The Sword Saint (FateRoute!Shirou in Danmachi)

I woke up suddenly, a little disoriented, but more energized than I had felt in days. I took a second to remember the events of last night, letting myself fall back onto the soft mattress.

Some of the bad mood I was in before falling asleep had faded during the night, leaving only a slight sense of shame of where my thoughts had gone during my interactions with Astraea.

I sighed, not wanting to let my mood fall down again. I… hadn't done anything to feel guilty about. Right, nothing happened last night. Only my thoughts getting away from me.

I could still face her without shame.

A knock came from the door, and I wondered if I had woken because someone was at the door and I just now realized.

"...Shirou? Are you awake? It's time for breakfast." Astraea's voice came from outside.

Right, time to face the music.

"Ah yes! I'm coming, just a moment!" I tore the covers from me and stood up in a hurry, not wanting to let her wait for too long outside aaaand I'm naked.

Perfect.

Right, I washed my clothes before falling asleep.

"Just need to get dressed!" I exclaimed, panicking just a little.

I think I heard Astraea softly say something like "...Right, of course." but I was too busy putting on my slightly damp clothes to really pay attention. I put on my clean t-shirt and the scent of soap made me realize how much my stench had impregnated my clothes during the last few days. I really needed to get more changes of clothes soon.

Even if I had to project them.

But that's enough stalling. Astraea was waiting.

I took a breath in front of the door and opened it. Soft chestnut brown hair, milky white skin, indigo blue eyes.

"Good morning, Astraea," I greeted the goddess standing in front of my door, pristine as the first time I met her, letting a smile come to my face.

"...Good morning, Shirou." She smiled back, if a little muted compared to last night, her eyes looking downward. "I hope you had a restful night."

Did something happen to her? I wondered.

"I did, thanks to you. I'll never take a bed for granted again." I joked lightly, and she only smiled awkwardly. I thought I would be the one feeling awkward but it was Astraea instead who had difficulty meeting my eyes.

We stood like that for a second and I grimaced, wondering if I had done something wrong. Maybe she had noticed my less than pure thoughts about her.

I decided to bite the bullet and just ask.

"Is… everything okay? You, ah, seem down."

Astraea sighed, closing her eyes. Then she shook her head.

"I guess I am." She seemed to take some strength from the admission and finally met my eyes properly. "But it is also not your fault. I'm being rude."

I started to talk but she raised her hand, making me stop.

"I wish to apologize for my… behavior last night," Astraea said, her cheeks going a little red. "I admit that I like to tease reactions out of people I'm close with." Her lips twitched into an embarrassed smile, before she grimaced. "But considering I just met you, even if you reminded me so much of Alise, I feel my actions last night were extremely… improper."

She grasped her hands in front of her chest, fidgeting with her fingers.

And I felt a weight fall from my shoulders. For some reason the fact that Astraea was feeling uncomfortable about last night- that I wasn't the only one- was a little relieving to me. What was the phrase? A burden shared is a burden halved?

My smile widened, letting some of my relief shine through. "You don't need to apologize for anything. I admit, it was a little embarrassing, but hearing you now… if anything I feel flattered that I reminded you so much of her, if even half of what you told me about Alise was true." Then, almost without my say so, I felt my mouth twist into an amused smirk. "Just… be more careful about your drinking in the future. I never expected the Goddess of Purity to be so forward."

"Mou~, don't tease me. You make it sound like I am an indecent woman," she complained, amused despite herself. A relieved smile bloomed on her face. "So- are we okay? I would hate it if you had gotten the worst impression of me."

I nodded. "Don't worry, I don't think I made the best first impression either."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," she murmured and linked my right arm with her left. Compared to the affectionate hugs from yesterday it was tame, but I still felt a pleasant shiver go down my back. Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "But if you want to try again, how about we talk over breakfast? I spoke so much yesterday, but you told me hardly anything about yourself."

