Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Goblin Road!

"What were you doing when you were around level ten, Tact?" Shikibu casually asked as part of the conversation.

"I think I was attacked by goblins in my sleep, so I retaliated and wiped out their village in the process," Tact replied.

"...I was foolish to ask out of curiosity. You're fearless, even against a small village. What would you have done if it were a large settlement in the Lost Forest?" She sighed deeply.

"It was actually the village in the Lost Forest that I wiped out!" After a moment of silence, Shikibu and Murasaki stood up.

"Hey! That village not only had goblins but also hobgoblins. Rumor has it some of them use unusual weapons like axes, bows, and spears. Plus, they're intelligent; they even kidnap people. It's already a dangerous place even without knowing the way out, and escaping is tough. There's even an orc village nearby, so this area is quite high-risk!"

"Oh, I see. I lived in that forest for a while, and I wiped out the orcs with some friends due to certain circumstances."

Both of them fell silent, unable to find words.

"The goblin cores I turned in for my rank promotion exam were from that time," Tact added.

"Did you really... report it to someone?" Shikibu asked.

"No, it was before I registered with the Adventurer's Guild, and the residents of Gond Village and the people who came to this town with me knew, but why do you ask?"

Shikibu and Murasaki exchanged glances. "Tact, do you still have the goblin and orc cores?"

"I don't have all of them." Tact displayed all the remaining cores on the table.

Shikibu immediately summoned the appraiser Kanna to verify all the cores.

"Tact, during your battles, did you encounter any unusual goblins or orcs?" she asked with a serious expression.

Unusual ones... Tact couldn't remember much about the orcs since Al and Nero had taken care of most of them, but...

"Come to think of it, there was one goblin who was larger than the others, had bright red eyes, and was exceptionally intelligent. I fought that one too."

"I fought it alone, so it was quite challenging. Naturally, it was stronger because it coordinated with the other goblins and attacked together. I really thought I was going to die," Tact admitted.

Shikibu looked at him with sympathy. "Shikibu-san, I found it. This is it." Kanna had discovered something and placed one of the cores she had examined earlier in a different location.

"For some unknown reason, goblins and orcs appear to summon a Lord every five years or so. This year is almost the fifth year since the last Lord appeared, so the Guild has been on alert. The 'Lost Forest' was the prime candidate for this. The earlier discussion about boosting adventurers was all part of the preparations for the Lord subjugation."

Ah, I see. So they needed as many adventurers as possible for that.

"Furthermore, it's rumored that recently, two demon lords, considered the strongest, were defeated, and even those demon lords' subordinates have appeared..."

Oh, that's probably me...

"But among the monsters you wiped out, there was either a Lord or a monster in the process of becoming a Lord."

Lords are huge, aren't they? From the conversation, could it be the red-eyed one?

"We need to act quickly, so please come with me to the Lord's location."

"Understood."

"Thank you. Murasaki, contact the headquarters and find out the details. If you can't get the information, I'll contact you later."

"Alright, leave it to me."

"Tact, may I temporarily hold onto these cores?"

"Yes."

"Um..."

Kanna hesitated, watching us nervously.

"What's wrong? Is there something on your mind?" Tact asked.

"No, it's just... Well..."

She seemed to be gauging Tact's reaction.

"Don't worry about it." Tact tried to cheer her up, as he didn't understand what was bothering her.

"It's okay," Kanna said after taking a deep breath. Then, she closed her eyes, raised her voice, and declared, "Regarding the appraisal results of the orc cores, the ones who defeated them were Tact-san and the party of Demon Lord Alcyone and Demon Lord Nero!"

Ah, I messed up completely. Kanna had been checking Tact's reaction because of this.

Shikibu and Murasaki froze in their tracks. It was understandable...