Goblin Slayer - Volume 16 - Chapter 2.5

Interlude - Coming To Adventure

“Th-thank you very much!” the young girl with black hair said as she hopped off the wagon. The pack on her back jostled as she bowed to her benefactor.

“Don’t mention it. I was grateful to have someone to travel with me,” replied a young woman, also with black hair. Hers was tied in a single braid, held in place with a rose ornament. At her hip was a katana. She looked to be about the same age as the first girl, but her bare feet suggested she was a rhea. “I’ve got four people in my party, but everyone is multi-classed as a warrior and a wizard…”

It was a relief to have a specialist on the front row.

“Heh-heh,” the first girl said to that, blushing.

“You’re here to see the tournament as well, yes?”

“Oh, uh, ahem,” said the girl with the name like a storm, like a primordial whirlwind, nodding eagerly. “And, um, the capital, too…” She wanted to do some sightseeing, she added awkwardly, her voice threatening to trail off into silence.

The rhea fencer woman, so far from making fun of her, accepted this with a simple “I see.” Then she said, “As a matter of fact, we’re new to the capital as well.”

“You are?”

“Yes. Should we see each other again, I hope it will be a favorable meeting.”

The girl nodded earnestly, her head bobbing up and down.

“Farewell, then,” the rhea woman said and started walking away. The black-haired girl watched them go—the party also included a female cleric so lovely the girl was almost smitten with her, an elderly lizardman, and a hale young elf.

She watched until they vanished into the crowds, then let out a breath.

I’m finally on my own, she thought. There she was, standing smack amid the fearsome (!) crowds of the capital. She had no clear objective to speak of. She’d simply heard that there was going to be a tournament and had decided she’d like to see it.

She had realized with a start that if she chose to come here or not, no one would criticize her. Back in her village, every friend and neighbor would have had an opinion, but she wasn’t there anymore. She was an adventurer. She was on her own. She was free.

She’d quickly checked what was in her purse, asked the Guild employee about how much it would cost to travel, and factored in that she would want some spending money. She’d been taking adventures here and there, quests she thought she could do, and saving up a bit of money—and it led her to this moment.

“……I really made it.”

She could hardly believe it herself. Here she was now in a place she had never imagined she would be, never thought she’d see with her own eyes.

The sight that spread out before her was something she had never even dreamed of.

The girl started to bounce up and down, testing the ground under her feet.

It’s the feeling of the capital’s ground!

She looked up, and although her vision should have been blocked by the tall buildings, she somehow felt she could see the sky, low overhead. The sounds she heard, the smells that drifted to her, the crowds of people—none of it was familiar.

I think my head’s gonna start spinning…

She gripped her bouncing onyx charm firmly to help slow her speeding heart. Taking a job as a guard for the wagon had allowed her to get here and save a lot on travel.

Now what do I do?

What should she spend her money on? Food? Snacks? Clothes? Accessories? Maybe weapons or armor? Oh, and would they want an admission fee to see the tournament? Surely they would, right? What was she going to do…?

“Uh, umm…”

Bewildered, the girl took a step toward the side of the street, watching the path closely and thinking. She believed it was important to stop and think sometimes, and she was very good at it.

She’d come to the capital. She was going to see the tournament. She wanted to have some fun. And also do it on her own. In that case…

I need to find somewhere to stay.

She would rent a room at an inn, somewhere in the capital, and stay there—all by herself!

It would be the first time she had done such a thing. She’d never even heard someone else talk about doing it.

If she was going to make the effort, then she’d like to stay somewhere big. Hmm. Somewhere big…

“I know!”

Suddenly and somewhat belatedly restless, the girl jogged toward the edge of the great thoroughfare.

I’ll go see the castle!

This was, after all, the capital. The place where the king was. If you hadn’t seen the castle, had you even really been there?

The girl worked her way toward her new destination, buffeted this way and that by the crowds. Thankfully, the castle was the most conspicuous building in the city. She wouldn’t get lost. She was small enough that the crowds threatened to bury her, but if she stood on her tiptoes, she could see the place.

She soon made her way there. The castle stood beside a competition ground (apparently this was different from the coliseum proper!). In the girl’s eyes, it looked like a massive mansion, a baffling collection of pillars and hallways.

She wasn’t so far off about that. The royal family that now ruled this city had simply renovated the palace they inherited, which was far older than the founding of this nation.

In fact, all the capital’s appointments, starting with the aqueducts, were like that. The palace with all its majesty was the same—and the girl was sure she had never seen such a large building in her entire life.

“You’re really gonna be part of it?”

“Not if it’s only sword fighting—I’d be hopeless. But if there’s horse riding, that’s a different story!”

“You can’t stop her. She’ll never listen to you!”

The young girl wasn’t the only one taking in the castle; crowds of people pressed toward the place. The girl was looking up from the seething, churning crowd when her eyes met those of one other particular person.

It was yet another young woman with black hair; she wore green robes emblazoned with the symbol of the Trade God and carried an iron spear. She was chatting with two party members who stood with her, but when she saw the girl, she flashed a toothy grin, smiled like the sun, and shot her a thumbs-up.

“…!”

She started to come over. Our young traveler was taken by surprise; she didn’t know what any of this was about. She just thought the girl looked cool. She looked at the other young woman, her eyes shining, which seemed to please the object of her interest. The girl in green laughed aloud, when—

“My goodness!” someone exclaimed.

A figure had appeared on the southern balcony, which allowed one to observe competitions without leaving the castle. The girl hopped up and down, trying to get a look at their face, but she couldn’t quite see. She could, though, hear the voices of the three adventurers:

“Hey, who’s that?”

“Isn’t that the princess?”

“You think?”

The princess! Now she definitely wanted to see. The girl stretched and strained, pushing among the wall of people.

“I don’t know. I don’t think it feels like her.”

“Maybe she’s just too far away to tell.”

“You think…???”

Hoo…hah! The girl finally broke through the mass of bodies and got a view of the balcony. There, indeed, stood the princess, resplendent with her golden hair and white dress.

And yet…

Why does she look so…uncomfortable?