CH 46

“G…Gray-san, who was that…?”

As Ganzas the free guy leaves the adventurer’s guild with the members of “Bloodaxe,” Ares timidly asks.

“Don’t worry about it. We always get involved like that every time, I don’t know what to do with him.”

“He’s…a strange man…isn’t he?”

Really.…Maybe the reason he got involved this time wasn’t that he came to inform me that he was going to subjugate the Elder Orc for the first time, right?

If that’s the case ……I’m sure it’s okay.

In the meantime, my turn came around, so I had Ares accept the request to take down the goblins.

“Oh… the newcomer from earlier. You were acquainted with Gray-san.”

Sasha looks at me and Ares as she raises the rim of her glasses with her index finger.

“Well. I’ll be Ares’s teacher for a while.”

“I see. I thought it was too sudden for a subjugation request, but if Gray-san is with you, it’s safe.”

Sasha lowered her head lightly and said so without changing her expression like usual. … Ah, no, if you look closely, she’s smiling a little.

“…Yes, then be careful. Gray-san, please take care of Ares-san.”

I replied “Ah” to those words and headed for Ares’ first request.

During the conversation on the way, I asked Ares about magic, and he said that while he was in Storia, he was given a teacher, and although he learned it, he couldn’t use it at all.

Are you a muscle-brain hero?

Or maybe it’s magic that he or his teacher is unaware of.…like a beam from a sword.

“Stop Ares”

“…Gray-san?”

As I was walking with Ares out of the town Bastok, I felt a strange presence, so I stopped on the spot. I winked at Ares, who was looking at me curiously, and instructed him to bend down.  He nodded silently and bent down as instructed without panicking at the suddenness.

As I waited, hiding in the grass, three goblins, each about the height of a child, with green skin and hideous faces, came walking toward us from the other side.

The three of them do not notice us, but are walking quietly onward in the direction where the city of Bastok is located.

“Ares. If those three come close to us, kill them. Quickly, before they put up a fight or make any noise.”

When I whispered this to him,  Ares put his hand on his sword and nodded in the same way as before with a serious face.

Then, just as the goblins were getting close, Ares jumped out, drawing his sword.

The result was good.

The goblins lost their lives to Ares without raising their voices or raising their weapons. But there were a few things that bothered me.

“H-how was it?”

Ares asked me nervously.

“Ah, there’s no particular problem…But your movements look completely different from when you were training with me yesterday, don’t they?”

The linear part hasn’t changed, but I can’t feel the reluctance to hurt the other person that I felt yesterday. He is just doing what is natural… that’s what it feels like.

When I told Ares about it.

“I’m really scared that I might hurt the person in front of me, even if it’s just for practice. But when I point my sword at demons like goblins and orcs, I don’t feel anything…”

Don’t you feel anything when you’re dealing with monsters…perhaps it’s a characteristic of being a brave?

Well, hurting people and killing monsters are completely different.

I wonder what it would be like if the other party was a villain…No, if you can’t be serious in training with those Storia guys, it won’t change.

However, practical experience in dealing with people is necessary. If you hesitate when the time comes, no matter how many lives you have, it will not be enough.

I wonder if there are any cheap bandits out there?

But before that.

“Let’s go”

“Eh?”

I start walking in the direction the goblins just came from, and Ares hurriedly follows me.

“Those goblins are probably scouting for some herd. They are probably checking out towns and villages where people live in small numbers to see if they can attack them.”

I don’t see how goblins could attack Bastok, though. Well, we are scouting to see it with our own eyes.

Maybe they’ll leave when they see the city’s outer walls, though.

“…But then there’s no danger in leaving it alone, right?”

“Even if Bastok isn’t attacked, other towns and villages could be. It would be a practical exercise for you.”

And most importantly…

“Once you set your sights on Bastok, you’re as good as going after the children. Goblins… whether they be Hobgoblin or Warrior or King.”

At this point, Ares looked at my face and his shoulders shook a little.

“Kill. Ares.”

“Eh”

It wouldn’t make sense if I did it…