“Please help me! My daughter! She has been kidnapped by goblins!” 

That elderly man ran to me with a ghastly expression.

“Uhm…can you tell me in more detail?” (Makoto)

“Ooh…you are the one famous in goblin subjugations?! My daughter! My daughter has…” 

The guy was in such an agitated state as he grabbed onto me and explained…

-The man and his daughter are merchants of the neighboring town.

-Last night, a horde of goblins kidnapped his daughter.

-The goblins were moving as if there was someone in command, so there’s apparently a leader within those goblins.

-His daughter has a magic item called Impregnable Barrier.

-When the barrier is activated, goblins can’t put a hand on her.

-The barrier can stay activated for half a day.

-In around 1 more hour, the barrier will run out. When that happens…

“Uuuh…if the barrier runs out, my daughter will be prey for the goblins…Aaahh!” 

“Oji-san, you came from the neighboring town, right? Why didn’t you rely on the Adventurer Guild of your town?” (Mary)

Mary-san came and calmed down the man as she asked for details.

That’s a relief. Truly a guild staff member, she is skilled in this.

Or more like, she drank so much yesterday, yet she seems totally fine.

“That’s…it was late and there wasn’t any adventurer that could take action… I heard that there’s a person famous for goblin subjugations in Makkaren from a guild staff member, and that it would be safer to ask him…” 

“Haah…I see. And that’s why you came to Makoto-kun.” (Mary)

Mary-san nods as if convinced.

“Well then, Makoto-kun is a Hero, so it will take 1,000,000G plus the request fee…” (Mary)

““1,000,000?!””

The man and I raise shouts of surprise at the same time.

“Eh…I heard he was a famous goblin subjugator, but…the H-Hero-sama?” 

“Uhm, I became a Hero recently…” (Makoto)

“W-What…I have been rude…”

“No no, more importantly, if your daughter has been kidnapped, we have to hurry.” (Makoto)

The requester suddenly turned respectful.

“…But to think you were a Hero-sama. That kind of money…there’s no way I can pay it.” 

The requester-san groans with a face on the verge of tears.

He came all the way from the neighboring town, and yet, he is faced with this. That must be too much to take.

“Mary-san, can’t it be cheaper?” (Makoto)

“Hmm, when you designate an adventurer higher than Silver Rank, the nomination fee takes effect. This is so that requests don’t get concentrated on skilled adventurers. Also, it is so that we can provide good lodgings and equipment for the high ranked adventurers…” (Mary)

“Mary-san~.” (Makoto)

“I get it, Makoto-kun. Hey, requesteer-san. You can pay in installments.” (Mary)

Eeh, you still have to pay that?

Well, this is a guild rule, so it can’t be ignored, huh.

“Please tell me where your daughter has been taken to.” (Makoto)

“O-Okay…it is a cave west from here and…” 

I get the details, but he must have run away in a pretty flustered manner from the goblins, he doesn’t have a clear idea of the place.

“With such vague information…” (Mary)

Mary-san’s expression darkens.

Hmm, but I have the location of all the caves in the area here inside my head.

“Oji-san, was the ceiling of that cave low? Were there two holes lined up next to each other? Was there a large tree nearby?” (Makoto)

“If I remember correctly…there’s only one entrance, and it was a small cave.” 

“Got it.” (Makoto)

Must be there.

“M-Makoto-kun, you can tell the location with just that much information?” (Mary)

“I know all the locations in this area where goblins show up.” (Makoto)

But there was no goblin nest a few months ago in that cave.

Did they come from the Demonic Forest?

“Mary-san, I’m going. Can you tell the place to Lucy and Sa-san?” (Makoto)

“Got it!” (Mary)

I marked the place on the map and gave it to Mary-san, and then rushed out of the guild.

“Hey, my knight, where are you going?” 

Someone called me right after coming out of the guild.

“Princess?” (Makoto)

Furiae-san walks towards me.

“Where’s Lucy and Sa-san?” (Makoto)

“They said they drank too much and their heads hurt.” (Furiae)

Furiae-san tilts her head cutely as she answers.

“Haah, I see.” (Makoto)

It would have been faster with them along.

“Last night was fun. It was my first time talking about love stories with girls around my age.” (Furiae)

Furiae-san was in a good mood.

“Sorry, I am in a hurry right now. Stay at the guild with Mary-san or wait for me at the inn with Lucy and Sa-san please.” (Makoto)

I tell this to her while running, but…

“What are you saying? You are my Guardian Knight, right? I will go with you.” (Furiae)

“Eh?” (Makoto)

What is she saying?! 

“I am going to a goblin nest! I am going to go save a kidnapped person, so it is dangerous! Just wait for me!” (Makoto)

“Adventure? It is an adventure, right?! I am interested!” (Furiae)

Why are you getting excited?

Aah, then, I will leave you in the dust with my dash.

“Hey, my knight, can’t you run faster?” (Furiae)

…She passed me as if nothing.

Furiae-san runs faster than me?!

Right, I did lose against her in the Sun Country’s graveyard…

At this rate, I feel like she is gonna follow me wherever I go.

