Long chapter that has dark themes that are later balanced out with positive lighthearted scenes.
Lots of world building and character expansion in this chapter, the next chapter will go back to more adventuring.
Until then, please enjoy this chapter!
The meticulous task of helping Kaguya put a seal on every window and door leading to the outside world wouldn't have been so taxing, had Goblin Slayer not had to go up and down fifteen floors several times while securing the observatory tower. On the bright side, traveling up and down the tower's many steps gave Goblin Slayer the opportunity to check out all the beautifully sculpted busts of what he could only imagine to have been made in the likeness of important figures in history.
The aged tapestries that were hung along the large column in the center of the spiraling steps and just below the observation deck on top were all beautifully-colorful depictions of different star constellations. Below the gorgeous purple and blue painted artworks on each beige tapestry were words sewed into the bottom of the fabric; letters that were used in the common language Goblin Slayer was familiar with himself. However, while the alphabetical symbols somewhat resembled the more simplistic letters that the adventurer knew of, none of the words written below were ones that made any sense to Goblin Slayer.
'Could be an earlier dialect; words originating from an outdated lexicon that's been lost to time… Perhaps a philologist from the kingdom could transcribe to 'Common',' Goblin Slayer thought to himself, before turning his attention to all of the observation tower's many, many beautifully crafted mosaic windows.
Despite what people thought of him, Goblin Slayer enjoyed looking at art, and while he didn't quite always have a strong opinion of the meaning behind whatever artist had intended to broadcast through the medium of their displayed pieces, he was still sharp enough to notice the common theme within each mosaic art piece. Unlike the old-looking tapestries, Goblin Slayer was able to read the words printed on the plagues beneath each window; identifying the magical representations of Earth, fire, water, wind, space, time, and mirages as the seven different types of magic that were depicted in the various mosaic glass-stained window.
While Goblin Slayer couldn't say for certain as to how the artwork and busts within the tower tied into the advanced technology found in the observation deck, he could tell that the mosaic windows, albeit still old, were newer than the hung tapestries and podium-based statues; an observation made from the fact that the windows had common language written on them, while the older art pieces weren't.
By the time that Goblin Slayer and Kaguya had finished securing the windows and doors of the entire fifty-meter tall tower, the automatic ceiling lights above sparked to life the moment it started to get dark outside; something that came as a surprise for multiple reasons, the biggest reason being that the mosaic windows made it hard to keep track of the sun. Having never been in contact with anything as innovative as electronics of any kind, the simple luxury of there being a gentle and dim light without him having to do anything once again left Goblin Slayer feeling astonished.
"This place… It's rich in history, there's no doubt about that. Everything in here, it's very, very impressive; almost like this sort of thing could only exist in one's dream," Goblin Slayer mused aloud to the small white rabbit on his shoulder, as he climbed up the final steps needed to reach the large and spacious observation deck on top.
Keeping Goblin Slayer's bare shoulder warm with her body heat and fur, the rabbit goddess was feeling just as mystified and curious about the observation tower as he was, yet her fascination with the observatory tower was clouded with distracting thoughts. In actuality, all Kaguya could think about while Goblin Slayer was walking over to where Hero was resting in their sleeping bag was what had transpired when the soldiers teleported in lieu of them solving what she first thought to be nothing more than an outdoor puzzle.
Having not received a response from the unusually quiet goddess, Goblin Slayer turned his head to stare back at her, and noticed that Kaguya was looking forward blankly at nothing in particular. "Kaguya? Is there something wrong? You've been… Quiet, as of late," Goblin Slayer asked with a concerned look in his scarlet eyes.
Shaking her head and blinking a few times, once Kaguya's long ears had registered what the young man had said to her, she immediately turned her small head over to greet him with an acknowledging nod. "My… My apologies, young man. I'm just… I'm just reflecting on everything, that's all; forgive me if I seem uninterested in what you have to say, know that's the case. I just… I just have a lot in my head to think about," Kaguya explained in a tone that made Goblin Slayer notice a subtle guilt behind her words.
"I see… Did you want to talk about it?" Goblin Slayer asked thoughtfully, and knelt down so Kaguya could leap onto one particularly warm keyboard that was a part of the central computer system, beneath where the main monitor was connected to all the other electronic devices within the entire observation deck.
Getting cozy on top of the metal keyboard filled with warm-white mechanical buttons, Kaguya shook her small rabbit head at Goblin Slayer before beginning to tuck in her little paws beneath her white-fuzzy body fur. "That… That won't be necessary, at least not in the meantime… But I do greatly appreciate the offer, Goblin Slayer," Kaguya replied with a grateful tone in her voice, before slowly then letting out a saddened sigh. "… I just need some time alone, I think. If… If it's all the same with you, that is."
Knowing what it's like to want alone time, Goblin Slayer completely could see where Kaguya was coming from, but at the same time he couldn't help but to still feel concerned about her. 'She must still be shaken up about those machines… I can't say that I blame her: having seeing herself as nearly untouchable in terms of power for so long, I'm certain that getting chased by those confounded things must have been a truly humbling experience for her,' Goblin Slayer thought to himself, before taking a step back and telling her "That's fine."
Glad to know that she didn't need to explain herself to Goblin Slayer, at least not until she was ready to, Kaguya nodded her head again in lieu of a smile. "Thank you… Here, why don't you go ahead and take a look around the tower some more? I'll be keeping an eye on Hero, and I'll come get you if I need anything," Kaguya offered, knowing just how intrigued Goblin Slayer was in their new environment. Plus, she didn't want to be the reason why he didn't get to enjoy himself; something that Kaguya didn't think he did enough of.
