes,” Guild Girl said in a businesslike tone. Then she looked at the metal helmet with some dismay. “If you ask me, I’d like to say the same thing to our dear Goblin Slayer, here…” 

“But you never know when goblins may appear.” So I cannot change. There was nothing to do in response to the curt declaration but sigh. 

Priestess, though, took a healthy sniff of her sleeves and collar, her expression falling pitifully. “U-um, is it…? Do I smell?” 

Cow Girl nodded seriously. No restraint, no mercy. “…A little.” 

“I was afraid of that…” Priestess, quite upset, let her head droop. 

When Goblin Slayer saw that, he sighed deeply. “Go change. I’ll go on ahead and wait for you.” 

“Yes, sir…” Priestess, still obviously distressed, got up from her seat and pattered up the stairs to her room. 

Goblin Slayer watched her go, her little shoulders stooped, then stood up himself. “I’m off, then,” he said, and after a moment’s thought, he added, “I’ll be back by dinnertime.” 

“Okay, sure.” Cow Girl smiled at him, and then he strode off toward the tavern just as boldly as he had arrived. His companions, that strange trio, seemed to be taking their lunch at the bar. Soon the priestess would join them in her fresh clothes, and a rowdy, delightful conversation would no doubt begin. 

I wonder what he talks about. Cow Girl tried to imagine a conversation she could never be a part of, then gently shook her head. Thinking about it wouldn’t get her anywhere. 

A few minutes passed. Guild Girl tapped the finished report against the desk, straightening the pages, then gave a little shrug. “Some things never change.” 

“No kidding.” 

The girls looked at each other, sharing a smile that said, What can you do? 

Well, let the others have their tavern—the girls would have a conversation of their own, just the two of them. 

“How about another cup of tea?” 

“…Yes, please.” 

§ 

Goblin Slayer detailed the adventure to the others: “There were goblins.” After a bit of thought, he added, “And dogs.” 

Priestess smiled wryly. “The goblins in this nest were keeping wargs… We managed, somehow.” 

“Mm, a most painful thing to have to do.” Lizard Priest stuffed a great hunk of cheese into his jaws, swallowing it whole. “Had I myself been present, I could simply have wrenched open the jaws of those wargs and torn them apart for you.” 

“You lizardmen, such barbarians,” High Elf Archer interjected insouciantly. 

“I don’t know what you mean,” Lizard Priest replied. “There is no society in the world so civilized as our own.” He licked the end of his nose with his tongue. 

“I’m thinkin’ you forest dwellers don’t have room to criticize anyone else about being barbaric. Break a branch, lose an arm, isn’t that right?” 

“You are not as clever as you think you are,” High Elf Archer shot back at Dwarf Shaman, her long ears sitting back against her head. “That law is from ages ago! They’ve even been talking about getting rid of it recently!” 

“Your ‘recently,’ or ours?” 

“Well, it was just… Huh?” High Elf Archer tried to count on her fingers but then cocked her head with a perplexed, “When was it?” 

Dwarf Shaman shrugged, Lizard Priest rolled his eyes merrily in his head, and Goblin Slayer remained silent. 

The party sat around a circular table, one that had practically become their private spot over the past two years. Priestess squinted her eyes at the familiar scene as if it were almost too bright to look at. When she had first conceived of becoming an adventurer, she had never imagined things would turn out like this—with many meanings of the words like this . 

She glanced to one side, noticing adventurers here and there wearing unblemished equipment. Parties who looked at each other, still collectively uncertain while discussing whether they should venture into the sewers or go out to gather herbs. 

“How about these ruins, then? I’ve heard there are slimes there.” 

“No way we can handle that. Don’t you know how dangerous creeping crud is supposed to be?” 

“Oh, right… Yeah, maybe the sewers would be better…” 

Priestess smiled at the snatches of conversation, just a little, so no one would notice. She recognized several from people who had also been at the training grounds. She hoped things went well for them. With a heartfelt wish, she hoped. 

I guess not everything is always going to go well, but… 

She whispered a private prayer for them to the merciful Earth Mother. To be a Pray-er was to keep company with Death, and she said a blessing for them as they prepared to embark on one of their first adventures. 

“So, girlie.” 

“Yes?” Priestess yelped as Dwarf Shaman interrupted her reverie. She put a hand to her hat to keep it from falling off. 

The bearded dwarf poured some wine from a jug into his cup, had a gulp, and gave an appreciative burp before he said, “Just so’s y’know, we’re all done with our business at the Earth Mother’s temple.” 

He ignored the elf pinching her nose and remarking “Ugh” next to him as he helped himself to another mouthful. Priestess, discovering that the cup was now empty, took the jug of wine and poured him another. “Thank you very much,” she said. “I’m sorry to impose on you…” 

“Oh, hardly,” Dwarf Shaman replied, his spirits high and his face red. “Anything for some good wine.” 

“Gods, dwarf. Letting your quest giver serve you? That’s twisted,” High Elf Archer said, but Priestess smiled wanly and poured some of the grape wine into her own cup: “No, I don’t mind… And this is really about all I can do.” 

“Not like we did a whole lot more. Just a few days guarding the vineyard.” High Elf Archer lapped daintily at her wine, ears twitching. “I guess if a dragon showed up, that’d be one thing, but weasels and crows?” 

