Lots of fluff, hurt/comfort themes in this chapter, while expanding on both Goblin Slayer's lore and Hero's backstory as well. Didn't realize how much potential OTP material there was for Goblin Slayer and Hero, until I started writing about them. Only reason why I had to invest so much time between them was because unlike canon source, Hero and Goblin Slayer haven't ever really interacted all that much, not like Cow Girl, Priestess, High Elf Archer, and even Sword Maiden goes.
Might have to focus on doing the same with Witch or Arc Mage, when it comes time for them to shine. Probably nowhere near as heartfelt or tragic as Hero's backstory, but still, the beauty of Goblin Slayer is that it gives ya a lot to work with. Anyways, enough rambling.
The author's notes are at the bottom, please enjoy this romance-filled chapter!
Unlike the usual way Goblin Slayer was accustomed to traveling, being surrounded by a seemingly vast and endless body of water from all sides around him was an extremely surreal experience. Without any landmarks or physical need to actively move around while aboard the majestic ship that had been begrudgingly given to him by the coastal city's naval guard, Goblin Slayer wasn't the only one who was having a hard time adjusting to life on the sea.
Usually being able to keep her hormones and thoughts in check whenever she was physically asserting herself, the sedentary lifestyle that came with sailing across the sea was something that was beginning to make Hero feel somewhat stir crazy aboard the "Magnastar" ship. Since having left the coastal city's harbor over six hours ago, Hero had tried entertaining herself by playing solitaire out on the deck, while Goblin Slayer was sitting down near the ship's helm with a book in his hand.
Having been around with Kaguya long enough to place his trust in her without a shadow of a doubt, Goblin Slayer made sure to set a table in front of the wooden steering wheel at the back of the ship, so that the white rabbit could have an area to navigate the ship for him. With how her chakra was able to use the ocean as a powerful conduit, Kaguya was able to follow the trail that the Ancient Wyvern had left behind, all without any use of the sexton or map that Goblin Slayer placed down on her table for her.
With the sun beating down on them, Goblin Slayer was beginning to feel muggy beneath his iron set of heavy armor. Having been so used to the cool climate of the mainland, the young man eventually gave up on trying to keep his helmet off, justifying to himself that there wasn't any immediate need to keep it on. What started off with just his helmet eventually escalated into him taking parts of his armor off piece by piece, until he was left wearing only gray trousers and a clean white and blue-sleeved shirt.
Finally cooled off and able to remain comfortable, Goblin Slayer took a long swig of cool water from his flask before setting it down beside the wooden steps that he was sitting on. Without his armor to impede his sight and or his movement, Goblin Slayer went back to reading the fairy tale book he had picked out from the small library within the captain's quarters. And each time that he flipped through a page, Goblin Slayer would often catch Hero staring up at him from where she was sitting down along the lower deck.
'Why does she keep looking at me like that? I know that she has wandering eyes, but… I don't recall her biting down on her lip so much before,' Goblin Slayer thought to himself with a perplexed look in his scarlet eyes, that he kept hidden behind the pages of his book.
Having overheard Goblin Slayer's thoughts, Kaguya couldn't help but to scoff as she stood up on her fuzzy hind legs while using her paws to keep the helm steady. "Hmph! Are you pretending to not know why she's looking at you like that, or are you truly that socially inept?" Kaguya questioned, which made Goblin Slayer feel awkward knowing that not even his own thoughts were exclusively private to him.
"… What are you trying to say…?" Goblin Slayer whispered quietly, while still feeling Hero's apricot eyes staring at him intensely.
Rolling her byakugan eyes, Kaguya shook her rabbit head to herself while the oceanic breeze blew through her white fur. "… If you need me to spell it out for you young man, then it's probably just best to not even dive into what a young hormonal girl could POSSIBLY want with someone like YOU," Kaguya said sarcastically, which was expectantly lost on Goblin Slayer.
"If that's what you think is best, then so be it… Also, I would appreciate it if you were to stop reading my thoughts; please respect my privacy more from here on out," Goblin Slayer said with a slightly scolding tone in his voice, as he flipped to the next page of his story.
Finding his request to be more than responsible, Kaguya nodded her small head while steering the helm of the ship. "Understandable. Please, forgive me for overstepping my boundaries; I'll refrain from speaking on behalf of what I overhear from your thoughts from here on out," Kaguya promised, which wasn't quite the apology that Goblin Slayer had been hoping for.
"… I would prefer it if you simply just DIDN'T invade my privacy altogether. Please, just stay out of my head," Goblin Slayer muttered with a bothered tone in his usually stoic voice, as he continued to shift his focus through the lines of printed words along the page he was reading.
