Goblin Slayer - Volume 8 - Chapter 5.1

Interlude – Of Wondering Whose Master Scene It Had Been

“Majestyyy! I’m heeere!!” 

The door flew open with a bang, and a whirlwind entered the room in the form of a young woman whose long black hair was flying everywhere. 

She was somewhere in her teens, right about the age when she might be taken for a novice adventurer—but it was also obvious at a glance that was not what she was. The armor that covered her body had been crafted to prioritize ease of movement, but it was also studded with magical protections. The massive sword that hung at her hip was equally clearly of extraordinary workmanship. 

“…Huh?” 

The girl reached the middle of the room then looked around in surprise. 

Almost none of the VIPs were left. Was the council over already? 

The Gold-ranked adventurer was standing there scowling, which made no sense to her. 

The next instant, she saw the cardinal stand up from his chair and bow his head, a tense smile on his face. 

“Eeyowch!” 

Someone bopped her on the head with a staff, provoking a scream from the girl as if she had been singed by the flames of hell. 

“Disrespectful.” Sage, wearing a flowing robe, sighed, holding her staff, which was imbued with who knew how many spells. Kneeling before the king and his advisers, she ignored the girl’s tearful glare. 

Look at her, acting all courtly. The girl stuck out her lip and grumbled, “Hmph. Who even cares? His Majesty and I are like best budd—erk!” 

This time, the smack came on her behind, but with utmost effort, the girl managed to restrain another shout. 

“His Majesty has his station to think of—as do we, and as do you. See that you observe it.” 

The person who had made the girl jump this time was a female fighter who spoke in measured tones. A woman unparalleled in renown in all the land, she waved a slim but fearsomely muscled hand at the girl. “One would expect the hero to be embarrassed at such conduct, hmm?” 

“…I think ‘one’ would expect to be even more embarrassed by not being able to find a boyfriend.” 

“It’s the men’s fault that none of them are stronger than me.” 

The girl gave the unfazed fighter a resentful look but saw a wave of Sage’s staff out of the corner of her eye. “Anyway, Your Majesty, you called us, so we’re here!” 

“…Mm, I can see that.” The king, squinting as if amused, gave a broad, magnanimous wave of his hand. He didn’t seek the manners of one born and raised in the nobility from this girl who had fled an orphanage at fifteen years old and become a hero. As long as she could be respectful toward those she met, that was enough. 

“Thank you,” she said and plopped herself down at the round table. 

Sword Saint and Sage followed her, each with a polite bow. 

Hero looked to her friends on either side as if afraid someone might get angry at her but then opened her mouth. “So what all happened? I’d been told I didn’t have to come to the council, but…” 

“You’re fine,” the king said, shaking his head with a smile. “We simply gave a quest to a most unusual Silver-ranked adventurer.” 

Ah, so that was it. Sword Saint felt the expression on the Gold-ranked adventurer’s face said it all. Every adventurer had their strengths and weaknesses, so it wasn’t unusual to be passed over for a particular job, but maybe it rankled that this one was at the royal command. 

“…And need we not get involved?” Sage asked. Her voice sounded the same as ever, yet her comrades could tell how serious she was. 

“I don’t know if it’s connected or not,” the king said. “So I want to ask you to handle something different.” 

“Sure thing, Your Majesty! Just say the word!” 

“Heh,” the advisers whispered, smiling at one another over Hero’s undue eagerness. They did not, of course, see fit to openly rebuke her. A hero she might have been, but she was also as young as their grandchildren. 

“A stone of fire has fallen from the sky on the holy mountain to the north. It seems to be giving off a rather unsettling aura…” 

“So you want us to check it out and whoop any bad guys we find! You got it!” Hero smacked her small chest, brimming with confidence. 

The king let out a breath, his expression relaxing ever so slightly toward a smile. Things should be all right now. When she said she would take care of something, her word was absolute. 