Softly lowering his eyelids as he turned his head toward his shoulder to side-stare over where Hero was still resting inside of her sleeping bag, Goblin Slayer protectively made sure to keep his focus on her covered-chest for a small period of time; making sure that her breathing was normal, before turning his attention back to where Kaguya was laying. "… Even with your debilitated powers, are you sure you're up to the task of monitoring her health?"
Getting the impression that Goblin Slayer didn't feel entirely confident in her capabilities, the guilt that Kaguya was trying to hide from him became even more prominent in her cloudy mind. "Hmph… Do you no longer trust me, young man? Do you think that's just another task you, and YOU alone must take on?" Kaguya asked bluntly, to which Goblin Slayer gave her a second take before shaking his head.
"That's not what I was trying to imply. I only asked you if you were capable of watching Scarlet, because of what you said about needing time alone to do some self-reflecting," Goblin Slayer reassured, which helped slightly quell Kaguya's vast array of insecurities.
"Oh, that's considerate of you, but… No, no I'll manage on my own," Kaguya couldn't help but to circle back to the beginning of their partnership together. "... Wait. Before you leave, young man, I have a question that I've been wanting to ask you for a while, but wasn't quite sure if you'd care enough about the subject to have much to say about it," Kaguya explained, before letting out a quiet chuckle as she shook her rabbit head. "It's nothing dire, but it is important enough that it does need to be addressed; it's a conversation that I've been meaning to have with you."
'… Whatever happened to you wanting to be alone?' Goblin Slayer thought sarcastically to himself, but even so, he was glad that Kaguya wanted to talk to him still. "That's fine. What did you want to discuss?" Goblin Slayer asked, before taking a moment to quickly look over his shoulder to check on Hero.
Rolling her eyes at Goblin Slayer, who was still putting Hero's safety on his shoulders instead of hers, Kaguya waited until the young man's focus was back on her before finally speaking. "Tell me… Are you familiar with what Tarot cards are, young man?" Kaguya asked calmly, which earned her a perplexed look from Goblin Slayer's scarlet eyes.
"… Tarot cards? No, I haven't really heard of them," Goblin Slayer replied, while trying to imagine what such a thing could possibly be. "Are they… Magic, or something?" Goblin Slayer guessed, to which made Kaguya let out a throaty chuckle.
"Hmph~! That depends on whom you ask, I suppose: they were made by humans, and there are currently seventy-eight cards to be exact. Although some claim the cards themselves draw power from some sort of cosmic power, the cards themselves hold no chakra, or remarkable energy within them for that matter. But, some people still believe that they're reliable when it comes to guiding them through life," Kaguya explained, before smiling as much as her rabbit mouth would allow her to do.
"Judge me how you will, but… There was a time in my life that I became fascinated with astrology; always looking for answers up in the heavens themselves, as to what I should do next; yes, I was a lost soul in a sea of stars, without a friend to my name," Kaguya reminisced, while thinking back to how lonely she had been in her past life.
Nodding his head in respect, Goblin Slayer crossed his arms over his bare chest; which slightly disappointed Kaguya, as she had been idly ogling at his pectoral muscles the entire time since he sat her down. "I see, and was this before Aino, or after?" He asked.
Pleasantly surprised that Goblin Slayer remembered her telling him about her best friend who was assigned to her as her servant, Kaguya smiled on the inside before answering his question. "Hmm~! It was after her, unfortunately. You see, before I gave birth to my two sons and began traveling the planet to begin my journey in ending all conflicts, I sort of just… Floated around, focused on keeping a low profile and, well… I was just trying to get through each day like everyone else, really; you could say that my ambitions were put on hold," Kaguya explained, as she still remembered the years she spent trying to lay low after having eaten the chakra fruit.
"I see, and I'm imagining that you stumbled upon these Tarot cards by means of fate?" Goblin Slayer inquired; prompting the Rabbit Goddess to once again shake her head at him.
"No, the discovery wasn't foreordained, or anything like that. I just one day stumbled upon them while doing some shopping at a market place; their pretty designs are what really drew me into asking the seller about them. Looking back on it now, I think overpaid for those Tarot cards from that traveling merchant, as I remember them being extremely expensive for what I thought were mere playing cards. But, they brought me comfort once I learned how to "properly" use them, and I suppose that's what mattered," Kaguya mused with bittersweet memories of all the times she searched for advice through the deck of cards that she used to keep on her at all times.
Trying to make a connection between what Kaguya told him of the Tarot cards to all the awful things she admitted to him about, Goblin Slayer then asked "Were those cards the reason why you ended up getting sealed in the Moon, twice?"
Needing to take a double take at him, after being asked such a blunt and offensive question, Kaguya's ears flattened as she narrowed her eyelids at him. "… I'm going to assume that wasn't meant to be a backhanded retort, young man. No, the Tarot cards WEREN'T what led me down that dark path," Kaguya said with a sharp look in her eye, before taking a moment to compose herself with a meditating sigh.
"Anyway… The reason why I brought the Tarot cards up was because I've known you for a little while now; been in your head, you've been in mine, etcetera, etcetera," Kaguya said, while playfully drawing out her "etceteras", as to ease the conversation into what she wanted to say next. "With that being said, I can confidently say that you remind me of one particular card; it's a card that I've always associated with myself, actually, and still has a significant meaning to me. Card number twelve: "The Hanged Man"," Kaguya confessed, and watched as Goblin Slayer tilted his head toward his shoulder at her.
