Dungeon Preparation

[Thapira POV]

"Sorry, but I need to end you here," I muttered softly to the last goblin trying to escape into the forest.

It looked at me angrily, as if I had done something wrong to them, despite the fact that they were the ones terrorizing the people who lived here. The goblin hurriedly rushed into the forest, but with its short legs, it couldn't outpace me. I quickly caught up and finished it off with my sword.

Somehow, I couldn't understand myself. Here I was, lifting this sword and killing these goblins without sympathy. Back on Earth, I would never dare hurt anyone unless it was necessary. I remembered a time in high school when I got into a fight with a senior who mistook me for Haruka's boyfriend. I think I dislocated his jaw with my punch. It was his fault for jumping at me with his friends, though I didn't understand the story until Haruka showed up and explained everything. After that, I promised myself not to use my fists to solve problems unless it was to protect someone or something important to me.

Anyway, I needed to get ready to return to the guild and inform Isabelle. These goblins had camped quite close to the town, halfway to Silvershad Forest. I didn't know much about their movements, but they seemed to be getting closer to the townspeople. Also, something strange happened again like yesterday. The goblin horde was supposed to be an easy quest, with normal goblins camping around the informed location. However, each location had one Grubnar, the dark-red goblin that is said to be the leader of the group. The number of goblins also differed from the quest report.

It made me worry whether there was an error in scouting again or if it was normal for adventurers to confront these kinds of goblins. Ms. Via said she would look into it, I guess it was just my bad luck.

After collecting their ears as proof, I noticed it was probably late afternoon. The weather was refreshing, with a cool breeze flowing through the field as I walked towards the city gate. The people in this world were lively and energetic. I wasn't sure why, but compared to Earth, it felt different. On Earth, each country had rules and systems that were imposed on us from birth: go to school, graduate, get a job. Here, people seemed to be free to do whatever they wanted as long as they made money.

As I arrived at the city gate, I couldn't help but ponder my situation. I had been transported to this world with an unfamiliar body, one that made me question every day: who this person was, what had happened to him, and where he had come from. The mystery of my new identity weighed heavily on my mind.

Moreover, in this world, people were given classes by the goddess, but it saddened me to know that this body didn't have any class, nor was it a hero.

From what I had heard and saw yesterday at the guild, the hero had already been found and had recently arrived in this city. This reminded me of the story Mr. John told me about Thalrok, one of the demon king's generals who attacked the city 17 years ago. Thalrok had vowed to return to face the hero and test his strength against him. The thought of what might happen to the civilians and to me was troubling, especially since I learned the hero had arrived in the city just yesterday. I hoped he was strong enough to defeat Thalrok and bring peace to the city.

Moreover, there were still many unknowns, particularly regarding the demon king who ruled the dark realm, or demon territory, as it was called, and his generals. I doubted there was only one general; there were probably more.

Damn it, my goal was to make enough money to get my own house and then focus on finding a way to return to my world. My family must be worried sick about me.

When I arrived at the guild, it was packed as usual, but this time was different because Isabelle was my supervisor. Her line was always free, so I went straight to her to have my quest assessed before asking about the dungeon exploration that Keith had invited me to this morning.

"Good evening, Ms. Isabelle. I finished the quest," I informed her, handing over the evidence of the goblins' ears that I had placed in a leather pouch.

"Ah... that was quick. You cleared three locations in half a day?" Isabelle was a bit surprised and amazed by my achievement.

"Hehe, see? I told you I would complete it!" I replied proudly, hoping to reassure her that I wasn't just a low-rank adventurer and that she could trust me with more rewarding quests.

"Are you really an F-rank?" she asked, glancing up at me briefly before returning her attention to the report and documentation of the quest I had completed.

I didn't answer, as she quickly turned her gaze back to her documents, so I stood there quietly, waiting for her to finish her assessment. About ten minutes later, she got up, went to get my reward, and handed it to me.

"Here, your 300 silver coins reward. I didn't take the 50% cut because it was your first quest," she said, handing me the reward.

Wait, is she seriously giving me the full amount? Why would she do that? Does she not want to be my supervisor? Trust is the most important thing in this field—if she doesn't trust me, then we won't work well together.

On top of that, doesn't she have debts that she needs to repay? She even got some commission from the quest I did. Even though it wasn't much, at least she got something from it. Her gesture confused me, and I worried about what it might mean for our working relationship.

"Thank you, Ms. Isabelle," I said, taking the coins. "But I think it's only fair if we split this." I took half and handed the other half back to her.

She looked surprised but then smiled softly. "You didn't have to do that..." she said, accepting the coins. "Anyway, thanks."

Isabelle was a girl who looked strong on the outside, but on the inside, it was a different story. I didn't really understand her well, especially after what happened that night when the debt collector came to confront her. She looked frightened at that moment, like a vulnerable girl. But at the guild, she appeared furious whenever a guy tried to talk to her.

Anyway, as long as she was on good terms with me as my supervisor, it would be great.

"Is there anything else I can help with?" she asked, looking at me.

"Oh yes, Ms. Isabelle," I replied. "Tomorrow, Keith and his party invited me to a dungeon, so I would like to know more about it, such as preparations and information about the dungeon."

"Dungeon?" She looked surprised when she heard that. "Keith... him again," she continued, touching her forehead as if deep in thought.

"Is there a problem, Ms. Isabelle?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

She seemed angry when I brought up Keith. Keith seemed like a good guy, but something about him obviously bothered her. Was he important to her in a way that she didn't want me to be involved with him?

"Ahh... it's okay. If you don't want me to go with him, just tell me. You're my supervisor, right? I'll listen to you," I replied, offering a reasonable excuse to avoid any further association with Keith if that was what she preferred and giving her a sense of trust that I would respect her decision.

"...Is Keith planning on finding the holy sword?" Isabelle quickly asked. "It would be dangerous..." she continued softly.

Ah, I see now. She was concerned about Keith. It was true that it was dangerous. I didn't think only Keith was planning on finding the holy sword; other adventurers were likely after it as well, given its high value. But this morning, Keith had been so dedicated, showing his preparation and plans with great detail.

"...I can't stop Keith, so would you please go with him, Mr. Thapira?" Isabelle asked, her voice tinged with worry.

"…What?! Why me?" I was shocked when she asked for my help.

Then Isabelle told me that Keith and his party always talked big about their achievements, but they barely completed simple goblin subjugation quests. Moreover, Keith's dedication was both amusing and worrying; once he set his sights on something, no one could stop him until he either succeeded or was utterly exhausted. That was why Isabelle asked me to go with them.

I'm not sure about their relationship. I haven't told Keith that Isabelle is my supervisor, either. Maybe I should keep it a secret for a while, especially after seeing how concerned she is about him. If Keith finds out, I'll just tell him that Isabelle and I are just friends or colleagues, nothing more.

After that, Isabelle decided to teach me about the dungeon and the preparations needed for Keith's party, which we were set to head to tomorrow.