(Y/N)'s POV

It's an all too common story. A village is attacked by goblins. Some maidens are kidnapped. Some newbie adventurers decide they're going to get rid of those goblins for their first quest. But the goblins prove too much, and the whole party is slaughtered. Or maybe just one makes it out and saves the girls too. During their captivity, those girls were forced to serve the goblins' needs, and in despair, they enter the temple.

Most surviving adventurers slowly slip away from the world and never leave home again. There's nothing exceptional about that. It happens every day. Or so I think. But I'm not sure. Do these life-shattering events really happen all the time? And if they do, can I, knowing it firsthand, maintain my faith? I don't know. But that's exactly why...

"Thanks again for the chains!" Priestess told the man who gave us the chains. "Why do we have to wear these again?" I asked, already knowing the answer. It was just a little uncomfortable. My thighs were totally exposed, but that was not the same as wearing chain mail. Not surprisingly, Onee-chan did not answer my question. I pouted with my arms crossed over my chest.

We entered the office. I ran up to Slayer-san, I found myself blushing as I saw him. He appeared to be talking to Guild Girl, who was smiling and embracing him. That changed when she saw my sister and me approaching the desk. Even though she noticed our appearance, Slayer-san didn't bother to turn around.

"Slayer-san... um... we brought some chain mail, just like you told us!" I stuttered, lifting up my skirt not too high to show Slayer-san the brand-new chain mail. Why was I stuttering? I never stutter! Well... unless I'm terrified. Priestess giggled at me before giving me a sly grin. I ignored her and glanced back again at Slayer-san. "Not bad," he praised me. He was talking about the chain mail though, I hope no one misunderstands him. "So... um... Will we be hunting...?" "Goblins," he said calmly before adding, "Are you both coming?" Without hesitation, I gracefully responded. "Yes!"

... I'm going to continue as an adventurer. At least for a while.

Third Person POV

"I'm just gonna drop off the delivery, okay?" "Mm." Cow Girl quickly left to deliver the produce she had brought. To complete her work, she needed to get signatures by the cook and Guild Girl.

"Please, yeh just gotta! Them gubbins done come down t'our village!" A farmer pleaded with his hands clasped together. "Filing a quest? Please fill out this form, sir." Guild Girl said with a smile. As the farmer continued to rant about his problem, Guild Girl reassured him. "It's all right, sir. Here, have a clean form." She gave him a new sheet since he crumbled the one he was given. "Please take your time."

The battles among the gods have raged for so long that monsters are a natural part of the world. But even though dragons, brigands, and other types of demons lurk around the world... the most numerous monsters of all are goblins.

"It looks like your paperwork is in order. Do you have the reward with y-?" Before she could finish, the farmer cut her off. "S-Say... It is true the gubbins steal a girl sometimes 'n' ... 'n' know her...?" Guild Girl knew what he was trying to say. The farmer wanted to know if the goblins raped the girls and used them as playthings. "There are cases where that has happened, sir." The farmer panicked and took out his bag of coins. "Please! Yeh gotta help us! I've got all the money yeh want! The whole village went in together!"

Guild Girl examined the coins that the bag had; she was a bit disappointed. She didn't know if anyone would be willing to help out the village for this as a reward. But then she remembered... "All right, I've confirmed the amount. You're all set here." The farmer seemed shocked. "Really!" Guild Girl only smiled. "Don't worry, sir. Some adventurers will be by within a few days to slay your problems." The farmer thanked her multiple times, and as he reached the door, he bowed.

After the old man left, she sank into her arms with a deep sigh. "Phew... That's the third goblin quest today..." "Relax, it's nothing unusual, right?" Her assistant said, trying to brighten her mood. But the thing was that no matter what, there will always be more goblins. Experienced adventurers see goblin quests as a waste of time, which is why new adventurers take them instead. But they'll only end up injured or killed. And if the first party gets wiped, the second or third will come through and finish the job. It gets done one way or another... so the state does nothing.

She understands that the state and experienced adventurers have a lot on their plate to handle goblins. But that leaves the choice to them, the Guild. Either send three novice parties to almost certain doom or let three villages burn. "Owww... my head..." Guild Girl sighed. "Are you all right?" Her assistant asked, sweat dripping from the side of her face. "Fine..." Guild Girl responded.

Hardly any experienced adventurers would be willing to take care of the goblins, all except... She heard the bell ring as the door opened. She was expecting Goblin Slayer, but instead, she got Spearman, along with Witch. While he ranted about his adventure or quest, Guild Girl needed to pretend she was interested. She even offered him a Stamina Potion. "One, please!" He said in his deep voice. "Here you are. Thank you for shopping with us!" Was all she said to him. Spearman internally screamed at himself while Witch only shook her head, holding in a laugh.