"… "The Hanged Man"?" Goblin Slayer repeated back with a concerned voice, before straightening his neck. "That… That doesn't sound like a good card to be associated with."
Having once thought the same thing herself, Kaguya had already been expecting Goblin Slayer's response. "It's actually a very underrated card; commonly misconstrued for being negative by its name alone. Allow me to elaborate: "The Hanged Man" represents one's acknowledgment of self-sacrifice, or the need to dwell on their insight— when flipped upright side up, that is," Kaguya explained.
Trying to envision the mechanics of how Tarot cards worked in his head, Goblin Slayer narrowed his eyes while imagining a card depicting a man being hung by a rope around his neck. "I see… So the card itself has different symbolic-meaning, depending on which way it's turned?" Goblin Slayer inquired.
"Indeed it does, young man. In your case, you would represent the card when it's upside down," Kaguya said with a calm tone in her voice. "Ever since you've dedicated your life into slaying goblins, you've needlessly sacrificed your time dedicating yourself to such an unrealistic goal to achieve on your own, such as how I've onced needlessly sacrificed my own life trying to protect myself from my own clan… Granted, my needless sacrifices snowballed into something far worse than what you did, but still, the point I'm making is that you have a tendency to put the world's burdens on your shoulders, even when that's going against your own success."
Trying to think of a reason as to why Kaguya was criticizing him, Goblin Slayer narrowed his eyes while finding himself only able to draw assumptions that he didn't want to go off of. "… Why are you telling me all of this?" Goblin Slayer asked in a confused voice.
"I'm bringing this up because I'm worried for your mental health, young man, that's why," Kaguya said with a serious tone that hid the frustration she had inside of her. "You might be under the impression that you're fooling others with your brooding personality; playing the role of some sort of tragic hero… But that's not who you are; you're so much more than that," Kaguya insisted, while trying to emphasize that her somewhat harsh words were coming from her heart, and not from that of malice.
Before he could think, Goblin Slayer's mouth moved faster than his brain, and sounded mildly defensive as he retorted Kaguya's concerned warning by shooting back with "Am I?"
Caught off guard by how quickly and unfriendly Goblin Slayer sounded, Kaguya was left speechless for a few moments, before finally gathering her wits to recompose herself. "Yes, you are; whether you realize that yourself, or not. After all, you have the blessing of not being held back by any of destiny's chains. The only one who's holding you back is yourself: you do well to remember that, "Hanged Man"," Kaguya said in an overprotective tone.
Feeling heated up by how much Kaguya was unraveling his own trauma, Goblin Slayer eventually realized what he had actually said to Kaguya, and how he said it. Immediately softening up his muscles, which had become tensed up sometime during their conversation, Goblin Slayer averted his scarlet eyes down while feeling ashamed of how he had reacted; the daunting feeling of being called "Hanged Man" was beginning to make him question his own past actions.
Before Goblin Slayer turned his back on Kaguya to begin walking away from her, the celestial being decided to end their suddenly heated conversation by leaving him with "How can you ever hope to protect anyone, when you can't even save yourself?"
'A lot of what she said makes me believe that she was partially self-projecting onto me. If "The Hanged Man" upside down represents needless sacrifice and denying insight, then… Then what she said about me, about how I've been holding myself back, was… Was there some truth to that?' Goblin Slayer pondered to himself, as he walked down the steps, and past all the destroyed soldiers who he had barely managed to slay on his own.
Looking down at where he had been fatally wounded by an attack that should have ended his life, Goblin Slayer frowned as he continued to dwell on what Kaguya had told him. 'Maybe she's right… I've always justified my actions by telling myself that what I'm doing was me just trying my best, but… What use is sentiment alone when that can't be used to protect the ones I love?'
Thinking back to when his subconscious was speaking on its own volition during what felt like his final moments on Earth, Goblin Slayer narrowed his eyes as came to a halt. Looking down at his abdomen before looking down at the palm of his hand, Goblin Slayer turned his focus to all the dried up blood in the leather fabric of his glove. Memories of one of the most gruesome and longest training sessions that the Rhea had put him through as a child began flooding into Goblin Slayer's head, and soon he wasn't looking at his current hand, but the bloodied and mutilated hand he had when he was fourteen years old.
"The Final Preparation" as Goblin Slayer's master put it, was the most crucial part of his training. Not only was it supposed to test whether or not he was prepared to carry on the Burglar's legacy, but it was the deciding factor of whether or not he would live, or he would die.
Chaining the fourteen year old adolescent to the rusted metal chair that he had found, the aged rhea dragged Goblin Slayer through the forest; making sure that the young teenager was blindfolded, so as to not "spoil" the macabre surprise for him. "The cemetery, the forest~! Again, the cemetery is reality's dewy fields~!" Burglar spoke out loud in a cheerful tone, with a sadistic grin across his aged lips that grew closer as the two of them approached the ruins of what used to be a village.
"Oh, a secret~? No! A Mossi warrior instead, I say~! Bereaved are we of the shimmering, clamming flowers~! And yet, the bugs are not bereaved of what awaits their little tummies beneath the trees~!" Burglar sang cruelly with a mocking tone, as he dragged the chair against the brittle hardwood floorboards of one particular destroyed house that gave the blindfolded boy chills from just being there.
Being dragged down the stairs of his old house, Goblin Slayer was beginning to hyperventilate as the color drained from his skin; the foul stench of rot and decay assaulted his senses, all while his master was laughing at his fear and misery. "Six, nine, three~! Three rotting corpses that were buried beneath the trees~!" Burglar sang with demented excitement in his voice, as he finally sat Goblin Slayer in the spot above where his older sister had hid him from the goblins who came for her.
