"Any goblin quests?" Goblin Slayer asked Guild Girl as soon as he entered the Guild Hall. It was routine to hear him asking the same thing the first hour of the day. Before the receptionist could answer, Priestess and Grimm Slayer approached him.
"Hey, you arrived!" the young Adventurer said, holding tight to her staff. "A group Huntesmen are asking for you!"
"Are they?" Goblin Slayer asked with a dry tone.
"Yes," Guild Girl said. "They came here not too long ago. They are already waiting on the tables."
"I see."
"Come on, let's not make them wait!" Grimm Slayer pointed at where they must go. It was almost as if both girls had to drag the armored guy by both arms until they reached the table where those strange Huntsmen were sitting.
As they approached the table, the biggest Huntsman looked at the two girls and Goblin Slayer walking towards them. He slowly had his hand on his massive iron club as he was ready to fight them.
"Who the hell are you?" he asked gruffly, making the girls uneasy about being around them. They were already too nervous to talk to the group of Huntsmen. However, naturally, Goblin Slayer had nerves of steel.
"I believe that you been looking for me," his response made the tense air more comfortable as the short guy smiled, and the big guy didn't grab his weapon. The guy with glasses still acted like nothing had happened.
"Is that so?" the short guy said. "Then come on! Sit with us!" Goblin Slayer and the girls sat on the opposite side of the table while looking eye-to-eye.
"Isn't he taking his helmet or what?" the big guy interrogated.
"He is always like that, don't mind him," Grimm Slayer reassured the group. Their only reaction was a shrug, which led them to get to the point without getting sidetracked before starting the meeting.
Once both groups were comfortable and asked the Padfoot Waitress for drinks, they were ready to discuss their business.
"So, you're Goblin Slayer?" the jovial guy asked the armored guy before turning at Priestess and Grimm Slayer. "And, of course, who you two cuties might be?"
"I-I'm Priestess."
"And mine is Grimm Slayer."
"Alright! Allow us to introduce ourselves too," the smiling Huntsman cleared his throat before continuing. "I'm Dagger Scout, at your service. Do not fear that I'm always willing to help everyone, especially a pair of ladies like yourselves." He winked at them, but neither girl was impressed. The big guy, however, smacked his friend in the face. "Ow!"
"Focus, dumbass!" he scolded Dagger Scout before turning at Grimm Slayer and Priestess. "I'm Wall Buster." He emitted an intimidating aura that could make anyone tremble near him.
"N-Nice to meet you, M-Mr. Wall Buster..." Priestess greeted nervously, but the big guy scoffed.
"And this other fella is my right-right hand, Desert Marksman," Scout said while pointing at his left. The man with glasses cleaned his weapon as if he wasn't part of the meeting. That weapon looked similar to Grimm Slayer's, but it had a weird cylinder with two lenses attached to the iron sight and without the scythe on the stock.
"You are a fellow sniper, aren't you?" the hooded girl said, hoping he would join the conversation. "I'm honored to meet another Huntsman with the same skill as me." Grimm Slayer tried to make small talk, but he barely seemed to be paying attention.
"Forget that idiot," Buster said, albeit annoyed. "Four-Eyes can't have something in his mind except maintaining that hunk of junk."
"This rifle is important to me," Marksman broke the silence while his eyes focused on the weapon. "You wouldn't understand that since you continue breaking your equipment on a daily basis."
"Hey! It's not my fault that every blacksmith so far has poor craftsmanship to keep up with my strength!"
"I'm sure the old man working here might have something," Dagger Scout said, comfortable. "I heard he works with unusual requests and delivers guaranteed results."
"You sound like one of those snake-oil traders," Wall Buster snorted.
"Maybe I should try snake-oil to clean my rifle's barrel," Desert Marksman commented, probably thinking out loud.