A sigh escaped me, followed by a resigned smile. Wouldn't be the first time a mortal follows the whims of a god for their amusement.

Although I don't think I will find myself complaining about this particular goddess any time soon.

"All right, all right. I don't think my stories can compare to your children's but I'll do my best to entertain you."

It's the least I could do, she paid for my room, after all.

-Line Break-

When I set out on my hunting trip this morning after having breakfast with Astraea I expected it to go, if not better, then at least as well as yesterday's had gone. With a belly full of warm food and having had the best sleep in days, I had high expectations.

When the midday sun started to hit my back and the only thing I had to show after spending hours in this grassy hill was just frustration I began to think that paying my debt to Astraea might be a little harder than I expected.

Hours and I haven't caught anything. No, it was worse than that. I haven't even seen any animals to catch.

If it was a lack of skill on my part, I could understand. It would be frustrating, but there wouldn't be anyone else to blame but me. But the fact that I could not see nor hear any hint of the hares, wild dogs, coyotes or wild pigs I had seen every day the last week I started frequenting the fields was vexing.

Granted, the nearby town meant that most wild animals only risked the fields when there was a lack of food in the nearby forest, but I always at least saw a few grazing.

Something was wrong.

And then there was that smell coming from said nearby forest. It was faint, faint enough that I hadn't felt it until I got closer to it, but I could feel my skin crawl when I finally noticed it.

The smell of decay, of an animal left to rot under the sun. Or more than one, actually, if I could smell it from so far away, the nauseatingly sweet odor seemed to permeate the forest itself.

I approached the trees cautiously, my bow and arrow ready when another scent caught my attention. The heady metallic scent of iron. I grimaced, not iron…

Blood.

And unlike the other putrid smell, it was close. If there was trouble, it wasn't far away.

The hammer of a gun struck down and Mana rushed into the six circuits I opened, where it was processed for my use. "Trace On."

Aside from the improvement on quality and performance, the best thing about my natural circuits in comparison to my fake ones was the fact that I could cast spells in parallel thanks to their quantity.

I was nowhere near close to being able to use all twenty seven in tandem, but six of them? That, I could manage.

Judging the concept of creation.

Like one would put bullets in a revolver chamber, I prepared my projections, going through the steps for the spell in just a few seconds.

Hypothesizing the basic structure.

The possibility of someone being hurt almost made me create one of my... strongest weapons, something from the Servants of the Holy Grail War, or maybe a magical weapon from Saber's past, hell, even one of the Noble Phantasms that Gilgamesh had thrown like candy during our encounters, but considering the… volatility of the Mana in the air, projecting something other than mundane weapons would be risky, to say the least. I remembered the analogy I used just yesterday, a can of gasoline on one hand and a lit match on the other... Yeah, not risking it.

Duplicating the composition material. 

Instead, four of the circuits got loaded with blueprints of arrows. Of an arrow to be exact, copied from one of the town guards.

Imitating the skill of its making

Ash wood shafts and broadhead, wrought iron points made by the novice blacksmith in town. It was the same one that I was holding in my left hand, the one arrow I used to hunt.

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth.

Its history wasn't noteworthy, it hadn't been shot once before I copied it. I just chose it because it flew the best out of the multiple I remembered.

The history of the sword I loaded in the fifth circuit, however…

Reproducing the accumulated years.

One of Sir Kay's swords, even if was a mundane, steel one, was nothing to sneeze at. 

The sword style Saber had started to teach me was similar to the one her adopted brother had used, at least in the basics, and Sir Kay had used this blade when he was of similar height to me, so this sword was pretty much perfect for me.

The hours of practice he had put on this sword had served me well whenever I needed pointers during the times I trained on my own after Saber… left, and they may very well save me if I were to be overwhelmed later.

Excelling every manufacturing process.

That would be the last step of my spell, the one that would create the copy from my magic, so I held it off for now, like keeping my finger on the trigger, if I wanted to continue the gun analogy.