Pausing for a moment, Kaguya attempted to do as he requested; doing her best to block out the combined and intrusive thoughts of both Goblin Slayer and Hero with little success. "I… I can try to. Overhearing the thoughts of others hasn't ever been an issue for me in the past… This must be because of all the chakra I'm using to navigate us with; it must be making me more prone to receiving sensitive energies, such as the consciousness thoughts of others," Kaguya hypothesized, while still doing her best to steer the helm of the ship.
Closing the book shut in his hands, only after making sure to bend the top corner of the page he had been in the midst of reading, Goblin Slayer let out an irritated and low sigh as he stood up from the steps. Momentarily catching a glimpse of Hero quickly averting her fixated gaze away from him, staring back down at her laid out playing cards that were scattered in front of where she was kneeling, Goblin Slayer tucked the book underneath his arm before picking up the leather bag that had all of his armor stuffed neatly inside.
Noticing Goblin Slayer beginning to descend down the flight of steps toward the bottom deck of the ship where Hero was at, Kaguya twitched her nose at him curiously. "Expecting to find solitary within the vast sea of isolation that surrounds us? That's a poetic pursuit, and an ironic one at that," Kaguya quipped with an amused tone in her voice, while Goblin Slayer rolled his scarlet eyes at her, as he made his way toward the double doors of the captain's chambers; which was built right underneath the raised helm where the horned rabbit was steering the ship.
"If it is, it's lost on me: I just want to relax," Goblin Slayer replied back under his breath; flashing a gentle smile at Hero while passing by her, who in turned waved back at him and kept her apricot-eyes on him, but only when he had turned his back to her. Walking through the white-painted double doors of the ship's largest and most decorated room, Goblin Slayer decided to take his socks and shoes off once he was inside, and chose to leave them by the door and away from the expensive-looking red carpet on the inside of the room's floor.
Closing the double doors behind him, Goblin Slayer let out a deep breath of air out of his lungs, as he sat his bundled up armor near the coat rack that was located just to the left of where the red carpet was. 'Finally… It's been too long since I've had a real moment to myself… Everything's been so… Hectic, lately,' Goblin Slayer thought to himself, as his wandering eyes took in all the various nautical-themed decorations that were hung along the coffee-beige colored walls around him.
Walking over to the dark oak bookcase, which housed an entire library of different genres behind its glass cabinet doors, Goblin Slayer carefully placed the fairy tale book that he had been reading back into the spot he took it from. 'Even if this ship is an outdated model, it's still nicer and more furnished than anything I've ever stayed in… I'm still finding it hard to believe that this entire vessel is under my name… Never thought I'd ever own anything like this,' Goblin Slayer thought to himself, as he made his way over to an immaculately painted piece of art that was just to the left of where the bookcase was.
The aforementioned piece was painted on a canvas board that looked to be solid gold frame, and depicted a roped pathway leading toward a beach on an overcast day, with wild grass growing from the patches of sand just outside of the planked walkway. Aside from the precious metal that was used in its framing, the art itself wasn't extravagant by any means of its own, but it definitely appealed to the sense of adventure that Goblin Slayer once had. Its simplicity was what made the gray-haired young man drawn to it in the first place.
'Hmph… Whoever was the last to own the Mangastar had taste in artwork, that much can be certain,' Goblin Slayer thought to himself with an approving smirk across his lips, as he made his way over to the next mounted decoration beside the framed painting. Holding onto his chin, Goblin Slayer marveled at the wooden-framed panel that housed three different knotted cuts of white rope.
Reaching up with both hands to test the integrity of each knot, Goblin Slayer was fascinated and enthralled with the skill of the "artist" who had tied each mounted rope up in the first place. "Simply beautiful…" Goblin Slayer whispered out with a sense of awe, as he took a step back to marvel at the simple piece of nautical art that hardly anyone else but him would have found to be even remotely interesting to begin with.
Having never been so encaptured enough by anything to have let his guard down, Goblin Slayer experienced an unfamiliar sense of fear the moment he turned around and was standing face-to-face with Hero, who had been behind him the entire time. Cursing out loud with an utterly surprised voice compared to his usually calm demeanor, Goblin Slayer stared back at the confused expression on Hero's face though his widened eyes. Clutching his chest as his entire body momentarily tensed up, Goblin Slayer was anxiously gasping for breath as the sound of his intense heartbeat could be felt in his eardrums.
