Chapter 56 - A New Life
The three of us from the Class of 175 are sitting on the sofa in the waterworks management office at the base of the waterfall, watching that sled maneuvered by Paul-san as it slides down to cheers. Robinson-san is sitting opposite us.
"Is the new life going to work out somehow?"
"I think so. Mayor Adolf opened up the entire no-fishing zone around the lake just for us, so we can get plenty of food."
Robinson-san smiled gently in the early morning sunlight. The new clothes he's wearing aren't much different from those of the local farmers. Perhaps because he's originally from a farming family, they suit him well.
As an afterword, his family had already passed away. When the news arrived that the village itself had been wiped out, caught in the crossfire of war, he broke down in tears.
We were all worried, but he eventually recovered. A shadow seems to have remained in his expression, but that's unavoidable. I want to believe he'll be fine as long as he's immersed in the daily labor of building a new life.
"Even so, he's really going at it. Is that kind of thing really that fun?"
Outside the window where Beatrix is looking, Paul-san, pestered by everyone, is making several trips between the top and bottom of the waterfall.
The children were scared at first and clung to me, but once they rode it, they were overjoyed and clung to Paul-san's sleeves, pulling them as if to say "one more time, one more time." When that happens, it's just like Paul-san's personality. He's making trip after trip, saying "leave it to me." Finally, not just the children, but even the mothers and the old guys have started riding. Is this the fifth or sixth time Paul-san has maneuvered the sled...
He seems to be pretending not to hear Mayor Adolf saying "let me pilot it too."
Beatrix, who watched the sled depart with a cheer and a sigh of "good grief," let out a breath.
"Are you done with it, Robinson-san?"
"I... once is enough."
He has a visibly sour face.
Good. I'm glad there's someone with the same sensibility.
"What are you going to do from now on?"
Beowulf asked Robinson-san.
"I'll be in their care here for a while. Once life here stabilizes, I'll start working in earnest. I have my hands full with that for now. The prey and medicinal herbs gathered in the forest are our source of income. It seems they want to connect the town below to this place so people can come up on that sled. If I can get involved in that construction, I might be able to live a comfortable life with the payment."
"Did Mayor Adolf really say that?"
"Unfortunately. It seems they're going to build a passage for a transport sled next to the water pipes they're going to build underground. That part is supposedly for tourism."
We looked at each other and shook our heads in exasperation. Surely there's other work to do, why on earth would he do that...
"I thought goblins, you know, lived in the forest."
Beatrix said in a tone as if she had given up on something. I understand that feeling well.
"They're digging a new nest near the lake. They'll probably resume when night falls. Right now they're obsessed with the sled, though."
Goblins are nocturnal. They sleep during the day and wander the forest once the sun goes down.
The area around the lake is a no-fishing zone, and the hunters are hunting quite far away. There should be plenty of prey.
Mayor Adolf's special measures also apply to those of the Marcelo Company who became the goblins' guarantors. However, hunting by humans alone is not permitted.
Paul-san intends to teach the goblins how to hunt so they can be self-sufficient. Of course, the catch will be split. It might not be a dream to have a goblin paradise in a symbiotic relationship with humans.
"Why don't you just have them do pest control for mice?"
"It's a good idea, but impossible for now. Imagine the uproar if goblins appeared in the middle of town. Besides, the goblins are a secret, so it would be bad if rumors started."
I think Beatrix's suggestion is interesting, but it's as Beowulf says.
It's not at that stage yet. Mayor Adolf also said that disclosure is forbidden until time passes and people can accept them.
Even after the battle with the orcs, we moved little by little using Teleportation Circles—from the mountain hut to the town hall, and from the town hall to the waterworks management office—to avoid public notice.
By the way, Angus-san and the other hunters didn't use Teleport.
They said they couldn't just leave the Teleportation Circle at the mountain hut as it was, so they would erase it properly and then walk to the nearest village. They should be on their way back by wagon by now.
"Anyway, today is a welcome party."
Beatrix took out a bottle of wine. She went out of her way to buy it.
This request was successfully achieved. Furthermore, we exterminated a swarm of orcs. Our pockets are warm.
"I'm sorry for the trouble. We can't offer any hospitality in return."
Beatrix acted all high and mighty, saying "What are you talking about?"
"Just this once, let me treat you. Letting someone treat you once in a while is what showing respect to a senior is all about."
Robinson-san became an employee of the Marcelo Company. He's the supervisor of the newly established civil engineering department. The goblins are like subcontractors. The technical advisor is, of course, Paul-san. By the way, his salary is a full commission system, just like mine. If he doesn't take on work, he doesn't get paid.
In other words, he's our junior.
That said, it's only a one-month difference. It's not enough to act so high and mighty.
"I look forward to working with you. Senpai."
Even so, Robinson-san bowed properly and smiled brightly.
He's quite a well-mannered junior. I might favor him in the future.
Beowulf took several round leather shields out of the bag she was carrying. They're one size smaller than the lightest one I have. It seems she had the two at the workshop make them. They're probably special-made for goblins.
