Deep in the woods of the "Valley Rose Foothills"— where the coastal redwood trees loomed over the shimmering waters of the Adrian Sea in the distance, and where travelers from across all four corners would pay a visit, whenever they had enough of the sights and smells that made up Floré's city life— resided a tribe of anthropomorphic rabbits.
Renowned locally for two things— their high libido, and their willingness to mate with just about anyone— the "Redwood Harefolks" had long since lost their fear of a majority of people— which meant that the lone rabbit girl with silky-white fur that was out in the forest in search of truffles paid no mind to the smell of goblin and human in the air.
Holding a woven basket that was filled with several handfuls of black truffles that she had found thus far, the rabbit woman used her free paw to adjust the straw hat on top of her head that she had been presumably gifted. With the brim of her headgear providing proper shade to her large, beady black eyes, the rabbit woman turned at the waist toward where she had smelled the musk in the air— showing that she meant no harm the terrified six year-old in the distance, by tipping her straw hat at her with a warm smile across her furry face.
Unbeknownst to the friendly four-foot tall rabbit woman, the true reason behind why Juliet was trembling with tears pouring down her cheeks wasn't because of she was frightened of her— rather, the true cause of her distress resided in the loaded chamber of the revolver she had aimed at her torso.
Unlike the child who she was standing directly behind, Amerika had a cold-calculating demeanor about her that was mostly masked by the bandages she wore across her face— her pitch black tinted goggles being accurate to the impression that her yellow eyes gave off, as she stared not at a peaceful tribal, but at a target.
"That's it, love; yew've got her right in yewr sights," Amerika whispered encouragingly into the back of Juliet's ear— her small arms sandwiching the six year-old scrawny body beneath her forearms, as the goblin girl subtly did her best to assist the crying child by keeping her arms held up from her small triceps.
Swallowing back the lump that had gotten caught in her throat, the blond little girl let out a trembling breath. "I… I don't wanna hurt her, Miss Amerika," Juliet whispered back in a hoarse voice— her hands shaking even more violently, which only resulted in the goblin girl leaning her breasts up against her upper back, so as to hold her arms steady by her elbows.
With how close she had gotten to Juliet's backside, Amerika had to resort to pressing her cheek up against her boney nape— allowing to hear the distraught child's racing heartbeat and rapid breathing, even more than she had thus far.
'Goddamnit, kid,' Amerika thought exasperatingly to herself— rolling her eyes, so as to make light of the situation to herself, as the sinking feeling of guilt made her stomach churn. "I knew you don't, sweetie— which is why it's important we nip that in the bud, while we still can…"
Unconvinced from Amerika's soft spoken words of encouragement, Juliet let out another deep, trembling sigh out from her quivering lips— shaking her head slowly at first, as her sweaty fingers gripped the handle of the firearm out of frustration.
"I-I understand the lesson you're trying to teach me, ma'am; we don't need to hurt this poor woman…!" Juliet protested, as she slid her index finger away from the revolver's trigger— much to Amerika's annoyance. "If a t-target is needed, can't we just use a tree to shoot at instead…?!"
Attempting to remain level-headed in the face of adversity, Amerika took in a calming breath through her bandages— meditating on her next course of actions, while the furry anthro woman obviously continued to use her large foot to dig at the forest floor in a lackadaisical fashion.
"... Do yew recall wot I told yew 'bout huntin'...? 'Bout how different it is to shoot somethin' that yew've got the luxury of sparring…?" The goblin girl whispered as patiently as could into the quaking child's ear— giving her small elbows a small squeeze of reassurance, as she added, "The fear, the sadness that yew're feelin' right now…? Reminiscent of how yew felt when SHE beat yew and left yew to die in that alleyway, innit…?"
Cringing while clenching her teeth together, Amerika immediately felt as though a dagger were twisting in her chest— the disgust she had for herself left a sour taste in her mouth, which was only amplified upon feeling Juliet's entire body tense up. "That lil' girl I saw layin' in a pool of her own p-piss and blood…? She deserved that— h-had wot was comin' to her…"
"W… W-What did you just say to me, m-ma'am…?" Juliet uttered out in a hollow voice— any traces of her anguish replaced by disbelief at what the woman who was supposed to be her mentor had said.
'No point in holding back now— even if she'll hate me for this,' Amerika thought to herself with dismay, as the thought of losing Juliet's trust felt nothing short of heart crushing to the well intentioned goblin.
"I said… I-I said yew deserved wot happened to yew," Amerika forced herself to say cruelty, as her own chest began to tighten from how much it hurt to tell Juliet that— the feeling soon subsiding, upon envisioning herself laying on the tree trunk, instead of remembering how pitiful the six-year old looked when they found her.