“Aah! Fine. Let’s go together.” (Makoto)

“Kyah!” (Furiae)

I grab the hand of Furiae-san and jump onto the waterway.

Water Magic: Water Walk and Water Dragon.

“Wah, this is an interesting magic.” (Furiae)

“We are going fast, so try not to bite your tongue.” (Makoto)

We accelerate on the water surface in an instant.

◇◇

We followed the path of the waterway that leads to a river, and arrived close to the Great Forest. 

There’s trees growing thickly here, and it is slightly dark.

We will be going on foot from here.

“Princess, can you use Stealth?” (Makoto)

“No problem. I am the woman that is wanted in the Sun Country and has been running away all the time, you know?” (Furiae)

That’s a reliable answer.

Not Oracle-like though.

Furiae-san and I advance through the forest slowly.

Our conversations were done in a low voice.

{Hey, we are going against goblins, right? There’s no need to be all stealthy, right?} (Furiae)

{I am the cautious player type.} (Makoto)

{I see. By the way, I heard from the Mage-san and the Warrior-san yesterday, but…} (Furaie)

The girl gathering yesterday must have been fun for Furiae-san, she doesn’t stop talking.

There’s no sense of tension from her…

{Those two normally get along with each other, but when it comes to talking about the guy they love…} (Furiae)

Hm?

{Ah, I shouldn’t be saying that.} (Furiae)

I ended up turning my head.

Furiae-san went ‘teehee’ and stuck out her tongue.

Wait! 

Don’t just stop the conversation there.

{Tell me in more detail…} (Makoto)

{Now now, turn around. The cave is in sight now.} (Furiae)

This girl…

It is bothering me now!

I put Clear Mind at MAX and moved forward.

I hide at the shadow of a tree that’s right before the cave, and observe.

{5 goblins on watch right in front of the cave, huh.} (Makoto)

{How about defeating them immediately?} (Furiae)

She says as if it is so simple.

{A nest is dangerous.} (Makoto)

{Really?} (Furaie)

I experienced that many times when I went solo.

I thought defeating all the goblins in a nest at once would be efficient, but if I make a careless move, I end up getting counterattacked by a mob of them.

There’s even the chance that there’s a higher class of goblin inside the nest.

And so, I learned that being a pseudo assassin in the Demonic Forest that has thick fog was the safest play.

{It would be a different story if we had the long distance firepower of Lucy or the overwhelming physical power of Sa-san though.} (Makoto)

I don’t have either.

I have no choice but to defeat one at a time.

But I don’t know how long the daughter’s barrier will last…

If possible, I don’t want to take time.

Hmm, what to do?

I came here on my own due to the flow of events, but maybe I should have met with Lucy and Sa-san.

Wait…

{Princess, you are a specialist in curse magic, right?} (Makoto)

{Yeah, what about it…?} (Furiae)

I have a good idea.

◇◇

“…Is this an adventure?” (Furiae)

“It is. I won’t allow you to say otherwise.” (Makoto)

There’s a thick fog around the whole area.

Moon Magic: Sleep Curse.

“That’s quite the handy spell.” (Makoto)

I held the hand of Furiae-san and used sync.

I used water magic to create mist, and mixed curse magic to it.

Thanks to the Sleep Curse, all the goblins on watch have fallen asleep.

“The goblins won’t suddenly wake up?” (Makoto)

“They will probably stay asleep for a whole day.” (Furiae)

Princess Furiae says nonchalantly.

…This could be useful.

“Then, I will go search for the captured girl inside the cave, so Princess, you stay hidden somewhere.” (Makoto)

“That’s boring.” (Furiae)

Looks like Furiae-san doesn’t like that I used a crafty method.

I am an Apprentice Mage, you know?

I would lose in physical combat against several goblins.

I used [Detection] just in case as I entered the cave.

The Sleep Curse mist seems to be working inside the cave too.

I advance carefully with Stealth so to not wake up the sleeping goblins.

There’s around 10 goblins sleeping inside the cave.

(There’s fewer than I thought.) (Makoto)

And…

(There.) (Makoto)

Deep in the cave, inside a cage, there’s a girl collapsed on the floor.

The girl was covered by a dimly shining egg-shaped barrier. 

Looks like they carried her here with barrier and all.

I approach her and check her state.

Her face is a mess with tears, but it looks like there’s no external wounds.

I knock the barrier.

The girl doesn’t wake up.

(Damn…the curse of Furiae-san also affected her.) (Makoto)

Because of the barrier, I can’t carry her on my own.

I don’t have a barrier breaking spell…

I tried cutting the barrier with the dagger of the Goddess just in case.

The blade passes through it like cutting through butter.

(Oi oi, this is impressive.) (Makoto)

The dagger of Noah-sama can cut barriers too?!

(Of course. A cheap barrier like that is like paper. It has god-like sharpness after all.) (Noah)

My apologies.

An early cheat weapon really is reliable.

I cut the barrier and carried the girl out. 

I slap the cheek of the girl lightly so to not make a sound.

“Are you okay?” (Makoto)

“…Uh? I fell asleep and…ah, w-who are you?” 