“Yes, but I could only ask people I knew I could trust…” As she spoke, Priestess looked over at Goblin Slayer, who was depositing some wine through the slats of his helmet. “…And it would never do to leave him to his own devices.” 

It wasn’t that Priestess had given the three of them a quest while she went off with Goblin Slayer. She had been more of an intermediary—or more plainly put, just a contact, as the quest itself had technically been issued through the Guild. She was hardly more than a representative, but that wasn’t important now. There had been a request from the temple where she had grown up for people to protect the vineyards, while at the same time a goblin hunt happened to come up. That Priestess had not abandoned the goblin quest despite considerable fretting on her part was perhaps a sign of his influence. 

“It was dangerous, but it always is.” Such was the comment from the subject of their discussion, Goblin Slayer himself. “I wouldn’t have minded going alone.” 

“I told you, I won’t let you do that!” Priestess said, putting a finger in the air and adopting a chiding tone. “Going alone is impossible and foolish; that’s what I think.” 

“Hrm.” 

“You said yourself that the solo quest you did recently was hard on you.” 

“Is that so?” 

“Obviously!” 

“I see.” 

Priestess mumbled something angry sounding but concluded with a He’s hopeless smile. If the group was all accustomed to arguments between High Elf Archer and Dwarf Shaman, this sort of give-and-take between the two of them was equally familiar. 

“I must say, I found the process of wine-making quite interesting,” Lizard Priest said with a grin, tapping a claw longingly on his empty plate. “Where I come from, we normally wait for the grapes to drop into a spring or the like and become wine of their own accord.” 

“We take bites out of the local fruit,” High Elf Archer added with a fond nod. “And I guess we let grapes drop into springs, too and just wait until they start to ferment… Sometimes we leave honey the same way.” 

“ Let time pass : a very elven way of wine-making.” 

“You dwarves have your fire wine, right?” 

“Indeed we do,” Dwarf Shaman said proudly, giving a hearty pound of his own belly. “Alchemists may have their distilleries, but their equipment can’t hold a candle to ours.” 

Surely by now we hardly need mention the cleverness of dwarves when it comes to working with their hands. Just as the elves sang of their bows and the wonders of the forest, the dwarves took similar joy in mechanical precision. It was nearly as important as good food and good wine, Dwarf Shaman mused, stroking his beard with a grin. “Wouldn’t mind a taste of the new vintage for myself when it’s ready.” 

“Yes, of course. If you can stomach what we make.” Priestess’s cheeks flushed as she spoke. High Elf Archer asked what was so embarrassing, but Priestess only gave a noncommittal reply. 

Hmm. Goblin Slayer’s helmet cocked to one side, and he said softly, “So you do this every year.” 

“You need to pay more attention to what goes on around you, Orcbolg,” High Elf Archer said with an exasperated sigh, turning neatly toward him. “So do you do this every year?” 

“Listen, you…,” Dwarf Shaman said with a glare, but High Elf Archer flicked her long ears. 

“C’mon, last year we were at my home around this time, and the year before that, we were at the water town, right?” 

That was perfectly accurate. Summer had meant traveling for them the past two years; they’d never spent the season in the frontier town. It would not be so surprising if not all of them knew about the early grape harvest and the wine that was made from it. 

The only real point of contention was that this adventurer in the cheap-looking metal helmet had already lived in this town for seven years. 

“It isn’t that I don’t pay attention,” he said by way of an excuse. “I’ve been busy.” 

“Busy hunting goblins…,” Priestess said, fixing him with a stare. “Right?” 

“Yes.” 

“I could have guessed!” She slumped in her chair, looking sulky, although she didn’t feel it. She pointedly looked away from him, but then glanced back out the side of her eye, sticking out her lip. “The wine that makes the rounds at the harvest festival—we make that, too, you know?” 

“I didn’t realize.” 

“I have to admit, it can’t compete with the stuff that comes out of the temple of the god of wine-making…” Priestess still had a tendency to blush when she remembered the offering dance, a prayer for abundance, in which she had participated the year before last. The outfit she’d worn had been so skimpy, although she seemed to remember getting some nice compliments on it… 

“…Anyway!” she said, shaking her head. “Just don’t forget your promise.” 

“I won’t.” 

This response from Goblin Slayer seemed to satisfy Priestess, who smilingly picked up a cup. They were celebrating the completion of their respective adventures. Yes, it was only just past noon, but there was no reason everyone shouldn’t relax a little. It was wonderful to enjoy the familiar local cooking, drink some wine, and talk with your companions. 

“Ahem, waitress!” Lizard Priest signaled by slamming his tail on the floor once everyone was well settled in. 

“Coming!” The padfoot server came pattering over, and Lizard Priest grunted with a sober nod. 

“I request another plate of cheese. Another of the—what was it again? The stuffed ones.” 

“Ah, the cream-filled cheese.” The waitress flicked her ears and giggled. “Coming right up—and I’ll bring a little extra, my treat!” 

“Hoh-hoh, most appreciated!” Lizard Priest howled, making a strange palms-together gesture. 

“Don’t sweat it,” Padfoot Waitress said with a dismissive wave of her hand. 

