The task Ban brought was an extension of the Goblin Settlement incident.
Though not as perilous as that time, it was an even more stomach-churning undertaking.
It involved recovering the victims’ remains and bringing them back.
Although they had burned down the goblins’ homes and totems previously, they hadn’t been able to clear away the scattered, gruesome corpses.
“Are we to deliver these to the bereaved families?”
As I suppressed my nausea, meticulously separating the fragmented remains and bones, Ban retorted as if my question were utterly preposterous.
“These? To their families? Have you no heart?”
“Pardon…?”
“It’s better not to show them such remains.
Our duty is to recover them so they are no longer desecrated, and then to cremate or bury them through the Adventurers’ Guild.”
Ban, with a serious expression, chided me while he continued to collect the corpses, his hands gloved.
Maggots teemed everywhere, and all manner of insects, including gnats, swarmed over them.
Even though I wished not to understand what he meant by ‘no longer desecrated,’ the gruesome reality forced me to.
“……Then what should we tell these people’s families?”
“That’s not our responsibility; the Guild must locate their families and deliver the news.”
Ban sighed, then approached me to inspect the remains I had collected.
“Hey, you need to properly shake off these bugs.”
“Understood….”
“Ellie.”
“Yes?”
As I tilted my head and responded, Ban remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“Why do you think I care about you so much?”
Ban murmured, examining a severed finger that could have belonged to anyone.
It was an abrupt question, yet Ban’s voice lacked its usual levity, making me realize I needed to choose my words carefully.
“……Now that I think about it, Ban, you’ve always been kind, yet you’ve consistently spoken only of negative things.”
For instance, even when I went down into the pit to retrieve a goblin’s nose, you made what sounded like a threat, though it wasn’t strictly necessary.
He had recounted numerous tales about adventurers, and most of them were grim.
“Do you want me to quit being an adventurer?”
“…That’s your choice.
I’m not so great that I can tell others what to do.”
However— Ban continued.
“It’s just regrettable to see someone so young insist on becoming an adventurer, a profession where you live hand-to-mouth and could die at any moment.”
As expected, Ban didn’t seem to particularly like the adventuring profession itself.
Despite it being his own profession.
“Now that I think about it, it was strange.
From the moment you beckoned someone clearly incapable of heavy labor, then asked if they could exert themselves, it was odd.”
It had been peculiar from the instant he made such a comment despite my physical build.
I had thought he either had terrible eyesight or was completely free of prejudice.
It seemed he had called me over because I, appearing so young, claimed to be an adventurer.
“But Ban, to say you simply worried and cared for me, isn’t that a bit disingenuous?”
“…What.”
“You took a naive young adventurer and threw them into a goblin settlement subjugation mission where they almost died, didn’t you?
And under an 8:2 contract, no less.”
Regardless of Ban not being a villain, his current words felt somewhat absurd to take entirely seriously given that context.
“…I—I told you, didn’t I?
I’m not so great that I can dictate your choices.
Of course, I was the one who brought up the goblin subjugation, but honestly, I thought you’d get scared and run away.”
Ban’s expression was so embarrassed that I involuntarily clicked my tongue.
“Did you really expect me to get scared just by mentioning goblins?”
“Yeah….”
“Why?”
“Because I did.”
“You’re a coward, then.”
The idea of Ban, a muscular man nearly 190cm tall, being scared didn’t quite resonate with me.
Perhaps sensing my doubt, Ban mumbled in a timid voice that hardly suited his large physique.
“Well, I was young back then.”
“How old were you?”
“It was shortly after I became an adventurer, so almost ten years ago.”
He claimed to be in his mid-twenties now, so ten years ago he would have been in his mid-teens.
In that case, it was understandable that he would have been afraid at the mention of facing monsters.
Anyway.
“Stop dragging it out and just say what you need to say.
This introduction is far too long.”
“Should I?”
I had no idea why he was prolonging the conversation so much, but since I would likely remain indifferent to whatever he said, I nodded lightly.
Ban, observing my reaction, then delivered his blunt assessment.
“You have no talent.
If you want to live even a little longer, you should quit being an adventurer.”
“You can recognize talent?”
“I’m good at recognizing a lack of talent precisely because I have none myself.”
‘No talent, huh.’
I thought I understood what he meant.
“Ban, you’re regretting it, aren’t you?”
“I always regret it.
But now, it’s too late to find another path; my body is only suited for this kind of work.”
