Help me!　My daughter!　The goblins have taken him away!
　The older man rushed towards me with an uncanny look on his face.

''Um........can you tell me a story?''
"Oh you are the Goblin slayer!　That's my daughter!　My daughter.....
　He told me that he was grabbing at me in a fit of excitement.

The man and his daughter are merchants from the next town over.
Last night, a pack of goblins took my daughter.
The goblin horde is well organized and has a goblin leader.
Your daughter has a magical item called the Iron Wall Wards.
Goblins can't touch it while the wards are active.
The duration of the warding is about half a day.
The warding system will break in an hour or so. And after that...


'Uncle, you're from the next town over, aren't you?　Why didn't you turn to your city's adventurer's guild?
　Marie came over and listened with me, calming the man down.
　Thank goodness, that's a guild employee. He's good at what he does.
　Or rather, you are stone-faced after drinking so much last night.

''It's also late, and there weren't any adventurers available to go out. According to the guild staff, there's a master goblin slayer in McAllen, so it's more reliable to ask him to do it...
Well, that's why you're here, Makoto.　
　Marie nodded as if she was satisfied.

''Well then, since Makoto-kun is a brave man, the nomination fee will cost an additional 1,000,000 G.......''
""Hundred man!"
　Me and my client man both scream in surprise at the same time.

''Eh.........or rather, I heard you are an expert at slaying goblins.......Yuh, hero-sama?''
'Well, actually, I recently became a brave man...'
My God, my dear... this is so rude...
No, no, no, it's more important than that. If they've taken your daughter, we have to hurry.
　The client's attitude suddenly became polite.

''But I didn't expect you to be a brave person. I can't........pay such a high amount.
　The client nodded disappointedly with a tearful expression on her face.
　I came all the way to the next town, but this is not too much.

'Marie, can't you get a discount?
''Hmm, if you appoint an adventurer with a silver rank or higher, a nomination fee will be charged according to their rank. This system is designed to prevent the requests from being concentrated on adventurers with good skills, and to ensure that high ranking adventurers are well prepared with good equipment and lodgings........
Marie.
All right, Makoto-kun. Hey, my client. You can pay the appointment fee in installments.
　Eh, it's still a split?
　Well, but can't we also ignore the guild's rules?

''Tell me where your uncle's daughter was kidnapped.
'Ah, ah ... in a cave west of here ...'
　I get an explanation, but I'm not sure if I escaped from the goblins in quite a hurry, or if I'm not sure of the location.
''With such vague information...''
　Marie's expression clouds over.
　'Hmm, but I've got it all in my head where the cave is located around here.

'Uncle, was the cave shaped with a low ceiling?　Or were there two holes in a row?　Or was there a big tree nearby?
As I recall it was a cave with one entrance and a lower height.
Okay.
　There it is.

Well, Makoto. How do you know where it is with all this information?
We know where all the goblins are near McAllen.
　But a few months ago, there were no goblin nests in that cave.
　Did they flow in from the Demon Forest?

'I'm going to go, Marie. Could you tell Lucy and Sa-san where it is?
Okay!
　I marked the map, handed it to Marie, and ran out of the guild.


'Hey, my knight. Where are you going?
　As soon as I left the guild, someone called out to me.
'Princess?'
　Mr. Furiae was walking up.

'Where are Lucy and Sa-san?'
I had a headache from drinking too much.
　Friae answers with a cute nod of her head.
''Huh, I see.''
　It would have been quicker to talk about it if you'd stayed with me.

'I had a great time last night. It was the first time I've ever talked about love with a girl my own age.
　Friae's tension is high.
'Sorry. I'm in a hurry. You can either stay with Marie at the guild or wait at the inn with Lucy and the others.
　I would tell him as I ran.
'What are you talking about? You're my guardian knight, aren't you?　Then I'll come with you.
What?
　What's he talking about?

'We're going to the goblin den!　I'm going to help the kidnapped, you're in danger, so just wait for me!
'Adventures?　Adventure!　I'm interested!
　Why do you have a happy face?
　Yeah!　Then I'll leave you on the dash.

"Hey, my knight. Can't you run faster?
　He passed me as usual.
　Friae, you can run faster than me?
　Speaking of which, in the graveyard in the sunshine country, you beat me in the race..............................me.
　At this rate, it looks like they're going to keep up with me.

What?　That's enough. Come with me.
"Yikes!
　I grabbed Friae's hand and jumped into the waterway.

