Chapter 70

As the carriage swayed, I absentmindedly recalled the past.

Today, it had been about two weeks since the battle with the goblin horde, a clear midday.

Because of the sheer boredom, I vividly recalled that moment.

After defeating the command goblin and securing safety, I started from there.

Riz was relieved to be alive, but I shuddered at the sight of her groaning in pain.

I thought it must be her ribs, but she had been thrown and slid a considerable distance on the ground.

Thanks to her leather armor and clothes, there were no serious injuries, but she had bruises and a wound on the back of her head. I treated her when the excessive return had somewhat subsided.

After that, Fia and I rejoiced together, confirming each other's safety.

"Will we get our reward? We will, right?"

I sensed a somewhat reluctant atmosphere in Fia's words, but it was the result of our three-person effort. We split the party funds, including the reward.

Regarding the other adventurers, miraculously, there were no fatalities. Honestly, I thought it was dangerous during the final charge, and indeed, there were many seriously injured.

Some even suffered from lasting aftereffects. That was the limit of our current capabilities.

I continued to treat the injured as the excessive return subsided. I didn't want to return to that world of headaches and nausea.

Guild staff and a select few adventurer clerics worked tirelessly, taking breaks in between. I couldn't complain because they had the skills.

The knights continued their extermination operation. It was their job, so there was nothing to say about it.

Once, I had a brief conversation with the knight in charge of this operation. He seemed to be in his early 40s.

When I talked about the battle with the command goblin, he seemed both intrigued and regretful. He was a busy person, but he gave a strong impression of being straightforward. Leading people required such qualities.

After a busy day, the call to return home came when it was already quite late in the evening.

We three returned home, utterly exhausted. The village had already received a report. Confirming our safety, Ast and the others were likely planning a victory celebration at the inn.

Upon returning home and opening the door, I was embraced by Tisha. She was smiling, but there were traces of tears. Ast also looked relieved and was smiling.

Looking at the dining table, I saw a lavish and abundant meal and alcohol prepared.

"I thought you three would come back, so I prepared it."

I was impressed by my mother's intuition. Fia rarely had the opportunity to eat meat at home. The moment she saw the table, her eyes lit up.

Riz and Fia were talking animatedly about the events, exaggerating them. I didn't recall having a one-on-one battle with the command goblin.

They must have been quite excited, as both Riz and Fia were quite drunk. Drunken Riz was cute, almost childlike. I vowed not to let her drink so much outside.

I couldn't just leave the thoroughly drunk Fia. At the end of the party, I had learned where she lived, so I carried her home. Her weight, including her equipment, was no joke.

With my arms aching, I arrived at Fia's house. When I knocked on the door, her mother, who looked both tearful and happy, greeted me. I briefly explained the situation and left Fia in her care.

Back home, as I was cleaning up in my room, Riz pounced on me. She seemed to have sobered up a bit.

She talked excitedly about the events, going back and forth.

"When the command goblin attacked, I was surprised when you stepped forward. I thought, 'What if you die trying to protect us?'"

"I never intended to die. If I just stopped, Hiro would handle it. I only thought about us two coming back together."

Her words were impactful. I admired her for putting into practice what she had said the night before.

After a while, she started to nod off, so I gently covered her with a blanket.

I thanked various things and went to bed.

From the next day, it was a busy period of working towards the resolution of the situation.

Although the knights had reduced the numbers, a considerable number of goblins had fled into the forest. The distribution was biased towards the forest entrance.

The adventurer guild's condition for resolution seemed to be that the forest entrance would calm down to a certain extent. Until then, they were offering bonuses to encourage goblin hunts.

Personally, I wanted to aim for level 8, but due to the current situation at the entrance and my lack of strength to venture deeper into the forest, I thought it would take a bit more time.

Going deep into the forest would not be a day trip. I had to prepare for camping. I bought camping gear and started practicing camping at the forest entrance.

Just adding camping gear and food increased the load several times over. I desperately wanted to develop a cart-like item as soon as possible.