“And you, milord Goblin Slayer,” Lizard Priest said rather lightly as he watched the girl go. “There were several small sets of footprints just beyond the vineyard. What do you make of them?” 

“Goblins,” he answered immediately. “Did you see them yourself?” 

“Indeed,” Lizard Priest said with a stretch of his sinuous neck. “I thought they might be the work of some mischievous children, but I cannot say with certainty.” 

“I see,” Goblin Slayer grunted, then poured not wine but water into his cup and took a drink. “Did you tell anyone else?” 

“Someone from the temple and Master Spell Caster.” Lizard Priest looked over at where High Elf Archer and Priestess were having a conversation, as friendly as two flowers blooming. It was always hard for them to say whether High Elf Archer “looked her age,” but Priestess had an expression befitting a sixteen-or seventeen-year-old girl. The Temple of the Earth Mother had, as they understood it, taken her in as an orphan and raised her. “And if it turns out to be a false alarm, I wouldn’t want to worry her.” 

“Understood.” Goblin Slayer nodded without hesitation. “I will take a look.” 

Lizard Priest nodded, too. He pursued the conversation no further. 

“Here you go—thank you for waiting!” Padfoot Waitress chirped as she dumped a pile of cheese in front of him. It was practically bursting from the cream that had been stuffed into it. 

Lizard Priest swallowed one in a single gulp and proclaimed, “Ah, sweet nectar!” 

§ 

The next day, it poured rain from dawn to dusk. The downpour mercilessly pounded on the roof and windows from the leaden sky, the drain spouts chattering with runoff. 

“Are you really going out? Can’t you see the weather?” Cow Girl, leaning on the windowsill and looking out, glanced back over her shoulder. The canary in the cage hanging beside her gave a twitter of agreement. 

“Yes,” he responded briefly, conducting a quick check of his equipment. Helmet and gloves in good shape. Fasteners on his belt secure. Every day for him began with a patrol of the farm, and he had already been out in the rain doing that, so he was soaked from head to toe. It would take quite a bit of time and trouble to dry everything, oil it, and put it back on again. 

Of course, his equipment was all cheap. He didn’t know how much of a difference expensive gear would make, assuming he wore everything correctly. All he knew was that this cheap equipment had saved his life countless times. He needed to take care of it. 

Cow Girl had heard him say this, and so she didn’t think of interrupting as she watched the work going on in front of her. 

But gear or no gear—this weather. 

“You could do it tomorrow, couldn’t you? Or just wait awhile; maybe it’ll stop.” 

“No.” 

“Hmph,” Cow Girl grumbled, frustrated to find her attempt at to persuade him rebuffed. 

He is so stubborn. 

When she had asked if this was for a job, he had said it wasn’t. When she had asked if it absolutely had to be today, he had said it was urgent. She had considered a number of things she might say to convince him to stay, but in the end, she kept them to herself, only sighing instead. It was no easy task to make him change his mind. 

I know that much by now. 

“Okay, well, wait a few minutes, then. I’ll pack you a lunch or something.” 

“…Hrm.” 

He grunted at the abrupt change, and his hand stopped its work. Cow Girl pushed away from the window and peeked up into his helmet. 

“Or can you not even wait that long?” 

“…I can.” He took a thoughtful breath, then the helmet nodded slowly. “Please do.” 

“Right. One lunch, coming up.” Her voice came out a little more emphatic than she had meant. She tried to cover for herself by promptly turning for the kitchen. 

But still… 

She expected she didn’t have much time to waste. Cow Girl grabbed an apron hanging nearby, tying it behind her even as she deliberated over what to cook. 

“Just a sandwich, I guess.” Not cooking in the classic sense, but just right when one was in a hurry. 

She didn’t know when people had begun using baked bread in place of plates, but putting a couple of pieces of it together and eating them was a tradition that seemed to stretch back a long, long way. And it was raining today. It would be impossible to get bread from the Bakers Guild in town. They kept bread in the cupboard for just this sort of occasion. 

“Though it’s nothing like the fresh-baked stuff.” 

She poked at the loaf, burned to a hard, black crisp, then took it, cut off some slices, and loaded them with butter. A couple of nice, thin slices of cheese, and there you had it. 

Wish I could add an egg or something… 

But again, unfortunately, the rain. And the hens probably hadn’t laid any yet. You couldn’t just get baskets of eggs every day. The hens had been raised so carefully that she wanted him to taste the eggs, but there was no time to fry one up anyway… 

Okay, this calls for a substitution! 

Cow Girl shifted gears quickly, piling two or three slices of salt-cured ham on top of the cheese. 

“Aaaand let’s see…” 

The sandwich still looked a little sad. She rifled through the storage cabinets, grabbing a pinch of dried herbs, taking out a bottle of pickles. There was a risk of a confusion of colors and flavors, but they did say variety was the spice of life. 

“ ? …” 

Cow Girl whistled a little tune. It was simple, but food was food. Fun to make—whistling-ly fun. She cut up the pickled vegetables expertly, shredded the herbs, and let her intuition tell her how much to put on top of the meat. 

Finally, there came another slice of buttered bread, and it was done. 

Cow Girl gave a satisfied grunt, then divided the sandwiches she had made into three and wrapped them in cloth. Then she added a bottle of grape wine diluted with water and— 

“All done!” 