I still didn't know if I would need to defend myself yet, but it wasn't wrong to be prepared, just in case. 

"Only one more…" I placed a hand on my chest and closed my eyes. "Reinforcement."

The last and final magic circuit was used to apply the magical energy to my t-shirt using Reinforcement to fill the gaps in its molecular structure, making it stronger. It would take only as much as something made of hardened leather before it was penetrated, but it would help.

I opened my eyes, seeing the bright green circuitry-like lines covering the white and blue t-shirt.

It wasn't subtle at all, though.

Ready as I could be, I followed the smell, entering the forest proper and walking for a few meters before I found the source.

"Shit…"

It was an old dog, black and brown coat with speckles of white showing its age, a blue handkerchief tied around its neck. It was wounded to the side, leaving a trail of blood as it struggled to keep walking deeper into the foreboding forest.

But, while heartrending, it wasn't the sight of the wounded animal that caused my reaction. It was the wicker basket discarded on the grass a short distance ahead of the dog, its contents -herbs and mushrooms- spilled without care.

Someone had been here.

I rushed forward to the whimpering dog, who let out a startled yelp when it saw me before its whimpering intensified. It tried to give another step but it finally lost strength. It fell to its side, its chest rising and falling rapidly, a bloody puddle forming around it.

I kneeled beside it, gritting my teeth in indecision. There had been a person with this dog, and they may need my help, but that would mean leaving this poor animal to its fate.

"-top, no! Fuck you, let go!"

My dilemma got more urgent, however, when a distant voice reached me. A girl screaming, anger, desperation and pain in her voice. It was coming from the same direction the dog was trying to go.

A whimper made my eyes look down, where they met the desperate eyes of the animal. For some reason, I understood it. It -he- had struggled so much because of this girl. And now he wanted me to go save her. To leave him to die and rescue this girl.

I closed my eyes for a second, damning my lack of healing mysteries. Dad had told me this before. Sometimes, saving someone means not saving someone else. I hated it, even if the one I could not save was a dog, but I had to choose or the choice would be made for me. 

I stood up and ran, my will made up. I knew that the dog had few moments left to live, and I didn't have any confidence in treating his wounds in time for him to survive. Even if I remained here, the only thing I would accomplish would be extending his suffering.

The girl, however, I still could save.

I dashed through the forest, the screams guiding my way, cursing every time I had to dart around a tree and duck under branches. Every second I got delayed, the voice became more desperate.

"Help! Someone! Jonas! JONAS!"

I broke into the clearing just as the girl screamed the last word. Did she call for a sibling? A lover? Didn't matter, the thoughts just passed through my mind without processing. I skidded to a stop and took a second to inspect the scene, the bow in my hand rising as I did so.

On the other side of the clearing a young woman was on her back, struggling to get away from a small green creature that stood in front of her, holding a bloody crude stone spear in one hand. The creature's back was to me, covering most of the woman from my sight - only her bright red hair was distinguishable

'Goblins are cowardly, weak monsters, sonny, but they are vicious. People often underestimate them and end up as their food. If they find you alone, make no mistake, they would try their best to chase you down and have you for dinner.'

I felt my blood go cold when I remembered the warning from the old man back in town and my body moved on its own. I inhaled while knocking the arrow on my hand, and aimed at the monster's back. I felt the arrow's fletching tickle my ear when the goblin seemed to react to the sounds of my entrance and began to turn around.

It was too late, though.

The arrow parted the wind and, with a meaty thump, it was buried deeply into the goblin's back- just where the heart would be in a human-, making it stumble forward.

"KIIIGH!" The green creature let out a pained wail. In its desperation it let go of the spear and the scrap of cloth and tried unsuccessfully to reach to its back to tear the arrow away.

Meanwhile I reached into my circuits and completed one of my spells. In a flash of light, a new arrow appeared in my hand and I wasted no time in nocking it again.

