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Chapter 28: Mari-ane and the aftermath of the goblins

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Author: Thanks to all the readers, the PV went over 10,000. 

I can’t find enough words of appreciation. 

The story will continue on while taking it slowly, but I would be happy if you would continue to tag along with me while taking it easy too.

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Last night, I scolded Masato for being so noisy despite being late in the night, and at the end, I reached the limits of my stamina, and apparently lost consciousness in the middle of the scolding. 

When I woke up, it was unexpectedly Maki instead of Masato who came to me. She then told me what happened, and I agonized. 

What gave me the final blow was that Masato was the one who carried me all the way to the bed, and stayed by my side all the way until morning because he was worried about me. 

Honestly speaking, if there was a hole, I would like to crawl into it, close it, and stay cooped in it for a while…

The result was that we had a later than usual breakfast that morning, but the state of Masato, who was carrying me to the living room, was the same as usual. 

I would actually feel better if he were to actually say a complaint or two here…is what I thought, but then reflected on it. 

I just want to feel better with that. Expecting those kinds of things isn’t good. 

Let’s honestly apologize here, is what I decided in my heart, but the expression of Masato at breakfast was actually…merry? 

Eh? Maki’s, too?

That’s strange. Even though I showed them a side of me unfitting of a big sister, why are the expressions of the two bright? 

I completely lost the chance to apologize as if washed in by that atmosphere. 

After breakfast, I had a bit of an after-meal break, and did my daily rehabilitation. 

I had Maki wipe off my sweat after that, had lunch, and now I have free time for a while.

I logged in to MWO, and the hunger gauge was low over here as well, so I took out a stewed hamburger and ate it.

At that time, the number of stewed hamburgers I had were 4.

Maybe because I ate them as portable food, or because I gave some to Roulette-san and Lile, the amount I have is going down faster than I thought. 

“It is about time I replenish it. What should I make next?” (Mari)

The stewed hamburger was a dish I am used to making, so I would like to challenge a dish that I haven’t made in reality next. 

It would be even better if it is a dish that’s as playful as possible. 

I was thinking that and checked the Item Box…and made a grim look after finding a certain something. 

What was there was a large quantity of [Goblin Ears].

Maybe because it is in 1 stack, my Item Box wasn’t filled up with [Goblin Ears], but the icon is strangely realistic which is disgusting. 

They are definitely harassing me here, right? 

“I don’t want to keep them inside here the whole time, so let’s have the Adventurer Guild take them.” 

I left the room, and after thanking Esther-san for switching the straw of the bed into fur, I headed straight to the Adventurer Guild. 

When I entered the Adventurer Guild, Aren-san was at the right side of the counter right back on his feet, and was dealing with the adventurers with a nice smile.

Looks like the food made by the children and “Esther-san” worked. 

After judging that Aren-san had finished with the adventurer in front of him, I went to greet him. 

“Hello, Aren-san.” (Mari)

“Hel—” 

Aren-san was going to greet back by inertia, but the moment he saw me, he stopped his words. 

And then, his smile of before was dyed in shock and fear. 

That reaction hurts, you know? 

“Hello, Aren-san.” (Mari) 

I instead greet him twice with a smile.

“M-Maria-chan?! That smile…what is it this time?! What did you bring now?!!” (Aren)

He instead got on guard. 

“That’s so rude. I haven’t brought any…thing?” (Mari)

“See?! That’s definitely suspicious!!” (Aren)

He put up a big and round shield for adventurer use at some point in time, and was paying attention to my every movement. 

You don’t have to do that. I messed up last time, so I won’t be bringing out a whole ton of Goblin Ears right here. 

I brought out one and showed it to Aren-san. 

