Goblin Slayer - Volume 16 - Chapter 1.1

Chapter 1 - A Vacation In The Capital

“Wow…!”

She hadn’t made such a sound of amazement and her eyes hadn’t sparkled like this since they’d visited the village of the elves. Which was to say, in her mind, the capital was a place of wonder and fantasy every bit as amazing as the elves’ forest hideaway.

There were the towering skyscrapers. The widespread cobblestones. The hordes of people going every which way. All of it seemed to shimmer, her view hemmed in no matter which way she looked. The only natural thing she saw was perhaps the sky, wide and blue overhead. And even it had a misty quality, like paint spread over too much canvas. She’d thought the water town was a big city, but this…

“It’s amazing!” Cow Girl said, simply unable to find any other way to describe it.

“Hee-hee! Funny, you stop noticing it once you get used to it.” Beside Cow Girl was the receptionist from the Adventurers Guild, her footsteps sounding as light as a feather.

Well, maybe not quite that light. They probably couldn’t be, considering the fancy dress she was wearing.

Fancy, at least, from Cow Girl’s perspective. In Guild Girl’s mind, it was probably just an ordinary outfit. She was, after all, a daughter of nobility. Different in every way from some farm girl. Cow Girl was almost embarrassed just to think of them in the same moment.

“So is this what elf villages look like to you humans?”

Any sartorial shortcomings on Cow Girl’s part could be forgiven, for there was always a bigger fish—or perhaps, always a lovelier woman. Next to a high elf noble, every human woman looked equally ordinary.

This particular high elf noble was dressed in her traveling clothes, which were not so different from her usual adventuring outfit and earned her plenty of stares as she traipsed along the cobblestones. Even the inhabitants of the capital didn’t see the likes of her very often, with her shining eyes and almost translucent green hair.

High Elf Archer took the curious looks in stride, her ears twitching. “I mean, strange, and busy, and kind of wonderful. Is that what it’s like? One thing I can say—no elf village is as claustrophobic as this!”

“Yeah, claustrophobic from your perspective.” A dwarf shaman was walking alongside the elf. He munched on a skewer of grilled meat that he had managed to get somewhere. He passed a stick to the elf, although this one appeared to be grilled carrots.

The vogue for races drew centaurs and their admirers in droves, which in turn spurred the proliferation of stalls that sold food like this.

“Thanks,” the elf said, taking the skewer and digging in, stuffing her cheeks with vegetables.

The dwarf ignored her as he licked the grease off his fingers. Then he scowled. “Besides, your kind don’t build their own buildings. Just move into hollowed-out trees.”

“That’s hate speech! Contempt for another culture!”

“Just keep bellyachin’. Wait’ll you see a dwarf city someday!”

“You mean, wait until I see a big hole in the ground? At least rhea holes are cozy!”

“And very carefully constructed. Unlike elf tree houses!”

The elf could be heard growling, “Ooh, you!” and the dwarf responded in kind. Soon they were bickering away like they always did. The crowd all around, though, was so numerous and so noisy as to drown out even their customary fighting. Wherever you looked it was people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people, people. They wore outfits of every kind, spoke a myriad of languages, and flowed by on every side like a river. Centaurs, padfoots, elves, dwarves, rheas, humans, and other kinds of people Cow Girl had never seen before.

Even walking in a line along the side of the main road in hopes of avoiding the brunt of the crowd, she felt like she was going to be swept away. It was a flood of colors. High Elf Archer had spoken of “culture,” and this was indeed culture shock for Cow Girl. If she’d been an artist trying to paint this scene, she would have thrown down her brush in despair at the futility. It was as if all the scenery in the entire world was crammed into this one vista.

“Look at them all,” gasped the young lady beside Cow Girl, sucking in a breath like she was afraid she might suffocate. When they’d first met, she had seemed no more than a child, but she had grown into a fine young woman. She pressed her cap down against her long golden hair, blinking. She was a priestess of the Earth Mother, and now she said, “I’d heard about all the people, but this is unbelievable!”

“It is?” Cow Girl asked.

The cleric nodded back. And she had even been to the capital before! She’d been born on the frontier, but for the last several years, she’d been going on adventures. Even with her burgeoning experience, though, the flood of people in the capital at this moment made her head spin. And she thought she’d been overwhelmed the first time she came here…

“But this is far, far more people than I saw then!”

“Of course. There’s a tournament on!” Guild Girl puffed out her noble chest.

Yes, that was it. As wide as the Four-Cornered World was, there were few events that attracted as much attention as a tournament. Adventuring was called the flower of the Four-Cornered World, but people couldn’t help but wonder who was strongest in a one-on-one, person-versus-person contest.

Even the gods watched such things with interest from above the board; may they have the Valkyrie’s blessing.

“Hoo-hoo! Indeed, I would participate myself if only I had a mount to ride on!” A lizardman priest trotted along, carrying something very large. He’d unloaded it from the cart after they passed through the gate.

“Here,” High Elf Archer said, giving him a skewer of grilled cheese the dwarf had purchased.

“My thanks,” Lizard Priest replied, taking it and eating the entire thing in one bite. “Mm, nectar! Nectar indeed! In any event, knights and knights only may be part of these proceedings.”

“There is a way you could be part of it. You wouldn’t even have to become an official,” High Elf Archer said.

Lizard Priest’s tail slapped against the ground, drawing the attention of several passersby. When they realized it was just another excited spectator, however, they turned away again. Everyone was focused on the tournament; they wouldn’t waste time looking at the other audience members.

“Yes, representatives have been chosen from every race to compete against one another.”

“Ah, I see! For dwarves, rheas, elves, padfoots, and humans are each built differently.” Then again, he averred, the heart did dance at the idea of an even fight between different peoples. There was, it seemed, a division for that as well.

Cow Girl let the chatter wash over her as she glanced at the remaining member of their group.

Here we are… Finally on vacation.

At least, she thought so. This wasn’t an adventure. Nor was she here on farm business. She’d come to the capital because her friends had invited her.

The idea of traveling was somewhat fraught for her after one very unpleasant winter, but this was nothing like that had been. That wasn’t exactly why she asked the question she asked…but it almost was.

“So… What do you think we should do?” Everything she saw seemed bright and fascinating and exciting. There was still time until the tournament started. Although not enough, surely.

The person she asked, an old friend of hers, grunted, “Hrm,” and adjusted his grip on the package he was carrying.

He was an adventurer wearing grimy armor; a cheap-looking steel helmet; and a small, round shield on his arm—and he carried a sword of a strange length. People passing on the street gave him odd looks, but he nodded gravely at her and said, “…I’m afraid I don’t know.”

Goblin Slayer, it transpired, hadn’t the slightest idea of how to spend a day off.