The goblin seemed to realize the futility of its actions and turned around with a snarl, almost stumbling down with its movement. It was strange, the creature looked unhealthily thin but it was tough. Any human would have died already, but it held on, if barely.

I could see its body was failing it already.

I guessed that if I waited a few moments more, it would just fall to the ground and bleed to death, just like the dog it had most likely attacked. The last moments of its life would be suffering- and it would deserve that, most likely.

…

I sighed, and let go of the bowstring, letting the arrow fly until it hit the goblin on the eye, penetrating deeply into its brain. Instant death.

It felt easier than killing hares, at least.

The goblin fell forward, finally letting me see the young woman I came to save.

"Are you okay, miss?"

A pretty, freckled face marred by scratches and dirt, her long red hair had been gathered in a braid, but it seemed to have come undone in her struggles, letting some of her wavy locks free. I approached her slowly, focusing my sight on her light green eyes, making sure to not look down to her chest. The front of her dress seemed to have torn during the chase and most of her chest was left exposed.

For a second, the girl laid frozen on her back, only propped by her elbows before letting out a relieved sigh and letting herself fall to the ground. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine, I think. Holy fuck, that was close." I looked away from her, trying to see if there were more goblins around -and not because I wanted to be distracted from the way her chest moved when she laid down. "I'm never ignoring my brother's warnings again. 'Just a couple herbs, nothing's gonna happen, Jonas' with me.' Fuck me," she grumbled, chuckling self deprecatingly.

I was about to ask about this Jonas- maybe it was the dog's name?- when rustling from the bushes behind me put me on full alert. I traced another arrow, ignoring the girl's "What the fuck!?" and readied it on my bow.

"Get ready to run. There might be more coming!" I rushed forward to her side, stepping over the dead goblin and looked to the direction I had come from. I grimaced. That's the direction to the town, so maybe that's the sound of guards coming but if not… our path back will be blocked.

As soon as I thought that, three other goblins entered the clearing, and the girl let out another curse. I clicked my tongue.

Two of the goblins were similar to the one I had already killed: warthy green skin, long noses, short stature -hell, one was even shorter- and the same sickly thinness.

The third looked different, however. Its skin was darker, to the point of being almost brown, it was taller than its brethren by more than a foot, and it looked well-fed, its muscles rippling with strength.

The three of them were snarling, almost foaming from the mouth. And they were armed. The smaller one had a shortbow, the other had a small knife made out of a boar's tusk and a leather buckler and the brown one was brandishing an old rusted iron spear.

"AH!" The freckled girl exclaimed when she tried to get up, only to stumble back down. "Fuck! My ankle! I can't walk!"

"Damn it!" I cursed, sending the girl deeper into the forest wouldn't have been a good plan, but it would've been better than her being in the middle of a fight. If her running wasn't an option then I would have to fight while protecting her. "Stay down, then! I won't let them touch you!"

"What!? Are you crazy? You're going to get killed! Just go, idiot!" the girl exclaimed, and I had to keep the smile out of my face. Even if it meant being left behind, she wanted me to go.

If she was willing to sacrifice herself like that, then how could I not do the same? "Don't worry. I'll protect you," I declared, my eyes focused on my enemies.

"KIIH! GAH!" the bigger goblin screamed and pointed its spear at me, the others joining it a second later.

Was it trying to be intimidating?

I pulled on my bowstring, not affected at all by the goblin's warcry. After I survived Berserker's wrath, do you think you can scare me? I held my breath, steadying my aim and considered for a moment. Long range first, then the others. I aimed at the bow goblin, ignoring the other two rushing to me, their weapons aloft.

The smaller goblin took out a bone arrow but, before he could even come close to readying it, I had already let go of my string. Thump. My arrow pierced its brain before the other two even cleared half the distance between us.

I didn't even try shooting the chest this time, if they were as hardy as the previous one, then they would have survived such an attack.