The meeting already got sidetracked between those three Huntsmen, confusing Grimm Slayer and Priestess. Goblin Slayer remained quiet, waiting for them to make their questions. How this Huntsmen group interacted showed that they had traveled together already for quite some time. Priestess already felt familiar with that sort of situation.
Nonetheless, time was still running out. The clergy girl was still determining if she should interrupt the Huntsmen to continue focusing on the meeting. However, being assertive wasn't much of her nature, at least with strangers.
"Excuse me!"
Of course, the hooded girl didn't have much of a problem. The Huntsmen stopped talking and turned their heads at her.
"Sorry for interrupting, but aren't we forgetting something?"
"What? Oh, yeah! The reason we are here!" Dagger Scout cleared his throat. "Well, I heard you are an expert hunting those creatures called "goblins" from here, right?"
"That's correct," Goblin Slayer said.
"I still don't believe it," Buster argued. "I heard he was also a Silver Adventurer. Your armor looks all worn-out and weak for someone who are supposed to be strong."
"Goblins use rudimentary equipment, usually old or makeshift. I don't need armor that slows me down. I only need it to protect me with essential parts of the body."
"You sounded definitely like an expert hunter," Marksman complimented, smiling for the first time. "I do trust someone who knows their prey well."
"I will give it that." Wall Buster nodded. "You don't trust any stranger, unlike this idiot on my left," he said, glaring at Scout.
"Hey, what's wrong with trusting cute girls whenever they need our help?"
"Case and point."
"Umm, excuse me," Priestess said. "What exactly do you need of Mr. Goblin Slayer's help?"
"It's nothing complicated, well, at least not to an extent." Dagger Scout began looking for something in his pockets until he laid something on the table. Both girls and the armored guy leaned in to see a small, square object. Its color was shiny brown. It wasn't a bronze coin but something equally valuable for everyone's lives: Copper.
"Is that...?" Priestess said.
"No mistake, that's a Huntsman's tag." Grimm Slayer touched it to confirm if it was real. It represented one rank above her, or at least when she was at Remnant because she was Sapphire on this side of the world.
"Yep, that's why we are here." Dagger Scout and his fellow Huntsmen began showing their own tags. All of them had the same metal as the one on the table. They also had Emerald Rank as their temporary tags during their stay at the Frontier.
"From who is this tag?" Priestess asked.
"That's my Bro's," the jovial guy responded. "His name is Duelist."
"What happened to him?" Grimm Slayer asked.
"That's what we don't know," Wall Buster said, less angry than how he usually behaved. "We were doing a quest two days ago on the north from here, exploring an abandoned temple like many others do. Same routine."
"We are always cautious whenever we adventure into uncharted territory. Especially with Duelist's methodical mind." Desert Marksman adjusted his glasses while explaining. "Sadly, as the inhabitants from the Frontier say: we had a bad roll of dice and ended up overwhelmed in seconds."
"By goblins, isn't it?" Priestess pointed out.
The group of Huntsmen nodded unanimously.
"Yep," the big guy sighed. "We always dealt with either Grimm or bandits, but somehow, those little shits had the upper hand, and we ran away like cowards."
"We didn't run away," Dagger Scout said. "We made a strategic retreat."
"I'm sure that's not how it went," Desert Marksman corrected.
"Whatever the case, my Bro ordered us to leave the place while he distracted those goblins. None of us agreed to that idea, but it was our only chance to survive and come back with a better plan."
"But you knew you couldn't do it alone, right?" Grimm Slayer asked.
"We know jack-shit about goblins," Wall Buster replied. "Those stupid imps are unpredictable, and we managed to smoke a couple before bailing out."
"And that's why you are looking for Mr. Goblin Slayer?" Priestess said.
Dagger Scout snapped his fingers as affirmation. "Bingo!" The jovial guy smiled.
"We need more intel from these creatures," Marksman said. "I know Huntsmen are more than capable of adapting against every possible situation, but perhaps goblins are on a different mindset than bandits or Grimm. So looking for an expert sounded like the most logical."
