I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 9: Adventure Is Always Full of Surprises

“Clatter clatter.”

Gauss sat on the caravan's wagon, leaning against postal packages of various sizes.

The distant hillside slowly receded from view.

Sharing the same carriage with him were Hailier and the other two.

Bell and Mia rested inside the carriage.

Hailier, on the other hand, sat at the edge of the carriage with great interest, her legs dangling outside, swaying with the jolts, as she admired the wilderness scenery.

The weather today was clear, the azure sky like a pure sapphire, sunlight pierced the thin clouds and dispersed into golden threads of light, outlining the distant bluish mountain ridges with a gentle contour.

The breeze over the wilderness carried the dewy fragrance of forest greenery, moistening the air and uplifting one's spirits.

After registering at the Adventurers' Guild, the four had a brief afternoon of team synergy, then set out the next day for their destination—Birch Village.

Considering the long journey, walking might have taken two days.

So Gauss suggested hitching a ride with a caravan heading in the same direction and walking the rest of the way toward the end.

Naturally, the other three gladly accepted his proposal.

Finding a caravan didn’t take much time; exchanging half a carriage space for a fully equipped adventurer team as company was by no means a bad deal.

Perhaps tired of the view, Hailier withdrew her gaze and looked at Gauss, who also sat at the rear of the carriage, initiating a conversation.

Yesterday’s dinner and the afternoon’s teamwork not only helped everyone understand each other’s combat style but also made them more familiar with one another.

“Honestly, that was unexpected. Gauss, I really didn’t think you were a novice mage.”

“Sorry to have shattered your fantasy about mages.”

“It’s not that dramatic, just that in my impression and experience, mages are usually rich guys—you really are an odd one.”

“I really wanted to become a mage when I was little, but unfortunately, I don’t seem to have the talent for learning spells.”

In the midst of casual chatting—

The caravan, carrying the four-man team, crossed grasslands, weaved through forests, circled mountains, and crossed rivers, finally arriving at the designated drop-off point.

The journey was safe, without any monster ambushes or sudden accidents.

While Gauss breathed a sigh of relief, he also felt a faint sense of disappointment.

“Let’s part ways here.”

“Birch Village is only about an hour away from here. Follow this country path straight until the fork, then take the left road. The second village is Birch Village.”

“Got it, thank you, uncle,” Hailier thanked the caravan steward.

“Please be careful on your journey. Although goblins are unremarkable monsters, never let your guard down,” the steward kindly reminded.

The four watched as the caravan gradually disappeared into the distance.

Suddenly, the surroundings felt noticeably quieter.

“Let’s try to reach Birch Village before dark.”

“Agreed.”

None of them intended to rest and immediately began walking along the country road.

The dirt path was relatively even, flanked by dense trees, and the chilly evening wind blew intermittently, often giving a chill down their spines.

As if influenced by the surroundings, the usually excited Hailier also calmed down.

With cautious steps, the four finally reached their destination as the last rays of sunlight faded from the air when the sun set.

“Birch Village.”

At the fork in the road stood a crooked wooden sign with the village’s name written on it.

They had not yet entered the village.

From afar, they could already hear noise coming from the village square, with cries faintly audible.

Gauss’s heart skipped a beat, realizing something had happened in the village.

Linking this with their current mission, he had a bad feeling.

“We must gather people now and rescue Jenny and Aisha!”

“It’s already dark! I think we should wait until tomorrow and prepare weapons first...”

“Tomorrow? By tomorrow it’ll be too late! Those filthy green-skinned scum won’t give us time to prepare.”

“My poor child!”

In the village square, people gathered in crowds.

By the dim bonfire, a man shouted with arms raised, some showed hesitation, and women sat on the ground wailing in grief, faces filled with sorrow and pain.

“Excuse me, is this Birch Village? We are the adventurers who accepted your commission. Is the village chief here? We’d like to understand the situation,” Hailier raised her voice and addressed the crowd, breaking the noise and chatter.

Her call interrupted the villagers’ quarrel.

Amidst cautious stares, an old man with a cane stepped out from the crowd.

“Greetings, I am the village chief of Birch Village.”

He nodded and directly identified himself.

“Welcome, adventurers. Ordinarily, we would give you a warm welcome for coming all this way, but as you can see, the village is in disarray. Please forgive our lack of hospitality.”

“It’s fine, chief. Please tell us the details. We came precisely for the commission,” Hailier waved her hand and showed the commission paper to prove their identity.

Hearing her response, the village chief immediately relaxed, checking the document while recounting the recent tragedy.

The matter was actually simple: two women from the village had been abducted by a goblin tribe.

The villagers were partly to blame for lowering their guard.

This goblin group had been active in the nearby forest for months but had never attacked humans—at most, they occasionally stole a chicken, duck, or sheep.

Still, to reduce losses, the villagers had each contributed money to gather enough for a bounty, which they posted in Graystone Town.

For the past two days, the goblins had seemingly vanished without a trace.

The villagers also became complacent.

They figured a team of adventurers would arrive soon to clear out the goblins hiding in the forest, so they didn’t remain too cautious of the green-skinned brats.

But who would have thought, just at twilight today, the first abduction occurred.

Two female villagers taken at once.

Now that it was completely dark, moving around was inconvenient.

Apart from close family of the victims, the rest of the villagers were unwilling to risk entering the dark forest and fighting goblins—human nature, after all, is selfish.

So the people had a heated debate in the village square.

One side reasoned that fighting at night was too dangerous—rescue might fail and other adults might die too.

The other side argued that if they waited until tomorrow, it would be too late.

The victims had just been taken, so there was still time.

They were only goblins, just child-sized creatures—if everyone worked together, surely they could bring the women back.

Both sides had valid points, and the village chief couldn’t make a decision.

Fortunately, this unfamiliar adventurer team appeared like divine intervention.

Though the village chief said nothing aloud, in his heart he had already pinned his hopes on them.

In his eyes, apart from the black-haired male, the four were all equipped with high-grade gear—far beyond what ordinary villagers could match in combat.

The village chief and other villagers all turned their gazes toward the four.

“Apologies, we need to discuss,” Hailier gave a slight bow and pulled the others aside to deliberate.

For a moment, the once noisy village fell into an eerie silence.

But underneath that silence surged turbulent thoughts.

Everyone was waiting for their decision.

A newcomer adventurer team, barely noticeable in a town, now carried the hopes of the entire village.

From the corner of his eye, Gauss noticed the many silent villagers and began to feel the pressure.

Real adventure was always full of surprises.

Just like how he had initially thought this was just a routine extermination mission.

Arrive at the destination, rest, scout the next day, gather intel, make a battle plan, slay goblins, complete the commission.

Who would have thought that the orderly plan would face disruption at the very first step?