“I am the adventurer that your father requested a rescue mission from.” (Makoto)

I confirmed the name of the girl and made sure she is the right person.

Okay, mission clear.

I am glad we managed to save her when the barrier was still up.

It would be tragic for the girl if the goblins had attacked her…

But I froze at the next words of the girl.

“U-Uhm…the goblins here are not all of them. The Goblin King took some of his subordinates and left the place.” 

The moment I heard that…

The alarm of [Detection] rang.

The danger level isn’t that high.

The problem is the numbers and the location.

A large number of goblins are gathering outside the cave.

(Shit! Furiae-san is still outside.) (Makoto)

I can feel the presence of several tens of monsters! 

This is bad. Furiae-san doesn’t have any weapons.

(Damn it!) (Makoto)

I pull the hand of the girl and hurry outside the cave.

Oracles may have strong stats, but if she is like Sofia-san, she might not be adept in combat. 

There’s the chance they might even catch her by surprise. 

Please make it in time!

What I saw outside…was a goblin horde led by a Goblin King.

…This is the first time I see a king so close.

It is several times bigger than your regular goblin.

Not only is their body big, but their intelligence is also high.

As if to endorse this, he is wearing full armor that he must have stolen from adventurers, and he is holding a weapon in both hands.

If a horde of a Goblin King is big, it could even reach Calamity Designation.

That dangerous monster surrounded Furiae-san and…

“Filthy beast. Daring to touch me.” (Furiae)

Furiae-san’s eyes were shining golden, and the goblins were on their knees.

The Goblin King had his head stepped on by Furiae-san.

(Eeeh…) (Makoto)

It is a number of monsters that would be dangerous to fight normally though…

“Ooi, Princess. What’s…this?” (Makoto)

“Can’t you tell just by looking?” (Furiae)

“You Charmed them all?” (Makoto)

“Fufu, that’s right.” (Furiae)

Seriously?! 

That’s impressive, Moon Oracle.

“How lovely…Princess-sama.”

The captured girl had heart shaped pupils. 

She can Charm women and monsters without any restrictions…?

“Makoto, are you okay?!” 

“Takatsuki-kun, the horde of goblins…eh?” 

Lucy and Sa-san ran to where we are.

Lucy dealt with the whole nest of goblins with her magic. 

And Sa-san piggy-backed the girl.

The girl must have calmed down and felt safe now, she went back to sleep.

I feel like things were wrapped up by my female party members?

On our way back.

“Hey, Princess, can you teach me Charm Magic?” (Makoto)

The hidden technique-like spell that controlled the goblins of before.

I want to try learning that.

I did get a Gift Skill for becoming a Guardian Knight of the Moon Oracle.

But the reaction of Furiae-san wasn’t too positive.

“My knight…are you going to use charm magic to get women?” (Furiae)

“I won’t!” (Makoto)

I objected, but it is magic that can be used in that way too.

“Makoto?” “Takatsuki-kun?” 

Lucy and Sa-san directed eyes of doubt towards me at the same time.

No no, I won’t be doing that.

“It would be better to have as many cards as possible for when I fight monsters, right?” (Makoto)

“Well, fine by me.” (Furiae)

Alright. And while at it, I will have her teach me Moon Magic.

When we returned to the guild, the requester gave me his thanks as if I were a god.

…Well, Furiae-san was the one who did most of the work though.

◇◇

After that, I had Furiae-san teach me charm magic.

I have been running with only water magic until now, so I will be learning new magic now.

It is fun, but it is pretty difficult.

The effect is quite weak, and just to test it out, I used it on Sa-san and Lucy, but…

“Did you do something just now?” “I don’t feel anything…” 

Zero effectiveness.

Looks like it will take awhile before I can see effects in people.

(Spirit-sans, Spirit-sans.) (Makoto)

I try using it on the Water Spirits, and it doesn’t react well.

Undine hasn’t shown up at all since Highland.

It seems to work a tiny bit on animals, and the dogs and cats of the neighborhood would gather around me.

It is cute and all, but…can I even use this in battle?

Did I pull a dud again?

Furiae-san said she wanted to play adventurer, so we went monster hunting at a nearby place with Lucy and Sa-san.

Monsters have increased in numbers lately, so this small work is also the job of adventurers.

What’s most important is that Furiae-san seems to be having fun.

And in this way, several days passed.

Fuji-yan is apparently really busy preparing for the feudal lord successor meeting, so I haven’t met him.

(…It is kinda noisy today.) (Makoto)

When I woke up, there were a whole lot of people gathered at the entrance of the Adventurer Guild.

“Oi, look.” “Beautiful…” “This is my first time seeing her from so close…” “The Ice Sculpture Princess.” “What is she doing in the countryside?” 

(Hmm, I can’t see well with this crowd of people.) (Makoto)

I approach the crowd of people with unsteady steps.

“Hero-dono!” 

A voice I am familiar with.

Old man? Isn’t that the Guardian Knight Old Man? 

Eh? That means…

“Hero Makoto.” 

The one standing there was Princess Sofia with a thin smile.

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