In a flash of light, another arrow appeared in my hand, and it was promptly nocked. Of the two left, the dagger goblin was faster, its smaller size and lighter weight letting it rush ahead of its companion.

So I aimed at it.

My arrow whistled through the air, eating the distance between the two of us in a moment. Surprisingly, the goblin managed to react on time, lifting its buckler to its face the instant before my arrow struck. My eyes widened a smidgen.

It didn't matter. Another arrow appeared amongst motes of mystical light. It would be the last I could project instantly, for the next I would need a second or two to get the spell ready again. Luckily, I wouldn't need another, I had another card I could use.

Nock, draw, shoot. The movements I had practiced so much in the range were done in a moment, unaffected neither by the adrenaline coursing through my veins nor by the worry for the girl I was protecting.

The arrow flew true and, while the goblin was protecting its face, its chest was open. Thump.

The dagger goblin stumbled, wailing in pain. But it didn't fall.

I had no time to curse their hardiness before the bigger goblin was almost upon me. Fast! Damn it! The moment my arrow had struck its fellow, the spear goblin had sped up. Was it using the other one as bait?

I had less than a moment before the goblin was in range for attacking me, but I tried not to panic. I could project Sir Kay's sword, but my footing was not good enough to defend myself now, the goblin would overwhelm me before I could stand properly.

I needed some distance.

My bow was useless- I couldn't trace arrows with such little time-, so I winded my arm back… and chucked it.

The brown goblin let out a surprise squawk when my bow hit it between the eyes, disorienting it, and I took merciless advantage of that distraction by taking a step forward and front kicking it on the chest with my full strength.

It was bigger than its fellows, and it looked stronger… but it still had the height of a child. The brown goblin went flying a couple of meters back, screaming in anger.

I let out a breath, relishing the moment of respite for what it was, before I settled into the stance Saber had taught me all those months ago, and that I had polished since.

I turned to the side, keeping my back straight, but lowering my knees a little and spreading my feet shoulder-width. My right arm, bent at the elbow, crossed over my waist, my right hand lining up with my left. They were both still empty, though, so it looked like I was holding an invisible weapon.

A memory tickled my brain and my lips curved into a small smile.

'Your Noble Phantasm, is it a sword?'

'Who knows? It might be a battle axe or it might be a spear. It might even be a bow, Lancer.'

My small moment of reminiscing was enough for the dagger goblin to gather its strength for a last attack. Its chest was covered in blood, my arrow still stabbed deeply in it, and it looked ready to keel over, but the sight of my unarmed self seemed to give it confidence.

It rushed forward with a desperate warcry, its dagger raised over its head. But it would never get near enough to attack me.

My weapon had a longer reach, after all.

The moment just before it entered my range, the space between my hands glowed and I moved.

"HAH!" I held the leather grip that appeared in my hands and my arms moved across my body, my waist twisting accompanying the movement. The goblin didn't even get to react before over a meter of steel caught it by the waist and cut diagonally across its body, almost without resistance until it reached the goblins chest, but then…

Thwack-Clink.

The goblin exploded in a burst of dark ash, blinding me for a second. I stumbled forward, having lost all resistance to my slash. What happened?! It's just… gone. I felt my sword strike something in its chest and it just disappeared.

The Magic Crystal! I realized, remembering the tales of Astraea's Familia. How Alise sometimes pouted because she didn't hold back enough and broke the Magic Crystals by accident. Right, breaking a monster's Magic Crystal instantly killed them.

"KIIIH!" A scream jolted me from my thoughts and I looked up in surprise. The brown goblin was falling towards me from the sky, its spear poised down. How!?

Again, it had used the other goblin as a distraction to hide its movements, and the moment the ashes covered my vision, it took advantage and jumped. I can't dodge. I realized. If I dodged this attack, then it would hit the girl.

And that would be unacceptable.

This monster, behind all its savagery, is cunning…

My lips thinned and I braced myself. I lowered my stance and I moved my sword back, my left hand on the handle and my right on the pommel, the point aimed at the falling goblin. But it was too late to strike back.

