The sun rose, and the mist had just cleared.
Gauss arrived at the signpost by the village gate.
He had come to see Hailiel and the others off.
Bell and Mia lay inside the carriage—the only one in the village—while Hailiel sat with them, placing fever-reducing cloths on their burning foreheads.
Hailiel had no intention of taking her two companions back to Grayrock Town.
Though Grayrock Town was a major hub for adventurers, its medical facilities were still far inferior to those of a big city.
Besides, Birch Village was a long way from Grayrock Town. It would be better to head in the other direction, to the nearest Forest City, Barry City. It was also the hometown of all three of them.
Once back in Barry, they could receive better treatment.
"Adventurer, it's about time we set off," called the villager driving the carriage.
"Are you sure you don't need me to go with you?" Gauss glanced at the carriage.
"Don't worry. Once we reach the main road to Barry, there'll be plenty of people along the way. We won't be in any danger." Hailiel had lost the excitement she'd shown on the way here, and fatigue was written all over her face.
Still, hearing Gauss's concern, she managed a faint smile.
"Besides, you need to stay here and handle the wrap-up for the quest, don't you? I'll leave everything to you!" Hailiel blinked, a hint of curiosity in her gaze as she looked at Gauss.
Her opinion of Gauss had changed considerably. If her childhood companions hadn't needed urgent treatment, she would have had plenty of questions for him.
When they first met, she had taken Gauss for a penniless, low-ranking adventurer. When he'd approached her to join the party, her first instinct had been to turn him down.
After spending a little time with him, she'd come to think of him as a low-ranking would-be mage who had learned magic by chance but lacked the family background to support him. He might have mastered magic, but without sufficient money and resources, it would be difficult for him to embark on a true professional path.
But now, she couldn't make Gauss out at all. Even with her limited experience, she could tell there was something extraordinary about him.
"Gauss, if you ever come to Barry, come find me at the Golden Beak Merchant Guild in West City. Then Bell, Mia, and I can play host and give you a proper welcome."
"If I get the chance, I will." Gauss nodded.
Still, he would probably remain around Grayrock Town for the time being.
"Then I'll be off."
"By the time we meet again, you might have become someone really impressive."
Hailiel looked at Gauss and waved.
"Have a safe trip!"
Gauss waved back and stood where he was, quietly watching the carriage recede until the girl with chestnut curls disappeared at the end of the dirt road.
In less than three days, the party had disbanded.
No one knew if they would ever meet again.
This era had no phones or internet like his previous life. Ordinary people weren't all that connected, and one parting could easily be forever.
The morning breeze brushed through Gauss's soft hair as he turned and walked back into the village.
He didn't feel any particularly deep bond with the three of them. He simply thought they were friends worth getting to know. But they'd only known one another for a few days, and hadn't had time to grow closer.
He simply couldn't help feeling wistful.
Gauss planned to stay in the village for another day, a decision that the villagers welcomed warmly.
Ordinary people in this world held mages in a simple kind of reverence. Perhaps it was because a mage's abilities seemed more mysterious and spectacular than those of other professions. Ordinary people could see a sword or blade strike, but they couldn't see the invisible flow of magical power.
People were always afraid of what they didn't understand, and magic was exactly the sort of mysterious power that inspired awe in ordinary folk.
But Gauss hadn't stayed in the village just to bask in the villagers' admiration and enjoy their hospitality.
For one thing, he wanted to give his body time to recover fully.
For another, he wanted to collect the spoils of war.
He needed to cut off the goblin left ears required as quest proof, get the quest document signed and stamped by the village chief, and collect the various weapons scattered across the battlefield.
He returned alone to the area where the battle had taken place the previous night.
The blood had dried completely, and after fermenting overnight, the stench hanging over the place had grown even stronger.
Suppressing the urge to gag, he began searching the clearing in front of the cave.
Stone and wooden weapons wouldn't fetch much and would take up space, so there was no point collecting them.
