Chapter 17

It felt deeper than the forest he had entered to search for the microtoxic herb while holding an empty stomach.

The thick canopy of leaves was high, and the ground was carpeted with soft, decaying leaves.

The surfaces of the trees were densely covered with moss, and a faint mist drifted here and there.

(Green Wolf)

Is it here too?

In the distance, a green wolf could be seen walking slowly.

It yawned, completely at ease.

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

The birdsong was deafening. Occasionally, birds would fly from branch to branch.

The Green Wolf glanced at one of the birds for a moment.

"——!?"

In the next instant, the Green Wolf's vision went dark.

It fell over with a thud.

"……phew……"

A short knife was embedded in its neck, the hilt buried deep.

The blade had severed the spine in one strike.

It was an impossible place to stab.

To do so, one would have to get extremely close.

The Green Wolf was a monster with superior senses, with a detection range of 200 meters.

There was no way it wouldn't notice a human standing right next to it.

"……it's settled……"

Hikaru placed his palm on his chest and sighed again.

"I didn't expect my rank to rise just by killing one."

The impulse, or rather the backlash, from the rank increase was overwhelming Hikaru.

The points needed to be conserved.

According to Hikaru's plan, he needed to ensure he had at least "3 points" "unused."

"……I can't even take the meat back. Sorry, I just killed you."

If he left this place, the "Stealth" effect would weaken, and the scent of the Green Wolf's blood would spread through the forest.

Other animals and insects would likely feed on the corpse.

Hikaru pulled out the "Strength Knife," wiped the blood off, and continued deeper into the forest.

(Too strong)

Thanks to the "Stealth" skill, he could kill without being detected.

And Hikaru was getting even stronger.

When he killed two more Green Wolves, his rank increased again.

Now his rank was 7.

It was a fast pace.

He wanted to say that other adventurers were taking their time to increase their ranks, but as Unken had said, the Green Wolf was a "tough opponent."

There were other monsters too.

A nutria-like monster, smaller than a Redhorn Rabbit, resembling a brown mouse.

A blue grasshopper (30 cm long).

A carnivorous plant that attacked by releasing pollen.

Their threat level was low. Even without the "Stealth" skill, Hikaru could probably defeat them one-on-one. However, they often appeared in groups.

(Those monsters probably have low "experience points.")

To increase his rank, he would need to kill a large number of them.

The problem was that ordinary people, not just adventurers, couldn't check their "rank." They could only feel a vague sense of power-up, but couldn't quantify their strength.

Therefore, the motivation to increase their rank was low.

Hikaru ignored the small monsters and targeted the Green Wolves as much as possible.

When the scent of blood filled the air, the monsters became more cautious.

Hikaru's "Detection" skills were still at a low level. If cautious monsters hid, it would be inconvenient to search for them.

"……what is it?"

Hikaru was eating the bento he had brought.

The sun was at its highest point, around noon.

He heard a scream from a distance.

* * *

Pola wanted to shout, "I told you so."

Pola was a novice adventurer who had come from a cold village in the mountains.

She formed a party with her childhood friend and a young man from the neighboring village.

The average age was 17.

The two men were only good at swinging swords, dreaming of becoming heroes and making a fortune to buy a mansion and live with women.

The three women had different mindsets.

Pia, the daughter of the village chief, had a strong sense of responsibility. Despite this, she was more concerned with appearances, cutting her hair short and speaking roughly.

She often said things like, "I'll protect you, Pola!"

When they were in the village, she would ask, "Pola-chan, what's for dinner today?"

Priscilla, the daughter of a hunter, was a pure hunter who would often spend days in the mountains without returning.

She was quiet, or rather, dazed.

However, her chest was, to put it mildly, enormous, and the men's gazes were fixed on her.

Pola was completely different from the other four.

She grew up in a church, even in a rural area, and was taught etiquette.

Thanks to this, she looked refined and wore clean clothes.

—Calm and collected.

—She could heal their injuries.

That was the general impression of her—indeed, Pola could use healing magic. Many who served in the church for a long time would awaken to healing magic, but Pola was considered precocious.

That's why she was invited by Pia to become an adventurer.

The village was in crisis because of a lack of money.

"If we make a fortune and send it back, even my father would be overjoyed!"

Pia would boast, but Pola knew.

At night, she would cry in her futon, saying, "I want to go home..."

(I should have gone back!)

Pola wanted to shout.

She wanted to shout—given this situation.

"Cutting them down is endless! What's going on!"

