"Talk"

'Thought'

"Goblin Slayer! Welcome back!~"

At some barnyard farm, away from anywhere public, a young farmer girl, with pink red hair and eyes, could be seen running up to someone.

"Oh, and you brought a friend?"

And the specific someone that she ran up to was none other than Goblin Slayer and Burt Gummer, who were talking together up towards the farm.

"He helped me kill some Goblins."

Goblin Slayer stopped before the farmer girl, as he introduced his new acquaintance with her.

"I'm Burt Gummer, but you can call me just Burt."

Burt tilted his cap hat to the young woman as he gave his name to her.

"Well, since you helped my childhood friend, you can call me Cow Girl~"

The farmer girl, now known as Cow Girl, smiles at Gummer as she also introduces herself and says hello back to him.

'Does anyone have a real name here?'

Burt couldn't help but notice he was meeting a lot of people who didn't have a real name, or at least refused to share them with anyone. It made him wonder if he should do the same.

"Hey, who's this, you know I don't like it when you bring strangers to my farm without telling about it first."

Though the trio was getting to know each other, another farmer came walking in and approached the group. Though he seemed less happy than the farmer girl.

"I'm sorry, Sir."

Goblin Slayer bows his head in apologies, the older gentleman was about to say something more, but was cut off by the Gun Man.

"Please don't need to blame the poor fella, it was my fault for making him bring me here."

Burt steps up to the farmer and tries to defend his new acquaintance, taking full responsibility for his actions.

"And why did you want to come here?"

The farmer crossed his arms and eyed the Monster Hunter with suspicion.

"Suspicious of me huh? I can respect that."

Burt didn't seem upset with being not trusted by him, in fact, he was glad to meet another person who was careful with others.

"I am currently homeless and I was hoping you would be willing to let me rest here for a bit, of course I will repay you back once I get back up on my feet and find a job."

Burt had no reason to lie to the farmer, so he decided to be blunt with his intentions and what he needed.

"Hmm..."

The farmer still wore a distrustful expression, but he didn't say no immediately, momentarily looking away from Gummer to glance at the Monster Slayer.

"Is he trustworthy, Goblin Slayer?"

The farmer wanted to know the opinion of the Adventurer, even if he had a slight dislike for him, he was someone he trusted more than the stranger.

"He hasn't done anything to make me think otherwise."

Goblin Slayer gave his honest, unfiltered response, which made the farmer hum to this.

"What about you? Does he make you uncomfortable?"

The farmer then looks at the young woman that stood beside him, as he seems more concerned on how she felt about this.

"Nope, he seems fine to me too, Uncle."

As soon as Cow Girl said this, the farmer, now known as Uncle, couldn't help but let out a sigh of defeat.

"Fine, you can stay, however, since you don't have any money on you, all I can offer you is a night or two at the barn."

Uncle, after being out voted, reluctantly allowed the Gun Man to stay, it wasn't the end of the world for him obviously, but he still wasn't happy about this.

"Quite acceptable, thank you."

Once Burt was accepted to stay, he decided to show his appreciation by reaching into his bag and pulling out a couple handfuls of silver MRE bags, each labeled with "M.R.E".

"Please accept these, it's not money, but I hope this should help establish trust between us."

Burt gave his stash to them, which the farmer girl was the one to take.

"What are these?"

Cow Girl couldn't help but look at these "M.R.E" with confusion yet innocent curiosity.

"M.R.E, they're my emergency ration that can be stored and last for around 10 years, longer if you're careful enough, I can share the secret ingredients if you want to make them yourself."

When Burt offered the farmer girl how she could make them, she was about to deny his offer, but then she stopped herself and thought about it, specifically thinking about how if she learned this skill would be helpful and useful to the Adventurer.

"I-I'll think about it..."

More specifically, a certain Adventurer who was currently wearing a full set of armor and stood before the Cow Girl.

"And as for you Sir, would you care for a firearm?"

Burt decided to give them, specifically the farmer, one last gift before he went to the barn to rest.

"What?"

Uncle was immediately confused about what this "fire arm" that the Monster Hunter was talking about, as he was slightly worried that it might involve literal burning limbs.

"You just seem like the type who wants to protect their land, I can share the feeling."

Burt reached into his bag again, but instead of pulling out more M.R.E, he instead pulled out a gun, which looked more different than a pistol.

"Here's a double barrel, it has limited bullets, but you don't need to be accurate to hit someone with it."