“Hey.” 

“Eek?!” 

She jumped at the unexpected voice, pressing her hand to her chest as she turned around. He must have come in through the back door. Her uncle, his rain gear dripping and his eyes wide. 

“U-Uncle! Gosh, you scared me…” Still with a hand to her generous chest, Cow Girl said, “How was it? Think the rain’s going to stop?” 

“Probably not today,” her uncle replied, looking cross. “We can’t put the cows out. I just hope the wind doesn’t get too much stronger.” 

“Huh, okay…” Cow Girl furrowed her eyebrows, too, taking a quick look outside through the window. Her uncle was right; the rain only seemed to be getting stronger. The sky was dark, and she could hear the voices of the Thunder Drakes rumbling above. There was a saying, though, that summer usually came after a storm. 

“Well, so it goes,” she said. The weather was one thing that wouldn’t change no matter how much you worried about it. It depended on the gods’ dice. Cow Girl picked up a cloth-wrapped package and held it out to her uncle: “Here, lunch.” 

“Oh, ’preciate it.” He took the bundle carefully and secured it behind his waist, under his raincoat. Then he glanced at the other two lunches sitting in the kitchen and frowned. “…He’s going out, too, is he?” 

“Oh, yeah,” Cow Girl said with a nod. “But I guess it’s not an adventure.” 

“Certainly keeps himself busy…” Cow Girl caught the barb in her uncle’s words and looked at the ground. Her uncle regarded her silently for a moment, then gave in with a sigh. “…We should still have that old raincoat of mine.” 

Cow Girl looked up, confused, but her uncle, still looking less than thrilled, continued brusquely: “Let him borrow it.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“He’s more or less selling his own body, isn’t he?” her uncle said, sounding tired. “Wouldn’t be good for business if he caught a cold.” 

“Sure, right…!” Cow Girl nodded broadly, her face lighting up. “Thank you, Uncle!” 

She rushed out of the kitchen, waved to him where he waited patiently in the dining room, and headed for her uncle’s bedroom. There was an old leather raincoat hanging from a nail on the wall. It had some patches, but it could still be counted on to keep the rain off. 

Cow Girl grabbed it, but when she got back to the kitchen, her uncle was no longer there—perhaps he had disappeared out of a certain embarrassment. He was the only one inside, sitting in a chair. Cow Girl bit her lip, but then she handed him the coat along with the lunches. 

“Here, for you!” 

He looked confused—although she couldn’t see his face—but, after a moment’s silence, said simply, “What’s this?” 

“Uncle said he would lend it to you.” Be sure to thank him later. 

“Mm,” he responded. “I have a raincoat of my own…,” he added softly, but in the end, he nodded obligingly. “Very well.” 

Uncle was physically a bit smaller than him. The more so when he had been younger. But the hooded rain jacket was on the large side, seemingly with room to spare for the adventurer. It was old, the leather dry and starting to crack in places, but it was serviceable. In fact, it seemed a better idea than an ill-advised brand-new raincoat. 

“Wow, it fits you perfectly.” Cow Girl clapped her hands together. She had been a little worried about the fit with his helmet. 

She watched him carefully secure the lunches to his belt, next to his item pouch, and then she smiled at him. “All right, be careful. It’s awful wet out there, so make sure you don’t slip.” 

“Yes,” he replied with a nod. He took a few exploratory steps, then strode to the door. With his hand on the knob, he turned to look at her. “I’ll be back by night.” 

Okay. Cow Girl nodded, still smiling. “I’ll be waiting.” 

The door opened, then he disappeared into the raindrops, and the door closed. 

“Right,” Cow Girl said with a little nod and set back about her routine. 

§ 

Pulling the increasingly soaked raincoat around her shoulders, Priestess looked up disconsolately at the sky. The rain had been coming down all day, fast and hard, big drops that struck her without mercy. Droplets streamed from her cap; the raincoat had long ago reached its limit and soaked through, and now the water was working its way into her clothes. 

Summer was supposed to be close, but this rain sapped the heat from her body until she was freezing cold and her breath came in white puffs from her mouth. For a while, she tried in vain to stay near enough to the town walls to protect herself under the eaves. 

A shadowy human figure could be seen behind the veil of the rain. When she noticed it, Priestess’s face broke into a smile like the sun emerging from behind the clouds. 

“Goblin Slayer, sir, good morning!” 

“Yes,” he said. He was clothed in a heavy raincoat of his own. “Sorry—I’m late.” 

“Not at all, I was just here a little early…” 

“Is that so?” 

Yes. Priestess responded with a nod, her good cheer coming back to her. She set off at a walk, leading the way. 

And well she might be happy. This person who only ever spoke of goblins, goblins, and more goblins had shown an interest in the vineyard. The very vineyard at the Temple of the Earth Mother, her own home! How could her heart not leap for joy? She reveled in every step as she went along, even the ones that landed in puddles. 

As they walked the road to the temple, Priestess turned around to look up at his metal helmet. “I—I can’t help wondering, why the sudden interest in the vineyard?” She was frustrated to find she couldn’t keep her voice from squeaking a bit, but she endeavored to sound more or less normal. But then she clapped her hands together. “Oh! Maybe this has to do with your promise to try our wine?” 