"Weapons are a no-go, but I was told shields are fine. Please use them when you hunt."
As expected of Beowulf. Practical.
"Thank you. This really helps."
For goblins, who are small, weak, and cannot use magic, the magical beasts around here must be a threat. It's better to have armor. Robinson-san can't go with them every night, and eventually, they'll split up to hunt. Measures for when humans aren't around are necessary.
What I offered was a set of Highway Cookies. They boast overwhelming popularity among children. The branding irons aren't ready yet, so I bought them in town.
"You, if you do that, Paul-san is going to be jealous."
The mage who is ignoring her own actions says something.
"It's fine. I got five boxes from Paul-san. Paul-san opened one box and was scattering them earlier, though. I plan to let them eat the rest little by little every day, so the more the better."
I'm appalled. And this time I was beaten to the punch.
Come to think of it, he did say something about being a Highway Cookie maniac.
Deciding to ignore the fact that the mean mage is smirking at me, I change the subject.
"Anyway, I'm glad. For a moment, I wondered what would happen."
In the cave, I thought the Headmistress had slaughtered all the goblins.
"I didn't think that Holy, which exterminates monsters, would have almost no effect because goblins are spirits."
The Holy I fired when we attacked the goblins at the first location was a complete miss...
Robinson-san, opposite me, is nodding deeply. I heard later that they went wild and it was quite a struggle.
Though it only lasted until they took a blow to the solar plexus from the mace and fainted.
It's not that Holy has no effect at all; they were just all unconscious because they fell into a light state of shock.
Goblins, since they can't use magic, have senses far more acute than humans, and the impact they felt was too great.
After all, even I, a human, felt like I'd been hit.
If the psychological damage is great, even a human will lose consciousness and collapse. It seems the Headmistress's full power was too strong for the goblins.
The reason Emily-sensei was with us was a precaution by Jennifer-sensei, who looked ahead so that Resurrection could be used just in case. The effect was weak, but it was better than nothing. She wasn't the Headmistress's bodyguard.
However, the moment the Headmistress used Holy, Emily-sensei was outside. Furthermore, that was the Headmistress's instruction. Apparently, she thought that if push came to shove, she could just run and inform someone. She was given quite a lecture by Jennifer-sensei, who heard about it.
By the way, it seems Heal also has almost no effect. That was the reason she treated the goblin with the broken bone in such a rough manner, and the mothers understood.
Paul-san asked me, "Didn't you know?" looking exasperated.
"By the way, why was it goblins instead of orcs? Orcs are stronger, right?"
I wanted to ask that too. Robinson-san shouldn't have known that goblins weren't monsters.
"Something was different."
Robinson-san looked slightly upward. He seemed to be trying to remember something.
"I've spent my time with animals. Animals are like humans; while we spend time together, they have various emotions at different times, and among those, they came to like me. But spiders and orcs were different. They never came to like me. They only followed me because I was stronger, and they hated me intensely. But the goblins tried to understand me, and they did. Surely there is no 'between' for spiders and orcs—no, probably for monsters. No 'between' between like and hate."
Between like and hate... you could only call that 'normal,' but...
"There's black and white, right?"
There certainly is.
"What's between them?"
Mouse-color... I mean, gray.
"I think gray is infinite. White and black are at both ends. We are gray. Goblins must be the same. The way white and black are mixed is just a little different. That's why I thought. We can be allies. No, we can spend time together."
This has become a rather difficult conversation. People who have lived with animals and monsters in the forest for many years say things differently. In short, because goblins are spirits and not monsters, they can live with humans.
"Because they're the same as humans, Holy didn't work, right?"
Good, I summarized it well, if I do say so myself.
"Among the rescue unit, you were the only one who didn't know. You even lost consciousness."
The mean mage is picking on me.
"What? You didn't know either. I was watching properly. You were terrified of the Headmistress, your legs gave out and you were shaking. Weren't you peeing yourself!"
"That's filthy. Don't lump me in with you!"
As usual, Beowulf tries to step in with a laugh.
"Now, now, you two. The result was okay, so it's fine, right?"
Abruptly stopping our argument, we both look at Beowulf's face as she tries to soothe us.
"You knew but didn't tell us, so that's a violation of the rules, isn't it?"
The mage with the peeing-herself suspicion is making a wicked face toward Beowulf. It seems she hasn't realized she's confessing that she didn't know either.
"That's right. It's an impeachment trial."
However, I decided to jump on the bandwagon. Otherwise, I couldn't stand it.
"Even if you say that, I was only told right before. In the first place, the only ones who stayed asleep even though a report of an enemy attack came in were you three. It's your fault for sleeping in that situation."
"We're not like you, who trains daily, so there's no way we could wake up."
"That's right. I, who usually wake up early, overslept. It's definitely the fault of the person who didn't wake us up quickly in an emergency!"
In front of Robinson-san, who was wide-eyed because he had overslept after drinking with humans for the first time in a long while, the three of us continued to make a fuss for some time.
Protagonist's earned extermination reward (for two months): 2 gold coins, 11 silver coins: copper coins omitted
End of Volume 2