Realizing that she had unintentionally scared the absolute shit out of someone who was usually never surprised by anything, or who ever let his guard down, it didn't take long for Hero to begin getting teary eyed as her entire face became pink. Cackling and laughing, the young girl had a wide open-mouth smile across her entire face, struggling to take in enough air, as she hunched over with her hands clutching her knees. "FUAHAHA-I-I can't…! I-I can't f-freakin' breathe-PFFTTT, AH!!! FUAHAHA!!!" Hero screamed out, as she reached up and wrapped her arms around her abdomen; stumbling backwards until falling back on the massive king-sized bed that was covered in a weighted and pastel-blue comforter.
Although many mistook Goblin Slayer as someone who was always serious and incapable of understanding life's simpler pleasures, the truth was that the young man knew how to take a joke, and actually found enjoyment out of everything; even in things that most people took for granted. So when he saw Hero laughing her ass off while rolling from side-to-side on the bed at his own expense, Goblin Slayer soon found himself able to partake in the amusement, only once he had begun to calm down from nearly having a heart attack.
"Heh… You, uh… You really startled me there," Goblin Slayer said with an entertained tone in his gentle voice, as he quietly chuckled while still trying to regulate his own breathing.
"S-Sorry…! S-So sorry! T-That totally wasn't what I was trying to do, hahaha, hehe…! I swear…!l Hero apologized, as she slowly began to calm down herself. Sitting from where she had been laying down, and keeping herself propped up at an angle with her toned arms holding her up by the spot on the mattress behind her, Hero continued to smile widely at Goblin Slayer. "So, umm… W-What do you think of our new bedroom? I think it's really cool, but what do you think?" Hero asked with a slight bit of nervousness in her voice, as her cheeks continued to remain a deep shade of pink.
With the same soft smile on his lips that had charmed Hero the moment she first saw him, Goblin Slayer let out a throaty and quiet laugh as he made his way over to where the captain's mahogany-carved office desk was at. "It's "our" bedroom now, is it? And here I thought you were planning on heading back to your home in the capital, when this was all over," Goblin Slayer mused, as he sat down in the comfortable red-leather captain's chair, before swerving it around several times; coming only to a complete stop once he was facing to where Hero was seated.
Playfully scoffing at Goblin Slayer, Hero raised a brow at him. "Uhhhh, YEAH!!! Of course this is "our" bedroom! The Jarl might have written the ownership under your name, but don't forget who had a hand in liberating his daughter too!" Hero said with a confident half-cocked grin, as she pushed herself up so she was sitting up-straight, while her legs were still dangling off the edge of the bed. "And besides… Who says I'm even still gonna go back to the capital after this? What if… What if I want to stay here with you? Ever thought about that, "Ereeeeen"~?" Hero asked with a sassy voice, while grinning even wider at the look on Goblin Slayer's face, when she playfully said his actual name.
Having only ever been called by his true name by his older sister and Cow Girl, Goblin Slayer immediately became flustered and confused, as his name held a significant amount of meaning to him. "Ah, so… Y-You saw what the bill of transfer said?" Goblin Slayer asked with an embarrassed look in his scarlet eyes, as he found himself unable to look into the eyes of the intrigued young girl.
"Bill of what now…? Oh… Uh… Y-Yeah, I do remember reading that, "Eren"… Why? Is that a problem, "Eren"?" Hero asked with her cheeks still blushing, as she found herself getting excited from the way Goblin Slayer was squirming in his seat.
Tightening his lips while letting out an uncomfortable chuckle, Goblin Slayer was nervously tapping his fingers against the tops of both armrests, as he sank deeper into the large cushy-chair. "It's… It's not a matter of it being an issue, per say. It's just… It's just that I've only given my name out to those who, uh… Who I'm personally "close" to," Goblin Slayer explained.
Nodding her head while still staring at Goblin Slayer with a longful look in her apricot-colored eyes, Hero decided to push her luck just a little bit more, as she suddenly thought of what to say next. "Uh huh, I see… So tell me "Eren", what's really stopping us from being "close" to one another, hmm~? We got pretty "close" when we slept pretty much naked in each other's arms just a couple nights ago, wouldn't you say~?" Hero counter-argued, while instinctively digging her fingers into the mattress the moment she thought back to the night she and Goblin Slayer had their bodies pressed up against one another.
Completely flustered and unable to even think of a way to dismiss what Hero had laid out in front of him, Goblin Slayer was digging his own fingertips into the edges of the cushioned armrests. The thought of there being something more than platonic between them had previously crossed his mind on the night that Hero requested for him to squeeze into the same bed roll together. The way she insisted on straddling his hips and locking her feet together behind his lower back, the way she kept burying her face into his chest while reaching around to grab a hold of his shoulders: all of it was finally beginning to make sense to him.