“Good. I’ve set aside some money for you to make your preparations. I can’t promise you fifty gold coins and a sword or anything, though.” 

“Aw, that’s fine. I don’t need that stuff. All I need is— Hrk?!” 

“We receive it gratefully, Your Majesty.” 

Whatever Hero had been about to say, she gave it up and rubbed her behind instead. Sword Saint bowed her head deeply. 

Hero, her butt still sore from the pinch, pulled a face and leaned back in her chair. “Pbbt. Whatever. We’d be fine without that stuff…” 

“It is only polite to accept what is offered to you,” Sage said in her quiet, calm tone. She, too, bowed to the king and then said, “And if we should happen to need anything else?” 

“Talk to the cardinal and the captain. I’ve told them to take care of you.” 

“Thank you, sire.” 

“Heh, don’t thank us.” The captain of the royal guard, quiet until that moment, grinned widely. “I could have gone with you, if I were still an adventurer myself. But someone is very insistent that the king’s own captain not get involved.” 

“I’ve been hearing much of the same. People keep saying that it won’t do for us to constantly run up the banners and charge into battle. Am I right?” The king looked to the cardinal for support. 

“‘Am I right’ indeed!” the clergyman sniffed. “You have to stop suggesting that the best way to help the state of the national treasury would be for you to go slay a dragon or two.” 

“You think he’ll stop just because you say so?” The quiet interjection came from the silver-haired attendant, who hadn’t spoken until that moment. It was impossible to guess how she was feeling from her voice, but the shrug she displayed had a hint of warmth in it. “He’s the most important person in the country now, though for the life of me, I can’t imagine why.” 

“That’s right, I am important.” 

It was the uninhibited banter of a group completely at ease with one another. 

“…” Sage felt the smallest ghost of an understanding smile pass over her face. The connection among them was like that between herself and her own two precious companions—not the same, though; each was something unique in this world. To be able to observe such a thing firsthand was both entertaining and joyous. 

Sage offered another bow then engaged the cardinal about the finer details. Sword Saint put in her opinion on the points that involved battle, while Hero, for her part, hardly seemed to be listening at all. 

Instead, her face lit up like she had just thought of something, and she rushed over to the Gold-ranked dog-man. 

“Hey, mister, mister! Tell me the rest of that story you started last time!” 

“L-last time when?” the man said, blinking under bushy eyebrows. “You mean the time I one-hitted the huge bird-monster?” 

“Yeah, yeah! Last time you stopped right when the horde of greater demons had you surrounded. I wanna hear how it ends!” 

More than happy to oblige, the dog-man took a long swig from the flask at his hip and then began his story of the old days. Sage and Sword Saint glanced over at them, but with warmth in their looks, a friendly resignation. 

This is good, the king thought, taking it all in. 

The hero was more than her strength alone. Indeed, her strength was more than her fighting prowess alone. 

Everyone adored the girl for her ability to break the fangs of disharmony almost as if she didn’t know what she was doing. 

And that, I think is what will save the world. 

He had been an adventurer himself, once, but now, sadly, there was a crown on his head. 

How fervently he wished he could gather his old party, stand around a map plotting out an adventure together. 

Had that been possible, he would already be on the way to save his sister himself. 

The goblin menace, the resurrected demons, the undead necromancer, the flaming stone from the heavens—with his own hands, he would do it all… 

But I never shall. 

Suddenly, the king realized he was clutching the arms of his throne, and he relaxed his fingers. 

He was the king now. It was different from when he had been just a lawful-good lord. He was no longer overseeing a simple party of six people, but the entire human nation. He was no longer confronting gloomy dungeons, but the whole game board of the known world. 

I never had to think about any of this before, but I do now. 

His eyes went to the door to the hallway. Somewhere beyond it were the adventurers who had gone off with Sword Maiden and Female Merchant. 

He and she together would worry about the country, the capital, the world. 

So please, adventurers, take care of my sister.