Breathing deeper breaths that were still shaky— albeit less frantic than before— Juliet remained deathly silent for a painstakingly long period of time— the tensions between them rising, as the rabbit woman was none the wiser to what was transpiring in the near distance.
"You… Y-You don't mean any of tha-"
"-The bloody hell I don't, love— ever since that shite happened to yew, I've felt nothin'— and I mean NOTHIN'— but DISGUST at wot a pitiful piece of shite yew are…!" Amerika interrupted with genuine disdain in her voice— snarling her upper lip, as she continued to hurl insults indirectly at the betrayed child.
"M… M-Miss Amerika… Stop it… Stop it right now— p-please," Juliet said in a low voice— more so as a warning, than an actual plea. "I-I don't like what you're saying."
"How's 'bout yew woman up, n' do something 'bout it then…?! For once in yewr pathetic life, why don't yew stop pretendin' to live in whatever bullshite fantasy yew've got goin' on for yewrself, and actually make a real fockin' difference out here…?!" Amerika continued to antagonize, while feeling Juliet's body beginning to shake violently underneath her.
"Fockin' coddled lil' coward, is wot yew bloody are— can't do shite, when it matters the most…!" The goblin girl said spitefully, while still envisioning herself saying those toxic words at herself, rather than the child whose finger was slowly finding its way back to the trigger.
"... Bet that's why yewr fockin' parents are dead too, innit-?!"
"-I SAID STOP IT!" Juliet shrieked in a fit of rage— her shrill voice of raw emotion causing Amerika to instinctively reached up to cover her ears, which allowed the six year-old to break free from her grasp.
"S-Shite…!" Amerika muttered under her breath, before preparing herself to sprint after Juliet.
Unexpectedly however, instead of fleeing into the woods like how the goblin girl assumed she would, the vindictive girl spun around on her heel with the firearm drawn.
Despite the horrifying feeling of having the six-inch barrel of her own firearm aimed directly at her chest, the tutoring part of Amerika couldn't help but to be left in awe at how perfect Juliet's form was— her feet spread apart, and her elbows tucked into her chest to assist her with the revolver's recoil, just like how she had taught her.
In the infuriated girl's open sights, Amerika stood grounded to the spot she was in— raising her arms slowly up to the sides of her shoulders, while attempting to remain as calm and composed as she could in face of probable death. "N-Now love, let's not do anythin' that we'd regre-"
"-STOP TALKING!" Juliet screamed at the goblin girl from the top of her lungs— her reddened face glistening with tears, as her narrowed blue eyes conveyed a sense of frustration, and agony in them. "Y-You…! Y-You just want to hurt others, b-because you can't STAND to feel like you're the only one suffering in this world!"
Biting back her tongue, Amerika remained standing with her arms held up in surrender— part of her mentally kicking herself for having put her mask back on, instead of being able to convey her transparency with the unhinged little girl.
"W-Well you're not the only one who lost everything, okay?! OKAY?!" Juliet shrieked with her eyes widened, as she waved the barrel of the revolver at the goblin girl. "I-I had a good life too, you know! My parents, they were…! T-They were both priests— good priests of Earth Mother, who served their community very, v-very, VERY well!"
In that moment, Juliet seemed to mentally withdraw from the high-strung situation that Amerika had accidentally pushed her into— seemingly recalling a tender memory in her stressed-out psyche. Although she was clearly disassociating, that didn't change the fact that she was still holding her fingertip against the tip of the trigger, and that if nothing else, her resolve seemed to be hardening right before Amerika's panicked eyes.
"... My village was invaded by very, very bad men… I saw them do terrible things to my father… Saw them burn him alive, in his own church," Juliet muttered with genuine hatred behind her words, as she seemed to be reliving through those repressed memories. "My mom… My mom was the only reason those bad men didn't touch me…"
"... For an entire year, they took turns doing awful, horrible things to her— and she let them, all because she wanted to keep me safe," Juliet revealed tragically, which only made Amerika that much more remorseful for what she had said to her. "She gave birth to a boy— no one knew whose it was…"
"... Not like it mattered though— those monsters ending up using him, while he was still covered in my mom's blood— they kept passing him around, until there was nothing left of his body for them to ravage."
Hearing that was Amerika's breaking point; combined with the self-hatred she was harboring, along with realizing just how awful Juliet's life was made her begin retching. "O-Oh God— o-oh F-FOCK…!" Amerika choked out, and froze while feeling the bile rushing up her throat— finally ripping the bandages from her mouth, before vomiting her breakfast all over the forest floor, and giving the rabbit woman the courage to cease being an onlooker, and to take action.
"H-Hello! Hello, hi! Hi!" The rabbit woman called out in an intimidated voice, so as to alert them of her presence before cautiously beginning to slowly hop her way over to where she saw only a little blond girl with her head tilted down.