The bell rang again, and Guild Girl glanced at him with happiness. "Oh!" Her face instantly brightened. "Ugh... Goblin Slayer." Spearman gave a cluck as he followed Guild Girl's gaze. She clasped her hand together as he, along with Cow Girl, approached her. "Thank you so much for taking on that quest the other day! It was a huge help!" "No problem," he replied. "Please let me hear your full report! I'll put the kettle on!" Spearman grimaced as he looked at Goblin Slayer being admired by Guild Girl.

"Could I please get your signature on this delivery slip?" Cow Girl asked as she handed her the paper. "Oh, certainly! Thanks for bringing everything." Guild Girl took out her pen and signed the document. Goblin Slayer turned to look at Spearman. "I apologize if I got in the way of something." Spearman, slightly irritated, looked away from him. "No... I'd already finished making my report, so what do I care?"

"Aww," Witch said reproachfully. "Is the frontier's baddest... getting pouty?" "AM NOT!" "Look at them!" A boy said with admiration. "They're a couple of famous Silver-Ranks." He glanced at Witch. "She's hot!" "Now look at him," he said, glancing at Goblin Slayer. "Talk about dirty! Even we have better gear!" The girl beside him punched his arm. "Hey, be nice! I'm sure he's new, just like us!"

From afar, another Silver-ranked adventurer glanced at Goblin Slayer. "Gods. To think, he's a silver-ranked just like us... They'll give a silver rank to anyone these days!" The man beside the female Warrior also noticed him. "Forget about him. He never wants anything to do with the rest of us anyway."

Both Guild Girl And Cow Girl frowned as the people murmured about Him. But he just didn't care at all. Once Guild Girl and Cow Girl looked at each other, they seemed surprised. "Oh...!" They both said in unison. "Sorry to keep you waiting. How about a cup of tea before you go?" Cow Girl smiled and accepted the offer. "Sounds great!" She gave Cow Girl and Goblin Slayer tea. When she saw him sipping away at his tea, she couldn't help but blush. She remembered all the times a Goblin Slayer came to her rescue by taking the goblin quest; no one else was willing to do it but him. He would always say:

"Goblins? I'll handle it."

"I took care of those goblins. Where are the next ones?"

"Any goblin quests?"

"Got any goblins for me?"

Villagers would often thank him for his heroic deed in saving their village. "Thank you so much! You saved our village!" "Thank you, honestly... you're always such a big help." "I am?" He would question. "Yes! You really are!" Guild Girl assured him of it.

As she signed the paper, she asked, "Why are goblins always raiding our villages anyway? Maybe they just enjoy attacking people..." "Why?" Goblin Slayer said more than asked. "It's simple," he cleared his throat before continuing. "Imagine that one day, your home is suddenly beset by monsters. They swagger into your village like it belongs to them. They kill your friends. They kill your family. They loot your home." Cow Girl turned to look at him, listening carefully to what he was saying, not missing any details. "Imagine," he continued. "... They take your big sister. They torture her. They defile her. They kill her."

"They run roughshod over everything... cackling all the while. They leave the bodies of your family lying there. And you see it all... from where you're hidden... trying not to breathe. How could you ever let that go? So you take a weapon in hand. You train yourself. You learn. You grow. Your only thought is revenge. You search them out... hunt them down... you fight... you attack... And then you kill them... And kill them... And kill them... And kill them. Sometimes things go well... and sometimes they don't. Each time you ask: How will I kill them next time? What's the best way to kill them? Day after day, month after month, that's the sole thought that takes up residence in your head. Of course, you test every idea you have when the opportunity presents itself. And in time... you come to relish it."

Guild Girl swallowed heavily. "Um, is that...? Are you...?" She wasn't sure if he was still talking about goblins. Maybe he was talking about himself. "Some think they're being magnanimous... by sparing the young. They are fools."

"Once in a while, I'll meet a village, though. They'll say 'I drove off a goblin once. It was small fry.' But what that usually means is they smoked the gobs out and sent them fleeing. Let people do that once or twice, and they should become adventurers. The goblin, on the other hand, learns and grows from the encounter. It is known as a 'Wanderer.' Wanderers often join other nests as chieftains or guards."

"Well, that's how things usually go," he added shortly. "In other words, I am to goblins what goblins are to us." Guild Girl was at a loss of words. "Sheesh... Now, that's all well and good, but..." She felt angry, but why? She put on her usual smile. "...We're the ones who give you your quests. So, by your logic, what does that make us? Are you comparing us to evil spirits or the dark gods? Am I really that scary?"

"...That's not what I meant." "Well, that's what it sounded like!" Guild Girl stood up from her chair and smacked her hand against the counter. "How can the guild keep up its reputation with talk like that going around? Maybe I shouldn't offer you quests in the future." There was a long pause before Goblin Slayer spoke up. "That would... be a problem for me." Guild Girl gave a small giggle, noticing the tone in Goblin Slayer's voice. He was almost acting like a little boy. "Somebody had to do these quests, and you're doing them. You should be proud of that." She placed his silver tag around her hand with a slight blush on her face. "You're a Silver-Ranked adventurer, remember?"