He had to take every piece of iron he could find. Even badly damaged ironware could be sold to a blacksmith for a little money.
Aside from two short blades and four daggers, the most valuable item was probably the great chopper used by the Large Goblin.
The only thing Gauss regretted was that its leather armor was badly damaged, with pieces missing here and there. Otherwise, it would have been worth something too.
Fortunately, while carefully gathering everything, he came across an unexpected bonus.
Hanging around the Large Goblin's neck was a rough stone that gave off a faint green glow. It was only about the size of a peanut, but something within it seemed to radiate a pleasant sensation.
Even though Gauss had no idea what it was yet, he could tell it was probably valuable.
And the goblin's unusual size might well have been caused by the Green Stone.
After gathering the spoils outside, he turned his gaze toward the cave.
He lit a torch and went inside.
Though it was daytime, the cave had little natural light, and visibility was still terrible.
"Cough, cough."
Both sides of the cave were covered in slimy green moss. As soon as he entered, the reek of feces and urine filled the air.
These primitive green-skinned monsters didn't seem to have any habit of keeping their home clean.
"Squeak, squeak—"
Every so often, a rat darted across his feet.
The natural cave had been turned by the goblins into a filthy, stinking passage. Who knew how many bacteria and viruses lurked in the foul air?
If not for the spoils, he would never have come in here of his own accord.
Carefully stepping over a pile of feces, he eventually reached the space at the end of the cave.
It opened into a larger cavern, where animal bones of all sizes lay scattered about. Flies, rats, and maggots crawled and buzzed everywhere.
A stone pot sat in the middle of the cave.
The firewood had gone out, and the pot held a viscous, murky mixture of unknown solids and liquids, charred from cooking.
It looked like the goblins had been holding a "feast" when he and the others arrived the previous night. Maybe they'd been celebrating their tribe's capture of two human women.
Unfortunately, their celebration had ended up becoming a funeral.
Along with all sorts of junk scattered across the ground, he also found a goblin corpse hanging from the wall.
It was a little sturdier than an ordinary goblin, but still nowhere near as strong as the Large Goblin.
It looked like it had died only a few days ago, and there weren't too many maggots crawling over it yet.
"What happened here?" Gauss wondered aloud, holding up his torch as he examined it.
From what he remembered, goblins were evil creatures, but they generally didn't kill their own kind. That was especially true when a strong individual was in charge of a group of goblins.
However, different groups could still fight and clash with one another.
Gauss pondered this.
Suddenly, as if he'd figured something out, he slapped his forehead.
He had a vague idea why the number of goblins in the quest report had been wrong.
If he wasn't mistaken, a conflict between goblins had probably broken out here before.
The Large Goblin, an outsider, had easily killed the previous goblin leader, who had commanded seven or eight underlings, then absorbed the group and expanded its forces to twenty goblins in one stroke.
That also explained why the goblins had only made minor attacks on the human village before, but suddenly launched a major assault the night before.
Realizing this, he looked enlightened, then gritted his teeth and let out a long sigh.
What terrible luck.
If nothing like this had happened, eight ordinary goblins would never have been a match for their party.
And the battle last night wouldn't have been so brutal.
He could only hope Bell and Mia recovered without complications.
Gauss shook his head.
Even if his guess was right, the Adventurer's Guild couldn't really be blamed. Still, he had learned his lesson the hard way.
He made up his mind.
From now on, he'd be cautious about quest reports and never take them at face value unless he'd scouted the information himself.
He returned to the village with his arms full of spoils, unsure how much he'd be able to sell them for.
After resting for a night,
he set off once more on the journey back to Grayrock Town.
This time, he would sell the spoils and see if he could trade them for suitable equipment.
As a mage, he didn't even have a wand yet. It was ridiculous.
He also wanted to gather information and find out how professionals differed from ordinary people, and how someone could become a professional.
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