However, even though everything inside of Hero wanted to keep pushing the envelope with Goblin Slayer, she knew better than to keep pushing him more than she already had. "… Ha! I'm just teasing ya! No need to get all worked up," Hero said with a somewhat saddened look in her eyes, while finally deciding to ease off from stepping over the boundary that she had already crossed. "If you would prefer me to not call you by your actual name, then I can totally respect that! I, uh, hehe… I-I hope I didn't make you feel TOO uncomfortable there…!"
Not wanting to make things more awkward than they already were, Goblin Slayer tried playing off how tensed Hero had made him by leaning back in his chair; his eyes covered by his hand, as he smiled endearingly at the ceiling. "It's okay… I'm fine," Goblin Slayer reassured, while continuing to keep his eyelids closed, as he took in a deep breath before sighing.
Leaning back down with his composure regained, Goblin Slayer made eye contact with Hero as he stood up from his seat; her amorous stare fixated on him, as she watched with bated breath to see what his next move would be. "I'm going to have us drop anchor for an hour; that'll give Kaguya time to rest her eyes, and give us a chance to try out that fishing contraption on the main deck," Goblin Slayer stated, while getting visible excitement at thought of trying out the revolutionary fishing net, which was attached to a small motorized crane that was mounted to the deck itself.
While the thought of fishing in itself wasn't as appealing as him joining her in bed like how she had hoped for, Hero was still very excited to join Goblin Slayer in whatever activity he wanted to do. 'Maybe when he's more comfortable, he'll start to lament on what I've said… Plus, it would be really cool to see whatever we catch with that weird fishing-thing!' Hero thought to herself.
"Yeah! That does actually sound pretty good to me! I'm down for it," Hero said enthusiastically, as she sat up from the edge of the bed with a bright and excited smile across her lips. Adjusting her armless black blouse by stuffing the hanging ends underneath the matching trousers she had on, Hero made sure that the leather sheath of her light sword was secured around her hip before following Goblin Slayer out through the double doors of the captain's quarters.
Although Kaguya had no need for sleep, she did greatly appreciate being able to rest her mind and eyes once Goblin Slayer made his way back up the wooden steps to tell her the plan that she already knew of. Not needing to use her chakra to navigate, Kaguya plopped down on the table and let out a sigh of relief; no longer able to hear the thoughts of the two sexually frustrated adventurers, the celestial being was finally able to have a moment of peace to herself.
Wanting Kaguya to enjoy her break without asking her about her immense knowledge of sailing and ships in general, Goblin Slayer took the instruction booklet that he had placed on her small table, before using it to help him begin to lower the ship's anchor down to the sea floor; making sure to explain what he was doing out loud to Hero, so that she would learn how to lower the anchor by herself as well.
While showing her the intricate diagrams illustrated on the pages of the booklet, Goblin Slayer's suspicions of Hero's reading level was proving themselves to be true from the way she visibly looked frustrated and embarrassed every time he tried handing her the booklet. From all the times during their seven-day journey that he showed Hero his Atlas book, it didn't take long for Goblin Slayer to make the assumption that the young girl had been illiterate; a common trait amongst most adventurers who never had any sort of tutoring and basic schooling as children.
Thinking back to his own party back at the Frontier while he was teaching Hero about the fishing crane that he learned to operate from the booklet in his hands, Goblin Slayer reflected on all the many blessings that his party had never really appreciated. Even though his party was diverse with how they came from different backgrounds and walks of life, the fact was that everyone had been given formal education, including even himself.
Just like Cow Girl and Hero, he had come from a family of farmers, however, unlike the two red-headed women, his family came from a very educated background, and thus he was taught advanced mathematics and had developed an advanced comprehension of literature; skills that were applied to his tactics more so than anywhere else.
While standing behind the safety railing along the edge of where the fishing crane had been lowered over the ship, and where its net had been submerged beneath the dark waters below, Goblin Slayer felt compelled to tell Hero more personal things about himself; things that he never bothered getting into, even with himself. Starting off by reassuring the young girl of how impressed he was by her skills in combat and intelligence, along with mentioning to her that her hard-earned platinum rank wasn't anything to scoff at, Goblin Slayer soon transitioned into talking about his own family's origins.
Goblin Slayer's father had come from a line of engineers from far back East, and went to the capital to put himself through one of the most esteemed universities of the Kingdom. Meeting his mother while attending university, Goblin Slayer's father fell in love with the ex-adventurer, and eventually the two of them got married after their graduation, and took out a loan to purchase a few hundred acres that they turned into farmland, which eventually developed into a small business hub that was used as its own village.