“No,” Goblin Slayer replied, then after some thought, he grunted softly. “…Well, yes.” 

“That’s wonderful… Hee-hee!” She added another happy “I see, I see” to herself as they trotted along. There were flagstones in town, but one step outside the gates, and it was a dirt path. Which was to say, now a mud path, dark goop that clung to their shoes and jumped up to land on their clothes. 

Priestess found herself oddly captivated by the sprays of dark mud on her white boots and cast her eyes to the ground in embarrassment at the unseemly thought. She moved her toes uncomfortably, feeling the water that had invaded her boots squelch between them. 

I’ll have to wash and dry them later… 

She didn’t begrudge the time to do the washing; in fact, she enjoyed the work. But she worried that she looked altogether too pathetic just then, and the thought made her blush. Yes, she was cold, but the heat in her face was still unwelcome… 

“…You want to come in?” 

“Huh?” 

When she grasped the meaning of the ambush of a question, her face got even hotter. 

Goblin Slayer’s raincoat was obviously old, but it was rather large. Priestess was small enough that it could easily cover them both. It wouldn’t go over her head, sure enough, but at least around her shoulders… 

“Oh, n-no. Th-thank you for the offer, but I’ll pass. Um…” She then pictured herself under the same raincoat as him and promptly gave a vigorous wave of her hand. She accompanied it with a shake of her head, sending water flying from her heavy, sodden golden hair. “I’m already completely soaked!” 

“I see.” Goblin Slayer nodded before falling silent again. This was his normal attitude; it didn’t mean anything, and Priestess looked at the ground with nothing to say back. She was overthinking things, nothing more. But—how could she put this? 

…To go back to the temple like that with him… 

It would be shameful. That was the word for it. 

For Priestess, who didn’t know what her mother looked like—or indeed any of her blood family—the temple was home. The clerics who served there were her mother, her older sisters, her younger sisters. For her to show up sharing a raincoat with a man, even a man from her party… 

And that’s just the way it is. Nothing more to say about it! 

She had already worried them when she went off to become an adventurer. She didn’t want to give them any strange ideas to boot. 

Inside her modest chest, her heart was pounding like a bell being rung too fast, and she privately regretted having to excuse herself. But she hurried on ahead. 

It wasn’t that far from the town to the temple. They proceeded through the rain, practically swimming, and before long the shape of the building—though nowhere near as big as the temple of the God of Law—loomed up out of the murk. 

And then they were standing in front of it, and three familiar figures emerged. 

“Sorry we’re late…” 

“Oh, you made it! What took you so long, Orcbolg?” Despite the fact that her hooded raincoat was soaked through, High Elf Archer jumped up and down, as pleased as a little child. Each time she jumped and waved, water went flying from her hands and hair, but she didn’t mind a bit. She grinned just like she was playing in the water and appeared to be dancing through the rain. 

“Watch out, Anvil. Be careful y’don’t rust.” 

“Rain is a gift from the heavens. But you dwarves wouldn’t know that, seeing as you spend all your time underground.” 

“Gods…” Dwarf Shaman, holding a reddish oil-paper umbrella, heaved a sigh. He held his precious bag of catalysts in front of him, taking evident care that it not get soaked by the rain. 

Priestess took a close look at his umbrella, letting out an impressed breath. “Umbrellas really are something…” 

“Mm, they’re a use of one precious hand on an adventure, is what they are. I seem to recall they’re something of a commodity around here.” 

“Yes, we consider them a bit of a luxury.” 

Huh. When she heard that, High Elf Archer said, “Those have been around since I was a girl—they haven’t changed much.” 

“And what do elves use for umbrellas, leaves? A different class of rain protection altogether.” 

“I heard that!” And then the elf and the dwarf were off and arguing. 

Lizard Priest stood silently beside them, squinting his eyes against the rain. 

Goblin Slayer noticed. “It’s raining,” he said simply. 

“Mm. Bad timing, this,” Lizard Priest replied softly. “Not good for tracking. The footprints will have disappeared.” 

“But the horde is unlikely to come,” Goblin Slayer said. “At least not today.” They kept their voices low enough that they were covered by the rain, and Priestess didn’t hear them. High Elf Archer might have, had she been listening, but her ears were flat back against her head as she jabbered with Dwarf Shaman. 

Perhaps even that little tiff was a kindness perpetrated by the dwarf, but Priestess knew nothing of that. She knew nothing of any of the consideration being taken by the three men. She heard only what came next. 

“You want to use it?” Goblin Slayer asked, indicating the raincoat wrapped around him. The two of them would never fit, of course, but it was large enough that it could cover Lizard Priest by himself. 

The lizardman, still bracing himself against the chill of the raindrops, spun his eyes in his head. “Ha-ha-ha-ha, rain we had plenty of in my home, but never so cold.” However. He made his strange palms-together gesture, stopping Goblin Slayer before he could remove his coat. “That coat was given to you. Let you yourself be the one to use it, milord Goblin Slayer.” 

“I see.” 

“Ooh, show me!” demanded High Elf Archer, who had picked up the conversation with her sharp hearing. She grabbed the collar of the raincoat. “Huh. What’s this? Is it new? New to you, I mean.” 