Moving stealthy behind Goblin Slayer, Burglar was giggling with crazed excitement as he began undoing the blindfold. "Open your eyes, you talentless waste-of-air: you have someone who's been dying to see you, kehehehe~!" The elderly rhea snickered, as he pulled the blindfold off of the black-haired boy's brown eyes.
Having been looking down while trying to keep his composure, Goblin Slayer only had a few seconds to take notice of the blood-scrawled rune that his chair was placed in. "Eyes UP!!! You don't want to be rude to your dear sister now, do you~…?" Burglar said with a hushed whisper, and held his excited breath as he grabbed Goblin Slayer's chin to forcefully make him look up at an image that was far worse than the recurring nightmare of seeing his older sister dying.
Propped up by the rope that was tied around was the rotten body Goblin Slayer's older sister; her hair having long since fallen out, and her skin and insides having been picked almost completely clean by the wildlife. Even though the hollowed corpse itself was hard to distinguish whether or not it really was his sister, the soiled clothes that were fitted onto the body were ones that Goblin Slayer recognized as belonging to his sister.
Going wide-eyed as his jaw dropped, it wasn't long until Goblin Slayer's brown eyes began to tear up; something that he hadn't thought to be possible since he saw his sister's brutal death. "A… Autumn…?" The fourteen year old boy uttered out with heartache in his voice, while his master sat his large bag down on the ruined floor of the basement.
Taking out a saw, sharp blades, and pliers, even the psychotic rhea was having a hard time bringing himself to do the same ritual that was done to himself, many, many centuries ago. Doing his best to stay in character as a heartless mentor, Burglar needed a moment to himself as he picked up a hacksaw before quickly going over the bloodied-cover of the ancient book he needed for "The Final Process".
"Hmhmhm~! Why yes, dear boy; who else would come to your "graduation ceremony" but your beloved sister who you won't ever shut up about~?" Burglar asked mockingly in an eerie voice, while quickly brushing up on the instructions for the ritual.
Even though Goblin Slayer's training and years of cruel abuse had prepared him for that moment, he still couldn't help but to be in absolute shock about how far his mentor had gone to break the limits of what remained of his psyche. Distracting himself, just like how had always done during his torturous training sessions with Burglar, Goblin Slayer averted his crying eyes away from his older sister's dressed up corpse, and focused back on the blood-traced markings that circled around his chair.
"What… What is this beneath me? Is this… Is this some sort of marking for a blessing?" Goblin Slayer asked, while trying to sound as brave as he could.
Laughing at his apprentice's question while still finishing up with reading what was inside the aged pages of his human-skin wrapped book, Burglar shook his head as he sat behind where Goblin Slayer was chained up. "Ha— don't make me laugh, boy! Look in front of you: do you think if there was a god up there who cared enough about you to waste any sort of blessing on you, that you would be sitting where you are~?" The old rhea retorted, before slamming the book shut once he finished reading what he needed to.
"Why… Why are you doing this?" Goblin Slayer asked with a quiet voice, as his body began to betray himself when it started to tremble in his metal bindings.
Not wanting to lie to his student's face, Burglar thought about how to be vague with his response; sitting on the floor while staring down at the torture instrument in his old hands. "… You see, in this cruel-twisted world, we all roll the dice we're given; some of us are destined for good rolls, while others are not. Fate is what you make of it, and for the next eleven days, I will break you free of your chains."
Getting up off the floor with the hacksaw in his hand, the wrinkled old master menacingly made his way to the side of where Goblin Slayer was, being sure to not block his student's vision of where his horribly rotted sister sat before him. "Enough of that though… Here's my final riddle for you, dear boy: "How can you destroy a monster, without becoming one yourself?"" Burglar asked with a wicked voice, as he slowly placed the cold-jagged teeth of his hacksaw against the top of the fourteen year old's trembling fingers.
"The answer is: You can't. Now stop crying, you pathetic worm! You're good with numbers, so it shouldn't be hard for you to keep count with me: it'll help you stay awake! Three, nine, six, twelve, nine, eighteen, fifteen, thirty…! Quit screaming already, you squealing little whelp! Just remember: we all must pluck the sprouts that get in our way, even if it means ourselves…!"
Snapping back to reality, Goblin Slayer immediately grabbed a hold of his blood-stained gloved hand; hyperventilating and shaking violently as his heart pounded in his chest. Covered in a fresh coat of cold sweat, Goblin Slayer's left eye was glowing crimson-red; a dark-ethereal trail of light rising from the corner of his eyelid. With his head pounding and his ears ringing, the horrible memories of his final trail that he had blocked out had been enough to almost cause the usually stoic man to have another panic attack.
Clenching his jaw tightly while curling his shaking hand into a fist, the words "How can you protect others, when you can't even save yourself" playing like a maddening mantra inside of his traumatized head. Grunting and trying to keep himself quiet as he resisted the urge to scream, Goblin Slayer raised his arms up and grabbed handfuls of his own gray-hair, as the horrors in his shattered psyche slowly played out, until finally ending once he regained control of his thoughts.
Shaken, Goblin Slayer did his best to stave off any more nightmarish memories by distracting himself with all the decor that he was forcing himself to look at while descending down the levels of the tower, and around all the destroyed machines that were still laid out on the steps. Although the mosaic glass windows he was passing by were all beautiful in their own artistic right, their oblique painted surfaces made it difficult for Goblin Slayer to guesstimate how much time had passed during his psychiatric episode.