Developing their own farm company that hired the nearby farmers of the Frontier to join their venture, Goblin Slayer's parents grew to be considerably wealthy, and were responsible for revolutionizing the agricultural industry altogether. From introducing crop-rotation techniques to the farmers who they hired, to developing new farming inventions that made tending to the crops easier and more productive, it wasn't until Goblin Slayer began mentioning what his family had done for their community did Hero finally see her opportunity to speak up.
Interrupting Goblin Slayer's story with an apologetic look in her eyes, Hero asked him what his last name was; something that Goblin Slayer kept even more private than his first name. Extremely reluctant to give out such a personal piece of information to someone who had demonstrated an inability to keep a secret, Goblin Slayer was considering declining Hero's question, but he eventually caved after a long look at the hopeful look in her apricot-eyes.
"Bannings… That's my family's name… M-My full name is Eren Bannings," Goblin Slayer admitted with a vulnerable tone in his voice, as he stared off into the beautiful orange hues of the sunset sky.
Muttering his last name repeatedly under breath, it wasn't long until Hero interrupted Goblin Slayer's moment of peace by letting out a loud gasp from her gaped mouth. "Ah HAH!!! I KNEW IT; I KNEW THAT WAS YOU, EREN!!!" Hero shouted with a triumphant look in her wide eyes, as she hopped up and down with how much excitement was going through her head. "You, I knew you were that guy who set up those traps around my family's farm…! Remember?! That happened six years ago?!"
Not knowing what she was referring to, Goblin Slayer raised a brow at her while still being able to find enjoyment out of seeing how thrilled Hero was being. "Traps…? Six years ago…? I have no absolutely no idea what you're talking about right now," Goblin Slayer admitted, and became confused when he saw how shocked and even frustrated Hero had immediately gotten.
"Ugh, DAMN IT!!! I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up…! I… I guess you really don't remember me… Maybe… Maybe you just need a little more help than I thought," Hero muttered with a disappointed look on her face, as she furrowed her brows while letting out an exasperated sigh. "… When I was nine years old, I saw you setting up traps around my family's farm, remember? You used to wear a different set of armor, and your helmet used to have two horns on the side," Hero stated, while raising her hands up to the sides of her own head, where she used her fingers to mimic the white horns his helmet used to have.
Feeling guilty while still not being able to recall ever meeting Hero when she was still a child, Goblin Slayer frowned apologetically at the heated girl. "I'm truly sorry, I didn't mean to undermine whatever first impression I had on you… Six years ago was a… It was a dark and confusing time of my adolescence; everything after my family's death was… A bit of a blur, for the first few years," Goblin Slayer admitted, to which earned him empathy from the fellow orphan before him. "Even nowadays, it's hard for me to really… Think back to how things used to be for me… Does that make sense?"
Although Hero seemed hurt from how she was getting nowhere with jogging Goblin Slayer's memory, the young girl knew deep down in heart that she couldn't blame him. "I… I can relate to that… My head was a mess too, after I lost my parents," Hero chimed in, while becoming more calm after the subject became more somber. "I was ten when I lost them… They were really all that had back then, and I didn't have any other extended family, so… So I kind of just got thrown into an orphanage, and forgotten about. I don't… I don't remember much of my life during that lonesome period either, so I get what you mean."
Although Hero had already told Goblin Slayer that she was an orphan at the start of their seven-day journey, just like how she already knew that he had lost his entire family to goblins, the young man still wanted to express his condolences to the younger girl. "I'm sorry to hear that… Losing your loved ones at such an early age, when you really need them the most is… Hard," Goblin Slayer said in a respectful voice, to which earned him a cathartic smile from the red-headed girl.
"Thank you, but… But it's alright: they were together when they died of their illness, and were fairly taken care of until the end, and that was all thanks to all their retirement savings… Their retirement savings, that were made possible thanks to working underneath McGavin and Elizabeth Bannings," Hero revealed with a knowing look in her eyes, as she saw Goblin Slayer's scarlet eyes widened as a gasp fled from his parted lips.
All at once, the memories of over six years ago when Goblin Slayer first traveled to the Frontiers to clear out the goblin's nest that was near the farms of all his family's employees came flooding back into his already unhinged mind. Getting flashbacks of setting up traps around the many farms that once relied on his family to provide for their families, and about how had been reunited with Cow Girl after the five years he spent training with the Rhea who saved him from his family's village being destroyed by goblins, all of it became extremely overwhelming to Goblin Slayer; far more than even Hero realized.
What was supposed to be a sweet moment ended up back firing on Hero, who stopped smiling the moment she saw Goblin Slayer stumbling backwards with a look of absolute shock on his face. And unlike earlier when she accidentally scared him, he didn't look like he was calming down; in fact, it was quite the opposite.
