The stranger met the cow girl at her house as instructed, where she was finishing loading a hand drawn wagon with a considerable amount of supplies. The stranger scratched his stubbled and scarred chin.

"You want some help with that?" He asked. The girl stepped into the space for pushing the handle and picked it up.

"No thank you. Don't worry, I'm stronger than I look." She said as she started to push the cart with relative ease.

"Point taken." The stranger said with a shrug. They both started the walk up the road to the guild. It was mostly small talk filled, but the stranger somewhat enjoyed it. It was nice to him, just having someone to talk to.

"How exactly did you know I was the one who fixed the fence?" he asked.

"Goblin Slayer said he found you out there on his morning rounds. Said you must be the one living out in that cabin."

"So what's your relation to him?"

"We've been friends since we were children. There was-" the girl started. She choked on her words as though she'd stumbled on a memory she'd rather not have."

"…Have I tread somewhere I shouldn't have?" the stranger asked.

"No, it's fine. It's just… sometimes it's hard to think about. Ahem." The cow girl composed herself again. "When we were kids, one day, I went into the city with my uncle. That same day, our village was overrun by goblins. He was the only survivor. No one ever found him, we all assumed he was dead. I was heartbroken for years. I moved in with my uncle here on the farm, and five years later, I found him, having joined the Adventurer's Guild."

S- "I assume that's why he doesn't talk much."

CG- "Yeah. His mind is pretty much set 100% on killing all the goblins. We're all trying to break him out of his shell, but it's been difficult."

S- "I guess losing everything will do that to a man. I can sympathize."

CG- "What happened to you?"

S- "Parents were poor. Couldn't pay taxes. They were executed and our home, burned down. I was a street urchin with nothing left, so I had to turn to thievery and spying for money… That's all I really want to share for now."

CG- "I suppose that's fair."

Their idle chatter was enough to keep them occupied long enough that they hadn't really noticed when they made it into town. They were about to part ways, then a gruff voice came calling their way.

"Hey, you! Kingslayer!" It said. The stranger and the girl stopped in their tracks. He looked at the voice's origin. There stood two grimy looking barbarians, one with an axe and one with a spear. The stranger rolled his eyes and dropped his shoulders.

"And what do you two want?" The stranger asked condescendingly. The axe barbarian pointed one of his sausage fingers at the stranger and said,

"We're here fer yer head. And that money on it." The spear wielder looked at the cow girl and said with a toothy grin,

"We'll take yer lass there too." The cow girl took a step back, and bore a concerned look. She looked at the stranger and said in a trembling tone,

"You're… You're a wanted criminal?" The stranger looked over his shoulder at her.

"It's more complicated than that. Tell you what, help me carry my supplies back to my cabin, and I'll explain everything. Deal?" he said. The barbarians started closing in on the two of them. The girl looked back and forth between the stranger and the fighters.

"O-okay…" she said.

"Now, let me handle this." The stranger quipped. He looked back at the barbarians just in time for the axe-toter to swing at his head. The stranger leaned back out of the way for the axe head to narrowly miss his nose. He gave an explosive straight punch to the barbarian's ribs and then kicked the back of the knee with his left foot. The oaf fell to the ground and the other charged the stranger, spear in front. The stranger sidestepped it and grabbed the spearhead as it passed. He yanked it towards him and punched the barbarian in the face with his free hand. The jerk of the spear as well as the hit made the barbarian let go of his weapon. The barbarians stumbled back to their feet and readied to attack again.

Spear in hands, the stranger took his ready stance, which looked rather exotic to everyone who was watching the commotion. The barbarians charged the stranger at the same time. He stepped back and changed sides on the spear. Using the blunt side, he lunged forward and jabbed the axe user in the solarplexas, stopping him instantly. The stranger recoiled from the hit and carried his momentum into a spinning sweep. He smashed the spear handle into the head of the other barbarian hard enough that it shattered the handle on impact and sent the barbarian's crude helmet flying. He dropped unconscious on top of his comrade and remained immobile. The stranger looked down at what remained of the spear, then dropped it on the ground in front of him. He turned to the cow girl.

"Well, there's that out of the way." He said. He approached the dumbfounded girl and put his hand on her shoulder, "We should probably leave."

The cow girl and the stranger gathered his supplies, and left town. Once on the road again, the stranger piped up.

"So I owe you an explanation."