“Yes,” Goblin Slayer replied, nodding. “It’s old but good quality.” 

“Hoh? How’s that? Let me have a look. Elves don’t know fit from a fiddle,” Dwarf Shaman mumbled, provoking a snort from High Elf Archer. He traced the stitching of the raincoat with his short, stubby fingers, and before long, he let out another murmur. “Hoh. Sturdy stuff. Not flashy, just reliable. I like it.” 

“Yes,” Goblin Slayer said, returning a nod. “I thought so as well.” 

“…” Priestess stood apart, watching them. She didn’t know why, but she wanted to sigh. Perhaps it was because the pounding of her heart had given way to something hazier, less certain. 

In any event, she couldn’t shake the feeling that he looked like a child showing off his brand-new rain gear. 

§ 

“Oh, you’re finally here! Come on, don’t just stand there; come help out!” The voice of a woman who sounded as bright as the sun reached them. 

“Ah, right! Don’t worry, ma’am. I’m coming…!” Priestess looked up and saw someone splashing through the rain. Her garments were dirty, proof that she had been hard at work, and she was wearing a thick raincoat of her own. As Priestess had said, it was possible to tell other servants of the Earth Mother by their vestments, but… 

“Hmm…” 

…there was no blaming Goblin Slayer for his low murmur. 

This woman had skin as dark as a well-sunned grape, and luxurious black hair flowed from under her cap. Add to that her eyes, green as a pair of emeralds, and it was clear this woman was not from around here. She was human, yes, but humans came in many types. She was most likely one of those people who had wandered up past the southern mountains… 

“Huh, so you’re our little girl’s party leader.” She was still young—just a year or two older than Priestess, perhaps—but the nun smiled broadly, her large chest prominent. “Well, chitchat comes later! We have to bring these grapes in before they’re ruined by the rain!” The woman sounded somewhat like Priestess, albeit not as demure. She ran sprightly through the rain, most likely heading straight for the vineyard. Goblin Slayer made to follow her, then glanced back at Priestess. 

“She’s one of my seniors,” Priestess said softly and then smiled. “She’s an incredible person.” 

“I met her yesterday, and boy was I surprised,” High Elf Archer said with a laugh like a bell. “Can’t believe you turned out so quiet when you were raised by someone so loud.” 

“Well, sisters don’t always resemble each other,” Dwarf Shaman teased, thinking of a certain older sister who had recently gotten married. 

“Hmph,” High Elf Archer replied but said nothing more; she was probably thinking of the same thing. 

“I see,” Goblin Slayer said, but then he went silent again. His helmet was pointed down at his feet, surveying the bushes just beyond the rain. 

He and Lizard Priest nodded at each other, then ran along, taking care to keep an eye on their surroundings. But it was unlikely that goblins would threaten this place now. 

“…The rain’s really gotten heavier, hasn’t it?” High Elf Archer sniffed, her sensitive ears twitching. That sensitivity was crucial to her party. She might have missed the conversation earlier, but she would never fail to notice the approach of Non-Prayers. 

“Indeed,” Lizard Priest replied quietly, looking at the sky. “A cold and most foreboding rain.” 

Before long, the party arrived at a patch of low foliage. Sister Grape, the nun from earlier, had a leather umbrella in hand and was looking quite agitated. The other clerics—in fact, the group included younger acolytes as well, still learning—were all hard at work. 

Priestess pressed her waterlogged hat to her head and called out, “Ma’am, what do you want us to—?” 

“It’s raining like the dickens this year! Change out the umbrellas over the grapes!” Sister Grape called out. “Rain means mold, mold means no harvest, and no harvest means no wine!” 

“Hoh!” Dwarf Shaman exclaimed, closing his own umbrella. “A grave matter. Better do what we can.” He trotted off into the field. 

High Elf Archer followed him at a nimble gait. “I thought we were here to keep guarding the place. I don’t care what happens to the wine…” She shrugged. “Then again, the grass and trees are sort of my friends. Where are the fresh umbrellas?” 

“Right in that basket!” 

“I’ll help, too!” Priestess said, and as if that were their cue, the entire party leaped into action. 

If grapes grew on tall trees, that would be one thing, but the vines only came up to the height of a human chest. Dwarves had deft hands, and the work was easy for the shaman; for the elf, we need hardly say, it was even easier. 

“…Hmm. I suppose I will fumble through, somehow.” For a lizardman, on the other hand, it was rather harder: Lizard Priest’s movements were slowed by the cold, and it was all too easy for him to damage the fruit with his long claws. After struggling with the task for some time, Lizard Priest apparently decided he could best serve the cause by carrying the basket of leather umbrellas. 

Priestess flitted back and forth, doing work she had helped with since she was a little girl… And then her eyes went wide. “You already know how to do this…?” 

“I never dealt with grapes specifically,” Goblin Slayer said. “But I have helped out around the farm.” 

Take care that the grape bunches don’t get wet, that the fruit doesn’t overlap. He moved a sopping umbrella and replaced it with a new one. The wind gusted; it felt like a storm was coming. 

“So strange,” Sister Grape said, breathing audibly as she came up to them. “We almost never have rain like this at this time of year.” She looked at the sky, troubled. Storms usually came a bit later in the season. Summer had only just started, and this weather was unusual. 

