“Has anyone seen Mina?”
As the sun began to set, a handmaiden with wheat-colored skin, who was giving instructions to the other maids inside the mansion next to the castle, noticed that one of the girls was missing.
The lakeside castle was one of Dandole’s guest houses, rented by the royal family for the First Princess’s recuperation. Though called a castle, it wasn’t very large, and soldiers, servants, and ordinary maids were given rooms in the adjacent mansion.
While some handmaidens were dispatched from the royal palace, they couldn’t send dozens, so dozens of maids were sent from Dandole and noble families related to him to help.
The girl named Mina was one of the maids sent from such a noble family, and it had been confirmed that she was a merchant’s daughter working as a manners apprentice.
She was diligent and hardworking, but somewhat detached from the world, such as giving her lunch to stray cats, so the handmaiden had been keeping a close eye on Mina.
As the handmaiden, who served the royal family in the royal palace, looked around, one of the maids waiting in the mansion timidly raised her hand.
“U-Um… Sera-san. I think Mina went to take food to the new child.”
“Child? Who brought the child?”
“I heard an Adventurer who came the day before yesterday brought them… I didn’t see it myself.”
“…Viro, was it?”
About a month ago, she had asked trusted individuals to introduce her to clever children.
A nine-year-old boy brought by a knight was apparently a relative’s child, and while he was somewhat bright, he had never done menial work and gave up after a few days.
A ten-year-old boy brought by a merchant was bright and willing to do any job, but apparently, his parents had put him up to something, and he was clearly trying to gain contact with upper-class noble families, which the introducer noticed and took him back with apologies.
Sera had specified ‘child’ not only because she wanted a child’s perspective as an observer, but also to secure potentially useful personnel for the future.
If it was just for observation, Sera’s six-year-old son, whom she had brought with her, would have been sufficient. It was a plan for the era when the Crown Prince would become king, hoping that her child would have reliable colleagues in the future, but there were fewer “useful” children under the age of ten than she had expected.
Sera is a knight of the Shadow Unit directly under Margrave Melrose.
There are 427 Shadow Knights in total, but most of them are scattered throughout the country. They are replenished by members of the Melrose family and its branches, as well as scouts introduced through the military and trusted connections, but it was still not enough to gather information from all over the country… and even from other countries.
Sera, still in her late twenties and having returned to the field to take command after being in a supporting role, was a testament to how short-handed the Shadow Knights were.
And about two days ago, Viro, an Adventurer, brought a child just before the deadline.
The Adventurer party Rainbow Sword is one of the most prominent Rank 5 parties in this country, and although the members have changed several times, Sera has known Viro, a veteran member, since the Manticore subjugation about ten years ago.
Currently, Rainbow Sword is on hiatus, but Viro had been personally commissioned to handle some of the surrounding security.
During that commission, she had casually asked him to introduce her to a useful child, but he hadn’t said anything when he came to greet her, so Sera had forgotten about it until now.
The introduced child was being managed by Castro, a former Adventurer scout.
He was also introduced by Viro, and although he was a difficult man with an inflexible personality, he was also a serious person who could be entrusted with behind-the-scenes work.
Where had Castro placed the child? Even if the child was useless, there should have been some kind of report after two days, but she had heard nothing from him.
And if there was a concern, it was that a few days ago, Goblins had been exterminated a few kilometers away at the border of the territory, and some of the Goblins had escaped.
It wouldn’t be a problem within the grounds of this castle, but…
“Summon Castro. Immediately.”
“GugaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
The Needle Dagger that should have pierced the Hobgoblin’s skull was deflected, and the Hobgoblin, whose face was gouged as the Dagger was thrust into its neck, let out a scream of pain.
…Failed surprise attack. I instantly made that judgment and kicked off the Hobgoblin that had started to rampage, and swung down the weighted rope dart that I had pulled out from my waist belt in a sideways rotation at one of the Goblins, who was still dumbfounded and unable to grasp the situation.
Thanks to practice, if I channel Mana into the rope that braided my hair, I can almost certainly hit a stationary target.
Gagon!
“…Gukaa…”
The mass of twenty Copper Coins, increased by adding more coins, hit the Goblin’s head and easily reaped its consciousness. I stabbed the Goblin’s throat with the Needle Dagger as it fell, creating a fatal wound, and rolled away from the Goblins.
“Gugagaga!”
The Hobgoblin, holding its face as if enduring the pain, turned its eyes of anger and hatred towards me from between its fingers, and the remaining three Goblins, finally realizing there was an enemy, hurriedly brandished their rusty short swords.
“…”
Still, the skull is too thick… It’s partly because I’m weak, but it’s unexpected that I couldn’t kill it with a surprise attack from directly above with all my weight.
The impact left a slight numbness in my hand as well. It’s not enough to hinder my actions, but it’s a little annoying. If this were a human, the neck wound alone would be fatal, but as expected, Monsters have high vitality.