"Yeah, kinda." The cow girl said with a confused expression. The stranger took a breath.

"Picking up where I left off earlier. As I grew up, I turned to fighting, and I got good at it. One day the princess was kidnapped by some no-gooders and I saved her. She requested from the king that I get proper schooling. I was fine in my studies, but it just wasn't working for me. I got put into the ranks of the knights, but I wasn't exactly 'knight material.' The king however, did not want to lose someone of my fighting ability. Skip a few years and I was the sword of the king."

"So how does that tie in to those guys attacking us?" the cow girl interjected.

"Yes, I'm getting to that. Anyway. I used to take orders from the king without so much as a question. As the years dragged on, the king got increasingly greedy, and lazy. He'd have you beheaded for so much as tripping over your words when speaking to him. One day, while we escorted his carriage through the city, a child dropped something into the road, and chased after it, startling the horses. It caused the king a minor discomfort for all of four seconds and he ordered me to execute the kid. I raised my sword without hesitation. I was about to strike, but something of the child's tears broke something inside me. Amidst the downfall of tears and cries for his mother, I saw myself. It was the same as when my parents were executed. I told the king I wouldn't stoop so low as murdering children in the street."

The cow girl gasped,

"That's horrible! How could anyone live under a king like that?"

"Given what followed, people sort of stopped living in general. I was stripped of my title and seemed a traitor, as well as imprisoned. The king wanted some entertainment out of my execution, so he made me fight in his arena until my inevitable death. Though death by combat for the best fighter in the continent does not come quickly. They had to call an intermission to remove the bodies from the arena. I was escorted back to my cell, but I broke free and killed every man that stood between me and the king. I went into the armory and took the sword they intended to behead me with to the king's loft. I killed the king before everyone in the arena. After my escape from the city, one of the members of the royal family placed an unspeakable bounty on my head, hence the people that pursue me constantly." The cow girl grew concerned.

"So you're… a wanted criminal?" she said. She started slowing her pace and eventually came to a halt, almost as if preparing to run away. The stranger looked back at her.

"Technically yes. However, that kingdom has long since fallen. The rest are nothing more than brigands chasing ghosts. No one was left to take down the bounties." The cow girl eased up, if only a little, but did not move. "Look, if you don't trust me, that's fine. I don't blame you." He said.

"No, it's not that. It's just… a bit difficult to wrap my head around." The girl was filled with mixed emotions. She started pushing the cart again.

"At any rate, the cabin is just up here." The stranger said with a gesture. The two unloaded the cart of the stranger's supplies, i.e. food, lumber, etc. Once the cart was fully unloaded, the stranger addressed the girl,

"Thank you for your help today. If there's anything you need assistance with, do not hesitate to ask." He said. The cow girl started to collect the wagon and turned to leave.

"Y-yeah… thanks…" she said, skittishly, like she still didn't know how to feel about him. She bid him farewell and sauntered off with the cart. The stranger stood for a moment and let out a sigh.

"I forget the things I've seen aren't exactly normal for most people." He shrugged and entered the cabin and dressed in his worn out battle coat. He strapped his armor on to his arm and everywhere else it went and left for the guild. The sun was starting to set when the stranger left his home, and was almost dark when he arrived at the guild. The inside was just as high energy as all the other times. He made for his usual table, but stopped at an unusual sight. This time, there was someone else occupying one of the seats; It was a girl. She had dark brown neck-length hair, and her dark green armor resembled that of a warrior or knight. It was worn, indicative of a tough battle, but her hands clasped on her head and hidden face told that it was not a winning one. The stranger approached, quietly as not to disturb her.

"Pardon. May I join you at this table?" he asked. The girl didn't raise her head. She sniffed, as though she was crying.

"I guess…" she said. The stranger sat at the other side on the opposite end of the table. The barmaid noticed him, as he was starting to become a regular, and came to take his order. After the barmaid left, the stranger sat patiently. After some time in silence, he looked at the warrior girl.

"You seem like you've had a rough day." He said. She said nothing in return. "Not much of a talker, eh?" The stranger shrugged and went back to waiting. The stranger could see from the corner of his eye, the girl put down her hands and looked at him. She had a scar across her nose and one on her lip, as well as numerous bruises. He looked back, locking eyes with hers; they were an emerald green. Hers were reddened from tears, but she looked rather irritated.