The swaying of the ship was becoming more prominent to the panicked young man, and caused him to lose his footing. Affected by a debilitating motion sickness, his blood ran cold and his mind became flooded with the vivid memory of seeing his sister getting brutally raped to death by a gang of goblins. Goblin Slayer was unable to gather enough air into his hyperventilating lungs, and each gasp of fleeting breath filled his chest with fire. Unable to hear Hero screaming out his name as she knelt down beside where he had fallen down with his back pressed up against the ship's railing, Goblin Slayer wasn't able to think coherently as each agonizing breath he took felt as though it would be his last.
With reality being drowned out by the rapid beating of his own heart, which felt it was going to give out at any moment, Goblin Slayer's horrid memories seemed to grow more nightmarish by the passing millisecond. Not only was Goblin Slayer seeing the gruesome end to his beloved sister, but his mind was beginning to imagine the unseen fates that had become of his parents as well. Feeling the horror, agony, heartache, and dread that he could only imagine his parents felt in their excruciating final moments, it eventually all became too much for the young man who had spent his entire life being unable to move on from the past.
Before his body could seize up and go into the final stages of shock, the moment that the raging storm inside of his shattered psyche began to settle down was the same exact moment that Goblin Slayer noticed the white fuzzy ball of fur that was laying down on his lap.
Slowly, Goblin Slayer's racing heart was slowing down, as he was beginning to be able to regulate his breath once more. Becoming more in tune with the world around him, the first thing Goblin Slayer could hear upon transitioning back to his clouded senses were the sounds of the waves splashing against the haul of the ship.
Swallowing back the lump in his throat while the rhythm of his still aching heart was beginning to inch closer back to the way it normally was supposed to beat, Goblin Slayer lowered his wide-eyed gaze down to Kaguya, who had been subconsciously the reason why he was able to come back down from his panic attack in the first place.
Breathing slower and slower, Goblin Slayer took in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds, before exhaling it out as he raised his stiff arm up to brush his trembling fingers through Kaguya's dimly-lit fur; treating her with the gratefulness that one would show for their own therapy animal. It wasn't something that he noticed at first, but upon looking over to see where the sound of remorseful sobbing was coming from, Goblin Slayer felt somewhat in awe with how dark it had gotten outside.
'… The sun was just setting a moment ago, wasn't it? Why is the moon up? Did… Did that much time truly pass?' Goblin Slayer wondered to himself, after finally being able to form coherent enough thoughts. Letting out another exhausted sigh as his scarlet eyes turned to where Hero was kneeling over him, it took Goblin Slayer a few moments to finally register that the usually brave and daring tomboy had been the one who was crying.
"I'm s-sorry, I-I'm sorry, I'm s-s-sorry…" Hero profusely continued to choke out in a quiet and raspy voice, in between moments where all she could do was wail in the midst of hanging her head low. Gone was the same teasing young woman who had been trying to playfully jog his memory, and in her place was the same unloved little girl who had been waiting for the day that she would be adopted; a day that never came to her in the end.
Staring blankly at her while still subconsciously petting Kaguya's back, Goblin Slayer took a few moments to process everything that had happened to him during his panic attack before slowly raising his chin up. Resting the back of his head against the ship's wide wooden safety rail, Goblin Slayer looked up at the starry sky above, before finally speaking out. "… Joshua and Maria LeFay… Those were the names of your parents… I remember seeing you around the courtyard sometimes, whenever they would bring you to the village where my parents lived in," Goblin Slayer said in a quiet and cathartic voice, as he slowly lowered his scarlet gaze to look back down at where Hero still had her face lowered to the deck.
"… Scarlet: your name is Scarlet LeFay," Goblin Slayer said with a dry voice, as he licked his lips before slowly lowering his head down to stare at the top of Hero's head full of red hair. "Your family's homestead was one of the many other farms that I planted those traps around… I… I remember that now… I was fifteen years old when you approached me… You asked what I was doing there," Goblin Slayer reminisced calmly, and had a smile waiting for Hero to see, as she pulled herself away from where she had been leaning, so she could sit up to look back at him.
Still crying and sniffing, Hero sat up on her knees with her back straightened; raising her hands to brush her red hair out of her face, and smiled back at Goblin Slayer with bloodshot eyes. "Heh… I… I already knew who you were before that, though… Back in town, I recognized you since the moment I saw you without your helmet on," Hero explained, before chuckling softly as she lowered her eyelids gently half way down her teary eyes. "I… I'm pretty sure that you've already noticed that I never learned how to read… So I never actually got your name from that bill of transfer, or whatever that thing was," Hero admitted with a teary-eyed look, as she watched Goblin Slayer's eyes widened softly.