"And also, we don't want to deal with her if our party leader gets killed before we return to the Kingdom of Atlas," Buster groaned.
"Who?" Grimm Slayer asked, curious about what person the big guy meant.
"Let's not dig into that, alright? You shouldn't need to worry about it." Scout waved his hand, wanting to quickly change the topic. "So, what do you say? Can you give us a hand? If you change your mind and can't help us, don't worry, this is more of a personal request than anything. We will understand."
"I can give you necessary advise if you are willing to listen. Goblins are stupid creatures, but not fools."
"Great to hear!" Scout clapped as a sign of agreement. "If you need time to prepare first, we will wait outside the town's limits. Thank you for this, my dude!"
The meeting concluded when the Huntsmen stood up, thanked the girls and Goblin Slayer for their attention, and left the Guild Hall.
Both girls didn't move from their chairs as they reflected on this personal request for Goblin Slayer. He was still in his seat, probably reflecting as he remained quiet. Priestess seemed worried that he was overworking again since it wasn't a full day of rest yet. Unfortunately, they couldn't ask any of their allies for help, either. After that Raid Quest, everyone must be exhausted. It would be unfair to make everyone work after yesterday. Then again, that was the life of Adventurers and Huntsmen, as the world was never at peace, not even for one day.
"Should we do something?" Grimm Slayer asked, still processing the information.
"I'm still trying to figure out if today is the best day for this quest," Priestess replied. "You and Mr. Goblin Slayer are still recovering after yesterday."
"But these Huntsmen need his help. So I don't blame them for having troubles with goblins like us the first time."
"Same for Adventurers with the Grimm in this case."
There were doubts between the girls. They seemed desperate to save their friend despite their odd and rough appearances. It was common for people from other places directly request Goblin Slayer himself for such jobs. He was an expert in his field, but he was still a mortal man at the end of the day.
"I will restock supplies," Goblin Slayer said as he stood up.
"Are you sure of accepting the quest right away?" Grimm Slayer worried. "You could use take a break for a day."
"Goblins don't rest. You can stay here if you want," Goblin Slayer responded dully.
Grimm Slayer wasn't sure if to respect his commitment or stubbornness. Like her uncle, she knew of Huntsmen who could work for days without rest. But there was always a limit. What should she do?
"I will go with you!" Priestess said without second thoughts.
"Are you serious?" the hooded girl asked.
"They might need a healer. I could always bring some support, right? Mr. Goblin Slayer?" Priestess turned to the armored guy.
"Fine by me," he said.
"Well, then I will go with you as well!" Grimm Slayer jumped from her seat, almost unable to contain her nerves.
"Are you sure of that?" the clergy girl asked. "Wouldn't your sister and friends mind if you decide to go in a quest without them?"
"I will probably have to. I don't want my party to worry about me if I disappeared all the sudden."
It was decided. Goblin Slayer and Priestess would talk to their allies before buying supplies, while Grimm Slayer had to deal with her side of things. Also, they wouldn't need a large party since six tend to be the limit on regular quests, at least on the Frontier. Grimm Slayer started getting used to such large groups since Huntsmen parties were always limited to four people.
The number four was considered sacred in Remnant for various reasons, at least ever since ancient times. So should it be regarded as bad luck if Huntsmen formed larger parties? They were no longer home, so the Maidens may have mercy on them.
As Grimm Slayer was about to go upstairs to look for her party, they were already out as they entered through the front door.
"There you are!" Elemental Fencer exclaimed. Cat Ninja and Furious Brawler were behind the sophisticated lady while eating skewered meat. "Where have you been? We looked for you all morning!"
"Sorry, I was busy."
"With what?"
"Well, a group of Huntsmen came looking for Goblin Slayer and wanted to hear what they had to say."
"Let me guess, they wanted help on how to kill goblins?" Fencer didn't seem amused. "I got enough of 'goblins this' and 'goblins that'! I don't want to hear that word for a week!"
