Goblin Slayer, Vol. 6

I’ll bet our dear receptionist would know.

It was just proof of how much and how often they had talked together. Spearman wondered: if he put on a helmet, would she know what his expression was?

He sucked in a deep breath then let it out. “And what about you, Goblin Slayer?” he asked. “What did you dream of when you were a kid?”

“Me?”

“Think there’s anyone else around here who kills enough goblins to go by that name?”

“…I suppose you’re right.”

Goblin Slayer lapsed into silence, staring into the river. Even in the light of the twin moons, it looked dark and black, like spilled ink.

Where did the river come from, and where did it go? He remembered asking his older sister once.

She had told him that it came from the mountains and went to the sea. He had once thought that he would follow it back to its source, just to see it. But he seemed unlikely to get the chance now.

“…I wanted to be an adventurer.”

“Huh!” Spearman said, giving Goblin Slayer a jab with his elbow. “Well, that’s one lifelong dream checked off the list, isn’t it?!”

“No,” Goblin Slayer said with a slight shake of his head. “It is difficult.”

“It is, huh?”

“Yes,” Goblin Slayer nodded. “It is not so easily done.”

That right? Heavy Warrior added to himself. He let out a long breath. “What you wanna do, what you gotta do, and what you can do don’t always line up, do they?”

“It’s enough to make a guy nuts,” Spearman agreed.

The three men went quiet then, looking up at the moons. The wind blew across the river, pregnant with the promise of summer.

What we wanted.

To be renowned warriors. Great heroes or kings; part of history and legend.

To find some item from the Age of the Gods, rescue princesses, fight dragons, and save the world.

They’d wanted to explore hidden ruins, discover the secrets of the world and bring their truths to light.

They had wanted to be surrounded by gorgeous women, loved and admired—and just as smart as anyone they might meet.

They longed to wield weapons they had well and truly mastered, performing feats of strength that would be spoken of for generations to come. Someone who people would point to, no matter what the task, and say, Him. He can do it.

Most likely, they realized, at this point, that such stories were not to be theirs.

They were Silver, the third rank, the highest rank of adventurer to be out in the field. And that meant something to them. They never dismissed that achievement or felt it was so much trouble to be Silver that they would have been better off staying at Bronze or even Steel rank.

And yet.

And yet, truly…

“So, well…”

He was Goblin Slayer.

He was not the red-haired boy.

That was reason enough.

“…At the very least, I want to let her do what she wants to do.”

The men all nodded.