　--Water Magic, Water Walking & Water Flow

Wow, that's some interesting magic.
It'll fly. Don't bite your tongue.
　We accelerated through the water at once.


　◇


　We followed the river leading from the canal to reach near a large forest.
　The trees are overgrown and somewhat dimly lit.
　From here it's on foot.

''Princess, can we use concealment?''
No problem. She's a woman who was wanted in the Land of the Sun and has been on the run for years?
　That's a dependable reply.
　It's not very miko-like, though.
　Friae and I made our way through the forest soon.
　The conversation was in a whisper.

(Hey, those are goblins, right?)　(I thought you didn't have to sneak around.
I'm a cautious player.
(Hmm. By the way, I heard from the wizard and the warrior yesterday...
　Furiae-san can't stop talking about how much fun yesterday's girls' meeting was.
　I don't feel nervous........

(But those two usually get along well with each other, but when it comes to talking about the guy they like.......)
　Hmm?
(Oh, I shouldn't have said that.)
　I turned around.
　There was Friae, who was spinning her hands.　
　Wait a minute!　
　Don't stop talking there.

(More on that story...)
Go ahead, turn around. I've seen the cave.
　Son of a b*tc*.
　What's wrong with you?
I maxed out the "Meikyon-stop" skill and continued on.
　I observed while hiding behind a tree in front of the cave.

(In front of the cave, there are 5 goblins on guard?)
Why don't you just kill it?
　It's easy to say.

(The nest is dangerous.)
(Really?)
　I tried a few times in the past when I was playing solo.
　I thought it would be more efficient to take out all the goblins in the nest at once, but if you carelessly touch them, the group would fight back.
　There was even a possibility that there were goblins of a higher species in the nest.
　As a result, I found it safest to stand around near the deep foggy demon forest as a pseudo-assassin.

(Unless you have a long-range turret like Lucy or an overwhelming melee attack power like Sa-san.
　I don't have either.
　We'll just have to take them out one by one.
　I just don't know how long the warding of the kidnapped girl will last...
　I don't want to spend as much time as possible on this.
　Hmm, what should we do?
　I came alone on the spur of the moment, but should I have gone after I met up with Lucy and Sah?
　Wait, now that you mention it....

(Princess, you specialize in curse magic, right?)
(Yes. Yes, but ... what?
　I have an idea.


　◇


...Is this an adventure?
'It's an adventure. I won't accept a rebuttal.
　At present, a deep fog is hanging over the area.

　--The moon magic and sleeper's curse

That's some handy magic.
　I grabbed Friae's hand and tuned in (synchronized).
　I create a mist using water magic methods and mix it with the sleeper's curse.
　Thanks to the Sleeping Demon Curse, all the goblins on guard are asleep.

Will the goblins ever wake up suddenly?
He's probably going to be asleep for the rest of the day.
　Without hesitation, Princess Freyae says.
　You could use this.

I'm going to find the girl trapped in the cave. You hide in the cave.
It's boring.
　Mr. Furiae doesn't like me using my hands in a roundabout way.
　I'm an apprentice wizard, you know?
　In melee combat against multiple goblins, you usually lose, right?

　I enter the cave while using the 'Search for enemies' skill, just in case.
　The cave is also cursed by the fog of the sleeping demon.
　I proceed carefully so that I don't wake up beside the sleeping goblins with my 'Covert' skill.

　There are about ten goblins sleeping in the cave.
(That's less than I thought.)

　And.....
(Yes.)

　Deep in the cave. Inside the cage, there was a girl lying on the ground.
　The girl is surrounded by a vaguely glowing egg-shaped ward.
　It seems that the whole ward was carried in.
　I go up to her and check on her.
　Her face is messy with tears, but she doesn't seem to be injured.

　I tap on the wards with a bang.
　The girl doesn't wake up.


　You can't carry it out of the wards by yourself.
　You can't use any warding-breaking magic.

　In a desperate attempt, I cut the ward with Goddess's dagger.
　With a smooth motion, the blade passed through and the warding was cut like butter.

(Hey, that's great!)
　Master Noah's dagger, it can cut warding!
(Of course.) Those little barriers are like paper. You're sharp as a godd*mn hammer.
　My apologies.
　I knew I could count on the early cheat weapons.

　I hold the girl up from the wards I cut through.
　I tap her cheek lightly to wake her up so she doesn't make a sound.
'Are you okay?'
"...Oh, what?　I fell asleep........oh, and you?
I'm an adventurer who was asked by your father to rescue you.
　I'll check the girl's name and make sure it's correct.
　Okay, mission accomplished.
　Good, we got her out of there while the warding process continues.
　The girl would be miserable if the goblins had attacked her....
　But the girl's next words froze me in place.