By the time Goblin Slayer had reached the bottom floor of the observation tower, he had mentally exhausted himself to the point that he didn't even react when he accidentally stumbled upon a large-metallic square-shaped hatch that was built in the hidden corner of the bottom floor, behind the central column, and parallel to where the front entrance was.
Kneeling down at the front of the hatch, Goblin Slayer thought about what could be awaiting him down in the basement of the observation tower, while the feeling of static buzzing in his head made everything around him feel surreal. Focusing his tired mind on weighing out his options, Goblin Slayer recognized the risk of there possibly being more automatrons awaiting for him down there. But at the same time, they were low on healing supplies and he was without armor, and his only weapon had gotten bent when he was disarmed.
Eventually, Goblin Slayer built up the courage to take the chance, only once he retrieved what was left of his ebony spear that he had leaned against the wall, near the front double-door entrance of the tower. Braced for anything, and ready to leap back and shut the hatch close at the first sign of trouble, Goblin Slayer could feel his heart sinking and dread coursing through his ice-cold veins, as he cautiously wrapped his gloved fingers around the circular handle of the hatch; slowly opening it with his ebony spear at the ready in the other hand.
Taking in a deep breath of shallow air and holding it, Goblin Slayer pushed the heavy hatch open before immediately getting up on his feet with the the end of his spear raised; positioning himself to stab whatever entity might have been trying to take advantage of his desperate curiosity. Taking rapid breaths in-and-out as he held his weapon out and at the ready, Goblin Slayer could feel fresh beads of even more sweat dripping down his dirty forehead, as he anxiously kept his scarlet eyes focused at the dark wooden staircase below him.
Swallowing the lump in his throat as he heart continued to race in his chest, Goblin Slayer carefully extended the ebony spear as far out in front of him as he could; using it as an instrument to help him set off any potential traps, instead of blindly walking down the beautifully carved wooden staircase. Step by step, Goblin Slayer sweeped his long poled weapon around the closed-in beige walls surrounding him, and tapped each step with the end of his spear to check for traps.
Nearly having a heart attack the moment he heard the whirl of ancient electronics turning on from behind the tight-corridor walls around him, Goblin Slayer needed a moment to collect his bearings once he realized that the generators he heard coming to life weren't actually the sounds of more soldiers coming to life. Instead, the power that was turned on by his presence was used to automatically turn on the lights of the large basement that was just around the corner of the descending staircase he was still in.
'Those lights… They turned on by themselves, just like the ones inside the tower… They must be activated by motion,' Goblin Slayer deduced, after realizing that the distant lights only came on once his spear extended out past the last corner of the staircase. Standing perfectly still, Goblin Slayer did his best to ignore the thumping of his own heart and the gentle hum of the hidden generators to listen to hear if there were any sounds of familiar heavy footsteps below, or if there were chakra shields possibly being raised just out of his immediate vision.
Taking a chance, Goblin Slayer decided to leap down over the last steps leading into the dimly-lit basement room, but only after calculating the risks involved with going in blind. When his boots touched base with the sleek-polished wooden floorboards, Goblin Slayer's alert and paranoid eyes darted from side-to-side; his entire muscular body tensed up, while his knuckles were turning white from just tightly he was gripping the bent pole of his ebony spear.
Expecting to have his risky plan backfire on him, Goblin Slayer eventually lowered his shoulders and let out an elongated sigh of relief, once the immediate coast seemed clear. Not lowering his guard just yet though, Goblin Slayer carefully inspected the first room of the basement, which appeared to him to be some sort of common room, with more simplistic electronics scattered about that he wasn't familiar with.
Inspecting the cushy memory-foam sofa that was set in the middle of the cozy living room, where there laid a rug in the shape and design of a white full moon in the center of the floor, Goblin Slayer carefully searched for any trip-wires or pressure plates that could have been hidden in the furniture. Once he finished checking for traps, Goblin Slayer couldn't help but become curious as to how there wasn't an inch of dust on anything around him; not even the glass coffee table sat in the middle of the living room had even a speck of dirt on it.
Averting his wandering gaze away from the immaculately clean glass surface of the coffee table, Goblin Slayer noticed a box of clean disposable tissues on top of the table, right next to a small shaded lamp and a small plastic remote control; all three common household objects were items that he wasn't at all familiar with seeing in his kingdom.
'I know what a tissue box is, obviously, and I think that's a lamp? It has a small base, and the shade looks too big, but… But this thing though…' Goblin Slayer thought bewilderingly to himself, as he carefully picked up the remote controller to stare down at all the small silicon buttons that were built into its protective casing.
'I don't even know what this contraption does, much less what it's used for… The buttons are labeled in common though, so this thing must have at least originated from the Empire,' Goblin Slayer thought to himself, as he squinted his eyelids to focus on reading the small white printed-letters that were above only some of the buttons.
Even though Goblin Slayer had promised himself earlier to not go looking for any more surprises, now that he wasn't having to think about his awful past, his curiosity was once again beginning to get the better of him. Feeling excited and nervous, as if he were disarming an active bomb, Goblin Slayer was holding his breath each time he would cautiously press a button; waiting for something catastrophic to happen, only for there to be no response. It wasn't long until Goblin Slayer pressed the red-button on the top corner of the controller that he had been dreading pressing the most: the button labeled "power".