Momentarily closing her eyelids softly, as a breath of air fled from her sore lungs, Hero smiled unapologetically at him, as she raised an arm up to softly caress the side of his pale cheek. "I've… I've just always been able to remember your name, that's all… I know, it's… It's kind of pathetic, since I've always just assumed that you've pretty much forgotten about me," Hero admitted with a smirk, before shaking her head as she let out another humorless laugh.
"You… You're what got me through all the awfulness I felt when my parents died… No one wanted some stupid illiterate farm-bumpkin like me; not when there were more deserving children around who were far more obedient and deserving of love than I ever could be. When I had enough of waiting to be saved, all I could think about was you, and about how you chose to DO something about your misery instead of just letting it get the best of you: y-you were always the reason why I wanted to become an adventurer in the first place… Even before you started to go by that cool name: "Goblin Slayer"," Hero said, while confessing to Goblin Slayer that she remembered him far longer than she originally let on. "So… I packed my things, and left the orphanage. Met up with Sage and Sword Saint early on in my adventuring career, and well… The rest is history, I suppose."
While Goblin Slayer wasn't sure how to feel about being the inspiration behind Hero's defiant start of her adventuring days, especially since he never considered himself to be anywhere near as heroic as she was, he did feel touched that she had looked up to him so much since she was so young; which only then made him feel guilty about having neglected her admiration for so long. "I… I see… And… And why didn't you tell me this any sooner?" Goblin Slayer asked with a confused voice, all while still processing everything the young girl was telling him.
Chuckling humorlessly with an affectionate smile across her lips, Hero continued to gently stroke the side of Goblin Slayer's face as she then scooted her knees slightly closer to him. "What do you mean…? I've BEEN trying to tell you this whole time; why did you think I was so insistent on coming with you in the first place? But… It's… It's what caused this whole mess to begin with… So… M-Maybe it would have been better for you if I never actually came with you…" Hero muttered with a guilty look overcoming her face, as the wavering smile on her trembling lips slowly faded.
"I… I'm sorry… I… I never wanted this to happen to you… I… I just… I've just always wanted to be close to you, Eren; that's all I've ever wanted," Hero whispered quietly, while thinking back on all the times she wished Goblin Slayer would spend time with her, like how he spent time with Cow Girl.
With how much emotional baggage had been opened up between the two adventurers, both Goblin Slayer and Hero were rightfully exhausted both mentally and physically. There wasn't anything that could have been said to rightfully make the pain that the two of them had been carrying for so long go away in that moment alone, but just the fact that they didn't have to bear the burden all by themselves felt like taking a fresh breath of air; especially after having been asphyxiated by their heartache for so long.
Everyone, including even Kaguya herself, eventually lost track of just how long Goblin Slayer and Hero sat beside one another; with the younger adventurer affectionately rubbing her palm against his face, while Kaguya's warm presence alone was enough to help soothe his mind throughout him lamenting about his own past life. The trio would have probably sat there until the sun rose, but their silent grieving that was being comforted by their company alone eventually was interrupted by the sound of Goblin Slayer and Hero's stomachs rumbling in unison.
Raising his arm up to gently squeeze the hand that Hero was using to caress the side of his cheek, Goblin Slayer gave her a reassuring smile before lowering her hand down for her, so that he could get up once Kaguya hopped off his warmed-up lap. Having been sitting down for so long, both of Goblin Slayer's legs were asleep, and thus he had to hold onto the top of the guard rail to maintain his balance as he used the light of the oil lantern that Hero had beside her to search for the ship's instruction booklet.
Remembering that Goblin Slayer had gotten accustomed to seeing through the assistance of her byakugan eyes, and thus was having a harder time than usual with finding the booklet, Kaguya was about to connect her consciousness back to his, like how she had done since they first battled against the Ancient Wyvern. However, instead of merely bestowing Goblin Slayer with the ability to see in the dark, Kaguya wanted to be considerate of Hero as well.
So instead, the little white rabbit goddess used her Rinne-Sharingan to manifest a sky full of paper lanterns to illuminate the entire ship in a gentle and magical yellow and orange glow; a use of chakra that she would have saw as a waste in the past, but the excitement Hero got from it alone was enough to make it worthwhile to Kaguya.
Hopping away to give the two some space, Kaguya made her way up the wooden steps to where the helm of the ship was. And while Goblin Slayer felt a calmness washing over him as he took a moment to look at all the floating lights above the lowered sails of the ship, he allowed Hero to remain enthralled and mystified by the hundreds of floating lanterns above them; pointing them out to him with joy in her voice, while Goblin Slayer operated the fishing crane.