“Couldn’t you, like, use a miracle?” High Elf Archer said as she brushed away some hair clinging to her cheek. “Put up Protection like you always do, and boom, all dry!” 

“If we lean on the gods to do everything for us, what’s the point of doing anything ourselves?” Sister Grape said, flashing a smile full of white teeth. She didn’t bother to brush away her hair. “We turn to the gods when we’re really in need. Right now, I think we can still make something of this on our own!” 

“ Let the wind and the storms come! ” she declared confidently, and then she dove among the vines. 

“I see,” Lizard Priest said, repelling the raindrops with his scales. “She is indeed a most memorable person.” 

“Well then, what about spells?” Dwarf Shaman grinned and patted his bag as he held up his dripping beard proudly. “It’s not quite asking the help of the gods.” 

“A spell caster,” Sister Grape said, her eyes going wide. “I suppose the Earth Mother would allow that!” 

Priestess giggled to herself. Sister Grape was just as she remembered, warmhearted even in the midst of this torrential downpour. Every year, she had been the most excited about picking the grapes and making the wine. 

It had been two years now since Priestess had left the Temple of the Earth Mother. She had returned periodically to help with this and that, but… 

It really hasn’t changed. 

Such were her feelings. Some familiar faces were there, others had left, and some new people had joined. But when it came to the place she could go home to, this was it. 

As Priestess worked industriously, sweat and raindrops running down her forehead, Dwarf Shaman started to weave a spell beside her. “O sylphs, thou windy maidens fair, grant to me your kiss most rare—bless our wine with breezes fair!” 

A whirlwind began to form in the air, dancing around the vineyard. The quick-stepping wind sprites repelled the raindrops, and the clerics found themselves stopping to watch in spite of themselves. 

“Wow.” High Elf Archer whistled. “Pretty good trick for a dwarf.” 

“I myself could not possibly manage the ways of wind like this,” Lizard Priest added, his large eyes rolling as he stared at the sky. 

This production of otherworldly beings was on a completely different league from pedestrian art. Goblin Slayer alone among all of them glanced up at the sky for only a second before he silently resumed his work. 

It was not that he was unaffected by the display. Adventure, the mystery of the world, had a natural attraction. But… 

“Goblins…?” 

When he spotted shadows hiding beyond the rain, lurking in the trees, that was another story. 

No, not the right size for goblins. 

He felt for his sword under his raincoat even as he came to this conclusion. They were too tall to be goblins but too short to be hobs. Humans, he suspected. Possibly people from the temple, but the figures vanished into the mist before he could be sure. 

Should I pursue them? 

He thought about it, then shook his head. They were not goblins. And there was the rain to consider. And they were shorthanded in the vineyard. 

All of this added up to what he said as droplets dripped from his visor: “What should I do next?” 

§ 

“Ahhh, that was a big help. Thanks so much!” Sister Grape’s eager voice resounded in the temple dining hall, giving it a bit of extra warmth. The place was hardly cramped, but it was nothing like the temple of the God of Law in the water town, let alone the royal castle she had once seen. 

That was not to say, of course, that the other two places were examples of wasteful opulence. Authority had to maintain a certain decorum. Some might balk, for example, at abiding by legal decisions handed down by priests in shabby vestments. And no one would be in awe of a king dressed in rags and carrying a wooden sword. 

But for the Temple of the Earth Mother, things were different. The dining hall was simply a collection of long tables accompanied by benches, and the food was nothing elaborate. But it had an unmistakable warmth. What other ornament was needed to communicate a mother’s love? 

“The teachings of other faiths are greatly interesting. Sometimes there are indeed points of intersection with my own beliefs.” Lizard Priest took a restrained (but still large) slice of the hunk of cheese on the plate in front of him. “Although the fearsome nagas, whom we serve, say that in battle one is to raise one’s crest.” 

“Well, gracious,” Sister Grape said with a chuckle. “Us women sure know how to do that when we need to!” 

Her words carried some meaning that seemed to reach the other adepts, because they all giggled along with her. Only Priestess blushed and looked at the ground, her mouth working. She had been the one who had served as the officiant at the harvest festival the year before last—but that wasn’t the only thing on her mind. 

There was also the peculiar man sitting on the far end of the bench and attracting little glances from the adepts. He wore grimy leather armor and a cheap-looking metal helmet. On his arm was a round shield, and at his hip a sword of a strange length. He had been dripping water from head to toe not long before, but someone had industriously dried him with a towel—namely, Priestess. 

Aha, so this is the infamous he . 

“He doesn’t look like much.” “It is impossible to see his face.” “He’s well-built.” “How tall is he, really?” “His voice seems so soft.” 

“His movements were so nimble in the fields.” “What rank is he?” “Silver, apparently.” “Why, that’s the third level. Amazing.” 

“Is he a warrior?” “Kind of looks like he could be a scout.” “How about you try talking to him?” 

The girls, older and younger alike, whispered noisily, adding to Priestess’s embarrassment. “Ughhh…” If this was how things were to be, would she have been better off not talking to them every time she came back to the temple? Or was this embarrassment at having it known that she had done such an outrageous thing…? 