Immediately jumping in his skin the moment the projector within the device he thought to be a mere lamp hummed to life, Goblin Slayer tightened his muscles up and watched with his scarlet eyes as what looked to be a grainy holographic recording began being shown across from where he stood, and up-above the other side of where the edge of the coffee table was. Bedazzled by the glowing square cyan-particles that were radiating from the projector and into the space in front him, Goblin Slayer once again felt awed as he watched the beautiful bits and pieces of light beginning to complete the quality of the paused video-projection right before his very eyes.
Once the magic-infused particles were finished refining themselves into a collective image, the pre-recording of what looked like a forty-year old man with salt-and-peppered hair staring back at Goblin Slayer began to play on its own. "This is… This Captain Vlad Windslet, North Jaeger Company, forty-second squad… Pardon me for a moment… This device IS working, yes?" The holographic projection of the armored man asked with a small smile forming on his aged face, as he leaned in closer to presumably fiddle with the projector that he was recording himself on.
"Hmm… Excellent, the device is recording, as intended. Heh, my word… It boggles the mind to think that they turned one of these old buildings into a little abode… Forgive me, I'm getting sidetracked. Truth be told, I don't even rightfully know why I'm recording this message to begin with; I always thought these "final moments" were always a bit too self-gratifying for my taste. Does it make me a hypocrite for recording one then? Mmm, perhaps… However, I have to say that I believe some part of me wants to commemorate my men, but then again… I'm not sure how much honor there is in being a soldier of fortune, these days," Captain Windslet said with a somber smile on his face, as he lowered his head slightly, while his blue eyes began to reflect a sense of nostalgia and sorrow.
"It… It wasn't always like that though. We used to be respected, used to be the "good guys" who everyone knew to give those long-eared bastards the what for," the mercenary officer said with pride in his voice, after having spoken illy of what Goblin Slayer could only assume to be elves in general.
"Heh… Look at what I've been reduced to: a war hero, reminiscing about the great days when we used to be known as the "Principality of North Ambia"! Tch, those days that are dead and gone; just a burning memory, at this point… Gods be damned, I sound just like my father right now! If only he were still alive to get a good look at his "heroic" son," The refined officer said with a joyless grin forming over his lips, as he let out a cynical laugh.
"Haha… Ah… It doesn't matter now, not anymore at least. We just lost the last of the Vanguard units, and those bloody useless Empire-bastards fled like the yellow-bellied cowards they were… Then again, it's to be expected out of those lot. They'll probably either claim that I died honorably, or that a "hero" like myself was to be blamed for this sorry-excuse for a plan going awry," Captain Windslet cursed scornfully, as he frowned while narrowing his eyebrows.
Falling into a long-period of silence, in which Goblin Slayer could only guess was because Captain Windslet was busy with thinking bitter thoughts, it took a little before the mercenary leader finally broke the tension with a cathartic sigh. "… I'm losing my train of thought. Like I've previously mentioned, all my men are dead now. They fought honorably to the bitter end; I want to make sure that's on record for whoever stumbles upon this recording… Uh, what else, what else… Oh yes, I should explain what I'm up against, for the sake of giving context. There's about sixty Crossbell officers searching for me right now. I'm hoping that I can lose them in the forest, just North of here…It'll almost be just like the good ol' days, back when the only thing I had to worry about was getting shot with those bloody little arrows that those high elves still to this day insist on using," the mercenary said with a grim smirk on his face, and paused for a moment before letting out another humorless chuckle.
"… There's an island with a mountainous terrain North of Eden, it's considerably distant from Crossbell, so I could start a new life up there… Perhaps I could take on a nomadic lifestyle, like those people I've heard so about… But to believe in that unreachable dream would be nothing short of impossible. The hard truth of the matter is that there is no happy ending for me— not this time, I'm afraid. I took too many officers down for the enemy to stop looking for me," Captain Windslet said with a brutal amount of honesty in his voice, as he took in a deep breath before sighing.
"… Besides, the enemy has their hands on some rather extraordinary firepower: "orbal armaments", or some peculiar name like that, as they call it. Whatever it is that they're using, it triumphs over the weapons my squad purchased from the "Reinford Group" for this mission. So with that being said, today will more than likely be the day that I answer for all the lives I've taken," the refined man said with an eerily calm look in his eyes, as he reached down below where the holographic projection recording could show.
"… Even so, my dire circumstances shall not prevail over my honor that I have as a man of North Ambira," Captain Windslet said with a weak smile across his lips, as he raised his scoped rifle up, showing off its custom wooden stock and two extended magazines that were underneath the firing mechanism. Flipping the back metallic module that was attached to the end of the handle, the mercenary grinned as the length of his firearm transformed into a shape more fitting of a submachine gun.
"This firearm has six-hundred rounds loaded into her… And I intend to make every round count. Let them come for me, I'll show them all why I'm the bloody best of the best," the mercenary said with a menacing look overtaking his facial features; giving Goblin Slayer the impression that the man in the recording had become unhinged; a moment that quickly passed, after the man suddenly had a moment of clarity washing over him.
"I… I'm not… I'm n-not the villain here, I didn't mean for my words to come off so heinously, it's just that I… Look, I'm just some poor bloody bastard who's trying to be braver than he actually is, that's all… But then again, that attitude's what led me here, so… Perhaps this is the fate I truly deserve. T-This is Captain Vlad Windslet, signing off, and… And Evelyn, darling, if you ever see this by some miracle, just know that daddy loves you, princess; he always has, and always will… I know I've done wrong, but… Raising you into the world was the one thing in my life that I can truly say I'm proud of… Goodnight baby— your daddy loves you, and always, always will," the somber man said with a shameful look washing over his aged face, before reluctantly reaching forward to the same remote that Goblin Slayer was holding in his hand.