Regarding the reward, it seemed that the government and the adventurer guild had reached an agreement, and we received a temporary reward.

In the past, when there were abnormal occurrences, the government had also provided temporary funds, and this was a continuation of that. At that time, there were many fatalities, so the amount was substantial.

People who might suffer from lasting aftereffects received generous compensation. If such a response could be expected in similar situations in the future, it would be a good motivation to participate.

Additionally, regarding the additional personnel I had inquired about from the guild, someone was found. His name was Rott, a 25-year-old young man. He was a level 8 scout, and his composition seemed to match what I had confirmed with the 'Recognition' skill.

He was the third son of a merchant in the town we were heading to, and he had not joined a specific party. He had participated in various parties, moving from one to another. He had decided to become an adventurer because he lacked business acumen, which he admitted frankly.

His task completion rate was high, and he had the trust of the guild. Honestly, he seemed a bit out of place for our party.

From what I heard from the guild and him, he seemed to want to join a party after seeing the events unfold up close.

As I heard more about him, I understood his character. He seemed suited for roles like deputy or strategist. He could clearly express opinions and formulate strategies, but he was not good at leading from the front.

Given that we needed a male member, I had no objections, and we immediately had a meeting with the party. Since Riz and Fia had no issues, he was hired.

Being from a merchant family, he was smart and could think rationally. He was also steady and managed expenses. When I casually asked about his current funds, he had saved more than I expected.

Fia's gaze became intense, as I had anticipated. He was a steady earner who didn't waste money. He was good-looking and had a good demeanor. The guild had also given him a stamp of approval as a reliable person.

Age difference didn't seem to matter, and Fia's proactive approach began. I was relieved to have a good decoy.

Currently, the four of us are setting up a base at the forest entrance and planning to attack deeper into the forest.

Rott was quite surprised during the first battle. He said that parties at level 8 who hadn't earned many achievements wouldn't have this level of training. I was glad the training had paid off.

During camping, we rotated in three shifts, with one person getting complete rest. Initially, I proposed two shifts of two people each, considering the risk when one person was sleeping, but the accumulated fatigue was greater than expected.

With three shifts, the middle shift was tough, but no one fell asleep from exhaustion, and everyone got complete rest, so it was manageable. Everyone agreed, and we settled on this arrangement.

Returning to the village, reporting to the guild, restocking supplies, and then returning to the forest has been our recent routine. I miss the intimate moments with Riz. I've decided to propose a day off.

However, now is the time to earn and improve our party's training. We need to push ourselves.

Rott quickly adapted to the party's thinking and tactics. Since he pursued rationality, he could easily express his opinions and made various suggestions.

Having moved between parties, he also had good diplomatic skills. This was something I couldn't do, but he complemented me in this area. I think he's a good addition to the team.

As I recalled these recent events, the carriage stopped.

Three days ago, I received a summons from the viscount through the adventurer guild. The summons was for me alone. With all the things I've been doing, I'm not sure which one prompted the summons.

When I went to the blacksmith to have my spear maintained, as usual, the blacksmith confirmed that the blacksmith guild's report had been sent to the viscount. The pump project had also been reported.

By the way, the repair of weapons and armor is paid for individually. Riz and Fia get their equipment repaired at the blacksmith after training, and I do the same when I use my spear.

Fia is good at sharpening, so I leave that to her as we spend more time outside.

I got off the carriage and headed towards the town gate, which was surrounded by stone walls. The walls were over 4 meters high and were reinforced, unlike stone walls.

The development of Roman concrete also existed in this world. If the materials were available, it was possible. The creation of a small-scale bathhouse was also a possibility. The prospects were exciting.

I informed the gate guards of my visit, and they said they would send a messenger to the viscount. The carriage ride was a two-day journey, so they wouldn't prepare transportation for someone of unknown status.

With shining eyes, I waited for the messenger, marveling at the town I was seeing for the first time.