Burt then tosses his double-barrel shotgun to the farmer, which he caught; at first he wanted to refuse the weapon and give it back, but then he stopped himself as he fully realized how the weapon felt in his hands.

'Why does this feel right in my hands?...'

Uncle couldn't put a finger on it, but when he held the shotgun in his hands, it just, it just felt right, like it was natural and something he always needed in his life.

"... Thank you, you increased your stay for an entire week."

Uncle shook his head and just accepted the gun, even allowing Gummer to stay here longer because of it.

"Many thanks."

Which made Burt smirk, as if he knew the farmer would like his new weapon.

"I'll be making dinner soon, would you like to join us?"

Cow Girl, before anyone could leave, decided to offer the Gun Man a chance to have dinner with them.

"Well, if you are ok with it, then I will humbly accept your offer."

To which Burt was happy to accept, this definitely made the farmer girl happy.

"Yay, it shall be ready in about an hour or two, see you till then~"

Cowgirl then quickly ran off, no doubt excited and about to get dinner ready, her uncle gave one last suspicious glance at the two, before walking away and following after his niece.

"Well, if you pardon me, I better get going to the barn."

Burt decided he might as well part ways too, wanting to have a chance to rest before dinner. Though before he could walk towards the barn, he was quickly grabbed and stopped by his fellow Monster Slayer. Looking back at the armoured man with a raised eyebrow.

"... Would you like to stay in my shed?"

Soon, the Goblin Slayer has taken Gummer to his shed, obviously smaller than most homes, but it was still nicely kept, not only did it seem like acceptable living quarters, but his acquaintance was able to see how the many, "Preparation", were all about.

"Ah, and here I thought I was over prepared."

While Burt saw better homes and items, he could not deny how impressed he was with how ready for anything the Monster Slayer was.

"Goblins can be tricky sometimes, it's better to know who your enemy is, so that you find a way to kill them quicker than last time."

Goblin Slayer closed and locked the door, all while moving some stuff around so that the Gun Man can both move more freely and put his bags down.

"Heh, I don't personally hunt Goblins, but I get the idea."

Burt grabbed one of the many books that were here. Looking through them, he could vaguely make out the words as Japanese. Not only was it written differently, but he wasn't an expert in the language either, which was something he needed to look into later.

"So, why did you invite me to your shed? Not that I don't mind your kindness."

Burt then puts the book down and looks fully at the Adventurer, he wasn't suspicious or anything, just genuinely curious on what his acquaintance intentions are.

"I just thought it was better than being near the animals that could accidentally wake you."

Goblin Slayer's first reason sounded simple enough, and it wasn't a lie either.

"Also, I noticed your large assortment of weapons and gear, and I was wondering if-"

"You want to see what I have and whether or not you could replicate it?"

But Burt was able to catch on with what Goblin Slayer truly wanted, again he wasn't offended, though it did increase his interest.

"Yes, though I understand if you don't want to share your secrets."

Even though the Goblin Slayer wanted to learn more from the fellow Monster Hunter, he understood enough to accept if he said no. This made Gummer think about it. Though he was willing to share some of his weapons and supplies with those who needed them, he wasn't about to give everything he had away. However...

"Hmmm... In one condition."

Burt cut off his own thoughts and looked back at the armored man, now expressing a face as if he had something planned in mind.

"What is it?"

Goblin Slayer tilted his head, wondering what he was about to be asked for from the Gun Man before him.

"You allow me to turn your shed into a proper place of operation."

When Burt finally made his request, the Adventurer still didn't understand what he was being asked.

"What do you mean?"

As Goblin Slayer questioned the Monster Hunter, he immediately responded by pulling out a blue print and showing it to him, which he takes and looks closely at it.

"Let me tell you the many benefits of having an underground bunker~"

The next day in the morning, at some kind of Adventurer Guild building, a Guild Girl of some kind could be seen sitting behind the receptionist desk, setting her things and looking through some quest paperwork, though as she was doing this, she was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door opening, which made her look up and see a certain someone walking up to her.

"Good morning Sir, are you here to make a request?"

The Guild Girl was talking to none other than Burt Gummer himself, though he was dressed as if he was prepared for war, he pushed up his sunglasses and smirked at the receptionist lady.

"Actually, I was wondering if it's possible to become a professional Adventurer here."

Don't expect Burt to give everyone he meets a gun, only those that he trusts, or want to establish trust, also he is the type who wants to help someone either defend themselves or protect others, like the Uncle and Goblin Slayer.

(BTW, who do you think is more dangerous? Goblins or Graboids?)