Once the recording was over, the last image frozen in time of Captain Windslet turning off the projector device that had been recording him remained holographically projected in front of Goblin Slayer for a small period of time, before suddenly the glowing holograph dispersed into a fray of geometric particles that vanished into thin air. Left stunned by having just watched the haunting recording of a doomed father's final "memento mori" to the world and his daughter, Goblin Slayer needed a moment to collect his thoughts as he sat down on the couch.
Hunched over while blankly staring down at nothing, Goblin Slayer was able to finally regain feeling in his body after having just reflected on what he had just watched; tying the mercenary's fate into what Kaguya told him of "The Hanged Man". 'He must have known that his plan was for naught… And yet, he chose to pursue fighting, even when he could have surrendered. I… I wonder if surrendering was even an option for him?' Goblin Slayer thought to himself, as he turned his attention toward the projector that he mistook for a lamp.
Reaching over to grab a hold of what he thought was just a cone-shaped shade, upon brushing his gloved fingers against the fabric surface of the object, it soon dawned on Goblin Slayer that what he was looking at was actually a heavy-duty bin-container. Picking up the fabric-coated container, Goblin Slayer took one look at how small and portable the actual projector was, and immediately shoved both the device and its remote controller into his leather pouch, before fiddling with the top of the container in his grasp.
Upon popping open the container, Goblin Slayer was met with the sight of metal chains connected to flattened-out silver emblems. Thinking that he had stumbled upon an old jewelry box, it wasn't long until Goblin Slayer realized what was actually inside the fabric-covered bin-container. 'They're… They're all dog tags,' Goblin Slayer thought, as he took one necklace out and began reading it. "Commander Nathan Grommash, North Jaegers, Forty-Seconded Squadron. Blood Type: B-Negative. Home: North Ambria. Religion: Septian Church," Goblin Slayer muttered quietly to himself with a perplexed and intrigued voice.
Wanting to show respect for those who were important enough to Captain Windslet for him to have gone out of his way to collect all of their dog tags and keep them next to his recording, Goblin Slayer put the metal necklace back into the fabric-covered container. Closing the bin up before placing it back on the coffee table, Goblin Slayer continued to explore the rest of the basement with his ebony spear held in his hand.
After carefully checking for any more possible traps and magic runes, once Goblin Slayer had finished with his inspection of all rooms within the basement home, he felt eager to finally have free reign of the cozy set up that was underneath the observation tower. Taking his belt off and setting it down on the marble counter within what looked to be a medium-sized kitchen fitted with appliances that he had never seen before, it didn't take long for Goblin Slayer to finish tinkering with all the electronic devices before becoming somewhat familiar with their different functions.
Reaching up into the cabinets of where the kitchen sink was, Goblin Slayer took out a glass cup before closing the cabinet door. Making his way past the kitchen to the sleek metal refrigerator, Goblin Slayer was able to figure out how to use the large devices's ice-dispenser before switching over to pour himself a steady stream of cold-purified water that filled his cup with the best tasting and most refreshing water that he had ever had.
Enthralled with how convenient the modern luxuries of the household appliances were, Goblin Slayer refilled his glass cup one more time to drink it slower; appreciating the taste of clean water, rather than just downing it for the sake of rehydrating his body. Taking his cup of ice-water with him to the bathroom, Goblin Slayer wanted to explore the miraculous plumbing-inventions that he had access to. Starting with the shower, Goblin Slayer was able to figure out how to adjust the heat of the water that was cascading out of the steel shower head.
Setting his glass cup on top of the bathroom sink, Goblin Slayer stripped himself of what remained of his dirty clothes, and hoped that he knew what he was doing as he used his first fully functional toilet. Flushing it once he the built in bidet inside the ceramic bowl surprised him by cleaning him, the experience of relieving himself had just become far less of a hassle than it usually was for him. Getting up to use the bathroom sink, Goblin Slayer washed his hands with soap he got from the table-top dispenser, before finally hopping into the shower to wash all the sweat and grime off of his scarred body.
After thirty minutes of performing the most self-care he had ever done for himself beneath the comforting and soothing hot water, Goblin Slayer stepped out of the shower to dry himself off using the untouched towels that were hung from the mounted metal rack, that was drilled into the decorated white-painted walls of the bathroom.
Feeling more pristine than he had ever felt in his life, with the shampoo and body wash he had used making him smell like a cross between a mint plant and an eucalyptus tree, Goblin Slayer couldn't help but to see what else there was within the bathroom that he could pamper himself with. Kneeling down beneath the kitchen sink to explore the cabinets, Goblin Slayer soon came across a brown pre-packaged grooming kit that looked far more manufactured than anything he had ever come across in his kingdom's marketplace before.
Opening it up like it was a birthday gift, all the brooding behavior that had come into fruition after acquiring so much childhood trauma seemed to melt away the moment Goblin Slayer popped open the plastic top of the grooming kit. With the help of the instruction manual that came with all the brushes, pastes, files and creams within the box, Goblin Slayer was able to learn how to properly take care of his personal hygiene; a practice that wasn't at all common within his kingdom.
Cleaning his ears, brushing his teeth and cutting his finger and toe nails with tools and pastes that were all new to him, the final activity that Goblin Slayer did that came with the kit involved using face wash to properly cleanse his facial pores. Even though he had absolutely lost track of time, by the end of his bathroom adventure Goblin Slayer felt radiating with confidence and pride; something that he hadn't felt since he was an adventurous child. Now that he had become cleaner than he ever had, the thought of putting his dirty clothes back on actually bothered Goblin Slayer to the point that he chose to kick them to the corner of the bathroom instead of reaching down to move them with his hands.