The brown goblin fell down with a sadistic grin on its warped face, thinking that it had won already. The only thing I could do was to move a step to the right and accept the stab on my left shoulder, instead of my face.

"Kuh!" I let out a pained breath when the spear struck me.

…But it isn't smart enough to understand what the glow on my shirt means.

The savage smile twisted into shock when the spear, for all the strength the monster had added with its jump, couldn't fully penetrate my reinforced t-shirt.

I let my shoulder be pushed by the strike, ignoring the pain it caused, and using the momentum to add speed to the twist of my waist, I stabbed up with my sword. The hide of the brown goblin seemed to be tougher than the others' but with my own strength added to the speed the goblin was falling, Sir Kay's sword easily pierced through its stomach.

"KUHAA!" The goblin let out a pained gasp and gurgled, letting go of its spear and trying in vain to remove itself from the sword that had pierced it through.

Warm blood covered my arms, and fell down my face and chest. I grimaced.

I lowered my blade, letting the goblin slide off it, helped by the slickness of its own blood. It fell with a wet splat and, incredibly, it struggled to rise up again.

I looked down at the eyes of the beast, trying in vain to find some part of it that was not cruelty or savagery. I only found hatred.

With a last sigh, I brought down my blade on its head.

-Line Break-

It was over.

Ten seconds, more or less?

That's how long that battle took.

That's how fast I could kill three living beings, ruthlessly.

But I had saved a life.

'Your wish will not come true unless there is a clear evil. Even if it is not something you approve of, a hero of justice requires a villain to defeat.'

My lips twisted in displeasure, feeling the goblin's warm blood drip from my hands.

I rolled my shoulders, feeling a twinge of pain coming from the right one. I looked down and winced a little.

While most of the red covering my t-shirt came from the goblin, there was a small trail of blood that came from me. The spear was mostly stopped by my reinforcement but it still scored a small cut where it managed to pierce through.

I would have to treat and disinfect it later. Who knew where that spear's been before?

I knew. I had its blueprint vivid in my mind. It wasn't pretty.

"You actually did it." The girl's shocked whisper brought me out of my reverie. "By the gods, you fucking did it."

I snorted, in spite of myself, feeling some amusement at her swearing. A smile bloomed on my face and I turned to look at her.

Forgetting that she was practically topless.

I got a good look at her shining green eyes filled with amazement, her relieved smile, and the excited flush that extended from her face all the way to the top of her breasts before my eyes widened and I felt heat rush to my cheeks.

I turned around so fast that I feared I would get whiplash, not turning back even when I heard an startled squeak coming from the girl followed by a muttered "Fucking goblin…"

"Uh, goblin slayer, any chance you have a spare tunic hanging around?" she asked sheepishly.

"Ah, no, just what I have on, I'm afraid," I replied, keeping my eyes away from her. "I can lend you my shirt if you don't mind goblin blood all over you… unless…" I stilled, remembering my ideas for projecting clothing.

"Ugh, it's that or flashing my tits until I get back home," she grumbled and I closed my eyes, trying not to react to the image her words brought back. She had freckles all the way do- I had to focus to cast my magecraft, damn it. "I'll suck it up, it's just blood. Please lend me your shiny clothing, if you don't mind." She sighed.

"Ah, I might have something else. Just a second," I muttered and extended my right arm in her direction and my other hand on my chest. I focused on the magic energy left over in my circuits. "Structural Analysis."

An image of my t-shirt appeared on my mind, details of its material, the process in which it was produced, the imperfections of its making, and the damage it had accumulated over time filled my thoughts.

"Trace On."

With the image clear on my head, I traced a copy. I could have just used the basic projection spell, but with my tracing I thought I could do a bit more.

A pristine white and blue shirt appeared in my hand, looking exactly as it did almost two weeks ago, the last time I washed and ironed it.