Watching as Amerika fell to her knees while continuing to empty the contents of her stomach, Juliet silently raised the barrel of the revolver up to the top of the goblin girl's head— dancing with the idea of ending the goblin girl's life, just how she had once wanted to do against the men who broke her mother.
"... I may be a lot of things, Miss Amerika, but my mother didn't raise me to be a coward— your cruel words reminded me of that," Juliet said in a low voice that reminded Amerika of the way Ren usually spoke. Pulling the barrel of the revolver away from the dry-heaving goblin's cranium, Juliet let out a low sigh as she put her gun back into its holster.
"She taught me the value of forgiveness— a lesson that you need to learn, just as I needed to learn to stand up for myself," Juliet spoke in a softer-sounding voice, that the one she had used previously— the cold-disdain vacating her body, as her shoulders began relaxing.
""Hatred is a poison that'll only harm you— its vessel— more than whatever it is that you're trying to pour it onto,"" Juliet recited in a saddened voice, as her lips began quivering like before uttering out, "Y-You should remember that verse, Miss Amerika— it'll… I-It'll do you some g-good."
"Amerika,"
"My efforts of the Adventuers' Guild accepting that I'm "Goblin Slayer" have been successful— I was even issued a brand new ID card, with the seal of authenticity, and everything."
"I've been accepted to be a part of a mass raiding party— fifty adventurers in total, or so I've heard. My quest will have me sail to Siclia Island; there, I'll be landing at Port Catan, before all of us walk to Mount Ebott to search for an Arc Mage that's wanted for treason."
"It's ironic that in order to pay for a voyage that would have lasted far shorter, I'll be having to take a government-funded journey not only through the Adrian Sea, but through the Ion Sea as well. Funny how that works, huh?"
"I digress."
"The name they had listed for her on the quest was "Rowena MacDonagh". She has blond hair, white skin, wears glasses, brown eyes, is one-hundred and sixty-eight centimeters tall, and supposedly is well endowed in the chest. It might be a fake name though, so take that with a grain of salt."
"The quest is offering two-hundred and fifty platinum coins upon completion, which divided by fifty, will mean that I would be receiving five-thousand of those pieces of platinum— easily more than enough to fund the rest of our travel expenses, and see to it that my older sister is cared for."
"However, that's not why I'm accepting the quest."
"The quest mentioned that the Arc Mage had in her possession a "gold-plated orb" that she had supposedly stolen from the monarchy— exactly who was in possession of said orb previously, and the details around the incident remain a mystery."
"Considering that this quest was issued by the Ministry of Justice— the same government entity that the Completionist was attempting to keep blissfully ignorant of his endeavors— I have reason to believe, without a shadow of a doubt in my mind, that there's more to this than what meets the eye."
"There's a connection here, and knowing that the Completionist was a man, and not a woman— like how had said— I believe that the Arc Mage and him are two completely separate people. Whether they're allies or oppositions to one another, is what I intend on discovering."
"I intend to investigate this matter— not as an adventurer, but as your friend."
"If the Arc Mage is compliant and is an enemy of the Completionist, then there's a chance she'll be more than willing to aid us on our quest to retrieve your sternengesang. If that's not the case, and she proves herself loyal to the man who took everything from you then she shall meet her end."
"Regardless of what transpires on that island, I shall be returning with that artifact she stole. I'll let you decide whether its an actual sternengesang, or if it's just something else entirely. And if anyone from the guild attempts to take the device from me, I'll have no other choice but to get them to back down. Hopefully, it won't resort to anything violent."
"Best case scenario, the quest offered to pay five platinum coins for the Arc Mage's witch hat; I'm sure she'll be willing to part with it, if it means ambiguously reassuring the King of her false demise. Should buy her time to help us, if nothing else."
"If I don't return within the span of a week, then you can assume that I'm dead, in which case all that I ask of you is that you see to it that Bethany Heim receives the enveloped letter that I had the front desk receptionist keep stored away. I trust that you'll also ensure Juliet's well being, and have her sent to the Heim Family Farmhouse near Maggiore Village, in my post mortem."
"No matter what becomes of me, I need you to live the rest of your life to its fullest, Amerika; even if it's not as glamorous as retrieving the heirloom of your family, settling down and living the remainder of your days in peace is what your parents would have wanted for you. It's what Mili would have wanted."
"Moving onto a less grim topic."
"There's a job board posted outside the Floré library; it might be worth checking out, if you need some extra coin to get by, until my return. Please continue to protect and watch over Juliet, and perhaps see about setting up passage for her, regardless of whether I'm there or not to see her off? I wouldn't be amiss returning to her absence— not if it means I know she's safe with Beth."
"And that concludes my letter to you. Hopefully I'll be back in a few days— the quicker this is said and done, the better."
"Your friend,"
"Ren Ashta."