"There's an opening!! The goblins are charging in!"

"Damn, these goblins are well-organized!"

"What do you mean it's an easy job, you idiot!"

"Didn't Gloria warn you?"

"I don't know!"

They were surrounded.

By 100 goblins.

"100" was a number Pola had decided on, but there were likely more.

In other words, they were surrounded to the point where the exact number was unclear.

Deep, deep in the forest.

Yesterday, four veteran adventurers approached them, saying they could find rare plants in this forest—profitable, they said.

The two men's eyes gleamed at the prospect, and even Pia agreed, saying, "We have no choice," despite her reluctance. They wanted money. With the majority of the party agreeing, they decided to follow the veterans.

"It's the duty of veterans to guide promising adventurers," the veterans said, and Pia and the others looked pleased. Only Pola understood that it was obvious flattery. Priscilla was dazed.

Pola might have been the only one to consider the possibility that they were after their bodies.

However, just before they left the guild, the receptionist called them over, and the "veterans" were told something. They mentioned being "warned." Thanks to this, they didn't touch Pola and the others overtly, though their gazes were fixed on Priscilla's swaying chest.

They had a meeting over dinner at a tavern and set out late the next morning due to overdrinking.

They finally reached the forest around noon—everything was fine until then.

The veterans tried to attract Pola and the others' attention with flashy sword techniques and magic.

Thanks to this, they managed to hunt about 10 small monsters.

However, Priscilla's expression became increasingly stern, which was rare for her.

—Trouble, Pola.

—What?

—Making loud noises will attract large monsters.

The veteran laughed when he heard this.

—There are no large monsters in this forest. If there were, I'd protect you!

Indeed, there were no large monsters.

That's why the veterans were able to defeat the monsters smoothly, and Pia and the others followed suit.

Pola thought it would be fine if they said so.

However, she had a bad feeling.

Pola had always been good at such "intuitions." She had suggested to Pia several times, in secret, to "go back." Each time, Pia would say, "I'll protect you, Pola!"

Pola's intuition was correct.

There were no large monsters—but there were small ones.

And there were goblins, said to come in groups of 300 when one was found.

"Ugh!?"

One of the male members was hit by an arrow in the shoulder.

"Arrows! These goblins are using arrows!"

Goblins were less than 100 cm tall with large heads. Despite their large heads, they had low intelligence.

Their skin color was close to human but had a yellowish tint.

They were easy to defeat in a one-on-one fight.

However, they were troublesome in large numbers.

"Damn, if they're using arrows, this is definitely a goblin family!"

"Does that mean there's a leader?"

"Can we handle it?"

"No way! It's hard enough to deal with this number!"

The veterans started to panic.

It seemed these goblins were "trouble."

There was a boss, and even the veterans found it difficult to defeat.

"!?"

The veterans' gazes turned to Pola.

She felt something unpleasant in their eyes, not lust or hostility, but a look as if they were viewing a "tool."

"Hey, miss? Do you know the goblins' purpose?"

"Um... no, I don't."

As the veteran approached, Pia, who had said she would protect Pola, was fighting at the front.

"To breed."

"…breed?"

She couldn't immediately understand the meaning of the words.

"To capture human women and make them bear children. In other words, you are their target, not us."

"Wha—"

A cold shiver ran down her spine. Her blood drained from her head, and her thoughts dulled.

The goblins' target was her?

Instead of being killed, she would be raped?

"So, you understand, right?"

"St-stop…"

"If we throw you in, we'll probably be saved. Got it?"

Her arm was grabbed.

"Pola!"

Priscilla, who had been shooting arrows, ran over, but another veteran blocked her.

"No, no, noooooo!"

"Save everyone's lives! That's the role of a healer!"

She was grabbed by two men and dragged away.

Pia seemed to notice but was hidden by the fourth veteran.

The two boys were clueless about what was happening.

"Alright, go!"

Pola was pulled forward, stumbling.

Ten meters away, a group of goblins drooled, holding rusty knives, wooden clubs, and stones.

She was kicked in the back and fell.

"Ah…"

The goblins, initially surprised, quickly understood what had been "given" to them and started running.

Through her tear-blurred vision, the goblins seemed to move in slow motion.

She shouldn't have come here.

It was too late to say it now.

If she had to say, she shouldn't have become an adventurer in the first place.

She could blame Pia for persuading her, but ultimately, the decision was hers.

Pola grew up in a church. Unlike the other party members, she had access to books.