Cow Girl smiled as she heard Guild Girl's motivational speech. At least someone else appreciates his hard work as well. Suddenly she was caught by surprise when she heard two young girls running up to him. It was a Priestess and an Enchantress. "Hi... Slayer-san" (Y/N) said shortly, standing in front of him. He turned his full attention to her but remained silent. He didn't seem to notice that (Y/N) was flustered by her inability to speak.

"About our last quest...!! I think trying to destroy the whole cave with that fire mixture was too much! What if the whole mountain had come down!" Priestess finally said. (Y/N) gasped and furrowed her eyebrows. "You could have killed the captured girls and me!" "Far better than letting any goblins live," Goblin Slayer said bluntly. "You need to think more about the consequences of your actions!" Priestess shouted again. "Don't you trust me at all?!" Young (Y/N) shouted next.

Cow Girl leaned on her chair as she examined the two girls. She couldn't help but chuckle; it looked like Goblin Slayer was a father listening to his two daughters complaining. Were these the novice adventurers that he was paired up with? But he never mentioned them to be girls. They were elegant and cute! They have been together for about a month now. "And do you remember when to attack?" Goblin Slayer asked the two girls, changing the subject. (Y/N) swallowed by the sudden change of subject. "Um... morning and evening." "Because for them, that is—"

Cow Girl took notice that he was talking more than he usually did. Goblin Slayer now turned his attention back to Guild Girl. "Any goblin quests?" He asked. Guild Girl cheered as she took three sheets out. "Yes! Three today." Goblin Slayer gently took the papers from her hand and read what the quest offered. It was not the money that got his attention, but the number of goblins he would get to kill. So they moved into the fortress in the northern mountain range..."

"We already have casualties. And some adventurers who went to lend a hand haven't..." "It's too late for them," Goblin Slayer responded. "But we can't leave it. If we destroy the nest now, things may end there. As for this one..." he held the new quest in his hand. "It says some goblins were seen carrying off chickens around dawn." Guild Girl immediately knew that it was the old man's quest. "That's not the work of a horde. There can't be more than two or three goblins there. They won't do serious harm any time soon."

"But it's possible they're establishing a nest in the area. And it's on the way to the other quest. We'll see to it they don't have time to grow into a horde." He handed Guild Girl back the quests. She smiled gratefully and thanked him. "Thank you so much! I'll get another party to handle the third quest." "If you're sure," Goblin Slayer added. Cow Girl made her way back to the counter and handed Guild Girl her teacup. "Thanks for the tea!" Guild Girl chuckled and gave Cow Girl the slip with her signature.

"I'm going," Goblin Slayer told Cow Girl, who smiled with her hands behind her back. "Sure. Be careful, okay?" Goblin Slayer gave her a nod, "You too. Get home safely." Priestess and (Y/N) followed behind Goblin Slayer; they bowed as they past Cow Girl. She returned her gratitude by smiling back at them. "Hey, Onee-chan. Do you think I'll turn out like her?" Priestess pouted and lightly smacked the back of (Y/N)'s head. She rubbed her head from the small pain. "Stop talking nonsense. You already have a bigger chest size than an average teen should have!" (Y/N) blushed as she stared at her own body.

"I wasn't talking about breast size! But then..." (Y/N) placed her hands on her bosom, examining them on her own. Priestess nudged (Y/N)'s rib to get her to stop. "Stop playing with your breast like that!" "Oww! It's not my fault, plus you're the one who called me out for having a bigger chest!" (Y/N) shouted unaware that they were still in the Guild. "Do you want me to tell you again!?" Priestess shouted back. "Uhh... girls?" Goblin Slayer said, trying to get their attention.

  "What!?" They both shouted in unison as they turned to look at him. "We're still... inside the Guild." Both girls turned pale and slowly turned around to see that they caught a few of the adventurer's attention. They kneeled and bowed, their face nearly touching the hard floor. "We're so sorry; we didn't mean to cause a scene!"

Goblin Slayer sighed and grabbed the collar of their outfit, and dragged them out of the Guild. "Wait! I'm not done yet; I need to know if they forgive us! Nooo!" (Y/N) shouted as she struggled to get out of his grip. Priestess only chuckled nervously, not fighting back. Once they were out of earshot, everyone erupted into laughter while others rolled their eyes and continued doing their thing.

"You don't see that every day. Usually, after an adventure, people would be traumatized." Goblin Slayer said beneath his helmet. He smiled at how close they both were. (Y/N) and Priestess stood up from the ground and looked at each other. "We love each other, that's why, no matter what happens." They both giggled as they embraced each other with a hug. Something about the sisters made Goblin Slayer feel like he had a family again. A family he once lost.

~Emma