[Hobgoblin]
[Mana Capacity: 65/68] [HP: 214/340]
[Overall Combat Strength: 96 (Body Enhancement in progress: 111)] 5down
But its HP is considerably reduced. I thought its Combat Strength had decreased for some reason, but it seems I had also crushed its left eye when I gouged its face.
Looking closely, the tip of the Needle Dagger was chipped. I thought it was made of steel, but it’s cast iron… What should I do? I can’t see any way for me to kill the Hobgoblin while dealing with the Goblins with my current abilities.
“Gwooooooooooooo!”
The Hobgoblin pointed at me with one hand still holding its face, and the subordinate Goblins rushed at me in a panic.
“Gugya!” “Gyagya!” “Gyaga!”
I could see a slight chance of victory in the Hobgoblin’s actions.
If they had all attacked at once, I would have had no choice but to run away until my stamina ran out. But there must be a reason why the Hobgoblin didn’t move itself.
Several possibilities that I had selected from my “knowledge” floated in my mind, and I intuitively chose the most likely reason, and as I created more distance, the Hobgoblin let out an angry scream and only the Goblins chased after me.
…Was I right?
My hand is numb, and the impact was so great that the tip of the Dagger broke, so there’s no way the brain is unharmed. The Hobgoblin must be in a state of concussion. As proof, the foot it took to chase me was trembling slightly.
But I can’t just focus on the Hobgoblin. Even the lowest-ranked Goblins chasing me have about the same Combat Strength as me.
I’ve fought Goblins once before. Viro had the three Goblins that attacked me on the highway come at me one at a time for “training,” telling me to kill them alone.
The numbers are the same, but this time I have to deal with three at once.
Goblins have about the same Combat Strength as an adult in town, but as Viro said, Combat Strength is just a guideline.
If your Mana is high, your Combat Strength will be high, but that’s only because the number of Combat Arts you can use increases and your combat endurance becomes higher; it doesn’t mean your attack power increases unless you’re a magic user.
And in the case of Goblins, they are foolish but cunning and cruel, and they attack the weak points without hesitation, but that can also be an opening.
“Gugya?”
As I ran, I threw the slightly shortened Dagger as if passing it, and the Goblin in the lead avoided it exaggeratedly. About one second. Seeing that its gaze was definitely drawn to the Dagger, I threw a Throwing Knife at its wide-open throat.
“Gya!”
It hit the shoulder instead of the throat, but I didn’t think I could defeat it with that in the first place, and at that moment, I stepped in and swung down the weighted rope dart.
With a dull thud, the weight struck the Goblin’s right temple. It was slightly off. Confirming that the Goblin hadn’t lost consciousness, I moved on to the next action.
Before I could finish it off, the next Goblin was closing in. When I hesitated, acting as if I was considering whether to pick up the Dagger, the Goblin grinned, discarded its rusty short sword, picked up the seemingly fine Dagger, and attacked.
Thwack!!
“…Gugyaa.”
The Dagger, swung like a normal short sword, struck my shoulder, and my Black Knife sliced through the Goblin’s neck, spraying blood.
Goblins are said to have good night vision, but they don’t actually have the [Night Vision] Skill. They can only perceive light to the same extent as wild animals, and they didn’t even notice that the Dagger had no blade on its side.
Experiment complete. I thought some individual Goblins might have acquired the Night Vision Skill, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
As planned, their numbers have decreased, so I erased my presence and blended into the shadows of the trees. The third Goblin, suddenly losing sight of me, was bewildered. I crept up behind it and stabbed my Knife into its heart from diagonally behind, avoiding the bones.
“…Gu, Gugyaa…”
Finally, the first Goblin, having recovered from the damage, saw its dead comrade and looked around, searching for me.
It still hasn’t found me, hidden by Stealth. But I won’t let my guard down and approach carelessly. I take out several Throwing Knives and take serious aim.
There’s no better training than real combat. If it’s a battle where your life is at stake, the effect should be even greater.
“Gyaa!?”
The thrown Knife hits the Goblin’s shoulder again. Where should I aim to deprive it of its combat ability in one blow? Where should I stab to kill it in one blow?
The next Knife hits its arm, and the rusty Knife the Goblin was holding clatters to the ground in the Darkness. Finally, I throw a Knife at the back of the fleeing Goblin, and it flies more cleanly than I expected, piercing the Goblin’s medulla oblongata.
Maybe… did I “learn” something?
I’m curious, but I don’t have time to leisurely verify. As I hurriedly retrieve the thrown Knives, the Hobgoblin, finally able to move, catches up.
…Has the bleeding already stopped? That’s why Monsters with high vitality are troublesome.
“Gugooooooooh!!!”
Whether it’s because its subordinates were killed or because it found me, the one who injured it, the Hobgoblin lets out a roar full of anger, which I watch with cold eyes.
What are you angry about? You’re the enemy, right? What’s wrong with enemies killing each other?
As if it heard my inner voice, the Hobgoblin roared again in anger.
Next time, Hobgoblin battle – Part 2.
Probably updating the day after tomorrow, Thursday.