"But I can understand their need to learn how to kill those creatures," Cat Ninja said. "I heard the Adventurer Guild staff want to form a course for Adventurers to teach them how to kill Grimm."
"And Uncle will be in charge of the course!" Brawler added.
"I don't think he would want to teach again," Grimm Slayer commented.
"That is what he said, but he told me why he traveled here," the blond Huntress explained. "It was a direct request from the Headmaster of Beacon Academy."
"The Headmaster?" the hooded girl looked surprised that one of Remnant's most influential people convinced someone like Scythe Rouge to teach again. Her uncle wasn't an easy person when it came to authority, but if he was in the Frontier for that reason, things must be already dire.
"So, back to the group that asked for Goblin Slayer," Cat Ninja said. "What is he gonna do? Is he really going to accompany them alone?"
"No, Priestess and I will go as well."
Grimm Slayer's party was in shock after hearing her of what should be an outlandish idea.
"Are you an idiot?" Fencer criticized. "Why would you bother go after what we did yesterday? Didn't you have enough adventures for a day?"
"Well, there's something I want to know," the hooded girl said, almost stammering.
"About what?" Cat Ninja asked, but Grimm Slayer seemed already lost in thought.
Furious Brawler looked intensively at her sister for a few seconds before making a large grind in her face. The other girls also began smiling, leaving Grimm Slayer confused about everyone's stares focusing on her.
"What?"
"Awwww, my baby sister is having her first crush!" Brawler fawned as she began hugging the hooded girl.
"Sis, it's not like that!" Grimm Slayer protested, but none of them believed her.
"Then why are you accompanying that weirdo?" Fencer asked.
"I want to learn more from him because I need to know how goblins can tame Grimm without issues."
Everyone's attitude shifted as they got severe on that matter. No one could have a concrete answer of how those foul green creatures were capable of such a feat. The Grimm was nothing but wild and unpredictable. That was what they always believed, but after witnessing that improbable cooperation, it was clear that something else was afoot.
"To tell the truth, I am curious as well," said the Faunus, scratching her left ear.
"I don't understand either, but if you think he might know something, then count me out because I refuse to have more goblin's blood on my clothes for a long, long time!" Fencer made it clear.
"Don't worry. I didn't intend to ask you to accompany me. All of you already worked hard enough, and you deserve a break." Grimm Slayer tried to reassure her party, but it wasn't enough to dissipate Brawler's concerns.
"Are you sure you don't want me to tag along?" the boisterous blond asked.
"I'm sure of it. I'm not a little kid anymore," the hooded girl said as her silver eyes were filled with determination. Brawler could do nothing but accept it.
"Alright, but remember, if Goblin Slayer does something that might harm you, I will take his helmet and throw it to an outhouse. Understand?"
"Always, sis."
The sisters hugged while Elemental Fencer and Cat Ninja wished luck to their party leader. Eventually, they continued teasing her about what they still assumed to be young, innocent love as she left Guild Hall.
Grimm Slayer had nothing but respect and curiosity toward the armored guy. He was odd, but he always knew how to accomplish his work. She hoped that doing a quest with him and Priestess might give the hooded girl some insight about the goblins and how to be a better Huntress. She was ready while carrying her weapon and a bag of supplies.
Hello everyone! It's been so long since my last update. I don't know how many of you are still following this story, but whoever are here, you have my sincerest gratitude for sticking around despite never updating. Apologizing might not be enough, so I decided to reveal the reason why it took me so long to write a new chapter.
For almost two years, I been writing my first book. Between work, moving to another city, and going back to school had me busier than usual. A lot of responsibilities, but I could never stop writing as it is both my life and passion. I always intended to continue writing this fanfic and my book. So far, I'm working on the second draft and have no idea when it will be ready for publishing. I don't know if my writing improved on my absence, but I hope you enjoyed it and I hope the next chapter won't take me long.
Thank you everyone for understanding.