Not just the Bibles and commentaries used in the church, but all kinds of books were stored in the church because there were few people in the village who could read.

Including romance novels.

Pola read them avidly.

She wished—by leaving this village and going to a big city, a handsome young man would appear before her. They would meet fatefully and fall in love. She couldn't sleep for nights on end, excited by this fantasy. She even wrote her own fantasy novels, with the protagonist named "Polaria," which was clearly herself.

(Ah… I was foolish… I was foolish for dreaming…)

There was no book that described a scenario where she would be raped by goblins.

She wished she would die rather than suffer such a fate.

The only regret she had was that her self-written novels, which she couldn't bear to throw away, were still in the church. They should have been burned to ashes and buried in the ground.

"!"

She squeezed her eyes shut.

The goblins would pounce—

"……?"

Shaking, Pola thought, "Huh? The goblins aren't coming?"

"…Get up. You're in the way."

"…Huh?"

Startled, she opened her eyes—there stood a boy.

Black hair, black eyes.

He was dressed in black, wrapped in a cloak.

He had just pulled a short knife from the back of a goblin's head.

The boy who suddenly appeared.

Pola didn't know where he came from, and the goblins were confused too.

(There—)

But Pola knew something.

(There, a "fateful" encounter!!)

* * *

It was a close call, Hikaru thought.

She looked like a rear guard, armed with a short knife similar to Hikaru's.

If he had been a few seconds late, she would have been injured, and if a few minutes late, she might have been killed or worse.

"……"

"Back off. You're in the way."

"……"

"Hey, are you listening?"

"…Handsome boy"

"Huh?"

"Thank youuuu!"

The girl suddenly pounced, and Hikaru kicked her away.

"What the hell are you doing!"

"Huff… A reward from a handsome boy…"

Hikaru instantly realized she was dangerous. Even as she rolled and trembled, she was grinning at him.

Her innocent, nun-like appearance belied a dangerous nature.

"Damn brat! What the hell are you doing getting in the way!"

One of the adventurers shouted.

"…In the way?"

"If one person sacrifices themselves, we can escape! They're goblins, after all!"

"Oh… I see. So, you were trying to use her as a decoy and escape yourself?"

"…So, what's wrong with that?"

The adventurer flinched but tried to act tough.

"What the hell! What did you do to Pola!"

"…I won't forgive you."

"What?"

"What do you mean?"

The two girls seemed to understand the situation, but the two boys were clueless.

The older adventurers seemed to support the "decoy strategy."

(These are the young party from the guild yesterday… I see.)

Hikaru was inwardly exasperated. Compared to kidnapping and selling people, using someone as a decoy against monsters was the second-worst thing to do.

"Then what do you suggest! Against a large number of goblins!"

Hikaru sighed and said,

"Retreat soon."

"Huh?"

"Listen."

As Hikaru said, a strange whistling sound came from nowhere. The goblins looked at each other and scattered like spiders.

"Wh-What…"

"Better to get out of here. It's dangerous."

"! Right! Retreat!"

The large-sword woman said, and the four older adventurers ran off, followed by the two boys.

The large-sword woman and the archer were rubbing their cheeks, which Hikaru had hit, looking happy.

"…Thank you. You saved me."

"It's nothing. Take her and go."

"Are you not running away?"

"…"

Hikaru shrugged.

"…You're strong."

"Be careful on your way back. They might try to harm you."

"…Huh?"

"Those guys used their companions as a decoy. If the rumor spreads, they won't get work. But if you don't say anything, the rumor won't spread, right?"

"…What do you mean?"

The large-sword woman didn't understand, but the archer said,

"Shut them up."

"Wh-What!?"

"That's right. The more desperate they are, the more unpredictable they become."

"…Two of our companions ran off somewhere. They might be fooled."

"Friends?"

"Um… not really friends, just young men from the neighboring village?"

"Whether to chase them or not is up to you. It's not my concern."

"Ah, ah!"

The dangerous girl on the ground spoke up.

"My name is Pola! Pola Noara! Please tell me your name!"

"…Hikaru"

Pola, who seemed to have calmed down from her excitement, stood up. She could now have a normal conversation.

"Lord Hikaru… I have a request. Can you take us to the lake?"

"Right. I also have a request. How about it, Priscilla?"

"Okay."

Hikaru sighed. He had a feeling this would happen.

Leaving them here would be unsettling. It would be a waste if they died in an accident right after he saved them.

However, as a bodyguard, Hikaru's abilities