''Ah, well the goblins aren't all that are here. The Goblin King led his men out.
　When I heard those words.

The warning sound of the 'Enemy Detection' skill rang out in my head.

　The danger level is not too high.
　The problem is the numbers and location.
　Many goblins are gathering outside the cave.

(Sheesh!　(He left Mr. Freyae outside.)

I just used my "spotting" skill.
　There are dozens of demons outside the cave!
　Not good, Friae was unarmed.

(Crap!)
　Take the girl's hand and hurry out of the cave.
　Just in time!

　What I saw there was a pack of goblins led by the Goblin King.

　........This is the first time I've seen a king up close like this.
　Their body length is several times that of normal goblins.
　Not only is their body large, but they are also highly intelligent.
　As if to prove it, he wears full-body armor that he must have taken from the adventurers, and he holds a weapon in both hands.
　The herd that the Goblin King is in is a 'disaster designation' if it's large enough.

　That dangerous demon surrounds Friae-san--


You dirty animals. Trying to touch me.

　There was Friae-san with a golden glow in her eyes and the goblins crawling around.
　As for the Goblin King, he was being stepped on by Friere-san.

(Eee~........)

　It's a group of demons on a scale that was dangerous to fight properly.

''Hey, Princess. What is this........what?
Can't you see that?
Is it all 'mesmerizing'?
Yes.
　Seriously?
　d*mn, Moon Priestess.

"Sweet ... princess.
　The captive girl has a heart mark in her eyes.
　Whether it's a demon or a woman, it doesn't matter if it's a demon or a woman, they'll be attracted to it....


''True, you're safe!
''Takatsuki-kun, a bunch of goblins...?
　Lucy and Sa-san also came to the scene.


　The goblins and their nests were taken care of by Lucy's magic.
　The girl decided to have Sa-san hold her in her arms.
　The girl fell asleep again, relieved to be relieved of her nerves.

　What is it, isn't our party complete with just the ladies?


　-The way home.


Hey, Princess. You want to teach me some mesmerizing magic?
　It's the same kind of magic that easily manipulated the goblins from earlier.
　I'd like to learn it.
　As the guardian knight of the Moon Priestess, I was given the 'Gift' skill.
　However, Friae's reaction was subtle.


I wouldn't do that!
　I countered, "but surely that's the way it's used?

'Really?' Takatsuki-kun?
　Lucy and Sa-san gave me a suspicious look at the same time.
　No, no, I won't, will I?

You need more hands to fight demons, right?
Well, yeah.
　Alright, while we're at it, let's get some moon magic or something.

　When I returned to the guild, the client thanked me like a god.
　........If anything, though, Friae was more active.


　◇


　For a while after that, Friae taught me fascination magic.
　I've been using only water magic until now, so here's a new magic.
　It's fun, but it's quite difficult.

　Its potency was also quite weak, and I tried it on Sa-san and Lucy to see if I could use it on them.
What did you just do? I don't feel anything, but...
　It had zero effect.
　Apparently, it takes a long practice to use it on humans.

(Spirit, Spirit.)
　I tried using it on the water spirits, but they did not respond well.
　The Great Spirit (Undine) hasn't tried to show up at all since Highland.

　It barely seems to work on the animals, and it has attracted the neighborhood cats and dogs.
　No, they're cute, but you know what?
　
　Did you get your money's worth again?


　Furiae said she wanted to imitate adventurers, so she and Sa-san and Lucy went hunting for demons in the vicinity.
　These days, the number of demons is increasing, so that kind of steady activity is an adventurer's job.
　Most importantly, Friae-san seems to be having fun too.

　Just like that, a few days passed.
　It seems that Fujiyan is busy preparing for the lord's succession meeting, so I haven't been able to see her.


(..............................Today, it's kind of noisy.
　When I woke up in the morning, I found a group of Sawayama people gathered at the entrance of the Adventurer's Guild.

''Hey, look at that... beautiful... I've never seen you up close before...'' ''The ice sculpture princess...'' ''What is it, in this rural town?''

(Hmm, I can't see much with the crowd.)
　As I strolled up to the fence.

My Lord Brave!
　Familiar voice.
　Old man?　That's your old guardian knight.
　Huh?　which means

"Mayo the Brave.
　Standing there was Princess Sophia, smiling thinly.