Just like the rest of what could be considered an underground bunker, the interior design of the master bedroom he walked into next wasn't regal when it came to its decor. It was a simple room with a queen-size mattress on top of a wooden bed frame that had dressers filled with untouched and clean, albeit old, clothes that Goblin Slayer had a blast searching through. With there being an actual lamp in the room that quickly figured out how to use, Goblin Slayer was able to use its cozy and shaded light to pick and choose what his available options of clothing were.
Unfortunately, all the clothes of whoever last lived beneath the observatory tower were all slightly too big for Goblin Slayer. Luckily for him though, he had brought his sewing kit with them, and it was within the side leather pouch he kept attached to his belt. Picking out a few pairs of clean underwear, socks, a couple long-sleeved mock turtleneck shirts and a pair of cargo pants, Goblin Slayer took his compiled haul over to the living room. Sitting down naked on the couch after he retrieved his sewing kit from the marble table, Goblin Slayer was completely relaxed and content with his new surroundings as he calmly hemmed each article of second handed clothing.
Once he had finished sewing together the cuffed ends of his new black cargo pants, Goblin Slayer stood up from the middle cushion of the couch. Before he could slide his legs into his new pair of nylon-spandex boxers, it was then that his nose caught the whiff of something foul and unpleasant to his senses. Without even thinking about it, Goblin Slayer turned around to face where the source of the body odor was coming from, and there before him stood Hero with Kaguya on her shoulder; both females gobsmacked at how pampered and clean Goblin Slayer was, and were stunned at the sheer size of his exposed manhood.
With what little blood she had inside of her body, Hero's face was still able to produce enough color in her cheeks to showcase just how utterly embarrassed and heated she was in that very moment. "W-Wow…! Y… You look… Really, really nice… Eren~," Hero stuttered out with a wide grin forming over her lips, as she tried her best to prevent her eyes from wandering too far down south from Goblin Slayer's scarlet gaze.
Having already been seen in his underwear by the now extremely aroused young adventurer, Goblin Slayer wasn't even aware of the sexual tension within the room; completely oblivious to the fact that not only did Hero want to take him right there and then on the couch, but so did Kaguya.
"Thank you, I can show you the neat ceramic tub-thing that dispenses heated water through a metal valve system. Once you shower off all that sweat and blood, it'll be unlike anything you've ever felt," Goblin Slayer said enthusiastically with a gentle smile across his lips, as he put his feet through the openings of the dark boxers, before pulling them up to cover his goods from the lustful eyes of the two females before him.
"Here, before we get you cleaned up, allow me to show you something that's really, REALLY amazing!" Goblin Slayer said with a glimmer of excitement behind his scarlet eyes, before walking around the couch in just his underwear. With his backside being ogled at by both Hero and Kaguya, Goblin Slayer made his way into the kitchen, where he opened the top cabinet to pull out a glass cup for Hero. Being more excited than anyone else about giving Hero the freshest and most crisp cup of iced-water she could ever ask for, Goblin Slayer was in for a shock the moment he walked back into the living room.
Standing on top of a pile of her stripped armor and clothes, Hero did her best to push her insecurities into the back of her head as she presented her small breasts and sweaty body for Goblin Slayer to look at. With her heart thumping inside of her chest, and her unshaven loins beginning to feel heated from the possibility of her losing her virginity to Goblin Slayer, Hero was smiling anxiously at her childhood crush, while holding her hands beneath her breasts to push her boobs up, as a way to make them look bigger than they actually were.
"Eren, I'm… I'm ready for you; I-I'm ready to give my body to you~," Hero said nervously, while trying her best to sound seductive, while Kaguya sat on top of her bare shoulder; feeling envious that she couldn't transform herself back into her true form, so that she could present her voluptuous body to her champion as well.
Standing there with the cup of ice-water in his hand, Goblin Slayer remained silent as he stared back at Hero's lustful gaze; blinking a couple times at her, before finally coming up for a reason for what she meant with her words. "Good, I'm happy to hear that your body is ready for me; I can't wait to show you how great the shower-contraption is, and that's not even the best part: there's a ceramic invention in there that flushes down bodily waste. Once you relieve yourself in it, it'll be hard to even THINK about going back to chamber pots," Goblin Slayer said, and watched as Hero became deadpanned as he handed her the cup of iced-water.
"Enjoy drinking the water, and come follow me: I'll show you what I mean," Goblin Slayer said, before once again turning his back to Hero and Kaguya. Walking toward the direction of the hallway leading into the bathroom that he had hyped up so much, Goblin Slayer focused on turning the water valves of the shower to achieve the perfect temperature for Hero; leaving her alone with Kaguya, as she continued to hold onto the glass cup he had given her.
Furrowing her brows from how sexually frustrated she was, Hero let out an angered sigh as she turned to face where Kaguya was looking back at her. "Rabbit Goddess… Can you use your cool magic to like… Knock some common sense into Eren's head? Otherwise, I think I'm gonna have to be a lot more direct with my advances with him," Hero vented with an annoyed tone in her voice, before raising the rim of the glass up to her lips.
Taking a long gulp of the ice-cold refreshing water, Hero's eyes widened as her grumpy demeanor washed away immediately. Raising the glass of iced water up to her eyes to marvel at it, Hero was instantly impressed by what Goblin Slayer had given to her. "WOW!!! That really is some GOOD water!"