“Eh, I daresay this is how it goes when y’bring friends home.” Got a fair few relatives myself. Dwarf Shaman grinned encouragingly at Priestess. He was busily spreading butter on some black bread, chomping through it with no regard for how tough it was. He plucked some crumbs from his beard and tossed them into his mouth as Priestess looked at him pitifully. 

“I… I know what you’re saying, but… Really, I just can’t…” 

Seated as they were, the two of them were eye to eye. Dwarf Shaman could tell at a glance exactly how red Priestess’s pale skin had gotten. 

“Just roll with it. Look at me—I’m surviving despite the conspicuous lack of meat or fish.” He chuckled at what he saw, draining his cup of grape wine. “Hoh!” he exclaimed, his eyes widening. “Won’t say it’s on the level of the great Wine God, but you can tell it’s a blessing from the Earth Mother.” 

“And I’m very honored to hear you say that,” Sister Grape said with a catlike grin, resting her chin in her hands and looking off to one side. “It looks like our little sister is already well and truly drunk.” 

“So she is!” Dwarf Shaman exclaimed, laughing uproariously. Priestess tried to make herself even smaller. 

“Ahhh, that warms you right up,” High Elf Archer said, narrowing her eyes like a cat that’s come in soaked from the rain. “Hey, Orcbolg.” She reached out with her elbow and jabbed at Goblin Slayer, who was silently eating alternating mouthfuls of bread and soup. 

“What?” He stopped with a piece of black bread still dipped in his soup, the helmet turning toward High Elf Archer. 

“Don’t what me,” she said, her lips pursing in annoyance. “Don’t you have anything to contribute to this conversation?” 

“Anything,” Goblin Slayer repeated in a low voice. “Like what?” 

In a sudden panic, Priestess said, “No, it’s all right…!” But her voice had all the force of a buzzing mosquito. 

High Elf Archer’s elf ears naturally picked up on it, but she declared, “Can’t hear you.” Then she turned to Goblin Slayer. “I mean about the girl, or, you know, like, anything!” 

“Hmm… Very well,” he said, but Sister Grape reached out a hand to him. 

“Before you say anything, please, let me thank you.” 

“Thank me?” 

“Yes, of course,” Sister Grape said, delicately wiping the smile from her face and giving a deep bow of her head. “You’ve done so much for our little sister. Thank you—I mean it.” 

Priestess looked back and forth between them with mounting dismay. 

“No,” Goblin Slayer said with a shake of his head. “She’s the one who helps me.” 

Priestess could hardly utter a sound at that and just stared vacantly at his helmet. 

“I owe her my thanks.” 

Unable to bear this, Priestess looked down again. Her hands clutched the sleeves of her vestments. This didn’t go unnoticed by High Elf Archer, who giggled. She glanced at Lizard Priest, who rolled his eyes merrily in his head. “I pride myself on my martial abilities. Nuances, I’m afraid, are lost on me.” 

“Unlike a certain anvil, at least you know how to be considerate.” 

High Elf Archer’s long ears went back, and she exclaimed, “What was that?!” But even this demand soon turned to laughter. The adepts, listening in, heard the elf’s laugh ring like a bell, echoing around the dining hall. There was such warmth in her voice that it seemed like it would bring a tear to the eye; the atmosphere felt so good that it brought to mind the comfort of the Earth Mother. 

Sister Grape smiled and nodded at Priestess, who was studiously looking at the ground, not saying anything. “Well, isn’t this lovely? And here old Mother Superior was worried about you.” Mother Superior was hardly “old.” Priestess looked up, though, when she detected the love behind the little jab. “But you have such good friends. It puts the heart at ease—mine as much as hers.” 

Priestess felt like she would choke on the words in her throat, but she at last managed to come up with “Yes, ma’am.” 

When Sister Grape saw that, she finally got a look of approval on her face, then said lightly to him : “By the way, mister…Goblin Slayer, was it?” 

“That’s what I am called.” Over in the corner of this warm room, the adventurer, who had quietly resumed eating, stopped once more. 

“There’s a pioneer village nearby where I’ve heard there’s been some goblins. Maybe you could give us your advice?” 

His answer was immediate. “I’ll go,” he grunted. “Tell me the location. How large is the nest?” 

“Yikes, you sure make up your mind in a hurry. Just as advertised…” Sister Grape looked at Priestess with a touch of surprise. Her mouth formed the words, “You’ve got it rough, huh?” Priestess shook her head in response. Then she wiped her eyes with her sleeves so he wouldn’t see her smile. 

He is well and truly hopeless. 

So the day passed. 

Their next job would be exterminating the goblins Sister Grape had mentioned. 

“Again?!” High Elf Archer burst out on being informed of this, but she wasn’t as unhappy as she sounded. Lizard Priest and Dwarf Shaman both looked grim and quickly began conferring with Goblin Slayer about what was to be done. For Priestess, though, even that was a happy, familiar sight, and she found herself blinking quickly. The fatigue she felt after working through the storm, the warmth of her belly full of food, the voices of everyone around her: All were comforting and good. She let out a little yawn as she felt the sandman pass by, and soon she dropped off to sleep. 

It had been a peaceful day of easy happiness. A wonderful day of the sort for which she was grateful to the Earth Mother. 

It was shortly thereafter that the rumors began to spread that Sister Grape was the daughter of a goblin.