When all was said and done, the two adventurers had caught an entire fishnet's worth of large and meaty fish to pick and choose from, and remembering what Goblin Slayer had taught her, Hero had no trouble using the light of the lanterns above to see what she was doing, as she raised the anchor and raised the sails, so that Kaguya could continue to navigate the ship during the rest of the night. Traveling back into lower compartments of the ship with small barrels of selected fish in their arms, Goblin Slayer and Hero made their way down to the kitchen.
Working together as a couple would, Goblin Slayer and Hero made small talk here-and-there while they prepared dinner together, but for the most part the two of them were simply content with just being near one another. And although the ship's kitchen wasn't by any means small or barren of household items for them to cook and clean with, the unsealed appliances and supplies Goblin Slayer and Hero had on hand to improve the quality of their food made it so that their meal that night was one to remember.
Chatting over dinner about what they were planning to do once they had defeated the Ancient Wyvern, Goblin Slayer admitted to Hero that he didn't have really any goals or plans outside of the immediate quest they were on, stating that without goblins to worry about, he wasn't sure what to actually do with himself.
Feeling ecstatic once she heard of Goblin Slayer's free schedule, Hero suggested that the two of them should combine their parties together, and use the ship as their headquarters to travel across the world; cleansing the world of all demon lords and other ancient legendary monsters who posed a threat to life, all while having Kaguya on their side to even-out the playing field for them.
Having gotten caught up with so many things happening in such a small period of time, Goblin Slayer had nearly forgotten about his deal with Kaguya that led them down their path in the first place; the accord that she had already told him to disregard several times over. Thinking back to when he was a child, and about why he wanted to become an adventurer in the first place, Goblin Slayer showed a great interest in Hero's proposal, and told her that he would think about it: an answer that translated to "yes" in the red-headed girl's optimistic mind.
Once they were finished discussing about what the two of them could do possibly do in the near future, Goblin Slayer took their dishes and began using the ship's revolutionary plumbing system to wash the dishes at the sink with cold water, while Hero got up to put their leftovers away by storing their packaged food into the empty scrolls, that were easily able to be reused. When they were done cleaning up in the kitchen, Goblin Slayer took the oil lantern with him and led Hero up the flight of stairs and through the ship's halls, until the two of them emerged onto the top deck.
Taking one last look at all the paper lanterns that had landed in the dark waters over the black horizon, Goblin Slayer wrapped his arm around Hero's small shoulder and pulled her closer to his side. Feeling her resting her head against his arm, he gave her bicep a comforting squeeze, before the two of them finally retired for the remainder of the night: inside the sanctity of their shared bedroom within the lavished captain's quarters of their new vessel.
Average Sword Maiden Fan vs Average Hero Enjoyer.
Eventually, I'll have the two of them get smutty. Might either be the next chapter, or after they defeat the Ancient Wyvern and come across the technologically advanced city of Crossbell. I still haven't forgotten about the main cast of other characters, since the last thing I want to do is completely move on from Priestess, High Elf Archer, Sword Maiden, Guild Girl, Cow Girl, and the other cast of characters from Goblin Slayer either.
By the time that the Ancient Wyvern is defeated and Goblin Slayer is able to begin populating the city of Crossbell with his friends and adventurers from the Frontier, the world would have begun to adjust to the new way of life. Also by then, Kaguya's meddling would have finally been noticed by her clan, and thus the second act of this story begins.
Without getting too much into spoilers: The second main antagonists are probably going to be Momoshiki, Urashiki, and Kinshiki, who sought to find Kaguya once their clan learned of her disappearance, so they could kill her and use her to plant another God Tree. Once Goblin Slayer defeats them and earns the title of "God Slayer" by the rest of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
Then I might introduce Toneri as either an anti-villain or just straight up an ally. Since he's Kaguya's grandkid, he might be interested in leaving the Ōtsutsuki clan to try and save himself from his fate with Naruto. I always liked Toneri and thought his character had potential, so I might just have him be a recurring side character later on, I don't know yet. The main focus of this story is to have Goblin Slayer being the driving force, which is why I've been reluctant to have Naruto inserted just yet.
There will be one character introduced by the end of the Ancient Wyvern arc who has the potential of becoming stronger than Shibai: the God of the Ōtsutsuki clan, which means she's going to be far more powerful than even Kaguya or Naruto themselves. She's from Trails of Zero, so while she isn't an original character, I will be fitting her into this story as a main character, all without her taking up too much time.
Without spoiling anymore than I already have, I shall end it off here. Next chapter probably isn't gonna be lewd, but starts off with them landing at "Crossbell Island". Even though I've given the characters actual names, I'm not going to overuse them or overshadow their original aliases while writing about them. Their names are only mentioned through dialogue.
Okay that's it. Cya.