"You don't even know." She said sternly. "I lost my whole party today…" She held her disgruntled look, but the stranger could see she was fighting tears even still. He folded his arms on the table and leaned closer to her.

"Everyone I've ever known is dead. My homeland is gone, and those who remain want me dead. I know your pain, and much, much more." He said coldly. The girl's tears broke through and she held her face again.

"I'm- I'm sorry!" she said as she recoiled. The stranger grimaced.

"Maaaaybe that was too much…" he thought. He sat back up straight. The girl sniffed a couple times.

"S-sorry. It's just… so hard to grasp. They were alive a few hours ago and now they're just… gone." She said with a snivel.

"Death is…" the stranger started. "No, that's really not going to help anything." He muttered. They sat in silence for another few moments. "How did it happen?" he asked.

"I don't know. We- We were hunting a chimera, and… and… I don't know how our plan could go so wrong." She said.

"Plans gone awry. Something wasn't right." The stranger thought. "How many of there were you?" The girl sat up, a bit more composed now.

G- "There were four of us. Two warriors, a mage, and a healer."

S- "At what point did things start to go downhill?"

G- "I don't know. It just happened so fast. The beast got to our healer so quickly after we started fighting, and we tried to help, but it's like we couldn't. Then it just picked us off one by one."

S- "And you were the only one to escape?" The girl's eyes started selling up again.

"They… They told me to leave them. They told me to run." She said, starting to sob again. The stranger scratched his chin in thought. He looked the other way to see the barmaid, who had been awkwardly standing there for a couple minutes holding his food. Embarrassed, the stranger paid the maid and then took a drink of his ale. He looked back at the girl, eyebrow raised.

"You won't take revenge on the monster?" He asked. The girl shook her head.

"I can't. I won't be able to find another party, and I don't have any money. I used the last of my gold buying my gear for that quest." She held her head again. This time, the stranger could hear her stomach rumbling. He looked down at his own plate. He sighed and downed the rest of his ale. He cut the potato in half and picked one of them up. He slid his plate across the table, where it stopped in front of the downtrodden girl. She uncovered her eyes, and her face lit up. She looked at the stranger, who was starting to get up from the table.

"I'll be damned if I let anyone turn out like I did." He said as he stood up. "It was nice talking with you, but I have some things I need to take care of." The girl looked down at the plate again and then back at the stranger and said,

"Thank you so much…" She started devouring the food like she hadn't eaten in days. The stranger made his way through the crowd of adventures and out of the tavern section of the guild. He went to the front desk, where the guild girl sat alone doing paperwork. She heard his footsteps and looked up from what she was doing to see the stranger.

"Oh, hello there." She said. The stranger approached and leaned his elbows on the upper level of the desk.

"I have a matter I need to discuss with you." He said. "I need you to give me the chimera quest." The guild girl shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I can't let you do that, not without the appropriate rank." She said. The stranger leaned in closer.

"How many? How many teams have gone after this beast and not come back?" he asked. The guild girl furrowed her brow and pouted her lips, now really starting to think. "You see that girl over there?" he said. The stranger pointed across the room at the warrior girl he talked to earlier. "She lost her whole party today in a matter of minutes. I know these monsters. They're formidable, but not insurmountable. Especially not as difficult as I'm hearing it to be."

"But, I can't just…" the girl started. She took a deep breath.

"This monster isn't a quest anymore. It's become a nuisance. Eventually you won't have any adventurers left to go after it." The guild girl sat silent for a few moments, unsure of what decision to make.

"If I let you take this quest as a porcelain and something happens to you, I could lose my job." She said. The stranger shook his head.

"That's not going to happen." He said. "I've yet to fail in my goals, and I'm not going to start with this." The guild girl held her troubled expression for a moment before taking another deep breath. She stood up.

"Wait here." She said. She turned around and entered a back room. She returned a minute later holding something in her hand. She placed it on the counter, it was a ruby red guild tag. "Alright. I'll give you the quest. You need to wear this tag when you go. In the event that something does happen to you, hopefully this will prevent anyone from raising too many questions." The stranger picked up the tag and looked at it for a minute, then put it into his coat pocket.

"I'll need the tag back when you're finished." the guild girl said.

"Of course." The stranger said. He started turning to leave. He got three steps, and the guild girl spoke again.

"I'm taking a big risk for you, you know." She said. The stranger stopped and looked at her.

"Trust me. The beast is as good as gone. Good night, now."