Ban shrugged his shoulders, and I cast a sidelong glance at him.
He had started adventuring ten years ago.
And now, after a decade, Ban’s rank was still Bronze.
I had heard that an adventurer needed to be at least Silver rank to be properly recognized.
If that were true, it meant Ban still wasn’t properly recognized, even after ten years.
The reason was obvious: a lack of talent.
His lack of talent had led to frustration, causing him to stagnate.
He disliked that aspect of himself, and thus projected it onto me, urging me to quit adventuring.
‘Was it for my sake, or for his own?’
I wasn’t sure, but my answer was already decided.
“I won’t regret it.
While I’m well aware of my lack of talent, I genuinely like the adventuring profession.”
“Is that so.”
I had replaced the stigma of being from the slums with the identity of an adventurer.
Even for this reason alone, I had no cause to quit being an adventurer.
“Alright then, I won’t say anything more pointless.”
Ban sighed, a mix of relief and regret, at my answer, then resumed sorting the remains.
“If you happen to find any identification tags or personal belongings they had in life, collect them separately.”
“Okay.”
Since these remains absolutely couldn’t be shown to the bereaved families,
the only alternative was to clean any personal effects and return them.
“…It’s almost over.”
“Nine people, huh.
The damage was more severe than I expected.”
I had thought there were only eight, with five female heads impaled on the totem and three male heads scattered around.
However, a skull discovered in a corner brought the total number of victims to nine.
“They should have been subjugated much earlier.”
“There’s no use saying that now.
For now, let’s gather the remains by individual and place them in the bags we brought.”
“Alright….”
Before bagging the bodies, Ban and I offered a brief moment of silent prayer for the deceased.
I hadn’t known this was customary, but Ban instructed me that it was necessary.
I had assumed that in this medieval-esque world, human lives were less than insects’.
Yet, the treatment of the dead was better than I had imagined.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay….”
Carrying bags filled with the remains, I returned with Ban.
After performing a simple funeral, my reward was a single silver coin.
Since this task involved cleanup rather than directly confronting creatures like goblins, the compensation wasn’t as substantial as before.
Parting ways with Ban, I returned to the inn once more.
I trained with my sword for about two hours, then washed and fell asleep.
The next day, despite my entire body aching, I managed to wake up on time.
Not only were my soles blistered, but my toenails had also turned black, likely to fall off on their own soon.
Over the past few days, I had pushed myself too hard, leaving my body in a terrible state.
Yet, I couldn’t rest.
Thinking this, I spent nine hours training with my sword instead of going to the Guild today.
That was the entirety of my day.
Another day dawned.
I went to the Guild and undertook a minor request.
It was a follow-up to the underground storage rat extermination I had handled previously.
The request was to clean the underground storage now that all the rats were gone, and the fee was surprisingly generous, making it impossible to refuse.
A hefty two silver coins.
When I confidently offered to clean, they lent me cleaning supplies.
As a warehouse attached to a mansion, its size was monstrous, but after two nights of arduous work, I finally managed to complete it.
Returning to the inn, I fell asleep and woke up to find an entire day had vanished.
Though bewildered, the circumstances weren’t favorable for me to simply sit and rest, especially after losing a day, so I immediately headed to the Guild.
Upon entering the Guild, Ban greeted me, saying he had another subjugation request and would be gone for a while.
I wasn’t sure why he was telling me this, but I waved him off, wishing him a safe journey.
The gruff-looking man who had lent me gold coins, and the unpleasant woman who had called me audacious, were also with him.
Thinking the Guild would be quiet for a while, I accepted a herb-gathering quest and ascended the mountain.
After filling a bag with herbs, I received fifty copper coins.
Four days passed, and Ban did not return.
It seemed he had truly gone ‘far away’.
I began to grow accustomed to adventuring.
No one approached me first, as Ban had, despite the unpleasant aura I exuded.
Thanks to this, I avoided troublesome situations, but I did feel a little lonely.
Having taken on quests without rest, my immediate financial worries had lessened, so I decided to focus solely on sword training today.
Another three days elapsed.
The gruff-looking man returned alone, having lost an arm.
‘What could have happened?’
It was all too easy to surmise.
I overheard the gruff man’s report.
He stated that the monster subjugation was successful, but on their way back, they encountered a band of bandits, and both Ban and Cheshire had died.
Though I wasn’t sad enough to weep, a bitter taste filled my mouth.
