Chapter 55

When I realized it, quite a bit of time had passed.

Breakfast was already prepared, and I hurried to take my seat.

"It was like sliding on ice!"

Riz was quite excited. It seems the concept of skating doesn't exist yet.

Winter is cold enough for ice to form, so it seems they have experience moving on ice. Apparently, children tie boards to their shoes and slide around during winter.

I thought that similar games might become popular, and spreading past games could make them trendy.

After finishing the meal, I confirmed that everyone had returned to their rooms and quietly handed the usual item to Tisha.

She gave a wry smile but accepted it. Well, it's a matter of manners. Since I'm being taken care of, I should at least do the minimum.

By the way, I talked about leaving home now that I've reached 9th rank, but I faced strong opposition from the two of them.

Riz allows me to become an adventurer, but she seems sad about leaving home immediately.

Well, I'm paying rent, so I'll stay a bit longer.

I need to think about it before my brother comes back.

Riz? She was super eager to leave home. In fact, the two of them were desperately trying to calm her down.

I understand the reason, but I can't keep up. Girls, huh. They must be carnivorous in some way.

So, I head to the guild while chatting.

This small talk is very important. If I don't keep communicating, I get anxious. I desperately search for topics. Goodwill must be maintained or it will decline.

Fia was waiting at the guild entrance. As expected of a farmer's child, she's up early.

"Good morning!"

Without much of a greeting, Riz started excitedly talking about her skating experience.

It seems she had a lot of fun, and it was a big hit.

"If it was that fun, I want to try it too. Hey, isn't it great?"

Riz glares at me. It seems the princess carry was a sensitive point.

"I can carry you on my back if you want."

"Eh? That's not the same. The treatment is different."

Thinking she was a child, I realized she is a child. These kids would be middle or high school students in Japan.

Thinking about the guilt of making children fight, Riz gently held my hand.

"Are you okay? You look a bit troubled."

"No. I just thought it's a bit unpleasant to make you two fight, even though you're still young."

"We're already adults. Do you really think that?"

Fia answered nonchalantly.

"Right. I'm just happy to have this much income."

Riz also looked confused.

"Right?"

The two of them, in unison, tilted their heads. As expected, childhood friends. They're in sync.

For now, I carry Fia on my back in the open field on the way to the northern forest.

As I float and slide, she starts shouting in my ear.

"Wow! What is this? It's super fun. Go faster! Wow!"

Honestly, it's noisy. I remembered the joy of my nephew when I gave him a game console in a rural area with few entertainment options. He was indeed ecstatic.

I cut it short. Fia looked clearly dissatisfied, but we have work to do.

Plus, I have something I want to try.

We head to the usual stream, and as I gather Vaz grass,

"Three goblins. They're heading this way, but their direction is off."

Let's try it now.

"I'll take them down alone this time."

"That's good, but are you sure?"

Fia asks.

"I'm fine because Fia taught me yesterday."

I answer while patting her head. She looks happy. I feel like I'm treating her like a sister, but is this sexual harassment?

I glance at Riz, but she doesn't seem to mind. Good, it's safe.

I get guided to the goblin discovery point and move quietly through the bushes.

There they are. Three of them.

"Let's go."

I mutter, align the reticle on the chests and backs of the goblins within my line of sight, and execute the usual shooting image.

At the same time, the chests and backs of the three goblins burst almost simultaneously, and they slowly fall.

Good, it worked.

"Huh? You were chanting yesterday, right? Why did it change?"

Fia asks with a puzzled look.

"I figured it out after thinking about it."

My answer leaves her slightly unsatisfied, but it's not a big issue.

From here on, it's a continuous loop. I repeat the usual hunting.

My magic is for emergencies, and I focus on Riz's training, with Fia providing support. We hunt smoothly.

However, I feel a sense of unease. It becomes stronger as we exceed 20 goblins from yesterday.

"Wow! We already have yesterday's amount. Are we going to be rich soon?"

Fia is innocently excited, but it's not that.

It's too fast. We haven't even made 10 bundles yet.

"Hiro? Your face looks scary."

Riz looks worried.

"No, I just noticed something."

"Really? You've been pushing yourself lately..."

I seem to have worried her. I need to reassure her.

We continue hunting, and the number increases to 30, 40, 50. This is strange, it's strange.

An alarm bell rings in my mind. The game is too rich? It's not that level.

If that were the case, all 9th-rank adventurers would be rich. Even with my magic, this result is strange.

When we gathered 30 bundles of Vaz grass and reached 60 goblins, I suggested returning to the village.

This situation is strange. We've hunted this many goblins but haven't encountered other prey.

We've moved around quite a bit. It wouldn't be strange to have entered someone's territory.

The unease and alarm bells reach their maximum. I've seen this kind of situation in games...

It's a flood. A flood of the same species...

I shuddered. If we hunted 60 goblins in one day, how many goblins are in this forest? What if they all attack at once?

"Hiro. It really is strange, isn't it?"

Riz, who was playing with Fia, asks.

I can see the blood draining from her face.

"Yeah, I noticed something. I'll check with the guild when we get back. Riz, you two will train together, right?"

The two nod simultaneously. They get along well. I feel warm seeing them like this. I like yuri, but not so much les, just yuri.

"Awesome! We're rich! Haha!"

I calm down the still excited Fia and hurry back to the village. I keep 'Caution' fully active and ignore everything.

Even near the forest exit, Fia says it feels off.

The bad feeling keeps growing.

We reach the guild.

I request an appraisal and ask the receptionist to call Hartis, telling her we'll wait in the entrance.

"The reward is 120,000 wahl for 60 goblins and 24,000 wahl for 30 bundles of Vaz grass, totaling 144,000 wahl. Is that okay?"

I receive it from the usual guy and hand 36,000 wahl to each of them.

Riz reached 9th rank due to the achievement. The test was waived. It's natural, given the amount of 9th-rank work she's done.

Including the promotion, I divided it equally. I took the remainder.

"Amazing... 9th rank in two days. And this is just one day's earnings?"

Riz is stunned. Fia is no longer talking, just clutching the money and trembling.

But I can't focus on that.

"Since it's still early, go train. Be careful not to get hurt. If you do, let me know."

With this number, it's impossible to come out unscathed. I got a few scratches but healed them with divine magic.

The two were surprised, but when I said it was thanks to the gods, they looked puzzled.

In the end, they understood, so there's no problem.

The two head to Fia's usual training ground together.

I wave and head to the entrance.

Sitting in an open seat, I start to get irritated.

After a while, Hartis comes down the stairs with a few sheets of paper in hand.

The organization has prepared documents and is ready to talk.

The suspicion turned into certainty.

Something is definitely going on...