“I have a whole lot of this. Can you buy them as materials?” (Mari)

“That’s just the ear of a goblin, right?” (Aren)

“You really doubt me too much. They are completely normal goblin ears from the mountain ahead of the Trial Forest.” (Mari)

“…In that case, they are proof of subjugation, so please present them at the counter in the middle.” (Aren)

“Can’t they become materials?” (Mari)

“Goblin Ears don’t. They obviously can’t be eaten, and they can’t serve to make medicine or poison; just dirty and stinky trash. However, they attack people, so they are monsters that must be subjugated for the Adventurer Guild. The proof of subjugation are those goblin ears, so there’s no worth to them aside from that.” (Aren)

I don’t think there are many existences as severely criticized as this one. 

Ah, it is the same as the black and lustrous cockroaches that showed up often in the house I lived in a long time ago, huh. 

When thinking about it like that, I can understand the reaction of Aren-san.

Then, what do I do with this which I just took on a whim? 

What I brought out on the counter as a test was the Goblin Soldier that I captured.

Aren-san is making a really displeased expression… Figures.

If I ask Aren-san to take it and disassemble it, I feel like he would lose it, so I silently returned it to the Item Box and moved to the counter at the center. 

The counter at the center is as packed as always, and many male adventurers were forming a line in front of the receptionists there. 

There was clear favoritism judging by the length of the lines, and at a glance, it looks as if it is proportional to the appearance of the receptionists. 

There’s a number of male receptionists there like Aren-san, but those had female adventurers lined up. 

It is natural to want to be served by a cool man or a beautiful woman if you have to anyways. 

It is free as well. 

Me? I don’t mind whoever it is as long as they are polite and fast. 

And so, I lined up at the back of the line that had the least amount of people, and my turn came pretty quickly. 

The one at the counter is a girl younger than the other receptionists, with black-tea colored hair, freckles on her cheeks, and slightly slanted eyes. 

The nameplate at her chest had Regina written on it. 

“If it is a subjugation report, then bring out proof.” (Regina)

She said that right from the get-go. What came flying at me wasn’t a greeting but a demand. 

Moreover, language that is hard to believe is coming from someone working in customer service. 

Also, her appearance reminds me of the few that were called delinquents at school.

“This, please.” (Mari)

I brought out the ‘proof’ as told. 

A mountain of Goblin Ears.

The lady at the neighboring counter let out a short ‘Hiiih!’ scream, but I don’t mind it. 

On the other hand, Regina-san wasn’t showing a single hint of agitation, and began the process in disinterest. 

Even though the Goblin Ears are ugly and smell terribly bad, I don’t see any aversion in her. 

I could feel her stance towards work there, and it gave me a good impression.

The confirmation process ended in just a mere 5 minutes. She cleaned up the counter and her hands, and spoke out the results of the appraisal. 

“124 Goblin Ears. 1 is 500G, so the reward is 62,000G.” (Regina)

She also calculates fast and accurately. 

“Thank you very much.” (Mari)

I received the reward and was about to pass my spot to the next person, but Regina-san spoke to me. 

“After exiting the Adventurer Guild, walk to the east of the main street for 10 minutes. The old lady working at the Witch Tool Store might buy the ‘living goblin’.” (Regina)

When I turned around, she was already attending the next adventurer, and our eyes didn’t make contact at all. 

I am sure my face is burning right now. 

It is that. It feels like when you see someone playing the bad girl being kind to a little kitten. 

I leave the Adventurer Guild having received my reward and feeling warm and fluffy. 

By the way, the Witch Tool Shop that she told me about had a suspicious old lady that screamed ‘this is a suspicious witch!’, and she easily accepted the captured Goblin Soldier. 

When she received it, she muttered: “With this, I can test out the effects…of the poison…and drugs…with a living sample.”

If you plan on hiding it, please hide it properly. 

Moreover, what she rewarded me with wasn’t G, but Poison.

When the old lady returned deeper inside the store, the wide opened eyes of the Goblin Soldier felt like they were pleading ‘save me’, but I slowly averted my gaze and pitied his(?) fate a bit.