Goblin Slayer - Volume 15 - Chapter 2.5

Interlude - One Mustn't Lose To A Worthy Opponent

“Think they’ve reached the water town by now?”

“Maybe…”

They were at the tavern at the Adventurers Guild. It was too late to be “morning” but too early to be “afternoon.” Guild Girl and Cow Girl were sharing a late breakfast at a round table and talking about a subject they had in common—news of him.

Breakfast? Why not, once in a while? It was a whim pursued with some vigor.

“…On an adventure, by definition, you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Guild Girl said with an elegant smile. So who knew—they might still be on the road or out on the open field.

Amazing…

That was how Cow Girl always felt about that smile.

Guild Girl had a balanced figure with its lovely silhouette, the neatly combed hair. The faint aroma of perfume. When Cow Girl compared that with herself, still basically in her work clothes, she couldn’t help thinking—

No! It’s not a contest, she told herself. She couldn’t seem to stop from believing, though, that girls from good families sure were lucky.

“It’s not as great as you’re thinking,” Guild Girl said, as if, on top of everything else, she could read Cow Girl’s mind.

She’d said she’d been busy all morning, although she didn’t look like someone who’d been so busy that she hadn’t been able to stop for breakfast. She looked effortlessly stylish, like she had breeziness to spare. It couldn’t have been easy to keep up an appearance like that.

“I know it’s not,” Cow Girl said, “but I can’t help being impressed…”

“I could say the very same thing to you!”

Spending all morning sweating and laboring on a farm! Guild Girl felt she could never do such a thing.

The two of them looked at each other and giggled—the grass really was always greener on the other side!

“But, I mean… Setting aside that issue…” Cow Girl gestured with her spoon, drawing a circle in the air (not very ladylike). “You’ve been to balls and stuff, right? In fancy dresses?”

“Hmm, I suppose I have. Purely for social reasons.”

“So it’s like the assemblies my uncle goes to…”

Well, those never sounded like much fun. Cow Girl imagined the balls Guild Girl had attended as basically one of those, if dancing broke out.

“You go around trying to remember who’s who and how they act and forcing yourself to be polite to everyone.”

“Sounds rough.”

“Yes, well, unfortunately those connections are how work gets done, so you can’t beg off all the time.”

In politics and in business, it was difficult to do anything without some sort of bond with the people you were trying to work with—and nobles made it their business to make things happen in the nation.

So there you had it. Guild Girl’s pretty chest rose proudly. “I got myself out of all that as soon as I could—by becoming an employee of the Adventurers Guild!”

“Ha-ha-ha. Yeah, I definitely think all that’s pretty amazing.”

For one thing, Cow Girl had never had the courage to go rushing off on her own. She questioned whether she would have it now. It wasn’t that she wanted to become an adventurer—she wanted to be a princess. She had ever since she was little.

From that perspective, at least…

“…Rescue the princess, huh?” she murmured.

“A classic adventure,” Guild Girl said with a smile.

I guess I’m a little…jealous. Of Guild Girl with her smile and of the centaur princess whose name and face she didn’t know. It was just a distant, hovering cloud in her heart, but it didn’t feel very good.

A “hmm” escaped Guild Girl. It sounded so much like him that Cow Girl looked up in spite of herself. “It’s just an ordinary thing. I was thinking of selling it…,” Guild Girl said.

“What? What?” Cow Girl urged.

“There’s a jousting tournament in the capital and, well, I’ve got an invitation.”

“You, uh, you do?” Cow Girl looked into the middle distance, thinking. She didn’t really know the word jousting, but she had a faint recognition of it. Oh yeah. When we were really little, he said… “Is that that thing where knights go all ba-ba-ba-ba! and then thoom? That’s it, isn’t it?”

“Well, that’s not all there is to it… But I guess you’ve got the gist.”

Cow Girl was glad she’d remembered accurately what he’d said. Although she had no idea if it would be remotely interesting to watch.

That was when Guild Girl said something completely unexpected: “If you’d like, how about we go together?”

“Whaaa…?”

Cow Girl blinked and looked at her friend. She didn’t look like she was teasing. This invitation was in earnest. Cow Girl opened her mouth to answer, but the words wouldn’t come out. In the end, she couldn’t muster a response. Didn’t say she wanted to go, didn’t say she didn’t want to go. And a dress! What would she do about a— Well, no, wait, she had one of those. Basically. Ummm. Ummmm…

“Anyway, just think about it,” Guild Girl said.

“…Mn,” Cow Girl finally managed with a nod.

Guild Girl drank the last of her tea, then set down her cup without so much as a clink and rose from her chair. “I guess I’d better get back to work,” she said.

“Er, uh,” Cow Girl started, nodding and watching her. “Have a good day?”

Sure. Guild Girl smiled—elegant indeed. Cow Girl watched the braid bounce on her back as she went. She kicked her feet, unable to say anything.

It was a strange time of day. The tavern was quiet, and there was no one else—well, not quite. There was one other customer, a small—er, lean girl with black hair who looked deep in thought. There were several slices of cheap black bread on her plate, and she was munching on them assiduously, almost ravenously. She looked like the kind who would peck at her food, yet her eyes showed a desperation to eat more.

Some brand-new equipment, with just a few small scratches on it, was propped on the chair, and around her neck was a status tag.

“Guess you’re an adventurer?” Cow Girl offered.

“……?” The girl peeked up from her plate, wiping the crumbs of bread from her mouth and looking quickly from one side to the other before she located Cow Girl. “Oh!” she almost squeaked. “Y-y-yes, I am.” She nodded, looking equal parts shy and happy.

Wow, she’s adorable, Cow Girl thought. A young girl who was eager, serious, and seemed to be rushing forward. So different from herself.

“Going on an adventure after this?”

“Oh, um, well…” The girl was almost pitifully lost for words before she produced an answer that didn’t quite seem like an answer: “I’m, uh, trying my best!”

“That’s a great plan. Best of luck!” Cow Girl said with a wave, and a smile like a flower blossomed on the black-haired girl’s face. She nodded vigorously before shoving the rest of the bread into her mouth. She washed it down with some water, coughing, then rushed out of the building, not neglecting to bow to Padfoot Waitress, who was sweeping near the entrance. Her backpack bounced as she went, and at her chest was a charm, a black onyx.

Cow Girl watched her idly. “An adventure… Huh.”

The truth was, she didn’t know if they were any fun. But they certainly seemed to have his attention.