Huh, it worked then. Tohsaka had hypothesized that I should be able to Trace objects at any point of their history if I had access to the 'blueprint' or had the original with me but we never had the chance to try before I ended up here.

She'll be happy to know she was right.

"Huh, so I wasn't seeing things when you seemed to get stuff out of nowhere," she said and I felt her taking the shirt from me. "Whoa, what's this? It's so soft! Is this silk? The stuff noble pricks use?" she wondered, her voice muffled by her putting on my shirt, I assumed. "Fuuh. Feels nice. Hey, I'm done, all the important stuff is covered."

I let out a relieved sigh and turned around, this time receiving nothing but the -strangely stimulating- sight of the redheaded girl wearing my t-shirt.

It was a little big on her. She was around my height but my shoulders were broader, so the collar was almost off her right shoulder and the slightest bit of cleavage was visible.

I didn't know my own shirt could look so different on a woman.

I dismissed those thoughts as they came, blaming the adrenaline for my wandering mind, and tried to smile reassuringly, but covered in blood as I was, I don't think I was really successful.

The girl tried to smile back, wincing when the skin around the scratches on her face pulled. Looking closely, there were also some splotches of reddened skin here and there. It seemed she had been hit too. She's gonna be bruised tomorrow.

"Now that we're not in mortal danger, and I'm not giving you a free show," the girl said, grinning through the pain. "Thank you for the save, hero. Heh, I was beginning to think I was gonna end up as goblin food."

I shook my head. "No need to thank me. I'm just glad I got here in time to save you, ah…" I stilled for a moment, realizing halfway through my sentence that I didn't know her name yet.

She seemed to notice my pause for what it was. "Ah, right! I'm Ann. A part-time worker in my mum's leatherwork shop, and full time idiot considering I wandered into a goblin nest like one, even after I heard all the rumors of the little fuckers around town"

My lips twitched in amusement at her description."I'm Shirou, nice to meet you too… though it would've been a lot nicer under different circumstances."

"Right, heh, that was amazing, though," she answered, her eyes filled with amazement. "It's the first time I've seen an Adventurer fight! It was so fast! A second they were all 'Raagh'-" Ann growled, making claws with her hands "-being all intimidating and shit, and the next you were splitting the last fucker's skull open," she…gushed. I felt a little troubled, on one hand, while she was praising my skills, the way she said the last thing was a little crude, but on the other…

A weight fell from my shoulders.

I was glad she was well enough to be so cheerful.

Even if she was a little wrong about something.

"Ah, I'm not an Adventurer, though." I corrected her. "Just someone that knows a thing or two about fighting."

"Really? But you were so skilled… I don't think my brother can fight like that and he's a guard!"

"No blessing in me, just a normal hunter." Ann looked at me in disbelief, tugging at the shirt I had pulled out of nowhere. I ignored that. "We can keep talking on the way back, but we should go."

"Wait! Aren't you going to take the Magic Stones?! You can get almost two hundred Vali for a goblin's stone!" She exclaimed.

I shouldn't.

It was dangerous, there was no way of knowing if more goblins were going to come and I had a wounded person with me…

But I was in debt.

I let out a sigh, a little ashamed of my greed, and a couple of seconds later a dagger appeared on my hand in a flash of light. I turned back to the dead creatures, ignoring Ann's 'Ooh' at seeing my magic, and got to work.

Hopefully, my experience deboning fish would be of help butchering goblins.

I worked in silence for a moment before Ann asked the question I didn't know I was dreading to hear.

"...Hey, have you seen a dog around here, by any chance?" Her tone was casual, but I could hear the worry underneath. "Jonas was with me when the first gobbo attacked and we got separated."

My hands stopped.

…So his name was Jonas.

I truly had no idea how to tell her but when I turned around either my silence or something in my expression must have been enough.

"...Ah," she muttered, and her green eyes filled with tears. "...Fucking goblins."

Fucking goblins, indeed.